Trying to find a very, very old DOA Tickle Tournament/Torture Story

I know that these stories weren't on TMF or TT at the time. It was like a minor site based on anime tickling. Think I found it in 2008-2010? It was a long time ago. What got to me was its huge chapter/long stories on some of the Dead Or Alive gals. It was like a tickle tournament at first that escalated to tickle torture. I remember a scene specifically where one of the girls was locked in a coffin, getting her feet tickled. And these chapters were quite long.

If anyone has the stories or know where I can find them, I'll appreciate it.

Part1
Enjoy!
The stadium was packed with cheering fans. They were attendig the new Dead or Alive tournament, except this one had a twist. The crowd loved it, the producers loved it, and most of all, the competitors loved it.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, welcome to the Dead or Alive Xtreme Tickling Tournament!!!!"

The crowd roared. Die-hard fans waved signs cheering on their favourite competitors.

"Welome to our show tonight! I'm Zack, and hosting with me is the eternally funny Leon!"

"You're too kind,.So, Zack, the crowd seems to be loud tonight. We haven't even started and the building is nearly collapsing ast the noise!"

"Thats right. The crowd is sure hyped up today. We've got a spectacular matchup for you today! The first fight ever for DOAXTC will be an annahialator. For those of you who don't know what that is, Leon has an explination."

"Well, basically we start out with everyone in the ring. We let them fight it out for 3 minutes, or until someone concedes. If the three minutes are up, then our audience will decide who goes out. Every round, we knock one person out. The last person left stnading wins!"

"Very exciting. Lets meet our contenders, shall we?"

The arena lights went off, leaving the stadium in pitch dark. In seconds, the lights turned back on, revealing the stage.

"Today's stage will be a modified version of the danger zone, simple but effective. Instead of delivering severe pain every time someone gets knocked onto the wall, we deliver a severe tickling because the wall is actually made out of feathers!"

The crowd cheered. The more action, the more exciting it woul be.

"Without further ado, I would like to introduce the contestants!"

A young woman dressed in blue flowing robes jumped into the stage. She briefly posed for the cameras before she tore off her gown, leaving her barefoot and in her trademark black bikini. The crowd's cheers doubled as they saw her.

"Its Kasumi, a samurai girl that is as beautiful as she is deadly, and she is quite deadly, let me tell you. This is one to look out for."

"Just a reminder on the dress code. Sleveless high-cut tops are mandantory, as well as opentoed shoes, if any. Kasumi is taking it to the limit here."

As soon as Leon finished, another young woman came into view. She gracefully leaped into the stage. She was dressed in a flowing red Chinese gown that billowed out behind her. She too ripped off her gown, leaving her in a hi and low cut tanktop with a gold dragon on it, and short shorts. And some strappy sandals to boot.

"Leifang! A crowd favourite, this Chinese woman is quite capable of delivering a powerful punch. She's also one of the youngest here, only 19, but already getting tons of cheers."

Leifang smiled at the crowd and blew them kisses, listening to their appreciation.

"Uhoh," observed Zack, "it appears that Kasumi is getting jealous. Here she comes!"

Leifang was too busy with the crowd to notice Kasumi sneak up behind her. Kasumi almost casually stuck her foot out and swept Lei Fang's legs away. She fell expertly, and was about to make a fast recovery when Kasumi came down on top of her. Kasumi's right leg pinned Leifang's neck to the floor, in a complex takedown that nearly looked like it belonged in pro wrestling. Without delay, Kasumi dug all ten of her fingers into Leifang's ribs and sides. The younger woman squealed with laughter, "Aaaaaaahahahahaa!! I'll -- get you for thisss!! haahaaahaaa!!!"

"A very nice move by Kasumi, who proceeds to start tickling the stuffing out of Leifang. Comments?" asked Zack.

'Well, some rivalry and backstabbing is to be expected here. I think we've just witnessed one of those backstabbings. We should be seeing a lot of this in the near future."

Leifang put her hands on Kasumi's leg and pushed with all her strength, which was ebbing with each passing moment. Kasumi didn't even budge an inch. She had to get away from those tormenting fingers! Quickly thinking, she grabbed Kasumi's ankle and tickled as fast as she could. The result was surprising. Kasumi's body shot upwards in response to the unexpected tickling and Leifang was able to free herself and roll away.

"Nice one, sister," said Tina Armstrong from above. The crowd roared. Their favourite pro wrestler was back. "Hey Kasumi! That talkedown was almost as good as one of mine. Almost. " She jumped down. She was wearing a skimpy tanktop, high-cut denim jeans and cowboy boots. She kicked the boots off. She helped Leifang up looked at Kasumi. "Fancy your chances against two of us?"

"Wow, our first match and alliances are being formed already!" said Leon.

"And I'd imagine soon they'd start breaking too. That ought to be fun to see."

Meanwhile, Tina and Leifang circled around, trying to catch Kasumi between them. Kasumi was trapped. She charged Tina as a last resort but Leifang tripped her and held her to the ground. Tina grabbed Kasumi's wrists, "nice try, but you'll have to try harder next time."

Leifang dug her fingernails into Kasumi's ribcage, sending her into peals of laugher, "eeeeeeheeheeheeee!!!!"

"Well, it seems like they've turned the tables on Kasumi," remarked Zack.

"Did you see that?" asked Leon.

Out of nowhere, Ayane jumped down. No one noticed her until she came up behind Tina. She got her into a headlock, and tickled her with her spare hand. Tina, caught by surprise,giggled and tried to shake her assailant off. Ayane just kept tickling, and started to drag Tina offstage, "Ameturs..."

"What's going on? Ayane just dragged Tina backstage! Do we have a camera in there?"

On the giant Viewsonic screen, the crowd saw Ayane dragging Tina into one of the storage areas. Everyone stopped to look, even the two combatants on the stage. Kasumi took the oppourtunity to put Leifang into a similar headlock and drag her off. The ref looked confused. There was nothing left to judge, and there was no surrendering, so he guessed he had to let the contestants sort it out for themselves.

Meanwhile, backstage, Kasumi and Ayane tied their victim's wrists to an overhanging pipe. Kasumi dug into Leifang's underarms with a vengeance, causing quite a reaction, "AAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!! I'LL GET YOU!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Ayane was not slouching. She tucked Tina's feet under her left arm and stroked one fingernail along the sole. Tina kicked and giggled, ovbiously ticklish there, "heeheeheeheehee!!"

"Oh stop kicking around, you're not going to get away any time soon," said Ayane. Unable to hold back any longer, she used all her fingers to vigurously tickle Tina's feet. Tina bucked and kicked, but Ayane kept tickling, "nohohohohehahahahahahhahaah!!!!!!!! sthahahahap!!!!!"

"Oh come on, honey, this is simply too much fun!"

"And playtime ends now," said a voice from down the hall.

***

"Well, the crowd has to be loving this. " said Zack.

Indeed, the crowd's eyes were all glued on the unfolding drama.

"It's the first fight and things are already getting out of hand! Lets go back to the scene of the action."

***

Kasumi and Ayane turned aoround, practically in unison. They squinted as they tried to figure out who it was. "And who might you be?" asked Kasumi.

The reply was: "Your worst nightma-" followed by a brief struggle.

"Whats going on?" shouted Ayane

"Well, your worst nightmare has gotten herself in a little trouble. Oh by the way, its me, Christie. Remember me?"

Christie stepped out from the shadows, holding a limp Hitomi in one arm. She shrugged, "an accident, really. She, ahem, stepped into my ether-soaked cloth. "

Kasumi smiled, "You cunning little -"

""I am a spy, you know."

***

"Well, its clear who is on who's side now."

"Well, Zack, alliances are to be expected. Kasumi and Ayane came as no surprise to me. Back to the action."

***

"hmm... what to do with them... " pondered Kasumi.

"We could tickle them until they concede the match..." said Christie.

"Excellent idea. I call Tina. I loovee the way she squeals!" exclaimed Ayane.

"I get Miss Nightmare" said Christie.

"And I get Leifang," said Kasumi. "Fair enough. We should take them to seperate rooms. I'll take Leifang into the docking bay. Christie, take Hitomi into one of those store rooms no one uses. I'll take Leifang to set 16. "

"Hey, why do you get set 16?' whined Ayane.

"You'll get it next time, I promise, sis, k?" replied Kasumi. After it was off to work. With the help of Christie's cloth, they took their victims and went their seperate ways.

Tina was the first to wake up. She was groggy, and she couldn't move. Realization hit her. She tried to move again. She couldn't. move.

"Comfy?" asked Ayane, standing over her. "What do you think of my knots?"

Tina couldn't find anything to say. She was attached to an old crate that no one used. She was lying on top, her arms tied beside her in 3 places,her legs hanging over one side, ankles tied to the side as well. The crate was large enough for Ayane to straddle Tina. Tina tried with all her might to move and perhaps budged one inch to one side. Ayane smiled, "You're not getting out of this any time soon. Here I come!"

Ayane menacingly wiggled her fingers above Tina's underarms, getting closer... closer... Tina could feel the wind rushing under them and closed her eyes. There the fingers seemed to wiggle for an eternity. Finally contact was made, the lightest scratching inside the hollows of both underarms. Tina bucked and squealed, mostly from the surprise. Ayane wiggled her fingers faster and tickled deeper. Tina's giggles became laughs, which quickly became screams, "NOOOOOHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAAAAAAA!!!!! NOT THERE HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!"

Ayane smiled and whispered into Tina's left ear while tickling, "Maybe, just maybe, if you concede this match to us, we'll let you go. "

""NEEVERR!!!! AHHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAAhAAA!!!!! '

"Oh? Never is a very, very, veerryy long time, Tina."

She glided her fingers down, past Tina's ribcage, and onto her tummy. Ayane poked and gently tickled the sensitive skin, intending to give Tina a short break. Weakened by the underarm tickling, Tina couldn't even move against the tight packaging tape Ayane used.

Meanwhile, Christie was dragging Hitomi to Prop Warehouse D. The beautiful German girl didn't resist. Christie resisted the urge to tickle Hitomi's sides for now. Dressed in a gold bikini top with a dragon emblazoned on it, and short denim storts, she was soo tempting to tickle. Finally. The door. Christie opened it and went it. There, the perfect spot. Christie walked to the magical prop area. There was the spinning table of death, the one where the magician strapped you in and spun you around while he fired arrows at the table. It was perfect, with a few modifications, it would serve very well. Christie first tied Hitomi in. The ropes were laughably loose. Christie took a nearby roll of duct tape and wrapped several lengths of tape around her wrists. Her ankles got similar treatment. Christie then gave Hitomi a few lengths around the abdomen. When Hitomi woke up, she was surprised, as Tina was, but was a lot more resolute. "I'll never yield to your demands!!" she yelled. "Oh, we'll see about that," said Christie, idly drawing patterns on Hitomi's tummy with her fingernail. "tell me, are you... ticklish?"

Hitomi froze. She expected tickling, but not when she was so helpless like this.

Christie grinned and gently spidered her fingers and glided them over Hitomi's tummy. Hitomi closed her eyes and gave out a few sweet giggles. Christie used a little more pressure, and a little more speed. Hitomi started giggling non-stop, "eeeheheheheheeheeheeheehee!!!! stoopppit heeheeheeheeheee!"

Christie smiled, "not until I get a surrender from you,"

Hitomi composed herself for a few seconds, "Never!!!" before falling back into a state of giggly fits.

Christie just smiled, "I think I kow how to persuade you. She spun Hitomi around until she was on the opposite end of the table.

"You have very pretty feet, Hitomi. Especially considering how how much Karate you do, barefoot even! You must tell me how you keep them so smooth and soft! Won't you, Hitomi?" asked Christie, gently tickling Hitomi's left foot. Hitomi gave out a squeal and tried to pull her foot back, but the tape held. Christie withdrew for a moment, "Why, your feet are so cute! I must try that again!"

Christie extended both of her index fingers and gently tickled both feet, Hitomi squealed again and dissolved into giggles, "eeeeeeeeheheheehehehehee!! Not there!!!! Hahahahahaheeheeeheeeehee!!!!!"

Christie kept going, "Oh, yes there. I'm going to have soo much fun with you today!"

Kasumi was dragging Leifang into stage 16 when Ayane ran up behind her. "Kasumi, stop. Its Tina. She conceded. "

Kasumi smiled, "excellent work, little sister! What should we do now? "

Ayane thinked for a few minutes. "We can release two of them, and keep one... for insurance."

Kasumi looked at Ayane, then at stage 16, then smiled.

***

Kasumi left Leifang where she was. She could find her way back home. Between Kasumi and Ayane, they carried their package to Warehouse D.

***

Tina nodded weakly at Hitomi., "I'm so sorry..."

Hitomi looked up from her position on the table. "It isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself."

It was then that Kasumi and Ayane came in, carrying a large box. The three captors looked at eachother.

"Who?" asked Ayane.

"Oooohh!! Hitomi!!!" exclaimed Christie.

"Fine." said Kasumi. She and Ayane took hold of Tina. "You go," said Ayane, "Hitomi stays."

Tina tried to free herself, but she was escorted off by Kasumi and Ayane.

Hitomi looked devastated. "You're not... letting me go?"

Christie laughted, "No, of course not. You're our insurance." with that, she gave Hitomi another whiff of the ether and started unpacking the contents of the box.

***

Kasumi and Ayane returned. Christie was nearly done unpacking. Between the three of them, they did the rest quickly. They untied Hitomi but strapped her in what they had just unpacked - the rack. They put Hitomi in and stretched her, not enough to cause hurt but enough so that she couldn't move. Along with the rack came an assortment of feathers, brushes, oils and more. Hitomi started to wake up and practically screamed when she saw them. Kasumi and Ayane immediately started tickling, sending Hitomi ballistic. Kasumi feathered Hitomi's left foot while Ayane used her long fingernails on both of Hitomi's underarms. Christie gave the camera a wink. "I think we have to protect all the children in the audience. She shielded Hitomi's upperbody from the camera while she ripped her bikini off! Christie turned back to the camera. "Don't worry about us, we can amuse outrselves," and with that she tied her bikini around the camera lens, effectively blocking the camera's view. A few seconds later the audience heard redoubled laughing and screaming. Hitomi was in for a rough day.

***

"Zack, Zack, get away from that screen. Its only for our pay-per-view viewers! " said Leon.

"Ahh yes. What an exciting episode. Stay tuned for next episode! Will Hitomi be rescued by Leifang and Tina, or will she be doomed to eternal torture? Only on the next episode of Dead or Alive Tickling Tournament!"


part2
Enjoy!!
"Welcome to the second episode of DOAXTT!!!!"

The crowd yelled its approval.

"We're going to jump straight into the backstage action then. Zack, for goodness sake, get away from that screen!"

***

Hitomi was a giggling mess, even though no one was touching her. She was in her 30-minute break after 2 hours of non-stop tickling at the hands of Kasumi, Ayane and Christie. They had been merciless, with their feathers, brushes, dusters... luckily for her, they hadn't started on the oils yet. She breathed deeply, the first real breath she had in what seemed like ages. She heard footsteps. Could it be? No. It was Christie.

"Enjoy your break, hun?" she asked.

"Please - please let me go! " Hitomi begged.

"Oh, you're so cute when you do that! I simply must tickle you some more! "

Further pleas from Hitomi fell on deaf ears as Christie rearranged Hitomi's arms to be outstretched beside her instead of over her head. Christie got up and sat on Hitomi, drumming her fingers on Hitomi's tummy, as if thinking., "Hmm, I wonder..."

She picked up a small bottle. She unscrewed the lid, and smelled it, smiling. "Oh Hitomi dear, do you know what this is?"

"n.. no," she said, dreading the response.

"Beautiful French massage oil, some of the finest on the Earth. Lets try it, shall we?"

Christie started liberally drizzling it all over Hitomi's upperbod.y.

"Oh dear, I seem to have put too much here," mused Christie, sticking her right index finger into Hitomi's bellybutton. Her ticklishness there, combined with the oil, was enough to make her scream with laughter, "NOOOOOOHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!! *gasp* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!" however the bonage was too tight for her to move so Christie just kept poking around with her index finger. Soon she stopped and smiled. "Excellent! Now we get to spread the oil around!" and with that she started vigoursly tickle Hitomi's tummy. The oil made Christie's fingernails glide faster, and also augmented their effect on the skin. Combine it with a naturally ticklish tummy and you then have an explosive effect. The ensuing explosion of noise was heard throughout the building.

***

Tina and Leifang were pondering their dilemma. Tina was infinitely apologetic.

"I'm soo sorry but... that girl Ayane... she knows her stuff, y'know what I mean? '

"For the last time, its alright!" said Leifang, "lets concentrate on finding a plan on getting Hitomi back. Any ideas?"

"I've got one," said an unfamiliar voice from the dark. It was Helena. "You sound like you have a problem, and I've got an answer."

"Go ahead," said Tina warily.

"They only have one person with Hitomi at any given time. The other two stand guard. I can talk my way past Ayane and Kasumi with some official spy crap and then break Hitomi out by taking Christie out. They take 15 minute shifts with Hitomi so our next chance is in 30 minutes. Sound good?"

"Well, its as good of a plan as any," said Leifang.

***

Kasumi walked in. Christie was busy feathering Hitomi's toes and remarking how cute her feet were.

"Awww... you have to spoil all the fun... " said Christie when Kasumi took over.

Kasumi ignored Christie and went down to business. She found a pack of fishing line and went to work. She took Hitomi's left little toe and wrapped the fishing line around it once, then spooled the fishing line to a built in eye bolt on the rack. It took 5 minutes to tie all ten toes in this fashion, but it was worth it.

"Well, enjoying your day so far?" asked Kasumi pleasantly, picking up two soft long feathers. She gently set one feather in the gap between the big toe and the second toe on each foot. She then gently threaded the feathers back and forth. Hitomi was beside herself laughing, "noohahahat thheerererere!!!!! ahhahahahahahahahahahaaaa!!!!!"

Kasumi stopped. "Not there? Alright then, lets try something different."

Kasumi picked up another bottle of massage oil. She gently drizzled some onto each foot, expertly massaging the oil so that it covered all of the skin there. Kasumi got rid of the feathers, and sat herself down at the foot of the rack. She extended both arms and lightly tickled each foot. Hitomi giggled and sqealed but the toe ties even prevented her toes from wiggling or her foot from moving away from the torturing fingers.

Kasumi was ovbiously amused that Hitomi was so ticklish on her feet. She began to just slowly and torturously glid her index finger up and down each foot, from heel to toe. Even at this pace Hitomi was giggling like a madwoman, "heheheheeeheeheeheeheheheheeheeheee!!!! sthahahap!!!!! plhehehehese!!!!! heheheheheheee!!"

"Oh, I'm just getting warmed up," said Kasumi, getting up again to select different tools. She picked two electric toothbrushes, the ones that spun around. "Do you know what these are?" asked Kasumi, turning one on for effect.

"No - no please!!!" begged Hitomi.

"Too late!" said Kasumi, turning both of them on and holding them near Hitomi's feet. Hitomi even giggled at this, because she had been tickled so much practically everything tickled to her, "heeheeheheeheeheee!!! Just tickle me!!! heeheeheeheeheee!!!!!!!"

"As you wish." Kasumi slowly, metholodically, began to tickle the tender skin between the toes on on the underside of the toes. She used the two toothbrushes well, using one to tickle the underside of any given toe while the other tickled the space in between that toe and another. It was this that drove Hitomi ballistic, "AHHEHEEHEEHEEHEHEHEEEHEHEEHEE!!!! NOHAHAHAT THAHAHAT!!!!! HAAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH!!!!!"

This torture only lasted for five minutes. Ayane showed up right on time.

"My turn, sis," said Ayane in a singsong voice. Kasumi reluctantly went away.

"Please... no more..." Hitomi gasped weakly.

Ayane gave Hitomi a sip of water. but didn't let her go. Ayane simply straddled her waist and, without saying a word, dug into Hitomi's underarms. Hitomi went into silent laughter, while Ayane kept tickling and tickling and tickling... Ayane gave no quarter. She was just non-stop on Hitomi's upperbody, giving Hitomi no chance to recover her breath, not even giving her sufficent air to laugh... by the time the 30 minutes was over, Hitomi was out of breath and gasping for air. Christie came in again and sent Ayane away.

"OOohhhhhh!! Look at this! All of Hitomi's little toes tied up! I simply must tickle them, they're soooo cute! "

A knock on the door. Christie opened it. It was Helena. The next thing she knew, she was knocked out by a swift punch to the head. Helena untied Hitomi and gave her a hand up. All things considered, Hitomi was doing pretty well. She could walk, retrieve her clothing, put it back on and run a bit unassisted. The two made it back using some back corridors and rarely-used staircases. Leifang and Tina were overjoyed to see their friend.

"We missed you sooo much! Are you OK?"

"What happened?"

"Why are you drenched in... umm... oil?"

Hitomi just laughed and made a left turn into the shower room.

Helena looked at Leifang and Tina and said, "well, I have to go now."

"Why? " asked Tina.

"I've been disqualified from this tournament."

"What have you done?" asked Tina again.

"Let me show you.," Helena raised her arms., "Tickle me."

Leifang and Tina both sprang up. Leifang dug into Helena's ribs while Tina tickled Helena's underarms. Helena didn't blink.

"You're not..."

"No, I'm not. But you two... are!" exclaimed Helena, tickling them both. The next thing you know, Helena is straddling Tina, tickling her with one hand and tickling Leifang, who was pinned by Helena's left leg, with the other. After two minutes, Helena sudenly stopped.

"Its been nice playin' with you guys, cya later!" Helena winked at both of them and then she was off.

***

"So, if that coward Ayane failed to show up today, I wouldn't be surprised!"

After the commercial break, Hitomi was changed and ready to fight again. Her strength was a little down, but her fury was unmatched. She was standing inside the stage, issuing a challenge. Ayane quickly responded, jumping down into the stage. The crowd roared, their first live entertainment for three hours (not that tickle torture was undesireable entertainment for them). Hitomi, forgetting everything she'd learned in karate, charged Ayane head-on, "HHIIYYAAA!!!"

Ayane, not expecting this barbaric move from a karate master, was bowled over like a bowling pin. Hitomi, in a scream of rage, picked Ayane up and started spining her around in a move that was totally against everything she had been tought in karate school. After Ayane was sufficently dizzied, she threw Ayane up. It had o be a world-record breaking throw. Ayane soared over 5 meters high, clearing the fence of the stage, making a perfect arc... into Tina's waiting hands. Leifang grabbed Ayane's ankles, and then the three culprits ran off the stage immediately before anyone knew what had happened.

"What goes around, comes around," mused Hitomi.

***

Ayane was dragged into the conference room, where they would decide what to do with her (i. e. where to tie her up). The problem was, this team was less prepared. They didn't have rope, or string, or tape. They improvised. Hitomi ran to the kitched and got a roll of saran wrap. Leifang and Tina held Ayane still as Hitomi wrapped the saran wrap around Ayane's wrists. Tina and Leifang maneuvoured so that Ayane was stretched out, her arms together and above her head, and her legs straight down. Hitomi wrapped Ayane with gusto, making sure to triple-layer the saran wrap. She stopped two inches short of the armpits, for ovbious reasons. Next, Hitomi wrapped Ayane's legs together with at least 5 layers of wrap, stopping just short of the foot, again for ovbious reasons. Her handiwork completed, Hitomi threw down the roll of saran wrap. Leifang sat on Ayane's arms and tickled her underarms. Tina sat on Ayane's ankles and tickled her feet. Hitomi winked at the camera, shielded Ayane's upperbody from view, and tore off her top!

"This is revenge, and its personal," said Hitomi. She then proceeded to tie the top around the camera lens. That done, she sat on the abdomen of the already laughing Ayane, wiggled her fingers in anticipation, and said, "Now, its time for you to think about what you've just done," as she wiggled her fingers into ticklish skin.

***

"Zack! Stop watching! Those cameras are for... security purposes!"

"Of course, Leon. What an exciting episode! The tables have turning on one of the former captors... what is in store for poor little Ayane now? Will it be worse than what happened to Hitomi? Find out, on the next episode of the Dead or Alive Extreme Tickling Tournament!!"

by Gloob2K

part3
"Welcome to another exciting episode of the DOAXTT! I'm Zack, and joining me today is the charming Leon!"

"Why thank you Zack. War is going on right now backstage. Lets jump straight to the action!"

***

Ayane bucked and screamed. Tina and Leifang worked over her upperbody with devastating percision. They knew Ayane's weak points and metholodically worked them over. Hitomi got the feet, spurred on by vengeance, working with a cold fury that made her tickling all the more devastating. Finally Tina and Leifang tired of their sport, leaving Hitomi with Ayane. Hitomi briefly stoppe, not wanting Ayane to lose consiousness.

"Pl-please... I'm sorry... " pleaded Ayane, taking deep breaths.

"I'm sorry Ayane, but I can't let you go," said Hitomi, still in a vengeful mood. She got up to stretch for awhile, and fetched a bottle of water. She unscrewed it and gave Ayane a long drink. She didn't want to actually kill Ayane, just to make her laugh. A lot.

Hitomi straddled Ayane's waist and slowly wiggled her fingers in Ayane's armpits, "No-no plhehehehehse!! heeeheeeheeeheeheee!!!!!"

Hitomi wiggled a little faster and a little harder. Ayane bucked from side to side, but couldn't shake Hitomi off, "sthahahap!!! plhehehese!!! ahhahahahahahahahahaa!!!!"

Hitomi kept wiggling, and slowly made her way down to Ayane's ribs. Ayane bucked a little more, but was running out of energy to do so, "eeheheheheheheeheeheehee!!! plhehese!! nohohoho more!! "

"Oh fine, you win," Hitomi said. "No more upperbody tickling. I get to tickle your feet now!"

"No, you wouldn't dare... stop..." begged Ayane again, wiggling her toes in anticipation.

Hitomi ignored her and flipped her over. Now her feet couldn't move at all, not even a millimetre to one side. Hitomi delighted in the immobility of Ayane's feet and immediately exploited this by tickling in between Ayane's toes, something she didn't have the opportunity to do until now. The result was fantastic, "No - no plheHEHEHSE!!! HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhAhA!!!! STHAHAHAP!!!!!!!!!"

Hitomi just kept tickling, moving one hand down to tickle the soles of Ayane's feet while the other tickled between the toes. Ayane thrashed her upperbody around, but to no avail. Hitomi's fingers just kep tickling and tickling...

Finally, the blackness of unconsiousness took hold of her and she mercifully passed out.

"What to do, what to do..." wondered Tina, looking at the limp figure of Ayane.

***

Leifang and Tina dragged Ayane's limp body into the stage, depositing it on the edge. Tina took a mic from the ref and started talking, "Here's the deal. The excuses of warriors named Kasumi and Christie come out, and we may be persuaded to give her back. Otherwise, we take her back in for some more fun. You up for it?"

***

Meanwhile, off camera:

Paper in hand, a particular man made his way back from his boss's office. The man, whose nametag read "John," read the paper as he walked. "4:15... by the loading dock..." he muttered. He glanced at the watch. 4:05. He would have to hurry.

It was strange that he would be wanted for what probably was guard duty. He wasn't a security guard, he was one of the elite, one of the DOATEC president's personal bodyguards. The best of the best. But those were his orders, and orders were to be obeyed. He deposited the paper in a shredder and made his way to the loading dock. In promptly 10 minutes, he saw someone else.

"Follow me." the newcomer said, heading to the back of a truck that was currenty being unloaded.

"Wha... what?"

"Follow!" the man commanded. John followed. As soon as they were in, the truck driver started the engine.

"You will be known as Eagle. I am known as Condor. Everything you are about to hear is classified. Is that clear?"

John - Eagle looked at Condor, "Fair enough. What's the boss's latest mission for us?"

"I can only tell you if you agree to this mission."

"So its one of those missions."

"Yes."

"Fine, I agree. Lay it on me."

"Excellent. Here's the scoop. Big Bird has worked up a new plan for DOATEC. Based on the success of his current idea, DOAXTT, he has come up with something new."

"And what would that be?" Eagle asked.

"A new tournament. Not of pure fighting, but of survival. Think of Big Brother meets DOA with a twist. What we do is first we construct a new, bigger arena. Not like anything we've built before. Its already nearing completion. The arena is huge... three levels high and a square kilometer in area. Its a dungeon-like arena, totally enclosed. The theme is, fittingly, a medieval dungeon. "

"Wait," said Eagle, "I think I see where this is going. You stick the girls in there, the last one standing is the winner?"

"Big Bird said he would give me a smart partner," said Condor, "Thats perfectly right. Theres a few twists though. For one, we have organized bouts too, but not as many. The biggest twist is that Big Bird has developed some special robots for the occasion. "

"Robots?" asked Eagle.

"I think a demonstration would be appropriate. Eagle, meet Fluffy," said Condor. A scorpion-like machine walked into the back of the truck from the back of a crate. It moved very swiftly, its metal legs making an ominous clicking sound against the floor. It had pincers, and they were covered in feathers. Its tail was tipped with a featherduster-like object that twirled around.

"This is the most basic that he's developed. You should see some of the big ones."

"So, what exactly do you expect me to do? And why me?" asked Eagle.

"Well, for one thing, you're the best bodyguard he has. Big Bird said that himself. Fo another, you're smart. You're the only person suited for this job. I'm glad that you accepted. As for what we do, you do what you do best. We may be entering some pretty shady areas, and I may need you for backup. I'm also gonna need some second opinions on selection issues."

"Selection? asked Eagle.

"We're looking for people to... add to the current cast of fighters. I need your help on who to choose. We only have so many spots available."

"Understood. Lets get started right away."

***

"You dare insult us!" shouted Kasumi, at the opposite end of the stage. "You will pay for your insolence!"

Kasumi and Christie moved in on Tina and Leifang. The crowd screamed for carnage. And carnage is what they got. All martial art skills were abandoned. The fight was a free for all which the crowd loved so much. They screamed for carnage, and carnage was what they got. Beside the stage, Ayane wriggled around, looking for some way to free herself. Seeing a doorknob, she wriggled towards it, thinking that the doorknob would twist the saran wrap sufficently to let her escape. As the combantants let it loose in the ring, Ayane inched toward freedom.

***

Having briefed Eagle, Condor flipped on his radio and spoke a few commands in. Moments later, the truck stopped. Eagle and Condor stepped out, shielding their eyes from the blinding glare of the morning sun. Waiting for them was a top of the line Nighthawk helicopter. Built for speed and stealth, there was no better choice for their stealth mission. The pilot opened the door for them.

"Welcome to the party. I'm Falcon. Condor and Eagle?"

"Rightio, thats us. You're briefed?"

"100% roger. Hop in, and we'll get underway."

***

Eagle whistled as he thumbed through a large binder of potential candidates.

"Man, you guys sure do your research well,"

Condor laughed. "Well, its not like its hard work or anything. We only have a handful of candidates from the binder. We had to eliminate the ones with strong connections or were hard to get to, you know? Then they had to be martial artists, and then they had to look good. Not that many left."

"Right. What's our first stop?"

"Lets see... we get to go to beautiful Iceland first. ETA 2 hours. Time to get some shut-eye. See you in 2 hours."

***

Hvjardsmoor was a remote fishing village off the Icelandic coast. Home to only about 20 people, it was generally a dull place to live. Many people had odd pastimes. Some people collected old baseball cards. Some people built rafts. One particular nineteen year old girl liked to practice martial arts. Her name was Kristin. Her style of martial arts - one she invented herself. She was stunningly beautiful, but there was no one around to tell her that. Her slim and tall body, with perfect curves, would be the envy of all of Iceland. Her stunning blue eyes would melt the heart of every man on the planet. The only problem was, the closest person to her age in the village was 6. Her long rippling blond hair swooshed through the air as she practised her high kicks, one left, one right, one left... another right... another left... Her cooldowns completed, she collapsed on a bench and took a long swig of water. Then she stepped outside. The refreshing Iceland air was heaven compared to the stuffy inside air. The cool morning dew was still on the grass, and Kristin sat on the patch of grass, running her toes along the grass, giggling as the occasional ant made its way onto her sensitive toes. Her feet were exceptionally soft for such an accomplished martial arts master. She spent a good chunk of time with a pumice stone to make sure she could enjoy more moments like these. She sighed. Life was good.

***

Falcon switched on the autopilot, got up, and tapped Condor on the shoulder.

"Hey, hey! Wake up! I have a visual, if you're interested."

All the sleepiness from Condor's eyes vanished. "A visual? Great job! Lets go."

Falcon got in a little closer. At this early morning, it was hard to see the Nighthawk against the black outline of the mountains further west. Falcon lined up the nose of the chopper with Kristin's body, and fired.

***

The crowd was crazy. This was the best fight any of them has seen in years. The four combatants were all over the stage, rushing at each other doggedly, some giggling madly as they were attacked, some smiling as they landed a hit. Admimst all the chaos, everyone missed Ayane, working the saran wrap off against a old dorknob. Shouting a war cry, Ayane jumped into the centre of the stage, taking down both Tina and Leifang in a massive two-armed downward sweep. Kasumi and Christie helped Ayane drag the struggling bodies offstage.

***

The tranqulizer dart screamed noiselessly through the air. It hit Kristin in the shoulder, and before she knew it, she was asleep. The next second, Condor and Eagle slid down from a rope dangling from the Nighthawk. They harnessed Kristin in,and the Nighthawk was off. Elapsed time: 5 seconds.

Inside the helicoptor, Condor and Eagle feverishly unharnessed themselves and their victim. Condor opened a locked cabinet. Inside were a huge selection of liquids. Condor selected one tube, and inserted a small syringe into it. He injected Kristin with a minute dose of the liquid and then locked the cabinet again.

"Hey Eagle, pass me that briefcase," said Condor, disposing of the syringe in a biohazard box. Eagle promptly handed the black brefcase over. Eagle took out what appeared to be a VR headset attached to a palmpilot. Eagle put the headset onto his head, then attached the computer to Kristin's head. He spend a good five minutes twiddling around with the computer, before he took off the headset, satisfied.

"Memory change complete," he said. "We're in the money"

***

Kristin woke up gently in a room unknown to her. The bed felt especially comfortable. the sheets were linen... how could it be - oh yes, she remembered now. She signed up for the tickling tournament...

Such was the effectiveness of Condor's memory altering. Kristin stretched, and put on the neatly folded robe beside her. She stretched again, and got up. There was a knock on the door. Kristin walked over and opened the door.

"Hello again, Kristin," Condor said.

"David! How nice to see you!" Kristin said, giving him a hug. As she remembered, David was her old friend that informed her of this unusual tournament.

"Come with me," Condor, or David, said, "They're gathering the contestants."

"What do I wear?" asked Kristin.

"We'll discuss that later," Condor said, "For now, there's a closet beside your bed. I hope you will find something that suits your taste. Come out when you're done, ok?"

Kristin closed the door and looked into the closet. A large variety of clothes were there, but she noticed that all of the tops were high-cut and sleeveless, and all of the pants were shorts. No shoes in sight. She picked out a blue tanktop and a matching pair of shorts, and was dressed in two minutes. She opened the door again, to find David waiting.

"Come with me, please," Condor said, leading her into the briefing room.

***

The three dragged Tina and Leifang into set 16 this time. Set 16 was basically a dungeon. It was used by a previous series that went bankrupt in five episodes, so the set was abandoned. They found a double rack that perfectly suited their needs. They dragged their victims into the rack and locked them tight. Kasumi and Christie spent a moment to admire their handiwork but Ayane just attacked them both, her fingernails scribbling over her victim's upperbodies. She was out for revenge, and boy, was she going to get it!

Tina and Leifang both arched their backs in an effort o get away, but Ayane was relentless.

"C'mon guys, help me out!" Ayane said.

Kasumi and Christie looked at each other. Simling, they took up residence at the end of the rack. Kasumi extended the index finger of each hand and gently tickled Leifang's feet. Even with the gentleness of the tickling, Leifang bucked and tried to escape, "noheheheeheeheeheeheehee!!!!!"

Christie was less reserved. She pulled the toes on Tina's left foot back. Then she feverishly scribbled her fingers inbetween the toes. Tina screamed and tried to curl up with all her might, but the rack held. Tina, however, was still trapped, "AHHAHAAHAAHAAHAAA!!!!!! STHAHAHAP!!!!!"

Ayane leant in and whispered to both of them, "Not any time soon..."

***

Kristin and 5 other similarly dressed women were led to a large conference room. Condor spoke immediately.

"You have all signed up for DOATEC's latest show, right?"

All six nodded. Condor was very good at altering memories.

"Excellent. You have been selected because of a combination of martial arts skills, ticklishness, and beauty. You have done well to get this far. Now, I shall explain the rules. If you have questions, save them for later.

First, let me introduce you to our fighting arena."

Condor pushed a few buttons and a large 3d map appeared, hovering over he center of the table.

"It is huge, as you can see. Three levels of arena here. Its also about one square kilometer in area. But its not all open. No, to the contrary, it is like a network of tunnels. The theme for the arena is a ancient and lost dungeon, with sinister rooms and cavernous passages connecting them. Needless to say, there will be plenty of surprises.

Anyways, this is how the game works. Basically, the last person left standing wins. Any person can quit out at any time, but quitting constitutes a forefiet. The object of the game is to entice others to forefiet, until you are the last one left. Needless to say, the others will be out to do this too. Alliances are encouraged, actually. There is another group of six that will be in the arena with you, and they are being briefed as you are as we speak. Perhaps it would be wise to unite against them first, hmm?

Anyways, I think that covers it all. Any questions?"

***

Zack looked at Leon, his left eyebrow raised.

"Uhh... Leon... I think you should look at this. New orders."

Leon walked over. His eyes scanned down the letter.

"hmm... yes... I see..." he said, reading. Finally done, he looked up.

"Well, assemble the cast. There's going to be a slight change of plan."

DOAXTT - Episode 4 - Helena's Bad Day
________________________________________
Yes, my next offering. Enjoy!

Helena's Bad Day

By Gloob2K

(BTW - Pics and bios of characters posted on website, if needed)

"Good evening! Welcome to the fourth episode of the DOAXTT!" Zack said, standing in front of what appeared to be a cave wall.

"As you may have noticed, there have been a few changes. DOAXTT has changed from a fighting tournament into a whole new entity. We've already explained the rules. We're all set to go. We'll start by introducing the arena. I like to call it the Labyrinth."

"We'll start by starting the contestants off in different areas, alone. They can try by themselves or band together, their choice. But eventually they'll have to turn on each other."

"Y'know Zack, this sounds like Survivor..."

"Heh. Does survivor have tickling?"

"I wish"

"Anyways... the contestants don't know this yet, but they're not alone. No, the inhabitants of the Labyrinth are out for the laughter of our contestants. You're going to see more of them later. Now, without further ado, let’s start."

***

Kasumi was still a bit riled that she had to stop torturing Tina, but she was OK. Still a bit groggy... but OK. She looked around. She was in the middle of a small, torch-lit passageway. She shakily stood up, regaining her strength. She shivered a bit. It was cold. Maybe she should've worn something more than her bikini, but it was too late to change it. For now, she would find company. She went off to her right, her bare feet hardly making a sound against the stone floor.

***

Tina found herself in a similar passageway. She slowly got up to her feet and assessed the situation. Everything rushed back to her head. She had to find her friends. She ran off to her left, hoping to find someone she knew.

***

The robots began to wake up. One by one, DOATEC's newest inventions began to powerup. The small ones powered up the quickest. Little spiders scuttled into cracks in the walls. Other various small robots scuttled away. Then the larger robots began to powerup. A rather large spider began to walk, its eight metal legs making creepy clicking sounds against the stone floor. Metal scorpions scuttled away in various directions. The largest of them all lied in wait...

***

Leifang was exploring. Left... right... straight... hadn't she been here before? She sighed. It was impossible to get her bearings. Come to think of it, it was impossible to think, especially because of those clicking noises. Wait. Clicking noises. Noises were bad. Leifang nervously scanned the corridors. Nothing. The sounds were getting closer... and closer... it was nearly here...

Suddenly a giant metal leg came into view. It was two feet tall and had a very sinister, metallic appearance. Then the body appeared. It was a giant mechanical spider. Its body was circular, six feet in diameter, and very grungy and metallic looking. It turned towards Leifang. Leifang ran.

The spider jumped, and came down in front of the running Leifang. Before she cold reverse, she crashed right into it. The spider grabbed her left wrist with one of its eight legs. Leifang yanked with all her might. The spider gave a little, but didn't move much. Four of its legs were pointed at the end, and dug into the floor. The other four were circular, hollow, and flexible, designed to be used for restraining the spider's prey. At the moment, the four pointed legs were doing their work. The three other legs shot towards Leifang. There was very little she cold do to dodge. She was caught, and the legs contracted. Soon she was dangling precariously, face up, and inches from the spider's underside. The spider made a satisfied clicking sound, and started to do its job.

***

"Tina!!!!"

Tina spun around. "Kasumi!"

Kasumi stopped ten feet short of Tina. "I suppose... you want to team up?"

"I suppose."

"Listen... I'm sorry -"

"Hey, it’s all in the game. Don't take anything personally."

"Thank you. I've figured out that there are probably three levels to this complex. We are on the bottom, as are our friends. There are six others on the top level. I don't know who or what they are. It would make sense to team up.

"For now..." Tina said under her breath.

***

The spider was a robot, essentially. It had no feelings. It did what it was programmed to do. It was programmed to tickle. This it did, with much efficiency. First stage: Assess the victim. Discover weak points, and use this information later. Most of all, tickle the victim.

A small panel slid back on the underside of the spider. Out popped a small feather duster connected to a mechanical hand. The hand moved with near-humanlike agility, sweeping back and forth and slowly coming down. When the feathers made gentle contact with Leifang's tummy, she started to giggle very slightly, and pull a little harder on her bonds. As the feathers made more steady contact, Leifang began giggling more loudly, pleading to the robot to stop. The spider knew no mercy. It was programmed to tickle.

***

Four members were found. Tina, Kasumi, Hitomi, and Christie. They set up temporary camp at a major junction where eight tunnels met. They discussed their current situation.

"So, what kind of place are we in?" asked Christie.

"Cave-like passageways, as you can see, some rooms, torture chambers mostly, some supply rooms." Hitomi said. She was the last to be discovered so farm and had covered the most ground.

"Supply rooms?" asked Tina. "What kind of supplies?"

"One had food and water. Another was huge, and it had the most tickling tools I have ever seen. Hundreds of different kinds of feathers. Oils that line whole shelves. Miles of rope. Brushes, dusters, you name it, its there. If you ask me, we should raid it. "

"Agreed. Now, has anyone seen little monsters around here or have I just been hallucinating?" asked Kasumi.

""I think I saw one too," said Christie. "Cunning little bugger, but I got away from him. He was chasing me, I swear."

"Great. This cave has inhabitants. I wonder how they're treating the others?"

***

"No - please - sthahahahahahap!!!! ahhahahahahahaa!!!"

Leifang thrashed around as the feather duster concentrated on her bellybutton. After ten seconds, the feather duster withdrew, leaving Leifang to catch her breath. "Not bad," the spider thought. Average ticklishness. Give it a 60. This information was recorded. Next were Leifang’s underarms. Two hands slid out of hidden compartments and immediately began to wiggle in her underarms. Leifang first was able to wiggle away but in response, the spider tightened her bonds, and started again. Leifang bucked up and down, but couldn't escape, "No - not there!! heeheeheeheeheeheheheheehehe!!"

The fingers then started pressing a little harder, using more fingers. Leifang went ballistic, "eeeehehehehehehee!!! STHAHAHAP!!!! AAHHAHAHAHAHAA!!!"

The spider immediately withdrew. More sensitive there, he thought. 80. Time to move to the feet, the spider thought.

His thoughts were cut short by a swift and brutal karate shop. The spider's legs buckled and failed, and Leifang rolled away from the falling wreckage. When the dust settled, Leifang saw Tina, standing there with her hands on her hips. "You OK?" Tina asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Leifang responded. "How many people have you found?"

"You're the fifth. I think Ayane is the last one. We need to find her. First, we’ll take you to home base. "

***

Kasumi stared in disbelief. "You've gotta be joking..."

Zack stared back. "I'm dead serious. The entire other side has fallen to the Ticklezilla 2000. And it’s coming this way. Oh yeah, it has eaten Ayane, but she's hanging in there..."

"Eaten?!"

"Oh don't worry..." Zack said, "No damage done, just tickling. Anyways, prepare yourselves."

***

The metal monstrosity stopped in its tracks. The last meal was yummy. Time for more. The others were nearby. He could sense it. Five of them... wait. Something wasn't right. Six... no, seven. Oh well. The more food, the better. Ticklezilla stomped off, intending to feast on ticklish flesh.

***

"Helena!" Leifang exclaimed, "You're back!"

"Hello, Leifang," Helena said, "And everyone else, Hello."

"I thought you were -" Hitomi started.

"Disqualified? Yeah, until DOATEC came along. They gave me a pill or something like that." Helena said, "I do think I'm as ticklish as you now, Leifang," Helena said with a wink.

"And you, Lisa?" Leifang asked, blushing.

"Oh. I decided to drop by... nothing more."

"Great!" Hitomi said, smiling.

Suddenly, a loud metallic banging could be heard through the corridors.

"Wh-what was that?" asked Kasumi, her hands springing in front of her in her normal combat stance.

"It sounds huge..." Christie whispered.

And it was. Ticklezilla burst in through the door, shattering it. His supper lay before him. In one massive bite, he swallowed them all whole.

***

There was falling... and more falling... and they came to a rest. All of them, including Ayane. Before anyone could say anything, a booming voice could be heard.

"Welcome to the real tournament, contestants. Last one to survive is the winner. The real tournament starts now."

As if pulled by some invisible force, the girls were pulled into separate rooms. Some struggled a bit, but it was a futile exercise. Soon enough, they were paired up in fair-sized rooms.

Leifang looked to Helena. They were together. "What’s happening?"

Before Helena could answer, the voice spoke again.

"This is the first event. It will be a tickle fight-type event. Three rounds. Best out of three wins. Losers will be appropriately punished."

Helena smiled. "Well, that about sums it up."

Then, as if summoned from thin air, a few lengths of rope appeared. Then Helena and Leifang were grabbed by the invisible hands again. After a few minutes, they were tied up to each other. They were basically sitting on the floor with their legs tied in front of them, within easy reach of their opponent. Their toes were bound by some invisible force, and couldn't move. Their hands were unbound.

"Well..." Leifang started, smiling, "It seems like I have you at a disadvantage. You have no experience with these things."

"Oh, you'd be surprised. I think I've seen you reduced to a giggling mess enough times to know how to do things around here," Helena teased.

Leifang gave a short scowl to Helena before smiling even wider, "But you've never been tickled before, have you? You don't know what it feels like, do you?"

"I suppose I will know very shortly."

"Attention contestants... begin!" the speaker said.

Quick as a bullet, Helena was off. Her hands expertly danced around Leifang's soles, as if she was an expert at tickling. Before the tickling sensations could reach her head, Leifang started too. Her dexterous fingers danced around Helena's arch. Almost in unison, both women started to giggle.

"eeheeheehee!!" Leifang giggled, "Not bad! heeheeheeee!"

"ahahahhahaa! " Helena laughed, but still keeping herself under control, tickled harder. Leifang jumped a little and made the mistake of trying to get away more than trying to tickle Helena. As Helena gained control, she tickled Leifang with more precision. Helena's laughs became quieter, until she was merely giggling at Leifang's futile attempts to tickle her.

"Let’s see how ticklish those toes are now, shall we?" Helena asked, teasing.

"No!!! eeheeheeheehehehehehahahaha!! plheheehese!!"

"Was that a yes? I think it was!" Helena went on, quickly moving her fingernails to tickle the undersides of Leifang's vulnerable toes. Leifang screamed with laughter, "NoHAHAT THERE!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!! PlHEEHEHEEsE!!! GGYYYAAHAHAHAHAAA!!!"

"Tough luck, pal. The only way out is for you to give this point to moi."

Leifang nodded her head vigorously.

Helena stopped.


"Match 1 to nothing in favour of Helena!" the loudspeaker announced.

"Not so bad, eh?" Helena asked.

"You keep talking," Leifang said, her eyes burning with defiance. "I'll get you this time!"

"You keep thinking that," Helena said.

"Round two begins now!" the voice said. Leifang and Helena were again lifted by the invisible force until they were standing, facing each other. Their left arms were pulled up but their right arms were free.

"Start!"

Leifang was the quicker this time. She went straight for Helena's ribs. Her thumb, index and middle fingers formed a claw that she used to gently squeeze Helena's ribs. Helena was too slow to actually touch Leifang before Leifang reached her. Helena giggled and twisted her body away. Leifang smiled and kept tickling, "Now who's laughing?"

Helena twisted away, gaining a second's reprieve. She tried to get her free hand to somehow tickle Leifang, but Leifang was too fast, this time digging into Helena's tummy. Helena bucked and giggled, "Ahahahahaahaa!!! nohohohohohhahahahaha!!!"

"Say you're sorry!!" Leifang taunted.

"Ahahaahahaha!!! I'm sohohory!!!"

"Bzzt! Match tied, 1-1"

"How's that for a change?" Leifang asked happily.

"Heh. Just like you said, first time being tickled for me. I'll get you next time..."

"Tiebreaker round, begin! This is a no-restraint contest! Holds only! Begin!"

"Holds only, eh? Sounds fun!" Leifang said, getting into battle position.

Helena couldn't think of anything unique to say, so she just rattled off her usual start-of-battle saying, "Flow like water... nothing beats water but it can wear down the hardest rock..."

"Contestants, begin!"

Helena started circling her opponent, trying to disorient her. Leifang circled as well, keeping the distance.

"I see you've kept your martial arts up to specs," Helena remarked.

"Oh, more than up to specs." Leifang replied shrewdly.

The pacing continued. Finally, Leifang decided to break the silence. She pulled off a three kick combo: A straight kick to the head, followed by a spinning kick to the temple, finished by a jump kick to the chest. Helena did the textbook move: Parry. However, this fight was not textbookable. Leifang gained ground on Helena as she parried, and soon was close enough to grab one of Helena's arms. Leifang reeled Helena in and soon had her in a hold, with both of Helena's arms being held over her head in an arm lock. Without hesitation, Leifang started tickling Helena's tummy. That was her weak spot, and Leifang was sure of it. Helena first struggled, but quickly dissolved into laughter, "AHAHahAHAhA!!!!!NOHAhAT AGAIN!!! GYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

You fell right into that one, Helena's brain told her. You're not allowed to do anything but holds! Helena gritted her teeth to stop from laughing for a moment and pushed upwards with all her might. Unfortunately, Leifang was stronger than she looked. "Nice try!" Leifang remarked pleasantly, and she kept tickling.

Helena shook herself like a wet dog, momentarily stalling Leifang. Be like water, she remembered. Wait. Be like water! That was it! "Water can wear down even the hardest rock..." Helena muttered, as she slid right out of Leifang's arm lock, and rolled away.

"Y'know what your martial art's problem is? It relies on the mistakes of others."

"Fortunately for me, no one is perfect," Leifang said, stepping forward and putting Helena into a headlock.

Helena stopped being like water and turned into stone, figuratively. She stood upright, throwing Leifang onto her back. Quick as a bullet, Helena jumped on the stunned Leifang who was lying facedown of the floor. Helena then dug all ten fingers into Leifang's ribs. The younger woman arched her back and shook with all her might, but Helena hung on and kept tickling. Her fury spent, Leifang dissolved into peals of laughter, "eehheheheheheheheeheeheehehehehe!!! sthahahahahapp!! ahhahahahaheeheheehehehehee!!"

"Not a chance. More tickles for you!"

Helena kept digging into Leifang's ribs. That’s where she made her fatal mistake. She became predictable. Leifang quickly smacked Helena's wrists away with one hand and threw Helena with the other. Helena landed on the floor face up, unharmed but a little dazed. Leifang took a few seconds to catch her breath, then straddled Helena's thighs and started tickling Helena's tummy again with short pokes and light scratches. Helena tried to protect her belly by covering it with her hands, but Leifang was quicker than that. She switched to Helena's ribs. Helena finally gave up and just laughed,"Aahahahahahaha!! You'll pay!! hahahahahahahaahaaa!!!"

"You're in no position to make threats" Leifang said. Then she quickly sprang up and grabbed Helena's ankle. "Hmm, I wonder if you have ticklish feet?"

"Leifang, if you want to stay healthy, you'll -" Helena was cut off when Leifang started dragging her index finger along her heel, slowly going up. Helena gritted her teeth and relaxed. I am not ticklish, Helena told herself. Be like the water. No one - "Eep!"

Leifang looked up, a very satisfied smile on her face. "Gotcha!"

"Why you little -"

"Little? You're a lot smaller than me at the time being..." Leifang said happily. She then proceeded to tickle Helena's foot with all her nails quickly dragging up and down the tender skin. Helena let a few giggles out, "you're ahahahaa pathetic... ahhahahahahaa!!’

"Really now? Hmm... I wonder how ticklish your toes are?"

Helena froze. "You wouldn't..."

Leifang giggled. "I would! The only thing that will stop me now is your surrender."

Helena sighed. "So be it. You win."

"Match ended. Winner: Leifang, by a margin of 2-1!"

Helena sighed and turned to Leifang. "Tell me something... you're more ticklish than I am, but you won anyways... how?"

Leifang pondered for a moment, "Well... I guess you just have to get used to it... I had brothers, you see. They would tie me up, and... you know..." she blushed, "Its all up here. Just give it a little time. Think of it as fun, you know... you're laughing and all... don't for a minute think that being ticklish is a weakness. "

Helena nodded. "It seems like - hey! What’s going on?"

Helena, as if grabbed by invisible hands, started to levitate. She was carried through a wall and disappeared, leaving Leifang to ponder how she actually floated through a solid wall.

***

Christie was jubilant. The cold-hearted woman had just powered down Lisa ruthlessly for a 2-0 match. As if by some invisible force, she was pushed through a wall, into a room. Through a wall? Where was she? Before she could ponder, a voice came up inside her head. "Congratulations. To the victor go the spoils. Have fun."

Christie smiled. She could see all the losers of the matches all tied up in various positions. Tina, Lisa, Ayane... Ooohh... Helena...

"Hello, Helena," Christie said, stepping into the room. Her white hair glistened.

"Well hello Christie. I trust you are well?" Helena said. She had a less than cordial relationship with Christie, due to the fact that Christie tried to assassinate her during the last DOA tournament.

"Just perfectly, thank you. I see you have developed a new... weakness lately."

"You go ahead and think that, Christie," Helena said, remembering Leifang's advice.

"Well I currently do. Enough talk. Let’s see if you really have developed a weakness..." Christie said with a sarcastic smirk. "Let the torture begin..."

(Authors Note: I thought I would be mean and end the story here, but I'm too nice to do that )

Christie debated for a bit as to where to tickle Helena... she didn't know about Helena's weakness yet... "Hmm... how bout... here?" Christie started ever so gently scratching around Helena's underarms. Helena's eyes burned. "I keep telling you, I haven't developed any weakness..."

"Call it what you wish. I know you're ticklish. " Christie said, digging slightly harder. Helena began to squirm around a bit. Although her underarms weren't as sensitive as her tummy or feet, it still tickled a fair bit. Helena struggled to maintain her composure as Christie started stroking faster... and faster... and stop...

"You know what? I'm impressed. I really am. But that will only get you so far." Christie pulled out two medium-width paintbrushes and a bottle of her famous oil. "Let’s see if you can impress me now..."

Christie dipped each of the brushes in the oil, then gently started stroking one brush in Helena's left underarm, very gently. Helena started giggling and pulling at her invisible bonds. "mmph... heheehehee!! fineheehee!!! I admit it!!!"

"Well, that’s a start..." Christie said, adding the other brush to the mix. Helena couldn't hold it in any longer. "Ahahahhahaa!! Okokoksthahahap!!!!! aahaahahahahaaha!!!!"

"Not so tough anymore, eh?" Christie asked as she started to brush quicker. And quicker. Helena was going ballistic. "AHHAHAHAHAhahaHHAHAHAHAHA!!!! NONONPLHEHEHESE!!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!"

"Oh I'm having too much fun to stop! Tickle tickle!" Christie started drawing small circles in Helena's armpits. Helena redoubled her laughter, "GGYAHAHAHAAHAAhAAHAAAhAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAHA!!! PLHEHEHESeE!!! STHAHAHAHPPPP!!!!!"

"Oh fine. Enough of the underarms. I wonder how ticklish your feet are."

Helena thinked to herself... if Helena could convince Christie that her feet were the worst, then maybe she could keep her off her tummy...

"Oh my god, no... please..." Helena said with a touch of melodramicity.

Christie laughed, "Oh yes... its going to happen." Christie looked at Helena's oh-so vulnerable soles, "My my, what cute and dainty feet you have... size 5?"

"5 and a half," Helena muttered. "Not that it matters..."

"Indeed. Down to business? I like that. Accepting the inevitable is the first step. Now... where to start..." Christie started slowly drawing circles on Helena's arches (after dipping the brushes in oil again), watching Helena's face closely. Helena turned her head and giggled madly, "ahahahahahahaahahahahahaa!!!"

"Hmm... let’s try... here!" Christie moved the brushes to the undersides of Helena's toes. Helena's giggles became full-fledged laughter. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!! NOHOHOHT THERE!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

"My my my... I expected more resistance you, my dear Helena. Oh well. I won't look my gift horse in the face," Christie said, continuing the treatment to Helena's toes. Helena bucked and laughed some more, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! PPLLLHEEHEHESEE!!!! STHAHAHAHAPPP!!!! NOOOOHAHAHAHAHAha!!!!"

"Oh dear... you really ARE ticklish. Then again, you would have to be to get beaten by that excuse of a fighter Leifang."

"You watch it. Leifang is a more than competent fighter."

"Oh, I can make you take that back. In fact, you'll be begging to give your firstborn to me when I'm through with you..." Christie moved away from Helena's feet. She then strode to her upperbody, brandishing her brushes. "Now, let’s see how ticklish your tummy is..."

DOAXTT - Episode 5 - The Grinder
________________________________________
Kasumi was jubliant. An easy win over Tina, and then who would be tied up before her than... Ayane?
"Hello, sister," Kasumi said.
"Hello..." Ayane replied calmly.
"What happened?"
"One word: Hitomi. Watch out for her. She's vicious."
"Heh. That she is. I think I'm still sore from the last time I fought her." Kasumi said, rubbing her left thigh. "Yup, still sore."
"No, silly! I mean vicious when it comes to tickling!"
"Well, I suppose she might've been bitter from yesterday..."
Ayane shuddered, "But they already got me back! Why me again?"
Kasumi shrugged, "Maybe its the hair," she said, the corners of her mouth twitching.
"Very funny... I like my hair the way it is!" Ayane said.
"Well then... I don't know... maybe its how you squirm when someone tickles you..." Kasumi smiled.
"Shaddup!" Ayane said, her cheeks turning crimson.
Kasumi giggled, "or maybe its how you squeal when someone gets your toes..."
Ayane turned redder. "Kasumi! Be quiet!"
"Or maybe... just maybe... you're too adorable to stop tickling..." Kasumi said, her fingernails slowly approaching Ayane's defenseless upperbody.
"No - no Kasumi... please..."
"Oh come on! Have some fun!" Kasumi enthusiastically replied. "Tickle tickle!" Her index fingernails softly made contact with Ayane's ribs, drawing small circles.
Ayane tensed a little bit, but refused to laugh.
"Oh come on!" Kasumi said, adding her middle fingernails. "Laugh a little... otherwise I get to call you more cold-hearted than Christie!"
Ayane giggled, both because of Kasumi and the tickling, "heehee! No one's that bad..."
Kasumi giggled as well, "I guess... maybe... its because you're my little sister, and I have to keep you in your place, y'know..."
'And you're my big sister... which means I get to tease you about Ryu Hayabusa..."
Kasumi pretended to be insulted, "You take that back, sis, or you're in for it!"
Ayane just looked at Kasumi and said in a singsong vioce, "Kasumi and Ryu, sitting in a tree K-I..."
Kasumi blushed. "Alright, missy. You've asked for it..."
Ayane didn't blink, "First comes love, then comes marrige, then comes... eeeeeekkk!"
Kasumi looked up at her rebellious sister. Smiling, she wiggled her fingers in Ayane's underarms again.
"EEeeeeeeheeeeheeheheheheeeheehehee!!!" Ayane giggled.
"See? This is why people can't resist tickling you!" Kasumi exclaimed, tickling a little lighter and watching Ayane squirm in a futile attempt to get away. Kasumi knew that whatever force was holding Ayane was holding her at the wrists and elbows, so arm movement was very difficult.
"Heehee! Sthahahap! I mehehen it sis!! Ehheeeheheehee!"
"You're gonna apologize to me now?" Kasumi asked, stopping.
"Sure... I'm sorry that you and Ryu can't get together sooner... you two sure make a cute couple!" Ayane said, smiling at her sister.
"You're pushing it..." Kasumi threatened, her hands hovering all over Ayane's body... deciding where to strike next.
"Me? Pushing it?" Ayane asked innocently, "I've only been pushing it since the day I was born..."
"Alright, thats it, sister. Time to pay."
Kasumi got up and repositioned herself at Ayane's feet.
"Remember back when we were looking for that ring..." asked Kasumi, smiling at the memory.
"I'd rather not," Ayane replied.
"No matter," Kasumi said. "Now... if I remember correctly..."
Kasumi assessed how much mobility Ayane's feet had. Hmm... no toe ties... perfect. Kasumi hated toe ties when it came to Ayane. She loved to see Ayane wiggle her toes, to see her feet jerk around trying to escape whatever she was using to tickle Ayane. Kasumi started gently tickling Ayane's arches, her fingernails scratching tiny circles on the tender skin. Ayane giggled softly and did everything she could to get away from Kasumi's fingernails... but to no avail.
"Come on... you know you want to apologize..." Kasumi teased as she started to rake her fingers along Ayane's soles.
"nohoho wahy!! heeheeheheeheee!"
"You'll be begging to apologize to me soon enough, sister..." Kasumi said, switching her attack to Ayane's toes. Kasumi expertly maneuvered her fingers to be in tandem with Ayane's squirming, and then gently tickled the undersides of Ayane's toes.
"No - plheheesenohohtthhere!! aaahhheeeheeheeheeheheeeeheehee!!"
Kasumi stopped and smiled at her sister. "Had enough, sis?"
Ayane still had some energy for one last insult.
"Kasumi and Ryu sitting in a tree..."
Kasumi just smiled. Her hands were posied over Ayane's thighs, and her fingers wiggled in anticipation.
"Take it back,,," Kasumi threatened.
Ayane stuck her tongue out at Kasumi.
Kasumi dug her fingernails into Ayane's thighs.
"AHAHAHAHaHAaHAAHAA!!" Ayane screamed, her hands pulling at her invisible bonds to no avail.
"Just like old times, eh?" Kasumi said, referring back to their childhood, where the older Kasumi would tickle her younger sibling to death, discovering Ayane's weak spot as well.
Ayane was too busy laughing to come up with a smart reply, "GaAHahahAAHAAHAAAHAAHA!!!"
Kasumi stopped. "Take it back..." she said, threatening Ayane with her fingernails.again.
"So, when are you going to get married?" Ayane asked off-handedly.
Kasumi said something, but it died in her throat. "You have one last warning..."
"Where's the wedding gonna be held?" Ayane asked defiantly.
Kasumi shook her head, smiling. "You never learn..." Kasumi said. She then flexed her fingers and began to tickle Ayane's inner thighs wth gentle scratching motions.
Ayane's eyes bulged and she began to giggle, squeal and squirm all at the same time, "eeeeeheeheheheheheheheheee!! Nohahaht thereree!!! Aheeheeheeeheeeheeheeheehehehehehehee!!!"
Kasumi didn't budge. "Aww... you look so adorable... maybe this is why people can't resist tickling you..."
"I'll geheheht you for theheis!!! aahhhhheeheeheheheheeheeehheeheeheehehehehehehe!!"
"I'm sure. Apologize or I'll start tickling harder."
" Nohohot in a million yehehears!!!! heeheeheeheehee!"
"Not for... a million, milion years?" Kasumi asked, tickling slightly harder.
"NEVEHEHER!!! EEEHEEHEEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHE!!!"
"Not for a million, million, million years?" Kasumi asked again, speeding up her fingers until they were just right for getting the maximum reaction.
Ayane shook her head furiously as she went into silent laughter. Her back arched and she turned her head to one side as she doubled up with silent laughter.
Kasumi kept going. Ayane kept up her fits of silent laughter, but wasn't giving in.
Kasumi was stonewalled. Hmm... Ayane had improved...
"Need help?" asked a familiar voice from behind.
Kasumi stopped tickling, and looked back. "Hello Hitomi..."
"Hello."
"Yes, I would appreciate your help."
"Cool! Why exactly are we tickling poor Ayane now?"
Kasumi blushed, "Umm..."
Ayane piped up, "Kasumi and Ryu, sitting in a tree..."
Kasumi turned redder again, "Shaddup!"
Hitomi giggled, then said, "I see... I'll help you..."
Hitomi examined Ayane for one second and decided to go for Ayane's feet. "Ready?" she asked Kasumi. Kasumi nodded.
"Go!"
Kasumi dug into Ayane's things again just as Hitomi started to tickle Ayane's arches with short, quick scratches.
"Tickle tickle!" Hitomi taunted.
"AHAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhAHAHAHAA!!!! OKOKOKPLHEHEHESE!!! I'M SOHOHOHORY!!!!"
Kasumi and Hitomi stopped. "Well, thats a start... now... lets talk about your love life, shall we?"



***


Meanwhile...

His codename: Viper. He was the pinnacle of the Pro-Donovan faction's army. He was the one to start the reformation of DOATEC.
As most DOA fans probably know, the corporation is split into two distinct factions: Anti and Pro-Donovan. Anti-Donovan was the superior... for now.
Viper took his knife out. It was this trusty knife that he used to kill twenty key Anti-Donovan targets. Soon, they would be weak enough to be taken over by force. When that happened... a lot of things were going to change...



***



Christie looked at Helena. "So, is your tummy really ticklish?"
Helena glared at Christie, "I don't know..."
"Well then, I guess I can find out!" Christie said, smiling and twirling her paintbrushes.
She slowly brushed them against Helena's navel, very gently, as if she were painting whisps of hair. Helena struggled not to laugh. She bit her lip and started defiantly at Christie.
Christie laughed at Helena, "You really do put up a fight, I'll give you that."
Christie then stopped lightly stroking the brushes, but started zig-zagging the brushes toward Helena's bellybutton, with heavier strokes. Helena struggled to control herself, "oh... Christie... ple-heeheeheehehehehehehehse nohohohaohahahahahahahaaahaa!!!"
"Oh come on. I expected better. I'm dissapointed..." Christie said. Her brushes were inches from Helena's bellybutton, and getting closer.
"GYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAA!!!" Helena screamed, as the brushes came closer, and closer... soon her secret was going to be revealed... and she was at Christie's mercy...
"Tickle tickle..." Christie said, an evil smile on her face. One of her paintbrushes made its way into Helena's bellybutton...
Helena exploded, "GGAAhahaHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! NOPLHEHEHSE!!! STHAHAHAP!!! GAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!"
Christie stopped for a second and smiled. "Wow. You really ARE ticklish..."
Helena took deep breaths, "Oh my god.. please... no..."
"Now? Are you insane? I've just found your spot! It just begs to be tickled more!" Christie grabbed her brushes and dipped them into the oil again. "Here they come," Christie taunted.
Helena giggled even before the brushes touched her, "heheeheheeheeheeheeee... haahahaahahaahaaa!!" as the brush came closer, the strands barely touched her skin, but nonetheless, Helena laughed as if she was being tickled all over, "GAahahahHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! STHAHAP!"
Christie, with a wicked grin, twirled around her left brush in Helena's bellybutton, and used the other one to trace circles around Helena's navel.
Helena renewed her laughter, trying to do somethig - anything - to end the torture, "GGAAHAhAhAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! PLHEHESE FOHOHOR THE LOHOHOVE OF GOHOHOD STHAHAHP!!!! GGGGAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahAHAAA!!"
"I love it when my victims do that..." Christie grinned, "but usually they're screaming, not giggling. Ah well. Its all good."
Christie kept wiggling the paintbrushes around, keeping one in Helena's bellybutton but switching the other to Helena's underarms... Helena couldn't imagine a greater torture... the bellybutton torture was the worst... but the underarms were the coup de grace... Helena was going to lose it...



***



Kasumi and Hitomi metholodically worked over Ayane's body... Ayane was by this time so out of it she couldn't even laugh properly anymore... her tortured giggling wasn't really giggling...
Hitomi was again tickling Ayane's feet, which she found so adorable. She never got bored of tickling feet, and this was no exception.
Kasumi was back at Ayane's uperbody, digging in to every weak spot she knew of, and even some she didn't know of yet. She never got bored of tickling Ayane either.
Ayane was just silently laughing, refusing to give in anything to Kasumi. She had been through worse before, but not much worse.
Finally, whatever benevolent deity looking over her gave her some pity.
"Bzzt! End of round one!" the voice said.
Helena was freed. She sank down against the wall, still giggling. Saved by the bell.
As for Ayane...

"Competetors eliminated: None. Well done, contestants! Round two will begin shortly!"
The walls melted and all the contestants were all in one room. Helena got up and walked over to Christie.
Christie was furious, "I'll get you next time..." she said, venom coming out from her mouth.
Helena laughed, "Saved by the bell."
Meanwhile, everyone else was recovering nicely. Except for Ayane. She was still rolling around giggling madly, although no one was tickling her. Hitomi and Kasumi looked at her, then each other. They shrugged, and walked away, leaving Ayane at the mercy of her invisible ticklers.



***



"Bzzt! Round two begins now! This is an endurance-style event. The contestants will be partnered up, and they will each have a turn to be tickled by their partner. For each group, the one lasting the least amount of time before saying the word "uncle" will be punished accordingly. Byes this round: Lisa and Christie, for perfect 2-0 wins. That will be all. Start!"
Kasumi and Leifang floated toward a room. They stopped in the middle. It was a smallish room, devoid of any furniture...
"Hmm... Leifang..." Kasumi thought to herself, "Should be easy..."
Leifang looked at her opponent, "Hmm..." she thought to herself, "I guess I'm the one that gets to take on the legendary shinobi..."
They were set down in the middle of the room.
"Bzzt! We are nearly starting. Stand by."
"Please..." Kasumi thought to herself, "Not me first..."
Her prayers were answered. Leifang lay suspended in midair, 2 feet off the ground, her arms above her head and her legs spread slightly and straight. "I guess I'm the lucky winner," she muttered.
"Timing begins... now!" the voice said.
Leifang braced herself for the inevitible tickling...
"Heehee! You're all worked up even before I start. This'll be fun!" Kasumi said, lazily dragging a nail over Leifang's tummy.
Leifang evenly stared at Kasumi and showed no signs of smiling, much less laughing, "Do not underestimate me, Kasumi... remember?"
Kasumi wasn't intimidated, "Come on, Leifang... you know you want to laugh..."
Leifang ignored the tickling, "You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that, Kasumi..."
"Alright..." Kasumi straddled Leifang at the hips and started poking and lightly scratching Leifang's tummy, watching closely for a reaction.
Leifang turned her head to one side as the corners of her lips turned upwards. She couldn't betray weakness...
"Come on!" Kasumi giggled, "Let it out!" She started actually tickling Leifang's tummy now. Her fingers danced up and down Leifang's navel. Leifang fought a losing battle to contain her laughter. Kasumi put a quick end to the battle by quickly tickling Leifang's bellybutton.
"Eeep! " Leifang squealed as she felt Kasumi's fingernail tickling the tender flesh of her bellybutton. Finally, her defenses breached, Leifang couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Eeeeeheeheehehehehehehehehehehee!!!!" she giggled, as Kasumi grinned triumphantly.
"I knew it!" Kasumi exclaimed. "Now... time for a change of pace..."
Leifang was still giggling when Kasumi started scratching at Leifang's underarms. Leifang pulled... oh, did she pull ever so hard at her bonds! But to no avail. She shrieked and giggled, no - shhhahap! Ahaahahahahahahhahahahahaha!!!"
Kasumi looked very content with herself. "My my... what ticklish underarms you have... all the better to be tickled by me!" Kasumi scratched faster. Leifang was beside herself laughing, "AAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAA!!! NOHOHOTTHHEREE!!! AHHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
"Tickle tickle tickle!" Kasumi went faster still, giggling as well.
"GGWAhHAHHAHAHAHAHAA!!!! NOPLHEHEESE!!! STHAHAAP!!!"
"Say uncle..." Kasumi taunted.
Leifang didn't respond. More accurately, she couldn't respond.
"AAHAAHAAHAAHAHAhAAhAha!!!" was all Leifang said.
"Hmm... persistant, aren't you?" Kasumi said, thinking about where to tickle Leifang next. Hmm... the feet sounded pretty good...' "Guess where I'm going to get you next?" Kasumi asked Leifang, a slight smile on her face. Her fingers wiggled in anticipation. "I'm gonna get your feet!"
Leifang didn't reply. Her eyes could have set fire to a piece of plastic a mile away. Kasumi ignored this and walked over to Leifang's feet. Kasumi smiled and started slowly tracing a zigzag pattern on Leifang's heels, going slightly upwards every time. Leifang tried againt resist, but defnses breached once before, she found it impossible to hold in. Kasumi was rewarded by a steady stream of giggles moments later.
"Oh my," Kasumi said, "and I haven't reached your arches... or your toes yet..."
"Ehehheeheeheheeeheeeheeehee!! Nohoho mohohore!! heeheeeheeehee!"
"Oh, I'm just getting started..." Kasumi grinned, "I can't wait to see what happens when I reach your toes!"
Her fingers wound a ticklish path up Leifang's arches. Kasumi took her time, relishing every giggle.
"sthahahaap!! plhehehese!! heheeeheeeheehee!" Leifang sputtered.
"Only if you give up..." Kasumi said. "or else I start on your adorable toes...:
Leifang didn't reply with words... but to Kasumi, she was just begging to get her toes tickled.
"Alright then, here I come... tickle tickle!" Kasumi quickly peeled back the toes on Leifang's left foot and began to tickle in between her toes with her fingernails.
"GAHAAHAHAHAHA!!!! ALRIGHTTT!! UNCLE!!!" Leifang screamed as the overwhelming tickling sensations reached her brain.
"Bzzt! End of round one!"
Leifang was released and collapsed on the floor, curled up and still silently giggling. After a few moments she recovered and got up, a little shaky, but on her feet.
"Bzzt! Start of round two!"
Kasumi was lifted into midair, where she lay suspended a few feet off the ground. She was bound in a position similar to what Leifang was in. Kasumi checked her bonds... no escape. She breathed in deeply, and relaxed, preparing her mind...
Leifang smiled at Kasumi, and flexed her fingers. "That's not going to help you much, Kasumi..."
"Its better than wasting all my energy trying to escape... although escape is impossible..."
"Alright... lets see you stay still..." Leifang said.
"Bzzt! Timer starts now!"
"Say your prayers..." Leifang said. "Hmm... I think you're ticklish..." her hands hovered all over Kasumi's body... as if unsure as to where to tickle, "...Here!"
Leifang's fingers dug into Kasumi's thighs. She had observed Kasumi tickling Ayane, and wondered if the sisters shared the same weakness.
"heeheeheeheeheeheehee!!!" Kasumi giggled. However, she forced herself to remain completely still. She didn't want to waste her energy struggling against impossible bonds. What she missed is that she would spend just as much energy holding herself back as if she was actually struggling!
"Hmm... not ticklish enough... how about... here?" Leifang said, switching to Kasumi's underarms. Kasumi was a bit more sensitive there, and her arms actually started to flail around a little. Kasumi tried her best to stay still, but couldn't, finally, her endurance snapped. Kasumi started to tug at her bonds just as Leifang did, giggling like a little girl.
"Not so tough anymore, eh? Leifang said, smiling.
"gaahahahahahaaahaaahaaa!!!" Kasumi giggled, not able to reply coherently.
"So who's ticklish now, huh?" Leifang taunted, keeping up her tickling.
"AAhhaahahahahahahahahahhahahaaa!!! Yohoo ahere!!! aaahhehehehehehhee!!!"
Leifang stopped and pretended to be offended. "How dare you insult me like that! I'll have to start on your feet for that!"
Kasumi just gave Leifang a smile.
"Do your worst..." Kasumi said defiantly.
"Happily." Leifang extended both of her index fingers and began to scratch at Kasumi's arches.
"Eeek! Eehehehehehehehehehehheheee!!!" Kasumi squealed as she tried to kick herself away, all notions of restraining herself abandoned.
"Well, I'm doing my worst," Leifang teased, now scratching with two fingers.
"heehee! No- plheehesse!! Sthhahahahapp!!! Gaaahhahahahaaahahahahahahahaa!!!!!" Kasumi had never felt so helpless in her entire life. She was helpless to even move her little toe, and Leifang was driving her crazy with only two fingers on each hand!
"Had enough, Kasumi?" Leifang asked, adding yet another finger. Up and down, up and down. Such simple movements to cause such torment!
"GAAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAAA!!" Kasumi wailed as the figures racked up in her brain. She couldn't move an inch. She was impossibly ticklish on her feet. Leifang was driving her insane with three fingers on each hand. Logical conlusion: Surrender.
"Bzzt! Match over! Winners to be announced shortly."
Kasumi collapsed on the floor, still giggling madly. Leifang looked at the giggling mess before her. Somehow, she knew that she'd won.



***



Tina knew she was doomed. Hitomi was too good. She lasted more than 15 minutes! How was Tina supposed to last 15 minutes? She was only 4 minutes into it, and Hitomi had already discovered her weak spot...
'ggaahHHHAHHHAAHAahaahahaahhahAHAAHHAA!!" Tina screamed as Hitomi dug her fingers once again. Hitomi stopped and giggled, "How does that feel?"
She was rewarded by a menacing glare. "Alright... be that way," she muttered, She dug her fingers into Tina's ribs again.
"AAhhAAHAhahAhaHAAAHAA!!! No-PLHEEHESSE!! SThAHAHAAHP!!!!! AHHAHAHAHAHAAHAAA!!!"
"But I'm just getting started..." Hitomi pouted. "Tickle tickle!"
"GAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAA!! I'M SERIOUS STHAHAHAP RIGHEHET NOHOHOW!!! "
"Like you're in any position to make demands..." Hitomi countered. Hmm... she needed more ways to tickle... hmm... she only had two hands... but she also had two feet too! "I know!" Hitomi exclaimed. She straddled Tina at the waist, and wiggled her toes a bit.
"What are you doing?" Tina asked.
"My feet want some revenge," Hitomi replied. It was the foot tickling that finally did her in last time. Hitomi positioned herself so that her toes were positioned touching Tina's underarms. Hitomi wiggled her toes to see what happened.
Tina began to giggle again, and when Hitomi started to dig into her ribs again, her laughter reached new levels. "AAAHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!! STHAHAHAHAP!!! ALRIGHT!!! YOHOHU WIHIHIN!!!"
"Waah! But I was only starting to have fun!" Hitomi pretended to pout, giggling.
"And I'm starting..." Tina knew she lost... but how could she resist? Two pretty feet right by her hands. She grabbed Hitomi's ankles by a armlock and began to tickle.



***




"Bzzt! We have the results now. The winners will get to tickle the losers for 1/2 an hour. 1/2 hour begins... now!
Leifang closed her eyes... and prayed to whatever benevolent deity out there that she won... and it paid off. She didn't feel the typical being pulled into air sensation. Instead, the walls dissolved, and she could see everyone else. More importantly, she saw Kasumi being lifted up and moved to one of the side walls. Happy to win her event again, she went off to have some fun.



***



Ayane walked around. Ahh... Kasumi was there. Ayane calmly walked over to where Kasumi was stuck against a wall, her arms straight above her, her feet in front of her. It was like she was sitting in midair.
"Hello, sister," Ayane said to Kasumi, a slight grin on her face.
"Hello," Kasumi said back.
"Oh crap," Kasumi said to herself. "Please... go away and tickle someone else..."
Ayane smiled and giggled, like she could read Kasumi's mind, "So, who beat you?"
"Leifang..." Kasumi muttered.
"Geez, she's getting pretty good. No matter. I will deal with her later. So... tell me, when IS the wedding?"
Kasumi blushed, "Just because we did the tag tournament together doesn't mean squat..."
Ayane giggled again, "Or the fact that you've spent more than one romantic sunset together... or the fact that you always spend time with him?"
"Doesn't mean squat..." Kasumi replied.
"Oh really now? Really..." Ayane began to stroke her fingers on Kasumi's underarms.
"Really..." Kasumi replied, trying to shut out the signals her brain was sending her.
"I don't beleive you!" Ayane said. "You're boy crazy, aren't you? Aren't you?" Ayane taunted, digging her fingers into Kasumi's ribs.
"Ahhhahahahahaa! Never!! Ahhhahahahhahahahaa!!" Kasumi managed to reply.
"Really? Huh? Huh?" Ayane asked, smiling.
"GAahHAhaAHAAAHAA!! REALLY!! GAAHAHHAHHAA!!"
"Too bad... I don't believe you..." Ayane said, switching one of her hands to tickle Kasumi's bellybutton.
"GYYAHHAHHAAHAAHAAHHAAAAHHHAA!! REHELLY!!! AAHHAHAHAAHAAAHAHA!!"
"Wrong answer!" Ayane giggled Needless to say, this exchange of words attracted attention. Soon enough, other girls began to come.
"Boy crazy? Kasumi? You've gotta be kidding me..." Leifang said, hiding her amusement behind her right hand.
"Really... Kasumi and Ryu are soo busted..." Hitomi said.
Christie said, "Well... he does possess some admirable qualities... altough I still prefer Bayman..."
Lisa grinned too, "High praise from you, Christie... can't wait to meet him!"
Ayane looked at Kasumi. "Alright girls... get her!"
Kasumi screamed as fifty fingers converged all over her body. Lisa and Christie eagerly tickled Kasumi's feet with their fingers, one person per foot. Lisa started by holding Kasumi's ankle too, but she quickly found out that it wasn't nessecary, and used the extra hand to tickle Kasumi's toes. Christie, being more ruthless, used her tongue as well to tickle Kasumi's toes, and both hands to tickle the rest.
Ayane taunted her sister as she sat on her legs, tickling Kasumi's inner thighs as Kasumi did to her, watching every reaction.
Leifang and Hitomi flanked Kasumi and they each used one hand to dig into Kasumi's ribs and the other to scratch at Kasumi's underarms.
Kasumi, understandably, exploded. "GGAHAhAHAAHAHAHAhAHAHAhAhAHAHAHAHAhA!!!!! STHAHAhahahap!!! PLHEHEHEHESE!!! NOHOHOHOHOT EVERYONE!!! GAAAHAAHAHAHAHAAAHAAHAAAHAAA!!!!!!!"
Ayane looked at the other girls. "Do you think that she's learned her lesson?"
The answer was unanimous and resounding: "Nah!"



***



"Bzzt! 1/2 hour is up!"
Tina, Helena and Kasumi collapsed. Each of them, in turn, got the fifty-finger treatment. Such was the price of defeat here at the DOAXTT.
"End of round two... Contestants eliminated: None. Congratulations on another perfect round! The last event before the eliminator is..."



***



Viper looked at his bloody knife. One down. Soon, victory would be theirs. And a lot of things were going to change... he was going to make an example of those girls in the DOAXTT... as a warning not to take lightly the power of the Pro-Donovan faction. A plan formed in his mind... a plan of inhuman torture, world domination, and ultimate riches... soon, his faction would be unstoppable.





NEXT TIME ON DOAXTT :



*dramatic music*




The Unthinkable! Someone is eliminated!


*gasp!*



The plot begins to thicken… who is this viper? What are his intentions? What does this mean for our lovely ladies at the DOAXTT…


*oooooooo...*




Stay tuned! Same forum, same… millennia. Bye!

DOAXTT: Episode 6: Shadows Cast by a Final Salute
________________________________________
Episode 6 - Shadows Cast by a Final Salute

Author's Notes:

- ALRIGHT: Lets try to stay on topic this time, k? =)


- The beginning parts really blow. I know it sucks really bad. Forgive my first parts.

- I have ramped up the intensity levels of the tickling a bit. For those offended by intense tickle torture, stay away. You've been warned. The tickling gets pretty mean in this episode. And there's psychological torture too.

- This story is LONG. Don't read this if your eyes hurt or anything. I just don't want to get sued by anyone, thats all.

- Ah yes. All tickling herein is intended in a NON-SEXUAL WAY!!! Do not take any of the tickling in the wrong way!

- Ahh BTW, there's some breast tickling in here. SOME. I assure my readers that it is, like I said before, in a non-sexual way. Call off the lynch mobs, if you want, I can email you the "clean version" of the story, which has none of this. Emails upon request. Email requests to me: Gloob2K at hotmail.com (take that, webcrawlers! No adding my email to spam lists for you!! Nah nah nah boo boo... *cough* *cough* anyways...

- Ahh yes, don't mind my bad jokes. And cookies to the person that can find the two references to Andromeda, not that any of you watch it... -_-;;;;

Actually, I'll do you one better than that. The person that finds the Andromeda references will be spared from falling 48756345341999 stories off a hi-rise and into a pile of goat dung. Everyone else, you're out of luck.

.
- Most of all, enjoy the story... otherwise...

*brings out a plasma rifle*

*points it at your head*

ENJOY IT! OR ELSE!


- And give feedback. Anyone reading this without giving feedback will fall off a 459167138967245478999 story highrise into a pile of goat dung. You've been warned.

- Anyways...


***


This was it... the eliminator... Viper saw his chance, and he took it. Everyone would be watching it. If he wanted to spread a message, then the time to spread it was now. All the world's population would witness what would happen to the opposers of his faction. You couldn't get much better than that.
"Cougar... this is Viper... do you copy?"
"Viper, this is cougar, I read you five-by-five, over."
"Its Showtime."
Those two words would shape the future of earth. Viper flipped his radio off and stuffed it into his back pocket. Within a few minutes, the fate of the world's largest mega-corporation hung in the balance.


***


This was the eliminator... all eight girls were excited. Alliances would be made and broken. Tensions were high, but in each and every girl's mind was the thought, "I will go on!"
The last match was going to be a biggie. A recreation of the original battlefield, in all its glory. Three floors of perfectly replicated splendor.
"Contestants ready... the eliminator begins now!"


***


"Now!" Cougar barked into a radio. Her voice carried into Viper's radio. Viper unsheathed his combat knife. Cat-like, he jumped from one ceiling beam to another, until he was above the control room's security guards.
Silently, he jumped down and cleaved the first guard's heart in two, a hand clasped over his victim's mouth to prevent screaming. Before the other guard knew his partner was dead, Viper slit his throat. Gurgling, the guard slid to the floor and breathed his last.
"Amateurs..." Viper breathed.
"We're good!" Viper said into his radio. As soon as he said those words, eight technicians raced into the control room to gain control of DOATEC. Elapsed time: 31 seconds.


***


All viewers of the DOAXTT were surprised when a face appeared onscreen. Not any face, mind you. He had the face of... a mix between a ruthless killer and a dignified businessman.
"Attention, viewers!" the man said. That got everyone's attention.
"The Pro-Douglas faction has gained control of the DOATEC corporation. There will be some changes around here. Changes you may not like, but changes nonetheless for the good of DOATEC. I know what some of you are thinking. There is no bringing us down. Now, watch and see what happens... watch what happens to the girls of the DOAXTT... and learn, for a more horrible fate could lie before you if you choose to oppose us. Heed my words carefully. Now, lets see what happens to those who oppose us...


***


All eight were transported to the very same dungeon in which they had been swallowed up.
"A convenient place to hold an eliminator..." Kasumi muttered.
"Ahh... but you are misguided, young Kasumi," a familiar voice lanced out from nowhere.
"Viper..." Kasumi muttered, turning a little pale.
"What do you mean?" asked Tina.
"Viper... the only assassin to come close to killing me..." Kasumi said, her voice shaking.
"DOATEC has... reformed..." Viper said. "It has changed. And you are the victims of change. The Pro-Douglas faction has taken over. You will be held here as an example to others. Goodbye. Maybe we'll rescue you in a few years if you haven't gone mad from all the laughing."


***


"Oh crap." Hitomi said, after a five minute silence.
"That about sums it up," Ayane said. "Well... they're just going to leave us here to starve, or what?"
"Didn't you hear? He said laughing, so I'm sure he would've given us food somewhere..." Kasumi said.
"Right... ooo... this looks promising," Hitomi said, pointing to a box-shaped indent in the wall. It looked so out of place in the medieval dungeon setting that it was almost comical. "Hmm... maybe its like one of those replicator things on Star Trek..." she wondered, "One Sachertorte..." she said. Sure enough, the machine buzzed and whizzed and a delectable-looking chocolate cake appeared in front of her.
"Well, we won't need to worry about starving to death," Hitomi said. She considered how much exercise she had been getting lately, thought for awhile... ahh well. The cake smelled good. Hitomi dug in.


***


Meanwhile...

Viper smiled, "So, what do we do to them now?"
Cougar smiled back, "Hmm... lets drop a surprise on them... do they know about Project Omega II?"
"Nope, do you think it's time to drop it on them?"
"Yes. It is time. Fame Douglas lives again."



***


It was about two hours since they'd been dropped here. No one was freaking out too badly, in fact, they were all taking it in stride. A few even refused to take it seriously.
"I bet its all just something to scare us..." Leifang said, dragging her toes along the soft sand that made up the floor of the cavern.
"Maybe... maybe not... people don't kid about these things..." muttered Kasumi.
"Heh... maybe -" Ayane started.
"Attention! This is codename Viper speaking.".
"As you know... we have been working on a way to resurrect our leader... well... we have succeeded. Behold! Fame Douglas!"
"Hello, Helena..." a familiar voice said, seemingly emanating from nowhere.
"It can't be you..." Helena stuttered, "You're dead... I saw your body..."
"Ahaha! But it IS me... you know it's true, Helena."
Helena collapsed against the side wall. She appeared to be in shock.
"We're going to teach you and your friends a lesson... one that you will never forget... given that you live the experience... Douglas out."


***


Now, to the average reader, this may have seemed quite confusing. Fear not, I am here to explain the history of the DOA fighting tournament. For those well versed in the history of DOA, you can skip to my next section. Now, Fame Douglas was the president of DOATEC, a large mega-corporation. I think you've figured that much out. Now, after his assassination, DOATEC was unofficially split up into two distinct factions, as you know. The Pro-Douglas faction were the underdogs, and they seeked to clone Fame Douglas back and go back to the times of plenty before the assassination. The Anti-Douglas faction wished to prevent the cloning, and move on. This created tension, as you can probably guess. What about Helena and all of this? Well, Helena was the illegimate daughter of Douglas and one of his... mistresses, and she despises him for dragging her into the war between the two factions, something as she wants nothing to do with. I hope that clears things up a bit. Anyways...


***


The eight girls were in various stats of shock. Helena was the worst she was pale as a ghost and trembling, with her back to the wall. Christie, strangely, was unaffected. Perhaps this woman was more cold-blooded than she looked. Or perhaps it hadn't dawned on her that she was doomed to a lifetime of torture.
"I would run if I were you..." Christie said, pressing her ear to the wall. "I hear people. Lots... of people."
"Oh crap... they probably are after us. Lets go." Tina muttered.
"Oh, but you will have no time to do that!" Fame Douglas said, stepping from the shadows. Flanking him were two perfectly replicated versions of Project Zeta.
Now, you must be wondering what Project Zeta is, so while the foes stare at each other, I will enlighten you.
"Hurry up," Kasumi muttered.
Anyways... the Pro-Douglas faction was notorious for its genetic experiments on people. Project Zeta was designed to create a human being so powerful he would dominate every fighting championship everywhere, Unfortunately, the DOA tournament was not in session right now. They would have to wait. For now, grunt duty would suffice.
"Father..." Helena said, softly. She never thought she would meet him face to face.
"Hello, Helena," Douglas said. "I trust you are well?"
"Splendidly, until you showed up," Helena replied.
"Marvelous. Guards, seize them!"
The eight girls looked at each other. They had a choice: run or fight. Eight of them, three of the enemy. Hmm... fight!
Ayane and Kasumi launched simultaneous high kicks to each of the guards' heads. Any normal duo would be lying on the ground, probably both of them unconscious. However, the guards didn't flinch, grabbed the two girls by the ankles and yanked them off their feet. Ahh, the marvels of genetic engineering. Suddenly running became a more attractive option. The six remaining girls turned tail and ran. Two of them didn't get very far. Helena was promptly secured by her father.
"Now!" Douglas shouted.
"Got one!" Christie said, grinning. Leifang was struggling to break free from Christie's grip.
"Excellent work, Christie," Douglas said, smiling.
"Christie... you're..." Kasumi stuttered.
"An assassin," Christie said, "And right now, you guys are my latest victims. Take em' away, boys."


***

Tina, Lisa and Hitomi stopped running as soon as the sounds of pursuit ended.
"Damn..." Lisa muttered, "I think they got the rest..."
"They had three people!" Hitomi said. "How would they get five of ours?"
"Maybe they're good..." Tina muttered.
"No matter," Hitomi said, "We have to save them. I've got a plan..."


***


The tunnels twisted one way, then another, then a few turns later, the four abductees were hopelessly lost.
"Why...?" Helena asked her father, "Why do this to us?"
Her father was silent for awhile. Then as they walked on, "To prevent others from meeting the same fate as you are about to face, dear."
Helena took this information in. It was a circular argument, and she was sure her father knew it. But -
"Here we are... home sweet home. You will be calling it home too for awhile. Christie, I'm assigning you the task of... interrogator. Find out all you can about these people and their Anti-Douglas ties."
"Yes sir!" Christie said. "Who do we start with?"
"Your pick," Douglas said. "Just make sure to get all of them."
"Alright... I pick... hmm, how about Kasumi?"
Kasumi's eyes were daggers, "You won't get anything out of me, traitor..."
With a hand signal, the other three were chained to the wall... they could move around a bit and sit down, but they weren't going anywhere fast.
"Oh, we'll see... oh, how we will see..."


***


Tina blinked. "That's the plan?"
"Indeed it is," replied Hitomi. "If you've got a better one, then speak up."
"Well... right now sitting here debating is better than a plan that is sure to get us captured..." Tina replied.
"But I see Hitomi's point. We can't sit here while we let our friends suffer." Lisa chimed in.
"A fat lot of good we'll be doing them being tortured with them!" Tina replied, almost exasperatedly.
"Hmm... good point... back to the drawing board..."


***


Christie marveled at the interrogation room, Kasumi in tow, bound hand and foot. Hyper-modern... every tool and implement related to tickling you could imagine of, and then some... and a healthy mix of hi-tech and low-tech when it came to the actual restraining devices. Everything from good ol' racks to some hyper-new stuff that let you position your victim any way you wanted... some specialty bondage equipment to immobilize specific parts of the victim's body... everything.
"Alright, Kasumi..." Christie smiled as she considered her options. "What'll it be?"
"How bout you let me go and I can kick your -" Kasumi started.
"How bout not." Christie replied. "Instead, we can try... hmm... if I can recall, you're pretty ticklish on your feet..."
"I don't know where you get your information from," Kasumi said, "But you might want to fire a few people in your intelligence department."
"No amount of talking is going to get you out of this one... ah, yes... perfect... the steel maiden..."
"Wasn't that the iron maiden? And didn't it impale its victim on lots of sharp spikes?"
"No, silly. This is our steel maiden. And you don't get killed by spikes, altough you may wish that you were... "
"Yeah right, Christie. Do your worst."
"Fine. First... a little shot. Nothing for someone tough like you." Christie said, taking a syringe from a nearby shelf. She flicked it to eliminate the tiny air bubble, and quickly pricked Kasumi's arm. To Kasumi, it was like getting stung by a fly. She barely felt it.
"What was that?" Kasumi asked.
"Oh, just a little something to make sure you don't go unconscious on us. Now... shall we?" with a gentle tug, Christie dragged Kasumi to the coffin-shaped object near one of the room’s corners. Keeping her right hand on Kasumi's handcuffs, she opened the coffin with her left.
"Alright, in you go..." Christie smiled, as she effortlessly picked Kasumi up and placed her in.
"No matter how much you choose to torture me, I will reveal nothing, traitor..." Kasumi said. Christie didn't reply.
Kasumi wondered how Christie was going to tickle her if she was sealed in a coffin. She was left to wonder as Christie tied her hands above her head, to the upper corners of the coffin. Then... she slid the bottom section of the coffin up. Now, you see, the bottom side had two ankle-sized holes drilled into it. You see where this is going.
"Sorry about the wait..." Christie smiled. "But I was testing this thing with my employer the other night," Christie giggled, "And as you now, I am about a head taller than you..."
"And what else did you do with your employer?" Kasumi asked with a smirk.
Christie bristled, "You keep your mouth shut, or I'll shut it up for you," she said, cracking her knuckles.
"You do realize that soon an allied strike team will attack DOATEC and restore the Anti-Douglas faction? Even you guys don't stand a chance against the combined forces of every major country on the earth..."
"Oh, we'll take care of that soon enough... nighty-night!" Christie grinned as she shut the lid. Kasumi was plunged into a world of darkness. She could faintly hear the clicks of locks being shut.
"Oh crap..." Kasumi muttered to herself. Even if her friends found her... there would be no way of getting her out... the case was made out of solid titanium alloy, stronger than steel and heavier than cast iron. Basically, she was screwed and she knew it.
"I know you can't hear me..." Christie said, taking a seat, "But I'll hold you to the fact that you say your feet aren't ticklish..."
She pulled her chair up closer, making herself comfortable. She envisioned that she would be here a veerry long time...


***


Tina sighed. Another plan down the toilet. Hmm...
"Hey, you do know that AN forces are probably coming in to rescue us right now?"
"Yeah, and they're probably going to get their butts kicked," Hitomi said, "You guys know what these guys are capable of? Their genetically engineered soldiers... invincible."
"Then I guess we'll have to outwit them... if we can't beat them by brute force, we're going to have to try something else. We have to think of a way to outwit them. Any ideas?"


***


Kasumi was worried. Well, she had a right to be. Stuck in a box with only her feet sticking out, deprived of and audio or visual clues about the outside world. The industrial-grade titanium could muffle small noises pretty well. Also, she was stuck in a world of dark. No light entered the box at all. Kasumi knew there were air-holes... but they were effectively invisible. She tried her handcuffs, not that it would be of any use. They snapped. Well, that got her somewhere. Now she could hammer on the solid titanium with her fists.
Christie smiled, and gently blew a bit of air onto Kasumi's exposed feet. Now, you see, deprived of all audio and visual clues, Kasumi's sense of touch was elevated. This small puff of air caused her to literally jump. This weakness delighted Christie and horrified Kasumi. Kasumi couldn't remember being this sensitive in her life.
Christie smiled and gently blew another stream of air over Kasumi's feet. Kasumi squealed and tried to control herself. Christie delighted in Kasumi's sensitiveness. She got up for a second and grabbed two sets of toe ties from a nearby shelf. Grinning, Christie started tying Kasumi's toes to the box she was trapped in. Even the process of getting her toes tied tickled Kasumi, as she had no idea of what was coming or what was being done. Christie smiled as she looped the string around Kasumi's big toe, making sure to "accidentally" scrape her sole in the process. Ten times she repeated this, until Kasumi's feet were immobilized, sticking out of a box, her toes bent slightly back, unable to move. Christie again licked her lips and gently blew a stream of air over Kasumi's feet, knowing what effect it would be having on her. Kasumi struggled not to laugh... she was utterly helpless...
Christie decided to move on with it. Christie got up... hmm... decisions, decisions... light teasing first, or just right down to the hardcore stuff? Hmm... teasing sounded good, and plus... all Christie had was time, and coffee... and this is very good coffee... (author's note: Sorry. I just had to rip off a coffee commercial.)
Christie's eyes scanned rows of tickling equipment. From the mundane to the extraordinary, it was all there. Hmm... decisions... one feather would be sufficient for now...
Christie returned, stroking the feather along the wrist, trying to imagine what effect it would have on Kasumi. A medium-length stiff feather, it seemed the right one for the job. Tentatively, Christie sat down and raised the feather. She ever so gently stroked it along Kasumi's sole... the tip of the feather barely touching...
Kasumi started to giggle, although no one could hear her. She pounded at the titanium, hoping against hope that the metal would give. It didn't. The feather kept going, as if encouraged by Kasumi's actions. Christie quietly giggled to herself too... she almost felt sorry for Kasumi... sightless, deaf, helpless to move her feet in any way whatsoever... almost. Christie began stroking slightly heavier, gliding the feather up and down Kasumi's left sole. Kasumi was now laughing, semi-curled up to her right side, but helpless to move what mattered most right now.
"Aahhhaaahahaahaahahaahaahahahahahaha!!!" she giggled, not wasting breath on pleas no one would hear... or so she thought...
Christie grinned as the first giggles penetrated the thick titanium. She loved hearing her victims laugh... or scream, depending on who she was working for. For now, it was laugh. Christie extended her other hand and started gently scratching Kasumi's right foot with her fingernails. Kasumi redoubled her laughter, "GYYAAHAHHHAAHAHAHAAHAAHAAHAAHAAAA!!! STHAHAHAPPP!!!!! AAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!"
"Well, its a good sign when they start begging to the heavens for help," Christie mused. She then abandoned the feather in her left hand and went all-out on Kasumi's soles ith her fingers.
"GGYYAAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHA!! HAAHHAHHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!" Kasumi laughed, her fists now pounding at the titanium walls, her legs bucking... but no good.
"Tickle tickle!" Christie giggled to herself, as she slowly drew her fingers up and tickled in between Kasumi's toes, which were immobilized and helpless to move.
Kasumi was by now practically bouncing off the walls. Her body, now unrestrained, gyrated wildly inside the metal dungeon... her fists pounded against the untiring walls... this was a torture unlike no other...
Christie sighed. She had other victims to attend to. For now, she had to keep Kasumi occupied... but with what?
"Hmm..." Christie wondered, as she stopped tickling Kasumi and stood up. She took a jar marked "Honey" from the shelf, and also took a paintbrush. She used the brush to liberally apply the honey to Kasumi's feet. As you can imagine, this caused no small amount of tickling.
"AAIIYAAAHAAHAHAHAAHAAAHAA!!" Kasumi squealed, and that was even before the real tickling was done.
After liberally coating both feet with the honey, especially the toes, Christie whistled. "Lakita, Prince, come here!"
Two vicious-looking Dobermans trotted into the room. They were vicious, alright, but were also calm, obedient and friendly around Christie. Without stopping, they trotted over to Kasumi's exposed feet and immediately started licking the honey off. Kasumi practically exploded. Her shouts and screams could be heard quite clearly, which was saying a lot, given that Kasumi was encased in an inch of titanium.
"Next victim..." Christie said, cracking her knuckles. She'd be back to Kasumi for sure, but who was next?


***


Tina sighed. Nothing seemed to work. They didn't know how three people could take five. Unless...
"Hey, Lisa, Hitomi... you remember how Christie wasn't surprised at all by the Douglas announcement?"
"What are you implying?" Lisa asked.
"Christie may have turned traitor on us... that would explain the two extra disappearances." Tina said.
"Hmm... that's the best explanation I've heard so far..." Hitomi said, "Now, how do we use that to our advantage?"

"Alright, Ayane... you're next." Christie said. Christie first drew a curtain around the steel maiden, both to deprive Ayane of visual clues as to what her sister was going through, and to muffle the sound of Kasumi's screams. The screams were ow barely audible, thanks to patented soundproofing technology.
"What have you done to my sister?" Ayane asked in a low growl, as she was led by Christie into the middle of the torture room. "If you've harmed her in any way, I will rip your skull out of your head and beat you to death with it..."
"Oh, she wasn't harmed, and she will never be. She's very happy right now."
"I'm sure," Ayane said, her eyes narrowing into slits.
"Anyways, you're going to lose that expression soon. I like you laughing your head off better."
"I'll try my best to disappoint you."
"Oh, you're the regular riot now."
"Indeed I am."
"Enough talk..." Christie said. It was useless going into a war of words against these sisters. Hmm... Ayane's weaknesses were spread out... she had to choose one...
"Alright, in you go," Christie said, leading Ayane to what appeared to be a big metal Y. Christie strapped Ayane in, her arms at the top ends and her legs together beneath her.
Christie didn't stop there. Besides the wrist straps, she put in elbow straps too. Then she took what appeared to be a U shaped piece of foam and secured Ayane's tummy to the back of the Y-frame. Ayane's upper body, from the tummy up, was effectively immobilized.
"Are we having fun yet?" Ayane asked sarcastically. Christie was meticulous with her restraints, checking and double-checking every knot. Finally, she was done. She reached around and undid Ayane's bikini top. Letting it fall to the ground, Christie stepped up. "I think we're ready."
Ayane met Christie's gaze, "You will get nothing from me, traitor..."
Christie giggled, "That was what your sister said too."
Ayane struggled to break free. Nothing would give. She could move everything below her navel a little, but above, she was immobilized totally. Ayane cursed under her breath. She tried again, summoning all her strength in one massive release... 3... 2... 1... and hardly anything happened. She bucked approximately one millimeter (that’s less than a quarter inch for you imperial people), her breasts jiggled a bit, and she gave up. If that didn't break her free, she didn't know what would.
Christie grinned at Ayane's helplessness. "Interlaced steel and titanium threading. Good luck trying to break it." Then she elevated the platform slightly so Ayane's feet stopped touching the ground, which added to her sense of helplessness and also put Ayane at a more even level with the latter woman.
"Alright, last delay... I have to give you your shot," Christie said, injecting Ayane with the same stuff that she'd injected Kasumi with.
"What was that? Potassium nitrate?" Ayane asked.
"Ayane, I'm hurt. How could you think that I could kill you? No, killing you is the last thing I want to do. Its something that prevents you from going unconscious on me, that’s all."
"Oh, goodie," Ayane said.
"Now, lets start, shall we?'' Christie asked rhetorically. Ayane didn't answer. She closed her eyes and relaxed, knowing that getting all tense was not good.
"All that won't help you, Ayane," Christie said. "Actually, nothing will help you. You might as well tell me everything you know about the Anti-Douglas..."
Ayane remained silent.
"You're going to give me the silent treatment? then I'll give you the tickling treatment. Tickle tickle!"
Christie wiggled her fingers just above Ayane's underarms, for a second there, Ayane tensed up. Christie smiled, waited until Ayane relaxed a bit, then struck.
"Heeheheheheheeheeheehee!" Ayane squealed as the fingers made contact with the tender skin of her underarms. The tickling had begun in earnest.


***


Hitomi sighed. The craziest plan yet. However, she had a gut feeling that the crazier the plan, the better.
"Alright, that sounds good. Now, all we need to do is find them." she said.
"That'll be a problem, " agreed Lisa. "We shouldn't split up. That would be a stupid, stupid idea."
"I agree." Tina said. "Lets go then."


***


"Gyaahahahahahahahahaahaa!" Ayane screamed as Christie kept remorselessly scratching at her underarms. Christie stopped only after twenty whole minutes passed.
"You ready to tell me yet?" Christie asked.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Ayane said.
"Alright then," Christie shrugged, "You're only bringing more of this upon yourself..." and then she started scratching small circles on Ayane's ribcage.
"eeheeeheeheeheeeheeheheeehee!!" Ayane giggled. Christie kept going, scratching not in circles but now in random patterns, trying not to become predictable. Predictability is weakness. Weakness is death.
"How do you like it?" Christie asked, getting a steady stream of giggles as an answer, "Not ticklish enough? That can be fixed..."
Ayane got a temporary reprieve as Christie went to a nearby shelf and started shopping. Christie was like a kid in a candy store. So many instruments... so few victims... and so little time...
Christie muttered to herself as she picked up a feather duster. Twirling in around on her palm, she decided if it would be right for the job. It would be. Christie held it behind her back with both hands, and playfully walked back to where Ayane was trussed up.
"Oh Ayane," Christie said in a singsong voice, "Guess what I have for you?"
Ayane was sufficiently recovered to come up with a snappy comeback, "How bout I take whatever you have behind your back and shove it up your -"
"How bout not..." Christie said. It was surprising how similar how Ayane and Kasumi were. Same snappy comebacks...
"Instead, I'll tickle you with it! Sound good?" Christie asked brightly, revealing the feather duster. It was pearl white, Christie's favorite color too.
"Oh great," Ayane said to herself.
Christie grinned and gently stroked the feather duster around Ayane's upper body, concentrating on her underarms, breasts and ribs. By either sheer luck or sloppy knot-tying, Ayane managed to kick Christie solidly in the stomach as she worked one foot free of the unyielding bondage. Actually, she didn't mean to kick Christie, but she did anyways. Christie doubled up, winded. Ayane stopped giggling and smiled. She knew she was in for it now, but that kick somehow redeemed her...


***


The rescue group was getting tired. They'd canvassed more than three square kilometers... an no sign of the prisoners. There were two more floors to consider though. For now, break time.
Lisa practically collapsed. "Ugghh... there’s three floors of this??"
Hitomi nodded. "Yup, three floors of hiking goodness."
"This is going to be a long day," Tina agreed.


***


Christie caught her breath. No lasting damage. Christie retied Ayane's ankles, making sure to double-knot everything.
"Pretty slick," Christie remarked. "I've got to hand it to you, you're the first to surprise me like that."
"I'm honored," Ayane replied. "Now how bout stopping this madness and coming back with us?"
"You have no idea..." Christie said, "I've been working Pro-Douglas all the way..."
As Ayane absorbed this information, Christie tried to locate her feather duster. Hmm... following the trail of feathers, it rolled under the curtain. Christie swept the curtain aside. Unlocking the padlock, Christie opened the box.
There was Kasumi, curled up slightly to one side as much as she could, still giggling madly... her hand trying to shield her eyes from the sudden light... it was obvious she'd been crying...
Her entire body bucked as Christie's Dobermans kept licking every last drop of honey from her toes... for a moment Christie felt a stab of pity for her... she was only 17, how could she be doing such things to her? For the first time in awhile, Christie's humanitarian side won out. "You win," Christie said between gritted teeth, "For now..."
Christie grabbed Kasumi's wrists, tied them together, and led her back to the waiting area, where she chained her up beside the others. Christie tossed the trio three water bottles... no need to dehydrate them. "I'll be with you next," Christie said, "But I have to take care of your friend Ayane first..."
Kasumi almost choked, and stopped laughing, her face red, "If you've done anything to Ayane, I will -"
"You're in no position to make threats," Christie said, not wanting to hear about how Kasumi would rip her skull out of her head and beat her to death with it. She chuckled. She would have to use that someday.


***


"Anyways," Christie said, "Where did we leave off?"
"I was kicking your -"
"Ah. I remember now." Christie hurriedly cut Ayane off, for the sake of the authour not wanting to write swear words into the story. Thanks, Christie!
"You're welcome. I do try," Christie said, smiling.
"Anyways, distractions aside, shall we begin again?" Christie asked, again stroking the feather duster along Ayane's upper body, giving Ayane to chance to reply.
"Gyaahaahaahahahahaahahahaha!!" Ayane giggled, her legs again flailing around as much as her bonds permitted, but her upper body totally immobile.
Christie then used the feather duster to gently tickle Ayane's left armpit, again taking advantage of the fact the Ayane was totally immobile where it mattered. Christie could strike with the precision that she couldn't get when torturing a semi-mobile victim.
"GYYAAHAAAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!! NOHOHOMOHOHRE!!! STHAHAHAHAPP!! AHAHAHAHHAHAHAAA!!" Ayane screamed, pulling... trying to get free...
Christie pulled another feather duster off the shelf and used it on Ayane's other underarm. Double the feathers, double the tickling. Ayane tried to laugh doubly as hard, but she cold only laugh so hard.
"AHAHHAHAHAAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! OHPLHEHEHEHESE!!! SSTTHAHAHHAHAHAPPP!!! HAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAA!!"
'Nope!" Christie said brightly, still feathering away.
Purple hair flew in her face as Christie withdrew her feather dusters... "Had enough, Ayane? Ready to talk?"
Ayane mustered up all her remaining strength and used it to glare menacingly at Christie.
"Ohh, you're so cute when you're like that," Christie laughed, starting to gently tickle the sides of Ayane's breasts.
"eeheeheeeheeheheheheehee!!" Ayane squealed, again, trying to break her bonds... with no results.
"Tickle tickle!" Christie giggled as she kept it up, unrelenting.
"heeheeheheheehehehehehehee!" Ayane giggled, her bright purple hair flying in Christie's face. Christie looked at Ayane's face. She was beginning to lose it. A little more, and she might talk. But the problem was that Christie needed time to attend to her other... subjects.
"Alright, Ayane, I'm going to leave you along for awhile. You shall be kept occupied, though...
Christie took a small paintbrush, and dipped it in a clear substance. She took the paintbrush and started from the wrist, going down slowly.
"Is this supposed to tickle?" Ayane asked sarcastically.
Christie smiled and went a little faster. Ayane giggled a bit as the paintbrush went over her armpit, and down her ribs. Christie stopped there, and repeated for the other side.
"What was that supposed to accomplish?" Ayane asked.
Christie didn't answer. She took two small water bottles, and set them upside-down into pre-cut grooves on the Y-frame. Christie whipped out a pin, and poked a small hole in one of the water bottles. The water took a few seconds to form a drop, a drop that slowly touched Ayane's wrist, where it touched the substance Christie painted onto her. The water slowly made its way down... tracing a ticklish path along the line Christie's paintbrush went. Ayane closed her eyes and locked her jaw. It tickled so much, and it was only halfway down her arm!
Christie took the time to poke another hole in the other water bottle.
"I'll see you in a couple hours," Christie said, grinning brightly.
Ayane didn't talk. Christie heard her screaming a few minutes later.



***


Finally, the fruit of their explorations. The rescue group found the location of the Pro-Douglas field HQ. However, there was a problem. The two Zetas guarding the only passageway in. That would pose a problem. A major problem.
The three backtracked a bit until they were out of hearing range.
"Well... we've totally forgot about our friendly neighborhood guards," Hitomi said.
"Hmm... Maybe we can beat them... here's the plan..." said Tina, lowering her voice to a harsh whisper.


***


As Christie dragged Leifang along, she mentally scolded herself. She had become attached to her victims. She would have to be as remorseless as she was reputed to be.
"Alright, Leifang, you might as well tell me everything you know about the Anti-Douglas right now, before I start my interrogation for real."
Leifang held her head high, "Not a chance, Christie."
"You've asked for it. Hmm... as for you, I think I'm going to go for my trusty rack this time..."
"You will get nothing from me," Leifang said calmly. She refused to let Christie get to her. She had full confidence in her friends, who were surely halfway to rescuing them.
"Ah, we'll see about that, Leifang," Christie said, picking Leifang up and placing her on the rack. Christie tied Leifang's hands to the respective top corners of the rack. Leifang didn't resist. Placing Leifang's feet into a built-in pair of stocks, Christie was all set. Oh yeah, the blindfold. Christie saw how effective the lack of sight was on Kasumi, and itched to try it on Leifang as well.
"Nighty-night!" Christie smiled as she tied the black cloth around Leifang's eyes. Christie then started cranking up the rack. Not too tight though. Christie wanted to restrain her, not rip her bones out of their sockets. She tightened the bonds somewhat, not enough to cause pain. Christie then took out her roll of trusty duct tape and applied it liberally to Leifang's elbows, and then along her abdomen, to restrain her while not covering any vital tickle spots. Christie cracked her knuckles. "Are we set?" she asked.
Leifang didn't reply. Christie thought she heard Leifang muttering some silent prayer in Chinese, but she couldn't be sure.
Christie couldn't wait any longer. Where to tickle? Decisions, decisions. Why did she have to make all the hard decisions? Ah well. Christie spidered her fingers and dug into Leifang's thighs.
"Gyyaahahahahhhaaahahahaha!!!" Leifang giggled, kicking her legs. Now, if the rack had a disadvantage, it was that it offered less immobilization than some other methods. Ah well. Life is full of tradeoffs.
Christie was somewhat annoyed by the fact that Leifang could move, but she could live with it. Christie shifted her attack to the inner thighs, using her long nails to her advantage.
"How does this feel?" Christie smirked.
"Ahahaahahahaha!! " Leifang squealed, still kicking her legs furiously.
Quick as a bullet, Christie gave Leifang's thighs one last tickle and shifted attacks again to her feet. Christie whipped out her toe ties and had Leifang's toes tied back, spread slightly apart in under two minutes, a personal best time for Christie.
Christie smiled and quickly ran her index finger down Leifang's sole, "Wait for one sec, hun... I'll be right back!"
Leifang giggled a bit and turned her head, trying to follow Christie's footsteps. Being deprived of sight not only helped Leifang's sense of touch, but also her hearing... she could hear Christie's footsteps fading, she was talking to someone else... who could it be?


***


Ayane pulled, twisted, squirmed and generally tried to move her upper body. She'd been trying for what seemed like hours... drop after ticklish drop... minutes, agonizingly slow, passed by. Another drop came down, slowly making its way down Ayane's sweat-soaked arm, but still clinging true to that damned path of oil Christie traced down her arm. Ayane could feel the drop, slowly but surely coming down... it reached her elbow, and she could feel it start to tickle her... just like the others... Ayane could feel its distinct teardrop shape... and just then, another drop formed, on her other arm, Ayane felt the last of her resistance go away... she had spent her last strength... Ayane closed her eyes and let the giggles come, at first slowly, reluctantly. Then, as the water drops battered what was left of her strength, Ayane laughed louder, tortured shrieks that penetrated the steel curtain Christie draped around her room... still, the droplets came, one by one... one by one...


***


Christie looked at what was left of Ayane. The poor girl was almost limp in her bonds, her giggles no longer giggles but something else. Christie had destroyed this once-proud girl, using no more than a little oil and a couple water bottles. For what?
Christie sighed. Maybe it was affection for a fellow assassin, but she didn't want to continue tickling this poor girl...
"Alright, Ayane. Today's your lucky day. You get off easy. Lets go."
Christie unchained Ayane, threw the almost-unconscious girl over her shoulder, and walked over to the waiting area.
Kasumi glared at Christie when she got within eyesight, "What have you done to her?" Kasumi asked angrily, taking her sister into her arms.
Christie looked at Kasumi and turned away. For a moment, Kasumi thought she saw a flutter of regret in Christie's eyes.


***


"Why am I doing this?" Christie asked herself, "Why?"

It is my duty.

Duty to who, Christie? Do you not have friends that were hurt by your actions? Do you not... owe something to them?

Friends are nothing. The fate of the world is more important. Doing my job correctly is more important than having friends.

That is where you're wrong, Christie. You have betrayed your friends. They were counting on you. They trusted you. You betrayed them.

Friendship is not the most important thing.

Without friends, you are helpless. No one will guard your back. That will be your fatal weakness. Weakness is death. Don't you see? You're burning your bridges. At the end, you're going to end up no better than your father.

My father. One of the two men I've ever respected. How he ended up was his fault.

That is a lie and you know it. If you were there...

This is pointless. If anything, debating with myself over my loyalty is weakness.

But what about Kasumi? Or Ayane? Were they not your friends? How could you do this to them? Or Leifang? Hasn't she been nice to you since the day you've first met her? What you're doing is wrong, Christie, and you know it. Betraying your friends is wrong.

I don't care if I'm in the wrong or in the right! All that I care is that I live to fight another day! They are weak. I am strong. I will prevail. I will rise to the top, no matter what it takes... even if it means the betrayal... and torture... of what used to be my best friends...

The End...
"Power? You know nothing about power..." - Leifang, DOA2

DOAXTT - Episode 7 - Redemption

SAME DRILL AS LAST TIME!!!

Alright, without any further delay...



The story.




I am Christie.

I will rise to the top, no matter what it takes.

I will... survive...


***


Christie held her head high. She was on the cutting edge of the new age... she could not let such petty issues as friends stand in her way, not when she was so close... she had to press on, no matter what the cost... even if that cost meant killing everyone she'd known and loved. A small price to pay.
Leifang, altough deprived of sight, knew that there was something wrong with Christie. Her steps were... different...
"Christie...? Are you alright?" Leifang asked. Ovbiously, she still considered Christie a friend.
Christie sighed. Leifang... nice, gentle around everyone. It would be her undoing someday. Ovbiously this girl wasn't aware of the fact that there was always someone out to get you...
"I'm fine," Christie said, her voice trembling. "I must not show weakness," Christie told herself, "I am strong enough to do this. II will prevail."
"Have you reconsidered?" Leifang asked, a small glimmer of hope in her voice.
Christie shook her head... her heart told her to say something, but her mind told her not to.

"Listen, Christie... how could you be doing this to your friends?" her heart said, "They trusted you!"

They were fools to trust me. I am an assassin. I shold not be trusted.

But they did, Christie. And you betrayed that trust.

They were fools! I did not deserve to be trusted! They shouldn't have trusted me!

They trusted you...

Her heart won out..."Leifang... I'm sorry... about everything... I - I have to do this... I have betrayed you all..."
"You can change, Christie. I forgive you..." Leifang said.
Christie smiled slightly, "Thank you, Leifang... but there are some that won't... and... I have to stay here... I have a duty, a higher duty... a duty to someone I truly loved... my father..."
Leifang stopped breathing for a second, "Christie! You could've told told us earlier... we would've tried to help you..."
"Its too late for that, Leifang. I appreciate your kind words, but... I am beyond redemption. I must stay here... I... am sorry, Leifang..." Christie said, blinking tears from her eyes. "Go, go tell the others... tell them... tell them, that I am sorry... tell them that I am sorry for betraying them, for hurting them... for everything. Go..."
Christie untied Leifang's hands and ran off. It took Leifang a few minutes to work her ankles out of the rack, but she did, and hurriedly untied her friends. The four were off in a flash.


***


Tina practically banged her head in frustration. Two Zetas... one, they could've handled. Two, not a chance.
Hitomi was frustrated too. She had friends in there... for all she knew, her friends were being tortured to death.
"That's it... I'm going in..." She said, turning the corner. She was getting impatient.
"That won't be nessecary..." A familiar voice spoke from the shadows. "You know, that has always been your weakness... you attack to often. Sometimes its better to sit back and let it ride..."
"Ayane!" exclaimed Hitomi, who was so happy she rushed over and swept her up in a massive bear hug.
Ayane blushed. "Well... I hope you didn't miss me too much..."
The other three came out too, in varying conditions. Helena and Leifang looked for the most part untouched. Kasumi and Ayane looked a bit worse for wear, but they wold tough it out.
As the seven celebrated their togetherness, there was something missing... Christie... there was no anger amongst the seven about her... only sadness... and loss...


***


Christie cradled her head in her hands... what had she done? Never before had she felt compassion... or pity... she was... changing...
"Christie?" It was Douglas.
"Hello," Christie said in a soft voice.
"I saw what you did with yor friends... a very noble thing."
Christie didn't reply. She stared straight forward.
"I respect that. Loyalty, honor. I can see that you possess those traits. Go and help your friends if you wish. I will not stop you."
"But survival..." Christie muttered... what was more important? Survival, or having friends to celebrate your survival?


***


The seven walked down two floors, back to their original hideout. After supper, they discussed what to do. They knew they were doomed, but they were determined to be a pain in the butt for the Pro-Douglas.
"Well..." Kasumi started, "It seems like they are intent on delivering that message. Suppose we couldn't deliver that message anymore?'
"What do you mean?" Tina asked.
"We can do what we can to be not ticklish," Kasumi said. "that way, they can kill us or let us go. I doubt they'll kill us. It would be bad image."
"But can you be sure?" Christie asked, "Sure enough to bet your life on it?"


***


Six jumped up, in various ready positions from their various martial arts. Leifang was still sitting down.
"I am not here to hurt you," Christie said. "I am back."
"Listen to her," Leifang begged, "She's telling the truth..."
Gradually, the six backed down, leaving Christie as the only one still standing up.
"A very good plan you've got there," Christie started.
"But?" Kasumi asked.
"How do you go about becoming not ticklish? It doesn't happen overnight..."
"We'll have to train ourselves then." Kasumi shrugged.
"No. There has to be a better way," Leifang said, "I like myself the way I am... I don't want to make myself not ticklish... I like being tickled lightly! I can't imagine what I'd do if I weren't ticklish!"
"Or what Jann Lee would do," Ayane snickered playfully.
"Hey! You watch your mouth!" Leifang giggled, blushing slightly.
"Guys... let's stay on track. We have an immediate problem here. Masybe we can keep our ticklishness, but increase my resistance," Kasumi suggested.
"That sounds about right..." Hitomi said.
"Right, we can all go to sleep now, we'll talk more in the morning, k?" Helena suggested, yawning slightly.
Soon, all eight were fast asleep.


***


Douglas couldn't sleep. All his plans were all crumbling... he had to think of something different... and fast.
All he had was himself, and his two Zeta warriors. He sighed. Christie. The weak link in his plan... he should've known that she would be loyal... he would need someone else... or something else... whatever he had here wasn't working...


***


Christie didn't sleep. She sat up, her head cradled on her knees. She was thinking.
"Christie?"
Christie smiled. If she still had one friend, it was Leifang.
"Up so early, Leifang?"
"I couldn't sleep..."
Christie smiled, "Too excited?"
"Something like that."
Christie stretched a little and said, "Here, I want to tell you something. Come with me."
"Alright," Leifang replied, getting up and stretching a bit as well.
They quietly walked out of the room, taking care not to disturb the other six, who were sleping soundly on the soft sand floor.
"I wanted to thank you..." Christie said softly. "If it weren't for you... I would still be on the evil path..."
"Christie," Leifang said seriously, "I'm sure you would've done the same in my place. It was nothing."
"It means a lot to me, Leifang... even though I treated you guys like trash, you still came through for me."
"And you did for us, as well."
Christie giggled, "I just find it impossible to be cold-hearted around you, Leifang. You're going to be the end of me."
Leifang giggled too, "I'd never imagine that! "
Christie smiled, "I don't know... you're the first friend I've had in a long, long time, Leifang."
Leifang beamed, "I'm just glad you're with us."
Christie looked at Leifang and hugged her tight... something she hadn't done in a long, long time...


***


"Wake up, sleepyhead!"
Ayane groaned. Morning already. She propped her head up on her elbows and yawned.
"Still tired, sis?" Kasumi asked brightly. She was already up.
"Shaddup... I'm growing, I need my rest," Ayane said.
"You girls have been sleeping for 14 hours straight..." Hitomi said. It was ovbious she had already been up for awhile.
"Give them a break," Christie said, "Thay had a long day yesterday."
Ayane gratefully turned over and went back to sleep. Kasumi shook her head and walked off to eat her breakfast.


***


Douglas was thinking. He needed another strategy. Right now they were trying to beat him at his own game.He would make them pay for that.
"Hmm... what to do... I can play my last card... Lisa..."


***


"Yes? Yes, sir. Right away." Lisa said into the hidden microphone attached to her earlobe.
"Guys, I'm off on an errand. I'll see you guys later," she said, quickly walking away.
"Anyways..." Tina said, "What do we do now?"
"Well, we can't wait here and loaf around," Kasumi said.
"I think we need to increase our resistance to tickling first," Tina said, "That way, when we're ready, we can attack their base without fear. Then we can get out of this place."
"Excellent idea," Kasumi said. "Alright, partner up. Lets get this show on the road. Remember: We're doing this for the sake of the team."
"Yes, boss," Ayane said, walking into the room, still yawning slightly.


***


"Well? Are you going to restrain me?" Leifang asked, almost excitedly.
Christie shook her head as she sat on a padded table, "I want to see what you're made of. Here, lie down... that's the way... on my knees, there ya go. Comfy?"
Leifang nodded.
"Hold your arms above your head..."
"I see where this is going," Leifang grinned.
Christie's eyes sparkled, "There you go. If you can do this without lowering your arms..."
"I get you next..." Leifang said. "You're on."
"Brave words, Leifang," Christie said, starting to trace circles around her navel, very gently.
Leifang closed her eyes and started to giggle; the simple motion of Christie's fingernail was enough to cause this.
For the first time in ages, Christie was truly happy, laughing along with Leifang, not out of spite, but out of happiness.
"Ooo... someone's pretty ticklish," Christie smiled. She extended her other index finger and gently scratched at Leifang's navel with those two fingers. It was light ticklisg like this that could drive Leifang crazy, and Christie knew that. Intense tickling didn't work too well on her. She was too strong-willed for that. Christie knew that if Leifang wanted, she probably be not ticklish at all.
Leifang was still giggling madly, her arms still above her head. Christie knew she was probably in complete control of herself. Christie admired Leifang for this. Such a glaring weakness... and still in complete control. Christie stopped, reducing her tickling to the single finger again.
"Leifang, tell me something: How do you keep so composed? I know you're deathly ticklish, even more so than I am, but you seem to be less bothered by it..."
Leifang stopped giggling, despite the constant tickling, and looked Christie in the eye, "Its just... you have to change your mindset... if you think of it as... relaxing, playful or funny, you will find it easier to cope..."
Christie took this advice to heart. "You know, I'm beginning to beleive you when you say you're the most ticklish, and yet the least..."
"Truth is, I am the most ticklish, but I deal with it the best, I think."
Christie smiled. "And you're the best at holding your arms up for me," she said, playfully dancing all ten fingers over Leifang's navel.
"Heeheeheheeheehehhehee!!!" Leifang giggled, still managing to keep her arms raised.
"You're pretty good," Christie smiled, "But that was only your first test. Tell me: How ticklish are your underarms?"
Leifang recoiled in mock horror, "Oh no! Not there! You're going to kill me!"
Christie smiled, "All the more reason to tickle you there. Tickle tickle!"
Christie gently extended her index fingers and lightly scratched Leifang's underarms. Again, light tickling was the key.
Leifang ovbiously was fighting a tough battle for control. She giggled louer than before and once almost lowered her arms, but caught herself before Christie could tell her off.
"Gyaahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Ahahahahaaa!! Ithettickkllessohohomuch!! aahaahhahhahaha!!!"
"That's the general idea," Christie said., adding more fingers.
Christie smiled. Leifang was good, but not THAT good... She was starting to break. Her body started to rock as she tried to get away without lowering her arms. Christie decided to go for the knockout punch. All ten fingers. Ready... go! Leifang and Christie laughed at the same time. Leifang, in an instant, rolled over to one side and dug into Christie's sides.
"Hehey! Nohohot fahahair!" Christie squealed, desperately rolling around on the floor attempting to shake Leifang. Leifang hung on like a limpet, tickling Christie's sides as she hung on.
"Ahhahahahahahahahahaa!" Christie laughed, still rolling around, trying to get Leifang off her back. Leifang rode it out, waited until Christie stopped thrashing, and started tickling again, this time the feet. Christie screamed. So long since she's been tickled there... she'd almost forgotten what it felt like...
"AAALLRIGHT!! GYYAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHA!!! YOHOUWIHIN!!! AHAHAHAHAHAA!!"
"You sure," Leifang smirked, still aggressively moving her fingers along Christie's soles. Christie nodded vigourously, giggling madly. Leifang stopped and got off Christie's ankles.
"You are in so much trouble, young woman," Christie grinned, starting to chase Leifang around the room. For the first time in a long, long time, Christie was happy.


***


Meanwhile...

"Lisa! That was fast." Douglas said. "I trust you are well?"
"Perfectly fine, thank you."
"I suppose you're going to need some help..." Douglas said.
"That would be useful," Lisa said, thinking, "Who can we use?"
"How about Kasumi-X?" Lisa suggested. "Project Epsilon?"
"Epsilon... hmm... maybe. Or maybe some of the Beta or Gamma projects..."
"Hmm... I've never heard of them..."
"Yes, you shouldn't have. You joined us just as Epsilon got started. Lets see... Beta... Beta... ahh yes. Beta, the failed project to create the first hybrid human being."
"Hybrids?"
"Yes. Hybrids. Part animal, part human. They come in handy. Some of them even look completely human, and only have feral instincts."
"I see. What about Gamma?"
"Gamma... hmm... Gamma... Gamma was the prelude to Epsilon. It was the attempt to clone a super-human. On second thought, it seems... unsuited for the task at hand. I think a Peoject Beta specimen will do fine."
"What do i get?"
"Hmm... Kit Fox sounds about right for your job..."
"Kit Fox?"
"All-human, but with feral instincts and agility. She'll come in handy. I promise you."
"Great. Can we start today?"
"Of course, Lisa. Start!"


***

Meanwhile...

Hitomi and Tina were at it again. Those two seemed inseperable.
Both of them were currently exausted. One ticklefight was enough to sap all the energy from both of them.
"Well... that was educational..." Hitomi said, grinning slightly.
"Yeah, it was," Tina said.
Hitomi rolled until she was right in front of Tina, "Up for another?"
Tina smiled, "Sure, you're on, and this time, I'll get you good..."
Hitomi smirked, "Good luck with that..."
"I go easy on you this time," Tina smirked.
"What did you say?"
"I said, I would - hehehehey!!" Tina squirmed as Hitomi dug into her ribs, "Thahahtwahahasn'tnice!! ehehehehehehee!!"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Hitomi smiled. "What are you going to do about it?"
"Yohohoure dehehead!!! aahahahahahahaahahahahahaa!!"
"That wasn't too nice..." Hitomi pouted, flipping Tina faceup and digging into Tina's tummy with all ten fingers. Tina desperately tried to flip herself over, but Hitomi kept her faceup with the help of her knees.
"Gyyaahahahahahaahahahahaha!!!" Tina sputtered, despserately flailing her arms around the general vicinity of her tummy, trying to whack away Hitomi's hands.
Hitomi slowed her tickling to a slow crawl, "I think I win again..."
Tina quickly composed herself and counterattacked Hitomi's ribs, "Nope!"
"Hehey!! Nohohotnihice!!"
"Just as nice as you are," Tina remarked, now in control, aggressively moving her fingers along Hitomi's rib cage, "Tickle tickle!"
"Gyyahahahahahahahahahahahaa!" Hitomi squealed, instinctively curling up.
"No escaping for you..." Tina taunted, switching to Hitomi's tummy.
"Heeheheheheheheeheeheeheee!!" Hitomi giggled, desperately bucking and trying to get Tina off.
"So, I think I win this round," Tina said, making sure not to slow down her tickling.
"Alhahalright!! AAhahahahahahahaa!!"
"Good girl," Tina giggled, letting Hitomi roll away.
"You're in for it next time..." Hitomi growled playfully. Two seconds later, they were at it again.

***

A few hours later...

Kit was all Lisa expected, and more. She possessed cat-like agility and stealth, but was human in all other respects.
"We've picked a bad time to strike," Kit observed. Lisa noted she did look quite feline, but in a human body... she didn't know what it was...
"Well - well the boss wants results, and fast, so we must go now."
Kit nodded, "However... we are two, they are eight. We really should wait until they seperate."
Lisa shook her head, "Again, the boss wants results. We simply don't have the time to wait around."
"Fine. Let's move."


***


"Hey, has anyone seen Lisa around lately?" Kasumi asked.
"No... no, I haven't," Leifang said.
"Nope," Hitomi said.
"Not me," Helena added.
"Well then, that could be a problem. I think Lisa has gotten herself into a spot of trouble," Kasumi said.
"Or trouble has gotten to her," Ayane said, pondering.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking? About that sudden need to go somewhere?" Christie pondered.
"Maybe. We'll have to be on our guard. Should we stay here or look for her?" Kasumi asked.
"We have to stay. If we go out, we could be falling right into a trap," Tina warned.
"I agree," Hitomi added, "We have to stay here."
"A wise choice," Lisa said.
"Lisa!! What...?"
"Meet my new friend, Kit. Now, two of you are coming with us."
"As if..." Ayane muttered, "Seven of us, two of you..."
"Yeah, I fancy our chances. Sic'em, girl!" Lisa shouted.
Kit nodded. Time to test her martial arts capabilities. Now, if she did have an advantage, it was that , since she was fighting in a narrow hall, only one could attack her at a time.
"I'll take her," Hitomi said, "Piece of cake..."
Hitomi viciously charged and delivered a running kick attack combo, that is to say, a couple vicious spinning kicks to the torso followed by a devastating drop kick to the head. Kit, almost telepathically, ducked under the first, sidestepped the next one, and went under the drop kick, charging straight into Hitomi before she could recover. She crashed headfirst into the wall. Hitomi went down hard.
"Next please..." Kit said offhandedly. Tina stepped forward. With a massive cry, she launched herself at her opponent, intent on taking her down. No normal human would've been able to dodge. But Kit wasn't normal. She ducked under Tina as she flew past, and crashed against the wall. Before Tina could pick herself up, Kit body slammed her against the wall. Barbaric, but effective. Two down, five to go.
"Alright, you scum, take this..." Helena said. She calmly walked forward and grabbed Kit around the waist, and was about to throw her. Kit calmly kicked Helena in the face while she was being held in midair, and finished Helena off with a throw of her own. She picked Helena off the ground and flung her into the nearest wall.
"You ready to give up yet?" Lisa asked calmly, inspecting her nails.
Kasumi sighed. Time to get serious. She began a series of backflips, amazing to look at and also faster in moving than running. If there was one thing Kasumi was known for, it was the style in which she eliminated her opponents, her moves having that deadly... beauty. Kit watched with a slight grin, then launched a series of backflips of her own. Kasumi was too far in to stop. The two collided. Their feet touched, and they kicked at the same time. Kit landed on her feet. Kasumi landed on her head.
With a pained cry, Ayane attacked. Kit stepped back as Ayane delivered attack after attack. At the right moment, Kit countered with superhuman agility. Ayane slowly fell backwards as Kit delivered the iron palm to Ayane's face.
Two left. Kit didn't have any more time. She decided to go on the offensive. She ran forward at a blinding pace, covering the twenty meters in less than a second. Before Leifang or Christie knew it, they were draped against the wall, unconsious.
"Not bad," Lisa said. "Next time, let me have some fun too, alright?"
"Deal. Who do we take?"
"Who did we get last time?"
"We didn't get her, or her..." She pointed, at Hitomi and Tina. "Alright. Take em away."
"Right."

***


Kasumi groaned. She had been beaten at her own game. Those flips... those were flips that put Kasumi's to shame.
"Ugghhh... what was that?"
No reply. That woke Kasumi up. There... four others, all lying unconsious.
"Damn. Where's the others?"
Christie growled and sprang up, only to find out she was too late to catch her enemy.
"They got Hitomi and Tina..." Kasumi said, propping herself up onto her elbows.
"I knew there was something about Lisa..." Christie muttered, shanking her head. Even the master of deception was amazed at this sudden turn of events.
Ayane groaned. She was the next one up, "Ugghhh... that was brutal..."
"Tell me about it. We got picked off like children." Kasumi groaned.
"Argh..." Leifang mumbled, "Ouch! Geez... what was that? We were destroyed!"
"I know... that was dumb. How could one person..."
"She's good..." Helena said, the last one to recover but the first on her feet. "We've gotta help them..."
"First we have to help ourselves," Ayane commented.
"Right." Leifang agreed, "We had better rest up and think of a plan first."
"People say simple plans work best. How about we try using a different tactic against her?" Christie asked.
"What?" Leifang inquired.
"During my stint with Douglas, I was informed about the different projects there were doing. I heard about everythng from Alpha to Zeta, but I don't know anything beyond Zeta. Now, this woman is like something from the Beta project... Betas are basically humans infused with animal DNA."
"It may explain why she can move so fast... dodge every blow..." Kasumi muttered.
"Yes... elevated senses... which also means she has an elevated sense of touch..." Christie said.
A grin slowly spread over Kasumi's face, "Which will make her more vulnerable to tickling... got it."
"Aren't you the smart one," Christie smiled, "That's exactly right. And since Doug was nice enough to drop us right in the middle of a dungeon... "
"If we catch her, she's in for a heck of a ride..."


***


Tina woke up, dizzy and groggy, but otherwise OK. She was sitting... on a real chair... she groaned slightly and opened her eyes. Lisa.
"Lisa..." Tina whispered.
"Hello Tina, how are you?" Lisa asked offhandedly.
"Wha-what have you done?" Tina stammered.
"Remember when I told you I was a researcher?" Lisa asked, smiling a bit.
"Yeah..."
"Have I ever told you who I worked for?"
"No..."
"I work for DOATEC's Pro-Douglas faction. I've been with them from the start." Lisa explained calmly, as if she was talkig about the wheather.
"You -"
"Call me what you wish. My job is twofold. One, to get you to reveal information about your Anti-Douglas contacts. The other is to... get a nice cash infusion from your undoubtedly fat bank account."
"Let me save you some time. I don't have any. Of course not. Yes, I'm sure. Ahahahahaha. Yes, I'm still sure. Alright, enjoy your meal, please come again. Happy?"
"Very funny. It's more complicated than that. You WILL break, Tina."
"Heh. Probably. The question is, can you get it out of me before my friends arrive and kick your -"
"I will," Lisa said, saving the authour from writing a swear word. Thanks Lisa!
"Anying for you, Gloob..." Lisa replied in her sexiest voice.
Ahem, that aside...
"Then lets get this over with, alright?"
"As you wish, Tina. First... Kit, we're ready!"
Lisa turned around to help Kit with the struggling Hitomi. Perfect time to strike, Tina thought. 1..2..3..
Tina didn't move. She looked. Oh great. She was tied to her chair.
"Right, the dual, got it. Hitomi, come here. That's the way." Lisa said, even as Hitomi's eyes burned through her skull.
"Alright, girl, sit. I said sit... that's right..." Lisa continued, tying Hitomi to her chair too. Lisa got a large bowl from a shelf, and took it down gently. She then took three wierd chemical beakers from the shelf too.
"What are you trying to do?" Tina asked.
"Oh, something for your friend here," Lisa said, mixing the chemicals.
"Oh? And what would that be?" Hitomi snarled.
Lisa didn't reply. The mixing done, she put the bown down on the floor, at Hitomi's feet. Bound at the ankles, Hitomi didn't resist as Lisa put her feet into the bowl, which was filled with a clearish liquid. Almost immediately the liquid started to dissapear, until only a few drops remained.
"Excellent..." Lisa muttered. "Alright, lets go... Kit?"
"Right," Kit said as she gingerly lifted Hitomi up and carried her to a metal table.
"I can walk..." Hitomi muttered.
"Hmm. Maybe, maybe not. No matter. We are here."
"Ready?" Lisa asked. Kit nodded.
"Hook em' up."
"Aye."
Soon Tina and Hitomi were bound to the table. It was a fifteen-foot long table, designed for two victims. Tina was at the bottom, her feet hanging off the edge, her ankles trapped in a built-in set of stocks. Her arms were tied above her. Now this is the interesting part. Tina's fingers were bound too, so she couldn't ball up her fingers. The restraints were placed between the first joint and the hand, as to allow the fingers to wiggle, but not ball up. Now... Hitomi's feet were placed so close to Tina's fingers that whenever Tina moved her fingers, Hitomi felt it on her sole. Hitomi was then bound so
her feet were completely immobile, and at her friend's mercy. Her wrists were also tied, of course. Hitomi was the first to figure this out. Kit and Lisa went away to fetch supplies.
"Tina... whatever yo do, don't listen to me..." Hitomi whispered behind gritted teeth.
"What?" Tina asked.
"Just... don't listen to be. Promise..." Hitomi whispered desperately.
Lisa came back first. She was empty-handed.
"There has been... a slight problem. Kit is taking care of it. I will commence the interrogation alone."
"Whatever," Tina shrugged.
"Alright," Lisa said, "Hmm... if I recall correctly..."
Lisa's hand snaked out and gently squeezed Tina's side. Tina squealed, and Hitomi giggled. Tina suddenly got it. It was harder to see things from below. Tina gritted her teeth. She wasn't going to move her fingers if it meant the end of her...
Lisa smiled a bit, "You're so tense! Lighten up, smile!" she giggled, tracing light circles on Tina's tummy. Tina realized the futility of her struggling and just giggled... letting it out, so to speak.
"eeehehheeheheheehee!!" Tina giggled, still trying to keep her fingers from moving...
Hitomi felt the fingers against her soles... but... there was something differnet... her nerve endings on her feet seem to have tripled in sensitivity... and they were ticklish enough as they were, Hitomi admitted.
Lisa grinned at Tina, "Come on! Wiggle your fingers... just a bit! Don't you want to get her back for all those times she beat you in tickle matches? Come on!"
As if to add to her point, Lisa drilled her right index finger into Tina's bellybutton. Tina bucked, screamed and lost self-control for a second there. That was all it took. Her fingers moved. Hitomi then screamed as well. Two in one.
"AAhhhahaahhhahHAHAHAahahhahha!!!" Tina giggled, trying to shake Lisa off.
"GYYAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!" Hitomi screamed... never before had she been so sensitive before! Damn Lisa and her inventions!
Lisa smiled. That was all it took. It was hard to get her started, but once she started, it was easy sailing from then on. She would break one of them soon enough.
"How bout... here?" Lisa asked, tickling Tina's feet with one hand and her tummy with the other. Tina thrashed around on her table.
"AAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! NOPLHEHEHSSE!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!"
Hitomi was also struggling, her upperbody flailing around, not that it mattered... her feet were immobile, and thats what counted.
"GGYYAHAHAHAAHAAAHAAAHAA!!" Hitomi screamed, trying anything to get away...
As Lisa proceeded to tickle the living daylights out of both girls, there was one nagging question: where was Kit?


***


"You again..." Kit snarled with contempt, "Haven't you learned your lesson from last time?"
"Oh, we have," Leifang smiled.
"Silly girl. You think you can beat me? I beat you all!"
"I'll take you up on that," Leifang replied. She nodded to the others. They spread out. Kit snarled and launched a spinning attack, keeping her opponents at a distance. They circled, but could not close, for fear of being killed by the rapidly spinning fists. This was all planned. Kit frowned. They were too... organized for her liking. She slowed an launched another attack. As she kicked, she was surprised to find she was looking at the ceiling. She didn't yet know that Ayane, the quickest, quickly pulled off a reversal, sending Kit down. Hard.
However, downed as she was, it took all five of them to hogtie her. She didn't cooperate at all, kicking, punching, and biting until the end. Victorious, the five dragged Kit behind them as they walked back to the base.


***


"So, you win..." Kit said. "Now what?"
"You let our friends go, or we'll use some of your tactics against you..." Christie threatened.
"Ooohhh... scary..." Kit said, the sarcasm dripping from her mouth.
"Alright. Who starts with her?" Kasumi asked.
"I'll do it." Christie said.
"Go then."
"You,... the traitor..." Kit spat.
"Heh. I am an assassin. I do my job." Christie shrugged.
Silently, Christie dragged Kit to the dungeon. The horizontal X frame sounded good. Christie transferred Kit from the frying pan into the fire, so to speak.
Kit smiled, "You will fail, Christie. I will ever yield."
"Oh, but I know you, Kit... enchanced senses? That sounds good to me."
"H-how did you get a hold of those documents?" Kit demanded.
"Remember? I'm the traitor."
"Right. But you didn't have clearance..."
"Oh, but I did. Douglas trusted me."
"You..."
"You dealy me. Now, you will release my friends... or else."
"I will say no more. Talking to you is a waste of my time."
"As you wish," Christie shrugged. Without wasting a second, she glided a finger down Kit's sides, testing for sensitivity. Let the torture begin.


***


Lisa was now really worried. What was going on? Kit was supposed to be back... fifteen minutes ago, and Kit was never late. Ever. Something tapped her on the shoulder. Lisa spun around. Ah. It was Zeta-1.
"Yes?"
"Someone is demanding to see you, mistress."
"Alright. Who?"
"See for yourself..."
Lisa walked over to the entrance, slightly annoyed. There were the others. All five of them.
"What do you want?" Lisa hissed. "If you've come to appeal to me, don't try. I'm a better agent than Christie."
"Heh. The better betrayer doesn't allow her side to be betrayed." Christie replied.
Lisa fumed, "What do you want, really?"
"We have your... ah... partner," Kasumi said. "If you value her life, hand our people over."
"You are fools. You should kill her while you can... she is worth five of you!"
"Except we value our friends, unlike some people," Ayane said.
"Let me see her," Lisa said.
Christie went back and dragged Kit's limp body forward.
"She passed out a few minutes ago," Christie shrugged. "She only lasted a few minutes. I wonder what'll happen when I inject her with the oxygen mixture you invented..."
Lisa looked appalled, "You - You wouldn't!"
Christie's cold eyes pierced Lisa's skull. "I would."
Damn her pride. Kit wouldn't survive. "Fine..." Lisa snarled. "Take your friends.."
Lisa unlocked Hitomi and Tina and threw them out the dungeon. Kit was similarly threw into the dungeon. Not the most glamorous trade, but a trade nonetheness.


***


They were seven again. But this time, they knew they would never be eight. Lisa was working for them all along. How could they be so gullible? They knew Lisa was a researcher... but reasearching for whom? They set themselves up for that...
Christie and Leifang were on warmups again. As usual, they just talked.
"Leifang... I..."
"I know, Christie... you're torn between sides, aren't you?"
Christie smiled and playfully started scratching Leifang's tummy. Christie was free, Leifang was tied to a rack but they still talked.
"You got that right, but I somehow feel I belong here..." Christie trailed off...
"If you stay, I'll be the happiest one of them all," Leifang managed to say without giggling.
Christie smiled, "Aren't you sweet... you know, if it weren't for you, I would still..."
Leifang giggled a bit, then managed to say, "But what counts is that you're here, right?"
Christie smiled, "That's right!" as she quickly dug into Leifang's underarms.
"Eeeekk!!" Leifang squealed, not expecting such a sudden attack on her underarms.
Christie slowly stopped and unstrapped Leifang, "That's enough... now... teach me how to laugh..."


***

Lisa was fuming, "You... lost?"
"They discovered my weakness, Lisa. Nothing more."
"Elevated senses eh? Well... I guess you can't have it all... from now on, be wary of holds, and try not to use kicks..."
"Yes, those are reasonable precautions. I shall endevour to make the nessecary chances to my fighting style as soon as possible."
"The next time we meet them, we shall defeat them again."


***


Leifang smiled, "I've never seen you like this, Christie..."
Christie smiled too, "I don't know... I feel different around you... I'm always tense... on the lookout for assassins... but around you..."
"Well... I like the chances, Christie..." Leifang said, slowly tracing circles on Christie's heels, "Well, if you want to laugh, the first step is usually to smile..."
Christie giggled, more from the joke then the giggling, "Heeheehee! You're going to be the end of me, Leifang..."
Leifang slowly started moving upwards with her fingers.
Christie dissolved into giggles, "Heeheheeheeheeheeheehee! Youohohremehehean!!! Heeheeheheeheehee!!"
Leifang giggled too, "I'm not mean... you asked me to show you how to laugh..."
Christie relaxed her last muscles. She was among friends. She relaxed and laughed, her worries dissapearing like so much dust on a windy day.
"Now, lets see about those underarms, shall we?"


***


I have made the right choice. I am among friends now.

No, Christie... you are among the weak... individually, you are stronger than all of them... they will only slow you down...

I am among friends. I may not have as much power as others, but I have the power of my friends to back me up. That's what counts.

Still... you are stronger individually... eventually, they will betray you, they will turn on you... you will be left broken, shattered...

But now, I am amongst friends. I am learning more now than I have ever had as an assassin. It doesn't matter how long you survive. If you don't have friends, there will be no one to guard your back. You will be weaker without friends.

But how will you rise to the top in the first place? You can't!

Rising to the top isn't so important anymore... I am learning different things... how to laugh... how to show friendship...

You will just be like who you despised just a couple days ago.

I do not despise them. I want to be like them.

You are being a hypocrite. Just a day ago you were saying the opposite things about them...

That was before I discovered Leifang's kindness... her compassion... she has showed me that there is a better way... there is a better path... I may not reach the top... but I will have fun trying. Who cares about attaining the ultimate victory, when you have no one to share it with?
"Power? You know nothing about power..." - Leifang, DOA2

final
Christie knelt there, her unmoving form seemingly cast in stone. Bitter tears streamed down her face.
"Why... why was I so weak?" she screamed into the darkness, "WHY??"
She forced herself to recall the events of the previous day, despite the pain it caused her. She had to figure it out.


***


Hell, but colder. That was the only way to describe it. The icy wind cut through seemingly everything. The snowstorm made it impossible to see anything distant. Somewhere, buried in the wastelands of Siberia, was the complex that held the seven DOA Girls hostage, holding out for rescue. Somewhere in there.
"Why does Siberia have to be so cold and big?" Lieutenant Laura Davies wondered.
"Its a glorious place," Bayman said, breathing in the thin air with little effort. The massive Russian looked back at the rest of his group, already far behind. he frowned.
"Move it up!" Bayman barked into his radio. Laura was surprised that that radio was still working in the horrible conditions. Her breath curled down from her mouth and gracefully disappeared into the snowstorm.
Now, if you haven't figured things out already, Bayman was the leader of a multi-national effort to rescue the DOA girls from the clutches of Douglas and his cronies. They had already isolated the complex to a square area in Siberia, five miles long and five wide. Twenty-five square miles. The complex could be anywhere within that square. The twenty-five could've been twenty thousand.
Laura watched as the trailing group picked up their pace. She knew that there was another group, a few miles away, doing the same trek she was doing. The fact she wasn't suffering alone was comforting to a certain extent.
"Alright, break," Bayman said after what seemed like forever. The fifty-some soldiers dropped into the snow and rested their tired legs. A mixed bunch, but all round good soldiers. Bayman was proud.
"So, Lieutenant, how do you like Siberia?" Bayman asked in his gruff Russian accent.
"It's beautiful... and yet menacing at the same time..." Laura said, glancing at the seemingly endless snow-covered plains.
"I know how you feel, Lieutenant," Bayman said, looking proudly at the beauty of his homeland.
"They say you have something personal against Douglas, Bayman..." Laura said, breaking the awkward silence that followed.
"Ah..." Bayman cracked his knuckles, "It's a long story, and one practically no one's heard about. He hired me for a job, then tried to kill me after I did it. Same thing happened with Donovan. Heh, it seems like people like doing that to me. Anyways, I was a bit annoyed at him for doing that to me."
"So you're going to get back at him by finding his secret complex and killing him?"
"No, when I get my hands on him, if he's hurt any of my friends... I will not just kill him. First I shall slice off his nose, then gouge his eyes, then I will rip his fingers off, one finger at a time..."
"Umm... I get the idea," Laura offered.
Bayman laughed, "Oh, sorry, Lieutenant. I sometimes get caught up when it comes to revenge and all that stuff."
"Ah, well..."
A voice on Bayman's radio interrupted her. Bayman picked p the radio and put it to his ear.
"Mayday! Commander, we are engaged! We have found the complex, repeat, we have found the complex! We are taking fire and are pinned down! Send assistance at on-" Bayman winced. A slight gurgling sound over the radio told him that the communications officer had been shot through the throat. Ironically, the comm officer held down the transmit button as he died, letting Bayman hear what was going on.
He heard the distinctive sounds of the AK-47s that Douglas' troops were using. AKs were popular among many illegal groups because of their reliability, availability, and price. Then he heard MP5s returning fire. Those were his men. They were fighting bravely. Bayman listened as the chatter of MP5s diminished, and stopped, until only AKs could be heard firing. Then, all sounds of fighting stopped.
"Damn it..." Bayman muttered, "Those were good men..."
"Something wrong, Commander?" Laura asked. She hadn't heard a thing.
"We move out right now," Bayman growled, "Triple time..."


***


Douglas was fuming. He had let his guard down. He had underestimated his opponents, both within and outside the complex. It was the last time it would happen. He would be ready for next time. He would prevail.
"Kit, Lisa... come here," he commanded.
Both came in. Lisa, a bit edgy.
"You lost," Douglas said simply.
"We are sorry," Lisa started.
"I have no time for your apologies. We must go on. Now, I want results... and I want them fast. Go."
The two of them turned on their heels and quickly left.
That left the burning problem of the troops outside. The second wave would be coming soon, led by none other than Bayman himself. He needed a good plan, and fast. Another plan formed in his head...
Douglas picked up a large file prepared by his intelligence division. Inside were pictures... documents... ah, there it was. The summary. Douglas never liked reading large documents. He read it slowly:
___________
__I Intel Division I___________

Summary prepared by: F.E. Gamma, recruiting department.

SUMMARY

Name: Davies, Laura
Nationality: British
Age: 19
Height: 5'8
Weight: Unknown
Occupation: Soldier, recon specialist
Ticklish: Confirmed.

END OF REPORT
_________________________

Douglas smiled. Perfect.

***


"There it is..." Bayman said, lowering his binoculars. The only reason he could see the entrance was because of the bodies of the men of Beta Squad.
"What happened?" Laura asked.
"They stumbled into the dragon's lair..." Bayman said, "If we're not going to meet the same fate, we have to play it smart..."
"Got a plan?" Laura asked.
"Kinda."
"Care to let me in on it?"
"We go stealth, that's what."
"I'm going too. I'm recon, remember?"
Bayman sighed, "Fine. Suit up. We leave in five."


***


"Excellent..." Douglas muttered, looking at a television screen. Displayed was a live security feed.
"Guards... position yourselves. Tranqs only."
"Yes sir!" the commander snapped into his radio. Five guards lined up abreast, completely sealing off the entrance.
"Here they come..." Douglas said.
"Fire on my mark..." the guard captain whispered.


***


Laura tentatively stepped forward into the entrance. So far so good. A sudden movement... too late. Laura slumped against the wall with a dart in her neck. A split second later, a solid steel partition went up behind her, cutting Bayman and the other squad members off. The guard captain gingerly lifted Laura's body off the ground and started trekking back underground.


***


Christie was strangely relaxed. She had never been truly calm before. This was a day of firsts for her, though. This was also first time she was laughing her head off while being relaxed at the same time.
Leifang looked up, "Had enough?"
"Oh come on, not so soon," Christie said, "Just go easy on my underarms alright?"
Leifang smiled, "Alright..."
Christie breathed in deeply. She didn't know what was going on with her. She was helpless... bound... and she liked it?
Leifang scooted onto the rack, sitting right beside Christie. "Thinking?"
"Yeah..."
"What's on your mind?"
"Lots... "
"Alright..." Leifang trailed off, gently scratching at Christie's tummy, but not enough to cause her to laugh.
"I find that this helps me think," Leifang smiled.
"Hmm... strangely, it does."
"Done thinking?"
Christie smiled, "I know what you're thinking. Go right ahead..."
Christie shook her head. Allowing an adversary to take a strike at her weak point? What was she doing? She was having fun, she told herself. Something that she lacked for all her life.
Leifang's eyes lit up. She gently spidered her fingers and ran them up Christie's tummy.
Christie again relaxed and let the giggles escape, "Ahhahahahahahahaahaahahahaa!!"
Leifang smiled, "You're getting tired, I think I should let you go..."
Christie smiled back, "Alright. Same deal tomorrow?"
"You got it," Leifang said, untying Christie.
Christie stretched as she got up, "I look forward to it."


***


Bayman swore. He didn't waste any more time or energy expressing his anger. It was solid steel. He needed heavy machinery to break that, but no heavy machinery was going into Siberia at this time of year. Out of options, Bayman swore again and called in reinforcements.


***


"Wha..."
"Laura, relax... you're among friends..."
She nearly did relax until she realized she was tied to a padded table, her arms outstretched and secure, her ankles stocked. She felt a cool breeze over her bare skin. Stripped down to her underwear too.
"What?!" she exclaimed with a sudden burst of energy.
"Do not fear..." Douglas said. "Please... allow me to explain."
Laura just silently trembled, fuming with rage and helplessness.
"First of all, I need your consent to insert this into your skull... it sounds rash, but everything will become clear after that."
"What?? You tie me up like this and then want to implant something into my skull? Who do you think I am?"
"Lieutenant Laura Davies, British Army"
"H-how did you know?" Laura asked. She was sure she had no ID or identifiable items on her.
"We have our ways..." Douglas said. "Now, I need you to calm down and let this device take hold. Any resistance on your part will fry the machine."
"Damn you, Douglas," Laura spat.
Douglas shrugged. "You shall be persuaded in due course. There is someone I want you to meet."


***