Volume 2

Chapter 21

Beacon was much busier than usual. With the tournament rapidly approaching, more visiting combatants had arrived, and training had reached its peak. While exciting, it was also exhausting. By the end of the day Ruby was spent. Her muscles ached and the only thing she could think about was rest. Her usually boundless energy and enthusiasm was sapped. She headed back to her dorm room looking forward to a few hours of sorely needed rest. Every step was a struggle. She leaned against the wall as she used her Scroll to unlock it. The door clicked and Ruby pushed it open.

Someone was sitting on Weiss' bed, but it was not Weiss. For a moment Ruby was filled with panic. An intruder! Then her frazzled mind managed to drag itself together to identify the woman. "Margaret?" She said with exceptional confusion. "What are you doing here? What's going on?"

"I'm sorry to have startled you." Margaret said. "I understand this is a busy time for you and your friends, but I'm afraid time is not on our side."

"What does that mean?" Ruby asked. She wondered if she was hallucinating.

"I'm sure you still recall how Yu and his friends aided this world." Margaret continued. "It seems the time has come for you to return the favor."

"What happened?" Ruby asked with growing concern. "Are they in trouble?"

"Not yet, but events are unfolding rapidly." Margaret replied. "They face great peril, and your assistance could tip the scales in their favor."

"Hey Ruby, why did you leave the door open?" Yang asked as she pushed her way in. She was soon followed by Blake and Weiss. They were quickly overtaken by looks of surprise and confusion as they noticed Margaret's presence.

"Good, you're all here." Margaret said. "Gather your weapons. I would also recommend a change of clothes. Hurry, the sooner you get to earth the better."

"Whoa, we can't just leave now." Yang said. "We've got way too much going on."

"Besides, our absence will not go unnoticed." Blake said. "Lots of people would be worried if we just disappeared."

"I am aware of your concerns." Margaret said. "I will take care of everything. Yu and his friends, possibly his entire universe, face great danger. They need your help."

"We'll do it." Ruby said. "They were here for us, and we'll be there for them."

"You didn't have to make Aigis follow me around." Akihiko said. "You can trust me to go to class and do my work."

"I felt it was a necessary precaution." Mitsuru countered. "I can't risk you disappearing on one of your journeys. Your education is of paramount importance." Mitsuru's phone rang, shattering the silence that pervaded the garden at her family's mansion. She slipped it out of her pocked and took a look. She did not recognize the number. Normally she would not answer, but she had a strange feeling that it was important. She accepted the call. "Kirijo." She answered.

"I didn't know who else to call." A panicked voice said on the other end. "I'm in trouble."

"Amada, what's wrong?" Mitsuru asked.

"Something's going on." Ken said. "Something with shadows and that Midnight Channel like in Inaba."

"Where are you?" Mitsuru asked.

"New York." Ken replied.

"New York, in the United States?" Mitsuru was surprised to hear that. The last time she had been in contact with Ken he was attending Gekkoukan High School. "What are you doing there?"

"There's no time to explain." Ken said. There was a commotion in the background. "Oh no, he found me."

"Who?" Mitsuru asked desperately. Ken did not respond. She could hear the sound of a struggle, followed by silence as the connection was suddenly severed. "Amada!" She slammed her phone down on the table. "Amada's in trouble. Akihiko, make sure Aigis, Labrys, and Yamagishi are ready to move."

"I'm on it." Akihiko said. He rushed off to get Aigis who was somewhere else on the mansion grounds.

"Saikawa!" Mitsuru called.

One of her maids rushed to Mitsuru's side. "Yes?" She said.

"See to it that two jets are ready for flight to the United States." Mitsuru ordered. "One will be leaving as soon as the others are ready. Collect the auxiliary Shadow Operatives and prepare them for transport. You'll be accompanying them in the other jet. I'll give you the details once I've made arrangements with my contacts in the American government."

"Right away." Kikuno bowed politely then rushed off to complete her assigned tasks. The Shadow Operatives would pull out all the stops to rescue one of their own.

"Man, that flight was hell." Yosuke complained. "I'm so glad to finally be back on the ground."

"There was a lot more turbulence than my last flight." Naoto said. "Still, I'm surprised you vomited so much."

"Oh come on, it was like a roller coaster ride!" Yosuke defended himself.

"I didn't think it was so bad." Yu shrugged.

"I still can't believe you slept through the whole thing." Yosuke said. "It felt like there were speedbumps in the air!"

After an uneventful trip through customs and picking up their luggage, the trio headed out of the terminal. They had landed in Newark and a friend of Naoto's would be driving them to New York City to meet up with Rise. Their instructions were simple, exit the terminal and head all the way to the right. Their ride would be waiting. Down at the end of the terminal they spotted a tall, slightly overweight man in a suit leaning against a black sedan. He looked bored, but his expression changed to one of relief when he saw the group.

"This is my friend detective Waters." Naoto introduced him. "We once worked together on a case. Waters, these are my friends Yu and Yosuke."

Waters shook their hands firmly then helped load their luggage into his trunk. "So, what brings you here this time?" Waters asked as they packed into his car.

"Our friend invited us." Naoto explained. "She's doing a panel at Comic Con and then a concert a few days from now." Waters started the car and pulled out onto the road.

"That wouldn't happen to be Rise Kujikawa, would it?" Waters asked. Naoto nodded. "I didn't know she was doing shows in the US."

"She's only doing this one and one other in California." Naoto explained. "Her American fan base isn't that large but she's gaining a following."

"Well, I hope you kids have fun." Waters said. "Try not to get into any trouble." Waters' driving had become alarming. He screamed down the highway at high speed, weaving in and out of traffic. For Yu and Yosuke, it was a terrifying experience. Naoto seemed unconcerned. "And Shirogane, maybe don't do any photoshoots." Naoto grew flustered and her face turned bright red.

"Oh calm down kid." Waters laughed. "I'm just messing with you."

"What's that about?" Yosuke asked. No one answered him.

"So, where exactly am I taking you?" Waters asked.

"Let me get the hotel's address." Naoto said as she pulled some folded papers out of her coat.

Before Naoto could read it out Waters glanced over and read it himself, all the while still driving like a maniac. "Wow, that's a fancy place." Waters said. "I don't think I could afford to stay there for an hour."

"Rise booked it." Naoto said. "Well, her agent did. Her agency is paying for the trip."

"Why can't I have friends like that?" Waters asked rhetorically. "How do you know each other anyway?"

"It's a long story." Yu said. His English was just a good as Naoto's. "Even if we told you, you wouldn't believe it."

"What's Ken doing in New York?" Akihiko asked. The sleek business jet carrying the regular members of the Shadow Operatives was already over the American west coast. It was quiet, smooth and luxurious, a combination that had encouraged its human occupants to spend the earlier portion of the flight sleeping. Even so, their rest had been fitful at best given the circumstances. They were all worried about their friend.

"He's participating in a study abroad program." Mitsuru explained. "I contacted the instructors in charge and they confirmed his disappearance."

"What are we heading into?" Akihiko asked. "I don't like going in blind. Knowing your opponent is half the battle."

"Unfortunately we don't have any intelligence regarding shadow activity in the United States." Mitsuru said. "I've got some of my contacts working on it, but most if it's over their heads."

"I have found one interesting piece of information." Aigis chimed in. "Apparently Rise Kujikawa is scheduled to appear in an event in New York City later today. Given her involvement in both Inaba incidents I would suggest that her presence is not a coincidence."

"Do you think she knows something we don't?" Akihiko wondered aloud.

"I don't plan to involve her." Mitsuru said. "I want the Inaba group to be able to live their lives in peace. I'm sure that whatever we're facing, we can handle it."

When Ruby awoke she was lying in a field. She felt ill and her head hurt. She looked around, finding the rest of her team in a similar state of disorientation. They were surrounded by nature, but something did not add up. It was the sound. They could hear what could only be described as mechanical noises. "Where are we?" Ruby asked.

"Earth I would assume." Blake replied. "It doesn't seem very different from Remnant."

"How are we supposed to find Yu and his friends?" Ruby asked. "My scroll isn't working." Margaret had warned the group that their technology was not compatible with this particular universe. Apparently, dust did not exist so their weapons would be mostly inert. Luckily, they should still work in the Shadow World. That did not help now though.

"Well, there's a path." Yang pointed. "We should probably follow it."

A man in a blue uniform walked out of the trees. He stared at Team RWBY in confusion for a moment before approaching them. "Christ, the costumes get weirder every year." The man said. "What are you doing in Central Park? The convention's that way you know." He pointed in the general direction of the path.

"Actually, we're looking for someone." Weiss said. "Do you know Yu Narukami?"

"Yu Naru-whatnow?" The man said. "Never heard of him. Is he some anime guy? I'm just a police officer, I don't know shit about all that. Go ask someone at the convention."

"That sounds like as good an idea as any." Ruby said. "Thanks anyway." The police officer shrugged and continued his patrol. The group picked up their bags and headed off in the direction he had indicated as the way to the convention, whatever that was. It was their best shot and besides, how far away could it be?

Very far apparently. Soon the quartet emerged from the park and into the center of a bustling metropolis. Yang asked a passerby where the convention was and found out it was quite far away indeed. They would have to do some walking.

"The buildings here are huge, and there's so many people." Ruby said, in awe of her surroundings. "There's nothing like it in Vale."

"Don't get distracted." Weiss admonished. "We're here for a reason, not to see the sights."

Their journey was made much simpler by the fact that the streets were a simple numbered grid. It took some time, but they arrived at the convention without any serious difficulty. Unfortunately they would have to wait outside. It was clear that tickets were needed for entry, and though Margaret had supplied some local currency, they did not appear to be on sale. They would have to wait outside and hope Team YYRN crossed their path.

Much to their surprise, lots of people wanted pictures of them. Yang seemed to be in her element, but for the others it was strange and nerve-racking. Unlike in the rest of the city, here they seemed to fit in a bit. Most people attending the convention wore boring, everyday clothing, but quite a few were dressed in a fashion not much different from their own. For some reason, most people treated it like a novelty or a game. For Team RWBY, their manner of dress was normal, but here it seemed to generate great curiosity.

Rise had been asked to appear on a Comic Con panel because of some voice over work she had done before her break from acting. She was a voice actress on an anime series, and now it was getting an English language dub. The production company thought it would be interesting to have the original Japanese voice actress there along with her English language counterpart. With Rise already in the area for a show, the arrangements were easy to make. Unfortunately, the event was not the big hit everyone had hoped. The first problem was that few people were in attendance. Apparently the schedule put them in conflict with some very popular events, and the anime series with a cult following could not compete. The second problem was the language barrier. Rise's English was poor and all questions and answers had to go through an interpreter. It made her interactions slow and awkward. Then there was the fact that as the voice of a secondary character, the fans were not particularly interested in Rise. By the end, she was just glad it was over.

"That could have gone better." Rise sighed. "On the plus side, now I get to spend some time with you guys."

"It wasn't that bad." Yu reassured her. The group began making its way out of the convention center. It was evening and the convention was wrapping up for the day.

"Maybe, but I'm exhausted." Rise said. "You guys must be too. You just flew in this morning."

"It was a rather stressful flight." Naoto said.

"That's the understatement of the century." Yosuke added. "I definitely need a rest."

"I guess we should just head to the hotel for the night." Yu said. They emerged from the convention center and into the cool autumn evening air.

"Yeah, we can go sightseeing tomorrow." Rise said. "We've got over a week anyway."

"I can't believe you booked us two suites." Naoto said. "It must have cost a fortune."

"Only the best for a celebrity and her entourage." Rise laughed. "It's a shame the others couldn't make it."

"Yeah, they're all busy." Yosuke said. "Yukiko's inn was too busy for her to leave, Kanji said his stuffed animals are too popular for him to take a break from making them, Chie's training to be a cop and Junes sent Teddie on a promotional tour."

"What's going on over there?" Yu asked, pointing to a large group of people. They were clearly gathered around something or someone, many of them taking pictures. "Let's check it out." He led the group over to see what the fuss was about. Pushing into the group far enough to see, Yu could barely believe his eyes. It was Team RWBY! "What are you guys doing here?" He asked.

"Finally!" Weiss shouted. "Let's get out of here. I'm sick of just standing around."

"Five more minutes." Yang said as she playfully posed for more pictures. Blake grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away. The crowd broke up, the photo op clearly over.

"We were hoping you guys would show up." Ruby said. "Margaret dropped us in the middle of a park and we had no idea how to find you. We thought this convention was as good a place as any."

"Why did she bring you here?" Yosuke asked.

"Margaret said you guys could be in danger." Ruby replied. "After the way you helped us, we couldn't stay away."

"Did she say what kind of danger?" Rise asked.

"No, just that we could help." Ruby answered.

"I'm amazed you were able to walk around the city with those weapons." Naoto said. "I guess with Comic Con in town, people just assumed they were props."

"What's going on with all this?" Blake asked. "Why are people so interested in taking pictures of us?"

"Didn't you notice all the people in costume?" Yosuke asked. "People dress up like their favorite characters to attend conventions like this."

"People in costume?" Blake did not follow.

"I guess given the everyday attires common on Remnant, the costumes don't seem all that strange." Naoto said. "It couldn't have worked out better though. If it was any other weekend you would have really stuck out."

"Did you bring any clothes that won't stand out as much?" Yosuke asked. "I'm not sure how long you guys can go walking around the city like that without it becoming an issue."

"I guess our other outfits are a little lower key." Blake said. "I still don't see what the big deal is."

"So Rise, do you think you can book another suite?" Yu asked.

"The agency won't be happy, but I think I can make it happen." Rise replied.

"Let's head to the hotel." Naoto suggested. "We need to figure out what's going on, and it will be helpful if we're all well rested."

"So, where should we go first?" Yosuke asked as the group emerged from their hotel. The luxurious accommodations had indeed provided for a restful night's sleep as hoped, even if they were worried about the implications of Margaret's warning.

"Maybe Times Square?" Rise suggested. "Everyone always talks about it."

A black SUV with darkly tinted windows screamed around the corner and screeched to a stop just in front of the group. The door swung open and a purple haired woman in a maid's outfit stepped out. "Yu Narukami, Rise Kujikawa, Yosuke Hanamura and Naoto Shirogane, I need you to come with me. There's been an incident."

"It has to do with shadows right?" Ruby asked. "I bet this is what Margaret warned us about."

"Who are you?" The maid asked. "How do you have knowledge of shadows?"

"These are our friends." Yu explained. "They've fought shadows before. How about we go up to one of our rooms so you can tell us what happened."

The maid thought for a moment. "Given the circumstances, I think this violation of protocol will be forgiven." She said. "Please lead on."

The headed up to one of the suites where the matter could be discussed in private, not that any member of the general public would have any idea what they were talking about anyway. "You're with the Shadow Operatives, correct?" Naoto asked. "You work for Mitsuru Kirijo."

"Yes, I am Kikuno Saikawa." The maid said. "Just over 48 hours ago, there was an incident involving shadows and the Midnight Channel here in New York. Ken Amada, I believe you met him, called to warn us just before disappearing. The main unit of the Shadow Operatives and all available auxiliaries responded to the crisis, but they too have gone missing. When I learned of your presence here I knew it couldn't be a coincidence. You're the only ones left I for me to turn to. Please, I need you to save them before it's too late."