#group tickling

[city-tickles]

I don’t think these 3 expected to be this sensitive 😂 My fav parts is when you see them realize it’s really ticklish

[the-sensitive-ler]

That moment a ler finds just the right spot or uses the perfect tickle tool is the moment every lee is reduced to a squirming mess of never-ending laughter

Original Video: Danielle Gang Tickled by The Tickle Room

[simplytickle]

Muffy Swiftpaths Triple Tickle with Fae D'cay, Marley and myself tickling everyone's nylon feet. Full Clip at our website and Patreon

[sentinelq]

Guy with tickle fetish who accidentally gets group tickled

horrified partner who notices his erection and joins in, pretending to be working on his lower body while trying to hide it

Eventually starting to maniacally tickle his cock up and down, concluding that the only way to hide it is to make him cum while he's held down, too ashamed to communicate what's actually being done to him

Prompting the others to "keep going, he deserves it" as their fingers dance all over his shaft while he's trying not to cum his brains out in front of everyone

[ticklecastle]

The Ticklish Giant (FF/M, FFMM/M MM/M MMM/M) (Tickling, Micro/Macrophilia) Part 2/?

Summary: The village has been terrorized by a giant man. They make a plan to terrorize him right back.

Kinks/Warnings: Tickling, Micro/Macrophilia, Size Kink, Feet, Armpits, Chubby Men, Dominant Women

Commander Alara returned to the fields the next morning. The village people were already hard at work, scattered around the fields and around the giant man, setting up ladders and hauling tools. She was not surprised to see the giant was right where they’d left him. She climbed the ladder onto his chest, walking back to the spot on his chest where he could see her. “Good morning!” She called out. He looked down at her. He grunted through his nose gruffly. The sound was obviously supposed to be intimidating, but the commander kept her head held high, stone-faced. “It is your choice.” She warned.

The man watched as her boots pad back across his chest and she disappeared back down the ladder. She strolled back down his body, waving to the villagers who set up around the man, readying themselves for their work so casually, like they would if they were building a new mill or preparing a field. She made her way up the stairs to the observation nest, where Aldric already sat, sipping from his mug.

“Good morning.” He rasped. She sat at the table next to him. “Thank you for taking first nightwatch.” “Not a problem.” His voice was gruff from lack of sleep. He slid her a mug, before picking up his own.“We got had plenty to do over night… The men secured him tighter. We are confident no one will be squished.” He took a sip, the corner of his mouth quirking into an amused smile. “Well done, as always.” “Some of the villagers have been… brainstorming. Coming up with… creative solutions. Ideas for tools. They almost seem... excited? You said… you would award gold?” “I will award gold,” She took a sip from the mug – a lukewarm and oversteeped tea she had come to both expect and appreciate from Aldric – and looked out at the man again. “To whoever can get him to break. To speak. To… tell us who he is, where he came from.” “Well, all you need to do to get the people excited is mention a little gold.” He laughs lightly. “There is much talk… They want to make a competition of it. Have everyone come out and… see who takes home the gold.” “A competition…” Her brow furrows. “The town could use a little entertainment. It’s been a minute since they’ve really had anything to entertain them. Could be good for moral. And…” He gestured to behemoth man before them. “Maybe the way to break your guy.” “Well … we will see what today brings.” She leaned over the table, eyes back on the man. “Did we… give him anything today? Food? Water?” “We did give him some water, yes… I figured he would need it if you… wanted to hear his screams today.” Aldric teased, giving her a knowing smirk. She scoffed, but her lips quirked up, just for a second. “That is fine… I do not want to see him dead before we can even find out his name. Are we all set up for today’s trials?” “Just about. I told everyone they can start whenever they feel ready.” Alara gave a nod of approval and turns at thte sound of Maren joining them. Under her arm is a bag of notes and scrolls. “Good morning.” “Morning, Mare.” Aldric leaned back to greet her. She sat beside them, throwing her bag on the table. “You’ve been at it, too, I see.” “Yes. Updated my notes from last night. Trying to note all the… intelligence we learned.” She rolled out the largest diagram, the one with the crudely drawn picture of his body. Old notes had been written over with new, big circles added around the places they’d found yesterday. X’s drawn on his toes and armpits. “Showed these to some of the villagers. Tried to point them in the right direction.” “Smart.” Alara looked over the diagram. “Thank you for keeping everyone informed.” As if on cue, they heard the huge man below them groan. They looked down, pulling their chairs closer so they could see everything. The first villagers had begun. “I think we could break him today.” Alara murmured. “If we do all of them at once.” “He was barely handling them one at a time last night.” Maren agreed. Two villagers had begun working the tillers, almost exactly in sync with each other, over the expanse of his belly. His body had already tensed, his jaw setting tight, as the points – so small to him-- pricked his skin. They went up the outline of his sprawling muscles, turned, then covered the next strip, closing in on his gaping navel. From their observation nest, they could truly see how the small tillers made his belly quiver under them.

One of them passed over the spot below his navel, following the trail of hair that led to it, and his breath held in his chest. They seemed to notice, stopping a second, then running it over that spot, back and forth. He let out a strangled sound, his body trying to push up to no avail. Maren circled the spot on the diagram. The giant man tried to twist in the chains again, the iron groaning as it pulled, and Alara noticed something new. Two villagers had brought pitchforks – a smart tool to use, she thought – and were standing at his side, poking them into the soft rolls of his side. He turned directions, trying to twist away, but he had been secured well. “Good job, Aldric.” She noted. “I had a lot of help.” He smiled modestly. A few well-placed pokes to his side, right above his hip, pulled a growl out of the man loud enough to momentarily quiet the grounds. Villagers looked to each other, eyes wide and scared, before realizing this man was… no longer a danger. In fact, they were not a danger to him. They could hear some of the villagers laugh at the man as they picked their tools back up, pitchforks poking back into the soft and pliant spots on his sides. Between the tills and the pitchforks, maybe a stroke of luck that they hit the right spots at the right time, earned a deep guffaw from the man. The villagers on the ground cheered, laughing. The giant growled again, the chains yanking against his biceps. “Do you think it pisses him off more that they aren’t afraid of him?” Meran asked. “Yes.” Aldric took another sip of his tea, watching intently.

“We will have to have them play that up going forward.” Alara watched as more villagers approach – a man approaching one armpit and two women approaching the other. “Humiliate him.” Aldric added. “He may not be small, but we can make him feel that way.” Alara watches as the man begins to run his rake back through the underarm hair of the man. She cannot tell for sure, but she believes it was the villager who had done this last night – he seems to be working the prior knowledge. The armpits had already been noted as one of his worst spots yet, circled in red on diagram. His sharp catches of breath came quicker and faster, his face becoming strained and red, until sounds began to squeeze from his throat. He shut his eyes tight, fighting the sounds that clawed their way out. His skin began to shine in the sun, a layer of perspiration slicking over all the sensitive parts he could not protect. One of the men on his stomach almost slips. The two women found their way to his other armpit. Alara couldn’t hear them, but they seemed to be laughing, joking to one another, possibly at the giant’s expense. One of them tugged on some of the hair, testing, and the other copied her – and they laughed some more. One of them pushed into his armpit, running their arms under the hairs, scrabbling about and laughed again-- the other followed suit.

The man, already brimming with bitten back laughter, finally broke when both women slid their arms up under the protection of his coarse, stinking hair, tiny hands clawing at the unprotected, rarely touched skin underneath. The women, the rake, the tillers and the pitchforks put him drew a loud shout from him, shaking the ground.

His body shook, the chains wretching as he tries to throw back his head, only to find the hardness of the ground, his mouth opening wide and a booming laugh flooding the village. “HAH-AHHHAHHA—HOOOHOO--HEEHOOOHOO--” Cheers erupted from the villagers. Alara looks to her companions, eyes raised. “Broken enough for you?” Aldric smirked. “Not nearly.” Alara almost let a grin slip. “Let’s see if he can take a whole day of this.” They watched him as he struggled, trying to roll from side to side, to get any part of him lose, but he can only shake, movements tight and minimal. Sweat poured from his forehead into his eyes.

“You’re in luck. There’s Boris.” Aldric pointed to the man wheeling his cart towards the man’s towering foot, a few men following him. Boris was a local craftsman ran a shop with a few other men in town, selling wares he built. He was known to be a man who always loved a challenge.

The men pulled their wagon up and immediately set to work. Each man began to poke and prod the foot, trying to find the softer spaces. The foot shook, trying to shake them away from it, but they didn’t even seem to notice. Alric’s men had bound the giant’s toes in the night while he was knocked out from sleeping powder. They now were separated carefully with wood and chains so they spread apart, no way for them to curl forward or scrunch up to crush an arm. One of the men had thrown a rope up through his toes, tying it securely, and tested the waters by climbing up the back of his foot. His boots slipped against the giant’s sweat-slick skin, kicking and trying to find footing, which got a reaction in itself. “OOH—HAHH—HEEHEHEE—” The man pulled himself up finally, clinging onto his toes as he situated. He pulled himself, grasping the wood that held his second and third toes apart and slid body through them, planting his ass between the toes. Just the feeling of the man sliding between them was enough to earn another sharp bark from the giant. “HAHHAH--” Maren circled his toes in red. “Toes and armpits seem to be the worst.” “This is going to break him, he’s going to talk.” Aldric shook his head. “Look at him.” “He’s weak.” Alara agreed. “But he’s also very stubborn.” Boris had pulled stable brushes, their coarse fibers meant for brushing horses, and tossed them up to his men. He took his own and began to scrub the giant sole all over, trying to find the right spot. The man in his toes made sure he was secure, sitting in the toe crevice, his arms over the restraints holding his toes apart like it was a seat made just for him. He leaned down to take the stable brush, holding tightly to the man’s second biggest toe with one arm as he began to scrub the tip of it with the other.

The man’s eyes snapped open, his body straining upward, the veins on his neck visibly pulsing. Suddenly all he could feel was the touch of those punishing bristles, designed to work through tangled manes and caked on mud, being used instead on one of the softest parts of his body. He couldn’t differentiate between whether it felt scratchy or soft – just that it felt so, so much. “AHHH-- HAAHAAHAA--” He howled, his feet trembling so much they felt like they were vibrating. Below, Boris scrubbed another stable brush over his instep-- forced taunt, so this time, no wrinkles. His other companion began to climb up with his friend, struggling to get a grip as the foot shook violently. “That brush-- that’s intense. We need to find… every brush like that in the village.” “He might explode if we used every brush in the village.” Maren commented. “Hey, at least we wouldn’t have to figure out what to do with him.” The man held on tight, scrubbing relentlessly, letting the brush work from the top of the toe down to the softer skin under it.

“NAAA---HAHAHAHA!” His giant eyes snap shut again, tears prickling in the corners. The second man leaned against the top of his foot, reaching up, his small fingers scratching the space between his big toe and second toe. The giant man’s hips buck forward unwittingly, but the chains stop him from bucking off the people still tending to his stomach.

The man’s toes trembled and his mind begged for them to close, to squish the men like the insects they were to him, but instead stayed pried open, giving way for their their tiny hands and their rough brushes to continue torment him.

The other villagers had stopped momentarily, the booming shrieks of the man and the way his whole body shook beneath them putting doubts in their mind that he wouldn’t break free any instant, smashing them beneath his behemoth body, but as he went on, they realized they were once again safe. They began again, scratching his reddening armpits, tilling over his soft belly, poking and prodding at his trembling love handles. Many villagers shouted and whooped as tears fell from the man’s eyes, sweat dripping off every part of him, matting further the hairs on his chest and down his body.

“Who would have thought…” Aldric shakes his head, the three of them watching the scene. “How long will you let them go on?” Meran leans into Alara. “Until they’re tired.” Alara watches the scene, her eyes fixed darkly on the man. It took hours for the villagers to tire. The man screamed until his voice was hoarse. They descended their post as the sun descended the sky.

“I see you have survived your first day.” Alara stood back on his chest, staring the man down. He still trembled, was still panting. His eyes were still angry, but the fires have died down – his body and mind had clearly given in to exhaustion. “I will ask you again… Would you like to tell me your name?” The man let out a grunt, clearly meant to sound scarier than how weakly it came out. “I see.” She stepped closer to his face, sweat starting to dry against his skin, the dirt from the field now caking his face. “You know… the town is quite interested in you. They’re apparently… all excited to see if they could be the one to get you to talk. Get you to break.” She raised her eyebrows. “What do you think about that?” He tried to turn his head away from her, too tired to remember he cannot. His face was red, his lips still parted and dry, thirsty for the air that had been stolen from his lungs. “Very well. We will see you tomorrow, beast.”

[themaskedswitch]

Tickles with a large grandfather clock in the background

Tick.... Tock....

You shudder in anticipation. The world dark under the blindfold over your eyes

Tick... Tock......

You feel the motion on the bed. The shifting of weight as bodies move....

Tick... Tock...

The countdown starts in your mind before the voice cuts through the sudden silence

Tick.... Tock....

You can feel their fingers wiggling by your skin. You can hear the whirring of toothbrush and massager ever closer to your soles

Tick... Tock....

You squirm in suspense, knowing full well the hell awaiting your oh so ticklish body

Tick.... Tock.....

You lay there smiling, waiting for each and every ler to pounce, consuming you like their hysterically laughing meal....

Tick.... Tock ....

The countdown comes to an end....

Tick...les~

[ticklish-touch]

Trapped in the Backrooms: Ch 5 - Raising the Stakes

(Ragaeli x lee!Y/N

Tickling, group tickling) You and Ragaeli aren’t making enough headway in your quest, so the Nightmare proposes a different way of exploring. In your attempts at playing Backroom Roulette, you eventually come across a group of survivors, trying to brainstorm a game plan.

(Chapter Themes: “Worlds In-Between” - Rufus Rex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3NcdWyGUgQ “Centuries” - Fall Out Boy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPA0z4W-kcU )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        You began to lose track of how long you'd been travelling this bizarre world. You'd adventured through four different Levels for what felt like hours. But at the very least, you didn't feel that tired. The abundance of haunting liminal spaces, and the constant threat of being pounced at any moment by the Nightmare or other entities, kept making your adrenaline go haywire. Which is exactly what Ragman needed. You knew that you more or less had to be a constant source of fear-fuel for him; a constant source of laughter and excitement. He'd told you in the past that a single mortal was enough to power him up for hours - and compounding that with him also getting his greedy hands on the other creatures here undoubtedly boosted his strength even more.        Still, it concerned you a bit that he was noticeably getting pissy. He couldn't read anyone else's mind, couldn't detect dangers in some Levels, couldn't find rifts, couldn't stop entities from turning on you at any given moment. You were both still making the best of it, though; He was having fun making it the best adventure you'd ever been on.          But he was starting to get impatient. He knew you both had a time limit. So, he proposed a different way of doing things.

        The next Level you reached was a quiet apartment with long hallways. Instead of spending a little while exploring the Level ahead of time, and instead of using the first opportunity to chase you or send an entity after you, Rags appeared to walk alongside you, back to wearing his Hot Topic outfit. He put a hand on his hip and pulled up a magic 'window,' scrolling through it like he was swiping through photos on a tablet.

        You peered over at him. "Whatcha doing?"         "Trying to find shortcuts. Getting a sneak-peek at other Levels, maybe find signs of Facelings, humans, psychics, Fae, aliens, demons... anything that could give us answers. Or more beasties that I can force answers out of, heheh."         "You sure that'll work? You said the Backrooms seem like they're trying to keep you from finding clues."         He shrugged. "I can still see most entities. Seems like anywhere that has 'em, also has some kinda higher intelligence just around the corner. Like a hidden Boss battle. And I could just start teleporting us around the world, instead of sticking to one path."         "...Are you sure we should do that? It seems like there's certain paths that we're supposed to follow."

        He shrugged. "There's not much I remember about this world, but I do know that it ain't linear, not by a long shot." He gave a wave of his hand to create an image of what looked like many, many rivers diverging into different paths. Some of them intersected and led to various different seas. Others were a dead-end. "It's more like a choose-your-own-adventure with multiple endings. And fuck knows how many levels and boring-ass oceans we'd hafta keep going through to finally reach some kind of ending that isn't, y'know, death." He summoned up a smoky-looking skull and hurled it at his map of rivers, making it burst into flame and disappear.

        "We could keep playing this damn game forever at this rate, and clearly we don't have that kinda time. We've gotta find more answers. And you, mi amigo, seem to have a knack for runnin' into people that have those answers," he gave you a pat on the back... Followed by a quick tickle to the back of your ribs.         "EEE-HEHE!" You jumped forward. “Thanks, jerk,” you shoved him playfully.        You thought over what he said, an idea coming to mind. Back at Level Zero, there was writing on the walls. 'Seek the Key', and 'Level 3999'. What if-

        "Already tried that," He answered your thoughts before you could ask. "Really only works if I actually have a visual in mind for where I'm trynna go, for one thing." He flicked his window forward, stretching into a portal. "Level 3999," he commanded. But the portal barely reacted with more than a shudder, displaying a faded, hazy image of static and computer coding. Rags put his hand up against it, only to be repelled back like someone had smacked his hand away. "See? No-go," he shrugged.         "Damn. Guess that would be too easy, huh?"

        "Yeeeup. Which is why we're gonna do things my way now~" he clapped his hands together. "SO, here's the game plan. We jump into a Level, look around a bit for someone. I'd give it ten, fifteen minutes tops. If there's zilch in that time, we poof outta here into the next Level I can find. If there happen to be some beasties along the way that I can toy with, then I will~ Hell, if there's other humans like Calamari said, I might even be able to read their minds."         He swiped backwards on his 'screen', to a place that looked like a homey little tavern with a bar. "Let's get ya some grub first. You're probably starving after all that swimming, huh?"         Your stomach answered for you, growling loudly. You clasped a hand around it. "Yeahh, sounds good to me, heh."

        The tavern was, to no surprise, very quiet, save for one Faceling bartender, and presumably also the waitress. She was very tall, and had a good amount of muscle. She could easily tussle with any miscreants or entities trying to stir trouble. Rags hopped up onto one of the barstools, planting his feet on the rungs, his gangly legs jutting out. "Just a couple passersby, my Earthling here needs some good eats." You joined him on the next barstool, and she came up to you first, firmly placing her hand on the counter.         "What're we in the mood for?"         "Uh... anything that a Wanderer could eat?” You assumed there was food here that could replicate Earth food, given what you saw in the warehouse.

           She nodded, reaching in the refrigerator next to the bar cabinets, pulling out a plate of food. A freshly-cooked plate, still piping hot. Must’ve been a hot-fridge. Either way, it looked delicious. Kind of strange, like a mish-mash of different types of food you've had on Earth. But the moment you took a bite, your mouth was very happy. "Mmmm..." You savored the first bite, but quickly dug into the rest, occasionally burning your mouth. It was probably because you were starving, but it tasted straight out of a five-star restaurant.           "Glad you like it." She turned to Rags. "And for you?"           He shrugged. "I could go for strawberry daiquiri if ya got any."

          She tapped her chin, thinking for a moment before nodding and preparing a drink.          As you ate, you noticed a few paintings decorating the walls. They depicted different figures and entities: A man in a red suit of armor, a black demonic figure with an onyx crown and bright white eyes, a court jester adorned in red and gold, a nymph woman sprouting vines on her head and body. And lastly, a figure of a tall man in a high-collared tailcoat. For some reason, this painting was totally out-of-focus; backlit and obscured so heavily that he was little more than a silhouette. He held something that looked like a large key ring.

        "Who are they?"         "Keepers of the Order," the bartender answered casually. "Deities, lesser gods, or just powerful warriors acting on their own whims. You'd be lucky to even encounter them. Some people don't even believe they exist." Her attention turned to Rags. "You, on the other hand... They might not like you being here."         Rags gulped down his daiquiri, raising an eyebrow at her comment. "Oh?" He smirked slyly.         She nodded. "The ones who fall into this world are typically always mortal. Easy prey. But I can tell just looking at you that you're a Hellraiser. You teleported in here like it was nothing."         You smiled. "Yeah, he's a Hellraiser alright. Should've seen him rallying an army in a warehouse and taking on a 1000-mile sea serpent."

        The Nightmare's smug grin slowly stretched further across his face, his eyelids drooping a little, some shorter stray strands of hair standing on end. You could tell that look meant he was getting some shitty ideas. "Sooo, there's a chance to stir the pot with some Big Boys... That oughta get us some intel for sure." He hopped off the barstool, walking over to the most roomy section of the tavern. "You wanna see me really raise Hell? Then watch this!"          He focused his energy, holding his hands out, glowing vivid red. In an intense burst of magic, his portal windows started to fill the room. Not just one, but many of them. They cycled through Level after Level at random. As they shifted, Rags gave a flick of his wrist and summoned a megaphone, pointing it in the direction of the portals and taking a huge breath...

           "HEEEYY BACKROOM BITCHES!!" His voice boomed through the megaphone, causing the portal windows to flicker and shudder. The bartender jolted, nearly dropping the glass she was cleaning, forced to cover her ears. You quickly covered yours too.

        "YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN KEEP US HERE?? LOCKED UP AND FORCED TO PERFORM YOUR USELESS STUNTS LIKE SOME CIRCUS TIGER??" He paced around, his hair acting up even more, writhing like Medusa's snakes. "WELL THIS RABID CAT HAS A HELL OF A BITE, BABY!! I'M CLAWIN' MY WAY TO THE TOP, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!!" He cackled. "I'M COMING FOR YOU!! I'M GONNA MAKE A LAUGHING FOOL OUTTA EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!! HAHAHAAAHAHAHA-" He trailed off into wild, maniacal laughter even after he made the portals and megaphone disappear, his body crackling with arcs of magic.        You swallowed. That was... Kind of hot. But it also made you tense. Just what kind of Eldrich horror would he end up summoning from a calling card like that?       "Got that out of your system?" The bartender asked dryly.         Rags took a heavy breath and nodded, his hair and aura settling back down.         "Good. Now get out. You're disturbing the peace."          "Heheh; Yeahh yeah, we're leaving!" He patted you on the back and led you to a new portal. "Thanks for the grub! Put it on my tab~!"

        Afterwards, he started opening portals left and right. He often came across Levels that would've been impossible for you to navigate even with his help: Below-freezing tundras with harsh blizzards. Landscapes that were literally glitching in and out of existence and making your eyes ache. A dark, rainy marsh that tricked the Nightmare and suddenly cleared up to searing bright sunlit fields as if someone had flipped a light switch, scalding him and forcing him to poof you both away while he shrieked in pain. An extremely unsettling, unending 'tunnel' of Japanese spirit gates that emanated malevolent energy and nearly sent you into a panic attack just looking at it. He had to take a few minutes to calm you down from that one.          Finally, the Russian Roulette style of searching led to something helpful: A human outpost.        You stepped into a massive underground bunker, spotting tunnels, encampments, furniture, weapon supplies and crates all over the place. It looked like a shelter one would see in a zombie apocalypse. Even moreso when you saw some people in the far distance of the building walking around in Hazmat suits. But you felt a spark of hope to see that the rest of them had faces. Other humans!!          "Hey, we got another one!!" A man's voice shouted nearby, jogging up to you. He was middle-aged, Hispanic with light facial hair, looking a little rough around the edges. But he still offered you a slight smile. "Welcome to Paradise," he said sarcastically, giving you a handshake. "Glad you're in one piece. Name’s Ramon.”

        A group of five people soon followed. One had pointed ears; an elf or demon, maybe? And a lady with patches of scales lining her neck. You said your hellos and gave them your name, being guided over to some outdoor seating by a campfire, underneath a large half-pitched outdoor canopy. You went around the circle, learning their names and positions: A tough-looking, part-reptilian mercenary with a red ponytail and a pistol on her belt named Jay, Ramon the group leader with walkie-talkies and a machete on his utility belt, Cian their nonbinary African-American tech guru, Laurence with a visible trans pin on her Hazmat suit, Venali the turquoise-haired elf geared up like he was in Jumanji, and Fern, their blonde journalist and Venali’s boyfriend. They started to show you the various notes and journals they were writing about the Backrooms, and began explaining where all the supplies and housing were.           Though, before you all could get too comfortable, Ragaeli appeared in a flash of smoke right in front of everyone.          The group gasped and jumped back to their feet. Laurence yanked you back away from the monster. Fern stood in front of Venali protectively. Ramon readied his machete, and the elf started shuffling in his bag for weapons of his own.        "¡Cristo arriba, ¿qué es eso?!"         "That's not like any entity I’ve seen."

        "Whoa whoa whoa!!" You jumped in front of them and waved your arms. "Wait!! He's with me! He's not dangerous."

        They shifted from friendly to apprehensive. Ramon squinted suspiciously at you. "You sure about that? It could be mind-controlling you for all we know."         "Or you're in cahoots with the monsters out there trying to kill us."         "Or one of them in disguise."

        Ragdoll just smirked and giggled in smug amusement, hands on his hips; a contrast to your growing worry. But Jay quickly stood by your side and spoke up, raising her voice. "Guys, calm down. Remember the pact we made? We never would've made it as far as we have if we became this paranoid about every person we came across." She patted you on the shoulder. "We stick up for each other, got it? If there's signs that they're untrustworthy, we know how to defend ourselves." She gave you a smile.

        Rags poofed out of sight and re-appeared on one of the nearby benches, causing some of the group to jump in surprise. "Well in that case, I accept your warm welcome~" He snapped his fingers and summoned up a deck of cards out of one of their supply bags.         Cian hesitantly approached, putting their hands on their hips. “Okay, so... What are you?”

        “The best Nightmare you’ll ever have,” he winked, starting to play a game of Blackjack with himself, the cards floating in the air in front of him. "You've all been through the ringer, haven't ya? Nearly melting alive in a tunnel of pipes, spelunking in spider-filled caves, trudging through swamps fulla Death Rats..." He went around the circle pointing fingers at each person as he recited their memories back to them. "Damn, and a city of zombies too? Woof. Well, good on ya for sticking it out!"           All of them stared at him, dumbfounded. "...How do you know all of this?"           He tapped a finger to his temple. "Your thoughts aren't safe from me~ It's about fuckin' time, too. I can't read any minds that are native to this batshit universe."

          Fern was hurriedly scribbling down notes in his journal.           "And you guys-" Rags pointed to Laurence’s Hazmat suit. "You know an entry point to the Backrooms, it's the entire reason you're here. But it's one-way only, huh? Just like sending a Rover to another planet... One-way communication network so they can get the info they need outta you.”

          She sighed, brow furrowing, looking like Rags’ words stung to her core. She was the first of them to sit back down. "Yeah... Word of advice, don't get roped into top-secret Government research." She chuckled bitterly. "We're all told the same thing: That we're blessed to be part of a revolutionary breakthrough in interdimensional travel. That we'll be able to take care of our families for the rest of our lives with how filthy rich we'd be. That they’ll perfect their groundbreaking wormhole transportation to ensure that everyone can come and go here as they please. That they... They’ll give us easy access to hormone therapy and surgery.” Her brow furrowed. “But they don't give a rat's ass about us. They know damn well we can't go back once we cross the rift. We aren’t meant to be breaching into this dimension. It takes who it wants to take."            The others looked at her sympathetically, following suit in sitting down around their campfire. Venali scooted close to Fern, Cian and Jay sat on the floor close to the fire. Ramon patted Laurence’s shoulder.

           She cast her gaze down. "...I'm one of the lucky ones. I didn't have much going for me back at home. Wasn't remembered by a lot of folks. Figured that if I don't get rich enough to lead a campaign for equal medical treatment all over the country, then... hey, at least my last adventure would be a hell of an interesting one." She looked back up to her companions. "Then I had to go and find these guys, and they had to go and start caring about me. Guess I'm stuck with them now," she gave Ramon a playful nudge, and they laughed together.

          “Damn... Well, I’m glad you’re all okay,” you tried to offer a reassuring smile. “Though if you don’t mind me asking, why keep the Hazmat suit?”            She shrugged. “They make good protection when we go off to find resources. Cian hot-wired our radios to only be able to communicate with each other. We don’t need any no-good government lackeys spying on us anymore.”

         “Hm...” You nodded. “Well... I really think there is a way out of here. Ragman and I are doing our best to find it."           "Level 3999?" Jay responded.           Your eyes lit up in surprise. "Yeah!"            She nodded. "The 'True Ending'. It's a Level that's damn near impossible to get to, though. We don’t even know how to start looking for it.”

           “Seek the Key...” Fern scanned through his journal, with Venali resting his head on his shoulder to peek at his notes. “A Faceling told us that’s the answer. What key, though? A physical key? Metaphorical? It’s like no-one in this world can give us direct answers. Like they’re not allowed to.”          The Nightmare squinted, staring hard at the group, 'scanning' between them. "Hrrmm... So you know about that Level... That could mean we can hop around to other outposts and interrogate any humans we see 'til we get more answers," he chuckled. "But there's still something... Off." He got up to start pacing, rubbing his chin. "I can see all these different places you've been. I can see all the baddies you thwarted and skewered. I can memorize every piece of writing you’ve got about this world,” He held out a hand, summoning Fern’s journal to him, skimming through the pages in less than two seconds before snapping it shut. “But there's gaps. Blank spots, or like, skipping in a DVD." He sneered in annoyance, tossing Fern’s journal back at him. "That settles it then, this world has it out for me!!" He threw his arms up dramatically.

              Ramon snorted. "It's not just you. The Backrooms fuck with people's minds all the time."                You thought for a moment. “Maybe I could take a look?” When Fern agreed and gave you his journal, you saw just what Rags was talking about: There were odd blank spots in the middle of notes or sketches. Not like erased text, or unfinished sentences...But more like looking at something through your eyes’ blind-spots. A blur, or a blockage that made you not want to look at it for too long. “That’s so weird...”            Venali scratched behind his head as he also thought things over. "Well, maybe we could just tell you what those gaps are?"

           Rags stopped his pacing, a sly grin crossing his face. "Yeahhh, maybe you could..." He cracked his knuckles. "A good dose of adrenaline might jog your memories~"          You felt yourself starting to smile just as mischievously. Before a couple of them could ask what he meant, he snapped his fingers to lift everyone’s arms above their heads with magic bindings, lifting up their ankles arranging them in a circle, suspended above the floor. They all exclaimed.

           “Mierda, I fuckin’ KNEW it!!” Ramon shouted at you, having seen your cheeky smile appear when Rags grabbed him. “You set us up!!”            “H-Hey, come on, let’s talk about this!!” Cian looked at him nervously.

             “Relaaaax already,” the Nightmare gave deliberate pokes to Cian and Ramon’s sides, instantly getting exclaimed yelps. His smile grew wider. “I ain’t in the business of skewering folks that don’t deserve it. But I’ll show you exactly how I’ve been dealing with all the bloodthirsty critters since getting here~” He put his large hands on both of their sides...and gave off a ticklish magic burst that shot through the two of them, and clear across everyone else’s torsos like an EMP blast. The group shrieked and bucked in place, bursting into laughter, some of them nearly stumbling.              Rags visibly shivered at the sound of their laughter. “Oooohh that was nice~”            “SHIHIHIT THAT TIHIHICKLES!!” Laurence barked. Fern blushed brightly and tried to hide his face against his arm. Ramon and Jay both tried yanking away.            “Th-that’s your power?!” Jay hissed.            “Yeeees indeedy~” the Nightmare winked.            “That’s ridiculous!” Ramon scoffed. “No way in hell a little tickling is gonna keep a bunch of bloodthirsty abominations at baaAAAYY-HEHEHE!!” He was cut off by another ticklish burst. The others yelped and exclaimed with more laughter, some of their faces becoming more flushed.            “Ohh, it’s not just a little,” Rags grinned deviously. “You’ll find that I’m a very greedy bastard~ I could do this aaalll day, but I don’t have that kind of time. So lemme just interrogate you all for a little bit...” He then grasped his hand around your invisible magic tether, yanking you over to join the circle, trapping you in place as well.            "Wha- HEY!" You glared at him.            He just giggled. "Let's get started, shall we~?"

           He ignored everyone's flustered protests. His hair tendrils extended into the air and weaved their way between the group; and then, he attacked.            He knew exactly where everyone's weak spots were. Jay's scaly back, Venali's pointy ears, Cian's underarms, Fern's palms and neck, Ramon’s armpits and pudgy belly, Laurence’s neck and feet. And of course, he showed no mercy on your weaknesses. All of you answered with loud shrieks, belly laughter, whines and curses. Ramon cussed him out in Spanish, Venali devolved into his unknown native language. Some of their laughter was so goofy and contagious it made you laugh even more.

              Rags shuddered hard at the cacophony of laughter, and licked his lips. His eyes lit up with excitement, his slitted pupils dilating a little, his hair frizzing and shuddering and his aura glowing a little brighter. "Oohhh now that’s tasty~" You knew from what he'd told you that getting a group of people laughing was the equivalent of getting a whiff of cocaine. Heaven forbid he ever got a whole room of people laughing.

             He’d almost forgotten the reason he started the group attack in the first place. “SO, those memories, cough ‘em up!!” he summoned Fern’s journal over to himself. When he found a subject of interest, he flipped open the page, and used his magic to project the image in the air, large enough for everyone to see. “What about this critter?” He projected a sketch of what looked like regular Death-head moths from Earth, but with notes about how they could paralyze humans with neurotoxins.

             “I-I dohohohon’t knohohow!!” Fern whined. “I-I’ve just heheheard talk of thehehem from other people in our outpohohost!!”                “Liar,” Rags stuck out his tongue. “Arright, how about this one?” he pointed out a silhouetted figure of a man with inhumanly long limbs, a top hat, and nothing on his face but a wide, pure white smile with sharp teeth, not unlike the Nightmare’s.              “I-Ive seeheeheen him in a reflehehection befohohore!!” Laurence barely managed to speak up over her laughter. “I-I don’t remember whehehere!!”              “Hmmm, alright, that’s acceptable enough,” he giggled. “OH, what’s this place??” His interest was piqued by a large empty library, with a huge sign overhead reading ‘The End.’               “WeeEEE-HEHEHEH f-found a computer screen wihihith that imahahage!!” Jay replied, growling between her laughter, face flushed almost as bright red as her hair.          

               He continued this ‘strategy’ for a good ten minutes. Sitting cross-legged in the air, flipping through the journal, projecting Fern’s sketches of everything from strange objects, dangerous-looking entities, and bizarre Levels. Every time, it seemed as if they just couldn’t remember full details. A couple times, they even said they didn’t remember taking the notes at all.              He also knew exactly how much to dial it back with them, taking breaks when they were out of breath, never tickling in a spot for too long that would cause them panic or discomfort. They pleaded, protested, cussed him out. But never made more of an effort to break free.                Before long, you decided to be a brat. “I-I dohohohon’t knohohow, Rahahags, I th-thihihink they’re holdihihing out on us!!”                 “Y-YOU SON OF A-!!” Jay glared.                 “W-We’re nahahahat lyiiihihing!” Venali protested. “W-Wehehehe’re telling you everythiihihing we remehehember!!”

            Eventually, the Nightmare was swaying in the air and giggling, lips stretched in a dopey grin, eyelids drooping. He was literally getting laughter-drunk. Sparks leaked out from his writhing hair, his red aura glowed brighter than ever. When he finally decided everyone had enough, he lowered all of you to the floor and seats around the campfire, releasing your bonds. Everyone collapsed back onto the seats and against their bags and crates.

              Rags staggered to his feet, stomping over to the group, slouched over and walking in his janky tweeker fashion that earned him the name Ragdoll. "Mmmhehehehh, shiiiit I want mooore..." He growled and licked his lips. Everyone shivering and tensing up in a small bout of anxiousness just made him bend over more, like he was about to pounce. But then he quickly shook his head like a dog shaking off water, smacking the sides of his face. "Nooonono, time to focus!!"            "O-Okay, okay, I see now why you've been able to survive," Ramon spoke up. "Cause you're fuckin insane," he flipped the Nightmare off.            Rags giggled wildly and threw his arms up in an exaggerated shrug. "Sure I am, what's your point?"            Cian and Venali snickered to themselves. "A total horror movie monster. But, y'know, a fun one.”            Jay huffed, sitting upright. "Yeah, and you’re not much better," she glared over at you. "Egging him on like that..."            "Well, that was... Uh.. Kinda fun, in any case.." Fern cleared his throat, face still red as a beet, not making eye contact with Rags.            Laurence nodded quickly. "Quite the group therapy session, don't you think?"              Venali smiled cheekily at Fern. “Someone liiiiked it~” he playfully tickled the blonde’s sides, resulting in a squeak and batting his hands away.

             The monster giggled again. “Well, glad you enjoyed yourselves, even if I didn’t get any real answers,” he stuck his tongue out. “All that laughter just stirred up a bunch of your sappy memories, laughing it up together.” He made a mock-gagging motion.                After you caught your breath, you looked over to the powered-up nightmare, then the group, then back again... You smiled mischievously. "Hey, guys.. How d'you feel about a little revenge?"

           But Rags slowly turned his head to you. "You reeeally think ganging up on me when I have this much laughter-fuel in the tanks is a good idea~?" He held out a hand, giving off sparks so intense it was like his arm was a Tesla coil. The magic let off a cacophony of echoing high-pitched laughter. It made everyone gasp and jump back.            You swallowed. "M-maybe not, but I know you're gonna hang onto most of that energy. You need it."            He giggled and rolled his eyes. "Fiiine, you got me there." The crackling stopped and he re-absorbed the magic into his body. He stood back upright, throwing his arms open and puffing his chest out in a ‘come at me bro’ stance. “Go ahead then, if you all think you can take me on~”

             Jay and Laurence were the first ones to jump to their feet and charge him, and you followed closely behind. Jay used her strong arms to grasp one of his arms and hold it in place while she buried her other hand into one of his pits. Laurence went for the opposite side, dancing her fingers up and down his sides and ribs like a piano. And you made a beeline for his exposed midriff.              The cocky Nightmare shrieked with excited laughter, flailing in place like a wiggling fish, tail thrashing behind him. “YEEE-HEEHEHEHEHE!!”

             Once they saw how ticklish the laughter-hungry maniac was, and that he wasn’t retaliating, the others’ uncertainty made way for sly smirks. They stood to their feet and hurried over to join their friends. They held the tall Nightmare in place, attacking every inch of them they could cover. His laughter just grew louder and more wild, his huge smile showing off his bear-trap teeth and striped tongue. “GYAAA-HAHAHAHEEEHEHEHEHE!! IS TH-THAHAHAT THE BEHEHEHEST YOU ALL GOT?!” He taunted.            “We gotta go for the feet!” You hinted to the others. They nodded, and made swift work of pulling Rags down to the floor, pinning his arms and legs in place. Venali and Fern took the lead, each targeting his massive stompers. The elf scribbled skillfully under and along his toes, and Fern experimentally scritched at his soles and balls of his foot. “Tickletickletickle,” the elf cooed, giving a shy, but cheeky grin. “Man, for someone so strong, you sure can’t handle a taste of your own medicine, can ya?”

           “I mean, he’s taking it like a champ,” Jay snickered, joining you in burying her pointed nails against his trembling belly.              “if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re really enjoying this,” Laurence smiled, swirling her knuckles against his hips.            “WHAHAHAHAT WAS YOUR FIHIHIHIRST CLUHUHUHUE?!” Rags retorted, shrieking and bucking all the more, his tail smacking the ground behind him.               The tail caught Cian’s interest. Out of curiosity, they grabbed it and started tickling along its length, succeeding in letting loose another cacophony of excited laughter from their target. Ramon followed suit in the experimenting, tickling the peach-fuzz stripes on his shins, making him almost yank his legs right out of Fern and Venali’s grip.

             Once again, you found yourself staring and eyeing over your monster friend’s thrashing body and handsome smiling, laughing face. Each of his hysterical belly-laughs made your stomach do somersaults of joy. Although you enjoyed succumbing to his ruthless tactics, it was cathartic seeing him get a taste of his own medicine - and reassuring to know he loved receiving the tickles just as much as inflicting them. The group looked happy, too, with genuine playful smiles on their faces; even Ramon, their grouchy jaded leader.

               After a few more minutes, he started slamming the floor with his hand, like a wrestler tapping out. Ramon recognized the gesture and waved a hand in the air. “Alright alright, let’s back off,” the others nodded and brought their tickle-attack to a stop.               “WHOO, talk about a team effort, hehehe~” Rags gave a dopey giggle. “I can take wayyy more than that, but I’m kinda on the clock,” he staggered to his feet.                Ramon rolled his eyes. “Uh-huh, sure you can.”              “No, it’s true,” you spoke up, also standing up. “He has almost limitless stamina.”              “Well, either way, that was fun~” Laurence giggled. “But I guess you two are planning on moving on ahead, huh?”              “Sure, if ya know where we should go next,” Rags ruffled her hair.             “I... think I know where you might be able to find clues,” Cian spoke up.             Jay’s brow furrowed and she quickly shook her head. “Don’t. That place is a death trap. A deliberate dead end. Ramon barely escaped in time, remember??”            “I know, but what if it’s possible?” Cian went up to both of you to explain. “If anyone has a chance of getting past the science labs, it’s you. Both of you. His powers, and your wits and bravery... You may be able to get past the gauntlet.”           "Gauntlet?" You questioned.           "Yeah. Like I said, a death trap,” Jay repeated in irritation. “A stampede of just about any entity you'd imagine."

          This piqued the nightmare's interest. "Ya don't say...?"           There he goes again, getting some sneaky ideas. "Sooo, what happens when we reach the end?"           "If you get to the end," Fern corrected. "We dunno. Probably just another Level to another hellscape."            You shrugged. "I mean, hey, I've seen my fair share of those. I can handle this too.” Your eyes lit up, and you were struck with motivation. “Hey! If we all go together, I'm sure we could get past it! You guys seem like you really know what you're doing.”

          Ramon shook his head. "Look, amigo... There isn't really any use in exploring a place that dangerous. We've got a good thing going right where we're at. Food, supplies, defenses, and each other.”           "You could do the same," Fern commented. "You and your crazy bodyguard can live here with us."           "No can do," Rags threw an arm around your shoulder. "I'm gettin' this one home one way or another."            "Why don't you come with us?" You tried to press them again. "Like I said, we're finding ways out of each Level. Rags can help out! He can neutralize threats and even persuade them to our side!"

           But all of them looked very hesitant.

          "Not sure that's a good idea." The Nightmare spoke up.           "What??" You spun to look at him. It wasn't like him to deny the chance to help people out. But you felt your stomach sink at how serious his expression had become.

           He gave a big shrug. "Look, I dunno where we're gonna end up. We're barely making it out of each Level as it is!! Sure I can keep the baddies at bay, but I'm still playing a careful balancing act of upkeeping my magic." He turned his attention back to the group. "Even if I could bring you all with me, and get a boosted energy fix from ya, there's a good chance that this world is gonna fling you every which way at any given moment. And an even bigger chance that not all of you are gonna make it out of here alive." He huffed and folded his arms, tapping a finger on his bicep. "I'm not about to risk splittin' you up or watching your buddies get killed in front of you. That'd be even more fucked up than letting you stay here."              The group nodded and sighed amongst themselves, mumbling in agreement.

          "Well, there you have it. Your magic friend says it's not safe." Ramon patted you on the shoulder. “I appreciate you wanting to help. I really do. Maybe someday we’ll get more intel, find safer Levels. But when we started settling in here, we all barely made it by the skin of our teeth. These guys... they’ve seen some shit that no-one ought to see. I can’t ask them to go back into the fray if they’re not ready for it.”                Fern nodded. “I... I can’t go back out there.” Venali took his hand and hugged him close, giving him a gentle kiss on his cheek.                You frowned, feeling a little guilty. You knew they were right... You couldn’t in good conscience push them to venture to places that triggered traumatic memories.                Cian folded their arms behind their head. “I wouldn’t mind taking up that offer, if I was on my own. But these guys need me. I’m their only means of communicating to home base when they go out to find resources.”        

                 Rags scratched under his chin. “Y’knoww...it might be possible to get you outta here if I could relay some answers to ya. At least, if the Big Bosses come running to my call. And if snitching on ‘em isn’t going to make them go after you guys. I know how it goes with most gods. Snuffing out lives like birthday candles just cause they can’t fathom a mortal outsmarting them,” he scoffed.

            “Big Bosses?” Jay raised an eyebrow.              Fern’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean...?”             “Are you... talking about the Grand Order?” Cian looked at the Nightmare in disbelief. “You called to them?? What do you mean?!”               “Well, I gotta find our way out of here somehow. If you don’t get answers after standin at your boss’s door for an hour, just throw a rock in their window, right??” Rags snickered.            “How, though?” Fern quickly started thumbing through his journal. “How did you contact them?? There’s a next to zero possibility of a Wanderer encountering one, but maybe with the help of an entity like you, it’s possible...?”

              “Weelll I didn’t directly contact them.” Rags stood out away from the encampment, holding his arms out and giving his hands a dramatic wave. A good dozen magic windows opened up in the air, shifting through imagery, just as they had done at the tavern. “I can open up a spyglass on the world and set sail towards any Level I decide on,” he summoned up a fancy brimmed hat and a spyglass, doing mock-charades of a pirate standing at the edge of a ship. “I can take a peek at just about any Level here and take a gamble on whether I wanna jump the plank or not. Could be some plain ol fish, could strike some buried gold! Or, we be swimmin’ right into the jaws of death. And that’s why I ain’t be gamblin with any of yer lives!!” He jammed a finger against your chest. “I’m already regrettin’ having to gamble with yers.” Despite his hammy pirate act, for a brief moment, you glimpsed a crease in his brow; a shift in expression from playful to apologetic.

              “Point is!!” He spun around, making the props disappear and pointing at the portals. “I kiiiinda maybe dared ‘em to come running to me,” he flashed a smug grin. “The safest way for us to have a chance of jailbreaking you all is for me to get the answers from the Top Dogs. They tell me the answer, I open up a window to as many Wanderer outposts as my magic will allow, bada-bam, now we ALL know how to bust out.” He narrowed his gaze. “...IF that works.” He pointed to Fern. “Not a damn page I skimmed in there mentioned a thing about these Upper-Fuckers. Not a thought in his mind is tellin’ me anything.”               “Wha... Really??” He skimmed his journal quickly, looking dumbfounded. “There’s... it’s not here!” He looked over to Cian. “But you know about them, don’t you??”             Cian shrugged. “I mean, kinda? I don’t remember where I heard about them, though. I think it was a tavern or something?”

                Rags rolled his eyes. “Case in point. If they’re tryin’ this hard to keep the answer from some troublemaking interloper, I’d imagine they’ll try just as hard to cover it up from their main prey. When - not if, WHEN -” he snarled for emphasis - “I get one of them to cough up what we need, they might try to go for your throats as damage control. I send that message out to many outposts and they could lead a mass slaughter. If there’s even a sliver of a chance of that happening, then forget it.”                “Hmm...” Jay folded her arms. “Well... Thanks for wanting to help, in any case. Don’t worry too much about us. You sound like you both have enough on your plate as it is.”

               Laurence could tell you were feeling crestfallen, coming up to you to take your hand. “You’ve got a real good friend at your side, you know that? Don’t ever give that up. And don’t think that moving on is giving up on us, either.” She smiled. “Just keep us in your thoughts, that’s all I can ask. And if you find another one of us guinea pigs with a working radio, give those fuckers back home Hell for me.”              You chuckled, nodding. “Damn right I will.”               Ragdoll gave a clap of his hands. “Well in that case, I’ve got one request for you lot. Don’t any of you fuckin’ dare give up. And don’t ever stop laughing~”

              After you said your goodbyes, Venali led you into one of the alleyways outside of the building, opening an industrial metal door in the adjacent wall. “The portal to the laboratory is at the end of this hallway.” He frowned. “You’re certain you’re ready to go through with this?”             You nodded. “We have to try.”            "We'll take our chances," Rags plopped an elbow down on your shoulder again. "A science lab sounds pretty interesting... And if it's true that there's that many entities, my announcement might've reached them too,” he grinned at you knowingly. “We could even rally a little army~"

               Rags walked next to you down the hall. You glanced up at him with a knowing grin. “You let everyone go after you you to show them they could trust you, didn’t you?” you gave him a nudge. “I know how you work.”                He glared and let out a huff, grabbing at your stomach to squeeze repeatedly. “Shaddup, I just wanted ‘em to have fun too,” he stuck out his tongue.              “AAH-HAHAHA!!” You jumped. “Yeah right!!” you grabbed at his side in response, releasing a hyena yelp from him. “You’re totally not a secret softie.”

         You half expected Ragman to race you or chase you down the hallway in retaliation for calling him out. But he still walked alongside you, arms folded behind his head, acting strangely calm. It became apparent after a couple minutes of walking that it was because he could sense your stewing thoughts. You felt sorry for all those people... How many other people from Earth - or even other worlds - were trapped here? Forced to live in shelters straight out of Fallout? You were lucky you had a god on your side. At least there was some chance of indirectly helping them, if the Nightmare’s idea worked. Even if he couldn't save all of them, maybe both of you could help make a difference to at least one of them...

             Ragdoll patted you on the head. "Believe me... If I could, I would. I'd lead a mass exodus outta here." For once, he became very contemplative. "But you can't save everyone. Not on Earth, not in Limbo, not on other planets or dimensions. Sure, you gotta stick up for your buddies, and most people don't wanna look at some sad sack on the side of the road and just leave them there. But other times, you just need to focus on you, y'know?"             "Yeah..." You sighed. You knew he had a point; that it would probably be a pretty big gamble to take them along. But still... You wish they would've taken up your offer to help. It was times like this that you were reminded the Nightmare wasn't just a laughter-hungry nutcase.

           Though it wouldn’t be long before the madness continued.            Opening the door at the end of the hall, you saw that there was indeed a huge laboratory on the inside.                "Alley-oop!" Rags gave you a shove into the doorway before poofing out of view.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five (current) Chapter Six

Footnotes:

Bunker floor BG: 

So, this is the first chapter that isn’t directly based off of specific Backrooms levels or entities. It kind of just vaguely mentions the aesthetic of some of the Levels I came across while reading the Wiki.

This chapter also wasn’t even one that I’d originally planned. It was going to go from Rags and Y/N doing random level-hopping directly into the Research lab where the next chapter takes place, but in the process, the realization hit me “What if they come across other humans? There’s human outposts everywhere in the backrooms”. So it only made sense to have them encounter a group of survivors. I had fun coming up with some other human(oid) characters and fleshing them out. I will say right now that I do not plan on having a complete character/story arc for them. There won’t be any tragic deaths, there won’t be any tie-ins to the final conflict. However, this may not be the last we see of them!