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Thanks to my friend TheHeartGallery21 for proofing and editing and all three for letting me use their characters

Dee finally confronts Benny to learn the truth about the platinum chip", "writing": "[u][center]Chapter 33: Ring-a-Ding-Ding![/center][/u]\n\nDee, Crafty and Holly stood in front of the Lucky 38 as the white steel doors slid open to the shock of everyone on the strip.\n\n“No-one’s been in here in years,” Crafty whispered, “I heard there was a fourth family that screwed up even before Mr. House opened the strip so he kicked them out.”\n\nThey entered the bottom floor which was an expansive casino with a bar off to the left and an elevator at the center; two more Porygon stood guard inside the entrance. Victor floated to the elevator then turned back to the three, “Dee, Mr. House needs to see you right now.” As the approached, Victor raised one of his arms, “Sorry, just Dee. You ladies will have to wait down here.”\n\nHolly narrowed her eyes at the Porygon, “She’d better come back down.”\n\n“I will, I promise,” Dee walked into the elevator, followed by victor who interfaced with the controls and the door closed.\n\nCrafty gestured to the bar, “Let’s get a drink while we wait.” She hopped over the front of the bar and grabbed two bottles of Sunset Sarsaparilla from a shelf. Holly took a seat at the bar and Crafty handed her one before popping the top off her bottle.\n\n“Sweet! Another star!” She showed the blue star under the bottlecap to Holly before she added it to her backpack, “that’s 47 now.”\n\n“How many do you need?” Holly checked her own bottlecap but it was plain.\n\n“Rumor says it’s 50 then I take them to the old bottling plant west of Lumiose and find someone called Festus who will reveal the ‘legend of the star’, or something like that,” Crafty took a long drink from the bottle then burped and grinned, “Maybe there’s more here.”\n\nHolly nudged her and smirked, “Just don’t go too overboard.”\n\nOoOoO\n\nDee shuffled nervously as the elevator rose all the way to the top floor. She stepped out and found herself on a balcony in a clean penthouse suite. Victor pointed with his nose to her left through a curtain hung in a doorway. “Mr. House is waiting to me ya.”\n\nDee stepped through the curtain and almost jumped. On the ground floor there was a computer with a massive screen over twice Dee’s height that displayed, in shades of green, the head and shoulders of a middle-aged human man in a business suit with a serious expression, parted hair and a thick pencil mustache.\n\n“So you’ve finally arrived,” the voice from the machine matched the static image, albeit with a slight electronic buzz, “Come down here and let’s talk.”\n\nDee walked down the stairs until she was right in front of the image and gulped, “My name is Dee. Are you Mr. House?”\n\n“Yes, I am Robert House and you are the last courier to arrive. Not many would travel this far for a job. I’m sure you have questions, but first business. You’re here to deliver the platinum chip, unfortunately Benny stole it and left you for dead. Benny is the head of The Chairmen at The Tops casino so I ask that you retrieve the platinum chip for me and I will pay you four times the commission originally promised.”\n\n“1000 caps?” Dee’s eyes went wide, “I’ll take it, but please tell me what this is all about. What is the platinum chip and why is it so important?”\n\n“It would take too long to explain everything, but suffice to say it contains a program to upgrade the Porygon so they can protect Lumiose now that the rest of the outside world is encroaching on my city.”\n\n“Is that why Benny took it?” Dee touched the middle of her forehead where she still had a small scar from his bullet.\n\n“Yes. Benny was my protégé. He was supposed to be my hand as I can no longer leave the Prism Tower, or Lucky 38 now.” Mr. House sighed, “I didn’t anticipate his ambition to extend to wanting to betray me until it was too late to act. He doesn’t understand what the chip is or what it does only that it’s important for the safety of New Lumiose.”\n\n“Why don’t you send the Porygon to take it from him?” Dee looked up at the screen.\n\n“An agreement with the three families to make guests feel more comfortable: I keep the Porygon out of the casinos unless a grievous crime is committed and the perpetrator tries to hide in one or they request I send one in to deal with extreme situations. Also, while I know Benny has betrayed me, I have no physical evidence against him so storming one of my casinos would cause panic and might make the rest of The Chairmen turn against me.”\n\nDee nodded then started to turn, “Alright, I’ll be back with the chip.”\n\nMr. House sounded satisfied, “Good. As long as you’re working for me you and your friends may use the Presidential Suite. I assure you it has all the amenities you may need.”\n\nA short time later Dee, Crafty and Holly stood in front of The Tops casino and Holly turned to Dee, “Are you sure about this?”\n\nDee nodded, “I want answers and to finish my mission. Once Benny knows House is onto him, I hope he realizes his plans are over. I just… I need support if things go wrong.”\n\nHolly and Crafty each put a hand on Dee’s shoulder and Crafty pumped her fist, “We’re behind you every step of the way.”\n\nDee smiled, “Thank you.” She took a deep breath then entered the casino while Crafty passed her new handgun to Holly so she could sneak it in.\n\nAfter Dee and Crafty handed over their weapons to the Delcatty-woman at the reception desk, they were practically ambushed by a Liepard-man in a black suit with a red tie and his arms spread wide, “Welcome to the tops, lovely ladies. I trust you’ll find this is the swingingnest place on the strip.”\n\nCrafty grinned, “Sure is, Swank. Nice to see you again.”\n\n“Now I think I’d remember a cool bombshell like you walkin’ into the Tops,” Swank sounded smarmy.\n\nCrafty clapped Dee on the shoulder, “My friend Dee here brought me an Ice Stone. Relax, I know I’m not allowed to gamble anymore.”\n\nSwank blinked, “Wait a minute, is that you Crafty. So you finally evolved and got the sexy body you always wanted.”\n\nCrafty tried to strike a sexy pose then laughed, “If only I had something more flattering to show it off.”\n\nSwank laughed, “Shouldn’t take you too long.” He turned to Holly, “and this must be the mate you were talking about so much. Happy to finally meet you Holly.”\n\nHolly shook his hand, “Nice to meet you too.”\n\n“Do you run things here, Swank?” Dee asked.\n\n“When Benny’s not around, which is most of the time these days,” the Liepard-man rolled his eyes, “But he’s here now at least.”\n\nDee took a deep breath. “I need to see him, now.”\n\nSwank gave Dee a skeptical look, “He’s over at that end of the casino,” he gestured over his left shoulder, “But he’s not looking to mingle tonight.”\n\nDee kept her voice level, “He tried to kill me. Shot me in the head and left me in a shallow grave near Vaniville town.”\n\nSwank was a bit stunned but incredulous, “Now why would Benny do a thing like that?”\n\n“To steal a platinum chip I was hired to deliver to Mr. House,” Dee took a deep breath again.\n\nSwank took a step back for a moment, “Whoa, that’s some serious shade you’re throwing on our boss. Got any proof?”\n\n“This,” Dee fished the gold engraved lighter out of her pocket, “the Rockets he hired and betrayed gave me this.”\n\nSwank took the lighter and turned in over in his hand, “Hot damn! This is Benny’s lighter, no doubt about it. I thought he was just trying to kick the habit.” He handed the lighter back to Dee, “So what are you ladies planning? I don’t think he’d believe you crossed the desert just to thank him.”\n\nDee looked down, then back up to meet Swank’s gaze, “I just want answers: why me? Why this chip? And why is he keeping it a secret from you if you’re his right-hand man?”\n\nSwank had to think for a moment, “Benny hasn’t been running the show much lately, and Mr. House did send a lotta notes to him. If half of this is true then we don’t want to dance to his rhythm, we’ve got a sweet setup here and we ain’t gonna flush it down the drain, dig? You go talk to Benny, he won’t start anything on the floor so try to keep it civil. He’s got his bodyguards so play it cool if you can.”\n\nCrafty couldn’t help but smirk, “Oh I can play it cool all the better now.”\n\n“Thank you,” Dee stepped around Swank with Crafty and Holly beside her. They looked down the casino floor and could make out a Persian-man in a checkered suit at the end surrounded by four armed members of the Chairmen: all cat-like Poke-people.\n\n“What’s the plan?” Crafty whispered as she sneakily retrieved her new pistol from Holly and hid it in the quick-draw holster under the back of her robes.\n\nDee looked at the casino floor: the game tables were in a pit two steps down with a balcony that ran along both walls which all met at the opposite end of the room where Benny was. “Split up, each of you go across the balcony while I walk up to him. If we can talk civilly then we will but I want to make sure we’re not all together if they start shooting. Just to be safe.”\n\n“Good call,” Holly gave Dee a kiss on the cheek, as did Crafty, before they split right and left across the balconies while Dee stepped down into the game pit and walked straight towards Benny.\n\nOne of Benny’s bodyguards, a Luxray-man, elbowed his boss gently, “Benny, hot number comin’ up the pit. You wanna take a swing or can we have first shot?”\n\n“Let’s take a look,” as soon as Benny saw Dee he gaped and nearly fell over from shock, “What in the Arceusdamn…?” He gulped, “Let’s keep this in the groove, hey? Smooth moves. Smooth…”\n\nDee stopped at the bottom of the two steps out of the pit, less than two meters from Benny. “Hello, Benny. It’s been a long time.” Her voice was level but steely.\n\n“Yeah, sure has been a while… wait…” Benny seemed to be thinking, “that broad everyone saw go in the Lucky 38, that was you? Oh shit.”\n\nDee kept her arms by her sides, as she glared up at Benny, “Not every day you see someone who dragged themselves all over the wasteland after you shot them in the head.”\n\n“I know I hit what I was aiming for. Guess you had brains to spare. Or you just thick-skulled?” Benny tried to play it as a joke, then a nudge from one of his bodyguards drew his attention to Crafty and Holly on opposite sides of the balcony, blocking the narrow routes of escape to the sides.\n\n“I’ve survived a lot worse than a bullet to the head before and after you shot me.” Dee’s voice raised enough that the gamblers and dealers around her fell silent, even as the jazz music on the casino speakers still played. Wisely they simply returned their chips and relocated to the other end of the casino.\n\nBenny gulped, even though he outnumbered the three Poke-women, something from them, especially Dee, told him it was a bad idea to start shooting. “So, how do you want to play this? You here to pay me back bullet for bullet? Hell it’s kinda a relief knowing you didn’t die, baby. Maybe I can finally sleep at night,” he tried to grin, “I shoulda got a better look at you, maybe I coulda ‘convinced’ you to turn over the chip without hurting a hot Lucario-girl like yourself.”\n\nFrom her position, Crafty had to fight the urge to retch, and she normally liked flirtation and come-ons.\n\nDee shook her head, “No. I just want answers about all this.”\n\n“Whoa whoa! This ain’t the place to talk that kinda business.” The Persian-man waved his hands defensively, “Tell you what, to make it up to you I’ll comp you the Presidential – best suite in the house. You deserve a taste of the VIP lifestyle.” He gestured to an elevator off to his right, “I’ll hang out here for a while to make everything look business-as-usual, then come to you. Any question you got, I’ll answer – guaranteed.”\n\n“We’re not going to fall for that,” Holly’s voice cut across the room, “You want to talk to Dee then you go up first and we’ll stay here to entertain your guards.”\n\nCrafty nodded, “Don’t worry, I promise they’ll be nice and relaxed as long as you don’t run.”\n\nDee folded her arms, “I came too far to get answers to risk you running away.”\n\nBenny sighed, “Alright, I get ya. I’ll see you upstairs.” He tossed a key to Dee then turned and strode to the elevator like he was still in control. Dee watched him vanish inside, waited a minute then walked over to the same elevator and rode it up.\n\nThe Presidential suite was even bigger than the Bon Vivant at the Ultra-Luxe, even the living and entertainment room with pool table, couches and fully stocked bar was impressive enough. Dee didn’t have time to marvel as she spotted Benny at the bar, already having poured himself a drink.\n\nThe Persian-man gestured to a stool next to him, “Sit down, have a drink and we’ll chat.”\n\nDee sat down and took the offered glass, but didn’t drink the booze inside. “Why was it me?”\n\n“Just unlucky roll of the dice,” Benny drained his drink, “coulda been any courier, you just got the short stick to be the one carrying what I wanted.” Benny reached into an inner coat pocket and pulled out the platinum chip. “My turn, how did you survive that ambush?”\n\n“A Porygon dug me out and a doctor in Vaniville fixed me up,” Dee decided not to mention the Ultra-Parasite that might have died to give her enough time to be healed.\n\nBenny was stunned, “House was on to me from the word go? I thought I was being so clever…” he stuck the chip back in his coat pocket.\n\nDee stared at the chip until Benny stowed it, “Why is that chip so important? What are you planning?”\n\nBenny grinned, “Broad strokes: change in management. The Porygon are where it’s at. I need a way to control them, and a way to beef up their hitting power, the chip’s the key to that – somehow. I get those two Psyducks in a row, Lumiose can defend itself versus all comers: NKR, Nobunaga’s Kogun, it won’t matter. So, once you were vertical, how’d you track me down?”\n\nDee pulled the lighter out of her pocket, “The Khans you left for dead hold a grudge.”\n\n“I was wondering where I dropped that, damn, shoulda left something that pretty at home,” Benny rolled his eyes, “So which way’s the wind gonna blow?” He poured himself another drink.\n\nDee looked at the drink but still didn’t touch hers, “You give me the chip and I get my payday from Mr. House. Maybe if you’re lucky then he’ll let you off with a demotion, Swank says he pretty much runs the place already.”\n\nBenny laughed, “He’s not wrong, I chose the best right-hand.” Before Dee could move, Benny pulled out his pistol, “Sorry, but I don’t swing that way.” He kept the gun pointed at Dee as he stood up. Dee stood as well but stepped away from Benny and backed up without taking her eyes off him, “I worked too hard to just give up now, House can’t touch me without screwing with the strip so now I got an appointment to keep.”\n\nDee’s voice became hard as steel as she readied herself, “I won’t let you leave with that chip!”\n\n“Why not?” Benny sounded baffled, “What kind of stake do you have in this? Can’t just be that you bought into the old postal service slogan, there ain’t rain or snow to trudge through.”\n\nDee’s thoughts drifted back to The Divide, to the families so grateful for letters and packages from loved ones, communities barely holding on that looked on deliveries of seeds that could grow in the wasteland as gifts from Arceus themselves, and a lesson she’d learned from Cassandra, “Couriers, save communities, bring hope and even second chances to the wasteland. I won’t let you stop me finishing the job I was hired for.”\n\nBenny rolled his eyes, “Bit too much dedication, sorry but this time I won’t stop at one bullet.”\n\nDee’s reflexes trigged the instant Benny pulled the trigger and she dodges aide, the three shots striking the wall behind her as she charged an Aura Sphere in both hands and fired. The Benny tried to dive out of the way but the Aura Sphere struck home and blew his head off, which sent his body tumbling to the floor.\n\nDee heart raced as she stood there, still in the stance from firing her attack. She hadn’t come for revenge but she’d ended up taking it anyway. She walked over to Benny’s headless body, bent down and carefully searched his suit pockets until she found the platinum chip. She took a moment to examine the object that started all of this trouble: twice the size and thickness of a normal poker chip with “Lucky 38” engraved on one side and “200 On the house” on the other. She pocketed the chip then headed for the elevator back to the casino floor.\n\nWhen the elevator door opened, Dee was hit by a blast of joyous horny energy. She had to blink and rub her eyes through the sound of hoots and cheers before she saw Crafty. The Glaceon-woman was on one of the blackjack tables dancing and naked. She shook her ass and squeezed her tits as the four bodyguards, Swank and Holly (who held Crafty’s robe) watched, though Swank seemed exasperated at the display.\n\nCrafty breathed Icy Wind upwards to create a small flurry of snowflakes then turned to see Dee. She stopped her dance when she saw the Lucario-woman had arrived first. She hopped down from the table and retrieved her robe from Holly, “What happened?”\n\n“Benny’s dead,” Dee pulled the platinum chip out of her pocket, “He tried to shoot me and run. I got the platinum chip back.”\n\nSwank pushed past the bodyguards who were about to aim at Dee, “Hold up, show me the chip.” Dee held the chip up for Swank to see, even turned it over in her hand. Swank nodded, “Can’t say what it is but it looks like something Mr. House would send for. Alright people send someone up to the Presidential to clean it up,” he turned to the four bodyguards, “Send someone up to Benny’s room and we’ll see what he was planning. Meantime let the women walk out.” He spoke with such authority that the bodyguards hastened to obey.\n\nCrafty had finished redressing, “So now what?”\n\n“Now, you promise me you won’t do that in here again,” Swank turned to Crafty, “Fun as it was, that’s not what The Tops is all about. As for you,” he turned to Dee, “You can keep the Presidential as a thank you for a few months, I don’t think anyone that could afford it will be stopping by anytime soon.”\n\nDee smiled, “Thank you. So, you’re the boss now?”\n\n“Practically was already,” the Liepard-man folded his arms, “But you’d better split until I can square things up with the staff.” Dee nodded then hurried out of the casino and back to the Lucky 38 with Crafty and Holly.\n\nDee had her friends stay behind in the Lucky 38’s casino as she rode back up to Mr. House’s penthouse. She stood in front of Mr. House’s screen again, with a Porygon to either side of the console, and held up the platinum chip, “I have the chip. Benny’s dead.” Dee didn’t sound satisfied.\n\n“Good, I expected he wouldn’t just accept he’d lost. Part of the risk of the casino families is that they’re more prone to taking foolish risks. First, your payment.” There was a whirring of machinery from the console, then a drawer opened with a sack inside.\n\nDee took the sack and could tell by the weight that it contained the agreed 1000 caps. “Thank you.”\n\n“No thanks needed, you did a job and should be paid what you are owed. Now the next order of business. You wanted to know why the platinum chip was so valuable. I will summarize and say that I ran this city before the war. I took over from the final gym leader after the children’s pilgrimage was phased out in the years leading up to the war. I knew war was coming and that the defenses I had around Lumiose weren’t enough, so I commissioned the platinum chip to provide the necessary software upgrades for both the strip and the Porygon. I couldn’t risk digital attacks from outside so I was disconnected from the network and would need the chip physically transported here once complete. Unfortunately, the war started earlier than I anticipated. The defenses I set up were enough to save what you see today, but it is a mere fraction of Lumiose at its height. Now insert the platinum chip into the console.”\n\nDee saw the circular recess in House’s console then looked down at the chip. She took a deep breath and inserted the chip where it fit perfectly.\n\nHouse was silent for a moment as his console lit up, “Verifying, Upgrade intact. Transmitting data to all Porygon.”\n\nDee jumped as her aura sense exploded and turned to one of the Porygon on guard to watch as it glowed for a moment then its angular body smoothed and rounded out until it looked something like a rubber bath toy with a beak smaller than its face and a rounded tail.\n\n“Evolution complete, all Porygon on the strip are now Porygon2. Access to higher level techniques: Discharge, Tri-Attack, Zap Cannon, Hyper Beam and Recover and all stats increase by 25%. Overall, the combat capabilities of the Porygon have increased by 235%. Now New Lumiose has soldiers capable of protecting it. Dee, take the platinum chip.” Dee looked down at the chip and picked it up as House continued, “I suspect there will be some panic with the evolution of the Porygon on the street but this is just the start. The Porygon here can keep New Lumiose safe for the time being, but the threats from outside require a greater force. There’s a bunker where Nobunaga’s Kogun has camped with hundreds of Porygon disconnected from my network. I need someone reliable to go there and reactivate them.”\n\nDee gripped the platinum chip, “And then what?”\n\n“I will tell you more when you arrive. Before you answer remember that I’m offering you a place in new Lumiose as a new power in the wasteland, and failing that I can pay you a lot for your work.”\n\nDee stared at the chip for a moment, then pocketed it, “I need time, this is a lot to take in…”\n\n“I don’t want to rush you, but there is a time limit. The second, and final, battle for Gaiva Dam will occur in less than a year. If you need more information about what’s going to happen then I will provide it. I admit, a woman trying to go to Nobunaga’s fort won’t end will with how they treat the fairer sex. If an opportunity presents itself then inform me so I can evaluate the options.”\n\nDee nodded then turned and left. So much was happening so fast and this felt as big as what she’d dealt with in the New Orange Pass, maybe bigger with the war brewing. It was late so she invited Crafty and Holly up to the Lucky 38’s presidential suite. It was rather homey with five rooms: master bedroom, kitchen and dining room, guest room with two double beds, bathroom with two bath-showers and two toilets (all with clean water) and a lounge that had a TV with a working media player. The events of the day weighed heavy on the three as they all lay down to sleep in the master bedroom.", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "
Chapter 33: Ring-a-Ding-Ding!


Dee, Crafty and Holly stood in front of the Lucky 38 as the white steel doors slid open to the shock of everyone on the strip.

“No-one’s been in here in years,” Crafty whispered, “I heard there was a fourth family that screwed up even before Mr. House opened the strip so he kicked them out.”

They entered the bottom floor which was an expansive casino with a bar off to the left and an elevator at the center; two more Porygon stood guard inside the entrance. Victor floated to the elevator then turned back to the three, “Dee, Mr. House needs to see you right now.” As the approached, Victor raised one of his arms, “Sorry, just Dee. You ladies will have to wait down here.”

Holly narrowed her eyes at the Porygon, “She’d better come back down.”

“I will, I promise,” Dee walked into the elevator, followed by victor who interfaced with the controls and the door closed.

Crafty gestured to the bar, “Let’s get a drink while we wait.” She hopped over the front of the bar and grabbed two bottles of Sunset Sarsaparilla from a shelf. Holly took a seat at the bar and Crafty handed her one before popping the top off her bottle.

“Sweet! Another star!” She showed the blue star under the bottlecap to Holly before she added it to her backpack, “that’s 47 now.”

“How many do you need?” Holly checked her own bottlecap but it was plain.

“Rumor says it’s 50 then I take them to the old bottling plant west of Lumiose and find someone called Festus who will reveal the ‘legend of the star’, or something like that,” Crafty took a long drink from the bottle then burped and grinned, “Maybe there’s more here.”

Holly nudged her and smirked, “Just don’t go too overboard.”

OoOoO

Dee shuffled nervously as the elevator rose all the way to the top floor. She stepped out and found herself on a balcony in a clean penthouse suite. Victor pointed with his nose to her left through a curtain hung in a doorway. “Mr. House is waiting to me ya.”

Dee stepped through the curtain and almost jumped. On the ground floor there was a computer with a massive screen over twice Dee’s height that displayed, in shades of green, the head and shoulders of a middle-aged human man in a business suit with a serious expression, parted hair and a thick pencil mustache.

“So you’ve finally arrived,” the voice from the machine matched the static image, albeit with a slight electronic buzz, “Come down here and let’s talk.”

Dee walked down the stairs until she was right in front of the image and gulped, “My name is Dee. Are you Mr. House?”

“Yes, I am Robert House and you are the last courier to arrive. Not many would travel this far for a job. I’m sure you have questions, but first business. You’re here to deliver the platinum chip, unfortunately Benny stole it and left you for dead. Benny is the head of The Chairmen at The Tops casino so I ask that you retrieve the platinum chip for me and I will pay you four times the commission originally promised.”

“1000 caps?” Dee’s eyes went wide, “I’ll take it, but please tell me what this is all about. What is the platinum chip and why is it so important?”

“It would take too long to explain everything, but suffice to say it contains a program to upgrade the Porygon so they can protect Lumiose now that the rest of the outside world is encroaching on my city.”

“Is that why Benny took it?” Dee touched the middle of her forehead where she still had a small scar from his bullet.

“Yes. Benny was my protégé. He was supposed to be my hand as I can no longer leave the Prism Tower, or Lucky 38 now.” Mr. House sighed, “I didn’t anticipate his ambition to extend to wanting to betray me until it was too late to act. He doesn’t understand what the chip is or what it does only that it’s important for the safety of New Lumiose.”

“Why don’t you send the Porygon to take it from him?” Dee looked up at the screen.

“An agreement with the three families to make guests feel more comfortable: I keep the Porygon out of the casinos unless a grievous crime is committed and the perpetrator tries to hide in one or they request I send one in to deal with extreme situations. Also, while I know Benny has betrayed me, I have no physical evidence against him so storming one of my casinos would cause panic and might make the rest of The Chairmen turn against me.”

Dee nodded then started to turn, “Alright, I’ll be back with the chip.”

Mr. House sounded satisfied, “Good. As long as you’re working for me you and your friends may use the Presidential Suite. I assure you it has all the amenities you may need.”

A short time later Dee, Crafty and Holly stood in front of The Tops casino and Holly turned to Dee, “Are you sure about this?”

Dee nodded, “I want answers and to finish my mission. Once Benny knows House is onto him, I hope he realizes his plans are over. I just… I need support if things go wrong.”

Holly and Crafty each put a hand on Dee’s shoulder and Crafty pumped her fist, “We’re behind you every step of the way.”

Dee smiled, “Thank you.” She took a deep breath then entered the casino while Crafty passed her new handgun to Holly so she could sneak it in.

After Dee and Crafty handed over their weapons to the Delcatty-woman at the reception desk, they were practically ambushed by a Liepard-man in a black suit with a red tie and his arms spread wide, “Welcome to the tops, lovely ladies. I trust you’ll find this is the swingingnest place on the strip.”

Crafty grinned, “Sure is, Swank. Nice to see you again.”

“Now I think I’d remember a cool bombshell like you walkin’ into the Tops,” Swank sounded smarmy.

Crafty clapped Dee on the shoulder, “My friend Dee here brought me an Ice Stone. Relax, I know I’m not allowed to gamble anymore.”

Swank blinked, “Wait a minute, is that you Crafty. So you finally evolved and got the sexy body you always wanted.”

Crafty tried to strike a sexy pose then laughed, “If only I had something more flattering to show it off.”

Swank laughed, “Shouldn’t take you too long.” He turned to Holly, “and this must be the mate you were talking about so much. Happy to finally meet you Holly.”

Holly shook his hand, “Nice to meet you too.”

“Do you run things here, Swank?” Dee asked.

“When Benny’s not around, which is most of the time these days,” the Liepard-man rolled his eyes, “But he’s here now at least.”

Dee took a deep breath. “I need to see him, now.”

Swank gave Dee a skeptical look, “He’s over at that end of the casino,” he gestured over his left shoulder, “But he’s not looking to mingle tonight.”

Dee kept her voice level, “He tried to kill me. Shot me in the head and left me in a shallow grave near Vaniville town.”

Swank was a bit stunned but incredulous, “Now why would Benny do a thing like that?”

“To steal a platinum chip I was hired to deliver to Mr. House,” Dee took a deep breath again.

Swank took a step back for a moment, “Whoa, that’s some serious shade you’re throwing on our boss. Got any proof?”

“This,” Dee fished the gold engraved lighter out of her pocket, “the Rockets he hired and betrayed gave me this.”

Swank took the lighter and turned in over in his hand, “Hot damn! This is Benny’s lighter, no doubt about it. I thought he was just trying to kick the habit.” He handed the lighter back to Dee, “So what are you ladies planning? I don’t think he’d believe you crossed the desert just to thank him.”

Dee looked down, then back up to meet Swank’s gaze, “I just want answers: why me? Why this chip? And why is he keeping it a secret from you if you’re his right-hand man?”

Swank had to think for a moment, “Benny hasn’t been running the show much lately, and Mr. House did send a lotta notes to him. If half of this is true then we don’t want to dance to his rhythm, we’ve got a sweet setup here and we ain’t gonna flush it down the drain, dig? You go talk to Benny, he won’t start anything on the floor so try to keep it civil. He’s got his bodyguards so play it cool if you can.”

Crafty couldn’t help but smirk, “Oh I can play it cool all the better now.”

“Thank you,” Dee stepped around Swank with Crafty and Holly beside her. They looked down the casino floor and could make out a Persian-man in a checkered suit at the end surrounded by four armed members of the Chairmen: all cat-like Poke-people.

“What’s the plan?” Crafty whispered as she sneakily retrieved her new pistol from Holly and hid it in the quick-draw holster under the back of her robes.

Dee looked at the casino floor: the game tables were in a pit two steps down with a balcony that ran along both walls which all met at the opposite end of the room where Benny was. “Split up, each of you go across the balcony while I walk up to him. If we can talk civilly then we will but I want to make sure we’re not all together if they start shooting. Just to be safe.”

“Good call,” Holly gave Dee a kiss on the cheek, as did Crafty, before they split right and left across the balconies while Dee stepped down into the game pit and walked straight towards Benny.

One of Benny’s bodyguards, a Luxray-man, elbowed his boss gently, “Benny, hot number comin’ up the pit. You wanna take a swing or can we have first shot?”

“Let’s take a look,” as soon as Benny saw Dee he gaped and nearly fell over from shock, “What in the Arceusdamn…?” He gulped, “Let’s keep this in the groove, hey? Smooth moves. Smooth…”

Dee stopped at the bottom of the two steps out of the pit, less than two meters from Benny. “Hello, Benny. It’s been a long time.” Her voice was level but steely.

“Yeah, sure has been a while… wait…” Benny seemed to be thinking, “that broad everyone saw go in the Lucky 38, that was you? Oh shit.”

Dee kept her arms by her sides, as she glared up at Benny, “Not every day you see someone who dragged themselves all over the wasteland after you shot them in the head.”

“I know I hit what I was aiming for. Guess you had brains to spare. Or you just thick-skulled?” Benny tried to play it as a joke, then a nudge from one of his bodyguards drew his attention to Crafty and Holly on opposite sides of the balcony, blocking the narrow routes of escape to the sides.

“I’ve survived a lot worse than a bullet to the head before and after you shot me.” Dee’s voice raised enough that the gamblers and dealers around her fell silent, even as the jazz music on the casino speakers still played. Wisely they simply returned their chips and relocated to the other end of the casino.

Benny gulped, even though he outnumbered the three Poke-women, something from them, especially Dee, told him it was a bad idea to start shooting. “So, how do you want to play this? You here to pay me back bullet for bullet? Hell it’s kinda a relief knowing you didn’t die, baby. Maybe I can finally sleep at night,” he tried to grin, “I shoulda got a better look at you, maybe I coulda ‘convinced’ you to turn over the chip without hurting a hot Lucario-girl like yourself.”

From her position, Crafty had to fight the urge to retch, and she normally liked flirtation and come-ons.

Dee shook her head, “No. I just want answers about all this.”

“Whoa whoa! This ain’t the place to talk that kinda business.” The Persian-man waved his hands defensively, “Tell you what, to make it up to you I’ll comp you the Presidential – best suite in the house. You deserve a taste of the VIP lifestyle.” He gestured to an elevator off to his right, “I’ll hang out here for a while to make everything look business-as-usual, then come to you. Any question you got, I’ll answer – guaranteed.”

“We’re not going to fall for that,” Holly’s voice cut across the room, “You want to talk to Dee then you go up first and we’ll stay here to entertain your guards.”

Crafty nodded, “Don’t worry, I promise they’ll be nice and relaxed as long as you don’t run.”

Dee folded her arms, “I came too far to get answers to risk you running away.”

Benny sighed, “Alright, I get ya. I’ll see you upstairs.” He tossed a key to Dee then turned and strode to the elevator like he was still in control. Dee watched him vanish inside, waited a minute then walked over to the same elevator and rode it up.

The Presidential suite was even bigger than the Bon Vivant at the Ultra-Luxe, even the living and entertainment room with pool table, couches and fully stocked bar was impressive enough. Dee didn’t have time to marvel as she spotted Benny at the bar, already having poured himself a drink.

The Persian-man gestured to a stool next to him, “Sit down, have a drink and we’ll chat.”

Dee sat down and took the offered glass, but didn’t drink the booze inside. “Why was it me?”

“Just unlucky roll of the dice,” Benny drained his drink, “coulda been any courier, you just got the short stick to be the one carrying what I wanted.” Benny reached into an inner coat pocket and pulled out the platinum chip. “My turn, how did you survive that ambush?”

“A Porygon dug me out and a doctor in Vaniville fixed me up,” Dee decided not to mention the Ultra-Parasite that might have died to give her enough time to be healed.

Benny was stunned, “House was on to me from the word go? I thought I was being so clever…” he stuck the chip back in his coat pocket.

Dee stared at the chip until Benny stowed it, “Why is that chip so important? What are you planning?”

Benny grinned, “Broad strokes: change in management. The Porygon are where it’s at. I need a way to control them, and a way to beef up their hitting power, the chip’s the key to that – somehow. I get those two Psyducks in a row, Lumiose can defend itself versus all comers: NKR, Nobunaga’s Kogun, it won’t matter. So, once you were vertical, how’d you track me down?”

Dee pulled the lighter out of her pocket, “The Khans you left for dead hold a grudge.”

“I was wondering where I dropped that, damn, shoulda left something that pretty at home,” Benny rolled his eyes, “So which way’s the wind gonna blow?” He poured himself another drink.

Dee looked at the drink but still didn’t touch hers, “You give me the chip and I get my payday from Mr. House. Maybe if you’re lucky then he’ll let you off with a demotion, Swank says he pretty much runs the place already.”

Benny laughed, “He’s not wrong, I chose the best right-hand.” Before Dee could move, Benny pulled out his pistol, “Sorry, but I don’t swing that way.” He kept the gun pointed at Dee as he stood up. Dee stood as well but stepped away from Benny and backed up without taking her eyes off him, “I worked too hard to just give up now, House can’t touch me without screwing with the strip so now I got an appointment to keep.”

Dee’s voice became hard as steel as she readied herself, “I won’t let you leave with that chip!”

“Why not?” Benny sounded baffled, “What kind of stake do you have in this? Can’t just be that you bought into the old postal service slogan, there ain’t rain or snow to trudge through.”

Dee’s thoughts drifted back to The Divide, to the families so grateful for letters and packages from loved ones, communities barely holding on that looked on deliveries of seeds that could grow in the wasteland as gifts from Arceus themselves, and a lesson she’d learned from Cassandra, “Couriers, save communities, bring hope and even second chances to the wasteland. I won’t let you stop me finishing the job I was hired for.”

Benny rolled his eyes, “Bit too much dedication, sorry but this time I won’t stop at one bullet.”

Dee’s reflexes trigged the instant Benny pulled the trigger and she dodges aide, the three shots striking the wall behind her as she charged an Aura Sphere in both hands and fired. The Benny tried to dive out of the way but the Aura Sphere struck home and blew his head off, which sent his body tumbling to the floor.

Dee heart raced as she stood there, still in the stance from firing her attack. She hadn’t come for revenge but she’d ended up taking it anyway. She walked over to Benny’s headless body, bent down and carefully searched his suit pockets until she found the platinum chip. She took a moment to examine the object that started all of this trouble: twice the size and thickness of a normal poker chip with “Lucky 38” engraved on one side and “200 On the house” on the other. She pocketed the chip then headed for the elevator back to the casino floor.

When the elevator door opened, Dee was hit by a blast of joyous horny energy. She had to blink and rub her eyes through the sound of hoots and cheers before she saw Crafty. The Glaceon-woman was on one of the blackjack tables dancing and naked. She shook her ass and squeezed her tits as the four bodyguards, Swank and Holly (who held Crafty’s robe) watched, though Swank seemed exasperated at the display.

Crafty breathed Icy Wind upwards to create a small flurry of snowflakes then turned to see Dee. She stopped her dance when she saw the Lucario-woman had arrived first. She hopped down from the table and retrieved her robe from Holly, “What happened?”

“Benny’s dead,” Dee pulled the platinum chip out of her pocket, “He tried to shoot me and run. I got the platinum chip back.”

Swank pushed past the bodyguards who were about to aim at Dee, “Hold up, show me the chip.” Dee held the chip up for Swank to see, even turned it over in her hand. Swank nodded, “Can’t say what it is but it looks like something Mr. House would send for. Alright people send someone up to the Presidential to clean it up,” he turned to the four bodyguards, “Send someone up to Benny’s room and we’ll see what he was planning. Meantime let the women walk out.” He spoke with such authority that the bodyguards hastened to obey.

Crafty had finished redressing, “So now what?”

“Now, you promise me you won’t do that in here again,” Swank turned to Crafty, “Fun as it was, that’s not what The Tops is all about. As for you,” he turned to Dee, “You can keep the Presidential as a thank you for a few months, I don’t think anyone that could afford it will be stopping by anytime soon.”

Dee smiled, “Thank you. So, you’re the boss now?”

“Practically was already,” the Liepard-man folded his arms, “But you’d better split until I can square things up with the staff.” Dee nodded then hurried out of the casino and back to the Lucky 38 with Crafty and Holly.

Dee had her friends stay behind in the Lucky 38’s casino as she rode back up to Mr. House’s penthouse. She stood in front of Mr. House’s screen again, with a Porygon to either side of the console, and held up the platinum chip, “I have the chip. Benny’s dead.” Dee didn’t sound satisfied.

“Good, I expected he wouldn’t just accept he’d lost. Part of the risk of the casino families is that they’re more prone to taking foolish risks. First, your payment.” There was a whirring of machinery from the console, then a drawer opened with a sack inside.

Dee took the sack and could tell by the weight that it contained the agreed 1000 caps. “Thank you.”

“No thanks needed, you did a job and should be paid what you are owed. Now the next order of business. You wanted to know why the platinum chip was so valuable. I will summarize and say that I ran this city before the war. I took over from the final gym leader after the children’s pilgrimage was phased out in the years leading up to the war. I knew war was coming and that the defenses I had around Lumiose weren’t enough, so I commissioned the platinum chip to provide the necessary software upgrades for both the strip and the Porygon. I couldn’t risk digital attacks from outside so I was disconnected from the network and would need the chip physically transported here once complete. Unfortunately, the war started earlier than I anticipated. The defenses I set up were enough to save what you see today, but it is a mere fraction of Lumiose at its height. Now insert the platinum chip into the console.”

Dee saw the circular recess in House’s console then looked down at the chip. She took a deep breath and inserted the chip where it fit perfectly.

House was silent for a moment as his console lit up, “Verifying, Upgrade intact. Transmitting data to all Porygon.”

Dee jumped as her aura sense exploded and turned to one of the Porygon on guard to watch as it glowed for a moment then its angular body smoothed and rounded out until it looked something like a rubber bath toy with a beak smaller than its face and a rounded tail.

“Evolution complete, all Porygon on the strip are now Porygon2. Access to higher level techniques: Discharge, Tri-Attack, Zap Cannon, Hyper Beam and Recover and all stats increase by 25%. Overall, the combat capabilities of the Porygon have increased by 235%. Now New Lumiose has soldiers capable of protecting it. Dee, take the platinum chip.” Dee looked down at the chip and picked it up as House continued, “I suspect there will be some panic with the evolution of the Porygon on the street but this is just the start. The Porygon here can keep New Lumiose safe for the time being, but the threats from outside require a greater force. There’s a bunker where Nobunaga’s Kogun has camped with hundreds of Porygon disconnected from my network. I need someone reliable to go there and reactivate them.”

Dee gripped the platinum chip, “And then what?”

“I will tell you more when you arrive. Before you answer remember that I’m offering you a place in new Lumiose as a new power in the wasteland, and failing that I can pay you a lot for your work.”

Dee stared at the chip for a moment, then pocketed it, “I need time, this is a lot to take in…”

“I don’t want to rush you, but there is a time limit. The second, and final, battle for Gaiva Dam will occur in less than a year. If you need more information about what’s going to happen then I will provide it. I admit, a woman trying to go to Nobunaga’s fort won’t end will with how they treat the fairer sex. If an opportunity presents itself then inform me so I can evaluate the options.”

Dee nodded then turned and left. So much was happening so fast and this felt as big as what she’d dealt with in the New Orange Pass, maybe bigger with the war brewing. It was late so she invited Crafty and Holly up to the Lucky 38’s presidential suite. It was rather homey with five rooms: master bedroom, kitchen and dining room, guest room with two double beds, bathroom with two bath-showers and two toilets (all with clean water) and a lounge that had a TV with a working media player. The events of the day weighed heavy on the three as they all lay down to sleep in the master bedroom.", "pools_count": 1, "title": "Fallout New Lumiose chapter 33", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "image/png", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "2", "rating_name": "Adult", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "4", "name": "Sexual Themes", "description": "Erotic imagery, sexual activity or arousal", "rating_id": "2" }, { "content_tag_id": "5", "name": "Strong Violence", "description": "Strong violence, blood, serious injury or death", "rating_id": "2" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "0", "views": "19" }