Light Nico felt that something was wrong with him. It had been a month since the last adventure, and Dark Nico didn´t behave like he normally did. He usually didn´t show himself when Light Nico was awake and paying attention to anything, and his counterpart never reacted when he tried to chat with him.
Now, however, he didn´t seem to care that he wasn´t hidden from Light Nico. What made it even stranger was the fact that he looked sad, rather than angry or something like that. It was the week of Christmas, and Nico had built himself a small hut using branches and leaf. The only thing he took with him was a calendar, and he knew that it was almost Christmas.
"Hey…you seem to be sad about something. I know that I´m one of the last beings you´d like to talk with, but perhaps I can help you," Light Nico spoke up after watching his counterpart for a while. He looked at him, and sighed.
"You´re right about that, but you´re also the only one I CAN talk to, at least in our current situation," Dark Nico replied after a moment of silence.
"Well, I mean…we´re currently the only ones that can see each other right now, and there isn´t another soul nearby that we could communicate with," Light Nico admitted.
"You see…that´s the problem. I´m surprised Nico hasn´t gone crazy by now, and I fear that I´ll be the first of us to lose their mind. As you said, there is no one else here. I never would´ve thought that being alone could be so…depressing," Dark Nico said.
"I know how you´re feeling. At least we still have each other, as stupid as it may sound. Why don´t we try and make this Christmas something we both can enjoy? There´s something I´ve wanted to do for a long time now, but I´ll need something from a shop in Wakeport in order to do that," Light Nico offered his counterpart.
"And what would that be?" Dark Nico asked.
"Knitting. Don´t ask me when and how, but I´ve learned how to knit. If we could get some wool and needles, I´d be able to make some clothing. And now that it is winter, people will need it even more," Light Nico replied with an uneasy smile.
"Well…we have nothing better to do, I guess. So we´ll let Nico go to Wakeport for us?" Dark Nico wanted to know.
"I´d say so, but it´ll have to be at night. Who knows what might happen if someone recognized him…" Light Nico replied.
The next night, it was two nights before Christmas, Nico suddenly felt the need to go and get some wool and needles in Wakeport. He had been in Somnom Woods for a month now; it was strange to leave it after all that time. He snuck through Mushrise Park and entered Wakeport. The shops were all closed now, but Nico knew that some of them could be entered from the roof.
He eventually found a shop that fitted his needs. He had brought a makeshift grappling hook, and once he had managed to throw it correctly onto the roof, he climbed atop the building. There, he used the hook and climbed down into the shop through a hole in the ceiling. Inside the shop, he put some wool and needles into a bag, as well as some paper, cord and wrapping paper. He then left a note on the desk in which he stated that he took some things, but still paid the shop, while also telling the owner to invest in better security. Next to the note, he put some coins.
Back in the forest, Nico went to sleep in his makeshift-house. Light Nico and Dark Nico used this moment and tried something they hadn´t done before. After a while, they successfully left the body of the sleeping Nico.
"So…what now?" Dark Nico asked his companion.
"It´s fairly simple, once you understood the basics. Let me show you…" Light Nico replied, and picked up a green ball of wool. He then showed his counterpart how to handle the needles and how to create something worth wearing.
It took him a while, but Dark Nico eventually got the hang of it. He made a small scarf, and Light Nico had to admit that it was really good for a first attempt.
"Hey, that´s quite good. Why don´t we two grab a ball each and then make some clothing?" Light Nico said to him.
"I must say, it´s actually quite fun. Probably because we didn´t get to do anything in the past month, but I´ll keep doing it. Pass me that blue one," Dark Nico replied.
"On its way," Light Nico said, and tossed him the blue ball of wool. "Now give me that green one, please."
Dark Nico gave him the requested item, and they both started knitting. Time went by, and Light Nico knew what to do with the things they had created. Dark Nico probably wouldn´t like that idea, but because it was Christmas, Light Nico wanted to give his friends some gifts. And maybe even to someone who wouldn´t expect it…
"Why would I give THEM anything?" Dark Nico asked Light Nico after the good soul had asked his counterpart to give a few of the creations to Starlow and Dreambert as presents for Christmas.
"I know the past as well as you do, so your reaction doesn´t surprise me. But, you need to remember: it is Christmas. And I know that even you can´t deny the spirit of Christmas," Light Nico answered.
"I…you…fine. Yes, I love Christmas as well, and even though I hate them, I guess one gift a year isn´t that much…" Dark Nico gave in.
The night before Christmas, Light Nico went to Mushrise Park. A big Christmas tree stood in front of the fountain, and that was where the soul was headed. Snow covered the complete island by now, and the lights that were hanging everywhere made everyone feel the spirit of Christmas. Light Nico carried a few presents, and after he had reached the Christmas tree, he put them next to the other ones that were lying there.
"Hehe…they won´t see that one coming," he said to himself in amusement.
On the day of Christmas, Mario, Luigi, Kamek and Peach payed a visit to Starlow and Dreambert. They spent the day together, starting snowball fights and building snowmen and doing other things like enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. Time went by quickly, and in the evening, the inhabitants and guests of the island were gathered in front of the Christmas tree.
"Wait…who are these from?" Starlow wondered as she unwrapped her present. It was a blue scarf, and it had the perfect size for her.
Everyone else had gotten clothing as well. The Mario Bros. received a pair of gloves each, while Dreambert got a green scarf. In each present was a piece of paper as well, with something written on it. It only were a few words per sheet, but when Starlow looked at all of them, she understood. She put them in order, and the paper sheets had a message on them: Merry Christmas, from your friendly and hostile souls.
"What? I mean…I understand that Light Nico would give us a gift, but HIM?" Dreambert asked in disbelief.
"Maybe there´s something to it. Do you think that Dark Nico loves Christmas as much as we do?" Starlow assumed.
"Hard to believe, but maybe there is some good inside of him after all…" Luigi said.
While our heroes were wondering about the reason Dark Nico had participated in Light Nico´s idea, Nico sat on a branch on a tree at the edge of Somnom Woods, spectating the peaceful procedure of this evening. Maybe they were going to look for him, but he was prepared for that case. The riddle and runes were set up, so all he had to do was to wait for eleven more months to pass.
"Well…maybe everyone´s happy now, but that doesn´t mean that I´m happy with anything," Dark Nico said to his counterpart.
"That´s what I thought, so I´ve prepared something. I´ll show you tonight," Light Nico replied with a smile.
As Nico slept in his shelter, Light Nico and Dark Nico once again left his body. The good soul led his counterpart away from Nico, and reached behind a few rocks. He revealed a present, and gave it to Dark Nico.
"Can´t forget to give you one as well, my lifelong companion," he said with a grin.
Dark Nico was speechless, and opened his present. Inside was a blue beanie, with the initials "DN" in green letters on it. He had never seen him cry before before, but Light Nico spotted a tear in his counterpart´s eye.
"Nobody has ever been that nice to me…" he whispered.
"Hey, it´s Christmas after all. Why wouldn´t I be nice to you?" Light Nico replied, beaming.
"Well…I guess I´ll have to give it to you, then," Dark Nico said, and pulled out a scarf from under his jacket. It was green, with the blue initials "LN" on it. He gave it to Light Nico, who was now speechless.
"I never thought that you´d do that for me," he said in disbelief.
"I guess we both share more things than we thought at first. Merry Christmas," Dark Nico replied with an uneasy smile.
"Merry Christmas," Light Nico replied with a smile.
They both put on their new gifts, and when someone would have been able to see them, they would have appeared to them as a team. They both shared a friendly hug, but Dark Nico quickly let go again, and Light Nico could see him turn slightly red, which made him chuckle a bit.
"So…does that mean that you´re giving up on trying to get rid of my friends?" Light Nico asked with hope. Dark Nico´s reaction was to slap him in the face.
"Who do you think I am? Giving up on reaching my goals? Never," he replied with anger, and returned to Nico´s body, which he entered. Light Nico shrugged, and entered Nico as well. Even though he hadn´t changed, Light Nico knew that his counterpart wasn´t as cruel as everyone thought. He had his bright sides, although he almost never showed them.
"Anyway, Merry Christmas, again," Light Nico said into the emptiness in which the souls lived in. Dark Nico wasn´t visible, but Light Nico knew that he could hear him.
"Yeah…you too," his counterpart answered, both annoyed and glad. Someone had, in fact, been nice to him.
Dark Nico isn´t as dark as he seems. He shares some traits with his counterpart, although there aren´t many. They both enjoy Christmas, and even though you wouldn´t think of him that way, Dark Nico can in fact be nice to someone, although he doesn´t like it, which is the reason on why he rarely does it.
I know that this is REALLY late, but I´ve been kept busy by my family. Anyway, I still hope that you enjoyed this. No action in this one, but more a presentation on how Christmas can bring people together, even if they are enemies. Think back to World War I, Christmas truce, where British and German soldiers celebrated Christmas together.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed not only this, but the year 2017 as well. I´m off, and I´ll see you in 2018 again.
Review if you want to, have a wonderful remaining year of 2017 and stay tuned for my next story.