Chapter 32

Two rather short train rides carried Teams RWBY and YYRN to New Jersey. The second brought them to a station adjacent to the stadium. Waters was waiting for them nearby wearing a blue shirt emblazoned with a bold white 11 with red trim. He was talking to a police officer he apparently knew but broke off the conversation as soon as the group arrived. "Good, you made it." He said. "And you don't stand out at all." It was hard to tell if that last bit was an insult or just a joke. "Well, you made it just in time."

"We didn't really know what constitutes proper attire for this sort of event." Naoto said.

"It's alright…Christ!" Waters exclaimed. "What happened to your face? You too? Are you in some kind of fight club? I know it wasn't one of the guys; they'd know better. Besides, you cut their balls off if they pulled that kind of shit. What happened?"

"We had an accident." Yang said, thinking quickly. "I tripped and grabbed hold of her to steady myself. We both fell, I hit my head and she got dragged across a tree."

"That sounds incredibly painful." Waters said.

"I've had worse." Naoto said.

"Do you need to see a doctor?" Waters asked. "There are some paramedics over there."

"No, it's already been checked out." Naoto said. "Don't worry about it."

"If you say so." Waters sighed. "So, I've never met most of you. How about some introductions? I'm detective Waters."

"Well, this is Rise." Naoto said. "She's the one who invited us here."

"Nice to meet you." Rise said, offering her hand. Waters shook it. His grip was a bit tight for her liking.

"I'm Ruby, this is my sister Yang, my friend Blake, and Weiss." Ruby said.

"Hey!" Weiss protested.

Waters shook each of their hands. Yang's grip was a little tight for his liking. He started leading them toward the stadium. "So, how do you know each other?" Waters asked. "Solve any murders together?"

"Not quite, but we did stop a series of kidnappings." Blake said.

"I didn't read anything about that." Waters said.

"It didn't get much coverage." Naoto said.

Their conversation was interrupted as they arrived at the gates and had to pass through security. Waters passed them their tickets and they headed through. Once inside, rather than going to the normal seating area, Waters led the group to a luxury box. It looked more like an apartment than anything else. Only the window overlooking the field indicated that it was not.

"This is super-fancy." Rise said. Even though she was used to VIP experiences she was impressed.

"So, how did you get access to this place?" Naoto asked. "I know you can't afford it, no offense."

"None taken." Waters said. "I used to work for the team…the Giants when I was training to be a cop. I befriended one of their retired players. He has access to this suite but his broadcasting job prevents him from using it most of the time. He lets me have it for one game a year."

"For someone who's so abrasive you sure do make a lot of friends." Naoto observed. "I guess as long as you're helping someone they don't care about that."

"Something like that." Waters said. There was clearly something on his mind. He leaned against a wall, his arms crossed on his chest with a hand on his chin. "So, I know that you know that I don't buy your story about those injuries. We've got an hour until the game starts, so I thought we could discuss the truth. I keep tabs on things going on around the region. It seems some seriously injured Japanese nationals were recently evacuated from the city. A few days before that a huge contingent of Japanese doctors, and interestingly engineers, arrived. What have you gotten yourselves into this time?"

"If we told you, you wouldn't believe us." Weiss said.

"I don't know, I think I would." Waters said. "It's all very bizarre. They come from some secret organization tied to a massive corporation, something called the Shadow Operatives. They took over an abandoned warehouse too."

"We're not involved in espionage if that's what you're thinking." Naoto said. "They just need our help."

"With?" Waters pressed.

"The operatives were kidnapped." Naoto explained. "The doctors arrived to treat them once they were recovered."

"Why no missing persons reports?" Waters asked.

"It wouldn't matter." Naoto said. "They weren't kidnapped in the traditional sense."

"You'll have to explain that one." Waters said. The group looked at him with unease, unsure what they should say. "Just come out and say it. I don't care how insane it sounds."

"Their minds were trapped in another dimension." Yu said, looking Waters in the eye. "We can access that dimension, fight the monsters there, and free them."

"I wasn't expecting that." Waters said. "I'm understandably skeptical."

"It's the truth." Naoto said. "Go to the warehouse, we haven't rescued all of them yet. You'll see."

"No, I believe you." Waters said to the group's shock. "I looked into that Inaba case. Nothing made sense. The perpetrator's statements sound insane but if taken at face value the whole thing falls into place. What you're telling me now isn't terribly different."

"Naoto, where the hell did you find this guy?" Yosuke asked. "No one believes us. You wouldn't even believe us until you saw it yourself."

"Evidence is evidence." Waters said. "Whether I think it's insane or not, there's no arguing with the truth."

"That's quite an enlightened view." Blake said.

"Is it?" Waters asked. "Maybe so. There is one more mystery. So, where do the four of you really come from?"

"We're from another planet in a parallel universe." Ruby replied.

"Wonderful." Waters sighed. "Is there anything I can do to help you guys?"

"Probably not." Yu said. "Not everyone can properly function in that world, and first timers are particularly at risk."

"Well, good luck." Waters said. "Please be careful. I'd hate for anything to happen to you kids." He leaned on the counter and buried his head in his hands. "Thank God there's alcohol here. Any of you want some?"

"Waters, I'm still 18." Naoto said. "So is Rise and the boys are 19."

"What about the aliens?" Waters asked.

"Those three are 18 and I'm 16." Ruby said.

"Well, I guess I'm drinking alone." Waters said.

"That was pretty fun." Yosuke said as the group rode the train back to the city after the game.

"Yeah, but hockey was better." Yang said.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked Naoto. She seemed lost in thought.

"I was just thinking about our conversation with Waters." Naoto said. "I wonder if he really believes us."

"Does it really matter?" Weiss asked.

"I'd hate to lose a friend over this." Naoto said. "He's pretty unforgiving when it comes to lying."

"He believes us." Yu said. "It's pretty clear that he trusts you."

Naoto looked surprised. "I…I guess I'm still not very good at judging people." Naoto sighed.

"He's still angry that you didn't just tell him the truth to begin with." Yu said.

"I guess I deserve that." Naoto said.

"Don't worry about it." Rise said. "You never know how someone will react to all that talk of other worlds, shadows and parallel universes. And I can't believe you guys told him you were from another planet."

"Please stay in bed." Kikuno pleaded with Akihiko as the group walked into the warehouse.

"The doctors said I could start rehabbing." Akihiko countered.

"You already finished your rehab." Kikuno said. "Now you need to rest. Besides, I doubt they had punching a solid wooden door to destruction with your bare fists in mind when they spoke about rehabilitation." Akihiko's injured arm was still in a sling but he punched away with his other, cracking the door a little more with each strike.

"Didn't you promise to listen?" Yang challenged him.

"I promised to listen to the doctors." Akihiko said. "They said I could start rehabbing again, so that's what I'm doing. We never agreed to anything about Kikuno." He reared back and punched, putting his fist straight through the door in a shower of splinters. He pulled his bloodied arm back through the hole, seemingly oblivious to the injury.

"I'm begging you, please rest." Kikuno said.

"Just a little longer." Akihiko said.

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru shouted. "Rest, now!"

"Yes ma'am." Akihiko said. He was clearly disappointed. He walked back over to his bed without another word.

"I wish you could have done that ten minutes ago." Kikuno said. "Now he's going to need stitches in addition to his other treatment."

"That was amazing." Rise said. "It's like you've got a remote control."

"He knows better than to cross me." Mitsuru said with a mischievous smile. "He's been on the wrong end of a few of my kicks."

"I can confirm they hurt." Yosuke said.

"Yes, sorry again." Mitsuru said.

"No worries." Yang said. "So, are you feeling better today?"

"For someone with a broken arm and a head injury, whose mind was trapped in another dimension for a few days, I consider myself extremely lucky." Mitsuru said. "Whoever did this could have easily killed me. He could have killed us all. I wonder why he didn't."

"That's been bothering me too." Naoto said. "It's not like the kidnappings in Inaba or on Remnant. Those were committed with the expectation that the victims would die. This is different."

"Once we get our hands on the culprit, we can ask him." Blake said.

"If anyone can identify him, it would be Labrys and Aigis." Mitsuru advised. "Their sensors would have allowed them to see him clearly, even in the dark. Save them and I suspect you'll have your culprit."

"We'll get right on that." Ruby said. "Get some rest, we'll save them."

The dimly lit hallway was running out of doors. Only two remained, the other six boarded up. 'Fratricide' was engraved on the next door. "This has to be Labrys." Naoto said. "As part of the testing and development process, she was forced to kill her sister units. Those events defined her, at least until we met."

"That's horrible!" Ruby said.

"It gets worse." Naoto said. "After destroying them, the other units' memories were implanted into her, complete with emotions."

"Why would anyone do something so evil?" Blake asked.

"The researchers determined that emotional stress is integral to the manifestation of a Persona." Naoto explained. "They could not come up with a more extreme situation. By implanting the minds of the other units into Labrys, they were also able to save the combat data and anything the units learned. As horrible as it was, it worked. But Labrys was unstable and uncontrollable, so they shut her down."

"Of course she was unstable after that!" Blake exclaimed.

"Labrys spent years in storage and only woke up when she was dumped into the shadow world, by Sho Minazuki actually." Naoto said. "That created the incident during which we first met the Shadow Operatives. Labrys' shadow forced us to fight each other, but we were able to save Labrys and she gained a fully-formed Persona. She decided to join Aigis and the Shadow Operatives. Aigis and Labrys are as close to family as either one has."

"At least the story has a happy ending." Yang said. "That's one of the most horrific things I've ever heard."

"I wonder what her world will be like." Yosuke said. "Well, let's find out." He pushed the door open and passed through, followed by the others.

"I wasn't expecting this but I guess I should have." Yosuke said as the group stood just outside the gate of what appeared to be Yasogami High. "She did have a fixation with schools, and this is where she woke up."

"What is this place?" Ruby asked.

"It's our high school." Rise said. "Yu moved, Yosuke graduated, and Naoto and I are always busy, so none of us have been there much lately."

"This looks a lot different than the other school." Weiss observed.

"Yeah, this one is a lot more typical." Yosuke said. "It's not as fancy as Gekkoukan but we had some great times here." His mind drifted back to that fateful year. "Remember the beauty pageant? Good times."

"Remember your beauty pageant?" Naoto growled.

"Point taken, there will be no further discussion." Yosuke said.

"Come on Naoto, it wasn't that bad." Rise said. "Besides, you won!"

"Can we just drop it?" Naoto said. "I don't want to think about it. It was so embarrassing."

"You can't leave us hanging like this." Yang said.

"I'll tell you later." Rise promised. "Oh, you'll want to hear about the boys too."

"What have you done?!" Yu shouted as he grabbed Yosuke by the shoulders.

"Can we please focus?" Blake asked. "We've got work to do."

"Yeah, of course." Rise said. She summoned her Persona and began scanning. "I'm getting really frustrated with all the interference. I can tell that Labrys is here but not exactly where."

"I guess we'll just have to head in." Weiss said.

"Wait!" Rise warned. "There's a shadow!"

"What the hell are you little shits doing out here?" A voice shouted from just inside the school gates.

"Oh no, it couldn't be." Yosuke said.

"I think I'll have to teach you punks a lesson!" Mr. Morooka yelled.

"You'd think once he was dead we'd be done with the guy." Yosuke sighed. "But he just keeps coming back!"

The hated and feared teacher was engulfed in black liquid. When the shadow reformed it had completely changed. Gone was the hunched over, lanky old man, replaced by a twenty foot tall, obese humanoid black mass with an oversized head and huge razor-sharp teeth. Its arms were abnormally long and tipped with sharp claws. A mask above its mouth formed its face.

Naoto summoned her Persona and attacked, first with fire and then with wind. Neither was effective. Her Persona swept in to slash at the shadow with its sword, dodging with shadow's claws as it flailed about. Sweeping back in for another attack, Naoto's Persona was struck and stunned by one of the shadow's oversized arms. The shadow lunged forward, snatching Naoto's Persona with its teeth and shredding it until it faded, knocking Naoto out with it.

Blake and Yang ran at the shadow, ducking and dodging as it tried to knock them away with its claws. Blake detached the halves of Gambol Shroud and threw one, extended on its tether, up and into the shadow's shoulder where it sunk into the shadow's skin. Blake grabbed Yang around the waist and rapidly retracted the tether, launching both up at the shadow's head. Yang pushed off of Blake and landed an uppercut to the shadow's jaw while Blake continued on, slinging around to its back. Yang held on, repeatedly punching until the shadow was finally able to shake her off. Yang sailed away through the air but managed to land on her feet. Meanwhile, Blake slashed at the shadow's back, using the other half of Gambol Shroud to anchor her in place. Unfortunately the shadow's extremely long arms also proved flexible. The shadow reached back and grabbed Blake, ripping her off of its back.

As Blake struggled to get free the shadow drew her ever closer to its mouth. Yu attacked the shadow, slashing at its legs with his katana while his Persona attacked the arm carrying Blake. A powerful stab to the shoulder from Izanagi-no-Okami was enough to free Blake from the shadow's grasp, and she dropped to the ground in considerable pain. The shadow kicked Yu and he tumbled across the floor. His Persona also felt the hit and was stunned. The shadow took the opportunity to plunge its claws into the Persona's chest. Izanagi-no-Okami began to fade into static but counter attacked, stabbing the shadow in the chest with its blade. Yu withdrew his wounded Persona as the shadow retreated in pain, black goo dripping from its chest.

"Weiss, I'll give you a boost!" Yang called, taking a position in front of the shadow. Weiss ran at her, jumped and planted her foot in Yang's hands. Yang thrust Weiss skyward and she sailed toward the shadow. The shadow did not remain idle, swiping Yang away with its arm. She skidded across the ground and came to rest against a fence. Weiss hit her mark, jamming Myrtenaster into the wound created by Yu's Persona. She repeatedly stabbed at the insides of the wound as the shadow howled in pain. The shadow attempted to grab Weiss as it had Blake, but Yosuke summoned his Persona and blocked the effort. The shadow sprung at the Persona, slamming Takehaya Susano-o into Weiss. Weiss fell to the ground hard as the shadow slashed at the Persona in a frenzy. Yosuke was forced to withdraw but was able to pull the injured Weiss to safety first.

Significantly more black sludge gushed from the shadow's chest than before. Ruby lined up her shot. She ran forward and leapt, firing Crescent Rose backward for extra speed and height. She summoned her Persona and it further boosted her with a gust of wind. Ruby missed the existing wound as the shadow tried to duck under the flying Huntress, but Ruby was able to adjust her trajectory enough to hook its shoulder. With another gust of wind from her Persona, she was able to pull the shadow to the ground. Before the shadow could recover she leap up and hooked Crescent Rose into the shadow's wound. She fired the gun repeatedly, each shot ripping the scythe through more of the shadow until she finally cut completely out just under its arm. The shadow melted and evaporated away.

"Good job guys!" Rise exclaimed. "Now my scans are clearer. Labrys is somewhere in the main classroom building, but I have no idea where."

"The school isn't that big." Yosuke said. "Let's go find her."