If You're Going Through Hell
A/N: Thank you to everyone who has favorited/followed this story so far! I'm so glad others want to take this crazy journey with me. A special thank you to xSaddyx for giving this story it's first review. Without further ado, here's the next installment…
Chapter 7: And Then There Were Three
"Quickly, hide!" Stiles said in a whisper as the wolves around him hastened to obey. They were not as stealthy as they would like to be, since Scott and Stiles were still recovering from their injuries, but they managed to conceal themselves in the debris before the demon finished clearing away the entrance to the room and stepped inside. It was quickly followed by two others.
"Krepak, where are you? What is going on?" the first demon called to the room, letting its wings carry it over the debris as it scanned the room.
"I do not think he is here," the second demon said, wandering around the perimeter slowly.
The third remained in the entrance, letting out a terrifying screech as it spoke, "what could have caused this? No magic-wielders are allowed in the Suicide Pit." Scott gasped and recoiled slightly at those words, but remained hidden beside Stiles, who gently laid a hand on his arm in reassurance.
"Krepak will pay for this," the second demon growled as it reached the remains of the control panel.
"He already has," the first said, descending to the ground where the mangled body of the demon Derek and Stiles had fought were. "There does not appear to be much left of him." From their location, it was impossible for the three friends to see what was going on. They soon heard the sounds of shifting debris and deduced that the demons were unburying their fallen kin.
"He is gone, there is no use in doing any more," the third demon said eventually, still perched at the entrance to the cave. "Complete the parting ritual and let's be done with it." There was a brief pause before all three demons let out an ear-splitting cry and a violent wind swept through the room as they each took flight, chanting in some unknown language. The ritual lasted another minute or two, and then the three landed back along the remains of the staircase.
"What about the doulos that was being kept in here?" the second demon asked as the others began to leave. The first stopped and turned, scanning the room once again.
The third continued walking up the treacherous stairs, "he is surely passed from this realm. If Krepak could not survive this, no doulos could. I will not waste any more time here."
"What should we do with this chamber?" the first demon asked, continuing to scrutinize its surroundings.
"Find Tobolsk, have him prepare this room for future use, and tell him to figure out what happened here," the third demon answered before giving one final screech and disappearing down the corridor and out of the cave. The remaining demons shifted a few more rocks before following their leader's example and disappearing down the corridor.
Derek, Stiles, and Scott waited with bated breath for another few moments, making sure the demons were truly gone, before slowly working themselves out of their hiding spot.
"What…were those?" Scott asked, breaking the silence as he stared towards the exit, as though afraid asking might bring them back.
"Kakodaimones, or at least that's what they call themselves," Stiles replied nonchalantly, "I think the term demon works just as well, personally."
"Demon?" Scott asked, turning to face Stiles with a blank expression on his face.
"Well, yeah," Stiles answered with a shrug, "like I said, we're in Hell, basically. Hell is where the demons live." Scott still stared at him, eyes widening by the second. "Oh, come on, Scott, it's not like this is the weirdest thing we've ever had to deal with." Stiles threw his hands in the air in exasperation, turning to Derek for help, "Right?"
"Yeah…I mean I guess…maybe," Derek stammered, surprised by being put on the spot and turning back and forth between facing Scott and facing Stiles. He eventually settled on Stiles, "I'd rather get out of here before we have to actually deal with them though."
Stiles waved his hand at Derek as he turned to peruse the cave, "too right, you are, my splutterwolf. We need to get out of here before the maintenance crew shows up."
"Ok," Scott said, shaking his head slightly and pointing at the staircase leading from the room, "so we need to go this way, right?"
"What? Of course not!" Stiles said, stopping Derek, who had begun heading that direction, in his tracks.
"What?" Scott asked, confusion pouring off of him, "it's the only way out that I can see."
"Yeah," Stiles replied, dragging the word out as if this should be incredibly obvious. When the others didn't catch on, he threw his hands in the air again while shaking his head, sighing. "Look, that corridor leads to a door, a door that is very visible from anywhere in the Suicide Pit. If we go marching out that way, it's very likely that one of the demons will notice us, and then we will have to try to fight them off. We can't go that way; which means we're going to have to figure out a different way out of here."
"I suppose you have something in mind," Derek scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the younger man.
"Maybe," Stiles said, reigning in his flailing arms and taking on a contemplative expression.
"Go on," Derek said, growling under his breath slightly.
Stiles looked up, pointing at the ceiling as he did so. "The earthquake caused a lot of rock to fall from up there. This place is full of tunnels and secret passageways and stuff. We might be able to find one up top."
"Ok, but there's just one problem," Scott said, turning his own attention to the ceiling, "there's no way we can get up there."
"Well, Scotty," Stiles said, watching his friend, "that's where you're wrong. I can get us up there."
"Huh?" Scott sounded bewildered, unsure if Stiles was being serious or not. "How?"
"Like this," Stiles grinned, then began transforming into his demon form.
"Whoa," Scott jumped backwards, losing his footing and scrambling to catch himself, "Derek, look out!" He ran over to the older wolf, attempting to pull him away.
"It's ok, Scott," Derek said calmly, refusing to budge from his position. "That was overly dramatic," he added, turning to the now fully transformed Demon-Stiles, who was laughing at the others.
"I couldn't resist," Demon-Stiles' said, voice much deeper now. The laughter stopped as he saw the fear and confusion on Scott's face. "It's me Scott; I'm still Stiles."
"How?" Scott asked, clutching Derek's arm in a now half-hearted attempt to pull him away.
"Well, that's another one of those long conversations we're going to have to have. The short version is I took over possession of a demon's body, and now I can shapeshift into him when I want. It comes in handy when you're wandering around Hell." Demon-Stiles said. Derek just shook his head as Scott finally released him and stepped forward.
"Did you know about this?" Scott asked, turning to Derek.
"Yeah, it was just as much of a shock for me the first time too. Stiles, I hope you don't plan on making a habit of scaring all of our pack with this," Derek replied.
"Well, I mean I wasn't planning on doing that, specifically," Demon-Stiles said with a shrug.
"Stiles!" Derek and Scott both groaned.
"What?" he said, mock-affronted. The others' replies were abruptly cut off by the sound of a demon screeching in the distance.
"We'll talk about that later," Demon-Stiles said, spreading his wings and quickly grabbing a wolf in each arm before flying them to the top of the cave. The others were too shocked by his sudden actions to say anything. Stiles flew them into a hole that had appeared near the very center of the ceiling. Inside, they found a rough ledge that Stiles was able to set Derek and Scott down on. The ledge was too unstable to support the demon's weight, so Stiles transformed back to human in mid-air while Scott and Derek held on to him to keep him from falling back into the cave. They heard the demons entering the room below as they found a narrow opening to crawl into above. The three friends moved on in careful silence, feeling their way through the darkness further into the crevasse caused by Scott's earthquake. The space was terribly confined, so narrow that Derek (the largest of the three now that Stiles was back to human) struggled to fit the full width of his body through. He was required to journey forward at odd angles, at one point even forcibly dislocating his shoulder to make it into a particularly confined spot of the tunnel.
Eventually, they found themselves tumbling out of their claustrophobic nightmare into a proper passageway. They all took a moment to sit on the floor of the passage and regain their composure. "Well, that was fun," Stiles said, breaking the silence. His remark only earned him two wolf glares.
"Do you know where we are?" Derek asked, changing topics.
"Inside the rock that makes up the Suicide Pit," Stiles replied, turning to look down either direction of the passageway. "That way should lead back to the pit itself," he replied, pointing to his right. "So, I recommend we go this way," he said, taking off down the passage to the left without waiting for a reply. Scott simply shrugged and wordlessly followed his best friend, leaving Derek to groan audibly before following.
The trip through the passage was long, but uneventful as they slowly ascended and meandered through corridors. Stiles explained some of the details to Scott that he was missing, telling him what Limbo world was like, how he had managed to merge himself with a demon, and how he had used his newfound powers to contact Derek and Lydia and bring Derek's spirit to the underworld. Stiles also filled Scott in on their overall plan: finding the Pack and bringing them back to life. Scott listened with rapt attention, his mood shifting wildly as the conversation progressed from depression to anger to love to confusion to disbelief to hope.
After about an hour of walking they finally reached an abrupt end to their corridor, turning a corner and finding themselves facing a narrow, spiral staircase leading up to the ceiling. It appeared to be a dead-end at the top, but Stiles reminded Derek/told Scott that they were in Limbo and not everything would necessarily be as it seemed. The three friends climbed up the staircase, emerging through the seemingly solid ceiling and out onto a plateau overlooking the Suicide Pit on the opposite side from where Stiles and Derek had started.
"Whoa, what is this?" Scott asked, peering down into the abyss with a look of trepidation.
Stiles watched his friend for a moment before sitting down at the edge of the cliff and beckoning Scott to join him. "Derek," he queried, turning slightly to look up at the older man still standing at his side, "would you mind giving us a couple of minutes? I think it's time Scott and I have a little talk."
Derek caught on quickly, turning to survey the landscape as he answered. "Sure, Stiles. I'll keep a lookout for demons and anyone we might know." With that, he took off up a nearby hill, far enough that he would be able to tune out the conversation but close enough to intervene if there was danger.
"What do we need to talk about?" Scott asked.
Even without werewolf senses, Stiles could feel the nervousness pouring off of his best friend. Stiles was feeling torn in two, relieved beyond belief to have Scott back but also angry and hurt by what happened after his death. He took another moment to collect his thoughts before answering. "What do you see in this pit in front of us?" he asked.
Scott looked at him like he was crazy before turning to scrutinize the vast abyss. "I see lava, and rocks, and some demons, and maybe some pathways…and doors," he answered.
Stiles nodded along as he listened. "The demons call this the Suicide Pit. Each door you see leads to a place where someone who committed suicide is now being held. Most people, when they come here for the first time, are surprised by how many there are. I think just about everyone finds it depressing to know that many people took their own lives. But, I see something slightly different. Do you want to know what I see?"
Scott watched anxiously as a single tear slowly fell down Stiles' cheek. Stiles still refused to make eye contact, choosing instead to stare out at the abyss. "What do you see, Stiles?" Scott asked, the silence starting to get to him.
Stiles finally turned to face Scott as he answered, "I see countless people – friends, family – left behind by the ones they loved."
"Oh," Scott replied, crestfallen. He turned his gaze downward, crumpling inward slightly. Stiles turned away as well, looking back out at the abyss in front of them.
"I'm not saying they were wrong or that I don't get why they would do it. I do get it. It wasn't all that long ago that you had to talk me out of ending up here myself. But, when I look out at all those doors, it reminds me of something that came up in a conversation I had with Lydia once. Death isn't something that happens to you. Death happens to those you leave behind. And all these people left other people behind."
"Why are you telling me this?" Scott asked, a grating edge to his voice.
"Because, Scott. You are one of them. And I'm…I'm angry at you for doing it. I'm angry that Derek and I found you here. How could you do it, how could you do that, to us?" Stiles turned his whole body to face Scott now, earnestness filling his voice and features.
Scott, meanwhile, was struggling to reign himself in. "I…Stiles…argh, where do you get off asking me that? You left me!" Scott jumped to his knees, poking his finger in Stiles' chest as he spoke. "You know what, you're right Stiles, death happens to those you leave behind. And everybody…everybody left me behind! Allison…Kira…Malia…Jackson, Ethan, Liam, Theo. Everyone left me, even you!"
"But Scott, none of us chose that, ok. You understand that, right? We were all taken by hunters and Oni and Dread Doctors. We didn't get to decide what happened. You…you did."
"Everyone left me. The whole Pack was gone except for Derek and Lydia. What was I supposed to do, Stiles? How could I keep going without…"
"Derek and Lydia still needed you, Scott! You keep going for the ones who count on you, the ones who love you…"
"But what about the ones I love?" Scott's voice had been rising with his temper during their conversation, but now he went deathly quiet, throwing Stiles off-kilter.
"What do you mean, Scott? I know it was a nightmare, but we got through Allison's death, and Kira's, and Malia's. I don't want to sound insensitive, but you know how to deal with pain and grief." Stiles seemed genuinely confused as he answered.
Scott was unsure if he should be angry or amused by the confusion as the lightbulb in his own head clicked. "Yeah Stiles…we got through their deaths. The only reason I kept going half the time was you." Stiles' face fell as the realization hit him, but he didn't interrupt. Scott took a deep breath and continued, "you remember Sophomore year, when I was first trying to learn control and figuring out who or what my anchor was?" Stiles nodded his head, memories of flying lacrosse balls and fists and claws running through his head. "I finally figured it out, maybe a year or two ago. I was wrong back then, when I thought my anchor was Allison." Another deep breath, "My anchor is you, Stiles. It always has been. The only reason it worked with Allison back then was because you were the one right there teaching me. And I…I couldn't…I couldn't keep going without my anchor."
Stiles' expression was an unreadable mix of emotions, all seemingly hitting him at the same time, "but Scott…you…you have to. You have to be stronger than that. In the real world, I can't always be there for you, no matter how much I want to be."
"Stiles, I don't know how to do this without you by my side. I can't be a werewolf, or an alpha, or anything unless you are there with me," Scott's voice became pleading, desperate. "Stiles, I need you."
Stiles took a moment to think about it, his trademark grin appearing as he reached a conclusion, "Scott, I thought I was your Yoda."
"What?" Scott asked, blankly.
"Your Yoda!" Stiles cried.
"Yeah, I guess…I mean, what does that have to do with anything?"
"Oh my gawwwwd, as soon as you return to life you have to watch the Star Wars movies. Ok? I mean it. You're not allowed to deal with Monroe until you've seen at least the original trilogy!"
"Ok, ok, if it's really that important to you, I'll watch them. I still don't understand what your point is."
"Well, Scotty, spoiler alert, but Yoda dies. Luke wasn't finished with his training but went off all half-cocked after his enemies before he was ready, which didn't end so well for him. Hmm, this analogy works even better than I thought. Anyway, by the time he returns, Yoda is dying, and says that he's taught Luke all he can. And then he's gone, and Luke has to go on without Yoda teaching him. It's maybe not ideal, but he does ok in the end. And I think you can too."
"But I don't want to…I don't want to go on without you," the brief lightheartedness vanished instantly.
"I don't want to either, Scott. I didn't want to leave you behind. That was the only thing I could think about when I was dying, was how much I didn't want to leave you and Derek and Lydia. Ever since I got here all I've been able to think about was how much I wanted to see you guys again, and talk to you, and be with you. But the universe isn't always that nice to us. So I want you to promise me, Scott. Promise me that, no matter what happens in the future, even if it means living without me, that you will keep living for me. Will you promise me?"
Scott took several minutes to think over what Stiles was asking. Stiles could see the indecision etched into his features as the internal debate raged on. Finally, he reached his decision, extending his arm slowly out towards Stiles. "I…I promise. On one condition."
"What?" Stiles asked, glancing back and forth between Scott's hand and his eyes.
"I will make that promise to you, if you promise me that you will let me do whatever it takes to keep you by my side from now on." Scott stretched his hand out slightly, wiggling his fingers at Stiles as his own smirk took over his features.
Stiles hesitated slightly, something Scott did not expect. But after the brief moment, Stiles took Scott's hand in a firm grip, shaking it vigorously as he said, "you have yourself a deal, Scott."
"Good," Scott said, breaking the handshake and pulling Stiles into a fierce hug. It's a good thing I now have demon strength, Stiles thought to himself as he returned the hug just as fiercely, otherwise this would kill me all over again. The two friends held on to each other until Derek reappeared.
"Hey," he said, calling out to them as he approached. Scott and Stiles broke away from one another, wiping a few drops of water from their faces as they turned towards their companion. "I think we should be going. I can't place it exactly, but I know we're being watch by something."
"Ok, where should we go?" Scott asked, turning from Derek to Stiles.
"Don't look at me," he said, standing up. "We need to find the rest of our pack, and sniffing them out is not one of my abilities."
Scott growled at him playfully as he stood, scenting the air in the most dignified manner he could muster. "Let's go this way," Scott said, pointing towards the nearest cavern leading away from the Suicide Pit.
"Did you catch a scent?" Derek asked, also scenting the air but not finding anything other than the sulfur, decay, and range of negative emotions.
"Yeah, Corey and Mason," Scott replied, quickly taking off up a hill as the others rushed to catch up. "Hey, is that anyone we know?" Scott asked, pointing at a figure rapidly moving away from them in the distance.
"I don't think so," Stiles replied, squinting.
"No, but I'm sure that's who was watching us," Derek said, biting back the growl in his throat.
"He's too far away to catch, unless you want me to use my demon powers to get him," Stiles said.
"No, let's not worry about it. Whoever he is, he's going in a different direction than we are, so let's go get our friends," Scott said with a shrug, taking off at a more leisurely pace down a path through the cave he had pointed to.
"You're the alpha," Stiles said, slinging an arm across Scott's shoulders and another across Derek's.
"Right," Derek, said happily, a small smile forming at the connection to his long-lost friends.
-o-
The figure darted around the rocks as quickly as he could, anxious to get away from the three men at the crest of the abyss without being seen. His task was to only watch from a distance, after all. If he was spotted before his Alpha wanted, it could prove disastrous. He transitioned to all fours, loping across the rugged terrain until he finally reached his destination. It was a section of wall like any other, unremarkable to the untrained eye. For him, it was the entrance to the Wolf Den, where he knew the Alpha and his lieutenants were waiting for him. "I have returned, sir," he said, slowing to a noble walk and bowing his head in respect towards his Alpha as he entered.
"Yes, yes, so I see," the Alpha replied. A flash of red from his eyes sent the beta wolf to his knees. "What news do you have for me?"
"It is Scott McCall, sir," the beta said, eyes glued to the floor.
"Scott McCall?!" the Alpha asked sharply.
The beta could feel the eyes of others in the room instantly turning to him as well. He now had their full attention and would need to tread carefully. "He has been recovered from the Suicide Pit."
"How?" the Alpha laced the one word with all the authority he could muster. It made his beta tremble before him.
"I…I do not know," he replied, sinking lower to the ground under the intense glare he could almost feel on his neck. "He was accompanied by two others, one appeared to be his same age and the other was perhaps a few years older. Both male, and both were part of his pack."
"Derek is the older one, surely," the Alpha's second lieutenant said, stepping from the shadows to stand at her Alpha's side.
"Perhaps," the Alpha said, clearly angered by the new developments. "But I have not heard that he had died. I will have to speak with our sentries at the Gates to this Underworld."
"And the other?" another beta wolf asked, bowing his head as he took a step forward.
The Alpha thought about it for a moment. "Stiles," he said, spitting the name out like a curse word, "I should have killed that stupid, insufferable brat when I had the chance. But no matter, this could work to our favor if he has freed Scott McCall from the demon's prison."
"Yes, sir," both betas said in unison.
"Tell me, what are they planning?" the Alpha said, turning to glare again at the one who had just arrived.
"I do not know for sure, sir, but I did overhear them talking about finding their other friends and putting their pack back together," the beta spoke nervously, unsure how their Alpha would take the news.
"Hmm," was the only response for some time, as he seemingly mulled over this new information. "This changes things," he said eventually. "You there, Jean-Paul," he said, snapping to the other beta that had spoken, "go and find my daughter. We will need all the help we can get on this. I don't care what it takes, but bring her here to me."
"Yes, my lord," the beta, Jean-Paul, replied, bowing once more before hurrying out of the Den. All remained quiet for a moment.
Finally, the first beta spoke up, "Would you like me to return to tracing Scott McCall?"
"No," the Alpha quickly replied, "the boy is stupid, but Stiles and Derek are not. They will notice if they are being followed. No, if Scott McCall is trying to find his pack, then all we have to do is get to one of them first. Then he will eventually have to come to us, on our terms."
"That is a wise plan, sir," the beta replied.
"Thank you, Severo, for that wonderful deduction," the Alpha said callously. "Now, go and find Scott's beta. Bring me Liam Dunbar."
"Yes, my lord, right away," Severo said, bowing like the other beta and hastily leaving the Den in search of his prey.
"The rest of you, go and round up any allies you think we might have. I want every advantage we can get. I will not be defeated by Scott McCall again," the Alpha spoke with anger and authority. The remainder of the room's occupants quickly left, leaving the Alpha and his second lieutenant alone in the Den. "What do you think, Victoria? After all this time, we can finally get our revenge on that boy."
"I think there can be no room for error this time. That boy destroyed my family, our family, and I will not allow that to happen again. If you are not strong enough to lead on this, I will not hesitate to take you out of the picture and do it myself," Victoria spoke with a calculated coolness, her eyes flashing at the Alpha.
"I can assure you, my dear, no one wants to see him fall more than I do. I will end him, for all eternity," the Alpha matched her tone, lacing his own with the hint of a growl.
"I believe you, Gerard. But do not underestimate him, not again," Victoria said, bowing ever so slightly under the weight of the Alpha's authority.
"Oh, I won't," Gerard said, "and with the strength of our new Argent Pack, there is no way Scott McCall and his renegade band of miscreants will be able to stop us."