Chapter 2

*Recommended Music – Time to Say Goodbye (RWBY v2 Soundtrack)*

The group emerged into a twisted forest. Gnarled, lifeless trees lined a narrow path. A trail of blood ran down the path as far as they could see. "What could this place be?" Ruby asked.

"Well, if our experience is anything to go by, it relates to an event from Helia's past." Blake said. "The poem said something about 'their brutal end.' Maybe this has something to do with that. Who 'they' were I don't know though."

"If she went to Beacon, she should have a team right?" Weiss asked. "She never mentioned them. She said the Grimm broke her back. What if…" Weiss was cut off by Aigis before she could finish.

"There are shadows here." Aigis reported.

"Yeah, my Persona can sense them too." Yang confirmed. "We should be ready for a fight."

Aigis and Labrys nodded to each other and began disrobing. Aigis removed her overcoat and suit, then the shirt beneath, revealing her sterile white armor and mechanical joints. She left her bright red tie on, carefully folded the rest of her clothes and placed them on the ground. Under Labrys' suit was what appeared to be a school uniform. She too had white armor and very mechanical looking joints, though her body was more obviously robotic and her forearms were bright red compared to Aigis' dark grey. She placed her clothes with Aigis' and straightened her skirt.

"Why do you wear that?" Blake asked Labrys.

"When I was reactivated, I was in the shadow world." Labrys explained. "It took the form of a school. It's hard to explain, but at the time I was trying to convince myself that I wasn't a robot, and I was wearing a uniform like this. It was all part of facing myself and awakening my Persona. Now it's just what I feel comfortable wearing."

"I was built to fight without clothing." Aigis explained preemptively. "I wore a red bow that was part of a school uniform I wore before joining the Shadow Operatives, but after joining, I felt it was more appropriate to wear something more formal. I do not know why, but I feel more comfortable wearing a bow or tie around my neck."

"We should really get going." Ruby said. "I don't like the idea of Helia being here for any longer than absolutely necessary."

"Yes, we should reach her as soon as possible." Aigis agreed. She grabbed drum magazines from near her hip joints and slammed them into place on her wrists. "I am ready when you are." The others nodded and they advanced into the forest.

"I'd say we're in for a fight." Yang said. The group advanced into a large open area. "In the past, whenever we've encountered a place like this, there's been a strong shadow waiting."

"Yes, this place is very suspicious." Aigis said. "My scanners do not seem to be operating properly. I am sensing shadows all around us, just past the edges of the area. They are not strong, but they are numerous."

"We experienced that too." Blake said. "It was like the weaker shadows were avoiding us. Maybe they're avoiding a fight they know they can't win." Aigis stood at the edge of the area. She ran her hand up and down. Instead of feeling the trees and brush she was seeing, she felt a flat wall. "It's just an illusion." Blake continued. "We've seen that too."

Suddenly Aigis turned around and took a fighting stance. "What's wrong?" Ruby asked.

"There is a strong shadow here." Aigis said. "It seems to be invisible and is using the weaker shadows to overwhelm my sensors and Yang's Persona." Labrys focused and tried to locate the shadow. She could not; her older generation sensors were not powerful enough. She shook her head in defeat. Aigis advanced confidently into the open area, not letting her guard down for a moment. The others followed closely and looked over the area, but they could see nothing.

"If my sensory powers were stronger, I could track it." Yang said in frustration. She redoubled her efforts. "Weiss! Look out!" She shouted.

*Recommended Music – Master of Tartarus (Persona 3 Soundtrack)*

Weiss looked around in confusion, but could not see anything. Suddenly, something smacked her in the chest and she tumbled to the ground. As the creature attacked, it was briefly visible. It looked a bit like a large Beowolf. It disappeared as soon as it had appeared, leaving the group in shock. Ruby helped Weiss to her feet and the group formed a circle, facing outward against the invisible threat. It seemed to like Weiss – or hate her – and it attacked her again. She saw a flash of it as it grabbed her, but it was too late to react. It lifted her up and tossed her away from the others. She landed on her feet and carefully looked back toward where she had been attacked. She could just see faint impressions moving across the ground, rapidly heading toward her. She hastily created a glyph in front of her and the shadow slammed into it, becoming visible as it made contact and fell to the ground. Weiss did not waste the opportunity. She leapt forward and plunged Myrtenaster into the monster's chest. It dissolved and disappeared.

"Good thing that's taken care of." Blake said, walking over to Weiss. "Are you alright?" Weiss nodded.

"Wait!" Aigis yelled. "There's more than one!"

"Where?" Ruby asked. Aigis hesitated. She could not locate the shadows.

Yang felt something hit her in the back, slamming her down on her face. She rolled over and covered her face with her arms as a shadow slammed its fists down at her. The attack was relentless, and with the shadow only visible for brief moments, impossible to counter effectively. Yang struggled to protect herself as the shadow delivered blow after blow. Ruby rushed toward her to help, but she was clotheslined by an unseen shadow and slammed down onto her back. She summoned her Persona Norn and used its wind abilities to push the shadows away from herself and her sister. The group hastily reformed, moving together until they reached an edge of the area.

"We need a way to see them or they'll pick us off eventually." Blake said. She thought she saw one and took a few shots but hit only air. "Do you have any ideas Aigis?"

"I have never known shadows to act this way or be invisible." Aigis replied. "The shadows I have faced fought in the open and did not resort to tricks like this. These shadows appear to be much smarter."

"What if we coat them with something?" Ruby asked. "If they were covered with something, we'd be able to see them."

"Yeah, but what?" Weiss asked. "It's not like I'm carrying a bucket of paint."

"How about fire?" Yang said. She summoned her Persona Turan and launched a wave of fire out in front of the group. The fire temporarily lit up the shadows, but as soon as the attack ceased, they were invisible again. "I need more power. Ruby, add some wind."

"On it!" Ruby shouted. She summoned Norn and fanned the flames generated by Yang's Persona. The shadows lit up and caught fire. The fire did not seem to injure them, but now they were highly visible torches.

"Locking on!" Aigis announced. Her fingertips retracted to reveal gun barrels and she pointed her hands at the flaming shadows. The sound of gunfire echoed through the area as Aigis unleashed a barrage of lead. The shadows writhed as her bullets scythed through them. They became visible before dissolving and melting away. Yang and Ruby continued to blast fire around the area, ensuring there were no shadows lying in wait. "All shadows eliminated." Aigis confirmed.

Ruby rushed over to Aigis and grabbed her arm. Aigis was startled. "Wow, your hand are guns!" Ruby said excitedly as she manipulated Aigis' fingers. "This is so cool." Aigis was clearly uncomfortable, but Ruby was absorbed in examining a new weapon.

"You'll have to excuse this dolt." Weiss said. "She likes weapons more than people."

"That's not true." Ruby protested, finally letting go of Aigis. "It's just that people are so much harder to deal with." Weiss and Ruby started arguing amongst themselves.

"Aigis, those guns sure look handy." Yang joked. "Eh? Eh?"

Blake sighed loudly. "You'll have to excuse her too, she's obsessed with bad jokes." Blake said.

"Oh, you were making a pun?" Aigis said. "I had not realized. I was programmed with many examples, but my companions ordered me to delete them from my memory."

"I wish we could do that to Yang." Blake said. Yang frowned and it seemed like there was another argument brewing.

Labrys did not like where things were headed and quickly changed the subject. "That trick with the wind and fire, I've never seen anything like that before." Labrys said. "That was really creative."

"Yu and his friends actually came up with the idea." Ruby admitted. "We've tried coming up with other combinations, but we've only used wind and fire together in combat."

"The look on your face when you talk about them, you must be good friends." Labrys observed.

"Yeah, I really miss them." Ruby said sadly.

"I'm sure you'll meet them again." Labrys encouraged her. Ruby seemed to cheer up a bit.

"We should get going." Blake said. "We have no idea what else we'll face here."

"Blake is correct." Aigis said. "These shadows are acting unlike anything I have ever faced. It would be wise to be on guard and keep the initiative."

*Recommended Music – Laser Beam (Persona Q Soundtrack)*

The group continued down the bloodstained path until they reached another open area. This time there was no question as to what they were facing. A shadow in the form of a King Taijitu was curled up in the center of the area. The massive snake clearly saw them but did not attack, instead remaining coiled while threateningly hissing and baring its fangs. "There appear to be two snakes but I only sense one shadow." Aigis reported.

"That makes sense." Weiss said. "That's another form of Grimm. It's a giant snake with one head at each end."

"How does that even work biologically?" Labrys asked.

"Nobody knows." Blake replied. "Grimm dissolve when killed, can't survive in captivity and are too hostile and dangerous to study in the wild. Other than the fact that they want to kill every person they come across, we don't know much about Grimm at all."

"Perhaps they are more similar to shadows than I realized." Aigis mused. "This line of thought is best saved for later. This may merely be a shadow impersonating a Grimm, but does a King Taijitu have any particular weaknesses?"

"No." Yang said. "But if you shoot or stab them enough, they die like anything else." Yang rushed at the shadow. It suddenly uncoiled and slammed its white head into her. She tumbled through the air but managed to land on her feet.

Aigis took aim and fired a burst from her hands. The bullet ricocheted off the shadow without having any effect other than to annoy it. "It has thick skin." Aigis observed. Labrys ran toward the shadow and leapt high into the air. Using the rocket boosters built into her axe, she rocketed down into the snake, bringing her axe down with all her might. There was a blinding flash and Labrys was sent flying back in the direction she came as the attack was reflected. She lost her grip on her massive axe which spun through the air erratically before embedding itself in the ground. Labrys landed on her back in a daze. Aigis rushed to her and helped her to her feet. "Physical attacks are not going to work here, use your support skills."

Labrys nodded. "Ariadne!" She summoned her Persona. It took the form of a robotic woman, surrounded by a red string suspended in an elaborate design. The Persona stretched out an arm and a pale light surrounded the group. "There, you should be stronger now." Aigis informed them. She did not have to tell them, they could feel the power.

"Maybe fire will do it." Yang said. She summoned her Persona. Ruby summoned Kikuri-Hime and Aigis summoned Orpheus. Orpheus was robotic in appearance and carried a lyre. Weiss cycled Myrtenaster to launch a line of fire at the shadow. The group attacked in unison, surrounding the shadow in an inferno. The flames died away revealing the shadow, on fire but uninjured. Its black head lunged at Weiss. She leapt into the air to avoid the strike and landed on the shadow's head. Using glyphs she encased it in ice before rushing to safety. The creature struggled furiously to break free of the frozen snare.

"I think it's safe to say ice won't do it either." Weiss said. Ruby summoned Izanagi and launched an electrical storm at the beast. The electricity was repulsed, shooting out in all directions. Aigis and Labrys were knocked to the ground by the hit, to which they were particularly vulnerable. Ruby tried again, this time with wind from Norn. It seemed to have some effect and the shadow withdrew temporarily, giving the group time to come up with another plan.

"Sorry about that." Ruby said as she healed Aigis and Labrys.

Blake summoned her Persona Diana, with the intent of trying darkness and light attacks. First up was darkness. A black circle appeared below the shadow before collapsing upon itself. There was a flash of light and the white head dropped to the ground. The black half of the snake, now dragging the dead weight of its white half, struggled to strike back. Blake and her Persona were faster, and she surrounded the shadow in a series of white squares. The squares collapsed and in a flash of light, the black head dropped to the ground, dead. The shadow dissolved and disappeared.

"That is very interesting." Aigis said. "I have battled shadows that can change their strengths and weaknesses over the course of a fight, but I have never seen a shadow that had conflicting properties within it at the same time."

"Yeah, there's nothing like that in the records." Labrys confirmed.

"Sorry again about hitting you with that electricity." Ruby said. "I didn't expect it to be deflected like that and I didn't know you were vulnerable to it."

"There is no need to apologize." Aigis said. "What happened was beyond your control and we should have informed you of our vulnerabilities anyway."

"Yeah, it's fine." Labrys added. "Let's get going, we still need to save Helia."

"Helia is just ahead." Yang reported. Her Persona's powers of detection were not the strongest, but they were good enough to find a specific person who was not far away. "I can't say for sure, but I don't think she's alone." Sure enough, the path opened up into a large open area. Helia stood in the center, staring in disbelief at a man just in front of her, her weapon laying on the ground beside her.

"Come on Helia, it's me, Coral." The man said. Helia just shook her head. She was clearly distressed. "Fine, I'll prove it. You guys always loved this trick." He pulled very large revolvers from holsters on each hip and one across his chest. With the flip of a switch, the three transformed into machete-like blades. He effortlessly juggled the blades as Helia looked on. "Even when I told you my semblance lets me see them in slow motion, you didn't seem any less impressed." He caught one, transforming it back into a revolver, as he tossed the other two high into the air. Shooting from the hip, he fired at the two flying blades, hitting the switch on each to turn them back into guns, before catching them with either hand. "See, who else could do that?"

"You can't be Coral." Helia persisted. "Coral's dead."

"That is definitely a shadow." Aigis shouted. "Helia, step back." She attempted to take aim with her guns, but Coral positioned himself so he was behind Helia.

"Fine, you got me." Coral said. "I'm a shadow. Your shadow to be precise."

"Why?" Helia cried. "Why did it have to be you?"

"Of course it had to be me." Coral said. "I'm the star of the defining moment of your life. Well, I'm one of the stars. You couldn't save any of us."

"I know, I'm sorry." Helia said weakly. "I wasn't strong enough." The others tried to get in position to attack the shadow, but it was too close to Helia. All they could do was watch and wait.

"You were strong enough to save yourself though." Coral said angrily. "Then you just gave up on life. Some Huntress you turned out to be. You know, we wouldn't have even been out there if it wasn't for you. We'd all still be alive. Instead, only the most pathetic member of the team is left."

"Stop it." Helia cried. "I know. If I could, I'd go back and die in your place."

"Well, you can't." Coral said. "But I can offer the next best thing. You'll die here, by my hand." With that, the shadow transformed into a gigantic and twisted Ursa, retaining the basic appearance of Coral's face. Its arms and back were covered in bright white plates that contrasted starkly with its pitch black skin. Enormous claws tipped its fingers. It loomed over Helia, ready to strike her down.