~White~
"My Christmas wish is to fly!"
It went without saying that's what Pit had told everyone all month, flitting through the stadium with that solely being his Christmas wish. Palutena explained many times that the likelihood of him getting something like that was…low, but Pit still strolled around like Santa was the best discovery ever. A man in a red suit bringing your Christmas desires? Why hadn't he thought of this before?! Pit wasn't sure how Santa was going to wrap "flight" or "better wings" in a box and stash it under the tree, but Pit was willing to believe in the miracle.
"Gonna fly, gonna fly, gonna sooooooar on Christmas moooooorn!"
Naturally, when the angel took to singing about it, it drew concerns.
"Palutena," they would say to the goddess, shaking their heads. "You HAVE to tell him that he's not going to be able to fly."
"Palutena," they would say, grabbing their hair and looking crazed. "Please, make him stop…!"
"Palutena," they would say, dropping and practically begging. "Do you really want to see him so disappointed…?"
No one had the heart to tell him the truth -especially not after the incident with the female villager- but no one wanted to see him crushed on Christmas morning either.
Palutena really hated to destroy his enthusiasm, knowing firsthand how much flying by himself meant to him. Dark Pit was fully aware that the very topic was a sensitive subject too, and although he handled the reality of not flying differently, not even he wanted to confront Pit about it.
"You should ask for flight from Santa too, Pittoo," Pit once chimed weeks ago as he circled his dark counterpart. "Then maybe that sourpuss attitude of yours would finally disappear!"
Dark Pit had held his tongue then, but as it was Christmas Eve now and Pit was still dangerously hyped, Palutena had to step in. After Pit returned from being outside, Palutena wearily took a deep breath and approached Pit carefully, sitting him on the couch as she worked up the proper words to explain the situation.
"Listen Pit, I know what you've got your heart set on for Christmas, but…" Palutena hesitated, biting her thumb. "…just in case, I don't want you getting your hopes too high. Many people don't always get what they want for Christmas, and I want you to be prepared for if that happens."
"…that's what Dark Pit said too."
Pit had paused for the moment, causing Palutena to cringe.
"He told me that people can't always get what they want, and if he thought it, that means I already realized that in the back of my mind. I was just eager because I knew there was a small possibility I could, and I wanted to believe in that…"
Palutena sagged dejectedly, frowning at the angel. "Oh, Pit…"
The angel gave her a small smile as he stood up again, discretely wiping away the smallest signs of tears. "H-hey, even if I don't get to fly, at least I know there's someone else out there getting a gift that they deserve. …Even if I don't get to fly, I know that for at least a day, someone else will feel like they can fly with how happy they are."
"Oh, that was full-on provolone cheesy-"
Pit pouted and folded his arms, blushing from embarrassment. "Yeah, well, it's true…"
"I know, and I'm proud of you for it," Palutena chuckled, ruffling his hair. He firmly nodded at Palutena before flouncing away, once again singing of future exploits of flight. Shaking her head, Palutena caught sight of Olimar out of the corner of her eye. She beckoned him over, whispered something in his ear, and the astronaut eventually nodded.
"I'll see what I can do."
. . .
"What's Christmas about, exactly?" Alph had asked Olimar one day, as both of them were tending to their Pikmin. "We…don't have anything like this on Koppai, especially not with the famine we had."
"Ah, Hocotate doesn't either," Olimar mused, feeding a red Pikmin some nectar. "But from the time I've spent here, I've come to understand and few things about it."
He stood up and beckoned the blue astronaut to follow him. Scrambling to his feet, Alph did so obediently, wondering where they were going. But Olimar just waltzed down the halls full of Robyn's restored decorations, taking all the small things in with stride. Eventually he glanced down at the smaller astronaut and began explaining.
On one side of the spectrum, Olimar elaborated that the date of Christmas marked the birth of a certain religious leader. He wasn't positive if it was correct or not, but he wasn't one to judge beliefs either, and it did appear that was how the origins of the day came to be. But also, there were the stories of how Santa Claus, a man by many names, infiltrated the homes of the nice, leaving presents for them as he traveled around in a single night. Little children across the lands stayed tucked in their beds awaiting the arrival of the man in red…or so he was told.
And even yet, there were those who forwent the teachings of old or popular tales, seeing Christmas in a radically different light. For those, it was a time of commercialism, advertising, sales, and taking advantage of the masses' desire to buy gifts and capitalizing on the popular nature of Christmas' figureheads. It wasn't necessarily evil, but it certainly was a deviation from what most expected…
"They're so…different," Alph mused, pondering it all quietly. "How'd it all become like that?"
"That, I do not know. Ideas evolve, traditions shift and change, and perspectives can take drastic turns when given enough time…" Olimar put a hand to his chin and smiled bemusedly. "But hey, there is one thing all aspects of Christmas thrive on, you know, and it's the very same thing that brings us all together no matter how we celebrate Christmas."
"Oh?" Alph blinked curiously. "What's that?"
"Belief."
. . .
All R.O.B. wanted for this Christmas was not to be forgotten.
As he flitted about making sure everything was kept in check, he certainly made a few observations. Everyone was so…engaged with one another. Not once had anyone been painstakingly alone.
He literally stood on the sidelines and watched Sonic, Pac-Man, and Mega Man pull a Christmas prank on Mario. He was a bystander to Robin's attempts to maintain some order, Kirby and Pit's overzealous natures, and Peach, Palutena, and Zelda's fights in the kitchen. Ness and Pikachu mulled at the table, but Samus stepped in and gave them reassuring pats on the back.
R.O.B. was just left on the outside to look in.
He was certain that they all hadn't overlooked him on purpose- Christmas was a time that brought out desires to show the most important people in their lives how much they cared, and anyone who wasn't in that particular circle was unfortunately overlooked. Like R.O.B.
He knew he wasn't like the others; he had no one left that was like him, and he also had no home to return to…
"R.O.B.," called Master Hand, having sensed what was going through the robot's processor as he approached. "You are not alone."
R.O.B. wanted to believe that, but here he was, eyeing the tree decorated with ornaments gathered from so many different worlds…yet what had his contribution represented? Only him. As his head sunk sadly, Master Hand inched closer to comfort him.
"You're a Smash Brother, and as long as that title adorns you, you'll never be alone. You're among brothers and various sisters…and while they may be caught up in the season, you won't be forgotten among them. I know it must be hard, still adjusting from losing your home and your family…" Master Hand took a deep breath. "…but we're your family now, even if it doesn't always appear that way. When Christmas comes, I guarantee that you'll know that for sure."
R.O.B. processed this, nodding slowly as he faced his superior. "…thank you. I believe I needed that."
Master Hand returned the sentiment before drifting away to stop Wario and Falco's fight over fruitcake. R.O.B. watched him leave, then returned to staring at the Christmas tree; a visual reminder of how everyone indeed came together as one. Not just for the holiday, but as a family, even if others were adamant in claiming otherwise…
Even if he wasn't always on everyone's mind, R.O.B. still mattered, and this Christmas would more than prove that true.
. . .
"CHRISTMAS!" shouted Pit at the top of his lungs the next day, charging down the stairs with Alph, Toon Link, and the female Villager at his heels. They were followed by less enthusiastic Smashers, but once they got a whiff of Peach's breakfast buffet, everyone was alert. As the princess set up the table, Palutena glided about and passed out silverware, bursting out laughing when Yoshi immediately ate all the fruit. Rosalina giggled too while feeding Luma starbits, which Pac-Man mistook as power pellets and ate some himself. Also at the table was Wii Fit Trainer, engaged in conversation with an enthusiastic Captain Falcon. She was nibbling carefully on a muffin…while feeding a few scraps of bacon to the patiently waiting Duck Hunt Dog and his cohort.
Meanwhile, Samus was angrily eyeing a piece of mistletoe hanging above, yanking it down and staring at it contemptuously. She suddenly felt something press against her cheek, and whipping around revealed that it'd apparently been Sonic to make the move, as he was currently high-fiving Little Mac. Blushing and furious, having forgotten about their bet, she powered up into her suit and gave chase on the hedgehog, with DK and Diddy going wild afterwards. They rushed passed Wario and King Dedede making off with the still unopened presents, only for them to be promptly stopped by Shulk and Meta Knight. Thrilled beyond belief, Kirby glomped Meta Knight, with the revered warrior only shaking his head bemusedly.
Greninja and Mewtwo were quietly observing all of the madness, taking particular interest in Jigglypuff swiping the stockings of those who fell asleep after her latest performance...at least, until Lucario made her put them back. As that was happening, Junior pouted by the tree, taking one of his presents and grimacing when he came across coal. As Junior pondered this quietly, Bowser walked over and placed a knowing hand on his shoulder. The Koopa Prince couldn't help but crack a smile at this, continuing to tear into his gifts like any other child.
Ness eventually came down the stairs, barely a ghost of an expression etched on his face. He glanced depressingly at an obviously happy Link and Zelda (with Toon Link on Link's shoulders), but sighed deeply when he found Pikachu and Charizard huddled together by the window. Knowing that they were having it tougher than he was, Ness walked over and put his arm around both, assuring them –and himself- that it would all eventually be okay. Encouraged, Pikachu dove head first into his slew of presents, while Charizard assisted in passing them out.
Lucina was also on board with opening presents, and giddily passed one to Marth. Curious, the swordsman opened it and found himself saddled with the ugliest sweater known to man, and he had to gulp down his disgust to get a look of joy and a hug from Lucina. However, Marth felt infinitely better when Ike strolled into the room with a sweater also from Lucina, although his "new physique" couldn't quite squeeze into the sleeves. This sent Fox and Falco into hysterics, while Mario dressed as Santa fell down the chimney with an extra load of presents.
As everyone dove into the gifts, Pit emerged from the crowd with a jet-pack from Olimar, and immediately started flying around the room with palpable joy. After taking a few laps, he passed it off to Dark Pit for a turn. Dark Pit was surprised at the kindness, but wasted no time in going for a spin himself. However, the dark angel knocked into a bypassing Ganondorf, pushing him onto Mr. Game and Watch, with Alph sending out his Pikmin to assist. R.O.B. watched the display with a bit of sadness, once again thinking of his fallen robotic brethren, until he was pleasantly surprised when Mega Man approached with a gift for him as well, letting him know that he certainly wasn't forgotten.
Luigi was very content with what he was seeing as he passed around cups of cocoa to those who weren't engaged in destroying wrapping paper, while Robin tried to propose a much more methodical approach to the gift opening. His cries fell on deaf ears, especially when Robyn managed to get her hands on another series of lights and plugged them all in, which caused the once simple tree to glow so brightly that it could be seen from space. Before the whole stadium was forced to go without power, Master Hand himself unplugged Robyn's addition, with the female tactician smiling sheepishly.
Removing himself from the chaos, Master Hand sighed with satisfaction as his fighters all scrambled around, enjoying the holidays in their own ways- even Crazy Hand was getting into it, despite screaming "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" at everyone. But if anyone had asked Master Hand what Christmas was all about, he'd definitely have to say it was whatever they could make of it. The answers were as variegated as the colors of the rainbow, and pinning down a single definition was impossible. Every view of Christmas was the correct view to somebody.
So if you were to ask Master Hand what the true meaning of Christmas was…this is precisely what he'd say.
"Well…that's for you to decide."