Joe crept down the hallway and peaked into EX's room to see if he was awake, but instead was met with a sleeping EX and a Grian out of bed. He kept himself hidden behind the door, watching what Grian was doing. Grian seemed to be talking to the person in the rabbit hat in the corner of the room.

He heard the sound of rope ripping, and saw Grian back away from the other person. "I can plant the blame on Doc and put the rope in his bag."

"Grian you're helping the enemy, huh?" Joe hissed under his breath after he processed what he heard, too quiet for either of the other people to hear, then backed away from the door, and headed back to his room.

He quickly rushed to his shared bed and shook Biffa awake, "Grians a dirty snitch, Biffa."

Biffa yawned, taking his glasses from the bedside table and looked at Joe with tired confusion when he sat up. "What? Joe, are you sure you aren't half asleep and hearing things..? It's four am, go back to sleep.."

"I know exactly what I saw. You know the person EX has been keepin' a close eye on? Grian removed the rope bounding his wrists and is pushing the blame to Doc."

Biffa heavily sighed, "Joe, you should sleep and not sneak around so often. You'll get in trouble some day and me an' X won't be able to back you up."

Joe yawned, "Biffa, EX knows I do that to keep us safe."

"He already stays up until one am. I think you'll be fine with sleeping before four. Now get in bed." Biffa patted the other side of the bed, putting his glasses back down on the nightstand.

Joe sighed, a bit frustrated, but sat in the bed and laid down.

•

"What do you mean they're gone!?" EX yelled, nearly crushing the helmet he held in his hands.

"Calm down, EX! I think they-"

"They nothing, we're screwed if we stay here now!" EX's yelling died down, "They'll win, Grian knows exactly where we are."

"Only if we let them win," Xisuma put a hand on the table, looking at the rope that was used to hold Sam. How did Grian think throwing it in Doc's bag was going to let him get away with it but when he was gone too?

EX's wings flexed behind him and closed, then he sped out of the room with a huff. The admin walked to a lake in the forest, letting the cool temperature of nature calm his nerves so he could think more calmly, instead of committing to a bad and rushed idea. He sat by the water, staring at his reflection, sucking in his breaths as he wracked his brain for ideas.

EX didn't hear the person behind him until he was yanked from his peaceful state and forced to inhale a cloth heavily doused in chloroform, making him falter. He attempted to thrash about and make noises to attract attention, but was too far away from the village to get anyone to hear him. Soon enough, his panicking mixed with the chlorophyll forced him to pass out.

•

EX wakes up in an unfamiliar bed, in a just as unfamiliar room, his arms chained to the head board. "Are you going to cooperate this time or are we going to have to hurt you again?"

"You fucking traitor! What the nether are you thinking?" EX looks at where the voice came from, a Grian look-alike standing next to the actual Grian. EX tugged at the chains, hissing at the two blondes and glaring daggers.

"You're a feisty one, Xavier." He started to struggle more as soon as the name came out of NPGs mouth, Grian went to the end of the bed and held down EX's legs to stop him from breaking anything at the foot of the bed. "Grian, which shall we start with?"

Grian glanced at the devices on a table nearby, thinking as he viewed them. "Let's start with the most painful. We'll get some good recognition with it."