Woo, chapter 2! Here we run from spiders and encounter a new face. Sort of. :)

I hope you guys enjoy it!

Obligatory Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs.

Spiders and Shadows

Turning around, Yu grabbed hold of Rise's elbow, hauled Teddie to his feet, and bolted, pulling the two out of their terrified trance as they instinctively turned to run with him. Yu didn't have time to see what the others did or where they went. He only trusted them to follow orders and take shelter.

Behind him, Yu heard the spider shriek, and the tell-tale sound of clacking claws coming after him told him that it had chosen it's prey. He didn't dare look behind him to confirm his suspicion, however, focusing instead on weaving between the stones and pools blocking their way and making sure he didn't get separated from the two with him.

"It's coming after us!" Teddie shouted in terror, voice cracking.

"Senpai, what do we do?!" Rise asked, panic in her eyes.

"Keep running, don't look back!" he ordered, heart pounding in his chest as he narrowly leapt over an upturned slab of broken rock.

The giant spider behind them was getting closer, he could hear it! He looked this way and that, trying to see if their was anywhere they could go the spider wouldn't be able to follow. There had to be something somewhere, a crack or a gap that they could squeeze through . . .

There! Coming up on their left, two large pillars of stone that tapered toward the middle with a gap between them just large enough for a person! And all around the pillars were long and incredibly thick draperies of stone that formed an almost wall, a perfect barrier. It wouldn't stop the spider for long, but it might be enough to give them a head start and a chance to truly think about what to do.

"Turn left, towards the pillars!" he shouted.

They needed no further prompting as they all ran toward it, feet flying and hearts pounding as they heard the creature grow closer. Teddie made it first, his thin frame making it easy for him to slip through the gap unhindered. He turned, blue eyes anxious as he waited for them to cross, "Hurry, you guys!"

Yu made it next, squeezing through despite the tears made to his shirt as the craggy stone snagged at him, as if it was trying to hold him back. Having safely passed, he turned and watched as Rise dove through, catching her when she nearly lost her footing as she stumbled to an exhausted stop. He pulled her back just in time too, as the spider slammed into the stony pillars not a moment later, relentless and persistent. They all scrambled back as it's long front legs reached through the opening and made wild, uncoordinated grabs for them, back legs digging into the stone as it pressed forward, black eyes peering through the crack and glimmering with hate.

Hate . . .

Yu swallowed. That sort of emotion shouldn't be possible for a spider. Then again, growing to the size of a car shouldn't be possible either.

With a frustrated shriek, it backed away and began to clamber up the pillars with a disturbing silence it hadn't displayed in it's pursuit, it's huge body disappearing into the crevice above. But they couldn't relax yet.

"Come on," he ushered, urging the other two to keep moving after a very brief moment of silence.

They kept their pace fast, ears and eyes open for any sign of the spider's return. So far, there had been none, but Yu knew that wouldn't last. That thing's trademark seemed to be stealth, after all.

His feet stung with every step and he knew they were no doubt covered in cuts from running on the harsh rock underfoot, but he couldn't let that stop him now. Not when he had to find the rest of his friends. Besides, he couldn't complain about the pain since he had Rise and Teddie with him, not when they were scared and tired and needing someone to guide them.

Rise, who hadn't let go of his arm since the spider had disappeared, whispered, "D-do you think the others are okay, Senpai?"

"The spider came after us. I'm sure they're fine," Yu reassured her calmly, though inside he didn't feel half so sure. After all, who was to say that the spider was alone, or if there wasn't something else in this damn cave?

Stubbornly pushing down his rising dread at the thought, he turned to Teddie, "Hey Teddie, can you smell where the others are in here?"

The blonde-haired boy looked at him, fingers digging tightly into the fabric of Yosuke's coat as he trembled from both fear and cold. He sniffled, looking apologetic, "I-I tried, but my nose is all runny. I'm beary sorry, sensei . . ."

Yu gave him a small smile, ignoring the pun and placing a hand on the boy's wet head, "Don't worry about it. We're all out of our element here."

"Still, it'd be nice to know where everyone was, especially with that . . . thing around," Rise murmured, gaze drifting towards stone around them in distrust.

"Yeah," he agreed, keeping a close eye on his surroundings. It wouldn't be good to let his guard down here.

A sudden scrambling noise just ahead of them made Yu's heart leap into his throat, and he quickly clamped a hand over Rise's mouth right before she could scream and give away where they were. Her hands flew up to the one covering her mouth, squeezing it with bruising force while Teddie ducked just a bit behind him, shaking.

But what came running out from behind the cluster of rocks in front of them was not a giant, hungry-looking spider.

Yu breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized Chie and Yukiko, dropping his hands as tension fled from his shoulders.

"Oh thank god," Rise said breathlessly, putting a hand over her heart and closing her eyes.

Beside him, Teddie bounced forward, elation filling his face, "Chie-chan! Yuki-chan! You're both okay!"

"Course we are!" Chie said, her eyes full of relief, though she kept Teddie at arms-length when he tried to hug her, keeping a hand firmly on his head.

"Besides, it's us who're glad to see you. You have no idea how worried we were when that creature went after you," Yukiko said.

Chie nodded, "Yeah, when that spider came down outta nowhere and started chasing you, I thought you guys were goners! Thank goodness I was wrong!" She paused, a faint look of contemplation crossing her face, "That, was a spider, right?"

"I don't think now is really the time," Yu said, casting a meaningful glance at the ceiling above them.

Chie grimaced, "Yeah, yeah, you're right."

"Come on, we should keep moving," Yu said.

No one needed to be told twice, as they all were aware of the danger they were in, not just himself. That spider could be anywhere, and staying in one place for too long could be dangerous. They had all learned that lesson in the T.V world, and boy, if he sure wasn't grateful for it now.

"So, how did you guys get in here?" Rise asked, trying to get a conversation going to lighten the gloomy mood hanging over all of them even if she did keep her voice low.

"What do you mean?" Yukiko asked, looking confused.

"Like, in 'here'," she said again, gesturing to where they were, "We got in through a crack in the wall. Did you find one too?"

"A crack in the wall?" Chie mimicked, lifting an eyebrow, "No, not really. Nothing but the same old stalagmites until we ran into you guys."

"Really?" Rise asked.

"Yeah. Why, were we supposed to come through a crack in the wall?" Chie questioned, befuddled.

Yu frowned at that, feeling apprehension pool in his stomach. If they hadn't come the way they did, then . . .

"Ouch!" Teddie yelped, startling all of them.

"Eep!" Rise squeaked, valiantly trying to keep her voice low despite her alarm.

"Jesus Christ, Teddie, don't do that!" Chie scolded, giving him an annoyed look, "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"S-sorry," he murmured, rubbing the top of his head, "Something fell and hit me on the head. It really hurt!"

"Something fell?" Yukiko asked, looking up.

Color drained from her face almost immediately, eyes going huge and filling with utter horror as her mouth wordlessly opened and closed. Alarmed, Yu looked up, getting ready for the return of the eight-legged monstrosity that had chased them here-

-only to feel his limbs freeze.

For above them was, not the spider he had been expecting, but instead what he could only call a nest. A huge, unsightly nest of long, white and knotted webs, webs that covered the whole of the ceiling, blanketing the bowl-shaped groove above them in a sticky tangle of white. The stalactites that marked its borders almost resembled a ring of jagged teeth, leading into the drooling maw of a great and hungry beast.

But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part were the cocoons. Cocoons of varying shapes and sizes, all unmoving, all silent. Whatever was within them was most assuredly dead. But Yu knew, if what had happened earlier was any indication, that it wasn't the corpses of animals hanging over their heads. Even now, staring as he was, Yu could sometimes see the curve of an awkwardly bent limb through the webbing where it was thin. And they all looked desiccated.

The grisly, unnatural sight appalled him, leaving him horror-struck and speechless. Rise's hands flew to her mouth, muffling her horrified gasps as tears welled up at the corners of her eyes. Yukiko didn't move at all save to weakly cling to Chie's sleeve, staring blankly at the horrible scene above her head, body trembling.

"Those are bodies . . . oh my god . . . those are bodies . . ." Chie moaned, trying to come to terms with what she was seeing, breath coming in short and unsteady gasps. She pressed a hand to her stomach, as if she was going to be sick right then and there, face pale and drawn.

"Sensei . . ." Teddie whimpered, pressing his face against Yu's back, unable to even look at the sight anymore.

"What . . . the hell is this place?" he asked quietly, so quiet even he barely heard his own words. It was like something out of a cheesy horror movie he'd watch with Yosuke after a day of school. Except this wasn't a scary scene watched from the safety of the living room couch, nor even a resulting nightmare he could wake up from. This was reality. A reality that he and his friends shouldn't even be in, but were nonetheless.

And he desperately needed to find a way out of it and return home, or he and his friends ran the risk of winding up just like the ones above them, hanging in a coffin of webs.

Then he saw it. The slightest shift of something alive moving within the confines of the webs. Alive . . . and very, very big.

He didn't even get the chance to yell a warning, because suddenly a cone of silver threads burst out from the nest, blasting them all with such force that it knocked them all to the ground. Yu's head slammed against a rock with a sharp crack, and he nearly passed out as black spots swam in his vision and his ears rang. Fighting to regain control of his senses, he tried to move, only to find that his limbs were being pinned down by something. Something wet and sticky.

Oh no . . .

As his sight returned to normal, he saw that his limbs and torso had became wrapped in strands of thick, gluey webbing, to strong for him to break by hand alone. If he had even had his hands to use. Still he struggled, spurred on by the distressed cries of his teammates as they to tried to break out of their webbed prisons.

"Yukiko! Yukiko, are you okay?" Chie yelled, worry clear in her voice as she fought to tear the strands off.

"I-I'm okay. Sort of," Yukiko responded, trying in vain to twist out of the threads holding her down.

"W-what is this stuff? I can't move!" Rise cried in panic, struggling to pull her limbs free.

"Everyone, calm down!" he urged, despite the dread threatening to claw its way out of his stomach. Panicking would just make things worse.

Something wriggled underneath Yu's arm and shoulder, and he heard a small voice moan, "Owie . . ."

He tried to turn his head, but the sticky threads impeded his movement enough that he could only just see another body pinned beneath his own, encased in white threads just like he was.

"Teddie?" he asked, "Teddie, can you hear me?"

"Sensei?" he coughed, "Is that you? Everything's all . . . fuzzy . . . hehe, kinda like me . . ."

He let out a disoriented little laugh that was very out of place for the situation they were in, which confused and worried him. Then Yu realized. Teddie must have hit his head on the way down too, a blow no doubt made worse by the fact that Yu's own weight had been added to the force that had blown them to the ground in the first place. Which was definitely not good, "Teddie, listen to me, you have to focus."

"Say, what are ya doing in my bed anyway, sensei?" Teddie asked, completely oblivious to what Yu was trying to say, "If ya wanted some of my fuzzy fur, you just had to ask!"

Shit, he must have hit his head harder than Yu had thought, "No, Teddie, this isn't-"

His words died in his throat when a large shadow above them shifted and descended from the putrid nest on strings of silver thread. The spider that had chased them finally made itself known once more.

It clacked it's fangs together, almost as if it was savoring it's victory, lightly picking it's way over to them with a deliberate slowness that could only be called cruel. Yu felt his heart begin to race, and he fought all the harder to break away. Shit. Shit!

"Dammit! Dammit!" Chie shouted, voice rising as her fear did.

"Chie . . ." Yukiko said, on the verge of tears as the spider crawled closer.

Chie stopped struggling, looking at her friend as she clamped down on her own fright to comfortingly say, "It's okay, Yuki. It's okay, I'm right here, I'm right next to you."

She continued to talk to Yukiko, voice soothing and unruffled despite the fear she no doubt felt. But her display of courage for the sake of her best friend only strengthened Yu's own resolve to save them, with his life if he had too. With renewed vigor, he tugged and pulled at the threads covering his body, refusing to give up.

The spider paused, seemingly examining it's resisting prey with a calculated gaze before it's hungry eyes fell on the struggling bundle just right of Yu's own body, multiple eyes locking on it's target. And when Yu saw the hunger gleaming in it's eyes, he realized what it had just done.

It had chosen it's first meal.

"Senpai!" Rise cried in terror as the spider made it's way closer to her, squirming and thrashing and doing anything in her power to get away.

Her frightened yells pushed Yu to try harder, but the threads gave no ground, none at all. If he couldn't get loose, then Rise . . . !

In desperation, he twisted and shouted, "Hey! HEY! If you want to eat someone, then eat me!"

The spider actually seemed to glance in his direction, as if contemplating his words, and Yu continued, hoping to keep up the distraction if only to buy time, "That's right, I'm talking to you! If you really want something tasty, then I'm the one you want, not her!"

If the spider understood him or not, he didn't care. All he cared about was that it's attention remained on him. And he wasn't alone.

"Y-yeah, you big, ugly freak!" Chie yelled, masking her fear behind bravado, "The tasty meat is over here!"

But the spider made no move to come towards them, and, to Yu's horror, the creature continued to stalk closer towards Rise.

He thrashed as violently as he could against his restraints, shouting loudly, uncaring for what the words were, his focus solely on stopping that thing from getting to his friend. Chie and Yukiko writhed and thrashed about as well, shouting and yelling and trying to grab the monster's attention once more. But for all their efforts, the creature did not stop. Nothing worked! Never had Yu felt so helpless before, so unable to do anything!

No . . . he had once before. Back when they had first fought Izanami and he had powerlessly watched as his friends were dragged into an abyss far darker than any shadow. But he had vowed never to be so helpless again. Inside him, he had the power to never be that helpless, he had the power to stop this, he knew it! He tried digging for that power, reaching for it, hoping against hope that the first time had only been a fluke, that now maybe, just maybe . . .

Yet nothing came. Izanagi-no-Okami was still too far away to help him.

He . . . was helpless.

The spider swooped in on his prone victim with practiced ease, it's huge form hovering over a terrified and trembling Rise with only webbing between them, hooked fangs mere inches from the girl's tearful face.

"No, RISE!" Yu shouted at the top of his lungs.

"RISE!" Both Chie and Yukiko cried.

Then the spider reared up, fangs bared and poised to bite deep into the girl's flesh, and Rise closed her eyes and screamed.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Yu felt his hope soar when Naoto suddenly burst out from the shadows, striding forward with a look of pure and unwavering steel, eyes never leaving her target as she unloaded everything she had into the creature' chitinous skull.

The spider shrieked in surprise and pain as several bullets hit their mark, backpedaling away and abandoning Rise in favor of escaping Naoto's onslaught, only to run right into another. Large rocks suddenly pelted it from above, hitting it in it's thorax and abdomen with enough force to actually draw out a hiss of pain. It turned to face the new arrival, and Yu watched as Naoto took the time to quickly reload her gun.

"Are you alright, Rise?" Naoto asked. Her eyes were still on the monster in front of her, but her concern could be heard by anyone who listened.

Rise's voice floated over to him, weak and thick with tears, but genuine and full of relief, "Y-yeah. T-thank y-you, Naoto."

He inwardly sighed. Thank god she was alright.

"Hey, over here, you eight-legged bastard!" he heard Kanji's voice yell just out of his sight, livid and taunting.

"Come on, pick on someone you're own size!" Yosuke was there too, and he felt a mixture of relief and joy. If only the situation they were in weren't so dire, and if only he wasn't stuck like this!

"Kanji-kun! Yosuke-kun!" Yukiko cried joyfully, tears of relief pricking the corners of her eyes.

Another rock was lobbed and this time struck the spider square in the face, clipping one of it's fangs with enough force to chip off the very tip.

"Alright, nice shot, Yosuke!" Chie cheered, spirits soaring despite her predicament.

The spider, however, was of a different opinion. Seeming to have grown sick of their resistance and the rocks being hurled in it's direction, it reared up and slammed it's powerful body against the ground. The stone beneath him suddenly jerked and rocked violently, the webs encasing his body the only thing keeping him from rolling this way and that. Small chunks of loose stone and gravel fell from the ceiling, and water sloshed up from the pools around them, spilling across the ground in great swathes.

"WHOA!" he heard Yosuke yell in surprise, no doubt thrown off guard by the sudden quaking.

"SHIT!" Kanji shouted.

With another jerk, he heard both of them cry out as they were flung from whatever perch they had made for themselves, bodies hitting the ground hard. Both moaned in pain as the shaking slowly subsided, both down and out.

"Kanji! Yosuke!" he shouted, alarmed at being unable to see the state of his friends.

"They're okay!" Naoto informed him, able to see what he could not. She quickly regained her footing, already taking aim and ready to fire, finger hovering over the trigger.

But the spider had been ready. Naoto was only able to get one shot off when the spider shot forward with a burst of frightening speed, ramming it's head square into her stomach and effortlessly knocking her away. For Yu, everything seemed to slow down as he watched in stunned horror as her small body hit the stalagmite behind her with brutal force. The back of her head collided sharply against the stone, and Yu couldn't tell if the dark, shiny substance that flew into the air was water or blood. Naoto slumped to the ground, unmoving and silent.

"Naoto-chan? NAOTO-CHAN?" Rise shouted, voice growing higher and higher as her fear and worry took their toll.

"Oh no . . . " Yukiko murmured disbelievingly, on the verge of tears.

"Nao . . . to . . ." Kanji groaned, and though his voice was disoriented and pain-filled, Yu could still hear his fear.

His eyes drifted over Naoto's unmoving form, the dismay in his stomach like a lump of ice as he looked for even the faintest signs of life. But he couldn't see anything from here. Not a twitch of a finger, not the rise and fall of her chest, nothing.

She couldn't be dead. She couldn't be . . . !

The spider howled, but it wasn't a victorious one. No, in fact, it sounded annoyed. Annoyed . . . and hungry. It didn't take the time to imprison the new intruders, not even bothering to see if they were dead. No, instead it ignored them completely and made it's way over to it's already cocooned victims. The deliberate slothfulness it had mocked them with before was gone, replaced by a single-minded priority to feed, to slake it's hunger.

And it's black, ravenous eyes had alighted on him.

He could only watch as the creature crawled over him, slender legs barring him on all sides like a prison, it's black fangs inches from his face. He could hear the voices of his friends, begging and pleading and crying, but they all seemed distant. As if they were phantoms, insubstantial and unreal. For one brief moment, the spider's eyes locked with his, and Yu could see his own fearful face reflected back at him, as if he were staring into eight black and tiny mirrors, all showing him the same thing.

The face of a man who was going to die.

Just like before, the creature reared up, it's fangs, one serrated and one chipped, both poised to strike. Around him, all his friends fearfully cried out his name, yet it was only one voice he heard with clarity as the deadly monster finally went for the kill.

"PARTNER!"

Time moved slowly, so slowly, as the fangs made their descent, a perception perhaps brought about by it being the last thing he'd ever see. He expected pain. He expected death.

What he did not expect was the long, shadowy arms that curved around the creature's shoulder, nor the black, claw-tipped hands that caught the fangs in the midst of their descent and brutally jerked them back.

The creature let out a scream of pure agony and rage as it was suddenly and violently wrested away from it's kill, legs scrambling wildly as two huge, onyx-colored hands held fast to it's fangs. With one powerful twist, the spider was sent flying, crashing against the floor in a stunned heap. It was then that Yu was able to clearly see who had saved him.

And sincerely wonder if his situation had gotten any better.

For standing there, at a full eight feet tall, was what he could only describe as a shadow. It's body, if it even had a body, was wrapped entirely in darkness, the shadows flicking around it's shoulder and head like black, opaque flames. It's arms and legs were long, and each finger and toe was capped by a long, lethal-looking talon that could easily rip through his flesh. The only discerning feature he could see were the two pinpoints of light that made up it's eyes, the white of them burning with cold fire as it stared down it's opponent.

The spider scrambled back to it's feet, hissing and spitting and spreading it's front legs wide in a display of fearsome aggression. The shadow-creature flexed it's claws and let out a cold and scratchy hiss of it's own, the shadowy fire on it's body intensifying to a blaze. A moment of tense and breathless silence passed. Then, without warning, the shadow launched itself toward the spider, and the two became locked in a deadly and dangerous dance. Clawed hands ripped at it's leathery hide, drawing beads of black blood as the spider wrapped it's spindly legs around it's opponent's body, trying in vain to hold it's incorporeal form steady as it attempted to sink it's fangs into it's shadowy throat.

So engrossed Yu was in the vicious conflict going on in front of him that he almost missed the sound of something . . . ripping. Like cotton being sheared by a knife. A noise that was right next to him, and he jerked when he realized that the sound was coming from the webs encasing his body.

And he blinked in surprise when, as he jerked away, his arm came up freely and unrestrained. He gazed at it, stupefied for only a moment before he tried sitting up himself and finding, with amazement, that the threads holding him down were slowly dissolving! How or when, he didn't know, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. He was free!

Relishing that freedom only lasted for a few precious seconds, however, when he was brought back to reality by the feel of a hand pressing into his own before closing it into a fist, a voice whispering softly into his ear, "Give that to your friend. Make sure he drinks it all."

His head snapped to his left to find the one who had spoken, eyes wide and alert and knowing with absolute certainty that he hadn't imagined that.

But no one was there save for rock and webs. Confused, he opened his hand and saw that a tiny vial now rested against his palm, and inside he could see a shimmering blue liquid that looked almost satiny in texture. Give this to his friend? Who-?

A sudden hand on his shoulder made him impulsively twist and nearly smack the hand away, only calming when he recognized the voice speaking to him, "Whoa, hey, calm down, it's just me!"

He dropped his hand to the floor, finally recognizing the person in front of him and feeling relieved when he did, "Yosuke . . ."

"Yeah, we can say 'I'm glad to see you're okay' later," Yosuke said, "Right now, we need to get outta here before those things decide they'd rather eat than fight."

Chie and Yukiko ran up to them, cut free from their bonds as well, perhaps thanks to the same one who'd set him free.

Yukiko fell to her knees and hugged him fiercely, and Yu felt his spine pop, "Oh, thank god you're okay! I thought . . . I really thought we were going to lose you!"

Yosuke gave her a look that tried to be annoyed, but failed as his own relief made it hard to be angry, "Yuki-chan, I know you're happy, I get it, I am too, but we really, really need to get outta here!"

"I'm with Yosuke on this one," Chie interjected hastily, placing a hand on Yukiko's shoulder, "I don't want to be around when those guys finally figure out whose top dog around here," she gave a pointed look to the still thrashing monsters, who were still tearing and screeching at each other with rage.

Yu nodded, "I agree, this is not the place to be right now. Where're the others?"

"Kanji's getting Rise and Naoto right now, so we should start moving," Yosuke said, when his eyes fell to the floor and he gave an irritated huff, "God dammit, Ted, now is not the time to be sleeping!"

Teddie . . . oh hell . . .

Yu turned just in time to see Yukiko place a hand on the back of Teddie's head, no doubt to prop him up so they could wake him, only to abruptly pull her hand back and stare.

"Guys . . ." she murmured, and she quietly showed them her hand.

Blood.

"Oh shit!" Yosuke balked before leaning over Teddie, shaking his shoulders and snapping his fingers to try and get him to stir, "Teddie! Teddie, wake up!"

"What the hell happened to him?!" Chie asked in alarm, crawling to Yosuke's side. She didn't wait for an answer, instead tearing off a long piece of her shirt and awkwardly wrapping it around his head, "I hope I'm doing this right."

"Here, let me help you," Yukiko said, leaning over so she could help her friend. She was good at basic first aid, a skill she had honed in the T.V world, which would help in stopping the blood.

Yu frantically wracked his mind as he tried to think of something he could do. They had no means of identifying what was wrong. For all he knew, it could be a concussion, or it could be . . . something worse. What could he do?

Give that to your friend. Make sure he drinks all of it.

Yu blinked, and his eyes fell to the glass vial resting in his hands. Should he? Could he really trust this? He didn't see any reason for the stranger to lie. If they had wanted them dead, they would have just left them to the spider.

"Yu? Yu!" Yu blinked and looked up, realizing that Yosuke was staring at him, "What are you looking at?"

Well, here goes nothing, "I'm . . . looking at this," he said, holding out the vial for all to see, "It might be able to help."

"Are you sure?" Yukiko asked, "I mean, did you just find that on the ground?"

He shook his head, "No. But we really don't have time to argue about it right now."

Scooting forward, he pulled the cork out with his teeth and said, "Chie, could you hold his head up please?"

"Uh, s-sure," she said, carefully doing as he asked.

Slowly, carefully, he tipped the contents of the vial into Teddie's mouth, making sure to drain every drop before sitting back and crossing his fingers.

Only a moment passed when Teddie shifted and, to Yu's infinite relief that his trust had not been misplaced, he opened his eyes.

Chie and Yukiko both heaved a sigh of relief as Yosuke's shoulders slumped, saying, "Jesus man, don't do that again."

Teddie sat up and gave them all a confused look, still a bit disoriented and at a loss as to what was going on, "Um, don't do what again?"

Panic flashed through his eyes and his words came out in an almost incoherent rush, "If you mean 'don't read you're special books again' I'm sorry, I didn't mean too, I was just curious!"

Yosuke clamped a hand tight over his mouth, face beet red as he hissed, "Hey, ixnay on the book-say, you idiot!"

Chie gave him a cross look, huffing, "Hmph. Pervert."

A sudden crash nearby jolted them all out of their brief respite, and they all whirled around just in time to see the shadow hurl the spider onto it's back, pinning it to the floor as the spider's hooked claws dug into it's body, clawing and screeching.

"AHH, it wasn't a dream!" Teddie cried, wrapping his arms around Yosuke's neck in a vice-like grip.

"Grk!"

"Okay, I think we should be going now!" Chie said, looking anxiously for a way out that wouldn't draw too much attention.

"Wait, we need to get Kanji-kun and the others first!" Yukiko insisted, standing up.

"That won't be necessary."

Yu's heart flooded with relief when he saw Kanji and Rise walking towards them, helping a limping, but alive, Naoto. She was banged up, for sure, but overall, she appeared nowhere near as bad as she'd looked when she'd been flung into the wall.

The others shared his sentiment, coming forward with relief in their eyes and on their faces. Except Teddie, who only looked puzzled, but that was understandable.

But now that they were together again, they couldn't remain any longer. So he quickly stepped in and said, "Alright, we need to leave. Naoto, you're okay to walk, right?"

"I will be fine, senpai," Naoto said affirmatively, nodding.

"I'll help her out," Kanji said, eyes resolute.

"Alright, then let's-" Yu didn't get the time to finish when a huge crack thundered through the air, drowning out his voice and everything else with it.

"Ah, what now?!" Yosuke demanded in exasperation.

No one got to answer as another just like the one before it crashed into existence, echoing throughout the cavern in booming waves. All of them covered their ears at the noise, and Yu cast his eyes everywhere, trying to figure out where it was coming from, if it was coming from anything at all.

That was when an eerie green light caught his attention.

There, one of the stalactites was glowing. Well, not the stalactite itself, per say, but a thin green line coiling around the very top was. Could that be the source?

He watched as the stalactite jerked, the green light intensifying, and if his eyes didn't deceive him, he could almost say it looked like the light was . . . eating through the rock. Like some kind of acid. And right below the breaking stalactite was . . .

The combatants that were still writhing and twisting on the ground, unaware of what was happening until, at last, with one final crack, the whole thing broke away from the ceiling and came hurtling toward the fighting pair at a terrifying speed.

The shadow suddenly disappeared, body dissolving into a black mist that harmlessly floated past the falling stalactite, whipping up into the air and fading into the darkness. The spider was not so lucky.

The stalactite struck home, pointed end driving deep into the spider's gut and pinning it to the earth below. Ribbons of black blood splattered across the stone and sprayed across the floor, the spider letting out a piercing death knell as it's legs spasmed uncontrollably around the rocky spear. It's claws dug ferociously into the stone, fighting with all it had left until, after what felt like an eternity, it's legs twitched and curled inward and it's body finally grew still.

No one said anything at first, too stunned by what they had just witnessed to speak until Chie slowly and cautiously ventured, "Is it . . . is it dead?"

"Well, I'd certainly say it's dead, but you can try asking it yourself if you don't believe me."

Yu and the others were instantly on their guard, wary eyes looking all over the place for the voice that had suddenly spoken, only to find nothing. God, he was not in the mood for anymore nasty surprises!

"W-who said that?!" Chie demanded, looking this way and that and seeing no one.

The voice seemed all to happy to oblige her with an off-hand answer, "I don't know. Maybe you're just going crazy!"

Yu narrowed his eyes in annoyance. The voice, whoever they were, were clearly enjoying their bewilderment, mirth evident in their voice. And his temper was already frazzled to its last nerve. He was in no mood for this.

"Who are you?" He demanded, "Show yourself!"

"Well that's not very nice. Don't they have manners where you're from?"

"Hey, we've had it about up to here with this bullcrap!" Kanji shouted, just as fed up as the rest of them, "If you won't come out on you're own, then I'll drag your ass out myself!"

"And I think we deserve some answers after all we've been through," Yosuke put in, looking and sounding just as aggravated.

"Answers?"

The mysterious voice went silent for a moment, seeming to contemplate their words. Yu frowned, feeling an niggling sense of wrongness with the voice. No, wrongness wasn't the right word for it. What he felt was . . . familiarity. But that familiarity, he realized, was what made it wrong, because how could he be familiar with this strange voice? Unless . . . it wasn't a stranger speaking to them . . .

"Alright, I guess I can give you a few answers. Don't know how much it'll help, though, because I doubt I have the ones you want!~"

A shadow, smaller than the one that had appeared before, materialized by the body of the deceased spider, and Yu watched, wide-eyed, as the shadow slowly morphed into a very visible, very solid, very human form.

The person, a young man, casually leaned against the blood-splattered stalactite with one booted foot braced against the crook of the dead spider's fang, wholly at ease and seemingly quite relaxed. Half his body was draped under the rock's shadow, but it wasn't so deep that the details couldn't be seen. He gave them a cheery smile and a friendly wave, but Yu barely noticed them because it was the person's face he was staring at in open, undisguised shock.

Because the person standing in front of them looked exactly like someone who he knew was also standing just behind him.

Because the person in front of them . . . looked exactly like Teddie.

:)

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