Chapter 15

Returning to the dorms after classes, Aigis found only Team JNPR. Aigis waited for an appropriate break in their conversation. "Where is everyone?" She asked.

Pyrrha stood and walked over to the door while the others resumed chatting. "They all went into Vale." Pyrrha said. "The last few days have been pretty rough on all of us, and Yang thought it was a good idea to take time to have some fun."

"Why have you not joined them?" Aigis asked.

"Well, this is the first time we've all been together in almost a week." Pyrrha explained. "We thought some time to ourselves would be more appropriate. If you want to go the others told me where they would be."

"No, that is unnecessary." Aigis said. "Thank you though. I need to prepare for tonight's mission anyway." She started to leave but Pyrrha grabbed her shoulder.

"While you were out saving Ren I talked to Labrys." Pyrrha said. "We mostly talked about each other's issues, well, mostly mine. She did mention you though. My insecurities were laid out for all of you to see. Part of that was my desire for a normal relationship. I discussed it with Labrys she said you had a similar concern but found someone. She also said he had died and that you never explained anything beyond that to her."

"Hey Pyrrha, Nora's about to tell us about all the shadows she fought in her world." Jaune called. "You don't want to miss this."

"I'll be over in a moment." She replied before returning her focus to Aigis. "It helped me to talk about my problems, and I thought it might help you too."

"There is not much to talk about." Aigis said, her face expressionless. Though she tried to hide her feelings, her eyes betrayed her. Her deep sorrow was clear. "He was our leader, much like Jaune is for your team or Ruby for hers. He was a good friend. In the end, we could not win the final battle, so he sacrificed himself to save the world."

"There is definitely more to it than you're telling me, but I won't pry." Pyrrha said. "If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for you. I know the others are too."

"I should be going and you should get back to your friends." Aigis said. Pyrrha could sense that Aigis wanted to say more but found the memories too painful. "Thank you for your concern, but I will be fine."

"If you say so." Pyrrha sighed. "We'll see you tonight." Aigis left and Pyrrha returned to her team to hear Nora's riveting and extremely exaggerated tale.

*Recommended Music: Aria of the Soul (Pick a Persona Soundtrack)*

"With a fully formed bond of the Emperor Arcana, you have awakened the Persona Odin." Theodore said.

"Thanks for the info." Ruby said. "I think that should be it for now."

"Before you go, I offer a warning." Igor said. "In your near future I foresee a great reckoning for all three of you. Your reaction to this event may well determine the fate of this world. I do not know what will happen and I cannot advise any particular course of action, but I recommend proceeding with particular caution." Ruby did not know what to make of this warning, but it sent a chill down her spine. The others looked similarly concerned which made her even more worried.

The Investigation Team headed to the Tower, while the others, minus Nora and Ren, went in search of another shadow world to clear out. Ren needed to rest before joining them and Nora was not about to leave him, so the others would just have to do it without them. Labrys walked up to the glowing door of one of the classroom buildings. She placed her hand on it and closed her eyes. "This is mine." She said. "I can feel it."

"Are you ready to do this?" Aigis asked. "You must know what you are likely to face."

"I don't think I'll ever be ready, but we have to do it." Labrys replied. "We may as well do it now."

"We're all here for you." Pyrrha said.

"You saved us, now it's our chance to return the favor." Jaune added.

"I'm lucky to have friends like you guys." Labrys smiled.

*Recommended Music: Heartful Cry (Persona 4 Arena Soundtrack)*

Upon entering Labrys' world, they group found themselves on a beach. A wooden dock stretched out over sparkling blue water, and beyond a thin strip of sand was a thick forest. "It's Yakushima." Aigis said. "This is where we were born and where I…" She trailed off, a mix of joyful reminiscence and great sadness in her voice.

"If this is where you were born, then this is…" Ruby started.

"Yes, this is where I killed my sisters." Labrys finished for her. "I knew it would be like this, but it doesn't make it any easier." While the others talked, Aigis had walked out onto the dock. She stared out at the ocean, a look of sorrow on her face.

"We should get moving." Blake said. "Standing here worrying isn't going to help."

"Aigis, are you alright?" Pyrrha called as the rest of the group headed for the forest.

"Yes, I am fine." Aigis replied. She hurriedly joined the group as the followed the winding path through the trees.

After walking for some time, the path wound its way to what appeared to be a fortress. A massive gate, the doors blown off the hinges, walls extending on both sides, stood before them. They walked through the opening and found themselves in an open field with a few isolated trees and rocks. A small stream ran down one of the sides. Beyond they could see a modern building with numerous satellite dishes and antennas on its roof.

"This is where they would let the units spend time outside." Labrys explained. "This is where we were allowed to socialize with each other."

"There are shadows here." Yang warned.

Labrys looked around. She spotted a particular rock and walked over to it. After hesitating for a moment, she sat down. "This spot…" She failed to finish the sentence.

*Recommended Music: Danger Zone (Persona 4 Portable Soundtrack)*

Suddenly, a group of soldiers burst from the doors of the building and took up positions around the area. On closer inspection, they were obviously not human, just human-shaped black masses wearing and carrying military gear. "Labrys, take cover!" Blake shouted as the others ducked behind rocks and trees to get out of the line of fire. Labrys looked up, seemingly unaware of the shadows and somewhat confused. One of the shadows fired its gun and the bullets whizzed past Labrys' head. She seemed to snap out of whatever daze she was in and quickly slipped down behind the rock.

Aigis had taken cover behind a tree. She peeked out to take a shot, but the shadows were using cover just as effectively as they were. One popped its head up from behind a rock and Aigis fired a few rounds at it, but it quickly ducked again before she could hit it. A flurry of rose petals took Aigis by surprise as Ruby shot past, heading back the way the group had come and out of sight. The shadows unleashed a hail of fire but could not hit her.

Blake got down low and crept through the field, using the uneven terrain to stay out of the shadows' sight. She slowly approached a large rock, careful to make as little noise as possible, before she leapt over it and attacked the shadow hiding on the other side. She stabbed Gambol Shroud through the shadow's featureless face and the shadow dissolved and disappeared. She immediately came under fire from other shadows as she was now in the open. She dove to the side of the rock and slid behind it as her decoys absorbed their incoming fire. One ran out to flank her new position, but Weiss caught it in the open, hitting it with a blast of fire from Myrtenaster. The shadow beat at the flames as it was consumed before it dissolved and disappeared.

Now more of the shadow maneuvered toward Blake, her position being the most exposed. A few of the others stayed back, laying down covering fire to keep her teammates from assisting. Braving the oncoming fire, Pyrrha stepped out and shot down two of the maneuvering shadows as bullets consumed her aura and ricocheted off her armor. Weiss used her glyphs to create a wall of ice between Blake and the shadows, allowing her to fall back to a safer position. Now some of the shadows were exposed, allowing Pyrrha to shoot more as they scrambled for cover.

With few shadows remaining, Yang charged, her aura absorbing the incoming fire as she closed with her target. The shadow she was attacking slid behind a tree, but she punched right through it and blasted the shadow with Ember Celica. As the shadow stumbled back, Yang punched it in the face, a blast from Ember Celica tearing it apart. It dissolved and disappeared. Yang rushed the last shadow she could see. It raised its rifle and got off a short burst – absorbed by her aura – before she was upon it. She punched it in the stomach hard enough to lift it off the ground. It collapsed in a heap and Yang punched it repeatedly in the back until it dissolved and disappeared.

"That wasn't so bad." Yang said. She stood up and started to walk back to the others. Two shadows leapt out from behind a rock and unloaded on the unsuspecting Yang. Her aura absorbed most of their shots, but one bullet tore through her calf. She cried in pain and fell to the ground as the shadows reloaded. The shadows closed in, preparing to finish her off. Suddenly, a single loud shot rang out. The lead shadow's head exploded as a high caliber round found its mark. The other shadow stopped and looked around, only for a second shot to take its head off as well.

"Yang!" Ruby cried, dropping down from the wall that surrounded the area and rushing toward her injured sister. Ruby slid to a stop at Yang's side just as she was sitting up.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay." Yang said. "It didn't hit anything important." That may have been the case, but her calf was bloody and mangled. Blake was the strongest healer, so she stepped up to attend to Yang. She summoned her Persona Diana and used its healing ability on Yang. It had little effect. Some of the torn flesh was repaired, but she still bled from a sizable and ragged wound. "Just bandage it." Yang said. "It'll be fine until we get back. Then I'll go to the campus infirmary and get it stitched up." Yang pulled a bandage out of one of her pockets and handed it to Blake. She wrapped it tightly around Yang's calf.

"That should do for now." Blake said. "You should still take it easy."

Yang grunted in pain as she stood but refused to show any weakness, immediately putting all her weight on the injured leg as if to test it out. She winced slightly. "I'll be fine." She reported.

"So it's my shadow next." Rise said. "We're pretty close to it too."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you can handle whatever it throws at you." Yu said.

"I'm not quite sure how I'm going to fight it though." Rise admitted. "My Persona isn't exactly built for combat. Its offensive capabilities are really limited."

"You've got the hammer you made with Nora." Yosuke suggested. "Just whack it."

"I'm not exactly built for combat either." Rise said.

"We'll be there to help." Teddie said.

"What if this is something I want to do on my own?" Rise asked. "What if I have to?"

"Quit complaining and just kick its ass." Kanji said. "It's not about what your Persona can do or how good a fighter you are. If you can win the mind games you can beat it."

"I hope you're right." Rise sighed.

Nora was doing a poor job of keeping Ren company. She had fallen asleep almost immediately. Ren did not mind much though. He had plenty to think about after what had happened. He did not remember much, but he had a vague recollection of having access to infinite knowledge. It was a tempting prospect, but one he had rejected in favor of returning to his friends. The choice had not been an easy one, and he was still not sure he was happy with it.

He cared about his friends and would have suffered greatly if he was without them. That said, being perfectly at peace and knowing everything was hard to say no to. Still, whenever he thought about it, he felt guilty. He had come so close to letting his friends down in favor of his own selfish pursuit. He pulled a blanket over Nora and brushed the hair out of her face. She had convinced him to return. He thought about everything they had been through together, the good times and bad. She was annoying and unpredictable, and always causing trouble he had to deal with, but he had to admit it was fun. He really enjoyed spending time with her.

He realized it was not even a question really, he had made the right choice.

Labrys led the group into one of the buildings. "My shadow is this way, I can sense it." She said. After walking through sterile white halls, they arrived in a large laboratory. The room was filled with all sorts of bizarre looking equipment, but the group's main concern was the occupants. Several figured milled about, moving from one piece of equipment to another as if they were carrying out their work. They were clearly shadows, just floating lab coats and safety goggles around invisible bodies.

*Recommended Music: Light the Fire Up in the Night -Mayonaka- (Persona Q Soundtrack)*

One of the shadows eventually noticed the group. It made a high-pitched screech that alerted the others and seemingly from nowhere they produced batons that arced with electricity. They marched forward, heading straight at the group. Aigis immediately opened fire, but her bullets struck an unseen barrier before reaching their targets. Shots from Blake, Pyrrha and Ruby also failed to reach the shadows as they moved ever closer. Without immediate action, the group would be cornered.

Ruby summoned her Persona Summer Rose and blasted the shadows with wind. They were pushed back slightly, giving the group a chance to spread out around the perimeter of the room. Yang made the next move, summoning her Persona. She would not admit it, but her leg was in too much pain for her to make a characteristic charge at their foes. Her Persona launched a fireball at the approaching shadows but had no effect. They continued to advance even as they burned. Weiss used her glyphs to trap the shadows' legs in ice, but they quickly broke free. Pyrrha summoned her Persona Thetis and hit one of the shadows with a bolt of lightning, but it did no damage.

One of the shadows got within striking distance of Labrys and lunged forward with its electric baton. Labrys sidestepped the attack and brought her axe crashing down on the shadow's back, splitting it in two. It dissolved and disappeared. Another shadow swung its baton at Jaune. He blocked the strike with his shield, but electricity coursed through it and he was soon left writing on the floor. Pyrrha stepped in, impaling the shadow with Milo. It struggled and attempted to swing its baton at her, but she used her semblance to keep it away. She twisted the blade and finally the shadow dissolved and disappeared.

Aigis stepped up to a shadow and ran her spear through it. Unfazed, the shadow slid down the weapon toward her and smashed its baton into the side of her head. She convulsed briefly before falling to the ground unconscious. The shadow raised its weapon to hit her again, but Ruby arrived in time to sever the shadow's arm, the baton falling harmlessly to the ground. She then swung Crescent Rose around again and scythed the shadow in half. It dissolved and disappeared. Two shadows attacked Yang simultaneously. She jumped between them and as they attacked her, she dove out of the way, causing the shadows to strike each other. While they were stunned, Yang unleashed a flurry of punches on one while Blake slashed at the other. Torn to pieces by the onslaught, they dissolved and disappeared. The last shadow attacked Weiss, lunging directly at her. She sidestepped the attack and kicked the shadow to the ground. Using her glyphs she froze it in place before pinning it to the ground with Myrtenaster. It still struggled to free itself from the ice and the blade until Weiss stomped its face repeatedly. It dissolved and disappeared.

Blake healed Aigis, getting her back on her feet. "I have not sustained significant damage." Aigis reported. The pained look on her face implied the opposite.

"Maybe you and Yang should head back." Pyrrha suggested. "It's risky to fight injured."

"I'm fine, see." Yang said as she kicked her injured calf with her other leg. She could not help but wince. "Nothing to worry about."

"I will remain with my sister." Aigis said. "Her wellbeing is more important to me than my own." Labrys felt guilty upon hearing that. Now she felt as if she was putting Aigis in danger. Still, she knew it was pointless to argue.

"If you two are sure." Ruby said. They nodded their confirmation. "Alright, Labrys, lead the way." Labrys closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment before heading down one of the corridors that branched off the laboratory. Even if she could not quite define the feeling, she could sense where her shadow was waiting. As she walked the familiar corridors, her feeling of dread increased with the realization of where she was headed.