"Oh! I remember Ares!" Viridi face-palmed herself when Pittoo and I told her the story Poseidon told us the next morning. I mean, we had to sleep. "My memories about the event are flooding back now. I just remember all the other gods saying it was really dangerous to allow Ares to keep living because of his power. He became significantly more powerful after he read that book."

Wait a minute. Wait. Hold that thought. Book. Why am I remembering the symbols in that weird dream just now?! They're obviously in a specific order!

"Viridi, remember that dream I had?" I asked.
She nodded. Pittoo just looked at me with a confused expression.

"It's in order of the events to take place!" I exclaimed, "First the laurel with the coin, which symbolized Pittoo, and then the trident, which symbolized Poseidon! The book is definitely that magic one! So that's where we're going next!"

"You're actually using your brain for once, you chicken," Viridi grinned.

"I'm not—"

"That's not the point, Pit," Viridi rolled her eyes.

"So what, we're just gonna barge into Hecate's lair and ask for that book?" Pittoo folded his arms, "What if she doesn't even have it anymore?"

"We have to check there first and ask her who took it if she saw!" I frowned at him.

"And if she doesn't have it and doesn't know who took it?" Pittoo's eyes narrowed.

"Then we gather clues about who must've taken it!" I exclaimed. I turned to Viridi, "Can you send us to Hecate's lair or something? Are we gonna have to fight or is she an ally of yours?"
Viridi looked away, hugging her staff.

"She was," she answered, "But we cut ties years ago. I don't exactly remember for what exact reason, but she assumed I did something I didn't do. So I could send you, just don't immediately tell her I was the one who sent you. Just lead up to it when she begins to trust you enough, I guess."

"How is she?" Pittoo asked, "As in her personality? Obviously we need to know that to stay on her good side."

"She doesn't open up too easily," Viridi sighed, "But explain your situation to her. She's very aware about you being the last natural-born angel, Pit. She's actually been trying to find a way to resurrect at least a few angels to help the population again. And she's the one who created the Mirror of Truth with some other gods centuries ago, so she'll be able to connect to you too, Dark Pit. Just... I wish you luck."

With that, Viridi's light shined over us, and we were off. I remember how I used to get to places— I was in this weird void hallway thing, double doors opened up to a sky, and I flew. Good thing Viridi could just teleport us places, or else we'd be falling from the sky.

Pittoo and I appeared in front of a huge, dark castle. It wasn't scary, but it didn't look super welcoming, either.

This is Hecate's temple, Viridi informed, It looks gloomy on the outside, but trust me, the inside is gorgeous.

"Psh, sure, whatever," Pittoo rolled his eyes and began to walk towards the doors, "C'mon, Pit. Let's get this over with."

I heard Viridi groan in the back of my head. I smiled a little. Her and Pittoo's bickering is kinda funny, if I'm being honest.

I nodded and I followed the ex-angel to the doors. He knocked loudly. Footsteps were immediately heard, and the doors opened to a tall woman with long, dark brown-black hair that was tied with gold ringlets spaced out, making it into a low ponytail. She had a gold laurel on her head with little star designs and shapes all over. Her eyes were a grass green, almost like Lady Palutena's, and her skin was a tan, maybe like an olive (in skin tones, not a literal olive, heheh...). She had a lot of gold and purple accessories, and her dress was mostly black with designs of purple, maroon, and gold. She looked really nice. She looked a little surprised that we stood at her door, her eyes widening a little and frowned.
"How did you two get here?" She asked, "Humans aren't even able to get to Skyworld without a god's help, and that's really rare."

Pittoo groaned.

"Honestly, this is the last time I wanna be called a human," he muttered.

Hecate looked confused. I laughed a little.

"Greetings, Miss Hecate!" I scratched the back of my neck, sticking out my other hand to shake hers, "We haven't met yet, but I'm Pit!"

She took my hand and looked into my eyes. After we shook, she gasped and face-palmed herself.

"Oh, but of course!" She laughed guiltily, "I recognize you! You're the last angel— well, you were the last angel. My apologies, how informal of me. You clearly know who I am, but greetings, Pit, I am Hecate, the Goddess of Magic. Hecate's just fine, no need for the formality. Anyway, how did—"

"Before you ask," I interrupted, "I have no idea."

"I'm assuming people have already asked you the question," she giggled.

I nodded with a sigh.

"And I'm guessing the other is Dark Pit?" Hecate looked at Pittoo, "Apologies for my assumption of you two being humans. It's strange seeing you two without wings."

And Viridi said that Hecate doesn't open up easily, huh?

"How do you even know what we look like?" Pittoo questioned with a frown.

"Pittoo, she's the Goddess of Magic!" I shot at him, "Of course she'd know!"

Hecate let a small smirk form on her face.

"Anyhow," she said, "What are you two here for? Oh, wait, let me guess. You want to know how to get your wings back."

She really knows a lot, huh?

"Yeah," I laughed guiltily, "We visited Poseidon yesterday, and he told us about his own angel he had years ago who had the same problem as us."

"Arel," Hecate recalled, "Yes, I remember..." She paused. "Alright, come in you two, and we'll have a little chat about it."

We walked in, and Viridi was right— the inside was truly gorgeous. It was like walking into a completely different world. She walked us to the dining room, but with the snap of her finger, the table for twelve shrunk to a round table with three chairs surrounding it.

"Please, have a seat," she welcomed, gesturing to Pittoo and me to sit in the chairs that were closer to each other. We did, though Pittoo did so hesitantly, and Hecate sat across from us.

"So," she began, "Do you have any idea on who could've done this to you?"

I shook my head.

"I see," she sighed, "Well, then we'll find out soon enough. The one who placed the curse upon you is crucial to your cure."

"So how do we find out?" Pittoo asked, looking at the goddess with suspicion.

"Wait right here," she said, getting up from her seat and leaving the room.

We waited. A few minutes passed, and Pittoo groaned, breaking the silence.

"This is dumb," he said, "Who knows if we can even trust her?"

"Listen, she's probably trying to find what she needs to in order to help us!" I frowned, "You don't trust anyone!"

"That's because I don't rely on anyone, Pit!" He shot back, "You broke the Mirror before I could be coded to serve the Underworld Army— which is good now that I look back, but I only serve myself! I don't need anyone! The only thing close to me relying on someone is me relying on your survival, because if you die, I die! I hate it!"

He banged his head on the table, crossing his arms around his lowered head.

"O-oh..." I looked away, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry that you're stuck to me."

"That's not the part I hate," he said, his voice muffled from his arms around his head, "I just hate that I was born out of a stupid mirror, never getting the chance to grow up. I could've learned to feel good things, I guess... Agh, you know what? Never mind. Point is, I don't rely on anyone, and I don't trust that goddess one bit. Why would she have a magic book with dark spells?!"

My eyes widened. He has a point. I feel bad for him with the Mirror of Truth situation, but he snapped my attention to Hecate. Why would she have a book with dark spells?

Suddenly, the lights blinked out, leaving Pittoo and me in total darkness.

"Just as I said that!" Pittoo yelled, "I knew it!"
Candles began to light up on their own, and Hecate appeared before us, a book in hand.

"Lleps eht desopmi sah ohw eno eht fo ecaf eht wohs,

Slegna ot kcab snamuh eseht nrut tsum yeht rof,

Let tsum uoy em ot, kooB eht fo stiripS, em wohs!

Lerrauq rieht pots dna kcab meht nrut nac yeht taht os!" She bellowed.

Okay, what gibberish is this?

The book she held began to glow, and a huge, grass green beam of light shot straight up. It formed a circle, and inside the circle was an image of a snake.

"What...?" She said in disbelief, staring at the image, "Why didn't...?"

"What was it supposed to do?" I asked her.

"It was supposed to show me the face of the one who imposed the curse on you!" She exclaimed, "A snake couldn't have done this... Last time it showed me a clear image of Ares!"

"Maybe the one who did it hacked into your magic somehow," Pittoo suggested, "Do you have your book with the dark spells or was it also stolen?"

Hecate closed her eyes, and after five seconds, they shot wide open as she gasped.

"Not again!" She groaned, "The one who stole it probably used another spell to sabotage this one!"

"I don't wanna be rude for the millionth time, but seriously, do you even protect your books?!" Pittoo yelled, getting up from his seat with frustration.

"I had magic barriers around—"

"Please, all gods have magic!" Pittoo interrupted the nervous goddess, "Obviously they'd be able to break into your barriers!"

Hecate face-palmed herself and shook her head.

"I'm so sorry, you two," she said, "I've acted like a fool. I know we just officially met, but can you two do me a favor?"

"No—"

"I'm listening!" I interrupted Pittoo. He frowned at me, his garnet eyes glaring, but I didn't care.

"Please," Hecate knelt down and took my hands into hers, "Two things. One, if you find my book, please bring it back as fast as possible so I can help. You officially have my alliance. Two, tell Viridi I'm sorry."

My eyes widened.

"How did—"

"I knew Palutena wasn't the one who brought you here," Hecate sighed, "She's... not doing so great. I don't even know if she's even stable enough to be herself again. So I knew Viridi had to have been your backup, because from what I've heard, she and her forces helped you with the Aurum Hive situation. She's been treating you better."

I smiled at the thought. Even before the Aurum Hive mission, Viridi's been warming up to Lady Palutena and me. She's been so much nicer since I lost my wings, though, despite being the very thing she hates with all her heart. Lady Palutena once joked she might have a soft spot for me, but I dunno. She's warming up to Pittoo as well, but that's just what I'm assuming.

"I'll tell her if she didn't hear already," I assured the goddess.

"Thank you," Hecate smiled, standing up, "Here, I'll make a deal with you right now. You focus on trying to find out who got rid of your wings without using my book, because you're obviously going to find my book at the same time as your wings. Your wings should be locked up in perfect condition somewhere, by the way. While you're focused on that, I'll try to find a way to get to Palutena and help her with her... situation. I'll tell her your alive and well— well, almost."

I smiled wider, "Tell her I said I miss her."

"I will," Hecate let out a giggle.

"Alright, we'll do what you asked, okay," Pittoo rolled his eyes, "You two done being all cuddly now?"

I glared at him for a moment. I shook my head and sighed. Of course he'd be like this.

"You know you're in this too, right?" I raised a brow, looking at him.

Pittoo huffed, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed with frustration, "Your allies are my allies, fine, whatever."

I smirked. I glanced over at Hecate, who did the same.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Hecate," I smiled at her as I stuck out my hand for a shake.

She accepted and shook, "You too, Pit."
I'm glad I met her. Viridi made it sound like she was a bad person, even dangerous. Or maybe it's just bad to get on her bad side. I know I stayed on her good side from the way she treated me.

"Anyway, contact me anytime you need me," Hecate said, "While you're a human, I'm granting you that privilege to you and Dark Pit to be able contact me if needed, since, well, you know, you can contact anyone freely when you're angels again."

"I sure will," I assured her, smiling and waving at her as I left the room and after that the castle itself with Pittoo following close behind.

"Finally out of here," he groaned.

"What did you not trust about her?" I asked, "Other than what you told me earlier?"

"We came here for her book, and it's not here!" He frowned, "She's so irresponsible if she keeps losing stuff like that! Not only that, but it's almost strange that she actually listened to us! I wouldn't expect a goddess with dark magic in her hands to be on the side of Palutena or even Viridi! If anything, she'd be with Hades!"

I stopped immediately. I froze up and I stared at him as he kept walking. Eventually he looked back with a confused expression and stopped to wait for me.

"Pit?" He asked.

"Say that again," I ordered.

"What? The entire thing or...?"

"The last part."

"If anything, Hecate would be with Hades?"

I pointed my finger at him.

"Pittoo," I said, "Do you realize what you just said?"

He shook his head and let out a laugh.

"Wow, Pit Stain might actually be smarter than me for once," he muttered with a smile, "No, Pit, I don't know."

I face-palmed myself. I thought Pittoo was much more intelligent than me! Well, he did just mutter about me possibly being smarter than him for once, but that's besides the point.

"Pittoo," I walked up to him, putting both of my hands on his shoulders, "The main forces in this war are Lady Palutena's, Viridi's, and Hades's. Lady Palutena lost her mind and closed herself off, meaning she did not interact with anyone at all since my disappearance. She can't have anything to do with my wings' disappearance. Viridi didn't do it either, because she's helping us get them back. That leaves us with?"

Pittoo's eyes widened.

"Holy shit—"

"LANGUAGE!" I yelled at him.

"Holy mother of Palutena," he corrected himself, "You're so right..."

"Now c'mon!" I gestured, running past him, "We've gotta tell Viridi once we get back!"

We got to the ledge of the floating island that held Hecate's castle up in the sky. I looked up at the sky above.

"Viridi!" I called, "We've got more information for you!"

It's impressive how much information we got in the span of two days. Light with leaves shone upon Pittoo and me, but instead of being teleported to Viridi's temple, we appeared at a town being attacked by Underworld forces. Some of the Forces of Nature were fighting against them. Viridi appeared in the sky as a large holographic image. She looked down at us.

"Sorry for the unexpected fight!" Viridi said guiltily, "But with your help, we can finish up quickly and you can tell me all about what happened."

"Got it!" I grinned. My bow-double-sword-thing appeared in my right hand. I guess Viridi gave it summoning abilities. I split it into two blades and began to fight. It was an easy win since Viridi and Pittoo were with me. Viridi's actually pretty powerful for a younger goddess.

"Phew," she wiped her forehead. Her holographic image looked down on us and said, "That's done. Now let's just get you two back and update me."

Once again, the light used to extract me from battles shone done on Pittoo and me and teleported us back to Viridi's home. She goddess stood in front of us, her staff in her right hand. She had a calm expression for once, like it was relief. To be honest, when I saw her, I felt like I saw a side to her that I've never seen. I've seen the sarcastic side, the destructive side, and even the caring side, which to me was still unexpected. I saw a peaceful side to her, her face showing an expression that looked like she had just lifted a huge weight off her shoulders. I kinda wish I saw this more.

"So, how'd it go?" Viridi asked.

"Do you want the long story or the short story?" I asked.

Viridi blinked twice, but then she sighed with a smile.

"Short first to summarize," she said, "Then give me the details."

"Long story short," Pittoo crossed his arms, "We may have an idea of who stole our wings."

Viridi's eyes widened. Her pretty, calm face was now shot back into alarm.

"R-really?" She asked, slightly shaking her head.

Pittoo and I told her about the events that took place in Hecate's palace. We told her about the deal I made with Hecate, and that she apologized to Viridi and granted Pittoo and me the privilege to contact her. Viridi got really emotional (surprisingly) when I told her that Hecate apologized and became an ally. She had the guts to come up to me and hug me.

"I'm glad to have you," Viridi said, "Even if you'll most likely return to Palutena as soon as this is over."

I didn't know what her deal was, but I'm pretty sure it was that I reunited her with her old friend. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her as well, embracing her hug.

"Even if I do return to Lady Palutena," I decided to say, speaking my thoughts, "You'll always be someone I'll look to, not just for help."

"Can you two get a room?" Pittoo teased, rolling his eyes, "Honestly, Viridi isn't even a tsundere anymore."

Viridi blushed deeply and pushed away from me. I blushed too from the surprise and embarrassment from Pittoo. He smirked at us.

"So, uh," Viridi continued, "You said you might have an idea on who did this to you?"

I nodded eagerly, my embarrassment immediately flushing away.

"So," I began, "The main players in this war are Lady Palutena, you, and Hades. Pittoo noticed earlier how it's kinda weird that Hecate has a book of dark magic spells, and he suspected she'd be on Hades's side if anything. That reminded me that you three were the major forces in the war. If anyone can have our wings, it's one of you three. Lady Palutena closed herself off, so definitely not her, and you are helping us, Viridi! Only Hades is left! Our safest bet is that Hades is the one who took them! And he's a dark person in the first place!"

Viridi's eyes were so much wider than before— I didn't even know they could go that wide!

"Pit..." she trailed off, "Didn't you tell me something about your dream you had once I took you in? Didn't you say there was a masculine laugh that you thought was so familiar but you couldn't place your finger on it?"

My face flushed.

"Holy c—"

"Language, Pit Stain!" Pittoo smirked.

"I wasn't gonna swear, you dummy," I laughed and rolled my eyes at my clone, "But holy cow, Viridi! You're right!"

Looking back, that voice I heard matched up with Hades perfectly!

Instead of smirking and saying something like, "I know, I'm the best and smartest goddess etc," Viridi looked over at me with worry and said, "So now we have a suspect... And going up against someone like Hades, who in addition used some sort of dark spell to get rid of your wings..."

She trailed off. I saw the stress on her face. I went up to her and hugged her without hesitation. I mean, she hugged me earlier, so it's not weird.

"It's gonna be fine!" I told her with confidence, "I beat Medusa a few times already—"

"Only twice," Pittoo corrected.

"Okay, whatever," I sighed, slowly pulling away from Viridi, "But the point is, I've beaten her and the Underworld Army. Hades might be in control of it now and always was— we just didn't know—, sure, but think about it! If we defeat Hades, he's gone for good and the Underworld Army will be finished!"

"You're so determined," Pittoo laughed, "But hey, it's not like I'm not. We're linked, anyway."

"Try to use a different word," I looked at him with some humiliation.

"What word? Linked? Why—oh." With that, he grinned so widely.

"Stop," I told him, "Stop it, stop it right there. I know what you're thinking, and please don't—"

"It's funny that a Hylian defeated y—"

"He didn't though! I'm here right now! It's just that Lady Palutena appeared before he could land a hit on me, that's all."

"But you still got off easy."

"BECAUSE LADY PALUTENA SENT ME OFF INTO THE SKY SO SHE COULD DEAL WITH HIM! I had it! Seriously!"

"Oh my gods, guys, are you two seriously arguing about Link?!" Viridi groaned, "Seriously! Stop it with the fourth-wall breaking!"

"We never had one!" Pittoo and I shouted at her at the same time.

"And I thought you were crushing on Link back when you and Lady Palutena were giving me advice!" I crossed my arms.

Viridi blushed, her face turning into a bright tomato. N-not literally, but you know, figuratively.

"J-just go turn in for the night," Viridi stammered, "We'll start planning getting your wings back from Hades tomorrow."

"Sure, lover-girl," Pittoo teased.

Surprisingly, Viridi didn't respond to that at all. I opened my mouth to ask if she was okay, but I decided to leave her be before she could get angry. If she wasn't angry, it's best to leave it like that and not bother her, from what I've learned about her so far.

"C'mon, Pittoo," I simply said, starting to make my way back to the room we were staying in. He followed, glancing back and forth at me and the goddess like he was confused. We got to our room and I laid myself on my bed, letting the smell of the nature in the room take over. It was very relaxing, but not as relaxing as a hot spring. I wonder if Viridi has any of those?

"What's up with the both of you?" Pittoo frowned at me as he sat on his own bed (he was given one while we were on the mission or something since it wasn't here before), "Viridi's been acting strange recently."

"I mean, she's never had an angel before," I shrugged, "Well, you know what I—"

"Yeah, I know," Pittoo laid back, his back thumping against the bed, "I seriously thought she'd get angry at me when I called her 'lover girl.'"

"I did too," I admitted, "I was worried for you there, but she didn't even budge."

"I also said there's something up with you," he looked up at me from the other side of the room, "You didn't try to comfort her there again after what I said."

"I figured it was best to leave her like that if she wasn't lashing out at you," I explained, "I didn't wanna anger her more, y'know?"

"This is what I mean," Pittoo sat up, folding his arms around his knees, "You never worried about angering her back when Palutena was around."

"That's because Lady Palutena was the goddess I served, and she was against Viridi!" I exclaimed, "It's different now. Lady Palutena is gone right now, and Viridi was the first of the gods to notice me in my state and took me in. I can't just anger her now, because I don't wanna be left alone by myself to figure things out when I know the gods can help..."

Pittoo stood up and sat on my bed next to me. He looked at me with his brown-red eyes, looking like a bright mostly red garnet in this lighting.

"You wouldn't be alone, you know," he said, "You'd still have me—"

"I appreciate it, but be careful what you say, Pittoo," I laughed, "Or else people are gonna think this is Pitcest."

"What in the actual shi—"

"NO."

"Why is it that every time I try to be nice, people immediately assume, 'Oh, look! Dark Pit's not being edgy and emo for once towards this person! This must mean he likes them! Uwu!'" He mocked, "Seriously! I'm not edgy, and most definitely not emo! It just seems that way because of my past and how I was created. I'm—"

"Misunderstood," I finished.

He looked at me again and nodded.

"Yeah," he sighed. He got up and went back to his own bed, "Anyway, we should probably rest up for tomorrow. Who knows what Viridi's gonna make us do to prepare for the attack on Hades. I swear to the gods if it's not Hades who has our wings, I'll be so pissed off."

I chuckled at his last comment.

"Yeah," I agreed, "G'night, Pittoo."

"Night," he responded, "And please stop calling me Pittoo."

"You know I won't," I laughed. He laughed with me, to my surprise. But that's where our conversation ended for the day, and before I knew it, I drifted off to sleep.

• • •

A/N:

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Everything making sense so far? I can answer questions if anything's confusing!

Anyway, bye!!

~ Sweggy