Chapter Text
Chapter 30: To Repay that Kindness
A blinding flash of white on gold, a flurry of white feathers that drifted down to the earth accompanied in tow by a sprinkle of golden sparkles akin to snow. Monado against staff as Zanza and Palutena exchanged blows over and over again, flying higher and higher into the sky until they were mere dots of gold and green up high in the purple stratosphere. As their combat grew fiercer and fiercer yet dragged on further without a clear winner, Zanza’s moves began to grow increasingly rasher. He swung the Monado wildly around him in wide arcs, his eyes flashing in a rainbow of colours as he activated art after art without a care for the growing discomfort it forced upon his mortal vessel. Palutena didn’t let up either as she held up her staff and shield, blocking each swing while jabbing the blunt end of her stuff at Zanza. A scowl slowly crawled onto Zanza’s face, vitriol oozing from his lips, “Stop getting in my way bitch!” Unfazed by his bitter words, Palutena continued to silently match his attacks.
Though they were high up in the air, the insults that Zanza hurled at Palutena were nothing less than audible to the angel who devoted his life to her. “He can’t say that about her!” Pit retorted, punching a fist into the air, brows furrowed as he glared at the darting golden light with his one blue eye. Dark Pit stood next to him, rolling his eyes as Pit continued to retaliate against Zanza’s insults. “Lady Palutena is the nicest and sweetest goddess! It’s mean to call her that!” A chuckle and a whistle echoed behind him as Falco seemed to humour himself in listening to Zanza’s insults. “That Zanza figure sure has a way with words, I couldn’t dream of hearing those insults come from Shulk’s lips. It's quite amusing-”
A resounding slap on the back of Falco’s head as Fox let out an annoyed huff as he jabbed a thumb behind him. “If you have time to do commentary Falco, then the least you can do is use the time to do something more useful like helping me patch up Toon Link’s wounds.” Falco grumbled slightly and followed Fox to assist in treating the arrow wound that dug deep into Toon’s shoulders. The wound wasn’t fatal but it caused major discomfort to the tiny Hylain who let out a soft groan everytime the wound was touched. Toon’s eyes remained firmly closed as Fox and Falco did the basic first aid around it. Fox’s delicate fingers ran around the wound, cleaning it slowly with some cloth before wrapping the bandages around the Hylian’s shoulder. Falco kept Toon supported on his lap, running his feathers along the Hylian’s face to soothe his pain, keep him calm.
Red was on his knees next to Corrin, coaxing the half-dragon to show him the wound on his leg. While Corrin was hesitant, he eventually relented and removed the bandages covering his leg. A gaping wound stared back at Red, twitching exposed muscles that heaved in pain and the skin around the wound was worn and torn. There was no evidence of natural healing around the wound and Red was a little concerned. At least it was no longer bleeding. He drew up a potion, ready to treat the wound when a kind, heavily gloved hand stretched out in front of him, stopping him. “Roy-” Red began only to be cut out by the Young Lion who shook his head. “It's fine.” Roy breathed out slowly as he kneeled down next to Corrin, one gloved hand drawing his sword out. The Binding Blade burst into flames, hot tongues of orange and red gracing the shiny steel of the sword’s blade as Roy brought the sword down to Corrin’s wound. “I'm going to have to cauterize the wound. Bear with the pain. Please.” Corrin shivered slightly, his hesitation apparent but he saw a glint in Roy’s eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. Nodding in consent, he clenched his eyes tight as the searing hot metal came into contact with his skin.
The battle in the skies continued to rage on and Pit had long forgotten to retort against Zanza’s increasingly bitter comments towards Palutena, instead opting to squeeze Dark Pit’s hand tight, and muttering prayers towards the sky. “Please Lady Palutena… Please.” He continued to softly plead and pray to his Goddess to win and save their friend. While Dark Pit was visibly uncomfortable with Pit grabbing his hand like that, he chose not to deny Pit of this comfort. While he still wore the apparent scowl on his face, he too silently wished for Palutena to come out victorious, to kick Zanza’s sorry ass.
“You are just as persistent and annoying as Meyneth!” Zanza spat out, swiping Replica horizontally at Palutena who easily flapped her wings and avoided the wild confrontational swing. She jabbed the blunt end of her staff at Zanza who let out a cough as the staff collided with his stomach. Reeling back in the air, Zanza stared back at her, golden eyes oozing with malic and the intent to kill whilst Palutena’s emerald eyes merely looked… sad. Her movements were unlike Zanza’s, no power or force in her strikes, they were gentle and lacked malice. She continued to dodge around Zanza’s reckless swings, swings that grew careless with every passing second. Impatient swipes at the Goddess of Light persisted over and over again, Zanza’s fury visible from the golden light that spilled out of the deep golden lines on his skin. “Stop dodging!” he growled out, raising Replica high above him and that brought it down towards the Goddesses’ head.
With a flick of her shield, she deflected the attack with ease, knocking the weapon straight out of Zanza’s wrist with a swipe of her staff and closed the distance between herself and Zanza. Her fingers moved up to Zanza’s face, soft fingers running along his tear stained face and breathed softly. Her lips moved slowly, mouthing silent words before she held her staff to his forehead. A flash of light as the staff glowed with a warm white colour and Zanza’s eyes faltered. “You bitch-” He coughed out as his voice caught in his throat, dry and slow. “You and Meyneth… both fools… don’t think this is the end of me…” He managed to cough out dryly before his eyes closed and his body went limp. Dropping her staff, Palutena held out her arms and brought Shulk’s unconscious body close to her own, embracing the cold body in her warm arms. She seemed to smile as she flapped her wings and began to descend back down to the earth.
Landing softly on the ground without disturbing the dust below her, her feathery wings disappeared into nothing but soft and gentle lights that floated around her elegant form. Emerald green hair waving behind her as she kneeled down on the ground, gently placing the unconscious visionary on the ground in front of her. She ran her fingers over his neck and wrists to confirm he still had a pulse, to which she breathed out deeply, relief coursing through her body. Her emerald eyes continued to float over Shulk’s sleeping form before light sobs reached her ears. Her heart seized, her breaths choked as she flipped herself around and extended her arms out.
Pit threw himself into the Goddess’ arms, sobbing like a lost child into her shoulder as he seemed to blurt out gratitude and relief. She smiled softly, rubbing a warm and gentle hand across Pit’s back, massaging the base of his wings, including the limp left wing. She let her face bury deep into Pit’s hair, taking a deep breath, noting the familiar smells that she had been searching for all this time. Pit pushed himself deeper into her embrace, wailing, sobbing, his tears soaking through the bandage over his left eye. She held her fingers to his bandage, concern written all over her features as she ran her fingers over the damp bandage for a moment in deep thought. Her emerald gaze then shifted towards Dark Pit who stood behind Pit, red eye gazed towards the ground yet covered in a thin film of tears as he tried to hold back his own emotions as he stood a few centimeters away. Much like his light counterpart, he had a similar bandage over his right eye and she connected the dots, realization dawned upon her in the moment. She felt so sorry for her two children. So very sorry.
With a wave of her hand, Palutena caught the dark angel’s attention and beckoned for him to approach. Unable to hold himself back, a flood of unseen emotions poured through the gates as Dark Pit kneeled down and allowed Palutena to embrace him as well. Tears slowly flowed down his cheek as he gripped Palutena’s robes hard until his knuckle turned white. All the while Palutena held her angels close to her, assuring them with her warm hands that she was here for them at last.
Spreading out her own white wings, Palutena pulled her two angels into her, allowing each of them to cry into her shoulder and soil her divine white robes. She continued to massage their wings for them, one hand to each angel, before running her fingers through their hair. Her dearest children, alive and mostly well, she could feel her own tears welling up and flooding over. She pulled them in and her lips seemed to open and close but no sound left her lips. Dark Pit had already realised this was the case, but Pit was a bit slower. It took a while before the lighter angel got the cue and once again sobbed further into Palutena’s shoulder, staining and damping her robes. Yet she did not chide him for it, continuing to rub his back gently. ‘You have all worked so hard… I am proud of you.’ she seemed to silently say as the sobbing heap continued to echo their cries into the now quiet battlefield.
Nimble fingers finished the final knot on the bandages as Fox leaned away from Toon and took in a deep breath, admiring his handiwork and skills at first aid. Seeing that Fox was finally done with the treatment, Falco made a clicking sound with his beak as he slowly helped Toon sit up straight. Toon let out a soft hiss of pain as his hands flew to his shoulder that was throbbing in pain, sore and swollen. His eyes finally opened slightly, watering slightly from the pain that shot through his body. Fox moved over to the tiny Hylain and slowly ran his furry fingers down the Hylian’s back. Toon whimpered softly but soon nodded to tell Fox he was ok, to which the Captain of Star Fox seemed relieved and offered a hand to Toon. The tiny Hylian was wobbly on his feet but was determined to walk as Fox slowly led him over to where Corrin was.
The half-dragon lay on his back over his wings, groaning and whimpering in pain from the treatment prior, his face drenched with sweat as he rolled his heavy head around on the ground. Red looked up at Fox and nodded slowly, “He is stable now. Roy helped to cauterize the wound… ummm… he used the fire from his sword to burn the wound shut.” Fox gave a sharp glance to Roy who sheathed his sword back into its scabbard, the bright flames that once graced the metal snuffed out as he returned the sword to its ornate scabbard. A short huff from the young lion as he looked up at Fox with sharp and thin eyes, “The wound was caused by an anti-dragon weapon. It was not going to heal properly, so I used the Binding Blade to seal the wound shut.” Fox blinked, confusion evident on his face as Roy waved him off slightly. “The blade bends to the will of its wielder. That is how the Hero Hartmut envisioned the blade to be.” Roy turned his sharp gaze back to Corrin with a sigh. “Are you feeling better?” A strained silence for a moment before Corrin’s thoughts rang in their minds like a soft echo. ‘A little.’
The gaping wound that was once a dizzying sight on Corrin’s leg was nothing more than a large burn scar on his leg. Swollen red flesh that was burnt and sealed over in a knitted fashion over the once open wound, like a red line traced down his leg, scarring his pale skin with a bright red pattern. Sitting up slowly, Corrin breathed out deeply as he tried to take in the scar on his leg and bit his lip. Shivers ran up Roy’s skin as he looked at Corrin and tried to assure the half-dragon, “If you take care of it properly, the scar might disappear over time.” A nod of acknowledgement before Corrin’s sharp and thin eyes looked back up at Toon. The tiny Hylian sniffed and then threw himself at Corrin, fists gripping tight onto Corrin’s shirt with a soft wail and Corrin lowered his head, reassuring Toon with soft thoughts.
A shift of feathers caught the group's attention as they turned towards the small bundle of feathers, watching with bated breath as Palutena drew herself out of the sobbing pile of feathers. She turned around to Shulk’s sleeping figure and then at the group and then at her angels. As usual, Dark Pit was quick to the draw, as he stood up firmly, wiping his tears away to get rid of any evidence of his crying before he looked at Palutena, his one red eye burning with determination. “Palutena, do you think you can help him?” Palutena looked at Dark Pit with soft green eyes before Pit stood up, his fingers gripped tightly to Palutena’s robes as he looked up at her with tear stained cheeks and snot all over his face. “Please Lady Palutena! Please help him! We don’t want to see him suffer under Zanza’s control!” Palutena breathed in sharply and warm eyes melted under Pit’s desperation that shone brightly in his swollen blue eye. With newfound resolve she stood up with her back turned towards her angels.
Spreading her wings out wide behind her, she held her hand out as her staff materialised back in her grip as she held it over Shulk’s body. She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly as the bright goddess symbol appeared behind her head. Like a shining blue halo decorated with wings, the symbol of her godly powers was radiant and warm, filling the air with power as she tapped into her divine powers. The magic in the air swirled, and a shiver ran up the spines of all those present watching her work her divine powers. Shulk’s body that was decorated with lines that buffered between light blue and gold began to light up with a soft white glow as it began to levitate and float a bit off the ground as Palutena commanded the magic around her to condense around Shulk. The light blue colour seemed to shine brighter and brighter in the Moando lines that canvassed his skin, pushing the golden light away until Palutena held out her hand over Shulk’s chest, her fingers grasping at the condensed ball of gold and slowly shaped it in her slender fingers.
Moulding, shaping and twisting the golden light to her whims, Palutena then pressed the golden light between her palms forming a bright metallic golden circle that floated and pulsated with light. The golden metal circle suddenly shuddered and a high pitched screech echoed across the silent battlefield. “DaMN YoU BItCh!” The distorted voice of Zanza screeched out, his voice stemming from the metal golden circle. “HOw DaRE yOu ImPRisON Me? ThE neRVE of yoU! YoU- yOu! YOU arE JusT LIKe MEYNETH! GoDs ArE MeANt To RuLE oVER ThosE PesKY BAcTeriA YoU CaLL MOrtAls! I WIll NoT LeT mYsElF Go Out LikE thIS!” Ignoring the cries of Zanza that pounded in her ears, Palutena shifted the metal golden circle to Shulk’s chest once more as the golden circle latched and fused itself onto Shulk’s chest, jutting out on his chest slightly, but not so obviously visible as Palutena drew the collar of Shulk’s shirt up to hide the metal circle. Setting Shulk back down on the ground she nodded and turned back to the group.
The cries of Zanza earlier had the group on edge, with the angels having drawn their weapons and the Star Fox crew aiming their laser guns around them before they lowered it, the booming voice of the malicious god now gone like the wind. Palutena smiled softly and brought her fingers to her lips, a silent chuckle before she nodded, ‘It's done.’ she seemed to say. Cries of triumphant victory roared across the earth as the Pit pumped his fist into the air, voicing his happiness before throwing himself into Palutena’s embrace, jumbled words of gratitude spilling from his lips. Dark Pit walked to Shulk’s side and directed insults at the golden chest piece, making faces and hurling snarky remarks at Zanza whom he could no longer hear, and Dark Pit found that super amusing. Toon let out a squeal of joy, throwing himself out of Corrin’s lap to totter over to Shulk’s sleeping body and hug the unconscious visionary, his eyes swollen from all the crying he had done. Corrin took in a deep breath and allowed a wide smile to grace his lips, his tail wagging excitedly behind him which caught the sharp eyes of Roy who snickered, hiding his laughter with a cough. Falco and Fox smirked at each other, giving each a fist bump as Red came up behind them and nearly knocked the breath out of the Star Fox crew with an Ursaring style hug as his Pokemon gathered around to celebrate their victory.
Their victory over Zanza after the long fought battle.
“Are you really leaving?” Pit whined as Fox helped Red climb back into the Arwing. The captain of Team Star Fox looked over at Pit and waved off the angel with a smirk. “We have done all we can for you, I think it is best that we report back and help out the efforts to take down Galeem and Dharkon once and for all. You guys should rest up a bit while waiting for Shulk to wake up. You deserve it.” Pit seemed flustered as he blurted out quickly. “But we haven’t repaid you for helping us… for bringing Palutena to us-” Fox placed a finger on Pit’s lip, hushing the angel. “What we did was repay you for helping us out of that bind when we first met Zanza, nothing more. Though…” Fox hummed to himself slightly as Dark Pit came up to help take over hushing Pit before the lighter angel blurted out anything unnecessary. “If you insist on repaying us again, then wait till the entire ordeal is over. We will have something for you to do then.”
Falco gave them a wink from his position in the Landmaster under the Arwing, a smirk on his beak. “So rest up until then! We will be sure to make the trade fair you guys!” Falco guffawed as he began to rev up the engines of the landmaster once more. Red looked out over the Arwing at Roy and Palutena and called out to them. “You guys sure you want us to leave you here? I understand that Palutena wants to stay with Pit and Dark Pit, but what about you, Roy?” The young Lion hummed for a bit before waving Red off. “I have a bit of business with this group. Besides, it would be mean for me to leave Milady Palutena’s side after what she has done for me.” Red nodded, acknowledging Roy’s wishes as Fox leaped into the Arwing alongside the young pokemon trainer.
“Take care you guys!” Team Star Pokemon called out in unison as they once again revved up the engines and sped across the barren wasteland of the Dark Realm. Pit and Toon waved at them, the former shouting his farewells to the speeding vehicle before it disappeared into the darkness.
As soon as Team Star Pokemon’s vehicle went out of sight, Pit turned back with a wide grin, mirroring the goofiness of Toon’s own smile as the two hyperactive children of the group began to pull Palutena aside. Pit began to babble and blurt out strings upon string of words, eager to catch Palutena up to date with their adventures so far, while Toon was equally excited to tell the emerald haired goddess about his side of the story, the young Hylian’s enthusiasm was like a plague, as his optimism made Palutena smile as she patiently listened to their tales and stories. They began from Toon’s side, explaining about his triumph over Rathalos alongside Shulk, to meeting Pit to Galeem and so much more, explaining everything with radiant positivity and enthusiasm that was infectious. Dark Pit rolled his eyes at the childish actions of the two ‘children’ but before he could leave to check on Shulk, Pit had dragged him into the story telling, explaining to Palutena about what he and his darker twin had to go through. Despite Dark Pit’s audible protests, no one listened to him as they continued to dance and put on a show for the Goddess who cheered them on in her silence.
Corrin watched in silence as he sat next to the sleeping Shulk whose breathing was a lot more relaxed and normal now. He found himself quite enjoying the show that Pit and Toon put on for Palutena along with a reluctant Dark Pit and let out a laugh, though the laugh morphed into a mangled growl in his throat and he quickly stopped himself, holding a clawed hand over his lips as he sighed sadly. Even his own laughter was a growl, just how much of him was a dragon? Caught up in his own internal criticism, he didn’t notice Roy taking a seat next to him. A shiver ran up Corrin’s spine when he finally realised the young lion sitting next to him, sharp red eyes examining Roy’s figure for a moment, trying to figure out whatever Roy might have sacrificed but he couldn’t really see anything out of the ordinary. Corrin’s eyes met Roy’s whose own oceanic blue eyes were as thin and sharp as his own and Corrin drew in a sharp breath.
“Is there something on my face?” Roy finally spoke up which caused Corrin to jump, his tail twitching as his wings folded tightly against his back. Corrin took a moment to recompose himself before shaking his head. ‘N-Nothing at all. I was just… curious is all.’ Corrin stopped himself there and quickly contemplated whether asking Roy was an invasion of privacy. A deep sigh dragged him back to reality as Roy fidgeted with his gloves. “I wasn’t lying when I told Fox that I wanted to stay behind because I feel obliged to stay by Palutena’s side… I was, however, lying when I said I had business with your group. In reality…” Roy shot a glance at Corrin for a moment, before he completely removed his gloves. “I only have business with you.”
Glittering teal scales covered the entirety of Roy’s hands, sturdy and almost sparkling like jewels. They covered what was once skin all the way to his wrists where the cover of the gloves he wore ended in shining teal scales, elegant yet a very bright contrast to Roy’s flaming red hair. His nails were much like Corrin’s own, extending out a little more than a regular human’s into sharpened claws, albeit his seemed a little blunt, probably intentionally filed down to hide them under his gloves. Curiously, the scales that covered his palms had an unnatural red flush to them. Upon closer inspection, his scales had blisters on them.
Corrin looked up expectantly at Roy, hoping the young lion would continue his story, to which the young lion kept silent a bit more as he replaced the gloves over his scaly hands. “Do you know a way to get rid of this… ailment?” Roy raised a blue eye towards Corrin, his gaze searching for an answer on Corrin’s features for a moment as Corrin contemplated his answer. The half-dragon fidgeted a little before looking back at Roy, ‘We will need a dragonstone. I lost mine during the chaos that started this whole journey along with my Yato blade. The dragonstone will help you control the… transformation, if you can call it that.’ A curious glint in Roy’s eyes, “Then how do you control yourself? Without your dragonstone?” Corrin shook his head slowly and exhaled deeply. ‘I can manage. Over the course of this journey… I've learned to feel, learned to distinguish what part of me is a dragon and what isn’t… So I need not rely on my dragonstone anymore to curb my dragon side. I have learnt to embrace it, it's what makes me strong, gives me the strength to choose.’ Though his reply left many questions, Roy chose not to chase after it as the Young Lion sighed and laid on the ground staring up at the purple swirling skies above.
“How do I get a dragonstone?” Roy finally asked after a moment of strained and awkward silence between the two dragon-blooded. “My mother never left me a dragonstone.” He let out a dry laugh, throaty and shaky. “I was never supposed to express any draconic features… not until well…” Roy need not finish his sentence since Corrin already had a full grasp of what he meant. ‘You will probably need to find one from your own homeland, I don’t think a dragonstone from my home will be suitable for you.’ Roy furrowed his brow but nodded slowly in understanding, raising his gloved hand towards the sky, ocean blue eyes staring at his hand for a moment. “If someone like you managed to figure that out… then maybe I too will figure something out like you, eventually.”
A stir in the air caught their attention, followed by a low and soft groan. Corrin quickly turned his eyes towards Shulk who finally opened his bright turquoise eyes, shakily raising an arm to rub his eyes. “Guys!” Roy called out to the others who were still wrapped up in their storytelling, “Shulk is awake.” The revelation caused Pit and Toon to immediately drop their storytelling and rush over to Shulk’s side, helping the seer to sit up and shower him with their cries of relief. Though Shulk’s mind was still a blur and his thoughts were a mess, he still worked up the energy within him to assure his friends that he was fine. His shaky fingers moved up to his chest where he felt a weird cool intrusion on his skin. He worked to try and pull down his collar with his weak fingers, an act that did not seem to go unnoticed by Toon who helped Shulk pull down his shirt collar.
Shulk stared dumbfoundedly at the metallic circle on his chest, mind chugging slowly as he tried to process the new foerign piece of metal attached to his chest. Running a finger across the metallic protrusion, he shivered, it was cold to the touch yet hot and brimming with energy at the same time. A weird sensation to him. His blurry eyes finally moved to meet the gazes of the new people within their ranks, “Roy... and Palutena... ” He muttered out with a weak voice. Palutena kneeled herself down beside Shulk and held her hand to the metallic intrusion and smiled. A wave of warm energy overflowed Shulk as he took in a sharp breath for a moment. “Zanza… is in here?” A nod from the Goddess of Light as she looked up at him with a glint in her emerald eyes, her thoughts protruding into Shulk’s head despite the lack of words. Her kindness was like Pit had told him many times before and he could feel it radiating around her. “It feels weird… Like I can feel his presence in me, but it doesn’t intrude into my mind or rob me of any control… So I feel quite alright actually.” He spoke as honestly as he could, the goddesses piercing green eyes inadvertently drawing his feelings to the surface.
Palutena hummed to herself for a bit before nodding with a smile, satisfied that she had done what she could have. As she drew away from Shulk, the visionary coughed out, straining his dry throat to voice his gratitude. “Thank you Palutena… really… thank you so much…” Palutena froze in her rise to smile at Shulk before gesturing to his other friends who immediately piled on top of him despite Roy’s advice against it. “Shulk… fine now! We don’t… have to worry!” Toon squealed out as he clambered onto Shulk and wrapped his arms around Shulk’s neck, burying his face into Shulk’s hair and breathed in deeply to assure Shulk the tiny Hylian was there for him. Shulk reached out and reciprocated the hug to Toon who squealed in happiness, happiness and relief apparent. “Shulk… fine, so when we go home… Shulk will bring us to Fiora?” Toon asked, his innocent question ringing in their ears despite his funny pitch in volume. Shulk pondered and nodded. “I promise.” He mouthed out slowly for Toon, the tiny sailor’s face lit up with a bright smile as he laughter filled the space like the tinkering of soft bells.
“I’m so happy Shulk.” Pit managed to choke out between his tears. “I'm so happy you are back with us. Lady Palutena really did help you! I’m so happy… Pittoo and I are reunited with Lady Palutena and you are all well again! I couldn’t have prayed for more!” Pit grinned through his tears despite Dark Pit’s retorts. “I never asked to be reunited with your goddess! That is all your own delusions!” He snapped back, but his words fell on deaf ears as Pit hugged both Toon and Shulk together with one arm. “This truly is the best ending! I’ve been waiting for so long… so so long for the moment we could all be together, safe and without worry!” He cried out. Dark Pit paused in his words and sighed, a slight smile gracing his usually bitter lips as he watched the threesome bathe in happiness and relief. Palutena bowed a little lower to witness the smile on Dark Pit’s lips and seemed to stifle a silent laughter, to which the Dark Angel immediately flushed a bright red colour and turned away from her, avoiding her gaze. He didn’t even have the words to retort this time, opting to keep silent despite Palutena’s gaze drilling into his back, as if trying to egg him on and confess that he too was happy for Shulk. “Hey, do you think you can bring us along with you to your home on the Bionis? We want to thank Fiora and Dunban for all their help as well.” Shulk blinked for a moment to process the request before he nodded slowly after remembering what his own friends and comrades on the Bionis had done for him when he was lost. “I'm sure they will want to see you too.” Shulk muttered out to which Pit seemed to be overly excited by the answer as he let out a whoop of joy.
Corrin watched from a short distance away as the light angel and tiny sailor clambered all over Shulk and sighed softly with a smile. The sound of earth crunching under the weight of boots reached his sensitive ears as he looked up at Roy who stood by his side. “Are you not going to join in on the festivities?” The young lion inquired, his own sharp blue eyes staring at Corrin as Corrin’s own sharp crimson eyes closed slowly and shook his head. ‘They have already said all I wanted to say. It would be a waste.’ Roy ran a gloved hand through his wild red hair for a moment, “I’m sure he would want to hear it from you too. You have been with him all this time after all.” Corrin’s lip parted in a grunt meant to be a short laugh, before he quickly covered it up with a clawed hand once more. ‘It’s fine. I will face him again when I have solved my own problems back home. Then will I finally feel worthy to say this truly is a happy ending.’ There were a few things Roy wanted to retort back on that but he decided to swallow those questions and bury them away, wanting to respect Corrin’s own privacy as he looked back at the rest of group.
Pit looked up from his huddle and stared at Corrin for a moment before beckoning for the half-dragon to join them. “Come on Corrin! Get in on the hug as well!” Pit waved enthusiastically at Corrin who hesitated a little, tail coliling tight around his uninjured leg and wings pressed tight against his back. But a push from behind him as Corrin stumbled forward, the half-dragon taking a quick glance back to see Roy with a soft smile on his face and turned away. Corrin knelt beside Shulk, wrapping his wings around the group as Toon managed to drag a reluctant Dark Pit into the cuddle pile as well. As they all sat there in the embrace, finally relaxing and smiling amongst each other. Palutena and Roy soon joined by their side, with some encouragement from Pit and Toon, and too joined the big group hug.
Their biggest ordeal conquered together, and now they were finally at peace.
“Thank you… thank you for believing in me. Thank you… for saving me all of you.” Shulk choked out between his tears, emotions flooding over as Toon helped to draw out the 6 spirit orbs that had also offered their assistance in this fight. Though the orbs were now dull and lacked the luster they once had, the warmth of the spirits within them still resonated strongly. The group looked between themselves and smiled warmly once more.
“You are welcome, Shulk.”
Somewhere in an adjacent parallel plan to the Dark Realm, to the World of Light, a fierce battle raged on. It had raged on for almost a few days at this point, but despite how long and drawn out it was, luck and power was on the fighter’s side. They faced off against both Galeem and Dharkon in the Final Battle plane, and despite how small each individual was, no matter how weak they were, they all combined their powers together to combat the two evil lords.
No one is truly ever alone.