I Want To Lay the Very Best!

Sparky didn't need to cartwheel through the air after they threw her, but of course, she did. She whirled through the air, a streak of reck

Sparky didn't need to cartwheel through the air after they threw her, but of course, she did.

She whirled through the air, a streak of reckless joy, before snapping her wrists and firing off sticky strands of webbing. They caught mid-spin, stretching taut as she swung herself smoothly into a flawless landing. The jammy bug had Agility, so it wasn't a surprise to anyone but Dani who erupted into applause, earning herself a flurry of delighted kisses from the exuberant bug.

"Don't encourage her," Morgan sighed, but the fond smile tugging at her lips gave her away. "And you better not start smiling, either."

"I'll smile when I'm proud of her," Calcine said, turning her head to lock Morgan in her gaze. "And I'll smile when I'm proud of you too." Thıs text ıs hosted at novel fire.net

Morgan adjusted the weight of the cheesecakes under one arm before tugging her hat brim down with the other. Brandy had learned by now that she only did it to hide her expression. It was promising for their upcoming date that Calcine could get a reaction out of her. Teasing would just put Morgan on the defensive, so Brandy held her tongue, settling for a knowing smirk instead as she returned to the task at hand.

"If you're just going to showboat, I'll send Morgan up instead!" Brandy yelled through cupped hands. "Just take a peek! If she's not there, we can come back with the delivery later."

"Tell me I'm cute!"

"You're my pretty yellow fuzzball," Brandy said, a hand dramatically placed over her chest. "I want to press you up to a wall and kiss you until your brains scramble, but we can't do that if you take forever."

"Deal," Sparky chirped, leaning her body over her webbing to look through the dress shop's upper-floor window. It was dark, and the window panes were rimmed with an unnatural frost that cracked softly as Sparky wiped at them, trying to clear her vision.

"It's... dark and frosty?"

It was nighttime, so the dark part made sense. As for frost, Brandy was self-heating, but she could tell it wasn't cold enough for frost from the lack of dragon breath when she breathed.

"Frosty inside the window or out?"

Sparky placed a hand on the glass and shivered, pulling it away and blowing on her hand to warm it back up. "Inside, but it's really cold. You can feel it through the glass."

Usually, Pokémon tried not to ruin indoor spaces, but ice wasn't a sign that anything was wrong. Women with Ice Type partners got used to the cold and wouldn't even mind living in a freezer indoors. Brandy wasn't as big a fan of it; she'd only liked the cold when she was younger because everyone would cuddle with her to keep warm. Now she had a Steam Engine purring in her heart; it'd be even more unpleasant. Steam Engine did not get along with the cold at all.

"Don't see ... what's the name on the box, Morgan?" Sparky called down.

"Rhona Noelle," Morgan said, reading the label off. "Noelle's Kalosian, isn't it?"

"Yup!" Dani nodded, still up on Calcine's shoulders. "I've kissed a Noelle. There was one on a fishing boat."

"How'd you get on a fishing boat?" Sparky called back as they anchored their hands so she could look right up to the frosted glass without freezing her nose to it.

"She caught me," Dani said with a cute little giggle. "Right in her net, she was very apologetic."

"Describe the kiss," Morgan said, "Had to be good to be memorable."

"Oh, it was so good," Dani sighed dreamily. "Soft at first, like the crest of a wave kissing the shore, just enough to make me lean in for more. Then she deepened it. Real slow, deliberate, like she was savoring it. Her lips were a little salty from the sea spray but warm, and she tasted like she'd been sucking on a lemon drop, the sharpness making it all the more intoxicating. One hand firm on my waist, the other threading into my hair, tilting my head so she could drink me up exactly how she wanted."

"That sounds really good." Morgan licked her lips. "Brandy's got a lot to live up to."

"And she threw you back?" Calcine leaned over to kiss the top of Dani's forehead. "Her loss."

"No way," Brandy reached up and gave Dani's butt a squeeze. There was plenty of it to hold onto, Dani was a heavy-set fish. "Nobody would throw this back."

"Oh no, when I say my knees went weak, I meant literally," Dani groaned. "I lost my grip on the ship's railing and fell overboard. Pretty women make me go to pieces."

"My webbing can stick you back together once Brandy's done with you," Sparky said, "And I think I see something! Two golden dots with little blue lights in them?"

"Like eyes?" Brandy called up.

"Yeah! Just like-"

A sudden explosion of blue and purple energy erupted from the window, tendrils of light spilling from the glass in a fluid, unnatural burst. They snapped tight around her limbs before she could react. They pulled at her disjointedly, jerking her limbs at odd angles like a marionette caught in tangled strings.

She yelped, struggling back against the pull, her feet scrabbling against the building's side as she fought for leverage. Her fingers scraped against the wall, desperate for purchase, but the tendrils held firm, pulsing with an eerie glow.

"Sparky!" Brandy shouted, fists clenching at her sides. "Bug Buzz it!"

Sparky barely had time to vibrate before the energy gave a sudden, violent tug yanking her clean off the wall and sucking her straight through the frost-glazed glass. There was no shatter, no impact, just a swelling ripple over the iced pane over the as she vanished inside. The window settled back into stillness, the frost on its surface reforming like nothing had happened.

Brandy's breath hitched. "Well, now we're definitely going in there. Morgan, can you Astonish us through the front door?"

"On it." Morgan dashed forward, bursting into black feathers and slipping under the shop front's doorframe. Brandy had to jump to grab the Cheesecake boxes she'd left floating in the air, letting the Super Luck flow to scoop them up without sending them sailing everywhere.

"Calcine lower Dani down," Brandy said, letting out a slow breath of relief as she felt everything settle into her arms. "You good to fight or want the ball, Dani?"

"I'll fight!" Dani said as she slid down. "Just tell me what to do, I'm all yours."

Brandy gave her a firm nod and let Calcine take the lead, pulling Dani into her wake. "Good. Stay sharp. We don't know what we're dealing with, but we can just grab Sparky and leave."

The front door clicked open with a reluctant creak, and Morgan stepped outside, rolling her shoulders with a shudder.

"Ugh. Feels wrong in there." Her voice was quieter than usual as if the cold was seeping into her lungs. "Something's draining all the warmth out of this place."

Calcine took the lead, and Brandy stepped in beside her after setting the Cheesecake boxes down just inside the door. Her boots crunched against a thin layer of frost creeping over the floor. It was bitterly cold in here in a way that wasn't natural at all, and Brandy felt it sink into her bones immediately.

"Sparky!" she called, voice sharp. No answer.

"Shh," Morgan said, "Listen."

A faint skittering sound, rapid and uneven, echoed through the shop. A heartbeat later, a flicker of motion darted between the shop's mannequins, something small and fast trailing thin strands of purple light behind it.

Damn it. A sneaky Pokémon, their team didn't have many Soft Moves, and those were usually the best for flushing out Pokémon that liked to hide.

Calcine moved first, heat flaring off her skin as she strode forward. "You better come out, or we'll make you come out."

A flurry of snow surged out of the darkness in response, breaking off Calcine in white waves, icicles rapidly forming along her joints. Calcine was boiling hot already, and the icicles began to drip as they melted.

"No fire," Brandy warned. "Rhona might be in here, and this place is full of fabric. We can't risk her getting burned. Morgan, let's flush them out."

Morgan spread her wings and sent out a gust, but instead of clearing the frost, it thickened in response, creeping toward them like living tendrils. Dani's hand found hers as Calcine stomped on the ice to try to fend it off with the heat of her body, but even her fingers were icy cold now, and the Magikarp was shivering.

"Okay, no being nice then." Brandy said, "Morgan. Build up that Hurricane."

Mannequins toppled, their dresses ripped free and flung through the air, caught in the storm's grip. And from the swirling chaos, a white figure drifted forward, untouched by the wind. The lower half of her body faded into a swirling mist that followed as if it were part of her. Her kimono-like dress billowed dramatically in the storm, the red sash cinched at her waist, the only splash of warmth against the icy white garment.

Her arms flared outward sleek and curved, like the flowing sleeves of a robe edged with thin blue feathers. Sticking out the ends, delicate fingers twitched as if delicately drawing out strings in the air. It wasn't her only creepy bit of clothing, the mask she wore was smooth and porcelain-white, a hollowed-out skull riddled with empty voids where features should have been. But through two of them, gleaming crystal-blue eyes with eerie yellow sclerae glowed, unblinking as they watched.

"Scared?" The voice slithered through the frost, distant yet pressing against Brandy's skin as if whispered just behind her ear.

Brandy's heart slammed against her ribs. Her mouth was dry, her hands clammy, and her brain struggling to form a thought through the creeping numbness of fear. Dani squeezed her hand, and that small, firm grip anchored her to reality.

Since when had she ever been scared of a Pokémon? Brandy clenched her jaw. No, she'd met far scarier and loved them. She wasn't letting this one get inside her head.

"Leer!" Brandy shouted, voice cracking. "Don't look at her eyes! MOVE!"