[Authors Note]

Two updates in as many days who knew such things were possible. Hopefully we should be back on track now.

Omega

[Authors Note]

Chapter 10 – Late Fee's:

Derek's morning runs were his quiet time from the bustle in the Pack house. He had taken to running a perimeter around the joint properties, stopping half way to spend some alone time at his family's house, he had started it one morning and it became habit for him now. He would sit in the family rooms, looking at photos and mementos and think about all the good times that had happened within those walls. Now that it was no longer a burnt out shell, he found it was getting less painful to be there and to think of his Family. That was a gift Damion had given him without even realising it, he no longer was consumed by the ghost of the fire that had tainted all of his thoughts about the family he had lost.

On the run back to the Pack house he thought about actually setting a date to move back there with Damion, he was starting to want to do it soon. That made him smile as well, the thought of living there with his mate, possibly adopting children, he wanted the house to run with sounds of life like the Pack house.

He ran up to the back door and stretched out to warm down the muscles then headed into the house and grabbed a drink. He frowned at what felt like an odd thumping from under the house, but paid it no real heed as it was probably one of the experiments or demonstration's Damion, Lydia and Stiles got into. He wandered through to the hall to head up and grab a shower when he heard the Pups having a heated discussion, he frowned at that because they were meant to be doing training in the Lair.

Scott was agitated and trying to get the group into some sort of consensus. "Look we need to get Derek, this isn't right, he needs to know."

Lydia made an exasperated noise. "He'll be back soon and he can be told then. I mean it's unusual, but it's not the end of the world."

Stiles shook his head, when he spoke his tone matched Scott's. "This has been building up, I thought he was going to share some of it but this is going to extremes."

Danny nodded. "You didn't seem him this morning Lydia. There was this… Darkness about him, it felt like it was rolling off of him." He looked to Jackson who had been down stairs with him.

Jackson nodded and said "Yeah." in agreement.

Derek came into the room. "Aren't you guys meant to be training?"

Scott sighed. "There's a bit of a problem with that."

Derek frowned. "What sort of problem?"

Allison tried to downplay it somewhat. "We can't use the lair just now."

Derek's frown deepened. "Why?"

Jackson bit his lip then answered. "It's too painful to be in there for anything longer than a minute."

Derek mentally backed up at this and looked at the Pups who were nodding in agreement. "Run that through for me again and start from the beginning."

Scott frowned as he told Derek. "Jackson, Stiles and me were down starting to get the training stuff set up. Damion came down in the lift and headed straight for the war room, he looked distracted, didn't even hear us when we said morning to him."

Danny took over at this point. "He came down and looked like his mind was elsewhere, he was… I don't know brooding is the best way I can describe it, there was a dark vibe about him that set me on edge. He didn't even really notice me, just started calling up analysis and forecasting programs and running them on the main boards. He added in reporting from various sources and I asked if he needed a hand. It was like he only then realised that I was there. He said I should take a break."

Jackson added. "Danny came up the stairs looking worried, and then it started. Music blaring from the War room, and it got louder and louder until it was hurting just to stay there. We all came up here."

Scott nodded. "We were just deciding whether or not to call you."

Derek had raised an eyebrow in surprise at this; it was definitely not Damion's normal behaviour. "Ok, you guys should wait here."

Scott placed a hand on Derek's arm. "We're worried about him too."

Derek sighed "Ok, but you stay near the lift and leave if it gets painful." The other nodded.

The travelled down in the lift and the thumping Derek had felt early got stronger; when the door opened they were assaulted by the thumping beat of a music track that was almost just noise as it was so loud. He grimaced as his ears were assaulted. He looked at the Pups and saw they had fingers in their ears to try and cut out the assault on their senses.

Bracing himself Derek went across the room and down stairs wincing as he went. At the bottom of the steps he took in the scene. Damion was sitting in a chair slumped down with his fingers steepled together as he scanned the main screens that were flicking between pages and applications almost too fast for him to make out. It reminded Derek of the Maxell tape advert.

On the far left of the main screen he saw a playlist scrolling, and frowned as he read the names. 'Ash Like Snow' Brilliant Green, 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' Green Day, ''Bye Bye Babylon' Cryoshell, Creeping in my Soul' Cryoshell 'Jar of Hearts' Christina Perri , 'Dexter' Lost in Kostko, 'All along the Watch Tower' Bear McReary, 'I'm Still Here' Johnny Rzeznik, 'New Divide' Linking Park.

"Oh that isn't a happy play list." Derek said to himself.

'Tainted Love' the Marlin Manson version just finished and there was a pause in which Derek sighed in relief and rubbed his ears. The next song kicked off, but it wasn't the same as the last ones, it was almost melancholy building slowly, just instruments. He looked over at the title 'This is Galifrey: Our Childhood.' Murray Gold, the song melody changed and became one of longing and loss.

Damion still hadn't seemed to notice him, so Derek walked over and looked for the volume key. "It's on the left panel; the touch screen slide will cut the volume." Damion said without looking over.

As Derek slid his finger down the control the music dropped and the end of a news report played form another window. "... leading to record temperature and possible drought conditions throughout the Midwest." Then that too went down to a mumble. Derek went over and hunkered down. "This is extreme for you, we're all worried."

Damion looked at him and then sighed. He took his glasses off and then through them across the room smashing them and cracking one of the screens. "All this damn technology and materials collected over two millennia, and I couldn't get a handle on what's coming, I don't know what is coming, and it has been frustrating the Fuck out of me! The information we needed just isn't out there, and I couldn't do anything about it until I knew that!" He said with a frustrated exclamation.

Derek blew out slowly unsure of what to say to help him. "Damion I want to help you but I don't know how. If it's not out there then we can't just find it. We'll do what we can to prepare and just have to deal with it as best we can. You can't just find nothing."

Damion looked at him and there was a glint of something in his eye.

Derek raised an eyebrow, but carried on. "Maybe you need to take a break from this and try and relax."

"Maybe I do know how to look up nothing." Damion said quietly.

Derek frowned again and said "Maybe you need a holiday."

Damion turned. "Maybe I know of a way to look for something that doesn't exist."

Derek started to get worried. "You're not making sense here."

Damion grabbed Derek and pulled him in and kissed him, it was a wild almost manic kiss. He broke it and jumped up running for the stairs. Derek chased after him, he reached the top of the stairs and the Pups were giving him worried looks as there was a crashing sound from the library. The all ran over to it to see Damion pulling volumes from the stack and shaking them.

Derek grabbed Damion by the shoulders. "What's going on?"

Damion looked at him grinning. "Well, I love you!"

Derek opened his mouth to say something then closed it, and then tried again. "Damion this is freaking us out what are you looking for and what has it do with things that don't exist?"

Damion shrugged out of Derek's arms, he ran over to a tome in the lost civilisations, it was old and the binding's looked well worn. He upended it and shook it till a parchment page fell out. "Got it!" He cried and snatched up the parchment sheet.

Scott looked as confused as the rest asked. "Got what?"

Damion held up the blank parchment. "I needed to get my Library card!"

Stiles exchanged looks with the others. "Uhh, that's a blank sheet. If you mean the local library then it sucks on mythological stuff, I know I looked."

Damion gave him a look like Stiles was the crazy one. "No I'm not talking about the local library." He looked at the others and realised that they were a hairs breadth from carting him of the loony bin. Damion took a breath and explained. "We all know energy can't be created or destroyed it can only be changed, right?"

Lydia nodded. "Yes that's basic." The others agreed to differing degrees of certainty.

Damion nodded. "It's the same with knowledge, or information. It can be changed and shaped, but it can never be destroyed."

Jackson frowned. "That makes no sense; stuff gets forgotten or lost all the time."

Damion smiled. "That's where you half right. We may lose things, but you have to agree they go somewhere."

Derek shook his head. "That's things that are lost, not ideas or notions."

Damion laughed. "Says the Werewolf..." He held up the parchment and created a small flame with one hand and touched it to the parchment, it roared into gold flames. Damion dropped it to the floor and when the flames died away there was a white plastic card with printing on it about the size of a credit card. He picked it up and blew on it to cool it down. "The universe has places that don't exist, they act as buffers or stores or warehouses for things that can no longer exist in the universe, but can't be destroyed or lost, they have to go somewhere, kind of like holding tanks. One of these places is where ideas or knowledge goes when it passes out of the collective consciousness, the thing is the knowledge only exists there when it is no longer known, so I had to try to find it before I knew I needed to go there."

Allison asked. "But how does that work they are thoughts, maybe written down in a book, when it's gone it's gone, isn't it?"

"How does a meme travel, where does it come from, where does it go when it no longer is current?" Damion asked back. "The Universe is a stranger place than most people imagine. It's like fire, man didn't create fire, he saw fire and then worked on the knowledge that he already had to replicate it, and sparks make fire in kindling, like lightning makes fire in trees and bushes. The idea of fire was already there, man just changed the idea."

Stiles looked stunned. "Wow that is so meta Dude!"

Damion grinned. "I know. The Library of Forgotten knowledge is one of those places. It holds everything that was or will be known, but if it exists in the world it won't exist there so I couldn't do anything till I was certain that I couldn't find it. I was there three hundred years ago. I was in Saint Petersburg after a battle with Ottoman Empire, which had begun to stagnate by this point. Anyway I was looking for references to a lost mountain city that was said to be able to manipulate crystals to a point where their structure was so perfect it would fold in on itself, what would today be called a Tesseract, or a pocket dimension. The books I needed were destroyed when Alexandria's Libraries was burned, but I knew that they had existed, so I followed up a several leads over a few decades that led me to a book shop in Saint Petersburg. That was where I found the Library, I got the books I was after, but sort of ran afoul of the keeper."

Derek looked at him. "You stole the books didn't you?" He said and it wasn't a question.

Damion nodded. "I really needed to find those crystals. There was cascade occurrence that was scheduled to happen. That's like an earthquake but for dimensions, I needed to shunt the excess energy into something to prevent it from frying this plane, you may have heard of the Tunguska Event that was a small eddy that broke. It's easy to plot when it will happen, it's a bugger to do anything about."

Stiles looked at him. "Your Locus, that's a part of the crystal, its part of it isn't it!"

Damion nodded again. "It didn't make sense to dispose of it, and it sort of bonded with me."

Scott squinted at the card. "So where is it then?"

Damion flipped it over and looked at it. "Jasper, Georgia."

..oo00OO00oo..

Danny was looking out the window of the private jet, and smiled to himself. Stiles gave him a quizzical look. "What's up?" He asked Danny.

Danny snorted. "Don't you think it's the least bit strange, two hours ago we were watching Damion burn a parchment sheet into a library card, and then here we are on our way to Georgia?"

Stiles shrugged. "It's not an everyday occurrence I grant you, but it is very James Bond like. Mysterious destinations and private jets with strange missions, it's cool."

Jackson piped up from the table other side where he as sharing a table with Scott, Allison and Lydia, where they had been talking about what they were looking for. "It was cool the way he pulled out his phone and in a snap we're all off."

Scott nodded adding his consensus as he thought back to the lair where Damion had pulled out his phone, he had pushed a speed dial number and the line was answered after two rings. He then just listed a series of instructions not waiting for any questions 'Prep Cerberus for takeoff in forty five minutes. Flight plan to Jasper in Perkins County, Georgia, I'll need the Jet refuelled with possible alternative destination. I'll also need transport for eight when we get there and Cerberus will need to be ready for short notice take off.' He had then hung up and looked at the others and said 'Well get ready'. They had all gotten overnight bags with their stuff, and Stiles's Dad had said he would stay with his Mom. Damion had driven half the pack in one SUV and Derek with the rest in another SUV to a private airport not far from Beacon Hills; on the runway was a jet black private jet on the side in gold letters was 'Cerberus'. Damion had said it was 'a Cessna Citation X Ten, cruising speed of point nine five of mach one', then ushered everyone on board. Five minutes later they were airborne. "It was very cool. Plus he has his own jet, that's just sweet!" Scott said and the other males nodded in agreement.

Lydia looked at Allison said with a shake of her head. "Boys..." Allison grinned and nodded.

Stiles stuck his tongue out at Lydia, and Jackson rolled his eyes.

At the front of the passenger section of the plane Derek was looking at Damion, not quite glaring but still peeved. Damion looked up from his tablet and frowned. "What?" He asked.

Derek let out an exasperated huff. "If you knew that you could get the information here why didn't you just come here in the first place? That and you have your own Jet?"

Damion got up and went to the fridge, he took out a soda and offered Derek one and brought it over when he nodded. "The reason I didn't come here before is that I had to make sure that the information we needed wasn't somewhere else. This place isn't like Wikipedia, type in a search and it comes back with what you asked. You need to know the question that you have no answer too that will get the answer that you seek, and as I said it can't exist anywhere else in the world. When I was looking for the lost city, I knew it was shielded from the outside world and that no one knew where it was beyond that it had once existed. The location and how to access it was what I searched for." Derek frowned at that. "The whole idea of this place is to keep knowledge that is lost to the physical world. That means that it may become known again at a later point, but by seeking it in there, you are taking that knowledge back into the real world before it's time. That has consequences and repercussions."

Derek didn't look convinced. "The last time you did it to stop a disaster and that seemed to work."

Damion sighed. "But what if in stopping it I prevented mankind from banding together and establishing world peace, or perhaps a world government from the surviving countries. What if the wars and conflicts never happened? I took a hell of a selfish risk in doing what I did, I said I knew better that letting events unfold as they should have."

Derek paused at that, thinking about the possibilities that could have come from what Damion had done. "Ok, I can kind of understand that, maybe not agree entirely, but understand sort off. So the Jet?"

Damion shrugged. "I needed something that would get me places fast; flying commercial is not easy when you have some... unusual artefacts to deal with. Technically it is the Company Jet, but it's kept for my use as I am the only stock holder."

Derek shook his head and opened the soda and took a drink. Stiles shouted from the back of the plane. "Are we there yet, this thing is meant to be fast right?"

Derek rolled his eyes then glared at Styles; Damion pinched the bridge of his nose.

..oo00OO00oo..

The plane had touched down at five; local time and waiting were three black SUV's with drivers standing at them waiting to chauffer the occupants of the jet. A young woman in a business suit was waiting at the bottom of the steps when they disembarked.

"Mr Magus, I'm Lucy Appleton from the Atlanta office. We have checked the opening times and the library in question is open late this evening until nine pm. The drivers know the destination and are instructed to take you anywhere you need to go, I have reserved rooms locally if you need them as well. We have a ground crew on standby to refuel once your party has disembarked. If there is anything that you need at all, please contact me on this number and I will ensure that it's done." Lucy handed Damion a business card with here details on it.

Damion smiled at her initiative. "That you Miss Appleton, were leaving our baggage here for the moment, and don't expect to be staying, if that changes I'll keep you informed." Lucy nodded and looked happy that she had covered everything. Derek indicated the SUV's to the Pups and everyone climbed in.

The drive was relatively short, twenty minutes saw them drawing into a nineteen sixties build postmodern community plaza, it had the library and citizen's advice, as well as an adult education annex and community centre. The SUV's pulled up and the Pack got out, the drivers staying at their posts.

Allison shook her head as she looked over to Damion. "Why do I get the feeling that sort of thing is how the president travels?" She said.

Damion shrugged. "He has a bigger plane, mine's is faster."

Derek rolled his eyes at his mate this time.

Stiles looked around the plaza with a doubting look. "So the place where forgotten things goes is a sixties mass produced building that was dated when they built the thing, ok."

It was Damion's turn to roll his eyes. "Stiles, you of all people should know that things can't be judged by their cover. This is a front, the public face for the moment, if you will. Now before we go in. The guardian is well... She's a bit prickly. Don't do anything to annoy her, and if you can, please leave the talking to me. This isn't going to be pleasant as it is."

The others shot him concerned looks but Damion was already opening the door and walking in.

The place was deserted. It had the smell of old books and better times, there was a fine layer of dust on some of the surfaces. This was a library that didn't get used much. They went through the doors to the main section and Damion walked up to the desk, their appeared to be no one in the room, so he rang the bell on the counter.

"Yes?" a clipped voice came from behind the Pack and as one they all jumped and turned around. Standing there was a stout woman in her fifties; she was five and half foot tall and solidly built. She had short dark blond hair that was pulled back into a bun, and her lips were pursed as if she felt her time was being wasted. She wore sixties styles horn rim glasses that were on a chain that was around her neck, but she had a knack for looking over them at people. She was wearing a purple coloured two piece sixties wool suit with three large buttons down the front of the coat.

Damion stepped forward and if it were possible the woman pursed her lips even more. "Ms Veritas, I hope that you can possibly help me, I'm looking for something."

Ms Veritas looked Damion up and down then cast a look over the rest of the Pack; she then walked around and behind the desk. "Reference materials are over there, the children section is over there and the animal section is there." She said pointing to the sections she named. "Though I'm not entirely convinced your library card is still valid."

The others were unsure of what to make of the woman in front of them; she was either being insulting, patronising, or having a laugh at their expense. Damion walked back towards the desk. "I realise that I removed some reference materials that were not to be removed, and I can't excuse my actions. I felt I did it for the right reasons."

Ms Veritas scowled at Damion and it was a Scowl that would have made Derek's scowl apologise and go and sit quietly in a corner. "You disturb the indexing, removed materials that were not to have been re-integrated for another three centuries. You disturb the natural flow of nature and causality. You also made me fill out incident forms." She paused and her voice grew darker as she then said. "I do not like to fill out incident forms."

Damion swallowed "I can only apologise for that."

Ms Veritas looked over her glasses at him. "That is not the only thing that will be done; there are fees that must be taken for the early release of unpublished work." She picked up an overly sharp letter opener from behind the counter and twirled it in her fingers as she spoke.

Damion nodded, and making a fist he held out his hand. Derek made a move to grab his arm, but Damion held up a hand to stop him. There was a sharp intake of breath from the rest as they thought of what was about to happen.

Ms Veritas grabbed his forearm and held it in a tight grip. "This is what your actions wrought."

Damion nodded. "I understand."

Derek made another move to stop what was about to happen, and Scott and Jackson turned the girls away so they wouldn't see, and the others looked away. There was a loud crack and the others looked over, expecting to see a severed hand.

Derek had drawn up short and looked confused; the others didn't see any blood or limbs loose on the counter. Instead Ms Vertias seemed to have smacked Damion on the back of the wrist with her hand. "If you do it again, you know what I will do."

Stiles kept pointing to Damion and Ms Veritas. "Did you... Did she... Did you... Did she... What the Hell just happened!"

Damion rubbed the back of his wrist which had a red welt across the back of it, which was healing quickly. "Ms Vertitas is responsible for setting the fees that have to be paid. This was the fee for what I did."

Scott was opened mouthed and finally said. "Dude we thought you were going to lose your hand there! That was so uncool."

Derek was still gripping Damion's arm then finally let go and scowled at his mate and punched him in the shoulder. "You are so getting it later..." The others in the Pack were echoing similar sentiments.

Damion rubbed his shoulder and looked at them apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't say because I didn't know that was what the fine would be, it could have been anything."

Ms Veritas looked at them and primly said. "I considered the outcomes of the theft and decided on the appropriate recompense for the archives. Now what business brings you here this time, you know the rule, I can only guide you to one answer."

Damion paused, and Derek looked at him. "I thought you had the question worked out." Derek said with some exasperation.

Damion shot him a look. "I thought I did, but I'm not sure I do now! Okay, geez."

Ms Veritas gave him a knowing look. "Well I believe that you have some time to consider the answer you require. If you follow me, I have some business in the stacks that required attention, and it will save me having to return when you think of what you want to ask. The children can wait in the children's section, or if they come with us, they must stay with us and not touch anything."

Derek had the sudden idea that he was being included in the children remark and went to say something. Damion shot him a pleading look, and Derek scowled again but nodded. He could hear a snicker coming from Scott or Jackson, so they would need to pay for that later.

Ms Veritas turned and walked out from behind the counter, she stopped and looked back. "Sheba, Tasha!" She called and a golden lab and a mixed breed dog trotted out from under the counter where they had been sleeping on matching dog beds. Ms Veritas made a single clap with her hands and pointed and the dogs headed off before her.

They walked along the stacks of books and made several turns, already they should have come to the end of the building but the stacks seemed to continue on further and further in. As they walked they noticed that the wood the shelved were made of changed from being a particle board, to a laminated board then to ones of solid wood. The same with the flooring, they went from modern carpets to carpet tiles and finely wooden parquet. The walls soon were lost from sight as the Stacks grew taller and taller and the roof disappeared into the gloom that was now above them. The modern strip lights were replaced by brass lamps that may have been oil burning.

At one junction the two dogs took separate paths down aisles on either side of the one they were on. They carried on walking and every now and then Scott could see the Dogs as they passed a cross way. He looked at the next one but instead of seeing the golden lab, Sheba, as he had thought he would, a Sphinx was padding down the aisle it turned its head and looked back at him. He jumped backwards and there was a growl behind him. Scott spun to see what had made the sound and where he had expected the cross breed Tasha, he now saw a creature with body of a red lion, the face and ears of a blue eyed human and a tail ending in a sting like that of a scorpion. He let out a Yelp of exclamation and turned to see the others looking at him. "The Dogs aren't Dogs!" he exclaimed.

Ms Vertias gave him a withering look. "What would you expect to Guard a place of untold knowledge?" She said like it would be obvious.

Scott went to reply but he noticed that Stiles was missing. "Hey wait, where's Stiles?"

The others realised he was right and began to split up to look. Derek frowned as he scented. "I can't track him!"

There was a crack from behind them and as one they turned back to see Ms Veritas had clapped her hands again. "Mr Stilinski has his own path to take in the Library this evening. He will join you later on. For the moment he will come to no harm."

Derek growled. "He can't just vanish, where is he, and what's going on?" He exclaimed.

Ms Veritas looked at him with a trace of compassion for his loyalty. "He has his own task to accomplish tonight. One that even he doesn't know about, this is a special dispensation for someone else."

Damion looked concerned but placed a hand on Derek's shoulder before he could attack, and shook his head. Derek wasn't happy but he would go with along with them for the moment.

They regrouped and carried on into the stacks.

..oo00OO00oo..

Susan Black was getting dressed. The clothes were plain and she sighed at the lack of style. One of the men that were now hers knocked on the door and came in. "Mrs Black, we have a tally for attendance and it looks like we have a full house." Simmons told her.

Susan nodded and smiled a cold smile. "Excellent. Prepare the choir group we'll start in ten minutes. Make sure that the heat is turned up, it's easier if the crowd are already cooking."

Simmons nodded and left.

Susan picked up her phone and hit the speed dial, after a second it was answered. "Susie girl, glad to hear from you, how's it cooking out there in Kansas?" Kate asked.

Susan smiled. "Oh it's cooking fine and dandy, the heat is already cooking the meat bags brains, makes it so much easier to work my way in. As it stands I have another show in a few minutes, just thought I would check in on my big sis and see what's happening."

Kate chuckled. "Well it's going well at my end. Finally managed to get the blood stone that I needed, so we're all set from that side of things, I can't wait to get started, but you know the schedule all things have to be timed."

Susan nodded in agreement as she spoke. "Oh yes, the plan must be followed at all costs. Well the way things are going this place will be a dust bowl in a month. Then the desperation will drive the miserable mortals right to my door and into my waiting arms. Once I have enough enthralled we'll pay a visit to California, and bring some good old fashioned inquisition style action to Beacon Hills."

Kate let out a whoop. "Can't wait for that one sis. Oh did I tell you, I think we traced the line of guardians. Took a bit of work, but I think we know who we need to off."

Susan smiled. "Oh that is such good news, nice job on that. Right I better go. I have some minds to twist and see what torturous omissions of sin I can get people to confess too. I tell you it's better than day time telly."

Kate sighed. "Man you have all the fun. Tape one of these and send it to me. I could use the laugh. Catch you later sis."

Susan chuckled. "At least you don't have to smell sweaty rotting flesh. I'll get someone to stream you the videos. Later Sis."

Susan hung up and slid the phone into her pocket. She grabbed her coat and pulled it on, then picked up the worn bible she had prised from an Evangelists warm dead fingers. Simmons was waiting outside her door and she followed him to the stage, as she approached it she could hear the choir.

An announcer spoke over the music. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hand together for Preacher Black let her try to save your souls in this troubled time."

The crowd started to cheer and the music picked up its pace. Susan put on the final part of her costume, the simpering endearing smile that was foreign to her being. She strode out on to stage and called to the crowd. "Let me save your soul for our lords, while the world falls into its own hell!" the crowd went wild.

..oo00OO00oo..

Stiles had gotten lost. He had stopped to look at a book title that had caught his eye and by the time he looked up the rest of them had vanished. He had tried to trace them with their scent but that also had gone to be replaced with a dry burning oil smell and old books. He then tried to retrace his steps back to the entrance and had gotten even more turned round. So he had sat on the ground and decided to wait to be found.

"Stupid library, with its stupid never ending stacks, and its stupid lamps, and its stupid lack of sigh posts. I can't even tell if I'm in the Journals section or Science fiction or where the hell I am cause of the stupid dead languages the stupid books are in." He groused to himself.

He sat there for what seemed liked hours, though it may have been five minutes. He took in a breath to sigh again but stopped mid breath, there was something familiar there. He breathed out and then scented the air like Derek had shown him and tried to work out what he had caught. There it was again, it smelled like fresh cookies and strawberries, and so familiar but he couldn't place why. He got up and started to follow it, scenting the air as he went.

The scent grew stronger and the nagging feeling in the back of his head wouldn't go away either, in fact it was getting stronger as well. He turned a corner and he saw someone standing in the aisle, they were faced away from him and seemed to be reading a book, but there was something about them that Stiles knew. Something about the way she, and it was a woman he could tell after another look, was standing, and the way she held herself, something about the smell and the clothes.

Stiles was running before he even realised he knew who she was. He ran as fast as he could, as fast as the wolf would let him and then he was there holding her in his arms, drinking in the smell, and the feel of her, a feeling he had almost forgotten. "Mom!" He said, almost a plea.

"Woah there Chipmunk, you've gotten strong." Stella Stilinski said to her son. She felt him sob as she used her pet name for him, given after a three year old Stile had stuffed his birthday cake into his mouth and puffed his cheeks out like a Chipmunks. "Or maybe that should be Wolf Pup now, hmm." She added leadingly.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god, Mom how, why, how?" He tried to ask so much but couldn't, he just wanted to stay there forever holding his Mother.

"Oh sweetie, I am so sorry for having had to leave you so soon. I never wanted to, but I never had a choice in the matter. I am so sorry I wasn't there for you when you and your Dad needed me the most." Stella held her boy stroking his hair. "Now my brave boy, I can't be here long, and I'm breaking so many rules by doing so."

Stiles sniffed and smiled sadly. "You always said rules were more like guidelines."

"Exactly, and Ms Vertias is doing me a favour, after all this is the Library of lost things, and you happen to have found yourself in the Lost love section, but ixnay on the eetingmay, Kay." She said with a wink to Stiles who was looking at her with a grin, and tears in his eyes.

"If things had been different, then you may have still been involved with what's coming. I can't tell you want that is, but the Spell Wolf Den Mother of yours will figure it out if he listens to his mother. I'm glad others besides Dad and Melissa are looking out for you like that, even if you are sleeping with a Werewolf. Hmm. Or that you are a Werewolf yourself" The looks she gave him was that of a Mother, and Stiles blushed. She cupped his chin with her hand and said. "When the time comes Stiles, remember your bond with your pack. I know that doesn't make sense to you now, but when it looks like there is no hope, remember your bond to your Pack." She looked at him in the eyes and he nodded, not quiet understanding, but knew it would be important.

"Mom can I stay with you a while longer?" Stiles asked hoping against all hope.

Stella smiles and stroked Stiles head. "For a little while baby, for a little while, when you wake up a guide will be waiting to take you to the others. Remember what I said, no one else will be able to do it, ok." She then let Stiles out of the embrace and sat down on the floor, she pulled Stiles down and then into another cuddle.

Stiles settled in close to her and could hear her heart beating, it was soothing. He didn't want to fall asleep and miss any time with her, but she was stroking his hair, and it was so warm and peaceful.

Stella began to sing a song Stiles hadn't heard in years, a song from when he was little and couldn't sleep. His eyes got heavier and heavier and soon he was asleep, and Stella smiled down at him and kissed him on the forehead. "Oh my darling one, you are everything I could ever have wanted, and you make me proud." She said with a sad smile, and then a brief mischievous grin flicked over her. "Even if you do need flea bath's now." The sleeping form of Stiles stirred at that and she chuckled quietly.

When Stiles woke up he was curled up on the floor, alone, he almost thought it was a dream, but the smell of Cookies and Strawberries was still in the air, and in his hand was a sugar cookie that looked like a wolf. He smiled at it sadly and stretched, then ate the cookie because his mum said 'never waist a good cookie'. "Thanks Mom..." He felt a tear in his eye and he sniffed.

There was a noise behind him and he turned to see a Chimera standing looking at him.

"Are you my guide, please say your my guide and not wanting to eat me for a snack, cause honestly, I'm stringy and sort of gamey and more than likely get stuck in your teeth and that could lead to cavities?" He asked with a certain amount of trepidation. The creature snorted at him and then turned away heading down the stacks.

Stiles scrambled to his feet and ran after the creature. "Wait up snake lion dude, I'm coming, I'm coming!"

The Chimera carried on walking through the stacks and Stiles followed it.

..oo00OO00oo..

They had finally stopped walking through the stacks and Ms Veritas had stopped at a trolley and was taking scrolls from it looking at them and either filing them or putting them back on the trolley.

Derek sighed. "Have you thought of what you want to ask? I mean if we don't find something then this was a waste of time."

Damion was leaning against the shelves, his arms were crossed and he was chewing his bottom lip as he tried to think of what to ask. "I think I do, but if I ask wrongly then I won't get the right answer and then it will have been all for nothing."

Scott came over to them. "Look I know this is important but Stiles is missing and there are creatures walking around in here that look like they could eat Derek's face off with no issues!"

Derek growled at the implication but the point was well taken. "Maybe we can go look for Stiles while you work out what to ask?" He said to Damion.

Ms Veritas cleared her throat. "No one else should leave the group. You associate is on his way back as we speak. I would advise you to concentrate on the task at hand, especially if you are to avoid disappointment. The question you're considering may be most unadvised."

The others looked at her with a certain amount of distrust and concern. Damion pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Lydia came over. "Is she suggesting that asking about the horsemen is the wrong way to go?"

Damion nodded. "Sounds like that doesn't it..."

"So this is where you all got to. I turned around and you were all gone! So what have you been doing for hours?" Stiles asked as he came round the corner and saw the rest of them. The Chimera had vanished. Scott and Danny took one look and him and ran over and pulled him into an embrace.

Danny smacked the back of his head. "From now on, any weird mysterious non-places you hold my hand and never let go, got it! Besides it's only been half an hour." The worry heavy in his voice, Scott nodded at that as well.

"Yeah Stiles, No more wandering off or I'll get you a lead!" Scott added.

Stiles smiled at Danny and Scott. "I think I can do that. So have we asked already? Cause I ran into my Mom..."

Scott pulled back and looked at him. "Dude, your Mom's been gone for years!"

Stiles nodded, looking serious. "She was and still is. She bent the rules to tell me something."

Allison and Lydia exchanged concerned looks, and Jackson started to sing the theme to the Twilight Zone.

Damion and Derek went over to Stiles and looked at him with some concern. Damion asked. "Are you sure you're ok?"

Stiles nodded again. "Yeah it was cool, honestly, just a lot shorter than I would have liked. Oh my mom says you should listen to your mother. I think that's what she said. Yeah listen to your mother."

Damion frowned. "I'm not even sure if my mother is still alive. How would I listen... Oh." He suddenly stopped and realised what the implication were, if his train of thought was right.

Derek gripped his arm. "Damion are you all right, you've gone white as a sheet!"

Damion nodded, not quite with it. He gripped Derek's hand for support, looking to Ms Veritas, who had stopped stacking the scrolls and was looking at them. Then Pups stopped talking to Stiles and looked at the Alpha's they could feel that something was happening here.

Damion tried to speak, but his voice cracked. He tried again and when he spoke it was his voice was dry and hollow sounding. "I'm looking for my Mother Ashkhasha's last will and testament."

Ms Veritas nodded and turned to the scroll rack behind her and pulled out a metal rod that seemed to be solid. She handed it to Damion and indicated that they should follow her out of the Stacks.

The trip back seemed oddly quicker than the journey into the library. As they reached the more modern visage, the two dogs appeared and Tasha gave Stiles an appraising look, similar to one given to a chew toy that made him blanch slightly. They turned the last corner and were soon at the counter. All through the trip back the Pack had been oddly quiet.

Ms Veritas picked up an envelope from behind the counter and gave it to Derek. "For him when he needs this place again. We won't need that back; it appears to have gone from our records." She added nodding to the metal cylinder still in Damion's hands.

Damion looked at Ms Vertias and nodded his thanks. He was still in a state of shock that his mother was no longer alive. He had logically know this for a while, it being over five hundred years since their last contact, but without knowing for certain there had always been hope of seeing her one last time. Two and half millennia were still not long enough to prepare for a day like this.

The Pack left the building, but rather than go straight to the cars they sat down at a set of concrete benched next to a raised flower bed.

"I knew she was most likely gone, but holding this... It makes it so real." Damion finally said.

Derek nodded and pulled him into an embrace. The others could hear Damion struggling to hold it together and it made them embarrassed to be at such a vulnerable moment for him and unsure how to help.

After a minute Damion pulled away and sniffed then rubbed his eyes with his hand. "Ok this isn't getting us any answered."

Derek shook his head. "No, you but don't push yourself."

Damion frowned. "No, mopping won't help and she would have kicked my arse for it." He held up the tube and gripped it on the shaft. He concentrated and red energy played up and down its length for a second. He then pulled both half's and it split into two section with rolled up vellum inside of the tube. Rolling it out the others could see that it was covered in hieroglyphics like an Egyptian freeze. "Ok give me a sec; it's been a while since I've had to translate her penmanship."

Stiles snorted. "It's hieroglyphics and he has issues with the penmanship." He said to Danny.

Danny Shrugged. "He probably knows how to speak it as well." Stiles nodded conceding that point.

Damion cleared his throat and read the letter. "My darling cub, I hope that this finds you in good health, and I hope by some fluke that I am sitting there with you and we are both having a good laugh at it. It has been a hundred years since I last saw you, and I miss you like I always do. A seer approached me and told me that she had a vision of our future and that you would need my help when I was no longer here. The woman, Lyander Mar'tain, is known to me and to have the gift so her warning is not one I take lightly." The others all looked at Lydia and wondered the same thing, was she a possible descendant?

Damion frowned and carried on. "She tells me of a time when you need to know of what has come before to save what has yet to be. To that end she entreated me to take my research of lost cultures and to hide them away for you. I have buried it where out heart lies. Once I have done that I am to write my final words to you and to lose them. If all goes well, you will get these words when you most need them, as once I finish I plan to throw them to the waves once I have sealed it against the elements."

"If I am truly gone from this world, then know I and your father loved you always. You are our light and our hope and neither of us would have changed our lives in any way. We will be with you my son in all ways and you will always be in our heart. Till we run together again, Ashkhasha." Damion rolled the vellum up and he could feel the tears dropping into his hands.

Everyone was quiet for a minute, and finally Scott had to ask. "So where are we headed?"

Damion sighed and said softly "Home."

Jackson looked a little confused. "Beacon Hills?" He asked, only for Lydia to punch his shoulder and give him an exasperated looked, Derek rolled his eyes and sighed.

Damion shook his head, the tears starting to fall again. "No home to Scotland, where my Father is buried."

Derek pulled him back into a tight hold and Damion leant into him.