"It's you!"

Hajime's finger was now pointed directly at his target. Her amber eyes were widened in surprise as she fidgeted with the hem of her dress. As composed as ever, Janelle just stared at him.

"You have chosen it to be...me?" Janelle just asked, her brow raised in confusion. "With what evidence?"

"If you weren't on the ceiling beam, it would be incredibly difficult to hit the sword off...unless you had incredibly great aim with something," Hajime deducted. "Which should be an easy feat for the Ultimate Archer!"

"Are you really basing your argument off of that?" Janelle shook her head. "It is entirely possible that the sword fell on it's own. Is that not obvious considering a sword could just lose it's own balance?"

"It could, but the dent on the handle and chipped off wood on the beam don't suggest that," Shuichi jumped in. "If you shot the handle with an arrow, the sword would tip and fall...!"

"Then how do you suppose I killed her? Evidently, the sword falling was not what killed Kyoko," Janelle replied. "That much is obvious due to Kyoko's position! The sword is stabbed into the ground. If it had fallen like such, she would have needed to have been laying down right there!"

"...Maybe when the sword fell, it didn't kill Kyoko like that!" Makoto realized. "The dent on the ground can back that up. That must be where the sword originally fell! Seeing as there's no blood there...maybe Kyoko wasn't even hit by it at all!"

"And what would be the use in that?" Janelle argued. "That would mean Kyoko would have the sword, and I would not have hurt her at all. If I was the killer, why would I want her to have a weapon in the first place when I had not accomplished anything? How would I even manage to get close enough if she had the weapon needed to kill her?"

"I also do not know what the point would be to that," Sonia shrugged. "From a militaristic view, it makes no sense to even provide your enemy with a weapon in the first place if you could just take them down easily..."

"...Oh, I know!" Tanya exclaimed. "Maybe the sword was just a distraction! Maybe that sword was meant to distract her from the real danger!"

"Real danger? But what would be more dangerous than a sword falling on top of you...?"Aoi just questioned.

"...Maybe not more dangerous, but going with what Hajime and Shuichi said...getting shot by an arrow is bound to disable you," Maki replied. "Maybe Tanya has a point. The sword could just a means of distracting Kyoko so that Janelle could shoot Kyoko."

"Where is your evidence for this half-baked theory you have?" Janelle sighed. "This is all just a theory of yours. I see no proof!"

"Hmph. This case isn't even worth my time for a murder so poorly pulled off," Byakuya just rolled his eyes before tossing the piece of cloth at Kazuichi. "Here. Explain this, commoner."

"M-Me!?? Okay, uh..." Kazuichi paused. "There are two holes with circles in them! They've gotta be from arrows since there is blood from them!"

"Murder poorly pulled off...?" Janelle suddenly lost her composure. "It was not poorly pulled off! Perhaps Kyoko just ripped her sleeve. That must be it!"

"...No. If it's an arrow, that could explain the dent in the wall!" Shuichi suddenly said. "If Janelle was by the entrance with her bow and she shot Kyoko after knocking down the sword, the arrow would go right through Kyoko's arm...and hit the wall! That explains it!"

"T-That could have been caused by anything!" Janelle wouldn't stop fiddling with the hem of her purple dress. "All you would have to do is hit the wall to cause something like that! Who is to say that the dent in the floor was not there before, either!? Plus, if I had shot Kyoko's arm, how do you explain the gold on Kyoko's hands!? She wouldn't be able to pick it up and wield it!!"

"I don't know about the wall, but actually, Makoto, Kyoko and I already figured out yesterday that the floor was clean and completely devoid of any kind of dent," Lyra's tone was bored as she twirled her platinum blonde hair. "And only one of her arms was shot. She'd still be capable of picking it up. Gah, you're the one who caused disharmony between us? Distrust was stirred because of you?" Lyra eyed Janelle. "I think I'm going to like seeing you die!"

"Tch...I will not die here! Why would I risk getting close to Kyoko then if she had a sword? How would I manage to disarm her!?" Janelle refuted.

"...You just shot her again," Maki folded her arms. "Didn't you?"

"There are no holes on the body! How would you even think that!?"

"...Oh, oh, I got it!" Tanya exclaimed. "Kyoko's thigh was purposely slashed up a lot...to hide the fact that an arrow wound was even there in the first place! I didn't look past all the slash wounds and blood and...gore! That's when Kyoko dropped the sword, right!?"

"Hgh...? T-That is just another theory!" Janelle clenched her fists tightly. "I could not have done it. Do you really believe I am stupid enough to just leave the murder weapon there!?"

"Not stupid, but ya couldn't," Akane didn't even realize that what she had said made rational sense. "We were all camped outside Byakuya's room, which is by the armory. Ya got trapped."

"Gah! Well, why would I leave evidence there!?"

"Because the incinerator is only open from seven to nine P.M. You couldn't get rid of most of it," Byakuya sneered. "Even the armory is closed at night. Your entire plan is faulty."

"...I am not faulty...! Give me your hard placed evidence! All I see are a bunch of theories that I somehow shot the sword, then I shot Kyoko, and then I sliced her up more!" Janelle ranted. "That is impossible! I...I am not faulty! Where is your hard evidence!!"

"It's true that we're running entirely on theories here," Shuichi admitted. "As far as it comes to hard evidence, there isn't much...But I'm convinced it's you!"

"You cannot pinpoint it on me!"

"Is that so?" Lyra's grin suddenly returned as she lifted her head. The malice in her golden eyes was finally recognized by everyone in the room. "Then let us check your room."

"M...My room?" Janelle could only shake her head in confusion. "Why do you wish to see my room-?"

"The arm," Lyra just laughed. "That's the evidence you want so badly, isn't it? So let us go to your room. If there isn't an arm there, then there you go. Solid evidence. Happy? So then, let's go-"

"Wait, that is...you cannot go into my room!" Janelle began to panic. "You just cannot-"

"And why not? Privacy isn't an excuse when we'll die if we're wrong," Hajime replied. "So?"

"That's-That is an invasion of privacy! No, you cannot! You simply cannot, you cannot, you cannot!"

"Well, c-couldn't she have t-thrown the arm out or something? Or j-just tossed it somewhere and h-hoped no one found it?" Toko questioned. "W-We shouldn't j-just push it o-on being in her room!"

"Well, like Nelly said, she's not stupid or faulty," Lyra shrugged. "I doubt she'd leave evidence that pointed toward her so strongly just lying around where anyone could find it. Right??"

"You...You..." Janelle bit her lip before she suddenly began to scream at the top of her lungs. "WHY WON'T YOU LET ME GO BACK TO MY FAMILY, DAMMIT!!"

"Hey, hey. I'm the one that had a massive personality change, you're not supposed to be stealing my spotlight here," Lyra chuckled to herself. Maki's glare grew stronger, but Hajime stopped her from moving.

"SHUT UP, LYRA! NO ONE GIVES A SHIT ABOUT YOU AND YOUR DUMB FUCKIN' RANTS ABOUT US DISTRUSTING EACH OTHER! OF COURSE I DIDN'T TRUST YOU...YOU HEATHENS! I HAVE TO GET BACK TO MY FAMILY! I'VE FINALLY GOTTEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THEM PROUD, YOU CANT TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME!!"

"I understand wanting to get back to family, but...You can't just kill someone for that! That's so wrong!" Aoi refuted. "How could you do that!? We're all friends, remember!? We can be here for each other while we find a way out!!"

"This isn't just about getting out! It's about making my family proud!!"

"Making your family proud..?" Tanya questioned. "Wait, what? Janelle..."

"Hey, hey! Before we get too far away from the topic, let's take a vote since it seems you all have come to a close on your argument," Monokuma sneered. "Make sure to cast your vote correctly, or I'll kill you! Oh, I'll kill you if you don't vote, too...So don't forget!!"

"I do not think I remember that rule before," Sonia said. "...Oh, Janelle...I am so sorry to condemn you like this...!"

"Please, don't do this!" Janelle shouted. "I...I just want to go home..."

Votes have been tallied up!

"Puhuhu. It seems everyone voted for Janelle Torres, the Ultimate Archer! Er, except for one person...who voted for Lyra. Oh, that was Janelle," Monokuma sneered. "Well, the rest of you are right! Congratulations!"

"No...Please..."

"Can you explain the part about your family? Please?" Tanya questioned.

"Why? It doesn't even matter," Byakuya just scowled. That in itself was enough to make Janelle furious.

"It does matter! I was going to go home as an accomplished murderer!!" Janelle exclaimed, much to the shock and horror of everyone.

"Whoa whoa, Nelly. So it's not just our trust that you ruined, but everyone else's?" Lyra laughed, but her eyes were shooting daggers right at Janelle. "What do you mean accomplished murderer? I thought you were going back to your family."

"Yes, exactly! My family...they've all killed in order  to protect themselves and me! Anyone who even looks at me wrong is murdered to protect me!" Janelle screeched, and it was at this moment that everyone was grateful they had voted her out. "You have to understand. I know how this looks! But they are just trying to protect us all. They're just trying to get rid of all the shitty people! Rapists, murderers, whatever. We're vigilantes! We're doing the right thing!! And now you've taken away my ability to join them and make the world better...!"

"Murder is murder, no matter the reason behind it," Hajime said grimly. He could remember someone else saying something similar, but he couldn't quite remember who or where. "Janelle...How could you do this? How could you just go after Kyoko? Kyoko wasn't like those people..."

"Because...Because that wasn't meant for her!!" Janelle exclaimed. "I was trying to experiment with the sword and I had gone to my room to grab my bow and arrows...when I came back, Kyoko was investigating around the gym. I panicked! That's all...Then this all happened. I couldn't risk her finding out, so I just...I just did that! I know my family would never appreciate my actions against someone innocent, but...I'm sure they'd be proud anyway, I've had my first blood! Besides, Kyoko had it out for me, I had to-"

"Kyoko didn't have it out for you at all!" Makoto was shaking with fury. "Kyoko was trying to protect all of us. She saved someone...at the cost of her own life!"

"Don't make it sound all heroic, now. Kyoko died. That's it," Lyra twirled her hair. "Okay, so...now what?"

"Glad ya asked! Cause it's time for Janelle's execution!" Monokuma sneered. Janelle grabbed at her hair as she just tried to brush it off.

"Execution?" Nico's eyes widened. "W-What...?"

"Fail to get away with murder, and you get punished!" Monokuma cackled, and this was when Janelle really began to freak out.

"No, please! My family...my family...! They'll be so proud of me, don't take this away!! Please!"

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's...punishment time!!"

J⃣A⃣N⃣E⃣L⃣L⃣E⃣ H⃣A⃣S⃣ B⃣E⃣E⃣N⃣ F⃣O⃣U⃣N⃣D⃣ G⃣U⃣I⃣L⃣T⃣Y⃣. t⃣i⃣m⃣e⃣ f⃣o⃣r⃣ t⃣h⃣e⃣ p⃣u⃣n⃣i⃣s⃣h⃣m⃣e⃣n⃣t⃣ !

Janelle was suddenly grabbed from behind as a chain closed on her neck. Before she could even attempt to run, this chain pulled her into a long tunnel by the neck. Her body skidded across the ground as she tried desperately to free herself.

The chain led her to a blank room covered with Monokumas. A bow and set of arrows were sitting on the ground, and Janelle quickly picked it up. Her eyes darted back and forth in panic as Monokumas continued to come her way...

Janelle reached into her quiver to grab an arrow, but she quickly recoiled from the arrow. It was covered in spikes! Yet as she assessed her situation, she realized she had no choice. She grabbed an arrow and nocked it in her bow, blood dripping down from her right hand.

Arrows flew as more and more blood flowed from her hand. She reached back for another arrow only to find that there were none left. Her amber eyes widened as she tried to use her bow to fight her way out to no avail. It was no use. The Monokumas grabbed her and threw her straight into a bullseye...where she was then impaled by dozens of arrows.

"Janelle!" Tanya exclaimed as she sunk to her knees. Her stormy gray eyes were wide in despair as tears threatened to fall. "Oh, no...please tell me this isn't real, please tell me it's not real! Janelle, no...!"

"Not to sound desensitized...but I feel like I've seen way worse ways to die," Himiko said as she clutched at her arms. "This is so wrong..."

"I'm so upset, and I didn't even know her..."

"...That's because this is all so wrong!" Makoto exclaimed. "We can stop you, Monokuma! No one else is going to kill!"

He was, of course, abruptly cut off. Beyond Byakuya's sneer was another series of loud cackles from Lyra...

"Are you kidding? The trust couldn't even last for a day. What makes you think you can stop Monokuma now?" Lyra's golden eyes were completely unhinged, her platinum blonde hair flying everywhere. "Besides...You've all failed my test already. Humans are such shit. We're only ever looking out for ourselves! I tried to change it, I did...but I failed. So...we all deserve to die! Ahaha!"

"Do you want to die?" Maki growled, and Lyra just chuckled.

"Cool it, Maki Roll."

Something inside of Maki was fired. She didn't know what...but just the mention of that nickname just did it. Only one person called her that...Why couldn't she remember...?

"Don't forget! The impossible is possible! All you gotta do is make it so! Got it, Maki Roll?"

...Only one person was indeed allowed to call her that.

"...I'll take you down!"

Quicker than anyone could predict, Maki dashed up toward Lyra, a knife in her hand. She was fully aware of the consequences, and Maki was prepared to suffer them to protect her friends. Maki's knife fell forward...

...and Lyra just smiled before she twirled, dodged, and promptly slammed her fist into Maki's face.

The sheer force of Lyra's punch sent Maki to the ground, unconscious. As everyone stared in silent horror, Lyra's cackle echoed throughout the chamber.

"Oops! My fist slipped," Lyra giggled. "Bet you weren't expecting that, were you? Sorry, but you'll have to try a lot harder than that."

"Y-You're a ballerina-how-how did you do that?" Toko was just in shock. "S-she's an assassin-and you-how-? P-Please don't hurt me!!"

"I mean, I won't...yet. But don't worry...I'll get
there eventually," Lyra's grin grew wider. "Watch your step! I won't waste any time in trying kill you all for what you've done."

Without another word, Lyra turned around and smugly walked off. Byakuya just sneered before turning on his heel to leave as well, with Toko trailing behind him. The rest were left to stare in utter shock. Aoi quickly rushed over to Maki's unconscious body.

"I...didn't even know Janelle that well...but this is so unfair...!"

"It's possible that you did know her," Shuichi sighed. "It's possible that we all knew her...Maybe we did, but Monokuma took that away from all of us..."

"This is all just so terrible!" Aoi sniffled. "Lyra must have hit Maki really hard, she's out cold..."

"We were so worried about Byakuya, we were blind to just how dangerous Lyra really was!" Hiro cowered in fear. "She even took Maki out..."

"...We've gotta restrain her. We've gotta stop her!" Kazuichi vowed. "Someone that dangerous can't be walking away freely. Not only is Byakuya on the loose, so is Lyra...!"

"But you saw what she just did to Maki!" Hajime exclaimed, sweat rolling down his face. "What are we supposed to do about that?"

"...We've just gotta stay calm," Makoto said, despite his own fear upon seeing the brutal execution. "I know...I know that we can do this...if we work together...!"

"...L-Lyra did kinda have a p-point," Nico hated to admit that the girl who was more prone to kidnapping her than anything else was at least right about everyone's suspicion. "I-I mean...we couldn't s-stay friendly for a-a day and M-Monokuma didn't even say much..."

"Things...Things will be different this time! Janelle...Janelle murdered to be a part of her family. No one else here is like that!"

"That is what we thought before, but Lyra...Lyra was a monster hiding in plain sight..." Sonia gulped. Her love for the occult didn't mean that the executions were any less awful for her. "No, I must not think like that. We can do this all together!"

"I...I think we should stop deluding ourselves," Fuyuhiko muttered. "It's not that I'm gonna kill. But we have some serious enemies...and we fuckin' can't trust anyone here. That's...that's just the damn truth."

"Everyone..." Makoto glanced around, but mostly everyone was completely shaken. "I know that this is all crazy, but we...we can work through this! I know we can..."

Everyone remained silent at that. The images of the dead Kyoko and Janelle, unconscious Maki as well as the deranged Lyra continued to flash through everyone's minds. Lyra had been the one who had encouraged trust, and now she was actively trying to kill them all for somehow betraying that trust. Kyoko seemed to be the only one with a grasp on what was going on, and now she was gone. Janelle's desperate desire to fit into her toxic family had resulted in her giving into murder...

All of these thoughts floated through everyone's heads. As they all thought about this, there was only one consistent thought between everyone about their situation...

The overwhelming feeling of despair.