Alright! It was always my intention to write this piece FOR Christmas. But I guess I never got rid of that procrastination that always haunted me. Anyways, I decided to write this after the trailer for Cloud's inclusion in Smash. I'm not going to include any detailed plot and rather just a friendly meeting. Maybe that way I can actually accomplish this in a month. It's still going to be Christmas themed.
Without further delay, let's go on.
Quick warning: I haven't exactly gotten Cloud's character spot on, so if you see any Out-of-Character moments from him, I apologize. If you spot any Out-of-Character moments from any other characters, just know I mainly do that for fun, not that I deliberately do that. Another quick note. I don't acknowledge characters' relationships that have met in non-canonical sources. That said, Link and Cloud don't know each other. Despite the two having battled in Death Battle by Screw Attack. I mean no offense.
XoXoX
Cloudy with a chance of Strife
In the distance, on a cold winter night, a lone warrior stood, staring at the massive mansion. Even though he was quite a distance away, it still seemed very close from his perspective. "Never thought I'd see the day." He muttered quietly. Once he heard of this tournament, he wondered if he should try joining it. However, there was several restrictions that prevented him from doing so. One of them being that he comes from somewhere very far away. The other being that one cannot simply join. You could knock on their footsteps and request to join, but chances are they'll refuse. No, you had to personally get invited, so he guessed he could say he was enthusiastic when he personally got the invite from some giant entity in a trench coat and fedora hat. (Crazy Hand)
Once he was interviewed, he met two others that will be joining afterwards, but he was given permission to come whenever he wanted. Of course, he wanted to come with the others so he wouldn't be the only one who was new, but on the other hand, maybe he preferred it this way. Not that he had a choice in that matter, once news hit the bar; many pestered him to go as soon as possible. Almost like they wanted him out of there. Despite his protests that he had important stuff to do; they insisted they can take care of it while he 'goes unwind from his job' in their words. Delivering various objects wasn't that difficult or stressful and he feared at the methods they would use to deliver the stuff. It could very well be his undoing.
He shook his head, perhaps he shouldn't think too much on it. He would get the stress he was trying to avoid when protesting he shouldn't come so soon. Revving up his motorcycle; which the others at the bar thankfully let him take, he drove towards the mansion.
Inside the mansion
Things were hectic. Even though the clock read 10 o'clock pm, the mansion showed no signs of slowing down. There were many clamors and mishaps as they prepared for the holiday. Trying to keep things on schedule was a princess. Holding onto a clipboard with various words in her native tongue, she would flip the pages and cross out various notes whilst writing new ones.
"Zelda!" A man's voice called out.
Twitching her ears, she looked up from her clipboard, Zelda noticed a red hair youth coming her way, "Roy. What can I do for you?" She asked, putting her clipboard down.
"I went to the Master and he says I should go to you. We're running low on garlands and Christmas lights. He said you should write down the stuff we would need and a group can go buy the stuff tomorrow." He explained. He was in this mansion before, but for reasons known to him and him only, he didn't come back last time. He almost didn't come back here, but he decided he should attend again.
Zelda flipped a page and wrote down the stuff they would need.
"Also, King Dedede, Wario, and Kirby ate up the cookies the kids wanted to give Santa. So you should put that on the list as well." He added as he turned around and took off to go help with whatever they had left.
As she wrote down these notes, another came up behind her, "Princess Zelda!" A female called her out.
Again, twitching her ears, she finished off her notes and looked behind her, seeing the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, "Peach?" She called out.
"Master Hand says we should expect a visitor sometime soon. Maybe right now or in the morning, but he says that since you're the one arranging everything, you should be the one attending to his services and get him settled in." Peach explained crossing her arms.
Zelda again flipped another page and wrote down another note, "Of all the times to get new members." She muttered.
Peach walked to her side, "I know right? I think I liked it better when they decided who would join at the beginning of the tournament instead of slowly increasing our already huge population." She replied, looking at Zelda in the eyes.
Zelda didn't leave her gaze from her clipboard, "I personally don't mind." She answered and sighed. "It's been such a long and tiring day. Even with our huge population, we're probably not even half done." She added, raising her right arm up while placing her left hand on her elbow and stretched. Once again, her ear twitched.
Peach has noticed that her ears, as well as Link's and his younger counterpart would twitch when they hear something in the distance. She found it quite cute honestly, "What is it?" She asked.
"Someone's coming." She pointed out as she picked up the faint sound of an engine running.
Peach waited awhile and noticed that she was right. A vehicle was approaching, a motorcycle to be exact. "Speak of the devil." She muttered as she figured out it was the newcomer that they were expecting.
The two were quiet as the engine was turned off and Zelda could pick up the faint sound of snow crunching as weight was put on it. Eventually the bell rang, having it echo across the entire mansion.
Peach looked at Zelda, "I'll leave you to it." She replied and took off in the other direction.
Zelda looked at the princess' retreating form with a sigh. She was busy enough as it is, so why is it that she has to give this new character a tour. Well, she supposed that she can take him directly to see Master Hand and see what he implements on the matter. Without much delay, she placed the clipboard down and straightened herself to look proper for the guest. Once she was satisfied with herself, she went go see who this new guy is.
She walked towards the door and opened it, revealing a blonde swordsman with a huge sword on his back. He had his hands in his pockets and he stared at the Princess.
Zelda could feel the animosity this guy was emitting. "Can I help you?" She asked properly.
The guy cleared his throat, "I'm attending this tournament." He simply stated.
Zelda looked at him again, "Oh right. You must be Cloud Strife. A fighter from a place far away." She replied, widening the door to let him in.
Cloud just simply walked in without a word.
"If you'll follow me. I'll show you to the Master and he'll get you settled in." She replied as she turned around and started to walk.
Kicking his boots to let off the snow, Cloud followed this girl.
Zelda stopped and turned around, "First things first. Since you're obviously new to this mansion, just know that things can get…a little crazy and/or weird around here." She warned.
Cloud raised an eyebrow at this revelation. Before he can ponder at it, they both heard a sound coming from the open room besides them and they looked in to see a large penguin looking narrowly at the floor at a strange, but familiar object.
King Dedede was looking at the "gift" that Captain Falcon gave him. "He's mocking me." He muttered as he looked down at it.
"Hello, I'm RX-2. Your new talking scale." The contraption known as a weight scale, made itself known, "If you step on me, I'll tell you your weight." It added.
King Dedede still looked narrowly at it, "Suppose it can't hurt." He muttered as he stepped on it.
Immediately, the scale called out, "GET OFF! GET OFF! GET OFF! GET OFF!"
King Dedede had done so with a surprised expression. He didn't know what to say about it.
The scale cleared its throat, "Whew, for a moment, I thought your fat rear was going to break me." It called out…rather mean for an inanimate object.
King Dedede was insulted at this, "I'm not fat." He denied his obvious huge gut, "I'm just big boned." He added.
"Bowser is big boned." The scale pointed out, "You; my large friend, are fat." It finished its sentence.
King Dedede looked aside to Zelda and the newcomer, "You know you're in the Smash Mansion when an inanimate object snarks at you." He muttered as he picked up his gift and went on about his night.
"Let's continue on." Zelda replied and walked again with the newcomer following behind.
It wasn't long until they reached a huge door, "This is the Master's quarters. Just come here when you want to talk about something you would need or want to know." She explained and knocked on the door.
"I'm pretty sure I read about everything." Cloud finally spoke to the princess. He was also pretty confident he has seen everything as well.
"Enter!" A large voice called out.
The two had done so and walked towards the desk the Master had installed within his bedroom.
Cloud looked around and saw a familiar fedora hat and trench coat at the side. Looking up, he saw a giant hand…and that's pretty much what he saw. No arm or body attached to it. Just a giant floating hand.
"Cloud, this is Master Hand. He's our boss in this tournament and anything he says goes." Zelda introduced him to the hand. She turned to the giant hand, "Master Hand. Here's Cloud. He arrived just now and maybe you'd like to show him around." She replied and was just about to walk out.
"Hold it! I thought Peach made it pretty clear that you would be the one showing him around." Master Hand's voice echoed throughout the room.
Zelda turned around, "But I'm busy enough as it is. I was just about to head to the kitchen where Link, Rosalina, and Lucina were about to cook for the morning." She protested in having to take Cloud around.
"I know your busy. However, I am as well. Just have him tag along as you walk around the mansion arranging everything. This is the specific reason why I entrusted him in your care. Me and Crazy Hand still has to sign contracts with other entities and that takes time." Master Hand had explained why he couldn't do this job.
"The suitcases are ready brother." Another hand came into the room and grabbing the trench coat and fedora hat.
Cloud looked at this other hand. Well, he guessed he could add giant talking hands to the list of things he hasn't seen. Along with a snarking scale.
Master Hand turned towards Cloud, "Cloud, this is my brother. As I am the entity of peace and creation in this universe, he's the opposite. But we manage to keep him under control at times." He introduced him to Crazy Hand, he then turned towards Zelda; who was trying to sneak away, "Here are the keys to his room. He is positioned to the far side, next to where Roy and Ryu is." He replied, stopping Zelda in her tracks by causing a pair of keys to drop in front of her. "Now if you don't mind, me and Crazy has some business to attend to." He added and together, the two disappeared in a light.
Zelda sighed as she bent down to pick up the keys. "Well, let's get on with this tour." She admitted defeat as she held open the door.
Cloud walked out the door and looked at her, "If my presence bothers you that much, you don't have to show me around." He replied as he noticed her reluctance to be in his presence.
Zelda quickly straightened herself, "Oh no, it's not that I don't feel comfortable in your presence, it's just that…well, honestly put, you chose a wrong time to come to this mansion." She pointed out as she grabbed out her clipboard again.
Cloud tilted his head. It was near the holidays so he supposes he could understand that statement. But like he earlier stated, the others back home didn't give him much choice in the matter. "You should go now, they said. It'll be really fun, they said." He mused to himself before sighing. "I just hope they don't make me lose clients." He added within his thoughts.
Zelda noticed he was lost in thought, "Anything wrong?" She asked.
Cloud blinked, "No. Just thinking to myself." He answered and crossed his arms, "What is happening right now?" He asked. Since he's here, he should at least try to get acquainted with some of them. Not that he was looking for friends in particular, but he should at least know some of them.
Zelda cleared his throat, "Well, simply stated, we're preparing for the holidays and even though it's almost midnight, we're not even half ways finished." She explained and flipped pages on the clipboard, "Things tend to go wrong at times and we pretty much have to prepare for anything possible. In fact, we have people working on the Christmas lights right now." She explained.
Cloud looked at the ceiling as coincidentally, the lights started to dim and flicker.
"Let's go see their progress right now." Zelda suggested and began walking down the hall.
Cloud looked at her, the blank expression she gave as she said that told him that these things are a normal occurrence, not to mention that this mishap occurred just as she said that. Without much word on the subject, he followed Zelda.
As he caught up to Zelda, he looked ahead and saw a child running up to her.
"Princess Zelda!" The boy called out.
Zelda looked at the boy, "Toon Link. Anything wrong?" She asked as she bent down to the boy's level and looked at him in the eye.
Toon Link took a moment to catch his breath, "Ike and the others blew out a fuse." He revealed why the lights were acting up not too long ago. "Where do they keep the spares?" He asked and looked behind the Princess.
"They keep them in the janitor closet." Zelda answered and stood back up.
"Thanks!" Toon Link called out and ran passed the two.
The two watch him disappear down the hall. Cloud looked at Zelda, "Princess?" He pointed out.
Zelda looked at him, "Oh right. Under all this, I completely forgot to introduce myself." She pointed out and cleared her throat, "My name is Zelda. I'm Princess of the Sacred Land of Hyrule." She formally introduced herself.
Cloud crossed his arms, "No offense, but I don't really do royalty." He muttered.
Zelda smiled, "Well, that's fine. I don't really have any authority in this mansion, so you can just call me Zelda." She replied. Truth be told, this wasn't the first time she heard this statement. In fact, maybe Ike would like to cross swords with him "Let's go see what they are doing outside." She reminded of their current objective. With this in thought, she continued the walk with Cloud following behind.
Later
Cloud was surprised. He figured that this mansion would be incredibly huge, but seeing Zelda; a royal no less, treat this walk like an everyday occurrence. Not that he was getting tired from walking, but like he stated to himself, she's a royal.
"You can get your daily exercise just by walking place to place here." Zelda responded to Cloud's quiet musings. She then turned again where an Exit sign appeared, "Finally, here's the exit." Zelda replied as if it was an important landmark. Well, considering that the mansion is huge, it probably is.
The two opened the door to go outside, but before they could step foot to the ground outside, something or rather, someone fell in front of them.
"Sorry! I lost my grip." The person called out, dusting himself off as he got back onto his feet.
"You okay Ike?" Another voice called out.
Ike looked back up, "Just fine. A tiny fall wouldn't put a scratch on me." He called out.
"You fell three stories; you call that a tiny fall?" Zelda pointed out the height in which he fell. Looking up, she saw Marth and the male Robin on top. They too, were just hanging onto the roof.
Ike continued to dust himself off, "Well, once you consider the fact that injuries heal very quickly here…" He started and straightened his cape.
"Even so, you could still use a ladder. Much more convenient." Zelda continued to point out their reckless behavior.
Ike crossed his arms, "True. But it is rather tiring and boring going up and down ladders. Robin figured that we can just hang onto the ledges and hook up the lights that way." He explained on why they are hanging off ledges.
Zelda was quiet and skeptical. "You do know Robin possesses the ability to levitate using wind, right?" She pointed out, crossing her arms. While she wasn't calling Ike dumb, he was quite gullible.
After this revelation, he looked back up at Marth and Robin. Marth in turn, looked towards Robin with narrow eyes. Using his free hand, he pried Robin's hand off the ledge and as expected, he wasn't really hanging on. He was using the cold winter wind as a disguise to use his wind magic to levitate.
Robin gave a little smirk, "What? You surprised I had the strength to hang onto the ledge as long as you two? I'm a tactician, not a body-builder." He called out as he lifted himself higher and perched himself on the roofs ledge.
The three continued to argue, leaving Zelda without a chance to introduce them to Cloud, "Well, I suppose you can meet them after." She responded and looked at her list and remembered that she was on her way to the kitchen. "Let's go see what Link, Rosalina, and Lucina are cooking up in the kitchen." She replied and closed the door after Marth fell onto the ground.
Cloud only looked downwards where he last saw the character named Marth on the ground, "Is this a normal occurrence?" He asked.
Zelda looked at him, "Told you things can get a little weird around here." She answered and looked ahead, "Let's get on with this tour." She added and started walking.
"That's a bit of an understatement." Cloud muttered quietly to himself.
At the kitchen
Rosalina and Lucina were currently at the counter peeling potatoes.
"I know of someone in my land that was proficient in peeling potatoes. My father had him do the potato peeling all the time." Lucina explained as she reminiscence of her past. Peeling all these potatoes, she started to see why he enjoyed peeling them.
Rosalina on the other hand, was the exact opposite, "Ugh!" She called out as she threw her peeler into the garbage as she somehow managed to dull the blades. So, she placed her elbow on the counter and leaned on her hand as she tossed the half-peeled potato up and down.
Due to the freak accident involving Peach and her "bracelets" the three were still forced to stay within proximity of each other. Much to Link and Rosalina's chagrin. Lucina was still wondering why she was involved with them. Thinking of that freak accident, Rosalina remembered of the "other" freak accident involving Link and Lucina as well as specific space pearls.
So she had to wonder, "Hey, Lucina." She called out, catching the blunette's attention, "Do you still see Link as…hot every now and then?" She asked, hesitating on calling him hot because of their…unique history spanning four Christmas fics ago.
Lucina all of a sudden tensed up, "Well, it doesn't happen as often as before, but every now and then, when I see him, my vision goes completely pink with bubbles around the corners of my eyes and I imagine him shirtless and speaking in a seductive voice." She explained the exact things she envisions whenever that pearl takes effect on her, "I'm able to control it time to time." She added.
Link came around the corner with a new batch of potatoes for the girls to peel. He himself had to rummage around in the closet looking for various objects. "Here's some more potatoes you girls have to peel." He muttered. His tone showing that he isn't exactly thrilled about this job.
Rosalina groaned as more potatoes started to pile up onto the counter. "When can we quit exactly?" She called out. It was almost midnight and she herself was getting tired.
Link looked back at her with a sigh, "The Master says fill up two barrels at least and we can go to bed." He replied and looked at the barrel Lucina has filled. "Seeing that we just need to peel one more barrel full of potatoes, I'd say we're almost done." He pointed out and started to head towards the outside door.
Rosalina stared at him, "I don't see you peeling potatoes." She pointed out. As she pointed that out, Lucina started to hesitate on peeling potatoes and slowly glancing at Link.
Link opened the door slightly letting the cold air in, "I'm in the backroom, picking up potatoes from the little farm Peach had made for the cold seasons. Even though potatoes tend to grow when its cooler, I still get very hot picking up all those potatoes." He explained his job at gathering the potatoes.
Rosalina sighed, she was tired of doing this and she wanted to go sleep, but couldn't due to the above mentioned accident binding the three together. "I'm just very tired and I want to go to bed." She muttered as she placed her head onto the counter and closed her eyes.
Lucina was still hesitant on peeling potatoes, but she looked at Rosalina, "The mind tends to wander when its tired." She replied and looked at Link, "Why are you opening the door, Sir Link?" She wondered as she tried to stay focus as she was tired as well.
Link peeked outside, "I got hot picking up all those potatoes, so I just need to cool down." He answered.
Rosalina apparently fell asleep as she was just muttering what she heard last, "The mind tends to wander when its tired." She muttered.
As she said that, Lucina widened her eyes as she heard Link's words a...bit differently, "Oh gods, it's happening again." She muttered as Link's words replayed in her mind.
Link had taken his tunic off as he was peeking outside until he turned and looked at Lucina, "I'm just very hot and I need you to cool me down." He spoke in a very seductive tone.
Lucina had started breathing deeply like she was out of breath.
Link (Who's actually still in his tunic) noticed this and looked at her, "You feeling alright?" He asked, unaware of what she was witnessing in her mind. "Come on, I'll help you get checked out at the Doctor's office." He added, extending his hand towards her.
Lucina blinked, trying to focus on what Link was saying, all she heard was.
"Come on, I need your help to get checked out. Let's play Doctor." Link (Who is shirtless in her scenario) spoke in a seductive tone.
At this moment, Zelda and Cloud walked in, "And this is our kitchen." She replied, holding the door open for him to walk in.
Cloud walked in, but he saw a puzzling sight.
"I'll be happy to oblige!" Lucina shouted as she took off her cape and hopped over the counter and removing her armor.
Link widened his eyes as he just realized what it now happening to Lucina, "Uh oh." Was all he managed to call out as he ran out the door.
All this commotion had awakened Rosalina who blinked and looked ahead where she saw Lucina chasing Link. Remembering the freak accident, she quickly widened her eyes and got up, "No don't!" She called out as she hopped over the counter as well.
However, since Link and Lucina had ran a reasonable distance, Rosalina succumbed to paralysis before she hit the floor. Zelda looked outside with Cloud following her vision only to see a blonde man running with a blue head wearing a shirt chasing him. Suddenly, they both fell and remained motionless.
"What just happened?" Cloud asked, still puzzled at the behavior he just witnessed.
Zelda looked at him, "It's a long story." She simply replied.
Peach came out from a nearby room (Hiding a camcorder behind her) and noticed Zelda and Cloud. "Oh, Zelda. Good timing!" She called out.
Zelda looked at her and noticed there was paint on her, "What happened to you?" She asked the Princess.
Peach inconspicuously threw the camcorder in the trash with the intent of recovering it after, she looked at Zelda, "Master Hand assigned me to paint signs, but as you can see, I got to go to the Doctor's office and help him with three patients. I need you to finish off my signs." She requested and handed Zelda a brush.
Zelda was about to object, but Peach didn't wait for her reply and was already gone down the hall. "But I'm busy..." Zelda muttered as she looked down the hall. She also looked outside where it was snowing and Link and Lucina were already getting buried under it. She looked towards Cloud, "Mind finishing off the signs? I need to get those two inside." She requested, handing him the brush.
Cloud held onto the brush Zelda gave him, "What should I write?" He asked.
Zelda looked at him, "Write what you see most during the holidays. I'm sure you know of one." She answered, "I'll be right back." She added and left the building to retrieve the two.
Cloud walked into the room where the other woman was in and looked back at the banner he was entrusted with to write. This should be easy. He's a delivery man, he delivers gifts on a regular basis. Surly during the holidays he has seen a common thing. He thought hard on this subject, probably too hard for a simple subject such as this. All of a sudden, it hit him. He has seen these very words at every gift store at Midgar and wherever his job manages to take him. So dipping the brush in the red paint, he wrote these words on the banner.
"Batteries not included."
With that done, he wondered if he did the right thing. Well, he wasn't going to get criticized for this, so he let the paint dry quickly and rolled it up.
As he finished up, he placed down the paint brush and Zelda walked in, "Okay. So the three are on their way to the Doctor's office and probably to their quarters." Zelda pointed out and noticed Cloud had finished a sign, "How about I just show you to your quarters and you can explore the mansion on your own free time?" She asked and looked at him for his response. Which was just a grunt and a nod from him, "I'll just assume that was a yes. Follow me." She replied and walked out.
Cloud had taken the time to recognize Zelda as a friend. Well, to be specific, a potential friend. After all, it was just a few hours. But she struck a familiarity within him. Her personality and overall presence had reminded him of someone that was close to him.
This was all quickly dropped as he was still curious of the three that just got a mishap. So he had to ask her, "Normally I'd be quiet of the situation I just witnessed, but what happened to those three?" He asked, walking down the hallway behind her.
Zelda looked back, "You mean Link, Rosalina, and Lucina?" She asked, but took his quietness as an answer, "Well, to make a long story short. Link is just like me, he hails from Hyrule and is one of its best if not THE best warriors in Hyrule." She mentioned Link's name and his overall occupation.
"So, he's your Guardian?" Cloud asked as the best warrior would obviously be a Guardian of a royal.
Zelda hummed a little, "More or less." She pointed out. "The other blonde woman is Rosalina. Prior to this tournament, she would visit the mansion on a yearly basis where Peach; the other blonde woman who was making signs, had assigned Link to be her bodyguard. Much to their chagrin. I don't know what happened, but they apparently developed a hostile relationship." She explained the relationship between Link and Rosalina.
"If they hate each other so, why don't they just stay away?" Cloud asked. He also considered the fact that they were forced to work with each other this night.
"That was their intentions, but due to Peach's shenanigans and messing around with technology I have no idea how it works, she created an invisible bond between the three which forces them to be within proximity to each other or they'll collapse." She explained their current situation.
"Why the third woman?" Cloud pointed out.
"Well, Lucina; just like you, is new to this tournament and likewise, witnessed first hand of what can happen here. She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time when Peach was connecting the bracelets to Link and Rosalina before she decided to toss one on her and Link. Her...primal state; as we call it, was caused by something from a Coffee Shop one of our members was running before it blew up." She explained the situation between Link and Lucina.
Cloud was puzzled. He was about to ask what happened to the Coffee Shop but decided he heard enough tonight.
Likewise, Zelda stopped in her tracks and looked at the door, "Here's where you'll be staying for a while." She handed him the key. "If you need any help or have questions, don't hesitate on asking anyone. Most of them are friendly." She pointed out.
Cloud took the key and opened his door to find a reasonably sized room. Walking in, he grabbed his Buster Sword and laid it aside as he explored his room.
"So with that. I'll be going." Zelda replied and turned around.
Cloud turned to her, "Actually, I have a request." He called out, catching her attention, "I would like it if you were the one to guide me around." He asked for her presence in the mansion, "You don't have to do it, if you don't want to." Cloud added noticing her quietness.
"Well, just take my quietness as a yes." Zelda answered and closed his door. Turning around, she walked away with a smile.
Cloud looked outside the window. "This is certainly an interesting mansion." He muttered to himself quietly. It was just a matter of time if he could handle it. He was pretty confident as he dealt with strange things in his home area as well, maybe this mansion won't be so bad after all.
Then again, it was just the first few hours he experienced, no telling what the next months will do to him, but he was willing to take the challenge.
XoXoX
And here is my Christmas Fic for last year. I was actually hesitating on waiting until this Christmas, but I realized that it would be better sooner than later. I also rushed at the end a bit, just so I can upload this as I haven't uploaded in a month.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this story. Have a nice day.