WOO! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
Surprised? Yup, it's a double update. Triple update if you count the part two to this chapter coming out tomorrow.
So yeah! Just like for Halloween, I decided to write a bonus chapter or so for Christmas. Don't tell Toni, but that chapter was honestly kinda 'meh' in my opinion and not really Halloweeny.
But, I really like this chapter that I wrote up, and I sincerely hope you do too!
Enjoy and have a Merry Christmas!
Krios
The Wild Reindeer Chase (Part 1)
Sam sighed as she slid into her bed. She'd just come back after a particularly taxing archery contest, and she was tired.
Valaither had practically become her home. It really was nice to have somewhere to stay after draining events like that, instead of sleeping in the tent like always.
The tent was nice and all, but she never wanted to sleep in that stupid armchair ever again.
Valaither felt cozier than any place she'd ever been. She'd even made some new friends including the members of Squad 1 and even the archery instructor of Valaither, who she exchanged flirts with every time she visited Valaither. Every time she was at Valaither, she felt safe and comfortable. And she had a bed now! The comfiest bed ever.
Which was why she was so annoyed when suddenly there was a loud commotion outside in the hallway.
She tried to ignore it, but eventually it got to the point where she couldn't ignore it any longer.
Sam threw off her comfortable silk sheets and her very comfortable bed, both of which she missed already. She grabbed her bow and stormed over to her door.
"If it's those idiots setting off fireworks in the hallways again I'm going to shoot them in the knees," Sam grumbled as she grabbed her door knob. She threw open the door and stepped into the hallway, barking "Hey! People are trying to sleep here, you kno—"
She stopped dead when she saw an enormous reindeer charging down the hallway with it's head down.
"What the—?" Sam began.
Sam would have been gored if she hadn't been yanked out of the way as the reindeer stampeded past, nearly crushing her feet as it ran past.
"Hey, Sam!" Sam turned—it had been Lago who had pulled her out of the way. Lago waved at her. "Sorry. We wake ya?"
"Yeah," Sam said once her heart had settled. "Yeah, you did."
"Lago, you moron, it's getting away!" Sam turned to see Cacao running after the deer, which was about to meet a dead end.
But to Sam's surprise, instead of stopping, the reindeer smashed through the wall without even slowing down. Sam was surprised further when instead of plummeting to the ground, the reindeer simply cantered through the air. It sailed over the obsidian wall and nearly knocked over a very surprised guard, and was gone from view.
"DANG IT!" Cacao shouted as he ground to a stop at the reindeer shaped hole in the wall.
"Okay," Sam said. "Flying reindeer. You know what? After the past few months, I'm not even shocked."
"Yeah, this kinda happens a lot during December." Lago said.
"What's the deal with the reindeer?" Sam questioned.
Lago sighed. "It's a long story, but basically one day this guy that owned a sleigh riding business in the Aether caught a reindeer and brought it down here. I don't know what the point was because there are, like, more efficient ways to get around than sleighs, but that's not the point."
"Anyways, turns out the reindeer the guy had found was magic. Imagine that—out of all the reindeer in the world, the first reindeer you find turns out to be a magic one. The reindeer began wreaking havoc, running around everywhere and causing destruction. Eventually it gave up though, and ran back into the woods. There's a forest in the Aether, by the way. Just if you didn't know. And every December, the reindeer just…kinda appears and terrorizes the Aether. I think the mayor of the Aether has put out a bounty for whoever catches the reindeer."
"Huh," Sam said. "And why was it in our halls?"
"We tried to lead it into Valaither and capture it," Lago said, "but as you can see that kinda backfired."
"Oookay." Sam said. "Well…you guys have fun with that."
"Wait!" Lago said, grabbing Sam's arm as she made to leave. "Maybe…you can…catch it…for us?"
Sam made a face. "Why would I do that?"
Lago shifted her feet. "Well you see, me and Caca are skipping out on the whole Second Christmas Eve party to do this, so I thought that since you weren't going to the party anyways, you could do it. Well. If you're up for it."
"Second Christmas Eve party?" Sam repeated. "It's not Christmas Eve yet."
"Yeah, that's why it's called Second Christmas Eve."
Sam snorted. "Do you people party every other day?"
"Only on the special occasions."
"Which seems to be every other day," Sam said with a roll of her eyes. "Why are you so obligated to capture this reindeer, anyways?"
"No reason," Lago said. "Just…do me a favor and say I caught it if anyone asks."
At this, Sam's eyebrows shot up. "Why's that?"
"I'll tell you," Cacao chimed in angrily.
"Cacao," Lago said dangerously.
"Lago made a deal that she can't keep, as per usual." Cacao snapped. "Now if she doesn't catch that reindeer until Christmas, she has to kiss some creep that's even worse than Jared."
"What?" Sam said, appalled. "Why would you think of making a deal like that?"
"It doesn't matter," Lago snapped. "I can just—"
"Tell you what," Sam interrupted. "I'll do it."
"Huh?" Lago said.
"I'll do it," Sam repeated. "And then after capturing this reindeer you can show me to this guy and I can kick him in the throat."
"Awesome!" Lago cheered, and hugged Sam. "Thanks a lot! Caca, you hear that?"
"Yes," Cacao said, glancing at the hole in the wall, "but the reindeer's…"
"Sam said she'd take care of it! Right, Sam?" Lago beamed at Sam.
"Sure," Sam said, slightly bemused. "Of course. Could even be fun. But before you go—one question."
"Yeah?" Lago said.
"Why do you call Cacao 'Caca' all the time?"
"It's Spanish for poop."
"Ah." Sam said. "You know Spanish?"
Lago winked at Sam. "One does get bored down here. Come on Caca, let's go!"
"Call me that again…" Cacao warned, but Sam could see he looked a little gratified. As he followed Lago, he paused in front of her.
"Just so you know," Cacao said, "that's…not your average reindeer."
"Yeah," Sam said. "It flies."
"Well, yes," Cacao said, "but…it's also…smart. Like, uncannily smart for a reindeer."
Sam flapped her hand at him. "I've fought pigmen, dragons, and even Klith himself. How hard could just catching a reindeer be?"
As she would soon find out, it would be very hard.
-O-
After asking the guards which way the reindeer had ran (which was a bit of a confusing conversation) Sam started her 'side quest'.
Snow coated the ground as Sam ran—she wasn't sure where it had come from, considering the Aether was technically underground, but there was no point in asking. What was important now was catching the reindeer.
It wasn't hard, because the reindeer had left more than hoof prints in it's wake. Sam followed the reindeer's trail through a field in which all the carrots had been eaten, (how did the plants grow? There was no sun.) a marketplace that had had most of it's stalls demolished, a minecart track that had been smashed and warped, a large hole in an otherwise cozy house, and eventually, a small forest.
Sam was beginning to wonder if she would ever catch up to the reindeer when she heard a snort. She paused, listening.
There was another snort, and the reindeer walked out from behind a tree, munching on a carrot.
There you are, Sam thought as she drew back an arrow in her bow.
No, the arrow wouldn't kill. It was a net arrow—an arrow that, as the name suggested, would explode into a net and tangle whatever it was shot at.
The reindeer suddenly stopped chewing and fixed it's eyes on her.
How'd it see me? I didn't make a sound!
The reindeer charged, and Sam yelped and fired.
It was an immaculate shot—Sam watched as the arrow spiraled, spiraled through the air, bursting and letting a net fly that Sam was sure would entangle the reindeer—
—and she watched as the reindeer simply swooped out of the way of the net, flying past it. As it flew past her, it kicked her in the chest, knocking her backwards into the ground and sending up a spray of snow. It hadn't kicked her for real—if it had, it would have broken her bones. But it had kicked hard enough to take the wind out of her, and she could tell that it was merely playing.
Sam let out a string of curse words which seemed to amuse the reindeer, it braying almost like it was laughing before soaring away.
"So it's a game you want then?" Sam snarled. "Fine! Then it's a game you'll get!"
-O-
"Sam," Jax said, "you look terrible."
And she did. Her hair was messed up, her clothes were dirty from running through the snow all night, and she had shadows under her eyes. She clutched her fork like a soldier holding their weapon, and all she could think about was that accursed reindeer.
There was no point recounting the amount of times she had been tricked and bamboozled by the reindeer. There was no point in telling them how many hours she had wasted running through the snow, being kicked by the reindeer, and setting up traps that the reindeer didn't even fall for. And there was definitely no point recounting the amount of times the reindeer had laughed at her after every failure. All that she knew was that she had been outsmarted. By a reindeer.
"That reindeer," Sam mumbled. "Once I get my hands on it I'm going to…" she made a motion with her hands like she was strangling something.
"I don't think choking a reindeer is a good idea," Toni said dryly. "Sam, do you need help? Because—"
"No!" Sam snapped. "That stupid reindeer's mine. I'm getting that reindeer no matter the cost."
"Are you sure?" Jax said. "Because…well…it's just a reindeer."
"A reindeer that has robbed me of my pride!" Sam pounded the table with her fist.
Toni and Jax exchanged looks.
Lago sighed. "You know, I think this was a bad idea. I'll—"
"I said NO!" Sam snarled. "That stupid smug reindeer…I'll have it's head."
Lago looked guiltily at Jax. "I think this is partially my fault."
"Well…" Jax said as he watched Sam impale a whole roast turkey with her fork. "At least that reindeer won't eat our Christmas tree anymore."
-O-
The plan was simple.
Next to Valaither, there was a deep hole that had been caused by an explosion a long time ago that nobody had bothered to fill in. Sam used this to her advantage.
To a regular person, the newly made carrot farm next to Valaither looked innocent. But to Sam, it was the trap that would catch the reindeer.
When the reindeer came to the carrot farm (and Sam knew this would happen, because the reindeer loved carrots) it would end up stepping on pressure plates that were subtly hid all over the field, and the ground would slide open, revealing a hole that the reindeer would fall in. Then the ground would shut again, trapping the reindeer underground. When the reindeer landed on the many pressure plates inside the pit, the dispensers in the walls would then spray out a tranquilizer gas, knocking out the reindeer.
Was this trap humane? No, not really. But that didn't matter to Sam. All she wanted was the
reindeer.
At this point, you might be wondering whether Sam had gone insane trying to catch this deer. Well, you'd be right.
She'd become so obsessed with capturing the deer that she'd forgotten her original goal: to help Lago. This wasn't about helping her anymore. It was about pride.
Sam made the dispensers. She got the gas. She wired the entire thing, which took hours because of her inexperience with redstone, and she made the carrot farm and wired the pistons again, which took even longer!
And after nearly six hours, Sam was done. Her trap was ready. She hid behind a bush and waited.
And she waited and waited.
After another two hours (most of which she spent sleeping) the reindeer came.
There was a crack, like someone stepping on a branch. Sam jerked awake, and watched.
The reindeer cantered into the field, exuding pride. Sam felt hatred run through her veins.
The reindeer sniffed around, and pulled up a carrot.
"Yes, yes." Sam whispered. "Come on. Step on a pressure plate. Do it!"
After chewing the carrot for a painstakingly long time, it ate another carrot.
And another.
And another.
And another.
And then the reindeer brayed and soared off.
Sam just sat there, in shock. How? How had the reindeer missed all of the pressure plates? It was statistically impossible!
Sam stepped out from behind the bush she had been hiding behind and walked over to the field.
It hadn't worked.
…
It hadn't worked.
…
It hadn't WORKED!
"AAGGGHHHH!" Sam screamed, and stomped her foot. Something slightly sank under her foot.
Click.
The ground underneath her caved in, and she felt her stomach drop as she plummeted to the ground.
Sam hit the ground with a crack and gasped in pain. It was a much, much longer drop than she had anticipated. And Sam was pretty sure she had broken something.
And now she stared at the cruel, cold faces of the dispensers that were now spraying out gas.
That she had made.
Sam tore off part of her sleeve and wrapped it around her face as a makeshift mask, and then searched for the staircase she'd embedded in the side of the pit.
There was nothing. The staircase…Sam remembered with a shock that she had closed it off so the reindeer couldn't climb it.
Think, Sam frantically thought. THINK!
Sam searched for an arrow in her quiver that could help—anything that could help. She dumped everything out of her quiver and grabbed an explosive arrow.
Coughing and hacking, Sam nocked it in her bow without thinking of the risks, of the danger. There was no time.
She ticked the minuscule switch on the side of the arrow. It began to smoke. Sam drew back the arrow.
No room for error.
Sam fired the arrow straight up. The arrow stuck in the roof, and exploded, shaking the ground.
Chunks of dirt rained down on Sam, and she got a face full of dirt and went down. Dirt rained down on her, and she felt something hard strike her face.
The gas still sprayed.
Sam coughed—she was starting to get drowsy now. She dropped to her knees. This gas…she'd severely underestimated how much would pour out of the dispensers. She'd only bought a few bottles of gas…
Sam choked as she grabbed a water arrow and snapped it in half. Water sprayed out of it, splashing her in the face and waking her up a little. Sam groped around for the arrow she knew was somewhere.
She grabbed the net arrow, and fired it in an instant. The net spiraled out, and automatically Sam grabbed a second arrow and fired at the net, pinning it to the wall. Sam began to cough again as she fired more and more arrows at the net until she was sure it wouldn't collapse, creating a makeshift rope ladder.
Sam took a running jump and grabbed the end of the net. It felt like acid was sloshing around in her chest, but Sam continued to climb. She couldn't see a foot in front of her, the gas was so dense now. Her eyes watered, and now she was completely blind. But she continued to climb.
There was a snap, but Sam kept climbing. The rough surface of the net was now the only thing keeping her conscious. And the pain. Definitely the pain. There was another series of snaps, and Sam pulled herself up.
Another crack, and the net sagged, nearly dropping Sam back into the pit. Sam began to shout in surprise, but gas streamed into her mouth, making her gag.
I'm so tired.
Sam dragged herself up again. And she dragged herself up again. But this time was different. Instead of cold, hard rock, she now felt dirt through the holes in the net. Hope sparked in her chest.
Another snap, and suddenly Sam found herself hanging from the net by one hand. Was it her imagination, or was the net slowly sinking back into the pit?
Come on, Sam strained as she reached for the surface one last time.
The net sagged further.
COME ON.
A final snap.
"COME ON!"
The last arrow supporting the net snapped, and the net dropped into the pit.
-O-
When Sam trudged into Valaither, she got some strange looks, which was to be expected. After all, she had just suffered her worst failure yet and was now covered in dirt.
Luckily for Sam, there was a Skywars game going on, so the halls were mostly empty. Sam stepped into the elevator and pressed the button that led to her room. She was so tired.
But then. Sam paused, and considered.
She pressed the button that led her to the floor Skywars was being played on.
When Sam got to the Skywars floor, she walked down the stairs over to the spectator room, which was just a room with a lot of TVs. Sam sat in front of a TV which was currently spectating a squad that was getting their butt kicked. Sam grabbed the remote and clicked it until she was now watching Toni's squad.
As Sam expected, they were decimating everyone. Their teamwork was impeccable, and they were eliminating a lot of people. Jax ducked, and Toni stabbed his opponent in the face.
"Hey look, a chest!" Bandit said as he ran over to a chest a bit far from the tight-knit group Toni's squad had made.
"Bandit, wait!" Jax shouted.
Suddenly a group of people appeared in front of Bandit. Bandit screeched to a halt too late, and went down after being pierced by multiple arrows.
Some people began to walk into the spectator room, but Sam was focused on the screen in front of her.
Y smashed someone's skull in with a sword, but Sam noticed that he was getting further and further away from the initial group. Someone snuck up behind Y and ran him through.
Things went down hill from there. Cacao got impaled by a trident, Rook was tossed off the island, and Lago was beheaded.
Now it was just Toni and Jax, who fought valiantly. Jax managed to dismember two people before being stabbed in the back. Toni almost managed to place down a block of TNT before being impaled.
Sam watched it all. Inside her head, something was taking place.
How had that happened? They'd been doing so good until…Bandit had ran off.
…
Earlier, when she was trapped in that hole, how much easier would it have been if someone had been there to help her? To correct her mistakes? How much time would rigging the trap have taken if she'd just asked someone for help?
And how could she have forgotten the reason she was trying to capture the reindeer in the first place?
…she had been so very stupid.
Sam stood and walked out of the spectator room over to the respawn area.
Toni and the fan were walking out of the respawn area, looking slightly disappointed.
"Ah well." Bandit shrugged. "At least we got some kills in."
"Yeah…though it could have been cool if I'd got off that TNT kill," Toni mused.
"Toni," Sam said as she walked up to Toni.
When Toni saw Sam, she did a double take. "Sam," Toni gasped. "You look—you look like—"
"—you've just been through hell and back," Jax finished. "No luck with the reindeer, I suppose?"
"No," Sam said, "but I think I've realized what I need to do." She hurriedly explained to Toni what she'd just gone through and what she'd realized.
Toni scowled. "So you realized…that you're not as strong on your own as you are with other people? And it took a near death experience and a game of Skywars for you to realize that?"
"Yeah, I know." Sam groaned. "It's so clear to me in retrospect, but I was dumb and stupid and let my pride get in the way, and I wasn't thinking. And Toni…I think I need your help."
"You think?" Toni said dryly.
"That is, if you want to." Sam said.
Toni's scowl vanished, and she punched Sam in the shoulder. "Why would I not want to help?"
Sam smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Toni."
"I'm helping too," Jax said. "No offense Toni, but I don't think your powers are well suited for capturing reindeer."
"We're helping, too." Bandit said fiercely. "After all, we are doing this because for Lago's sake."
We turned to Lago, who looked surprised. "Huh?" she said.
"Did you think we'd just not help?" Cacao rolled his eyes.
"But nobody's caught that reindeer for three years," Lago said.
"Yeah," Rook said, "but they didn't have the reborn soul of Null and Herobrine, did they?"
Lago smiled. "Thanks, guys."
"But before we start on that," Jax broke in, "Sam, we need to get you fixed up. Don't think I didn't notice that limp. And take a shower. You reek.