Chapter 23

*Recommended Music: Aria of the Soul (Any version you like)*

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." Igor said. "It's not every day we receive a call from a guest." He gestured toward an old rotary phone sitting on the table before him.

"I'm just glad I was able to contact you with my Scroll." Ruby said. "We were in a bit of a situation there."

"Yes, about that, there were…complications." Igor said. "Theodore can inform you of the details."

"I do not like the sound of that." Aigis said.

"Well, your minds are safely ensconced here in the Velvet Room." Theodore confirmed. "Unfortunately, your bodies were a bit harder to move." He hesitated. "They are currently…suspended in a void between dimensions."

"So, send them to Remnant, put our minds back in and we're done." Ruby said impatiently. "I'm sure our friends are worried about us."

"I will do that, but there is a problem." Theodore admitted. "You see, traveling between dimensions causes a terrible strain on mortal bodies. This is why only your minds travel to the Velvet Room. Yu and Aigis, you may have noticed a sense of disorientation and even pain when traveling to Remnant from Earth. Jumping your bodies around between dimensions as was required to save you is quite a lot more serious."

"Just tell us what'll happen." Yu said reassuringly. "We don't blame you for any difficulties."

"To put it bluntly, it's going to hurt." Theodore said. "Words would be inadequate to describe the pain you are about to experience. You should suffer no long term effects, but it will be exceedingly unpleasant. If you're lucky, you'll lose consciousness quickly."

"Is that all?" Aigis asked.

"Yes." Theodore confirmed.

"That's it?" Ruby asked. "I was expecting something worse, like we'd come out with three arms or have to all share one body. Pain I can deal with."

"Yeah, I thought you were going to say it would kill us." Yu said with relief.

"Yes, and hopefully it won't." Theodore said. "Goodbye for now."

"Wait!" Yu shouted as his vision began to blur. "What does that mean?!"

The silence of Beacon after curfew was shattered by blood-curdling screams. Lights flicked on all over campus as students, teachers and others rushed to see what had happened.

As Ozpin slowly approached, the crowd parted in front of him. He soon reached the source of the commotion. One of the school medics was attending to three unconscious individuals. Ruby, Aigis and Yu lay there peacefully. "What is their condition?"

"I don't know; I just got here." The medic replied. "I've only had time to check the vitals on this one." The medic pointed to Ruby. "Her heart rate is elevated but otherwise she's fine."

The medic turned to attend to Aigis but Ozpin stopped him. "I can take it from here." Ozpin said.

"Are you sure?" The medic asked. "This is my job."

"Don't worry about it." Ozpin said. "Go get some rest." The medic reluctantly pushed his way out through the crowd. He turned to the gathered throng. "You should all go back to bed." He waited a moment, the crowd not dispersing. "I mean now." He added with a more serious tone. The crowd broke up as Ozpin looked over the unconscious trio. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his Scroll. In a few taps, he made a call. "Helia? Good, it's Ozpin. I need you to come down to the statue. Bring your group too."

"What was that about?" Weiss asked as Helia put away her Scroll. Their friends gone, a somber mood pervaded the room. Since returning, they had sat together in silence, none of them sure what to say.

"Ozpin wants to see us." Helia said, standing. "All of us."

"Why?" Yosuke asked. "Does he think we're responsible for those screams?"

"He didn't say." Helia replied. "He's at the statue."

As the group approached, they could see Ozpin sitting on the low concrete wall the surrounded the statue. He looked winded. Beside him, propped up and leaning against the wall, were Ruby, Aigis and Yu. The group rushed to their friends as Helia approached Ozpin. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"I'm just a little tired." Ozpin replied. "Aigis is heavier than I imagined. Perhaps I should have waited for your help to move them."

"What's wrong with them?" Jaune asked. "Are they hurt?"

Rise summoned her Persona to scan them. "They're fine." Rise said. "They're not hurt at least. I can't tell much about Aigis though."

"She's fine too." Labrys said. She had plugged herself into Aigis and run a diagnostic. "All of her systems are restartin' but she's not damaged."

"Well, you shouldn't just leave them out here." Ozpin said. "Why don't you take them back to your rooms so they can rest in comfort?"

Yu woke up in unbelievable pain. He wanted to scream but he could not get his breath. His head felt like it was going to explode. His skin felt like it was on fire. And his stomach… He forced himself to sit up and looked around. He spotted a garbage can. He tried to stand but fell on his face. With the pain he was already in, the fall hardly registered. He crawled to the garbage can and dumped out the contents. He propped himself up and put the can in front of his face. He vomited violently, again and again, until there was nothing left in his stomach.

Yu lay on the floor. It was cold and comfortable. The burning sensation in his skin faded and his headache became bearable. He took a deep breath. His chest hurt, but it was not too bad. Confident he would not vomit again; he put the garbage can down and maneuvered himself into a sitting position against the wall. He let out a long groan.

"You wuss." Ruby laughed, sitting across the room. She was on the floor too, beside another trash can with trash scattered around. Somehow she had a smile on her face. "The pain isn't that bad. Throwing up was pretty rough but come on." Yu winced as a wave of pain flared through his body.

The door swung open and Yang walked in, a plate of cookies in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. "You just threw up, are you sure you should be eating this?" She asked, seemingly oblivious to Yu.

"I can take it." Ruby said. "I'm not a child." Yang rolled her eyes and handed the food to Ruby. She took ate a cookie and took a sip of milk. "See." Her smile disappeared and she grabbed the garbage can just in time to fill it with cookies and milk. Yu chuckled then groaned in pain. "Oh shut up." Ruby said between vomits.

"You two are so cute." Aigis deadpanned. Somehow Ruby and Yu had not even seen her. She sat on a chair in the corner, looking exhausted. "We made it."

"That we did." Yu groaned. Speaking was painful. "Couldn't have done it without you two."

"Saying goodbye sucks." Chie said. They all agreed.

"At least we don't have to do it in the middle of the forest this time." Yukiko said.

"You've done a lot to help me." Margaret said. "It was the least I could do." Under cover of darkness they would be departing directly from Beacon.

"Pyrrha, I just wanted to thank you for helping my sister and me." Aigis said. "I hope we can all find what we are looking for."

"I'm sure you will." Pyrrha smiled.

"I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for, but I'll figure it out." Labrys said. "Just don't you give up on Jaune. I'm sure he'll figure it out sooner or later."

"Oh I won't." Pyrrha assured her, blushing slightly. "He can be a bit slow but I think he's starting to get it."

"Well, it looks like goodbye again." Yu said.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Ruby sighed. "Even with all the danger and all the pain, it's always really fun when you guys come to visit. Are you sure you don't want to stick around?"

"I can't." Yu replied. "There are people back home that need me. Don't worry though, we'll see each other again."

"I guess so." Ruby said. "Well, until then, have a great life." She hugged him tightly then took a step back. "Oh, and whatever's going on with you and the girls, get it sorted out. They have combat training now and you don't want them angry."

"Yeah, I'll get right on that." Yu said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. The others were waiting. "I guess it's time. It's been really great. Bye everyone!"

"See ya!" Yang shouted back.

"We'll miss you." Ruby added.

"I wonder if we'll get to keep our auras." Yosuke thought aloud just before stepping through the doorway that would lead them back home. "Probably not, we don't have anything like that on Earth."

After the others had left, Yu and Aigis took one last look back. They had met quite the cast of characters. Ruby was doing her best not to cry. Weiss looked bored. Blake, well, Blake was hard to read. Yang just smiled. Jaune looked confused. Tears rolled down Pyrrha's cheek. Nora waved exuberantly, bumping into Ren who stood there expressionless. They stepped through the door, heading home.

"Are you excited for your first day?" Aigis asked.

"Of course, I always wanted to go to school." Labrys replied. With Mitsuru pulling a few strings, Labrys had been enrolled in Yasogami High as a second year student. On the one hand, it gave Labrys the opportunity to live a semi-normal life. It also put her in a perfect position to keep an eye on Inaba and its Persona users.

"I hope you enjoy it as much as I did." Aigis said. She would not be able to stick around. There was always something to do with the Shadow Operatives. She would visit frequently, but Labrys would have to live mostly on her own.

"I'm sure I will." Labrys said. "You know I'm in Kanji's class?"

"You are?" Aigis said, feigning ignorance. She had helped to arrange it. "You will have a friend in class then. That is good."

"Yeah, and I'm looking forward to making lots more friends too." Labrys said with a smile. As much as Aigis worried about her, Labrys would be fine. Aigis wondered if maybe she was the one that should be worried about. The feeling passed, she would be alright too.

"Did you contact the lab about that sample I sent?" Dojima asked, a cigarette hanging from his lips. He plopped down in his chair looking exhausted.

"Yes sir!" Chie replied eagerly. She had been working with Dojima, acting as part intern and part junior detective, hoping to get a head start toward becoming a police officer herself. "They said it would be a few more hours." Dojima grunted in annoyance, the lab always took forever. "While I was waiting for you, I put this together." She slid a paper in front of Dojima.

"What's this?" Dojima asked as he spun the paper around.

"You were really busy so I wrote up a report for you on the traffic accident yesterday." Chie answered. "All you need to do is sign it and it's done."

Dojima looked over the report. "This is excellent." Dojima said. "Your handwriting could be neater, but this report is perfect. Thanks."

"Any time." Chie said.

"You know, you're exactly the kind of partner I've always wanted at this job." Dojima added. "Unlike that dumb shit Adachi, you actually care about your work. You respect what it means to be a detective. I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with." He had been unable to find a new partner since the Adachi incident. Everyone at the station knew how hard he would drive them, and rumor had it that he had driven Adachi insane. "I hope I'm not pushing you too hard. You're still just a student after all."

"It's fine, really." Chie said. "It's a privilege to work with you."

"That's good." Dojima said with relief. He thought for a moment before chuckling briefly. "Do me a favor and get me a coffee."

"Yes sir!"

Rise peeked out around the curtain, taking a look at the crowd. She wanted to get an idea of how big it was, their mood, anything that she could use to tailor her performance to them. "We've got a pretty big crowd tonight." She said.

"Good, let's hope this idiot doesn't screw it up." Yosuke said, gesturing toward Teddie. Rise's comeback was picking up steam and Yosuke had convinced his father to get Junes to sponsor the show. As part of the deal, Teddie, Junes' mascot, would join Rise on stage for one of her songs. That was also Yosuke's idea and if it went well, he was in for a promotion. If not, well, he would rather not think about that.

"You're going to do this just like in rehearsal." Rise said. "Step for step, no changes."

"And if I'm good…" Teddie pressed.

"If you're good, I'll introduce you to Kanamin." Rise sighed.

"And if you're not you'll be homeless." Yosuke reminded him.

"I'll be good!" Teddie said with alarm. "I'll follow the script, just like in rehearsal."

"The show starts in a minute." Rise's manager reminded the group.

"Alright Teddie, are you ready for this?" Rise asked, her excitement building. She knew she was.

"Kanji, are you here?" Yukiko asked, walking into Tatsumi Textiles.

"Yeah, give me a minute." Kanji called from the back. He walked out still knitting a stuffed animal. His work had become the store's best seller. "What's up?"

"I just wanted you to try something I cooked." Yukiko replied, holding up a box of food. "You're the only one I can trust to give me an honest review." He was also the only one brave enough to consume something she cooked.

"Yeah, I guess." Kanji said. He put down his knitting and nervously took the box from Yukiko and opened it. "Looks good." He sniffed it. "Smells alright too." With a look of terror on his face, he took a bite, chewed it and swallowed.

"Well?" Yukiko asked.

"Holy shit." Kanji said with a look of shock on his face. Yukiko's heart sank. "This is actually pretty good!" He proceeded to shovel large chunks of food into his mouth.

"Really?" Yukiko asked with glee.

"Yeah." Kanji replied with his mouth full. Yukiko was just satisfied that he had not immediately vomited like the last time. Maybe she was really improving as a cook.

"It's nice to be able to spend time together." Naoto said. "It's even better out here where no one knows us."

"It's a shame about the weather though." Yu sighed as raid drizzled down on them. They had walked up the mountain on a path through the forest. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Unfortunately, when they reached the top, it started to rain. The path would be muddy, so they decided to walk down the road to get back to town. "I don't know why it still bothers you for people to see us together."

"I guess I'm still easily embarrassed." Naoto said. She held Yu's hand and intertwined her arm in his, leaning against him as they walked. It had gotten cold, and they were both glad they had decided to wear jackets on what had been a rather warm and sunny day.

Yu heard a noise and turned his head to look behind them. What he saw filled him with terror. A car had rounded the curve too fast and it was already spinning uncontrollably across the wet road. He met eyes with the driver, a look of confused horror in his eyes. It was heading straight for them. With little time to react, Yu shoved Naoto out of the way just as the car slammed into him. It continued on for a few more feet before pinning him against a concrete retaining wall.

"Yu!" Naoto cried. He was slumped over the car's crumpled hood, steam from its destroyed radiator spraying up beside him.

Yu groaned and looked up, again meeting the driver's eyes. He saw terror but felt no fear. "Back up." He said. The driver just stared at him. "Back up, please." He said more insistently.

"I-I-I can't." The driver stammered. "It's broken."

Yu sighed. "Put it in neutral." He said. He could hear the transmission grind as the driver did so. Yu reached down and found a spot where he had some leverage and pushed with all his might. The car rocked back a few inches, and it was enough for him to squirm free.

"But…how?" The driver said in shock. Yu was entirely unhurt. The only evidence that the car had hit him was a near semicircle crushed into its front end where he had been. Naoto looked at him like she was seeing a ghost.

Yu dusted himself off casually and jumped down off the car's hood. "I think it's safe to say we've kept our auras." He said to Naoto. "Good thing too, that car hit me pretty hard." He looked back at the car. The driver was unconscious. "Is he alright?"

Naoto approached the car and carefully opened the driver's door. She looked the driver over and checked his vitals. "He seems fine, no broken bones or anything." Naoto said. "I think he just fainted." Yu shrugged. "You would too if you saw what he just did!" She slapped him on the shoulder. "Don't go scaring me like that!"

Yu laughed uneasily. "Yeah, sorry."

Teams RWBY and JNPR happily ate their lunch. Nora's tall tales had only gotten taller since the shadow incident, and she had most of them totally engrossed in her latest. Ruby could not bring herself to care. She looked at her food with a frown and just sat there. Finally Weiss noticed something was up. "Ruby, what's wrong?" She asked. "You normally eat your cookies with disturbing speed but you haven't touched them today. Are they oatmeal raisin today?"

"No, that's not it." Ruby said. She picked up a cookie but put it back down before taking a bite. "I just miss Yu and those guys."

"I'm sure they'll be back." Pyrrha said. "They can't seem to stay away."

"Yeah, they probably just needed a Blake." Yang said with a wide smile. "Eh? Eh?" She raised her hand to receive a high-five, but none was forthcoming. The others just groaned and went back to what they were doing. She sat there with her arm raised awkwardly, the smile slowly fading from her face. Finally, Jaune high-fived her out of pity.

After lunch Ruby headed back to her room. She felt sick and sad and did not want to go to afternoon classes. She swiped her Scroll over the pad at the door and it clicked open. She sighed and stepped inside, only to be confronted by a familiar face. "Theodore?!" Ruby exclaimed. "How did you get in here? The door was locked."

"You left the window open so I climbed up." Theodore explained. He looked his arm with a grimace. "I fell…twice, but I eventually made it."

"What are you even doing here?" Ruby asked.

"Margaret contacted me to say there's something happening on Earth." Theodore replied. "She thought you and your friends might want to help."

"Of course we would!" Ruby shouted. "I'll get them and be right back!"

THE END

Author's note: First of all, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading my story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now, as I'm sure you've noticed, I seem to be setting up a sequel with the ending here. That's not the case. I'm keeping my options open, but I have no plans to continue this series. That could change but not in the immediate future. I am planning to reboot my RWBY/Persona crossover in a whole new story. When? I can't say. I'm working on something I can't talk about right now, and it takes up a lot of my time. Things are also getting busy at my day job. After that, it'll still take time because I don't like to release anything without being a few chapters ahead. Of course I might hit on something and write a few chapters in one sitting. I might do a few one-offs but I can't say for sure. In any case, it's been a pleasure and I will be back. I hope you'll be back too.