Well, I could go on to say why I haven't updated in the past 5 months, or we could just skip the bullshit and get back to the story…

Hmm…what to do…

Acting on instinct, Samus swung a fist with all her might back into the angel's face, hoping to dislodge his jagged incisors from her unarmored body. Pit grunted angrily as the force of her blow staggered him off, but not without taking a large chunk of her shoulder as a souvenir. The huntress gritted her teeth as the gash began to bleed, staining the self-mending suit that was starting to repair the hole. She clasped a hand tightly over the wound and glanced furiously at Pit.

…or whatever it was.

Samus could say for certainty that what she was looking at was no longer the goofy, tender-hearted angel that she had originally known. Pit was shaking violently, the blood of the huntress forming an unsettling sheen of dark red dripping down his lengthened teeth, which he had stretched into a bloodcurdling smile. His eyes were pulsing with a brilliant scarlet color, seething with an unrepressed bloodlust that Samus had only seen in the eyes of Ridley. He looked like he was in some ecstatic state.

And he wanted more.

Sparing naught but a second, the ravenous angel rushed at Samus, fangs poised at the other side of her neck. The huntress caught him off-guard, however, now that the dampening effect Pit had placed on her suit had worn off, and swiftly equipped her arm cannon. She slammed the tip of the barrel right into the angel's face and let out a concussive charge shot at point blank range. A wave of smoke and a surprised grunt from Pit filled the air around them.

The angel was quick to recover, using the momentum he received from the blast he hit the ground running, bolting out of the smoke at blinding speed, pulling a U-turn, and lunging back at Samus.

The huntress was now fully aware of the clear threat and was combat ready, equipping her Grapple Beam. She promptly sent the beam lashing out at Pit and snared him around the neck, using his own speed against him, by pulling him of his course and dragging him along the ground before heaving him up over her head and slamming him back into the dirt. She took the half second in which he was immobilized and discharged a super missile at his head.

Pit slid an inch to the side and caught the missile in his teeth.

Samus was floored.

Moving absurdly quickly, Pit ignored the searing pain that the grapple beam emitted and grabbed onto it, using the still-active thruster of the super missile in his teeth to launch himself off the ground. The motion yanked Samus towards him, and with a split-second aiming session, Pit completed a full side flip and relaxed his jaw, unleashing the super missile back at the huntress. She was able to duck just in time, the missile making a smoldering crater in the sand behind her with a BOOM!

While still in the air, Pit unfurled his wings and rocketed upwards, Samus in tow with the Grapple Beam. Without the security of the ground, the huntress was at the angel's mercy, and he easily swung her around like a ball on a chain.

Soon enough, the Grapple Beam released, sending Samus high into the air with the last of Pit's swings. She took the chance to equip the rest of her suit, and after flipping through weapon settings on her helmet in an instant, blasted a flurry of ice missiles at the angel.

Something finally went her way. Pit wasn't used to dodging homing projectiles, and he was tired and injured from fighting the eel. A brilliant sheen of ice formed over him as the missiles burst around him, liquid nitrogen being flung everywhere. Samus made a rough but sturdy landing on her space boots while Pit hit the sand with a thud, his body frozen solid.

Samus took the opportunity to bolt into the jungle. Running wasn't necessarily her style, but she had to put some distance between her and this beast. It was a miracle that she had survived for this long, and she wasn't exactly in peak fighting condition, either. The best option now was to run.

The ice could hold against Metroids, but who knew how long it would keep down something that could kill gods?

Samus disappeared into the brush as the ice began to crack.

It wasn't until about ten minutes later when Samus finally felt secure again. Pit must not have possessed any exemplary tracking skills, because he would have undoubtedly found her by now if he did. Samus didn't see any more of him after that.

Exhausted, she sat down under a tree and finally began to tend to her wound. After deactivating the Varia Suit, she tore off one of the sleeves of her Zero Suit and wrapped it tight around the gash. The material had just started to repair itself when a voice sounded in her head.

A dreadfully familiar one.

Wow, that's a pretty nasty hickey you got there.

Samus groaned as Palutena's unsettlingly cheerful voice echoed on the insides of her head. She was like the dumb browser add-on that came with that one program you wanted that just wouldn't go away, no matter what you did.

"I'm not in the mood." She snorted.

Oh, come now, that's awfully cruel.

"So is leaving me stuck with your pet carnivorous predator angel…thing."

It took a minute for the entity to respond.

I'm…I'm sorry.

Samus didn't reply.

I wish I could do more to help you, really. But the way that things are now, little chat sessions like this are all I'll be able to manage. If it'll console you, I'll try to answer any questions you might have.

Samus sighed.

"Alright then, how about why he just ate half of my neck for lunch? How about we start with that? Or maybe why it looks like he wants to slaughter a bus full of children whenever he fights something?"

Even though she wasn't even there, you could feel an apologetic air coming off of Palutena.

That one's…complicated.

She sighed.

You see…when Pit was being made, the people I had in charge designed him to be like a machine, nothing more than a weapon. One without emotions, like fear, happiness, and regret. That'd make him much more of an efficient fighter. He wouldn't even be a fighter, really, more like a force. He'd have been a terrifyingly powerful being, utterly obedient and impervious to outside influence.

"Okay, yeah, he'd be better at killing stuff. Scary. Where are you going with this?"

…I didn't want him to be like that.

Samus blinked.

I don't know if Sex ED was included in whatever bounty hunter school you went to, but it typically takes two people to make a child. It works the same way with gods.

"What does that have to do with anything? And I could do without the sarcasm, thanks."

Sorry. I guess you could say…that I wanted to be a mother. Unfortunately, there aren't many of us gods up here, and of the few that are here, the majority of them are self-centered. I didn't want any child of mine to be raised under someone like that. They'd just turn from someone who could do good into someone who only cared about themselves. Then I saw them designing Pit, making something that looked so sweet and innocent into something so frightening. It was the exact same principle.

"…go on."

I couldn't stand for it. I didn't want someone who served under me to be nothing more than a mindless slave. I wanted them to have a personality. It didn't matter whether it was good or bad, but it had to be their own. They had to decide what it would be, not someone else.

"…"

And so, I told the designers that I wouldn't create him unless he was given a sense of free will. They were completely against it, giving me a long list of warnings like the risk of betrayal, the decreased fighting capability, among others. But I didn't care. I didn't want a new weapon.

"You just wanted a son."

…you can laugh at me if you want.

"No, I think it's a worthy cause. But what I don't understand is why he turned out the way he did."

Well, after I created him, it wasn't long before he had to be put into use. After all, what good was all the power he had if he never did anything with it?

"…"

We were under siege one day. Things were looking pretty bleak. I had trained Pit extensively, so he knew what to do in such a situation, he had just never had the chance before. I kind of kept him as a last resort. But it was clear at the time that I had to use him. So, I let the dog off the leash, so to speak, and sent him out into the fray.

"And what did he do?"

Exactly what we made him to do. Slaughter. Burn. Decimate. Destroy.

"…"

The enemy was not only routed, but utterly annihilated, in a matter of minutes. Some of our own were even killed. However, everyone saw it as total victory, so those instances were swept under the rug. I'll never forget the bone-chilling smile he had on his face when he came back to the palace, his clothes covered in blood. He looked like he had just won an award.

"But you knew better."

Yes. I knew that my hopes for him had only come half true. While he had his own cheery personality, his underlying nature had not changed. He was a killer, no amount of hugs or kisses could ever change that. And the worst part of it was that he enjoyed it. Down to every last bit of it.

I did my best to bury that side of him deep in his heart, constantly teasing him and keeping his spirits high, so as not to disclose the dark nature that dwelt within him. But there were times when he had to embrace the darkness within him and fight. And every time it would happen, I'd be back at square one.

"…"

That's why I had to leave him with you. If Pit was ever left to his own devices, he'd massacre anything that moved simply for the fun of it. But due to his overpowering sense of loyalty, he can be controlled if a link with a master is established.

"I guess I'm the shittiest master who ever lived, then."

That's not true. Did he not follow your orders to the letter? Did he not save your live before trying to take it?

"Well…"

The only issue I see is the amount of conflict that surrounds you, Samus. Too much of it will send Pit into this frenzied state. Think of it like shooting a machine gun too much. The barrel will overheat if the gun is fired for too long. It's the same thing.

"Then why choose me in the first place?"

Because through every conflict, you've always found a way to deal with it. A killer instinct was implanted in you when you were young as well, and yet you return to normal when all is said and done. I suppose you could say that I want Pit to learn from you.

"…how do you know all that?"

We may be worlds apart, but I am still a goddess.

It took a minute for Samus to respond.

"Alright, I guess that's as good an explanation as any. I've got another question."

…and that might be?

"How do I get him back to normal?"

A few miles away, at the end of an extensive path of fallen trees, scorched grass, and shattered boulders, Pit was slowly staggering deeper and deeper into the forest. Ice still glazed the feathers on his wings, refusing to melt and hindering his flight abilities. All was quiet around him, as if nature was cowering in fear. The very trees seemed to voice their disapproval as a wistful breeze moaned through their branches.

It was only a few seconds later when he found himself at the bank of a small pond, the murky water utterly motionless. He collapsed down at the pond's edge, exhausted. He threw a fleeting glance onto the water's surface, his motions so jittery and unorganized they created a few small billows in the water's surface.

Two eyes stared back at him from the water's reflection. One of them was still a flaming shade of red. The other had hints of blue peeking through the crimson veil, and blood was trickling out of it.

He shattered the reflection with his hand and jumped back from the water.

Oh, is it not to your liking?

The little girl's voice was back. The bloody scowl on Pit's face grew a little larger.

The angel no longer had control over his thoughts. He hardly could control his body. It was all he could do to growl and hiss at the voice like some rabid animal, a collar and chain keeping his free will attached to some post.

Oh, come now, don't be like that. The voice responded, obviously enjoying itself. You saved the girl, didn't you?

"B-but…" he finally managed to stammer, "I…t-tried to…"

Eat her? Yeah, it was fun.

Pit snarled angrily at the air.

Oh, grow up. Didn't you enjoy it? It's been forever since we tasted blood like that. I'm sure you're still aching for more of it.

She was right. Pit's heart was bursting with a bloodlust that he'd never felt before. He felt like he'd perish if he didn't split some poor creature wide open, and soon. He scratched the base of his throat in an attempt to suppress it.

"W-what? What do you m-mean…we?"

I don't think you need to know that much just yet. I'm sure you'll find out soon enough.

The voice cracked a dry, wispy laugh.

Come on now. Surrender the last of you control. You won't be able to fight me for much longer. Can't you hear it?

Pit didn't care what she was talking about. He clamped his hands over his ears in reflex, hoping to shut her out.

Shhh…just listen…

Pit squinted his eyes shut.

Slowly, almost painfully so, a few miniscule vibrations began to seep in between the cracks in his fingers. They trickled into his ears like poison.

And then, he heard it.

The breathing.

The steady, rapid breathing of every living thing on the planet slowly began to register in his mind. He could hear them, all of them, as they silently whispered into the air. His hands fell to his sides as they overwhelmed his senses. Everything, down to the smallest insect, was hissing relentlessly into his head, mumbling the imperceptible gibberish that arose from the simple practice of life.

He hated it.

It was like they were mocking him. He could feel the arrogance in their voices, savoring the simple act of living like it was a given. They all felt so secure, so infallible. So invulnerable, like nothing alive could ever hurt them. The caustic conceit they poured onto him like hot oil burned at his skin and enflamed his emotions. It was like they were challenging him. He wanted nothing more than to stamp them all out, one by one.

He screamed. It was like torture.

"NO! S-STOP! NO MORE! I…I DON'T WANT TO-"

Oh, but you do. You can feel it. They're just asking for it. Nothing short of a slaughter will silence the voices. You have no choice.

"B-but-"

Now, listen a bit closer.

But he didn't have to. He could already hear it. Off in the far distance, maybe even miles away, reverberated a specific pace of breath, one that was structured and powerful. One that was obscenely familiar.

The steady, heavy breath of Samus Aran, paced elegantly as she bolted through the jungle.

Pit's eyes snapped open.

His chest tightened. His whole body began to shake. The shattered fragments of his mind that he had slowly began to piece together were blown back apart in an instant. She was the worst offender. He'd fought her before, and she managed to escape. That was unforgivable. In fact, he saw it nothing short of an utter embarrassment. He gritted his teeth, which were slowly re-shedding of layers of enamel as they sharpened themselves. How dare she, of all living things, still be allowed to live? It was absurd. She shouldn't have survived the first time they fought, but still, she was there. He relished the taste of her blood. What had kept him from taking all of it?

Nothing. The voice returned. In fact, nothing is stopping you now. Go. Kill her. She deserves it. Make it the most gruesome death that any living thing has ever experienced. Nothing short of it will silence her.

"KILL…" Pit groaned to himself, slowly standing to his feet. The last bits of ice finally trickled off his wings.

Good…that's it…end her here. End it all. You'll be free, free from everything.

"KILL…" Pit repeated, beginning to walk in a shambled, unstable manner.

The few specks of blue in his one eye faded away in an instant as his reflection left the water.

Samus gritted her teeth as the pain from her wound stabbed at her mind as she dashed through the thicket, the boots of the Varia Suit making hard thumps against the ground and the occasional tree root.

Palutena had explained everything. Or, at least, all she needed to know. She had the means to save Pit, all that was left was to put it into practice. Granted, with the plan that Palutena had laid out, it would be easier said than done. The plan involved her getting undesirably close to Pit, which in his current state could well be considered suicide. However, Palutena had made it quite clear that this was the only way in which it could be done.

It was a one-time deal. No mistakes. No do-overs.

No second chances.

The current problem, however, was how she was even going to find him. The jungle could have very well spanned the entire planet, and for the amount of speed that Pit could rack up, he may as well be on the other side of the planet. Her original thought was to wait until Pit decided to do a flyover of the forest, and she'd just shoot into the air to get his attention. But who knows what else that could attract, or if he'd even see-

Several trees in the distances were knocked over like toothpicks with a thunderous crash.

Samus stopped. Guess that solved one problem.

Sure enough, Pit came, soaring out of the collapsing trees like a bat out of hell, his body fully regenerated, his wings spread wide as he rode on the wind. His mouth was wide open, flashing the thirty-two razor-sharp reasons that made Samus feel like close combat was a bad idea. His eyes were like red-hot coals of a dying fire, blazing furiously.

Samus braced herself. She wasn't likely to live through another fight with this one.

Pit angrily slammed down in front of the huntress, brandishing a pair of flame-coated, wolf-shaped claws that Samus assumed he'd pulled out of his Variable Weapon Access. He spared naught but a moment in initiating a blindingly rapid rush straight at the huntress, his jaws open wide.

Samus calmly deactivated her Varia Suit, save for her one armored hand, and readied herself.

WHATTT?

Samus DEACTIVATED her suit?! What's she planning to do? What the hell is wrong with Pit? Will he ever get back to normal?!

…

…

Will the author ever stop being a self-centered asshole who disappears for months without any warning and then suddenly reappears?

THE WORLD WILL NEVER KNOW!

…

…

Yeah, yeah, I know, I've been gone way too long. I do apologize, everyone. School started up, and I got hit with a lot more work than I thought that I would. Fanfiction kinda was at the back of my thoughts.

But I'm here now! I figured that I'd update this story first, then move onto SSBB Summer, since this one was long overdue. I do hope you guys enjoyed it.

In any event, it's nice to see that some peeps missed me. Again, I'm really sorry, guys.

Just know that you all will always be my beloved viewers, critics, and friends.

Thank you all so much for your patience. It warms my heart to see people so faithfully attached to my work. And, as always, I'll see you in the next chapter!

-Mohawkman2233