Part VI- Mind Games
Slowly, Neflite’s Tickling Dungeon was expanding. When he
had started it had been himself, Aven,
Felin sat in her office, examining the latest breakthrough.
The oil they had been producing was now refined so that only tickle
reception
was increased. It would be a major step forward in their efforts. The
other
major development was sitting in front of her, or its result was.
Megan, a
human girl, had been completely broken of her own will. She did
whatever she
was told, and the mere threat of tickling drove her into hysterics. She
wore a
black, skintight body suit. This suit also helped amplify tickling and
also
removed all impediments to touch. Unless she was told otherwise, Megan
was not
permitted to wear anything else. Thus she had to put up with the quick
tickles
the imps would sneak when she walked by. On one occasion they had
managed to
swarm her and make her collapse laughing.
“Megan, come here,” Felin commanded.
“Yes, Felin,” she replied. Megan got up and walked over to
Felin, standing still. Just as a reminder, Felin let her tail twitch
aimlessly.
Megan’s gaze followed it, as she stood petrified with fear.
“Go and ask Aven for any human that is available.” Megan
flinched; it meant walking through the lab again. She complied
instantly,
though.
Megan hated the lab. The imps were always teasing her and
poking her, or trying the latest inventions on her. It seemed that they
all
managed to be between where she was and where she needed to go. She
suspected
that Aven always moved as far away as she could to make Megan walk
through the
lab more. She began her trek through the lab.
Felin knew that the imps tormented Megan whenever they
could. It was just another tactic to reinforce Megan’s submission. She
had with
her a can of the oil with a horsehair paintbrush in it. The studies had
shown
that applying the oil with a brush produced the best results. Felin
pondered
breaking another human with it. Megan was mostly complete; she made a
good
assistant and spy. Felin decided to wait until she had a Sailor Scout
to work
with.
Holding her arms tight across her stomach, Megan hurried
through the lab. It didn’t save her from all the feathers and brushes
and the
occasional vine. Finally she found Aven studying a device with brushes
on the
ends of robot arms.
“A-Aven?” she began.
Aven turned. “Hm? Does Felin want something?”
“T-the next available g-girl she wants in her o-office,
please,” Megan stammered quickly.
Aven nodded. “All right. Can you carry something to Felin
for me?” Aven asked with a small smile.
“Y-yes.”
“Good. Here is a tray of knickknacks I’ve come up with.”
She handed Megan a large tray. It was too wide to carry. Aven laughed.
“No, no,
it’s easier to carry over your head. Like this.” Aven repositioned the
tray so
that Megan was grabbing the handles on either end. “Make sure not to
drop it.”
Megan wanted to cry. There could only be one reason for
this - to make her exposed when she crossed the lab. She nodded and
hurried
off.
There must have been a conspiracy, because everyone she met
on the way back tried to tickle her armpits. She didn’t worry about not
laughing, like she usually did, and concentrated on the tray. They were
probably trying to make her drop it. She picked up her pace to a run.
There!
Felin’s office was in sight! Megan burst through the door, panting. She
could
hear laughter behind her.
“A-Aven says… pant, pant,… that the next human is being
sent and… pant, pant,… she wanted to give you this.” Megan offered the
tray.
“Oh, thank you.” Felin grinned. As she suspected, there was
just junk on the tray. The tray was wide enough that carrying it
overhead was
the best way. Aven took a particular delight in paving the way for the
imps.
“Sit down, and have a drink.”
“Oh, thank you, mistress.” Megan sat in her special chair -
one with restraints for wrists and ankles - and drank from a glass of
water.
Felin looked up at a knock. “One ticklish human,
delivered,” joked Jelex. “Mind if I watch? It’s a slow day. We got
seven
burnouts! Neflite’s been cutting back on gathering trips lately. Claims
he’s
got no time.”
“No problem.” Felin got the girl into the restraining table
she had for her own use. She whined but said nothing. Most girls
learned
quickly that pleading often encouraged the ticklers. “Megan, get the
can of
oil.” Megan complied quietly. She expressed no sympathy for the victims
anymore. “Megan, you obey me, right?” Megan shrank from those words.
For about the twentieth time that day Serena reread the
note which Jelex and Aven had left her. “We know where you live, Sailor
Moon.
We know who you are. The tickling can come at any time, any place. See
you
soon… Jelex and Aven.” Serena shuddered. Bad enough that they knew whom
she
was, but they knew where she lived, too. They’d demonstrated their
capability
and willingness to break into her house and tickle torture her. What
was she
going to do? She had resolved not to give up, but this was a serious
matter.
She’d ask for advice at the meeting today.
With a heavy-hearted sigh she looked around the room. She
suspected that a few of the girls not here today had been captured by
the
Negaverse. Serena tried to take her mind off of her problems and stared
out the
window. The world looked so happy on the surface, with no indication
that a
cold-hearted tickler lurked out there. The sky was blue, and the birds
were flying
without care, a blue jay, and a robin, and… what was that one? Serena
gasped. A
tickle imp! It must have been watching her, because when she saw it, it
waved.
It jumped into the open window and fluttered to the ground. Serena lost
it in
the jungle of legs and desks, but then it was right next to her.
“Hey!” it whispered, on the floor next to her. “You
ticklish, Sailor Moon? Yes? I have nice feather here for you. You
ticklish on
your feet, right?”
“Shut up!” she whispered fiercely. It couldn’t just go
around to the world announcing she was Sailor Moon! “I’ll squash you if
you try
to tickle my feet!”
“Oh?” it giggled. “Hey, I think not. Look at your feet!
Cannot move them! Ha ha!”
Serena was astonished. Somehow, some way, her feet were
strapped to the legs of her desk. “How…?”
“Serena, what are you doing?” asked Miss Horuna
exasperatedly. “Stop talking in class. This is really it. You’ve been
nothing
but trouble all week.”
“Yes, Miss H,” Serena said dejectedly. If she wasn’t so
talkative, … never mind, she’d never change. Serena was honest enough
to admit
that. Serena was forced, again, to sit grumpily while an imp had its
way with
her. It pulled off her shoe with some difficulty. Fortunately for the
imp the
shoe was not held to her foot in any way. The imp slid the shoe aside
and
tugged at her sock. This came off and was piled next to the shoe.
“Ah! I see, your feet ticklish. Especially here, between
toes. Very ticklish, hmm? You like tickling?”
“No!” Serena hissed. She was starting to sweat nervously,
dreading the results of tickle torment in the middle of class. This was
really
going to be a bad day…
“Too bad; I tickle anyway. Tickle tickle!” It rubbed the
soft feather at the sensitive point between her toes.
“Oh heeheheheheheheeh! Stop that! Hahah aha hah ha! No
tickling! Not in school! Eee hee hee!” Serena giggled. So much for
holding in
the laughter. She was just too ticklish.
“Serena, what is so funny? Never mind; I don’t want to
know. Come up to the front. You’re going to be punished for these
constant
interruptions.”
“But I-“ the shackles fell away from her ankles. “I’m
coming,” she sighed. Putting her shoe and sock back on, she lurched to
the
front.
“Now pay attention, class.” Miss Horuna was holding a
pointer in her hand. “There is a new school discipline policy that I
want you
all to be aware of. As Serena is the first to make an infringement, I
will
demonstrate the new punishment with her.” Miss Horuna went over to a
supply
closet and rummaged around. Serena’s embarrassment was mixed with
curiosity.
“Here!” she dragged a set of stocks on wheels to the front,
along with a padded chair. Locking the wheels, she said, “Serena, sit
down.”
Serena sat, wondering why Miss H intended to put her in stocks. Maybe
the new
policy was public embarrassment. “Put your feet in,” she said, opening
them.
“As many of you have probably already guessed, this is a shaming
punishment.
But this is only the beginning. The administration has complied a list
for each
student of things that are embarrassing to them.” She began to remove
Serena’s
shoes.
“What!” Serena couldn’t believe this. “Who said you could
go snooping into my life!”
“So what’s going to happen to Serena?” someone in class
asked. Miss Horuna smiled.
“Why, Serena is terribly ticklish. I’m going to tickle
her!” The class burst out in laughter.
“What? You can’t do that!” cried Serena, face
reddening. Now her school was tickle
torturing her! What else could go wrong? She felt like a total idiot.
Besides, no one would let her forget this for at
least a year. They’d probably think it would be funny to tickle her
then.
“Can’t I?” Miss Horuna had two feathers. She swept them
over Serena’s arches.
“Oh no ahahahahahahahahahh! Oh please! Not tickling! Haha
ahahaha hahahahahah! Not there! Waah hahaha haahaha aha ha!” Serena
couldn’t
hold back the embarrassingly pleading laughter.
“Feel free to join in!” With a cheer the seats emptied as
the class surrounded Serena. Their hands were everywhere, some people
holding
her arms up while the others tickled her armpits, her stomach, poked at
her
ribs…
“STOP!” Serena shouted, jerking upright. The class was
still laughing at her. Only she was now sitting at her desk.
“Serena, don’t daydream in class, for the millionth time,”
said Miss Horuna. She held a ruler, with which she’d been poking Serena.
“Oh, um, sorry, Miss H.” Serena apologized. It was really
getting to her, she realized. On impulse she rummaged in her backpack
and
reread the note. That hadn’t been a dream. Serena had been hoping it
was. Could
she escape? The Negaverse chased her in her dreams now, too.
Serena meandered towards the temple after school and
managed to be only ten minutes late. This was partly due to being
afraid to be
alone.
“Hi, Meatball Head,” Raye greeted her. “You’re closing in on
the record. Only ten minutes late today.”
They all sat at the table, chatting and eating goodies.
Lita had more cooking in the kitchen.
“Geez! You guys eat like there’s a famine! I’ll see if my
other batch of cookies is done yet.” Lita laughed good-naturedly and
went into
the kitchen. She took pride in her cooking. Yes, the next two trays
were done.
She took them out and slid in another batch, while letting the first
set cool.
Suddenly she became aware of a high-pitched buzzing sound. Slowly, she
reached
for the flyswatter. She jerked her arm back with a whoop and looked
around.
Something had tickled under her arm, but what? The buzzing was still
audible.
Gritting her teeth, Lita spun.
“Hi!” said a tickle imp cheerfully, floating a foot from
her face. Lita growled and grabbed for it, but before she knew it the
thing was
gone. The next thing she knew, tiny hands were tickling under her arm
and all
up and down her sides.
“Hehehehehehahheh hey! Where did you gohohoohogoohohohoho
go?” As she slapped at her arm, the sensation was gone and the annoying
buzzing
was there again.
“Can’t catch me!” it taunted. With a blur of motion it was
gone again, now tickling all over her belly. With a great whoop of
laughter
Lita doubled over, clutching at her belly. Only it was no longer there,
and the
tiny feathers of its wings brushed along her sides. When Lita tried to
swat it
away, it tickled under her other arm.
“Hehehehhaahahehehe stop! Pehehehehehehesehe pest! I’ll get
youhouho!” Lita was squealing loudly, drawing the attention of the
others.
Realizing this, the imp tickled behind her knees, knocking her over,
and made
its getaway. Mina ran into the kitchen.
“Lita! Did you fall?” asked Mina, followed by the rest of
the girls.
“No, I was attacked by the Negaverse.” Lita could tell they
didn’t believe her.
“Oh, come on, Lita. We won’t make fun of you if you fell,”
said Raye.
“No, wait,” said Serena. “I think
it might have been. I was about to show you guys this.” She produced
the note.
“This is real trouble, Serena,” said Amy immediately upon
finishing the note. Each Scout concurred.
“The Negaverse is getting bolder. We have to be careful,”
observed Raye.
“Yes. Watch yourselves and be aware at all times,”
cautioned Luna. Mina was trying to slip off. “Don’t even think about
it, Mina.
It is time for the endurance session.”
“Awwwww!” complained Mina.
“Ha ha! Better luck next time,” laughed Lita.
Mina
was all set up on the bed. “Oh, man, I hate all of you.”
Raye laughed. “Wait until we start.”
“Okay… go!” commanded Luna. Serena knew a very ticklish
point of Mina’s. She pulled up her shirt and tickled the smooth armpits
with
her nails.
“OHAHHAHA HOHOHO AHA HAHHAAH HAHAHAH AHAAAAA! NOOOOOO
WHAHAHAHAHAHA EEHEHEHEEH AHAHAHAAHHAAHAAAHAHAHA! AHAHAHA HAHA!” Mina
tossed her
head in a vain attempt to block out the tickling sensations. Lita was
tickling
down by her sides.
“The itsy bitsy spider…” Lita sang softly as she tickled
Mina. Lita was using her hands like a spider, skittering along on the
flesh of
Mina’s sides. “… tickled the Sailor Scout,” she continued the song.
“Down came
the hands and made her scream and shout.” Mina tried to give Lita the
evil eye,
but she was squirming too hard to keep her focus. “Then came the
feathers which
tickled her to death, and the itsy bitsy spider danced up her sides
again.”
“Hey, not bad, Lita,” laughed Raye. “Speaking of the
feathers tickling to death, I think that you have very nice feet, Mina.
For
tickling, that is.” True enough, Mina’s small, creamy white feet were
another
weak point. Raye lightly scratched her sole with the point of the
feather.
“Yes, I think that you take very good care of your feet.”
Amy wiggled her fingers between Mina’s toes.
“OOOOOHAHAHAHAHAHA I HATE HATE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAA HAHAHAHAHTE
ALL OF YOU! EHEHEHEHEE HAHAHAHAHA STAHHHHHHP TICKLING!
PLEHEHEHEHEHEEHAZE!”
Mina cried. Serena responded by going all out on Mina’s upper body.
“Tickle, tickle, tickle! I’m the tickle monster and I’m
gonna get you!” Serena giggled. Usually tickling made her laugh along
with the
victim.
Mina was bright red and out of breath. She was sweating and
thrashing, tearing up Raye’s bed in the process.
“Hey! I like this bed!” Raye mock-protested indignantly.
“In the name of Mars, I will punish you with tickling!”
“GAHAAHAHAHAH YOU’RE ALL SO MEAN! AHAHHA HAHAHAH AHAHAHAHA
OH PLEAZE STOP! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHA AHAHAHA I GIVE! I GIVE! HAVE MERCY
PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEHESE!”
Mina did not take her half an hour well. She was grumpy at
having been tickled, promising revenge on the next victim.
“Go on, Amy, choose,” said Luna.
“Well, okay…” Amy reached in and plucked one of the two
sheets of paper remaining.
“Raye? Buy some soundproofing,” Luna quipped. “Serena is
next.”
“Oh no!” Serena moaned.
“Ah ha! We’ll see who is the most ticklish now!” teased
Raye.
“Megan? Wake up, Megan.” Felin stood illuminated in the
door to Megan’s cell.
“Oh, yes, of course.” Megan rubbed sleepy eyes and stood
up.
“Megan,
get dressed in the body suit. Then come to my office.” Felin turned and
left Megan
yawning and pulling on her outfit.
Along the way she met Jelex. “Good morning, Megan,” Jelex
said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She must have pulled a
really low
trick to be so happy. Still, Megan was glad that Aven was not around.
She did not
like Aven, who often as not threw her helpless to the mercy of the
tickle imps,
or lack thereof. Jelex was tolerable when she was not plotting to make
her get
in trouble. Oddly enough, Megan had begun to grow attached to Felin.
She did
not realize that this was the objective of the psychological warfare
she was
experiencing. That, and the subtle pressure of dark energy Felin was
feeding
into her. It wasn’t designed to control her mind, but to encourage the
growth
of certain sections… Megan walked into the office.
“Ah, there you are. I have a present for you.” The same
girl from yesterday was stretched out on the table again. The other
day, she
and Megan had gotten into a shouting match over Megan’s willingness to
take
orders from Felin and Jelex. Today she was gagged and blindfolded.
“A present for me? You are too kind, mistress,” mumbled
Megan.
“Nonsense.” Felin waved it away. “You remember her? The
nasty girl who made you feel bad yesterday? I have decided to allow you
to have
revenge on her. She has been treated with the tickling oil and is
roughly ten
times more ticklish. You can have a feather or a brush, your choice.”
Megan walked over to the girl. She waited for the internal
turmoil, which never materialized. She realized that she did
want revenge on her, and that she wanted very badly to tickle
someone, which had been Felin’s intention. “I choose a paintbrush.”
With the
small, artist’s paintbrush in one hand and a large horsehair paintbrush
in the
other, she set to work. First she put both instruments down to be used
for
later. Megan straddled the girl.
“Well, hello again today,” she said to the girl. The girl
made an angry-sounding noise through her gag. “What’s that?” she asked,
putting
her head near the girl’s mouth. The unintelligible noise was repeated.
“Oh,
okay. You want to be tickle tortured. No problem.” Ignoring the sudden
pleas,
Megan scrabbled her nails on the girl’s stomach. The noises cut into
muffled
laughing. “Yes, you like to be tickled. Say it.” More noises. “What?
You didn’t
say it. I think I’ll tickle you until you do!” Megan took the art brush
and
painted on her ribs while still tickling her stomach with the other
hand. The
laughter picked up in intensity. “Say it! Tell me you love to be
tickled! Ha ha
ha!”
Felin watched gleefully. Megan was being rebuilt,
reconditioned in the Negaverse’s image. She was turning into a tickle
torturer.
Finally, the subtle angles of her work were coming together.
“Oh, don’t tell me that. We’ll just have to tickle you some
more.” Megan took the paintbrush and stroked under the girl’s arms. The
laughter became frantic and her efforts to get out increased. Megan
moved the
art brush to her navel. The blindfold had two wet spots near where the
eyes
were supposed to be. The screaming laughter was almost as loud as
normal. Now
Felin joined, rubbing her tail across the stomach. This caused an
absolute
spasm. Wild shrieks poured out around the gag. The girl was slamming
her back
into the table. Megan laughed.
“Now, feel the torment of tickle torture!” Megan attacked
both armpits with her fingernails. Felin curled her tail around the
girl’s
stomach. The girl was laughing so loud that it was impossible that she
could
breathe. The gag didn’t help any either. She fell unconscious.
“Did you like that, Megan?” Felin asked solicitously.
“Oh yes!” Megan’s eyes were shining. “Can I please do it
again?”
Felin smiled. “Of course.”
Serena walked through a forest at night. She knew that she
was dreaming; the sky was black but it was light enough to see clearly.
She
walked without purpose in a straight line for a while. Then the large
mansion
materialized. Feeling no fear or trepidation Serena walked inside.
She walked into a greenhouse, but the glass was too opaque
to see through, and it was black. So while it was not a “green” house,
there
was no such thing as a “black” house. Besides, plants flourished inside
like
they did normally. Serena was not alarmed at all to see the plants
moving as if
they were alive. She continued to walk, though she was aware that she
had no
idea where she was going.
Serena came to a yellowish strip in the ground that was
like fly paper. She stepped over it, but the boundary extended so that
her foot
landed in the goo. She pulled away, leaving her shoe there, and took
another
step. The edge retreated further and her other shoe was lost. She also
lost
both of her socks in this fashion. When she was barefoot she stepped
onto the
other side. Distantly she was aware that being barefoot was a bad
thing, but it
did not slow her down.
The floor was like a plush rug now, but it was also moving
slowly. Serena’s feet were tickled, but she smiled willingly and
continued. Now
barriers began to arise. Tangles of vines slithered under her clothing
to
torment her. Clouds of feathers brushed against her skin, torturing
her.
Shrieking with laughter, stumbling, falling, sometimes even giving up
briefly,
Serena trekked across the room. The devilish tools of tickle torture
did not
give her any respite. When she reached the far side of the room,
however, all
of the impediments retreated. Serena opened the door.
She was in a large glass cylinder. The door melted away,
leaving her trapped inside. Still, Serena felt no fear. On the other
side she
had expected Neflite. What she got was Luna.
“It is time for the final test.” Luna spoke solemnly and
slowly.
“Yes.” Serena nodded. She did not flinch as robotic arms
with shackles restrained her in an X-shape.
“This is your final chance.” Luna threw a switch. Serena’s
vision suddenly blurred and slid out of focus. Then came the horror. A
sensation that was indescribable swept over her; the purest form of
tickle
torture she had ever felt. It felt like brushes, feathers, vines,
leaves,
hands, all of it and none of it, all rolled together in the worst
feeling of
tickle torture she had ever felt, all over her body. Serena degenerated
into
shrieks of laughter. Through the madness she heard voices.
“Weak, you are weak…”
“Worthless…”
“Cowardly wench…”
“Sniveling brat…”
“Hopeless…”
“Incompetent, stupid girl…”
“Lazy…”
Serena was devastated. She could hear the voices of her
friends, of the Scouts, of Luna and Artemis, and of people she did not
know.
Her heart felt ripped out of her.
“A failure!” Luna cried. “You cannot save anything. You
would fall before something so base as tickling? So be it, then you are
condemned to an eternity of tickling as punishment.” Luna stalked out
of view.
“NOOOOOOOO! Please!” Serena cried. “Please…give me a
ch…a…n…ce…”
“Pleahahahahah!” Serena jerked awake. She was awake, but
something was still tickling her…? With a lump of ice in her stomach
she looked
around. Nothing. No Jelex or Aven. Then who?
“Come on, get up, Serena!” said Luna from the foot of the
bed.
“Aaaah! Luna!” Serena shrieked. Then she calmed down. “Oh,
sorry, Luna. I had a bad dream. You were tickling me.”
“I was tickling
you,” said Luna flatly. She waved her tail in the air.
“Why, you little pest!” laughed Serena. “I didn’t know
you’d stoop so low!” The laughter died down. “Seriously, Luna, all I’ve
had on
my mind is tickle torture lately. It’s eating me up. I’m becoming
nervous and
paranoid again What should I do?”
“Maybe you should… err…” Luna had been about to suggest
taking a day off and having fun, but Serena did that every day. “Just
try to
think positive. And have fun; don’t worry about everything.” Luna had
the
feeling that she’d regret saying those words.
“So, how about it?” Jelex asked.
“Perfect,” replied Aven with a smile. “The Dream Inducer is
a success. Sailor Moon’s brainwave patterns were consistent with a
nightmare.”
“I hear Felin has a plan to capture Sailor Moon,” Jelex
said.
“Really?”
Serena was daydreaming off and on again in class. This
turned out to be a very bad idea. The
Dream Inducer, which was tuned to her brain waves, gave her a ticklish
nightmare every time her conscious wandered. Miss Horuna had thrown her
in a
tank of red jelly that tickled…no, Miss Horuna was actually Aven in
disguise…her classmates had been possessed by the Negaverse…tickle imps
took
over the school and locked her in a closet and the brooms had attacked
her…Jelex was a guest speaker at an assembly…she had to pass the
‘Tickling
Endurance Test’ in gym class…Aven sat next to her in class, tormenting
her with
feathers, but Miss Horuna never saw…they took a field trip to the
Tickling
Dungeon…
Serena jerked awake at the bell. Miss Horuna had not even
bothered today. She gathered her stuff and was out the door so fast no
one even
saw her.
Mina was leaving
the school when she heard a
whisper.
“Pssst… Mina….” Megan was beckoning to her from around a
corner. Robbed of their plan to capture Serena, the Negaverse had made
a hasty
decision to capture Mina instead.
“Huh? Megan?” Megan disappeared around the corner, and Mina
followed.
“This way!” Megan called, going into an alley.
“What? Megan, where are you going?” Mina looked around the
alley. “Megan? Where are you?”
“Ha ha ha ha ha!” Mina whirled around. Gas spurted from
various vents in the alley. Megan wore a gas mask.
“No… Megan… why?”
Mina’s vision was fuzzy. She could see a white ceiling and
bright lights, and indistinct figures in white were leaning over her.
They were
muttering to themselves and gesturing to her. Her first thought was
that she
was in a hospital.
The Negaverse had gone through a lot of trouble to set this
up. They were really in an old storage shed that had been reworked to
serve as
an outpost. The room had been repainted according to Megan’s
descriptions of a
hospital. Felin reasoned that if they kept Sailor Venus off balance for
as long
as possible it would be beneficial. The drug they had come up with
would dull
any suspicion so long as Sailor Venus didn’t know who they were or
where she
was.
“Mmrrmph…” Mina mumbled. Her mouth wasn’t working quite
right, and she still couldn’t see.
“Ah, you’re awake. We need to operate on you,” said one.
“We examined you when your friend brought you here. You
were merely unconscious when you got here, but we discovered a minor
problem
that can be corrected.”
“Yes. Your skin is hypersensitive, and it makes you prone
to nervous overload. We can correct this.” This was actually Jelex
speaking,
but Mina couldn’t tell, and Jelex wore a white mask that covered most
of her
face.
“Wha yur guhnna doh?” she muttered. She couldn’t move, but
her fogged mind couldn’t come up with a reason why she’d be tied down.
Mina put
her immobility down to grogginess.
Felin smiled. “First, we’re going to determine exactly
where you are over-sensitive. Then we will operate on your nerves to
lessen the
feeling you receive.
It made little sense to Mina, who couldn’t quite keep a
train of thought, but one thought did shine brightly. No
wonder I was so ticklish.
“Let’s begin!” Aven said. She grinned as she plucked a
feather. Jelex her hands; she really didn’t need any other tools. Felin
possessed her tail. “Now, tell us if you feel this.” She swept the
feather on Mina’s
foot.
“Eheheh… uh-huh,” she said with a dopey smile.
“This?” Mina gave another giggle as her other foot was
tickled.
“This?” asked Felin as she twined her tail around Mina’s
legs. A slightly greater amount of laughter came from Mina. Aven was
still
tickling her feet.
“This?” laughed Jelex as she tickled her ribs lightly.
“Uh-huh- heheheheehehahaha- ahl ahf iht,” she managed.
“Good,” Aven laughed. None of them stopped.
“Ahaahaha! I sahid I fhelt iht! Sthap! I’hm rheally
tihicklihsh!” Mina protested with that goofy smile on her face. She
didn’t know
that her torturers were struggling not to laugh at her expression.
“We know, Sailor Venus… whoops! I mean…” Jelex was unable
to catch the slip.
“Whaht! Hey!” Mina shouted. Suddenly the fog in her mind
cleared and her vision focused. “Oh no! The Negaverse!”
“Good job, knucklehead!” shouted Aven. “The drug only works
while she’s unaware!”
“Shut up! What difference does it make?” huffed Jelex.
Mina looked on in disbelief as Jelex and Aven argued. They
looked really unhappy. Felin sat down next to Mina and sighed. “Why
now?” she
muttered. “There’s only one way to stop this.” Her tail whipped out and
caught
both of them around the stomach.
Both of them stopped in mid-argument laughing and trying to
pry the tail off. Mina was now wondering if she was dreaming again.
Aven and
Jelex were on their knees laughing, while pleading with Felin to stop.
Felin
wore a gleeful expression.
“Ahahahahahah ha ha well, take this!” Jelex attacked Felin
with some hands that tickled her upper body. Felin jumped and clamped
her arms
to her chest, but her tail didn’t let go.
“Gah haha ahah gah ahah go!” shouted Aven as she flung
feathers at Felin. These wormed into her armpits and tickled behind her
knees.
Felin collapsed.
All three of them were laughing hysterically while rolling
on the floor. Mina tried to get free while they were occupied, but it
was no
good. After ten minutes they called a truce and stood up. Now they were
all in
a good mood.
“You see – aha - how tickling improves your mood, Sailor Venus?”
Felin was still trying to bring the giggles under control.
“Yes, it makes you forget all you troubles,” said Jelex
with a sly grin.
“Wouldn’t you like to just float away for a while?” smiled
Aven with her wings spread wide.
Mina stared in openmouthed shock. “My God, you’re just as
ticklish as me and my friends!” she blurted out before she could stop
herself.
“Why, yes,” said Felin as if it were completely normal.
“But we’re not helpless little humans who fold up when tickled. We can
fight
back.”
“And we have the smarts to come up with stuff like this!”
said Aven, triumphantly holding up a bucket of tickling oil. She had
three
large paintbrushes.
“Wh-what does that do?” asked Mina fearfully.
Jelex grinned. “This
makes you approximately ten times more ticklish for a while.”
Mina nearly died. “Ten
times?” she gasped.
Felin, Jelex and Aven all were showing barely suppressed
grins at the fear in Mina’s eyes. “Ten times,” Aven confirmed. She
dipped her
brush in the oil. “We’re going to do this so slowly and torturously
that you’ll
go insane before we even begin the treatment. Are you ready?” Aven
started at
the toes and began to evenly coat Mina’s foot.
“OH NO OH MY GOD STAHAHAHAHAHP! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OH PLEASE
NOOOOOOOO! THAT TICKLES EEHEHEHEHEHHEHEEHEHAAHA! OH MY GOD STAAAP!
AHAHAHAHAA
HAHAHAH AHAHAHAHA!” Mina screamed as Aven took her time with the brush.
Aven
was carefully covering every inch of skin, brushing delicately between
the toes
and on them, “making sure the coating is even.” She spent a good three
minutes
doing that, brushing the bristles along her skin, each one a tiny
thread of
torment woven into one grand design, stimulating the nerves in her skin
and
pushing involuntary laughter up to her throat.
Mina panted as Aven withdrew the brush. “Oh…haha… that was…
awful….heehee…”
Felin looked at her with amusement. “Just so you know, that
was the upper part of one of your feet,” she said wryly. “We haven’t
even
finished the whole foot, or gotten to the legs, or upper body…”
Mina only now comprehended the true magnitude of the horror
that she was to experience. And if she were to be made ten times more
ticklish…! Fear clawed at her mind.
“And now, the sole,” said Aven with a flourish. She began
again with the paintbrush. Aven covered as small an area as possible
with each
stroke, overlapping with each previous area.
“OH NO HAHAHAHAHAHAH OH GOD PLEASE NO! AHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAH HAHAH AAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! PLEASE! ANYTHING BUT THAHAHAHAHT!
STAHAHAHAHAHAHP PLEEEEZE!” Mina cried. Aven grinned and went slower.
Time had
no meaning for Mina. The tickling dulled her mind. It felt as if she
had
forgotten how to do anything but laugh as the oil-coated bristles of
the
paintbrush spread their fiendish substance along her skin. Aven spent
another
three minutes before she was satisfied.
“Having fun, Sailor Venus?” Jelex asked as she pulled up a
stool next to Mina. Felin sat on the opposite side already. “We sure
are.”
“I’ll get…you for…this,” Mina panted. “Wait…until my
friends…get here…”
“Friends?” asked Jelex. “Ah, yes, your fellow Sailor brats.
Mercury, I remember, was very ticklish on her feet. They’re small, and
silky
smooth like yours. Maybe when we get her we’ll put you two in a
tickling
contest.”
Mina stuck out her lower lip and said nothing. Aven
continued where Jelex had left off. “Jupiter is really vulnerable under
her
arms! When she tries to use that silly lightning attack, she’s just
begging to
be tickled! Her arms are wide open! Yes, I think we’ll put her on a bar
and see
how long she can hang on before falling…into a tank of tickling jelly!
How
about it, Sailor Venus?” Aven raised the brush. “And as for you…”
The heel of Mina’s foot was no less ticklish than the rest.
“OH PLEHEHEHEHEHASE NO! NOT THAT! OH PLEHEHEHHAZE! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAP IT!
NOHOHOHOHOHHO!” Tears formed in Mina’s eyes and ran down her shirt.
Aven spent
the standard three minutes making sure every side of her heel was
coated.
“Your left foot is finished,” said Aven. “Now for the
right…”
The next nine minutes were a similar torture for Mina.
“Okay, next!” said Felin joyfully. She pulled Mina’s shirt
as far over her head as it would go. Mina reddened. This always
embarrassed
her. Felin dipped a brush into the can and began her work.
Mina was quite ticklish on her stomach. She jerked and
quivered as the bristles of the brush slid over her skin, each one like
a tiny
finger. Felin was dragging it out even more than Aven had. The brush
took a
good minute to finish one stripe on her skin. Mina was trying so hard
to hold
back her laughter. But her reddened face, eyes squeezing out tears and
half-giggles spurred the tormentors on in their efforts to break her.
“Oh no… hehehehahahah ahahahahah oh God NO! AHAHAHA HAHA
HHAHA AAAAH STAHAHAHAP! OH PLEEEEEZE NO MORE! AHAHAHAHAHH OH PLEEEEZE
HAVE
MERCY! AHAHAHAHHHAHAHAH!” Mina lost the battle. The only reason that
she had
lasted so long was because her stomach was fractionally less ticklish
than her
feet. Felin dipped the brush and came again.
“OH PLEHEHEHEHEAZE NO… I’LL DO ANYTHING! PLEHEHEEHEAZE
STAHAHAHAP! PLEEEEEAZE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAAH!” The tormentors’ ears perked
up at the
magic words. Felin slowly put down the brush.
“Anything, you say, Sailor Venus?”
Mina sputtered in confusion. What now? Betray her friends
or face more tickle torture. Did she have the heart to continue? Could
she face
herself if she gave up? Mina knew that she lost either way.
“…No.” Mina barely managed to force it out.
Felin shrugged and took up her brush again. “Suit
yourself.” The brush began its torturous path across her stomach again.
Mina’s
throat was dry from laughing so hard when Felin finally finished.
“And now it’s my turn,” said Jelex with a grin.
Mina thought: Oh no…
please… I can’t take it anymore… Somebody please help me… Oh no, NO!
“Where is Mina?” asked Raye grumpily. She had really been
looking forward to tickling Serena out of her mind, but they had to
wait for
Mina.
“She was in school today,” offered Lita unhelpfully.
“I know that! I’ll bet she just ran out! She’s in cahoots
with Serena!” Raye ground out.
“Yes, I’m afraid that I agree,” said Amy.
“It is just like Mina,”
said Serena, with no conviction at all, as she was ecstatic at Mina’s
absence.
Then, Raye heard Mina’s desperate plea on the edge of her
mind. She jerked upright.
“What? What happened?” asked Lita.
“Mina’s in trouble!” Raye said. “We have to go - quickly!”
Mina’s vision refocused. Her mind had drifted with the
awful torment inflicted by Jelex, and it took her a moment to realize
that the
tickling had stopped. Jelex was leaning over her.
“Ah, I knew you hadn’t gone unconscious. You were merely
delusional as a result of my expert tickling.”
Mina wished she had gone unconscious.
“Now that the tickling oil has been applied, we can start
with the tickle torture session,” purred Felin.
“No, please…” sobbed Mina. “No more, I beg you… Please
don’t tickle me any more…”
“Why shouldn’t we?” asked Aven humorously. “We have here one
of the most ticklish human beings awaiting torment, all ticklish areas
wide
open and screaming out to be tickled. You give us one good reason we
shouldn’t
drive you out of your mind.”
Mina remained mute.
“That’s what I thought.” A flashing red light interrupted
her. “Huh?”
Jelex moved over and hit a few switches. “Perimeter alert -
the Scouts are here. Do we stay and fight?”
“No,” answered Felin. “We’d have to fight them off and
guard Sailor Venus, while they could just leave and come back whenever
they
wanted. No, this isn’t a good spot. Let’s make tracks for the Tickling
Dungeon.”
Mina sighed in relief. Her friends had come!
Just before she left, Felin turned. “You got lucky, Sailor
Venus.
Don’t think you’ll get off so easily!” She pressed a button. A dozen
mechanical
hands sprouted from the walls. “So long!”
“AHAAHAHHAAHAHAH! I’LL GHEH-GHEH-GET YOUUUUUUU!
AAAHAHAHAHAH!” Mina cried out anew as the torture renewed itself.
“I can hear it!” shouted Raye. “This way!” They burst
through the doors to see a frantically thrashing Mina screaming with
laughter
under the precise torment of six pairs of robot hands.
“How do we stop it?” cried Serena.
“Here! Jupiter Thunder---CRASH!” Lita blasted the console
with a lightning bolt. The hands hung limply from the wall. Mina was
sobbing in
relief.
“Oh! Mina, are you okay?” Raye ran over to free Mina.
“How bad was it?” asked Lita concernedly.
“A…awful. It…was awful…” Mina spoke hoarsely. “New… stuff.
They have…oil which makes…you more…ticklish…”
“Oil that makes you more ticklish? That’s terrible!” cried
Serena.
“It seems that the Negaverse is rapidly developing new
weapons for use against us. If only we had our own weapons…” mused Amy.
“That…is important. They… they have a…weakness…” Mina said,
determination shining through her exhaustion. “All…of them… are
ticklish,
like…we are. Really ticklish. But… they aren’t completely helpless…
they can
still fight back somewhat…”
“The Negaverse stooges are ticklish?” Raye said
in disbelief. Then she smiled, a predator’s
smile full of teeth. “Ha ha ha…”
“Something…else. I don’t know if I imagined it or not…
Megan was helping them…”
“Who’s that?” asked Raye.
“A girl…from school… a human girl…” Mina looked defeated.
“They broke her, and made her one of them…”