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Machine Minds, Machine Hearts (Lay the Very Best - Chapter 142)
🕑 Added 2023-08-23 17:45:31 +0000 UTCSparky was trying to hide her frustration but couldn't hide it from Brandy. The erratic way her feet tapped as she walked and how her head whipped about from side to side to catch a glimpse of another tailor on the streets of Motostoke. Sparky was desperate. Sparky tugged firmly on Brandy's arm and pulled her along in her wake as they briskly walked through the streets. Her excitement was slowly becoming tension with every store that said they couldn't handle such a short order.
"Maybe we should go back to that Wooloo store. Ask for simpler outfits?" Calcine said, trying to help calm her down. "I like the wool jackets she had."
"No way! Matching jackets would look cute, but it's not maid outfits. There's got to be a place doing them here." Sparky cupped her hands to her mouth and yelled. "Morgan! Anything?"
A black speck in the sky turned over and dropped at speed. Brandy's fancy new eyes let her see the rush of wind through Morgan's feathers, and it was so impressive how graceful she was in her flight. Morgan was always very smooth moving on the ground, but her every movement was like a dance in the air. She belonged in the sky and clearly felt more comfortable up there. It was heartwarming how she was willing to spend time on the ground with them all.
Morgan raised a wing to her nose and sniffed. "I smell like an ashtray."
"You don't have to fly for us," Brandy said. "It's appreciated, but not if it's gunky up there."
Morgan shrugged, "It's fine, really. The air here isn't the best, but stretching the wings is nice. I couldn't see any new shops to check though. Sorry, there's a market a few blocks over that might have one."
Brandy didn't mind the walking, but every walk was a bit more of the day burned up. It didn't look good for finding a place to make them outfits. Still, for her Joltik, she'd give it her best shot. Brandy ruffled Sparky's shaggy yellow hair. "We'll have to try."
"Persistence is admirable," Morgan said, "But I find when I'm losing to find a different approach."
"Cheat?" Calcine said.
"Sometimes," Morgan smirked. "Right now, I think we should rely on our Trainer more. Rather than wandering the streets, why don't you reach out to your friend circle? Maybe Maple will know somewhere able to get outfits in Motostoke? Or even Shay might. She seems the sort to leer at maids."
That actually did sound like Shay. It was a good idea too. Someone might know a place to get this done.
"Bunny!" Sparky said with a jump in her arms, "Brandy, the bunny is the key!"
Bunny girls were always key, so that didn't make sense to Brandy immediately. But as Sparky fished her Poké-dex out of her backpack, it clicked. They knew the perfect person to sort this out.
The video call was answered with a soft groan, the camera shaking madly. Pretty, the Scorbunny maid they'd had a date night with was sitting in a big plush chair, her head dug back into the cushioning. It was clear Bunny was flustered, a bright blush on her cheeks that crept up to the bandage on her nose. She still looked cute as a button, her big fuzzy ears drooping down, her eyes only half-open as she mumbled a hello.
"Pretty!" Brandy said, playing with the volume as strange, squishy-sounding feedback came through. "How's the hottest bunny I know doing?"
"Real good," Pretty said, breathless. "Nice to see you, Brandy. Pip says hello."
A mumble from Pip rang out somewhere offscreen, followed by a throaty growl. Pretty banging her head against the back of her fancy chair.
"I hope I'm not interrupting. I was hoping to get your help, but uh..."
"No, it's fine. We're just having a day off." Pretty said, giving a big dopey bucktoothed smile. "Really enjoying it."
"That is a Pokémon who is getting her dick sucked." Morgan said quietly, "Why do we never get that?"
"I do it!" Brandy cut back, nudging Morgan with her elbow. "Don't be greedy."
"I'm not getting it sucked right now. My jealousy is immense."
"Brandy's real good at it," Pretty agreed over the phone. "Pip taught her a bit. I hope she's been spreading the love."
"She doesn't do it, Pretty!" Sparky said, trying to push her way onto the camera screen through Brandy's arms. "We're so neglected!"
Pretty laughed, a light cute thing that made her ears bounce, "Brandy, treat your girls more. They're a wonderful bunch."
"They're little demons." Brandy huffed, "But I am trying to do something for them. Do you know anyone in Motostoke who can make us some maid dresses? Your ones were lovely."
She could see the top of Pretty's dress. Though it had lipstick all around the cuff right now, it still looked incredibly classy with the frills that matched the cream color of Pretty's fur.
"We went to a tailor in Hulbury. Motostoke is really expensive, sorry." Pretty leaned back and gasped, the phone shaking even more than usual. "I'm saving up to get one from a place called Opposites Attract?"
"It's good?" Calcine said. "We can find it."
"One of the best, but it's really expensive." Pretty mumbled, chewing her bottom lip. "Really, really expensive."
"We got a Gym Leader paying for us."
"What!" Pip's voice came from offscreen. "Brandy, don't tell her that. She'll want me to pick up Training again!"
"Gym Leader's pay for those?" Pretty's ears perked up. "Pip-"
There was a throaty, wet sound, and the dex picture tumbled around madly, bouncing off the ground until it settled face down, cutting the picture off. The sound was a clear sign that this conversation was over and that Pip was busy working to make Pretty forget about this. Brandy hung up and switched to searching for the shop Pretty had mentioned.
"You ever want to get me to stop talking? That'd work," Sparky said, watching Brandy type.
"You want maid dresses, or you want that?"
"Dresses," Sparky grinned. "Because they make the dick sucking so much more accessible."
Brandy nuzzled Sparky's head with her chin as she typed, the Joltik cackling in her arms as she cozied up to her chest.
"Retirement seems nice," Calcine said, her eyes glowing a little more red than usual. "I thought it'd be dull, but I can see the perks."
"Poor Brandy," Morgan sighed. "She's going to have such a sore jaw in her old age."
---
Opposites Attract didn't look like a tailor's shop. It was practically an art piece. It looked like it was mid-explosion. Shattered glass and metal scraps were fused together, and the edges smoothed off. Sunlight reflected off the brass machinery that ran through it all, making the glass glitter with a rainbow of crystalline colors.
"I love it," Morgan said, running a hand over the outside of the building. As dangerous as it looked, they'd been sure to make the outside layer safe to touch. Cleaning it must have been a nightmare.
"I would never have guessed this was a shop. I'm still not even sure it is." Sparky said, looking up at the shop's sign. Red and blue magnets stuck together, with colorful ribbons tied around them that fluttered in the wind.
"It's the place Pretty said was the best," Calcine said. "Come on, let's go in."
The inside was like a hollowed-out crystalline cave packed edge to edge with huge, interlinking machinery with nimble metal arms and cloth spinning wheels. Brandy couldn't have guessed the purpose of it. There was a shop front, a till, and a service desk, but it seemed like a reluctant addition. A necessary evil marring the beauty of the machine before them. It all ran so smoothly that it didn't even make much noise, just an orchestra of gentle hisses and clicks like some kind of mad convention of steam-powered hairdressers.
What it didn't appear to have was anyone willing to serve them. But Brandy's inherited eyes helped her out, and she spotted what was wrong with the machine. Several odd parts were a little sleeker, cabling fitted into these small pieces that seemed almost clamped on after the machine had been made, like metallic growths. Probably because Brandy saw they had red and blue eyes and were sneakily watching the group that'd entered. She gave one of them a wave.
"Impressive!" the growth replied and pulled itself away from the machine, the cabling running between it snapping. "Sometimes people never notice us, and we have to chase after them. You caught us out super quick."
Their growth shifted, panels folding in on themselves with rapid clicks until it'd reformed itself into a short, busty woman. Her shiny, silvered metal skin with thin black join lines gleamed as she stretched her arms above her head. Completely naked, her red and blue eyes shone as she gave them all a broad smile and jumped off the machine, a whirring sound filling the air as they gently drifted down to the ground.
"I'm Weber! Sin and Saturn are busy, but give them a wave."
Brandy and Sparky gave them a wave while Morgan and Calcine awkwardly copied their gestures, eyes darting about to try to spot who they were waving to.
"You're a Magnite, right? I remember seeing a Magnezone when we arrived," Calcine said, "Flying above the city with a big bonnet hat and a nice fancy old-time dress. Is that part of you?"
"Big Sis' Anisotropic? Such a cool part of us. I wish she'd visit more often. She's dating a lady from Kalos," Weber shielded her mouth as if trying to hide her words. Even as she raised her voice a few octaves. "We dress her up for dates. They kiss so much they barely have sex. It's crazy. I want to go to Kalos so bad."
Weber spoke so fast that it felt like she was just pouring out her thoughts as they came.
"You have two sisters here. Are you actually a Magneton?" Brandy said. She hadn't had much experience with the mechanical Pokémon. They were a pretty rare and strange kind of Pokémon, even by Pokémon standards. Like Maple's mom, hiveminds with separate bodies.
"We are! Wow, you're perceptive," the robot girl said with a little curtsey to Brandy. The motion was so smooth it was a little unreal, more like a puppet than a person. "But we don't have a group name yet. Going to let our Partner name us, but nobody has been up to our standards. Are you here to see if you can survive? Hope you've got a Kalos tongue at the very least."
"She'd certainly try," Calcine said, "But we're here because we need dresses for an event tomorrow. Pretty recommended you. Blaze is giving us the credit to do it."
"The Scorbunny? She's a sweetheart, really into traditional dresses. Love to actually meet her someday." Weber said, "If Blaze is paying, we can do dresses in a day, no problem! Why don't you strip down, and we'll see what we're working with."
Brandy blinked. "You mean in a changing room?"
"Changing room?" Weber looked at Brandy like she'd gone crazy. "You're not changing into anything; we've not got the space for rooms like those even if we did. Come on, strip! Your legs are already lovely. I'm sure the rest of you will be a beautiful pallet to work on."
Morgan and Sparky's eyes went to Brandy as Calcine unbuttoned her shirt. Morgan was already naked beside her hat, and Sparky wore shorts and a tee when she felt like it. They were already pretty bare.
"She looks shocked," Sparky said. "I think she needs help Morgan."
"Oh, absolutely, let's get these clothes off her. You're the bottom, I'm the top?"
Calcine snorted, watching as she slid off her shirt to expose her delectable stomach. Well, at least Brandy would have a pleasant view through all this.
