What was meant to be a three-day shopping trip between two sisters became a nightmare only found in horror movies. Misty knew of Sia Bucks and her show. She had always thought it was overrated. Why would anybody want to watch people something like that? Misty always thought Sia Bucks was overrated. Just another of those so-called talents who reap the benefits of other people's work.
Being a Game of Mass Destruction contestant was something Misty assumed would never happen to her. After all, only twenty people a year are selected to play out of billions of people, and you are always paired up with somebody you knew. You were more likely to win the lottery than get selected to play. Even then, there is a one in ten chance of becoming a billionaire and 35% survival rate.
Misty had watched the show a few times. People fell in and out of love. Friends became enemies. People betrayed each other. And in a bizarre twist of events, the robots that were made to kill and be killed had more compassion than the contestants. How the show had not been cancelled was beyond her.
Her sister Daisy was a new victim of cancel culture. Her crime was stating that robots did not have feelings and were destroying feminism. The Robots Have Feelings movement ripped her apart, branding her a dumb prostitute.
Had her sisters have still been in charge of Cerulean Gym, the Pokemon League would have stripped them from their gym leader titles. It didn't matter to Daisy, as she, Lily and Violet forced Misty to be a Gym Leader against her will years ago.
As far as Misty was concerned, people were free to believe in what they wanted. It was hard enough being a woman in the 21st century, let alone anything else. The gym had already had a weak reputation when her sisters gave away badges for free because they hated working, but Misty had single-handedly turned the gym around. Even though she would rather travel again and reunite with Ash, she was certain she could do it again.
"Hey Misty!" Daisy shouted, pulling a red mini-dress from the sale rack. "This will give Ash a Metapod for sure!"
Misty turned red and huffed. "Shut up!" Daisy's favourite hobby was teasing Misty about Ash, her best friend and crush. To make it worse, she had to do it in a public place.
"Of course I will buy it for you," Daisy said. "Anything for my lovely little sister and a date with her one true love. Ho! Ho! Ho!"
"You're not gonna buy that, are you?"
Daisy ran to the till. "It's for you, of course. You really need to upgrade your wardrobe."
As much as she hated to admit it, she was right. Sighing, she couldn't see anything that she wanted to wear. The clothes would be perfect for a model or a cosplayer, but Misty was neither of those things. Even the swimming costumes were too skimpy. "With the size of these bikinis, you might as well go skinny dipping."
The sound of Daisy's credit card, was Misty's cue to get out. Daisy wrapped her hand round her sister's arm and held her phone above her head. "There's nothing like bonding time with your little sister. Let's take a selfie!"
They checked in at the hotel to take a nap. Before Misty opened her eyes, she sensed that something was not right. Her legs seized up. There were voices echoing in the corridor. As she opened her eyes, glass bulbs strained her eyes. There she was in a board room with a group of strangers. Her whole body seized up. All the questions in the world were running through her head. Where was she? What the hell was she doing here? She did not belong here.
"Daisy wake up!"
"Huh!" She shrieked. "What is this?"
Misty stood up, examining the others to see if there was anybody she knew. There was not. With her bag gone, and pockets empty, Misty dragged Daisy out of her chair. "Daisy, we need to call the police. If we're still in the hotel, we can get some help."
"That will not be necessary!"
The door opened to reveal the infamous Sia Bucks with her purple curls and the red dress that Daisy had bought for Misty.
"Hey!" Daisy shouted. "That's the dress I bought for Misty. Let Misty have her dress back."
Sia sneered at Daisy. "I'm only borrowing it. It's not like she's desperate to have it back." Sia introduced herself and complimented how amazing and beautiful everybody was. "I'm sure by now, you've figured out why you are here. You have been chosen to take part in my wonderful game show. Congratulations everybody!"
"What?" Daisy shouted.
Sia ignored Daisy as she explained the rules. The way Sia talked was articulate and warm, but Misty detected something synthetic about her tone. From what Misty could gather, they would be working in pairs to take down a thousand killer robots and the pair that got the most points would win a share of two billion dollars.
"Normally, contestants are chosen by anonymous members of the public. However, this time, we have not one, but two volunteers," Sia explained. "We've had people nominate themselves before, but this is the first time, two volunteers have done it openly. Please give a round of applause to Yi-Yeong and Sae-Byeok."
"Wow!" Misty whispered to Daisy. "They look beautiful."
"They're from Korea," Daisy explained. "They have the best skin products in the world. Korean women always look beautiful."
"Ladies and gentlemen, meet Exhibit A, a victim, and Exhibit B, my beloved robot." A man wrapped in latex tumbled down the ceiling as a robot burst into the room and jumped on the man. With its mechanical teeth, the robot opened its mouth and chomped on the man until there was nothing but a few bones and blood.
Sae-Byeok was the only one not fazed by the grotesque display. At that point, Misty was so in shock with what was going on, that all she could focus on was the words on the board that Sia had written in the man's blood. Sia's fingertips served as a quill. Despite the blood oozing down the board, Misty could read it with no problems.
Destroy a robot - 25 points
Having sex - 50 points
Kill another contestant - 100 points
Pair with the most points win. :)
Rules
Do what you want!
Have fun!
Don't try and escape or we will kill you.
If you don't play, I'll bomb your hometown.
"I'M NOT PLAYING!"
Misty snapped back to reality. Daisy's voice echoed through the hall and brought everybody's whispers to a close. Daisy brought out her hand. "I only just got my nails done. Playing this game will destroy my nails and my clothes."
Sia smiled. "I guess you'll have say goodbye to your gym."
"What do you mean?" Misty asked.
The wall behind Sia had turned into a cinema screen projecting a birds eye view of Cerulean City gym. "It's a lovely building," Sia added. "It's a shame to see it BLOW UP!"
"YOU WON'T DO IT!" Daisy cackled. "You always say you do, but it's just fearmongering."
The other contestants were shaking their heads, including Ji-Yeong. "No! She will actually do it. You have to play."
Sia folded her arms and leaned over towards Daisy's seat. "Tell me, Princess Daisy... Are you in or out of the game?"
Misty's hands shook. The thought of the gym she worked so hard to maintain being destroyed within seconds hurled her into submission. Daisy was one of those people who believed the game was not real. Sia always brought the robot eating a man alive to prove that it was real. One would think that was enough for Daisy, but once Daisy had her mind set on something, nothing could change her mind. Daisy may rub people the wrong way, but Misty knew that her sister was not a terrible person.
"Of course I'm out," Daisy cried with tears down her cheek. "I don't have to play this stupid game where people pretend to die. Now if you excuse me, I have to go!"
Sia took her phone from out of her chest. "Nobody is going anywhere until you play my game."
"You can't make me!" Daisy yelled.
Sia grinned with her eyes fixated at her phone. "Watch me!"
The moment Sia dropped her phone on the table was the moment everyone in the room watched as Cerulean City Gym disintegrated into balls of fire and rubble. Misty screamed. Why? Why did everything Misty work so hard for have to be gone in a single stroke. Misty's worse fears had been realised.
"YOU BITCH!" Daisy shouted. "You think a fake video like that is going to stop me?"
"Honey," Sia cooed, "this is real. This is live. If you don't believe me. I'll show you what's going on with the internet."
Breaking news: emergency services are rushing to the scene as Cerulean City gym is bombed by Sia Bucks as former gym leader, Daisy Waterflower refuses to take part in the game. Emergency evacuations are taking place. More information on casualties and injuries as we receive them.
"This is not fair!" Daisy screamed.
"If you're not going to play, I'll pick the next victim. How about this Korean district!"
Sae-Byeok jumped from her seat, flicking the chair out of the way. Marching over to Daisy, she slapped her and pushed her to the ground. "You stupid bitch! Why are not playing? My parents are still in North Korea and you do this!"
"I'm not tolerating this abuse!" Daisy wailed, waving her hands at her sister. "Misty, do something!"
"I will!" Misty announced, with her hands on her hips. "I'm playing. You may have destroyed my gym, but after the game is over, I'm going rebuild the gym and make Cerulean City GREAT AGAIN!"
"Fighting words…" Sia said. "I like your style. Not bad for a ginger. Now we're very behind schedule. So everybody get a bag, sign your contracts, get your mugshots on and start playing."