Danger Sense didn’t seem to do anything, until noon the next day, their fourth day in Travalar. A feeling like all her hairs were standing up overcame Gemma, and she knew it was the activation of Danger Sense.

They were in the village, so she didn’t think it was due to the danger of the landscape, which meant someone...or something was coming. Gemma gathered Nellie into her arms and ran.

“Please, wait!” a deep voice called out, and somehow Gemma could tell it was in the Universal language.

Gemma slowed, and turned. The figure approached and Gemma screamed in fright, and started running at max speed again. Nellie started crying too, adding to the chaos.

“Wait!”

Gemma ignored the creature— no, monster— and continued onwards. Her lungs began to burn and her arms grew heavy with Nellie weight, but she pushed on.

The figure appeared before her in a blur, and she slammed into him.

“Ooff—” the monster said. The tentacles from his back reached out and steadied Gemma and Nellie. Their alien, muscle like feel made Gemma want to shed her skin.

“Let go! LET GO!” Gemma yelled, and the sensation of Universal twisting out her mouth made her feel even more panicked, and she started screaming again. The monster's bulbous eyes peered down at her, the green gray skin on his face wrinkling.

“CALM DOWN,” the monster said, and Gemma felt all her rabid emotions soothed away. Her emotions on the backburner, she realized the monster must have used a skill on her.

She took a deep breath, then said in a rush, “Are you going to eat us, kill us, maim us, or in any way do us harm?”

“What? No, of course not, no. I’m not a monster.”

“Then why,” Gemma glared, “is my Danger Sense going bonkers?”

“Is it? I really do mean you no harm,” the monster, er, creature’s eyes seemed earnest, “my name is Kevin Allbrig. I manage this sector.”

“One second,” Gemma said, and she pulled up her screen and zeroed in on the skill description.

The skill’s description began with, “Any strong intention to you or someone in your care is made known to you…”

She cursed under her breath, and then said, “Sorry, Nellie.” Danger Sense was a really vague sort of skill. It made any intention directed at her or Nellie known towards her, not differentiating between good or bad. They should’ve just called it Intent Sense, then.

“Okay, maybe you don’t have a bad intention towards us, but you do have the intention to do something. What do you want? And what skill did you use on me?”

“I used Soothing Aura on you,” Kevin said, “I want to introduce you into Frillish society, seeing as we have no concerns about your eligibility for citizenship.”

“Frillish society?”

“Yes. We direct all incoming Lost to specific areas, and then screen them for multiple things to ensure we can let them into mainstream society without issue.”

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“So,” Gemma resettled Nellie and waved her now free hand around, “This whole jungle was a test? You have, like, actual modern cities?”

“Yes. And as a Lost you are entitled to some government aid while you get settled.”

Gemma frowned, “Settled? But I want to go home.”

Kevin winced, or whatever passed for the equivalent on his alien face, “That is a very touchy topic right there.”

“Go on,” there was an edge to Gemma’s voice.

“To put it plainly, right now there is no way home to your dimension, or any others.”

“We really can’t get home? We’re stuck here?”

“I’m sorry to say...yes.”

When Gemma finally spoke, her voice was devoid of emotion, “Let’s leave this place, then. I’d rather be in your cities than in this forsaken, empty jungle, at least. And eat something other than fruit.”

“Of course, of course,” Kevin said, “follow me.”

Gemma stopped to get their belongings, and buckled Nellie into her stroller. Having gathered all her stuff, Kevin led them through the jungle. Once they had walked for several minutes, Kevin stopped.

“The transport will arrive in two minutes,” he said.

Two minutes later, a silent vehicle, reminiscent of a mini plane appeared. Kevin opened the side door, and Gemma sat down, Nellie buckled into her stroller next to her. She had fallen asleep during the walk, and continued to sleep as the craft ascended.

Kevin sat across from them and explained a bit more about life in Frillin. Apparently, Travalar was the name of the planet, and the country Gemma and Nellie had ended up in was Frillin. Unlike Earth, where there were many countries and powers, Travalar had two main ones, and a few small, inconsequential ones. Frillin was one of the major powers, and the other one was a country called Gosidonia.

“Three hundred years ago,” Kevin explained, “Travalar was a typical system based magic planet. Do you have stories of magic in your world? Wizards and fireballs?”

Gemma nodded.

“So Travalar was exactly like those stories, except most of the populace could wield basic magics and with study or luck, could advance their skills using the system interface. Then the Lost began to appear. Modern scientists say that somehow, Travalar became a dumping ground for all dimensional warps. The system adapted to the newcomers, and now we have hundreds of people from different types of home worlds with their own magics and sciences that have been adopted into our society. We also have a boom of hybrid races, as Lost are quite...welcomed into Frillish society.”

“And even with all that innovation and new knowledge, no one figured out how to get home? With over three hundred years to do so?”

Kevin looked uncomfortable. Alien as he was, his emotions were readable.

“Yes,” he said at last.

Gemma didn’t believe him for a second. Maybe it was bureaucratic policy bull or some other ridiculousness, but for whatever reason, the Frillish government wanted to keep the otherworlders from returning home.

But since Kevin seemed like a nice guy and not connected to allowing those policies to exist, Gemma decided she wouldn't drive him nuts and drill someone else at a future date.

Gemma looked out the window and said, “Whoa.”

The jungle area that had been their home the last few days was beautiful from above. Then they passed through a barrier, and Gemma looked back to see that the entirety of her jungle home was surrounded by an enormous dome. In fact there were several domed areas of different types nearby. An entirely aquatic one, a barren burnt landscape, and another jungle just like hers.

“What are those?” she asked, wonder in her voice.

“That dome gave you the illusion you were in a much larger space,” Kevin said, “while also letting us moniter you.”

“Kevin?”

“Yes?”

“The sky here isn’t blue. It was blue in my dome.”

“Hmm? Oh yes. The guiding system accounts for the type of being incoming and makes sure you end up in an area where the conditions are as familiar as possible.”

“It’s beautiful,” and the grape purple of Travalar’s sky really was breathtaking, for so many reasons. Its complete unfamiliarity, the uniqueness, and the hit on the head that yes, this was real and they weren’t anywhere near home.

Gemma held back a burst of tears.

“Kevin?”

“Hmm?”

“Can you please use that Soothing Aura skill on me again? This is all a lot to take in.”

“Oh, sure. Of course.”

“Thank you.”

Calmness washed over Gemma, her fears and horror temporarily blunted.