Chapter 3

Palutena was scared. Dead scared.

After Toon Link's outburst at dinner, all she could hope was that he and Pittoo didn't mean what they said...or Smash Mansion was in huge trouble.

"Palutena? Snap out of it!" Zelda said, shaking the goddess back to reality. She was in the dorm she shared with a few other female smashers, who were busy getting ready for bed.

"Um, girls..." she said, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "...have you heard of the legend of Krampus?"

Samus looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Go on."

Palutena explained. "In times past, the legend of Krampus was used to get kids to behave. It was said that if a child lost the Christmas spirit, Krampus would come and take their souls to Hell. I even used it a couple of times on Pit when he was younger."

Rosalina immediately understood. "Are you saying that Krampus is going to come to Smash Mansion and take away Toon Link and Dark Pit?"

"That's just a bunch of hooey!" Samus scoffed. "Krampus is just that-a myth."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Miss Fights-a-futuristic-pterodactyl-on-a-daily-basis." Zelda said, taking off her crown. Samus just glared at her.

Suddenly, the lights blinked off in the dorm. In a minute, they were back on-and Palutena looked even more frightened than before.

"Relax, girl! It was just a power out." Rosalina said.

"Still..." Palutena waved her staff. It glowed a bright blue for a second, and suddenly Pit was in the girls' room-naked and sopping wet.

"Augh, jesus christ!" Samus shrieked, covering her eyes, while Rosalina and Zelda followed suite. The angel glared at Palutena.

"For pete's sake, give me some warning next time! I was showering!" Pit yelled, covering his naughty bits with his hands. Palutena waved her staff again, and in a flash of light he was dry and clothed.

"That's better." Pit said, eyeing his toga. "Now, why did you summon me?"

"Your goddess is scared of imaginary monsters, that's why." Samus said, uncovering her eyes. Palutena glared at her.

Suddenly, a shriek emanated from the bathroom. Peach ran out and slammed the door behind her, breathing heavily. Everyone turned to look at her.

"Evil-gingerbread-men-in-the-bathroom!" she managed to gasp. Rosalina grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the bathroom door.

Palutena looked as white as a sheet. "Krampus uses nightmarish versions of holiday icons..." she whispered. Samus just shook her head.

"You were probably just seeing things, Peach. That, or they're the cast of a new shitty Gingerbread Man movie, in which case, we can take 'em." She picked up her blaster, headed toward the bathroom door, and opened it.

Inside were fifty-possibly a hundred-gingerbread men, with black raisin eyes all glaring at her. They had frosted, pointy teeth, which Samus confirmed via a shredded towel weren't decoration. They started advancing toward her.

Only one thing to do.

"RUN AND GUN!" Samus yelled, making a break for the hallway and shooting the tiny monsters. The rest followed her, with the gingerbread army close behind.

00000

In the young smashers' room, the kids were getting ready for bed. Though Samus was meant to be their babysitter, she had forced Ike to take her place so that she could have some time to herself-and he wasn't very happy about it.

Ness had other problems. Had his friend really given up on Christmas? Was it his fault, since he'd partaken in the food fight with the others?

His thoughts were interrupted by Nana, who tapped on his shoulder. "We're gonna see if Santa's eaten our cookies! Wanna come?"

"No thanks." Ness responded. He watched as Popo and Nana ran to the main hall and sighed.

Ike, meanwhile, was bemoaning his situation. "I can't believe I got stuck with you little brats when I could be partying with Marth and the others!"

Ness looked at the bathroom door. Toon Link had been in there a lot longer than normal. He decided to go check on him.

When he opened the door, however, he stopped in his tracks.

Toon Link was in there, all right-unconscious, in the claws of what looked like a monstrous teddy bear, with a mouth full of teeth and a button eye missing. Surrounding it were equally vicious-looking snowmen, with icicle teeth and glaring coal eyes.

"Um...Ike?" Ness managed to squeak out. The swordsman groaned and rose to his feet.

"What is it?" he grumped, taking a look in the bathroom. His eyes quickly widened.

The bear looked at the two smashers and pointed his claw at them. The snowmen immediately started advancing.

"Run." Ike whispered, quickly taking off. Ness followed him, the angry snowmen on his tail.

00000

In the lounge downstairs, Nana and Popo were hiding under a couch. On a nearby table sat a plate of chocolate-chip cookies.

"When do you think he's coming?" Nana whispered to her brother. He quickly shushed her.

"Be quiet! I hear someone coming!" he hissed. Nana immediately quieted down, excitement filling her heart.

However, instead of jolly old St Nick, she saw what looked like a chipped, worn-out nutcracker. It quickly climbed up on the table.

As the twins watched, it opened its mouth, pouring a stream of white glitter on the cookies, which seemed to sponge it up. It then hopped off the table and ran off.

"What was that?" Nana wondered, turning to her brother. His eyes were wide.

"Maybe Santa sent it? To make our cookies taste better?" he asked. Nana shrugged, and heard more footsteps. She kept quiet.

A pair of brown sandals came into view. Upon further inspection, Popo realized that Dark Pit had come into the room.

"Stupid Pit, using all the food in the mansion for that dinner..." the twins heard him mutter, followed by a stomach growl. He came across the plate of cookies and sighed. "Might as well have these. The ice climbers probably won't mind."

Popo watched as Dark Pit picked up a cookie and took a bite out of it. He tapped Nana. "We have to keep him from eating all the cookies!"

Nana nodded, and the two raced out from under the couch-just in time to witness something strange.

As they watched, Dark Pit dropped the cookie he'd taken a bite of and fell to his knees, groaning in pain as he did so. A white glow quickly enveloped him, and the twins shielded their eyes.

When the glow subsided, they unshielded their eyes and saw the dark angel on his feet, standing completely still.

"Dark Pit?" Nana spoke, her voice quivering. He didn't seem to hear, so she poked him. Still no response.

"Nana, look over here." Popo whispered, staring at Dark Pit's face.

She went over to her brother's side and looked. The dark angel's eyes had become pure white, and his face was completely expressionless.

"Do you think it has something to do with the nutcracker?" Popo asked, his eyes wide. Nana nodded, shaking a little. What had happened?

Suddenly, a raspy, deep, booming voice came over the loudspeakers. "Dark Pit?"

Dark Pit raised his head to the speakers, causing the ice climbers to jump in surprise.

The voice chuckled. "Good. I need you to head to the main hall as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir." Dark Pit said, heading in that direction. His voice was completely monotone, shocking the twins even more.

"You don't suppose...he's in a trance, is he?" Popo asked, fear showing on his face. Nana nodded, too terrified to speak.

"We need to get Ike. Now."