Chapter 13

This was quite the predicament. Yu was alone and vulnerable. Still, there was no sense worrying about something he could not control. He would just have to find his friends and deal with any hurdles he would have to overcome on the way. He walked for a bit, hoping to find, well, anything. The place was featureless, and no matter where he looked or where he moved nothing changed. He was not sure he was even going anywhere.

Then he suddenly had the distinct feeling that he was not alone. He turned around to find a lanky man in a suit, sitting lazily in a chair with his feet propped up on nothing visible. The man spun a pistol back and forth around his finger. "You're really annoying you know." The man said with a familiar voice. "I think I've told you that before."

"Adachi!" Yu shouted. He felt fear as much as surprise. "It can't be. You're…"

"In prison?" Adachi finished his sentence for him. "Do you really think any prison in that world can hold me? They don't put bars on the TVs."

"It doesn't make sense, how did you even get here?" Yu asked.

"You really didn't think you'd seen the last of me, did you?" Adachi ignored his question. "Things didn't go well for me the last time we met, but this time you don't have your precious friends to save you." He laughed evilly. "As long as you've been gone, your uncle must be losing his mind with worry. I wonder how he'll deal with it when you never come back. And Nanako must be so lonely without Big Bro to keep her company. Or to protect her. There are lots of bad people out there who could harm her. She survived her last brush with the TV world, will she be so lucky without you to save her?"

Something was wrong, and it had nothing to do with the fact that Yu was facing Adachi alone on another planet. That was all well within the realm of possibility as far as Yu was concerned. It was Adachi that was not quite right. It was in the way he spoke, and those eyes. "You're not Adachi, you're a shadow!" Yu concluded.

"Bravo." Adachi clapped sarcastically. "You figured it out. It took you long enough. I'm your shadow. I represent everything about yourself you want to hide. It just so happens that it lines up perfectly with Adachi. It was also pretty fun to see the look on your face. You used to be so calm under pressure, what happened?" He stood up and started pacing, still spinning the pistol around his finger. "Let's see, what buttons should I push? Got it!" He stopped spinning the gun. "Your friends, you care about them so much. But do you even really like them?"

"Of course I do." Yu knew he was playing into the shadow's mind games, but he could not help it.

"Well, I know what goes on in your head, so let's run down the list." Shadow Adachi said threateningly. "Yosuke, so enthusiastic but he's so annoying. He's such a tool. You wouldn't even hang out with him except for the fact that you can't get rid of him. At least he makes you look so much better by comparison."

"Yosuke can be a pain, but he's a good friend." Yu countered. "I can always count on him to have my back." Yu was starting to get angry. He could not help it when the topic was his friends. He also knew there was surely more to come.

"What's the deal with Chie?" Adachi asked. "I don't think you even know why you keep her around. Her body's alright but that personality! Would it kill her to try to act like a girl? I guess she's good in a fight, but you don't need her." Yu was done. He knew he had to listen to what the shadow had to say, but he was done arguing. It would only feed into its game. "Yukiko, so sexy, so helpless, and she's so dependent upon you. You really hit the jackpot with that one. It's a shame she can't cook for her life, or she would make good wife material." Yu stared daggers at the shadow, but it only seemed to give it a lift. "You don't swing that way, but it's good to know that you've got an option in Kanji if you change your mind. What a loser. You might tell him it's alright to have those girly hobbies, but you still think he's a freak. You'd tell him so if not for the fact that he'd kick your ass." The shadow paused and looked for a reaction, but none was forthcoming. Yu had learned his lesson. "Fair enough, I'll just keep going and see how long you can hold it together. How did you get so lucky? Rise was wrapped around your finger, and other parts of you, from the moment you met. She's kind of slutty, but you like that. It's fun." Yu clenched his fists, digging his fingernails into his own hands. "Teddie is a weird one. A pervert in a bear costume, it's amazing you've kept him out of prison this long. He's pretty useless too, and annoying. He raises being annoying to an art form." For once Yu had a tough time finding fault with that assessment. Teddie was not useless, but the rest was not entirely inaccurate. Yu realized the shadow was getting to him, and he was giving in. Teddie was great, even with his faults. "And then we have the Detective Prince! Dealing with her is exhausting, but man, what a body! It's a shame she hides it, because she is smoking hot. One day you might even be able to turn her into a proper girl."

"Are you done?" Yu asked, exasperated.

"Not quite, but I'm close." The shadow said. "Finally, we have Ruby. So naïve, so pure, you'd like to show her a few things wouldn't you? You say you're not out to bed every girl you meet, but actions speak louder than words. As for her in particular, you want her bad, even if you won't say so. Maybe it's because she has your power. You're jealous, but you can't help but be attracted to it and her. Once you get her, you can move on to her friends. Now that will be interesting."

"Can we please just fight now?" Yu asked. He was tired of the psychological beating and tired of putting up a front against it. "Izanagi!" He summoned his Persona, not waiting for an answer. That should not have worked. "If you're my shadow, how is it that I can still summon my Persona? They're one in the same." He paused to think about it. "You're not my shadow. You're just a shadow created for me."

"You're a sharp one." The shadow said. "I didn't think you'd figure that out. Think about it though, all those things in your head and I didn't even need to be you to know them. Maybe those feelings are stronger than you thought."

"We all have parts of ourselves we're not proud of." Yu defended himself. "I may have those thoughts in moments of weakness, but like you said, actions speak louder than words. I know the person I am and I know my deficiencies, and my actions reflect that. I helped them, and not to change them. I helped them accept themselves and find the strength they have inside. "

"Oh well." The shadow sighed. "It was worth a shot. Seeing you beat yourself up would have been fun. Let's do this then. Magatsu-Izanagi!"

"I should try to contact the others with my Persona." Rise said. She concentrated deeply and her Persona appeared. "Can anyone hear me?"

"Oh, now that's cheating." The voice from earlier said. "I'll put a stop to that." An excruciatingly loud screech filled Rise's ears. Her Persona disappeared as she clutched the sides of her head. She felt as if knives were being jammed in both her ears as she collapsed.

"Rise!" Yukiko shouted. "Are you okay?" She rushed to Rise's side and helped her to her feet. She looked as if she were about to cry.

"You bastard!" Kanji yelled. "You call yourself a man? Hurting a girl who can't defend herself! I swear I'm gonna' punch your teeth out!"

"If he can interfere with my Persona, he's really powerful." Rise warned. The pain in her head was finally subsiding. "We need to be careful. We have no idea what else he's capable of."

Ruby readied Crescent Rose. There was no one around as far as she could tell, but just holding it was comforting. She was so worried. She needed her team and her team needed her. She was a good enough fighter on her own, but as a team they were unstoppable. They must have been worried about her too. She tried looking around, but there was nothing to see. No matter where she went she was still surrounded by the same featureless blackness.

"Hey Red." A familiar voice said from behind her. She spun around to see none other than Roman Torchwick. "We have got to stop meeting like this."

"You're behind this?" Ruby asked. "Is this all part of your master plan?"

Torchwick laughed. "What do you think? I'm involved in plenty of…business ventures. Why couldn't this be one of them?"

"You're supposed to be in prison." Ruby observed.

"You say that like any prison could hold me." Torchwick said. "I didn't get to where I am today by rotting behind bars."

Something about the way he moved and the way he spoke just was not quite right. Ruby could not place it but something was definitely off. "You're not Torchwick, you're a shadow." Ruby concluded.

"Well done Red, you figured it out." Torchwick said sarcastically. "You get a gold star kid."

"Why take on Torchwick's appearance?" Ruby asked.

"You should have seen the look on your face." The shadow laughed. "Looking like this got such an entertaining response out of you."

"Is this all just a game?" Ruby asked angrily. She swung Crescent Rose around, embedding the blade in the ground to provide a stable firing platform. She pointed the gun straight at the shadow and pulled the trigger. There was a flash of light and the bullet ricocheted harmlessly into the air.

"You know the way this works Red." The shadow taunted. "I've got some things to say before we get down to business." It smiled evilly. "Let's talk about your friends."

"What about them?" Ruby asked.

"I'm going to remind you how you really feel about them of course." Shadow Torchwick replied. "Let's start with Weiss. She's so cold and arrogant, such a know-it-all, you can barely tolerate her. You know very well that if you hadn't been forced together, you'd never be friends."

"Weiss has changed a lot since we first met." Ruby protested. "She's a lot friendlier."

"Irrelevant." The shadow countered. "Blake betrayed you and it cuts deep. She didn't tell you about her past and wouldn't even admit to being a Faunus. You're not sure you can ever trust her. It doesn't really matter though; you couldn't have a conversation with her if your life depended on it. It's hard to be friends with someone who has nothing in common with you. She'll probably just run off again anyway. That would solve that."

"Blake has some things she needs to work through but that's okay." Ruby said. "We all keep secrets. And it doesn't matter that we don't have much in common because we're working toward a common goal, making the world a better place."

"You're in denial." The shadow taunted. "You really do love your sister and she loves you, but you know you can't count on her. She may say she'll protect you and always be by your side, but you know she's just as likely to run off and do her own thing. There are parties to go to after all, and you're definitely not invited. And how can she protect you when she's dead. You know how reckless she is. How long before it kills her? It's amazing she's lasted this long. You're jealous of her too. She's so pretty and has so many friends. How could you hope to compete? You'll always just be Yang's little sister."

"Nobody's perfect but she really cares about me." Ruby said. "I can't blame her for having her own life, and so what if I am a little jealous? It's perfectly normal."

"Keep telling yourself that." The shadow said. "Let's move on to Yu. You really don't know how to feel about him. He's so helpful and kind, but you don't know much about him. Who is he really? He's a player, that's for sure. You know he's got a harem yet you can't help but be attracted to him. You were too embarrassed to admit it, but when you asked if you were on a date, you knew you were and you were so happy about it. He's a guy who's romantically interested in you, that's a first. Who cares if he's got more girls than he can handle already? He makes you feel wanted, and that's a rare feeling for you."

"I've had enough!" Ruby screamed. "Let's end this!" She focused and summoned her Persona. "Summer Rose!"

"Let's end this indeed." Shadow Torchwick said menacingly. "Dark Rose!" The shadow summoned a Persona, which was surprising enough. More of a shock was the fact that it was the shadow version of her mother that Ruby had faced before. It seemed the evil of this place knew no bounds.

"We can't just sit here." Yang said with annoyance. "Ruby could be alone and in danger. She must be so scared."

"She's strong, she can handle it." Weiss assured her. "We have to believe in her."

"She might be strong enough to handle this, but what if I'm not?" Yang asked. "I promised to protect her, but I just keep leaving her behind."

"Doubting yourself won't help." Chie said. "She can do it and we can do it."

"The culprit no doubt split us up to distract us with worry." Naoto observed. "We don't need our leaders to fight, and they don't need us. We're in their hearts and they're in ours; that's the strength we give each other. The only way we can fail is if we let this trick destroy our morale."

"I guess you're right." Yang said. She did not look confident.

"Come on, let's see if there's any way out of here." Yosuke suggested.

"Good idea." Yang said. "We need to focus on the solution, not dwell the problem." She knew that was not going to work, either finding a way out or getting her mind off the problem. Her Persona's limited sensory power was strong enough to tell her that they would not find a way out or a way to meet up with the others. She would not say that because she knew it would distress the others. Beyond that, she could not stop worrying about Ruby, ever.