Floor 8 wasn't too different from the previous one; it had an aura of relaxation and seemed to be akin to a break room. There were tables of food, like chips and cups of freshly poured soda still sizzling softly. Yu didn't know what was going on "Is there some sort of party?" he asked, looking around for anyone else, but only the people beside him. "Well, I say we eat some of this stuff,'' Yosuke said, reaching over to grab a cup of whatever drink was in it, taking a quick chug of it before immediately regretting it "Oh, curse this old body!" he yelled, recoiling as he tightened his grip around the red solo cup, squeezing it tightly.
"Well, other than being dumb, how about we try and actually enjoy ourselves." Rise suggested, tasting the barbeque chips presented to them in a bowl. "Mmmm, these ain't bad. Come on guys, try it out." She shuffled aside, letting them taste the delicious food that magically appeared before them. Pretzels, nacho chips, salsa, along with fruits and vegetables to go with. "Man, I wonder who prepared all this stuff." Teddie wondered, pausing as he looked up "I hope there's enough food for everyone…" Everyone stopped, looking at themselves before shrugging their shoulders and continuing to eat the presented food once again.
But as they gorged on food, withered shadows lumbered behind them. Their fires turned to ash and soot with every step. They wheezed loudly and were slumped over like they had a hump back. Each step let embers of flame spread on the floor, burning it as they breathed in heavily, making their presence known to the seniors. "Uh, what are those things?" Yosuke asked, taking another bite out of his bagel as Yu turned around and grew fearful "Is it Halloween? Oh, did I forget that this is a Halloween party?" He looked so disappointed in himself, thinking that he forgot to bring a costume to a party he wasn't invited to.
"Look, I'm sorry for barging in, it was rude and very unprofessional." Yu stated, holding his hands up passively as he coughed softly "We can leave this place if you want. But I do have to wonder though, where are we exactly? I don't really remember how I got here, much less where the door is located…" He looked around, scratching the top of his head as he sniffed loudly "But uh, we won't have any trouble right? I mean if I had any money on me I'd pay you. But as we can all see...I'm not good on cash."
The shadows remained silent, remaining as slouched over as before. The fires flickered around their bodies, each movement just as weak as the last. They looked at them with dead eyes, with an uncanny humanoid-like appearance. They bared their knuckles and grew closer, not one of them acknowledged what Yu was talking about, nor did any of them even have the ability to speak; they were mute, mindless, fiery slaves that no individual personality or any sort of mental fortitude even remotely close to an actual human being.
The group then feels that the shadows were acting off, that they weren't actually the owners of whatever home they stumbled into "Well this is just great, now I'm talking to a bunch of thieves- do you know where we are living? What kind of neighborhood this is? Why, just your mission here already lowers the property value." They then started acting as if the place was theirs to begin with and that they were intruding. "You know what? Fine, we'll find a phone and call the police on you!" Everyone then started lumbering away, spreading off into different directions.
The shadows then moved quickly, attempting to catch them in their tracks. But the seniors were unintentionally intelligent, dodging and weaving with ease, though they were simply looking at the furniture "Oh, a quarter!" Teddie cheered, bending over to pick up the coin as a shadow jumped over him, landing feet away "Oh, it's just some lint." he whined, flicking it onto the shadow as he continued looking for the phone "You guys seen anything yet? All I found was some floor lint that looked like a coin!" Yosuke then peaked his head out of a doorway "What kind of coin?" He asked curiously.
Teddie didn't get to answer, as more old-looking shadows ambushed them. The oldies were tough but they weren't invincible, running out of breath rather frequently now. Their chest burned and tightened itself inside of them; turning into a knot as they coughed and wheezed around the place, holding onto the walls for stability as they tried getting rid of whatever fog was stuck inside of their throats! Chie did similarly, now surrounded by two shadows who closed in on her aggressively. "Oh hell no!"
Chie then lifted her walking cane, using it like a baseball bat as she smashed one shadow's head in and repeatedly hit the other in the abdomen, watching them dissipate into dust as she sneered "That's what you get perverts." The others started doing similarly, going after the shadows themselves with their canes, cups, plates, whatever. They fought back and all eight of them won against their foes. "Eat that, dirt bags!" Naoto yelled "They were probably some stupid kids, dressing up as some movie character." But before they could start complaining about modern day kids, the wall opened up.
The wall showed them the way out, with the top of the doorway marked as an exit. Yu walked forward, laughing softly as he stood tall "Well, there's the exit. I've been looking for that for what feels like ages!" He commented to himself, going towards the doorway as a carpeted stairway formed at his feet, leading up to the next floor, which seemed to be very high up. A lot higher than the other stairways "Well, what are we waiting for, new years? Let's go!" He stepped first, followed by his friends as they went to the ninth floor, where more unexpected turns awaited for their slow arrival.