Chapter 19

The main monitor switched on. It showed Naoto and Adachi facing off, their respective Personas at the ready. Nearby, Yu looked on, seemingly restrained by some unseen force. "It looks like they're on the roof." Yosuke said.

"We have to help them!" Kanji shouted.

"We're sealed in here." Rise said. "There's nothing we can do."

*Recommended Music: Fool or Clown? (Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Soundtrack)*

Magatsu-Izanagi swung its gigantic sword at Yamato Sumeragi, but Naoto's small and fast Persona was able to dodge the attack. It flew in, slashing Magatsu-Izanagi's face with its sword as it sailed past. Magatsu-Izanagi spun around and, with an arm outstretched, blasted electricity at Yamato Sumeragi. Naoto's Persona flew around making sudden darting movements to dodge the incoming attack while launching periodic blasts of fire back at Magatsu-Izanagi. The fire only seemed to make it angry.

Yamato Sumeragi's luck ran out as a bolt of lightning coursed through it. Naoto gasped in pain as her Persona was briefly stunned by the attack. Magatsu-Izanagi charged in with its sword, but Yamato Sumeragi recovered in time to dodge, countering with a stab to Magatsu-Izanagi's chest. Adachi's Person lashed out with a punch that connected with Yamato Sumeragi, sending the small Persona tumbling through the air. Magatsu-Izanagi unleashed a blast of wind that prevented Naoto's Persona from recovering while it closed in again.

"Shield of Justice!" Naoto shouted just as Magatsu-Izanagi swung its sword at Yamato Sumeragi. The blade struck its target but bounced off in a blinding flash of light. Adachi and his Persona both grunted in pain as the force of the attack was redirected into Magatsu-Izanagi's arm. Yamato Sumeragi unleashed a flurry of slashes at Magatsu-Izanagi, but they had no discernable effect. Magatsu-Izanagi blasted Yamato Sumeragi back with wind before hitting it with another bolt of lightning.

"It's time I finished you off." Adachi taunted. Magatsu-Izanagi closed with Yamato Sumeragi and brought its sword down hard. Yamato Sumeragi was only able to partially dodge the attack, taking a hit from the hilt instead of the blade. Naoto's Persona was knocked to the ground hard.

Naoto was exhausted and Yamato Sumeragi was close to destruction. Desperate times called for desperate measures. "Megidolaon!" She shouted. A ball of energy formed above Magatsu-Izanagi before slamming into it in a tremendous explosion. Both Personas were blasted away and the combatants were knocked off their feet. With both Personas defeated, only Naoto and Adachi remained to finish the battle. Adachi crawled around, struggling and failing to stand repeatedly as Naoto backed up toward where Yu was blocked by the invisible barrier. She took a deep breath and carefully stood, though it appeared she could fall over at any moment. Adachi too managed to get to his feet. The two injured combatants faced each other for a moment.

Naoto and Adachi simultaneously reached for their revolvers. The invisible barrier ceased to exist and Yu rushed in to help just as the two fired. Several gunshots rang out and Yu was sprayed with blood.

*Recommended Music: Time to Say Goodbye (RWBY v2 Soundtrack)*

Yang knew that her normal tactics would only lead to failure when facing Neo. Their last fight had made that much clear. Yang still felt an intense rage and hatred toward Neo, but it was tempered by a healthy respect for her fighting prowess. Yang summoned her Persona Turan and blasted fire at Neo. Neo opened her umbrella in the fire's path and the flames curved harmlessly around her. Still, Turan kept the flames coming. Using the fire to cover her approach, Yang charged, leapt over Neo and landed behind her. She attempted to punch Neo in the back of the head, but she dodged and mule-kicked Yang in the stomach.

Yang rushed back in, this time attempting to shoulder-block Neo. She made contact, but Neo shattered like glass, the fire from Turan now engulfing Yang harmlessly as she looked around in confusion. Neo, having teleported, appeared behind Turan. She removed her blade from the umbrella's shaft and repeatedly stabbed Turan in the back. Yang felt the pain and hastily withdrew her Persona as Neo continued to stab at it. Neo slid her blade back into her umbrella and smiled as Yang seethed. Yang ran at Neo but instead of attacking, stopped short. Neo looked somewhat confused by the move and swung her umbrella around at Yang's head. Yang ducked it and hit Neo in the face with an uppercut. Neo stumbled back and Yang pressed the attack, only to have her punches blocked by Neo's umbrella. Neo followed up by sweeping Yang's legs.

Yang slammed down onto her back and quickly rolled out of the way as Neo stomped her boot down at where Yang's face had been. Yang leapt to her feet and caught an oncoming kick. She punched Neo in the face, now forcing her to the ground. She dove on top of Neo and loosed a flurry of punches at Neo's head. Neo deftly dodged the shots before rolling Yang off. The two briefly separated before charging back at each other. Yang loaded up a mighty punch but completely missed as Neo sidestepped. With Yang off balance, Neo had no trouble kicking her in the back of the head. Yang tumbled to the ground. Before Yang could recover, Neo kicked her in the side of the head.

Ruby looked on as Yang lay motionless, Neo standing over her with a manic smile. Neo drew her blade and raised it over Yang. Staring into Ruby's eyes, she plunged the sword into Yang's midsection. Suddenly, Yang reached up, grabbed Neo's wrist and dragged her to the ground. With the blade still piercing her, Yang jumped on Neo and grabbed her by the hair. She slammed Neo's head into the ground repeatedly, each hit bloodying Neo's face. With Neo motionless, Yang rained punches down into the back of her head until it was crushed.

The invisible barrier ceased to exist and Ruby rushed to her sister. Yang smiled at Ruby's approach before slumping to the ground, Neo's blade firmly planted in her.

*Recommended Music: The Joker (Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Soundtrack)*

"Sho, please, we don't have to fight." Labrys implored.

"Can it you stupid toaster." Sho said, swiping his sword across in front of him for emphasis. With inhuman speed he charged at Labrys, swinging his twin swords at her furiously. Labrys blocked some of his attacks with her axe and dodged the rest as she was slowly backed up to the wall. Sho refused to let up as he stabbed at her wildly until he miscalculated and stabbed one of his blades into the wall.

Labrys took advantage of the opening, blocking the other sword before kicking Sho in the chest. Sho tumbled back, leaving one of his swords stuck in the wall. Labrys approached slowly but Sho displayed no caution. He charged straight at Labrys, this time stabbing instead of slashing, making it harder for Labrys to block his attacks. Labrys blocked one of the stabs hard, knocking Sho off balance. Labrys swung her axe at his torso but Sho had the presence of mind to duck as the massive weapon missed him by inches. He back-flipped away as Labrys slammed her axe down at the spot he had been standing in.

"Now you get it." Sho laughed. "Kill or be killed. I thought you of all people would understand." Labrys frowned and looked suddenly unsure of herself. Sho saw his opening and summoned his Persona Tsukuyomi. Labrys countered with her own Persona Ariadne. Tsukuyomi swung its blade at Ariadne, but Labrys' Persona caught the blade in a red string and twisted it away from Tsukuyomi. Ariadne stretched out an arm and a rune appeared on the ground below Tsukuyomi. Red spears shot up from the ground and into Tsukuyomi. It writhed in pain as Labrys charged in to finish it off. Just as she swung her axe around, Tsukuyomi disappeared. Labrys turned to see Sho, who had used his Persona as a distraction, attacking Ariadne. He stabbed at Labrys' Persona with his remaining blade, and Ariadne could not keep up with the attacks.

Labrys withdrew Ariadne just before she and it would have been defeated. Sho and Labrys now faced each other, both injured and exhausted. They charged at one another, both swinging their weapons in hopes of a single killing blow. The sickening sounds of metal on metal and rending flesh filled the air as the invisible barrier ceased to exist, allowing Aigis to rush to her sister's aid.

Adachi, with several bullet wounds, collapsed. On impact with the ground he exploded in a splash of black liquid, clearly having been a shadow. Naoto stood motionless. Then, she wobbled and started to fall. Yu rushed in and caught her, easing her to the ground. She was gravely wounded. By Yu's count she had been shot four times, and two of the wounds were dangerously close to her vital organs. She lay on his lap as blood poured from her wounds, a look of pain on her face.

"Hold on Naoto, you'll be alright." Yu said his voice shaky. He summoned Norn and tried to heal her. It had no discernable effect. He tried Kikuri-Hime. Then Isis. Then Norn again. Nothing worked. Naoto just kept bleeding from her ragged wounds. "Damn it! Come on!" He shouted as he tried to heal her over and over. Finally Naoto grabbed his wrist to stop him. She smiled and squeezed his hand. Tears rolled down Yu's face, dripping off and mixing with Naoto's blood. "Come on, stay with me." He pleaded. "You can't die; there are so many things we have to do." Naoto was fading. Her grip on his hand weakened. "We were going skiing, just the two of us. We were going to be detectives, solve cases together. We were…" Naoto shook her head and brushed her hand against his cheek, wiping away his tears and smearing blood on the side of his face. She gave one last pained smile and went limp.

"God damn it!" Kanji screamed. He punched the wall until his hand bled. Rise, Teddie, Chie and Yukiko cried while Yosuke just sat in stunned silence. The others had no idea what to do or say. They had all just seen a friend die and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

"This can't be real." Yosuke said. "There's no way. It just can't be. Rise, tell me it's not real." Rise just shook her head as her tears continued to flow. The view of the roof switched over to a smaller monitor as the main screen showed a view of the lobby. Yang and Neo faced each other and began to fight as Ruby cheered her sister on.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled as she rushed to her sister's side. Yang pulled out Neo's blade and tossed it aside. Neo dissolved and disappeared, clearly a shadow. Ruby knelt beside Yang, propping Yang up on her legs. Yang coughed, spraying a fine mist of blood into Ruby's face.

"I must look terrible." Yang said. She did. Her clothes were bloody and torn. She was bruised and battered, cuts and scrapes covering her face.

"Just let me heal you." Ruby said confidently. She summoned Kikuri-Hime, her strongest healing Persona, and used its healing abilities on Yang. Some of Yang's scrapes closed and a few bruises disappeared, but there was still a sizable hole in her chest.

"I'm so sorry Ruby." Yang whispered. "I don't think I'll make it."

"No, you'll be okay." Ruby said frantically. "A sucking chest wound can't keep you down."

Yang laughed but coughed, producing even more blood. She coughed uncontrollable, choking on her own blood. She finally cleared her throat. "I'm sorry I failed you. I'm sorry I broke my promise." She said. "You have to go on without me. I know you're strong enough."

"No, you can't!" Ruby screamed. "I need you! I already lost mom, I can't lose you too!"

"Life isn't like a fairytale." Yang said. "We don't all get happy endings." She coughed violently then fell silent and limp.

Blake collapsed in the corner, desperately struggling not to cry. Weiss sat beside her, tears in her eyes, and hugged Blake. Nora sobbed inconsolably, pressing her face into Ren's shoulder. Jaune stared at the floor while Pyrrha rubbed his back while she cried silently. "There's just no way." Blake said. "This isn't fair!" She screamed. Nora wailed.

"Ruby must be devastated." Ren whispered to himself. "This is all too much." The scene shifted to another ancillary monitor while the main screen switched to showing the inside of a dorm room. Labrys was fighting Sho Minazuki while Aigis looked on helplessly.

Labrys and Sho stood perfectly still. Labrys' axe had smashed down through Sho's collar bone, almost cutting him in half. Sho's blade had punched straight through Labrys' chest. Aigis stared in horror at the end of Sho's blade. It was covered with glittering debris that seemed to glow. Aigis immediately know what it was and what it meant. He'd speared Labrys' Plume of Dusk, her very life essence. There was no saving her. Sho dissolved and disappeared, clearly a shadow. No longer supported, Labrys fell to the ground stiffly. Aigis rushed to her side, but she was well aware that there was nothing she could do. She looked into her sister's lifeless eyes. Aigis had only felt this alone once before.

Witnessing Labrys' death did not have the impact it might have. The Investigation Team, JNPR, Blake and Weiss were already in shock after losing their own friends. For all the tragedy and sadness they had suffered, they had never faced anything quite like this. Three friends, close enough to be family, dead before their eyes. The screens switched off, but they had not been watching for some time. Slowly despair was transforming to rage. Whoever was responsible was going to pay. They were going to die, and it would be slow and painful.

"I'm sorry for your loss." A voice said. Yu looked up to see a boy, probably about his age, wearing a school uniform, with blue hair that covered part of his face, approaching.

"Who are you?" Yu asked, fighting to stop crying. From the description he had heard, whoever this was had taken on the appearance of Minato.

"You might say I'm behind all this." The boy said. "My name is Tuoni."

"You bastard!" Yu shouted. He summoned Izanagi who charged at Tuoni.

"I'm not in the mood." Tuoni said. With a wave of his hand Izanagi disappeared. Yu expected to feel pain at his Persona being wiped away, but he felt nothing. "I'm sorry it had to come to this."

"Fuck you." Yu growled.

"I understand your anger." Tuoni said. "I must ask, however, that you listen to me. I offer you a chance to save her."

"What are you talking about?" Yu asked.

"She is dead, but I am death." Tuoni declared. "I can bring her back if I choose. If you give me something in return, I'll return her to full health."

"I'll give you anything." Yu said.

"I thought so." Tuoni said. "I need your Persona ability. Unfortunately, the only way to separate it from you is for you to die." Tuoni produced Yu's weapon from thin air and handed it to him. "If you sacrifice yourself, I will give her back her life. I will allow your friends to return to earth and even bring the others with them. Then this world will be mine, but your friends will be safe and alive." Yu looked at the weapon, unsure what to do. "If you reject my offer, strike me down. This is merely a projection and has no power, but the symbolism will be clear enough." Yu unsheathed his blade and closed his eyes. "Go; die with honor like the samurai of old. I will ensure that your death is painless." Yu's hand trembled as he thought about what to do. What would the others think? Would they be able to live without him? Could he trust Tuoni? Could he even bring himself to do it?

Ruby cried as she embraced Yang's lifeless corpse. The sound of footsteps drew her attention. "I'm sorry for your loss." A boy said. He had blue hair that covered most of his face and wore a school uniform. That was how Aigis described Minato.

"Just leave me alone." Ruby cried.

"You've lost so much." The boy said. "But I can fix that."

"What?" Ruby asked. "Who are you?"

"I am Tuoni." He said. "I am death. I can bring her back, but you must make a sacrifice in return."

"What do I need to do?" Ruby asked.

"I need your Persona abilities, but you cannot give them up without dying." Tuoni explained. "Take your life and I will restore Yang to full health. I will allow her and all your friends to leave this world, and then it will be mine. Your friends, however, will be safe, you will have saved them."

"I…I…" Ruby stammered.

"It is a difficult choice, I know." Tuoni said. "You can be a hero. You've always wanted to be a hero and now is your chance. If you reject my offer, strike me down. This form is merely a projection, but the symbolism will be poignant." Ruby clutched Crescent Rose and unfolded the blade. Questions filled her mind. Would Tuoni really keep his word? Would her friend be safe? Would Yang be able to live with herself? Could she even do it?

"I'm sorry for your loss." A voice said. Aigis knew the voice. It was Minato. She spun around to see him sitting on the edge of the bed.

"You must be a shadow." Aigis concluded. "I will eliminate you."

"I'm no shadow." Minato said. "I am Tuoni. I am death."

"That is even more reason to destroy you." Aigis said.

"I offer you a deal." Tuoni said. "Kill yourself and relinquish your Persona abilities, and I will revive Labrys. I will allow her and all of your friends to leave this world, and then it will be mine. They will be safe."

"Why should I trust you?" Aigis asked.

"Because you have no choice." Tuoni answered. "If you want Labrys to live, you must trust me. You will all perish unless you accept my offer." He produced her spear from thin air and handed it to her. "Take your own life and your friends will be saved. Your reason for living is to protect everyone, now is your opportunity." Aigis hesitated. "If you reject my offer, strike me down. This form is merely a projection, but the symbolism is the key." Aigis held her spear tight. She wanted desperately for Labrys to live, but she could not just give up. Could she just abandon this world? Would Labrys blame herself for Aigis' death? What would Minato do? Would she meet him?