THIRD PERSON

"How is it?" A voice called out to a jackal grazing past the steel cage walls.

"As expected, many tunnels in sporadic directions." Leon perked up to watch the Braixen approach him. "Must you have walked the entire half-mile here?"

"It was no bother." Sammy crossed her arms and leaned her head against the canine's shoulder. "I'm a bit worried about our execution."

"I will continue to observe, you still have yet to tell everyone about the plan."

"Yeah, I'm aware. I'm doing it in rotations to not cause suspicion." The Braixen reassured and found a frown tug at her lips. "Still, only knowing one exit is rough."

"Is that not enough?" Leon raised a concerned brow.

"Not really. The 'exit' I know of is actually the entrance, and it's extremely secure. Knowing Sam, there's layers and layers of security measures to trap us." She turned to the Lucario with a similarly worried look. "That's why I need you to try and locate the other ones."

"Hmm...if there are other ones, they would be past the initial cage walls. The tough steel exterior hinders my range significantly, so I may only analyze the aura directly below us." Leon stopped to lean his back against the cold metal wall. "You must go back, however, as I do not want Sam connecting the return of my aura to you."

"Understood...please tell me if you find anything." Sammy offered him a nod of affirmation before pivoting to walk away. She took a sudden halt, her head turning to stare at the jackal. "Leon?"

"Hm?"

"Uhh...thank you. I knew I made the right choice with you." Sammy felt a smile take over her expression. Leon didn't hesitate to smile back, feeling his face slightly warming from her words.

"It is my pleasure."

...

For the next hour, Sammy gathered at the fountain while Rayne stayed in the mansion to call certain people to meet with Sammy there. Their conversations each lasted about 20 minutes, which was more than enough time to describe the situation and objective. While they couldn't fully trust they went unheard, the execution would still have to be perfect nonetheless.

While a few were skeptical of the probabilities, they agreed that action had to be taken or else they would spend the rest of their lives kidnapped. It would still take a while for absolutely everyone to be briefed, so they figured it would be fine to spend some more time in the living room. For all they knew, this would be the last time they could do this.

"Why is everyone being called?" Loki peeked out from the couch she was lying on.

"You'll know in due time, for now just be patient." The Manectric huffed and curled up on the ground to wait for Sherwood—who was called—to return.

"Yeah, but she's calling us one at a time." The Zoroark turned to grin cheekily at Rayne. "It's a little ableist to think I can get there on my own."

"I'll carry you there." Rayne playfully rolled her eyes and took a deep breath.

"The hell's the point of this anyway?" Laker crossed his arms in protest. "Can't she just say it here?"

Rayne only shot a warning glare at the weasel, who seemed to take the hint and quiet down immediately. After a frustrated sigh, Laker shook his head. "I hate this place."

"We are to follow Rayne's orders." Leon uttered from the other side of the room. "To be successful we must be organized."

"Plus..!" Grace popped out of Loki's fluffy hair to raise a paw. "A few of us are briefed already, so this shouldn't take long!"

"Right..." Vince turned to the Eevee with a small grin. "You been writin' lately?"

"Mhm!" She turned to the Greninja with a warm grin. "A lot! Rayne has me doing hard labor!"

"That's not..." The Manectric paused. "Oh, that's a joke. Huh."

"She's alive..!" Zantai teased the electric canid with a small laugh. "Dear Zapdos, I'm still not used to you being able to understand humor now."

"Who said she was jokin'?" Sherwood waltzed into the room with a confident grin on his expression.

"Finally." Rayne huffed and stood up to point a paw at the Blaziken. "You're next, Zantai. Be quick."

The Blaziken feigned a sassy expression before making an exaggerated show of getting off the chair he was on. Eventually, he was out the door.

"What a clown." Vince chuckled to himself after the fact, his eyes now locked onto the Sceptile. "How long did it take ya to be briefed?"

"Mmm, 'bout like twenty-five minutes...but that's mostly 'cause I got an important briefing." Sherwood was quick to grow a dry weed from the ends of his tail and bite onto the stem. "Why?"

"Nothing, I guess." The Greninja shrugged. "I don't like sitting still, ya'know?"

"We'll be done in no time." Luster made his way out of the kitchen with his tail's star flickering. "No harm in waiting."

No one said much in response, but a slight groan from Laker meant that a few had some suspicions about the process. After the supposed 20 minutes passed, Zantai returned, and his spirits were a little more serious than usual. He didn't make any more comments when he sat back down, and this prompted Rayne to continue her protocol.

"Luster, you're next."

The process continued.

"Laker."

And onwards.

"Vince."

...

"And, Loki." Rayne turned to face the fox with a gentle smile. "I'll take you there."

After seeing the Manectric's open back, Loki crawled on to satchel her back. Then, everyone in the room who knew about the plan was left to ponder. Would this work? Sammy had mentioned that this was all an educated guess, but it was all they had.

"Anything, Leon?" Laker hopefully craned his head up to the jackal meditating on the ground. They knew Leon had been attempting to look for other routes in the cage, but after shaking his head all hope in that factor died. Still, they would not take this chance for granted.

While they had their worries, they also had their determination. Even if the idea was nearly impossible, they would take any chance they could get.

The rest of the day had passed like normal. There was nothing in particular to note, especially from an outsider's perspective. Although there was something peculiar about this day; the participants spent their entire day outside.

Even after temperatures dropped and the sun was beginning to set, they tented out in the dark and huddled for warmth. One watching this would start to wonder; what in the world were they doing?

The only one separated from the group was Sammy, but she wasn't too far from the tent. In front of her stood the cage wall—the exact location where she would usually enter. If she really wanted to, the Braixen could easily walk up and enter the combination to open the wall...but she did not. Instead, the vixen stared longingly into the steel, watching as the sunset refractions bounced off the silver texture.

She wouldn't spend this time alone for too long, however, as an unexpected guest would join her from what seemed like thin air.

"Missing something?" Sam's audibly grinning voice reverberated from behind Sammy.

At first, the younger Braixen didn't reply, she found comfort in the silence for a while. She would enjoy this moment while it lasted.

After what felt like hours to the older Braixen, Sammy finally turned around with a complacent smile. "No, I was just thinking."

"You sure do that a lot!" Sam giggled and crossed her arms. "What's up? Starting to regret everything?"

"Not at all." The younger Braixen shook her head in denial, causing a slight grimace to etch on Sam's expression. "I like to believe that all my decisions will result in good karma."

"Oh, funny." She rolled her eyes before narrowing them. "I never knew we were playing hero with criminals. You know, if you just told me you regretted this, I would have let you back in. You're my sister, after all!"

"Why didn't you let Laker back in?" Sammy tilted her head, a melancholy tone now in play.

Sam's grin faded into a neutral look, but anyone could tell that she was taken aback by her younger sister's words. She seemed to ponder those words for a while before shrugging. "I dunno!"

"What?" It was now Sammy's turn to be shocked. "There has to be some reason, right?"

"Nope!" The manic Braixen grinned. "Not at all! Would it be easier to tell you that I just forgot? Okay, I just forgot!"

"What the hell do you mean? Laker worked for you, he's supposed to be on your side!" The other vixen's face distorted with confusion. "What was all your work for if not for his help?"

"My work?" Sam tapped a curious paw against her chin. "My...work? That sounds familiar."

"You're...losing it." Sammy chuckled, finding that statement somewhat recursive. "I-I don't know how else to tell you. What are you doing this for?"

"The killing game~!" She spread her arms into the air and swayed her hips to an unsynchronized rhythm. "This beautiful game, that's what I'm doing!"

"...Sam..." Sammy whispered under her breath before shaking her head. "We aren't getting anywhere with this."

"I agree..!" The older vixen wiped the invisible sweat off her brow. "I should g—"

Right before Sam could turn to walk away, the ground below her rumbled and elevated in level. Uncharacteristically, the older Braixen let out a desperate yelp before she felt a solid force slam into her side, lunging her a couple of feet away.

From the ground arose a Sceptile, dry dirt still crumbling down his smooth scales as he carefully watched the manic Braixen on the ground.

"Sorry, partner, but yer not goin' anywhere." Sherwood continued to step forward before a pair of Gegar emerged from the dark corners of the walls.

"That was a good Dig, Sherwood." Sammy praised as she scooted next to him.

The sun had fully set, and the only things visible were Sherwood's piercing yellow eyes and the Gengars' scarlet red ones. From this interaction alone, the Sceptile knew they would not attack without a command.

In the distance, the rest of the participants would soon begin making their way over to the scene.

"J-Just get me out of here." Sam held her side as she finally sat up to hiss at the grass type. "You're so dead."

"Afraid not." Sherwood chuckled, continuing to watch carefully.

Sam turned to the Gengar nearest to her and pouted. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get me out!"

As ordered, the Gengar shifted to extend his hand out to the fallen vixen. The moment their palms connected, Sherwood lunged forward at an unusually blinding speed. The leaves on his arm sharpened with dark energy before he swiped them at the aforementioned ghost type.

After his attack connected, there was merely one more Gengar standing not too far from him and the fallen Braixen. Sam's head craned up to flash a terrified expression.

"T-That was..." Sam crawled backward to once again hide behind the other Gengar.

"Pursuit." Sherwood rotated his wrist to stretch as he spoke. "Makes ya think twice 'bout leavin' now, does it?"

"Pursuit does far more damage if you're trying to flee, and against your team of ghost-type Gengar that is a huge threat." Sammy walked forward to confidently stand next to the Sceptile.

"Team of Gengar, you say?" Sam found these words humorous. She turned to the ghost Pokemon next to her and denied his offer to flee. "We don't need to run to deal with these delinquents."

Sherwood continued to analyze their every movement, as he recognized his role was to keep them from escaping—if they managed to do that, he was as good as dead later.

"Sherwood..!" The rest of the group finally caught up, and Sammy turned to watch as Rayne ran to Sherwood's side in order to back him up. "You okay?"

"Peachy." The Sceptile cleared his throat. "This seems to be goin' too smooth for someone like Sam."

Just as he predicted, things would soon get more complicated. From nowhere they could see, a ray of light pierced the now moonlit air and plummeted directly into Sherwood's chest. He let out a low grunt in pain, tripping backward in discombobulation.

"Fuck..!" Zantai ran forward and caught the grass type's fall. The Blaziken helped him stand, watching as a stream of fresh blood coated the Sceptile's chest. "Arceus, what the hell was that?"

Sherwood held his chest to temporarily stop the bleeding, and it appeared he would be out of commission for a short bit until Leon's Heal Pulse fully recovered him.

"Since you bothered to explain your tactics, I'll explain mine." Sam pulled the stick from her tail and whirled it in the air. "Isn't it so nice to also have a team of Inteleon?"

"Inteleon?" Grace echoed—almost muffled by Vince's protective grasp. "That's a water Pokemon that can camouflage, right?"

"Yeah..." Sammy bit her lip in frustration. "I can imagine that was Snipe Shot, a deadly ranged water move. Don't bother being a hero and blocking it, it'll always hit its intended target."

"Wha..? Like it never misses?" Luster quickly spun his head to face the younger Braixen.

"Not really, no. You can dodge it, but if you try and block it for another person it will phase through you. You're on your own for a move like that."

"Looks like we're both in troubling times!" Sam kept a paw on her side to grin at the group. "If you don't use Pursuit on my poor Gengar here, I promise the Inteleon won't shoot again~!"

This most certainly complicated things. Sammy turned to Loki, who was carefully latched onto Luster's back for support. The two had previously agreed that they would brainstorm plans together, but they could have never accounted for something like Snipe Shot.

While the younger Braixen seemed hopeless, Loki still held a composed expression. "Assuming that Snipe Shot will always hit, let's do something to mitigate the damage.

Sammy stared at the black fox with a dumbfounded expression, but after a bit of visual motioning, she understood very quickly. The younger Braixen was quick to whip out the stick in her bushy tail before whirling it in the air. A large dome of psychic energy manifested from the end of her staff and shrouded the group before turning invisible.

"Light Screen...upping your resistance to special attacks, are we?" Sam muttered with a small smile. "Ohh~! This is getting exciting!"

"Everyone be careful." Leon stepped forward and halted after he was next to Rayne. "Cover me."

The Manectric was about to ask what he was doing, but after seeing a small blue orb emanate from the jackal's palms, she took to guarding him. "That better not miss."

"It never does." The Lucario exhaled as he launched his charged Aura Sphere to target the Braixen.

The move's trajectory looked perfect, and it seemed like it was about to be a direct hit until the Gengar leaped forward at the last second, causing the attack to implode against him.

"Damnit..." Leon already knew as he watched the smoke dissipate to see the perfectly healthy shadow Pokemon. "He is a ghost type, all he has to do is jump in front of the attack and it will never affect him."

"I'm not exactly as ranged as you." Rayne clicked her tongue in anticipation. "But all I need is one entry and I can hold a lot of them back."

"They're not gonna let you get close, though. One step out of this Light Screen dome and you're fucked." Zantai quickly added.

Suddenly, they heard a large cackle from the other side of the wall. "When will you all learn? No matter how hard you try, it will never be enough!" Sam clasped her paws together.

Laker held his head to think, the overwhelming feeling of another potential Snipe Shot looming over him. "If we don't do something now, we'll get peppered down until we die."

Even worse, the Gengar that Sherwood had originally taken down was back up—albeit a lot more sluggish from the attack. Though he was back at Sam's side, the two luckily refused to try and escort the Braixen in fear of Sherwood's Pursuit.

"Think long and hard!" Sam giggled and leaned against her Gengar. "I'll even give you a minute to discuss! I want to see just how hopeful you get before inevitable despair!"

Temporarily sheltered in their Light Screen dome, the participants gazed at each other with unsureness. Any step out of the screen will be certain injury or even death, and stalling for too long won't stop the Light Screen from falling.

Time was ticking, and one of them had to take action.

But just what would work in this situation?

"I-I think I might have a plan." Grace uttered.