AnnouSo, there are a ton of call outs in this chapter. Unfortunately I'm not sure how to put them all here in scribhub. Instead I would reend you go to my test post on RR to see all the links: TBoB on Royal Road (Soz! There are a lot and I ot set the link to an unreleased chapter, you'll o go to the most ret yourself)Catheriray Cat’ Lebnc blinked as she was momentarily blinded by the light. The st thing she remembered was stepping into her bathroom, so she could get ready to go to bed with Lucy, and this definitely wasn’t her bathroom.

  The room she’d stepped into appeared to be a massive garage structure, filled with a bunch of teddy bears standing around massive tables, building toys like an assembly line. “What the hell is this?” someone grumbled on her left. Cat turned slightly and found Deliah and Franny standing there.

  “I think it’s cute,” Lucy’s voiswered from her right. Instead of joining in the versation, Cat slowly looked down. Wheered the bathroom she’d just been wearing her nightshirt, and nothing underh. Thankfully whatever telep bullshit had brought them here had also put pants on her.

  “What the fuck is going on?” she finally asked.

  “I ahat!” a petite girl shouted from the back of the room. The girl bounced from table to table, practically floating as she made her way over. She was dressed in a bright red Santa outfit, with two giant green and red pigtails filled with Christmas lights, and a face covered in ake-up.

  “We’re saving christmas!” she decred.

  “The corps all offer Christmas savings,” Delih replied grumpily, earning a disapproving gnce from Franny. “The Xpressmas day sales.”

  “Not christmas savings,” the girl announced, “Saving christmas! Bringing back the spirit of giving to the people!”

  “And you are?” Cat asked.

  “Cassy the , bringer of joy and whimsy, at your service,” Cassy announced, bowing low. “I’ve been bringing samurai here all night to give the bears gift ideas.” She leaned in closer, her voice dropping into a spiratorial whisper. “The little guys may be extremely industrious, but they’re a little g in the imaginatioment,” she said.

  “And where are we exactly?” Delih asked.

  “Teddy’s workshop! I’m borrowing it for a couple hours!” Cassy replied with a massive smile.

  Cat blinked. “Teddy, as in the Samurai Teddy? Isn’t she in Calgary?” she asked bnkly. Cassy nodded happily. “How the fuck did we get to Calgary?” Cat asked calmly. This wasn’t the weirdest thing that had happeo her since she’d bee a samurai, but it was close.

  “Christmas magid Bike, Bike helped too,” Cassy decred unhelpfully. “Now would any of you like to help? Bob’s sack won’t fill itself.”

  Lucy’s hand shot into the air supernaturally fast. “Oh oh oh, me! we suggest anything?” Lucy asked.

  “Anythiively simple,” Cassy crified. “We’re doing this the spirit of giving, not to pete with the corps.”

  “So… stuffed cat dolls…” Lucy started.

  “Would be perfect!” Cassy decred, throwing her hands in the air in celebration. She spun on the spot, and sed the floor. “There’s some space over there by Spark! She’s the foxy looking one on the far side, making potato clocks,” she decred pointing at one er. “Or over by Prism, she’s the one floating around with the fish tail, teag the bears how to make clocks or something,” she decred pointing in the opposite dire. “If you head over there just be aware that it might get a little loud, her partner Emme is teag the bears a dance routihat she’s going to record food girls and boys,” Cassy said seriously.

  Luodded and hopped off the nding they were all standing on, and headed off to the far side, followed quickly by Franny.

  “Why does part of the floor have a giant curtain and crime tape around it?” Deliah asked suspiciously.

  “Oh! That’s because Maniac decided to make video games, and her idea of kid friendly is a little… different,” Cassy said awkwardly. “And then Myriad, Legion and Bloodhound showed up and wao make adult toys. I didn’t have the heart to tell them no,” Cassy tinued, slowly slumping as she expined. “But good adults o receive toys too!” she decred, popping upright again, a massive smile ba her face.

  “Maybe I’ll go check how those folks are doing,” Cat slowly decred as she hopped off the nding. She could hear Deliah snort as she walked away, but chose to ignore her friend. As she walked through the rows she saw several other faces, both familiar ahere was a woman in a wite teag the bears to create chemistry sets, a man in a rag suit designie trolled cars, a woman wearing bee colored armor making ant farms, and another in full power armor making knock off a figures.

  She even saw Tinea and Leah, two other samurai from Montreal, also making little robotisects in the er.

  She’d been so distracted by the room full of Samurai that she actally bumped into someone. If she’d been unaugmented she might have ended up on her ass, but instead she just twirled on her feet and slipped by the woman.

  “Sorry about that,” the woman said, as she stood up from the end of the table. Unlike most of the others she was dressed in civilian clothes, and she had short cropped blond hair, with a sireak of bck over one eye.

  “My fault,” Cat replied, before looking the woman over. “I’m Cat, o meet you,” she said, stig out her hand.

  “Humboldt,” the woman replied as they shook. “How’d you get pulled into this?”

  “Went into the bathroom, appeared here,” Cat replied with a shrug. “Could have been worse, at least I showed up with pants on.”

  Humboldt just raised an eyebrow, “Right… good for you. Did you e up with any good gifts?”

  “I’m not really into that sort of thing, it’s more Lucy’s thing,” Cat admitted.

  Humboldt frowned. “You don’t have a single person you’d like t a smile to? I’m making a frog bath toy, because Teddy has an adorable little sister that loves them, and I wao give her something special.”

  Cat stared at the little frog toy. It was a little wonky, but adorable.

  “I guess I could do something for the K1tt3ns,” she admitted. “Most of them aren’t into toys through.”

  “It’s the thought that ts,” Humboldt replied as she picked up her brush again. She stuck out her tongue as she carefully added two dots on to the frog’s eyes, creating pupils.

  “I see you’re busy, so I’ll leave you to it,” Cat said as she backed away.

  “Nice meeting you,” Humboldt called back.

  Cat took another few steps towards the curtain before slowing to a stop. She really wao see what another Samurai’s idea of ‘adult toys’ was, but oher hand a couple of the kittens were still young. She was just pnning oing them all a game sole and aV, but a couple of them might appreciate something ade. Not only that, but somethier than the popsicle stick dolls she and Lucy made st year.

  She sighed and headed over to where Lucy was. Her girlfriend to her elbows in fabrid the bears were scrambling around trying to find more.

  “Did you know Teddy runs around in a bear eared hoodie?” Lucy asked excitedly. “She made it a trend here, so I decided I should try and make some cat eared ones.”

  “Sounds like a pn,” Cat said with a smile. “You’re the artsy one, but tell me what you need, and I’ll do my best to help you find it.”

  Luodded seriously and sidered the half assembled shirt in front of her. “Pi,” she decred.

  Before Cat could move Cassy jumped up on the end of a table at the far side of the room. “Attention dies, gentlemen, and bears!” she called theatrically. “We will be colleg the first round of gifts soon, so please put the final touches on your creations. If you’re feeling crafty, or want to finish something up, you’re wele to stay, but Bob o get on his way soon.”

  “Who the hell is Bob?” Cat whispered, before a massive eight foot tall teddy bear in a Santa suit walked out of the back. He went down each row, gathering things from the bears and stuffing them into a sack which seemed to have no end.

  “We’d also like to thank Magpie for donating a dimensional sack for the evening. She wao be here, but we didn’t have enough room for all her designs. Perhaps year,” Cassy decred.

  As the massive bear passed their table Lucy pouted. “I wao add more to the ears, but it’s for the children,” she said as she pced her shirt into the sack.

  Ohe sack was full Bob walked back to the front and got onto a strange glowing bike that just seemed to appear out of nowhere. “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” he decred, before disappearing in a fsh.

  Cat blinked. How strong was Cassy to teleport things so casually?

  “He’ll be ba half an hour or so,” Cassy expined. “Feel free to tinue your projects, and when you’re do me know so I return you home again,” she announced before boung out of sight.

  “Stitg Christmas presents together a couple days before Christmas reminds me of the old times,” Lucy said, already halfway into her creation.

  “Yeah, this is nice,” Cat decred as she snuggled up tirlfriend.

  After a few more minutes of stitg the door at the far side of the area burst open, and a tiny girl in a bear hoodie stepped through. The entire room stared at her, and she stared back. “This is a Cassy thing again, isn’t it,” Teddy groaned.

  “It is! Merry Christmas!” Cassy decred, sh the girl in fake snow.

  “Merry christmas,” the girl groaned in response.

  Lucy giggled, which caused Cat to burst out ughing. Cassy was right, joy wasn’t about the things you bought, it was bringing joy to the ones you loved, and she was going to do it properly this year.