Their last foray into the simulation had…not gone over too well. Hideo was lucky that Uxie was able to lift Eris out of there, else he would've had to drag her, or carry her on his back.

He didn't know if he could even do the latter.

And yet, here they were again, running the simulation again. Hideo planned to keep a close eye on Eris (as best he could), but he didn't want to push the topic with her - that rarely ever got good results.

And it was hard to get his mind off the scent of blood in the air. "Yeesh. Where'd they start us off this time?"

Eris Halla

Yeah, she still had that in her mind. He did too; he knew that he'd never been kidnapped by Rocket. He knew they'd never drugged him or beat him up or interrogated him.

But he still couldn't shake the feeling that it could be a reality.

"Y-yeah," he awkwardly said, "I know that. There'd be a lotta people raising hell if that happened."

He was pretty sure John Sullivan would literally tear through Rocket if they tried to him, and while he wasn't aware what means Michael Navidson would go to, he had a feeling Navy might do the same.

"And, uh, Pokemon too."

Hideo was a bit shakier on that one: Uxie was a strong Pokemon, yes, but he'd caught on to Uxie not always stopping things when it could've. It did step in when physical harm could be involved, but other times, it just watched, observing what was going on.

He still didn't know what Uxie's true motives were. Or what any of the Lake Trio truly wanted.

"...think that chef guy's gonna get mad at us if we just stand here. If it's all just simulated stuff…well, I've never chopped a Slowpoke's tail off before. Real or not. Don't really feel like doing it."

Abstain/Defy +50 points

Eris Halla

"Yeeeeah. Chopping a Pokemon's tail doesn't feel right, even if they don't notice."

Would they feel it? Would they even care? Hideo didn't know much about Slowpoke anatomy, and it didn't sound like the Slowpokes here were resisting in any way.

His thought was interrupted as Eris moved him back - and Hideo realized his words set the chef off. The guy spouted off something about aliens.

Yeah, Hideo didn't need to be told to get away from this guy. Eris's push did make him stumble a little - but Mesprit was there to aid him.

Which meant Uxie was free to assist Eris.

A small bolt of Mystical Power shot out from Uxie, going straight for the pot Eris had tossed - and pushed it with even greater force towards the chef's head.

Hideo hadn't heard someone's head get hit by a pot before - the closest he got was hearing it in cartoons.

Those cartoons turned out to be pretty accurate.

Regardless, Hideo gripped Eris's hand, intending to take her along as he ran away. He didn't know how long that'd put the chef out for, and he didn't intend to stick around and find out.

Objective: Survive

Eris Halla

For obvious reasons, Hideo wasn't great with directions. He knew he was going away from the probably-concussed, possibly-rabid chef, but he didn't know where "out" was, and he didn't have the luxury of time for feeling the room out to find it.

The moment Eris told him where to go, he followed her direction. Not unlike what he did when his Pokemon gave him directions.

He charged straight for the door - and a timely Mystical Power from Uxie ensured that the door would be open for them, whether or not it'd been locked.

Hopefully there wasn't any other chefs waiting outside for them…

Objective: Survive

Eris Halla

Through the door, out of the butcher shop, and onto…sand.

That transition was a quick one. Hideo still took a moment to listen, to make sure that crazy concussed chef wasn't still after them.

"Better than staying inside that place any longer," Hideo said, only just then letting go of Eris's hand. "Just wish we got any hints as to where 'here' is."

Scouring the ocean wasn't a practical (or easy) endeavor, but it was just about the only method he could think of at this point.

Hideo looked towards the lake once more - and this time, his attention moved to the lone Pokemon sitting at its edge. Uxie had told him each time it was there, laying motionless. "...think we should try something different and go see what's up with that Persian?" he asked. "Maybe something different'll happen."

Eris Halla

Admittedly, what happened during that time was a bit hard to remember; he'd spent most of his time focused on rescuing people and Pokemon, then fighting off a horde of Paradox Pokemon. Remember all the words spoken that day hadn't been easy.

"Yeah, Shadow Pokemon can be temperamental. The one I got can be a handful sometimes." His Shadow Alakazam was a rough one, prone to violence when it had the chance to fight. He had to keep it on a short leash, so to say. "And wild Shadow Pokemon…not a fan of those."

"But I dunno if we'll make any progress if we just keep drowning ourselves over and over."

They had to try something different, to see what else they could get to happen. It could just reveal what they needed to move forward.

Slowly, he approached the Shadow Persian, Uxie keeping its gaze upon its unmoving body.

Eris Halla