THIRD PERSON

     An odd, indescribable feeling seeped into the air. With just one threat, Kanom had managed to bring a whole new sense of anxiety to the group. With the smoke just barely trailing behind them from the other room, it only brought comfort to the Toxicroak.

     "Please...let her go..." Loki frowned, kneeling in front of everyone. "You can even leave with us...I just don't want to be here anymore."

     "Then leave, and leave without her," Kanom called, pointing the claw closer to the Ninetale's neck. "I don't want to see your faces anymore." He was near the stairway, his back facing the flight of stairs blindly. Kanom tore his gaze from the Zoroark and focused it on the Braixen, who seemed to be setting a pin on a digital pad near the vault. "Sammy gets it."

     "No, I don't." Sammy hissed as she placed in the correct code. The vault slowly but surely slid open, revealing another long hallway—but wider than the actual room itself. Ignoring this and prioritizing the Ninetale's safety, Sammy shifted her body to glare at the Toxicroak. "Let her g—"

     The sound of a pained cry almost ruptured everyone's ears. A splatter of blood seeped into Alice's fur.

     Laker was now behind Kanom, his claw dug directly into the Toxicroak's neck. Kanom stiffened, his body twitching in pain before collapsing right next to the Ninetales.

     "Holy shit, Alice..!" Loki was the first to rise of her knees and leap next to the Ninetales, helping her to stand on all fours. "Arceus..." She shuddered.

     "I'm o-okay, Loki..." Alice whispered, tears beginning to stream down her cheek. She lunged forward as Loki wrapped her arms around the Ninetales. "I love you..."

     "I love you too..." Loki muttered into Alice's fur. "We need to leave, okay? The gas is catching up into the..." The Zoroark pulled away to cough violently, and as she opened her eyes, it was revealed that the room was beginning to fill with a cloud of thick purple smoke.

     "You three!" Rayne called as loudly as she could. Loki and Alice turned their attention to the dark, opened vault. Everyone was inside of it but them. On a full-speed sprint, the two leaped inside as Sammy quickly tapped down the pin of the vault.

     "Laker," Rayne called at the top of her lungs, causing the Weavile to flinch. "I don't give a fuck if you think you don't deserve to be with us, get over here!"

     Laker seemed to nod, tears filling in his eyes as he finally leaped inside of the room, the door closing behind him instantly.

     A wave of heavy, labored, and panicked breathing overtook the room by storm. Nothing was more stressful than being in that situation to them, even more than the trials.

     "We have to go..." Sammy rose to her feet, clutching tightly against the stick in her tail. The second she pulled it out, it ignited into flames, allowing the rest to see through the spacious hallway. "The main vault is down this hallway...It's a long walk, so be prepared."

     "Okay..." Grace was the first to agree and pace forward along with everyone else.

     A wave of silence overtook the room until someone decided to speak up.

     "So this is it, huh?" Laker huffed, gazing at his drying wound. "We're the ones to make it..."

     "We are..." Sammy frowned and led the way with the flames. The gentle sounds of fire crackling danced off the walls for a few seconds until another conversation sparked up.

     "How did you have the resources for this?" Sherwood tilted his head.

     "Sam had a big interest in human things..." Sammy hiccuped, sniffling gently.

     "Are you alright?" Rayne sped her walk to gaze at the Braixen's face.

     "I-I'm sorry...It's just hard to...lose your sister..." Sammy sniffled, causing everyone in the room to come to a realization. There was no way Sam was going to live inside of all that poison gas—it was spread throughout the entire building.

    "I'm really sorry...no matter how bad they were, no one should go through that..." Grace frowned and shook her head. "I-I don't remember his name but...I have a brother..."

     "I have a sister..." Sherwood tore his gaze from the group to gaze blankly at the ground. "I hope she's alive...somewhere..."

     "You'll find her soon enough..." Loki smiled warmly at the Sceptile and placed a comforting arm on his back. "I wouldn't know...I don't have any siblings."

     "Me neither," Rayne quickly remarked, "but that won't stop me."

     Another wave of silence caused everyone to think.

     "Everyone really has changed, huh?" Laker crossed his arms as he walked. "Sherwood's gotten less aggressive...sometimes."

     "Alice seems to be more talkative." Rayne quickly mentioned.

     "Laker is less annoying," Grace smirked.

     "Grace has changed the most, she's less of a crybaby." Laker teased.

     "Sammy's joined our side now..." Loki huffed with a small smile.

     "And Rayne hasn't changed a bit!" Laker smirked even wider, causing the Manectric to crack a rare smile.

     "Laker, Grace wants her childishness back—why'd you take it from her?" Rayne giggled softly.

     "You know you love it." Laker waved a claw in the air.

     "You don't have to know that." The Manectric playfully rolled her eyes and continued walking.

     And then new thoughts sparked into their brains.

     Lancer, Talus, Vince, Gruta, Aubra, Kanom, Leon, Inu, Galant, Sam.

     Good or bad, nice or distasteful, expressive or bland, they will forever be remembered. No matter what they have done, none of them had to go through such a thing as the Frenzy Killing Game. As those thoughts flashed through their heads one-by-one, they seemingly began to appreciate life itself—ironically enough.

     "Death can be so sudden..." Grace frowned, gazing at the group in awe. "I can't believe we made it alive..."

     "It shocks even me..." Alice breathed deeply and shut her eyes. "I can't believe I made it..."

     "With me around, you weren't going to die." Loki confidently crossed her arms and gazed down at the Ninetales.

     "Not in an isolated room for the whole day, no..." Alice giggled gently.

     "What were you two doing in that room anyway?" Laker tilted his head, gazing at the pair.

     "Oh you know, something erotic." Loki bit her claw playfully.

     "Oh, nice..." Laker tore his gaze from the two before his eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

Alice laughed lightly at his reaction, her eyes opening to gaze at the Weavile.

     "I wasn't invited, either?" Laker waved a claw around, and at his words, Sherwood chuckled lightly. Sammy seemed to stifle a laugh.

     "I don't think that would be as enjoyable," Alice remarked.

     "To be honest, I would have just watched." Laker's words caused Sammy to burst out into a small fit of laughter.

     "Even after going through that, you all are still making jokes." Sammy turned her head to lock eyes with the Weavile, who seemed to shrug at her remark. "Anyways, we're here..."

     The group's eyes landed upon what seemed to be an overly sized vault door.

     "Holy shit, this one is bigger than the last one..." Loki huffed at the sight of the door.

     Laker stifled a laugh at the Zoroark's comment before Sammy paced up near a digital pad, tapping against it. The Braixen backed away from the vault before gazing around the room.

     "Careful..." Sammy muttered as a large ringing sound reverberated around the area. From above the vault gleamed a bright blue light. The gears against the giant metal door shifted with ease, and it wasn't long before the dusty doors would grind back into action.

     Every death, every trial, every single ounce of despair...

     Would soon come to an end.

     Even though it was nighttime inside of the chamber, the second the vault very slowly shifted open, a hint of sun gleamed through the darkened hallway.

     "I see..." Rayne paused.

     "Light!" Grace called, stepping forward to gaze at the slowly opening door. It wasn't long before the blinding light gleamed through the entire hallway, blinding everyone for a few seconds.

     "Yes..." Loki shuddered in anticipation, her legs moving on their own to step into the light. She kept pacing forward until her feet felt something she had never felt in a long time...

     Real grass.

     "It's so bright..." Sherwood hissed at the feeling of his eyes stinging.

     "A forest?" Grace's eyes adjusted to the pain before she gazed ahead. A great row of tall trees greeted them.

     "The chamber is located in a forest, yes..." Sammy leaped off the metal floor and directly onto the soft grass. "However, I know the way to everyone's homes." Sammy's gaze shifted to Grace, who paused. "Grace, you have a notebook, and I have a pen."

     "You can use the pages...but don't look at the beginning pages, please..." Grace shifted herself and held her notebook against her maw, lifting it to the Braixen.

     Sammy took it with a small smile and slipped out a black pen from her fur. Tearing apart at least a few pages, she scribbled multiple things on different pages for about ten minutes.

     "Okay, I'm done. Sorry for the wait, writing down directions is difficult..." Sammy handed the pages over to every Pokemon in the group...except...

     "Where's mine?" Loki stepped forward and tilted her head.

     "Oh, Loki...you..." Sammy took a deep breath. "Uhm, you don't have a home...sorry..."

     Loki stayed quiet, a small frown staining her once relieved features.

     "You can stay at mine..." Alice paced up near the Zoroark and nudged her muzzle against the Zoroark's. "Plus, I needed someone to hold this page for me while I walk."

     "Thank you so much, Alice..." Loki smiled widely and comfortably wrapped her arms around the Ninetales.

     Sammy's POV

     Now it was my turn. It was my turn to help them all, instead of dooming them into a murderous household. The least I can do is assist in their way back home.

     "I'll lead you out of the forest. Then we'll reach civilization." I uttered and led the way. Everyone seemed to follow behind me as soon as I began walking—and with their papers in hand...or maw. "I'm really sorry you all had to go through this."

     "You weren't the one torturing us," Rayne muttered, shaking her head. "You're helping us right now, too. It's showed us you've changed.

     As we walked through the shaded forest peacefully, it didn't take long for us to finally leave the forest. A large field of grass and a village far ahead greeted us.

     "Sammy?" My frowning seemed to alarm Laker. "What's up?"

     "That village...that's where Inu and Aubra lived..." I heaved a deep sigh. "In this field, you all have different directions to your homes." I turned around to see their blank faces. "This is..."

     "This is goodbye...right?" Rayne frowned and gazed at the group. "I'll...I'll miss you all..."

     "Never will I ever forget you all..." Alice hiccuped and neared the middle, causing everyone else to group near each other—including me. It didn't take long for us to hug each other tightly, one by one. The moment was emotional, I never knew such a bond could be created from despair.

     "I'm...I'm going to visit Inu's hometown first..." Grace sniffled, a small tear trickling down her cheek. "Thank you, everyone, I couldn't do it without you..." Her voice croaked as she stepped forward, heading in the direction of the village.

     "There she goes..." Sherwood huffed, scratching the back of his head. "Do...Do you know Leon's house?" The Sceptile's gaze shifted to me.

     "Yes...I can write it down, one sec..." I lowered my hand and slipped a pen out of my fur, quickly leaned forward and scribbled directions on the Sceptile's paper. "There we go, just barely fits the page."

     "Thank you...thank you so much..." Sherwood's voice also began to croak. "I'll see y'all around...I'll meet you all properly someday..." Those were his final words before he turned around and walked away...

     "Write down Galant's house for me too..." Laker paced up—with quite possibly the sternest face he's ever made—to me. "Please...I have a promise to keep..."

     I nodded and obliged, writing down the near directions to his household.

     "His father needs to know..." Laker frowned, but suddenly smiled when he paced away and turned around to face us once again. "I love you all...and thank you...thank you for your forgiveness..." Then he was gone...

     "I'm going with him." Rayne cleared her throat. "Thank you all, and I'm sorry if I said anything rude to you..." Suddenly, she sobbed gently, causing me to step forward and soothingly rub her back.

     "It's okay..." I smiled down at her. Rayne shook the tears off and stepped forward, quickly pacing away from the rest of us.

     "Goodbye..!" She called as she headed in the same direction as Laker. Something tells me she was into him...

     "Well...It's time for us to go..." Alice heaved a long sigh and turned to Loki, who quickly nodded with a soft smile. "Thank you, Sammy. I'm glad you helped both of us leave..." She turned to me and offered me an even brighter smile.

     "It was nice meeting the two of you..." I began, offering my paw to Alice. She shook it gently before pacing away from me.

     "Goodbye..." Alice and Loki said simultaneously and walked away from me at the same speed.

     And then...

     Then there was only me. With a long, painful sigh, I sat down on my haunches against the delicate grass below me.

     Has there ever been such a terrible position to place a Pokemon in?

     Yes.

     Has there ever been a time where I've felt ultimate despair, with no control over it?

     Yes.

     However, none of these terrible feelings should be felt by someone. No one at all should have gone through what Sam and I have put them through. Though it seemed like last second I attempted to help them, what I did was unforgivable, and it will take a lot to recover from this.

     It will take a lot more for everyone else to recover from this, especially the closest ones to the victims themselves. No matter how bad or good, no one should have been put through this torture.

     As I sit here, gazing at the beautiful sky and the rising regrets seeping off my skin, I can only take a deep breath.

     No matter how bad it was, I made friends.

     I can start over, and everyone else can.

     However, no matter how perfect we can achieve our restart, nobody will forget the events that occurred in the Frenzy mansion.

     Nobody will ever forget the Frenzy Killing Game.

     Nobody...

     The End...