Chapter 5- My World, Your Illusion- Destiny's Change

TRIAL RESUMED!

"So…" Ribombee said nervously. "How did the killer manage to kill Zoroark while he was hidden with the Illusion ability?"

Grovyle was silent for a second. "We don't know," he finally answered sounding resigned. "It seems impossible."

"Jeez, really?" Noivern groaned. "Then what do we do?"

"Are we just doomed?" Pelipper said nervously.

"Um…" I timidly said as all eyes turned to me. I willed myself to speak. "Maybe we should discuss something else then," I suggested. "I think looking at something at another angle can only help."

"Like what?" Pelipper groaned. "We've talked about everything, What else is there?"

What else? My eyes closed themselves as I began to think. There had to be something that the others had missed. Something… "What about the Victim File?" I suddenly said. "We didn't talk about it too much before."

"What is there to talk about?" Metang pointed out. "We've correctly identified the wound that caused Zoroark's death and the weapon that was used to cause it, did we not?"

"Um… I guess." I shifted uncomfortably before decided to speak anyway. "But we didn't discuss the time that Zoroark died."

"The… time?" Zebstrika repeated.

Blissey opened up the Victim File. "Zoroark died at… 4:33 PM," she said.

Grovyle frowned. "The investigation began at 4:50 PM. Assuming the time follows our own standards then Monotuff's explanation about guild trial system lasted about 10 minutes." He looked at everyone else. "Does anyone know when you found the body?"

Lycanroc scratched his nose. "About… five minutes before you came?" he said uncertainly.

Noivern laughed nervously. "It felt about that much," she admitted. "It could've been more… or less. The entire experience was kinda a rush, dude."

"So essentially," Grovyle said. "Braixen only found the body about one or two minutes after Zoroark had actually died."

I recoiled. "R-really?!" I asked nervously. Did that I mean I could've saved him if I was quicker? Stopped the murderer from even ending his life?

"Interesting." Marowak narrowed. "But just a second, Grovyle. I've been wondering this a while ago, but why didn't you come to try and wake us up after you recovered from your paralysis?"

Grovyle was quiet for a moment. "I was stuck like that for about three hours," he finally scowled. "It wasn't until the end that I was able to finally get up."

Porygon narrowed his eyes. "The meeting was at 1:30 PM," he said. "You were probably kept stunned at the same time we were all asleep."

"W-wait a m-minute!" Froslass stammered, shooting Grovyle an accusatory look. "H-e d-didn't say t-that he and Z-Zoroark f-fought for a-all that t-time!"

"That's because we didn't," Grovyle scowled. "It lasted maybe a few minutes if I'm being generous."

"But then…" Gengar frowned. "Since the killer used the Rollcall Orb to teleport Zoroark before he killed you, then did the murderer wait an entire hour to finally end his lift?!" He gaped. "That's way too long!"

"There's no way that Zoroark would've let the killer wait for an hour to kill him," Greninja reasoned. "He would've tried to escape from the room."

"Is that maybe why Zoroark was tied up?" Zebstrika suggested. "To keep him from escaping."

"But Zoroark wouldn't be willing to just let someone tie him up in the manner we found him in," Greninja said.

Blissey blinked. "Ah. So that's why…"

"W-what?" Froslass demanded.

"Zoroark had a head wound," Blissey mused aloud. "I was wondering about it because it wasn't strong enough to kill someone, but it could've been powerful enough to simply knock out a pokémon."

"A move?" Metang asked warily.

"A fighting-type move perhaps," Blissey answered just as cautiously. "But any fighting move that was used against him would've needed to strike him from the top. And no one's hands or feet here that can use fighting-type moves correctly match up with the wound."

"Then what about a weapon?" Grovyle asked quickly.

Blissey took a second to think. "Yes… I think it was most likely caused by a weapon." She shook her head sadly. "The fact that I can't correctly identify the move may because the killer used a weapon."

"Okay, then!" Gengar grinned. "Then we just need a weapon that was used to knock out Zoroark! There was that metal rod!"

"Yes," Metang said carefully. "But we already established that was most likely used to kill Zoroark."

"But," I said. "There's no reason it wasn't used for a dual purpose, right?" I gave Metang a hopeful look, thinking he might argue.

Though he took a full minute to do so, my heart lifted when he nodded. "Yes, that's right. The metal rod might've been used to both knockout Zoroark and then kill him."

"Fascinating," Blissey murmured to herself.

"What about the Rollcall Orb?" Ribombee asked.

"We should also assume that the killer used the orb in order to teleport Zoroark into his grasp," Porygon said. "The killer probably caught Zoroark by surprise, if Zoroark was suddenly teleported like that." He closed his eyes. "An easy target."

"So then this bastard used the metal rod," Lycaroc said. "And whacked it onto Zoroark's head?"

"Zoroark was then knocked out," Marowak said with a wince. "Poor boy. I assume his illusion then faded away?"

Greninja nodded. "That's how the Illusion ability works."

"I guess that's when the murderer hung up Zoroark using the rope and duct tape," Zebstrika said. "Man, that's a sick thing to do with a living body…"

Lucario nodded. "And then," he said unable to hide the anger in his voice. "The killer stabbed Zoroark through the stomach while he was still unconscious-!"

"No that's wrong!"

All eyes swiveled to me and I froze, my right arm outstretched pointing towards Lucario. Lucario, for his part, just blinked, completely bewildered that he had been interrupted like that. Even Montuff looked slightly shocked. "Ex-excuse me?" he stammered out.

"I mean… uh…" I lowered my right arm. "That's wrong. That's not what happened at all."

"What do you mean, Braixen?" Metang asked. "Lucario's statement is rather sound. The killer, of course, stabbed Zoroark. That is how he died."

"It's just…" I said nervously. Here I went trying to say something that contradicted the general line of thinking. "Zoroark couldn't have gotten stabbed while he was unconscious. You said it yourself. There were some scratch marks along his wrists where the handcuffs had been attached. He was struggling. And." I raised my voice. "If he was struggling then Zoroark had to be conscious before he died!"

"But that's-!" Metang began furiously.

"No, she's right!" Grovyle agreed. "Those marks on his wrists do mean that Zoroark was most likely struggling to get out before he was killed!"

"In that case," Greninja said. "Perhaps the killer woke him up using some water. I believe there were some sinks there in the Berserker Gym?"

Zebstrika shook his head. "No that's not possible," he argued. "If Zoroark had gotten some water on his head or the rest of his body, then his fur there would've also been wet."

"Unfortunately," Blissey smiled. "His fur was only wet up to his waist, just below the bottom of the broken window."

"B-But if t-that's the c-case," Froslass snapped. "T-then the k-killer just w-waited all t-that time t-to f-finally j-just e-end the idiot's l-life!" She scowled. "N-no o-one would be insane e-enough to do t-that!"

"Yet someone did," Grovyle said grimly.

"That's interesting and all," Pelipper suddenly cut in. "But why does that matter?"

I frowned. "I think it matters because…" I said slowly. "Because we know the killer should've still been in the building when I, Noivern and Lycaroc found the body."

Noivern blinked. "Um… what?"

Grovyle facepalmed. "Of course!" he exclaimed. "Zoroark's death was close to when the body was discovered- mere minutes apart. Meaning the killer would've had to still be inside the Gym when everyone woke up." His eyes trained onto me. "Braixen do you-?"

I shook my head since I already knew his question. "No," I said sadly. "I didn't see anyone come out."

"Of course she didn't," Zebstrika muttered. "If someone came out before she opened the doors herself the water would've already escaped."

Grovyle hesitated. "That's a… good point," he admitted, before turning his attention to Lycanroc. "Please tell me there were some secret passages in your gym."

Lycanroc scratched his head. "Sorry," he said, sounding genuine. "If there was I never knew about it."

Grovyle seemed to visibly deflate. "Then… then we might've missed something during our investigation…" he muttered.

Pelipper recoiled. "What?!" he squawked. "You're joking, right?" He only grew more nervous when Grovyle didn't answer. "Right?!"

Metang sighed. "Perhaps this was doomed from the start," he professed. "The idea that we could actually solve a murder without proper tools was laughable really. I mean we still don't know how the killer could've seen through Zoroark's illusion…"

His words had a profound effect on everyone else. If the Ultimate Genius was saying this, then all hope was really lost. A mind like Metang's, someone who could figure out everything, was stumped by this mystery.

What did that say about our chances?

I could feel my knees sinking to the floor, so I held onto my column in order to steady myself. No, I said to myself. I didn't want to die! I was desperately thinking of something- anything! But all that came to my mind were the last few words that Metang had spoken.

Seen through Zoroark's illusion…

A memory sprang up in my mind. A time when I was a fennekin, excitedly grilling my mother about psychic moves. I had been excited to evolve into a delphox when I was younger and I would always read some old books in the storage room about that subject. At one point, I had come across a move I had never heard of. A move that only a scant few pokémon seemed to be able to learn. Unfortunately, delphox couldn't, but there was one line of pokémon that I remembered could…

But… the words were stuck in my throat. If I said it, I would be implicating him. But if I didn't, I was certain to die.

A deep breath in. And another out.

I had to do this. Even if I was right.

"Metang," I said looking him directly into his eyes. "Do you know the move Miracle Eye?"

Metang's eyes flicked to me, his expression unreadable. "Yes," he said slowly, looking like he was choosing his words carefully. "It's a move that allows psychic type moves to hit dark types. Any reason for asking?"

"That's true," I said just as carefully. "It's just… my mother told me it was also often used for investigations and such."

"Oh? Do tell." I could tell he was feigning interest.

I finally gathered the courage to get to the point. "She said it could… well, it could break illusions."

Everyone seemed to freeze. All eyes were on Metang now. "Your mother was either lying or stupid," he said firmly.

I recoiled. "My mother," I cried indignantly. "is not stupid!"

Metang opened his mouth to respond, but Grovyle beat him to the punch. "That would solve the mystery of how the killer would've been able to see Zoroark."

"Oh please, Grovyle." Metang rolled his eyes. "Please do not tell me you are humoring her. Foresight could've also been used to break illusions. If I recall… does Lucario learn Foresight?" He turned to the Ultimate Fighter. "How about it Lucario?!"

Lucario jumped. "What-?!" he cried. "You're suspecting me?!"

Grovyle ignored them. "Braixen," he said slowly. "Before you found the body, you said something happened?"

I nodded. "Something was thrown into the window and broke it. I think…" I took a second to recall. "It was the window right behind Zoroark."

Grovyle stared. And then, all of a sudden began to laugh.

"Oh…" Porygon muttered, his eyes lighting up. "Ohh…!"

"What is it?" Metang demanded as the same realization dawned on some of the others' faces. "I fail to see what is so funny!"

"Sorry," Grovyle said shaking his head. "It's just we've been looking at this all wrong." He looked at Metang. "We've been assuming that since Zoroark was killed inside the Berserker Gym that was where the killer was too. But that would be impossible because the three who first saw the body would've noticed something. So then the next logical step is to assume-!"

"That the murderer was outside with the rest of us!" Gengar finished excitedly.

Pelipper blinked. "But I thought the murder happened inside the gym?" he pointed out. "How would the killer kill someone, not in the same building?"

"Simple," Greninja raised a finger. "They threw the weapon."

Zebstrika blinked. "Threw?"

"Braixen says she heard something crashing into the window and breaking it," Porygon explained. "Our own investigation corroborates this. However, Zoroark's body is right in front of that window. Anything that went through that window would either bounce right back out for Braixen to see or land right behind Zoroark."

Blissey tilted her entire body. "I don't remember seeing anything behind the bloody body," he said cheerfully.

"So what the other option?" Porygon continued. "For it to go through Zoroark."

Ribombee gasped. "His stomach wound!"

"Ah." Marowak raised a hand. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but for something to be thrown that hard you would need the strength of a Machamp. It would need to be flying as fast as a bullet, but…" Her eyes twinkled. "I have a feeling you can explain that conundrum, can't you?"

Grovyle nodded. "It's why I currently pining Metang as my suspect."

Metang eyed Grovyle warily. "May I ask why?"

"For one simple reason." Grovyle smirked. "You're psychic."

Metang was silent.

"I mean yeah, dude…" Noivern said, thoughtfully. "You think he would've read our minds to try and find out who the killer is already."

"Hey!" Monotuff shouted. "No cheating!"

"Not because of that," Greninja said. "It's what else a psychic can do."

"Lift rocks with their minds?" Noivern guessed.

"Not exactly," Gengar explained. "I mean they can lift anything and make it go flying."

"At any speed they want," Grovyle grinned. "And there we have our bullet. Metang could've lifted the metal rod into the air using psychic and shot it through the window and Zoroark's body while pretending to still be asleep. This is how-!"

"Ahem."

Grovyle stopped mid-sentence, as everyone fell silent, suddenly feeling ashamed. Metang was giving everyone an exasperated look. "So is this how you deal with defeat?" he asked. "By coming up with outlandish theories just for a minuscule amount of hope that it may be correct?"

Everyone, including me, sunk lower our shame only growing. Only Grovyle seemed undeterred. "I think it's a good theory," he scowled.

"A theory that is easily swatted down," Metang said easily, before looking at me. "Braixen did you happen to catch the object that broke the window."

"Uh…" I blinked. "N-no it was too small."

"The metal rod was hardly small, Grovyle," Metang pointed out dryly. "Plus how do you explain the fact that it wasn't covered in blood after it was ripped through a pokémon's body?"

Grovyle flinched. "I-!"

"A theory," Metang said. "Nothing more, nothing less." He spread his arms out. "We were never able to find another weapon outside or inside the gym correct?"

Zebstrika flinched. "R-right," he agreed.

"Then let's follow that to its most logical conclusion," Metang continued. "The only weapon there was the metal rod as it had been the only thing with Zoroark's blood. It's simple. We couldn't find anything that might pass off as a weapon. Thus there is no other weapon-!"

"Here is my answer!"

Again, everyone was staring at me. Again, I had done something that sounded really cool on paper but in practice was kind of stupid. But if I wanted to live, I had to say it. "Um…" My arm dropped. "I found another weapon."

"Another weapon?" Lucario asked.

I shifted on my feet taking a second to decide how to explain. "When I was leaving the gym," I said. "I… I tripped on a rock."

Porygon looked unimpressed. "A rock."

I wasn't feeling any more confident after that response, but I just barreled on. "I didn't see anything, so Metang was right. It couldn't have been the metal rod. But it could've been that rock, instead."

There was a sharp intake of breath from Grovyle. "Small enough so that you couldn't see it," he muttered to himself. "A bullet."

Marowak narrowed her eyes. "Something like a rock could probably work better than a metal rod," she mused. "It would be a lot smaller and faster."

"Not only that," Greninja said. "But breaking the window would've drawn people towards the gym to discover the body." She shook her head. "An easy way to direct people towards your handiwork and kill the victim at the same time."

"But was there any blood on the weapon?" Metang asked. "How could you possibly label a simple rock as the weapon when there's no evidence of it even touching Metang's body."

"The water." Lycanroc, surprisingly, spoke up. "The water washed away any evidence." He huffed. "The rock fell into the water after killing Zoroark and all the blood just washed off of." He scratched his nose. "It's pretty easy."

"W-wow." Noivern looked impressed. "Didn't think that a brain existed underneath that mohawk."

Lycanroc growled. "What'd you say?!"

"N-Nothing!"

Grovyle turned his attention onto Metang. "So what do you have to say about this-?!"

"Fine," Metang interrupted. "I admit it."

I blinked. "Admit… what?" I asked nervously.

Metang gave me a dry look. "What were we just talking about?" he asked rhetorically. "You were trying to accuse me of killing Zoroark. And you were right. I am the culprit in this case."

"I…" My mouth went dry. "I didn't…"

Ribombee looked nervous. "Is that it?"

"Is what?" Metang asked.

"You're just admitting it," Porygon said. "Just like that?"

"I know when I've lost," Metang explained. "There isn't any point in continuing this farce any longer when a conclusion has already be drawn."

"So we were right?" Grovyle asked his mouth a thin set line. "About everything?"

"Everything," Metang confirmed. "When we woke up on that first day, I had already used Miracle Eye in order to see through any deceptions. That's when I saw Zoroark making himself invisible." He shrugged. "In Zoroark's defense, it didn't seem like he was doing it for any malicious reasons. He had been making faces and laughing at everyone, treating it like a prank. I suspect that after our circumstances were made known he continued to hide in order to have an advantage in the killing game." Metang nodded. "He probably wasn't aware of the guild trial system and possibly thought that killing might be enough to escape."

"Guess that didn't work out!" Blissey cheerfully said. I gave her a weird look.

"Indeed." Metang chuckled. "I already knew that Zoroark had stolen a Slumber Orb from the shop so I had gotten a chesto berry earlier that day just in case along with a Rollcall Orb." He glanced at Grovyle. "I didn't know that Zoroark was targeting you, but I'm glad that I managed to get him before he could kill you." He nodded at me. "Everything went the same as you said. I knocked out Zoroark and hung him up, before going back outside and using the rock to both kill him and alert Braixen to the body." Metang looked at Grovyle. "Is that alright for you?"

Grovyle was stunned. "Um… yes?" he admitted.

A silence fell upon all of us. Metang's sudden confession and explanation had left me completely baffled at what to think. Metang had described killing a pokémon in the same tone that someone would use to describe a nice walk in a park. His entire disposition unnerved me. I thought that the murderer would be someone more crazy and evil, but Metang… he was the same as he had always been. He was still Metang.

"So…" Pelipper said awkwardly. "What now? We figured it out right…?"

"You vote for the blackened!" Monotuff announced. "Just open up the screens on your E-Badges and-!"

"Ah." Metang suddenly held up a hand, stopping Monotuff. "Let me explain." He turned back to everyone else. "We will be voting for the blackened. Majority wins. Vote for me and I get executed. Vote for someone else and I will be spared." He smiled. "The first thing for the investigation was to ask how the trial would work."

Monotuff spun around. "That's the Ultimate Genius for you!" it crowed. "Always smart enough to ask the questions that no one else would!"

Porygon eyed Metang. "Why did you want to explain the rules to us?" he asked suspiciously.

"Apologies," Metang said smoothly. "But before everyone voted I need to explain something about the motive."

I blinked. "The motive."

"Yes…" Metang took a second before continuing. "I suppose to start would everyone please share the numbers that Monotuff gave them for the motive. You don't have to share your picture. I just need the number."

Everyone exchanged some looks of confusion but acquiesced to Metang's demands. I didn't see any point in not, so I told him I had been given the number 7. However, I winced, before quickly correcting my number down one to 6, almost forgetting that someone in my family had already died. It just seemed so unreal.

Grovyle, of course, didn't have anyone, so he opted to just stare at Metang suspiciously, while the rest of us handed out the number we had been assigned. A couple surprised me. Gengar only having two friends, Marowak have an entire team of archeologists behind her and Blissey only really caring about two pokémon. Though given her attitude, she didn't seem entirely torn up about the fact.

Porygon closed his eyes. "Ninety-six…" he said slowly. "Adding all of our numbers together that's the result."

"Um…" Lucario frowned. "That isn't anywhere near one million."

"Exactly," Metang said. "But we haven't added in my number to it." He cleared his throat. "My number was one million."

"One million?" Grovyle repeated. "But that's impossible. The number started at one million. There's no way that you were close to one million pokémon."

Metang hummed. "Grovyle, you lost your memory correct?"

"What's your point?"

"Well let's say that you had a family in your forgotten past," Metang said. "A family that cared and loved you. Just because you had forgotten them doesn't mean that they had forgotten you correct? So then would you say that they wouldn't be considered for this motive under Monotuff's rules?"

Grovyle blinked. "I…"

"That's not the issue," Lycanroc snapped. "You're just lying. There's no way that's your number!"

"What do you think, Monotuff?" Metang asked, turning over to the guildmaster.

"He's right!" Monotuff exclaimed. "That's definitely the number he was given for the motive. And just in case the rest of you think some others were lying, everyone else told the truth! A first in a guild trial!"

"This was our first guild trial," muttered Zebstrika.

Grovyle had been quiet. "Perception…" he muttered. "You're telling me this motive was based on perception?!"

Metang nodded, while I was still confused. "Perception?" I asked. "How would the motive be based on perception?" Whatever that meant, but I held that thought to myself.

"Essentially," Metang began to explain. "Monotuff has based the hostages on people who we care about, not the other way around. It's why Grovyle and, presumably Zoroark, have zero pokémon that they are bonded to. They may see themselves as having no connections, but there could be someone in their past that really cared for them." He raised an arm. "And then the vice versa. Someone may see themselves connected to everyone in this world."

"S-so w-what?" Froslass snapped. "Y-you're s-saying that's y-you?!"

"I am the Ultimate Genius," Metang explained with a flourish of his arms. "My mind was created in order to service the pokémon of this world and thus I am connected to the world itself. This world…" He smiled. "depends on my genius."

"The world?" Lucario repeated.

"That's a lot of pokémon," Noivern muttered.

"And what does this have to do with anything?" Zebstrika asked. "Monokuma is still going to going to execute you." He winced. "We did everything right."

"But only if you vote correctly," Metang pointed out.

"Why wouldn't we?" Greninja asked warily.

"As Monotuff said," Metang explained. "If the culprit, in this case, me, is executed then everyone they were connected through with this motive will also die. If I'm executed…" He spread his arms. "Then 999,997 pokémon will die with me."

Silence.

"You…" Grovyle looked so angry that he could even form words. "You're holding the entire world hostage."

"No," Metang denied calmly. "Monotuff is holding the world hostage. I'm merely the one who has to survive in order to save them."

"You planned this then," Grovyle accused. "A way to get out of being executed."

"Also wrong," Metang said. "Recall that Monokuma only revealed the new rules after the murder. I had no idea that this would occur. In reality, I had only killed in fear that I would be attacked and the world would go with me." He gave Grovyle a scrutinizing look. "Tell me is that not what I should've done. Was Zoroark's life not worth the lives of about 1 million pokémon?"

"I-I…" Grovyle couldn't provide an answer. "Then why not tell us?" he asked weakly.

"Because having you make this choice seemed too cruel to me," Metang said with some sadness in his voice. "Better to have you all die thinking I was the villain, rather than ask you to sacrifice your lives." He sighed. "But now I have no choice. I have to ask you to help me save the world."

"But my family," Zebstrika gaped. "I can't just-!"

"Oh don't worry about that!" Monotuff suddenly cut in. "As long as someone has a connection then they'll survive. If Metang is executed then your families will still survive and if you're executed then you're will still survive. Since their bonded twice, they have two chances to live." Monotuff tilted its head. "Huh. I guess this motive wasn't that motivating in retrospect."

"Are you kidding?!" Lycanroc nearly yelled. "That's still 999,901 pokémon that will still die if Metang gets executed."

"This is… This is…Urk!" Noivern seemed ready to pass out. "This isn't cool, yo."

"Yes." Metang sounded sad. "I understand this is hard of me to ask of all of you. But this is the basis of the Ultimate Team. We were formed for this purpose. To save the world and protect pokémon. There's no better scenario to test our resolve and prove that Wigglytuff was right."

"You're right!" Blissey remarked cheerfully.

"Wha-what?!" Ribombee cried. "You can't be serious, Blissey!"

"But I am," Blissey said sounding a little more serious but at the same time her expression growing a little crazier. "We joined this team in order to use our blood to save the world! What better time than now?!"

"I-I…" For a second I thought Ribombee was going to disagree, but she suddenly looked determined. "You're right! I'll-I'll sacrifice myself to save this world!"

"Y-you c-can't be s-serious!" Froslass snapped. "T-This is c-crazy. S-screw every o-other p-pokémon! My l-life m-matters too!"

"If you agree with me and wish to save the world," Metang said, disregarding Froslass's desperate shout. "Please vote for Zoroark."

"Alright!" Blissey nodded.

"You're insane," Zebstrika said, tears coming from his eyes. "I can't do that."

"We have to," Lucario said, looking down. "To save the world-! That's something any rescue team would do regardless of the cost!"

"Hmph-!" Greninja shook her head. "To think that this would be the ending."

"Oi!" Lycanroc spat. "You can't really be thinking about killing yourself!"

"And why wouldn't I be?" Greninja asked, calmly. "I am an assassin. I risk my life to kill other pokémon. To instead lose my own life in order to save thousands of others…" She chuckled. "It's a nice change that I'm not opposed to."

"I'm not sacrificing my own life for this!" Pelipper wailed. "I still haven't done anything I wanted yet!" His eyes narrowed onto Monotuff. "Please, there's got to be another way!"

"Hey I'm just the guy who made up the rules," Monotuff pointed out. "If there was another way I probably would've told you."

Gengar closed his eyes. "I guess that's it."

"What!" Pelipper recoiled. "You're fine with this."

"I mean no of course not!" Gengar snapped back. "But I already promised myself… Sorry I just can't let the entire world die just for me. That wouldn't be fair." He sighed. "I'm not the same pokémon I was in my past."

Porygon's eyes were glaring at Metang. "Fine," he finally relented. "I don't necessarily agree with the way you decided to handle this information, but I understand the stakes. I'll vote for Zoroark if you promise to save all those pokémon and figure out who exactly trapped us."

Metang nodded. "I promise."

"And how do we know you'll keep that promise, Metang?" Marowak asked suspiciously. "We couldn't trust you during the trial apparently."

"Y-Yeah!" Noivern shouted. "You're still lying aren't you?"

"I can assure you I'm not," Metang tried to dissuade.

"Hmm…" Marowak studied. "Even then I'm choosing to vote for you." She made a face. "Something about the way you handled this situation rubs me the wrong way."

"Y-Yeah, man!" Noivern shouted, pointing a claw at Metang. "Suck on that!"

Metang simply nodded, before turning to Grovyle. "How about you?"

Grovyle didn't meet Metang's gaze. "No," he said shakily. "Monotuff could be lying. We never saw any hostages, only a number. That means he could just be lying to get us to rise to the bait and kill people." He let out a low chuckle. "And you fell for it hook, line, and sinker."

"Perhaps," Metang said. "And if you're wrong? How will you feel then?"

Grovyle didn't answer.

Metang sighed. "That's seven for and seven against," he said, before turning to me. "Braixen… you're the only one who hasn't said anything. Tell me…" He looked slightly weary to me. "What will you choose?"

The world seemed to grind to a halt after he asked me. I didn't know, I wanted to answer, but my brain and my mouth wouldn't connect to say anything. All I could do was let my mind spin around in confusion. The right thing would be to sacrifice myself for the world. As Metang said it was the right thing to do. The thought of all those pokémon dying because of me was sickening. There was no way I could let that happen.

I opened my mouth, ready to give my answer, all the fear in my body gone. It was easy in retrospect. Like Metang said before the trial, I would have to make the correct choice if I was to save everyone…

And then something in me just snapped. He had planned this, I realized as my mind gave way to anger and then the fear came rushing back. He had wanted me to choose his option from the very beginning. He had known this was a possibility and decided to plan for it.

I blinked and gone was the mournful and resolved face of Metang who only thought of saving the world. Now I could see the barest hints of a smirk present on his face and confidence that he would survive.

"…No," I finally said in a shaky voice.

A waver in that confidence. "Are you sure, Braixen? The lives of all those pokémon are in your hands-!"

"I said no!"

Metang recoiled as though he had been slapped. "Braixen," he said gently. "I know you're scared but-!"

"I know that." I could feel tears sliding down my face, but I choose to ignore them. "I know my answer."

He was getting angry. "Braixen!" he said, slammed his arm down on his column. "Are you saying that you're willing to let all those pokémon die, just you can stay alive! That's selfish!"

"I know it is!" I shouted back. "I know I'm acting selfishly! I know that I'm a coward! But even so, I'm here! I'm talking! I have a voice! I don't want to die! I-!" My voice cracked. "I want to live!"

Another moment of silence, as I let the tears fall from my eyes.

"Upupupupu…" Monotuff giggled.

Metang swiveled his gaze towards the guildmaster. "What do you want?" he growled.

"Looks like you have a split room, here," Monotuff noted, hiding its mouth.

Metang blinked. "Yes, but I'm sure if I try to convince some of the others then-!"

"Nah," Monotuff interrupted. "We're just going to have one final debate and I'll start the voting? The scrum debate!"

"Scrum debate?" Noivern repeated. "What's that?"

"You all form two sides on an issue," Monotuff explained. "And argue for your specific issue. In this case whether or not to vote for Metang."

"But why-?" Metang started to say.

"Because it's fun!" Monotuff exclaimed, as it pulled out an ornate golden key and large control panel appeared in front of it. "Let's begin the debate!" It inserted the key and turned it, as the control panel in front of it began to glow.

At the same time, the column that we were standing at also began to glow. "What the-!" Lucario yelled, gripping the stone, as the column began to float up and into the sky. They spiraled up into the air until they were about a few feet below the ceiling. We split up into two groups into two lines that faced each other. One side who wanted to vote for Metang another that didn't. The column containing Zoroark's picture moved over to Metang's side because, I suspected, to have a more even number.

I glanced down nervously. We were extremely high off the ground. One wrong step and I would find myself falling to my death.

"Alright!" I turned to my right to see Monotuff's own throne seat floating in the air a little high above ours. "Present your points."

I gulped. The Scrum Debate had begun.

Scrum Debate

Vote for Metang vs. Don't Vote For Metang

Statement I

"Monotuff is holding the entire world hostage," Metang began. "The moment you vote for me you'll be dooming about a million people to their deaths."

Grovyle!

"We don't know that he's holding that many people hostage," Grovyle argued back. "He's shown us no proof of these hostages."

Statement II

"It's the duty of the Ultimate Team to save the world!" Lucario cried.

Lycanroc!

"Screw that!" Lycanroc growled. "I didn't ask to be part of this fucked up team!"

Statement III

"To sacrifice yourself to save the world…" Greninja said. "Is that not an admirable action to take in this scenario?"

Pelipper!

"I've still got so much to live for!" Pelipper yelled. "I'm not dying here!"

Statement IV

"We'll be heroes!" Ribombee said. "I've always wanted to save the world!"

Froslass!

"D-Don't be st-stupid!" Froslass stammered out. "Y-You keep t-that id-idealism to y-yourself! Wh-What you're t-talking about is s-suicide!"

Statement V

"Metang took a huge risk in doing this," Porygon said. "He's trying to save the world, don't you see? Shouldn't we honor his wishes?"

Marowak!

"I see it a little differently, hun," Marowak admitted. "He's just using those pokémon as hostages. He's no better than Monotuff."

Statement VI

"Oh come on!" Blissey laughed. "Wouldn't this be a fun conclusion?!"

Noivern!

"Mosh pits are fun! Rocking out it fun!" Noivern looked appalled. "Killing myself is not fun!"

Statement VII

"I promised myself I wouldn't let the world get destroyed! Not after what I did…" Gengar said. "Even if it's my own life… then… then… even I-!"

Zebstrika!

"That's a promise you made for yourself!" Zebstrika snapped. "Don't… Don't drag other people into things that you wish to atone for!"

Statement VIII

Metang looked furious. "Sacrificing your lives is the only right option!"

I can do this!

"I want to live!" I shouted back.

Full Counter!

"This is our answer!" Grovyle, Froslass, Noivern, Marowak, Zebstrika, Pelipper, Lycanroc and I shouted together.

The column floated back down to their original positions, settling back into their indents smoothly. Everyone seemed visibly exhausted by the debate, even Metang, who still looked absolutely furious with how it went. Some of the others who were now on his side looked a little warier of him.

However, I wasn't finished yet. There was still something I had to do. "Everything that happened during your murder," I said primarily to Metang. "I'll reveal it all!" The pieces were already starting to assemble themselves in my head. Metang's deception and Zoroark's death. It had been a complete mystery to her in the beginning, but now everything was clear.

Closing Argument

Act 1

"It all began the moment that we woke up in Wigglytuff's Guild," I recounted. "At the time we had assumed that there were only fifteen of us that were a part of the Ultimate Team. However, we were wrong as there had been a sixteenth member, Zoroark, who had hidden himself using his Illusion ability. However, only the culprit knew of him as he had used the move Miracle Eye to see through the illusion. He had just actively chosen not to tell anyone."

Act 2

"Next was Monotuff and the Destiny Bond motive," I continued. "The number that the motive revealed corresponded to our loved ones as hostages and every day that number would go down by one, meaning a pokémon would be killed. However, this motive also contained a secret that only culprit knew: that it was based on how the individual viewed the pokémon around them. It is why Zoroark and Grovyle could have 0 while the culprit could have 1 million." A deep breath. "That is how the culprit managed to take 1 million pokémon hostage without anyone knowing about it."

Act 3

"With the motive established, Zoroark began plotting his own murder while still using his Illusion ability to keep hidden. He decided to target Grovyle since killing him would lead to the least amount of pokémon dying in collateral," I summarized. "He probably overheard Lucario talking about his meeting and decided to make his move there. First, he grabbed three items from Kecleon's Shop: a Slumber Orb, a Switcher Orb and finally a stun seed. Next, he disguised himself as Grovyle in order to make sure that Grovyle would never know about the meeting and possibly stay away from the surface level. He had gotten lucky that Lycanroc had already chosen not to attend and decided to disguise himself as Lycanroc in order to frame him."

Act 3.5

"At the same time, the culprit was aware of Zoroark's plan and decided to use it to their own advantage," I said. "To counter the Slumber Orb they grabbed a chesto berry from Ribombee's garden and a Rollcall Orb from Kecleon's Shop."

Act 4

"Everyone was gathered at the meeting at 1:30 PM," I explained. "And that's when Zoroark disguised as Lycanroc started his plan. He first used the Slumber Orb to force all of us to fall asleep. Then, just before Greninja could stop him, he used a Switcher Orb to switch places with the real Lycanroc who was still in his room within the guild. So the one Greninja knocked out wasn't Zoroark at all but the real Lycanroc!"

Act 5

"Meanwhile Grovyle was still inside Wigglytuff's Guild when he was attacked by Zoroark. However this time Zoroark was disguised as me and had used flame attacks to drive Grovyle into a corner, before hitting him with a stun seed. Grovyle went down, expecting to be killed, only for the final blow to never come. Instead, Zoroark had vanished and Grovyle was stunned for the next few hours."

Act 6

"The culprit used his chesto berry to wake up from his sleep and finally enact their own plan," I continued. "Using a Rollcall Orb they brought Zoroark back inside the Berserker Gym and knocked him out using a metal rod. Using the handcuffs found in the Berserker Gym they attached Zoroark to the weight lifting equipment so that he could hang there, right in front of a window. They then placed some duct tape over Zoroark's mouth so that he couldn't yell for help in case he woke up. Finally, they turned on the sinks so that the gym would overflow with water and leaned the metal rod they had used against the wall so that we would think that was the murder weapon."

Act 7

"The culprit finally closed the doors and went back outside, feigning sleep. A couple of hours later, I woke up. Around the same time, Zoroark had also woken up and had begun to struggle in an attempt to get out of his bindings, unable to yell for help. Unfortunately…" I closed my eyes. "That was when the culprit struck. Using a small rock they had found they lifted it into the air with their psychic powers, before shooting it straight through the window Zoroark was in front of, using it like a bullet. This bullet tore through the window and Zoroark's stomach and alerted me to the gym. I went to open the doors but by then it was already too late. Zoroark had already died and the water had washed away any evidence of the rock being the weapon. The culprit's plan had gone according to plan."

Ending

"This was your ultimate plan for supposedly saving the world," I said, turning my gaze onto the culprit in question. "Wasn't it, Metang, the Ultimate Genius?"

Completed!

My throat felt raw. I had just talked on and on much longer than I ever thought I would. All of the others had gone silent just listening to me. I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. Though that was quickly squashed by anger once again.

Metang was seething. "Why you little-?" he began to say.

"Let's begin the vote!" Monotuff jumped up excitedly in its chair, looking more animated that it had ever done during the trial. It sounded… a little excited even. "The excitement between hope and despair!"

My E-Badge suddenly turned on and I nearly jumped back from the display. It displayed the names and faces of everyone here including Zoroark, but he was marked with a large "X." "Please vote for who you believe to be the killer!" Monotuff instructed.

I hesitated just for a moment, before steeling myself. I knew I wasn't doing the right thing, but… I imputed my vote in any way.

It only took Monotuff a minute to start talking again. "Puhuhuhuhu!" it giggled. "The voting is over! Now let's see those results! Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice or the wrong one?" It shrugged. "Not that those are mutually exclusive in this case…"

A screen appeared above Monotuff and I waited, holding my breath, as the results appeared on it:

Results:

Blissey: 0

Braixen: 0

Froslass: 0

Gengar: 0

Greninja: 0

Grovyle: 0

Lucario: 0

Lycanroc: 0

Marowak: 0

Metang: 12

Noivern: 0

Pelipper: 0

Porygon 2: 0

Ribombee:0

Zebstrika: 0

Zoroark(X): 3

I could feel myself collapse in relief as fanfare rang from around us.

ALL RISE!

Xxx

"You are correct!" Monotuff exclaimed. "The blackened was Metang, the Ultimate Genius, who was the one who murdered Zoroark, the Ultimate Illusionist!"

Metang floated off of his column still staring at the results, looking stunned. Greninja raised a hand. "Apologies," she said. "But I ended up changing my mind at the last minute. I thought that perhaps Braixen was right."

Ribombee let out a sigh of relief, as Blissey looked annoyed behind her.

"Sorry, man…" Gengar muttered.

Metang let out a hollow laugh. "Right, huh…?" In on quick motion, faster than my eyes could follow, his arm swung towards me, his claws clamping down on my throat and slamming me into the wall.

"Metang!" Grovyle shouted in alarm, as some of the others made noises of surprise.

"Now then… let's get started," Monotuff said as if I hadn't gotten attacked.

I tried to pry the claws off of my throat to no avail. Metang just had too powerful a grip. "Is this what you wanted?" he asked. "Is this the conclusion you desired?"

"N-No…" I choked out.

"I've got a special punishment in store for Metang, the Ultimate Genius," Monotuff continued, as it pulled out a small rubber mallet.

"No?" Metang repeated it like it was a joke. "Don't joke around with me! You know exactly what you did! You've just sentenced thousands of pokémon to their deaths!"

"No," I managed to spit out. "That-That was you."

"Let's give it everything we've got!" Monotuff exclaimed, as a large red button appeared in front of it and it gave its mallet a little twirl.

Metang faltered, letting me drop to the floor. I sat down coughing just trying to massage my neck, before staggering back to my feet. "No," he whispered, backing away, his eyes wide in terror. "I just… I just… wanted to save them." He gave me a desperate look. "Was that… wrong?"

I didn't have an answer for him.

"IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!" Monotuff cackled, as it slammed its mallet down onto the button.

Xxx

GAME OVER

Metang has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!

Metang found himself staring at the floor, as each of his guildmates stared at him in both horror and anger for putting them through the trial. He still couldn't believe that he had actually lost. Now Monotuff…

A large collar came down from the sky and latched itself around his body and dragged him down a nearby corridor, snapping him out of his thoughts. He struggled to get himself out, reaching a hand out to see if someone would grab it, but the collar was dragging him away too quickly. It would throw him against the walls, scraping his metal and creating sparks. They hurt, but they weren't too bad, given Metang didn't know what was coming next.

Finally, the wire pulling him slowed to halt and placed him on the ground. Metang could easily tell he was still moving however as the lights around him turned on. He was sitting on a large conveyor belt, moving backward, in what looked like a small factory. He could also hear something pounding behind him, but couldn't tell what it was since the collar was restricting his ability to move or even turn around.

After-School Detention

The sound behind him was growing louder and closer. He figured he would have no idea what it was until it was right on top of him.

Monotuff rode forward on a small platform with a counter and a large blackboard on it. The same counter that it had shown off during the motive. Metang's eyes swiveled towards it and, with a sudden chill, realized that the counter was rapidly going down.

999,673

999,654

999,321

He began to struggle. Monotuff was right in front of him. He was just ignored, however, as Monotuff brought out a small stick and began pointing to some nonsensical information present on the board as if giving a lecture.

563,236

500,232

436,768

It was no use. Metang gazed desperately at the counter as it continued to rapidly fall, before realizing that the sound was right on top of him. He looked up to see a large hydraulic press above him, ready to smash him into pieces.

Metang acted quickly, activating his psychic powers to hold the press in place. It was heavy, so it was a struggle, but he could only stay there and struggle with the weight as the counter continued to fall.

231,777

194,639

152,975

With every number lost, Metang could feel his strength weakening. The press was starting to feel heavier and heavier until finally…

106

101

98

97

…

…

96

With a grown, Metang lost all of his power and deactivated his psychic. He wasn't even given a chance to blink, as the weight fell smashing his entire body flat. It sent out small pieces of metal flying into its surroundings and bright red blood leaked out from underneath the weight.

Crunching was heard coming from underneath it and connected to the hydraulic press was a large vending machine. Monotuff, who had bailed at the last second, walked over to the vending machine and slid in a quarter, rubbing its stomach. The vending machine rattled for a moment, before depositing a can of soda into Monotuff's hands called, "Metang Brand Soda." The implication was obvious as Monotuff popped the top off and gulped down his drink, before breathing out a sigh of happiness.

That was one good drink.

Executed: Metang

Xxx

I stared at Metang's crushed body blankly. There were small bits of metal all around the fallen weight and blood was slowly oozing out from it. His blood. Even recognizing these facts, couldn't get my brain to accept that it was real. Metang, a hero that I had looked up to for most of my life, had died right in front of me.

"Eerugh!" Ribombee let out a strangled cry in front of me as her body dropped to the floor. I could hear Blissey cackling from behind me.

I gazed, desperately, at everyone else's reactions as if that would tell me what I should do.

Pelipper and Zebstrika looked like they were about to faint, while Froslass looked like she had fainted, her body still and her eyes closed. Grovyle's face was unnaturally hard and expressionless and Lycanroc had averted his eyes from the body, muttering profanities under his breath.

Noivern's mouth was flapping uselessly, just making some random choking sounds. Lucario had fallen to his knees, stunned by the brutal execution. Gengar was clutching his head, muttering, "Dammit. Why did he… dammit…"

Marowak staggered over to me, her eyes wild. "It's alright," she rasped, helping me up to my feet. "He…he…" She grimaced and looked down, unable to even finish the sentence.

He deserved it. I could tell what she was trying to say. In a strange way, I agreed with her. But at the same time… seeing someone that I had talked to, got to know, and even admired… to see him die in front of me just like that…

It was cruel.

It was just too cruel.

"What an… interesting way to execute someone," Greninja said dispassionately. "What's the reason behind it Monotuff?"

"I just think it's fun!" Monotuff said, dancing around in a circle, bouncing an apple on its head. He tossed the soda somewhere, but I had no interest in looking for it. "Fun! Fun! Wonderous fun!"

"Fascinating," she replied, her eyes lighting up.

Porygon scowled and his eyes flicked over to the counter of numbers that had appeared during Metang's execution that currently displayed, "96." "So," he said, addressing Monotuff curtly. "Are you planning on releasing the people you trapped now that the trial is over?"

Monotuff froze and even the apple it had been playing with froze in midair… somehow. It quickly turned its back on Porygon, teleporting the apple away. "Yes," he answered, tersely.

"Will we see them?"

"No."

"N-No?" I stammered. "Why not?"

"Cause I don't want to," Monotuff replied, hiding its mouth and giggling.

Lucario gritted his teeth. "But you said you would release them and let us see them!"

"Yeah, I said I would release them," Monotuff confirmed. "But I didn't say anything about letting you see them."

Porygon's eyes were narrowed. "Then how will you prove that you even held them in captivity in the first place?" he asked.

Monotuff giggled. "I guess you'll never know," it teased.

"Then you could just by lying," Grovyle accused. "There were never any hostages in the first place."

"That's your prerogative." Monotuff shrugged. "I got what I wanted." It chuckled. "One of you bastards is dead after all. Mission accomplished." He gestured towards the doors they had entered the trial room in from, which opened up. "You can use the elevator to get back up to the surface." Another chuckle. "Have fun."

"Why you!" Lycanroc rushed at Monotuff, swinging an arm right into Monotuff's face. Monotuff just teleported away, leaving Lycanroc to swing at empty air. He stumbled for a second, before regaining his balance and scowling at where Monotuff once was. "DAMMIT!" he roared.

Greninja and Porygon exchanged a look, as Gengar gently shook Froslass awake. "Everyone," Porygon said carefully. "We have something to discuss." His eyes swiveled around as if expecting Monotuff to suddenly pop out of the walls. "We're going to talk on the beach."

Gengar stared at Porygon. "Dude," he said in a hushed voice. "Why aren't you whispering-?"

Greninja coolly glared. "Because there's no point," she said shortly. "Just follow us. We'll explain there." She and Porygon walked away heading back towards the elevator.

Marowak left my side in order to leave and I steadily got back onto my feet to follow. However, Grovyle suddenly moved to block my way. "Grovyle?" I asked, unable to hide the exhaustion and confusion in my voice.

Grovyle seemed to hesitate. "I'm sorry," he said.

I could only stare. "What?"

His expression seemed a little pained. "For how I acted during the trial," he explained. "In a way, you did save us all from death."

I recoiled. "What?! No, I didn't… You did a lot too!"

He frowned. "Yes," he admitted. "But without your vote at the end there and…" He winced. "the way you stood up to Metang. Without you, I doubt there would've been such a difference in the votes and I'm sure it would've been a lot closer."

I opened my mouth before quickly shutting it, thinking over what I should say. "No, you were right before," I sighed. "The only reason I choose to vote like was that I'm just…" I involuntarily shivered. "I was scared of dying. Like…" I gestured to Metang's crushed body, just behind me. "L-like that."

Grovyle glanced at the body, before looking back at me. "I do still think you need to grow a backbone but…" He gave me a tiny smile. "I guess in this case your cowardice somehow saved us."

I giggled nervously. "That's me," I said. "Just a pathetic coward who only cares about their own life."

Grovyle examined my face. "That true," he admitted, turned around so his back faced me with his hands clasped behind him. "But in this type of situation with pokémon who were gathered together to contribute to the greater good of this world…" I watched him walk away from me in bewildered silence.

"That sort of attitude may just save lives."

Xxx

The sea breeze was nice at night, I realized. All fourteen of us were gathered together on the beach, after leaving the elevator, as Monotuff called it, which had deposited us back on top of Sharpedo's Bluff. Both Greninja and Porygon were at the front of the group, talking together in hushed voices. When we entered the trial room, it was the middle of the day or noon. When we left, it was already past sundown and reaching midnight. I could feel it in my bones; I was exhausted.

Pelipper cleared his throat. "So what's this all about?" he squawked. I silently thanked him, even though I still hadn't forgiven him for being a perv during the trial.

Greninja and Porygon exchanged a disturbed look. "It's about where we are," Greninja finally said. "Before the trial Porygon and I ran some tests to make sure."

"Tests?" Zebstrika asked. "On what?"

"On orbs," Porygon answered shortly.

"Orbs?" Lucario's eyes widened. "Wait do you mean-?"

"Yes we tested to see if they would work," Greninja explained. "And they did which is probably why they worked when Zoroark attempted to kill and Metang murdered Zoroark."

I raised my arm. "I don't understand," I admitted. "Why does it matter if the orbs work?"

Marowak looked a little tense. "Well… Wonder Orbs usually can only work in…" She hesitated. "Well… inside of mystery dungeons."

Her words had a rippling effect on everyone. A couple, like Ribombee and Pelipper, let out a strangled gasp and some, like Zebstrika and Noivern, looked only mildly confused. "So?" Noivern asked, raising a wing.

"Well, let's use some logic," Grovyle said, tapping his foot. "If Wonder Orbs can only be used inside of mystery dungeons and both Zoroark and Metang managed to use them then…?"

"We're in a mystery dungeon?" Noivern answered, before recoiling. "Wait, WHAT?!"

Grovyle just sighed.

"So in that case," Gengar said hopefully. "Does that mean that Metang and Zoroark are still alive?"

"W-we s-saw their d-dead b-bodies," Froslass stammered out. "W-what m-makes you t-think they are s-still a-alive?!"

Gengar deflated. "Yeah, I guess you're right…"

"Well, we don't know that for sure," Greninja admitted. "If they managed to escape after being knocked out then that would fit in line with everything we know about mystery dungeons. But they were killed…" She shook her head. "This is uncharted territory."

I blinked. "Why?" I asked nervously. The idea that we were inside a mystery dungeon terrified me. All these strange things… were they normal within mystery dungeons?

"Things like this have never been recorded within a mystery dungeon to my knowledge," Porygon explained, accidentally answering my question. "And this environment…" He nodded to their surroundings. "Usually a mystery dungeon would be something akin to a labyrinth, this dungeon contains a perfect replica of Treasure Town and Wigglytuff's Guild… with some exceptions."

"Exceptions?" Ribombee asked.

"You mean the gyms?" Blissey pointed out. "Ribombee and I came here a couple of years ago and there weren't any buildings like that."

"And the strange moving platform in Sharpedo's Bluff," Marowak said. "I've seen evidence of such a structure within ruins, but to see it here and working…" Her expression looked troubled. "Well it's strange that's all."

"W-what about M-Monotuff?" Froslass asked.

"It complicates matters," Greninja said. "It raised three different possibilities."

"Three?" I blinked.

Grovyle frowned. "I'm assuming that one of them is if this place isn't actually a mystery dungeon. Someone Monotuff managed to figure out some strange technology and make Wonder Orbs work outside of dungeons. It also evicted everyone from Treasure Town and constructed a giant glass and stone wall to make sure we wouldn't escape." He shook his head. "But all that… sounds extremely farfetched."

Porygon nodded. "The others don't sound much better," he continued. "Another option is that someone has somehow gained control of a mystery dungeon and is manipulating it to put us through this game." He shook his head. "I don't know how it would be possible, but at this point, I have to consider it."

"And finally," Greninja said. "And possibly the most disturbing of all. If there isn't another pokémon behind this, a legendary or not, there's only one final possibility." She took a deep breath. "Somehow a mystery dungeon has gained some sort of sentience. An intelligence." She gazed up at the sky. "And for whatever reason, it has trapped us within itself, trying to get us to kill each other." She looked back down to level her gaze to everyone else, letting out a low chuckle. "If this is the case, then we're dealing with a power that can warp time and space. Who knows if we can ever escape."

Xxx

I sullenly gazed across the sea, mulling over the new information that we had discovered by myself. Everyone else had already left the beach for their rooms, leaving me all alone to contemplate exactly what it meant for me.

I had never actually been inside a mystery dungeon before. The only one I had ever even glimpsed was a small one near my home that my parents used to gather food whenever we had a shortage. It was considered off limits to me and my siblings.

A mystery dungeon. I looked up at the sky and wondered if that was an illusion too. Something that the mystery dungeon created so I would believe that this was real. Does this mean Zoroark's death and Metang's execution was fake? That there still alive? My mother always told me that if you were knocked out in a mystery dungeon then you would just be booted back to the entrance. Does that mean Metang and Zoroark were just outside waiting for everyone?

And what about everything else? The idea that someone was controlling the mystery dungeon or the mystery dungeon itself was somehow alive… was terrifying. A shiver ran down my spine. Could the dungeon be watching me right now? Maybe thinking about killing me in the same way as Metang-!

I rubbed my eyes. I couldn't think. I was just too exhausted. I had no proof of anything and all I wanted to do now was sleep.

I could tell something, in between my exhausted brain. I was going to survive. I had managed to live through the guild trial and even stand up to Metang. Something I thought I would never be able to do.

I am going to survive, I repeated inside my brain. I am going to survive-!

I turned away from the sea and froze.

Monotuff was standing there, staring at me with an unreadable expression. We just gazed at each other for a few moments, both of us not saying a word. Finally, Monotuff opened his mouth.

"You have surprised me." Monotuff nodded. "Congratulations."

He disappeared. Just gone from my sight in one second without a sound.

I blinked. What just happened?

My World, Your Illusion End

Survivors: 14

Alive:

Braixen: Ultimate Luckster

Grovyle: Ultimate ?

Noivern: Ultimate Rock Star

Marowak: Ultimate Archaeologist

Pelipper: Ultimate Deliveryman

Froslass: Ultimate Dancer

Gengar: Ultimate Infiltrator

Lucario: Ultimate Fighter

Blissey: Ultimate Healer

Lycanroc: Ultimate Berserker

Zebstrika: Ultimate Racer

Porygon 2: Ultimate Hacker

Ribombee- Ultimate Botanist

Greninja: Ultimate Assassin

Dead:

Metang: Ultimate Genius

Zoroark: Ultimate Illusionist

Just a small note, I would be fascinated to see some predictions on who lives and who dies. It would be really interesting to see if my current plans mesh up with what people can predict.

I've been really excited to retry this story with this trial mainly in mind. I'm glad I finally managed to finish it.

I also hope the scrum debate is okay. I've always wanted to write a version of one and I think it looks alright the way I wrote it. It's a bit jarring compared to the rest of the trial true, but it was pretty necessary for what I wanted to do with this trial. I also hope the closing argument was fine. Honestly writing it made me realize how much stuff occurred in this trial.

This is the end of the first part of this story. I'm taking a brief hiatus to plan out the next part. I've already got the victim and murderer down(like I do for all the future trials) but I need to just iron out the rest of the details. At the same time, I also plan on working on another one of my stories.

Also, clue lists will be posted at the end of every investigation chapter from now on. The reason I choose not to do it for this one was that I wanted to make Braixen not get too involved with the trial until this chapter, pushed to her breaking point. From now on she will be taking more of an active role.

Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated.

-Heroi Oscura