Wow, guys, this is our third Christmas episode!
Yo, sonicfan1, I quote, from last episode: "...We got all the OC requests. We haven't forgotten about anyone, we're just spacing you all out." Please be patient!
The twin angels inspected the Christmas tree that dominated a corner of their studio. It had taken a lot of arguing with Viridi, but they'd finally managed to tug a tree away to decorate, like humans did at this time of year. Dark Pit hadn't seen the point in it, but Pit had desperately wanted to see what one looked like once covered in lights and ornaments. Thanks to some insight from Shadmé, they did it.
Dark Pit had to admit the "Christmas tree," as it was called, had some beauty to it. Pines like this appeared stark against the snow, and Dark Pit liked natural beauty. However, covered with glowing rainbow lights, it looked like something truly whimsical. A star had been delicately placed upon the top, and it seemed to complete the decorated tree in some way.
"What do you think, Pittoo?" Pit asked in wonder.
"Not bad," the dark-winged angel admitted. "But it's not complete yet, you know."
"Of course!" Pit grinned, blue eyes happy. "The gift exchange is happening today! There need to be presents underneath it!"
This was a truly strange year for the residents of Skyworld. Usually, they just celebrated winter for what it was. But this year, Shadmé had helped inform them about human traditions, and as a result, this year was a bit different.
According to the show manager, in the simplest terms, humans celebrated by giving gifts to each other. So as a result, each divinity willing to gather together this year had prepared gifts to exchange at precisely midnight on Christmas Eve.
"Perhaps someone will give us ornaments to deck this tree with," Dark Pit mused.
"Oh yeah, I guess that's also missing," Pit laughed.
Dark Pit checked the time. 11:30. He was willing to bet that some of the gods and goddesses were already at the tree where they'd agreed to meet. "Alright, Pit. Go grab your things. Let's set off."
"Roger that!" Pit dashed off to the back room. Dark Pit, on the other hand, went behind the sofa and yanked out his sack of presents. In all actuality, it was a garbage bag, not quite a sack, but he'd taped Christmas pictures to it so it looked more festive.
Hefting it over his shoulder, he grabbed another package that had been sent in the mail from a fan who had wanted to participate as well. The package had a…for lack of a better word, dark feel to it, but as Shadmé would say, it was the thought that counted. Dark Pit was sure nothing would go wrong.
Dark Pit met Pit outside. Pit's sack, which could actually be considered a sack, was sitting in a sled. Dark Pit raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna push that all the way there?"
"Sure thing!" Pit grinned. "I made sure to think long and hard about what everyone would want. I'm gonna be the best Santa Skyworld has ever seen!"
"This isn't a competition," Dark Pit pointed out.
Pit shrugged. "It's just an expression." Before Dark Pit could point out that no, it really wasn't, Pit was pushing his sled through the yard, humming happily.
"Wait up, Pit!" Dark Pit yelled, running as quickly as he could with a garbage bag hefted over his shoulder. "Can I set this in your sled? I don't feel like carrying it." He waved the package at Pit.
"I guess so!" Pit called back. He attempted to stop the sled, but it wound up sliding down a hill. The two angels sprinted trying to catch it before it could crash into a bush.
"That was close," Pit puffed as they pulled desperately to slow its speed.
Dark Pit deposited the package in the sled, and then helped Pit steer it back on course. "You can say that again."
"Now let's go to the tree!" Pit exclaimed happily, seeing its faint lights in the distance. The two angels pushed the sled steadily forward, breaths puffing out in small wisps.
This winter was unusual in more ways than one. Though the weather had dipped to chilly levels, there was no snow to be found on the surface. Dark Pit wrapped his scarf more tightly around himself. At least there wasn't ice, either. He wouldn't let Pit or Shadmé catch him slip again if he could help it!
Pit and Dark Pit made it to the tree to find that Palutena had made herself comfortable. "Hello, Pit and Pittoo," she greeted.
"I figured you'd be prepared...as always," Dark Pit observed after Pit greeted his goddess with enthusiasm. He removed his sack from the sled and sloppily sat it down on the ground.
"Viridi and the others are on their way, right?" Pit confirmed.
Palutena hid a giggle. "If I had to guess, I'd say they're making last-second present runs."
"Slackers!" Pit joked.
Dark Pit sank down to the cleared-out ground and rubbed his hands together for warmth. With a tap of her staff, Palutena lit up the whole area, and Dark Pit sighed with relief as the chill began to lessen.
The three divinities sat in peaceful silence for a while, watching the roads. Eventually, Viridi and her Forces of Nature arrived, and, to Dark Pit's surprise, the humans Magnus and Gaol made it as well. Everyone settled to exchange gifts.
"My gifts are all-natural," Viridi bragged as she withdrew her presents, wrapped in colorful recycled paper.
"I wouldn't expect anything less," Dark Pit snorted.
"I hope we…um, did this correctly," Gaol apologized. "We've never had to get gifts for gods before."
"In the spirit of Christmas, it shouldn't matter what you get," Pit encouraged her. "All that matters is that everyone's together!"
"Besides, we gods are fuzzy pushovers, anyway," Palutena chuckled.
Magnus stole a glance at Viridi. "Riiight…"
As presents were passed around, every person accumulated a pile right next to them. Dark Pit leafed through his pile half-interestedly. What did he want to get out of this, anyway? The only gift he really wanted was the Power of Flight, and that was totally impossible. Oh well. Maybe someone would surprise him.
The sounds of tearing paper began to fill the small center as presents were revealed. Dark Pit decided on Palutena's present first, since it was the biggest. Poking it revealed that it was quite soft, but it didn't seem to be alive. After ripping the paper off, Dark Pit discovered that it was a black winter coat complete with gold trim.
The angel wasted no time in shoving his arms in the sleeves and donning the coat. It was even puffy enough for his wings to fit, and the idea of putting his wings in the cost brought him back to the early days of the Dark Pit Show, where he and Pit had to hide their wings to go shopping. The show had gotten so famous now that they no longer had to hide for any reason other than to avoid mobbing via fans.
A look to Pit revealed that he had obtained a matching white one. Palutena was joking with him that she should have given him socks instead. Considering how often they made fun of each other's footwear, even Pit had to draw the line at wearing socks and boot-sandals.
Opening Gaol's present revealed a small metal feather of some kind, incredibly ornate and detailed. Dark Pit smiled. He had a fondness for metal sculptures, and actually owned another in the form of a small tree. He set it carefully in his box to make sure he didn't lose it with all the tissue paper and bows flying everywhere.
Pit's energetic whoop stirred him out of his thoughts, and Dark Pit rolled his eyes as he realized Pit was holding up a bag of hot chocolate mix.
Dark Pit found his counterpart in the form of Arlon's gift: a couple of teabags. Knowing the butler's talent in cooking, Dark Pit was willing to bet that he'd prepared the mixes by himself, with all-natural ingredients.
"Look, Pittoo!" Pit showed him his new copy of Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon. "Phosphora got it for me! Remember this game?"
"Isn't that the one where you become a Pokemon?" Dark Pit recalled.
"Yeah! What do you think I'll be? A Charmander? Oshawott? Whoa, this one has all the Pokemon in it!" Pit's eyes glowed as he inspected the back cover in wonder.
"Maybe a Piplup, since you can't fly?" Dark Pit suggested.
"We should do what we did last time, where I pick the main character and you pick the partner!"
Dark Pit opened his own gift from Phosphora, which was revealed to be a joy buzzer. Knowing Phosphora, she'd likely imbued some of her own electricity in it somehow. She winked at him, and he felt a smirk coming on his face. Slipping it on, he requested, "Hey Pit. Let me see."
Pit began to give it to him, but Dark Pit aimed for Pit's hand instead. The look on Pit's face as he received the mild shock was enough to make both Dark Pit and Phosphora laugh. "Guess you're definitely not going to be a Pikachu!" Phosphora laughed.
After Pit vowed to exact his revenge in some way, Dark Pit opened his present from Magnus. Like Gaol's, it was a metal sculpture. However, it was of his signature weapon, the Silver Bow. Where do humans get access to all this metal, anyway? Dark Pit wondered absentmindedly. The God of Metal? Riiiight. 'Cause that exists.
After Magnus' came Viridi's. It was a box of something, he ascertained as he shook it and heard rattling.
"Stop messing around, Pittoo!" the goddess snorted. "I splurged for you."
"Great," he remarked sarcastically as he tore off the paper. It was most definitely a box.
"Open it!" Viridi demanded.
"What, did you think I was gonna stop there?" Dark Pit shot back. "'Oh look, Viridi got me a box for Christmas!' How exciting."
Popping the lid off revealed various kinds of candies and chocolates. He raised an eyebrow at Viridi. "You know Pit's the one with a sweet tooth, right?"
"Don't lie to me, you loser," she said with a sharp exhale. "You love candy as much as him."
Dark Pit picked up a candy to inspect it. Pit came up behind him and raised his hand up high. "Looks like she caught you…red-handed! Right? Right?" Pit pointed to the red wrapper of the candy.
"Very funny, Pit." Viridi stuck her tongue out at him.
Pit stole the candy right out of Dark Pit's hand and ate it, flicking the wrapper at his doppelgänger. "Revenge obtained!"
Dark Pit picked up another chocolate. "You guys can argue about chocolate all you want. I'm gonna be eating it." Dark Pit casually unwrapped the candy and popped it in his mouth.
"Knew it!" Viridi cheered.
The last of Dark Pit's presents was Pit's. "You saved mine for last?" Pit was brimming with joy. "Me too!" He rushed over to his pile, got his gift from Dark Pit, then ran all the way back. "Christmas is pretty cool, huh Pittoo?"
"I guess so," he shrugged adamantly.
"We should do this all the time! Okay, okay, on the count of three. One-"
Dark Pit experimentally tore a corner. Pit slapped his hand. "Hey!"
"Fine," Dark Pit relented. Pit's smile returned. "One, two, three!"
The twin angels tore open their boxes to reveal… Amiibos of themselves. Pit made a sound equivalent to what one would call a "fangirl squeal" and moved the box up to his face so he could see it better. "Wow! I finally got a figure of myself!"
"Took me forever to find one of those things," Dark Pit explained. "They kept getting scalped."
"Thanks Pittoo! I'm gonna treasure it forever! ...Oh, is it weird if I say that?"
"Who cares?" Dark Pit shrugged. "After all, you can't be shipped with yourself." He cast a stormy look at the fourth wall and mouthed, "Don't get any ideas."
"This is so cool!" Pit cheered. "Makes me wanna go home and play Smash Bros. right away!"
"I'm gonna train mine to beat all the filth of the lands," Dark Pit insisted, knocking his Amiibo's box against Pit's.
"Not if I do that first!" Pit challenged.
"In any case, let's see what everyone else thinks of our presents before my Amiibo kicks your butt." Dark Pit stretched and rose.
"I think you have that reversed, but I'll join you anyway." Pit copied him, and the two strolled around the circle.
Most of Dark Pit's presents were generic, store-bought items, except with his little twists. For example, he'd gotten Palutena an ornate hourglass, but had covered it in glitter so that when she turned it, the glitter went everywhere.
Pit, on the other hand, had gotten everyone else stylized ornaments. He swore to Dark Pit that he'd get one for him next year, but he'd found the Amiibo and that was too good a gift to go to waste.
"So why in Palutena's name did you need to carry all those tiny ornaments in a huge sled?" Dark Pit asked, sticking his hands in his coat pockets.
"Because I didn't want them to break!" Pit stressed worriedly.
"Are you serious? All that stuff in there was packing material?" Dark Pit shook his head. "No wonder you lost control so easily! I thought something was off about that sled."
"It all worked in the end though, right?" Pit defended himself. Dark Pit looked around, and decided that Pit was probably right. Despite the weather, gods, angels- heck, even humans- were talking and getting along for one night of the year. Everyone sat around a pile of presents, but there was no bitterness or want for more. Everyone was satisfied. Yes, that was a good word for it. Dark Pit was satisfied, too.
"Hey wait, what was actually in that present?" Pit pointed to the package in the center.
"Oh, just from a fan," Dark Pit shrugged. "Hecate and Delphia, if I remember correctly."
"But what's inside? Pit cut into the circle and rushed for the package. He patted it gently. "Is it for all of us, or..?"
"Who knows?" Dark Pit pulled out a Silver Bow blade and sawed at the cardboard. "We have lots of different fans."
The cardboard eventually gave way, only for a puff of dark smog to hit the two angels in the face. They pulled away, unearthing the black magic book, as Dark Pit waved a hand to clear the air.
"Whoa! We have some crazy fans!" Pit's eyes were wide. "What are we supposed to do with it?"
"I've never actually seen a dark magic book before," Dark Pit admitted. He flipped the pages, causing Pit to flinch, as if something would leap out to bite him. "It would be cool if we could get one of these spells to work." After seeing Pit's expression, he added, "Just a simple one, though."
"Wait, Pittoo, there's a note from them." After a nod, Dark Pit picked it up. His eyebrows knit together. "Um. Well. This is Ring of Chaos-level magic, apparently."
"I'm not some mage!" Pit sputtered. "Why would I want to turn someone into a ring?"
"Calm down, Pit. It's the thought that counts." Dark Pit's red eyes flitted over the note, in thought. "It said something about burning the tome...hmm. I think I know what we're doing for New Year's."
"Pittoo, pleeaaasee…"
"It'll be alright, Pit!" Dark Pit waved a hand. "I'll talk to Medusa about it. We're on relatively decent terms with her, remember? She'll know some of the spells in here better than us. The safe ones, anyway."
"I don't know about this…"
"It's fine. Now come on, let's gather our things and get going." Dark Pit made his way back to the sled, and Pit reluctantly followed him.
"Let's do our Christmas Day speech-thing."
"Right!" Pit cleared his throat and glanced out across the divinities and humans. "So what do you guys think? Was this a good celebration or what?"
"What," Viridi answered to spite him.
"In all seriousness, this was a good idea," Palutena spoke up. "Everybody loves getting gifts, obviously. But also, it's good to reach out and befriend people you may have never thought about otherwise. I think that's what Christmas is all about, to be together with people."
"That's a wrap," Dark Pit yawned. "See you guys next time."
Merry Christmas, everyone! I took a more fluff-related route rather than the huge amount of conflict that's been happening each episode. Hope this turned out interesting.
Also, guess who got Marth, Mewtwo and Lucina Amiibos for Christmas? Yessss. This angel right here! My brother got them for me. And for him? Well, I gave him Kid Icarus: Uprising, of course! And I addressed it, "from a desperate fangirl." I'm so lonely, lol. Anyhow, catch you guys later for the next few episodes!