". . . . that's not something you should worry about," she mumbled, glancing at espio and noting his confusion and concern.

"all that matters is that you and the others will be safe. escape is not the most important thing for me."

douchebag continued to travel north, keeping her guard up and her ax gripped. luckily for them, the exe was nowhere nearby and they were reaching a point where they would be safe.

"we need to wait it out until the ring opens. . . you will most likely be able to escape," she told him.

"you can probably escape this place, but the rest of us cannot. after every escape, we are placed back here and forced to wait another trial. after every death is the same thing," was her calm reply, not reacting to the erratic lightning or the way mary was acting.

"keep your wits about you."

douchebag knew she was stuck here, but THIS knuckles probably would be freed if they were able to reach the ring. the blonde hedgehog did not remove her hand from her wound, but this made using her ax very difficult.

". . . . . . try to stick by me, and i'll guide you to the ring when it opens."

"you're in the executioner's realm. there are no hospitals around. . . we need to find the healer and get to them," douchebag replied calmly, brown eyes surveying the surrounding area and detecting others nearby.

"alright. there are others west of us. if the exe comes back, i want you to run."

when they heard rustling, douchebag never reacted. she simply placed her finger to her lips as a survivor escaped a nearby tangle of bushes to run south.

". . . . the next time i sense somebody nearby, i will tell you," she mumbled after a brief silence, finally moving north again.

though douchebag was hit in the process, she managed to lose the exe and meet knuckles in another location. clutching her bleeding side with no change in her expression.

"are you alright," she inquired, completely ignoring the way she was injured.

hopefully knuckles had escaped the same.

"that might be a problem. we all want to go home, but we're stuck here playing the exe's games," douchebag replied calmly, and completely at terms with her situation.

most of the the survivors were, by now, used to their surroundings and the way they had to fight to survive.

douchebag wasn't the kind of person who made jokes or even laughed at them. her detached features never wavered, nor did she attempt to smile. the blonde hedgehog simply shook her head and averted her gaze from the flames to stare at mary.

"no. the executioner. we call them the exe for short."

tormenting the exe was all a part of the game, so when the exe was actively targeting @radredechidna.bsky.social , douchebag quickly diverted the exe's attention away from him so he could escape.

douchebag quickly stunned the exe and gestured for knuckles to start running.

after stunning the exe with her ax, douchebag quickly avoided getting harmed and her ears twitched when she sensed a nearby presence. upon seeing @everlastingsteel.bsky.social, she halted and pointed to the direction she escaped from.

"he's over there. just avoid going over there," she advised.

"it might not be a game to you, but it's definitely a game to the exe. . . . if you even manage to get into trials," she replied, eyes never once leaving the flickering light of the flames.

"we shall wait and see. the others should be arriving soon, or they are in the shadows away from the fire."

"no. you're going to walk with me. . . . perhaps we can escape together," the blonde hedgehog replied, continuing to walk north and gripping her ax.

"i want you to focus your attention on the back while i can focus on the sides and forward. but we're still moving. get what i mean," she mumbled.