What's up, lovely reviewers. I notice a few of you have stopped reviewing, and yet I have some more lurkers - so as always, just a reminder that reviews make me really happy and less likely to kill everyone off in the end, so if you have a spare minute, any review is welcome. Thank you to my regulars - you know who you are - because you're all wonderful and you make me wish I could update every day. And as usual, I can't help myself so I've been writing lots of other things, so if you like my work feel free to take a stroll through my other stories. For now, here is the next chapter. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!

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Now.

It starts to rain as Lydia pulls out of the McCall's street. Isaac's already gone, taking a cross-country route that will get him to Allison's more quickly than the drive will. They'll meet him there in a couple minutes, but in the meantime they have this moment to themselves. So far everything's going to plan, and as long as Isaac follows the script they should be able to get Allison over to their side. Scott's already out of the picture, and this will probably incapacitate Isaac for at least a day afterwards, so the pack will be without a leader. Without protection. Without a chance.

Stiles glances over at Lydia, whose face is serene as she navigates through the dark streets. Every now and then they pass under a streetlamp and the light washes over her, bathing her in a dim glow. He has to admit, he can see what the real Stiles sees in her. She'd seemed a little jittery at first, but now the plan is underway she hasn't hesitated. She'll do whatever it takes to see it through.

They only have a few minutes, but it's long enough. Stiles leans the chair back and closes his eyes, immersing himself in darkness. When he opens his eyes, he's back in the room with concrete walls and a metal floor. The fluorescent lights flicker against his skin, making him feel alive. Then he catches sight of the real Stiles, who looks very much dead. He's cowered in the corner, his hands over his face and a low moan slipping through his lips.

"Hey," says the Stiles who isn't really Stiles, the nogitsune-Stiles.

The real Stiles looks up and then away again quickly, as if he thinks that will change the facts. He doesn't say anything, and he clamps his mouth shout, cutting off the moan.

"You know what's going on, don't you?" n-Stiles asks, sauntering over to him. He hasn't been to visit as often as he should have, but he's always aware of Stiles in the back of his mind – literally. He's trapped here, able to see what n-Stiles is doing but unable to do a blessed thing about it. "You can see it. We've already got Lydia, and we're going after Allison now. And Scott, well, he's not looking so good."

Stiles says something so low that n-Stiles can't hear him.

"Hm?" says n-Stiles, crouching down in front of him. The boy doesn't look at him, but that's okay. "What was that?"

Now Stiles does look at him, pain making his eyes dark and twisting his face into an expression that makes it look like someone is actually torturing him. That's the beauty of it, n-Stiles thinks. He doesn't even have to touch him to hurt him; emotional pain works just as well. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because," n-Stiles replies smoothly, "it's what I do. It's what I live for, what I breathe for – and what you'll die for."

Stiles swallows, making no move to stop the tears that are rolling down his cheeks. "Are you going to kill me?"

The lights buzz overhead, and behind that is the faint sound of rain. "Not just you, Stiles. All of them. Maybe I'll start with Scott."

All the color drains from Stiles' face at the mention of his best friend. n-Stiles had felt the real Stiles' reaction to Scott's kidnap, and that had only added to the excitement. "Please stop," Stiles begs.

The sound of rain gets louder, and n-Stiles knows it's time to leave. With a last crooked smile at the real Stiles, he opens his eyes. Lydia is tapping impatiently on the window of the car, gesturing for him to get out. He looks past her, at the Argents' building, but he can barely see it through the driving rain. When he gets out of the car Lydia grabs his hand and almost drags him to the door. It's easy enough getting in, and they know that Mr Argent is out tonight. Stiles reflects on how convenient it is that the parents are always away when they need them to be – it saves killing them, for now at least. Allison's front door is ajar, as instructed, and they slip inside and make their way to her room.

That door is wide open, and they can see both Allison and Isaac inside. Stiles hands Lydia a small red sachet that smells vaguely like rosemary. She sniffs it, her brow furrowing in confusion. "What is this?" she asks.

"It's imbued with a kind of invisibility spell," he explains, and she shrugs and tucks it into her bra. Stiles has one too, and although it's not for invisibility in the traditional sense, it will still get the job done. Allison and Isaac will be able to see them, but will forget as soon as they have. They can watch without fear of interrupting or being attacked.

He feels a slight shiver as the spell kicks in, and he and Lydia walk into the room. Allison glances at them, but then her eyes glaze over and she looks away again; Isaac's gaze doesn't shift from Allison's face.

"What is this?" Allison asks.

Stiles guides Lydia over to the bed and they sit down side by side, their knees brushing and their fingers intertwined. Isaac and Allison are standing two feet apart, he with his hands in his pocket and she with her arms wrapped around herself. They've already missed the start, but they haven't missed the best part.

"I have something to tell you," Isaac says, his voice lower than usual. He sounds sure of himself, like he had – Stiles notes with some amusement – when he was still running around with Derek and his pack. He's gone soft since he joined Scott's pack, but here's a glimpse of Isaac the way he used to be.

"Wh-what is it?" Allison clears her throat to try to cover up the shake in her voice, and to her credit she resists the urge to take a step back. Stiles shares a look with Lydia, silently conveying his excitement – Allison was definitely a good choice. She's weak enough to be manipulated, but strong enough to be an asset.

Isaac lowers his head, looking at his army boots caked with mud and leaves, and then he looks back up at her. His eyes are glowing red. Allison takes that step back now, her hand flying to her mouth. Beside Stiles, Lydia gasps.

"Is he really an alpha?" Lydia asks, sounding more amazed than confused. "I mean, did you… Can you…?"

"No," Stiles says with only a hint of bitterness. "I don't have that kind of power. But a glamor's easy enough to produce."

Allison steps forward now, her hand still covering her mouth. She slowly lowers it, staring at Isaac in amazement. "You… you're an alpha. How did this… What did you do?"

The pieces seem to fall into place in her mind – the only way to become an alpha is to kill theirs. Unless you happen to be a true alpha, but Scott is the first one of those that Beacon Hills has seen.

Isaac shakes his head and the red glow fades from his eyes. "I did what I had to do," he says, his voice expressionless and his eyes blank.

"Did you…" Allison starts, then cuts herself off and tries again. "Does Scott know about this?"

A smile spreads across Isaac's face, but it quickly slips into a smirk. Stiles looks at Lydia again, seeing the eagerness in her eyes; this is where things really start happening. "It would be kind of strange if he didn't," Isaac says, "since he was there."

This seems to trip up Allison's thoughts. She puzzles it through, evidently trying to imagine a scenario in which Scott would stand by and let Isaac become an alpha. Then one thought in particular catches her, and Stiles can see in her eyes that she's doing everything she can not to acknowledge it.

"Isaac," Allison says, her voice shifting from scared to suspicious, "you didn't… I mean, Scott's okay, right? He didn't get hurt?"

"No," Isaac assures her, "he didn't get hurt." He pauses just long enough for relief to wash over Allison's face, and then he deadpans, "He died."

Allison's eyes widen as she searches his face for some hint of a lie or uncertainty, anything that will tell her that this isn't true. Finding none, she says quietly, "Scott's dead?" Then she bites her lip and changes her tune. "No. No. It's not possible."

She shakes her head to emphasize her point, but Stiles can see the news sinking into her mind, seeping into her heart. That was the key to this whole plan – not her feelings for Isaac, but her feelings for Scott. Which is why Stiles had engineered it so that Allison will believe Isaac did something unforgiveable. Allison's gone off the deep end before, remorselessly hunting down the people she believed responsible for her mother's death, and making her believe Scott is dead is a sure way to push her down that path again.

"It's not just possible," Isaac says. "It's true."

"It can't be," she says, but tears are already welling in her eyes. "Scott can't be dead. He just can't. What makes you so sure he is?"

With perfect timing, Isaac cracks a smile and says, "Because I killed him."

Stiles grips Lydia's hand more tightly, knowing they're headed into the final confrontation. She squeezes his hand, and he can feel her blood pumping, her heart racing. She's as excited as he is.

"You killed Scott?" Allison says, a tear already sliding down her cheek even though she tries to sound dismissively sceptical. "Isaac, you would never do that. You would never hurt Scott. He's your friend -"

"And he's also an alpha." Isaac feigns embarrassment. "I'm sorry. He was an alpha. How else was I going to become one?"

"You killed Scott so you could take his place in the pack?" Allison says, and it looks like she might actually be taking him seriously now. The magic-induced darkness in Isaac's eyes is incredibly convincing.

"You really think I wanted to stay a beta forever?" Isaac asks derisively. "This has been my plan all along, Allison. And now that's Scott's out of the way, we can start our own pack."

"I'm not a werewolf," Allison points out, her eyes roaming the room in search of a weapon.

Isaac cocks an eyebrow. "Not yet."

Allison's eyes snap back up to him. "No," she says, seeing his alpha-red eyes and knowing what it means. "Isaac, no."

Ignoring her, he crosses the space between them, fangs bared and a hungry look in his eyes. He grabs her before she can get away, and he lowers his mouth to her arm –

- only for her to shove him away as hard as she can. Stiles almost cheers – she's come a long way as a hunter. Isaac straightens and comes at her again, but she keeps fending him off, and with each push Stiles can see her come to terms with the truth – or at least the truth that Isaac had presented her. She believes he killed Scott, and as soon as the anger kicks in, they'll be able to finish their plan.

"Stop!" she shouts, reaching for her ring daggers – the same ones she'd cut him with last time she'd gone on a quest for revenge. He doesn't stop, and she doesn't hesitate. She charges at him, and in that moment Stiles knows they've won.

Stiles unfurls his fist, revealing a small black fly on his palm. It flutters its wings and then shoots forward, straight to Allison. She swallows it without realizing, but a second later she pulls up short, coughing. Isaac freezes, hands in front of him in a defensive posture. Stiles and Lydia hold their breath. Allison wheezes, coughs again, and then stands up straight.

A long moment passes. Stiles whispers a string of words to break the invisibility spell, and as one the other two turn to them. Allison blinks a couple of times, and then she smiles. She turns to Isaac, very deliberately, and punches him in the face. He drops to the floor without a sound. Then Allison turns back to Stiles and Lydia.

"So," she says, swinging the ring daggers absently on her fingers, "you guys got any plans for tonight?"

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Okay, so, I've always kind of been Team Human (y'know, back when there was one) and I love the idea of Stiles, Lydia, and Allison - as the non-wolfy members of the pack - being underestimated only to reveal that they're totally badass. So here you go. What do you think they're going to get up to? Now, next chapter something really, really big happens, so review away and I'll have it up soon. Trust me, it's big.