A Warm Welcome to Burning Rescue! (TK)

Lio Fotia: Former Mad Burnish, newest member of Burning Rescue, and a beacon of hope. And yet, in spite of everything, he still can't help but feel unwelcome in a world that once saw him as someone to be feared. Never mind that a certain fire-fighting idiot and his inventor friend, along with the two flunkies who've remained the most loyal to him through thick and thin, are about to get a good laugh out of him - not to mention getting him to realize that there are people in his life who really do care about him. Perhaps his inner flame might not be dying out just yet...

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I figured I'd post a shipping fic to celebrate since I've been a little too busy with commission work to do any art for the occasion, but when I recalled what this month's public monthly Patreon reward release was going to be, the opportunity was just too good to pass up. :XD:

In preparation for my Patreon's monthly reward for August 2022, for which Lio was decided by subscriber vote to be the subject/ticklee, I took the time to rent and watch Promare, a film which I'd wanted to see for a while, and loved every single second of it. Seriously, I can't recommend this movie enough, partly because of its fantastic writing and worldbuilding and partly because of the amazing chemistry between its two lead characters, both of whom are handsome as hell to boot. When illustrating the scenario for the reward pic I ended up spinning the plot of an entire post-movie one-shot off of it, but a lot of other commitments at the time when I actually drew the reward pic prevented me from actually writing said story back then. Only now have I found the time to complete it, but I suppose letting it rest in the proverbial oven was probably for the best now that I'm in a slightly better place mentally.

While the original reward piece had Lio as the only ticklee, I simply couldn't stop myself from dragging the hunky, nigh-perpetually-shirtless Galo Thymos into the action (to say nothing of how I know a few friends who'd thank me for doing so), and after getting a look at Gueira and Meis in the film I just had to throw tickles of them in as well. That led to the fic becoming substantially longer than if I'd stuck to just Lio, but it certainly made for a heck of a finale with all four boys getting tickle-wrecked at once - not the easiest thing to pull off, but I believe I managed well enough here. In any case, I hope all of you Promare fans and tickle-lovers alike have enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing it!

Promare (c) Studio Trigger

DeviantArt crosspost: https://www.deviantart.com/skaeadaimonion/art/A-Warm-Welcome-to-Burning-Rescue-M-M-M-927503573

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DISCLAIMER: The following story contains MASSIVE spoilers for Promare and its ending especially. As such, it is recommended to watch the movie in full before reading any of it.

I do not own any of the characters featured in this story, but I do take responsibility for the plot and also the first illustration shown in it (aside from the opening screencap collection), which was created by myself as the monthly reward for August 2022 on my Patreon. The second illustration was created by @SirenMu as a commission for @SergeantD, who gave me permission to use it for this piece of writing, and the third and final illustration was commissioned by me from @NEX-EXE, and is used with their permission. A big thanks to everyone listed for their blessings and to the associates of mine who offered feedback throughout the production of this story!

A Warm Welcome to Burning Rescue!

(Based on characters from Promare by Studio Trigger)

**********

“Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.”

— Bruce Lee

How had it come to this? Was it destiny? Chance? Or something greater than either? In this day and age, the green-haired young man sprawled upon one of the couches at the Burning Rescue headquarters thought to himself, one could hardly tell.

Thirty years ago, for reasons seemingly unknown, a strange mutation had spontaneously appeared among certain members of humanity, giving them the ability to control fire and heat. These people, known as the Burnish, were soon branded as a destructive threat to the world at large against their wishes, and the ensuing chain of events had resulted in the Great World Blaze, a disaster that had wiped out half the human population. In the decades since, humanity would adjust to the Burnish, but still refused to accept them. In particular, a militia called the Mad Burnish became a cause for concern. As a result, the elite force called Burning Rescue was established to capture the Mad Burnish for the public good. In so many ways, however, things were not as they seemed.

Lio Fotia, the (now former) leader of the Mad Burnish, had been one of the second-generation Burnish, having developed his power at a young age. He was also one of the many witnesses to the treatment of his flame-wielding kin at it’s absolute worst, and that was arguably why he’d taken it upon himself to wage his crusade against the cruel and hateful world in the first place. Said crusade would eventually lead him to meet one of the most important members of Burning Rescue, Galo Thymos. That blue-haired idiot, bumbling though he was, would turn out to be absolutely critical in things changing for the better — not just for the Burnish, but for virtually everyone.

Lio’s gaze was unfocused and turned skyward as he thought back to all of this. He wasn’t sure how he’d ended up working for the very same rescue unit that opposed him and his cohorts just a few weeks ago; it had all happened so fast that he still couldn’t make sense of it. The events that had followed his first encounter with Galo had culminated in two shocking revelations. The first was that Kray Foresight, the founder of the Foresight Foundation that had funded Burning Rescue, was secretly using the captured Burnish to power a wormhole device to transport a small percentage of humanity away from Earth, believing the planet was doomed. The second was that the Burnish themselves had in fact become hosts for a species of parasitic energy being from another dimension, attuned to Earth’s core and responsible for their powers. Kray’s master plan would therefore have aggravated the Promare, as the beings were called, until they destroyed the planet entirely.

What had followed was quite possibly the most dramatic and terrifying day and night in both Lio’s life and all of Promepolis history. But at the center of it all was one person in particular who had proven instrumental in resolving the crisis. It had been Galo who had helped Lio calm down when the latter had let his Promare overtake him and go on a destructive rampage in search of Kray. The two of them had worked together to take down the evil executive and rallied the imprisoned Burnish to grant them the strength and will to power the mecha they’d discovered which had proved absolutely essential. The two of them together had come up with the idea to let all the Promare burn themselves out by consuming all they could, allowing them to return to their home world, which stopped the meltdown of Earth’s core at the cost of the Burnish losing their powers. But above all… Galo had saved Lio’s life that night. They had just escaped the core of Kray’s spaceship where the Burnish were held prisoner, but he was dying… until Galo had locked lips with him and transferred the energy of the Promare he had somehow acquired in a successful attempt to save him.

And now… somehow… for some reason… He wanted to experience the feeling of that kiss of life once again.

But was he worthy of it? Was he worthy of even being here, after all he had done as leader of the Mad Burnish?

Lio’s miserable reverie was interrupted by the entrance of four other people. Two of them were his dear friends, the scruffy-haired redhead Gueira and the long-haired blue-nette Meis, and they were accompanied at the moment by the slightly loony inventor of Burning Rescue, Lucia Fex, with her twin blonde buns and white labcoat.

“Hey Boss,” Gueira said with a cheerful wave. “Ya holdin’ up okay?”

Lio thought about it for a second or two, before he sighed. “Honestly, I don’t feel alright. Thanks for asking, though.”

“We’re real worried about ya, mate,” replied Meis. “You’ve been in quite the funk since we got here. What’s wrong with this cushy new job helping fix what got broken that one time?”

“Yeah, you’re supposed t’ be on cleanup duty with th’ rest of us,” said Gueira. “But all you’ve been doin’ outside o’ that has been mopin’ around without doin’ much. Seriously, what gives?”

The fourth and final person who had entered the room, bringing up the rear, was Remi Ardebit, the task force’s green-haired lieutenant, and it was he who answered. “You two better drop it pretty quick. Lio still hasn’t finished his training yet. Which he hasn’t. Heck, for all the hype last month, he hasn’t even done well in it at all.”

“And yet ya considered the two of us ready after a week or two?” Meis asked in disbelief.

“I thought all three of you did a decent job, personally,” Lucia commented, her pet rat Vinny perched on her shoulder and giving Lio a look as though he was feeling sorry for him.

Lio looked at each of the four in turn, before flopping listlessly on the sofa again. “I don’t know what’s come over me, really. I’m probably just tired, that’s all. When you’ve lived for so long with a pyrokinetic alien possessing your body, there’s no telling what can go wrong when it’s gone.”

Gueira and Meis exchanged uncomfortable glances. They too had lost their own Promare to help save the planet, and until recently, they’d had no idea what to do. It was lucky that as thanks for their help, Burning Rescue had offered the three of them a job closely associated with the humanitarian efforts in the wake of Kray’s destructive actions and the burning of the world by the Promare. Lio’s subordinates had been thrilled with this and relieved that they’d gotten off without too much trouble — but Lio himself seemed to be taking everything especially hard. Was his being tired a mere excuse to avoid everyone and be left to his growing angst over his past behavior?

Remi certainly seemed to think so. “Either way, house rules are house rules,” he replied bitterly. “You need to complete the training needed to join the recovery effort, and you can’t exactly do that while slumped over the couch like a wet sock.”

Lio groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s not like you guys actually want me to be out there helping everyone, though. You haven’t asked me to join you, only to train. Were you being serious when you told me I wasn’t prepared for the kind of work you do, or did you really think the former leader of the Mad Burnish was just that terrible for your branding image?”

Remi scoffed, making the others wince and discreetly back away. “Both,” he replied sourly. “I know, I know, you and Galo did a great job back then, but here’s the thing: people still aren’t used to, well, you. Captain Ignis outright stated that you shouldn’t be seen in public until all the legal crap regarding your criminal sentence is properly settled.”

Lio’s response was immediate, but Remi’s reaction time was even quicker. The lieutenant moved his head aside just in time for a black leather shoe to pass an inch from his ear, smacking into the opposite wall before clattering to the floor.

Now with one foot bare, Lio glared daggers at the person he’d just kicked his footwear at. “Are you kidding me?! I’m supposed to be out there making a difference like the rest of you! In what dimension is this fair?!”

“The dimension where you nearly burned down Promepolis,” Remi replied. “Much as Kray deserved everything that came to him, you shouldn’t act like you’re completely blameless. So much as I hate to say this, you’re staying put until you actually pass your training program. Again, house rules.”

Lio groaned and pressed both palms to his face. “Just my luck. I’ve been shat upon throughout my entire life just for being a Burnish, and now no one’s ever going to let me live that down. Don’t you have anything better to do than rubbing it in my face, too?”

“Who’s face? Rubbin’ what?” a voice asked from the doorway. A fifth person had joined them, and who would’ve guessed — it was that handsome, blue-haired buffoon Lio just couldn’t stop thinking about for some strange reason.

“It’s nothing, Galo,” Remi muttered, though he certainly didn’t sound like it. “I’ll leave you three to it — I need to take Gueira and Meis out for their latest cleanup. Something about a building collapse a few blocks east of here. Ignis, Varys, and Aina are handling a mess to the south this afternoon, and likely won’t be back until tomorrow, so it’s just Lucia in charge of you two. Try not to destroy the place before we get back, okay?”

Lio refused to even look her in the eye. “No promises there. Yet.”

“Sorry, Boss,” Gueira muttered apologetically. “Wish we could help somehow. More than we have, anyway.”

“Yeah, best we can do is provide emotional support, but that probably ain’t enough for ya, mate,” added Meis. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t try!”

“Wait, what happened?” Galo asked, blinking a few times. “I spaced out a bit and missed it—”

“I’ll explain later,” Remi replied as he turned to leave. “For now, though, be nice to Lucia while I’m gone, alright? If you aren’t, I bet I’ll have to use a mop to clean up what’ll be left of you both. Come on, you two.”

Galo gave his superior a shocked look as the green-haired man and his new trainees passed him by and left. “The hell? I just got back here and you’re gonna be rude to us like that? Remi? REMI, COME BACK!!”

“Leave him for now,” Lucia replied as she sat down on the floor in front of the sofa Lio was on. “He’s been in a tizzy since, well, everything. All that cleanup stuff’s been leaving him with like what, four hours of sleep a night? Poor guy’s gonna earn himself a hospital trip soon if he keeps this up.”

Lio said nothing, instead opting to just lie there and wallow in his newfound misery. Galo, for his part, was totally confused, and decided not to ask any more questions about the newest recruits.

“Anyway, I’ve been making a few adjustments to the Galo de Lion,” Lucia said in a chipper tone as she pulled up a tablet. “Care to see? There’s a few new additions to the cockpit in particular…”

As Galo eagerly sat next to Lucia to listen to her latest ideas, Lio decided instead to tune her out, rolling over onto his stomach and pressing his face into the cushions. He should’ve known — this wasn’t training, this was a goddamn house arrest. Was he really going to be respected for once in his life, after all he’d done and been through to make the world better for those who’d had the same condition he did?

There really was no point in being here if he was going to be all but locked up, or at the very least regarded as unwelcome, only being kept around so nobody else would have to deal with him.

He might as well have been encased in the ice produced by the Absolute Zero Bullet he’d once taken to the chest, for all he knew or cared. Only this time, there was no emotional fire to melt the icy feeling of total helplessness enveloping him from the inside. Truly, being stuck here with nothing to do, and especially no way to help those truly in need like he wanted so much, was a fate worse than death for poor Lio.

Grumbling wordlessly to himself, the ex-Burnish wiggled his bare foot idly as he tried to get some much-needed shut-eye. He was unaware, however, that he was being watched.

Having snuck off of Lucia’s shoulder, Vinny perched on the arm of the sofa, observing the moping green-head. He seemed to want to comfort the boy in his own way, but he’d have to make it over to him first.

Lio’s foot eventually settled into a position such that his toes were planted on the couch cushion, pointing forward so his sole was stretched tight. Since his other leg was dangling over the edge of the sofa, the bare size nine was this nearest to Vinny. This wouldn’t be an easy climb, but the rat had to at least try.

Silently jumping down onto the cushion and stealing over to Lio, Vinny sniffed a little at the sole before him before wincing a bit at the whiff of his shoe. Then he started to climb, or at least attempted to — the smoothness of his sole was causing his tiny, blunt claws to slip. Still he attempted to scale the hill of skin, unaware of the effect he was having on the very person he was trying to reach.

Lio shifted a bit in his position, a faint giggle escaping his lips. Turning his head, he tried to scowl at Lucia, who was nearest to him, but the corners of his mouth were turned up in a smile. She’d definitely fail to take him seriously. Whomever was scritching at his sole, he’d just have to tough it out for now.

“Mmhmmhhh… Heheheh… C-cut it ohohout…!” he muttered, trying to wiggle his heel away uselessly before pushing at the cushion with his toes. All this succeeded at was angling his sole in a way that Vinny was able to climb onto it entirely, but the depth of his arch now made it difficult for the little rodent to reach the summit of his heel. This left his incredibly sensitive plantar arch at the mercy of all four of Vinny’s paws. Lio could practically feel his situation worsening as the rat continues to struggle his way up his taut sole.

“Fffhehhehhehhehh hhhhh gehehet away from theheheherrre! Ghhhhgghhhhhnnnn… N-no, I won’t, I shouldn’t—!!”

“Shouldn’t what?” Galo asked from Lucia’s other side. “You okay, Lio? What’d I do?”

Fed up with the game, Lio kicked his leg again, unwittingly sending the rodent flying clear across the room. He sat bolt upright and whipped round to point at Galo. “I was trying to get some rest, just this once, but you’ve kept scratching at my foot for no damn reason! Idiot! I’m not in the mood for your games, so just leave me alone!!”

Galo raises his hands in shocked protest. “I didn’t do anything! I’ve been talkin’ to Lucia this whole time!”

“Can confirm,” the inventor added. Then a thought occurred to her. “Wait a sec, where’s Vinny?”

A small squeak from the other side of the room answered. Still dazed from the hard landing but none the worse for wear, Vinny half-scurried, half-stumbled back over to the group, his fur looking frazzled in the most incriminating way.

“Oh dear, how’d you get over there while I wasn’t looking?” Lucia asked, before Lio gasped in surprise and regret.

“Ah, so it was you… I must’ve kicked you by accident. I’m sorry. Was that you climbing onto my foot a moment ago, then?”

The rat gave another squeak of total confusion, but Lio guessed at that moment that he certainly didn’t mean to do what he did. Instead, he hurried into Lucia’s outstretched, waiting hand, before curling up into a tiny, furry ball and hoping there’d be no further reprisal.

Galo, meanwhile, had a thoughtful expression all of a sudden. Without Lio noticing, he tapped Lucia on the shoulder and, once he’d gotten her attention, whispered something into her ear that made her eyes widen, and then narrow, a devilish grin on the faces of both of them.

Then Galo turned his head to look at Lio with a bright smile on his face. “I dunno who it was who got you good, but that ain’t important. You still need to do your trainin’, so how about I coach you for a session right now? Come on, it’ll be fun!”

Lio stared at him, completely dumbfounded. “You, training me? I… Uh… What kind of person do you take me as?!”

“Hey now, don’t be mad! I’ve been with Burning Rescue for longer than you have, so of course I know a thing or two. You’ll be fine, don’t worry!”

Lio gaped at him, before rubbing his eyes in disbelief. So often did Galo take the bombastic, impulsive, and often short-sighted approach to, well, absolutely everything, that when he made a legitimate point, it was honestly pretty scary.

“So, there’s no backing out of this, is there?” Lio asked, his tone already sounding just a little weary.

Lucia stood up, her pet rat now sitting on her shoulder once again. Neither of the other two had noticed the scheming smirk that had briefly crossed her face when she’d heard of what Vinny had done. “You do need to actually finish the training, too,” she replied. “We’ve got you covered — there’s a new installment in the training room if you wanna check it out! Care to come with me?”

Lio sighed in grim anticipation. “Alright, alright. Just let me get my other shoe, and then you can lead the way. So, what is this new installment you’re talking about?”

Lucia flashed a broad smile, her glasses almost shining. “I call it…”

*****

“…the Galo De Lion Virtual Combat Simulator!” Lucia finished proudly, waving a hand towards the large pod-like thing sitting in the back of the training room. “So, to recap, it can simulate any situation your mech can get itself into, both great and, well, not-so-great. I studied the cockpit of the actual mecha so I could get the replica to look exactly like the real deal, and I feel like I succeeded. But of course, someone still needs to test it, right?” she added, leaning towards Lio with a knowing smirk and wink.

Lio gave her a look of understandable confusion. “I’m not sure why you’d want me to test it, though. I don’t have any more pyrokinesis to speak of, so I certainly can’t power the machine.”

“Already taken care of,” Lucia replied with a smile. “Your job is to man the weapons control panel and make sure all defense systems are read when the need to be. Galo, care to oversee the test while I run a couple o’ calcs way in the back?”

“Oh yeah, way ahead o’ ya!” Galo replied with a grin. “Shall we get ourselves ready?”

“I don’t suppose why not,” said Lio, though he was still slightly hesitant. “Are you coming?”

“Nah, I’m stayin’ outside t’ watch the mech from the outside in case somethin’ goes wrong. Lucia did set the thing to autopilot for the simulation you’re up against, so no need t’ worry about my performance. Just make sure all the guns blaze like there’s no tomorrow without blowin’ us up, okay?”

Lio raised an eyebrow. “I’d have thought you were the one who’d be more likely to blow us up, but if you insist...”

“Oh, and Lucia said for you to take your shoes off for this one. Wouldn’t wanna slip on the floor while in the middle of a fight now, won’tcha?”

Lio pursed his lips a little, his magenta eyes narrowing in obvious suspicion. Galo certainly hadn’t asked him to remove his footwear when they’d brought the Galo De Lion, then called the Deus X Machina, up against Kray’s own mecha, the Parnassus. He ultimately decided not to argue against Galo’s reasoning, which was surprisingly sound in this case — though he did have to admit that it took considerable restraint to stop himself remarking that a broken clock is right twice a day. Lucia would no doubt have had his head on a pole for that one.

A few minutes later, Lio stepped barefooted into the simulator, taking his position at the rear control station where, the first time around, he’d volunteered as the conduit for the power of the real deal. Upon reaching his position, he noticed two things: first, a pair of protrusions from the floor right in front of the control panel with slots or long holes on the front of each of them, and second, a body harness dangling from two cables affixed to the ceiling.

“Let me guess,” he muttered to himself more than anyone else. “This will all become clearer soon enough.”

“Indeed, it will!” Galo’s voice responded from a speaker on the control panel, startling the former Burnish. “But for now, let’s just say it’s t’ keep ya secure. So just slip your toes into those slots on the floor an’ strap the harness over your upper body.”

Lio complied, though he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of suspicion upon noting how, once he fit his toes into the slots, they seemed to hold them in an iron grip when he tried to pull them back out. The fact that he had to stretch up on tiptoe to reach the harness and pull it over his chest to secure it was even more disconcerting. Was there any specific reason for him to be practically suspended from the ceiling with only his toes touching the floor?

“Alright, what sim didja have in mind?” Galo asked over the speaker, presumably to Lucia since she was also manning the training sim from the outside.

“Hmm... You know what, methinks a classic giant octopus sounds good right about now,” the technician replied from elsewhere in the room. “Ready, Lio?”

The green-head nodded, trying to look as dignified as he could despite his less-than-compromising current position. “Ready.”

As if on cue, the HD screen taking the place of the windshield flickered to life, showcasing a startlingly photorealistic CGI imitation of the city of Promepolis. Lio had to give it to Lucia, the girl was a virtuoso when it came to anything technical. He wasn’t familiar with those things people were said to have watched a lot before the Great World Blaze — movies, were they? — but perhaps this was comparable to some of the better ones.

“Alrighty, then,” Lucia’s voice came from the speaker. “Let’s get this party started!!”

Before Lio’s eyes, the simulation suddenly came to life. The waters of the bay at the edge of the city churned white with roiling foam, and then a great orange creature erupted forth from the deep. Bulging yellow eyes with horizontal pupils peered from short stalks just below what appeared to be a huge, bulbous head, and sucker-lined arms rippled like ocean waves as the creature hauled itself out of the surging tides and began clambering onto the nearest suspension bridge, its arms wrapping around whatever was within reach.

“Wait, you said it was an octopus, right?” Lio asked as he noted the viewpoint in the simulation moving of its own accord, as if Galo was piloting the mecha alongside him. “It seems like it’s got six arms, not eight.”

“Eh, couldn’t set aside enough hard drive memory to simulate them all,” Lucia admitted. “Just imagine the other two are hidden by the rest of it.”

As the simulation moved nearer and nearer to the virtual foe, the beast responded by hauling itself up onto the road pathway of the bridge, before slithering closer. Lio worked his control panel with professional precision, and began unleashing a hail of computer-rendered bullets at the creature, causing it to recoil for a few precious seconds.

Outside the testing machine, Galo and Lucia exchanged knowing looks, with Vinny off to the latter’s side and looking as carefree as ever while he helped himself to a chocolate bar. It seemed the rodent was going to sit this one out, but no matter. The real fun was about to start, and he technically didn’t need to be involved — Lucia had, however, previously stated that he might as well watch anyway to see how far this was going to go.

Silently, Galo nodded. Lucia nodded back, and promptly started fiddling with her own control panel.

Inside the simulation, the octopus was giving as good as it was getting. Despite being bombarded by missiles and mortars, the colossal cephalopod had still managed to weather them all, and was now wrapping its tentacles around the limbs of the Galo De Leon.

Looking for all the world like the visual definition of concentration, Lio was about to activate the maneuver that would send the VR beast flying off of him. So focused was he that he almost never heard two simultaneous, quiet whirring noises as two slots on the floor opened up behind his bare feet. Rising out of them, unseen by the erstwhile test subject, came a pair of mechanical arms with spinning circular brushes upon them, and just as the simulated octopus began coiling its arms around where the legs of the mecha would be, they reached up and out of the floor, their brushes already spinning, before pressing said high-speed implements directly into the centers of his immobile, stretched soles.

“AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!” Lio’s eyes widened to their absolute limit as an undignified SCREAM escaped his lips. Vinny’s claws scratching at his foot had been manageable enough with some effort, but the sensation of so many wiry, purple-colored bristles assaulting the hollows of his taut arches was much, much worse. By all accounts, he surmised, the mecha shouldn’t be able to feel anything at all, let alone transfer the touch of whatever it came into contact with to it’s pilot. This could mean only one thing.

“LUCIAAAHAHAHAHHAH! WHAT DID YOU DOHOHHOHOHOHOHOO?!” Lio shrieked, twisting and thrashing this way and that as he tried to turn his head around to find out what was tickling him. The roar of the virtual octopus forced him to return his attention to the training exercise, but with the maddening feelings upon his soles continuing, his focus had been severely diverted.

“Oh, I... maaaaay have made a few adjustments to the simulator while it was under construction. We figured it’d make things a little more challenging, just for the heck of it. Distractions like what you’re going through will definitely make your work out there a whole lot tougher!”

Still laughing helplessly and struggling to locate the interface elements on the control panel to blast the tentacled terror off of him — well, in the simulation, anyway — Lio couldn’t help but agree.

It took all his willpower to regain his concentration, but after a minute of laughing and hitting more than half the controller interface elements at random, he finally managed to activate the new thermal shield function, enveloping the screen in teal-hued flames that caused the simulated octopus to recoil and slide off of the machine. Despite all six tentacles no longer being in contact with his virtual vehicle, though, Lio quickly discovered that the sensation of those unseen bristles tormenting his arches hadn’t left at all. In fact, with nothing else to focus on at that precise instant, the cumulative effect of the nervous shock every little stroke was producing only seemed to redouble.

The two simulated adversaries regrouped, heedless of Lio’s cackling, cursing, and screaming. It was clear that if this kept up, he’d slip up just enough for the sea monster to take him apart like the world’s biggest, squishiest can opener. How could things possibly get any worse for him?

As if to answer that question, Galo just had to speak up at that precise moment. “Alright, looks like the first stage of testing is goin’ smooth! How ‘bout we take it up to Phase Two?”

Lio began to panic at this, but before he could protest, the digital octopus had lunged at him once again, presumably binding the legs of the nonexistent mecha he was supposed to be piloting. One of the spinning brushes retreated from his right foot, sinking back into its slot, only to rise back out of the other hole in the floor, and as the one still in contact with his sole moved upward so it was now scrubbing the join between his arch and his heel, the second closed in on where the arch met the ball of the foot, resulting in two brushes attacking that sole at the same time.

“GAAAAHHHHAHHHAHHAHHHAHAHHAHHH!!” Lio screeched, desperately trying to free his toes to kick the brushes off, but the restraints held firm. “THAT’S ENOHOHOUGH! C-CALL THEHEHESE THINGS OFF AT OHOHOHONCE!”

“You’re still not done with the training exercise, though!” Lucia replied, pressing another button on her own console. “Hold tight, you can do it!”

“LIHIHIHIAHAHAHAHARRR!”

A few seconds later, another set of mechanical arms, this time with a narrower set of stationary brushes but with longer, turquoise-colored fibers — like the kind used in painting, except bigger — emerged just behind Lio’s right foot. Right before he could get back into focus as best he could, the second pair of brushes had started making rapid strokes upon the stretched-out canvas before them.

It was fortunate that the three of them were the only ones in the headquarters, since Lio’s laughter grew so loud by that point that more than a few members of Burning Rescue would never let him hear the end of it had they overheard and investigated the noise. The way the pitch of his voice had shot up several octaves at the same time that it was almost unrecognizable. If Galo and Lucia hadn’t been aware of just who exactly was chortling in the cockpit, they silently agreed, they’d have surely called security on what might well have been a home invasion by a total stranger who’d been unfortunate enough to get himself caught in the testing machine.

“YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WH-WHAT MADNESS IS THIHIHIS?!” Lio shrieked, squirming in place as the brushes continued their work. “WHY WASN’T I BRIEHEHEHEFED ON T-THIS PART OF THE TRAINIHIHIIING?!”

“Hey now, you're doing great so far!” From his place at the control panel, Galo gave his trainee two thumbs up. “Lucia did say you'd have to deal with surprises while out on the job, so what's wrong with having you be ready to deal with ‘em?”

“YOU IDIOT, THAHAHAT’S JUST AN EXCUSEHEHEHE!” came the hysterical reply from inside the simulator. “ABORT! ABORT! MAKE IT STOHOHOP! PLEEHEHEASE MAKE IT STAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHHP!!”

From her position at the external controls, Lucia had to suppress a chuckle, half rueful and half mischievous. The unfortunate truth was that for some reason, there was no way she could deactivate the arm-mounted brushes within the training device once she’d set them in motion — she’d have to debug that next time she looked into the code of the damn thing — and the only way to turn them off was to turn off the entire machine. And of course, despite his frantic calls to shut off the simulation, she suspected that in his stubborn pride, he wouldn’t have actually wanted that until the training exercise was complete. So until then, he was good and stuck, doomed to suffer from a merciless tickle attack bent on driving him to utter distraction.

Perhaps fortunately for Lio, the simulation didn’t last for much longer after the second set of brushes came in — desperately fiddling around trying to find out how to activate the thermal shield once again, he ended up pressing a suspicious-looking big red dot on the control panel by mistake. The lights of the cockpit began flashing red, and as his movements became more and more frantic — partly because of the tickling all along his arches, and partly because of his panic over the cumulative screw-ups he’d racked up from the start of the experiment — a voice from the speakers inside the simulator blared out: “WARNING: SELF-DESTRUCT MECHANISM ACTIVATED.”

“WHO DESIGNED THIS NEW CONTROL PAHAHAHANEL?!” Lio shrieked through his laughter. “AAIIIEEEEEHEHEHHEHEHEHEAHHAHAH! LUCIAHAHAHAHAHA! GALOOOHOHOHOHO! HOW DO I TURN THIS STUPID THING OHOHOHOFFFF?!”

“I don’t know,” Lucia muttered under her breath. “I didn’t think we’d get this far.”

Lio continued trying to press all the buttons he could, making a mental note to give Lucia a piece of his mind as soon as he was out of the simulator. Just as he feared, however, none of the other buttons were of any help. It was when the speakers went, “AUXILIARY STIMULATORS ACTIVATED”, followed by two more mechanical arms with gloves emerging from the walls of the cockpit, that Lio realized it was hopeless.

“NO! NO NO NOOOOHOHOHOHOHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH GET AWAY FROM MY RIHIHIHIBSSSS HAHAHHAHAHAH OHOHOHH SHIHIHIHIHIHIHITTTT EHEHEHAHAHHAHAHAHAH! TURN IT OFF, TURN IT OFF, TURN IT OHOHOHOFFFF!!”

From outside the simulator, Galo had a look of concern on his face. “Should we be worried?”

“He’ll be fine,” Lucia replied as she checked the monitor on her own console. “I think he’s just about done with this in every sense of the term…”

Just as the octopus monster on the screen slithered up the front of the mech, its beak opening wide and lunging at the cockpit, the screen and lights went out with a repeated mechanical declaration of “SIMULATION TERMINATED”. All the brushes along with the gloves slowed to a stop, the arms slumping away from their victim as he remained there for a few moments, still gasping for breath, before finally letting his forehead thunk against the control panel in defeat.

It was a few long minutes before he managed to carefully slide his toes back out of their receptacles on the floor as well as un-clip the harness, putting his feet down as gingerly as he could with each step out of the simulator. The other two were still at their respective positions in front of the consoles outside the machine, sharing a hearty laugh which was surely at his expense.

“Well, that was a bust,” Lucia said with a snort of amusement. “Oh well. Better luck next time, Lio…”

“NO! There will not be a next time! If you’re seriously asking me to do anything like that again, forget it. Whatever I’ll be facing out there, it’s a serious matter, and I have no patience for whatever the hell that was all about!” Lio leveled a fearsome glare at Lucia in particular. “You were the one who put those tickle implements in the testing simulator, weren’t you? I should tell Ignis about what you’ve been doing—”

“She may have done that, yes,” Galo admitted. “But those were actually meant for me. Puttin’ you in that sim machine was my idea, and I had a reason for it.”

Lio sputtered incoherently for a few seconds, his eyes bulging in outrage. “You — YOU—”

“At least ask me this, Lio. What were you doin’ before I came in?”

Lio had to stop himself and count to ten, still panting hard from both his outburst and the recent tickle attack, before he could think about it clearly enough. “…honestly, nothing at all. And I do mean nothing. I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere, and all I could do was train… but there really wasn’t anything I could do for even that, given that I’d passed all the previous training exercises before this one. I just felt like… like there wasn’t any meaning in all of this.” He glowered at Galo again. “But what does that have to do with what you put me through?”

Galo smiled warmly. “I think I know what got to ya when you were lyin’ on the couch. It was kinda like how I felt when Kray turned out to be, well, that. My purpose, my meaning, all of it had gone. And I have a feelin’ that when you weren’t allowed to be out doin’ stuff with the rest of us ‘cuz everyone was still mad at you, it was something like that. Not as much, sure, but still. That must’ve got to you real bad, and you couldn’t stop thinkin’ about it… until it overwhelmed you and left you too sad to do much at all. I had to get ya to do something besides feelin’ sorry for yourself, and this was the best I could think of. Uh… no hard feelings, right?” he added sheepishly, cringing at the inevitable rapport.

Lio thought about it for a second. “If I was sad before, I don’t feel sad now. I’m angry with you for what you pulled, idiot. And mark my words, I’m going to get back at you for this when you least expect it.”

To his credit, Galo wasn’t phased at all by the threat — in fact, he grinned even more broadly, his shoulders slumping in probable relief that Lio was back to his usual, outwardly cool yet inwardly passionate self. “That still counts as having me in your thoughts, though,” he replied with a laugh. “And hey, that’s better than nothing, right?”

Lio’s eyes widened until they were round as dinner plates, his indignance over the prank Galo had pulled on him being overridden in an instant by complete and utter shock as those last two statements sank in… along with the implication they carried.

He knew.

“Anyway, I gotta take a nap, seein’ as there’s probably gonna be some late-night work we’re gonna get dragged off to soon,” Galo said casually, stretching and exposing his smooth, slightly sweaty armpits for one brief moment. “Lemme know when the others get back. I’m sure you two can handle things while I’m out, right?”

The others nodded in assent, still too stunned by Galo’s surprisingly astute analysis of the green-head’s emotional state to respond. It wasn’t until the blue-haired man had left the room when Lio spoke up again, deciding not to address the obvious conversational topic for now.

“Did… Did you know I was ticklish before today?”

Lucia shook her head. “Nah. And Galo was right. The stuff I put in the simulator really was meant for him, and there’s a lot more where that came from. But I’ve wanted to put him through the tickle machines I’ve been developing for a long, long time. I honestly didn’t think you’d be the first to try them!”

Lio grumbled to himself wordlessly for a few moments, before turning back to her. “The toe restraints were calibrated to me specifically, though—”

“They’re adjustable. I could set them to Galo’s foot size with just one input command. Same with the brushes, gloves, harness…”

Lio nodded, though he still looked a bit skeptical. “So, it wasn’t until Vinny crawled onto my foot that you learned of how ticklish it was?”

“You can say that.” She chuckled. “So, I guess you could say he… ratted you out?”

Lio gaped, and then glared at her. “…No. Don’t ever do that again.”

“What? I saw an opportunity, and I seized it.”

Lio rolled his eyes. Leave it to Lucia to exploit an opening that good. But then a thought occurred to him, and he chuckled a bit. “Speaking of opportunities, though, I was wondering if you could help me find one of my own.”

“Oh? I’m listening.” The techie rubbed her hands together excitedly. “Didja have anything specific in mind?”

“Actually, just one thing.” Lio paused in thought, and then smirked mischievously. “Would you like to help me get some revenge on Galo?”

*****

Later that day…

The past few days had admittedly been quite exhausting for Galo — not that he’d lost his passion and drive for saving lives and helping those in need, but there were times when it seemed like his body couldn’t quite keep up. Ignis had commented more than once that he was worried Galo would pull something, or even get himself hospitalized due to his heart giving out from sheer exertion. Galo hadn’t really thought much of those remarks at the time, but after the fall of Kray and the beginning of the global cleanup effort in his wake, Ignis had to put his foot down and limit the hours Galo had for do-gooding.

Taking some of the load off of the shoulders of Burning Rescue’s long-runners was in fact half of why Ignis had recruited Lio and his two flunkies, the other half being that they needed some way to work off the debt they owed to the world for their previous actions as Burnish. He thought there had probably been a couple of mishandlings in this respect, especially given that Lio had not been allowed to show his face half the time with all sorts of excuses on Ignis and Remi’s part, but the other two had taken to their new lot in life quite well, all things considered.

That being said, all Galo had wanted was for Lio to know that someone was looking out for him, and in retrospect, pranking him with a training exercise designed specifically to mess with him might not have been the best way of pulling that off. He’d have to apologize to Lio for it later, he’d mused as soon as he’d left — no doubt the green-haired boy wasn’t in the mood for talking with him right after what had happened.

He’d cross that bridge next time he saw him again, he promised himself. But first things first, he figured a few hours’ rest couldn’t hurt…

Galo had passed out on the couch as soon as he’d reached it, his arms behind his head like a makeshift pillow and his boots lying arbitrarily on the floor. A bubble coming out of his nostril shrank and expanded repeatedly as he slept, the lounge room being privy to the sound of his quiet snoring.

He really did need a vacation, apparently. In his dream, he was relaxing on a sunny, tropical beach, the kind he’d read about in some of the brochures the team occasionally received in the mail — thanks to the second scorching of the world, and possibly the first, he was quite sure the advertisements were no longer reflective of real life, and from what he’d heard from some, probably never were. But hey, a man could dream, couldn’t he?

In the waking world, the sleeping Galo never noticed two figures entering the room, almost immediately noticing the meaty size fourteens which were propped up on the leg of the sofa. Whatever discussion they were having before this moment went silent once they took notice of the shirtless, barefooted man lying unconscious before them.

“Should we, uh, wake him up, mate?” Meis asked, looking a little uneasy. “Pretty sure he needs his nap given how much he’s been working…”

Gueira chuckled, patting his friend’s shoulder. “Are ya kiddin’ me? This is an opportunity! Aina told me she woke him up in that specific way quite a lot back then, and still does every so often. I ain’t gonna pass up the chance to try it myself, and if ya were in my shoes, I’m sure ya’d say the same!”

Meis looked a little discomfited at this, wanting his friend to see sense for once. To tell the truth, the rather uncomfortable yet undeniable truth, he was actually rather drawn to Gueira, both his looks and his personality. Despite having to rein in the redhead’s devil-may-care attitude and fierce temper, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of gratitude and affection for his constant companion. Not only had Gueira’s encouragement helped him through a lot of emotional barriers in his life, but he himself had discovered how much of a positive influence he was on Gueira. It was almost as if the two had been made for each other, and it was truly little wonder that they were virtually never seen apart.

Had it not been for the blue-nette’s ability to keep his friend in line most of the time, things would’ve been drastically different for the two… probably with a whole lot more property damage and terrified screams involved. All the same, Meis just couldn’t help but think that the two were destined to be together, but the main problem was that he had difficulty outright saying it. What would Gueira think? Would he laugh it off and hurt him unintentionally? Would he tell his friend that he thought of them as being more like siblings? It was selfish and stupid, he knew, but he honestly didn’t want to find out, for there was a non-zero chance that the answers he got might not be the ones he wanted to hear. So for the time being, and likely forevermore, the best he could do was, again, prevent Gueira from going out of control. At the very least, even if he couldn’t have him as a significant other, then protecting his well-being would have to do.

“But what’s Boss gonna think if he catches us doin’ this? He’ll kill us for sure! Can’t ya see he’s got a—”

“Hey now, I ain’t gonna take long. Just gotta make sure he’s all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed once Captain Ignis gets home. Come on, Meis? Pleeeease?”

One look at those eager, dewy eyes, looking endearing and almost tearful, and the blue-nette folded like soggy toast. “Sheesh, mate, don’t do that! You know I can’t resist! But fine, I’ll help. Just don’t take too long, okay?”

“I won’t,” Gueira responded with a teasing wink. “But I might as well enjoy it while I can.”

Galo’s dream, with the sound of the waves and seabirds and rustling palms for maximum immersion, kept him from noticing anything that was happening in the waking world. So it was with a reaction of total surprise when he felt tentacles wrapping around his wrists and ankles, gently pulling him into a stretched-out position with his arms over his head, his bare upper body and big feet exposed and vulnerable.

He twisted his head around and let out a yell of shock — for there, at least in his imagination, was an orange sea creature with bulging yellow eyes and yes, eight sucker-lined arms, not six.

That simulation must’ve stuck in his mind more than he’d thought, he mused. Although it had been Lio getting the brunt of the sole-scrubbing torment at the time, he couldn’t help but want the octopus to catch him too in a ticklish embrace. If he couldn’t have that in the simulator, his dreams would do quite nicely as the next best thing.

“Noooo! Oh noooOOOOHOHOHOHHAHAHAHAHHAHAH!” he yelled in his dream as, with two of its arms binding his arms and legs, the octopus brought its other six tentacles to bear. Twisting and bucking in place, he swooned and strained and screamed as an assault of stroking and suction met his pits, ribs, and soles, the caresses of all those rubbery, slimy limbs at once gentle and torturous.

“YAHAHAHAHAHAH NAHAHAHAHT THE PIIIITTTSSSS HHEHEHEHHEHEHE EEEEK MY RIHIHIHIBS!!” Galo bellowed, thrashing in the tentacled figment’s grip. “AHAHAHHAHA TOOOES HAHAHAH OH GAHAHAHAHADD EEEEEP STOP SQUEEZING MY WAHAHAHAIAIIIST HEHEHH HEHEHEELP!!”

“Oh wow, he really is quite the squirmer even when you get ‘im while he’s asleep, huh?” the octopus said in a rather familiar voice — something like Gueira’s, perhaps. “And his laugh is soooo cute! I just wanna tickle him even harder!”

Galo continued screaming with laughter inside his dream, the octopus wiggling its arms into whatever ticklish nooks and crannies it could reach. Tentacle tips prodded and poked at his ribs and nipples. Suckers delivered slimy kisses up and down his arches and between his toes. Flexible appendages caressed the hollows of his pits, and the especially soft and tender regions girdling his slender waist. Even his neck and ears weren’t spared, an arm poking or wiggling its end into either side of his throat, or either ear, every once in a while. Despite his begging for mercy, though, he honestly didn’t mind the affection — it really did provide quite a rush, and after all, he had enjoyed more than a few good laughs on a fairly regular basis. What was the harm in one more?

Lifting him bodily into the air, the octopus was now giving him no purchase upon the ground to push himself away, but his twisting and turning in its grip was causing it to loosen… especially once a couple of teasing tentacles began winding their way towards the small of his back.

“HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHH! OHHHH SHIHIHIHIHIHIEHEHHEHEHIIHIHIHTTT HHAHAHHAHAHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE NO NO WAIT I’M SLIPPING— HEHEHEHHEEEEEEYYAAHHHHH!!”

There was a dull thud as he fell flat on his face, snapping back to wakefulness on the floor of the lounge room. With a gasp, he scrambled to his feet, rubbing the bottom of one of his feet upon the top of the other and clutching his ribs as he looked around for the cause of the tickles in his dream. They’d felt so life-like, so real, that there was no other explanation other than someone else tickling him in reality. His eyes promptly fell upon Gueira and Meis, who raised their hands in gestures of shock and meekness, trying to avoid looking directly at him.

“Uh…” Galo began, but Meis cut him off.

“We’re sorry, mate… We got back a little while ago, and wanted to wake you up, but Gueira took the lead and things kinda got outta hand—”

“HEY!” Gueira gave his friend a light slap behind the head.

Galo thought about it for a second, and then laughed. “It’s okay, guys, no harm done!” he said with a grin. “Someone did hafta wake me up, and I’m glad it was you guys rather than Ignis or Remi or somethin’.” He looked around. “Oh, speakin’ of, where is Remi, anyhow? I thought he was with you…”

“Oh, well, he said he was gonna take care o’ a couple of things at the captain’s office. He’ll be back soon, but for now, didja get up to anything while we were gone?”

“Uh…” Galo began, but for the second time that day, another voice, female this time, cut him off.

“The training room, actually,” Lucia responded as she and Lio entered. “We thought Lio could use a little driving practice, so we got him to take the new training simulator for a spin. It was… a little touch-and-go, to say the least.”

“Understatement of the century,” Lio grumbled, folding his arms and regarding the other three men. “And what were you three up to, in the meantime?”

“Oh, hey, Boss!” Gueira replied, rubbing the back of his head with a flustered look. “We saw Galo here sleepin’ on the couch and thought we’d replace his alarm clock. Kinda glad he doesn’t mind, but—”

“Spare me the details,” Lio said with a roll of his magenta-colored eyes. “I’m just glad he’s awake. A pity I’m still in a bit of a funk, though, seeing as there hasn’t been any news on my official sentence yet.”

“Yeesh… Yeah, it’s been takin’ a while,” added Meis. “Seriously, mate, we oughta get Captain Ignis to press the courts to finalize the deets ASAP, ‘cuz I’d hate to see ya lose your mind again after all that went down last month!”

Lio sighed, leaning against the nearest wall. “It’s either that, or I’ll just get so depressed that I might consider more drastic measures that would only incriminate me even more. Whichever comes first.”

The others milled about in uneasy silence. It seemed even Galo had no idea what to do next, both right now and in the long term. Burning Rescue duties aside, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for his green-haired friend and his current state of enforced ennui.

“Ooh, ooh! I know!” Lucia’s face lit up suddenly, causing the three former Burnish to exchange confused looks. “How about a little game for you boys to play in the testing room?”

“W-wait, didn’t Remi say not to go there without supervision?!” Meis asked nervously.

“Eh, what’s the harm in that?” Gueira replied cheerily, nudging the shoulder of his more cautious compatriot. “It’s not like we’re gonna be in there for long.”

“And what’s this about a game?” Lio tilted his head, looking bewildered. “There isn’t time for games when we’re supposed to be training…”

“Aw, come on, you’ve gotta!” Lucia pleaded with the most adorably sad look on her face, with Vinny, once again perched on her shoulder, imitating her as always. “Pleeeeease? It’ll help us all blow off steam, wouldn’t it?”

Lio took one look at the doe-eyed pleading face Lucia made as he’d asked that, and then sighed. “Alright, alright. What is this game you’re talking about, though?”

“Something Aina got us to do a lot while Galo was new,” the inventor said cheerfully. “But with a new twist. She called it ‘Truth or Dare’. I call this version ‘Truth, Dare, or Tickle’!”

*****

“Alright, so the rules are simple enough,” Lucia explained once the four of them had removed their footwear and entered the testing lab again — though they’d stepped into a different room than the one with the GDLVCS this one had a greater variety of tickle machines stored inside it, creations of the girl overseeing the game they were about to play.

“In regular Truth or Dare, the players go around in turn, and each has to either answer a question truthfully or do a dare” she continued, observing each of the boys in turn through a glass window separating the control room from the main chamber with all the important machinery. “Normally, you have no choice but to do the dare or you’re out of the game, but Lio and I decided to provide a little more leniency in this version.”

“There’s gotta be a catch somewhere, eh, mate?” asked Meis, shifting his weight uneasily from one bare foot to the other. His slender size elevens were quite sizeable for someone of his build, but if anything, they seemed to only enhance his lanky appearance.

“We decided that you can opt out of a dare, but you have to pay a price for it,” Lio replied with a smug grin. “If you quit, instead of being eliminated entirely, you’ll have to put yourself in one of the tickle machines in this room and be subjected to whatever it does for five minutes, nonstop. Lucia will pick which one at random, but however you swing it…”

Meis swallowed hard, already guessing what was in store for him. When games like this mingled with the threat of ticklish torment, all bets were off, and no holds were barred. This game was no doubt going to turn into be an absolute bloodbath.

“Is it too late to back out of this one?” he asked meekly.

“Aw, come on, Meis!” Gueira said cheerily, clapping his friend on the back; he was already bouncing on the balls of his meaty size twelves with great anticipation. “When the Burnish got raided by Freeze Force, who was it who fought by my side? Who was it who worked together with me t’ get Boss to safety? Three guesses, and the first two don’t count. If we could get through that along with… well, all the rest, I’m sure ya can handle a quick little tickle, or do ya not wanna be as man as me? Ya know ya should, or you’ll really regret it. Riiiiight~?” He gave Meis the same pleading look as before.

Meis rolled his eyes and snorted, his countenance bearing contempt, resignation, amusement, and affection all rolled into one. “I hate you so much right now, mate,” he chuckled. “Just for that little guilt trip, you’re goin’ down!”

“That’s the spirit!” replied Gueira, grinning broadly.

“Alright, then!” Lucia called from her seat in the control room. “I’ve got a coin to flip and decide for the first player, so… Eeny, meanie, money, moe, catch a Burnish by his toe. Gueira is up first!”

“Hell yeah!” The redhead pumped both of his fists with an audacious smile. “Bring it on, Lucia! No matter what, I can take it!”

*****

Approximately twenty minutes later…

“I WAS WROHOHONG!” Gueira screamed, bucking in place. “SOHOHO VERY WROHOHOHOHOOONNNG!!!’

“WAHAHAHAHAH! YYAAAIIEEEEHEHEHEEE!” Meis yelled, twisting around in a vain bid to get free himself. “S-SERVES YOU RIGHT, MAHAHAHATE!”

“WHO’S IDEA WAS THIHIHIHISSS?!” Lio yelled, slapping the floor with his palms as he himself struggled uselessly against Galo’s grip.

“You and Lucia’s, why?” Galo replied innocently.

The game had gone downhill for everyone from the very start. The group was quite sure that Lucia had been using a two-headed coin, since she’d decided that heads was a dare. Every single one of the commands for each turn had been a date, which was how they’d drawn that conclusion. That, or she was simply lying to mess with them all, especially since they couldn’t see her desk behind the window.

Awkward poses, attempts at singing various songs they didn’t even know about, impressions of various famous people, even reenactments of past experiences in their lives — all manner of dares had been suggested. Most of them were done without too much issue, even if the results tended to vary… But then Gueira had been dared by Lio to comb his hair for once, to which the hotheaded subordinate had vehemently refused. Then Meis had been dared by Gueira himself, in the one turn he was allowed before the inevitable, to confess how he truly felt about his friend… but despite the encouragement of all the rest, he’d bitterly refused and resigned himself to the tickles, though not before daring Galo to try a handstand on only one of his fingers, which Galo of course had saved himself by following through with that one despite obviously falling flat on his face once more. And as for Lio, Galo had dared him to put his feet in his lap for two minutes without pulling them away, and it didn’t take a genius to guess what followed.

Gueira was now stuck in a mechanized chair, the kind a dentist’s office would have, his wrists and feet in place by a pair of straps, his toes bent back and restrained by a curved metal bar mounted to a pair of hydraulic arms, in a way that exposed both the stems of his toes and his plush toe pads. Soft, rubbery drills, fuzzy drills, brush-tipped drills… They were mounted on robotic tentacles coming out from a metal box on the underside of the chair, and all of them were assaulting his soles and arches, but especially his tender, incredibly ticklish toe stems and pads, systematically stroking and prodding every inch of their exposed skin along with the spaces between. More tickle-drills on tentacles were probing under his shirt and into his sides and ribs, and several had even slipped into his pants, coming dangerously close to a few more intimate areas as they tormented his hips and thighs. He screamed and cackled helplessly, writhing upon the chair.

Meis, meanwhile, was faring no better. His lower body had been encased inside a giant cone of plastic and metal, his feet sticking out the back of it, his arms held over his head by two larger clamp-tipped robot tentacles. An army of feathers mounted on more robot arms had risen from the big cone an tickling his neck, armpits, toes, and soles. But more insidious was the one motorized brush amongst them — for that one was embedding its narrow, bristle-lined tip as deep into his navel as it could go, vibrating and spinning and caressing the incredibly sensitive inner cavity.

Lio, of course, had gotten it off the easiest of the group, though that was arguably because he’d actually taken his dare. That said, the fact that Galo had locked his ankles in a headlock and was now skittering the nails of his free hand over the arches of his feet wasn’t making things that much easier for him.

“Oi, Lucia, you timin’ me on this or what?” Galo asked, sparing a glance toward the control room. “Ya did say two minutes, right? How long has it been?”

“Hmmm, mmmaybe a minute and a half? Or was it a minute and forty-five seconds?” Lucia couldn’t help but giggle to herself. “I dunno about you guys, but I think I may have lost track…”

“OH, VERY FUNNEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEE!” Lio yelled, still flailing in Galo’s general direction. “NAHAHAHAHAH FAHAHAHHAH— I CAHAAHHAHAHAN’T!! HEHEHEHEHE P-PLEHEHEHEHEEEEASE!”

“Don’t worry, your dare period should be up in about ten seconds now. Nine, eight, eight-and-three quarters, eight-and-a-half…”

“PFFFHAHAHAHAHHH OKAY, NOW YOU’RE JUST STALLING ON PURPOHOHOHOSE!!”

“Eh, what can I say? I’m enjoying this way too much.”

“Wait… We’ve still got t’ finish the game, though, don’t we?” Galo asked, loking genuinely surprised by the notion that it would be put off in favor of the tickles.

“Heh, alright then,” Lucia giggled. “You can stop now. Lio, your turn!”

The second Galo had loosened his grip, Lio pulled his size nines out of his reach, crossing his legs and folding his arms with a pout. “You can add that to the stuff I’m going to get even with you for,” he said with yet another roll of his eyes.

“Let’s just hope you get a dare, then!” replied Galo. “Hey Lucia, ya gonna get the others outta there? Dunno ‘bout you, but I think they need t’ take their turn after Lio’s done!”

“YES PLEHEHEHEHEEASE! SAAHAHAHAHAVE UHUHUSSSS!” yelled Gueira.

“BWAAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHH IS IT MY TURN YEHEHEHEHEHEHEHET?!” cried Meis.

“Eh, they’ve still got a little more to go before they finish,” replied Lucia. “But Lio can take his turn in the meantime, which is…” She flipped her coin, and paused for dramatic effect.

“Oh, let me guess,” Lio muttered.

“Dare,” Lucia confirmed.

“Welp, we’re screwed,” said Galo, chuckling once more. “Whatever ya have planned, at least try an’ be merciful?”

Lio thought about it for a few seconds, the laughter of his subordinates being the only sound in the testing chamber until he spoke up again. “You know what, Galo? To hell with mercy.” He gave him the most menacing grin imaginable. “I dare you to reenact the time when you saved my life.”

“Oh, with pleasure!” Galo said with innocent fervor. “Like when we were fighting off Kray, right?”

Lio smiled even more broadly. “No, not quite. I’m talking about the time when you used our Promare to restore the breath of life to me when I needed it the most.”

Galo raised an eyebrow. “Uh… you don’t mean CPR, right? You don’t need it, though—”

Lio smacked his forehead. “Idiot… Okay, do you need me to spell it out for you? The dare, from me to you, is to kiss me on the mouth.”

The entire room fell silent. Even Gueira and Meis, who were laughing uncontrollably a second ago, felt the machines stop, no doubt because Lucia had shut them off just a second too late for the room to be quiet enough for Lio’s dare to be heard. The boys were allowed a few seconds to catch their breath and regain coherence, and all that was heard was Gueira and Meis’ gasping and panting as their breathing steadied.

“What. The. Heck.” Meis’ inflection was flat as a waxed floor, but also undeniably stunned by what had reached his ears.

Lio turned and smirked at him. “What? I saw an opportunity, and I seized it.”

From the control room, the four of them would swear they heard Lucia and Vinny giggle-snort simultaneously.

Still breathless and drenched in sweat, Lio’s subordinates had to strain their ears to make sure they were hearing correctly. “Boss, what did you say?” Gueira asked, completely dumbfounded. “He saved you by… by kissing you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot you didn’t know,” Lio responded, not even feeling the slightest bit embarrassed about what he was saying in front of the others. “At around the same time as when Galo defeated Kray, when I was being used to power the warp drive for his ship, I almost died from the sheer exertion of what Kray had forced me into doing. I thought I was gone for good, until Galo came back for me and, without a second thought, gave me mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. You’ve seen me try to use the Promare to save multiple other Burnish on the brink of death, right?”

Gueira and Meis nodded, still panting from the tickle torment they’d just gotten a break from.

“Although in many cases I couldn’t save the dying Burnish, no matter how hard I tried, Galo’s attempt to save me was successful, far more than either of us could’ve realized. I don’t know how or why it worked, but my guess is that the Promare were attuned to the emotions of their hosts, and Galo is such a passionate, determined, and spirited individual that it gave the Promare I’d accidentally transferred to him a lot more power than either of us could’ve expected. And that spirit… is something that I felt was missing from me, personally. Something that completed me.” He turned and smiled at Galo. “He completes me.”

“S-so… his will to see you, erm, not die… That’s what gave the Promare enough life force to save you?” Meis asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lio nodded. “In many ways, I owe him so much, but above all else… I want to experience that again, the feeling shared between Galo and me in that singular minute. That’s why I dared him to reenact that moment. But now that I’ve said it out loud, it’s definitely selfish of me to ask that, and I’m sorry if I shouldn’t have said what I did just now. But it is a dare, after all. So if he doesn’t want to do it, then—?!?!?!?!”

Without a second thought, Galo had caught Lio in a tight embrace, pressing his lips against the other’s own.

Lio struggled frantically for a few seconds, his speech muffled by the lip-locking. Galo, to his credit, got the hint, and quickly pulled away. “Uh… Was I not supposed ta—”

“I… I…” Lio’s face was now beet-red, his cheeks feeling like they were on fire for the first time since his Promare had left him. “I-I honestly expected you to be a little more… uh… resistant to the idea…”

Galo tilted his head. “Well, you asked nicely…”

Lio chuckled ruefully. “That was actually my idea of revenge for the prank you pulled earlier. Getting you so flustered or embarrassed at the thought of kissing me that it’d make you look like a fool. I didn’t think you’d, uh…”

“I said,” Galo spoke firmly, even though the smile never left his face, “that you asked nicely. That was enough. If I upset you with the prank, I’m sorry, but kissing you still fits the game rules since it was the dare from your turn…”

Lio rolled his eyes with a snort. “Oh, all right, I forgive you, on one condition. That you accept a second dare from me.”

“Huh? I thought the rules—”

“Since you were so clearly into it regarding the first one, that doesn’t count. Take-backsies are fine, right, Lucia?”

The inventor shrugged, with Vinny wobbling a bit on her shoulder as he tried to stay balanced. “No arguments there. I just wanna eat popcorn and watch where this is going.”

Lio smirked, before returning to Galo. “Alright, then, Galo… I dare you to hold your arms over your head and keep them there as long as you can. How about, say, two minutes, tops?”

Galo thought about it for a moment, and then made a shrug of his own. “Hey, it’s less than five minutes, right? What’s the worst that can happen?”

“You have no idea. Oh, and I also dare you to hold onto your wrists while you do that, so you can’t escape.”

“Escape?” Galo looked slightly uneasy at this, but did as he was told anyway. “From what?”

“From this,” Lio replied, wiggling his fingers. Before Galo could respond, the former leader of the Mad Burnish had pounced with all his might.

“YYYAAAAAAHHHHHHH!” Galo shrieked, feeling Lio’s fingers drilling into his armpits. “NOHOHOOHOHO FAHAHAHAHHAAIHIHIHIRRRR!!”

“What can I say? As the old saying goes, all’s fair in love and war. Coochie coo, you big ticklish idiot~!”

Galo lost all coherence a few seconds later, especially once Lio moved the fingers of his left hand down his right side, playing his ribs like piano keys one by one before scuttling the well-kept nails along the length of his flank. Squirming and thrashing, Galo struggled not to lose his grip on his arms, his eyes watering and squeezing shut and his spiky hair becoming a little unkempt from the shaking of his head.

“So, uh… Does that mean we get our turn, Boss?” asked Gueira, sitting up in his chair and wincing a little -- his toes still tingled from their tickly treatment even if it hadn’t been five whole minutes.

“Don’t see why not,” Lio replied with a shrug, before returning to the torment of his guffawing, bucking victim.

“Alright, then. I’m guessing it’s a dare again, so Meis… I dare ya to confess why you haven’t told me how ya really feel ‘bout me, and this time, do not back out.”

“W-WHAT?!”

“You heard me. Don’t think I haven’t noticed those goo-goo eyes you make at me all the time. The way you try to put your hand on mine at every opportunity. You’re in love with me, aren’t you? So why not just come clean ‘bout that?”

Meis was still stuck in his own tickle machine, though the feathers mercifully weren’t currently active. “Lucia, can you start this thing back up again?” he asked, glancing at the control room with his cheeks blazing.

“Nuh-uh! You’re on your own this time.” Lucia winked and blew a kiss at him. “Suck it up, will ya?”

Meis looked helplessly at Gueira, and then sighed, the sound barely audible over Galo’s helpless laughter as Lio wiggled a finger into his belly-button. “Alright, mate… You can respond to this as you wish, but… You’ve been one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. And I… I wanna spend my whole life with ya. But I know that’s selfish of me, but I did love you, and always will. I just… I just didn’t wanna know what’d happen if you told me you didn’t love me back. I don’t think I’d be able to handle it if--”

Gueira gaped at him for a few seconds, his eyes at their absolute widest. His mouth worked for a moment… and then he burst out laughing, this time without the aid of the tickle-drills.

Meis faltered, tearing up, and then hung his head in shame. “I knew it…”

“PFFHAHAHAH — Oh… Oh, I’m sorry, was that not the right reaction?” Gueira instantly snapped back to attention, feeling guilty. “Sorry, didn’t mean for ya to take it the wrong way. But I just… ffheheh… I just… We’ve been datin’ for an entire year and ya didn’t even notice?!”

Once again, the room went completely silent, for even Lio had stopped tickling Galo as soon as those words had registered.

“I… I… You don’t mean…?” Meis stammered, completely lost for words.

“I thought ya already knew,” Gueira replied apologetically. “That it would’ve been obvious t’ everyone, includin’ yourself. I mean, when ya asked me to join ya in helpin’ Boss out, I did say yes. And we’ve been together ever since, even down t’ sleepin’ in the same rooms or tents or whatnot… When I realized that after those first few months, I thought we were already in a relationship, and ya never did bother to correct me, so I said nothin’ about it and just kept doin’ what I usually do ‘cuz it felt right. Am I wrong about that?”

The blue-nette still regarded Gueira with a wide-eyed stare of shock. “Uh… technically, you are, mate. I mean, takin’ charge of the Mad Burnish doesn’t exactly count as a date…”

“It doesn’t?”

“No, it doesn’t,” Lio muttered. “But if you two love each other, just tell each other. Take it from me, letting everything out can be the hardest thing sometimes, but it always changes things for the better in the long term.”

Galo nodded in approval, still drawing breath from his own tickle attack. “I mean… hehh… If even I c-can see that you two make a cute couple…”

Meis looked away, staring off into space for a few seconds. And then he spoke:

“Since it’s my turn, and I’m sure I’m gettin’ a dare again, I dare Gueira t’ kiss me on the mouth like Lio dared Galo to do. Though not before he apologizes for gettin’ confused, and gettin’ me confused—”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry! As long as Lucia doesn’t use those drills on me again!” Gueira replied, sound a little frantic. “S-sorry… For everythin’. For not really talkin’ t’ ya about this sooner, especially. And I do love ya back, just so ya know, so I hope ya can forgive me…”

The restraints of the tickle machines came loose as the boys dismounted. Meis dusted himself off, sighing in relief. Then he smiled at Gueira and said, “Water under the bridge, mate. Well, what’re you waitin’ for?”

With that, the two of them closed the distance with each other in less than a second, wrapping their arms around the others’ bodies and pressing their lips together.

From his position on the floor, Galo couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of it. But as he looked on in approval at the two former Burnish enjoying a mutual sense of passion for the first time in their lives—

PFFFFFBBBBFFFFFHHHBBBHHHHHFFFTTTT!!!

“AAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! L-LIOHOHOHOOO!”

“Heh, now we’re even,” Lio replied cheekily, wiggling his fingers into Galo’s stomach. “Forgive me — but the second you looked away from your belly, I just couldn’t stop myself.”

Galo was still giggling uncontrollably. “Y-you’re luckehehee I love yohohou, Liohoho…”

“As I love you, turns out,” Lio replied, before pulling him up to snuggle him close and lock lips with him once again.

Gueira and Meis, who’d broken away from their kiss in surprise, couldn’t resist applauding as well. “About damn time, Boss!” said Gueira.

“Ten-four, mate!” added Meis.

“Well, today really has been full of surprises,” Lucia mused aloud, reclining on her chair. “Now that everything’s sorted out, though, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about anything else unexpected.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Ms. Fex,” someone said behind her. “Got room for one more?”

Everyone looked around. There, standing in the control room, was Remi, his arms folded as he stared down the whole assembly, his expression half-lidded in a way that did not bode well for any of them, and looking very, very pointedly at Lio and Galo most of all.

“Uh-oh,” Gueira whimpered.

“We are so busted,” added Meis.

“Run for it, boys!” Lucia whispered urgently.

“I-it’s not what it looks like, I swear!” Galo lied unconvincingly.

But Lio said nothing, instead hanging his head. It was clear as day to him above all else the impression he’d just given to the second-highest authoritative figure in all of Burning Rescue (well, formerly third-highest, but Kray’s betrayal was beside the point entirely).

“I cannot believe you five,” Remi continued, pinching his nose just under the bridge of his glasses. “I specifically told you not to go into the testing room to operate the equipment — it’s supposed to be handled with care in case it malfunctions on duty. And what’s with the four of you being so affectionate like what you’re doing now? You’re supposed to be associated with one another on a professional basis.”

“Now, hold on just a second—” Gueira growled as he stood defensively in front of Meis.

“Relationships among teammates are nothing but a needless distraction,” Remi continued without regarding Gueira at all. “If you take your eyes off the line of duty for just one second, peoples’ lives could be endangered, or worse. This has to end, right here, and right now.”

It was Galo who spoke. He stood up, fierce and determined, as he stared Remi down.

“It doesn’t have to,” he said, calmly but firmly, “and it won’t. In case ya hadn’t noticed, it was the love that was shared between me and Lio that saved his life, and more than that, it was the love I had for ‘im that protected Promepolis when he was about t’ burn it down! If it weren’t for the way I felt ‘bout him, where would we be? Granted, I didn’t know what I was feelin’ at the time, but I do now, and I’m not gonna give it up for anything. If ya wanted this to stop, you’re gonna have to get through me first.”

“And that goes for me with Meis,” added Gueira. “And I’m pretty sure Lio would say the same. Just ‘cuz you or Ignis say we can’t become an item doesn’t mean we’re gonna listen.”

Even in the terror and shame of being caught like this, Lio couldn’t help but smile at his lieutenants. But still he said nothing, though he did level a furious glare at Remi regardless, the same way that everyone else did. Even Vinny.

Remi stiffened, his jaw clenching. Then he sighed, in an ominous way that made everyone’s blood run cold. “Fine. If that is how it is, then so be it. I have just two words for you, Galo…”

The spiky-haired man gasped, covering his mouth in horror, despair overcoming every cell in his body as he waited for the other shoe to drop.

Then the corners of Remi’s mouth turned up just slightly. “Congratulations, rookie.”

The others gaped at him. “W-wha?” Galo asked, completely astounded.

Remi smiled a little more now, and Lio would swear he was actually chuckling. “Come on, you four… Did you think I’d ignore the way you two felt about each other and how that proved paramount to saving the planet? I know full well that Lio and Galo were meant for each other — really, everyone does. And I’m certain that even if I’d meant what I said, you two would still have tried to defy my order. Though of course, I do not actually feel that relationships would hurt our performance, though I won’t deny that there are still limits.”

Everyone relaxed, though Gueira still looked rightly miffed. “Wow, Remi… That was not cool.”

“I did feel the need to test you four, admittedly — I just wanted to be sure that you two would be able to defend each other, no matter what anyone said. I’m glad I wasn’t mistaken. And I’m sure Ignis would be happy for you four, as well.”

The others sighed in relief, and Gueira hugged Meis, tearing up a little.

“That being said… I still believe that it’s my turn, a dare is in order, and that you four deserve a punishment for using the testing room unsupervised.”

“Hey, I thought I was supervising!” Lucia snapped, speaking for the other boys who had gone from grateful to horrified in an instant.

“And using the testing room like this was my idea,” Lio added truthfully.

“That may be the case, but you need clearance with administration first. Of course, since you four are already in there, I dare you all to sit in the group stocks at the back of the room for twenty minutes straight — and since there’s four of you, the other tickle machines are waiting if you back out, and twenty minutes total in any of them would be your other option.”

Their hearts sank as the boys (well, three of them, anyway) exchanged glances of misery as they glanced at a large podium with four chairs connected by a single two-piece housing on the front of each, with eight distinct holes on them. They weren’t getting away with this after all, and neither option had any other result than a merciless tickling.

“Very well,” said Lio, bowing his head in quiet acceptance. “Let’s just get this over with.”

With that, the four of them made their way over to the stocks, Galo still maintaining that spring in his step, the other three looking like they were about to be imprisoned. (A second time, mind, seeing as they were ex-Burnish.) Without any complaint (though Gueira did grumble a few choice words he hoped Remi wouldn’t hear), they slotted their feet into the large round openings in the thick plastic panel, each surrounded by a large metal ring with padding lining the inside.

“And now,” Remi said with a smirk, “the real training begins. Who will hold out for the longest? Lucia, if you please…”

The girl sighed in dismay, knowing that this was becoming a bit much just because they hadn’t gotten the permission to use the room — and she was the one who had forgotten to do that, in any case — but activated the device anyway.

From the upper front of the group stocks device, four large slots opened up, allowing a set of mechanical arms to emerge, each bearing different tickle tools: a spinning brush, a large red feather, a forked appendage with a pair of three-digit claws, and a scrub brush on the end of a long handle. The devices closed in, and Lucia winced and couldn’t help but look away before the screaming started.

“AAAAHHHHH! HAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAH OHHHHH FffuuuuUUUAHAHHHAHHAHAHAH— HHHAHAHHASTAHAHAHHAHAHP OHHHH GEHEHEEHEHEHEEZ!” Gueira howled on the far left (from the viewpoint of the observers), the spinning brush nuzzling his arches as his toes curled in a bid to defend himself. This proved useless as the brush moved upward until it was pressing its soft purple bristles right up to the bases of his toes, causing his voice to shoot up an octave. “BohohohOHOHOSS, HEHEHEHELP MEHEHEHEHEHEEEEE!”

“GAHAHAHAHHAHAHHH NAHAHAHAT THE ARCHES, STAY AWAY FROM THE AHAHAHARCHEHEHEHESSS!” Lio yelled, seated right next to him, desperately trying to wiggle his feet away as the feather swished against the most ticklish parts of his body, deftly matching every movement. “WAHAHAHHAH MAKE IT STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHP!!!”

“YIEEEEEEHEHEHHEHEE COME ON, GUYS, YOU CAN DOOHOHOHO THIHIHIHIHISSS!” Galo cried, managing to remain determined and encouraging even as the mechanical claws played with the largest pair of feet among the four, raking and pinching and wiggling into the tender skin of the balls of his size fourteens, digging into the especially soft joins where they met the arches, even moving upward to wiggle and flick at his thick, meaty toes. “H-HAHAHAHANG IN THERE, IT’S ONLY TWENTY MINUIHIHIHITES!”

“OHOHOHONLY TWENTY MIIHIHIHIHINUIHIHIHIHITES?!” Meis shrieked; the farthest to the right of the group, he couldn’t help but give first Galo and then Remi a look of shocked outrage, even though he too was laughing himself sick. The scrubber was scouring his helpless, trapped soles with wild abandon, and the poor man was laughing so hard that he ran the risk of passing out from lack of air. “GWAHAHAHHAHHAHAH PLEASE, HEHEHEHEHEHHEELP MEEHHEHEHEHEEEEE!!!”

But no help came, and while Lucia was sympathetic, her hands were tied, even if the boys themselves were even more so. There was nothing they could do but laugh and hope the minutes would tick by more quickly than usual…

At the five-minute mark, Remi called for the next stage of the torment to begin, and Lucia entered in the command accordingly. The tools attacking the boys’ feet retreated into their respective slots, but their troubles were far from over; now, a pair of gloves on more robot arms emerged from just behind each of them, and started attacking their armpits as they continued struggling and cursing and pleading for mercy.

A few seconds later, the tools that had attacked their soles returned, and this time, the boys discovered to their chagrin that said tools had switched places; specifically, three of them had moved one slot to the right, and the last one took up the remaining leftmost slot. So now the scrubber was brushing the balls of Gueira’s feet, the spinning brush softly buffing Lio’s arches, the feather delicately teasing Galo’s plush heels, and the double-claws digging into the bases of Meis’ wiggling toes.

“YAHAHAHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEEE I CAN’T TAHAHAHAKE IHIHITTTTT! HEHEHEHEHEE STOP IT! STOHOHOHAHAHAHAHAHAP!” shrieked Guiera.

“NGGGHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHA NYOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH! OH GAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHOHOHODDD!!” howled Lio.

“HAHAHAHAH H-HAHAHAHAHAHNG IN THEHEHEHEHEHEHERE, JUST A LITTLE MOHOHOHOHOHOHOHORE!!” yelled Galo.

“NGGGHAHAHHAHAHHAHEHEHEHHEHEHEEH OH NOHOHOHOOHOOO NOT THAHAHAHAHAT! ANYTHING BUT THAHAHAHHAHAAAHAHAHAHAAATTT!!” cried Meis.

Ten minutes in, and the boys were in total shambles, drenched in sweat and with their hair frazzled and unkempt (or more so than usual in the case of Gueira and Galo). It really did seem, this time, that things couldn’t get worse for them. But then Lucia input another command at the behest of Remi, and the tools assaulting their feet switched around once again: Gueira received the claws, Lio the scrubber, Galo the spinning brush, and Meis the feather. And this time, eight smaller clamps emerged from the front of the stocks, just above the feet they contained. It was only a second before they all felt their big toes caught by the clamps and pulled upwards and back, preventing them from wiggling their feet around as the tools descended once more.

“THAT’S E-EVEN WOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHORRRSE! GEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHHEHHH AHAHAHH NAHAHAHT THE TOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOEEEESS!!” cried Guiera.

“PFFFFHAHHAHAHAHH NNGGGHHHAHAHAHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEE! BHAHHAHAHHAH I REGRET EHEHEHEVERYTHIHIHIHIHIHINGGGG!!” shrieked Lio.

“HALFWAY THROHOHOHOHOUGH! COME OHOHOHOHOHOHNNN, YOU CAN DOHOHOHOOHO IHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHITTT!” howled Galo.

“AAYIIIIIHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEEEE! NO N-NOOOOOOHOHOHOOHAHAHAH! SOMEONE HEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHELLP!!!” yelled Meis.

And on and on it went. At least until the fifteen-minute mark, when the boys were given one final breather as the tools switched places again: feather for Gueira, claws for Lio, scrubber for Galo, and spinning brush for Meis. And to top that off, no less than four more mechanical arms sprang out of the machine per person, tipped with soft, fuzzy spinning drills, which commenced one final tickle assault on every remaining inch of their bodies.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHAHHAAHHHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAAA! HEEEEHAHHAHEHEHELP! SOMEONE SAHAHAHAHHAHAVE UUUUSSSSHSSSHHHAHHAHAH!!!” yelled Guiera.

“PLEEEHEHHEHEHEHEHEASE, HAVE MERCEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHEEEEE! OHHH SHIHIHIHIHIHHIHIHIHTTTTT HAHAHAHHAH NYOOOOOOHOHOHOHOHO!!!” cried Lio.

“KEEEHEHEEP GOHOHIHIHING! AAHAHAHAHHAHALMOHOHOHOHHOHOHOHOHOST THEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEREEEEEE!!!” shrieked Galo.

“UWWWAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHA!!! MAKE IT STAHAHAP! MAKE IT STAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHHAHHHHHHPPPP!!!” howled Meis.

It seemed as though the torment would go on and on and on and on… Until, finally, it stopped. All the brushes and gloves and drills and scrubbers and other tools retreated, leaving all four boys breathless, sobbing, chortling, and unable to even speak.

“Uh…” Lucia mumbled, feeling sorry for the four of them in their current state as Vinny nuzzled her cheek in sympathy. “Do you think… they’ve been punished enough?”

Remi pondered the sorry sight for a few moments, and then shrugged. “I suppose they’ve learned their lesson. Well, then, you can release them and bring them back in. I still have just a few more words for them…”

After the four of them had been freed and returned to the control room, dried out and given some much-needed water, the group regarded Remi with bowed heads and postures of submission.

“We’re sorry, Lieutenant Remi,” Meis said meekly. “We really didn’t know we had t’ come t’ ya for things like this. We really should’ve asked first…”

“It was partly my fault,” Lucia added, rubbing the back of her head. “I know Lio suggested the game in the testing lab, but I forgot to mention the permission thing until you did. We won’t make that mistake again. Promise!”

“See to it that you do not,” Remi replied curtly. “But that’s not what I wish to say. There are two things I do intend to tell you, however. The first is that I am, once again, aware of the relationships you two are pursuing, and that you have my full permission and blessing to continue with them — so long as you keep it discreet and do not let it interfere with your line of work, and I will talk to Ignis about him granting you the same rights towards them.”

The four of them nodded with murmurs of gratitude, and no one contested the conditions, either.

“The second thing is that I’ve received word regarding Lio’s status as a member of Burning Rescue,” Remi continued, causing Lio to look up with a startled expression. “As it turns out… You haven’t been universally frowned upon. There have been multiple peaceful movements in your name, extolling your fight for the freedom of the Burnish — well, the former Burnish, but the point is the same. It is perhaps thanks to the petitions, public demand, and appeals for clemency by everyone who rightly saw the Burnish as people who were punished for a trait or association beyond their control, that we can finally, legally, consider your rehabilitation and training complete, and that you are ready to assist the public in the cleanup following the removal of Mr. Foresight from office.”

Everyone else gave him an astounded look, and then they all burst into cheering. All except Lio, who looked towards first Galo, and then Remi. Both of them nodded… and he rushed at Remi, and caught him in a tight embrace of pure, unrestrained appreciation.

“Thank you, thank you,” he all but sobbed. “I don’t know how this happened, but… thank you.”

“No need to thank me. It was Ignis who led the campaign to exonerate you. The misdeeds you were responsible for can’t be forgotten, obviously, but you are willing to work to make up for them, and it was wrong of me to deem you unworthy of following through with that. So I’m sorry as well, and will take full responsibility for this uncharacteristic lapse of judgment. And going forward, for future cleanup duties, you and Galo, as the ones who defeated Mr. Foresight and protected Earth from destruction, will be working together as a team… and as a couple. Under my supervision, obviously, but still.”

“YES!!” Galo pumped his fist in triumph. “About time, too! I was gettin’ lonely out there without ‘im…”

“And I was getting lonely at the headquarters without Galo, as it turns out,” added Lio. “So really, this is for the benefit of both of us, and we’re happy to be of service.”

Remi nodded respectfully. “We will sort out the details on your pending tasks with the team as soon as Ignis, Aina, and Varys return from their own errand, but for now, Gueira and Meis can consider their work for today complete, and honestly, I might as well retire to my own residence, too. It’s been a long day for everyone, after all—”

“Wait a sec,” Gueira piped up. “Ain’t there one thing we haven’t done yet?”

“Hmm?”

“The Truth, Dare, or Tickle game is still on, ain’t it? And you haven’t done a dare yet. So since it’s my turn, and I’m honestly still smartin’ over what ya put us through, I have a dare for ya that I’m sure we all can appreciate… well, almost all of us, anyway.”

Remi felt a bead of sweat running down his forehead as he realized just what the redhead was implying. “And that would be…?”

His heart sank, however, as he saw how the others exchanged grins of the purest, blackest evil…

It took less than two minutes for a now shirtless, pants-less, footwear-less Remi to end up in the device at the very center of the room, an open-air prototype for the control stand within the cockpit that had been used for Lio’s training program earlier that afternoon. With nothing on him except his boxers (for even his glasses had been taken off for their own protection), his arms were tied behind his head, a harness around his torso so he was suspended from the ceiling just enough that the toes of his dainty size tens were all that touched the ground, and said toes were in turn restrained by two protrusions from the floor of the prototype. There was no escaping this, not after what he’d done to the rest of the group.

“I’d ask if you’re ready, but I think there really isn’t any need for an answer,” Lucia called from the control room. “Alright, the program’s now set to run twenty minutes of nonstop tickling. Let the payback begin!”

With that, she fiddled around with the control panel, and no less than a dozen slots opened up from the floor around the rim of the base of the stand. As Remi’s eyes widened in stark horror, an entire regiment of spinners, brushes, scrubbers, feathers, gloves, claws, and soft drills emerged from the floor, surrounding him on every side.

None of the boys knew the precise word, but the schadenfreude of what followed once Lucia entered the commands to begin the twenty-minute tickle session was so, so satisfying.

“AAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! N-NOOOOO!!!” Remi screamed at the top of his lungs as all the tickle tools he’d brought up against the others descended upon every inch of his body, from his ears down past his armpits and sides and down to his smooth thighs, the backs of his knees, his straining calves, and of course his tightly stretched soles. “NO NO NONONONONOOOHHHAHAHHAHHOAHOOHOHAHAHHAH!! YIIIIIIIIHEHEHEHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA I CAHAHAHAN’T TAHAHAHAHAKE IHIHIHIHIHITTTT!!! HEHEHEHAAHAHHAHA GET ME OHOHOHOHOUT OF HEHEHEHEHEEEREEEHEHEHEHEHEEE! HEHEHEHEEEELP MEEHEEHHEHEEEEE!!!”

The howling, yelling, crying, and shrieking coming from inside the chamber was almost clear as day to the other five even without the speaker system connecting it and the control chamber. Despite Lio and Meis wincing in sympathy, there was no denying that after all they’d been through, the sight of Remi being forced to take what he’d helped dish out could not have been more cathartic.

After a few long moments of the group enjoying their superior’s helpless hysterics, Galo turned to the others. “So… Any of ya still feelin’ down about bein’ here?”

Lio tutted good-naturedly as he patted Galo’s muscular bicep. “Not anymore. I’ve found a new purpose, and a new reason to keep going. And I’m so sorry I didn’t find it sooner.”

“Damn well you should’ve,” Lucia snorted in amusement, petting Vinny affectionately. “There’s no denying that you’ve done a lotta dumb things over the years, but once you’re back out there, you’ll be working to make up for them and then some. Dunno ‘bout you, but I think it’s a start, at least!”

“Very true, it’s going to be a long, hard road ahead,” Lio replied. “Not to mention one that certainly can’t be traversed alone. But with you guys by my side — and especially you, Galo — I will never be alone. Never again.”

“And for what it’s worth,” Gueira added, “I think we’ve found where we belong, too.”

“Amen to that, mate!” Meis chuckled.

Galo’s smile seemed to light up the entire room. “Aww, come ‘ere, you~!” And the next thing they knew, he’d pulled the other three into a group hug. Next to them, there was Lucia, along with Vinny on her shoulder, breaking out into applause. And in the testing room, even Remi couldn’t help but give the four of them a brief look of appreciation… before he continued laughing up a storm, of course.

“From me to you guys, a warm welcome to Burning Rescue!” Galo said proudly. “I’m sure you’ll do a good job out there, won’tcha?”

Lio could not help smiling back, much less giving his beautiful, blue-haired idiot of a boyfriend a peck on the cheek. “We promise we will,” he replied, beaming. “Thank you so much for having us!