The Dark (Feather) Kingdom: Part 3

[Jaynin]

Part III- the Interrogation


“Okay. Jelex, you know the plan, right?” Neflite asked.
“Of course, Master.” Jelex bowed smoothly and disguised herself as a teenaged girl. She melted into the floor and vanished. Neflite turned to his other assistant, Vena.
“You stay here until Jelex is finished the first part.”
Vena nodded. “Master, what if Jelex runs into all five Scouts at once?”
“I’ll send you, Vena, don’t worry,” Neflite chuckled. Vena grinned.
Neflite was in a minor pickle; he needed energy from the Sailor Scouts, but he needed to know where they met, too. If he knew that, he could take the fight to them instead of having to set ambushes all the time. Eventually, they’d probably wise up. Capturing a Scout for interrogation would be a good idea, but Queen Beryl had demanded energy immediately, if not sooner. It was better just to get back on Beryl’s good side first, Neflite supposed.

Raye looked at the clock. “Well, there’s five minutes left for Serena to be here. Too much to hope Meatball Head can be on time.”
“Tell me about it.” Lita went outside and stretched. Then her laughter drew the others outside. “Come and look at this!”
“What?” Raye and the others crowded onto the porch. Lita pointed to the trees below the temple. There, dodging about and coming at a flat run, was Serena. She dove under bushes, crawled behind small terraces and leaped up to run behind trees. Then, as was par with Serena, she tripped over a root and tangled her foot. Immediately she shrieked and ran at a breakneck pace up the stairs.
“Look out!” she cried breathlessly. “One of the Negaverse baddies is out there! It tried to grab me! What? What’s so funny?”
Still laughing, Mina picked up the small root that had wrapped around Serena’s foot and showed it to her. Serena blushed.
“Now, if there had really been a monster, it would have done this…!” Raye dug her nails into Serena’s stomach. Serena screeched.
“Don’t tickle! Please! Hahahahahahaha!” she squealed.
“Cut it out, Raye. We have things to do,” insisted Amy.
They began the briefing on time, something that almost never happened. “What’s up today, Luna?” asked Mina.
“It’s been fairly quiet. The Negaverse has done nothing over the past week. My guess is that they have enough energy for the time being. They’re taking their time planning their next move,” said Luna.
“Hmm… If I were the Negaverse, I would say now is the best time to move,” Amy responded. “They have the advantage and a lot of extra energy. What can they be waiting for?”
“I don’t know,” replied Luna.
“Well, I hope they stay away forever,” muttered Serena.
Raye couldn’t resist the opening. “Yes, we all know how you just hate to be tickled…”
“Knock it off, Raye.” Mina came to Serena’s rescue. “You can be really mean sometimes.”
“That’s another thing,” Luna said sharply, drawing their attention. “You’re not helping yourselves any by this bickering. If you hope to defeat the Negaverse, you must stand together!”
“I agree. In my opinion, the next strike will be on us. They must be waiting for the right opportunity. That’s all that fits,” mused Amy.
“Now. All of you, I want to hear you pledge not to torment each other for right now.”
“I promise,” said Amy immediately.
“Sure, I’ll do it,” agreed Lita.
“No problem here,” put in Mina.
“Good. Serena? Raye?”
“Oh, fine. I won’t bother Raye,” Serena muttered sullenly.
“I won’t make fun of Serena,” Raye ground out. “Or tickle her, or be mean,” she added under Luna’s stare.
“Right. Teamwork, gang!”

Jelex walked among the humans in the park. They were so unsuspecting, so weak… She could begin at any time; she was just looking for the right victim. Preferably someone very ticklish. She swept her gaze upon the people in the park. Her tickling powers were not as strong as Vena’s, but she could read people’s ticklishness by looking at them. Jelex examined and rejected the people walking, and looked around at the people sitting on the benches. Ah, yes, right there. A short girl with fiery red hair, wearing that ridiculous outfit of a skirt and dress that she had come to like; it did not hinder her tickling in any way.
The front of Jelex’s shirt burst out a gaggle of disembodied red hands. People screamed and ran, while Jelex played dead, and soon the park was empty except for the girl, which her hands held. Jelex rose and walked smoothly over to her, assuming her real form. The girl’s eyes were wide in fear as she watched Jelex approach.
“P-p-please don’t hurt me!” she whimpered. The hands stretched her out in midair, wrists overhead and feet pointed at the ground. Her lovely navel was exposed, catching Jelex’s eye. Yes, that looked like a good starting place.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” she sneered. “I’m going to tickle you!”
If anything, the girl’s eyes went wider. “Oh please, don’t do that! I’m so ticklish! You don’t know how bad it is! Really! Please! Don’t tickle me!” she screamed. Jelex laughed.
“Oh, I do know how bad it is. This is going to be more fun for me than you.” Jelex worked her two normal hands into the girl’s belly to begin collecting her energy. Her screaming laughter, a pitch that would have hurt anyone else’s ears, sounded like sweet music to Jelex. She laughed right along with her victim.
“That’s right… Struggle… Give your energy to me…” The bracelet on her wrist glowed white. As the girl’s energy was leached away by the tickling, she thrashed less, until finally she went limp.

Amy was on her way to the library when she heard a scream, There, around the corner, a bunch of people were running like they were possessed. That could only mean one thing! The Negaverse was back! She quickly ducked aside, and when she was sure no one was watching she transformed into Sailor Mercury. She called for help, then set off.
She ran to where the screaming was coming from. She made it just in time to see a short red creature drop a girl to the ground and cackle.
“Hey you!” she shouted. “We don’t tolerate Nega-scum draining people’s energy! In the name of Mercury, I shall punish you!”
“Ah, Sailor Mercury. I’ve been waiting for you,” laughed Jelex. “Take this!” She flung a blob of jelly at Amy. Amy dodged aside and retaliated with a Mercury Bubble Blast. The park fogged up, as the cold mist enveloped both of them.
Even as Amy kept an eye out for the enemy, a sense of joy and relief swept over her. She realized it came from fighting normal monsters again, not the tickle-happy bunch that had been springing up. That was most unpleasant. Amy smiled.
“Ha ha ha. Do you think I’ll be defeated by the same tired old tricks?” Jelex’s voice floated out of the mist. Amy backed up against a tree and began to move cautiously now. She activated her visor to try and pinpoint the source of the voice. The mist was a double-edged sword, hiding both her and Jelex. Soon it would dissipate…
On cue, the mist faded. Jelex was nowhere to be seen. Mercury caught a flicker of movement to her left.
“Gotcha!” she said.
“Or is it I who have you?” Jelex flung another blob of jelly. Amy almost got out of the way; it caught her ankle and adhered to the tree. Now that she was anchored to the trunk, she had lost a lot of mobility. Jelex threw rapid-fire blasts at her. Amy managed to keep them away with more Mercury Bubbles, but Jelex was firing too fast. Another blob caught her ankle, but she refused to give up. Finally a burst caught Amy’s wrists just before she fired, and they bonded together. Amy struggled but she couldn’t free herself.
Jelex strode up to her. “I have you now, Sailor Mercury. Now your energy will be mine.” She took Amy’s wrists and stuck them to the tree as well. Amy couldn’t move. Still, even this was preferable to more tickle torture in her book.
“Do your worst, Nega-creep!” Amy said defiantly. “You’ll be sorry when the other Scouts get here!”
“A question before I begin, Sailor Mercury. Can you brats come up with any better insults, or is that the extent of your wit?”
The question caught Amy off balance. “What?”
Jelex shook her head. “Never mind. It is time to begin. Sailor Mercury, you know that we are trying to collect as much energy as possible. Neflite’s preferred method is to go after humans with high-energy outputs. Before, we had to track down those with energy, but recently we have developed a method to increase energy output. Preliminary trials - “ she gestured to the girl on the ground “ - indicate we have a promising method going.”
Amy felt a little afraid. “What did you do to her?” she asked uncertainly.
Jelex smiled a big broad smile. “I tickled her.”
For about five seconds Amy said nothing, gaping. It had been too good to be true! Darn the Negaverse! Darn Neflite! Darn Jelex! Darn them all!
Amy swallowed. “What makes you think that will work?”
“The fact that you’re very nervous. Let’s begin.” Jelex summoned her disembodied hands. Two began to pull off Amy’s boots.
“Oh no -!“ she began before catching herself. Jelex sniggered.
“By the way, you can’t hide your ticklish points. I can see it all, and, soon, you’ll feel nothing at all. Besides the tickling, of course.”
The hands began to work at Amy’s petite little feet. She giggled.
“Oh no please! Hehehehahaha No not more tickling! Aahahahahaah this isn’t funny! Eeheheeeheee!” Amy had very cute feminine laughter. She squeaked and chortled as the hands worked at her soft feet.
“Not funny?” Jelex asked. “Why, you seem to be helpless with laughter.” The bracelet glowed a dim white; Amy had yet to reach maximum output.
More hands came to tickle behind her knees and on her thighs. Amy would have fallen if not held in place.
“Ahahahahah not that! I c-can’t stand up! AhahahHahHAAH! St-stahahahahahap it!” Amy drew breath in ragged gulps that she fit between laughs.
Jelex grinned. “Well, as much as I’d like to slowly torture you, the Boss is demanding energy. So, I think we’ll just bring you up to maximum as quick as possible!” All the rest of the hands came at Amy, as well as Jelex herself. They came and covered her upper body in probing, tickling fingers. They traced her ribs and dug into her sides, tickled her armpits and scraped on her stomach. They moved faster than any human could manage, drawing a sudden burst of laughter.
“AaahahahAHAHAHAHAHAAH! NOOOOOO! EEEHHEHEHEHAHEHAHEHAH! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE! AHAHHHAHAHAHAAHAH! EEE HEHEHEEHEHEHEE STAHAHAHP!” Amy thrashed wildly against her bonds in a futile effort to escape the hands. Her struggles and laughter faded as her energy was drawn into Jelex’s bracelet.
Jelex felt a tinge of regret. She could have drawn much more energy from Sailor Mercury given time, but Neflite had wanted energy now, and some was better than none. Besides, the other Sailor brats might be here, and she couldn’t face all of them without Vena to back her up. Mercury slumped ashen-faced against the trunk, and the bracelet glowed a stronger white now, tinged with blue. Very strong energy; Neflite’s analysis had been correct. Jelex melted away.

“Mercury? Mercury, wake up!”
Amy groaned. “What? Sailor Moon? What happened?”
Serena smiled in relief. “Oh, thank goodness. I heard your call for help and came to the park. But when I got here, you were lying on the ground. And you looked dead.”
Amy snorted. “Tickled to death, maybe.”
Serena’s eyes nearly came out of her head. “Oh NO! Not another attack! Oh, Vena, I hate you!” she shouted at the sky.
“Sailor Moon, who is Vena?” inquired Amy.
“The person who tickled you! She’s about, oh, five ten and she has blue skin, holes in her sides and big, feathery wings.” Serena shivered.
“That wasn’t Vena, then,” replied Amy.
Serena gaped. “No… you mean there’s ANOTHER tickle stooge?”
“Yes,” Amy responded. “She was short, she had long blond hair and red skin. She shoots jelly and has about thirty hands.”
Serena swallowed. “Uh, maybe we should go get the others…”
“A good idea,” Amy concurred.
Serena sighed in relief.

“Here, Master, I have some energy for you.” Jelex bowed before Neflite and offered the bracelet.
“Ah, very good, Jelex. Was it difficult?”
Jelex all but sneered. “She was weak. She tried to fight, but as soon as my magic hands went into action - “ she grinned and waggled her fingers “ - she turned into a helpless little girl. I could have gotten more, but my lord demanded energy immediately.”
“Yes. Jelex, would you like another shot at the Sailor brats?” Neflite asked.
“Most certainly, Master,” Jelex replied smoothly. She wore a carnivore’s grin.
“Good. Right now, two of them are alone. I want you to capture them and bring them here. We’re going to…interrogate… them.”
Jelex all but laughed aloud. “Oh, yes, that would be excellent.” Jelex was bursting with energy, ready to go.
“All right. I’m going to send Vena with you. We can’t afford to take chances. Vena!”
Vena teleported in. “Yes, Master.”
“Did you get all of that?”
“Word for word.” Vena responded.
“Excellent. Go.”

Sailor Moon supported Sailor Mercury as they walked down the deserted park path. Amy was still weak; she would take a few days to fully recover.
“Don’t worry about it, Amy, there’s really nothing you could have done.” Serena tried to reassure Amy.
“But I was so helpless, Serena. What if they try again? No, excuse me; what can I do when they come again?”
Serena sighed. The same problem weighed on her shoulders. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
“You can’t do anything at all.”
Serena looked at Amy. “Don’t say that. There’s always hope. There has to be some way…”
Amy looked confused. “I didn’t say anything.”
Too late Serena realized the situation. “Down!” she cried as she pushed Amy to the ground.
“What?” Amy hit with a muffled thud. Serena never made it to the ground; a vine coiled around her ankle and pulled her up.
“Oh, no, NO!” Serena clawed at the vine on her ankle, desperately trying to pull free. That stopped as her wrists and other ankle was restrained too. Vena appeared from behind a tree.
“So good to see you again, Ms. Moon.”
Serena said nothing. Last time, she’d broken down and cried before the first feather touched her. This time, she would remain in control of herself! She would not lose to this fiend!
“Hey! Let my friend go!” Amy had stood up and whirled around. “Mercury Bubb-ugh!” she cut off as something slammed into her from behind. She fell to her knees.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” taunted Jelex. “You have yourself to worry about.” Unfortunately for Jelex, Amy’s turn had thrown off her attack. The jelly she had thrown was meant to dissolve some of her outfit, but now it had just created a rough oval on her back.
“Hey! Eeeek!” Amy cried. Because it was on her back, though, it was of insufficient intensity to hamper her. Amy managed to scrape the goo off her back, though her shirt was a lost cause. Almost the entire back side had come off. This was a perfect opportunity for Jelex. She darted in and reached her fingers through the hole and into Amy’s shirt.
“Aaaaack! No, please! Ahahahahaha! Hey! Stop it! Hahahahaaahahahaaaa!” Amy twisted and tried to pull away from Jelex. She managed to sweep Jelex’s legs out from under her with her thrashing. Mercury was up in a flash. She began another Mercury Bubbles attack, but broke off suddenly when she saw Serena.
Vena was dangling Sailor Moon upside down as she kicked and fought furiously. It was a losing contest, though, and as Amy watched vines tied up Serena’s ankles and wrists. Vena then shifted the vines so that Sailor Moon’s feet were tied together, and her wrists were pulled over her head and also tied together. Serena glared with pure hate.
Mercury’s thoughts were cut off abruptly as she felt something pull at her feet. Jelex had glued her in place! Maintaining the initiative, Jelex summoned two disembodied hands to catch Mercury’s wrists. Just like that, Sailor Mercury was completely helpless.
Amy squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the coming onslaught, after which she would surely fall unconscious.
She didn’t open her eyes until ten seconds later, when she noticed that nothing was happening. Jelex gave her an infuriating grin. What could she be waiting for? Amy then recalled a previous statement by Jelex: I’d like to slowly torture you… Amy was suddenly twice as nervous. Yes, Jelex had expressed a desire to slowly draw all her energy out by tickling. Dimly, Amy remembered that a big part of torture was mind games. Jelex was letting her stew in her own nervousness.
Jelex cocked her head. “What’s the matter?” she said with mocking sweetness. “You look uneasy.”
“I think we’re done here,” Vena cut in. Holding her prisoner before her, she set Sailor Moon next to Sailor Mercury.
“Well?” Serena asked. “If you’re going to tickle us, get it over with.”
“Oh, we will, rest assured,” sniggered Jelex. “But not now. You see, we need you two for something.”
“We’ll never participate in any of your evil schemes, no matter what!” Serena tossed her head defiantly.
“We don’t want your participation,” said Vena.
Now Sailor Mercury was mystified. “So if you’re not going to tickle us, and you don’t want us to do anything for you, what do you want?”
“You’ll see.” Vena smiled as she gassed the Scouts.

“Sailor Moon? Sailor Moon! Wake up! Wake up, Sailor Moon!”
Serena opened her eyes. Her eyelids still felt heavy from the drug-induced sleep. She was sitting in a column of light coming from the ceiling. She stretched cramped muscles, but stopped short after moving about half an inch. What was going on…? In a flash, the encounter with Vena came back to her, awakening her fully. Sailor Moon sat up with a start.
“Easy! We’re restrained. Don’t try to move; you’ll only wear yourself out.”
Serena turned to see Sailor Mercury next to her. She was in an apparatus identical to the one that held Serena. She was lying on a padded table with a headrest and stocks. Her feet were locked in the stocks, though her shoes were still on. Her shirt had a oval cutout in the front, something she had no idea how it had gotten there. Her arms were chained above her head. Serena made a similar image.
“Listen, Sailor Moon. The Negaverse is holding us here for some purpose other than just taking our energy.” Amy whispered this as if someone were listening.
“How do you know that?” Serena whispered back.
“Because. If they just wanted our energy, why go to all this trouble? They want something else. They’re playing mind games, letting us sit here for whatever amount of time while we brood on what they’re going to do with us. So relax and don’t waste energy. We’ll need all of our mental capacity and physical reserves to stall these creeps.” With that, Amy lay back down and closed her eyes.
Serena tried to do the same. But every time she began to relax, horrible flashbacks of prior episodes came to her. The vines in the greenhouse, the feathers in the hangar, that horrible “game show” of Neflite’s… All Serena managed to accomplish was to work herself into a nervous sweat. So when the door burst open, it was almost a relief. Jelex, Vena and Neflite walked in and closed the door behind them.
“Well, good morning to you,” Neflite said pleasantly as he sat down.
“Cut the nice-guy routine. It’s not going to work. What do you want from us?” spat Serena.
“My, how unreasonable she sounds,” observed Vena. “Maybe I can make her see sense…” Vena dangled a vine over Serena’s navel.
“Not yet, Vena,” Neflite replied in good humor.
“As you wish.” Vena was all smiles.
“Now, Sailor Scouts, I have a proposal to set before you. While I’m certain you’ll reject it, maybe we can avoid this unpleasantness. If you cooperate, we won’t take your energy. Simple enough, right? What do you say?” Neflite asked.
“No way,” replied Amy.
Neflite shrugged. “Suit yourself. We will have what we want; the only difference is how much it affects you. Now, since you won’t cooperate, I assume that you’ll be hostile. What we want are a few answers.”
Then it hit Serena. This room, the restraints, the single bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, it all fit into the cliché for an interrogation.
“You watch way too much TV,” observed Serena.
“Why, thank you,” replied Neflite. He seemed oblivious to the barb. “I want to know where the Sailor Scouts meetings are held and when.”
“Never!” snarled Serena.
“Absolutely not,” said Amy firmly.
Vena and Jelex grinned. “Oh, we were hoping you’d say that.” Jelex almost gushed. “This is a whole lot more fun than submissive whelps that cry at the first hint of a threat.”
Jelex slowly and carefully loosened Sailor Moon’s left boot. She dragged it off with agonizing slowness. The boot slid off to reveal Sailor Moon’s petite foot, still clad in a sock. Jelex grinned and slid that off too. The air felt cool on Serena’s foot. Serena’s stomach was turning backflips. Sweat began to bead on her face. Vena had finished with Mercury’s shoe as well. Jelex created two hands, and Vena two feathers. The hands grabbed the feathers and poised themselves near the targets.
The hand swept the feather very, very slowly up Serena’s arch. She shook her head and made not a sound. Amy, for all her talk about resistance, was showing considerably more effect. Her face went a slight red and she shook slightly. Her hand had the feather between her toes and gently scrubbed the sensitive gap.
“Will you tell me?” inquired Neflite.
Silence from the Scouts.
He shrugged and motioned to his inquisitors. The right shoe of each Scout was removed unceremoniously and dumped on the floor. Another pair of feather-wielding hands set in.
“We’ll let you chew on that for a while.” Neflite sat back.
The feathers moved slowly, and changed their plan of attack constantly. First the feathers would sweep up from their heels to the toes and down again. Then the points would dance on the balls of their feet, and then they’d explore the very vulnerable niches between the toes. Then they would trace circles over the girls’ creamy arches, and brush against the sides of their feet, over and over in an endless dance.
Serena bit her lip and chuckled. Beads of sweat stood out on her face, and she shaded a pale pink color. Amy compressed her lips but let out occasional giggles as the feathers found a particularly good spot.
“Now?” asked Neflite. Both shook their heads.
“It’s fun time!” exclaimed Jelex gleefully. She moved up to Serena’s upper body. Showing her teeth in an evil smile, she began to descend her fingers upon Serena’s ribs. Serena made something that sounded like a plea and shook her head violently. Jelex ignored her and used her nails to trace over Serena’s ribcage. It was too much for the hyperticklish Serena.
“Ahahahaheheeheheheeaaahhah No please not that!!! Pleeeeeahahahahahahahah! No stahahahahahahahahap…!” Serena’s voice trailed off in a torrent of laughter. Jelex smiled.
“Ten little Indians, and now there are twenty!” She created another pair of hands. This set dug their nails into the soft flesh around Serena’s tummy.
“NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO! AAAAHAAAHAHAHAAAH! NO NOT MOREEEEEEE! HEHEEEHEEHAHAAAHAEEEHEEAH! PLEEEEEEEEEEEK!” Serena’s voice reached ear-hurting volumes. “NOOOOOOOO!”
Jelex had moved for the coup de grace: another pair of hands for her underarms, one more for her sides and a second feather-equipped set for her feet. Serena screamed in desperation as she saw the new hands move in for their torturous work. Tears began to squirt out of her eyes, adding wetness to a body already slicked with perspiration. Her vision swam as tears pooled in her eyes and blurred her image of Jelex. Serena’s face was puffed and red like she’d been holding her breath. Stars burst in front of her eyes. Her senses dulled, except for the tickling. She was unable to even speak anymore, only able to laugh hysterically and helplessly as the tickling robbed her of logical thought processes.
Amy was having no better time of it. Vena began with more feathers that tickled lightly at Amy’s armpits. Amy giggled and flushed red. She had stopped tossing her head and was now wriggling furiously in a vain attempt to get free. Vena took a feather in her own hand and began to tickle Amy’s thighs. Amy giggled harder and her legs quivered. Vena slowly worked the point of the feather up to her bellybutton and then twirled the point into her navel. Amy’s eyes shot open and she screeched.
“Aaaaaaeeeeeeek! Ahahahahahaa! Don’t do that aahaahaa! Pleeease stop it! Haaaaahahahahahaha eeeehehehehehee ahahahha!”
“Why, Sailor Mercury, it seems that you are very ticklish here,” Vena teased. “And what about here…?” Vena left the feather dancing on its own and took a new one around Amy’s stomach. Amy bucked frantically, trying to earn a respite. “Yes, it seems you are ticklish here too!” Vena left that feather to its own devices. Next she worked her way up to the ribs. “Such soft skin you have!” Vena complimented mockingly. “I bet that makes you much more ticklish! Let’s find out!” said Vena, closing in menacingly.
“Nooooooooo pleeease no more! AHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAA! STAAAAAAAP! PLEHEHEHEHEHEEHASE!” Amy begged.
“Ooh yes! This is a ticklish spot too! And here? Here? Here?” Vena asked as she pointed with the feather in her hand to various spots on Amy’s ribs. With each gesture a new feather began its attack. “Say, are you ticklish everywhere?” chided Vena. She chuckled to herself as she took control of the two feathers at Amy’s underarms.
Amy couldn’t take it, couldn’t hold out against the maddening onslaught. She began to slip away into the twilight of tickling. That is to say, all she was aware of anymore was the tickling. Her body was sweaty, yet she did not feel hot. Her cheeks were stained with tears, but she didn’t feel the wetness. Only the torturous touch of the feathers was transmitted to her consciousness. She had lost control of her body, paralyzed by incessant tickling. All she could do was wait for someone to come save her or to lose consciousness.
That someone was actually Neflite. “All right, let them up for a second. They have to be lucid if we are to get information from them.” Smiling broadly, Jelex and Vena stopped their work and stepped away. Vena’s earrings and Jelex’s bracelet shone with a fierce white aura. Neither girl stopped laughing for about a minute or so after the cessation.
“So, will you tell me where the meetings are now?”
Serena was still woozy from her torture. She felt like she was awakening from a deep sleep.
“Urmph, go away, Mom. Let me sleep a while longer,” she muttered. “Hey, don’t tickle me! I’ll get up,” Serena laughed sleepily.
“What? I asked you a question, moon brat.” Neflite’s face darkened in irritation.
“Huh? Neflite!” Serena came to with a start. “Oh… the meetings…” Vena was moving a vine with a light touch on her foot. It wasn’t enough to tickle that much, but it served as a reminder to Serena. “Um…” Serena looked to Amy for help. Amy sighed mournfully, and nodded, once.
“The Cherry Hill temple, at four o’clock.” Serena rushed the words out. (Author’s note: I made up a place. Please don’t kill me.)
“You had better not be lying…” Vena let the unstated threat hang in the air.
“Please, please believe me,” whimpered Serena. She didn’t have enough energy to scream.
“Well, we can leave these two here and check out their information,” suggested Jelex.
“A good idea. Let’s go.” Neflite, Vena and Jelex got up and left the room.
“Oh, Amy, what have I done?” sobbed Serena.

“Well, a good job all around,” Neflite said as he walked through the abandoned subway terminal that was his base of operations.
“Thank you, master,” Jelex and Vena said together.
“Yes, another few jobs like this one and I’ll get a promotion for sure!” Neflite was already rubbing his hands gleefully thinking about it. He reached for the door-
-The door burst open before he put his hand on it. “What the hell!” Neflite snarled.
“Your evil plan is over!” shouted Raye as she and the other two Scouts came through the door. “We, the Sailor Scouts, will punish you!”
“Well, it seems you saved me the trouble of looking for you!” Neflite smiled at the girls. “Vena! Jelex!”
“Not so fast!” Lita surged forward, fist cocked back. Vena was caught off guard and twisted her head to try and roll with the hit. The blow landed on the large crystal earring Vena wore. The crystal cracked, and a high shriek resounded.
“What the…?” asked Mina.
“You fool!” hissed Vena frantically. “If you break the crystal with this much energy in it, the explosion will kill us all!” She was trying to remove the catch from the earring.
“I’m leaving!” Jelex phased through the wall. Neflite waited just long enough to rip the other earring from Vena’s ear before following suit.
“Let’s beat it!” Raye, Lita and Mina took off back the way they had come. Vena was fumbling with the large globe, trying to pull it out.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” The crystal sparked and shattered. A blinding light followed by a massive boom consumed her.
Raye peeked out from the corner. “Whoa. I guess we won’t see any more of her.” Vena’s body was a bloody mess. Burns and gashes covered her body, and smoke rose faintly. Most of her head and upper body were gone. (Author’s note: Whoops, I got carried away)
“Eew, I think I’m going to puke.” Mina clapped her hands over her mouth.
“Come on, let’s go.” Lita proceeded down the hallway. There, the Scouts found a sobbing Serena and a haggard Amy.
“We need to get you guys some rest.” The Scouts moved to release them from the tables.
“Oh… I’m so sorry, guys…” Serena cried.
“What happened?” asked Raye.
Serena told her sorrowful tale.

“Ah, Your Majesty, I have collected much energy from Sailor Moon.” Neflite knelt and offered the earring and the bracelet. Beryl took them.
“Such strong energy. Neflite, you perplex me.”
“Your Majesty?” It was all Neflite could say.
“Time and again you have failed to eliminate Sailor Moon as I have ordered. Yet, you have also made great gains for the Negaforce. I cannot dismiss you, yet I have to show that I will enforce my orders.”
“What will happen to me, my Queen?” Neflite asked.
“I am going to confine you to the darkness for three days. You may consider that atonement for your failure. When you come out, you may resume your duties. I expect more successes from you, Neflite. Pleasant dreams.” With that, Beryl encased Neflite in a large crystal, within which there was only darkness. Beryl knew that this punishment would fuel a desire for revenge against the Sailor Scouts, and he would have three days of uninterrupted peace and quiet to plan.
“What would you have me do, Your Highness?” asked Jelex a trifle nervously.
“You have fulfilled all of your missions. Consider yourself on leave until Neflite awakes.”
“As you wish.” Jelex bowed and turned to leave. She knew exactly what she was going to be doing with her three days.
“I’ll get you, Sailor Scouts,” she whispered to herself. “Oh, yes, I will tickle the life out of your soft bodies until you become begging wenches fearful of my touch…”