Chapter 8

Ruby's scroll beeped. She pulled it out of her pocked and slid it open. It was an incoming call from an unknown number. She answered it hesitantly. "Hello?"

"Hello, this is Theodore. Please come to the Velvet Room at your earliest convenience. There is something we must discuss. Please bring Yu as well."

"How did you get this number?" Ruby asked.

"Number?" Theodore was confused. "Why would I need a number? I am perfectly capable of reaching your communications device using my mind. I apologize if this call interrupted or startled you."

"It's fine." Ruby replied. "I just wasn't expecting this. Why do you need to see me?"

"There has been another change in the Fool." Theodore explained. "Please come to the Velvet Room with Yu so we can discuss this in detail."

"Alright, we're already on our way to the shadow world." Ruby said. "We'll see you soon."

"It seems the properties of the Fool are different than expected." Theodore said. Ruby and Yu sat across the table from him in silence. "As Yu can explain, the Fool is powered by the bonds made with others. The Fool's strength reflects the wielder's strength of heart. Normally, these bonds are formed over time and gradually build until they unlock their full potential. That no longer seems to be the case." Theodore sighed. "The cause is unknown. Perhaps the cause is Margaret's alteration of time. Perhaps it is a property of this world. The cause may exist within your own heart."

"What does it all mean?" Ruby asked.

"It seems you have unlocked the completed bond of the Wheel of Fortune." Theodore replied. "Your friend Weiss is of this arcana, and it seems that when she gained her Persona, you awakened the full potential of this arcana in yourself."

"How does this affect me?" Ruby inquired.

"It has unlocked the use of more than one Persona." Theodore answered. "In addition to your original Persona, Summer Rose, you have gained access to a Persona of the Fortune arcana. Yu has as well."

"How many Personas?" Yu asked.

"One." Theodore replied.

"Just one?" Yu was surprised. He had access to many Personas of the Fortune arcana when he was in Inaba.

"Yes, Margaret's alteration of time is still a limiting factor, but you both now have access to the Persona Norn." Theodore said. "I understand that you have wielded this Persona in the past, but it is not quite the same. Its properties and abilities are somewhat different. Perhaps it is Ruby's influence that has changed it. Your fates appear to be inextricably linked."

"What does that mean?" Yu asked.

"I cannot say for sure, but the two of you are definitely connected." Theodore said. "Ruby, if you continue to awaken new bonds, Yu will gain access to the same benefits you unlock for yourself."

"Well, I guess it's time to try the next portal." Yang said. She turned to Blake. "I wonder which one of us gets to suffer this time."

"I'm relieved to have gotten mine over with, but this torture is diabolical." Weiss said. "All of you had to go through this?" She asked the Investigation Team.

"Pretty much." Chie replied. "It's still painful to think about, but I think we're all stronger for it."

"I think it helped make us better people as well." Yukiko added. "If I hadn't faced myself, I think I'd still feel and act helpless. Now I know I have the strength to chart my own path."

"Yeah, I just would've gone on hating myself and pushing people away." Kanji said. "I've got these guys to thank for helping me through it, but facing my shadow was what really got things going."

"Well, no sense dwelling on the past or worrying about the future." Yosuke said. "Right now, we just have to focus on saving those people and bringing the culprit to justice." He boldly stepped through the portal and the others followed.

They seemed to be on a train. Looking out the windows, they could see scenery flying past at an impossible speed. Lying around the train car were crates baring the Schnee Dust Company logo. "Oh no, Weiss, is this world yours again?" Ruby asked.

"It's mine." Blake said. "I'll explain later." The others looked at her with concern. "It's a part of my life I was going to have to face someday. I guess today is as good as any."

"It's alright." Weiss encouraged her. "The past is the past. What matters is the person you are now, the Blake that's my teammate and friend." Blake did not respond and an awkward silence resulted.

"Kouzeon!" Rise broke the silence by summoning her Persona. "That's different." She said after a few moments of intense concentration. "I don't sense any weak shadows here." She refocused. "We seem to be in the middle of this train. There's a very powerful shadow at one end and the person in here is at the other. There are a few other relatively powerful shadows as well. Something about the train seems strange, but I can't quite place it."

"We should split up." Yu advised. "We'll rescue the victim; Team RWBY can take on the powerful shadow."

"That sounds risky." Yang said. "We're stronger fighting together."

"That may be the case, but the conditions of this world favor smaller teams." Naoto observed. "The train cars are rather narrow. If we all attempted to fight in the same place, we would likely just get in each other's' way. Besides, we don't know if taking extra time will allow the enemy to summon reinforcements. Rise may not be able to sense any other shadows, but they could be hiding just beyond the range of her scans. If we give the shadows time, they may concentrate against us."

"That's a good point." Ruby said. "We'll do it."

"If either team runs into trouble, the other should be close enough to come to its assistance." Rise reported. "This train is only about twenty cars long. If it's okay with you senpai, I'll go with Team RWBY to provide support since they have fewer members." Yu nodded in agreement. "I'll still be able to provide long-distance help too."

"Let's get going." Blake said. She stepped up to the door leading to the next train car, Gambol Shroud drawn and ready. Yang noticed that Blake was trembling. It was subtle, but she was clearly worried about what she was about to face.

"There's something strong in the next car." Teddie warned. "I can smell it." They opened the door and moved into the next train car. The location was totally incongruous with the rest of the environment. Instead of a tight train car, the room appeared to be a giant version of a one, at least five times as large as would be expected.

"At least we'll have room to use our Personas." Naoto said. "Perhaps we should have all stayed together after all."

"It's too late to worry about that now." Kanji said. "Where's the shadow? Show yourself!" He shouted as he shook his fist in the air.

"Intruders detected." A robotic voice said. A red glow began emanating from the walls. As the team's eyes adjusted, they could see that the lights originated from humanoid robots that when still and unlit had blended in quite well. There were twenty of them. "Terminate the intruders." The robotic voice commanded.

The robots stepped out into the center of the area and began shooting at the team. Chie summoned her Persona, and it created a wall of ice in front of the team. Teddie joined in, using his Persona to reinforce the barrier. "We should be able to hold them, you guys attack!" Chie encouraged. The gunfire from the shadows chipped away at the ice, but they were able to repair the damage as fast as it was done.

Yukiko summoned her Persona and with a wave of its arm, it engulfed the robots in fire. It made no effect at all. "Fire's not going to work." Yukiko concluded. Naoto tried darkness and light, but it was similarly ineffective. All the while, the shadows marched forward toward their icy barrier.

"I guess I'll just have to punch them to death!" Kanji announced. His Persona charged out toward the shadows, sword at the ready. The shadows concentrated their fire on Kanji's Persona, riddling it with bullets. It was resistant to this sort of physical attack, but the volume was too much. Kanji collapsed in pain as his Persona faded to static and disappeared. Yukiko went to work healing him.

The robot shadows approached the barrier. It was still proving effectively bulletproof. All at once, the shadows stopped shooting. Their arms reconfigured and turned into flamethrowers. They quickly began melting the ice. "We won't be able to hold them for much longer!" Teddie shouted with alarm.

"I've got this!" Yosuke yelled. His Persona blasted the shadows with wind, but it only fanned the flames, accelerating their progress in destroying the barrier. "Damn it! Somebody try something quick." The barrier gone, the robot shadows advanced and blasted Chie's and Teddie's Personas with fire. Chie's Persona quickly faded to static and disappeared as she writhed in pain. Teddie's lasted a little longer, but it too was soon defeated, Teddie falling over with a thud.

The shadows' arms began to reconfigure again, back into guns. They prepared to gun down the now defenseless group. "Izanagi!" Yu shouted. His Persona blasted the shadows with electricity. The shadows did not appear to be damaged, but they were stunned, shaking uncontrollably under the onslaught. "Finish them off!" Yu commanded, still deep in concentration. Kanji was back up thanks to Yukiko's healing and he sent his Persona charging into the mass of shadows. Joined by Yosuke's Persona, they cut down the helpless shadows with physical attacks. The shadows melted and evaporated until there was nothing left.

"There's a strong shadow in the next car." Rise warned.

"We can handle it." Blake said confidently. She opened the door and stepped into the next car, the others close behind. This car was totally different than the others, at least five times as large in all dimensions. Nothing about this world made sense.

"This'll give us some room to maneuver." Yang said. "I just wish it wasn't so dark." They could vaguely see the outline of the space, but only indistinct silhouettes were visible when it came to any objects occupying the car.

"Intruders detected." A robotic voice said. Soon, one of the indistinct objects in the middle of the area began to glow red. "Terminate the intruders." The robotic voice ordered. The object resolved into the appearance of a Spider Droid. It looked somewhat different from the robot they were familiar with, but shadows rarely looked exactly like the things they represented. The shadow fired a cannon shot at the group as they dove for cover.

"Rise, hide behind these crates." Ruby commanded. "We'll fight it." Rise nodded and ducked behind the crates. As usual, Yang was the first to charge into combat, running straight at the shadow. The shadow's cannons coalesced into one and it fired a powerful blast at Yang, hitting her dead center. It sent her tumbling backwards, all the way back to the rest of the team. She jumped back to her feet and charged again.

"What are we waiting for?" Blake asked. She joined Yang in her charge at the shadow.

"We should use our Personas to fight the shadow." Ruby said to Weiss. "That way we can stay here to protect Rise as well." Weiss nodded in agreement and they both summoned their Personas. The Personas joined the attack, just behind Yang and Blake. The shadow's four cannons separated and began firing separate shots at each of the assailants, slowing but not stopping the attack. Real Spider Droids could not fire so rapidly, but the shadow seemed to lack that limitation.

Yang reached the shadow and jumped onto it. Holding on with one hand, she repeatedly punched it in the face with the other. It seemed to have little effect, though the shadow was clearly having difficulty getting her off. Blake slashed at the shadow's legs with Gambol Shroud, but was similarly unsuccessful. "It resists physical attacks." Rise advised. "You'll have to try something else." Blake was momentarily distracted. The shadow took the opportunity to slam one of its legs into her, sending her flying across the room and slamming into the wall. She was temporarily dazed but stumbled back to her feet and rejoined the attack.

The shadow reared up on its hind legs, pulled its front legs in, and slammed Yang into the floor with all its weight. It was a heavy blow and Yang was stunned. The shadow reared up again, this time positioning its legs to use them as blades against the wounded Yang. Weiss's Persona made a shield of ice above Yang, and the shadow slipped clumsily as it unexpectedly struck the ice. Yang took the opportunity to roll to safety, and Weiss's Persona persisted in its ice attacks, totally encasing the shadow. The shadow burst out of the ice, apparently unharmed.

Ruby's Persona hit the shadow with a blast of wind, knocking it off its feet but leaving it otherwise unharmed. Weiss abandoned using her Persona and hit the shadow with a blast of fire from Myrtenaster, but it was similarly ineffective. "Nothing we have is hurting this thing!" Blake yelled. "What do we do now? Rise?"

"I don't know." Rise replied. The shadow had resorted to firing cannon shots at the team, but was having trouble keeping up with them and repeatedly missed. One of the shots struck a crate which caused a booming explosion. "What was that?!" Rise shouted, alarmed.

"The crates must be full of dust!" Weiss concluded. "I've got a plan. Ruby, use your Persona to push the shadow over there." She pointed to a sizable stack of crates near a wall on the far side of the train car. With a tremendous blast of wind, Ruby's Persona sent the shadow tumbling into the stack of crates. Using Myrtenaster, Weiss hit the crates with a blast of fire. The result was a thunderous explosion. The shadow was sent flying across the room. It slammed into another stack of crates which exploded from the shock, shattering the shadow into innumerable pieces which then dissolved and disappeared.

"You had me hiding behind a bomb!" Rise screamed angrily.

"Sorry, I didn't know." Ruby said meekly.

"Don't worry about it." Rise said, her emotion shifting to happiness with swiftness to be expected from a trained actress. "Great job on that shadow. You guys make an awesome team!" There was no disputing that.

"That was a tough fight." Weiss said. "I'm a bit concerned about what we'll have to face next."

"That wasn't so bad." Yang said confidently. "I barely broke a sweat. I'm sure we can handle whatever else we have to face here." Blake stared into the distance, a look of worry on her face. "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing." Blake lied. "I was just thinking about what we'll fight next." Yang knew she was not being truthful. Something else was clearly bothering her. Yang also knew she was unlikely to get anywhere by pressing Blake further.