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ticklishderg · 2 years ago

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Why So Serious?

It's been a while since I've posted any literature here, but I've whipped up yet another Mega Man tickling story, featuring Axl and my Reploidsona, Echo. This fic was actually completed at the end of February and already posted to my Ao3 and DeviantArt accounts, but I didn't get the chance to post it to Tumblr until now. I was kind of burnt out by how much effort I put into this story, but I'm proud of it nonetheless. This is not just the longest Mega Man fanfic I've written, but also the longest standalone story I've written by far. That all being said, hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is a SFW tickling story, and this is a SFW tickling-themed blog. NSFW are more than welcome to read, but I prefer you do not reblog this story if you are primarily a NSFW/kink-themed blog. Thank you.

Summary: Axl decides to help Echo to lighten up when he notices she isn't in the best mood and has been cooped up in her dorm all day. But he ends up choosing the wrong time to do so, and Echo ends up delivering payback to the young gunslinger.

Fandom(s): Mega Man

Character(s): Echo, Axl

Words: 9159

Potential warning(s): Mild/SFW bondage

It was a rather typical day in Hunter Base. Most of the Maverick Hunters were out and about on missions, tracking down rogue Mavericks as usual, or busy doing other tasks in the building, such as filing reports.

One particular blue-haired Reploid happened to be doing just that: Echo.

Echo was in her dorm, which was quiet and empty as usual, sitting at her desk with a report sitting in front of her, and a few more reports laid out over each other next to the one she was currently filling out. The Huntress’ bored expression made it obvious filing reports wasn’t exactly her favorite thing to do, but it was just one of the many chores of being a Maverick Hunter.

Speaking of being a Maverick Hunter, one of the newest members that had joined the organization was a young Reploid named Axl. He was taken in by the leader of the 0th Unit, Zero, after the two had fought a massive scorpion-like Mechaniloid on the highway shortly before the Red Alert Incident began several months ago. Although some of the Maverick Hunters, especially X, were reluctant to let Axl become a member due to his dubious history with Red Alert and his immature and reckless behavior, they let him become an official member when they realized his potential, and his strong will to do what’s right and protect the innocent from Mavericks.

Echo was one of the Reploids who was reluctant to let Axl become an official Maverick Hunter. When they first met, she had initially acted cold toward him, but that was because of her lack of trust, and the chaos she had to deal with ever since X had (temporarily) retired at the time. However, those weren’t the only reasons Echo had acted cold toward the young Hunter- she had developed a small crush on Axl, and she wanted to hide it as much as she could (though she has mostly gotten over her crush on him by now). But when she saw how terribly Axl grieved Red following the latter’s demise in the Crimson Tower, Echo realized how much he meant to him, and she and the young gunslinger shared much more in common than she initially thought, as she had lost Zero after he was fatally wounded along with X by Sigma during the confrontation with the latter in Zero Space years ago, even if Zero somehow turned out to be alive during the Nightmare Incident. Following the Crimson Hunter’s temporary demise, Echo made a personal oath not to let anyone suffer a terrible loss the same way she did, and that, along with her guilt with how she treated Axl before, was what motivated her to comfort him any way she could, give him a place that would feel like home to him, surrounded by friends and family.

As the months passed, Echo slowly warmed up to and became closer with the younger Reploid. She was usually annoyed by Axl’s antics, as she didn’t tolerate immature behavior (even more so since she became more serious following the Eurasia and Nightmare Incidents), but she could understand the logic behind his attitude, and didn’t want to be too harsh on him. After all, he was still young. And while Echo outwardly didn’t find most of the jokes Axl would crack not that funny, deep down she found them amusing (well, some of them), but she couldn’t afford to let that be known, as otherwise she would likely never hear the end of it.

Back to the present, Echo stared at the report in front of her on her desk, holding a pencil which she occasionally tapped against her head in boredom. That was only one of the reasons for procrastinating on the report- she had to think about how to answer some of the prompts. A sigh heaved out from the blue-haired Huntress, knowing this was going to take a while until she could finally have the freedom to relax for the rest of the day. At least Echo didn’t have to worry about anyone potentially interrupting her work.

But alas, that would not be the case for her that day, because a particular young Reploid would come and visit her.

A metallic knocking sounded from the other side of the steel door, causing Echo to perk her head up and turn to face the door, and as soon as she did, she heard a familiar, chipper voice.

“Yo, Echo! Can I come in?”

Echo immediately recognized the voice, not even bothering to guess who it was. “Yeah.” She replied in a neutral tone, not necessarily friendly, but not hostile or unwelcoming.

Granted permission to enter, the person on the other end opened the door. Standing right outside the doorway was Axl, very much unsurprising to Echo, having expected him thanks to his upbeat tone. But she knew he must have had a reason to visit her dorm at a time like this. Despite his impudent nature, the young gunslinger was (usually) not one to just barge into someone’s dorm uninvited.

“Heya, Echo!” Axl greeted the blue-haired Huntress, a warm smile on his face. His smiles were rather infectious- part of it was due to his chipper and youthful nature. Part of Echo found it difficult to not want to smile back at the new-gen, but she suppressed it. She had more important matters to take care of at the moment.

“Hi, Axl.” Echo greeted back, adjusting her position until she was sitting up straight rather than bending forward when she was filing reports just now. “I assume you came here for something…?”

“Actually, I just came back from training.” Axl replied. “So I just thought I’d unwind here for a bit.”

That last part surprised Echo. “But why in my dorm? Can’t you just do that in your OWN dorm?”

“Well, yeah, but it’s not like there’s anything wrong with chilling in a friend’s dorm, right?” Axl sat down on a blue couch standing against the wall opposite of Echo’s desk, leaning back on the sofa, crossing his legs and placing his arms behind his head, a position typical for a laid-back Reploid such as him. “Plus, I noticed you’ve been cooped up in here for like, all day, so, I just thought I’d keep you company, y’know?”

That last sentence caught Echo off-guard, even though she didn’t show it. Part of her found it thoughtful for Axl to keep her company, especially since she had stayed in her dorm for the majority of the day, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel suspicious, knowing the young gunslinger’s tendency to cause mischief. The Huntress normally was not fond of such, especially when she was busy like she is right now. Regardless, she ultimately decided to let him unwind in her dorm.

“Okay,” Echo began. “but don’t be loud or do anything disruptive, I’m busy. Got it?”

“Got it!” Axl responded, giving a thumbs up.

Echo couldn’t help but smile a bit and let out a puff of laughter through her nostrils from Axl’s response. Just your typical young Maverick Hunter…

With that, Echo resumed her work, gradually filing her reports as Axl sat back and relaxed, his eyes closed in contentment, occasionally humming a small tune to himself, which the blue-haired Huntress didn’t pay much mind to. Echo found herself more relaxed than she was earlier- part of it was from Axl’s promise not to interrupt her work, but it was also from his presence, though she didn’t want to admit it.

Several minutes passed, the entire room quiet except for the sound of a pencil writing on paper, Axl’s humming, and the latter occasionally changing positions lounging on the couch. The new-gen yawned, starting to get bored, until he looked over at Echo and became curious about what she was working on. Plus, part of him wanted to initiate a conversation with the Huntress, as the two of them hadn’t spoken since Axl had entered her dorm. He got up from the couch and walked over to Echo, looking over her shoulder.

“Say, whatcha doin’?” Axl asked innocently, startling Echo slightly, but the tension in her muscles quickly faded when she realized who it was.

Echo turned her head to face the gunslinger. “What does it look like I’m doing?” She replied bluntly, the tone in her voice making it clear she was not interested in talking to Axl at the moment, but the curious, innocent look in his eyes made her sigh. “I’m filing reports. Also, didn’t I tell you not to distract me while I’m working?”

“Hey, I’m just asking what you’re doing…!” Axl chirped. “That doesn’t count as distracting, right?”

“Well, it kinda IS when I have to stop writing just to respond to you.” Echo placed down her pencil. “Couldn’t you be a little less… I dunno, intrusive?”

“What? I’m just peeking over your shoulder!” Axl rested his arms on the top of the swivel chair Echo was sitting on. “Ya know, you shouldn’t be so serious all the time. And come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen you smile in a while. You know what they say, it’s good to smile more…!”

“I already smile enough.” Echo was starting to get annoyed.

Axl shook his head. “That’s obviously not true. Plus, you’re starting to sound like Zero whenever he’s in a foul mood.”

“Whatever.” was Echo’s only response, rolling her eyes, before she resumed filing her current report.

Axl huffed, frowning from how stubborn Echo was. She was clearly adamant about not wanting to smile, and the new-gen was at a loss of what to do, until he suddenly came up with an idea, a mischievous grin replacing his frown.

“If you’re not gonna smile, Echo, then I guess I’ll have to make you lighten up myself!”

Before Echo could form a response to Axl’s words, the latter removed his arms from the top of her chair, his hands swiftly diving toward both of the blue-haired Huntress’ sides, until he planted his fingers against the synthetic flesh, causing her to jolt and her eyes to widen as she dropped her pencil, which landed onto the floor with a clack.

“Axl, w-what are you-” Echo stammered, but was cut off by Axl.

“C’mon, you need to smile for once! Lemme see that smile!” The young gunslinger chirped.

Echo barely had any time to react before Axl suddenly began skittering his fingers up and down her sides. She immediately felt a grin tugging at her lips, and she tried her best to suppress it, but the odd sensation radiating from her sides caused by Axl’s fingers drilling into them proved too much to resist, and she ultimately broke into laughter, a wide, involuntary grin on her face.

“A-Ahahahahahaha! A-Axlhlhl, nohohoho!” Echo cried, trying to grab at Axl’s arms in an attempt to yank them away from her sides, but the ticklish sensation was draining her strength, and made it difficult to focus. Axl peeked over her shoulder as he continued scribbling at Echo’s sides, and his eyes sparkled with delight when he saw a wide grin on her face.

“Ah, THERE’S that smile!” Axl spoke with delight and satisfaction. “That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

“Ahahahahahaha! Knohohock it off!” Echo shouted, trying to sound serious, which was unconvincing due to her laughter. The more she felt Axl’s fingers skittering up and down her sides, the more she felt her strength being sapped, and by this point she had given up trying to yank his hands away from her. Instead, she attempted to writhe and twist her body to get away from the gunslinger’s devious fingers. But what Echo did not expect Axl to do next was pick her up and pull her literally out of her chair (with some struggling, as she was slightly heavier than him), firmly, but gently placing her down onto the floor. The blue-haired Huntress quickly recovered, but before she could attempt to get up, the new-gen plopped down onto her legs, sitting on them and essentially pinning her down, his back turned to her.

“Axl, get off!” Echo yelled, now MORE annoyed than before, writhing with all of her might to break free, but the weight of Axl on her legs made her efforts fruitless.

“Not until you lighten up!” Axl simply responded, the grin on his face indicating he had a plan in mind. “In fact, I know another way to get you to cheer up.”

“And what’s THAT?” Echo asked suspiciously.

As if to answer the blue-haired Huntress’s question, Axl began tugging at her boots. Echo jumped at the sensation, and her eyes widened, quickly realizing what the younger Reploid was doing.

He was prying off her boots.

“Axl, no, don’t you DARE…!” Echo said to Axl, trying to sound serious, but a hint of unmistakable fear was in her voice, which only made the new-gen even MORE determined to pry off her boots. Truth be told, Echo was becoming increasingly nervous, because her feet happened to be one of her worst ticklish spots, meaning that if Axl found that out, she would surely be screwed.

“Why not?” Axl asked, before his eyes widened with realization. “Oh, lemme guess, your feet are probably ticklish, huh?”

Echo’s heart sank. Axl had already guessed one of her weak spots. She thought of trying to lie her way out of it, but given that the fear in her voice already made the young gunslinger more determined to pry off her boots, she knew that wouldn’t get her anywhere.

Not even bothering to wait for a response, Axl shrugged, before resuming prying Echo’s boots off. “Well, only one way to find out!”

With some effort, and after a few moments, one boot came off, followed shortly by the other, exposing Echo’s feet, which were now shielded by nothing more than her skintight bodysuit. So skintight in fact, that she could feel the cool air of her dorm washing against her bare soles.

Crap, no, why did he have to remove my boots…?! Echo thought, blushing with embarrassment, knowing full well what Axl was going to do next. With no other option, she braced herself to prepare for the incoming tickle attack…

“Hehe, heads up, Echo…!” Those were the words that came from Axl, before he suddenly dug his fingers into the Huntress’s soles, and began scribbling up and down all over them.

Despite Echo bracing herself, her feet proved to be just too sensitive that the ticklish sensations radiating there from Axl scribbling his fingers across them were so intense, and it barely took a few seconds until she broke into laughter once more, much harder and louder than before.

“NEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Echo squealed, clutching her stomach and writhing in place as Axl skittered his devious fingers along her soles. “STAHAHAHAHAP! GEHEHET OHOHOFF!” Her shouts of anger quickly devolved into fits of helpless laughter, which she tried to suppress, but the ticklish sensation was just too much. Axl found it amusing and adorable how Echo’s laughter and large grin were a complete 180 from her demeanor when she was working just now.

“Whoa! I figured your feet would be ticklish, but not THIS ticklish!” Axl remarked in amusement, grabbing hold of one of Echo’s ankles and pulling it upwards, before dragging his fingertips up and down the length of the sole, digging his fingers in deep. Echo was already laughing helplessly as Axl dragged his fingers down her sole, but the moment they found their way to right under her toes was when the Huntress REALLY lost it.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! NNGHAHAHAHAHAHA!” If Echo had any shred of sanity left, it was completely shattered in that moment, because a loud screech tore from her vocal cords, followed by a stream of desperate, high-pitched laughter. The artificial nerves in her feet were on fire, and it was clear the blue-haired Huntress had no means of fighting back, especially with her legs pinned down by Axl, so all she could do was take the tickling.

“Hehe, that’s a good smile!” Axl said, with a grin of his own. “But I want to see MORE of it!”

“GAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I-I’LL KIHIHILL YOHOHOHOU!” Echo shrieked at the top of her lungs.

Echo’s threats were unconvincing, made even more so by the fact that she couldn’t hurl any threats or complaints without melting into laughter. Axl seemed to notice this, and chuckled deviously as he continued to toy with the older Reploid’s feet, even going so far as to pinch each of her toes one by one and wiggling them around, drawing out MORE squeals and pleas for the new-gen to cease the tickling at once. He was going to milk it for all it was worth, and would not stop until Echo was in a better mood.

Echo was unable to pull away, and she found herself more humiliated by how a younger Reploid was able to overpower her this easily. Yet at the same time, deep down, a part of her was actually… ENJOYING being tickled, despite how intense the sensation was on her soles.

The Huntress wasn’t sure how long Axl had been tickling her for, and she felt like she couldn’t take it anymore, as most of her strength had been drained by this point and her only source of air was taking in brief gasps in between her laughter. After a few more moments, however, the young gunslinger felt that Echo had enough, and finally released her ankle, and that was around the time her exhaustion was at its peak. She immediately collapsed her upper body onto the floor, forced to lay down and gasping to catch her breath. Her eyes were half-closed, sweat rolling down her forehead, and she giggled under her breath in spite of her exhaustion thanks to her feet tingling from being tickled so badly.

Axl got up from Echo’s legs, allowing her to move them freely again, and he knelt down next to her. “You okay there, Echo?” He asked innocently. The only response he got from the older Reploid was her wiping the sweat away from her forehead. “Heh, sorry if I went too far. But I just wanted to help cheer you up, y’know?” The new-gen rubbed a hand behind his neck sheepishly.

After a couple minutes, Echo sat up, removing her visors to wipe away the sweat that had dripped from her forehead to her face, before putting them back on. “I know,” She groaned, reaching for her discarded boots and promptly putting them back on. “but I was in the middle of working. You could’ve chosen another time to… you know.” Echo meant to say the word ‘tickle’, yet she couldn’t bring herself to. She didn’t know why, but it was just too embarrassing to say out loud.

Before the two Reploids could say anything more, Echo and Axl heard a knock at the door, and they stood up, turning their heads to face it. “Echo? May I come in?” A polite voice asked.

“Yeah…” Echo replied, trying not to make the exhaustion in her voice known.

The door promptly opened, and at the doorway was X, whose eyes widened upon seeing Axl.

“Hi, X.” Echo greeted casually, noticing the Azure Hunter’s eyes were widened.

“Hi, Echo.” X greeted back, stunned, but soon shrugged it off, and turned to face Axl. “And hey there, Axl. I see you’re here with Echo.”

“Nice to see you, X!” Axl greeted, smiling at X. “And yeah, I came to visit Echo because I wanted to unwind and get her to lighten up a bit.”

That’s putting it bluntly… Echo thought, narrowing her eyes at the young gunslinger, before turning to face X again. “Anyway, did you come here for something, X?”

“Actually, I did. I went to find Axl because he needs to come with me to take care of a Maverick raid on a highway. I came here to ask you if you knew where he was because I couldn’t find him anywhere in the base, but it looks like I already DID find him.” X couldn’t help but smile in amusement.

Axl chuckled goodnaturedly, before X’s expression became serious. “Anyway, we need to get to the highway as soon as possible. You ready for the mission, Axl?”

“Oh, you know I’m always ready, X!” Axl replied confidently, grinning widely.

X smiled, having expected that kind of reaction from the young gunslinger. “Okay. The Mavericks are using vehicles, so we’ll use the Ride Chasers this time.”

Axl’s eyes glittered with excitement. “Ooh, HELL yeah! I haven’t driven one of those things in a long time!” He eagerly ran up to X, ready for what their mission had in store for them, and turned to Echo. “We’ll see ya later, Echo!”

“Alright. But promise you guys will be careful, okay?” Echo said, crossing her arms.

“Don’t worry, we will be!” Axl replied, before he and X began leaving. But as they were, Axl briefly stopped and turned to face the blue-haired Huntress one last time. “Oh, and Echo?”

“Hm?” Was the only response that came from Echo.

“Try working on that smile for me, will ya?” Axl asked, his tone genuine.

Axl’s genuine tone hit Echo in a way that made her feel touched, but she tried not to show it, and instead rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever.”

The new-gen couldn’t help but giggle a little at Echo’s response, before he and X left to take on their mission, closing the door on the way out, leaving the Huntress alone once more.

Echo looked back at the reports laying on her desk, and she sighed, remembering that she still had a lot of work to do. Part of her was still seething with annoyance from how Axl had interrupted her while she was working, but she could not find it in herself to stay mad at the young Hunter. She understood he was only trying to cheer her up and make her smile more. Yet despite that, she felt the need to give him some well-deserved payback. To her, Axl needed to be taught a lesson so he wouldn’t distract her whenever she was working again.

By the time Axl returned from his mission with X and returned to his dorm to rest for the night, Echo would set her plan into motion. But that would have to wait. She had paperwork to fill out. Stretching, she grabbed her pencil that was dropped onto the floor earlier, returning to her desk and sitting down in her chair, and resumed filing her reports. This may be a grueling and boring task for the Huntress, but at least she had her payback for Axl to look forward to…

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Waiting until midnight to carry out her opportunity for revenge was probably the smartest decision Echo had ever made. More specifically, she had retired to rest in her capsule after she finished filing her paperwork, and slept until about an hour before the sun would rise. She knew very well Axl would likely expect her to get revenge, so she had to wait until he retired to his capsule for the night following the mission he went on with X. Even if the new-gen didn’t suspect any sort of foul play from Echo, the latter still couldn’t afford to carry out her plan while he was awake, especially since part of said plan involved restraining the younger Reploid so he wouldn’t be able to fight back.

However, that also meant Echo had to go to the basement and grab some equipment from one of the storage closets- a table big enough to accomodate a person, and some rope. Carrying the rope was no problem, but the table was quite heavy, meaning she had to take quick breaks to catch her breath as she carried it. Fortunately, the table was foldable, which did help simplify carrying it.

Once Echo had grabbed the equipment she needed, she promptly made her way to Axl’s dorm, being careful not to wake up anyone else in Hunter Base, carrying the foldable table in her arms and the rope between her jaws. By the time she reached the door to the young gunslinger’s dorm, Echo momentarily placed the table down to open it, before picking it up again and carefully entering Axl’s room.

There Axl was, laying in his capsule (which was closed at the moment), fast asleep.

Perfect… Echo thought. She walked over to the wall nearest to where Axl’s capsule was, unfolded the table she was carrying and carefully placed it down onto the steel floor.

The only thing left to do now was pick Axl up from his capsule and tie him to the table.

Removing the rope from her jaws and placing it down on the table, Echo walked over to Axl, who was still soundly asleep in his capsule. She opened his capsule, doing so as quietly as possible so she wouldn’t wake him, and got a good look at his face to make sure he was still asleep. Sure enough, he was. In fact, he looked rather peaceful while in sleep mode, which made him look adorable.

Echo shook her head. What was she thinking? She was here to get payback, not stare at the young gunslinger sleeping. Taking a deep breath, she carefully scooped up Axl from his capsule, and carried him in her arms to the table. As she did, however, she found herself unable to stop smiling to the point her cheeks were beginning to ache. Was she… enjoying herself?

The blue-haired Huntress realized that THIS must be what Axl felt when he tickled her yesterday.

Remembering that made Echo return her focus to the most important thing: revenge.

Echo gently placed Axl down onto the table on his back, and began to tie each of his limbs to the four corners with the rope, binding his wrists to the upper corners and his ankles to the lower corners.

With Axl now fully bound to the table, Echo climbed onto it and sat down on his legs so she could get payback more easily. She could finally carry out her revenge. But she had to wake him up somehow first. She spent a few moments thinking about how to wake the new-gen up, until she came up with an idea.

Echo moved a hand to Axl’s neck, and began scribbling her fingers over the synthetic skin. Almost right away, the new-gen started giggling quietly in his sleep, an involuntary grin forming on his face. He visibly tried to crane his neck away, but couldn’t due to his restraints.

The Huntress continued tickling the gunslinger’s neck, waiting patiently for him to wake up. After about a minute, Axl finally awoke, his eyes opening slowly, and that was Echo’s cue to pull her hand away.

When Axl’s giggling faded and his awareness gradually returned to him, the first thing he did was stare at the ceiling, then he looked down and saw someone sitting on his legs. His eyes widening, Axl quickly realized who it was: Echo.

“Hi, Axl.” Echo greeted, in a casual tone as if she didn’t tie Axl up just now.

“E-Echo…?” Was the first thing Axl said. “What are you doing up at a time like this…?” Before Echo could respond, the new-gen noticed his capsule leaning against the nearest wall. “Wait a minute, did you take me out of my capsule?”

“Yep.” Echo replied. “But that’s not one of the only things I did.”

“Whaddya mean by that…?” Axl asked, trying to sit up, only to find he couldn’t. Something was keeping him down. Confused, he tried to pull his wrists down, and realized they were tied to the table he was laid out on with rope. He then attempted to pull at his legs, only to reveal THEY were bound as well. “W-Wha… Did you TIE ME UP…?!” Axl began to squirm, which got him nowhere thanks to his limbs being bound. The drowsiness in his tone was gone and replaced with flustered confusion. It satisfied Echo to see the normally cocky and upbeat gunslinger act frantic and worried from what happened while he was sleeping. Seeing Axl bound and fearful almost felt like more than enough revenge to sink in for how he made the Huntress feel hours ago.

But that wasn’t the reason Echo had him tied up. Her plan was only just beginning.

“Axl, have I ever told you that you can be quite nosy at times?” Echo asked. Her icy blue eyes emanated a cold, yet devious glint in them, which, along with her words, only served to confuse Axl.

“Uhh… No? Why? More importantly, why am I tied up?”

“For revenge.” Echo replied bluntly. “Don’t tell me you haven’t even guessed that?”

“Revenge?” Axl asked, raising an eyebrow. “Revenge for what?”

“For THIS, you loon!” Echo said, raising her voice, before striking with both hands at once at the bound Hunter’s stomach, and scribbling her fingers as aggressively as she could. The sudden sensation of Echo’s fingers assaulting his stomach barely gave Axl any time to react before he burst into laughter.

“Bwahahahahaha! Whahahat the heheheck?!” Axl cried out.

The new-gen was clearly caught off-guard by Echo’s assault on his abdomen that he was unable to hold back his laughter. It was rather loud and almost sounded like cackling, which was the reaction Echo was expecting, but it was also adorable, which made Axl being tickled even better for her when he didn’t appear to like it one bit, as evidenced by his squirming and writhing.

“Nohohohohoho! Stohohohop! Gehehet ohohoff!”

Echo, of course, did not stop. Her fingers drilled deep into his stomach, drawing out every bit of laughter possible. To make things more intense, she occasionally reached a hand toward Axl’s neck and scribbled her fingers over it, which produced nearly the same amount of squealing as along his stomach.

But when she moved her hands toward Axl’s sides, it produced an entirely unexpected reaction. The moment Echo’s fingers stroked and danced along his sides, Axl’s squeals increased in pitch and his laughter increased in volume and desperation.

“EEEHEHEHEHEHE-Nohohohohahahaha! Nohohot thehehehere!”

The young gunslinger began to mindlessly tug and yank at the rope binding his wrists, but it didn’t budge in the slightest degree. All he accomplished was digging the rope deeper into his gauntlets, which he was sure was scraping the steel, in a futile attempt to break free.

And yet, despite Axl’s squirming and pleas to stop, he was actually kind of liking the tickle torture. No, a lot…! He couldn’t explain why, but the adrenaline rush and how it made him laugh felt good to him.

Echo refused to admit it, but she was greatly enjoying herself. Seeing the one who had interrupted her work and bugged her the previous day squealing like a child and writhing helplessly brought incredible satisfaction to her.

“I find it ironic how you can tickle me so easily, yet you react like THIS when I do it back to you.” Echo remarked, amused at how easily she was able to reduce Axl to helpless laughter and squirming so quickly.

“Ahahahahahaha! Y-Yohohou’re enjoying thihihihis, aren’t yohohou?!” Axl questioned through his laughter, a deep red blush coloring his cheeks.

“Maybe.” Echo responded bluntly, continuing to scribble at the new-gen’s poor sides.

I kinda wish I brought a gag with me before this… Echo thought. Oh, well. His laughter is stupidly cute, at least.

The Huntress showed no sign of stopping skittering her fingers over Axl’s sides. His torso visibly twitched as he squealed, yawped and chortled like mad, an indication of just how sensitive his sides were. Even tickling around his belly button produced the same amount of laughter as tickling his sides. Echo thought it was fortunate that the other Maverick Hunters were asleep, otherwise they would have heard Axl’s loud laughter.

Echo continued to claw at the gunslinger’s sides for another couple minutes, until she decided to give him a break, pulling her hands away, leaving Axl to gasp for breath.

“You okay, Axl?” Echo asked genuinely, noticing just how exhausted Axl was.

“Unngh… Yeah, but… That was intense…” Axl groaned, a bead of sweat falling down his forehead.

“Well, I HOPE it was, because it’s only going to get MORE intense from here.” A dubious glint sparkled in Echo’s eyes.

Axl’s eyes widened, perking his head up upon hearing Echo’s words. “What?!”

As if to answer the new-gen, the blue-haired Huntress adjusted her position until her back was turned to Axl, and, without any sort of warning, began to tug at one of his boots, causing him to jump and be overcome with dread. “H-Hey! What’re you doing?!” Axl asked, frantically squirming again, but he then remembered tugging Echo’s boots off to tickle her soles the previous day, and he realized she was going to do the same to him.

Echo didn’t bother to respond, focused on trying to pry off Axl’s boots. With some effort, she pried off one boot, shortly followed by the other, promptly tossing them aside out of reach, where they landed onto the floor with a metallic clatter.

“G-Get off!” Axl whined, trying to keep the older Reploid away from his boots, but the rope binding his limbs were too constricting for him to properly fight back or push Echo off of him. All he could do was writhe uselessly as his feet were made bare, protected by nothing but his thin bodysuit. Once his boots were discarded, Axl sounded like he was about to start whimpering.

“Are you still mad about yesterday? Come on, man, I was just trying to get you to lighten up!” Axl whined, more beads of sweat falling down his forehead, his toes curling in fear.

“I know,” Echo replied bluntly. “however, you interrupted my work. So I feel it’s fair that I teach you a lesson.”

“Please!” Axl begged. “I won’t tickle you again, just let me go!”

Echo scoffed, grabbing for Axl’s big toe on his left foot, rendering it taut and pressing her fingertips to the sole, causing him to tense up and let out a squeak, though the Huntress couldn’t tell if it was from fear or ticklishness. Either way, it made her all the more eager to give the young gunslinger some sweet payback. “I know, Axl. Because I’m going to make sure you NEVER interrupt me while I’m working again.”

Axl’s irises shrank in fear. He tried to curl his toes, which proved impossible to do on his left foot due to Echo holding his big toe. He could have squirmed instead, but he knew that would get him nowhere due to the rope binding his limbs tightly to the corners of the table. He was completely bound and helpless, and he realized that the only thing he could do was to brace himself. Anticipation was nagging at his mind, and yet, while he didn’t show it, despite his current predicament, a different feeling was growing within him: excitement. Part of him was actually looking FORWARD to the next round of tickle torture. An image of the new-gen laughing and thrashing about as Echo tickled his soles briefly flitted through his mind, and the blush on Axl’s cheeks grew worse.

With a swift motion, the fingertips the blue-haired Huntress was digging into Axl’s bare sole began skittering up and down at an alarming pace. A high-pitched squeal burst from the young gunslinger, which then devolved into desperate laughter, catching Echo off-guard slightly, but she didn’t cease skittering her fingers up and down his sole.

“WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Nohohoho! Whyhyhyhy?!” Axl cried out helplessly, trying to wiggle his tickled sole out of Echo’s grip, but alas, he was unable to do so due to his foot being held taut by the big toe. The laughter drawn from the young Hunter made it obvious that his feet were rather ticklish, and while they weren’t deathly sensitive like Echo’s, her fingers skittering along his soles still tickled badly, and Axl wasn’t being dramatic.

Echo dug the tips of her fingers into the tender synthetic flesh as deep as possible, stimulating the artificial nerves underneath. It was just as tender as any real sole with the added bonus that it was impossibly soft to the touch like a pillow. A Reploid’s body would never grow old, age or harden with calluses from overuse, which made Axl’s soles permanently soft and ticklish. In fact, his soles were just as tender as Echo’s, which surprised yet also amused the latter.

By this point, Echo realized she was still grinning. It was difficult to make herself stop, but she didn’t want to. Instead, she pulled her hand away from Axl’s left sole and let go of his big toe, allowing his foot to move freely again and giving him a break to catch his breath. The new-gen was confused at why Echo had stopped so early unlike the previous round, but at the same time, he was relieved to be able to catch his breath. However, that relief soon turned to horror when the Huntress reached her hands out to either side, and dug her fingers into both of Axl’s soles.

“W-Wait, d-don’t!” Axl pleaded, but deep down he knew Echo was not going to back down.

Echo turned to face Axl briefly. “Oh, come on, Axl, you’re not going to die or anything. Like I said, I’m only doing this to teach you a lesson. Now just stay put.” She spoke to the younger Reploid, before shifting her focus to his soles, and began scribbling her fingers up and down both feet.

Axl shrieked and melted into laughter once more, shaking his head back and forth and thrashing in his bonds. “Plehehehehahahahaha!!! Plehehehease! Eeehehehehehee!”

The poor gunslinger’s pleas fell on deaf ears. Axl wriggled his feet from side to side in an attempt to dodge Echo’s fingers, but they would always follow and continue scribbling away at the soles. She even glided her fingers from the arches down to the heels to amp up the tickling, before moving them back up to the arches, then back to the heels, and vice versa. And it was done at random intervals, making it impossible for Axl to predict when Echo would strike for his arches or heels. For the gunslinger, it was torture, but it felt SO good for the blue-haired Huntress.

Just when Axl thought the tickling couldn’t get any worse, he felt Echo’s fingers glide from his heels higher up his soles, until she reached the balls of his feet. In less than a second, her fingers started drilling into them.

Axl’s eyes bugged out, and a stream of cackling burst from him as he threw his head back. “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NAHAHAT THEHEHEHERE!”

Echo’s eyes widened from Axl’s outburst. It seemed the balls of his feet were a weak spot. Her grin grew wider, and she decided to milk it for all it was worth. “Since when do you beg, Axl?” She asked teasingly. “I thought you were tougher than this.”

“PLEHEHEHEHEASE! NAHAHAHAT MY FEHEHEHEET! EEEHEHEHEHEHEE!” Axl pleaded between bouts of uncontrollable laughter, his cheeks a deep crimson. Part of it was from the embarrassment of having one of his most ticklish spots discovered, but it was also from the fact part of him was enjoying the torture. He was no masochist, but the rush of adrenaline was just so exhilarating and felt so good, especially the ticklish sensation.

Echo spent the next few minutes skittering her fingers along the balls of the new-gen’s feet, until something piqued her curiosity. I know his heels, arches and the balls of his feet are sensitive, but there’s one area I haven’t tested yet. The Huntress thought, before ceasing tickling the sensitive areas, resulting in Axl’s laughter dissolving into giggles, grateful for being allowed to catch his breath once more.

But his break wouldn't last long, because Echo began gliding her fingers up to Axl’s toes.

Axl’s eyes widened, and his irises shrank once more. He tried to cry out and beg for Echo not to go for his toes, but it was too late. “Wait, nononoEEEEEYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Echo’s fingers already began attacking the young gunslinger’s digits. A shrill, high-pitched squeal erupted from Axl, the loudest Echo had ever heard from him, which was quickly followed by a stream of hysterical cackling. The new-gen’s eyes were wide like dinner plates, and he threw his head back, his back arching as his toes were tickled.

If the balls of his feet being prodded and scribbled at was a nightmare, Axl’s toes were the complete opposite. Echo’s dexterous fingers stroked at each of the pudgy digits, which wriggled and flailed wildly in a fruitless attempt to escape her fingertips or at least quell the ticklish sensation radiating there. But alas, it did nothing to lessen the torture.

Echo was caught off-guard by Axl breaking into hysterics when she targeted his toes, but it only made her more determined to give him a taste of his own medicine and to draw out more laughter. His toes were clearly the worst and most ticklish spot on his feet, and the ticklish sensation was made even worse when the blue-haired Huntress occasionally wormed a stray finger between the digits.

“How’s it feel to be given payback for what you did to me yesterday, Axl?” Echo teased, even though she knew Axl could barely hear her over his crazed laughter.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ECHOHOHOHOHO PLEHEHEHEASE!” Axl cried, trying to gasp for breath in between his laughter.

“That’s not an answer!” Echo raised her voice so she could be heard over Axl’s hysteria. As she kept tickling his toes, she got the idea to squeeze each and every one of his digits on his right foot, while still skittering her fingers over the toes on his left foot, producing more squeals from the young gunslinger. She was amazed to find how incredibly tender and squishy Axl’s toes were, possibly even more so than her own. It explained why his digits were so sensitive and how he broke into hysterics immediately after Echo started tickling them.

“I’M SOHOHOHOHORYHYHYHY!” Axl shrieked. “PLEHEHEHEHEASE! L-LEHEHEHET MEHE GOHOHOHOHO!”

“Oh, I will. But your punishment won’t be over until the next little while.” Echo replied casually, her words causing Axl to whine.

For the next several minutes, Echo’s fingers continued to assault Axl’s plump, wriggling toes. Sweat was falling down the new-gen’s forehead as he continued thrashing about in his bonds, the room filled with the sound of his own cackling. Part of him was in awe of how merciless Echo was with her tickling. Axl’s method of tickling someone was playful and tactical, but Echo’s on the other hand was more ruthless. He couldn’t tell if her method of tickling others was because of what happened the previous day, or if it was always like this. Tears had started to bud in the corners of his eyes by now, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he was able to take the tickle torture.

The reactions produced from Axl were just too fun to stop. Echo discovered that stroking her fingers in different places resulted in different pitches of laughter. When she focused on the balls of his feet, Axl would squeal loudly, and he would squeal the LOUDEST when Echo aimed for his toes. His arches and heels were both sensitive, but the way he cackled when his poor digits and balls of his feet were tickled told the Huntress everything she wanted to know.

“NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! NOHOHOHO MOHOHOHORE! JUST STAHAHAHAHAP!” Axl screeched, the tears budding in his eyes finally spilling out and rolling down his cheeks.

Echo had lost track of how long she had been tickling Axl, but upon hearing his screeching, and seeing the first signs of dawn beginning to shine through the window, she decided to finally stop, and pulled her fingers away from the young gunslinger’s feet.

Axl sagged in his bonds, completely worn out. He had since stopped struggling and instead focused on catching his breath. His lungs ached, and his feet twitched as they tingled from being tickled excessively, making him giggle under his breath. Echo turned her head to look at the younger Reploid, whose eyes were half-closed, visibly exhausted.

Echo got down from the table and back onto the floor, relieving Axl of her weight on his legs. She walked over next to where his head lay on the table. “You okay, Axl?” She asked, her tone gentle and full of genuine concern, completely different from her devious tone from before, wiping away the tears that had fallen down Axl’s cheeks. The Huntress gained great satisfaction and amusement from tickling the young gunslinger for payback, but after seeing just how exhausted he was, she felt a little guilty, and worried if she had gone too far.

It took a few moments for Axl to regain some of his strength, but when he did, he responded, turning his head to face Echo. “Yeah… Oh, man… I… I thought I was gonna die…” The new-gen ended his sentence with a quiet, lighthearted laugh.

Echo went to work untying the rope binding Axl’s wrists and ankles to the table, allowing him to finally move freely again. But he decided to take a few moments to lay down as he was still exhausted. Echo gently patted the young Hunter on the head to comfort him, especially after the tickle torture he was just put through. Any annoyance or anger she felt toward him seemed to have vanished by now. Axl purred and smiled contentedly as she patted his head, which made the Huntress smile in amusement.

As Echo patted Axl’s head, the guilt she felt of putting him through such intense tickle torture returned to her. Despite her annoyance at the new-gen interrupting her work the previous day, she had absolutely no intentions of hurting him, and just wanted to teach him a lesson. Still, Axl’s hysterical laughter and his bugged out eyes while he was being tickled (especially during the last round) made the blue-haired Huntress concerned if she went too far.

“Axl?” Echo began, a look of guilt in her eyes as she looked at Axl.

“Hm?” Axl shifted his attention to the older Reploid, curious about what she had to say.

“I… I’m sorry if I went too far. I was just annoyed with you interrupting me from my work yesterday that I wanted to teach you a lesson. But I’m worried that… me tickling you was too much for you to handle.”

“Hey, it’s okay, Echo.” Axl said, smiling reassuringly. “Sure, the tickling was pretty intense, but you didn’t hurt me or anything. In fact, I… actually kinda liked it…!”

Echo’s eyes widened at that last part. “Wait, you LIKED being tickled?”

Axl blushed, realizing what he just said, before sitting up and rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, yeah…! I don’t know why, but it just… feels nice, at least to me.”

Echo stood there, stunned. She was shocked by the fact that despite how intense she had been tickling Axl, the new-gen ENJOYED it.

Now that Axl had mentioned it, although Echo didn’t want to admit it, part of her actually enjoyed being tickled by the young gunslinger the previous day as well. She realized that she shared the same enjoyment of being tickled just like Axl. Given that he had revealed his secret to the blue-haired Huntress, and it was just the two of them alone in Axl’s dorm, Echo decided to reveal HER secret as well.

“Um… Gonna be honest, Axl…” Echo started, already feeling a blush creeping up on her cheeks. “Now that you mention it, I…” Her words trailed off, hesitating to continue her sentence, before resuming. “I actually kinda… LIKED it when you tickled me yesterday…” She muttered the last part of her sentence, turning her head away from Axl.

Axl’s eyes widened with shock. “Wait, really?” He was completely caught off-guard that Echo, a Reploid who had a personality completely opposite to him, shared his interest in being tickled.

Echo hesitated for a moment before answering. “Yeah…” She mumbled, before taking a deep breath, and speaking again in normal volume. “But don’t tell anyone else about that. Please.”

“Well, if that makes you feel better, I won’t tell anyone.” Axl smiled, before he remembered something. “Oh, and, uhh, could you give me my boots back, please?”

“Oh, sure.” Echo bent down and picked up Axl’s boots that had been discarded earlier, and placed them on the table next to him. “Here.”

“Thanks!” Axl chirped, before proceeding to place his boots back on. He had to admit, it felt nice for his feet to be put back in the warmth and comfort of his own boots again, especially since they had been tickled excessively. After putting them back on, he noticed rays of light coming in through the nearby window, and he looked out to see that the sun was rising. “Oh, morning already? Jeez, Echo, how long have you been tickling me for?”

“I actually went to bed and woke up about an hour before the sun would rise before I got here.” Echo replied, smiling cleverly. “So, I’d say I’ve tickled you for… at least a full hour.”

“Oh, wow. And yesterday I tickled you for, like, a few minutes!” Axl commented.

“Heh, true. Anyway, I should probably head back to my dorm in case X or any of the others come to check up on me. Plus, I need to get ready for the day, too. You should probably do the same, Axl.”

“Yeah, I was gonna say. And my hair is a mess, too.” Axl stroked his fingers through his spiky hair for emphasis- there were tangles visible in his hair. Part of it was from tossing and turning while he was sleeping in his capsule, and from thrashing about while he was tied to the table and tickled.

Echo chuckled, giving Axl more pats on the head, who purred once more in response like a cat. “You’re funny, you know that?”

Axl giggled, before suddenly pulling Echo into a hug, giving her a noogie. “C’mere, you!”

Echo was caught off-guard, and blushed in both surprise and embarrassment. She tried pulling away initially, but in the end, she decided to let Axl show his affection. She couldn’t help but smile from how affectionate the new-gen was being with her. After a few moments, Axl decided to release the older Reploid.

Upon letting go of Echo, Axl noticed the smile on her face, and he grinned. “Oh, THERE’S that smile again!”

“Oh, shut it, you goofball.” Echo mumbled grumpily, though she was still smiling. “Anyway, I think I’m gonna head back to my dorm now. But first I need to bring the table and rope back to one of the storage units in the basement.”

“Huh? What table?” Axl asked, before looking down. “Oh! THIS table! Is this what you tied me to?”

“Yep. I was originally considering tying you to your capsule, but that would’ve been too hard to do, so I resorted to using a foldable table instead. Now, uhh, could you climb down from it, please?”

“Oh, sure thing, Echo!” Axl spoke, getting down from the table and letting Echo fold it up and hoist it up in her arms, and carry the rope around her shoulders. “You need help carrying that table? ‘Cause it looks pretty heavy.”

“I can manage carrying it myself, thanks.” Echo responded, some strain in her voice, but she nonetheless made her way to the door, opening it to leave and carry the table and rope back to the basement. Before the Huntress could leave, though, she stopped at the doorway, and looked back at Axl, propping the table against the wall. “Oh, Axl?”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Um…” Echo paused, trying to think of what to say before she continued. “Thanks for trying to help me cheer up yesterday. I know it might sound like I’m lying because of how annoyed I was with you, but… I’m genuinely glad that you care about me and tried to help me smile more.” She managed a small smile. Not a forced one, but a genuine one.

Axl was surprised, yet flattered by the blue-haired Huntress’s response, and the blush returned to his cheeks. Despite this, he grinned gladly. “Aww, no need to thank me, Echo. And, I know this might sound weird, but… does that mean you won’t mind if I ever tickle you again?”

Echo was perplexed by the young gunslinger’s question. She thought about it for a moment, wondering if it would be alright to let Axl tickle her again, before answering. “Hm… Maybe. I suppose I can let you tickle me again, but on one condition. Don’t do it while I’m working. Got it?”

Axl nodded eagerly. “Sounds good to me! Oh, and, you aren’t gonna tie me up again while I sleep later tonight, will you?”

“No, not this time.” Echo replied. “Unless you WANT to be tickled again.” Axl snorted and laughed sheepishly in response.

“Well, I’m gonna take the table and rope back to the basement and head back to my dorm now. So, I’ll see you later, Axl.” Echo spoke, smirking affectionately, picking the table back up.

“See ya, Echo!” Axl waved goodbye to Echo as she walked out the door, which closed behind her, leaving the gunslinger alone once more to get ready for the day.

As Echo was walking to the basement, carrying the table and rope, she found herself wondering what would be in store the next time she and Axl would tickle each other. Would they use just their fingers next time, or maybe, just maybe, tools of sorts could be involved? The very thought alone made the Huntress blush, but perhaps using tools COULD make things more interesting instead of just using fingers, especially given that Echo had managed to turn Axl into putty in her hands so easily when tickling him not too long ago. She could use countless tools to draw out laughter from the young gunslinger for as long as she wanted (provided she doesn’t go too far so he doesn’t pass out), and Axl could do the same to her. Both Reploids would get enjoyment out of it, as they shared an interest in being tickled, so it would be a win-win situation for the both of them.

But for now, only time will tell. Echo can only wait to see what Axl will do the next time he tickles her, not that she would mind (so long as he doesn’t interrupt her work doing so). After all, they were both good friends, and they would do anything to make each other happy, no matter what.

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