The White Elephant in the Room Playground

[Shiny Phantump]

Abigail pulled out her lens. The fogginess in the black opal glass had cleared come morning. She smirked at Tabitha.

"How about I just scan you? That'd clear things up... one way or another."

 

[IFBench]

The smile fell from Tabitha's face. "Are you trying to make me your enemy?"

Gen clutched tighter onto the Delphox, his breathing starting to turn into hyperventilating.

"W-what did I do?!" he asked, trembling.

 

[Starlight Aurate]

Gen clutched tighter onto the Delphox, his breathing starting to turn into hyperventilating.

"W-what did I do?!" he asked, trembling.

Tabitha lowered his head to look into Gen’s eyes. His voice came out as a low, soft growl.

“You’re a child, aren’t you? Too young and small to have done any damage in this world—yet. But let me tell you something.” He straightened up and looked down at the trembling Oshawott.

“Don’t waste your time watching your life fly by. I hope your society is different from the one I come from. But if it’s not, then following commands by the petty tyrants who rule over you is all you have to look forward to in life. Your government and its ‘leaders’ will give you everything you could possibly want until all joy, motivation and spirit have been sucked from you. You’ll be nothing but a mindless gear in the machine of society, watching passively as the lives of those around you steadily drain away, too.

“You may think that killing people and setting fires to building may be harsh—but where I come from, it’s justice. If the government is content to watch its people kill each other, who will be left to protect the innocent? To provide for the most helpless and vulnerable in society? The world is a mess. And it’ll only keep getting messier. You have to stand up for yourself and protect those who can’t. If you think you’re weak, then become strong. If someone threatens you, fight back. Don’t be complacent with mediocrity.”

 

[Fusion]

*His whole speech

Lee clapped his paws, mildly impressed. "That is the most aggressively motivational speech I've heard in my life. And that is a long time."

 

[Namohysip]

"Yeah! Yeah! Rage against the machine!" Darkwhite announced, followed by eating part of the gutter.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Thanks, uh, partner. We wouldn't be half as organized if they got you. And honestly you're like the one person here I like."

Jesse grinned, and tried not to think too much about being murdered. Hey, the guy liked him. That was something.

"I don't believe Mia got the chance to make a move. I believe one of her accomplices did so in her stead. That leaves us with a few options:

- Abigail was targeted and the hope that I held in my heart while eating that hen saved her from harm.
- Someone else was targeted, and someone among us with an actual gift of protection protected them.
- Someone was targeted whose gift grants some manner of invulnerability.

"Thanks fer this, partner. I'll be makin' a note."

"Have either of you given input as to what your abilities here are? I'm curious to hear from the four of you as to what your thoughts or observations are on this situation--and whether you have anything substantial to clear your names or implicate others."

He stood up and began to slink back towards the Christmas tree. With a last glance at Abigail, he said, "I expect you'll clear me soon."

"Gen claims to have one of five possible powers. I made a list; they're all good. Nocitlalin claims to have a target redirection ability, which has yet to conclusively be proven, but I like her behavioural record so far. Nilam has offered remarkably little, and I'm dead certain the little fucker is one of our bad 'uns. The Nickit hasn't said a word, and isn't goin' to."

Jesse smirked. "Fer your sake, fella, I hope Abigail does clear ya."

"How about I just scan you? That'd clear things up... one way or another."

"Oh? Fascinatin'. So he ain't approached ya in that private channel you mentioned, huh?"

Gen clutched tighter onto the Delphox, his breathing starting to turn into hyperventilating.

"W-what did I do?!" he asked, trembling.

"Calm yer shit, son. The man's just a mite tetchy."

"Don’t be complacent with mediocrity."

"I gotta tell ya, son, I'm not lovin' yer conceptualisation of excellence. But all that matters is that we nab our scum as efficiently as possible afore we lose any more innocents. You wanna excell? Help us catch a murderer."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Her investigation complete, the Lens of Nia clouded over again.

"Tabitha is... innocent. Huh. Go figure. I guess Nilam is our next-best shot?"

 

[IFBench]

Tabitha lowered his head to look into Gen’s eyes. His voice came out as a low, soft growl.

“You’re a child, aren’t you? Too young and small to have done any damage in this world—yet. But let me tell you something.” He straightened up and looked down at the trembling Oshawott.

“Don’t waste your time watching your life fly by. I hope your society is different from the one I come from. But if it’s not, then following commands by the petty tyrants who rule over you is all you have to look forward to in life. Your government and its ‘leaders’ will give you everything you could possibly want until all joy, motivation and spirit have been sucked from you. You’ll be nothing but a mindless gear in the machine of society, watching passively as the lives of those around you steadily drain away, too.

“You may think that killing people and setting fires to building may be harsh—but where I come from, it’s justice. If the government is content to watch its people kill each other, who will be left to protect the innocent? To provide for the most helpless and vulnerable in society? The world is a mess. And it’ll only keep getting messier. You have to stand up for yourself and protect those who can’t. If you think you’re weak, then become strong. If someone threatens you, fight back. Don’t be complacent with mediocrity.”

As Tabitha went on, Gen huddled closer to the Delphox.

I just want to go home and see my family again...I don't want to be a hero. I just want my life back.

 

[DawningWinds]

"Okay, so uh, I get that process of elimination says that I'm probably Naughty according to you, but can I point out that Noci said she'd prove herself, and I don't really think she has? She says she targeted Mia last night, who we already voted out of the party, which would make her redirection completely ineffectual- I think that could easily be her intention, to look helpful, but not really do anything for us. And, no, I don't possess 'Ultra Unlethal Armor', so Noci could not have stopped the kill by redirecting Mia to me.

"Also, while it's not exactly proof, can I possibly have a chance to point out that I was the first one to suspect Mia at all? What would the point of throwing a completely unsuspected teammate- especialy who seems to know what she's doing- under the bus like that be? And, if I was Naughty, what would my motivation for suggesting people vote early in the day be? The Naughty guests were at a huge advantage from the frantic voting at the end."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Unit001_101110110 Redirected Processes Of UnitDesignate_Mia To UnitDesignate_Nilam.

"Hold on..." Abigail gritted her teeth. "What does that mean? And when did you do it? Did that redirect anything Mia tried to do while dead, which would be nothing... or did it redirect things done to Mia? Because if it's the latter we need to know wether it was used before Palkia checked Mia's alignment, because if so... we might have just gotten lucky in Mia being guilty, and that reading may have come from Nilam... or, on the other nights you used it, one of my readings my have produced a false negative. I don't want to be tricked into to clearing anyone guilty."

 

[Chibi Pika]

"I believe--and correct me if I'm wrong, as I read the Beldum quite wrong last time--that our dear Nocitlalin redirected actions performed by Mia onto Nilam. That would be in line with her early attempt to direct Mewtwo's possible-kill toward me, yes?" The dragon smiled sweetly, but there was a dangerous edge to it.

"Seeing as we had no way of knowing if Mia had truly been voted out when the daytime was so abruptly cut short. As it stands, I suspect that move may have had no effect whatsoever. But it was a valiant effort~"

 

[Tanuki]

The WiiU let out a mechanical whine, untouched since Squirt packed it into his present for everyone. An eye appeared on the television. It didn’t blink. It didn’t move. It didn’t look human, pokémon, it defied any description.

Was it even an eye? It snapped to Lee. A tear formed beneath it, dripping down the television. Once the tear hit the bottom, it sprouted into another eye. Other eyes, human, oshawott, delphox, palkia, noivern, corrupted mew, arceus, arceus, all their children, beldum, rotom, all sobbing more eyes staring at Lee until they overflowed the television.

“T... ruth. Speak it,” whimpered the television. “Fou... r Truth. Fabricated? Four fals... e... truths.” An oddish’s eye fell from the television, and they all disappeared when it hit the ground.

All but the first. It stared still at Lee. “Pplay... me?”

 

[IFBench]

Gen screamed as he saw the sight on the Television. He hugged Jesse tighter.

 

[Tanuki]

Gen screamed as he saw the sight on the Television. He hugged Jesse tighter.

The oddish eye rolled towards him. It looked up expectantly, smiling. It looked so happy to be with him.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Jesse furrowed his brow and reexamined his boards.

Spoiler: GUEST CONDUCT BOARD

Name	Notes	Name	Notes	Name	Notes
Jesse	Yours truly. Let it be on record that I skipped the first two nights, suggested voting for Nickit to provoke a debut dialogue, and for Tabitha and Nilam to demand defences. I voted Mia for a successful lynch. My power is non-info, and a liability if used with insufficient info. I doubt it will ever be of use at this rate. I used a one-off item to identify Abigail as a survivor.	Darkwhite	Plenty of contributions couched in plenty of mischief. Tried an advice gambit to conceal her night-skipping power, but demonstrated it to the advantage of innocents. Initially skipped, but helped lynch Mia by using a one-off item to identify her as Naughty.	Mia	Our first lynch, and confirmed scum. Targeted Darkwhite and Nocitlalin.
Mewtwo	Experimentally voted for Palkia before dying early. My sympathies to the sorry bastard.	Nilam	Voted first for Palkia and twice now for Mia, who turned out to be scum. Concerned with an aggressive pursuit of a successful lynch. Has justified themself, but I personally find their takes flimsy.	Nickit	Dead silent to date. No change forecast.
Lee	Always has thoughts to offer. Cleared Darkwhite and Palkia of Squirt's murder, and furred guests of Mewtwo's murder. Has usually skipped, but now claims he will vote with me. Can interrogate the dead for a single moment each night.	Gen	Terrified out of his wits at all times, no investigative efforts to speak of. Always votes to skip. Claims to have a powerful ability that would make him a target for the Naughty guests.	Tabitha	Has mostly criticised tactically unsound assumptions about behaviour, initially skipped but later voted for Darkwhite in pursuit of information and Nilam to follow my bandwagon. Claims to have a night power.
Palkia	Extensive analysis. Attempted a bandwagon-provocation gambit against Darkwhite before walking it back, and has consequently only skipped. Briefly voted for Abigail, but helped lynch Mia. Claims to have an underwhelming power and a one-off item.	Abigail	Inherited the power and memories of Vaporeon Blue. Is a neutral guest, whose objective is to survive along with her partner survivor, who is unknown. Has an info power that identifies alignment.	Nocitlalin	Aggressively hunted for bingo cards, suggested that day 2 voters might be killers, ie. Nilam. Claims to have a target redirection power, but there is yet to be conclusive evidence of her using it to the benefit of innocents.

Spoiler: VOTING HISTORY BOARD

Day 2 vote: Palkia Skip	Day 2 voters: Mewtwo, Nilam Gen, Lee, Jesse, Darkwhite Nocitlalin, Mia, Palkia	Day 2 lynch: skipped	Night 2 murder: Mewtwo
Day 3 vote: Darkwhite Mia Skip	Day 3 voters: Tabitha Nilam Lee, Abigail, Gen Mia, Palkia, Jesse	Day 3 lynch: skipped	Night 3 murder: skipped
Day 4 vote: Mia Nilam Nocitlalin	Day 4 voters: Nilam, Darkwhite, Abigail, Lee Nocitlalin, Palkia, Jesse Tabitha Mia	Day 4 lynch: Mia (scum)	Night 4 murder: ????
Day 5 vote: Nilam	Day 5 voters: Jesse	Day 5 lynch: none yet	Night 5 murder: none yet

Spoiler: SUSPECT STATUS BOARD

Dead	Cleared of 1st & 2nd Murders by Lee	Alignment Cleared by Jesse	Alignment Cleared by Abigail	Technical Accomplice Candidates	Uncleared
Squirt	Jesse	Abigail	Jesse	Darkwhite	Nilam
Mewtwo	Palkia		Lee	Gen	Nocitlalin
Mia	Darkwhite		Palkia	Nickit
	Tabitha		Tabitha
	Gen
	Nickit

Spoiler: LIST OF FUCKING BINGO NUMBERS

B3, B11 I23, I28 N33, N36, N40, N41 G51, G57

"Noci's statements about her intented actions and the results seen so far line up very well. It's not her fault if her power has simply fizzled every time because of circumstances outside her control. Meanwhile Nilam hasn't offered any information about their power that I can recall. True, they've voted for Mia, but in the first instance that could have been a ploy fer later credibility, and in the second she was doomed anyway. I liked Tabitha fer our third scum, but assumin' no foul play, he's been cleared. That puts more pressure on Noci, Gen, and I guess the Nickit, not that they seem to be... conscious."

Jesse's Take:

Confirmed Nice/Neutral	Who Fuckin' Knows	Probably Naughty	Confirmed Naughty
Jesse	Nocitlalin	Nilam	Mia 💀
Palkia	Gen
Darkwhite	Nickit
Lee
Abigail
Tabitha
Mewtwo 💀
Squirt 💀

He sighed.

"Lee, is there any chance you could ask Mia right now about Nilam or Noc—"

“T... ruth. Speak it, Fou... r Truth. Fabricated? Four fals... e... truths. Pplay... me?”

"Lee. I reckon you oughta play the game, partner."

He squeezed the lycanroc's shoulder firmly.

"Have courage. It'll be alright."

 

[IFBench]

The oddish eye rolled towards him. It looked up expectantly, smiling. It looked so happy to be with him.

Gen hugged Jesse tighter with one arm, and clutched his Reunion Cape tightly with the other arm. Tears began to well up in his eyes.

 

[Tanuki]

The eye glared at Jesse. While watching Lee, it seemed almost playful. Now, it looked thirsty for blood. “W...t do €{*# s€€?$!?”

Gen hugged Jesse tighter with one arm, and clutched his Reunion Cape tightly with the other arm. Tears began to well up in his eyes.

The eye continued to smile up at him, eager to play.

 

[Fusion]

Other eyes, human, oshawott, delphox, palkia, noivern, corrupted mew, arceus, arceus, all their children, beldum, rotom, all sobbing more eyes staring at Lee until they overflowed the television.

All but the first. It stared still at Lee. “Pplay... me?”

"I..." Lee blinked. He didn't know what to think, really. It wasn't unsettling, but it wasn't natural either. He wasn't scared, but he didn't like it at all. Every part of Lee wanted to ignore it, but he was also... intirigued. "I accept." Lee nodded, stepping forward.

 

[Tanuki]

"I..." Lee blinked. He didn't know what to think, really. It wasn't unsettling, but it wasn't natural either. He wasn't scared, but he didn't like it at all. Every part of Lee wanted to ignore it, but he was also... intirigued. "I accept." Lee nodded, stepping forward.

The WiiU sat lifeless in its box. It came with no cords, but the ports seemed the same as those in the Wii.

 

[IFBench]

"W-what do you want?!" Gen yelled. Tears splashed onto the floor.