LOKI'S POV

There was a lot to think about at today's dinner. The group was kind enough to assist me in moving towards the dining table in the kitchen—one that we had just moved after someone had found it in the garage.

My body could still barely move, but I was the least of everyone's worries—at least for now. Word spread around very fast that Rayne had shown emotion for the very first time...and not some tiny pout either, she was sobbing.

Shockingly enough, the new dining table was both able to fit in the kitchen and fit us all sitting in our proper spots. On the other side of where I was sitting was Vanta, who was curiously eyeing the Manectric.

"I think I got an idea." Luster broke the silence with a small clear of his throat, sliding his finished bowl to the center of the table. "It definitely had something to do with the electricity you absorbed. That was not a normal amount."

"Yeah, I know." Rayne frowned as she blankly stared at her food. It seemed like her appetite was gone, but I can't blame her...imagine feeling all the queued emotions from your entire life all at once.

"I admire your bravery, but please promise me you won't do that again." Vanta uttered sternly before taking a bite out of his plate. "You could have died."

"At the time I didn't think that was so bad." The Manectric sighed, refraining from locking eye contact with anyone in the room.

"I don't get it..." Laker's voice held a hint of concern. "H-How does electricity play into her emotions?"

Luster sat up straight before taking a small sip of his drink from the straw. "Just like water could bring healing to a water-type Pokemon, or fire could bring life to a fire-type Pokemon, electricity controls a lot for us electric-types. It's how we communicate with each other emotionally."

"So it's for emotions?" I tilted my head in confusion.

"Sort of...think of it as the opposite of how a psychic-type works, since Pokemon of that type tend to read the mind." Sammy chimed in after sliding her finished plate to the center of the table.

"Then how does Hy—I mean Leon's aura work?" I quickly recovered with a small chuckle. That was a little embarrassing...

"Aura allows me to read emotions but also understand where they are in my environment. It is the energy that makes the entire world, and due to that I can gauge a large area around me." Leon answered with a small frown. "The only drawback is that it can be tampered with."

"Rayne." Sherwood called to catch the female canine's attention. "I'm here to warn ya. You're goin' to experience some horrible feelings now that you got your emotions back. Just be ready for it."

"Sherwood..." Vanta turned to narrow his eyes at the Sceptile.

"Someone had to say it." The grass-type shrugged in response.

"Yeah, right now of all times?" The Umbreon scoffed lightly.

"I never knew you to sugarcoat things, Vanta." Sherwood shook his head and stood up to stretch his arm. "I'm just sayin' things aren't pretty down here."

'Down here' is right...after the expedition Vince and Grace completed we figured out that we were underground. That is both hopeful and dreadful for us because escaping seems even more impossible now...but new information is always appreciated.

"You're right, though." Rayne shuddered at the thought before finally taking a decent bite out of her meal. "I'm a completely different person now, so everything's gonna feel new to me."

"If it makes you feel better, I was a complete coward at the start." Laker offered a warm smile to the Manectric. "You can't get any worse than me."

Rayne let out a gentle laugh in response.

I feel like I speak for everyone when I say that was music to our ears. We should be expecting emotions like that now that they've returned...but it's so strange to see. I can only hope she'll be alright by the end of this.

"Hopefully this doesn't offend you, but yeah, that does make me feel better." Rayne grinned.

What a drastic change we've all gone through, I don't think I can say anyone is the same after this place—whether that be better or worse.

I didn't expect to be in the state I'm in, however. I guess part of me thought the revival process would be less...painful.

"Are you alright?" A light voice spoke to me.

I didn't realize it, but nearly everyone in the room had already left except for both Sammy and Zantai.

"O-Oh, yeah...just worried about myself, I guess." My eyes were glued to my arms. Everything about my body was completely normal aside from the prominent scar on the side of my stomach.

"Your body may seem normal, but it underwent a lot of change when you were revived." The Braixen motioned for Zantai to help me up. "Upon death, the body rots a lot faster than you'd think. Sam's revival does not account for blood loss, lack of oxygen, etcetera."

"I wonder how it's even possible." The Blaziken muttered under his breath as he assisted me to stand.

The pain was enough to shoot up through my spine, but at least it wasn't as bad.

"You wonder how it's possible, but things like the Mingle exist." Sammy huffed before shaking her head. "By the way, I still have to explain everything to you guys."

"Yeah, I was about to ask...but it seemed like everyone was worried over Rayne." I added before trudging with the Blaziken's arm as a balance.

"It should be easier when we're all together again." The vixen nodded.

LEON'S POV

Amidst the pain and worry there were ounces of hope that loved to shine through. Rayne came to a return with her emotions, and I would say that's a good thing. Most say that in this mansion, having emotions would be a bad thing, but I believe it's a necessary attribute.

Most of the group had split up into small sections of the living room, leaving today to be a very peaceful day—aside from the pent-up emotions from the ongoing issues.

But now, a very strange occurrence has presented itself. Sammy returned with her news on the expedition inside the cage walls. If it weren't for the use of a memory gem, I probably would have some trouble believing her.

The experience of a memory gem is still quite fascinating, however. It took me a minute to recover from such a feeling. It's like I was right there.

I can remember a good portion of the important parts...

"That's no way to treat your superior, kid." He only grinned devilishly at the Braixen. "I'm Kanom...Sam's new assistant."

Sam has a new assistant? Oddly enough, I'm surprised...I could have sworn Sammy was too valuable to be replaced.

"Shut up! Hydra's not the same because Hydra already died years ago!" Sam leaped off the chair to hiss at the other fox. "That wasn't our fucking brother, it was my accidental creation!"

Hydra's an accidental creation? Her statement implies that he was a real person years ago, but something must have happened. This could explain the use of her resurrection research.

"I don't know how else to say it, but..." Sam sniffled with emotion. "Ever since I accidentally brought him back to life, I've been needing to research how to grasp that power again."

Part of me feels bad, but then I remember what she'd done to us. Something about how she acted in the memory feels completely different from who she is in the mansion. I couldn't sense a drop of sadness in her if I tried.

Something's off about that. Perhaps she just acts differently when she's alone? That can't be right either, otherwise she wouldn't be so willing to replace her own sister.

Aside from the many questions that came from that memory, everyone spent the day relaxing.

"It's getting colder." Vanta leaped on the couch next to me, his eyes glued to the ceiling. "Something's changed."

"You reckon?" Sherwood muttered from his seat to find where the Umbreon was looking at. "Now that ya mention it, I'd say it feels a bit chilly."

"That's 'cause I'm here!!" A loud voice called from the ceiling, revealing itself to be Sam.

The grinning Braixen was latched onto a chandelier—something she'd definitely done before.

"Great, what now?" Zantai groaned and leaned back into the comforters.

"Nothing, nothing...just the biggest thing ever!" Sam exclaimed before dropping back onto the ground in front of us.

The younger vixen shuffled around in her fur before presenting the group with something familiar. "Ta-dah!"

A good portion of people had returned to the living room to watch as Sam offered me what seemed to be a memory gem.

"What is this for?" I muttered lowly.

"It's like any normal memory gem, but you can choose to keep or forget the memory!" She added before wiggling the crystal in my presence. "Take it!"

"Why would I? It's done nothing but harm." I scoffed lightly at the offer.

"If it does harm, you can choose to forget!" The vixen pouted lightly. "C'mon, try it!"

"Don't listen to her." Vanta growled. "It's just another motive."

"Oh trust me, you'll know if it's a new motive." Sam chuckled and turned to wave at someone in the group. "I'm sure you would love this new feature, Laker."

The Weavile was caught off guard by her statement as the only thing he could manage was a small grimace.

I don't know what she would want with giving me this, but I just want her out of my fur right now.

"I will take it, but I will not use it right now." I tried to reason.

"Works for me! Just say 'I wish to forget', and it'll work like nothing ever happened!" Sam shrugged as she backed away to dissipate into thin air. I could even watch the Gengar drag her across the dimension with aura.

"What was that?" Galant walked up to squint his eyes at the gem in my paws. "It looks no different than your average memory gem."

"Why did she want you specifically?" Vanta shifted his attention to Laker, who was equally as confused.

"I-I don't know, I don't think I've ever used one of those." The weasel frowned.

Odd...maybe Sam knows something about Laker's memories? It's best to not use the gem just yet, however.

"Everyone." I called out to the group before planting the gem in the center of the coffee table. "I will leave it here, please let someone know before using it."

Now to find out who wants to make the sacrifice.

THIRD PERSON

About three hours had passed since everyone had finished dinner and learned about the new memory gem.

"Man..." Laker muttered as he shuffled around in his side of the night stand. Inside was the satchel he requested quite a long time ago, which held all the first motive cards he had collected.

His mind questioned why he even collected them in the first place, but it was something about letting everyone know each other's history that made things easier to bear. The trust in the room could never have been higher, and people began to question if someone would even commit a murder.

The Weavile's strategy was somewhat working the longer it's been since a trial was needed.

After heaving a long sigh, Laker blindly leaped back-first into the bed. He quickly realized that he had landed on something solid.

"Ow..!" A feminine voice yelped before the two scrambled through the covers in surprise.

"Shit! My bad..!" The Weavile rolled back to the edge of the bed to lock eye contact with the Manectric, who had poked her head out of the blankets.

"Oh, you're fine." Rayne exhaled, seemingly less worried after noticing it was Laker.

"I didn't think you were in bed yet." He chuckled lightly as he watched the electric canine make a little more room for him.

"Mhm." She hummed flatly.

Laker took the empty space with a grateful nod, his eyes now awkwardly glued to the ceiling.

"So...how does it feel? To have emotion?" The Weavile questioned innocently.

"Just like anyone would." Rayne chuckled lightly. "But to be honest, there's so much I can't explain. So many things I don't know about..."

"I can only imagine...it sucks you had to regain them in this shithole." Laker groaned.

"It's fine...you know, now that I have my emotions back, I've been seeing a lot of people differently." The Manectric shuffled around as she spoke. "You're definitely a very honest person, and I respect that a lot."

"Oh..." Laker chirped softly. "Well, thanks...I...respect you too."

The Weavile was lucky he was in the dark as his face clearly showed he was disappointed in his own response.

Rayne didn't mind, however, she took the answer with a small hum and drifted off.

"Goodnight..."