THIRD PERSON

Laker had been unconscious for a while, and it would seem to anyone else like he was going to be out for a while. Contrary to that, the weasel began recovering his senses very quickly after regaining consciousness. He could somewhat smell the grass, but the pure darkness in his vision confused him. Actually, it was more than that; he felt an overwhelming pressure on both his face and body.

After letting out a muffled groan of complaint, he realized that there was someone on top of him.

"Mhh–hey!" Laker sharply inhaled after a certain Manectric backed up from the weasel's body. "What the hell?"

"Apologies, you were passed out and I made a promise to someone to protect you." Rayne reassured with a small smile, acting as if she hadn't been nestling her body into the Weavile.

"Wh–Why...when..?" Laker held his head in pure confusion, his eyes focusing on the ruffled fur on his chest.

"You had a little memory, to say the least." The Manectric sat on her haunches. "I had him forget his memories."

"Did he tell you everything?"

A nod from the canine. Laker suddenly leaped forward and grabbed at her shoulders enthusiastically. "Wait, that means we can escape!"

Rayne only frowned sourly at the weasel before he reciprocated. "He didn't want anything to do with us, if anything, he was seconds away from joining Sam again. He was not going to tell us the way to escape."

"For the love of..." He groaned and sat back on the grassy floor. "Then why did he choose to forget?"

"Those two months in here still had an effect on him, it seems." Rayne's gaze deviated. "He was stuck between the options of coming back to Sam or leaving the cage. The only thing stopping him from both is that Sam actually betrayed him...you weren't supposed to be a participant in this game at all."

Laker thought for a moment, his eyes wandering until they landed on the Manectric's face. "I guess that's a problem for him to figure out, I'm still my own person outside of this."

"You're not worried?"

"Of course, I'm very worried." The Weavile frowned and stood up to gather his bearings. "But I still refuse to have my memories returned, I don't want to be that person anymore. Anyone who associates with Sam is a terrible Pokemon, including my past self."

Laker didn't say much else as he walked off—although he snuck a small 'thank you' hug to the Manectric for restoring him back to his new self.

She still didn't quite tell him the entire truth. While everything she said did happen, there's no denying that Sam's true intentions were something she had to hide. If what old Laker said was true, that meant everyone's reason for being in the game was that they wanted to fund Sam's project. More specifically, they wanted to selfishly fund it at the sacrifice of another person's life.

As if Sam had the right to play god, she threw everyone in the game for the mixed reason of justice and morbid curiosity. What made a crazed lunatic like her feel like she had the right to have a judgment on that matter? Rayne knew there was something greater to this, especially with Laker, but there was no more thinking she could do on that matter.

LEON'S POV

"I feel like I could have done more to prevent it..." I said in an exhale.

I found myself on the porch talking to Sherwood about how we were led up to this situation.

Restoring my aura made me realize how much I took this ability for granted. It's as if I see a completely different world now...Hopefully, I can continue to use this for our escape. Initially, I could only see the caves below us, but the harder I focused on the 'sky' I could see its complexities. From now on, I'll be scoping out every nook and cranny in this cage.

"Don't be too harsh on yourself, partner." Sherwood mindlessly chewed on the weed in his maw before leaning forward against the porch railing. "No one can prevent somethin' like that."

"But I should have noticed the signs. He confessed nearly every memory he experienced to me." I looked up at the Sceptile with a guilty expression. "He had a history with murder—even if it was just once."

"A history with it, huh?" The Sceptile grumbled lightly. "I would have murdered you a long time ago if that were the case."

"Huh..?" I raised a brow at him.

"Don'tcha act clueless now, Leon." Sherwood let out a wheezy chuckle before staring directly at me. "I still remember everything you did to me in my past. That don't change the fact that I got self-control, and chose to forgive."

I can somewhat see where he's coming from...even though his memory gave him a motive to commit a murder, he still had enough self-control to stomach it. I'm wondering if he's implying that Galant did not have that discipline or if he's saying that experiencing a memory isn't the end of the world. To us, it might seem that way, however. So far, aside from Lancer and Talus, every death is somewhat connected to a past memory for a motive.

"I see..." After turning away to gaze at the 'moon', I felt myself spacing out. Maybe I thought about these things too often, this can't be healthy to obsess over. I should be more worried about formulating a plan for an escape. "What do you feel like you want to do?"

"I needa get outta here to help my sister." Sherwood felt a grimace distorted his calm appearance. "I ain't got a clue where she is, though. Sam must have done somethin' to her."

"You think?"

"Well, just look at Loki's girl." The Sceptile shrugged. "I feel like Sam must've done somethin' to her."

"Loki's partner...you mean her death was caused by Sam?" I felt myself taken aback by the statement. My brain is a little foggy on it, but I can recall Sam projecting a perfect hologram of Loki's girlfriend—her memories were intact too.

"More of a theory." Sherwood spat the weed out of his mouth—he'll probably get a new one just as quickly. "She mentioned somethin' about bein' murdered by someone who knew Loki."

"Why would she murder her in cold blood, though?" My head couldn't wrap around that way of thinking.

"Dunno, but isn't it suspicious that she had her memories?" Sherwood shut his eyes to presumably ponder. "A perfect copy of who Loki's girlfriend was all in a hologram...Sam definitely had somethin' to do with her death."

More existential crises, by the name of Moltres, that's just what I wanted. Sherwood had a good point, however, it seems like he's been theory-crafting this for a while now. Come to realize, when you are always in the background like he is you must have some time to think.

"You boys not going to bed?" Sammy, who I had already detected from a few feet away, walked out the front door and onto the porch we were lounging in.

"Not particularly." I found myself shrugging. "We're just having a conversation."

The younger Braixen silently nodded and trudged down one step to sit on the top of the small wooden stairway. For some reason, I sensed a great shift in the vixen's aura. If I focused hard enough, her energy emitted a slight purple, which could spell doubt. Perhaps it wasn't in her greatest interest to return my aura, as I can now read her emotions almost instantly.

Seemingly overthinking it, I felt a small nudge on my shoulder. I look up to see Sherwood playfully shoving me towards the Braixen on the steps, a small smile etched on his expression. He mouthed what seemed to be a "go on" before backing up and disappearing inside the mansion doors.

"Something is stressing you." Taking Sherwood's words literally, I turned to sit down the steps next to the vixen.

"That aura comes in handy, huh?" Sammy seemed to lean into a wooden railing next to her, the Braixen's gaze somewhat dull. "I've just been thinking a lot."

"About?"

"There are many ways to escape, but none involve doing so without casualties." She ran her claws through her skirt-like fur and sighed. "I wish for everyone's safety, but I can't guarantee it."

"What do you mean?" I turned to question her as I tried to keep a neutral expression. "I-I'm quite certain we can be safe about our exit."

"I don't know much about the exits other than the main one. If we all decide to clump together in our escape, we may risk failing." Sammy's words were clear but still somehow filled with dread. I could feel the worry emanate brightly from her aura. "If we're caught, we're dead."

"Perhaps she'll give us the same treatment as Zantai and Vince?" I hoped, the Braixen only shaking her head in denial.

"The likelihood is very low."

"But not impossible."

"Improbable, though." The Braixen groaned in frustration. "I tried to convince her, but she didn't change her mind."

"I remember the memory you showed us...it's as if she acts differently inside the walls. Does she play a persona for us?" My paws seemed to find a comfortable place in between the railings, our eyes gazing at the high moon above us.

"Kinda, it's hard to describe. Sometimes she looks sleep deprived—sorta like me—but then the next day she's back to this hyperactive and insane person." Sammy had thought of this before, and it wouldn't be far off to assume she was concerned about it before the game.

"I wonder if she is getting any rest at all?" I thought aloud.

The vixen's emotions shifted from my words, and it was clear that she had a theory. "Come to think of it, I don't think she has. Her office doesn't have a bed anywhere...how does she even function?"

"Perhaps a performance enhancement?"

We were getting somewhere with this idea, but I failed to see how it would help us escape. Maybe it had somewhat of a connection with their relationship, but Sam's sleep habits don't quite concern our well-being. Unless it does...

"Huh, thought you'd all be inside by now. Isn't it cold for you guys?" Laker suddenly emerged from the moonlit darkness with Rayne following behind him.

"Laker? Where were you?" Sammy questioned with a worried tone. "Rayne?"

"He's uh...forgotten." The Manectric sat on her haunches to brush a paw against her chest. "I learned a lot of information, but the old Laker refused to pick a side."

"Pick a side?" I echoed, my mind stuck on the idea. Something about how he reacted made me think he could have potentially helped us escape, but I'll have to take Rayne's word for it.

"Not tonight, and not here." The Braixen uttered with caution, her eyes motioning above them as if someone was listening. Sam was most likely still awake, seeing as how we just discussed that she does not sleep.

"Tomorrow, then." Rayne stated before confidently walking up the steps to pass us. I scooted to make room for her—though I still managed to get a face full of her spiky fur.

Laker, as mentioned, acted as he always has and walked up the steps with the same demeanor. The two quickly disappeared behind the doors of the mansion, leaving me and Sammy alone once again.

"Is anyone else going to emerge from the dark?" I joked with a small smile, earning a similar expression from the fire type.

"We should get rest, I would not want to go into the next day without any sleep." Sammy lifted herself off the steps to playfully pat the top of my head. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Likewise." I nodded.

However, I was not done with the outdoors...not yet.

THIRD PERSON

"Dude, can you work out a little quieter?" Zantai groaned from his bedside while trying to sleep.

Vince, who was deep into his set of crutches, halted and fired a small grin at the fire bird. "What? A guy can't exercise in peace?"

"Not when you're groaning like a weirdo." He spat out before turning over on the mattress. "Arceus, you're so loud."

"Ehh? C'mon, lad." Vince chuckled lightly and leaped off his back to stretch. "You work out too."

"Not at midnight, no." He scoffed.

As the Greninja neared the bed to slip in, the Blaziken almost instantly swatted his webbed hand away. "Nah! No fuckin' way your sweaty frog ass is getting in this bed now. Take a shower first."

"Urgh." Vince shot him a mean glare before sulking his way past the bed and into the bathroom. The water frog took a small glance at the mirror before he raised a brow in realization...had he always looked this unkempt?

Feeling as if he looked dry to some degree, the Greninja slid the shower curtains away and stepped inside. He wasted no time in turning the knob and leaning back to accept the fresh water from the tap...that's if there was any water to begin with. Vince immediately knew something was up, as he assumed this shower would have worked in the past.

He tampered with the knobs for a while until he realized his efforts were in vain. The frog peeked his head through the door with a small frown. "Uhh, the shower ain't working."

Zantai only locked eyes with the Greninja, his expression reading a very obvious variation of "figure it out".

"Right." Vince rolled his eyes and stepped out of the restroom to make his way across before he was out the door. "Gotta get creative."

The frog knew he couldn't just borrow someone else's shower; they were all sleeping and it'd be kind of weird to disturb them for that. Any other bathrooms in the mansion didn't have a shower...unless he wanted to wash himself in a sink—which he did not want to do.

However, creative did the frog get. After making his way outside, Vince recalled a large fountain in the center of a path behind the mansion. All he had to do was hop in for a quick bath, dry himself, and finally go to bed.

After turning the corner, his expectations were blown at the sight in front of him.

It was Grace, and she was gracefully leaping around the fountain edges with...for lack of better words, grace. Vince only watched the Eevee's movements with curiosity, his gaze entranced with her consistent leaps. After a few seconds, the fox whirled around in the air as a ball of white energy accumulated in front of her. She then reeled back and whacked a leg at the sphere, launching it across the fountain and into the grass.

After watching her attack do a decent number on the dirt below, Vince walked forward and clasped his webbed hands together. "Not bad."

Grace immediately jerked her head back as she clearly did not expect someone to find her. Though, after seeing it was Vince, her shoulders deflated. "Oh, it's you. Yeah, I had a pretty interesting dream."

"Dream?" The Greninja echoed with a small smile. He walked past the Eevee and crawled into the fountain's water, ignoring the cold temperature.

Grace watched the frog with a sense of pure confusion, but she narrowed it down to something she didn't know about water types. "Yeah, lately I've been remembering things without a memory gem. Recently, I learned a few new moves. One of them was Weather Ball."

"Ah? The one that changes with the weather, right?" Vince questioned as he dipped his head into the water, letting it drip down his whole body.

"Mhm, I've been practicing it ever since. I don't know whether it's because I want to defend myself or if I just want to." She cleared her throat and continued with her practice.

While the frog bathed, he occasionally peeked out of the water to watch the Eevee's movements. To him, it was impressive how she moved with what he considered a stubby body.

Grace continued with just Weather Ball, and for a few minutes, it was just the Eevee leaping around to charge her move and launching it into the same crevice in the dirt.

"I got an idea." Vince slowly emerged from the fountain, his body still dripping from the water. "Watch this."

Right when the Eevee's eyes were locked on him, the Greninja swirled his webbed hands to form a small ball of water on his palm. After making a show of lifting it above him, the frog suddenly fired the sphere into the sky.

Grace's eyes traced the water with ease, but her confusion started once Vince began swaying his arms from left to right. As if the moment she understood caused a chain reaction, the water ball exploded into a large dark cloud that loomed above the fountain area—and much further across.

"Rain dance..." The Eevee muttered subconsciously. "You know that move?"

"Would be safe to say that all water types do." Vince shrugged and nudged his still-wet hand against the fox's side. "Go on, do that fancy move."

"Weather Ball?" Grace raised a brow. "Oh! Right! This should turn Weather Ball into water!"

With a new sense of excitement, the fox leaped around the fountain to begin charging her brand-new move. Instead of creating a white sphere, the Weather Ball shifted into a wave of cereal ripples that asymmetrically condensed into an orb. After a few seconds of preparing, Grace shoved the attack forward with a leg and watched as it created a large explosion of steam once it connected with the dirt.

"Woah..!" She hopped in place at the sight of an actual crater in the ground. "That was so cool~!"

Vince found himself grinning at the Eevee's excitement, his eyes finally tearing to focus on the result. "Pretty big dent in the ground, too. That was strong."

"I imagine having it change types makes it stronger, cause there's no way I just did that." Grace giggled to herself.

The Greninja only swam forward and planted his chin on the fountain edge. "Mhm, but yer still the one that did the move. Also, aren't ya meant to be asleep?"

"Oh, right..! I need to be up in the morning!" Her eyes widened in realization. "But aren't you meant to be sleeping too?"

"I'm bathin' in the water for a bit, Zantai won't let me come back until I'm clean and our shower is busted."

"Ah..." She seemed to find humor in that situation.

"Anyway, I won't be here for long." He reassured.

"Cool! Then, I have one last move before I go!" Grace's grin shifted to one of uncharacteristic mischief. She leaned forward and pecked her lips against the side of Vince's cheek, quickly leaping off with a proud look. "Sweet Kiss! Muahaha!"

"Wha–!?" The now flustered frog held a hand over his cheek and watched the Eevee trot away. "Eevee's...don't even learn...that move?"

"The opponent is now confused! Worked like a charm!" Grace turned to smile at the Greninja as she turned the corner. "Thanks for helping me, Vince! I'll see you tomorrow!"

"That little..." Vince balled his fist in feigned rage before chuckling to himself. "Whatever."