"Boy, is this Palace eerie or what?" Joker remarked.
"It's creepier than any Palace we've dove into," Ann squealed nervously.
"I don't like it here," Ryuji shivered, taking in the ominous atmosphere which he and his allies were making their way through. "We should leave."
"Oh, Skull, don't be a wuss!" Morgana frowned. "You can't tell me you're scared of this place?"
"Scared? Who said anything about me being scared?" Ryuji shook his head. "I just think this Palace might be a little more dangerous than the others. That's why we should leave it."
"Well we can't leave," Yusuke said sternly. "Not until we've found the treasure."
The Phantom Thieves cautiously followed the glow of Joker's flashlight. They made their way through the darkness, eager to find the treasure that was hidden somewhere. The teenagers were anxious to get what they needed so they could make their exit. There was something about this Palace they didn't like. They hadn't run into any Shadows, yet none of them felt like they were alone.
"Look!" Makoto cried as she pointed ahead. "What's that up there?"
"Is it the treasure?" Futaba asked hopefully.
"T-T-T-T-Treasure?" Morgana's eyes sparkled in the dark. "Mrrrrreeeeeooooow!"
Joker shone his flashlight onto what Makoto had spotted, making his way swiftly towards it.
"No, it's no treasure," he said as he pulled it away from the wall. "It's just another one of these pages!"
"You're kidding?" Morgana snapped out of his crazy state as a frown crossed his furry face. "How many of those useless pages have we found in this Palace?"
"Must be about eight by now!" Yusuke said as he held up the other sheets of paper which the ground had gathered while exploring.
"They must have some meaning," Ann suggested, "to be spread around this palace."
"Well they're no good to us! Those pages are not what we came for! We came to steal the treasure - and there's no sight of it anywhere!"
Morgana let off a howl which shook the walls of the Palace, causing his teammates to cover their ears to block out the tantrum he was throwing.
"Where's the goddamned treasure?!"
At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the darkness, seemingly popping out of nowhere as it towered over the Phantom Thieves.
All of the teenagers gasped and cried. They were horrified by the abrupt arrival of this sinister figure - who they had no trouble recognising from how fuzzy he turned the atmosphere.
"It's the Slender Man!" Futaba wailed.
"Run for your lives!" Makoto squealed. "Before he makes us disappear!"
The youngsters began to dart away. They were not prepared to stay with the nightmarish being who had the power to make them disappear.
The Slender Man reached out quickly, determined to have at least one victim to erase from existence. He managed to grab one of the Phantom Thieves, his ghostly with fingers wrapping tightly around them.
"Hey!" Morgana wailed as he felt himself being lifted up and into the clutches of the suited-up menace. "Help, you guys! He's got me!"
"You're on your own, Mona!" Ryuji called out as he raced around the corner with the rest of the teenagers, leaving Morgana to deal with his attacker. "You'll be alright with him! Cats have nine lives!"
"I am not a cat!"
No sooner had Morgana hissed his denial over what he was when he felt icy cold fingers running across his head. He turned to stare up at the Slender Man. The demon was gently petting the feline in his clutches. It was as if he wanted to give the cat a final bit of affection before making him disappear.
"Alright, you faceless freak! Now you're gonna get it!"
With a loud howl, Mornaha managed to pull himself out of the Slender Man's hold - to pounce at his featureless head. He knocked the creepy figure off his feet, pin him down flat on his back onto the floor.
Sitting on top of his assailant, Morgana raised his paws to stick out his claws. He brought them down towards the Slender Man - who he began to brutally scratch up.
"Take this! And that, you meddlesome monster!" Morgana hissed. "I'd gladly scratch your face off - if you only had one!"
The teenagers peered out from behind the corner. They were astonished to see Morgana successfully take on the Slender Man. The small cat seemed to have no trouble carving up the supernatural legend.
The Slender Man didn't have a chance. There was nothing he could do defend himself from the little critter he'd underestimated. His white featureless body and black smart suit evaporated into clouds of smoke as he disappeared into thin air, a threat no more.
"Wow, Mona!" Ryuji exclaimed as he and the others emerged from behind the corner. "You took on the Slender Man!"
"I sure did!" Morgana nodded proudly. "No thanks to you armatures!"
"He would've made us disappear if he could any of us!" Yusuke said. "Yet it was you who managed to make the Slender Man disappear!"
"You saved us, Morgana!" Ann cried. "You're our hero!"
Morgana grinned, pleased to be getting praise from the young lady who he was smitten with. "Well there's no way I would've let the Slender Man get you, Lady Ann! I would never have let him erase a gorgeous panther like you from existence!"
Joker and Ryuji exchanged silent unamused looks. Neither one of them was impressed with the feline's attempts to flatter and flirt with the girl he had no chance with.
"You were so brave!" Makoto added. "And you weren't a bit scared!"
"You'd better believe I wasn't scared! If anything, the Slender Man should've been scared of me. Like I always say…"
Morgana paused, letting off a cackle which caused his teammates to groan, as every one of the teenagers knew exactly what the cat was going to vainly say next.
"It's scary how good I am!"
THE END