Weiss sat with her back to the metal wall where there once was an entrance to a large greenhouse. Try as she might, nothing she could think of explained what was going on. She had gone farther than any of the others, even meeting Deadb3ar face to face, yet she hadn't the slightest idea what the nefarious headmaster wanted. If Deadb3ar was telling the truth, and all she wanted was to see their despair, then they should be able to all live happily together so long as no one else went insane.

But that meddling Headmaster... Weiss was certain that if nothing happened to interest Deadb3ar, she would eventually be forced to instigate something. Weiss hated to think what Deadb3ar might be willing to do in order to get the students to continue trying to kill each other. Worst of all, Weiss had no idea who to keep an eye on. Anyone could be the next to snap.

Velvet sat with her back to the wall opposite Weiss. She could practically see the thoughts going through the heiress' mind. "I wonder if talking to them might help."

Weiss glanced up at the floppy-eared Faunus girl. "Hmm? Talking to who? What are you on about?"

Velvet shrugged. "Well, you're worried about whether or not anyone else might be motivated to commit murder, right? So what if we were to talk to people?"

Weiss just stared across the hall at her. After a few moments of silence, she finally responded. "What are you, dense? How is talking to people going to help?"

Velvet took a deep breath. "Well, if we actually got to talking seriously with one person at a time, we could figure out what they're thinking and what's on their mind. We can find out if there's something bothering them, and try to find a way to help them... get over it."

Weiss blinked at her, as if she wasn't sure that she wasn't looking at a hallucination. "So, essentially, convince them not to kill people by... making them feel better about our situation?"

"Well, when you put it that way-"

Weiss stood up, talking down to Velvet. "Have you taken a look at our situation? Have you seen some reason to feel good about it that I haven't? Cause I've really been looking, and I don't see it. Maybe if we still had access to the greenhouse we might have reason to get a little excited, but that's just gone! There's no one out there going to come in and save us either!"

Velvet jumped up to face Weiss evenly. "How do you know that, then?"

The heiress took a step back, surprised by Velvet's advance. "I... what? I don't..." Her mind raced to remember how it knew there was no rescue on its way. Remembering, she bowed her head. "The woman I saw Deadb3ar kill... she was that rescue party. She was Carl's sister, and she came with the rest of his team. Deadb3ar killed them all."

Velvet ended up just staring at the ground. "I see... but maybe they weren't supposed to come in yet. Perhaps they were supposed to wait until everyone else was ready, and then they would all come in together. The full might of the Huntsmen and Huntresses of Vale could be moments away from busting down the door."

Weiss sighed and shook her head. "That may be, but right now I'm tired. I'm going to my room." She started walking, but quickly stopped again. "My bedroom's a mess."

Velvet stepped to Weiss' side and put her hand on the heiress' shoulder. "I'll help you tidy it up, then. Let's go. You did have a long night, so you'll need the help."

Weiss looked away from Velvet as they walked, a small smile forming on her lips. Maybe there was no hope for escape, but the least she could do was try to enjoy the time they had left. If indeed only one of them could make it out alive, she doubted it would be her. It may be worth it, she decided, to try and protect the person who most deserved to escape. Weiss was beginning to think that person was Velvet.

After finding nothing but a wall, Blake had given up on the greenhouse. She left for the dining hall, and Cardin followed close behind her. Every once in a while, she would turn back to glance at him only to see that his attention was suddenly on the walls or the ceiling. Just outside the dining hall, Blake stopped.

"Is there some reason you're following me around?"

Cardin didn't answer for a few seconds, and she didn't like the answer he gave when he finally did speak. "I've actually been sorta staring at your ass..."

She shot him a glare. "Oi! Hit the reset button on your brain!"

He just shrugged. "I'm sorry, is that awkward for you to know that?"

Blake shouted at him. "Is it awkward for you to know that if I catch you staring at my ass again I'll gouge your damn eyeballs out?"

The door to the dining hall opened, revealing Melanie and Dove. The two of them just looked on with strange expressions. Dove's was one of complete confusion, whereas Melanie just looked like she was trying to conjure that last image in her head. Blake went silent instantly, unsure how much Melanie and Dove had heard.

Dove glanced between the two of them. "Sexual tension? Here?"

Blake shouted at the other boy. "Hey, fuck off! This is not sexual tension! I do not have feelings for this bastard!"

Melanie shook her head. "You have been hanging around each other a lot."

Blake turned on her next. "You're one to talk!"

Melanie's face turned red and she stamped the ground with her foot. "Now what's that supposed to mean?" Suddenly she went speechless, realizing what Blake was insinuating. She let out a strangled groan and started fiddling with her shirt.

Blake grinned in triumph, placing her hands on her hips. "How about this? If you don't go blabbing some nonsense about how I supposedly have feelings for this oaf, then I won't go and tell everyone that you have a crush on Dove."

Melanie panicked. "What?! That's not true! I don't have a crush on him! I'm not like that! I don't have any interest in boys!" She froze, paralyzed by her own words. The others also went quiet.

Cardin was the one to break the silence. "See, now, that was awkward for me."

Melanie jumped to defend herself. "I didn't mean it like that!"

Blake flicked her hair back, a smug look on her face. "Well, either way, I won't tell anyone just so long as you don't go spreading nasty lies about me."

Melanie slumped over. "I wasn't gonna tell anyone. You don't need to threaten me. I'm not that kind of person." She straightened up suddenly. "Oh, but we were looking for you, Blake. We wanted to ask you a question."

Blake blinked a few times, caught off guard. "A question? What... would that be?" She didn't dare look that direction, but her thoughts went to her bow and the ears hidden underneath. "I reserve the right to not answer."

Melanie looked to Dove, and he took over. "We were just wondering how you got to Beacon. Mind clearing that up for us?"

That was simple. Blake shrugged. "I applied, passed the entrance exam, and they accepted me. Isn't that how everyone got here?"

Melanie rolled her eyes. "That's not what we're asking."

Dove explained. "We're talking about the mode of transportation you took to get to Beacon."

"Oh." Blake shook her head. "I'm pretty sure everybody came on the airships. That's how I got here, anyways."

Cardin butted in. "I was on an airship. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing Sky and Russel too. I definitely saw the bunny girl."

Blake frowned. "I wasn't really paying attention on the way. Too busy reading. I don't think I saw anyone else, or at least I didn't know them so I wouldn't have noticed. Why do you ask, by the way?"

Melanie and Dove exchanged glances, with Dove answering. "Well, we think it's important to make sure we know how everyone got here. Any one of the others might not be who they say they are. They could even be working with Deadb3ar, for all we know. That's why we need for everyone's stories to be confirmed. That's why it's more important for people to say who they remember seeing. We need to know who all is a legitimate student."

Cardin groaned. "So I've just verified the bunny girl's alibi?"

Melanie shook her head. "Not really. Dove saw her too, so it's pretty safe to say she's clean."

Blake spoke up. "You need to know if everyone here is supposed to be a student at Beacon, right?"

Dove nodded. "That's it, essentially."

Blake sighed. "Well, if it helps, I met Jaune briefly before we came here. I knew he was trying to get into Beacon, and I helped him out a bit. I didn't really know him then, though. Now I kind of wish I hadn't helped him."

After a few seconds of silence, Melanie clapped her hands together. "Well, anyway, I think we should go find Velvet and talk to her. It might be best if you two leave this up to us, though. We don't really want to give anyone time to think of some way to lie about it. We need to put them on the spot, so it would be good if they didn't know beforehand."

Cardin nodded, looking over to Blake. "So we just don't try to help. Sounds easy enough."

Blake agreed simply. "We'll stay out of your way."

As Blake and Cardin were walking away, Melanie stopped them. "Blake, can I ask you another question."

Blake turned, giving her a cautious look. "What?"

Melanie stepped forward, closing the distance between them. "When you went into the kitchen earlier... I didn't see you leave. I was just wondering... well, what did you want in the kitchen?"

Blake stared at her for almost a minute before answering. She slowly shook her head. "After breakfast, Weiss brought me, Cardin, Velvet, Sky and your sister to the greenhouse. Cardin and I came back here after we found out that it was gone. I haven't even gone in the kitchen since we got here."

Melanie looked stunned. "But... but I saw you... What are you saying?"

Blake shook her head, stepping back to leave. "Sorry, but whoever you saw wasn't me." She turned and walked away, following Cardin to wherever he was headed.

Melanie turned back to Dove. "But I know I saw her."

Miltia sat at the desk in her room, opening a notebook and readying a pen. She had decided it was time to start recording the events of her day. The reason for starting was a monumental moment that she didn't want to forget about. Her life, she was sure, was on the brink of taking a turn for the better. She put the tip of the pen to the paper, reading out loud to herself as she went.

"I finally got to have a good conversation with Sky. I explained everything. He was quiet, and let me say what I wanted. He didn't interrupt, and when it was his turn to respond he just sat there looking at me. He's changed a bit, but I like this change. He doesn't talk much, I guess, but that's okay. He's going to stay in my room from now on, which is great. I'm going to bring him food and keep him company, but he doesn't really care to go out and see the others any more. They might try to take him away from me, so that's good. We'll be together forever now. This is the best day ever!"

She closed the book and looked behind her, smiling. "That's okay, right? The others don't need to know that you're staying in my room."

The empty room gave no response.

She blushed. "Yes, you're right. They might get the wrong idea."

Author's Notes: I bet you're thinking "When are things going to start happening? Where's the next murder already?", but don't worry. This is just the beginning still, but it's no longer the very beginning. No, we're at the end of the beginning. This is the home stretch, except that the finish line isn't home. It's the long road to the next murder trial, and the finish line is our first legitimate execution. I hope you're all getting ready, cause we're reeling down the tracks and more than one character is nearing a horrifying demise. Tell what you think, and hey, tell me where you think we're headed. I like to know.