"You should have stayed in your room, Russel."

Looking up, Russel realized he was no longer facing Ruby. The large weapon poised to strike at him was a hammer, clutched in Nora's eager hands. She grinned madly at him, laughing quietly to herself. Russel scrambled backwards, trying to get as far away from the obviously insane girl as he could.

Nora jumped forward, hammer raised. "Where you going? I'm not gonna kill you. Just want to break your legs a bit. You deserve it, chasing poor Ruby around like that."

Down the hallway behind Nora, Pyrrha turned the corner. Nora was already in the process of swinging her hammer, so Pyrrha had little time to react. She ran forwards, her spear in hand. "Nora!"

When Nora turned, Pyrrha closed the distance with her spear raised in front of her. A second later, Magnhild fell to the ground. Pyrrha stepped back, letting go of her weapon. Nora stumbled back as well, holding on to the spear sticking out of her. With a grunt, she pulled it out of herself and dropped it, then collapsed.

Pyrrha stood in silent shock, eyes fixed on Nora. She didn't snap out of it until Russel grabbed her shoulder, whispering furiously. "Wake up! Snap out of it!"

Pyrrha shook herself back to reality. "I... oh god... what have I done?"

He knelt down beside Nora and rolled her onto her back. Nora coughed, sputtering blood onto her face. Russel stood and grabbed one of her arms, placing Pyrrha's hands around the other arm. "Help me get her into her room."

Nora's door was right beside them, so they didn't have to go far. She had come out of her room just as Ruby was running past and had brought her weapon with her to investigate. They dragged her into her room and propped her up against the wall.

Pyrrha stood up and backed away. "What do we do? We can't just leave her here."

Nora opened her eyes and looked up at Pyrrha. "Sorry... this was my mistake. I goofed up."

Pyrrha knelt down beside Nora, shaking her head and tearing up. "No, Nora, it was my fault. I jumped to a conclusion... oh god, are you in pain? Maybe... maybe if we get everyone, we can heal you with our auras?"

Nora stuck out her tongue. "Nah... it only worked for Blake cuz nothing important really got hit in her... I can feel something inside isn't all together anymore. Don't waste your time trying to save me right now. It won't work."

Russel stood up. "Hey, look, there's sorta a mess in the hall right now. You should go clean that up."

Pyrrha looked up at him. "What? Why me?"

"You made the mess. You clean it up." She just stared at him, and he realized she was in shock over what had just happened. "I'll keep her company. There's cleaner in the equipment closet in the gym, by the fight mats. It'll get blood out of the carpet."

Nora reached up to her mouth and wiped the blood off with her hand. "Ugh... Pyrrha, go do it. You need to occupy yourself with something right now."

Pyrrha didn't like it. She went anyway, but she didn't want to leave Nora lying there bleeding to death. On the other hand, she didn't want to stay in that room. She was supposed to be the one helping everyone to trust each other, and she was the first to break that trust. Nora had suddenly turned to taking it with such an astounding grace, Pyrrha couldn't imagine being able to do the same now.

Once Pyrrha was out the door, Russel knelt down beside Nora again. "I take it you've already guessed what happens now."

Nora nodded stiffly. "Get it over with."

He placed his hand over her heart, feeling it beating, and pulled his hand straight back. He knew how to do this. He knew he could do it. In a split second he drove his hand right at her heart, the impact stopping its beating. Nora slumped down against the wall, her eyes closing.

When Pyrrha returned, Russel was standing outside the room with the door closed behind him. He just shook his head, and that was all she needed. She fell to her knees and started crying. It wasn't until later, after she had pulled herself together and they cleaned the hall, that Russel promised her he wouldn't tell anyone. Several hours later, after dealing with a few other details, Carl arrived to make his mess in the room. By then, it was already time that everyone was waking up for the day. After cleaning himself up in his room, he would return just in time to see Blake and Ren discover the crime.

The last piece of the puzzle finally found its place when Russel walked out the door after Deadb3ar announced that the true murderer could now go free. The shocked silence continued around the room, completely uninterrupted.

When the door opened again, they filed out of the room silently. They had all had a brush with death in the truest sense of the term. As far as any of them could see, there was only one reason they were still alive. Weiss.

As such, the young heiress found herself suddenly being strangled by a hug from Ruby. "Gack! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Ruby jumped off and stepped back, fidgeting nervously. "Sorry! I'm sorry! It's just, uh... Thank you."

Weiss recoiled away from Ruby as if her words were hurtful. "Thank you? Why... what did I do?" She looked around at everyone else, suddenly noticing that they were all watching her.

Melanie stepped forward. "Weiss, I think we all owe you our lives."

Weiss wasn't used to this type of situation, and had no idea how to respond. "I... Wha... what do you mean? I didn't... I..."

Blake glared over at her. "Oh please. That undignified display of yours was a surprising success. Who would have guessed Deadb3ar would listen to you so readily?" Her sarcastic tone seeped through the words, turning it into an accusation.

Ruby stormed over to Blake. "Come on! She just convinced Deadb3ar not to kill all of us! Now you're suspecting her? What's wrong with you?"

Blake was about to shoot back with intent to harm when it dawned on her how suddenly it had turned around on her. Weiss had been accusing Ruby in the same way not so long ago, and now Ruby was defending Weiss from Blake's own accusations. The thought caused her next words to get caught in her throat.

The turn-around was not lost on Weiss, who managed to convince herself not to take advantage of it and accuse Blake in return. "Okay, look. I saw a loophole and I exploited it. I won't pretend I wasn't mainly concerned about my own life, but it happened the way it did. There was no way to know if it would work at all, but someone had to try something."

Ruby looked back up to Blake. "See? She tried her best, and it worked. Can't we just try to all get along now? We don't want this to happen again."

Blake just grunted, turning away angrily and walking out of the room. Ruby flopped forward, feeling dejected. Weiss watched Ruby carefully, then turned to the rest of the people in the room. These people... none of them really deserved to die. If she did her best, she was sure she could keep them all safe. Whether they wanted her to or not, it didn't matter to her.

Cardin groaned in annoyance. "I'll go talk to her."

Melanie gave him a skeptical look, voicing what everyone else was thinking. "You? Why would you be the one to go and talk to her?"

Cardin shrugged. "Someone's got to, and no one else is moving. Besides, none of us want to go through another trial. That girl looks about one stray opportunity away from murdering Weiss."

Weiss snorted. "As if she could."

Melanie laughed at Weiss' response. "Well, that was some short-lived humility."

Ignoring her, Weiss watched Cardin leave. Looking around, she noticed that Pyrrha and Ren had both left at some point. The other seven students were just standing around her, most of them looking aimless. She needed to take control of the situation, or things would just get worse and worse.

Weiss turned to Melanie. "You seem like a smart girl. The lot of us need a leader, someone to hold it all together. Who would you suggest as the best option?"

Melanie stared back at her for a moment, dumbfounded by the change of subject. "Uh... I assume you wouldn't be too happy if I suggested myself..."

Weiss shrugged. "If you think you're the best fit to lead us, then go for it."

Melanie grimaced, thinking of how much she didn't want that responsibility. "Well... I'd have to weigh the pros and cons each person would bring to the position. Ren and Blake are too angry at the moment, and there's no telling when they'll calm down, so they're out. Ruby, Velvet, and Miltia are all too immature..."

"Hey!" Ruby and Miltia chorused together, then glared at each other. Velvet gave no such objection, instead just sighing in defeat.

Already being well-trained in ignoring her own sister, Melanie knew how to tune out the both of them. "Pyrrha doesn't strike me as someone who can make good snap decisions. Sky and Dove seem more inclined to follow the crowd." She looked over to the two boys. "Eh... no offense."

Dove held up his hands. "Look, I know it's true."

Melanie nodded. "Okay, that's good to know." She turned back to Weiss. "Would it be wise to suggest the leadership be split between four of us?"

Weiss thought about it for a second before answering. "You're suggesting the two of us, Cardin, and Jaune?"

"Yes."

Weiss looked at Jaune for a moment before calling him over. "Jaune! Do you think you have what it takes to be in charge?"

Jaune straightened up at the sound of his name. "In charge? What? No! Don't put me there!"

Melanie and Weiss glanced at each other, communicating what they were both thinking by their eyes. Melanie nodded and looked back to Jaune. "Okay, I've changed my mind. Jaune is the perfect person to lead all of us."

Jaune fell back, landing solidly on the ground. "Wha-Ow! What? You can't do this to me! Why do I have to be in charge?"

Weiss put her hands on her hips, and behind her Ruby did the same. "One of the best qualities in a leader is not wanting the job. You fit the bill perfectly."

"Also, if anyone is inclined to murder again, you'll be the prime target!" Melanie laughed at her joke, then straightened her face. "Uh, but seriously, we need someone we can be sure will be doing their best to make sure no one else dies."

Ruby jumped forward and helped Jaune back to his feet. "So cheer up, Jaune! We all believe in you. We know you can do it."

Sky rolled his eyes. "Ugh... well, I'm outta here." He headed for the door, waving over his shoulder.

Melanie was surprised and slightly disturbed when her sister ran after him. "Wait for me!"

There was silence once they left, which Ruby broke. "Did she just chase after that guy? Was that for real, just now?"

Melanie shook her head, trying to clear it. "What the fuck just happened?"

Weiss just shrugged, and Ruby imitated her almost exactly. Jaune scratched at the back of his head uncomfortably. Dove didn't say anything, but Velvet started snickering. Weiss and Melanie both fixed her with a glare in an attempt to silence her.

Velvet stopped laughing. "Well, there's more girls in here than there are boys. Maybe your sister just wants to get one while they're still free."

Melanie rested her head in her hand, groaning in irritation. "What would make anyone think that's a good idea in this situation. She can be so stupid sometimes."

Dove casually looked away. "Oh... I was gonna say something, but..."

Melanie eyed him suspiciously. "But what? What were you going to say?"

"Nothing." He started for the door, and Melanie stomped after him.

"Nothing? Yeah, I don't think so! What were you going to say? Out with it, birdy!"

"No, you wouldn't like it."

"Tell me, damn it!"

Once they too had left, Ruby looked to Weiss. "I wonder if she realizes that he just got her to chase after him."

Weiss shook her head. "I wonder if he realizes that."

Jaune held up his hand. "Hey, Weiss?"

She made a face at him. "What are you...? Oh, god. Put your hand down. We're not in a classroom, you idiot."

Jaune put his hand down. "Okay, well, uh... If I'm gonna be in charge, can I at least have a second in command?"

Weiss considered the request, then thought through the options. "Second in command..." Then it hit her. Who was the only person who wanted to be in charge less than Jaune? "Ah, perfect! Velvet! You are now Jaune's second in command!"

Velvet turned pale and fainted.

Author's Note: And now you know. Murder explained, chain of command established, and setup for the next murder is already in the works.