Total Drama Danganronpa

Chapter 3:

The Unusual Side

After taking a deep breath Cody walked out of the elevator and found himself in a courtroom. It was by no means a normal courtroom; in fact it looked quite different. The room was circular and had a very high ceiling. In the middle of the room were sixteen stands for people to stand at and they were all arranged together in a circle. There was nothing in the very middle though. However out to the side was a small throne; it was easy to guess who sat there.

"This is the court…?" Cody said looking around.

"You're finally here." The teens all turned to see Monobear lounging around on the throne. "What do you think of the place? Isn't it great?"

"You have terrible taste." Heather said just to spite the bear.

"Hold on just a moment." Courtney stepped forward. Everyone turned to look at her. "There's something I need to ask before we begin. What does that mean?"

Courtney pointed toward two of the sixteen stands. One of the stands had a picture of Lindsay with a red X over it and the other was a picture of Dakota with the same mark. "It's not nice to exclude them just because they're dead." Monobear answered.

"Well what about the number?" Courtney continued. "You have sixteen places but there were only ever fifteen of us."

"There's no deep meaning behind it." Monobear answered casually. "This is simply a courtroom where the maximum number of participants is sixteen. Now let us end the introduction and begin with the class trial!"

The teenagers then walked up to the stands and stood there. Now arranged in a circle they could all see each other and no one was left out. There were a few moments of silence before Cody finally spoke. "Is the killer really one of us?"

Noah smirked, but said nothing. "Of course!" Monobear answered him. "It's without a doubt, the truth!"

"Alright," Brick spoke up. "I want whoever committed this crime to come forward and admit the truth."

"Don't be stupid." Eva sneered. "Whoever the killer is they're not going to just admit it."

Monobear gave off a small laugh. "Then please begin the discussion."

We can't afford to come to the wrong conclusion, Cody thought. Not just mine, but everyone's life is at risk!

Class Trial Start!

"Even if we discuss the issue…" Bridgette said uneasily.

"Where do we start?" Owen asked with a mouthful of food. He had brought a large sub sandwich down to the trial with him and was now eating it.

"I think we should begin with the weapon that was used in the crime," Courtney suggested.

Brick nodded. "The knife that pierced Lindsay's abdomen. There's no doubt that's what killed her."

"Well that's pretty obvious eh." Ezekiel nodded.

"No, it's an important clue." Cody said.

"Huh?"

"Because it means that someone took the knife from the kitchen."

"Then does that mean that whoever entered the kitchen is the culprit?" Bridgette wondered.

"Isn't Cody obviously the culprit?" Duncan asked her.

"Wait a minute," Bridgette said as she recalled something. "Cody wasn't the one who took the knife." Hearing this, the other teens looked surprised. "I was in the kitchen with Eva last night so I would know."

"That's right," Eva nodded. "Last night I was drinking coffee with Bridgette in the kitchen."

"I asked her to stay with me." Bridgette said embarrassed. "I admit I was a little scared to walk around by myself at night."

"It sounds like you two are just working with Cody." Sierra concluded. "You could've gotten the knife for him. We can't trust anything that any of you say!"

It was then that Monobear spoke up from his throne. "Even if there are accomplices, the only person that can graduate is the murderer. The person whose soul has been marked black."

"Even the journal said that." Noah scoffed.

Heather crossed her arms. "In other words, there's nothing to gain by covering up for someone else."

"Then…" Sierra hastily bit into the nail on her thumb. "If it wasn't Cody then who took the knife you stupid surfer?"

"Stupid surfer?" Bridgette grit her teeth at that remark and glared at Sierra.

"There was one other person who came into the kitchen while we were there." Eva brought up.

"Why didn't you say that before?" Noah sighed.

"That's because…" Bridgette looked down at her feet. "That person isn't here anymore…"

Cody looked at the surfer. "You mean…"

"Lindsay," she nodded. "The only other person who came into the kitchen that night was the victim herself."

"Lindsay…took the knife?" Cody said it out loud but it made no sense to him.

Eva crossed her arms. "It sure seems that way."

*Flashback*

Bridgette and Eva both stood in the kitchen beside the counter. "Thanks a lot Eva," Bridgette. "For coming with me I'll make you some coffee!"

"Whatever." Eva shrugged.

Just then the door to the kitchen opened. Both girls turned to see Lindsay walk in. She seemed surprised to see them there. "Oh hey girls. Were you thirsty too? I just came to get something to drink."

"Ah okay," Bridgette said quietly. Both she and Eva stood there while Lindsay walked behind them over to the fridge. She pulled some milk out of the fridge and then quickly walked back to the door.

"Okay, bye!" She said goodbye in a hurry and before both girls knew it she was gone. What they hadn't seen was that the rack of knives on the wall behind them was one short.

*End Flashback*

"At the time we didn't think much of it." Bridgette continued.

"So Lindsay really was the one who took the knife." Brick said out loud.

"That was probably for self defense purposes." Cody tried to explain.

"Regardless, someone must have taken it from her and used it to kill her." Noah said.

"Yeah…"

"And Cody?" Noah smirked. "It's too early to say you're no longer a suspect."

Cody sighed but didn't say anything. "T-That's right!" Sierra exclaimed. "Cody is surely the culprit!"

"I told you I'm not!" Cody shot back at her. Why aren't they understanding me? If they keep this up, everyone will die!

"Wait," Courtney spoke up. "Isn't it a bit early to assume Cody is the suspect?" This caught everyone's attention. "There's evidence that suggests that Cody isn't the killer."

"If you've got something to say, then say it." Eva told the CIT.

"Recall if you would, the location where the crime took place." Courtney said. "Could the culprit have easily entered the bathroom?"

"What do you mean?" Heather asked.

"The door to the bathroom in my room was broken." Cody explained.

"There were definitely signs that the door had been broken into." Harold acknowledged.

"Cody broke into the room right?" Sierra assumed. "On purpose!"

"Actually that's the reason we can't just assume Cody is the culprit." Courtney continued.

"What do you mean?" Lightning asked. "If the only option is to break through it then normally wouldn't you break it down? That's what Lightning would do since it was locked from the inside."

"No, that's wrong!" Cody spoke up. "Only the bathroom doors inside the girls' rooms can be locked."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"The bathroom doors in a boy's room can't be locked. Isn't that right Monobear?" Cody asked.

Monobear didn't seem like he had been paying much attention until Cody called his name when he suddenly sat up. "Yes, that is true."

"Well then why wouldn't the bathroom door open in Cody's room?" Ezekiel asked.

"That's because my door has a problem." Cody explained. "The culprit probably believed the door wouldn't open because it was locked from the inside. That's why they had to break down the doorknob."

"If Cody was the culprit, he wouldn't have needed to waste his time breaking the doorknob to get in." Courtney said.

"You're saying it isn't Cody?" Sierra hesitated.

Cody looked at Courtney and smiled. "Thank you Courtney."

"It's not over yet," she said looking at him. "So you can't relax just yet."

"Let's just say the culprit is someone else," Heather acknowledged. "Why is it that the culprit thought the bathroom was locked when the room belonged to a boy?"

"The reason the culprit didn't realize this is because they thought the room belonged to Lindsay." Courtney explained.

"Then the culprit is someone who didn't know Cody and Lindsay switched rooms?" Harold asked.

"That's everyone besides Cody!" Sierra exclaimed.

"Then who did it?" Lightning asked. "Cause Lightning wants to know!"

"Alright then, I think it's time to vote." Brick said.

"Isn't it a little early?" Ezekiel asked.

"Yeah, isn't this situation kind of dangerous?" Owen asked with a worried look on his face. "We should keep going."

"I have a question." Bridgette spoke up. "How did the culprit even enter Cody's room?"

"Maybe they picked the lock?" Duncan suggested.

"No," Brick shook his head. "The locks on our doors are supposed to be protected against such methods."

"I think I can answer that question." Harold adjusted his glasses. "Lindsay must've let the culprit in herself!"

"Harold there's no way Lindsay would've opened the door for anyone." Cody said.

"Why must you disagree with my theories? Gosh!"

"That's because…" Cody thought back to that night. "She was so afraid that night she was shaking. I can't believe she would've open that door for anyone."

"But what if that fear was just an act?" Courtney asked.

A look of surprise crossed Cody's face. "W-What are you talking about? There's no way that's true!"

"Of course it's not the kind of possibility you would consider Cody." Courtney then pulled out a piece of paper and held it out for him to see. "But can you still say that after seeing this?"

Cody looked over and read the paper; it was in Lindsay's handwriting. There's something I want to talk to you about, it read. Please come to my room tonight. Check the room plates on the handbook to find the correct room.

"What…what is that? What does it mean?" Cody said confused.

"I found that note in your room Cody." Courtney went on. "Did you write this?"

"…no, I didn't write this." Cody said in no more than a whisper.

"I didn't think so. That piece of paper has Lindsay's signature at the bottom."

"But why did she give someone this message?" Cody asked Courtney.

"She used this message to lure someone into your room."

"If a cheerleader like Lindsay asked a boy to come to her room at night then they'd definitely come." Harold reasoned. "What guy wouldn't?"

"But the message with Lindsay's handwriting said "please come to my room" correct?" Heather asked. "If so, wouldn't the culprit have gone to Lindsay's room where Cody was sleeping?"

"No," Courtney shook her head. "They'd have gone to Cody's room. When Cody and Lindsay switched rooms the nameplates above the doors also switched. Unless the culprit checked the journal then they'd believe Cody's room was Lindsay's."

"Then the person who Lindsay sent that message to must've gone to Cody's room believing it was Lindsay's." Noah concluded.

"But who switched the name plates?" Courtney wondered. "Of course it wasn't Cody, right?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah…"

"Then…who did?" Duncan asked.

"There is only one possibility," Cody said. "The only other person who knew we switched rooms…" He stared downcast at the floor. "It was Lindsay…"

This drew some surprise from the other teens. "But what was the purpose in calling for someone while switching rooms?" Bridgette asked.

"Lindsay must've planned to murder this person and intended to put the name plates back to their correct place after it was finished." Noah told her. "That would allow her to blame the whole thing on Cody the next day."

"That can't be true!" Cody objected.

"Can you prove that it isn't?" Noah asked. "There's a good deal of evidence showing that must've happened. The flaw to her plan was that she must've been attacked back by the person she targeted."

"She must've attacked first with the sword eh." Ezekiel theorized.

"Unlikely," Heather scoffed. "The culprit probably used that to defend themselves when Lindsay attacked."

"What do you mean?"

"The damage on the sheath suggests it was used in that way." Noah explained. "If everything had gone as she planned Lindsay would've been standing here looking innocent." He smirked. "I have to admit, for a dumb blonde she was smarter than she looked."

Cody couldn't believe it. This didn't sound like the Lindsay he had known at all. She had been a kind and caring individual who wouldn't hurt a fly. "Why Lindsay?" Cody whispered to himself. "Why?"

"In order to escape from here of course." Heather answered.

"But it's not even funny that her own plan turned against her like that." Noah commented.

Hearing this Cody's face turned an angry red. "Shut the hell up Noah! You don't have to say it like that."

"What's the problem? That's just how this stupid game works."

"Even so you shouldn't—

"Calm down." Courtney interrupted. She placed her hand on Cody's shoulder. "This isn't the time to argue amongst ourselves."

"No kidding." Eva spoke up. "Since we still don't know why the killer is."

"We better figure it out soon!" Sierra said freaking out. "Otherwise we'll all be killed!"

Come on Cody, think! Cody thought to himself. If we don't come up with something it's all over! He closed his eyes. There must be something we haven't gone through yet.

"We better figure something out soon," Duncan commented. "We're all out of evidence."

A light bulb went off in Cody's mind when he heard that. "That's wrong!"

"What'd you say to me?" Duncan glared at Cody.

"We still have evidence left. There's still the dying message Lindsay wrote!"

"Dying message? What dying message?"

"I believe Cody is referring to the blood mark on the wall beside Lindsay's corpse." Courtney explained.

"What was that anyway?" Owen asked.

"You talking about that weird shape on the wall?" Lightning asked. "I couldn't tell what it was."

They asked around but none of the teens knew what it was. Cody closed his eyes again and imagined what must've happened. So after the tables were turned Lindsay must've gone in the bathroom to hide because the door was forcefully opened. Then she was murdered by her own knife…

"I got it!" He exclaimed. Everyone stopped talking and turned toward him. "The message on the wall; because of Lindsay's position she must've written it upside down which means the shape itself is upside down!"

"How does that help us?" Heather asked. "I can't exactly picture it in my head and flip it over anymore."

"I can probably draw it," Harold offered. "I have some wicked art skills and my memory is pretty good I just need some paper." As it turned out Ezekiel had some paper on him and gave a blank piece to the redhead. "Thanks."

Harold started to draw the image from his memory. He may have exaggerated his artistic skills but it was good enough that when he finished everyone agreed that was what it looked like. "Now turn it over Harold."

Harold nodded and flipped the paper one hundred and eighty degrees so the top and bottom were flipped. "Gosh!" The image now looked very familiar.

"Is that a…skull?" Cody asked.

"I feel like I've seen that skull before." Owen said.

"Yeah, you have. Right there." Noah said pointing toward Duncan. They all looked and could see the exact same skull on the punk's shirt.

Duncan had a rather horrified look on his face as everyone stared at him. "S-So what? You idiots think because I have a skull on my shirt that I killed that blonde chick? That's just jumping to conclusions!"

"Because of where she was lying in the bathroom she drew the skull upside down." Courtney said.

"But a skull doesn't prove anything! If-If I killed her then why didn't she write my name down instead?"

"Lindsay wasn't all that intelligent," Courtney said. "Most likely she didn't know how to spell your name or at that moment she forgot it completely. But the skull on your shirt could've been more recognizable; perhaps the last thing she ever saw before you stabbed her."

"So what?" Duncan yelled at the girl. "That's just forced logic! You can't say I'm the killer!"

"If you're not the culprit, then why did you try to get rid of the evidence?" Courtney asked.

Duncan's face went white. Some of the others looked confused. "What are you talking about?" Brick asked her.

Cody thought about it for a moment before coming to his own conclusion. "You're talking about that piece of cloth that was found burnt in the trash right?"

"Oh yeah, I saw that!" Owen nodded.

"Is that what that was?" Lightning asked.

"Answer me this Duncan," Courtney turned to the punk. "Don't you have a lighter on you? I've seen you carrying it around and playing with it in your hands."

"S-So what?" Duncan shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Everything is starting to make sense now Cody."

Cody nodded. "This is what happened: after killing Lindsay the culprit must've been covered in blood. They needed to get rid of the evidence quickly in case anyone searched through their things. So taking his lighter, Duncan burned through his shirt till there was nothing left before leaving." Cody turned to Duncan. "That piece of cloth in the trash…that's one of your shirts isn't it?"

Duncan's face was white as a sheet as he gritted his teeth. Both hands firmly gripped the stand in front of him with such intensity his knuckles went white. His face started to sweat. "That sounds about right." Courtney commented. "Do you have any opposing comments Duncan?"

"Do I have any…opposing comments? Of course I do!" He screamed out. "Fuck you guys! I didn't fucking kill her! You're all a bunch of fucking idiots!"

"But you're the only one here with a lighter." Cody reasoned.

"That doesn't fucking prove anything!" The punk looked ready to kill Cody on the spot. "Somebody could've fucking stole it from me!"

"So you're saying if we searched your pockets right now we wouldn't find it?" Noah smirked.

Duncan slammed his hand down on the stand. "This is bullshit! You can't use me owning a lighter as evidence! That's just an imagined assumption!"

"Maybe," Cody acknowledges. "But that isn't the only evidence that suggests you are the killer."

"Stop making shit up!"

"The doorknob of the bathroom had loosened screws."

"So what?"

"Which tool would the culprit have used to loosen the screw?" Cody asked. "If I'm right, the screwdriver from the tool kit we were all given would have signs of being used."

"Screw you! You can't pin this shit on me!"

"Then I'll prove it with this." Cody said calmly. "Duncan would you show us your toolkit?" With that one sentence the anger left Duncan's face. His hands stopped gripping the stand so tightly and he let go. His face was sweating profusely. "If you had used it we would be able to tell."

"If for some reason you used it for other purposes would you explain where and how you used it?" Noah asked mockingly.

"Don't even think about making up excuses like saying you lost it." Courtney warned him.

But Duncan said nothing. The others looked at him with fear and disgust evident on their faces. "It seems there are no opposing comments from the accused." Noah smirked.

Monobear began to laugh. "It seems your discussion has led you all to the same idea. Then shall we start voting? Everyone please vote using the switch in front of you." As he said this, the top of the stand opened up revealing a voting panel. "Who will be the guilty party in this trial? Let's find out." Everyone then began to vote.

On one wall there stood a screen that showed the results of the voting as if it were a slot machine game. The faces of every teen spun around until it eventually slowed and landed on Duncan's face. "Yahoo!" Monobear exclaimed as he stood up. "That's the correct answer! The person who killed Lindsay is none other than Duncan!"

"Duncan…"

"I can't believe he would do that…"

"Bastard!"

"Why would you do something like that?"

Duncan wouldn't look anyone in the face. Instead he just stared at the floor. "…then what was I supposed to do?" Everyone quieted to hear what he was saying. "I mean, I was about to die! That's why I had no choice but to kill her!" He then suddenly pulled his head up and looked around at them all. "You would've all done the same thing in my position!" Having said this he sank to his knees and started to sob.

Cody looked away. "Well it seems you guys have managed to catch the killer." Monobear said; the scene playing out didn't seem to bother him at all. "The punishment will now be given out!"

Hearing this Duncan's eyes grew wide. "Hey wait a minute! I had no choice but to kill her! Haven't you guys ever heard of self-defense? I was only trying to protect myself!"

Monobear giggled. "Then let's carry out the punishment right away! Everyone is waiting."

"Wait! Stop!" Duncan said practically begging Monobear. But the bear just ignored him.

"I will not show mercy. If you break the law you must be punished. That's the rule of your own society!"

"Fuck this; I'm getting out of here!" Duncan turned around and ran to the elevator door. "Let me out! I want out!" He banged and pounded on it with his fist but he couldn't get it to open.

"For the super high school punk Duncan a special punishment has been arranged!" Monobear announced. He then hit a big red button on the side of his throne. Suddenly a door opened on the opposite side from the elevator. A few seconds later a heavy chain shot out and wrapped itself around Duncan's neck.

Duncan pulled at the chain in an attempt to free himself but it was too tight; he could hardly breathe. Instead it suddenly pulled back knocking him off his feet as it pulled him into the other room. The others ran into the room after him to see he had been pulled into a fenced off area. The door to the fence was locked so the teens could only stand in front of it and watch.

Behind the fenced off area Duncan had been chained to what looked like a dentist's chair. Above the chair was a very large spinning saw blade. Duncan struggled to get out but he was too tightly chained to even more. "Ahhhhh!" He screamed out as the saw blade slowly descended and began to slowly cut into the top of his forehead and make its way down. When the saw stopped spinning it had cut his body in half.

The teens could only watch in horror as Duncan was murdered in front of their eyes. Many looked away; some vomited or started to cry. None of them were unaffected by what they saw. Then Monobear walked into the room.

"Well now wasn't that exciting?" He asked. "If you don't want that to happen anymore than simply end your connection with the outside world and accept that you'll live here for the rest of your life."

At that moment Cody felt overwhelmed by his emotions. He wasn't sure whether to be angry, sad or disgusted. Monobear walked over to him. "I know what you must be feeling Cody."

"W-What?"

"You're in despair after being betrayed by Lindsay, right?"

"…don't make me laugh." Cody gritted his teeth. "All of this…everything that happened…it's all your fault!"

But before he could say anything more Courtney put her hand on his shoulder. "Calm down for now Cody. Getting mad at Monobear won't avenge Lindsay's death."

"Shit…" Cody cursed.

Hours later Cody lay on his bed in his room. He was alone and had spent the last while staring blankly at the ceiling. He couldn't manage to bring himself to do anything other than replay what had happened in his mind over and over. Cody couldn't forget what had happened nor could he force it from his mind.

The silence was finally broken when his doorbell rang. He managed to get to his feet and open the door. It was Courtney. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." Cody opened the door to let her in and shut it once she was inside. He walked back over to his bed and sat down on the edge. Clasping his hands together he stared at the floor while Courtney took a seat in a nearby chair.

"Cody there's something I want to tell you."

"It's about Lindsay isn't it?"

"Yes."

Cody said nothing and a moment passed in silence until Courtney continued. "It is true that Lindsay was without a doubt trying to lead you into a trap. That is the truth, but…what would she have been thinking before she died?"

Cody shrugged. "How should I know?"

"We may not be able to ask her, but I think we can figure it out." Courtney said. "It's likely that the very last thing she thought of was what she could do to save you." Hearing this Cody looked up at the girl. "If she didn't care about the consequences you would face then she would not have bothered to leave that message on the wall."

"I don't know." Cody shook his head. "She probably just wanted revenge on Duncan for killing her."

"Maybe, but I don't think so. Let me ask you this: did you ever ask yourself why she chose to call out Duncan? When she could've picked anyone she chose Duncan; someone who is bigger and obviously stronger than her. Why?"

Cody let out a short but dark laugh. "Maybe you didn't notice, but Lindsay wasn't exactly very smart. She probably just didn't realize that."

Courtney frowned. "My reasoning suggests otherwise. Ever since we got here I could tell you liked her, and that she liked you back; even if it was just as a friend. Do you recall what Duncan did to you on the first day?" Cody's eyes grew wide as he realized what she was getting at. "He punched you in the face. He hurt you and I'm sure Lindsay hadn't liked that. He didn't do it again but he wasn't exactly nice to you either."

"So what you're suggesting is…"

"What I'm suggesting is that Lindsay specifically chose Duncan because of the way he treated you. She chose him not because she believed she could kill him but because he had hurt someone she cared about and if I'm not wrong, the person she perceived as the most deserving to die."

"Why…are you telling me this?" Cody asked. He could not deny that some of what she said rang true in his heart.

"Because I believe you are someone that can go beyond her death and move forward." Courtney explained. "If you weren't that type of person you would not have been able to overcome this horrific situation."

"To go…beyond Lindsay's death…" Cody struggled. "That's not something I wish to do." Courtney looked confused at what he meant by that. Cody pulled himself to his feet. "Instead I will carry this burden and move forward! Lindsay and Duncan's death, I will carry that burden and move forward! To go beyond and to forget everything…" He shook his head. "That's something I won't do! I will carry everyone's death in my heart, move forward, and leave this place!"

Courtney smiled. "That sounds like a hard thing to do, but I admire you for it."

Cody nodded then walked over to his desk and pulled out a DVD disc. "This was what Monobear showed Lindsay a few days ago. I watched it. I believe this must be what drove her to do what she did."

Courtney nodded as she noted the tears forming in Cody's eyes. "Are you okay?"

Cody suddenly wrapped his arms around the CIT in a hug. "I'm sorry." He told her. "Do you mind?"

She looked uncertain at first, but then shook her head. "No, it's fine. I don't mind."

She left a few minutes later. Cody was alone again, but felt just a little better.

Number of survivors: 12

A/N: Reviews are appreciated. Some things were obviously changed from the original such as Duncan being the killer. I also had to change the dying message since the original idea of numbers that spelled out the killers name would no longer work I went with something else. Not as good, but hopefully not terrible. That's all for now.