WARNING: SWEARING USED IN THIS CHAPTER

"You're still breathing?"

I didn't bother looking up. I knew who it was, and even if I didn't, I wouldn't have had the strength to.

"Wow, I'm shocked! Didn't think you had it in you!"

My head was pulled up by an invisible force, and there he was, standing in a dark corner of a room. I could barely see anything but a pair of glowing red eyes.

"There he is." He grinned.

"What do you want now?" I asked, my voice flat and emotionless. "I told you, I don't know where Sky's amulet is."

"Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah, you don't know. I don't believe you." He said, stepping out to where I could see him better. "Buuuuuuut, that's not what I'm here for."

I stared at him, confused. "What do you..."

He grinned. I'd come to hate that grin.

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if you'd be up for letting me possess you again."

Fear took a sudden hold on me, and I felt completely frozen.

No.

Not again.

I couldn't handle that again.

I'd already woken up from so many nightmares, so many nights of nearly losing my mind because he was back but he wasn't but he was.

I scared Skylar once, when she was around eight years old, and that's the day she learned the answer to her question "Dad, why don't you sleep well?"

I would rather die than go through it again.

"Never." I muttered, staring him directly in the face.

He pouted. "Killjoy."

"Why would you even need me? You seem to be happy enough with the poor guy you have already."

"Well, you see," He said, and pulled on the sleeve of his shirt, just enough to expose red marks that looked like burns. "Jin here isn't strong enough to hold me for much longer."

"Good. Leave him. Let him live his life without you."

"You don't get it, do you?" He asked with a smirk. "I can still push him to his limit. I can stay here until he implodes. And trust me, I have no problem doing that."

I didn't say anything.

"Problem is, I can't retain my own physical form outside of a vessel for too long." He muttered. "Your dimension comes with all sorts of annoying setbacks."

"So why stay here?" I asked. "Why don't you go back?"

"Why stay?" He asked. "Why not stay? Your dimension has it's setbacks, but it comes fully stocked with weak humans to destroy! It's like a fun little game!"

"You're sick."

"Thank you." He grinned. "Anyways, I like you! You're the strongest vessel I've found in quite a while. I mean, it's not like just anyone can contain me at two years old, and even less can hold me for a little over ten years."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Take it as you will."

"Why do you need permission anyways?" I asked. "You've possessed me against my will before."

"Yes, but now you're hitting the nail on the head." He said. "You're strength is the problem here. I can't break through your mind."

I was protected from him? He couldn't do anything to me?

"Why would you even think..." I muttered. "...that I'd ever give that up?"

"You see, I thought you'd say that." He grinned. "And I knew physical torture wasn't going to work, due to your annoying stubborn tendencies, so I decided to go a little bigger."

He waved his hand, and a cloud of smoke appeared in the air. It changed to show a picture, and then the picture moved. It was a movie of sorts.

A strangely familiar person was standing with one hand in the air, and a kid floated about him, choking.

"Why are you-"

"Shhh. Wait for it." He grinned.

The kid fell to the ground, having lost consciousness, and the view panned out to show seven other kids I didn't recognize, and-

Wait.

I did recognize one.

Stood in the center was Skylar.

"I sent in an old friend of mine to clean up this mess." Darklox said. "Your adorable daughter here and the rest of the others' kids have been making trouble for me since the day you were captured. I told him to get rid of them."

"Don't you dare touch her, you-"

"I'm not touching her. He is." He grinned, and I watched as the figure started to attack the kids, targeting the one with a green hoodie. A chain was around his neck, but whatever was on the end of the chain was tucked underneath the hoodie.

The rest of the kids went after him.

"Who even is that?" I asked, attempting to struggle against the chains that kept me on the wall.

"First of all, struggling is useless." He said. "Second of all, come on, you don't recognize good old Shane?"

No. That couldn't be Shane. That couldn't be Shane because-

"Shane's dead." I said.

"Exactly!" He grinned. "But, he died while I was possessing him, therefore, I got his soul as a consolation prize. He's on my side now, and I have to say, he's pretty strong. And of course, he's got orders to kill."

He raised his other hand up, making a fist and speaking towards it. "I want you to go after the blondie in the leather jacket, got that?"

"Leave her alone, you son of a bitch!" I yelled.

"Let's see...no. Unless, you feel like being my puppet again?"

I watched, unable to help as the one who was apparently Shane shove his hands out, and all the kids went flying backwards, except for Skylar.

The others slammed into the trees around them, and the one with the gray jacket and the smallest of them all, with red hair, fell to the ground, unconscious.

Skylar stood her ground, and swung at Shane, who teleported behind her before the hit could land and grabbed her by the throat, raising her in the air and choking her.

"Stop it!" I yelled. "Make him let her go, now!"

"That depends." He grinned. "Give me permission and she'll live."

I watched as Skylar struggled against Shane's grip, and the others were starting to get up, but I knew she'd be dead before they could make it.

"I...okay! You can possess me whenever you want, just let her go!"

He smirked. "There we have it."

He spoke to Shane again. "Your orders still stand. Carry on with it."

"What? That wasn't the deal!" I yelled. "You promised to let her go!"

"The orders were never to kill." He grinned, and I felt fear take a hold of me again, only this time, it stayed. "They were only to bring them here, alive, so that I could leave them in the Fear Rooms for as long as I wanted."

"You...you tricked me!"

"Um, hellooooo?" He grinned, pointing to his eyes. "Demon?"

"I'll kill you. I swear to Notch, I'll kill you!"

"Good luck with that, puppet." He said, and the screen disappeared as Skylar fell to the ground, unconscious.

He turned to walk away. "I'll save your promise for the best time. I still like watching this one lose his marbles. But hey, can't wait to be roomies again!"

He laughed, and the door shut behind him, leaving me with nothing but the promise of the Nether to come.