Shattered Justice (A Persona Quest)

In the end, the thing that seals the decision to go around the long way is the fact that, with the shorter path, nobody has enough trust in each other to think that you'd all get through without being overconfident and getting shot.

And sure, you've proven that these FOEs can be beaten- with ease, even! But that doesn't mean that you want to make yourselves an open target.

So around the room it is. Sure, you've got to cross them on three sides instead of just one, but this is still a fairly straightforward path, and you're all less likely to get overconfident.
Some of us have to worry more about that than others.
The first crossing goes fairly well. Morgana slips up once, but apparently he's small enough that the FOEs don't see him. Which is supremely unfair, even if it leads to him grumbling about being short.

Hanamura-san crosses his arms. "Well, you're a cat," He points out, and you mentally prepare yourself for the inevitable response. "Of course you're short."

"But I'm not a cat! Or... at least, not a normal one. Could a normal cat-?"

Yukari-san sighs. "...Let's stop right here. Unless you want us to find out if we can drive a bus over spikes."

Morgana shuts up. "...That'd make my paws hurt for days..." The fact that he sounds so sure about this raises more than a few questions. Such as if he's been walking on nails or something recently.
I mean, just because cats always land on their feet, doesn't necessarily make it a fun landing.
"...A bus?" Rei blinks.

"He turns into a bus," Makoto-san confirms. "Apparently. But none of us have a driver's license."

Her eyes light up. "Show me!"

"Not here!" Morgana hisses, shooting a panicked glance at the spikes. You think there's enough space around them for him to drive through... but you don't blame him for being cautions. Like Makoto-san says. None of you are qualified to drive.

When you turn the corner, the path splits, sort of.

...Well, okay, the path itself is the still the same, a simple circuit around the room. But it turns out that there's a second room connected to this one, which is filled with spikes. You can't really look inside it- it's sort of in the FOEs' lines of sight- but you can tell that the wall on the other side is filled with arrows.

You'd passed another arrow-filled spot on your way here. That's how you know it's definitely in the FOEs' lines of sight.


[ ] Keep on track.

[ ] Explore the second room.

As intriguing as the room full of spikes looks, that doesn't change the fact that it is a room full of spikes. Magic-draining spikes, to be exact, and when it comes to a fight, you're nothing without your magic.
Technically, we've got other options, but I'm not the biggest fan of those options.
As interesting as it would be to take a look inside, and see what's there, you decide that you'd really rather not.

As a result, the most intriguing thing that happens is that you find out what happens when hit by an FOE's arrow- Hanamura-san was unlucky enough to get caught, and for the next five minutes, he was walking backwards. You find the whole thing hilarious, even once he's figured out how to get past it, because the second it wears off, he goes back to walking in reverse.

He doesn't appear to have actually been hurt by the arrow, so it's more an amusing thing that happens than anything else.

---

Very soon after, you come to a room that's like the one where you had to answer that question- in fact, it's identical.

"Another door..." Mitsuru-san stares at the chains in front of her, as if she can turn them to ice and then make them shatter. Which would be an improvement, you think, over having to listen to that grating voice ever again. "It's like the one from before."

"Maybe there's another question," Yukari-san suggests. "...You'd think that voice would have said something by now."

"Well, hello. I heard you talking about me, so here I am." Either the ones who created this recording thought ahead of time, or it's not a recording after all. You aren't sure which one would be worse.

"Why, hello, indeed," Aigis-san says. You suppose that, if anyone were to try and communicate with that voice, it'd be her.

"After much anguish, you succeeded in breaking through the first room. But your path seems as though it might be endless… Yet the choice that determines your destiny is approaching quickly. And so, here is your long awaited question number two."

As it said, a new question appears in front of you- specifically in front of you.
I'm afraid there really is no backing out of this.
What is it you most desire in a partner?



[ ] A graceful beauty.

[ ] A stunning intelligence.

[ ] An incredible power.