SHONEN ALLIANCE AND THE ULTRA ALLIANCE
THE CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL
Part 1
OPENING THEME: Limit-Break x Survivor (Dragon Ball Super)
The snow was falling gently over the Kingdom of the Full Moon. December had come again, and for the first time in years, things were peaceful enough for the heroes of Hyperdimension's Alliance to spend Christmas together. Their crazy little family had grown quite a bit in the years since their last Christmas together but most of the new members had fit in perfectly with the rest of the team. Valeria and Isara had rigged up a sound system through the princess' castle and now, the heroes were decorating to the sound of Christmas carols throughout the castle.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"If that song about the grandma getting run down by santa plays again, I swear I'm gonna stab Val's radio," Vine declared as he stood atop a ladder, hanging lights.
"You'll have to get to it before I do," Rin Tohsaka declared in annoyance as she stood below the ladder, holding lights to hand up to Vine, "Valeria needs to get a few more songs."
"Moi-oink," Hans oinked suddenly as he entered the room with Alicia who was bringing more lights to them.
"I'm surprised. I though you'd hate that song about the donkey more," Alicia teased as she came in.
"Hate Dominic the Donkey?," Vine replied in fake indignation, "Licia, how heartless do you think I am? You know what, don't answer that," Vine finished as Rin handed him more lights.
"The protagonist of protagonists and her adorable little sister have arrived with more awesome decorations!" Neptune shouted suddenly, causing Rin to jump and bump into the ladder, causing Vine to tumble off and land flat on his back.
"Oww," Vine groaned as he sat up.
"S… sorry," Rin apologized, "Neptune, you startled me!"
"Ahh, no big deal, it's Vine, he's made of tougher stuff then that, right Vine!" Neptune replied as she walked up and slapped Vine on the back. Vine replied by standing up and slapping the Planeptune Goddess on the back of the head, not hard, but hard enough.
"Owwwww! What was that for!?" Neptune whined.
"Here's an idea, Nep, why don't you transform and fly up there to finish hanging up the lights," Vine ordered.
"No can do, Vine. Nep Jr. and I have lots more decorations to bring up," Neptune replied as she lay the decorations she was carrying on a table, "come on, Nep Jr. we got work to do."
"I'm sorry Vine," Nepgear apologized, "as soon as we're done, I promise, I'll come help hang things up!" the CPU candidate promised as she ran after her sister.
"Poor Nepgear. Keeping up with Neptune can't be an easy task," Alicia sighed as Vine climbed back onto the ladder.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Alright," Rinoa said as she and Isabella stood holding several stockings in their arms, "we ready!?"
"Ready!" Goku shouted, assuming a fighting stance.
"Same here!" Ichigo called out, drawing Zangetsu.
"Then here we go!" Isabella shouted excitedly as the twins threw the stockings into the air!
"Let's go, Ichigo!" Goku ordered, ascending to Super Saiyan Blue.
"Right behind you! BANKAI!" Ichigo shouted, activating his Bankai as both fighters vanished from sight. Before the twins could even lower their arms, the stockings vanished and reappeared nailed to the wall. One lone sock floated gently to be grabbed by Goku who placed it against the wall as Ichigo nailed it up.
"Decorating's going a lot smoother this year," Rinoa admitted, admiring the hung up stockings.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Up on the roof of the palace, Jaune De'arc let out a loud sneeze as he shivered in the cold while he worked to set up a reindeer statue. "I don't get it. Why're we up here when like, half of our team can fly?" he asked Raki and Tsukune who were helping him set up a Santa's sleigh display on the roof.
"Just think of it as training," Raki suggested as he worked to stake down the sleigh.
"What kind of training? Not falling off the roof? I think I can handle that much," Jaune declared, leaning against the Rudolph statue. Unfortunately for him, that statue had yet to be staked down and fell over, sliding towards the edge of the roof! Before anyone could react, both Rudolph and Jaune slid out into space and began their long descent towards the ground.
"JAUNE!" Tsukune shouted in dismay. Fortunately, Jaune hadn't fallen far when someone grabbed his foot, stopping his fall.
"I got ya, Jaune," a voice Jaune recognized as Gohan's said.
"Phew, thanks Gohan," Jaune gasped as Gohan set him back down on the roof.
"Don't mention it. Just be a little more careful, alright," Gohan ordered him.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Phew," Phyrra Nikos gasped with relief. She had watched Jaune fall from the courtyard below where she was helping hang lights on the castle's outer walls.
"That got way to close," Lucy Heartfillia sighed as well.
"I'm startin' to think sendin' Jaune up on the roof was a really bad idea," Sayaka Miki sighed as she and Madoka Kaname struggled with an inflatable snowman they were trying to set up, "dang it, come on! Work!" she shouted angrily as she tried for the fifth time to get the air pump to work.
"Sayaka, are you sure it's plugged in?" Madoka asked.
"Come on, Madoka. Give me some credit, I'm not that much of an idiot," Sayaka replied, trying again.
"Ohhhh Sayaka!" Ruby Rose's voice caused the two magical girl's to look up and see Ruby, twirling an unplugged extension cord while holding the unplugged air pump cord. "I'm sorry, could you say that again. I couldn't hear you from all the way over here by this totally plugged in cord," she teased.
"Uhhhh… heheh, guess I am that much of an idiot," Sayaka laughed as Ruby plugged in the pump, which flipped on immediately and began inflating the snowman.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Come on, I'm not saying I don't want to decorate the tree," Ryuko Matoi protested as she entered the palace throne room in which a massive Christmas tree stood awaiting decorations, followed by Vert and Mako Mankanshoku , all three of whom were carrying a large box of ornaments, "but isn't this a bit much?"
"What're you saying, Ryuko!?" Mako shouted in her loud, hyperactive way, "we need lots of decorations to make the tree super beautiful!"
"Sure, but we won't even be able to see the tree through all of these decorations," Ryuko protested as she set the box on a table and pulled out a plush Neptune decoration. "And where the hell'd we get this thing!?"
"Oh, I believe that is one of the decorations Plutia was working on," Vert revealed, "oh, she'll be so disappointed to hear you don't like it."
"Wha…wha…wha…what!?" Ryuko exclaimed, panicking, "I didn't say I didn't like it!"
"Whoa, Ryuko's super scared of Plutie!" Mako realized.
"Ryuko, do you really think Plutia would be that upset?" Senketsu asked her.
"I'm not takin' that chance!" Ryuko yelled back at her Kamui companion, "Satelizer made the mistake of getting on her bad side once and now the poor girl has a traumatic episode every time she so much as raises her voice!"
"Every time who raises their voice," a gentle, tired voice asked, causing Ryuko to shriek as her blood ran cold. The voice, of course, belonged to Plutia.
"Ah, hello, Plutia," Vert responded, "Ryuko was just telling us what she thought of your Neptune decoration, weren't you, Ryuko."
"VERT, HOW COULD YOU!?" Ryuko shrieked in dismay.
"Really? What do you think, Ryuko?" Plutia asked excitedly, well, excitedly for Plutia at least.
"It's great! Really really great! Only decoration we need on the whole tree, I say!" Ryuko shouted desperately.
"Really? Well, I'm happy to hear it, but we definitely need more decorations," Plutia protested as she reached into her bag and pulled out a Ryuko plushie, "'cause I'm making one of everyone!"
"Whoa," Ryuko said in surprise as Plutia handed her the little doll of herself, "that's… really neat, Plutie."
"Whoa, check it out Ryuko! She even has two little scissor blades!" Mako shouted excitedly, "oooo, what about me!? Do I get a plushie too!?"
"Yep, I'm making one for everyone," Plutia replied.
"How many do you have left, Plutia?" Vert asked.
"Let's see… how many people do we have again?"
"A whole lot," Mako replied to Plutia's question.
"Then a whole lot minus seven," Plutia revealed, pulling out five more plushies from her bag, "I've also got Flora, Goku, Satella, Eren, and Homu done," she said, holding up the plushies which were unmistakably Super Saiyan Flora, Super Saiyan Blue Goku, Sattelizer el Bridgett, Erin Yeager, and Homura Akemi.
"Those're awesome! I can't wait to see the rest of them!" Mako shouted excitedly.
"Same here, they look really neat, Plutie," Ryuko declared genuinely.
"Thank you, Ryuko. Well, I'm gonna go take a nap by the fire place, then I'll get right back to work," Plutia said as she yawned, "bye guys."
"That's who you were terrified of only a few minutes ago, Ryuko," Senketsu lectured her.
"Shut up. You know darn well that's not the Plutie I'm scared of," Ryuko objected.
"That's right, that Plutie is all sweet and nice but a little lazy," Mako said energetically, "it's transformed Plutie that's all mean and scary and makes everyone real scared of her!"
"Come to think of it, all the CPUs of Planeptune are like completely different people when they transform. Uzume and Neptune aren't as extreme as Plutia, but the difference is still noticeable," Senketsu realized.
"That's not true. Nepgear doesn't change much when she changes," Ryuko reminded him.
"That, Ryuko, is because my dear Nepgear is already perfect just as she is," Vert declared sternly.
"Right. How could I forget," Ryuko replied.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Nepgear sneezed loudly as she and Neptune brought more decorations into the room.
"Hey, you're not getting a cold or something, are ya Nep Jr.?" Neptune asked.
"Huh, oh no. I'm fine," Nepgear reassured her as the two realized Vine was just climbing down off of the ladder, having hung up the final strand of lights.
"All done already, huh? You guys're fast!" Neptune exclaimed.
"We've still got everything else to hang up though. That was only the lights," Rin complained as she stretched.
"Hey, this place is looking good," Yang Xiao Long called suddenly from behind Nepgear, causing the CPU Candidate to yelp, "oops, Sorry Gear." Yang and Mami Tomoe had just walked through the door behind Neptune and Nepgear.
"Histoire sent us to see if we could help you guys," Mami revealed to Alicia and Vine.
"I think I could use a break," Tohsaka groaned.
"Oh yeah, hard work, standin' at the bottom of the ladder while I do all the work," Vine teased, earning himself an elbow to the ribs.
"My cookies should be cooled enough to decorate by now. Let's take a break from decorating the halls to decorate some cookies then we can have a snack," Alicia suggested.
"Bah, Christmas cookies sound great and all, but what I really want is some Christmas pudding," Neptune sighed.
"I knew you'd say that," Alicia replied winking, "which is why I whipped up three different flavors of Christmas pudding, egg nog, candy cane, and hot chocolate. You and Lord Beerus could both eat pudding until you got sick to your stomachs and not even get close to finishing it off.
"Ooooo, that sounds like a challenge. I accept your pudding challenge, Licia!" Nep exclaimed energetically taking off towards the kitchen, "let's go guys! We got goodies to decorate."
"Wait for me, Neptune!" Nepgear shouted as she gave chase, followed by Mami, Yang, and Tohsaka.
"You gonna come?" Alicia asked Vine.
"Yeah. Won't be able to get a lot done here on my own so might as well," Vine replied.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
In the kitchen, Kyoko Sakura was staring up at the ceiling, a half eaten cookie in her hand, lost in thought. She was brought back to reality by a gentle voice calling her name.
"Um… Ms. Kyoko?" Kyoko looked around to find that one of the twin White Sisters of Lowee, the quiet and gentle Rom, had entered the kitchen.
"What's up Rom? Come to sneak some snacks?" Kyoko asked causing Rom to shake her head.
"Nuh uh, I was wanted to see if Mrs. Alicia was here yet. I wanted to help her decorate the cookies," Rom replied, "are you okay, Ms. Kyoko? You seemed really sad just now."
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine, just… thinkin' you know," Kyoko replied.
"What're you thinking about?" Rom asked.
"Well…" Kyoko began, but was immediately interrupted as Neptune burst in.
"Hey! Cookie thief, we're supposed to decorate those before we eat 'em. Not cool, Kyoko!" Neptune yelled.
"So this is where you've been hidin'," Yang said as she entered, "Histy was lookin' for you earlier."
"I wasn't hidin' I was just… no, never mind. I'll go see what Histy wants," Kyoko replied, standing to leave.
"Why don't you stay, Kyoko. I made plenty of cookies. You can help us decorate and then you can eat as many as you want," Alicia offered.
"Thanks for the offer, but it looks like you've got plenty of help so I'll pass," Kyoko replied as she walked out.
"What's eatin' here, I wonder," Vine wondered aloud.
"Vine," Rom said.
"Oh good, you're already here, Rom. I was gonna have Vine go find you," Alicia said, smiling.
"What's wrong, kiddo?" Vine asked, kneeling down so his eyes were level with Rom's.
"Just now, Kyoko seemed really sad about something, but she wouldn't tell me what," Rom sobbed in reply causing Vine and Mami to exchange a troubled look. Mami went after Kyoko while Vine patted Rom's head, trying to cheer up the gentle CPU Candidate.
"I'm sure Kyoko just has a lot on her mind. Why don't you help Yang and Nepgear track down the frosting for the cookies," Vine told her.
"Okay," Rom replied, clearly unconvinced as she walked away.
"What do you think?" Alicia asked, clearly sharing Vine's concern.
"Given her past, this time of year for Kyoko has to be a bit awkward at best, incredibly depressing at worst," Vine replied beginning to walk away, "I'll be right back."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Kyoko hadn't gotten far when she stopped in her tracks, aware that Mami was following her.
"I told you nothing was wrong," Kyoko declared, turning to face the veteran Magical Girl.
"And I've known you long enough to know you're lying. Not that that's hard. Even Rom can tell something's bothering you, and I'd be a pretty poor Senpai if I let you go, knowing that," Mami replied with a gentle smile.
"Heh, I think you crossed the 'pretty poor Senpai' line that time you tried to kill me, Mami," Kyoko replied. She'd meant it jestingly, but seeing the look of pain that replaced Mami's smile made her wish she'd kept her mouth shut. "I'm sorry, that was outta line."
"Kyoko, what's wrong," Mami asked, causing Kyoko to sigh.
"It's not like I'm upset or anything. I am really glad I'm here with everyone and everyone's really so great but… I mean come on. Don't tell me you don't miss your parents this time of year," Kyoko revealed.
"I promised myself I wasn't going to think about that this year," Mami replied, "but… that is a promise that's impossible to keep. Of course I miss them."
"The Christmas before everything went wrong… my dad borrowed a santa costume and brought me and my little sister a sack full of candy and presents. I have no idea where he got the money for all of it, but at the time, I didn't even care. I was to old to believe in Santa by then (A.N. Who I'll remind you very much exists in the SA universe as Vine can attest) but my little sister was so happy and excited to see Santa, I just got caught up in it all. On Christmas Day, he always took us to this smaller town in the country that had a park where they'd decorate all the trees with lights and glass balls and on top of them, they put these beautiful angels, and on Christmas Day, there was this huge festival. It was a ton of fun. Then… the next Christmas they were all gone…" Kyoko reminisced tears forming in her eyes, "and now I'm here. I wonder if they even still do that festival."
"They did last year," Vine revealed, surprising both girls who hadn't even sensed his approach. (A.N. Vine, Edward, Alphonse, Trish, Mustang, and several other members of the Alliance lived in Madoka Kaname's world for five years between Book of the Shadows and Book of the Light) "Largo Potter and his wife, El, actually lived in that town while we were in your world. Still do in fact, they decided to stay there and raise their little girl, Rose, rather than join back up with us. Last year, they invited us to this thing they called 'The Festival of the Angels'," he continued.
"That was it! The Festival of the Angels!" Kyoko exclaimed, her excitement surprising both of her friends.
"Huh, what do you think, Mami? That sounds like a 'I wanna go' to me," Vine suggested.
"Wait, seriously?" Kyoko stammered in shock.
"It does sound fun, doesn't it," Mami agreed, "yes, I think we should go."
"Alright you guys, enough. Stop screwin' with me," Kyoko growled, trying not to seem to hopeful.
"I'm serious Kyoko," Vine assured her, "you say 'I wanna go to the festival' and we'll be back in your world by the end of the afternoon."
Kyoko still seemed shock for a moment, then a smile crept across her face. "Fine, ya got me," she said, "I wanna go to the festival!"
ENDING THEME: CONNECT (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)