Attention, Assist Trophies: There has been a murder near the kitchen! I'm still baffled that it's happened so soon, but it's happened nonetheless. Our beloved Lyn has left us, and I want everyone reunited in the living room in five minutes. Feel free to check on the body, or ostracize Waluigi if you want. Just do it quickly so we can give the final verdict of this murder.

Jeff could barely make out the words that boomed through the speakers with his mind still in a confused and desperate haze. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the bloody corpse of his friend that laid cold on the ground, the fresh blood running down and tainting the cream colored carpet.

Lyn, his only friend in that whole mansion, was dead. The only person he felt safe around was stabbed in the chest while trying to protect him. Had Jeff not been so stupid and willingly fallen into Waluigi's not so clever trap, she would still be alive. Had it not for him being so useless, she…

Jeff wanted to throw up.

"Waluigi can't believe this bimbo would do something like this!" the scrawny plumber cursed. "Now what?!"

"Now you wait for Crazy Hand's judgment," Tingle said as he approached the crime scene. "You really did make a mess there now, didn't you?"

"Lyn threw herself at Waluigi," he barked back. "It's not fair! Waluigi wanted to stab Jeff!"

In a moment of rage, Waluigi got up from the floor and tried to lunge himself at Jeff. By some miracle, Jeff managed to dodge him in time. Seriously? After all that happened, Waluigi still wanted to kill him?

"Don't even bother, Waluigi," Tingle snickered. "What's done is done. You killed Lyn, and you still got the wrong person. You better pray that she was the right one, and that you were wrong about Jeff being your actual victim."

"It's not fair, it's not fair," he sat on the floor again, his head hanging low. "It's not fair… It's like the universe hates poor Waluigi..."

More and more Assist Trophies began to appear, each looking at the crime scene with either a look of horror, or a look of surprise. Jeff could only watch Waluigi pity himself with disgust. He hoped his punishment would be just as painful.

Wow, when did he get so vengeful? Uh… anyway, he still wanted Waluigi to die. Fucking greedy murderer.

"Now, I know what you're thinking..." Crazy Hand started. "How has Waluigi, of all people, managed to give the first step? How was he the one who got to murder first when there are more intelligent people around?"

"Actually, Riki was just thinking if someone will clean the mess Wah made."

"Yeah, okay Riki, now sit there on the couch and let me finish," the hand said, waving at the Heropon in a dismissive manner. "Anyway, I have the recording of the scene with me and I can definitely say that Waluigi screwed up."

"Waluigi killed Lyn in self defense!"

"Waluigi, Waluigi, Waluigi," Crazy Hand said, giving a mocking sigh. "The recording doesn't lie. You tried to kill Jeff, and killed Lyn when she tried to protect him. She was unarmed and probably just wanted to take the knife away from you, because she's like the nicest person around here."

"How do you know if she wasn't using that as an excuse to kill poor Waluigi, uh? Ever thought about that?"

"Lyn would never do that!" Jeff exclaimed.

"What Jeff said," their host added. "Waluigi, you screwed up, so now you'll have to pay. Lyn was not your original target and you killed her. I don't care if you got your victim right and tried to kill Jeff, what it matters is who you ended up killing."

"B-but… Look, I'm not trying to play the devil's advocate here," Dillon said, awkwardly adjusting his hat, "but what if he was telling the truth? What if Lyn was trying to get the knife away from him just so she could stab him instead?"

"Why would she do that? Waluigi wasn't her target, it was Ashley. To try to kill Waluigi in order to defend Jeff would be pretty dumb. And Lyn's not dumb… at least, not for this. She was dumb for getting in the way, but she would be extra dumb if it was for this reason."

"Oh, if that's the case," the armadillo turned to the desperate plumber. "Sorry, buddy, can't defend you there. Ya screwed up."

Waluigi could feel every judgmental stare burning into his skull, especially Jeff's, who sat as far away as possible from him. He could feel beads of sweat trickling down from his forehead and sweat dampening his gloves, his breathing short and rapid.

He didn't want to die. He wanted to get that cash. His five hundred bucks…

"And it is with much grief in my non existent beating heart, my dear Waluigi, that I must bid you adieu," Crazy Hand said with a sigh. "I was going to say it was a pleasure to have you here, but that would be a big fat lie. We barely knew ya."

"But, Crazy! Waluigi had his victim right!"

"Don't care."

Blip. Blip. Blip.

The bracelet on Waluigi's wrist emitted a bright glow and its needles popped out, making Waluigi scream in pain as the venom was injected in his veins. The rest of the Assist Trophies could only watch in shock and fear as the man fell on the ground, writhing and twisting in pain, the veins on his neck popping up, his eyes wide and red and his mouth fuming and coughing blood. His face continued to twist and get even uglier than before, if that was even possible.

Nobody could gather any sort of strength to get up and try to help him, mostly because it would be useless. Waluigi was doomed, and if they were not careful in the next days, they could be in that situation as well. Sure, they would revive later, but nobody wanted to go through that kind of pain. Look at how Waluigi's eyes popped out! That was one unholy display of agony. Just how much would it take for the suffering of this poor bastard to end? Jeff uncomfortably glanced at his fellow housemates and was not surprised to see the equal discomfort on their faces.

He saw Ashley glance back at him. Was she expecting him to enjoy the display in front of him? Waluigi did end up killing his best friend in the house after all. Was she mentally scolding him for being the reason why all of this drama happened? That was probably unlikely, considering Ashley was one of the most apathetic girls he has ever met, but still, anything at that point was possible. Jeff couldn't get a read on her face, so he hadn't the foggiest idea of what the witch could possibly be thinking.

It seemed like forever until he drew his last breath, never to shout another "Wah" in that house for the rest of their stay there. Without his guttural, panicked noises, there was a somber silence between the Assist Trophies that only got worse as the seconds passed by. They had just witnessed someone getting murdered and they didn't do anything. As much as it hurt seeing Lyn laying a pool of her own blood, at least she was already dead. And even for Jeff, who had watched his friend get murdered, watching Waluigi's punishment was way worse…

Well, that wasn't nearly as satisfying as he thought it would be. If anything, he was a little more traumatized than before.

"...Sooooo," Riki said, trying to break the tension. "Is Wah body going to be removed?"

"Soon, Riki, soon," Crazy said. "Now, you still got a lot of hours until you shift victims, so take this time to rest a little. Maybe get social with each other without second intentions, or something like that."

Nobody said anything as the screen turned off. Jeff was the first one to get up, silently walking away from the rest of the Assist Trophies. He had no intentions of talking to any of them in the next couple dozens of hours and would just isolate himself in his room.

Knock. Knock.

Unfortunately, it seemed like he wouldn't get the peace and quiet that he wanted, because no more than five minutes after he locked himself in his room, he heard a knock on the door. He decided to politely ignore it and just covered his head with his pillow.

Knock. Knock.

Wouldn't this person please let him wallow in misery alone? How rude.

"Jeff, I know you're in there," said a deadpan voice from the other side. "Open the door."

Oh, great. What could Ashley possibly want from him?

"Ashley, let me mourn in peace," he said out loud, still not bothering with getting up from his bed.

"I'll leave you alone once you hear what I have to say. Open the door and let me in, so we can finish this quickly."

Jeff got up from the bed, stretched his back and answered the door, his face showing that he'd seen better days. His face was very pale and his eyes were still red from the tears he tried so desperately to hold back, which helped soften Ashley's demeanor a bit.

"Listen, I know how much you're suffering right now," she said, clearly uncomfortable. "Of course, this wouldn't have happened if you'd just listened to me, but..."

She bit her tongue as Jeff's murderous glare pierced through her soul. Not because she was frightened, she was just surprised someone like him could even muster up a glare like that one.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss," Ashley said, avoiding eye contact. "Lyn was… really nice. And pretty. And uh..."

"Ashley, you don't need to make an effort to praise Lyn if you don't feel like it. It sounds really fake."

"Argh, no! That's not..." she scratched her head. "Look, I'm not used to paying condolences, okay? But I do feel sorry that she went out so soon and that she left you unprotected like this."

"H-hey, what do you mean, unprotected?" Jeff blushed in embarrassment. "I can take care of myself."

Ashley just raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. "Need I remind you the reason why she's not here with us to begin with?"

"No, you don't!" he exclaimed. "Look, I screwed up, alright? She's dead, and it's all my fault!"

There were tears that threatened to fall from his eyes, but he tried his best at holding them off. "B-but that doesn't mean I can't take care of myself, as long as I watch my back. And… And I intend on doing that from now on. I was careless before, but I'm not going to make her sacrifice be in vain..."

"Neither will I."

"Excuse me?"

"I will not make Lyn's sacrifice be in vain," Ashley said, finally looking him in the eye. "I'll protect you."

It took a lot of will and self discipline for Jeff to not laugh at Ashley's face. Her? Protect him? The most aloof, uninterested girl Jeff has ever met in his life, suddenly deciding to care about him and protect him from people who might want him dead? Please.

"Ashley, why do you care?" Jeff asked, giving a nervous grin. "Weren't you all for trusting no one and caring only for yourself?"

"I still do," she shrugged her shoulders. "But… Maybe having an alliance or two wouldn't be a bad thing."

"Why?" he snarled. "So you then you can expect me to sacrifice myself when you're in danger?"

"Are you always this unpleasant with other people?" she hissed. "What did Lyn even see in you?"

Jeff took a deep breath. As much as he didn't trust Ashley and was still confused, she did have a point on him being unpleasant. He wasn't like this… At least, he liked to think he wasn't. Right, he needed to be more level-headed than this.

"Sorry, I guess I'm still a little jumpy after everything that happened," he mumbled.

"I can see that."

"It's just that… you, of all people, coming to me and offering to make an alliance caught me by surprise," the boy admitted, still feeling reluctant.

"Yeah, I guess that would be a shock," she mumbled.

Should he trust her? After everything that happened to Lyn, a part of Jeff's brain was screaming at him to not trust the girl in front of him. She had a theme song that told just about how terrible she could be with other people for crying out loud! Wait, wasn't there a part where it implied she wanted to have more friends? Jeff would have to listen to it later.

Back to the question in hand. Should he trust her?

He looked at Ashley in the eyes. They seemed sincere enough.

"Alright, I trust you." Jeff could swear he could hear that part of his brain scream louder. He felt a ghost of a smile appeared on the witch's lips. Was he imagining things?

"But… how exactly will this alliance work?" he asked. "I don't want you throwing yourself in danger just for me."

"Yeah, I don't want to do that either," she said, crossing her arms. "We can do it like this, if I happen to be your next victim, you don't target me, and if you happen to be my next victim, I won't target you. Sounds reasonable?"

"Sounds good to me."

"And if we happen to get different victims, we tell each other what we know about the other Assists' targets and who might pose a threat to us."

"Got it."

"Yeah."

"Yeah..."

Ashley looked away, arms crossed over her stomach and shifting her weight from one foot to another. Jeff also had no idea how to continue that conversation, so after a good half minute of uncomfortable silence between them, he said:

"So, can I just go back to sleep? I'm feeling very tired."

"Oh, right," Ashley said as she stepped away from his door. "So, I guess I'll see you later then?"

"I guess," he said, slowly closing the door. "Take care."

Ashley nodded and went on her way, finally giving the Jeff his much wanted solitude. He slowly closed the door and headed towards his bed in heavy steps, his mind both racing with thoughts and somehow not thinking about anything in particular.

He had just agreed to make an alliance with Ashley. He made an alliance with Ashley and he didn't know if he should be really worried or relieved. Only time would say if that was the best decision he has ever made, or if he had just signed his death sentence.

As soon as Ashley heard him close the door, she practically skipped ahead, a nervous, yet excited little smile appearing on her lips. She had just made an alliance with Jeff and he didn't turn her down! Maybe she was salvageable and could hold a decent conversation without freaking someone out! Sure, he was kind of a jerk, but that was his fault, not hers. Besides, he apologized, so that was okay. What matters was that she didn't need to threaten to hex him if he didn't agree (not that she would, because her magical powers were turned off).

Maybe this game wouldn't be a total bore like she had initially thought.

As for Jeff, he just laid in his bed thinking seriously about what he had just agreed on. As long as Ashley kept her word and didn't use their alliance to manipulate him into his own demise, he knew that having her as an ally might actually be a good thing.

"Hm..."

His hand roamed through the pocket of his jacket, searching for the crumpled clue he had gotten. He absentmindedly read his clue over and over, curiosity finally getting the best of him. Who was supposed to be his victim?

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

Blue… blue…

Like a bolt from the blue. Bolt.

Bolt… lightning… Blue lightning!

"DAMN IT!"

There was a loud sound as he slapped his forehead at how ridiculously simple his clue was. Like a bolt of the blue! Blue lightning! The only person with any connection to lightning in that house was Phosphora! The clue was probably referring to the electrical blue scarf she always wore around her neck. How had he not realized that before? It was really simple.

For crying out loud, her title was Flash Lightning Phosphora, he should have realized that earlier.

Looks like the clues really were that simple, he just had to have a more open mind interpreting them. Not that he would use it to murder someone, he refused to do that. But it was as Lyn had said, if he knew his victim, it was more likely that the victim would pose no threat to him as his murderer. He really hoped the next clues were like this one, it would make the game easier for him.

Yup, congrats to everyone who guessed Phosphora right, the clue really wasn't that hard. As for what Derick Lindsey's theory, yeah, that might have been a possibility, but that would make Waluigi a huge gambler and a mastermind. Honestly, I just can't imagine him being THAT smart, even if he guessed his victim before everyone else. But who knows? Maybe someone might use this strategy, I don't know. To be honest, I initially thoughts about making Lyn last longer, but since the begining I wanted to focus more on Jeff and Ashley, so... yeah, that was a pretty jerk move from my part. My bad.

Fun fact, the venom used to kill Waluigi is from a golden lancehead snake, because Crazy Hand is a huge hipster and had to get it from the most underground pit vipers ever.