Escape From Tickle Tower

39

Alice rushed at her brown haired opponent, clashing her sword against the metallic claws that he formed on his fingertips. Her opponent laughed at her, taking joy in their bout. “Is that all you got?” Shade shouted in enjoyment.

“I only need to go easy long enough for you to tell me where he is.” Alice said through gritted teeth.

“Awww. How caring. Too bad I ain't gonna tell.” Shade said with an evil smirk. Immediately after, he forced her sword away before kicking the older woman back. “So, you gonna die quietly, or should we take you back?” He asked as he pointed his claws at her.

The black haired woman fell to her knees due to the kick. Using her sword as a cane, she slowly forced herself to her feet. “How about the third option? The one where you die instead.” She responded as she got back into her fighting stance.

Shade only smiled as he put his hands up in a defensive stance. “How you faring over there?” He asked his blonde companion.

“Good enough.” Wind responded as she summoned more boulders out of the ground and shot them out at Perrine and Rachel. The boulders forced both of them back, letting the boulders shatter upon hitting the ground.

“Think you can handle one more?” Shade asked while dodging each slash that Alice threw his way.

The blonde woman rolled her eyes as she made more spikes out of the stone around her. “If I need to.” She said.

“Great. I'll leave them to you!” Shade said with a smile before dodging one last attack. Once he was safe, he threw his claws down. When they hit the ground, they grew until they hit the ceiling. With the makeshift bars separating him from the others, the brown haired man ran away.

“Hey! Get back here!” Alice yelled while slashing at the metallic bars. She managed to break them after a few tries. However, a large rock wall formed in front of her. Rachel and Perrine noticed more rock walls forming around them, trapping them in the makeshift arena.

All three of them focused on the blonde woman who was changing before their eyes. Her armor became Shorter, protecting everything above her stomach. Her leggings became nothing more than shorts while her shoes disappeared. All three of them could see a hairbrush marking on her stomach. However, between them and their opponent were three ginormous hair brushes made out of stone. “My time to play with you all.” She said with a smile.

The trio quickly separated just as the stones came crashing down on them. As soon as the hair brushes made contact with the floor, they broke apart into rubble. Before the three of them had a chance to shift their attention, Wind was already causing spikes to pop out of the floor, chasing after them. All three were forced to start running away from the spikes. “We won't make any progress like this!” Alice yelled to her two companions.

Perrine was the first to nod. She jumped into the air and pointed her wand away from Wind. Moments later, she was shot out towards her opponent. The sudden assault caused the blonde woman to halt her spike production. With one swift movement of her hands, she forced a wall between her and the magician.

Alice and Rachel took the opportunity to close the distance between them and their opponent. Meanwhile, Perrine turned around and outlined a circle with her wand. Moments later, part of the wall flew out in the shape of the circle. The brown haired magician landed on the other side. When she did, she saw a stone dome around where their opponent was. With the flick of her wand, the stone collapsed, revealing nothing underneath. “SHE’S NOT HERE!” Perrine yelled to her comrades.

Alice and Rachel immediately turned around to see Wind stepping out of a small stone encasement. The redhead was the first to dash at the blonde, swinging rapidly when she was close. Wind sidestepped most of the oncoming attacks. Rachel wasn't able to land a hit until her eight horizontal slash hit its mark. Wind jumped back, gritting her teeth before stomping her foot on the ground. As soon as she did, a rock pillar shot out of the ground and collided with Rachel’s chin. The redhead fell back in a daze, struggling to maintain balance.

Alice took the opportunity to chase after their opponent. As she did, Perrine entered the other part of the arena that everyone else was at. Alice swiftly slashed her blade, attempting to hit the blonde woman’s stomach. However, Wind would constantly dodge every attack coming her way. To make matters worse, her cut was quickly healing. With each step that wind took, a pillar would come out at the older woman, attempting to strike her.

The two continued their dance for a few seconds. However, Alice happened to be struck by one of the pillars, falling to the side. It was then that Perrine waved her wand. Stones immediately surrounded Wind's ankles, trapping her in place. Surprised, the blonde woman looked down at her trapped ankles. She looked back up, noticing that Perrine already landed in front of her. “Crap!” She said.

Perrine wasted no time grabbing onto Wind's stomach. Her thumbs were placed perfectly on the mark. With a small smile, the brown haired magician began rolling her thumbs into the blonde's belly. A smile forced its way onto Wind's face. She put her hands on Perrine's shoulder's while struggling to hold her giggles inside. “I remember how we beat Cleave.” Perrine told her victim, smiling as she did so.

Hearing Perrine caused Wind's eyes to widen. She pushed Perrine back, struggling to get the tickling thumbs away from her death spot. “D-dohohohon't hehehehe. I dohohohohon't wanna go!” She giggled out.

“Sorry.” Perrine said before speeding up her thumbs. They rolled into the mark, causing laughter to flow out of Wind's mouth. The thumbs rolled and tickled all over the mark, getting close to the belly button. And yet, Wind laughed and hit Perrine's back with her hands.

“PLEHEHEAHAHAHASE! STAHAHAHAHAP! STAHAHAHAHAP! I DOHOHOHOHON'T WANNA SUHUHUHUHURRENDER!” Wind laughed out. She tried desperately to step back or move away. However, the stone around her ankles kept her in place. Combined with the tickling, the blonde woman was stuck.

“You'll just need to surrender. That's all you gotta do.” Perrine said in a more monotone voice. She kept tickling while looking away. All she knew was that her opponent was laughing hysterically due to all the tickling.

As the minutes passed by, Wind's struggling became weaker and weaker. Tears began to form as the blonde woman was struggling to stand up. “P-PLEHEHEHAHAHASE! I SUHUHUHURRENDER!” Wind laughed out, unable to hold out anymore. Perrine’s eyes widened when she saw Wind's feet turning to stone. She stopped and pulled away, letting the blonde woman regain her breath. Wind looked out at the magician while regaining her breath. “You know.” She began in a more hushed tone. “I never wanted to be a part of this. But, it couldn't be helped.” She said as she looked down at her petrifying body. “Not like we could go against mother. She even gave me such a dumb name. Said something about deception.” She continued while looking down at her hands, which turned to stone before her eyes.

Perrine watched as the blonde woman looked back at her and gave her a small smile. “I guess. If I had to lose, I'm glad it was to a magician.” She said softly before the rest of her body turned to stone.

Moments later, cracks began to form. They continued throughout the body for a few seconds before turning to rubble before her eyes. The brown haired woman turned her attention to her knocked out party members. “I hope we can make it.” She said while her hold on her wand tightened.