CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

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Venus couldn't seem to calm down her breathing, she wasn't sure where she was or how she had gotten there but she felt weak. Her head was resting against the metal pipes along the wall. She could feel the pain that once flowed through these halls, the death and the imbalance that was created here. It was driving her crazy the way the whisperings in her head wouldn't cease.

     "You can feel it, can't you?" Stiles voice comes from behind the girl, startling her.

The girl pushed herself up straighter, starting to move down the hallway away from Void. They had been at this for who knows how long at this point, she had lost track of the time the minute he brought her down here. Venus felt like she walked the length of the county already with how far she'd trailed through these tunnels.

"You're growing weaker, little Nymphie." he cackles from behind her.

She pushes through the pounding in her head and continues on down the hallway, trying to ignore everything he was saying. This isn't Stiles. The tunnels keep winding the further she goes and she could hear him following her every step.

Her heart ached the further she ran from the voice she's grown so fond of, her body seemed to not recognize that this wasn't her Stiles anymore.

"There's nowhere to hide, Venus. You can't run from me." she reaches a small metal gate, rushing towards it and trying to get it open, but Void takes this as his chance to corner her. "Stiles is really fond of you, you know. Kept begging me not to hurt you."

"What do you want from me?" Venus shivers as his cold fingers touch her cheek.

"He's dying you know. And you can't save him this time." he continues to taunt her and she takes her chance to move away from him.

"They'll find me." she calls out to him, moving further down the hallway, going down a few steps. "My friends are going to come for me."

Venus wraps her hands around the bars of the gate in front of her, seeming to have reached the end of the hallway. She pushes and pulls against it, trying to find any way out of this place, but as expected, the gate wouldn't budge and it looked like it wouldn't lead her anywhere anyway.

"You think so?" Voids low voice sounds from behind her, she turns to face him, pressing her back against the metal bars, watching as he sits himself down on the top step. "I myself was kind of wondering what they're doing right now. What useless lead they're chasing. Maybe some of them have bigger problems to deal with right now. Are they really spending every minute searching for you? Or are they waiting for nightfall?"

"Just tell me what you want." Venus whimpers as she watches him stand at the top of the stairs.

"More." he declares, taking a step down closer to her.

"More what?"

"The trickster stories, they're all about food." he hums. "The coyote, the raven, the fox. I'm the same. I just crave something a little different."

Venus pushes herself harder against the bars as he is now stood in front of her. Void lifts his hand, placing it on her cheek and moves dangerously close to her ears.

"I eat what you feel. Your pain, Nymphie, is the most powerful of all. And I'm insatiable."

His voice in her ear sends shivers down her spine, she could feel his breath flowing down her neck and his lips as they brush against her cheek. His finger curves under her chin, tilting her head towards him and in moments his lips were on hers.

Venus' body froze as he pushed himself against her. She couldn't explain it if she tried but it was like he was sucking the energy out of her; the more pain he took from her, the less power she felt she had.

"You taste just as sweet as he imagined." Void chuckles, still holding onto her. "It's over, Venus."

"But you're still nervous." she speaks, pushing away as hard as she could and making him pull away from her. "You know that they're coming and that they're going to kill you. No matter how weak I get, you know it's going to happen."

"Well that's exactly why I'm keeping you so close." He pulls the gate ahead of them open and pushes her inside harshly, closing the gate behind them.

Venus lets out a low chuckle. "They're here aren't they? It's game over, Void."

     Before he could respond, black smoke began to fill the small circular clearing they were in before it turned into the Oni. Venus pulls her arm away from Void Stiles' grip, moving to stand behind them as they pulled out their swords at him. He didn't seem fazed though, almost like this was what he wanted. Venus had soon found out that he truly didn't care they were here. He pulls out one of Noshikos 'tails', breaking it and Venus could feel the shift happening.

The Oni were his now. And Venus felt like she couldn't breathe. It felt as if all air had been sucked from her surroundings as more pain shoots through her veins. The imbalance was unbearable.

He moved over to her again, his face inches away from hers as his fingers delicately grasped onto her cheeks. "Did you feel that, Venus? The imbalance I just caused? It's making you even weaker."

He disappeared along with the Oni letting out one last laugh, Venus fell to her knees, the pounding returning more intensely now as tears flowed down her face. She didn't even notice the sounds of approaching footsteps echoing from the hallway until Scott called out to her.

"Venus? Are you okay?" Scott helps her up, feeling the amount of pain she was in, his skin almost burning at the sensation of it. "What did he do?"

"Who else is here?" She panics, her eyes wide in fear as she spots Lydia and Stiles right behind him. "Scott who is here?"

"Allison, Isaac and Kira." Scott eyes, his eyes flitting between hers in confusion. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Scott, you have to go." she whispers. "He has the Oni now. Scott, they're under his control and he's more powerful than ever."

The werewolf pulls her out through the gate where she's met with short hugs from both Lydia and Stiles; the latter holding onto her a moment longer than a concerned friend would have.

The four of them start running back out of the winding halls, Stiles looking paler than she had ever seen him as he trailed behind the three of them. Venus wanted to reach for him badly, but her body was still unresponsive towards him; she worried she would flinch if she got too close and it would upset him.

The last thing she ever wanted to do was upset Stiles.

"Vee." he gasps, falling sideways onto the wall as he continues trying to keep up with them. "Vee, I can't- I can't-"

"Hey, hey, it's okay." She swallows her emotions and immediately grasps his arms, trying to hold him up as he keeps sliding down the wall. Venus looks towards their other friends, noticing Scott was already gone and Lydia was a few paces ahead of them. Turning back to the boy, she notices his eyes were closed and his head was lulling from side to side. "Stiles? Wake up. Stiles!"

He doesn't answer her back and suddenly a scream sounds through the tunnels. Lydias scream. And it was a name: Allison. Venus knew what a banshees scream meant, she wasn't stupid. She knew Allison had died. Allison had died trying to save her from Void and Venus would never forgive herself for it.

A ripping sensation coursed through her being at that moment, Allison Argents passing had come at a great cost to the universe. Venus let out her own ear piercing scream as her palms smacked to the concrete. The tears were running freely down her face as she swiped at her own skin, trying whatever she could to make the pain stop.

But she couldn't stop it. Just like she couldn't stop her friends from dying.

Venus would always be grateful for the force that was Allison Argent.












EDITED

VENUS 🪐 STILES STILINSKI {1} Where stories live. Discover now