Set After Season 2 Ep 11, Stiles has been taken by the Argents along with Erika and Boyd. The rest mount a rescue.
Rated Teen
Warnings: Violence, death, nothing too graphic
Don't like don't read, though constructive criticism is always welcome (plus any reviews).
I own nothing, literally.
Touch
Bruised and hurt Stiles breathes as evenly as he can as he's dragged through the dark building to a side room. The goon in charge of him still has the wooden bat in his hand and Stiles is really learning to hate those things.
"Stiles?" It's Erika's voice and he blinks in the gloom at a pair of glowing amber eyes.
"Erika?" This was good right? It meant that Derek knew where they were and would stage some kind of rescue attempt with Scott. He just had to concentrate on not getting himself killed, on holding onto that last breath of air like the councillor had said, to buy the time to save himself or be saved.
"Y...Yeah, it's me and Boyd," her words are shaky and then Stiles is being dumped into a chair and tied down. There are so many comebacks he could say to the guy at this point. "How did they get you?"
"Lacrosse game, lights went out, and I totally won the game too," he can't believe that had happened, him, Stiles, hero of the Championship game.
"You won the game? They actually let you play?" Her incredulity is hard to take.
"Yeah, Isaac took people off the field so Scott could play, then Jackson paralysed Isaac and Scott ran off to protect the little puppy from Grandpa Crazypants, who can thrown a mean punch when you're being held prisoner," he waggles his jaw which is stiffening up, he's not going to let it stop him talking though. "You guys?"
A few sniffles and then, "We left Derek, we thought we could hear another pack and..." his heart starts to sink, he might not like Derek that much, and frankly the guy still scared him, even if he was hot, but he'd given the bite to these two and they'd just abandoned him? "Yes, okay," she growls and he must have said some of it out loud. "It was stupid and then Allison hunted us down and she shot Boyd, over and over, and the other hunter stopped her and now..." there's another sob.
"Allison did what?" He's shocked, "Why the hell would she do that?" She was still in love with Scott and she was still trying to save Jackson, wasn't she?
"Wait, what other hunter?" A hunter stopped Allison from killing? "Did he have weird pale green eyes?" Because there's only one hunter he can think of that might obey the code, and not just when it suited him.
"Yes, he seemed disappointed in Allison, do you know who he is?"
"I think it was Chris Argent, the guy is scary as hell but he's surprisingly fair and he's the only hunter I've met who has the balls to follow the code, the rest are just murders," and right at this moment he means it. He now knows from Gerard's little interrogation just now, that the Argents killed Matt and took the Kanima to get something, they now have a weapon of mass destruction walking around in a lizardskin, he has no doubt they'll use it for their own twisted ends.
"We're going to die aren't we," Erika sounds really scared.
"Maybe, but someone recently told me that if you're in the middle of walking through hell you keep going, and that's what we're going to do, keep walking and get the hell out of hell," he's proud that his voice didn't waver, that he sounds stronger than he really is, and once this is over he is hugging his dad to death and leaving the heroics to Scott, winning a lacrosse game is one thing, this is something else entirely.
"You really are Batman," she whispers and now he can't lose his shit, he has to hold it together so that she will, and he's running out of rescuers, if Erika and Boyd left Derek then he won't be looking for them, and if Scott's IQ still vanishes around Allison then he's out of the game and that leaves...
No one.
Crap.
It's up to him.
"Erika, is there anyway you can get out of your ropes?" He asks confidently.
"They're not ropes, they're chains," and that torpedoes that idea, he sits back quietly and tries to think, to force his jumbled mind to focus on the problem. And it stops him waxing poetical on the growing pain from his beating, though in reality he only got smacked around a little, and he has no funky werewolf healing powers.
Beatings and werewolf... Isaac.
They have one slightly paralysed wolf in their corner. Right now he has a possible back up he only has to work on getting them out of this predicament. He looks around the room and tries to see what could help them.
Nothing.
There are no handy escape tools anywhere.
Crap.
Boyd is half awake now and Stiles' night vision is getting better, the guy is oozing blood, not good, but he's alive and that must count as a win somehow.
"Boyd," Erika is whispering, "Stiles is here," the other boy frowns so she says, "It's okay, it's Stiles, he'll think of something."
Thankfully he doesn't have to say anything, he just has to sit there and not fall apart. Time ticks past and Boyd is recovering nicely. While Stiles is still plan-less, unless you count the possibility of a meteor strike happening which would then give them a distraction to do the thing he hasn't thought of yet.
Both of their heads jerk up at the same time, "Gunfire," Boyd murmurs and winces as he shifts on the chair.
Nodding as if he expected it Stiles says, "Get ready. You guys are extra flexible and stuff, they won't believe what you can do…"
"Stiles," Boyd's giving him a look, "We suck at training, we couldn't even out run a bloodthirsty teen on a quad bike."
"Boyd," he cuts him off, "I, Stiles Stillinski, bench warmer extraordinaire, have scored the points at the Lacrosse Championships," at the boy's scoff he adds, "Listen to my heartbeat, you know I'm telling the truth, so if I, a mere human, can do that, just think what you're capable of."
For a few seconds Boyd hesitates and then he sits up, "Okay, I'm ready."
And they sit there, it's a bit annoying, Stiles was waiting for the bad guys to burst in to get beaten to a pulp by the werewolves before they battled their way to freedom.
"Footsteps," Erika hisses and they all turn to see the door slide open.
A man is standing there and then Chris Argent is walking in, he's bruised and battered and is glaring grimly. "Stiles," that icy tone is withering.
Refusing to back down, while tied to a chair, Stiles waggles a hand in greeting, "Hey Mr Argent, we met again, how's the causing of terror and mayhem by Kanima coming along? Grandpa McNutty slaughtered everyone yet? Or is he saving some for tomorrow?"
Sighing the man walks over and his shoulders slump in defeat, "I don't know how he's done it, but yes he has control of the Kanima, and he's convinced Allison that killing Derek is the only way to stop the deaths that have been happening." Kneeling by Stiles there's a knife in his hands and Stiles hides his gulp as the knife vanishes behind him and then Chris is cutting him lose. "I want to kill Derek myself, for Victoria, but something is wrong, seriously wrong. I thought it was Derek the last time and it turned out to be all Kate's fault, I have a horrible suspicion it's all going to be Gerard's fault this time."
"Well technically Matt was a fruit loop who was stalking Allison so it can't all be Gerard's fault, just the part where he probably got Victoria," Stiles remembers not to call her names at the last second, "So she attacked Scott in the middle of the rave and tried to kill him by making him inhale wolfsbane, and yeah Derek did bite her but I really believe it was a case of self defence."
Chris' face has crumpled and Stiles tries to hang onto his moral high ground but he remembers how his dad was after mom died and he finds himself gripping the man's shoulder. And then his brain pings, "And after that there is Allison running around attacking everything that moves, not taking on the Kanima properly and working out how to neutralise Jackson, and somehow Gerard has the Kanima. So I wonder who's been working all angles here…"
"Gerard," the hunter is furious and he still sticks around to help Erika and Boyd get free. "Get out of here, Gerard was muttering about Derek and from what I last saw the Alpha is flying into a rage. I don't know where Isaac is but Scott is down for the count and I saw Peter Hale…"
"No," Stiles backs up into Erika babbling, "No, he's dead, we killed him, he's gone, he's just a nightmare now, he's not real."
"He's back," Chris' sounds sure, "And he keeps giving Derek advice but not taking any actions himself. So far Derek hasn't killed anyone, just beaten them up, he's taken a lot of hits, and I don't think it's long until he's so lost in blood lust and rage he'll be unreachable."
"And then?" Stiles asks.
"And then," the man touches a gun, "I'll have no choice but to enforce the code."
"No," Stiles takes off running, he'll think of something to bring Derek back from the edge, maybe Scott can come around and do amazing heroics, or Gerard could drop dead from old age and everyone can stop fighting.
"STILES!" Is yelled behind him and he keeps going, damn it, he can do this.
Skidding around corners and following the sounds of gunfire and howls he bursts into an abandoned warehouse and there are numerous bodies littered about the place. Bending down he touches a pulse, the man is alive and there's Scott five feet away.
A mocking voice is taunting in the distance and Stiles shudders as he recognises Peter. He really, really never wants to come face to face with that creature again.
Scott's alive but bleeding from bullet wounds, he's not getting up without the vet's help any time soon.
Crawling on all fours Stiles advances towards the fight and Derek is on seriously good form, he's popping bullets out of his body and going all growly and athletic on the hunters, he's still pulling his blows though and Gerard is standing there glaring as his goons are taken out one by one.
Peter's lurking nearby and dodging bullets clearing doing his best not to get hit and leaving the battle up to Derek. But he's eyeing Derek up in such a way that Stiles' hair on his nape lifts, he's sure the werewolf will strike the moment Derek is weak enough.
When the last of the goons falls to the floor Gerard throws something at Derek and it explodes in a powder that Derek inhales. Going to his knees Derek paws at his face and if they survive this Stiles is going to make so many dog jokes about it. If anything Derek's growls get louder and he roars loudly enough the walls shake with it and the bass thrums through Stiles like he's standing next to loud speakers at a party set to deafening.
"Allison," Gerard calls out, "Allison, please, help me," and then the psycho geriatric stumbles and acts weak.
"Grandpa," Allison is running from the back behind Stiles and she'll have to pass him.
Derek whips his head around and he's all wolfed out and then some, his red eyes catch on Allison and he bounds towards her roaring, oh god this is going to go so badly and not thinking about it Stiles launches himself at the enraged Alpha expecting his throat to get ripped out to buy someone time to save everyone else.
Crap, he is so the damn sidekick.
Hitting Derek's body is like hitting a moving brick wall and he grunts as it aggravates his bruises. For some reason they hit the floor, Derek beneath him and Stiles cringes waiting for the claws and the teeth.
After several seconds he peeks to see Derek, all humaned out, staring at him shock, "Stiles?"
"Kill them," Gerard yells, "Hurry Allison, kill Derek now. His anchor is holding him human, now girl."
Allison is blinking at them and whispers, "Stiles?"
Waving he grins his sweetest grin, "Hey Allison, I won the Champion game, me, I got the last points and everything, before your Grandpa kidnapped me and tried to make Jackson eat people," and he really hopes she's listening.
"You won the game?" Derek asks.
"I…" She's standing there and doesn't seem to know what to do now.
"Allison," Chris is running towards them with Erika and Boyd in tow, "Allison it was Gerard, he set it all up, it was him."
With epic timing Scott groans and moves catching Allison's eye, "Scott?"
Snarling Gerard steps forward raising a gun, "If you want something done you end up having to do it yourself. Derek I am going to kill you for Kate's death, you murdering dog, I'll burn this town to the ground and grind all your bones into dust…"
An arm slams into Gerard's making him lose the gun and Peter dances back gripping the man's pill box as Gerard's hand clasps over three claw wounds on his arm, "Oh please, you did all this, killed all those people, schemed and plotted, just to kill Derek. He was practically unconscious when I murdered Kate and got revenge for all the deaths she caused my family," Peter's spitting in rage, "She got what was coming to her, and I find it funny that you're trying to kill the one that slit my throat."
"What… Derek killed you? And you killed Kate?" Gerard looks lost.
"Yes, and now you're going to die," Peter waves the pill box, "And you'll die reliving my memories of that night when my family was murdered and you'll relive the moment I killed Kate."
It's fairly anticlimactic as the man stops gripping his arm and grips his chest instead. Stiles has had enough of watching people die and turns his face, which collides with Derek's. Derek who's laying there propped up on his elbows.
Neither Chris nor Allison try and revive Gerard.
"Go," Chris says, "I take care of the clean up. Make sure you hold onto your anchor, that powder is probably a wolfsbane derivative designed to make you much more aggressive, Stiles will ground you for the hour it will take to work out of your system."
Anchor?
Derek and I share a look.
Someone kneels nearby, "I told you nephew, I told you not to underestimate it, just one touch and your human side is in control."
Tonight has been a very strange night, so far he's save the day with lacrosse and now he seems to have saved the day with just his touch, a touch that could lead to lots of possibilities in the future.
A finger is waved in his face, "I know that look, just don't," Derek warns him.
"I didn't do anything," he goes for innocent.
"You were thinking it," is the only answer and Stiles grumbles as he gets to his feet keep a hand on Derek the whole time, he ends up holding Derek Hale's hand and they retreat from the warehouse to go home, or somewhere not here.
"I have to phone my dad," Stiles says.
That hand squeezes his, "Soon and then you can go home."
"So…" Because this is him and he can't leave this alone, "Does this mean we're dating?"
Glowing red eyes and a growl are sent his way and he takes it in his stride, if he can wait all those years for Lydia to finally notice him and wave at him at a Lacrosse game, he can wait for a certain werewolf to come around to the awesomeness that is Stiles, after all now he knows he's got a chance because he's Derek's anchor.
Stroking his thumb over Derek's knuckle he pretends to ignore the stumble from beside him and knows that his touch really does get to the werewolf, oh he is going to have fun with this. All it takes a touch from him and Derek's calm, he is so going to enjoy his future with his future boyfriend, and then his face falls, he just has to work out how to tell his dad.
Crap.
His natural optimism grabs him and he smiles again, he'll work on both of them, no one is going to get in his way of having a great relationship with his dad and a fledgling one with Derek.
Catching Erika's eye he's confident he can find a way, because he's not the sidekick anymore, he's the main hero, and he totally has a superpower of his touch on his side.
A/N: Sorry for any and all mistakes, I've tried to catch those I could, but I'm only human.
Ugh I can't wait for next weeks Teen Wolf and the finale... I'll be so good.