Part XIV: Nightmare

          For the most part, Neflite remained in his office playing more video games. The past two days had been a bedlam of activity at Tickling Dungeon I. Felin had gotten approval to clean house, and she was doing a thorough job of it. Not only were useless things taken out and recycled, the management of the place was reorganized.

          The research department was slashed drastically. Part of the reason for the glut of new inventions was an oversize lab section. Now the imps, who liked tickling the girls more than researching anyway, were free to go out and gather energy. Only a few remained with Felin, and they worked on developing a single concept at a time.

          Jelex and Megan raided the storerooms. They found huge deposits of unused tickle oil, crates of feather rods, brushes and feathers, parts for at least one hundred robot hands, several dozen pairs of Feather Shoes, drums full of tickle powder, and much more. All this was taken out and distributed.

          The tiliking still out in the streets had been called back, for a rest period and new instructions. They were to place emphasis on capturing girls, in tandem with tickle imps equipped with sleeping gas. Indeed, Michelle and Syia had spent their two days grabbing no less than eight new captives. Several old ones were released to recuperate.

          And now, finally, everything was cleaned and fixed, and it was time to have fun again. Syia wondered why the Feather Shoes hadn’t been applied more; Megan had recalled how funny it had been to see Serena and Mina walking down the hall trying not to laugh or stumble. The remote-control tickling suits were being made, for when the Scouts were captured again, but in the meantime their wardrobes were to be dusted with a new long-lasting tickle powder.

          Everyone returned to their home bases; Megan and Jelex went back to the warrens, Syia and Michelle to Tickling Dungeon II, and Felin remained to develop the refreshment pill. She had concluded that fresh girls were more fun, so she had decided to develop a pill to give them strength back. Felin hummed to herself, a habit picked up from Neflite, and grinned as she walked through the refurbished tickling area. The Venus tickle trap had been brought up here; it liked to reach its vines through the room at random and feed off of the laughter. Indeed, sometimes Felin was caught in the entwining vine and tickled out of her mind. But she didn’t mind. It was good to be reminded of why she was here.

          “All right,” Megan said. “Home at last.” All of the tiliking had returned to the abandoned office building in the old industrial complex. There, Megan and Jelex were to instruct them on their new mission. They were to travel with groups of three tickle imps apiece, and when they saw a likely target, the tiliking held and tickled her while the imps knocked her out for transport. But first Megan needed to train herself, too. “Let’s practice, Jelex,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.

          “Practice what?” Jelex asked in feigned innocence. “This?” she asked, tweaking Megan’s side. Megan tittered.

          “Yes, of course. What else would we need to practice?” Megan sidestepped quickly behind Jelex. Jelex spun.

          “Too slow,” she laughed.

          “Same to you,” Megan grinned. A tiliking tongue lashed out from behind and caught her around the stomach. Megan took out a brush and with quick, light strokes ran up and down Jelex’s side.

          “Aahaahahahhaa o-o-okay you got me th-thiisisisi this time, but, but, but, b-b-b-b bahahahahaahahaha ahahhahahhahaahah you’re in for it now!” Jelex cried.

          ‘Tickle tickle!” Megan retorted, scrabbling her nails under Jelex’s arms. Jelex pulled her arms down and squeezed Megan out, but she couldn’t get rid of the tiliking tongue. It contracted and pulsed, driving Jelex to her knees in laughter. Megan reached under her arms again and began to tickle her. Jelex howled and tossed her head, flinging her long braid about. No matter how she tossed and turned, Megan was there. Jelex was forced to concede.

          “Ha! I won!” Megan exclaimed.

          “Yeah… you won the grand prize of merciless torture…” Jelex puffed, lying on her back. She turned her head to Megan and grinned. “Tickle torture… I’ll tickle that nice soft tummy of yours until you beg me to allow you to be my slave!”

          Megan giggled. “A tickle slave?”

          Jelex smiled. “Yeah, a mindless tickle slave; I’d torment you so much that you’d go crazy.”

          Megan shuddered. “Sounds bad. But, unfortunately for you, that won’t happen because you’d be my tickle slave first.”

          “Would not.”

          “Would too.”

          “Would not…”

          “Will you?” Syia was asking.

          “No,” Michelle answered. “I won’t tell you anything.”

          “Are you sure?” Syia asked.

          Michelle was blindfolded, floating in the air as Syia questioned her to find her glasses, which Michelle had hidden. Unfortunately for Michelle, Syia had a backup pair, which reduced but did not eliminate her ability. Syia had caught her almost immediately, but she hadn’t seen where Michelle had put the glasses. The blindfold had resulted from Michelle’s laughter when Syia squinted in an attempt to see better.

“You know, maybe if you tell me where you put my glasses I’ll overlook it this time.”

          “Nah,” Michelle said, trying not to grin as she imagined Syia squinting furiously at her.

          “Seriously, I need my good glasses to see,” Syia said, somewhat miffed. People who wear glasses rarely think it is funny when they are hidden or broken.

          “Nope!” Michelle said, laughing. Then she frowned. “Hey, why aren’t you torturing me yet?” she asked. “I thought you’d have gone after me the moment you suspected I was up to something.”

          “I would have,” Syia replied levelly. “But without my good glasses, I can’t see you well enough!”

          “Let me go and I’ll get them,” Michelle replied.

          “You’re going to regret this sorely if you try any funny business.” Syia released Michelle, and Michelle untied the blindfold, which Syia hadn’t realized wasn’t covering her eyes. Michelle ran off and returned a moment later with the spectacles in her hand.

          “Here,” Michelle said.

          Syia settled the lenses over her eyes. “Ah, much better. Now, where were we?”

          “You were going to let me torture you,” Michelle replied.

          “I was going to what?” Syia asked.

          “Of course. We all know how you lose your ability when you’re laughing!” Michelle giggled. Feathers swooped up to Syia’s bare stomach, but screeched to a halt just before they touched the skin.

          “Tsk, tsk.” Syia shook her head as she opposed Michelle’s control of the feathers. “Let’s see if you remain in control while I tickle you to death!” Michelle’s arms rose over her head and her legs locked. Syia began to squeeze Michelle’s thighs, causing her to fidget and giggle. Invisible threads of thought ran up Michelle’s sides in a wave, convulsing her in laughter. The feathers fluttered to the floor, and Syia grinned. “About that punishment for hiding my glasses…”

          Serena wondered if she might buy a suit of armor. It might be her only defense at this point. From Raye, at least.

          “Noooooooo! Please, I promise to let you read my comic book!” Serena shrilled. “And… and… I’ll bake cookies for you!” she cried as Raye lowered her nails to Serena’s soles with an impish grin. “Noooooo! Name what you want, just please don’t tickle my feeeeeeeeet!” Serena wailed.

          “All right,” Raye replied amicably. “I want to tickle your feet.”

          Mina snorted in laughter. Serena shot her a cross glance. “Shut up.”

          “Be nice,” Raye admonished Serena.

          “No! No! I’m sorry, Mina! I’m sorreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

          “Oh, will you please give it a break, Raye? I’m about to break an eardrum,” Amy complained.

          “Okay, I’ll tickle you instead,” Raye countered with a grin. Amy was silent for a second.

          “I’ll just go find some cotton…” Amy headed for the bathroom.

          The girls were in the temple, hanging out after a day of shopping and goofing off as usual. They still had a lot of vacation time left, and Neflite and his slimy Negaverse toadies hadn’t shown up again.

          Lita was the next to complain.

          “Raye, if you don’t stop the noise I won’t be able to concentrate!”

          “Hmm… aww, shoot!” Raye grumbled.

          “What’s wrong?” Mina asked.

          “Couldn’t come up with a snappy comeback. Say, Lita, if I gag her will it help?”

          “Anything to stop the racket,” Lita said over her shoulder. She came back after a moment. “Have you actually tickled her yet?”

          “Nope, just threatened to,” was the reply. Lita rolled her eyes and left. “Mina, get me a gag,” Raye commanded.

          “Get it yourself,” she shot back. Mina was lounging on the couch, reading a magazine.

          Raye frowned. “But if I go get it, Serena will get away.” Serena wasn’t restrained in any way, but Raye had pinned her to the floor by sitting on her legs.

          Mina shrugged. “Wouldn’t that be a shame.”

          Raye had run up against a brick wall. She stared at the ceiling for inspiration. “I know!” she said suddenly. She turned to Serena with an evil smile. “If you make a sound, I’ll tickle you!”

          “Get real, Raye,” Serena scoffed. “You can’t just – aaahaahahahahahaaaahaaaaaa! Hey!” Serena screeched. Raye merely grinned infuriatingly. “Cheater,” Serena mumbled.

          “I said keep it down!” Lita yelled from across the hall. Raye made a face.

          “You can go, Serena,” she said. “I’m going to teach Miss Bossy a lesson. Say,” she added, a glimmer of an idea coming to her, “Lita never took her turn at the endurance, did she?”

          “No,” Mina said thoughtfully, putting down her magazine. Serena, Mina and Raye looked at one another.

          “Oh, Lita,” Serena called. “We’ve got something for you…” Raye and Mina burst out laughing at Serena’s voice. It was a singsong tone, obviously conveying to Lita the impression that they were up to something.

          “What’s so funny?” Lita asked crossly, appearing in the doorway again.

          “Get her!” Raye yelled, leaping at Lita. She knocked her to the floor with a crash.

          “What! Let go!” Lita screamed, flailing. Fighting and struggling, she was nonetheless carried to the bed and unceremoniously thrown onto the mattress.

          “Rope! Get rope!” Raye ordered. Serena grabbed a piece she had “happened” to bring with her. Fighting Lita, she managed to loop the rope around her wrists and secure it. Raye straddled Lita and faced her. “Hee hee! Let’s see how bossy you are now!” she cried, digging into Lita’s stomach.

          Lita was not that ticklish on her stomach, so all Raye managed were the mandatory giggles and tittering. That changed when Mina raked her nails along her underarms.

          “PLEHEEHHEHEEEEEEE…! Staaaaaaaaap! I’ll bake cookies just stahahahaaaahaaaap! No! Serena! Please don’t do thaaaaaahhaahaaaaaat! Anything but that!” Serena had tied up Lita’s ankles and had removed her socks. With a goofy grin Serena stuck out her tongue and flicked it.

          “I’m Syia! I can tickle you with my mind!” Serena closed her eyes and pretended to concentrate.

          “You don’t have enough brain power to be psychic, Serena,” Mina teased.

          Serena opened one eye. “But until I decide to do that, I’ll settle for licking your toes.”

          “Noohohoohhoooo! Please! Serena, please don’t do that!” Lita begged.

          “Oh, fine,” Serena muttered, grinning. She settled for scratching lightly on Lita’s soles with her fingernails.

          “Heeheehee…” Raye giggled as she crawled her fingertips rapidly up and down Lita’s sides and ribs. “Not so bossy now, are we?”

          “Raye, you’re the bossy one – NO! Please! I didn’t mean it! Pleheheehehaahahahahaahahaaaaaaaaaaa! Oh! Stop! No not my armpits! Dooooooooooooon’t! Aaaahahaahaha ahahaaaaaaahahaaaaaa staaaaaaaaaaap!” Lita bucked under Raye’s nails as she exacted revenge for the insult.

          Amy returned from the bathroom, stuffing cotton balls in her ears. “What are you up to now?” she asked exasperatedly.

          “Remember? Lita never had her turn at the tickling endurance, and that was supposed to be weeks ago!” Mina admonished her with a smile. “We’re just keeping things fair.”

          “I suppose…” Amy sat and opened her book again.

          Raye was teasing Lita. “Oh no, the big tough girl is going to beat me up!” she said with exaggerated fear. Everyone had stopped tickling in order to hear the coming repartee.

          “Raye, this was a no-good cheap trick. You ambushed me without – hey! Don’t even think about it!” Lita yelled as Mina lowered her acquired feather to her sides.

          “Ooh, what is the big bully going to do?” Mina mocked in baby speech.

          “Mina, I swear, if you touch me with that… Serena! Keep your hands away from my feet!” Lita was frantically trying to verbally fend off the oncoming attacks. “Raye, I see you going for my… my, my meheheahahaahhahaaha!” Lita squealed as Mina slid her feather under Lita’s shirt. Raye resorted to blowing raspberries on Lita’s tummy, causing her to bounce and scream with laughter.

          Suddenly the laughter reached a shrill note. Startled, Raye looked down to see Serena slowly running her tongue over Lita’s toes. Pleading at the top of her lungs, Lita went into a wild frenzy in an attempt to free herself. She succeeded; Serena’s improvised knots came undone, and with startling suddenness Lita’s arms were free. She sat up with a jerk.

          “Uh oh!” Serena cried, abandoning her post and making a run for it. In an improbable lunge, Lita jumped over the side of the bed, forgetting that her feet were still tied to the post. Lita caught Serena’s legs but fell over as the rope reached its limit. But that was okay; Lita wrapped her arm around Serena’s ankle and began to rake her nails on the sole with a devilish grin.

          “Aaahahahaahah ahahaha hha heheeeeheeh oh please! I’m sorry Lita! Pleheheheeeeeeeeeze don’t tickle meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Serena begged.

          “Haha! What goes around comes around!” Lita said with a fierce grin. A grin that degenerated into a goofy smile. Raye and Mina, taking advantage of her bound feet, were wiggling their fingers in between her toes.

          “A-Amy! Heeeeeeeeeeeelp meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Serena cried, grabbing a handful of her shirt.

          Amy appraised the situation, shrugged, closed the book and told Serena to hold it.

          “B-b-but why?” Serena asked between giggles. Amy didn’t answer and instead delicately dug her fingernails into Serena’s sides.

          The laughter shook the house.

          Perhaps the same could be said for the tiliking warrens. Jelex had challenged Megan to see how long she could last under intense torture. Megan had willingly agreed, and had found herself redefining laughter as Jelex’s hands crawled over her like thousands of bugs. Afterward, they discussed that night’s mission.

          “We’re going to Sailor Moon’s house tonight,” Megan said. “We’re supposed to dust her clothing with this new long-duration tickle powder. Every moment she wears clothing will be torture.”

          “All right,” Jelex said easily. “Doesn’t sound too hard.”

          “But she’s going to be asleep, so don’t wake her up. It wouldn’t be a problem to handle her but creating a disturbance in the middle of the night will cause people to ask questions.”

          “Sure, sure,” Jelex waved the warning off. “I only wish I could see her when she wears that stuff. Hey, I can see her,” Jelex remembered. “All I have to do is walk around as Peggy.”

          “Right,” Megan said. “Just remember that Peggy doesn’t create hands or make red jelly. And don’t even think about ‘You mean this red jelly?’”

          “You mean this red jelly?” Jelex managed to work out. She was laughing, because she had begun to say those exact words before Megan had cut her off.

          Megan merely rolled her eyes.

          “Okay, we’re going to Ms. Mars’ house,” Syia said.

          “Sure,” Michelle replied.

          “Say ‘Yes, Exalted One,’” Syia commanded. Michelle, as punishment, had been forced to sit in stocks all day, with her long feet resting in Syia’s lap. Every attempt to control feathers had been punished with nerve torture, and minor transgressions were merely met with feathers on her feet. All day Michelle had been seeing how far she could go, and the answer was not very far at all. Michelle had been laughing most of the day.

          “Yes, Exalted One,” Michelle said. “Who is very, very ticklish,” she added under her breath.

          “Hmm?” Syia asked. “What was that?”

          “Nothing,” Michelle replied with a straight face. She was a good liar.

          “Nothing?” Syia asked, raking her nails on Michelle’s soles. She continued: “We have the assignment of coating her clothing with tickle powder. It will keep her off balance and weakened at all times. Speaking of which, I think that I’m going to get some tickle powder for your clothing.”

          Michelle was giggling and did not respond. But she filed the idea away. “C-can I please g-get out n-n-now?” she asked instead.

          “I suppose…” Syia said. “Let this be a lesson to you. Now, then, let’s go.”

          Jelex and Megan quietly stepped out of the portal into Serena’s room. Glancing around, they saw that both her and her cat were asleep. Better to keep it that way; if the cat woke up, it could start enough of a ruckus to wake her up, too. Jelex silently motioned for Megan to go through the dresser. Jelex would take the closet. Megan nodded, and they crept toward their targets silently.

          Jelex opened the closet and took out the special packet of powder. She stood back and gently shook it out. Light blue powder filled the air. It began to bond to the clothing within the closet. That was why Jelex had stayed away; the powder was designed to stick to fabrics. She gently closed the door and waited for Megan to finish.

          Megan was having some trouble; the top drawer was stuck. She tugged gently but firmly, but the thing refused to budge. She put more effort into it by fractions. The drawer finally did give way, though accompanied by a screech.

          Megan ducked and hid. Jelex melted into the wall. But all Serena did was snort, turn over and begin snoring. Megan breathed a silent sigh of relief and began to treat the clothing within.

          Another tense moment came when a noise unexpectedly filled the room. “Hmm… yes, more cookies, please, and…” Serena smacked her lips and smiled.

Jelex returned, and while waiting glanced around the room. There was nothing that seemed important, so she studied Sailor Moon instead. She was sleeping peacefully, though her hair was not in its usual meatballs. She was thoroughly covered by a heavy blanket. Pity…

          Just then Serena tossed again, this time pulling the covers with her. Now she was lying on her back, snoring louder than ever. But that wasn’t what had caught Jelex’s attention. When she had pulled the blanket, one foot had poked out the bottom. Now it just sat there, in all its ticklishness, just crying out to be played with. Jelex fought her urge; it would probably just wake her up.

          But it would be so fun… no! There was no point, it was just as easy to catch her anyway. Though not in her own home, when she least suspected it… Jelex felt it: she was losing the battle to keep herself away.

          Megan looked back from the second drawer. All of the drawers were stuck, though mercifully this one had not squeaked in protest. She had felt Jelex’s mood change, and looked back to see what was wrong. Jelex was shaking nervously, staring at something. That happened to be Sailor Moon’s foot, just sitting there in glorious vulnerability. Jelex caught her eye, but Megan merely shrugged a “whatever” shrug and returned to the drawer.

          Thus bolstered, Jelex crept over to the foot of the bed, nearly giggling in anticipation. She lovingly stroked a fingernail over Serena’s sole. It contracted and Serena giggled, but after a moment the muscles relaxed and Serena was breathing normally. “Heehee…” she said, smiling. “Oh, please don’t do that,” she went on in a tone suggesting that she was speaking to an object of her infatuation. A coy smile, Jelex noticed. So, she wanted more, did she? Whoever was the target of her love-filled dream was going to be doing some dancing to Jelex’s tune now. Let’s see how she likes this, Jelex thought. She delicately ran her nails over Serena’s sole.

          “Hahaha… oh, please don’t, I’m really ticklish,” she sighed. Megan had finished now, and was squatting next to Jelex in order to see the show. Jelex motioned her up to the head. Megan caught on. Stealing quietly to Serena’s ear, she whispered, “How ticklish?”

          “Oh, very,” was the giggled reply. Jelex rubbed her finger on the inside of Serena’s big toe. “Hehehe! I already said I’m very ticklish!”

          Since they were unable to communicate, Megan and Jelex were running two different shows, with each of them having to ad-lib the response to the action of the other. “Tell me, Serena,” Megan said in a reasonable tone, “do you have a fear of tickling?”

          “No,” Serena replied, her tone vaguely puzzled. Then she smiled again. “But there’s one thing that I have nightmares about.”

          “What?” Megan asked, more gently.

          “Someone locks me up in this room, and puts me in a suit that tickles me all over. I can’t get it to stop, and it goes on and on. It’s so horrible,” she said in a tone indicating she wanted comforting.

          Megan grinned. “I can imagine. It seems that you don’t like tickle torture.”

          “Oh, no, of course not.” Serena shuddered. “My feet are so ticklish. Anyone just sticking their finger between my toes is torture. I can’t do anything, I just freeze up. My friends like to torture me, but they’re so mean. I’m ticklish everywhere, really, and they just keep going when I ask them to stop.”

          “Like this…?” Megan asked. Jelex slowly wiggled her fingers between Serena’s toes.

          “Hahahaha! Yes! Like that! It tickles so badly, I almost always nearly pee myself.”

          Megan snorted and fell over, trying not to laugh. Jelex nudged Megan, and she crawled back over to Jelex, and the dream resumed its normal course. Megan stuck out her tongue and indicated Serena’s toes. Jelex nodded and backed away, opening a getaway portal just in case.

          Megan touched her tongue to Serena’s toes and slid it along the base. Serena laughed harder, and with a jerk she sat up, blinking away sleep.

          “What the…?” she asked, still not fully awake.

          Megan laughed. “Show’s over.” She and Jelex disappeared into the portal.

          Serena looked around, saw nothing, shrugged and went back to sleep.

          Syia and Michelle were creeping through Raye’s room at the same time. They easily accomplished their mission, and, taking into consideration their surroundings, looked for more things to do. They, too, decided to tickle their sleeping victim.

          Raye giggled and snorted, but Syia held her in place gently. Michelle had thrown back the covers and Raye’s feet poked out. With undisguised glee on her face she danced the feathers on Raye’s feet. Raye began to laugh harder. Then, like Serena, she awoke.

          “What? Hey! I-“ Raye was cut off as Michelle leaped over and clapped a hand over her mouth.

          Syia shook her head. “Look what you’ve done, Michelle,” she said. “She’s awake now. Let’s put her back to sleep.”

          Michelle nodded, and jerked her hand away with a yell as Raye bit her palm. Then, doing the only thing she could think of, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

          “Let’s go,” Michelle said disgustedly. “This is getting out of hand.” The two of them left, and Raye was freed from her psychic bonds.

          Raye sat up and began to ponder what they could have been doing in her room. Probably wanted a cheap thrill and decided to pay her a visit. Oh well, it had worked out okay.

          Serena awoke late, as usual, and began to get dressed. She chatted with Luna as she got herself ready, but Luna noticed that she was shaking.

          “Serena, what’s wrong?” Luna asked quizzically.

          “It-it-it’s these clothes! Aahahahaahahaaahaaha!” Serena shrilled, pulling her shirt off and tossing it away. The sensation remained everywhere else, and ultimately Serena was huddled under her blanket with a frown.

          “This is just perfect. I bet the Negaverse was messing with my clothes again.” Serena sighed, wrapping the blanket around herself.

          “But you can’t walk around all day like that,” Luna objected.

          “I know.” Serena grimaced and put her clothes back on. She began to giggle and shake as soon as the infected fabric touched her skin. Serena closed her eyes and tried desperately to think of something else. But the only thing that came to mind was a cloud of feathers enveloping her. Not very relaxing at all.

          The only possible solution was to buy more clothing, again. But how could she possibly make it to the mall in this state? She’d be lucky not to be picked up by the mental hospital. Or worse, picked up by the Negaverse. Now that was certainly comforting. Serena gritted her teeth.

          No matter what the price, she had to get out of these clothes. Serena swallowed her pride and began her journey to Raye’s house.

          Raye, too, was suffering. Syia and Michelle had used a more liberal dose of powder, and the result was that where Serena merely giggled and shook, Raye laughed and convulsed. Mina, Lita and Amy had left her squirming and laughing on the couch while they tried to come up with a solution to the problem.

          “You said that Syia was in the room last night?” Amy asked.

          “Y-y-yes! Heehee – How m-many times do I ha-ha-hahahahaaaaaaaaaaa have to say it?” Raye ground out.

          “Well, she could be using some form of psychic energy. In that case, we really can’t do anything,” Amy replied.

          “T-hat’s not it,” Raye giggled. “It’s t-the clothes!”

          “Huh? Let me see…” Mina walked over and felt the fabric of Raye’s shirt. “It feels normal…”

          “G-go put on one of my sh-shirts and see h-how normal it is,” Raye replied.

          “Err, no thanks,” Lita said. Then she changed the subject. “Has anyone seen Serena?”

          “No,” Mina answered. “I thought that she’d be here by now.”

          Serena did enter then. “H-hey guys! I was w-w-wondering if I could ask a f-favor…”

          Amy frowned. “What’s wrong?”

          “She must have whatever Raye does!” Mina said.

          “What?” Serena asked. Mina pointed to Raye tossing and turning on the couch.

          “What did you want?” Lita asked.

          “C-could you buy me some new clothes? I’ll g-give you the money, but I-I can’t go myself.”

          “Y-yeah!” Raye concurred. “Please! Get us s-some new clothes! Hurry!”

          “Let’s go!” Mina cried enthusiastically. Lita was right behind her.

          “I never thought that my duties would include a shopping trip,” Amy mused. “Just hold on until we get back!”

          There was silence for a second after they left. Serena sat in a chair.

          “Betcha I can not laugh for longer than you!” Serena challenged.

          “Ha! Y-you, the Queen of T-Ticklish? You’re on!”

          Syia and Michelle were hard at work in Tickling Dungeon II. Syia had a knack for the creation of devices, and she had just hit upon an improvement of an earlier design. “Hey! Michelle!” she called.

          Michelle appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame. “Yeah?”

          “Come here.”

          Michelle frowned and backed away. “No way, you’re probably going to test something else on me. I’ve had enough for one day. How about you test the next thing?”

          “Nah, it’s more fun to use it on you.” Syia gently wrapped Michelle up in a psychic bond. “Come on, it’s time to use your lovely feet again.”

          “Please! Can’t you find something better to do with your time? Test it on one of the captives!” Michelle asked. Syia smiled wickedly.

          “What’s that I hear? Begging for mercy? Is the tickling too much for you?” Syia teased. Michelle’s feet elevated. She took out a pink clip and flicked a switch. The thing began to vibrate and Syia placed it between Michelle’s toes.

          Michelle tossed her head and screamed with laughter. Syia appraised the scene for a minute, then removed the clip and let Michelle go.

          “Cheater…” Michelle panted. “That wasn’t new!”

          “No, it wasn’t,” Syia said. “Go on.”

          Actually Syia had developed a new device, but she’d wanted the satisfaction of tormenting Michelle. Syia waited five minutes and called for Michelle again.

          Michelle leaned around the doorframe. “What?” she asked suspiciously. Syia threw a small black circular object at her. It was fuzzy, feathery, and designed to tickle like mad, and it stuck to her shirt and vibrated.

          “Eeheehehahahah! Get it off!” Michelle tore the thing off, still vibrating. She tossed Syia a sour look. “Good for you.”

          Syia smiled. “These are interesting. You could down a Scout with these, no problem.”

          “I bet I could down you, too.” Michelle threw the object back at Syia, and it latched onto her stomach. Syia, too, giggled before tearing it off and throwing it at Michelle, and tossing a second one too.

          Suddenly an alarm went off. “What?” Syia asked, games forgotten. She and Michelle trotted to the security center.

          “Oh, the Venus tickle trap has someone,” Michelle said, with a hint of satisfaction.

          The tickle trap did indeed have someone, a teenage girl who had been playing “truth or dare” with a group of friends. This dare had obviously ended up a disaster.

          “Pleeleleheheehehhheheeeeze help meeeeeeeee!” she shrieked in ticklish agony. The plant’s many vines brushed over her smooth skin as her friends watched in horror.

          “It’s one of those evil tickle things!” a girl screamed.

          “Someone call the police!”

          Mina, Lita and Amy were returning from the mall with bags of clothing. They noticed the gathering crowd as well as the police lines and sirens. Curious, they joined the rubberneckers at the edge of the barrier. No sooner had they gotten there when screams and gunfire erupted, and the whole crowd flowed back, including the police. Letting the crowd flow around them, the three Scouts soon saw the source of the disturbance; several tiliking had darted out from the heavy undergrowth. Tiliking were nothing to mess with; the Scouts ran too.

          So now the crowd had reformed further back, and the cops were milling about, uncertain of what to do. Lita glanced around, and noticed that they were near the abandoned airport.

          “No wonder!” she said to Amy and Mina. “Look over there, we’re near the airport.”

          “It must be Syia,” Amy said. “But why would she make such an attack in broad daylight?”

          “I don’t know,” Mina replied. “But we should try to go rescue the girl who was caught.”

          “How do you know anyone was caught?” Amy asked.

          “I was listening to the crowd. Come on, let’s go!”

          Serena and Raye were both in poisonous moods. Having been set on edge by the constant tickling, they sniped constantly at each other.

          It was nearing noon and still the others hadn’t returned. “W-what’s taking s-so long?” Serena groused.

          “I d-d-don’t know,” Raye snapped. “I’m soooooo hungry. And I think I’m going crazy. Come on, hurry back so you can cook me some food and get my new clothes!” Raye yelled to the air.

          “Don’t be so selfish,” Serena shot back. “Y-you can call for a pizza if you’re really that hungry.”

          “N-no, that’s pointless,” Raye countered.

          “ S-sure. I bet th-that you just can’t keep yourself under control w-when you call,” Serena challenged.

           “B-be prepared to ea-ea-eat your words, Meatball H-head!” Raye got up and stomped over to the phone.

          Serena giggled.

          “Are you sure this is going to work?” Jelex asked.

          “Trust me,” Felin said. “This phone device lets me hear what the brats inside want. It’s only a matter of time before they use the phone, and we can intercept the call.”

          “Sounds farfetched to me,” Megan said. “What’s the point?”

          Felin cut her off. “Shh.” The phone they had in front of them began to ring. Felin picked it up and coughed. “Uh, hello?”

          “Yeah. Is this the pizza place?” Raye asked. Her voice was quavering.

          “Uh-huh,” Felin said in a bored tone.

          “Good. Gimme a large cheese pizza delivered to the Cherry Hill temple.” The phone slammed.

          “I see,” Jelex said. “So, who delivers the pizza?”

          “You,” Felin and Megan said together.

          Jelex arrived at the door twenty minutes later. She held a pizza box (empty, of course) and knocked on the door. She fidgeted, trying to pull her disguise tighter around her. There was no point in revealing that she could change her appearance, so this job was being run on a low budget. Her cap hid her pointed ears, and a long-sleeved coat and gloves hid her skin color. Jelex pulled the cap so that it hid her face. She had to hold it there; the wind was gusting.

          “Yeah? Oh, Raye, pizza!” Serena called.

          “What do you want me to do about it?” Raye yelled back.

          “Maybe pay for it?” Serena asked sarcastically.

          “You’re at the door, you pay!” Serena giggled half-heartedly and turned to Jelex. “Uh could you, um… wait a minute? I have to…! What the! AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

          Jelex jerked upright from her slouch. A gust of wind had blown her cap away, revealing her face. “Whoops. Oh well, I hope you like jelly pizza!” Jelex took a long step inside and closed the door. Serena wobbled down the hall back to where Raye was.

          They collided, and Raye went down rubbing her head and yelling, “Watch it! What’s so important anywaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Raye cut off as she, too, saw Jelex.

          “Just your friendly pizza delivery service,” Jelex grinned. A portal opened behind her, and Felin and Megan stepped out.

          In no time at all both Serena and Raye were stretched out and held down by red hands.

          “Man! Can’t you just g-go away?” Serena yelled. “We-we have more important things to take care of!”

          “Such a shame,” Megan said. “We were just getting started. You know, Sailor Moon, you yourself told us your worst nightmare. That’s what inspired this new trick.”

          “What worst nightmare?” Serena asked.

          Jelex grinned. “The one where you’re tickled all over by clothing that won’t stop.”

          Serena gaped. No one, no one should know about that! Where had they heard it? “How do you know that?” she gasped.

          “You told us,” Megan said. She took out a small strip of blue cloth and affixed it over Serena’s eyes. Serena whimpered. Felin produced a bag of powder, and with a flourish, opened it over Serena. The blue powder floated down and began to cover her.

          “Oh, p-pleeheheheeeeeeeeeeeeze! No! St-stahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!” Serena was laughing hysterically. It felt like her clothing had grown bristles that were brushing all over her. Her laughter shrilled out, making Felin and Megan cover their ears. Jelex didn’t mind, though. She watched with a grin as tears flowed from Serena’s eyes and her skin flushed red. There was only one thing left, and that was her feet. She hadn’t been wearing shoes or socks to begin with, so it was only a matter of going over and scratching on the sole. It didn’t seem to make any difference; Serena was laughing too loudly in the first place. Megan nudged Felin and she nodded, and both of them disappeared through a portal.

          Alone, Jelex took a look around. Raye was still fidgeting but otherwise untouched. Jelex decided to look around for anything that might assist her in torturing Raye. She rummaged through cabinets and closets, poking around but not finding anything useful. Then she found in a cleaning closet two scrubbing brushes, the heavy kind for cleaning things. Now those might be useful.

          “H-hey! What a-are you going t-to do with those?” Raye asked unnecessarily. She knew exactly what they would be used for and the prospect filled her with fear.

          “You seem to be a bit dirty,” Jelex replied. “I think you need to be cleaned.” She pushed Raye’s shirt up to expose her stomach. Then she set to work rubbing the brushes along her sides.         

          Raye went crazy. The stiff bristles of the brushes stimulated her sensitive sides and drew the laughter to a fever pitch. Along with Serena’s hysterical laughter, the room was a cacophony of noise. Jelex smiled and hummed to herself, scrubbing the brushes all over Raye’s sides and ribs.

          Megan and Felin returned. They both had earplugs, and Megan had a pair of tiliking in tow. She motioned to them, and with eager bounces they bounded over to Serena’s feet. Jelex realized that Serena couldn’t laugh any louder or harder; she was already being overloaded. The constant laughing took its toll, and Serena degenerated into silent laughter, the once wild screams mere gasps now.

          Jelex shrugged and continued tormenting Raye. Maybe she should try her armpits…

          Mina, Lita and Amy peeked out from the tall grass in which they’d been hiding. No one had done anything about the tiliking or Venus tickle trap, and a crowd continued to mill about. Glancing around, Amy motioned for the others to follow. They crept quietly along the airstrip, keeping watch.

          “Hmm… that’s funny…” Mina said.

          “What?” Lita asked.

          “I didn’t realize the security cameras still worked.”

          “Huh?” asked Amy. Mina pointed to a fence post, where a camera had its lens fixed on them.

          “Let’s get out of here!” Lita cried. “They know we’re coming!” The Scouts beat a hasty retreat. They ran all the way back to Raye’s house.

          “Whew…” panted Lita. “At least we remembered the clothes.”

          “Shh!” Amy whispered. “Listen!” Cocking their ears, all three picked up Raye’s screeching laughter.

          “It’s gotten worse,” Mina said. “Come on, we need to give these to her!”

          Jelex had soaked the brushes in water and soap. It seemed to improve the effect of the “cleaning”. Serena had passed out a little while before; she lay sleeping peacefully on the couch. Felin, Megan and the two tiliking watched Jelex’s show.

          Soapsuds had covered Raye’s stomach now, allowing the brushes to slide across with ease. Her laughter had gotten hoarse, but Jelex wasn’t about to quit now. A voice interrupted her.

          “Raye! We’ve got the clothes, just… waaaaaaaaah!” Mina yelled as she came through the door. Felin lashed out with her tail and caught Mina’s wrists.

          “Mina?” Lita was tackled by a tiliking and dragged inside. That only left Amy, looking around in fear. She hated tickling.

          “Come and join us, Amy,” Megan said softly. She snapped her fingers, and the tiliking leaped at Amy. Once on the ground, the tiliking proceeded to lick her like a puppy. Except that this puppy intended to tickle her senseless.

          Much to Raye’s relief, Jelex finished with her, turning her attention to the fresh newcomers. Felin transferred Mina to Jelex’s control, then walked over to Raye. She sat down and grinned. “Is it safe to say that you’re feeling a bit tired? Of course. But, thanks to my revolutionary new invention, you don’t have to feel that way. Here.” Felin held up a small red tablet. “Take this, you’ll feel better.” Raye shook her head. Felin sighed. “Fine, we’ll do this the hard way.” She pinched Raye’s nose, and when Raye opened her mouth to breathe, threw the pill in. Raye swallowed reflexively. She felt very nervous. What did this thing actually do?

          Amazingly, Felin had told the truth. Raye felt completely refreshed, as if the tickling had never happened. But why would Felin do that?

          “Now you can laugh again,” Felin said. Raye’s stomach froze. That was the reason! They wouldn’t get breaks anymore, just a dose of that accursed tablet. And, just as promised, when Felin rubbed her lithe fingers under Raye’s arms she began laughing again. The weakness and parched throat that had inhibited her laughter before had vanished under the pill’s influence.

          Megan was busy torturing Amy’s small feet with two of her oil feathers. Megan grinned, remembering the last time that she’d heard that sweet laughter. It just made her want to tickle Amy forever. Apparently Amy knew it, too. She tried with all her might to not laugh, or, barring that, at least not laugh so nicely. This was the reason Amy hated to be tickled; her tormentors were invariably egged on by her laughter.

          Lita didn’t laugh anywhere near so nicely. In fact, she had picked up on Raye’s habit and let loose a string of obscenities at the tiliking pinning her. Given that these were squeezed in between shouts of laughter, it was rather ludicrous. The tiliking knew just what Lita hated; toe licking. The dexterous tongue slid across the base of her toes, sending wild laughter through Lita’s mouth. It was ten times worse than anything Syia had ever done.

          Mina was also squealing and bouncing under the cleaning of Jelex. Jelex had decided to take these brushes with her; they had proved very effective. Mina’s smooth skin made every stroke of the brush hell.  Each time they slid over her skin, a feeling like an electric shock rose up her sides in a wave, then went back down again as Jelex scrubbed pitilessly. Up, down, up, down, up, down…

          Felin had found a new use for her tail. Noticing that Raye’s toes would be a good place to strike, she had been ready to slide her fingers in when her tail caught her eye. It was just sitting over Raye’s legs where she had left it, but now Felin realized a potential use. Taking her tail, she inserted it between Raye’s toes and sawed back and forth. Raye’s laughter rose again, after petering out from desensitization.

          Amy’s face was streaked with tears, and they continued to flow unabated as Megan swirled the feathers on her feet. She whipped her head, spraying them everywhere, but nothing could save her from Megan’s evil touch. Now the tiliking got into the act once more, lapping at her stomach. Amy felt like she was going to lose her mind if it didn’t stop. Every tickle session seemed to be a worse hell than the last… Either she became more ticklish when tickled or the Negaverse was improving its methods. This thought was interrupted as a new sensation swept over her feet. Amy felt her eyes roll back as she screamed in laughter. Megan had decided to bring along some tickle oil, and was methodically applying it with a brush. Amy’s feet were ticklish enough as it was but this was just too much. Amy felt herself slipping away, and under the caresses of the brush slid into darkness.

          “You know,” Jelex said, “it’s often more fun if you keep them conscious.”

          Megan grinned sheepishly. “I got carried away.”

          Jelex laughed. “I bet.” Then she turned to Mina. Mina was decidedly the worse for wear, looking haggard and still giggling from the residual effects. She was too tired to thrash anymore, even when Jelex scrubbed her sides. Jelex frowned. “Hey, Felin, do you have any more of those magic pill things?”

          “Umm… actually, no,” Felin said, somewhat abashed. “I didn’t plan on having such a large party. I only brought one.”

          Jelex shrugged and let Mina fall. “Well, that’s three down, and one’s already been refreshed. All that’s left is you, Jupiter… and not much left either,” she said upon examining Lita’s tear-stained face. Protracted tiliking torture had taken its toll, and she, too, was left looking tired. “Let’s go. Hey, how about we go over and see what Syia’s up to? She said that she had a new thingamabob to show us.”

          Chatting among themselves, Megan, Felin and Jelex left the Scouts strewn across the floor. Only Raye was in any kind of condition to move, and she immediately changed her clothes. “Ahhhh,” she sighed. “Much better.”

          Michelle and Syia were appraising their new captive when the rest arrived.

          “What’s up?” Michelle asked.

          “We came by to see the new thing you made,” Megan replied.

          “Okay,” Syia said with a mischievous grin. “Would you like to try it out?”

          “What’s the catch?” Megan asked. “Are you planning to throw me to some new creature?”

          “No,” Michelle said. “The catch is that I get to torture you.”

          “Ignore her,” Syia said. “She’s been doing this all day.”

          “No, I haven’t,” Michelle protested. “Only half of the day so far.” Felin rolled her eyes.

          “I say that we just forget about this nice structured stuff and go for the kill,” Felin said with a grin. Her tail danced and bobbed about.

          “Hmm. Well, it sounds OK to me, so…” Michelle raised her arms, and a cloud of feathers arose from around the room. Pausing for only a second, they swirled around the group, sending them to their knees.

          “H-h-hey! You ch-cheater!” Megan giggled.

          “Just you w-wait… where is she?” Jelex asked. Michelle had stepped back to survey her handiwork. Now she sneaked behind Jelex and began to poke and prod her stomach, sending Jelex back to her knees, roaring with laughter. Michelle chased her through the cloud, tickling in random spots.

          Suddenly something wrapped around Michelle’s wrists. Startled, Michelle lost control and the feathers drifted down. Felin had her, and was wearing a meat-eating grin. “You are so dead.”

          “Look, can’t we be reasonable here?” Michelle asked.

          “Reasonable? Ha!” Jelex snorted, brushing a stray feather off. “Look who’s talking. Right now tickling you silly qualifies as reasonable.”

          “Well, Syia?” Megan asked. “Where is she very ticklish?”

          Syia laughed. “You can see that she goes to great lengths to cover her feet. Well, it’s not going to save her.” Syia elevated Michelle’s legs. Jelex and Megan pulled off her boots. With an evil grin Megan rubbed her finger along Michelle’s sole.

          “Yes, that’s it exactly,” Syia said. “Oh, let me go get my new inventions.” She ran off into the dungeon.

          Michelle was giggling under the light but persistent touch of Megan and Jelex. Michelle begged shamelessly for them to stop, but they merely smiled and tickled more. Syia then returned with a handful of small black discs. Grinning, she affixed one to each of Michelle’s armpits, then slapped two on her ribs, and finished with three in a line across her stomach. They began to vibrate, throwing Michelle into pitiful laughter.

          “Looks like fun!” Megan laughed. Syia complied; she threw a couple at Megan, and sticking at random points, they started to tickle her, too. Megan danced around frantically, trying to rip all of them off. She finally succeeded, and taking advantage of Felin’s preoccupation stuck a pair on her sides. Felin let out a yelp and dropped Michelle. Michelle tore the devices off of her shirt and threw them at Jelex.

          Suddenly a loud crash interrupted the scene. As one, they sprinted to the security center.

          “What’s up?” Jelex asked. “I don’t see anyone.”

          “Hmm…” Syia panned the cameras around. When she got to the one covering the Venus tickle trap, she noticed that something was wrong. The grass around it was smoldering. “What happened?” Syia panned the camera further, until it was pointed at the crowd of humans that had gathered for some reason. Nothing had changed, except… now there was a large, odd-looking vehicle parked there as well. A long tube jutted from the front and the wheels looked different. “Hey, Michelle, Megan, what is that thing?”

          Michelle frowned. “Um, it looks like a tank.” (Author’s Note: No editorializing.)

          “What’s a ‘tank’?” Felin asked.

          “It’s like a car with a really big gun on it,” Megan said. “We shouldn’t mess with it.” Just then another roar was heard as a flash was seen on the screen. The crowd cheered. Syia turned back to the Venus tickle trap. A large chunk had been blown away.

          “Arrgh! My tickle trap!” Syia cried in anguish. “Stupid humans! Stupid tank!”

          The roar was audible even at the temple.

          “What’s that?” Raye asked, mystified. Amy turned on the news.

          “…we are here live just outside an abandoned airport,” the commentator was saying. “Just now the military has been called in to deal with this unknown threat.” The camera zoomed in on the smoking plant. “Earlier today, a young girl was eaten by this creature, and with it were several of the odd red creatures which have sprung up recently. The police, not having sufficient firepower to deal with this crisis, asked for the help of the 1^st Armored Division. As you can see, whatever alien life form this plant happens to be, it is not immune to cannon fire. We will keep you updated on upcoming developments.”

          “All right!” Lita said, punching the air. “Way to go!”

          “I didn’t think that it was possible to kill Negaverse creatures that easily,” Amy mused.

          “Neither did I,” Serena replied. The news broadcast reappeared.

          This time, the commentator was speaking rapidly. “Whatever the thing was, apparently it did not die as everyone assumed. It has come back with a vengeance, and destroyed two tanks.” The camera shifted to the two smoking tanks lying in the street, one upside down. “We are leaving the scene at the government’s request now. We will be back as soon as possible.”

          “Whoa…” Raye said. “That’s no good.”

          Neflite was in his office, staring at the ceiling and drumming his fingers. He was bored… there was nothing to do. The computer AI on his game was too easy to beat now. When in doubt, watch TV. Neflite jabbed the remote at his TV and began flipping through the channels. The news broadcast caught his eye, too. Intrigued, he set down the remote and listened to the story. It seemed like something was up. He decided to get in his car and go take a look – “rubbernecking,” Megan had called it.

          Meanwhile, the Scouts had returned to the accident scene. The smoke was awful, and the burning tank was not a pleasant sight. What could they do…? Getting in the way of all that firepower did not seem a good idea to Serena. So they left again, and as Serena glanced back, she felt trapped. It was like being in a city under siege…

(Author’s Note: While this ending may seem very depressing, the Scouts are about to pull a fast one. So stay tuned for the next episode!)