Now they had arrived at Floor 9. A sense of relief washed over them, with a single idea being shared between them; the journey was almost over. But this floor was foggy looking, each turn was like they were in the labyrinth of old. "What is this place?" Rise wondered, scratching her neck rolls absentmindedly as Yu took a few steps forward, ensuring that he could see everyone behind and beside him at all times. "Where did all of this thick fog come from? Is there some kid with a machine somewhere? The mentioning of the youth made the other start complaining about them all over again.
Their yelling caused the shadows nearby to be aware of their location, growing closer as the seniors screamed over each other to prove a point that they all collectively agreed on multiple times already. Yu tried to keep everyone down, but they went on and on, distracted by their own need to validate themselves "Alright, hold on. Here, this young gentleman can tell us...can...um, well…" The memory of the argument faded rather quickly "Oh what was it? Anyway, do you know these parts? We're lost and simply want to get out of here as soon as possible."
The shadows grew in number, surrounding them as they grabbed Yu's arm and gripped it tightly, almost making him let go of his cane. "Hey, let go!" He said, attempting to pull away from the creature as everyone else dealt with a similar problem. There were as many shadows as there were people, but the shadows finally had an advantage that the people could no longer match; their Persona's had vanished, with everyone forgetting how to use them, or that they even had the ability in the first place. They only had each other and they weren't enough for one another.
But then they got even more physical, pulling and tugging on the elderly like they were a sack of potatoes. Naoto wasn't having it, attempting to use her gun to shoot one of them, but the gun was knocked out of her hand. Kanji simply saw the shadow hitting his supposed wife, feeling the strength of ten lions flowing through his body as he struck the shadow holding him, lifting him into the air with all his might and throwing him a couple of inches away. An impressive feat to be sure, especially considering that he couldn't remember why he was even naked, but he did know that he cared for Naoto and he'd defend her with his life!
His strength, however brief, was enough to allow everyone else the chance to start fighting against the shadows. Though fighting was putting it lightly- it was more like everyone was trying to do Turkish Oil wrestling without the oil, grabbing onto each other as they tried to pin you to the ground or wall. Chie used her large body to squish one shadow's head, crushing it and making the rest of its body dissipate in a matter of seconds. Yukiko performed a flurry of fast paced slapping, going back and forth over and over again until the shadow tripped over Naoto's gun and turned into smoke in an instant.
Chie used her sitting position to take advantage of the gun on the floor, picking it up and started to shoot at the shadows, missing four times before hitting one twice in its torso, reducing it to ash as Teddy simply hugged his shadow, waiting for someone else to help take care of his problem, which Yu did by taking his sword and waving it at the shadow, stabbing it in its back as Teddy leaned forward and nearly fell over "Wow, thanks for that." He said, smiling brightly at Yu as everyone took care of the shadow, now alone in the fog once again.
Then a door appeared, but it was different. The outer edges of it glowed a brilliant golden glow, showering the elderly with it's light as it opened on it's own, blinding them with the light as the group members opened their eyes and saw a pair of steps leading upward. "Is...is that heaven?" Yosuke asked, unsure if he could believe in what he was seeing at the moment. Nobody could give an answer, but they all moved towards the white marble staircase, going to the top floor of the building that had been aging them for who knows how long now. If they beat the very being keeping them here, they'd be free.