Part IV: The Tickle Torture Chamber

          Neflite’s vision focused slowly. He had been staring at darkness for three days. After the first hour he’d already become bored out of his mind. Mostly he occupied his time thinking of how to get revenge on the Sailor brats. He had his new plan in mind, and as a bonus he could sap normal humans of their energy at the same time. His previous efforts had been hastily thrown together and haphazard. This would be different.

          “Master Neflite, it is good to see you again.” Neflite turned his head towards the source of the voice but couldn’t make out the speaker.

          “Vena? No, Vena died. Ah, it must be Jelex. How are you, Jelex?” Neflite asked.

          “Well… I’m, uh, just fine,” stammered Jelex, taken aback by the friendly tone of the question.

          “Good,” Neflite continued in that same tone. “I have my next plan all ready to go.”

          “Already?” Jelex asked, surprised.

          “Well,” Neflite chuckled, “there wasn’t much else to do. Oh, yes, you may want to look for a new helper to train, since Vena died.”

          “Already done,” replied Jelex.

          Neflite frowned. “What?”

          “Master, may I introduce Aven and Neva.” Two more blurry shapes took form in Neflite’s field of vision.

          “At your service,” they answered together. Aven was tall, and dressed in a pink robe that clashed with her deep blue skin. Her skin shined like it had been buffed and polished. Her black hair was cut very short, hanging no further than her neck. She had very large, feathery wings sprouting from her back. Right now they were folded close, but she could fly when they were extended. But that was not their purpose; they were a supply of magic feathers for Aven’s use. She could control the feathers at will, and also use the power of her mind to hold her victims. She looked very similar to Vena.

          Neva, by contrast, did not look like Aven at all. She was a light green color. She wore a glossy black tube top and loose black pants. She was shorter than Aven, but taller than Jelex. She had red hair hanging down to her shoulders. All along her arms, from shoulder to wrist, were small holes. These produced vines to entrap and tickle targets. She had a dark green hood that she could pull on when she camouflaged herself. For some reason, her flaming hair disrupted the camouflage illusion.

          “I see, Jelex. Very good work. But how did you get two trained people in only three days?” Neflite asked.

          “Well, while you were out I went back to the subway station. I wanted to see if I could reconstruct Vena somehow, but her body was too mutilated. I salvaged all of her useful powers, as well as her experience and knowledge. Because I realized that the Scouts still outnumber us, I wanted two people. Vena and I could handle two at a time each, if need be, but five was a stretch. Now, with three of us, we can overcome any obstacles. Aven has Vena’s feather powers and Neva has her vine power. Neva can also camouflage herself, and Aven can fly.” Jelex took pride in her work.

          “Excellent. What would I do without you?” grinned Neflite.

          “Welcome back to the real world, loser!”

          Neflite turned his head to the new voice. It could only be Zoycite. When he moved his head, though, everything swirled. He felt mildly sick. It took a minute for his vision to settle. He could make out Zoycite’s face.

          Zoycite laughed. “It couldn’t have been pleasant in the darkness, Neflite. Remember that this is what happens to failures. I think that Queen Beryl was too lenient on you, but you’ll fail again, most certainly. Then the Queen will have no choice but to eliminate you. Hahahahaha!”

          “I’ve collected more energy in a few days than you could in a lifetime, Zoycite,” growled Neflite. He was about to continue when a stray thought struck him. He decided to take a new tack.

          “You know, Zoycite, I’ve been wondering lately. Most human girls are ‘ticklish’. It gives off a great deal of energy for normal ones, and even more from powerful ones. So…” Neflite shrugged, stopping as he heard rapidly receding footsteps. “Well, I didn’t really intend to waste time on her,” he said with a shrug. “We have work to do.”

          “No no no no no no no! I’m not going!”

          “Come on, Serena!” Lita grunted. She was trying to pry Serena from a streetlight. Serena had a death-grip on the pole and would not let go. “We’re going to be late!”

          “I don’t care!” Serena shouted.

          “Oh, come on, Serena! Get a hold of yourself!” shouted Mina. Serena shook her head and continued wailing. Serena had proved extremely reluctant to attend the meetings anymore. Usually she just needed to be prodded, but today she was making a stand.

          “Darn you! Oh, I’m sorry, but this is for your own good!” Mina dropped her stuff and moved over to where Serena was gripping the pole. She tried to pry her fingers off, but Serena had a grip like a vise. “Drat! Lita, I can’t pull her off.”

          “Tell me about it!” Lita had both arms around Serena’s waist and was pulling with all her might.

          “Okay, that’s it! You are going to this meeting!” Mina slipped around and slid her hands up Serena’s shirtsleeves.

          “Hey! No tickling! That’s not fair!!!!” Serena screeched. She let go of the post, and Lita pulled Serena on top of her.

          “Oof!” Lita hit the ground. “Man, Meatball Head, you should stop packing away the snacks.”

          “Aaaaa!” Serena got up and dashed for the post. Mina intercepted her.

          “Serena! Do you want to be tickled the whole way?” Mina asked. She waggled her fingers.

          “Oh no! Fine, I’ll go,” Serena moaned. She slumped on the ground. After picking up her stuff, she walked like a zombie toward the temple.

          “Serena, at this rate you’ll take forever to get there.” Lita frowned. “Come on, walk normally.”

          “Look, I’m going!” she snapped.

          Lita rolled her eyes. Mina nudged her and nodded toward Serena with a grin. They walked to catch up and flanked her.

          “What?” Serena asked moodily.

          “Oh, nothing…” Mina said with that “I’m not doing anything” look on her face. “Right, Lita?”

          “Oh yes, nothing at all.” Lita wore a similar expression. “Except…” Lita’s hands darted for Serena’s middle.

          “AAAAHHH! No! Go away!” Serena shrieked as she twisted away.

          “We’re gonna get you!” Mina said.

          With a cry Serena propelled herself at top speed down the street. Laughing, Mina and Lita followed.

          Raye sat staring at her watch.

          “They’re forty minutes late! What’s going on? Even for Serena, this is late!” she groused.

          “I dunno.” Amy was quite content with reading a book.

          “They probably found some guy at the arcade,” said Luna exasperatedly. “This is ridiculous. I’m going to go find them.” Luna jumped off the bed and walked over to the door.

          “Sorry I’m late!” Serena panted, mowing Luna down as she burst through the door.

          “Get off me, you klutz!” snarled Luna. Today was really not going well.

          “Oops! Sorry, didn’t see you there,” Serena said with a half-hearted giggle.

          “It’s about time, Meatball Head! Do you realize how late you are?” Raye nearly screamed.

          Serena flinched. “Aww, lighten up, Raye,” she muttered.

          “Let me guess,” Raye continued in a cuttingly sarcastic tone. “You found a guy at the arcade and lost track of time.”

          “Actually she was trying to affix herself to a streetlight,” Lita breathed as she came in.

          “Well, at least you’re here. Let’s begin,” said Artemis, in an attempt to defuse the situation. Wasting forty minutes to tickle torture Serena would just eliminate the point of a meeting altogether.

          “Yes, what have you found, Luna?” Amy inquired, putting the book down.

          Luna was trying to calm down. It was just one of those days. “Well, there have been an unusual number of people found unconscious in alleys recently. All of them have been women, and none of them have any marks on them whatsoever. Any guesses?” Luna asked dryly.

          “Oh, boy, more ticklish fun for us,” Mina groaned.

          “Yes,” said Luna oddly. Everyone picked up on it.

          “Something in your throat, Luna?” asked Artemis.

          “No, I’m okay. I was about to propose a new training regimen…” she let her voice trail off.

          “You must be joking.” Lita said, deadpan.

          “No way, you’re kidding… right? Right?” Raye asked uncertainly.

          Luna smiled. It was a hideously impish smile. “No.”

          Serena gaped. “So,” she asked unsteadily, “who’s first?”

          Luna slowly turned her head to affix her gaze on Raye. She backed up to the wall like she’d been hit with some invisible force.

          “No… no… no…” she whispered.

          “Yes, yes, yes,” Luna replied.

          “Why me?” Raye wailed.

          “Why?” asked Luna in a dangerously reasonable tone. She advanced on Raye like a tiger on the hunt. “I’ll tell you why. Because you are the only one who is not taking this threat seriously and your pride is hindering your judgment in these matters. Therefore, you are first. Go change your clothes.”

          Raye stalked out of the room.

          “Yaaaay!” Serena cried as she jumped up and down. “We get to tickle Raye!” (Author’s note: Can you guess one of my favorite victims?)

          “Silence, Serena! You are all going to be tickled. This is a serious attempt to lessen your weakness! And to that end, there-will-be-no-mercy,” Luna hissed, biting off each word. Well, maybe she wasn’t calm.

          “I don’t know, Luna,” said Amy, trying to fill the awkward silence. “Do you really think this is going to work?”

          “Well, we have to try something,” replied Luna somewhat more calmly. “At the current rate, you don’t stand a chance. Besides, the part about Raye’s pride is also relevant. We have to get her to see this as a legitimate threat to which she is highly vulnerable.”

          Raye came out with a disgusted look on her face. She wore a white tank top and shorts.

          “Is this okay?” she all but snarled.

          “Excellent.” Luna showed her teeth. “Now, you will lay down on the bed. Remove your socks.” Raye complied with a look of long suffering. “Now, Scouts, there is rope in the bag I have. You know what to do.” The Scouts moved with undisguised glee to tie Raye up. Her wrists were stretched over her head and tied to the headboard, and her feet were tied together and secured to the footboard. Raye grimaced.

          “Aww, man, do you have to so such a good job?” she muttered.

          Serena flashed an infuriating smile. “Luna’s orders.” She secured Raye’s wrists.

          “Now,” Luna continued, “you will find feathers in the bag. Use them, as you will. You may begin.”     

          “Heehee!” Serena ignored the feather completely and dug her nails into Raye’s sides.

          “Aahaaahaaa! I hate you Serena! You know wahahahahahahaha that I hate to be tickled theheheheheheheehe tickled there! Gahahahahahaha!” Raye squealed with laughter as Serena exploited her weak point.

          “Aww, is wittle Raye tickwish?” Mina mocked in baby speech. She raked her nails over Raye’s tender soles.

          “Geheheheeehehe don’t patronize mehehehehehehe!”

          “Tsk, tsk. If Raye can still speak, we’re not doing a good enough job!” Lita settled in, equipped with her feather. She brushed the point on Raye’s ribs.

          “WAHAHAHAAHAAHAHAAHAHA! NOOOOO PLEEEEZE LITA! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA EEHHEHEHEHHEEHE AHAHA!” Raye cut off gasping for breath.

          Amy looked uncertainly at the feather in her hand and at Raye’s quivering foot and back again.

          “Come on, Amy,” urged Mina. “She won’t hold back when it’s your turn.”

          “My turn…” Amy’s thoughts wandered. She looked back with an impish grin. (Author’s note: Here it comes…!) “Yes, I think I will…” She teased Raye’s toes with the point. Apparently Amy was having what the others considered a “good day”: a day where she suspended her usual concerns about seemingly everything that was fun.

          “EEEP EEEP AHAHAHAHAHA EEEP WAHAHAHAHA AAHAHAHAH EEEEHAHAHAH AHAAHAHAHA EEEP EEEP AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH!” Raye’s breathing became labored. She felt like she’d been running a marathon. Her face was soaked with tears and puffy. Her shirt was becoming rather soaked with all the sweat. “PLEEEEEZE STAHAHAHAHAHAP!”

          “No!” said Luna. “Keep going!” They really needed no encouragement. Serena went at Raye’s sides with nails like talons; she poked and tickled randomly, laughing all the while. Lita was meanwhile drawing on Raye’s chest with the feather; she had pulled the shirt up to get a better shot. She played connect-the-dots and tracing with Raye’s ribs. Mina was circling on her sole with the feather but was now also wiggling her fingers between the toes. Amy raked her nails on the soles of Raye’s feet.

          “NOOOOOOOOO! STAHAHAHAHAHAHP! PLEHEHEHEHEHASE NO MORHOHOHOHOHOHHORE! MEEEEEEERCY! PLEEEEEZE! AHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA HAHAHAAA AHAHAHA!” Raye thrashed with such force that the bed was rattling and banging with her attempts to get free.

          “Gee, I hope no one stops by,” Serena commented. “It sounds like we’re murdering her.”

          After half and hour Luna relented and let Raye up. The Scouts untied her but she didn’t get up.

          “Oh… oh my god… oh… that… tickled… a lot…” she puffed out. She didn’t move for five minutes, after which she still didn’t get up. “Just… you wait… for… your turn…” she said to Serena. Serena retaliated by sticking out her tongue.

          “Next, we will determine tomorrow’s ticklee,” said Luna. She had with her a bowl with slips of paper. She removed Raye’s name. “Tomorrow…” - she reached her paw into the bowl - ”will be Amy.”

          “Well, better to get it over with,” Amy said gamely.

          “That’s the spirit, Amy!” Serena clapped her on the back.

          “Yeah, when it’s Serena’s turn we’ll need to soundproof the room and buy earplugs,” Raye teased. Serena responded with another tongue-sticking.

          “I have heard that several people have reported screaming coming from a mansion,” Luna said. “I want you to check it out.”

          “Today?” asked Raye.

          “Today.”

          “We have been so set up,” observed Mina ruefully.

          Neflite felt rather proud of himself. He, Jelex, Aven and Neva had constructed this tickle torture chamber under his mansion. It was aptly named the Tickling Dungeon. Neflite and Jelex cruised the streets in his convertible looking for victims. When they found a likely prospect, she was drugged and brought here. “Here” was a place designed to look like an underground cave. The stalactites on the ceiling were an illusion, but the rest was quite real. It was brightly lit and very large. Spaced evenly throughout the rooms were large crystal spheres on pedestals. At any given time at least three were glowing out of the total six. The orbs were heavy-duty energy capacitors, usually used to store energy in the main vaults at Beryl's palace. The fact that one was nearly full impressed Neflite, even after all his experience with tickling. At the far end of the cavern was his S&T department. The Science and Technology people were looking for ways to more efficiently recover energy from tickled humans. Or, they would, once he got any people. That was in the future. Neflite turned his attention to the present.

          Currently, the chamber was running at only one-eighth capacity. Three human girls had run dry just today and needed to be replaced. There was one girl in the Feather Chamber, a large transparent upright cylinder in which the girl was chained in a spread-eagle position. A swirling mass of feathers brushed every nook and cranny of her ticklish body, and her muted laughter reverberated around the cave. Another was in a manual station, where her arms were cuffed to a column and her feet placed in stocks. A new creation of Aven’s was at work there. She called them the “tickle imps”, little creatures that delighted in tickle torturing people. The imps would actually drive a person mad with tickling if left to themselves, they loved it so much. They would die if they left this room, but in here they were very useful. The creatures looked mostly like miniature Avens. They darted about with feathers and brushes, drawing screaming laughter from the poor girl. The last one was ensnared in a torment of Neva’s design: a large creature that looked and acted much like a tree. This particular tree, though, had a form of intelligence. Its many branches and vines were useful for extreme torture. Some branches had leaves on them, others were strong, meant for securing victims. The most ticklish went there. The tree had upwards of forty appendages to use for tickling, and used them all quite effectively. When Neflite got promoted, he would have to remember to promote Jelex, Aven and Neva with him. While Jelex was more useful in the field, Aven and Neva showed an aptitude for the creation of devices and methods. It was a perfect balance.

          Neflite knew where the Scouts met, but he wouldn’t take any more chances. If he were in the Scouts’ situation, he would set an ambush for any intruders. So Neflite decided to play it safe and stay here. He had security set up around the mansion in the form of trapdoors, gas, snares, and other devices useful for tickling. In fact, just that morning Neva had planted three of her tickle trees around the mansion. Yes, any Scout trying to sneak up on him would be the loser.

          Besides the Feather Chamber, the stocks and the tree, the chamber stood quite empty.  It was meant to handle a maximum of twenty-four humans. Neflite doubted that there would ever be full capacity here, but it was better to build too much and not use it. There was another set of stocks next to the occupied one, and another pair on the opposite side of the column. They formed an arrangement with the back of each one pointed at the column and the stocks out in front, so that the arrangement resembled a plus sign with the column in the center. Another two trees were currently empty, awaiting victims. Two of the burnouts came from that area. Two more Feather Chambers stood silently.  At the present the facility could not handle the twenty-four it was designed for; there were not enough devices. Aven and Neva were even now working on it. Aven was working with human machinery, producing robot arms and hands. Her Torture Table prototype was nearly complete. It consisted of a horizontal table that was connected to a dozen of the hands. It was not flashy; it was designed for functionality. Aven’s work tended to practical ideas.

          Neva was into high-risk, high-payoff developments. Her tree design was the most intense device in the Tickling Dungeon, but it had been her fourth attempt. Her next experiment looked like another plant, but it was not meant for securing victims; she was concentrating fully on tickle power. This was the seventh experiment. The vines of the plant looked normal, but their covering was special. They were supposed to adhere to the skin of the victim, and tickle with special bristles covering the appendage. Neflite had seen in trials that the vines coiled around the dummy’s arms and legs before twining around the upper body of the victim. It looked promising.  

          Neflite was determined to run a professional organization this time. He had everything covered, from security to operations to development.

          “I’m ready.” Jelex had been tasked to load the three unconscious girls into the convertible for disposal. Neflite did not eliminate them. He had found that giving them a week or two for recovery fully renewed their energy output. One of that experiment’s test subjects he meant to pick up on this run.

          “All right.” Neflite nodded. “Aven! Neva! We’re going! Make sure to hold down the fort!” When he received waves of acknowledgement, Neflite turned to Jelex. They left.

          “I still think this is a bad idea,” said Serena. They crept through the wooded area behind the mansion.

          “Shhh,” cautioned Amy.

          “I mean, why couldn’t it have waited?” Serena continued her litany.

          “Can it, Meatball Head,” snapped Raye. She was in a really bad mood. They stopped in silence while Amy used her visor to scan the area ahead.

          “Right, there is a lot of security up there. It seems to be designed to detect groups, so if we split up, we might be able to sneak by. It definitely seems to be the right place, though. There’s massive energy deposits near the house.”

          “Okay. Lita and I will go around to the right. Serena, you, Raye and Mina go left. We’ll meet at that basement entrance,” Amy said, pointing.

          Mina squinted. “I can’t see an entrance.”

          Amy threw up her hands. “Never mind.”

          They split up, moving cautiously. Amy and Lita were headed to the more heavily wooded side.

          “I can’t see any of those security measures,” whispered Lita.

          “Of course not,” Amy whispered back. “This isn’t a mall; you’re not supposed to see them. Besides,” she added, “I bet that scum Neflite specifically has tickle torture security measures. That means watch out for things like vines or any suspicious stuff.” They set off toward the mansion, still a ways away on top of the hill. A car engine starting caught their attention.

          “Down!” Amy hissed. They dove for cover. Amy hit the ground with a thud, but Lita made a metallic clunk.

          “What was that?” she whispered. She brushed grass and dirt aside with her hand.

          “Quiet!” Amy snapped. They listened to the sound, unmoving. Suddenly Lita began to giggle. “I said quiet!” Amy hissed, turning. “Hold it in!” But then she smelled an odd odor… “Gas!” she whispered to herself. Amy soon began to giggle, and they started laughing uproariously.

          The others heard the laughter. “No!” Serena shrieked. “They got them!”

          “Let’s go!” Mina yelled.

          “We can’t!” Raye burst out. “They got caught by a trap! If we go, we’ll get caught by the trap!”

          “But-!” protested Serena.

          “No buts!” said Raye harshly. “Would you prefer that all of us are captured in a mad dash to save them?”

          “But… but… but…” Serena stammered, seeing the inescapable truth in the words.

          “No, Serena. We leave now.” Saying those words hurt Raye. It was akin to abandonment, but they probably would end up prisoners if they left cover and made a mad dash for Amy’s position.

          Serena shook her head. “All right, let’s go.” She hung her head in dejection. Yet another loss to the Negaverse. It was so unfair that Neflite used tickle torture as a weapon.

Meanwhile, Jelex and Neflite had heard the racket and come by to investigate. Jelex grinned.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” she said upon seeing the two hysterical girls. Jelex grinned and leaned over Lita. “It looks like a pair of Scouts for the picking.”

Lita saw Jelex, but she couldn’t summon enough strength from her laughter-wracked muscles to get up. She could only roll aside and swat feebly as Jelex tickled her sides. “HahahhaAHHahahhahaahaaAhh! No no stoppit aHAHahahahahHAHahahahaaah! PLEHEHEHHEHEHEZE DON’T! AhahaHAHahHAAHAHAHAHAahahahah!”

Satisfied, Neflite hauled the still-laughing Lita into the house. Jelex turned to Amy. “Good to see you again, Sailor Mercury.” Amy only looked at Jelex as she saw the red woman’s hands approach her underarms. Amy’s own arms were already held back by a pair of hands. Jelex pinned Amy’s legs by sitting on them and tickled her underarms.

“NOHOHOHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAAA PLEHEEHEEEEZE!” Amy begged, already wracked from laughing gas. “DDAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAEHEEHAAHAH DON’T! PLEHEHEHHEEHHEHEHEHEEEEZE!”

Jelex shrugged. “Well, that’s enough for the moment – let’s move you inside.”

          Neflite was whistling to himself as he drove up his driveway and parked his convertible. Even after capturing the Scouts, he and Jelex had gone out for more victims. They’d found four very ticklish girls coming out of a school, and snapped up the lot of them. This was going excellently. Tomorrow he would present Queen Beryl with a full globe of energy. In relative terms, the capacity was something like five times the portable versions that Jelex, Aven and Neva carried. That meant one whopping load of energy. He and Jelex carried their victims in and placed them in holding cells until they awoke.   

          “What about our Scouts?” Neflite asked.

          Aven grinned. “We needed to shut them up, so…”

          Neva finished. “We tickled ‘em unconscious and put ‘em in Cell 7.”

Jelex pouted. “A tickle party and you left me out?”

Neva grinned. “Oh, don’t be such a party pooper. We got it on tape.”

          “Show it to me,” Neflite commanded. They walked down to the security office on the lowest floor. Aven popped in a tape.

          The master display changed from a picture of all the security cameras to a larger picture of the tape. Aven and Neva walked into the empty room where Jelex and Neflite had left the Scouts. They were still giggling a little but were starting to quiet down.

          “Hello, Scouts,” Neva said with a grin.

          “What… do you want…” Lita gasped out.

          “What do you think, silly?” Aven giggled. “We’re gonna tickle you.” Lita merely closed her eyes. Neva’s vines lashed her limbs together, pulling her arms up and feet straight out. Aven gleefully unlaced her boots and ran her nails on Lita’s feet. She immediately burst into laughter, but not as loud as it would have been if she had been rested. Aven didn’t seem to care and continued, tickling her soles, wiggling her fingers between Lita’s toes and running them along the sides of her feet. Lita tossed her head, giggling like mad but not laughing hysterically.

          Neva’s vines disappeared into Lita’s shirt. Their outlines were visible as they tickled and poked and rubbed all over her upper body. Lita was quieting down even at this point, gasping for breath and doing not much more than tossing her head. Irritated, Neva tickled her so fiercely that she passed out. Passing a grimace between themselves, Aven and Neva didn’t bother with Amy. Instead Aven brandished feathers at Amy, which were about as good as a loaded gun at this point, and marched her out of the room. Neva carried the unconscious Sailor Jupiter into the cell as well.

“She’s still out?” asked Neflite.

          “Yes,” answered Neva.

          “Release all of the current subjects and let them rest. I have a plan.”

          Amy lay on the hard cot in her dark dungeon. Lita was still out from the tickle torture, so she had only silence as a companion. She was really out of it, having been laughing so hard. So Amy lay staring at the ceiling and waiting. She didn’t know how much time had passed when Lita awoke.

          “Hmm, good morning,” she said reflexively. She sat up and yawned.

          “It’s not morning,” said Amy grouchily.

          “Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” Lita stood up and stretched.

          “Easy for you to say,” snorted Amy. “You got to sleep. I had to sit around and stare at nothing.”

          “Ouch. Was it bad?”

          “Real bad. I have a feeling they’ve got nasty stuff here.”

          Neflite must have been monitoring the room, because Aven arrived only a few minutes after Lita woke up.

          “Time for your session,” she said without preamble. “Follow me. If you had any thoughts about escaping-“ she opened her clenched hand. Four feathers were stuck between her fingers. “Let’s go.”

          Reluctantly Lita and Amy rose and followed the winged woman. She led them down the corridor and down two flights of stairs. The faint sound of laughter rose.

          “Welcome to the Tickling Dungeon,” Aven announced. “Where nightmares become reality.”

          Amy had no response; she was staring in disbelief at the cavern that opened before her. Laughing women dominated the room. Two girls were chained in upright cylinders in which feathers flew madly about. Three were in stocks with their wrists cuffed to a column, where small creatures tortured them with feathers and other devilish implements. From what Raye could see they greatly enjoyed their work. Two more were held against the trees as masses of vines explored every inch of their ticklish bodies. The sound of screaming laughter echoed around the room, and four large crystal spheres on pedestals glowed white.

          “You mean you’re putting us in one of those?” Lita’s voice rose in disbelief.

          “No,” said Aven. “We’re putting you in something much worse. My experiment, and Neva’s. These devices are sure to take you to the edge of your sanity and beyond.”

          “You don’t mince words, do you,” Amy.

          Aven ignored her. “Hey Neva!” she called. “You want Jupiter or Mercury?”

          “Mercury,” Neva replied. “Jelex says she’s more fun. I want the best for my experiment.”

          “Jelex?” asked Lita. “She’s here?”

          “Of course. What did you expect?”

          “But… I thought I killed her.”

          “No,” replied Aven curtly. “You killed Vena. Neva and I were reconstituted from her remains. I have her memories and her experience. I remember having you in the aircraft hangar, though I was never there. And the game show, I remember that too. You won, as I recall.”

          “Shut up!” Lita snarled. She was blushing fiercely.

          “Come with me,” said Aven, ignoring her. She led Lita to the Torture Table.

          “You are with me,” Neva said, pulling up next to Amy. Amy gave her the once-over. They glared at each other. Amy knew it was childish and unhelpful, but she continued anyway. She lost her concentration when she felt something slithering up her leg. Amy let out a yelp. Neva waggled her vine, grinning.

          “I win. No more small talk; we’re going.” Amy didn’t move. Neva bundled her up in vines and carried her. “Yes, you have some spirit left. Nothing is more satisfying than crushing spirits. Jelex said that her goal is to make you Scouts begging wenches fearful of her touch. We’ve adopted it as our slogan.”

          “Jelex said that, did she?” asked Amy. A desire for vengeance flared within her. But her train of thought was derailed as she saw her intended torture device. Neva untied her, and secured her into leather strap restraints. She was held spread-eagled a foot off the ground. Neva removed her boots. She then wheeled in a cart holding what looked to be a large clump of vines. They rustled and moved slightly.

          “Welcome to your nightmare,” Neva grinned. She slapped the cart. A moan emitted from the plant, and it slowly extended vines toward Amy. The length of the vines astounded Amy; some were easily twenty feet long. Two wrapped around her wrists and coiled down her arms so that the tips ended up in her armpits. Then, oddly, the whole vine stuck to her arm. She couldn’t have gotten it off even if free. It didn’t tickle. Amy frowned.

          “What does this do?” she sneered. Neva began to retort, then realized that there was no point. The next pair coiled up around her legs, continuing up her waist and around her upper body. Amy was covered in the four vines. The second set adhered, and still nothing happened. A third and final set weaved in between her toes like embroidery. They zigzagged across her soles and stopped. An ominous moment of silence passed. The plant shuddered, and the fine bristles began to move. It swept over Amy like a wave. It was remarkable. One moment, perfect normality. The next moment, perfect tickling. Amy’s entire body contracted. She kicked and thrashed while screaming with laughter. Her restraints actually gave a lot of leeway but since the vines had stuck to her skin it did not matter.

          “HAAHAHAHAA AHAHAHA OH NOOOOOOO! EEEHEAHAH HAHAHA AAAAHAHAHAH OH STAAHAHAHHAP! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!” 

For Amy, the ticklish agony was unbearable. This was an order of magnitude worse than anything was ever before. Instead of concentrated tickling at a few points, it was concentrated tickling everywhere. The vines on her feet were especially bad. And since a vine was twined around her chest and tickling, she already found it hard to breathe. Spasmodically she drew breath only to have it expelled in a burst of laughter.

          “AAAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHHEEEHEHHEHEAHAHAHAH EEAAHAHA HAHAHA GAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAH WAHAHAHAH HAHAHAHAHAAAAA!” Amy had no time to speak.

          “Yes! A success,” smiled Neva. The crystal orb was glowing so brightly it hurt to look at. “Let’s try the experimental equipment,” she said with a sinister smile. This plant, like the other, was semi-intelligent. It monitored the relative ticklishness of each specific area. This was relayed to a biofeedback sensor, which displayed the data in a wire-frame of the victim. This was supposed to be used for the identification of the relative ticklishness of the victim. However, Neva had come up with another way to use this ability. These were the Specific Placement Attacking Tentacles, or SPAT. The SPAT were very fragile, so they could not be the first to tickle. When the heavier vines had worn down the victim, these special vines would be used to extract every possible drop of energy. Neva deployed two SPAT to Amy’s sensitive sides.

          The vines resembled pseudopodia of green slime. They made their way to Amy and melted away sections of her shirt. Then they “took root”- that is, the special heads burst into a small network of green goo that stuck to the specific ticklish point on Amy’s sides. It had a narrow tendril connected to the skin and the other end connected to the main vine. They tickled the nerves with great accuracy.

          Neva had never expected such a reaction; it surpassed all the known maximums. Amy’s scream reverberated around the cavern. Those who could covered their ears, and everyone in the room turned to look. The dying laughter of Amy was replaced by deafening shrieks. She was moving at a mile a minute trying to break free. She succeeded, after a fashion; the fragile SPAT broke. The overload and the burst of energy had exhausted Amy, and she fell unconscious. The plant withdrew its vines. Clucking with irritation, Neva made a mental note to get better restraints. Other than that, it was a complete success. Neva knew just what she’d call this plant; Devil’s Ivy.

          Lita looked on in horror. She had been allowed to watch the torture of her friend, like it was a reward or something. That was really bad. Amy had only gone about ten minutes before passing out. Was the same fate in store for her? Lita shuddered.

          “Don’t worry, you won’t end up like that. It’ll take at least forty minutes for you to go under. This machine is designed to tickle the victim as long as possible.” Aven’s tone was not assuring in the least. Lita was restrained in a T-shape, with her arms straight out to the sides, but her legs were slightly apart. A dozen holes formed an outline of her body. These Lita eyed suspiciously. “Yes, that is where they come from,” explained Aven good-naturedly. She unlaced Lita’s shoes and pulled off her socks.

          “Oh, you have such lovely feet,” complimented Aven sarcastically. “Look at these long toes. I know they’re really sensitive. And these arches - fabulous! So soft.” Lita felt worse with each sentence. “I can’t resist!” Aven said. She tickled Lita with feathers.

          “Heehee… oh, please don’t! Don’t use feathers on my feet! Ahahahahah! No, seriously! Please! Eheeheheahahahaeehehe!” Lita giggled. Aven smiled.

          “Don’t worry, the worst is yet to come.” Aven backed away, though she left her feathers where they were. She punched the start button on the console. A low humming spread through the table. An even dozen mechanical hands sprouted from the holes in the board. Aven withdrew her feathers. “Engaging test mode now.”

          The two hands at her underarms tickled her for a second, then those at her ribs, then stomach, then thighs, then calves, and finally her feet. A data chart was built on her reactions each time. Already studying the data, Aven pushed another button. The hands began to work in earnest, tearing at her clothing.

          “AhahahahaahaAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! AAAAEEEEEEEEEK! GHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHEEEHAHAHA EEE AAHAHAHAA STAHAHAHP! PLEEEEEZE STAAAAAP! NOHOHOHOHH MOREEEEEE!” Lita quickly broke into laughter. The hands were devilish, exploiting weaknesses and changing constantly so that each moment was just as ticklish as the last. They pawed at Lita’s taut skin. She was actually able to breathe somewhat, but it was no solace from the tickling.

          “PLEEEEZE MERCYYY! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! STAHAHAHAHAHP! DON’T TICKLE!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAEEHEEHEHE EEHEAHAHE EHEHEHA EHAAHAHE HAHAHE!” The hands were deaf to her cries. Aven was engrossed in readouts and barely acknowledged her presence. Unlike Raye, Lita had been restrained so that she could not move at all. She arched her back, but it just tightened her skin and made her more vulnerable. All Lita could do was toss her head, and she did it very quickly. Her hair was a stringy mat on her head, damp with sweat. Still the hands tickled. Lita envied Amy; she’d only had to take ten minutes. Lita couldn’t see anymore because her eyes were full of tears. She quivered uncontrollably. “HAAAAHAHAHAHEHEHAHA OH PLEEHEHEHEEEEEEEZE! NO MORE! HEHAHWHAHAHAHHAHAAAAAHAHAAH!”

          After about half an hour, Lita reached the infamous  “silent laughter” stage. Her throat was parched from constant laughing. She couldn’t even think of trying to move. She had become, in essence, a living tickle dummy. Spots formed on her vision. She felt detached, like she was somewhere else. Except for the fact that the hands had followed her. Those she still felt. Lita’s head swam until the merciful blackness claimed her.

          Neflite a full orb to present to Beryl.

          “Good Lord, Neflite!” Queen Beryl gasped. “How did you get this?”

          “Tickling humans, Your Majesty,” Neflite offered.

          “But before you did not give me this much energy. What are you doing differently?”

          “I decided to diversify, as the humans say. My assistants and I constructed a new tickling torture chamber. We take likely prospects there, drain their energy, and release them so they can recharge the energy. Currently, there are ten human females, and two Sailor Scouts.” Neflite was nearly bursting with pride.

          “Sailor Moon?” Beryl inquired eagerly.

          “Not yet. We have Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter. I don’t think the others came by. But they will, if for no reason than to save their friends.”

          “Well. Superb job, Neflite. I will arrange for more energy storage. Do you need anything else?”

          Neflite hesitated a moment before answering. “I want to run a development program to increase gathering efficiency. I need some resources to do so. I have Aven and Neva working on it, but it would go better if I had more people. Case in point,” he said, gesturing to the orb. “This was filled due to their efforts.”

          “I see. Neflite, you make a convincing case. I will think about your request. Return to your duties.”

          “Yes, My Queen.” Neflite bowed and vanished.

          Serena could not sleep. Her dreams were filled with horrible images, of Amy and Lita being tickled, of herself being tickled, of everyone being tickled. She gave up on sleeping and sat up, staring out her window.

          “It’s no use,” she sighed. “We’re finished. We can’t fight the tickling, and every day the Negaverse gets more energy. Oh, what can I do?” Serena rocked back and forth, holding herself.    

          “Serena?”

          “Can’t sleep, Luna.” Serena did not look up.

          “Is it about Amy and Lita?” Luna hopped onto the bed and sat next to her. “We will get them back.”

          “Can we, Luna? Every time it’s the same. They capture one of us and the tickle torture is awful. We can’t stand it, and they get better each time. There’s just one thing I can think of to do.” Serena rose.

          “No! Serena, what are you thinking? You can’t just march into their base!” Luna cried frantically.

          “Watch me.” Serena became Sailor Moon, then was gone.

          Serena did just as she said. She walked right up the driveway and into the house. She was prepared to fight, but no one was there.

          “Huh? Hey, where is everyone?” The silence unnerved her more than any response would have. "Well, Amy said it was below the house, so…” Serena located the basement door. Taking a deep breath, she walked down the stairs. It opened into a long corridor with doors on either side. She began to look through the grilled window into each cell.

          Now the complete silence was really beginning to get to her. Was she walking into a trap?

          “Sailor Moon is such a fool,” observed Neva. “What does she hope to accomplish? I will volunteer to get her.”

          “Approved,” said Neflite.

          Serena reached a door with the number 7 on it.

          “Hey! Guys! Pssst! Wake up!” she whispered frantically.

          “Huh? Sailor Moon!” Amy ran over to the door just ahead of Lita. “What on earth are you doing? You just waltzed into their base without a care. You’re going to get us all caught!”

          “I can leave you if you like…” Serena sniffed.

          “Never mind, never mind!” Amy said hastily. “I’m sorry! Okay? Now get us out.”

          “All right. Hey, it’s locked.” Serena said, pulling on the handle. “Well…” she removed her tiara. “MOON…TIARA…MAGIC!” The door disintegrated. “Okay, let’s get going!”

          “Wait a second…” Amy was doing a quick scan when Serena saw vines seemingly grow out of the wall.

          “Look out, Amy!” Serena screamed.

          “Ha ha ha! You are ours now, Sailor Moon,” Neva proclaimed.

          “I’ll kill you, scum!” screamed Lita. “Jupiter…Thunder…Crash!”

          Neva deftly dodged the thunderbolt. “Hmph! Child’s play. Take this!” A half-dozen vines attacked. Lita went down screaming and giggling as the vines played over her body.

          “Here I come! Mercury…Eeek!” Amy was cut off in the middle. She, too, succumbed to laughter.

          “And you, Sailor Moon!” Neva grinned evilly.

          “No…no…” she panted. It was happening all over again.

          “Yes, here you are again, Sailor Moon. At my mercy completely.”

          “No…no…no…” Tears rolled down Sailor Moon’s cheeks.

          “You will never escape, Sailor Moon. Know that you will spend the rest of your life giving your energy to the Negaforce! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

          Serena stood mute. The laughter of her friends, the helpless feeling, the laughing, sneering face of Neva, they all came together.

          Overcoming her fear, Serena galvanized herself into action, grabbing her tiara. “What?” Neva asked, perplexed, forgetting the madly giggling Scouts in her vines. “But…” She’d been counting on fear to keep Serena in check. Now all her vines were busy with the others.

The mansion shook with the sheer force of Serena’s power, and her tiara glowed bright white.

          The security office rocked as all the displays went static. Neflite grabbed a desk to steady himself.

          “What the hell was that!” he snarled. “Get a camera there now!”

          “Y-yes, Master.” Jelex quickly rerouted the cameras and brought up a picture. The whole hallway was smoking, and half of the corridor had been carved away. A huge hole showed the night sky at the end of the hall. Fortunately, all of the other prisoners had been on the other floor. But the other thing…

          “Damn it! Neva!” Her body was a smoking pile of ash. Nothing remained of her. “She was… arrrgh!” Neflite was tearing his hair out. “Get out!” he screamed at Jelex and Aven. They were gone before he said the second word. How had it gone so badly? What had happened?

          All right, calm down, Neflite told himself. He had delivered the energy earlier today. That was a plus. All of the normal humans were still here. That was also good. The Tickling Dungeon was undamaged. The total loss, Neflite figured, was Neva and the two Scouts. The Scouts could be recaptured, but Neva’s loss was one of the best brains of his operation. Damn the Scouts!