THIRD PERSON

A light mechanical hum whirred as the darkness consumed the group waiting in the elevator.

"We're going to be in here for a while." Sammy ignited her wooden staff before hooking it onto a conveniently placed stand on the wall. Unlike the elevator used for their trials, this one was much more advanced. Instead of the floor being the only thing in motion, it was as if they were riding a very large box up to the surface.

At first, there was little to no conversation. These past few weeks it felt like all they did was talk to each other, but having a little bit of silence didn't hurt.

"Urggh..." The only one who didn't get the memo was Laker—but his excuse was that he was unconscious this whole time. "What the hell?"

"You're okay..." Rayne was the first to run up and nuzzle her face into the weasel's side.

"Hey..!" Laker feigned his complaint before playfully scratching under the Manectric's chin. "I'm guessing you saved me?"

"You owe me." She pulled away with a gentle smile on her features. "We're taking an elevator up to the surface, so...we'll be a while."

"How deep are we?" The Weavile hummed with curiosity.

"I never knew the exact measurements, but it's past one thousand feet." Sammy absentmindedly answered.

"Arceus..." Leon scoffed in awe. He had been using his aura the entire time they were rising. "I can tell, the structuring used for this must have been expensive."

"We simply repurposed the area, it was used for something else long ago." The Braixen leaned her head against the wall. "What it was used for, I do not know."

"What do you think Luster is doing right now?" Grace sniffled. "I'm worried."

"It can't be easy," Rayne answered bluntly. "That gas got me dizzy very quickly, but I'm sure he wouldn't do something unless he had a good plan."

Zantai nodded in affirmation. "I feel bad, though. If he remembered his past and the things about his brother, then that must mean he knows all about me. I hope I didn't do anything fucked up to him."

"From your backstory, I'd say that's unlikely." Leon heaved a deep sigh and leaned against the railing. "However, if he worked for you then there's a chance he was simply just a bystander to the crimes."

"Never hoped for someone to be a bystander this badly, then." The Blaziken chuckled before crossing his arms. "I'd say he's probably found Hydra...let's hope for the best."

"Who are you and what did you do to Zantai?" Vince turned to face the fire bird with a sly grin. "That's a pretty good mindset for someone like you."

"Someone like me?" Zantai mimicked suspiciously. "What does that mean?"

"I'm just teasin' ya, it just sounds like you've changed for the better...kinda like me!" The Greninja chuckled.

"Let's not push it, big guy." Grace giggled and ran one of her ribbon-like feelers down the frog's head. "You still have some questionable decision-making."

"I'll admit that." Vince huffed and leaned into the cold wall behind him.

Just as they were going to lighten up, everyone seemed to have a unanimous realization. Part of them was excited they'd finally get to leave the place that brought them so much torment, but the other part felt as if they were abandoning everyone else.

Talus, who was the first to die, was completely innocent. He was brought into a system all because of his involvement with his brother.

"Talus was innocent." Laker scoffed after recalling the previous events. "Anyone else remember that?"

"Yeah, I was thinking about that too." Zantai nodded and sat down to cross his legs. "Fucked me up completely."

"I thought it said he killed Galant's mother?" Sammy questioned. By no means was she challenging their words, but was merely reminding herself of the motive card Laker was now reading.

"From what I can read, Lancer was forcing him." The Weavile hummed. "I can imagine what would have happened to Talus if he didn't follow..."

"It happened anyway." Rayne frowned. "Lancer deserved that..."

"Even though that was awful, all of these deaths would have been avoided if we had just not been here in the first place." Grace pawed at the steel below her legs absentmindedly. "Is it wrong to say that I wish everyone would have lived? Even the bad people?"

"Maybe..? Depends on the context." Rayne turned to eye the Sylveon with a curious stare. "Why?"

"If we had just not been in this game...we'd all be happier." The fairy type sniffled.

"Well..." Zantai muttered, letting himself get vulnerable for a moment. "I-I think I'm better off not remembering who I was."

"I can see that being an issue." Loki's gaze softened at the sight of the Blaziken's expression. "I think you'll be fine, Zantai. You're already a better person."

"I appreciate that." He offered the Zoroark a small smile.

Leon also decided that he'd sit down next to the Blaziken and faced toward the Weavile sorting through his satchel. "What was Inu's motive card?"

"Sam hands you them after they die, right?" Sammy raised a brow at the weasel next to her. "That's interesting."

"I used to not know why, but now I do." Laker shrugged and slipped open a small piece of paper labeled with Inu's name. "It's nothing serious, either, it says that she's had some malpractices as an athlete."

"She was an athlete?" Loki chimed in.

"Yeah, she cheated by having one of her friends sabotage her opponent in a race, but they ended up killing them by accident." Laker stared down at the note with a solemn expression. "Never announced it to you all because I felt like it wasn't that important."

"If only you'd seen Aubra's motive card beforehand." Zantai chuckled in distaste. "Could have saved us a life."

"I remember Aubra's motive card being really weird after Sam handed me it." The Weavile stuck his claws back into the bag to reach for the aforementioned motive card. "It mentioned nothing about her backstory, instead, it just told her to look out for a library."

"Are you serious?" Grace almost lunged forward in shock. "Then she wanted Aubra to remember that she was a serial killer!"

"She was a lot better when she didn't remember her past." Vince bitterly remarked.

"Definitely." Laker nodded. "When everyone woke up in a dark room, me and Aubra were one of the only ones stuck alone in a room together. Part of me feels like we bonded in that one hour...but I think I was too scared of our situation and pushed her away."

"It would have been bad either way...Luster was the one to get close to her and he got hurt instead." Zantai added with a small exhale.

"That motive card was evil, though, she knew that Aubra would kill Inu." Grace let out a small sniffle, and she took to covering her face with a ribbon.

"No wonder she did not react much after receiving it, there was nothing terrible on it." Leon shut his eyes, recalling the moment quite vividly. "She merely had instructions written for her."

"You remember that?" Sammy uttered with an impressed tone.

"I can remember most of the important segments of our time in the mansion." Leon sheepishly looked away. "I feel as if it's necessary to remember the little things, just in case."

"I still feel awful about Inu," Loki whined lightly. "I did so much to try and help her, and yet I couldn't save her from her death."

"I don't think anyone should blame themselves for that; Aubra knew exactly what she was doing, she's very experienced in that stuff, unfortunately," Sammy reassured by leaning forward and rubbing her paw against the Zoroark's arm.

The group let Loki mourn in silence for a while, as watching the Zoroark cry to herself made it hard to speak up about anything else. Eventually, Loki knew this and found herself breaking the ice.

"I'm alright, just needed a second." The Zoroark shuddered lightly.

"I felt the same about Vanta." Grace paced up next to Loki and leaned her head into the fox's side. "I still think about him every day."

"His death most certainly caught me off guard." Leon gritted his teeth. "But what most guilts me is Galant. He and I had so many conversations about how he was feeling. Galant mentioned many things about discovering who he was and why he felt that way."

Everyone's gaze seemed to lock onto Leon for a moment, the jackal's eyes still glued to the floor.

"I could have prevented him from getting his memories back. I could have maybe convinced him that it would be a bad idea." Leon, once again, felt a fresh stream of tears run down his face. "I could have saved him."

"Leon..." Sammy muttered and crawled up to curl her arm around the Lucario. "Don't think like that, please. With that logic, every death would be our fault."

Leon nodded, but it was clear that there was something else affecting him.

"I never expected Galant to be that way." Loki curled her feet up to her chest before continuing. "Me and him worked together really well in most trials...a lot of the time it was him making the breakthroughs."

"Leave it to him to make a breakthrough for his own murder." Vince let out a small bittersweet laugh. "That guy was honest to a fault."

"His other half, not so much," Zantai uttered lowly. "I'll have trouble seeing him the same."

"Sam likes him because he proves her theory that everyone is scientifically meant to be a certain personality. Her main goal throughout this whole thing initially started off as a test to see if someone kept their true personality after amnesia—no matter how long it took." Sammy backed away to give Leon some space before returning next to Loki. "Then she took things further. She started asking questions like 'Does someone keep their memories after dying?' and other things that didn't make sense."

"So she started off with a different goal?" Grace tilted her head.

"Kind of, but she still was doing something questionable. I was too, since I was the one providing her utilities...but I didn't know just how far she took things. Later it was revealed to me that Hydra was not our true brother. He may share our DNA with us, but his personality is a mere copy of what it was." Sammy frowned, her eyes parting from the group to stare at nowhere in particular. The flame hooked onto the wall seemed to dim ever so slightly.

"I think you should still treat him like your brother." Rayne, of all people, was the first to chime in and answer. "Something tells me that if it's a true copy of Hydra, then he'd still love you like a brother no matter what."

A few of the Pokemon in the room shot her a glance of surprise.

"You know, it's probably better you got your emotions back." Laker grinned and playfully poked his claw against her side. "It's nice to see you care."

Rayne turned to offer the weasel a genuine smile before sneaking a glance at the Lucario behind him. "You okay, Leon?"

"Yeah, just..." Leon decided whether he should even speak. "I had to leave Sherwood so suddenly that...I don't think I registered that he's gone."

And neither did the rest of the group. Everyone seemed to collectively realize once again that the Sceptile would no longer be with them.

"He helped a lot, you know?" Rayne commented. "He's the only reason why we could escape. If it weren't for his sacrifice, we'd all be dead."

"If only he came with us..." Laker exhaled.

"He couldn't." Sammy frowned at his words. "Sam could have woken up at any time and taken control."

"But she didn—"

"We didn't know that." Rayne interrupted the weasel, eyeing him with a glare that practically commanded him to stop.

"Sorry." Laker rubbed at his temples with a paw. "I'm just still stressed about it."

"I understand." Leon empathized with the Weavile.

After a while of talking, the group found themselves in yet again another wave of silence. Now they just had their own thoughts to accompany them.

Every now and then, they'd hear the voice of someone that had passed. Or worse, someone that they used to know in their past life. It was a sad realization to know that the elevator had just a little more room for someone else to fit in.

Laker fumbled with his claws as if he had something more to say. Instead, he kept quiet, his eyes shut as he listened in on the low hum the machine emanated.

By no means did they feel impatient. After all, it's a miracle the group even had this chance to begin with.

Zantai leaned back and faced Sammy with a small smile. "I appreciate you, Sammy."

"Huh?" The Braixen was got off guard by the sudden comment, let alone hearing it from the Blaziken.

"You had a good plan. Not only did you try to help us this whole time, but you succeeded." Zantai found his smile brightening, causing everyone in the room to stare in awe. "You saved our lives, and I gotta thank you for that."

"Right." Vince nodded. "Thanks."

"Thank you..." Both Loki and Grace seemed to chime in with their appreciation simultaneously.

"Thank you, Sammy." Laker took a more forward approach and bowed his head at the vixen. "I learned a lot from you."

"Thank you," Rayne answered slightly more bluntly, her eyes as meaningful as ever.

Leon chuckled and rose to his feet, walking over to the other side of the elevator to join the Braixen. "I have to thank you as well, especially for ridding me of the aura inhibitor."

"It was my pleasure, everyone." Sammy let out a sigh of relief. She didn't realize just how much effort she put into helping these people, and it was a nice sight to see them appreciating it.

Many thoughts rung through her head, however. Part of her wondered what Sam could be doing right now. Is she dead like the rest? Is Luster okay? Is Hydra okay? Is there any hope for anyone still down there?

The constant humming of the machinery was just white noise to them now. They were here for about twenty minutes, Sammy wasn't lying when she mentioned they would be here a while. Though they felt like they had more time left, Leon was the first to perk up at the sight of something his aura showed him.

"We're nearing the surface, I can see it." Leon noted with his eyes shut and his aura sensors raised.

"Really?" Grace nearly leaped out of Vince's lap to stare at the Lucario. "That means we're almost free!"

"Correct." Sammy nodded in affirmation.

It was almost too good to be true. Everyone's hopes were up, and waiting now seemed just a little harder than before, seeing as how they knew they were close.

"How much longer do you think?" Laker raised a brow at the Braixen.

"Uhm, about five minutes. I'm not used to people detecting the surface, so I'm not sure exactly where we are at." Sammy answered honestly, shrugging her shoulders in her second comment.

"That's okay." Grace gave the vixen a gentle smile. "We're almost there, so I can wait a little longer."

"Agreed." Loki nodded and mimicked the smile.

Though this agreement was unanimous, they couldn't shake this unsettling feeling that things were going too smoothly for their own good. Were they actually going to make it to the surface? Were they miles away from civilization? How would they get home? They were still grateful to leave, however, so those thoughts were all shoved out of the equation for now.

A sudden hitch in the elevator's smooth movements indicated they were nearing the location. As promised, the five minutes passed on the dot before the ground below them stopped rumbling. After an uneven halt, the elevator arrived at its destination.

"We're here," Sammy called ceremoniously at the same time the doors slid open.

Without so much as a warning, Zantai was the first to leap out and examine his surroundings. Once everyone made it off, the doors shut behind them.

"Where are we?" Grace questioned, part of her disappointed that they weren't immediately greeted with sunlight.

"We're in the last layer of the building. Currently, we're in the main elevator entrance room that's locked behind a vault and code. I don't exactly remember it very well, but I will try." Sammy warned before approaching the keypad.

Next to the numerous shut doors that resembled other elevators was a large vault hatch that stretched up to the ceiling.

Interior-wise, it looked the same as it was a thousand feet below, but at least one of them could tell they weren't too far from freedom.

"On the other side of this vault is the outside world." Leon placed his paw against the nearest wall. He felt the cold from the steel wall, yet his aura felt the warmth from the sun on the other side.

Sammy dragged her paw against the keypad hooked into the wall. Everyone watched as she glided along the ridges to press multiple buttons. After a few pushes, she hit the confirm button and...

A loud buzz indicated failure.

The Braixen let out a small nervous laugh and turned to the crowd with a weak smile. "S-Sorry, just give me a minute."

"Take your time." Loki patiently smiled.

Sammy tried once again, but this time just a little shakier. The thought of misremembering or downright forgetting terrified her. She didn't want to get this far and fail at this point. They had no outside contact in this area and going back down to the cage was not an option with the poison gas.

Another buzz of failure.

This time, Sammy backed away and let out a small whimper of despair. She turned to the group with a build of tears in her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, I d-don't think I remember." Her voice croaked.

Before anyone in the room could reach a spike of despair, Laker was the first to step forward and comfort the Braixen.

"Sammy, it's okay...just, step over there to clear your mind for a bit." The Weavile offered her a warm smile before guiding her back into the group. Leon subconsciously wrapped his arm around the Braixen and whispered comforts.

Little did they know that when they had all turned away, a loud chime indicated that the code had been successfully entered. When their heads whipped around to see who had entered it, all they saw was Laker's satisfied grin.

"You...knew the password?" Vince tilted his head in confusion.

"T-There's no way, that's not possible..." Sammy gaped in awe.

"Laker..." Rayne was the only one who was surprised for a completely different reason. "Did you..?"

"Yes." Laker nodded. "I got my memories back."

No one in the room knew how to exactly react to that. They had no idea whether that was a good or bad thing, and they waited for the Manectric's reaction before having one of their own.

"When?" Rayne didn't look too bothered, but she also didn't look happy about this information.

"When you found me passed out in a room." The Weavile answered honestly, and the snarkiness in his voice had disappeared.

"Does that mean..."

"I've changed my mind." Laker took a deep breath. "I know I said I wouldn't help you all, but I can see everything the other Laker did. All he went through, how you guys planned your escapes, every death he had to witness. Even if I did help with the game, I can't erase that guilt."

"That's why you put the code in for us?"

"In all honesty, I would like to erase this part of me forever. I don't expect to be forgiven, but I also don't want to keep it in my life anymore. After we leave this room, you all will no longer be participants of the game to me. I would almost say being strangers is a hell of a lot better."

Seeing as how things were playing out, it was probably for the greater good. Loki—who had been leaning on Zantai for support the whole time—finally stepped forward and started limping on her own. With a small smile, she nodded at the weasel.

"I appreciate you doing that for us, Laker. Any help is a great help, and it will be nice to meet you all over again." Loki only made it so far before Zantai walked back up and leaned the Zoroark into him.

"Don't put too much pressure on it." Leon also paced forward to warn the fox.

"No worries." Laker took her thanks with a small nod and a smile. He turned to hover his paw above the handle. "Is everybody re—"

Just before the weasel could even ask, a loud chime rang throughout the small room they were in. No one knew what this meant except for Sammy, and she turned in horror at the source.

One of the elevators had activated, and she didn't know what to think of it.

"The hell does that mean?" Vince raised a brow, clearly on edge.

"That means one of the elevators is nearby...someone took it almost at the same time as we did." The Braixen worriedly stated.

"I thought there was only one?" Rayne turned to inquire, a hint of suspicion in her tone.

"There are multiple, the one we took was just the most optimal as it was the closest," Sammy answered with a frown.

Everyone practically froze as they heard the elevator reach the top, the doors still completely shut. The fear of the unknown struck them. They had little to no idea who it could be and for all they knew it could be someone or something dangerous.

The low rumbling from the machine came to a stop, and the metal doors swung open to reveal a dark void. Everyone seemed to flinch at the sound of heavy footsteps, and even worse, a very large silhouette hulked its way through the doorway.

To everyone, this was terrifying. But to Loki, it was the best thing she could have seen in that moment. While everyone flinched, the Zoroark was the first to lunge forward and trip onto the ground in the process.

"Hydra?" Grace timidly walked up to the large Lucario.

It was understandable why the rest of the group was horrified at first; Hydra had just tried to kill them about an hour ago, and if it weren't for Loki's plan they most likely would be dead.

"Wait..." Sammy paused.

Only now had they realized that the jackal was carrying another Pokemon on his back.

"Luster..!" Grace yelped out and whirled around to check on the Luxray. "Are you okay?"

Hydra gently put the feline down, and on wobbly legs, Luster stood on his own—albeit after a bit of a cough.

"I'm f-fine..." The Luxray took a small breath and sat on his haunches, letting the Sylveon embrace him. "G-Grace? You evolved...and not into an electric type?"

"It's a long story." Grace, in tears, found time to let out a small laugh at the feline's joke.

As the two quadrupeds had their reunion, the two bipeds would have theirs.

"H-Hydra...is it...you?" Loki craned her head up at the Lucario. She was on her knees, and everyone behind her threatened to jump forward and intervene just in case.

"I won't try to attack you." Hydra chuckled and shuffled onto his knees to face the Zoroark. "Thank you."

"I..." The Zoroark didn't know what else to say. In pure relief, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around the Lucario for a tight hug—while also avoiding the spike on the center of his chest. "I thought you were dead..."

"Luster went down there and helped me out." The large Lucario found himself hugging back, a small smile now present on his expression. "The least I could do was help him get up here with you guys...even if he didn't want to."

"That sounds like Luster." Zantai scoffed in amusement, his eyes still focused on the Luxray. "What did you do?"

"I did what I promised." Luster coughed out what little poison there was in his system before continuing. "When I got there, Hydra only needed to be released."

"And Sam..?" Sammy approached the feline with her paws cupped and a hopeful expression.

Luster opened his mouth to speak but held himself back. He thought for a moment and cleared his throat. "I...don't know. I went to Hydra straight away."

"I see..." She frowned, but nonetheless still kept her composure stable. "Alright, everyone."

Once she announced those words, everyone's heads seemed to turn to focus on the Braixen in front of the vault.

"On the other side of this vault is the outside world, and thanks to Laker's help, we can all take this door and leave. I might need some help opening it, though." Sammy held her paw up to the handle and watched as multiple from the group walked over.

First Hydra—with Loki still attached to him—, then Zantai, then Vince, and then it later became practically everyone.

After a bit of straining, the group eventually felt the vault loosen and pull open with a loud creak. They could see the rust from the other side rip off and let a thin ray of light through.

The first real ray of sunlight they'd seen in months. A few of them teared up immediately, and the rest felt a hitch in their breath at the warmth they felt.

The vault was now completely open, and the other side was so blinding that they had to shut their eyes for a moment. Through their eyelids they could see the light; a beaming hot red that felt like it wouldn't settle anytime soon.

Waiting for them in between the vaultway was Sammy, who had her paw extended to the nearest person.

"Rayne, if I may." Sammy offered the Manectric a gentle smile. "I want to dismiss you all one by one."

Rayne didn't seem to mind this and stood in front of the Braixen with a similar expression.

"Rayne, someone who was first cold-hearted and emotionless, learned how to love and feel for the sake of others. You've improved yourself throughout your time here, and I'm happy to see you leave here a better person. You are no longer a participant of the game."

After being dismissed by Sammy, Rayne promptly walked past her and bathed in the rays, soon to disappear into the light.

The next Pokemon walked forward.

"Leon, someone who was lost and couldn't find his purpose, learned how to adapt to his surroundings and never question his real intentions. You've truly breached the system and helped everyone around you learn what makes them who they are, and I truly admire that. You are no longer a participant of the game."

After a small hug, Leon walked past and into the blinding sunlight.

"Zantai, someone who was brash and cocky, learned how to be honest and show his true feelings. You've shown that change doesn't have to be for the worse, and instead, can be done in discipline to express just how much you care. You also never give up, and that's something that helped us get through this all. You are no longer a participant of the game."

Happily shaking the Braixen's paw, Zantai rushed out of the vault and accepted the sun outside.

"Grace, someone who was afraid and timid, learned how to be brave and strong for the sake of herself and other people's well-being. You've shown that being shy doesn't matter so long as your heart is in the right place, and you've even evolved because of that forward mentality. You are no longer a participant of the game."

Of course, Grace was a fountain of tears. But she still found time to hug Sammy with one of her ribbon feelers and rush out of the door.

"Vince, someone who was standoffish and uncaring, learned how to love and respect someone they truly cared about. You've shown that no matter how much you try to hide it, there will always be good in you so long as you try. You are no longer a participant of the game."

For once, Vince didn't have any sly remark for the Braixen. Instead, he nodded at her with a grin and walked forward.

"Laker, someone who was careless and impatient, learned how to be tolerant and understanding. You've shown that people can change even if everyone doubts you will, and I respect you so much for it. You are no longer a participant of the game."

Laker took her paw with a small smile and leaped forward into the sun.

"Luster, someone who was distant and questioned their place in the world, learned how to understand relationships and purpose. You've shown that everyone has a reason to be alive, and no matter how unsure you are there will always be someone who cares about you."

Luster sniffled a bit, showing his appreciation to the vixen with a small nod before walking out the door.

"Loki, someone who was unconfident and hesitant, learned how to be confident and take risks for the greater good. You've shown that no matter how much someone suffers, it's still possible to be kindhearted and strong. You are no longer a participant of the game."

Loki was in tears, but she still kept her composure and actually walked out of the vault herself after giving the Braixen a quick hug. Eventually, Hydra stepped out to the other side in order to help the Zoroark walk.

Sammy was the only one left inside. Part of her felt guilty about this whole situation. Is she even allowed to return? What would everybody think if she decided to come with? Where would she go, anyway? Her life was left buried thousands of feet deep in the ground.

"Sammy..!" Grace's head peeked into the vault to smile at the vixen. "Come on out, it looks so pretty!"

"A-Alright." She couldn't say no to that offer.

It was exactly as they thought it would be. They were positioned in the clearing of a forest, but instead of their surroundings being completely clouded with trees, there was an opening facing the vault door.

The opening revealed that they were in a mountainous region, and they could see the tan sunset fall where the ocean horizon rippled the light. None of them wanted to move, much less even ruin the moment by saying anything.

"I...have maps." Hydra broke the silence with a gentle clear of his throat. He unwrapped a small package that held dozens of papers labeling locations spanning many miles away from them. "We're not too far from civilization."

Everyone had at least one, but instead of veering off in multiple directions, they all turned to each other with hesitance. None of them knew what to do; the feeling of freedom was so foreign to them already.

"We were this close this whole time?" Loki muttered under her breath after viewing the papers. "I..."

"I don't have anywhere to go." Luster nudged the map back towards the Lucario who handed it to him.

"Yes, you do." Hydra insisted, holding the map so the feline would take it again. "You still need clarity, Luster."

After locking eyes with the jackal, Luster heaved a long sigh and took the map into his maw. He eyed the group for a moment, hesitance clouding his judgment.

"Luster." Suddenly, Zantai was in front of the Luxray. The feline craned his head to stare directly at the bird. "I wanted to apologize...in case I ever did anything wrong to you in your past life."

Luster thought about this for a while, but he answered with a smile of acceptance. "Nah, you're good. Just make sure you don't remember, okay?"

After a small nod from the Blaziken, the Luxray turned to walk off.

"Thank you all, for everything." Luster accepted a few unanimous hugs from the group before making his way out of the small circle formed. "Take care of yourselves, okay? Let's keep in touch somehow."

"G-Goodbye, Luster!" Grace cried out due to the distance. "Stay safe..!"

"We'll meet again!" Loki exclaimed.

"Don't be dumb!" Vince exclaimed, albeit with just a little more teasing.

Luster turned back to wave a paw at the group behind him with a complicated expression. The feeling was bittersweet, but he had to try and find a reason to keep going. After a long inhale, he kept walking forward.

Then, he was gone.

"I must keep my promise to Sherwood." Leon narrowed his eyes at a certain spot on the map, showing it to everyone in the group. "I have to find Estra and make sure she's okay."

"I understand." Sammy nodded.

"You may join me if you'd like." He offered.

"A-Ah, I wish, but I still have some errands to run. Maybe I'll meet you there later?" The Braixen stammered.

After a small nod, Leon exchanged his goodbyes with the rest of the group. He had hoped that the Braixen didn't make an empty promise, but chose to leave it up to her nonetheless.

"You all were an honor to know, so make sure to keep yourself in the present and not the past. It's been an exhausting pleasure to meet you all." With a small bow, Leon veered off in a different direction in the forest.

On the way into the forest, he leaned down to pick at a nearby weed, dragging it up to bite on it like Sherwood used to do. He let out a small sniffle, the distant memory coming back to him as if it hadn't happened mere hours ago.

Many goodbyes were yelled at him until the trees made it harder to see him leave.

Then, he was gone.

"You got a place to go?" Vince nudged his head to question the Sylveon next to him.

Grace giggled in response, still rather sniffly from her crying. "Y-Yeah, it's pretty close by."

"Mind if I tag along?" The Greninja smirked slyly, patting his webbed hand on her back.

"Of course not...but don't you have to go somewhere?" Grace turned her head to raise a brow at the frog.

"Nope...I have nowhere I want to go, I'm usually on the move."

"Ahh, well..." She turned her head to the rest of the group. "I-I guess w-we'll b-be..."

Grace couldn't even get her sentence out before bursting into a fit of tears. Immediately, Loki and Vince were the first to rush forward and wrap their arms around the eeveelution. "It's okay..."

"This isn't the end," Rayne reassured. "It's a small world, I'm sure we'll find each other somehow."

"Ri-Right..." Grace took a deep breath and took one last glance at the map. "Everyone p-please be safe, I want to meet you all again when we're all better!"

"Seconded." Vince chuckled and waved at the group. "Yo, Zants..!"

The Greninja jogged up to the Blaziken and offered his webbed hand for a shake. Vince maintained a smile, and so did Zantai. "It's been good, Zantai..."

Zantai let out a playful scoff and ignored his hand. Instead, he leaned forward and tightly wrapped his arms around the Greninja. "Hah, please, just stay out of trouble, 'kay?"

Needing to pull away to take his breath after hugging back, Vince once again waved at the group, now joined by Grace. The two walked off into the forest, exclaiming their goodbyes until they were no longer seen. Someone in the group whispered something about seeing them kiss before they disappeared, but who knows?

What they did know was what Grace muttered to herself before leaving:

"Am I one of those stars now, Vanta?"

And then, they were gone.

There were six of them now, and things seemed to speed up once they realized just how many of them were leaving at once.

"I'm...thinking I'm gonna go." Laker cleared his throat to announce. "I don't know where, but I think I need a fresh start."

"You should come with me." Rayne offered him a sly smile and walked forward. "If you got nowhere else, that is."

"Oh, are you sure?" The weasel raised a curious brow at the canine. "That seems a bit forward."

"Oh, come on, memories or not, we have some history." She grinned and playfully jabbed her paw into his stomach.

"Seems a lot better than going alone." Zantai shrugged and nudged the Weavile forward.

After the push, Laker playfully rolled his eyes and nodded. "Fine, fine, but only because you asked so nicely."

"Rayne." Hydra suddenly called to the Manectric and rushed up to stand in front of her. "Listen, I...I wanted to thank you for what you did earlier. You s—"

"Don't mention it." The Manectric cut him off on purpose, and she was seemingly keen on keeping that information a secret for the jackal's sake. "It was the least I could do to help."

Hydra offered her a warm smile as he watched her walk back.

"You all should be careful out there, don't get kidnapped again, okay?" Rayne warmly smiled at the rest of them before tugging Laker by the ear.

"O-Ow! Hey!!" Laker exclaimed and bent his body forward to follow the Manectric.

After a couple minutes of playful banter, Rayne and Laker were off to venture into the forest. Soon, they disappeared behind the trees.

And then, they were gone.

"I'm going to live a new life as well." Loki leaned against a tree to face the remaining group with a smile. "Alice mentioned I needed to not forget, but also move on. I think those words were meant to encourage me to not let her stop me from loving again."

"I think that's a great idea, but..." Hydra chuckled and offered his paw for the Zoroark to take. "I believe you still need assistance walking."

Loki took his paw with a smile and crawled up onto his back. "I'm only taking this because you owe me a therapy session."

"Finally, right?" The jackal teased before turning to his sister. "Sammy, we'll meet up later, okay? I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Mhm..!" The Braixen nodded in affirmation.

Hydra and Loki soon departed into the forest with a new life in mind—and promises to keep. The jackal lifted her on his back and ventured forth, lighthearted conversations too muffled for them to hear. Everyone watched as the two disappeared between the trees.

And then, they were gone.

Sammy heaved a long sigh. "So, where are you going?"

"I'm probably gonna follow Luster, I just didn't want him to know I was coming, though," Zantai answered with a cheeky grin.

"Why?"

"Well, he'd probably get all pissy about it, but I just wanted to make sure he had someone there for him."

"That's very nice of you."

"Sammy..." Zantai placed a caring paw on her shoulder. "Are you gonna be alright?"

The Braixen paused, thinking to herself for just a moment. What a good question he had just asked. Sammy had yet to think about what she was going to do.

"I don't know...maybe?"

"You gotta do something. Maybe follow Leon as he asked?" He shrugged.

"I'll try, Zantai..." She exhaled with a weak smile.

The Blaziken nodded and walked forward. "I'll see you around Sammy, I hope you find somewhere to go."

"I hope so too." The Braixen flashed him a gentle smile and waved him goodbye.

Zantai, as predicted, wasted no time in leaving. He soon split through the trees and disappeared.

Then, he was gone.

Sammy was the last one there, and it took all of her might to stand for everyone. After reaching a small cliffside, she fell to her knees, and then her back. The only thing her body let her do was stare at the sky.

She did it, but at what cost? Just how much could she forgive herself for the events that occurred in the mansion? Could she try and forget about the game forever, pretending it never happened?

She knew that Grace would forever mourn Vanta but still be fine. That Vince would stay with her and protect her from anything. She knew that Luster would eventually find the grave of his brother and pay his respects and that Zantai would soon follow him to make it up to him. She knew that Loki would be safe under Hydra's guidance and that she'd have someone to spend her time with. She knew that Laker would find time to forgive himself and appreciate Rayne's company. She knew that Leon would find Sherwood's sister and take care of her.

But would it change everything?

No, nothing would change what happened. All she knew were a few principles; Sam was wrong...but so was she.

Even though there were cases that Sam predicted to be true, she purposely stated everyone's growth for a reason. Everyone who made it out of the game alive came out a better person than when they had started. The thought of that scared her, but it also gave her comfort that everything Sam had researched was incorrect. Sammy did the best she could with her cards, and now it was up to her to save herself.

Her body didn't want to move, and it was clear that she was in choice paralysis. Part of her wanted to stay here forever and rid of the responsibility of life. Like everyone else, the choice of freedom was terrifying, but she did have another option.

She would use this game as a foundation for her maturity. Forgetting isn't an option, she must remember why she's here to this day. She must remember why she helps others in their times of need. She must remember why she feels hope in the darkest shrouds of despair.

Memory is a concept she's taken for granted all this time. It's the last option everyone has to cope with this situation. How could you forgive this? How could you forget this?

Sammy's eyes turned to the path that Leon had taken, and she rose to follow it. With a new mind, the Braixen knew that this was the start of a new life.

Not to forget, not to forgive, but to remember.

And then, she was gone.