A/N: So this fic was born from my inability to accept that two major characters died in the space of two episodes and my curiosity to see what would happen if all of the characters, past and present, were thrown together and left to drive each other mad. As I mentioned in the summary it goes completely AU after season 3 and disregards the scene between Derek and Kate at the end of The Divine Move.
I should also give you a bit of a disclaimer: My life is currently incredibly busy and I really should not be starting and multichapter fanfic, much less one as extensive as this one has decided it wants to be. But the idea wouldn't leave me alone so here it is. The writing is far below my usual standards because I want to get as much of it posted as I can as quickly as possible. It is also likely I will abandon it periodically when real life gets in the way. I will endeavour to get back to it as soon as possible but I can't make any promises.
In hindsight, Stiles supposed, he should have realised that Beacon Hills lasting three months without any gruesome murders, bizarre animal behaviour, or any other sign of potentially catastrophic supernatural activity was too good to be true. He should have known that the unexpected respite would necessitate payback on a massive scale. After all, the last time they were granted a few months of peace it was followed by not only a whole pack of alphas, but a darach with a penchant for human sacrifice. However, even if those thoughts had occurred to him, he never could have anticipated this.
The first sign of trouble was a frantic phone call Scott received from Ethan. According to Scott the former alpha was fairly unintelligible, but was adamant that something had happened and that it somehow involved Aiden. Both Stiles and Scott had assumed Ethan had regressed back to the denial stage of grieving. Naturally, Scott was concerned and his first instinct was to send someone out to find the bereaved twin and make sure he was alright, but since they had no idea where Ethan currently was and he'd given the impression he was on his way back to Beacon Hills anyway, they concluded that all they could do was wait.
When, the following day, a familiar figure wandered onto school grounds from the direction of the woods, Stiles initially assumed Ethan had made good on his intention to investigate whatever he thought had happened for himself. It was only when he heard a strangled gasp from Lydia beside him that he realised who he was actually seeing. Stiles usually prided himself on his observational skills. However, he also knew it was normal for the human consciousness to compare newly input information against prior knowledge in order to form conclusions, so he figured he could be forgiven for not immediately registering the sharper angles of the twin's face or the dark stain on the front of his shirt only partially hidden by his jacket.
"Aiden?" Stiles asked dumbfoundedly, though by this point the exhausted figure had stumbled close enough that there could be no question as to his identity.
"How?" Lydia's usually impressive command of language failed her and her voice sounded uncharacteristically small.
"I was kind of hoping one of you could tell me that," Aiden replied with a half-hearted attempt at a wry grin that was overpowered by his own apparent bewilderment. "Because I have absolutely no idea." Abruptly his expression became serious. "Ethan. I need to talk to him. I need to tell him-"
"-I think he might already know," Stiles cut in. "He called yesterday."
"He's not here then? How long has it been? I-I mean how long have I been…?"
"Three months."
"Three mo-" Aiden appeared taken aback by this revelation. " 's a lot longer than I was expecting."
"Well how long exactly were you expecting it to be?" Stiles knew his indignance was unwarranted but it didn't seem right that the formerly dead guy who had just wandered out of the woods appeared more surprised than they were.
"I don't know. It feels like it just happened yesterday. I remember-" Aiden's confusion quickly gave way to impatience. "Look, I need to call Ethan so will someone hand me a phone already?"
Lydia wordlessly complied, her eyes still drinking in the sight of him with a mixture of cautious relief and utter perplexity.
Aiden stared at the phone in his hand for a moment before admitting "I have no idea what I'm even supposed to say to him."
"Well you could start with 'I'm not dead.'" Stiles wasn't entirely sure himself whether he was trying to be helpful or sarcastic. Judging by the glare Aiden shot him before stepping away to speak to his brother in private, the werewolf had assumed the latter.
Stiles moved a little closer to Lydia. "So, um, I guess we should take him to Deaton? Make sure he's not, like, a zombie or anything? It would kind of make sense actually, you know, considering he came to us first, because I'm pretty sure between us we have more brain cells than most of the people in this town combined, but he seems to be breathing so-" Realising that his mostly aimless rambling was not helpful in the slightest, Stiles cut himself off, instead asking Lydia "Are you okay?"
Lydia made a sound that was halfway between a scoff and a whimper. "Let me get back to you on that."
Deaton confirmed that Aiden appeared entirely, well, not human, but, entirely werewolf? Was that the right way of putting it? In any case, he appeared to be in perfect health with no sign of the wound that had ended his life or any obvious side effects of returning from the dead. There was also nothing that might indicate exactly how his miraculous resurrection had occurred.
After this had been established, everyone convened at Derek's loft with the intention of questioning Aiden to see if they could gain any more insight into what the hell had actually happened. The first half hour or so of the meeting wasn't all that productive, mostly consisting of everyone staring at Aiden and uttering various exclamations of disbelief and confusion, while Aiden's attention was split between looking at the door expectantly, presumably anticipating the impending arrival of his brother, and sneaking covert glances at Lydia whenever he thought she might not be looking at him. She always was, her expression a complex mixture of emotions that were impossible to define.
The cycle was broken when Aiden suddenly dashed over to the door. The intruder alarm began to sound a few seconds later. Aiden opened the door and the next thing Stiles knew the twins were clinging to each other so tightly he was somewhat concerned they might accidentally do their whole Voltron wolf thing. (He'd never been totally sure if he should believe them when they claimed they couldn't do that anymore.) Everyone politely averted their eyes to allow their reunion as much privacy as could be afforded in a one-room loft.
It took some time for the brothers to compose themselves sufficiently to rejoin the group, Aiden leading a shaken-looking Ethan with a hand on his shoulder.
"So is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on?" Ethan asked haltingly.
"I wish we could," Scott answered for the group, "but that's what we're trying to figure out. I take it you didn't have anything to do with it?"
Ethan shook his head. "All I know is- well, um, Aiden and I have always had this sort of connection. I used to only notice it when we felt each other's pain, but when he-" Ethan faltered. "When it was gone, I felt the absence of it. And then yesterday, out of nowhere it was suddenly there again."
"Aiden, what do you remember?" Scott probed.
"Well I remember dying, and then suddenly I was in the woods, walking. And, I don't mean that I woke up and started walking. I was already walking and it felt like I had been for a long time. I don't really know how to describe it."
"Where were you?"
"I don't know. Nowhere I've ever been before. That's why it took me so long to find my way out."
"And you feel okay? Nothing strange or different in anyway?"
"Besides coming back from the dead? No, nothing's different; I feel fine. And Deaton couldn't find anything abnormal."
"Well that tells us precisely nothing," Stiles lamented. "Derek, you got any secret werewolf knowledge that might explain how this happened."
Derek sighed resignedly. "No, but unfortunately I do know another werewolf who managed to come back from the dead. We should probably start by asking him."
"Good plan. How about you ask your creepy slimeball of an uncle about the intricacies of raising the dead on your own time when the rest of us don't have to deal with him. I'll do some research of my own and see what I can find out, and everyone else can keep an eye on Aiden to make sure he doesn't drop dead or go insane or anything else unpleasant. And watch out for any other signs of an impending supernatural disaster."
"Why do you automatically assume this was caused by something bad?" Ethan asked somewhat defensively.
Stiles gave a long-suffering sigh. "Because in this town it almost always is."
"Well as far as I can see, that's all we can do for now," Scott concluded. "Unless anyone has any other ideas?" The question was answered by a collective silence. "Alright, so we find out what we can and we wait and see what happens."
Everyone gradually began trickling out bound for their respective homes. The twins looked awkward for a moment before Derek rolled his eyes and grudgingly offered them a space on his floor for the night. Stiles noticed Aiden's eyes lingering on Lydia as she walked out the door as if he wanted to follow her, but his apparent reluctance to be more than two feet away from his brother seemed to win out.
Scott could feel the tension rolling off Isaac in waves as they made their way back to the McCall house. "If you have something to say, then say it."
The discontent that had been building up inside Isaac burst out as a torrent."So are we just welcoming them into the pack now? Like nothing ever happened? Do I need to remind you what they've done?"
"You mean like how Aiden died to defeat the last Oni?" Scott countered patiently. "Surely that has to count for something. Look, I haven't forgotten. And I can't say I'll ever entirely trust them. But I think after everything that's happened they at least deserve the benefit of the doubt."
"I appreciate that they helped us a couple times. And for that I'm willing to resist the urge to rip them limb from limb. But that doesn't mean I want them to be in any way a part of my life."
"I'm not asking you to like them, just to tolerate them. At least until we figure out-" Scott froze, an incongruous sound nearby commanding his attention. He tensed, poised to defend himself and Isaac if necessary as a figure stumbled into the beam of a nearby streetlight. It quickly became evident, however, that the man was no threat. He appeared weak and disoriented, clothed in scrubs with a Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital i.d. badge. A large gash split his shirt open over his abdomen. Dried blood caked his clothing but the skin beneath the rent in the fabric appeared unmarked.
"Can you- can you tell me where I am?" he asked. "I don't know what happened. I was in the hospital. And there were men in masks with swords. I think I was bleeding. And then I was walking in the woods. What happened? Am I dead?"
"Not anymore," Isaac breathed as the two werewolves gazed at the man in astonishment.
His name was David Brandt. He had been a nurse at the hospital killed when the Oni attacked. And he was far from the last. One by one over the next 24 hours they emerged, stumbling, from the woods. Three doctors, five nurses and two deputies. All of the victims of the Oni attacks on the day the Nogitsune had been defeated.
"What if…" Scott wondered aloud as he and Stiles watched through the observation window while the Sheriff questioned yet another person who had apparently returned from the dead. "What if everyone killed by the Oni is coming back? What if-"
"-Don't let yourself go there. Don't even think about it. We don't know what's happening yet. There's no point getting your hopes up over something that may not happen, and may not last even if it does."
Scott shook his head. "I can't help it. What if we get her back?"