Chapter 5

Dark Pit woke up to find himself in the infirmary of Palutena's Temple, with Pit dreaming happily in the bed next to his own. It was late afternoon by the looks of it, and looking quickly to the nearest window, he saw... Livn' Hell! Just standing by the window, her jet-black wings folded and a blood red laurel crown sitting just above her ears. Without turning around, she spoke to him.

"You're fine, no injuries, and you can go get something to eat if you're hungry," was the first thing she said. "If you need to, you can go outside to get some fresh air."

Dark Pit could only think of one other thing aside from a tempting plate of pancakes and bacon. He got up just as Livn' Hell turned toward the door.

"They say you have the worst reputation of any angel," Dark Pit said aloud, and she stopped on the spot. "But why are you being so nice to me?"

Livn' Hell turned toward Dark Pit and looked at him with crimson-red eyes that seemed to bore into him, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to look away. She took a step toward him and kept coming. Dark Pit's heart skipped a few beats when he saw the softness in her eyes.

"Livn' Hell isn't my real name," she whispered. "It was my stage name in LVD. I always have been, and always will be, Alexis. The day you were told that Diana and I had left, it was all a lie. I had become an angel at such a young age that I was forced up to age 14. When Cray and Drake came along, that was Diana and I. We had to make the whole thing up under Palutena's orders."

It shocked Dark Pit to learn this information, but at the same time, he was even more shocked that Alexis had been practically by his side the whole time.

"After all that," Alexis continued, coming ever closer to Dark Pit. "I remembered that I owed Lady Palutena an apology for trying to harm Viridi. I never intended to harm anyone, but sometimes I try too hard to conceal my soft side with merciless anger and willingness to fight anyone, goddess, angel, or human, and that leads to unpredictable spurts of anger."

Just then, Alexis went over to one of the empty hospital beds, sat down and lowered her head. Dark Pit couldn't bear to see her like this, and without even thinking twice, he went over and sat down beside her, hesitantly pulling her into a hug. She seemed slightly taken aback by this, yet she made no move to stop him and leaned her head on his shoulder. When Alexis had first met the dark angel when she was very young, she'd thought of him as a locked up book that she could never truly read, but now, it seemed as though time had rusted away that lock and she was finally able to read the story behind the bindings.

"I'm sorry, Pittoo," she choked silently, looking into his eyes and nearly having the strong urge to slap him when she noticed the sympathy in his gaze, forcing herself to look away. "I don't belong here; I never have, I never did, and I never will! I've always been the odd one out… Ever since my father died, people have been expecting me to avenge his death or surpass his talent in the LVD tournaments, but I can't. I know I can't. I know this because he's my father, and he was amazing at what he did, but I'm just me, and I don't know yet what I'm capable of. There's so much pressure on me to be great, but I just can't do it."

Alexis broke down into quiet tears for the first time in a long time, burying her head in Dark Pit's shoulder. He held her close and gently stroked the back of her head in an effort to calm her. He'd only ever seen this side of her once, and even then, that was years ago.

"Damn it, Alexis," Dark Pit snapped. "That's not true, and you know it. You and Diana are the best Fighters in Light versus Dark, and your teams need you. Livn' Hell and Murdr'd are the ones they remember. Not to say that they don't remember Skylar. My point is; you and Diana have been brought to fame, not only because you're the best LVD Fighters, but because you were always so cheerful when you were young. You had people's hearts melting with your innocence, and because of that, they respect you today as their leaders. Not only that, but as great friends. You two were made for fame here in Skyworld, and you need to realize that."

After a few minutes of thought, Alexis nodded in agreement as her tears began to fade, giving way to an understanding smile.

"'Hell," Dark Pit continued, sounding even more cheerful than normal. "I even remember your annoying punch line that the two of you made up, just for the laughs."

This sparked a flame in Alexis and she perked up.

"Livn' Hell, Murdr'd-."

"PIT!" The obnoxious angel barked in his sleep, as though he had been listening the whole time.

"Exactly," Dark Pit finished, smiling when Alexis laughed at her own punch line, remembering how funny it was when Pit would never truly understand what it actually meant.

Dark Pit hugged Alexis tightly once more and whispered in her ear.

"Promise you'll never leave us, Alexis," he whispered, his heart pounding anxiously as he waited for her response.

She looked up at him, and although she said nothing aloud, Dark Pit knew that she was going to stay just by the softness in her eyes, mixed in with tears of happiness. Dark Pit hugged her tightly, whilst Alexis smiled like an idiot, and they shared the moment for some time, unaware that Pit was silently watching them. Though his face was smug at the prospect of a new side to Alexis' story, he was furious that his twin got all the girls, but then again, there was always Diana. He closed his eyes, growing bored of the scene before him, and before he drifted off to sleep again, a dark thought crossed his mind.

~Alexis will pay dearly for betraying Palutena,~ Pit thought wearily, the clutches of sleep dragging him into darkness.

... ... ... ... ...

The days passed, and the whole of Skyworld was anxious to see if Pit's wings could truly enable him to fly on his own. Everyone was gathered outside of Palutena's Temple as soon as Pit stepped out with Dark Pit, Alexis, Diana and even Lady Palutena. The crowd fell silent as Pit stretched his wings and leaped into the air. Whoops and cheers erupted from the crowd below as he flew off into the sky, making loops around the temple, performing a suicide dive, and landing perfectly.

It was at that moment that he remembered what he'd promised himself the other night before falling asleep. Turning to Lady Palutena, his eyes burning with furious revenge, he walked past her, unable to look his precious goddess in the eyes. He approached a centurion strong-arm and whispered something into his ear that Alexis and Diana couldn't quite pick up. As they moved closer to try and hear what he was saying, he walked over to Dark Pit and faced him menacingly.

"Meet me in the Rail Temple after the next match," Pit growled, grabbing Alexis by the arm and flying off without waiting for a response.