Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction in dedication to a much grander work. As such, the author does not own the rights to any characters within this story, and any correlation between any original characters that may appear and people in the real world are merely coincidental.

Persona: The Trickster's Trials

4th Trial: Caged Cat and Caste Escape

4/11/Mid-Morning/Overcast

-Shujin Academy-

"Geeze, what's taking him so long? It's already 11:30…" Sayado Kawakami said to herself as she sat in the faculty room, filling out lesson plans for the week.

It had been three-and-a-half hours since school started and Ren Amamiya, the troublesome transfer student, had yet to arrive. Not only that, but Ryuji Sakamoto and even Makoto Niijima were also absent. Sakamoto skipping class was not especially strange; it happened every now and again ever since the incident with Kamoshida, but the student council president herself being tardy was absolutely unheard of. Did the boys get her wrapped up in some sort of trouble? Or was she reprimanding them for disorderly conduct and was taking her time with their punishment? Sayado could never tell with that girl…

"Still, though… It's already fourth period," she sighed as she stopped her paperwork for a moment. "Sakura-san said that Niijima-san came and picked him up this morning, so what happened to them that's making them so late? Should I call the police?"

The moment she said that, a shiver went up her spine and a vision of an angry, silver-haired demon suddenly filled her mind. "On second thought, that might just be more of a hassle. Not to mention, I really don't want to deal with that prosecutor if we did that. That woman's scary enough as it is… *sigh* What did I do to deserve this…?"

-?-

"Dammit, this place is seriously freakin' me out. Who's idea was it to put a river inside a building anyways? Damn near slipped into it when we were hoppin' over that busted bridge and those sunken cages earlier," Sakamoto sighed as he followed Makoto and Ren, crossing a drawbridge that would hopefully lead them out of the castle.

"The sealed doorways are making things difficult for us to find an exit, but at least we managed to find our school bags when we discovered that tunnel that got us here," Makoto said as she stood close to Ren, who was looking around to see if there was anyone coming.

"Yeah, and I ended up nearly gettin' trapped because the stupid thing got stuck…" the punkish teen grumbled as he stared at his beat-up bag in disdain.

"Guys, quiet down and hide! I see something on the other side!" Ren ordered in a hushed tone as he rushed behind a nearby pile of boxes, the other two followed suit as they heard metallic footsteps coming from the other side of the drawbridge. The trio waited with bated breath, trying to not move a single muscle as they waited for the guards to leave. Thankfully for them, they didn't have to wait all that long. It was only for a few seconds at most when they heard their footsteps go off once more, becoming quieter and quieter as they left the area.

"That…was way too close," Makoto sighed as she stood up from her hiding spot with a hand on her chest to control her breathing.

"No need to say that shit twice," Sakamoto grumbled as he turned to the direction where the guards came out of. "Looks like going through there ain't an option. Good thing we crossed the bridge instead of checkin' that place out. Who knows what would've happened if we did…"

"Try not to think about it. Less things to worry about that way," Ren muttered as he turned his head to the nearby hallway to his left. "I think I see a stairway up ahead. Let's hurry up and get out of here."

The other two nodded and proceeded to follow him through the hallway and up the spiraling staircase. It didn't really take them too long to get to the top, although Ren did start to feel concerned when he heard Sakamoto panting heavily and favoring his right leg

"Sakamoto-kun? Is there something wrong?" Makoto asked in concern once the three of them found a massive door at the top of the stairwell.

"I'm good… Just not the biggest fan of stairs… I'll be fine…" Sakamoto rasped as he picked himself up.

"Just let us know if you're having any trouble, Sakamoto-san," Ren said before turning to the door. "Here's hoping this is the way out."

With a nod to himself, Ren pushed the door open to see what was behind it. Much to his disappointment, he and the others were greeted by the sight of more running water and prison cells. It seemed that they still had quite a ways to go before they could find an exit.

"Aw, what the hell, this ain't the way out?!" Sakamoto cried out in frustration.

"Should've figured this wouldn't be easy," Ren muttered before turning to Makoto to get her opinion on what to do next, only to blink a couple times when he noticed that she was no longer with the group. "Makoto-senpai?"

"Oh my god!"

"Was that the Prez?" Sakamoto asked when they heard a scream nearby, and turned to the left to see Makoto past a doorway with a frightened expression; her hands covering her face and her eyes wide in fear. Worried, the two rushed towards her to see what she was looking at, and were stunned silent by what they found.

"Are these…the guys we heard screamin' earlier?" Sakamoto muttered with wide eyes as they saw a few people locked in nearby cells and a couple more in cages hanging over the running water, their bodies in uniforms just like theirs but wearing some odd, heavy-looking helmets that covered their entire heads except for eye and mouth holes. It was like something out of a nightmare to the students, and they were undoubtedly nervous by everything they were witnessing.

It could've easily been them, or even worse, had they not escaped.

"…Think we can do something about this," Ren questioned softly, the sight of the caged individuals leaving a bad taste in his mouth as he listened to their cries and moans.

"Doesn't look like we can. Not right now at least…" Makoto said softly, sounding so defeated that Ren couldn't help but turn to her in concern.

"Senpai?"

"Sorry… I just… Feel so useless right now," she explained reluctantly, neither of them noticing Sakamoto walking past them as she continued to speak, "I want to help these people, but I don't have any idea how. They're clearly Shujin students because of the uniform, but I can't even recognize them because of those torturous masks they have on. I don't know what's going on in this place, but it's making me more and more uncomfortable the longer we stay here. Not to mention more useless, seeing that I can't really help you in case something happens. I'm sure Sis would've been able to do something if she were in my position, but I… I just can't."

Ren simply stared at his new friend with a mix of worry and sympathy, not sure what to say to her to relieve her fears. He had a feeling that she and Sae had a bit of a different relationship than what he had with his own sister, especially considering it was only the two of them. He could only imagine how hard it must've been for her since her parents passed. However, he did know how it felt like to be a burden to others, and could honestly empathize with her mental struggle to an extent. With a sympathetic smile, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. He was rewarded with a look of mild surprise, then a small, but grateful, smile. He nodded back to her in response, happy that she got his message, before turning his attention back to the suspended cages and multiple cells that were around them. Just how many people were imprisoned in the castle? Could they rescue them? Was it even possible to find them all?

Were they even real prisoners…?

"Oh, you gotta be shittin' me…"

"Sakamoto-kun?" Makoto said softly as she and Ren turned to see Sakamoto seemingly staring at a statue with an intense glare and proceeded to rush over to him.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Ren asked when the two reached him, only to notice that they had ended up at a raised drawbridge. "Oh… Well that figures…"

"Yeah. Not only that, check this creepy thing out," Sakamoto said as he pointed a thumb over to the statue he was looking at, which was imaged into a near perfect likeness of Kamoshida.

"Well that's not vain at all," Ren muttered sarcastically while Makoto crossed her arms as she stared at the offending work of 'art' in annoyance.

"Tell me about it. Makes me want to punch the damn thing like Prez did to the real one downstairs," Sakamoto said with a grin as he cracked his knuckles together.

"Please don't. You'll break your hand if you do that," Makoto said sternly before looking away slightly with a faint blush on her face, "Also, please never mention the fact that I punched Mr. Kamoshida in the face. I really don't want to relive that moment if at all possible."

"Are you kidding? What you did was badass! I would totally relive it if I were you!" Sakamoto exclaimed, making Makoto more flustered, before turning to Ren excitedly. "You think so too, right, man?"

"…It was a pretty sweet punch," he admitted with a small grin, enjoying how embarrassed she looked at the moment. He was going to have a lot of fun teasing her once they found a way out.

"Hey! Blondie! Frizzy! Braid! You might want to keep it down. You'll alert more guards if you don't be quiet."

"Who said that?!" Sakamoto shouted out in alarm as Ren looked around the room to find the source of the voice, faintly aware of the blue embers that swirled around him.

"I did! I'm in the farthest cage here! Now hurry up and get over here and let me out!" the voice requested.

Curious and cautious, the three of them decided to follow the voice and peered into the cage in question, stepping back in surprise when they saw an odd, cat-like creature looking at them with its big blue eyes and pawing towards them with a small arm.

"The hell!? What is this thing?" Sakamoto exclaimed with wide eyes.

"And it talked… Just like those pumpkin creatures that Ren-kun fought earlier!" Makoto said with a hand over her mouth in shock.

Does this mean I have to skewer this thing's head too…? Ren thought as he stared at the strange creature warily.

"Hey Frizzy, what's with that look!? I'm not an enemy! I got locked up here by Kamoshida's goons just like you did!" the creature explained hurriedly, which only served to make Ren even more suspicious.

"How did you know we were captured?" he demanded, his frown deepening when the creature scoffed.

"It was kinda obvious when I overheard you guys talking just now. I wasn't kidding when I said you should keep it down," it explained before giving Makoto an appraising look, "That, and I couldn't help but be impressed when you guys said that Braid punched Kamoshida in the face. Makes me wish I saw that myself."

"Enough with the punching already! Just tell us what we can do to get you out!" Makoto exclaimed, her words causing Ren to look at her in surprise

"Huh? You wanna let this weird thing out? What if it tries to attack us as soon as we let it go?" Sakamoto questioned, looking just as lost as Ren felt.

"It should be fine, Sakamoto-kun. If it was an enemy, it would most likely not be locked in the cell in the first place. Plus, if we let it out, it could help us find a way to escape," she explained, and while her reasoning was sound, Ren couldn't help but feel unsure about it.

"Yeah, yeah! What Braid said! I'm not a bad guy! And I can show you guys a way out if you let me go! The keys are right there on that barrel, so hurry up! The guards could show up any minute now!" the creature said with its massive head nodding in a ridiculous manner.

"Senpai, are you sure about this?" Ren questioned as he grabbed the keys in question.

"It'll be fine, Ren-kun. We don't really have a choice in the matter anyways. Besides, if it does try to harm us, you can fight back if needed," she said with a hint of reluctance, while Ren remained a bit skeptical.

"…Alright, if you say so. Let's release the cat and get out of here."

"Hey! I am NOT a cat! You say that again and I'll make you regret it!" the cat thing exclaimed angrily, to which Ren responded with a sigh and a shaking head.

"I can hear footsteps!" Sakamoto hissed, catching the other's attention and making them tense.

"Oh god, they're on their way already?" Makoto muttered fearfully.

"Hey, are you gonna let me out of here or what? If you don't hurry, they'll catch you…" the creature stated as he continued to paw through the bars.

"Calm down. I'll let you out. But you better get us out of here as soon as we set you free," Ren requested as he stared at the cat thing with intense eyes, which didn't seem to faze it one bit.

"I will, I will, now hurry!"

Letting off another sigh due to the creature's impatience, Ren quickly put the key into the lock and opened the door, allowing the odd cat to waltz out of the cage without care.

"Ahhh… Freedom tastes so great!"

"Alright, you're free, woopdee-effin'-doo for you. Now are you gonna show us a way out or what, you monster cat?" Sakamoto growled as the sounds of footsteps grew louder, making the teens more tense.

"Don't call me a cat! I am Morgana!" the apparent not-cat said in a haughty tone that served to irritate Ren more than anything.

"Morgana? Does that mean you're a girl? You kind of sound like one, if I am allowed to be honest," she questioned, making Morgana even more agitated than before.

"Girl?! Of course not! I'm a guy; can't you tell?"

"You're a talking bucket of fuzz for all I care right now, so shut up and chill, dammit!" Ren hissed, his patience hitting an all time low and ignoring the surprised looks the others were giving him. "Listen, cat, we need to get out and we're short on time, so keep it down and help us escape or we'll put you back in the cage and leave you there while we look for an exit on our own! Do you understand me!?"

"Alright, alright, sheesh, I'll show you the way! Just calm down already. Seriously," Morgana said with a whiny tone as he trotted over towards the statue with Sakamoto following it.

"Gah… Damn, that thing's annoying," Ren grumbled while pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to calm down. He wasn't one to lose his cool in such a way, but for some reason, he just couldn't reign in his emotions as well as he normally could. Was it a result of getting his new powers?

"That was a little harsh, don't you think? All he did is ask us to set him free…" he heard Makoto's voice call to him, and turned to see her staring at him with a mix of concern and disapproval.

"Sorry… I've been having trouble controlling my emotions after what happened back at that cell we woke up in," Ren confessed while looking away from her bashfully, "I've never been openly emotional growing up. That's more Sumi's thing. I tend to keep everything to myself for the most part…with some exceptions. Now, though, I'm having a pretty hard time keeping my cool. Whatever I did to fight back against those monsters a while back probably broke my mental restraints, if that makes any sense."

"It's fine. I think I understand what you're saying," Makoto said while placing a comforting hand on his arm, which proved to be a mistake when he felt a jolt of pain run through it. "Ren-kun?"

"Ow… Guess those burns that Arsène got in the fight affected me more than I thought," he muttered while rubbing his arm gingerly.

"You were hurt this whole time? Why didn't you say anything?" Makoto fretted as she started searching through her school bag.

"It wasn't important at the time, and it's more of a phantom pain, really. It does feel like I got my arm set on fire, but it's honestly nothing to worry about," Ren insisted, hoping to calm the slightly frantic girl that had just pulled out some sort of blue cloth from her bag to most like tie on where he felt the burn.

"Are you sure? We still don't know how your powers affect you. You could have internal bleeding for all we know," Makoto pressed, her worried look remaining as she set the cloth back in her bag.

"I doubt I have anything that bad. It was just a burn. I gave myself worse injuries learning to sew than what that pumpkin thing did to me," Ren admitted, a faint, embarrased blush on his face when he noticed Makoto's incredulous stare.

"…Are you serious?"

"Ever accidentally sew your finger or your leg to a shirt while doing a quick patch job? It's not pretty…"

"Whoa, what the hell?"

The sounds of Sakamoto's voice and rattling chains snapped the pair out of their conversation, and they turned just in time to see the drawbridge lower itself and connect to the other side. Confused by how it happened, they turned their attention to Sakamoto, who was staring at the bridge in shock while his hand was in the mouth of the Kamoshida bust.

"See! I told you that would happen! I can't believe you didn't think of this. Even an amateur would've done this the moment they saw such a suspicious object," Morgana stated in a smug tone.

"Shut up! How were we supposed to know that?!" Sakamoto argued, glaring at the creature heatedly.

"That's enough, you two. The bridge is down, so let's get out of this hellhole now," Ren ordered as he and Makoto approached the pair.

"He's right. We can't waste anymore time. We have to move," Makoto agreed, getting nods of agreement from the others before crossing the bridge in a hurried manner. As they ran, Ren suddenly felt tense. It was only a moment later that he saw another knight appear from a nearby door and stood right before the runaway group, much to his frustration.

"Dammit! This fucking figures…!" he growled as he slowed to a stop and held his arm in front of both Makoto and Sakamoto protectively, the two stumbling to the floor at the sight of the guard as he felt power surging through him again.

"Ren-kun! Your clothes!" Makoto exclaimed, prompting Ren to look down at himself briefly to see that his weird magician clothes had suddenly returned before focusing his attention back to the knight.

"Makoto-senpai, Sakamoto-san, get back! I'll take care of this," Ren ordered, glaring at the metal figure as he placed a hand over his face to call upon his new power.

"Hang on there, Frizzy. This guy looks tough. I doubt you'd be able to take 'em down on your own," Morgana stated as he hopped to Ren's side, much to his confusion.

"How the hell are you gonna fight?! You're a freaking cat!" Sakamoto yelled fearfully, him and Makoto now on their feet and looking down at the cat creature in surprise.

"Hmph, don't underestimate me because of how I look, amateur. I've been doing this for a while," Morgana stated in a smug tone before turning towards Ren with interest. "Looks like you can fight, Frizzy, so back me up here. Just try not to get in my way."

"I'll do my best," Ren nodded as he stared at the guard that was approaching them.

"Good. That's what I like to hear. Now let's go," Morgana grinned before moving ahead of Ren and raising his head high. It was then that Ren felt something surging from the cat's body. Like a type of energy of something that felt…familiar to him. It was only a second later that he realized what kind of energy the weird cat was emanating.

It's the same kind of energy I had when I awakened to Arsène! Does that mean this thing has…!

"Come! ZORRO!"

The moment those words were said, a large pillar of blue light and black chains suddenly erupted from Morgana, the force strong enough to push the teenagers back a bit. From that light, came a powerful looking figure, just like Arsène. This one, however, looked quite muscular, sporting a black suit with a high collar, a matching hat that covered half its face and holes open for eyes, a small black cape, a silver belt with the English letter "Z" on the buckle, and wielding a large rapier. Immediately after it was called out, it moved its blade in a "Z" pattern, and from it, a powerful gust of wind was released and struck the knight hard, sending it flying into a stack of barrels.

"Whoa, you got one of those things, too?!" Sakamoto questioned with his eyes wide in shock.

"Wait… So Ren-kun isn't the only one who is able to use that power?" Makoto gasped.

"Wow, that's pretty impressive," Ren admitted as he stared at the beefy figure, Zorro, with a look of approval.

"Heh, that's just a taste of what Zorro and I can do," the cat thing grinned as he pulled out a large sabre from its pack, his grin widening when he saw the knight suddenly burst into a mess of red and black slime before forming into another lantern wielding pumpkin monster and a new monster, this one being a humanoid looking one with a devilish design with something…quite distinct on its body.

"Does that thing have a giant…" Ren trailed off when he saw the monster, wincing when he heard Makoto squeak in shock.

"Hmph, don't worry, they'll be gone soon enough. Let's do this, Frizzy," Morgana smirked as he dismissed Zorro and held his blade over his shoulder.

"You got it, Fuzz Bucket." Ren nodded with a large grin as he placed a hand over his mask and called upon his other self. "Arsène, let's go!"

A quick burst of light later, Arsène was released once more with a sphere of red and black energy forming in its palms. After a few seconds of build up, it released its power in a mess of beams, bouncing off the walls and striking both the pumpkin and the devil. However, while the pumpkin did suffer a fair bit of damage, the devil brushed off the assault like it was nothing, much to Ren's displeasure.

"You're gonna need more than that to take me out, kid!" the devil exclaimed as he flew towards the teen with surprising speeds and delivered a swift kick to the chest, causing him to stagger back and forcing the winged thief to disperse.

"Gah, that hurt…" Ren muttered as he held his chest in pain, ignoring Makoto and Sakamoto's cries to him.

"Sure did, and there'll be plenty more where that came- Gah!"

"Hmph, I knew you were an amateur," Morgana said, a smug smirk on his face after successfully slicing a wing off of the devil.

"Grr… You'll pay for that, cat…!" the devil growled as it struggled to pick itself up as some black ooze leaked from where its wing once been.

"Heeho! I got it!" the pumpkin monster exclaimed while shaking it's little lanturn, causing a small flurry of fireballs to come out of it and fly right towards the pair.

"Cute fire, but a spell like that is useless on me," Morgana grinned before raising his head once more. "Zorro, Show Your Might!"

Zorro reappeared in a flash and, with a few quick swipes, slashed through the incoming fireballs with ease before launching another gust of wind straight at the monster, knocking it down and dazing it, if the spinning head was any indication.

"Heh, weak to wind, eh? These guys are pushovers," Morgana grinned before turning to Ren, "You take out the Crypt-Dwelling Pyromaniac. This Bedside Brute right here is mine."

"Got it," Ren nodded before rushing towards the Pyromaniac with his knife at the ready.

"Oh no you don't!" the Bedside Brute exclaimed as he launched himself at the dark-haired teen, only to fall short when a sharp rapier suddenly pierced its remaining wing, causing it to cry in pain.

"Nice try buddy, but your fight is with us. Right Zorro?" Morgana grinned as he turned to his Persona with a proud expression.

"Indeed, Maestro," the imposing specter said with a thick accent before flicking its rapier in another flourish and sending the skewered Brute to the wall.

As the cat and giant fought the devil, Ren found himself in front of the Pyromaniac and delivered a kick to its head similar to what he did to the last one he fought. The kick, however, seemed to not only reorient the dizzy monster, but enrage it as well. The floating pumpkin began to rapidly swing its lantern around, forcing Ren to either dodge or block the frenzied assault with his knife. He grimaced when he felt a couple scorching blows strike his arms, and decided to jump back from the monster to call upon his other self.

"Go for it, Arsène!"

Heading to its summoner's call, Arsène returned once more and flew towards the Pyromancer; its razor-sharp legs striking the monster fiercely. Hurting from the blow, the pumpkin unleashed a stream of fire right at the winged thief in hopes of taking it out. Arsène, however, proved to be quite fast, and was able to quickly fly around the flamethrower-like assault with relative ease. It did end up getting grazed on the wings during the assault thanks to it still being relatively inexperienced, which made Ren wince in pain, but it managed to move swiftly enough to get behind his target. With no chance to dodge, the Pyromancer screamed as it was stuck point-blank by a blast of dark energy, sending it tumbling towards Ren. Grinning at the chance, he thrusted his knife forward and let out a satisfied hum as he sunk his blade deep into the pumpkin monster's head. The monster itself looked surprised, it's glowing eyes looking up to where the knife was, and could only whimper in pain before dissipating in a black mist and causing the knife to fall to the ground. Ren sighed, feeling his mask return as he picked up his knife, grimacing at the black iccor that covered it, before turning his attention to Morgana.

Unlike him and Arsène, who were still very new to fighting, Morgana and Zorro looked like a well-oiled machine. Every time the Bedside Brute tried to strike Morgana or launch a burst of dark energy at Zorro, it was met with either a dodge or a parry. With one wing cut off and the other with a gaping hole in it, the monster could only do so much as it was constantly hit with sword swipes and bursts of wind. Desperate, the crippled demon brought its hands together in a small circle and growled as blood red energy began to spiral into it.

"It's gonna try and use Life Drain to recover," Morgana muttered to himself once he recognized what the Brute was trying to accomplish. "Looks like it's time to finish this! Zorro!"

With a flash and nod, Zorro materialized once more and rushed towards the Brute again, this time with a fist in the air instead of its rapier. With a smirk befitting its summoner, the spectral fencer dived down to the injured monster, its fist glowing red and growing to massive proportions, making it look similar to a giant boxing glove. The Bedside Brute had no chance to move thanks to the skill it was preparing, and cried helplessly when the oversized fist struck him down. The attack itself seemed weak, but it succeeded in both disrupting the attack and causing the devil to fumble around on the ground. Seeing his chance, Morgana rushed towards the dazed monster and, with a couple quick slashes, completely dismembered it with ease. With a satisfied smirk, Morgana cackled as he watched the monster disintegrate into nothingness and dismissed his Persona, satisfied with his performance.

"Cleanup complete," the cat creature stated as he put away his saber when he noticed Ren staggering up to him, and gave the teen an impressed look. "Not bad. Your Persona's pretty powerful. It's obvious you're pretty new at this, but I'm sure you'll be much better after a bit of practice."

"Persona? Is that the name of those things that come out of you guys all dramatic like?" Sakamoto asked as he and Makoto walked up to the pair now that the fight was over.

"I think I heard that term before. If I remember right, that winged figure that Ren used referred to itself as a Persona when talking to Kamoshida…" Makoto stated as she put a finger under her chin in a thoughtful pose.

"Oh, so your Persona's self-aware, huh? That's pretty cool. You must be special," Morgana said with a grin before turning back to Sakamoto and Makoto, "But yeah, that's pretty much it. You guys saw how Frizzy over here ripped his mask off during the fight to summon it, right?"

Ren couldn't help but frown as he watched the trio converse. As much as he wanted to know more about the nature of his powers, it wasn't exactly the right time and place to have such a discussion. They could be ambushed again at any moment if they stuck around for too long. Not only that, he could feel his strength fading again. It was only a moment later that his body once more burst into blue flames, turning his new clothes back to his uniform and his mask becoming his glasses. He also started to feel very fatigued, but forced himself to hide it. They hadn't escaped yet, and he needed to power through for as long as he could until they were safely out.

"Whoa, you changed back again!" Sakamoto shouted in alarm, causing Ren to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

Does he always have to point out the obvious?

"Hm. Looks like you don't have full control of your power yet," Morgana said, catching Ren's attention. "The transformation shouldn't normally dissolve like that. After all—"

"Ugh! That's enough! This crap doesn't make any sense!" Sakamoto exclaimed in frustration, his attitude irritating both Morgana and Makoto while Ren remained indifferent.

"Sakamoto-kun, that's enough! I'm aware that you're confused and frustrated right now-I am as well-but if you please quiet down and listen, I'm sure Morgana-san will properly explain how his and Ren's powers work. So please, keep your mouth shut, or I'll do it for you!" she ordered with a fierce crimson glare that caused the now frightened teen to stand up straight and put his hands up in surrender

And there goes that rage of hers, again. I really gotta stay on her good side so I don't get on the receiving end of those angry eyes, Ren thought as a bead of nervous sweat dripped from his face.

Indeed. This young woman has a fierce spirit. Makes me wonder if she will also Awaken in the future… a dark voice echoed in Ren's mind, causing him to go wide-eyed when he realized who it was.

Arsène?

"Ha! Looks like Braid here knows the importance of listening to others! You should learn a thing or two from her, Blondie. Might help you live longer," the cat creature suggested with a teasing grin, snapping Ren out of his thoughts.

"Will you stop calling me Blondie? My name is Ryuji!" Sakamoto exclaimed.

"And I am Makoto Niijima. My friend that fought alongside you and saved us is Ren Amamiya. Thank you for assisting us," Makoto introduced herself and her companion with a bow.

"Wow, aren't you polite. Hard to believe that it was you who punched Kamoshida. I would've thought it was that guy over there who'd do that if I didn't hear it from your frizzy friend," Morgana complimented with a grin, making Makoto's face flush faintly.

"Nah. Sakamoto-san tackled him and one of his guards down back when we were locked in. What Makoto-senpai did, however, was pretty cool. It was like she was some mafia boss's daughter taking out the head of her family's competition in a Yakuza movie. Kinda hoping to see her knock someone out again in the future," Ren said with a small, teasing grin as he felt himself relax slightly for the first since he and the others stumbled into the god-forsaken castle.

"Will you all stop, please! I truly don't want to relive that moment any more than I have to!" Makoto exclaimed, causing a snicker to escape Ren's lips as he watched her turn to Morgana desperately. "Morgana-san, can you please lead us to where the exit is. We spent too much time here already, and those knight monsters can show up again at any moment!"

"Good point! I'll save the Persona talk for later. Follow me!" Morgana agreed readily before taking off towards a nearby doorway, the three teens following close by. Soon after climbing another stareway, they found themselves at another raised drawbridge. Thankfully, though, there was another Kamoshida bust located just beside the entrance. Nodding to himself, Ren decided to approach the odd figure and inspected it while Morgana trotted along beside him.

"So, these things have mechanisms in them that control the bridge? A bit freaky that we have to lower the jaw to get it to work, though…" Ren muttered as he and Morgana stared at the statue curiously, unaware that neither Sakamoto nor Makoto had followed them.

"Tell me about it, but that's how they work. I've seen the guards and Kamoshida himself use these things plenty of times to control stuff in the castle. It's actually a regular thing here," Morgana explained as Ren placed a hand in the statue's mouth, flinching when he heard the sounds of shouting coming from behind him. Turning around, he found that both Sakamoto and Makoto were standing in front of a cell that held another teenager, one wearing a school jersey, and frowned deeply when he realized that they were arguing with each other.

"What do you mean we can't set 'em free?" Sakamoto's voice exclaimed.

"We don't have the time, Sakamoto-kun. Our first priority is to get out of here," Makoto's voice stated in an exasperated tone.

"But look at 'em! Don't they look familiar to you!?"

"Of course they do, but we don't have the means to rescue them at the moment. We have to focus on getting back home. Once we're out, I'm sure we can find a way to—"

"Find a way to what?! We don't even know how we got here in the first place! How're we supposed to help 'em after we get out if we can't even get back in!?"

"I understand how you feel, but we have to prioritize our own safety first before we can—"

"Oh sure, focus on yourself instead of others! That's just like you, huh Prez?!"

"That is not true at all! I care for all the students at our school!" Makoto finally began to shout as well, and both Ren and Morgana began to wince at the noise the two were making.

"They're gonna get us caught at this rate. Can you do something about this?" Morgana asked while covering his large cat ears.

"I don't think I can at this point. The only thing we can do is prepare for the worst," Ren muttered as he clenched his fist, his second attire materializing in a flash once more.

"Bullshit! You just play kiss-ass with all the adults in our school just so you can get yourself an easy trip to a good college, you goddamn pushover!"

"I am not a pushover!"

"The hell you aren't! All you ever do is whatever the principal or whatever bigshot tells you to do! You don't even talk back to your sister; I saw how you two are back at the festival last year when you tried to tell her what Kamoshida—"

"I thought I told you not to bring that—"

"Halt! Intruders!" a menacing voice called out, followed swiftly by the sounds of chains rattling as the drawbridge started to lower itself.

"Well, this was to be expected with how loud they were being. Can't believe they were arguing over a cognition of all things…" Morgana muttered, causing Ren to look at him curiously at his choice of words as Sakamoto and Makoto scrambled behind the pair. "Think you got enough energy for one more trick?"

"…I'm a little banged up, but I'll manage," Ren nodded as he placed a hand on his mask and summoned Arsène while a group of knights began approaching them from the now lowered bridge.

"Oh, I've been wanting to do this for a while," Morgana grinned as Zorro appeared in a burst of light once more. "You ready?"

"You know it. Arsène!"

"Zorro!"

"BLOW THEM AWAY!"

Heading to the will of their summoners, the winged thief and caped vigilante let loose a combined blast of darkness and wind in the form of a black twister, striking the unsuspecting knights and trapping them in the vortex. Their screams could be heard from within the dark storm, as if they were being torn apart by it. The combined assault only lasted for a few moments before it dispersed, launching the monsters into the raging waters under the bridge, never to be seen again.

"Hah! It worked! I always wondered what would happen if you combine two skills! Never expected Eiha and Garu to make a black tornado, but I'm not complaining!" Morgana laughed, looking proud that his idea had worked so well as Zorro dispersed.

"Yeah… Good to know, Fuzz Bucket…" Ren panted, his second attire and Persona vanished shortly after launching the dark energy and fell to his knees in exhaustion.

"Ren-kun!" Makoto exclaimed as she and Sakamoto rushed over to him.

"Dude, are you ok?!" he shouted as the pair stood by the dark-haired teen in worry.

"He's fine. Just overworked himself a little. Happens a lot when you first awaken to your Potential," Morgana assured while hopping a little to get the others' attention. "He'll be fine after a bit of rest. Now let's go! The exit is just a little farther from here!"

"Understood," Makoto nodded as Ren stood up, his breathing under control but still looking a little ragged. He then looked at Sakamoto, who looked like he wanted to protest, but faltered when he noticed his stare.

"…Fine. Let's get goin'," Sakamoto grumbled as the quartet began crossing the bridge.

"We're almost out! I see the entrance hall just ahead!" Morgana said a few minutes later as the four of them climbed up a small set of stairs.

"Oh, thank god! I've had it with these steps! I thought the stairs in school were a pain!" Sakamoto complained with a hand on his right leg as they entered the hall.

"Just hold on a little longer, Sakamoto-kun. The exit is right over there," Makoto assured him as she pointed to the large doors that they had first entered in.

"I don't think going through there would do us any good…" Ren said as he glared at the door, making his fellow students turn to him in confusion.

"He's right. Knowing Kamoshida, he probably locked those things just to make sure that nobody he captures escapes," Morgana agreed, causing both Makoto and Sakamoto to look at him in fear.

"Then how the hell are we gonna get out if the only exit in this goddamn place is locked?!" Sakamoto exclaimed hysterically with his hands in the air.

"There's always another exit, amateur. You just gotta know where to look. And luckily for you all, I do know where to look. Follow me!" the cat creature grinned as he ran to the other side of the room, prompting the others to follow him, only to stop when they spot him in a hall between two doors. "We're here!"

"Finally, we're saved…!" Ryuji sighed in relief as he went to open the door on the right, only to find that it was locked. "Dammit, it's not openin'! Did you trick us, you jerk!?"

"Sakamoto-kun, I believe that doorway will lead us further into this castle, considering its position. We would most likely get ourselves lost if we enter through there," Makoto sighed before turning to Morgana and gesturing to the other door. "I assume this door is the way to the exit?"

"You assume correct, miss," Morgana nodded with a grin as he opened the door, with Makoto, Ren and an embarrassed Sakamoto following behind, and lead them to an empty room with nothing but torches with flags of Kamoshida hanging off of them, a few bookshelves and a vent shaft.

"Where are we supposed to get out from here!? There aren't even any windows!" Sakamoto complained when he noticed how empty the room was.

"Ugh… Amateur. This is the most basic of basics," Morgana groaned while Ren looked around the room contemplatively.

"…Are we supposed to blow up the wall?" Ren muttered to himself, wondering if he had enough energy to pull something like that off.

You don't, unfortunately, Arsène mentally spoke up once more, making the teen blink a couple times in surprise. You barely awakened to your Potential. Our powers are not strong enough at this point to pull off such a feat. Not to mention, you are still exhausted from our previous confrontations.

Then how are we supposed to escape? Ren thought skeptically. It felt a little weird having a mental conversation with what was technically himself, but if it could get them out of their predicament, then he wasn't about to complain.

Do you not see it? The fierce maiden most certainly did…

"Fierce maiden?" Ren couldn't help but mutter out loud and instinctively turned to Makoto, who had been staring at the nearby vent shaft since they entered the room.

Wait a minute… Vent shaft?!

"It's the ventilation shaft, isn't it? We can use that to get out of here," Makoto finally spoke up as soon as Ren figured out the exact same thing while Sakamoto turned to her in surprise and Morgana grinned at her response.

"That's right! The vent leads all the way outside. I would've thought your friend there would've gotten it first, but you've noticed it as soon as we entered, didn't you? Looks like you're a natural on this stuff too," Morgana praised while gesturing to Ren, who in turn looked at Makoto proudly.

"So it's like those spy shows, huh…?" Sakamoto muttered before turning to the rest with a grin of his own. "So all we have to do to get out is go though there. I'll take care of the metallic mesh that's coverin' it. Shouldn't take too long."

"Just be careful when you're removing it, Sakamoto-kun," Makoto said in a stern tone as Sakamoto scrambled to the top of the book shelves and proceeded to pull out the mesh. "And keep it quiet. We don't want to attract any more—"

"Whoa!"

"… Never mind," she sighed, placing a hand over her face in exasperation as she and the others watched the blond falling to the ground with the mesh and making a large mess as a result.

"Here's hoping that no guards heard all of that," Ren muttered while shaking his head.

"Who cares?! We're finally getting outta here!" Sakamoto cheered with a massive grin as he picked himself up.

"You should wait until after you get out to celebrate… Now get going!" Morgana said as he pointed at the broken shaft with his little paw.

"But what about you?" Makoto asked, wondering why the little creature wasn't going to follow them.

"I got business to take care of here. I can't leave just yet, so we're going our separate ways," Morgana explained.

"That's understandable. Thanks for the help, Fuzz Bucket. We really appreciate it," Ren said as he crouched down and held out a hand to the cat.

"Not a problem, Frizzy. See ya," Morgana grinned as he accepted the hand and gave it a firm shake before Ren followed the others out of the castle and towards the drawbridge.

Unaware of the appraising look Morgana was giving him as he left.

-Path to Shujin-

"Did…did we make it?" Sakamoto gasped as he, Ren and Makoto panted heavily, hands on their knees and oblivious to the confused stares they were receiving from nearby pedestrians.

[You have returned to the real world. Welcome back.]

"What the…? That came from my phone," Ren said as he pulled out his smartphone, staring at it curiously as he tried to figure out why a female voice suddenly came out of it.

"Retuned…?" Sakamoto repeated with his arms crossed, trying to figure out what was happening while Makoto looked at Ren in confusion.

"Does… Does this mean we manage to escape?" she asked hopefully.

"God, I hope so," Ren sighed as he pocketed his phone, wanting desperately for the day to be over.

"Tell me about it. I don't know what to think, anymore," Sakamoto agreed while scratching his head in frustration as he turned to the alleyway that the three of them came out of. "What the hell was all that anyway? The castle…? Kamoshida…? The weird cat…!? The hell's going on!?"

"Sakamoto-kun, keep it down!" Makoto hissed in worry. "School is still going on right now! If you keep yelling like that, the police will—"

"What's with the yelling? Are you Shujin students?" a stern male voice called out to the trio, and all flinched when they saw a pair of police officers walking up to them, one holding a bike while both held very intimidating expressions on their faces.

"…Yeah, that figures," Ren muttered under his breath as both Sakamoto and Makoto became even more nervous than before while he himself was not all that bothered by the presence of law enforcement, too used to them at this point in more ways than one.

"Cutting classes, are we?" the aggressive officer on the left questioned the trio.

"Huh? No! We were trying to get to school and ended up in this weird castle!" Ryuji tried to explain, unaware of the looks of utter disbelief that he was getting from both Ren and Makoto.

Is he serious right now?! Ren thought in annoyance as the two officers stared at the blond impassively.

"…What?" The aggressive officer sighed after hearing such a ridiculous tale before focusing on Sakamoto with a tired expression. "Hand over your bag. You better not be doing any drugs."

"He's not doing drugs, I assure you! And he was kidding about the castle!" Makoto spoke up in a hurry as she went up to the two officers before Sakamoto had a chance to respond.

"Huh? You're Sae Niijima's little sister, aren't you? Makoto Niijima, if I remember right. You used to deliver her food on occasion when she was working with the police on some cases. Why are you of all people skipping class?" the timid bike riding officer questioned.

"I… I apologize." She said with a bow. "I was…trying to convince Sakamoto-kun here to dye his hair back to its original color and I…may have lost track of time trying to get him to comply."

"It took you four hours trying to convince a kid to dye his hair?" the aggressive officer asked, not believing what he was told.

"He was very stubborn when it came to his hair," Ren stated while giving Sakamoto a side-eyed stare that made the blond silent before focusing his attention back to the police. "Plus, there was a bit of an…altercation that kept us up, so there's that to consider as well."

"Altercation? What do you mean…?" the bike riding officer asked before looking at Ren in a scrutinizing manner. "And why are you with these two students as well? Are you friends with either of them?"

"He's my assistant! He was transferred to our school not too long ago and was asked to be my aid in the council because of his experience with his old school's council! I had him help me try and convince Sakamoto-kun to change his ways when the altercation occurred!" Makoto explained in a hurried fashion, causing Ren to wince at her inadvertently putting him on the spot.

"Really? Is that true?" the aggressive officer asked Ren, his face even sterner than before.

"Yup. Signed the paperwork and everything." Ren nodded as he pulled out a copy of the form that allowed him to be a part of Shujin's student council.

"Why do you have that?" Sakamoto whispered to him as the officers looked over the paper while Makoto looked at him in surprise.

"Insurance, just in case the other council members don't believe that I'm Makoto-senpai's aid. They can't say no to a document that's signed by the principal after all…" Ren explained with a shrug as the paper was handed back to him.

"Alright, that checks out at least, but if you don't mind me asking… What kind of altercation did you all get involved in that made you so late?" the aggressive officer questioned with a suspicious stare aimed at all three of them, making them all a little nervous at the sight.

Crap… Should've thought that through, Ren thought as he tried to come up with a convincing story when he was saved by an unlikely source.

"Perverts!" Sakamoto suddenly shouted out, making everyone stare at him in shock. "Yeah! There were a bunch of pervs comin' in from the alley to check out Prez while she and this guy here were grillin' me on my hair! We tried to run, but they kept finding us! We just barely managed to get away from them when you guys showed up!"

"Perverts? There have been recent sightings of such people hanging around the alleyways near Shujin…" the timid officer said out loud, making the trio release a mental sigh of relief as the situation was working on their favor.

"Then how did you manage to get away from them if they were so persistent?" The aggressive officer asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, well, one of them managed to get to me and hit me on the head, made everythin' look like castle walls or some shit for a little bit. After that, this guy here managed to trip up a couple of them while Miss Prez took down the big perv, givin' us a chance to escape!" Sakamoto explained with a wide grin, looking quite proud of himself for coming up with, what he most likely believed to be, a convincing story.

… A little bit of a stretch, but he technically didn't really lie about what happened. That was actually a good move, Ren thought in approval while noticing that Makoto looked at Sakamoto warily and with a faint blush on her face.

"Really? And, if you don't mind me asking, why did you let her take out the main perpetrator instead of yourself? That doesn't sound very chivalrous if you ask me," the aggressive officer questioned Ren with a curious stare.

"She got the guy before I had a chance. She has a mean right hook," He answered with a small, teasing grin.

"One, it was a jab. And two, will you please stop bringing that up!" Makoto exclaimed, her inadvertent action and statement solidifying Sakamoto's story and causing a small laugh to escape Ren's lips.

"Sorry, but that punch was too awesome not to talk about it. You weren't kidding when you told me you knew self defense." Ren apologized with a small smile, hoping to calm her down while noticing that the suspicion in the cops' eyes disappeared.

"…Alright, we believe you. Just try and stay safe next time, ok? Let us handle the dangerous stuff for now on," the aggressive officer relented with a sigh.

"We are going to have to notify your school about this and let them know to watch out for anything suspicious, though. Its proper procedure, after all," the timid officer said.

"That should be fine. Thank you and sorry for taking your time to listen to us," Makoto said with a bow before turning around towards the school. "Let's go, you two. We can't afford to be any later than we are now."

"Yes, ma'am," Ren and Sakamoto nodded and proceeded to follow the girl, both of them happy that the impromptu plan had paid off, though all three of them still a little unnerved as they headed to their destination. Is it still going to be a castle? Or the actual school?

?/?/?/?

"The school turned into an old castle…? A talking cat? And evil floating pumpkins? I'm sorry, Ren-kun, but this is outrageous. Are you hallucinating from an overdose? Or are you joking around like you always do?"

"…"

"…Fine. I'll have you continue the story," Sae sighed after briefly checking her watch. "The one who received a 'calling card' from the Phantom Thieves was an Olympic medalist… An alumnus from Shujin Academy like myself—the P.E. teacher Suguru Kamoshida."

"Kamoshida…"

"It's true that what he did were deplorable crimes from…indulging his desire. He confessed to it all, including what he said about me… But there should've been no connection between the two of you since you had just transferred. Why did you target him?"

"…I had my reasons."

"And what exactly were those reasons? You are in no position to keep secrets, anymore. Do you understand the situation you're in?"

"…Very aware."

"Good. Now, explain to me exactly why you targeted him and what you did to him. Don't leave anything out. The outcome of all of this depends entirely on how much you tell me."

Author's Notes:

Hello again, Tricksters. I hope you all enjoyed this new rendition of Trials chapter 4. Apologies for the late update for this, 5 and 6. Things have been a bit...busy lately and I honestly only had the time and energy to upload the renewed chapters on Ao3. I've only just gotten things sorted enough so that I can have time for this. Once again, I apologize for the lateness. I actually had this done a while ago, but I wanted to get more progress done on another fic first before uploading this. However, my muse has me focused on Trials more than my other works, and as a result, I ended up getting 5 and 6 finished as well and, realizing that the anniversary of this fic was approaching, decided to update this fic at around that timeframe to celebrate. Hope you all like the little surprise.

With that said, thank you all so much for reading my work. Enjoy the next couple chapters and I will see you all in the next update. Until then, farewell.