Escape From Tickle Tower

16

The four of them gathered in the Principal's office with Ms. Isuld. The blonde teacher looked at them before turning her gaze to the purple stained wand in Perrine's hands. "So what you're saying is that Piper has gone missing and that she caused this whole mess." Ms. Isuld said softly.

"It's what happened. She fell into the abyss of the staircase and wouldn't deny summoning the laughler that attacked everyone." Rachel explained.

"I can't confirm this, but we can confirm a few things. The phoenix was summoned. It never lived here so that's true. Not only that, but Piper is missing with the only thing left is a pink stained wand." Ms. Isuld said as she walked up to the four of them. "Not only that, but you killed the monster. So I doubt you killed her."

"So what are you going to do?" Alice asked as she watched the teacher walk up to them.

"We need a new principal. Someone to lead the students and let them thrive. But before that, I think you all deserve to head on to the next floor." The teacher said before gently grabbing hold of the Principal's old wand.

"Even me?" Perrine asked as she looked up to her teacher.

"From what I understand, you fulfilled your requirement. You're free to come and go as you like, just like the others. For the rest of us, we will be finding someone new to take over, but you don't need to concern yourself over that." The teacher said as she turned around. "Have fun, you four."

The four of them smiled at each other for a second before heading out of the principal's office. Slowly, they walked back to the entrance to the staircase leading up to the next floor. "So, you're officially with us now?" Zac asked with a smile.

"Now I get to tickle her whenever I want!" Rachel exclaimed as she wiggled her fingers menacingly at Perrine. The brown haired woman gently pushed Rachel away, prompting the redhead to get closer.

Moments later, Alice gently slapped Rachel upside the head. "You aren't gonna tickle her! We just got a super important fighter! I'm sure magic will be very useful in the upcoming floors." She yelled before leading everyone to the staircase.

"We should do a proper greeting at least. We all kinda learned each other's names from hearing everyone talk." Rachel said as she turned to their newest member. "I'm Rachel!" She said cheerfully while giving the magician a smile.

"Name's Alice." The older woman said with a sigh while giving the village woman a look.

"Zac." The black haired man said as he nodded to their newest member.

"Perrine. I'll make sure to help you all." The red robbed woman said before bowing to everyone.

"Hehehe. Now, let's head on to the next floor!" Rachel said cheerfully as she grabbed onto Perrine's wrist and ran with her to the staircase.

"Hold on! Get back here!" Alice yelled before chasing after them. Zac followed behind, doing his best to keep up with the others.

As the four of them walked up to the base of the staircase, Alice took the lead. "It can get dark up ahead. Best to keep close to the center of the column and feel your way up if you need to." She said before walking up the staircase. Zac followed behind her with Rachel and Perrine hanging by the rear.

"How do you feel about leaving your floor?" Zac asked as they made their way into the darkness of the staircase.

"Nervous, but also excited." Perrine said in the back as they climbed.

"It'll be so much fun! Each floor feels like a new world! It's kinda exciting to see the next one." Rachel exclaimed as they kept walking up.

"You get used to it after a bit. Three floors and you'll be fine." Alice added, turning her head slightly so that her voice would be heard.

"Do you know what floor is up ahead?" Perrine asked.

"Nope. We haven't been this high up yet. It'll be a first for us, too." Zac responded as torches gave them a little light through the dark staircase.

"How long does it go on for?"

"It'll feel like forever, but it shouldn't be too long." Alice said. "More depends on how much stamina you have. Since you've been tickled so much, I'm sure you have a ton."

"W-we don't need to mention that!" Perrine yelled as her cheeks began to turn pink. "Still, how do we know it's safe?"

"That's the thing. We don't. The trend is that the higher we go, the more dangerous it gets." Rachel answered as they continued to climb the stairs.

"Then that means it'll just get more dangerous, huh?" The brown haired woman said in defeat.

"Yep. You can when the floors are just getting fun." Alice said as they continued. The farther up they went, the more they dissolved into idle chatter, talking about the previous five floors and what resided on them, as well as how they all met. As they kept talking, they slowly made their way up the stairs, seeing light after a while. When the four of them reached the top of the staircase, they were on a small platform surrounded by water with a few row boats tied to a wooden pole nearby. "It's just water."

"I'm shocked none of this splashed down." Perrine said as she looked out into the distance.

"Maybe it's calm here? Like the waves don't form as much." Zac added. As soon as he did, the other three just turned to him with a confused look. "Nevermind." He said in frustration.

"Still, it's about time we cooled off a little. Last time we got water that wasn't for drinking was on the third floor!" Rachel said as she slipped off her flip flops, leaving them on the previous step before putting her feet in the water. A sigh of relief left her lips as she wiggled her toes and spread them out, taking in the cool feeling of the water. Moments later, she felt an overwhelming tickling sensation all over every inch of her feet. Not only did it tickle her soles, arches, and toes, but it felt like someone was able to get between her toes effortlessly. "NAHAHAHAHAHA! BAHAHAHAHAD IDEHEHEHAHAHA! HEEHEHEHEHEHELP!" She laughed out while quickly pulling her feet out of the water.

"So swimming is out of the question." Alice said as she watched the redhead slowly crawl back to her flip flops and put them on while Perrine giggled at her misfortune.

"Wasn't swimming going to be out of the equation anyway? It doesn't look like there's any land anywhere near here." Perrine said as she looked off in the distance.

"We do have boats though." Zac said as he pointed to a few rowboats that were tied to a nearby wooden pole. "We can use these to explore."

"Guess that means I'm rowing." Alice said as she walked over to the black haired man.

"Hey! How come we can't row?!" Rachel yelled as she stood up.

"You want to be here for a while? I can easily row all four of us anywhere…..I think. Either way, I think I'll be better. Unless you three got a better idea."

"We could have Perrine use the water to move us around." Rachel said as the three of them turned to the brown haired woman.

"I would get tired after a bit. Probably best not to." Perrine said as she looked away nervously.

Alice sighed before getting on the boat, sitting right by the oars. The other three followed after her, making sure they weren't making the boat lean. Once they were settled, Perrine gently waved her wand, lifting the rope around the wooden pole that kept the boat close to the staircase. "And away we go." She said with a smile as Alice grabbed the oars and began rowing to the best of her ability.