Before we start the Smash Bros. broadcast, here is just a few things pertaining to how some Smashers will be referred to as: Male!Robin shall be referred to as Reflet, while Fem!Robin is just gonna be Robin. Wii Fit Trainer (just female) is Snow. The male Villager and female Villager (pink-haired one) will be called Jake and Sakura, respectively. And last, but not least, the Duck Hunt Dog will be called Fido (generic dog name FTW) and the duck Ducky. Yeah…does that seem like a lot of changes? Hmm…let's start!
Chapter 1: Belle (Beautiful)
The moment the people of Smashville experienced their first snow of the year was at midnight, when the navy blue sky was slightly brightened by the graceful falling of snowflakes to the ground.
Now, the dawn of December 1st has risen, and one certain angel by the name of Pit has gotten up and looked out the window. He immediately noticed the fresh snow on the ground, and in pure excitement, he hastily ran out of his room and announced, "Guys, it has officially snowed! December 1st has greeted us, and it is only twenty-four more days to the coveted Christmas Day! It is time for us to unite!"
The angel waited for a response, and when one waits patiently, one shall receive.
"Shut the hell up, Pit!" the fallen angel, Dark Pit, had exclaimed from somewhere in the once quiet mansion. "It's too early, and you're too old for that crap!"
And with the complaint that was cold as the air outside, the Smashers had formally accepted the fact that Christmas will soon be upon them.
"Morning everyone!" Peach sung, twirling and dancing as one would do in a traditional Christmas movie. "On the first day of Christmas, my true love said to me!"
"Quiet down until I get my coffee," Snake grumbled, scratching his beard and heading towards the coffee pot. Pit's earlier outburst had interrupted his lovely state of dreaming; he didn't need some overhyped princess singing Christmas carols when Christmas had yet to slap them all in the face. At least someone had filled the coffee machine. For the next twenty-four days, the mercenary knew he'll be needing a daily dose of caffeine in his system.
"Oh, my apologies, Snake!" Peach said, rushing to the coffee machine before him to graciously make him a cup. "Pit just had me so giddy today! When I see him, I have to thank him!"
"You go ahead and do that. Tell the idiot not to be so loud next time…oh, hey, Lucina, Chrom, and Smartass Twins."
The Ylissean princess and exalt nodded and smiled warmly at him. "Hello, Snake," they said in unison. Robin and Reflet narrowed their eyes at him, choosing wisely to ignore Snake's unneeded comment.
Or, at least Reflet did.
"Must you say such crude words?" Robin asked, holding a warm cup of imported Valmese tea in her hands. She had taken a quick sip and eyed Snake, who was now holding a Christmas-themed mug of coffee (with, unfortunately, peppermint mocha-flavored creamer) and wearing a tired expression. "Totally uncouth, Snake. Here I am, trying to learn the ways of this 'Christmas', and you start off with a not-so cheery greeting."
"What?" he asked. "I'm just greeting the four people who has yet to learn what Christmas is all about!" He finished his sentence with a mocking sing-songy tune and two large gulps of his coffee. "Besides, you don't learn Christmas, sweetheart." Snake polished off his coffee and left the kitchen. Both Peach and Robin sighed; what was the purpose of this man being such an ass during Christmastime?
Though he did have a point: It was the Ylisseans very first Christmas at the Smash Mansion and, well, ever. Such a holiday was never heard of nor thought of in the Halidom of Ylisse. They were unaccustomed to the 25th of December, unaccustomed to yet another holiday. The experience of Valentine's Day was too gushy for Chrom (especially since Sumia went all out on the gifts. Who even takes the time to gather 600 flower petals?), and Lucina did not enjoy having her hair dyed green for St. Patrick's Day or the bunny costume she wore for Easter. Halloween ignited a fear of mummies for Reflet; Thanksgiving caused Robin to gain ten pounds. They all experienced the bizarre holidays of the secular world, and they were about to have another one.
Robin sighed, taking another sip of her tea. Of course one will have to learn what Christmas is, sweetheart, if one has never experienced it before. You have to learn the origins, the traditions of the day that this jolly old man called Santa Claus brings everyone gifts. Ah, that reminds her: who exactly is this Santa Claus fellow? Robin would gather books later, reading tales upon tales about Saint Nicholas. For now, she'll just sip her tea and hold some contempt for Snake.
Lucina slowly ate her cereal, letting it get to the disgusting state of sogginess as she tuned out her surroundings. She didn't know what the others thought, but this particular holiday bothered her. Not in a way that calls for concern, but Lucina felt something that she couldn't quite place her tongue on. That annoyed her slightly, not being able to decipher her own feelings. In twenty-four days, Lucina will follow what Pit exclaimed and unite for a day of warmth, love, and –
"Snowball fight!" Dark Pit yelled as he flew into the kitchen like a bat out of hell. Robin was startled to the point where she dropped her fine, expensive tea to the ground. Fido and Ducky immediately entered the room, curious and suspicious of the loud noise. Lucina quickly snapped back to reality, her annoyance level reaching maximum capacity for her daydreaming being rudely interrupted. "C'mon Lucina, let's do this!"
Ah, yes. A snowball fight. Christmas will be a day of warmth, love, and snowball fights. Lucina pushed aside her cereal and stood up, fading out of reality yet again as she left the kitchen to grab her scarf and coat (a courtesy provided by the Hero-King). The sounds of Robin screaming and threatening to use her Thoron and Reflet and Chrom attempting to placate her were drowned out. So were the exclamations of Peach announcing that she'll be joining to snowball fight. The Ylissean princess grabbed Robin's hat and stared at it before placing it on her head, deciding that Robin would surely not mind the theft of her navy blue hat.
She walked back to the kitchen, duly noting that Robin had left the room, though her sounds of rage and complaints could still be heard from somewhere in the mansion, making an echo and sounding quite eerie. Lucina blinked twice, deciding to integrate herself back into the real world. She'll worry about her thoughts later; for now, she'll get snow thrown at her face and hear Dark Pit tease Peach about her tacky coat with the reindeer and candy cane designs.
The peachy princess opened the back door, the chilling air entering the mansion. Dark Pit shivered, though he still stubbornly refused to wear a coat. Lucina followed them out, leaving Fido and Ducky behind the lap at the expensive peppermint-flavored tea.
Lucina, Princess of Ylisse, and Peach Toadstool, Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, have formally declared war upon the precipitation that takes the form on small, white ice crystals. With Lucina being on a team with Dark Pit and Peach making a duo with Pit, both royal ladies had quickly tired of snow getting in their eyes. The angels were bringers of a snowy hell, and the girls did not want to stick around for the icy apocalypse. They sat on the snow-covered steps of the mansion, watching two angels make and throw snowballs faster than Sonic can run.
"What enthusiastic boys!" Peach said, her head resting on her hands. "I can just tell that the snow and the excitement of Christmas has gotten to them, even despite what Dark Pit had stated earlier."
Lucina simply nodded, giving an "Mm-hmm" as a response. She wasn't paying attention to the first snowball fight she had ever the displeasure of participating in.
"What's wrong, Lucina? Aren't you excited for Christmas?" Peach asked.
Lucina shrugged. "I'm…not sure. I'm not sure of anything right now. How can I be excited for a holiday I've never experienced before?"
"It's not about whether or not you've experienced it before, it's about you experiencing it now. You've had come from a dark, grim past, Lucina; eventually, you'll see the importance of Christmas and understand how you'll feel. It'll truly be a breathtaking experience."
Lucina looked at Peach with a blank expression. She really hated the way Peach would say some inspiring words that make sense at first, but, when given deep thought, makes no complete sense at all. One would think Peach would be the one to go to when Zelda wasn't around, but no: all you receive from her is some philosophical wording that one has to make sense of. It didn't help Lucina sort out her feelings? What was it about this holiday that made her feel so weird? Should she do what Robin is doing and try and find the meaning of the holiday everyone loves?
"What do you want for Christmas?" Peach suddenly asked. The peachy princess smiled at Lucina's sudden reaction.
"I-I beg your pardon?" Lucina stammered.
"What do you wish to have for Christmas? What do you, Lucina, wish to have?"
Lucina looked away, blushing slightly. "All I want for Christmas…" The exalted princess never spoke those five, simple words before. She simply couldn't behold that, here and now, she'll experience the true spirit of a certain magical holiday. The princess didn't realize it, of course. Instead she stayed quiet, unable to provide a valid, proper answer for Peach.
"Tell you what, Lucy," Peach said, grabbing Lucina's attention again, "you have until Christmas Day to tell me what you want. Promise me you'll think about it, alright?"
Lucina stared at Peach. She had nothing to say but, "I promise."
"What do I want for Christmas?" Chrom, Reflet, and Robin asked in unison. They, too, were caught off guard by the sudden question. They haven't given much thought to it; after all, it wasn't even Christmas yet! They had plenty of time to ask for expensive gifts.
A few seconds quickly passed. Reflet was the first to break the silence. "Um, I guess a new Wii U." Reflet shuddered, remembering that fateful April Fools' Day in which water was spilled on the console and a certain hedgehog was almost murder with Forseti. "Yeah, yeah," he said with more confidence, "a water-proof Wii U."
Robin crossed her arms. "I need more books. This world has a vast numbers of readings that has yet to be discovered by me! Ah, it is pure, ecstatic joy just thinking about them!"
"Gods, you sound like Miriel," Chrom mumbled. He didn't expect Robin to hear his snarky remark and promptly received a punch to the arm. He winced in pain, cursing himself and his foolish remark.
"I want something that I can train with that's not breakable," Chrom said, wincing his sore arm. "Master Hand is tired of me sending the Sandbags to the hospital."
Reflet laughed. "That's an impossible Christmas present, Chrom."
"I don't mind it being homemade," Chrom replied. He looked at his daughter, who was standing there, not saying a word. "Is that all, Lucina? We actually have to go."
Lucina nodded. "That's all, Father. Thank you."
She watched them smile and walk away. She herself walked to the couch in the living room and flopped down upon if, sighing heavily. Her thoughts attempted to wander away yet again, though they return to the one nagging question that the princess could not rid herself of.
Why did they only wish to have material goods?
My apologies for the cynicism of this chapter. I assure you it won't be that much in future chapters as Christmas grows ever-so closer (okay, I may have told a little half-truth). I was hoping a Christmas-happy Peach and Pit would lighten the mood.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. There's a lot of us kids in the Junior Division and I'm just like "Armin, don't be nervous write well stop making a Christmas story so pessimistic where's your Christmas spirit you gotta have Christmas spirit that's the theme of the contest and fun while doing this now stop typing a run-on sentence." Um, that's all, I guess. Have fun, fellow contestants.