Several days passed since the carnage sisters announced the motive. Just as they said, each infinite would receive a motive envelope with a message in it. Despite the carnage sisters saying that no dark secrets lingered in the notes, it was decided that reading the notes was genuinely a bad idea. While everyone held onto their own note, it's hard to say if this decision was honored or not. 

Meanwhile, Krista made several revisions to her letter to the outside world. Almost everyone was in the second-floor resort, but not Ice. He was headed for Krista's room. As soon as he arrived, he gently tapped on her door.

[color=orange]“Are you almost done?”[/color] Ice and Krista both knew they had to be very careful with a message like this. If Monokuma or Davis ever caught wind of it, what might they do?

Hearing Ice outside her door, Krista scrambled from the desk and opened the door for him quickly, fearing somebody would overhear him. In her hand was the Braille Othello board game she had received a while ago from the carnage sisters. At Ice's look, she explained her idea loudly. [color=6c9b8f]"It's why we're going to see Aleecia, remember?"[/color] Her intention was to use the board game as the excuse should they get caught sneaking around in Aleecia's room by Monokuma or the carnage sisters. Nobody would bat an eye at such an innocent gesture, right?

Closing the door to her room behind her, Krista began leading the way. [color=6c9b8f]"Do you think she'll be okay once she gets out of here?"[/color] She decided to make small talk.

[color=orange]“The temptation is to say that no place could be worse than here.”[/color] He placed a hand on the back of his neck. [color=orange]“But I don't know anymore. Ya gotta wonder if things aren't just as bad on the outside. We've been here almost a week now. ”[/color] he sighed. [color=orange] “Anyway, I invited Mercy to come along, just in case something goes wrong when I try to thaw her out. I don't think there will be any problems but.”[/color] The blood donor trailed off. [color=orange] Did you look at your motive letter?[/color]

Mercy was coming along? Krista chewed on her lower lip. It wasn't as if Krista distrusted Mercy... but she was not sure how comfortable she felt with an extra person knowing. But regardless, it was a good idea to keep a doctor around while messing around with Aleecia's pod. The last thing Krista wanted to do was to end up killing the comatose girl by accident. When the conversation moved on to the motive letters, Krista shook her head at Ice's question. [color=6c9b8f]"I've been too scared to do it."[/color] She admitted sheepishly. [color=6c9b8f]"I want to know what's in there but... I'd rather not open it if it means nobody has to die..."[/color] She then looked at Ice. [color=6c9b8f]"Did you open it?"[/color]

Ice groaned uncomfortably.[color=orange]“They use a bow almost every day, but they are not an archer.”[/color]

The surprise was evident on her face. [color=6c9b8f]"W-wait, so you got Zachary's note? But... he's the infinite archer for a reason, right?"[/color] 

[color=orange]“Maybe it's not him.”[/color] Ice walked up some stairs. [color=orange]“The only reason why I opened it was because I figured someone was just as likely to kill to figure out what was being said about them. As it turns out, it's just a stupid motive cooked up by some robots with room temperature IQs.”[/color]  

[color=6c9b8f]"I don't think anyone will want to risk becoming the blackened after what happened to Lucas. That... was brutal, who would wanna try after that?"[/color] Maybe it was just naive hope on her part, but Krista wanted to believe in the remaining infinites. 

Ice's eyes quickly darted between Krista and the path ahead. They just had to circle around the pharmacy to get to the pod room. [color=orange]“It's not smart to think that someone's going to get deterred by an execution. That could have been all of us except for him had we not figured out he did it. He was pretty close too.”[/color] He shivered. [color=orange]“There was a moment there where only Davis thought we could discover the blackened.”[/color] He turned to look at Krista.  [color=orange]“He's not going to be helping us this time, he's going to be watching us.”[/color]

Krista wanted to insist that a second murder was not going to happen, but how sure was she? [color=6c9b8f]"I just... would like to think that we will never have to go into the court room again. Last time was hard enough..."[/color] She added the final statement quietly. It was obvious Krista was feeling uncomfortable with the topic. [color=6c9b8f]"Enough with the [i]trebling[/i] thoughts,"[/color] Quick to change the topic with a pun, Krista continued. [color=6c9b8f]"We've got an interesting adventure ahead of us!"[/color]

Ice let out another sigh. [color=orange]“I'm sure it doesn't need to be said, but I'm not that trusting of others.”[/color] He crossed his arms. [color=orange]“I'm glad so many of you are proving to be... trustworthy.” [/color] 

The doors to the pod room opened up.

[color=beige]"Oh, hey guys!"[/color] Having arrived early, Mercy was taking notes on Aleccia's condition. Putting the clipboard she was writing on to the side, the doctor walked Ice and Krista over to the dice master's pod. [color=beige]"I haven't exactly seen someone put in stasis like this before, so I did a bit of research when I could."[/color] She said, stepping aside for the other two.

[color=6c9b8f]"Thanks! That'll be of great help!"[/color] Guided by Mercy, Ice and Krista entered the pod room and shut the door behind them. [color=6c9b8f]"Since you're the expert now, do you think it's safe to open it up?"[/color] Krista questioned the plague doctor after setting the cardboard box on a table beside Aleecia's pod.

[color=orange]“The problem with cryogenically freezing someone is the thawing and freezing process.”[/color] Ice approached a terminal beside Aleecia's pod. [color=orange]“From what I understand, this freezes and thaws a body so quickly that the tissue isn't damaged in the process. It sounds like science fiction, I know. I told Nariko that I thought she had killed Aleecia, which is how I discovered how to run this thing. ”[/color] Ice touched the display, and some images came up on a holographic screen. [color=orange]“Okay, so then she went to this menu, and then she selected thaw, she confirmed. And... ”[/color]

The cover of the glass clouded up for just a second, but when it thawed, Aleecia was awake. She was still in a lot of pain, but clearly alive. [color=lightblue]”W-what's going on!?”[/color] Her eyes were squinted shut. [color=lightblue]“Who's there!?”[/color] She was starting to panic, and Ice didn't know what to say.

Aleecia was awake! That was a pleasant plot twist, to say the least. Though Aleecia looked like she was still in pain, she seemed to be okay and... well, being awake and in pain was probably better than being potentially brain dead. To try to calm the dice master, Krista softly spoke up. [color=6c9b8f]"It's okay, you're okay!"[/color] Krista wanted to touch Aleecia on the back to calm her down, but felt that it was likely not going to help their case very much. [color=6c9b8f]"It's me, Krista... Ice is here too! And we also have Mercy here, she's our doctor!"[/color] She looked at her two companions, hoping they'd speak up and make themselves known to the blind girl.

[color=beige]"Seien Sie nicht beunruhigt, we only thawed you out of stasis."[/color] Mercy reassured Aleccia, putting a hand on the glass. [color=beige]"Are you feeling any different? Has your condition worsened, improved?"[/color] She asked the dice master.

[color=orange]“It's just us, Aleecia!”[/color] Ice was smiling, if just to try and cheer up the dice master. But he must have been panicking because there was no way the blind girl was going to see Ice's face.

Aleecia's body was trembling. It was hard to say if it was because she was still cold, or the pain was just that great. [color=lightblue]“Familiar voices...”[/color] She listened to the doctor's words carefully. [color=lightblue]“Yes, I'm-”[/color] her face scrunched up in pain. [color=lightblue]“It comes in waves. The back of my head feels like it's beating like my heart.”[/color] She was sweating, and reached a hand up to hold her head.  [color=lightblue]“I think it's about as bad as last time.”[/color] She seemed to be calming down, but her pain was evident in her breathing. 

Krista breathed a sigh of relief. Aleecia was calming down. [color=6c9b8f]"Is there any possibility we can give her some painkillers? Or something to ease the pain? I don't like that she's hurting..."[/color] Part of Krista felt guilty, did waking her up cause the pain? 

Ice shook his head [color=orange]“ Nariko said that if we do anything to ease her pain, it will cause her to bleed faster.”[/color]  

[color=lightblue]“So...”[/color] She paused to regain her breath [color=lightblue]“Are you going to fix this? Is this why I'm awake now?”[/color]

[color=6c9b8f]"Not... exactly..."[/color] Krista picked up the braille board game from the table. She leaned closer towards Aleecia to explain in a hushed tone, loud enough for Mercy to hear too. She was already here, why keep her out of the loop? [color=6c9b8f]"Nariko... told me that you were going to be sent away and... I thought that maybe we could send a message for help with you."[/color] Krista explained. She then stood up carefully. [color=6c9b8f]"I wanted to give you this gift before you had to leave... so you could have something to do or remember us by when you're safe in the real Axis Mundi."[/color] Krista gently placed the board game on Aleecia's lap, guiding her hand towards the box where she could open and feel the message stuck inside.

Everyone could see Aleecia's eyebrows raise in surprise.[color=lightblue]“Something to remember you by, outside the killing game...”[/color] For a moment, it was like all of her pain had gone away. [color=lightblue]“I definitely won't forget any of you”[/color] She placed her hands on the box. [color=lightblue]“When the rest of you get out of here, I'm going to play a game with each of you. But Ice first.”[/color]

[color=orange]“Yea.”[/color] Ice leaned on the edge of the pod. [color=orange]“We'll all come play with you.”[/color]  

[color=lightblue]“I can't wait...”[/color]

Ice didn't waste any time in rushing up to the controls and initiating the freezing sequence. The lid lowed back down onto Aleecia and froze her under a blanket of white mist. She looked like she was sleeping with the Othello box under her arm. Or she was dead. Though neither of those were right.

[color=orange]“Thanks, doc.”[/color] He gave a nod to Mercy. He turned to Krista and winked. [color=orange]“Hope she enjoys the gift.”[/color]

Krista grinned at Ice, giving him a thumbs up. Knowing that Aleecia was going to be sent away to safety was already a relief, but with the added bonus of knowing she was fine under all that ice. It was cute, actually. She and Ice seemed to be really close, and it was ice that was keeping her safe. [color=6c9b8f]"I have a good feeling about this."[/color] With Krista's job now done, she began backing away. [color=6c9b8f]"I think this is my cue to leave. I feel... a little tired so I think I'll head back to my room. See ya guys later~!"[/color] She left the room.

Krista started to walk back to her room by herself. Without Ice by her side, she was reminded of how creepy abandoned hospitals were. Even with all the work done to the third floor, you could tell this floor didn't look much different than the one below until recently. She knew this wasn't the real Axis Mundi. It couldn't be. 

By the time Krista got to the stairs, she could see something was resting at the bottom of the stairs that hadn't been there before. If the clothes were anything to go by, it was Shaun. But he was laying on his face, his scarf sprawled out like a river of blood.

Slightly panicked, Krista manuevered around Shaun towards the bottom of the stairs to try assisting the web designer. [color=6c9b8f]"Shaun? Here, lemme help you up..."[/color] There was no response. Krista assumed he had fainted and fallen down the stairs. She reached out to pull him up intending to make Shaun lean on her for support.

While Krista was able to pick up Shaun's torso, he made no attempt to assist her efforts. Shaun's torso was leaning against her leg, but would fall over if she didn't support it with her hands. But Krista was finally able to see Shaun's pale face as she pulled him up, making him lean heavily against her shoulder. It was paler than she remembered, and she felt her stomach twist uncomfortably. [color=6c9b8f]"...Shaun?"[/color] She checked his breathing.She could feel his breath coming through his nostrils. As she continued to panic, she felt his wrist for a pulse. It appeared that Shaun was alive, but unconscious. Feeling relieved, Krista set Shaun back down again carefully, muttering she will be back as she bolted up the stairs to find Mercy.

It didn't take long for Krista to retrace her steps. Mercy and Ice were leaving the pod room together when they saw her. Krista looked distressed enough that the two were able to tell something was very wrong.

[color=orange]“What happened?”[/color] The two didn't wait for a response and immediately followed Krista down the stairs to Shaun's body. [color=orange]“Shit! Doc, you've got to wake him up!”[/color]

[color=beige]"Hold on, I may have some smelling salts in my bag somewhere!"[/color] Mercy quickly assured the other two, searching through said bag, trying to hurry. [color=beige]"For now, check Shaun's pulse when he doesn't seem to be breathing. But does he have a spinal injury? How cold is he?"[/color] She asked Krista, trying to find out what's wrong with the web designer.

Ice was quick to follow the doctor's orders.[color=orange]“Uh, he seems pretty normal. I don't think his back is broken, and he feels warm.”[/color] Ice turned to look at the base of the stairs, and his eyes shot open. [color=orange]“Son of a bitch!”[/color] While still holding Shaun, Ice reached for something and held it up for everyone to see. It was a syringe, and most of the fluid had been squeezed out of it. 

Krista began stammering at the sight of the syringe, panicking. [color=6c9b8f]"What is that? Is that poison?"[/color] She was keeping a hold of Shaun whilst Mercy and Ice examined him together.

Just as the doctor found the salts needed, Mercy's eyes widened in fright when Ice found a syringe on the stairs. [color=beige]"Oh no, no no no no no...!"[/color]  Right away, she already knew what it was. [color=beige]"It's not poison, but anesthetic..."[/color] She hesitantly told Krista. 

At first, there was nothing; sensation had seemingly vanished for a brief second. A numbness permeated throughout Shaun's body shortly after the smell hit his nose, and in the short time following the feeling somewhat lessened. Nausea struck at his stomach quickly, as did a dull headache, and before long his eyes fluttered open, blinking profusely as to shield his eyes from the light. 

At first, he barely moved, listening idly to the comments made by those around him. Did he recognise those voices? The headache made thinking about placing them a difficult task, but still he tried, as their words gradually came into clarity. [colour=SlateBlue]"Wh-"[/colour] he tried to speak, but all that escaped his throat was a dry croak. His eyes opened fully, watching the otherwise blurred shapes manifest fully as people, two of which he knew, and instinctively he panicked, attempting to stand.

Ice steadied Shaun as he stood up. [color=orange]“What happened?”[/color] the blood donor held the web designer as he seemed to wave back and forth. 

Shaun's mouth opened slightly, as though he were about to say something, but closed again shortly after as his eyes scanned the surrounding area. His gaze took in the location, and the people, attempting to formulate an idea of what was going on. [colour=SlateBlue]"I-I... I don't..."[/colour] he stuttered, before raising his hand to his mouth a minor bout of nausea.

[color=6c9b8f]"Ice!"[/color] Krista chided. Shaun had only just come to, would it be so bad to ask if he was feeling alright first? [color=6c9b8f]"I found you just lying on the stairs like this, are you feeling alright?"[/color] Krista pressed a palm against Shaun's cheek anyway, to check his temperature like a child dealing with a fever. Seeing Shaun react by covering his mouth to stop anything from coming out, she felt like she got her answer. 

[color=6c9b8f]"Do you have some water with you, Mercy? I think he needs it..."[/color] She asked.

[color=beige]"Not really, but I can get some if you don't mind!"[/color] Mercy told Krista, stepping up one of the stairs' steps just in case.

The blood donor sighed. [color=orange]“You don't understand, I just saw him not long ago.”[/color] Ice stepped away from Shaun. [color=orange]“He came to see Aleecia, but she was in the pod so it wasn't possible for him to really talk with her at the time.”[/color] Ice looked back at the web designer. [color=orange]“Do you remember anything?”[/color] 

[colour=SlateBlue]"N...no..."[/colour] he coughed out, casting a look between Ice, Krista, and Mercy, individually and respectively, [colour=SlateBlue]"I-I... I l-left, a-and was gonna... return to m-my room... b-but..."[/colour] his eyes scrunched closed, and he lay his head back against the wall, clearly not used to the experience, [colour=SlateBlue]"...S-sorry..."[/colour]

[color=6c9b8f]"You're silly for apologising."[/color] It was Shaun's turn to be chided like a child. Krista patted Shaun's head almost too faintly, trying to give him a comforting smile. [color=6c9b8f]"Everything will be okay! We can get you back to your room once you feel like you're up for it."[/color] She assured the web designer.

With a quick trip to the kitchen, Mercy came back to the other three at the staircase and gave Shaun a cup of water. [color=beige]"I still don't get it though. Why would a syringe of anesthetic be here in all places?"[/color] She wondered out loud. [color=beige]"Unless someone tried to attack Shaun..."[/color]

Readily, Shaun grasped the cup from Mercy, despite being unfamiliar with her, and quickly drank it down. The moment in was emptied, he removed it from his lips, but suddenly looked away sheepishly, realising how avarously he had done so. [colour=SlateBlue]"Th-thank you..."[/colour] he trailed off, before handing the cup back to Mercy.

Once she had taken it, he looked back to the group and gave something of a small, shy smile.[colour=SlateBlue]"I-I... think I'm o-okay..."[/colour] he stuttered, reaching to his trouser for his handbook, [colour=SlateBlue]"I-is it... a-alright to go b-back to my roo-"[/colour] his train of thought stopped abruptly, and his eyes seemed to reflect something of a panic; his hands dipped into each of his pockets in turn, before he glanced around the area, [colour=SlateBlue]"W-w-was my h-handbook around..?! I-I can't find it..."[/colour]

Ice grit his teeth. [color=orange]“Alright.”[/color] The blood donor pulled the bandages on his wrists tighter. [color=orange]”Let's get everyone together and find that notebook.”[/color] Ice immediately ran back upstairs, not waiting for a response.

[color=6c9b8f]"I'll go further ahead, maybe you just dropped it when you fell?"[/color] Krista stood up once she felt Shaun was stable enough, before hurriedly going further into the hallway to look around for the handbook.

[color=beige]"I'll try and get some of the others down here to help."[/color] Mercy said, then turned to Shaun. [color=beige]"You should take it easy. Maybe rest in the dining room till we find your handbook."[/color] She suggested to the web designer, before picking her bag up, and walking to the patient's quarters. The doctor's attention then turned to the study, seeing Alice walk out of said room. [color=beige]"Ah, perfect timing!"[/color] Mercy exclaimed, quickly grabbing the recon's arm, pulling her along. 

[color=red]"Wait what's going on now?"[/color]

[color=beige]"I'll explain on the way!"[/color]

In the bout of panic, Shaun barely registered what the others had said before each rushed off in their respective directions. Still slightly dazed from waking up, and everything that was going on, he chose to follow on behind Krista. [colour=SlateBlue]"D-do you see a-anything..?"[/colour] he said, slowly walking up behind her in the hallway. A muffled yell sounding like a 'no' was the only response he received.

Slowly, the quest to find Shaun's handbook spread like a plague. Before long, everyone was scouring Axis Mundi looking for the missing handbook. Some even stopped and checked each other in the event that one of them might have been hiding it. In their panic to find the book, they didn't realize that someone was uncounted for. Sadly, the search wasn't going nearly as fast as anyone would have liked. But no one gave up. When Ice returned check up on Krista, he noticed something strange in the patient's quarters.

[color=orange]"Everyone... There's something wrong here!"[/color]

Black smoke was escaping the seams in Shaun's room. Something very bad was going on in there.  Fortunately, Krista found the hand book in the dump room. Someone had buried it under some trash. She placed it securely in her pocket.

[color=6c9b8f]"We have to go check inside! Someone, get Monokuma or Nariko to help stop the fire! We gotta go in now!"[/color] Krista had nothing to protect herself from breathing in the smoke, so she improvised by ripping a handful of fabric from her dress to press roughly against her nose. Looking back once more, she gestured people (specifically Mercy, the only one with a mask!) to hurry up and follow her inside to help stop the flame from damaging most of Shaun's room, handbook pulled out and ready to be used.

At the sound of Ice's exclamation, Shaun followed on behind Krista, happy that they had managed to recover his handbook. However, his mood quickly soured as they came to the door, to see the smoke billowing from the cracks in the frame. He panicked for a second, but quickly lifted his scarf over his mouth and nose as to not breathe in any of the smoke, and waited for the door to be opened in terrified anticipation.

[color=beige]"Right!"[/color] Mercy said, tightening her mask's grip to her face. 

[color=red]"Wait, I'll need to borrow your hat for this."[/color] Alice told the doctor, taking said hat off her head. 

[color=beige]"Are you sure? The smoke might affect your eyes, well, eye."[/color] The doctor asked the recon. 

[color=red]"I'll be fine, now let's go!"[/color] Alice said, dragging Mercy to the door.

[color=orange]Ice put his sleeve over his face. “I never thought I'd say this, but I really hope a carnage sister shows up so that the fire can be dealt with.”[/color]

Sure enough, Geina emerged from the other end of the hallway. [b]“Quit being a buncha fuckin' babies, the fire's out already. Fire suppression system took care of it.”[/b]

[color=orange]"What!?"[/color]

Krista slid the key card and opened Shaun's room. There was a lot of smoke, but it cleared out quickly. The fire must have just smoldered and burnt out. The room was a mess, but what everyone was looking at was the shape towards the back of the room. The smoke was being sucked out of the room through emergency fire vents. But everyone wished it was just a fire when they saw what was at the back of the room...

[hider= The victim]
[img]https://78.media.tumblr.com/a4fefb0a6d90d8a3d790763a2031cc85/tumblr_oxxnj4vOZx1w6599so1_1280.png[/img]

There suspended off the floor was Marianne Roche. She had been strung up by her wrists and stabbed multiple times. With the adrenaline pumping through everyone's veins, that's all they were able to notice before their nerves forced them to look away.
[/hider]

With a chime, everyone's least favorite stuffed doctor appeared on screen.

[color=magenta]“A body has been discovered. The patients have a limited time to collect evidence before being called into the court of carnage. Do your best everyone!”[/color]

Ice placed his hand over his face. [color=orange]"Son of a BITCH!"[/color] 

By this point, the others had started to show up Bliss was there to hold Ice's head. [color=#F08172]“Don't get so worked up sweety. You can't let your blood pressure get too high. Deep breaths, deep breaths."[/color] Bliss looked away from Ice to look at everyone else. She was clearly upset. [color=#F08172]“So-”[/color] Her voice cracked. [color=F08172]“So it happened again, didn't it?”[/color]