Sammy's POV

"Sammy?" A voice called to me from the void. The void that greeted me ahead was endless—practically nonexistent. Until suddenly, I arose.

"Holy shit, you scared me, girl." Inu frowned at me, her position kneeling down to me.

I was on my back, lying awkwardly in the grass. Did I lose consciousness?

"You're fucking lying!" A voice caused me to snap back to reality. Nightshade seemed to be backing away from the pool, pointing hopelessly at a Luxray.

"Stop being in denial, he's dead! Leon is dead!" Luster hissed, nearing the Salazzle with a stern glare.

That's right, the horrid, terrible sight of Leon's corpse inside of the pool. I'll never forget it.

Something tells me I won't be forgetting anything inside of here.

Is this foreshadowing?

"I expected you to vomit, you know?" Inu's sweetened voice caused me to shift my attention back to her.

"Me too...I just wish I didn't faint." A soft frown tugged at my muzzle.

"You missed a few things." Bigby paced over near me and kneeled down. "A bell rang, announcing that a body was discovered. We have an hour to investigate and attempt to find out who committed the murder."

"Which means..." I shuddered. "She lied?"

"Yes, she lied to us." Prince glared at me. "She promised that whoever murdered would be allowed to leave."

"So what were you going to do about that?" Hydra crossed his arms and shared the same glare to the Charizard. "You're looking quite suspicious saying that."

"You think I did it?" Prince laughed, his powerful voice reverberating around the area. "You're hilarious..." He hissed before turning around and trampling away.

"Whatever, don't listen to him." Luster paced near the scene and gazed down at the pool. At this point, I'm glad I can't see the corpse. However, at some point, I knew I had to.

"There's no sign of struggle anywhere except..." Luster's eyes gleamed a bright red, indicating he had activated a higher caliber of sight—something common to a Luxray. "Even with this, I can barely see." He shifted his attention to everyone else. "We have to get him out of the pool."

"I got it..." Galant offered, pacing near the button and clicking it with his blade.

A loud, screeching sound caused everyone to flinch, and the pool's lid slid open. Galant readied himself and dove into the water with ease. He disappeared out of my view for a few seconds and rose up the water with a Lucario on his shoulder.

"Thank you," Luster muttered as Galant placed the Lucario on the soft grass.

"Looks like he has a couple—" Luster began, but was immediately interrupted by Hydra.

"Wait a minute," Hydra spoke sternly and gazed down at the pool. "There is a button here...inside of the pool."

"You mean...one to cover the pool?" Luna finally spoke up from his terrified stance. He seemed to be shaking in utter fear, the sight of the body sure affected him worse than me.

"Don't come for me," Hydra commanded and readied his body before quickly diving inside of the pool. This caused me to finally rise to my feet and dash near the edge of the pool. Hydra was swimming deeper inside, and his paw carefully clicked something on the wall.

The same, screeching sound danced off the walls, and it wasn't long before the lid closed...closed off on Hydra!

"What the fuck?" Luster called and neared the button, but was stopped by Galant's blade.

"He said to not go after him," Galant muttered, gazing down into the pool. Hydra's paw was placed against the other side of the glass before...

A blue misty aura shifted into sight directly above the pool, and a Lucario slipped through the energy, entirely drenched.

"The button works." Hydra cleared his throat as he landed on our side of the glass.

"What was the point of that?" Xeonix crossed his arms with a confused stare at the Lucario.

"You'll see. Just know that the button works underwater." Hydra huffed before nearing the other Lucario's corpse.

"Lucario can fuckin' teleport?!" Vince's eyes were wide open in disbelief.

"I think that's jus' a feature he's got." Sherwood scratched the back of his head and paced up next to me. "'Cause everyone here has somethin' 'special' to show off."

"Great..." I finally spoke out after my long period of silence. "N-Now we have to..."

"Solve the murder?" Inu paced gazed at me and smiled. "It's okay, it shouldn't be too hard to solve a murder this simple..."

"You all think it's so easy..." Luna frowned, gazing at the ground and poking the glass. "Murders need experienced people..."

"Do you think we have experienced Pokemon here, ya fuckin' twat?" Vince hissed at the Umbreon, his body pulsing with water. "We don't have a fuckin' choice, so zip it! The adults are talking."

"Arceus, he's just a kid, man..." Zantai paced up near Vince and clutched his shoulder with a talon.

"I'm sick of all this kid-talk he's doing then!" Vince's accent seemed to slightly muffle his words, but it was clear enough for Luna to understand. His tone of voice and insults already brought the Umbreon to shift his direction and dash away from the scene. Part of me feels bad—I can't blame him. He's a kid in a place with many adults and teenagers.

"He has a cut on his shoulder..." Loki, who seemed to ignore everyone else's bickering, stated. "It shattered through the protective ring a Lucario normally has on its shoulders."

"Then...with what was he struck with?" Bigby paced up near the Zoroark and kneeled down to frown at the body in front of him.

"I'm guessing something sharp and tough." Luster groaned and paced away from the corpse to gaze down at the pool. "What confuses me though...is that there is no debris inside of the pool."

"He was struck in a different place then." Hydra made his way near the pool to gaze down. "If it's not inside the pool it's somewhere."

"I have...a question..." I seemed to inquire without my own choice. "How are you all so calm about this..? Aren't you all scared?" Everyone seemed to face me, but Hydra was the one to answer with a frown.

"We don't have time to be scared." His words were blunt, but it was enough for me to understand.

"I'm going to look for the shoulder ring then." Luster took a deep breath and walked away from the pool's glass and directly inside of the mansion through the front door.

Loki rose to her feet to gaze around and suddenly pace away from the scene.

"Galant." Hydra shifted around to gaze at the Gallade, who turned his attention to the taller Lucario. "Follow me, I need to talk to you."

Hydra's POV

"I need you to help me search the inside for any evidence. I'm sure your psychic abilities can help me while I use the abilities of my own." I gazed around the area, waiting until I saw the Gallade's eyes gleam a bright pink. I had a plan, but it'd have to be very specific for it to work.

"I sense something..." I huffed out to the Gallade next to me and paced over to a room I have yet to explore. Upon opening, it seemed to be a closet, filled to the brim with sanitary cleaning accessories. With a closer eyeing, a chunk of black, shattered metal was placed against one of the platforms.

I rose my arm to clutch it and pull it close to me before changing my glare to the living room. It seemed like Luna was suspiciously near the object. It was time to put my plan into action.

"Luna," I called in a calm voice and paced near the couch he resided in.

"Leave me alone," Luna hissed and rose to his feet.

"Don't let him leave, Galant." I huffed as the Umbreon leaped off, making a dash to his room. However, his room door was replaced with a pink and white grid-textured one-way glass. Luna paused in his tracks, hissing at the sight of the shifted door.

"What did you do?" I turned to face Galant. The Gallade had gleaming white eyes, his blade rose into the air.

"Trick room. Are you going to confront him or not?" He turned to me.

"Release him. I already have my answers..." I chuckled softly and changed direction, walking away from the two. I feel as if I already have an idea as to who it is, and it's quite suspicious how this is all going together. For all I know, everyone else could have more information than me. I doubt anyone else found what I found, however, so it would be nice to—

DING DONG, DONG DING!

The same, dreaded alarm rung around the area.

"Hello, everyone! Your wonderful, beautiful, and talented host here: Sam! It is your time to leave the area and gather around the Braixen fountain, which is located behind the mansion. That's right, I still can't believe none of you explored there yet! So go ahead and go there!" Sam's voice rung through an intercom.

I didn't want to attend at all. Part of me thought it was a trap, and it was only one of her terrible methods to bring us despair.

"By the way, if you don't go, you'll die!" Sam's voice once again rung and a click was heard—meaning she had ended her speech. Seems like I have to comply, I don't want a cheap Snipe Shot to the back. With ease, I made my way over to what seemed like a large fountain, shaped into a Braixen. It seemed to be surrounded by water under the platform it stood on. I approached it, and after gleaming a weird orange color, a whirring sound occurred. It shifted into the cement beneath it until it was only just a flat surface—the Braixen was gone.

"You witnessed that as well." Bigby paced up next to me, a small frown written on his muzzle as he gazed at the platform surrounded by water. "I don't know how this is going to work."

"I don't either." I took a deep breath. "Normally, I have complete control over everything...but at this point, someone has to fake it so no one else freaks out."

"I get it, it's aight." Bigby shrugged. "Shit like this doesn't happen every day, literally no one knows what to do."

Because of the small talk I had with Bigby, I didn't notice everyone had gathered behind me.

"Please everyone, step on the platform!" The intercom called once again, causing everyone to begin moving. Everyone seemed to gather on the platform except for...

"No, no. If you think I'm stepping on that, you're sorely mistaken." Nightshade backed away from the platform, causing Vince to groan.

"Come on, ye fuckin' slut! The kid is more obedient than you!" The Greninja pointed to Luna, who seemed to shy away from him.

"Shut the fuck up! Okay, it's not my fault I don't want to be here! How about I just break the glass and leave?" Nightshade gazed up at the glass in the sky. I couldn't take it anymore, so I paced forward and clutched her by the wrist.

"Listen. If you don't do this, you'll die. Then you'll never be able to escape. This isn't a trap anyway, I know it because she wants us alive for a reason." I frowned at the Salazzle. Nightshade's tail flicked in thought before she groaned and wiggled her arm from my grasp.

"Fucking stupid..." Nightshade hissed under her breath and fell on all fours to pace onto the platform. She rose to two legs to cross her arms at me. "Happy?"

"Not really. I don't think anyone is happy doing this." I frowned to her and stepped onto the platform. "You just have to have a calm attitude and realize your options."

A loud, deafening sound caused all of us to flinch, and it wasn't long before the platform was sent hurling down into an endless void. The ceiling above us closed, and it was truly dark.

My sensors rose into the air, a bright blue aura flaring and allowing me to see in the dark. It was a mess, everyone was flailing around, attempting to grab something for dear life. I gazed below me, realizing the multiple layers of machinery.

"Everyone, calm down!" I called at the top of my lungs.

"There's machinery to hold us," Luster called with me, and after the both of us yelled out to them, their hastiness came to a close. I nearly forgot Luster has the same eyesight a Lucario has—allowing him to see through things and located every part in the area. He gazed at me with a small smile and nodded.

It wasn't long before our fall slowed down little by little until we were not moving anymore. Deciding to stop using my aura, I was met with pitch black. The wall in front of us rumbled, and they opened like some sort of elevator. What greeted us was...

A very fancy trial room...

And a large throne at the end of it. Sitting on the throne was Sam.

"Make yourselves at home. I know you're going to be in here a lot." She grinned and pointed to us. "Everyone has a podium with their name written on it. Those who are too short, there are stools, too. I've made every accommodation, so take it and follow it—or else."

I didn't want to be the first to enter, but my body moved on my own. Walking through the hardwood floor, I gazed around the large room and glared directly at Sam—who was quite far away from the rest of us.

"You're terrible." I hissed to her.

"I know." Sam giggled softly and adjusted herself on her throne. "And I love it."

𝓔𝓻𝓪 1: 𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓵𝓲𝔃𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓲𝓼𝓷'𝓽 𝓴𝓮𝔂