Part VII- Megan’s Indoctrination

          Neflite stared mutely at the piles of paper next to him. This was absurd, that he had to read every single one of these, and give his say-so to measures which the people proposing them ought to have begun as soon as they’d thought of it. This was almost his whole day now. Human ‘paperwork’ was felony enough to warrant eradication from the universe. Neflite hated this ‘paperwork’. He was turning into a human, doing the same drudge work every single day! On impulse he scattered the papers and left the room. He sought out Jelex.

          “Jelex? Get ready; we’re taking a trip.” Neflite hurried off to find his keys. He was already feeling better.

          A huge grin split Jelex’s face. “My pleasure, Master.” Neflite was already down the hall. It’s about time, thought Jelex. They were down to six humans now because Neflite hadn’t wanted to go hunting again. It looked like the Boss was making a recovery.

          Felin was touring the development lab. Megan now accompanied her almost everywhere, with no objections whatsoever. In fact, she now complied with eagerness. The weak, cowering human that had been Megan had was now stripped away. Days of grueling tickling torture and psychological warfare had destroyed her scruples and broken her mind. She had then been rebuilt by Felin, rebuilt in the Negaverse’s image. Felin had not anticipated the results completely. She had expected something more like a mindless servant. Instead, Megan now looked up to Felin, but she had kept her personality, which was much more fun. Felin actually chatted with Megan quite often. Megan’s status had been upgraded somewhat. She had somewhat more free will, and was allowed to wander the lab as her whim dictated. Aven and Jelex had been told not to make any more trouble for her, at least not directly. Aven had grumbled somewhat, but Jelex didn’t mind, as Megan had also been her project.

          Felin was pleased at the behavior Megan displayed. She had no sympathy for any of the test subjects or tickle victims anymore. The one thing that puzzled her was Megan’s clothing. The skintight black fabric bodysuit she wore had once been a symbol of her captivity, amplifying tickling as it did. Now she wore it as a badge of pride, even though it still made her more ticklish. Felin didn’t understand completely, but she suspected that Megan had liked to be tickled before her experiences here, and that desire had resurfaced and manifested itself in this way.

          Felin caught Jelex as she hustled by. “What’s up?” she asked.

          Jelex grinned. “The Boss is going on a gathering trip! I’ve gotta hustle to make it there in time! He was moving pretty fast.”

          Felin did some quick thinking. “Can we go?”

          “Sure! The convertible holds four people. Why do you want to come? You said they were boring,” Jelex asked.

          “You’ll see. Let’s go!”

          Neflite, Jelex, Felin and Megan cruised down the street. The top of the convertible was up, so that Jelex and Felin wouldn’t stand out.

          “Okay. Any ideas, people?” asked Neflite as he pulled up to an intersection.

          “What time is it?” asked Megan.

          “About quarter to three,” said Jelex, reading the dashboard clock “Why?”

          “School lets out about now. You should be able to examine a large number of girls quickly,” Megan responded.

          “Good idea,” said Neflite. “Let’s go!”

          Serena dragged her way out of school. She was moving at a snail’s pace.

          “Come on, Serena. No stalling,” said Mina firmly.

          “Everyone has to go sometime,” said Lita, with a dramatic air.

          “But I don’t wanna!” wailed Serena. “Raye’s gonna be mean to me! And I bet that she won’t stop!” Much of Serena’s day had been filled with visions of Raye tormenting her. Only in the visions Raye had been clothed in a blood-red outfit, with horns poking out of her head, diabolically laughing as flames leaped up around her, sealing off Serena’s escape…

          Mina rolled her eyes. “It’s a good thing we promised to keep an eye on you. You’d have skipped out by yourself.”

          “Serena, you have to go and that’s final,” said Lita, trying to brook no argument. A red convertible pulled over across the street.

          “Hmm… See anything good, Jelex?” Neflite asked idly.

          “Well, there’s a lot of choice here…” she mused to herself. “The trick is to isolate a small group and move quickly. Let’s see…”

          Lita and Serena were still arguing, though Serena had not wrapped herself around any streetlights this time. Mina was looking at the car across the street.

          “Hey… guys, that car creeps me out. What do you think?” she asked quietly.

          “Nice car… Hey!” Lita muttered as Mina elbowed her in the ribs. “I don’t know. It seems like a normal car.”

          “That’s what I think, too,” said Serena, peering at the car.

          “Who’s that? Someone’s staring at us,” said Felin, looking out of the tinted windows.

          “Huh?” asked Neflite. Sure enough, three girls were showing a lot of interest in his car. “Jelex, what do you think of those three?”

          “Hmm… well, all three of them would make good catches, but they’re standing right in the middle of the crowd. No way to get them.”

          Megan stiffened. “That’s Serena!”

          “Who?” asked Felin.

          “Sailor Moon.”

          “WHAT!” Neflite shouted.

          Both groups were peering across the street at one another, trying to figure out what the other was up to.

          “I’ve got an idea,” said Mina.

          “They’ve all left,” observed Jelex as they melted into the crowd. “Do you think they were on to us?”

          “No,” said Megan. “They were probably admiring the car. Some girls are drawn to that."

          “Thanks for your commentary,” said Felin dryly. “Well, it’s water under the bridge. What next?”

          “Well, there’s a pair of two good victims.” A tall girl, with her red hair drawn back in a ponytail and an athletic-looking girl were chatting and headed onto a quiet street.

          Neflite shifted gears and followed.

          “Come on, quickly! Follow that car!” shouted Mina.

          “Isn’t that a line from a movie or something?” asked Lita. Mina glared at her.

          “Make sure they don’t see us!” she replied.

          Darting about, hiding behind trees and bushes, the Scouts leapfrogged after the car.

          The girls turned onto a residential block.

          “Okay, now!” said Neflite, pulling up next to the pair. As both turned their heads to see, Jelex put her window down and gassed both of them. It was a textbook capture.

          “Go!” hissed Felin. Megan hopped out and loaded the girls into the trunk.

          “Hey you! Stop right there!” shouted Serena, in the guise of Sailor Moon. Lita and Mina were a considerable distance behind her.

          Megan slammed the trunk down. “Come on, hurry!” yelled Jelex.

          “Not so fast!” Serena charged.

          “Wait!” cried Lita, still a ways down the street. Serena cocked her fist back to punch Megan. Felin was quick; as Serena approached, she ducked out of the car and lashed Serena’s arms together with her tail. Megan reached under Serena’s arms.

          “Ticklish, Sailor Moon?” she asked teasingly.

          “Ohhohoh eeheheheh ahahahaha hahahaha!” Serena giggled, her dramatic façade crumbling. She wiggled around, trying to get away.

          “Tickle tickle!” Megan giggled.

          “We’ve gotcha!” Felin said, starting to tickle Serena’s sides.

          “Ohohohoooehehehehaha heehhahahaheheah a hahahhehehahah!” Serena cried, trying to twist away from the tickling sensations. Megan dug her fingers into Serena’s underarms while Felin traced her fingertips in concentric circles around Serena’s belly.

          “Come on!” shouted Jelex.

          Without warning a bolt of lightning whipped past Felin, right between her and Megan. The residual shock surprised her enough that she dropped Serena. Seeing Lita and Mina charging up the street, both she and Megan got into the car and Neflite hit the gas, screeching away.

          “Serena!” Mina and Lita shouted as they ran up to her. They were surprised to see Serena crying.

          “Serena, what happened?” asked Mina.

          “Did you see what they’ve done?” she sobbed. “They made her into a monster.”

          “Whew… That was too close.” Neflite breathed a sigh of relief. But it was exciting, he added to himself. It had been a good idea to come back out and do field work again.

          “I’ll say. Well, the brats are on to us now.” Jelex slumped into her seat after watching the Scouts recede out the back window.

          “They can’t stop us. Speaking of which,” Neflite added, “that was excellent work, Megan. Good thinking.”

          Megan stammered. “W-why thank you, s-s-sir.”

          Jelex turned in her seat and grinned at Megan. “Loosen up. You don’t have to be so formal.”

          “Excellent job, Megan,” Felin complimented. Felin was almost bursting with pride. Megan was her work, her creation, and she felt very protective of her. More importantly, she’d attacked Sailor Moon without hesitation and with skill. The purpose of bringing Megan on the ride had been to ascertain her true alignment. Felin judged that Megan had passed that test with flying colors. “Megan, I have a question for you. Answer honestly. Why do you still wear the bodysuit? It makes you more ticklish.”

          “Well… it’s comfortable, and…” Megan blushed.

          “And what?” asked Jelex earnestly.

          “And…well, it’s that… um…”

          “Go on. We won’t mock you,” assured Felin.

          Megan blushed even redder. “Well, it’s that I… I… I liked to be tickled. Not tickle tortured,” she added hastily,” but before that, well… I liked being tickled. A-and I still do,” she rushed out.

          “Oh? Don’t worry; we won’t put you back in the stocks or anything like that,” Jelex reassured her. “We just wanted to know. We’re ticklish too, you see.”

          “You’re…ticklish?” asked Megan incredulously. “Wow… I never knew that…”

          Jelex poked at Felin, whose fur was now starting to stand on end as a result of the charge she’d been exposed to. “Now this is another matter entirely. Nice look for you, Felin.” She and Megan laughed, and Felin crossed her arms in an irritated expression.

          “Very funny. Next time, you can go out and fight Sailor Jupiter.” Felin jumped with shock and a giggle. “Hey!”

          Megan snickered. “This is amusing.” She poked Felin again, and the static shock made Felin giggle again.

          Jelex turned in her seat again, a mischievous smile forming on her face. Felin jumped from another pair of shocks and glared at Jelex, who now had hands behind Felin, poking at her sides.

          Neflite concentrated, knowing full well what was coming as red hands filled the back seat, and trying to keep his attention on the road.

          Serena watched the car recede. “Oh well. We can’t do anything about it now.” She reverted back to herself. “I guess I’ll see you guys later,” she said hopefully.

          “Ahem,” said Lita with a stern look on her face.

          “Nice try. But I think not.” Mina shook her head. “You’re coming with us!”

          “You don’t have to make it sound like an execution,” groused Serena.

          “Come on.” Lita took one of Serena’s arms and Mina took the other. Soon they were in front of the temple.

          Serena gulped. It took no imagination whatsoever to see it as an altar of ticklish damnation… maybe she was just being dramatic.

          “Terrible things happen in there,” Lita said in a somber voice. “Nobody comes out, once they go in. But people claim they can hear mad, tortured laughter at night, when the sky is black…”

          Serena wailed.

          “Knock it off, Lita. There’s no call to be mean,” Mina admonished her with a wink.

          Lita gave a goofy smile. “I couldn’t help myself.” They ascended the stairs to the temple and opened the door. The lights were out. Serena’s suspicion grew.

          “Come on, you guys, seriously! This is freaking me out!” Serena said nervously. Lita shoved her inside and shut the door. “Hey! Let me out!” Serena had half-expected something like this to happen, but it didn’t make her feel any better. She wandered around the entryway for a few minutes, dithering, then screwed up her courage and walked into the room.

          “Serena…” the voice floated from inside the room. “Serena… we know where you are ticklish…”

          “This isn’t funny!” Serena screamed. “Raye! Turn the lights on!” She had this unnerving feeling, like ghostly hands would rise to torment her… but that was ridiculous.

          “Serena…” This voice was coming from a different place. “Come forward, if you dare… mwahahahahaha!”

          “Geez, you are the true drama queens,” Serena grumbled. “Now turn the lights on and let’s get this over with.” She was getting really nervous, no matter how much she told herself that it was just her “friends.” Yes, the quotations were necessary at this point.

          Something moved in the darkness. Serena decided she’d not be made fun of any more. She could almost hear Raye’s jeering voice: “What’s the matter, Meatball Head? Scared of the dark? Or are you scared of tickling?” That thought galvanized Serena into action.

          “Yaaaaaah!” Serena leapt into the air with a flying tackle.

          “OOF!” The figure cried as they hit the ground with a crash. The lights flicked on. Amy looked on in concern at the pile on the floor. Serena had hit Raye right in the stomach, and she’d fallen to the ground. Lita and Mina peered around the furniture behind which they’d been hiding with voice-distorting microphones. Luna rolled her eyes from atop a bookshelf.

          “What do you think you’re doing, Meatball Head?” Raye asked angrily. She was dressed all in black like a ninja and clutching her stomach.

          “I told you to turn the lights on. You didn’t,” Serena said with a smug smile. Amy laughed.

          “She did tell us to turn on the lights,” she said with a giggle.

          “That’s not the point! There was no reason to hit me! Get off!” Raye struggled to push Serena off. Serena stood up.

          “Oh shut up Raye. We didn’t set up an elaborate prank when it was your turn.” Serena was getting angry herself.

          “You just have no sense of humor!”

          “Humor? This was just so you could-“

          “Enough!” Luna cut in acridly. “Raye, Serena is right, rare enough occurrence that it is. I didn’t like this little prank to begin with, and it is not the purpose of the training to make fun of each other. Recall that you agreed not to harass each other. Furthermore, you tried to scare Serena. If she struck out in self-defense because she was afraid, it’s your own fault.”

          “Ha-ha!” Serena took enormous pleasure in rubbing it right in Raye’s face. Luna so rarely took her side that it was cause for celebration in itself, but to prove Raye wrong at the same time…! It was excellent. Raye had steam shooting from her ears. The grinding of her teeth could be heard across the room.

          “That sermon notwithstanding, there’s still the matter of-“ Raye broke off in midsentence and an absolutely evil smile touched her face.

          “Uh-oh. Raye, what are you thinking? Raye? Raye?” Serena backed away from Raye like she was rabid. Serena knew that look.

          Raye’s grin had not diminished at all. “Go get changed, Serena,” she said softly.

          Serena bolted. She knew this was going to be bad.

          “Raye, I know that look,” said Mina. “What absolutely horrible plan have you come up with?”

          Raye told them.

          Serena came out in a pair of short blue shorts and a tight pink blouse. She was stopped cold by the sweet smiles on the faces of Raye, Lita and Mina. Amy was fidgeting by herself off to the side. She refused to meet Serena’s gaze.

          “Guys? What are you doing? I know you have something planned. What is it? Well?” Serena was growing very nervous. “Amy? A little help here?”

          Still saying nothing, and still smiling, the girls prepared Serena.

          “Alright. Go ahead,” said Luna. This was going to be epic.

          Nothing happened at first. Raye pulled her shirt up to her wrists and removed her shoes. She then proceeded to draw a strip of cloth from a bag. This she affixed over Serena’s eyes, blinding her.

          “Oh my God… oh my God… oh no no oh please no no no!” Serena shook and quivered uncontrollably. How did she know? Serena asked herself. She had never told anyone that she deeply feared being tickle tortured while blindfolded.

          “Wow. That’s pretty cool, Raye,” she could hear Lita saying. Raye wasn’t about to tell anyone she had no prior knowledge of this reaction, that the blindfold had been a completely random idea. She was just fine with the others assuming that she’d known all along what she had been doing.

Serena felt the prick of a feather on her ribs. She gasped and tried to worm away frantically. But the feather was still there, idly brushing over her ribs… “Oh ahahaahahah no no hahahahahah eeeheheeheh ahaahahahaha oh staaap! Pleeeeze!” Serena felt tickled three times worse when she couldn’t see where it was coming next. She abandoned all sense of poise and cringed.

          The feather on her ribs withdrew, only to be replaced by fingertips wiggling between her toes.

          “EHEHEHEEE HAAHAHAHAH AAAAHAHAHAHA OH STAAAP! PLEEHEHEHEZE…! AHAHAHAHAHAHAH NAHAHAHA NOT THERE! OHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH!” The torment was punctuated by random tickles on her upper body. Each one made her gasp and pull away like she’d been electrocuted.

          “Gee, Serena, you really don’t like this, do you?” she heard Raye say.

          “Raye, this was a low, underhanded-EEEEK! AHAAHAHAHAHAH!” Serena was cut off when Raye tickled her ribs with long nails.

          “Where’s it gonna be?” Raye asked. “Where’s it gonna be? Only we know! Ha ha ha!”

          Mina wiggled her fingers between Serena’s toes again for a second, then stopped, only to be replaced by Lita scratching on her sole with a single fingernail on the other foot. No sooner had she stopped than Mina brushed her toes with a feather, joined by Lita who was doing a “this little piggy” routine.

          “AHAHAHAHA EHEHEHE AAHAHAHA AAAAAHAHAHHA! NO PLEEEEEZE STAHAHAHAHP! MERCY! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Serena’s laughter rose and fell as she took breaths. Raye was still scrabbling on her ribs, and Amy had gotten over her conscience attack and was tracing figure eights around Serena’s navel.

          “NOHOHOHOHH PLEHEHHEHEEHASE HAVE MERCY! PLEEEEEEEZE…! AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH EHEHEHEEHE AHAHAHA HAHA HAHAHAH AAHAH EHEHEEHEH AHAHAHAHA!” Serena thrashed with a panicked energy. Tears ran down her cheeks into her ears, and she was red all over.

          “Whoa! We’ve got a wild one, here!” Lita laughed as Serena’s bucking caused Amy and Raye to shy off temporarily.

          “Yeah! Meatball Head is really ticklish!” giggled Raye. She waved her fingers. “Here come the magic fingers again!” Serena whimpered and laughed at the same time, producing a strangled sound.

          “Serena, you have such nice feet,” said Mina in a too-innocent tone. “So smooth and… whoops! Does that tickle, Serena? I’m sorry. I’ll do it again!” Mina darted in and out with quick tickles, teasing her.

          “NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!” Serena screamed.

          Lita stopped for a second, blinking. “Wow! How’d you get so much air? That was a really long scream!”

          Everyone laughed, even Serena, but she was laughing for a different reason.

          It seemed like days to Serena, but half an hour later Serena was untied. She promptly burst into fresh tears.

          “Waaaaaaaah! Y-you’re so mean!”

          Raye waved her off with smug condescension. “Pipe down, Meatball Head. We all did it too. Except Lita,” she said with a leer. “You go tomorrow.”

          “B-b-but you did it differently for me!” Serena blubbered.

          “She has a point,” said Amy. Serena immediately stopped crying and hugged Amy.

          “Oh, Amy, you’re such a wonderful friend, sticking up for me!” Serena smiled stupidly, speaking in a ditzy tone of voice.

          “Serena? Get off,” said Amy flatly.

          “What? Oh, yeah,” said Serena, abashed.

          “Well, I’m outta here. I’ll be sick tomorrow, don’t wait up for me,” Lita said with a half-hearted laugh.

          Lita made a quick getaway as four pairs of eyes stared at her over sinister smiles.

          Megan, Felin and Jelex walked down to the Tickling Dungeon. With the new catches they’d made, an additional three to the two they’d swiped under Sailor Moon’s nose, they were back up to eleven girls, considered to be the acceptable minimum capacity. Megan had been surprised to discover that the trunk of Neflite’s car was actually a portal to the Negaverse; the girls actually went into suspended animation until removal. They had the red-haired girl with them, whimpering and crying. She thought they meant to hurt her. Felin nodded to Megan, who walked next to the girl and began to speak with her.

          “Don’t worry,” she said in a reassuring tone. “We’re not going to hurt you. What’s your name?”

          “My-my name’s Michelle,” she stammered. (Author’s note: This is not the Michelle who is Sailor Neptune. I just picked a name.)

          “Well, Michelle, you can be assured that absolutely no harm will come to you,” Megan said kindly. Jelex turned and winked at her. It was Megan’s job to keep new victims off balance until they saw the chamber firsthand.

          “So you’re not going to torture me?” Michelle asked hopefully.

          “I never said that,” Megan replied with a grin. “But you won’t be harmed.”

          Now Michelle looked lost. “But if you are going to torture me, how can I not be hurt?”

          “You’ll see.” Multitudes of things were implied with that short statement.

          Michelle looked frightened. “Are you going to torture me mentally? Like with drugs or something?” Despite her fear, she had a morbid curiosity.

          Felin was amused. “No, something far worse.” Michelle fell silent, mouth working as she tried to put her information together into a coherent picture. The rest of the trip passed in silence. Finally they reached the doors leading into the dungeon.

          “Here is where nightmares become reality,” said Jelex, quoting the unofficial slogan of the Tickling Dungeon.

          Michelle looked out at the eight or so girls in the various tickle torture devices. One was in a Feather Chamber, an upright cylinder full of flying feathers. Two were on Torture Tables, where robot hands tickled the energy out of them. Three were held in trees that tormented them with vines and leaves. Aven had recently termed them Tickle Treants. One more was ensnared in Devil’s Ivy and the last was held fast while robot arms with feathers tortured her upper body. The sound of screaming laughter echoed around the cavern. Michelle recoiled.

          “You said I wouldn’t be hurt! Listen to the screams!” she cried.

          “Take your own advice. Listen to the noise carefully,” said Jelex.

          Michelle frowned in concentration. She looked up abruptly. “They’re laughing. But why…?” Suddenly it clicked. Michelle looked at what was happening to all of the girls. “You’re going to tickle torture me, aren’t you!” she wailed. Michelle tried to run but Felin caught her. “Oh, please God, no, don’t tickle me! Please, please don’t tickle me! You really don’t understand! I’m super-ticklish! I can’t stand it at all! Oh please, please, anything but tickling!” Michelle cried out in panic.

          Jelex and Felin dragged her into one of the empty sets of stocks against the column. Ignoring her entreaties and cries, they stripped her down to her undergarments, except for her shoes. Megan followed. She held a feather in her hand. “You say you’re ticklish, right?” she asked with a small smile. Megan was looking at the feather, not at Michelle. Michelle was also looking at the feather, though her fear contrasted with Megan’s anticipation. “What would you say if I tickled your feet with this…?”

          Michelle screamed. “No! Not a feather! Please no!” Tears of panic formed in her eyes. Megan took her time, unlacing the shoe bit by bit and slowly pulling it off.  Michelle’s sock-clad foot waved and shuddered wildly. Megan caught it and slowly pulled the sock off from the ankle. Michelle screamed again as her foot was revealed, bigger than most girls’ but still narrow, with long toes creating extra-sensitive gaps. Megan had a devilish smile.

          “Are your feet ticklish?” she asked mockingly. She swept the feather slowly from heel to toes. Michelle let out another scream, this time a scream of laughter.

          “Geez, you’re a loud one,” said Jelex ruefully. “What if no one could hear you scream?” Jelex laughed at her own joke as she gagged Michelle. Her eyes bulged as if to make up for the fact that her screaming laughter was muffled. She shrieked and cried, trying to lessen the awful torture, but Megan kept the feather in slow, steady strokes over her arch. Megan stopped only long enough to remove the other shoe, and tormented both her feet with stiff feathers. Michelle was whipping her head back and forth, as restrained girls were wont to do. Felin caught her chin in her hand and brought Michelle’s eyes to hers.

          “This is the torment you will suffer, from when you awaken to when you fall unconscious, your existence to be supplying your energy to us. When you have no more energy, you will be released, until we find you again…” With a sinister laugh Felin let go. Absolute terror shone in Michelle’s eyes. Felin made as if to tickle her armpits. Michelle recoiled as much as her restraints allowed. Felin’s lithe fingers found their way to the skin under her arms and began to rub gently. Michelle jammed her wrists against the column restraints, trying to pull her arms down. She was sweating heavily now, the sheen of perspiration covering her body. Her face grew deeper and deeper shades of red. Felin finally went forward with her knockout move. She wrapped her tail around Michelle’s ribcage and tickled her there. This made it almost impossible to breathe.

          Stars burst in Michelle’s vision. Lack of oxygen was drawing a black shroud over her vision. But the very tickling that was sapping her breath was also keeping her out of the void, no matter how hard she tried to shut her senses down. Finally the spasmodic jerking of her chest was insufficient to keep her awake. She slid down the slope to the dark pit.

          “Phew, she’s extremely ticklish,” said Megan. She waved for some imps to get her out of the stocks and back to her room.

          “Yeah. I want a turn with her later,” said Jelex. “She looks like a lot of fun!”

          Aven wandered up with a notepad. “Who was here?” she asked cordially. “The energy output spiked way up a moment ago.”

          Jelex made a general gesture. “One of the new prisoners. She’s a real catch. Name’s Michelle, a tall one with red hair.”

          “Come with me,” Felin said to Megan. They walked into Felin’s study. “I’ve monitored your progress, and I am very pleased. Therefore, I think it’s time I gave you these.” Felin opened a box full of gadgets.

          “What are they?” asked Megan curiously.

          “This is a tickling index scanner,” said Felin, holding up a pair of small stud earrings.

          “Are you sure?” asked Megan skeptically. Felin laughed.

          “Put them on.” Megan complied. “Now press the one on your right ear.” A holographic display drew itself before her eyes. “Press the left one to scan a target. Look at me.” When Megan depressed the left earring, a wireframe model of Felin built itself in the visor. It had a legend running down the side, denoting the relative ticklishness of each area.

          “Wow!” said Megan. “I get to keep these?” She pressed the right earring again, turning off the display.

          “Yep,” said Felin, rummaging through the box again. She withdrew what looked like a pair of gauntlets. “You might want to wait on these. They’re supposed to be telekinetic touch transmitters, meaning you can tickle someone from thirty feet away. Right now, though, you’re liable to crush your target rather than tickle it.” She set these aside. “Ah! Here we are,” Felin said, drawing something that looked like a bazooka from the box. She tossed it to Megan.

          “What, am I supposed to break into houses with this?” They both laughed.

          “No, it shoots a jelly that will stick to whatever it hits. You can paste a Sailor brat against a wall with this stuff. Here’s the chisel that goes with it so you can uncover target areas.”

Megan strapped it to her back. “Anything else?”

          “A basic toolkit,” said Felin, pulling a bracer from the pile. “This is simple. Just hit the button you want, and that’s what you get.” Megan took it. It had three buttons: feather, brush (large), brush (small), and a separate red button. “The red button calls a SPAT. There’s only one, so use it when you need it. I’ll give you the other when it’s finished.”

          “Oh, thank you!” Megan gushed. She couldn’t wait to try this stuff out.

          Late that night, Raye was stealthily sneaking towards the mansion. Upon hearing of a red convertible, she’d remembered that a similar car had pulled away from this place the last time she’d been here. But Raye had kept that to herself. She had planned this mission secretly, telling no one her intentions.

          Raye still consciously refused to acknowledge her own extreme vulnerability to tickling. The incidents in the past she viewed as unfortunate coincidences, not indicative of her ability. Her ego and stubbornness sometimes hindered her judgment, as in this case, though she did not realize it. She viewed her thinking as completely objective and logical. This time, she was going alone, so as not to be hindered by the other Scouts. Raye relied on her martial arts skill to get in undetected.

          Raye did not have any delusions of going in and wiping out the Negaverse single-handedly. No, to win completely she needed Serena - much as she hated to admit it. Raye’s mission was simple; gather information on the security and layout of the base, to be used on the next assault. The previous foray had ended in disaster when Amy and Lita had run afoul of several security measures and had been captured. Only Serena’s mindless fury had managed to save them. Raye stepped lightly, pausing to look for anything out of the ordinary and resolving not to touch anything.

          Raye smiled. Once she knew what to look for, it was quite easy. That tree had a lot of vines growing on it, many more than was normal. That section of grass was a perfect square, and it was all standing straight up. That branch leaned suspiciously over the path. Over there were two furrows meeting at a right angle. This would be easier than she’d thought.

          “I swear, you think they’d have learned their lesson about only sending one.” Felin followed Raye’s progress with amusement from a hidden security camera display in the control center.

          “Video cameras are a common aspect of security,” said Megan. “I can’t believe she’s not even looking for them.”

          “Well, it is kind of dark. She probably can’t see too well,” Aven observed. “She probably couldn’t see them if she was looking.”

          “Who wants her?” asked Jelex.

          “I’ll go. I want some practice,” said Megan.

          “Are you sure?” asked Felin.

          “Yes.”

          “Okay. We’ll monitor you from here. If you need help, wave your arms over your head,” Aven called after her.

          “No problem.”

          I hope they’ve seen me by now, thought Raye. She had been standing in full view of the security camera for a minute now. The Negaverse thought that it was clever, hiding security cameras in bird’s nests. The only problem was that no animals lived here. Every bird’s nest was a camera, or close enough. Raye settled into the shadows where she could keep an eye on the door and waited.

          Megan slipped out quietly. She knew that her fabric bodysuit blended in well with the night.

          Raye saw the door open and caught a glimpse of someone moving. She was dressed in the black ninja suit from that afternoon. Maybe the Negaverse wasn’t so dumb; they didn’t believe that she’d be caught completely by surprise. Her opponent was camouflaged, too.

          Megan crouched on the porch. She’d make no assumptions here, and treat this like the Sailor Scout knew she was coming.

          Raye saw her opponent crouch and wait. Very well, she’d make the first move. Moving quickly, she padded over to the next tree, making some noise purposely.

          Megan’s head snapped around, staring at where Raye had been. She kept low and began to move.

          Raye had walked back to her original position silently. Now just to wait for her target…

          About fifty feet away, Megan activated her scanner. It was a good thing she’d done so; her target had moved elsewhere, probably trying to ambush her. Before moving she analyzed her target’s weakness. Both of her sides were very good targets.. She opted for the jelly bazooka. She crept silently around to the other side of her victim.

          Raye frowned in impatience. What was taking so long? She told herself to be calm; her target was probably playing a cautious game.

          Megan reached her firing point, knelt on the ground and rested the long tube on her shoulder. She lined up her sights, and fired.

          As Megan fired, her body tensed and shifted, cracking a twig. Raye didn’t waste a second turning to look; she dove aside instantly. She didn’t quite avoid the shot; it hit her right leg, from calf to ankle. The jelly hardened, making an awkward cast.

          Megan cursed silently. Her quarry had moved. She packed the bazooka and crept forward again. What she failed to do was look straight up.

          Raye had managed to get into a tree after she’d dodged away. When Megan passed below her, she attacked. Raye dove into Megan, knocking her to the ground with Raye straddling her. Quickly Raye used a cord to bind Megan’s wrists and push them to the ground. This left Raye with one hand free.

          “Well, well, look who it is. You must be Megan. I’ve heard about you, traitor. If you talk, maybe I’ll go easy on you,” said Raye, easily slipping back into her old bossy self.

          Megan spat in her face.

          “Filth! That’s it!” Raye growled as she wiped the spittle from her cheek. The grimace was replaced with a smile. “Haha… I bet I know your weakness…” Raye waved her long nails at Megan.

          Raye went after Megan’s ribs, dancing them along her chest.

          “Hehehehee aahahahahaah ohohoooohhhohh aaaahahahah stahhhhhp!” Megan laughed.

          “Cootchy cootchy coo!” teased Raye.

          “Eeeehehehe ahahahaha aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” With a burst of strength Megan flipped Raye off and worked her wrists out of the cords.

          “Now it’s my turn!” Megan charged at Raye. Raye tried to dodge but her gel-encased leg hampered her agility. Megan slammed her right into a tree. Leaping back quickly, Megan hit Raye square in the chest with a burst of goo. Now Raye was well and truly stuck. Her entire upper body was covered in goo, pinning her solidly to the trunk of the tree. She struggled, but it was no good. Kicking didn’t work well either since one of her legs was heavier than the other.

          Megan sauntered up with a confident smile. “It looks like you’re the one in trouble now.” She set down the bazooka and detached the chisel from the tube.

          Raye sneered. “Yeah, you got me, but what are you going to do? I’m not ticklish, and even if I was, you covered my body with this stuff. So it’s a stalemate.”

          “Not really,” Megan countered, holding the chisel. “If I wanted, I could call for help. But it’s not necessary.”

          “Oh really? Overconfidence can kill you, you know.”

          “You should talk. Really, you Sailor brats are dense! Every time, you only send one of you. Every time, we break you. You’ve gotten lucky a few times, so I hear. Not this time.” Megan grinned. “As for that other part, I can chisel away the goo from your oh-so-ticklish sides. I have a scanner; I saw the readout of your ticklishness.”

          “So it is true. You have gone to them. How could you? They tortured you for days on end, I bet. And now you serve them? Tell me the logic in that,” Raye shot back. She hadn’t counted on having her ticklishness revealed. It had thrown her game off a bit, but no more. Her best bet was to try and out-argue Megan.

          Megan shrugged. “It was for the best. I feel so much better now. Besides, I like to be tickled. It was quite a lot of fun. And now it will be fun for you.” Megan used her tool to break away the goo covering Raye’s torso, leaving her arms encased in slime. Then she looped the rope around her ankles to prevent kicking and then broke away the gel on her leg.

          Raye smiled. “You still can’t do anything to me. Pitiful.”

          Megan withdrew her scissors, snipping at the air as she closed in with a smile. “I don’t need to. I can just cut it away.” Carefully, Megan cut off the midsection of Raye’s shirt, leaving the upper half.

          “Hey! You can’t just cut up my clothing!” Raye shouted. She was really starting to lose her cool. All of her arguments and taunts had been flung back at her with calm determination.

          “Oh really?” asked Megan. She proceeded to cut off the entire front of Raye’s outfit, just to show that she could. The torn cloth was thrown to the ground. “Now, how not ticklish were you?” she asked with a big grin. Megan grabbed at Raye’s sides.

          Raye had now resolved to not laugh or give any indication that she was ticklish. Megan, though, had gone straight for the kill. Raye jerked when her sides were grabbed and bit her lip. Megan backed off and smiled.

          “See, you are ticklish. Why don’t you smile? Come on, smile. You’re so dour. Lighten up; enjoy yourself. Laugh and have fun.” Raye glared at her. Megan continued to tickle her sides, while Raye grunted and struggled and tried not to laugh. Megan did laugh. “Do you realize how much fun it is to break a macho type like yourself? Go ahead; try not to laugh. I have all night, and you are at my mercy.”

          Raye tried not to despair. Megan was right; she couldn’t keep this up forever.

          Megan slowly waved her arms overhead.

          “Yeah, she wants us to join the party. Interested?” asked Jelex with a grin.

          Felin nodded.

          “Give me a second, I’ll be right out,” said Aven.

          Jelex and Felin strode outside to where Raye was. Megan turned around and grinned.

          “Ah, there you are. This one, she thinks she’s not going to laugh. What say you help me prove her wrong?”

          “No problem,” laughed Jelex. “Hey, I remember this one. Sailor Mars.”

          Raye glared but said nothing. Felin walked right up to Raye, so that she had to crane her neck to look up at her. “Come now, I heard of your last session. Surely you don’t want to go into the Devil’s Ivy.” Raye tensed at the name. She didn’t know what it had been called, but going by the description Amy had given of the plant that had tortured her, there was only one thing it could be. “You do know.” Felin’s tail flicked over her chest. Raye snorted and squeezed her eyes shut. Jelex and Megan each took one side, tickling mercilessly. Raye’s snorts and grunts were rapidly turning into giggles.

          “Hee, heh… heh heehee… no… ha… haha… no… ahaa… hahahaaha…” Raye looked about to explode with the force of the contained laughing. Felin grinned, and knelt down to her feet. She removed the shoes and socks Raye had been wearing. Raye tensed again.

          “So, then, prepare for your doom,” Felin smirked. She tickled Raye’s toes with her lithe fingers.

          “Aha haha hahahhAHAHAHAH HAHAHAH! NOOOOOOO HAHAHAHAH AHAHA HAHA AHAAHA AAAAHAA NOOOOO! HEHEHEEHAHAAHAHAAH OH STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHP! PLEHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAZE!” Raye broke.

          “Oh? And here I was thinking you were not ticklish,” Megan laughed. “How about we move her inside?”

          “Yeah, that’ll be fun. We have so much better equipment!” Jelex sneered. They backed off, and Jelex was about to fully cover her with jelly when Aven ran up.

          “Hey there…” she panted. “Did I miss it?”

          “Nah,” said Jelex. She and her companions turned from Raye to address Aven. “We were about to move this event inside.”

          “Excellent.” Aven grinned.

          Raye had been waiting for the right opportunity. Her thrashing had managed to crack the gel. Now she broke out and ran, grabbing her shoes in a moment of foresight. It was a miracle of coordination, but she managed to put her shoes back on while still moving away from the mansion.

          “Hey! She’s loose!” shouted Felin.

          “Let’s go! Move!” yelled Jelex.

          “Wait!” said Aven. She spoke quickly. “She could have been a diversion. If all of us leave, the others might get in. I’ll go after her; I can fly. I’ll keep in touch with you!” Aven ran to the driveway and took off, wheeling after Raye.

          “How’d she get out?” wondered Megan.

          Felin pondered. “The jelly must have become stressed, and it gets brittle when that happens. But it was supposed to last longer. I’ll have to take a look at it. Come on, let’s go inside.”

          Raye ran down the dark cliffside street, heart pounding. Surely the Negaverse was going to send someone after her… she chanced a quick look behind. No one there… wait, what was that? Drat! She thought. Aven could fly; she’d completely forgotten.

          Aven swooped in low. This would be child’s play. She began to attack, but broke off as a plan formed in her mind. She flew higher and followed.

          Raye did not question her good fortune. She ran as she’d never run before. Now she regretted not telling anyone of her plans. Now would be a good time for backup. But it was done, and there was no use going back with what-ifs. Vaguely she realized that she must look ridiculous, a girl dressed all in black with the front of her shirt ripped off running down a dark street at midnight.

          It was not very far back to the city. Raye’s heart leaped when she saw the city limits, then sank as she realized this was the best place for Aven to attack. Many buildings were abandoned, and nobody came out here any more. This industrial section had been abandoned for a more modern complex. It was a veritable maze here. Raye slowed, deciding to try and outwit Aven instead of outrun her. She ran into an old administration building.

          Aven slowed and stopped. By sheer good fortune, Sailor Mars had headed into her secret base. No one, not even Neflite, knew of this place. She wheeled around and entered through her secret entrance into the command center. She was going to turn this place into a horror-house.

          Raye stopped momentarily to catch her breath. She realized that the lack of moonlight made it almost pitch-black indoors, so she’d have to be careful. Until that moment, she hadn’t known how tired she was. It hit her now, in waves of fatigue that made it impossible to stand. She managed to crawl into a corner and promptly fell asleep. Just a quick nap, she told herself.

          Aven saw Raye sleeping, and decided to let her rest. It would be a better game if her quarry was fully aware. The only thing she did was lower the shades on the windows. They would keep out all light.

          “Pleasant dreams, Sailor Mars. When you awaken it will be all nightmares…”