I should be studying, but I'm getting this out of the wat soon.

First Round – 72 hours remain

"Attention Assist Trophies, attention! The clues about your victims are currently available in your rooms. Run, run, run and you might get a head start."

Jeff practically jumped in surprise as the loud announcement boomed through the halls of the mansion. Were the two hours over already? He had realized only now that he hadn't seen a single clock around the mansion, so any concept of time was lost to him. The boy looked at Lyn, uncertain of what to do. Or rather, he knew what he wanted to do, but wanted to see what she had in mind anyway.

"We better go check our clues," Lyn said, as if reading his mind. "Even if Crazy didn't say it, I doubt our supposed victims are going to be our murderers. If we get to know who we should kill, we will at least know who won't pose a threat."

To that, Jeff simply nodded and headed back to his room. He had to check its location on the scribbled map he had in his pocket, since he realized he had forgotten where it was, only being able to remember that it was located on the second floor.

As he walked up the double stairs, he ended up bumping into Riki, who hopped the steps with a smile on his face. He really didn't seem all that concerned, which only raised all sorts of questions about what exactly was going on through his head.

"You seem pretty relaxed, Riki," Jeff commented as he adjusted his pace to match with the Nopon's.

"Riki is relaxed," he said, flapping his ears as he hopped. "Riki find mansion cozy and nice. Riki enjoy here very much!"

"Uh, you do know what we have to do next, right?"

"Oh, yes, Riki is okay with this."

"Wait, seriously?!" Jeff glared at him in disbelief.

"Death here is make-believe, it's okay!"

"It's not okay! People will..."

"Jeff should lighten up and think about prize," Riki said, his face still showing a genuine, sympathetic smile. "Nobody will die if they get killed."

"E-even so… it's not right."

"If Jeff say so," the Nopon started to bounce ahead of him as they reached the second floor. "Best of luck!"

Riki didn't seem to have any ill intentions, despite outright saying he would be playing along. Maybe it was a Nopon thing… or maybe he had a very well hidden sadistic streak. Either way, he was just another Assist Trophy that Jeff should keep an eye on. He quickened his steps as he slowly started to remember where his room was, his heart slowly gaining a faster pace the more he approached his door.

Jeff opened the door a little more forcefully than he should and quickly scanned his room, searching for anything that could be the clue. Only now he had realized that Crazy hadn't specified what the clue was, so it could be anything from a piece of paper to… something else.

As he closed the door, the TV screen on the wall turned on.

"Jeff, Jeff, Jeff!" Crazy Hand called for him. "Before you go searching for your clue, there's another rule I have to explain!"

"Another one?" Jeff groaned.

"It's not something I've considered until Waluigi opened his big, fat mouth and started bickering with pretty little Phosphora," the hand admitted.

"Well, what is it then?"

"Now, I am aware some of you don't want to be here and might do anything to get out of this mansion as soon as possible," he waved his index. "You might be thinking 'Aha! If Crazy thinks I'm gonna just sit and play along, then he's got it coming. I'm just gonna break the rules on purpose, commit suicide and BAM I'm outta this game.' Well… that's NOT gonna happen! Not in this murder party game, nuh uh! This is called the Happy Murder Party, not the Incredible Suicide Club!"

"I… really had no intentions on committing suicide at any point," the boy said with uncertainty. "But suppose that I might want to do just that. Let's just suppose I'm considering killing myself for a brief moment. What would happen then?"

"You simply do not leave this place!"

"Excuse me?"

"It is exactly what you've heard," he pointed an accusatory finger at him. "You don't leave the mansion, you're revived and forced to continue playing."

"Oh, come on! This isn't fair!"

"You know what else isn't fair? Dismissing a fun game I've put much care and thought into," Crazy Hand retorted, his voice sounding just a bit whiny. "I go out of my way to give you the best place to live in, the best food you can eat and even a reward for everything you do. And this is how you repay me? You hurt me, Jeff, you truly hurt me."

"Well… why not get people who are willing to play along then?" Jeff asked. "I mean, Goroh seemed interested! A-and I'm sure Girahim wouldn't mind wrecking chaos..."

"Ugh, then it would be sooooooo boring!" he exclaimed. "What fun would there be if everyone reacted to death and murder in the same way? I'd just watch a bunch of psychos jumping at each others throats. I mean, one or two of them here it's fine, but I want a bunch of precious, precious little angels having to deal with life or death situations too. Though… heh..."

"What?"

"I guess you're no angel, are you, Jeff?" if Crazy Hand had a mouth, it would be giving the biggest, smuggest grin.

"I didn't… I haven't killed..."

"Oh, right, you've just beaten random animals and new age retro-hippies until they became tame, my bad."

"It was in self defense..."

"Was it really?"

"Yes!"

"Welp, just think of this situation as the same thing," Crazy Hand said, his disposition much brighter. "Anyway, yeah, I don't want to see anyone slacking off. If I see you not putting effort in at least staying alive, you won't be able to leave this place until the game is over. I don't care if you stab yourself in the chest 3.452.309 times, you're still getting back. The worst that will happen is that I'm going to get pretty desensitized and not care at all about you after the seventh suicide attempt. So let's not do that, yes?"

"..."

"Good luck out there!"

The screen turned off, leaving Jeff alone with his own thoughts.

So not only was he forced into this murder situation, now he had to pretend he was into it?

"Let's get this over with..." he muttered.

Lucky for him, he didn't have to search for the clue too hard, since it was inside the desk's drawer. There was also a key which Jeff assumed it was to lock his own room when he went to sleep, but his focus was on the small, folded piece of paper at the moment. He carefully unfolded it and read the simple sentence written in delicate blue letter:

"Like a bolt from the blue, here's your flashing clue."

Wait, was that it? Jeff turned the paper around, hoping to find more, but the other side was completely blank. "Okay, don't panic, maybe you're missing something," he hastily searched inside his drawer for anything else that might have escaped his attention to little avail. There was only his room's key and nothing else. He doubted it served for any other purpose out of keeping his room safe from the other Assist Trophies.

Like a bolt from the blue, here's your flashing clue. What did that even mean? Like a bolt from the blue… Blue…

Jeff inspected the clue again. Surely it couldn't be a coincidence that it was also written in blue. Maybe his victim had something to do with the color.

Could it be Chrom? The guy was the bluest person there that Jeff could think off, be it from his dark blue attire, to his blue hair and matching eyes. No… That sounded too obvious. But maybe it was because it was too obvious that Crazy gave him this clue. Either he was testing Jeff's confidence or he was just being a jerk by giving him something so obvious that obviously Jeff would second-guess himself.

Or maybe this clue was completely useless.

"Like a bolt from the blue..." he scratched his head. "Aaahhh, it's not like I'm going to kill this person anyway! Why am I even trying to figure it out?!"

He slammed the clue back in the drawer and decided to leave the room.

"Crazy, the least you could do is be more straightforward with your clues," Lyn quietly complained as she stopped to examine her clue again. "The sea of the night sky has plenty of stars and I am all alone. I want to make friends with everyone."

She hoped the other Assist Trophies had gotten the same vague clues. For now, she would try to find something to pass the time. Lyn could remember that there was a recreation room near the library, so she decided to head there and see if she could find a game to play. Somebody ought to be there anyway and it was much too early to start suspecting her fellow housemates. She tucked the paper she had in hands inside her long brown boot and walked downstairs, heading to the recreation room.

Lucky her, she bumped into Tingle on her way, who told her he also was heading in the same direction, hoping he could find something to pass the time. He ended up inviting her for a friendly game of chess, which wasn't really her thing, but it wouldn't hurt to humor the tiny Hylian for a bit. Besides, she really had nothing else to do, aside from pondering who the victim that she wasn't even going to kill was, so she accepted his invitation right away.

The room was surprisingly colorful, especially compared to the darker, duller colors of the halls. There were big, LCD televisions with the latest consoles plugged in, a couple round tables for card and board games, as well as numerous shelves stocked with all kinds of games. There were sofas and puffs sprawled around for their comfort and… was that a snooker table at the corner of the room? Lyn's eyes sparkled at the sight.

"Oh hoh, so you are a fan of snooker, I see?" Tingle commented as he noticed where her gaze fell upon.

"I really enjoy it, yes," she admitted. "Though between work and other errands, I almost never have the time. And when I do, I'm spending it somewhere else."

"I would suggest we played it then, but..." he extended his arms and looked at himself. "I do not think my stature is the most suitable for this game."

"Oh, not a problem, I can always play it later," Lyn smiled. "Well then, where is the chess board?"

"In the shelves," said a deadpan voice from the sofa. "Where else would it be?"

They turned around and saw Ashley slumped over the bright pink couch, playing on a small hand held console and without bothering on looking at them.

"Ashley, I thought you would be reading at your room," she said, crossing her arms.

"That book was really boring," she brought the console closer to her face. "I was getting bored, I needed to get out."

"...Would you like to join us then?" she offered.

"You're going to play chess, aren't you? Why would you want a third person?"

"We could always choose another thing to play, right, Tingle?" she turned to the green clad man.

"I don't mind at all."

"Why are you acting so friendly?" Ashley eyed her suspiciously.

"Why wouldn't I?" she tilted her head to the side.

"You do know what we're doing here, right?"

"And I've told you before I have no intention on killing anyone. This is not some attempt to get close to you so I can stab you in the back, if that's what you are worried about," the swordswoman said, sternly. "Now, if you're not interested, just say so. I'm not going to keep insisting if you don't want to participate."

Ashley avoided eye contact.

"I guess I could play chess with you after you're done with Tingle," she muttered. "This game is getting boring anyway."

"Alright, suit yourself," Lyn smiled. "Whoever loses will face against you. Are you okay with this?"

"Um… yeah, I guess."

"Good, then let us begin."

First Round – 61 hours remain

"What Phosphos doing?"

Phosphos?

"I'm trying to figure it out how this thing works," Phosphora answered, tracing her fingers over her bracelet. More especially, at the two little buttons that the bracelet had.

Riki simply snuggled on his chair, without bothering in looking at his own, tiny bracelet. "Phosphos should enjoy sunlight and stop trying to pull silly bracelet away," he said.

"What could be locking this thing?" she mumbled, not really paying attention to Riki. "Is it magic or just a lock system that can be hacked? Hmm..."

Maybe she could trick Crazy into giving her more information on how these things work. Depending on the method used…

"Have any of you seen Jeff around?" asked the obnoxious voice behind them.

Phosphora cringed.

"Why would I know?" she replied, rather rudely.

"Why do Wah ask?" Riki asked.

"Lyn said she had something to tell him, so she asked Waluigi for help in finding him."

Phosphora snorted. Loudly. "You? Willing to help someone on your own good will?" she sneered. "Yeah, right. Really, what do you want with him?"

"Waluigi doesn't owe you any answer, especially after Waluigi has already told the truth!" the skinny man barked. "Lyn wouldn't shut up until she had help in finding the twerp!"

"Jeff is probably in the kitchen," the Nopon said.

"Wah, thank you, Riki," Waluigi grinned and walked away, unaware of the odd looks he was getting from Phosphora.

The Commander watched him leave, brows furrowed and lips pressed in a thin line.

"Phosphos gonna have wrinkle like this," Riki commented.

"Gods, I hate him so much, Riki," she muttered, before turning around and going back to inspecting her bracelet.

What could he want with Jeff? Could it be…?

No, no, it wasn't possible. He wouldn't be that smart to figure his victim out in such a short time. So far nobody had managed to guess who their victims were. And by nobody, she meant herself. And if she hadn't figured it out, then why would that imbecile be any different? She refused to think he had surpassed her in something.

"..."

She was tired of sitting and going nowhere with the bracelet inspection. She needed to go out for a walk.

Two hours later, she ended up meeting Lyn in the halls on the second floor. Phosphora wished she could smile back at the green haired girl, but she was still feeling far too annoyed. The best she could do was not frown in front of her.

"Phosphora, I've been wondering, have you perhaps seen Jeff around?" Lyn asked. "We haven't met ever since we returned to our rooms to get our clues."

Wait, so she really had been searching for Jeff? So Waluigi wasn't lying?

"Um, not really, no," she answered. "Can't help you with this, sorry."

"It's quite alright, thank you anyway," Lyn waved her hand and walked away.

Maybe Phosphora was wrong in the end. Maybe Waluigi was just helping.

Or maybe she was giving him too much credit and he was still pretty much a huge asshole. Either way, she wanted nothing to do with what he might be planning.

"Jeff, there you are!" Waluigi exclaimed as he spotted the boy watching TV at the recreation room.

"Waluigi?" he asked as he rose from the couch out of politeness. "What is it?"

"Lyn has been searching for you, she wouldn't stop nagging me to help her," he said in a dismissive tone. "Just go to the kitchen, she's waiting for you there."

And with that, he turned on his heels and walked away, leaving a very confused Jeff behind. What could Lyn want with him?

"I wouldn't trust him, if I were you," Ashley said, still reading her book.

For just how long had that girl been there anyway?

"Since when do you care?" he asked.

"I'm just saying," the witch said, shrugging he shoulders and giving him a quick glance, before turning her eyes back to her book. "Waluigi is as sketchy as he can get."

"You may have a point, but… I don't know, I really haven't met Lyn since the beginning of this game, maybe she really wants to see me."

"You're an idiot."

"And you should learn to mind your own business."

Ashley scoffed and decided to get up. "Fine, be rude like that," she hissed. "I was only trying to help you."

"By calling me an idiot? Real friendly advice there, Ashley."

"Well… you are! Why would you follow what this guy says when it's clear he doesn't care about anyone other than himself?"

"If this was a ploy to kill me, do you really think Waluigi would be smart enough to figure out who his victim was? At least this soon?"

"...Well, you do have a point there," Ashley groaned. "These clues are too nonsensical. No way in hell would he have it figured it out this soon."

"Exactly."

"Even so, he might be dumb enough to think that he had guessed his victim right and try to kill you anyway, even if he is wrong. Then what?"

"Even knowing that the smallest slip up can cost his life? Or worse, his chances at getting the money?"

"Well, when you say it that way..."

Ashley bit her lower lip. He couldn't possibly be this careless! His life was at stake and he was just shrugging it off like he was seeking his own death!

…

Why did she care anyway? Jeff was such a genius dumbass. Let him die, if that's what he really wanted.

"Fine then, do what you want, I don't care."

First Round – 56 hours remain

Jeff arrived at the kitchen, half expecting Lyn to be there, half expecting to find Waluigi's ugly mug giving him a sly grin. He knew very well what he might be getting into, but if he played dumb, maybe death would be swift and relatively painless. It was like getting a vaccine, he knew the needle was going to hurt, but if he was going to get it anyway, then it might as well be quick. Still, part of him couldn't stop screaming, to get out of there, protect himself and value his own life. Also, he really did miss Lyn, she'd better be there and prove that he was overthinking things.

But listening to the voice of self-preservation was little too late at that point, because he had just arrived at the kitchen and, lo and behold, Lyn was nowhere to be seen. Waluigi also wasn't there, which confused him, but didn't make him any less on edge.

It wasn't as if he had a death wish… he just didn't want to spend the month paranoid for his life. Maybe getting killed would be for the best, despite every inch of his brain screaming otherwise. Or maybe he wasn't as suicidal as he thought, he didn't know. Either way, he began to feel pretty stupid for being there.

As he prepared to leave, he heard the faint sound of something shuffling from behind him, as well as the sound of someone trying really hard not to laugh.

Crap!

Jeff turned around and jumped to the side just in the nick of time as a flying knife zoomed by his face and hit the wall behind. The world seemed to slow down as the realization that someone had just tried to kill him.

And that someone was none other than Waluigi himself.

"Wah, you are pretty quick for such a nerd," Waluigi complained as he rose from where he hid, right behind the counter.

Waluigi really did try to kill him. Jeff could feel blood drain from his face and his heart accelerate as he saw the skinny man grab a set of kitchen knifes.

"No problem, you're not escaping this room alive."

If he stood still, Waluigi would kill him and he would be out of the game. But did he really want that? He took a look at the sharp blade of the knife, glistening under the kitchen's strong white light.

...Probably not. Besides, Crazy Hand would probably see through his attempt to get out of the game soon and bring him back.

And so Jeff ran.

"Oh, there you are."

Lyn turned around at the seemingly bored voice that called for her and found Ashley walking towards her.

"What is the matter, Ashley?"

"Have you been searching for Jeff?"

"Oh, why, yes, I have," she said. "Have you seen him?"

"Waluigi just came by and told him you were searching for him and that you were waiting for him at the kitchen," the witch raised her eyebrow at the growing shocked expression Lyn's face had. "I'm going to assume you didn't ask for Waluigi's help?"

"N-no, not at all!" she exclaimed.

"I think Jeff is in trouble, you might want to go check the kitchen out."

"Thanks for telling me that!"

Lyn turned on her heels and dashed towards where the kitchen was. She accidentally bumped into Chrom's shoulder in the way, but just ignored him as she made her way to where her friend was. How could Jeff be so naive to trust someone like Waluigi? If he managed to survive, she would kill him herself for making her worry so much!

The girl could feel her heart stop as she heard her friend scream in terror.

No, no, no!

"Jeff!" Lyn shouted, running even faster as she quickly approached the kitchen.

As if on cue, Jeff dashed out of the kitchen, being followed by a bloodthirsty Waluigi carrying a sharp knife. She needed to get that knife away from him and fast! Lyn threw herself at the greedy man and tackled him with such strength that she met little to no resistance, making both of them fall on the ground.

"Get off of me, you crazy woman!" Waluigi screamed, waving his hand around and struggling against her.

She didn't say anything and focused on trying to get the knife from his hand. She barely registered that Jeff had stopped running and turned around, confused as to what was going on.

"Lyn?! What are you-"

Lyn hesitated for a moment, as if Jeff's voice had triggered something in her brain that made her stop whatever she was doing to look at the frightened boy. And it was that simple mistake that gave Waluigi an opening to attack.

THWACK!

Waluigi stabbed Lyn in the chest, his movement swift and precise. A trail of blood trickled down from her mouth as her chest started to soak up in a pool of blood, tainting her beautiful blue dress.

"U-urgh..."

Lyn's body fell over Waluigi, who cussed and desperately pushed her aside so he wouldn't get dirty.

And at that moment, Jeff screamed.

Yeah, congrats to anyone who guessed Lyn right. She really was too nice for her own good. This is what you get for trying to stay relevant, Waluigi. Also, can anyone guess who Jeff's and Lyn's victims were? I'm curious.