[center][abbr=Pit][img]https://i.ibb.co/7VzgY22/pit.png[/img][/abbr]
Word Count: 2136 (+6 exp)
[u]Level[/u]: [b]5[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 205/50
[b]Location[/b]: Dystopiascape - Midgar[/center]
It seemed to Pit that within one blink of an eye and the next, Nox had appeared in front of him. The swirling energy of his Palm was already headed Mephisto's way, but he cut off the flow in order to gather that power into his hand, preparing to engage Nox directly. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"You-[i]!![/i]"[/color] was about all the angel had time to say. As fast as his reflexes had been, Nox was faster - he had the luxury of moving in stopped time after all. Pit pulled his arm back for a strike, but Nox already had his own extended and shot a blast of energy himself. If Pit had gone for a defensive play he might have avoided his current predicament of careening backward through the air, but hindsight wasn't going to help him either. 

Pit flapped his wings until he was just about right side up, landing on his feet but stumbling from the sudden impact with the ground. He could hear Midna's visceral screaming mix with Geralt's cries of berserker rage and the street fighter's technique call outs, and hoped everyone could hang in there so he could rejoin them. Sandalphon's earlier heal, which unbeknownst to the Seekers at that point would end up being her last, had shored up a lot of his health - he wasn't worried about himself until there was a great crackling sound directly above him. He looked up, his eyes going wide. The Artificial Gravity!

It came down on him with monstrous force, pressing and ripping. But when the particles of the attack dispersed, Pit was still standing. Badly battered by the full force of the magical mortar, but alive and determined to see the fight through to the end.

He had already gotten moving again when he realized that Midna's screaming must have been her death throes as he took her place against Nox, since she was little more than ash and spirit now. Pit fired upon the Watchmaker while the Breaking Palm was still equipped, just after Nox had fired energy blades of his own at Heavenly Wings. He noticed the incoming projectiles and moved out of their path, only for the rainbow bolts to curve and hit him anyway. The same happened with Pit's second volley, though the third was mostly dispersed by rough swipes of Nox's swords.

With so many Seekers gone, there was no longer an easy way to distract Nox enough to get to the enemy healer. Eventually all of the damage they'd done to Nox's crew would be neutralized and then undone, if their healing hadn't gotten to that point already. To get to Mephisto, going through Nox was the bare minimum - and the Breaking Palm wasn't the way to do it. Its tracking energy bolts could chase him down without fail, but even at maximum output how long would it take to bring him down? Way too long, not even counting the other three he had on his side interfering. Pit backed off from attacking when one of Geralt's fireballs flew toward Nox in order to switch weapons. It was then, with mounting horror, that he saw what had become of yet more of his friends. At some point Sandalphon had reverted out of her dragon form and lay bleeding on the ground. Out of the two angels, she was the healer - he couldn't do a thing for her. In another area of the battlefield the elder Travers dropped Karin over the dark void that surrounded Tycoon's platform, and all Pit could do was watch while his heart clenched. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]"No!"[/i][/color] Without the Power of Flight, he didn't have any chance of saving her. He'd never felt more useless. 

On top of it all, Giovanna had arrived at some point. Normally, the sight of an ally come to help would inspirit Pit, but now would she just be another casualty? He'd hate to see anyone else end up dead, but telling her to run would be the same as admitting that the battle was a lost cause. He couldn't allow that, not after all of the sacrifices that had already been made.

[i]Everything's getting worse and worse...![/i] he thought as he felt the grip of his bow materialize in his hand. [i]Lady Palutena... please help us! I don't know what to do to stop this![/i]

When he felt a surge in energy flow into him, for a split second Pit believed his prayers had been answered. He could have cried in relief, but in the next second he realized that wasn't the case. This didn't feel like the Goddess of Light's touch. He looked around only to catch Zenkichi's final moments. He couldn't hear the man's words over the ongoing battle and the lurching of Tycoon as it readied itself to bring its fist down once more, but his feelings reached the angel regardless. With Heat Riser, Zenkichi reminded him that he already knew what he had to do. He couldn't buff, or heal, or fly, so it was the only thing he [i]could[/i] do: fight. 

He hurtled towards Karen with a battle cry just as the psychic's sclerokinesis ran out. Made all the faster thanks to Heat Riser, Pit made it to him before he could move to engage the angel on his own terms. A heavy cross slash delivered inside of his guard opened Karen up for Roland or any quick opportunist to take advantage of, but it wouldn't be Pit - he kicked off the psychic on his way to his previous target, Nox.

Nox had to be the lynchpin of the enemy's plans. He was the one that had demonstrated he could manipulate time. If they could just deal with him, maybe their entire plan would fall apart. The Xelor had turned his attention to Geralt when Sam called out, but when he noticed Pit making a beeline for him he held a hand out toward the angel. The energy blades that had cut through Sandalphon shot out just as Tycoon's arm came down, inadvertently protecting Pit from the blades even as he dodged the slam. He hopped up and over the machine god's limb, executing another emergency evade - having anticipated where Pit would pop up from, Nox had sent a few more blades flying. They'd nicked his leg, but Pit was undeterred. 

He rolled to his feet and moved in, meeting Nox in melee. Honestly Pit had no idea how long the buff Zenkichi had granted him lasted, he only knew it couldn't be permanent. He had to make the most of it. 

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"I'm not about to let you have your way! Not after everything you've done!"[/color] He said, referring not just to the deaths the battle here had resulted in but all of the unnamed evil Nox had already confessed to. The man remained silent beneath his mask as his dual swords clashed with Pit's. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"That all of you have done!"[/color]

Pit might be small, but he was strong. And now, empowered, he had an advantage. Nox's blades couldn't make any fatal wounds, if they got through Pit's blocking and parrying in the first place. At the same time, Nox also prevented any decisive blows - but he was slowly being driven back with each punishing swing of Pit's swords. The damage was mounting. This was doable!

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow]"Evil doesn't deserve to prevail!"[/color] One of the blue and gold blades slid against the edge of Nox's where it sliced across his armored chest before Pit snapped it back together with its twin. He stepped forward just to give the next outward slash with the entire bow more force as he cut Nox and pushed him back. 

He didn't intend to let up his assault, but when the Watchmaker raised his left arm it set off alarm bells in Pit's head. Nox hadn't been using that shield during their entire exchange - he must have been biding his time, waiting for the best time to use it. Now was a good one, with Pit's weapon extended and already in motion. The shield formed silently and ominously. The angel had to backpedal something fierce to avoid it, using his wings to catch and blow air in order to stop himself. Nox lunged forward with his remaining sword and sliced through Pit's bracer as he leapt away, swapping to peppering Nox with arrows from a slightly safer distance.

But out of nowhere he felt something strange in his wing. He flexed it unconsciously while he kept Nox under fire, stretching it out only for it practically try twisting itself inward. The limb was delicate enough that he could pinpoint where the prickly, weird feeling was radiating from - the impact point from Mephisto's bullet. It was also important enough that when he noticed this and felt a flicker of fear that something was happening to his wing, he directed nearly all of his attention to it. A deadly mistake for most to make in the heat of battle.

When Nox teleported in front of him again Pit's honed instincts kicked in. He performed a back-dash, narrowly dodging the Watchmaker's Minute Hand and drawing another light arrow back in the same motion. Then he felt another pull on his wing, unbalancing him and making his arrow sail right by Nox's head instead of into it. With a quick glance he saw Mephisto looking his way with a smirk on his face, so Pit willed the stray arrow to turn and strike the former Reunion member instead. 

So this was how it was, he couldn't get to Mephisto without getting to Nox and couldn't get to Nox without getting to Mephisto? [i]Something[/i] had to give, even if Pit had to force it to.

He felt a more painful wrenching in his wing, making him grimace and bite his lip to avoid crying out. They probably didn't know that his wings were part of his lifeline, and he didn't want to alert them to that fact either. Nox came at him again, this time making contact since Pit tried to dodged one way while his infected limb pulled him in another. The first swing bit into his shoulder, the second he parried with his bow. He jumped up high, pointing the bow at Nox and already expecting the tug that would throw off his aim. He did the same curving of the arrow to hit Mephisto once more. Their party's defender caught on quick though.

"Tu te crois malin." Nox raised his palm. It glowed blue and released a blast of energy at Pit - the same kind that had sent him flying earlier. It pulled a small, cheeky grin out of the boy even in these dire circumstances. He quick summoned his Guardian Orbitar, showing off its reflect function and bouncing the attack right back. This time it was Nox who was sent flying. Then, the pain in his wing subsided. If Pit had to guess, Mephisto couldn't heal and control at the same time. Or maybe he'd just changed focus entirely to healing as he started to raise his cane. Regardless, with Nox out of the way for now Pit had to strike fast. 

The light arrows that smashed against Mephisto's frame were stronger than the energy bolts he'd been assailed by earlier - and now more were raining down on him. They too could home in on their target, preventing any easy escapes. When Pit landed he dashed toward Mephisto, using the momentum to fire the even more powerful dash shots at him. He had to overwhelm the other boy during the small window of opportunity. 

A frail being in the first place, Mephisto couldn't withstand the concentrated barrage for long. He died with a gasp of surprise at his end when the final arrow punched into him, unable to heal through it all. When his body crumbled to ash, his staff crumbled with it - dashing any hopes Pit had of possibly using it for the Seeker's benefit. 

Breathing hard after the exchanges with Nox and the rapid shooting, the angel whirled around to confront the Watchmaker once more... but the man wasn't where Pit had expected him to be. After calculating that he wouldn't be able to save Mephisto, Nox had started on his main objective instead of re-engaging Pit: the Guardian, Tycoon. 

Pit didn't have time to feel foolish for not anticipating that Nox would all but abandon the battle. The Xelor's win condition wasn't defeating them in the first place, it was defeating [i]it.[/i] Heat Riser had worn off a while ago, and without the speed boost Nox had a good head start on him. Still Pit had to do all he could to catch up and intercept him, even with his stamina beginning to flag.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][i]"Stop!"[/i][/color] he shouted, heart thudding in his chest as he gave chase while Nox got closer to his goal.