by K J Harlow
“Where’s mine?” Soph asked.
“You’re holding a cream puff,” Lobby responded non-chalantly.
“Yeah, where’d you get that from anyway?” Yoshi asked. He had been so elated to ‘catch’ her that he forgot that she had been holding it.
Sophie pulled out the cupcake-sized dessert. “I found it in the grass last week. A trainer must have dropped it.”
“It won’t restore as much as an HP Potion. Eat it,” Labby ordered.
“You’re not the boss of me!”
“Soph, as Labby says.”
“Grrr!”
“Did you catch this Labby too, Yoshi?” Starry asked.
“No, she’s joining us temporarily while we rescue Felicity. She’s been kidnapped.”
12
Old Man Gonzales
Winza Six was huge. Stores stretched to infinity and beyond to either side of Yoshi and his girlfriends. He looked up. Afternoon sun poured through a glass ceiling 30 stories high that extended the length of the department store.
Out of nowhere, Labby wove her fingers into Yoshi’s right hand. She pushed her breasts into his shoulder. “Act normal,” she said through a simpering smile that could have fooled anyone. “Sophie, take Yoshi’s other hand. Starlotte, hold Sophie’s left.” Sophie looked like she was about to object but seeing the no-nonsense look in the dark wolf’s eyes, she complied. “Don’t look now, but Team Boom is watching us.”
“Team Boom? But where–”
Labby dug her inch-long nails into his skin. “I said. Do. Not. Look.”
“OK,” Yoshi squeaked.
She relaxed her grip but kept her body pressed into Yoshi’s. “All the other trainers and their girlfriends here are like this. What the hell’s wrong with you guys?”
It was the closest that Sophie had ever been to him. Her breasts pressed through her T-shirt and into the side of his arm. Her nipples became more pronounced, poking through her bra. Yoshi shifted slightly and grazed the tip of her right breast.
“Try that shit again and I will fucking end you.”
“What?” Yoshi said innocently.
“Let’s keep walking.” Labby said tersely. Remember: you’re a trainer with three, adoring girlfriends.” Labby tugged Yoshi’s hand and he followed. Once again, she flashed a dazzling smile that could have lit up a room. He took this opportunity to check out her stats:
NAME: Labby (#10)
LEVEL: 24
NATURE: Protective
TYPE: Dark
ACC.: HP Potion
HP: 105/105
- ATTACK: 29
- DEFENSE: 24
- SPCL ATTACK: 31
- SPCL DEFENSE: 28
- SPEED: 30
MOVESET:
Black Jaws - Type: Dark - 35/35 PP (Bite and rip into foes, dealing dark damage as well)
Dash Tackle - Type: Normal - 30/30 PP (Run and tackle foes, increases SPEED by 1 unit for 1 turn)
Shred - Type: Normal - 20/20 PP (Leap and slash foes with claws, 10% chance of critical hit)
Damn, beautiful and deadly. Even though she was just playing a part, she seemed to actually be enjoying the attention Yoshi was giving her.
“OK, we’re in the clear.”
“Ugh, thank Frank.” Sophie let go of Yoshi’s hand like she had been electrocuted. “Those bracelets look pretty. Let’s check them out Starry.”
“We’re meant to be saving Felicity,” Yoshi said.
“You know what, that actually isn’t a bad idea,” Labby mused. “If you two can walk around and see if you can find anything suspicious, let us know. See those lifts just ahead?” She gestured towards the glass tubes encasing metal boxes shooting upwards. “Let’s meet there in about 20 minutes. OK?”
“Last time I checked, dogs didn’t give orders.”
“Soph!” Yoshi said through gritted teeth.
“I mean yes, see you then,” she said in mock syrupy sweetness.
Yoshi stared at their backs as they headed towards a brightly lit jewelry store. Their status screens popped up to either side of them:
NAME: Sophie (Soph)
LEVEL: 12
NATURE: Bossy
TYPE: Flying
ACC.: NIL
HP: 54/54
- ATTACK: 14
- DEFENSE: 10
- SPCL ATTACK: 11
- SPCL DEFENSE: 10
- SPEED: 13
MOVESET:
Bird Run - Type: Flying - 35/35 PP (Run at foes and crash tackle them)
Sand Screen - Type: Normal - 40/40 PP (Lower accuracy by kicking and flapping sand up into opponent’s face)
NAME: Starlotte (Starry)
LEVEL: 10
NATURE: Reserved
TYPE: Interstellar
ACC.: HP Potion
HP: 41/41
- ATTACK: 8
- DEFENSE: 7
- SPCL ATTACK: 8
- SPCL DEFENSE: 10
- SPEED: 8
MOVESET:
Gaze - Type: Normal - 30/30 PP (Lower defense by staring into opponent’s eyes, stun effect for 3 seconds.)
“Sorry about that, Labby.”
“She’s not wrong, I am a wolf species.” She shrugged. “It's part of the job.” She raised his arm to inspect it. “Team Boom are not to be taken lightly. We’ve lost a lot of good girlfriends to them.” She dropped her head and started licking his arm: long licks from his wrist up to his elbow.
“Ow.” Yoshi snatched his arm away. “That stings.”
“Look at it.” She made eyes at his arm. The scratch marks were closing right before his eyes.
“Whoa how did you do that?”
“We secrete enzymes in our saliva that can heal basic wounds.” She suddenly grabbed his hand and pushed herself up close to him again. “We have to stay like this, at least until the end of the mission. Team Boom could still be watching us.” The hard, sharp Labby in the interrogation room was gone. In her place was a girlfriend with soft, brown eyes, aching to have the back of her ears – and something else – scratched.
“If you don’t mind me asking, who is your trainer?”
“We don’t really have a single trainer. We just belong to the regional police station, in this case Onyx’s.”
“But someone had to have caught you, right?”
“The rings belong to the police force, not to the individual.”
“How many of you are there? I lost count after 40 or so.”
“Squads of 100 are deployed at every metropolis. Bigger cities have more squads. There are three in Onyx.”
“How do we tell you apart? We can’t just call you all ‘Labby’.”
“My registration number is #10. My superiors call me ‘Ten’ but honestly, Labby is fine if you’re talking to just one of us.”
They strolled in silence. Labby seemed to really be enjoying Yoshi’s companionship. Meanwhile, Yoshi was fighting a losing battle. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake off the image of multiple Labbies in full police uniform ‘punishing’ him.
“So you guys just keep peace and order, arrest wrongdoers, barricade people from going into forbidden places…”
“Mmhmm.”
“How about when you’re off-duty?”
“What about it?”
“Do you do… you know…” He cleared his throat.
“What?” She squeezed his hand tight, almost expectantly.
“You know… girlfriend things.”
She tensed up. “Look ahead.” Two six-foot girlfriends flanked a short, old man. He walked with a cane, favoring his left leg. They were heading straight for the lift. A gleaming, gold card glimmered from a lanyard at his waist. He tapped it against a scanner, then released it back to his hip.
“Who’s that?”
“That’s Gonzales, the Team Boom member running the Shiny operation in Ohno. Pretty high up in the food chain, if I’m not mistaken. Might even be at the top. He must be here to inspect Fel – Yoshi!”
What the fuc
k am I doing?
He was running straight at Gonzales, that’s what. His gigantic girlfriends looked like they were raised in a jungle and had to fight off wildcats on a day-to-day basis. One noticed Yoshi rushing at them and gestured to the other. They promptly stood side by side, bracing for his impact. From the corner of his eye, he could see Starry and Soph watching him slack jawed from a clothes store.
His chin slammed into the ground and he saw stars. He was promptly flipped over onto his back. Sharp-clawed hands slapped onto his chest, ripping through his top. “Babyyyyy!” Labby whined. “Stop running away from meeee!” She straddled and grinded on top of him, moaning slightly. She then planted her hands on either side of his head and started kissing and licking his face.
“Bl-bl-rl-bl – Not in front of all these people my… sexy bitch.” He pushed her panting face away. She looked at him with lust so powerful he could have sworn it was genuine. He tilted his head back and extended an arm to one of the jungle girlfriends. “A little help, please?”
Even upside down, he could see the looks of envy the tall girlfriends were struggling to hide. The one on the left grabbed his hand and dragged him out while Labby stood up panting, eyes feral and hungry.
“Girls.”
“Yes, master,” the two Amazonian girlfriends said in unison. Longingly eyeing Yoshi a bit longer, they eventually turned and joined Gonzales in the lift before the doors closed.
Labby dug her fingers into Yoshi’s top and lifted him to his feet. “What in Frank’s name was that about?”
“I… don’t know. I didn’t want him to get on the lift I guess. We didn’t have much time.” Yoshi still couldn’t believe this Labby admonishing him for his recklessness and the sex-crazed dog in heat were one and the same.
“Well that worked out well, didn’t it?” Labby looked up and snarled at the gawkers who had gathered around them.
“Hey guys, come see what we got,” Starry said excitedly.
“Not now, Starry,” Yoshi replied glumly.
Soph spread out her arms, fanning out her feathers in an exaggerated yawn.
“Is that really necess –how the hell did you get that?”
Starry dropped the thing she had been holding over her chest. It shone gold, dangling and swaying in the air.
“The lift card!” Labby said, wide-eyed. “But how?”
Sophie folded her arms smugly. “For once, our trainer’s stupidity actually paid off. He created the diversion so that Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber were pre-occupied. Good work by Labby too,” she added as an afterthought. She was torn between her intense dislike of the police dog and respect of her chutzpah to jump Yoshi in front of everyone… or was that jealousy?
“I used Gaze to distract him and Sophie unclipped the lanyard off his hip,” Starry said proudly.
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but being in possession of this lift card creates a whole new set of problems.” Labby chewed the inside of her mouth thoughtfully. “For example, what if he needs this pass to gain access to more rooms?”
“We should get out of here then, he could be on his way back down now.” Yoshi looked up and around. “Up there. Café on level five. Let’s go.”
They took one of the other lifts up to the café. Before Yoshi could apologize for being broke, Labby pulled out her wallet. “Don’t worry, this one’s on the Onyx Police Force.” She took a round of orders, paid, joining Yoshi and his girlfriends at a table at the balcony.
“Seen him yet?” Labby said, pulling a chair out next to Yoshi.
“We haven’t seen any giant jungle girlfriends,” Soph quipped. “What were they, anyway?”
“Janettes. Fighting-types.” Labby responded.
“I bet.”
“If Gonzales hasn’t come back down, he might not have needed the card anymore,” Yoshi mused.
“Or he could be waiting for us to come up now,” Labby growled.
The waitress came, dispersing the beverages around the table. “Starry,” Yoshi said, “Can I see the card?”
Starry put her cup down and Sophie immediately slapped a napkin on her face. “Foam lips!” She snickered. Starry shot her a dirty look, then pulled the lanyard out of her pocket, handing it over the table.
Yoshi held it in the air for a moment, letting the card spin back and forth until it unwound itself. One side of the card was plain and smooth. The other had the Team Boom blast logo. He stared at his own troubled reflection in the card.
“We go up,” he said with finality, handing the card back to Starry. “Yes, we could be ambushed when we get up there, but we’ve got Labby.” He gave her a tight smile and nod.
“And me,” Soph huffed. “And Starry.”
“Of course,” Yoshi smiled. “Think of this as training for the gym. The girlfriends will be pretty tough up there, but I’m sure they’re nothing we can’t handle.”
“More Labbies are also placed all over the building, both inside and outside. When I give the word, they will give us backup.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Oh there’s one other thing.” Labby flipped open her satchel. “Let’s see… where are they…” she pulled out what looked like two round candies wrapped in crackly pink paper. She handed one to Starry and the other to Soph.
“What’s this?” Starry asked, holding the wings of the wrapper in her hands.
“Nom Candy,” Labby said. “Instantly levels you up.”
“Whoa, for real?” Soph hurriedly unwrapped it, stuffing the entire bonbon in her mouth. “Om nom nom....”
By the time Yoshi had opened up her status screen, she was already one level higher:
Sophie is now Level 13!
Sophie has learned Fell Swoop!
NAME: Sophie (Soph)
LEVEL: 13
NATURE: Bossy
TYPE: Flying
ACC.: NIL
HP: 56/56
- ATTACK: 16
- DEFENSE: 12
- SPCL ATTACK: 12
- SPCL DEFENSE: 11
- SPEED: 16
LEVEL: 13
MOVESET:
Bird Run - Type: Flying - 35/35 PP (Run at foes and crash tackle them)
Sand Screen - Type: Normal - 40/40 PP (Lower accuracy by kicking and flapping sand up into opponent’s face)
Fell Swoop - Type: Flying - 20/20 PP (Launch up and dive at foe. 5% recoil damage)
“Woot woot!” Sophie pushed her chair out and extended her arms, feathers flaring out.
“Soph, not here!” Yoshi warned. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.
“Mmmm… it’s sweet.” Starry gulped down the chocolate, eyes wide with hope.
Starlotte is now Level 11!
NAME: Starlotte (Starry)
LEVEL: 11
NATURE: Reserved
TYPE: Interstellar
ACC.: HP Potion
HP: 45/45
- ATTACK: 9
- DEFENSE: 8
- SPCL ATTACK: 10
- SPCL DEFENSE: 12
- SPEED: 9
LEVEL: 11
MOVESET:
Gaze - Type: Normal - 30/30 PP (Lower defense by staring into opponent’s eyes, stun effect for 3 seconds.)
“Sorry Starry, no dice,” Yoshi told his crestfallen girlfriend.
13
Brawl Mode!
The stainless steel doors closed, sealing them in a box of stuffy jazz muzak.
Yoshi stared at the two rows of 15 buttons. “Any idea which level he would have gotten off at?”
Labby moved in and pressed ‘30’. The lift shuddered to life. “The battles you’ve fought so far are against rule-abiding trainers. Team Boom doesn’t play by the rules. I understand you want to level your Starlotte and Sophie, but don’t take any unnecessary risks.” She pulled fingerless gloves on and zipped up her vest. “If I get a sense that we’re in trouble, I’m calling in reinforcements straight away.”
“Don’t worry, Wolfie. They won’t know what hit t
hem when I schwoop their ass.” Soph flung her arms out and Starry ducked. Yoshi didn’t, copping a face full of feathers and fist.
“Ow, my dose!” Yoshi said, cradling his face.
“Ooops, my bad.”
“I’ve got a blood dose dow!” Yoshi tilted his head up, pinching his schnoz. “Does anyode have a tissue?”
Ding…
“No time for that.” Labby stepped in front of Yoshi. “Starry, to my left. Soph, my right.” The girlfriends complied.
They stared at their reflections in the cold metal. Three seconds later, it slid open. Clawed hands in front of her, Labby stepped out and checked if the coast was clear. She waved the rest of the team forward into the new room.
“What do you see?” Yoshi whispered, scrubbing at blood that had leaked out of his nose.
“What do you smell?” Starry said, covering her face with a hand.
“Seriously Yoshi, you couldn’t keep it in?” Soph squawked.
“Keep what in? What–?”
“Sssssh.” Labby snapped her hand up, pointing at a camera with an intermittent flashing red light.
Yoshi took his bloodied fingers off his nose. He slowly tilted his head down and caught an eyeful of whirring, ceiling-high computer servers stacked next to each other. Blood kept dripping off the end of his nose onto the floor. “Nope, no good.” He tilted his head back up. “You guys are going to have to guide me.”
“Not if you keep stinking up the joint,” Sophie hissed.
“Swear on Frank’s balls I didn’t fart.”
“He didn’t.” Labby stepped towards the machine closest to her. She bent her face close to it, took a whiff and recoiled. “Yep, it’s definitely these machines.”
“Maybe something died inside them?” Yoshi offered.
“I don’t care what it is, I’m not hanging around here.” Soph started walking off towards the green ‘EXIT’ sign at the end of the gauntlet of servers.
“Stay together,” Labby ordered, creeping across to the exit.
“Come on,” Starry said encouragingly. She hooked Yoshi around his elbow and dragged him along.