Chapter 51

The shadow charged. Ruby backpedaled but Yang held her ground. The shadow lashed out with its sword, the blade seeming to become even longer during the strike, and Yang deflected the blow with her gauntlets. The shadow kept its weapon in motion and slashed back at Yang. This time she leapt back. Again the shadow slashed and again Yang jumped back but this time a wave of fire leapt from the blade and hit Yang. She was effectively fireproof but it did have the effect of temporarily blinding her. It was also an attack Yang did not know her mother to have, probably some horror from Ruby's imagination. Slashing back across its body once again the shadow attacked low and hit Yang in the knees. Her legs pulled out from under her, Yang slammed down on her side.

Ruby arrived in a flurry of rose petals before the shadow could follow up. She swung Crescent Rose around but the shadow jumped over the attack and landed behind her, leaving them back to back. The shadow thrust its sword back under its arm and hit Ruby squarely in the back. As Ruby staggered forward, Yang sprung up and took her place. She launched a punch at the shadow's head but it ducked aside then spun around and hit Yang in the gut with an elbow. As Yang stumbled back the shadow followed through with its blade, drawing across Yang's chest, grinding away at her aura.

"Down!" Ruby called. Yang dropped to the floor as Ruby leveled her weapon at the shadow. She fired, unleashing a glowing ball of dust. With a swipe of its sword the shadow created a portal then leapt in just in time to dodge the incoming attack. It struck the far wall of the arena instead, shattering the stone in a spectacular explosion.

"Where did it go?" Yang asked as she jumped back to her feet.

A portal appeared behind Ruby and the shadow stepped out, its sword sheathed. It punched Ruby in the back of the head then grabbed her legs. The shadow pulled back and Ruby slammed down on her face. Then it threw her up into the air. The shadow placed its hand on its sword's grip as Ruby flew. Just before Ruby hit the ground the shadow swiftly drew the blade out of its sheath and hit her with a powerful strike that sent her flying. Ruby tumbled across the arena floor before skidding to a stop on her back.

Yang ran at the shadow but pulled up short as it swung its blade around. Rather than just blocking or deflecting the strike, Yang punched the sword. The energy sent the shadow into a spin and Yang unloaded another powerful punch toward the shadow's head. The shadow pirouetted, moved its head to avoid Yang's attack, then slashed its sword across her stomach. Yang doubled over and staggered back as the shadow swung its blade around, over its head then down in an uppercutting motion that hit Yang in the face. Yang flipped over backwards and landed on her stomach.

A glowing ball of dust, fired from Crescent Rose and moving at high velocity, struck the shadow in the mask. It exploded on impact and shattered the shadow's mask, revealing its face. It was not Raven's actual face, the one so much like Yang's, but a grotesque one that more resembled a creature of Grimm. Though much too far away to land a strike, the shadow slashed at Ruby. A wave of flames launched from the blade and slammed into Ruby. Ruby was knocked off her feet and her aura failed. The shadow slashed again, launching more fire, and Ruby scrambled to get out of the way. A few embers caught in her clothes and Ruby frantically beat the fire out.

Yang dove at the shadow to prevent it from launching another attack at Ruby. Her eyes blazed red and her hair was engulfed in flame. She planted her shoulder in the shadow's midsection but it did not budge. Instead it bashed Yang in the back of the head with the pommel of its sword. Yang fell on her face then quickly rolled onto her back as the shadow attempted to stomp on her. She thrust both hands forward, firing Ember Celica. The first pair of shots hit the shadow in the face but it jumped back and out of the way of a second salvo. It waved its blade, summoning a portal and jumped in just as Yang unleashed a third.

Yang got up and looked around the arena but could not locate the shadow. Ruby backed herself up against the arena wall to avoid being flanked again. "Where the heck did it go?!" Yang shouted, the fire in her hair flaring up. A dim red light made her look up but it was too late. Falling from above her the shadow slashed down and connected with Yang's head. Yang's aura failed and she slammed to the ground with the shadow landing on top of her. It flipped its blade around so it pointed downward and stabbed at Yang. Yang tried to squirm aside but only partially succeeded. The blade pierced her to the right of her navel, about three quarters of the way to the edge of her torso. For a moment the shadow and Yang locked eyes. The flames in Yang's hair grew in intensity and she roared with pain and rage. With her right hand she grabbed the sword and with her left punched the shadow in the side of the head with all her might.

The strike instantly reversed the position, leaving Yang astride the shadow. Yang pounded on the shadow's head, finally forcing it to let go of its sword to better defend itself. After a few more strikes, the shadow bucked and Yang ceased her attack to catch herself and prevent the sword from hitting anything. Any movement would only cause it to do more damage. The shadow slid out from under her and rolled to its feet, leaving Yang on her knees with its sword still planted in her side.

Then there was a black and red blur, accompanied by a flurry of rose petals. Ruby hooked the shadow with her scythe and dragged it across the arena until both struck a wall. Yang ripped the sword out of herself and tossed it aside. Ruby repeatedly slashed at the shadow, cutting gashes that oozed black liquid into its arms as it struggled to respond. Ruby stepped back then lunged forward with a twirling strike. It caught the shadow in the neck and cleanly severed its head. It burst into cloud of glowing ash that evaporated away.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted with alarm as soon as the shadow burst. Yang was still kneeling, clutching her wound. Her eyes had returned to their usual violet and the fire in her hair had died. Ruby rushed over.

"I'm fine." Yang assured her. "It's just a flesh wound."

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked, unconvinced.

"Yeah, I've had worse." Yang assured her. "It didn't hit anything important."

"Well, alright." Ruby said, breathing a sigh of relief. She reached down to Yang who took her hand and pulled herself up. "As scary as the shadow was, I think I'd still be more afraid of your actual mom." Ruby said.

"I can agree with you on that." Yang admitted. "Are you burned anywhere?"

"No, I beat the flames out before they got through my clothes." Ruby replied. "I'm going to need a new combat skirt though."

"I'm not worried about your clothes." Yang said. She gave Ruby a hug that was not as crushingly tight as usual. The trade off was that it smeared Yang's blood on Ruby's clothes.

"Ew, Yang, you're still bleeding!" Ruby yelled. "It's all over my combat skirt!"

"Oh, yeah, sorry." Yang laughed. "Who cares, you're getting a new one when we get back anyway."

"What a touching display of sisterly love." Thanatos groaned. "Now clear the arena. There's still one more match."

Ruby and Yang walked up the ramp to rejoin the others. "Yang, that wound looks pretty bad." Weiss said. "Does it hurt?"

"Only a little." Yang said with a dismissive wave. "It's not nearly as painful as your attempts at humor." Weiss pouted.

"You should stitch it up." Ren said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small first aid kit. He handed it to Yang.

"I don't think I can stitch myself." Yang said. She reached around to her back. "Yeah, it cut through the other side too. I can't reach."

"I can apply sutures and field dressings." Aigis offered.

"If that'll be anything like the surgery you did on your sister, I'll pass." Yang said with an uneasy laugh.

"I can have a very gentle touch when necessary, I assure you." Aigis said.

Yang looked to Naoto. When YYRN had first come to Remnant she had stitched up a wound for Blake. "I would do it but my match is next." Naoto said. "You'll be in good hands with Aigis."

Yang hesitated but handed the first aid kit to Aigis. "Please lay down." Aigis said, gesturing toward where she had 'operated' on Labrys. With more hesitation Yang laid down. "Good, now please remain perfectly still."

"Do you want me to hold your hand?" Ruby offered.

"That's okay, I don't think…" Yang started. Aigis started the first suture and Yang stifled a scream. Yang grabbed Ruby's hand. "Alright, I'm sorry if I crush your hand."

"No problem, I'm just glad you're alive." Ruby said. Aigis started the second and Yang squeezed hard. Ruby yelped. "I regret everything!"

With everyone else attending to Yang, Yu and Naoto were left to themselves. "It's good to see they can still smile." Yu said. "It would be a tragedy if this crushed their spirits."

"What about your spirit?" Naoto asked.

"Don't worry about me." Yu said.

"I'm worried." Naoto said. She was clearly not willing to let it drop.

"I don't think I'll ever be the same." Yu said. "But that doesn't mean I'll be totally different either. I'm still me. I can still smile and laugh and joke around."

"That doesn't mean much if those smiles are just a facade." Naoto said. "Trust me, I know a lot about facades."

"I'm hurting." Yu admitted. "Right now the pain's raw. Maybe with time I can be really happy again. How about you?"

"It's the same for me I guess." Naoto replied. "Even when this is over, it'll be something I'll have to deal with for the rest of my life. As long as I have you to help though, I think I can get through it."

"Same." Yu said.

"It's time for the final match of my little tournament." Thanatos announced. "Yu Narukami and Naoto Shirogane, enter the arena." Without the slightest hesitation both stood and descended the ramp into the arena.

"Bring out your shadow." Yu said. "I know the one you're planning to use. My revenge starts with it. It ends with you."

"It's nice to see that one of you is actually looking forward to this." Thanatos said. "I was getting tired of all the moping and angst."

"Given that you're a psychopath, I seriously doubt that." Naoto said. "Seeing others in pain sustains you."

"I don't take joy in pain." Thanatos said. "I take joy in success. It just so happens that those two things coincide. Now, your opponent."

Thanatos waved his hand and a glob of shadow material rose up from the arena floor, immediately resolving into a copy of Yu. The copy now bore the scars of its previous two fights and was strengthened by the life force of its two fallen foes. "Yu, which one of you should I kill first?" The shadow hissed. "Who am I kidding? Of course I'll kill her first. Watching you suffer while you watch will be so satisfying."

"Save it." Yu said. "You've taken too many of my friends already. We're going to kill you. Then we're going to kill Thanatos. If Hypnos gets in our way we'll kill him too." The matter-of-fact way he stated the threats was deeply disconcerting.

"Yu, don't lose yourself." Naoto warned.

"These monsters only understand intimidation and violence." Yu said. Naoto immediately understood what he was aiming for. It was his own attempt at mind games, his way of showing Thanatos and the others that he would not be thrown off by their tricks. "Now, shall we get started?"

"I thought you'd never ask." The shadow said.

Yu did not wait for the shadow to make its move. Instead he charged straight at it. "Cover me." He said. Naoto took a few steps out to the side, leveled her rifle at the shadow and squeezed off a few shots. The shadow stood still, ignoring the bullets as they bounced off harmlessly. Yu slashed at the shadow, and it slashed back, their swords clashing. Both jumped back, thrust out their hands and unleashed blasts of wind that met and cancelled. Keeping up the opposing wind attacks, they added fire to the mix, generating a rapidly growing tornado of flames. Each failing to gain the upper hand, they leapt away as the tornado grew large and unstable, collapsing in a massive fireball. It was ice next, but all their mirroring attacks did was create a frozen wall between them.

Yu vaulted over the ice wall but the shadow was not where he expected when he landed on the other side. He spun around to find it with its back pressed against the ice. Before he could react the shadow hit him with a blast of wind that sent him flying up and into the invisible dome that surrounded the arena before bouncing down to the floor. The ice behind the shadow rapidly melted as Naoto poured a continuous stream of fire into it as she charged. Bursting through the weakened wall she slammed shoulder-first into the shadow. The shadow slid across the floor but stayed on its feet as Naoto unleashed a flurry of rapid stabs with her rapier. The shadow blocked most and seemed unaffected by those that landed.

The shadow lunged forward, headbutted Naoto, then kicked her in the shin. She stumbled and the shadow punched her in the back of the head hard enough to knock her to the ground. Naoto raised her hand and unleashed a wave of wind that threw the shadow back but not before it fired a short but powerful burst of electricity into her. Yu arrived behind the shadow as it was falling off balance. With an upward diagonal slash he hit the shadow's back with his blade. It landed on all fours and rolled forward and out of the way as Yu brought his sword down. It launched a fireball backwards that caught Yu in the face. It was both blinding and painful, giving the shadow the opportunity to get back to its feet. Yu slashed at the shadow and their blades met. Naoto attacked the shadow from behind but it was ready. It slid to the side and released Yu's blade, causing him to fall toward Naoto's. Naoto pulled up short and Yu only just avoided falling over.

The shadow spun behind Naoto and kicked her in the back, shoving her into Yu. A powerful blast of wind sent them both tumbling across the arena. Yu got up first and met the charging shadow with a charge of his own. Their blades clashed repeatedly as they attacked each other and neither seemed able to gain an advantage. Yu jumped back, simultaneously slashing his sword downward. The shadow side-stepped the strike and slashed high toward Yu's face. Yu brought his sword up and deflected the strike but the shadow bent over and lunged forward, planting its shoulder in his gut and grabbing his legs. It lifted him up and flipped him over its shoulder. Yu kept his composure and landed on his feet behind the shadow. He stabbed backward under his arm and the shadow matched the move to block.

Naoto was back in the fight. She lined up a shot and loosed a blast of wind at the shadow. The shadow saw it coming and dove out of the way. Yu was not so fortunate and took the blast full force. His aura failed and he was sent sailing across the arena. Naoto ran at the shadow and stabbed straight for it. It stepped out of the way and tripped her as she passed, causing her to slam down on her face. As the shadow stabbed down at her she raised a clenched fist. A spectral shield appeared between her and the shadow and took the blow while she scrambled to her feet. The shadow ignored the setback, reached out both hands and blasted her with lightning. Naoto convulsed and fell to her knees as her aura failed. The shadow touched its blade to the side of Naoto's attack to line up the strike, then lifted the blade over its head. It brought the blade crashing down.

Seeming to come out of nowhere, Yu slid between the shadow and Naoto. He stopped the blade with his bare hand. The shadow brought its sword back and slashed at him again. This time Yu did not bother to block, letting the blade slam into the side of his neck. It did not penetrate at all. The shadow frantically hacked at him but he seemed invulnerable. "Why won't you die?!" The shadow demanded.

"I told you, you've already taken enough of my friends." Yu said. "Now it's your turn." He caught the shadow's next slash, grabbed its arm, and twisted until it snapped and the shadow dropped the sword. He grabbed the shadow by the shoulders and kneed it in the gut. The shadow dropped to its knees. "I hope you're watching Thanatos." Yu yelled. "You're next." With a single lightning quick strike he sliced the shadow in two. It burst into a cloud of glowing ash that evaporated away.