Chapter 27

"Hey, aren't you that idol Risette?" Yukari asked. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine and you're in grave danger." Rise said. "You've got to remember. This world isn't real. It's all a dream. That man isn't your father, it's a shadow."

"Are you drunk?" Yukari asked. "Have you just lost it? What the hell are you going on about? You guys are her entourage right? You should get her under control before the press shows up."

"She's telling the truth." Ruby said. "This world is just a fantasy. You're trapped here, and the only way back to the real world is to accept the truth."

"Is someone playing a trick on me?" Yukari demanded. "Is this some sort of setup?"

"We know how crazy this sounds but you have to believe us." Yosuke said. "Don't you remember? Fighting shadows, the Shadow Operatives, us?"

"I have no idea what you're going on about." Yukari said. "Just leave me alone."

"Yes, I must insist that you leave my daughter be." Yukari's father said. "I don't know who you all are, but you're distressing both of us."

"Yukari, your father died when you were a child." Naoto said. "He worked with shadows at the Kirijo Group. There was an explosion. You spent years trying to clear his name. You and your friends saved the world from Nyx."

"Nyx?" Yukari said. It seemed to trigger something. She cried in pain and grabbed the sides of her head. "No, that's ridiculous. That was the dream. This is real! I don't want to remember that nightmare!"

"Leave her alone." Yukari's father said, stepping between her and the group. "This is your last warning."

"If we have to fight you to wake her up, we'll do it." Weiss said.

"It's your funeral." Yukari's father sighed. He knelt and was engulfed in a mass of black sludge that surged around him. When it cleared the shadow had been transformed. Now it had the appearance of a male version of Aigis, retaining Yukari's father's face. It stood and reached out its arms toward Weiss. The tips of its fingers hinged away to reveal gun barrels.

Weiss stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground and her Persona appeared to create a shield of ice between Weiss and the shadow. The shadow loosed a series of rounds from its fingertips, shell casings spraying out of its wrists. The shots struck the ice, chipped away and fractured it. The shield held. Drum magazines dropped out of the shadow's wrists, and it replaced them with fresh ones. Weiss' shield would not withstand another burst so her Persona went on the offensive. It lunged at the shadow with its fiery sword, missing entirely as the shadow side-stepped the attack. Ananke smashed its shield into the shadow but the shadow did not move an inch, instead grabbing the Persona by the throat with one hand and punching it to the ground with the other.

Yosuke used his Persona to push the shadow back with a gust of wind. His Persona charged in and engaged the shadow in close combat with its saw blades. The shadow jumped high in the air and fired a burst from its hand guns into Yosuke's Persona. Riddled with bullets it began to fade and Yosuke withdrew it. Ruby threw herself into the fray, slinging Crescent Rose around, blade out. She struck the shadow in the arm but her weapon failed to penetrate its armor and instead she spun herself around in an attempt to keep her balance. The shadow elbowed Ruby in the back and sent her sprawling to the floor. It aimed its guns at her and fired. Click. Empty.

The shadow went through the process of reloading as Ruby staggered away. Blake's Persona fired an arrow at the shadow, but the shadow ducked the attack and took aim at Diana. Blake came to the rescue of her Persona as she wrapped Gambol Shroud's tether around the shadow's arms and pulled, ruining its aim and causing it to obliterate the statue in the center of one of the fountains instead. With a whipping action Blake unhooked her weapon to avoid a repeat of the previous fight as the shadow now turned its attention to her. She got in close and slashed up the shadow's torso with Gambol Shroud's blade, creating a shower of sparks but no discernable damage. Blake wisely retreated as the shadow reloaded again.

It was Yu's turn as his Persona flew in to engage the shadow. The shadow deflected Izanagi-no-Okami's thrust with its wrist and grabbed the Person by the collar. It threw the Persona into the air then shot it like skeet. Yu's Persona began to fade and he withdrew himself from the fight. Yang rushed the shadow from behind, leaping onto its back. She wrapped her arm around the shadow's neck and used her free hand to punch it in the head. The shadow struggled for a moment to get her off, then reached back with its arms at a humanly impossible angle to grab her. The shadow flung Yang over its head and slammed her down into the ground.

The shadow now went on the offensive, running straight at Rise who had been scanning it from the beginning. Rise noticed the attack just in time and her Persona disappeared just as she dropped to slide between the shadow's legs. In a fluid motion Rise spun around and drew her stun baton, slamming it into one of the shadow's hip joints. Electricity coursed through the mechanical shadow. It shook violently before collapsing. Rise struck it again and again, each hit producing renewed thrashing until the shadow lay there smoking and twitching. Yu summoned his Persona. Izanagi-no-Okami hovered over the shadow for a moment before driving its sword down through it. Electricity surged through the blade and into the shadow. It writhed for a few seconds before the ammunition in its wrists exploded, shattering most of the shadow's frame. The shadow melted and evaporated away.

"You should have just hit it with electricity from the beginning." Rise said to Yu.

"I would have if you told me to." Yu replied. "It worked out anyway."

"Oh no, why does this have to be the dream?" Yukari cried. "This world is so much better. It's perfect here. There's no fighting shadows, everyone I love is still alive, and I'm happy."

"Reality can be cruel but there's no way around it." Blake said. "We all just need to go on living the best we can."

"But I don't have to." Yukari said. "I can just stay here."

"And what will that accomplish?" Weiss challenged. "You'll be happy in a fantasyland."

"Imagine what your friends would go though." Rise said. "Imagine what your fans would go through. To most people, you might just be the star of some kid show, but you're an inspiration and an example to those kids. Would you want them to give up on real life?"

"I…I guess not." Yukari said. "But isn't my happiness important too?"

"Can you really be happy here?" Yosuke asked. "Everything's fake and even if you try to forget, deep down you know it."

"Fine." Yukari sighed. "I guess I'll wake up." The world around them melted away as the dream collapsed.

"I'm surprised she isn't screaming in pain given her injuries." Naoto said moments after Team RWBY and YYRN exited the shadow world. Yukari seemed horrified by her wounds but not in pain.

"After Ken we decided that a continuous low-dose of painkillers would be administered to mitigate the shock." Kikuno explained. "If you want to talk to her, you should do it before the doctors begin any further treatments."

The group gathered around Yukari's bed. "How are you?" Ruby asked.

"I taste blood." Yukari said. "And my face hurts. Is my face alright? I've got a photoshoot coming up. Does anybody have a mirror?"

"Maybe we shouldn't." Yang suggested.

"Just give me a mirror." Yukari demanded. Rise reached into her pocked and retrieved a small makeup kit. Yukari opened it and examined herself. "Oh no!" She shouted. She still had a prominent black eye and her lip was split open. "How am I going to explain this?"

"Just say you were in an accident or something." Naoto said. "You're smart enough to figure out a good excuse."

"With enough makeup it'll hardly be noticeable." Rise encouraged. "I'm sure it'll heal up quick anyway."

"That's easy for you to say, your career's not on the line." Yukari said.

"No, we just put our lives on the line to save you." Blake said, exasperated. "Look at the big picture."

"You're right, sorry." Yukari said. "I remember you four, but who are you girls?"

"We're just friends." Weiss said. "And we happen to have had our own run-in with shadows."

"So, can you tell us anything about the Person who did this to you?" Yu asked.

"I don't think I'll be much help." Yukari sighed. "I didn't last very long in that fight. Junpei got knocked out, and we all rushed in to save him. I was at the back of the group, but the guy charged past the others and punched me in the face. After that, I don't remember anything."

"Can you describe him?" Naoto asked. "Any details would be helpful.

"Well, I didn't get a very good look at him." Yukari admitted. "It was dark and I could only make out his silhouette. He wasn't very tall and his hair was pretty short. He moved so fast. He hit me before I knew what was happening. He looked a little familiar, but it's probably just a random connection in my mind."

"Why do you say that?" Naoto asked. "Who did he remind you of?"

"It doesn't matter because it couldn't be him." Yukari said. "The guy he reminded me of is dead and has been for years. I don't really want to talk about it."

"Is there anything else?" Naoto asked.

"Not really." Yukari said. "Sorry, I know I'm not much help."

"Don't worry about it." Yang said. "We'll get the guy, whoever he is. You should just rest. Try not to dwell on your face. You're just as pretty when you're banged up."

"Thank you?" Yukari said, confused as she was embarrassed.

"We'll let you rest." Yu said. "Take care."

"Please save the others." Yukari implored. "I don't know what I'd do without their friendship."

"You have our word." Ruby said as they walked away.

"I feel like those fights were more difficult than the previous ones." Blake said.

"That's the thing about shadows." Yosuke said. "The more you fight them, the stronger they tend to get. I'm sure we'll be able to handle the challenge."

"Yeah, when we work together nothing can stop us." Yu said.

"So, what should we do now?" Yang asked.

"Well, the game is at seven and it's only four, so we could go to that." Naoto said. "The tickets are free after all."

"It sounds like a good time." Rise said. "Hockey is played on ice isn't it? I wonder if it'll be cold in there. I don't have a heavy coat with me." She grabbed Yu's arm. "I guess you'll just have to keep me warm."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Yu said, unfazed. He was used to Rise's antics, even if they made the others uncomfortable.

The group waited while Naoto went into the ticket office to retrieve their tickets. It was crowded. "I wonder if it's like this for every game." Yosuke said. "There sure are a lot of people and they all seem really pumped." Just then Naoto returned. "Who's playing?" He asked.

"Let's see." Naoto said as she examined the tickets. "The New York Rangers and the New York Islanders."

"Is that significant?" Blake asked.

"I have no idea." Naoto replied. "The Rangers aren't even Waters' favorite team, but he does hate the Islanders."

"I guess we'll be cheering for the home team then." Rise said.

"As rowdy as some of the fans are I think that might be for the best." Weiss said. "So, are they good seats?"

Naoto looked at the seat numbers then at the map of the arena on the back of the ticket. "I think we're in the first row of the upper deck." She said. "It looks like we're right in the middle."

"Have you ever been to a game before?" Yu asked.

"No, but Waters watched games on TV every night." Naoto said. "He got really into it but usually ended up disappointed by the results. I honestly don't know what we're in for."

"I just hope it isn't lame." Yang said.

"Hockey is awesome!" Yang exclaimed. As a pair of players met in a thunderous collision along the boards. "Crush 'em!" She shouted, shaking her fist in the air.

"This sport is a bit on the violent side, but I haven't seen anything too extreme." Weiss said.

"They do seem to be a bit more aggressive than in most of the game's I've watched." Naoto said. "Maybe the teams are rivals."

"Can you tell me what that last whistle was for again?" Ruby asked. She was having difficulty understanding the game. Naoto was the only one who knew the details.

"It was for an offside." Naoto said. "The players on offense can't cross that line before the puck. It's not really a penalty but the game is stopped to punish them." There was a roar from the crowd and the referee's hand shot up. "Now that's a real penalty." Naoto explained. An Islanders player had raked his stick across a Ranger's wrist. "That's a slash. He'll get two minutes in the penalty box and his team will have to play with one less player until he's out." The crowd noticed something and let out another roar. "Oh wait, this looks like…" A large Ranger skated straight for the offending Islander, tossing his gloves to the ice as he did. The Islander saw him coming and dropped his own gloves. "They're going to fight." Naoto said.

"Sweet!" Yang shouted. "Hit him!" The players tied up, each struggling to punch the other as they tugged each other's jerseys. The Islander found his arm pinned to his side as the Ranger landed a hook to his face. Blood gushed from the Islander's nose as the Ranger landed punch after punch. Finally, the Islander fell to the ground with the Ranger atop him. "This is the best sport ever!" Yang declared. The victorious Ranger held his hands high as the referee led him to the penalty box. Bloody and shaken up, the Islander was accompanied to the locker room by a trainer.

"They'll both get five minute penalties, but since they effect both teams neither will lose a player." Naoto said calmly, unperturbed by the fight they had just witnessed. "The Islanders still lose a man because of the slash."

"So how much do tickets usually cost?" Yang asked. "Is there a game tomorrow? Do they always fight like this? We need this on Remnant!"

"Feeling better today Yukari?" Rise asked.

"I was until Junpei woke up." Yukari replied. "He hasn't stopped annoying me since."

"Can you blame me?" Junpei countered. "It's not like there's anything to do here other than talk to you."

"Just leave her alone." Weiss said, waving her sword in a vaguely threatening manner. "She's clearly not interested."

"It's alright." Yukari said. "I've been dealing with this idiot for years."

They waited for Junpei's rebuttal but he remained silent. Kikuno was doing something with his IV. "I think it will be good for all of us if he gets some rest." Kikuno said. "Even if it's against his will."

"Thanks." Yukari said. "I need some rest too." Teams YYRN and RWBY headed for the television but Yukari stopped them. "Hold on a second. I need to talk to you guys."

"What is it?" Yu asked.

"Yesterday I was…uh…I guess I'm a bit embarrassed about how I acted in that dream world." Yukari replied. "I shouldn't have needed convincing to wake up. I've come to terms with my past, with my father, with everyone I've lost. I've had years to work it out. I'm sorry I was so hysterical."

"Don't worry about it." Ruby said. "You were forced to face some very painful things. Add to that all the stress that went with that world and your ordeal and it's totally understandable that you'd be emotional."

"I guess you're right." Yukari sighed. "I'm sorry I was so concerned with my appearance too. The first thing I thought about was my face when I should have been thanking you all or focusing on the fact that my friends are still trapped in that world."

"Nobody's perfect." Yang said. "We all have our moments of weakness and selfishness. The fact that it bothers you shows that you're better than that." Yang smiled. "I also stand by my earlier comment, you look just as good when you're beat up."

"And I still don't know how to react to that statement." Yukari said. "Thanks guys, you've done a lot for me. I hope I can pay you back somehow."

Back in the shadow world three of the eight doors were now boarded up. The next had 'dependence' written on it. "This seems different from the others." Naoto said. "I really don't know what to make of it. I don't see any of the Shadow Operative as dependent."

"I guess the only way we'll find out is to go in." Blake said. "Let's go."