Chapter 8
*Recommended Music – The Voice Someone Calls-In the Labyrinth- (Persona Q Soundtrack)*
"We tracked down Nora." Yang told Ruby as she exited the Velvet Room. "After we located Nora, Helia went back to the dorm to keep an eye on Jaune. We'll just have to do this without her. My power should compensate a bit. Anything new on your end?"
"Well, the three of us can now use the Persona Surt." Ruby replied. "Where's Nora?"
"She's in the cafeteria." Rise replied. "She wasn't that hard to find. In fact, it would have been hard not to locate her. It's like she's screaming, but not in pain. It's almost like a laugh."
"That sounds a lot like Nora." Weiss said. "She's not exactly quiet. It makes me wonder what lunacy we're in for."
"Well, there's only one way to find out." Blake said. "Let's go get her."
"We'll head back to the Tower." Yosuke said.
"I thought the path ahead was blocked." Ruby said.
"I scanned it, and the blockage seems to be gone." Rise explained. "Maybe the next bit opens up when you save someone."
"That is likely." Aigis confirmed. "The tower like this that I experienced, Tartarus, was segmented. The next segment was opened when a specific powerful shadow was defeated. The similarities between the two concern me greatly."
*Recommended Music: Boop (RWBY v2 Soundtrack)*
"She did say she was queen of the castle." Ruby said. Team RWBY, along with the two mechanical maidens, stood in Nora's shadow world. They were in the courtyard of an impressive looking castle.
"I guess we should go inside." Blake suggested.
"You know, this is a lot more normal than I was expecting." Weiss observed as they headed for the entrance. "Of all the crazy people we know, I'd say she's the craziest, not to mention the most violent." They reached the open front door and walked in, finding themselves in an elegantly decorated hallway. "Shadow worlds are usually more twisted and disturbing. I wouldn't call this place normal, but it's not what I would expect at all."
"It's like a fairy tale." Ruby said. She seemed excited.
"We're only getting started." Yang warned. "Things could turn pretty quickly."
"Maybe the world inside Nora's head is all sunshine and rainbows, even when she's out slaughtering Grimm." Blake suggested. "It would explain her personality."
"There is something deeply disturbing about such a dangerous place being so seemingly pleasant." Aigis said. "I can sense shadows ahead. Perhaps the appearance of this place is meant to cause us to lower our guard."
They continued on, reaching the end of the hallway. A set of impressively ornamented doors opened into a large ballroom lined with suits of armor. At the far end stood Nora, dressed as a queen. "Who dares trespass in my realm?" Queen Nora boomed.
"Nora, this place is dangerous, we need to leave now." Ruby said.
"Something's off." Yang said.
"Bow before Queen Nora!" Queen Nora shouted authoritatively.
"Maybe we should play along." Ruby suggested. "Maybe this place has gone to her head." Ruby started to bow but saw something moving quickly at the edge of her vision. She stood back up just in time to avoid being decapitated by one of the suits of armor as it slammed its axe down where her neck would have been.
"Kill the intruders!" Queen Nora ordered as a dozen suits of armor closed around the group. She stormed out of the room, laughing maniacally as she left.
"That can't be her." Ruby said. "It has to be a shadow."
"I am not sure." Aigis said. "My sensors were not able to confirm her as a shadow."
"I couldn't tell either." Yang added.
"But she would never hurt us." Ruby protested. "We're her friends."
"She's a violent lunatic." Weiss said. "Would you really be shocked if she was pushed over the edge by this situation? She's separated from her team and stuck in a fairy tale castle filled with monsters. Even a normal person could go mad." Ruby frowned with the realization that Weiss could be right. Nora was their friend, but she was also unpredictable. If anyone would lose it and attack them, it would probably be her. Add to that the fact that Ren was not there to keep her in check, and who knows what she would be capable of without his stabilizing influence.
"We've got more pressing matters to deal with." Blake said. The suits of armor surrounded the group, axes at the ready. "We can figure out what's going on later. I take it these are definitely shadows?"
"No doubt." Yang confirmed. "They're pretty powerful too."
*Recommended Music: Light the Fire Up In the Night "Dark Hour" (Persona Q Soundtrack)*
Blake rushed between two of the shadow, shooting them as she moved into position. They simultaneously swung their axes at her as she back-flipped out of the way, leaving a decoy in her place to take the hits. The shadows slammed their axes into each other, momentarily stunning them both. Blake slashed away at one but Gambol Shroud had little effect. The second shadow lifted its axe to attack her, but Blake dove through the first shadow's legs, turned and gave it a shove. It stumbled into the path of the other's axe which cleaved its head in half. The shadow dissolved and disappeared, leaving eleven.
Labrys charged at a shadow, swinging her axe at its midsection. The shadow blocked with its own axe and shockingly was strong enough to hold its ground against Labrys' mighty attack. It pushed her back and lunged. This time it was Labrys' turn to block, and she deflected the shadow's axe away before kicking it in the chest. The shadow stumbled back giving Labrys enough space to swing her axe around, hitting it with an upward strike. The shadow sailed into the air, arms flailing. Labrys followed, leaping all the way to the ceiling. She pushed off and slammed her shoulder into the shadow, sending it speeding toward the floor. The shadow smashed into the ground flat on its back, giving Labrys to opportunity to finish it off with a rocket-boosted slam from her axe. The shadow dissolved and disappeared, leaving ten.
Weiss used her glyphs to lay down a streak of ice behind one of the shadows. She ran at it, boosted by her glyphs, and jumped, dropkicking the shadow in the chest. The shadow slid backwards onto the ice and continued on uncontrollably until it slammed into a wall. Weiss charged in to follow up the attack, but the shadow recovered and countered with a mighty swing of its axe. She dodged it acrobatically and stabbed at the shadow with Myrtenaster. Her blade glanced off the shadow's armor harmlessly. The shadow swung its axe back around, but Weiss was too close to be hit by the blade. Instead, the shaft of the axe slammed into her stomach and swung her around into the wall. Weiss was in a bad spot, but the shadow had made a mistake. Its axe was embedded in the wall, and the shadow struggled to free it. Weiss squirmed free and dove away from the shadow. She summoned her Persona Ananke and used it to encase the shadow in ice. She backed up and, boosted by her glyphs, raced at the shadow, spinning at the last moment and slamming Myrtenaster into the frozen enemy. The shadow shattered into innumerable pieces before dissolving and disappearing, leaving nine remaining.
Three shadows focused on Yang as she aggressively approached. She ran at one but broke off her charge at the last moment, dodging a swing from its axe before launching into an attack on the shadow next to it. She delivered an Ember Celica-enhanced punch to the shadow's face before sliding around behind it. With all three shadows lined up, she reared back and delivered a powerful punch to the back of the dazed shadow's head. Its head flew off as its body crashed into the other two, knocking them to the ground. The decapitated shadow dissolved and disappeared as the other two struggled back to their feet. Yang arrived before they could recover and delivered a flurry of punches, rapidly alternating between the pair and keeping both off balance. With the shadows wobbling she grabbed both by their heads and slammed them together, crushing the metal flat between her gauntlets. The shadows dissolved and disappeared, leaving six.
Aigis fired bursts at a pair of shadows, but her bullets did little more than dent them. They both rushed at her. She sidestepped the first, tripping it as it passed. The second swung its axe but she blocked it with her heavily armored wrist. She grabbed the shadow by the arm and effortlessly flipped it over onto its downed comrade. Aigis unloaded her guns into the shadows as the scrambled to recover, but even at point-blank range they had no appreciable effect. She summoned the Persona Isis and coated the ground beneath the shadows with ice. They clumsily struggled and fell in their attempts to stand. Aigis switched to her Persona Pallas Athena. It swept in with tremendous speed and speared both shadows, carrying them along until it ran into a wall. Both shadows dissolved and disappeared, leaving four.
Blake tumbled across the floor. The other shadow she had been fighting had managed to get a solid hit in on her and now she was in bad shape. The shadow approached to finish the job but was distracted by a sudden blur of rose petals. It followed as the blur zipped around the three other remaining shadows and soon all were transfixed. Ruby skidded to a stop with Crescent Rose at the ready, blasting away with a series of sniper shots. Though the shots unbalanced the shadows, they did no damage. Ruby summoned the Persona Norn and used a series of concentrated wind blasts to push the shadows into a tight group. She switched her Persona to Izanagi and unleashed a massive bolt of lightning onto the metallic shadows. They writhed as electricity coursed through them, smoke pouring out of every gap in their armor. Suddenly they exploded, shrapnel flying in all directions before they dissolved and disappeared.
"Well, that wasn't so bad." Blake said. She was the worst off among them, but only a bit bruised. "I wish you would have just hit them with electricity right at the start." She said to Ruby.
"Sorry, I didn't want to risk hitting Aigis or Labrys until the shadows were clear of them." Ruby explained. "I thought it would work because they appeared to be made of metal."
"Let's get going." Weiss said annoyed. "Who knows what else that maniac has in store for us? How does JNPR put up with her?"
"Weiss, we don't even know of that was really her." Yang said. "It could have been her shadow."
"The fact that you had to qualify that with 'could' says it all." Weiss countered.
"Why don't you like Nora?" Labrys asked.
"I've already said it, she's crazy." Weiss replied. "She's violent and hyperactive, and she'll probably get us all killed."
"Are you sure it doesn't have more to do with her hitting you in the face with that pie?" Blake questioned. Weiss just gave her an angry look.
"I think it would be wise to give her the benefit of the doubt." Aigis advised. "Shadows are devious, and it may be that they want us to turn on Nora. Until we know more, we should assume that that was her shadow and that Nora is just as much a helpless victim as Jaune was."
"We've got a strong shadow on the next floor." Rise warned. The Investigation Team had been fighting hordes of relatively weak shadows as they climbed the tower. Exploring was easier than expected though. Instead of having to make their way back to where they had left off, passing though the portal left them on the highest floor they had previously reached. They had been exploring for some time, but this was the first strong shadow they had encountered.
"Is it…for one of us?" Chie asked uneasily.
"I don't think so." Rise replied. "It feels like a normal shadow, just stronger."
"It doesn't smell abnormal either." Teddie added.
"What would you know about normal?" Yosuke countered.
"If there's one thing I know it's shadows!" Teddie shouted indignantly. "And my nose is never wrong!"
"Except when it's not working." Yosuke observed. Teddie growled angrily.
"Okay guys, cut it out." Yu said. "We've got work to do."
"Sorry." Yosuke apologized.
"Sorry Sensei." Teddie added.
"Let's get going." Yu said. They ascended the stairs and found themselves in an open area. It contrasted starkly with the normally labyrinthine nature of the Tower. In the middle was a single large shadow in the form of a battle tank.
*Recommended Music: Time to Make History (Persona 4 Golden Sountrack)
"Any ideas on what it's weak to Rise?" Kanji asked. Before Rise could reply, the shadow pointed its cannon at the group and fired.
Yu doubled over in pain as his Persona Izanagi took the hit for them. "It hits hard." Yu confirmed. The group summoned their Personas and took up positions around the shadow. At least it would not be able to attack them all simultaneously.
"I doesn't seem weak to anything and it's resistant to everything." Rise reported. "Light and darkness are a waste too." She pulled out her scroll and with a few taps brought it to the Team Status screen. "Senpai that hit significantly weakened your aura. It looks like you share it with your Persona."
"That's good to know." Yu grunted as Izanagi dodged another blast from the shadow's cannon. It sailed harmlessly past them and into the wall beyond. Chie's Persona flew toward the shadow and slashed at it with its blade. The shadow was spun slightly by the force, but it simply brought its cannon around and blasted the Persona at point-blank range. Chie's Persona tumbled backward as Chie dropped to a knee in pain. She withdrew her Persona and retreated as another hit would likely knock her out of the fight entirely.
Kanji's Persona charged its sword with electricity and slammed it down on the top of the shadow's turret. As electricity surged through it, the shadow's moving parts shook and the whole thing shuddered. Soon though, it recovered and swung its turret around. Kanji's Persona caught the barrel, but the shadow turned its body to face it and drove the Persona into a wall. A follow-up blast from its now unobstructed cannon caused Kanji's Persona to fade and disappear as Kanji fell unconscious.
"Yosuke, back me up!" Yukiko called. Her Persona unleashed a wave of fire at the shadow. Yosuke's Persona slid in behind Yukiko's and fanned the flames with a blast of wind. A firestorm engulfed the shadow, but it powered out of the wall of flame and fired accurate shots at both Personas in rapid succession.
Naoto's Persona zipped around the shadow, keeping it distracted. Her Persona was far too fast for the shadow to get a lock. Finally, it gave up and simply drove at Naoto, aiming to crush her under its tracks. Izanagi swept in and pushed Naoto out of the way just before being crushed itself. Yu cried in pain and fell unconscious. The shadow took aim at the prone Yu but just as it fired, Yosuke's Persona slammed into it, causing its shot to fly wide of the mark. The shadow turned and blasted Yosuke's Persona. He wisely withdrew, unable to take another hit.
"You've got to stop it from shooting!" Rise shouted. "You're making progress, you just need more time."
"I'm on it!" Teddie announced excitedly. Teddie's absurd looking Persona swooped in. Somehow the bulbous thing dodged several shots as it closed in. Teddie's Persona launched a ball of ice at the shadow. It hit its mark, crashing into the open end of the cannon's barrel and freezing it shut. The shadow foolishly fired anyway. The end of the barrel exploded with the explosion rolling back into the turret and blasting it off the body of the shadow. Without an offensive weapon but far from giving up, the shadow raced around, blindly attempting to run over its assailants. Teddie's and Chie's Personas lined up on either side of the rampaging shadow and froze its tracks in place. The shadow struggled, grinding against the ice, but was unable to get free. Naoto's Persona flew in through the opening left by the missing turret and began slashing away at the shadow's insides. Finally, the shadow dissolved and disappeared.
It had been an exhausting fight, but the Investigation Team had been through worse. In moments, everyone was healed and back in fighting shape. They were ready to continue exploring the Tower. "Can you sense anything up ahead?" Naoto asked of Rise.
"There are plenty of normal shadows on the next few floors." Rise replied. "Beyond that, it's hard to tell, but I think there's another strong shadow a little further up. We're a little far, and I can't say for sure, but I think there might be something different about that one."
"If it's another shadow tailor made for me, I'm going to be a little annoyed." Yosuke sighed.
Team RWBY and their robotic companions passed through more elegantly decorated halls of Nora's shadow world until they reached a huge throne room. One wall was lined with intricate tapestries depicting Nora annihilating various forms of Grimm, always with a smile on her face. The other featured huge windows decorated with flowing pink curtains. At the far end was a gilded throne on a slightly raised platform, a pink carpet leading to it from the entrance. The room appeared empty.
"Nora's close." Yang reported. "I can feel her here."
"Are we talking about the real Nora, or crazy shadow Nora?" Ruby asked.
"Assuming they're not one in the same." Weiss added.
"It's really hard to tell." Yang admitted. "My powers of detection aren't as strong as Rise's or Helia's. I just know someone's here, and I have to assume that someone is Nora."
"The room's pretty open; there aren't too many places to hide." Blake observed. Before they could begin their search, a mass of shadows oozed up through the floor and formed into one massive beast.
*Recommended Music: One of These Days (Meddle, Pink Floyd)*
"That looks disturbingly like a sloth." Yang said. "An evil sloth to be sure, but a sloth nonetheless."
"Nora does love sloths." Ruby said, readying her weapon. The shadow towered over them, its eyes glowing red and blood dripping from its claws. "At least sloths are slow." As if responding to Ruby's challenge, the sloth charged at the group with incredible speed. Most of them managed to get out of the way, but Yang was not fast enough. With a swing of its arm, the shadow sent Yang sailing through the air and through one of the huge windows that lined one side of the room. Ruby and Blake rushed to the window to see if Yang was alright. Outside the windows was a courtyard lined with tall hedges. Yang stood and picked some glass out of her arm. With the aid of her aura, the shallow wound soon closed.
"I'm alright." Yang said, brushing off her clothes as she walked back toward the window.
"Behind you!" Blake warned. Yang spun around just in time see the approaching Beowolf-like shadow and knock it back with a solid punch to the face. Inside the throne room, Weiss, Aigis and Labrys battled the sloth shadow, mostly just trying to stay out of its way while delivering what shots they could when the opportunity presented itself. "There're more of them!" Blake shouted, leaping through the window to join Yang. Ruby soon followed and the three faced off against a half dozen shadows outside.
Weiss used her glyphs to lay down a sheet of ice in front of the charging sloth shadow. It slipped on the ice, lost its balance, and slid full-speed into a wall. Before it could recover, Labrys charged it, swinging her axe with everything she had. The axe sunk deep into the shadow's side but became stuck. The shadow simply stood and with an angry growl brushed Labrys off, leaving the axe in place. Aigis fired a series of shots at the shadow in hopes of distracting it, but it just ignored her and continued to attack the weaponless Labrys. She was quick, but the shadow was too. It managed to snatch her up in one of its claws. Labrys groaned as the shadow attempted to crush the metallic maiden. She saw her opportunity and shot her hand out on its chain. Her aim was true and her hand grabbed her axe. She reeled it in and in a fluid motion slashed at the shadow's wrist. It roared in pain and lost its grip. Labrys dropped to the ground and sped away from the hotly pursuing shadow.
Yang, Ruby and Blake faced down the Beowolf shadows surrounding them. They charged in unison, a mistake, as the three leapt out of the way, leaving the shadows to slam into each other. Ruby grabbed one end of Gambol Shroud, extended on its ribbon, and ran around the cluster of shadows. Blake raced around in the other direction, encircling the shadows and binding them together. With the shadows packed tightly together and unable to defend themselves, Yang charged in and unleashed a flurry of punches on the hapless enemies. Ruby returned the other half of Gambol Shroud to Blake and joined the assault, slicing away at the shadows with her scythe. Soon, all the shadows were torn to pieces which dissolved and disappeared.
The shadow chased after Labrys as she desperately sprinted away. A wall of ice suddenly appeared in front of the shadow, courtesy of Weiss' glyphs and Persona, and Aigis' Persona Isis. The shadow crashed into the icy barrier and stumbled backward. The timing was perfect as Ruby, Blake and Yang arrived just in time to join a full assault on the shadow. The shadow writhed as it was assailed by gunfire from Aigis, Yang and Ruby while simultaneously being slashed at by Labrys, Blake and Weiss. The shadow thrashed in a fruitless attempt to stop its tormentors. Finally, it collapsed to the ground where it lay motionless, various parts of it bubbling away and disappearing.
"Are you okay Labrys?" Weiss asked. There were some small cracks on Labrys' armor.
"Nothin' a little healin' can't fix." Labrys replied. Ruby summoned Norn to take care of that.
"I think I'm going to be picking glass out of my hair for a while." Yang laughed.
Without warning, the mangled shadow reared up, lifting its claw high above the unaware group. "Look out!" Blake shouted as she saw the attack coming out of the corner of her eye. A manic cackle pierced the air as Nora came flying in, Magnhild held high above her head as she sailed through the air. With pinpoint accuracy, she slammed the massive hammer down on the shadow's head and with the pull of her trigger added additional explosive force to the attack. The shadow's head exploded as the rest of it fell limply to the floor where it dissolved and disappeared.
Nora stood, proudly admiring her handiwork. "I love this place." She said excitedly. "There are so many enemies to smash." The group could not help but notice that she was dressed normally, not like the queen that had attacked them.
"Oh Nora, thank goodness it's the real you." Ruby said.
"Who else would it be?" Nora asked.
"Never mind that." Yang said. "Where were you while we were fighting?"
"I was taking a nap." Nora said matter-of-factly. "I just wrapped myself up in one of those curtains and it was super-comfy." She yawned loudly. "I think Ren was right, it is too late to be out."
"You were taking a nap?" Weiss was shocked. "This place is dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Nora disagreed. "What's dangerous about it?"
"The shadows, I mean, monsters." Blake said. "You know, like the one you just smashed."
"Oh yeah, I fought a bunch of them." Nora said proudly. "They weren't any trouble and after a while, they all started to run away whenever they saw me." The others were absolutely flabbergasted. "It's been fun, but I guess we should go. I tried looking for Ren but I couldn't find him anywhere. We should try somewhere else."
"Worried about Ren are we?" Queen Nora said. She stood in the doorway, blocking their exit. "That's a surprise."
"The shadow's definitely on the next floor." Rise reported. "It feels familiar again, but I can't place this one."
"It smells familiar to me too." Teddie added. "It's like a mix of coffee and burning."
"What does that even mean?" Yosuke asked incredulously. "Forget it. This is just something we're going to have to deal with."
"Let's do it." Chie said with determination.
The Investigation Team ascended the stairs, arriving in another poorly lit area. They advanced cautiously, trying not to walk into the objects that cluttered the space. A small light broke through the darkness. A cigarette dimly lit a grizzled face. Then the lights came on, revealing a vague approximation of the Inaba police station. Leaning against a desk was Dojima, smoking as usual. "That's the shadow alright." Rise confirmed.
"I guess this one is mine." Yu sighed.
"Guess again." Dojima said. He took a long drag of his cigarette before crushing it into an ashtray. "No, this one is for the aspiring detective."
"Me?" Naoto was confused. "That doesn't make sense."
"You're right, it doesn't." Dojima said. "Probably because it's not yours either." He paused for a moment. "No guesses? I knew you were a bit slow on the uptake, but come on Chie."
"But why you?" Chie asked. "What problem do I have with you? Where's the emotional trauma?"
"You dream of being a cop." Dojima ignored her questions. "You want to be a detective like me. Let's talk about that for a bit, shall we?"
"So what, I want to be a police officer." Chie said. "What's wrong with that?"
"What's your motivation?" Dojima inquired.
"I want to protect people." Chie replied. "The town, the people I care about, I want to protect them."
"Is that the only reason?" Dojima pressed. Chie nodded. "Are you sure?" She did not respond. "Come on now, we all know you crave power. You've had this conversation with a shadow before. You want control. Being a cop can give you that kind of power. You can rationalize it all you want, but you really haven't changed that much. You're still the same jealous, controlling bitch you always were."
"That's not true!" Chie shouted. "I really just want to help!"
"If you keep saying that you might even convince yourself." Dojima taunted. "That's not the real problem though. It really doesn't matter why you want to be a detective, just so long as you get the job done. Unfortunately, that's going to be an issue for you."
"What are you talking about?" Chie asked angrily.
"To put it plainly, you're too dumb." Dojima said. "Not every problem can be solved by kicking it. At some point, you're going to have to use your brain. In your case, that brain isn't very powerful is it?"
"I've been studying really hard." Chie protested. "If I work at it, I'll get it eventually."
"Will you though?" Dojima asked. "For all the effort your grades are still terrible. You go over the material again and again but it never gets any clearer. You've tried studying the things you'd need to know to be a cop, but you can't figure that out either. To be even vaguely useful to the force, you have to have some basic level of intelligence. Adachi was a lazy, sociopathic asshole but at least he was clever. You couldn't even be as good a detective as that jackass."
"I'm much better than Adachi!" Chie yelled. "I'd be a much better police officer than that bastard."
"You sound so sure of yourself." Dojima said, feigning respect. "I'll do you a favor then. Why not fight Adachi and prove your superiority? I'm sure you wouldn't want to fight me anyway. Like you said, there's no emotional trauma there. Just give me a moment." With that, Dojima melted into a black mass before reforming and taking the appearance of Adachi.
"There, is that better?" Adachi asked. "Oh, and I wouldn't want to leave your little friends out of the fun, so I brought a little something for them too." Four gigantic figures appeared behind Adachi. Dressed in frayed black overcoats, hoods over their heads, chains around their torsos, giant revolvers in each hand, they were Reapers. "I wonder if you can defeat me before they kill your friends."
"I won't let them, or me, down!" Chie shouted. "Haraedo-no-Okami!" She summoned her Persona.
"This is going to be easy." Adachi sneered. "Magatsu-Izanagi!"
"So, how is our favorite violent lunatic doing?" Queen Nora sneered. "Nora, have you killed anything cool lately?"
"Violent lunatic?" Nora did not know what to make of that comment.
"You are aware that everyone thinks you're insane, right?" Queen Nora inquired. "They're terrified of you."
"Why would people be afraid of me?" Nora asked.
"Really?" Queen Nora said. "You really don't know? You're hyperactive, unpredictable, and enjoy crushing things with your hammer. I'd say that would make any normal person nervous."
"You guys don't feel that way." Nora said to the others. "Right?" She got no response.
"You should have heard Weiss earlier." Queen Nora pressed. "She thought you were behind all this. She thought you were the one trying to kill them. She just figured you'd gone over the edge and turned on everyone. Go ahead Weiss, deny it." Weiss looked down in shame. "The others weren't exactly rushing to your defense either."
"Do you really think I'd hurt you?" Nora asked. The smile that perpetually graced her face was gone. "Are you really afraid of me?" She got no response. "At least Ren would never turn against me."
"Oh really?" Queen Nora laughed. "Do you have any idea how annoying you are for him? He has to put up with you constantly bothering him, and then he has to try to fix things when you screw them up. You're a burden. It takes all his effort just to make sure you don't get yourself or any of your friends killed. He must hate you."
"That's impossible." Nora protested. "We've been friends for so long."
"Well, you have been from your point of view at least." Queen Nora countered. "Are you sure he feels the same way? Maybe he just can't get rid of you. You won't leave him alone. You know he's far too polite to say anything that would hurt you."
"B-but…" Nora stammered.
"But nothing." Queen Nora cut her off. "You must know the truth deep down. After all, you're afraid to tell him how you really feel. The only reasonable explanation is because you know he doesn't feel the same way."
"He doesn't…he wouldn't…no…" Nora couldn't respond. She dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face.
"Where is Ren now, when you need him most?" Queen Nora continued her onslaught. "As soon as the opportunity presented itself, he abandoned you."
"He couldn't have." Nora curled up in the fetal position, sobbing. "No no no no no..."
"Well, the time has come for me to put you out of your misery." Queen Nora concluded. "Don't worry; you won't be bothering anyone anymore." Queen Nora grew into a giant and twisted version of herself. The shadows face was hidden by a mask that gave it a permanent manic grin. Wielding a bloody scepter that was at least thirty feet long, she would be a dangerous opponent. She lifted her weapon above her head. "Now die!"
*Recommended Music: Like a Dragon (Persona 4 Arena Soundtrack)*
Chie faced down Shadow Adachi as the Reapers approached the rest of the Investigation Team. "I can take one alone." Yu assured the others.
"Me too." Kanji said, cracking his knuckles.
"Teddie and I will take one." Yosuke said. Teddie growled in agreement. They all summoned their Personas and set about attacking the hulking shadows.
Haraedo-no-Okami and Magatsu-Izanagi charged at each other, their blades meeting with a thunderous clash. Chie's Persona unleashed a flurry of slashes with its double-bladed sword while Shadow Adachi's blocked every strike with its own blade. Haraedo-no-Okami backed off and swept back in with a mighty swing of its blade. Magatsu-Izanagi dodged the strike almost casually, before cracking its opponent on the back of the head with the hilt of its blade. "You're going to have to do better than that." Shadow Adachi taunted. Chie's Persona took another powerful swipe at the shadow's Persona but it was dodged again. Shadow Adachi's Persona grabbed Haraedo-no-Okami and threw it to the ground with tremendous force. Chie groaned in pain as her Persona slammed into the floor. "Good, let your rage consume you." Shadow Adachi sneered.
Yu used Izanagi to hit the Reaper with a bolt of lightning, but to no avail. He rapidly switched through Personas, hitting the shadow with every type of attack in his repertoire. Nothing seemed to phase it. The Reaper took aim directly at Yu with its gigantic revolver and fired. At the last moment, Izanagi swept in to take the blow for him, and both were knocked to the ground in pain.
Things were little better for Kanji. His Persona took a mighty swing of its sword at the Reaper, striking it squarely in the forehead. The Reaper did not even flinch before pushing the attacking Persona back by pistol-whipping it. It took aim directly at Kanji, but his Persona shoulder-blocked the Reaper, knocking it off target enough that its shot went wide of the mark. The shadow simply turned and blasted Kanji's Persona point-blank. Kanji fell to his knees, just barely hanging on.
Teddie and Yosuke used their Personas to keep the Reaper off balance. Yosuke's zipped around as Teddie's floated lazily, though both were equally adept at dodging the Reaper's attacks. They charged the shadow from opposite directions, but it was the Reaper's turn to dodge the assault. It moved out of the way at the last moment, leaving Teddie's Persona to slam into Yosuke's much more fragile Persona. Yosuke doubled over in pain as his Persona struggled to recover. Teddie's persona turned around just in time to take a direct hit from the Reaper, knocking him out of the fight.
Yukiko and Naoto both had the advantage of speed and attack power. Their Personas could move much more quickly than the Reaper, and they could hit incredibly hard. Still, the Reaper seemed unperturbed by their attacks. It simply took aim at Yukiko, forcing her Persona to defend her. The shot easily took her out of the fight. Naoto was next. "Shield of Justice!" She cried as the Reaper fired. The shot harmlessly struck the invisible barrier her Persona had produced. The Reapers seemed immune to normal attacks, so desperate measures were called for. "Try to group them together!" Naoto called to the others. Yosuke and Yu used wind to push the Reapers closer together while Kanji's Persona physically shoved it. "Megidolaon!" Naoto shouted once they were all together. A blinding light appeared above them before descending and producing a massive explosion. Naoto dropped to her knees in exhaustion.
When the light faded and the dust settled, all four Reapers were still there, apparently unhurt. "I forgot to mention, they're invincible." Shadow Adachi laughed. "You'd better beat me quickly or your friends are doomed." He taunted Chie.
All-out Persona attacks were just not working. Magatsu-Izanagi was just too quick. Then Chie had an idea. She charged at Shadow Adachi, still focused on the standoff between their Personas, and kicked him in the face as hard as she could. Shadow Adachi tumbled to the ground. "What the hell?" He grumbled. Even Chie was amazed at the power of the kick. Maybe her newly awakened Aura had something to do with it. Whatever the reason, this was the opening she needed. Magatsu-Izanagi had mimicked the reaction of its wielder, slamming into the ground hard on its back. Haraedo-no-Okami rushed in, and before the shadow's Persona could recover, plunged its sword into Magatsu-Izanagi's chest. The Persona faded to static and Shadow Adachi writhed in pain. The Reapers too fell to the ground before disappearing.
Chie confidently approached the downed Shadow Adachi. "I may not be the smartest person ever, but I'm not an idiot." Chie said. "I may have a long way to go, but one day I'll be a great detective! As long as I work hard and believe in myself, I can't fail. I certainly won't end up like you."
"You think you're so smart." Shadow Adachi smirked. He quickly reached for his revolver and aimed it at Chie. Before he had a chance to fire, Chie stomped on his wrist and the gun skittered across the floor.
"I told you I'm not an idiot." Chie reiterated. "Not only am I going to be a police officer, but I'm doing it for the right reasons. You'll see."
"Oh just finish this already." Shadow Adachi said. Chie obliged. Her Persona flew in and sliced the shadow in half. It dissolved and disappeared. "Are you guys alright?" She asked, turning back to her friends.
"We'll be fine." Yu said. None of them looked to be in particularly good shape with the exception of Rise who had not been in the fight. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm okay." Chie said. "The things it said really pissed me off, but I know that I can do anything I put my mind to. And when it comes to my motivation, I know I'm not just doing it for me."
"That's good, I'm proud of you." Yu said with a smile.
"Stop, you sound like my parents." Chie laughed awkwardly.
"Well, the path is blocked again." Rise reported. "I guess we should head back and see how the others are doing."