Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the characters that I've created.

A/N: IMPORTANT! When written in bold – it's thoughts!

Voices

Chapter 17

"Stiles."

His name rolled off Olivia's tongue with relief. The boy they have all been trying to find was right there, bound in the prison of his own mind, but she had found him. Olivia had finally found him. And while Stiles did look worn out and beyond tired, he was there, he was alive. It gave her hope, hope that everything wasn't lost, that all the torture and pain wasn't for nothing and he could still be saved.

"I can't believe this." Stiles' voice was weak, barely above whisper and hoarse. "I've been trying to make you hear me, I called for you, for anyone, but it never seemed to succeed." His eyes didn't move away from her, taking her in again and again, as if he was afraid that she was going to disappear if he even blinked, and he was going to be alone again. "It's been so long."

Olivia nodded to Stiles' words, her eyes jumping over him as well, taking in the bruised bags under his eyes, the chapped lips, the grayish skin. He was almost lifeless, but he was in front of her. Even if it was in the basement where the Nogitsune made his appearance to her for the first time.

Wait.

"Stiles." Olivia repeated his name, her eyes narrowing at the guy as he watched her. "How do I know this is not a trick?" She asked, forcing her numb fingers to clench into a fist.

For a second Stiles simply blinked at her with confusion clear in his eyes. It took him a few moments to register what she was saying, and his eyes widened. "You can also be another trick. I've been alone for so long that I wouldn't be surprised if this is another trick." Stiles mumbled, panic settling on his face as he quickly glanced around.

Olivia copied him, her eyes jumping around the room, taking it all in. There had to be something that would prove if this was another trick or not. The room looked the same, the same walls and floor, messed up papers and other clutter items scattered around carelessly. It was exactly how she remembered except for one thing. One missing thing.

"Oliver's body isn't here." Olivia pointed out and Stiles instantly glanced over to the corner where the body was supposed to be.

"He really isn't." Stiles seemed to mumble to himself, missing how Olivia looked back to him with a curious look in her eyes.

"How did you get here, Stiles?" She asked him, gaining his attention back. His movements were a bit sluggish and uncoordinated. His fingers were wrapped around the armrests while the bounds on his wrists were so tightly secured that Olivia could guess that it must have hurt.

"I'm not sure. I've been here for a while." Stiles said, his eyes becoming distant as if he was trying to see something that wasn't there. "I remember running away from him through the school, having to see what he was doing, who he was hurting. And I just wished for it to stop, at least for a bit. And the next thing I know I woke up here and he has been gone. Unless you are him." His eyes returned to her and narrowed again.

It was clear that both were suspicious of the other. Olivia feared that Stiles was a game, while Stiles feared that she was the fox. And the two of them, stuck in the fox's mind, there was very little they could've done.

"Look, I think you've created this. That's why Oliver isn't here, because you don't want to suffer anymore. I think you built this capture for yourself to save yourself from further torture from the fox and to protect others from you. Just in case." Olivia pointed out, noting the confusion on Stiles' face. "You've said he was never here never visited you in any shape and what I've learned from the time I've had to deal with him, that isn't his style to just let it all be. Prolonged games don't mean anything if he doesn't taunt you somehow. Which is why I've been getting the nightmares, they never hurt me physically, they just broke down my mental barriers for him to reach me better. But if until now you've been alone here, then this is your creation."

"The night I allowed him to take over." Stiles mumbled underneath his breath, his eyes moving away from his companion to the restraints on his hands. "But how do I know that you're real? How do I know that you aren't him now? Only here to tortur-"

"Olivia! Olivia! Can you hear me?" Scott's voice rang through the room they were, cutting Stiles off and getting both of their attention.

"I-is that…?"

"Scott?!" Olivia called out, trying to reach out to him.

"Olivia? Can you hear me? We are in a bit of trouble right now, could use your help!" Scott called out again, making Olivia frown.

"Why can't he hear you?" Stiles questioned, his panicked and hopeful voice shaking.

"I am not sure. Haven't really done something like this before." Olivia murmured and bit her bottom lip in concentration. She was in the fox's mind, imprisoned in the safe place that Stiles had created to protect himself. Scott and Lydia where somewhere in the mind maze as well, they could reach her, but how the hell was she supposed to reach them? "Everything is happening in someone's mind, so maybe I can only contact them through their mind? Does that sound somewhat legit?" She questioned Stiles even though he had no idea how her powers worked or what exactly she was talking about.

"I guess?"

Rolling her eyes lightly, Olivia breathed in deeply before closing her eyes and concentrating. She tried looking for Scott's mind, since he was probably easier to contact than Lydia. She looked deeply and waited for anything, a little sound or a sign that she was getting closer, something that would help her contact the werewolf, to help him out, but all she managed to hear was Stiles, right in front of her. And it was so distinctively Stiles, that it made her slightly more relaxed. It reminded her of before, before she had agreed to be a part of this mess, before her dad died, before Eichen.

"Scott?" Olivia called out in her mind, hoping that the wolf will hear her. "Scott? Can you hear me?"

"Olivia?" quickly came an answer and it was loud, not in her head only, but everywhere around her and she heard Stiles gasp. "I can hear you. Where are you?"

"I'm with Stiles. We are safe."

"Stiles? You've found him?" Scott's excitement and relief were clear in his tone and it made a small smile appear on Olivia's face.

"Yes, I'm with him. Now, you've mentioned that you're in trouble?"

"Yeah, Lydia and I are kind of bound to beds and we can't move."

Opening her eyes, Olivia looked over to Stiles and found him frowning. Four people hiding in a maze of the Nogitsune's mind and all of them were bound. That didn't make their situation any way easier, this was the worst-case scenario everyone was always talking about while trying to be hopeful and grateful. So, the facts laying in front of Olivia were that all four of them were bound to something, they were all mostly helpless and stuck in a psychotic fox's mind. Wonderful.

"What makes no sense to me is why you are bound." Olivia spoke, addressing Stiles and gaining his attention again. "If this is your safe space, why the hell did you bound yourself?"

A frown once again appeared on Stiles' face as he bit his bottom lip repeatedly – Olivia guessed that was the reason why his lips were so chapped – his eyes moving around the room almost chaotically. "I'm not sure, maybe I'm trying to punish myself as well? Bounding myself in place and helpless?" he guessed, meeting her eyes as she made a face. "What? You disagree?"

"Not entirely, this could have a point, but how exactly are you punishing yourself by restraining yourself? If you were to punish yourself, I don't think you would be in a safe space at all." She pointed out and tried to lift her hands once more, but the restraints held on. Groaning loudly, she leaned her head to the back of the chair and closed her eyes. "Scott, Stiles and I are bound as well. We have no clue how to get out yet, so give us some time, if you'll work something out – do let us know as well." Olivia communicated quickly and soon the two received a confirmation from the alpha.

Stuck in the bounds, Olivia again glanced around, taking notice of every single thing, trying to find something, something useful. "I have no fucking clue why your mind works this weirdly." She mumbled while Stiles was continuously trying to pull his hands free and struggling.

"What do you mean?" Stiles barely paid attention to what his companion said. He heard her, but he was too concentrated on the task at hand. And while it was extremely relieving to have someone with him, someone real and good and familiar, they were stuck. Stuck in his mind prison.

Suddenly Stiles stopped struggling and rose his head to meet Olivia's observing gaze. "This is my mind." He said and the girl rolled her eyes.

"That's a given, Stiles."

"No, no. This is my mind creation. This prison. Everything is in my head therefore it isn't real. And if I've created, I can destroy it." He thought out loud, observing how Olivia's eyes widened and a sparkle of hope appeared in them.

"So, while we are here, in your creation, and if we admit that this isn't actually real and treat it that way, because in the end I'm sitting besides you on the McCall couch instead of Eichen basement, we should be able to trick out way out." She jumped off from his theory, making him nod his head to her words.

"Tell Scott." He urged and saw her nod before she closed her eyes.

"Scott? We've figured it all out. This is not real, if you treat it as not real, then you should be able to get out. Remember, this is all just a game, another trick. Tricks have loopholes."

The two of them didn't bother to wait for Scott's answer, believing that he and Lydia were already preoccupied trying to get free. It was time for Stiles and Olivia to get free as well. Twisting her wrists lightly, Olivia tested the strength of the bounds. They seemed the standard Eichen bounds, made of leather, the ones that rubbed the wrists badly if one chose to try and free themselves. "So, how you think we should do this?" She asked, glancing up for a second at her companion before looking back down to the bounds.

"Since this is my creation, should I be able to take it away?" Stiles asked and Olivia only shrugged. "I just don't know how to do this." He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to keep himself together, but he was tired. After so long he had once again gotten his hope back, but the struggles he was facing were making him feel worse than ever before.

"Why don't I try to guide you through it? My task here always was to guide you to somewhere, where Scott and Lydia could reach you and wake you up out of this possession." Olivia offered, her face showing her vulnerability and wish to help. She was completely open to Stiles, not trying to hide her fear or panic, she knew that she had to do everything in her power to help Stiles, even if it meant just being honest with him.

Stiles thought through Olivia's words quickly, his mind working in an overdrive. She was the only person who had some experience getting into people's minds, as little as that experience was, it was still something. She was both of theirs best chance. Scrap that, all three of them were putting their trust in her abilities and that had to be pressuring her. Stiles had to believe her, especially when she looked at him with so much hope, as if she didn't see all that the fox had done while wearing Stiles' face. Looking at Olivia right there made Stiles hopeful that he could still come away from this experience and there still being some parts of his life that weren't completely ruined.

Olivia waited for Stiles to react to her suggestion, it took him a few moments. He observed her as he thought through her words, his eyes set steadily on her and she felt like she needed to be his stability then, to keep him calm and be hopeful. Finally, he nodded courtly and both took deep breaths to prepare themselves for what was going to have to happen.

"Okay, since we are winging this, I guess we should start with closing our eyes." Olivia begun, keeping her voice even and calm even though she was making things up as she was going. She waited for Stiles to do as she asked before closing her eyes herself. "All right, now you should… relax. Yes, relax, that sounds right." She nodded to herself, hearing a light laugh from Stiles.

"Sounding really confident over there, Olivia." Stiles quipped and Olivia opened one of her eyes to check that he was still following her instructions.

"Well, sorry, I'll make sure to write down a step by step program for my next time." She bit back and closed her eyes. "Now, I think you need to picture in your head the bounds disappearing, just untie them, disassemble. There is no need for them anymore, no need to hide or torture yourself, it is time to move and do. And in order to do that, we need to be free. So, Stiles, free us, remove the bounds, give yourself and us a chance." Olivia spoke calmly, clenching her fists tightly. She was hoping that her words working because she had no other ideas. This was all so fucked up and confusing, it was making her doubt herself.

Stiles gasped and Olivia quickly opened her eyes, high alert and waiting for whatever was going to happen. "Stiles? What's wrong?" She questioned him, her voice showing slight panic, as she stared at his face, but his head was turned down.

"Look at your hands." Stiles mumbled and raised his eyes, meeting Olivia's confused gaze. "Look down, Liv."

Still frowning, Olivia glanced down and her eyes widened. There were no more restraints. Her hands rested on the arm rests freely. Carefully she lifted her hands from the arm rests, as if testing if the bounds were gone and her arms lifted easily, like they had never been bound. Snapping her head up, she met Stiles' gaze again and both sighed deeply before smiling brightly.

"Finally, success." Olivia laughed lightly before pushing herself from the chair, taking a few steps towards Stiles as he rose from his seat as well, his moves more careful, testing his strengths after being bound for a lot longer than Olivia. "Come on." Olivia urged him, extending her hand for him. "Let's get out of here and save you, Stiles." She motioned with her head towards the door.

Glancing from her face to her extended hand, Stiles didn't even think about it as he reached out and wrapped his fingers around her smaller hand and allowed her to lead him – no, pull him out of his own prison.

The doors clanked loudly behind them, as the duo stood in the middle of a dimly lit hallway. Fingers still wrapped around each other's hand tightly, holding on in fear of loosing each other in the mind maze.

"School?" Olivia was the first to break the silence. "Why school?" she glanced around, feeling highly uncomfortable in what she presumed to be an empty school.

"I have no clue, but this is not my creation. At least I think it isn't." Stiles mumbled and took a few steps forward, pulling Olivia with him. "This doesn't really make sense." He mussed loudly and heard Olivia humming in agreement.

"Maybe he is trying to create a familiar environment? You know, lull us in comfort before ripping us into pieces." Olivia guessed instantly receiving a shocked look from Stiles. "What? Don't even pretend as if that is not a very valid and possible thing." She rolled her eyes at him and then glanced around again.

Together they made their way the dark hallway, trying to spot something there that would give them any clue what was going on. But everything looked so normal, exactly like their school did when there was nobody in. "Our lockers aren't far." Stiles pointed out and gained Olivia's attention again.

"You're right." She pursed her lips in thought and looked over to where she remembered her locker being, but something caught her attention first. "Wait, isn't that where Lydia's locker should be?" she motioned to a locker that stood out from others since it was colored green instead of the gray color.

"Yeah." Stiles nodded and rushed over there with Olivia besides him. "Why is it green?" he questioned, glancing at his companion, but she seemed just as confused as him.

"Don't ask me, maybe the nogitsune is color coordinator. But even then, I would not set green for Lydia. She is much more of a lilac person." Olivia mussed and then glanced around them. "Shouldn't Kira's locker be somewhere around here as well?"

Frowning to himself, Stiles tried to remember where Kira's locker was. He remembered seeing her by it, talking with Scott while they were awkwardly flirting. He glanced around as well and then something bright red caught his eyes. "Over here." Stiles mumbled and instinctively squeezed Olivia's hand before pulling her with him towards the red locker. "This is Kira's." a bit to the side was another green locker. "And that is Isaacs." He frowned again, missing Olivia's questioning gaze moving from him and to the colored lockers.

"So, red and green. What is this? Yes and no symbolism? Right and wrong? Figured out and a mystery?" She questioned, her mind buzzing with thoughts. "And until now it has only been the lockers of people involved." Olivia bit her bottom lip and looked back to Stiles, who seemed to be lost in his thoughts. "Hey," she squeezed his hand, "don't hold off on me, what are you thinking?"

Shaking his head lightly, Stiles began pulling Olivia with him to the end of this hall where they would need to turn right to reach the hall where his, Scott's, Allison's and Olivia's lockers were. "I don't think that this is him. Not completely at least."

"What'd you mean?"

Their steps were rushed, but still careful and quiet, as if they were still on edge, fearing to give their position to the nogitsune. "I have this crime board back in my room. I use different color thread to mark different stages of investigation." Stiles quickly explained and they rounded the corner, stopping in their way.

Olivia released her hold on Stiles' hand, taking a few steps forward by herself and Stiles instantly felt less secure without her there, as if in case something was going to happen and he was going to lose her again. "So, let me guess, red is unsolved, green is solved, so predictably the third color should be yellow."

"Yeah, to be determined." He nodded; his eyes set on Scott's locker which was green, right next to his yellow one.

"Well yours is predictably undetermined, while Scott's is green." Olivia pointed out before turning to the other side. "While Allison's is red?" She asked with confusion and it gained Stiles attention, pushing him to move again as he made his way towards the huntress' locker. As he examined the red door, he barely noticed how Olivia jogged the short distance towards her locker but stopped a few feet away. "What's blue?" She called back.

"What?" Stiles asked, confusion clear in his voice as he made his way towards her.

"You said – green means solved, red is unsolved, yellow to be determined. Then what does blue mean in your investigation?" Olivia asked and turned to face him, motioning towards her locker with her hand. "Why's my locker blue?"

Stiles stopped right besides Olivia, his eyes set on the clearly blue locker that belonged to the girl next to him, he had seen her by it countless of times, with her friends or boyfriend. He knew what blue meant in his investigation – it was just beautiful – but to the nogitsune? Was this about the nogitsune? Stiles was lost.

"I have no clue." He answered after a moment and it made Olivia frown.

"Okay, creepy." She mumbled and glanced around them again. "So, you think this is bot you and him?" She asked to make sure if she had understood him correctly and Stiles nodded to her words. "Maybe he is trying to send a message?" she guessed, and Stiles shrugged.

"Maybe? But why? Why would he be giving us information?"

"Because that is the ultimate power play?" Olivia guessed and Stiles looked at her with confusion. "What is a bigger fuck you than using your code to give you the answers and waiting for you to fail in order to figure them out?" Stiles pursed his lips in thought to Olivia's reasoning. There was a good possibility that she was correct.

"You might have a point here, Liv." Stiles mumbled before glancing around them again. "So where are we supposed to go now?" he asked, and Olivia shrugged to his question.

"No clue."

"Then what? We just walk around until we'll find something?" He guessed and Olivia shrugged again. Sighing deeply, Stiles rubbed his eyes before meeting Olivia's eyes again. "Let's try the exit."

Together they made their way down the hall, keeping close, but not touching. Their steps still light, breaths shallow. It was as if both felt like they were coming close to something, but what it was, that was still a mystery. They were near the corner, where they would need to turn again to see the front door, but that was when Olivia felt something. It was another presence, even a few of them, but it was strange. She couldn't hear their thoughts, but she could sense them.

As Stiles stepped forward again, she grabbed his upper arm, stalling him. He shot her a questioning look, but she simply motioned for him to be quiet and moved backwards, so her back would lean to the lockers, pulling Stiles besides her. "I can sense someone." She whispered and panic instantly appeared on Stiles' face. His eyes widened and she could feel him tensing up, so she rushed to grab his face between her hands so he would keep his attention on her instead of looking around in panic. "It's not him, I'm certain." She rushed out holding his gaze calmly. "It's more than one and I don't think they are human, or whatever. I can't actually hear their thoughts, but I can feel them. It's weird, like they don't really have thoughts." Olivia rambled a bit, but that was helping with Stiles' anxiety, making him calm down as he breathed deeply and relaxed again.

"Okay." He whispered back to her and grabbed her hands, pulling them from his face, but not letting go. "Are they by the door?" He asked silently and she nodded. "Okay." He repeated and glanced to the side, his teeth closing over his bottom lip while he contemplated their position. They stood in silence for a few moments before Stiles looked back to Olivia with new determination in his eyes. "I'll look over there, you stay behind me. If something happened – run away from here, Liv. Run and get yourself out of my head." He said and instantly she frowned.

"Don't even try this with me, Stiles. I haven't gone through all of this to just run now. Now, glance over there and see what is there, then we'll run if we have to." She demanded.

He wanted to argue with her, but they didn't have time for that, so Stiles gave up and nodded. Letting go off one of Olivia's hands, he took a few steps towards the corner and then carefully looked over it, once again freezing up because of what he saw standing by the door.

"What is it?" Olivia asked silently, panic building up in her about whatever Stiles was seeing.

"The Oni." He answered loudly and stepped forward more, pulling Olivia with himself. As they appeared from the corner, Olivia was greeted by two masked soldiers. She had never seen them before, like ever, but considered the past couple of weeks of her life she wasn't even that surprised anymore.

"Who the hell are they? And why are they just standing there?" She asked as they stood clearly in front of the two soldiers. The two entities didn't seem to mind the two of them, they continued to stand by the door, their hands by the sides, seemingly so calm that they weren't breathing.

"Onis are warriors. They were sent to hunt the nogitsune, but…"

"But?"

"I think he had taken over them." Stiles explained and took a step towards the Onis, Olivia trailing a bit behind him, not feeling nearly as comfortable as her companion.

"So why are they not trying to get us?"

"I think they are here to mark the road for us." Stiles guessed and Olivia scoffed.

"How very convenient of the fox." She mumbled under her breath. As they got even closer to the door to leave the school, the Onis suddenly moved, Stiles instantly moving in front of Olivia, but there was no need. The two entities turned to different sides and walked away, abandoning the door they had been guarding. "That is faking creepy."

"Tell me about it." Stiles agreed and glanced over his shoulder to the brunette behind him. "Should we?" he nodded towards the door and watched as Olivia's eyes jumped from the closed double door and him a few times before she sighed deeply.

"I don't think there's anywhere else we could go." Olivia finally spoke and Stiles nodded to her words. Stepping from behind him, Olivia lifted her hand that held Stiles and intervened their fingers together, squeezing lightly. "Ready?" She asked Stiles as she met his eyes again and he nodded, breathing deeply and squeezing her hand back. "Then, let's go." She motioned to the door.

Together they stepped towards it and as Stiles reached out to push it open, a loud roar rung all around them, slightly deafening, just like the screams were and Olivia instantly froze up, letting go of Stiles to cover her ears as she was suddenly blinded and her body froze up completely.

"What's going on? What's happening?" A panicked tone was all around Olivia as she suddenly gasped. Her body felt like she was falling, there was nothing holding her, her stomach was sinking, heart beating too fast and she was feeling as if she couldn't breathe.

Olivia's eyes suddenly opened; she was momentarily blinded by the light streaming from the McCall living room. Her head was spinning as she had to grab onto the couch, she was sitting on so she wouldn't fall forward on her face. Her lungs were burning, there was now ringing in her ears, she felt panic rising within her. Olivia was too concentrated on what was happening to her that she completely missed everyone rushing around, Scott's calls. Only when the body next to her lurched forward and onto the ground did she gain some of her control back. It was as if everything fell back into places.

Olivia gasped a deep breath before covering her mouth with her hands to stop herself from screaming as the nogitsune was retching, pulling out white strings of binds from his throat. Olivia tried to pull herself into the couch, as far away from what was happening right in front of her, but there was nowhere to run until two strong arms wrapped around her from behind and she was lifted from her seat and placed on her legs, the body staying close behind her.

"Breath, little telepath. Just breath." A harsh voice of one Peter Hale whispered to her ear and it managed to shock Olivia enough to breath in deeply and then breath out. "That is right, ignore the commotion. Breathe and then listen." He added and Olivia instantly pulled herself away from his hold, turning around to glare at the man, but his attention was on what was happening in front of the couch.

Turning to observe, Olivia watched as the nogitsune pulled the last strand of binding from his throat before falling back in exhaustion. For a moment silence fell upon everyone, but then a hand emerged from the binding and someone screamed. Scott and Aiden rushed to hold off whoever was trying to climb out from the bindings. Everything was so surreal, Olivia couldn't even manage to start working out what was happening, as the full figure emerged from the mess on the ground and began tearing at the bindings covering their face.

Something nagged Olivia at the back of her mind as she watched Scott and Aiden trying to stop whoever that was from pulling the bindings free. It was like an annoying buzzing, like she was not hearing something.

"Breathe and listen." Peter's voice rung in Olivia's mind and she instantly dropped all her protections, instantly being flooded with loud thoughts, but she managed to ignore most of them. The nagging feeling became worse, feeling like anxiety over her whole body, as she listened in, looking for something, looking for him.

"Scott, stop, stop!" She rushed forward pulling on Scott's arm. "It's Stiles! This is Stiles, I can hear him." She rushed out and the alpha instantly looked over to her, his hold loosening and giving a chance for the bounded man to rip off the binds from his face.

"Stiles?" Scott asked shocked, his eyes taking in his best friend.

"Y-Yeah." Stiles breathed out deeply, no longer fighting the hold on him as he could breathe, his eyes moving from Scott to Olivia. "Yes, it's me."

It appeared as if everyone in the room released a deep breath. They had succeeded, they've gotten Stiles out and he was safe now. They've won.

The two best friends embraced quickly, holding to each other. Others seemed to relax a bit as well, but that didn't last for long. Peter was the one to break the short-lived peace.

"Where's the nogtisune and Lydia?"

With his question ever person in the room quickly glanced around the room and then took notice of the opened front door and two people missing from there. Panic rose again, everyone rushing around trying to catch up with the fox before it managed to escape with Lydia, but Olivia couldn't move from her spot. Her mind was ringing, since she had dropped all her walls, she heard everything clearly, even too clearly. But the loudest thought was a song used to taunt her.

"My bonnie lies over the ocean. My bonnie lies over the sea. My bonnie lies over the ocean. O bring back my bonnie to me. Bring back, bring back, o bring back my bonnie to me. Bring back, bring back, o bring back my bonnie to me."

A/N: my oh my, is that a whole chapter of only Stiles and Olivia? who would've believed it... this must be a dream...

But, no matter what, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you thought in a review!

See you soon-ish!