The Darker Side of Life (Crossover RWBY/Persona)

Having finally gathered his composure yet again, the drake managed to give a slight nod in response to the statement directed towards him. "Aha...alright, then; you got it..." he spoke casually while walking over and crouching down to meet the television's level. Without much hesitance, he stick his hand through the screen and immediately re-initiated the portal. All that he gave was a glance back over his shoulder at the other three in the room. "I better not find myself suddenly ditched in there," he joked while giving everyone a slight grin.

And with that, he boosted himself through and landed back into the world within, merging from the very set of TV's that the group had exited from the prior visit.

Pete nodded "Don't worry, it's Persona, power o' friendship and all that, no one gets left behind." he said before following Corvou in "One o' you will get a Persona today, so be prepared to make peace with your repressed subconscious... Or we might die... And I do not want that... At all...." he said before putting his foot through... And then coming back out "I forgot the Teddie Glasses... Cruc, I hope you brought yours..." he said before walking over to a small table next to the couch and pulling out a drawer, revealing his pair of glasses and putting them on "We should find more in their if last time was any hint..." he said before going back in to the dark world...

Cruccifix reluctantly revealed her pair before putting them on and opening the portal for Lucy, who unfortunately didn't have any. The Nightmare stepped out into the cobbled courtyard and looked around, silently wondering how any of what she was seeing was even remotely possible in any world.

She thought she saw a dark shadow cross the edge of her vision, but when she turned to look at it she saw that there was nothing there.

Strange... she thought as Cruccifix drew her daggers and twirled them around in her hands as the assassin joined the main group. Lucy spared the spot another glance before turning and walking after her.

Pete grabbed Lucy's hand "Don't worry, stay close to me, I'll stay close to Corvou, you'll be safe..." he said gently before a loud train whistle sounded out "Wait, what?" Pete said before one of the closed walls opened up to the dark clone of the Forever Fall Forest, the train whistle blew out again and a train track rolled in slowly from the fog the glasses didn't block out, when the track stopped in front of the portal a small, cartoonish looking train came chugging along from the forest "...Huh... Senpai, I'm not sure if you can see it... But a train just rolled up from nowhere..." Pete said with confusion in his voice and a raised eyebrow before letting go of Lucy's hand and walking up to the conductor's car and opening the door, sitting on the seat was a small teddy bear with a pair of purple-rimmed half-moon glasses "Well, I guess I found her pair..." he said before grabbing the glasses and handing them to Lucy "Nevermind, just stay close to Corvou."

Corvou himself already had his own pair of glasses secured behind his ears and over his eyes, and was some ways away while scanning the clearing in a search for anything out of the ordinary. At first, he did take a slight, cautious glance at the train as it passed by, silver voids of his following it from over his shoulder and watching as it chugged over to the rest of his group. His doubts would temporarily be cleansed from his intellect, however, as he noted how it stopped to make its little delivery. An exasperated sigh left the man's lips before he shook his head and looked back in front of him, equipping himself with a half of Draconian Blaze in either extremity. Though it wasn't nearly as strong as it was the last time the group was inside due to the influence of his semblance, the aura that began coursing throughout its figure was still rather obvious as it occasionally pulsed out.

After a little while, he slowed his pace down and shifted the half of his weaponry that was within his right hand into the left. Once this was done, he raised the then-freed hand, and, within its palm, the image of a tarot card would materialize for a mere few seconds before he pulled in and created a fist, shattering the image into many, luminous shards. Within moments of the feat, the same, majestic-looking celestial dragon that he had acquired would appear. The two exchanged a couple of glances, and, when the Persona-user himself gave a slight nod, the larger dragon immediately swept around in an arc before gliding deeper off into the forest for recon.

Sighing, the graduate brushed a hand through his hair before relocating the second half of Blaze back into his free hand and looking over his shoulder at the others.

"Just doing a bit of recon, but Ryujin won't be too far if he's needed..." he muttered while awaiting for the group to catch up.

Lucy retrieved the set of glasses and put them on, seeing the world completely clear up around her as she silently wondered where they were exactly. Cruccifix had told her about this place, but Lucy was still trying to figure out if it actually existed or not.

Nevertheless the young Nightmare calmly materialized Hell and Hades, the twin javelins appearing in her hands as she lowered them from putting the glasses on. Despite how she could easily see her surroundings, she still stuck close to Pete.
Mostly to make sure HE remained safe.

"So... Now where do we go?... We need a Rise so bad here..." as soon as Pete stopped talking, the tracks of the train began to expand forwards with a cartoonish ballooning sound as the opposite wall of the fort opened up to let it out into the foggy forest "I... Guess that answers that?...." he said with confused curiousity as he climbed into the conductor's station, grabbed a conductor's hat that was hanging next to the control panel and motioned to the others to get on the train's wagons "No where to go but forwards, am I right?... I wonder what this symbolizes as part of my subconscious... Weird..."

For several moments, the drake inhaled deeply while shifting his gaze about, attempting to scout the area for any notable objectives. When he glanced back over his shoulder and towards the group, however, he simply stared at the conductor-to-be, his tail gently swaying behind his figure before stopping all movement altogether. "....Oh, my. i can't say that I recall the last time I rode on a choo-choo like this before..." he muttered while slowly stepping towards the somewhat sunsized traincars. Tilting his head, he leaned over a little bit while inspecting one. His tail gave another quick, curious flicker as he did so. "'Tis...somewhat odd of a representative of one's mind, but... Oh, what would you be able to do about it...?"

With those words, Corvou gave a quiet shrug before stepping into the car that he had stationed himself next to. Upon entering the compartment, he found the need to hunch over due to his height, but, once he sat down, he appeared to be much more comfortable. A low mutter escaped his lips as he looked over his shoulder, meeting his gaze with Ryujin's as it quickly swept its way form the opposing side of its forest. As if transmitting some sort of mental message, the spectral reptilian seemed to give a nod before gliding to the back of the last train wagon, indicating that it would simply follow behind. Once this was done, the Azuryn brushed a hand through his hair before leaning back and looking at the others.

"...Well, then... All abooooaaaaaaaard~?"

Lucy hopped up onto the train after Corvou, the glasses better allowing her to be certain of where she was going to end up while Cruccifix leapt onto the train's roof. The assassin surveyed the area around calmly as Lucy sat down next to Corvou. The Nightmare couldn't help but think of how Cruccifix was going to look in a fight.

As if sensing this thought, Cruccifix scowled as she scolded herself for not bringing a spare set of clothes. Wearing a dress was the least opportune thing in a fight, and she doubted that she could maneuver correctly while wearing one.
Think back to the Archai assassination. You had to wear a dress for that too. Just remember the training.

Pete nodded as his allies boarded the wooden block vehicle and looked back to the control panel, seeing only a large lever with two modes written down next to it "Stop" and "Go" "...Figures...." he said before pulling the cord just outside the window to blow the train's whistle "We're headin' out! Full speed ahead!" he said, pulling the lever into it's "Go" position. The train slowly started and moved along the track out into the forest...

After a few minutes of the train peacefully going down the tracks, Peter, who was silent for those few minutes, spoke up "This is relaxing, ain't it? Just... Chugging through a foggy forest... Nothin' but the sound of the train and the trees... Nice, ain't it?" he said peacefully...

In response to the conductor’s words, Corvou gave a mere, yet subtle shrug in a neutral belief; no agreement, no disagreement, but just…something in between. ”Save for the fact that we could readily get attacked while anywhere in this world, I suppose that it is a bit pleasant…” he muttered quietly. Lounging back into his seat a bit, he released a low, murmuring sigh before hooking his right arm up and resting it upon the eastern portion of the cart’s raise, leaning the side of his head upon it while staring at the passing scenery boredly.

"...An almost obvious call for trouble, if you ask me, but...somewhat relaxing at the moment, nonetheless..."

Pete looked back at Corvou "Y'know, you could just use that big-ass dragon you can summon out of your soul to wreck their shit. That's a pretty easy way to deal with ambushes..." he said casually "So... Speaking of which, who thinks they'll be getting their persona first? My money's oooooonnnn.... Senpai." he said before music seemed to come from nowhere, it was a calm, nearly tauntingly so love song sung by a charming, soft male voice, Peter's upper ears twitched as his calm smile grew slightly "Oh hey, I love this song... It's not the best song this guy's ever done, but..." he said idly...

Lucy silently tilted her head up to listen to the song as well, and closed her eyes for a short time. It's not too bad, she thought to herself, leaning against the chair slightly and slowly immersing herself in the music. However, she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that they were all being watched.

Pete calmly moved the teddy bear from the conductor's seat, sat in it, then leaned back in it, just enjoying the ride "I wonder if I can change the soundtrack to something more fitting... It's my mind, so..." he said before he mentally struggled a little to do just that "How do I do this?...." he said before the music abruptly stopped, as did the train "Woah! That's how I stop it!" he said as the train stopped with a jerk "I guess the train and the music are related?...." he said idly....

Meanwhile, hidden in the trees, a small group of shadows, the same kind as the lucky one that fled in the dungeon, humanoid, yet animalistic, with long, seemingly metal claws on each hand "Rrreeeebeeellll....." "The Liiiiiiiight....." "It buuuurrrrrnssss....."

"You guys hear something?..." Peter said nervously as the quiet hissing words reached his ears, quickly pulling out his sword just in case "'cause I'm pretty sure I just heard something!"

While the others seemed to show neutral or positive reactions to the tone, the teacher himself just froze awkwardly as he gazed at the passing reds of the makeshift Forever Fall, slowly blinking as he listened to the occurring tune. ”………That’s… That’s…Ashe…isn’t it…” he spoke in a low, pausing, and awkward tone, though still remained unmoving. ”Damn, I love his voice, but this song is-“

As he began his second set of statements, he noticed that the music stopped.

”……Huh… Okay, that’s simply dandy…” Shrugging, the Azuryn inhaled deeply before finally lifting his figure up to some degree and actually sat up, allowing himself to get a clear view of the forest about him. In that same moment, however, he, too, felt the train stop. Silence would overcome him temporarily before he looked around, slowly stepping out of the cart and glancing around the foggy clearing. When he did so, Ryujin immediately glided from its spot from behind the train, instantly and loosely coiling itself around and near the source of transportation. Both wyrms remained still for a moment before Corvou himself gradually peered over to the side and in the general direction in which the groans seemed to come from.

”…Perhaps a warmup battle before the next miniboss…?”

"W-warm up battle? You're pretty nuts." The doe whispered as her esrs twitched steadily, emerging from a place unknown. Let's just say she was a rather sleepy gal who could cuddle herself into some pretty odd places for a nap. She stretched a bit and gazed at everyone with a soft smile, before her attention would return to the boy before her.

"I-I mean what if it's bigger than we are?" Her grin grew muddled and unsure at this point, a reminder of the squiggly mouth emoji. "Not that we don't fight things bigger than we are already.... But still....." Her heart thudded a bit from a moment of anxiety and terror. A half asleep yawn overtook her small frame for a moment as she lengthened herself out in a stretch once more. Her eyes drooped a bit. "All of this is pretty nuts."

Pete flinched at the doe's sudden appearance "WOAH!! WOAH!! WHEN THE HELL DID YOU GET HERE!!?!?...." he said in complete shock, she wasn't there when they entered the TV, and without him, Cruc or Corvou, she literally couldn't have come in after them...

Both Cruccifix and Lucy silently posed the same question, Cruccifix merely staring at the doe while Lucy was looking at her with a shocked expression and was pointing at her.

When and how did she get here?
Where did she come from?

"I was behind you guys the whole time! What do you mean?" She gave a low pouting sound. Her ears twitched again uneasily. "I thought you guys wer-.... I didn't die did I? Am I a ghost????" Lapis furiously began to poke and pinch herself in random spaces in a blind panic, terror filling her being until she realized that the sensations were still present. He began to poke and touch others in her panic. "I'm not dead. I'm not a ghost. That's a relief." She whispered with a sigh as she fell back onto her butt. "That was scary."

Her eyes glittered for a moment as a realization came to her. "I WAS INVISIBLE THAT'S SO COOL!! HOW DID I DO THAT???"

Pete shrugged "Uh... Okay then.... Uh.... So...." he said awkwardly before looking to where the whispers came from "If anyone or anything is in there, come out so we can kick your ass-slash-asses!" at that moment, one of the creatures came out of the bushes "Destrooooy...." another followed it "The liiiiiight...." followed by one more "The kiiiing demaaaaandssss iiiiit..." "...The King... Guess that means my shadow? He does seem to be the head honcho..." he said before pointing his sword at the one in the center of the three "I don't care what "The King" told you, the only king I follow is Elvis Presley, so bring it on bitch!" at that moment, the three creatures seperated from the clearing immediately, clearly scared by Peter's lackluster threat "..........What the hell?....... Are they like... Experience sponges or something? If you can kill'em, you get, like, a billion level-ups, but they flee at the first sight of anything?..." he said, kind of disappointed the shadows just fled and getting back into the train "Now, how do I put the music back on?"

"Hmm... How did you stop it in the first place?" Lucy asked, walking up being him and staring at him. She blinked once as she turned her gaze towards the area that the strange creatures had fled into shortly before, and had another strange feeling of being watched. However, she quickly chalked it up to her being tense as she continued on with what she was saying. "Normally you can reverse something through the same method you employed to do it."

"I.... Just thought really hard about it..... Whatever, everyone get on, we don't want it to leave without us... 'cept Corvou could maybe make it back home, but... Anyways, just get on."

With heavy skepticism, Corvou remained as he was, glaring throughout the clearing with narrowed, piercing silver eyes of his, regardless of the fact that he knew that Peter loaded himself back onto the train. …Something’s going to happen. After what just happened, it has to… would be the only thought to cross his mind before he reluctantly and eventually turned heel, making his way back to his seat. While he sat down, Ryujin simply returned to its prior position behind the train. It waited for the transportation device to resume moving as Corvou slowly shifted his attention back in the direction that the Shadows fled to, inaudible mutters slipping from his lips all the while.

"They give me the willies...." Lapis gave a light shudder as her teal voids watched the Shadows retreat, their hiss groan like voices clawing the insides of her ears. "They just.... Lurk and follow. They're like..... Scary...." Her gaze was semi frightened as she hunkered down on the floor with her knees to her chest, shifting under the weight of the large weapon on her back.

"I don't think my shadow would ever have much dirt on me. I already know how I am." She gave a half smile.

Pete shrugged "Well there's gotta be something you don't want getting out that's rattlin' 'round in the back of your noggin. They just gotta hit that one liiiiiiitle sweetspot and then we're all dead!" he said before suddenly a few sour notes played out of nowhere, the train moving a small few inches 'Ohp, there we go, I got it movin' again!" he said before climbing back into his seat in the front carriage, waitibg for those not on the train to take their places...