THIRD PERSON

The essence of whatever feelings mixing in everyone were replaced with brand new ones as they stared at the ceiling in awe. The entire room was pitch black except for the brightened section near the shattered chandelier.

From above stood a crazed-looking Braixen, her eyes widened with excitement as she confidently swung from the broken light on the roof.

"What the fuck!" A male voice from the crowd spat out.

"Aw..not a fan?" The Braixen huffed and now shifted to face down at the crowd. "You all heard me! You're going to play a game with me!"

"What the hell are you talking about? What game? Where are we?" Galant exclaimed, his blades rising to aim at the fire fox.

"Oh, don't worry, Galant. It'll be fun!" She grinned widely, her eyes now shut with pure joy.

The Gallade had already halted his fighting position the moment he heard his name slip out of the Braixen's mouth. The fact that she had done enough research to know the people she was taking made him realize this mass kidnapping was more serious than just a dumb lunatic.

"You know his name?" Another male voice called out to her.

"Of course, Zantai. I know all of your guys' names. It's obvious that I know what I'm doing, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get you all!" The Braixen smirked widely.

"Urgh...shut the fuck up!" Inu, who had been sitting in frustration until now, launched herself up to the chandelier and swung violently at the fox.

From behind the two of them appeared an unknown Gengar, and with the snap of her fingers, the Braixen had managed to disappear from everyone's sight. This left Inu mid-air and landing roughly on her feet.

"What...the..." The ape muttered.

"You see...you guys have no idea what you're up against." The vixen had now stationed herself on the back side of the living room, the light somehow following her. "I'm Sam, it's very nice to meet you."

"What is your game?" Leon stepped forward to ask.

"What!?" Lancer tilted his head in shock at the Lucario. "You're gonna follow this stupid thing?"

Sam smiled gleefully at the jackal, offering him a slight wink. "Finally, a smart person. I will tell you about this game!"

The Braixen crossed her arms, the aura of what seemed to be numerous Gengar emanating behind her.

"You are going to play a killing game!"

Silence. Normally, one person would immediately scoff at the idea of doing something so wrong, but from what they saw with Inu...she was being dead serious.

"Are you ill?" Vince shook his head. "What kind of game is that? Why would anyone kill anyone?"

"Good question!" Sam paused. "Well, the second one I mean. To be able to leave this wonderful, wonderful mansion, you're going to have to murder someone and get away with it!"

"And...what's stopping us from just breaking out?" Grace hummed, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

Sam twitched, her paws rotating to face the crowd. "Nothing...!" This movement caused the hidden Pokemon behind her to reveal themselves. A large row of Gengar loomed in the back of the room, all having tormented yet crazed expressions. "But...if you try to, I might have to do something about it. I've done my research on every single one of you and none of you are capable of defeating every Gengar I have at my disposal. Even if you could, you are placed with strength inhibitors on your most powerful area."

Those words caused Leon to hover his paw above one of his sensors which held the metal ring.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Lancer hissed at Sam. "Do you really think any of us are going to do something so stupid?"

"You'll get desperate at some point." She shrugged. "Anyways, to end my statement before leaving, you will all be provided with your own rooms to stay in, as well as sustenance to survive forever."

"Arceus, you really want us to stay here..." Rayne muttered, her eyes carefully analyzing the Braixen.

"Yup! I'll be back later to explain even more...but for now." Sam made an audible snap, causing the sounds of what seemed to be shifting furniture to reverberate in the rooms they just came from. "The rooms you all woke up in are now filled with the essentials needed to sleep comfortably. Know that you will have a roommate to sleep with."

"Wait, we don't even get our own rooms?" Loki frowned, gazing hopelessly at the vixen.

Sam shook her head. "I'd like to see what happens when we break the boundaries and standards of common societies. There will be no rules on what you do inside those rooms, I will know nothing of what happens except the murders!"

Another wave of silence. There were so many questions about to erupt from every single Pokemon all at once, but at that moment they were half a second late.

"Well, I'll be back. You all get accommodated...bye!" She winked before phasing out of existence, what came after was the flicking on of numerous lights that had now brightened the room once again.

"Shit, shit...what the hell are we going to do?" Inu cursed under her breath, clearly panicking around.

"We don't do anything but get accommodated. If no one kills each other then she won't get what she wants, right?" Luster stepped forward to state.

"That's what I was thinking...but I'm afraid there's always someone here to ruin things." Galant crossed his bladed arms.

It only took so long for everyone to get curious and begin investigating the brand new doors. Sherwood, who was the most daring one, swung his door wide open to reveal a brand new room.

"She was right, looks like everything is made perfectly to survive in." The Sceptile huffed, crossing his arms and pointing directly at the plate sealed on the door. "Everyone, your roommate is written on this plate."

"Might as well get adjusted..." Luster cleared his throat, pacing closer to the door with his name carved into it. "Lancer?"

"Me..." The midnight Lycanroc was clearly in a worsened mood, considering a maniacal Pokemon was holding them hostage. "I could've had a chick."

From the other side of the living room approached Loki, curiously eyeing the name next to hers.

"Oh! Thank Arceus...Grace, you're sharing a room with me." Loki flashed a wholesome grin, earning the same expression from the Eevee as they stepped into the room.

Talus had already posted himself up next to the door to nearly howl his roommate's name. "Leon! Hello!"

"I hear you." Leon answered with a slight sense of annoyance—which seemed to be a little out of character.

As everyone was getting used to their rooms, most of the doors were occupied by two people...all except for one room.

Due to the odd number of Pokemon being housed inside the mansion, one person had to be stuck alone in a room, whether that'd be good or bad for them.

"Oh, hey! I get a room to myself!" Aubra proudly grinned, staring quietly at the lonely name carved into the plate.

From an unknown area in the building, an intercom buzzed with interference, causing everyone in the area to halt and listen closely to the upcoming words.

"Hello, hello! I hope you all are having a wonderful night, oh, that's right! You guys can't tell the time from now because the entire building is locked up. Rest assured with my words, it is currently moon-high!" Sam's voice raspily chirped through unknown speakers littered throughout the roof.

"I can't believe this..." Rayne frowned, clearly furious at the thought of being held captive. "Does she think this is going to work?"

"Anyways, you will all sleep now 'cause every light in the building will soon shut off, leaving everyone in the dark." The vixen cackled. "Good luck to all of you, I have some more explaining to do tomorrow, so I'll wake you up in the morning."

The click of the announcement ending reverberated across not only the room but everyone's heads.

ZANTAI'S POV

As if this place couldn't get any worse, the thought of staying here for even longer disgusted me. Whoever this 'Sam' person is truly knows exactly what they're doing, it's almost something to be feared. The fact that there's someone in this world so mentally strayed from normality is horrifying. I don't want to stay here...but attempting to leave will only be so beneficial if the risk of dying is in the picture. Where she got all those Gengar is something also taking my attention. Not only are they all listening to her commands, but it also looks like they've been practicing a routine.

"That's unfortunate." The voice of Sherwood sounded behind me, causing me to turn my head and gaze at him. It took a few seconds to process what he was looking at, but I soon hummed in realization.

"Oh, yeah, only one bed. I can just sleep on the floor or something." I offered while crossing my arms.

"Nah, this thing's huge, we'll just make a barrier." Sherwood shook his claw in dismissal, now feeling the mattress with care. "And soft, too."

"Is it?" I inquired, pressing my claws against it. Indeed it was, wherever she got these from it was high quality.

I could only sigh. Sam is clearly tempting us with comfortable beds and a nice interior, while it might not work on me, it might work on others. Someone here is comfortable staying here for a while, or worse, desperate enough to murder someone for an escape.

With ease I had managed to slip into the right side of the bed, making sure to leave enough distance between Sherwood and me.

"Night." Sherwood muttered, facing away from me and clearing his throat. "I got a feelin' we're gonna have a rough day tomorrow."

"Sure seems like it...night..."

To say I drifted into a peaceful sleep is a lie. To be fair, I don't think anyone would be so comfortable sleeping in a brand new home so quickly. However, it only took about an hour to finally fall into a deep sleep, subconsciously wondering what the next day would have in store for me.

THIRD PERSON

It would be unreasonable if every Pokemon got used to their environment and peacefully slept in their rooms, so it was no shock to anyone to find out a small duo of them slowly gathering in the pitch black living room.

A pair of scarlet-red eyes mixed with golden-yellow were focused on the roof above them, seemingly looking for an escape.

Another pair of eyes—this time being a bright, innocent turquoise—gleamed brighter than the other.

"Hello!" Talus' voice rang softly around the room.

"Hush...people are sleeping." Luster's voice sounded back at him.

"Oh, sorry." The midday Lycanroc shuffled from behind the Luxray and attempted to take a seat next to him. "What'cha lookin' at?"

"The ceiling. I want to find the quickest escape from here." The lion-like Pokemon muttered.

"You think everyone can reach up there?" Talus tilted his head in confusion.

"No, but anything is useful in this scenario, especially when you're trying to escape from a crazy bitch." Luster shrugged, lowering his gaze to the canine next to him. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, I couldn't sleep. Leon is also trying to overpower his metal restraint, so that wasn't helping."

"I see..." The electric-type grinned. "Well, I don't exactly have the best roommate either, your brother is driving me crazy."

"He does that." Talus stifled a laugh. "I know he cares about me, but sometimes it almost seems like he wants me to be someone I'm not."

"How so?"

"Ah...I'm just too innocent. He's a very mischievous person, though, so it's not like he's any better." Talus tore his gaze from the Luxray to stare at nowhere in particular.

"Hm. I get it, I have a brother...but I never really chose to treat him like that. You should be a guiding light to your younger siblings."

These words earned a small nod from the midday Lycanroc. Luckily, the two of them could see in the dark, so any expression they made wasn't hidden.

"Hey, maybe we should try and look for an escape while it's dark?" Talus offered and leaped off his haunches to step closer to the closest hallway.

"I don't recommend that..." A monotone, yet very feminine voice muttered from an unknown location.

"Huh?" Luster turned to the location of the sound, his night vision helping only so much in this situation. "Who is that?"

"I'm not a contestant, don't worry..." The voice suddenly emerged in front of the two, and upon sighting who it was, both halted in shock.

A familiar Braixen stood in front of them with her arms crossed.

"Sam..." Luster hissed, his tail flicking with anger.

"Not really." The Braixen heaved a tired sigh.

It wasn't until now that the two of them locked eyes with the vixen. She looked incredibly similar to Sam, but the eyes were completely different. Sam's expression was deranged, bloodshot, and devilish. However, this Braixen's face only showed exhaustion and sleep deprivation.

"W-What do you mean, not really?" Talus stammered, his expression startled.

"It means I'm not Sam...I'm Sammy..." The Braixen huffed.

"That's comedic." Luster chuckled. "Sam and Sammy?"

"They're not our real names, obviously. Sam isn't going to tell you that, but it's to protect our identities behind the killing game." Sammy frowned, her eyes landing and locking on the Lycanroc. "Don't think about leaving, this place is being monitored twenty-four seven."

"What? Just how many Gengar are there?" Luster scoffed.

"There are more than just Gengar, those are only her bodyguards. There are groups of Inteleon constantly on the watch." The vixen stated, her eyes now focused on the Luxray in front of her.

"What the fuck is wrong you both? How much money and crazy people do you have behind this? What made you think this is okay!?" Luster exclaimed, his body coursing with dangerous electricity.

"Please don't attack me...I'm no threat to you." Sammy frowned.

"Of course you are, what makes you different from Sam? If anything, I still think you might be the same person!" The lion-like Pokemon hissed.

"The difference is I'm trying to help you." She muttered.

"I don't mean to be ungrateful...but nothing other than an escape will ever help." Talus commented, his voice now slightly more stabilized.

"I'm aware, but I must do what I can and when I can." Sammy cleared her throat. "Look, I'll see you all later at some point. But for now, please don't try to escape. It's for your own good."

After those words, she backed away into the hallway. The sound of energy shifting reverberated around the room.

The two knew she had teleported away, but they still had so many questions to ask.

What was that all about? Why is she trying to help while being associated with Sam?

Why does it have to be them in this situation?

Tomorrow has an answer for them.