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“Ahhh, c’mon! It was just a joke!” a short petite woman in red yipped.
“Russian Roulette is not a joke!” one of the men in black gear shouted through his yellow mask.
“I didn’t even get to pull the trigger! You didn’t get to see if it was confetti or a firework!”
Two IPC grunts spears in one hand and in the other they had Sparkle by the scruff. Her hands were cuffed behind her, her legs dangled, and she was laughing. Their faces could not be seen yet it was clear they were not amused. In the dark halls of that structure they carried her to the brig. A dark desolate hole with a surprisingly cozy looking cot. The iron bars slid up and they tossed the brat into it. She flopped onto the floor with a groan.
“So gentle! You two must be-” the iron bars slide down with a slam. Her cheek was on the floor and her rear was up in the air. She blew hair off her face.
“Just stay quiet in there,” one of the men shouted.
“I can’t believe we have to watch her,” the other man groaned.
The two of them walked to the other end of the room. There was a table at which they sat beside. They weren’t very familiar with each other so they awkwardly looked around. The room was boorish, drab, and had bad lighting. Clearly the brig was not kept up with. The rest of the vessel was luxurious, fit for an IPC higher up.
Sparkle easily slid her arms free of her cuffs. She wriggled off the floor and onto the cozy cot. Upright she sat, her smile wide, she waved her hand over her lap and a music box appeared. It was dreamlike in design. A beautiful creation lovingly crafted. She cracked open the top of it and bent the chimes within it. With a snicker she slammed it shut and began to turn the crank.
A lovely chime sounded out and then it became not so lovely. The grunts were getting sick of hearing it. The one with the music box was blowing her lips together, trilling her lips in tune with the music box. Spit flew from her lips. She turned the crank over and over again much to the annoyance of everyone there.
“Okay, I don’t get paid enough for this,” one grunt shot up and took his spear.
“Wait, do we get paid to watch prisoners?” he looked up at the other man.
Their yellow glass face masks showed none of their thoughts yet greed was obvious.
“We should ask for a raise.”
“I was thinking the same thing! You ask first though.”
The two men walked down the hall. They finally had some common ground.
Sparkle continued to turn the crank until it popped out. Inside was a letter. She smiled wide enough that she started to squint like a fox. Little yips escaped her as she kicked her feet. She was thinking of all the fun she would have. A Planet of Festivities had sent her an invitation. She looked forward to indulging in whatever it may have. All the kinds of people that would be there.
“Why does life slumber?” she read it aloud then started yipping and hollered. “What a silly question. So deep, so poetic, very introspective,” she mocked through giggles. “What next? Why does life blink? Why does life tinkle?” she was amused by her own comedy.
“You can come out now,” fluorescent cherry pink eyes shone as she glanced up.
A glitch flittered in the air. Small screens of light took the form of a small petite woman that was less curvy than Sparkle. She appeared as a gamer yet her face was seen on wanted posters. Her bounty was high. She was a dangerous little woman. The cute gamer had her arms crossed. Clearly she was unamused. The Stellaron Hunter, Silver Wolf was there. Well, her hologram projection was there.
“You knew I was here?” she tried to sound nonchalant but irritation bled through.
“Nope!” she popped her lips at the word. “There’s always a chance someone is watching Sparkle in secret,” she tittered. “I do get it though. Sparkle is a dazzling sight!” her tongue slipped out, her palms up and facing Silver Wolf, she waggled her fingers at the sides of her head. “Have you come to play games with Sparkle? I have loads of fun games to play. Before you know it, you’ll be having a world of fun!”
“Ugh,” Silver Wolf rolled out some of her favorite tape gum, clipped it, then threw it into her mouth. “Whatever. Don’t waste my time. I have dailies to do.”
“Oh? So you need Sparkle? Here I thought you wanted some advice on how to play real games,” her eyes searched for any reaction from Silver Wolf. Her smile grew at the sight of lip twitch.
“I have a job for you to do,” the gamer cut through the beef. She did not want to be there.
“What’s the payment look like? Start with that and Sparkle will see if her fuse is lit,” she shut the music box and sent it away. The Fool jumped to her feet and looked through the iron bars. “What does a prisoner like you have to offer me?”
Silver Wolf blew a bubble. It loudly popped on her growing annoyance. She gestured to the bars.
“You’re the one in a cage,” she deadpanned.
“Nonsense!” Sparkle mocked offense, a hand to her chest and to the bars. “From where I’m standing it is you that is behind bars! Playing games for a slave! Acting as a stagehand for some playwright hack! Thinking you can change the universe by clicking some keys! How sad! How sad indeed!” she twirled further into her cell, hands up then down, she wiped away a tear that wasn’t there. “Sparkle might just cry.”
“Well,” Silver Wolf furrowed her brow and tapped her foot. “That invitation wasn’t meant for you. I’ll send it back to the right Fool if you don’t comply.”
“Oh, really?” the Fool twirled into the back of the cell. She splayed herself against it. Her hair frayed out, her arms out, one leg over the other, her curved figure pointed to the Stellaron Hunter. “Since you are here, I am the right Fool.”
Sparkly yipped with glee at the sight of Silver Wolf’s crumbling false blase attitude.
“They should have sent the woman. She would’ve been so much fun to deal with. You’re much too easy for Sparkle,” she goaded with a laugh. “Oh, she would have destroyed me with words and more,” she shivered with excited fear at the thought.
“Do you ever stop being annoying?” Silver Wolf growled under her breath.
“I can’t hear you from over there! You are much too far away! Come into the cell if you want Sparkle!” she flipped herself over against the wall as if some force was pinning her to it. Her rear was stuck out as if groped.
Silver Wolf smoothed her cheeks down. She was sure no blush would show through the hologram yet she didn’t like the burning feeling. Her projection walked through the bars of the cell. Of course, she had no physical form there. It was merely light.
“Ah! Help!” Sparkle arched her back more so that her bottom was sticking out. “A Hunter has come in to take advantage of me! Whatever shall I do!?” she completed her act with a whimper.
Said Hunter really wanted to stick her gum into the Fool’s hair. She took a deep breath. It was a rare moment where she wished her script had lines for her to recite. That would have made dealing with the annoying brat slightly easier.
“Stellar acting,” she shook her head. “I can get you into Penacony without getting caught if you agree to my terms.”
“Your terms?” she stressed the first word and spun around. Her intrigue had been caught. “What do you want from Sparkle if not her bosom?” she enjoyed earning every twitch from Silver Wolf.
“The terms are simple,” the hacker swiped her hand and a screen appeared. It detailed her terms. “Make sure one of our agents doesn’t deviate from the Script, make sure her fate isn’t safe, and don’t involve yourself more than you should,” she stressed out that final point.
“One of your agents, hmmm?” Sparkle walked through the screen, she didn’t bother reading it. “I don’t recall there being many Stellaron Hunters. I do recall there being five at one time,” she was in Silver Wolf’s space. Their noses were close to touching.
The hacker stood her ground. There was no body for her to fear getting hurt. The Fool continued to think, she tapped her chin then had some ideas.
“That’s right. There were five, then four, then five, then four, then five, then four, then five, then just four. That strange woman doesn’t keep her pets alive for long, now does she?” she let out a breathy chuckle.
For some reason, Silver Wolf thought she felt it. A trick of the mind. It had to be.
“Agents, agents, agents… For a group lacking agency you sure picked a fun word to use. Hmmm,” she pondered over grey eyes.
“It’s not Kafka. She wouldn’t need support.”
Silver Wolf chewed her gum.
“It’s not Blade. He wouldn’t need to be kept in place. Oh, and last I checked, he's not a 'her'.”
Silver Wolf chewed her cheek.
“It’s not you. It would be funny, but you don’t go out into the front lines. So this mystery girly must be…” Sparkle tilted her head in surprise. “Who would have thought that the Molten Knight was a girly the whole time? That’s quite the mask to wear.”
The irritating Fool brushed her nose to the Hacker’s nose. It felt real. She was in front of her. It couldn’t be real. A trick of the mind.
“Is she cute?” Sparkle needlessly prodded in a sing song voice. “Adorable and small? Tall and muscular? Is she into wo-”
“That doesn’t matter,” Silver Wolf furrowed her brow. It was cute how pissed she looked. “You just need to make sure she goes from point A to point B without deviation.”
“It sounds like she is a bad actor,” she squinted her eyes and her smile came up to her eyes. She was like a jovial fox ready to pounce on a small frail animal. “Does she not like following stage blocking? I suppose she wants to be a free thinker. Silly girly.”
Silver Wolf wanted to leave. She was ready to press her favorite key bind and get away from the Fool. Of course, this was not only noticed, it was what Sparkle wanted. The fox faced brat shot up at a wonderful thought.
“Oh! Maybe she will be tempted to step out of line!”
Her breath was hot against the hologram. Silver Wolf’s face scrunched. It had to be a trick of the mind.
“That’s it, isn’t it? Someone will get her to stray away! Who is it? Who is it that will get the probably cute girly to forget her lines?” her eyes started to shine bright. A flower with five petals bloomed in her eyes. They spun in circles and multiplied.
“Grah!” Silver Wolf had enough. “If you want to know so badly then just read the script!” her hologram was fuming. If she rolled her eyes any harder they would roll out of her head. The burn in her cheeks spread all over her face.
Sparkle chuckled loudly. She held her stomach then raised her dainty hands and looked very pleased with herself. The ends of her smile curled up. Her fangs bared through the smile. The fox was ready to pounce.
“Why would I be interested in a script the playwright didn’t even author?”
Silver Wolf cocked a brow. She shook her head and didn’t want to think of the Fool’s words any longer. It was a waste of time. There was no point in dealing with someone that would never take anything seriously. Just as she was ready to press her favorite key bind she felt somethin’ on her cheeks. Two dainty hands of a fox were feeling the warmth in her cheeks. That warmth spread all over her body.
“You’re pretty cute like this,” Sparkle cupped the blushing girl’s cheeks and pulled her in close. Their noses touched. “The mask of an aloof woman doesn’t suit you. I like this face much better.”
As another joke her lips came into contact with Silver Wolf’s nose. With a loud smack of her lips Sparkle gave the gamer a kiss she will never forget. The sensation was real. It was wet, warm, and nothing like Silver Wolf had felt before. The hologram fumbled back. The blue light was red in the face. The Stellaron Hunter summoned her gauntlet, a quantum blade came from it and she threw her arm in a great slash.
There was a lightshow in the swing. Quantum energy phased through Sparkle’s torso. The horizontal swipe did nothing to the snickering Fool. Barely contained laughter yipped out the brat. She snorted and chortled. The hologram went straight through her with no damage.
Silver Wolf panted. Her body was warm. At some point she swallowed her gum. She felt humiliated, stuck in place, and made a fool of. When she battled a genius, it was a true test of her abilities, and it was beyond fun. Dealing with a Fool was annoying, witless, and lacked any fun. Silver Wolf decided that as a Hacker she could not best Sparkle. She decided to play games.
“Oh! Wow! That look on your face was so amusing!” an uproar of laughter sounded out.
“Will you accept the deal or not?” Silver Wolf’s voice was breathy. She straightened herself up and let her mind race with ideas, so many ideas.
“Why should I? Your sales pitch needs some work. What do you have to offer Sparkle?” she twisted her body and threw herself forward. Her arms emphasized her bust, she was waiting for the gamer to glance down.
“For starters, getting you into Penacony,” Silver Wolf summoned her terms between them which earned a little groan.
“I can get in on my own just fine,” she was already interrupting.
“Second, you’ll be paid handsomely,” she flicked the screen to scroll up.
“Why not paid beautifully? How much are you offering Spar-”
“Read the screen,” Silver Wolf shoved the screen forward. Sparkle
“Is it too big for you to re-”
“Thirdly,” Silver Wolf turned up the volume of her hologram. “You’ll get access to the script.”
“Didn’t you hear me earlier? I said-”
“You’re curious to know. I know you are. You have a background in it,” Silver Wolf raised her hand, her middle finger curled to her thumb.
“You don’t know Sparkle.”
The brunette walked through the screen into a hand flicking her nose. The light startled her eyes. She stumbled back, caught by a trick she knew well. She huffed, amused and annoyed. With the tips of her lithe fingers she scrolled the terms up and down. The fourth had her interest.
“I like this one. You’ll provide me support in any way I ask,” she patted her cheeks to bring attention to her smile. “Isn’t that just swell?”
“Instead of just reading the bold title, read the terms. Unless you need contacts without your glasses,” a jab at her past.
“Is it too much to ask that you read for Sparkle?” she pouted so much her lips seemed to fall off her chin. Her eyes were wide and wet. She fluttered her lashes and wriggled in place on one foot. An attempt to allure, create sympathy, and to irritate.
“Yes, it is,” Silver Wolf deadpanned and tossed another bit of gum into her mouth. “Don’t be such a brat. Just read it.”
“Brat? Who are you calling brat?” Sparkle looked genuinely offended.
“You, obviously. I figured you’d like that,” she shrugged.
“That’s rich and poor of you. You’re the brat here,” Sparkle barked. “I bet everyone taller than you bullies you and you like it.”
“Wha- you- You’re my height!” Silver Wolf barked back.
“So you don’t deny it,” the fox yipped.
“Shortstack,” the wolf growled.
“Gamer,” the fox snipped.
“Edgelord,” the wolf snarled.
The both of them grinded their teeth. Up close and personal they brushed noses. Both were startled by the sudden sensation. The little canines bumped foreheads and cried out.
“Brat!” they both screamed.
Silver Wolf had enough and speed typed. In a flash her hologram was hacked into a physical form. Sparkle was ready for her and pounced onto the thing girl. Both of them tussled on the floor of the cell. They pulled on each others hair, kicked, scratched, and cursed random obscenities that the average person did not know.
They rolled on the ground for dominance. Silver Wolf would be on top only for her loose jacket to be yanked on. Sparkle straddled the thinner girl and was ready to pummel her. The gamer slapped the bell on her neck. It let out a strained chime. This greatly offended Sparkle and threw her rhythm off. Silver Wolf pursed her lips and spat out the gum in her mouth. Hologram gum got stuck in the Fool’s hair.
Sparkle tried to get it out but that only made it worse. Her bangs were getting stuck together. She squeezed the Silver Wolf’s modest hips with her plush thighs. With a twirl of her finger she summoned then spun a revolver. It was a colorful snubnose revolver. Adorned in flowers and foxes.
“Let’s play Russian Roulette. If you get shot I’ll take the deal. Agreed?” she pressed her palm to Silver Wolf’s mouth so the gamer could not answer. “Agreed.”
She pressed the tip of the gun to Silver Wolf’s temple and pulled the hammer back. It clicked loud in the cell. The gamer struggled to think. She had never been in a situation like that. Not once in her life had she been under a brat with a gun to her head. In a desperate search for answers she thought, “What would Stelle do?”
Silver Wolf brought her hand up and swung with all her might. With a loud clap she spanked Sparkle’s rear. The Fool tensed up and jolted. Her body spasmed in surprise. The revolver came up and fired.
“What in the world is go-” one of the guards came down to check on them and was blasted with confetti. He was sent flying back and hit the wall behind him. His spear hit the floor as did his body. Out cold the man regretted not searching for the weapon.
The two canines looked at each other in surprise.
“Huh? Wow. It's never usually the first shot. Isn't that crazy?” the fox yipped and spun her smoking gun.
“Ugh, get off me,” the wolf made another attempt to push the fox off her.
“I dunno, I kind of like it here,” Sparkle licked her lips.
With a sigh Silver Wolf pressed some keys. With the click of enter another alteration came in. Ad after ad appeared in Sparkle’s face. Pop up windows speaking of hot singles, get rich quick schemes, unsolvable puzzles, and the worst of all, gacha games flooded Sparkle’s space. Her eyes darted back and forth in surprise. One ad came up, was read, then another came in front of it. After enough came into existence they pushed Sparkle off Silver Wolf.
The gamer got off the floor and hated to admit that she missed the warmth of another body on her. She held up a mouse and closed all the ads. Sparkle was on her back swiping the air. She stopped and her face got red. The Fool started to chuckle then hugged herself in laughter.
“I don’t get what Stelle sees in this. That was just annoying,” Silver Wolf pulled on her cheeks then let them go.
“Stelle?” Sparkle stopped laughing then rolled off the ground. “That new Nameless girl?”
“Yeah, her,” Silver Wolf immediately regretted her words.
Sparkle started to ponder. She was thinking. A dangerous thing for her to do. All it would take is for her to put the pieces together and the whole story was done for. Everything the Stellaron Hunters had fought for would be null and void if this Masked Fool figured out that Stelle was-
“Ah! She must be going to Penacony too. That’s why your silly girly might act out of line. That Trailblazer might be more chaotic than I thought,” she started to bounce on her heels. “Why didn’t you start with that? I’ve been wanting to meet her. She seems like my kind of weirdo.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Silver Wolf considered pressing /k on herself.
“Alright! A deal is a deal! I’ll help you with your script! Hand it over!” she clapped to speed the tired gamer up.
Silver Wolf sent the script over to Sparkle. The Fool started to read it. She had to squint her eyes to read the small font.
“Doesn’t your playwright know how to increase font size? This is tiny! It might be as small as you!” she turned her phone to the side and expanded the file.
“We’re literally the same height,” Silver Wolf groaned.
“Not the same build though,” Sparkle wiggled her hips. She then flopped down onto the cozy cot to keep reading.
Not wanting to deal with her any further, Silver Wolf dealt with the body. The grunt seemed to be alive. Whatever he got shot with was enough to knock him out. Since Sparkle agreed to help Silver Wolf got started hacking the luxury ship. The ship would inevitably crash into another, Sparkle would take the escape pod, and then land on Belebog where she needed to be. A familiar scam artist and they would leave the frozen world with the info she needed. With a final click of her keyboard, destiny was set to happen as ordained.
“Three deaths, huh? How does one have a safe death?” Sparkle sat up on the cot.
“Safe in that she doesn’t make it worse by going against the script,” Silver Wolf crossed her arms and sent her keyboard away.
“Ahhhh, I see. You must care about this girly. Too bad she gets a date with a different grey hair,” she snickered into her palm.
“Alright. I’m out of here,” Silver Wolf raised her hand to end her torment. Her system setup was summoned.
“Wait!” Sparkle got to her feet. She slipped on her sandal and it came off. The strings that held it to her ankle came undone. Her foot touched the cold floor. She looked desperate for attention. “Uhhh,” she cleared her throat and put a smirking face on. “You still haven’t given me somethin’ to help. Unless, of course, you want to see Sparkle again. Which I assume you do. Who wouldn’t? I’m such a darling after all.”
A bit of hologram gum touched her forehead. She flinched at the cold sensation then played it off. She’d rather have that in her hair longer than necessary if it meant she could annoy Silver Wolf further.
“Okay, what is it you want?” the gamer kept her setup out to give the Fool whatever she wanted.
“I want yours, the strange woman’s, and the sword’s likeness to use,” Sparkle’s eyes had nothing but mischief in them. “They’ll be such fun masks to wear.”
Silver Wolf didn’t think she would ask for that.
“Don’t leave me hanging now. A deal is a deal.”
The hacker started to type.
“That’s right. Sparkle is gonna have so much fun.”
The gamer summoned a controller.
“Huh?”
Three projections were summoned into the cell. The space became cramped in a moment. On one side was Blade, the other was Kafka, between them was another Silver Wolf. They surrounded the lone fox sitting on the cozy cot.
“Three on one? Easy peasy,” her voice shook. Her smile warbled from corner to corner.
Silver Wolf pressed Start on her controller and the game began. Sparkle struck the Blade projection with a kick, it had little effect. She prepared a vanishing act with her mask, the Kafka projection took the mask from her and tossed it out of the cell. The cornered fox sought the path of least resistance and charged the Silver Wolf projection. The projection became intangible and was in fact the least resistance. Sparkle slipped and hit her forehead against the cell wall. The main Silver Wolf snickered. Bits of hologram gum were stuck to the wall and Sparkle’s head.
“Y’know what? Playing with you is starting to get fun.”
“It better be!”
Sparkle lunged forward to the main Silver Wolf. She drew her revolver and aimed it for the gamer’s head. With a quick press of buttons the fox was stopped in place. Webs from differing corners and walls of the room held her in place. The Kafka projection had her ringed hand up over her bosom. Her smile was beautiful like the woman she bore the likeness off. Static pulsed through Sparkle's small body. She was a cornered fox and for that she was dangerous.
A click and turn of gears was heard. She pulled the hammer back on her revolver. It was pointed at Silver Wolf’s head. She pulled the trigger and a resounding, magnanimous, deafening and immaculate click was heard.
“Huh?”
She pulled the hammer back and pulled the trigger. A click was heard. She did it again. A click was heard. She repeated this three more times. There was a beat of silence. Then six more attempts to shoot Silver Wolf in the head. The gamer sniffed, nodded her head, clipped more tape gum, then stuck it in her mouth very slowly. She started to chew her gum. The smug grin on her face blew a bubble. At another attempt to shoot her the gum popped.
“Ah, phooey.”
The Blade projection grabbed the helpless fox from the webs then slammed her onto the cozy cot. Sparkle was on her back and had the wind knocked out of her. She attempted to get up only to get webbed down. Her body was spread open by the tightening webs. She found it hard to breathe. The Silver Wolf projection straddled her hips and rested its hands to her shoulders.
Sparkle was caught, bound, helpless, and getting very excited with fear. Her face contorted in several directions as waves of contradictory emotions washed over her. What remained consistent was her smile. That never wavered. Her assets strained against the electrifying threads. Her eyes were blooming and glowing.
Silver Wolf took one hand off her controller. She summoned several cameras into her empty hand. Little Silver Wolf sprites came from the aether and took the cameras. From all angles there was a camera on Sparkle. Each one with intent to catch every little detail.
“This is just for collateral in case you get any funny ideas,” Silver Wolf took the gum out of her mouth.
“I’m full of those,” Sparkle challenged.
“And full of this.”
The wolf brought the gum down to the fox’s lips.
“Wow. Silver Wolf did that?” a husky voice asked.
“That she did. She took advantage of poor Sparkle,” she wiped her eyes on a black coat.
Aboard the Radiant Feldspar was Sparkle and Stelle. They were seated at a round table in the renovated bar and diner. Sparkle was clutching Stelle’s side. The small girl was nestled close to the Trailblazer’s tall form.
“I didn’t think she had it in her,” Stelle mused and lazily sipped on a bottle of SoulGlad.
“She put it in me!” Sparkle cried. She wiped her face into Stelle’s chest. “Sparkle was so pure, so innocent. How will I ever get married?” she looked up at Stelle with pleading wet eyes. “Unless you don’t care about marrying a violated maiden?” she whimpered.
“I don’t mind,” Stelle shrugged. She set the bottle down then rested her long fingers under Sparkle’s chin. “I’ll take good care of you.”
The fox purred against her. A mood had been set over bottles of golden fizzy pop. The grey haired woman licked her lips. For a moment, her sharp canine teeth teased the small fox. While the both of them were into the story told, another was not so happy.
“You idiot!” Silver Wolf walked up behind them both. Naturally she was there as a hologram. “That isn’t what happened! She’s lying to you!” Silver Wolf hopped over the booth wall and plopped onto the booth seat.
It was a wonder how she could interact with the world while still being an intangible hologram.
“Sparkle was not lying!” she feigned offense and clung to Stelle. “I was merely telling a fiction at the end,” she winked for punctuation.
“That’s worse than what Kafka calls it. Stelle, you don’t believe her, do you?” she scooted closer to Stelle’s side. Her head craned up at the tall woman.
“I was just playing along,” she spoke with bits of gravel. “Don’t worry, Wolfie, I’m not easy like that,” Stelle heartedly reassured her with a wink.
“We’re just having a bit of fun,” Sparkle teased. “Grey hair here knows how to have fun,” the trickster knew it was going to be hard getting between the two grey haired friends. They had a strange trust with each other. She thought of a fun little act of chaos.
“Most of the story was true,” she started. The moment Silver Wolf opened up her mouth to contest Sparkle spoke first. “Like the part where she tied me down and recorded me. That was true.”
“That’s not what happened,” Silver Wolf scoffed. “I still have camera footage and can prove it.”
“Footage of when you took advantage of her?” Stelle asked as a tease.
“Yes- What!? No! That didn’t happen!”
The two short women started to bicker about what was and wasn’t true. Stelle watched them both and imagined two little dogs barking at each other. It was cute. So very cute. She just wanted to tease them both.
“You two are so bratty. It’s very cute.”
“What!?” the two of them looked up at her in offense.
“So that part of the story is true.”
Both shorties called brats stood up and looked down on Stelle in the booth.
“Uh-oh.”