NOTE: And so we come from one of the shortest chapters of the story thus far into…What has the potential to be among the longest? Maybe? Anyway, part #2s tend to be the bread and butter of these episodes, so hope ya'll enjoy what I've got cooking for 'ya coming up! Cause things are about to get wild.

Cast Reminder:

The Growling Oranguru- Absol, Druddigon, Espeon, Gloom, Granbull, Luxray, Samurott, Sneasel.

The Howling Passimian- Aggron, Cranidos, Dubwool, Gabite ("Fred"), Gengar, Scrafty, Shedinja, Skuntank.

Chapter #8

TPReboot: Total Drama Island - Episode #4

The Most Dangerous Game - Part #2

Groaning from where he laid in the cage, the low sound of a harmonica blew across the grass as Skuntank held a harsh glare. Seconds felt like minutes; minutes like hours. And he was just stuck here. Clueless to what he could do to pass the time, or if he even could with how utterly lifeless he felt right now. And his scowl only hardened at the sound of that damn music-

"Hey!" Skuntank spat, "Would you knock that off?!"

Nearby, Corsola looked up from the ground, a harmonica in hand, as she quickly hid it behind her with an awkward smile. "Sorry! Just…Passing the time!"

"Speaking of passing the time, you're probably feeling pretty drained right now, aren't you?" The voice of a certain host asked, as Skuntank watched the beaver walk back onto the scene. What was more shocking, however, was that he had brought something with him; a miniature television on wheels. Only, it looked to be straight out of the eighties at the very earliest.

"...Okay, what's with the relic?" Skuntank asked, a dull look on his face.

"Well, we just thought that since you blew it so early and all, we may as well give you something to do," Bidoof started, that usual smug smirk on his face as he brought up a remote, "so why not force you to watch the rest of your team struggle under the weight of your own mistake."

"You're a real jerk, you know that, right?" Skuntank asked with a glare.

"Coming from you, that's rich," Bidoof chuckled, clicking the button and walking away, "have fun~"

Though he sent the beaver a quick glare, he just as quickly allowed his gaze to turn to the television in question, as he watched a pair of familiar girls run through the forest…

"Come on, we can't lose 'em!" A voice screamed, Amoonguss pushing through the trees, his eyes glancing back and forth across the forest as he desperately searched for his targets.

Running up behind him, Sunflora belched out a hard breath, gasping, "F-Find anything?"

"Nothing! Dang it, no no, no- c'mon! They gotta be around here somewhere!" The mushroom spat, hopping forward further into the woods, his companion following after him.

"Wait for me!"

As the pair ran off into the forest, however, a small flash of light peered out from the bushes. A pair of eyes, one yellow and the other blue, were staring out through the leaves, the world around her invisible through her glare set upon the two wandering interns. And the moment they were out of sight, the light dissipated, and she stepped out, saying, "The coast is clear."

Popping out from the bushes soon after, Absol shook off some spare leaves and let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness; I really thought we were about to get caught."

"We probably would have if we didn't react as fast as we did," Luxray muttered, shaking her head and walking away, "Well, I'm off."

"Wait!" Absol started, jumping out and staring up at her teammate desperately. "You're just leaving? Can I come with you?"

"Uhhh…Look," Luxray started, turning back to her with an uneasy expression, "don't take this the wrong way, but…I think I'd rather fly solo." The dark-type's expression feel, as she explained, "I'm not saying I don't like the company or anything, but I'm probably the fastest person our team's got, and I don't need somebody slowing me down-" Catching herself, her eyes went wide a moment, "Er…Well…Uh-"

"O-Oh…Oh…I-I see," Absol muttered, her head hung low.

Knowing it was too late, the electric-type groaned, saying, "It's not like I hate you or anything, it's just…Well, this wouldn't work out," shaking her head, she then took off into a sprint, calling back, "see you after the challenge, alright?"

...Y-Yeah, after…The challenge…Right," Absol nodded, sending a pathetic wave the lioness' way as she disappeared among the trees…Then sighing, "great…"

"I like Absol…Kind of. If nothing else she seems fine," Luxray started, "but come on, you've all seen her. Whenever it's most inconvenient, something bad always happens either to her, or those around her. I can't have that slowing me down."

"And besides…" Plucking a certain paper out of her fur, she sighed, "...I still gotta read this thing, and…You know, actually try to find it. I don't like how I got my hands on it, but an advantage wouldn't suck to have right now, especially cause I don't really know where I stand with everybody as of late, especially knowing Sneasel voted me last night."

"So…Best case scenario, I find it while I'm running around, and boom, guaranteed safety in the game," she explained, seemingly more to herself than anything, "and worst case scenario…Well, there's always the rest of the Summer to find it, right?"

Gengar didn't know how long it had been since he had last seen Gabite; an hour? Maybe two? Maybe three, or four, or five- no, not five. The sun hasn't moved. That's good, right? It hasn't been that long then, right? That's how time works. So he's fine. He's good, he's chill, he's all safe and sound and alert and fine and-

So alone!

Rubbing his temples, Gengar let out a series of heavy breaths, whispering to himself, "You're okay...You're alright...No need to panic...Gabite's probably fine. Maybe she's just lost! During a challenge! Where people are hunting us! That's fine! She's fine! I'm fine...

He came to a sudden stop, the ghost-type hanging his head. "I'm so screwed."

As if on cue, Gengar heard the snap of a branch. Spinning on his legs, he looked out at the trees. "...Hello?" He whispered. "Is...Anybody there? ...Gabite?"

No response...No sound at all, in fact. Gengar could feel his eyes playing tricks on him; it almost looked as if...As if the trees were moving. They were growing taller than the sky, the overhanging leaves in an instant seemingly having swamped the forest in the complete darkness. Only two rays of light shined through; one directly onto Gengar, a spotlight revealing him to all around. And the other...Into the woods...The dark, endless woods...

And between the trees...Gengar saw the forest staring back. In the form of a single, round, red eye.

Paling, Gengar took a step back, and the moment he saw the eye grow closer in return, broke into a sprint. With a scream he was running as fast as he could, deeper into the dense logs spiraling into the sky, their long wooden trunks penetrating the ground forming walls all around him that almost felt as if they were closing in more and more. With each gasp for air he could feel breathing on his neck. His eyes darted in all directions, only to reveal what looked to be the looming shadows of the trees turning toward him.

This was it! This was the end! He had come back to find him, to end him! All he could do was plead and cry as utter hopelessness consumed him in a matter of moments, his eyes clamping shut as he screamed out, "Somebody help-"

And as soon as he said that, someone grabbed onto his arm. And pulled.

In an instant, Gengar felt his weight get thrown backward into a bush, a pair of arms pulling him deeper inside as a hush of silence rang into his ear and a hand clasped itself around his massive maw. "Shhhhhh," they whispered, "stay quiet."

Gengar's eyes were still darting back and forth...But for a moment, he stopped. And he simply stared ahead.

The darkness was gone; it was just a normal forest, Summer leaves blowing with the wind. They weren't as cramped as he had thought; in fact, they were pretty spread apart all things considered. But...But that monster, where was it-

Then something breached out of the woods and ran into the clearing...A massive, moving tree, with a single red eye. And just like that, Gengar's body relaxed. "Oh...It was just that intern...Not that psycho..."

The Trevenant growled, shaking his head and grumbling, "Where'd he go?" With a snarl, he backed up back into the woods, and oddly within moments had completely blended in with them; at least now Gengar knew where not to go.

The figure's grasp over him gave way, and Gengar leaned forward. Releasing a breath, he smiled. "Man...Thanks, I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't-"

"Ah, ah, ah, friend, there's no need for thanks," they interrupted, Gengar raising a brow as he looked them over...And was taken aback by the sight of a certain fighting-type lizard, "we're teammates after all..."

Scrafty's grin widened as he looked the ghost over. "I will say, however, I don't believe we've spoken since the elimination. And seeing how I voted for you...I propose we start over." Holding out a hand, he asked, "What do you say?"

Gengar was left stunned, stuck in a bush with a reptile effectively holding him socially hostage. Glancing back and forth, his gaze settled on the hand, as he desperately tried to gulp down the fear that had reignited within himself.

"Hurry up," Gloom grumbled, his slouched form hobbling across the dirty path before him, "if I'm outpacing you freaks, you're going too slow."

Hearing this, Espeon's brow twitched somewhat, an oddly displaced glare on his face as he narrowed his eyes at the irritating weed. Beside him, Gabite held her head low, her whole body shaking to its core as she eyed something…The puppet in Gloom's hand.

"Stop staring at it," Gabite flinched, turning to Espeon, who held his glare on their "leader" in front of them as he continued with, "it won't suddenly materialize in your hands if you hope hard enough, so stop with the creepy looks."

"...I-It's just…T-This is the longest I've gone w-without him!" Gabite defended herself, trying to not stare at the psychic as his head perked. "...H-He's better with people t-than me."

"Aren't you the same?" He asked. Gabite couldn't help but notice that, based on his tone, the question wasn't out of any sort of sincerity, but rather honest curiosity. "How can he be better when you're sharing the same head?"

"...Y-You wouldn't understand…" She weakly defended.

Espeon scoffed, rolling his eyes as he muttered, "Not with that attitude…" As soon as those words left his mouth, though, he noticed Gloom had seemingly come to a stop. Raising a brow, he asked, "Hey, Slobber, you all there in the head right now? Why'd we stop?"

"...I've got to do something really quick," he grumbled. His companions gave him odd looks at this, as he quickly explained, "just gotta take a leak, that's all." He ran off rather abruptly into the woods, saying, "Be back in a minute."

While he walked away, Gabite shook to herself, muttering, "P-Please tell me he'll put Fred down before he does anything-"

"He was lying."

Gabite flinched for a second time, looking up at Espeon, his glare having hardened. "His tone was off. His leg shuddered to the right; possible give-away. Ran off a bit too quick, didn't want to give us too long to think about it. He was spewing nothing but bull."

"...H-How do you know that?" Gabite asked.

This time, it was Espeon's turn to flinch, his body stiffening as he forced a cough then looked off. "Well, duh…Psychic! Obviously…We know stuff like this."

It was silent after that, the two not looking each other in the eye, for their own reasons of course. But Espeon held his stare at the woods. After a minute or two had passed, Gloom had returned, no longer carrying those supposed "give-aways" as Espeon had called them, which only made him more suspicious of the mysterious man's activity.

"Alright, we're moving out. If we want to get our little errands done in time before the end of the challenge, we gotta make our way over the east edge of the island." Gloom explained, already walking off. "Come on, don't dilly-dally. I ain't waiting, so keep up!"

Like that, the two followed after, Espeon's focus now firmly on their wannabe leader. Specifically, on if there were any significant changes in how he held himself…

"W-Wait…Hold up," Gengar stuttered, taking a step back and sitting down on a log, asking, "you want a what?"

"A partnership; a mutually beneficial one at that." Scrafty explained. "You scratch my back, I scratch yours; that sort of thing. We keep an eye on each other for the rest of the foreseeable competition, and make sure if one of us is ever in danger, we take the appropriate actions to…Ensure our place at the table, if you will."

"Uhhhhhh…Okay?" Gengar nodded, his gaze shifting back and forth. "But…W-Why me? Y-You voted for me last time, so what's up with that?!"

"Please, everybody was going to vote for you in case you forgot," Scrafty stated firmly, causing the ghost to cringe, "the only thing that saved you was Staravia making herself an easier target. I shouldn't be looked down on for simply sticking to a plan that all associated parties had agreed to."

"...I-I…I-I guess," Gengar whispered.

"And besides, that was then, this is now," Scrafty continued, "and all I'm offering is a little bit of safety in these…Unpredictable times. How bad could that be?"

Scrafty couldn't help but notice, however, Gengar's…Peculiar reactions to his words. Gengar wouldn't meet his eyes. His hands were shaking, tapping at his knees repeatedly, his legs doing the same with the ground. There even looked to be drops of plasma running down his cheek, not dissimilar to sweat.

"...Unless of course, for whatever reason," Scrafty continued, leaning forward, catching the ghost off-guard as the reptile moved closer and closer, "you're intimidated by me, Gengar…But that's not true, is it?"

"...N-Nope! No, we're good!" Gengar nodded in a panic.

"Great!" Leaning back, the reptile smiled warmly, "Then there shouldn't be any problem in getting you to meet me after the challenge."

"W-Wait, huh?! What do you-" Gengar started, his eyes wide in shock.

But it was too late; Scrafty had already taken his answer and made off with it, running off into the forest. "Alright, seeya then, Gengar! Try not to get caught in the meantime!"

Alone again (naturally), Gengar stood up from his seat…And promptly heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness he's gone…I'd have almost preferred the Trevenant…" Shaking his head, he whimpered to himself, saying, "B-But now he expects me to see him afterward! And what do I do, blow him off?! We live in the same cabin, that won't work! But…I don't…"

Screaming, he smacked himself in the head. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! It's my own stupid head that gets me into these messes in the first place…"

Groaning, he lowered his body, stomping forward into the opposite set of trees, and saying, "Least it can't get any worse again…"

As he said this though, he didn't even seem to notice as a vine, strewn across the ground…Twitched, then began to slither across it, following after the ghost in silence.

"Your position is key as you stare straight at me," Luxray read to herself in a muffled tone, her body body crouched as low to the ground as she could be. The bottom of the paper was in her teeth, being angled up awkwardly to face her eyes, as she slowly read the note with great difficulty…

…Unaware she had just stepped over a vine, that twitched, then shrunk back into the darkness of the forest.

"One way I'm a clue, the other just trees," she continued, her eyes wandering the paper, "X marks the spot, below is the plot. Where the treasure you seek is not buried too deep."

Her glare narrowed at the last bit, really trying to focus as hard as she could on the last, most difficult to read section of the note, "Immunity resides where wood and soil collide. The idol is there to take into your care…"

Spitting the paper out, she shook her tongue trying to get the harsh taste out of her mouth, as she growled, "Just a bunch of nonsense. How the Hell is this supposed to help me?"

"Figure that out on your own time, cause you sure as heck just helped us!"

Luxray paled, looking back…And watching as two interns, Simisage and Carnivine, walked up to her, paintball guns in hand.

"W-What- how'd you even find me?!" Luxray spat, taking a few steps back as she quickly cradled the paper in her mane with a paw.

Simisage shrugged, "Heard it through the grape vine," he held up his gun, "now…Smile."

As paint discharged from the gun, Luxray had only a matter of moments to react, as she ducked under a shot and dodged to the right of the other, her lightning-quick speed taking the pair of interns by surprise as she just as suddenly sprinted away, running as fast as she could into the dense wilderness.

"After her!" Simisage screamed, pointing forward as he and Carnivine gave chase.

Luxray didn't have time to think as she sprinted through the trees, ducking and weaving between them as fast as she could, creating lines of light that lingered for moments after as she ran across the ground.

Not far behind, Simisage and Carnivine tried desperately to keep up, sweat running down their faces and consideration out the door as they sprinted forward-

"Move, Kyle!" Simisage spat, throwing his hand forward and smacking it against a camera, throwing a poor cameraman out of the way and into a bush as he and Carnivine broke into a clearing.

"Shit, shit, shit, where'd she go?!" Simisage screamed in frustration.

"I don't know, Moe, she's too dang fast!" Carnivine admitted, his voice similarly full of desperation as Simisage threw his head back with a groan.

The venus flytrap continued to scan his environment, though, until he spotted it; twinkles of light, still lingering from the lioness' path. In fact, they were lingering in two different directions, one left and the other right, both possibly having floated off-course from the wind.

"We got a lead, Moe!" Carnivine cheered.

"Thank God!" Simisage cheered back, before grabbing his fellow plant and pulling him close. "We ain't losing this one; you go left, I'm right!"

"Got it!"

The two exchanged a nod and gave chase once more, breaking apart and running down their separate paths as they ran into a darker stretch of the forest. But when there was no light from above, it only made the light in the distance stand out that little bit more, shimmers of light still hovering from the run, bits of electricity falling off them.

Carnivine heaved and hollered as he pushed through, spitting, "I'mma get you! Get you I say, gosh darnit, I will!"

His leafy appendages he could feel growing weaker as they held tight to his gun, his eyes narrowing as he pushed forward regardless. He saw even more light, some straight through a narrow section of total darkness. "'Ya can't hide from me, 'ya hear! Yeeeeeeeee-"

As he ran into it though, he found himself wrapped in something. He yelped, trying to pull back, only for whatever it was to tighten around him, leaves and branches catching hold as realized; he had been caught in a web of stems, screaming out as they wrapped him around more and more. "Wait! No, no, no! Noooooooooooooooo-"

His scream echoed through the trees, Simisage's run holding strong as he ran as fast as he could. The light was in view, and then- a ray of electricity, as he watched her sprint right past him.

"There you are!" Simisage boasted confidently, holding up his gun and letting loose some shots into the darkness. No impacts, on flesh anyway, as he held forward.

Light just began to enter his view again as the leaves above allowed the sun to shimmer through. And for another moment, he caught it; a view of a mane of golden fur. Just as it slipped through a pair of trees-

That were coming up way too fast!

His eyes went wide, Simisage trying to tuck and roll to stop himself from running right into the oncoming logs, only to do so just a moment too late. He hit the ground, but his leg sprang up, smashing into the tree. His pupils shrank, and as loud as an Exploud, he screamed out in pain into the void of trees all around him.

"Gah! Ow, why?!" Simisage asked to whoever was listening, whimpering, "That was the leg with a sprained muscle, dammit!"

As he whined on the ground, Carnivine reemerged from the forest, spitting up some leaves and still utterly wrapped up in stems as he looked all around, then down at his fallen comrade. "Where'd she go?!"

"Through there…Just…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" Simisage started to scream once more as Carnivine raced through the opening.

Luxray just had to keep at it; ducking and weaving, ducking and weaving, over and over as she ran through a hollow log, popping out the other side as she ran through the trees.

"God, it's no use! No matter how much faster I am than those bozos, they probably know this forest better than me!" She thought. "Just have to keep running. Can't give them the chance to-"

As soon as she thought this though, she saw it; a small cliffside up toward a small hill…In front of her. It had been hidden well by a veil of trees. She was up against a wall…Cornered.

And then, she heard the snap of twigs, something behind her.

"...Catch up."

"Well, there we go…" With a groan, Luxray looked behind her to see Carnivine, stomping up to her with a proud look on his face. "Kitty's got claws and gave a good chase, but your time is up!"

He held up his gun, and looked down the sights as she glanced off, side to side. "Any last words, girly?"

Luxray glanced around one last time, breathed in, and nodded, "Yeah…" She tilted her head. "Was there always an Ursaring behind you?"

Carnivine's eyes went wide, as he shifted on a dime and held out his gun, "What-"

And like that, Luxray bounded forward and smacked said gun away, throwing her weight against the plant and slamming him against a tree. He gagged, his breathing harsh as he stared at the girl in horror as she held him back, a smile on her face. "Really? You seriously fell for that?"

"Bears are dangerous!" Carnivine defended.

"Oh, trust me, I know that first hand." She nodded. "Now, this was fun, but I really gotta go-"

But…Then, Luxray felt it. A vine, wrapping itself around her leg. And…The other. Two vines, then three, all wrapped around her open appendages. She only had enough to time to gasp as they suddenly tugged back on her, pulling her away and up into the air in an instant. "What- no!"

Luxray looked over herself, and sure enough, three vines wrapped around three of her limbs. She was suspended in air. She tried to squirm in their grip but they just tightened, as she scanned the area in horror. "Wha- what?! How the Hell-"

"Oooof…Dang, she almost knocked out my clock!" Carnivine said, pushing himself up and grabbing his gun, before taking aim at Luxray. "Anyway…You're out, girl!"

"W-Wait, I-"

All it took was a few shots to silence her, her eyes fogging over into unconscious as she fell into slumber, still suspended by the vines...Till they moved, lowering her toward the ground and gently laying her there. And then, in an instant, they slithered away into the trees.

Simisage grumbled as he stomped up to his partner, the pair exchanging a glance…Then fistbumping. "Nice," the monkey grunted, "you do this alone?"

"Eh, got some help," Carnivine admitted, "...From the grapevine."

The two exchanged a knowing smile.

Vines slithered through the forest, slinking and twisting around the trees, as they made their way home…In the form of a massive, half-reptilian plant-like monster, his eyes half-open and maw agape as hundreds of vines sprouted out from his flowered back. Said vines soon spread apart, the intern's body shaking, as he smiled to himself.

"We have eliminated Luxray," Venusaur said aloud to nobody but himself, and yet, his vines shook from his words, widening and, seemingly spreading apart as hollow messages flowed from them, "proceed…"

The vines tapered off, desperate to find their next victim…

"Y-You know…Maybe being alone isn't so bad," Absol muttered to herself, only accompanied by the sounds of nature as she walked on through the woods, "I mean…S-Sure, it's lonely…But that's nothing I'm not already used to…"

"A-And hey! At least I get to take in nature!" She said, looking up one of the nearby trees, where her eyes landed upon the sight of a small bird's nest. Sitting up from it, a Pidove shook itself off, staring off awkwardly as it groomed itself with its wings. "Dwaaaaaaaaaa-"

And then suddenly a Noctowl descended, scooped up the small bird in the blink of an eye, and zoomed off without a scratch.

Absol's expression was left uneasy, unsure how to react…Before mumbling, "...S-Sometimes I forget how scary you are, nature…"

Continuing forward, she cringed at a sudden scream of frustration, a voice screaming, "Crap! Get out you stupid…Gah!"

Looking up, the dark-type slunk forward, slowly and quietly, peeking out over a hill to see…

Aggron, of all people, only his foot looked to be lodged in the top hole of a hollowed out log. He was throwing it all around, spitting, "C'mon! I am not dealing with you all day, so get the Hell off!"

Absol kept watching for a time as the steel-type struggled with the simple annoyance…Until she finally spoke up, "Uhhhh…Hello?" Aggron perked up his head, turning toward her- where he froze at the sight of her. "I-If you want, I can help you with that-"

She yelped as suddenly the log (at least a majority of it) went flying over her head, as she quickly ducked back and ran off. "Okay, sorry for bothering you, byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-"

Aggron breathed heavy, his whole body shaking in mild panic, as he looked back down…And saw some of the log still loosely hanging off his foot. Groaning, he kicked the bits away that were left, mumbling, "That's better…"

"I don't talk to the losers on the other team; ain't gonna let them psyche me out, you know?" Aggron started. "But I ain't blind; I know wherever that freak goes, something bad happens, and I ain't dealing with that crap today."

Scoffing, he leaned back, "She can go ruin somebody else's chances at winning for all I care. Hopefully somebody on her own team, though."

Aggron huffed, starting to stomp away- only to jump a bit at the sight of Cranidos, just having ran into his small clearing from the woods.

"Hey, you good?" The rock-type started. "I heard all the screaming and thought-"

"The Hell- I told you to stick to yourself, Runt!" Aggron spat. "Our whole advantage is that our strongest players fan out so we don't get taken out!"

Scoffing, Cranidos rolled his eyes. "Oh gee, sorry my brilliant leader for making sure you weren't dying or some shit. That's totally on me."

"The Hell is with all the sass?!"

"Cause you're giving me nothing but sass back, smart guy!"

Biting his tongue, Aggron shook his head and took off into a jog, spitting, "You're lucky I don't slam you into the ground, Runt!"

"Oh, I'd like to see you try, tough guy!" Cranidos spat back, chasing after the aggressive, armored man.

Bidoof's keys jingled as they clicked, locking the player cage as he took a step back with a smirk. "There we go- welcome to the Loser Zone, Luxray."

The titular electric-type was holding a frown like a weapon, her harsh stare being enough to ward the host off with time as she let out a groan. "Just perfect…"

Taking a step back, Luxray looked over the cage…Where her eyes fell upon the figure of Skuntank, his body slumped against the bars as he yawned to himself. She stared for a moment, before breathing in.

"Look, I'm not pretending to like the guy, but I know when I'm in the wrong, and…Yeah, I was too harsh toward Skuntank the other guy," Luxray admitted, "I mean sure his constant attitude is a serious pet peeve of mine, but…He's probably harmless, and I was sick the other day when I just sorta took out my frustration on him. And he didn't deserve that."

"If I'm already out, may as well at least try to bury the hatchet, right?"

"Hey…Uh," Luxray started, walking up to the disinterested poison-type with a forced smile, "sorry about all that crap the other day."

"Uh-huh." He nodded passively.

"I was in a pretty crappy mood, and I lashed out, and that wasn't okay," she continued, "I know you probably weren't actually trying to get a rise out of me."

"Oh. Yeah. Totally." He continued to nod.

"So yeah, I just wanted to say- …Wait, are you even listening?" Luxray asked.

"Uh-huh. Yeah. Totally- Ow!" Skuntank cringed at the feeling of a light tap against the head, standing up and asking, "The heck was that for."

"Unbelievable…I'm here trying to be the bigger person and you can't even give me the time of day to listen for a minute?"

Scoffing, the skunk rolled his eyes. "And what, we just pretend we're cool afterward? Please, I ain't about to fake how I feel about you for the whole Summer so you can have this sort of pretend satisfaction about the whole thing."

A glare formed over her. "I was trying to be nice."

"No, you were trying to lie to my face," Skuntank countered, "face it, we're like exact opposites. Ain't nothing you try to say gonna make up for that fact, and as long as that's true I doubt we'll exactly be on speaking terms."

"...You know what, whatever," Luxray shook her head, stomping away to the opposite side of the cage, "at least nobody can say I didn't try."

Taken aback at her abrupt exit from the conversation, Skuntank blinked, then nodded, "Uh…Yeah. Whatever…Jerk…" He stood there unsure how to react, peering through the cage again, before groaning and sitting down.

Walking through an overgrowth of bushes, Granbull and Sneasel walked in step, bored looks on their faces as the latter groaned. "Dude, nature sucks."

"I know," Granbull nodded with similar apathy, "no air conditioning, no fizzy drinks, no mall-"

"No girls," Sneasel continued in her head, as she stared at her friend…And felt a small blush and a smile come on, "...Besides you…"

"No parties, no sales, no sunscreen, no bugspray," Granbull finished the last part by smacking at the air, groaning and turning to her friend, "I really don't know how Samurott does it."

"Huh?" Sneasel snapped herself out of her daze, and quickly nodded. "Oh, yeah, dude's a total machine. Something's gotta be up with his head or something."

"Yeah, maybe…"

The two fell into silence.

"S-So!" Sneasel jumped back in, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "You uh…Have a boyfriend back home?"

"O-Oh!" Granbull's face turned a faint red, letting out a small whistle, "Uh…I mean, I did! But that was forever ago, y'know? And we don't even really talk these days cause I don't really like his new girlfriend, cause she's got this totally nasty way of talking about others and it really irks me and-" She blinked. "...And she'll probably be watching this."

The pair exchanged a cringe…Then promptly broke down laughing, the two holding large grins as they simply let relief wash over them.

"C-Cool…" Sneasel nodded along, though after a moment, her laughter ceased…And she continued with, "S-So…No boyfriend…But uh…" Her face turned an even deeper red. "H-How about…A girlfri-"

"Wait…" Granbull interrupted, the two standing straight. "...Did you hear that?"

The two looked around their surroundings a moment…Silence…Utter silence…

Sneasel's eyes wavered a moment, getting caught on Granbull once again, her eyes going wide as she looked her over, as her body shook anxiously. Cold sweat ran down the side of her face, as she let out a heavy breath and clenched a fist. "Y'know…I…Granbull, can we maybe-"

Then, it shot off, and the weasel's eyes went wide. A ball, flying through the air, straight at the two.

"Look out!" Sneasel screamed, jumping forward and pushing Granbull outta the way and onto the ground, as it impacted her arm. She prepared to scream…Only to feel nothing, she looked down to see…A little bit of frostbite lingering. "Oh, sweet! That wasn't too bad."

"Ow…" Granbull groaned, pushing herself back up, "What was that- wait," she blinked, looking over the shot, "where'd that." She froze…Then screamed, "Run!"

The two started running to the beat of several more shots firing, trails of paint flying through the air after the pair as a certain mushroom stepped out from the grass, cackling to himself.

"Y-Yeah! Run, run from me!" Shiinotic screamed, his laughter hanging over the forest like a tarp.

The two girls just kept running as fast as their legs could carry them, their eyes focused ahead as paint soured over their heads, neither willing to look back.

"Just keep running!" Granbull screamed.

"I-I'm trying, dude! I ain't used to all this cardio, you dig?!" Sneasel called back, just as a flash of brown fell over her.

Granbull broke out from the trees, jumping away from them and hopping into a bush in a panic. Holding herself, she tried to control herself. "Don't freak out! You need to calm down!" She told herself, still shaking in fear…

Shiinotic similarly exited the forest, looking around a moment…Before just as quickly giving up. "Awwww poopy…Oh well!" With a whistle, he ran right back into the trees.

As his voice became fainter by the moment, Granbull popped back out, sighing as she wiped her brow. "Thank God…You okay too, Sneasel-"

She turned to where she expected the ice-type to be…Only to see nothing. "...Sneasel?"

Little did she know, Sawsbuck stomped through the forest, his brown fur shimmering in from the occasional shimmer of light above…Which also shined down to reveal Sneasel, caught up on his horns groaning…

"Woah man, I don't even know what happened," Sneasel started, rubbing her head awkwardly, "but like, one moment I was with Granbull, and the next, boom, I got hit by like…A truck or something? Then I woke up in this cage…"

Forcing a laugh, she said, "Today's been really weird so far." As she laughed though, eventually her gaze turned to the floor, a sort of disappointment flooding over her…

"Man, I can't believe we actually bagged that girl!" Carnivine bragged, him and his monkey laughing to themselves as they walked along a path.

"I know, right?" Simisage continued, throwing on a mocking tone as he waved his hands about, "I guess 'Mrs. Tough' ain't so tough. Such a wannabe."

"Yeah, but who can blame her when she's up against some top-game dudes like us, am I right?" Carnivine replied, nudging his pal's shoulder as the two laughed some more, walking down the path full of self-importance.

As soon as they were out of sight though…Popping out of the bush came Espeon, who held an unimpressed stare. "Wow. Never thought you could feel smugness, but here we are, I guess." Stepping out from his hiding spot, with Gabite and an oddly apathetic Gloom in tow, he asked, "So great leader, what's the plan? We gonna keep running around like chickens with our heads cut off all day?"

"If you weren't constantly badgering me, maybe I'd have time to work one out," Gloom grumbled, ignoring Espeon as he rolled his eyes…

Though, Espeon noticed something. Gloom, now staring at a certain vine…But it was oddly shaped. Bulbed at the end, long and narrow, with no creases or anything…And he was just looking at it, as it pried itself open and seemed to let out a course whisper he couldn't understand. Espeon was about ready to high-tail it from there, but…He watched as it did nothing…

In fact, Gloom's stare remained on the vine, as he…Nodded to himself? Was…Was he trying to listen to it? The Hell is that about…

"...Further North from here, and we should manage to cut him off." Gloom stated, walking forward once more.

Gabite quickly followed after, though Espeon lingered a moment, asking, "You know, I just realized; I don't think you've looked worried even once while we've been out here."

"I know what I'm capable of. I'm not worried," Gloom quickly explained.

"...Uh huh," Espeon nodded, turning back to the vine-

To see it had disappeared.

Espeon flinched back, horror peeking out as he nervously glanced around a moment.

"E-Espeon?" He turned to see Gabite had stopped, waiting for him. "...Y-You're not leaving are you?"

"...Uh…Nah," Espeon shook his head, walking after the pair once more as he kept looking all around, "nah, I'm coming. Just…Needed a second."

Gabite stared through the psychic, following after Gloom as Espeon trailed behind, the psychic's gaze still getting caught on the scenery for…His own reasons…

Druddigon hadn't left the air since his initial take off. For most of the day thus far he had lingered above, watching the ground with a dull look, unsure what to focus on, if anything.

"Everybody wants to fly, but people usually forget just how little there actually is to see from this high up…" He thought to himself, yawning into an open palm as he scanned the ground boredly.

Then he saw it; a blue blur, as it quickly jumped from tree to tree. Druddigon rose a brow. "The Hell?"

Lowering himself slightly, the dragon narrowed his eyes and followed the strange image; whatever it was traversing the trees from above, effortlessly at that. And they were quick; he could barely even keep up watching them, he had no idea somebody could do it on the ground. But as he watched, he blinked, then suddenly-

They had disappeared.

Shocked, Druddigon fluttered down even more, landing on the ground with a small thud. He looked around, and tried passively remembering to think if any of the interns had been the color he had seen above. After a moment of looking around, he asked aloud, "Uh…Hey? Anybody there?"

No response. Not that he was shocked. He groaned. "Look, I ain't here to pick a fight. Just saw your moves is all…"

Again, nothing. Shrugging, Druddigon said, "Alright. Whatever." Prepping himself, he was about to take flight once more-

Only to hear a sort of whimper nearby. Smirking to himself, he allowed himself the time to continue prepping, the loud tear of his wings through the air effortlessly blanketing all nearby sound…Except for Druddigon, who kept his ears at the ready, listening for a point of origin…

Until he found it.

Twisting on a dime, Druddigon turned to face the intruder with a snarl, holding up his claw, prepared to strike whoever had found him-

"Ah! Wait, mercy! Please!"

Cringing, Druddigon looked down…And saw Gengar. The guy who had made that whole scene at the dock about him on the first day.

"Oh, it's just you," the dragon grumbled.

"Y-Yeah! Just me! No need to hurt me or anything!" Gengar begged, holding out his arms defensively.

"Relax. I wasn't going to actually hurt you." Druddigon explained, turning away and actually prepping his wings this time.

"...O-Oh! Hah…O-Okay. Got it." Gengar let out a false sigh of relief, still obviously nervous as he fell back against a tree and said, "S-Sorry…I'm on edge."

"You're always on edge," Druddigon stated…Then heard nothing back. "...Gengar?"

Turning around, Druddigon prepared to see the ghost simply having gotten lost in their thoughts or something- only to pale at the sight of Trevenant, a hand over Gengar's mouth, his massive figure blending in with the trees as he held a smile.

"Boo."

Druddigon's eyes went wide, as he quickly tried to take to the sky, only to gasp as a claw slashed across his back, sending him spiraling into the ground. Tumbling forward, he groaned, looking up to see the intern approaching.

"Well, look at that." The tree started, before pulling up the arm that held Gengar, and smashing the ghost face-first into the ground. Gengar twitched, then went still, unconscious. His first prey incapacitated, Trevenant stomped forward, pulling out his paintgun. "I got myself a two for one special."

Druddigon, though scratched from the attack, barred his teeth, ready to brawl, as Trevenant took aim. He shot off a couple shots-

Just as a blur of blue flew across the ground, grabbing hold of the dragon and, just as quickly as they had appeared, they disappeared among the brush of the forest. Trevenant staggered back, turning both ways in shock. "The Hell?!"

His eyes still wide, Druddigon tried to speak but could feel himself getting dragged across the ground, his mouth gasping for air with each passing moment as his body rolled across it in pain. After a few moments it almost felt like she had gone numb.

And like that, he felt a tug, than a throw, getting pushed up against a rock with a grunt. Groaning, he looked up…

And saw Samurott, stoic demeanor and all, staring down at the dragon with a harsh glare.

Druddigon could feel his blood running cold. "...O-Oh…S-Samurott…T-Thanks for the help-" However, he cut himself off at Samurott's harsh glare, shrinking back as the water-type leaned forward.

"We need to talk. Now."

Holding a finger up to the sky, Aggron felt a light breeze pass against it, as he allowed a smirk to form, before pointing forward. "This way, Runt."

"Stop calling me that," Cranidos grumbled to himself, clearly fed up with this whole situation as he lazily followed after the brute, "and why're we going this way anyway?"

"Cause the camp's north from here," Aggron stated, as if it were obvious what he were getting at, "and usually wind seems to blow to the south around here. So, further away we are from camp, the better."

"I doubt that's how the wind works," the rock-type rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well come up with a better plan and maybe we'll try it, but I ain't hearing anything, so I'm in charge," Aggron spat.

Scowling, Cranidos said, "You know, I was hoping after the other day you'd actually start acknowledging what I bring to this team, but you're still a royal prick." Turning around, the dinosaur started to stomp off.

Aggron looked back, calling, "Hey! Where the Hell are you going?!"

"Anywhere but here, that's where!" He spat back.

"You can't just leave now! You'll probably just get yourself caught," Aggron screamed back.

"Yeah, well I'll take a paintball at this rate instead of spending time with you!"

Growling, the steel-type threw up his arms, "Fine! Whatever, lose the challenge for us, it just proves my point!" Huffing, Aggron stomped ahead once more-

And heard a branch snap.

Scoffing, he turned around, "You change your mind already, Runt-" Only to be met with a paintgun…Pointed at his face.

Shocked, Aggron could only stare in silent defeat, his eyes wavering as he looked over the one holding him up…Machoke. He hadn't even seen him coming…

Smirking, Machoke said, "Sorry amigo, game over!"

And then shot.

"Bullshit!" Aggron screamed to the high heavens, letting loose a roar as he started hitting the wall over and over, until he slammed his whole fist through it. Barring his teeth, he used his free hand to point at the camera. "That guy doesn't know who he just messed with…Nobody makes a fool out of me-"

The confessional abruptly cut off.

Pushing a massive leaf about the size of her body out of the way, Granbull stomped out into the clearing, her head hung low as she looked over her surroundings in worry. "Okay…Sneasel's gone…That's okay-"

Shaking her head, she muttered, "Okay, no, it isn't. I just…I can't panic! It's up to me to win this thing…I need to show everybody what I can do…"

Groaning, she whispered, "Why couldn't this show have just taken place at a resort like it said? I could be hiding in a sauna right now, sipping on a peach smoothie and watching the latest episode of the Rich Wives of Nimbasa City…Instead I'm here. In the woods…Muddy," she wiped off some of the dried mud stuck to her fur, "covered in sticks," she pried a particularly stuck branch out soon after, "and tired of being stuck out in the middle of nowhere-"

And like that, she tripped over her own feet, hitting the ground and smashing her face in a puddle of water. She pulled herself out, her face now dripping…As tears welled up in her eyes. She looked over herself in her reflection…And only saw something sad, and pathetic…

"...I'm so sick of this…Of this forest, of nature, of this game, I…" she whispered, holding herself close, "...I want to go home…"

As she held herself…She heard a crash. A loud one; practically like an explosion. She looked up in horror, watching as a tree fell to the earth in the distance…Than another. And another. Over and over, they fell to the ground. And based on how whatever was doing this was moving, they were coming toward her…

Shaking in fear, Granbull got to her feet and took off, running even deeper into the forest, unwilling to let whatever that was catch up to her…

And moments after, it jumped out into the clearing she once stood in…And they were Dubwool, their wool covered in branches and mud, and her face bruised, as she held a massive ol' grin. Cackling, she spat, "Ten in a row! Ha! Take that nature, you ain't so tough!"

Laughing, she leaped forward, landing in a puddle with a carefree smile, rolling around in it happlessly as she stared up at the sky above…

"Man, I ain't gotten nothing to do this whole time!" Dubwool groaned. "I ain't seen nobody! So I started playing games with myself to keep me occupied; turns out ramming ten trees down in one sprint wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be!"

Breaking into a fit of laughter, she was seemingly oblivious to the confessional's utterly ransacked, broken condition as a result of a certain steel-type's temper tantrum…

Machoke grunted as he tied the last knot, wiping his brow of sweat as he stared down at his handiwork; a still unconscious Aggron, tied up in rope. Smiling to himself, he brought up his radio and said, "Heyo! How's the hunt going?"

"Four have been bagged and brought back to camp so far, sir."

"You can make that five! Aggron's all tied up and ready to go near Sector V," Machoke confirmed with a grin.

"Woah. Seriously, Aggron? Dang…Didn't think he'd get out this soon."

"Well, you must learn not to underestimate yourselves, or me," Machoke nodded, picking his gun back up and beginning to walk away, "make sure to grab him before he wakes up. I'm going back on the hunt."

"Alright. After anyone in particular?"

"Not particularly, my friend…But I will say," Machoke came to a stop after a moment, watching the leaves sway in the wind, as he smirked, "I wouldn't mind taking down someone with a little bit of a…Natural advantage out here…"

Druddigon had never felt more uncomfortable in his life than in this moment. Here he was, seated on a rock, Samurott looking him over with a harsh glare, expecting something from him but he didn't know what. All he knew, was he really didn't want to be there right now…

"...So…What do you need to talk about?" Druddigon asked.

"What's your problem with Gloom," Samurott stated, his shocking bluntness catching the dragon by surprise as he froze up, "you're twice his size; your claws alone are the width of half his body. So why cower away from him? Why let him control you?" He scowled harshly. "I need answers…Now."

Druddigon desperately wanted to escape this situation; leave it all right here and get out before he has to confront this…But he knew Samurott. He could probably outspeed him. And something told Druddigon that he wouldn't exactly respond well to the escape attempt…

Sighing…He started, "...I live Lumiose…In Kalos…And well…So does Gloom." Samurott rose a brow in alarm, as Druddigon reluctantly continued, "I've known him for a long while…And I think he knows me too. And…I need you to trust me, he's bad news, we shouldn't mess with him-"

"Why?" Samurott growled, narrowing his glare.

"Because…He…He's the leader…Of the most dangerous gang in town." Druddigon stated.

SIlence fell over the two, Samurott stunned…

"...Most know him as the priest of the local church, not that he's there much. Most find him drinking in the pub more often than not, and when he was done he'd throw around some prayers than head right back to that same bar…Over and over…But he's more than that. And everybody knows it…"

"He smuggles wine across regions for high prices. He controls territory and all the small businesses in them with 'protection'. He keeps people in line and if you fall out of it, you'd regret it…So many people work for him, they know him. They fear him…I fear him…"

Placing his head in his hands, Druddigon clenched his jaw, growling, "Me and my family live on the other side of town, so we're usually fine, but…You need to understand, he's going to control this game like he controls my town, and if someone gets in his way they'll regret it! And I…My family could be in danger if I so much as piss him off; there's no way he doesn't recognize me, he'll know who to find and he'll destroy everything I hold dear…"

"...This stopped being a competition as soon as he walked on that dock. Now, all we can do is let him take this game by force and the money with it…" Wiping his face, Druddigon looked up, "I'm sorry I hid this from you, and the others, I just hope you understand why-"

But Samurott was gone…Nowhere in sight. As if he had never even been there at all…

Breathing in, Druddigon threw his head back. "I just hope he gets why I did what I did…"

"If nothing else…I do."

The dragon flinched, jumping from his seat and turning around to see…Scrafty. The fighting-type of the other team. He had just plucked his lollipop from his mouth, an oddly neutral look on his face, as he stared right through the dragon.

"Sorry for eavesdropping…But I feel the need to add my own two cents, if you don't mind."

Druddigon stared, unsure how to react. How to feel…He didn't know him, or what his plan was, or why he cared enough to bother speaking to him right now when he could have just pocketed that information than left…But…

He stayed…So…Maybe that means…

…

…Reluctantly, Druddigon took a seat once more…And allowed Scrafty to join him with a wave of his hand.

"Alright, in you go."

Aggron had only a moment of freedom left before he was suddenly pushed inside the cage, rope still bounding him tightly. His expression read as pure anger, his teeth grinding together and he scowled bitterly at the intern. Sawsbuck, in exchange, only hummed, then walked off, apathetic to the steel-type's frustration.

"He could've at least removed the damn rope," Aggron muttered spitefully, before tensing up his muscles, and with all his might, threw them outward, snapping the rope in half. Though even without his shackles, his disappointment was palpable, "out already...What a damn joke-"

But then, he got a look at the others in the cage with him: Skuntank, who was still loitering at the back of the cage. Sneasel, who was just sorta scratching at the ground boredly. Gengar, who looked downright horrified, shaking in place as he held himself close. And lastly-

"Luxray?" Aggron exclaimed, looking over at the lioness, who was laying on the ground and staring at a television. "Ha! You of all people actually got out?! Guess you're not as tough as you-"

"Reminder; you're in the same cage, buddy," Luxray deadpanned, her words shutting the metal giant up quickly.

"...W-Whatever!" Folding his arms, Aggron turned his attention toward the screen before the two, asking, "So what's this thing's point anyway? Doubt we got cable."

"Apparently we're allowed to watch our teammates perform in the challenge...But we have to manually flip through the different cameras ourselves," Luxray said, poking at a remote, which flipped to a camera of...A tree, with a bird's nest, "and most of them are a whole lot of nothing."

"Great, so they're useless." Aggron grumbled, only to notice as Luxray flipped to the next camera, that it was nothing but static. "The Hell is with that?"

"Oh yeah, a few of them are like that for some reason." Luxray replied. "Already told Bidoof, but he said it's 'out of his control' or something."

Scoffing, Aggron said, "Sounds like a bullshit excuse."

"Probably cause it is..."

On the opposite end of the cage, Skuntank watched the two weakly, a glare on his face as he grumbled to himself incoherently, not really thinking about much of anything, but more so just...Internalizing the thought of complaining. A strange thing being done by a very strange man. And he seemed perfectly content in this lonely activity...

Though somebody else wasn't.

"Soooooooooo...What's up my man?" Looking up, Skuntank cringed back at the sight of Sneasel, the ice-type poking at the bars of the cage as she held a dull stare.

"Why're you talking to me?" The skunk asked.

"I don't know. Boredom?" Sneasel shrugged, before moaning out, "There's literally like, nothing to do, man."

"Yeah, trust me, I know that better than all of you; I've been stuck here since the beginning basically," Skuntank replied, rolling his eyes as he leaned against the cage.

"Oh yeah, which of the goobers caught you by the way?" Sneasel asked. "The deer's the one who took me down-"

"Okay, again, why're you talking to me about this?" Skuntank spat. "We aren't even on the same team. We probably won't even be near each other the rest of this stupid competition."

Sneasel hummed to herself a moment…Then shrugged. "I don't know." Skuntank gave her a look. "Just sorta saw your whole vibe over here and thought you looked…Bored? Angry? Bogry? You know…Not into the vibe. Thought you'd like some company."

"Yeah, well…You're wrong." Skuntank slumped back. "I'm perfectly content sitting by myself without dealing with any of you."

Sneasel gave him a reluctant frown, looking him over…Then shrugged, "Okay then, dude. Whatever you say." She walked away not a moment later.

For just a moment, Skuntank looked up, a bit of disappointment shining through…

"What is it with everybody here trying so hard to talk to me?" Skuntank grumbled. "First Shedinja, and now Sneasel? I don't even know what she wanted- like seriously, do I just have a sign strapped to me saying, 'talk to him, he's a great listener or something?! Maybe some people just want to be left alone!"

With a grunt, he threw himself back against the wall, and while he tried desperately to maintain his frustration, it slowly gave way after enough time had passed, as he stared at the floor melancholically.

"...Uh…Hi world…Sorry you're seeing me like this."

Granbull took a step back, sitting across the ground with a frown, that twisted into a false smile as she waved. In front of her was a camera; one that hadn't been hidden very well out here all things considered, as it stuck out of a bush like a sore thumb.

"I know this is unconventional, and that we're not supposed to acknowledge these things…" Granbull muttered, "But…I just…Need this for a moment…"

"...I don't think I'm meant to be out here…" She wrapped her arms around her legs and pulled them close. "I'm trying- I'm really trying. And I thought I felt a little better cause I had friends around- but the second they're gone even a minute I just can feel myself cracking, and there's so many sounds and things I don't understand out here, and I feel so dirty and…"

She groaned. "God, this all sounds super annoying I bet to anybody with real problems. I mean…I'm on a game show, right? That's not something everyone gets the chance to do…I should be happy, but I'm not. I just feel so broken. It doesn't feel like anybody is struggling as much as me out here; Sneasel's a city-slicker too but even she seems to have adapted more…"

Granbull almost felt a smile rise over her. "I mean, she's always so relaxed when she talks to me…And in a way it's comforting but in another," that smile shattered just as quickly as it had appeared, "it just feels like a reminder that I'm not good enough…I mean, if she's doing so well…Than shouldn't I?"

"...I almost want to quit-"

"You're quitting?"

Yelping and jumping back, Granbull hit the ground, staring up to see…Shedinja? The bug was just…Casually floating over her, their expression completely blank. "...Oh. Shedinja. Um…No, I'm not actually quitting-"

"But you were thinking about it," they asked, tilting their head.

"Well…I mean…In theory-"

"Theorizing is a little weird to do out here, ain't it?"

"Shedinja!" Granbull grumbled. "...Look, I'm just…Not feeling great, okay." She sighed. "It feels like I'm the only person out here who doesn't…Know what to do. I get I should just play the game but that's sort of hard when everything around me feels so foreign to what I'm used to…"

Shedinja stared. "That's tough."

"Yes! Yes it is," Granbull exclaimed with relief, "I mean how am I supposed to just pretend it isn't, right?"

"Doesn't seem fair."

"It isn't!" Granbull exclaimed again, "I…I just wish I could go to bed every night with a sense of familiarity. I wish I could just call my therapist! I wish I could shop for something other than candy and bug spray! I wish…I wish…"

"...You wish you weren't here?"

Granbull fell into silence, unsure how to respond as she turned her attention to the ground…Before her head was abruptly thrown back by a paintball smashing into the center of her forehead, as electricity burst forth, shocking her entire body.

As her body hit the ground like a sack of bricks, twitching and flailing about as she was tazed, Shedinja shook in shock, turning back to see, jumping out of the forest…Was Amoonguss, his paintball gun in hand. "Well, we may have lost those girls, but at least bagged something else!"

Sunflora arrived a moment after, still exhaling from exhaustion. "Y-You know…For someone without legs, y-you're pretty fast."

Amoonguss just turned to him, unimpressed. "No, you just have tiny legs. Which, by the way…Shouldn't even work as legs. They're leaves."

"D-Don't…D-Don't you…Make fun of my biology…You literal mushroom!"

Huffing, Amoonguss turned back. "Whatever; anyway, game over you two-" he blinked…When he realized only the electrocuted dog was there. "...Where the Hell did they go?!"

"Oh wait…Didn't Sawsbuck warn us to not let our eyes off the smaller fella if we see 'em?" Sunflora muttered.

The two stood there.

"...I ain't telling the grapevine we lost them again."

"Agreed."

Absol hadn't seen much of anything since her previous encounter with Aggron, but considering just how well that had gone…

"They all hate you…"

The dark-type flinched at the eternal thought, and just as quickly tried to shake it from her mind; she wasn't in the right headspace to be dealing with this right now. She just had to focus; win the challenge. Show the team what she was made of, and maybe they'll appreciate her efforts a bit more?

That's…That's how that works, right?

Sighing, she continued forward, her eyes locked onto the ground. The eternal thought of somehow looking at the sky would cause it to start falling, lingering, despite its sheer impossibility. The moment she looked up, she could even swear she saw some of the blue above moving, when clearly it was just her eyes playing tricks on her-

Wait…No that is moving.

Coming to a stop, Absol stared up in awe, as this blur jumped from tree to tree, trying to pick up speed, each jump seeming frantic and rushed as they sped forward…

"...Samurott?" Absol whispered, before her eyes went wide. "Samurott!"

She gave chase, running across the ground after the tree hopping seal. "Samurott! It's me, Absol!"

No reaction, he just kept moving; she wasn't even sure if he had heard her.

"Samurott! Can you slow down a second!" She pleaded, already feeling her legs starting to get tired.

Again, if he had heard her, he certainly wasn't letting it show, as he kept up his run desperately, gritting his teeth as he made a particularly long jump he only just made.

"Samurott, please!" She screamed, "I don't wanna be alone!"

This time, Samurott looked back…

…After he had already jumped.

Upon landing on the next branch, he felt his leg twist to the right, then give way, his body falling back. His eyes went wide, as he quickly pulled out his seamitar and stabbed into the trunk of the tree, but it failed to catch hold, as he dropped, and then-

Crash.

Absol came to a stop. "...Samurott?" When she heard no response, her breathing grew harsh as she quickly ran over, "No, no, no, no, no!" As she ran toward him, she didn't even notice as she ran straight across a vine, it letting out a shriek as it whimpered backward into a bush.

"Samurott!" She called again, pushing through some bushes, where she saw him; he laid spread out across the ground, his teeth grinding against each other and his sword to his side. Thankfully, he looked mostly fine…except for an awful-looking injury on his right leg, which had turned a dark purple already from initial bruising, as he groaned out in pain.

"Oh my gosh, Samurott," Absol quickly ran over, "are you okay?!"

As if on instinct, the water-type's expression buldged, as he lunged forward and grabbed hold of his sword once more, before thrusting it out…

Mere inches from Absol's face.

The two stared at each other, horror prominent on both their faces as Samurott quickly pulled his weapon back.

"...Sorry," Samurott said lowly, his expression still shocked as he stared down at his weapon in silence.

"...N-No…I-I'm sorry…T-This is my fault…" Absol took a step back, hanging her head low as she slowly uttered, "I…I-I distracted you…R-Right? B-But even if I hadn't…I'd have caused something to happen…"

Samurott wasn't sure how to respond, at a complete loss for words. Absol sniffed, a tear welting up in her eyes. "...I'm just a big jinx-"

Before she could finish speaking, the ground began to dislodge from beneath her, the cracks fracturing as it shook. Samurott, noticing this, jumped forward, "Look out!"

Pushing her back, Absol only just managed to avoid as a massive, rocky spike jolted out from the grass, screaming out in fear at the sudden attack. "W-What was that?!"

Grinding his teeth, "It…Was…Her…" Samurott growled, pointing forward…

To reveal Gabite, staring at the pair, as she scraped her bladed-arms against each other, whispering "S-Sorry…" Then plunged them into the ground, the resulting earthquake nearly bring Absol to her knees.

"I-I don't get it!" Absol started. "W-Why is she attacking us?!"

"Doesn't matter," Samurott snarled, pushing himself to his feet as best he can with his sword, "but you need to get out of here."

"W-What?!" Absol stuttered out. "B-But why?! I could help you-"

"She's not here to win against me," Samurott stated, "she's trying to cause a commotion to draw hunters over! You stay and both of us get caught, now move!"

Absol shook, "B-But…I-I can't just leave-"

Samurott stabbed his sword into the ground, slashing a wave through an incoming rock- that upon being split apart, had a second incoming projectile in the form of Gabite, her slicers at the ready as she brought them down onto Samurott's blade.

"Go!" Samurott screamed, pushing back against the ground-type as hard as he could.

Absol shrunk back, shaking, took a step back…Then ran. She ran as fast as she could. And she didn't look back, no matter how hard she wanted to…

Unaware that a pair had watched her flee the scene…

Groaning, Druddigon laid back against the rock, his eyes staring up at the leaves above with a frustrated glare. "I know this isn't normal…Normal people wouldn't let this control them but I can't help it when I know the truth."

Nearby, Scrafty was laying across the ground; for once, his expression didn't read any sort of confidence. It was just…Blank. He wasn't letting anything shine through.

"Gloom's dangerous…This isn't a game to him, it's probably more like…A business trip. And…" Druddigon sighed. "Just like back home…If you mess with his business…All it would do is invoke his wrath…"

"Do you really think he has any sort of power out here?" Scrafty asked, his attention perking up.

"I…I don't know…But he does back home and the last thing I want to do is give him a reason to mess with me or my family. They don't deserve that…" However, the dragon still seemed…Uneasy. "Yet…I don't want to just sit back and let him get away with whatever he wants. Braixen…She'd still be here if it wasn't for him. She deserved to be here over him. But I…"

"You were scared." Druddigon looked up, Scrafty flipping his lollipop between his fingers. "When you're afraid…You do real stupid stuff. Fear controls you in a way to where you no longer have any sort of real free will…"

"...What do you think I should do?" Druddigon asked lowly.

"Now that, I can't answer," Scrafty shook his head, pushing himself to his feet, "to be blunt, this isn't any of my business."

Perking up a brow, Druddigon huffed, "Then why bother with any of this-"

"Because you needed somebody to listen." The dragon was taken aback at the sheer bluntness of that response. Scrafty threw his lollipop back into his mouth, saying, "You're confused. Don't know how to feel. How to act. I get it. You don't need an answer, you just needed to say your thoughts out loud. To make them real…And I gave you that chance."

After a moment, he asked, "Don't they feel a bit more real now?"

"...Maybe…I don't know…"

"Better than a no," Scrafty shrugged, before he started off, "I gotta get going. If I don't focus on the challenge…Well I don't wanna give my team a reason to vote me off, you dig?"

"Yeah…Yeah I get it," Druddigon nodded.

Just as Scrafty was about to leave, however…He sighed, "...Hey." Druddigon looked up, as the fighting-type muttered, "...Good luck, alright? With all that mess. I don't know what the right choice is, but…I hope you find it."

And like that he was gone. Druddigon was alone, with only his thoughts to entertain him…

Scrafty leaned back, his eyes twisting from wall to wall, unsure how to feel. "My head's in the game. Don't think otherwise. But not everything is a game, so…I gave him my time."

He flicked his now used up lolli away, saying, "Besides, he's no threat to me yet; no harm in a single conversation. Nothing else to it."

After that, the reptile fell silent, just staring at the wall…

Down below, Samurott and Gabite continued to cross blades, a look of fierce determintion on the former's face, and one of just general unease on the latter's, as both gave it their all and metal scrapings flew through the air.

But up on the cliffside, looking over the dual, Espeon looked...Bored, more than anything. Scoffing, he looked back to see Gloom similarly waiting for what they knew would happen to happen. "How long you think those morons will take before they get here to clean out Samurott?"

"Minute at most," Gloom stated simply, as if he knew as much exactly, "possibly two..."

"Than it'd be two at most," Espeon corrected to himself, as he continued to watch the fight, "what's the deal with this anyway? I think Samurott sucks too, but in case you forgot, he is on our team, and sicking Gabite on him," he quickly added on, "which by the way, threatening to maim that puppet unless she did as you said is kinda pushing it in terms of how she could respond," having made his point, Espeon finished, "and even if everything goes well, and Samurott just thinks Gabite tried to take him out with no extra caveats, we'll only be hindering ourselves taking him out anyway. So what gives?"

"It's simply insurance, that's all," Gloom said, "the only reason the team was quick to forgive Samurott for his little mishap in the first challenge is because he did so well in the second. But say his performance started tanking...Well, that supplies more of a reason to take him out, doesn't it?"

Espeon, however, looked...Less than convinced. "...That's it?" The weed turned to the psychic, as he continued, "You don't like the guy so you're gonna sabotage him until he leaves under the hope nobody screws up worse? That's...Just stupid. Like actually ridiculous!"

Gloom...Didn't seem to care. As Espeon stared on, utterly baffled, he looked back at the fight...Then said, "...Too ridiculous...There isn't some edge to this, is there?" Narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "You just just wanted to hurt him."

And Gloom...Shrugged. He was completely apathetic to this whole conversation.

"...Wow," Espeon glanced away, oddly awkward, "that's uh...Blunt. I guess. I mean I don't really care; like I said, he's an asshole, so screw him over all you want. I just thought there'd be something...Deeper to this whole plan, you know? Cause as it stands, this is pretty boring-"

"Someone's here." Gloom stood up.

Raising a brow, Espeon turned back to the battlefield, Samurott and Gabite moving in for another attack-

Only for someone to come between them, bring down his hand in chopping motion right where their swords would have met, as the two pulled back their blades in shock. As they slid back across the ground, the dust settled somewhat, to reveal-

"Hello, amigos..." Machoke greeted, holding a smile as he gave them a wave. "Sorry for the interruption, as it was quite the dual. But-" He brought up his gun and suddenly fired five shots straight at Samurott.

The water-type flinched, and while he managed to slice through two of them, the other three were far too fast, smashing against his chest and knocking him onto his back. He began to cringe on the ground as electricity coursed through his veins, a horrible mixture of extreme hot and cold following as he began to twitch painfully.

Blowing on his paintgun, Machoke smacked it against his hand with a smirk, "I'm here to win...Failure is not an option. Now then," he twisted back to Gabite and prepared to shoot at well, "run."

Gabite screamed, quickly dodging out of the way of a few paintballs as she started ringing around Machoke, desperately seeking a gap where there was none.

"Oh, looks like it was tall, dark, and handsome that showed up," Espeon confirmed, smiling to himself as his gaze followed the fighting-type a moment, chuckling to himself before saying, "so, what's the plan? We gonna grab Gabite and-"

"We need to go now." Blinking, Espeon looked back to see Gloom overseeing the sight as well, but all of his confidence had shattered upon his eyes locking onto Machoke. The weed turned away, already leaving the scene. "The last thing we need is to get caught by him."

Espeon seemed more than a little confused, turning back to the arena, then to Gloom, asking, "So we're just ditching her? You didn't even give her the stupid puppet back-"

"Wait a moment...Did you truly think I had actually bothered carrying that stupid thing around?" Gloom asked, catching the psychic off-guard. "Where would I put it? No, I ditched that stupid thing out in the woods and the pathetic girl never asked about it for even a moment. Really, this is all her fault if you allow yourself to think about it for even a minute."

All the while, Espeon just...Stared at him, his eyes darting between him and the still panicked Gabite getting chased around by Machoke. Though...His face was almost...Lost, in a manner. Utterly unreactive. Though after a moment, he felt his tail brush up against his chin, a sort of hum rising up.

"Sure, I could just go along with Gloom and his stupid scheme that'll lead to nothing but petty drama, but I gotta think the long-game here," Espeon stated, playing with his tail as he explained, "Gloom's going around and acting obnoxiously self-indulgent and smug. He thinks he can get away with whatever he wants, not because his plans are just that brilliant but because he thinks everyone around him is stupid; he thinks the exact same of me and Gabite, we're little more than mindless cronies to dish out his plans. He's already been pushing his luck time and time again, over and over with everybody on the team. They're sick of him, and he survived last week on account of a fluke advantage. That luck's running out..."

"So, I need to choose my battle;" Espeon held up one paw, "do I stay on the broken, sinking ship? Sure, I could keep it afloat with enough time and effort, but it's still sinking. I can't stop that. And as it sinks, eventually people will know I chose to stay with that specific ship...And on the other hand," he held up his opposite paw, "perhaps...I take a raft while I still can, and formulate...Well, let's say an 'out' for myself...In the form of simplistic loyalty..."

His smirk crept across his face more and more, as he felt himself break into a snicker...

"You know...I've had my fun in this game so far...I let people do whatever they wanted, and simply played the role of the camp jester, jumping in the background and taking in the whole thing as a good laugh...And what do I got to show for it? Some annoying gnome who thinks he'll be able to boss me around? It wasn't so bad to simply...Let things be for a bit..."

"But it's grown so tiring. So annoying even...I think I'm done holding back," Espeon stated, his eyes beginning to glow, as the confessional started to shake, "I was chosen for this show for a good reason...Best I start showing it, right?"

"What are you waiting for?" Gloom spat, "We're leaving. Now-"

But as he was saying this, Gloom felt something; an aura had surrounded him, and lifted him up off the ground. Gloom's eyes went wide, as he stared down at Espeon, who smacked away his tail from his chin, and sent a smile up at his associate.

"...Espeon...Let me down. Now."

"Oooooh..." Espeon sighed, shaking his head, "Sorry to say Gloom, but our partnership is now under new management; mine! And unfortunately, I do believe we no longer have a need for your services." He gave him a mocking wave. "Toodles."

Gloom scowled, screaming, "Espeon, let me dooooooooooooooown-" And that screaming grew ever fainter...

As Espeon had just flung the grass-type into the air, his orb-like body disappearing in the far distance...

"Now then..." Espeon wiped off his paws, then smiled, "Onto the plan..."

Gabite hadn't stopped moving since Machoke had begun his chase, and she could just feel with every passing moment her time was getting shorter. Each ball only missed by an inch at most, and the fighting-type was in incredible shape, as he gained on her more and more.

A-And where were they?! G-Gloom had said he and Espeon would come help her once somebody had arrived, but they were nowhere to be seen! She had heard a scream- could they have gotten caught while waiting?! A-And what about Fred?! Gloom still had him! H-He'd still give him back even if he got caught, right-

A paintball splattered against her knee, and Gabite's weight gave out from under her. She hit the ground with a thud, the sand shark looking up just in time to see Machoke trud over, loading new paintballs into the gun as he offered a smile. "Sorry for the abrupt hit there, Chica. Was on my last, so...Needed to make it work."

He threw the loading capsule aside, aiming it while saying, "Bidoof would want me to drag this out a bit more for the sake of the game, but I for one take no pleasure in needless extension of the inevitable." He prepared to shoot. "Good game..."

Machoke shot, and Gabite readied herself for an impact...That didn't come. In fact, she looked up...And...

They were in a cube; her and Machoke. The cube was outlined in squares, shimmering between blues, pinks, and purples. The paintball...It was moving in slow motion. Machoke too, his eyes darting back and forth normally in confusion. Gabite didn't feel especially fast either, waving her claw in front of he to see it seemingly drifting between speeds, as if it were in water.

Then...Something soft wrapped around her neck, and in one quick pull, she was out of the cube. She stared up at the sky, then back at the cube...It was small, but it looked downright strange, with off-reflections and an almost constantly moving diamond-like pattern moving across the outside of it.

"What's wrong, never seen a Trick Room before?"

Gabite yelped, looking up to see Espeon looking over the false structure with a hum. "Yeah, they're pretty weird. Don't really know how they work, but as long as he's in there, we've got some time to get out of here." He picked the sand shark up, throwing her to her feet with a, "Come on. Get up."

As soon as she was on her feet though, she looked around, and noticed the lack of a certain grass-type.

"...W-Where's-"

"Gloom?" Espeon finished, before scoffing, "Took off. I wanted to come back and grab you but he just ran away. He's long gone by now I think...And I think he's still got your little friend."

This information left the sand shark broken, her attention drifting a moment...Before she refocused on something. "...Y-You wanted to come back?"

"Look...Just cause I was with the guy doesn't mean I agreed with a single thing he was doing. He was messing with my head as much as yours, just...In a different way." Espeon said, his tone low and...Sorrowful. Regretful. "And I'm sorry...But him leaving you was my last straw. I wasn't leaving you to deal with the literal definition of a superman on your own."

Gabite, though still hung up on Fred still being in the hands of that awful man...Managed to still squeak out, "T-Thank you..."

"Eh, don't mention it," Espeon nodded, before beginning to walk away, "now come on, let's get out of here because Machoke gets out of there-"

Before he could move another muscle though, a barrage of paint flew through the air. Espeon and Gabite only had mere moments to react before their whole bodies were utterly covered, the two hitting the ground moments later, though the former lingered on his legs just long enough to be left slack-jawed. "...A-Are you kidding me...T-This is...S-So...Cheap-"

He hit the ground.

Laughing, Carnivine and Simisage walked out from the trees, exchanging a high five at the pair of takedowns, before noticing Samurott also laying on the ground nearby...And the massive Trick Room between the three.

"Woah, we uh...Missed a lot," Simisage admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"Think maybe we shoulda walked a little faster over here?" Carnivine asked.

"Eh, it all worked out, so it's whatever, right?" Simisage shrugged, as the two walked over to clean the place up.

Gabite was still without her puppet, her whole body frozen and unresponsive, as she shook in place... "F-Fred..." She began to hold herself, whispering sweet nothings to herself in a feeble attempt to relax.

"Okay, sure, the perfect version of that plan involved the two of us escaping so I could butter her up some more, but hey, I say it worked out fine enough," Espeon shrugged, "I don't really wanna get hung up on 'what if's' or anything like that. Besides...I think I got the intended message across."

He sent the camera a wink.

Cranidos stormed through the brush, a scowl still as present as ever on his face. "Seriously, the Hell is his problem with me...I haven't done a damn thing to him but he can't help but refuse see me as anything other than a useless kid...I'm not even that young!"

As he thought this to himself, he walked into what looked to be the next section of the island; a rocky biome made up largely of cliffs, small mountains, and more stones than the eye could see. There was even small bits of what seemed to be snow laying atop the higher sections of the area. He was utterly taken by scenery, looking it over, unsure how to properly react. "This is on the island? This doesn't even look possible!"

Stepping forward into it, he couldn't deny that...Even for just a second, he felt a little more at ease. On one hand, everything was obvious out here; he'd see the interns coming a mile away, and...Well, he's a freaking rock-type and he's surrounded by rocks. Of course he likes it, why the Hell does he have to explain it- wait, why was he even thinking about this, it's such a massive waste of time!

Smacking at his head, he walked in, just as something else had also run out of the woods. He only had a split second to look back as something jumped out at him-

"Sneak attack!"

The figure barrelled into Cranidos, knocking him onto the ground. He groaned, looking up, only to see Dubwool standing over him, a smirk on her face as she stared down at him. "Hey. Pretty slow there, Shrimp."

Twitching, he pushed her off, growling, "I thought you idiots stopped calling me that."

She shrugged. "Eh, the others did, but it's got a nice ring to it still." Following after him into the rocky area, she whistled, "Man, I didn't even know about this place..." After a moment, she stated, "Pretty boring to look at though."

"Good. Then you can leave and I can explore alone," Cranidos growled.

Humming, the sheep tilted her head...Then said, "I have a feeling...You have a problem with me."

"Ooooh, congrats, you nailed it on the head," Cranidos grumbled, "now go away."

Gawking at this, Dubwool unleashed a mighty cackle, walking up to and nudging the dinosaur in the side. "Oh come on now, no need to be so difficult you dang sour puss. We're on the same team!"

"Oh, so we are a team?" Cranidos rolled his eyes, "Sorry I got so used to you just doing challenge on your own I must have forgotten."

This, oddly, seemed to hit Dubwool where it hurt, the sheep cringing back, then glaring at the rocky reptile. "'Ya know, it's that attitude of yours that makes you so unpopular on the team!"

"Popular?" Scoffing, he waved around, "Take a look at us! None of us like each other all that much. We're a team by statement from a beaver who is actively trying to make us miserable for the sake of his dumb tv show."

Dubwool opened her mouth, possibly to extend their little spat...Only for her jaw to slack as something flew over head. "...Hot dog..."

Raising a brow, Cranidos followed her stare...And promptly paled...

Flying overhead across the valley...With their massive wingspan in full view...And their purple scales...Their massive jaw...Those horrible, steely eyes...Most knew well to fear the species, but Cranidos was stunned silent. His whole body was shaking. His breathing was heavy and quick; he could feel himself getting light-headed. And then...The memories...

"Dang, an Aerodactyl?! All the way out here!" Dubwool hollered. "You don't see that everday-"

She shut up as Cranidos suddenly ran past her, sprinting as fast as he could back in the forest. "Hey! Where 'ya goin', partner?!"

But he didn't listen, his attention was too warped; he could hear it flying above him, he just knew it. It was after him- he was going to get him. Break him, snap him, berate him, humiliate him- his life was flashing before his eyes in the span of moments, he could feel himself choking on his own fear, tears running down his face as he desperately tried and failed to regain his composure.

Flap. Flap. Flap.

He could hear the wings sounding off, he knew that psycho was after him- he didn't know what to do! H-His posse isn't here, maybe he could scare him off- but there wasn't a chance of that, he could barely tell where he was now, what he could use to do it- thousand thoughts per minute, can't keep up, broken, broken, broken- cracked.

And then...A tangle.

Cranidos leg got pulled out from him, and he hit the ground. His body froze up...Reluctantly, he looked up...He could see the dark, vaporous form of a massive creature standing over him, its wings larger than his whole body, and its maw creeping into a wicked smile.

"What's wrong...You look like you've seen a ghost..."

Cranidos couldn't hold back anymore; he screamed. He clawed at the ground. But it was too late, he was pulled away...

By a vine.

He had stepped on it, and his barely half-conscious self was getting dragged along by it throught the forest, as he screamed incoherently into the air...Nothing standing atop him.

Absol had been walking for a while...Well...Sort of. Maybe. If she was being honest she had stopped keeping track of how long it had exactly been...She had been focusing on much of anything...

Sighing, she came to a sudden stop, and laid down...

"...It was my fault...If I had just left alone he'd have been fine...I know that better than anyone yet I still did that..."

Turning her attention up toward the trees above, she watched as a Caterpie and Weedle played some version of tag, crawling in circles around a tree chasing after each other, over and over, an endless pattern neither seemed willing to break.

"Subtle messaging."

Absol screamed, falling over and looking up at...Shedinja. Flying over her. Doing nothing. Except...Eating(?) on acorns. They were even in a bowl that she didn't think could be found naturally in the wild.

"O-Oh...Hello," Absol started.

Shedinja threw an acorn into their eye, the nut bouncing around inside their hollow shell for a moment, before they nodded. "Hey."

Then...Silence.

"...Uh...What are you doing?"

Shedinja stared. "Floating." They held out the bowl. "Pretending." They looked over at the worms. "Watching." Then silence again. "...It's a day."

"I...Yes. Thanks for...Reminding me?" Absol nodded, looking off awkwardly. "I...Sorry. I don't really know what to say. I...I haven't been feeling the best today."

"That's bad." Shedinja stated. "You should find a doctor. They can make you feel the opposite...Or worse. Depends on the price tag." They chuckled. "Ha. Ha. Ha. Price tags...I think I have a few of those..." They looked back at her. "Wanna see my price tag collection?"

"I-I think I'm good," Absol shook her head, looking away awkwardly, "and...No this isn't something I think a doctor can fix, Shedinja. They told me awhile ago I was a lost cause."

"Oof."

"Yeah..." Absol nodded, "but...You know, it's fine. I can't blame them. The second or third time your roof caves in you sorta don't want somebody around, you know?" She laughed lowly to herself. "Surprised it hasn't happened at camp yet."

Shedinja stared at the dark-type...Then down at their bowl. And, oddly, floated downward and placed the bowl beside her. Before Absol could question what Shedinja was even doing, the bug was patting her on the back, saying, "I think you need them more than me." They then pet her head and...Flew off. Just...Gone.

Absol...Didn't know what to say, or how to feel, as she looked down at the bowl then picked it up. She reluctantly grabbed one of the acorns, took a bite...And spit it out. After a moment, she placed it aside, and sighed. "I mean...The sentiment is there...That's nice."

Though, after a moment...She picked up another acorn. And while she didn't bite this one, she couldn't help but smile.

"Shedinja's sweet," Absol said, "I know they're strange but...I'm strange too. And while they seemed to not know how to respond, they meant well and tried to make me happy." She pulled the strange bowl close, muttering, "It's nice to feel welcomed out here..."

"What was that?!" Aggron screamed, his hands gripping his head as he glared down at Cranidos in frustration, the rock-type unresponsive as he screamed, "You literally ran into them! How did you even do that?!"

"Lay off! You lost before me!" Cranidos screamed back.

"Yeah, but I didn't go out that pathetic-"

"That's a lie," Luxray argued, the two looking over to see the lioness still looking at the television, the recently captured Granbull and Samurott having joined her, the latter of whom was constantly flipping through the cameras, "he literally got ambushed and taken out in like, less than a second after you left."

Aggron's face flushed a bright red from embarrassment as Cranidos held a reaffirmed smirk, boasting, "Not so bad now, huh-"

"I still didn't run into a hunter, unlike you!" Aggron spat back, as the two's little war continued between themselves.

Luxray rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the television as Samurott continued flicking through camera after camera. "Seriously, what are you looking for? You've had to go through like a hundred of these things by now."

The sea lion's glare merely hardened in response, staring down the screen in determination, his hand dragging across his leg, the momentary flinch being enough to silence further questioning from the lioness. She almost wanted to know how that had happened…But she'll let him keep that to himself for now; if he had been eager to explain he would have done so already.

"Honestly, now that I know where cameras are," Granbull started, her posture slouched as she irked back uncomfortably, "I'm not sure anything's ever gonna feel private again out here."

"Sort of what we signed up for, though," Luxray shrugged, to which Granbull couldn't find much of an argument against that, "and besides, at least there ain't any in the bathrooms."

"Unless you count the confessional," Gengar muttered as he walked up to them and sat down to watch as well, having finally recovered from his shaking.

"Okay, if anybody actually uses that thing for that, then I have no sympathy for them," Luxray stated simply.

On the other end of the cage, however, the conversation was…Considerably quieter. Sneasel stood over the newly sat Gabite, worry flooding over her as she leaned down beside the…Almos statue-like sand shark. She hadn't moved so much as an inch since she got here…

"Gabite…Dude…Are you okay?" Sneasel asked, poking at the unresponsive girl. "Seriously, what's up?"

Skuntank walked up as well, barely paying the situation any mind as he asked, "She broken or something?" All this elicited was a scowl from Sneasel, as he jumped back defensively. "Just kidding. Sheesh."

Shaking her head, Sneasel looked back at her. "What happened out there? You can talk to me." Gabite, for the first time, moved…Only it was to shield herself, holding her head in her arms as she started to whimper, causing the ice-type to flinch, frowning as she moved in…And noticed the lack of a certain puppet. "Did…Did you lose Fred?"

"Oh, trust me, she didn't 'lose' him."

Sneasel and Skuntank turned to the voice, and saw Espeon stomping up to them, a glare on his face.

"...What happened?" Sneasel asked, her voice…Oddly chill, Skuntank perking a brow at her tone; it had been the first he'd heard her sound so…Strangely serious.

Espeon glanced around, specifically at a still distracted Samurott. He narrowed his eyes, then turned back to Sneasel. "...Lean in, and I'll tell you."

Sneasel, for just a moment, turned to Skuntank, as if asking for his opinion; all he could offer up was an uninformed shrug. So, she looked back to Gabite, who continued to cradle herself…Before reluctantly, she breathed in, and leaned toward Espeon...Where after a few moments, her expression turned to horror...Than fury...

As the eliminated contestants continued to go about their business in the cage, Bidoof merely watched from afar, sipping on his coffee as he stared them down. Turning his attention toward the sky, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes as he watched the sun drifting; only a few hours of sunlight left at this point…

A smirk spread across his face, as he turned his attention back to his assistant, who had been managing a single monitor, constantly writing notes and statistics down on a sheet; she had been completely lost in her thoughts since the challenge had begun.

"So, was I right or was I right, Corsola?" Bidoof bragged. "I can feel it; this was what we needed. All the drama alone made this so worth it, and with Machoke running around getting all sweaty out there? Who's to say how well this must be doing-"

"There's been minimal change actually."

Bidoof almost spat out his drink. "...Excuse me?"

"The views have been fairly consistent to be honest with you; seems like this hasn't done much to change anything," Corsola muttered.

"But…That doesn't…I…" Clutching his head, Bidoof wandered off, unsure how to react as his mind became clouded with thoughts…Which were then replaced with frustrated determination.

Corsola couldn't help but feel unnerved at this. "Uh…Sir? Is everything okay? You're starting to look redder than a tomato pie."

"...I'll be back in a bit, Corsola," Bidoof stated, storming off as a crooked smile began to form, "I've got a little last minute twist to announce to…Maybe 'spice things up' a little…"

Scrafty walked slowly through the forest; since that chance encounter with Druddigon, he hadn't seen anybody, or even any signs of anybody. It was getting frustrating at this point...

Then, a voice came on over the com system, the voice being one he had grown very familiar with, "Hello campers, and welcome to the bottom six! As of now, the absolute outskirts of the island are off limits, so make sure to get off any beaches if you happened to be near them."

"Who the Hell would hide on a beach during this?" Scrafty asked aloud in actual curiosity.

"Now then...Seeing as how we're down to the wire, and nearing the final hour or two of the day, I felt a need to add a little...Extra incentive for everybody left. From this point onward, if you make it through the final hour...You will be granted immunity from elimination, even if your team loses!"

Scrafty's attention peaked, the fighting-type grinning at the idea.

"So, really try to survive if you can. Something tells me a few of you could really benefit from it...Bidoof, out."

As the intercom switched off, Scrafty scratched his chin, saying, "Interesting...Very interesting-" He stepped on something. Looking down, he saw he had stepped on a vine. "...Okay...Wait why is it moving-"

Several shots rang out through the air, two of which smacked against the back of his head- "What the-" Then...They started to burn...Really burn. Burn horribly. Letting out a scream of pain, he tried to run forward, only to get rammed into by a pair of horns, which threw him back, his body hitting the ground with a hard crash.

Groaning, he looked up...And saw two figures standing over him. Sawsbuck and Trevenant, the latter's gun still out as they stared down at him.

He let out a groan...Before putting his hands up in defeat...

"It's no matter; I lasted quite awhile, so I have a feeling I'll be safe regardless...Especially if my marks actually take me up on my offer tonight, though that'll be then, and this is now," Scrafty said, before glaring, "though it is pretty frustrating they found me so...Simply. It was less than a second between an attack and defeat maybe, I had no chance to even react...I didn't even see it coming...How did they find me?"

As Trevenant pushed Scrafty up, Sawsbuck took the moment to break out his radio. "Attention; we caught the lizard. Five left."

"Make that four."

The deer eyed the radio at this.

Shiinotic chuckled to himself, looking over his prey with a smile. "Yeah, I c-caught him while he was flying over the island! Hah!" And at his feet...Was Druddigon, his body peppered with various shades of paint, as he grunted on the ground. "Moron shoulda' realized we got eyes am I right?! Who wouldn't see this guy that high up?!"

"Yeah...I get it," he grumbled, letting out a sigh as he slammed his face against the ground.

"Turns out there are ups and downs to flying. Sure, moving around's easier...But I guess navy blue, red, and yellow sort of stick out against the sky, so," Druddigon shrugged with a groan, "guess that's over with...Man, I don't even know who's left from either team. Hope the Oranguru aren't going up against someone too tough."

Dubwool was so freaking booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooored...

"This challenge has nothing to do!" Dubwool groaned as loudly and obnoxiously as possible, rearing back her hind legs and smashing them into a tree as hard as she could, as it fell backward and crashed against the ground. "How many dang trees do I gotta knock down before somebody notices me and gives me a good chase?!"

Looking up toward the sky, she screamed as loudly as she could, "'Ya hear me universe! At least give me something before I go and I lose it! If you don't I'll...Uh...Do something, 'ya hear me-"

"Hi."

"I'll take it!" Dubwool screamed, twisting around...And seeing Shedinja. She groaned, "Awww, I was hoping for somebody with more...You know, threatening, angry, rage-filled paint stuff, you know? Not...Well, you."

"Ouch." Shedinja hung their head.

"Oh, it ain't nothing mean," Dubwool waved off, "I just haven't gotten any reaction action today. Which is dumb cause we're supposed to be getting hunted! So where are all the hunters?!"

Shedinja tilted their head with a hum. "Maybe they're scared of you."

"Eh, couldn't blame you," Dubwool shrugged, smirking confidently, "I do got killer pheromones; probably sending those weak bastards running."

"You can smell those?"

"Nope..." The ram leaned forward with a smile. "But you can definitely sense them."

"Ooooooh...I don't get it." Shedinja admitted, as the sheep laughed to herself.

"You know what, nevermind, I'll take what I got," Dubwool said to herself, walking forward and with a wave of her horns saying, "come on, Creepshow! We got a challenge to win!"

"Neat." Shedinja followed after

Still carrying that bowl Shedinja had handed her around, Absol was just entering what...Looked to be the beginning of a marsh, possibly? She wasn't entirely sure, and she didn't really want to step into it either. Especially cause she didn't actually know what lived in there, or worse, if anything in there was possibly dangerous.

Walking along the edge of it, however, Absol's eyes darted about at the sounds of...Screaming?

"Somebody get me down from here, already!"

Her attention perked up a bit, "Wait...That sounds like..." She walked toward the voice, and after pushing aside some underbrush, she saw him; Gloom, his body caught on a tree, the upper half of his body hanging loosely from it as he glared at the sky. Though as soon as Absol walked into view, that glare just as swiftly shifted toward her.

"Oh, great, of course someone like you had to be the one to hear that." Gloom grumbled, as Absol awkwardly walked over.

"Uh...How did you get up there?" She asked innocently enough.

"Ask the Pikipek who saw me flying on the way over, and that's besides the point," he shook angrily, "get me down from here!"

"I...Okay, but I'm not really sure how I could-" Absol started, tapping the tree with a claw.

That proceeded to make the whole tree shake uncontrollably. And just like that, within moments it came tumbling down. Yelping, she jumped out of the way just as it hit the grass, Gloom screaming as he only just barely managed to untug himsefl from the branches and fly loose before he could be crushed underneath its weight.

Dust spread outward from the tree's impact, Absol staring on silently with a cringe. "Oops..." Looking off, she saw Gloom pushing himself to his feet, as she forced a laugh, "I mean...At least I got you down...Right-"

"Worthless." Gloom snarled. "Utterly Goddamn worthless! You could have gotten me killed, you hag!"

Flinching, Absol looked off awkwardly. "I-I'm sorry..." Holding out her bowl, she said, "I-If you want, you can have an acorn-"

She yelped when the weed suddenly smacked it out of her hand. Glaring, he sent her harsh look, stating firmly, "Stay the Hell away from me. If I see you again, or so help me, you screw over our chances of winning this challenge, then your days will be numbered! Hear me?!"

Absol nodded, her form shrinking back weakly...Before she turned her attention to the ground. "...Crystal clear."

"Good...Now go be useless elsewhere," he growled, before stomping off, "I'm going to go win this."

As soon as he was gone, Absol stared down at the bowl, now cracked down the middle, its contents scattered across the ground. She picked up the pieces she could and held them in her paws, frowning as she pulled them close, even if only for a moment...

With a groan, Druddigon flinched at the loud crash of the cage door being slammed shut. Stepping inside, he saw it; the eleven other players who had gotten taken out.

Skuntank. Luxray. Sneasel. Gengar. Aggron. Granbull. Samurott. Gabite. Espeon. Cranidos. Scrafty…

And him. Meaning-

"And then there were four," Scrafty whistled, leaning back against the cage as Druddigon turned to him.

Aggron looked over the selection, growling, "So the only ones we got left are Dubwool and Shedinja?" Scoffing, he grumbled, "Great. Just perfect…"

"Better than what we got," Espeon snarked nearby, his teammates seeming less than enthused at their own finalists.

Dubwool and Shedinja versus Absol and Gloom, with the sun just on the verge of sunset…

The final hour was nearing its end...

Machoke gulped as he swung back his bottle of water, drinking about half of it before pouring the remaining contents on himself. As he basked in the nice breeze that followed, Bidoof paced back and forth between the trailer monitors.

"Four players left, maybe fifteen minutes to go…We need to make sure this doesn't end in a tie." The host said aloud.

"And with how big the island is, who knows if we can even find any of them, with or without the interns spread out," Corsola replied, doing calculations as her eyes darted from the screen to her board.

"...You know what…You're exactly right, Corsola," Bidoof nodded to himself, smirking before stating, "Machoke, get up!" The fighting-type jumped to his feet with a salute. "You're up again, soldier! And this time, no holding back. Got it?"

"Affirmative, my friend…" Machoke nodded, picking up his paintgun and exclaiming, "Onward I go, to catch the fleeing mice!" With a laugh, he ran off, right out the staff trailer.

And as he did so, Bidoof picked up the radio nearby, and spoke into it. "Attention remaining campers…"

"As you no doubt noticed, there ain't a lot of you yet. We're currently tied, two to two for both teams!"

Gloom perked up at this, smiling to himself. "I'd like to see that obnoxious lioness call me worthless now." Chuckling, he couldn't help but think, "Not that defeat was ever on the table, of course."

As he thought this, he passed right by another vine, leaning down to it with a smirk, as he whispered, "Alert the remaining interns that the games are over...It's time to go on the full offensive; I want the remaining Passimian destroyed, understand me?"

The vine slithered back in a sort of confirmation, as the grass-type laughed smugly. "This game truly is too easy…

All the while this happened, the radio chatter continued.

"Since there are so few of you left though, and so much of the island, we're gonna make things a bit easier on my exhausted staff so we can get this thing over with already. Welcome to Sudden Death!"

"Death?" Shedinja asked aloud as they floated above. "Weird. Didn't think paint could kill 'ya."

Dubwool hollered with laughter. "Nah, it totally could. Pretty sure a kid had some sorta allergic reaction or something to the paint they were using at the school in the area; immediately sent to the ER or something." She blinked. "...Actually it might've been either that or the black mold forming beneath it."

"Ooh, black mold. So exotic." Shedinja nodded, Dubwool strangely nodding back as if in…Agreement?

"With this in mind, the playzone has now been…RESTRICTED! You'll ten minutes to get within the campground! And if you get caught on your way there…Well, sucks to be you! Because...The next player to get caught, will automatically lose the challenge for their team!"

"W-What?!" Absol screamed, her eyes darting all about in panic, as she quickly started running. "B-But I don't even know where camp is?! How is this fair-" She stopped. "...Right…"

Sighing, she just kept up the sprint; after all she had one through over the day…She couldn't let it all have been in vain.

"So, good luck campers! Cause now it's nine minutes...Can't wait for it to get to eight..."

Machoke stepped out into the center of the campground, a determined look on his face. He breathed in the light breeze as it passed him by...And held up his gun. His posture straightened, and his eyes narrowed, scanning the area for absolutely anything suspicious...

The interns were in the forest, but with how low the countdown was getting (already at just three minutes left already), they'd have said something if they had actually managed to catch anyone. Though he wouldn't doubt it if Bidoof told them to ease up even if they did so he could get his "episode climax" or however he'd phrase it.

"Two minutes campers! Hope you're hiding well within the camp, cause those interns are gonna start closing back in..."

A ploy; the interns were too far out. They wouldn't make it back in time before the challenge was over. It was simply there to make somebody second-guess their spot. To convince them to go out into the open and face their punishment for such indecisiveness.

...And it worked...

Stepping out, he saw it. A flicker in the darkness. A short, but notable movement against one of the cabins.

His chance.

Machoke brought up his gun and peppered a few shots into the air, no intention of landing a direct hit just yet, but to scare them. Make them react.

The sudden scream was enough to convince him he was right to think that way.

His smile creeped across his face, his body boosting forward, his feet tearing across the grass like torpedos as he stared down the sightlines. He let loose another shot, this time into the cabin railing, a sudden jolt being enough for him to see another move. Could have been the same figure. Could not have. He wasn't sure.

But when they ran between the cabins, running into the open for just a single moment...He saw his chance.

He shot...

...

...

...

And they hit the ground...

The cage was silent as they heard the announcement over the coms. "30 seconds remaining!"

And that silence was somehow only extremified as they watched someone come over the horizon; his massive frame and hulking muscles being more than enough to tell them who it was. Machoke, in all his glory, somebody thrown over his shoulder as stomped up to the cage, ready to end the game. They all ran to the front of the cage, desperate to see who it was that had been caught; the final casualty of the most dangerous game...

Machoke reached them...And he placed the figure down as gently as they could, the poor soul whimpering to themselves in defeat. Half the cage looked on in silence...At the sight of...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...Absol. Her body crumbled, a paintball smashed against her right front leg. Tears were running down her face, as she looked up at the faces of her other fallen teammates...

"...I'm sorry..."

And like that...The challenge was over. Out with a whimper, nary a bang to be seen...

"Well, well, well…Today was certainly something, I'll say that much," Bidoof started, walking back and forth between the two teams, "some of you were real losers today…But others…Well, they pulled through despite first impressions."

"In the end though, we have a definitive winner," he continued…Before gesturing to his right, "the Howling Passimian!"

Said team instantly broke out into cheering, Dubwool in particular screaming the loudest. The Growling Oranguru on the other hand were dead silent.

"Oranguru, that's two losses in a row," Bidoof stated, before sending a fingergun their way, "I'll be seeing you at elimination tonight, where another one of 'ya will be sent packing. But, seeing as Gloom made it to sunset, he'll be immune from any votes cast against him."

The grass-type smirked, unaware or apathetic to the looks being sent his way.

"With that said, you got…Let's say ten minutes to mingle since I'm feeling nice," Bidoof chuckled, before walking off.

As soon as the host was gone, the Passimian and Oranguru seemed to collectively relax, all preparing to walk off and go about their business, or in the latter's case…Elimination.

Breathing in confidently, Gloom started off as well, "At least we all know who the obvious choice is tonight…" As he laughed, he turned back to his team…And saw what he expected. Scowls all around, directed straight at him. "You're all clearly in quite the mood. It's not my fault we lost today. After all, I'm the only one who won."

Luxray narrowed her eyes, growling, "You're a real piece of garbage, you know that right."

"Whatever you say, but you lost first, so I won't hear it," he spat back.

She seemed…Surprised, however, "Wait, how'd you know that-"

"And in the end, I'm still immune," the Passimian had stopped at this point, turning to the scene the weed was making as he held a smirk, "and I deserve it. I made use of everything within my power to ensure we'd win, and who wasted that golden opportunity," he waved forward, "why…None other than our resident jinx…Isn't that right, Absol?"

The dark-type hung her head, breathing heavily, "I…I-I…" She tried to speak…Before promptly running off into the forest.

"Absol!" Granbull called out.

"Eh, let her go, she knows what's coming…You all do," Gloom shrugged, snickering lightly to himself-

Just as a clawed fist slammed in the side of his jaw. The weed's eyes bulged, the cast looked on in utter shock, and the camera crew could just feel the ratings skyrocket if only for a second, as the grass-type was thrown back, his body hitting the ground as he stared up in confusion.

Feeling something leaking from his mouth, Gloom tapped his lip, unable to respond, before looking up at his attacker…

Sneasel?!

Staring up, he struggled to find words, before settling on the classic, "Sneasel…T-The Hell-"

"Dude, just…Shut up, man!" Sneasel spat, her voice full of anger that caught the whole cast off-guard, "you don't have the right to throw around all this self-glamorizing crap, dude! Not after what you did to Gabite!"

Everybody looked up at this, especially the ground-type in question, her face…Pleading…Desperate for the truth to be unveiled.

"I…I didn't do anything to that miserable freak!" Gloom weakly defended as he sat up.

"Bullcrap, man! Total bull! You freaking took her puppet, dude! Her puppet! She's been totally mentally screwed cause of what you did!" Sneasel screamed, her teeth grinding against each other.

Gloom returned the ice-type's glare, as Aggron growled, "Wait, he did what to her?!"

"S-She's lying through her teeth, she has no proof!" Gloom spat.

"Except Gabite herself, you jerk!" Sneasel stated. "And Espeon; you were straight up manipulating them into doing whatever the heck you want, yet you thought they wouldn't say a word if they could after what you did?!"

Gloom's expression began to pale, genuine worry washing over him, as he looked back, and indeed saw Gabite staring right through him, and while she was frozen…She could break any moment, and when he met Espeon's glare...He simply looked away

Narrowing his eyes at the psychic, he growled, "...You really had to go and ruin a potentially good thing." Espeon shrugged, completely nonchalant to Gloom's growing frustration. In fact, for just a moment, the weed could almost see a smirk on his face.

"...Fine…I took the girl's stupid puppet," Gloom admitted, the cast's expressions shifting as he scoffed, "she can get the Hell over it like a damn adult!"

"What?!" Dubwool screamed. "You no good son of a devil!"

"Dude, give her it back already!" Skuntank added on.

Scoffing, the grass-type rolled his eyes, "You seriously think I still have that stupid thing? I lost it in the woods." Gasps rang out among the cast, Gabite in particular paling as she fell to her knees. Gloom looked less than empathetic about the situation. "Thing's probably being used by a wolf has a chew toy by now..."

"...The fuck is wrong with you?!" Luxray jumped in, the rest of the Oranguru behind her, the crowd of hateful glares trying in vain to get any sort of reluctance or regret out of the weed…

Only to be met with none. "I'm just playing the game. And using everything in my power to win it." He looked over his team, and the similarly glaring Passimian. "...But I doubt any of you would get that. You're all too shackled to whatever pretend standards you set for yourselves to remember as much. The only one who understands it as well as I do, is him," Gloom spat, pointing straight at Espeon, who held his ground well, "who is playing you all for fools right now, and you're letting him! He was just as involved in this mess as me-"

"Why'd he spill the beans then, huh?" Sneasel asked, narrowing her glare.

"I...How the Hell should I know?!" Gloom screamed out.

"We could just ask Gabite, how about that," Aggron stated, looking down at the girl and pushing her forward a bit, stating, "spill. Was Espeon lying?"

The sand shark remained silent, barely even emoting...Though for just a moment, her eyes met Espeon's. And the psychic...Smiled. And she couldn't help but think over the rest of that day...

She shook her head. And the crowd refocused their rage on Gloom, while Espeon smiled in delight.

Gloom growled, "You lying little- ...Nevermind...I took you all for morons," he started, looking over the crowd, "but no...Looks like all it took was a nudge for the smarter people here to start taking this game seriously..."

"Yeah…Well, if that's the case, then it seems like we're all gonna have to start taking the game seriously," Cranidos growled then, the team firming up.

"You heard the runt…So here's a message from us Howling Passimian," Aggron added, stomping up and pointing a finger at the grass-type, and screaming, "you ever do anything to my team again, and I'll smash you into a Goddamn salad!"

The screaming ended, Gloom effectively taken aback in mild shock, as the steel-type huffed, "Back to camp, everybody. We're done here…"

Most of the Passimian simply followed after the retreating armored giant, sending only a sparse few glares at Gloom on their way out…

"...So, your team, huh?" Cranidos snickered.

"Get any ideas and I'll just break you over my knee, pipsqueak," Aggron huffed.

As they walked away, Gabite looked back just a moment, her body still barely responsive…But as she locked eyes with Sneasel, she whispered something…

"Thank you…"

And then…She left.

And so…It was just the Oranguru, who's glares remained firm.

Gloom scoffed. "This is all ridiculous…Any one of you'd have-"

"No." Luxray shook her head. "Just…No. This…This is low. I just thought you were an asshole but this crossed a line." Narrowing her eyes, she growled, "You're done."

"Aw…But remember?" Gloom mocked. "I have a little thing called…Immunity. Your threats are entirely hollow." The lioness' expression didn't fade. "...Whatever. I'm done with you children." He stomped off. "See you miserable lot at elimination."

And like that, the object of their hatred was gone from view, leaving the group alone with their thoughts…Which quickly shifted into a depressed acknowledgement of what they knew to be the truth.

"This is so screwed up…" Sneasel hissed, her claws tightening into a fist as she glared at the ground.

"We have to be able to do something…He can't just…Get away with this," Granbull whispered.

"I…I don't think we can…" Druddigon muttered, lowering his head…Before groaning, already bringing up his wings to fly off. But before he did, he turned back, and caught a certain lioness' eyes, "I…You were right, Luxray. I should have voted for him last time…We wouldn't be in the mess if I had."

She said nothing. In fact…She turned away.

He took off into the air, disappearing into the cold, night sky…

The remaining Oranguru were all just as quick to try and disperse-

"Stop." Samurott stated, catching their attention. "Before we do anything else, you all need to know something."

The four stopped, turning back, and offering their ears to listen to whatever the water-type had to say…

Skuntank…Skuntank didn't know what to think…All he was doing was laying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling…Waiting…Unable to sleep…

After…Everything he saw and dealt with earlier…Listening in on it all…Watching it go down…He just kind of felt…Hollow, maybe? He didn't really know the right word for it…

He…Thinks it broke him, almost? Except…Not really?

Skuntank didn't know Gabite. He'd be the first to admit it. He thought she was a weirdo. He didn't talk to her. Period. Hell, the few times they ever interacted was through the eyes of that dumb puppet anyway…

But that dumb puppet meant something to her. And somebody took that away for the sake of their "game"...But that shouldn't be a fucking excuse to hurt somebody, right?!

…

"When I said I was taking precautions…It's because I didn't trust Gloom," Skuntank started, "...But really, I don't know why I took that footage…Maybe it was gonna be blackmail. Maybe just to show him he's not all that? I wanted to humiliate him- I could still do that to humiliate him, like he did to Gabite! She had a fucking breakdown on national tv and he just doesn't care, he deserves to suffer…"

"...But that'd be playing his game…Wouldn't it?" He affirmed to himself. "I have two choices with what I have…Use this for my own sake- my own gain, to progress my game…"

"Or I can do what's right…"

Sniffling to herself, Absol wiped her face, her expression utterly hopeless. "I let everybody down...I-I deserve this..." Shaking her head, as she tried to force a laugh. "I-It's...It's not like this wouldn't have happened eventually though...It's just who I am."

"I ruin things...There's no fixing what's built into me, right?" Breathing loosely, she sighed. "I...I only wish...I wish I could have made genuine connections out here...Even now, I don't know if anybody will even remember me when I'm gone. But...That's all too late now..."

She waved at the camera, "Goodbye everybody...Thanks for having me..."

"Druddigon…"

The dragon breathed in…Then sat up from his log, stomping up and picking up his block from the plate, before stepping to the side, where he found Granbull, Samurott, and Sneasel waiting for him, each with their own blocks as well.

"Espeon."

The psychic rolled his eyes and stepped up, grabbing his block and nonchalantly throwing it in his mouth, as he turned back to watch.

Only three players remained; Absol, who held her head low. She hadn't met anybody's eyes since they had arrived. Then there was Luxray, who simply scowled at the last of the three…Gloom. He was smiling, just waiting for Bidoof to get to the point.

"Well, you three…I only have two blocks left on this plate." Bidoof started up once more, ignoring Gloom as he chuckled grimly to himself. "One of you is going home tonight…And can't come back…Ever…"

Absol whimpered to herself, Gloom rolling his eyes beside her and uttering, "You can at least face your fate with dignity…"

"Just stuff it already," Luxray grumbled, "you already got what you want. You don't gotta torture the poor girl."

"I was just saying, that's all," Gloom replied, if lack of empathy more than apparent, "only thing I don't get is why I'm still down here-" He blinked…Before chuckling. "Did you really-"

"I wasn't going to play into your games…" Luxray stated simply, as the dark-type looked up, her eyes filled with confusion. "Absol doesn't deserve this…And I wasn't going to stand for it."

Gloom scoffed, turning away, as Absol's maw was left ajar in shock, staring at the electric-type in disbelief, "...Luxray…I…I don't know what to-"

"You don't need to say anything," Luxray shook her head, "and…I'm sorry; you wouldn't have slowed me down, Absol. I should have let you come with me."

A very soft smile began to tear across the disaster Pokemon's face…Just as Granbull let out a squeak. "AAAAUGH- I couldn't vote for you either!" The dog threw her block aside, and in a moment, ran up to and hugged the dark-type, pulling her close with a wheeze. "I'm so sorry, Absol! I-I should've waited for you during the challenge!"

Sniffing, Sneasel's arms dropped and she ran up as well, adding onto the surprise group hug with a whine, "Me too, dude! Y-You were one of the best roomies I've ever had!" Absol and Granbull gave her a look at this…To which the ice-type shrugged awkwardly. "I've lived with destructive fellas."

"W-Wait…All three of you didn't vote for me," Absol muttered, looking over herself and her friends as the two detached, "and…What about…" She turned to the others standing afar.

Espeon stared…Then shrugged. Samurott…He…Smiled. It was small, and only for a brief moment, but he had smiled. Druddigon…He didn't look her in the eyes…

Yet…Still…That meant…

"Y-You guys…I-I…" Absol started, tears welling up in her eyes, "T-Thank you-"

"Oh enough of this nonsense," Gloom spat, standing up from his seat in frustration, "good for all of you, 'ya just wasted your votes on nothing. It changes nothing." He pointed at Absol. "She is still going home. Your pathetic act of 'kindness' no matter how you spin it was simply senseless and pointless." Turning back to the host, he screamed, "And get on with the vote!"

Bidoof's expression held firm, clearly annoyed by all the interruptions as well, but also by something else. "...Fine…Luxray." He grabbed the block and tossed it, the lioness catching it reluctantly.

"And in a final vote of five to three," Bidoof continued, Gloom smirking as Absol breathed in, accepting of her fate…

…

…

…

…

…

"...Absol." Bidoof smirked, tossing the block forward, as it landed in the dark-type's paw, her shocked expression pairing well with Gloom's of absolute horror.

"What?!" They both exclaimed.

"Wait! No! This is wrong, I have immunity, you even said so!" Gloom screamed at the host.

"Yeah…I did. And you did." Bidoof started…Before he pulled up a small, purple phone. "Until I was shown this."

Turning it on, it showed footage…Of Gloom exiting the staff trailer. And like that, the grass-type's expression twisted.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…Cheating, Gloom? Really? And you thought nobody would catch you?" Bidoof asked, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "I'm truly appalled. You've utterly ruined the fair game I've crafted. Shame on you…"

"I…I…How…Where did you get that?" Gloom asked.

"Oh, well turns out another contestant went and broke the rules themselves by stealing their phone…But considering they did so to bring this to my knowledge, well…I let them off with a warning, and a penalty in the next challenge." Bidoof explained, before smirking. "But you…Well…I'm sorry to say Gloom…"

"But you have been disqualified from the competition!"

"What?!" Gloom screamed.

"What?!" Everyone else matched, though their tone read of cheer more than anything.

"Yep! Gloom is outta here!" Bidoof laughed. "So…Say your goodbyes. Then you're gone."

Gloom's eye twitched, as he stared at the ground in disbelief, Luxray cackling beside him. "Now this…This just made my night!"

Similarly laughing, Sneasel pointed at the silent weed, boasting "And that's karma, dude! Get destroyed you jerk!"

Breathing in, Gloom stood up, shaking in rage…Which quickly dispersed into nothing. "...Whatever…This isn't over." He walked off toward the dock, though as he did so, he turned back one final time, declaring, "You'll all regret ever having met me; know this well!"

"...Uh…We already kinda do," Granbull said, sending the weed off with a mock wave, which was quickly joined in by the rest of the team.

Snorting, Gloom turned away, stomping down the wooden dock to the boat of losers, where Machoke was awaiting him.

Within moments, he was gone. Off the island. Hopefully to never be seen again…"

"Well…Now that everything's cleared up here, I'm going to bed." Bidoof waved off the cast, walking away while saying, "Night campers."

With all settled and done with, Druddigon looked himself over…Then the team…And smiled. "I can't believe it. He's really gone-"

"Oh, don't think we forgot about you!"

Stuned, the dragon jumped, turning to see the entire team, sans a still blissfully stunned Absol, glaring daggers at him.

"W-What'd I do-"

"You knew Gloom was in a gang?! Like an actual criminal organization?! And you didn't think to tell anybody?!" Luxray screamed.

Druddigon's eyes went wide, as he quickly turned to Samurott- who held a similarly furious glare. One that simply read as "You have this coming…"

"Dude…That's…Wow, I don't even know what to say, just what the heck, man?" Sneasel said.

"Druddigon…You just allowed that monster to live with us," Granbull shook her head, "I…Why?"

"I…I just wanted to keep my family safe-" He weakly defended.

"No…No that isn't good enough, sorry pal," Luxray shook her head, holding her glare as she stared the dragon down, "this isn't gonna be something we can just forgive and forget about cause you give us some sob story. People got hurt today cause of what he did, and it could have been avoided all together if just told somebody, anybody about what he was capable of before he did it!"

"I…I…" Druddigon…Said nothing, and bowed his head.

Seeing his acknowledgement of defeat, Luxray breathed in…Then walked away. She was done with this conversation…And with him. And moments later, Granbull followed. Then Sneasel, and Samurott, and eventually a barely conscious Absol.

The only one who lingered…Was Espeon. Who didn't look especially angry himself. If anything he was more disappointed.

"...You want to chew me out too?"

Shaking his head, the Eeveelution stated, "No, you looked chewed enough already to be honest. I just wanted to see if you were gonna quit or not."

The dragon looked up. "...Quit?"

"Well, yeah. I mean…Everyone hates you." Espeon pointed out, "You're going to lose, so just get it over with, right?"

"What- no. No! I'm not going to quit!" The dragon stated, standing up from his log.

Humming…The Eeveelution said, "Well, if you're not gonna quit, you better start playing the game then." He shrugged. "But hey, what would I know, right?"

The dragon was about to say something…Though just as quickly found himself at a loss of words. He looked around for just a moment…Stared down at his hands…Then clenched them into fists. Breathing in, he stomped off toward the campground as well, unaware of the smile growing across Espeon's face.

With a whistle, the psychic approached the still going firepit, and sat down beside it, staring into the fire…As a sort of grin began to grow across it.

He stared into the fire as if it were a mirror, adjusting his fur somewhat with his tail as he thought his actions over throughout the day…

And how he had gotten out of this whole thing scot-free. Gabite and her friends thought he was on her side…She probably thinks they're even friends, though maybe that's exaggeration; she won't say a thing. Samurott doesn't even know he had worked with Gloom, so he can't go and tell anybody and soil my reputation like Druddigon's, who himself has now taken all the attention away from the team as a scapegoat. And of course, Gloom's eliminated, and a proven liar…

Espeon had just helped the most hated man on the island with everything that happened that day…And had gotten away with all of it…And he couldn't help but think what else he could get away with if he only allowed the others to see who he truly was...

Breathing in, he sighed whimsically. "...Well, that was fun." His eyes began to glow. "Wonder what'll happen next…

"Night Absol," Granbull muttered, wrapping herself in her blankets before adding on, "if you need anything, just say, alright?"

Absol, currently laying down in a barely rebuilt bed, nodded, softly saying, "Yeah...Thanks." Trying to recline out, she looked over the room; Luxray was already out cold by this point, and Granbull was all set to join her. Sneasel had left the cabin a while ago to go check on Gabite; now that Fred's lot out in the wild...She probably needs all the help she could get...

Absol tried to lay her head down against her pillow, desperate for sleep after the day she's had...But such a goal was destined for failure. She wanted to be happy; she got to stay after all; she should be elated, and she was but...Today also showed her something else. For better or worse, she knew how everybody felt about her now, and...That's sort of hard to ignore...

She breathed in...Then got up from the bed. As quietly as she could she stepped out of the cabin, closing the door silently behind her. Staring out at the campground at night was a...Weird feeling to say the least. She didn't really know how to feele, or how she should feel, especially with all her warped emotions right now. But seeing as how during the day, she had gotten so used to the image of the rest of the camp walking around, talking and having fun...It was so...Eerie, to see it nearly completely empty.

It was only even nearly cause, for whatever reason, Scrafty was hanging by the washrooms. He looked...Annoyed, his eyes darting back and forth impatiently as he tapped his arm. But as soon as he saw her eyes lock with his, he froze. Scrafty quickly threw open the washroom door and walked inside...

"...Okay then..." Absol thought, before sighing, looking out toward the forest...Where she saw something strange.

Samurott, hanging in a tree; he had just tightened the split the med bay had given him for his leg, before leaning back against the trunk of the tree. He stretched out his arms, and rested his head against them.

"Guess he compromised sleeping in the cabins to just...Sleeping nearby them," Absol thought, leaning against her arm as she stared up at the seal in interest, watching keenly ever small movement he made, a smile rising onto her face, "around us...Samurott never says much, but...Out here..."

She watched a sort of smile creep onto his face; it was small, barely noticeable. But...He looked so...Satisfied.

"...I don't think I've ever seen someone so at peace before..."

Sighing, she reluctantly stopped leaning against the railing of the cabin to step back inside, but allowed one more glance at the water-type. And while her mind was still flooded with doubt, if only for brief moments...That flood grew easy...And all she had to do was stare at him...

Breathing in, she stepped back into the cabin...Unaware of the eye flickering open on a certain water-type's face. He huffed...Then smiled himself, leaning back with a low laugh.

"I really don't understand it, amigo," Machoke said, his hands gripping the steering wheel of the boat as it sailed across the water, "joining this game, just to hurt others and cheat and…Whatever else. It all seems like such a waste."

Gloom simply stood motionless in back; his expression was unreadable, completely flat and apathetic. He didn't seem to care one way or another that he was even being spoken to.

Machoke let out a sigh, than nodded to himself. "Then again…As my father always said…Money can do some crazy things to people-"

Whack.

Machoke shook, wobbled…Then tumbled over, hitting the ground. Just behind him, Gloom stood over the now unconscious staff member scoffing to himself.

"It's not always about money, imbecile."

Walking to the edge of the boat, Gloom stared out at the ocean, and breathed in…As a stepping stone made of seaweed appeared in front of the boat, laying on top of the ocean like a lily pad. He stepped out onto it, and another form in front of that one. And as he stepped forward, it happened again, and again, as the grass-type effectively began to walk on water…

Right back to the island...

The confessional went to static...Then reappeared for just a moment, revealing Gloom now sitting there, a grin on his face. "You know...This all could have been so easy...If they had all just let me get what I came here for, then none of what's going to happen would have to. But...Here we are."

Chuckling lowly, he sighed. "...Guess it's on to Plan B...See you soon..."

The confessional abruptly cut out...

Requiem for the Drunkard?

So prepare for a chance of a lifetime, be prepared for sensational news;

A shining new era is tiptoeing nearer, so listen to teacher…

I know it sounds sordid, but you'll be rewarded, when at last I am given my dues!

And injustice deliciously squared, be prepared!

So prepare for the coup of the century, be prepared for the murkiest scam!

Meticulous planning, tenacity spanning, decades of denial, is simply why I'll-

Be king undisputed! Respected, saluted! And seen for the wonder I am!

Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared, be prepared!

Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared, be prepared!

ELIMINATION RESULTS:

Gloom- 5 votes. (Espeon, Granbull, Luxray, Samurott, Sneasel) - *DID NOT COUNT…Initially.

Absol- 3 votes. (Absol, Druddigon, Gloom)

EPISODE #4, CONCLUDED. THE FOLLOWING ARE STILL IN THE RUNNING:

The Growling Oranguru- Absol, Druddigon, Espeon, Granbull, Luxray, Samurott, Sneasel.

The Howling Passimian- Aggron, Cranidos, Dubwool, Gabite, Gengar, Scrafty, Shedinja, Skuntank.

ELIMINATED- Staravia (18th), Braixen (17th), Gloom (16th | DISQUALIFIED).

CH8 NOTE:

AND FINALLY this behemoth is DONE; look this was a SUPER important chapter in terms of character interactions, so I think it was worth its...Rather bulky weight. This is by far the largest chapter and I kinda hope it stays that way. But now more than ever...I can say, I genuinely think the cast has finally bonded! It took a bit, but the teams seem that little bit more...United, at least in their own way and with some obvious exceptions. Still, it was a fun chapter to write; not perfect as I definitely could have handled a handful of scenes better possibly, but on the whole I definitely think it works. Or at least I HOPE it does, this fucker was LONG!

Honestly, the only real thing I'd change would probably be the climax of the challenge. To be honest I wanted to write this big, exaggerated action scene featuring all the interns and contestants and everything but...Look man, I was burnt out. The chapter was already getting insane length wise and by that point I doubt anyone minded a simpler, and at that more potentially suspenseful ending, especially when the challenge itself was probably the least interesting thing going on this chapter anyway. It was fine. Not a huge deal or anything and I don't exactly regret handling it the way I did what with how tired of writing I got at a certain point, but still, probably the chapter's low point.

On opposite end, I felt this chapter was good for exploring some of the cast who I think haven't gotten as much spotlight recently. Granbull and her insecurities about being trapped out in an environment she doesn't know or understand well. Shedinja's oddball energy and its strange allure and detraction from others depending on the circumstances. Absol's anxiety and how it controls her, not helped by the true extent of how others react to her luck. And just...Everything about Espeon, who oddly easily takes the cake as having been my absolute favorite character to write this chapter once I really got into a groove with him. It was fun and helped me remember to not hyperfocus like I sometimes worry I can do.

Now then, onto our eliminated player…Gloom?! Yep, I can see some of the shock from miles away…But also maybe expected acceptance, because as you can see, the dude ain't gone yet. Despite the easy assumption that could be made that Gloom would follow the guideline set by past villainous characters in TPIs…That was never really my intention. While I love bad guys, I also don't think it makes any sense how they could get far in this sort of thing; when you're so blatantly evil that everybody hates you, ruling through fear and hate only gets you so far, even when you're cheating like he was, especially when one too many mistakes eventually catch up with you; like Heather in season #1, and every "baby's first TPI villain", he isn't merely Chaotic Evil, he is rather, in fact, Chaotic Stupid, for when you live by the idea everybody is dumber than you, than you ultimately do some pretty stupid shit yourself. In the end, what doomed his game came down to the fact he was so obviously awful that it all came back to bite him, like with Heather…Only he's the 3rd one out and not in 3rd place...Huh, that shockingly worked out with this analogy.

But while his game's over, his story ain't! He's coming back to the island, the interns never got caught for working for him (and we still don't know why they're working for him), and we don't know what the Hell "Plan B" is…Guess we'll just have to wait and see how all of that goes, now won't we?

Thanks again to J3tro for submitting Gloom.

Gloom: This isn't over. So when you send your review, just keep as much in mind…