"Hey! Silver has been gone for awhile," Yellow called.

"Yah. He has. Maybe he went outside or something," Green said nervously. Even though she knew her brother could take care of himself, she couldn't help but feel worried.

"I'm sure he's fine Green," Yellow continued.

She looked down at the blonde, who smiled lightly at her. "Thanks, Yellow. I might as well look for him, though."

"Wait." Blue placed a hand on her shoulder. His green eyes narrowed. "It would be better if we split up. You know what Gramps said."

Green froze. "I didn't think of that. Could it? No... He wouldn't..."

Blue cut her off. "Ruby, Black, Crystal, Gold, and I will be on one team. Diamond, White, Red, and Yellow will be on another. Platinum, Green, Pearl, and Emerald will be the last."

Green nodded. "Okay! Let's go!"

"Not yet Green," Blue called.

"What?!" She skidded to a halt. "Don't you want us to find him?"

"Of course, I do." He rolled his eyes. "But I want your group to look around the mansion, and perhaps find a room to stay in for the time being."

She huffed in frustration. "Can't you do that?"

He placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Look, I know you're worried about Silver, but we can't just give up on everything. Silver's probably fine and just wandering around somewhere. We came here because of a task, and we have to complete that as well."

She glared at him. "Fine. But he better be okay."

"He will be, I promise. Team one, head out towards the west hall, I will take the east, and the other team will go south." He pointed in each direction.

"Right," everyone said, taking off.

"How about we check the kitchen? That's where Silver went right," Black asked.

Blue nodded. "Okay, just keep an eye out."

Black nodded, looking around the halls.

"I hope he's okay..." Crystal muttered.

Gold laughed. "It's fine! He's Silver! He's probably the strongest out of all of us!"

"Isn't Red the strongest?" Before Black could stop himself, the words flew out of his mouth. He clamped his mouth shut.

They turned toward him. Gold glared at him. Crystal looked worried, despite herself, and Blue looked like he was about to kill Black. Right... Blue lost to Red. Black mentally reminded himself never to say something like that around Blue again. "But Silver's pretty strong as well!" He smiled sheepishly, dying on the inside as Gold and Crystal turned away. Smooth move Black. Smooth.

A shriek echoed throughout the halls. Everyone gasped in unison. "The kitchen!"

They raced through the hall and dining room into the tiled kitchen. Ruby's back was to them, arched and shivering. "G-guys." Ruby stuttered, backing away.

"Ruby?" Black looked at the floor. A puddle of red was at Ruby's feet. "What the… Is that blood," Black asked.

Ruby, who was still shivering, nodded slowly before following the trail. His shaky steps surprisingly quick. Gold ran after him in pursuit. "What are you guys doing," Crystal called after them.

"Looking for cookies- following the trail! What do you think," Gold snapped. The others glanced at each other before following. Their hearts started to drop as the trail grew larger.

The trail lead to the closet. Blue looked at them before throwing the doors open.

"Silver!" Gold and Crystal raced toward the bleeding mass on the floor, holding onto him as they looked him over. The blood seemed to be coming from his head and back. Not good, if he was alive.

"I-is he okay," Black stammered.

Blue placed a hand on the boy's wrist. He couldn't feel anything strong. He sighed, assuming he was gone, until...

"Guys..." Silver's voice could barely be heard, and a small flash of silver as the boy's eyes opened a crack.

"He's alive! We have to get him to the others," Crystal cried. Blue nodded, before grabbing the younger boy in his arms. He was careful to avoid the spike in his back, and with the help from Black, raced out to find the others.

The door slammed open, sending the other two groups into defensive stances. They saw Silver and their mouth's dropped open. "What the hell? Get out of the way," Blue shouted, pushing Ruby aside as he ushered everyone away from the table. He placed Silver's body on it with Black's help.

"Silver!"Green pushed through the crowd, kneeling at her brother's side as he opened his eyes.

"Sis?" His glazed over eyes stared at her. She gripped his hand. His hand was cold. Way too cold. He gripped her hand weakly. "Forget about me.. Okay?"

"What?! What do you mean Silver?!" She gripped his hand harder. More desperately, as if trying to keep him with her.

He smiled slightly, before closing his eyes. With that one last shuddering breath, he was still.

"Silver?! Silver?!" Green buried her face in his unmoving chest, sobbing each time she called his name.

"What happened?!" Emerald sat near Silver's body, eyes wide as he glanced at Green.

Blue sighed. "There are not many possibilities... Except for one." He glanced at Green, who still was sobbing hysterically as he spoke. "Someone killed him."

Crystal gasped. "What?! Why would anyone do that?!"

Blue closed his eyes, scratching his chin. "Who knows? But as much as I hate saying it, it is a possibility." He pointed to the spike in Silver's back. "You see that? That's a poison barb. This place is known for its ghost pokemon, and ghost pokemon don't have the physical strength to bury it so deep. There was no damage to the barb to indicate an accident, and the wound was to clean of a cut. It had to be someone who wanted to do as much damage as possible, and let the poison finish the job." He opened his eyes and sighed.

The room plunged into silence as Blue walked over to Green, putting an arm around her shoulder as he did so. Green buried her face in Blue's shoulder, looking up at him with wide eyes. "I heard what you said."

Blue froze. "You did?"

"He was murdered... I know it." She stood up slowly, gaze dark. "IT WAS ONE OF YOU!"She pointed to Platinum, who jumped back in fear."You! You have a poison type, don't you? It has to be you!"

Pearl jumped in front of Missy protectively. "Hey! Don't you dare speak about Missy like that! Who's to say it wasn't your nidoqueen, huh? It could've been you!"

Green face-palmed before her face grew bright red. "Well, I didn't bring my pokemon! So jokes on you!" She pointed to Crystal."What about you huh? You have a parasect, you could've done it, too!"

Crystal jumped to her feet, squaring the girl up."I would never do this to him! Silver was one of my best friends!"

"Sure! And I'm a-"

Blue grabbed Green, swinging her to face him. "That's enough Geen. You don't know anything!"

She grabbed his arms with her hands. Her eyes frantically scanning his face, as if the answer was written on it somewhere. "And what makes you say that? He was my brother! Of course, I know if I'm right."

Blue's gaze hardened. "Then how come you didn't notice the injury on his head? Green, it could've been anyone! So shut it and help us solve the crime, not provoke them!"

Green froze, tears welled at her eyes. "I just.. Can't believe he's dead!"

The door slammed open as four people rushed inside. One fainted immediately, collapsing to the floor in a heap. "Diamond!" Forgetting the dilemma from earlier, Pearl and Platinum raced toward the fallen boy. The others were panting, leaning on the walls as they caught their breath.

"What happened," Blue demanded.

"Monsters... Chasing us…" Red panted. "Had no choice... But to leave her..." He took his hat off and leaned on his knees. His hands shook and his eyes looked wild. It took a lot to shake Red up like this, and it terrified the others.

"What?!" Everyone stared in confusion.

He threw his hat back on and straightened. "Well..." he paused, unsure how to start. "It went like this..."