I present to you a short story about, you guessed it, 9-Volt and Phoebe. Hope y'all had a safe Christmas this year!

DISCLAIMER: WarioWare Inc., Mario, EarthBound/Mother and Kid Icarus: Uprising are properties of Nintendo. Bomberman is owned by Konami. All other franchises represented or mentioned therein belong to their respective owners. The only thing I own is my WarioWare OC, Phoebe, whereas Keyla, Creatria, Patricia and Maya are owned by my longtime DA friend, JapanAnimeGirl.

9-Volt and Phoebe's winter time

[Overworld BGM: Snowball Park (Super Mario 3D World)]

It was Christmas Eve in Diamond City...

Having heard about Snowball Park from Toad, 9-Volt and Phoebe (accompanied by none other than 5-Volt) decided to tag along with Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Pit and Phosphora. Though of course, not before inviting some close friends of theirs: Shirobon (aka. Cheerful White), Pretty Bomber (aka. Cute Pink), 18-Volt, Kat, Ana and Princess Keyla of Roseland. 9-Volt, of course, figured the Vampire/Bowling Princess didn't mind cold places at all, considering the places she had gone to when her friend Creatria taught her all she knew about interdimensional travel.

To be fair, Keyla was curious about this "Snowball Park" in the Mushroom Kingdom, but decided why not cherish this moment and build something memorable for her fellow Bouncing Ball Buddies, Patricia and Maya. 5-Volt was all the more happy to help out one of her son's guardian angels, while Shiro, Pretty, 18-Volt, Kat and Ana got to work building snowman versions of Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady from the 80s TMNT series.

Once that was done, the five set up a pile of snowballs to use for target practice on the three snow statues. "Wretched reptiles!" 18-Volt imitated Shredder's voice. "I'll destroy you for humiliating me!"

"Take that, chrome-brain!" blurted Kat and Ana, pelting the "Shredder" snowman with their snowballs. "And that! And that and that and that!"

"With Shredder nearby, can Bebop and Rocksteady be far behind?" added Shirobon, running in circles with his pink girlfriend around the other two snowmen they helped build for the activity at hand.

"That's for sure!" said Pretty. "Say, how come 9-Volt and Phoebe aren't hanging out with us?"

"Oh, they're actually practicing their ice-skating lessons," 18-Volt pointed in their direction.

Keyla beamed in response, fluttering a few feet above to glance at her two friends. "Hee hee! I gotta say, Mona's a pretty good teacher!"

"WHEEEEE! THIS IS FUN!"

"Yeah, there we go!" chirped Phoebe. "Just like Mona taught us!"

"I gotta hand it to my big sister: she sure makes it look easy, Pheebs!"

After another minute of skating, they slowed down to a stop to take a breather. "Man, Toad was right, Snowball Park's a really fun place to play! Frozen lakes to do some ice-skating, snowballs that are like twice as big as a bowling ball... Elsa would love that."

The Nintendo boy and Bomberman fangirl stepped off the ice and sat down on the snowy ground, pondering what's to come for them and Team SuperVolt in the future...particularly the relationship between the two of them. Then she said, "Let's not ever get toxic with each other, okay, sweetie? Pinky-finger promise!" She emphasized her words with an affectionate kiss to 9-Volt's cheek.

"Exactly what I was thinking. But how can we keep...y'know, our love growing? We can't just mimic other couples..."

"Well, nobody said it'd be easy. Besides, we're not high-schoolers - yet. I'd say it's best that we be ourselves. Think how Ness and Paula came to be the butt-kicking battle couple we both know and love."

Having heard the names, 9-Volt snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, you're right! They're always there for each other, they recognize their strengths and weaknesses!"

"If they can do it and stand up to bigger threats, and still be fun-loving kids, then so can we!"

"Let's zap & strike the bad guys together!"

9-Volt and Phoebe got up to do a fist-bump, blurting out simultaneously: "Pound it!" They laughed with each other momentarily before heading over to their friends.

"I have a feeling there's plenty we could learn from Ness and Paula...if we do see them again," said 9-Volt, recalling their last visit in the distant Smash World.

"I'm sure they'll guide us, pal. Don't worry," Phoebe reassured with a warm hug. "But only we can build our own fun relationship from here."

"Uh, whaddya mean by that?"

The 10-year-old princess thought about it. "Hmm...I dunno. Maybe Pit and Phosphora know the answer..."

9-Volt shrugged. "Ehh, we'll worry about that later. Say, isn't that a mistletoe?"

[End BGM]

"Yeah, I see that! And we know what this means, don't we?" They spent the next few minutes hugging each other warmly.

[Tender moment BGM: Rydia (Final Fantasy IV)]

Unbeknownst to them, Keyla was fluttering above them with the mistletoe in hand. Yet at the same time, she magically made herself invisible so as to not ruin the moment. 9-Volt, Phoebe...I know it's not much of a Christmas gift, but consider this a happy one from your friendly neighborhood Bowling Princess of Roseland...and Bouncing Ball Buddy. Princess Phoebe of Retro Dreams, know that I'll continue to help you take good care of - and protect - 9-Volt. He really means a lot to me as one of his best friends.

"Phoebe," said 9-Volt, "I dunno how to say this, but I guess I could start by saying that...erm...how did Robin put it to restore his relationship with Starfire...oh! Ohhh, that's right, I remember now! So...yeah...uh...the way you bonk bad guys with magical cannonballs from your Ball Cannon is super-duper cool. You're real brave, and the strongest gal-pal ever. Plus I'm real happy to have you around to keep me safe and sound! Not to mention having Pit and Phosphora as our guardian angels..."

"Awww...of course I'll protect you, sweetie." She kissed his cheek again. "And you know what I really think of you? Your Nintendo-themed microgames are the best, and so's your marksmanship with your Phosphora Bow. But with a little more training, I think you and me will be extra-formidable alongside Shiro and Pretty. Us SuperVolts gotta look out for each other as we continue to grow up."

"If it means I gotta stand up to all sorts of evil girls like the Trix Witches, or those four Team Flare Scientists...I'll do it." In the case of Team Flare, Phoebe knew 9-Volt was referring to Aliana, Bryony, Celosia and Mable. "I don't care how scared I get. I won't let them put me down in front of my friends - good boys and good girls - no matter how super-hard they try!"

"Hey, as long as you guys have each other," came Keyla's voice, "Team SuperVolt is indestructible. Which is more than I can say for the likes of those Red Riding Hood knockoffs."

"Huh? Who said that?" asked 9-Volt.

The Vampire/Bowling Princess revealed herself to be holding the mistletoe. "Hi, fellas! You all finished practicing your ice-skating?"

"Yeah, we're just about done, Keyla. Now c'mon, let's go find some big snowballs to play with!"

"You said it, 9-Volt! But now that you mention snowballs, I wonder if Rosalina knows about that Snowball Bowling activity that Pondo guy holds somewhere in Hyrule..."

Keyla became curious as to what Phoebe just said. "Snowball Bowling?"

"We'll explain on the way back," answered 9-Volt. "It's not all that different, really."

Phoebe nodded in agreement. "See, this version of tenpin bowling involves standing on top of a snowy hill and..."

THE END

(Ending Credits)
9-Volt - MELISSA HUTCHISON
Phoebe - HYNDEN WALCH
Shirobon - COLE HOWARD
Pretty Bomber - JANICE KAWAYE
Keyla - TRACEY HOYT
Kat - STEPHANIE SHEH
Ana - FRYDA WOLFF
18-Volt - EDWARD BOSCO

[End Credits]
[End BGM]

And that's that! Hope you enjoyed it, and Happy New Year!