THIRD PERSON

To everyone in the room, something confusing and deeply rooted in evil had occurred. Once the tool rack had been moved, a large splatter of blood staining the metal wall was revealed to them.

"You missed a couple of things." Vanta muttered nonchalantly as Loki stepped in.

"Yeah that's...pretty important..." Loki held her stomach at the sight of the gory mess.

"We found something too." Vince extended his webbed hand to offer Leon the bloodied stone.

The jackal took it with hesitation, his eyes never leaving the Greninja's direction. After a few seconds of silence, he tore his gaze to analyze the dried crimson red color.

"It's not very fresh..." The Lucario muttered to himself.

"Yeah...that's odd." Vanta narrowed his eyes at the corpse behind him. "The time frame has to be so strict if the body is not decomposing."

"What do you mean..?" Loki curiously tilted her head at the Umbreon, earning a quick response from him.

"Well, if Talus died yesterday—and the body is still fresh—then that would mean that the stone was used before he died."

The Zoroark didn't bother to reply as she had already made it apparent to everyone that she was stuck in thought.

To say many questions were lingering in the air was an understatement; the group hadn't even experienced an ounce of the feelings occurring in the mansion.

"So what's that got to do with the knife there?" Vince stuck his arm out to point at the coated kitchen utensil.

"That's a very good question. Either we're being tricked here about the murder weapon, or there was a struggle..." Vanta impatiently scoffed at the patch of blood staining the wall.

"A struggle, hm?" Leon frowned. "Vince, may you please look around the mansion for someone injured?"

"You think someone else got hurt?" Loki was quick to doubt.

"Maybe, maybe not." The jackal shrugged nonchalantly. "If so, then we potentially have our culprit."

"I see..." She dismissed the thought before leaning against the cold wall.

It only took a small stroll around the hallways for the Greninja to reach the living room once more, where he encountered yet another stressed group.

"What is wrong with you!?" Inu's voice rang around the walls. "What makes you think I did it?"

"If we're going by most likely to snap mentally, it would be you." Rayne kept a straight face, almost as if the Infernape's rebuttals were nothing to her.

"You're sick! I would never do this shit!"

Deciding to ignore the argument, Vince carefully analyzed everyone in the room.

"What'cha doing?" A higher voice chirped from below the blue frog, causing him to leap back in surprise.

"Arceus, you're just a wee thing, aren't you?" The Greninja scoffed playfully.

"What does that mean?" Grace tilted her head with curiosity.

"It means you're small...I didn't see you there."

"Oh, I see." The Eevee hummed.

Vince tore his gaze to focus on the group once more, letting a small period of silence—save for the argument in the background—pass by.

"Not in the mood for chatting?" He uttered to break the ice.

"No...I don't like confrontation." Grace heaved a tired sigh.

"Might as well get used to it, especially in this shithole." The Greninja shrugged and paced away from the Eevee, making his way down the hallway.

Whenever he returned to the garage, everything was exactly how he left it.

"So?" Leon questioned the moment he stepped in.

"Nothin'...from what I could tell."

"I see...well, let's keep looking." Vanta commanded.

Zantai's POV

This seems obvious, but ever since we witnessed the body, everything wasn't the same. Of course, seeing a corpse isn't something that everyone is used to...but clearly it was enough to change many personalities.

As much as I want to worry about what's happening now, I also can't help but worry about what people will think of me. If it's so easy to point blame at Inu right now, imagine how everyone would react if they read my secret.

It still rings in my head every now and then...

"Zantai is a leader of a gang that tortures and murders innocent opposition, also known for killing Vanta's younger sister."

What would Vanta think? What would everyone think? They would assume I'm a killing machine, but I'm far from that.

I can only wonder what everyone else's secrets are.

Just now I had only spaced back into the argument, and the more I listened the more I wish I hadn't come back.

"What makes any of you think shifting blame is a good idea right now?" Luster, who had returned from the garage, came over to scold us all it seems.

"The goal is to find the culprit, no?" Sherwood frowned as he leaned against the wall.

"Yeah, not sit here and be useless!" The Luxray hissed, his glare now shifting to Inu. "And you, if you do—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, an overwhelming amount of auditory interference reverberated around the mansion, leaving us listening for the brand-new announcement.

"Your time is up, ladies and gentlemen!" Sam's dreaded voice hummed from the intercom. "Everyone meet in the living room!"

Once the microphone clicked, we were left with nothing but silence. I almost expected everyone to continue arguing, but I guess it wasn't worth the effort anymore.

The group that had stayed in the garage to investigate had finally arrived in the living room, leaving us gathered together in a scattered formation.

"So...do we even know what we're doing?" Inu frowned, her voice more passive now that the fear had settled in.

"From what I know, we have to prove who killed Talus." Vanta uttered, his voice making it seem like even he doesn't know what was going on.

"Don't worry, I'll take it from here!" Sam, who had made her way quickly behind us, chirped with joy.

"Here we go..." Rayne mumbled under her breath.

The devilish Braixen grinned at the crowd before pacing around to point at a particular room door. "Before we begin, there is someone missing."

Looking closer, I realized we haven't seen Laker in quite a long time.

Whenever Sam confidently twisted the knob and shoved the door open, Laker was seen inside with a Gengar apprehending him with a form of telekinesis. Behind him was a visible carving into the wooden wall, almost as if he was attempting an escape but failed.

"Well, well, well. Looks like someone got a bit desperate, yeah?" Sam cackled wildly at the Weavile, who levitated closer to her direction.

"F-Fuck off! You're not keeping me here!" Laker hissed, wriggling around in the energy.

"Let him go." Sam commanded, leaving the dark weasel to drop against the floor. "I still have plans for you...so please, do stay alive."

"What?" Laker panted harshly, his body shaking with adrenaline.

The Braixen didn't reply and only decided to speak once she had moved to the center of the living room. Whenever Laker left his room, something in the environment shifted.

"Are you all ready for the discussion!?" Sam jittered with excitement.

"This is so stupid." I muttered with disgust.

"As ready as we'll ever be, we can start with ho—" Loki was about to start her thought process before the Braixen immediately cut her off.

"Oh, no, no! We're not doing it here!" Sam chuckled, raising her paws into the air. "Everyone, it's time!"

Those were her last words before the light flickered sporadically.

I didn't know what to expect as the ground below us seemed to shake and rotate unexpectedly. If I could see, I would at least try to describe what I saw...but nothing was perceptible.

After a slight struggle, I fell to my back and gazed at the roof—which seemed to grow more distant the longer I looked. Were we going down?

"Everyone settle down!" I heard Leon's voice through the shouts and screeches of the group. "We are on a descending platform!"

No one chose to listen—or if they did, didn't care.

Whenever we had descended far enough to reach pitch black, all of us seemed to finally be set at ease.

"Where...are we?" Aubra whispered.

"We're still moving..." Luster muttered as his bright eyes blinked in confusion.

"From what I see with my aura...there is a large room below us we are advancing to." Leon spoke with a calming tone in an attempt to help everyone's anxiousness.

"So she wants us to do the discussion in a different room?" Loki questioned.

"Are we not worried about the fact that she has this fucking machinery?" Laker exclaimed through the darkness.

"Man, shut up." I scoffed at wherever his voice came from. "Your dumbass tried to break out."

"I told you all already that I am not staying here." He hissed back at me.

"I get it, none of us do, you're not special!" I spat out. "Do you even know that someone died!?"

"I do!" Laker's voice croaked. "I fuckin' heard it on the intercom, and I want nothing to do with it!"

"Both of you, please shut up..." Grace surprisingly stepped up and told us to stop.

Honestly, if it was anyone else I would have kept going, but something about disrespecting Grace doesn't feel good at all. Luckily, Laker felt the same sentiment and refused to continue.

"We're almost there..." Leon huffed.

After the Lucario spoke, the sounds of machinery whirring were the only things audible to us. Whenever things came to a sudden halt, everyone's breath simultaneously hitched.

"Is this it?" I muttered out to the darkness.

Instead of receiving an answer, the walls in front of us glided open like doors, revealing a blinding light on the other side. All of us seemed to collectively shield our eyes from the brightness before taking a hesitant gaze at the new room before us.

THIRD PERSON

The room—familiar to only a select few in the elevator—was laid out exactly as if it were a courtroom, with only a couple of exceptions. There were multiple podiums surrounding the center of the room, each one with the name of every Pokemon in the room.

The first one to step in was Vanta, who curiously looked around the room, almost as if he'd never seen anything like it.

"Wait..." Zantai muttered under his breath the moment his eyes adjusted to the new area, his breathing growing more labored as he walked closer. "Why is this familiar?"

From beside the elevator door stepped forward a familiar Braixen, but before anyone could focus on her features to see if it was Sam or not, the vixen was immediately greeted with a fist to her stomach.

"Holy shit!" Sherwood flinched back in response to the punch, his eyes lowering to focus on the Braixen—who had lost her balance.

"Sammy...are you alright?" Leon stepped closer to cautiously offer his paw to the fallen fox.

"Y-Yeah..." Sammy shuddered as she held her gut tightly, her eyes wincing with pain.

"Sammy?!" Inu exhaled with stress. "Oh, f-fuck...I'm so sorry..."

"It's alright...I...don't blame you." The monotone Braixen uttered as she dusted herself.

"Wow! You all sure are hasty!" A dreaded voice then called from the other side of the room. It was only until Sam let her presence be known that everyone had realized she was seated on a golden throne, far from the podiums.

"Really?" Loki scoffed. "Do you think this is all necessary?"

"Why, of course, it is!" Sam grinned widely at the dark fox.

"Wait..." Laker paused, shifting his gaze to Sam and then Sammy. "You're different people?"

"Of course...Sammy's goals are different." Leon quickly nodded.

"How the hell did you not know that?" Luster smirked at the Weavile.

"I mean...I've just never seen them in the same room." Laker shrugged.

"Enough chit-chat!" The crazed Braixen called before tapping the side of her throne. "Each of you has a name on one of the podiums, you must walk over to yours and stay there until the trial is finished."

"I see...this is where you want us to discuss?" Grace muttered to her.

"What? I can't hear you." Sam leaned her ear closer, acting as if doing so would help her listen to her distant voice.

"Nevermind..." The Eevee frowned and leaped forward to the conveniently placed stool behind her selected podium.

It didn't take long for the group to be assigned and stationed in their proper places. Once everyone had gathered, they stood in silence, debating on whether to start or not. Even if they chose to begin, no one had even the slightest clue on how to approach this.

"Hello?" Sam chuckled from her throne. "Trial begin!?"

"Right, we get it." Zantai mumbled, crossing his arms with annoyance.

"Maybe we should go over how Talus died?" Loki sheepishly announced.

"I agree." Luster shifted his gaze to Vince. "Especially now that there are two potential causes of death."

"What do you mean?" Grace tilted her head with confusion.

"Well...Vince found a stone covered with blood in a random plant before the trial began." Loki frowned as she turned to the Eevee.

"What!?" Inu gasped lightly. "Wait so...that doesn't make any sense?"

"Are you...are you guys sure that rock couldn't have been created by a move?" Galant placed a thoughtful hand against his chin.

"Like...Rock Throw or something?" Rayne mentioned.

"Yeah!" The Gallade pointed in agreement. "I mean, it isn't too far off...since Talus can probably use that move."

"Mhm..." Lancer, whose first statement was merely a hum, seemed to agree.

"He can?" Vanta jumped in. "You have to speak up and let us know, for his sake, Lancer."

"Y-Yeah...he can." The midnight Lycanroc muttered under his breath. His eyes seemed to glance over at an empty podium across from his—one that would have previously stationed Talus if he was still alive.

"My thoughts were that it is possible the rock was used as self-defense." Leon crossed his arms sternly.

"Okay...then the knife is still the murder weapon?" Laker tapped impatiently against his stand. "We agree, no?"

"Not yet." Vanta spoke harshly. "There is too much evidence that could differ."

"What do you mean? There is a knife stained with blood next to the fuckin' body." The Weavile scoffed.

"That...bothers me." Luster shuffled around behind his podium. Luckily, he was big enough to not need a stool, despite being quadruped. "Blood wouldn't stain like that on a knife."

"How would it?" Grace turned to face the Luxray.

"Well, it definitely wouldn't start pooling around the handle...or the blade. It's almost like someone just dipped the knife in blood instead of actually...using it." The feline's starred tail flicked in thought.

"So you disagree?" Laker chuckled and crossed his arms.

"Of course I do, especially when there's a hidden patch of blood and tendons on the wall." Luster scoffed back at the Weavile.

"Okay, wait, are we missing somethin'?" Sherwood picked at the wood from his podium.

"My theory is that Talus' wounds were caused by someone bashing his head against the wall, not the knife." Vanta asserted.

"Great." Laker rolled his eyes. "Make this take longer, then."

"Arceus, can you please shut up!?" Inu spat out and leaned closer to grip her podium. "You're driving us crazy."

"I don't care, I've stated many times I want nothing to do with this." The Weavile hissed, jabbing his claw against the wood from his stand.

"Then stop speaking! Fuck it, I'll do it for you!" The Infernape roared before climbing over her podium and preparing to leap at the weasel. Before she could, however, she was interrupted by a psychic force.

"Inu...stop." Galant gritted as he spoke through his teeth.

Only now had the Infernape just realized her surroundings. Her eyes rose to gaze next to the Braixen's golden throne, focusing on the Inteleon who stood with his finger pointed at her.

"One more step and my buddy here would have shot through your head." Sam grinned widely, waving her paw in dismissal, causing the Inteleon to dissipate his attack. "Good job, Galant."

The Gallade wasn't happy to hear the praise, more so stressed for the ape he had just saved.

"I'm...really sorry..." Inu whispered to him, quickly regaining her composure as she landed behind her podium.

Only now had everyone realized that Sam had things to keep everyone in check even in the trial rooms.

"O-Okay...well...let's continue with caution, right?" Grace stammered.

"I agree." Vince narrowed his eyes. "Now that the facts are over, I need to go over a lil' suspicion I have."

"About?" Leon tilted his head.

"About you, Lancer."