Chapter 7

"This is the place." Rise confirmed as the group approached what appeared to be a large laboratory building. "Sho's inside. I'm sure of it."

"Well he did grow up in a laboratory as a test subject." Naoto said.

"What kind of test subject?" Blake asked.

"The kind they have to hide from the world." Naoto replied. "The tests were inhumane and illegal."

"They were trying to turn him into a living weapon." Yu added. "The people that did it were obsessed with the monsters from this world, shadows. He was trained to fight, trained to kill, but when the experiments failed to produce the desired results, they threw him out like trash."

"One of the experiments left him in a coma." Yosuke continued. "They stuck him in a hospital, not expecting him to pull through."

"Years later he woke up." Naoto said. "By then all the scientists involved were dead. One had almost treated him like a son; that is before the experiments failed and he was left to rot."

"That's terrible." Yang said.

"The only thing he knows is violence, so he'll probably attack us even though we're here to save him." Yu warned. "It's the only human interaction he's experienced."

"After hearing that I don't think I'd have the heart to fight him." Ruby said.

"Hopefully we won't have to." Rise encouraged. "I think we were starting to get through to him the last time we saw him."

The group walked up to the building and the glass doors slid open on their own. The inside was sterile and white, a disquieting mix of hospital and laboratory. A long white corridor was their only path ahead. To Team RWBY it soon became clear that the outside appearance of the structure had nothing to do with the inner layout. Team YYRN seemed unconcerned by the incongruity but to them it was somewhat disturbing. Their lack of understanding about the world only added to their anxiety as they group moved deeper into the facility. Before long, the winding corridor ended at a set of white metal doors.

"There are shadows inside." Rise warned. "There are a lot of them, but they're not very strong individually." Yu drew his sword with one hand and gripped the door handle with the other. Yosuke stood beside the other door and gripped its handle as Naoto and Rise aimed their weapons toward the room. Not sure what to expect, the members of Team RWBY readied their weapons. Yu and Yosuke nodded at each other then burst through the doors.

The room had the appearance of a laboratory with various scientific implements scattered about the workstations that lined the walls. Scientists milled about, except there was something very wrong about them. They were human in form but their faces were featureless. They all wore identical lab coats and white pants. They were clearly not human, and though they seemed to go through the motions, they were not actually doing anything with the devices that lined the room. Team RWBY did not find these shadows particularly threatening.

Suddenly, one of the shadows spotted the group, turned to face them and emitted a high-pitched screech. The others, now aware of the intruders, abandoned their prior routines and slowly approached. As they closed in, the shadows' hands turned into mechanical devices and began firing laser beams at the group. Teams RWBY and YYRN scattered as searing bolts of energy pierced the air. They maneuvered toward the shadows, closing the distance while carefully dodging their fire.

As he got closer, Yu stretched out his arm and fired a bolt of lightning at one of the shadows. The shadow groaned and shuddered for a moment but soon turned to him and fired the electricity back. It struck Yu but he was immune. Yosuke tried a similar tactic, blasting wind at a shadow. The shadow stood its ground before emitting a pulse of air in all directions, pushing the attackers back. Rise fired her own laser at the shadows from a distance, but it seemed to have little effect. Naoto agilely closed to melee range and plunged her rapier into one shadow's chest. It struggled and slumped a bit, and Naoto kicked it back off the blade. She quickly converted her weapon into a gun and blasted the shadow in the face repeatedly until its head was completely blown off. It melted into a viscous black substance before evaporating.

"That's it, physical attacks." Rise said. She rushed toward a shadow, sliding on her knees as she closed in to duck below its fire. As she slid to a stop, she planted her spear against her knee and fired, extending the point into the shadow's neck. She wrenched her weapon free, severing the shadow's head in the process. It too melted and evaporated.

Overcoming their initial surprise and confusion, Team RWBY entered the fray. Yang charged straight at a shadow, taking hits as she did, before smashing it in the face with an Ember Celica boosted punch. The shadow flew back into two others and all three tumbled to the ground. Weiss used her glyphs to slide to the pile of shadows at high speed. She plunger Myrtenaster into them, impaling them and pinning them to the ground. The shadows struggled for a moment before they burst, melted and dissolved. Blake acrobatically dodged her way towards a shadow, her doubles taking its fire for her. She sliced of its laser arm with Gambol Shroud's blade, the severed limb melting away fell to the ground. The now defenseless shadow stood there stunned as Blake repeatedly shot it in the chest and head until it too melted and evaporated.

In a flurry of rose petals, Ruby flew toward the remaining shadows, attracting their attention. She readied herself as they formed a semi-circle around her. As they closed in she bent and twisted her body like a coiled spring. She pulled Crescent Rose's trigger, and using the energy of the shot combined with the tension built up in her body, she spun around, blade out, and sliced the shadows in two. The bisected shadows crashed to the floor where they melted and evaporated. None remained.

"That wasn't hard." Yang said as she cracked her knuckles. "I didn't even break a sweat."

"They get tougher." Yosuke warned. "That was impressive though. You really tore them apart."

"Their bodies melt away just like Grimm." Weiss observed. "I wonder if they're related."

"I thought the same thing when we first encountered Grimm." Naoto said. "There do seem to be similarities, but I can't reach any definite conclusions."

"We should really keep moving." Rise urged. "There are more shadows here, including a very strong one near Sho. He might be in danger."

Adachi had more names on his list. Bartholomew Oobleck, professor at Beacon Academy, had apparently gotten in the way of whatever Torchwick was doing for the White Fang. Being a seasoned Huntsman, he would surely be difficult to deal with, so Adachi decided he would handle him last. There were still the three members of Team RWBY. They were students, kids, probably like the assholes who had stopped him on earth. They would be no trouble at all. Adam wanted one of them alive but that would not be a problem.

Adachi waited until the afternoon to go after them. Classes would be over and they were likely to be in their dorm room. He wanted to get them all in one shot. Posing as a detective, he made his way into Beacon Academy. With his background and a badge stolen from one of Vale's dumbest, he had no trouble convincing the relevant individuals that he was indeed who he said he was. Carrying a small television in a briefcase, he made his way to their room and knocked on the door. There was no answer. He knocked again but got no response.

The door across the hallway opened behind him. "Can I help you?" A tall girl with red hair asked.

Adachi found her quite attractive, but something about her told him she was dangerous as well. "Hi, I'm a detective." He said, flashing his badge. "I understand that Team RWBY was involved in fighting off the Grimm attack a few days ago. I just had a few questions for them. Do you know where they are?"

"No, but we fought there too." The girl replied. Adachi looked into the room behind them to see three others. "We might be able to help." She paused for a moment. "Come in." She finally said with a wave of her arm. Adachi walked in. Decent sized room, four beds, co-ed, it was the kind of thing he would have died for at university. There were weapons lying around, presumably belonging to the occupants. This planet seemed to be obsessed with creating the craziest weapons possible.

"Who's he?" Another redheaded girl asked. She seemed sickeningly perky.

"He's detective…what did you say your name was?" The tall girl asked.

"I didn't." Adachi replied. "I'm detective Adachi."

After walking through winding white hallways for what seemed like hours, Teams RWBY and YYRN arrived at another set of doors. "Let me guess, there are shadows inside." Blake said.

"You're picking this up quick." Rise said. "Yes, but just one."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Ruby said.

"It's a big one." Rise warned. "It's powerful too. It won't be a pushover like the others."

Team YYRN stacked up on the doors as they had done before. They burst through and into a large open area. This place did not look like the previous room. It looked like some sort of testing range with targets on the walls. The shadow was obvious. It took the form of a twenty foot tall humanoid figure, featureless like the scientist shadows but with a colossal cannon in place of one arm. The rest of its body appeared to be clad in plate armor.

Teams RWBY and YYRN dove aside as the unnatural meld of man and machine lobbed a shell from its cannon into their midst. The result was a tremendous fiery explosion that they somehow all managed to dodge. Yang immediately went on the offensive, charging straight at the shadow. "Wait!" Rise shouted after her. "Don't…" Yang leapt into the air and punched it in the face with all her momentum and might. There was a blinding flash as she went flying back in the direction she had come. She tumbled across the floor before coming to a stop gripping her arm and wincing.

The shadow took aim and lobbed a shell at the downed Yang. Another explosion erupted but Yang was already gone, swept up by Ruby in a flash of red and a flurry of rose petals. Ruby put Yang down on her feet. "Are you okay?" Ruby asked with obvious concern.

"My arm…" Yang trailed off, gripping her injured limb. "It's like it punched me back."

"It reflects physical attacks." Rise said. "I tried to warn you." There was no time for discussion as the shadow lobbed shell after shell at the group, forcing them to stay on the move constantly. Yu hit the shadow with a continuous stream of electricity. It stunned the shadow, but as soon as he stopped it resumed its attack, apparently unhurt. Yosuke tried to push the shadow off balance with wind, but the massive creature was hardly swayed.

"What are we supposed to do if our attacks don't do damage?" Blake asked, growing increasingly frustrated.

"Weiss, you can use ice and fire right?" Rise asked. "That might work. The rest of you can help distract it." Rise reached her hand straight up in the air. Beams of light curved out of her palm and made their way to the others. "There, you should be faster now."

As Weiss prepared to attack, the rest of Team RWBY attempted to get the shadow's attention. At first it attempted to target them, futilely lobbing shells that landed long after they had passed. Weiss was ready. She cycled Myrtenaster and lanced a line of fire at the shadow. The fire seared into the shadow burning away at its exterior as it cried in pain. Now ignoring the rest of Team RWBY, the shadow charged at Weiss before she could get off another attack. Just before the shadow reached her, Yu laid down a patch of ice in the monster's path. It skidded and slipped, slamming down on its back with a loud metallic crash.

"Finish it off!" Rise cheered. Fire worked and there was plenty to go around. Yang swapped the rounds in her gauntlets to fire dust. She joined Weiss as they blasted the downed shadow with flames. Yu and Naoto joined in and soon the creature was engulfed. It thrashed and roared before melting and evaporating away.

Yang shook out her arm. It still hurt from her failed attack. "You need to be more careful with shadows." Naoto advised. "They have strange properties. They can be immune or weak to certain types of attack. If you attack recklessly, you'll only end up injured."

"Yeah, yeah." Yang grumbled. She was not happy facing an enemy that could not be defeated by a good punch in the face.

"I've got some good news and some bad news." Rise said. "The good news is that there are no more shadows between us and Sho. The bad news is the shadow with him is much more powerful than I originally thought. We've got a real battle on our hands."

Alarm bells went off in Pyrrha's head. Adachi. That was the name of one of the men Team YYRN was after. They had mentioned it when they were investigating the day before. She could see that the others were thinking the same thing. "I think you should leave." Pyrrha said as she slowly reached for her weapons. She felt like something was wrong from the moment she had met him. Something about his demeanor, just the way he stood, the way he smiled, it was wrong.

"Oh, don't be like that." Adachi said. "Just do as I say and everything will be fine. Now, leave the weapons aside." Team JNPR now grabbed hold of their weapons. "You should have listened. Well, I guess I'll have to get rid of you as well."

Nora was the first to move. She swung Magnhild around, slamming the hammer into Adachi's head. He did not even react to the tremendous blow. He just grabbed the shaft of the hammer casually. Adachi unleashed electricity, channeling it through Magnhild and into Nora. She screamed in pain as her muscles contracted, then went silent and fell to the floor. Ren jumped up, his weapons sliding out of his sleeves, and charged at Adachi. Adachi reached out his hand, meeting this attack with electricity as well. Ren too went down. Adachi rushed up to him and kicked him hard in the side of the head, opening up a large gash at Ren's hairline. Pyrrha and Jaune attacked at the same time, but Adachi leapt out of the way with incredible speed, causing the two to collide. Adachi knocked Jaune out with a single punch to the side of the head just before Pyrrha knocked him back by hitting him in the chest with Akouo.

Adachi was caught off guard but unfazed as he faced Pyrrha from across the room. "You just had to be a bitch and resist." Adachi seethed. "Now I'll make you pay." He reached out his arm and unleashed a stream of electricity at Pyrrha. To his surprise, the current passed around her, curving until it was eventually fired back at him. "Neat trick." Adachi laughed. He lowered his hand. "I'll give you one free hit." He offered.

Pyrrha knew it was a trap but she was confident in her ability. She rushed at Adachi, Milo raised to strike. With a flippant wave Adachi unleashed a blast of wind at her. Pyrrha flew backward, slamming hard into the wall. She saw double as Adachi stomped over to her. She lashed out weakly with Milo but Adachi just kicked the weapon aside. He was impossibly powerful. Adachi grabbed Pyrrha by the throat and lifted her up against the wall. She wanted to fight but she was hurt and could feel her strength ebbing further by the second as Adachi cut off her breathing.

"Here's a free lesson for you." Adachi hissed. He let her drop slightly, grabbing her by the face. "When a man tells you what to do…" He slammed her head into the wall hard. "You!" And again. "Fucking!" Again. "Do it!" He let go and the unconscious Pyrrha dropped to the floor in a bloody heap. "Well, there's only one thing left to do." Adachi said to himself. He opened his briefcase and place the television on the floor.

The end of this hallway was different. Instead of ending in a set of double-doors, the hallway opened up slightly and was punctuated by a single, heavy-looking door and a large pane of glass. Yu approached the glass with the others close behind. "There he is." Yu said. Inside the next chamber, a circular room with featureless walls and a single door on the far side, Sho fought himself, that is his shadow self. He was doing a good job too. For all the rage and violence of his shadow, it was a poor copy. Sho had it on the ropes, slashing wildly with his twin blades as the shadow backed itself up until it reached the wall.

"I've had enough of your whiney bullshit!" Sho shouted as he continued to batter his shadow. "You're nothing like me you little bitch!" The shadow frowned and lowered its blades. Sho grunted and sliced it in two with a single swift motion. He continued to hack at it as the halves fell to the floor, melted and evaporated.

"Well, looks like he didn't need saving." Yang said.

"Uh, that's not his shadow." Rise warned. "Not really. We need to get in there fast."

"The door's locked." Ruby reported. She stood back and fired a sniper shot from Crescent Rose at it. The shot pinged off the door without so much as scratching the paint.

Inside the chamber, Sho stood alone in a rage. The door on the opposite side of the room opened. "Alright, who's next?" Sho growled.

An older man walked in. He wore a brown suit and glasses and had long brown hair. "Very good Sho." The man said. "You've improved."

"Y-you can't be." Sho stammered, his rage seemingly gone. "You're dead."

"Oh am I?" The man asked with a little laugh. "No one told me."

"When I woke up, they said…" Sho started.

"They said my life had reached a dead end." The man laughed at his own bad joke.

"Holy shit, it is you." Sho said in disbelief. "How?"