Crested

'They drug the unsatiable beast into the cold, overwhelming, darkness, showing no mercy as they headed towards what seemed as though it was the beginning of a new eternity. But what they didn't know was that it would reawaken.'

"Ugh, you always keep me waiting! What's with you?"

I stared at the familiar girl robloxian, she of whom i'd known for years now. Today she was outfitted in a cardigan with boots and a miniskirt. I'd always call her June because her username was Starstruck_June, and i'd always make fun of her little ticks, such as how she can't keep the same hair on for one day. I sighed before I walked over to her and sat on the bench. The bench was our safe spot and our hangout spot, so we'd always meet there when one of us messaged the other.

"What's up today, Junie?"

June always hated that nickname, so, of course, i'd use it! It was hilarious to watch her react every time I used that nickname.

"Grrr....that's not my name! But that's not the point. I'm a bit nervous which is why..."

before June could finish her sentence, I completed her thought.

"You haven't changed your hair."

June gave me a small nod as she continued. I could tell that she was very serious today, so I figured i'd stop teasing her for a while. "

You know Alli?"

I nodded at her to provide her with confirmation as she winced a little.

"Well...I found this note."

June seemed as though she'd be choking on tears right now. She unequipped the note, dropping it so that I could pick it up. Once i'd snagged the note, I examined it a little. The text was too small to see, so I zoomed in. The world around our bench felt as though it was crumbling as I read the words on the plastic letter.

"June-- A lovely name of summer. Though it certainly reminds me of the wilting flowers of spring throughout the transition."

If I could be sweating right now, I most definitely would be. I don't like where this is going at all. I continued to scan the note as June's tension increased.

"Telling yourself lies won't work forever when you most certainly know the truth. Oh, that's right, you should ask Alli if you need confirmation that badly."

my eyes hovered down to the small square that was attached to the note. It was a photograph of some sort, and it looked as though it was hastily placed on the note. June's tension reached its peak as she jumped up from the bench, leaving me behind.

"I'm sorry, I just can't do this right now! I need some time alone."

before I could protest June was out of the game, and the photograph of a heavily tortured Alli behind numerous glitches didn't help. But that's not even the worst I saw. At the bottom of the note was another tiny photo, only it was a photo of June's recently played games. Only June could access those, so I knew something was most definitely wrong. I didn't want to believe it when my eyes scanned the last part of the note, but somehow I could.

''"You're next. Signed, the Scourge." ''

Weeks passed by, and yet, the event remained stuck within my mind. I hadn't talked to June ever since that day because she'd been ignoring everyone and enclosing herself in various private games she'd created. I was about to go to the games section to play some of my favorite games in attempt to forget about the whole ordeal when ROBLOX+ notified me of a message. I'm a bit of a neat freak when it comes to messages, so I read any new messages the instance I get them. I clicked on the notification before it could disappear, waiting for the redirection to my inbox. Upon being directed there, I saw three new messages. The newest message had a really weird title, so it caught my eye before the other two messages. I clicked on it and looked over the contents.

"Congratulations, user! You have been selected to join a special gameshow."

i'd seen these kinds of messages before, so I decided i'd just go and read my other two messages since this one was spam. Just as I was about to click out of the message, the message screen started buzzing and shaking. It would glitch out once, then twice, and it wouldn't stop shaking. Somehow, I felt like i'd seen this happen before. Just as I felt myself starting to take on a splitting headache, the message finally came to a halt, only it was different. I read over it again and again.

"Congratulations, user! You have been selected to join a special gameshow. Rejection and denial will result in utmost termination and this message being passed on to another user whom is so lucky just as yourself."

I felt a shiver creep down my spine as I continued to examine the message further.

"Scourge has hand-picked users to compete in this gameshow! The rules follow below if you're willing to accept this invitation."

I rubbed my head. I knew accepting was the only wise decision, so I proceeded to read onwards.

"You and nine other contestants have been selected for this special gameshow. The gameshow will only air on certain television channels in certain homes of ROBLOXians. The final objective of this game is to figure out who Scourge is and to decipher how to put an end to his actions. Hints will be provided and there's no rules to tie you down. Once you think you know who Scourge is, you must discuss it with others and attempt to gain their trust so they'll vote with you rather than against you. Finally, be careful. You never know what could happen!"

the link to the game was attached below all the rules. I could feel my head pounding as I reviewed everything. Besides...what if June was one of the users that were selected? The thought alone made me shiver as I collected myself. I gave myself some time to cool down and I faced my fate, clicking the link and hoping for the best.

"Hey! You're finally up!"

I jumped as a random user called out to me. It all came back to me in flashes as I remembered what had happened in the past twenty four hours, and then I looked around me. Eight users were nearby all doing their own things as they looked unfazed by my sudden appearance. They were all wearing a white outfit, much like mine, although I couldn't recall when I changed my clothing. The cheery user continued to talk to me again.

"Here, take a look around. By the way, we all got that message so you aren't alone."

the user helped me up as I got a good look at where we were. It was a tiny room with white padding all over, aside from the big black TV screen in front of all of us. I felt my eyes dilate a bit as I looked back at the cheerful user in front of me.

"A voice called out to us a few minutes ago. It said that meals, drinks, personal necessities, and a place to sleep would be assigned shortly. Also said that today we don't have to worry because the gameshow starts tomorrow night."

I wanted to tell him thanks but I couldn't. My body wouldn't move and the words wouldn't form properly. After we all were silent for a while he finally introduced himself and the others.

"Ah, by the way, my assigned name is Shine. We all have a bracelet with an assigned name on our wrist, that way we don't give out our usernames and be put at the risk of major problems."

Shine smiled as he flashed his wrist at me by jumping. I glanced down at my wrist as he continued.

"The girl behind me is Luna. The boy standing against the left padded wall is Silence. The boy in front of the TV is Fright, the girl standing against the right padded wall is Scream, the girl in the corner is Scar, and the boy standing next to me is Piranha."

I finally found the words to talk after the long introductions.

"Nice to meet all of you...however...didn't you forget someone?"

my eyes hovered over to a boy who was chanting over and over in the corner.

"Ah, yes. That guy's not really important. We hardly caught his name. Apparently it's Delusion."

Shine looked at the boy and turned back to me, closing in on me a little.

"He's kinda crazy. Don't mind him."

I tried to provide them all with a grin but it came out looking more like an uncertain smile.

"Nice to meet you all, once again. I'm,"

I had to pause to look at lettering carved into my wrist.

"I'm Dream."

I didn't expect it but at once they all chanted the same thing.

"Welcome, Dream! We look forwards to playing the game with you."

Once introductions were over, an unidentified ROBLOXian appeared on the TV screen and a shrill noise pierced through our ears before the ROBLOXian cleared their throat with a distorted voice.

"I see you've all met one another. Now, then. It'd be best if you all go to your rooms for the night to get some rest. I'm sure you've all had a very long and tiring day to venture here. If you need anything, just use the bell button in your room. Ciao!"

with a flash, the screen turned off and the figure was gone. At the exact same time the padded walls started moving upwards and Silence and Scream nearly fell over. Behind the set of padded walls was padded rooms with  labels on each room corresponding to our names. We all looked at each other one last time before we set off into our rooms after saying our goodnights.

''She's getting further. I try to reach her but I fail and stumble on my blocky legs. In a flash she's gone and I see only black.''

I woke up in a rush. I felt my heart beating as I checked on the game. Surprisingly it hadn't shut down despite the amount of time it had been open. I  jumped so i'd get off of the white padded bed and rise to my feet. I was going to call for breakfast, but all of a sudden ruckus and utter chaos ensued and screams of fear grasped my attention. It was at that moment that I realized my door was open, and I quickly scurried out of my room. Everyone was crowded around a chair. I couldn't see, but it looked like some sort of electrical shock chair that was used as an old method of torture. Once a few people noticed me, they moved back so that I could see the scene for myself. I'd recognize the scarlet hair from a mile away even if it had been restyled or recolored. Those big brown eyes with perfect lashes and those pink lips that always gave me goofy grins. Even the angry brows that furrowed when I said the name Junie. It couldn't be real. It just...couldn't. I fell to the floor as the users around me gasped but I could care less.In an instant the TV flicked on and that booming voice hovered over us.

"Well, it seems we couldn't restrain them. I forgot to tell you, one extra person clicked on the link by the time we'd already had all the contestants we needed."

the sinister person gave a chuckle as they continued.

"The person must have not had enough patience to get the game started at midnight. Thus meaning the game begins now! Two of you are permitted to examine the crime scene. You will discuss who will investigate and then meet up after investigations to discuss who did it. Good luck!"

the screen flicked off and we all shared the same expression. Filled with despair, apart from Shine, whom tried to keep a positive outlook on things. Luna eventually spoke up after everyone collected themselves somehow.

"I forgot to tell all of you. I'm an insomniac. I saw someone creeping out of their room last night; the figure was manly."

Silence spoke up a bit. We could hardly hear him so we had to drop our noise level as low as it would go.

"How would we know to  believe you? Anyone can say anything to gain trust."

I could tell that we all stiffened up at that, as Luna shot Silence a glare.

"You have no reason not to at this point. It's too early to jump to conclusions, anyways."

Luna turned to face all of us.

"Besides, didn't Delusion and Dream come out of their rooms the latest? That might give us some lead."

I felt myself drown in uneasiness. Scar chimed in once Luna was done speaking.

"I say we don't let Delusion or Dream do the investigation. If anyone, it should be Pirahna and Luna since they are the sharpest tools in the shed here."

Pirahna seemed to shy a little as Luna walked up to Scar.

"Then, it's settled. We're on investigation duty. The rest of you, shoo to your rooms."

A few grumbles resounded in the room but no one complained. After all, they knew Scar was correct.

I thought too much once I returned to my room. About June and everything that went on. But I didn't get enough time to think because the distorted voice echoed throughout my room.

"Investigation has ceased. Please return and converse."

I trudged out of my room, and to my surprise, the crime scene had been completely cleaned. Luna and Pirahna stood and awaited for us all to rejoice. Once we all were present Luna took the lead yet again.

"Apparently this person's name was Shock."

Pirahna moved around a bit in seemingly uneasy movements before chiming in.

"Wasn't the final cause of termination due to an electrical shock?"

a few noises went around the room as we all listened attentively when Luna continued.

"What if our names resemble how we'll be terminated?"

before any of us could comment the TV screen flashed yet again and the voice returned.

"Ah, bravo! You've deciphered one of his ways without even needing a hint. Well, aren't you a sharp bunch! Even the last group didn't make this much progress in such a short amount of time!"

I could tell that anger was filling the atmosphere.

"Just for that, you get a clue. Take care!"

A piece of paper fell from the room, so naturally, we all rushed to try and grab it first. Fright was the one who snagged it, so he read off the hint.

"Five of us remain awake after dark. I am one of those five."

glances and looks of uncertainty were exchanged as Shine finally spoke up for the first time after being so silent.

"I say we pair up. Two to a room, with the exception of one room containing three. We all try to stay awake to see who acts suspicious. We barricade the rooms and put them in a mode of lockdown."

cheers of approval resounded throughout the room, and to our surprise, Delusion was the one who spoke.

"Closet...garment....alarm clock...fire...burning...BURNING!!! Bad idea..."

we all winced a little upon the scream of Delusion but we started to discuss things a bit. Fright spoke up this time.

"Hmm, how about this. If Delusion is talking about closets and garments and alarm clocks, how about we make sure we lock our alarms in our closets and barricade our closets as well before we go through with this?"

yet again, sounds of approval entered the room.

"Well then, looks like that's what we're doing."

By the time our closets and doors were locked and our roommates were selected, the clock had struck ten. I was paired up with Luna and Shine, so we were the triple pair. We started playing board games that we'd summoned earlier and eating snacks to stay awake, though it probably wouldn't help much. Eleven was the time that Luna passed out, though I suppose it makes sense since Luna's quite the leader. Shine and I were both able to stay up until eleven thirty, but Shine passed out a few seconds before I did. I wondered what was going on in the other rooms as I drifted off into my silent slumber.

I awoke to Shine shaking me, yelling in a seemingly anxious tone.

"Wake up...oh god wake up!!"

I rose from the floor and Shine seemed a bit relieved as he spoke.

"Oh thank god...i'm so glad you weren't one of them..."

I quickly went to the method of questioning.

"One of them...? Oh no, don't tell me..."

before I could finish my thought Shine lead me to Scar's room. Scar was laying motionless on the floor next to Fright. Fright had a cloth wrapped around him, while Scar didn't seem to have any visible damage.

"I went to go wake everyone up so we all could go to the discussion session...they aren't the only ones I found."

Shine guided me to Pirahna's room, going behind me so that i'd know to enter first. Pirahna was nowhere in sight, however, his fish tank was dyed a velvet red color. What was even worse, though, was that Luna was covered in dust next to the tank. Shine produced a noise similar to that of a yelp in the chat as he turned away.

"That's four people...all gone in one day due to their dumb plan.."

it was very difficult to look at the scene so I guided Shine out to the main room, trying my best to comfort him. We were the last ones out this time, so I turned to Shine.

"Do they already know?"

Shine looked at me as the crowd looked uneasy. Just as I was about to speak, Delusion took over.

"Scar was terminated by gaining a scar. Luna became one with the moondust and was terminated in that way. Pirahna's fishies took over the termination jdugement. Fright was terrified to see his termination coming his way. Monsters...demons...angels...breakfast...brightly...feathered...bird...creature...never!!"

before any of us had a chance to talk to Delusion, he rushed into his room and locked the door. That left all of us alone in thought along with the distorted voice. Wait a moment, the distorted voice? How long has it been speaking...? No matter, I should probably listen.

"AHEM!"

a few of our remaining group members jumped in surprise at the voice we'd all been tuning out.

"I finally have your attention, it seems. Scourge has been gracious enough to give all of you another clue. Two of your group members have been hiding things, as they are able to decipher what's going to happen next. I won't tell whether they are deceased or not. Good luck!"

it hit all of us on the head like a brick as we reviewed what happened. That clue could give us everything. This time I was the one who spoke up.

"Didn't Delusion predict two of our deaths? Think about it."

the group seemed to consider my words and then Scream spoke up.

"Clothes are in closets...Scourge somehow unlocked the closets that we'd all locked and put our alarms in. That means that one group would have had to fallen asleep very early if Scourge was able to set a wake up alarm. But...why wouldn't anyone else hear the alarm...and what does fire have to do with things?"

we were stumped as we examined everything over again. It all came to a halting screech as Shine spoke.

"Luna was in our room...but somehow, she was moved to Pirahna's room. Wasn't Delusion meant to be in Pirahna's room...?"

We all exchanged glances as we caught his gist at the same time, rushing to summon the weird and creepy distorted voice.

"We don't need investigations today. We want a trial with Delusion."

Delusion stood in front of us all, moving around and jumping anxiously as he rambled on. Silence spoke up in a surprisingly loud manner for once. "Delusion. You're Scourge, aren't you?" Delusion stopped jumping and walked straight up to Silence. He then proceeded to yell various things.

"Tricked...uncertain...feathers...back...bird...creature...MONSTER! IT'S A MONSTER! IT'S JUST USING YOU ALL WHILE IT WAITS FOR ITS FINAL PAIR OF WINGS TO SPROUT!"

Silence took a step back as Delusion finally stopped talking and started speaking in a rather sad tone.

"You don't understand...it's been staged!"

a noise similar to a whimper came from Delusion, but we all held our ground. Shine started to nervously speak up a bit.

"Aha, Delusion said something about wings. Wasn't there two people who have been hearing things but not telling us? Maybe we should check our backs for feathers and wings..."

Scream yelled over Shine as his message faded out.

"Bull! We're not falling for that after he got lucky predicting two deaths. We're terminating him right now!"

the distorted voice came on over the TV yet again.

"Vote. Delusion's delusions will get to him and that will be his termination. You will witness it on the TV screen if you vote him guilty of being Scourge."

we all looked at each other. I felt my hand shaking as I clicked the pixelated option and my user checked the guilty box. Once some time passed, the votes were tallied and the voice told us the results.

"We shall now learn your opinions. Who voted what will be kept confidential."

we all turned towards the screen as Delusion remained facing towards us, rambling faster than ever.

"Guilty....farewell....him....him...bird...back...feathers...sprouted....June."

I felt rage boil inside of me at the last thing he mentioned.

"Don't you ever mention June, you crazy little--!"

I was cut off by the voice clearing its throat.

"Shall we continue?"

I backed down, apologizing as the voice continued reading off votes.

"Vote one....guilty. Vote two...innocent. Vote three,"

Delusion seemed to cheer up a bit at vote two as the voice continued.

"...Guilty. Vote four.....guilty. Sorry Delusion, looks like your time is up."

Delusion turned to all of us as he started pixelating into the screen. He spammed the chat with things like "Staged" and "Feathers" until he was gone. All we could do was watch as he got terminated.

Shine looked at all of us once again after the terror was over. His face was down as he walked over to Scream, placing one pixelated hand on her back. Scream...well, she screamed and jumped away. Shine's speaking format had become groggy and unclear, but we were able to make out one sentence he said as he mumbled.

"Scream's not Scourge. I know who it is."

Shine's POV::: I had been sleuthing around all this time, it's surprising that Scourge wasn't stealthy enough. What's even more surprising is that he didn't take notice of me while I pretended to be asleep. Delusion had been talking to me about Scourge for a while. He said he'd be willing to act as a sacrifice to see if our theory was correct. We had a plan, and I didn't expect it to work, but it did. So now what? Do I tell everyone I was going behind their backs and plotting with the nutcase? Well, it's the only thing I can do. If Scourge reacts according to plan, we'll all be able to live our lives how we want without any concerns. I just didn't want to have to play things out in this matter. Oh, yeah, everyone is waiting for me to tell them who Scourge really is. Well...I guess it's finally time. I really hope I don't have to use that back up plan...

"You."

I pointed a finger at Dream, whom was now standing in front of the TV in place of Delusion. Everyone had turned to face me and their attention didn't falter until Dream spoke.

"Wait...Shine? What's going on?"

I started to walk towards Dream as everyone backed away from me.

"You're Scourge. I didn't want to believe it but I had a plan."

Dream turned away, talking powerlessly within the chat.

"I don't know why you'd think it's me...how?"

I turned to our group, they were in awe as I kept talking. It seemed they wanted to know my plan so I figured it was the right time to tell them.

"I went behind your back with Delusion. He sacrificed himself because he knew it was the only way. Delusion and you are the only ones who could see things before they actually happened. He told me that you were planning to eliminate me and him next if we didn't take care of things at the trial properly."

I paused to collect myself before proceeding.

"Delusion said that sometimes his delusions misinform him, but if there's a name or a cause of termination he wants to get out, he can really do it. He said he'd focus before being terminated to find out who was behind this. He told me that if it looks like he says your name, then his theory is correct. He wasn't alseep during the time we locked ourselves in our rooms. Nor was I."

I could tell that Dream was very tense but he became joyous fast.

"You two are the real smart ones here. Shoulda' gotcha on day one. I knew this was going to happen, but nonetheless, I chose to believe that midnight girl and fish boy were the ones whom held real knowledge."

Dream started to hover, reaching greater heights in the air as we all started feeling uneasy.

"Let me properly introduce myself, then. My name is Dream. I am better known as Scourge. Can anyone guess why?"

Silence yelled instead of being quiet, which had me somewhat concerned.

"Shine...look out...LOOK OUT!"

I jumped just in time, for Dream had a pair of firey wings that had sprouted from his back. I saw that one coming thanks to Delusion.

"We played your game and we figured out who you are. Now, be terminated and let us go!"

Scream was screaming louder than ever before as Dream...no, Scourge, tried to terminate her using his wings. It bugged me because he was going against his policies.

"The termination method should be as said on the bracelet. Scream shouldn't be terminated by your firey wings."

Scourge gave a chuckle as he flew near me.

"Ah, that's right. Then you should be terminated by my wings!"

I screamed in the chat as the scorching flames touched my body, yelling for Fright. "Now, Fright!" but before I could see whether we'd succeeded or not, my computer screen came to a dark black.

Fright's POV:::: Scream seemed as though she was crying from Shine's disappearance. I couldn't worry about that though because I only had a certain amount of time to do what I had to after cutting off Scourge's wings with a special tool. I secretly called in to ask for a tool that allowed me to drag ROBLOXians earlier, since I was informed of the plan on short notice. I was hoping I wouldn't have to put it to use but I did.

"I have to be quick, sorry!"

I quickly drug Scourge through the darkness, which was accompanied by the cold floors of Shine's room. and dropped him underneath a lamp that Delusion had set up. I turned it on and off three times and dashed to splash the water on Scourge. The instant the water collided with Scourge's body I knew that we had won the gameshow.

"Congratulations! You have won the gameshow. You are free to leave the game now."

relief was the only emotion that filled us.

"I'm never playing that game again."

Scream said happily as we all agreed. Silence spoke up cheerfully as we conversed.

"We should exchange usernames and be friends in case this ever happens again. We make a great group, even if we're just friends!"

I didn't want to but I had to agree after what i'd seen. Everyone had surprised me with how much knowledge they'd gained and the progress they'd made on the game as we all exchanged experiences.

"Alright, let's exchange usernames before we leave!"

after the exchange occurred, each was left to their own with the feeling of security and a more profound sense of knowledge. We all set off into what looked to be a bright new beginning.

 ???'s POV:::: 'The end is just the beginning, as they say. Ah, they certainly did forget about myself, the sidekick whom is left in the dust. Woe is me! Me is woe! But alas, don't worry my beloved group, we'll meet again soon.'