[Synopsis: It's a little known fact that Player is EXTREMELY ticklish. The only person in the lobby who really knew this was Dum...That is, of course, until the fateful day she let it slip.]

[Location: The Skeld]

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"You guys are going to regret this! I'm warnin' you! So you better fall back!"

"We'll fall back when you finally land a hit on us! Come on, Captain, let's give 'em what for!"

"They're on the move, General Player! What do we do?"

"Just keep firing and gathering ammo from the field, Colonel Veteran! I'll figure something out!"

Captain, Dum, Player and Veteran were in the middle of a pillow war in the red crewmate's quarters, complete with blanket forts and makeshift armor in the form of some of the customization helmets. Captain and Dum had the edge so far; they'd scored several massive hits on the opposing team's fort while barely being touched themselves, which gave them the chance to gather more pillows back up off the floor while the enemies were rebuilding their defense. Colonel Veteran was currently playing the scavenging card himself and trying his best to dodge blows from the opponent while General Player concocted a new plan.

"Veteran! Behind you! Fall back!"

Player called out just in time; Veteran sprinted back to home base, just barely avoiding a pillow that'd been launched in his direction. He had five of his own in hand, and he returned to the general with the much-needed ammunition.

"You got a plan yet, General?"

"I think so..." he rasped. "You take two of the five pillows with you out into the battlefield and coax them into going after you. But only fire ONE at them. While you're distracting them, I'll use my three to annihilate their fortress, and once I've done that, you meet me at the enemy base and use the fourth to deal a finishing blow to it! Then we'll be able to raid them, and they'll be helpless against us...!"

Player handed his colonel two pillows for ammunition and gave him a salute.

"I'm counting on you, Colonel."

"I won't let you down."

With that arranged, Veteran bravely traversed the battlegrounds, taunting the enemy.

"Eat my gold-plated butt, you cowards!!"

"A lone wolf!" Captain alerted his lieutenant. "He won't stand for very long against both of us! Let's seize the opportunity to attack while we have it!"

"Aye aye, Captain!"

Both of them opened fire on Veteran, abandoning their post in the process. Player smirked; victory was just around the corner, and he wasn't about to see himself lose it again. Without wasting any time, he started hurling the pillows he had with him at the enemy fort; a blanket came loose from one of the chairs with his first hit, and several of the cushions forming a wall in front of the fort toppled over with his second. With his third strike, the pillar coat rack used to prop up some of the blankets and make the fort look bigger fell over, dragging a decent chunk of the enemy base with it to the floor.

By the time Captain and Dum looked over to see where the clattering sound of the coat rack falling over had come from, it was too late. Player was already in the base, robbing them of their remaining ammo as he retrieved his own!

"HEATHEN!" Dum nearly hollered. "We won't let you get away with this!"

"I'm on my way, Player!"

Veteran got a head start, readying to strike the base again with his remaining pillow. Captain and Dum chased after him, knowing that it'd be the end for them if they let Player steal their resources.

"I'm not gonna let you do this, you red terror!!"

The pink-clad crewmate sprinted forward, gaining enough momentum to pass Captain, quickly catching up to Veteran and then running right past him.

"What the-!?"

"Shoulda laid off the Cheese Louise, Veteran!" she hollered back. "Now your general's gonna get it!"

"General Player! Look out!"

He called to warn his commander, and Player seemed to be about ready to make a retreat back to his home base.

He's gonna make it! Veteran thought hopefully.

But he thought a moment too soon. Dum kicked her leg off the ground, sprang forward and lunged at her brother, flying through the air as she hurdled towards him...

And finally pounced!

"GOTCHA!"

"Agh!"

The two siblings tumbled across the floor for a second, with Dum finally gaining the upper hand on him and pinning him to the floor as she tried to steal back her hard-earned ammunition and building materials.

"Give our supplies back, you menace!"

"Over my dead body!"

"You asked for it, Player!"

Before Player could react, he saw her raise her open hands, threateningly waving her fingers as a frightening grin appeared on her face.

"Oh, no...No, no no no no no-!"

He tried desperately to escape what was about to happen, but he was too late. Dum had already darted her hands down into his stomach and started tickling him. A scream rang out across the room as Player tried in vain to defend himself, completely unable to control the fit of rambunctious laughter that was escaping him as he lay there on the floor, helpless to his sister's attack. Captain and Veteran could only stare at the scene, eyes wide. How did she manage to completely take him down like that!?

She only stopped after a good fifteen seconds of her assault, and Player got a moment to catch his breath.

"Hey...That...that's not fair...!" he protested, still smiling and laughing a little.

"Wow, Lieutenant Dum. That was incredible!" Captain complimented. "How'd you know he had a crippling weakness?"

"He's been like that ever since we were kids!" she replied. "He'll deny it if I say it, but he's very, VERY ticklish."

"I am not!"

"See? Denial."

"Oh...? Really...?" the white crewmate replied, tapping his fingers together slyly.

"Oh, no..." Player rasped.

"Lieutenant! Mind if I partake in your offensive maneuver?"

"Nothing would please me MORE."

She plucked a feather from her knight's helmet and handed it to Captain...Unfortunately, with one of her hands being used for something other than holding her victim down. Player was able to squirm out of her grip and scramble back onto his feet, and he made a mad dash to the door.

"There's no escape, Player!" Captain hollered as he rushed over to him. Just when Player was about to turn the doorknob and book it into the Cafeteria, Captain seized him and started taking him back to his sister. Player struggled in his grip; it was only then that he learned just how strong Captain was.

"No, no, Captain lemme go!" he begged as he was given over to Dum, who pinned him down again.

"Sorry, bestie!" Captain replied as he showed off the feather he still had with him. "But this what happens to heathen invaders!"

"No, NO NO-! AAAGH!!"

As Dum started working on Player's stomach and sides, Captain knelt down and used the feather on the soles of his feet. Their hostage tried to fight back at first, but it was no good; he was losing strength fast, and his attackers showed him absolutely no mercy.

"NO, AGH-Hahahahaha, STOP! MERCY, mercy, hahahahaha...!"

"You have no power over us!" Dum announced to him. "And you're no match for the insurmountable power of tickles!"

"Aghaha, NO! VETERAN! Veteran, help! Please help me, hahahaha AGH...!"

"Hmmmmmmm..."

Veteran looked pretty thoughtful all of a sudden himself...Yes, he was on Player's team. But at the same time, he kind of wanted to get in on the action with Dum and Captain. It looked like they were having an absolute BLAST.

"Sorry, Player, but I think I'm gonna turn to the dark side," he said to him, searching for a suitable spot on Player to target. "...They've enticed me."

"No, NO NO NO NO, VETERAN DON'T!!"

But it was too late. Veteran kneeled down before his former commander, rubbed his hands together, waggled his fingers, then plunged them right into Player's neck. The hostage tried to scream, but all that escaped him was a weak, high-pitched squeal embedded in his laughter.

"St...p...St*wheeze*p...!! Guys, guys I can't take it anymore...! Aha HA, mercy mercy mercy, ha ha ha ha ha-*gasp*...!"

Player was completely overpowered. Nobody was even holding him in place anymore since their hands were so focused on tickling him, yet the energy he needed to escape had long left him, spent on laughter he had no control over and previously failed struggles to free himself.

It quickly got to the point at which Player wasn't even able to make any noise anymore; he was still laughing, but nothing came out of him except a faint wheeze and a gasp for air every so often.

"Think we should stop now, fellas?" Captain asked the other two.

"Yeah, he's had enough," Dum smiled. "We don't wanna make him pass out. Hee hee..."

"Wait, has that happened before?" Veteran asked.

"Uh...maybe?"

"Well, gang, you heard her. Release the hostage!"

The three of them threw up their hands and stepped away from Player...The red crewmate struggled to sit up straight, still gasping out a few laughs as he slowly regained his breath.

"Ah...Guys, ple...*wheeze*...please don't gang up on...me like that again...please..."

The smile faded from his face as he tried to regain his breath; as much as he'd laughed hysterically, he didn't really enjoy having been tickled half to death...At that point, Dum and Captain were beginning to feel a little sorry for him, so they both sat down next to him and gave him a genuine smile, Veteran doing the same right in front of him.

"Had enough, lil' bro?" Dum asked.

"Yeah...I...I surrender," Player finally admitted, taking off his general hat and pulling a white flag from it, waving it from side to side. "H...have mercy. Please..."

"Hmmmmm..." Dum thought, mocking contemplation before a mischievous grin inched across her face again. "One more for the road, then I'll consider it."

"Wh-AHH!"

Dum reached out and poked his side a few more times with each of her index fingers, getting a few more laughs out of him. When she stopped, he had to catch his breath again.

"Aha...ah...Why, sis...just why...?"

"Because whenever you laugh, it makes my day just that much better."

"There are other ways to...make me laugh, y'know."

"Yeah, but that way is more fun!"

"Hah...why me...?"

The pick-clad crewmate raised her hand again, and she saw Player flinch.

"Don't worry, Player."

His fears eased when he felt his sister's hand rest on him, gently rubbing his back in small circles to help him relax again...Captain scooched a little closer, and Veteran squeezed in beside Dum.

"Sorry I kinda betrayed you back there, dude," Veteran apologized, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "I just couldn't resist the urge."

"Eh...It's fine, Veteran. Guess I kinda deserved it, though, after what I did to the enemy fort, huh?"

"Maybe," Captain said jokingly. "But it's nothing we can't forgive."

"Wait. Speaking of all that, which side won?" Veteran questioned. "Player might have surrendered, but your fortress had already been demolished."

"How 'bout we call it a draw?" Dum suggested, to which everyone agreed.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Captain announced. "Since it's kinda getting late, how about we combine the materials from our opposing blanket forts to build a single HUGE one and spend the night in it?"

Dum gasped ecstatically.

"Ooooh, we could make popcorn and watch movies! And then when we go to sleep, it'll be so soft and cozy~!"

"I'm on board," Veteran nodded. "Player and I can start demolishing the old ones."

"I'll start layering the blankets and cushions on the floor!" Dum offered.

"I'll head to the Cafeteria and grab us some snacks and drinks," Captain decided. "I'll be right back, gang!"

It didn't take long for the setup to start. Within a matter of minutes, the four crewmates had constructed a fort worthy of housing a king, complete with a string of lights and flagpole on the outside of it. The interior consisted of Dum's laptop to search for movies on, a small crate of snacks, a few canned beverages, a massive bowl of buttered popcorn and several layers of pillows, blankets and stuffed animals cushioning the floor.

It looked like an absolute bedtime paradise.

After turning off the main room light and turning on the ones strung around the structure, they all piled into it, ready to spend the night in it. Veteran grabbed one of the chocolate bars from the crate before huddling up with Dum, Player and Captain...The three guys peeked over Dum's shoulder as she pulled up the movies.

"Okay! What movie do you guys wanna watch?" Dum asked them.

"Hmm...Hey, Captain," Player addressed. "You remember that book you read to me when I was really sick?"

"Sure do!"

"Didn't you say there was a movie of it, but you hadn't seen it yet?"

"Yep! You think we can find it on here?"

"We can give it a shot."

Player gave Dum the title, and she searched it...Surely enough, there was the film, right at the top of the list.

"Whoa whoa, WAIT," Veteran exclaimed as he read the film director's name. "Freakin' Wes Anderson directed this?"

"Looks that way," Player replied.

"Welp, I'm totally game. You haven't lived until you've seen The Royal Tenenbaums."

"We'll give that one a try at some point, too, then!" Player grinned. "Let's check this one out first, though."

"Shh, guys it's starting, let's go!" Dum announced.

With that, they all simmered down and turned their eyes to the screen, each with a smile on their face...What a great way to finish the day off.

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i had so much fun writing this, you have no idea XDDDD

Hope you enjoyed that one! Pardon me, I'm gonna go watch the movie with them now, because holy swearing cuss, it is the best. 🦊