Chapter 7 is here. We have approached what is probably gonna be the finale of the Yukiko arc. Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 7: The Caged Bird

5th Floor, Yukiko's Castle

The group had gone through a bit of a struggle to get to the fifth floor of the castle. Not because the monsters were tough or anything, but because some of them had gotten trickier. One of these monsters, for example, was the Bronze Dice, which had appeared after the group reached the fourth floor. It had been easy enough to knock them down, as they were weak to electricity, which meant the shadow should have been easy food for the group. Just a couple of Zios, and it would be over.

That would immediately be proven incorrect, as the dice somehow survived those two lightning attacks. This could have easily been a non issue, but the group were also battling a shadow known as the Trance Twins. That monster had proven to be annoying, so Yu had switched to another persona to deal with it. As he knocked that monster down, the leader and the rest of the group realized too late that the dice were charging for…something. As the silver haired boy ordered Chie and Yosuke to guard, the dice exploded, and knocked the group back a few feet to the wall from the explosion. They had been fortunate however, because…

"If you all had not been able to block that, your chances of survival would have been a coin flip."

Those words had sent some chills down the wild card's spine, and judging from the looks of Yosuke and Chie, they were not much better. It had been agreed upon then on, if they saw the Bronze Dice again, they were taking it out first, no exceptions.

'We were too cocky.' Yu thought as they moved on from a potential near death experience. 'All of these shadows had been easy so far that we became careless.'

"As leader, you need to make sure you never make that mistake again. However, you are still learning Yu, so don't beat yourself up."

'I know, but…we could have died. And it's my responsibility…'

"Don't. Remember, you're not alone. I don't want you to put so much pressure on yourself that you end up cracking. It's also partially my responsibility. I underestimated those dice as well. Let's just resolve to make sure this doesn't happen again, okay?"

Yu paused for a few moments. 'You're right. I'm sorry.'

"It's no problem. It's not wrong for you to feel that way, or to be better. Just remember, you have teammates who are also fighting with you, and bear your burden as well, along with myself. And you're not going to lead well if you try to put too much responsibility on yourself."

'I have to say, having a persona is like having a counselor or a therapist inside your head.'

"It's actually better, because unlike therapists or counselors, your personas know you better than anyone else, and don't need to pry information out of you to know what you're thinking. We already know. And we can have conversations that would normally take several hours in a matter of seconds. Not that I'd say we're a complete replacement for them, because not everyone will get access to them. Or should for that matter."

'It is unfortunate, but you are right. I could think of so many ways something like this could be exploited.'

"Maybe, but nothing can replace being able to vent to someone about your problems."

'You're not wrong about that.'

"Come on. Let's focus on getting to the next floor."

'Right.' The silver haired young man nodded mentally. The rest of the monsters from then on were doable, as all they had to do was strike down each shadow with its weakness, and then finish them off with an All-Out Attack. So thankfully, the group had no issues getting to the next floor, though not before the wildcard decided to go on a fusion spree before they reached the 5th floor.

Something Yu had worried about was not some monster, but the team as a whole. Specifically, their stamina and spirit power. It was easy to restore it with some casts from Dia, and they could restore their spirit power if it was low with some soul drops or snuff souls. Or, if they didn't want to use their spirit power to heal, they could use the medicine too. However, the leader worried if they would have had to use too many of their resources too early if the monsters proved to be difficult enough.

This wasn't the case, as not only were the monsters not too difficult to deal with, save the bronze dice, but they acquired more resources from chests. Not only were there medicine, soul drops, and snuff souls in those chests, but they even found a bead and soul food, two items that fully restored one's stamina and spirit power respectively. This fact , however, began to set off the alarm bells in Yu's brain.

'I don't know. It feels…just too easy. I don't know why, but it makes me feel…uneasy.' Yu pondered as he climbed the stairs to the fifth floor.

"You probably should." Izanagi stated flatly. "Sometimes fate has a way to balance out the luck one is having. Or maybe, fate is giving you said luck because of how difficult the coming battle will be."

'I'm not so sure about that fate crap, but I do have to agree, there's just too many things going our way right now, besides dealing with those dice. Not to mention, Satonaka's shadow was more difficult to fight than Hanamura's. Going by that pattern, Amagi-san's shadow will be more difficult than both of those shadows.'

"Whatever the case is, we should be ready for anything and not get lulled into a false sense of security."

'Agreed. And hopefully, if we do have to face Amagi-san's shadow, we'll be ready for whatever that thing has to throw at us.' The wildcard and the rest of the group then finished their climb to the fifth floor not too long afterwards.

"How much longer are we gonna keep climbing up these stairs?" Yosuke complained.

"As many as it takes." Yu stated "I don't think it should be too much longer, the castle didn't look that big."

"Hmhmhm…Ohoho…" A voice suddenly laughed, echoing throughout the entire castle. It was a voice the group was very familiar with: it was Yukiko's. They had heard her voice twice already when they climbed the third and fourth floors respectively. The first time, she said her prince would come for her soon, and that she'll wait "Forever and ever." The second time, she repeated what could only be what she said to customers when they were checking into the Amagi Inn. This wasn't out of the ordinary either, considering theft had heard Saki and Yukiko's voices projected to them before but Yu wondered if there was a particular pattern emerging from this.

'So what is she gonna say this time?' The wildcard wondered.

"I can sense her!" Teddie exclaimed suddenly. "She must be on this floor!"

This was out of the normal pattern so far. 'Wait. Does this mean we're gonna face her shadow already?'

"I…don't know. Something doesn't feel right, but I don't know what." Yu's persona said.

"Wow! By any chance, are you…My princes?" Yukiko's voice boomed again. "I'm locked up here…Please save me! Hmhmhm…I'm sure my princes can do it…I'm sure they'll brave any danger to release me from this place…I'll be waiting for you…Ohoho…"

"This seems very strange. Be careful everyone." The bear urged.

"Yeah. Her shadow could be luring us into a trap or something." Chie added.

"I'm surprised you could come up with that." Yosuke joked.

"I can be smart sometimes!" The tomboy shot back.

"That said, you're right. It's not out of the realm of possibility for her shadow to get rid of us before we even reach her." The brown haired boy said. "That said, I can't think of what it could be."

"Neither can I." The silver haired leader interjected. "But, if she is trying something like that, then we can't be too far off from rescuing her."

Yosuke snapped his fingers. "Right! She could be trying to take us out now since we're getting closer to rescuing Amagi-san."

"Then that means if we beat whatever Yukiko's shadow throws at us, we won't be too far away from rescuing her?" The brown haired girl asked hopefully.

"In theory, yes." Yu nodded. "However, that means that whatever that shadow is gonna send at us, is gonna be more powerful than what we've faced so far."

"Which means we'll need to be ready for anything?" Yosuke inquired.

"Right." The silver haired young man affirmed.

"It could even be Yukiko's shadow herself." The tomboy threw in.

"Maybe. I wouldn't bet on it, but it's a possibility. But that doesn't change the plan. We locate where Amagi-san's shadow is, and be prepared for anything." The leader reiterated. His teammates nodded, and the group set off in search of the "princess". As the team strolled the castle hallways, they rounded a corner, and were about to try to enter a door that was to the left of them. Suddenly, the group was encompassed in a bright light. The light faded, the next thing the group knew, they were facing the opposite direction, and the door seemed to be on the other wall this time.

"Ohoho…" The group heard Yukiko's voice chuckle as they tried to process what just happened.

"W-What just happened?" Chie stuttered, her expression showing complete disbelief.

"It was…like we were teleported or something." Yu uttered, still trying to process everything.

"I…I think Yukiko is trying to lead us to her. Her scent has gotten stronger!" Teddie pointed down the hall. "She should be to the left."

"This means she really is trying to lure us into a trap." The tomboy stated.

"Can we go through here instead?" Yosuke wondered. He attempted to do so, and the group was once again encompassed in a bright light again. The light faded, and the group scanned their surroundings to see where they were now. They quickly realized they were still at the location the light had brought them earlier.

"Not that way my princes. This way! Ohoho…" Yukiko's voice boomed again, urging the group to go down the hall.

"Looks like we can only go one way." Yu concluded. "Come on. Let's go wherever this shadow's trying to lead us. However, if things get too dicey for us, Teddie." The bear's ears perked up. "Make sure to use the Goho-M."

"You got it Sensei!" The bear exclaimed. The group continued down the hall, before turning left. They had a minor skirmish with a shadow, before they closed in on yet another door.

"I sense her! She's behind this door!" Teddie shouted as he pointed at the door.

"This is it. Everyone ready?" Yu asked. He was met with nods of approval from his teammates. He nodded, before he opened the door. The group entered inside. "There she is!" he exclaimed, as the first thing the wildcard and the groups as met with was Yukiko's shadow. Yu's attention immediately shifted to what was floating next to her.

Sitting on a black, shadowy horse with red eyes, no legs, and armor covering its head, was what appeared to be a monstrous knight with a purple helmet. It was wielding a lance.

"W-What the hell is that?" Yosuke commented in complete shock.

Yukiko's shadow let out a sinister chuckle, something that nearly sent a shiver up Yu's spine. It was unlike her other attempts of laughter earlier, this one just felt…dark. "My prince wouldn't lose to guards such as this, correct? Go, my Avenger Knight!" The shadow roared in response, holding its lance up in the air. "Good luck, my princes~" Shadow Yukiko then faded away, leaving nothing but a dark mist behind.

"Gyaaaaaaah! I've never seen such a strong one before!" The bear cried out. "I-It's attacking us!"

"Be ready guys." Yu warned his team, to which he received two nods, while Teddie prepared himself to dodge since he couldn't leave the room.

"Bufu!" Chie wasted no time, as she summoned her persona, who fired a blast of ice at the monster knight. It was a direct hit to the helmet, one that caused the shadow to recoil, its head tilted back, before the knight recovered and unleashed another roar.

"Looks like we're gonna need more than that to beat this thing. Garu!" Yosuke summoned Jiraiya, who unleashed a column of wind at the knight. The knight was blown back a foot or so, but it still looked relatively unfazed by the group's efforts thus far.

"My turn. Izanagi! Zio!" Yu summoned his trusty partner, who roared as a bolt of lightning rained down on the knight, shocking the knight. It was the third direct hit it had taken in a row. Despite all of that, the shadow still stood, or floated, strong. It unleashed a mighty roar, causing the group to brace themselves, as the pure pressure from the soundwaves alone made the group skid a few feet back. Suddenly, there was a burst of light purple energy that surrounded the monster, as it was finishing its cry. It formed something akin to an armor around the already iron-clad creature, before it expanded and exploded, disappearing completely. The knight looked towards the group with its horse's red eyes seeking them like a predator waiting to hunt its prey.

"Be careful Yu! I think that knight just charged up!" Izanagi warned.

'Charged up? What the hell does that mean?!'

"It means that its next attack will deal far more damage than it normally does. And with how physically imposing this shadow looks, I don't think anyone in this group can take an attack like that."

'What do we do?'

"You have two options. The first one is dodging. The weakness of charged attacks is they can only be used once, before having to be charged again. So, if you can dodge those attacks, none of this will matter."

'Easier said than done, right?'

"Obviously, because we don't know how fast this thing is. The second one involves some timing. You time your attack exactly as this thing strikes with whatever attack it uses, and then hit it with its weakness so it is knocked to the ground. This allows you to not only cause this thing to waste its charged attack, but you can fire back with an All-Out attack. However, if you mistime the attack…"

'I could very well die…' The wildcard finished, a grim expression on his face.

"Correct. Both are not ideal strategies, and require some form of heavy focus and skill. Dodging is considered the safer option, however…"

'It could also get very tiring, and dragging out this fight is not a good idea against something this strong, especially since shadow's don't have stamina. They need to be hit in order to beat them, and dodging constantly doesn't help with that.'

"And you at the very least know it's either weak to physical or fire attacks." The persona pointed out.

'Well, we don't know that for sure. It could also be weak to light or dark attacks.'

"If only. It's not gonna be that easy Yu."

'You're right. That was wishful thinking on my part. Teddie would have told us this by now.' It turned out that the bear's nose could sense whether or not a shadow was weak to light or darkness. Unlike normal weaknesses, weaknesses to light and darkness had what he described as a "more pungent, indescribable scent" compared to other weaknesses. He still couldn't tell whether one was weak to light or darkness, but he could tell they were weak to one of those instant kill elements.

"So, how do you propose we do this?"

'I have a plan.' Yu stated. "Zanshinken!" Izanagi once more burst forth. It brought out its short sword, and began to slash at the monster, hitting the left side of the monster's armor. The slash however went around in a circle, striking at the knight one more time on the right side. The knight recoiled slightly from the twin strikes, staggering a foot back before recovering quickly. It appeared to have been more bothered by this attack than the previous ones.

"Well, that clearly isn't its weakness, but it did do good damage."

'Yeah, because this attack is pretty strong. It costs more stamina to use than cleave, but an attack that strikes at the enemy twice is too good to pass up.'

"Convenient for this battle too, since I acquired this skill after our last battle on the fourth floor."

'Yeah. I also like it because it reminds me of that show I watched as a kid. The move specifically."

"You mean Barkuyu Sentai Abararanger?"

'That's the one. I remember liking the moon slash specifically. Too bad you can't actually launch the slash like the show did.'

"Excuse me for having some limitations to my physical skills." Izanagi retorted sarcastically, "You should try to watch the show again."

'Good idea. I'll do it when I have the time though.'

"Skull Cracker!" Chie cried, summoning her persona once more. Its spear became surrounded by a white energy, before Tomoe roared. The persona then swung its spear in a horizontal angle, aimed at the head of the shadow. It connected, the white energy dispersing, and the monster being sent flying a few feet, before it managed to stop itself. It held its head in its free hand, rapidly shaking its head, as it seemed to try to get its barings together. Finally, as it seemed to recover, its gaze shifted towards the tomboy who inflicted such a blow against it. It roared once again at the girl, which made Yu's eyes widen in alarm.

'Shit, that thing's gonna target Satonaka now!'

"You know what to do."

"Makajam!" Yosuke summoned his own persona once more, although this time, the intention wasn't to do damage. The persona fired dark green chains at the shadow knight. The monster tried to side step the attack, but the rapidly approaching chains proved to be faster, as the chains wrapped themselves around the monster. It roared in pain and discomfort, before the monster began to be coated in a dark green aura, before the chains finally disappeared.

"Nice job Hanamura!" The wildcard began to debate his next move. 'That thing can't use any skills now, meaning the only attack it can be used is a standard physical attack from its lance. It's still a problem, but now it can't use power charge for a while, and it's better than having to take a charged physical skill.'

The monster however didn't seem done, and roared once again. It rushed Chie, ready to strike her with its lance. The tomboy prepared herself to dodge as the monster thrust its weapon, so she sidestepped the attack, by mere inches. She seemed to have some relief on her face, believing she had successfully avoided the attack. However, the knight began to swing its lance horizontally, preparing to slam it into her as purple energy surrounded the weapon.

"Orobas! Agi!" Suddenly, a fireball was launched at the knight, its origin from a reddish-pinkish anthropomorphic horse. The attack slammed into the monster on its back. The creature roared in pain, stopping its attack. The creature then sank to the ground, indicating it was knocked down. Yu let out a sigh of relief, seeing that he had made it in time.

Chie herself seemed to be trying to process what just happened. She rapidly shook her head. "Nice save, Narukami-kun." she called.

"You weren't bad yourself. You just didn't expect that feint. Or the fact this knight really hates head injuries." The leader joked. "Come on, while it's down!"

"Right!" Yosuke and Chie affirmed, before the trio surrounded themselves in a familiar blue aura, and struck at the monster with yet another all-out attack. The monster groaned as the flurry of kicks and punches rained down on the creature. When the beating ended, the group jumped back. The knight slowly levitated off the ground, its horses eyes closed. Suddenly, the eyes opened again, and a roar. The knight was far from done. However…

"I don't think it can take too many more of those All-Out Attacks. To be fair, not many creatures can, but I think if we land two more, this thing might go down. It's not like we're fighting an intelligent shadow like the ones we've faced so far, it's just a very strong normal shadow."

'Well, hopefully that theory rings true, However, if we keep this up, we should win with ease…' Yu's thoughts trailed off, as his mouth went agape at the sight of the green aura around the shadow disappearing. 'Well shit, we don't have that working in our favor anymore. Not a big deal though.' The wildcard crushed a tarot card again. "Orobas! Agi!" The horse persona was summoned once more, firing another fireball at the knight again. This time however, the knight roared again, but it used something different this time. A red crystal barrier surrounded the knight, briefly, before dispersing quickly. The fireball hit, but this time, the knight just took it like it was nothing, standing in place, not even flinching.

'Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me? This shit again!' The silver haired teen cursed.

"Well, this just made this battle less straightforward." Izanagi sighed.

'At least we know what to do once that red barrier wears off. Geez, this thing is a monster.'

"Both literally and figuratively."

'Our best bet now is…' The wildcard's attention shifted to Yosuke. "Hanamura, use that Makajam skill again!"

"Got it!" The brown haired teen's persona came forth once more, firing off the same green chains at the shadow again. This time, however, the shadow was quick enough to side step, or float, the chains. The knight then surrounded itself in another burst of purple energy, indicating it had charged itself up yet again.

'Okay, we're back to square one, only this time this thing now has no weaknesses for a period of time. We're gonna have to play our cards perfectly, because this thing seems as smart tactically as Satonaka's shadow.'

"Best bet would be Hanakura sealing up the knight's skills. Then we just have to hit the knight with our strongest attacks. It is easier said than done, but it is doable."

'We need to distract this knight then. Good thing I know just what to do.' Yu summoned Izanagi once more. "Zanshinken!" The persona did another moon slash on the knight once again, the two strikes causing the knight to recoil slightly, before it roared once more.

"Makajam!" Yosuke clearly took advantage of the momentary distraction the wildcard had given him, as his persona fired off those green chains once more at the monster. The knight looked ready to sidestep the attack once again, however…

"Skull Cracker!" Chie intervened, summoning her persona once again, who launched yet another attack at the knight's helmet again. It connected, leaving the creature stunned temporarily, before it was hit once again by the green chains, silencing it once again from using its skills.

'Silencing is so useful.' Yu noted.

"It is. Being able to lock a monster out of their skills for any period of time is incredibly valuable."

'Hopefully this one lasts a bit longer this time.' The silver haired teen summoned its persona again. "Zanshinken!" The persona struck yet another two strikes onto the monster yet again.

"Garu!" At the same time, Yosuke's persona fired off another column of wind at the knight, striking it on its back. It also was probably his best bet at doing his damage besides Bash, which wasn't as strong as Yu's or Chie's skills.

"Skull Cracker!" Speaking of the tomboy, she used her strongest physical skill once more, as her persona hit the knight once again on the head once more. It was at this moment, the green aura dissipated again, not lasting as long this time. The knight staggered, and its head started swinging wildly. It seemed that the attack this time had put it in a daze, or…"It's confused!" Chie exclaimed.

"Nice job, Satonaka." Yu complimented. "Zanshinken!" Another two strikes landed on the monster, causing the monster to stumble, indicating the attacks they were landing were starting to be more effective.

"Garu!" Yosuke joined in, as he used his persona to add onto the onslaught. The column of wind connected, and the monster was sent back a few feet this time. The shadow started to groan and moan, and Yu noticed the shadow was starting to sag.

"It's getting weaker! Keep going!" The wildcard commanded. The group followed these orders, as the silver haired young man landed another Zanshinken and a Zio in succession, the tomboy joined in with a Skull Cracker and a Bufu, and the brown haired teen followed that with another Garu and a Bash. As each of these attacks rained down, the shadow started to sag more and more, indicating it was starting to reach its limits. It seemed to realize this as well. With one rapid shake of its head, it no longer appeared daze. The knight unleashed a roar, more powerful than the last time, the shockwaves sending the entire wall.

"Ugh!" Yu grunted as his back collided with the wall. The impact of hitting the wall had not been all that kind to him. Even though there could never be physical injuries to persona users, the pain remained, and this was an example of that. The silver haired boy quickly staggered to his feet, in an attempt to regain his barings. As he stared down at the ground, he noticed a shadow in front of him. As he looked up, his eyes widened in both shock, and some fear, as the Avenger Knight was now floating in front of him. It readied its lance, surrounding the lance in a sickly purple, a color that made the skewer look poisonous.

"Yu! Quick! That attack will kill you!" Izanagi bellowed desperately.

He was right. The monster still hadn't used a physical skill or attack. It had sent them back with just a roar. This next physical attack was still charged, meaning it would do far more damage than normal. In other words, the wildcard was screwed if he took that attack. There wasn't much of a chance he could dodge this one if how it almost hit Chie indicated anything. So the silver haired young man was left with no option but to try to use the one card he had left in order to survive. "Rakuka-"

However he wouldn't have to use the card. "Skull Cracker!" Once more, the knight was struck in the head by a familiar skill, originating from a certain tomboy. The knight staggered a bit, its attack stopped for the moment after having been hit on the head. The knight shifted its focus onto the tomboy, and instead prepared to use its skill on her instead. It was then, the red barrier appeared once more, only this time, it cracked apart. And that only meant one thing: The fire resistance was finally gone.

"Orobas! Agi!" Just before the knight could process fully what was happening, it was hit with another fireball, knocking it down once more. "Come on, let's finish this!" Yu cried, as he scanned around for Yosuke.

The brown haired teen was in complete shock from the recent events for a brief moment before rapidly shaking his head. "Right!" he exclaimed.

"All Out Attack!" The group yelled together, laying down yet another beating on the knight. The group landed blow after blow, as the knight continued to groan and moan in pain. Finally, the attack ceased, as the group jumped back. The knight seemed to have some form of fight left, despite everything it had endured up until this point. It began to float itself back into place slowly in an attempt to continue the battle. However, Yu was not gonna let it get that chance.

"Agi!" One more fireball from the horse persona scored a direct hit on the knight's helmet this time. The knight's head recoiled, and the monster was frozen in place. The group waited, and waited, wondering what was gonna happen next, and why the knight wasn't knocked down this time. Theri question would be answered a second later, as the knight dispersed in a shroud of black mist. They. Had. Won!

"Yes!" Yosuke exclaimed in relief, pumping his fists. He was also breathing quite a bit. "Man, that was a hard fight."

"Agreed." Yu sighed, a small smile on his face. His breathing was a bit more rapid than Yosuke's. It made sense, since he used stronger physical skills. "That knight had a lot of power, and one hit would have spelled the end for us."

"Yeah." Chie said, as she shuddered, exhaling slightly more than Yu. "It wasn't as smart as my shadow was…but it still was smart enough to use feints and other stuff…It was also pretty fast for its size."

"Having to deal with yet another barrier was the worst." The brown haired teen lamented. "Plus, that thing's skills were no joke, even if it couldn't use them much. I could feel the power of that poison skewer. Makajam also didn't last nearly long enough to keep that thing under control."

"What can you do?" The silver haired teen shrugged. "Makajam is a good skill, but the amount of time it lasts is inconsistent."

"I wish that wasn't the case, but you're right." The headphones wearing boy sighed.

"At least that thing had another weakness. I was surprised how effective Skull Cracker was." The tomboy interjected.

"To be fair, the knight was wearing a helmet, and with how strong Skull Cracker, it got its bell rung a lot."The wildcard explained. "It wasn't gonna knock it down or anything, but it was good enough to stun it for at least a second, and the confusion only added to the problems."

"Still," Youske began. "If we got hit with one of those attacks, we probably would have died. Those were some close calls."

"I know." The wildcard agreed, before turning to Chie. "Thanks for the save. I was gonna cast Rakukaja, but I wasn't sure if that would have allowed me to survive or not."

"Think nothing of it." The tomboy replied, before showing a small smile. "I had to repay you somehow for saving me, after all." Yu replied with his own smile

"Hey, what about me?" Interjecting into the conversation was Teddie, who was just walking up to them. "I was hiding in corners and looking out to make sure that thing wasn't gonna go after me."

"You're such a coward." Yosuke deadpanned.

"Hey, I can't fight, I can only guide, remember. There wasn't anything I could do." The bear retorted. His expression became downcast. "I was worried that you guys were gonna lose to that thing when that thing knocked you all back with a roar. I'm so glad you pulled through, Sensei, Everyone!" The bear lept in the air, flying towards the silver haired teen for an attempted hug, a waterfall of tears pouring down from his eyes. Yu dodged the attempt, leaving Yosuke the new target of Teddie's attempted hug. By the time his mind processed this, he was barreled into by the bear, and sent right to the ground with him.

"Hey! Get off me!" Yosuke demanded as he tried to get out of Teddie's bear hug.

The silver haired teen tried to hold in his laughter. Keyword tried. He felt bad for the brown haired teen, but…'It was either you or me. And I don't want to be on the receiving end of a bear's bear hug.' Chie wasn't even trying, she was nearly doubled over with laughter.

"Oh!" Teddie exclaimed, as he got up immediately. "Sorry Yosuke." The bear rubbed the back of his head with a nervous expression as the brown haired boy glared at him.

"I knew it!" The group whirled their heads to the other side of the room. Standing there was Shadow Yukiko. "I knew my princes wouldn't lose to a guard like that! Wonderful! And…" She pointed two fingers towards Chie and Yu. "I knew I was right to have such high hopes for you two. But I never expected you to do so well too!" She pointed to Yosuke "You are all worthy of being my prince! It's so hard to choose! What do I do?!" The aura around her started to grow, but nothing that indicated a transformation.

"Enough!" The tomboy exclaimed as she stepped forward. "How long are we gonna be fighting these guys for? And…why are you so focused on me and Narukami-kun?"

"All of that will be revealed at the end! Can't spoil the reason now, that just doesn't make good TV!" The Shadow answered enthusiastically. "However, I'm sure you will be happy to know that you only have three floors to go to reach the end. There, I will make my final decision. My prince will be revealed!"

"Wait, three floors?!" Yosuke exclaimed in shock.

"That is right! I know you three will make the climb. As some added motivation, my other half is there too! See you there!" The shadow faded out of existence once again, disappearing to possibly the eighth floor.

"So, we only have three floors to go, huh?" Yu muttered.

"How do we know she's not lying?" Chie asked.

"Shadows do not lie." Teddie rebuked. "They do a lot of things, but they never lie."

The leader turned to face the group. "Alright gang. We have a decision to make. We should have enough supplies to keep going, hell, we might be able to have some left over in case we fight Amagi-san's shadow. However…" The wildcard's expression became serious. "I know that the last fight with this shadow was very hard. There were multiple points where we could have died. I know that while we will be fine physically, mentally, you might not want to continue right now. Hell, maybe some of your personas could be advising that, I don't know. I just don't want to push anyone, so if you cannot keep going, say the word. We can turn back, and save her tomorrow. So if anyone wants to turn back, raise your hand."

The silver haired teen's words hung in the air for a few moments. Everyone looked to be deep in thought, including Teddie. Afterwards, the leader was given his answer: Each of them looked at him with resolve blazing through their eyes, shaking their heads.

"Are you all sure?" The silver haired young man asked.

"Yeah." The headphones wearing teen answered. "Thank you for your concern, and I agree that that fight was hard. But…we're so close, right? We might as well finish what we started."

"Yeah." The tomboy agreed. "I will admit, nearly dying doesn't…sit right with me. But, the fact we're so close to rescuing Yukiko…it just wouldn't sit right with me if we stopped here. I don't want her to spend another second in this place."

"I agree, Sensei." The bear added. "You all can do it. And I'll make sure to guide you and to do my best to help you!"

The silver haired teen's face was shadowed for a brief second. Teh group looked at him in confusion and slight worry, before a grin appeared on his face. "I agree. We might as well finish the job if we're so close, right?" he gestured towards the door, which was by this point now open. "Come on, let's heal up, and then rescue Amagi-san!" The rest of the group nodded. A few moments later, after a few Dias and items, the group was healed up. The group walked out of the room, and went to find the stairs that lead to the sixth floor.

8th Floor

The group had finally arrived on the eighth floor. With the last two floors, nothing that eventful had occurred. The only exception was the defeat of their first rare monster, a Happiness Hand on the sixth floor. The shadow was a golden hand with a blue mask for a face on the end. Teddie had encouraged them to kill that monster so they had, although to say it was annoying was an understatement. That thing tried to flee any chance it had, and had no weaknesses, so it required more power to take down. Which frankly tired the group out. However, they would soon learn why the bear had encouraged them to kill it. They each got 2,000 yen after killing the shadow, which was far more than they got from killing the average shadow.

"Hand shadows like these can usually drop big rewards if you kill them." The bear explained. "However, they are also very quick to flee, and will try to hurt you with plenty of status skills. So you need to be incredibly aggressive when trying to kill them."

Besides that, there were two more instances of the group hearing Yukiko's voice. Each provided a piece of information. The first time, in addition to the princess, there were additional voices. Yu recognized them right away. The first was the reporter who hounded her about inheriting the Amagi Inn, and the other was the student who asked about her connection to the Mayumi Yamano murder. She had rebuked them all, and wanted to be "left alone."

'The more I hear stuff like this, the more I think my theory that she wants to get away from the inn is right.'

"I think this confirms it completely. Her hunt for her prince, her complaints about the inn, and her behavior from before all this. She really does want a prince to take her away. Not just from the Inn, but maybe even Inaba."

'It would make the most sense, since if she wanted to leave behind the Amagi Inn for good. She would have to leave Inaba too. And with this entire prince game going on, she wants to find someone who can take her away since she probably can't take that step herself, just like in those fairytales.'

"This feels a lot more complicated of an issue than we initially thought it was gonna be, Yu."

'I know. Yet, I feel like there's something missing. Why can't she take that step herself?'

"That could reveal itself to us soon. Maybe from her shadow."

'You're probably right. Let's just leave it be for now.'

The second instance just made Yu's theory grow stronger. She had begged for her prince to take her away to "A world no one knows me…" Teddie had confirmed they were getting close, meaning they were truly one floor away from reaching Yukiko.

"I've been wondering all this time…What's 'scoring a hot stud?" he had asked after confirming they were getting close.

"I'll tell you later." Yu promised.

Nothing else had happened on the way, besides the occasional treasure chests and shadows. As the group made it to the eighth floor, they were face to face with a massive door.

"I sense her! She's behind this door!" Teddie exclaimed.

"Give me one second guys." Yu said, as he went towards the Velvet Room door.

"Fusing personas?" Chie asked.

The silver haired teen nodded. "You know it." The boy then appeared to be lost in thought for a few seconds, before he finally spoke again. "Alright I'm ready. Let's do this." The group nodded, and after taking a deep breath, the wildcard opened the door. As he scanned the room he realized right away this was a throne room. Same columns, same red carpet, but this time it led up a set of stairs to a pedestal, with some sort of emblem hanging on the wall near it. Standing on said pedestal was Yukiko's shadow. Standing near the bottom of the steps, looking somewhat exhausted and disoriented, was Yukiko herself, wearing her kimono.

"Yukiko!" The tomboy cried, as she and the rest of the group rushed towards her. However, as they got closer, they each heard a door slam shut behind them stopping them in their tracks.

"Damn it, we're locked in again." Yosuke cursed, as he saw the door behind them was closed shut.

"Chie…?" Yukiko muttered, before rapidly shaking her head. She looked behind her. "Everyone? What are you doing here?"

"Oh? Ooooh, what's this?" The shadow spoke, interrupting the conversation. "Three princes are here to see me!? Ara, Ara! I've been waiting for you! Awwww, I wish I'd gotten a better look at you!" Her smirk on her face grew. "My, it's getting crowded here. Why don't you and I go somewhere else…? A land far, far away, where no one knows me. If you're my Prince, you'd take me there, won't you? C'mon…pretty please?"

"Oooh. Is this 'scoring a hot stud'!?" The bear asked once more.

"No!" Yu exclaimed. "I'll tell you later. Just listen to your sensei here."

"Okay, sensei." Teddie nodded.

"What are you even talking about?" The black haired girl asked. "Is this…all real? Why is there someone who looks like me here?"

"It is real, Amagi-san." The wildcard confirmed. "That is what we call a 'Shadow'. It came from you."

"Narukami-san? What do you mean?" The kimono clad girl inquired.

"It's just as he said!" Her shadow answered. "I am you, and you are me."

"How…could you be me?" Yukiko took a step back in slight apprehension.

"It's the truth." The silver haired teen said firmly. "You have been holding things in for a long time, trying to bury them, acting like they don't exist, not acknowledging the truth. When you got sent to this world, this place was formed, along with your shadow."

The kimono clad girl looked at the wildcard, then back at her shadow, then back to the wildcard. "This is…really hard for me to understand."

The silver haired young chuckled. "I know. If I didn't have my persona, I'd be just as confused."

"Persona?" The black haired girl inquired.

"We'll tell you later," Chie promised. "Trust me, it's a lot to take in."

"Right now, we have to worry about your shadow." Yosuke said.

"My! You're all worried about me? My princes are so wonderful!" The shadow said in a sarcastic tone.

"Answer us this: Why do you want a prince so badly?" Yu asked the shadow.

"To take me away of course! To a world far away where no one knows me at all. Where I can leave my former life behind and live happily ever after!" The shadow answered enthusiastically. She pointed at the group. "You three have proven yourselves to be more than qualified. You have all surpassed my expectations. Although," She pointed two fingers at Chie and Yu "I think you two are still the best of the bunch."

"That's another thing I haven't been getting. I'm a prince?" The tomboy asked.

"Of course, Chie…" The shadow chuckled. "You are my prince…You always lead the way…You're a strong prince…Or at least, you WERE." The shadow's aura flared up slightly.

"Were?"

"When it comes down to it, I don't know if you're good enough!" The shadow spat. "Can you take me away? Can you save me? I don't think so. But I had some hope when you got stronger that maybe you could. However, someone else caught my eye."

"And that was me, correct?" Yu asked.

"That's right! You're so strong on your own, and you seem to have so much potential. I was so sure you could do it too from the moment you stepped into this castle. But if it's not you, I hope someone will save me." Her expression changed into one of disgust. "And take me away from that disgusting life at the inn."

"S-Stop…" Yukiko uttered.

"Historic inn? Manager training!? I'm sick of all of these things chaining me down!" she yelled with a stomp of her heel. "I never asked to be born here! Everything's decided for me! From how I live, to where I die! I'm so sick of it! To hell with it all!"

"That's not true…" Yukiko averted her eyes as she said those words.

"I just want to go somewhere far away…Anywhere but here…Someone, please take me away…I can't leave here on my own…I'm completely useless." Shadow Yukiko mock-pleaded.

"Stop…please stop…" The girl took a few more steps back from the verbal onslaught from her own shadow.

"I have no hope if I stay, and no courage to leave…So I sit on my ass hoping that someday my Prince will come!" The shadow spoke, with an evil smile, likely knowing the effects her words were having on her other self.

"This is what we've been missing." Izanagi said with finality "She wants someone to take her away from her life here, because she is frustrated with how much her life has been chosen for her."

'Yeah…which is something she tried to bury completely.'

"She could have easily tried to bury it for any number of reasons. But most likely she didn't want to disappoint her family."

'That…kinda hits home. Damn it, this is kinda complicated.'

"I don't care where we go!" The shadow ranted. "Anywhere's fine! As long as it's not here, I don't give a damn! Historic tradition? Pride of the town? What a bunch of bullshit!"

The black haired girl clenched her fist. "How dare you…?" she said in a low voice.

"That's how I really feel. Isn't that right…me!?"

"N-No…" The kimono clad girl denied weakly.

"Why do you continue to deny me?" The shadow exclaimed, giving the girl a harsh glare. "You feel this way deep down, yet you continue to ignore it? I don't understand. What's wrong with feeling dissatisfied with your life? What's wrong with being frustrated with feeling like your path has been decided for you without you having a say in it? There isn't anything wrong with feeling this way! Stop denying those feelings exist, you know they do, me!"

"No!" The girl denied her shadow more harshly this time. You didn't have to be a mind reader to figure out what she was gonna say next.

"Stop! Don't say it!" Yosuke shouted, trying to get her to stop.

The girl however didn't want to, ready to deny this thing's existence the same way Yosuke had done, and Chie had almost done herself. "You're not-"

"Enough!" Yu shouted in a commanding tone. This stopped the girl from finishing her sentence, as she gazed at him with a look of surprise. Even the shadow appeared stunned from the wildcard's outburst herself. "Your shadow is right. There's nothing wrong with feeling that way at all. And, I already told you, it's a part of you. It is you."

The girl shook her head rapidly. "No, that can't be. It can't be me. I can't feel that way, I can't say those things about our inn, our tradition, all of it. I shouldn't be spitting on it like it means nothing to me." Her eyes started watering "I've been raised on it, I'm expected to take over when my family can't anymore. I can't disappoint them. So what if I've grown tired of it, I can get over this. I know I can. What type of daughter am I if I tell my parents I don't want to do it anymore? What would they think of me?" Tears started streaming down her face. "I've got to keep going, because that's what they want me to do."

The silver haired young man could only give the girl in front of him a look of sympathy. 'Wow. I…know how she feels here. Not from the same circumstances, but I've felt that way before.'

"You have…"

Yu's gaze shifted from the black haired girl, to his teammates. All of them had looks of sympathy, Chie's being the most prominent of all. No one said a word, likely not knowing what to say to that, for a few moments.

Yukiko stared at the ground, her expression shadowed, and tears dropping onto the carpet. A few footsteps started approaching her. She lifted her head, and saw Yu approach her. He gave her a sad smile. "So that's what this was about, huh? You don't want to disappoint your parents?" She gave him a nod. "Have your parents ever told you you had to become the next manager of the Amagi Inn?"

The black haired girl opened her mouth, then paused to think. "Um…no. Actually, I don't think I've ever asked them before. But it's expected that I will take over the inn. That's what I've been told all my life."

"I see." The wildcard smiled. "Then I don't think you have to put so much pressure on yourself."

"What do you mean?" The kimono clad girl asked with narrowed eyes.

"I don't know your parents at all, so I'm only speaking from experience, but if you've never talked to them about this, then you can't be so sure that they would want to force you into something you don't want to do."

"But…it's been something that Mom and Dad have wanted me to become for a long time. They've always talked about how they can't wait for their little girl to finally become the manager. It would probably crush them if I said I didn't want to do it anymore." The manager in training refuted.

"Maybe, but…it would probably hurt them a lot more if they knew you were in a job that they absolutely hated." Yu responded, causing Yukiko's eyes to widen. "Parents…they'll do a lot for their children. Despite how often mine are traveling from place to place, they'll always want what's best for me no matter what. Sometimes that leads to them messing up, but hey, no one is perfect. But the one thing that matters more to them than anything, is that their child is living the happiest life he can. Judging from your expression, I'm sure you know that too, deep down right?"

The girl nodded sadly. "I've been so focused on living up to my parent's expectations, that I've never once thought about how they would feel if they knew I didn't like working at the inn." Her expression became downcast. "But, it's not like I truly hate working at the inn. There are a lot of good people there. But…I've also felt like I've never really been able to think about what I want because of those expectations. I've never had a choice, so I've just grown completely tired of it all."

"Then take that step. Decide what you want for yourself, and find out what you really want to do. It doesn't have to be now, it doesn't have to be tomorrow, hell it doesn't have to be a week from now. Just don't think you have to do something even though no one is pressuring you to do it." The wildcard gave her a gentle smile.

"Are you sure I can take that step?" Yukiko asked, uncertainty showing in her eyes.

"You never know until you try. And if you can't do it alone, I'll help you." The silver haired teen promised.

"So will I." Chie interjected, surprising Yukiko. "I'm your best friend after all, even if I haven't been the best lately."

"Chie…" The black haired young lady uttered.

"Yukiko…I wanted to say how sorry I am." The tomboy apologized, her expression a visible frown. "I should have realized what you were going through and do everything I could to help you. But…I never did because maybe deep inside for so long, I was…jealous of you." She grimaced as those last words left her mouth.

"Jealous…of me?" The girl's eyes went wide and showed surprise.

"Yeah." The tomboy rubbed the back of her head. "I mean, you have a lot going for you, and I'm…not nearly as good as you, you know. At least, that's what I thought for a long time. And I became jealous because of it. It was like a wall, and I felt alone. I wanted you to need me, because I felt you were so above me. I was so self centered…" Tears began to pour down the girl's face. "I never bothered to try to understand what you were going through. I'm so sorry."

"Chie, you shouldn't ever think that way." The kimono clad girl admonished, tears threatening to spill from her friend's revelation. "You're just as good as me. I don't know what I would have done without you."

The brown haired girl smiled. "I know. I heard your shadow talk about it. You think you needed me, but I need you just as much. I'm a mess on my own, I can't do anything right on my own. I caused so much trouble just yesterday for Narukami-kun, Hanamura, and Teddie. You're not worthless at all. If I didn't have you by my side, I wouldn't know what to do." The tomboy had a smile of encouragement. "Never think of yourself that way. You can take that step, Yukiko. I know you can."

Yukiko gave the tomboy her own smile. "Thank you. I promise I'll try my best. And, I'm sorry I never saw the real you Chie. I was so busy trying to find an easy way out that I never noticed your pain." The girl turned to Yu. "And thank you. Your words helped me a lot. I probably would have continued to deny these issues existed if it wasn't for you."

"Think nothing of it." The silver haired teen replied. "I just…knew a bit of what you were going through, and wanted to help the best I could."

The girl surprised the wildcard by giving him a beautiful, serene smile. "I say you did a good job." she said. The kimono clad girl then turned to her shadow, who looked completely stunned. "You're right. 'I want to run away'...'I want someone to save me'...These feelings are a part of me. I shouldn't have kept them hidden away, pretending they didn't exist. They're a part of me too. I understand now. You are me."

The shadow's eyes widened in complete disbelief, along with the rest of the group. "You…accepted me? Wow…I…don't know what to say."

"Amagi." Yosuke uttered, having been silent until now. "You accepted your shadow."

"Did I do something wrong?" The black haired girl asked, confused and worried.

"No!" Chie refuted immediately. "It was just unexpected. We usually have to fight these types of shadows afterwards because we can't accept our other selves. But…you did. So that means we can get out of here without having to fight."

"What? What do you mean fight?!" Yukiko exclaimed.

"We fight these creatures called shadows. They're the monsters of this world that form in areas created by people. Most of them are mindless creatures that fight based on instinct, while the shadows formed from people thrown into this world are far more intelligent, and will eventually try to kill their other self." Yu explained.

"Kill?!" The girl looked somewhat pale. "I…could have died."

"Yeah. That's why we fought our way up this stupid castle to rescue you." The tomboy said.

"How?" The black haired girl asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"We used our personas." Yu said, as he crushed his card. "Izanagi!" The persona was summoned, causing the girl to jump in shock and fear.

"Wh-What is that?" The black haired girl stuttered as she took a few steps back. "Wait, that's a persona?"

"Yeah. They're basically our reward for being able to accept our other selves." Yosuke explained. "I think mine, Jiraiya, said something about them being used to overcome life's hardships or something when I got mine."

"Wait, I can get one of these…'personas'?" The girl inquired curiously.

"Yeah. You accepted your other self, so you're supposed to get one after that. I couldn't get mine without Narukami-kun and Hanamura fighting my shadow before I was able to finally accept mine." Chie answered. Her face became confused. "Actually, come to think of it, it should have happened by now. What gives?"

"Wait a minute." Yu's eyes widened as a thought occurred to him "Do we still have to fight you?" he asked Yukiko's shadow.

"Yes." The shadow nodded "While I am impressed that my other self was able to accept me. That doesn't undo what had been almost said before, nor the time she had spent hiding from the truth. If she had taken these steps even a few weeks ago, it wouldn't have come to this. I'm sorry, but I can't hold back the resentment for long, even if I want to. I will transform without a choice in the matter.'

"Damn it. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy." Yosuke cursed, as he brandished his knives.

"Can we at least get Amagi-san to safety?" Yu requested, as he brought out his katana.

"Of course, but hurry up." The shadow's aura started flaring up once more. "I can't hold it back for long. The door should be unlocked by now."

"Teddie, get Yukiko to safety." Chie urged.

"Right." Teddie nodded. "Come on!" The bear grabbed the girl's arm and tried to run towards the entrance to the throne room. Yukiko, most likely caught off guard by this, nearly tripped on her own feet, causing the bear to stop. "Hey, are you okay? What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know. Ever since I woke up, I've felt dizzy and have had a hard time keeping my balance." The kimono clad girl explained.

'Crap, she must have been in here for too long. That's why she must be so dizzy.' The wildcard concluded. "Teddie, just get her behind one of those columns if you can't get her to the door."

"You got it Sensei." The bear began guiding the dizzy girl to one of the columns as quickly as he could.

"You know…" The shadow began, as her aura kept growing and expanding. "I thought I would have far more resentment towards my other self. She buried me for so long, after all. I thought she wouldn't be able to accept me. I was wrong. She was able to overcome that limit herself. She needed help to do it, but she still did it. It's a shame it came too late. However, I know that you can win, but I will warn you, you'll have to give it your best shot. Not like how you guys handled the Avenger Knight. The main elemental attacks I will use are fire based, and my weakness is ice. Unfortunately, that is all the information I have about my coming transformation. The rest will be up to you."

""You're…giving us advice on how to defeat you?" Yosuke asked with wide eyes.

"It makes sense though. She already got what she wanted, so she doesn't want to hurt Amagi-san anymore. It's just the resentment that was built up overtime hasn't disappeared, which is why we have to fight her." Yu explained.

"The more I learn about shadows, the more confusing it all is." Chie sighed in exasperation.

The shadow giggled. "It's not all bad." Her expression became serious. "Promise me…you'll win."

"Done." The silver haired teen nodded.

The shadow smiled. "Good luck." The shadow started glowing in a bright light, indicating a transformation. As the many shadows started flying into the light, the group could only speculate on what type of monster they would have to fight this time. The light dissipated, and the shadow was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is it?" Yosuke asked aloud. Suddenly a sound of a chain coming down was heard among the group. They looked up, and saw what appeared to be a chandelier start falling near where they were currently standing at a rapid pace.

"Get back!" Yu ordered, causing the group to jump away from the falling chandelier. Just before it hit the ground, it stopped. The wildcard got a better look at the object in question. It was a chandelier, but it also had a large cage on top of it. Locked inside the cage was a large, red bird monster with some gold feathers in the middle of the chest, shaped like a heart. It had the similar yellow eyes the regular Shadow Yukiko had, no beak, and had black hair in a similar style as Yukiko's. The cage opened, and with a loud squawk, the bird flapped its wings. The group had to shield themselves from the wind of those wings

"I am a shadow… The true self…" The shadow uttered, giving the group a sadistic smile. "Now, my prince…Why don't we dance and make merry together?"

"I don't want to dance. I want to save you! The real Yukiko, and you too!" Chie retorted with a determined glare.

"Save me…? Hahahaha, you really must be my prince. Take me away please!"

"You seem to be insistent on relying on someone to save you. I'm disappointed, I thought you would have taken Amagi-san's example by now." The wildcard taunted.

"Comparing me to that useless trash?! " The bird monster bellowed. "She may have overcome me, but she will never be forgiven for denying me for so long. And you will not be forgiven for standing in my way!"

"Everyone!" The group heard Yukiko call out to them, and turned to the source. She and Teddie were currently a few feet away, hiding behind one of the columns. "I don't really know what this all is, but please be careful!"

"You got it, Amagi! Oberon! Bufu!" Yu summoned his newest persona that he created just before this battle. The persona was regal looking, and wore kingly clothing and a crown. It had butterfly wings as well. The persona fired a blast of ice at the monster, and scored a direct hit as a result. The Shadow cried out in pain, before falling to the ground, knocked down.

"Now! Everyone!" The leader commanded. "All out attack!" The wildcard and the rest of the group's aura flared a bright blue, before the beating commenced as they rushed to the downed monster. The bird squawked in pain from the blows delivered, squirming on the ground, but unable to do anything to defend itself. The Attack ended, as the group jumped back, their aura disappearing. The bird took the opportunity to try to get back in the cage. Chie had other plans.

"Tomoe! Bufu!" The tomboy called upon her own persona. Another blast of ice scored another direct hit on the bird, causing it to be knocked back down.

"All out attack!" Another flurry of blows onto the bird monster. When it ended, the bird was panting, the damage done to it already seemingly taking a visible toll on the shadow.

"Wh-" The bird couldn't even attempt to finish what it was trying to say, for once again…

"Bufu!" The wildcard's persona was summoned once again, firing another blast of ice at the monster. However, this time, the Shadow turned its body to the side to dodge the attack.

"Bufu!" However, it could not dodge the second blast of ice from the tomboy. The bird was back to square one: getting the ever living shit kicked out of it while unable to do anything about it. Once the third all-out attack ended, the bird seemed to have an evil glint in its eye as it got up. It just stood there, instead of getting back up in its cage.

"What is it up to?" Yosuke wondered.

"I don't know, but I don't want to find out." Chie replied, as she summoned her persona once again. "Bufu!" The tomboy's persona fired another blast of ice, expecting the same result the first three times it had been used.

"Agi!" The shadow summoned a fireball and launched it at the blast of ice. The attacks connected, and exploded in midair, canceling each other out.

"Bufu!" It was Yu's turn at bat, another attempt at hopefully knocking the monster again. However, the monster yet again fired off another Agi to cancel out the blast of ice.

"White Wall." The Shadow was surrounded by a white barrier momentarily, before it disappeared.

"Shit. It's probably negated its ice weakness now!" The wildcard cursed, an alarmed look on his face.

"Don't worry, I got us covered. Garu!" Yosuke summoned his persona for the first time in this fight. A column of wind crashed into the creature, putting it off balance. However, the bird smirked evilly at the group, the chandelier cage swaying left and right.

"You have all had your fun this entire time, but now it's my turn!" The Shadow flew back into its cage. "You all can burn to ash!" The cage door suddenly closed, and the bird closed itself. A very small orangish-red orb, around the size of a tennis ball, appeared in front of the Shadow. Energy from the bird started to pour into the orb, making it grow bigger, and bigger, until it appeared to be the size of a basketball.

"Everyone, guard! She's charging something up!" The silver haired teen warned his teammates. The two put their arms up, ready to block whatever attack this monster was firing.

The cage opened suddenly "Burn to Ashes!" The shadow fired the burning ball of energy to the middle of the floor. Once contacted with the ground, a wave of fire hit the floor enveloped the ground for a moment, before reaching its targets, engulfing the group in intense flames. Yu felt his feet and his body physically burn, but did not waver in his guard. Nor did his comrades, who were probably feeling the same. As quickly as it had begun, it was over, the flames ending, and the group lowered their guard.

"Never gonna get used to this." Chie grimaced, nursing herself instinctively, despite there being no visible burns.

"Neither will I. Every time I think I'm used to the pain dished out by these monsters, something like this happens." Yu complained.

"Really? You always seem to be composed in these situations." commented Yosuke with surprise.

"I am, but that doesn't mean I'm immune to pain." The silver haired teen replied. "I'm not a robot, after all."

"Fair point." The brown haired young man conceded.

"Seems you all took that attack very well." Shadow Yukiko said, a certain edge to her tone. It seems the bird did not take too kindly to them being able to take its attack like that.

"We've been through worse." The group chorused in unison.

"Huh?"

"I mean, we already know your weakness, we've dealt with similar wall techniques twice already from my shadow and the Avenger Knight, and you don't even have a charge skill for us to worry about this time." The wildcard explained.

"But I have powerful fire skills. You haven't faced an attack like that. And who knows, I might be hiding something else up my sleeve."

"Yeah, but…you're also a sitting duck." Chie pointed out. "When you dodged the first Bufu from Narukami-kun, you couldn't dodge the second one. The only way you could counter us was to stand still and cancel out our attacks. You can't move well, can't you?"

You could hear a pin drop with how silent the room became, the shadow seemingly unwilling to answer the question. Finally, she spoke again "What would you say if I can't?"

"So all we have to do is guard your attacks and wait for the White Wall to wear off." Yosuke grinned.

"Do you think it's that easy? You can only take so many hits, so if I just fire off enough attacks, you will-"

"Makajam!" The brown haired young man's persona launched green chains at the bird. It was a direct hit, the chains wrapping themselves around the monster, before disappearing, and the Shadow was covered in a green aura. "There, now we don't have to worry about that for a while."

"..." Shadow Yukiko went silent, a look of slight fear showing.

"Come on, attack as much as possible before those chains wear off!" Yu ordered. "Izanagi! Zanshinken!" The persona performed a moon slash on the monster, hitting the bird twice, the shadow shrieking in pain.

"Skull Cracker!" Chie's own persona landed a blow onto the head of Yukiko's shadow. The Shadow's head swayed side to side, before it rapidly shook its head to snap out of it.

"Sonic Punch!" Yosuke's persona was summoned, and began to debut a new skill. The persona fired a quick punch to the body of the shadow, knocking it back slightly, causing it to stagger a few steps in its cage.

"Unbelievable." Yukiko uttered from the sidelines, as she watched in awe at the fight her friends were having with her shadow.

"It's incredible, isn't it?" asked Teddie rhetorically, a slight grin on his face. "Sensei is really amazing, and so are Chie and Yosuke."

"They let you use their first name?" The girl asked in confusion.

"Well, I have no last name. I've called them by their first names for a while and they haven't said anything about it. Is it a big deal?"

"When you put it like that, no." The girl said, shaking her head. "I was just surprised."

"Oh, I get it!" The bear exclaimed, an imaginary lightbulb appearing above his head "Saying someone's first name is a big deal in your world, right?"

"Um, yes?"

"Wow, I learned something about your world. Now all sensei has to do is tell me what scoring is."

"By sensei…you mean Narukami-san, right?" The girl inquired, somewhat heistantly.

"Of course! He was able to use a persona without having to face off against his own shadow! Then he saved mine and Yosuke's life too that day." The bear answered excitedly.

The inn manager in training rubbed her temple. "I'm gonna have so many questions when all this is over."

"I don't blame you, a lot of how all this started is really complicated. Actually, I wouldn't mind answering some of them now."

"Thank you. So, those are…personas?" The black haired girl asked, pointing towards the battlefield. .

"Correct. They use them to fight shadows like yours. And, since you overcame your shadow, when this battle is over, you'll have one of your own." The bear explained. His head tilted in confusion. "Something wrong?" The girl looked to be deep in thought before the bear asked the question.

"Why…are they doing all of this?" She asked with a bit of unease.

"Someone has been throwing people into this world" The bear answered seriously. "Sensei and the others believe it may hold some connection to what happened to that girl that died a few days ago."

"Konishi-senpai?!" Yukiko's eyes were wide with shock.

"Yes, that's her." The bear nodded. "She was here in this world, and since no one was able to rescue her in time, she was killed by the shadows when the fog came over to your world."

"I'm not sure I fully understand, but I get the gist."

"You don't have to get it all right away. It would be beary bad to overwhelm your mind since you just woke up."

The young lady seemed to be fighting an urge to groan. "Wait, you said 'people'. Has there been anyone else thrown into this world?"

"Besides that Konishi girl and yourself, Sensei and the others mentioned someone named…'Yamano'?

"The reporter?!" The black haired girl exclaimed. "So, Narukami-san and the others think that whoever is throwing people into this world is behind the deaths of Konishi-senpai and Ms. Yamano?"

"Yes."

Yukiko put a hand to her forehead. "I feel a headache coming on."

Meanwhile, back with the battle, the bird had sustained a lot of damage from the repeated attacks from the persona users. The evidence was the rapid panting from the monster and its posture in its cage. It would only be a matter of time before the Shadow would fall, and the worst part was it couldn't counter right now, as it was still under the effects of Makajam.

"Heh, we might actually be able to beat this thing without breaking a sweat." Yosuke commented with a grin.

"Dude, why would you say that?!" Yu reprimanded. "You can't just say that shit, now you've jinxed us."

"Relax man, nothing is gonna happen this time. Besides, that's just a my-" The brown haired teen was interrupted by the green aura around the shadow disappearing. "O-Oh. Don't worry I can just-"

"Summon! Save me my Prince!" The shadow bellowed. In a burst of smoke, a new opponent appeared right next to the bird. It was a short shadow that wore traditional royal garb. It had blond hair, a tin mask, and a crown on top of its head. "Heal me!"

"Yes my princess. Diarma!" A bluish-greenish light surrounded the monster. The monster's panting slowed, and its posture fixed itself.

"Very good my prince! I'm all better now!"

"It…healed?!" Yosuke exclaimed. "That's illegal! The boss should never heal! Only we're allowed to heal!"

"Says who? You all have healing skills and items. It's only natural that I can do the same!"

The brown haired young man sighed. "Alright, that was dumb. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Chie waved off. "We just need to deal with that prince now."

"The problem is we don't know what its weakness is." The leader said as he began to contemplate their new strategy.

"Well, you should have the personas for this, right? We should just hit it with as many attacks as we can until we can knock it down." The tomboy suggested.

"Maybe, but I would rather try to focus on the bird…too." A look of realization dawned on the Wildcard, before it changed to a grin. "I might have the perfect skill for this situation."

"If it's what I think it is, so do I." The tomboy revealed with her own grin.

"What? What skills are you two talking about?" The headphones wearing teen asked, clearly perplexed by what they were talking about. Then, one moment later, his eyes registered his own realization. "Ohhhh. Damn it, why don't I have a skill like that yet?!"

The silver haired young man shrugged before crushing his tarot card. "Izanagi! Mazio!" The persona emerged, and brought his hand up to the sky, similar to how a regular Zio was performed. However, this time, two bolts of lightning rained down this time, on both the prince and the princess. The bird grunted, clearly hurt from the attack, but not knocked down. The prince however, cried out, and was on the ground.

"M-My prince!" The shadow stuttered, her eyes in complete disbelief.

"Looks like its weakness was Electricity." The leader noted with a satisfied grin on his face. "Again! Mazio!" The silver haired teen summoned his persona once more, and struck another two lightning strikes on the prince and princess pair. The prince, who was still on the ground, now had its head spinning, indicating the dizzy status.

"Mabufu!" It was Chie's turn to debut a new skill. Her persona formed two ice blasts instead of the regular one, and struck both shadows with it. Shadow Yukiko didn't seem too affected by it since it was still guarded by White Wall. However, the prince was hit with another direct attack, and was sent skidding back a couple feet from the attack. "Damn, I put more power into that attack, and Yukiko's shadow was still able to withstand it. Those wall skills are no joke."

"Doesn't matter. We're doing a lot of damage to the Prince. If we take it out here, her shadow can't heal anymore." Yu assured the tomboy.

"I can't let you guys have all the fun. Garu!" Yosuke's persona hit the bird with a column of wind again, the bird staggering back a few steps in its cage again.

"How are we with Spirit Power and Stamina?" The leader asked his teammates.

"I'm good. Surprisingly, since I haven't taken any damage, I don't have to worry about stamina as much." The brown haired young woman answered.

"I'm fine too. Even with the boss healing itself, this battle hasn't been that difficult." The brown haired young man assured.

"Good. We should start wrapping this up then. That white wall should wear off soon, and the prince is incapacitated at the moment…" The silver haired teen regretted those words immediately, as he saw the prince rapidly shake his head, and get back on its feet.

"What was that about not jinxing us?" The tomboy asked rhetorically with a deadpan.

"Me and my big mouth." The silver haired young man bemoaned.

"Happens to the best of us." The headphones clad teen patted the teen on the back.

"My prince! Save me! Heal me!" Shadow Yukiko commanded. The prince looked up to his princess, then switched his gaze to the fighters in front of him. Suddenly, there was a poof of smoke, and to the surprise of everyone in the room, the prince was now gone.

"Did he just…run away?" Yosuke asked in disbelief.

"More like poofed away." Chie corrected.

"That's…a twist." Yu commented, his own shock showing.

"M-My prince? Come back! Summon!" The shadow begged. There was another poof of smoke, but this time, there was no prince to be found. "H-He…abandoned me?" The bird's voice was trembling in shock from the turn of events. To make matters worse for the shadow, her white wall appeared once more, and shattered. Which meant…

"She's vulnerable to ice attacks again! Oberon! Bufu!" Seeing the opportunity, the silver haired teen summoned Oberon to blast the monster with ice again. It connected, and the monster was knocked down again.

"All-Out Attack!" The group fired a flurry of hits on the bird again, and repeated this process again and again. Each time the bird tried to dodge or chant another skill, it would get hit with another Bufu from either Yu or Chie. Even if it wanted to chant its skills, it couldn't because Youske would lock it up with Makajam, before hitting it with Garu to add more damage onto the Shadow. The group was not taking any chances. Not this time. Finally, after some time, the monster was finally on its last gasps of energy, panting and slumping on the ground, not even attempting to get back in its cage anymore. One more hit would finish it.

"Oberon." The silver haired teen summoned the persona for what should be the last time. "Arm Chopper!" The persona pulled out its sword, and flew towards the bird. It sliced at the monster twice, before the Shadow let out one final, guttural, cry, before it faded into dark particles. The particles then reformed quickly into the original Shadow Yukiko, eyes closed. She opened her eyes, then smiled.

"Well done. You took my advice, and handled that battle perfectly. You have my thanks."

"Yeah, but…" Chie interjected with a troubled look on her face. "Does anyone else think the fight was too easy?"

"Now that you mention it…" Yosuke stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"It was too easy." Yu concluded, puzzled by all this. "Why is that? I know we've gotten stronger but…" His eyes widened. "It's because you kept trying to stay in the cage!"

"That's correct. If I had not been so insistent to stay in my cage throughout the battle, your fight with me would have been more difficult. Despite the cage allowing me to use the Burn to Ashes skill, while in that state, I was always driven to stay in the cage no matter what. And even though my form wasn't fast, it still would have been better than being a sitting duck in my cage."

"But why?" The silver haired teen asked.

"I might know why." Yukiko said as she walked up to the group, along with Teddie. "Was it because I was a caged bird?" She asked her Shadow.

'Huh?'

"Yes. For your entire life, you have always been looking for someone to get you out of the cage, but you have always had the power to leave it. You just never had the courage to. Like you, I, or to be more precise, me in my Berserk state, was driven off that fact. I could have left that cage any time I wanted, and used my other skills, or I could have fought on the ground. But…I was drawn to go back in my cage no matter what, even if it wasn't the most…advantageous."

"That makes sense…I guess?" Yosuke said.

"Now Yukiko. My power is now yours. Use it for whatever you want to do."

"All of this is still…very confusing for me." The black haired girl began. She bowed. "But, I will do my best."

"That's all I can ask. Now, goodbye, and good luck." A shimmer of light flashed, and the princess was no longer there. Instead it was a pinkish red humanoid being, with metallic wings of the same color that took the shape of fans, and a winged arc that attached itself to both fans that looped around its back.

"The strength of your heart required to face oneself has manifested, Yukiko. I am the facade used to overcome life's hardships! The Persona Konohana Sakuya!" The persona declared, before it transformed into a tarot card, and entered Yukiko's body.

"So this is my persona…" The young woman stumbled, propping herself with one hand.

"Yukiko" Chie rushed over to her best friend, along with Yu and Yosuke. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be alright. I'm still dizzy for some reason." The black haired teen assured.

"Then we should get out of here." Yu proposed. "Teddie, get us out of here."

"Right, Sensei." The bear nodded, taking out the Goho-M.

"What's that?" Yukiko asked, curious.

"A teleportation orb." The silver haired teen answered.

"Wait, couldn't you have used that to get us out of here earlier?"

"No. When facing Shadows like yours or even the Avenger Knight, the orb won't work." The bear quickly answered.

"Trust us. If it was that easy, we wouldn't even fight." Yosuke sighed.

"Fighting shadows is fun…as long as they're not overly strong…hehe." Chie chimed in.

"This all sounds…really complicated," said Yukiko.

"We know." The group groaned in unison.

"Let's get out of here." The bear used the Goho-M to teleport the team out of the castle. With that, the first rescue operation was a complete success.

End of Chapter

Hope you all enjoyed. That concludes the first arc of Persona 4. I realized as I was writing this part of the story that the hardest boss was going to be that Avenger Knight, and that's based on how the bosses in Persona 4 behaved. Shadow Yukiko stays in a cage and will try everything in its power to get back in the cage. This did give me an opportunity to give the team a break, as well as give Yukiko a moment where she does accept her shadow, however, damage was already done. It's unfortunately never that easy. Finally, minor spoiler, but based on how the other characters behave, the stuff they were going through, and/or the lack of connection these characters have to the Investigation Team, this will be the only time we'll get someone accepting their shadow for a while. However, there will be one more. Take your guesses. Thanks for reading, and next chapter will be the aftermath and beyond. Lot of time for the characters to unwind for a bit, so should be fun. See you guys next time.