And boom! Some explanations! Key word being 'some'.

Enjoy. :)

Obligatory Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Definitely Not in Kansas Anymore

"Yeah, I'd say we do," Yosuke jumped on the chance for answers immediately, leaning forward with a tight frown on his face, "For starters, just where the hell are we?!"

"And how did we even get here?" Chie asked, crossing her arms over her chest. A faint flare of suspicion creased her face, accusation lacing her tone, "You wouldn't happen to know, would you?"

Tirin pouted, sounding hurt, "Oh, Lady Chie, still so suspicious even now? That hurts."

"Hey, just get to the point," Kanji growled.

"And don't call me 'Lady Chie', that's . . . weird," Chie added, tucking her arms a little closer to her body.

"Yeah, only dashing princes hold that right!" Teddie sniffed, lips pursed and eyes narrowed. Chie groaned.

Tirin held up his hands, waving them down, "Alright, alright, I get the picture," dropping his hands, he continued, "Okay, first things first, you're in the Underdark."

"Underdark?" Yukiko echoed, eyebrows furrowed together.

"You've mentioned that name before," Yu stated evenly, keeping his tone carefully neutral, "But we don't know what that is. If you could elaborate, it would be appreciated."

"Well, if you want history lessons, you'd be better off asking Nyras," Tirin replied, lazily swinging a leg and not bothering to explain who 'Nyras' was, "But basically, the Underdark, besides being home to yours truly, is a bunch of caves that span miles underground, right below the continent of Andalar!"

A beat of silence, and Tirin tacked on, "Aaand I'm going to take that silence to mean you don't know what that is either!"

He would most definitely be right, Yu thought. Andalar? Had it been a country, or a state, he would have wholly accepted never having heard of it before. There's only so much about geography he could learn from books. But an entire continent . . . ?

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on a sec . . ." Yosuke said, a nervous pitch entering his tone, "A continent? Th-Th-That's gotta be wrong, there's no way we wouldn't have heard about an eighth continent springing up overnight!"

"Asia, North America, South America, Australia . . ." Yukiko mumbled softly, counting each one off with a finger.

Yu looked to Tirin, mouth feeling strangely dry as he asked, "And . . . is that the only one?"

"Only continent? Course not!" Tirin rubbed the back of his head, looking thoughtful and somewhat embarrassed, "Although, heh, I don't know a lot about the others. Hm, I know there's Verisad just across the Opalite Sea because of the war . . . but that's about it."

Another span of silence stretched over them, and Yu felt his stomach twist as he processed the information. Not just one, but two unknown continents, neither of which struck even a cord of familiarity with him. And a war? He hadn't heard of any wars going on, last he'd heard. How could that be possible, unless . . .

"L-look, I know I ain't the smartest guy when it comes to this stuff . . ." Kanji spoke up, "But even I know that those places you're talkin' about don't exist! S-spill it! You're just tryin' to freak us out, aren't you?"

Tirin tilted his head to one side, an eyebrow curving up at the accusation, "No?"

"But then, how come we've never heard of them? By the way you're talking, you'd think we'd landed on some other world!" Chie shouted. There was silence for a moment, and slowly, her eyes widened in stark, terrifying realization, "Oh no . . ."

"That . . . can't be right," Rise said, looking to the others as she started to shake, "We can't be on some other world, that's just . . . just . . ."

"Just the only thing that makes sense . . ." Yosuke half-whispered the statement, as if the only way to grasp the truth was to speak it aloud. And . . . as utterly bizarre and outlandish the concept was, Yu was beginning to grasp the tenuous threads of their reality for himself.

"Yosuke-!" Chie shouted, looking as if she were about to jump on him to keep him quiet.

"No, Chie, he's right," Yu interrupted her, feeling his heart sink. Her wide eyes fell on him, as did everyone's, searching for answers he felt he couldn't truly supply, but had to give nonetheless. Swallowing down his apprehension, Yu continued, "Look at what we know. Two continents we've never heard, giant spiders are real, the fact that none of us have any idea how we even got here . . . besides, it was clear from the beginning that we weren't home. And . . . it's not as if we don't know other worlds exist."

A deep, uneasy silence fell over the group, everyone shifting uncomfortably where they sat as they processed his words. But all around, Yu could see that they, too, were beginning to realize what had been in front of their noses the whole time, as well as the deeply unsettling fact that home was much, much farther away than any of them could have anticipated.

"So . . . i-if we're not in my world . . . and we're not in yours . . . then where are we, Sensei?" Teddie inquired in an unusually soft voice, twiddling his fingers together.

Yu frowned, and closed his eyes, unable to give him an answer. He truly had no idea . . .

"But how is that possible?" Yukiko questioned, wringing her hands together, "None of us were near a tv, were we?"

"I . . . don't think any of this has anything to do with the tv, Yukiko-san," Yosuke said, looking at the floor, "Not this time."

"But then, what?" Rise asked, looking from him, to Yu, and back again, voice rising as she spoke, "What could have possibly happened to bring us all here?"

"And how the fuck do we get out of it?!" Kanji yelled, nervousness of the unknown and the worry it brought teasing out his more irate nature.

"Everyone, calm down," Yu said, urging for peace before everyone lost their cool, "Yes, its strange. Yes, none of us have a clue how it happened. But panicking won't help us. It never has."

Then, another voice spoke up, quiet and sleep-worn, but still very clear, "Yes. The best we can do is try and look at this rationally and go from there."

"N-Naoto-!" Kanji exclaimed, hand going out as if to support her again, only pulling back at the last second.

"N-Naoto-kun?!" Yukiko started in unison, jumping forward as her healer instincts bid her too, "Are you alright? Does anything hurt?"

Naoto, who was leaning most of her weight against the wall, shook her head, speaking calmly, "I am fine, Yukiko-senpai. It's quite a wonder what a brief nap will fix. However, our focus should be on our predicament. I take it I didn't mishear about our being in another world?"

Yu took a quick study of her appearance. She did look better, as far as he could see in the pale light, less stricken with pain and no longer quaking like before. Truly, that nap seemed to have worked wonders, "No, you didn't. Unfortunately."

"Hm . . ." Naoto hummed ponderingly, folding her arms in a way she typically did when she was thinking, "If true, then our situation is more multifaceted than we originally assumed. However, we may not be so lost as you believe." She looked up, and her eyes, shining black in the watery white light, alighted on Tirin, "You seem to know something. Care to share?"

Yu's own eyes fell on Tirin, who had casually leaned forward and looked as if he had been listening intently as the conversation wore on. With an internal wince, he realized too late that this man was still a borderline stranger regardless of his looks and that the topic at hand was not one for his ears. But it was too late to rescind the words spoken. He only hoped Tirin really meant them no ill will, especially seeing as the man displayed a shrewdness that hid beneath his outward friendliness.

"Wha-? You know what's goin' on? Why the hell didn't you tell us?" Kanji demanded, rounding on the man.

"If you know something, out with it!" Yosuke added, eyes narrowed.

Tirin sat back, lips pursed into a small frown, unruffled despite their anger, "Hm . . . I might know something. I don't know if it'll help you, though."

"Anything that could help us make sense of this would be helpful," Yu insisted, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Tirin would give them a thread to follow to the truth, "Please, whatever it is, we need to know."

Tirin lifted a finger to his chin and gave Yu a long look. Then, he shrugged, "Alright. A few hours ago, I was traveling up the path we used when I felt a huge amount of portal magic near the area where I'm guessing you appeared."

"Portal magic?" Rise echoed.

Tirin nodded, "And a huge amount of it. Like, the amount I've only felt before at the World Wound. When I tracked it, I found you. At first, I thought you were the ones responsible for it, so I kept my distance. But it . . . sort of became obvious that you weren't. No offense."

"Wait, 'kept your distance'? Does that mean you were following us even before we met that stupid spider? Why didn't you help us before then?!" Yosuke demanded, looking livid.

Tirin brushed his angry claims aside with a wave of his hand, shrugging, "I had to make sure you weren't just polymorphed imposters. I mean, anyone who can create that much magic in one go isn't something even I can take on by myself. But like I said, it became obvious that that wasn't the case. I mean . . ." he lightly scratched the underside of his jaw with a finger, "Half of you didn't even have shoes."

Everyone shuffled their feet almost unconsciously, and Kanji grumbled, "Hey, s'not like we expected to get dropped on our asses here . . ."

"On the subject of our predicament," Naoto said, steering the topic back on course, "You said something about . . . portal magic?"

"Mhm!" Tirin hummed, "I don't know a lot about magic by itself, and I don't really know how it works, but I do know what it feels like. I'm pretty positive that's what brought you here."

"Hang on, do you mean like . . . serious magic? Like cauldrons and broomsticks and shit?" Kanji asked, looking mystified.

Yukiko gasped, "A witch brought us here!?"

"Slow down there, Yukiko," Chie said, patting her friend on the arm. She then looked at Tirin, "But . . . is that really true? About the magic, I mean?"

"Um . . ." Tirin started, looking a little confused, "I know witches exist, if that's what you're trying to ask me. So do sorcerers. And wizards! I don't know any wizards, though. But they could definitely be the ones who made the portal!"

Witches and sorcerers and wizards . . . Yu could honestly say he'd hadn't expected that. True, as he'd found out magic wasn't exactly unheard of in his world. But it required a persona, and that wasn't exactly a common thing. As far as he knew, only his friends and the Shadow Operatives had personas, and none of them went around calling themselves 'wizards', that was for sure.

But even with this revelation, something told him that it was far from the last thing they'd discover. After all, if magic could exist here . . . then anything could.

"Wizards . . . sorcerers . . . for real?" Yosuke half mumbled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief, "Dude, just what kind of world do you live in? Next you're gonna be telling me dragons are real and that you're friends with one!"

"But they are real, Yosuke," Tirin replied casually, "And I actually am friends with one."

. . .

Yosuke's mouth fell open, a faint, stuttering noise escaping the back of his throat as real words failed to form. Everyone else was staring too, eyes stretched wide and full of shock, most unable to even articulate words as their jaws were too far on the floor to work properly.

"Are . . . a-are you serious?!" Kanji asked, voice pitched and full of disbelief.

"H-holy crap . . . real dragons?" Chie whispered, leaning back on her hands as if she could fall over at any moment.

"You mean like the b-big, fire-breathing menaces that harass innocent princesses who need strong, strapping knights to rescue them from?" Teddie asked, looking equal parts frightened and strangely interested as he picked at his fingers.

"That is . . . I can't . . ." Rise said, pressing a hand to her head.

"Well . . . given all we've encountered and learned . . . we can't truly say that its implausible," Naoto said, though even she looked a little shaken.

"Permission to still be shocked?" Yu asked her, as he was honestly starting to feel a little light-headed from all of this.

". . . Granted."

"Do you really not have dragons where you're from?" Tirin asked, looking genuinely curious.

"Wha-? No, we don't have dragons!" Yosuke snapped, finding his voice again.

Tirin hummed in wonder, "That's . . . interesting. I wonder what else your world doesn't have . . ."

"Perhaps we can discuss the disparities after we've first figured out a way back to our world," Naoto intervened quickly, "Not to say you are wrong in being curious, but I'm sure you can understand our urgency."

Tirin pouted, "Oh, and I thought it would be nice to trade stories . . . but alright, I see your point."

"You seem . . . oddly okay with us being from another world," Yukiko commented.

Yu glanced at her, then back at Tirin. Now that she mentioned it, he was taking this all very calmly. Much more calmly than they were taking in his world, at any rate.

Tirin only shrugged, "I know about other worlds too. Sort of. We call them the Planes here. It's not exactly big news to people. And, believe it or not, you're not the weirdest thing I've seen," a devilish smile crossed his face, "Of course, I could never call meeting no less than four fair beauties 'weird'!"

"Charming," Rise said, tone flat.

"I try," Tirin said with a one-armed shrug.

Teddie growled, "Grr, these fair beauties are already spoken for! So paws off!"

Tirin's smile only grew wider and more cat-like, "Ooh, is that a challenge?"

"Hey, we aren't 'spoken for' for anyone, so can it!" Chie snapped.

"I can already see this becoming way more annoying than it should be," Rise added softly, looking morose at the thought.

"If we could get back to the topic at hand!" Naoto interjected sharply, patience wearing thinner than usual. Perhaps she wasn't as recovered as he'd thought, "Tirin, is there anything more you can tell us about this 'portal' you sensed?"

Tirin shook his head, "Nope. It happened pretty quickly. It's gone now, and I have no idea who or what caused it."

"I see . . ."

"How'dya sense it?" Kanji asked, "Did you . . . smell it?"

"Smell . . . a portal?" Tirin asked incredulously, crossing his arms. Incredibly, he looked offended, "I'm not a Grimlock, I'm a Gloaming. I just . . . feel portals when they happen. So no, I don't 'smell' it."

Yu perked his ears up at the unknown word, curiosity spurring him speak, "A . . . Gloaming?"

"Yes, a Gloaming," a small smile of amusement appeared on his lips, "What, you didn't actually think I was human, did you?"

Everyone shared a look. No, they hadn't thought he was human, but . . . none were sure how to ask him what he was. Yu hadn't even been sure if it had been safe to ask before.

Luckily, Yukiko swept in with a save, "W-well, uh . . . it's not that we didn't notice that . . . things-I mean, you-were different . . . it just seemed a little rude to ask."

Good cover.

"But, uh, since you said it . . . what's a Gloaming?" Chie asked, and everyone else leaned forward just so as interest peaked.

Tirin shrugged, "Just what I am, Chie. Most Gloamings live in the Underdark, like me. But originally, we came from the Shadow Plane. I also know some still live there, too," he scratched at his cheek, "But that's, uh, really all I know."

"Shadow Plane?" Naoto inquired, attention locked on the man.

"The Shadow Plane is, uh . . . well, I guess you could say it's like an elemental plane of darkness? Or a dark version of the Material Plane . . ." Tirin waved his hands around helplessly, "Ugh, it's hard to explain unless I take you there! But, I don't think you want to go. Most people from this Plane don't like it. Korval sure didn't . . ."

He shook his head, "But, point is, that's where Gloamings come from."

Yu opened his mouth to inquire further about this, but Rise beat him to the punch, "So . . . does that mean you're . . . a Shadow?"

"A Shadow?" Tirin suddenly threw his head back and laughed, the sound bouncing off the walls before falling silent, "No, I'm not like Xirskam! I'm not part of the darkness, or formed from it, or anything like that! I'm just connected to it!"

Yu pursed his lips. Of course, Tirin wouldn't know what that word meant, at least in relation to them. But he understood why Rise had asked. The strange parallel between Tirin and Teddie was not lost on him, even if their individual circumstances were different.

Hm, this might explain the whole 'see in the dark' comment from earlier too, now that he thought about it . . .

"Wait, so Xir-what's-its-name is a Shadow?" Yosuke probed, glancing uneasily at the fissure leading outside.

"Xir-skam," Tirin enunciated slowly, lifting an eyebrow in an almost condescending fashion, "It's really not that hard to pronounce, Yosu-ke."

Yosuke growled, "Whatever!"

"But anyway, yes, Xirskam's a shadow. Shade, to be accurate. He's been my friend for a long time now," Tirin said.

"So it's your . . . friend," Chie repeated, looking unsure.

Tirin nodded, "Mhm! Don't worry, everyone always a little scared the first time they meet a Shade. But you'll get used to him!"

The looks on everyone's faces said 'not likely', but no one tried to argue with him on that point. Still, so long as it was on their side, Yu wasn't going to try to start any fights. He'd really rather not be on the business side of those claws.

Just then, another, unusually timid voice spoke up, "You said 'most Gloamings' . . . does that mean you're not the only one?"

Yu found his gaze flicking over to Teddie, who's own eyes were fixed on the man with an unusual amount of intensity and . . . and something else. Something deeper, an emotion not usually given quarter on Teddie's light-hearted face . . .

"No, of course not! I mean, I've only seen a few for myself, but I know others are out there. We usually just keep to ourselves," Tirin replied. He cocked his head to one side, eyes flashing with curiosity, "Why do you ask?"

The emotion in Teddie's eyes grew deeper before they fell to the floor, the bear forcing out a quick dismissal, "Uh, nothing. N-no reason . . ."

It was only then that Yu was able to put a name on the emotion.

Jealousy.

A pang of sorrow pulsed in his heart. Teddie never said it, and Yu had no doubt that he was quite satisfied with his friends companionship . . . but that didn't mean he couldn't occasionally want for something more. Someone like him, who understood what it was like to be a Shadow. But there were no others. In that regard, he was alone. Yu understood full well why Teddie might be just a little jealous.

Yosuke noticed too, "Ted . . ."

Tirin, already noticeably more observant than his counterpart, must have been aware that Teddie's sullen retraction from the conversation was more than just a passing state of timidity. But he made no comment on it, instead focusing on the group, "Well, like I said, that's all I know about the portal. But I think now would be a good time to stop this conversation and get some shut eye! We've got a ways to go when we wake up!"

"H-huh?" Chie started, "Go? Go where?"

"To the surface!" Tirin said as if it were obvious, "Look, I don't know the first thing about magic, but I know people who do. They're the best ones to ask about this, and they're on the surface, so that's where we have to go. If you wanna get home, you're going to have to trust me on this."

"Well, we don't really got a choice . . ." Kanji muttered.

"If you really can bring us to someone who can help, we'd appreciate it," Yu said. Truthfully, there were many more questions he still wished to ask Tirin; what the 'Planes' were, what other creatures existed in this world, what could they expect to see . . . but his eyelids were starting to weigh heavy, and he knew that sleep was incoming. Not just for him, but for everyone. In the morning, or whatever time of day it truly was, would be a more optimal time for such discussion.

"Yep yep, I sure can!" With a smile, the man clapped his hands together, "Now, time to break out the bedrolls! And when I say that, I mean find a comfy rock to sleep on, because I only have one!"

A collective groan was shared, Rise asking disbelievingly, "Seriously?"

Tirin shrugged, "Hey, I wasn't expecting company. But, if you like, we can share one.~"

"Pass," was her instant reply.

The man only chuckled before hopping off the boulder he sat on, picking his way silently over the stone. Stooping down, he began collecting the glowing rocks piled at the center of their circle, stowing them away in his bag. With each vanished stone, the light grew progressively dimmer, until the shadows pressed in close to the point it was difficult to make out even the walls beside him. Tirin left one out, however, the light dim enough to not be uncomfortable, but bright enough to still see should they require it.

"I'll take watch," Tirin said chipperly, standing upright, "The rest of you get some sleep. Oh, and you there, take this!"

Teddie looked up and yelped when a bedroll suddenly flopped against his chest, the heavy blanket falling with a thud against the floor. Where in the world had Tirin procured that from?

"Since your so adamant about not taking those clothes off, use that. Wouldn't do to have you catch hypothermia in the night!" Tirin said. Without waiting for a reply, he turned and headed fro the tunnel, a sprightly kick in his step.

"Hey, we don't have to worry about you sneaking off in the middle of the night, do we?" Yosuke asked after him, looking uncomfortable with the thought of lowering his defenses around the man.

"Hey, you're the invaders from another world. I should be more worried about you!" Tirin shot back teasingly.

"You're the one with the weapons," Yosuke pointed out, looking unamused, "We don't even have shoes."

Tirin laughed, "Haha, relax! You don't have to worry about anything. Now, light's out! Goodnight!~"

With that, he turned and vanished into the shadow, leaving the group alone.

No one moved at first. Then, Yosuke slumped down against the floor with a soft thud, sighing loudly, "Does anyone else feel like their brain's been through the ringer, or is it just me?"

"No, definitely not just you," Chie said, running a hand over her face, "God, this day has been nuts."

"Something tells me it's just going to get worse . . ."

"No kidding," Rise said. She frowned at the rock beneath her, tapping it with a finger, "Ugh, I don't know if I'm going to get any sleep tonight. Not just this rock, but there's still so much I wanna know!"

"I hear ya," Yosuke said, rolling over so he was on his stomach, "Like, why are there two Teddies. We didn't actually ask that."

"Assuming Tirin even had the answer himself," Naoto said. She crossed her arms, the brim of her hat casting her face in deep shadow as she lowered her head, "If I could offer a possible explanation, it could have something to do with the fact that this is another world. Possibly even another universe, if one believes such theories."

"It's the best we got right now," Chie said, "Hell, dragons are real. I'll believe anything at this point."

"Hm . . ." Yukiko hummed thoughtfully, lightly pulling at a loose thread on her sleeve, "If there's another Teddie here . . . do you think there might be a counterpart for all of us, too?"

Her question struck them all momentarily dumb. Another him . . . Yu hadn't actually thought of that, what with everything going on. But . . . it made sense for there to be one. And if there was another him in this world . . . what was he like? Would he be wearing armor as well? Wielding swords? Or would he be a sorcerer, relying on magic to see him through a fight? Or could it even be that he was just a simple farmer, with a home and a pet cat and maybe even a family? The possibilities were . . . truly mind boggling. He could be anything here, and that knowledge filled him with a sort of apprehensive excitement that was both thrilling and dizzying at the same time.

"We . . . can't dismiss that possibility, either," Naoto said, and Yu could see the wonder in her blue eyes. A wonder that was shared by everyone present.

"That's . . . that's both scary and really cool," Chie finally said, looking from face to the next. A giddy smile began to grow across her face, "I wonder what she's like! Do you think she's a kung-fu master?"

"Save that movie stuff for home, Chie," Yosuke said.

"Hey, I can dream!" Chie said defensively, "Besides, you'd probably just be some merchant kid anyway, not whatever your thinking of!"

"H-hey, if other Ted can be some duel-wielding badass with a giant monster sidekick, then other me can be a magic-using ninja with a harem!"

Yu winced on his friend's behalf as the girls leveled disgusted glares on the boy, who immediately flushed red, "N-nevermind, I take it back . . ."

"You're lucky my feet are killing me right now, or else you'd really know just how that comment made me feel," Chie threatened, eyes narrowed.

"I-I-I can imagine," the boy stuttered.

"Let's just hope other Yosuke's isn't such a pervert," Rise commented.

"If he is, I'm sure other me can put him in his place just fine," Chie added with a grin, punching her fist into her other hand.

"I'm sure you can, but let's hope such things aren't necessary," Yu said.

"Hm . . . would our counterparts even know each other?" Yukiko asked, voice taking a somber edge, "Would other Chie and me be friends?"

Chie frowned, "Um . . . that's a good question . . ."

Yu glanced at the narrow fissure that led outside, "There's one way we can find out."

The others followed his gaze, and Naoto quickly gathered his meaning, "Tirin would be the quickest way to ascertain that answer. We can ask him when we wake up."

"That'd be pretty cool, if we were all friends here too," Kanji said. A grin appeared on his face, a childish sparkle glinting in his eyes, "Hey, maybe we're all an adventuring group of heroes? Ya know, like the kind ya read about in fairytales!"

"That would be pretty neat," Rise agreed with a smile. She brushed a lock of hair over her shoulder, a faint blush coloring her cheeks, "And maybe . . . some of us even found love along the way?"

She gave a not-so-subtle glance in Yu's direction, and he ran his nails along the back of one hand as a slight flush of embarrassment warmed his core. He was fully aware of Rise's crush on him, but he wasn't sure if he returned the feeling. He loved her just as much as any of his other friends, beyond a doubt, but as for something more . . . he didn't want to commit to a relationship he wasn't a hundred percent sure about. Rise deserved better than that.

"This is all just speculation until we actually meet the people in question, if indeed, there is anyone to meet at all," Naoto stated wisely, "But I imagine we will find out soon enough. For now, we should probably try and get some sleep."

Yu nodded, "Agreed."

Everyone began to stretch out along the stone, trying to find a comfortable patch amongst the rock that wasn't too rough and painful. Thank goodness the moss carpeted much of it, giving the rock a layer of softness that would have made this arrangement much worse.

"Ouch! Man, this sucks . . ." he heard Yosuke grumble beside him, "Don't suppose you're faring any better, partner?"

"There's a rock sticking into my spine," he replied evenly, "Other than that, I'm quite comfy."

"Sure . . ." rolling over, Yosuke lifted his voice a little, "Hey Ted, you've been quiet. What's up?"

Yu craned his neck up and pinpointed the blonde sitting a little ways from them, arms wrapped around the still unrolled bedroll. At Yosuke's call, he looked up, startled, "U-uh, nothing! Just thinkin' about bear things, you know?"

Yosuke and Yu shared a look, neither believing that for a moment. Sitting up, Yu said, "Why don't you spread out that bedroll so you can actually sleep in it? You've had a pretty rough day."

Teddie pursed his lips, eyes falling back to the floor, "But everyone else had a rough day too . . . are you sure no one else needs it more? Like Nao-chan?"

"I'll be fine, Teddie," Naoto chimed in reassuringly, "Besides, as Tirin said, you have the wet clothes. I'd rather you use it."

"Mm . . ."

Yosuke sat up this time, urging the bear over with a hand, "Come on, get over here. I'll help you unroll it."

Teddie moved closer as he was asked and let Yosuke take the pack, watching as he undid the knots that held it together. Once done, it fell open with a plop, and he spread it across the uneven ground till it lay mostly flat. At once, the bear shimmied inside, sighing as the blanket flap fell on top of him.

Wriggling around, Teddie pulled off the jacket that Yosuke had lent him and held it up, "Thanks for letting me use it, Yosuke."

"No problem," the boy replied, taking the jacket and frowning at the wetness he no doubt felt there, "Probably take a while to dry . . ."

He said nothing more as he folded it up and set to the side, laying back down and trying to get as comfortable as he could.

Reaching over the brunette, he placed a hand on Teddie's head and ruffled the still damp locks, earning a squeak of surprise from the boy. Smiling, he said, "Don't worry so much. You're not alone so long as you're with us."

Teddie perked his head up, nodding fast, "Oh, I know that, Sensei! It's just . . ."

He trailed off into a sigh, "I'm being silly . . ."

Yu shook his head, "It's not silly to want someone who could understand what's its like to be you. And I know we can't supply that, but if you ever need to talk about it, don't hesitate to ask us."

"Yeah," Yosuke said from where he lay. Opening an eye, he lightly flicked the other boy in the forehead, "Now get some sleep, you dumb bear. You'll feel better when you wake up."

Teddie was silent for a moment. Then, he smiled, "Okay. Thanks Sensei, Yosuke!"

He snuggled deeper into the bedroll, pulling the covers tight and yawning. Satisfied, Yu lay back on the ground, arms pillowing his head as eh stared up at the darkness above his head. The light was too dim to show the ceiling, so it seemed he was surrounded by a nimbus of shadow. With his friends around him, it no longer seemed so threatening, and the soothing splashing of the waterfall calmed his senses like a song. All around him, he heard his friend's breathing begin to even out, exhaustion finally taking it's hold and pulling them into slumber. His own lids grew heavier, but he willed himself to stay awake until he was sure everyone else was asleep. He knew, logically, it didn't matter if he fell asleep first or not, but he just . . . wanted to keep watch. Keep them safe, with what limited ability he had.

Then, when it seemed sleep would finally take him, a quiet voice spoke up, "Hey, Sensei?"

"Hm?"

"I think, if we did meet everyone's others too . . . they'd all be angels."

A faint smile made it's ways to Yu's face, "That would be something, wouldn't it?"

Between them, Yosuke grumbled, "Go to sleep."

He chuckled softly, leaning back against his arms as silence fell once more.

Angels, huh? he thought. Given all he'd seen and learned, that wouldn't be so farfetched, would it? Anything was possible . . .

. . . he had to believe that getting home was possible too.

Next, our displaced heroes get to see some of the cool things about the Underdark! And some of the bad! Huzzah!

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