Full Description: Last night, Yu Narukami remembered getting ready for bed on his last day of Golden Week. When he wakes up, he's stranded in a strange cave with not a clue as to how he got there. And he's not the only one. Soon, it becomes apparent that home is very far away, and without his personas to help, Yu has to rely on his own wits and skill to help his friends survive the hostile new world they've found themselves in.

But they do find help in unexpectedly familiar faces. This world is not without it's own protectors, after all . . .

Okay, so this story is kind of a cross-over with Dungeons & Dragons (the tabletop game) but while it does have the obvious things, like Drow and dragons and stuff, I've also created my own world to go with it. In other words, you don't need to know how to play the game or anything like that to enjoy this!

Also, there's a parallel investigation team aside from the one you know and love. For real. Who have established relationships already.

Speaking of relationships, here are the pairings I've decided on: SoujiXYosuke, KanjiXNaoto, and YukikoXChie.

You can also find this story on Ao3 under the same name. :)

Obligatory Disclaimer: I own nothing.


In Darkness

Consciousness returned slowly to Yu Narukami. At first, everything felt numb, save for the heavy weight on his chest that made it a little difficult to breathe. His ears felt like they had been stuffed with cotton, and his mouth felt dry and parched. He opened his mouth and let out a dry cough that didn't sound like his own and only irritated his throat further. All around him he could hear noise, a noise that sounded almost rhythmic in its constancy, but it was muted and dull, and he couldn't tell what it was.

As Yu lay there in silence, slowly, sluggishly, he felt some life begin to return to his limbs. A cold, damp breeze he hadn't felt before made itself known, the chill nipping at his skin through the flimsy fabric of his clothes. But the cold helped lift the hazy fog that had settled on his mind, the lethargy in his body lifting with it. And as clarity returned, he couldn't help but start asking; What had happened? Where was he? How did he get here? But no matter how hard he strained his mind, he simply could not remember. The last memory he could recall clearly was him getting ready for bed at his uncle's house . . . at Golden Week's end . . .

Plink. Plink. Plink.

The muffled noises around him became clearer and more distinct, and he realized, fuzzily, that it sounded like droplets of water dripping into pools. The steady and constant sound helped him find a foothold in reality, rousing him to proper wakefulness. It . . . was also strangely comforting, but that was beside the point. Point was, he couldn't lie there forever. He had to move, to figure out where he was. So, with some effort, he forced his eyes open and examined his surroundings. His vision blurred for a moment, shapes and colors nothing more than indistinct smudges until everything faded into place. The thing Yu noticed right away was that it was very dim, the only light being a pale white glow that originated from he didn't know where. The next thing he noticed was that he seemed to be in some sort of cave, the rocky ceiling full of uneven crags and dips. And the last thing he noticed was that the weight on his chest was actually a person.

He stiffened instinctively, blinking at the body in confusion. Who was this? He could only see the back of the person's head, not enough to go on in terms of identification. The person napping on his chest suddenly shifted in their sleep, and the weak light bounced off of something around the person's neck. From this (rather close) distance, Yu could faintly make out the shadowy, yet familiar shape of a pair of headphones. Headphones . . .

Yosuke!

Yu sat up with a start, only to cringe and bring a hand to his head when a bout of dizziness fuzzed his vision. It cleared quickly, though, and once it did he wasted no time in checking on his friend. Yosuke hadn't stirred once, not even when Yu's abrupt jolt displaced his head from Yu's chest to his lap, where he continued to sleep undisturbed. The back of his neck was resting right on Yu's thigh now, and if the situation had been different, Yu might have felt just a bit embarrassed. But right now wasn't the time.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Yu began to gently shake him awake, whispering, "Yosuke? Yosuke, wake up!"

"Ugh . . ." Yosuke's eyelids fluttered, letting an incoherent groan as his consciousness returned.

"Yosuke!" Yu gave another urging shake, further rousing Yosuke from his half-awake state.

"Wha . . ." Yosuke mumbled. His eyes blearily focused on Yu's face and said "Partner . . . is that you?"

Yu let out a sigh of relief, "Yeah, it's me. I'm glad to see you're awake."

"What are you doin' in my house?" Yosuke asked groggily. Then he frowned, "And why is it so damn dark?"

Yu winced. Awake, but not awake enough to notice his surroundings it seemed. So, slowly, he said, "Uh, Yosuke, we're not . . . we're not inyour house. In fact, I'm pretty sure we're nowhere near your house."

Yosuke sat up, cringing at the protest of his muscles before asking, "Huh? What do ya mean we're not at my house? If we're not there, then where . . ."

Yosuke's voice trailed off as his eyes, now accustomed to the dimness, strayed to his surroundings. Yu also turned to face the cave, and for the first time actually looked at what was there.

Though it was dim, he could tell that it was a fairly large cavern, and the only thing Yu could hear was the sound of steadily dripping water. Stalactites of varying size covered the ceiling while bulky stalagmites rose up from the rocky floor, each one damp and coated in bright, fuzzy spots of green lichen. A few had even conjoined together, forming rocky columns that tapered at their centers, thin streams of water running down their sides. Small and incredibly shallow pools of water dotted the spaces between, each one of varying size, but never any larger than a sewer lid. One such pool was actually quite close to him, and peering in, Yu could see that a soft carpet of lichen grew along the bowl-shaped groove just below the water's impeccably smooth surface.

Plink.

The water's surface became distorted and uneven as a small droplet landed into the pool, small ripples rolling along the top. Yu blinked and drew back, returning his attention to the cave. As far as caves went, this one seemed fairly normal. But something still seemed off about it, aside from the obvious fact that he wasn't even supposed to be in it. What was it?

"D-dude, where are we?!" Yosuke stuttering voice brought him back to reality. Right. He'd worry about it later. Right now, he and Yosuke needed to find a way out of here.

"I don't know. But we have to try and remain calm," Yu said coolly, looking at his panicking friend.

Yosuke glanced at Yu and saw his friend's collected composure, which in turn helped him relax. With a quick and steadying breath, he said, "Yeah, you're right. Okay."

Yosuke hauled himself to his feet and surveyed their surroundings again, this time much more critically than before. Yu followed his lead and stood up with him, taking some time to brush off the rocky grit that stuck to his clothes.

"So, we're in a cave," Yosuke stated, crossing his arms.

"Seems like," Yu replied, running a hand over the sleeves of his shirt and choosing not to poke fun at the obviousness of that statement.

"And neither of us have any clue how we got here. Well, I know I don't, anyway. Do you?" Yosuke's question was hopeful, but Yu was already shaking his head, "No, I don't know how we got here anymore than you do."

Yosuke's face fell, "Damn."

Yosuke suddenly went very quiet, the sort of quiet that Yu had come to know meant he had realized something. Perhaps even something that could potentially help them out. But Yosuke's silence persisted and he made no attempt at talking like he normally would, which was, in a word, unusual.

Yu quirked a puzzled eyebrow at him, asking, "Yosuke?"

"Um, dude, since this isn't my house . . ." Yosuke trailed off for a moment, seeming to wrestle with himself on what to say before awkwardly continuing, "That soft thing I was laying on? That wasn't my pillow, was it?"

Oh. That.

Yu decided it was best to go for stoic honesty, despite the slight burning he felt on his cheeks, "No, that was my leg."

Yosuke seemed to grimace, though Yu couldn't quite tell in this light, and mumbled, "I, uh, figured."

Silence fell between them, and Yu wasn't quite sure how to break it without feeling even more uncomfortable than he already was. And in the awkward solidarity of the moment, he had no doubt that Yosuke was feeling the exact same way. He also couldn't help feeling grateful for the dim light, since it did an admirable job of hiding the red that was no doubt coloring his face.

"So, do you want to start walking?" Yosuke asked hastily.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Yu said just as quickly, eager to start moving and break the awkward hush that was hanging over them.

They started moving, but it proved difficult to navigate between the pools and the stalagmites. It was a task made harder by the fact that the two of them were currently lacking shoes, an unfortunate circumstance they both attributed to the fact that they'd both been home when . . . whatever had brought them here occurred. Yu grimaced as he walked on the damp rock, with patches of slick water being unavoidable in some places, and it wasn't long before his socks were soaked, making an unpleasant squish with every footfall. The cold air felt positively freezing on his feet, so much so that he eventually took his socks off in fear of his toes falling off.

Unfortunately, no matter how far they walked, everything from every angle looked the same, and soon he and Yosuke were walking around hopelessly lost without any idea where they had originally started.

"Man, how big is this damn cave? I swear, we've passed this rock at least three times now!" Yosuke complained, pointing a hand at said rock and glaring at it in frustration.

"You can tell?" Yu asked, sounding genuinely mystified.

"Ugh, I wish!" Yosuke growled, "Everything all looks the same in this stupid place!"

With an aggravated snarl, Yosuke turned and kicked the nearest rock he could find. There was a beat of silence, then-

"OW! ow, ow ow ow ow!" Yosuke yelped, hopping up and down on his uninjured foot as he nursed the other one with his hands.

If this were a cartoon, Yu was pretty sure that there would have been a particularly large sweat drop on his head right now, ". . . you okay?"

"What was the pause for?" Yosuke asked through gritted teeth, sounding miffed and in pain as he continued to rub his sore foot.

"Sorry," Yu said noncommittally, keeping his face straight.

Yosuke gave him a look before sighing, "Nevermind. Anyway, I think my foot's okay. It hurts, but I'm pretty sure it's not broken."

Despite his confident words, Yosuke was still hesitant when he placed his foot back on the ground, carefully applying weight to it and wincing as he did so. Still, he gave Yu a victorious smile and said, "See? No big."

"Next time, though, you probably shouldn't kick the rock," Yu replied.

Yosuke went red and dropped his head to his chest in embarrassment, "Yeah, that was pretty dumb."

"It came from over here!"

Yu's shoulders stiffened in alarm when a voice echoed from further in the cave, and judging from the way Yosuke had jumped, he too had heard it.

"Dude, did you hear that?" Yosuke's voice had dropped to a hush, worry and a touch of fear evident in his tone.

Yu nodded, whispering, "Yeah, and it's coming this way."

"Hey, is anyone there?" the voice came again, this time significantly closer.

"Shit, hide!" Yosuke whispered frantically.

Both of them quickly ducked behind one of the stalagmites just as two shadowy figures emerged from around another. It was so damn dark though that Yu was unable to see anything about them clearly. Taking a calming breath, he pressed his back against the cool, uneven surface of stone behind him, thinking. He supposed he and Yosuke could wait until they left, but there was always the chance that they could run into them again. But there was no telling what would happen if they confronted them. As far as weapons went, all they had were their fists, and they had no armor to even speak of. Perhaps if they jumped them . . .

Unfortunately, the unknown voice had other plans, "Hey, I saw you over there! Come out where I can see ya!"

Yu blinked. Up close, where the distorting echo of the cave wasn't as prominent, the voice actually sounded familiar. Very familiar. In fact . . .

"Hang on a sec," Yosuke said, he too recognizing the familiarity and peering out from behind the rock in realization, "Chie?"

A moment of stunned silence followed, then the voice exclaimed, "Yosuke?! What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing?" Yosuke said, walking out from behind the rock. Yu followed suit, smiling when he caught sight of the familiar faces of both Chie and Yukiko. Yukiko stuck out in the forest of stone right away, as she was wearing the pink service kimono he'd seen her wear around the inn, shoes and all. Working late, perhaps? Chie was dressed much less formally, but she, like Yosuke and himself, didn't have shoes either. They didn't look like they were hurt, and judging from the expressions on their faces, he felt it safe to assume that they were just as relieved to see Yosuke and himself as he was to see them.

Chie was quick to jog forward, "You're here too, Narukami-kun?"

"Yeah," Yu said in affirmation.

"Well, I can't say I'm unhappy with that," Chie said amicably, smiling.

"It's good to see that you're okay," Yukiko said, coming to stand beside Chie.

"I'm glad to see that you're okay too," Yu replied, sincerity in his voice. And he was glad to see that they were okay. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. What did this all mean? Why were they here?

Unfortunately, he knew that the answers he wanted wouldn't make themselves known so easily.

"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" Yosuke asked, sounding offended but smiling all the same.

"Hey, was that a crack at me?" Chie demanded.

Yosuke shot her a bemused and somewhat annoyed glance, "You know, just because someone's talking about meat doesn't mean it's automatically a crack at you."

"Oh. Well good," Chie muttered, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, I'm sorry Yosuke," Yukiko said apologetically, "I'm happy to see you're okay, too."

"Same here," Yosuke said, "Anyway, how'd you guys get here?"

"We have no idea! Me and Yukiko just, woke up in here!" Chie explained. Well, as much of an explanation as it could be.

"So same deal then," Yosuke said, folding his arms over his chest in contemplation.

"Same deal? So this happened to you too?" Chie asked.

Yu nodded, "Yeah. We've been trying to find a way out, but we keep getting turned around."

"Yeah, that's happened to us a lot too," Yukiko admitted, "It's kinda creepy actually."

"Which part? Waking up here or getting lost?" Yosuke asked. It was clearly done rhetorically, but Yukiko answered regardless.

And it was quite an interesting answer, "Well, it's creepy how much it feels like that time I was kidnapped and thrown into the T.V."

A stupefied silence settled over all of them. That couldn't be right, could it? They couldn't possibly be . . .

"We're not . . ." Yosuke started after a moment, giving voice to Yu's own thoughts, "In the T.V world, are we?"

"Now that you mention it, it does sort of fit that kidnapping criteria, doesn't it," Chie stated, looking uneasy. A visible shudder went through her body, "But that couldn't be right, though! We took care of Adachi and Namatame's stopped his whole 'saving people' thing!"

"Well, maybe it could have something to do with the guy behind the whole arena incident. We still haven't found him yet," Yosuke reasoned.

"You're right about that, but how could he have gotten us all at the same time?" Yukiko asked, placing a finger against her chin in thought.

"Ugh, damn it! There's just too little to go on right now," Yosuke said, growing irritated.

Yu remained silent. Something had felt off about this place, that much was true. But at the same time, it didn't feel like the T.V. There was one way to be sure. Closing his eyes, he cleared his mind and reached into the depths of his subconsciousness to search for the entity that was his persona.

Nothing. Izanagi-no-Okami was there, though it was more of an instinctive feeling than anything substantial. And even so, he was not so close to the surface that Yu would able to summon him as he would in the T.V world.

"I don't think this is the T.V world," Yu said calmly, reopening his eyes.

When he was met with the questioning stares of his friends, he clarified further, "Think about it. If this was the T.V world, wouldn't we be able to use our personas?"

Understanding flickered across Yosuke's face, "You know, now that you mention it, I haven't been able to contact Susano-o at all. What about you two?"

Chie held up a hand and made a display of curling and uncurling her fingers before pursing her lips, "Nope, nothin'."

"I can't feel Sumeo either," Yukiko replied, looking morose and a little concerned.

"And I take it you can't summon yours either, Partner," Yosuke questioned, to which Yu solemnly shook his head, "No, I can't. It's why I don't think we're in the T.V."

"That does make sense, but that still doesn't tell us where we are. Hell, it just makes everything even more confusing," Chie said, placing her hands on her hips.

Yosuke stepped up, "I wouldn't throw out the T.V world just yet either. Remember how with Labrys, her shadow was able to put rules on our battles while we were in her dungeon? It could be something like that here."

"Yeah, okay, that makes sense too, but what's powerful enough to be able to get rid of our personas?" Chie asked.

"I really have no idea," Yosuke said before huffing, "Man, the one time I actually want Ted here, and he's not."

"Teddie? What about Teddie?" Chie asked.

"He'd be able to tell us for sure if this was the T.V world or not," Yosuke explained, "Except he's not here."

Yu stood up just a little straighter when a thought hit him, and the words came out before he could stop them, "But . . . what if he is?"

"Huh?" Yosuke asked, "What are you talking about, Yu?"

Yu continued, knowing he couldn't stop explaining now, "Well, look who's here right now. All of us were involved in the murder case, and we know about the T.V world and personas. I don't think it's an accident that we woke up here."

"So what you're saying is," Yosuke said slowly, "Is that it's not just us who might be here, but everyone?"

"Exactly," Yu said.

"But then, where are they?" Yukiko asked, concern setting in on her face, "And how do we find them?"

"AAAAAIIIEEEEEE!"

A sudden, piercing shriek echoed from further within the cave, making them all jump and look around wildly.

"W-what was that?!" Chie exclaimed, dropping into a defensive stance.

"I-I have no idea!" Yosuke shouted, looking alarmed.

Yukiko shimmied a little closer to Chie, shoulders tense, "It sounded close to us."

Yu looked to where the sound had come from, eyes and ears alert. The scream had definitely been loud, but at the same time, it hadn't sounded monstrous or inhuman. In fact, it sounded more like a person in distress.

More noises echoed from where the scream had come from, sounding an awful lot like an angry rant or an argument. Yu listened closely, trying to sort away the echoing of the stony cavern and the actual words being spoken. But it was still too far away to tell.

"Let's head towards it," Yu said.

"Um, you sure about that, dude?" Yosuke asked, "Not that I don't trust you or anything, but we're kind of weaponless right now."

"I'm sure," Yu said, trusting his instincts, "Call it a gut feeling."

"Well, no point standing around here," Chie said, slamming a fist into her palm, "I say we do it! Maybe we can even find some answers."

"I trust you, Narukami-kun, but let's go slowly, okay? Just in case," Yukiko said.

They set out, keeping their pace slow and sneaky as they made their way over to the source of the noise. Yu hoped against hope that this was the right idea, otherwise he could be leading them all to their deaths. He gritted his teeth. Now was not the time to be thinking such thoughts.

The voices grew louder and more distinct, though the cave distorted them in such a way it made it difficult to figure out who was speaking.

"Man, how the hell are we gonna get out of this place?" one demanded, sounding livid.

"Well, yelling like that isn't going to help," another said, sounding irritated.

Someone sneezed loudly. Perhaps they were sick?

"Everyone, please calm down. Our circumstances are strange, yes, but to lose our composure could prove dangerous," A third voice chimed in reasonably, in a way that was not unfamiliar to his ears.

"Hey, that sort of sounds like . . ." Yosuke started, though he sounded hesitant to believe it.

"You don't think it could be . . ." Chie followed up, sounding unsure.

Yu frowned. If only this damn cave wasn't messing with his hearing so much.

"Hey, Naoto-chan, you don't happen to have a spare jacket do you?"

Everyone instantly stood up a little straighter when they heard those words, and Yu felt hope surge in his chest.

"Did you hear-!" Yukiko started, elation and hope filling her face.

"Yeah, I did! Chie shouted, throwing caution to the wind.

"Alright!" Yosuke said. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he took a deep breath and shouted, "HEY, Naoto, Rise, Kanji, that you?!"

His voice traveled far, bouncing off the cave again and again before slowly fading into silence. And a response came quickly, "Yosuke-senpai? That you?"

"Yeah! Yu, Chie, and Yukiko are with me too!" he shouted back, "Hold a sec, we're almost there!"

They all took off, jogging over the slick ground as they hurried toward the voices, and hopefully there friends. They didn't have to run far.

From up ahead, four shapes came hurrying around a large rock, all panting and running and familiar.

"Hey, you guys!" Chie shouted, waving her hands above her head in exultation.

"There they are!" Rise shouted joyfully.

"Thank goodness they're okay!" Yukiko said breathlessly, voice happy.

When they finally got to the others, Rise was quick to throw her arms around him and squeeze tightly, crying, "SENPAI!"

"Oof!" he grunted, placing a hand on her back to steady her, "Hey Rise. I'm happy to see you too."

Something very cold and wet suddenly glued itself to his side, and Yu involuntarily jumped away from whatever it was. It didn't let go, though, and it quickly became apparent why.

"Senseiiiiii!" the shivering lump next to him whined, and Yu lifted an eyebrow in surprise, "Teddie?"

The blond-haired boy backed up, wrapping his skinny arms around his shaking frame, teeth chattering as he said, "Y-y-yep! I-it's m-me!"

Yu gave him a thorough once over, bemusement quickly setting in, "Why are you all wet?"

Not just wet. Completely drenched would be more accurate.

"Teddie . . . kind of slipped near one of the pools," Rise explained, casting Teddie a pitying glance, and Yu couldn't help but cringe. That water by itself was chilly, but in the cold air of the cave, it must have been absolutely freezing. Didn't explain how Teddie had gotten himself so thoroughly soaked, though. The pools weren't even that deep . . .

Kanji huffed, but there was a note of concern underneath the gruffness, "I told the idiot to watch where he was goin'."

Yosuke groaned, "Really Ted?"

"S-s-s-s-sorry," Teddie sniffed, looking absolutely miserable. Not that Yu could blame him. Unfortunately, he didn't have a jacket or anything of the sort to lend him. He'd left his on the futon back home.

"Christ," Yosuke muttered, walking forward and twisting his shoulders so he could pull the jacket he was wearing off. He tossed it over the soaked boy's head before folding his arms and saying, "Wear that. It's better than nothing, at least."

Wasting no time, Teddie pulled the jacket tight around his shoulders and sighed in relief, giving Yosuke a look filled with honest gratitude, "T-thank you, Yosuke."

Yosuke rubbed the back of his head, looking slightly embarrassed as he said, "Yeah, yeah, just don't lose it, okay?"

"So it seems we're all here in this place," Naoto said, face a mask of perfect composure. Everyone sobered up when she spoke, the gravity of the situation sinking in as they crowded around each other.

"Yeah, guess we are," Yosuke responded.

"Okay, but why are we all here?" Chie asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"I've tried coming up with a few theories, but unfortunately there's just too little information to go on," Naoto explained, looking morose.

"We came up with some too," Yukiko said, "Including possibly the T.V world, but we couldn't be sure."

Naoto shook her head, "I already came up with that possibility, but Teddie says that that is not the case."

"Uh-huh," Teddie sniffed, "This place doesn't feel like home at all! Just cold and wet and most certainly not good for my fur!"

"You don't even have your fur," Yosuke pointed out sharply, arms crossed.

"Hmph, I wouldn't expect you to understand the problems of beautiful people, Yosuke!"

Yosuke narrowed his eyes, growling, "I just gave you my jacket thirty seconds ago, and I am seriously already thinking of taking it back!" he finished in a quieter note, "Not that it'll do much good now . . ."

The sound of Naoto pointedly clearing her throat shut the two up, "As I was saying . . . wherever we are, it isn't the T.V."
Chie grimaced, "So, I guess you were right. But then that just makes this a whole lot more confusing.

"Tell me about it," Rise said, head low.

"Who cares what this place is," Kanji cut in, "I wanna know how we get out of it."

"That's what we're trying to figure out right now, but we keep getting lost in this place. It's like no matter where we go, we just wind up back where we started!" Chie exclaimed.

"So that phenomenon happened with you as well?" Naoto questioned, raising a finger to her chin.

"Yeah, it did," Yu said, nodding, "Don't suppose you know how to navigate caves?"

Naoto shook her head, "It's not something within my general area of expertise. However . . ."

"However . . . what, Naoto-chan?" Rise asked.

"Senpai, how long exactly have you and the others been walking?" Naoto questioned, looking pointedly at him.

Yu lifted an eyebrow, a bit taken aback by the question, "Um, since we woke up, maybe," he glanced at Yosuke as he tried to think back on the time they'd been here, "Ten, fifteen minutes ago."

"I see. That's about as long as me and the others have been walking as well," Naoto said, almost to herself as she became lost in contemplation.

"What exactly are you getting at Naoto?" Yosuke probed, curious.

Naoto looked up, eyes on the ceiling, "Have you looked at the ceiling? This cavern is large, yes, but not so large that one of us shouldn't have been able to find the opposite side of the cave. Or any side, for that matter. Am I right to assume that once you started walking, you never seemed to stray from the center of the cave?"

Everyone looked up as well, examining the ceiling. Now that he looked, Yu could see that, yes, they were still mostly dead center of the cave, which was very odd. It couldn't be because it was so dark, could it? But his eyes had adjusted by now, and, though distant, he could see the ceiling definitely sloped around them, implying a definite end. Yet, for some reason, they still hadn't encountered it. Had that been what he had felt was wrong with the cave?

"I think this cave is more than it appears," Naoto finished, "Something is deliberately keeping us here."

"But then that's a new question entirely," Rise said slowly, "What's keeping us here?"

Yu couldn't give her an answer. There was none to be had. However, there was a faint feeling in his gut that they would soon find it. What unnerved him was that he also had the feeling that it wouldn't be pleasant.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimmer of something thin and silver.

He blinked. Narrowing his eyes, he inspected the ceiling with a careful scrutiny, wondering if he had just imagined it. But there it was again! Right above their heads, he could see it, silver strands so thin they were nearly imperceptible in the dark. But he couldn't tell what they were from here.

"Do you see that?" he asked, eyes never leaving the strands for fear of losing sight of them.

"Huh?" Yosuke asked, looking at him before looking back at the ceiling, "What are you talking about?"

"See . . . what, exactly?" Yukiko inquired, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What are we lookin' for?" Kanji asked, staring in frustration at the ceiling.

"Ah," Naoto said after some time, "Do you mean those strands, Senpai?"

He nodded, "Yeah. You see them too?"

"Yes, I do," she responded in affirmation, "I noticed them before, but they seemed fairly innocuous, so I paid them no mind. At least, not entirely."

"What are you guys looking at?" Chie asked in frustration, "I can't see anything!"

"Oh!" Yukiko started, standing up a little straighter, "I think I see them! Those thin, silver things, right?"

Kanji squinted, involuntarily scrunching up his nose in the process, "I . . . think I see them."

"Yeah . . . yeah, okay, I think I can too," Yosuke said, "Huh. They kinda look like spider webs."

"Ugh, don't say that Yosuke-senpai! I hate spiders," Rise said, cringing in disgust. Close by, Chie shivered.

"Uh, s-sorry," Yosuke stammered.

"There . . . kinda pretty, aren't they," Yukiko commented, looking entranced by the shiny strands.

"What? Huh, now that you mention it, they . . . kinda are," Chie said.

No one said anything else after that point, too absorbed in the thin streaks above them. A calm silence surrounded them, and Yu couldn't help but notice the way the strands shimmered, like thin strings of iridescent moonlight, ethereal and transient. It was pretty, he had to admit.

Very pretty . . . so pretty he felt like he could just stand there forever and watch them. So peaceful . . . so nice . . .

Teddie sneezed, and the sudden sound jolted them all back to reality, breaking whatever spell had come over them. Yu placed a hand to the side of his head, feeling shaken. What the hell had just happened then? It . . . it was a like a Marin Karin spell had been cast on him, almost. Around him, the others looked equal parts confused and shocked, no doubt coming to the same conclusion. They'd all been charmed before, after all.

"W-whoa . . ." Yosuke mumbled, looking dazed.

"Guys, what . . . what just happened?" Chie asked, breathless.

"I'm not sure, but . . ." Naoto shook herself, still trying to recollect her thoughts after the sudden charm or whatever it was that had just overcome them.

"It wasn't good, whatever it was," Kanji said, looking as if his skin was crawling.

"You think?" Rise asked rhetorically, rubbing her shoulders as if she were cold, "It felt like a, a Marin Karin, or something."

"We should leave," Yu said, unease prickling all along his skin. Something was wrong with this place, and he didn't want to stick around any longer than he had too. Especially not with his friends around, where they could be in danger.

Nearby, just out of sight, a small rock clattered across the stone floor.

His back straightened as alarm coursed through his body, heart pumping as he swung around to face the source of the noise. Behind him, everyone had dropped into defensive stances, shoulders tense.

"W-what was that?" Chie asked, words coming out in a rush.

"Guys, I h-have a b-beary bad feeling about this," Teddie said, clenching the jacket around his shoulders in a death grip.

Clink, clink, clink.

Yu's breath caught in his throat at the sound of what could only be claws clinking along the stone floor, and he motioned for everyone to start moving back.

Clink, clink, clink!

It was coming towards them now, faster! Damn it, where was his sword when he needed it?!

Behind him, he heard the sound of a gun cocking. Naoto. At least one of them was armed, though how much good it would do remained to be seen.

Clink, clink, clink clink clink!

He stepped back out of impulse as a large cloud of dust suddenly burst out from between the two crags they were facing, the gritty dirt making his eyes water. Rise and Teddie both let out a small shrieks, Yukiko instinctively grabbed hold of Chie's hand, Kanji took a small step toward Naoto as she quickly held up her revolver, and Yosuke jumped. But, aside from the dust, nothing was there.

In a small voice, Rise asked, "Is it gone?"

No one relaxed, not even when Teddie experimentally sniffed the air and hesitantly said, "I don't . . . smell anything. J-just a lot of dust."

Yu turned around to face the group, opening his mouth to calm them down and to give the order to get of out of this place-

Only for the words to catch tight in his throat as his mouth went dry. Because he saw. He saw what was hiding in the shadows behind them, waiting for it's distraction to work so it could strike, eyes already on it's first chosen victims.

Without thinking, he shot forward, ignoring the startled looks and exclamations of his companions as he screamed, "Rise, Teddie, MOVE!"

The two gave him bewildered looks before turning around to see what was wrong, but they shouldn't do that, they had to RUN! But they wouldn't run, not in time! So, with every ounce of strength he had, Yu dove forward, body slamming into the two and flinging them all out of the way.

Right as two pairs of spindly silver legs slammed into the ground right where they had been standing.

Yu clambered to his feet, eyes locked on the creature that had descended from the shadows and crawled into sight.

A spider. A huge, hairless spider with eight long, segmented legs that were each twice as long as he was. At the end of each leg was a long and lethal-looking claw that clacked stridently against the stone, it's silvery-grey hide perfect for blending into the rock and darkness. Eight faceted eyes, the largest on the top of it's skull and the smallest near it's long hooked fangs, locked on him, the black of them glimmering with hunger. It shifted, the claws on it's feet digging into the rock and lifting it's huge body above their heads, making it seem even larger, even more frightening.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" he heard Yosuke shouted, fear clear in his voice.

"I-I don't KNOW!" Chie shouted, horror written all over her face. An expression that was mirrored by everyone else in the cave, all of them petrified and scared.

Rise was clinging to his arm in abject terror, nails digging through the sleeve of his shirt as she whimpered. Teddie hadn't even gotten up off of the floor, one hand clenched tight around Yu's pant leg while the other was fisted into gravel, eyes locked on the creature in front of them, body quaking.

This was bad. Panic was setting in; he needed to reign it in, tell them to get it together! This wasn't the time to panic!

Above them, the spider drew itself up and let out a bone-chilling shriek that echoed all throughout the cave, piercing and loud and terrifying.

And Yu knew there was only one thing they could do.

"Everybody RUN!"


Boom. Hope everyone enjoyed! :)

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