If You're Going Through Hell

A/N: Soo, I apologize for going so long without writing. I moved, so everything was packed up for awhile, and things have just been chaotic in general. I hope this will make it up to you! As always, reviews/thoughts/etc. are greatly appreciated.

Chapter 10: Family Reunion

"Melissa?" Lydia asked, letting go of Derek and Corey and phasing back into visibility.

"Whoa," Melissa replied, "where'd you come from?"

"It is you," Mason said happily as he and Corey also became visible.

"Corey!" Melissa yelled, wiping the smile off his face in an instant, "what have I told you about being invisible and scaring me?"

"Sorry, Mrs. McCall," he said, guiltily looking at the ground in front of him, "we didn't know it was you."

"Well…ok then," she said, walking towards them before stopping in her tracks. She looked back and forth between Mason and Corey, all the color draining from her face. She gasped, her hand going to her mouth, "How…you both…you're dead!" The boys stared at one another, unsure of what to say as Lydia ran to Melissa, who looked like she was about to faint.

"Melissa, why don't you come sit by the fire with us and we'll explain everything, ok?" she said gently, taking ahold of her arm and dragging her over without waiting for a reply.

"Yeah…that sounds…gooooo" Melissa McCall wavered, taking in the rest of her surroundings. Her eyes stopped on Derek's unconscious body, splayed out atop the Nemeton with runes all around it. She took one more step and promptly passed out, Corey and Lydia only just managing to keep her from falling to the ground.

"Now what do we do?" Corey asked, awkwardly trying to keep Scott's mom upright.

"There's not much we can do," Mason replied, hurrying to take over for Lydia, "we just have to wait for her to wake back up."

"Bring her over here by the fire," Lydia said, leading the way, "it'll be dark soon and the nights can get cold around here. In the meantime, we'll go back to our original plan of you telling me all about the Underworld while I cook us some dinner."

"Sounds good," Mason answered, Corey giving an affirmative sort of grunt beside him. They laid Melissa down near the fire as gently as they could before plopping down themselves on the other side and launching into their story.

-o-

Scott, Derek, and Stiles each turned slowly to look at whoever had spoken, afraid of what they might see. They needn't have worried though.

"Nolan?" Scott asked, trying to make out the figure in the dark, who was clinging to the ledge of the cave.

"Yeah, it's me," Nolan replied, scrambling the rest of the way up into the cave so he could talk properly, brushing dust off his clothes as he did so.

"How did you know we were here?" Derek asked, accusation edging his voice slightly.

Nolan shrugged, keeping his distance slightly as he replied. "I was at the circus, and saw that demon carry you and Scott and Corey and Mason away. I also saw when you guys went invisible and figured this was the only logical place you could go. Where are they at anyway? And what happened to the demon? Is it on your side?"

"I don't know guys, do you think we can trust him?" Stiles asked, stepping forward from the shadows that had kept him hidden.

Nolan, surprised to see him, took a step back but remained relatively composed. "What's that supposed to mean? You know I'm on your side. Monroe killed me for helping you guys."

The other three looked back and forth between one another for a moment, having a conversation with their facial expressions. Finally, Derek smirked. "I think he can at least know about the demon."

Nolan looked intrigued, coming forward once again. Stiles, cackling slightly, said, "I agree!" Without waiting for Scott to answer, he shifted into demon form rapidly, pouncing on the young man now in front of him. "Got you, Nolan!" he said, his deep-voice reverberating off the walls. Nolan screamed, struggling to get free from the demon's powerful grasp.

"Scott! Derek! Help!" he cried, but they both simply looked on, Derek laughing slightly while Scott maintained a more concerned expression. Finally, it dawned on Nolan that they weren't doing anything, and the demon wasn't actually hurting him. He went still, looking up at the creature pinning him to the ground. "What's going on?" he asked, voice quivering sharply as he spoke.

"Stiles can shapeshift into a demon," Scott answered, taking pity on him and moving to pull demon-Stiles off the young man. Stiles stood up, shifting back to his usual self as he did so before falling back to the ground in a fit of laughter.

"How is that possible?" Nolan asked, moving to a sitting position and staring at Stiles, who was now struggling to breathe as he said something about "seeing the look on your face." Nolan ignored him, giving a slightly wounded look at Scott instead.

Scott sighed, sitting down on the ground as well, and launched into an explanation of what was going on while Derek leaned against the wall, interjecting from time to time, and Stiles remained sprawled out and dissolving into fits of laughter every minute or two.

"That…is crazy," Nolan replied, once Scott was finished. "How do you know if you were successful or not? Do you really think Corey and Mason are now alive and in the real world?"

"We need to contact Lydia and find out," Stiles replied. "Actually, we should do that now. If it didn't work, we need to figure out what happened before we go any further on our quest." Without waiting for anyone to reply, Stiles dumped a small amount of the dust from the bag in his pocket on the ground and once again began drawing runes and circles in the ground. As he began to chant, the world around them dissolved into darkness, revealing the Nemeton clearing to all four of them.

-o-

Melissa woke up after being unconscious for only a minute or two. After a couple of quick reassurances, she settled down enough to listen. As she and Lydia cooked, Mason and Corey took turns telling them about their experiences in the world beyond. For the most part, it had actually been rather uneventful. Corey, who had already died once before, knew about the Great Gates to the Underworld, and had chosen to wait there until Mason showed up. When the two were reunited, they took off together, wandering aimlessly and not really encountering anyone they knew or anything noteworthy, until about two weeks before the Pack found them. They had snuck into a small cave, away from the main crowd, to kiss one another. As they did, Corey accidentally kept making them visible and invisible, which sometimes happened when he got too excited. This drew the attention of a group of mercenaries who worked for the circus. They were quickly captured and subdued, then sold to the circus to be put on display. Melissa was in tears as they talked about the abuse they suffered, leading up to the way Scott, Stiles, and Derek had found them and the conversation that led to them being brought back to life.

"You poor boys," Melissa said, drawing them in for a tight hug as they finished their story. "I'm so sorry that all this happened to you. You don't deserve to be treated the way you have."

"It's ok, Mrs. McCall," Corey stumbled, unsure how to react to her compassion, "we're used to it."

"That doesn't make it ok," she said sternly, letting go enough so she could make eye contact with him. "If anything, that makes it worse. You shouldn't be used to people being cruel to you."

Corey looked a little lost at that. He turned to Mason, who wrapped him in his arms. "That's what I've been trying to say," he whispered, thanking Melissa with his facial expression as his boyfriend clung to him once more.

Melissa smiled, wiping a tear from her eye, before turning serious. "Now, what about Scott? Is he ok? And Stiles? How are they handling the…Underworld?"

"Oh, we're doing just fine!" Stiles said cheekily. The black mist had reappeared on the Nemeton without any of them noticing.

"Stiles!" Lydia screeched as the other three turned to stare at the mist, "what did I tell you about sneaking up like that?"

"Ow, Lydia not so loud," Scott said in response as Stiles mumbled an apology.

"Scott? Stiles? Is that you?" Melissa called out, stumbling over to the mist to get a better look.

"Yeah, we're here mom," Scott answered, "along with Derek and Nolan."

"Nolan?" the four living people all said in unison.

"Yeah, um, hi everyone," Nolan replied, a nervous tick in his voice.

"I'm sorry Melissa, we can't stay very long," Stiles interjected before anyone else could say anything, "we wanted to check and make sure Mason and Corey got back alright."

"Yeah, Stiles, we're fine." Mason answered, coming over to sit in front of the mist and study it. "We're alive, fully clothed, absolutely starving, but good other than that."

"That's good news," Scott said, "actually, it's possibly the best news I've ever heard! I'm so happy you guys made it!"

"What about you, Scott? When are you coming back?" Melissa asked quietly.

"I don't know mom. I can't come back until I find the rest of my pack. I have to make sure they are all safe. This is my one chance to fix everything."

Melissa remained silent for a moment, clearly thinking about what she wanted to say. "Ok," she finally replied, "Hon, I love you, and I want you to come back to me so badly. But I understand what you are doing, and I support you 100%. Just, promise me that, whenever this is over, you are going to come back to me. I can't keep going on knowing that you are down there."

Scott could feel tears welling up, but was unable to do anything about them. "Of course, mom. I promise I'm coming back, just as soon as I get the others."

"Don't worry, Mrs. McCall," Derek added, "we'll make sure he's looked after."

"Yeah, no worries," Stiles said, "I'll beat his little werewolf butt for you if he's tries anything too stupid or noble."

Melissa chuckled at that. "Please do. And Stiles, Derek, make sure you guys stay safe and come back too," she said, looking to the spots where their voices were coming from but unable to really distinguish them from one another. "Nolan also," she added as an afterthought.

"Really?" Nolan squeaked, surprised to be included.

"Yeah, you're a part of this crazy family too," Melissa replied. Nolan hummed slightly, clearly taken by surprised and pleased to be included.

"Um, Stiles…what do we need to do…for that?" Lydia asked, speaking quietly to avoid drawing attention, but nevertheless being overheard by all of the supernatural creatures present.

"We would need a marked of some kind, something that Nolan owned or that someone there has strong memories of him attached to. I don't think any of our current markers would work for him," Stiles said, drawing the attention of the rest of the group.

"What do you mean?" Nolan asked, slightly subdued. Stiles jumped into a quick explanation of how the whole process works, bringing him up to speed. "You guys are at the Nemeton, right?" Nolan asked, once Stiles was finished.

"Yes," Lydia replied.

"Well," Nolan began, very hesitant to speak, "if you want…I mean you don't have to, I would completely understand…you don't need to go out of your way to do it or anything…"

"Nolan, just say it already," Corey interrupted, which seemed to take everyone by surprise.

"Ok," Nolan said, taking a deep breath and continuing. "Monroe's hunters had an outpost about a mile north of the Nemeton. On the outside, it looks like an ordinary tool shed, but inside there was a small armory, kitchen, living quarters, the works…enough for a couple of people to hide out comfortably. After the Anuk-Ite, the outpost was abandoned, and I lived there for a bit while I was on the run. I left a lot of stuff behind when I tried to get out of Beacon Hills. I don't know if it's still there or not, but you might be able to find something there. You know, if you want to, and it's not too much trouble." He tapered off at the end, obviously uncomfortable asking his former enemies to do this favor for him.

"Nolan's on our side now," Scott added, noticing the silent tension coming from both worlds. "And we need all the allies we can get. But I won't ask any of you to risk yourselves to do this. I'll go to the outpost myself once I'm alive again."

Mason and Corey whispered back and forth to one another, while everyone else remained silent. Finally, Mason spoke up. "Scott, Corey and I can go to the outpost. Like you said, no one knows we're alive, so if we stay invisible no one will see us and no one will know to look for us."

"Are you sure?" Scott asked.

"You don't have to do that just for me," Nolan said.

"We're sure," Mason replied. "After all, we made a promise, right Stiles? And we intend to keep it."

"Then it's settled," Stiles said, not waiting for more questions or discussion to pop up. "Go to the outpost, see if you can find something that belonged to Nolan, and come straight back. Lydia can make sure you know how to get back through the barrier. Lydia, you know how to set up the marker on your own, right?"

"Of course," she scoffed.

"Good," Stiles continued. "You four be safe, take care of one another, and Derek's body, and the markers, and we'll try to send some more people up to join you as soon as we can."

"Stiles, this had better not be you trying to say good-bye," Melissa interrupted.

"Mom, we have to get back to our search," Scott answered for him.

"It's not safe to stay in one place for too long like this," Derek added.

"We'll be sure to contact you guys again when we can," Stiles finished, "but for now I think we need to get going."

"Ok…just, stay safe, and come home as soon as you can," Melissa said, taking a moment to compose herself.

"We will mom, I promise," Scott said, sounding close to tears himself.

"Thank you guys for being willing to include me," Nolan piped up.

"Talk to you soon," Stiles said as the mist vanished once more.

"They're gone," Melissa said, reaching out to where the mist had been.

Lydia came over and gently pulled her away, back towards the fire. "They'll be back," she said, trying to reassure the older woman, "don't worry about them. Scott and Derek can hold their own, and Stiles is the best there is at coming up with brilliant plans. This will work, it has to, and then we'll all be together and can take down these hunters once and for all."

"For now, can we just take down this pot of soup?" Corey interjected as his stomach growled fiercely. "I literally haven't eaten in, like, a year." Everyone laughed, then settled down around the fire, passing out bowls of soup, content to be together once again and talking about what the future might bring for them.

-o-

"Well, that was exciting," Stiles said as the cave rematerialized around their group.

"That was the oddest sensation in the world," Scott replied, "I couldn't feel my body."

"Yeah, try doing that for an entire week while a pokeywolf and banshee take their time wandering through the woods," Stiles muttered.

"I said I was sorry," Derek muttered back, shouldering him playfully.

"What are you guys talking about?" Scott asked, bewildered.

"We'll explain later," Stiles cheekily replied. "For now, let's climb down out of this cave and get back to our search."

Stiles, Derek, and Scott all made their way to the edge of the cliff quickly, assessing the best way to get down to the ground below. Once they had settled on a manageable route, they sat down on the ledge, preparing to climb down. It was then that Scott noticed Nolan hadn't moved.

"Hey, Nolan," he called out, half hanging over the ledge, "are you coming with us?"

Hearing his name seemed to bring him out of his reverie. "What? Oh, yeah," he replied, scurrying over to join them.

"What's up?" Stiles asked, pulling himself back up to sit on the cave floor instead of dangling over the edge.

Nolan paused for a moment, turning to look at each of them in turn. "I guess…I just…I wasn't sure if you guys were ok with me…you know, hanging around and being part of your group. After everything I did to you and the others, I don't really get why you would be willing to even forgive me, much less go out of your way to bring me back to life and include me." He looked like he was about to completely collapse in on himself, and it took the other three by surprise.

"Nolan, everyone deserves a second chance," Scott said, standing up so he could place a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "We've all made some mistakes, even some pretty serious ones that hurt a lot of people. But what matters is what you do after that."

"Yeah bud," Stiles chimed in, leaning back on his elbows to look up at Nolan, "I know how it is. When I was possessed by the Nogitsune, I did a lot of stuff to hurt people, especially the people I cared about. When we finally got rid of it, I wasn't sure I could ever be friends with anyone again, but I learned that these guys are some of the most forgiving people you could ever know, and we worked to move past it.

"But I wasn't possessed," Nolan said quietly, "I did all that on my own."

This time Derek moved forward, bending slightly to make eye contact with the boy. "You weren't possessed, but you were manipulated. We all know that. Monroe used you to get what she wanted. That's something I can relate to. Gerard's daughter, Kate, did that to me when I was your age, and I ended up getting my whole family, my Pack, killed." He paused, sighing, clearly pained by telling this story. "I won't tell you that the pain goes away, because it doesn't, or at least it hasn't for me. But I will say, if you are lucky enough to find friends like these," he paused again, his gaze lingering particularly on Stiles, "it does get better with time."

"Thank you," Nolan said, quietly. "Thank you for giving me a second chance. I promise I will do everything I can to help you and make it up to you."

Scott smiled, leading him over to the ledge, "you don't need to worry about trying to make it up to us. Just be our friend, try to do the right thing, and we'll try to do the same for you."

"You're one of us now," Stiles said, patting Nolan's arm as he shifted his position to begin climbing down the wall of the cave. "Trust me when I say, it's going to be an adventure you will never forget." And with that, Stiles was over the edge, scaling down the rock wall.

"I think I can be ok with that," Nolan said, a small grin forming on his face as he watched Scott and Derek also begin climbing down. He took a last look around the small cave, marveling at how much his afterlife, and potential future life, had changed during this chance encounter with people he had once tried to kill. He still didn't believe he deserved this second chance at not only forgiveness, but also true friendship – something he had desired more than anything else his entire life. It was slightly overwhelming, and he felt his knees buckle as a whirlwind of emotion threatened to overtake him.

"Hey Nole, you coming or what?" Stiles called up from his position dozens of feet below on the rock wall, breaking the train of thought that had overtaken him.

"Yes, of course!" he cried out, giddy, before scrambling over to the edge and beginning his own descent alongside his new friends. They may still be in the Underworld, surrounded by dark cave walls and screeching demons, but Nolan had never felt happier, and the mood was infectious. All four were laughing, telling jokes and sharing stories, by the time they reached the bottom of the cave wall.

"So," Stiles said, once they were back on solid ground and staring in different directions, "our fearless Alpha, have you sniffed out any more of our packmates?"

"Stiles," Scott groaned, "must you say it that way? I'm not a dog."

"Well, there was that one time, during the full moon…" Stiles began, before Scott put his hand over his mouth to stop him, much to Derek and Nolan's amusement.

"We're not going to talk about that," Scott said. Stiles nodded his head, but his eyes had a glint to them saying all to clearly that he wasn't about to let it drop completely. Scott sighed dramatically, letting go of his friend's face and concentrating on scenting the air in the most dignified manner possible. Stiles and Nolan both dissolved into laughter at the sight, while Derek alone managed to keep a completely straight face. "If you two can pull yourself together," Scott said after another moment, "we need to go this way." He pointed down a narrow tunnel hidden in the wall near where they were currently standing.

Stiles regained his composure immediately, standing straight and alert once more. "Who's down there?" he asked, solemnly.

"Isaac," Scott replied.

"Who's Isaac?" Nolan asked with a slight hiccup, still pulling himself back together.

"He was my first true Beta," Derek answered, voice devoid of any emotion. "And he's a large part of the reason my pack and Scott's pack came together."

"What happened to him?" Nolan asked, now much more subdued.

"He left with Chris Argent after…we lost Allison," Scott said, glancing at Stiles as he said it. "He came back about the same time you were killed, Nolan, and Monroe's hunters found him."

"Oh," was all Nolan could think to say.

"Well," Stiles said with a false cheerfulness, "let's go find my favorite neckwear modeler. I miss his warm and fuzzy…personality." The others groaned, but agreed, and the group took off down the tunnel, Scott leading the way.