I decided to split the Jail up rather than do it in one go like the Palaces.

Chapter 4: Shibuya's Jail of Lust, Part 1.

"…And then I just stormed out, and we came back here. Sorry about that, by the way. I was just so upset…" Ann explains, taking a sip of coffee as the Thieves sit around Ren's room.

"Can't blame you after what we saw on TV, Ann-senpai." Sumire replies, holding her hands together.

"Even so, you all did a good job of finding out more about Alice." Haru praises with a smile.

"Yeah. Once Lady Ann walked up to her, Alice whipped out her phone and tried to add us to EMMA right away. It's clear that whatever she is doing, EMMA is the key behind it." Morgana remarks, lying on Haru's legs.

"I suppose I should start looking more into Madice, the company behind EMMA." Akechi remarks with a frown.

"So, she tricks people into adding her Keyword on EMMA, then when they fall into her Jail, she steals their Desires and turns them into her pawns? Such a vile plot." Yusuke remarks, shaking his head.

"But what is her end goal? If she has been doing this for a while now, then surely she has some sort of motive behind it all." Makoto asks, hand on chin. "There is no way she is doing any good with all of this."

"This reminds me too much of Kamo-shit-head." Ryuji says bitterly.

"Yeah… the way she was acting reminded me of him way too much." Mishima replies as Shiho pats his arm in sympathy.

"Not to mention what she did on live TV. Who even does something like that?" Isara asks from on top of the table.

"Someone who doesn't like true love, apparently. And it's a pile that's only gotten bigger." Futaba remarks, glancing at her phone. "It looks like more people are joining the Alice Club after that broadcast."

"We need to act now. Otherwise more people will fall until the whole of Japan is under her thumb apart from us." Hifumi remarks with a worried frown.

"But how are we going to do this?" Kawakami asks, standing next to Sojiro. "We haven't been a part of your last heists, and we don't even know if this Jail works like those Palace's you dived through."

"That's the tricky part…" Morgana reveals with an unsure look. "I picked up something that felt like a Treasure, but at the same time…"

"What is a Treasure?" Sophia asks suddenly, grabbing all eyes.

"It's a codeword we use to describe the core of a ruler's Palace." Ren explains. "It's what not only gives the Palace its form but also acts as its core. We take it away, the Palace crumbles, and the ruler undergoes a change of heart and publicly reveals all the crimes they had committed. It's how we work as Phantom Thieves."

"Hmmm. This is interesting. But what if there is no Treasure?"

"Then we can't change Alice's heart…" Ann remarks sorrowfully.

"For now, why don't we focus on what Morgana has picked up." Sojiro remarks. "Don't go trying to understand everything at once. Take things one step at a time, and the whole picture will show itself. Slow and Steady wins the race, after all."

"When did you get so wise, Sojiro?" Futaba asks in good nature as Sojiro lets out a laugh.

"I blame Merlin for that." He says with a grin, earning chuckles out of everyone in the room while Sophia tilts her head in confusion.

"I have a question: Why do we need to change her heart? Alice needs to be stopped, right? Changing her heart is unnecessary."

"We can't beat her shadow up, Sophia. If we do, we might end up killing her in real life." Makoto tells her gently. "And it goes against our moral code. We will never take a person's life. Even if they deserve it. And the only times we do is in the most extreme of cases when supernatural beings are involved."

"So, even if Death is an acceptable outcome, you will avoid it at all costs?" Just hearing Sophia's suggestion sent a dark chill down the back of Ren and the original seven Thieves. But for whatever reason, they couldn't place why as Sophia continues. "As Humanities Companion, I am supposed to choose the best measures and choices for humanity. Death, in this case, is one such measure. But if it goes against the moral compass… I want to understand, but I cannot. Is my logic flawed?"

"Sophia, there is nothing wrong with your logic." Ren tells her gently. "It's true, the sooner Alice is gone, the better things will become, but doing it that way will only lead to more people suffering. They would want to know why she died and why she did the things she did. If she never says why she is walking her current path, it would only lead to more pain and suffering later on." He picks up the phone to look at the young A.I. "And that is why we never kill. So that people can get the answers they want and come to peace with it. And… we would be no better than the people we took down if we allowed ourselves to fall to their level."

"Ren's right." Makoto adds, scooting over to look at the phone. "We will never kill. We steal the desires of the wicked and make them confess their crimes to all. And… we know what it's like to see someone die before they can explain why they did what they did. And it leaves a scar on your heart that can never heal. That's why we are the Phantom Thieves of Hearts."

"Phantom Thieves…of Hearts." Sophia responds, looking between Ren and Makoto before slowly nodding her head. "I see…Hearts. I lack a heart, so I fail to understand the Logic of the Thieves. But…if I were to get a heart, I would be able to understand. If only I could understand how the heart works… If I did, I could become a better companion…"

"It's not easy." Isara comments, rolling up as Ren turns the phone around. "Not even Futaba, and I know who I got a heart. But all I can say is never give up. Keep on learning from us and interacting with us, and you'll find a heart in no time." Sophia looks at Isara, eyes wide with awe before nodding her head.

"Okay. I got it. I will officially join the Phantom Thieves of Heart. I need to learn more about hearts so I can become a better companion. I need to learn more about the heart. And the Phantom Thieves."

"Sophia, you're already one of us." Ren tells her gently. "You've been one ever since you helped us back in Alice's Jail."

"I thought we already agreed that she was a part of the team. Did we not tell her?" Ryuji asks with a grin as the Thieves all collectively nod as one, much to a beaming Sophia's joy.

"Now, about we give her a codename then? To really cement it?" Shiho asks, earning smiles from everyone.

"Oho! Now the nostalgia juices are flowing!" Futaba remarks with a giant grin.

"How about Snowy?" Haru offers.

"I'm not made of snow, though."

"Maybe something a little bit more sweeter. Like Mochi?" Kawakami suggests.

"If it has to be sweet, why not Marshmallow or Blancmange?" Ann counter suggests.

"Those aren't easy to say in the heat of battle, though…" Mishima says while shaking his head.

"Then, why don't we follow the same lines as Mona's name then?" Haru suggests, rubbing a hand along the cat's back. "After all, you all met her inside the Metaverse. Like…how about Sophie?"

"That's basically her name with a different letter on the name." Ryuji remarks, shaking his head.

"I like it. I want to be Sophie."

"It would appear it is out of our hands." Yusuke remarks as Sumire lets out a giggle.

"Well, who are we to say no?" She asks with a grin. "In that case, nice to meet you in real life, Sophia. And we'll fight beside each other soon, Sophie."

"Radical dude." Sophia replies, shooting a finger gun at Sumire with a grin.

"She's already becoming more human by the second." Akechi remarks with a grin.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she is learning from the internet. Just be careful about picking up lingo, okay?" Hifumi asks gently. "Anyway, now that we know what to do, it's time to begin our first mission."

"Infiltrating Alice's Jail. But first, we need to make a few stops at Iwai and Tae's places." Ren remarks, standing up.

"Going to get out weapons, a tune-up on those we already have and some extra medication, right?" Makoto asks with a grin.

"Yep. Also to see if they want to help us in the mission." Ren moves for the stairs, picking his bag up as Morgana jumps into the bag. "I'll be back soon."

It wasn't long until Ren came back to Leblanc. But the expression on his face was not the good news they were hoping for. Nor the information he brought back.

"Huh? They are both closed?" Ann asks in surprise as Ren plops himself on his bed.

"Yeah. Tae is out attending an academic conference for the summer, while Iwai is out as well. Not sure what, but I'm not going to bother him in case it's something personal." Ren replies before glancing at his phone. "Probably would have been quicker to ask them in the group chat as well… The door to the Velvet Room was still there, though, so I have my full roster with me."

"That's at least something. But we should tell the others as well about what is happening at some point. Unless they have already clued in onto it." Makoto agrees before glancing at Isara. "But still, what will we do for weapons and medicine. We're still good, but they might need replacing at some point. Not to mention that the weapons from the Kingdoms are useless now."

"Man, the airsoft shop is closed, Tae is out for summer vacation… That only leaves the Velvet Room for making weapons, right?"

"About that… Igor said the process to turn Persona's into weapons and gear was not available at the moment when I went to get my roster back. He's been trying to get it to work again, but he's not had any luck." A chorus of groans escapes the room as their other way of gearing up is lost to them.

"Then, what do we do? We can't just go looking for other stores." Futaba asks, shaking her head.

"Have a problem?" Sophia asks from Ren's phone, drawing all eyes. "Perhaps I can help. If you would like, I would be happy to lend a hand."

"Lend a hand? I mean, sure, we would love the help, but how?" Mishima asks.

"The Net has all. Ryuji, is there anything you would like?"

"Huh? What do I like?" Ryuji asks, thinking to himself for a moment. "Well, the first thing that comes to mind is a gold bar, but that's impossible to get."

"A gold bar? That's the first thing that comes to your mind?" Shiho asks, shaking her head.

"At least you know how ridiculous it is to get one." Hifumi remarks, shaking her head. "But why did you think of that in the first place."

"Because of our times as Thieves. And besides, who would be dumb enough to—"

"Okay. I got it. Please wait." Sophia suddenly interjects, dragging all eyes to her.

"Huh? Got what?" Sumire asks, just as the door to Leblanc is opened.

"HELLOOO! EXPEDITED DEILVERY!" The voice shouts up, sending everyone wide-eyed as they turn to the stairs. Jaws hung open in stunned, shocked silence.

"Ryuji… did you really just order a gold bar?" Kawakami asks as Sojiro hesitantly heads downstairs. Ryuji nervously shrugs his shoulders as Sojiro soon returns. Still, with a look of shock, he carried a well-wrapped cardboard box before setting it on the table as everyone looked at it with trepidation. No one dared to speak, let alone breathe in the presence of this box. Until one of them dared to break the silence.

"Well, one of us should open it." Yusuke comments, flicking back some hair from his eyes.

"Well, you did order it Ryuji. So you should open it." Ann tells him, much to his embarrassment.

"Is this even legal?" Ren asks, feeling uncomfortable at the situation.

"I am sure it is fine." Akechi tries to assure, although he is less than sure himself. "I think…"

"Look, this is either going to be a prank or some toy." Ryuji remarks as he starts to open the box. "I mean, there is NO WAY that Sophia managed to find an actual…golden…bar…" Ryuji's words die in his mouth as he and the rest of the Thieves are met by a brilliant shine of gold. Coming from a very real, and very large, golden bar.

"Is that…real?" Sumire asks as Mishima leans in to give it a few taps with his finger.

"It…feels real…" He replies, a look of shock on his face.

"Hoooly shit….what have I done?" Ryuji squeaks as he holds his head in his hands. Ren and Makoto just glance at each other in muted silence while Sojiro, Akechi and Kawakami rub the space between their eyes. Futaba was a sputtering mess, while Isara just stared blankly at the box.

"Yes…my eyes cannot be fooled. There's no doubt…that's real gold…" Yusuke comments, covering his eyes with a hand.

"No way… There is no way that is real… I mean…how?" Ann asks, completely stunned.

"Wow…now I can open my café early! It's like a dream!" Haru tries to lighten the mood, but the weak laughter she gives out at the end only makes it feel worse.

"Should we…send this to the police?" Sumire asks nervously, glancing at Hifumi.

"Would they even believe it arrived like this? In fact, are we sure that this isn't a crime in itself?" Hifumi counters, feeling very worried about the situation.

"Okay, everyone! Let's take a moment to calm down before we do anything stupid!" Isara calls out to the Thieves. Just as Sophia pops back onto Ren's phone.

"All right. Did that solve your problem?" Ren and Makoto glance at her, both with a strange mix of pride, confusion, and downright uncertainty.

"Um… Good job?" Ren says shakingly.

"Ren, don't praise her…" Makoto comments back, before looking back at Sophia. "As for you, young lady, you better have a good excuse for what you've done."

"I found an online delivery service with expedited delivery service. Time is no longer a concern."

"But, how did you find a whole gold bar?" Ren questions, shaking his head. "You better not have broken any major laws, Sophia."

"I found it from the Dark Web. Don't worry, I broke no laws." Sophia reveals, the smile not leaving her face for a moment.

"As if that makes us feel any better…" Makoto comments, shaking her head. "Why did you go looking in the Dark Web? What if you encountered a virus or something?"

"I was being careful, though…" Sophia replies, sounding like a scolded child

"At least she didn't break any laws… that's something at least…" Ren agrees, shaking his head. Makoto lets out a reserved sigh as Sophia perks up again.

"The payment was made in cryptocurrency. I will send you an invoice for reimbursement later."

"WE HAVE TO REIMBURSE YOU!?" Morgana shouts as everyone suddenly turns very pale at the thought.

"And…how much did this…cost again?" Kawakami hesitantly asks. Futaba turned to look at her, with a face that looked dead to the world with a stare that was looking far out to the horizon and not focused on her.

"At least a few million…" She replies, sending everyone's skin even paler at the thought.

"Well, I'm not paying." Sojiro replies, looking up to Ryuji. "You're the one who bought it, so you're paying boy." The comment made Ryuji's blond hair turn bleached as he looked back at the golden bar. It didn't take long for him to make his choice on the matter.

"Senditback." He says quickly. Very quickly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch that." Sophia responds as all eyes turn to Ryuji. Before she stomps a foot forward, head pointing at the ceiling as he lets his voice out.

"SEND THE EFFIN' THING BACK!"

And like that, the gold bar was quickly taken away by the same guy who dropped it off. Leaving the Thieves along with a few more grey hairs in their hair.

"I'm relieved they took it back…" Makoto comments as Ren glances at the phone.

"Sophia, from now on, don't buy anything without double checking with all of us if its okay first."

"Okay. I'm sorry." Sophia apologises from the phone as Ren shakes his head.

"As if I needed any more grey hairs…" Sojiro comments, rubbing his head. "Hope you learned your listen kid."

"Aw c'mon, who woulda thought that would have showed up here? But I'll try better." Ryuji replies, still holding his head in his hands.

"The phrase, 'writing one's cheque with their mouths', is oddly fitting here." Akechi comments, also head in hands. "But I'd never assume it would have led to that."

"Even so, doesn't the service itself look promising?" Hifumi asks, looking at Ren and Makoto. "With that speed, we won't have to worry about finding new supplies while we dive into the Jail."

"So long as we all agree on what to buy before making the purchase." Ren agrees, with Makoto giving a nod before turning back to the phone. "We'll be counting on you, Sophia."

"Okay. Leave it to me. Sophia's shop is open." Nodding at his phone, Ren stands up, glancing over everyone as he gives out his Joker smirk.

"It's Showtime!"

Once more, the Thieves return to the Shibuya Jail. Once more, overlooking the square, they stare at the 705 Building. "All right, let's begin the operation!" Mona cries with a grin as the Thieves glance over their weapons. Boss and Teach moreso, due to using only their guns in Samael's kingdoms, this would be the first time they through wither their other weapons. Although how much damage Boss could do with a book was questionable, Teach did have dual knives to use.

"What is our current goal?" Sophie asks, looking around everyone as her visor clips down.

"First, we need to secure our route to the Treasure." Joker tells her before looking at Mona. "Do you have a good sense of where it is, Mona?"

"Yeah. I'm sensing it over there somewhere. Towards the 705 building. Kinda obvious if you think about it."

"That's where you were taken when you were captured, right?" Queen asks, cracking her knuckles. Her Gordio blades are hanging from her hips. "How I would like to have a one-to-one 'chat' with Alice about that."

"Easy on the blood rush, Queen. But I would be lying if I didn't feel the same." Spring comments, her hand tightening around her spear, Gae Bolg.

"So Alice is in there right now, huh?" Panther asks, looking over the place. "Man, the more you look at it, the more it turns into a castle."

"I suppose that means our first observation is the castle itself?" Crow asks Joker, who nods at him. Before leaping elegantly off the platform to the street below. Followed quickly by the rest of the Thieves. Where a long cop shadow stood ahead of them, its back turned.

"I've got this." Shadow quips, throwing her chain kunai Varja into the cop's back. Before dragging herself onto its back and grasping the mask on its face. "Show us your true form!" She shouts, ripping it off and leaping backwards. Just as the cop shadow disintegrates into a small army of cops and free Persona, comprised of a Berith, Jack-o-Lanterns and Pixies.

"Now, while they're dazed!" Oracle shouts as a screen appears around her just as the Thieves change into battle, with them all finding their attacks having the same AOE function as what Outlaw described.

In truth, they found themselves fighting more flexibly than they did in the Palaces, much to their confusion. While during the fight, Boss found that he could control his book with his mind, directing it in battle with a flick of his right hand as it changed size during the swings. While Teach found herself dashing through foes with her twin knives. As for Edelweiss, while she didn't have a Persona like the others, she made up for it with the missile launchers on her back and arm blades located in her arms. Switching them to mini cannons at the end of a combo.

The battle was over withing a matter of seconds, the Thieves once more using their ambush skills to their advantage. Which could be more than said of their time in the Kingdoms.

"That felt good!" Violet comments, jumping on the spot with her Sword of Sinai II still in hand.

"It's been so long since we actually fought. I forgot the rush that comes with victory." Noir comments, planting her axe, Fleurs du Mal R, head first into the ground.

"I'm more happy that I can actually fight with a book." Boss comments, with his book floating around him. "Who knew that the paper was mightier than the sword."

"Let's keep moving forward. Thankfully, there are a lot of spaces around here we can use as cover." Joker comments, leaping onto one of the lampposts near them while Mona hops onto a bus station. "Something tells me this will be a lot more fun to explore."

"I'll keep an eye on things from above." Oracle announces as Al Azif appears above her, beaming her up to safety. "Navigation is at the ready. Let's get to the 705 building." With nods all around, the Thieves press forward, ambushing two more groups of shadows before arriving at the road leading to the 705 building. Which they only now just realised had walls on either end, with a long strip of metal connecting the two along the road.

But it was the giant searchlights beaming down from above and onto the road that stopped their movements. Blocking them from getting near the doors leading inside the castle.

"Well, so much for walking in through the front door. Not like that would work anyway." Outlaw comments, shaking his head.

"There are cops patrolling the area as well. One wrong move and we'll be surrounded by an army. And even with all of us, it would be a tough fight." Mona quips, glancing at the patrolling cops with unease.

"Looks like there is a path we can take along the side of the building to our right." Oracle points out, directing their gaze to the scaffolding before them. "We can avoid the searchlights that way and enter via a side door."

"Better that than nothing." Queen agrees as the team moves for the scaffolding. Climbing up, they could see a path along the side of the castle they could use. And better yet, it was unguarded. But as they made their way across, moving past the strangely designed buildings lined with presents and balloons, they came to an open space just as Oracle told them to stop.

"What's wrong, Oracle?" Shadow asks as Al Azif floats next to them.

"It's better to show you. Outlaw, Edelweiss. Can you move into the open space, please?" The two glance at each other, shrugging their shoulders before following Orace's instructions and walking out to the open space. And are immediately assailed by Gatlin guns raining lead down on them. Only, there was a slight problem with that.

"So…what is the problem here, Oracle?" Outlaw asks as the rounds bounce harmlessly off him with a smug grin.

"Yeah. The only thing we feel is a strong breeze." Edelweiss agrees, the rounds pining off her without leaving a scratch. "You're afraid of the weather? It's just a light shower." The two share a high-five with matching smirks as they walk back to the others.

"Laugh it up, you two… Be lucky you both block gun attacks. And Joker…" Oracle quips as the Thieves shake their heads at the two. Watching as they rejoin them and exit the gun's line of sight.

"Still, this is a problem for the rest of us." Crow remarks. "So long as those guns remain online, we have no way of entering Alice's castle. And I doubt we can just use Joker, Outlaw and Edelweiss as shields."

"Well, it's a good thing I did a scan on these guns then!" Oracle quips, Al Azif floating close to the Thieves. "The power source for those guns and searchlights is to the south of here. Somewhere around Maruku City. Must be some sort of power facility."

"Maruku City? This is starting to feel like Kobayakawa's Palace all over again…" Spring comments as the group retrace their steps.

"Now that you mention it, his Palace was larger than the others…" Shadow admits, stroking her chin. "I wonder if it's just a coincidence…"

"Let's keep moving forward and we should find the answer at the end." Teach remarks as they reach Shibuya. "Still…even though it's still Shibuya, the layout is still different in a way."

"Agreed. I don't even know which way to take." Noir admits, tilting her hat over her eyes. "Do you have a map, Oracle?"

"Yeah. I've got a layout of the place. Strange that I already have it mapped out, but I'm not going to complain." Oracle chimes out, flying over to an alleyway to their right. "This way leads to Maruku City."

"Isn't that the same path we took when we first came here?" Skull asks as the team moves to Oracle's position.

"Yeah, it is." Mona confirms, hopping onto Joker's shoulder. "Let's just hope we don't fall into the same trap again."

Despite being the path to Maruku City, it was clear that it was NOT a straight path there. Everywhere they looked, the distortion of the area met their eyes. Barriers blocked off roads, and giant presents lined up along the walls. Heart-shaped doors with swirls at the top lined the doors, glowing in a pink light alongside the windows. Along with a new kind of cop shadow patrolling the alleys.

"Is that a drone?" Edelweiss asks, watching the four-bladed drone fly about. A spotlight illuminated the floor.

"It does match the descriptions of a drone." Sophie comments, watching it fly around.

"If that thing sees us, we'll get swarmed by shadows." Panther points out as Queen and Joker stroke their chins in thought.

"Let's try and avoid needless fights." Shadow advises. "Fighting those large foes for long periods of time will drain our energy."

"Agreed." Joker nods his head before looking at the wall ahead of them. And seeing a gap along the top. "Follow me, I see a way forward." Leaping through the shadows, Joker moves up the wall, finding a path forward while a giant candy hangs in the air ahead of him. Along with another sentry shadow on patrol under him. Clicking his teeth, Joker glances between the giant floating candy and sentry before getting an idea.

Just as the rest of the Thieves join him on the wall, Joker moves to the floating candy and slices the strings holding it to the balloon. Sending it crashing down to the ground, crushing the sentry and spawning the shadows it hid. All of them were confused at the sudden attack before the Thieves dropped down on them from above. Unleashing an All-Out Attack on the group. Wiping them out before they knew what hit them.

"Nice one, Joker! They never knew what hit them!" Mona praises, leaping onto his shoulders as the Thieves press onwards.

"So using the environment to our advantage is another skill we use?" Sophie asks Edelweiss, who nods her head at her.

"Yeah. Always look to get an advantage. That's the golden rule." Sophie nods her head vigorously as the Thieves press on. Avoiding needless conflict as they move through the tight corridors before arriving at an open space with a floating candy and a giant cupcake? Before any of them could question the strange décor, three Silky's appear from the ground to block their path alongside another army of cop shadows.

"Heads up! We've got trouble!" Violet shouts, drawing her sword as the Thieves get ready for battle.

"I got this! Célestine! Blazing Hell!" Panther shouts, summoning her persona as she lights up the area around them. Engulfing the cops and gravely injuring the Silky's. Yet, to her surprise, she did not one-shot them as she imagined. "Seriously!?"

"Lucifer! Blazing Hell!" Joker shouts, joining his fire spell with Panthers, singing the Silky's even more. Yet even that was not enough to kill them as two of them countered with Bufudyne at the Thieves. Forcing them to dodge.

"Since when did Silky's get so strong!?"Skull shouts, bashing his mace into several cops at once. "These are the same ones we faced in Kamo-shit-heads Palace!"

"Chiron! Agidyne!" Teach cries, summoning her other half to the field and blasting one of the Silky's with fire. Knocking it to the ground. "There's an opening!" She cries, leaping into the air. Quickly followed by Boss, Sophie and Spring as they beat down the three Silky's. Finally taking them out as the rest of the Thieves finish off the remaining cops. Outlaw is getting the drop on them by dropping the floating candy and scattering them about.

"What is going on? Shouldn't they be at the same strength?" Spring asks as the team gathers up.

"Something tells me things work differently here…" Queen replies before glancing down an unblocked path. Seeing something she was not expecting. "Is that…a fort over there?" She pointed out, indicating to the stone wall and closed gate waiting for them at the end of the path.

"Not just that Queen…" Oracle informs as she floats down to the surface from Al Azif. "That's Maruku City."

"On the other side of that gate?" Boss questions, folding his arms. "Why can't things ever be simple…?"

"Time to find an alternate route then…" Violet comments, equally unhappy at the obstruction. "I don't think any of us could climb over that. Apart from Oracle and Edelweiss, anyway… Not even with our grappling hooks."

"Why don't we traverse the roofs?" Fox asks, motioning a hand to an exposed roof ledge. "We should be able to find a path forward. Or, at the very least, a path around this barricade."

"It's better than standing around here twiddling our thumbs. Let's go!" Panther cheers, with the Thieves quickly moving up the ledge and onto the roofs. And quickly getting a slightly better view of the mini keep, seeing another wall father in along with a tower sporting the same kind of cage as on the 705 building. But it still wasn't enough as the team continued to climb higher. Seeing more of the buildings around them transformed into some twisted theme park of Alice in Wonderland.

It even had giant signboards for tea parties! At least they were avoiding the patrols looking for them in the alleyways as they moved via swinging on balloons. Certainly not the strangest thing they have ever done. Soon, they found themselves traversing the side of a building, moving via catwalks before coming to a new test of skill.

"Are we seriously going to shimmy our way over a thin edge on the side of the building?" Teach asks in shock, seeing the only path before them. And it was indeed a line along the edge of the building, big enough for some to slide across it. Yet, with only enough space for one foot at a time.

"Don't worry about it, Teach! Just believe that you can do it, and you can!" Violet tells her as Joker moves across first. Moving with an ease and suave as though he had been doing it for years. One by one, the rest of the Thieves, except Oracle, who flew by Al Azif and Edelweiss, who used the thrusters on her back, followed after Joker. Leaving only Boss and Teach left as the two sighed in resignation.

"Ladies first?" Boss suggests, earning a smack in his arm as Teach moves to the edge. Taking a deep breath, she slowly makes her way across, almost stumbling at one point, but eventually, she makes her way over, much to her joy. Seeing her make it, Boss follows behind, almost slipping up twice, but manages to make it as well.

"See? That wasn't so hard." Crow tells them with a smirk, earning a light smack from Boss in response.

"Wow. What a view, huh?" Mona suddenly remarks, looking over the keep before them.

"It sure is. But, what is that cage?" Noir suddenly asks, pointing out the metal structure. "And…what is that glowing inside it?"

"Could it be a Treasure, Mona?" Outlaw asks, flicking his hat up.

"Nah…I'm not getting a Treasure vibe from it. It looks like one, but it isn't."

"You say that, but it's definitely important." Oracle pipes up, a screen before her. "I'm reading a huge energy reading from it. And it's connected to the searchlights back at Alice's castle. If we take it, we could get rid of both those and the guns."

"Well, that makes our next step easy." Queen remarks, flicking some hair back. "The only question now is, how do we reach it? I don't see anything that looks like an entrance up here."

"Suggestion: Why not pop in from below?" Sophie asks, with a hand in the air. "Below us in an underground waterway, remember?"

"That's right. The same place we found you." Joker replies, smiling. "In that case, let's head back underground. I remember where we exited, so I'll lead us there." With a flip, Joker leaps from the roof to the ground, landing softly like a cat as the Thieves follow after him. But just as they began to traverse the roofs, they were ambushed by a shadow cop, which took on the form of a giant Pixie, which started blasting them with Ziodyne.

"Try this on! Abyssal Wings!" Joker cries, summoning Raoul as he peppers the Pixie with curse magic. Only to see a shield form around it, just like the Bicorn from before. "Damn it! It's got a shield!"

"A shield with only two uses left! Keep at it!" Oracle tells the thieves, just as more Pixies and shadow cops appear on the roof around them.

"Trigger Happy!" Outlaw cries, landing the multi-hit gun skill on the Pixies, knocking some down while killing others. And damaging the shield on the big Pixie even more.

"OW! Don't you men have any manners!?" The pixie shouts, firing a Zionga at the Thieves and causing them to scatter.

"Manners, huh?" Boss asks, glancing at the Pixie before putting on a smirk. Feeling a surge of energy building behind him. "Then let me tell you a little secret then." He remarks, tossing his book to the ground as Merlin appears behind him. "A man speaks with his back!" He shouts, spinning around, just as Merlin focuses Almighty, Bless and Curse magic into a sphere on Bosses back. Just as the magic reached it's apex, Boss quickly glances over his shoulders. His eyes glinting as he shouts to the sky. "SOJIRO BEAM!" The attack blasts forward, piercing through the Pixie and leaving a mark in the wall behind it while gouging out a trench in the floor under him. The Pixies and shadow cops caught in the blast were instantly evaporated, while the giant Pixie clutched her stomach before vanishing into darkness just like all the others.

"What the hell was THAT Boss!? And what did you say your name out loud!?" Oracle asks, running up to Boss, who sheepishly rubs the back of his head.

"I think I got carried away…" Boss remarks with a grin, earning a groan out of Oracle while Joker shakes his head. "Having said that, I'm feeling exhausted…" He places a hand on his leg as he leans down a bit.

"Yeah, I'm feeling tired as well…" Panther comments, stretching her back. "Shall we head back to reality for a quick break? These fights seem to drain us faster than in a Palace."

"But don't we need to head back to Shibuya? Won't that eat into our time?" Teach asks with concern. Their point of entry was pretty far away from where they were, after all.

"If we find a Safe Room, we should be able to fast travel back to the start. But I haven't seen anything yet." Oracle remarks, folding her arms as they walk down a normal-looking alley. Just then, Sophie stops in her tracks, glancing over to a nearby corner.

"Hold a moment. Something is nearby." She tells the team, running up to the spot before kneeling down. All of a sudden, a light blue column emerges from the ground, startling her and the others.

"What the hell is that?" Skull asks as Oracle rushes up to it. She opens one of her screens over it, analysing the data, before a large grin splits across her face.

"We're in luck! This is connected to our entry point! We can fast travel between here and there no problem!"

"Looks like we have found our Safe Room." Joker comments with a grin. "Let's head back to reality and rest up for a moment. These foes are tougher than we thought, so we need to conserve our strength."

"No arguments from me." Queen remarks as Oracle activates the Checkpoint. Opening up a portal right at their entry point. "Let's fall back for now." Without any objection, the team headed back to reality to rest up. And ready themselves for what else this Jail had in store for them.

I wonder who cached on the reference with Sojiro?