Back at the hotel, downstairs...
"No. Way."
Foldy snapped her hand to the side to grab Stapy's chin and turn it toward the arcade. She pointed at a single machine in the corner and smiled. Stapy's eyes widened, and they both laughed in glee as they rushed over to it. "Larval Movieoes' Improved Duper Revengers Rendgame K Outrageous Royal Battle Melee World at War Reimagined Redux The Third Chapter Vinyl Mix With Banjoey + Kazooey As Well As Knuckles 4K Reprise Featuring Wacky Woohoo Pizza Man from the Wacky Woohoo Pizza Man Adventures™ Series with New Spunky Mode: Arcade Edition!" they exclaimed at the same time.
On their way to the Larval Movieoes' Improved Duper Revengers Rendgame K Outrageous Royal Battle Melee World at War Reimagined Redux The Third Chapter Vinyl Mix With Banjoey + Kazooey As Well As Knuckles 4K Reprise Featuring Wacky Woohoo Pizza Man from the Wacky Woohoo Pizza Man Adventures™ Series with New Spunky Mode: Arcade Edition arcade machine, they shoved past Ice Cube and nearly sent her barreling into another machine. Ice Cube stumbled backward and tripped on a loose wire. Her head was about to collide with the corner of a cabinet when she felt someone catch her.
"HEY!" Bracelety shouted after Stapy and Foldy. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!"
After waiting a few moments for a response that never came, Bracelety turned to look at Ice Cube and froze. She had realized that she had both of Icy's arms in her hands and she was leaning forward quite a bit. In fact, her face would have been right in front of Icy's face if she wasn't so short. Instead, she was staring directly under Ice Cube's scarf.
"A-AAH!" Bracelety yelped and instinctively let go of Ice Cube, who ended up tripping on the wire anyway—although she did manage to grab the edges of the two cabinets on either side of her to stop her fall. However, this only caused Bracelety to yelp again and instinctively reach her arms out to Icy's sides to try and catch her.
What resulted was an irked and confused Ice Cube leaning backward and staring down into the eyes of the mortified, immensely embarrassed Bracelety who was holding Icy up as if she had just dipped her like a partner on the ballroom floor.
"U-UH...UH...I-I...I—UH..." she stuttered, her face burning brighter and brighter in a mix of awkwardness and humiliation. She felt her hands start to tremble and quiver uncontrollably as they barely managed to keep Icy from falling completely on the floor.
"Yo, dude! Check it out!" a stranger's voice suddenly called out from behind them and to the side. "It's Larval Movieoes' Improved Duper Revengers Rendgame K Outrageous Royal Battle Melee World at War Reimagined Redux The Third Chapter Vinyl Mix With Banjoey + Kazooey As Well As Knuckles 4K Reprise Featuring Wacky Woohoo Pizza Man from the Wacky Woohoo Pizza Man Adventures™ Series with New Spunky Mode: Arcade Edition!"
"Aw, sweet!" another stranger's voice exclaimed. "I've only ever played Larval Movieoes' Improved Duper Revengers Rendgame K Outrageous Royal Battle Melee World at War Reimagined Redux The Third Chapter Vinyl Mix With Banjoey + Kazooey As Well As Knuckles 4K Reprise Featuring Wacky Woohoo Pizza Man from the Wacky Woohoo Pizza Man Adventures™ Series with New Spunky Mode: Special Edition! I can't wait to play Larval Movieoes' Improved Duper Revengers Rendgame K Outrageous Royal Battle Melee World at War Reimagined Redux The Third Chapter Vinyl Mix With Banjoey + Kazooey As Well As Knuckles 4K Reprise Featuring Wacky Woohoo Pizza Man from the Wacky Woohoo Pizza Man Adventures™ Series with New Spunky Mode: Arcade Edition! We got next!"
By the time Bracelety and Ice Cube had fully processed what the rushing footsteps rapidly approaching them could mean, it was too late. Bracelety felt a rough arm shove her down toward Ice Cube, slamming her into Icy hard enough for the latter to lose her grip on the cabinets and sending both of them crashing down to the floor. "Oh—whoops! Sorry!" one of the strangers' voices called behind them as it faded into the distance.
Bracelety's eyes had shut in the panic, and she didn't dare open them, for fear of staring right into the eyes of a furious Ice Cube. She was too scared to even realize that both of her arms had wrapped around Icy in a protective embrace during the fall.
"Bracelety?"
Her eyes suddenly flew open as the voice she had expected to come from right in front of her face was instead speaking to her from above her head. One more split second not only proved why but also reminded her that she was much shorter than she thought.
Bracelety's face was resting right smack dab in the middle of Ice Cube's chest.
"What was that for?!" Ice Cube demanded, an irritated undertone lining her voice. "You'd better have a good reason for pushing me—"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Before Ice Cube could even blink, Bracelety had sprung herself off her and up to her feet and was already sprinting as far away from Ice Cube as she could, hanging and shaking her head in embarrassment the whole time.
"Hey, get back here!" Ice Cube called as she sat up, pointing angrily in the direction of Bracelety's desperate escape after her. "Bracelety! What the cliff?!"
But even Ice Cube's angered voice was far too soft to reach her on its own, let alone over the noise of the bustling hotel arcade. Ice Cube let out a soft curse under her breath; this wasn't the first time that the dissonance between her soft appearance and hard heart had gotten between her and those who wronged her, after all. She looked down at where Bracelety's head had impacted her body and scowled. Then, she stood up and, balling her fists, stormed after Bracelety in the direction that she had run.