The White Elephant in the Room Playground

[Tanuki]

Fall of the Ninth Night

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[Starlight Aurate]

In the blackness pressing in around him, her face floated before his eyes: her sun-tanned skin framed by long locks of golden hair. Two amber eyes, set with determination and strengthened by courage, shone brilliantly.

Maressa.

As always, Tabitha's heart swelled at the sight of her--wishing he could hold her, could feel the softness of her hair, could shield her from the cruelty of the situation she placed herself in, could protect the courage she had fought with--courage that so many people, on Team Magma and Team Aqua alike, failed to possess.

His heart tightened with pain. She didn't choose Team Magma--she never would. She had to do what was right for her Pokemon, her best friends. Her friends whom she loved--and she loved them to the end, choosing their well-being over her safety.

How could it be? Why was it that the people who worked the hardest, who fought for what was right, were disposed of? Why couldn't the one person who cared about her Pokemon as much as Tabitha cared about his live?

He reached out to touch her--to hold her, to draw her in, to bring her back from her self-imposed danger, to cling to her and never let go--

"O seventy-four? B six? Hows about an I nineteen? An N thirty-one? N thirty? Be sure to claim any Bingos at your earliest possible convenience!""

Tabitha snapped awake and jumped to his feet as the blaring voice cut through the air, steamrolling through his dream and dissolving the phantom images. Grimacing, he lay down, covering his ears with his paws as he glared through the branches of the pine trees.

"Someone fill me in. What happened?"

 

[Fusion]

"..."

He was gone.

"..."

Jesse was gone.

". . ."

Probably the one being here that actually could have solved this mystery. And he was gone. Lee was alone again. He lost someone he actually cared for... and he couldn't do anything about it. He was powerless...

". . ."

"God... dammit..." Lee fell face first onto the couch. "This doesn't make any sense... This doesn't make any fucking sense."
'This wasn't fucking FAIR!!!' Of all the Pokemon to get rid of, why did it have to be Jesse? They could have picked of literally anyone else, hell, Lee would have been fine if those bastards chose him! Screw this world, screw those naughty fucks, screw this bullshit vacation, and screw Christmas! Ba-fucking-humbug!

"Someone fill me in. What happened?"

His claws dug into the crouch, tearing through its fabric easily. Someone would have to have to fill that dog in, so why not him? One canine to another? Lee decided to keep his face buried in the couch, however. "You missed a lot. I don't care where to start, but Mia was naughty, we found out that there were other Pokemon here other than us, like that Zangoose that nearly froze to death, a Seviper with a lisp... that Rillaboom... We fixed the ski lift, ruined the Zangoose's notes, found more evidence of this dumbfuck of a Committee being run by incompetent fools... And now, Jesse is dead."

"I also found out that Darkwhite's killer, isn't alive. So either, one of us is still naughty, or they can kill us from wherever the fuck they end up when we vote them out."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

I also found out that Darkwhite's killer, isn't alive.

Abigail staggered. "Bu... But... The only one who's died since Darkwhite... Has been Jesse!"

Technically, Jesse had never told them what his power was. Just that it was... a power that could be detrimental to the innocent if used wrong. Oh. Oh no. Could it really be? No. That... That couldn't be. It didn't make sense!

 

[Fusion]

"I asked her before I even knew about Jesse's death..." Lee muttered. "I don't believe he killed her, but if we really need to ask one of them, then I will. If no one has anything they actually want to ask..."

 

[IFBench]

Gen stared at Jesse's open present. None of Tabitha's, Lee's or Abigail's words registered for him. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was agape.

Jesse was gone.

Drip, drop, drip, drop.

If he'd just chosen to protect Jesse and Abigail instead of selfishly protecting himself in addition to Abigail, Jesse would still be here.

Drip, drop, drip, drop.

He collapsed onto the floor, tears flowing rapidly, dampening the Reunion Cape he clutched onto tightly.

He had failed.

This was his fault.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Abigail decided that whatever shit Lee was on about was less important than Gen. She approached and pulled him into a hug. The poor guy... He'd been burdened with more responsibility that anyone could expect him to bear. "It's not your fault. You can't save everyone. Nobody expects that of you."

In that moment, she was glad she didn't have a Ralts' normal emotion sense. She'd probably be having a sensory overload right now.

 

[IFBench]

Even as Abigail tried to comfort him, pulling him into a hug, Gen didn't respond. He didn't say a word, or hug Abigail back. The tears continued to flow.

He didn't feel like he deserved the comfort.

 

[Chibi Pika]

There was a noticeable lilt to Palkia's movements the next morning. The perpetually angry, tired, and anxious fox man was gone, and the party was a lot worse off for it.

"I asked her before I even knew about Jesse's death..." Lee muttered. "I don't believe he killed her, but if we really need to ask one of them, then I will. If no one has anything they actually want to ask..."

"I don't believe Jesse had the power to eliminate guests," Palkia said simply. "When he said that his power was a liability if used wrong, my guess was that he had to power to block others from acting. The sort of thing that could interfere with protection or surveillance if poorly aimed. And for various reasons, I thought someone on the committee might have an affinity for the idea of giving a blocking power to the Nice team." The dragon didn't seem like it intended to elaborate on this potentially 4th-wall-breaking point.

"I don't particularly think anyone here is guilty though," Palkia went on, humming to itself as it slowly rotated in midair. "I had considered eliminating Tabitha last night, but thought better of it. At the very least it seemed right that he should get to explain his gift. But if guests are still being eliminated, then..."--the spatial one turned to face the TV, eyes flashing red--"how do we win?"

 

[Starlight Aurate]

His claws dug into the crouch, tearing through its fabric easily. Someone would have to have to fill that dog in, so why not him? One canine to another? Lee decided to keep his face buried in the couch, however. "You missed a lot. I don't care where to start, but Mia was naughty, we found out that there were other Pokemon here other than us, like that Zangoose that nearly froze to death, a Seviper with a lisp... that Rillaboom... We fixed the ski lift, ruined the Zangoose's notes, found more evidence of this dumbfuck of a Committee being run by incompetent fools... And now, Jesse is dead."

"I also found out that Darkwhite's killer, isn't alive. So either, one of us is still naughty, or they can kill us from wherever the fuck they end up when we vote them out."

"Ah... Thank you." Tabitha still had no idea what was happening but at this point he would try to roll with it.

But that last thing--

"Darkwhite's killer isn't alive? What does that mean? Is there someone else eliminating those of us here? Someone outside?"

I thought someone on the committee might have an affinity for the idea of giving a blocking power to the Nice team." The dragon didn't seem like it intended to elaborate on this potentially 4th-wall-breaking point.

"But can't the Oshawott do that? He said that he protected himself and the Ralts last night. And if you're going to break the fourth wall..."

Tabitha looks up at you. "Are you having fun watching this?"

Gen stared at Jesse's open present. None of Tabitha's, Lee's or Abigail's words registered for him. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was agape.

Jesse was gone.

Drip, drop, drip, drop.

If he'd just chosen to protect Jesse and Abigail instead of selfishly protecting himself in addition to Abigail, Jesse would still be here.

Drip, drop, drip, drop.

He collapsed onto the floor, tears flowing rapidly, dampening the Reunion Cape he clutched onto tightly.

He had failed.

This was his fault.

Tabitha looked at the little Oshawott nestled in the Ralts' arms, tears flowing from both their eyes.

"You're both kids--you'll have plenty more opportunities to experience this in the future."

Something within Tabitha stirred--perhaps because they were children? Was it watching innocence that he once knew--a long time ago--crumble away? Did he see something of himself in the small child break down as the lives of those around him were ripped away?

Perhaps--but there were more important matters to attend to.

"I don't particularly think anyone here is guilty though," Palkia went on, humming to itself as it slowly rotated in midair. "I had considered eliminating Tabitha last night, but thought better of it. At the very least it seemed right that he should get to explain his gift. But if guests are still being eliminated, then..."--the spatial one turned to face the TV, eyes flashing red--"how do we win?"

Tabitha shrugged. "I can't blame you. I was absent the previous day and had offered no help. My power prevents me from being eliminated at night. But I would be notified if my power had been activated. No one has targeted me--at least not yet. How do we win? Someone killed the Delphox last night. I think it's clear that whoever killed him must be found out and eliminated. Unless what Lee said holds true for this--if Darkwhite's killer isn't alive, then is it possible that whoever killed Jesse also isn't alive?"

 

[Fusion]

Lee fell from the couch into a void of shadow, retreating to the solace of his room. His body burned with silent fury. His chest ached. His knees were weak, and his arms were heavy. And nobody needed to know about.

He leaned against his gifted door, the wretched object that was more trouble than it was worth. A long, tired sighed left the wolf as he shut his eyes to rest. Too much was going on, and while normally he could have handled this without any issue, all of the wrong things happened just to get under his skin.

"What the fuck even happened..?" Lee muttered, holding his head. "Me, a monster, reduced to a mess of... emotion. If I had a stomach I'd have thrown up at the thought..."

Suddenly... there was a knock. For a moment, Lee thought he had fully lost it, until the knock came again. It was from the door. He stood and pressed his ear against, but heard nothing. Instead, funnily enough, a slip of paper slid from beneath it. "What in the..?"

To Whom it May Concern:

It would seem that there was a bit of confusion the night prior, the one you had asked was more focused on other things to answer properly. Something regarding the cowboy that showed up. Cowfox? Foxboy. The dad one.

And so, after prying one victim off of another, we have gathered the proper information for you and your investigation. The one who killed Darkwhite is still among the living.

"..." Lee had to read the note several times over to make sure he wasn't fucking blind. He was given the wrong answer. Everyone almost suspected Jesse for this, which was a relief. He was about to crumple up the note when it suddenly extended.

Also, as compensation for this little fiasco, we've listed a few different rewards, please shout out the one you want, and we will deliver it to you post haste:

A Fancy Party Hat

Some quality time with Jesse

The Answer to what you are even supposed to be doing anymore

Taco Tuesday extended to Friday

Lee managed to put on a smile, things were finally going to turn for a better! If he played his cards right, he could leave this place for better off than he came! Or even get out sooner so this nightmare can finally fucking end! Or get a hat! Unfortunately, Lee's mouth spoke before he gave himself the time to think the options over. "Some quality time with Jesse!" he blurted out.

Thank god no one could hear him...

Congratulations! You can ask Jesse one question.

"Fuck..." Lee sighed. There goes that hat... "Well, uh, Jesse... is your killer still alive?"

...

We're sorry, but the answer to that is... complicated. And you've run out of time, this has gone on longer than it needed to. Have a nice day!

"...You son of a BITCH!" Lee tore the paper into bits, but they reformed in his paws. This went on for several minutes until the wolf simply passed out. Defeated, his ghost left his body and rejoined the others, dragging his lifeless body behind him.

"I got bad news. Or... good news? I have news, and I don't fucking like it," Ghost Lee sighed. He went on to explain everything, showing the note to the others as proof.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Abigail nodded. "Figures. Otherwise it would've had to be Jesse."

Now the question was... Who? Whoever was left could clearly fool the Lens of Nia, which meant she could no longer trust anyone but... One or two of the people here.

 

[Fusion]

Ghost Lee mulled it over for a good while, he already had his suspicions on a few people, but some of those were already dead. He was so lost in thought, he hadn't realized his body rose from the dead and disappeared.

"It could be any one of us. It could be you, it could be ME, hell, I'd be willing to bet this was all some elaborate game set up by Elbert Caine," Ghost Lee hissed. "The killer is still Among Us, and with so few of us, it should be easy to narrow it down, right? Bloody hell..."

Lee's corpse returned, groaning. It swiped at Ghost Lee and swallowed the spirit, bringing old life back into the wolf. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, feeling as if he had just woken up. He had found his answer. Rage started to boil up in Lee, but he quelled it fairly well. The only signs of it present on him was the corners of his mouth trying to form a snarl, and how tightly he clenched his fists.

"I know who it is," Lee said, growling. "And it is taking all I have not to rip them to shreds where they stand."

"I feel like a dumbass for voting for that fat, dead bastard now... I wasted so much fucking time with that... And again when I tried to ask him something. I've been a fool!" Lee barked, crossing his arms. "But, I can make amends for that now. We can get this bastard out of here before any more of us die. I will admit, they had all of us fooled for a such a long time, but with how few of us there are now, and how many of us we know for certain are nice... There's really only one option left."

"Isn't that right... Tabitha?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Palkia clapped its claws together. "The Mightyena has a gift of invulnerability! Excellent, that helps quite a lot. That sort of gift... it'd be rather useful for either Naughty or Nice, wouldn't you say? But generally... if the last one standing on the Naughty team has that gift, they'd usually forfeit it for the power to eliminate others. Or so it goes in other games! This really is a very unusual party."

The spatial dragon idly munched on some leftover tacos as it pondered. "So if someone were to, say try to eliminate you, one of two things would happen. One, you're on the Nice team, your gift gets used up, and you'd be informed of it the next time you set foot in your room. No harm, no foul! Or two..."--Palkia's face split into a grin, eyes flashing red--"you're on the Naughty team, you get eliminated, and the Nice team wins."

 

[Fusion]

"I wonder if that gift'll kick in once if I hit him hard enough," Lee snarled. "If nobody wants to stop me, I'd gladly find out."

 

[IFBench]

After a few minutes, Gen decided to finally give in and hug Abigail back.

 

[Fusion]

Lee crossed his arms, gripping his arms tightly. He walked over to the Wii, glaring at the console. "Console, know that I am voting for Tabitha," he said. It didn't matter if it was on or not, he knew it heard him.

 

[Chibi Pika]

"Well! That wasn't how I expected that to work."

 

[Tanuki]

So that's how things were. Well, rules were rules. And it seemed, for one dragon at least, that it was time for the party to end. It had spent far too long in this distorted realm anyway. And with so few guests remaining, it had begun to grow bored.

"Sorry to leave on such short notice!" Palkia exclaimed cheerfully as it cradled the black present in its claws, seeming completely oblivious to the way everyone else was gaping in horror. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of fun without me, though. Keep your spirits up, won't you?"

It pulled the ribbon loose.

The spatial lord's body flashed with a piercing magenta light. The flesh, scales, and bone comprising its physical vessel began unraveling into countless glowing threads, dissolving into nothingness. Two eyes, burning red, were the last thing visible, still floating where its grinning face had been. Then, they too vanished in a wisp of smoke.

s͖̅᷆ t̵᷿̒͗̑ a̤͊ͅ ỵ̬͞ ͏͓̏̓ p᷁ͣ͟ o͎ͨ͘ ṣ̤̂ iͣͧ͠ t̸͔͘ ï̋͠ v̜᷾̾ e᷊ͮ͡

The box fell to the floor with a heavy thud. Inside was a strange, futuristic-looking microwave. Within its chamber, a plate of tacos materialized from thin air.

 

[IFBench]

Gen screamed.