A/N: This next song is from Rankin/Bass' the Stingest Man in Town: Yes there is a Santa Claus.

Chapter 4: The Ghost of Christmas Present

As Mario got out of bed and slowly walked into the room, he was shocked.

It was his own room, there was no doubt about that, but it had undergone a surprising transformation.

The walls and ceiling were so hung with living plant life, that it looked a perfect grove; from every part of which, bright gleaming berries glistened.

The crisp leaves of holly, mistletoe, and ivy reflected back the light, as if so many little mirrors had been scattered there; and such a mighty blaze went roaring up the chimney, as that dull petrification of a hearth had never known in Scrooge's time, or Marley's, or for many and many a winter season gone.

Heaped up on the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, great joints of meat, sucking-pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince-pies, plum-puddings, barrels of oysters, red-hot chestnuts, cherry-cheeked apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears, immense twelfth-cakes, and seething bowls of punch, that made the chamber dim with their delicious steam.

In easy state upon this couch, was Pac-Man, but he wore a holly around his head.

"Pac-Man? What have you done to my parlour?" Mario questioned in horror.

"I am the Ghost of Christmas Present. Come and know me better." Pac-Man's ghost said. "You may recognize me as the being known as Pac-Man, but you have never seen the like of me before!"

"Another ghost?" Mario asked.

"Have never walked forth with the younger members of my family; meaning my elder brothers born in these later years?" Pursued the Phantom.

"I don't think I have." Said Mario, before he asked. "I am afraid I have not. Have you had many brothers?"

"More than eighteen hundred, for my brothers are every known mankind." The Pac-Man Ghost replied.

"Spirit, conduct me where you will. I went forth last night on compulsion, and I learnt a lesson which is working now. Tonight, if you have taught to teach me, let me profit by it." Mario said.

"Then let us go." The ghost said in reply as he then grabbed Mario's nightie, before then both of them flew out of the window.

And not wanting to not miss out, Kirby followed them on his warp star.

Mario was surprised, it was day time now.

"This is the Christmas on what would happen tomorrow. First, we visit one of your friends, even though you refused the invitation yesterday." The ghost then told him.

"Oh no! Not Fox McCloud's dinner party!" Mario said in defiance, only to then find he was inside a neat house where Fox, his wife Krystal, his friends Falco, Slippy and Peppy, as well as other guests such as Pit, Palutena and Olimar were together, all laughing.

"He said that Christmas was a humbug, as I live!" Cried Fox, before adding. "He believed it too!"

"More shame for him, Fox!" Said Falco, making Fox nod and say in reply. "He's a comical old fellow, that's the truth, and not so pleasant as he might be. However, his offences carry their own punishment, and I have nothing to say against him."

"I'm sure he is very rich, Fox." Hinted Krystal. "At least you always tell me so."

"What of that, my dear?" Fox asked, embracing Krystal closely as he stated. "His wealth is of no use to him. He don't do any good with it. He doesn't make himself comfortable with it. He hasn't the satisfaction of thinking that he is ever going to benefit us with it."

"I have no patience with him." Pit stated, to which Palutena expressed the same opinion.

"Oh, I have!" Fox replied, only to say. "I am sorry for him; I couldn't be angry with him if I tried. Who suffers by his ill whims? Himself, always. Here, he takes it into his head to dislike us, and he won't come and dine with us. What's the consequence? He don't lose much of a dinner."

"Indeed, I think he loses a very good dinner." Interrupted Slippy.

"Still, I still feel like we should drink a toast for him and hope he lives on in good spirits." Fox said, as he held up his glass.

"Ok, Fox, for you my love." Krystal smiled as she and the others all held their glasses up, which confused Mario, making him ask. "How can he be so cheerful after everything I said to him?"

"He still sees the good in you, the good you once had before you partnered with Wario and believe in what Bowser said." The Pac-Man ghost said in reply.

"Hold on. Bowser is a good friend to me now. Sure, we been enemies in the past but he does everything I say now." Mario said, trying to defend himself.

"What if he was deceiving you, what if he was waiting for the right opportunity?" The Spirit glared, while Mario looked, shocked at the question.

"There's just two more places to visit. Come." The phantom then said as he then took Mario to an old little house, making Mario ask. "Who lives in a place like this?"

"No more than your clerk, Link." The spirit said as he pointed to the left and Mario turned to see Link carefully coming home, with Pikachu on his shoulder.

Alas for Pikachu, he bore a little crutch.

"Come on, Pikachu. Let's go see Zelda and your Pokémon friends." Link said as he opened the door, his wife, Princess Zelda came up to the door and smiled.

"Welcome home, dear. How did Pikachu behave in church?" She asked.

"Like an angel." Link said as he set Pikachu to the ground as he walked on his crutch towards Lucario, Charizard, Jigglypuff and Samus.

"And better. Somehow he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see."

"I bet Santa would be very generous this year." Jigglypuff added, causing Charizard to added in a bitter tone. "Yeah, unlike that Mario character."

"Oh, we mustn't think poorly of him, not on Christmas." Pikachu said in a caring tone.

"Why not?" Asked Lucario, as she then told him. "It's his thinking that keeps us poor."

"Come on guys. Mr. Mario is the the Founder of the Feast!" Link said.

"The Founder of the Feast indeed!" Cried Zelda, reddening. "I wish I had him here. I'd give him a piece of my mind to feast upon, and I hope he'd have a good appetite for it."

"My dear." Said Link, trying to calm the others down. "the Pokémon; Christmas Day."

"It should be Christmas Day, I am sure." Zelda said, before she stated. "on which one drinks the health of such an odious, stingy, hard, unfeeling man as Mr. Mario. You know he is, Link! Nobody knows it better than you do, poor fellow!"

"Zelda..." Was Link's mild answer. "Christmas Day."

"I'll drink his health for your sake and the Day's, not for his." Zelda sighed. "Long life to him. He'll be very merry and very happy, I have no doubt!"

"Samus, did I show you the toy soldier Santa left me?" Pikachu asked, causing Samus to laugh and smile.

"A hundred times." She said.

"I'll get it and show you again!" Pikachu smiled with an enthusiastic tone as he limped off, which just left Link and Zelda worried about the small Pokémon.

Even Mario was concerned about the small electric mouse, causing him to ask. "Spirit, tell me. Pikachu, what would become of him?"

"I see a vacant seat, in the poor chimney-corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the Pikachu will die." The ghost said sadly.

"Die?! No... no!" Mario called. "Oh, no, kind Spirit! Say he will be spared."

"If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, then it will happen." Returned the Ghost, "What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population!"

Mario hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief, watching as Pikachu then returned with the toy solider and showed it to Samus.

"How kind of Santa to give it to you." Samus smiled.

However, Pikachu looked sad.

"Raichu told me that there is no Santa. He said this is a cheap shot he said because he couldn't afford a new one!" Pikachu said.

"What nonsense!" Lucario said back.

"There is a Santa Claus isn't there?" Pikachu asked Samus, who nodded and carefully hugged the little Pokémon.

"Yes, Pikachu." Samus said in reply, before she began to sing.

"There is a spirit in the world of generosity,

That bring good things to all of us whoever we may be.

So, I believe in Santa Claus for it can't be denied

That he is generosity personified.

Yes, there is a Santa Claus for children everywhere,

Though you may watch the chimney tops and never see him there.

People say his magic sleigh flies in the sky above,

But you might find it anywhere you find unselfish love.

Oh yes, he really does exist, and Santa Claus will live,

As long as hearts can realize how good it feels to give.

So when you are feeling blue, keep up your hope because,

If there is kindness in the world, there is a Santa Claus."

"Yes there is a Santa Claus." Pikachu and Samus sing together.

Zelda smiled as she brang out their dinner, a small goose.

"Dinner is ready, everyone!" Zelda called as all sat around the table, ready to eat.

"A Merry Christmas to us all my dears. God bless us." Link said as he rose a glass, which all the family re-echoed.

"God bless us everyone!" Said Pikachu, the last of all.

Seeing them celebrate with what they had, Mario faced the ghost and asked. "Spirit, you said something about me not trusting Bowser. Why?"

"Allow me to show you." The ghost said, before they arrived at the orphanage and Mario was shocked to see Bowser, Bowser Jr and the Koopalings taking away the furniture, to which Bowser smirked looked at Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Luigi, Yoshi and Toad as he then told them. "Now you guys have nowhere to go now that we are giving this to Lord Ganondorf!"

"But what about the children and the little Pokémon?!" Daisy called out.

"Take them to a warehouse or a prison!" Bowser cackled. "Mario's orders."

"You'll never get away with this, Bowser!" Luigi called out.

"Ha! I loved to see you try and stop this!" Bowser said as he, his rotten son and minions galloped away.

With Bowser gone, Peach tried to comfort the crying children, while Mario couldn't believe what he had seen.

"Bowser is with Ganondorf still? After what he did to him in the Subspace Emissary?" Mario asked in alarm.

"He still is. At eight in the morning, the orphanage will close down leaving them nothing but sadness. You didn't even read that letter Peach gave you. She asked you to help them save it. But you ignored her." The ghost said.

Mario turned to see the ghost was not alone, for a boy and girl were now with him.

Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate, too, in their humility.

Where graceful youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds.

Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing.

No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread.

"Spirit! Who are they? Are they yours'?" Mario asked, but could say no more.

"They are Man's," Said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!"

"Slander those who tell it ye! Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse! And bide the end! My end is near." He added.

"Have they no refuge or resource?" Cried Mario.

"Are there no prisons?" Said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. "Are there no workhouses? Remember this, Mario! You must learn from all this before it becomes too late!"

And with that, he disappeared into the darkness.

Mario felt to his knees

He became quite feared as he looked at his hands as he heard the bell struck three.

In his hands, was blood!

Mario stood up in alarm as the floor was covered in flesh blood, before he heard heavy footsteps and turned around in fear, and causing Kirby, who was hiding all this time to turned too.

A blood-stained black cloaked figure walked towards them, brandishing a blood covered Buster Sword in his hand.

His heavy boots walked through the blood and Mario could see his face under his hood, which included blond, spiky hair, blue eyes that held a sense of death in them.

"Uh oh." Kirby said, not liking this at all.

"Cloud? Cloud Strife? No... Am I in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come?" Mario asked in fear.

The figure did not reply, just nodded.

"You are about to show me shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before us." Mario pursued. "Is that so, spirit?"

The upper portion of the garment was contracted for an instant in its folds, as if the Spirit that looked like Cloud Strife had inclined his head.

That was the only answer Mario received.

Although well used to ghostly company by this time, Mario feared the silent type person so much that his legs trembled beneath him, and he found that he could hardly stand when he prepared to follow it.

The Cloud spirit paused a moment, as observing his condition, and giving him time to recover.

But Mario was all the worse for this.

It thrilled him with a vague uncertain horror, to know that behind the dusky shroud, his eyes intently fixed upon him.

"Ghost of the Future! I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?" Mario called.

The Cloud spirit gave him no reply.

He just rose his sword and pointed straight before them.

"Lead on! Lead on! The night is waning fast, and it is precious time to me, I know. Lead on, spirit!" Mario said, knowing what he was trying to do.

The ghost then slashed his sword in mid air, causing the blood to swirl around to create a portal, which Mario, Kirby and the spirit stepped into.

A/N: Stayed tuned cause next is the dark future.