„Is he all right?"

Mrs McCall nods, even if her expression says the opposite. She seems worried, afraid, but I don't care. I need to see him. I need to talk to him. And I know he would never hurt me.

"I'll go and take a look", I announce. My voice is quiet and shaky, although I'm not afraid or anything. I'm just about to freak out because of this thing and what it has done to Stiles; to the real Stiles, our Stiles.

"Lydia, don't." Scott grabs my arm and looks at me with that serious, insistent look of his. Still, I don't care.

"Come on, let me go", I tell him, but he doesn't.

I look at the others for help. Mrs McCall seems pretty absent; she's hugging herself tightly as if she was freezing just by spending a few minutes in Stiles' presence to fix his wound. Then there's Aidan. Lovely, kind Aidan. And of course, he's grabbing my other arm to keep me from going.

I try to shake both him and Scott off, but they're too strong. Much to my surprise, Dr Deaton is suddenly coming to my aid.

"Let her talk to him, boys", he orders. "We're running out of time, so we should try everything that comes to our mind to get to Stiles. Lydia seems to have the right instinct in this sort of thing, and if she wants to do this, I say she will. Okay?"

I feel Scott's grip loosening, but Aidan still has a tight hand around my wrist.

"We don't know what will happen to her", he protests.

I don't know where this is coming from, but I'm suddenly angry at him. I hate it how he wants to protect me, how he thinks he's stronger and smarter and he always knows what's best. I hate how he keeps holding me back because he doesn't understand what I really want. He's the only thing that stands in my way. Doesn't he see that this is about Stiles? That it's important for me to see him, to get to him, to find the real Stiles inside that monster?

If Aidan cared about me, he would let me go. As kind as he is, I'm probably the same thing to him that he's to me: an adventure. A distraction from what really matters. And right now, that's Stiles.

Before I can even think about it, I am kicking at Aidan and shoving him backward as hard as I can, so he momentarily pulls back his hand. The second I'm free, I set off for the living room.

I hear Aidan curse behind me and Scott's calm voice trying to reassure him. Then the door swings shut.

"Stiles."

There he is, just a few steps away, slumped down on the couch with his head settled back. His body may be paralyzed, but his eyes are wide open and alert, his gaze is as dark as ever.

I approach him in quick steps.

"See, I don't care how you look at me", I say. "I don't care if you're trying to scare me or anything, because that won't work with me. I've seen enough death to handle you."

When his expression doesn't change, I just go on talking. "I'm here for Stiles. And whatever you're going to say when I put that tape off your mouth, it doesn't matter. Because I know it's not him who's saying those things, and it's not him who's looking at me that way. The Stiles I'm here for is somewhere deep inside of you, and I'm gonna find him and dig him up. So you can as well shorten this whole procedure and unhand him voluntarily."

Still no change in his expression. My fingers are shaking as I reach for the tape and pull it off in one quick movement. The nogitsune grins at me.

"Thanks, Lydia. I kinda hate being gagged."

I cross my arms above my chest. "Well, I kinda think you deserve it."

"What are you gonna do, anyway?"

"I'm gonna talk to Stiles", I say as convincingly as possible.

"I am Stiles", the monster counters, fixing its creepy bloodshot eyes on me. Stiles' eyes, I think sadly.

"But I'm here for the real Stiles", I point out.

The monster laughs again. "Well, he's not here anymore."

The words sound so matter-of-factly that they make me shudder; as if they were actually true. But they aren't. They can't be. If Stiles wasn't there anymore, I'm sure I would feel it.

And why should this thing bother telling the truth? It's lying to freak me out, but I won't buy it. I'm here to find Stiles, and I'm not leaving without him. So I decide to try another strategy.

"Stiles, this is Lydia", I say softly. "It's me, okay? And I know that part of you can hear me."

"How pathetic." Stiles' mouth is still distorted to a grin. "You really think he cares about you, don't you?"

I swallow hard. "I know he cares about me. He does."

"And why should he? You've never cared about him, have you?"

It hurts hearing those words from Stiles, although I know it's not him. But the body is still his; it's his mouth that is talking to me and his eyes that are looking at me like that. They make me feel like I'm some kind of… waste. A nobody, actually.

"Don't listen to it, Stiles", I whisper. "It's lying. You know that. I'm here because I care about you."

"Aren't you here to salve your conscience?" the nogitsune interjects. "You can admit it, Lydia! You feel guilty for rolling around the sheets with Aidan while poor little Stiles was having trouble sleeping… because he was yearning for you! You are the reason he was vulnerable enough to be afflicted by me!"

"I'm not!" I yell back, but there are doubts rising inside of me.

What this thing said sounds logic, doesn't it? I knew Stiles liked me; he always did. And then we kissed and he probably thought I liked him back… I'm not even sure how I felt about that kiss. Maybe I was afraid. I like Stiles a lot, but he's still himself, and I'm still Lydia Martin –

I must've behaved like a real bitch. Aidan is a good person, but I don't care about him the way I care about Stiles. Aidan is honest and kind and protective. He deserves someone better than me.

"It's all because of you", the monster in front of me repeats. "You see it, right? You see what you've done, Lydia. This is your fault."

And I do see it.

I'm a bad person. Not only have I abused Aidan, but I've also hurt Stiles. I've never thought about his feelings until it was too late. And now I'm here trying to save him, because I know this is my fault.

I drop my gaze, but I feel the monster staring at me in satisfaction.

"You don't deserve him", it says. "You're not good enough for anyone in this town, Lydia Martin; especially not for him! You're a whore."

Tears are stinging in my eyes, and I don't even try to hold them back. I feel like I'm about to collapse.

Then I catch a movement from the corner of my eye and I raise my head, just to find the monster reaching out his hand toward me.

Panicked, I jump to my feet. The paralysis must be fading. I have to tell the others, but at the same time, I promised myself not to go without Stiles.

I stare down at the beast, and what I see is freaking me out: These eyes belong to Stiles, to the real Stiles. He's here. It was his hand that reached out for me, not the nogitsune's. He fought his way to the surface, through the paralysis, to touch me and tell me he's still alive, somewhere in there.

"Stiles", I say, grabbing his hand. "Stay here, okay? Stay with me. It'll be all right."

Suddenly, his fingers close tightly around my wrist and he starts pressing as if he wanted to squash me. I try to struggle free, but he's keeping at it until I give up the fight and sink down to my knees again.

"You know, I could just strangle you, Lydia", the nogitsune hisses. "Right here."

When I look up, every trace of Stiles is gone. His eyes are bloodshot again; his smile as creepy as before.

"Why don't you do it, then?" I ask hoarsely. Tears are running down my cheeks and I know I won't be able to stand this much longer.

This thing is evil to the core. Every second you spend in its presence is a torture.

"You're amusing", the beast explains. "Besides, it seems to bother him what I do to you. It's fun watching his weak attempts to save you."

"He's not weak", I protest. "He just overwhelmed you! He's strong; I know he is!"

"Come on, you know he's under my control. It is so pathetic watching the two of you struggle to come together. But you know what, Lydia? I'll let you live if you stop struggling. Just leave Stiles to me and go back to your friends. Tell them that the paralysis is fading."

"And let you escape?" I swallow down my tears. "No way."

The beast shrugs. "If you choose death, that's fine with me."

"Stiles is not going to let this happen", I say, and I'm actually a hundred per cent sure of it.

I've seen Stiles looking at me just a minute ago. He's strong enough to fight the dark spirit that took possession of him. He would never let me die.

That's when I know it. I suddenly know what to do; I know exactly how I can find Stiles and pull him back from the depth of his own mind. I've saved him once that way, and I'm sure it'll work out a second time. I can do it, I can have him back. I just have to fight my fear.

When I straighten up, the monster seems amused. "You're making the right decision, Lydia. Go save your own life."

"I'm not going anywhere", I announce in the most confident voice I can bring up.

Then I sit down on the couch right next to Stiles' body. "I know you can hear me", I say. "Listen, Stiles; all you have to do is fight back. Don't let this thing kill me."

"You're trying in vain", the monster says. "He cannot hear a word."

"Shut up", I whisper while I come closer, my heart thumping heavily in my chest.

Slowly, I reach out my hand until I'm almost touching Stiles' face. The nogitsune is looking at me as if I had lost my mind, but I don't care. My fingertips trace across Stiles' cheek.

At first, the beast seems too perplexed to do anything at all. Then it places its hands around my neck, and I take one last breath before it starts strangling me.

At the same time, I rush forward and press my lips onto Stiles' mouth. I am kissing him with all the power I have left, with all my hope to find him and all my desperation to breathe again, and I almost think I'm failing. After a few seconds, my vision is darkening and I'm about to pass out. I know that I'm suffocating, but that's not even what I fear the most. I'm just disappointed that I didn't bring him back. In my mind, I keep calling out for him, keep thinking about the first time we kissed and wishing it could be the same right now…

And suddenly, the hands around my throat pull away. I open my eyes and break free from our kiss and gasp for air. I feel like I have to throw up. There's something that blocks my throat, something that needs to get out – I start coughing and through my half open eyelids, I see flies, thousands of flies, all of them coming out of my mouth and disappearing through the window. Their buzzing is filling my ears and just as I think I might go crazy, the sound stops.

There's nothing but silence. I blink a few times, still breathing heavily. Someone is touching my shoulder. "Lydia", a worried voice calls out right in front of me. "Do you hear me? Are you all right?"

The realization that it's him strikes me as hard as lightning.

"Stiles." It takes me quite an effort to speak out his name. Blindly, I reach for his face, and when I find it, I lean forward. I literally fall against him; my hand is stroking his hair, his skin, every bit of him.

"It's okay", he says, "it's me." Then he pulls me close and I bury my face in his chest.

For a long time, we're both too weary to talk. We just sit there, holding each other tight, until Stiles kisses the top of my head and whispers into my ear: "What you did there; it was amazing."

I open my eyes and look up at him, and I'm overwhelmed by joy when I see his face as perfect as it has ever been. I want to tell him how glad I am to have him back alive and how unbelievably sorry I am for what I did to him. But when I open my mouth, there's only that one sentence on the tip of my tongue, the one sentence that says it all.

"Stiles, I – I love you."

He smiles at me, his hand playing gently with my hair. "And I love you, Lydia. But I guess you already know that."

And before I can even think of an answer, he frames my face with his hands and kisses me right on the mouth.