A Crimean Christmas Carol
Stave One: Christmas Eve
It was the morning of Christmas Eve, and the halls of Smash Mansion were festive with the holiday season. Mario and Peach were busy coordinating the decorations together, while various Brawlers ran around the enormous ballroom taking care of the various tasks they had been assigned. Luigi, Captain Falcon, and Samus were busy hanging up the wreathes and ornaments, while Red was having his Charizard light the candles that Kirby and Metaknight were setting up on the tables and chandelier. Bowser and Donkey Kong had gone out into the forest and dragged a tree back the night before. Now it was standing at the far end of the room near the window, where it was being decorated from all sides. Pikachu took care of the lights with the help of the Pikmin, who hung about the branches as if they were multicolored decorations themselves. Link was standing on a ladder to wrap the tinsel around the tree with the help of Zelda, who was up on another ladder opposite him. He had to duck as someone flapped noisily overhead, flying towards the top branches. The Hylian grunted in annoyance as the nuisance knocked his green hat off his head, sending it falling several feet down.
"Whoops! Sorry, Link!" Pit laughed embarrassedly as he set the star on the very tip of the tree.
"I thought angels were supposed to be more graceful," Link muttered.
"How's this?" asked Pit as he swooped straight down, snatched Link's hat from the floor and veered right back up to hand it to him.
"Not bad," the Hylian smirked. "You'd better be careful, though. With all this holiday stuff around, clumsiness is dangerous."
No sooner had the words left his mouth that Ness and Lucas came barreling into the ballroom, large boxes in tow. The boxes were wrapped neatly in shimmering wrapping paper. Lucas's was light green with darker Christmas trees and a bright red ribbon tied around it, while Ness's bore a silver background with white snowmen and blue snowflakes spread all over.
"I'm gonna beat you to it!" Ness called out loudly, speeding ahead of his friend, intent on placing his gift under the tree first.
Lucas was not about to be beat, though. He ran ahead of the black-haired boy and seeing that he had pulled ahead, turned his head back to flash Ness a triumphant grin—and plummeted straight into the ladder.
Link's distinctive yell filled the room as he began to topple over. He and the ladder hit the tree, shaking all the Pikmin to the floor and sprinkling tinsel on top of them like shiny silver rain. The Hylian clung onto the tree for dear life, but the large plant was already on its way down. It hit Zelda's ladder like another domino piece, causing her to tip backwards. The princess flailed for a moment, but thinking quickly, transformed into Sheik and nimbly leapt to safety. Pit tried to grab Link before he hit the floor, but the blonde man's weight was too much for him, and the two began to go down together. The angel did manage to slow the fall, though, giving Link just enough time to hookshot the chandelier and soften the landing even more. The chain holding the candles up came down, bringing the chandelier towards the floor and dripping wax everywhere. Everyone stood there in a moment of disbelief, looking at the mess spilled out before them. It was almost as if one could taste the tension in the air. They all stared at the cause of the calamity, who was hiding behind Ness, trying to make himself very small.
"I-I'm sorry," Lucas stuttered on the verge of tears, face flushed red.
"It's alright," Link sighed, but the scowl on his face wasn't very convincing.
"It's all my fault!" the blonde boy wimpered.
"Hey, it was an accident," Pit said, putting his hand on Lucas's shoulder comfortingly. "No one got hurt, so let's forget about it and just start cleaning up, okay?"
The blonde boy nodded, and he and Ness immediately put their presents down and helped the others fix the tree. Link smiled at Pit.
"Thanks for your help back there."
"It was nothing," the angel said with a laugh. "I didn't do much anyway."
"You're always good at turning a bad situation around," the Hylian told him. "It's easy to get stressed around this time of year, but you always have a good attitude. And just look at you— the very embodiment of Christmas spirit!"
Pit looked down at himself and blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. He had donned the green toga today, complete with red scarf. He had never packed them with the intention of dressing Christmasy when the time came. They were part of his normal wardrobe from Skyworld, but somehow, they had just fit for the occassion. He had been wearing them constantly since the holiday season started. The angel had even thrown on a Santa hat to complete the look.
"Who are you to talk?" he teased. "You look like you just stepped out of the North Pole all year round!"
He dodged a playful smack from his pointy-eared friend.
"These are a hero's garments," the Hylian informed him. "Not clothes from one of Santa's elves!"
"Could've fooled me," the angel snickered.
He helped set the star in its rightful place on top of the tree once more. The ballroom was already starting to look much better. It glowed with all the colorful decorations that covered it from corner to corner. It being only Pit's second Christmas at the mansion, he was very impressed.
"So, you're bringing someone to the dance tomorrow, right?" Link asked him as he climbed his ladder again, more warily this time.
"Err, I dunno," Pit said. "We don't have to, right?"
"Well, no," the Hylian replied, "but its one of the few chances outsiders get to see the mansion. Why don't you ask one of your friends from Skyworld? Any cute angel girls waiting for you back at home?"
Not really, no, the captain thought to himself. He looked down at the floor distractively. Actually, the only person I've thought of going with is already here…
"Eh? Pit? I doubt it's safe to space out while hovering like that."
"Oh, sorry," the angel smirked. "I was just thinking, I already know who I want to ask."
"Really? Who?"
"It's a secret!" Pit laughed and swooped away, leaving a confused Link behind him. Now if only he'll say yes.
-*-*-*-*-*-
That night, the Brawlers held a large Christmas Eve feast in the banquet hall. The smaller tables that were usually separated and surrounded by four or so chairs had been put together end to end and covered with an elegant red cloth. Chairs lined each side of it, with one at each head. In the center, colorful platters were laid out with all kinds of food from the different fighters' worlds.
Pit arrived a bit late. Most of the Brawlers had already taken their seats when the angel walked into the banquet hall and searched for a place to sit down. There was a seat open next to Kirby, but the last time Pit had sat next to him during a meal, he had almost gotten sucked into the pink blob's mouth along with the food on his plate. A bit further down was Wario, but the angel had no desire to sit next to that man. Not after Spicy Taco Tuesday. That only left…
"Hey, Pit, over here!"
The angel saw Link waving at him. There was an empty seat next to him. On that other side of that seat was—Ike! The angel's eyes widened, and he tried not to look nervous as he approached his friend and the blue-haired man.
"Took you long enough," the Hylian smirked as Pit pulled out the chair and sat down.
"I just wanted to be even more festive," the angel told him, indicating the red jingle bell necklace he had added to his Christmas ensemble.
"Oh good," Link laughed. "Now when you're coming, people will be warned."
Pit gave him a good-natured frown, but his look turned to surprise when he heard the man on the other side of him chuckling slightly. He turned to look at Ike.
"Sorry," the mercenary said. "That is a good look for you, though."
The angel tried to hide his blush, unsuccessfully.
"T-thanks," he stammered. "So how have you been, Ike? I haven't seen much of you lately."
"I've been alright," Ike replied, a more serious expression returning to his face. "Just busy."
"Should I leave you two alooone?" Link whispered slyly in Pit's ear.
The angel kicked him under the table.
"We should hang out sometime," Pit said, trying to distract himself by loading up his plate with food.
"Yeah, maybe," Ike mumbled back noncommittally.
The mercenary seemed more interested in his chicken than the boy sitting beside him. Pit shook off his feeling off his feeling of disappointment and started nibbling his food. After dinner, he decided. That's when I'll ask him.
Pit spent the rest of the meal talking to Link. Once the feast was over, everyone cleared out of the banquet hall and headed back up to their rooms. The Hylian bid his friend good night and hurried on ahead, knowing what the angel was planning. Ike took his time finishing up, which pleased Pit. This way, they could walk back to the residential area together alone.
"Hm? Are you waiting for me?" the mercenary asked him.
"Ah! No," Pit told him embarrassedly. "I'm just not in that much of a hurry. Do you want to walk back to the dorms with me?"
"Okay," Ike shrugged.
He pushed his chair in, and the two began to make their journey back to their rooms. Pit's bells jingled softly with every step; the mercenary snapped out of his distracted daze and looked at them curiously.
"Like 'em?" Pit asked, amused. "I got them at a store in town last week. I never imagined there'd be so much Christmas stuff down here!"
"Down here?"
"Yeah, in the Overwor- er, I mean Earth. We don't have all of this in Skyworld."
"This must all seem really weird to you, then."
"Oh, no," Pit said, shaking his head. "I love it! I'm really excited about the Christmas dance. You going with anyone?"
The angel mentally smacked himself. He had said that all too fast. The mercenary raised his eyebrows and gave Pit a strange look.
"No," he said cautiously. "Why?"
"Well, I thought, if you were going…maybe we could go together?"
The mercenary said nothing. Pit felt like he was choking on his words now, but he knew he had to make himself clear.
"You know…like—a date? I wanted you to know that I, I really like you, Ike. I know I don't see much of you anymore, but I thought this would be a good chance…to get to know you better. Would you go with me?"
Ike stared at him. The silence between them was worse than anything the mercenary could ever say. Pit wasn't sure if he saw disgust or repulsion in the other man's eyes. He just looked at the angel as if he didn't even believe that he was standing there, like he hadn't even heard what Pit had said. Finally, the blue-haired man sighed. He turned his back to Pit and started walking away.
"I'm sorry," he murmured as he left. "but there's just no way I could do something like that."
Pit watched him go. At first, he wasn't sure what he felt. There was sadness, disappointment, anger, rejection…All of these emotions stirred within Pit creating a complicated mess that caused his wings to tremble and his heart to break. Tears running down his face, he flapped off the ground and flew as fast as he could back to his room where he could be alone.
-*-*-*-*-*-
Ike, meanwhile, stormed into the gardens, trampling the small flowers below his feet. He had been good at suppressing his feelings a moment ago, but now, he had to let it out. The mercenary took out his sword, Ragnell and started hacking away at the bushes. What was that all about? How could he think that I'd ever go on a "date" with him? He must have his head in the clouds! Good thing no one else was there. I'd never be able to live with myself if someone had witnessed that embarrassing scene.
Ike was about to deflower, erm, chop the roses off a beautiful rose bush, when all of a sudden a voice called out from behind him.
"I recommend you find another way to express your anger besides desecrating this garden. The attendants will not appreciate it."
Ike froze. The voice was loud and authoritative. It also had an echoing sound to it. Almost like- The mercenary turned around and almost dropped his sword in shock. There, hovering before him, was a giant hand. It was covered in a white glove and twitching its fingers as its palm floated up and down. What shocked the blue-haired man was not so much its strange resemblance to an appendage, however, but the fact that it was partially transparent.
"A ghost?" he gasped.
"I suppose you can call me such," the hand answered. "I am the Master Hand. You may not remember me. It was I who tested Brawlers at Final Destination before my eventual defeat. Now I wander these grounds as a spirit."
"Why are you here?" the mercenary questioned.
"I've been watching you, Ike…and I must tell you what I have seen. Since you have entered the Brawl, you have become a different person. You have forgotten how to open yourself up to others."
"That's ridiculous," Ike protested. "I've always been open and accepting to everyone, no matter how different they were from me. That hasn't changed."
"You've closed yourself off since coming here," the Master Hand insisted. "You have formed no close bonds with any of the Brawlers and have avoided relying on anyone to the point of becoming severely withdrawn."
"No!" the mercenary yelled. "It's not true! I haven't changed. I just…can't be the same man I was in Crimea. I trusted those I knew were on my side, and they proved themselves to me by fighting in my army. It's different here. How can I be so friendly with people, and then just force myself to beat the living daylights out of them later when we're locked in battle? I already know I'd hold back. The only reason I've avoided becoming close with anyone is so that I'll be able to give them a fair fight."
"What you've done is harden your heart to human companionship. I've seen people like you fall to ruins because of pride and loneliness. There is someone here who desires your friendship and you have denied him it without much more than a second thought. If nothing is done, you are doomed to a life full of regret. I will give you a chance to understand. Tonight, you will be visited by three ghosts. They will show you what you need to see to become the man you once were."
"W-what…?"
"I must go now. Do not ignore these messages, Ike. Farewell."
With that, the Master Hand disappeared. Ike stared blankly at the spot where it had hovered only moments ago. What just happened? This must all be some strange hallucination. I'd better get to bed before anything else happens...
The mercenary made it back to his room without incident. He still hadn't been able to get over the strange vision in the garden. He was too tired to make sense of it now. Maybe he could go to sleep, and when he woke up, it'd all seem like nothing more than a bizarre dream. Ike got ready for bed and slipped beneath the covers. As the clock struck eleven, he closed his eyes quickly fell asleep.
A/N:Finally, I've finished editing the first part! XD Ike gave me such a difficult time with this story. I had to fight against my natural instinct to keep everyone as in character as possible since, for the purpose of this story, I know Ike has to be messed with A LOT and part of me likes doing it. Please don't hate him too much...^^;
Anyway, you can probably guess what's to come. Ghosts are on their way...I wonder who they could be?
I hope you can put up with my off-beat humor; it finds its way in there quite often. XD Can't wait to post more~ ^^