Up For A Game (Lay the Very Best - Chapter 412)

Morgan was doing her best to stay ahead of Brandy, but she'd catch the Murkrow eventually, and then she was going to tweak her tail feathers. Dexing her parents wasn't a grand betrayal, but it was certainly mischief.

Brandy didn't hate her moms. She adored Fenny and Scoria. It's just, well, they were pretty insufferably horny usually. Now they're trying for a kid? They were going to make a scene, and like all parents, somehow end up embarrassing Brandy instead of themselves.

Nothing to do about it but endure the future whirlwind and wait for her chance to get Morgan in a headlock. Meanwhile, they had their own troublemaker to find. Shay was somewhere in this city, and Nibbles and Chew were showing them the likely spots.

The Broken Fang bar, a place that looked like it'd had a bus run into the front of it, hadn't seen her, and they'd have to pull Sparky out before she got chewed apart by the leather jacket-wearing ladies. A bakery gave them some lovely cakes in exchange for kisses, but the plump lady running the place hadn't seen their long-tongued troublemaker.

"I'm getting a horrible feeling," Nibbles said, as they struck out once again, checking in on an occult library that seemed to be more for shoving ladies under tables than actually reading. "Chew, do you think she's..."

Chew nodded.

"Going to tell us?" Brandy prompted, "My legs are starting to ache."

"Oh no," Sparky chirped, "Let's stop and kiss them better."

"Much as we all love your legs," Calcine added, giving Sparky a squeeze. "Walking is getting a little old, you have an idea, Nibbles?"

"Okay, yes. But, it's uh. Well, you'll see." Nibbles said, "It's a bit of a freaky place."

"Brandy's a bit of a freak." Sparky grinned. "We'll fit right in."

Brandy delayed her step so she could swing to the side and kick Sparky in the butt. The bug leaped with a squeak and spun to fire a web right at her, pulling her into a cuddle with Calcine.

It did make walking suck, because her feet were dragging behind. But being squeezed between Sparky and Calcine was not a bad thing. Especially when you have some lovely, thick Dani thighs to rest your head on.

It was a ratty part of the city where Nibbles and Chew led them, and when they stopped, they both looked guilty about it. A sign sputtered overhead, broken glass buzzing like angry wasps.

WRAI ARCAD.

Purple light bled down the walls from the shattered neon letters, pooling on the uneven pavement. There was a static hum coming from the open doors, a jagged pulse that crawled under the skin.

"Looks dead," Calcine muttered, eyeing the cracked doorway.

"Not dead," Morgan said, standing in the doorway. She tipped her hat back, her red eyes gleaming in the flicker of the broken lights. "I can feel a presence."

Brandy reached out for a headlock, but she was glued to Sparky. So she just had to tease. "So dramatic, it's just a run-down arcade. Why would Shay be here?"

"The owner is a very special lady," Chew said. "Loves her ghosts."

"Like Branwen," Brandy said, "She's cool though. I don't judge hex lovers."

"Well, prepare to start." Nibbles snorted and pushed on the doors. The hinges screamed, and a thick, cloying smell of incense rolled out.

Inside, the arcade was a ruin. Cabinets sat gutted, their screens blinking erratically. Blacklight strips hummed above, illuminating the place with long, smoky streaks. Brandy hoped it was just a decoration, because the alternative was gross.

Peeling herself off Sparky, Brandy hopped over to give Morgan a punch on the arm. The Murkrow looked back and then dipped her head.

"We're even for now," Brandy said, "Focus up? This place feels like an ambush waiting to happen."

One of the dead arcade cabinets kicked to life, a purple glow blazing out of the screen. Morgan moved towards it slowly and cautiously. The shadows of her claws twitched with each step. She got right up to it and reached out to press one of her energy claws to the screen. Morgan's claw left a faint scorch on the glass. The light guttered and died, leaving the cabinet hissing with smoke.

For a heartbeat, Brandy thought that was it. Just another busted machine.

Then the whole room flickered.

The blacklights strobed once, twice, then settled into an ugly ultraviolet glow that stretched shadows too long. The cabinets all hummed awake at once, but not properly. Each screen blazed with purple light, crackling with static and half-formed faces that never fully resolved.

Her Compound eyes took it all in, and then gave her a sudden, blistering headache. Brandy rubbed her eyes, swearing under her breath. Her vision was just fucked. The aisle between machines seemed to double in length when she looked at it head-on, but if she glanced sideways, it snapped short again. A claw crane in the corner looked no bigger than Dani's thigh one second, then loomed ceiling-tall when Brandy blinked.

"We just got sucked into something," Brandy muttered. "Trick Room? Nibbles, why didn't you warn us?"

"Because this is new! Odi must have got a new ghost." Chew groaned, "Ugh, this makes my head spin."

"Just try to not fight it." Morgan said, "Just let your eyes see what they see."

"It does look neat, in a freak way." Dani said. The Magikarp lowered herself out of Calcine's grip, her orange hair glowing strangely. The blacklight highlighted the edges of her scales and made her freckles shimmer faint and wrong, like constellations. "Is this how being tall feels? I don't know if I could tower this much."

"You'll love it." Sparky clapped gleefully, bouncing on her heels. "And I love this! I feel drunk without drinking! Pretty harmless move, but cool effect."

"Not harmless," Calcine growled, bracing herself on Dani's shoulder. "The floor's tilting, Brandy. I can feel it. I think that's real."

Brandy crouched, dragging her fingers along the carpet. She jerked her hand back when the retro pattern rippled under her touch like she'd just disturbed water. The wave ran all the way down the aisle, cabinets bending at the wrong angles before snapping back upright. Her boot scraped along the ground as they all began to slide.

"Sparky, Electroweb us. Calcine Rock Tomb us some footing."

With sticky web and sudden bursts of rock up from the floor, they had somewhere to stand when the room fully tilted itself so the floor was now a wall. The cabinets didn't slide down, seemingly ignoring gravity for now. Still, it meant they suddenly found themselves on a cliffside made of glowing arcade cabinets.

"This sucks," Nibbles said, "Brandy, I am willing to take orders."

"Feel bad for getting us in trouble."

"Oh no, it's not working." Nibbles gasped. "Well, try again later, you are persistent."

Brandy stuck her tongue out at her, then looked to Morgan. Who was smirking. Of course, she would be smirking. "If they're trying to tumble us, they'll be nearby to leap in."

"Spotted them yet?"

"Don't need to, someone with a move this flashy won't be able to resist leaping in."

You had to give it to Morgan. She was right. The screens flared, light bleeding too bright, and the outlines of the machines warped further. One unit on the far wall twisted on itself like taffy, sprouting extra joysticks that moved of their own accord.

A dozen voices at once echoed out of old speakers.

"Staaaay."

Dani flinched, hands flying to cover her head. "Don't like that, don't like that!"

Something porcelain clicked behind them. Brandy whipped around and caught a glimpse of a towering figure built of cracked white armor plates climbing up the cabinets below. Her face was painted on in old teacup blues, lips delicate and smiling, eyes hollow black pits that dripped light. A Polteageist, bigger than any Brandy had seen, pieces of china clicking as she scaled up the arcade mountainside.

"You're not that tall!" Sparky yelled down, "Quit showing off, we've got some real tall ladies up here!"

Sparky's taunt was answered by a steaming ribbon blast of purple liquid. Sparky dodged it easily, and it splattered against the walls, but instead of washing away, it stuck there like thick syrup.

Sparky slapped it with a laugh and the purple liquid pulsed and tried to wrap around her wrist like a hungry tongue. Sparky yelped, hopping back. "Okay, that's actually creepy!"

The porcelain woman cackled, voice doubled and echoing, and dipped her fingers into her mouth, the purple tea running down her chin in glowing streaks as she looked up at them.

"Thirsty?"

"Calcine," Brandy said. "You want to jump on her?"

"Not particularly."

"You want to jump on her and use Smack Down."

Calcine cracked her knuckles. "I'm more fond of that idea."

These Arcade Pokémon could try to be as spooky as they wanted. Brandy had faced scarier, and she had a lot of firepower to throw against any monsters that came their way. She was going to put these troublemakers on their ass, and then wriggle Shay's location out of them if they knew it.

Still, Brandy couldn't help but smile a little bit. It was good to get a nice solid fight for a change. She needed the practice, and this Polteageist was just asking to be smashed.