A strange encounter in Mementos

Originally authored by Phantompen

The Phantom Thieves were between major jobs at the moment, so in order to keep their skills sharp and their reputation growing, Joker had arranged for them to venture into the seemingly endless underground labyrinth known as Mementos. The Palace of the general public had proven itself useful as a kind of training ground for the team to hone their abilities, as well as the best way to fulfill the many requests posted on their website.

One thing that didn't seem to improve, however, was Joker's ability to negotiate with Shadows that had been knocked to the ground and surrounded. The cornered Shadow was showing signs of retaliation when Panther finally decided to step in. Shooting a glare Joker's way (who returned the look with one of his own, doing his best to convey the idea of "How am I supposed to know what food this thing wants?!") she stepped forward and, putting on her biggest puppy-dog eyes and most pleading voice, turned on the charm.

"Aww, come on. You don't have to be so mean, do you? Can't you take it easy on me?" Panther asked, her voice dripping with honey and appeasement.

The Shadow's expression changed. Where before it had looked ready to jump up and resume trying to kill the humans that had intruded upon its home, it instead regarded Panther with a look of appraisal. Just as Ann had hoped, the Shadow's expression softened.

"Ah, hell. What am I supposed to say to that?" the being asked nobody in particular. “I don't wanna fight you guys. Besides, I can tell when I'm probably outmatched. Thing is, I don't have any cash or goodies to trade for my safety.”

Joker sighed and took aim with his pistol.

“WHOA! Whoa, buddy, settle down!” the Shadow begged, throwing its hands up in a defensive posture. “I don't have anything on me, but I know where you can find something nice. It's not in the kind of place you guys would look. You'd never find it without my instructions! So, whaddaya say? I tell you where to find a goodie, I get to go free?”

After a quick glance between his teammates to get a consensus, Joker nodded. “Deal.”

“And after that, you're gonna break down the wall just around the corner. Treasure chest will be right there.” the Shadow finished.

The Phantom Thieves disappeared with a wave, piling into their odd transforming van. Or cat. Or whatever that thing was supposed to be. And the humans looked at the Shadows like they were the weird ones? It didn't matter, the Shadow had done its job.

“Okay, they took the bait.” the Shadow said as it turned to face the swirling darkness that had manifested a short distance away. “I don't get what you don't just kill the brats.”

“It isn't for you to understand.” the figure said as it emerged from the darkness. “Be content knowing that my plan will greatly hinder, if not completely stop, the Phantom Thieves.”

“Right... Anyway, uh, pleasure doin' business with ya, er... what are you called again?”

“Just call me Temptation.” the figure replied.