Wallace stood before the guests, a neutral expression on his face. Deep down, he was exhausted. This game was taking a toll on him, but his professionalism wouldn't allow him to reveal this. He just had two more days to get through, and that's what kept him going.

"I hope your investigations helped clear up some pieces of the puzzle." Wallace said. "Hopefully you'll use the time The Killer is granting you to share your findings well. Once again, the new and improved berry bar is at your disposal, please use your time wisely, as this is the last time you'll have together until lunch later today, where you'll find out whether or not your safety is guaranteed." With that, Wallace turned on his heel and walked out of the living room, signaling to the guests that their discussion time had started.

Due to the unfortunate events that had taken place this morning, none of the survivors had the opportunity to eat breakfast, so they were absolutely famished. After everyone had filled their plates with food, the groups predictably split up to their usual areas…or they would have if Missy hadn't suggested they avoid the pool.

"Yesterday, Drake clearly spied on us." Missy said. "I think it'll be wise if my team chose to share in an area where we'd easily be able to spot any spies."

"Hey, what if we switch things up today?" Missy suggested. "I think a change of scenery would be nice, how about we discuss our findings in my room today?"

"I'm fine with that." Quinton agreed, and Tom simply nodded his approval.

Quinton's team quickly made their way to Missy's room. Quinton settled down onto the bed, meanwhile Tom chose to sit at the desk. Missy simply floated across from Quinton.

"Okay, let's get this going." Quinton said, not wanting to waste any time.

"We've been doing this for six days now, there really is no reason to dilly dally." Quinton said. "Today is going to be crucial, so I want this discussion period to be as productive as possible. There's no room for error anymore, not that there ever really was."

"Does anyone want to volunteer to share first?" Quinton asked.

"I'll go." Tom said, shifting in his chair to face his two teammates.

"So, the crime scene was the kitchen." Tom said.

"The same kitchen where Kenny died?" Quinton asked. Tom simply nodded in response.

"Yup, that kitchen." Tom said. "So, once I entered the kitchen, there was a few things that immediately stood out."

"First of all, right smack dab in the middle of the kitchen was a tank of what I assume was liquid nitrogen." Tom said. Quinton perked up in response.

"That's how Blossom ended up in frozen chunks!" Quinton said. "I'm glad that question has been answered at least."

"There wasn't blood anywhere in the room other than on a table that was near the barrel." Tom said.

"There wasn't a table when I investigated the kitchen the other day." Quinton pointed out in confusion.

"Yeah, I figure the killer placed it there earlier for this particular murder." Tom said.

"On the table was a lot of blood, both dry and wet." Tom said.

"Blood?" Missy asked, hoping he'd elaborate.

"Yeah, blood." Tom repeated. "Blossom definitely got attacked on that table at some point."

"Surprisingly, there wasn't as much blood as I expected." Tom said. "There was not much blood spatter, not even on the floor. There were just some small puddles here and there."

"I'm not too sure what the small amount of blood says for this case." Tom said. "I'm not a medical expert, but I feel like it's significant."

"Hmm, that's strange." Quinton said. He made the connection that the table was probably where Blossom had been dismembered, but he was stumped by the lack of blood.

"It's weird that there wasn't a lot of blood at the crime scene." Quinton said. "It kinda seems like Blossom didn't actually die there, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case because The Killer loves complicating things by making the crime scene not always be where the victim actually died."

"The last thing I discovered was in the trash can, actually." Tom said. "I noticed some small flecks of blood in the can, and when I looked deeper I found a blood stained cleaver in the trash. I assume that's what was used on Blossom at the table, but it could be a red herring."

"No, you're right." Quinton confirmed. "Let me share what I found at the morgue, it'll make more sense after I explain."

"So, at the morgue there was a bit." Quinton said. "First of all, Blossom's body was in chunks."

"Excuse me?!" Missy said in shock. "Are you fucking serious?"

"I'm dead serious." Quinton said stoically. "Blossom was dismembered and frozen into pieces."

"Look, I had no love for Blossom, but that's just a horrible way to go." Missy said in disgust. "This just gives me more fire to survive, I refuse to let The Killer disrespect me."

"Well, I guess we know what the liquid nitrogen was used for." Tom said, a sick expression on his face. "Did The Killer really need to cut her to pieces and then freeze her?"

"Of course they didn't." Missy hissed. "I fucking hate this killer."

"Agreed, this was just sick." Quinton added. "It just gets worse with each passing kill."

"Anyways, let's not get caught up on the severity of this murder." Quinton said, getting everyone back on track. "Blossom's hands were zip tied behind her back, from what I could tell."

"So she was bound?" Tom asked. "Were her feet bound as well?"

"No, that's the interesting thing." Quinton said. "It was literally just her hands."

"That's strange." Tom commented, but said nothing else.

"Yeah, it really is." Quinton said. "On top of that, Blossom's face was bruised a bit. Maybe she fell on her face, or maybe she was hit, I'm not too sure."

"I didn't find anything at the crime scene that could have been used to hit her." Tom pointed out.

"I'll get more into detail when it's my turn, but there wasn't anything like that at the last known either." Missy confirmed.

"Hmm, I guess it's safe to say that she tripped, then." Quinton said.

"Anyways, there's more." Quinton said. "One thing about how she was dismembered, all of her petals were torn off individually, and on top of that, both the petals and her body seemed super shriveled, kinda like when you're in the shower too long and you get a bit prunish, but to an extreme degree." Quinton described, trying to paint a picture for his allies.

"Ugh, with the way Quinton is describing things, I'm starting to think something important was in her bathroom that I wasn't able to get to." Missy said in frustration. "This riddle is going to be vital, I have to get it."

"The last thing of note that I discovered at the morgue were what I believe to be little particles of terry cloth around Blossom's mouth." Quinton finished. Missy's face lit up, as she had found a rag at the last known.

"I can fill in the blanks with that, Quinton!" Missy declared. She smirked, happy that something she had found when she investigated tied back to something else. "At the last known, I found a terry cloth rag that I assume was used to smother Blossom in her trash can."

"So Blossom was smothered…" Tom said. "Hopefully she wasn't conscious when she died, but knowing The Killer, I doubt she was that lucky."

"Also, her sheets were very clearly disturbed." Missy said. "I can tell she didn't get any sleep as they were ruffled as if she was rolling around, and there was also an open notebook near her nightstand, which to me says she was writing before she was disturbed."

"On top of this, I know the killer broke into her room." Missy said. "There was a lock picking device under her door. Blossom had one of those locks that open from the inside, you just have to turn the knob and the lock will deactivate."

"So The Killer broke into Blossom's room, hm." Quinton said. "Based on what Tom shared, I'm starting to think Blossom's room was probably the real place where she died."

"Back to the trash can, there was a gas mask too." Missy added.

"Huh?!" Quinton and Tom both asked at the same time.

"Yeah, there was literally just a gas mask discarded in the trash can in her bedroom." Missy clarified.

"Wasn't she smothered, though?" Tom asked. "What the heck was the gas mask for?"

"I wasn't sure, that's why I checked her air vent." Missy smirked.

Quinton and Tom both leaned in, very intrigued at this point.

"It's times like this where I really know I made the right choice in switching sides." Tom said. "I just know my old allies wouldn't have the initiative to investigate as thoroughly as Missy does."

"So, I did find something huge." Missy confirmed. "One of the screws in the vent was loose, and inside I could see this little canister of something inside, and I'm assuming it was some type of chemical that was released into her room. It would explain the gas mask, too."

"Was it poison?" Tom asked.

"I have no clue!" Missy said. "We'll find out if we solve the riddle, I assume, but Quinton didn't find anything suggesting poison at the morgue, so my guess is it's probably a sedative."

"It makes sense now!" Missy said. "The reason Blossom didn't defend herself or notice The Killer breaking into her room? She was probably gassed up!"

"Well, I guess we just really need to solve that riddle." Quinton said. "Look, I know we'll probably want to split up, but I think it'll be wise if we just stick together. If we solve the riddle, we can guarantee all of our safety, regardless of the scared cards. Plus, 3 heads is better than one."

"I agree." Missy said, shocking the other two as Missy was always wanting to split off on her own. "With the stakes of this case, I'd rather it be all for one and one for all, I don't want to split away from you both and then be the only one not to get the riddle."

"I'm shocked that Missy is being so cooperative." Quinton said. "Maybe being scared really changed her attitude, I hope so at least. I could really use an ally with their head in the game."

Meanwhile, Penny's team was once again gathered in the library. Penny was sitting at a table, and both Justin and Drake were sitting in bean bag chairs across from her.

"Alright, we really have to be on top of our games today." Penny told her team. "With this being a double, if we don't get this riddle, we're all essentially dead. Even for the person who survives the double, they're outnumbered 3-1 and are basically sitting ducks."

"Yeah, this murder will essentially decide if we're the final three, or the next three to die." Justin agreed.

Drake nodded. He didn't have anything to say that wasn't already stated.

"I already know how high the stakes are today." Drake said. "Yesterday, I had a really good day, probably the best day I've had since entering this hellhole. It started off horrid, but things got better and I just want to ride this momentum to the end."

"Who wants to share first?" Penny asked her team.

"I can." Justin volunteered, before he leaned forward in his bean bag. He cleared his throat, took a moment to gather his thoughts, and then he started to speak.

"So, area 1 ended up being the morgue." Justin started. "Things were a bit different than usual though."

"Instead of the body being on a table, the body was actually in pieces, and kept in a freezer, on top of the table." Justin stated.

"What, why?" Penny asked, trying to wrap her head around this revelation. "You mean the body was dismembered?"

"Yes, but not only that, it was also frozen in chunks." Justin clarified.

"That is so disgusting." Penny said. "The killer just keeps on getting more sadistic with their kills, and I really hope my time never comes because I just know my death would be very twisted and painful."

"Anyways, after Quinton thawed all of the Blossom bits, I was able to get a closer look." Justin said. "The most obvious thing about her body on a closer inspection was that all of her petals had been ripped off of her head."

"Yikes, that's horrid." Drake reacted with a disgusted look on his face.

"Yeah, it's really sick." Justin acknowledged, before moving onto the next thing he discovered. "Once we recovered all of her petals, I also noticed that they were extremely shriveled up, as well as the rest of her body. I'm not sure if it's from being frozen, or if it was from something else entirely, but I thought it was noteworthy."

Drake looked deep in thought at this fact. Something about this made him think about what he found at the last known whereabouts, but he kept this to himself, as he didn't quite know what it was that was important.

"From what I could tell, Blossom's shower was tampered with." Drake said. "On top of this, Justin is telling us that her petals were shriveled. I'm not certain, but I feel like that has to be related to the state of her shower."

"Another thing worth mentioning was that despite her hands being severed, there were two ends of a zip tie on both of her hands." Justin said. "Her feet, however, weren't restrained."

"Her forehead also looked bruised." Justin added. "I don't know if she was hit, or if she tripped and hit something on her way down, but some sort of trauma happened to her face."

"The last thing I noticed was that she had these little terry cloth fibers in her nose." Justin finished. "My guess is that she was smothered at some point during her murder."

"So, I finished sharing all of my information." Justin says. "I'm hoping that I'll get a clearer picture of what exactly transpired this morning from what the rest of my team has found."

"I'll share next." Penny said. "Listen up, I'm only gonna say this once, so keep up with me."

"So, area two was the crime scene." Penny said. "To be more specific, the crime scene in this case was the kitchen."

"The Killer must really like that kitchen." Drake said, recalling from the very second murder, where it had also been the crime scene.

Penny didn't acknowledge what Drake said, as she didn't want to get sidetracked. "So, as I entered the kitchen there were two very obvious things that stood out to me."

"First of all, there was a huge barrel of liquid nitrogen in the middle of the room." Penny said.

"That must have been what was used to freeze Blossom!" Justin said, making the connection immediately.

"Yeah, I thought so too." Penny quickly commented, before moving onto the next discovery.

"Next to this barrel was a blood stained table." Penny said. "This might have been where Blossom was dismembered, if I had to take a guess."

"Look, this is a game, and if my team doesn't get this riddle, I want to have a backup plan." Penny explained. "I'm gonna keep the ice cube tray to myself, because I'm not going to die next."

"The last thing I found was a bloody cleaver." Penny finished. "It was in the kitchen trash can."

"That's it?" Drake asked. "Wow, that really wasn't a lot."

"Penny finishes her findings super quickly, and I can't help but be a bit sketched out." Drake said. "We're very far into this by now, and the murders only get more complex. With each passing day, there seems to be more to be found at the scenes, but Penny only has like 3 clues max and then she's done. I don't buy it."

"Yeah, that's it." Penny said. "The clues were kinda just in your face. I followed Tom around a lot to make sure he didn't get anything I didn't get, so we may have missed a few things, but I can tell you for sure he doesn't have anything we don't have."

"Okay, I'll just run through this quickly." Drake said to his team. "The Killer broke into Blossom's room using some sort of lock picking device. All of our locks are the type that unlock by twisting the knob from the inside, so the killer had this gadget that they slid under the door and used to pull the knob from outside."

Justin shivered. The fact that even locked doors won't keep the killer out showed just how little control he had over his own safety.

"The imminent danger is very apparent with each passing day we stay in this house." Justin said. "I just want to get out of here with my life intact, I don't want to end up like Blossom, or any of the other fallen guests."

"Here's where things start to get complicated." Drake prefaced. "So, it was very obvious from the moment I entered Blossom's bathroom that the shower had been used. However, none of the towels showed any signs of usage."

"Justin, you mentioned earlier that Blossom's forehead had a bruise on it, and I think I know what happened." Drake said.

"Oh, do you?" Justin asked, leaning forward with interest.

"Yeah, so on the shower door, there was a pretty obvious imprint left behind, in the shape of Blossom's face." Drake stated. "There was also some blood."

"Oh, so you think she tripped and hit her head on the door?" Justin asked.

"That's exactly what I think." Drake confirmed. "Interestingly enough, there weren't any hand prints, which leads me to believe she was probably zip tied at that point, or else you'd think she would try to stop her fall."

"That's so sadistic." Justin said. "Blossom was restrained in the shower?"

"Yeah, that's the vibe I'm getting." Drake said. "I think she died in that shower."

"Drake is filling in a lot of holes in this case for me." Penny said. "Combined with what I know, and what Justin brought back, things are starting to make sense to me."

"Another reason I believe this to be what happened is that Blossom could have easily left the shower at any time because it wasn't locked." Drake said. "However, if her hands were restrained, that definitely would make it hard to not only get up if she tripped, but even open the door."

"Therefore, I believe the killer placed her there." Drake said. "Something in that shower must have killed her, because I believe the dismemberment and her body being frozen are just smoke and mirrors."

"Honestly, I have to agree with you there." Penny admitted. "The Killer never makes things as obvious as they appear, there definitely had to have been something else going on underneath what's right in our faces."

"The last thing that I found had to do with her shower as well." Drake said. "I believe it was tampered with, because when I turned the water on, it shot out like a jet, and on top of that, the water was salty."

"That's not normal, I don't know about you two, but my shower doesn't do that." Justin said.

"Mine either." Penny added, and Drake simply nodded.

"Drake brings back all of this information, and while it definitely makes some parts of this case make sense, it also adds so many other elements that I am just not sure of." Justin said. "I feel like I just took 10 steps forward, but I'm still nowhere near the end of the tunnel."

The three looked at each other in silence. All of them deep in thought trying to puzzle together what had happened. Before any of them could say anything else, the estate bell rang, signaling that their time to share information was over.

The guests all gathered in front of Wallace. Once again he had called them all to the living room. They had been through this routine so many times, it was time for the riddle.

All of the guests were displaying various signs of sleep deprivation. Drake was rubbing his eyes, trying to stay awake, Quinton was yawning. It was very clear that exhaustion had set in.

"I don't know how we're going to function with this little sleep and be expected to use our brain cells to figure out a riddle." Quinton said. "This riddle could be elementary and it'll still feel like rocket science with how exhausted I am."

"I have some good news for you all!" Wallace said, clapping his hands. "This time, the Killer has provided me with a riddle to give you all, unlike yesterday, you will not have to be finding your riddles on your own."

The respective teams looked at each other. This time, they'd be allowed to stick together, which offered everyone some much needed hope.

"Thank Arceus for this!" Penny celebrated. "We're able to work together for this riddle, which means we have a chance of keeping our entire team safe. Quinton's team is going down."

"Poor little Blossom, her dreams frozen in place

Her body separated from her now deceased face,

Our normally alert Blossom really dropped the ball

And then unfortunately took a mighty fall,

In order to figure out how this happened to our deceased star,

You mustn't look too far.

Simply find the place where I do my maintenance,

Make sure to figure it out quickly, solving murders is always a dangerous dance."

"The killer has also provided you with a key, one for each of you." Wallace finished. "Godspeed, guests!"

The moment the guests got their keys, the teams split up and ran off, each trying to figure out the riddle before their opponents. Panic had set it, this was their last chance to save themselves before the upcoming double murder.

"I think everything before the maintenance line is just filler." Penny told her team.

"I agree, that line is clearly the important part." Drake agreed.

"Where does The Killer do their maintenance, though?" Justin asked, stumped.

"This riddle has me absolutely confused." Justin said. "I have no clue what the line about maintenance even means! How am I supposed to figure this out? The Killer has secret lairs everywhere, it could be anywhere in this house where the killer does their maintenance."

"I don't know, but since we have a key, let's try looking for locked rooms." Penny said. "We have to get moving quickly."

"I agree." Drake said. "If we look enough we'll probably be able to find it, we were given these keys for a reason."

The three scurried off, desperate to find some sort of clue to the riddle.

Meanwhile, Quinton's team weren't having much luck either. They had also picked up on the maintenance part of the riddle, but they too were stumped on it.

"Wait…" Missy said to her team. "Maybe we're thinking about this too hard."

"Oh, what are you thinking?" Quinton said.

"Usually, whenever Missy has an idea, it ends up being right." Quinton said. "That's why I love having her on my team, second to Blossom, Missy is truly elite at putting together these clues."

"We have these keys…" Missy said. "Remember how we're not supposed to enter the storage room on the second floor because it's hooked up to the vents and machinery of the mansion?"

"Oh!" Tom said. "Yeah, it's usually locked and the maids are always scolding me whenever I try to look at it!"

"Missy, you're a genius!" Quinton said. "These keys probably go to that!"

"Well, let's go!" Missy said, as she and the rest of her team sprinted off to the second floor.

"I think we're onto something!" Missy said confidently. "If The Killer has a room where they do all of their nefarious rigging of rooms, naturally they'd want to keep it locked. The one room in this place that's usually locked? The storage room on the second floor. I just know we've got the correct place."

The three quickly reached the room. Taking a deep breath, Tom put his key into the lock, and turned it.

"Yes!" Tom cheered, the key unlocking the door. "We found it!"

"When that door unlocks, I can just feel relief in my chest." Tom said. "Penny's team is nowhere to be found, and we just solved the first part of the riddle."

"Woah, what is this?" Tom said as he held the door for his team. "It's full of so many things."

"How are we supposed to know what's important here?" Quinton asked, looking around the room in awe.

"Guys, focus!" Missy reminded her team. "Let's split up and cover the room, we'll be more likely to find what we're looking for that way."

"Yeah, you're right." Tom agreed. "I'll take the left side of the room. Quinton, you take the right, and Missy, you can take the back."

All three of them verbalized their agreement, and they split off to look at their assigned sides.

Missy looked at the back of the room. All along the walls were machines and tubes and assorted maintenance items. She wasn't an expert, how was she supposed to figure out what was relevant and what wasn't. Eventually, she struck gold. She noticed a very suspicious looking canister against the wall near the ventilation area.

"Boys, come here!" She called her teammates, excitement in her voice.

Tom and Quinton rushed over, eager to see what Missy had discovered.

"Look, it's labeled with Blossom's name." Missy pointed out.

She was correct, there was a canister against the wall, with a tube hooked up to it, leading into the vents. Right above it was a label that read "Blossom's Room Ventilation."

"This has to be a clue!" Missy stated. "The canister is labeled "Nitrous Oxide", that doesn't seem normal."

"Hey, I've heard of that!" Quinton pointed out. "Nitrous oxide is laughing gas!"

"No way!" Tom said. "If that's hooked up to the air in Blossom's room, that would have sedated her."

"That explains why she didn't fight back against the killer!" Missy said. "She was gassed up and high out of her mind, The Killer would have had no issue knocking her out and tying her up in that state."

"That's not all, look at this." Quinton said, pointing to a timer on the can. It was set up to go off at 1:00 and continue pumping until 1:20.

"That explains the gas mask!" Missy said. "The Killer used it so they wouldn't be affected by the nitrous oxide."

"You're absolutely right." Quinton agreed.

"Guys, there's a note next to the can!" Tom said as he prodded the note.

"It's another riddle." Missy said as she levitated the note in front of her face so she could read it.

"Congrats, detective, on finding my sedation of choice,

But don't get comfortable yet, I still have one more secret to voice.

In Blossom's shower a deadly secret lay,

A weapon so unusual but one that still ended Blossom's stay.

Find the container and twist it as you will,

Inside lay a specimen for you to kill.

So run, hurry quick, make good haste,

Discover an ending that'll leave you with a salty taste!"

"Her shower, let's go!" Missy urged as she shot off towards Blossom's room.

"Wait up!" Tom said, struggling to keep pace with the spirit.

Quinton also had difficulty keeping up with the excited ghost

Missy hadn't even noticed that her team was lagging behind, she was just so excited at the prospect of solving her first riddle.

Missy flung the door open and entered Blossom's room, her teammates finally catching up to her.

Tom and Quinton panted, both of them struggling to catch their breath.

The three of them entered the bathroom together, and noticed what was obviously out of place immediately.

Inside of Blossom's shower was a glass box connected to another canister. The canister was labeled "salt water."

"The riddle says to twist the canister." Tom pointed out.

Missy floated over and used her psychic powers to turn the knob.

The box suddenly flooded with salt water, and the three Pokémon watched as the cherry blossom inside dehydrated and shriveled up.

The three Pokémon looked at each other, huge grins on their faces. The estate bell rang as they celebrated, they had just punched their tickets into the final four.

Meanwhile, Penny's team had just found the maintenance room, but before they could unlock the door, the bell rang. The three doomed team mates exchanged exhausted looks, and seemed resigned to their fate.

"We lost, fair and square." Justin said, his eyes red from crying. "Two of us are dying tonight, it's over. I can't believe this is happening, I actually might kill myself before the killer can get to me. I'm just so exhausted."

The surviving Pokémon all gathered in the living room once more. Quinton's team remained cheerful, meanwhile Penny's team looked at them in envy. They knew their time was up, so they just stood, shoulders slumped, eyes defeated.

"Congratulations to those who solved the riddle." Wallace smiled at Quinton's team. "To the other three guests…don't give up yet. You still have the state your case to save yourselves."

"Speaking of which, let's get into it." Wallace said. "Like usual, you have a bit of time to get your thoughts together, and then once that is up, you will be led to state your case."

Quinton's team headed off to their rooms to gather their thoughts. Meanwhile, Penny's team chose to hang out with each other. They knew they were done for, so they chose to spend their remaining time together as a group for the last time.

"It's a grim realization to come to." Drake said. "Two of us are dying next, but we might as well just spend what little time we have left as a group."

"Thank you for taking me in." Drake said to his teammates. "This didn't last long, but it truly was an honor getting to work with you both."

Justin smiled sadly at the land shark. "No, thank you for being part of us."

Penny nodded, the Pokémon who was usually so serious showing signs of emotion.

"I'm just too exhausted to remain composed." Penny said. "I feel like crying, and the sleep deprivation is setting in. I want to be alive so badly, but is it even worth it if I'm going to be alone?"

Quinton sat on his bed, adjusting his flower print bow tie. "This one is for my greatest adversary, thank you Blossom, for making this interesting."

"For once, I'm very confident in what transpired in this case." Quinton grinned. "I feel like I have all of the details, and even if I don't get the best case, I know I'm surviving my scared card."

Missy hovered over her notepad, furiously writing down her thoughts. She was ready for this state your case.

"The fact that this is the most important state your case thus far and I'm walking into it very prepared speaks volumes to my abilities as a detective." Missy bragged. "Nobody left alive is anywhere near as proficient as I am."

Tom's tail was once again wagging. It was so nice to have all of the puzzle pieces for once, and unlike last night, he was confident he was going to survive this next murder.

"I'm so grateful about my decision to switch teams." Tom smiled. "This entire game, I've been taking risks and chances that have paid off tenfold, and this is yet another risk I took that paid off in spades."

Drake slumped in his chair at his desk. He was resigned and pretty much had accepted his fate at this point.

"Two people from my team are dying, there's no way around it." Drake said. "There's a very good chance I'll be one of those two people, so I'm just trying to mentally prepare myself for whatever happens next."

Penny ripped up her notes and screamed in frustration. Tears streamed down her face, and for the first time in the whole game, it was clear Penny had broken down. This time, there was no rage, it was just raw desperation.

"I don't want to die." Penny vented. "I've fought way too hard and endured way too much to just die here."

Justin was curled up on his side, laying on his bed. Tears ran down his face, and he was clearly miserable. He knew his odds, and they weren't looking very good.

"I just don't know how much I have left in the tank." Justin said. "I'm so sick of doing this every single day, maybe it's for the best if I die. I'm miserable and exhausted, and I don't have anything left to get me through this day even if I do survive the double."

State Your Case:

"Okay, let's get to it." Justin said. "Sometime during the night, you decided to pay Blossom a visit. Using some sort of lock picking mechanism, you broke into her locked room, and ambushed her. I think she was sleeping when you did this, so she didn't fight back because she wasn't even awake, either way, it doesn't matter, because you knocked her out."

"You had set your little gas tank of nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas, up to fill her room starting at 1:00, and it would continue to fill her room until 1:20." Tom grinned. "You entered her room while she was high out of her mind, gas mask on your face, and that's when you took her to her shower, zip tied her hands together, and placed her into the shower."

"Once she was in her shower, you did something to her." Drake said with a clear lack of confidence. "Maybe she was in there for a while, either way, you made sure she wouldn't be able to escape because you zip tied her arms. I think she attempted to escape, though. In her shower, there was some blood, and an imprint of her face etched into the shower steam on the door. I think she tried to get out, but she tripped and hit her head, knocking herself out completely, and maybe that head trauma was what killed her?"

"At some point when Blossom was in the shower, she must have woken up." Missy said. "Quinton mentioned that there was a bruise on her head, so I believe Blossom fell forward while trying to get up, and she hit her head on the shower, causing that forehead bruise. This disoriented her after she had woken up, and she couldn't do anything to stop the onslaught of salty water essentially dehydrating her. After a few minutes of salty, rough water pounding her, she had to have dehydrated enough to get shriveled and die."

"After you killed Blossom, you still had a few more tricks up your sleeve." Quinton said, his eyes blazing. "You took the dead Blossom downstairs to the kitchen, and placed her body on the table you placed in that kitchen ahead of time. I remember it wasn't there back during Kenny's murder. Once she was on the table, you dismembered Blossom."

"You plucked all of her petals off of her head, but what you didn't notice was you actually left one behind." Penny stated, her voice devoid of any emotion. "Using a cleaver, you also dismembered the rest of her body, leaving blood on the table. You hastily disposed of the cleaver in the trash can, leaving a little bit of blood behind. Finally, using the massive tray of ice cube molds you had stored in the freezer, you popped the chunks of blossom in that gigantic mold, and dunked it in the barrel of liquid nitrogen in the kitchen. Her body soon froze up, and you popped the Blossom cubes back into the freezer, and left them there for somebody to find."

Accusations:

"Tom, I still think you're the killer." Drake said.

"Missy, don't think your new improved attitude is going to fool me." Quinton smirked. "If it's not Blossom, the killer has to be you."

"Quinton, I'm just exhausted." Penny said. "I know you're the killer, please give me another chance."

"I was wrong about my original guess, but I think I'm right this time." Missy smirked. "Quinton, you are the killer."

"Missy, just stop all of the killings." Justin pleaded.

"I don't think it's Justin anymore." Tom admitted. "It's actually his partner in crime, Penny. I'm onto you."

The final 6 entered the dining room. Because it wasn't night, they were having lunch instead. The teams were sitting on different sides of the table.

While Quinton's team were in high spirits, talking lively and overall seemed to be in a much better mood, Penny's team were all sitting quietly. The mood was very somber, as they knew two of them were absolutely dying later.

"Congratulations, you three." Justin said to his opponents with a broken smile.

Just like that, the cheerful mood was ruined for the three other Pokémon.

"Oh, thanks." Quinton said, frowning.

"We were so busy celebrating, we actually forgot the gravity of the situation." Quinton said. "Yeah, we're not going to die, but two people that we've been with for almost a week now are about to be taken out. I like both Drake and Justin, and at least one of them is about to kick the bucket. It's not a good feeling at all."

"Feel free to continue celebrating." Penny said, her tone bitter. "You guys won, we get it."

"Look, I'm sorry." Tom told Penny. "I wish it didn't have to be like this, but we're all fighting to stay alive."

"I know, I understand." Penny sighed, she just didn't have the energy left to be bitter. "Just…if I die, whoever gets out of this place alive, please share our stories."

"We will." Missy nodded. For once, she didn't have an insult or a quip. "I'm sorry, Penny. For what it's worth, if you die, you were a fierce competitor and it was an honor getting to compete with you."

"True that." Justin agreed as he rubbed his closest ally on the back.

"We're getting split up today." Justin said. "Either one of us, or both of us, are dying today. It just sucks, Penny and I have been together since the start, and now it's all over."

"Hello, guests." Wallace said as he strolled into the dining room. "I hope you've all put in your best efforts in this case, you know the stakes already."

"The Killer would like to congratulate one of you in particular." Wallace said with a huge smile on his face. "Congratulations…QUINTON!"

"You had the best retelling of the crime this round, and for that you are Spared." Wallace commended. "As for the rest of you…you already know your fate. Now, the Killer would like me to break the ice and share what you were unable to piece together."

"Oh, poor Blossom. Our very own front runner has met her end. Are you shocked? I sure know I was, I truly thought Blossom was going to make it all the way, but she hit a cold streak, and flatlined."

"A fun fact is, this murder was supposed to be the double! I had a very chilling fate for one of you at this table planned, but one of your own guests unintentionally spared you from an icy grave. Due to that, the double was forced today, but let it be known, if your time comes again, it will be especially gruesome."

"Moving on, Blossom had some trouble sleeping today. She was so nervous about her Scared card that she just couldn't seem to catch some shut eye. Being the generous host that I am, I previously rigged her ventilation with a remedy for all of her restlessness…nitrous oxide. In simple terms, I rigged a tank of laughing gas to pump into her room once the clock hit 1:00, and I bet she was so grateful for the relaxed state I forced her into."

"With Blossom in another world, I quickly broke into her room using my lock picking mechanism, and busted onto the scene, gas mask on my face. Of course, I wouldn't want to be affected by my own laughing gas, so I had come prepared. I would like to say, the two of you that investigated the last known got two very different pieces of the puzzle, but it was Missy who found my discarded gas mask in Blossom's trash can."

"Once I had entered her room, it was simply child's play to deal with Blossom. She was in no state to resist, so I easily smothered her with a rag doused in chloroform, and then I restrained her hands with a zip tie. Entering her bathroom, I placed her in the shower. Before this, I had rigged her shower and set it up so that it would blast out salt water, a very dehydrating combo indeed."

"Eventually, I started the water up, and at that point Blossom's fate was sealed. As Blossom lay unconscious, starting to shrivel up and die from all of the salt sucking the moisture out of her body, she awoke from her sleep, and made an attempt to escape. Unfortunately for Blossom, she was still a bit drowsy, combined with her restraints, so she tripped, hit her head on the shower door, causing her some massive head pain, and leaving some blood in the shower."

"Soon, Blossom died from dehydration. However, I wasn't quite done with my chilly murder for our resident ice queen. I took the dead Blossom downstairs to the kitchen, where I had previously prepared a barrel of liquid nitrogen, and a table for which I could place Blossom while I prepared her. Once I put her on the table, I dismembered her body, making sure to sever her hands off under the zip tie so that our astute morgue investigators could find it. I also plucked the petals out of her head, but clumsy me left one behind, which our dear guest Penny was able to find."

"This wasn't the only thing Penny was also able to find, as she also discovered my ice cube molds in the freezer, which I had used to place the frozen Blossom chunks into after I froze her body parts entirely, leaving them for Drake to find later. I wasn't quite done yet, however. I quickly discarded the cleaver that I had used to dismember Blossom in the trash can, and then I left."

"Here's where things started to go wrong. I was originally going to kill another person, but Drake rudely interrupted me, and prevented me from accomplishing this. One of you has Drake to thank for saving your pitiful lives. Next time, you won't be so lucky. Despite this, I still was able to make one very cool kill, and I'm satisfied with that."

"Offering my coolest regards,

Your Killer."

The reactions from the living guests were all relatively similar. Everyone looked absolutely disgusted at this recent murder, combined with the sleep deprivation and exhaustion setting in, this wasn't a happy gang of campers.

"I'm so over this." Tom grunted.

"This game is just too much." Tom said. "I'm sick of all of these murders, and the riddles, and the puzzles, and the stress."

"You all know that everyone else is Scared." Wallace said. "Therefore, when you're done eating, you're free to go about the day as you wish until the Killer makes his or her decision on who to kill."

With that, Wallace turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

Everyone left, simply exchanged looks and sighed. Nobody made a move to get up however, as it was an unspoken agreement that they were going to spend what little time they had left together.

For the next hour, the guests simply chatted and talked about life at home and did their best to forget the predicament they were in, but eventually, they started to leave the room and go about their days, trying to relax as best they can until the inevitable.

Penny's Room:

Penny sat in her chair, her face expressionless, and she completely lacked her usual intensity and passion.

"Honestly, I'm so burnt out." Penny said. "I just don't have the spirit to remain flared up and try to fight the inevitable."

"Either I die now, or I die later." Penny admitted. "I'm outnumbered and I'm either going to lose my life in a little bit, or lose the rest of my team."

Penny wiped a tear as she looked at her door. Despite the futility of the action, she got up and walked over to the door, and locked it.

Tom's Room:

"I know I'm not dying." Tom said with a smile. "It's simply a matter of who from the other team is going to bite it."

Tom paced around his room, trying to find something to occupy himself.

He settled down at his desk and started to take notes.

"Since I have some free time, I might as well write down some of my thoughts." Tom said. "I have to be on my best game for the second part of Hell Day."

Justin's Room:

Unsurprisingly, Justin was crying on his bed.

"I don't want to die." Justin sobbed. "I don't want Penny or Drake to die either."

Justin punched his pillow in frustration.

"Why couldn't we have just solved the riddle?" Justin vented. "We were doing so good too, we had Quinton's team dead to their rights two days ago, how did it all go so badly?"

Drake's Room:

Drake stared numbly at his wall, completely devoid of emotion. He was broken, the game officially got to him.

Surprisingly, he actually started to smile. The Pokémon had clearly thought of something that made him happy.

"All this time I was so scared of dying, but I just realized something." Drake said. "When I'm dead, I can visit Mary!"

Suddenly, Drake wasn't so shattered. He quickly got up out of his bed and left his room.

Missy's Room:

Missy floated around her room, it was very clear that she was restless.

"I just want to get to this next murder, I'm so damn ready to get out of this hellhole."

"If I had to pick one person I want to die, I'd rather like it if Drake bit the dust." Missy smirked.

"Anyways, I might as well get up and mo-" Missy started, but before she could finish her sentence, a loud crash was heard throughout the mansion.

Everyone came running out of their rooms, almost running into each other in the hallway. Everyone exchanged looks as they ran out to where the noise came from.

As the guests neared the back of the mansion, where the huge crash came from, a horrible sight awaited them.

Drake's dead body slowly swung from the ceiling fan as it circled the room. He looked almost peaceful in death, as the guests could see a serene smile on his face.

Wallace quickly arrived at the room shortly after the guests. He already knew that Drake was dead, as he had received a letter from the Killer earlier, but he still did his head count.

It became obvious to the guests that there was someone else missing. Justin was nowhere to be found, not a body in sight other than that of the once alive Land Shark Pokémon.

PLOT TWIST! The rest of hell day is going to be handled slightly differently than usual double murders, as I wanted to do something a bit unusual than what people are used to. More will be revealed in the next chapter, but for now, Justin's status is a bit unclear. Drake however, is 100% deceased. Drake was an interesting character to write for. I just love building someone up to be a contender and then killing them off surprisingly soon, because in this game, you can never be too sure who will win. Everyone left are such integral parts of the story, that killing characters now has become extremely hard, and every death will probably be a gut punch. I wanted Drake to have his shining moment before he passed away, which is why last episode was so Drake heavy, but alas, he was never meant to win so I killed him here.