Exile was reconsidering going out on solo missions. His first -- and likely only run alone was to gather intel at a warehouse in the American east coast. General Parvo had been reportedly spotted there several times over the last few months, despite the arch-villain having been laying low lately. With the lack of activity from any of their major villains, the Road Rovers didn’t deem it necessary to storm the warehouse as a full team. Instead, they valued the idea of a cautious approach. If Parvo was going to be quiet, then they would be, too. Exile hadn’t entirely WANTED to do this mission, but the only other candidate was Blitz, and deep down, the husky knew the doberman would get himself caught. Someway, somehow, it would happen. As a result, he volunteered to go instead, just to get it over with. And, out of a sense of pride -- he figured he’d be able to do it the best anyhow. Upon arrival at the warehouse, which sat upon a large concrete harbor in a Connecticut port town, Exile’s one mission was to stay out of sight and search for clues of Parvo’s presence there -- and, possibly, any wrongdoings he was involved in. Inside, the place was dark, aside from the scarce beams of sunlight coming in through the windows at the top of the structure. But the husky had only taken a few steps inside when… well, that was all he could remember. The back of his head was throbbing, but the pain didn’t deter Exile from growling and snarling and snapping at the air around him, as he fought against his surprisingly strong bindings. The husky had woken up in a curved metallic chair, arms cuffed over his head with shackles around his wrists, and his legs elevated slightly and clamped down at the foot of the seat by the ankles. His cano-sapien armor had been removed from him, and where it had been stored, he didn’t know. Exile let out angered barks and howls, his strength too weak for the tight metallic cuffs holding him. He was alone in a small room full of computers, and the whirring and beeping of the monitors was really starting to add to his already existing hostility and disdain. This had to be Parvo -- he made the mistake of letting his guard down, thinking he was alone, and Parvo had nabbed him. When he got out of here, he’d make sure to use his heat vision right on that evildoer’s… … wait, heat vision -- that was right! For a brief moment, the Siberian husky wagged his tail, which stuck out the back of the chair, as he panted at the thought of freeing himself. One shot of a burning beam from his eyes at his ankle bracings, and at the very least, his legs would be free. It would be a start. But almost as soon as the thought came, Exile gasped as a sudden darkness overcame him, his vision being obscured by a thick, damp, felty material of some kind. Someone from behind had placed some kind of weighted blindfold on him, covering his eyes and making the husky resume barking. He only stopped when he heard the familiar voice of his catty archenemy in his ear. “Relax, you mutt… struggling won’t get you anywhere.” Exile paused for only a moment before allowing himself to get angry enough to focus his eyes and attempt his heat vision… only to have the covering warm up ever so slightly around his eyes. This simple, yet unexpected result gave him further pause. He had expected it to burn away. It was only a cloth, after all… wasn’t it? “General,” the husky growled out, trying to maintain his calm in the situation. There had to be a way out of this. “What brings you around to this facility?” Exile’s question was met with silence… then… “Ha!” General Pavo’s voice laughed out, sounding almost disbelieving by his captive’s gall before continuing with snark and sarcasm heavy in his voice. “I suppose you think I’m going to tell you all about my plans, mutt? Perhaps about how I plan to use and improve upon the infesting power of mice to take over the world?!” Exile blinked beneath the covering, letting the general’s words of the plan it sounded like he had no intention of telling sink in. “... Eh… yes. Something like that,” the husky eventually answered. “Well too bad!” the general shot back. “I’m not going to monologue my plans like an idiot! I’m a little smarter than that, you mutt. However, I doubt the same could be said for you.” This confused the husky. What exactly did the General mean? Seeing his confusion in the way Exile tilted his head off to the side, General Pavo chuckled. “You see,” he began, “I need to know why you were snooping around that warehouse, all alone, and where the rest of your team is… and you’re going to tell me. Or I’m going to make you.” It took a second for the Siberian husky to process the evildoer’s attempted threat, but when he did, he let out a deep chuckle, shoulders bouncing as he looked around with a grin -- unable to see but trying to direct himself towards wherever Parvo was standing. “Oho! As if I’d be doing any of the telling to you, Parvo!” Parvo, however, didn’t react much. He simply smirked. “Hmhm. Well you don’t have many other options -- I’m only giving you this one out, mutt. Obey me and you’ll experience… a portion of my mercy.” Exile wasn’t having it, though -- he quickly got serious and growled, trying to focus a heat vision blast to break through whatever blindfold was so firmly bound around his eyes. Yet… he couldn’t seem to burn through it. He could feel the heat forming in his eyes and trying to escape, but still… darkness. For a brief second, the husky became a bit more uncertain, but he let out a bark anyhow. “Hey, I cannot burn this! You fiend, what did you do??” The general let out a soft chuckle, pacing around the trapped husky, causing Exile to jerk his head to follow the sound of the footsteps. “You fool, I’m well aware of your powers. Enough so I can nullify them with a little bit of my own technology. It’s not hard -- especially against a blundering idiot like you.” “AYE! It is YOU who blunders, Parvo!” Exile snarled, snapping his teeth ahead in the darkness. “I have nothing to say to you!” It was the answer Parvo had, in a way, hoped for the most. Still, mildly to his chagrin, it seemed he’d still have to work for the information he wanted. It was a blessing and a curse. The corrupt general waved a hand. “So be it. If that’s your choice, I’ll just have to make you talk after all.” Exile’s confidence returned, and for a second, he did relax. “You can strike me all you’d like -- you will NOT get away with anything today!” “Strike?” Parvo’s grin turned evil -- and he had half a mind to remove the blindfold for Exile to see, but despite his own intellectual faults, he had, at least, enough common sense not to do that. “Bold assumption, mutt. But I won’t be doing anything of the sort.” Once again, Exile was confused. And by this point, the husky couldn’t make heads-nor-tails of the situation at hand. His silence filled the room, and it wasn’t anything Parvo expected either. The villain was a bit surprised that he had shut the Siberian hound up. But that surprise turned to devious delight -- he was already starting to get the husky on the ropes. This was just the first step. He cracked his knuckles and slowly approached the trapped cano-sapien, and took note of… a squirm. A light one, a gentle tug on his big, fuzzy body. Parvo chuckled -- Exile was, to the evildoer’s delight, frightened, if only just a bit. “I’ve decided to experiment with more of a… unique method. No need to strike you.” Parvo loomed over his captive. “I think I’d like to try… a lighter touch.” Exile’s fear was… a little alleviated by that, if only because it was replaced with even more curiosity. “A light touch?” the husky asked, letting out a light scoff. “What do you plan to do? Pet me until I succumb and call you master?” “A fine idea,” Parvo admitted, glancing off to the side with a smirk that Exile couldn’t see, “but no. I was thinking something more along the lines of… this.” Without hesitating any further, Parvo began by lightly wiggling and flicking his fingers against Exile’s exposed ribs. As he did this, Parvo couldn’t help but imagine the husky’s eyes widen beneath the blindfold blocking his vision and keeping his powers at bay -- which, coincidentally, they were, as a ticklish smile began to force its way upon the husky’s maw. “W-Whahahat is thihihis~?!” Exile exclaimed, unable to help but giggle as he spoke -- a wave of a light, odd sensation he was more used to coming from his tummy during a belly rub sparking along his ribs with every stroke of Parvo’s fingers. He tried desperately to lower his arms, but to no avail, unfortunately. It was… quite strange. He didn’t dislike the sensation so much as that he was being taken advantage of -- treated like a toy for his arch-nemesis to play with. “This, mutt,” Parvo began as he dug in a little harder and making Exile yip and struggle a little more, “is what’s known as tickle torture.” Tickle torture? As in… torture by tickling? It was an odd concept that Exile had never particularly heard of before -- it sounded so childish. Was such a thing really that effective? Surely it couldn’t be… after all, Parvo could talk a big game, but his intellect and common sense left a lot to be desired. It wouldn’t surprise the husky if he had deliberately chosen an ineffective method of ‘torture’ -- a word he wanted to use loosely right now. But he kept giggling at each moment the general’s fingers wiggled and kneaded into the flesh beneath his fuzz, stimulating the nerves in his surprisingly tender, sensitive ribs. “Ahahahehehe t-t-tohohohorture t-t-tihihihihickling??” How much Exile actually liked this forced feeling of bliss was… up for debate. But he was quite certain that he did not like being so vulnerable before his worst enemy. Rarely did the canine ever go anywhere without his armor on. He hadn’t quite gotten to know much about his natural durability under the cano-sapien suit. Clearly he wasn’t as tough as he expected -- Parvo was reducing him to a giggly, fidgety mess by something as pathetic as… tickling. And Exile figured that the evildoer was likely delighted to see the ‘mutt’ squirm about helplessly, unable to do anything but laugh. Exile definitely did not like that. It was absolutely emasculating. And with that realization, his cheeks began to sizzle, as Parvo’s grin widened as he watched them turn to a shade of scarlet. Getting the information out of the Rover would be one thing -- being able to, eventually, make him beg and plead, would be the cherry on top of the sundae. “Tell me, mutt, have you ever heard the phrase, ‘a fate worse than death’ before?” Parvo inquired, as his fingers scratched to the outer portion of the dog’s ribs, just above his flanks, which made Exile buck forward a bit. “Believe me, this method of torture can get far, far worse… even this is merciful compared to what I will do to you later.” Such a threat was not as empty anymore to Exile. The husky already felt embarrassed -- to know it could be worse? Oh no… but he wasn’t about to beg. Not now, not like this. He was a Road Rover. He had so much on the line. If he couldn’t withstand a kid’s game like this, he’d barely be able to face his own team back home, once he found a way out of this. “D-Dohohoho y-yohohour w-wohohohohorst-- kehehehehahahaha~!” Exile barked out a deep and hearty laugh once Parvo’s fingers began to gently knead into his under arms, scratching and clawing and making the husky really struggle to try and pull his arms down -- but he couldn’t move them one inch. “Oh, I plan to,” General Parvo replied with a light, sinister chuckle before starting to dig his fingers into Exile’s hollows, making the husky flinch with a yip and try to pull his arms down all the more desperately. “... But what’s the fun in getting there without a bit of buildup?” Exile growled, fidgeting and gilling all the while as he struggled in his bindings. He REALLY didn’t like General Parvo… not that he ever did, but especially now, he was earning the husky’s ire. “Y-Yoohoo think yoohooho cahahahan break meeheehee?!” Exile giggled out, baring his teeth and trying to keep the giggling in, but to little success. He simply couldn’t help himself! “I don’t know,” Parvo admitted with a shrug as he moved his tickling down to Exile’s flanks. “But I will most certainly try~!” “Grrreeheeheeheehee~! C-Cuhuhurse yoohoo, Geheheheneral~!” Exile shot back, shifting and wriggling a little from side to side as his body naturally tried to find some kind of escape. General Parvo merely chuckled as his fingers continued to probe and tease the bound husky’s tender flanks. He knew that there was no way for Exile to escape his confinement, no matter how hard he pulled. The general was at least smart enough to use the strongest materials he could find to keep Exile in place. “Hmm… perhaps some belly scratches will get you talking,” Parvo mused aloud, feeling further satisfied when he saw the husky’s body tense up a bit at that. Indeed, Exile already knew this wouldn’t be anything like a belly rub. Not being able to see where Parvo was, and being unable to anticipate an impending strike, just added to his worry. Despite being riddled with giggles from the uncomfortable tickling -- with the husky beginning to understand just why it was a method of torture -- Exile was still able to focus his mind. Parvo’s threats weren’t as empty as he had originally expected, but he refused to relent and surrender the information he had. Parvo only briefly ceased the tickle torture to crack his knuckles, an opportunity that Exile took to suck in as much air as possible into his lungs through a giggly wheeze. He was far from exhausted, but the husky knew that, should this get worse, he’d likely get worn out from all the laughter. “Ah ah ah…!” Parvo shuckled and suddenly shoved his fingers right into the Siberian husky’s tum, scribbling them about quickly. “No breaks for you, mutt~.” His wicked grin widened as he saw Exile jump with a yip, and the giggles that came forth were glorious. “Nyehehehehehahahahahaha~! Y-Yohohohohou f-f-fihihihiehehehehend!” “Heh. Complimenting me will get you nowhere, mutt!” Parvo taunted as he scratched and teased at Exile’s tender tummy, almost finding it adorable how the mutt’s tongue lolled out amongst his ticklish giggles, as if he were a normal dog receiving a tummy rub… almost. “You know how to make this stop.” Growling, and trying to curl up to defend himself -- without success -- Exile continued to giggle and squirm in his bindings. “Ahahahai’ll nehehever tahahahalk~!” he yipped and barked out in response, trying to sound at least somewhat threatening, but found it impossible to put on that air when he was giggling like a helpless puppy. “Such a pity for you,” Parvo mocked as his tickling switched, teasing one hand against Exile’s left set of ribs while the other almost playfully squeezed at his hip, making the husky’s fur stand on end as a series of ticklish yipping escaped him. “Ah--Ahahahaha~!” Exile tried to snarl but all he could do was snicker and snort, shaking his torso about as he was attacked top and bottom. Parvo’s kneading to his ribcage was making him squirm, whilst the pinching of his hip made him jump. It was a dangerous combination, and Exile was just humiliated that he couldn’t make it stop. “Nnngeeheehee, y-yohohohou~...!” The general leaned in intently, fingers dancing at the husky’s tender flanks. “Hmm? What was that, mutt?” Exile shivered and tried to snap his jaws at the air where he thought Parvo was -- only to completely miss and devolve back into a giggle fit. “Heh. Biting, eh?” Parvo mocked as he dragged his fingers from Exile’s flanks down to his hips. “I would’ve expected that from the doberman.” That comment made Exile blush more than the tickling did. That he could ever be compared to Blitz, of all the other Road Rovers! It wasn’t that he disliked the guy, but they did have a long-standing rivalry, and Blitz had some… odd habits. Habits that Exile himself found tasteless, weird, or even a little gross. So it was little wonder that comparing the husky to him would gain the reaction that it did. “AHAHAHAHEHEEEEE~!! I-I WIHIHILL BREHEHEHEAK YOOHOOHOO~!” The husky tried to threaten, though he was hardly being taken seriously with the yipping and giggling he was doing. “That seems unlikely,” Parvo replied with a smirk, looking over his shoulder towards Exile’s restrained, helpless feet as he continued to lightly squeeze and pinch at the dog’s hips. Exile was thoroughly unaware of Parvo’s intentions, which was to the general’s benefit. He had strategically saved the hound’s sizable stompers as a last resort, contemplating if such a spot would garner the breaking and the information spilling he so desired. But, he was also just as eager to slowly break down his captive through progressively worse and worse methods of tickling. Kneading around Exile’s hips and flanks, fingers digging into the squishy, tender flesh beneath the periwinkle blue hair, Parvo chuckled darkly. “Things are about to get much more fun, mutt… fun for me, at least~.” “NYEHEHEHET~!” Exile chuckled, growing far more worried -- and, admittedly, morbidly curious -- about Parvo’s intentions. How could this possibly get more fun for him? And, by extension, any worse for the canine? “C-CUHUHUHURSE Y-YOU G-G-GEHEHEHEHENERAHAHAHAL~!!” “Oh, you’ll be cursing me soon enough…” Parvo chuckled darkly, finally deciding to relent as he removed his fingers from the husky’s torso, giving the captive hero a much needed break. The long awaited reprieve didn’t come immediately to Exile -- and lingering tingly feelings just kept him a bit giggly, but he was quick to register that he was no longer being tickled. Though he began to slowly regain his composure, his face remained red, and his body occasionally twitched. “Gehehehehee… hoohoo…!” The husky caught his breath and hung his head, ears flicking as he tried to listen to where Parvo was. The general had gone quiet and Exile did not feel like antagonizing him further. For now, he just wanted to brace himself for whatever could happen next. His ears picked up Parvo moving away -- though he could not see where the general was going, as the evildoer stopped right in front of the two large, plump, elevated feet of the cano-sapien. None of Exile’s instincts alerted him to where Parvo was, and as such, his soles looked incredibly relaxed -- something that the canine was, in fact, not, at the moment. A moment of silence had passed, and to even Parvo’s surprise, Exile let out a soft whimper. “... g-general…?” The arch-villain chuckled, breaking the silence and even making the Road Rover wince, much to Exile’s chagrin. Clearly, the unpredictability of the current situation was getting to him. “I didn’t expect to be so merciful today, but… I WILL give you this one final chance…” Parvo softly rested his hands beside the canine’s feet, mere centimeters from the exposed and vulnerable soles. “... you tell me everything I want to know… or I really show you what it means to suffer under my hands.” That gave Exile pause. He wasn’t entirely sure exactly how Parvo planned on making his tickling any worse, but that uncertainty was enough to make him think on it for a moment before his senses and loyalties came back to him. “I will never give in, General,” Exile snarled back. “No matter how you toy with me, I will not be broken by the likes of you!” Parvo just smirked and chuckled in response -- prompting an annoyed growl from the husky. “I was hoping you’d say that,” he replied, his tone dark with amusement as he reached for the brave dog’s feet and began lightly tickling his fingers at both heels. “Perhaps this will bring you to heel.” Exile really didn’t want to laugh. Not after that shameful pun. With the tickling, however, he simply couldn’t help it. “Kheehyeeheeheeheee~!! Y-Yoohoohoo ihihidiot~!! Bwahahaheeheeheeheee~!!” The canine was not expecting his feet to be this sensitive -- though he rarely removed his armor, he practically never removed his boots. Having fingers skittering up his heels and to his soft, supple arches was such a foreign feeling to Exile and he was not at all comfortable with it. He shook his head, trying to jump in his restraints, as his huge feet paddled about. Not being able to see the torment he was undergoing just added to the mental stress. “K-Kehehehehehehe~!! C-Cuhuhut th-thihihihis ohohohohohohout~!” Exile commanded, unable to hold back his giggles. Every single nerve in the husky’s tender feet was stimulated by Parvo’s raking fingers, which scraped and scribbled from the balls of his soles down to his heels in repeating up and down motions. “This ends when you tell me what I want.” Parvo noted, the evil grin remaining on his face. He had no more intentions of giving the mutt any sort of wiggle room. “Until then, sit back… but don’t bother relaxing.” “Gehehehahahahaha y-yohohou w-won’t gehehehehet awahahahay w-with th-thihihihihihihis~!” Exile proclaimed, curling his body forward as he paddled his feet inward, feeling Parvo’s fingers scratching up the sides of his soles, before they returned to skittering against his arches. “Kyahahahahahahaha~!!” The longer the torment went on, Exile’s mind began to race faster and faster. Thoughts of his friends entering his mind. Where were they? Did they even know something had happened? Surely they would’ve realized he hadn’t checked in with them or returned home in who knew how long by now… but what if they weren’t coming? It was an outcome the laughing canine dreaded, and that, coupled with the agonizing torment occurring upon his large feet, almost made his eyes tear up from the oncoming fatigue. It was almost… overwhelming. Parvo also had the other Road Rovers on his mind -- but for different reasons. He had kept a thought, in the back of his mind, that they’d eventually catch wind of Exile’s disappearance and come looking for him. Were they to show up, he was looking forward to subduing them… and as he tickled away at Exile’s soft soles, the general started to wonder just what kinds of touches would make them tick… This eagerness to further crack the canine he was currently torturing spurred him to move his fingers up to the one spot he had yet to attack -- the toes. Exile yipped at a higher pitch than usual the moment Parvo’s fingers made contact with the husky’s toes. He wouldn’t have guessed it, but his toes were among the more sensitive parts of his body. As such, he quickly tried to curl them, but to no avail. Parvo made sure to press them back to combat this very attempt, and he couldn’t help but chuckle when he felt resistance. “What’s the matter~?” the vile villain teased as he wiggled his fingers against the husky’s digits. “Feeling a little squirmy?” “SAHAHAHAHAILEHEHEHEHENCE~!!” Exile squealed out in a voice so mixed with panic and whining giggling that it sounded very unlike him. He couldn’t help but blush because of this, overcome with just slightly more shame than he had when Parvo compared him to Blitz. “I-I’LL NEHEHEHVER THAHAHALK, YOOHOOHOO FEEHEEHEEHEEND~!!” “Then I guess we’ll be here a while, then,” Parvo replied with a casual tone that only annoyed Exile all the more. Although the husky’s ears perked a little when he felt Parvo leave one of his sets of toes -- curious as to why, as he couldn’t see Parvo reaching for a button under the table. The general had prepared for a scenario like this… but his own sadistic desires probably would’ve driven him to press the button anyways. If this idiot canine wasn’t gonna surrender the information… well, regardless if he did or not, Parvo was eager to break him. One press of this button was going to help him do just that. Almost as soon as he flicked the button, Parvo returned his fingers to Exile’s big feet, clawing at his soles and really pushing the husky to the edge -- Exile leaned forward with a yelp and continued to bellow out giggles, as his fine tuned ears took note of a strange whirring sound from either side of him. Suddenly, his hips and flanks were attacked by cold, metallic appendages -- an action that made him gasp and jump in the chair he was restrained to. “GYAHAhahahaha w-whahahat is th-thihihihihihihis~?!” Exile didn’t expect this -- he let out another squeak as Parvo’s fingers returned to his ticklish tootsies, scratching between them. The robotic hands that emerged from the sides of the chair kept kneading at his tender torso, wiggling along his flanks and hips and occasionally giving his tummy a tease as well. Being tickled in TWO spots at once? This was… incredibly unpleasant! Exile’s face got redder and redder, and the blindfold covering his eyes and nullifying his powers just felt like even more of a prison as it began to dampen with the budding tears that continued to form. “M-Mahahahake it s-s-stahahahahahahap! T-Thihihihihis instahahahahahahant~!!” “You’ve already had plenty of chances to stop this, mutt.” Parvo gave the button another press, as he got back to work on Exile’s soles. “Until you give me the information I desire, you can resign yourself to your fate~.” At this, an additional pair of robo-limbs emerged from the chair, and went right for the cano-sapien’s vulnerable ribs, pressing their sharp digits into his flesh and scratching fervently. If he thought two spots at once was bad, three was even worse. He did everything he could think of with his limited movements to try and escape. He thrashed from left to right, arched his back, and pulled on his limbs with as much force as his waning strength could muster. Nothing worked. “GYEEHEEHEEHAHAHAHAHAAAA~!!” Exile cackled madly, feeling his sanity slip away little by little the longer it went on. “N-NOHOHO MOHOHO--AHAHAHEEEEHEEE~!!” Exile didn’t even get to finish his demand before another pair of hands came forth and started teasing the hollows of his open armpits. Now, more than ever, he absolutely couldn’t take it. He had underestimated this kind of torture in the beginning, but now… now he understood why Parvo chose this. As silly as it was, he had to admit that it was surprisingly effective. “You know how to make it stop, mutt,” Parvo taunted once more, as if he had read Exile’s mind, while he played with the dog’s toes, pinching and wiggling them about and earning ticklish squeals of laughter each time from the once-proud Road Rover who had been reduced to a giggling puppy. Exile lost his sense of loyalty for the moment, he thought of the other Rovers and internally apologized for what he was about to do… but he simply must stop the tickling. He couldn’t take it anymore! “GYEEHEEHAHAHAHAAAA~!! OK! OK! I’LL TAHAHAHA--” “Get ‘em, Rovers!” In that moment, hearing Hunter’s voice was practically music to Exile’s ears. The tickling to the husky’s feet had stopped just as suddenly -- and a crash and an electrical shock to Exile’s right, and the sound of Blitz stuttering and trying to take in the zap, caused the robotic limbs to retract from his torso. Exile wheezed out one last laugh and tiredly looked around -- but he remembered the blindfold. Where were his friends? What was going on?? “Grr… you impudent mutts!” Parvo spat from somewhere else in the room, before a metal door was heard opening. “He’s getting away!” Hunter called out. “Colleen, tail him!” “On it!” The border collie responded, before she let out a ‘hiyah’ and her fast-paced footsteps could be heard echoing off the walls as she made her way out. It was all very confusing and Exile was still gasping for air -- when suddenly, light came to his eyes, and his vision began to unblur as the padded blindfold was removed by a pair of golden hands. “Heyyyyy… you doing okay there, Ex?” Hunter’s chipper, gentle voice cooed as the lab smiled warmly down at his friend. A groan to the side caused him to look over with a confused gaze, as Hunter laid his eyes on Blitz -- who looked to be leaning against the broken computer, eyes rolling and hair on end. “Uh… you doing okay too, Blitz?” The doberman raised a hand and simply dropped it. “Yah… I’ll be… fiiiiiine…” Hunter chuckled and looked back to Exile, whose red, tear-stained face just looked relieved. “It took us forever to find you bud, you holding up okay?” The husky just exhaled, finally able to relax in his restraints, as he smiled a bit. “Haa… not my finest day. But I knew you would come through for me, friend-ski… thank you.” Hunter nodded and turned to look up at the hole in the ceiling -- Exile only just now noticed the debris on the ground around them within the room, as the moon hung high in the now revealed sky, but he had never heard the sound of the crash. Was he laughing that loud that he couldn’t hear it over his own suffering…? “Hey, Shag! It’s all clear, you can come down now!” Hunter called out, and there was silence for a brief instance before the figure of the big, half-humanoid sheepdog appeared overhead. The lab smiled warmly, but Shag just murmured something light and fearful as he shakily clambered down into the room, shuffling over to stand near the still recovering-from-electric-shock Blitz, who muttered a “haah” at Shag joining him. Hunter chuckled, and he and Exile took note of Colleen returning to the room, the border collie rubbing sweat from her temple as she shook her head. “Just barely missed him -- he escaped in an aircraft.” “Eh, we’ll find him again sooner or later.” Hunter shrugged with a friendly grin. “What’s important is we rescued Exile, right?” Exile realized all the eyes were falling on him now -- even Blitz’ eyes, as Shag helped him recover with an oddly effective smack on the back of the head. The husky was still trapped, and he did not have the energy in him to concentrate on using his powers to burn through his restraints. His cheeks remained red and he scoffed. “What? What are you all looking at??” Hunter rubbed the back of his head, looking curious. “Can’t say this is how we were expecting to find you -- what the hey happened?” That was… a question Exile did not want to answer. Not one bit. He glanced away and huffed. “... I do not want to do any talking about it.” Hunter took note of the reddened cheeks of his vulnerable, bound up friend and leaned in curiously. “Sheesh, your face is all red -- what did Parvo do to you?” “Ay…” Blitz scratched his head, still appearing a bit out of it but mostly recovered. “Wasn’t it something we heard with the taunting and the giggling and the begging?” “Begging, eh…?” Colleen had a wry smirk on her face. “Giggling and begging? I can only imagine~...” Even Shag chipped in with his own little high pitched, muffled whimper of a response. “A-Alright, that is enough!” Exile barked suddenly, struggling in the chair, feeling lingering tingles in his body that caused him to repress a snort. “Th-The general pushed me to my Siberian limits… I almost broke, b-but it does not matter what happened!” That last statement caught all of their attention -- even Blitz looked a bit surprised. “Almost broke…?” Colleen echoed, sharing a curious look with Hunter. “... as in, you almost gave up privy information?” “Exile, really?” The lab turned back to the trapped husky. “Parvo actually almost wore you down?” Exile shamefully avoided eye contact, appearing disappointed in himself. It was true, he was just on the brink of giving in before they had saved him… how could this day get any more humiliating? “... Well, that does it,” Hunter replied with a disappointed sigh. Exile’s heart froze and he looked at the lab with a heartbroken face. Was he about to be kicked off the team? “... I know you wouldn’t willingly give us up like that, so… whatever Parvo put you through, we’ve got to give you a daily dose of endurance training to make sure you can handle your weight against it next time!” Exile’s heart sank… he was glad he was still a Road Rover, but… he didn’t like the sound of Hunter’s plan. “... Pardon?” Exile replied with a gulp, shifting his glance around to his team members. “I’m thinking an hour, maybe three -- we’ll workshop it, see how much you can take and then push it just a liiiittle further,” Hunter continued, scratching his chin in thought as though he hadn’t heard Exile’s response. “In fact, it’s probably best if we start right now! I mean, you’re already prepped. Why waste the opportunity?” Exile couldn’t believe this. This… this was not happening. This could not be happening. Perhaps he was having a nightmare? Yes! That had to have been it! A nightmare! Ok, Exile, time to wake up, now… “But what exactly was Pa’vo doing?” Blitz’s heavy accent asked, scratching his head as he looked at the disabled mechanical hands stuck out the sides of the chair. His eyes wandered to the large machine he had destroyed when he entered, which must’ve cut the power. Upon reaching a hand out to more closely inspect it, Shag just casually pulled him back before the Doberman could zap himself once again. Exile, meanwhile, began to panic a little. Why wasn’t he waking up? Was he… not dreaming? “I mean… before it got destroyed, I think I saw one of those things playing with his belly, and another set… hey, Blitz?” Hunter continued before turning his attention to the doberman. “Ya?” Blitz turned, snapping Exile out of his brief state of denial. “Could you go behind him for a moment? Maybe start poking and gently scratching around in his armpits?” Exile was already preemptively tugging on his arms, only to find that they were still well restrained. “W-What are you doing?!” the husky barked out, hoping that he could, at least, change their minds. “J-Just take me back to HQ, and--” “Hey, hey, just relax~,” Hunter gently tried to coo as he approached Exile from the front and Blitz rounded the corner to get behind the husky. “This is for your own good, buddy.” As Hunter moved to straddle Exile’s waste, and began reaching for his tummy while Blitz went for the pitz, Exile severely disagreed with that. “N-No. No! Don’t yoohoohoo dahahare~!” Exile began chortling as Hunter and Blitz began lightly playing with two of his tender spots -- already squirming a little in his restraints. “Bahahahad dohohohogs~!!” The both of them were surprisingly gentle -- evidently not wanting to push their teammate too far just yet, and, deep down, even Exile knew that they only wanted what was best for him, even if he really didn’t want to endure it right now. “Oh ya~! This is what he sounded like,” Blitz noted as he began to slowly pick up tickling speed -- much to Exile’s further chagrin. “I dunno…” Hunter replied, sounding unsure as his fingers fluttered up and down his friend’s sensitive tummy. “The intensity of his giggling doesn’t seem quite ri--” “GYAHAHAHEEHEEHEEEE~!!” Exile suddenly burst out in hysterics, and a quick glance back from Hunter showed why: Shag had made his way up to them and was beginning to lap his tongue against Exile’s feet -- much like how he would if he were a feral dog. “WHYHYHYHY THE LIHIHIHICKIIING~?!” “Oh, hey, good idea, Shag!” Hunter replied with a light chuckle, giving the long-haired dog a thumbs-up before returning to playing with the husky’s belly. Blitz just looked confused, glancing between them, before he shrugged and returned to clawing at Exile’s pits. This had been quite the day already -- he opted not to ask anymore questions for now, which was a tall order from, well, him. Hunter noticed one particular absence and glanced over his shoulder to see Colleen leaning against the wall, one hand over her muzzle as she tried to stifle a giggle. Ever the oblivious one, the lab gestured to her with a nod of his head to come over. “Hey Colleen! Come join us, yeah?” “Hm? Ha, I-I’m good!” Colleen shook her head, trying to keep the smirk off her face. This was quite the sight. “You boys have your fun -- maybe another time?” Hunter shrugged and returned to skittering his fingers across Exile’s tum. Colleen tried not to laugh, but this was quite the sight -- likely one she wouldn’t forget anytime soon. “GWOHOHOHAHAHAHAHA~!!” Exile screwed his eyes shut, face going bright red again. He squirmed against Hunter’s fingers and Blitz’s claws, and his feet shook and paddled as Shag’s tongue slithered up the length of his soles, and flicked off his toes. He wasn’t sure if this was WORSE than his earlier torment. “KEHEHAHAHAHAA~!!” But as he laughed away, still instinctively fighting to break free, there was an odd feeling of… solace. Exile recognized that, at least, he was safe. Even if this was not his ideal rescue, he was under the care of his friends, and not under the cruel hand of Parvo. That, at least, provided some levity. And so, the husky kept on howling with laughter as the tickling continued, the sound carrying out into the night. Maybe it was fine if this didn’t quite end yet. Maybe, just this once. And maybe next time, Exile would give Hunter a taste of his own “endurance training”, as it would only be fair.