[SH] My Reindeer Totoro

Labor 9

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“Oh dear, oh dear. What ever shall I’ll do.” A voice muttered in the distance, it seemed in distress but unaware of the presence of anyone else in the present area. “This is bad, this is definitely bad. The Sleigh doesn’t have enough fuel to get into town on it’s own.. And if I don’t get into town, I can’t get a helper. And without a helper the good boys and girls won’t get a present and Christmas day will be ruined. What do I do? What do I do?”

Totoro, or, as Labor affectionately liked to call them, “Fluffy”, was the first to notice this short man in green pacing through the leaves, both due to their acute sense of hearing and not being as asleep as their newly found friends.

“Rogh?” The large animaloid asked itself while tapping labor on the back, trying to get them to wake up.

“5 mintues...:”poured out of the scarecrow’s mouth, the voice distorted and deep like normal.

“Rawgh.” Totoro explained, pointing to what seemed to be a little green thing pacing back and forth in the distance.

The two of them quietly pushed themselves out of the cave to go investigate.

“I’m totally gonna get fired for this.” The man in green worried to himself. “Santa is going to find out there are no presents and..” That was when the green attired figure, which upon closer inspection had pointed up ears, almost like an elf of some sort, noticed the two large beasts.

The elf man was obviously scared, already being paranoid then seeing a big brown bear-cat hybrid and a unnaturally thin walking scarecrow with splodges of blood and two human heads and a dead bird hanging from it’s waist.

“Grough” The animalistic one growled, opening its mouth at an unbelievably wide angle of an extended period of time. The Elf backed away slowly.

“Mon amie… What time is it? It’s so bright, why didn’t you wake me up earli-” As Yuuya, the charming pale man of formal casual clothing that had been accompanying Labor, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes he caught eye contact with the visibly distressed new guy.

“Y-You’re with these… these creatures?” He stattered at Yuuya.

“Why yes I am. And i would like to respectfully request that you don’t call my friends ‘creatures’”


“You’re… You’re not scared.’

“No, why would I be? They are as harmless as teddy bears.”

The elf… didn’t seem to know how to take this, tumbling around in his pocket for something. Out of one of them came a set of small round red spectacles. After putting them on the Elf’s demeanor calmed and he apologized to the trio. “I’m guess I’m just over reacting to everything because if I don’t figure how to get this sled running it will be bad news…”

Labor bent down and picked up two long sticks, holding one to each side of their head. “Fluff...fy”

“Where are we meant to find a reindeer strong enough to pull an entire sleigh” The elf retorted back.

Labor slowly moved Totoro, placing the stick antlers in either side of his head like they did on themselves. “Fluffy”

“That… that may just work, come on you three.”
 

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As the elf shifted things around inside the sled Totoro blinked, looking up to see the two sticks Labor was still holding to his head, then as he understood a broad grin spreaded across his face. „Rhaaaa“, he roared and ran forward to the sled, taking his spot between the two shafts that a reindeer was normally attached to and grabbing them with his paws. Normally a reindeer would be fixated to the carriage using leather straps and a harness but obviously that wasn‘t an option given his completely different physique.

“Okay, so… we got the traction organized, but I’m way behind schedule now”, the elf man mumbled. “So, uh… could you two hop in and you, big guy, could you start pulling? Quickly please?”

“Gruh.” And he did, as soon as Yuuya and Labor had made themselves comfortable on the sleigh. Or at least, he tried. The sleigh barely advanced at a snail’s pace even as he gave it his all.

“Oh dear, this won’t do”, the elf said as he rummaged around a compartment under the seats on the sleigh and pulled out three red “santa” hats. “I have these, though! Pretty sure one’s exhausted its magic though… let’s just try.” He leant way out of the sled and stuck one on Totoro’s head. At first the tiny hat looked quite funny on the big nature spirit, then it magically changed its size, growing larger until it completely covered his head! At the same time, the sled began to accelerate again until Totoro was pulling it at a running pace. Still not quite as fast as Santa’s sled, but after picking up some speed they took off into the air.

“Warm...” Labor said as she put on the hat and adjusted it.

“I don’t feel anything”, Yuuya said. “Did I draw the short straw?”

“Looks like you did, or you’d feel the magic. But you can keep the hat!” the elf said. Then he pulled out a parchment that unrolled, revealing itself to be a long list of names with remarks written next to each. “Even with Excel this thing’s still a mess… so, would you guys be up to help me? That’d be worth a lot of cookie points on Santa’s list.”

Un instant please… what is this about?” asked Yuuya.

“Well in case you couldn’t tell, I’m an elf who works for Santa Clause. I deliver presents to the people out there along with the other elves.”

“Doesn’t Santa do that by himself?”

“How would he do that?” the elf asked with a raised eyebrow. “Nobody can deliver presents to millions of families across eight planets and an extradimensional realm in three weeks. He’d need to be everywhere at once, that’s completely unrealistic.”

Nobody questioned how it was ‘realistic’ a man was able to afford millions upon millions of presents for complete strangers.

“Anyway. I really fell behind schedule because my sled ran out of fuel. I could really use some help to catch up.”

“I wouldn’t mind helping out… how about you, Totoro?”

“Groaaah.”

“And you, mon amie?

“Yes… help.”

“It’s settled then, we’ll help you out!”

“Great! Here’s the naughty and nice list. I’ll just leave it in the sled, you guys read it any time you need. You guys were...” He put on his spectacles again. “… Yuuya, Labor Nine and… Totoro. I’m Gabriel.”

“You can see our names with these?”

“Oh, yeah. They’re inside your hats, they let you see the names of anyone you look at and if they get a present or coal. The presents are in that big sack behind you Labor, and the coal is in the smaller bag next to it.”

Très bien, we should go then.”

“Rooooooaaaaah~” Totoro roared in cheerful approval. And that is how the impromptu helpers to Santa began their work, to ensure that everyone got what they deserved on Cevanti’s christmas day.
 

Labor 9

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The air of the Christmas night was cold as the sleigh brushed effortlessly through it, Totoro pulling and guiding the sleigh while the rest look for presents in preparation for when they got to the city. But something seemed wrong with Labor-9…

“What’s wrong Mon Amie?” Yuuya started to asked, “Is something sad in your mind?”

“La… bor…”

“Oh,” Yuuya said, seeming a little disheartened despite his demeanor being this cheerful as ever, it was probably his eyes.. “Is that what you want me to start calling you?”

“No.. Labor… Not name…”

“It has to be.” The elf broke in, “It is what was on the glasses after all.” This left labor with a depressed expression shown through her slumped body.

“Rowrg!” The Reindeer replacement Totoro roared as a school came into the distance.

The three passengers looked over the side of the sleigh, just on the edge of the city were two old brick brown buildings, you could tell which was the main one though, it wasn’t as run down and about half the size more of the other.

“Hmmm…. Judging by the list it’s possible someone could be sleeping down there.” The elf told everyone else. “Probably in the classroom or staff room if he is. Take us down please Totoro.”

Totoro did as he was asked and turned to try and land on the roof of the school, somehow without making a sound despite their and the sleighs large weight, almost like they were gently gliding to the surface.

Labor randomly let out a word as they were awkwardly getting out of the slay, their knees bending like some sort of two legged spider. “Two…” Their crackling voice whispered out into the cold night’s air. The others seemed visibly confused. “Two… people…” the scarecrow repeated, taking a present out of the bag with each hand

The halls were a hell to get to which how cramped the roof way stairs were as a big lumbering exoskeleton of metal and straw. But once inside it was easy to traverse the halls and find the staff room.

Looking through the tiny peephole labor could see that Mr Nanaki was still asleep. In a mini poncho and a cream woolen jumper, his golden blonde hair slumped over on a table in front of the small plastic chair he was sitting on, it seemed remarkably uncomfortable. Labor always wondered how he managed to sleep so much with so much loud noises around him.

The robot slowly opened door a place a present in the room before closing it again, they didn’t want to disturb him.

Next up was the library. It wasn’t that far away from the first room. “Ne… Ge...Ki?!?!” The humanoid said as it barged in.

“Please be quiet in the library.” A soft voice said up against labor’s ear.

“Sorry…” Labor replied, her response much quieter now, sounding like this has happened before.

“So what do you want this time, you know this isn’t a public library, so since you left…”

“Negeki… present.” They interrupted.

“Oh? That sounds nice. Helping animals like always.”

“You… understand?” Labor seemed confused and looked up at the child with a mop of green hair both surprised and curious.

“I mean… you are giving me very detailed sentences, IDK why you are still wearing the school uniform for though… Hiyoko.”

“You see me… as me?” The blond haired late teen asked confused, her nice blue jacket and skirt blowing in the soft wind from the closed window.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Negeki said, “You are always you and you will always be you? How else would I see you?” Tears started running down the round face of the female, dripping at first before speeding up gradually “What’s wrong? Did I say something a bad?”

“No! No not at all.” Hiyoko cried, hugging onto Negeki tight. “You said the absolute rig-”

“There you are mon amie.” Yuuya interrupted, the sight of labor hugging the air someone off throwing him.”You were gone for a long time so me and Totoro were starting to get worried about you. Did you deliver all your gifts?”

Labor seemed like they were about to say something as they looked at the long metallic hands that no longer held anything in it, before seeming to brighten up a little. “...yeah.”
 

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As Yuuya and Labor came back outside, leaving the school behind to continue their work, they found Totoro laying on his back and Gabriel lazing around on his furry belly. They were both very clearly awake, as evidenced by how Totoro turned his head to look at the two of them when they exited the building and the elf was nuzzling his face back and forth into the fur, but neither of them moved when Yuuya hopped into the sled.

“Is something the matter, Gabriel? I thought we had to catch up on the deliveries”, the young man asked.

“Yeeeeah, but… I don’t want to go”, replied Gabriel. “Mnnnh… I don’t even think I can move my arms anymore. I’ve turned into mush… my muscles won’t obey me now…”

“Raaa-booooor… gruh?” Totoro growled in Labor’s direction. As expressionless as her metal body might be, he could still tell how something was off, and felt concern for his friend.

“Fluffy… not worry… fine”, Labor replied. Totoro seemed unconvinced, but didn’t reply.

“Totoro, could you put Gabriel in the sled?” Yuuya asked. “We should move on.”

“Nooo… I don’t want to go into the cold sled”, the elf’s muffled voice protested, as he was face-down into Totoro’s belly-fur. But the nature spirit came up with a solution: with the big grin on his face, he picked the reluctant elf up and slid him under his santa hat, then turned him around so that his head was poking out from under the rim of the hat.

“Mmmm, this is not as comfy as your stomach, but it works great”, Gabriel admitted after a moment. “Alright, we should get going or we’ll fall behind even more!”

Yuuya sighed, but Labor nudged his leg with her own, and he didn’t comment on that. “So, where are we headed next?” he asked as Totoro took them into the skies again.

“Let me check that list… alright Totoro, I’ll need you to take a left and fly over that clearing over there. Yuuya and Labor, you two drop that large present from the naughty sack as soon as we’re overhead. We can’t stop for this one.”

“We’re doing an airdrop? Why?”

“Because these particular naughty kids are more than just naughty - they’re dangerous.”

They would soon understand why: as they flew over the indicated location, they saw that the clearing was in fact a Zoid den. The mechanical beasts were laying on the ground in groups to recharge in some way, while other groups patrolled. As they noticed the sled they gave warning howls and some of the larger beasts buried their talons in the ground while preparing huge cannons that they aimed at the sky.

“Sharp right!” Gabriel yelled out of a sudden and Totoro manoeuvered as quickly as he could. The next moment, a flak round exploded next to the sled, rocking poor Yuuya and Labor who fell off their seats and against each other.

“Yuuya, drop it now!”

“Hrrrgh… hold on! Mon amie, you’re on top of me there…”

“Sorry...”, Labor replied and awkwardly shifted off. They were tossed around again when Totoro dodged to the left as another round exploded near them, but this got Yuuya on top. He hastily withdrew a present as large as a small fridge from the sack and tossed it overboard. With a magical ‘poof’ a parachute deployed from its top and a christmas melody was played, drawing the Zoids’s attention as the present slowly descended to the ground.

“Okay, pull out!” Gabriel ordered, and Totoro obliged. A third flak round exploded behind them but it posed no more danger, given that most Zoids were distracted by the drop.

“That was a dangerous one”, Yuuya remarked as he dusted himself off and helped Labor to sit up. They both climbed into their seats, this time fastening their seatbelts.

“All in a day’s work for Santa”, the elf replied. “And those mecha-dogs are not the worst of it. You try delivering presents in the tropical heat of Kraw, wearing a thick winter coat in a color that makes you stand out like a sore thumb when everything on the planet is outfitted with teeth.”

“I guess these guys down there got coal?”

“Oh, no. They could use coal as fuel for their mechanical bodies. They get coal as a present.”

“Rhoooo grahhh wruh?”

“The ‘naughty’ presents in the drop? They’re old gaming consoles and TFT monitors.”

“They could salvage those for parts though”, Yuuya pointed out.

“And naughty kids could sell coal for money and buy their own presents”, the elf replied. “The thing is, they still get a present. They just have to work to get it and it’s not as much as a ‘nice’ present either. Anyway, next stop on the list… you just continue straight for now, Totoro. Oh, and Labor? Please give the present sack a shake every so often to drop the presents for the animals and plants we’re flying over. It’s magic, it’ll know what items to drop down.”

Labor raised her hand as a loose thumbs-up and shook the sack. Potent fertilizers and compost, delicious nuts and berries, mouthwatering cuts of meat and fish, crunchy bales of fresh grass and hay, litres upon litres of fresh water to drink, as well as other assorted items such as scratch-posts, empty boxes and warm blankets, rained down on the forest, each present laser-guided (or rather magic-guided) to land in front of the burrow, den, hole in the wall or wherever else its respective recipient had made their home and open itself to be ready and usable.

Totoro smiled broadly and pulled the sled with renewed vigor. Now he knew where his magic top and all those packets of acorns that he’d found next to his bed each year that day had come from.
 

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Our group is currently on the roof of a random house, Gabriel's arms dangling out of the chimney. Lined up in order were Yuuya, Labor-9 and Totoro, all of them holding onto the person in front of the,m. “Okay, in three, pull me out of the chimney.” Came the elf’s voice, echoing and muffled up the chimney. “One... Two... Three!”

They pulled to try and get the elf unstuck, One tug, two tug, and- Whooosh Gabriel went flying through the air, over the head of everyone else, everyone else soon following over the head of Totoro and into the sleigh. It was almost like some kind of cartoon.


“That was an unpleasant experience.” The elf grumbled as he pushed himself up off the seat he had landed on. “If only I had a cup of hot cocoa to relax…”

Labor pointed at a nearby sign, on it were the words ‘Torimi Cafe’. Despite her lack of facial expression or words, everyone seems to know she is excited to go there.

“Mon Amie, I would hate to disappoint you but I think the local café be closed at this time.” Yuuya said, immediately causing the scarecrow to sink back down again. “You know what, after we finish delivering these gifts we can all go to my home and have a cup there.” This seemed to perk labor up a little. “So how much more do we need to deliver.”

“Let’s see…” Gabriel said, unrolling the list of names. “Oh, only tw-”

“COOOOOOOOOO!!!! (GET BACK HERE HOME INVADER, OKOSAN MUST DEFEND ANCESTORS HONOR BY GETTING RID OF TRESSPASSERS!!!”

Everyone just sort of knew that if they were caught they would be in trouble, so allowed the conversation to pause as they moved away from the house. Totoro pulling the sleigh across the top of the house, jumping off the edge to allow it to fly upwards. A good ways up in the sky Gabriel finished what he was saying. “Like I was saying, there appears to be only two names left. Ryouta Kawara, and Sakuya Le Bel Shirogane.”
 

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Yuuya raised his head. “Wait, Sakuya? Really?” he asked and doublechecked his list.

“Do you know him?”

“I would say so, given that we’re half-siblings. I know Ryouta too. But…” He held the list up. “Neither of them appear on my list. Although, Sakuya wanted to travel home to Arcadia today and I believe Ryouta was on the same route. Maybe that's why?”

“Let me see that…” the elf murmured and reached out. Yuuya handed him the list, which was hard to accomplish given that the airstream from their sleigh flying through the air was blowing in their faces and Totoro’s body could only hold off a part of that. Gabriel read the list, then read it again, compared it to his list, and finally produced an orb that looked like a snow globe. After a few moments the face of another elf appeared in it. “HQ, this is agent Gabriel, ID number 5-7-4 in Cevanti, reporting in.”

“This is HQ, we’re receiving you loud and clear, agent Gabriel. What do you report?”

“I have an issue with my lists. There are two people listed on version 1201 but not on version 1215. I believe that they’re moving to another world, but I want to confirm that.”

“If they’re moving, the delivery will be handled by the agent at their destination. What are the names?”

“Ryouta Kawara and Sakuya Le Bel Shirogane. Should I spell them?”

“Negative, I have found the records already. It appears that Mr. Kawara and Mr. Le Bel Shirogane will be in Erde Nona, Arcadia Sector, by the time Christmas Eve takes place. They’re in the starport and will leave Cevanti in a few hours. Agent Raphael will deliver the shhhhfrrr them.”

“Alright, in that case I need the presents to be transferred to… uh, HQ, do you copy?”

The snow globe’s image was flickering and a strange noise was coming out. Though Totoro could not associate it, Yuuya and Labor 9 would have thought it sounded like the static noise on a TV. “Agent Gafrshhhhh … breaking up… shhhh … you reporting thakrrrrfffshh … still with you?”

Gabriel shook the snow globe in frustration. “Damn these cheap comm-orbs! HQ, do you… HQ? Anyone there? Agh!”

“Grroahhh?” Totoro asked, looking up. Not that he could catch a glimpse of Gabriel laying up there.

“What’s going on?” asked Yuuya. “Do these presents not need to be delivered after all?”

“They do, but what are we going to do? We need to transfer these presents to Raphael, but the teletransfer process can’t be done from elf to elf. HQ needs to do that. And now the snow globe is acting up, when that happens they usually take a while to work again. Ahhh, what are we going to do? Two good people that will go without presents, I can’t let that happen!”

“Starport…” Labor said.

“What do you mean, mon amie?

“Fluffy take…”

“We could indeed try to catch them before they board the ship to Erde Nona. But it’s going to be a long trip, I’m not sure if we can make it”, Gabriel remarked.

“We just have to, or those two will go without presents”, Yuuya said with a glimmer in his eyes. “Hey, Totoro. Think you can speed up a bit?”

Totoro looked over his shoulder, mustering his biggest grin. Yuuya and Labor 9 braced themselves, then he accelerated to top speed. Like a comet they flew over the plains of Cevanti.

Next stop: Cevanti starport.
 

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Ryouta finished straightening his uniform as he came out of the Airport bathroom. It’s navy coloring was much a much darker blue compared to his dustyly colored hair. It looked surprisingly good on him, despite it being a little tight, but that was the best they could at such short notice.

“Ryouta.” A regal voice called out. “Where are you? The train’s leaving so-... on.” Sakuya blinked at the male in uniform for a second. “W-why are you wearing that?”

“Oh, This? I didn’t have enough for both my own and my mom’s ticket, and it would take to long to save enough, so the company offered me that if I worked this flight, they could leave me on Erde.” Ryouta Explained.

“I meant… Why are you wearing a skirt?”

“Oh!” Ryouta’s mind suddenly clicked. “Well, you see, this was the only uniform they had left, just my luck I suppose.”

“You know,” the Le Bel observed, “With the number of times I see you wearing a girls’ uniform, I would almost think you like it. OH WHAT HARDSHIPS THE MODERN DAY NINJA MUST FACE.

“Yeah…” Kawara inserted, unsure of what to say until his mind clicked again. “Wait! What are you doing here anyway?”

“I came to tell you our flight is leaving.” Sakura said it like the words were natural to him… very strange...

“I thought you said you were taking your own flight?” Ryouta Questioned.

“I was... but that flight was delayed. Now the commoners have the honor of a Le Bel flying among their aircrafts, truly a lucky day for them.”

“Yeah.” Ryouta said, playfully rolling his eyes. “We better go so we are not late then.”



“Okay, so here’s the plan.” Gabriel explained as they flew lower onto the runway. “We stop on the runway and one of us sneak the presents onto the airship before it lifts up and that should-”

“I would hate to bring bad news to this situation.” Yuuya added, “But it would seem like the plane is already taking off.” Our quartet looked forward to see yuuya was right, an in this case that didn’t look good.

“We will never make it in time,” Gabriel expressed. “Not with so much weight on board. Christmas is ruined.”

A creaking sound could be heard shortly afterwards. Labor was once again stepping over to the outside of the sleigh. “Mon amie, what are you doing?” Yuuya questioned.

“Too, heavy… Fluffy take… Yuu…” The groins that were the scarecrow’s voice wondered out.

“But-”

“Do you want your brother to get his present or not?” The elf interrupted before Yuuya could question it.

Yuuya was quiet for a second, like a realization was running over him. “Yes.” He said sternly.

“We’ll come back for Labor here later,” Gabriel assured him.

“Roawg” Totoro also reassured.

“Off we go then.”

Totoro pulled as hard as he could to lift the sleigh back up off the ground just as the plane started to, it already had a head start. It slid across the ground. The bumpig along the ground. Bump, Bump, Bump. Yuuya prayed that the sleigh would work a 2nd time, Totoro tried to use all their might and determination to help their friend out. Labor prayed that all the people who deserved a present would get one, and believed in their friends to make this dream come true. Gabriel just didn’t want to lose his job.

The sleigh was nearing the edge of the runway, nearing the border of the station, a grey brick wall, if it didn’t start flying again it would stop the heros in their endeavors. It was getting closer, and closer and then… it flew, totoro quickly jumping up to continue doing his job in the sky as well as avoiding the brick wall himself.
 

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Totoro ran as he'd never run before, mainly because he'd never had to run much. But now was different! Now, although it was 'only' about the timely delivery of a pair of presents to a pair of boys, two out of far, far many more than he could ever imagine, to him it was as if all of Christmas was hinging on him right now. But no matter how strong his conviction was, there was only so much that he could do, and the sleigh was barely gaining any ground - or air - on the plane that was taking to the sky.

“Come on, you can do it!” shouted Yuuya over the wind, trying to motivate him.

“Gruuuuh… raAAAAGH!” he roared in reply. He really should go on a little diet after this.

Meanwhile, Gabriel fiddled with his communication orb again. He had opened a small hatch on the side, spilling cables of various colors out, and was poking around inside with a screwdriver. “I think I’m getting there… got it right on the tip of my… ah, there we go!”

“What did you do?”

“I synced the orb’s receptors to the frequency of the Cevanti starships. Here, listen in.” He held up the orb. Frazzled noise came from it, interrupted by the occasional single clearly spoken word, until the elf gave the orb a shake. After that, everything sounded much clearer:

“… on the approach to landing dock 57, deploying landing gear now…”

“… clear skies, five degrees celsius at ground level, wind force is minimal…”

“AQUI RADIO ANDORRA CON TODAS LAS NOVEDADES DEL-“

“Huh, no idea how it caught that one, must be some old leftover signal… there we go, I got the right frequency.”

“… entering the stratosphere now, warp drive is powering up for FTL warp to Erde Nona.”

“FTL warp?” Yuuya asked. “But if they warp to Erde Nona we’ll never catch them in time!”

“I know that! Totoro, are you sure you can’t go any faster?”

“Roaaaaah!”

“Right. Sorry, just keep trying.”

That was when Yuuya realized something. “Uh, what are we going to do anyway, if we catch up to them?”

“Eh?”

“We can’t very well ask them to open a door to let us in, right? If they’d even notice us.”

The elf’s eyes widened and he slapped his forehead. “You’re right! By Santa’s bushy beard, why haven’t I thought of that?! But that means…”

“… that we can’t enter the plane and deliver the presents to Ryouta and Sakuya?”

“No, there has to be some way…”

“Warp drive powering up”, the orb ‘spoke’. The elf blinked and turned his attention back to it. “Engaging in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, warp.” And just like that, the plane seemed to lengthen infinitely for a split second, before disappearing from view. A deafening crack went through the air as the air crashed into the vacuum left behind by the plane to fill it out. It was only thanks to the sleigh’s protective barrier that Totoro, Gabriel and Yuuya weren’t deafened right there.

“Gr… gruh?”

“Oh, yes. You can turn back now.”

With his shoulders hanging, Totoro turned the sleigh around and they descended back to the starport, where Labor 9 was awaiting them. Seeing their defeated faces, she seemed to slump down as well. But then the elf jumped to his feet as his face lit up. “I GOT IT!” he yelled, rushed out of the sleigh and pulled a wrench-like tool from his hat. With that in hand he crawled under the sleigh and began to work.

“What are you doing now?” asked Yuuya, looking quite startled.

“This sled is an old prototype with an FTL drive. It was never put to use because it’s not as stable as the newer models but if I could… Labor, can you hand me the hypertrophic discombobulator from your hat?”

“Hy… per?”

“Agh! Just give it here!”

Labor clumsily reached up to the sack that covered her head and removed the Santa hat on it, then handed it down to the elf’s waiting hand, who promptly snagged it from her and disappeared under the sleigh with it.

“Raaaah?”

“Not now, Totoro! I’m a bit busy here, I… wha? Oh!”

Totoro had grabbed the side of the sleigh with both hands and, with a loud roar, heaved the entire thing on its side. The elf laid there on his back, looking startled, before he realized what the nature spirit had done and smiled at him. “Thanks, big guy. Much less tight when the whole thing’s on its… side. But you spilled the presents from the bag.”

“Oh! Leave that to us”, Yuuya said and turned to Labor. “Can you help me, mon amie?

“Yes…”

As Yuuya and Labor got to work on gathering the spilled presents, Totoro organized the tools and handed them to the elf, who had removed a large metal plate on the bottom of the sleigh and was manipulating a motor that looked curiously similar to a miniature version of an airplane turbine. For half an hour he manipulated bolts and screws, tightened a valve and loosened another, cross-sectioned cables and cleaned oil-stained surfaces. Then he yanked a metal wire and the motor jumpstarted, giving a low hum.

“It’s working!”

“Does that mean we can warp?” asked Yuuya.

“Yes… well, I guess. Probably. I’m not sure. This thing is older than I am, after all. Best case, it works and we warp to Erde Nona without being torn apart by the forces transporting us around at speeds ten times the speed of light. Worst case…”

“Let’s just try it.”

“Yes, let’s. Totoro, can you pull this back to the ground?”

They all climbed back in, including Labor 9 despite Yuuya’s insistence that at least she stay on the ground, as there was no need to risk all their lives. But she was stubborn, and Yuuya knew better than to try and force his decision on her. Not that he would have tried anyway, he was a gentleman after all! Totoro took his position at the front and began to pull, tugging them all into the air just like before. The elf hunkered down between the seats, handling the wires that he’d exposed after removing another metal cover under the seating benches on the sleigh’s passenger area. Soon they reached where they had been just as the plane had engaged its warp drives.

“Gruh.”

“Yep, we’re ready. Okay, cross-sectioning wires now… everyone buckle up for the ride. Warping in three, two… ah whatever. Now!”

As the warp drive awoke a tunnel in space surrounded by blue energy seemed to open up in front of them. At speeds beyond any physics-based logic they jumped through space, with a clear goal but no guarantee that they’d arrive properly…


One hour later, on Erde Nona


“That warp effect was so amazing!" Ryouta whispered to Sakuya as the plane came to a stop. He'd managed to peel away from the crew after the landing and approach his friend while the other passengers were busy pulling their luggage from the overhead lockers. "I felt like I could watch it forever and not get tired of it!"

“You get used to it after seeing it a few times”, Sakuya remarked indifferently. “I hope we can disembark quickly, though. The air in here feels so recycled after a long flight.”

"Yeah, kinda. Anyway, I think I gotta help out, but I'll slip away as soon as I can."

"Please don't..." Sakuya muttered under his breath, too low for Ryouta to hear.

Soon after, as they entered the starport’s terminal, a starport steward looked up from her computer. “Mr. Kawara and Mr. Le Bel Shirogane?”

“Eh? That’s us, what is it?” asked Ryouta. Did they get into trouble?

The steward blinked as she noticed Ryouta’s female uniform, but then held up two red boxes with green bows and small nametags. Their names were written on it in ink, in a most beautiful cursive style. “I was asked to deliver these to you upon your arrival.”

The two boys looked at each other, then moved to receive the boxes. “Who are they from?” asked Sakuya.

“A short man claiming to be one of Santa’s elves.” As she spoke, she sneakily pushed a third box, bearing a female name, under her desk to be opened that evening, once her shift was over.

They both were perplexed, but Sakuya whispered to Ryouta: “Maybe it’s just some sort of promotional thing by the starship company. Because my flight got delayed or something.”

“Why did I get one then?”

“No idea, but it couldn’t really be a present from Santa. Everyone knows he isn’t real.”


Meanwhile, back on Cevanti


Totoro was laying on his back, puffing from exhaustion, but he had a big smile on his face. Gabriel sat next to him, leaning his back against him, and smiled similarly.

“It was good that I had a little extra for the stewardess… really convinced her that I was one of Santa’s elves when she saw her name on the box.”

“Isn’t that bribery?” Yuuya remarked with a smile.

“Never you mind the details. What counts is that Ryouta and Sakuya got their presents. I can feel that they got delivered… they’re holding them right now, and they’ll open them this evening. Christmas is saved.”

“Fluffy…” a muffled voice came from the top of Totoro’s stomach. There, half buried in the thick fur, laid Labor 9, nuzzling into the spirit’s fat belly. Through some Christmas miracle the sleigh’s warp drive had pulled them both ways before breaking down right as they’d landed near the Cevanti starport once its task was done.

“But, Gabriel”, Yuuya remarked. “The bag of presents is not yet empty.”

“I know”, the elf said with a smile. “There are three people of Cevanti left who have yet to receive their presents.”

“Really? Who?”

“Oh, you know them very well…”
 
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