Part VIII: Raye’s Torment

          Neflite awoke early, as was customary for him. He liked to get an early start; besides, getting up early left one more time to plot against one’s enemies. Perhaps that was somewhat cynical, but cynicism was good. He disdained “coffee”; it was just another substance humans made to delude themselves. No, when one had the power of the Negaforce such artificial stimulants were unnecessary.  He walked into his dungeon to begin the day. As he walked through, he noticed something was missing. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it… the place was empty, as usual, but… ah, yes. Usually Aven was up even before he was, running tests or checking development progress. Today it was totally silent. Maybe Aven had slept in; there had been some commotion outside last night. It was unimportant. What he was not prepared for was Megan, Felin and Jelex all waiting within the control center.

          “Good morning, Master Neflite,” Felin greeted him with a yawn.

          “What happened?” Neflite asked, frowning. “Was there a party I was uninformed of?” Such things had happened before. Neflite didn’t really mind the parties in and of themselves; he disliked the effect they had on the participants afterward. Not that the “parties” were of the usual variety, of course. Usually some poor girl was tickled all night long.

          “No,” Jelex said, stifling a yawn of her own. “We had a Scout here last night. Megan captured her, and we were about to move her inside when she escaped. Aven took off after her and we haven’t heard anything since.”

          “We’ve been waiting for her call,” said Megan. She looked about to fall asleep in the chair.

          “Well, let it be. I’ll stand watch for a while - you three get some sleep.”

          They complied slowly; it was a wonder they all managed to get out without falling asleep right there.

          Where are you, Aven? Neflite asked. He guessed that Aven had set up a small shop of her own somewhere and was there right now. It was the kind of thing he’d have done before he’d risen to his current rank. A secret hideout was useful in insulating oneself if their superior fell spectacularly. The hideaway could claim they had no part in the failure.

          Aven was awake, in fact. But she was waiting for Sailor Mars to awaken. When her fun was finished here, she’d report in.

          Raye awoke with a start. How long had she slept? A quick glance showed that it was still dark - that was good. But wait a minute… there was daylight coming from under the door. She staggered to her feet and tried to open it. It was locked. That brought her senses fully awake. She must have slept all night, and Aven had found her. On cue, Aven’s voice floated from a hidden speaker.

          “Good morning, Sailor Mars. Did you sleep well?”

          “Shut up, scum. What do you want?” Raye asked, looking for the source of the voice. She began to straighten her shirt before she remembered that she’d lost it last night.

          A laugh came from the darkness. “What do you think I want?”

          A frown settled across Raye’s face. Probably to tickle torture me, she thought, but kept silent.

          “You fancy yourself the strong, silent type, don’t you?” Aven asked with a hint of amusement. “We’ll see how strong or silent you are. There are five floors. I’m at the top. If you can get to me, I might let you out. Then again, maybe not. But you can’t leave. Mwahaha!” The lights came on suddenly, and Raye blinked, trying to adjust.

          Here goes nothing…

          Raye grinned and raised her hand. “Mars…!”

          “Ah, ah,” chided Aven. “If you transform, you’ll never escape. I suggest you remain in your normal form.” Scowling, Raye lowered her hand. There was no way to tell if she was lying or not short of defying her, and Raye didn’t need her sixth sense to feel anxious about that.

Raye started forward into the first room. It was the old foyer of the building she was in. Except for a generous layer of dust, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Two unused reception desks flanked the door on the far side. It was the great deal of open space that worried Raye. You didn’t clutter your trap with objects to hide behind. It was like an Indiana Jones movie. This thought brought after it an admonition not to scare herself. Raye walked with caution.

          Apparently Aven was observing her; when she reached the faded corporate symbol on the ground, a thunk sounded and something dropped to the floor in front of her. It sat there like a pile of red scales. Bemused, Raye stepped aside. Then the pile rustled. It was alive! It uncurled itself. The creature was a quadruped, standing low to the ground on muscular legs. The whole thing was covered in red scales. It had glassy eyes, but no ears, it seemed. A long tongue licked the thin lips. All in all, it reminded her of a cross between a gila monster and a dog. Raye was disgusted. She stepped forward and kicked, intending to hit it under the chin.

          It was fast! The thing leapt aside quickly, chittering as its clawed limbs touched the ground. In the same instant, it spun and leapt at her. Its legs managed to articulate themselves in an odd way, and caught her wrists and ankles, pinning her to the ground. Its mouth opened to reveal rows of needlelike teeth. Raye screamed involuntarily. Apparently Aven just meant to kill her. The long tongue reached out again, flicking over her face. Raye recoiled in horror. It seemed to be tasting her or something! The tongue ran its way down her body. Raye shivered. At her stomach, it licked again. Raye screamed again - but this time, she screamed in laughter. Oh God, it tickled! It was awful. The creature apparently recognized the response, because it gave a satisfied sound and settled in licking her abdomen.

          Raye was laughing her head off. Never before had she felt something like this. Thousands of tiny bumps on the tongue gave it a slightly rough feeling that tickled like crazy. The creature was unnaturally strong as well; she couldn’t budge an inch. The claws seemed to take care not to gouge her, so that not even the slightest hint of pain dulled the horrible tickling. The saliva made things worse; it tickled her of its own accord.

          “OH GOD! AAAAAHAHAAHAHAAHA EEEHEHEEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAH HAHAHAAHAH OHAHAHAAAHAAHAH HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA EHEHEHEHEEH AAAAAA!” She screamed like crazy, hoping someone would hear her. If only she hadn’t lost her shirt! That tongue was so dexterous, folding over and curling with ease. It slithered all over her quaking stomach. Making matters worse was the fact that the creature was enjoying itself; it consciously tried to make her laugh harder. It was endless torture, with no end in sight. It was impossible to get away. Vaguely Raye wondered if she was to be condemned to this forever.

          Abruptly the creature sighed, walked into a corner and curled up. Raye had no idea what had saved her, but she got up quickly.

          “Hmph. He must not have been hungry,” Aven’s voice came from the speaker. Aven sounded slightly disgusted.

          Hungry? Raye quickly checked her stomach. Everything was still there.

          “No, they don’t actually eat,” said Aven, amusement replacing her disgust. “The energy from tickling people is what they feed off of. This thing is called a tiliking. Do you like him? He’s only the first. Soon, they will lurk in all the alleys of Tokyo. You got lucky, Sailor Mars. Well, you still have a ways to go. Oh - before I forget, bathroom’s the second door on the left.”

          Raye glared fireballs at the ceiling, but entered the bathroom anyway. When she was refreshed, she entered the revolving glass door. An inconspicuous hallway stretched in front of her, with the doors to the stairwell at the far end. Inconspicuous except for the fact the floor was covered in beige slime. Raye smiled thinly. Taking a lock of hair, she wound her hand around it and tugged with a grimace. She dipped the hair into the goo. It didn’t dissolve or anything like that. It did stick, but she could pull it out without too much effort. Cautiously she put her toe in the goo and tried to pull free. It was possible to walk across, she judged. Aven probably wanted her mobility lessened, though. It would be a slow trip. She took two steps into the gook. A slit running the length of the hall appeared in both walls. It was about knee-height.

          Feathers popped out on both sides, and with a humming like a conveyor belt starting, they began to move in the direction she was traveling. Which meant they brushed behind her knees. Raye’s ninja suit was made of sheer fabric, no good for blocking tickling. To fall here would mean never to get up, Raye realized. Pulling her way through the goo, she started forward.

          It was tough going. To get enough strength to pull her foot out, move forward without falling and put it down required enormous concentration, with the feathers moving as they were. Raye got an idea; since the hall was narrow, she could use her arms for balance by propping herself against the walls.

          Aven was good; when Raye moved her arms, somehow the slit moved higher too. Now the feathers brushed on her exposed sides. While that had less impact on her falling over, it also tickled a lot worse. Raye stopped moving, overcome with giggles. Reluctantly she put her arms down. The slit moved to its former position. When Raye made it halfway, the humming increased and the feathers moved faster. Raye covered another quarter of the hall, strength beginning to wane. It was just in sight! Raye put on a burst of speed, covering the last distance regardless of the feathers. Panting, she collapsed to the ground.

          “Well done, Sailor Mars,” said Aven with only a hint of mockery. “You’ve cleared the first floor. Don’t quit now, those were only two of my devilish traps.”

          Serena was awake late, as usual. Serena was late to school, as usual. Serena daydreamed in class, as usual. The Dream Inducer sent her nightmares, as usual. About the only thing that penetrated the fog in her mind was the absence of Raye, a cause for great celebration. Luna had been odd on that subject this morning.

          “Serena, have you seen Raye since yesterday?” Luna had asked.

          “Nope, not since the meeting,” Serena replied absentmindedly.

          “Hmm… I have a bad feeling. Look for Raye in school today, will you?”

          “Look for her?” Serena groused. “She’ll come looking for me, to rub yesterday in my face.”

          “Well, just tell me how she is when you get back.” Luna stared out the window. Something was not right, she could feel it…

          Raye stared at the vines hanging from the ceiling in the stairway to the second floor. The stairs doubled back on themselves, creating a wide landing halfway up.

          “Given up on subtlety, have we?” asked Raye.

          A chuckle came from Aven. “I needed something quick to fill the stairwell.”

          Despite the obvious direction of attack, Raye was wary. Losing her balance on the stairs could mean getting hurt. Raye charged up the stairs.

          Nothing happened.

          Raye was too seasoned at this game to think that it was just a dud. Nevertheless, she turned and began to run up the second half, when a wall of bars stopped her cold. The vines had still not made a move. Raye examined her jail. It seemed the bars were just wide enough to slip through… Raye took a deep breath and turned sideways.

          With a slithering sound the vines came to life. Raye was stuck halfway through the gap. When the first vine tickled her side, her breath came out in a burst, getting her stuck even worse. A promulgation of vines now came at her, tickling all over her upper body. She was pinned solidly in place, but not restrained… with a wild yell and a mighty effort Raye broke through and charged up the stairs, slamming the door behind her.

          “Gotcha,” Aven giggled.

          Raye cast the evil eye towards the fifth floor. “Shut up,” she muttered. The room she was now in was huge, a depository for files. The cabinets took up the whole wall on either side. It’ll be from the cabinets… she thought. No sooner had she thought this than the drawers burst open, clouds of feathers flying out. No subtlety here either. Raye gathered a head of steam and ran.

          Raye got about ten feet before the feathers caused her to lose her footing. Raye collapsed to the ground, screaming with laughter. She rolled, trying to crush the feathers. Raye at least had the presence of mind to roll in the direction of the door. Sometime during the proceedings she lost her shoes somehow, and rolling tore off the rest of her shirt.

          Raye became dizzy, a feeling she cherished because it took some of the tickling away. Still, she couldn’t see anymore for the cloud of feathers she was in. The floor was cold, but she felt hot and flushed. Her hair got tangled and sweaty, wrapping around her face.

          Finally she managed to make it across. The feathers flew back into the cabinets. Raye panted on the ground for a while, completely exhausted. She closed her eyes and stretched out.

          “Don’t go to sleep on me, my ticklish little pet,” Aven cooed. Raye giggled as a feather tickled her armpits. “Come on, now, go into the next room, that’s a good girl.”

          Raye grabbed the feather and tore it apart. Reluctantly she rose and entered the next room. When she opened the door, though, all she found on the other side was a crawlspace. It seemed wide enough to get through. It was a good thing Raye wasn’t claustrophobic. Raye ducked down and began to crawl, military style. Feathers grew from the cracks in the stone that made up the passage. They began to waft slowly, as if being blown by a breeze.

          Raye fell on her stomach. It was too difficult to coordinate her movements while the feathers tortured her. All she did was lay still and laugh helplessly.

          “I thought you’d make it farther,” Aven chided. “Oh well. You can lie there for a while. I have more plans for you yet.”

          How long Raye stayed down she did not know. Eventually she began the agonizingly slow process of pulling herself forward. Inch by inch, she wormed her way out. Raye fell too many times to count. Her mind grew dull. Stretch, grab, pull. Stretch, grab, pull. Over and over while the sound of her own laughter filled her ears and echoed down the passage. After a while she noticed that something was missing. She became aware that she felt no tickling on her upper body. Looking back, she realized that she was halfway out. Raye scrambled the rest of the distance and stood, panting.

          “Well, it took you some time, but I guess you could make it. Come on, chop chop, into the next room.” Aven was getting to be a real irritant.

          Raye stumbled into the next room. What she found there was the biggest shock of all.

          A nice, clean bedroom that was well-lit awaited her. “I decided to be generous,” Aven explained. “It’s no fun at all watching you take half an hour to slug your way through a trap. Have a nice rest.”

          Raye hesitated. Did she dare sleep? She was tired, but to fall asleep now… The bed beckoned to her. Raye fell asleep instantly.

          Serena left school in a very good mood. Whatever reason Raye was not here, it spared her a day of constant teasing, and probably tickling, too. Humming and skipping, she goofed off and delayed going to the meeting. Serena arrived her customary half an hour late.

          “Hi, guys!” Serena said breezily as she slung her pack aside. “What’s up today?”

          “Bad news,” said Amy quietly. “Raye’s gone.”

          “Gone?” Serena stopped in mid-skip. “As in missing?”

          “Yep,” said Mina. “No one has seen her since last night.”

          Serena felt a faint chill. “Do you think… that she was abducted?”

          “It’s looking that way,” said Luna. “She left without a trace, and without telling anyone. Either she was exponentially stupid or she was kidnapped.”

          “I dunno,” said Lita. “Raye likes to think herself the invincible warrior sometimes. Maybe she went off by herself to prove something.”

          “Probably not,” said Amy. “Usually Raye doesn’t do that kind of thing. If she did, she could be anywhere right now. She knows that. No, Raye’s egotistical but she’s not stupid.”

          “So does that mean we have to go looking for her?” Serena asked. She really hoped not…

          “No,” said Amy. “We have no idea where she is. If she comes looking for us, it’ll be here. It’s better to stay here until we have more information. Besides, wandering off alone is like asking to be ambushed.”

          “We have to do something!” insisted Mina.

          “What can we do?” Amy shrugged helplessly.

          “All we can do now is hope,” said Luna.

          Raye awoke with a slight disorientation; usual when one sleeps in a strange bed.

          “Good timing,” said Aven. “My alarm clock was about to go off.” A feather was affixed to the foot of the bed, on a pivot so that it would be able to sweep across Raye’s bare feet.

          Raye grumbled and swung her legs over the side.

          “Gee, you’re grouchy. Well, I left you some changes of clothing. Whenever you’re ready.”

          Raye stomped over to the dresser. Sure enough, there were spare shirts – in her size - and shorts. Raye was pleased until she realized that all of the shirts were tank tops and the shorts very short. “Hey! How about some choice here?” she yelled.

          “You can choose your color,” Aven laughed. Raye put on a tank top, being somewhat better than going around in a bra, but left her worn pants on. In another drawer she found short white socks. Socks of the kind that were so thin Raye wasn’t sure if they’d hinder tickling or help it.  Still grumbling, she pulled them on. Of course, Aven had left no shoes.  There was a brush on top of the dresser, and she availed herself of the opportunity to fix her hair. She got a quick drink from the sink in the corner and washed her face.

          Stretching briefly, Raye exited the room. The next door led into an elevator. She pressed the button marked 5.

          Nothing happened.

          “Oh, really. You can’t just skip floors like that. Your destination is floor 3.” The button marked 3 lit up. Still nothing moved.

          “Well? Come on! Let’s move!” Raye clapped her hands, as if to hurry Aven along.

          “This one’s on you, brat,” said Aven with a sneering sound. “You have to push the other buttons.”

          Raye noticed for the first time a blinking button on the ceiling. She pressed it and withdrew her hand quickly, like the surface was hot. Still no movement.

          “All of them at once, please.”

          Reluctantly Raye stretched both her arms overhead to press both buttons. As she’d expected, a pair of cuffs snagged her wrists. There were two buttons on the floor as well. These captured her ankles.

          “Thank you. Your ride will begin momentarily.” The airline-stewardess tone was delivered with only a hint of mocking. Robot hands extended from the walls. These quickly homed in on her exposed stomach and armpits. What the hands lacked in dexterity they made up for in quickness.

          “HEHEHAHAAHA HAHAHA AAAHAHAHA HHAHAHAHA AAAAAVEN! I’LL W-WHAHAHAHAHA A HAAHA HAHAHA EEHEHEHE HEHE AHAHA AAAAHAHA!” Raye shrieked with laughter for about the fifth time that day. The hands showed no mercy. Several went up her shirt and tickled her ribs. The others clustered like locusts on her vulnerable stomach. Raye managed to watch the floor indicator as time crawled by with agonizing slowness.

          A ping sounded as the doors opened and her limbs were freed. Raye dashed from the mechanical tickle-box. Her day was starting to resemble something like Resident Evil, tickling style - no! Raye quickly pushed that aside. No need to scare herself any more.

          Not that the current situation needed any encouragement at all. She was in an artificial environment where of course plants with many vines grew. Raye felt real despair. There was absolutely no way to get out if she was caught. What could she do? Despite her resting, she was still suffering from too much tickling. It sapped at her mental reserves and physical strength. Raye sank to her knees. She didn’t know what to do.

          “Come on, up and at ‘em,” encouraged Aven. “Don’t quit now. You just had a nice long rest.”

          Raye hung her head mutely. Finally it had burned into her - she was horribly ticklish. There was no escape, and no way through. Not that the knowledge benefited her now.

          “Suffering from a fit of depression? Well, we can fix that.” Raye’s head snapped up.

          Vines came from the nearest plants, securing her spread-eagled. Raye hung limply. There was nothing else to do.

          The vines came at her in an awful, never-ending procession over her body. They tickled her feet, her legs and behind her knees, her stomach, sides and ribs, her armpits. Raye sank into the dark pit of tickle torture. She lost her mind in the torment. Something in her begged for it to end. Her pleas were answered when a pair of SPAT attached themselves to her sides.

          Aven watched in satisfaction. Her torture house was a complete success. After Sailor Mars fell unconscious, she had the vines take her to the personal working chamber. But before that Aven wheeled around in her chair and hailed the mansion.

          “Hello there, Aven. We were expecting your call,” said Neflite cordially. “So, how is our Sailor Scout?”

          “Under control. Master Neflite, I have a request. I have formulated a plan to capture the Scouts. Will you grant permission for me to carry it out? I have my own private workshop at my disposal.”

          “Go for it,” said Neflite. “Good luck.”

           That was odd. Neflite had not even batted an eyebrow when he’d heard of the secret workshop. Oh well. Aven laughed. She had more work to do today. A weekend, too! She’d have lots of free time to have fun later as well.

          Serena had gotten very worried as the hours passed. The lack of useful activity was beginning to grate at her. She even didn’t feel like eating.

          “Come on, Serena. Moping about isn’t going to help Raye.” Luna wished she could have those words back as soon as she’d said them.

          “I can’t help Raye at all!” Serena cried in despair. “All I can do is sit around and wait while the Negaverse tortures her! Oh! Please…” Serena broke into tears again. “Please… there has to be something I can do…”

          That night, the Dream Inducer turned out to be unnecessary. Serena’s nightmares were of her own creation.

          Serena was sitting in a chair. She was not restrained in any way, and dressed normally. Before her was a raised stage awash in bright light. Raye hung by her wrists from a rope that ran into the darkness above. She wore nothing except for a bra and panties. Her eyes were closed, and she wore a defeated look on her face.

          A figure walked up onstage. It was Felin, though she was somewhat indistinct because Serena had never gotten a good look at her. Serena didn’t actually know her name, either.

          “Now, Sailor Mars. Tell us who Sailor Moon really is.”

          “No!” Raye shouted defiantly.

          “Raye!!!” Serena screamed at the top of her lungs. “It’s okay! They already know! Please! Don’t do this to yourself!”

          Her screams went unheard. A long vine grew from the floor and wound about Raye until only her head showed. The vine began to flex and contract and Raye struggled. Felin turned a dial somewhere. The vine flexed faster, and Raye began to giggle.

          “No! heheheh haha no! Ahahahah hahah heheheh no! I won’t tell! Ahahaahaha!”

          “Raye! It doesn’t matter!” Serena tried again. “They already know!”

          “Speak!” Felin commanded. Raye’s laughter rose.

          “NOOOO! EHEHHAHAHAHEHE HAHAHAH EHEEHEHE AAAHAHAAHAHAH HEHEAHAAHA! NEVER! WAHA AAHHH AHAHHOH HAHOAHA GAHAHAHAHAHA!”

          “No! Stop, please!” Serena tried to get up, tried to do something but her muscles wouldn’t respond. Then a small scratch appeared on her cheek. She clapped a hand to it-

          And Serena sat up in bed, still covering her cut.

          “I couldn’t let you go through with that,” Luna said sympathetically. “You sounded awful, crying out to Raye.”

          “Thank you, Luna,” Serena said softly. She felt so low at this point in time. She fell back asleep, but it was a sleep still fraught with nightmares.

          Morning was a blessing. Serena couldn’t help but be cheered a bit by the sunlight. She hummed to herself as she got out of bed.

          “Feeling better?” asked Luna as she stretched languidly.

          “Much better,” Serena admitted. She began to dress for the day when something out of place caught her eye. There was a note on her dresser.

          “Sailor Moon, I have captured Sailor Mars. You can come and get her whenever you wish, if you can get through my house of horror. Oh - you might want to watch the video. It’s educational. Aven.” The paper had been wrapped around a videotape. Serena felt a slight chill holding that.

          “We need to show this to the others right away,” said Serena monotonically.

          “What’s that?” asked Luna. She read the note. “Uh-oh. I think we just had our question answered.”

          “So, what’s this all-important thing you needed to show us?” asked Mina an hour later. They had met at the temple, though usually on Saturday there was a lot less planning and more goofing. Today it was absolutely silent.

          “This.” Serena held up the cassette.

          “Serena, this had better not be -“ Amy began.

          “It’s not!” Serena cried fervently. “Look, even I don’t know what’s on here. But I found it along with a note from Aven.”

          “Well, let’s see it then,” said Lita, quietly.

          They moved into the TV room and plugged in the tape. A wobbly, blurry picture greeted them, obviously from a home video camera. The picture settled and focused as a snap was heard. Serena guessed that Aven had affixed it to a tripod. The picture swung around to show Aven’s face.

          “Well, hello there, Scouts. If you’re seeing this, your friend Sailor Mars has been captured by yours truly. It really was enjoyable. She had a great time, laughing so much, and she decided to stay a while longer.”

          “Liar!” shouted Serena.

          “Easy, Serena, it’s only a recording,” Lita soothed.

          The picture had changed to a black-and-white security camera display. Raye could be seen walking across the foyer. A weird creature attacked her, licking her stomach, it seemed like. Then Raye was caught in some goo while feathers brushed at her. Next she was caught between two bars as vines slithered on her. After that a cloud of feathers obscured Raye as she rolled through a filing room. Then she was crawling through a passage as feathers swayed into her. Raye walked into an elevator where robot hands explored her ticklish body. Finally she was caught by more vines and tickled into unconsciousness. The picture came back to Aven.

          “Well, what do you think? I have more treats for her.” The picture wobbled again as Aven carried the tripod, then settled on Raye, who was helplessly awaiting her torment. Her arms were chained over her head, and her feet tied together, and she was tied down to a wide metal table. She was gagged, as well.

          “Do you know what time it is?” asked Aven playfully. Raye murmured something. “It’s tickling time!” Aven produced a feather in her hand.

          Aven slowly stroked the feather over her left foot. Raye flushed red and shut her eyes. “That tickles? Heeheehee! This is only the start. Say,” she added, “look at your nice little toes. All of them painted red. These toes are very lickable,” she concluded. Aven bent down to the right foot and left the feather to its own devices. Aven’s tongue darted in between Raye’s toes.

          Raye began to say something, but cut off in what could only have been a laugh.

          “You like licking? Yes, I seem to recall that you enjoyed my tiliking. How about you meet him again?” Raye’s eyes jolted open at that. Sure enough, the red-scaled tiliking crawled up onto the table, and, seeing that Raye was restrained, laid down on her legs, sighed contentedly and extended its wicked tongue.

          What Aven’s feathers had begun, the tiliking continued. Apparently Raye was afraid of it; she recoiled and shivered as the tongue approached her. When it reached her abdomen, she arched her back and laughed harder than before. Her skin shone with the saliva of the beast. Aven was still tormenting her feet.

          “Yes, I regard these as just a step below the Devil’s Ivy. Aren’t they something? This guy has brothers, and they’re hungry too!” Raye’s stomach was already quivering under the assault. Now two more of the creatures leapt up onto the table, taking up the space to either side of Raye. These laid down, heads on forelegs, and snaked their tongues out. Each one went to an armpit.

          Raye shrieked. Her gyrations had torn the gag loose and her screams echoed throughout the room.

          “OH GOD PLEEEEEEEEEEEZE! WAHAHA AHAHA HAHAHA AHAHAAH AHA AHAHAHA HAHAAHAH AAAAAH! NO NOT THAAAAAAAAAAAT! PLEHHEHEHEASE NOT MY ARMPITSSSSSS! OH STOOOOOOOP! AHAHHAHAH HAHAH AHAAHAH EHEHEAAHE HEHEHEHAAHA HEAHEHAAHAH EHAHAH!”

          Aven ruefully replaced the gag. “Heh heh, scream all you like. It only encourages the tiliking.” Raye looked fearful at that.

          Aven faced the camera again. “Well, it seems that this concludes the preview. If you want to save your friend, come to the abandoned industrial complex east of the city. I’ll be waiting…” The picture snapped off.

          Serena was crying silently, arms wrapped around herself as she rocked back and forth. “Oh, Raye… what have they done to you?”

          The others left the room for a minute.

          “Gee, Serena’s really worked up over this,” observed Mina.

          “She has bad memories. Besides, though I hate to say it she is the most ticklish,” Amy responded. Both Mina and Lita nodded.

          “So are we going?” asked Lita. Amy nodded.

          “We can’t leave Raye to that.”

          Serena came out. Her tears were dried, and replaced by… Amy could only call it cold fury. It looked out of place on her face. Usually Serena was not a hard or angry person, but it seemed that she was changing.

          “We’re going.” Mina, Amy and Lita nodded.

          As they walked out the door, Mina whispered to Lita.

          “Hey, I mean no offense, but I bet she’ll be the same old super-ticklish Serena once the first touch comes.”

          Lita grunted agreement.

          “Well, she said the old industrial complex. What building?” asked Serena forty-five minutes later.

          “Let me do a scan,” said Amy. The others waited for several moments. “It’s that one.” She pointed to the tallest building in sight.

          “Okay. Let’s move!” Serena called. She was already halfway there.

          “Hey! Wait a second!” Lita yelled after her. She caught Serena’s arm at the door. “Listen, I know you want to save Raye, but we’re going to need teamwork,” she said seriously. “Don’t run off where we can’t see you. If we can’t see you, we can’t help you.”

          Serena gave a crooked grin. “Yes, Mom.” She waited for the others, and they all walked in together.

          The entry was dark. As the last Scout stepped in, the lights blazed on and the door locked.

          “Welcome to my house of tickling horror,” Aven greeted them.

          “Shut up. We came for Sailor Mars,” said Serena in a regal tone.

          “Did you, now?” Aven asked sarcastically. “Well, she’s at the top with me. Good luck, you’re going to need it.”

          The Scouts approached the foyer of the building.

          “Okay, be alert for traps,” Amy said. No sooner had she said it than three tiliking dropped from the ceiling.

          Mina shrieked. “Eew! What are they?”

          “I don’t want to know! Eat lightning, slimeballs! JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!” Lita quickly moved to the attack.

          The tilikings’ agility saved them again. Lita’s lightning soared harmlessly by as one pounced on her.

          “Hey! Get - off!” Lita shouted as she struggled with it. The tiliking didn’t budge. It instead showed off its cutlery, prompting a panicked scream.

          “Venus! Look out!” The second creature pinned Mina to the ground as well. It began to take test licks of her flesh.

          “Yuck! Talk about slobber! I- AHAHAHAHA OH MY GOD!!!” Mina was cut off as the tiliking used its teeth to instead tear away some of her clothing, then the tongue ran over her ribs.

          “Yipe!” Serena dodged and ran madly in front of the last tiliking. Her panic lent her enough speed to avoid being caught.

          “Mercury Bubbles!” Amy filled the room with fog. Apparently the tiliking didn’t mind the cold, but the fog let Serena slip away.

          Meanwhile, Lita’s assailant had found nothing good enough to satisfy itself on her upper body. With amazing coordination it spun itself so its head was facing Lita’s feet. Licking along her leg, the tiliking was pleased with the increasing reaction. When it reached her feet and found boot leather instead of flesh, it proved that its teeth had a purpose. The tiliking chewed off Lita’s boots.

          “Hey! Stop that! I like those boots!” Lita cried. Next the nimble tongue tugged off her socks. Then, it looked at Lita with what seemed to be a sinister smile and brandished its tongue. Lita felt a wave of fear.

          “Don’t you even think about that! You hear me?” She shouted in vain. The tongue slid in between her toes. Lita exploded.

          “H-hey! N-not th-th-tha AHAHAHAH HAHAH HAHAHAHA OH AHA NO AHAHEHEHE AHA HEHEHEEEHEHE EEEEHEE EAAAAAAHAHAH AAAA!”

Lita scrunched and curled. The tongue was strong enough to force its way in, and it produced sheer torture.

          The last tiliking, deprived of prey, stumbled upon Lita. It decided to go for the other foot.

          Mina had given up her futile struggles. She was experienced enough to know that it just wore her out and almost never got her free. Still, tickle torture was no more bearable when she wasn’t squirming.

          “AHA HAHAAHAH OH GET IT OFF! AHAHA EHEEHEHA HAHAHAHA HEY! HELP MEHEHEHEHEHEEEEEE! AHAAAHAAHAHA AHAHHAAAAAAAAA AHAHAHA!”

          Thunk! Serena brought the heel of her boot down on the tiliking’s head. It shuddered and went limp.

          “Oh, man. Thanks for the save, Sailor Moon.” Mina stood and brushed herself off.

          “Where’s Lita?” asked Serena.

          “Over here!” called Amy.

          Lita was beet-red. Her face was squidgy with tears and she was panting for breath.

          Serena stomped the tiliking on her legs while Mina and Amy kicked the last one in the side. That one squealed and bounded into the fog.

          “Are you okay, Lita?” asked Serena as she helped her up.

          “Yeah. Can you help me find my boots?” she asked, a trifle unsteady.

          “You mean this?” Mina held up the shredded boot.

          “Err… no. Where are my socks?” Lita asked instead. “Ah! Here we go.” When she picked one up, Lita found that it was dripping with saliva. “Eeew! No way I’m wearing these.”

          “Going barefoot is a bad idea,” Amy warned at once. “You should wear them anyway.”

          “Yeah, well, I guess you’re right,” said Lita with a grimace. The sock made a squishing sound as she pulled it on. “Now for-“ she cut off as an odd expression crossed her face.

          “Lita? Lita! What’s wrong?” Serena shouted.

          “I-I-I heeheheeheeheee! Gaaah! It-it- tickles ahahahahaha!” Lita tore off the sock and flung it across the room. “Stupid creature! I bet that its slobber tickles too!”

          “I think you’re right,” said Amy as she scanned the sock. 

          “Well, Ms. Mars, are you having fun yet?” Aven thought that human colloquialism was immensely funny.

          “Go to hell,” Raye sniffed.

          Aven frowned. “Where’s hell?”

          Raye would have fallen over in exasperation if she hadn’t been tied to a table. “Let’s just say that it’s a place of eternal damnation.”

          “Oh. You mean like our Tickling Dungeon.” Aven looked only slightly satisfied. “But where is it?”

          “Oh, never mind,” sighed Raye.

          “In any case, I have more work to do with you.” Aven stood.

          “But… aren’t you going to watch?” Raye said, sweat breaking out on her face.

          “Nah, not right now. I’ve already seen those traps work. I want to see what happens when they pass the vine room.” Aven turned from the table she’d been at and walked towards Raye. She was carrying a paint can. “I think I’ll raise your ticklishness while I wait.”

          “Oh no! That oil…” Raye recalled.

          “Yes, this oil.” Aven smiled diabolically.

          “Man, this place is such a mess. How can Aven work here?” groused Jelex.

          “You guys need to hire a maid,” said Megan.

          “What’s a maid?” asked Felin.

          “That’s probably a bad idea,” said Megan on reflection. “You guys like cliches, so the maid would never get anything done because you’d be tickling her all the time.”

          Felin logged on to Aven’s computer. In her opinion, Aven was a little too into human devices, but this thing was rather useful. Aven also had a clock, a telephone, a file folder and filing cabinet, along with other assorted knickknacks. 

          Aven had requested they classify one of her experiments and activate it. It was something called a tiliking, and she’d gotten great results with it. There were supposedly a few in the building, but the exact location was on her computer. There were now too many rooms to search every single one for a single experiment.

          “Here. Storage 117, Section 4.” Felin hit the enter key with a note of triumph.

          They walked over to the designated area, which looked as if it had been converted into a warren for some kind of creature. Sure enough, a half-dozen tiliking were sleeping inside.

          “Weird things,” commented Jelex.

          “Come on, let’s leash one of them and get going.”

          About twenty minutes later they confronted Michelle in the stocks.

          “Oh, please have mercy…” she began.

          “Quit whining,” said Megan. “We have a friend for you to meet.” She let the tiliking go. It immediately leaped onto Michelle’s lap, where it began its attack by showing off its teeth, as tiliking liked to do.

          “Whoa!” cried Jelex. “Is that thing supposed to kill her?”

          Michelle had been screaming and whimpered in fear as the tiliking tested her reactions. It found her vulnerable underarms right away.

          “AAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! AHAAAHAA AAAAAAAAAAA! HAHA AAAHAHAAHA AHAHAAHAHAH HAHAHA AAAA AHAHAHA EHEEHEHEH EEEEEEEEEEEHEHE EEEEEEEEEEE!” Michelle screamed so loud that it was hard to tell that she was laughing.

          “Nice work Aven,” Felin muttered.

          Raye had fallen unconscious again. Aven had resumed watching the other Scouts, and now they were where Raye had fallen, just about to make it to the next room.

          “Aha… haa… ahaha… whew!” panted Serena.

          “I… hate being tickled…” muttered Amy.

          “So much for… this outfit,” Lita gasped.

          “I… can’t wait… to get… out…” Mina wheezed.

          The Sailor Scouts took a quick breather.  Aven’s tickle traps were devilish, and seemed to delight in tormenting them. Serena had lost half of her skirt, ripped off as she’d tripped in the filing cabinet room. Her right boot was gone as well, a souvenir of the tickle elevator. One of the cuffs had apparently malfunctioned - or maybe not - and had refused to let go. Amy’s boots were both gone, taken away by the vines they’d just gone through. She had also lost her left sleeve when she’d jetted through the small passageway. The lower half of Mina’s shirt was gone, torn off by the tiliking, and she was wearing some of Aven’s short shorts, as her skirt had been lost in the stairway jail. Lita had lost her shoes and socks to the aforementioned tiliking and also was missing the sleeves of her shirt. All in all, they reflected grimly, they made pretty exposed targets.

          The next room was a dim corridor of metal. Flickering bulbs hung from swaying wires, casting eerie shadows in the room. There were tables of junk scattered across the room, and more junk thrown about in the corners.       

          “Hmm, I’d guess more robot hands,” mused Amy.

          “Keep away from the junk,” added Serena. They wove a treacherous path as far between the piles of useless scrap as possible. Only the scrap wasn’t useless.

          A new model of hands attacked; free-moving hands. They were unrestrained by cords and wires, and burst from under the piles of junk. They weren’t as strong as the conventional kind, but there were a lot more of them.

          Lita was pinned to the wall. A pair of hands held her wrists above her head, and an attacking pair came at her. One held a feather, and Lita got a really nasty feeling about that.

          Meanwhile Serena was tickled by a pair that gently squeezed her thighs. She fell over laughing; Serena was notorious for losing her balance when tickled. The hands swarmed her.

          “AAAAHAHAAHA AHAHAAHHA NOOOO STAAAAAAAP! AHA HHA HAHAA GET OFF!” Serena rolled over and crushed some of the hands. Others let go, and Serena got up. “Ha! Take that!”

          Amy darted in between the tables. She was almost at the exit when a hand pushed her and she fell onto a table. Quickly a quartet pinned her to the table facedown. A pair began to tickle her feet with brushes, and she kicked wildly until her ankles were held. Amy struggled vainly on the table.

          Mina tried to fight the hands, but there were too many. She instead tucked her arms over her sides and ran for the exit. She managed to get through the door.

          Amy’s petite feet were not cut out for such intense torture. She was aware that blood was rising to her face. Kick and struggle as she might, the hands kept the brushes going over her soles. The feeling of so many small bristles was an indescribable torment for Amy.

          “Heheheheeheeheehe ahaaaahaaahahaha ahahah heeee heeheehehee aahahahahaha aahahahhha heeeheehehehe heeheehee!” In a strange moment of lucidity, Amy reflected that it was a good thing her tormentors were insentient. Her cute, sweet-sounding feminine laughter almost always had the effect of egging on a tormentor.

          There was nothing cute or sweet about Lita’s laughter. Only Jelex could love the screams and shrieks of laughter coming from her mouth. Then, suddenly, the hands stopped and clattered to the ground. “Ahhaa… What happened? Hehee…” Lita was still fighting residual giggles.

          Serena was standing by the wall with an expression of obvious pride. “I trashed the power source,” she said.

          “Amazing. Serena, I didn’t know that you could reason things out like that,” Amy joked.

          “Hey!” Serena fumed.

          “Just teasing,” giggled Amy. “Let’s go.”

          Regrouping with Mina, they found themselves in a vertical shaft. The entrance to the fourth floor was visible above them. It seemed to be an elevator shaft with no elevator, and there was a large padded area over by the wall.

          “So now what?” asked Mina.

          “I dunno.” Lita went and stood on the padding. A metal bar extended from the wall. “What’s this do?” she asked rhetorically as she closed her hand over it. With a jerk it lifted her into the air, and began to move slowly toward the next floor.

          “I see. That’s how we get up,” mused Amy. “But why the padding?”

          “Hey, this is pretty cool!” shouted Lita as she hung from the bar. “Come on! Try it!” As she said it, a pair of free-moving hands descended from above, holding large paintbrushes.

“Uh-oh,” Serena muttered.

“Hehehehahahah ahahahehehhe ahaha hehehehehahahaha ahahah aaaaaaaaaaaaah!” The brushes worked at Lita’s armpits, and she twisted and swung, trying to get away. It was no use; with a cry she fell off the bar and landed on the padding.

“At least we won’t get hurt,” sighed Mina. The hands floated tauntingly, brandishing their brushes at the girls.

“No stupid hands are beating me!” Lita cried as she grabbed the bar that had appeared at the bottom. She fell off again, and the next time, and the next time.

“Hmm. This isn’t going to work,” Amy said as Lita fell for the fourth time.

“I have an idea!” said Mina. She hooked her legs over the bar and went up hanging upside down. “Nyah nyah!” she taunted as she passed the hands. Apparently whoever had programmed the hands hadn’t done a great job; Mina stepped onto the platform at the fourth floor.

“That seems difficult…” Serena fretted.

“Ha! Excellent!” Lita exclaimed as she, too, reached the next floor.

Amy ascended in the same fashion. “Your turn, Serena,” she called down.

“Oh… darn it… well, why not?” Serena began her journey upward. She swayed and bobbed as she tried to keep her balance. When she reached the top, she lost her coordination.

“Come on! Just swing on top and slide off!” encouraged Mina.

“I can’t!” Serena protested. She grabbed the bar and flipped over, and started to swing across. She barely beat the hands, which had come up when Serena hung from the bar.

“All right, next…?” Serena trailed off as she saw her next obstacle. A pool of red liquid stretched the length of the room, and nothing else.

“Feel like a swim?” Mina quipped. She dove in the pool. “Aah! Ahaaha ahahaa aaaack! It t-t-t-tickles! Heeeeeelp! I can’t swim!” Mina sank under the surface.

“No! Mina!” Serena cried.

“Don’t go in!” Lita shouted. She and Amy held Serena back from the edge of the pool. A minute passed.

“No, she’s… gone…” Amy said quietly. An echo of laughter snapped their heads up, and Mina dropped onto the ledge on the far side. She rolled over on her back and lay still, panting.

“Mina!” The three Scouts cried as one.

“Hey!” Mina shouted weakly. “If… you go under, there’s a… tickle tube that takes you here. A… failsafe, of a sort.”

“Well, I suppose we have to go,” said Serena. They dove into the jelly.

“Aaaack! Wahaa ahaa hahahaha aahahaha haaa!” Mina had been correct; it did tickle. Serena couldn’t keep her arms going in a swimming motion; the reflex to pull her arms down was too great. She sank under the jelly. A current swept her into a drain of some kind, and she felt herself being whisked along. This wasn’t so bad… why had Mina called it a tickle tube? Suddenly Serena’s passage stopped. Unseen tormentors attacked her body, and the tube was too narrow to cover up. The echoes of her laughter carried down the tube. The torment lasted about a minute, then Serena was unceremoniously dumped onto the ledge.

“Welcome aboard, Serena,” Amy said. She had managed to cross, being a strong swimmer.

“Thanks,” she said with a wry grin. “Where’s Lita?”

“She went under just after you did,” Mina answered.

That statement was confirmed as Lita fell smack onto Serena.

“OOF! Hey! Watch where you’re going!” Serena yelled. “Get off!”

“Heh heh, sorry,” said Lita with a half-hearted giggle.

The next room was pitch-black.

“Ugh, I really don’t like this…” Serena’s voice quavered. All of the Scouts knew that Serena really lost it when she was tickled blindfolded. This was much the same.

They had taken three steps inside when the heard a whump and Serena felt something like dust fly into her face.

“Just great,” she coughed, trying to wave the dust away. All of them were coughing, and had they the presence of mind to notice it was very interesting the way they gradually progressed from coughing to laughing.

Serena was shrieking and rolling on the floor, and she imagined the others were too. Every square inch of her body was covered in the powder, which was unfortunate for Serena because she was ticklish on every square inch of her body. She was totally paralyzed. In the darkness, with murderous tickle torture covering her body, Serena lost her perceptions of space and time. All she could feel was the torment covering her soft skin, and the tightness of her chest as she fought for breath. It was like a thousand tiny fingers all over her body, probing deep into her ticklish crevices. Serena was spared no mercy, and fully expected to pass out from the torture.

Which was why she was surprised when she felt the torment begin to lessen, fading to the point where she could get up and run. Run to where she didn’t know, but anywhere was better than there.

“Sailor Moon, over here!” called Amy’s voice. Serena ran that way and groped for a door. Before she found the knob, the door pulled open and bright light flooded in. Serena staggered out and collapsed.

“What… why…?” was all she could gasp out.

Amy grinned. “Apparently the Negaverse miscalculated. This stuff is a tickling powder that adheres to the skin. But liquids can wash it off with time, and we all know that we sweat a ton when we’re tickle tortured. So after a while, your own sweat washes off the stuff.”

Serena looked at herself. There it was, bluish powder stuck all over her, with streak marks where her sweat and tears had run through.

There was nothing left. The final stairway was clear. With some trepidation, Serena pushed open the knob. Stretched out before them was a wide area, cluttered with gadgets and electronics and other stuff. Along with it, a clearly frustrated Raye was tied down to a metal table.

“It’s about time!” she yelled. “Do you have any idea…!”

“Welcome.” The word was delivered with a tone that made Serena’s blood chill. The swivel chair in front of a bunch of displays slowly turned. Aven sat in it, making an entrance like she was a Mafia boss or something. Yeah, the tickle Mafia boss, Serena thought sourly.

“All right, Aven. We got through your little fun house,” Lita said in her tough voice. “Now are you gonna give up, or do we have to beat some sense into you?”

“I think that I need to tickle some sense out of you,” Aven said with a grin as she stood.

“Oh yeah?” Mina put in sarcastically. “You’re outnumbered four to one.”

Aven stuck like lightning. She darted past the Scouts in a flash of light, enfolded Amy in her wings and threw her to the ground. Amy was covered in feathers.

“Ohhaaaa eehehe ahahaha hah stop-stop please! Ahahah hahaa haha ahaha no tickling please please hahah AhhahhAHahahahHAHHahaAHAH!” Amy squealed.

Aven smiled slightly. “Now it’s three to one.”

Raye’s frustration was boiling over. She wanted to fight, to pay Aven back for all the torture. Curses ran through her mind in a string. None of them were adequate to express her anger. Suddenly everyone was looking at her. In that almost-comical moment, everyone had stopped fighting as Raye realized with a squeak that the string of curses had come out of her mouth!

“Uh, Raye…” Lita began.

Aven leaped overhead and floated in the air. Mina shook herself and prepared to fight.

“Venus Crescent Beam…!”

“Take this!” Aven let loose a stream of feathers,

“SMASH!” Mina’s ray tore through the feathers and smashed into the wall. Aven darted aside and landed in front of Lita. Lita threw two punches and began to grapple as Aven caught her wrists. Lita lost quickly when Aven’s wings rose and loosed feathers into her armpits.

“Wahaha hey! That-that’s not fihihihi fighting fair! Aahaha aahah eheheehe heha haha ahh ahah ahaha haa hehheh!” Lita clapped her arms to her sides and tried to clear out the feathers.

“As for you…” Aven used her power to immobilize Mina. Mina’s arms slowly rose over her head.

“No, no, NO!” she screamed as she tried to lower them frantically. Aven tauntingly brought her wings up.

“Tickle, tickle, tickle!” she teased. The wingtips brushed over Mina’s sides. Mina quaked with laughter.

Aven grinned. All present and… wait a minute, where was Sailor Moon?

Thok!

Aven fell over sideways, unconscious. The feathers fell, no longer animated by her power.

Serena had given her a mighty kick to the head, and heeled boots definitely made that unpleasant. Quickly she moved over and freed Raye, and checked on everyone else.

“Everyone good?” she asked.

“Uh-huh,” Lita and Amy answered.

“Phew!” Mina gasped.

Raye found the remnants of her ninja pants and the tank top and put them on. “She dies.”

Raye spoke so softly and suddenly that everyone was startled. Serena quickly stopped her. “No.”

“Serena, there’s no reason to protect her. You know what she’s done.”

Serena shook her head. “I have a better idea. Why just kill her? There’s more that can be done, you know…”