LOKI'S POV

Sammy returned from her expedition unharmed, but there was undoubtedly still something on her mind.

Galant previously stated something about her trying to sneak into Sam's office—or similar to that, at least. Maybe she figured out something bad? Did she get caught?

Either way, any questions would most likely be answered later today. She mentioned that Hydra would ask us all to gather in the living room very soon for an explanation, so it appears the older jackal was informed of the situation.

After a good few minutes of waiting, Sammy entered with an exhausted look in her eyes. She didn't waste any time with her explanation.

"As you all may know, I went out to look for more information...based on my own worries." The vixen cleared her throat, making sure that she made eye contact with each of us at least once. "And I quickly realized that Sam had succeeded in one of her biggest experiments."

"That being..?" Rayne quickly questioned.

"I don't know if she can do this consistently, but she managed to bring Talus back to life."

The phrase was inconceivable at first...but am I really going to deny it? After everything I've seen so far? Sam has done things based on her own pleasure, why would I be surprised if this is just another experiment?

However, it's still hard to wrap my head around Sammy's words.

"How?" Galant was the first to chime in, a glimmer of hope in his words. "I-Is he okay?"

"No, I unfortunately had to put him down. The state he was in was...horrific. He could not move without excruciating pain." Sammy bluntly declared.

"S-So you..." Grace stammered.

"I had to." The Braixen cut in with a frustrated sigh. "I simply cut the source of his life, making his death instant. I didn't stab him or anything."

"You weren't caught?" Vanta tilted his head, evidently more curious as to how she returned unharmed.

"Mm-mm." Sammy shook her head in denial. "For some reason...she had to have done that on purpose, right?"

"It seems so." Leon scoffed in disbelief. "I am still worried about her ability to resurrect. Do you all not see this as a threat? She could effortlessly bring us back to life and make us play this cursed game again."

"We do." Sherwood cleared his throat. "Yet I'm still more worried 'bout Talus. That coulda been a spared life."

"Not in this shithole." Zantai chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to die."

Zantai's words seem to remind Sammy about something. She visibly perked up to gaze at the Blaziken next to her. "You'd be right about that." She muttered.

Her words earned a small hum from the bird.

"What do you mean?" Zantai leaned forward to hear the vixen.

"Talus remembered every single thing that happened to him...up until he died." Sammy frowned, fidgeting with a memory gem in her paws. "Whatever her methods are, she can return your memories at will."

Things are getting even more confusing. I'm definitely missing some sort of information on Sam; I had no idea she could even do something of this caliber.

I mean, returning someone's memory is absurd...but resurrection is where things breach a new high. I can't help but imagine what more she could do—suppose that is the danger of someone bored and insane.

Everyone else seemed to take a moment to process the sheer power of the situation before I heard a baritone voice take over the conversation.

I hadn't noticed before, but Hydra had quietly made his way into the living room and crossed his arms before us. He still had a bit of scarring from the traps that he disabled, but they seemed to be healing rather quickly.

"I will still do my best to protect you all." Hydra vowed towards the crowd in front of him. "However, I have some news of my own."

The jackal's eyes shut in focus before he took a deep breath. Before we could even ask, I noticed two rings latched onto the sensors on the back of his head.

"I made an agreement with Sam. Due to her ability to revive at will, I have finally destroyed most of the Mingle." Hydra cleared his throat and motioned toward the brand-new restraints on the back of his head. "In turn, she doesn't want me overdoing it, so she has placed these on me."

"Huh? She placed aura blockers on you?" I couldn't help but immediately blurt out in confusion.

"Yes. I'm guessing it's because I nearly killed the Mingle." The taller jackal flickered a small smile in my direction. "But it's alright, it doesn't change much."

"I get why you'd want to kill it." Grace started with a small hum, letting herself think for a moment before speaking. "But actually why?"

"Sam had accidentally created the Mingle through an experiment...a failed resurrection of someone. However, it still technically worked, as the Mingle was technically alive...just a culmination of multiple Pokemon." The taller Lucario stated as he turned his stare to nowhere in particular. "However, if she completed her research, then there's no reason to keep that thing living."

"So why did Sam want it alive?" Vince stepped forward to question.

"It was one of the only cases of a success. Sam mentioned that she succeeded previously...but won't tell me what it was." Hydra heaved a small sigh.

"That one must have been even worse." Laker scoffed.

"Most likely." Rayne muttered slowly.

"Why did Sam make you put those on?" Grace curiously eyed the taller jackal's new restraints.

"They are very similar to mine." Leon noted with a small frown.

Hydra slightly leaned forward to let his sensors fall against his shoulders, allowing us to get a closer look. Unlike Leon's, the steel was darker, almost as if to signify that they were more powerful aura blockers. Not only that, he had two of them.

"I was against it at first...but it was a mixture of reasons." The taller jackal craned his head down to gaze at the Eevee. "Sam definitely didn't want me running loose with my power, as she says I don't know my own strength. With that reasoning...I wanted to be more on your guys' level."

The Lucario crossed his arms as he spoke, his eyes slightly widening after processing something. "N-Not that I believe you all are lesser, or anything! Just because a few of you are still uncomfortable with my presence."

I see...so we've made Hydra practically chain his strength so he could interact with us more? I feel like that's somewhat of the gist I'm getting from his explanation.

The vibe in the room seemed to dwindle as the realization had sunk in. Vince and Zantai seemed to frown at Hydra's explanation; they were the main reason why he was antagonized in the first place.

"I appreciate the change." Grace muttered sheepishly and proudly cleared her throat. "But there's no need to do so! I find your strength...dangerous, but somewhat comforting at the same time."

"Yeah, I see it as a double-edged sword." Galant chimed in with a small nod towards the tall jackal. "However, what will you do with the Mingle...wait, you mentioned it was nearly killed?"

Hydra exhaled profoundly. "Uh-huh. I also recently learned this, but you can never truly kill the Mingle; it will just bring itself back to life. It's the reason why Sam wants it alive."

"Wait...so i-its immortal?" I couldn't help but blurt out.

"Essentially, you'd be correct. There are ways that Sam planned to 'kill' it once she no longer needed it." Sammy chimed in with a small huff. "But it seems like she made perfect use of it recently."

"With Talus..." I heard Grace whisper next to me.

She was right, Talus was alive at some point. Saying that in my head fills me with hope...but at the same time, it also feels as if he shouldn't return. This mansion had been filled with nothing but despair the moment we entered, returning is not ideal by any means.

"Either way, we shouldn't be worrying right now." Hydra backed away with a small smile. "You all have an escape to figure out, right?"

After a cunning wink, the jackal was off into the hallways.

You know, there are some times where I think he's on Sam's side...and some other times I feel like he's on ours. Hydra seems really ambiguous with what he's doing, and it always seems to put me in a confusing spot.

...

About an hour had passed since the group last gathered. Knowing that the area was a lot safer without the Mingle, I decided to wander around the upstairs for a bit. We hadn't really used much of anything in this spot, especially since things were picking up with the most recent trial. I mean, for Arceus sake, there's even dust starting to pick up in the gym.

Ah, right...this room. Every time I walk into the gymnasium I can't help but think of Inu. She didn't deserve any of what she had coming...she was even becoming a better person and improving on her emotions.

Come to think of it, I guess I should be thinking like that with every death. Obviously, I have...but Inu's case just struck me a bit differently—especially since I was the one trying to counsel her mentally.

"Be careful." A high voice called out to me from the other side of the room.

I hadn't noticed until now, but I wandered into the long hallway connected to the gym. Grace had stopped me in my tracks the moment I had put my paws on the handle of a nearby door.

"Hm..?" I tilted my head at the Eevee as I watched her make her way down the hall toward me.

"That's the library, if you go in there you're forced to relive a memory." Grace warned as she turned to frown at my paws. "I can't guarantee it will be a good one, either."

I found myself flinching at her words, my arms slowly retreating from the handle. I was aware that the library was here, but I nearly entered it without thinking! Guess my brain just went on some sort of tangent without noticing.

"Has...everyone tried this already?" I turned to ask the Eevee next to me.

"Not many of us; me. Rayne, Vanta, Talus..." Grace continued as her voice seemed to dwindle," ...Aubra as well."

"I see." My voice had also lowered to a solemn tone.

Would it be worth it?

Every single experience I've had with recalling the past was a negative one. I mean, I burnt an entire forest and murdered my old family because of it. A horrible person I truly am...

But maybe there's something more that I'm missing. I mean, for every traumatic event builds exactly who everyone was meant to be. Whether that be for the better or worse, I have to find out who I truly am.

"I'm going in." I warned the smaller fox.

Grace maintained a shocked expression towards me, but it only took a few seconds to look at my expression to see that I was dead serious.

"A-Alright." She stammered and nudged the door open for me. "I've already read my motive, so I don't have to read more."

Nodding at her response, I was quick to follow the brown fox inside the room. Everything was neatly put in the library; folders and books exactly where they were meant to be—and more importantly, color-coded.

It was very appealing to the eye, though unfortunately, I wasn't here to relax.

"I'm sure you can find your name here." Grace called out to me from the other side of the room she had trotted towards.

In the section she had entered was a row of red books, each of them titled with some sort of chicken scratch. Not being able to tell the title, I picked one at random.

The interior didn't explain much, the first page was nothing but the same chicken scratch...until I turned to the next one.

"Thirteen people were murdered in cold blood at the ____ by the _____ gang. Hopeless onlookers noted that most of the Pokemon involved consisted of a ___ _____, evident by the fire left behind in the heist. If anyone knows any information regarding the..."

The script ends there.

Strangely enough, a good portion of the writing was censored to provide anonymity. Flipping to other pages is of no use either; every single page consists of the same exact script I had just read.

"I don't know how Sam managed to do it, but if you read anyone else's motive that's not your own it censors itself." Grace peered her head over to gaze at the book I was reading. "Can you read this one?"

"Nope." I heaved a small sigh.

The writing worries me, though. This is someone's motive, right? That means they'll remember this event.

It might sound messed up, but I sure hope they simply remember witnessing the event...and not be the assailant of this.

It took a few minutes to even get to my book, things were difficult without Sam or Sammy being here to guide us on which one was ours.

Upon opening, it had the same unintelligible writing on the first page. The next page is where...things...

Got interesting...

"I'm writing this letter under the impression that I do not make it home. Alice, I'm sorry for disappointing you. I wanted to run away without causing any harm, but they left me no choice. I already know everything you're going to say...that I'm in danger now, that I shouldn't have gone through such violent acts against my parents. There is definitely no excuse for that, but they left me even less than no choice. I'm on the run now because of my mistakes...I won't be home until they stop chasing me. I love you, and maybe one day I'll come back for our first kiss."

...

"Loki..?" Grace pawed at my arm, causing me to drop the book in realization.

I spaced out pretty hard while reading, it was almost like reading caused me to remember everything inside the book. Is this what Grace was talking about?

"You're tearing up..." The Eevee frowned up at me.

Great, somehow I never seem to realize if I'm crying or not. However, this time I was able to muster up the courage to just suck it up. I've gone this far in my life, there's no need to cry more. I fully knew this was going to happen.

Luckily, I didn't switch into some serial killer, so I guess I came out of this with a bonus...although it kind of hurts to know I still haven't had my first kiss.

I already knew that I burnt down a forest, it didn't have to remind me of that. Maybe there was something else I missed? I don't know.

THIRD PERSON

Now that things have settled, most of the group decided to take themselves back down to the basement. Seeing as how it was the newer area, Vanta's call was to get more information on the place, linking it to a possible escape.

Other than the now well-known escape through the wall, the participants now had to think outside the box. For all they knew, there could be yet another box outside the one they were in...but they could only assume.

"A machine of some kind, huh?" Vince scoffed lightly. "Yeah, I can try it."

Vanta's first idea; getting Vince to look at it. Seeing as how he was an escape artist, telling the Greninja to take a closer look wasn't too bad of an idea—especially if he was potentially trapped inside.

"Don't tell anyone what ya see, though...it's a secret." The frog flashed a small grin at the Umbreon before effortlessly slipping through the bars, almost as if his body could temporarily disintegrate into water.

"That's a neat trick." Vanta lightly scoffed in awe at the Greninja, walking forward to squint inside the machine. "Tell me if you see anything."

Before Vince could request a light, the Umbreon had already leaned forward and began shining the ring on his forehead. The light was slightly weaker than any other, but it did justice to the Greninja in his expedition.

"Yeh, just like Leon said...a bunch of crystals." Vince cleared his throat and poked at the coal below him. "There's...coal here?"

"Coal?" Vanta visibly grimaced at the word. "That's odd...what else do you see?"

"Woah, I mean...there's a shit ton of these memory gems here. Are you sure you don't want me to take a few?" Vince turned to the black fox at the gate.

"How are you going to get it through the door?" Vanta tilted his head.

"Eh? Oh, right." The Greninja chuckled lightly and backed away. "So we breakin' the door later or what?"

"Yup, probably need to get more people for that. You should probably get out of there." The Umbreon warned.

Vince nodded and stepped closer to the gate, mimicking the same trick he had done previously.

"Could you always just...turn into water? The whole time?" Vanta tilted his head in curiosity.

"Ehh, it's more like a thing I remembered. I don't do it naturally." The Greninja chuckled.

"Right." The black fox scoffed playfully and cleared his throat. "Then let's get to breaking this thing open."