L: On the night before Christmas, two best friends are sleeping over together, one being a salandit. They're happily asleep, eager for the next day... When they're suddenly awoken by a loud crash from outside!
The salandit bolts upright, looking around. "D-did you hear that?"
S: the other one, a scorbunny bolts up as well, looking around too
"What the...w-what was that?!"
L: "Sounded like it was outside... We'd better go see what it is, just to be safe..." The salandit gets out of bed, heading for the front door.
S: "Oh jeez, wait for me!"
the raboot slowly and fearfully follows the salandit, hoping whatever is out there isn't bad or anything
L: When they get outside, the two see that, oddly, a large sleigh is toppled over nearby... And someone seems to be next to it, but the two can't really make them out from how dark it is.
The salandit gets ready for a potential fight just in case. "Hello? Who are you?"
S: the raboot, still nervous gets into a fighting position top if it comes to that
"Yeah! Whoever you are, I know how to use these!" he holds up his fists
L: The person stops, seemingly looking over at the two. "Ah, sorry, you must be the ones that live here... Didn't mean to scare you." He gets some kind of glowing ball out of the sleigh, letting the Pokemon see him better. He's a lizard, wearing red and white all over, with a typical Santa hat and a beard.
The salandit relaxes some. "Huh... You're a big fan of Christmas, aren't you?"
S: the raboot relaxes a little too
"Yeah, he must be! Look at that getup! They like a true Santa Claus!"
and what they don't know yet is that this lizard, is actually the real Santa
L: The lizard laughs. "It's a little more than LIKE Santa, I AM Santa!"
Salandit: "...No, there's no way. You're just dressed like him, that's all."
S: "Whaa?? No, there's absolutely no way, I don't believe that at all..."
L: Lizard: "Would someone who isn't Santa be able to do this?" He gestures, and the sleigh rights itself on its own!
The salandit's jaw drops. "...Y-you actually ARE Santa..."
S: the raboot's jaw drops open as well
"There's no way...omg... he is actually the real Santa...mama mia!"
L: Salandit: "Hang on, if you're really Santa, where are the reindeer?"
Santa: "Well, that's the thing... I wasn't paying as much attention to where I was going as I should've, and we ended up crashing! I don't know where the reindeer went, and I can't take off without them..."
S: "Uh oh, that's no good... I wonder where they are... I hope they are doing ok"
L: Salandit: "I want to help find them, where do you think they went?"
Santa: "After the crash, I think I just barely saw them going that direction." He gestures in the direction of a lake. "Hopefully they cleared the lake..."
S: the raboot shudders a bit in fear as they look over to the lake
"Oh boy, I really hope they cleared it... I want to help too..."
little do they know, all the reindeer didn't clear it...
L: Salandit: "We'd better head over there and start looking then, it's gonna be REALLY bad if you can't fly..."
Santa: "Yeah, that's the only way I can visit everyone in the world in time..."
S: "Jeez... well, me and my bestie are on it! Just hope this is will be easy... come on bud, let's go" the raboot then makes his way over to the lake, hoping deep down they won't have to go in it
L: The salandit follows them there, looking for any sign of the reindeer and calling out for them. "Hello? Um... Reindeer? Are you guys around?"
S: "Hello??? Anyone there?" the raboot looks around the surface of the lake, trying to find the reindeer and hoping they didn't land in the lake
L: "Man, it's gonna suck if we have to dive, it'll be really cold... At least we're both fire types..."
S: "I really don't wanna dive... water doesn't mix well with me...and you know that"
L: Suddenly, the two can hear yelling from the direction of the water! "H-help! Santa, we're in here!" It's one of the reindeer, seemingly having just surfaced and struggling to stay above the water, before they end up sinking back under!
Salandit: "Oh crap, they're in the water!"
S: the raboot gasps
"Oh no!!! They must be all down there!! This is not good at all..."
L: Salandit: "We can't just leave them down there, come on!" He quickly gets into the water.
S: "Buddy!" the raboot fearfully looks at the cold water, standing on the edge of it, terrified
L: "Right, you really hate water... This might not be something I can do alone, and we might not have time for me to go find out!"
S: "This is crazy! You know I don't swim too well, and I most certainly probably can't hold my breath that long either!"
L: "I'm not the best at either of those either, but the reindeer seem even worse..."
S: the raboot sighs
"I just wanna go to bed... fine, I'll do it, but I won't like it"
the raboot then slowly enters the water, yelping a bit as he touches it before joining the salandit
L: The salandit holds the raboot's hand. "I wish we could just go back to bed too... But Santa's counting on us!"
S: "R-right, yeah...he is counting on us to pretty much save Christmas for everyone around the world!"
L: "We have to do this!" The salandit starts deeply breathing to prepare for a dive.
S: the raboot whimpers loudly, but he does some deep breathing too
L: After a little while, the salandit is ready. "Okay, I'm thinking us going under at the same time might help you, so... 3, 2, 1!" He dives under, hoping the raboot will too.
S: but the raboot was very hesitate, he let's go of the Salendit's hand before he went down, he couldn't bring himself to come down
L: The salandit quickly notices he's alone, and surfaces again. "Come on, we have to do this together!"
S: "But buddy I hate being underwater! I don't know if I can do it..."
L: "I know you hate it... Just think about how we're going to be able to brag to everyone that we helped the real Santa!"
S: the raboot couldn't help but giggle a bit at that
"Most of them probably won't believe us, but it would be nice to brag about..."
L: "Right, they wouldn't know... But still, having Santa as a friend would be pretty awesome!"
S: "True, we would be permanently on the nice list if we were to help him out, heh..."
L: "And maybe he'll even let us visit the north pole after this, I think that'd be even cooler!"
S: "Whoa, that would be cool...considering we could survive the cold pretty well..."
L: "We need to ask him once this is done... But we shouldn't delay any longer than we have to, we need to get down there and help!"
S: "Ugh, as much as I'm gonna hate being down there, your right... they are all probably close to drowning by now! Jeez!'
L: "Let's hope they found some kind of air source down there..." The salandit once again gets ready to dive.
S: the raboot starts to whimper again, but he tries to be brave and starts to get ready as well
L: Soon, the salandit is ready again. "Okay, one more try... 3, 2, 1!" He dives again.
S: the raboot was hesitant once again, but knowing those reindeer are in deep trouble, literally, the raboot the takes a big breath and holds it in before diving under too, his eyes are stung by the water almost instantly, causing him to yelp out bubbles in pain
L: "Mm?" The salandit notices the raboot's pain and gestures for them to surface again, heading back up himself. "Forgot you need goggles... I'm lucky I don't..."
S: the raboot heads back up and gasps for breath, rubbing his eyes to get his vision back
"Yeah, I don't go underwater very often...and I guess I forgot I do need goggles... but we gotta be quick about it!"
L: They can hear Santa calling to them from the shore. "Any luck, you two?"
Salandit: "They're underwater, but Raboot can't go down there without goggles!"
S: "Yeah, they are in serious trouble and could drown! But I need goggles..."
L: Santa: "Oh jeez... Hang on, I'll run back and get you some goggles you can borrow!" He runs off to the sleigh, and returns with goggles. "Here!" He tosses them to the raboot.
S: "Thanks Santa, this should help me a lot..."
the raboot catches the goggles then puts them over his eyes
L: Santa: "Don't give up, you two! I'm, um... Not good at swimming, I keep putting off learning, so it kind of has to be you!"
Salandit: "Then we'd better get a move on..."
S: "Heh, maybe this situation will give you an excuse to stop putting it off..."
L: Santa: "It definitely will... And I need to motivate the reindeer to do that too, so we don't end up like this again. Now hurry!"
Salandit: "Right!" He starts deeply breathing once more.
S: the raboot gulps, knowing this time it'll be the real dive, yet they were still very nervous, too nervous to prepare as it getting the better of him, he's been trying to stay brave but now it's faltering
L: Salandit: "Raboot, come on, you have to get ready! We've wasted enough time as it is!"
S: "Ugh, my nerves are coming back...I'm trying to get them under control...it's hard..."
L: Santa: "You can do this! I think my reindeer are fairly good at holding their breath, but they still need air!"
Salandit: "Yeah, we need to do this really soon!"
S: "I don't know how that's possible since they can't swim but...yeah your right we do need to do this, ugh as much as I hate having my own air supply limited...I hate holding my breath..."
L: Salandit: "I'm not a big fan of it either... But, maybe this won't take all that long."
S: "There's a lot of reindeer, and they even be scattered around for all I know... oh jeez...you know what, let's just do this" with a defeated sigh the raboot starts to deeply breathe again to prepare
L: Salandit: "Yeah, we really need to start looking!" He starts breathing deeply again too.
Santa: "Remember, there's 9 of them to find!"
S: "9? Good lord..."
the raboot continues to take deep breathes for a while longer
L: Salandit: "Maybe we'll get lucky and a few will be together... Otherwise this might end up taking too long for them..." He keeps going as well.
S: "Y-yeah"
eventually both of them seem ready
L: Salandit: "Okay, let's finally do this! Hopefully we're not too late now... 3, 2, 1!" He dives once more.
S: the raboot then gasps a last breath and dives as well finally, this time his eyes not stinging with the protection of his goggles
L: The salandit smiles as he sees the raboot finally join him, then he gets a determined look as he does his best to look for any sign of the reindeer.
S: the raboot let's out some bubbles nervously, looking back at the surface briefly before starting to look around as well
L: Before long, some bubbles rise up from below the two! "Mm!" Salandit points down at where they're coming from, and starts quickly heading that way.
S: the raboot quickly follows close behind, his face is already flushing red as he moves his hand to pinch his nose shut
L: Sure enough, one of the reindeer is on the bottom of the lake, repeatedly trying to swim up as they whimper in fear with a blue face! They look relieved to see the two coming down, and reach toward them.
The salandit grabs onto one of their legs, starting to try to pull them up.
S: the raboot does the same with another one of the reindeer's legs, noticing their blue face made them concerned
L: The reindeer does their best to keep holding their breath, and kicks with their back legs in the hope it'll make the group go faster.
S: eventually the group gets up to the surface with almost no troubles, with the raboot gasping for breath
L: The salandit and the reindeer do as well, with the reindeer panting heavily.
Reindeer: "Th-thanks... R-really thought that'd be it for me..."
Salandit: "We'll get you to shore, but we have to keep looking for the others after that."
S: "Yeah, I need to start making a list in my head on what reindeer we've found...so, which one are you?"
L: Reindeer: "I'm Comet. Am I the first you two found?"
Salandit: "You are, yeah. Hopefully you won't be the last..."
S: "Comet...ok then, hopefully we can find the others just as easily then... man it took me a while to dive...glad I did tho"
L: The two get Comet to shore before heading back out.
Salandit: "Okay, gotta keep this going..."
S: "One down, 8 to go... I already hated going underwater once... I hope I don't have go back down 8 more times"
L: "Yeah, this is gonna take too long if we're only getting one every dive..." He starts preparing again.
S: the raboot sighs and starts to prepare again as well, rolling his eyes in defeat
L: Once they're both ready again, the salandit does another countdown before diving once more.
S: the raboot holds his breath before diving back down as well, whimpering a bit
L: The salandit resumes the search for another reindeer, hoping any they find won't be as low on breath as Comet was...
S: eventually they spot another reindeer at the bottom of a different spot in the lake, they've got their mouth covered and whimpering helplessly as they stare at the surface above, not noticing the Salandit and raboot
L: "Mmm!" The salandit tries to get the reindeer's attention as he approaches them.
S: "Mmm!" the raboot does the same
luckily the reindeer turns their head and notices the two, relaxing a little as they finally found them, they keep their mouth covered as constant bubbles escape from them
L: Like with Comet, the salandit holds onto one of the reindeer's legs, motioning for the raboot to hold another.
S: the raboot nods and holds onto the other
the reindeer whines loudly, not liking being underwater at all as their cheeks puff up
L: The salandit starts carrying the reindeer toward the surface with the raboot's help.
S: this reindeer was a little heavier then the last but it didn't seem to be too much of an issue
L: The ascent goes a bit slower than before because of the extra weight, but still, the group surfaces without much issue, the salandit gasping.
S: the reindeer gasps for air heavily and the raboot gasps for air as well
Reindeer - "Hah...hah...hah...oh thank goodness that's over!"
L: "That's 2 of 9... So, which one are you?" The salandit starts helping them back to shore.
S: "I'm Blitzen, and I hated every minute of being down there...never again!"
Raboot - "Heh, someone gets how I feel"
L: "Yeah, fair, I would want a break from water after crashing like this too..."
S: "Same here"
Blitzen - "Just get me outta here already, and save the others too!"
L: "Almost there, just a bit longer." They get to the shore, getting Blitzen out of the water.
S: "Thanks a lot guys..." Blitzen then heads back to Santa
Raboot - "Right... we've still got more work to do...but this has been relatively easy for now"
L: "Hopefully it's going to stay that way... Come on, let's keep at it." He heads back out into the lake.
S: "Ugh, I'm already hating this"
just before the raboot could get into the lake, blitzen suddenly comes back
Blitzen - "Oh, and I just wanna let you guys know, I think I saw one or two reindeer sinking down to some kind of facility building in deeper parts of the lake"
and it holds true, they are heading to some kind of weird facility deeper underwater
L: "A building...? Well, we'll have to check whether any of them ended up there, just to be sure."
S: "Yeah, just thought I let you guys know that's all"
Raboot - "Oh boy... this'll complicate things..."
L: "Thanks for telling us, even though we would've checked there anyway once we found it. Come on, Raboot, let's go find that. Maybe there's even air inside!"
S: "Yeah, I hope they'll be air inside, ugh I really don't be deeper underwater tho..."
L: "Neither do I... Hopefully it's only going to involve one trip down there." The salandit starts heading back out into the water, getting ready once again.
S: Blitzen - "Good luck guys!" blitzen runs back to Santa as the raboot gets back into the water too and starts to get ready too
L: Hoping the countdown won't be needed any more, the salandit eventually dives under again without saying anything.
S: the raboot didn't end up diving, now knowing they will have to go even deeper then before scared him again
L: The salandit quickly notices, and surfaces again. "Sorry, I just figured we didn't have to do the countdown any more."
S: "Well since we are going deeper...I'm a lot more scared this time..." the raboot whimpers a bit
L: "Oh, it's that... I don't blame you, I really don't like the idea of that either, but we really don't have a choice..."
S: "Ugh, what if the pressure starts to creep up on us?! I don't wanna deal with that!"
the raboot looks down at the water below and shivers in fear
L: "I know, it's gonna suck... But imagine how it must be for the reindeer down there! We can't just let them suffer!"
S: "...I know I know... I just gotta hope that facility has air... then we at least have a bit more time... I just gotta make the plunge down there, c-could I hold your hand for this dive? I need all the support I can get..." the raboot blushes a bit shyly
L: The salandit blushes a little as well. "Y-yeah, I'd be fine with that. Gotta help you out as much as I can with this..."
S: "T-thanks buddy... your a real pal..." the raboot keeps blushing, but he does feel a little better knowing his best friend is gonna help, he then offers his hand to him
L: Still blushing, the salandit takes the raboot's hand. "Now, let's get ready to try this again..." He resumes deeply breathing.
S: "Alright, let's do this"
the raboot smiles a bit before starting to deeply breathe as well, feeling a lot better this time
L: Eventually, the two are ready once more. "Okay, definitely doing the countdown this time. 3, 2, 1..." The salandit starts going underwater.
S: still holding onto the salandit's hand he takes a last breath before finally going underwater
L: The salandit smiles at the raboot, keeping hold of their hand as well while he swims deeper, hoping it won't take long to find the strange building.
S: as they seemingly get to the bottom, they noticed a cliff to their right that'll take them down even deeper, where the strange building will be, the raboot points to it, letting some bubbles loose from his mouth, he's still scared deep down, but he feels at ease knowing he's holding his friend's hand for comfort and smiling a bit as well
L: While he hesitates some, nervous about going so far underwater, the salandit nods and starts swimming down the cliff with the raboot.
S: the raboot was just as nervous and scared, looking up at the surface that disappeared completely out of view, he whines a bit, his face a bit red already and he squeezes the salandit's hand a bit to both comfort them and himself
L: The salandit tries not to think about the surface not being visible as he continues... He's starting to blush too, but he knows he has a while until he'll really be struggling.
S: the raboot wouldn't last as long as the salandit, but they are doing ok for now...eventually they finally get to the underwater building, it's so deep here that it's a bit dark, but they can still see, it's a massive building...
L: After looking over the building for a moment, the salandit finds an entrance. While he's nervous, he starts swimming inside, hoping for the best...
S: the raboot follows, still holding hands...and once they entered, the entrance room then turns into an air lock, which then drains the room they are in automatically, allowing air to come in, which raboot then gasps for breath
L: The salandit catches his breath as well. "This is cool, I really didn't think it'd be like this! I thought it'd just be abandoned!"
S: "You know I've gotta admit it is kind of cool... it's still running...but, I don't got a good feeling about this, I'm getting some...bad vibes from this place"
L: "Yeah, we should be careful in here... Weird that we've never heard about this place even though it's so close by..."
S: "Yeah, super weird...I don't know, anyways...let's get looking while we still can, I hope we find some reindeer in here"
L: "Stay close, it'd probably be prett bad to get lost in here..." The salandit starts cautiously making his way deeper into the building.
S: the raboot nods and cautiously follows the salandit, they are still holding hands for now as the raboot was still nervous, looking around in hopes to find some reindeer
L: The salandit considers calling out for the reindeer, but he's not sure making himself and the raboot known would be a good idea. He tries to stay quiet just in case.
S: the raboot seems to know exactly what salandit is thinking, knowing that this place seems to echo, until they hear a voice
??? - "Hey! It sounds like someone is here...and is trying to steal our latest catch! Somebody go and get them!"
and that latest catch little do they know, is 2 reindeer!
L: The salandit nervously whispers "Oh jeez, w-we need to hide..." He quickly looks around for a hiding spot.
S: there's barely anything to hide behind, but there are a couple of things
Raboot - "Oh boy..."
L: The salandit hides as well as he can, hoping it'll be enough for whoever's coming to miss him.
S: the raboot quickly hides with the salandit, hoping to not get caught
L: Before long, a feraligatr comes by, looking around... And he sees the two! "Ah, there you are! You're not gonna be stealing from us!"
Salandit: "Ah! L-leave us alone, we're just looking for some missing reindeer!"
S: "Y-yeah! We were told they were floating down here! And we just came looking for them! Just please don't harm us!"
L: Feraligatr: "What, you think we're just going to hand over our newest subjects? No way! Of course, I'm not sure THEY'RE our newest any more...~" He picks up the salandit and raboot, lifting them off the ground!
Salandit: "N-no, no, let go of us!"
S: "Ahhhh!!!! Let us go!!!! This was not on my to do list!"
the raboot tries to squirm free
L: Feraligatr: "Eh, too bad, you're the ones that were planning on stealing from us. Let's go see what my boss wants to do with you..." He starts walking down the hall with the two, while the salandit struggles to get away.
S: "Alright you asked for this!" the raboot gives a swift kick to the feraligatr, with enough force to knock the wind out of you, meaning it's very powerful
L: Feraligatr: "OOF!" He doubles over, holding his stomach and dropping the salandit and raboot!
Salandit: "Go, before he recovers!" He starts running away.
S: "Ha ha!" the raboot laughs before running away as well, going as fast as he can
L: The two manage to get away, though they can still hear the feraligatr angrily shouting.
The salandit sighs in relief. "Okay, just have to find the reindeer, then we can leave..."
S: "Your lucky I do well with my legs, otherwise we would have been in deep trouble, heh... but yeah let's keep looking"
eventually, they come across a room, and inside that room is empty, except for 2 reindeer that are tied up!
L: Salandit: "Oh, there you are! We're here to get you two out!"
Reindeer 1: "Th-thanks... We were so scared when we got trapped down here..."
S: Reindeer 2 - "Y-yeah... I was terrified!"
Raboot - "No need to be scared now, we're gonna bust you outta here!" the raboot and salandit go inside the room and begin to untie the two reindeer
"By the way, which reindeer are you guys?"
L: Salandit: "Yeah, we need to keep track so we know when we're done."
Reindeer 1: "I'm Dasher!"
S: Reindeer 2 - "And I'm Cupid!"
Raboot - "Alright, Dasher and Cupid... looks like we've still gotta find Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Donner, and Rudolph..."
L: Salandit: "Man, still a lot to go... But I don't plan on giving up, and I don't imagine Raboot does either."
Dasher: "Thanks a ton for that! We still have to leave this place though..."
S: "I'm not giving up! No matter what it takes! We will save Christmas!"
Cupid - "Y-yeah... and if we're gonna leave this place, that means we have to..." Cupid gulps very nervously
"...g-go back underwater...."
L: Dasher sighs. "...I-if it's the only way, then fine..."
Salandit: "I guess none of you reindeer like water, huh? Neither do we..."
S: "No, none of us do...we all hate it... and for a good reason... I don't think I'm gonna be able to go back out there..."
Raboot - "I get it completely, we don't like it either, we're both fire types and typically fire types don't do so well in water, but me and my bestie are managing it because we wanna help you guys out"
L: Salandit: "Yeah, we've been doing everything we can, because we don't want to just leave you guys stuck in this lake!"
Dasher: "Well, thanks for that... Going back out there is really gonna suck, but it's better than being here..."
S: "Exactly! Least Dasher understands"
Cupid - "But Dasher! Need I remember you that were super far underwater, and you know how bad I am at breath holding! I'm so very scared and I really don't wanna go out there again!"
L: Dasher: "I know, but we don't have any other option! If we stay here, what the people here do with us might be worse!"
Salandit: "Yeah, I know you two aren't going to want to stick around to find out what that is..."
S: "Well, n-no I don't..."
Raboot - "Exactly, so we better get a move on!"
Cupid - "I don't wanna.... but fine, ill do it...but I won't like it"
L: Dasher: "Hopefully we'll get to stay close together so I can help you stay calm, Cupid... Go ahead and lead us out, you two."
Salandit: "Right, let's get going. I don't like this place either."
S: "Y-yeah, hopefully so..." Cupid lightly nuzzles Dasher a bit
Raboot - "Follow us"
raboot and Salandit lead them toward the exit of the building, they get to an air lock, where there was a button waiting for them to push it so they can escape
L: Salandit: "Alright, I'm pretty sure that button's going to get us back out into the lake..."
Dasher: "O-oh jeez, here it comes..."
S: Cupid yelps as they know it's time to go, clinging to Dasher in fear as they see the water ahead
Cupid - "No, n-no no no!!!! No!!!"
Raboot - "Oh boy..."
L: Dasher hugs Cupid. "I-I know, this really sucks... I don't want to go back out there..."
Salandit: "We'll go up as quick as we can, you won't be under all that long."
S: Raboot - "Yeah, we promise"
Cupid hugs Dasher back
Cupid - "No way, there's no way either one of us is going back out there now!"
L: Dasher: "...M-maybe we should just try our luck with the people working here..."
Salandit: "The other reindeer would miss you two! So would Santa!"
S: Raboot - "Yeah! They would deeply miss you!"
Cupid - "I agree with Dasher, and yeah I do miss the others, especially Comet, he's my best friend... ugh!"
L: Salandit: "Comet's actually already safe! You'd be able to see him again right away!"
Dasher: "Oh! Meeting up with the others would definitely be nice..."
S: "Wait, he's safe?! Well, I guess that makes me feel a little better, but I still don't know...I really really don’t wanna go out there...I'm gonna drown in seconds..."
L: Salandit: "Well, you got all the way down to this building, right? I don't see how you wouldn't be able to make it back up!"
Dasher: "That's a good point... As scared as I still am, I think I'm ready..."
S: "Well first of all we had no choice! We couldn't swim! So we just sank here against our will! Second of all, Dasher.. I don't think I'm ready at all, I can't do it!"
Raboot - "Oh man, I hope we get going soon...before we get caught..."
L: Salandit: "Like it or not, we're gonna HAVE to get out of here soon... We're really lucky no one else has found us yet, and I don't want to keep pushing that."
Dasher: "Even I know we really shouldn't stay here any longer than we have to..."
S: "Besides we've got more reindeer to save!"
Cupid - "Aww man!! I don't know if I can do it.... I'm gonna be so scared"
L: Salandit: "It's gonna be okay, this'll all be over before we've been underwater all that long."
Dasher: "Come on, we can do this!"
S: "But--" Cupid sighs heavily, tearing up
Raboot - "Please???" the raboot tries to act cute, in an attempt to convince Cupid to go
L: Dasher tries that too. "Pretty please??"
The salandit blushes, not really wanting to do that himself.
S: the raboot clears his throat, wanting to salandit to join in and help
Cupid resists the cute faces for now
L: The salandit almost sighs a little but stops himself, and starts trying to act cute as well. "Come on, it won't be so bad!"
S: Cupid - "Ugh...too much cuteness!!" Cupid sighs heavily "Oh fine! I'll do it...."
Raboot - "Yes! It worked!"
L: Dasher: "Haha, I knew it!"
Salandit: "Really glad it did, that was kind of embarrassing..."
S: "Aw come on buddy you know you liked it deep down!"
Cupid - "Heh..."
L: Salandit: "...W-well, anyway... Let's finally get out of this place."
Dasher: "Yeah, I want to just forget about all this."
S: "Me too..." Cupid hugs Dasher tight
Raboot - "Right, guess I should push the button then..." the raboot's hand hovers over the button
L: Salandit: "Give everyone a chance to get ready first! Dasher, Cupid, do some deep breathing, it'll help you hold your breath longer."
Dasher hugs Cupid back. "Worth a shot..." He starts getting himself ready, as does the salandit.
S: "Whoops, your right...my mistake!" the raboot takes some deep breathes as well
Cupid whimpers and whines but he too takes some deep breathes out of fear
L: Eventually, Dasher speaks up again. "I think I'm ready..."
Salandit: "Same here. What about you, Cupid?"
S: Cupid - "i-i-i, I still don't know if I'm actually ready...I don't know if I can really do this...I'm very very frightened! I'm physically ready, not mentally tho..."
Raboot - "Oh boy...not again..."
L: Dasher: "Come on, Cupid, we can't just stay here..."
Salandit: "We need to get going soon, there's still other reindeer that Raboot and I have to help!"
S: "Yeah! Come on!"
Cupid whimpers and whines, tearing up slightly
Cupid - "I hate this!!! I hate this so much!!!! Ugh..."
L: Dasher: "It'll be over soon! Hopefully, at least..."
Salandit: "It's just gonna be a quick trip to the surface, maybe only 30 seconds!"
S: Raboot - "Yeah! That's it!"
Cupid - "We're so far down tho... ugh... I'm holding all of us up, fine...let's just do this, fr this time... as much as I'm gonna probably cry the whole time..."
L: Salandit: "I'll make sure this'll be the last time you two have to be in water today, I promise."
Dasher: "Okay, let's finally get this over with..."
S: "Besides, I gotta go see Comet! He's my buddy and all, I bet he misses me"
Raboot - "I'm certain that Comet misses you too Cupid"
L: Dasher: "I hope you guys can find Vixen soon too, if you haven't already..."
Salandit: "We haven't yet, but I can't imagine it'll take all that long after this."
S: "Ah, Vixen must be your buddy then huh Dasher?"
Cupid - "Yeah... Dasher's buddy is Vixen, and they are definitely made for each other that's for sure"
L: Salandit: "Well, you're all gonna be reunited soon enough! We've just got to get you two back to the shore first."
Dasher: "It's gonna be worth it, as much as it's gonna suck..."
S: "R-right yeah..."
Raboot - "Alright, let's do this for real" the raboot finally presses the button, and almost immediately the airlock begins to fill up with water, causing poor Cupid to yelp and cry in fear
L: The salandit pets Cupid some. "Everything's gonna be fine, just try your best to keep calm..."
Dasher: "Just hang in there, okay?"
S: Cupid - "No no no no no!!!!" Cupid is absolutely terrified as the water rises up higher, about almost halfway full, the raboot tries to pet Cupid a bit too
Raboot - "I know...I know..." the raboot was starting to feel really bad for Cupid
L: Salandit: "Just take some deep breaths, this whole thing's gonna be over before you know it!"
Dasher: "Cupid, focus on me, try to match my breathing." He starts taking slow, deep breaths.
S: Cupid whines, looking into Dasher's eyes with tears coming out of it, trying to take some deep breaths, but it barely helps, the water getting higher and higher...
Raboot - "Pretty soon we'll be underwater..."
L: Salandit: "We can't just lower the water again, we're at enough risk of getting caught as it is..."
Dasher gives Cupid a hug.
S: "Yeah..."
Cupid hugs Dasher back tightly, still whimpering fearfully, by now there's barely any air now, and with the two reindeer not being able to swim, it's a struggle to stay above the water, at this point everyone is gonna have a take a final breath and go under
L: Dasher has to prop himself up with a nearby wall to keep his head above the water. "One last deep breath, Cupid!"
S: the raboot sticks his head up a bit more so he can get a last breath, before eventually taking one and holding it before letting himself sink under, hoping Dasher and Cupid will be ok
Cupid props himself up on the nearby wall as well, keeping his own head above the water, he cries with tears coming down his face, but eventually it was enviable, he fearfully takes a huge gasp of air and holds it before the water goes over his head
L: Dasher and the salandit both take and hold one last breath as well. While Dasher immediately starts getting nervous again, he tries his best to stay calm.
The salandit quickly opens the outer door, and gestures for Cupid to hold onto him.
S: the raboot heads over to Dasher, gesturing the same thing to hold onto him
Cupid was so terrifed he covers his eyes with his front legs, crying as he submerged, all this making a lot of bubbles escape and his face turning red not even 10 seconds in, not noticing what the salandit was trying to say
L: Seeing the state Cupid is in, the salandit rushes over to them instead, holding onto them and trying to help them go up.
Dasher holds onto the raboot, giving them a nod.
S: Cupid continues to cry and be extreamly upset about being underwater, he couldn't even hold his breath properly with how terrifed he was, he manages to look at the salandit with a very sad look, his face turning blue
the raboot notices Cupid struggling and frowns, but not wanting Dasher to stay down here any longer then he has to, he starts to swim out of the airlock and up to the surface, carrying Dasher with him and hopes the salandit and Cupid will be right behind them
L: Knowing now that Cupid probably won't be able to make the trip upward, the salandit gestures for Dasher and the raboot to keep going, while he moves to press the airlock's button again.
Dasher looks back at the two, feeling bad for Cupid...
S: the raboot does too, but he keeps his word and continues upward to the surface, while he wishes they could have been together, he wants to at least get Dasher out of here
meanwhile, as the airlock button was pressed, water began to drain from it, and once it was completely gone, Cupid gasps heavily for air, still in tears as he felt ashamed
Cupid - "I-i-i-im so sorry!!!! I just couldn't handle it!!! I feel so stupid!" he wipes a few of his tears away and softly whimpers
L: The salandit lightly gasps, and hugs Cupid. "It's okay... We'll get out of here eventually, but I guess it's gonna take a bit longer..."
S: "I don't want it to take longer tho...I wanna get outta here I really do... but the water scares me so much!"
Cupid hugs the salandit back tightly
L: "I really don't like it either... But like it or not, the only way we're getting to the surface is by just going up. As soon as we can manage that, you can just relax again."
S: "Awww man...I just don't know what to do! I told you I was bad at holding my breath, especially when I'm scared!"
L: "I don't know what to do either... Maybe we should just bolt for the surface and hope for the best..."
S: "Seems like I'm running out of options, I'm sure those guys are getting close to finding me in there...but how in the world can I stay calm enough to go up there to the surface?"
L: "...I suppose I could ask Comet to come down and help convince you, but I doubt he'll want to go under again."
S: "Hey, it's worth a shot... anything to get me to go back up there and stay calm the whole way"
by now, the raboot and Dasher has made it up to the surface, gasping for breath and heading back to shore to get Dasher back to Santa
L: Dasher: "F-finally... Ugh, that was so awful... I hope Cupid's okay down there..."
S: Raboot - "Yeah I know, at least your safe"
the raboot then gets a text message from the salandit, wondering if he's safe at the surface and if he could convince Comet to come down
"Hmm..." as raboot takes Dasher to Santa he looks around for comet
"Hey Comet? Can I talk to you real quick?"
L: Comet comes over. "What's up? How's the search going?"
S: "Well, we have Dasher here...but we also found Cupid, and well... he's too scared to go back in the water and head back up... he thinks you will be able to convince him to come up since your his best friend and all, but I don't know if you wanna go back down there... it would be a huge help tho I think if you were to help, for the sake of your friendship"
L: Comet gets visibly uncomfortable at the thought of going back in the water... But, he sighs. "I have to help him... As much as I don't want to go back down there..."
S: "Alright... you can hold onto my back and I'll help you get down there then, follow me" the raboot starts to lead Comet back to the lake, getting in and gesturing for Comet to hold onto him
"Get some deep breathes in you, it'll help you hold your breath longer"
L: "Okay, if that helps..." Comet holds onto the raboot, breathing deeply.
S: "Trust me it does"
the raboot then swims out to the same spot where they dove under with comet holding onto him, taking some deep breathes himself...eventually the raboot seems ready
"Ok Comet, get one last deep breath and we'll head under, I'll go as fast as I can so you don't have to stay down that long, you'll get to breathe too so don't stress"
L: "Alright... I guess I DO know I can trust you from earlier." Comet gasps one more time and holds it, tapping the raboot to let them know he's ready.
S: the raboot then gasps one last time as well, holding it in before diving underwater, taking comet with him as he speeds his way back to the bottom of the lake
L: Comet tries his best to stay calm, though he can't hide his fear as he goes back down into the depths he'd been rescued from earlier...
S: the raboot can tell comet is scared, so he pets them a bit to hopefully help them out, he's nervous himself but he hides it well, but eventually they get back to the bottom to the submerged building, seeing the two are not in the airlock and back inside the building so they can get inside quickly, he does so and then drains the airlock again, and once it's empty he let's the salandit and Cupid back inside
L: Comet catches his breath, then runs to Cupid and hugs them. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
Salandit: "Other than being scared, yeah, he's fine as far as I can tell."
S: Cupid tears up and hugs comet back
Cupid - "Oh comet I thought I wasn't gonna see you again!"
L: Comet: "I heard that you were too scared to come to the surface, so I'm hoping that me being here is gonna help you out with that."
S: "Y-yeah...I didn't think you would come all the way down here just to help me out... and I could use the help, I'm so scared and I can't stay calm!"
L: Comet: "Yeah, you've always hated water even more than I have... But we're gonna get out of here together, alright?"
S: "But I don't know if I can... I'm so scared..." Cupid hugs comet a bit tighter
L: Comet pets Cupid in the hug. "Hey, if I can come BACK down here for you, you can definitely go UP just once!"
S: "That's different your braver then me... I'm just a scaredy-cat... but...I do wanna get outta here..."
L: Comet looks around. "What's the deal with this place, anyway?"
Salandit: "No idea, but Cupid and Dasher got captured and brought here."
S: Raboot - "Yeah..."
Cupid - "Mmhm, y-you know what, comet let's just get this over with, I'm hoping I'm gonna be calm enough for this...now that your here and all"
L: Comet: "And I'll hopefully have an easier time with you here too!"
Salandit: "Okay, both of you get yourselves ready!" He and Comet start preparing again.
S: "Hopefully..."
Cupid and raboot also get ready, with cupid feeling a little better about this
L: Eventually, the salandit hits the button again, making the airlock start to fill with water.
Comet: "Oh, not a fan of this... I see why you're scared."
S: Cupid once again yelps in fear as the airlock starts to fill with water yet again, huddling close to comet
"Y-yeah, this is crazy! And I hate this so much... why does it have to be like this..."
Raboot - "Yeah, not a massive fan of this either..."
L: Comet hugs Cupid. "It'll be fine, it's pretty much just like going underwater normally except the water's moving instead of us."
Salandit: "And hopefully we won't have to fill it up like this again after this..."
S: Cupid - "I still hate it! And I'm still upset as well!" Cupid shakes with fear, the airlock halfway full
Raboot - "You've got this! It'll be ok!"
L: Comet: "Yeah, we won't have to be underwater very long to finally get back up there!"
Salandit: "I just hope the others aren't getting into more trouble while we've been doing this..."
S: "Oh shoot, I hope so too..."
eventually the water gets higher and higher that they are gonna have to take a last breath before they are forced underwater, Cupid continues to whimper
L: Salandit: "One more deep breath, and let's finally get out of here!"
Comet: "Let's get this over with..." He and the salandit both hold their breath.
S: Raboot - "Here we go" the raboot takes a final deep breath and holds it, and while Cupid was scared again, knowing comet is by his side, he too holds his breath before the water rushes over their heads, Cupid starting to whine again
L: Like before, the salandit opens the outer door before gesturing for Cupid to hold onto him. Comet stays next to Cupid for the moment, hoping that'll help them stay calm.
S: Cupid was getting scared again, but seeing Comet's smile he manages to stay calm for the moment, holding onto the salandit...but constant bubbles escape from him, his face already red as he's very much struggling to keep his air in
the raboot meanwhile gestures for comet to hold onto him
L: The salandit starts to quickly swim up, knowing the odds are better this time.
Comet holds onto the raboot, ready to get going and wanting to stay close to Cupid.
S: the raboot quickly swims up as well to follow the salandit, Cupid whimpers out a lot more bubbles, his face fully red as he can't hold his breath that well at all
L: The salandit swims as fast as he can, wishing he could help Cupid out... "T-trbly tblo coblver yoblur noblse!"
Comet looks over at Cupid, hoping everything's going to be okay.
S: Raboot - "Ybleah!"
Cupid tried to reach up with his hoof to cover his nose but he couldn't quite reach, whining out more bubbles as their face was a bit blue, they are halfway up
L: Comet can just barely reach far enough to hold Cupid's nose for them, smiling at them even as he's already got a red face.
The salandit tries to match the raboot's speed to make it easier for Comet.
S: Cupid smiles a bit at that, but he's still got a blue face and continues to whine
the raboot tries to go even faster up, they are almost there...
L: Finally, before much longer, the group surfaces! Both Comet and the salandit gasp, relieved to have finally gotten Cupid to the surface.
S: Cupid gasps heavily for breath, panting a bit and so does raboot
Raboot - "Yay!!! You finally did it Cupid! Congratulations!!"
Cupid - "hah...hah...hah...f-fresh air... I missed you!"
"I am never going back underwater again! I don't care if Santa wants to teach us how to swim for goodness sake, I won't do it! At all!"
L: Comet: "You know he's not gonna let up about it... But we both know he's going to give us a while before he brings it up again." He hugs Cupid.
Salandit: "Let's get you two back to shore, so you can recover from all this..."
S: "I'm gonna make sure I stay behind then, I really don't wanna go back underwater ever! And yeah, let's finally go back"
Raboot - "Yeah, we've still got 5 more reindeer to find!"
they get back to shore and take them back to Santa
L: Santa: "Keep at it you two, you're almost halfway there!"
Salandit: "Sucks that getting those two took so long..."
S: "Yeah, we wasted a lot of time back there... hopefully the next reindeer isn't like Cupid, no offense"
Cupid - "None taken, heh"
L: Comet: "Good luck, you two! I certainly wouldn't want to be in your position..."
Salandit: "WE don't want to be in our position... Come on, Raboot, let's keep looking."
S: Raboot - "Right..." both of them head back to the lake, hoping to find some more reindeer
L: The salandit looks around. "Okay, we haven't checked over there yet... It might start getting harder to find them now..." He starts getting ready to go back down.
S: "Yeah, I'm getting tired...and sleepy... so we better find these reindeer before I end up falling asleep..." the raboot starts to get ready too
L: "I know, I want to go back to bed..." Eventually, the salandit holds his breath and dives again.
S: the raboot sighs and holds his own breath before diving under as well
L: Once he's seen that the raboot has joined him, the salandit starts searching for more reindeer...
S: Soon enough, they can see some more bubbles coming up and raboot points to it
L: The salandit nods once he sees the bubbles, and he starts heading toward where they're coming from.
S: as the raboot follows him down, they notice yet another reindeer stuck on the bottom, covering their mouth as their face is fully red and shivering from fear
L: Thankful it's likely going to be simple this time, the salandit holds onto the reindeer and starts trying to help them up to the surface.
S: the raboot does as well, and it seems it wasn't too much of an issue that they get up to the surface, with the reindeer gasping heavily for breath
L: The salandit gasps too. "That's another one rescued... What's your name?"
S: the reindeer coughs a little before replying
Reindeer - "V-vixen...my names Vixen"
Raboot - "Vixen?" the raboot remembers something
"This is Dasher's buddy! We gotta let him know that Vixen is ok!"
L: "Oh, nice! Dasher's gonna be pretty happy to see you, he's already safe on shore!" He starts heading back to shore with Vixen.
S: Vixen - "Dasher is ok?! Please take me to him!"
Raboot - "Don't worry we will!"
they take Vixen back to Santa, hoping Dasher will recognize them
L: As soon as they get to shore, Dasher comes running up. "Vixen! You're okay!" He gives her a hug.
S: Vixen - "Dasher!!!" she hugs Dasher back tightly, tearing up a bit
"Oh I'm so happy you're ok! I missed you sooo much!"
Raboot - "Awww..."
L: Dasher: "Thanks so much for this, guys!"
Salandit: "No problem! We've got to keep going, but I'm glad you two are together again."
S: Vixen - "Yeah thanks again! We appreciate it so much!" she keeps hugging dasher
Raboot - "Hehe, yeah we've still got 4 more reindeer to find"
L: Salandit: "See you two when we bring back more of your friends!" He starts swimming back out into the lake once more.
S: Vixen - "Bye!"
the raboot sighs and follows the salandit out
L: Dasher waves at the two as they go.
Salandit: "Hopefully this won't be much longer, then we can dry off and go back to bed..." He yawns, before preparing for another dive.
S: Raboot- "Yeah, this is getting old..." the raboot yawns as well, getting rather sleepy, his eyes drooping a bit, he doesn't even prepare with how tired he is
L: Sooner than usual, the salandit dives just to get on with it, looking around for the next reindeer.
S: the raboot was so exhausted he didn't dive under, in fact he actually fell asleep! Still managing to keep himself afloat tho, and the salandit will soon realize he's alone again
L: The salandit does indeed notice, and surfaces again. "Too nervous again?" He only then notices what's actually happened. "What? Wake up! You shouldn't sleep in water!" He taps on the raboot a few times.
S: the raboot groans a bit then he suddenly wakes up
"H-huh?? Oh...sorry bud...I got so tired I must have dozed off..."
he yawns again
L: "Jeez, we really need to get this done with quick, everyone's gonna be in a lot of trouble if we both fall asleep..."
S: "I'm trying to stay awake, but it's getting so hard... I don't know if I have enough energy for another dive honestly..."
L: "Maybe all the reindeer that are left will happen to be together... But we kind of have to keep going regardless..."
S: "I doubt it... you think I could hold onto you for at least the dive down there? Just so I can save a little energy?"
L: "Yep, that'd be fine. We'd better speed this up a bit though, it's gonna get harder to stay awake..."
S: "Right...yeah, thanks bud" the raboot then process to hold onto the salandit's back, he still yawns and he tries to keep his eyes open
L: "I think we should just skip preparing this time... Just get a deep breath." After giving the raboot a chance to do so, the salandit does the same and dives again.
S: "Alright..." the raboot takes a deep breath and holds it before they dive under, being sleepy does have a bit of a perk as your a lot calmer when underwater, and the raboot certainly is calm
L: Once again, the salandit begins the search for any sign of more reindeer, wanting to be done as soon as possible.
S: the raboot looks around as well, trying to find some reindeer as a few bubbles escape from him
L: As they swim, it almost seems like there's extremely muffled talking nearby... Some large bits of rock are sticking up from the bottom, and the two Pokemon can see an air pocket being held in place by it!
S: "Mmm!" the raboot points to it, wondering if there could be some reindeer in that air pocket
L: Knowing that there's a pretty good chance of that, the salandit swims into the air pocket with the raboot, catching his breath.
Nearby, the two can hear talking... "What if they forgot about us?"
A different voice says "There's no way, Santa would never just leave us!"
S: Another said
Reindeer 3 - "But guys! Do you realize where we are?! We're at the bottom of a lake! There's no chance we're gonna get found!"
L: Salandit: "Oh, hey! Looks like you were found after all!"
Reindeer 2: "YES! See, Donner? Told you someone would come!"
Donner: "I-it's been so long, I was worried the air would run out!"
S: Raboot - "Hehe, we're glad you guys got found!"
Reindeer 3 - "Phew...I was starting to get worried there...
Raboot - "I heard one of you said your Donner, so which ones are you two"
L: Reindeer 2: "I'm Dancer, the one over there is Prancer." He gestures to them.
Salandit: "Then all that's left after you 3 is Rudolph!"
Donner: "That's why you took so long, you were saving the others!"
S: Prancer - "Yeah...I see, and all you guys have left is Rudolph? That's the most important reindeer in our group!"
Raboot - "Yeah, but we find them tho, for now we're gonna be getting you guys outta here!"
L: Salandit: "I don't think we'll be able to carry all of you at once, though... It's gonna need a couple trips."
Donner: "Well then take me, at least!"
Dancer: "I want to go too!"
S: Prancer - "As much as I hate water...I wanna go as well"
Raboot - "This is a tough decision...how are we gonna decide who's gonna go first?"
L: Salandit: "I really don't want to have to disappoint someone, but we don't have any choice about that... Alright, I've got an idea. All 3 of you guys, guess a number between 1 and 10, and the 2 of you that are closest will go first."
Donner: "Okay, um... 7."
Dancer: "...4?"
S: Prancer - "Imma go 2"
Raboot - "Ooh that's a good idea"
L: Salandit: "It was 3, so that'll be Dancer and Prancer for the first trip."
Donner: "N-no, I don't want to be alone down here!"
Dancer: "It shouldn't be for very long, don't worry!"
S: Prancer - "Darn it...I mean yay I'm getting out first...heh"
Raboot - "Yeah don't worry about it Donner, we shouldn't be long!"
L: Donner: "...I-I know I'm not gonna be able to stop you two... P-please be quick, okay?"
Salandit: "We'll make sure to go as fast as we can, don't worry."
Dancer goes to the salandit and holds onto them. "We'll meet back on the shore soon enough!"
S: Prancer - "Oh boy..." prancer was getting a little nervous about submerging meanwhile, wondering if going first is actually a good idea or not
L: Donner: "H-hey, um... Getting second thoughts, Prancer?" He's hopeful they'll reconsider so he can go first.
S: "Y-yeah, you know what...now that I think about about I don't wanna go first after all... Donner I know how badly you wanted to get outta here so, I'll let you be the one who goes"
Raboot - "Oh? Seems like Prancer is a little nervous..respectable"
L: Donner: "Th-thank you, thank you!" He rushes over, holding onto the raboot.
Dancer: "Ha, guess you may as well have won after all!"
Salandit: "I don't mind, we can do whatever order works for you 3."
S: "Alright, then that settles it, don't worry prancer we'll be back for you soon, anyways...take some deep breathes Dancer and Donner"
L: Dancer and Donner both start deeply breathing, as does the salandit.
Dancer: "See you soon!"
S: the raboot does as well, eventually everyone seemed ready as the raboot holds his breath and dives back under, giving Donner a chance to hold his breath
L: Donner, Dancer, and the salandit all hold their breath and go underwater. Neither of the reindeer seem too happy about being underwater, but they're keeping their composure as the trip to the surface begins.
S: prancer starts to get worried meanwhile about his turn to go underwater, he was very scared
meanwhile, they all continue upwards towards the surface, hoping the reindeer will hold their breath long enough to get up there
L: Both of them are thankfully doing fairly well, though they're already starting to blush as the group closes in on the surface.
S: eventually all of them surface safely, with raboot gasping for breath lightly
Raboot - "Phew, we made it!"
L: The others gasp as well.
Donner: "F-finally... G-get us to the shore, I hate this..."
Dancer: "Yeah, I'm sick of worrying about water..."
S: "Don't worry we got you guys" the raboot and Salandit take them back to shore, managing to get them there safely
"Right...Salandit why don't you go ahead and get Prancer then we'll start the search for Rudolph"
L: Salandit: "Alright, shouldn't take too long." He dives back down, heading for the air pocket with Pracer.
S: "Least I don't have to dive this time, heh"
meanwhile, when the salandit surfaced in the air pocket it sort of startled Prancer a bit
Prancer - "Oh....your back, great..."
L: "Yep, NOW it's your turn to head up. You've certainly been stuck in here for way too long..."
S: "Y-yeah... but I'm fine with it honestly, if it means I'm not going out in the water and all..."
L: "You do have to go in the water one last time to get out of here... But it's not very long of a trip, don't worry."
S: prancer yelps at that
"I don't know how those other reindeer managed it but when I was sinking down here I was struggling really hard, I don't know if I can get out there underwater again..."
L: "We both know you can't just stay here, I don't think Santa's going to be able to fly without every reindeer..."
S: "Well, he does need every reindeer...but still...I don't know if I can...I'm quite nervous and I'm worried I'm gonna drown..."
L: "You'll be fine, I'm sure you won't be the worst at breath holding that I've seen tonight. We'll be able to get back up no problem."
S: "But...I don't know if I can..."
suddenly, the salandit gets a FaceTime call with the raboot, somehow the cell service working even down deep underwater
L: "Oh wow, weirdly good reception down here..." He accepts the call. "How are things up there?"
S: Raboot - "Wow, surprised the call went through...things are fine, but what's taking so long? We gotta find Rudolph here soon!"
L: "Prancer's still too scared to dive, I've been trying to convince him to go under. You being able to talk to him like this should help, at least."
S: "Hmm, poor prancer...well, I'm pretty close to Santa, maybe they can help convince him"
L: "Oh, that'd be perfect! Yeah, could you ask him for help with this?"
S: "Of course! One second" the raboot heads over to Santa, holding his phone in his hand
"Hey Santa, we found prancer but we can't get him to dive under to escape, think you could try talking to him?" he hands the phone to Santa hoping he'll be able to help
L: Santa holds the raboot's phone. "Prancer? Can you hear me?"
The salandit holds his phone so Prancer can see Santa.
S: prancer's eyes go wide
Prancer - "Santa?? Is that you?? I thought I would never see you again!"
L: Santa: "I'm glad you're okay... Apparently you don't want to go underwater again to get back to the surface? But, that's the only way that'll happen!"
S: "But Santa you know how scared I am! I don't know if I could dive back down!"
L: "You can! It certainly won't be pleasant, yeah, but it'll be worth it to get out of there, and I know you'll think the same once you're here with me."
S: "Ugh, but breath holding is so scary... I was struggling real hard when I was sinking down here"
L: "I don't like it either, but the two helping you guys out seem pretty effective at getting you all to the surface. You might only need to go, maybe... 30 seconds or so."
S: "30 seconds!? I don't know if I can last that long, ugh this is gonna be so hard!"
L: "Hey, that's probably how long it'd be at MOST! I bet it'll be less than that! Plus, you've only got to do it this one time, then we can get back on track with the deliveries."
S: "Yeah I know...but...this is gonna be the toughest challenge in my whole life... how can I stay calm enough Santa?"
L: "Just think about how happy people are going to be once we've gotten back together and delivered all the presents. They might never actually meet us, but we all always know how happy they all are every year."
S: "Yeah, I do love to go and deliver the gifts to all those happy boys and girls...good times..."
L: "And think about how disappointed they'd all be if we didn't get this done. In all the time we've been doing this together, we've never missed a year, and I don't want that to change. I know you don't either."
S: "Yeah I don't, ugh as much as being underwater is gonna suck, I think I've got no choice but to go down...but I really don't wanna"
L: "Just hang in there, it'll only be the one dive... After that, those two are going to find Rudolph, and then we can get back to work."
S: Raboot - "Yeah! You've got this Prancer! Don't give up!"
Prancer - "...ohh...alright fine! I'll try this one dive then..."
L: Santa: "Glad to hear it! Hopefully I'll be seeing you soon!"
Salandit: "Yep, we should be surfacing before too long."
S: the raboot gets the phone back from santa
Raboot - "You've got this my friend! Good luck!" the raboot hangs up
Prancer - "Oh man..."
L: The salandit puts his phone away. "Just try to keep as calm as you can... I know you hate this, but the sooner we get on with it the sooner you won't have to worry any more."
S: "Y-yeah I know, I'm gonna try and stay calm, even tho it's gonna be so hard!"
L: "Okay, just hold onto me, and let me know when you feel ready to get going."
S: "O-ok..." prancer then proceeded to hold onto the salandit, whimpering a bit in fear
L: "And try doing some deep breathing like the others were, that'll help you stay under longer. Might also calm you down some." The salandit starts getting himself ready.
S: "Y-yeah I'll try ok...oh man I'm getting so scared!" prancer tries to take some deep breathes to calm himself down, it hardly works tho
L: "It's gonna be okay, we'll get this done in no time..." After a little while, the salandit feels he's ready, but he waits for Prancer for now.
S: prancer just tries to delay the inevitable for a bit longer, feeling really uncomfortable
L: "...We really should get going soon... How about I just do a countdown and we head out?"
S: "Fine..." prancer frowns a bit but he ultimately decides it's time to go
L: "Okay, let's finally do this. 3, 2, 1..." The salandit starts going underwater, hoping that Prancer will stay on him.
S: prancer yelps but he manages to hold his breath and go underwater with the salandit, staying on him, but he's visibly shaking with fear
L: Once they're both fully under, the salandit swims as fast as he can toward the surface, knowing he almost certainly doesn't have long.
S: prancer continues to whimper and whine as constant air bubbles escape him, he covers his mouth with one of his legs, trying his hardest to hold his breath
L: The salandit keeps swimming up, feeling bad for Prancer but knowing there's nothing he could do to help that wouldn't slow them down...
S: prancer seems like he couldn't take much more of this, his face deeply blue as he's very close to inhaling water at any second!
L: But, just in time, the two surface! The salandit gasps, and he makes sure that Prancer won't have any chance of going back underwater.
S: prancer gasps for air heavily, coughing a bit too
"Omg! I thought I was gonna drown back there! Please don't make me go back down there for any reason what so ever again!"
L: "Yeah, there's no way I'm bringing you back under again, no matter what." The salandit starts carrying Prancer to the shore.
S: "Thank you..." as soon as prancer gets to shore he immediately runs over to where Santa is
L: Santa gives Prancer a hug. "So glad you're okay! And I'm so sorry you had to go through that..."
S: Raboot - "Prancer made it!"
prancer hugs Santa back
Prancer - "It's fine, I'm just glad it's over"
Raboot - "Alright, all that's left is Rudolph, and why do I get a feeling he's gonna be the hardest reindeer out of all of them?"
L: Santa: "It shouldn't be TOO bad, just look for the glow of his nose."
Salandit: "...We haven't seen any light down there yet though..."
S: "Yeah...you don't suppose he's somewhere even deeper then that is he? Oh boy"
L: Santa: "He might be... But I know you two can do this, you've found so many of them already!"
Salandit: "Guess we'd better get back out there... Did any of you reindeer happen to see him?"
S: Cupid - "No I didn't"
Prancer - "I don't think so no..."
Raboot - "Well that's no help...I don't know what to do..."
L: The other reindeer are clueless as well.
Salandit: "Then we have to just go searching and hope for the best..." He sighs. "This is gonna be so much harder than the others..."
S: "I am not looking forward to this...I'm soo tired...in fact I actually took a short nap while you were getting prancer"
L: Salandit: "Heh, good thinking... Wish I could've done that..." He yawns again as he starts swimming back out.
S: the raboot yawns again as well, sleepily following the salandit out as well
L: The salandit gets ready for the next dive, looking around below him and hoping for any sign of Rudolph.
S: the raboot was too sleepy now to prepare, almost looking like he's gonna fall asleep again
L: "Hey, don't fall asleep! We're lucky you stayed on the surface the first time that happened!"
S: but this time, poor raboot couldn't stay awake and fell right asleep AGAIN! And he actually sunk underwater this time as well... however his body is instinctively holding it's breath
L: "R-Raboot!" The salandit quickly dives under, getting underneath the raboot and lifting them back to the surface.
S: thankfully they werent too far down, so he got raboot back up almost no problem, the raboot gasps for air and suddenly wakes up coughing
"H-huh? What happened??"
L: "You fell asleep again! Try to hold off on that for a little longer, okay? I don't think it'll be a whole lot longer before we're done with this."
S: "Oh dang it... I must have sunk underwater... I'm that tired...jeez, I don't know if I'll survive..."
L: "I think we'll be fine, but we definitely need to hurry up, and not just for Rudolph's sake at this point..."
S: "Right, yeah... but I'm too tired at this point to even swim...I'm not gonna make it down there without falling asleep"
L: "Then just hold onto me again, I'll do the swimming. If we're careful about it, you might be able to have a little nap while we go."
S: "Wait, have a nap while underwater? Are you crazy? That's insane... but... I may need it heh"
L: "It might be for the best... I'll keep an eye on you and try to make it as safe as possible."
S: "I've never took a nap while underwater before, I don't know about this... but I need to save all the energy I can...so, I'll have to try it...I'm gonna assume my body will keep holding it's breath even when I'm asleep?"
L: "You did hold your breath when you fell asleep a minute ago, so there shouldn't be much issue with that. I'll get you to the surface once you start getting low on breath."
S: "Alright, and if you find Rudolph wake me up so I can help" the raboot then holds onto the salandit and takes some deep breathes to prepare for hopefully the last dive of the night
L: "Yep, I'll let you know. Hopefully you won't be too surprised about waking up underwater." The salandit starts preparing as well.
S: "Yeah me too, I don't wanna suddenly drown..." the raboot keeps preparing for a bit longer then usual
L: The salandit waits for the raboot to be ready, even once he himself is ready to dive.
S: eventually the raboot seemed ready to go, giving a nod to the salandit and taking a deep breath in and holding it
L: The salandit nods back, taking in one more breath before diving and starting to swim deeper, looking around.
S: the raboot was a bit nervous about trying to sleep while submerged, but he tried nonetheless, closing his eyes and holding onto the salandit a bit tighter as he tried to get a nap in
L: As the salandit swims, he tries not to jostle the raboot too much, wanting to help them sleep for a while on this dive.
S: eventually the raboot actually fell asleep, and he was still holding his breath, letting a few small bubbles loose as they dive deeper
L: The salandit smiles as he notices the raboot's asleep, then goes back to focusing on searching for Rudolph.
S: the raboot was quite comfortable, even if he's still holding his breath, only letting small bubbles loose as they keep going
L: Thankfully, before too much time passes, the salandit starts just barely being able to make out a glow deeper down... He starts heading toward it.
S: the raboot continues to sleep peacefully, his face turning just a bit red as well
L: The salandit keeps working his way deeper, getting closer and closer to the glow. It seems to be coming from a cave...
S: the raboot remains asleep, blushing a little bit as he was slowly getting stronger thanks to the nap he's taking
L: While he's a bit nervous about it, the salandit swims into the cave without hesitation, hoping the source of the light is close by.
S: the raboot eventually seems to wake up from his nap, he goes to yawn but immediately realizing he's underwater he covers his mouth so he doesn't waste any air, he feels a bit better
L: The salandit pauses for a moment to make sure the raboot is fine, before continuing farther into the cave.
S: the raboot gives a thumbs up, he's still a little sleepy but he's much better then before, continuing to hold onto the salandit
L: Up ahead, there's an air pocket, but it seems to be pretty small. Sticking out of it are the back legs of a reindeer! They've got themselves propped up to breathe from the pocket, and they seem to be where the glow is coming from!
S: "Mmm!" the raboots points to the small air pocket, knowing Rudolph is here
L: The salandit smiles, and surfaces alongside the reindeer, thankfully having just enough room to do so. Sure enough, the reindeer's nose is glowing, making it clear that it's Rudolph!
Rudolph jumps a little as the two surface. "Ah! O-oh, hi... Please tell me you're here to help..."
S: the raboot gasps for breath
"Yes we are! You must be Rudolph! Wow it's actually pretty cool to meet the world's famous reindeer in person I won't lie"
L: Rudolph: "W-well, thanks... You two know how to get out of here, right? I've been lost in here for a while now..."
Salandit: "We're actually pretty close to the exit!"
S: "Yep we are, shouldn't take all that long to get you back up, hope your not too scared to go back underwater...heh"
L: Rudolph: "Um... I-I'm not sure... I think I might be, yeah..."
Salandit: "Well, nothing we can't handle, we've been convincing people all night so far!"
S: "Yep, so I'm sure we can convince you to dive! Even if your scared!"
L: Rudolph: "Y-you're sure it's going to be okay? The water pressure's really bad on me, it gets me really uncomfortable..."
Salandit: "I'm not a fan of it either, but putting up with it will be worth being done with this."
S: "Yeah I'm not a big fan of it myself, but I know you'll be able to do this!" the raboot smiles warmly at Rudolph
L: Rudolph sighs. "...As long as it's really quick..."
Salandit: "I can't imagine it'll take more than a minute for us to get you to the surface, don't worry."
S: "Yeah! You've got this! Just try and focus on holding your breath and we'll get you up as quick as possible"
L: Salandit: "Do some deep breathing first, it'll help you go for longer."
Rudolph: "O-okay..." He and the salandit start getting ready.
S: the raboot does as well, hoping Rudolph won't get too scared when they do eventually submerge
L: After a little while, the salandit is ready. "Okay, ready Rudolph?"
Rudolph seems unsure... "I-I think so..."
S: the raboot is ready too
"...you don't seem so sure..."
L: Rudolph: "I'm not... But I have to at least try..."
Salandit: "Raboot, how about you count us down this time?"
S: "Sure I suppose so...get ready Rudolph... 3....2....1!" the raboot gets a last deep breath, ready to head back underwater
L: The salandit holds his breath and dives... But, Rudolph can't bring himself to dive, just nervously looking down at the water.
S: the raboot dives as well, hoping Rudolph was gonna follow, but noticing Rudolph wasn't there he surfaced again, frowning
"What happened?? You too nervous?"
L: The salandit surfaces too.
Rudolph: "I-I'm sorry, I just couldn't bring myself to do it!"
Salandit: "It's alright, that's been happening a lot..."
S: "Yeah, we're used to it at this point..." the raboot goes over to give Rudolph a little pet along his body
L: The salandit hugs Rudolph, and the reindeer hugs him back.
Rudolph: "W-well, thanks for trying so hard to help me out..."
Salandit: "We're not done just yet, still have to get you to the surface again."
S: the raboot hugs Rudolph as well
"I know it's scary, but we have to get you to the surface... the air in the pocket won't last forever"
L: Rudolph: "...I-it won't?"
Salandit: "No, it's gonna get harder and harder to breathe in here... So, you HAVE to go at some point."
S: "I know that sounds frightening but it's true Rudolph, I'll get harder to breathe the more time you spend in here...you'll have to dive eventually..."
L: Rudolph: "Then we'd better get on with it! As much as I still don't want to do this..." He starts getting ready again.
Salandit: "Well, glad that's motivated you!" He prepares as well.
S: "You've got this my friend!" the raboots prepares as well
L: Eventually, everyone's ready.
Salandit: "Alright, I'll do the countdown this time. 3, 2, 1!" He dives, and this time, so does Rudolph!
S: noticing Rudolph finally submerged, the raboot smiled before diving under as well, he gives a thumbs up to Rudolph
L: Rudolph gives a nervous smile, before holding onto the salandit as they start to swim back toward the exit with him.
S: the raboot follows them closely behind, now having the energy to swim thanks to his short nap, he hopes Rudolph wont have a panic attack while they are underwater
L: Rudolph does still seem pretty nervous, but he's hanging in there, trying to kick some to speed up the swimming.
S: the raboot keeps a close eye on Rudolph the whole time to make sure they don't get too scared
L: As Rudolph starts to blush, he covers his mouth and whines, beginning to worry whether he'll be able to last long enough. The salandit keeps swimming as fast as he can, getting closer to the cave's exit.
S: noticing Rudolph is getting low on breath, the raboot starts to worry that he won't make it up in time, he knows the reindeer don't do well when they are super low on air in general
L: The group soon leaves the cave, and Rudolph whimpers as he sees how far away the surface is, his face already fully red as bubbles trickle away from him.
The salandit doesn't slow down, turning to rush straight for the surface.
S: the raboot follows closely behind, he gives Rudolph a side hug to hopefully help calm him down, his own face flushing a bit red, but little did they know, this rescue wasn't gonna be so easy...there's a strong current forming, pushing the trio down instead of up
L: Soon, the salandit notices the group's going down... And so does Rudolph. That realization is nearly enough to make the reindeer panic, as he frantically tries to help overpower the current.
S: but the current was too strong! It kept pushing them down and down, until they get back to the bottom, the current basically holding them in place as the raboot blushes more
L: Rudolph: "MMM!" He keeps trying to go up, jumping off the bottom, but it's not working.
Salandit: "Wble hblave tblo wablk anbld geblt awblay frblom iblt!"
S: "Oblh nblo! Loblok hblow scblared Rudblolph looblks!"
L: Rudolph's face is starting to go just a little blue, but the salandit holds onto him, trying to comfort him.
Salandit: "Foblcus obln mble!"
As scared as Rudolph is, he nods, starting to slowly walk on the bottom.
S: the raboot holds onto him as well, walking on the bottom as well, he was getting scared himself but he tries to push that away, even as his face is fully red
L: The group continues walking on the bottom for a while, hoping the current will let up soon... Rudolph is still just as scared, now starting to regret having left the cave.
S: the current refuses to let up, and now the raboot was getting terrifed, wondering if they should go back to the cave and wait for the current to light up a bit
L: The salandit covers Rudolph's mouth for them, having a red face himself and worrying more and more. By this point, he's not sure he'd be able to get Rudolph to the surface in time even if the current let up right then, and he starts leading them back toward the cave.
S: the raboot seems to understand and went along with it back to the cave
L: Rudolph whines more as his face is now fully blue, and while he hates to go back in the cave, he knows there'll at least be air in there, and he keeps heading back toward it.
S: the raboot's face is turning blue and he covers his mouth as constant bubbles leak from his mouth
L: The group gets back into the cave, starting to close in on the air pocket again. Rudolph's face is going purple now, and he's starting to shiver a little from how badly he needs to breathe.
Even the salandit is struggling at this point, having a blue blush as well.
S: as the raboot's face is fully blue, they thankfully make it to the air pocket ok, the raboot gasps heavily for air
L: Rudolph and the salandit gasp as well, panting heavily while Rudolph coughs a few times.
Rudolph: "N-never again! I-I'm not putting up with... Th-that current!"
Salandit: "S-sorry, didn't know it'd be there!"
S: "Y-yeah! Sorry Rudolph..." the raboot felt guilty, he thought this was gonna be a simple thing, but it wasn't gonna be the case here
L: Salandit: "Let's just wait a while, that current should stop at some point..."
Rudolph: "Ugh, I-I don't want to dive again..."
S: "I don't really wanna dive again either, but we'll have to at some point..."
L: Rudolph: "I know we do... Ugh, why did all this have to happen!?"
Salandit: "This really sucks for all of us, yeah... Raboot and I are exhausted at this point..."
S: "Yeah, heck I was so tired I even managed to take a nap while we were coming down here, never thought I could sleep underwater"
L: Rudolph: "I didn't know that was possible..."
Salandit: "Neither did I before this, I kind of want to try it sometime... But anyway, I think we're just going to wait here until that current outside lets up. We can't really beat that thing..."
S: "Nope we can't, it's way too strong... hopefully it doesn't take too long..."
L: Rudolph: "...W-what if the air gets used up before that?"
Salandit: "Then we'll just have to go for it and hope for the best... I REALLY don't want it to come to that..."
S: "Me neither, then we'll have to wait underwater and none of us want that at all..."
L: Salandit: "I'm probably going to end up napping some while we wait here, so... Wake me up when you want me to go check if that current's going."
Rudolph: "Yeah, that's fine..."
S: "Sure, I've already tooken my nap so I'll be fine for a bit longer to watch Rudolph"
L: Salandit: "Okay, I'll try to get a little sleep..." He floats on the surface in the air pocket as he closes his eyes.
Rudolph: "Hopefully that'll help a little..."
S: "Yeah, hopefully he gets at least some rest, we are both very tired after all"
L: The salandit soon falls asleep.
Rudolph lowers his voice so he won't wake them up. "Guess there isn't a whole lot to do but wait now."
S: the raboot whispers too
"Nope, we'll just have to wait it all out, hopefully the air pocket will last long enough"
L: Several minutes pass as they wait in the air pocket...
Rudolph: "...Could you go check if the current's still going?"
S: "Um" the raboot looks down at the water
"Are you sure you'll be ok by yourself? Since my bud is sleeping I don't want anything to happen to you"
L: Rudolph: "I'll be fine for a little while, I think. Just try to come back quick, please."
S: "Alright then..." the raboot quickly takes a deep breath and dives down, and sure enough the current is still there, he comes back to the air pocket
"Yep, it's still there..."
L: "Ugh, I want to leave, I'm sick of this... Are all the other reindeer okay at least?"
S: "Yes, we rescued all of them, your the only one who's left for us to rescue"
L: "Okay, that's good... At least we'll be able to get right back to delivering presents after this, that always cheers me up."
S: "Good to hear, glad it does..we just gotta get through this that's all..."
L: The two keep waiting, while the salandit keeps sleeping... Despite how scared he initially was, Rudolph is starting to get a bit bored.
S: the raboot was getting bored too, so he decided while he was waiting to try and convince Rudolph to dive
"Hey Rudolph, I know you said you don't wanna dive, but... I don't wanna use up all the air in this pocket waiting around and stuff, so...how about we try doing some practice dives underwater to get you more calm with staying underwater"
L: He sighs. "I guess that might be a little helpful... Fine, we'll do that to pass the time."
S: "Alright then, we'll try and go just below the surface of this air pocket, try to stay as calm as possible ok?"
L: "O-okay... I'll try to do that..." Rudolph looks into the water as he starts deeply breathing, though his deep breaths are more to keep himself calm than anything.
S: the raboot nods then takes some deep breathes himself
"That's it, nice and easy...let me know when your ready ok?"
L: "Y-yeah..." Rudolph keeps going for a while. "Th-think I'm ready now..."
S: "Alright, on my count...1....2...3!" the raboot takes a final deep breath before letting himself sink underwater, hoping Rudolph will follow
L: Rudolph does hesitate for a moment, before he holds his breath and drops down as well. He nervously looks at the raboot, bubbles trickling away.
S: the raboot smiles at Rudolph as he sits down at the bottom, patting the space next to him as he wants him to sit next to the raboot
L: Rudolph sits next to the raboot, looking around the section of the cave the two are in. Being next to the raboot does seem to be helping him at least a little.
S: the raboot nods at Rudolph, wrapping an arm around him as he let's a few bubbles loose
L: Slowly, Rudolph seems to be calming down more. He leans against the raboot a little, closing his eyes.
S: the raboot smiles a bit more, giving Rudolph a hug as he closes his eyes too
L: While Rudolph still doesn't seem to be enjoying himself, it's clear he's more comfortable right now than the past times he's been underwater, and he smiles a little as he realizes that, hugging the raboot back.
S: the raboot puffs his cheeks a bit as his face turns a light shade of red
L: Because of how much less nervous Rudolph is, his need for air is only progressing as fast as the raboot's, blushing as he tries to stay calm.
S: the raboot keeps hugging Rudolph to keep them calm, letting out a few bubbles of air
L: Rudolph stays fairly relaxed, though he's beginning to occasionally let out little grunts from his need to breathe, bubbles leaving him every now and then.
S: hearing the grunts from him and not wanting Rudolph to push himself too far, he gestures to the air pocket, wondering if he wants to go up there and get air
L: Rudolph nods, and quickly gets up to breathe from the air pocket again, catching his breath.
S: the raboot follows, going up to catch his own breath as well
"Good job Rudolph! You were much calmer that time!"
L: "That was a lot better, yeah... I still don't really like it, but that wasn't awful for once!"
S: "Hey it's a start right? You know what lemme check to see if the current is gone, be right back!" he quickly took a breath and dove under, and this time the current was indeed gone! He came back to the air pocket
"Good news! The current is gone now! We can escape!" he goes over to wake the salandit up
L: The salandit slowly wakes up. "...Hi... Everything okay?"
Rudolph: "The current's gone, we can finally leave!"
S: "Yeah! And I helped Rudolph get a little more comfortable with submerging, we should be able to get outta here finally!"
L: Salandit: "Okay, let's get going! And finally get some proper sleep, too..." He starts deeply breathing.
Rudolph: "The deliveries are definitely behind schedule at this point, but we've made up for bigger time losses in the past." He prepares again as well.
S: "I can't wait to go back in the comfort of my bed..." the raboot prepares as well, soon everyone seems ready, and just in time...the air pocket was running out of its air
L: Rudolph: "O-oh boy, the air in here feels different..."
Salandit: "I think it's running out... We have to do this now. 3, 2, 1..." He dives, and so does Rudolph.
S: "Oh man!" the raboot quickly gasps a last breath before he dives underwater as well
L: Like before, Rudolph holds onto the salandit as they swim toward the exit again. Rudolph seems a fair bit more confident on this escape attempt, but he's clearly still nervous.
S: the raboot follows closely behind, pinching his nose shut as they swim for the exit
L: Once they're all outside again, Rudolph is relieved that the current really is gone, and the salandit starts bringing him upward.
S: the raboot follows them up, glad to finally go up and get some fresh air, he gives Rudolph a hug, so proud of him for being brave
L: Rudolph hugs them back, just as proud of himself as well. He's only just starting to blush as the group gets close to the surface.
S: "Alblmost....thblere..." the raboot sees the surface coming into view of them, with a slight blush himself
L: Finally, they all make it! Rudolph and the salandit both gasp, and Rudolph sighs in relief.
Rudolph: "Finally, it's over... I'm sick of water, I'm not gonna be diving again."
S: the raboot gasps as well
"Yeah...I'm sure you don't want too after all that, anyways let's finally get to you back to santa"
L: Rudolph: "And about time, too..." The group gets him to shore, and he runs over to hug Santa.
Santa: "It's so good to see you all safe again!"
Salandit: "Took a lot of effort, but it's finally done..."
S: "Yep...thank goodness, because I thought for sure I was gonna pass out from exhaustion"
L: Salandit: "Same here... We're going straight back to bed after this."
Santa: "You two have certainly earned a good sleep! And some extra presents as thanks for your help, of course."
S: the raboot giggles
"Awesome! I hope I got everything I wanted for Christmas this year, glad we could help you out..."
L: Santa: "I'll make sure both of you do! And we're definitely going to be more careful after this... Anyway, it's about time for us to get going."
Salandit: "Right, you're kinda losing time being here!"
S: "Yeah, you guys better get going! It's now or never now!"
L: Santa: "We'll see you two again next year! Thanks again for all the help!" He heads back toward the sleigh with all the reindeer.
Salandit: "Bye, guys!"
S: "Bye bye!!!" the raboot waves goodbye to all of them
L: Santa and the reindeer get to the sleigh, getting themselves set up again... And, as expected, they fly away!
The salandit watches them go. "Man, that's SO cool..."
S: "I know right?! Amazing" the raboot yawns
"Oh gosh, I'm TIRED!!! Let's hurry and get back to bed now"
L: Salandit: "Yeah, that nap helped, but I feel like I'm gonna pass out if we don't get back to bed in like 10 minutes..." He heads back to the house.
S: "Yep, heh" the raboot quickly follows the salandit back as well
L: The salandit goes back in, and hops back into bed. "Man, so tired... But it's gonna be worth it for the extra presents tomorrow..." He yawns, already getting fairly close to falling asleep.
S: the raboot hops back into bed as well with salandit, sighing
"Yes, it sure is gonna be worth it" he yawns
"Now let's catch up on our sleep then"
L: "Yep, for sure... Good night, Raboot..." The salandit closes his eyes, hugging the raboot.
S: "Good night buddy" the raboot closes his eyes as well, hugging the salandit back
L: Before long, the salandit falls asleep again, glad to finally get some proper rest.
S: the raboot also falls asleep, they are likely gonna sleep for a while before they wake up again
L: The two sleep peacefully the rest of the night, and eventually it's morning... Christmas Day!
S: but the two of them were so tired from their long adventure yesterday night that they didn't wake up for a while, not until 9:30 in the morning
L: The salandit is the first to wake, and he already has a big, if sleepy, smile on his face. "Wake up, Raboot... It's time!"
S: "H-huh?" the raboot wakes up and opens his eyes, yawning a bit but he immediately smiles as well
"Whoa! It's Christmas day! Oh boy!!"
L: The salandit hops out of bed, stretches to help wake himself up, and heads for the tree. "Come on, let's go see what we got!"
S: the raboot gets up himself, stretching as well before heading to the tree as well
"Wait for me buddy!"
L: Just as expected, there's loads of presents under the tree! "Woah, there's even more than I expected! Guess that must be part of our thanks for helping out last night, huh?"
S: "Oh my goodness! I certainly wasn't expecting all of these! Santa hooked us up! I even see some presents that look a bit more special then the others"
L: "There's a few that look extra fnacy, yeah! How about we start with those ones?"
S: "Uhh yeah, let's do that!"
L: "Alright, let's see..." The salandit looks at the special presents. "Oh, this one's actually for both of us! Weirdly small, though..."
S: "Hmm, it says "To: Salandit and Raboot, From Santa" wonder what he got us? Open it buddy!"
L: The salandit opens the present, finding what looks like a tiny ball-shaped ornament and a letter. "Huh... Hang on, I'll read out that letter." He opens it up.
"Salandit and Raboot, once again, thank you for your help last night. I feel I haven't quite done enough to reward you, so I've decided to do something I haven't done in a VERY long time. There should be an ornament with this letter. Whenever you're ready, press on the top of the ornament, and I'll send someone over to give you two transport to visit me at the North Pole! I hope to see you there soon! Santa Claus."
S: "WHAT?!?! We could visit Santa in the North Pole?!?! Omg!"
L: Salandit: "We HAVE to do that once we're done opening presents, that'll be awesome!"
S: "Uhh yeah! 100%! That's gonna be incredible!"
L: The salandit sets the little ornament aside for now. "Alright, let's see what else we've got..."
S: they open some of the presents under the tree, all of them are stuff the raboot and salandit wanted for a long time
L: The salandit's tail is wagging as he checks out each present, and he's just as happy for the raboot as he is for himself.
S: the raboot's little tail wags a bit as well, so happy to get the stuff he wanted, and soon enough all the other presents are opened and both of them love every single present!
L: "Man, this has all been so awesome! Totally worth the trouble of last night!"
S: "I agree, although I'm not going anywhere near water for a long time after that..."
L: "Yeah, definitely none of that for a while... So..." The salandit gestures to the ornament. "Should we head out, or should we just relax for a while first? I'd be fine with either, I think."
S: "Are you kidding?! Gimme that ornament!" the raboot snatches it
"We're going to the north pole baby! This is gonna be epic!" and so he presses the top button on the ornament
L: "Haha, alright!" The ornament lights up, its glow slowly pulsing. "Guess we just have to wait for whoever it is to get here now..."
S: "Oooh pretty...yeah, wonder who's gonna come and get us...hopefully they come soon!"
L: It takes about 10 minutes, but the two do eventually hear a knock at the door.
"Okay, that must be our ride..."
S: "Hmm, alright then...let's go see who it is then" the raboot walks over to the door and opens it
L: There's a great big bird outside, looking down at the two! "Hello. I see you're the ones Santa was referring to."
The salandit is momentarily startled, but he tries to stay calm. "...Y-yeah, that's us."
S: "Oh...my..." the raboot is startled is as well
"Y-yep, that's us"
L: Bird: "It's okay, I don't plan on doing anything to hurt you. I'm the transport to get you two to the North Pole."
Salandit: "You definitely WOULD be big enough for both of us..."
S: "Oh, y-yeah for sure"
L: The bird crouches down and lays out a wing, giving the two Pokemon a sort of ramp to get onto its back.
While the salandit is clearly still a little nervous, he starts climbing onto the bird.
S: the raboot however doesn't climb on the bird, he's got a slight fear of heights so he's very much nervous
L: Salandit: "You okay, Raboot? Come on, maybe this'll end up being fun."
Bird: "The trip won't take all that long, if that's what you're nervous about. I can fly a lot faster than you'd think."
S: "Salandit, you know I'm afraid of heights! I don't know how I feel about the prospect of flying..."
L: Salandit: "Right, kinda forgot... I'm sure it'll be perfectly safe!"
Bird: "It will! You won't even have to feel the wind if you don't want to, I've got a little bit of magic that can block that."
S: "It's not like I'll make any difference...I don't know guys.... I've suffered enough fear for one day... I don't think I can do it buddy..."
L: Salandit: "The day started like half an hour ago! But anyway, if this isn't going to work, then I'm not really sure what we can do..."
Bird: "Even if we could bring the sleigh out here, I doubt that'd be much better for you."
S: "Oh man..." the raboot frowns
"Ugh... I really want to go to the north pole, but having to face my fears AGAIN?? That's just wrong, but...I may have no choice"
L: Bird: "Yeah, I think I'm pretty much your only option for getting there..."
Salandit: "I'll do my best to keep you calm!"
S: "...oh fine..." the raboot rolls his eyes and he climbs onto the bird finally
L: The salandit gives the raboot a hug. "It's gonna be fine... I'll be probably be a bit scared too, though..."
The bird stands up once the two are on it. "Alright, just let me know when you two are ready."
S: the raboot hugs the salandit back
"Y-yeah...I'm scared...a lot... I've never been on a flight before..."
L: Salandit: "Neither have I... But people go on planes all the time, it can't be THAT bad..."
Bird: "Yep, it'll pretty much just feel like a plane ride. From what I've heard about them, anyway."
S: "Well I've never been on a plane ride either so, I wouldn't know...oh boy..."
L: Bird: "...Maybe we should just get started and get it over with? Like I said, it won't take long, I only had to fly about 10 minutes and you know how far away the North Pole is."
S: "Whoa, you can fly THAT fast!?!? I don't know how I feel about that either, I don't wanna fall off with out fast your going!"
L: Salandit: "Jeez, yeah, I only just put that together!"
Bird: "I could go slower if you want, but that'll make it a really long trip. Besides, I always do my best to make staying on me as easy as possible."
S: "Ugh...I don't know what to do"
L: Salandit: "Neither do I... Ugh, I really want to do this!"
S: "I do too... I'm just so worried I'll fall off if we go too fast..."
L: Bird: "Once I've really gotten going, I can pretty much just glide the rest of the way no problem. Might add a few minutes to the trip, but staying on will be even easier at that point. Just stay on the middle of my back until then."
Salandit: "I'd be fine with a bit of a delay like that, yeah."
S: "I guess anything to make it easier to stay on, but I'm still very scared that I'm gonna fall off"
L: Bird: "There isn't really that much else we can do..."
Salandit: "I'll hold onto you, Raboot, and I'll hold the bird as well. But yeah, they're right, that's pretty much it."
S: "...fine, just let's make this quick and painless then..."
L: The salandit holds the raboot and gets a good grip on the bird as well. "Alright, let's start before you change your mind!"
Bird: "Okay, here we go!" With a powerful flap of its wings, it launches into the air!
S: "W-whoa!!! Ahhhhh!!!" the raboot was very much afraid, holding onto the bird for dear life
L: Salandit: "H-holy crap! I-it's gonna be okay, just hold on!"
The bird is quickly speeding up, wanting to get to a good speed as soon as possible.
S: "Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!" the raboot screams out of pure fear at how fast the bird is going
L: The salandit does his best to hug the raboot as he keeps holding the bird. Like the bird had said, there's no wind, so it's pretty easy to stay on.
S: "I wanna get off! I WANNA GET OFF!!!!!" the raboot's voice is clearly scared
L: Bird: "O-okay, okay!" It slows down and quickly descends again, landing before too long.
Salandit: "You okay, Raboot?"
S: "No! I'm not! I'm petrified man! I don't know how much longer I can handle the feeling of flying" the raboot's body shakes with fear
L: The salandit hugs the raboot. "I'm not sure how we'll be able to get to the North Pole then..."
Bird: "Yeah, just walking would take ages..."
S: the raboot hugs the salandit back tightly
"I don't know either...but that was too much for me to handle....what should we do??"
L: Salandit: "I'm out of ideas at this point..."
Bird: "Same here, even I've got nothing..."
S: "Aww man...maybe I should just suck it up and do it then..."
L: Salandit: "Maybe if you keep your eyes closed the whole time, you won't really realize what's happening as much?"
Bird: "Definitely couldn't hurt to at least try that."
S: "...I guess it's worth a shot...ok I'll try that then...."
L: Bird: "Alright, let me know when you're ready, then we'll get going again."
Salandit: "Really hope this works..."
S: "Just get it over it" the raboot closes his eyes tight, hugging the salandit as well
L: The bird launches back into the air again, resuming the trip to the North Pole.
The salandit tightly holds onto both the bird and the raboot.
S: "Ahhhh!!!!" he shivers with fear again, but he tries to calm himself down
L: Salandit: "It's gonna be okay, it's gonna be okay!"
Like before, the bird is speeding back up, hoping it won't have to stop this time.
S: "Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!" the raboot cries as the bird speeds up again, his body shaking with fear, even with his eyes closed, crying too
L: Bird: "I wish I could help, but all we can really do is get this over with quick!"
S: the raboot whimpers loudly and sadly, hoping they get there soon so this can be over
L: Before all that long, the bird does at least get fast enough to just start gliding. "Okay, from here it'll be a way smoother ride. You'll probably still want to keep your eyes closed, we're going REALLY fast."
Salandit: "Yeah, even I'm a little nervous about that..."
S: "I-i will keep them closed, I'm way too scared to open them now! Ahhhh!!! Are we even almost there yet?!"
L: Bird: "Hate to say it, but it's still gonna be another... 8 minutes or so."
Salandit: "Ugh, that SUCKS!"
S: "What?!?! Awww come on!!!! Ugh!"
L: The flight continues on... Eventually, below the 3 of them, there's nothing but snow.
Bird: "We're getting close now, maybe another 30 seconds."
Salandit: "Finally..."
S: "Just let it be over already!!! Come on!!"
L: Then, at last, the bird finally lands! "Okay, we're just about there! We can just walk from here."
The salandit gives the raboot one more hug. "You did it!"
S: "Finally..." the raboot opens his eyes and sees they are on solid ground again, he immediately jumps down
L: Bird: "Glad you managed to handle this after all... Anyway, the North Pole's this way, just follow me."
Salandit: "Lucky we're fire types, the cold would be pretty bad otherwise..."
S: "Yeah, I don't feel that cold at all, so that's a good thing"
L: After some walking, a bunch of buildings with Christmas colors become visible! It's the North Pole!
Salandit: "Woah, we're finally here!" He starts excitedly rushing forward.
S: "H-hey! Wait for me buddy! Whoa!" the raboot quickly follows the salandit to it as well
L: The bird follows after them, pretty easily given how big it is.
Soon enough, the group can see Santa waving to them! "Hey there, guys! Glad you could make it!"
S: "Hey Santa! It was a rough ride to get here but we did make it!"
L: Salandit: "Yeah, Raboot REALLY doesn't like flying..."
Santa: "Sorry about that, the bird was the best I could do on short notice. I'll have something better ready for you two later."
S: "Well, as long as it doesn't involve flying then, ok great"
L: Santa: "So, welcome to the North Pole! You two ready to start the tour?"
Salandit: "Of course, yeah!"
S: "Most definitely!! Hehe!"
L: Santa: "Then let's get going!" He leads the two Pokemon all around the North Pole, showing them the workshop and all sorts of other cool stuff! It certainly more than makes up for all the trouble the two had gone through the previous night!
![[RP LOG] Trials of the sunken temple](https://va.ib.metapix.net/images80/overlays/writing.png "[RP LOG] Trials of the sunken temple"){kind=small}
