New

And here we are once again. I'm sorry for the delay since the last one, but with my Grandparents visiting, and work being what it is, I just kept pushing this off. BUT NO MORE!... For now.

NOW, you all get Shenanigans. Aarik, I know this'll tear you up a little, but it only brings me more amusement.

Now, here's the, pun intended, splitting vote. Spoiler: Dividing, Isn't it? [X]Train!
-[X] The Ring of 9 Dragons: Try 3 Jacks for now, use the concept of ability. Try for the Jacks have these abilities ; Your Robotics, Your Gaming Expertise and Your Courage and have them train different things. Finish the Blueprints of Bob 2.0, Designing New Ideas and Training your body with Koga.
Now, let's watch the fireworks, eh?


"Hey! Kristen! Did you get a visit from a shockingly buff old guy!" You hollered as you crossed the top of the stairs, drawing the attention of the nearby staff. As you were about to repeat the words again, you felt a sharp grip make its way around your arm, and looked down.

Sure enough, attached to your arm was a grappling claw attached to a length of chain, with the launching mechanism being held by a grinning Kristen. It was a nice piece, a higher grade than the claws you usually used for your Bots, with pressure gripping additions to make sure that while it stuck firmly to what it caught in its grip, it didn't leave any signs of manhandling or damage. It was also a light purple color and had small 'claws' at the ends, thankfully all were held 'in' at the moment. Frankly, it was quite a nice piece of equipment, and you yourself would probably try and incorporate it into your Bot designs if you were willing to put a little more hands on effort with a few.

Still, you had bigger matters to address.

"Yep, Merry X-Mas Jacky! So glad to finally have you in one the festivities!" Kristen grinned as she retracted the claw, the chain feeding back into itself to be launched again.

"Oh good, I didn't just hallucinate that. Okay, world view broadened again, I guess." You muttered to yourself as Kristen made her way closer to you, wrapping an arm around your head and giving you a noogie.

You hated when she did that, but by this point, you could accept a little familial teasing. It felt... nice enough.

"Ha! Yeah, startled me something fierce when I first found out about Nega-Christmas. Nothing snaps you awake faster than seeing an old, buff guy leaving a Hello Kitty brand Bazooka in the middle of the night, before running headfirst out your 5th story window. Crazy day..." Kristen began to trail off as you just looked at her.

You were about to say something, but, remembering your own experience mere hours ago, you couldn't really find it in you to try and compare the two. They were both weird as fuck, in their own ways.

"Ooookay... So, I see you got a grappling claw, that's cool." You said as you escaped the headlock. Affection or not, that long a noogie was starting to mess with your already pretty messy hair. And a slight headache, but that was already disappearing.

"Hell yeah it is! With this, break-ins will be as easy as pouring a bowl of cream!~" Kristen sort of purred as she rubbed the mechanism against her cheek.

You just looked at her for a moment, eyes half lidded.

"I know you like puns and what-not, but c'mon. That was a stretch." You deadpanned.

At this, Kristen merely stopped caressing her gift and gave a shrug, before replying.

"Eh, they aren't all winners. But enough of that! Show me what you got! Show me, show me!" Kristen insisted as she began to shake you back and forth vigorously.

"O-o-okkka-aayyyyy! Ju-Just STOP SHAKING ME!" You finally got out as you grabbed hold of Kristen's arms, stopping the infernal shaking.

You took a moment to get yourself back in order, mostly consisting of flattening your hair back into relative place, and straitening your cloak, before finally pulling out the Ring from your inner pocket.

The second you did, you immediately regretted it.

As soon as it was out of your pocket, it was snatched away into Kristen's grip in a blur of motion you could barely register, much less react too.

Then, came the teasing.

"Oooo~! Jacky, I never knew you liked jewelry! Who knew that all this time we could have been trading tips and bling~!" Kristen snickered as she reached into her ever-present 'theivin' pouch and took out a jewelers tumbler.

"Oh, black jade with gold inlays, at least 10 carrot if I'm not mistaken. Nice, if a little weeaboo with the dragon design. In other words, perfect for you!" Kristen laughed as she put the tumbler away and tossed it back at you, prompting you to make a slight dive to catch the mystical item.

"Yeah, it's a nice ring, THANKS. Now, do you want to tease me more to make me react, or don't you want to try out your new toy?" You said as you got back to steady footing. Over the years, you had begun to finally figure out how to distract Kristen. Offer her two things she wanted to do, and then make one sound like a better investment, or a unique opportunity. More often than not, it worked, and the few times it didn't were usually over little things, like feeding her cats, or Sharpening her skills or knives, whichever she felt like more.

Either way, now seemed to be one of the times it worked, if the way her eyes seemed to develop a slight mischievous tint to them as she hefted her new 'Toy' back into view.

"You know, you're right Jacky-boy. What's X-Mas without playing with the new toys. If you need me, I'll be in Egypt. They always have a Cat-themed SOMETHING to steal..." With that, she walked away, even now muttering under her breath what she would need for her trip.

Ignoring how you were now accessory to a most likely major theft (If wouldn't be the first, nor likely the last) You let your eyes fall down to the Ring in your hand, and let a grin form on your face. Kristen was right, what harm could 'playing' with your new toy bring?

TIME SKIP: 12 Hours

Within your spacious foyer, rests an equally impressive answering machine, custom built by yourself to pick up locations, vocal recognition patterns to keep out telemarketers, and record any transmissions going both in and out for future use. That was why the...odd message caught the attention of the passing staff so quickly.

"Ah, hey Koga! Listen, I'm in a BIT of a jam and, HOLD ON YOU SPIRIT, I'M TRYING! Anyway, we're kind of in Japan right now, and ah, could use some help please? Oh, and bring snacks please! Okay, that sh-WAIT NO, DON'T TOUCH T-!"

The message cut off.

The nearest maid merely rubbed her head for a moment before going off to fetch the Ultimate Maid, wondering why the Young Master had finally Picked up the Spicer-family brand of Bullshittery.

END OF CHAPTER!

Gained!

Stealth-Bot Addition!: When creating a Stealth-Bot model, include a technology to grip things with maximum efficiency, while reducing damage caused by said grip. Can only be applied to hands at current time. Research further to expand effect.

END OF GAINS!

Interlude next Chapter!

Choose who we See!

[] The Curious Cat

[] The Wayward Spirit

[] The Fearsome Four and Teacher

[] A Lizard out of Time

[] The Old Oak

[] He of Metal

[] The New Friend

CHOOSE 1 of the Above!


And there we go. Hooo-llly shit. We procked the little SPECIAL Roll from Sebazu's roll IMMEDIATELY! WHICH REQUIRED ME TO ROLL A 7 ON A 100 SIDED DIE TWO TIMES IN A ROW. So, this is happening now. Let's see if and how we survive, shall we?

Also, I REALLY look forward to writing some of these interludes, and hope that this little turn of events shows everyone jsut what kind of bullshit can happen if you right omakes.

So, until next time!