The day passed without to much more drama. Samantha however didn't seem to be near waking whenever Cody went to go check on her throughout the day. Which was concerning, but he did his best to think positively.

The next two days passed at what seemed to be a snails pace, due to the rising tensions. This time however it appeared to have nothing to do with Cody, or Samantha who had woken. It was about the Motive. Everyone's families were on the line. Maybe they'd get lucky, and that one bratty sibling would get killed, but that...That still didn't rest easily on anyone's souls.

Towards the end of the second day Monokuma called everyone to the gym after dinner. It appeared he had something else that he wanted to use to 'encourage' everyone. The maniacal bear cheerily explained that he'd prepared a special video for everyone, to update them on their parents and siblings well-being. It had sent a chill racing down Cody's spine, and caused Lyric to begin her telltale trembling.

          Monokuma handed out a CD to each student, their names written on them in black sharpie. The handwriting was rather curvy and neat.

Cody Pen Williams

          He wasn't sure weither he should be shocked that Monokuma knew his full name at this point. After all, he'd been told that Monokuma knew everything about him. Unless that had been a bluff, but still.

          They all made their way down to the computer lab, and headed to their computer. Each computer happened to have their first and last name labeled on the machines. Cody put on his headphones, and inserted the disk after he used his E-Handbook to turn the machine on.

Every teen had a different reaction, but overall it was the same. Fear, Shock, Rage, Sorrow, Worry, Anxiety...Despair... That night Cody hardly slept. And when he did, it was plagued with nightmares.

Monokuma's scheduled morning announcement woke Cody from what was probably about twenty-eight minutes of undisturbed, non-nightmare plagued sleep. The boy was tired but despite that he dragged himself out of bed.

He felt pretty hollow inside, and he knew it was because of this toxic environment. It wasn't good for anyone's mental health. Cody changed into a new pair of clothes, dumping his old ones on his dirty clothes pile on the left side of his bed. He'd have to go wash them at some point. "Good Morning Everyone! Guten Morgan zu du Genevieve. [Good Morning to you Genevieve.] Remember, today is the last day for your first motive. Your family's on the line here, you cold-hearted bastardš. Now get out there and greet this beautiful day!" Monokuma cheerfully said, before the monitor in Cody's room went dark. Much to his relief. The bears words had begun to bring back images from the video he'd watched.

His video has contained a short clip of his Mother and Father, as well as his younger brother Micheal. They were in the kitchen surrounding the island. And on it was a rather simple chocolate cake, but on it was the words 'Good luck Cody! Ultimate Psychiatrist.' Monokuma narration has made him feel sick..."Such a wonderful and loving family, just making their son's favorite cake, chocolate with peanut butter & chocolate icing with a Carmel filling, to send to him for good luck and a reminder of home." Monokuma had said, which normally would have filled him with nostalgia and warmth. Instead, he just felt dread.

          The scene changed, now showing the kitchen absolutely wreaked, and his mother and father on the floor...His brother was being held by a dark figure, and a gun was to his head. His little brother....Warm salty tears momentarily blurred his vision, but he wiped them away. He couldn't dwell on this right now...Or he actually might do something he'd regret.

Cody steeled himself, and checked that he had everything before he headed out of his room. Making sure to lock it this time. He had around an hour before everyone was supposed to meet up for breakfast so a walk might do him some good. Coincidentally he spotted Samantha tiredly stumble out of her room, so he decided to try and talk to her. He was curious about how she had gotten injured anyway, but the motive had pushed that question to the back of everyone's mind. Well, mostly everyone's. "Hey Samantha." Cody greeted, crossing over to her.

She glanced behind her shoulder, blinking a few times before giving a small wave. Samantha then finished locking her door, before turning to face Cody. "Hello Cody. I haven't gotten a chance yet to thank you for treating my injuries. So uh-thanks." Samantha softly, yet genuinely, said. Smiling faintly.

          "Hey, no problem! I mean we're friends, sorta kinda, right? And what are friends for?" Cody sheepishly replied, returning the smile. For a fraction of a moment however, he saw Samantha's smile falter. Just for a tiny second, before she was back to normal. It was an odd occurrence for sure, almost...Almost like she was hiding something from him. "So um...Can I ask you something?" He inquired, taking the first step into no-mans land.

          At this she seemed to perk up a bit. She mostly likely had zoned out for a moment. It's a common occurrence for those who just suffered injuries, and for people who went through something that they can't get out of their mind. Yet another tiny red flag. On it's own it wouldn't have really bothered Cody, but his experiences in the past with some of his patients didn't let him discard it. First the smile, and now this. "Sure, fire away I guess." Samantha said, shrugging. Although she only did so with her right shoulder, since her left arm was broken.

          For a moment Cody hesitated. What were the consequences of asking this question, if there were any? However he couldn't let these doubts deylay him for long. This question was important, and if he could stop something dangerous before it gained speed, then he was going to do it. 'My train of thought went to lets assume the worst land real quick.' Cody noted. "How did you get hurt? Monokuma wouldn't tell me." He finally asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

          Samantha froze up at the question, which immediately made Cody grow more suspicious of her. He was silently pleading that she provide him with something, anything. He didn't want to believe that she was evil, or some other common cliche for a situation like this. "I-I...I can't say." She softly stuttered, a look of fear evident in her eyes. This sole thing gave him some hope that she was perhaps not evil. Otherwise why would she be so fearful? Or maybe she was just a really good actress, he couldn't tell. Her Ultimate didn't suggest that she was, but you never know.

          "Why not? Can you not trust me or something?" Cody asked, making sure to keep his tone even. He didn't want to make her think that he was against her. He would be less likly to coax any information out of her then. And then that would leave him with an impression based mostly on assumptions and not fact.

She shook her head frantically, "N-No not at all! I-I t-trust you! I do! I r-really can't tell you though...It's really nothing to worry about though, no one else is gonna get hurt the way I did." Samantha hurriedly assured him, her gaze rising upwards towards the ceiling. His gaze had probably been pretty intense, so she was taking off some of the pressure. She then leaned in close to his ear, her actions rather sudden. He forced himself to not flinch. He could feel her breath on his ear as she spoke, "If I tell you, or anybody...I'll die..They'll kill me." She softly whispered, before pulling back.

He fumbled for something to say, but what could he say? If she told him, she'd apparently die. Now his question wasn't how it, it was who. Who was threatening to kill her if she revealed this? "Don't put yourself at risk-just forget I ever asked." Cody said, his mind already trying to figure out where this piece of information fit in this massive puzzle. Samantha shakily nodded.

However he didn't think on it to long, after all he didn't have near enough information to solve anything yet. "Let's go get breakfast and try to put this behind us, yeah?" Cody suggested, and began walking down the hall. After a moment it two Samantha followed. Quickly catching up to him.

They walked together in a comfortable silence for a bit, heading down to the Cafeteria. The scent of eggs and bacon drifted from the kitchen as they entered. Cody looked around the Cafeteria, in an attempt to spot Lyric or Andrew to hang out with. However he only saw Andrew. This fact made him worry a bit, but Lyric was probably helping Emma in the kitchen or something. A bit more at ease he headed over to Andrew. Who was currently also talking to Alex. "Hey guys." Cody greeted, taking a hand out of his hoodie pocket to give a small wave.

          "Good Morning Cody." Andrew replied, giving a half wave in return. Alex didn't seem like she could bring herself to wave. The Ultimate Gamer gave her a concerned look, and upon noticing Cody's own look of concern, decided to fill him in. "Alex has been trying to find Lyric all morning, but no ones really seen her." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

          'So she noticed her absence to..' Cody thought, dread forming in the pit of his stomach. "We could go see if she's helping Emma?" He suggested.

Alex's clear blue eyes rose from the tiled floor to look at them. Fear danced behind those blue orbs, as well as determination? He couldn't be sure. "Emma doesn't like to many people in the kitchen because it could get chaotic, but it's important that we find her!" Alex stated, her voice unwavering.

The two boys nodded in agreement, "Yeah, your right. Maybe we should split up and search? In case Lyric isn't with Emma?" Andrew suggested. This felt somewhat like yesterday, Andrew thought bitterly.

"Sounds good. I'll check with Emma, and you to can start looking around the school. I already check her room though." Alex agreed, before turning and heading towards the kitchen. She half ran-half walked the short distance, and quickly disappeared into it.

The two boys stood there for a moment before actually realizing that they should get moving to. "So we can skip her room." Cody said, as they headed out of the Cafeteria.

Andrew nodded, "I'll check the Computer Lab and the classrooms closest to it, while you check the Art room and the classrooms closest to it. If we don't find her then we should meet up at Lyric's room. Sound good?" He suggested, already veering off more towards the Computer Lab.

He sighed and shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Of course you'd want to check the Computer Lab. Anyhow yeah. Good luck!" Cody agreed, before breaking into a jog towards the Art Room.

As he got farther away he could faintly hear Andrew mutter, "I don't think I'll be needing it. Lyric probably will." Cody felt even more worried then, and broke into a full run. It didn't take him long to reach the Art room, and turned the handle and slammed the door open as fast as he could.

Everything seemed to be the way it was when he last saw it, Cody discovered. Five large desks were scattered around the back of the room, with four chairs at each table. Two on each side. A mug was in the center of each table, containing four sharpened pencils with their erasers intact. Then towards the front of the room was a smaller desk with a computer. They'd already tried to get on it, but it was broken or something. Out of battery maybe. Towards the right along the wall was tabled and cubbies filled with art supplies from paper and penciled to markers, color pencils, water color, prismas, and even clay and sculpting tools. "Lyric, are you in here?" Cody called, checking under the desks. He received no response.

He was making his way towards the teachers desk, to make sure that she wasn't behind there for some reason, when he heard Andrew shout, "CODY I FOUND LYRIC! COME QUICK!"

Cody heard many things in those words of Andrews. He could hear desperation, pure and frantic desperation. As well as worry and terror. Even more...His tone filled Cody with panic. He wasn't sure that he was going to see Lyric alive....

The Ultimate Counselor abandoned his search of the Art room without a second thought, and raced out into the hall. His shoes pounding on the tiled hallway floors as he raced down to the Computer Lab. Andrew had left the door wide open, and without hesitation he ran in.

Lying on the floor in front of a computer was Lyric Clef Chambers, the Ultimate Musician. Andrew was crouched in front of her, his hands pressing against a gushing wound. Cody froze at the sight, just for a second. Her crimson blood was staining her white blouse and medium length skirt crimson. And her eyes....Her honey brown eyes were half-closed and filled with pain. A distant look in them. "Cody-CODY!" Andrew shouted, the desperation even more evident in his voice than before.

          Andrew's voice snapped him out of his frozen state, and he knew what he had to do. His motions were quick, like he had done this many times before, as he pulled off his dark blue hoodie and threw it aside. Revealing the white teeshirt that he wore beneath. Cody was by Andrew's side moment's after, kneeling beside him and Lyric. "Go and get everyone else, quickly! Get towels and water, and if there is any, alcohol" Cody ordered, his voice shaking despite his efforts to stay calm and collected.

          His friend nodded hastily and got up, not even taking the time to wipe the blood off his palms before running out of the room. Cody quickly took Andrew's spot, and put pressure on Lyric's wound. "Lyric if you can hear me try and move your hand." Cody said, doing a brief examination to see if she had any more injuries. She didn't appear to.

          It took what felt like an eternity for Lyric to weakly twitch her fingers. "T-That's good. Very good Lyric, just try to stay awake for me okay? D-Don't fall asleep." He stuttered, repeatedly telling himself to calm down and think. After a deep breath or two Cody briefly removed his hands to tear the hole in the fabric of Lyric's blouse open wider. So that he could see how big of a wound it really was.

          The wound wasn't all that big, but it defiantly appeared to be a stab wound. He replaced his hands over it, and reapplied pressure. "Please, if you can tell me what happened." Cody begged Lyric, anxiously waiting for Andrew to bring everyone else.

          "Didn't see..." She breathed, coughing once or twice. If he didn't stop this bleeding soon he'd have no choice but to break into the Nurses Office. "Kitchen knife..." Lyric said, her voice even breather than before.

          He quickly stopped her there, "Thank you, thats enough. Just save your strength." Cody said. Moments after others burst into the room.

          Andrew pushed threw his classmates, burdened with the items he'd been tasked to retrieve. All except the alcohol, which they didn't have access to apparently. "I got it all, here." He quickly said, placing it beside him. Cody responded with a curt nod, all of his focus going towards Lyric.

          "Lyric! Oh God no-who did this to her!" Alex demanded, trying to keep in her tears. Cody did his best to ignore some similar comments from Lyric's other friends, and gestured for Andrew to come closer with his head.

          The cloths weren't bandages but they'd have to do. "Andrew, I need you to press a cloth to her wound while I get her shirt off." Cody instructed, not even caring that the latter bit of his words were a bit weird. Well if taken out of context anyhow. Andrew hesitated, but only for a moment before taking one of the cloths and pressing it to the wound once Cody had removed his hands. Andrew whispered something to Lyric, but Cody's brain didn't bother to register it. His focus soley on the task at hand.

          Then the blue-haired boy went about getting her shirt off. Since it was ruined anyway he didn't bother trying to salvage it. In the background, the others were either watching Cody word silently, or trying to figure out who did this to her. Or just trying to call everyone the heck down. Katlyn on the other hand quietly left the room, an unreadable expression on her face. "We're gonna switch places now. What I want you to do is tear off the bloody pieces, because we want it as clean as possible. We're gonna use it as the bandages." Cody explained. He waited until Andrew gave him a nod, before he handed Andrew the ruined blouse, and scooted over to the position Andrew vacated.

          Andrew moved around him and sat in Cody's previous spot then, beginning to do as he had been instructed. Not uttering a single words, less it distract Cody from his task. He kept pressure on the wound with one hand while he grabbed the water bottle that Andrew had brought with the other. The Ultimate Gamer has considerably left it open for immediate use. With quick motions Cody threw the bloodied rag to the side and grabbed a new one, pressing the opening of the bottle against the surface before flipping the bottle upside-down to get the cloth wet. Then he placed it on the ground again and began cleaning the wound as quickly and as best he could. He dumped water on it a few times before setting both to the side and holding his hands out for the blouse.

          He was quickly passed the material, and Cody began wrapping the wound as tightly as he could. Once he was done he kept pressure applied. The bleeding had defiantly slowed, but he'd forgotten to keep checking to see if she was awake. To his horror she wasn't. It's not like he was worried she'd go into a coma, but she wasn't out of danger yet. He wanted to be able to be certain that she was alive and doing her best to hang on.

          Cody began to panic mentally, and his breathing quickened. His hated this, oh how he hated this. Blood was all over his hands, his shirt and his jeans as well as on Lyric. The crimson substance was such a difference from his friend's starch white clothing. Was it to much? Had Lyric lost to much blood? Did he lose her? Was he losing her. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and began to register words once more. "Cody breathe man, breathe. You can do this, I believe in you. And I'm sure Lyric does to." He heard Andrew say. Andrew's tone was different from before. It sounded more confident and reassuring. Like he completely believed what he was saying, and was determined to make him believe it to.

          Cody breathed. He breathed in, and then he breathed out. One two, three four. One two, three four. Better. With his mind in a better state, and out of panic mode, he refocused on the current situation. From what he could see she had lost a lot of blood, and her chances of survival would be higher if they could replenish it.

          What happened next was as if some otherworld force had answered his silent thoughts. Katlyn ran in, not even breaking a sweat in her winter jacket, a pair of keys in hand. They were identical and attacked to the key ring. The key depicted Monokuma's head, with a little nurse hat on. "I got the key to the Nurse's Office." She announced, her usual icy tone and demeanor still intact.

           "How did you-." Cody instinctively began to ask-but Katlyn wasn't planning on letting him waste any time.

          She shoved it into his blood covered hands without a second thought, "Do you have time to question that right now? Just get her in there and save her." Katlyn sharply snapped. Cody dumbly nodded, before snapping out of it. Again his classmates were right. He needed to focus. He didn't even have to ask Andrew for help in transporting her. The boy was already in the process of scooping her up.

          The two sprinted down the hall and to the Nurses Office, their classmates following. "G-Guys there shouldn't be to many people in there at one time. Otherwise it'll get crowded." Samantha piped up, her voice shaky. Cody unlocked the door and pushed it open. Andrew ran in and got Lyric situated on a bed, Cody close behind.

          The Ultimate Counselors eye's diligently darted around the room, trying to spot the needed materials. Cotton balls, rubbing alcohol, Iv tubing, blood bag, and proper bandages. "Do you need us to do anything?" Alex asked from behind Cody.

          Without turning around he replied, "I need rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, bandages, and Iv tubing. Can you find it for me?" He asked.

          "Yeah, we can try." Emma said from behind him. Most likely directly beside Alex. The two girls headed over to a set of cabinets and drawers and began looking. Everyone else was probably anxiously waiting outside, as Samantha had suggested.

          With his list shortened Cody headed over to what appeared to be a refrigerator. "Does anyone know her blood type?" Cody urgently asked, opening the refrigerator to find blood bags. All labeled, to his relief.

          "A negative." Andrew answered while rolling over an Iv stand. Emma and Alex were also depositing the materials on a small rolling table.

          Cody turned so that he could see Andrew, "Are you one hundred percent sure, because the wrong type will kill her." He demanded, keeping eye contact with him.

          Shakily Andrew nodded, and Cody turned around and grabbed a blood bag of A- negative as quickly as he could. Rising to his feet he strode over to Lyric, his friends and classmates making room for him. He attached the blood bag to the Iv stand, and took one more moment to breathe. Cody recalled Andrew's earlier words. 'Cody breathe man, breathe. You can do this, I believe in you. And I'm sure Lyric does to.' He was ready, and with that he got to work.

          In short Cody properly cleaned Lyric's wound, and bandaged it tightly with proper bandages. The Iv was restoring the blood she lost, and the wound finally stopped bleeding.

          By the time Cody was done he was tired, mentally and physically. "We need to get her a new shirt." He absentmindedly commented once he was done. Looking wearily at the people who had aided him in his efforts.

          "If someone found her E-Handbook I can go grab one of her shirts from her room." Alex quietly offered, bringing her gaze away from Lyric's face.

          Andrew pulled it out of a jean pocket, and handed it to Alex. "She's gonna be okay." He gently assured her, momentarily resting his hand on her shoulder. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it shortly after. Instead she nodded, before turning to leave.

          Emma had been sitting in a simple chair next to Alex, and she rose to her feet. "I'll go with her, just in case. I doesn't seem safe to wander alone." She said, before following after Alex.

          Leaving Cody and Andrew alone with Lyric. "You all right man?" Andrew asked, taking a moment to stretch.

          He took a moment to search for an answer, and in the time Samantha, Jasmine, Caden, and Lily Belle came in. "Is she going to be okay?" Jasmine softly asked.

          They received a nod from Cody in response. Relief flooded their expressions, and they quietly moved over to see her. "Why isn't she wearing a shirt, you dirty minded-" Samantha began, but was cut off by Andrew.

          "Cody needed to get at the wound, calm down geez..." Andrew huffed, scratching his head.

          Eventually a few more people came to see Lyric, before things calmed back down. Once everything was quiet again, Cody answered. "I'm not right now..But I will be. Don't worry." He replied, a small reassuring smile playing on his lips. Andrew nodded at that, and both boys just sat in a companionable silence.

          Andrew watched his friend plot down in a chair, and slowly begin to nod off. He was about to suggest that he head to his room, when a scream caught his attention.

          That was enough to get Cody on his feet. "Stay here, in case Lyric needs something. I'll go see what it is." Andrew ordered, before darting out of the room before Cody had any time to object. Marik and Katlyn were up ahead, and so he jogged up to their side.

          Genevieve had her hands on her knees, and she was panting. Trying to catch her breath. "What is it?" Katlyn impatiently demanded.

          After a moment the Ultimate Impersonator has caught her breath enough to speak. "I-It's Joshua." She panted.

"What about him?" Andrew pressed, his eyes widening.

"H-He's-He's dead! Joshua Snow is dead!" Genevieve shouted, her tone filled with grief.

The Murder had started.