Veera's eyes flew open. In a panic, they scanned her soundings.

The shoddy green bed was still there, the sparse wooden walls were there, the table was there. And with it, the intangible: the dull pain, the slight aftertaste of mildew in her mouth, and the humiliation and shame.

The troubled eevee had, for a brief moment, hoped to wake up back in the maze. She had wished to have woken up to realize that all the awful things that had happened to her, the capture and rape of her and her friends, her kidnapping, and even further rape had all just been the products of one night's horrible nightmare. However, as she slowly rose to her hands, the sights and overwhelming scents entered her nose once more, the reality of the situation made itself known to her, that it wasn't. It was all real. All those things had in fact happened to her.

And would most likely happen to her again. And again. And again, until... Well, she didn't know when it would stop at all. Brene would just keep using her, abusing her, humiliating her with her own body's sense of pleasure until-

It was at that moment that her mind snapped to attention. There was one detail in her current predicament that she had not noticed. It was not the addition of something that caused her to miss that detail in her panicked state, but rather the apparent lack of something. Something that should have been there. But wasn't. 

Or rather, someone. If that creature could even be called a someone: Brene herself. It dawned on Veera that, by all appearances, she was alone in the room.

With that revelation having made itself known, the eevee quickly, but shakily rose to her feet. She nearly fell down as her knees shook, but she was able to right herself and get herself stable. 

Brene was gone. She was alone. 

It took a little bit for the implication of that statement to enter her mind, for a possibility to make itself manifest. She looked to the door, and the strange 'lock' on it.

Brene was gone. She was alone, and if she could just get past that door, it would forever stay that way. She'd be able to get away from her! Maybe she could find her friends, if they could be found, maybe-

No. One thing at a time. First, she had to get away from that insane, lustful monster of a Guilder. Nonetheless, Veera was filled with a renewed sense of hope as she made her way carefully to the door. The only thing preventing her from leaving was the lock on the door: a crude box-like all-wooden mechanism with a small hole on the top, just large enough to stick an object into, and a small protrusion coming out the left side of it. Said wooden protrusion was loosely slid in between a half-ring, the two halves glued onto or screwed into the wall from the other side.

Veera instinctively reached for the wooden protrusion. She was able to lift it slightly up and down, but not back, like she needed. As she fiddled with it, Veera cursed herself for not being a Flareon. Then she'd be able to burn the lock right off and make her escape that much easier. Maybe she could have avoided all this from the start by being Brene's opposing type, maybe...

She quickly realized that would not work out either.  Being a fire type would have been no obstacle to Brene, even factoring in the mace. And as for burning the lock went, even if it were that simple, she would have simply burned the rest of the house down before removing the lock, with herself inside it. She didn't know if that would kill her or not, but she really didn't want to find out.

Jimmying the protrusion didn't work, so her attention turned to the small hole at the top. Carefully, though perhaps a bit foolishly, she slipped her eevee digit inside of the hole on top. She was just able to fit it in with a bit of difficulty. Almost immediately, she was able to feel something in there. She wiggled her paw, trying to slide it back. She stretched out her claw, trying to get a good grip on it. 

She succeeded. With a swoop, she was able to pull the protrusion back out of its half-hoop. A brief moment of joy and accomplishment filled the little eevee girl, making her smile. It subsided quickly however, and she quickly returned to the task at hand, the reason she'd even unlocked the door in the first place. She pulled her digit out of the hole, took hold of the lock, and without even hesitating, pulled open the door. The light of the outside, something she hadn't seen since she'd been dragged here, flooded her vision, blinding her for just a moment and causing her to instinctively put her arm in front of her eyes to protect them from the sudden onslaught of the burning sunlight. As her eyes adjusted, she lowered it, and her sight returned. She was greeted by the sight of...

... Nothing. Nothing at all stood outside. Nothing but the rock walls, twilt skie, and sands of the maze. 

Carefully and cautiously, the eevee gripped the doorframe and stuck her head out. She half expected Brene to be just outside, just out of sight somewhere. She looked left, right, and straight forward again. She didn't see anything however. It appeared Brene really was gone out for the moment, out to who knows where doing who knows what.

And Veera wasn't going to find out. Now that she was sure she was in the clear, she stepped out, her feet touching the sands they'd felt all her life. To her at this moment, they greeted her like an old friend that had missed her, and the sensation filled her with relief. She put one foot in front of the other, cautiously, slowly starting to walk away from the small 'home' Brene had either built or taken over. 

Her experience was over. It had been a horrible night, and she'd have to look for her friends, but at least now she was out of it. She was away from that beastly woman, and that much was all she-

"GEYHEHEHEHEYEA!"

A shrill laughter reverberated throughout the dungeon walls. Veera's fur went on end and she was filled with dread as it entered her ears and shook her very being. She looked around desperately, trying to find the source of the offending sound, but she coudn't pinpoint it. However, she could pinpoint its origin:

Brene. Whose wicked voice reverberated off the walls once more.

"HEEYAHA!" She laughed, from wherever she was. This time, she was not content to simply laugh. "RUN VEERA, RUN!!"

Veera did not need to be told twice. At that instance, she burst into a run, almost falling over and tripping onto the sands. She quickly regained her balance, and momentum, and ran as heard the laughter, now squarely behind her, grow louder.

"RUN, VEERA! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! MUEHAHAHHAHAHA!!!" The monster taunted as Veera took a sharp turn, and then another. She paid no attention to where exactly she was going. She took a left turn, then a right, at complete random. Yet no matter how fast she went, and what directions she tried, she could still hear the patter of footsteps behind her, and the shrill laughter of her pursuer.

"RUN, BITCH, RUN!" The berserker taunted her in a sing-song scream. "BREENIE'S GONNA GITCHA! HAHA!"

Veera's heart pounded out of her chest as she ran. She couldn't go back, she had to run. She had to escape. Somehow, someway. Maybe this next turn would shake her? No, this right one. Maybe if she ran straight at this next one. Nothing seemed to work.

While she ran, her eyes caught cursory glimpses of other mons, fellow dwellers, in her path. Some of them simply looked on, others looked like they were going to ambush her themselves. Every day in the maze was chaotic after all, and the dwellers fought each other in its lawlessness almost as much as they fought the outsiders. More, even. 
But upon catching sight of the pursuit, or rather, her pususer, that crazed lunatic Breeloom, whatever intentions they might have had died in the moment. They cowered away, running off in their own directions, hoping desperately that the infamous berserker would not give chase to them. They all left Veera to her inevitable fate, one she was determined to defy at all costs.

Desperately, Veera ran and ran, yet every turn seemed to bring her pursuer closer and closer, not further away. And yet, she still held hope, still held faith in the maze. It would take her where she needed to go. Just one more turn. Maybe this right turn-

She took the turn, and stared straight at an empty wall. She desperately looked left, and right, but there were no exits. Just a dead end. Desperately, she turned around, hoping to whatever deity was listening to her thoughts that somehow she could salvage this. That she could still make it.

The silhouette of Brene in the moonlight killed any and all hopes dead flat the minute the eevee's eyes laid upon her. She quaked, tears fell from her eyes as the inevitability sunk in. She once again desperately looked for a way out, and just like before, saw none whatsoever.

"Well well... doesn't this look familiar?" The crazed Breeloom asked tauntingly as she stepped into the light. "Deja Vu, isn't it, my little slutvee?" 

Veera stepped away, trying to put as much distance between her and her captor, and soon to be re-captor, between herself and her. Her body quaked violently with fear.

"Aww, what's the matter? Sad you couldn't escape me?" Brene asked with mock concern, an evil grin plastered across her features. "You thought you were home free, and then ran so hard, took so many turns, trying to shake off little old me. It must look like the worst turn of bad luck in your life, didn't you?"

Veera just let out a choked sob in reply.

"The truth of the matter is..." Brene took a step forward and shrugged. "This little chase was over from the start."

Veera could only stare in disbelief as the fear and tears both mounted.

"Really? You didn't think a little vee like you could outrun me, did you? Let alone lose me? Girl, I had you pegged from the moment you stepped out the door. I know this dungeon like the back of this hand. You. Never. Stood. A chance." She finished the last part slowly.

"Y... You..." Veera choked, trying to find some words to respond, but failing miserably amongst her fear and inexpressible anger. "W-why?"

"Why?" Brene asked back before answering her straightly. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes as she spoke. "Well,  I could say something cliche, like 'to teach you an object lesson,' or 'to teach you that you could never escape me no matter what you do.' Or... some boring shit like that. But the truth is..." She opened her eyes, and a malicious smile spread across her lips.

"Because it's fun."

"Y... YOu monster!" Veera shouted. 

"Yes. Yes I am." She sighed. Veera realized she must have heard that insult so many times it didn't even register anymore. "But..."

Veera looked on as she spoke.

"You aren't running any further, that much is clear. But I'll tell you what, Veera." She said. "I'll give you one chance. One. Single. Chance." She held her arms out to the side and up. "You may not have noticed, but I am unarmed. Yup, left the mace at home."

Veera only now noticed that small detail, and mentally kicked herself for not noticing back at the shack, let alone taking it with her. 

"So, if you can knock me down and out, right here, right now... I'll let you go. I'll never come after you again, or your shitty little friends. Never again."

Veera, in her panicked, traumatized state, couldn't tell if Brene was being sincere or not. However...

She took a step, and another, and another towards the Brelroom, who still had her arms outstretched to either side.

"Come on, I'll even let you have the first hit free. No retaliations, no lies. Just one good hit." He laughed. "All you have to do is take me out. And you're outta this."

Veera managed one more step before she fell down to her knees, and sobbed. 

"I... I can't." She whined. "P-Please, I.. I can't do it."

She meant it. She was not a fighter. She wasn't even a good runner. She'd always run from fights rather than take on anyone. She could never even beat the weakest of enemies, let alone a powerful, experienced guilder like Brene was. And now, what hope did she have here? She couldn't do it. Sobs filled the air as the sound of Brene dropping her arms to her side and groaning barely registered in her ears.

"Feh, useless." Brene grumbled. "And here I was hoping for one last little bit of fun before dragging your ass back home. Way to take that from me." She gave one more long sigh.

"Well, there's no fun in prolonging this any more." Her expression melted from a proud taunt into an annoyed scowl as she made her way towards her quarry. "This was fun, but the game's ove-"

As Brene's hand reached out for her, Veera suddenly shot back, lifted her head into the sky and yelled as loud as she could.

"SOMEONE, ANYONE! HELP ME!!"

The two of them stood there, Brene froze in her position as much as Veera was in hers. Veera looked around without turning her head, hoping someone, anyone would at least heed her call. But as the seconds ticked on, Brene's slightly shocked expression grew into a smirk.

"You hear that?" She asked.

Veera gave no reply.

"It's the righteous, triumphant sound of nothing." Brene taunted. "Nothing but you, me, and a maze full of dust and rocks. No one's coming to help you." She chided as she continued her rant. "No one cares about you. Your so-called friends? Gone, or too scared to help. The so-called guilds? Too absorbed in their own shit to care. Too busy doing this shit themselves when they think no one is watching."

The all too obvious reality sunk in with Veera. Brene was right. Every word of it. This revelation only caused her to cry all the more. Once more, Brene extended a hand to the eeveelution. The eevee looked up, and for a moment, thought she was extending it to help her up. A small bit of kindness from this monster. So she reached out...

Only for her to grab said arm. Her expression morphed into a scowl, and Veera felt pain explode from her lower abdomen as the fighter-grass type unleashed a hard kick. The impact was enough to send the eevee onto her back, was enough to stop the sobs and tears but only for a second as she looked upon Brene with shock.

"You're worthless and weak." Brene said angrily yet calmly. "It's why savages like you get used. It's why the only thing you're good for..." Veera felt her leg being roughly grabbed by the Breloom's red paw, her grip tight around it. "Is to be used until I get bored with you. In this world, It's use or be used."

Veera could do little but cry, and give only a token, and small, useless occasional kick as Brene proceeded to drag her by the foot back through the maze, all the way back to the hut, where she would do Lost Ways-knows-what with her. Or more accurately, to her...