Brainy knew that it wasn't exactly the escaping that was necessarily the issue. It was not immediately getting recaptured. All he needed was her out of the room for a minute, maybe a minute and a half so he could pick the lock and have time to run. The issue was she seemed pretty loyal to Gargamel so would probably not leave him alone at all given her orders to not let him escape. Brainy sighed slightly, glancing around to try and think of something he could use to distract her. He didn't exactly want any other smurf to be in this situation but most of the others were much better at social interaction so would probably be able to distract her. You really are pathetic. Can't even distract one smurf? His thoughts butted in again and he didn't really disagree but he wanted to prove it wrong even though it was him.

Option one, pick the lock and run for it. He knew, full well, it was an incredibly foolish option. She would definitely catch and stop him. Then she would keep more of an eye on him and if she rethrew him into the cell she would probably confiscate his paperclips which would make escape much harder. Plus he wasn't one for running. Okay, no matter what the plan there would be at least some running but he wanted one where he could quickly hide and then head the opposite direction she went looking for him. First though was making sure he had at least a minute head start.

Option two, find something to press the button and let it drain all his energy...Yeah, no. That wasn't a good idea. He knew that but it was almost tempting. Not even almost. It was tempting...

Option three...hmm. From where he was in the cage he could see the side room and a shelf which looked like something hitting it would knock the content over. He, like Vanity, kept things in his hat when necessary. A paperclip in case he had to pick a lock and if he found anything interesting that. It was lucky that shortly before being kicked out the village he had found a pebble. Sure, he knew pebbles weren't to interesting but it was a really pretty one and could provide some kind of life to his mushroom. He waited until her back was turned momentarily, imagined the point of the shelf he was aiming for was Hefty's ego or nose and aimed. It just caught the jar he was aiming for which created a domino effect of items shattering, including likely valuable potions. Star yelped and ran in, likely to sort it out and stop everything from breaking. Brainy half smiled to himself and twisted the paperclip into the lock until the cage sprung open.

He jumped from the cage, landing on the table, and ran for the window. If he went for the door she would notice his absence faster given it looked like he would have to go through the side room where she was. He pushed hard on the wood using all the force he could: with a slow, reluctant creak it opened enough for him to slip through. He immediate burst into the fastest sprint he could, knowing full well Star would have heard the creek so would probably be after him already. Once he found a good enough tree he quickly scaled it. His grazed hands from being kicked out many times and landing badly stung as they came into contact with the rough bark. He tried his best to ignore it and pulled himself into a hole in the tree, watching apprehensively as Star ran out of the hut, looking around. He ducked down so only his eyes were peeking out but from behind a curtain of leaves. She followed the main path, probably assuming that was the way he would be likely to go.

Brainy slouched down, taking a breath of relief, rubbing his eyes tiredly. It would be quite a journey back to the village and lingering here too long was risky but he needed a few minutes. His energy had taken a large hit and he would need the energy to run if Star or Gargamel managed to intersect him on his path. Then again if he stayed here any longer he would probably fall asleep which would almost certainly lead to his recapture.

He sighed again, adjusting his glasses whilst avoiding touching the crack so it wouldn't worsen. He climbed back down and began the long walk back to the village, making sure to stick to the shadows in case remaining hidden became necessary.

It was around midnight when he escaped; given the long path he took to avoid leading Gargamel or Star to the village if they were hiding he didn't get back until around breakfast. By then he was exhausted, sore, hungry and did I mention exhausted? If it was possible to sleep and eat at the same time that would be a dream come true. Sleep took priority though. He began to head to his mushroom, yawning as he went, almost wishing he had magic like Gargamel's so he could magic his bed over then fly the bed back...
"Oi, bookworm!" a voice snapped. Brainy flinched and turned around to see a furious looking Hefty which was nothing new but was not something right now. "You never apologised!"
"For what?" Brainy asked, perplexed. A jolt of fear shot through him as Hefty took a threatening step forward.
"You told me to 'Smurf off'!" Hefty said, furiously. With everything that had happened since Brainy had forgotten about that. He still wished Hefty would but he didn't want to be kicked out again.
"Right. That. Sorry," Brainy muttered. It sounded as genuine as it was. Not in the slightest. Hefty's eyes narrowed and he took another step forward. Brainy stepped backwards: his back came in contact with a tree which meant no more retreating.

The brainiac had been deliberating whether or not to tell the other Smurfs of his capture. He knew they wouldn't care if he got hurt. In fact if it wasn't for the fact that Gargamel hadn't drained so much extract, making him more threatening, then he wouldn't say anything.
"That didn't sound like an apology," Hefty seethed. "And why did you take so long to apologise?!" Brainy sighed. He would have rather told a less scary smurf but at least then someone would know.
"I got captured by Gargamel, Hefty..." he finally admitted. Hefty surprised him by laughing, shaking his head slightly. "What?"
"Liar," Hefty stated. "You really expect me to believe that? You expect anysmurf to believe that?" Brainy nodded. "Pathetic. You, Brainy, would be far too pathetic to escape. And weak."
"But I did!" Brainy protested. "Gargamel has more extract agai-"
"Stop lying!" Hefty yelled, cutting him off. "Showing off about this kind of thing wouldn't be enough to get anysmurf to like you, you know that right?!" The glasses-wearing smurf stared at Hefty in shock, that statement sinking into him.
"I-I'm not ly-" he tried to protest but was cut off by being yet again kicked out of the village.

The landing was at least a soft one but he worsened the grazes and skimmed his knee. Tears threatened to start falling and he angrily wiped them away. His shoulders sinked and yet again the suspicion that the village would be much better without him and he would be better without them. All he did was annoy them, make them angry, and ruin the good mood. All they did was hurt him. Life would be so much simpler alone. He pushed the idea to the side for the moment, taking in his surroundings. A flash of familiar bright orange peeked through the grass and on closer examination he recognised the flower that was one of the ingredients for the Smurf Formula. Tiger lily.

An idea began to form in his mind. A risky idea that would take a mix of guesswork and preparation. One that may not even work and could be exceedingly dangerous. The idea though was one he immediately couldn't neglect. He could at least prepare it...he wouldn't necessarily have to follow through with it. For the first time in a long time a feeling burst though him, one that took him a few moments to even recognise. Determination. Motivation even. That was an odd but he wasn't going to complain. There was finally something in the nothingness. It was petrifying. It was exhilarating. It was too much. It wasn't enough. The want for more and the fear of feeling things mixed together but he tried to focus on the idea at hand. Making a mental note of the location of the tiger lily and trying to stay awake long enough to get to his location he wandered around the outskirts of the village until he reached his mushroom. He just made it to his bed in time to collapse onto it, eyes too heavy to keep up any longer.