The Neon Glow of the Juicy Peach

"So I think Bob is kinda missing her, uh...brain, or something."

Binxy grunted, sparing a moment from checking the restraints on the other bandits to glance over at his former partner. The cat-eared mercenary took a moment to take all of Bim-Bob, the transformed guard staring blankly off into the distance as she absentmindedly suckled her index finger between her fat lips. "No kidding."

"No, I mean it. Here, listen to this--" Ali lifted her hand and rapped her knuckles against Bim-Bob's chestnut-tressed noggin, the freshly minted girl giggling at the hollow clunk that rang out in reply."

"What the fuck." Binxy strode over, eyebrows furrowed as he leaned down to stare into the woman's simultaneously sparkly and yet incredibly dim baby blues. He lifted his hand and gave several loud snaps directly in front of her face, the mercenary letting out a low whistle when it took her a solid second or so to flinch in response. "Seriously? How does a brain go missing? You need a brain to fucking live!"

Ali was an experienced enough seeker of knowledge to know the perfect answer to that question. "I have no fucking idea." Still, a bit of speculation wasn't entirely uncalled for. "There's got to be something still in there, even if Bob's operating on...let's call it 'low-power mode' now."

Binxy grunted, straightening back up as he stared down at his betrayer with a complicated expression. "Well...whatever. I guess it doesn't matter right now. This is your stop, right?"

"Yeah." Ali glanced back at the inn behind them, its sign declaring it the 'Juicy Peach Onsen' in a curious melding of hand-painting and flashy neon. "This is us."

"That's that, then." He jerked a thumb towards the other bandits, tied together in a bundle and striped of their equipment. "There's a place to turn them in at the next Charging Station; I'll wire you half of whatever I get." He gestured towards Bim-Bob with a tilt of his head. "Two-thirds if you'll take care of this one, and that other bimbo while you're at it."

"'Take care of'?" Ali frowned. "You're not turning them in, too?"

"We're gonna tell the Caravan service that Bob died in the attack and leave out his part in it; the old man's already agreed. If he died in the line, his old lady'll still get his pension." Binxy spat off to one side. "Better this way."

Hm. It's not that Ali objected necessarily, but..."What are we supposed to do with them?"

"Don't care, don't want to know. Better that I don't know. One less thing I'd have to lie about."

With that, Binxy hauled himself up into the front seat of the caravan, the old merchant starting up the engine. The stuck his hand back through the window long enough to flash a peace sign, the gun-bristling caravan kicking up dust as it pushed onward. Well...blah. It was all Ali could muster. She supposed that, given the circumstances of the trip, everything had worked out more or less as well as it possibly could have? But still. This hadn't been a simple brush with danger, exciting and adventurous and fun to talk about later. It had all been too close for comfort.

That being said. She and her two companions had reached their destination, burdened by a pair of transformed sluts but otherwise alive and unharmed. That was the most important thing. Though...as Ali snuck another glance at Charlie, she couldn't help questioning that 'unharmed' prognosis. "Charlie, are you sure that you're okay?"

The remake's tone was as even as ever. "I'm okay."

"Because if you aren't, its--"

"I am okay."

"Of course they are!" Febee threw her arms around Charlie's broad shoulders, lifting up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on the side of their faceplate. "Charlie is a big strong hero; aren't you, Charlie?"

"Yes. I'm big and strong."

Ali wasn't convinced. Her tech had healed all of Charlie's visible wounds, but beyond that...well. It wasn't her place to tell Charlie how they felt. All she could do was hope Charlie was right and keep paying attention. All she should do for now was plant her fists to her hips and blow away the bangs dangling in front of her face. "Well, I suppose we'd better figure out what we're doing with these two."

Febee grinned deviously, fingers tapping away at her cyberdeck. "Don't worry about that. It's covered."

"What, really?" Ali raised her eyebrows. "How?"

"Don't worry about that; just let me do alll the talking." She slipped the tablet back between her breasts with a wink. "Now let's go; we've got an appointment to keep.

The Juicy Peach Onsen and Inn was that curious mix of Old and New Worlds that was particularly in vogue at the moment, ancient customs and forms filtered through the neon lights of the modern day. So while the trees flanking the cobblestone path that blossomed in pale pink and orange were holograms, the ponds of crystal clear water were very real and expertly maintained. They even had live fish, a riot of colors and shapes dancing around submerged hardlight art installations. Actually, was that...? Ali adjusted her glasses, squinting at the lush woods and lacquered tiles of the building. Fuck, the whole place was sheathed in some sort of Augmented Reality projector, wasn't it? That shit doesn't cost nothing. Keeping all of this powered up for a single night probably ran more than Ali's entire possessions. The baths and prostitutes business must be booming.

An elegant woman in a gorgeous robe slid open the door to greet them, her obviously artificial porcelain skin and opalescent eyes complimenting the artificiate's otherworldly charm. "Welcome home, darling~" She bowed in welcome at the waist, revealing the smallest possible glimpse of tasteful cleavage. "Would you like your dinner? Or a bath?" Her fingers pulled at the side of her robe, exposing another inviting inch of decolletage. "Or, perhaps--"

Febee interrupted her greetings with a wave. "No need for that; we're expected. I've brought prospects."

"Oh, dope." The elegance and grace sloughed away from the android woman, crassly open-mouth yawning as she glanced towards Ali and Charlie. "Oh, nice shit! We can definitely do something with Biggie there, but I really like Glasses' whole vibe. Very 'I Fuck For Grades'." She dropped a hand to her hips, still eyeing Ali appreciatively. "What's your position on butt stuff, honey?"

Before Ali could sputter out her response, Febee cut in. "Everybody used to call her 'Anal Anais'."

"S-Shuddup, you!" Ali huffed, cheeks burning. "I'm not looking for a job fucking in baths!"

The onsen madam gave a disappointed noise. "No? You should reconsider; not everyone is lucky enough to find their life's calling, honey."

Febee cut in again over Ali's renewed sputtering, trying her best to sound professional despite her obvious delight at her friend's outrage. "It's actually these two." She turned to the side, extending an arm to display Bim-Bob and her likewise transformed accomplice. "Nice, right?"

"Hm." The android swept towards the pair of bimbos, her glowing eyes darting across their flawless faces and heavy boobs. At length, she sighed. "I mean, sure? You ladies are a perfect pair of sluts, no question."

Bim-Bob tittered happily. "Wow, tha~anks!"

"But so boring! Ugh!" The madam threw her hands up in a pique. "That's what the customers want, though. Those fuckin'...basic-ass clods. No appreciation for some interesting strange, like my girl Glasses here." Ali tried her hardest not to feel too complimented by the android's assessment as she heaved a regretful sigh. "But no. All these corpo pricks want is some fat tits and a wet hole stuffed into a tiny kimono."

"Oh! Um~!" Bim-Bob chewed her lip, not really following along but trying her best. "I got fat tits! An' a wet hole!" Her brow knitted together as she tried her best to work through the rest of the madam's sentence and instantly failed. "And, um, I dunno what a kimobo is but I'll try rilly rilly hard~!"

The madam sighed, giving the former guard a little pat on the head. "I'm sure you will, babe." She sighed again, glancing back at Febee. "Okay, I'll take'm."

Charlie raised their voice. "'Wait." They turned, faceplate pointed towards Febee. "We cannot sell people."

"Oh blah, don't be like that." The madam blew a raspberry at Charlie. "You aren't selling them to me; I'm not buying slaves here. I'm offering them contracts, and Miss Cow Tits gets a headhunter's fee. Under the Sheets, Above the Board. It's just good business."

"Okay." Charlie seemed mostly mollified. "As long as they want this."

The madam shrugged, then reached out to cup the side of Bim-Bob's lovely face. "Hey babe?" The girl nodded, eyes wide as she instinctively rubbed her cheek against the android's touch. "Do you wanna work here? I'll pay you to stand around and be quiet and hot."

"Um..." Bim-Bob's plump lower lip quivered. "Is that hard?"

"Nah babe, you'll be the best at it. And whenever you want, you'll have big ol' dicks to play with and a lot of yummy friends to eat you out all night long. Does that sound nice?"

Tears had already begun to well up in Bim-Bob's baby blues. "Oh, p-please~? Pretty please?!"

The one-time bandit pushed forward as well, ditzy hope filling her beautiful features. "Me too?"

Chuckling indulgently, the android nodded. "Sure thing, babe. Who am I to break up the Dream Team?" The pair of bimbos squealed in unguarded delight, throwing their arms around the amused-looking madam and squishing her with their breasts as they gleefully jumped up and down. The woman gracefully slipped her arms around the transformed girls' waists, calling back towards Ali and her companions. "Let's walk and talk, yeah?"

The madam strolled up to the side of her luxuriously appointed inn, lifting a leg to push past the building's hardlight sheath and press a hidden button. The decor flickered as the door to a side entrance opened, the two bimbos giggling in shocked delight as they were ushered through the hardlight facade. Following after the madam's inviting wave, the trio found themselves being led through the depths of the building as they did their best to match the android's brisk pace.

"We're still training our newest girl? She makes these two look like fucking geniuses. It'll probably go faster if she doesn't have to do it alone, though; your timing is pretty great." Ali nodded along absently, somewhat taken aback by the comfortable yet dull furnishings of their surroundings. This was clearly part of the employees only area, so there wasn't any reason to waste effort keeping up the display of stylized beauty that coated every inch of the Juicy Peach's public spaces? The scholar couldn't help finding the whole thing deeply disenchanting, though. It'd be like finding out your favorite pornstar was only gay for pay or something. Tragic.

"Ah! Here we are. Oh girls~? I've got new playmates for you~!" A chorus of giggles cascaded out as the madam slide open a door, revealing a dozen women of every race and shape cheering on a tanned elf in a robe. The lithe little thing's tongue was out in a show of ultimate concentration as she attempted to balance a tray on her head, arms held straight out for balance and wobbling in desperation with every halting step she took. The appearance of her madam blasted that that concentration clean out of her pretty little head, however, the girl immediately shrieking in delight as she rushed up and threw her arms around the android. The woman rolled her eyes in amusement, giving the elf a little pat on the back. "Yes yes, hello. Don't you see that we've got guests?"

"Omigosh hiii~!" The slinky girl threw herself onto the baffled Ali for a passionate hug, releasing the scholar only to give the same treatment to an unresponsive Charlie. She gasped when her eyes fell on Febee, the streamer going stiff in what appeared to Ali to be supreme annoyance as the whore-in-training tried to give her a hug as well. "You're so pretty! Like a pretty widdy kitty!"

The girl froze as Febee affixed her with a flat stare, however, perhaps realizing this wasn't the safest course of action. Febee leveled her piercing gaze at the girl for a moment longer, then raised her voice for the madam's benefit. "You were right. This one clearly needs more training."

"Heh. Right?" The bubbly elf pouted as the madam shooed her and her two new coworkers inside, sliding the door closed behind her. "So. Business. You said you wanted house credit?"

Febee nodded, clearly more relaxed now that she wasn't quite as surrounded by bimbos any longer. "That's correct. My friends and I could use a bit of a vacation."

"Sure, I bet. Well, for finding those two, I could do...a night each? One meal, one bath packaged in?"

Well that sounded like an opening offer if Ali had ever heard one. Just one night? How ritzy was this place? To her surprise, however, Febee shrugged airly. "If that's really the best you can do. Could you be a dear and book me the room next to Vice President du Verre's? I haven't had a chance to visit with my dear father in so long, you know."

The elf's negotiation ploy became crystal clear as the madam's body language shifted instantaneously, her eyes literally glowing brighter as she mentally upgraded Febee from 'Useful Business Contact' to 'Fucking VIP, Baby'. "Oh how nice~! The Vice President has had a room booked with us for a full week; he's been out for the last few days bu it's so nice to meet his daughter!" She performatively popped a finger to the side of her lips. "Did I say one night? These bimbos must be rubbing off on me; I meant three nights. With full meals. And unrestricted bath access."

Ali cleared her throat. "Charlie doesn't eat."

The remake nodded, and the artificiate rolled her eyes. "So take extra baths. Don't worry, I can personally guarantee you'll enjoy it." She clapped her hands together, starting back off down the hall. "Just give me a moment to have your rooms prepared, and then I'll have a girl guide you up. Okay? Great!"

Once the madam had vanished from view, Ali quietly addressed Febee. "So. We go up and break into your father's room?"

"Anais." Febee cocked an eyebrow at her gung-ho friend. "That is not how things are done at swanky places like this."

"Oh. No?"

"No. First we do a bath. Then dinner. Only then do we do the breaking and entering. Anything else and you'll totally fuck up your digestion."

"Huh. Live and learn."