A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you for the reviews, I like the feedback and it means more than you know! Special thanks to the guest review of Ch. 8. As a writer it's really nice to hear, as well as DrewSb and Shadow Wolf-78 who review frequently :) Also a little heads up, for those who have requested things to be seen, most (not all, but definitely most) were already on my list ;) Not sure when it will show up exactly but keep a look out. This chapter is a bit longer. Not sure if you guys like that or not but I hope you do. There was just so much to write. Almost done with the next chapter and I'll post in a couple days. Love you guys. Please review!

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CHAPTER 9

They weren't sure when they arrived. It normally only took a second, but after blinking a few times, the room around them was still cloaked in darkness. The first thing they became aware of was the smell. It was awful, like intense chemicals. "Ugh. Scott?" Lydia asked in confusion. She knew he was there; her arm was still within his grip.

"I don't know." He replied to the unasked question. He had no idea what that smell was. No idea why it was so dark, where they were, or what was going on. Scott continued to hold onto Lydias arm so he wouldn't lose her in the darkness. "Maybe this is-"

"Shhh!" she said. "Listen…" Scott didn't hear anything, and he was listening intently. "I thought I heard something." Lydia said. Then he heard it. A shuffling, as if someone was slithering on the ground. "Stiles?" Lydia asked. "Is that you? The real you?" They listened closely, and heard more shuffling noises, followed by a grunt and more shuffling.

Scott closed his eyes in concentration, letting his wolf instincts kick in, but not take over. When he opened his eyes, his vision was red.

Lydia saw his eyes begin to glow, and for the first time, it scared her a little. In the island of black surrounding her, it was the only thing she could see. Not his facial features, or anything else in the room, just his eyes. He mind momentarily went back to that night with Peter, his voice echoing in her head as his eyes caught fire and his teeth bared in her face. She shivered and shook her head. This was Scott, not Peter. Get it together Lydia, she scolded herself.

Now able to see in the dark room, Scott looked around for whatever was making the shuffling noises. He and Lydia were standing between a staircase and what appeared to be a large black oil tank. He led Lydia around the tank where he saw a figure lying on the ground. The figure was bringing something out of its pocket. A glare shone in his eyes and he blinked in surprise, instinctively turning them back to their normal brown. The light Scott had seen was a phone; he saw Stiles' face reflected dimly from the screen. He looked scared. Scott tried to look at Lydia, but he could only make out her silhouette. Things got darker as Stiles brought the phone to his ear, hands shaking.

Once again Scott and Lydia were thrown into darkness, but this time, they could at least hear more. They listened to the dim ringing and Scott hoped whoever Stiles was calling would answer soon. He still didn't know where they were. Had Stiles been kidnapped? Had he slept walked into his basement? He heard the click of someone answering the phone.

"Hey man what's up?" The voice on the receiving end asked. The voice sounded familiar, but it took a second to realize it was his own. Stiles didn't immediately answer. "Stiles?" The voice on the phone said. Both Scott and Lydia could hear Stiles' heavy breathing. It was freezing down here, and he knew Stiles had to be shivering. "Stiles you there?" Scott said through the phone.

"Scott." Stiles whispered, he voice full of fear. He sounded on the brink of tears.

"Hey yeah, I'm here, uh- are you okay? Can you hear me?" Any grogginess in Scotts voice was immediately gone, but he didn't yet sound alarmed. Not yet at least.

Stiles voice rang out of the darkness. "I don't know where I am, I don't know how I got here. I think I was sleepwalking." The conversation came into focus for Scott as he remembered this night, being on the receiving end of that call. He remembered his gut wrenching fear as he raced around town in the dead of night looking for his friend. But it didn't make sense. This was the night he had slept walked into the woods, but Scott had seen the stairs and the oil tank next to them. Had he really woken up here and then moved into the woods next?

He knew Lydia was having a hard time hearing on-the-phone-Scott's part of the conversation, and she moved closer to hear. Scott moved with her, even though his wolf hearing could pick up everything just fine.

"Okay, uh um, can you see anything? Just tell me what you see?"

"It's dark it's hard to see. Oh no there's something wrong with my leg- Scott? Scott are you there?" Scott could hear the dial tone and knew the call had dropped. "Damn it" Stiles whispered. Scott had forgotten about that part. When they had brought Stiles into the hospital, his leg had been fine. Other than a few scrapes and scratches, nothing had been wrong with it. The phone in front of Stiles lit up again as he took it away from his ear. Scott noticed his phone had only one bar. That must have been why the call had dropped. He remembered calling Stiles after that, only for it to have gone to voice mail. Service here must be pretty crappy. Able to see slightly again, Lydia walked up to Stiles and kneeled down, attempting to put her hand on his in comfort, but it went through his instead. Stiles hit Scotts name again, and put the phone to his ear. They were thrown into darkness again as ringing filled the air. After a single ring, the phone clicked. "Stiles." Scott said through the receiver, voice anxious.

"Scott I don't think I can get out of here, I can't move"

"Where are you?"

"I don't know" Stiles voice was shaking. From next to him, Scott was concentrating on his chemo signals. His fear was rising into panic. "It's too dark I can't see much. But something's wrong with my leg, it's stuck on something, it's- I think it's bleeding."

"How bad? Stiles how bad is it?" Stiles didn't answer right away. Lydia was trying to sooth him, get him to calm down and focus on his surroundings, but of course, he couldn't actually hear her. "Stiles- are you there can you hear me?"

"There's some kind of smell down here. Something smells terrible, it's brutal my eyes are watering." Scott and Lydia had smelled the same thing when arriving here, wherever here was, and while it smelled atrocious, it wasn't bad enough to make their eyes water. Scott wondered if it was because the memory was stronger for Stiles, having been here.

"Scott" Lydia said from besides him. "I need you to focus and use your wolf eyes. Stiles has said something is wrong with his leg twice now. Can you check what it is? I still can't see anything."

Scott nodded, feeling stupid that he hadn't thought of that the second Stiles had mentioned his leg. He was getting the awful feeling that they were viewing his dream just like they had in Coaches classroom. Apart of him was reluctant to see what was happening. If this was a dream, it sure as hell didn't feel like it. But if it was, then the things here weren't actually real. Something could actually be wrong with his leg, some mental trick.

He closed his eyes, barely registering the darkness from behind his eyelids from the blackness of the room. He opened his eyes to see the room more brightly lit in red. He backed away from Stiles and looked around Lydia, to where Stiles' legs rested on the ground. Seeing what Stiles was referring to, Scott had to fight the urge to throw up where he was kneeling. Stiles foot was caught on a coyote trap. His ankle was embedded with sharp teeth that disappeared into his flesh, and there was a pool of blood was lying beneath it. He turned his eyes quickly back to normal, not wanting to see it anymore. His stomach churned dangerously and he avoided telling Lydia what he had seen. He knew his theory was right now, seeing as Stiles had never been caught in a trap, and there was no need to scare Lydia more than she already seemed to be.

"I'm going to call you right back!" Stiles was saying. He clicked end call, and used the light on the phone to look at his surroundings above him, looking for a way out.

In the little light they had now, Lydia turned her face towards Scotts. "What was it? What was wrong with his leg?" Before he could even think of an answer to stall, there was another shuffling noise from behind the three of them. They all froze, listening. "Did you hear that?" Lydia whispered. Stiles was looking into the darkness, but when he didn't see anything with his shaking hands, he turned the phone around and dialed Scotts number again. "Scott what was that?" Lydia asked again, fear creeping into her voice. He slowly rose and turned around, using his wolf eyes to try and make out anything behind the furnace. When he didn't see anything, Scott knelt down again and told Lydia about his theory. They discussed the dreams meaning while Stiles talked to Scott.

"I think there's a furnace but it-it's cold. It's freezing down here. I gotta turn the-I gotta turn the phone off Scott it's going to die." Stiles was saying.

Scott was whispering his theory about dreams to Lydia, but stopped when they heard Scott ask why Stiles was whispering. Stiles took a shallow breath. "Because I think there's someone in here with me." He whispered. Only then did Scott realize him and Lydia had been whispering too. Chills went up his spine and somehow he knew that Stiles was right. They weren't alone down here.

Stiles turned on the flashlight on his phone and swung it around, the light reflecting through both Scott and Lydia before landing on his own foot. Lydia gasped and covered her mouth in horror at the sight of Stiles foot in the trap. Stiles began screaming in shock and pain and Scott turned his face away, trying to erase the image from his mind. "Scott!" Lydia scolded. "Why didn't you tell me what you saw?"

"Because like I said, this isn't real. It's a dream in his head. He didn't feel it until he saw it, and I didn't want to freak you out."

"Do you think he's really in pain? If it's a dream can it feel as painful as if it's real or do you think he screamed because of the sight of it?" Scott didn't have an answer. More shuffling sounded behind them and both Lydia and Scott whipped around.

"Who's there? I know you're there I can hear you." Stiles was saying. The light from the phone swept across the basement, finally landing on a figure with his back against the wall. Lydia gasped and grabbed Scotts shoulder. "Who are you?" Stiles asked, voice full of fear. The figure was drawing something on the wall. With one final swipe, he dropped the piece of chalk onto the floor. The light from the phone followed it as it rolled towards them. When Stiles put the light back to the wall, the figure was gone and a backwards 5 was on display, just like the ones the Oni used. From behind Scott, he heard Stiles whisper "self" and turned to look at his friend. How had he known that at the time? It was then Scott noticed that tears were running down Stiles' face. He wanted to scream at Stiles, tell him to wake up, tell him it wasn't real, but there wouldn't be a point.

By now their eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting, and the sliver of moonlight shining through the window from high above gave off just enough light to make out outlines of their surroundings. Within a few minutes, Stiles' phone died, and the flashlight was useless. Stiles was screaming, trying to remove the coyote trap from his foot but his efforts were pointless. Just then, footsteps approached them. "Lydia stay close." Scott whispered, his heart rate rising.

"Who's there. WHO ARE YOU?" Stiles screamed. The figure appeared again, and Scott recognized the bandaged man from the mind games the nogitsune had played in the school. This is what he had looked like before he had taken over Stiles. The creature began answering Stiles in Japanese, as he slowly went around the room, as if circling his prey. "I don't-I don't understand."

"Not who are you Stiles." The nogitsune replied slowly in English. "Who are we?" Scott had a very bad feeling about this. "It's getting colder Stiles. Did you notice that we stopped shivering? Do you know why that's a bad sign?"

Scotts eyes were following the nogitsune, but Lydia's moved to Stiles, realizing that he had. "Scott that is not good. When a hypothermic person stops shivering, it means that all the heat is protecting the vital organs, and that his body temperature is below 95 degrees Fahrenheit. If he doesn't wake up soon and get medical attention then-" she stopped, knowing he was fine. He'd be fine. She heard Stiles answer similarly to the nogitsune about hypothermia.

"…Then comes fatigue. Confusion. We're going to die if we don't get out of here."

"Stop saying that, stop saying we."

"Scott let's go, alright? They can't see us, and we know this isn't real. He'll be fine, why don't we try to find the real Stiles in here?" Scott looked between the nogitsune and Stiles, not wanting to leave his friend with that thing, but knowing he had to find the real Stiles. Scott nodded and they made their way to the stairs.

"..freaking steel jaw trap on my leg!" Stiles was yelling.

"Is there?" It whispered "Notice something different? It was on your right leg before wasn't it?"

Scotts eyes were drawn to the trap as they descended the stairs. He heard his friend whisper. When Scott blinked, the trap was on Stiles other leg. "What is this?" he asked the nogitsune. It was then that Lydia reached the door in front of them and pushed at it, expecting the world to darken back to black, but nothing happened. "The door's not opening Scott." She whispered.

"What?" he asked, ascending to the top and trying the door himself. It didn't budge, even when he used his superhuman strength. "Maybe Stiles wants us here?" He asked Lydia.

"Why? Why here? We already tested him that's not Stiles." Scott shrugged. "Wait." Lydia said, thinking. "Maybe we can't get out of this one because it's not just a memory; It's a dream. It's like were in a pocket universe of his mind. Deeper than the memories we've been in before. Maybe at this level of the subconscious we can't move on until it's over."

"What do you mean?"

"Okay so imagine when we came in here, we descended one level right? That's where most of these memories are from. But his dreams are deeper in his mind because they didn't really happen outside of his body. It's like we descended another level. We're too deep to get out. We have to wait for this memory to finish before we can move on. We're stuck here."

"Great." They both stayed at the top of the stairs, not wanting to go back down and face that thing. Surprisingly it was Lydia who moved first. Neither of them wanted to be around the gauze covered spirit, but they also felt bad leaving Stiles alone with it, even if he couldn't see them.

"Do you know any riddles Stiles?" Stiles nodded, looking tired. "A few." He replied.

"What gets bigger the more you take away?" the nogitsune asked. "A hole."

"What gets wetter, the more it dries." "A towel."

"When is a door… Not a door." Realization dawned on Stiles' face, as well as Scott and Lydias. So they had been right. The "dream" in Coaches classroom had been the first sign of the trickster.

"When it's a jar." Stiles responded, voice shaking now with the rest of his body.

"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. What is it?" "I don't-" Stiles responded. The nogitsune sighed and began walking slowly towards them. Lydia inched closer to Stiles. Unconsciously seeking his comfort. "Everyone has it" it whispered "But no one can lose it. What is it Stiles?"

"I don't- I don't know." He said, fidgeting in anxiety as the nogitsune seemed to get annoyed.

"Everyone has it... but noooo one can lose it." It whispered again, creeping closer. Lydia grabbed Scotts hand, tears springing to her eyes along with Stiles. "I don't know." Stiles said, his voice hardening. And then it was screaming in Stiles face. Scott grabbed Lydia and pulled her away, hands shaking, as Stiles flinched back, terror washing through his body. The nogitsune grabbed the chain connected to the coyote trap and began dragging it to the other side of the room. Stiles screamed in surprise before screaming in anguish. "Stiles!" Lydia screamed, while Scott roared and charged the nogitsune. By the time Scott even remotely close, the scene changed and they were in the middle of the woods. Stiles was on the ground, screaming at the top of his lungs as if still fighting off the nogitsune, but someone else had taken its place. "NO! NO WAIT! WAIT! NO WAIT!"

Lydia ran forward as Melissa tried to get her hands around Stiles, yelling at him to calm down, how he was safe. Though his eyes were open, it took a minute for Stiles to realize that he was finally awake. That he wasn't in that basement. He relaxed slightly against Melissa, but continued to shake in fear, his face betraying his terror from the experience he had just had. Scott was taking deep breaths, his adrenaline still pumping but calming down with his parents besides him. He let himself de-transform, not even realizing he had transformed in the first place. His heart was beating out of his chest, and he wasn't sure if it was fear of the monster of fear for his friend that was causing it. Stiles hadn't ever told him about the dreams. Apparently there was a lot Stiles kept from him. Being so dark outside already, Scott didn't realize the world darkening around them until it was too late. He turned to find Lydia running towards him, her hand outstretched towards his. Before he could grab it, they were gone.