*Back to normal length chapters for next week. If you like what you're reading here, please leave a comment. It's good to know someone's actually enjoying this stuff.*

Chapter 9

*Recommended Music: I'll Face Myself-Battle- (Persona 4 Soundtrack)*

Queen Nora brought her massive blood-stained scepter down at Nora with tremendous force. With a thunderous clash the attack was blocked by Labrys. Axe met scepter and Labrys used all her might to hold the shadow at bay while the others got the still sobbing Nora to relative safety. With Nora clear of the attack, Labrys released her hold on the shadow's weapon and it crashed to the ground beside her. Labrys dodged acrobatically as Queen Nora sung her weapon around trying to crush the pesky automaton.

"Weiss, I think you owe her an apology." Blake said sternly, the two of them standing over the inconsolable Nora. Blake said no more before charging into battle behind Yang who was already in a full sprint. Yang leapt at the shadow and met it with a series of body shots, blasting away with Ember Celica as she barraged Queen Nora with punches. Blake arrived soon after, slashing away at the colossal shadow's legs. Queen Nora was finally able to get a hit in on Yang, smacking her to the ground beside Blake. Then, with a single kick it sent both flying across the room. The shadow seemed somewhat injured by the assault but immediately pressed its own attack.

Ruby hit the shadow with a gust of wind from her Persona Summer Rose, pushing it off balance and giving Blake and Yang a chance to regroup. Aside from delaying the shadow, the attack had no effect. Aigis rushed around Queen Nora, firing her guns from close range while keeping in constant motion to avoid the monster's repeated counter attacks. Queen Nora slammed her scepter down, barely missing Aigis. Acting quickly, Aigis summoned Isis and encased the shadow's scepter in ice, hoping to trap it in place. A series of ice blasts directly at the shadow failed to hurt it, and soon it ripped its weapon free of the frozen snare. A fireball from Yang's Persona and a bolt of lightning from Ruby, now wielding Izanagi, failed to produce any results against the massive shadow.

"Nora, I'm sorry I didn't trust you." Weiss apologized. Nora had calmed down a bit but was still crying. "I don't know why I felt hostility towards you. Maybe I'm just jealous of how happy and excited you always are. Plus you're so outgoing and popular, and even if people are sometimes a bit scared of you they know you're fun to be around."

"Apology accepted." Nora said through her tears. "But it doesn't matter."

"It looks like only physical attacks are doing anything." Blake observed. Ruby flew at the shadow, swinging Crescent Rose in front of her, but it avoided the attack and swatted Ruby away with its scepter, smashing her into the nearby wall. Ruby was a bit wobbly but recovered and retreated, firing on the shadow from a safer distance. Blake and Aigis too kept their distance as they unloaded their weapons into Queen Nora. It was working, if only slowly. Yang and Labrys did not have the long range option and engaged the shadow in close quarters. Yang pounded away with her fists while Labrys took swing after rocked-boosted swing at the shadow with her axe. They stayed close enough the Queen Nora could not effectively use its giant scepter against them.

"Enough!" The wounded shadow shouted. It swung its scepter at the windowed wall, smashing a massive breach in it. Beowolf shadows poured in from outside to assist the embattled Queen Nora.

"We'll keep attacking the queen, you guys take care of the others." Yang ordered as she and Labrys continued to battle the giant shadow.

Ruby and Blake hacked away at the Beowolves while Aigis fired a steady stream of bullets at the mass of shadows. They were not strong individually, but their numbers seemed endless. Ruby scythed through a line of five shadows, only to find herself immediately surrounded by more of them. Blake cut her way into the group and the two fought their way back out, but it was not a sustainable situation. Even with covering fire from Aigis, there were simply too many for Ruby and Blake.

Yang punched the shadow repeatedly in the face with an added boost from Ember Celica. Queen Nora roared in anger before delivering a punch of her own, sending Yang tumbling to the ground. Before she could recover, the shadow slammed its scepter down on her. Yang lay unconscious as the shadow readied to finish her off, only to be interrupted by Labrys who hacked away at the shadow's scepter arm. Queen Nora angrily elbowed the mechanical maiden and she tumbled back. Now at ideal scepter range, Labrys struggled to dodge the shadow's repeated attacks.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" Weiss asked. She crouched next to Nora and put an arm around her.

"I don't care what anyone thinks about me." Nora cried. "But if Ren's abandoned me I've got nothing. I can't go on without him."

"He didn't abandon you." Weiss assured her. "He's been kidnapped. We're trying to save him, but we found you first. We can help him too, but we have to defeat you shadow first."

"Really?" Nora asked, no longer crying.

"It's true." Weiss replied. "We've got to save Pyrrha and Ren. I'm sure Ren will be thrilled to see you."

"Then we'd better hurry." Nora said, rising to her feet. She wiped away the lingering tears before taking hold of Magnhild. She charged forward, swinging her hammer wildly, sending broken Beowolves flying in all directions as she cut a swathe through the mass of shadows. They immediately backed off, seeing the power and fury of her attack. "Now to deal with you! Me? Me-you!" She shouted. Queen Nora turned away from Labrys and menacingly approached Nora. Nora converted Magnhild to its grenade-launching configuration and fired a series of shots at the shadow. The shadow recoiled under the barrage of explosives, stumbling backwards. Nora charged, leaping into the air with some extra propulsion from Magnhild. At the top of her arc, she fired it again, sending her spinning at the shadow. Her hammer connected, smashing Queen Nora directly in the forehead, bringing the massive shadow down.

Queen Nora reverted to her more human form and backed away from the carefully approaching group. "Please, there's no need to kill me." The shadow pleaded.

"After those horrible things you said, after you tried to kill my friends, I think I do." Nora said with a manic smile. "I'll break your legs." She walked up to the shadow and with a horizontal swing of Magnhild, swept Queen Nora's legs out from under her, mangling them in the process. Without hesitation, she swung Magnhild in a high arc and slammed it down on the shadow's chest. The shadow exploded, bits of black goo flying in all directions before dissolving and disappearing.

"Nora, we love you, but you are a little scary." Yang said.

Nora laughed happily. "I guess that makes me queen of the castle now!" She exclaimed. Seemingly exhausted, she fell to her knees. She was engulfed in a purple flame and a tarot card descended in front of her. It shattered and the image of a beautiful woman, armored for combat and carrying a war-hammer appeared above her. Aigis thought the Persona looked a bit like a mythical Viking. "Freyja." Nora said the name of her Persona before falling to the ground unconscious.

"I guess we should get her back." Blake said. "She's been through a lot."

"Can someone else carry her?" Yang requested. "I'm still a bit sore."

"I will carry her." Aigis said. She lifted Nora and carried her effortlessly in her arms. "I am capable of carrying objects weighing up to a half ton."

"Why did I have to carry Jaune then?" Yang asked.

"The next verse of the poem crap lit up so we figured you guys were done." Kanji said as they regrouped. "How was it?"

"It wasn't that bad for us." Weiss said. "For Nora I'm not so sure. How about you guys?"

"It was Chie's turn to face a personal shadow." Naoto replied. "The battle was difficult, but we prevailed."

"Yeah, it wasn't that bad." Chie said. "I feel kind of bad for Yosuke, his was a lot worse."

"Tell me about it." Yosuke sighed.

"Well, we should get back." Blake said. "Nora's in no condition to be out here."

"What do you mean?" Rise asked. "She's just sleeping."

"We thought she was unconscious." Ruby said. "She did say it was late for her. She was taking a nap in the shadow world too. I can't believe she's sleeping so soundly though."

Helia sat at the desk cleaning the gun carefully. It had not been used in years, so it needed some maintenance. Jaune sat up in bed, staring out the window, seemingly lost in thought. The click of the door unlocking drew their attention. Ruby helpfully opened the door. "We've rescued another one." She said happily.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked breathlessly. Aigis walked in carrying Nora. A look of disappointment briefly crossed Jaune's face but quickly faded. "Is she alright?" He asked.

"She is fine." Aigis reported. "She is merely sleeping." Aigis gently laid Nora down on her bed before covering her with a blanket.

"Looks like you've got another patient doc." Jaune said to Helia.

"Damn it Jim, I'm a Huntress not a doctor." Helia said.

"Jim?" Jaune was confused.

"Isn't that your name?" Helia asked.

"It's Jaune." He corrected her. She looked a little embarrassed by the mistake.

"Oh, a new weapon." Ruby said excitedly, looking to Helia's work. "Can I have a look?" Helia handed her the gun.

"It was Coral's." Helia explained. "His family gave it to me after the incident. It was just sitting in a box in my house until Amber brought it here today. I couldn't even bring myself to look at it for the longest time, but after everything I've been through here, I realized Coral wouldn't have wanted it that way. I'm going to use it. I think it's a fitting tribute."

"That's really great." Ruby said. "I'm glad to hear it." She handed the gun back.

"Well, it's been a long night and we all need to rest." Blake said. "We should go to sleep." The others readily agreed.

"Yeah, we've got weapons to make tomorrow!" Ruby said eagerly.

"Uncle Qrow couldn't make it." Ruby said with disappointment. They were all gathered in Beacon's workshop, ready to construct weapons for the Persona specialists. "He's busy at Signal. He did send along everything we'd need though. It takes lots of skill and practice to build your own weapon, and we don't really have time, so I guess each one of you will have to pair up with an experienced Huntress."

"I can't help but notice that there are more of us than there are of you." Yosuke said. "How is this going to work?"

"I called in two friends." Blake said.

"I'm bringing in another." Ruby said. "Add Nora and that evens things out."

"Shouldn't Nora be resting?" Yukiko asked with concern.

"You try to get her to stay in bed." Weiss said. "I'm certainly not going to stop her from doing what she wants."

Just then the door swung open and in walked two men. One had blond hair and wore an open shirt, showing off his abs. He also appeared to have a tail. "So these are the guys you've been hanging out with." He said to Blake. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Sun."

The other was taller, with light blue hair. He wore a fashionable red jacket and had goggles on the top of his head. "I'm Neptune." He said with a winning smile.

"So, we're just waiting on Ruby's friend." Yang said.

"Nora should be here with her any moment." Ruby assured them.

After a few minutes of waiting, Nora arrived, followed by a girl. She had pale skin and bright orange hair. She looked a bit awkward. "Salutations, my name is Penny." She said enthusiastically.

Aigis and Penny stared at each other, and a look of dread appeared on Penny's face. "You are…" Aigis started.

"Penny's my friend." Ruby cut her off while gesturing for her to not say anything. "Let's get started." She quickly changed the subject.

*Recommended Music: Joy (Persona 3 Soundtrack)*

After working all through the day, the group met up at Beacon's practice range to show off and test their new weapons. First up was Ruby and Yu's effort. Yu stepped forward and drew a katana from a scabbard on his hip. After a few skillful swings at a holographic practice dummy, he slid the weapon back into its sheath. "Yu said he was familiar with katanas, so that's what we went with for the melee form of the weapon." Ruby explained. Yu pulled the sheathed sword off his hip and held it in front of him. With a twist of the handle, it transformed into a bullpup assault rifle. He aimed it down the firing range and took a few fully automatic shots, producing a somewhat scattered grouping. "He still needs to work on his marksmanship though." Ruby admitted. Yu shrugged and returned the weapon to its sword form, slipping it back onto his hip. "Weiss, what have you come up with?" Ruby asked.

Naoto stepped up to the practice dummy holding a rapier-like sword. "I have some training in fencing, though it is woefully inadequate." Naoto admitted. She took a few precise stabs at the dummy.

"Since she has experience with firearms, I thought something more specialized would be appropriate." Weiss explained. "Her revolver is alright, but it lacks the necessary power." Naoto pushed a button and the sword transformed into a rifle with a telescopic sight. Its frame was skeletal, but all the important contact points were present. She shouldered the weapon and took aim down the firing range, shooting three bull's-eyes with the semi-automatic rifle. "See, I think it fits her well." Weiss said proudly.

"The recoil is a bit much." Naoto complained. "I'll get used to it though. Blake and Yukiko, what did you come up with?"

Yukiko stepped up to the firing range nervously. She hefted her intimidating weapon and pushed a button. The bulky gun emitted a whirring sound. Yukiko pulled the trigger and a chakram fired from the end of the barrel, scything through the target dead center. "It doesn't really have a melee application." Blake said. "Given her relative physical fragility, I thought it unwise for her to engage in close combat anyway. The gun takes a long time to fire, but in a pinch she can throw the chakrams by hand and still do serious damage." Yukiko stepped back, seemingly relieved to be done testing the terrifying-looking weapon. "Yang and Chie, what have you got?"

Chie eagerly rushed up to the target dummy and kicked it in the face. A shotgun blast fired from her greave as she made contact. "It's basically the same as my weapon but for kicks." Yang explained. "They're triggered by the button's she's holding."

"Us next!" Nora said excitedly, pushing Rise forward. Rise held what looked to be a rather unwieldy sledgehammer. Despite appearances, she swung it with ease, as if it weighed little. The flip of a switch converted the hammer into a gun with the appearance of a shotgun. Rise fired down the range, unleashing a blast of directed energy that seared the target. The laser-like weapon seemed to have no recoil. "The hammer uses a modulated gravitational field to allow for easy handling but it still hits with tremendous force. The gun fires a stream of energy at the target that should burn through just about anything given enough time." Nora looked incredibly satisfied with the outcome and Rise was fairly happy with the weapon as well.

"Can I go next?!" Teddie asked impatiently. The others nodded and he stepped up to the target dummy. He swiped at it, metal claws extending from his hand.

"I figured we shouldn't fight against the whole bear thing, so I just went with the theme." Helia said. Teddie happily skipped over to the firing range and pointed the claws at the target. "The claws can be fired by a standard dust charges." Helia explained. With a bang the claws launched from his fist and slammed into the target. Teddie reeled them back in by retracting their tethers. "Sun, go ahead."

Yosuke stepped up to the target dummy holding two recurved short swords. He made a series of slashes at the target before hooking the two together. With the push of a button they formed into a submachinegun that Aigis thought resembled an MP7. "He wanted two small blades, so in order to make them an effective gun they had to be combined." Sun explained. Yosuke aimed the gun down the firing range and fired a burst. The shots hit the target but were all over the place. "It's still not that accurate." Sun admitted. "Well Neptune, let's see what you've got."

Kanji stepped up to the target dummy holding with what appeared to be spiked brass knuckles on each hand. As he punched, the spikes extended further adding extra impact. "This guy's pretty strong, so I figured I didn't need to add much." Neptune said. With the push of a button, each brass knuckle transformed into a semi-automatic pistol. Kanji aimed down the firing range and took a several shots, but few hit the target. "He really needs to work on the accuracy." Neptune commented. "I don't think it's that relevant though, because he'll probably just punch whatever he's fighting."

"I guess that just leaves us." Aigis said. Penny seemed a bit nervous. "I already have firearms covered, so Penny and I decided to go with a strictly melee weapon." She stepped up to the target dummy, wielding what appeared to be a rather bulky spear. She stabbed at the target and as she did, a small blast extended the spear by another two feet, adding tremendous force and range to the attack. "It packs quite a punch." Aigis added. It did indeed. No human could wield it without self-injury.

"Well, let's go back and see how Labrys and Jaune are doing." Ruby said. The group started to head out.

"We'll see you guys later." Sun said with a wave. "Our team has plans." He and Neptune headed off.

"Penny, do you mind if I speak to you for a moment?" Aigis asked after all the others except Ruby had gone. Penny looked nervous and could not find the words.

Ruby saw what was happening and came over. "You can trust Aigis, she's a friend."

"Okay." Penny said apprehensively. "What is it…friend?"

"I am sure you have noticed that I am a robot." Aigis said. "My sister and I are the only two of our kind in the world we come from. I was surprised to meet another mechanical maiden here. I was just curious as to how you came to be."

"It's alright Penny, you can trust her." Ruby assured. "Your secret's safe with us."

"I am the first synthetic being capable of generating an aura, though I can sense that I am not the only one any longer." Penny said. "I've been told that my purpose is to save the world, but I don't know what that means exactly."

"My creation and that of my sister is somewhat similar." Aigis said. "It is comforting to know that even on a world so different, a being as unique as myself can find someone with a common purpose."

"I think you two will make great friends." Ruby said cheerfully.

"Are you my friend?" Penny asked Aigis.

"Of course." Aigis replied. "We have shared our secret with each other, and you have helped me greatly. We are certainly friends."

"Sensational!" Penny exclaimed. "So friend, what should we do now?"

"I am not sure." Aigis answered.

"Actually, I think there's something you can help us with." Ruby said. "Nora needs to rest, but it's hard to get her to. Helia has been trying, but she won't listen. Maybe the two of you could work together to make sure Nora gets the rest she needs tonight."

"I would be glad to help." Penny said eagerly.

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Ruby asked Jaune.

"I'm sure." Jaune replied. "I can't stand another night just waiting there. I'm going to help you rescue my team. I have my Persona now, and I'm not just going to wait around while you're out there fighting."

"Alright, but don't push yourself too hard." Ruby relented. "By the way, can you tell me what happened to you guys? How did you end up in those places?"

"Well, we went to check out those weird rumors, and sure enough the Tower transformed and some of the buildings changed." Jaune explained. "After that, I don't really remember. I just woke up in the weird museum. I was alone until that fake Weiss showed up at about the same time you all did."

Getting Nora to sleep was easier than they had feared. True to form, as soon as her usual bedtime rolled around, Nora fell asleep like a switch had been flipped in her head. Still, Helia and Penny stayed with her to make sure she was not faking or did not wake up and try to join the group in fighting. If she was awake, Nora would certainly want to fight beside the others, but she needed to rest, even if she would not admit it. Another trip to the Velvet Room confirmed that another completed bond had been awakened by Ruby. With the power of the Lovers Arcana, she and the other Wild Cards could now wield the Persona Ishtar. Rise located Pyrrha. She was in the amphitheater and Team RWBY, along with Aigis, Labrys and Jaune, would go after her next. The Investigation Team would again explore the Tower now that the next blockage had been removed.

Upon entering Pyrrha's world, the group was greeted by the sound of a roaring crowd. They found themselves standing in a place Aigis thought looked similar to the Roman Coliseum. A crowd of featureless silhouettes cheered the new arrivals until a booming voice made an announcement. "Welcome to the tournament!" The voice shouted, followed by a roar from the crowd. "Our competitors have arrived and we can finally get underway!"

"I'm going to go ahead and assume he means us." Yang said.

"What does this have to do with Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

"You do realize she's one of the world's most famous fighters." Blake replied. "This place seems a bit archaic, but I've got to believe she's fought in plenty of stadiums."

"Our first contest will be a series of single combats between two teams of four." The voice cut off their discussion. "Select your team for this stage of the competition!"

"Four huh?" Ruby said. "Sounds perfect. Team RWBY will handle this one." The others agreed. Team RWBY stepped forward into a spotlight at the center of the area to signal their intention to fight.

"Our first round will be Team RWBY against Team CFVY!" The voice yelled excitedly. Team CFVY stepped out of the darkness and into the spotlight across from Team RWBY. It was hard to explain why, but it was obvious that they were shadows, not the genuine article. "First up for Team CFVY will be their leader Coco Adel! Who dares face this mighty fighter?!"

"Team CFVY is really strong." Weiss said. "How can we expect to beat them?"

"They're not the real CFVY." Yang replied. "And besides, we have Personas and they don't. So, who are we matching up with?"

"I'll fight Coco." Ruby volunteered. "I think my speed will be good against her. Her weapon is powerful, but it's unwieldy, and I don't think she can keep up."

"I'll take Velvet." Blake said. "I know her pretty well, and I have a few ideas about how to beat her."

"Yatsuhashi's mine." Yang said confidently. "If I can stay inside his blade's effective range, he won't be able to do any damage."

"Well, I guess that leaves me with Fox." Weiss concluded. "Let's get this over with."

Ruby stepped forward and joined Shadow Coco in the center of the area. "Our first match is between Coco Adel and Ruby Rose!" The voice announced as the crowd cheered. "It's a battle of team leaders. Who will come out on top?"

*Recommended Music: Caffeine (RWBY v2 Soundtrack), continue through all CFVY battles*

A buzzer sounded and Ruby charged straight at Shadow Coco, using shots from Crescent Rose to propel her forward. The shadow did not move a muscle. As Ruby approached she jumped and spun, swinging the blunt edge of her weapon around with tremendous speed. Just as the thunderous swing was about to land, Shadow Coco casually lifted her handbag and stopped Ruby's attack dead. As Ruby dropped back to the ground, the shadow kicked her in the chest. Ruby went flying, tumbling across the ground until she dug Crescent Rose into the ground to halt her momentum.

Shadow Coco transformed her handbag into its Gatling gun form. Ruby used her semblance to zip around the room, staying just ahead of the gun's shots. The shadow gave up trying to hit her and stopped firing as Ruby continued to race around. Shadow Coco aimed for a spot in Ruby's path and shot at the ground, causing the floor to fracture and partially collapse. Ruby arrived at the spot and tripped, slamming face-first into the ground. With a smirk, the shadow took aim at the downed Huntress and fired. Ruby fired Crescent Rose just in time to push herself out of the path of the devastating fire.

Ruby summoned her Persona Summer Rose and blasted the shadow with wind. Shadow Coco stumbled backward, her gun firing wildly as she lost her balance. Ruby took the opportunity to attack, using her semblance and added propulsion from Crescent Rose to fly at the shadow. Shadow Coco struggled back to her feet just as Ruby arrived, swinging her scythe around. The shadow had no time to react, and Crescent Rose sliced it in half. The shadow dissolved and disappeared.

"What a match!" The voice yelled excitedly.

Ruby was exhausted and beat up, but luckily she would not have to fight next. She rejoined the rest of the group. "They're really tough." Ruby warned. "Don't take them lightly." She was still trying to catch her breath.

Shadow Fox and Weiss stepped into the center of the area. "Our next battle is between Fox Alistair and Weiss Schnee." The voice announced. "Can the heiress defeat this powerful and experience fighter?"

The buzzer sounded to signal the start of the fight. Both fighters stared each other down. The shadow seemed unwilling to attack, so Weiss made the first move. Using her glyphs she slid at Shadow Fox, but it easily deflected her attack, causing her to slide past. The shadow punished her mistake by punching her in the back of the head. Weiss spun around, swinging Myrtenaster violently, but Shadow Fox leapt backward and out of the attack's range. She stabbed at it aggressively, but the shadow sidestepped and brought one of its blades around at Weiss' throat. She stretched to dodge the attack, but it managed to just scrape across her neck, drawing a trickle of blood. She summoned her Persona and froze Shadow Fox's feet in place, giving her the chance to regroup.

Weiss slid forward again. Shadow Fox attempted the same maneuver as before, but Weiss stopped just short, causing the shadow to stumble. She thrust Myrtenaster at it, but Shadow Fox recovered quickly and caught her blade with his. It attempted to twist the sword out of her hand, but Weiss acrobatically flipped with twist, putting the shadow off balance again. She summoned her Persona Ananke and it smacked Shadow Fox in the back of the head. It was enough of a distraction to allow Weiss to run the shadow through with Myrtenaster. Shadow Fox looked down at the blade jammed into its midsection and swiped repeatedly at Weiss who dodged while keeping a hold on her blade. She cycled Myrtenaster and lanced through the shadow with a blast of fire. With a gaping hole in its midsection, the shadow collapsed, dissolved and disappeared.

"That was thrilling!" The voice yelled.

Weiss wiped the remaining blood off her neck. The wound had already been healed by her aura. "Don't screw around." Weiss warned as Blake stepped forward to fight next.

"Now we have Blake Belladonna versus Velvet Scarlatina." The voice announced. "It's an all Faunus round!"

As soon as the buzzer sounded, Shadow Velvet started to reach for its pouch. Blake, knowing the key to winning was to stop Velvet from unleashing her exceptional power, charged straight at the shadow. Shadow Velvet jumped to the side as Blake slashed Gambol Shroud through the space the shadow had just occupied. She was met with a high kick to the face and stumbled back as the shadow assaulted her with a series of kicks and punches. Blake fired Gambol Shroud at Shadow Velvet, and though they missed, it was enough to get the shadow to back off. Shadow Velvet reengaged, aiming at Blake with a flying kick. The kick hit an explosive decoy, sending the shadow flipping through the air. Blake attempted to slash it with Gambol Shroud, but the shadow recovered midair and blocked the attack. After a series of strikes by both combatants, all blocked, the two separated.

Shadow Velvet again went for her pouch. Blake summoned her Persona Diana, and it fired an arrow at the shadow's back. It hit the target and the shadow was pushed forward, toward Blake who was already rushing to attack. She swung Gambol Shroud at Shadow Velvet, but the shadow dodged and caught her arm. A twist and pull had Blake off balance. The shadow kneed her hard in the midsection, knocking her up into the air. Shadow Velvet then grabbed Blake's leg and slammed her into the ground on her back. Blake lay there dazed as the shadow reached into its pouch, confidently approaching her. Suddenly, Blake leapt to her feet, firing Gambol Shroud at the surprised shadow. The bullets slammed into Shadow Velvet's head, tearing it apart. The shadow dissolved and disappeared.

"I really thought Blake was a goner there!" The voice shouted. "Can our final match possibly live up to that one?"

"That was rough." Blake admitted. "It's really hard to fight a friend, even if it's just a shadow that looks like a friend."

"Well, I've never even spoken to Yatsuhashi, so I think I'll be alright." Yang said confidently. She walked to the center of the area, joining Shadow Yatsuhashi.

"Our final match of the first round sees Yatsuhashi Daichi face off against Yang Xiao Long." The voice announced. "Can this passionate girl defeat the giant?!"

The buzzer sounded and Yang charged at the motionless shadow. As she approached, Shadow Yatsuhashi lifted its sword, taking a massive swing at Yang. Yang easily dodged the strike, closing the distance and hitting the shadow with a flurry of strikes to the face and chest. Shadow Yatsuhashi was unmoved by the assault and delivered a devastating elbow to Yang's jaw. She flipped backwards but landed on her feet, immediately charging back in. Instead of trying to attack her directly, the shadow slammed its sword into the ground with tremendous force, sending out a shockwave that sent Yang tumbling into the air. Shadow Yatsuhashi slammed its sword into Yang's chest, using it to smash her into the ground. It lifted its sword for another strike, but Yang dove out of the way just as the blade swung past. She summoned her Persona and attacked the shadow with fire to give her time to regroup.

Yang stood opposite the shadow. It appeared entirely unaffected by their battle, totally calm and ready to fight again. It was like the shadow was mocking her. Yang was enraged. Her hair burst into flames and her eyes glowed red as she charged back at the shadow. Shadow Yatsuhashi swung its sword at her, and instead of dodging she punched it out of the way, causing the shadow to overextend. She jumped and delivered a shattering punch, boosted by Ember Celica, directly to the shadow's temple. It fell to the ground with a thud. Yang jumped on top of Shadow Yatsuhashi and rained down powerful blows to its face until its head disintegrated under the assault. The shadow dissolved and disappeared, Yang still punching at its amorphous remains.

"Remind me never to get her angry!" The voice said excitedly. "That concludes round one of the tournament! A 4-0 sweep by Team RWBY, what a shock! We'll be back after a short break for round two!" The crowd roared as the lights faded.

"I really hate this place." Yang seethed. "Making light of fights to the death, it's sick."

"At least we got through the first part." Ruby said. "I'm sure we can handle whatever's thrown at us."

"I hope I don't have to fight again." Blake said. "I'm still hurting from my fight. Looking at the rest of you, I'd say you're all less than 100%." Blake was right, and the fights were likely to only get more difficult.

*Recommended Music: This Strange Sensation (Persona 3 Soundtrack)*

Helia worked away on Coral's revolver as Penny watched intently. Nora slept soundly, snoring loudly. "Can I help?" Penny asked. Those were the first words she had said in the hour or so she and Helia had been together. Previously, she had been content to simply observe.

"I don't think so." Helia said. "The transformation just isn't as smooth as it should be. Maybe it was damaged." She worked away at one of the parts with her tools. "I just need to adjust it."

"Please allow me to." Penny implored.

"Oh alright." Helia sighed. She handed the weapon and tool to Penny.

Penny looked closely at the weapon, transforming it from a gun into a blade and back a few times before using the tools to make a minute, almost imperceptible, adjustment. "That should do it." She said confidently. She proudly handed the weapon and tools back to Helia.

"I don't know about that." Helia said skeptically. She hit the button to transform the weapon and it worked perfectly. She transformed it back and forth several times to make sure. She was shocked. "How did you do that?"

"There was some dirt in the mechanism and that screw was just a little too tight." Penny explained.

"I think you might have a future working on weapons." Helia said. Penny just smiled. Helia's scroll buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket. She looked at the message and her anxiety was evident.

"Is something wrong?" Penny asked with concern.

"No, it's nothing." Helia lied. "There's something I have to take care of. Wait here with Nora; I'll be back in a bit." She slipped Coral's gun into her holster and picked up her own weapon as she headed out.

"There's another…special shadow ahead." Rise reported. "It's just a few floors away." They had made great progress through the Tower, facing only weak shadows. Now they had reason to be concerned.

"What do you mean by 'special'?" Yukiko asked.

"I mean it's like the shadows for Yosuke and Chie." Rise explained. "I think one of us is in for a showdown." That was bad news. Even if the fight may not be particularly difficult, the psychological damage could be considerable. None of them wanted to face that, not again. They had all worked hard to overcome their failings and insecurities, but they were all aware that they still had weaknesses a shadow could exploit. They had been in good spirits, the fights they had faced giving them confidence. This put a damper on things.

"I'm sure whoever it is will be fine." Yosuke said. "Me and Chie got through it." It was hard to agree when he did not sound so sure himself. It also did not help that his mood had still not totally recovered from his encounter with Shadow Saki. It was always going to be difficult to face a personal shadow.