The clock struck 8am, and as most creatures across the land would just be waking up to a brand new day, an extremely annoyed and panicked Meowth was checking his home for any of the missing jewelry that was stolen from him. It was around the 37th time that night that he had scoured his whole house for any scrap of valuables that he could salvage, yet he still hadn’t accepted that they had taken everything. The thieves had left only his large hoard of balls of yarn behind. Total cash value: 56 cents.

There was only one room in the house that the thieves hadn’t ransacked -  the underground basement that was currently holding Damo, the Buizel prisoner who had been the distraction that allowed this incident to happen. The Meowth wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt with regards to the initial accusations, as no self-respecting thief would volunteer themselves as bait to allow others access to steal. But that didn’t mean that he was feeling any sense of regret for the cruel tickle torture he had inflicted upon Damo for the previous night. On the contrary, Damo was now by far the most valuable thing inside that home.

As the Meowth continued to contemplate his next action, Damo was long passed out in the basement dungeon. He was so soft that the continuous feather roller against his feet took away all of his energy within an hour or so. He now simply lay asleep with his body still twitching occasionally from the foot rollers continuing their work. His mind somewhat damaged from all the tickling, the sleeping Buizel was immersed in a pleasant dream involving rest, comfort, and soft velvety pillows for him to walk on and soothe his tingling footpaws. His dreaming came to a very sudden end however when he felt a large smack across his face, the rudest awakening he could have gotten.

“OW!” Damo shouted as he remained dazed and confused for a while. He could see the blurred outline of the Meowth in front of him. “Wh-what was that for!?”

“Well I ain’t gonna just stand here and wait for you to wake up, and I’d already used the water-splashing technique once…” The Meowth said angrily. He had pulled the feather roller away from Damo, which the Bui was grateful for, but the angry look on the cat’s face clearly indicated he wasn’t out of the woods yet. “Listen, we need to talk! Whilst I was down here gallivanting with you and your ticklish tootsies last night, almost my entire collection of jewelry was stolen! And it couldn’t have come at a worse time…”

“Oh...I-I’m sorry!” The nervous Buizel replied, almost feeling guilty, despite the fact that he was being falsely imprisoned. As his vision cleared he maintained eye contact with his captor, who was now dressed a little more smartly, his dress shirt being buttoned up and his feet were adorned with white socks and smart dress shoes. The clothing was a much prettier sight than his aggressive facial expression anyway. “B-but I’m sure you can get some of it back! I hope there wasn’t much of sentimental value to you…”

“Do you know how much all that jewellry was worth?” The Meowth put his face right up to the Buizel’s to intimidate him even further. “Hmm?”

“Erm...t-thousands? Millions?” Damo replied softly, whimpering a little as his captor’s teeth were angrily displayed.

“Nothin’! Absolutely sod all!” The cat lifted up his shiny gold necklace, the one accessory that he had kept on his person. “Even this necklace I wear is worthless! It’s all fake!”

“Fake?” Damo became much more confused, “Well..if it’s fake, then surely losing it is no problem? You can make mor-”

“No problem!? Oh my sweet summer Buizel… Maybe on a normal day it’d be no problem. Counterfeiting can be a pain, I’m used to having delays on my merchandise… But when my whole inventory is stolen, on a day when I’ve arranged a huge sale that would’ve made me a millionaire, on a day when I’ve arranged to use a fair percentage of that to pay back a debt!! THAT’S when it becomes a problem!”

Damo was learning a lot about his captor, who wasn’t quite the powerful mogul he initially seemed to be. The Meowth seemed somewhat vulnerable compared to the previous night, his cocky confidence now replaced with anxiety as the situation had become severely complicated.

“Oh...Well...Is there anything I can do to help?” Damo says almost instinctively, his empathy overriding his better judgment.

“Absolutely! And that’s why I want to cut ourselves a little deal~” The captor takes a seat just next to where Damo is bound, his demeanor calming a little as he attempts an aura of friendliness. “I know you had no idea about those thieves, and I know you’ve been a lot of fun for me to play with~ So I don’t wanna keep being a bad guy and keeping you down here! But I’m gonna need some help from you before I even think about letting you out of my sight.”

“O-of course, sir!” Damo replied submissively, “A-anything, if it’ll convince you to let me out!”

“Call me Tobe…” The Meowth smiled and pulled out Damo’s glasses from his shirt pocket, placing them gently onto the Buizel’s eyes and restoring his vision. “I hope that returning your glasses shows that I’m looking for a companion today, not just a prisoner.”

“T-thank you, Tobe!” Damo smiled wide as his prized glasses were returned to his eyes, now allowing him to see his captor properly. Tobe’s fur looked a lot softer than he had expected. The Bui continued to try his best to keep the situation friendly. “I don’t wanna be any more trouble, honest! Just tell me what you want me to do~”

“Simple. The plan for my day was to sell much of my counterfeit goods to an unsuspecting buyer this morning, reaping me the biggest payout of my career. Then, in the evening, I was to meet with an old colleague of mine to repay a long-standing debt - leaving me free of financial responsibility and still one of the richest Pokemon in the region! Of course, now that I’ve had to call and cancel the transaction - and I absolutely hate phone calls - that leaves me unable to pay back my debt, and will shortly leave me with the creditor’s foot lodged up my ass - and his ain't as soft as yours!”

“I see...I’m sure he’ll understand if you need more time to pay it off though! My local shopkeeper once let me pay for a candy bar a few days late when I forgot my purse.”

“...If I wasn’t trying to be nice, I’d be tickling your feet so hard right now for even suggesting that. These are criminals! We ain’t no polite service workers! If I even started saying what you just said I’d be swung around by my tail and right into a brick wall!” Tobe shouted in frustration but soon managed to calm himself down. He had to continue reminding himself of how vulnerable and sheepish his captive was, and seeing his toes tightly curl in reflex at the mention of a tickling threat made it clear that there was no need for aggression to keep the Buizel on his side. “...Now, what’s gonna happen is simple! Before my meeting tonight, you’re gonna meet with this loan shark first, and-”

“Eep! S-shark!?”

“...it’s a figure of speech, stupid. You’ll be meeting a Scorbunny. A Scorbunny with a lot of money and a lot of contacts a lot stronger than either of us, so listen carefully! I’ve already sent him an anonymous message arranging a meeting at lunchtime. All you need to do is take out a little loan from him of exactly the amount I need, then come back and give it to me. Then, when I give him the money back later he’ll be none the wiser and I’ll be off the hook!”

“...but what about me?”

“Oh. Well, I’m sure you’ll be far away back in your own region before he can try and look for you! And don’t worry, I’ll be guiding you the whole way. The good thing about you being so fluffy is that I can hide a wire on you to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

“Hmm...I dunno...it still seems kinda risky…”

“Aww…” Tobe leans forward and gently grips Damo’s right foot, making the Bui yelp a little, before gently rubbing it. “Is the widdle Buizel scared? Scared of fumbling your words around? Well, what’s scarier, the thought of that or the thought of what I’m gonna do to these feet if you fail!?”

“Aah! I understand! I’ll try my best, s-sir!”

“Tobe! My name is Tobe! At least try and be more of a partner than a captive…”

“A-ah...s-sorry, Tobe. Umm..you’re, uh...you’re still rubbing my foot.” Damo said as a slight blush appeared on his cheeks.

“Am I? It’s been so many hours since I last touched them, I forgot how nice they were to feel…” Tobe smirked as he spotted Damo’s blush, still very gently fondling his stocked foot. “You like that?”

“Y-ye...Maybe..” The gentle touching of his foot made Damo extremely flustered and he struggled to put words together.
“Then if you do a good job with the loan bunny I’ll give you a good massage before I let you go~ If you don’t do a good job, well, I’m feelin’ in the mood for a good pinwheel rolling tonight…”

“I’ll do good!” Damo insisted as his toes clenched again.

“Good! Then let’s get you ready…”

Over the next few hours, Damo was released from his bondage and fitted with a small device that would allow Tobe to listen and guide him through his dealing with the Scorbunny. Tobe made a brief attempt to train Damo to be more forceful and confident, but he quickly figured out it was a lost cause. Instead, he advised Damo to play up to his clear strengths - being a weak and helpless little boy in need of support. A backstory was conjured up involving Damo needing money for food and shelter after he was kicked out of his own town. Emotionally manipulative, just like Tobe had been to him. Shortly before lunchtime, the pair set off, an extremely anxious Damo still not being fully comfortable with things.

---------------------------------------

“I...ah...I should have a-asked to borrow some...shoes f-from you…” Damo complained as he walked barefoot through the woodland alongside the fancy-shod Tobe. He normally wouldn’t have a problem with walking, but the overnight treatment had tenderised his soles something fierce. He could feel each individual blade of grass teasing his bare feet as he walked, and it was only his anxiety about the impending situation that balanced him out and helped him maintain his composure as the tingles kept flowing through his legs.

“Nonsense, why does a little Buizel like you need shoes? Barefoot on the rough ground builds character.” Tobe said smugly as he walked without issue.

“T-then why aren’t you barefoot too?”

“Are you serious? You never know what’s lying around out here...Shh! Quick!” Before Damo could continue questioning the unfair footwear discrepancy, he was grabbed by the Meowth and pulled to behind a nearby bush. Just ahead of them was a very small, decrepit brick building. “That brick shed over there is the Scorbunny’s hideout. His name is Terry, but you should probably call him Sir. He ain’t as friendly towards weaklings as I am. Here he comes now!”

As Tobe keeps hold of Damo’s head to make sure he doesn’t pop out too much from behind the bush, the pair could see the Scorbunny coming out of the small cabin and starting to pace around outside. He was wearing a leather jacket and seemed to have some strange scarring to his face, but otherwise he looked normal.

“He looks pret-”

“SHH!”

“Oh...uh...he looks pretty friendly I guess… So I just pop over and come back in a few minutes with the money right?”

“Exactly. I think we got lucky...normally he has a Weavile partner with him, and he’s the one you really need to look out for. Since it’s just him, even if it goes badly you’ll likely escape with only minimal lacerations. Now, just as we practiced, and I’ll keep listening through the earpiece. If it goes south, you abandon the deal when I tell you to and get outta there, but I know you’ll do well. Okay?”

“...Okay…” Damo’s confidence was raised slightly by the encouraging reassurance of the Meowth. He allowed Tobe’s confidence to rub off on himself, and took a deep breath before beginning to walk up to where the Scorbunny was standing. As he approached he nervously rubbed his hands together, but remained calm. He just had to be his friendly self, do the deal, then go back. Simple. His worries about communication were partially cleared when the Scorbunny turned around and spotted him, launching into an overly friendly speech himself.

“Little Buizel, my friend! There you are!” The Scorbunny said in a surprisingly deep and aged voice as he paced towards Damo. “Always good to meet a new customer!”

“H-hello there! I guess you’re expecting me-oh!!” Damo’s greeting was interrupted by the Scorbunny’s friendly handshake gesture being quickly turned into an invasive hug, the bunny keeping a worrying grip on Damo for a few seconds before releasing him. The Buizel looked up and down across the Scorbunny’s body for a little while - Whilst the leather jacket covered his torso save for a slight midriff, the bunny’s head was quite badly damaged, a deep red scar visible over his right eye and a noticeable triangular chunk of his right ear missing. His fur also felt much rougher than a Scorbunny’s usually would be. 

“Ah my apologies if you’re not one to be touched. But it’s my policy to treat you as a friend, not just a customer. Call me Terry, because that’s my name. Actually...no, don’t call me that. Call me mister or sir but don’t use my real name. Don’t like it. You are Dah-mo, yes?”

“Umm...ok...yes mister, but it’s pronounced ‘Day-”

“Ayy, that’s great! Now listen Bui, you already said in your message what you need and I got it for you so we can make this real quick, but I gotta lay out some disclaimers for you, yeah?”

“Oh, okay-”

“This little loan here’s got just twenty percent interest for the first two weeks, just a little deal that I give my first time customers, I mean friends. You gimme back that 120% in a fortnight then you’re officially a Friend of the Bunny, yeah? But if you need longer then you got a month at 50 percent interest. I gotta make my money somehow, you know?”

“Of course, mister, I underst-”

“You need longer than a month you come talk to me, you come work something out with me, right? We can work something out, it’ll be a little more expensive maybe but if you're struggling then I can help. If you don’t come to me or if you keep screwing me around then that’s when things get a little more unpleasant, you hear?”

“...Um...y-ye-” The bunny’s ‘disclaimers’ were coming so thick and fast that Damo began to zone out and soon could barely understand what he was being told, which he was thankful for as it began to sound more threatening.

“I don’t wanna have to come hassling ya but if I do then I will, you hear? Two months I start getting angry, three months I start getting punchy. Four months? I step on your face a little, third degree burns right there. Capiche?”

“..Oh, I mean, yes, yes, absolutely!” Damo replies as he clicks himself awake again. “Except...what does capiche mean?”

“Ayy that’s no problem, I know you seem like a great guy and I know I ain’t gonna have to kick you into a fireball so we’re good. Good? C’mere and seal the deal with another hug!”

The odd mix between threats and friendliness was throwing Damo off, but all he cared about was that it felt like the deal was nearly done. He just had to close it and he could get back to Tobe with the cash. He happily accepted the overly-friendly hug from the Scorbunny.

“Hehe, so I’m okay to head off once I have the money?” Damo said as he was again forcefully gripped by the bunny.

“Oh sure, no problem at all! No...problem...at…...all…” The bun replied, making sure that the hug kept going, his hands getting uncomfortably thorough as they gently rubbed Damo’s back.

“Uhh...Um...th-thanks for the hug and all but…”

“No problem!” The tight hug was quickly released allowing Damo to catch his breath. “Listen, you just wait right here, okay? I gotta go and check everything before I hand it over, just wait one second and I’ll call you in!” The rabbit said enthusiastically as he disappeared into his brick cabin before closing the door quickly. Damo breathed out a sigh of relief, as it seemed like it was all nearly over.

Tobe, who was hiding himself well behind the bush and listening closely through the small mic he had strapped to Damo, also sighed with relief and sat back smugly to await the Buizel’s cash-filled return. Just as he relaxed a little, he began hearing some strange noises through his earpiece, some kind of interference and tapping. He looked over to Damo, who was standing completely still, showing no reason for any kind of bad signal.

“...hmph....damn thing…”

Small snippets of speech started coming through to Tobe’s ear, making him think that he was picking up stray radio signals or similar. However, as the interference began to clear, he realised that he recognised the voice. It was Terry’s voice, but sounding much more loud and clear than he did whilst talking to Damo.

“........kin’ cat tryna screw me around again, I’m sure of it……..It’s the exact money he’s s’posed to be payin’ me, there’s no way that weasel prick’s genuine! Motherf….”

As his heart rate shot up tenfold, Tobe set himself to full panic stations as he realised the deal had gone bad faster than he thought possible. He knew he should have put Damo’s wire somewhere more invasive. Quickly, he stood up from behind the bush and started waving his hands around, trying his best to get Damo’s attention. Damo, however, was completely oblivious, staying still facing the opposite direction. As far as he is concerned, it’s all gone swimmingly and he’s about to earn his way out of this place. And as the door to the cabin began to slowly open, Tobe had no choice but to duck back down and stay hidden. He had no way of saving Damo now.

“Ayy, kid, it’s all ready for ya!” The Scorbunny continues his friendly demeanor as he opens the door wide. “Come right on in, you’ll be in and out in just a shake of a cat’s tail!”

Damo gained confidence at the worst possible time as he happily followed the Scorbunny’s instructions, still completely oblivious to the loss of his wire. He strolled into the dilapidated brick cabin, which was dimly lit only with small lamp lights and looked like it hadn’t been maintained in years.

“So, mister, where do I pick up the...t-the…” Damo received a sudden return of his anxiety as he looked at the Scorbunny standing ahead of him in front of a large table...and felt an unfamiliar hand grab onto his shoulder. The Buizel’s body jumped as the door was suddenly slammed shut and locked.

“Ooh, he IS a soft one, isn’t he?” A high-pitched yet sinister voice came from behind Damo, who slowly turned around to see the smirking face of a Weavile. “I think he’s even softer than the cat!”

“Ummm...hi?” Damo innocently tries to maintain friendliness as the situation turns very unfriendly. He turns back to the Scorbunny and nervously laughs. “Heh...is there a problem?”

“Are you talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? ‘Cause you seem to think you’re talkin’ to some moron!” The Scorbunny’s voice and expression get more aggressive, not helped by the scarring on his face. In his hand, he holds the small microphone that he had pulled from Damo’s fur. “Seems there’s someone else involved in this deal, ain’t there?”

“N-no! No, I can explain! It just...must have gotten stuck there!” Damo pathetically attempts to think of an excuse, even as he knows that he is doomed.

“Don’t gimme any of that! You ain’t gonna Buizel your way out of this one, boy! OK, Ern, throw him down!”

“W-wait! WAIT!” Damo is very easily picked up by the towering Weavile behind him, and as the Scorbunny moves to the side, the Bui is roughly thrown onto the table in the centre of the room. Far too fearful to try and fight away, Damo only squirms lightly and attempts to sweet-talk as the Weavile forces his arms and legs into metal cuffs at the edges of the table.

“P-please! I can explain! M-mister? Mister Ern, sir? Do you prefer Ernie or Ernest-”

“I’d prefer you to be gagged!” The Weavile said as he locked the Buizel helplessly into the cuffs. “But Terry won’t let me have all the fun...says that gags are ‘unfair’ for interrogations, pfft~”

“Now now, Ern, let’s not get too fierce with the boy right now. I hope he can offer up a nice, long explanation about who’s listenin’ in now, isn’t that right boy?”

“Y-yes! I mean...here’s the thing-”

“Now calm down! If you ain’t the one responsible for this microphone then we ain’t gonna hurt you as long as you tell us who it is. Spill the beans and you can be on your way~”

“I-I can’t tell you! But I promise I’ll leave you alone if you let me go!” Damo did hesitate for a second and contemplated simply talking to earn his escape. By all means, he was due a little revenge on Tobe for his night of torture. But his morning spent with the Meowth was nice and friendly, and he was always the type to try to see the good in everyone. He didn’t want to cause any more unnecessary hassle for either him or his captor...but now it seemed like he had to choose.

“You know I always get the occasional bad business, comes with the career and all…” The bunny speaks calmly as he paces back and forth at Damo’s side, the sinister Weavile staring the Buizel down at the end of the table. “But my friendliness ain’t just for show, I got plenty of great friends around here. I mean...there’s even a Meowth around here that’s one of my best customers.”

“R-really?” Damo perks up at the possibility that Tobe may not be such a big enemy of the Scorbunny after all.

“Oh yeah, man, me and him go way back. Ain’t seen him in a long time. You know, he does owe me some money, but...honestly, I’d be happy just to see him again for old time’s sake. Tobe was his name.”

“Tobe?” Damo smiles wide, “T-that’s him, he’s the one who sent me! I’m glad you two are-”

“AHA! I knew it! I knew it! You’re workin’ for that GODDAMN CAT PRICK!” The Scorbunny raged at the top of his voice at Damo’s confession. If the Buizel could have rolled up into a ball from fright, he would. The outraged bunny waves the microphone around in front of him, making sure he was speaking into it. “Oh, I’m sure you know ALL about how much he’s screwed us around, how much of my money he’s taken, how many times he’s clearly thought I’m some kind of asshole who can be taken advantage of. Isn’t that right, Tobe!? I know you’re still listening!”

The Meowth, still safely hid in the bushes, felt completely helpless as he listened to every threatening word that his enemies were saying. For a second, he started getting ready to make a run for it and get as far away from there as possible. But something within him sparked as he listened closely to the frightened whimpers of Damo as he was held captive in the cabin. When he was tormenting Damo, they sounded cute, but the whimpers distressed him when he knew what Terry and Ern were capable of doing.

“Well, if you don’t wanna show yourself and be a man, maybe listening to your friend cry will convince you?” Terry said before placing the earpiece down on the edge of the table right next to Damo’s head, before addressing the petrified Buizel himself ”I’m wonderin’ how similar you two are… You know I did a number on little ol’ Tobe a few years back, messed him up pretty good~ Maybe I can use the same methods on you~”

“Please, mister! I don’t know him that much! He just asked me to do a favour, I didn’t know how much you hated him!”

“Pfft, likely story. I’m sure you two are like peas in a pod! Is that right?” As he further taunts the captive Buizel, he paces down to his cuffed feet and uses a single finger to stroke down across the centre pad of the right sole. Right on cue, Damo lets out a giggly yelp and curls his toes up tight. “Ooh, hehe, you’re very, very ticklish aren’t you? You got ticklish feet?”

“N-no! You just caught me by surprise!” Damo lied, his heart sinking as he was faced with yet another session of foot tickle torture.

“Oh really? Well then this won’t be too bad for you then. Ern, start tickling our little visitor’s feet.”

A wide grin on the Weavile’s face accompanied a threatening wiggle of his finger claws. Damo squirmed around a fair bit, but he could not escape the nerve-wracking touch of the Weavile’s claws placing themselves against his bare orange soles. As the claws began to wriggle around against his sensitive feet, so too did his toes wriggle and splay frantically, immediate laughter bursting out of him. Any attempts to plead further were cut short as his laughter completely overtook his body. The laughter was easily loud enough to be heard clearly over the microphone, giving Tobe a good idea of what was happening. Tobe had felt those same Weavile claws against his own soles in the past, and it wasn’t something he would wish on his worst enemy. There’s a very good reason he started wearing shoes. As much as Damo viewed his tickle methods as extreme, they were playful and tame compared to what Tobe himself had been put through all those years ago, and hearing the innocent Buizel squeal with ultra-ticklish laughter was bringing back some very bad memories.

“That’s right, Ern, keep those claws working! Get the pads real good! Show the Buizel how tender his feet really are, and don’t let up for a single second.” Terry passionately oversaw the cruel torture on his captive, giggling a little to himself as he watched the Buizel’s toes squirm all around. “We don’t wanna have to do this, boy, although it is delightful! If you tell us where we can find your Meowth friend, we’ll be happy to leave your ticklish feet alone.”

“NOHOHOHOHOH!!! IHIHIHI CAANANAHAHAHAHAHAHAHNN’T!!! PLEHEHEHEASE STOHOHOHOP!!!” Damo tried his best to get his words out clearly through his uproarious laughter.

“Fine by us. You’ll break eventually. Those pretty little feet aren’t gonna be able to take much more, are they? Look at ‘em try and get away~”

Damo had been on the verge of breaking since the first stroke, and the constant verbal taunting certainly wasn’t helping much, but he could never bring himself to actually betray Tobe. Even as his face became soaked with tears of laughter, he knew that if he did break, he’d never forgive himself. As much as the Meowth had wronged him, he would rather endure the brutal foot tickling than put someone else in any danger.

Curled up behind the bush and extremely thankful for the comfort of his shoes and socks, Tobe continued to listen into the ear-piercingly loud sound of Damo’s suffering before he finally decided that he couldn’t take any more. As much as he adored Damo’s ticklishness, he knew first-hand how much the Weavile’s claws must have been affecting him. Part of the Meowth was kind of looking forward to the fun footplay he was going to give Damo when they returned, wanting to give some sort of apology for his sadistic nature the previous night, and see if he could nurture some kind of friendship between them. He didn’t want to admit it even to himself, but he had started slightly caring about the innocent Buizel. He was willing to help even after being held prisoner, and right now, he desperately needed some help in return. Tobe had no choice.

“We got allll night long, little boy~If you can’t stand it, then you’d better-”

“WAIT!!” The torture was interrupted by a mighty slam of the door, as Tobe burst in and quickly put an end to his new friend’s torment. “Leave him alone! It’s me you wanna deal with, not him!”

“Ohoho! Kitty arrives!” Ern giggles to himself, “Maybe you’re not quite as much of an asshole as I thought~”

“Tobe… Welcome.” Terry very calmly responds to the Meowth, smiling. He has to speak a little louder to be heard over the sounds of Damo frantically trying to catch his breath. “I do apologise for what we’ve inflicted on your friend...but clearly, it was necessary! Now, shall we get down to business?”

“I don’t have your money, alright? I thought I would but then things went wrong and things just keep going wrong and I don’t want Damo to get any of the consequences for it!” Tobe said passionately with a few tears in his eyes, making Damo blush a little again as he heard genuine affection within the Meowth’s voice.

“You know what I always say, we can work something out, yeah? Hows about this, I’m gonna need some money today but it doesn’t have to be the full amount...let’s say a thousand dollars today and then we can delay the rest?”

“I don’t have that much...I don’t have anything, I can’t pay! Just let my friend go, then you can deal with me however you want!”

“You know, I like that. You’re stickin’ up for a friend, I didn’t think you had that in you. I admire the bravery. But you seem to think that I don’t run the show, when I run the show. I decide the deals, I decide who faces the consequences! But I’ll give you some time to get ready… A couple hours or so.”

“Really? I mean, that’s mmphphPHPHPMPH!!-” Tobe was thankful for any delay. However, the feeling of relief was cut decidedly short when the Weavile gripped him tight and placed a cloth over his mouth, keeping it held there as the Meowth struggled slower and slower until his body went limp.

“What are you doing to him!? Leave him alone, please!” Damo shouted as he watched his captor, and now friend, fall unconscious to the ground.

“I’m genuinely sorry, kid, I really am! But you know, this is what you get when you start hangin’ around criminals! Tobe needs to learn what happens when he screws around, and what happens when he gets his friends to screw around for him. But, for now, get yourself some rest..”

Damo was unable to respond as the Weavile pushed the same cloth down onto his mouth. Mixed with the lack of energy, he fell asleep extremely quickly, the smirking faces of the two criminals the last things he saw as he drifted off.

------------------------

“They both ready, Ern?”

“Seems like it, all nicely secure and I’ve got all my toys ready~”

“Good good. Oh look, seems like our weasel friend is coming round already. You awake, boy?”

Damo thought that his previous morning wake-up was rough, but this was something else. He at least retained his glasses to help his vision clear, but he felt extremely uncomfortable. He couldn’t pull his arms down from above his head, and it felt like his legs were being lifted upwards. The loud rattling of metal chains when he squirmed his hands, and the complete inability to squirm his legs, woke him up quite rapidly and he began to panic. As his vision cleared, he could see only a large block of wood directly in front of him, which hid his own feet on the other side. The stocks were much bigger and sturdier than the ones Tobe had, made out of metal and feeling much tighter around his ankles. His wrists were cuffed to a post just above his head, pulling his upper body taut as his back lay on the floor. To his right, he could see Tobe, still passed out and in the exact same bondage situation as him. To his left, he could see the cruel Weavile Ern, dragging his finger claws along the brick walls, sharpening them. As Damo tried to keep his breathing steady, Tobe began to squirm himself awake too.

“T-Tobe! Can you hear me? Where are we?”

“Ugghhhh….Oh...Oh no…” The Meowth said as he came around, the panic in his voice growing with every second.

“HEY! I’m talkin’ to you two!” Terry shouted, jolting the pair to much more alertness. The Scorbunny took a few steps forward and entered the two captives’ field of view, towering over them and looking down as they lay helplessly on the cold floor. “Seems like you remember this place, don’t you, Tobe?”

“L-look! I’m sure there’s something we can do!” The Meowth tried to bargain.

“Oh absolutely there is something we can do, we’re doin’ it right now! I’m sure you know what’s gonna happen but your little water friend is in for quite the surprise. Now, tell me, how long did you spend in this dungeon previously, Tobe?”

“T-twelve hours…” Tobe replied softly as he looked around at the bare brick dungeon walls, a sight uncomfortably familiar to him.

“Twelve hours, that’s right. Twelve hours in this here…’special’ dungeon of mine, for those who really piss me right off. Twelve hours with those big feet in the stocks… Ern still says it was the most fun day of his life. Ern, you seem pretty excited now~”

“Hehe, oh yeah! I’ve been dreaming of getting this little squirt back in here, and now it’s a 2-for-1 special!” The Weavile had sadism completely flowing through his voice as he stared deviously at the two helpless Pokemon ahead of him.

“Then let’s not waste too much time then, Ern. Make our friend Tobe a little more comfortable, take his shoes and socks off.”

The Weavile did not hesitate to lunge forward and start tugging on the Meowth’s shoes. Previously so smug and confident himself, Tobe was reduced to a whimpering nervous wreck as he felt the safe haven of his shoes being slowly slipped off his feet, followed closely by his soft cotton socks slowly sliding along his soles as they too came off. He curled his toes against the slight breeze as his feet were made exposed and vulnerable.

“There we are, two good friends bound and barefoot together~ You’ve both got some mighty cute feet there, boys, shame what’s about to happen to ‘em” As Terry spoke, Ern retrieved something from his ‘toybox’. The contents of it could not be seen by Damo or Tobe, but there was a fair bit of rummaging before the chosen tool was pulled out - and, much to their horror, was proudly displayed as a large, shiny, very pointy, three-wheeled pin roller. Both boys wiggled their toes helplessly, the sight of the tool being enough to get their ticklish bare soles tingling. “Now, my altered agreement was one thousand dollars, right? Well, we’ll have to take good care of you two down here, but I think it’s only fair for one alternative payment to be taken. One thousand hours of laughter.”

“ONE THOUSAND HOURS?” Tobe shouted, as Damo simply tried to ignore what was being said for the sake of his own anxiety. “That’s more than a month!”

“Oh, we’ll make sure you’re fed and such. You’ll leave here alive...hopefully. But what’s important is that you and your friend’s pretty little footpaws don’t leave those stocks from now until the timer hits zero. We’ll begin right now. Ern?”

As the Buizel and the Meowth resigned themselves to their fate, they both looked at each other. Although they were about to endure an ordeal that terrified them, their shows of bravery to each other made them happy in their own company. They both gave a brief smile, as if to show solidarity, and they both thought to themselves that it would be so much worse if they were alone.

“Get yourselves ready, boys…” The Weavile said menacingly as he approached and took his place directly in front of his captives’ helpless soles. He made sure that both of them could see the pinwheel that he was about to use on them. “Humiliation is coming. Your minds ain’t just gonna break, they’re gonna perish!”

TO BE CONTINUED