Fireflies

"They're eyes were greenish-yellow. Like fireflies." The men Isaac had seen were from fireflies. Those innocent little bugs every young child chases trying to catch into jars just to watch them glow. Those bugs you always saw as peaceful and beautiful. Now, those glowing bugs are masked men with swords attacking those they cared about.

But Scott and Stiles didn't know about them yet. They were busy cleaning up the mess surrounding the incident that saved Kira. Stiles put on his sarcastic charm with the police and they all made it out fairly easy. No one noticed the extra jumpiness in Stiles or the slight burns hidden on his body. Hell, he barely noticed. Everyone had someone else to distract themselves with.

However, Scott did notice the slight change in Stiles' heartbeat. He looked at his friend as they left the station. "Hey, are you okay man?" He asked as Stiles went to get into his jeep and Scott went to start his bike. Scott was a little concerned that Stiles couldn't tell them what happened after he had entered the power substation after Scott.

Stiles shrugged his shoulders, feeling a little off but not enough to worry his friend about. "Yeah I'm fine." He had to be fine. The alpha's anchor had to be okay. Right? "I'll see you at school." Stiles left it at that, driving off without another word.

At school Stiles was commenting on coach's triple negative when he noticed his keys as if for the first time. Where would an extra key come from? But he didn't have time for that. He had to stop Scott from going after Kira. He had to keep Scott safe. That's what a good anchor does, right? He had to keep him from Kira, keep Scott and the pack safe. The strange key could wait. Stiles' problem could wait.

As much as Scott knew he should listen to Stiles, listen to his anchor, he couldn't help himself. Scott had once been told by a very smart individual that he could do things other people couldn't and that meant that he had to do something. That meant he had to help people. Didn't that mean he had to help Kira too? If he was going to help people, he had to help everyone. Kira wasn't a bad person, at least not intentionally. She was just confused and scared. Stiles would understand.

"Stiles I need to you help me get Kira into the police station." Scott said after school. "Please."

Stiles just stared at his friend. "You're kidding me, right? I just told you not to go near her. I told you to stay away until we knew more. What has happened in the past when you didn't listen to me Scott? Bad things, very, very bad things; which is why you should always listen to me. I do get tired of telling you 'I told you so.' So, why don't we just go to Danny's party and ignore Kira's problem? I like that idea. It doesn't get us into trouble."

"Stiles, remember what you told me back when this all started? You said that I could do things other people couldn't. You said that mean I had a responsibility to help people, that I had to do something. Well, this is me helping." Scott knew that using Stiles' own words against him was the perfect way to win. "You've done it plenty times before, so we won't get caught. If you're really that worried about getting caught because of everything that's going on with your dad's job then you can wait outside. Okay? I promise everything will be okay. Kira is a good person." Scott gave a crooked smile as he watched Stiles' will crumble.

"Fine I'll help. Meet me at the station tonight before the party." Stiles shook his head. "I hate you sometimes."

Scott only smiled, hearing Stiles' heartbeat perfectly. "No you don't."

"What does Kira even need in the station anyways?"

Knowing Kira didn't want this getting out and it would only worsen Stiles' suspicions of the girl Scott shrugged. "Uh, she has some pictures, you know, like naked pictures on her phone that she doesn't want anyone to see. So she needs to delete them before, you know, anyone can see them."

Stiles narrowed his eyes at his friend. He didn't need to be a werewolf to know Scott was lying. "Scott, how long have we been friends? Do you really think you can lie to me?" He didn't get a response, just another shoulder shrug. "Fine, whatever, you'll tell me eventually. I'll see you later." Stiles took off towards his jeep to head home, his mind consumed by the damn mystery key. If the key hadn't been there he might have pressed Scott a little harder.

That night at the station Scott couldn't help but feel weird sneaking around without Stiles right by his side. It made him tune into Stiles' heartbeat just a little more than usual. It made him feel as though Stiles was right there, and he needed that even if he wasn't sure why. And when he saw the picture of himself on his dad's laptop, he needed that heartbeat to keep him grounded, keep him calm. He noticed a slight tick in Stiles' heartbeat, feeling nervousness. It made him nervous. But as soon as he saw Stiles stopping Agent McCall, he calmed even though that situation should make him more nervous. He had his anchor right there, he didn't need to worry. Scott could trust Stiles to get him out of this situation.

Stiles wasn't sure what took over him. He wasn't an aggressive person. He was the fun and awkward person. The only time he'd ever been aggressive was in life-threatening situations. This definitely wasn't life threatening. Maybe it was just seeing Agent McCall, especially when he was there to try to take away the sheriff's job, that got under Stiles' skin. When he knew Scott and Kira were clear he couldn't help himself. He let that anger bubble up. It was almost like it wasn't him controlling the words. "Yeah, because he knows something that you don't want him to know." Stiles felt a confidence he has never felt before, a power he had never felt before. He stopped Agent McCall from laughing this off and walking away. "And guess what." He lowered his voice to a whisper, just in case Scott was still where he could hear. "I know it too." And with that he left, unsure where that came from.

It was at the party that everything started to go all wrong, though. The men in masks with eyes like fireflies came, attacking the werewolves. But everyone was too distracted to notice in time. Even Stiles was properly distracted. Some pretty girl had even managed to distract him from the key when he finally managed to bring it up to Scott, who seemed plenty interested and concerned (to the point that it confused Kira a little, why were they so concerned about a key?).

When Scott felt a little overwhelmed with finally feeling closure with Alison, feeling permitted to move on, and being with Kira (afraid he might turn in front of his new girl) he just had to look for Stiles to be grounded. And when he saw Stiles dancing awkwardly with some random girl, looking happy and at ease for the first time in a long time, it was easy for Scott to fall into the same light and happy mood. He didn't care about Alison or the old wound there, the mysterious key, the fox shadow surrounding Kira, or any of the other supernatural crap going on. He was so relaxed he didn't notice the masked men or his friends missing. He didn't notice the coldness or the noise. No one did.

It turned out Stiles' distraction seemed to be just what he needed to answer his question about the mysterious key. And with that little amount of information about phosphors, Stiles couldn't be distracted any longer. The kissing couldn't stop his mind from running in over drive. He had to go to the school. He had to prove his overactive brain wrong. But when he made it to the chemistry room, his worst fear was confirmed.

The party was ruined by Derek and…and the men in masks. They came from the dark, made whoever they touched cold and feel as though they were close to death, as if there was nothing. They left whoever they touched with a mark, a backwards five. And fighting them seemed impossible. They just wouldn't, couldn't die. And then they pulled out their swords and became unstoppable. As they turned to Scott and Kira, the sun began to rise and they just disappeared, leaving nothing but mirrored fives and plenty of questions.

Across town Stiles was having a mild panic attack. He needed to get to Scott. He needed to show him what he found, even if he was unsure of what he found himself. He had the key to the chemistry closet. The writing on the board was his. He left the message to Barrow. He was the bad guy.

"I told you it was all beginning Stiles." I voice laughed, causing Stiles to turn around but see no one. "When is a door not a door?" The voice mocked him as the sound of chalk on a chalkboard filled the room, it made Stiles turned back around to face the board. Right where the message had once been there was now a giant backwards five. "Do you know any riddles Stiles?"

Stiles took a few steps back. "No, this can't be happening." He put his hands on his head. "This is a dream, I'm dreaming. This has to be…" He put his hands down to count but there were ten fingers there, nothing out of the norm.

"This is real Stiles and it's only just beginning." The voice laughed.

Stiles couldn't stand it any longer. He ran to the board, erasing the giant five as if that would erase the voice and fell to the floor crying. "No, no I couldn't do this. I couldn't…" He wiped his tears and ran from the room. He needed to find Scott. Once he told Scott everything would be alright. He pulled out his phone and dialed his first speed dial but only got a voicemail. "Hey, Scott, look I need to talk to you. If you don't call me back then find me first thing at school." His voice was shaking as he ended the call.

When Scott got the message he was concerned, but he was also concerned about the sword wielding masked men that seemed impossible to kill that were coming for him. So he decided to wait until school to find Stiles, he had other important things to do like talk to Chris about what was attacking them. And when he did, he'd tell Stiles about his own night. Stiles might even have a few answers for him after all that research Stiles has been doing these last few weeks to prepare for the supernatural. He wasn't sure what he was expecting Stiles to tell him but it sure wasn't this.

Stiles was the one who sent the message to Barrow? It couldn't be. He seemed so sure though. He also looked so sick. Those dark circles were getting worse and he was shaking, the key wasn't even there and the writing on the board was gone. It was like he was on the verge of a panic attack. Scott wished Stiles could use him as an anchor for panic attacks like Scott used Stiles for his werewolf shifting. But that's not how science works. So Scott just tried to comfort Stiles in any way he could, and that meant holding back information about last night and just making sure Stiles was okay. "Dude, are you feeling okay? You're looking really tired." He prayed this was only from lack of sleep and there wasn't anything seriously wrong with Stiles. He didn't know what he would do without him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping really." And man did he look tired.

"Why don't you go home? Take a sick day or something?" Scott needed Stiles to get better. He needed Stiles in this fight but he knew Stiles would be useless like this. So he patted his shoulder, hoping to provide some kind of comfort and went on his way.

Stiles went to the hospital, knowing he had to do something. There was something wrong, something really wrong, and he had promised his dad he would go to the doctor if it got worse. But having to admit to Melissa that he wasn't alright was hard. Then when he started to list his symptoms to her, his mind went to a dark place. Blackouts, sleepwalking, anxiety, panic attacks, his lack of sleep (eight hours in the last three days), being irritable (possibly to the point of homicide although he hoped not), unable to focus (although he already had the problem long before all of this started, the Adderall not working was the real problem though), impulsive behavior (but let's be honest that's just a character flaw), and the worst, vivid dreaming during the day. Listing those out made him think of his mom, but Melissa seemed to think otherwise, which calmed him (although that could be the sedative).

"Why did you give me a sedative?" Stiles hated being poked.

Melissa took his shoulders and looked him right in the eyes. "Because you, Stiles, are one profoundly sleep-deprived young man; you need rest and you need it now. Lie down." She was firm and motherly as she lied him down.

The drugs and lack of sleep and thinking about his mom…Stiles couldn't help but call out "Thanks Mom" as a hand ran over his forehead and his started to drift off to sleep…

"Stiles. Oh Stiles." That terrible voice made its way back into Stiles' mind. "Do you want another riddle Stiles?" And so the torment began. "Your friends don't believe you. Scott can't believe his perfect, wonderful anchor is evil. He can't believe all of the things I've made you do. He won't believe all the things I'm going to make you do. That's what makes this so perfect. I'm going to make him doubt his anchor and then you will tear down the pack, one by one. You will kill everyone you love."

Stiles looked around, seeing nothing but trees in the dark woods he stood in. "Who are you? What are you doing? What do you want? What's going on?!" Stiles didn't like not having the answers. He didn't like being toyed with. He needed answers. He looked at his hands. "I'm dreaming."

There was a smile in the voice. "Just because you're dreaming doesn't mean it isn't real. Come on, hasn't your time in the supernatural world taught you anything?" There was a ghost of a breath on the back of Stiles' neck, causing him to turn around but see nothing. "You're going to let me in Stiles and then the real fun will begin. Right now you need to wake up. Those pesky fireflies are coming."

Stiles had felt odd waking up, not remembering his dream for the first time in a long time. He felt actually well rested. He didn't wake up screaming. What drew him to the basement he wasn't sure, he just felt like he needed to go there. But it had to be a bad decision. Once he was down there he was faced with two demon-looking beings with masks. He wanted to run, he tried to run. But then something stopped him, and it wasn't just another one appearing in front of him. Something inside of him seemed to take over and he was no longer afraid. They were just bugs. He could reach in and squish them so easily. His body shook, but not with anxiety like usual. No this time it was power and confidence running through his body and it felt so sweet.

After the night Scott had had, he was ready to just fall into bed. But he needed to find Stiles, too much has happened. His dad had been stabbed, they had spent the night trying to fight off the masked men only to find out they didn't need to, and he'd felt a darkness, a cold he had never felt before, not even when he'd been submerged in ice water. They finally knew what they were, Oni, some kind of demons that were unstoppable. They were only checking for something, leaving the mark meaning "self". They are looking for someone possessed by a dark Kitsune, a Nogitsune.

When he came to the room Stiles was meant to be in and found it empty he felt his stomach drop. He knew something was wrong. Scott took off, following the scent he knew very well, trying to find Stiles. Where would he have gone anyways? When Scott came to the basement he could smell Stiles strongly, but also something else. There was a hint of what he smelt on the Oni but also there was something mixed with Stiles…something he couldn't put his finger on. And Stiles stood there, unmoving as if there was something wrong or maybe he was sleepwalking.

It was all a little unnerving to Scott, but then he picked up on that familiar heartbeat. It was slightly slower than usual but it was still Stiles' heart. He approached his friend slowly. "Stiles? You okay?" He just wanted his friend to be okay.

Turning around, the sickly teen acted as if this was all normal. "Yeah, fine. What's been going on?" Stiles felt like himself again, everything else forgotten, even the firefly lying dead on the floor.

/So this was quite a bit longer than the rest of the chapters, I hope that's okay. After this there is one more chapter following season 3B then I'm going off on my own. The chapters might stay longer as well, if that's okay. I seemed to just write longer chapters with this story but if you guys want the shorter chapters I can try to cut them up, just let me know. Also, I won't be around an internet connection until Thursday and I'll be moving so the next update might be a little late, bare with me please! And thank you so much for the reviews, keep them up they make my day and encourage me to write more! So thank you for reading, please review, and have a great day!