Content warning: Attempted suicide
XO
Lucario gritted his teeth as the sleeping drug left his system. Once again, his body was heavy and very shaky. He managed to pick himself up from the cold metal floor and onto his elbows. The room was extremely barren this time. There was no table or chairs. He had a single shackle on attached to his ankle this time. He saw most people were already awake, including Sonic, who was again across from him. He was sitting next to Corrin and Daisy, who was comforting the teenager. Meggy was nearby too. He trusted the two girls and didn't have any reason not to. He sat up fully and winced in pain. They saw a triangle of light in front of each player, which pointed towards them. They heard the rules play over a megaphone as a box rose from within the centre of the circle. The voice was all synthetic and metallic, as if it had been done using a voice decoder.
It was a game of Russian Roulette.
Each player would be chosen randomly.
When called up, the player had three options: shoot the wall and refuse to use their turn, shoot another player, or shoot themselves in an act of suicide.
The game ended once there had been one confirmed casualty.
If nobody died when everyone had been called up once, a person to shoot and one person to be shot would be chosen at random.
Each player had 2 minutes to decide their turn's destiny, or the gun would explode in their hands.
Almost instantly as people heard the words Russian Roulette, there was blind panic. Lucario instantly noticed a loophole. It said they could shoot others, but it didn't say that the shot had to kill. He knew if he had noticed this, others had too, and that would cause complications. The lights in front of them suddenly went out as the game begun.
XO
It was very dark. All the figure knew about his comrade as his furry body and gruff nature. He couldn't see his face. Even when light hit them, their bodies were just black, their features missing.
"So you can't remember your name either?" The humanoid shadow asked.
"Can't say I do. I just remember breaking out of a test tube like a lab rat, just like you did. This place is huge." The furry shadow replied. They suddenly heard footsteps and hid. They saw two figures, both dressed in black. The first was not human, with one visible eye glowing in the dark. The second was human and was taller. A purple jewel shone in his chest. Then again, the first figure also had a gemstone embedded in his chest. The two tried to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Just like I thought." The human sneered. "Watching this farce is too amusing. Watching mortals squirm in this birdcage never gets old."
"We have plenty of amusement to come. Only two have died so far, yet their deaths meant very little. Both were villains with no redemption. This game will test loyalties to the limit. I just hope something unexpected occurs."
"There is still one thing that doesn't fully sit right with me."
"Oh? Whatever is it?"
"This one." He pointed at the screen in front of them. "He is as mortal as the rest of them, yet he intrigues me. Two deaths and he is already being driven to insanity."
"Oh, don't underestimate that one." The first figure chuckled. "If there is one thing he is good at, it's being determined and full of hope. It's just a meaningless emotion with no purpose. This is a cruel unjust world. It will never change."
"Agreed, humans are greedy, selfish filth. Let's see what happens this time around..."
XO
Lucario had gotten sadly used to the sound of gunshots. 6 people had currently taken their turns: Rosalina, Ness, Ike, Yoshi, Meta Knight and Pichu. Each one had shot the metal wall, getting rewarded by claps of encouragement. Pichu had had a lot of difficulty since her hands could barely hold the pistol, but she had just managed. She sighed in relief before going back to her spot.
Lucario was trying to analyse everyone's strategies that he had sussed so far. He knew he himself was relatively safe. He was one of the many with their secret still hidden. The only problem was, he knew there was one person who would shoot him. Dark Pit. After that confrontation in the library, he had made an unfortunate enemy. The dark angel had been glaring at him this whole time, and had been eagerly awaiting his turn. It hadn't come, thank Arceus. Fox was also in danger. After the first two rounds, he had been in the firing line twice since his sin was revealed first, and had gotten lucky twice. Mythra and Pyra equally could be targeted.
And then there was Sonic. He was definitely the biggest target at the moment. Not only did he narrowly win over Ganondorf in the last round, but he wasn't mentally stable at the moment. There was a chance, even though Lucario dreaded to think about the possibility, that he would kill himself if he got a hold of the gun. The idea threatened to make him burst into heartbroken tears. He loved the hedgehog with all his heart. He glanced over at the hedgehog, only to see him crying. Daisy was holding him close, softly whispering to him. Meggy looked concerned too. Lucario met her gaze. Her blue eyes had some sort of calming influence.
"Is he doing okay?" He mouthed to her. She nodded in response.
"That gun isn't doing his mental health any favours." He sighed at this, starting to tremble more. The next light came up and it was the turn of Snake. Being an expert with firearms, he cocked the gun and instantly fired at the wall.
"I'm not doing the traitor's work." He hissed. He got a lot of bewildered looks.
"T-Traitor?" Luigi asked in confusion.
"I'm surprised nobody else has figured that out. Somebody in this room helped set this up. I'm sure of it. I don't have any suspects, but I know one guy who is very suspicious." He glared in the direction of Daisy and Sonic.
"Don't you even...!" Daisy held Sonic closer protectively. Snake just chuckled at this.
"Don't get your petals in a twist, princess. That loser is dead last on my list."
"Why I oughta--!!!" Daisy was about to go further when they saw the lights choose another player. Falco. He sighed and stood up, having debated in his head on what to do. He picked up the pistol and loaded it. He looked at everyone around the room. Lucario wasn't sure what he was doing? Looking for a target??
"Falco, just shoot the wall already." Samus grumbled. He suddenly smirked.
"Oh I don't think so."
"Falco, you birdbrain! What are you thinking!?" Popo yelled, tightly gripping the hand of his sister Nana. Sonic gulped. He and Falco had always been at odds. They had similar personalities, egos and ambitions, and they clashed pretty often. Falco saw his scared look and almost wanted to scoff, but refrained from doing so, feeling that the hedgehog had suffered enough. He turned around to Fox, who hadn't said anything the whole game.
"Tell me something Fox." He spat. "What made you want to hurt Krystal? She saved your life on that dinosaur planet, or vice versa, I forget. Yet, you chose to hurt her. I would never do that to Katt!"
Fox was silent.
"No defence? Just like you to be passive. It pisses me off." He approached Fox and pushed the barrel against his skull. "You really thought I believed you. I wanted to be the one to kill you, old friend." He clicked the safety off, making Fox realise he was seriously about to die. He smirked before pulling the trigger. Blood splattered across the walls and floor, all over Falco, and all across the two people sitting next to the now dead vulpine: Banjo and Red, the Pokemon Trainer. Red instantly fainted. Banjo just shook in fear. The bird just laughed before shooting randomly, though nobody got hit. The room then opened for them to leave. Lucario was frozen in shock. He noticed Falco still had the gun. Thankfully, Bayonetta acted and knocked the insane bird out, which knocked the gun away.
"Good job, Bay." Link shakily thanked, standing up alongside everyone else. The Umbra Witch adjusted her glasses.
"Just what I do, my little green elf." Link usually got antsy when he got called elf, but he let it slide just this once. Greninja used his Hydro Pump move to wash the blood off Banjo and Red, who let out sighs of relief. As they began leaving the third chamber, one of them stayed behind, looking soullessly at the abandoned gun, shakily picking it up and examining the ammo. One bullet. He had never wielded a gun before. He sat on the floor for a moment, before pressing the barrel against his stomach. His heart was beating so fast. He glanced at the camera before he pulled the trigger...
XO
The sound of a gunshot made everyone freeze. Lucario was near the front of the group.
"Please say I didn't imagine that sound..." He said with fear running through his voice. The entire group looked at each other, all confirming that Lucario hadn't imagined it.
"I think we all heard it." Nana whispered. Meggy looked around.
"Hey, where's Daisy?" The inkling asked.
"Pyra isn't here either." Mythra noted. "Where did those two girls go?"
They suddenly heard a scream. No. Two screams. Meggy was the first one to move, running back towards the chamber. Some of the others followed, including Lucario. He saw Meggy frozen at the door, pale as a ghost, crying. She saw the group and looked up, but she looked at Lucario directly. The pieces started fitting together as Lucario's ruby eyes went tiny with terror.
No...oh Arceus no...!!! Please say Sonic didn't...!!!
He started pushing past the others who immediately sussed what was going on and were trying to stop him from getting into the room. They stood no chance. Lucario was pumped up on adrenaline, which only increased his stats. He had tears streaming down his face. He was screaming Sonic's name. He got to the doorway. He saw Sonic covered in blood, a massive wound to his stomach. The gun was still in his right hand, the barrel still smoking. He wasn't aware of what happened next. His brain couldn't comprehend this reality. His world began spinning before dissolving into darkness.