I determined while writing this chapter that, before I killed Carl, I'm going to make you hate him.

Their first day at Beacon was spent exploring the school, trying to find any sign of a way out. None were found in the end, but at the very least they had managed to find some useful rooms. They split into groups of three, with the exception of Carl, saying he would rather not have people who might try to kill him following him around everywhere, and the Malachite sisters, preferring to go off together.

Jaune, along with Weiss and Dove, had found a series of corridors lined with doors, each of which led to a bedroom. Pyrrha stayed in the gym with Ruby, watching over her, while Russel poked around in the sports equipment. Nora, Cardin, and Blake were in the kitchen, thoroughly amazed by the array of foods available to them. Ren, Sky, and Velvet had found some stairs leading to an upper floor, but there was a gate blocking the way.

Velvet called the boys back just as they were about to leave. "There's someone on the other side!"

Ren and Sky walked up to the gate and peered through, listening for any sounds. The lights on the stairs had been turned off, but what they saw was unmistakable. Walking down the stairs from the floors above was a dark figure with a large bulbous head. As they stepped closer, moving slowly in a trance-like march, the three students could make out that the huge bulk of a head was in fact the familiar bear-shaped mask. Deadb3ar walked right past them like they weren't even there, turning to go further downstairs.

Ren called after the bear-headed headmaster. "Why are these gates here?"

Deadb3ar turned just as he was taking the first step down, distracted by the question. His foot slipped and he tumbled down the stairs, falling head over heels until he hit the landing at the bottom. It was dark, so they couldn't see very well, but it looked like the bear mask had fallen off.

Velvet cringed at the sound of the crash. "A-are you okay?"

The person at the bottom of the stairs stood up slowly, no longer wearing the bear face to hide their own. They turned to glance back up the stairs, causing all three students to gasp in shock. They couldn't be sure because it was so dark, but it looked like the face of a young woman. Whoever it was, they grabbed the bear mask and disappeared around the corner. The three of them backed away from the gate, unsure how to react.

Jaune and Dove leaned back against the wall opposite a bedroom door, not actually listening as Weiss spieled on about how to unlock the doors. She had already figured out that each student's individual scroll would unlock only their own bedroom, but she was still talking ten minutes later. Jaune was almost wondering if she had said anything of interest since she started. Almost.

Weiss, on the other hand, was fully aware that they had stopped listening. "…and no one can get into your room at night in order to murder you, an added bonus. Then there's these little images on the door, telling us which room belongs to which student. While I find the crude representation of me to be irritatingly unflattering, I think most of the others do their job quite well." She paused for a mere second before continuing in the exact same tone. I swear, I could start swearing and rapping, stripping, or even stabbing you idiots and you wouldn't notice."

The boys shook themselves back to attention. Jaune looked up at her. "Okay, I think I got it, but just in case, you should say everything again."

Weiss groaned in frustration. "I hope you both realize I could have killed you just now."

They exchanged worried looks, then turned back to her. Dove stayed quiet and let Jaune speak for both of them. "Not the encourage that sort of thing, but… why didn't you?"

Weiss just glared at him. "I'm honestly not sure." She put away her scroll and started walking away. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I came to Beacon to learn to fight monsters and protect Humans. Murdering my fellow students? Ha! It doesn't matter if you're worthy of this school or not, but killing you would be contrary to my objectives. Counterproductive, I tell you!"

Dove spoke up briefly. "So you're saying you won't kill anyone?"

Weiss turned around, glaring icicles at them. "Yes. That's what I'm saying. I would never kill another person in my life, and you can count on that." She started to leave again, but added one last piece. "But anyone who attacks me will wish I would have killed them."

She walked off, and they followed at a distance. Jaune looked to Dove and whispered quietly. "What about you?"

Dove nodded. "The headmaster wants us to kill each other. That's bunk. No one here is that stupid."

Weiss' voice came from ahead of them, lower and softer that earlier. "We can only hope so, but most of us can only speak for ourselves. I don't trust anyone, and if you're smart you will do the same."

"Maybe you shouldn't start by gorging yourself. You'll be an easy target once you're fat and immobile."

Nora ignored Blake and stuffed another slice of cake into her mouth, savoring the delightful taste of coconut and lemon. She spoke around a full mouth. "You're just jealous." She reached over and grabbed a large glass of milk, drinking down half the glass in one gulp. There were two gulps.

Blake shook her head. "Jealousy doesn't even begin to describe how I feel."

On the other side of the table from Nora, Cardin was sorting out an actually rounded meal for himself. He had a small bowl of salad at the side of his plate, but he was working on the main course. What Blake guess was half a whole chicken dominated the spread, surrounded by various vegetables, mashed potatoes, and a small wheel of cheese.

Blake just stood and watched the two eat to their hearts' desires. "I don't think it's a good idea to be eating so much so soon. We probably have limited resources in here."

Nora shook her head. "Have you read your scroll, Blake? There's one section in there that explains that all the food is resupplied overnight. We could live here for years!"

Cardin filled a cup out of a bottle of fruit punch. "Right! So I say here's to five peaceful years right here in Beacon."

Nora lifted her glass of milk after refilling it, and the two drinks clinked together. "Here here!" She drank the whole glass again and looked to Blake, ignoring the white outline around her mouth. "Blake, mind if I ask you a question?"

Blake sighed and sat down. "As long as it's not about the bow."

Nora seemed lost for a moment, staring at the large black ribbon on Blake's head. She shrugged. "I was wondering about that too, but I figure it's your business what goes on your head. No, I was just wondering how seriously you took the headmaster when he said we had to kill each other to escape."

Blake was silent for a moment, allowing Cardin to interrupt. "He says we have to kill each other to graduate. Seeing as we came here to learn how to protect people, we would actually be utterly failing our goal by killing someone. I didn't come here to fail. Plus, he never guaranteed he wouldn't kill us as soon as we graduated."

Nora nodded in agreement. "That's great, but I asked her."

Blake leaned back in her seat, thinking about their situation. Eventually, she stood up and headed for the door. "I don't see any reason to right now… but I can't make any promises." Then she left.

"So can I trust you?"

Russel stood with his arms crossed, looking like he was considering Pyrrha's offer. Eventually, he nodded. "Well, yes. I mean, I can't speak for anyone who attacks me, but I won't go around looking for someone to kill. This whole situation is ridiculous. I think we should just wait it out."

Pyrrha let out the breath she'd been holding. "Alright, that's all I ask." She looked back down to Ruby. The smaller girl was huddled in a ball, looking like she had gone to sleep. "I just want to keep her safe. I met her sister briefly before all this happened. I know it's a tenuous connection, but I feel responsible for her. At least until we rescue Yang."

Russel was quiet for a moment before he smiled and laughed. "Good luck then." He stepped forward and shook Ruby awake, ignoring Pyrrha's glare digging into his head. Ruby opened her eyes and looked up at him. He just smiled. "I thought I should let you know before you turn up dead that she's probably just trying to get close to you so she can take you out. She's a bit too obvious."

Pyrrha gasped and shoved him away. "Shut your mouth, you…" She cut herself off and stood up, grabbing Russel and dragging him out of the gym. Once out in the hall, she threw him down and closed the door behind her. "You stay away from her, you… you… dammit, don't touch her again!"

A kick to his stomach kept him down long enough for her to close the gym door, leaving him in the hall alone. He struggled to his feet, completely out of breath, and shook his head. "Yeah… called it."

Melanie knelt down in front of a cooler, looking in at the rows and rows of bags of blood. She grimaced, thinking of how these might be used improperly. Miltia was behind her, sorting through shelves of medicines. They had found what appeared to be the nurse's office. There were only three beds, which looked woefully inadequate for a school like Beacon.

Miltia picked up a bottle of pills. "I remember being taught not to consume anything you couldn't pronounce. This room is a nightmare waiting to happen. Especially in the hands of someone…" She trailed off, lowering her voice to barely above a whisper. "Someone preparing the food."

Melanie caught her sister's point. She stood up and headed for the door. "Let's head back. It's about time to report our findings."

Her twin nodded, following her out into the hall.

As they had all agreed, the fifteen students gathered in the dining hall when it was time for supper. They discussed their predicament, most of them ignoring what little food was set out. The general mood was depressed and angry. Most of the students sat at a large rectangle-shaped table at the center of the room.

Pyrrha, Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Ruby were seated at one of the outlying smaller circular tables, reporting on how trustworthy the others were. Jaune looked at the other table, counting out all ten of their fellow students. He turned back to his companions.

"Well, nobody's dead yet. That's a good sign, right?"

Pyrrha glared over at the other table. "Russel probably won't go after anyone directly, but I think he means to turn us all against each other."

Ruby shook her head. "Nah, I don't like him." Pyrrha had figured as much, seeing as Ruby had cheered up almost instantly after he was thrown out of the gym.

Pyrrha looked over at Jaune. "What about Dove and Weiss?"

Jaune shrugged. "He thinks none of us are stupid enough to fall into this. Weiss was kind of angry when I asked her, but I think she said it was beneath her or something like that. She said she won't kill anyone, but it sounded like extreme bodily harm wasn't out of the question."

Nora watched the other table carefully. Russel and Cardin were pushing Velvet around. "I think Cardin is a bully… but he said killing people was stupid because we came to Beacon to learn to protect people. So he's a mean jerk, but we should be able to trust him. Blake is… nicer, I guess. But when I asked her, she said 'no promises'. What does that mean?"

Pyrrha sighed. "That means she won't kill anyone without a reason… I hope. It would be nice if we knew what she considered a reason. What about your group, Ren?"

The dark-haired boy shook his head. "Didn't get a chance to ask. We found a staircase that was blocked off by a gate, though, and we saw the headmaster on the other side. He… well, actually, we think it's a she."

Nora and Ruby both gasped. Pyrrha leaned across the table and lowered her voice. "What makes you think so?"

Ren also leaned over the table, matching her volume. "They fell down the stairs. The bear head… thing fell off. We saw their face. It was dark, but it looked like a woman."

Their attention suddenly shifted to the other table where Carl was shooing Cardin and Russel's hands away from Velvet. "Oh, leave her alone already. She's just a confused little girl."

From the other side of the table, Weiss excused their actions. "They can let off a little steam at her expense if it keeps them all calmed. She is a Faunus, after all."

Blake was about to snap at Weiss when Carl laughed loudly. "Wait, what? These are real?" He poked at her ears mockingly, causing her to flinch. "I thought she found the drama room's costumes."

Everyone in the room was shocked to see the next moment when he grabbed her by the ears and pulled her out of her seat. Before anyone else could react, Blake leaped across the table and pounced on him, shoving him to the ground. She squeezed her hand around his throat and growled. "You leave her alone, you fiend!"

He just grinned wickedly, and watched as Velvet rushed out of the room. "Oh, come on. We all know she'll be the first to go. I'm just trying to get my fair share of fun in before she's not here anymore."

Blake practically screamed at him. "You bastard!" She lifted him up and slammed him back into the floor. He just laughed back at her.

Pyrrha ran around the table as Blake stood up, stopping just out of her reach. "Blake, that's enough!"

Blake's yellow eyes burned at Pyrrha, rage welling up in them. "No, it's not enough. He needs to learn a lesson." She reached up over her shoulder and pulled her weapon off her back, angling its wide blade at Carl. He just continued on grinning at her. "Treating your fellow students here at Beacon the way you just did will not be tolerated." She looked back at everyone else as they stared back in shock. "That goes for each and every one of you."

Blake raised Gambol Shroud and slashed down at Carl.

The movement was so fast that no one realized it had happened until it was too late. Blake looked down at Carl's still smiling face, then took a step back. "What…" She looked over at Pyrrha, seeing the shock on her face. Blake took another step back, slowly coming to understand what had just happened. "Uh… shit."

Then Blake collapsed, crashing onto the table and sliding down to the floor, Gambol Shroud sticking up out of her midsection.

Author's Note: So... who do you hate more? Me or Carl? And who do you think will be the first murderer and the first victim?