Chapter 1- My World, Your Illusion- A Shocking Motive

"We've got to fight back!"

"No! You saw that thing! It nearly killed us all!"

"Fuck that! Let's just destroy the metal wall and escape!"

"There's enough of us to launch a counterattack! We're the Ultimate Team after all!"

"Be patient! There's the possibility of a rescue party."

"Treasure Town isn't that far away after all…"

"Don't be a pussy! That fake wants us to kill?! Let's kill him!"

I sat in the mess hall in silence, as everyone argued around me, peeling the skin off of a Pecha Berry. I was starving after all that had happened. I absently scratched the collar that had been forced around my neck. I had nothing to say. What could I say?

"Hey." I was suddenly nudged by Ribombee to my right. She smiled, pitifully, at me. "Are you alright?"

I didn't meet her eyes. "Yeah. I'm alright," I mumbled, halfheartedly, taking a small bite.

I spotted her share a look with Blissey who sat right across from us out of the corner of my eye. "Are you sure?" Blissey asked, uncertainly. "You still might be shaken from the explosion-!"

"I'm alright," I repeated, giving them a shaky smile that clearly didn't waive their worries. However, I just turned my attention back to my dinner, keeping an ear to the discussion that was happening around me.

"Marowak," Greninja said, turning to the Ultimate Archeologist. "You're a ground type. Can you dig out of here to escape?"

Marowak shrugged. "Possibly. I'll need some time to find the right spot, but I could dig through rock, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem." She grinned. "Don't ya worry! I got this!"

Metang looked a bit unconvinced to me, but he leaned over to Porygon and whispered a few words to him, before he spotted me staring at him. I quickly averted my eyes, my attention now firmly on the pecha berry in my paw.

"Whoa!" Everyone, including me, paused and looked over to Zebstrika, who had a small flat see-through paper thing floating in front of him. "Cool!"

It took a moment for everyone to process what was happening.

Lucario immediately scrambled back. "W-what is that thing?!" he cried. "Is it more of that fake's magic?!"

"Y-You d-dumbass!" Froslass stammered. "W-what did you do?! A-are you trying to k-kill me?!"

Zebstrika gave everyone a strange look. "Well… I don't know. But it came from the collar I was wearing," he explained. "The ones we can't take off?"

"Hmm." Metang glanced at the collar that he had placed around his arm and tapped it tentatively, as a similar floating opaque piece of paper appeared in front of Metang. "It's a hologram," he informed the others.

I frowned. "A hologram?" I asked, the word completely unfamiliar to me.

"Yes." Metang tapped the paper in front of him and, again to my surprise, it was tangible. As Metang swiped his claws to the right, the image changed. "Think of it like a computer screen that can appear anywhere and responds to your touch." He glanced to Porygon behind him. "Do you know what this means?"

Porygon's eyes gleamed. "Yes," he said smugly. "Don't worry. I'll get right on it and have it cracked by the end of the day." He floated out of the mess hall, snickering childishly to himself.

"There should be a small button somewhere on your collars, though I suspect it may also work by doing certain gestures," Metang instructed.

I felt around my neck for a couple of second, before finding what Metang was talking about. I pressed it with a satisfying click and the hologram appeared in front of me. After taking a moment to be amazed, I examined the small screen. It didn't contain much, just my personal information. Weight. Height. Gender. The kinds of moves I had under my belt…

I raised a brow at that. How did this hologram know that?

I copied Metang's movements and swiped my hand along the screen, as the entire window changed before my eyes. This time it had what I recognized to be a map of the guild hall. With my digits, I could manipulate the how big or small thee map could be along with where it was. In the corner, the floor was marked. "B2F?" I muttered, recognizing the combination of letters and number. It was how exploration teams often marked the floors of a mystery dungeon. Granted it wasn't used for buildings, since they tended to have a relatively small floor count.

That begs the question though, I thought, recalling the fact that there were two ladders blocked off in the main hall. How deep did this guild go?

I swiped the hologram again, surprised to see a lengthy list written in footprint runes. "Rules," I heard Gengar grumble in the background, apparently not very happy with the discovery.

I scanned the list. It was rather long list.

1. Guildmembers may only reside within the boundaries of Treasure Town and Wigglytuff's Guild.

2. Nighttime occurs from between 10 P.M and 7 A.M. Some areas are off-limits during nighttime, so please exercise caution.

3. Sleeping anywhere aside from your assigned rooms is against Guild policy and will be strictly punished if broken.

4. Violence against Guildmaster Monotuff is prohibited and will be punished.

5. Anyone who kills a fellow guild member will become "blackened," and may be granted with escape as long as no one discovers their crime.

6. More rules will be added at the Guildmaster's discretion.

The last rule made a chill run down my spine. I instinctively raised my head and looked behind me, with a sudden fear that someone was coming up from behind with a knife. Of course, there wasn't anything like that and instead I was just staring at Pelipper, who gave me a strange look.

"Incredible," Metang said, in amazement. "There's even a time-keeping device stored within one of these. At the moment, it seems to be… 4:24 PM. If my estimate is correct then that should be around late evening when the sun is about three-fourths of its way across the sky."

I gave him an amazed look. "That's incredible…" I muttered.

"Uh-huh." Grovyle snorted. "How does that help our situation in anyway?"

"Urgh…" Lucario tugged at the collar around his neck. "I don't like this. Wasn't this an old human way of telling time?"

"That it was," Metang answered.

"We can't trust this sort of thing," Lucario snapped. "We've got to find a way to get rid of it somehow!"

Lycanroc snickered. "Scared wimp?" he asked.

"I-I'm n-not!" Lucario stammered back. "The Ultimate Fighter knows no fear!"

"Urgh," Froslass grumbled. "I-I h-hate guys w-who need to o-overcompensate."

"I'm actually more interested in the rules," Marowak said. "It says that we can visit Treasure Town. Yet isn't the ladder been blocked off by that metal gate."

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Monotuff said. "I just didn't want you lot to miss the morning meeting by heading to Treasure Town."

"Oh, is that all? Does that mean that the gate is now op…" Marowak paused.

"Waugh!"

We all jumped back away from the table. Monotuff had appeared out of nowhere and now had its feet firmly planted in the middle of the berry salad. It seemed amused by our surprise and covered its strange mouth with its stubby hands, stifling some laughter. "What's wrong?"

"Y-You," Zebstrika stuttered. "Did you use Teleport?!"

"Maybe…?" Monotuff said mysteriously.

"Um… that's not exactly a straight answer…" Ribombee nervously pointed out. "Plus, I don't think wigglytuffs can learn the move Teleport."

"That's beside the point, beside the point!" Monotuff said. "The more important point is that I've unlocked the ladder that'll lead you outside. Aren't you going to use it?"

"Yo…" Noivern said nervously. "This ain't a trap, right?"

"Of course not! Would your Guildmaster ever lie to you?!"

Noivern blinked. "Well I mean you're the one who told us to kill each other," she muttered.

"Are you back-talking missy?" Monotuff growled.

"N-No!" Noivern quickly said.

"This is pointless," Metang interrupted. "Monotuff. You said the route to Treasure Town was open? Are you allowing us to try and escape?"

"Yes, and yes!" Monotuff quickly answered.

"But why?" Greninja asked. "I thought you intended to keep us in here until your deranged idea of killing started."

"Nyehehehehe! Who knows what I've got planned…?" And as quickly as it arrived, Monotuff disappeared.

"So, he does know Teleport…" Zebstrika grumbled.

"So, are we going?" Blissey asked, eyeing Metang. Everyone else, including me, turned to him.

Metang nodded. "Yes," he said. "No need to tell Porygon, however, it'd be better if we didn't bother his work. Getting these collars of is his priority."

"Who gives a shit?" Lycanroc snorted, suddenly. "That little faker just gave us a way out?! What are we even waiting for?!" He pushed past Metang and left the Mess Hall, grabbing a pecha berry along the way.

"I-Impatient m-much?!" Froslass scowled, quickly following the rock-type. Others began to file out of the Mess Hall, until I was the last one left, alone.

I looked down at the floor, as my stomach turned. Is Monotuff really just allowing us to escape? Did he perhaps realizing that asking everyone to kill each other wasn't plausible?

A small bit of hope filled my heart. I was going to get out of this nightmare, before it ever began. I allowed myself to laugh a bit.

Killing each other? Yeah, right. As if that would ever happen.

My spirits now a bit lighter, I followed my guild members out of the Mess Hall.

Xxx

I took no more than two steps from the entrance of the guild hall, before the reality of the situation hit me square in the head.

I looked up, where a large wall made from some sort of metal surrounded us as far as I could see. Above, I could still see the sky, but a large black cage encased us inside. "W-What's going on?" I managed to ask, gazing up in complete horror.

"Ah, so this is what he meant," Metang grimaced. "He didn't have any intention for us to leave after all."

"This isn't possible…" Marowak. "I've never seen a structure so large…" Her eyes lit up. "It's beautiful!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Lucario cried. "Even if we're outside there's still no way to escape! What's the point in even letting us out then?"

"Hmph." Pelipper smirked in the background. "Just who do you think you are with? I am Pelipper! The Ultimate-!"

"Yo, I think I can fly up there and escape!" Noivern interrupted with a huge grin. "Just give me a couple of minutes!" With that she took off into the sky, rocketing up.

"W-wait for me!" Pelipper quickly flew up himself, albeit at a much slower pace than Noivern.

We all watched them go, flying straight towards. Noivern was speeding towards the sky, while Pelipper lagged. "They'll be fine," Greninja said, moving past the group and down the stairs. "In the meantime, the rest of us should investigate."

"As much as I hate to say it," Gengar piped up. "We'd better split up. Treasure Town is just too big to get through if we're all moving in one huge group."

"Agreed," Metang said. "But Gengar since you're a ghost type do you think it would be possible to try and phase through the metal?"

Gengar blinked, before he grinned. "I could definitely try to go through the metal. It didn't work while we were in the guild, but there's no harm in trying." He headed down the stairs and took a left, quickly disappearing.

"As for the rest of us," Metang said addressing the rest of the group, just as Lycanroc just stomped right past the Ultimate Genius, down the stairs and taking a right. Metang took a solitary look at his retreating back and ignored Lycanroc. "I guess we'll search Treasure Town."

A murmur of agreement ran through the small crowd and everyone began to split into groups and head into Treasure Town. "Um…" I tried to catch the attention of Blissey or Ribombee but the two of them quickly bounded down the steps, completely missing me.

Or they purposely ignored me, I couldn't help but think.

I shook my head. There was no use in thinking like that.

I was the last one left standing in front of the Guild. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I headed towards Treasure Town.

Xxx

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked around at the Crossroads I had found myself in. "Alright, Braixen," I muttered to myself, eyeing my options. I could either head south towards the beach and cove, east towards Gengar and the edge of the wall or to the west towards Treasure Town. After mulling it over for a few seconds, I headed to the left towards Gengar.

This path was the same path I had used when I had first arrived at Treasure Town and presumably a lot of the other pokémon. Of course, when I had walked down it, there wasn't a large wall blocking me and a large building shaped like Pelipper's head.

I paused. "Is this… supposed to be a post office?" I wondered aloud.

"I'd assume so." I jumped about a foot into the air, as Gengar appeared right next to me. "What's wrong?!" he asked, looking a bit confused at my reaction.

"Nothing," I nervously said. "I was just startled."

Gengar gave me a strange look, something I seem to be receiving a lot of lately. "Well if you're here to ask me about potential escape I'm going to have to disappoint you." He gestured towards the large wall that ended the path. "I can't phase through it." He scratched his head. "It's… kinda the first time that's ever happened to be honest," he admitted.

I swallowed. "Do you know why?" I asked.

"Something with the metal," Gengar guessed. "I'm not expert on this. But…" He turned his attention to the large building shaped and designed like Pelipper's head. "This is definitely a post office. You think it might still be working?"

"I don't know," I replied. "But what's a post office doing here? I don't remember one being here."

"I can answer that!" Monotuff appeared out of nowhere, jumping right into my face. "That's called an Ultimate Gym!"

I took several steps back. "Ultimate Gym?" I asked.

"Yep, yep!" Monotuff nodded. "Each guild member has their own gym located either in the town or in the guild that is built to train or help with their specific talents. Take this building for instance." It gestured to the building in front of us. "This is here for the Ultimate Deliveryman, hence why it's a post office!"

"That's awesome!" Gengar beamed. "Is there one for me?!"

"Upupupu!" Monotuff giggled. "Sorry, you'll have to wait your turn. There's only a few of them available at the moment. I'm renovating them to suit you needy little bastards. So just be patient!"

Gengar seemed to deflate. "Aww…"

I pieced together what it had said. "So, if this is the Ultimate Gym for the Pelipper then does this mean we can't go in?" I asked to make sure.

"Nope, Nope!" Monotuff shook its head. "Anyone can come and go through an Ultimate Gym. Of course, it can be locked from the inside, so you young'uns can do whatever you please inside." It chuckled. "I ain't going to judge!"

"W-what do you think we're going to do inside?" I asked. "Are you really that perverted?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gengar look away his face slightly lighter. I sighed. "Never mind," I finally muttered.

Monotuff's grin seemed to stretch. "Oh, thank god," it breathed. "I've already have had to say these three times. I don't want to say it another fifteen times before it finally registers in y'all dumbasses brains!" Its piece said, it disappeared from my eyes.

"M-man," Gengar said, awkwardly. "Too bad none of us can use Teleport. We'd probably already be out of here."

"Mm." I made a small noise in agreement and headed towards the front doors of the Deliveryman Gym. Pushing one open and walking into the large building, I wasn't really that surprised. It was what I had expected from a post office. It was a large open area with a long counter cut straight through the middle of the room. Behind the counter were many selves attached to the walls, filled to the brim with paper and letters.

"Whoa." Gengar walked right behind me, gaping at the sight around us. "This is actually pretty nice. I wonder what my Ultimate Gym will have."

I nodded. "Or mine," I mumbled. Was being lucky (or in this case unlucky) really that good of a talent?

"What's this?!" Pelipper's voice suddenly piped up from behind us, so Gengar and I turned around to see him standing there in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

Pelipper seemed to hesitate. "I can't keep up with that crazy bat," he grumbled. "I'm not suited to flying at that speed or that height. I barely made it to the top of the wall."

Gengar raised an eyebrow. "And…?" he poked.

"…" Pelipper looked a bit down. "I-It's covered in glass."

I blinked. "You mean it's like a window?" I asked.

"I think so?" Pelipper said, with a sigh. "When I looked through it though there wasn't a pokémon in sight and all I could see was a flat grassland." He scratched his head. "I lost Noivern after that but I noticed my glorious head here and I just had to check it out!"

I frowned. "So, you found nothing," I asked tentatively.

Pelipper seemed to sag. "Basically," he answered.

My stomach churned. "So those that mean no one will be coming for us?" I asked.

"I… I don't know," Pelipper replied. He perked up after a few seconds however. "Maybe there's a different way out in Treasure Town!" He suggested, brightly.

"Maybe…" I replied, unsure. "I haven't been there yet."

"I think I'll keep checking the wall on this side," Gengar said. "Maybe there's some way I can still get out! I still haven't tried everything yet!" He blinked. "Actually, Braixen. Do you know any fire-type moves? Maybe we can burn our way through the wall!"

I faltered. "I-I'm sorry," I apologized, looking down at my feet. "I only know Ember."

"Oh." I noticed a flash of disappointment run through Gengar's face, before it was quickly replaced with his normal grin. "Then I'll just continue with my job! See ya!" With a wave to Pelipper and I, he left the Deliveryman Gym.

"So, is this mine?" Pelipper gazed around the post office. "Huh. It's nice, but it could definitely use a more sexy touch."

"Um… what?" I blinked.

He turned to glare at me. "Out! Out! Out!" He pushed me out of the gym with surprising strength and locked the door behind me.

"H-huh?" I stood in front of the doors with no real clue as to what had just happened. "I guess I'll just go to Treasure Town, then…?" I said to no one in particular. I spun around on my heels, and walked back towards the Crossroads and towards Treasure Town.

Xxx

Treasure Town was just as I remembered it. Except now it was a ghost town.

I walked past Duskull's Bank and paused in the center of the clearing. I looked around and frowned. There were clearly some things that had been changed. The Day Care and Dojo I had visited before had disappeared, with nothing left in their place. Instead, in between Electivire's Link Shop and Duskull's bank there was a new building that I didn't recognize.

It looked a lot like a small prison. The door was made of steel and the two windows were barred with steel bars. The entire building was made from stone. "Is that supposed to be another Ultimate Gym?" I wondered aloud.

"Ah, so you've heard about them from Monotuff?" Marowak was nearby and smiled at me.

I nodded.

"Well, just a fair warning dear," she said. "But you don't want to go anywhere near that one."

I frowned. "Who's is it?" I asked.

"Who else's?" she shot back. "It's for the Ultimate Berserker. Lycanroc."

"Urk!" I flinched.

"Yeah, I'd avoid going in there for now," she said. "Lycanroc was pretty ecstatic about it and he already told the rest of us not to bother him."

"T-Thanks for the warning," I said.

"No problem. Anything to help a lass in need." Marowak winked. "Anyway, where are you heading to next, missus?"

"Probably just tour the rest of Treasure Town," I replied, with a smile. Marowak was actually pretty nice. "I looked around before I went to Wigglytuff's Guild, but I never really got to do anything here. Plus…" I looked around at the eerily quiet town. "It's kinda spooky, isn't it?"

"It is," Marowak said with a nod of her head. "I've seen many abandoned cities and ruins during my travels, but seeing this town left in this state? It breaks my heart. I even knew Xatu personally." She frowned. "He wasn't one to skip town for no reason."

"Everyone's really gone?" I asked, as I walked across the bridge with Marowak following me. I wasn't too surprised by this fact, but it was still jarring to find out that the fifteen of us were the only ones left in town. "Do you think they skipped town or something?"

"No idea," Marowak answered. "I would say that, but a lot of things don't add up." She gestured to the nearby Kecleon's Shop. "Kecleon's Shop still has all of its items still inside and there isn't anything around here to suggest that they left in a hurry or were kidnapped." She scratched her head. "Nothing about this adds up, to be perfectly honest." Marowak stopped in front of Kangaskhan's Storage.

"You don't think…" I said in a low voice, nervously. "Monotuff didn't kill them."

"Impossible," Marowak dismissed. "There would be some sort of sign of such a thing. No matter what, that little faker ain't powerful enough to wipe out an entire town without any sort of evidence." She clapped me on the back, causing me to stumble. "Don't worry about it, Braixen! I'm sure the people of the town are completely safe."

I winced. "What makes you so sure?"

Marowak grinned. "I'm the Ultimate Archeologist! Things like this are my specialty. Granted I'd prefer bones…" She licked her lips. "But I guess it can't be helped."

"R-right…" I looked around. "Do you know where everyone else is?" I asked.

Marowak took a second to think. "Froslass and I split up pretty quickly, so I have no idea where she is." She rubbed her skull with her club. "The others I think are either on the beach or on Sharpedo's Bluff. There's another Ultimate Gym over there."

"Huh?" I blinked. "Who's is it?"

She snorted. "No idea," Marowak grunted. "It seemed too perfect for me to be interested."

Perfect? I wondered. What is that supposed to even mean?

I bowed politely. "T-Thank you for your help!" I said instead.

Marowak snorted. "You're really timid, aren't you?" she asked, before whirling around, without giving me a chance to say anything. "Oh well, it's not my problem. Have fun!" Before I could stop her, she had already raced towards Xatu's appraisal.

"What was she…?" I muttered confused.

Xxx

Sharpedo's Bluff was a large cliff side on the west side of Treasure Town that was right above the beach. I gazed down at the sea from the cliff's edge and backed away, feeling dizzy all of a sudden. "If someone fell down from there…" I muttered. "Then. Then… Ugh." I held my head.

I was thinking about this a bit too much. There was no way someone would kill another person. Even if they were trapped here, the very idea… Ugh.

I looked away from the sea and focused my attention on the large greenhouse behind me, which I assumed was the final Ultimate Gym. "It's probably for…" I mumbled, thinking back on who's it could be. "Ribombee."

I pushed open the clear doors to the greenhouse and immediately began to sweat. The air inside was extremely humid. And while as a Fire-type I preferred it over the cold, this type of humidity wasn't exactly my favorite.

As I wiped some sweat off of my forehead, one of the people inside the greenhouse suddenly spotted me standing near the doors. "Braixen!" Zebstrika cried, bounding over towards me with surprising speed. My mind froze as I watched him run towards me, but he stopped right before he could crash into me. "Isn't this place neat! We've got all the exotic berries we need now!" He grinned, clearly unaware of how close he was to killing me.

"Y-yeah," I agreed, deciding it best to avoid the fact that I was fine with the normal pecha berries. "Is this-?"

"Yes." Greninja was nearby, watering some nearby flowers. "This is the Ultimate Botanist Gym. Ribombee was just in here a while ago. You just missed her."

I frowned and looked around the greenhouse. "Then where is she now?"

"With the others on the beach," Zebstrika explained. "Metang thought we could try to escape through Beach Cave."

"But… isn't that a mystery dungeon?" I asked.

"It is," Greninja answered, stoically. "But if there's a chance for escape then we must take it."

"But what about the sea?" I pointed out. "Couldn't you swim out of here whenever you wanted."

Greninja closed her eyes with a sigh. "I've already tried that, but it's not use. The wall extends out there too. I couldn't swim under or over it and as far as I can tell there's no way around it."

"Are you sure you just haven't thoroughly checked it?" I asked desperately, flinching when Greninja glared at me.

"Do you doubt me?" she asked threateningly, raising a webbed hand.

"N-No," I stammered. "I-I'm sorry. I just really don't want to stay here."

"Those type of feelings are exactly what that Monotuff wants," Greninja lectured. "The moment you fall prey to those wants is the moment that you try attempting to kill someone yourself."

I gulped. "I'm sorry," I repeated.

Zebstrika looked between me and Greninja. "Hey now. We'll get out of here!" He nudged me. "Don't worry about it Braixen. I doubt anyone here really intends to kill!"

"Y-you're right," I said.

"Do you really think you should be saying that while the Ultimate Assassin is in here with you?" Greninja asked. She chuckled at the surprised looks we gave her. "I was only joking," she assured us. "Currently, I have no reason to kill anyone here."

"That's… good," I said, not liking the fact that she had used the word "currently."

"In any case, the group who searched Beach Cave should be back by now," Greninja said. "We're planning on meeting back in the Mess Hall. Do you want to follow us back?"

"You're walking ahead," Zebstrika mumbled under his breath.

I hesitated for a moment. "Sure," I replied, moving aside to let Greninja through the doors first. I didn't want to admit it but Zebstrika was kinda right. I would prefer it if Greninja took the lead.

If what Zebstrika and I were intending was obvious to her, Greninja didn't say anything about it. Instead she just chuckled again and took the lead, as Zebstrika and I followed her.

Xxx

I say next to Zebstrika looking at Metang as the very first Ultimate Team meeting began. Under horrible circumstances, unfortunately, but still the idea of all these ultimates gathered in one place, still slightly raised my spirits.

Slightly.

Metang rapped his claws on the edge of the table, silencing the rest of the small conversations and drawing attention to himself. He gazed at everyone with a solemn look. "I guess this begins the first every meeting of the Ultimate Exploration Team," he said. "We'll start with Porygon."

Porygon lifted himself a bit higher and gave Metang a short bow. "Thank you," he said. "Unfortunately, I don't have the equipment to actually hack into these collars quickly. Without it it'll take quite some time, I'm afraid."

"Heh." Froslass smirked. "C-Can't d-do much c-can you?"

"Please don't insinuate that I can't do it at all," Porygon said, coldly. "I just lack the necessary materials needed to do it quickly. I should be able to do it in another few weeks."

'A few weeks?!" Lycanroc pounded the table. "You little-!"

"Enough," Metang said shortly, silencing Lycanroc with a scowl. "Gengar did you…?"

"No," the Ultimate Infiltrator grumbled, staring at the floor.

"Very well." Metang turned to Noivern and Pelipper. "How about the sky?"

Noivern scowled. "The entire thing is covered in glass, so we can't fly out of here," she answered. "Plus, when I looked out from it, I couldn't see any pokémon. Usually when I call my fans they come running, haha!" She laughed.

"Hm..." Metang seemed to be thinking, so I grabbed another pecha berry and chewed on it as he began to speak again. "Beach Cave was a dead end. So, unless there's some other way, we're stuck here."

Silence.

Ding Dong! Ding Dong!

We all looked up startled by the sudden noise, as Monotuff's voice rang through the building. "Ahem, may I please have your attention? It is now currently nighttime! Please have an enjoyable night!" The voice disappeared.

"Nighttime?" Lucario asked, looking surprised.

"That would mean its 10 PM," Metang said, checking his "badge," for information. "Yep. 10:01 PM. I guess Monotuff is keeping to his schedule."

"Aw, man this is BS," Noivern grumbled. "I'm hate sleeping during the night. What am I supposed to do now?"

"Sleep anyway," Lucario said, with a sigh. "We'll have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We've still got to look for a way out!"

"But…" Pelipper said. "What's the point if there isn't a way of escape?"

"That's…" Lucario seemingly did not have an answer.

Another painful few seconds of silence passed the group, until Metang suddenly clapped his claws together. "Let's all get some rest," he said, mirroring Lucario's suggestion from a few moments ago. "There is no point in dwelling on this. For now, rest and regaining our energy should be our priority."

After a second of hesitation passed, we all nodded and walked out of the mess hall to our individual rooms.

My room was actually the first one from the hall and just across from Grovyle. I muttered a short, "Good night," to him before entering my quarters. After a second thought, I locked the door by pressing a small button located on the knob of my door.

I took another look around the- my bedroom, before collapsing into the straw that consisted of my bed, curling up into a ball.

I just want to go home.

I closed my eyes, exhausted, and quickly fell into sleep.

Xxx

The next morning, it was quiet in the mess hall. No one really was saying anything and just preferred to eat their breakfast quietly. Of course, not everyone was in the mess hall. Metang had gone with some of the others to check Beach Cave again and Pelipper and Ribombee were in their respective gyms.

At least it was enjoyably quiet, till Lycanroc walked into the mess hall.

He scanned the room, before locking his gaze on me. He stomped over and scowled. "You. I need you to do something for me."

Immediately the atmosphere of the mess hall changed and everyone was looking at Lycanroc suspiciously. I swallowed. "What do you want?" I asked warily.

"You're not thinking of-?!" Zebstrika started to ask, before Lycanroc gave him a glare, silencing him.

"He can't," Greninja said, speaking up. "The rules explicitly state that if the murderer is discovered then they cannot leave. If he did kill Braixen then we would instantly know who the culprit is and Lycanroc wouldn't be allowed to leave."

"I know that!" Lycanroc growled. "I was just going to ask her to help me move some stuff in my gym."

"Why me?" I asked.

Lycanroc rolled his eyes. "Because, you're the only one here that can help me," he snorted. "Or are you telling me that you're a fire-type with not fire-type moves?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I?" I asked indignantly, before realizing the situation that I had put myself in.

Lycanroc grinned and grabbed my arm, before beginning to drag me out of the mess hall. "Good! You'll be perfect then!" I gave a desperate look to the others in the mess hall, but was only met with pity. No one wanted to deal with Lycanroc.

When the two of us were finally aboveground, he finally let go of my arm. I massaged it while giving Lycanroc the coldest glare I could muster. "What do you need my fire for?" I asked again.

"Need you to melt some metal," Lycanroc answered, vaguely. "Plus, after you're done with that, you can help me organize some of my shit." He gave me an annoyed look. "That answer your question."

"Somewhat," I muttered under my breath, while nodding. He seemed satisfied with that answer and led me over to the Ultimate Berserker Gym. The door had been left open and we walked in.

It wasn't too impressive. It reminded me of a prison cell. There were two large sinks in the corner of the Gym and there were some shelves filled with a variety of braces and uniforms. Punching bags hung from the ceiling and the entire room gave off a chilling vibe. There were several boxes shoved into the corner.

"So, what do you need me to do?" I asked, ready to get out of here as fast as I could.

Lycanroc shoved a box into my arms. "You're helping me build," he said. "I want this built before lunch. Got it?"

I blinked. "But-!"

"I'll deal with the other box," he said, interrupting me. "With us working together we'll be able to finish it in another three hours." He started to turn around but paused. "Oh yeah, I don't have any nails so you'll have to use fire to meld the metal together."

I made a face, but relented by opening the box. There were large pieces of metal inside the box along with a instruction manual. As I took out each piece and placed them on the ground, I glanced at Lycanroc. "How did you get these?" I asked, curiously.

"Eh." Lycanroc didn't even spare me a look. "These have been here since yesterday," he answered. "Monotuff said that he didn't have the time to set it up or whatever. Little ass." He shrugged. "Granted at the very least it lets me do something while I'm stuck here."

The manual said to start heading up the metal to mold them, so I placed them on the ground and pointed my stick at them, as a fire lit itself atop it. "We probably won't be here for long," I said lightly. "At the very least, there's gotta be a rescue party coming some time. My family…" My voice broke and I fell into silence. I missed them all already…

Lycanroc was also silent. "I can't stay here," he said. "I'm getting out of here no matter what."

I looked up at him alarmed. "What?"

"I'm getting out of here," he repeated. "That damn faker isn't keeping me trapped in here forever." He gritted his teeth. "I guarantee it."

I scooted away from him and continued to work on fusing together the metal.

Xxx

Lycnaroc's estimate was slightly off. It had taken about four hours to pass before either of us were done with either of our projects. After that we took a step back from the fruits of our labor and I was instantly hit with disappointment as I realized what exactly I had built. "Exercise equipment?!" I spluttered out incredulously.

Lycanroc grinned. "Yep!" He scratched his head. "Man thank god there's a fire-type here. I didn't know what I would've fucking done without one."

"You're welcome," I said.

"Huh?!" He glared at me. "You say something?!"

"N-Nope!" I quickly said, raising my arms.

Lycanroc ignored me, instead marveling the equipment I had helped him make. "Now that this is here, I can-!"

Ding Dong! Ding Dong!

I looked up with some confusion. "It's not nighttime," I said, quickly checking the time using my collar.

"This is an official order from Guildmaster Monotuff!" Monotuff's voice echoed throughout the room. "Please meet me in the Guildmaster's office right away. Lateness will not be tolerated!"

"Urgh." Lycanroc scratched his head. "What does that fuck want now?" he grumbled, sauntering out of the Ultimate Berserker Gym.

With another look around the gym, I followed.

Xxx

"You're late!" Monotuff jumped into my face the moment I entered the Guildmaster's office. "You're late! You're late!"

I recoiled. "S-sorry!" I managed to squeak out. "I was helping Lycanroc!"

"Excuses!" Monotuff cried, as it waved its stubs in my face. "Not allowed!"

"I'm sorry!" I repeated desperately.

"She apologized," Lucario shouted at Monotuff, glaring angrily at the bear. "Let it go."

"Hmph." Monotuff turned its back on me and waddled over to its bundle of hay, before turning back to us. "I have made a mistake." It looked down at the floor, seemingly ashamed. "I'm so sorry. A Guildmaster shouldn't do this to his guild members."

"Hell yeah, you made a mistake," Lycanroc muttered under his breath. "You exist."

"S-So…" Froslass said. "Y-You're going to l-let us g-go?"

"Huh?" Monotuff looked surprised at Froslass's question. "Why would I do that?"

"Tch." Froslass scowled and looked away.

"So, what's this mistake that you are referring to?" Metang asked.

"I forgot to give you a motive," Monotuff said sadly.

"A… motive?" I blinked. What was that?

"A motive for murder," answered Monotuff, as a large screen like our collars dropped from the ceiling. On it read a counter that said, "1,000,000." "Here it is!" Monotuff announced spreading its arms out with obvious glee.

"What is that supposed to be?" Greninja asked.

"…Oh. I forgot to give the pictures out." Monotuff began to walk among the group, handing each of them a small slip of paper.

Pictures?

Monotuff handed me a piece of paper and I immediately flipped it over. My chest tightened when I realized what was on it.

On the piece of paper was an incredibly realistic drawing of my two parents and my seven siblings, all standing in front of our den and smiling without me. A small number "9," had been written on the corner of the paper. "W-What is this?" I heard Ribombee choke out.

"Your motive!" Monotuff repeated, as nearly everyone turned to him with a glare.

"Hmmm…" Marowak looked over the piece of paper in her hands. "This is a picture," she explained. "A type of human technology that involved capturing a moment in time. But…" She looked rather impressed. "I'm pretty sure this technology was lost with humans. How…?"

"That doesn't matter!" Monotuff announced. "However, I'm sure you all have noticed the number on the corner of your picture. That corresponds to this!" It pointed to the screen that displayed the counter. "That is the number of pokémon close to you that I have taken hostage!"

Its words had and immediate effect on us. Most of us gave it a pretty dull look while some others looked terrified. "That is impossible," Metang said smoothly. "We haven't seen anybody else in Treasure Town the entire time we've been here and I cannot fathom how you could kidnap that many pokémon."

"Well…" Monotuff tilted its head. "Do you have any proof that I didn't?"

Metang seemed to hesitate. "No."

"Regardless," Porygon began to speak. "This isn't much of a motive. You're asking us to concede to the idea that you somehow kidnapped our friends and family and holding them in a prison somewhere, correct?"

Monotuff nodded.

"Bullshit!" Noivern cried, ready to fly at it. "Let them go!"

Gengar pulled her back. "Calm down," he hissed. "The stupid thing could be lying."

"Anyway that's only Part One!" Monotuff announced.

"Part… One?" Pelipper had gone pale.

"Yes, Part One!" Monotuff repeated. "Which should happen right… about… now."

I held my breath as the number on the screen ticked down from "1,000,000" to "999,999." Everyone was still, waiting to see what exactly would happen.

My collar let out a couple of sparks.

Immediately, my entire body was racked with pain, as I felt myself get electrocuted. I felt myself let out a large scream, but I could hear nothing but my own thoughts and the pounding of my head.

It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! IT HURTS!

And as quickly as it had come, it was gone. My entire body was shaking and tingling. I couldn't move, so I just fell to my knees and onto the floor, my mind whirling. I couldn't keep a coherent thought in my head, but I could hear some of the others racing to my side or confronting Monotuff.

"What the hell was that?!" I heard Grovyle cry.

"Hmph." Marowak snorted. "Electrocution."

"Braixen!" I heard Zebstrika cry out, his voice laced with fear.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Monotuff's laughter reverberated through my skull. "Now that's how you make a good motive!"

"What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck?" I heard Noivern repeat behind me.

"Asshole!" Lycanroc had cried.

"You monster!" Lucario cried at the same time.

My vision began to go spotty and I could feel myself slipping away…

"She's…clo…her ey…!" Ribombee shouted desperately. I could barely hear their voices anymore…

"It's…ne!" Blissey shouted. "She… unconscious!"

And then one annoying voice that I had grown to loathe rang out louder than the rest. "This is the first motive for all ye bastards!" Monotuff announced. "Every single day, at noon exact, if no one is murdered then this number will go down by one and one random pokémon that you bastards care about will be killed! Depending on which hostage is killed the one who was closest to them will be electrocuted. And the moment that the number of people that you care about ticks down to zero…" I could hear it chuckling. "Upupupu… You die."

W...What?

Monotuff apparently was not done yet as it continued to speak. "And if you die before any of your closest die, then they'll die as causalities!" It started to laugh. "Yes! This is the true nature of the Destiny Bond motive!"

I...I couldn't stand it anymore...

I blacked out.

No murder yet, but perhaps you can guess who will be the victim and the murderer? Perhaps? Maybe? ...No? Oh well.

I have no set date when the next chapter will come out, other than that I hope it'll be soon. I'll be rather busy next week, so don't expect it to pop up then unless there's a miracle.

As usual reviews help my motivation out a lot! While I at the very least want to do this first case, I do have a set plan for how I want this story to go but I tend to lose motivation rather quickly. So reviews help out a lot and a lot. Criticism is always appreciated.