Jaynin
4th Level Red Feather
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2003
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Part I: An Unfortunate Discovery
Neflite sat in his house, grumpy. He had failed yet again to acquire energy for Queen Beryl, and he knew that his time was running out. He got up and began to pace, then sat down with a sigh. It was no use; he had no ideas. He was tired, but worry kept him from falling asleep. Just then, his least favorite person stopped by to pay him a visit.
Zoycite entered the room with her customary swirl of rose petals and annoying laugh. “So, Neflite, it seems that you’ve failed yet another time. I bet the Queen won’t be too happy. Hahaha!” Zoycite launched into her grating laugh again.
“Go away, Zoycite,” Neflite said crossly. He picked up his drink, found that it was empty and searched for the bottle, which was also empty. Zoycite grinned.
“My, no wonder you can’t defeat that pest Sailor Moon. By the looks of that, you’re drunk on every mission!” Zoycite turned her back and began to walk away. “Oh, before I forget, Queen Beryl wanted to speak with you. Again. I can just imagine what she’ll say. ‘Neflite, once again you have failed to gather energy for the Negaforce.’”
Fed up with Zoycite’s taunts, Neflite threw the empty bottle at her. She dodged aside quickly, and disappeared. Neflite sunk back into his chair, more miserable than ever. Zoycite was right; the Queen was fast losing patience with him. He sighed and opened a portal back to the Negaverse.
Neflite walked up to Beryl’s throne slowly. An uncertain dread bubbled up within him. He had no idea what to expect, and very clearly remembered what had happened to Jedite the last time he had walked up these steps after a failure.
“Ahh, Neflite,” Beryl hissed. “Yet another time you come before me in failure and disgrace. I’m growing tired of your losses. Soon I will have to replace you.” Neflite remained mute, his head down as he knelt on one knee. “You will have one final chance. If you come back without having achieved the goals I shall set, then you will face death.” Neflite swallowed miserably. He’d been afraid that it would go like this.
“Because I am feeling generous today,” Beryl laughed, “you may have your choice of task. You must either get rid of Sailor Moon, or you must bring in a vast quantity of energy. The choice is yours. You have three days. Now go!” Neflite turned shakily and vanished.
Floating above the scene, Zoycite giggled. Neflite would certainly fail again, she was sure of it. Then nothing would stand between her and her goal.
Neflite returned to Earth in a state of near panic. Eliminate Sailor Moon? How, when those accursed brats followed her everywhere? Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter would all have to fall before he could try for Sailor Moon. Gather vast quantities of energy? He didn’t drain energy outright; he waited for certain people’s outputs to rise naturally. Wait a minute… An idea hovered on the edge of Neflite’s mind. Could he raise a person’s energy output and then drain it? It might be his only chance. But how could he know what raised human energy levels? Neflite gathered his crystal to read energy levels, hopped in his car and headed for the city.
Raye was pacing the floor of the temple in a bad mood. Serena was late again, and never mind that she had been late every day this week, or last week, or all of last month…
Raye sat down but was up and pacing almost immediately. “Guys, we have to put an end to this. We can’t just keep letting her arrive late all the time!”
Amy nodded. “I agree with you, but how can we make her come on time?”
“Whatever you decide,” Mina said, popping a cookie into her mouth, “you’d better make it stick. Just yelling at her isn’t going to change anything.”
“Yeah, sure,” Lita laughed. “Maybe we should just tell Serena that we’ll beat her for every minute she’s late.”
Luna rolled her eyes. “Sure, then she’ll just stop coming altogether, and besides, you really shouldn’t hurt her.”
Raye had stopped pacing. “Lita might be on to something. That system would work. Some punishment for a length of time equaling the number of minutes that she’s late…” Raye began to pace again, mind churning furiously.
“But what punishment can we institute?” Amy asked, hitting the crux of the matter.
“I don’t know. What does Serena hate? Bugs, maybe? Should we buy an ant farm and make her stick her hands inside?” Mina suggested.
“No, Serena doesn’t seem to mind bugs all that much. Or at least that’s how she acts,” Luna replied.
Raye stopped again, an idea hovering on the tip of her tongue… but then she lost it. Something Serena hated, or feared…
“Got anything, Raye?” Lita asked.
“Almost,” Raye answered. “Can’t quite remember what it was, but it was a good idea, I felt that much.”
Floundering for an appropriate punishment, the group remained in deep thought.
Neflite was angry with himself now. What a waste of time! “Find out what raises human energy levels,” he mocked to himself. “Bah!” Neflite had discovered nothing that would fulfill his purposes, and…
Screech! Neflite stepped on the brakes as some ditzy girl ran out into the street. “Sorry!” she cried with a wave and a little giggle. Neflite pulled over, his bad mood intensified, and for lack of something better to do focused the crystal on her. Hmm… her energy seemed to be somewhat greater than anything else he’d seen so far. Neflite had a hunch, and got out of his car to follow.
Serena ran across the street, narrowly missing a car, and ran up the stairs to the temple, out of breath. “Okay… puff, puff… I made it.” She tossed her shoes aside, leaving her barefoot.
No one answered. Raye was pacing the floor, and everyone else was staring at the ceiling. “Hey! Guys!”
Amy looked over and answered. “It’s about time, Serena.”
“Yeah, I know, I know, just read me the riot act and let’s move on.”
“We decided that you’ll need a more permanent reminder, Serena,” Luna said. “We’re considering what your punishment should be.”
“What? Are you serious? You’re joking, right? …Right?” Serena asked nervously.
Raye grinned a nasty little grin at Serena. “No, we’re not joking, Meatball Head. We’re just having a little difficulty coming up with an appropriate punishment. Something along the lines of your worst nightmare…”
“You wouldn’t, Raye!” Serena wailed.
Amy, Lita and Mina chorused back: “Oh yes she would!” Then they broke out into laughter.
“I think I’ve got it!” Luna cried. She jumped over to Raye and whispered something to her. Raye brightened.
“Yes! That’s what I was thinking earlier! Something Serena hates, that can be done for any length of time, and isn’t harmful!”
“What can fill all those parameters?” Amy asked, puzzled.
“Well,” Luna began, “this morning when Serena was waking up late, I was walking by the foot of the bed. I was stretching, and by accident my tail touched her foot. Serena was up in a hurry, I tell you. And she shouted at me never to do ‘that’ again, though she didn’t say what ‘that’ was.”
Serena froze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I do.” Raye grinned. “I remember one time, when we were having a sleepover, I ran my nails against her foot accidentally.”
“Accidentally?” Lita asked with a grin.
Raye nodded innocently. “Oh yes, completely by accident. The same thing happened; a shriek, a giggle, and yelling at me to never do that again.”
“No…please…don’t tell me…” Serena said, shocked.
“Oh yes, Serena!” Raye wiggled her fingers. “It’s tickle time!”
“No! Seriously!” Serena pleaded as she backed up against the wall. “Raye! Please don’t! I’m super-hyper ticklish!”
“’Super-hyper?’” Mina asked with a grin.
“Please!” Serena tried again, bringing up her hands to swat at the approaching tormentors. It was to no avail; Raye’s raking nails found Serena’s ticklish feet and began to scrape lightly.
The moment that Raye touched Serena’s soles, she was helpless. “Oh pleheheheheheeeeeze! Don’t Raye! Pleheheheeheeeeeek…!” Serena cut off in a fresh burst of laughter. Her arms fell limply, and she tossed her head. Serena tried to draw her legs up under her, but Raye caught them and dragged her out to lie on the floor. Then she sat on Serena’s legs to prevent a recurrence, and with a grin resumed tormenting Serena’s soles.
The other girls giggled at seeing Serena collapse like jelly. “I’m in!” cried Mina enthusiastically.
“No pleeehehehehehze! Mina, nooooo! No more tickling! I-I-I ahahahaahhaahahahah haaha hehehehh staaaaahahahap!” Serena cried. Mina’s fingers began to dance on her stomach. Serena howled with laughter, and Mina giggled, having a great deal of fun. Serena’s arms flopped about feebly, and Mina took her wrists and stretched her arms over her head. Serena pleaded but was unable to move her arms back down.
“This is great, Raye! By the way, how late was Serena today?”
“Oh, about twenty minutes,” was the reply.
“Come on, Amy! Let’s go!” Lita cried. But Amy, seeing Serena beg and plead under the nails of Mina and Raye, shrank back.
“I don’t know… this is a little extreme…”
Lita tugged at her arm. “You said it yourself, remember? We have to punish her so that she’s not late anymore. It’s only in fun,” she exhorted.
“But… I…” Amy was still floundering.
“Aww, never mind then,” Lita said. “Hey! Serena, where else are you ticklish?”
“Everywhere!” Mina laughed. She had moved up to Serena’s armpits, and was tickling away at Serena’s defenseless underarms.
“Nohohohohohohooooo! No more pleeheheheheeeeeze! Ple-AHAHAH HEAHAAHAHA HAHAHA HAHAHA OH STAAAAAP! DON’T DO THAHAHAH HAHHAAHA THAAAAT!” Raye began to lightly drag her nails up and down Serena’s soles. They quivered and shook but were unable to get away.
“How about here?” Raye asked with a sinister smile. She began to wiggle her fingers in the soft flesh between Serena’s toes. This drove Serena absolutely wild with laughter, and she was unable to speak.
“Nah, I’ll just stick to her nice soft tummy,” Lita giggled. She dug into Serena’s stomach, pushing her to the limit.
“OH PLEEEEHEHEHEEEHEEHEEEEZE! STAHAHAHAHAHAP! NO MORE! NO MORE! AAHAHAHA HAHAH PLEEEHEEHEHEHEEZE!” Serena could only cry out like a broken record, unable to do much more, much less defend herself. She couldn’t even move her arms back from where Mina had crossed them over her head. Her muscles felt rubbery and her energy drained from the constant torture.
Mina was giggling so hard at Serena’s predicament that she had to stop for a while and regain control of herself.
“Well, if nothing else, she should come on time now,” Amy said to Luna.
“I hope so.” Luna glanced at the clock. “Okay! It’s been twenty minutes,” she called loudly, to be heard over Serena’s cries.
“Aww, come on! Please? Just another five minutes?” Raye asked.
Luna shook her head. “No, now, please. That’s according to the rules you suggested yourself.”
“Fine, fine,” Raye grumbled, though still grinning. Lita got up from straddling Serena and Mina just rolled over onto the floor. Serena was still giggling spasmodically.
After about two minutes Serena sat up, her eyes filled with tears (more tears) and began to bawl. “Waaah! That was so mean!” she sobbed. “Sniffle… sniffle… I bet you wouldn’t have done that to anyone else!” Serena yelled through her tears.
Lita giggled. “Serena, you are a mess.” Serena stopped crying and looked at herself in the mirror.
“Augh! Look what you’ve done to me!” Serena cried out in anguish as the others laughed. Her hair was damp and matted, her meatballs about to come undone, her face lined with tears, her body streaked with sweat and her clothes disheveled.
With a moan Serena flopped onto a chair.
Neflite was ecstatic. He had been unsure if his crystal had been reading correctly. Neflite hadn’t known just how much energy could come from just one human. The energy output had tripled, and best of all, it was easily collected energy. Some kinds of energy, like emotional energy, were powerful but made the target more dangerous. Not so with this kind, Neflite noticed. Instead, the one girl had been completely helpless, had been at the others’ complete mercy. It was made to order for his needs. Now, just to do some research on this phenomenon (he had heard it called tickling), set up a plan and execute it. With Beryl’s deadline of three days, he’d have to hurry. But it could work.
Neflite called one of his helpers, whom he thought could fill the task he needed accomplished. Floran, a woman with the power to control plants and vines and other vegetation, seemed to fit the bill. Floran was about six feet tall, and she wore a palm frond skirt and a bikini top. Her skin was a lush green color, and covered in short white bristles. She had a round face, with long black hair that hung to the small of her back.
Neflite and Floran researched everything they could get their hands on about the subject of “tickling”. Zoycite showed up, regular as clockwork. “You’ve only got two days left!” she said gleefully. “Better hurry, you don’t want Beryl to be angry! Oh, wait, she already is angry. Too bad for you!” Zoycite laughed.
Neflite waved her off. “Beat it, I’m working here.” The automatic dismissal seemed to annoy Zoycite more than any verbal jab.
“Oh really?” she said haughtily. “What is that?” Zoycite leaned over Neflite’s shoulder, where he was making notes on a diagram of the human body. “’Tickling: A reaction caused by the touching of sensitive areas on the body. Reactions are usually characterized by laughter and reflexive dodging actions. In extreme cases, the body begins to malfunction, causing massive sweating, crying, lack of oxygen and paralysis. These reactions are more acute in females.’ A load of rubbish, Neflite,” Zoycite concluded. “This – what did they call it? – tickling doesn’t seem to be that important.”
Neflite tossed her the radar crystal. “See for yourself. These readouts are a direct result of ‘tickling’.”
Zoycite tossed it back. “Ha. Anyone can fake readouts, Neflite. This doesn’t impress me.”
Neflite grinned. Her face had matched her words, but the force with which she threw back the crystal betrayed her true feelings. Having the upper hand against Zoycite was cause for celebration in itself. She turned with a harrumph and disappeared.
“Okay, this doesn’t seem too difficult,” Floran was saying. “I can do this.”
“Good,” Neflite replied. “Because we’re doing it tomorrow.”
The next day…
Neflite had arrived early at the greenhouse. He had checked around for one of these that were going to be in use today. He and Floran had disposed of all the humans who worked here normally, and had just finished their own preparations. He hoped this worked…
Serena made a mad dash for the temple after school that day. Unbeknownst to her, though, was the fact that Raye had tampered with the clock. She had gotten Mina’s and Lita’s approval for this little scheme, and Amy was not yet here, thank goodness. Raye didn’t want to have to deal with moral objections, and hopefully Amy wouldn’t notice the altered time. It was only set about ten minutes ahead, acceptable within the normal deviations of any clock.
What Raye had not counted on was Serena’s fear of tickling. She burned rubber in a straight line from school to the temple.
“Yaaaah!” Serena dove through the doors in a dramatic fashion. Mina, Lita and Raye were eagerly discussing what they were going to do to Serena today, with Amy quietly reading by herself. Raye grinned as she produced some feathers that she had procured. All of them looked up as Serena crashed through the doors. Nobody spoke for a minute, though Serena paled at the sight of the feather Raye held, which Raye quickly hid.
“Well, Serena, you’re early…err…” Amy said, looking at the clock, “…on time. I must get this watch corrected,” she mumbled to herself. It was true; Serena had managed to beat Raye’s adjustment of the clock by a bare ten seconds.
Raye said nothing, though inwardly she was fuming. Darn Serena! Why couldn’t she just be late, like always? It didn’t really matter, though. She didn’t need an excuse to tickle torture Serena. Raye had not realized how much of a kick she got out of that. She’d have to do it more often.
“Serena, it’s good to see that you’ve learned a lesson,” Luna said. “Now, Amy, if you would go ahead with what you found today.”
“Yes. Um… while walking to here from school today, I passed a greenhouse. By chance I happened to look at some of the plants they had, and they seemed…abnormal. So I took some readings, and it seems that the whole place is full of dark energy, consistent with the taint caused by Negaverse activity on Earth.”
“Eek!” Serena cried. “Does that mean there’s a monster?”
“In all probability,” Amy replied.
“Okay. We don’t have any knowledge of their plan or that there is even something there. In fact, they could be trying to decoy us away while they set up another plan. Usually the Negaverse does not advertise its presence. I’m worried,” Luna said. “Because of that, I want Raye to go and check things out. And… you go too, Serena. Just in case Raye needs some help.”
“Meatball Head is more likely to hurt than help,” Raye protested.
“Oh, shut up, Raye!”
Luna sighed. “Amy, would you accompany them and keep the peace?”
Amy giggled. “Sure thing, Luna.”
“Call for help if you need it,” Luna called after them as they left, Raye and Serena still bickering.
Neflite was breathing easier now, figuratively, though he wasn’t out of the woods yet, also figuratively. Their commandeered greenhouse sat on the edge of a human commercial center, so they had a fairly steady flow of customers. Whenever Floran could snatch a human female without the notice of others, she did, and proceeded to tickle her with an assortment of vines and leaves. Floran had been surprised to witness such odd reactions from the girls she’d caught, but she was even more surprised to see how much energy they gave off. It was not nearly as high as the girl Neflite had seen, but it was a decent amount, and they had all of two days to do this. Neflite already had more energy than his last five missions combined had produced, though he admitted that this was because the last five missions had been dismal failures.
Floran was growing to like her position. At first tentative, she grew bolder, and whenever Neflite checked into the storage closet they’d converted for their purposes, he invariably saw a human girl writhing and screaming with laughter while vines encircled her body and probed for her weaknesses.
It was about four-thirty when Raye, Serena and Amy arrived at the greenhouse. Raye stopped at the entrance and looked around.
“You’re right, Amy,” she said quietly. “This place feels dark and cold. The Negaverse must be here.”
“Let’s split up and look around,” Amy said. “Keep in touch, and report if you see anything suspicious.
Serena wandered up and down the aisles at random. She had no idea what she was supposed to be looking for, so she examined the plants instead. They all seemed unhealthy, but Serena couldn’t exactly place any outward signs of disease. Serena wandered further, back into the almost-deserted outdoor area where large lots of fertilizer and other chemicals were sold.
Serena rounded a corner when she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Find anything, Amy?” Serena asked, half-turning.
“I found you!” Floran said, voice dripping with menace.
“Aaaaah! A monster!” Serena tried to scream. But it came out muffled as Floran clamped a hand over her mouth. Looking around quickly, Floran dragged Serena to the storage closet full of plants. There she flung Serena to the ground.
“What do you want?” Serena asked nervously. She was going to have to wait until the others noticed her absence, given that she couldn’t transform in front of the enemy. “I want your energy,” Floran hissed. Serena was a bit puzzled. Usually Neflite liked to wait until one particular person had reached maximum energy output. Draining energy from the populace at large was more Jedite’s tactic. Serena wondered if this was the result of another leadership change for the Negaverse.
“Don’t touch me, creep,” Serena snarled. Then Floran laughed.
“Ah, I’ve found this very satisfying. There are two types of human girls I’ve seen here so far. The first type babbles incoherently in fear. They are fun to play with, shrieking and crying out before I even touch them. Then, there’s the second type, like you. You’re putting up a brave front and blustering at me. Nevertheless, I have the satisfaction of watching you crumble under my torture.”
“Torture!” Serena gasped. This had never happened before! Someone else must be running the show now, she was sure of it. Now Serena was genuinely afraid.
Floran shook her head. “What’s wrong? Oh, I see, a misunderstanding. I said ‘torture’, didn’t I? Well, to be honest that’s not completely correct. What we do here is not actually torture as you might think of it.”
“So what is it then?” Serena asked, a little braver.
Floran raised her arms, and the plants moved, ensnaring Serena’s limbs and pulling them out to the maximum extension. Serena struggled. “What I meant was… tickle torture.”
Serena stopped. Her eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped. “No… you can’t be serious!” Serena was near panic. It was like a bad movie with Raye directing.
Floran smiled. “Oh, I’m dead serious. Do you realize how much energy humans give off when I tickle them?”
Serena simply stared in mute horror. Floran’s hands turned into clusters of leaves, and vines from other plants tugged her shirt up, holding it in a bunch around her neck.
Floran brushed her leaves against Serena’s ribs. Serena burst out laughing.
“Oh ahahahahhahahaha please don’t do this! Heheheeheheeehe ahahahhahaha haha please don’t tickle meeeeeeeeee! Th-this isn’t funny!”
Floran ignored Serena and continued to explore, looking for a prime location. She gently swept the leaves over her stomach, swirled them in her armpits and rubbed them on her sides. Serena fought in vain to free herself, but given that she couldn’t move even when unrestrained, it was a dead issue. Waves of giggles poured out of her throat, prompting Floran to smile.
“My, you’re a ticklish little thing, now aren’t you? Now, where else can I look? Hmm…” Floran ceased her tickling for a second, but Serena had no respite as the vines took over, probing and teasing her upper body. Floran was consulting the diagram Neflite had made up the other night. “Underarms…check. Ribs…check. Stomach… – such a nice, soft stomach it is! – check. Sides…check. Now… ah! Of course! The feet. How could I have forgotten?” Floran asked with a mischievous smile. She commanded the vines to raise Serena’s feet so that they could be properly attended to.
Serena hadn’t noticed her feet being elevated because of all the vines tickling her body. But she did notice her shoes and socks being delicately removed. “NOHOHOHOHHOOOOOOOO PLEEEHEEHEEHEHEEEEZE! NOT THERE ANYWHERE BUT THERE! AHAHAHAHAAAHAAHAAAAAAHE! I BEG YOU PLEHEEHEHEEEEEEEEEZE!” Serena’s worst fear was about to become reality. Here she was, completely at the mercy of a maniac tickler, unable to move and her feet were the next targets!
Floran merely smiled again and began to brush her featherlike leaves over Serena’s soles. Serena went ballistic and her screaming laughter doubled in volume. It was loud enough to cause Floran worry. What if people were to hear this cacophony? Well, the quick solution would be to knock her out. So… more vines were summoned, these to wriggle between Serena’s toes. Floran had found this a most effective tactic.
Serena was laughing so hard now as to completely shut off her other senses. She wasn’t afraid any longer, wasn’t feeling hot and flushed, wasn’t aware of being a foot off the ground, she was just aware of the swarming vines, pushing her toward oblivion. Now the laughter consumed all available air, leaving none to breathe. Serena saw stars as she lost oxygen flow to her brain. She quieted down, thrashing less, until she slipped into a sea of blackness.
Unfortunately for Floran the screams had not gone unheard. People were looking around, confused and worried, wondering what the noise could be.
Neflite cursed under his breath. Apparently, in his haste, he’d forgotten that tickling also produced shrieking, screaming laughter. He should have chosen a more isolated place to operate from. Be that as it may, Neflite decided to step in and keep things under control as much as possible.
Floran stepped out of the closet and took a quick look around. Before she could hide herself in the growth, though, someone spotted her and screamed, “Monster!” Floran, not knowing what else to do, grinned diabolically. The man who’d spotted her shouted and ran, prompting a stampede out the door. When everyone had left, Neflite locked the door. Fervently he hoped that Floran had collected sufficient energy for today.
Floran met Neflite with a somewhat sheepish grin. “She laughed too loud” was all Floran said.
Neflite shrugged it off. “How much energy did we get?”
“Ah,” Floran began. “I’m no scholar on collecting energy, but from what I can remember, we have a record-breaking amount here.”
“Why so much?” Neflite asked. “Last time I checked, you didn’t have that much, and you could have only done one or two more at the most.”
“One more, actually. But she was different. She gave off enormous power – she’s incredibly ticklish.”
“I see. Well, in any case, good job. Now let’s get out of here before the Scouts arrive to ruin things.”
Amy and Raye had not left with the stampede. Rather, they had quietly slipped away, and when everyone had gone they transformed themselves.
“Did you hear the scream?” Raye asked.
“Yes. I think it was coming from that direction.” Amy pointed to a door at the rear of the greenhouse. Slowly they crept over to the door and eased it open. The door squealed on its hinges, and Raye winced. But their caution evaporated on seeing what was contained inside the room.
“Serena! They got to her,” Amy said. “Her energy seems low. Come on, Serena, wake up,” Amy said, shaking her gently.
“Ohh… please, don’t…” Serena opened her eyes. “Guys… am I glad to see you.”
“Take it easy, Serena. What happened?” Amy asked.
Serena’s face contorted in fear. “She happened!” Raye followed the shaking finger behind her.
“So nice of you to join us, Scouts,” Floran said.
“You! Nega-scum, in the name of Mars I will punish you!” Raye said with he usual theatrical presentation.
“And in the name of Mercury…”
“Oh, can it!” Floran groused. “That’s so repetitive. Bring it on! I want to get this done quickly.” Floran backflipped into the rows of plants.
“Let’s go!” Raye cried, dashing off after her. Amy was just behind her.
“No… wait, she…” Serena tried to warn the Scouts of the impending situation, but her voice was too weak, and she went unheard.
Raye had slowed down, creeping about cautiously. Amy had gone a different way to see if they could surround her. Then she heard a truncated scream. “Mercury!” Raye called.
Amy had been ensnared by a tangle of creeper vines. She struggled, shouting at Floran. Floran was appraising her prize. Then Amy saw Raye appear behind Floran. Amy knew that they were in a tight spot. The proliferation of fertilizer and other potentially flammable chemicals made shooting fire about dangerous. But she didn’t know how to communicate that to Raye without Floran noticing. Raye acted too hastily.
“Mars… Fire…!”
“Stop!” Amy cried. Raye, confused, broke off her attack and stared dumbly. Floran whirled about, and Raye, in her momentary lapse, was also captured.
“Why’d you stop me?” Raye yelled.
“There’s fertilizer and other stuff around here! You could kill us all!” Amy replied.
“Too true,” Floran stepped in. “But it doesn’t help you now.”
Raye fought against the vines. “Creep! Let us go!”
Floran chuckled. “No, no, no. You don’t understand. We have come up with a revolutionary new tactic to defeat our opponents and collect energy at the same time.”
“And that would be?” Amy asked.
“You’re supposed to be the brains, you figure it out,” Floran sniggered. A pair of vines tugged Amy’s boots off and began to scratch and poke at her soles.
“Hehehehee… hey! That tickles… heheehee! Ahahahaahaahaa hahaha what kind of hahaha hahahaah tactic is this? Heeheeheee! I-I-I hahahahhahahaahah can’t see h-h-how this is a aahahahahahehehehaaaa good tactic!” Amy giggled and tried to sound scientific at the same time, producing a comical counterpoint to her words.
Raye gaped, then: “Oh! No wonder you knocked that girl out. She’s undoubtedly the most ticklish girl I’ve ever seen.”
Floran nodded, pleased with her work on Amy. She added another pair of vines to begin removing her shirt, then a half-dozen attacked her upper body. Satisfied, Floran turned to Raye. “Ah, yes. This is so much fun.”
Raye sneered. “Try all you like; I’m not ticklish at all.”
Floran was a bit hesitant. “Oh? Hmm… then what else can I do?” She began to ponder her options. In reality, Floran didn’t believe Raye, but she wanted to see what the reaction was.
Raye breathed a small sigh of relief. She was very ticklish as a matter of fact, and hated this because it ruined her image completely. Who would respect her, once tickling shattered her tough image? It just would not do. Fortunately, her good acting skills had convinced the Negaverse.
“I’ve decided that I don’t believe you!” Floran said suddenly. Raye jumped, all the proof that Floran needed. Floran pulled Raye’s shirt off herself, and changed her hands to leaves. These leaves had a soft, fuzzy covering that Floran had found excellent for tickling. Floran rubbed her leaves along Raye’s sides, unknowingly hitting her worst spot.
Raye clenched her teeth and screwed her eyes shut. Nobody was going to make her laugh. I’m not ticklish not ticklish not ticklish… she repeated to herself over and over again. Yet her face betrayed her. Floran grinned at seeing a smile work its way onto Raye’s face, a smile that she clearly wanted to hide. Floran torturously brushed the leaves on her quivering sides, relishing the obvious turmoil within Raye; her ego, refusing to show any sign of weakness, and her body, reacting to the soft bristles stimulating her ticklish skin. Floran brushed up higher, under her arms, and Raye’s smile turned to a grin. Her eyes shut tighter, but bits and pieces of giggles were beginning to come out of her mouth. Floran traced the points of her leaves over Raye’s ribs, pricking at the tight flesh. Now, to finish her off. Just before she went ahead, though, Floran checked her pendant, which was the container the energy she drew out was stored in. It was glowing a whitish-blue: that meant very strong energy. And there was a lot of it, too. Floran commanded the vines to remove Raye’s shoes and begin tickling her feet and legs.
Raye felt her shoes come off, and knew it was the end. Her feet, while not as sensitive as her sides, were nonetheless ticklish. Vines began to rub across her feet, pulling the short, stiff bristles over her soles. “Hee… heehee… haaa… hahahahaaaa… heeheeheeheahahaaha haha ahaaha hahaaha aah! Staaaaaaaap! Okay! Okay! I admit it I’m tickliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish! Aahaaahahahah heheeeheeheheeeeeahahaahahah oh stop pleeeeeeease! This isn’t a fair fiiiiiiiiiight!”
Floran smiled. “There we go. See, isn’t it just so much better to let it out? I think, though, that because you lied to me, you’re going to need some punishment.”
“Nooooooo pleeheheheheeeeeeze! No more! Staahahahahahaaaaaaaap! Haaahahaaaaaa!” Raye cried, thoroughly embarrassed.
Neflite appeared just then. “How is everything going, Floran?”
“Just fine.” Floran did not turn from tormenting Raye. “The leader hasn’t shown up yet, though.”
“Give me the pendant,” Neflite commanded. “I want to make sure that it’s safe.”
“Okay.” Floran slipped the pendant over her head and handed it to Neflite.
“Here’s a new one. Make sure you don’t break it, we need it for tomorrow.” Neflite teleported back to the Negaverse, to store his energy and officially log it. Couldn’t be too careful, especially with Zoycite around…
Neflite was out of Floran’s mind as soon as he left. She continued to torment Raye for about another ten minutes, until she was crying and red-faced.
“Okay, you can have a little break,” Floran said. Six vines took her place tickling Raye, and she turned to Amy. “Mercury, it’s your turn to laugh your mind away. And from what I hear, it’s a bright mind, so it will take extra long to make sure it’s all gone.” Floran smiled evilly, much to Amy’s horror.
What Floran did not know was that Serena had recovered enough to get back up and transform into Sailor Moon. But, even though she’d arrived in time to save Raye from the bulk of her torment, she had hid and watched. Serena considered it acceptable atonement for tickle torturing her yesterday. But Amy had been nice to her, so she decided to step in.
“Hey! Nega-scum! I don’t approve of you tickling the Sailor Scouts, and in the name…”
“…Of the Moon, I shall punish you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever,” Floran cut her off. “Heard it before. So, now, moon brat, I have a question for you.”
“Oh yeah?” Serena put all the sarcasm she could muster into her voice.
“You ticklish?” It was delivered without a hint of mockery or teasing.
“Nope, not at all,” Serena said confidently.
“I think you’re lying, like your friend Mars here,” Floran said. “But since I’m feeling generous, I’ll give you a chance to prove it, and I’ll make you a deal.”
“What deal?” Serena asked, feeling relatively certain that she could handle the situation.
“I get to try and make you laugh for ten minutes. If you don’t, then your buddies go free and I leave you alone.”
“And if you win?” Serena asked.
Floran grinned. “Well, then, you’re going to experience the ride of your life. Do you accept?”
“Don’t do it, Sailor Moon!” Raye cried. The vines had stopped while Floran made her pitch.
“She won’t let us go, even if you do win,” Amy said.
“If you refuse, then…” Vines rose menacingly around Raye and Amy. “Your pals will laugh their heads off, and I mean literally.”
Serena swallowed. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
If Raye could have she would have covered her eyes. Oh, man, you don’t stand a chance, Serena! she thought.
“Where do I go?” Serena was asking.
“Just stay there, I’ll handle it,” Floran replied. More vines carefully caught Serena’s limbs and slowly rotated her until she was horizontal above the ground. Floran nodded. “Okay, that’s all. Now,” she said, turning to Raye, “since you guys are pals, I bet you know some pretty juicy stuff about her.”
Raye stuck out her tongue.
Floran shook her head. “Oh, no, I don’t want anything of real value. I just want to know where your friend is very ticklish.”
“Hey! You’re cheating!” Serena protested.
Floran ignored her. “Well?”
“No. I won’t talk.” Raye turned her head defiantly.
“Very well then.” Floran was about to begin with her leaves, but as she leaned over to Raye a few strands of her long hair brushed against her stomach and she giggled. This gave Floran an idea, and she turned Raye so that she, too, was horizontal. Floran smiled, threw her hair over Raye’s stomach and began to slowly shake her head. Her hair rippled down in waves to Raye’s tummy.
Raye shrieked in laughter. Floran, delighted with her new tool, dragged her hair all over Raye’s upper body. Raye convulsed with laughter, and Floran, now leaving her hands in their normal form, devilishly added to Raye’s torment. Her hands crept onto Raye’s sides, and her short nails made Raye buck and scream.
“The feeheheeeeeeet! The feeeeheheheeeeeeeeet!” Raye was screaming. Floran took a moment to realize she was trying to answer the question. Floran withdrew, and Raye panted, “The feet… Sailor Moon is really ticklish on her feet… oh, I’m so sorry Sailor Moon but I couldn’t take it!”
Floran giggled. “You know what, I think that I’m going to have to keep you three, and track down your friends as well. This is too much fun to just let you go.”
Serena stared in openmouthed horror. Eternal tickle torment… what would happen to her? She’d most likely go mad, or become mentally unstable from the tickling. Then she would probably die. What a horrible way to go… “Don’t worry, Mars. I can do this.”
“Sailor Moon, be realistic,” Amy said. “It’s impossible for you to last ten minutes.”
“My,” Floran said, “it seems that your friends have lost confidence in you. You must have been lying. So, then, just how ticklish are you, I wonder? Maybe Sailor Mercury knows,” she said, with a glint in her eye. Suddenly Serena saw where this was going.
“This wasn’t part of our deal!” Serena objected.
Again Floran ignored Serena’s outburst. “Surely you must have tickled her yourself then, if you know that she’s so ticklish. Perhaps you can elaborate on Mars’ information. Or,” Floran said, as a new idea struck her, “maybe you can make it easier on yourself, Sailor Moon. Do you know where Mercury is very ticklish?”
“Scum!” Amy cried. “You can’t turn us against each other!”
“I think that I can,” Floran replied reasonably. “Mars already spilled the beans on Moon here. I’m betting that all of you are so ticklish that I can pull dirt out of each of you to use on your friends. Do you think Mars can take another session? She looks pretty worn out,” Floran sniggered. Indeed, Raye’s face was puffy and red, and lined by tears. “You, on the other hand, Mercury, are relatively fresh. I want to optimize your torment, so I think that I’ll ask Sailor Moon for the goods on you.”
As Floran had been saying this, she had been adjusting the vines holding each Scout. Now they were lined up side by side in front of her, horizontally, so that their feet stuck out at her. Sailor Mars’ feet were of average size, and, Floran noted, slightly rough on the ball and heel. But her soles and toes were very soft, good for tickling. Mercury’s feet were petite. Her toes were very cute, and her whole foot was smooth and perfectly shaped. Sailor Moon’s feet were a mystery prize, to be uncovered soon. Only that thin boot lay between her and creamy, ticklish flesh. Floran couldn’t wait to uncover her present. She decided to do so now.
“Sailor Moon, I ask again; what is Mercury’s most ticklish spot? It has to be there,” Floran went on, speaking soft and low, “a certain area that she covers in fear. Fear of my probing fingers finding it, digging in and gently kneading. The spot that causes her to shudder when teasing fingernails drag over it, the region where Mercury quakes in unrestrained laughter. Soft leaves brush their bristles there, producing ticklish torture. Vines rub against it, eliciting waves of helpless laughter. A spot that she can’t stand to be tickled on, an area that will drive her wild with laughter,” Floran finished poetically.
Serena blinked. “You’re psycho,” she said.
Floran grinned diabolically. “Take it back,” she said, her grin widening as she slowly pulled off Serena’s boot. “Take it back,” she repeated.
“I take it back!” Serena rushed out.
Floran laughed, and Serena reddened. “See? I can control each of you. By the way, I thought that you were not ticklish at all.” Floran resumed pulling off Serena’s boots.
“I-I-I… noooooooooooooooo!” Serena cried. Floran merely stared with a dreamy expression. Serena’s feet were an absolute dream. They were very creamy, a nice shade of white, and – more importantly – obviously very tender. Serena had seen that look before, on Raye’s face as she had raked her nails on Serena’s soles.
Floran extended one finger, teasingly, and lowered it to Serena’s foot. She scratched lightly on the sole, and Serena, already weakened by earlier torture, did not stand a chance.
“Heehehehehee ohhhhh ahahahahahaahahaha ahha hheheheeeheeehe ahah hhaaaaa stahahahaaaap! Pleeeeeease! Not my feheeheeeeeeeeeeeeeeet…! Ohohohohohohhoh oh nooooooooooo! Please don’t do that! I beg you! Not that!” Serena pleaded as Floran took her finger and began to slowly slide it in between her toes. “Oh please have mercy! Don’t! Don’t do thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! AhaahahahHAHAHAH AHAHAAHAHA HAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Serena laughed maniacally as Floran’s single finger wiggled, torturing the ultra-tender skin between her toes. Laughing, Floran held up another finger, and waited until Serena saw it. This took a few seconds, as Serena was whipping her head around and she was crying a flood. Barely able to contain her giggling, Floran lowered the finger to her other foot and slid it in. By just wiggling her two fingers, Floran had reduced Serena to a crying, madly laughing wreck.
Eventually, though, having been put through two torture sessions in one day, Serena’s throat began to run dry and her laughter came out as weak croaks. Floran frowned and withdrew her fingers. Then she shrugged. “Seems like you need a break. By the way, you lost the bet.” Serena was panting for breath and did not respond. So Floran turned to Amy. “Well, Mercury, you’ve gotten off pretty easy so far. Maybe you can keep it that way. Anything to tell me about your friends?”
“No.” Amy still had not experienced the full fury of tickle torture.
“Suit yourself. You’ll think twice after you experience the horror of my toe torture. There’re still so many things I haven’t tried yet. Think about it: after this, we’ll all go back to the Negaverse, and I’ll have every day to try new tickle tortures on you three. Sound like fun?” Amy shook her head. “I’ll make it fun,” Floran laughed. Again, she held up her finger, but this time extended another. “You get to have twice the fun Sailor Moon did.”
Amy hung mutely. She had always thought that she was not very ticklish, because everybody who had tried at one point or another had given up when she did not jump and giggle like other ticklish girls. But no one had ever tried to tickle her feet…
It felt like an electrical shock, Floran’s fingers between her toes. The sensation swept up her body and out her throat in a burst of giggles. Floran slowly twisted and wiggled her fingers, keeping a constant flow of laughter. She extended a third finger, and a fourth, and so on until all ten fingers were wiggling between Amy’s petite little toes.
Amy bucked and thrashed and laughed. It was the purest form of torture created, making her want to wet herself. She could feel each little movement of Floran’s fingers in between her toes, and each movement seemed to tickle worst than the last.
Dimly, Amy realized that Floran’s vines were tickling her soles, continuing to add to her ticklish agony. Now Amy could not even think of resisting. She just laughed and laughed as Floran’s sinister fingers cruelly rubbed against her toes. The vines played with her feet and legs, too, and Amy thought that she was kicking mightily but her scrambled brain did not notice that none of its commands were being acted upon.
Floran decided to give Amy a rest and go back to Raye. This time, though, she was just out to have some fun. Floran lay on the ground under Raye and extended her hands up to Raye’s stomach, curling around her sides. From Raye’s point of view, it seemed that two disembodied hands were hovering over her stomach. Floran stroked Raye’s tummy, lightly at first, and was rewarded with some giggling.
But, with her mind fully on Raye and with the extended length of time she’d been controlling plants, Floran could not keep iron control over her plants. Serena felt some of the vines holding her relax, to the point where she could wiggle free. This she did, but when she freed her feet she fell to the ground with a thump.
Floran, startled, lost all control over the plants, and Raye fell on top of her. Raye’s quick reflexes let her turn this into an elbow drop right onto Floran’s stomach. Floran lay, dazed, while Raye rolled off and shouted, “Now, Sailor Moon, now!”
Serena rose to her feet shakily, grabbed her tiara, and threw it. Floran dimly saw the disc of light fly towards her, and there was a flash of light.
Smack!
Amy looked puzzled. “What happened?” The tiara had hit Floran, but she hadn’t been “moon dusted”, as Serena liked to say. She lay unmoving, and obviously badly injured. Amy used her visor and scanned the body. “She seems to be dead. But why didn’t the tiara work?”
Serena collapsed. “I’m exhausted. I can barely stand, much less disintegrate someone. But I think she should be dead.”
Raye slumped to the ground. “Good enough for me. Let’s get out of here.”
Supporting each other, the Scouts limped back towards the temple.
Neflite returned to the greenhouse, fearing that Floran had died. She hadn’t come back like he had said earlier, instead toying with the Scouts. She had probably slipped up and let one of them free.
Neflite noticed that Floran was indeed dead; he checked, and she did not move or respond in any way. But the pendant was still there, and almost full at that. Neflite took it, then picked up the body and threw it into the undergrowth of a nearby group of trees, where it turned to dirt. Oh well. With these two pendants of energy, Neflite was sure that Beryl would let him live.
“Whoa! What kind of fight did you three get into?” Lita asked as Raye, Amy and Serena staggered back to the temple and collapsed onto chairs.
“No… fight,” Serena panted. “Worse…”
“What’s worse than a fight?” Mina asked.
“Oh… err, nothing,” Raye said, with a significant warning glance at Amy and Serena. Amy, in no mood to argue, said nothing.
“Ha…haha…. Ahahahah!” Serena laughed, somewhat maniacally.
Lita looked at her quizzically. “What’s so funny?”
Serena pointed at Raye. “Her… Ms. high-and-mighty over there…”
“Don’t even…” Raye began, but made no move to get up.
“She has a weakness…” Serena giggled. “Oh, yes. That’s what happened. Raye’s weakness.” A crazy light shone in Serena’s eyes.
“Huh? How did any weakness of Raye’s get you three looking like that?” Mina asked.
“My weakness too… and Amy’s, but that’s not important. Heehee… Sailor Mars is ticklish!”
“I am not!” Raye protested.
Serena began to mimic Raye. “’That’s not fair! No more tickling! I admit it! I’m ticklish!’ And then, how about ‘Sailor Moon is ticklish on her feet! I can’t take any more tickling!’”
“How do you…? Why didn’t you save me!” Raye yelled.
“Payback. I decided that you might not be so eager to go around tickle torturing people if you got a taste of it yourself.”
“For your information,” Raye said, scrabbling frantically for an excuse, “I wasn’t actually ticklish. I was just playing along so that the monster would go after me and give you a break,” she concluded. That should be plausible enough.
Serena grinned. “Sure, Raye. Whatever you say.”
“I am not ticklish!”
Finally Amy stepped in. “Does it really matter? We got away safely. We’ll never have to go through that again.”
Amy did not know how wrong she was.
Despite his obvious huge quantity of energy, Neflite was nervous. Would the Queen think it enough? There was only one way to find out.
“Neflite,” Beryl greeted him. “Have you beaten Sailor Moon? Or gathered vast quantities of energy?”
“H-here, My Queen,” Neflite said, offering the two pendants of energy.
“Hmm…” Beryl said, appraising them. Neflite held his breath. Beryl nodded. “Excellent job. This is enough energy to make up for all your failures, Neflite. What method did you use to gather it?”
“A somewhat esoteric reaction that can be caused in human females. I’m still researching it, so I cannot explain very well. But I can use the same method to gather more energy.”
“Good. Do so. Remember Neflite that you still have a lot of failure to atone for. I want you to set a plan in motion to destroy Sailor Moon. Continue to gather energy as well.”
Neflite looked up. “I can do that.”
“Then go, and formulate your plan.”
Neflite sat in his house, grumpy. He had failed yet again to acquire energy for Queen Beryl, and he knew that his time was running out. He got up and began to pace, then sat down with a sigh. It was no use; he had no ideas. He was tired, but worry kept him from falling asleep. Just then, his least favorite person stopped by to pay him a visit.
Zoycite entered the room with her customary swirl of rose petals and annoying laugh. “So, Neflite, it seems that you’ve failed yet another time. I bet the Queen won’t be too happy. Hahaha!” Zoycite launched into her grating laugh again.
“Go away, Zoycite,” Neflite said crossly. He picked up his drink, found that it was empty and searched for the bottle, which was also empty. Zoycite grinned.
“My, no wonder you can’t defeat that pest Sailor Moon. By the looks of that, you’re drunk on every mission!” Zoycite turned her back and began to walk away. “Oh, before I forget, Queen Beryl wanted to speak with you. Again. I can just imagine what she’ll say. ‘Neflite, once again you have failed to gather energy for the Negaforce.’”
Fed up with Zoycite’s taunts, Neflite threw the empty bottle at her. She dodged aside quickly, and disappeared. Neflite sunk back into his chair, more miserable than ever. Zoycite was right; the Queen was fast losing patience with him. He sighed and opened a portal back to the Negaverse.
Neflite walked up to Beryl’s throne slowly. An uncertain dread bubbled up within him. He had no idea what to expect, and very clearly remembered what had happened to Jedite the last time he had walked up these steps after a failure.
“Ahh, Neflite,” Beryl hissed. “Yet another time you come before me in failure and disgrace. I’m growing tired of your losses. Soon I will have to replace you.” Neflite remained mute, his head down as he knelt on one knee. “You will have one final chance. If you come back without having achieved the goals I shall set, then you will face death.” Neflite swallowed miserably. He’d been afraid that it would go like this.
“Because I am feeling generous today,” Beryl laughed, “you may have your choice of task. You must either get rid of Sailor Moon, or you must bring in a vast quantity of energy. The choice is yours. You have three days. Now go!” Neflite turned shakily and vanished.
Floating above the scene, Zoycite giggled. Neflite would certainly fail again, she was sure of it. Then nothing would stand between her and her goal.
Neflite returned to Earth in a state of near panic. Eliminate Sailor Moon? How, when those accursed brats followed her everywhere? Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter would all have to fall before he could try for Sailor Moon. Gather vast quantities of energy? He didn’t drain energy outright; he waited for certain people’s outputs to rise naturally. Wait a minute… An idea hovered on the edge of Neflite’s mind. Could he raise a person’s energy output and then drain it? It might be his only chance. But how could he know what raised human energy levels? Neflite gathered his crystal to read energy levels, hopped in his car and headed for the city.
Raye was pacing the floor of the temple in a bad mood. Serena was late again, and never mind that she had been late every day this week, or last week, or all of last month…
Raye sat down but was up and pacing almost immediately. “Guys, we have to put an end to this. We can’t just keep letting her arrive late all the time!”
Amy nodded. “I agree with you, but how can we make her come on time?”
“Whatever you decide,” Mina said, popping a cookie into her mouth, “you’d better make it stick. Just yelling at her isn’t going to change anything.”
“Yeah, sure,” Lita laughed. “Maybe we should just tell Serena that we’ll beat her for every minute she’s late.”
Luna rolled her eyes. “Sure, then she’ll just stop coming altogether, and besides, you really shouldn’t hurt her.”
Raye had stopped pacing. “Lita might be on to something. That system would work. Some punishment for a length of time equaling the number of minutes that she’s late…” Raye began to pace again, mind churning furiously.
“But what punishment can we institute?” Amy asked, hitting the crux of the matter.
“I don’t know. What does Serena hate? Bugs, maybe? Should we buy an ant farm and make her stick her hands inside?” Mina suggested.
“No, Serena doesn’t seem to mind bugs all that much. Or at least that’s how she acts,” Luna replied.
Raye stopped again, an idea hovering on the tip of her tongue… but then she lost it. Something Serena hated, or feared…
“Got anything, Raye?” Lita asked.
“Almost,” Raye answered. “Can’t quite remember what it was, but it was a good idea, I felt that much.”
Floundering for an appropriate punishment, the group remained in deep thought.
Neflite was angry with himself now. What a waste of time! “Find out what raises human energy levels,” he mocked to himself. “Bah!” Neflite had discovered nothing that would fulfill his purposes, and…
Screech! Neflite stepped on the brakes as some ditzy girl ran out into the street. “Sorry!” she cried with a wave and a little giggle. Neflite pulled over, his bad mood intensified, and for lack of something better to do focused the crystal on her. Hmm… her energy seemed to be somewhat greater than anything else he’d seen so far. Neflite had a hunch, and got out of his car to follow.
Serena ran across the street, narrowly missing a car, and ran up the stairs to the temple, out of breath. “Okay… puff, puff… I made it.” She tossed her shoes aside, leaving her barefoot.
No one answered. Raye was pacing the floor, and everyone else was staring at the ceiling. “Hey! Guys!”
Amy looked over and answered. “It’s about time, Serena.”
“Yeah, I know, I know, just read me the riot act and let’s move on.”
“We decided that you’ll need a more permanent reminder, Serena,” Luna said. “We’re considering what your punishment should be.”
“What? Are you serious? You’re joking, right? …Right?” Serena asked nervously.
Raye grinned a nasty little grin at Serena. “No, we’re not joking, Meatball Head. We’re just having a little difficulty coming up with an appropriate punishment. Something along the lines of your worst nightmare…”
“You wouldn’t, Raye!” Serena wailed.
Amy, Lita and Mina chorused back: “Oh yes she would!” Then they broke out into laughter.
“I think I’ve got it!” Luna cried. She jumped over to Raye and whispered something to her. Raye brightened.
“Yes! That’s what I was thinking earlier! Something Serena hates, that can be done for any length of time, and isn’t harmful!”
“What can fill all those parameters?” Amy asked, puzzled.
“Well,” Luna began, “this morning when Serena was waking up late, I was walking by the foot of the bed. I was stretching, and by accident my tail touched her foot. Serena was up in a hurry, I tell you. And she shouted at me never to do ‘that’ again, though she didn’t say what ‘that’ was.”
Serena froze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I do.” Raye grinned. “I remember one time, when we were having a sleepover, I ran my nails against her foot accidentally.”
“Accidentally?” Lita asked with a grin.
Raye nodded innocently. “Oh yes, completely by accident. The same thing happened; a shriek, a giggle, and yelling at me to never do that again.”
“No…please…don’t tell me…” Serena said, shocked.
“Oh yes, Serena!” Raye wiggled her fingers. “It’s tickle time!”
“No! Seriously!” Serena pleaded as she backed up against the wall. “Raye! Please don’t! I’m super-hyper ticklish!”
“’Super-hyper?’” Mina asked with a grin.
“Please!” Serena tried again, bringing up her hands to swat at the approaching tormentors. It was to no avail; Raye’s raking nails found Serena’s ticklish feet and began to scrape lightly.
The moment that Raye touched Serena’s soles, she was helpless. “Oh pleheheheheheeeeeze! Don’t Raye! Pleheheheeheeeeeek…!” Serena cut off in a fresh burst of laughter. Her arms fell limply, and she tossed her head. Serena tried to draw her legs up under her, but Raye caught them and dragged her out to lie on the floor. Then she sat on Serena’s legs to prevent a recurrence, and with a grin resumed tormenting Serena’s soles.
The other girls giggled at seeing Serena collapse like jelly. “I’m in!” cried Mina enthusiastically.
“No pleeehehehehehze! Mina, nooooo! No more tickling! I-I-I ahahahaahhaahahahah haaha hehehehh staaaaahahahap!” Serena cried. Mina’s fingers began to dance on her stomach. Serena howled with laughter, and Mina giggled, having a great deal of fun. Serena’s arms flopped about feebly, and Mina took her wrists and stretched her arms over her head. Serena pleaded but was unable to move her arms back down.
“This is great, Raye! By the way, how late was Serena today?”
“Oh, about twenty minutes,” was the reply.
“Come on, Amy! Let’s go!” Lita cried. But Amy, seeing Serena beg and plead under the nails of Mina and Raye, shrank back.
“I don’t know… this is a little extreme…”
Lita tugged at her arm. “You said it yourself, remember? We have to punish her so that she’s not late anymore. It’s only in fun,” she exhorted.
“But… I…” Amy was still floundering.
“Aww, never mind then,” Lita said. “Hey! Serena, where else are you ticklish?”
“Everywhere!” Mina laughed. She had moved up to Serena’s armpits, and was tickling away at Serena’s defenseless underarms.
“Nohohohohohohooooo! No more pleeheheheheeeeeze! Ple-AHAHAH HEAHAAHAHA HAHAHA HAHAHA OH STAAAAAP! DON’T DO THAHAHAH HAHHAAHA THAAAAT!” Raye began to lightly drag her nails up and down Serena’s soles. They quivered and shook but were unable to get away.
“How about here?” Raye asked with a sinister smile. She began to wiggle her fingers in the soft flesh between Serena’s toes. This drove Serena absolutely wild with laughter, and she was unable to speak.
“Nah, I’ll just stick to her nice soft tummy,” Lita giggled. She dug into Serena’s stomach, pushing her to the limit.
“OH PLEEEEHEHEHEEEHEEHEEEEZE! STAHAHAHAHAHAP! NO MORE! NO MORE! AAHAHAHA HAHAH PLEEEHEEHEHEHEEZE!” Serena could only cry out like a broken record, unable to do much more, much less defend herself. She couldn’t even move her arms back from where Mina had crossed them over her head. Her muscles felt rubbery and her energy drained from the constant torture.
Mina was giggling so hard at Serena’s predicament that she had to stop for a while and regain control of herself.
“Well, if nothing else, she should come on time now,” Amy said to Luna.
“I hope so.” Luna glanced at the clock. “Okay! It’s been twenty minutes,” she called loudly, to be heard over Serena’s cries.
“Aww, come on! Please? Just another five minutes?” Raye asked.
Luna shook her head. “No, now, please. That’s according to the rules you suggested yourself.”
“Fine, fine,” Raye grumbled, though still grinning. Lita got up from straddling Serena and Mina just rolled over onto the floor. Serena was still giggling spasmodically.
After about two minutes Serena sat up, her eyes filled with tears (more tears) and began to bawl. “Waaah! That was so mean!” she sobbed. “Sniffle… sniffle… I bet you wouldn’t have done that to anyone else!” Serena yelled through her tears.
Lita giggled. “Serena, you are a mess.” Serena stopped crying and looked at herself in the mirror.
“Augh! Look what you’ve done to me!” Serena cried out in anguish as the others laughed. Her hair was damp and matted, her meatballs about to come undone, her face lined with tears, her body streaked with sweat and her clothes disheveled.
With a moan Serena flopped onto a chair.
Neflite was ecstatic. He had been unsure if his crystal had been reading correctly. Neflite hadn’t known just how much energy could come from just one human. The energy output had tripled, and best of all, it was easily collected energy. Some kinds of energy, like emotional energy, were powerful but made the target more dangerous. Not so with this kind, Neflite noticed. Instead, the one girl had been completely helpless, had been at the others’ complete mercy. It was made to order for his needs. Now, just to do some research on this phenomenon (he had heard it called tickling), set up a plan and execute it. With Beryl’s deadline of three days, he’d have to hurry. But it could work.
Neflite called one of his helpers, whom he thought could fill the task he needed accomplished. Floran, a woman with the power to control plants and vines and other vegetation, seemed to fit the bill. Floran was about six feet tall, and she wore a palm frond skirt and a bikini top. Her skin was a lush green color, and covered in short white bristles. She had a round face, with long black hair that hung to the small of her back.
Neflite and Floran researched everything they could get their hands on about the subject of “tickling”. Zoycite showed up, regular as clockwork. “You’ve only got two days left!” she said gleefully. “Better hurry, you don’t want Beryl to be angry! Oh, wait, she already is angry. Too bad for you!” Zoycite laughed.
Neflite waved her off. “Beat it, I’m working here.” The automatic dismissal seemed to annoy Zoycite more than any verbal jab.
“Oh really?” she said haughtily. “What is that?” Zoycite leaned over Neflite’s shoulder, where he was making notes on a diagram of the human body. “’Tickling: A reaction caused by the touching of sensitive areas on the body. Reactions are usually characterized by laughter and reflexive dodging actions. In extreme cases, the body begins to malfunction, causing massive sweating, crying, lack of oxygen and paralysis. These reactions are more acute in females.’ A load of rubbish, Neflite,” Zoycite concluded. “This – what did they call it? – tickling doesn’t seem to be that important.”
Neflite tossed her the radar crystal. “See for yourself. These readouts are a direct result of ‘tickling’.”
Zoycite tossed it back. “Ha. Anyone can fake readouts, Neflite. This doesn’t impress me.”
Neflite grinned. Her face had matched her words, but the force with which she threw back the crystal betrayed her true feelings. Having the upper hand against Zoycite was cause for celebration in itself. She turned with a harrumph and disappeared.
“Okay, this doesn’t seem too difficult,” Floran was saying. “I can do this.”
“Good,” Neflite replied. “Because we’re doing it tomorrow.”
The next day…
Neflite had arrived early at the greenhouse. He had checked around for one of these that were going to be in use today. He and Floran had disposed of all the humans who worked here normally, and had just finished their own preparations. He hoped this worked…
Serena made a mad dash for the temple after school that day. Unbeknownst to her, though, was the fact that Raye had tampered with the clock. She had gotten Mina’s and Lita’s approval for this little scheme, and Amy was not yet here, thank goodness. Raye didn’t want to have to deal with moral objections, and hopefully Amy wouldn’t notice the altered time. It was only set about ten minutes ahead, acceptable within the normal deviations of any clock.
What Raye had not counted on was Serena’s fear of tickling. She burned rubber in a straight line from school to the temple.
“Yaaaah!” Serena dove through the doors in a dramatic fashion. Mina, Lita and Raye were eagerly discussing what they were going to do to Serena today, with Amy quietly reading by herself. Raye grinned as she produced some feathers that she had procured. All of them looked up as Serena crashed through the doors. Nobody spoke for a minute, though Serena paled at the sight of the feather Raye held, which Raye quickly hid.
“Well, Serena, you’re early…err…” Amy said, looking at the clock, “…on time. I must get this watch corrected,” she mumbled to herself. It was true; Serena had managed to beat Raye’s adjustment of the clock by a bare ten seconds.
Raye said nothing, though inwardly she was fuming. Darn Serena! Why couldn’t she just be late, like always? It didn’t really matter, though. She didn’t need an excuse to tickle torture Serena. Raye had not realized how much of a kick she got out of that. She’d have to do it more often.
“Serena, it’s good to see that you’ve learned a lesson,” Luna said. “Now, Amy, if you would go ahead with what you found today.”
“Yes. Um… while walking to here from school today, I passed a greenhouse. By chance I happened to look at some of the plants they had, and they seemed…abnormal. So I took some readings, and it seems that the whole place is full of dark energy, consistent with the taint caused by Negaverse activity on Earth.”
“Eek!” Serena cried. “Does that mean there’s a monster?”
“In all probability,” Amy replied.
“Okay. We don’t have any knowledge of their plan or that there is even something there. In fact, they could be trying to decoy us away while they set up another plan. Usually the Negaverse does not advertise its presence. I’m worried,” Luna said. “Because of that, I want Raye to go and check things out. And… you go too, Serena. Just in case Raye needs some help.”
“Meatball Head is more likely to hurt than help,” Raye protested.
“Oh, shut up, Raye!”
Luna sighed. “Amy, would you accompany them and keep the peace?”
Amy giggled. “Sure thing, Luna.”
“Call for help if you need it,” Luna called after them as they left, Raye and Serena still bickering.
Neflite was breathing easier now, figuratively, though he wasn’t out of the woods yet, also figuratively. Their commandeered greenhouse sat on the edge of a human commercial center, so they had a fairly steady flow of customers. Whenever Floran could snatch a human female without the notice of others, she did, and proceeded to tickle her with an assortment of vines and leaves. Floran had been surprised to witness such odd reactions from the girls she’d caught, but she was even more surprised to see how much energy they gave off. It was not nearly as high as the girl Neflite had seen, but it was a decent amount, and they had all of two days to do this. Neflite already had more energy than his last five missions combined had produced, though he admitted that this was because the last five missions had been dismal failures.
Floran was growing to like her position. At first tentative, she grew bolder, and whenever Neflite checked into the storage closet they’d converted for their purposes, he invariably saw a human girl writhing and screaming with laughter while vines encircled her body and probed for her weaknesses.
It was about four-thirty when Raye, Serena and Amy arrived at the greenhouse. Raye stopped at the entrance and looked around.
“You’re right, Amy,” she said quietly. “This place feels dark and cold. The Negaverse must be here.”
“Let’s split up and look around,” Amy said. “Keep in touch, and report if you see anything suspicious.
Serena wandered up and down the aisles at random. She had no idea what she was supposed to be looking for, so she examined the plants instead. They all seemed unhealthy, but Serena couldn’t exactly place any outward signs of disease. Serena wandered further, back into the almost-deserted outdoor area where large lots of fertilizer and other chemicals were sold.
Serena rounded a corner when she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Find anything, Amy?” Serena asked, half-turning.
“I found you!” Floran said, voice dripping with menace.
“Aaaaah! A monster!” Serena tried to scream. But it came out muffled as Floran clamped a hand over her mouth. Looking around quickly, Floran dragged Serena to the storage closet full of plants. There she flung Serena to the ground.
“What do you want?” Serena asked nervously. She was going to have to wait until the others noticed her absence, given that she couldn’t transform in front of the enemy. “I want your energy,” Floran hissed. Serena was a bit puzzled. Usually Neflite liked to wait until one particular person had reached maximum energy output. Draining energy from the populace at large was more Jedite’s tactic. Serena wondered if this was the result of another leadership change for the Negaverse.
“Don’t touch me, creep,” Serena snarled. Then Floran laughed.
“Ah, I’ve found this very satisfying. There are two types of human girls I’ve seen here so far. The first type babbles incoherently in fear. They are fun to play with, shrieking and crying out before I even touch them. Then, there’s the second type, like you. You’re putting up a brave front and blustering at me. Nevertheless, I have the satisfaction of watching you crumble under my torture.”
“Torture!” Serena gasped. This had never happened before! Someone else must be running the show now, she was sure of it. Now Serena was genuinely afraid.
Floran shook her head. “What’s wrong? Oh, I see, a misunderstanding. I said ‘torture’, didn’t I? Well, to be honest that’s not completely correct. What we do here is not actually torture as you might think of it.”
“So what is it then?” Serena asked, a little braver.
Floran raised her arms, and the plants moved, ensnaring Serena’s limbs and pulling them out to the maximum extension. Serena struggled. “What I meant was… tickle torture.”
Serena stopped. Her eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped. “No… you can’t be serious!” Serena was near panic. It was like a bad movie with Raye directing.
Floran smiled. “Oh, I’m dead serious. Do you realize how much energy humans give off when I tickle them?”
Serena simply stared in mute horror. Floran’s hands turned into clusters of leaves, and vines from other plants tugged her shirt up, holding it in a bunch around her neck.
Floran brushed her leaves against Serena’s ribs. Serena burst out laughing.
“Oh ahahahahhahahaha please don’t do this! Heheheeheheeehe ahahahhahaha haha please don’t tickle meeeeeeeeee! Th-this isn’t funny!”
Floran ignored Serena and continued to explore, looking for a prime location. She gently swept the leaves over her stomach, swirled them in her armpits and rubbed them on her sides. Serena fought in vain to free herself, but given that she couldn’t move even when unrestrained, it was a dead issue. Waves of giggles poured out of her throat, prompting Floran to smile.
“My, you’re a ticklish little thing, now aren’t you? Now, where else can I look? Hmm…” Floran ceased her tickling for a second, but Serena had no respite as the vines took over, probing and teasing her upper body. Floran was consulting the diagram Neflite had made up the other night. “Underarms…check. Ribs…check. Stomach… – such a nice, soft stomach it is! – check. Sides…check. Now… ah! Of course! The feet. How could I have forgotten?” Floran asked with a mischievous smile. She commanded the vines to raise Serena’s feet so that they could be properly attended to.
Serena hadn’t noticed her feet being elevated because of all the vines tickling her body. But she did notice her shoes and socks being delicately removed. “NOHOHOHOHHOOOOOOOO PLEEEHEEHEEHEHEEEEZE! NOT THERE ANYWHERE BUT THERE! AHAHAHAHAAAHAAHAAAAAAHE! I BEG YOU PLEHEEHEHEEEEEEEEEZE!” Serena’s worst fear was about to become reality. Here she was, completely at the mercy of a maniac tickler, unable to move and her feet were the next targets!
Floran merely smiled again and began to brush her featherlike leaves over Serena’s soles. Serena went ballistic and her screaming laughter doubled in volume. It was loud enough to cause Floran worry. What if people were to hear this cacophony? Well, the quick solution would be to knock her out. So… more vines were summoned, these to wriggle between Serena’s toes. Floran had found this a most effective tactic.
Serena was laughing so hard now as to completely shut off her other senses. She wasn’t afraid any longer, wasn’t feeling hot and flushed, wasn’t aware of being a foot off the ground, she was just aware of the swarming vines, pushing her toward oblivion. Now the laughter consumed all available air, leaving none to breathe. Serena saw stars as she lost oxygen flow to her brain. She quieted down, thrashing less, until she slipped into a sea of blackness.
Unfortunately for Floran the screams had not gone unheard. People were looking around, confused and worried, wondering what the noise could be.
Neflite cursed under his breath. Apparently, in his haste, he’d forgotten that tickling also produced shrieking, screaming laughter. He should have chosen a more isolated place to operate from. Be that as it may, Neflite decided to step in and keep things under control as much as possible.
Floran stepped out of the closet and took a quick look around. Before she could hide herself in the growth, though, someone spotted her and screamed, “Monster!” Floran, not knowing what else to do, grinned diabolically. The man who’d spotted her shouted and ran, prompting a stampede out the door. When everyone had left, Neflite locked the door. Fervently he hoped that Floran had collected sufficient energy for today.
Floran met Neflite with a somewhat sheepish grin. “She laughed too loud” was all Floran said.
Neflite shrugged it off. “How much energy did we get?”
“Ah,” Floran began. “I’m no scholar on collecting energy, but from what I can remember, we have a record-breaking amount here.”
“Why so much?” Neflite asked. “Last time I checked, you didn’t have that much, and you could have only done one or two more at the most.”
“One more, actually. But she was different. She gave off enormous power – she’s incredibly ticklish.”
“I see. Well, in any case, good job. Now let’s get out of here before the Scouts arrive to ruin things.”
Amy and Raye had not left with the stampede. Rather, they had quietly slipped away, and when everyone had gone they transformed themselves.
“Did you hear the scream?” Raye asked.
“Yes. I think it was coming from that direction.” Amy pointed to a door at the rear of the greenhouse. Slowly they crept over to the door and eased it open. The door squealed on its hinges, and Raye winced. But their caution evaporated on seeing what was contained inside the room.
“Serena! They got to her,” Amy said. “Her energy seems low. Come on, Serena, wake up,” Amy said, shaking her gently.
“Ohh… please, don’t…” Serena opened her eyes. “Guys… am I glad to see you.”
“Take it easy, Serena. What happened?” Amy asked.
Serena’s face contorted in fear. “She happened!” Raye followed the shaking finger behind her.
“So nice of you to join us, Scouts,” Floran said.
“You! Nega-scum, in the name of Mars I will punish you!” Raye said with he usual theatrical presentation.
“And in the name of Mercury…”
“Oh, can it!” Floran groused. “That’s so repetitive. Bring it on! I want to get this done quickly.” Floran backflipped into the rows of plants.
“Let’s go!” Raye cried, dashing off after her. Amy was just behind her.
“No… wait, she…” Serena tried to warn the Scouts of the impending situation, but her voice was too weak, and she went unheard.
Raye had slowed down, creeping about cautiously. Amy had gone a different way to see if they could surround her. Then she heard a truncated scream. “Mercury!” Raye called.
Amy had been ensnared by a tangle of creeper vines. She struggled, shouting at Floran. Floran was appraising her prize. Then Amy saw Raye appear behind Floran. Amy knew that they were in a tight spot. The proliferation of fertilizer and other potentially flammable chemicals made shooting fire about dangerous. But she didn’t know how to communicate that to Raye without Floran noticing. Raye acted too hastily.
“Mars… Fire…!”
“Stop!” Amy cried. Raye, confused, broke off her attack and stared dumbly. Floran whirled about, and Raye, in her momentary lapse, was also captured.
“Why’d you stop me?” Raye yelled.
“There’s fertilizer and other stuff around here! You could kill us all!” Amy replied.
“Too true,” Floran stepped in. “But it doesn’t help you now.”
Raye fought against the vines. “Creep! Let us go!”
Floran chuckled. “No, no, no. You don’t understand. We have come up with a revolutionary new tactic to defeat our opponents and collect energy at the same time.”
“And that would be?” Amy asked.
“You’re supposed to be the brains, you figure it out,” Floran sniggered. A pair of vines tugged Amy’s boots off and began to scratch and poke at her soles.
“Hehehehee… hey! That tickles… heheehee! Ahahahaahaahaa hahaha what kind of hahaha hahahaah tactic is this? Heeheeheee! I-I-I hahahahhahahaahah can’t see h-h-how this is a aahahahahahehehehaaaa good tactic!” Amy giggled and tried to sound scientific at the same time, producing a comical counterpoint to her words.
Raye gaped, then: “Oh! No wonder you knocked that girl out. She’s undoubtedly the most ticklish girl I’ve ever seen.”
Floran nodded, pleased with her work on Amy. She added another pair of vines to begin removing her shirt, then a half-dozen attacked her upper body. Satisfied, Floran turned to Raye. “Ah, yes. This is so much fun.”
Raye sneered. “Try all you like; I’m not ticklish at all.”
Floran was a bit hesitant. “Oh? Hmm… then what else can I do?” She began to ponder her options. In reality, Floran didn’t believe Raye, but she wanted to see what the reaction was.
Raye breathed a small sigh of relief. She was very ticklish as a matter of fact, and hated this because it ruined her image completely. Who would respect her, once tickling shattered her tough image? It just would not do. Fortunately, her good acting skills had convinced the Negaverse.
“I’ve decided that I don’t believe you!” Floran said suddenly. Raye jumped, all the proof that Floran needed. Floran pulled Raye’s shirt off herself, and changed her hands to leaves. These leaves had a soft, fuzzy covering that Floran had found excellent for tickling. Floran rubbed her leaves along Raye’s sides, unknowingly hitting her worst spot.
Raye clenched her teeth and screwed her eyes shut. Nobody was going to make her laugh. I’m not ticklish not ticklish not ticklish… she repeated to herself over and over again. Yet her face betrayed her. Floran grinned at seeing a smile work its way onto Raye’s face, a smile that she clearly wanted to hide. Floran torturously brushed the leaves on her quivering sides, relishing the obvious turmoil within Raye; her ego, refusing to show any sign of weakness, and her body, reacting to the soft bristles stimulating her ticklish skin. Floran brushed up higher, under her arms, and Raye’s smile turned to a grin. Her eyes shut tighter, but bits and pieces of giggles were beginning to come out of her mouth. Floran traced the points of her leaves over Raye’s ribs, pricking at the tight flesh. Now, to finish her off. Just before she went ahead, though, Floran checked her pendant, which was the container the energy she drew out was stored in. It was glowing a whitish-blue: that meant very strong energy. And there was a lot of it, too. Floran commanded the vines to remove Raye’s shoes and begin tickling her feet and legs.
Raye felt her shoes come off, and knew it was the end. Her feet, while not as sensitive as her sides, were nonetheless ticklish. Vines began to rub across her feet, pulling the short, stiff bristles over her soles. “Hee… heehee… haaa… hahahahaaaa… heeheeheeheahahaaha haha ahaaha hahaaha aah! Staaaaaaaap! Okay! Okay! I admit it I’m tickliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish! Aahaaahahahah heheeeheeheheeeeeahahaahahah oh stop pleeeeeeease! This isn’t a fair fiiiiiiiiiight!”
Floran smiled. “There we go. See, isn’t it just so much better to let it out? I think, though, that because you lied to me, you’re going to need some punishment.”
“Nooooooo pleeheheheheeeeeeze! No more! Staahahahahahaaaaaaaap! Haaahahaaaaaa!” Raye cried, thoroughly embarrassed.
Neflite appeared just then. “How is everything going, Floran?”
“Just fine.” Floran did not turn from tormenting Raye. “The leader hasn’t shown up yet, though.”
“Give me the pendant,” Neflite commanded. “I want to make sure that it’s safe.”
“Okay.” Floran slipped the pendant over her head and handed it to Neflite.
“Here’s a new one. Make sure you don’t break it, we need it for tomorrow.” Neflite teleported back to the Negaverse, to store his energy and officially log it. Couldn’t be too careful, especially with Zoycite around…
Neflite was out of Floran’s mind as soon as he left. She continued to torment Raye for about another ten minutes, until she was crying and red-faced.
“Okay, you can have a little break,” Floran said. Six vines took her place tickling Raye, and she turned to Amy. “Mercury, it’s your turn to laugh your mind away. And from what I hear, it’s a bright mind, so it will take extra long to make sure it’s all gone.” Floran smiled evilly, much to Amy’s horror.
What Floran did not know was that Serena had recovered enough to get back up and transform into Sailor Moon. But, even though she’d arrived in time to save Raye from the bulk of her torment, she had hid and watched. Serena considered it acceptable atonement for tickle torturing her yesterday. But Amy had been nice to her, so she decided to step in.
“Hey! Nega-scum! I don’t approve of you tickling the Sailor Scouts, and in the name…”
“…Of the Moon, I shall punish you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever,” Floran cut her off. “Heard it before. So, now, moon brat, I have a question for you.”
“Oh yeah?” Serena put all the sarcasm she could muster into her voice.
“You ticklish?” It was delivered without a hint of mockery or teasing.
“Nope, not at all,” Serena said confidently.
“I think you’re lying, like your friend Mars here,” Floran said. “But since I’m feeling generous, I’ll give you a chance to prove it, and I’ll make you a deal.”
“What deal?” Serena asked, feeling relatively certain that she could handle the situation.
“I get to try and make you laugh for ten minutes. If you don’t, then your buddies go free and I leave you alone.”
“And if you win?” Serena asked.
Floran grinned. “Well, then, you’re going to experience the ride of your life. Do you accept?”
“Don’t do it, Sailor Moon!” Raye cried. The vines had stopped while Floran made her pitch.
“She won’t let us go, even if you do win,” Amy said.
“If you refuse, then…” Vines rose menacingly around Raye and Amy. “Your pals will laugh their heads off, and I mean literally.”
Serena swallowed. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
If Raye could have she would have covered her eyes. Oh, man, you don’t stand a chance, Serena! she thought.
“Where do I go?” Serena was asking.
“Just stay there, I’ll handle it,” Floran replied. More vines carefully caught Serena’s limbs and slowly rotated her until she was horizontal above the ground. Floran nodded. “Okay, that’s all. Now,” she said, turning to Raye, “since you guys are pals, I bet you know some pretty juicy stuff about her.”
Raye stuck out her tongue.
Floran shook her head. “Oh, no, I don’t want anything of real value. I just want to know where your friend is very ticklish.”
“Hey! You’re cheating!” Serena protested.
Floran ignored her. “Well?”
“No. I won’t talk.” Raye turned her head defiantly.
“Very well then.” Floran was about to begin with her leaves, but as she leaned over to Raye a few strands of her long hair brushed against her stomach and she giggled. This gave Floran an idea, and she turned Raye so that she, too, was horizontal. Floran smiled, threw her hair over Raye’s stomach and began to slowly shake her head. Her hair rippled down in waves to Raye’s tummy.
Raye shrieked in laughter. Floran, delighted with her new tool, dragged her hair all over Raye’s upper body. Raye convulsed with laughter, and Floran, now leaving her hands in their normal form, devilishly added to Raye’s torment. Her hands crept onto Raye’s sides, and her short nails made Raye buck and scream.
“The feeheheeeeeeet! The feeeeheheheeeeeeeeet!” Raye was screaming. Floran took a moment to realize she was trying to answer the question. Floran withdrew, and Raye panted, “The feet… Sailor Moon is really ticklish on her feet… oh, I’m so sorry Sailor Moon but I couldn’t take it!”
Floran giggled. “You know what, I think that I’m going to have to keep you three, and track down your friends as well. This is too much fun to just let you go.”
Serena stared in openmouthed horror. Eternal tickle torment… what would happen to her? She’d most likely go mad, or become mentally unstable from the tickling. Then she would probably die. What a horrible way to go… “Don’t worry, Mars. I can do this.”
“Sailor Moon, be realistic,” Amy said. “It’s impossible for you to last ten minutes.”
“My,” Floran said, “it seems that your friends have lost confidence in you. You must have been lying. So, then, just how ticklish are you, I wonder? Maybe Sailor Mercury knows,” she said, with a glint in her eye. Suddenly Serena saw where this was going.
“This wasn’t part of our deal!” Serena objected.
Again Floran ignored Serena’s outburst. “Surely you must have tickled her yourself then, if you know that she’s so ticklish. Perhaps you can elaborate on Mars’ information. Or,” Floran said, as a new idea struck her, “maybe you can make it easier on yourself, Sailor Moon. Do you know where Mercury is very ticklish?”
“Scum!” Amy cried. “You can’t turn us against each other!”
“I think that I can,” Floran replied reasonably. “Mars already spilled the beans on Moon here. I’m betting that all of you are so ticklish that I can pull dirt out of each of you to use on your friends. Do you think Mars can take another session? She looks pretty worn out,” Floran sniggered. Indeed, Raye’s face was puffy and red, and lined by tears. “You, on the other hand, Mercury, are relatively fresh. I want to optimize your torment, so I think that I’ll ask Sailor Moon for the goods on you.”
As Floran had been saying this, she had been adjusting the vines holding each Scout. Now they were lined up side by side in front of her, horizontally, so that their feet stuck out at her. Sailor Mars’ feet were of average size, and, Floran noted, slightly rough on the ball and heel. But her soles and toes were very soft, good for tickling. Mercury’s feet were petite. Her toes were very cute, and her whole foot was smooth and perfectly shaped. Sailor Moon’s feet were a mystery prize, to be uncovered soon. Only that thin boot lay between her and creamy, ticklish flesh. Floran couldn’t wait to uncover her present. She decided to do so now.
“Sailor Moon, I ask again; what is Mercury’s most ticklish spot? It has to be there,” Floran went on, speaking soft and low, “a certain area that she covers in fear. Fear of my probing fingers finding it, digging in and gently kneading. The spot that causes her to shudder when teasing fingernails drag over it, the region where Mercury quakes in unrestrained laughter. Soft leaves brush their bristles there, producing ticklish torture. Vines rub against it, eliciting waves of helpless laughter. A spot that she can’t stand to be tickled on, an area that will drive her wild with laughter,” Floran finished poetically.
Serena blinked. “You’re psycho,” she said.
Floran grinned diabolically. “Take it back,” she said, her grin widening as she slowly pulled off Serena’s boot. “Take it back,” she repeated.
“I take it back!” Serena rushed out.
Floran laughed, and Serena reddened. “See? I can control each of you. By the way, I thought that you were not ticklish at all.” Floran resumed pulling off Serena’s boots.
“I-I-I… noooooooooooooooo!” Serena cried. Floran merely stared with a dreamy expression. Serena’s feet were an absolute dream. They were very creamy, a nice shade of white, and – more importantly – obviously very tender. Serena had seen that look before, on Raye’s face as she had raked her nails on Serena’s soles.
Floran extended one finger, teasingly, and lowered it to Serena’s foot. She scratched lightly on the sole, and Serena, already weakened by earlier torture, did not stand a chance.
“Heehehehehee ohhhhh ahahahahahaahahaha ahha hheheheeeheeehe ahah hhaaaaa stahahahaaaap! Pleeeeeease! Not my feheeheeeeeeeeeeeeeeet…! Ohohohohohohhoh oh nooooooooooo! Please don’t do that! I beg you! Not that!” Serena pleaded as Floran took her finger and began to slowly slide it in between her toes. “Oh please have mercy! Don’t! Don’t do thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! AhaahahahHAHAHAH AHAHAAHAHA HAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Serena laughed maniacally as Floran’s single finger wiggled, torturing the ultra-tender skin between her toes. Laughing, Floran held up another finger, and waited until Serena saw it. This took a few seconds, as Serena was whipping her head around and she was crying a flood. Barely able to contain her giggling, Floran lowered the finger to her other foot and slid it in. By just wiggling her two fingers, Floran had reduced Serena to a crying, madly laughing wreck.
Eventually, though, having been put through two torture sessions in one day, Serena’s throat began to run dry and her laughter came out as weak croaks. Floran frowned and withdrew her fingers. Then she shrugged. “Seems like you need a break. By the way, you lost the bet.” Serena was panting for breath and did not respond. So Floran turned to Amy. “Well, Mercury, you’ve gotten off pretty easy so far. Maybe you can keep it that way. Anything to tell me about your friends?”
“No.” Amy still had not experienced the full fury of tickle torture.
“Suit yourself. You’ll think twice after you experience the horror of my toe torture. There’re still so many things I haven’t tried yet. Think about it: after this, we’ll all go back to the Negaverse, and I’ll have every day to try new tickle tortures on you three. Sound like fun?” Amy shook her head. “I’ll make it fun,” Floran laughed. Again, she held up her finger, but this time extended another. “You get to have twice the fun Sailor Moon did.”
Amy hung mutely. She had always thought that she was not very ticklish, because everybody who had tried at one point or another had given up when she did not jump and giggle like other ticklish girls. But no one had ever tried to tickle her feet…
It felt like an electrical shock, Floran’s fingers between her toes. The sensation swept up her body and out her throat in a burst of giggles. Floran slowly twisted and wiggled her fingers, keeping a constant flow of laughter. She extended a third finger, and a fourth, and so on until all ten fingers were wiggling between Amy’s petite little toes.
Amy bucked and thrashed and laughed. It was the purest form of torture created, making her want to wet herself. She could feel each little movement of Floran’s fingers in between her toes, and each movement seemed to tickle worst than the last.
Dimly, Amy realized that Floran’s vines were tickling her soles, continuing to add to her ticklish agony. Now Amy could not even think of resisting. She just laughed and laughed as Floran’s sinister fingers cruelly rubbed against her toes. The vines played with her feet and legs, too, and Amy thought that she was kicking mightily but her scrambled brain did not notice that none of its commands were being acted upon.
Floran decided to give Amy a rest and go back to Raye. This time, though, she was just out to have some fun. Floran lay on the ground under Raye and extended her hands up to Raye’s stomach, curling around her sides. From Raye’s point of view, it seemed that two disembodied hands were hovering over her stomach. Floran stroked Raye’s tummy, lightly at first, and was rewarded with some giggling.
But, with her mind fully on Raye and with the extended length of time she’d been controlling plants, Floran could not keep iron control over her plants. Serena felt some of the vines holding her relax, to the point where she could wiggle free. This she did, but when she freed her feet she fell to the ground with a thump.
Floran, startled, lost all control over the plants, and Raye fell on top of her. Raye’s quick reflexes let her turn this into an elbow drop right onto Floran’s stomach. Floran lay, dazed, while Raye rolled off and shouted, “Now, Sailor Moon, now!”
Serena rose to her feet shakily, grabbed her tiara, and threw it. Floran dimly saw the disc of light fly towards her, and there was a flash of light.
Smack!
Amy looked puzzled. “What happened?” The tiara had hit Floran, but she hadn’t been “moon dusted”, as Serena liked to say. She lay unmoving, and obviously badly injured. Amy used her visor and scanned the body. “She seems to be dead. But why didn’t the tiara work?”
Serena collapsed. “I’m exhausted. I can barely stand, much less disintegrate someone. But I think she should be dead.”
Raye slumped to the ground. “Good enough for me. Let’s get out of here.”
Supporting each other, the Scouts limped back towards the temple.
Neflite returned to the greenhouse, fearing that Floran had died. She hadn’t come back like he had said earlier, instead toying with the Scouts. She had probably slipped up and let one of them free.
Neflite noticed that Floran was indeed dead; he checked, and she did not move or respond in any way. But the pendant was still there, and almost full at that. Neflite took it, then picked up the body and threw it into the undergrowth of a nearby group of trees, where it turned to dirt. Oh well. With these two pendants of energy, Neflite was sure that Beryl would let him live.
“Whoa! What kind of fight did you three get into?” Lita asked as Raye, Amy and Serena staggered back to the temple and collapsed onto chairs.
“No… fight,” Serena panted. “Worse…”
“What’s worse than a fight?” Mina asked.
“Oh… err, nothing,” Raye said, with a significant warning glance at Amy and Serena. Amy, in no mood to argue, said nothing.
“Ha…haha…. Ahahahah!” Serena laughed, somewhat maniacally.
Lita looked at her quizzically. “What’s so funny?”
Serena pointed at Raye. “Her… Ms. high-and-mighty over there…”
“Don’t even…” Raye began, but made no move to get up.
“She has a weakness…” Serena giggled. “Oh, yes. That’s what happened. Raye’s weakness.” A crazy light shone in Serena’s eyes.
“Huh? How did any weakness of Raye’s get you three looking like that?” Mina asked.
“My weakness too… and Amy’s, but that’s not important. Heehee… Sailor Mars is ticklish!”
“I am not!” Raye protested.
Serena began to mimic Raye. “’That’s not fair! No more tickling! I admit it! I’m ticklish!’ And then, how about ‘Sailor Moon is ticklish on her feet! I can’t take any more tickling!’”
“How do you…? Why didn’t you save me!” Raye yelled.
“Payback. I decided that you might not be so eager to go around tickle torturing people if you got a taste of it yourself.”
“For your information,” Raye said, scrabbling frantically for an excuse, “I wasn’t actually ticklish. I was just playing along so that the monster would go after me and give you a break,” she concluded. That should be plausible enough.
Serena grinned. “Sure, Raye. Whatever you say.”
“I am not ticklish!”
Finally Amy stepped in. “Does it really matter? We got away safely. We’ll never have to go through that again.”
Amy did not know how wrong she was.
Despite his obvious huge quantity of energy, Neflite was nervous. Would the Queen think it enough? There was only one way to find out.
“Neflite,” Beryl greeted him. “Have you beaten Sailor Moon? Or gathered vast quantities of energy?”
“H-here, My Queen,” Neflite said, offering the two pendants of energy.
“Hmm…” Beryl said, appraising them. Neflite held his breath. Beryl nodded. “Excellent job. This is enough energy to make up for all your failures, Neflite. What method did you use to gather it?”
“A somewhat esoteric reaction that can be caused in human females. I’m still researching it, so I cannot explain very well. But I can use the same method to gather more energy.”
“Good. Do so. Remember Neflite that you still have a lot of failure to atone for. I want you to set a plan in motion to destroy Sailor Moon. Continue to gather energy as well.”
Neflite looked up. “I can do that.”
“Then go, and formulate your plan.”
