A/N – Hey, everyone! Sorry for the delay! I have a bunch of ideas for this story and I can't wait for yall to see how it turns out!

Thanks a million to everyone who reviewed! Even though the last chapter made a lot of you sad, your review made me happy. KEEP THEM UP!

Stiles stared at Emily's lifeless form from across the room. His body was tense as his arms were tightly crossed over his chest. He had been pacing Derek's loft for hours, his eyes never leaving Emily. He ran his hands over his face and scrubbed his head in frustration. It had already been three days and she still hadn't woken up.

But he refused to believe she wouldn't.

She had to wake up.

When he was taken by the alphas that night, the last thing he expected to see was Emily's battered body hanging in a cellar. Watching her go through what she did, it did something to him. It broke something deep inside him. He could still hear her screams when he closed his eyes. But the worst part was when her screams stopped…

XXX

Deucalion's captives sat frozen as they watched Emily's body fall limp against the chains. They watched the light fade from her eyes. They saw her take her last breath.

She was gone. And there was nothing they could do about it.

They didn't even try to break free any longer. Nothing they could do would help her. Not anymore.

Deucalion smirked as he pulled the stake from Emily's heart. Her blood dripped to the floor as he set the stake back on the table. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the red from his hands.

When he turned to his captives, they stared back at him with a range of expressions. Derek was huffing and his nostrils were flaring. Cora was openly sobbing as she looked at her dead best friend. Scott and Isaac were still in wolf form and were growling in Deucalion's direction.

But the most frightening sight was Stiles. He was no longer crying, but his eyes hadn't left Emily's form. His lips were pursed and his jaw was set. His knuckles were a ghostly white and his muscles were flexed as he steadily pulled down on his shackles. He was desperately trying to break free as blood dripped from his wrists. He was in a state of silent rage, one that had never marred his features before.

He wanted to get to Emily. But there was nothing he could do.

And it was killing him.

XXX

Stiles finally built up his courage to stalk over to Emily's body. He was so furious. He hated Deucalion for what he did. He wanted to kill him. He hated Emily for leaving him. For never hearing what he had to say. And he hated himself for never having the courage to say it before it was too late.

"Emily. Emily! Wake the hell up. Wake up!" he screamed. "You are not going to do this to me. You're not! This is the first time that – that I ever felt like this for somebody. And I'm not going to let you go. I refuse to. So you wake up right now. Because if you don't, you might as well take my heart with you. You know why? Because I freaking love you!"

But there was absolutely no response from Emily. No flinch, no blink, no breath. Stiles could feel his heart shatter a little more when he started to believe she wouldn't wake up. There was no coming back this time.

He fell to his knees and took her hand. It was still stained with blood, but he didn't care. He brought it to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles. A single tear escaped him and fell onto their hands. His broken eyes gazed at the body of the girl who changed his life.

Derek watched the exchange from the stairs. He listened as Stiles screamed for Emily to wake up. Derek swallowed thickly, for he knew she wouldn't respond. He knew she was gone. When Stiles fell to his knees, he felt an overwhelming sense of pity for him. He quietly walked over and placed a hand on Stiles' shoulder. Stiles gave a small start, but didn't move from his position.

"Maybe you should go home, Stiles. You haven't left since we came back here" Derek said as he remembered that night.

XXX

Derek watched as Deucalion crouched in front of him. If he moved two inches closer, Derek would have been able to rip him apart. He strained against the chains, but he was still unable to reach him. Deucalion smirked at his attempts.

"Now I'm sure you are feeling an incredible rage right now, but you have to understand. This had to be done." He stood up and pulled a key out of his pocket and held it up to the group. "This will undo your bonds. But by the time you figure out a way to get to it, I will be long gone. Until we meet again…"

The group watched as he placed the key a few feet out of their reach. He allowed Kali to lead him up the stairs. The twins hesitated as they looked at the captives. Their faces held a mixture of emotions, ranging from confusion to guilt. They cast a glance at Emily's body before looking away in shame. They turned to the stairs and made their way out of the cellar.

The group just sat frozen. There was no way they could make it out of their chains. Everyone was avoiding looking at Emily's body. Everyone except Stiles. He was still staring into her dead eyes and he continued his steady pull on his bonds. He knew there was no way he could break them, but the pain in his wrists was making the pain in his heart dull slightly.

They must have stayed that way for an hour. The werewolves tried to break their bonds a few more times, but every time they fell in defeat against the chains. Finally, Stiles was forced to stop his own efforts as the blood loss was starting to affect his vision. But even through blurred eyes, he managed to find Emily's body hanging from the ceiling.

Suddenly, the werewolves were attacked by a high pitched screech, while Stiles heard a faint scream. About ten minutes later, they heard footsteps running down the stairs. The figures of Mr. Argent, Lydia, and Allison appeared from the shadows. They got a few steps into the cellar before they stopped in their tracks.

Their faces filled with relief when they saw that Derek, Cora, Isaac, Scott, and Stiles were safe. But the look of guilt and rage was evident on the faces of the group. The trio followed their gazes and found Emily's bloodied body. Allison and Lydia felt their stomachs drop as they looked into their friend's cold eyes. Mr. Argent felt a combination of rage and pity as he realized it was Deucalion who did this to her.

"Okay, let's get you all out of here" Mr. Argent said as he eyed the key. He knew it was just like Deucalion to toy with them by leaving the key so close.

"Why could I find you guys? I usually just go crazy and find dead bodies, and Emily isn't technically dead…" Lydia said, confused. All eyes fell on her, all but Stiles. He just kept staring into Emily's eyes. "What?" she asked.

"Emily, she - " Cora started but was choked with tears before she could continue. Luckily, Derek sensed his sister's pain and finished for her.

"She's dead."

"But she'll come back. She always comes back" Allison said as her eyes welled up with tears.

"No she won't" Stiles spoke for the first time. "She'll never come back."

XXX

"I'm not leaving" Stiles said, his harsh voice pulling Derek out of his memories. "Not until I figure out how to fix this."

"Stiles, there's nothing we can do. She's gone" Derek said, his voice cracking slightly on the last word.

"I don't believe that."

Derek sighed as he took a step back and cast one last sorry look at the boy. He knew Stiles wouldn't leave her side, but he was genuinely starting to worry for him.

He walked back to his bedroom and sat down on his bed. He could still vividly remember Emily's cries for him to stop whatever she thought he was doing. He knew she believed he killed her, and that killed him. He tried to block the images out as he closed her eyes, but it only made it worse. He quickly shook his head and put his head in his hands.

In the other room, Stiles' phone suddenly rang. He looked down and saw Scott's name flashing on the screen. He sighed and put it back in his pocket. Finally, it stopped ringing, only to start again. Exasperated, Stiles answered.

"Listen, I don't want to talk right now…" Stiles started only to be cut off by Scott.

"Stiles, I have to tell you something. Lydia found another body. Stiles, it's Tara…" Scott said quietly.

"Ah hell" Stiles muttered. Tara had been a family friend for as long as he could remember. He felt sorry that she got caught up in the whole situation, but he still couldn't take his gaze off of Emily. "Call my dad. He'll have to deal with it."

"But don't you want to come and…" Scott began.

"Scott, I – I just can't right now. I can't see any more death" Stiles said in a broken voice. He heard Scott sigh on the other side of the phone.

"Okay, man. I'll come by in about an hour after we deal with this" he said before he hung up.

Stiles looked back down at Emily, willing her to move. All he needed was for her to wake up. But he was starting to believe that she never would.

XXX

Scott entered the loft and felt the heavy tension in the air. Derek was nowhere to be found. Scott figured he left to get Cora. She had sprinted out of the cellar the moment she was freed. She was determined to track Deucalion down, but the others knew it was useless.

He cautiously walked into the loft and saw Stiles sitting on the coffee table looking down at Emily's body. It was still in the same position it had been when they brought her to the loft. Though Stiles knew Scott came in, he still hadn't moved his eyes from her body.

"Hey" Stiles whispered.

"Hey" Scott said. "So, uh, we got everything straightened up at school. Your dad is pretty shaken up about everything. He really wishes you'd come home."

"Did you tell him about Emily?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah. He was really upset to hear about it. I think he wants to help you, man. You should really go home." Stiles' head jerked up sharply as he glared at his best friend.

"I can't just leave her! This is our fault, Scott" he yelled as he stalked over to the werewolf. He stood directly in front of him and got in his face. Stiles grabbed his collar roughly and pulled him a bit. "We got her involved in all of this. Deucalion did this to get to you and Derek. She'd still be alive if you had just done what he said!" he screamed as he pushed him away.

Scott knew Stiles was talking out of anger, but what he said still struck something inside him. Stiles took a quick step back and allowed his shoulders to slump. As soon as the words fell from his mouth he wished he could take them back.

"Scott, I'm sorry, man. It's just…" he trailed off as he cast a glance over his shoulder. When he met Scott's eyes again, Scott could see the raw pain hidden inside them. Scott reached out and grabbed his shoulders.

"Stiles, we're going to fix this. But right now, you need to go home. You haven't eaten or slept in over 3 days. Get back to your dad." Stiles looked at him with doubt before hanging his head and giving a small nod. "I promise you, we'll figure out a way to bring her back."

Stiles gave Emily one last look before he allowed Scott to lead him out of the loft. He gave Scott his keys, and got into the passenger seat. Scott looked at him shocked for a moment. Stiles never gave up the keys. But he got in the driver's seat and they rode to Stiles' house in silence.

When he walked into his house, he heard his dad in the kitchen. He slowly made his way to the room and saw his dad pouring himself a drink. He was still dressed in his uniform and the look on his face aged him greatly.

"Dad?" he whispered. The sheriff whipped his head up and his eyes fell upon his son. Immediately, a look of pity covered his face.

"Oh, Stiles" he said as he closed the distance between them. He wrapped his arms around his son in a comforting embrace. Stiles buried his face in his shoulder and took a deep breath.

"Dad, she's gone."