The Dark (Feather) Kingdom: Part 16

[Jaynin]

Part XVI: Feedback





Serena was up with the first light. She stretched her arms and legs as much as she was able. Last night, she’d been given more freedom of movement.

At sunset, Michelle had returned, leaving Serena helpless in a den of five ticklers. Her feet were prized as the epitome of ticklishness, and they were free to tickle while Jelex thought up her punishment. At first, she’d been tied hand and foot, but when the pizzas came they realized either she needed to be able to eat or someone would have to feed her. They chose the former option, and Serena had been treated to an eerie experience. While eating dinner, the five tickle stooges were very much like her friends. No tickling then or for a little while after while the food digested. Their talking was amiable and, while somewhat narrow in topics, idle gossip.

But then the free ride had ended.

Felin had put on a movie she’d made of tickling Raye that afternoon. The picture flicked on, showing both Felin and Raye standing in a bedroom. Her bedroom, Serena realized – this must be her video camera! Raye was wearing only a pair of underwear, and trying to assume a fighting stance while keeping her breasts covered. This ungainly and largely ineffective pose had evoked hilarious laughter from the Negaverse. Serena had to admit that it was a funny shot. Raye had yelled and lunged at Felin. Felin neatly parried the punch with her tail and jumped to the side. Raye turned with her and fired off a vicious roundhouse kick. Felin caught it with her tail and wrapped up the ankle. She quickly scrabbled her nails on Raye’s sole, causing her to overbalance and nearly fall. Raye yanked her foot straight down in an axe kick, breaking Felin’s grip. They stared at each other, Raye wary and tense, Felin smiling and ready. Raye came forward again, intending to grapple this time. Felin caught her hands and Raye pressed in close, forcing Felin to the wall. Syia needled Felin about the shocked expression on her face.

Raye pulled Felin forward and grabbed her under the shoulders to put her in a full Nelson. Felin kicked vainly until Raye twined a leg between Felin’s, trapping her. But that move proved to be her undoing. Felin smiled and ceased struggling. Raye was beginning to giggle. Serena realized that Felin’s tail was not held. Felin pressed into Raye, causing her grip to weaken. Then Felin tore out of Raye’s grip and they faced one another again.

Like lightning Felin’s tail struck out and caught Raye under her arm. Raye giggled and pulled away. Just as quickly the tail came in from the other side, brushing along her ribs. Raye jerked away, and Felin caught her behind the knees. Raye swayed, giggling harder now, and her attempts to cover herself came a second late; Felin’s tail was there and gone in an instant, forcing Raye to her knees in laughter. Now Felin didn’t even bother to pull back, as Raye was reduced to feeble swats at her tail. Raye collapsed face first onto the carpet, still laughing. She tried to roll away but it was to no avail. Finally Felin moved in with her deft fingers and finished Raye off. When Raye was too weak to fight any longer, Felin rolled her in a bed sheet and left her on the bed.

“Home movies,” Serena snorted. “Always bore the hell out of me.” No one seemed to particularly care about her jape. So Serena was resolved to sit moodily and listen to the chatter of Felin, Jelex, Syia, Megan and Michelle.

Somehow or another ticklish feet became the subject of discussion. Although Serena had not been paying much attention to the conversation anyway, she heard that particular subject come up.

“I think Michelle’s feet are more ticklish,” Megan was saying.

“Nah, Syia’s are,” Michelle objected. “You’re just trying to make everyone gang up on me.”

“How perceptive,” Felin chuckled. “I’m going to agree with Megan.”

“Me too,” Syia said. “What do you think, Jelex?”

Jelex smiled and inclined her head toward Serena. Serena let out a little squeak. Felin’s tail wandered over and brushed on her soles. But Serena had an ace up her sleeve.

Felin frowned. “What happened?” Serena had managed to keep a straight face. Her feet were like prunes from being waterlogged. They were far less ticklish than her usual smooth, creamy-white arches.

Serena laughed. “I was in the water too long. Apparently Jelex didn’t save me fast enough.”

“She has a point,” Megan said. “Wait until tomorrow, then the shriveled skin will be back to normal.” She grinned at Michelle. “Which brings us back to you.”

Michelle had become uncomfortably aware of her feet, resting on a stool. “Oh no you don’t.” She tried to pull her feet up under her body. “What gives? No! You’re cheating!” Michelle burst out with an imploring glance at Syia.

“Well, now, the shoe is on the other foot,” Syia said. “Or, more correctly, the shoe is not on. Last night you found it fitting to curl your tongue between my poor helpless toes-“

“Oh, shut up,” Felin chuckled. “Stop whining.” She began to get up, but Syia stopped her.

“Watch this.” Syia concentrated and found a nerve in Michelle’s feet. As Serena saw the terrible toll, she had begun to grow afraid.

This is going to be bad…



The Scouts had had an eventful night, to say the least.

Amy and Mina had straggled back at around four o’ clock, after they had finished their day. Both had resolved not to let the tickling episode upset their plans, so they were in the best mood of all the Scouts. They found Raye still rolled in a sheet, unable to free herself. Immediately she went over to Serena’s video camera. “The tape’s gone!” she shrieked.

“What? What tape?” Mina asked.

“Felin made a tape of this afternoon! I looked like an idiot! She’d better not try and blackmail me or…! Ooooooh!” Raye was furious.

“Say, Raye, what were you wearing when this tape was shot?” Amy asked.

After being thrown out into the hall, Amy and Mina waited for Raye to cool down. She stalked out, dressed this time.

“Where’s Lita and Serena?” Raye asked. She felt like easing some tension by tickling the living daylights out of Serena.

“I don’t know. She’d better get back soon or we’ll need to…”

“Call for pizza. Har har. Yes, I know. You’re not funny.”

As the clocked ticked past six, the Scouts began to grow increasingly edgy. Finally Amy volunteered to go fetch the two.

As it was, Amy nearly missed Lita under all the sand. She had laughed herself hoarse long ago and her face was bright red. “Lita! Are you OK?” Amy yelled as she tore at the pile of sand.

Lita merely made some noises. She was clearly unable to speak. Even laughter no longer escaped her parched lips. Amy knew that she must have been suffering for a while. When Amy finally dug Lita out, she saw the cause of her torment. When exposed, the feathers darted away, scattering to the winds. They had staggered back together, where Raye did relent to calling for pizza. But there was still no sign of Serena.



Serena felt peaceful watching the sunrise. She could almost forget that she was tied to a recliner in a dungeon of tickle-happy fiends. Unfortunately her feet had smoothed out overnight, so they were going to be a target today.

It was about seven before Felin awoke. Serena considered herself lucky to see such a sight. The torture was almost worth it. Felin was bed head writ large, with her fur sticking up at odd angles all over her body. Serena immediately burst into laughter. Felin moved like the dead possessed for the coffee machine, ignoring Serena completely.

“Stupid… nothing wrong with coffee… just to help me get up, that’s all…” she muttered. While she waited for the coffee she got out a bowl and poured cereal, and began to munch robotically.

Jelex was up fifteen minutes later. By then Felin had poured her coffee and had flicked on the news. “Mornin’, Sailor Moon,” Jelex said with a grin as she passed by. Jelex made herself two slices of toast and poured a glass of milk. “The humans say that stuff makes you shorter,” Jelex said to Felin. “You don’t want to be any shorter, trust me.” Felin spared one eye to glare and resumed watching TV. “Pay attention,” Jelex said with a grin. Even at this early hour, she seemed to be herself. A morning person… Serena hated morning people. “You don’t want to spill, do you?” Red hands had begun to crawl like spiders over the furniture. Felin managed to put her coffee down before they swarmed her, crawling over her body. Felin was still too groggy to fight them off, so she sat there and giggled while the hands reigned freely over her. Eventually she got up and yelled at Jelex. Jelex laughed. “But you’re awake now, aren’t you?” Felin gave her an evil stare and resumed drinking coffee.

Syia was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. It seemed that she’d been awake for a while already. “I’ve got the prototype of my next invention ready!” she gushed. Of course, at this time of the morning that did not draw an enthusiastic response. “Fine, you’re missing out on a breakthrough in the making.” Syia settled a thin silver circlet over Serena’s head and pushed a button. Suddenly Serena felt so incredibly drowsy… she closed her eyes and began to snore.

“Wait a minute!” Syia objected. Felin and Jelex were sniggering. “That wasn’t supposed to happen!” Syia removed the thin band from Serena’s forehead. Her eyes snapped open. “It needs adjustment…” she muttered to herself. Syia took the circlet and returned to her room.

Michelle and Megan arrived at the same time. Michelle was finishing brushing her hair. “Who fell asleep first?” Jelex asked. Michelle grinned wickedly, while Megan smiled sheepishly. They began to prepare eggs. Serena eyed the brush Michelle had put down. Her hair was a mess.

Felin noticed. “Hey, Michelle, toss that hair brush.” Felin neatly fielded it and untied Serena’s wrists. Serena nodded and began to brush out her hair. She kept at it longer than usual to keep her hands free. But neither Jelex nor Felin was paying attention. Felin had her hands behind her head, resting on the couch near Serena. Glancing around, she slowly lowered the brush to Felin’s underarms.

Jelex caught her eye. For a second Serena’s heart froze. But to her astonishment Jelex grinned and nodded encouragement. Thus emboldened, Serena rubbed the hairbrush under Felin’s fuzzy arms. Felin shrieked with laughter and covered her armpits. Serena moved to her stomach, and when Felin tried to cover that spot, Serena used her free hand to tickle her underarms again. Felin was hopelessly trying to cover all her ticklish spots at once. Neither Jelex nor Megan nor Michelle moved to help her.

This isn’t so bad…



“Okay, where is Serena?” Raye asked.

“Probably captured,” Lita replied. “I haven’t seen her since about one yesterday.”

“Hmm…” Amy pondered. “We have to get into the house next door.”

“Is she even there?” Mina wondered. Raye grinned.

“I have a plan.”



The telephone rang. Michelle picked it up without much thought.

“Hello,” she answered.

“Hi. Is Serena there?” Raye asked.

“Sure. Just one sec-“ Michelle stopped dead. “Very funny, Sailor Scouts,” she snarled into the phone. She slammed it down.

“Telemarketer?” Megan asked.

“Shut up.”



“Well, she’s over there,” Raye said.

“That was pretty clever,” Lita admitted. “So now what?”

“Our best point of entry is the second floor,” Amy said.



Syia got up and stretched. She’d been working for a while now, and she needed some fresh air. Syia opened the doorway to the walkway and looked at the sea. It was actually very pretty. Syia had turned back to go inside when she felt nails pricking at her ribcage! Syia melted into giggles and fell to her knees. “Oh, stop, staaaaaaaaaaap pleeeeeeeze!” she giggled. Who had her? Probably Michelle. It didn’t really matter, because whoever it was had her trapped. “Come on! Pleheeeeeeheeeeeze! I need to finish my invention!”

Suddenly Syia was whirled around to face Raye, of all people. “What invention?” she asked menacingly. Syia was too shocked to answer. In that quick second, Raye plucked the glasses off Syia’s face and tossed them to Amy, standing in the doorway.

“No fair!” wailed Syia. “I can’t see!” She gasped and chuckled in laughter as more hands arrived to torment her. And now, without her glasses, her power was reduced. Syia was vaguely aware of being moved inside.

Syia was bound to a chair, still cackling madly. Raye dialed up the Negaverse again. This time the answer was a harsh “What?” from Michelle.

“Let’s play guess who!” Raye held the phone close to Syia. When Raye placed the receiver next to her ear again, she heard a thump and silence. But they hadn’t hung up, just dropped the phone. A new voice spoke into the phone.

“Say, what’s going on over there?” Jelex asked. “Do you really have Syia?”

“Yes,” Raye answered. Jelex laughed.

“Listen to me, I’ve got some advice. Her feet are sooooooooooo ticklish it’s unbelievable. Just like your friend Serena’s here.”

Now it was Raye who was shocked into silence. What was that for? Raye immediately suspected a trap. “Why should I believe anything that you say?”

“No reason.” Jelex laughed again. “By the way, we won’t trade Serena for Syia. Sorry.” This time the phone was hung up. Raye placed her phone in the receiver.

“Well, your friends won’t trade back for you. That means you’ll be our guest for a little while.” Syia squinted at Raye, causing her to laugh. “That’s pretty funny. You look like a mole.” Then Raye felt her muscles lock and her feet left the ground. “What-? Hey!” Raye would have been flailing had she been able.

“What’s wrong, Raye?” Amy asked. She, too, was bound and floated in midair.

Syia grinned. “Two down, two to go. Where’s my old friend Lita?”

Raye saw a pair of hands sneak from behind the chair. “Cootchy cootchy coo!” Lita teased. Her fingers poked gently at Syia’s sides. Raye felt her bonds weaken and she fell to the ground. “We have to keep her laughing, that’s the only way to make sure she can’t use her powers. When we wear her out we can stop.”

Raye saw an opportunity. “Jelex said your feet are unbelievably ticklish. What do you say to that?” Syia didn’t say anything. Raye tugged off her shoes and saw that Syia had to fight down giggles even then. “Oho! It seems that you’re extra sensitive. I wonder how your feet will tolerate the torturously soft touch of a feather?” Syia’s eyes said it all; she was terrified of feathers. It was part of the reason Michelle was able to break her down. Raye giddily scampered off to get her feathers. Syia was shaking with laughter as Amy delicately worked her fingernails into Syia’s armpits. It worked just as well on her as it did Serena, Amy noticed. Syia was incredibly ticklish, and her tight gray shirt didn’t help her much now.

For Lita, it seemed that Syia had gotten softer since they’d been in the dungeon. But then, it was hard to look tough when you were giggling like a schoolgirl as someone tickled you under the arms. Without her glasses she was also much less intimidating. They had a way of glinting when she had an evil thought. Next Lita examined Syia’s feet. They were small, really no different than normal feet except for the obvious fact that they were white. Her toes were tiny, but her arches were high and smooth. Syia apparently did little work physically if she could help it. Lita ran a nail up her arch. Syia gasped and began to laugh uncontrollably as Lita torturously stroked her nail over the skin.

Then an excellent idea struck Lita. “As I remember, you liked to lick my toes. I never told you how that felt. Well, they say actions speak louder than words, so I guess I’ll show you.” Lita lowered her tongue to the small crevice between the toes and slid it back and forth.

Syia screamed in laughter and began to buck. She strained at her bonds, thrashing wildly, but she was not able to escape Lita. Raye entered the room with a few feathers. “Mind if I join?” she asked.

“Not at all.” Lita smiled wickedly. “Where’s Mina? She might want to help.”

Raye shrugged. “Shower.” She bent down and teased Syia’s arches with the point of the feather.

Syia was in tears now. “Ohhhh pleeeeeze staahahahaaaaaap!” she sobbed. “No… not there aaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! Aahahahaahahahaa oh God no! Stahaaaap! Stop… pleeeeeeease!”

Amy moved down from the armpits because they were soaked in sweat from Syia’s struggles. But her stomach was no less soft. To Amy, it seemed like nice soft dough, just the right shade of white. Amy kneaded Syia’s flesh like it was indeed dough. Gently squeeze a few times… spread with the fingertips… repeat. Syia begged for mercy. Amy guessed that the hard exterior covered a more girlish interior, similar to Raye. It was certainly fun to be on the tickling side for once.



“Just give her a while,” Jelex was saying. “Syia can get out by herself. As soon as they let their guard down, she’ll escape.”

“Are you sure?” Megan asked. “When you tickle her, she folds up and laughs herself to death. She can’t even use her powers then.”

“But you can’t tickle her forever,” Felin objected. “Eventually she’ll fall unconscious, and unless they institute round-the-clock watch on her she can find time when they’re not paying attention.”

“What if they take her glasses?” Michelle asked. “She really can’t do anything then.”

“Syia told me she’d worked that out,” Jelex said. “I hope so, for her sake.”



Syia was sleeping peacefully, totally exhausted from the extensive tickling torture of the Scouts. The Scouts had moved back to a more or less normal routine, and it was the late afternoon before Syia woke again. From what she could see, there was no one watching her, but then making out any details at all was difficult. She squinted furiously, looking for… there! Her glasses were on the table next to the chair. Syia concentrated and focused on bringing her glasses over to her face.

Syia did not see the feather that rose to brush on her feet. As soon as she felt the familiar brush on her soles the glasses fell and she squealed in laughter. “Naughty, naughty,” Mina teased. She set the glasses back onto the table. Syia huffed and was forced to sit there half-blind.

She heard the Scouts talking and laughing with one another, and she gave thought to snaring them all. But it would not accomplish anything. So Syia resolved to bide her time. She wondered how her invention was coming along, if any of them had tried to fiddle with it. She hoped not; it didn’t work yet anyway.



Serena’s day had been far less peaceful than Syia’s. Her feet were ready for torment again, and the rest of her as well. The first thing that had happened was that Michelle put Syia’s circlet on her head and activated it. That had been merely unpleasant; she’d belched up a storm until the device was turned off.

The real problem had arrived later. Megan had come to the house with two of her omnipresent tiliking in tow. They’d promptly begun to lick her soles like dogs. Then, with this incentive, Megan began a hopeless quiz; Serena was asked where she was most ticklish and what her tickling weaknesses were. The result of this was the tiliking moved to her toes. Their method was ungodly in its torment. Each of her toes had been carefully licked over like they were candies. Megan gave explicit instructions that Serena was not to fall unconscious. The tiliking had entertained her for about an hour, during which time they had eaten their fill, and then they slept. Megan, too, was sleeping, so Jelex decided it would be a good time to torment Megan.

As Serena watched in amazement, Jelex made some kind of red jelly in her hand. She spread this jelly carefully over Megan’s tummy, ribs and armpits. Megan began to giggle in her sleep. Jelex smiled and walked away. Soon Megan was laughing hysterically and when she woke up she darted for the bathroom, where Jelex apparently had been waiting. Serena heard another screech of laughter. Well, that was OK. When they were torturing each other they weren’t torturing her.



Syia’s shoulders ached from being bound over her head all day. Syia welcomed the discomfort, as it went a long way in defeating tickling. Syia stared at her glasses, so near yet so far. There was a string tied to one of the arms and whenever she tried to move them noises alerted the Scouts to her plans. She’d been punished several times; Syia could remember the hands wickedly sliding over her worst weak points. She’d laughed herself silly as the well cared for nails of Raye and Amy delicately twisted into her skin.

A movement in front of her interrupted Syia’s reverie. A small dark purple square had appeared on the floor, and Felin’s head poked out. She glanced around, silently, and deftly extricated Syia’s spectacles. She placed them on Syia’s face, nodded, and slid into her portal again.

With her vision returned, Syia felt able and powerful once again. Her mind focused as her vision did, and the crisp clarity her glasses granted her empowered her psychic abilities. With a thought, Syia’s bonds undid themselves, and Syia slid quietly off the chair. Now was the perfect time for revenge…

…But Syia had no desire to be recaptured if a Scout attacked her unexpectedly. Revenge could wait. Making sure that she stayed out of the line of sight of anyone in the dining room, she padded upstairs, opened the door, and ran across the catwalk and into her room. Safe at last. It was interesting to note how short the border was between captivity and freedom.

Serena’s heart sank as she saw Syia return.

“Hey!” Michelle greeted her. “Syia’s back! Now we can give Sailor Moon a break.” Serena glared at her. It was indeed true that they’d tormented her constantly for the past two hours. Megan was still idly running a feather rod under her arms. Jelex relaxed on the couch, only two red hands still remaining on Serena’s feet.

Syia grinned. “Good. Make sure she’s rested, because I want her to be in perfect condition when I test my invention.” Felin nodded and shook a red pill out of the container. Serena shut her mouth and would not open it. Felin laughed.

“Open up, little one, or I’ll pry your mouth open.” Serena sighed and opened her mouth. She knew that if she resisted they’d tickle her as punishment, then tickle her to make her mouth open, and then tickle her for whatever experiment they were about to perform.

Syia brought her silver circlet out into the living room and continued to work. For lack of anything better to do, Serena watched Syia work, wondering what could possibly result from that small circle of silver. Suddenly Jelex stood and did a double take out the window. She strode to the door, opened it, and stepped quickly outside. It had happened so suddenly that no one said anything, just stared at the door.

In a few minutes Jelex came back, carrying a girl held by four hands. The girl was wearing blue shorts and a loose light blue shirt. She had flip-flops on, and on her round face was a large pair of glasses. A braid of dark brown hair hung over her shoulder down to her chest, with a yellow ribbon tied in a bow at the end. She seemed thin, but that was because of the loose shirt she wore. Somehow Serena found herself critiquing her choice of clothing. She seemed to exude a goody-two-shoes kind of aura. Serena figured that this was what had drawn Jelex to her. The Negaverse loved cliches.

The girl was obviously terrified. Her big blue eyes were wide open, staring around the room. A hand was clamped over her mouth. Syia looked up from her work. “So, what about her? If you brought her in because you think she looks like me, you’re wasting your time.”

Jelex let the girl go with a little push, and she squeaked and fell to the floor. “Megan, scan this girl and tell me I’m not crazy or delusional.” Megan, her curiosity piqued, pressed her earring to scan the girl. Then she frowned, scratched her head, scanned Serena and frowned again.

“I don’t think you’re delusional, Jelex,” Megan said finally. “I can’t believe the readings.” The girl whimpered from her place on the floor, glancing nervously at each person as they spoke.

Now Syia was interested. “Let me take a look.” She concentrated for a few minutes, shaking her head every so often.

Finally the poor girl could stand no more. “What do you want with me?” she sobbed. Tears rimmed her eyes. No one spoke to her, so finally Serena answered her.

“They’re going to – mmmphhhh!” Felin closed a hand over her mouth.

“Don’t ruin the surprise, or you’ll regret it.” Felin gagged her with a dishcloth. Then she turned to Megan. “What’s up?”

Michelle walked over and whispered in her ear. A cruel smile formed on Felin’s face as she talked. Felin grinned at everyone else, and they nodded back agreement. Serena saw that they were savoring the fear on the girl’s face. Felin’s tail began to creep along the floor towards the girl. She screamed and crawled away, and ended up in a corner. The tail wound around her wrists and pulled them over her head. Felin then lifted her to a chair and set her down.

“Oh, please don’t hurt me!” she wailed. No one responded, and Michelle slipped her flip-flops off. The girl stared, mute with terror and a slight bit of confusion. But that ended when Michelle pulled a wicked-looking feather out. It was a soft yet stiff brown feather, her very best, and also treated in oil. “Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” the girl screamed. “Oh… please… don’t tell me you’re going to tickle me!” Megan’s grin and nod were all she needed. “No! Oh, please, please, you don’t know how ticklish I am! My sisters tickle me all the time! They make me wet my pants sometimes!” At this rate, Serena reflected, she’d dig a hole to the core of the Earth. “And especially feathers!” she went on. “They torture me for hours with feathers! My feet are so sensitive and I can’t stand it!”

“Really, now?” Jelex asked, unable to refrain from teasing. “What would you do if we held you here captive and tickled you whenever we pleased?”

“Noooooo! I have nightmares like that!” she sobbed again. Her braid quivered as she shook her head. “I’ll do anything! Just please don’t tickle me!”

“But how could we resist?” Michelle asked. She held the feather just inches from the girl’s foot. “Just up, and down, and up, and down, over and over while you scream with laughter. Isn’t that fun?”

“And what about up here?” Megan asked, pointing at her upper body with a feather rod. “Let’s take a look.” Syia obliged, and the shirt floated up and over her arms, where it was shredded to pieces.

Even Serena gasped. The reason her shirt had been loose was obvious. She was flushed bright red from embarrassment. Jelex grinned. “What, too shy to show off? I love the shy ones. It makes the fear shine so much brighter.” While Jelex and the others taunted the girl, Syia returned to work. It was obvious that she wanted to finish quickly.

“So, where do we try first?” Felin asked. “I personally think that these armpits are perfect. They’re smooth and hairless. Look at her!” Felin’s fingers had been advancing toward the girl as she spoke. The girl was whimpering and trying fruitlessly to pull away. Felin jabbed at her, and she screamed in terror. Everyone laughed.

“But you heard what she said,” Michelle countered. “Her feet are obviously very weak. I bet that just one stroke of this feather will make her laugh.”

Megan traced over her body with the feather rod, just inches off her skin. “Here, her ribs look like good spots. And her stomach is taut enough so that we can use feathers on it. Her legs are nice and tanned. You know, I think that just about everywhere is going to be a good spot.”

“Let’s find out.” Jelex leaned in close and put on her diabolical grin. “Tell me,” she said with an evil smile. “Where are you the most ticklish?”

“I-I-I…” the girl babbled in fear. Megan laid a hand on Jelex’s arm and whispered into her ear. Then she turned to the girl.

“This will be a demonstration for you. If you don’t cooperate, you’ll end up like her.” Megan pointed to Serena. “Think about it carefully. We may not be able to resist tickling such a wonderfully sensitive body unless you tell us what we want to know.” Jelex, Megan and Michelle walked back over to Serena.

“Now just a minute!” Serena objected.

“Yes, it will last only a minute,” Michelle said. “Try not to be too stubborn.” Her long brown feather brushed softly against her sole. Serena had to bite her lip not to chuckle. “Oh, come on, Serena, we’ve been through this before.” Jelex made a handful of that weird jelly and spread it on her stomach.

It felt as if a million tiny fingers were crawling on her skin. Serena threw back her head and roared in laughter. Her chest jerked spasmodically as she drew in ragged gulps of air. Then, to make it worse, Megan stuck some of the old-model vibrators between her toes. Serena bucked so hard that the rope started to fray. Quickly Megan removed the clips and Jelex gathered the jelly.

“So there you have it,” Michelle said, not missing a beat. “Tickle torture. And we only were going for a minute. Your turn may be hours long.” From her appearance, the girl seemed to have been beaten into submission by words. Syia saved her from the need to respond, though.

“Ha! I think this should work!” She held her band of silver up. “Who should I try it on?”

“Serena,” Megan said. “There’s no point in ruining our fun with this one.”

“Yeah. I mean, Serena’s seen it all by now. This girl’s untouched, she’ll be more fun.” Michelle nodded agreement.

“I don’t particularly care,” Jelex said.

“Right, it’s settled. Serena will be the guinea pig again.” Syia slid the metal circle over Serena’s brow. She pulled out a modified remote with a knob on the side as well as the start button. Syia punched the button, and turned the dial just a fraction.

Serena frowned. There…just between her shoulders was a persistent itch. It was supremely aggravating. She wiggled in an attempt to relieve herself.

“She’s not laughing.” Jelex frowned.

“It itches,” Serena complained. Megan and Michelle sniggered. But Syia held up a hand.

“Right now I’m at two percent power. Let’s go up to ten percent.” The itch grew and was joined by others. The itches slowly became light pressure, and the sensations began to slowly wander. Syia clicked the dial up a few more notches. The pressure resolved itself into light touches. Now Serena had to fight to keep the smile off her face. Syia stopped there and grinned. “Now I’m at about fifteen percent. Tell us what you feel, Sailor Moon.”

Serena was in a pickle. She was going to have to concentrate with all her might to keep her voice steady. “There’s annoying itches everywhere,” she lied. “Can’t you untie me? Itches are aggravating, but they won’t convince me to do anything.” There, that had been fairly steady.

“So you won’t mind if I turn this up a little bit.” Syia made a huge jump to thirty-five percent. Suddenly Serena found herself on the losing end of a battle. It seemed that feathers had begun to brush all over her body. But that was ridiculous, there were no feathers.

“Heeheehee… h-hey! What is this…?” Serena could not restrain the giggles that bubbled up.

“Ah! I knew it would work!” Syia grinned triumphantly. She twisted the knob violently.

Serena’s eyes shot wide open. A conglomeration of the most diabolical tools of tickling had converged on her. It felt like vines, feathers, brushes, fingers, tongues, all at once and everywhere at once. Serena screamed in deafening laughter. “AHAAAAAAHAHAAAAAAHAHHHAHA NO! STAHAAAAHAAAAAAAP! AHAHAHAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH AAAAAAAAAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAHAHAAHAAA PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE!” Serena had felt torture like this before. But what she did not know was that the middleman had been eliminated. Usually when she was tickled, her skin was stimulated to send tickle messages to her nerves. Over a long period of time, the nerves would begin to dull and shut down from constant overstimulation. Syia’s invention sent those tickle signals directly to her nervous center. Therefore Serena could not become desensitized. And, even worse, since the device that was making the tickle sensations was so close to her brain, it started a massive feedback. Serena became exponentially more ticklish every second. It was unending and it fed upon itself; Serena never had a chance. After just a few seconds of pure torture, Serena fell unconscious.

“Wow.” Syia removed the circlet.

“Next time, set that thing lower,” Megan suggested. “It’ll make for a better session.”

“Yeah, I know, but I wanted to see the limit on this thing.” Syia cackled. Behind them a moan of fear came from the girl’s mouth.

“Oh my god…” she sobbed. “It’s like my nightmares. You people are crazy maniac ticklers torturing poor girls that you pull off the street. You’re so cruel!” she shouted. “What have we ever done to you?”

Felin shrugged. “Actually, that particular girl has ruined our plans more than once. A minor nuisance, she is.”

“But other than that, yes, we are maniac ticklers who torture girls that we pull off the street,” Jelex said. The girl stared at her, nonplussed. Jelex threw up her hands. “Why does everyone expect us to deny that?”

“Enough talk,” Michelle said. “Let’s begin. I’m dying to see how ticklish this girl really is.” Without waiting for a response she slid a fingernail over the girl’s sole.

“Heheeeheeehehe please! Noooooo don’t tickle my feeheheeeeeet! Not there! Eeheeeeheeeeeeeheheheheheh stop! Staahaaaaap!”

Megan rubbed her hands together in delight. “We haven’t even gotten started yet.” Megan traced her fingernails along the girl’s ribs. The laughter rose and fell in a crescendo as Megan went closer to her armpits and came back again. Each time, she moved a little closer.

Jelex was gently squeezing her thighs and stomach. Each time, the girl jumped and squealed. Jelex began to squeeze harder. Her hands were merciless, digging into the flesh at her legs and midsection. Tears had begun to sprinkle from the girl’s eyes.

Felin moved down to her feet to assist Michelle. Michelle was still keeping the torment bearable. She was giggling at the jerking of the soles in front of her. Felin placed her fuzzy fingers between the girl’s pudgy toes. Even before she wiggled them, the laughter became louder. When her fingers began to rub against the flesh between her toes, it ratcheted the laughter up a few decibels.

“AAHAAAAAAHAH AAAHAHAAAAAAAAAHAHA STAHAAAHAAAAP! IT’S TOO MUCH! PLEEEEEEZE, STOP! HAHAAAAHAAAHAAAAAA! NO! DON’T USE FEATHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERS!” Michelle took out her long brown feather and stroked the soft down over the girl’s arch. Two more feathers began to wiggle against her bared ribs.

Megan bent her feather rod to fit the shape of an armpit. With this in hand she started to run the soft yet firm feather along the contours of her underarm. By now the girl was shrieking in nonstop laughter, begging ceaselessly for it to stop. Her ultra-sensitive skin had brought her to the brink in a matter of minutes. The girl knew that it was far worse than anything her sisters had done, but she did not know that this was just the tip of the iceberg.



“There’s a lot of energy being given off over there,” Amy said. “It looks like they’re giving Serena a hard time.”



The girl was finally given a break. She panted, drawing in as much cool air as possible lest she be tickled again before she caught her breath. Felin was chuckling.

“I haven’t had that much fun in a while. I’d forgotten how to savor that look of abject terror.”

“And, finally, a ticklish specimen to play with that isn’t Sailor Moon,” Jelex added. “I think she goes back with us.”

“Agreed, definitely,” Megan said. “I think we can give her a rest now.” When Jelex raised an eyebrow Megan explained. “I just said that we should give her a break. I didn’t speak for them.” Megan indicated the tiliking.

“Or…” Michelle said, a wicked grin spreading over her face, “you didn’t speak for her, either.” Michelle pointed at the unconscious Serena.

Syia laughed. “We’ll save that for tomorrow, I think. The device needs to be reset and charged.”

“The ‘Device’?” Felin asked with a laugh. “Not very inspired.”

“Tell us what it does, and maybe we can come up with a good name,” Michelle suggested.

“This device generates a certain electrical field…” Only Felin remained listening. Jelex, Megan and Michelle tuned it out and went back over to the girl.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Megan said suddenly. “We don’t even know this girl’s name. If we’re going to tease her, it’ll be easier if we can call her by name.”

“Good point.” Jelex reached the girl first. “What’s your name?” she asked with her teeth bared in a grin.

“J-J-Jessica,” she squeaked.

“Ah. Welcome, Jessica,” Michelle said. “I’m Michelle. As you may have noticed, I love feathers. There’s nothing more satisfying than watching people collapse under the assault of soft, feathery strokes over their ticklish points.” Michelle leaned in close with an insane smile on her face.

“My name’s Megan,” Megan continued. “You see those two on the floor?” Megan pointed to the two sleeping tiliking. Jessica squeaked. Apparently she hadn’t seen them. “They’re called tiliking. They are creatures designed to tickle helpless girls like you. In fact, it’s what they live for. They feed off of the energy you emit when tickled, so there’s nothing you can do to make them stop. Not pleading, not crying, not even falling unconscious. The only person they listen to is myself. They do whatever I command. And, in case you’re thinking that they’re not too fearsome, you haven’t felt their tongues. It’s the worst torture you’ll ever feel. Did your sisters ever lick your little toes?”

Jessica nodded in fear. “Y-yes, they licked my toes once. They said that they needed to teach me a lesson, s-so they tied me to a bed. Then my sister said ‘You’ll never think of ratting on us again after this.’ She s-stuck out her tongue, a-and licked right there, between my big toe and second toe. I begged her to stop, she was making me pee myself, but she kept on licking. Then my other sister began to slide her tongue between my middle toes, and…” Jessica broke into tears.

Megan nodded, a smile etched onto her face. “Good, because what I’m about to say will be worse. The tiliking will lick between your toes. But their tongues are much longer, and they’re rougher too. And they’ll take care not to let you black out.”

Jelex recited her litany. “I’m not human, in case you hadn’t already noticed,” she said with a dry grin. “I have many hands. In fact, I have enough hands to hold you completely still and then be able to tickle the life out of you afterwards. Also, I can produce a natural substance that’s similar to jelly, but it feels very different.” Jessica needed no explanation on how it felt different. “I love pranks. You might find yourself waking up one day with your feet about to be washed in a basin of red jelly. Or, we can quiz you. That’s always fun, ask that girl over there.”

Jessica’s lip quivered. “You’re all heartless. How can you possibly know how it feels to be tickle tortured?”

Megan snorted a laugh. “Of course we know. All of us are very ticklish. Even Jelex, though she doesn’t like to let people see.”

“Shut up,” Jelex said, with mock gravity. “It’s bad enough that I’m afflicted with this human weakness. I don’t need your commentary.” Megan and Michelle giggled. “What? It’s not funny. If you’re thinking about tickling me, I’ll make both of you cry your eyes out – aaaah! Hey! Stop that, or I’m going to – eeeek!” Jelex covered her mouth in embarrassment.

“Eeeek?” Megan giggled. “I think we have a mouse here.” She and Michelle poked at Jelex’s tummy viciously. She collapsed as Megan pushed her over.

“I wonder what’s under these boots?” Michelle asked with a grin. She pulled one of Jelex’s high-heeled boots off.

“Don’t even – aaaaahhh! God, you’re like a vulture!” Jelex cried. Megan was easily getting around Jelex’s swats.

Michelle found that Jelex did not have any toes, but her feet were molded to perfection. She reacted normally to the soft white feathers that danced on her sole. Jelex got away when she phased into the floor, leaving a boot behind. She reappeared behind them an instant later.

“Payback time!” Michelle and Megan both took off, running from the hands. Felin caught Megan around the ankle.

“Tsk, tsk, you’ve been caught and now you will pay the penalty.” The tail twined up around Megan’s leg until it had wrapped up her whole body. She was helpless with giggles.

Jelex had meanwhile caught Michelle. “Syia, if you would?” Jelex set Michelle on the couch and plucked off her socks. Syia grinned and bent her head down to Michelle’s feet.

Jessica was in a state of complete confusion. In the blink of an eye, they had gone from taunting her to torturing each other. Was this a normal occurrence? She hoped so. For now, she feigned sleep, trying to divert attention away.

Later, with everyone collapsed into chairs, the Negaverse discussed its next move.

“Someone should go see Neflite,” Felin said. “He might think we skipped out on him.”

“Whatever, you can go see him if you like. I’m more interested in finding more like her.” Jelex jerked a thumb at Jessica, still pretending to sleep. “And, Syia, we should get a simple explanation of what your doohickey does.”

“Basically it tickles the victim by imitating nervous sensations of tickling,” Syia replied.

Jelex smiled. “There, see? You can explain without the scientific crap. How effective is it?”

“Very, I think. But since Serena’s still out, I can’t give you a description of how it feels.”

“I’ll try it and tell you,” volunteered Felin.

“Why?” asked Megan. “Oh, never mind, you like to be tickled too. It’s good to see that I’m not completely crazy.

Syia placed the circlet on Felin’s head. “It’s not fully charged, so it won’t go past forty percent.”

“That’s OK, I want to be conscious afterwards.” Syia turned the device up to ten percent. “Hmm… it itches. I can feel light pressure on a few places, but it’s no more than if one of you held your finger on that spot.” Syia went up to fifteen percent. Felin squirmed. “That’s starting to tickle. It’s just light finger tickling, but it’s aggravating.” Syia notched it up five more percent. “Th-that feels like Jelex in the morning,” she quipped unsteadily. “It’s like there are hands stroking my body.” Five percent more. “Oh heeeheeee! Th-that tickles! The hands are vicious! T-they’re poking and squeezing at my weak points!” Felin was fidgeting constantly now. Syia raised the power. “Aaahaaaeeheee! Brushes! There’s brushes running under my arms! Oh man, stop!” Syia, grinning, pushed the power to thirty-five percent. “Aahaaahaha ahaha st-staaaaaap! Pleheeeheeeze shut it off! They’re everywhere! Brushes everywhere!” With a shrug, Syia turned the device off. Felin panted happily.

“Sailor Moon mentioned feathers, I think. You said there were brushes. What’s that mean?”

“I think that it means Felin hates brushes,” Megan said with a grin. “With all that fur, it must be torture for a hairbrush to stroke it the wrong way.”

“Let’s find out,” Jelex said.

“Give me a break!” Felin cried. “I just voluntarily subjected myself to that so you could have a better understanding of how it works!”

“Okay, okay,” Megan chuckled. “Can I try?”

Syia blinked. “Can you try? It’s not a toy. Wait…” Syia thought about it a second. “Okay, you can try. There’s something I want to see.”

“What’s that?” Megan asked as she settled the tiara on her head.

“I want to see the rate of desensitization,” Syia said. “If this thing desensitizes quickly, there’s no point in a protracted session.” When Megan nodded, Syia continued. “I’m going to start you at one-quarter power. Ready?” Syia turned the dial to 25%.

Megan began giggling immediately. “Heehee heeeheee! It does feel like hands! They’re on my tummy and under my arms!” Megan continued to shake and giggle, trying not to reach up and pull the circlet off. It amused the others to see Megan trying to cover her ticklish spots against phantom ticklers. How could she wiggle away when there wasn’t anyone to wiggle away from? Syia set the remote down and waited. After about five minutes, Syia nodded and noted something. To Michelle, it didn’t seem that she’d stopped laughing any. In fact, she was laughing louder.

Soon Megan was not giggling at all; she was consumed by outright laughter. “Staahaaaaaaaaap! Staaaaap! Turn it down! Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeater! Aahahaahehehee eheahahaha!”

“I thought you said you were leaving it the same.” Jelex grabbed the control from Syia, where she noticed that the dial was still on 25%. Megan tore the band from her head and tossed it aside, then lay back panting.

“It was the same. The device causes an odd effect.” Syia cleared her throat. “I need to run one more test. Any volunteers?”

Silence.

“Come on, this is for the advancement of science.” There were still no takers. Then Jelex spoke up, a mischievous grin playing about her face.

“If the advancement of science is so important, you put it on!” Syia opened her mouth, closed it, and glared at Jelex.

“I’ll remember this.” Syia snatched up the circlet and placed it on her head.



Raye knew that tonight would not be a restful night. She was worried about Serena, especially after Amy had detected the massive emissions from the other house. Her stress and worry caused her dreams to turn against her.

Raye was walking along the boardwalk by the beach, enjoying the wind and sunshine. She was usually more aware of her dreams than most people, as they sometimes gave her useful insight into the future. So Raye had no objection to the wind in her face as she leaned on the rail to observe the sea.

“Pretty, isn’t it? Unfortunately a lot of beaches are contaminated by pollution. That’s why no one’s down there.” Raye turned, ready to object but stopped short when she saw Amy standing behind her. “At least, in this reality it’s polluted.” She smiled.

“Why? And what are you doing in my dream?”

“Well…” Amy began. “In this particular reality, there are certain constraints on how far you can go. One end of the boardwalk goes into the sea. The other end is under construction and closed off. There’s no substance to this dimension other than the boardwalk.”

“Well, then let’s take a walk. If we’re being kept here, it must mean that we have to find something.”

“Something?” Amy said. “Like what?”

“I don’t know…” Raye answered. “A clue, maybe, to help us defeat the Negaverse.” Raye shook her head. “Dreams don’t have to make sense. Let’s go.”

They walked for a little while, but their passage seemed blurred and insignificant. Raye could not later recall what had transpired during the walk. Her next memory was of she and Amy standing in front of a store.

“A video arcade?” Amy asked, slightly puzzled.

“I feel… drawn to it.” Raye quietly stared at the place for a few seconds. Just as she was turning to leave, a person entering the store caught her eye. “Huh? Lita? Hey, Lita!”

Lita stopped short, open door in hand. “What? How’d you get into my dreams?”

“Funny, I was about to ask the same question.” Raye sighed. “What’s in here?”

“I don’t know,” Lita said. “But it seems cool. I’m going in.”

“Drawn to it?” Amy asked with a small grin.

“Shut up.” They entered. The first oddity that Raye noticed was the absence of people. Other than the attendants, the machines seemed to be operating without the presence of people.

A shrill scream followed by laughter caught Raye’s attention. “What? Quickly, let’s go see!” Raye ran over to the source… where she confronted a hilariously laughing Mina and Lita. Their game cars had taken massive spills, causing a ten-car pileup.

“Oh man!” Mina said, laughing her head off. “You should have seen that! Going at 120 mph, weaving through traffic… never saw the median! Boom!” Mina slumped in the seat, weak with laughter.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s nice and all, but why are we all in the same dream?” Raye’s question fell on deaf ears. Mina and Lita had inserted two more tokens. Even Amy was watching their cars race dangerously into traffic on interstate highways. Raye threw up her hands and went to find the attendant.

“Can I have some tokens?” she asked.

“Sure!” the tall, red-haired girl replied, handing over a sack. “There you go!”

“How much?” Raye asked, wondering if she had any money with her.

“Oh no, it’s free! We’re running a promotion! First ten customers in every day get a bag of tokens free!” The girl gave a wide, slightly dopey grin. Raye went back to Mina and Lita.

She got back in time to see another spectacular crash with a car pinwheeling across the highway. Still laughing, Mina and Lita inserted more tokens. The machine ate Mina’s. “Hey! Gimme back my coin! Attendant!” Mina yelled. A girl hurried over. “The machine ate my coin!”

“Hmm…” The attendant opened the machine and retrieved Mina’s token. Then she looked at the four of them. “There’s four of you… Would you like to come to the back and try our latest game? We need to field-test it.”

“Okay!” Lita said, and was up before anyone said anything. Mina followed eagerly, Amy a bit hesitant, with Raye fuming in the rear. Darn it, there had to be a reason everyone was sharing the same dream! And all anyone wanted to do was play arcade games!

They stepped into a large, silvery room. “Wow!” Mina said.

“Far out,” Lita added.

“A most impressive display of three-dimensional image transmission,” Amy concluded.

“What? asked Raye.

“This is a VR room,” Amy answered.

“That’s right,” the attendant confirmed. “I’ll be the operator. Come this way to the outfitting room.” Each girl was given a visor and a sword. “These interact with the game environment,” the attendant said. “Whenever you’re ready, go stand by the entrance.”

When they reached the appointed place, the operator’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “Okay, ready? 3…2…1… go!” The scene changed into a dark, moonless night. An ancient castle loomed up before them.

“Let’s go!” Raye said. Well, if everyone was going to ignore her they might as well have some fun. The opened the creaky door and stepped inside.

Up in the operator’s booth, Megan smiled.



The girls battled the usual gamut of creepy monsters springing from hidden passages or dropping from the ceiling. They could hear Megan, who occasionally gave them advice or help if they were stuck on a puzzle. Eventually they came to a large wooden door.

“Good job so far,” Megan’s voice said. “You all seem to be OK. If you hit the button on your visor, you can see how much life you have remaining.” While the girls did this Megan held her hand over the microphone and giggled. Dreams were so much fun… especially when you were in control.

“Having fun?” Syia asked. She had come up with this coexisting dream idea.

Megan nodded, reflected a moment on the oddity of running virtual reality in a dream, then spoke again. “Okay, when you’re ready you can face the first boss.” Megan flipped a switch to speak with Jelex, who was in the room. “Here they come. Get ready.”

Raye peeked into the room. It was a large foyer with a stairway running to the next floor at the end of the room. The room was lit well, with candles burning along the length of the room. “Quietly,” Raye whispered. They crept out into the room.

A steady drip…drip…drip… caught Lita’s attention. “Look over there!” she whispered. There was a puddle of red liquid.

“Eew! Blood!” Mina cried. She cringed. Amy looked up at the ceiling. A pool of blood was on the ceiling, and drops were coming down at a regular rate. Amy felt queasy.

“Let’s just get out of here.” Everyone nodded agreement.

They had just turned away when the dripping came faster. Soon it became a deluge. When all the blood had dripped down, it reared up as a huge blob of slime! Accompanied by screams, the blob sloshed over to them and, when the Scouts got out of the way, kept going. The blob stopped when it hit the wall and began to collapse in on itself.

“That was too easy,” Lita said.

“So true.”

Raye tensed. Here it was – the real fight. The blob had just been window dressing. A nagging thought pulled at her. That voice…

“Oh, crap,” Lita said, deadpan. “I can’t believe this.”

Jelex rose from where the blob had collapsed. “Seriously, did you think that you’d all be in the same dream for no reason?” She flung some jelly.

Mina dodged, but it became apparent that Jelex hadn’t been aiming for her or any of them. Two candles sputtered out.

A sudden shock of fear swept over Raye. In total darkness, what could they do?

Fshhhh… fshhhh… fshhhh… One by one the candles were smothered.

“And now-“ Jelex licked her fingers – “the fun begins.” She pinched out the last candle. The room was plunged into darkness.

Rustling filled the room. Tentacles had appeared and were going for the Scouts. Having no way to see them, none of them could avoid their fate. Each one screamed or yelped as tentacles wrapped around their ankles and hauled them away.

Raye was aware of being pulled down a long passage that sloped toward the ground. Down, down she slid along the smooth surface, earning a slightly sore rear end but little else. She finally hit the ground with a thud, but before she could move manacles clamped over her wrists and pulled her against the wall. This room, too, was totally dark. She heard each of the other girls hit, and in Lita’s case she heard curses from the dark as she struggled against her bonds.

The lights flashed on. “Hello, and welcome to our underground dungeon of torment,” Syia greeted them. “To be honest, we had planned to string you along a bit longer but anticipation got the better of us. Oh well, you’re here now.”

Raye said nothing. Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! She screamed at herself. Concentrating very hard, Raye found that the environment seemed to be washing out. She grinned. That was before she felt the furry fingers on her stomach. A touch all too familiar – Felin’s. “You don’t get to leave until we’ve finished,” she chided Raye.

“Screw off!” a voice shouted from behind Syia. Syia turned, allowing the girls a look at the victim: Serena. She was kicking and cursing at a laughing Michelle and Megan. Serena hung by her wrists over a large vat. Raye could not tell what was in the vat.

Jelex phased through the ceiling. “Everyone’s here, good,” she laughed. “We decided that since this is a dream, we’re going to throw you to the lions.”

Amy wasn’t fooled. “Lions being what?”

Felin laughed. “You’re quick, little one. The lions are an assorted variety of tiliking, Tickle Treants, Venus tickle traps and a Feather Flower. Sound like fun?” Behind her, large white tentacles leapt out of the vat and snatched Serena. She fell with a scream. There were a few moments of silence, then Serena’s muffled screeching was audible through the container.

“She’s ours to play with,” Michelle said, “so we didn’t feel the need to come up with anything special.”

Stone rumbled against stone as the floor pulled away from under the Scouts. Now their chains, and nothing else, held them. Megan whistled, and three tiliking bounded up, jumping about like eager puppies. Megan petted them, spoke quietly and pointed to the hole. Each tiliking landed with an easy grace, and they prowled underneath the captives. Syia spoke. “So, who will be first?” She examined each of them, a slight grin on her face. Megan whispered something in her ear, and Syia studied Mina. Mina’s face gave away her obvious dislike of tiliking. Syia nodded and gestured, and Mina’s chains gave way.

Mina fell into the pit with a screech. It was floored by sand, so quick movement was going to be difficult. Not that this bothered the tiliking any, of course. Mina sourly sized up the situation and realized that she could do nothing of consequence. She sighed, crossed her arms and waited. The tiliking, sensing her obvious surrender, sauntered up slowly.

“Come on, aren’t you even going to run?” Megan shouted. Mina shook her head.

“Your loss,” Syia said. The tiliking bowled Mina over and lapped at her skin with their rough tongues.

“Heeeheeehahahaa eheheheeeeahahaahh staaaaaaaaaap! Stahaaaaap them! Pleheeeeeeeeeeze!” Mina cried, rolling in the sand. The tiliking had her covered no matter which way she went. They seemed to be more aggressive than usual. As they licked at the undercurl of Mina’s toes, she exploded in laughter.

“Sweet dreams,” Syia chuckled. She gestured, and Mina faded away. The tiliking leapt out of the hole.

“So, who’s next?”



Mina awoke with a jerk. She was sweating all over and breathing heavily. Lita mumbled something in her sleep and moaned. Suddenly everything hit Mina in a rush. They were all still trapped in the dream! “Lita! Lita! Wake up!” Mina yelled, shaking Lita.



Lita, still hanging on the wall, was cursing and trading insults with Michelle. Syia watched with a faint grin on her face, pondering whom to choose next.

“Lita,” Syia said finally. “I think we’re going to have to do something about that foul mouth of yours.”

“Burn in hell!” Lita shouted.

“You’ll be the one going to hell,” Michelle fired back. “Tickle hell.” A slow grin spread over her face. “Down in tickle hell, there are demons that live just to tickle your soul away. Or should I say sole?”

Syia groaned. “I hate puns. Now, Sailor Jupiter, it’s time to – what?” Lita had begun to fade and flicker. Her image flashed brighter and darker. Syia gritted her teeth, and Lita stabilized.

“What happened?” Felin asked.

“She was trying to wake up. But she couldn’t have so much control as to – ah. Mina woke up, and she must have tried to awaken Lita.”



“Damn!” Mina hissed. Lita wouldn’t get up. They must have locked her in there. So, if she couldn’t wake Lita, what about the Negaverse? It would be risky. But she couldn’t leave her friends to suffer. Besides, if she played this right… a plan began to form. Mina ran.



Lita fell into the sand with a thud. Across from her a tree had sprouted, wielding tons of vines. Lita tried to dodge aside but the sand hampered her. The vines twined her up, leaving only her feet and underarms exposed.

Syia giggled. The Dream Controller was the best idea she’d ever had. If only there was a way to make this control real.

Suddenly Syia felt her control of the dream cut off. The whole room shook and the lights flickered. The Tickle Treant disappeared. “What?” Syia screamed.

Mina materialized, floating in midair over the pit. “You don’t have control anymore!” she said triumphantly. “I have taken the power!” She waved, and the Scouts fell from their bonds, assuming their Scout forms. There was a whump and Serena flew out of the large vat to land beside them.

“Stop!” Syia screamed at the top of her lungs. “You have no idea what you’re doing! You could tear the fabric of this dimension!”

“Shut up, and stop trying to scare us,” Lita said cockily. “You’re just mad because we have the upper hand.

Amy had her visor out and was running a scan. “Mina, stop!” she yelled. “Syia’s right! You’re causing a massive disruption in the stability of this dimension. Our real forms are being sucked into another reality!”

Mina looked unsure. “But this is only a dream. Surely anything I do can’t really affect us?”

“That device was made to exert control over an existence other than the one we live in,” Felin said. “If you don’t have absolute focus, then your will can be extended onto another plane and open a gate to that other plane! You’re messing with the very fundamental nature of existence!”

Now Mina looked panicked. “But how do I turn it off?”

“Too late,” Megan said. The sand in the pit had begun to swirl, slowly. Soon it picked up speed, until the vortex had plucked every last one of them into the black center.