GRACE'S POV

Okay, so we're up for a monthly status check. I don't know what's crazier; the fact that we've been here longer than a month, or that at some point we stopped keeping track?

The mansion's layout has altered a lot in the past week. Ever since Hydra's—and technically, Loki's—death, we've been getting a lot more skeptical about our surroundings.

"Dang, I'm almost out of ink." I frowned at the sight of the letters growing slightly less consistent. At least it was still readable.

It wouldn't stop me from continuing to write.

I'm worried about a handful of people here. It's safe to say that I've grown too attached when I shouldn't have. I want to say I can trust everyone here, but you never know when something horrible could happen.

Loki's recovery has been going smoothly, even without a doctor's help. Her legs don't work as well anymore, and she'd need a lot more time to walk again by herself.

Rayne has been more curious after getting her emotions back. She seems to ask a lot more questions and is completely okay with being asked them.

Speaking of emotion, Vanta's been showing a lot more of his...although it just ends up with him looking super worried. He still blames himself for Hydra and Loki, which surely has burdened the poor guy. Someone needs to talk to him.

Vince also worries me with how willing he is to break through places. I'm scared Sam might find out—or worse, a Mingle finds him again. I get he's young and feels invincible, but I don't want him to find out the hard way.

Anyways, back to the mansion as a whole.

Sam introduced a different type of memory gem; one that would allow the user the ability to forget the memory they experienced. Everyone's trying to decide who takes the bullet here, but come to think of it, is it really that bad if you can forget?

I remember hearing there was a time limit; maybe twenty-four hours until you're forced to stay with the memory? Something along those lines I heard.

We've also been more organized about dinner lately. Luster started organizing everyone's servings with neat labels including our names. Not only that, the group is almost always eating together—it's like we're one big family now.

Not to jinx us, but I don't know how Sam will ever get us to commit a murder ever again.

Suddenly, the pen went dry.

"Huh, what a weird time for my ink to go out." I muttered in surprise before clapping the book shut.

"You done?" Vince—who was on the other side of the bed with his legs crossed—tilted his head in confusion. "Usually you write for a little longer than that."

"Ran out of ink." I frowned with a gentle shrug. "But I managed to get what I wanted on the paper."

"I can getcha more." The Greninja offered, his body practically rearing to go.

"It's fine, I think I need a break from writing for a bit." I took a deep breath before leaping off the bed. "Has Luster finished dinner?"

"Dunno, we can check?" Vince mentioned before nudging the door open.

On the other side was Vanta, who was definitely upset about something. About half of the entire group was stationed in the living room.

"Good, you guys are here." The Umbreon uttered and sternly called for the missing few.

"What's going on?" I spoke cautiously.

Before I could ask any more questions, Vanta aimed his paw toward the living room table. The same memory gem was propped on the center of it, except now it was rapidly blinking red.

"The temporary memory gem has been used. The user has twenty-four hours until they are stuck with the memory...but we don't know who used it." Sammy frowned at the sight of the Vanta's anger.

At the sight of everyone finally gathering, the Umbreon let out a small snarl.

"I thought we had some communication in this place!" The dark-type called as he slammed a paw against the floor. "For the love of Arceus, just let me know if you used it!"

Silence once again. Everyone in the room held a guilty look, so it was hard to tell who really used the memory gem. This could be dangerous...we've only had bad things happen to us by remembering our past.

"I swear, I will find out who you are." Vanta growled.

"Someone should stand guard here." Sammy turned to face the Umbreon next to her. "You can only choose to forget if the gem hears your voice."

"Good thinking...but perhaps we can store it somewhere less visible?" Leon added.

"I think the living room table is fine. If we hide it there'd be no witnesses around." Vanta reassured before shaking his head in stress. "This is gonna make things complicated."

"I wouldn't worry too much...surely we'll notice whenever someone has changed..." Loki reasoned as she tried to lay on the couch comfortably.

"You know..." Zantai—who was quietly thinking for a while—stepped up to meet the Umbreon. "Wouldn't it be better to let them forget the memory? If we leave the gem wide open, they'll return to where they started."

Huh, not a bad idea at all? The only flaw would be that we most likely wouldn't know who used it in the first place; there's no chance they'd just waltz up in public and reveal it was them.

"Maybe, but knowing who did it is the important thing." Vanta heaved a disappointed sigh.

"Ya'know, it definitely won't be hard to tell who's actin' a lil' different." Sherwood chuckled lightly. "I'll be able to see right through 'em."

"Hopefully we can trust you on that." I muttered to him in hope.

"Dinner is served!" I heard a voice announce from what seemed to be an intercom—but definitely one smaller than the mansion's.

"Who the hell was that?" Laker scoffed lightly.

"Someone asked for a speaker and a microphone from Sam...and she delivered." Rayne shrugged lightly. "Maybe it was Luster since he's using it to broadcast dinner's ready."

"That didn't sound like any of us, what kind of shitty ass machine did she give us?" Vince crossed his arms and turned to narrow his eyes at the speaker.

"I guess it could sound better..." Rayne hummed in realization.

"Whatever, I'm gettin' hungry. We should eat before we worry about anything." Sherwood shrugged and started his walk to the kitchen.

Only now had I realized that half of us had already left to eat, leaving just me and Vanta in the living room. We both watched as the memory gem blinked in a deep red color.

"I wonder who took it." I mentioned.

The Umbreon just nodded in response before shaking his head. "Promise me you'll stay safe, Grace. Someone out there is lying."

"Promise."

GALANT'S POV

I'm quite surprised at how organized the kitchen is now. Luster managed to sort out each of our plates and servings by name, and now all we had to do was grab the plate named after us. It made getting our food way more efficient—especially since we had all already seated ourselves at the dining table.

Dinner went as expected; everyone had conversations and finished eating rather quickly.

I couldn't go back to bed, however. I spent most of my time on the front porch just thinking about my past again...

Taking a glance at my surroundings, I was deep inside Sinnoh's cave systems. Working here wasn't exactly the most active thing in the world, however. No wonder I fell asleep.

"Who the hell sent you here?" I scowled at the large feline.

"Vanta's orders, little guy." Xeonix chuckled down at me before walking off to prick his nail against the cave walls.

That memory I received a long time ago...reminded me of a lot of things. I somehow know Vanta, and even worse...

"You heard me, little guy." Xeonix quickly turned to hiss down at me, the fire surrounding his waist gleaming ever so slightly more. "You're just doing this job to fund some stupid little fucked up project. I know what you want."

I know that I used to fund Sam's project. I used to wonder what that meant until I realized...

"It definitely is." Xeonix abruptly laughed into the air. "H'oh, it sure is. You want to fund this sketchy-ass project about reviving the dead?"

From what this told me, my father is dead. It's hard to believe, really. It feels like my entire life has been a lie from the moment I started receiving memories.

I've also killed someone I knew in that memory. I can't remember exactly who they were but I held such resentment towards them...I wonder what could have caused that?

There are so many unanswered questions; why did my father die? How the hell did I know Sam? Why in my right mind would I ever fund that project?

Arceus...

None of this overthinking will help me in the end. I need to go to sleep.

At least outside was peaceful—even if it was all artificial. The nights are getting colder, but I seem to be slightly resistant to the chilliness.

Things are going to get better, I know they will.

I have a new way of finding hope.

LOKI'S POV

"Do you feel any better?" Sammy questioned as she shut the door behind her.

It's odd, since a murder hasn't happened in a while, we have yet to be told by Sam to rotate rooms.

"A little...still can't use my legs very much, but my arms are fine." I answered positively with a small wave towards the vixen.

I definitely put it very lightly so as to not worry her, I don't think I've ever felt so much pain in my entire life. My condition's improved a lot since that day, but your body rots a lot quicker than you'd think once it dies.

It's like I was being held to life by a million invisible stitches while they're all on the brink of snapping. At least it feels way better to be lying down like this...

Sammy was right about her story; that revival process was not meant for someone like me—more so a person who can't feel pain.

I still think about where Hydra could be. Everyone has agreed that he died, but I can't know for sure until I see a body. Would asking Sam to revive him be too much?

I'm not even sure she's mastered the process either, she was very angry at the sight of me being brought back to life instead of Hydra.

"You should still try some medicine again." Sammy mentioned as she dipped over to pour me two white pills from a bottle.

While her older brother was better at physical—and mental—procedures, the younger Braixen was definitely efficient at handling medicinal products. It's like she reads them for half a second and knows exactly what they do.

I took the recommended dosage with a nearby cup of water without any fuss while she crawled onto the other side of the bed.

"It's getting cold, so..." The vixen muttered as she slipped her wooden stick out of her fur, promptly lighting the tip with a gentle flame. "I can set this nearby."

"That would be nice." I nodded, already feeling the waft of heat from the fire as she carefully hung it against the wall. Now we have a makeshift torch!

As my eyes were mere seconds away from shutting, a small knock snapped me out of thought. It seemed like Sammy also heard it.

"What is it?" The Braixen sternly answered the noise for me.

The door gently slid open to reveal Vanta on the other side. He held a concerned gaze before trying to clear his throat.

"Y-Your door is not locked...make sure—" The Umbreon barely made it through his sentence with a hoarse voice before entering a coughing fit.

"Are you okay?" I turned to get a closer look.

Vanta seemed surprised that he was even coughing in the first place, like someone who didn't know they had the flu.

"You don't look good." Sammy leaped off the mattress and stood next to the canine.

The Umbreon cleared his throat once again and held a composed look before attempting to speak once again.

"I am f—" His attempt was in vain as he started hacking once again, and I was starting to get very concerned.

"You need some rest, Vanta." I frowned at him.

"I think he needs more than that." Sammy's eyes widened as she motioned down to the floor.

A pool of blood began to form, all coughed out from Vanta's mouth.