I fled through dark streets from an unknown enemy. No matter where I turned it felt like he was still watching me. Panic flooded my mind as I hit a dead end. I looked over my shoulder, expecting to be cornered only to find nothing there. When I took a step to return to the main street however, the ground shifted and I fell down a set of concrete stairs. Pain spread through my body. I couldn't move.

The urban area washed away around me as pure darkness consumed it. I tried to force myself to get up but couldn't do much more than lift my head. Glowing golden eyes met mine. That demon had found me, and was using this nightmare to toy with me. I heard him give a dark, amused laugh as he moved closer.

"You know, Doll, your cousin thinks you abandoned him- that you wouldn't come." He circled me before coming back around and kneeling down in front of me, sliding a finger under my chin to keep me from turning away. "I'm surprised you did as well, then again, look at the mess you're in."

I scowled and jerked my head away. "Ethan is dead!"

"He wishes." The demon easily stood me on my feet, though I found I was still stuck in place. "I know I certainly would love to have access to my full power again."

I shuddered uncomfortably as he pressed closer, one of his clawed, dark grey hands caressing my face in a way that suggested he might claw it open. The demon gave me an amused smile filled with sharp teeth and circled behind me, draping an arm over my shoulders while putting his other hand over my throat. He leaned down near my ear, his glowing eyes warming my cheek.

"This is your fault you know. If it weren't for you I'd still have all my power." His silky tone held a touch of anger to it. "I wonder... If I were to shred every last fiber of your sanity and consume your fear, would I get that power back? You have so much I could take."

I felt his grip tighten on my throat and swallowed nervously.

"Ethan doesn't want me to hurt you but you know, Pawn, he doesn't have to find out if I keep him in the dark." A pained whimper went through me as he pressed a pressure point on my neck. "You wouldn't necessarily die after all- most do once they hit that breaking point but... it's not my fault you mortals are weak."

He straightened and took the hand off my throat as he slid by, keeping his back to me as he stepped in front of where I stood and stopped. "Pray to Zalgo I decide to listen to your cousin. He's the only reason I'm helping you get rid of that tentacle bastard instead of using you to sustain my strength."

"Some help you are." I coughed and felt my body drop as the paralysis wore off.

"I'll see you soon... But don't think you'll like what you'll learn." The long black coat he wore melded with the darkness as he walked away, causing him to disappear soon after.

From the darkness, familiar screams began rising up. Their blaming cries echoing around me as they closed in...

"-Sh!" I grumbled and halfheartedly swatted at Tim as I finally heard him trying to wake me up while shaking my shoulder.

There was the sound of a relieved sigh and I turned my head to look at him, still feeling drowsy. "What...?"

"You weren't waking up." I could tell he was staring at the bloodied side of my head. "I found the cellar, we can get you to a hospital."

I got up and began following him before freezing and taking a step back. The memory of the demon telling me he was going to 'see me soon' replaying in my mind. "Is this really Tim or just the demon pretending to be him again?"

"Ash, come on. We-" Creaking sounds came from above followed by a dull thunk as something jumped down into the basement.

"First they break in and now they destroy my stairs? Proxies are so rude!" A warped, charming voice growled.

"The demon." I pressed closer to Tim so he could hear me whispering. "How far is it? We need to hurry."

"Just stay down, it'll buy us time."

"Oh, so you're down here..." The demon's irritation disappeared and I could almost imagine the Cheshire smile on his face. "Better come out quickly then... unless you want to make this painful."

Golden-yellow eyes turned towards us and we ducked down behind the boxes. Footsteps slowly made their way in our direction. "Oh Pawn... did we bring a friend with us? I can sense your fear... Don't think hiding will help you."

"Ash... do you know who that is?" Tim stared at me, in the shadows his eyes were merely shadowed holes but I could tell he was suspicious.

I lowered my head. "I- Not as a friend if that's what you mean... I barely know anything about him."

"...We'll talk about this later." The way he said it made me feel like I'd disappointed him.

"Tim, I'm not lying..."

"You'll never get your answers if you don't come out." The voice was closer now. "...Would it help if I said please?"

We continued moving in the direction of the cellar. Each crouched step was tense and I expected the demon to find us at any second, especially with my uncoordinated stumbling. Boxes fell over behind us and Tim grabbed my wrist as he straightened up and began sprinting. Moments later I ran into his back as he came to an unexpected halt. At first I didn't understand why he'd stopped... Then yellow eyes blinked open in front of us. The demon had somehow snuck around and blocked off the path to the cellar behind him.

However, the noise behind us didn't go away and I gave a small squeak of surprise as an identical demon to the one in front of us stepped out from behind a stack of boxes. We were trapped between them. I pressed my back against Tim's, hoping we wouldn't have to fight our way out- not that we could. The demon in front of me shifted, his form shrinking and changing until Ethan was the one standing in front of me; it was only an illusion.

I opened my mouth to tell Tim, but the real demon spoke up first. "What do you think running will do? You're trapped down here anyway. This is your only way out and by the looks of it, you can't just wait me out."

"What do you want?" I turned to look at the real demon, unable to look at the illusion of my cousin.

"I want to use you as a human battery until your minds are destroyed." He grinned and sauntered closer. "But for now I'll play nice like Ethan wants..."

"Ethan is dead."

"Ashley, let us- let me- explain." The illusion behind me spoke up, the voice painfully identical to my cousin's.

"Stubborn, aren't you?" The demon shifted to the side and pulled me closer as he stared me down. "That won't get you answers."

"Let her go." Tim's demand only made the demon laugh.

"What a hero." For a second one of his yellow eyes went out and it took me a second to realize he was winking. The demon turned his attention to Tim, though still maintained his grip on me. "You know, I like that in a person. Maybe I'll break you slower, let you stick around for a while... Have some fun in our time together."

"Alastor, stop." Ethan spoke up again, confusing me further given he was going against the demon. "They are both off limits."

"...Pity." I could see Tim step back as Alastor attempted to run a hand through his hair. "But for now I guess I'll behave."

He released me and I immediately limped away, still sticking close to Tim as my gaze drifted back to the exit. "We'll never run there and get out in time...."

"I'm sorry about the attack." Ethan seemed to float over the ground as he took a few steps closer. "That wasn't us. Slenderman and his proxies are not with us... We- I- always wanted to help stop him, you know that."

"I remember telling you to stop. I remember finding out you shot yourself in the head because of it!" I snapped, not caring if it hurt his feelings. This wasn't my cousin.

"That...that isn't the whole story. There was more... Alastor is the reason it happened-"

"I didn't make you pull the trigger. I didn't make you kill your girlfriend- good riddance though, I'm much better company." Alastor interrupted, slinging an arm over Ethan and causing the illusion to ripple for a moment.

"You ruined my life!" My cousin's form flickered and reappeared a few feet away, sending Alastor a disgusted look.

Golden eyes narrowed and a dangerous edge entered the demon's voice. "And you took my full powers with your mispronunciation. You have no idea what that mistake could've done- what it already has."

I nudged Tim and gestured at the cellar as the two continued bickering. It was difficult to understand what was happening but I wasn't about to stick around longer and end up in deeper trouble. We inched closer to the exit unnoticed... until I began coughing again. The force behind the fit was enough to make me hunch down and lean against the railing on the cement steps.

"She doesn't have much time left." Alastor walked over, destroying the illusion of Ethan with a sweep of his arm. "Shame... The answers were so close."

Tim stepped between us. "Back off."

"Cute... Such loyalty too, defending someone who lied to you."

"T-Tim..." I fought back the coughs and tried to steady my ragged breathing as the attack faded, though the taste of blood remained. "I didn't know."

"Oh but you did Darling... You never would've come here if I hadn't told you to."

I slumped closer to the ground, feeling cold as fear and pain coursed through me. Tim turned to look between me and Alastor. "This is why you wanted to come alone, isn't it? You knew he'd be here."

"And didn't want to risk your life if things went wrong." I shuddered and gave a weak cough. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"Aww." Amusement laced the demon's voice. "That's so touching... Perhaps I'll destroy his mind while you watch. You already lost everyone else. I wonder how much pain and suffering I can get out of you without even manipulating your mind."

"No!" My shout irritated my throat again and I could feel more blood come up as I gave several more coughs. "L-let... let him go..."

"Tell you what. I want Ethan to shut up so I'll make a deal with you. If you play by my rules, I'll give you the answers you came for... Make it through that without dying and I'll let both of you leave. If you can't, well you'll be dead and I'll just torture him slower- he was never part of the original deal Ethan made with me after all."

"Fine..." I gritted my teeth and pulled myself up; I had no choice but to play his little game first.

"Ash don't. It can't be that simple." Tim protested but didn't try to stop me as I approached Alastor.

"Let's get started." I glared up at the demon, disliking the eager grin spreading over his face.