| The Spiral, Half One |

"Where is he?" Derek asked, storming furiously down the hall of the hospital wing.

Aiden stood up first, glaring at the older beta. "He's in with Scott." Ethan quickly joined his brother, standing just behind him to back him up.

"What room number? 'Cuz I'm gonna' kill him."

"Derek, it's not his fault," Ethan tried.

"What. Room. Number?"

Ethan rolled his eyes and turned around, walking away while rubbing his face with frustration.

"Stand down, Derek," Aiden said, his eyes glowing bright blue.

"Oh, so you're giving orders now?" Derek leaned in a little closer. "I've been at this a lot longer than you," he said with a sharp smile.

Suddenly, the doors to the ICU wing opened and an older heavier-set nurse walked out. "I'm gonna' count to five and if I don't get a good explanation, I'm calling security."

Derek whipped around and immediately put his best 'distraught face' on. "I'm sorry. I just found out what happened to my brother, Scott. He's here somewhere and I just wanna' see him."

She looked at him skeptically, sizing up the oldest of the men before her and nodded. "Melissa didn't mention she had another son," she said as she scanned her card to unlock the ICU doors.

"I'm Scott's half-brother," Derek lied, looking at the twins' disbelieving faces. "Technically."

She looked back at him, still skeptical before showing him into the secure wing. Immediately, he spotted Melissa sitting outside a room, her face buried in her hands with her elbows planted firmly in her thighs. Derek stopped for minute, his rage subsiding after seeing the alpha's worried mother. Finally, after one too many nurses looked in his direction, and the sound of another card swiping came from behind him, Derek made his way slowly over to Melissa.

He sat down softly, looking at her as she refused to bring herself to sit upright. Although he'd only ever met this woman a handful of times, he felt for her, in a way he felt for his own mother when she had lost her sister. Derek put his hand on her shoulder nearest to him and tried as best as he could. "I'm gonna' make this right, Melissa." She made no attempts to move, and with his words they only seemed to make her cry harder. Derek stayed there a minute before getting up, walking through the closed door next to her.

The sight before him tempered him even more: Isaac had his back to the door, laying the side of his head on Scott's still hand. His eyes were closed and Derek, by the looks of the blonde, guessed that he'd cried himself to sleep. Scott, on the other hand, looked as though he would pass at any time. His skin was pale and clammy and the place beneath the gauze pad on his neck was clearly infected. He had tubes and wires in a number of places, the most notable of them being the tube running into Scott's mouth, likely running all the way into Scott's stomach, Derek guessed. This particular tube, unlike the IV, was sucking substances out of the alpha, and as Derek feared, it was the same black liquid he'd seen secrete from Jackson, Gerard, and his own sister Cora.

He walked around to the far side of the room and took a seat across from Isaac. Scott, despite it all, looked so peaceful; it's the he should look if they can't fix this in time. Derek's face looked the same as when Cora had been in the hospital from mistletoe poisoning and a concussion eight months earlier. He looked at Scott as his brother, and by all rights, he was. Deucalion hadn't been wrong that night: had Derek and Scott actually fought, it would have been 'like brother against brother.'

Isaac stirred and slowly looked up. Derek had come to the hospital with all the intent of reading Isaac the biggest riot act he'd ever drummed up. But seeing the blonde, here and now, completely distraught over his dying boyfriend, Derek just couldn't sum up that energy. "Hey," Derek said first. Isaac looked at Derek warily, slowly sitting up straight and wiping his face.

"Hey," Isaac said shakily.

Derek looked at Scott and Isaac followed. "I'm gonna' fix this," Derek said simply. Isaac immediately began to break down in front of Derek and the older beta only looked at his former packmate in a more serious light. "Isaac, I need you to get yourself together." Isaac looked at Derek and nodded, wiping at his face again. "You were with him so I need you to tell me everything that happened." Despite his abrasive look in that moment, Derek did his best to control his voice so Isaac would respond and not slip into any defensiveness.

"I…" But Isaac froze, the words too traumatic to leave his lips.

"Relax," Derek said even more calmly. "Close your eyes and breathe. Think back, what happened?"

"I…I remember walking with Scott. We'd just had dinner with Stiles so we were heading home. We took his bike and…everything happened so fast…"

"Isaac, think, what did they look like? Where did they come from?"

"They, uh, god it was so dark. They took out the lights and…I…"

"Isaac, it's okay. Relax. Breathe in again. And out. Try and focus on that night. Do you trust me?"

"Yeah, why—?"

And Derek was suddenly behind him, driving his claws into the back of Isaac's neck. He could see everything: walking out from the diner to Scott's bike. There were nine of them. They came out from between a dense cluster of cars. Scott and Isaac only had seconds to react when one of them opened fire—a standard Uzi. Their senses had saved them before they engaged their attackers, but it was when Scott and Isaac engaged these men that things got blurry. 'Derek' could only make out a few of their faces, and each of them had some Asian features and were clearly gifted in martial arts oriented to combat werewolves. When 'Derek' saw Scott fall, a heavy syringe injecting something into the alpha's neck, the memory ended two second later when a mace hit 'Derek' square in the temple.

Derek stumbled backwards, his claws drawing out of Isaac's neck and back into his hands. "I thought you didn't know how to do that," Isaac said after regaining his orientation.

"I've been learning…" Derek began, his mind running back to the memory. "They were ryōshi…but why?" Derek's face reflected his confusion, looking down at the corner of the room.

"Derek, what are you talking about?"

"Your attackers. They were Japanese hunters. Ryōshi. Out of all the hunters they're the most ruthless and organized. You're lucky to be alive. But why are they here? Why Scott?" He looked down at Isaac's confused face and that seemed to snap him out of his zone. "I gotta' go. I need to look into something." Derek rushed out of the room and soon found Ethan's voice calling after him.

"Derek!"

Derek stopped and turned around to look at the twins. "Look, I know who attacked them. They're not going to come back so you two don't need to be his guard dogs anymore. You wanna' help, come with me." The twins exchanged looks and nodded.

"Derek." It was Isaac. "I'm coming, too."

— | RIS | —

Although Derek may have been right, Isaac wanted someone there guarding Scott; he was tired of sitting around doing nothing and when Derek arrived, that gave him the proper motivation to find these people and put an end to this. As such, Ethan selected to stay behind, while Aiden, Derek, and Isaac rode off to a destination only known to the older beta. "Are you gonna' clue us in?" Isaac began after all had been quiet for five minutes.

"Before my mom died," Derek began, "she taught us about the hunters and their clans. All of them are matriarchal…all of them except for one. The ryōshi. Like I told you before, they're the most ruthless of them, but do you have any idea why?" Both Aiden, who was sitting in the back, and Isaac, who sat in the passenger's seat, shook their head. "They like to kill their victims slowly."

"That's why they injected Scott," Isaac deduced.

"In the memory, there were nine of them. Nine is an unlucky number in Japan. It's often equated with suffering. That's how the ryōshi operate."

"So where are we going?" Aiden asked, leaning forward so his head was almost between them.

Bzzz, bzzz. Bzzz, bzzz.

"It's Stiles," Isaac stated before answering it. "Hey." … "No, there's been no change." … "Within the hour? Good. Listen, I'm with Derek and Aiden. We're chasing down a lead." … "Yeah, message me when you have the results." … "Thanks, Stiles." Isaac hung up the phone and shoved it back in his pocket. "Deaton's running a test on the black liquid coming out of Scott. Based on samples he's collected in the past, he thinks he might be able to figure out what they injected him with."

"Text Stiles," Derek ordered. "Tell him if they figure out to start looking for a counter-agent immediately. Don't wait to clue us in."

"You don't think they…wait what's going on Derek?"

"I told you there's always nine of these guys, right?" Isaac nodded. "If I'm right about all this, and the ryōshi really are behind this, then Scott doesn't have much longer. The number nine is associated with suffering. The number four…it means death."

"And he's been in the hospital for almost three," Aiden confirmed, falling back into his seat.

— | RIS | —

When Derek finally stopped the car, Danny's car was already there, Danny and Cora leaning against the trunk waiting. "Reinforcements?" Aiden asked quietly as they got out.

"Would you rather storm the castle alone?" Derek retorted, looking at the local Buddhist temple before them.

"Are you sure this is the castle?" Aiden replied with an asshole-smirk. Derek only looked at him, sure that this was the place.

"I'm surprised you came," Cora said, looking at Isaac.

"Something you wanna' say?" Isaac said, posturing up to her. Danny slipped his arms between and glared at them both. "I did the best I could, and I'm not gonna' be judged by you of all people."

"Fine," Cora replied, "but you can watch your own ass."

"Enough," Derek interrupted. "For all intents and purposes, we're a pack right now. For Scott." Cora glared at her brother but when his hard eyes met hers just as well, she nodded. "When we get in there, follow my lead." The group nodded and they made their way in. Derek walked in first and before the others could even join him, the man looking out at the front spotted him and took off running. Derek rolled his eyes and ran after him, the others following.

After chasing the man through several hallways and up a flight of stairs, the group found themselves in a large open room with a red oriental rug laid out in the center, stretching almost from corner to corner. It was dimly lit, the only light source coming from a number of candles embedded into the walls. They walked in slowly, each of their blue and yellow eyes glowing bright, their claws and fangs already protruding.

And then door they'd come through closed. They all turned back to look at it when another sound filled their ears: the door on the other side opened. Five men walked out and Derek and Isaac recognized them from the other night. Derek, Isaac, and Aiden's mouths opened and retracted as they taunted the men with a growl. They slowly moved forward when the door behind them opened again; two more had entered. Cora and Danny turned to face them, both ready to move on Derek's signal.

But that's when all went to hell. Between the five werewolves, the final two dropped down from the ceiling. They moved to stab with katanas, one at Aiden and the other at Isaac. Aiden was quick enough, side stepping and sending an open set of claws through his attacker's jaw. Isaac, on the other, hand, wasn't so lucky…