Scott sits at the small round table in Derek's loft; he's only catching the tail end of everything Derek and everyone else is saying. Everything is a mess, his mind is all over the place, his heart is pounding in his chest, and all he can think about is how mad Stiles and Allison will be at him after he goes into the Netherworld to stop Malum from causing any more harm than he already has.

The thought of his beautiful girlfriend calms him though.

Allison.

He's fairly certain his heart's stopped beating.

Even in the harsh, eco-friendly light of the loft she looks gorgeous. Her skin is pale like porcelain and he knows just how wonderfully soft it feels, her shoulder length brown hair shines in the light too, framing her striking face in a way that makes Scott all the more heartbroken.

Music is thumping all around them; Scott makes eye contact with Allison. As he wraps his arms around her the pair begin to sway in time with the music, when suddenly – caught in the moment – Scott kisses her. As he pulls away he takes in her smile.

"Why… why did you do that?" she asks, taken aback but indescribably happy.

Scott smiles down at her, "Because I love you."

"Well there's got to be some other way," Stiles says, snapping Scott out of his thoughts, "I mean, Malum has to have some weakness, right? Some killer kryptonite sort of thing that'll render him totally useless so we can go in for the kill."

"Hello," Erica says flatly, examining her red painted nails as she speaks, "in case you don't remember, our dear Root of Evil can't be killed because it isn't a person or anything of the sort. It's a freaking entity."

"He's just trying to help," Scott snaps.

Everyone in the loft falls silent. Erica shifts uncomfortably from where she sits on the counter and Isaac fidgets nervously from beside the fridge.

Stiles takes a step toward him, inching closer and closer every second, even in his stupor he feels the calming influence Stiles always manages to have on him. The boy reaches his hand out.

"Scott, just listen to me… okay? You're not no one," Stiles says, fighting off tears, "You're someone… you… you're my brother, Scott."

"…them, okay? We could use some reinforcements," Isaac says, panic seeping through his words.

"What?" Scott asks.

"Call them," Allison says, reaching out to touch Scott's arm, "Camilla, Nolan, Lydia, and Jackson. We're going to find another way out of this. We will, okay?"

He smiles at her weakly and takes her hand in his.

The girl smiles back and leans toward her boyfriend, connecting her lips with his in a gentle manner. When she pulls back she stares lovingly into Scott's chocolate-y brown eyes.

"Why'd you do that?" he asks her quietly.

Allison shrugs, "Because I love you."

TEEN WOLF

"She's going to be here any minute… We need to think of something fast," Ron says, one of his hands in his hair scratching his head as though the action will bring forth an idea. The two were trying to figure out a way to hide Graham, who was currently tied up in the laundry room.

"Well I could hide him under my bed… There's enough room for a person his size to fit under there," Camilla offers, gesturing towards her bedroom.

Ron looks at her quizzically, "I'm assuming this means you have prior experience with that…?"

Camilla's eyes widen as she stammers, "N-no. No way. I'm just very observant."

Ron nods, a sly look on his face.

Before the two can take any action, the front door opens and in walks Susan with a large plate of cookies in her hands.

"Hi! I'm just going to set these in the kitchen, the plate is hot hot hot!" she exclaims, sashaying past the two quickly. Ron gulps and frantically tries to devise a plan.

"Shit, dad!" Camilla whispers.

"Language, Camilla," her father scolds. "You distract her, I'll… I don't know… I'll—"

Before he can finish, Susan re-enters, a dirty dishrag in her hand.

"You know how I love to clean," she smiles at them. "I'm just going to throw this one in the laundry room and grab a new one real quick, then I'll pour you two some milk and—"

"Wait, no!" Ron shouts too late. Susan opens the door and her eyes widen in surprise.

"Do you two know there is a tied up young man in here?" she asks, hands on her hips.

"Yes, and we can explain," Camila tells her quickly, moving to shut the door and usher Susan into the kitchen.

"Well, where do I begin?" Ron asks Camilla, who shrugs and shakes her head. "Susan… we're werewolf hunters…"

For the next twenty minutes, Ron and Camilla take turns telling Susan everything. Throughout the whole story-telling process, Susan sits interested, but not terrified.

"So this… Root thing has control over this poor boy?" Susan asks when they finish.

"Yes," Camilla answers. "And there's nothing we can do until we find a way to get rid of him."

"So sad," Susan replies sorrowfully. "Well, there's no sense in moping around. Who wants cookies and milk?"

Bewildered, Ron asks, "Don't you have any more questions? You don't feel like running out of here screaming? I don't…."

"Please, Ron," Susan gestures with her hand, "I see a psychic, I'm not as oblivious as I look. I'd like to say I know you, and I don't think you have a young man tied up in your laundry room just for fun. Sure, it's a bit scary, but I'm okay with it!"

Susan smiles and gets up to move to the fridge and pulls out a jug of milk, "Any takers?"

Camilla nods her head right as she feels her pocket vibrate. She pulls out her phone and scans over the text she had just received.

"Actually, I'll pass on the milk," Camilla says, stuffing her phone back in to her pocket. "We're trying the library again to find something on The Root."

"At least take some cookies!" Susan responds, rushing to hand Camilla two of them wrapped up in a napkin.

"Thanks. See ya later!"

TEEN WOLF

Lydia sits beside her weeping mother, handing the older woman a tissue. The end credits roll for The Last Song as Mrs. Martin wipes away a tear.

The red haired girl doesn't care though, she may have forced Jackson to watch The Notebook a hundred times over, but that was more for the enjoyment she got from watching him cringe every time Ryan Gosling said something romantic.

"How is this helping me?" Lydia asks rolling her eyes as her mom blows her nose.

"You - oh wow look at me – uh, you need a distraction, sweetie. You've dealt with way too much death for any high school junior. This chick flick-a-thon is on to take your mind off it," the woman insists, "now, quit making fun of your mother and put in Love, Actually while I go pop some more butter free popcorn."

Mrs. Martin pushes off the red blanket she has draped over her lap, grabs the empty popcorn bowl, and walks away into the kitchen. With a sigh, Lydia gets up and grabs the DVD her mother had asked her to. She's just about to put the disc into the Blu-Ray player when her phone begins playing Vogue by Madonna. She drops the disc and rushes to her phone, knowing somehow it was critical. Seeing that the caller is Stiles, she smiles and places it to her ear.

"Hello Mr. Stilinski," she says with her natural flirty tone.

"Lydia, I'm outside," the boy answers her, sounding hoarse, "we need all of us… we, uh, well I'll explain on the way. We just need all hands on deck. So hurry up, it's cold as hell out here."

A scream is caught in her throat as she hollers to her mother, "Friend emergency!" before rushing to the door.

TEEN WOLF

"More nothing," Camilla says, slamming the thick book down onto the table. She rubs her eyes and then stares out the library window as the rising sun pours into the room.

Isaac sighs, "Just relax."

"Relax? We've been at this for almost eight hours, I haven't gotten any sleep, and my cousin might have to die to save all of us and you want me to relax? Is that a goddamn joke?" Camilla spits out venomously.

"Okay, then don't relax."

"You guys find anything?" the girl asks Nolan and Jackson at the opposite end of the table.

Jackson shakes his sleepy head, "A lot of stuff about how to get rid of a kitsune, whatever the hell that is…"

"It's a Japanese trickster spirit," Nolan says through a yawn, "and no, I don't see anything and we're running out of options here."

"Fuck," Camilla sighs, running a hand through her already messy hair.

"I'll go check another book," the boy says, getting up to walk to the back corner of the UCBH library. His sneakers squeak ever so lightly on the tiled floor of the university library and he carelessly pulls a stray dog hair off of his navy blue t-shirt and allows it to flow in the breeze.

When he finally gets to the bookshelf to where the book belongs he slides it back into place and finds one with THE CONSPIRACY OF FATE written in archaic Latin along the side. Nolan is quick to pull it off the shelf and sink to the ground to read it. His heart sinks as his eyes scan over the cover, a picture of a mighty tree is embossed on it in worn, green velvet.

The boy flips through the pages quickly, scanning the first page before tuning that, he flips a few more, catching a few words here and there - having a hard time translating due to his tiredness - when a shadow casts over him. He looks up to see Jackson leaning against the bookshelf with his arms crossed. He smiles lightly before he sits down beside Nolan.

"So," Jackson begins.

"So what?" Nolan snaps back.

"Are we ever going to talk about what happened on Saturday?"

Nolan chuckles and the chuckle soon spawns into full on laughter, "You have got to be kidding me! Our friends are in danger, real mortal danger, and you want to talk about what I'm thinking about our near hookup? Seriously?"

"Well…"

"Seriously?!"

Camilla appears now, her hair in a ponytail, "Will you stop yelling? Jesus Christ."

"There's nothing," Nolan says finally, slamming the book shut, "there's not a fucking thing in any of these books that's going to tell us how to stop Stiles, Allison, and Scott from dying. We're totally, up against the wall screwed."

"God you're weird," Camilla says, shaking her head.

"Nothing at all?" Isaac asks, coming up to wrap his arms around his girlfriend.

"He says no," Jackson answers.

Camilla groans, "Maybe he just isn't trying hard enough. Come on Smarty Pants, show us the money."

"Camilla, come on," Isaac protests.

"No, if he's not gonna be a team player I think the least I can do is throw a couple stones at him."

"Shut your girlfriend up, Lahey," Jackson warns.

Camilla takes a step toward Jackson, "Really, Square? You're such a misogynistic pig you can't even to tell me to shut up yourself?"

A full-fledged argument commences as Jackson stands up and gets into Camilla's face. The girl starts spitting words out in Spanish as she shoves the werewolf as hard as she can, he barely budges but the slight push is enough to make Jackson's eyes flash blue… which ultimately makes Isaac step in to put himself between the pair of dueling egos.

"Perro," Camilla shouts, "Do you know anything you muscle headed, boarding school going, buttfuc –"

"Shut up!" Nolan shouts, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut. Up."

The three kids fall silent, taken back by the quiet boy's outburst.

Exasperated, Nolan begins to massage his temples.

"We all need to calm down," Isaac says, "we're all on the same side, trying to find the same answer to save the same people we care about."

With a sigh Nolan stands up, joining the group fully, "There's one other place we could try. And it's a long shot and it's awful but there's one last place we could look to find out how to save our friends."

The kids exchange a wary glance, and then as though they'd taken a vote and nominated a speaker, Camilla asks, "Where?"

"My mother."

TEEN WOLF

Allison rubs her back with her hand, exhausted and achy. She checks the clock, but doesn't even register the time in her head.

Deciding to get a glass of water, the brunette rises from her bed and exits her bedroom. Her feet pad quietly on the floor as she moves toward the kitchen. The sunlight pours into her apartment, making the silence a little more beautiful. As soon as she enters the kitchen, however, all the peacefulness is shattered.

There before her sits her mother, Kate, and Gerard.

"Hello, Allison," her mother says, looking at her daughter up and down.

"Okay, which one of you is The Root and which ones are his minions?" Allison asks, her throat tightening up.

"None of us, actually," Kate tells her, pacing the floor. "We're here because of you."

"Me?"

"Yes, Allison," Gerard starts. "We're here because you have a job and you're not doing it."

"What do you mean?" Allison asks, her head whirring.

"You know what we mean!" Kate yells, slamming her hands on the table. "You've known for a while now that you can get rid of The Root and. You're. Not. Doing. It."

"I-I can't. I don't—"

"No daughter of mine is a coward!" her mother roars, standing up and moving closer to Allison. "When I was bitten, did I back down because I was scared? NO! I took my own life in order to protect those around me. But you, you're despicable. Sitting around waiting for someone else to do the job for you. Absolutely disgusting."

Allison feels hot tears flood from her eyes.

"Oh and now you're crying?" Kate whines in fake sympathy. "We're all dead and you're the one who's crying?"

"Allison, you know what you need to do," Gerard tells her firmly, more calm than the others.

Her gaze follows where Gerard's eyes wander to, and she sees a tub full of ice, one she had apparently missed upon entering the kitchen.

"Allison, you can't back down. You're the only one who can stop this. You have to do it," her mother tells her more calmly.

"I'm scared," Allison answers, her voice wobbly. The rage on her mother's face returns.

"Stop being a child, Allison! I raised you better than that!" In a flash, Allison's mother is close to her, her hand grabbing her daughter's hair, hard.

In her ear she says, "You are going to do this. I don't care how scared you are. You carry a last name full of honor and you're shaming it!"

"Please, let go," Allison sobs from the pain and the torment.

Rather than letting go, her mother drags her toward the ice bath.

"Please, no. I want to say goodbye. Please!" Allison screams, struggling to escape her mother's grip. "Gerard, make her stop! Kate! Please!"

The two move towards her, but it isn't Allison they help. Instead, they grab the writhing girl and steady her, making it nearly impossible to escape now.

"Wipe your tears, baby," Kate coos, smoothing back a few strands of Allison's hair. "The hard part hasn't even started yet."

Allison feels herself being lifted and she thrashes her whole body, crying out the whole time. She feels the pain of her hair still being gripped and the sharpness of nails digging into her skin. Strong hands hold her so tight, she can already feel bruises forming.

"Please," she chokes out right before the hands slam her down into the freezing water.

Pain hits her instantly, and her body moves to try and escape it, but the hands are firm. Her head is fully underwater, and she tries to hold her breath, but the shock of it all makes the water able to enter her mouth. And choke her.

She hears herself moving through the water, but she goes nowhere. Her vision begins to blacken, and her movements become more struggled. Over the sound of the water moving, she hears Kate.

"Let go, Allison. You have to do this."

Allison keeps fighting, but soon, nearly all her vision is black and she can barely move. The cold reaches her core and ices her whole body. She tries to keep fighting, but soon it all goes black.

TEEN WOLF

Peter whistles as he steps into the Hale house.

"Honey, I'm home," he calls out, smiling at his humor.

"Now is not the time for jokes, Peter. Graham was supposed to attack the hunter girlfriend and her father, and I have no idea where he is," The Root tells him angrily.

"Wait, which hunter girlfriend? They are both quite similar. There's the basket case Allison, who surprisingly has good comebacks, or there's the charming Camilla, who I feel has great potential as a werewolf."

"Camilla. I sent Graham since she wouldn't expect her past lover to turn homicidal and kill her father right before her eyes."

"Ah, I see. That would be quite a shock," Peter replies. "But anyways, don't you have some bond thing with the kid? Can't you get into his head?"

"Yes, but he is blindfolded. I have no idea where he is."

"That could be a problem," Peter frowns.

"I'm well aware of that, thank you."

"No need to be sassy, we're all on the same team here," Peter tells him.

"I need to leave. Why don't you make yourself useful and find my missing slave," The Root responds, followed by the snapping of his fingers.

All alone, Peter speaks to himself, "Must be its time of the month."

TEEN WOLF

"This place?" Camilla asks, pulling into the parking lot of a big, looming building.

"Eichen House…" Nolan reads from the sign in the front of the building. "Yep, this is the place."

Sensing a bit of anxiety, Jackson grabs Nolan's hand and squeezes, giving the auburn-haired boy a small smile when he glances over at him.

"Let's do this mother," Camilla says, unbuckling her seatbelt and stepping out of her car.

Nolan takes a deep breath and does the same. Jackson, Camilla, Nolan, and Isaac take one last nervous glance at each other before making their way up the steps and towards the main entrance.

A woman who looked like she needed a week's vacation handed the four a clipboard with a visitor's log. She had a bored expression on her face as each of them scribbled their name down quickly.

Once the formalities were taken care of, another woman, looking just as bored as the first, led them up three flights of stairs. When they reached the top, the woman had to unlock a door with her key card.

They passed that door, but they were stopped by another door, and the woman turned to face the group.

"If you have any weapons, sharp objects, or any foreign instrument, leave it in this room. If you have shoes with shoelaces, either take them off or triple knot them. If you have purses or wallets, leave them here. If you have any food or drink, leave it here. If you have any questions ask now."

Overwhelmed with the woman's instructions, the four rid themselves of the prohibited items but asked no questions.

"Okay, right through here," she tells them after a minute, unlocking the door and ushering them through.

"These patients are very unpredictable. Watch what you're doing, and watch them. You have twenty minutes. The patient you requested is in room 324."

Let loose, the kids stand in the same spot for a moment, unsure of what to do.

"They're just going to let us go?" Camilla whispers. "No supervision?"

"I've only been here a couple times, but I know that there are cameras everywhere. Even beyond the ones you see. They're watching everything," Nolan informs everyone.

With a gulp, Jackson says, "Shall we?"

The four slowly move down the hallway. All of the small glass windows on every door are dark, leaving an eerie feeling. The numbers pass by and soon, room 324 is before the group, the window just as dark as the others.

In the silence, Nolan hears Camilla whisper to Isaac, "When exactly did our lives become American Horror Story?"

Taking a deep breath, Nolan steps forward and grabs the handle, turning it ever so slightly. When he can no longer turn it, he pushes forward and illuminates the dark room. Peering in, Nolan let's his eyes adjust before he allows anyone else to look into the room.

"Mom?" he calls. When his eyes allow him to see, he spots her near one of the walls, her back facing him. "It's me, Nolan. I brought some friends to see you. We have a few questions."

His mother doesn't speak or move, almost like she didn't even hear her son talking. With a hard blink, Nolan decides it's now or never, and pushes the door open wider.

The rest of the group slowly files in, and the small room quickly fills up. Isaac shuts the door behind them and the room goes dark again, the only light coming from the door's window, and two small windows high towards the ceiling.

Jackson and Isaac can instantly see, but it takes Nolan and Camilla another second. Camilla almost screams when she feels a hand grab at her own, but she calms down when she realizes it was only Isaac.

Nolan clears his throat, "Mom. These are my friends Jackson, Camilla, and Isaac."

Once again, the blonde woman acts as if she hasn't heard a thing.

Camilla looks at Nolan and mouths, "Should I?" to which he nods.

The brunette waits a beat and then speaks up, "Mrs. Hayes, we were wondering if you knew anything about… The Root of Evil?"

Jackson snorts and quietly says, "Way to ease into it, Camilla."

"Well what in the hell am I supposed to say? How's the weather in here?" Camilla hisses back, glaring at the boy.

"Guys," Nolan chastises. "Camilla, you did fine. There's no easy way to go about this."

With a satisfied look, Camilla smirks at Jackson and then speaks again, "Mrs. Hayes, if you know anything, it could really help us… Does Malum Radix ring any bells?"

The room is silent, but everyone notices when Nolan's mom slightly cocks her head, blonde strands of hair swaying a bit.

"Mom? Do you know something?" Nolan urges.

At first the woman says nothing, but after a minute, the group hears whispering.

"Can you guys tell what she's saying?" Camilla asks the wolves.

"No," Isaac answers after straining his ears. "It's too quiet."

"Mom, what is it?"

"Nolan..."

Four pairs of eyes widen as they hear Kelly Hayes speak.

"Yeah, Mom?" Nolan answers after a moment.

"Nolan…" she says again.

"I'm here, Mom. What is it?" the boy asks, moving to kneel beside his mother. "Do you know something?"

Kelly leans in towards her son and whispers into his ear. It only takes a few seconds and she leans away when she's finished.

Nolan frowns and stands back up.

"She said—"

Before he can share, Kelly interrupts him, "To save them all, here's a trick. One by one, the fingers prick."

Nolan chuckles awkwardly, "Yep. That's what she told me."

"To save them all, here's a trick. One by one, the fingers prick," she repeats.

"Is that it?" Camilla asks. "What does it mean?"

"To save them all, here's a trick. One by one, the fingers prick."

"Mom, what does it mean?" Nolan asks after hearing her repeat it again.

"To save them all, here's a trick. One by one, the fingers prick!" she says urgently, this time turning to face the four. It's then they can see that she was a beautiful woman, though it was obvious she wasn't all there.

"Mom, we need more than that…"

"To save them all, here's a trick. One by one, the fingers prick."

A little frustrated, Jackson chimes in, "Camilla rode Isaac's dick."

Nolan gasps and glares at Jackson, "What the hell, dude?"

Before Jackson can defend his words, Kelly speaks again.

"Naughty dogs stay outside."

Jackson's face pales as Kelly glares at him and repeats herself, "Naughty dogs stay outside."

"I think she wants you to leave, Jackson," Camilla suggests, not too upset by the request.

"If I go, Isaac goes too. He's also a 'dog'," Jackson remarks, crossing his arms.

"This is ridiculous, just stay then," Camilla rolls her eyes and moves closer to Kelly. "Hi, I'm Camilla. I'm new here to Beacon Hills just like you. And from your little rhyme, I suppose you also know a thing or two about the supernatural."

Kelly's face softens as she looks at Camilla; she almost smiles.

"To save them all, here's a trick. One by one, the fingers prick…"

"And…?" Camilla urges.

Kelly opens her mouth but closes it quickly, then glances over at Jackson, "Naughty dogs stay outside."

"Fine, I'll go," Jackson surrenders, holding his hands up in defeat. "But I'm not going alone, c'mon, Isaac."

"Really, dude?" Isaac asks, annoyed.

"Naughty dogs stay outside," Jackson tells him with a shrug, opening the door to leave.

The two leave and the room lightens and darkens all in a second.

Camilla shakes her head and turns back to Kelly, "So what else is there?"

"To save them all, here's a trick. One by one, the fingers prick."

Camilla and Nolan look at the blonde expectantly, but she doesn't say another word.

"Mom, please."

Kelly looks at her son, and Nolan can see the sadness in her eyes. He hates seeing her so fragile and weak. He remembers times when he was younger and he thought she was the strongest person in the world. Now she barely even knew her own name.

"Nolan… one by one the fingers prick!" she tells him.

Nolan smiles lightly and moves to take one of her small hands in his, "I know, Mom. You're doing good. Do you remember anymore?"

Kelly struggles to remember, but she doesn't speak. Without warning, the door opens and the woman who let them onto the floor pops in.

"You have five minutes," she tells them with a blank expression. She doesn't stick around for a response and soon the door closes again.

"Mom, we have to leave. Try and remember, okay?"

Kelly frowns sadly and repeats herself, "One by one… the fingers prick… one by one, the fingers prick… one by one…"

Nolan sighs, "It's okay, Mom, don't stress yourself. You need to get some rest, okay? Let's get you into bed."

With Camilla's help, Nolan gets Kelly into her bed and he strokes her hair.

"I'll be back soon okay?" he tells her. The woman nods.

"One by one the fingers prick…" she offers.

Nolan smiles and nods, "You did good, Mom. I love you."

Nolan makes his way to the door and opens it, Camilla behind him.

Nolan leaves, but Camilla stays to say goodbye for a second.

Before she can get a word out, Kelly speaks, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Mrs. Hayes. You did your best," Camilla smiles, her hand on the doorknob.

"No. I'm so, so sorry. So sorry," she says, sitting up in her bed.

Camilla frowns, "It's okay. Get some rest."

She turns to leave when Kelly tells her to stop.

"To save them all, here's a trick. One by one, the fingers prick. To its roots, Evil will stick."

Camilla's eyes widen right as Nolan re-enters, "Camilla, let's go. That lady is getting impatient."

"Nolan, she—"

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," Kelly interrupts, standing up from her bed. "I'm sorry!"

"Mom, it's okay! We have to go now, c'mon Camilla!"

The two leave and Nolan slumps against the door.

"You okay?" Jackson asks, coming up to the boy.

Nolan just shakes his head and allows the blank faced nurse to lead him out of the hall and then into the main area of the asylum. They collect their things just as quickly and silently as they had when they'd left them.

They walk into the parking lot until Isaac isn't able to handle the silence any longer and he asks, "What's wrong with her?"

Nolan stops mid step and Camilla punches her boyfriend in the arm.

"You don't have to answer that…" The girl begins but Nolan shrugs and turns to look at the kids.

"It's just… we don't know. No one does. Sometimes they think she's schizophrenic, sometimes they think she has frontal temporal dementia; sometimes they think it's just acute bipolar disorder. They can't pinpoint it."

"We're sorry," Camilla says slowly.

"So am I. This was a total bust."

The three kids nod their heads and begin back walking to Camilla's car, all the while the dark haired girl thinks about Kelly's words: One by one the fingers prick, to its roots Evil will stick.

TEEN WOLF

Scott walks downstairs and into the kitchen where he sees his mom sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of steaming coffee before her.

"Morning honey," she says with a smile.

"You're just gonna give me up?" Scott asks, cutting straight to the point.

She takes a long sip of her coffee and then says, "Alright, let's have this talk."

"I have to say dad coming to lacrosse practice to ambush me with custody papers was a great way to find out about all of this."

"Look, Scott, this has everything to do with you and your safety…"

The boy cuts her off, "I'm a werewolf, Mom."

"And that's fantastic, but you know what else you are? You're the scrawny, gawky, braces wearing, inhaler-using sixth grader that I dropped off at middle school not too long ago. I swear I was dropping you off at daycare yesterday. I understand that you're this big, alpha Wolfman now, but Scott, you will always be my inhaler-using little boy."

"Mom, you don't get that I can hold my own."

Melissa shakes her head, "And you don't get that ever since I found out you were a werewolf I have been overcome with anxiety and fear that you're gonna walk out that door and not come back."

"Don't… ah crap, don't cry," Scott says as he rushes over to his mom, grabbing the box of Kleenex on the kitchen island as he moves over to her.

"If I decide to sign those papers," Melissa says, "and that's a big if because I love you with every fiber of my being and not seeing you everyday might kill me, but if I sign those papers it's for your safety and so that I can have some peace of mind."

"How can you just give me up though?"

She shakes her head, "You're not a piece of gum, sweetie. I'm not just giving you up. And to be honest, I hate that this custody thing is even up for discussion. There's only one thing in the world I want – more than to have all my bills paid off and to have George Clooney come sweep me off me feet – and that's for you to be safe. To know that you're alright and while I'm sure you'll get into your fair share of shenanigans in Virginia you'll be less likely to be attacked by a Darach or a Kanima."

"But I'm a werewolf, and an alpha, trouble will sort of follow me around… no matter where I'm at."

"That may be, but I'd certainly like to know you'll be alive and graduating next year. I want you safe, Scott. That's all I want."

He nods solemnly, "It's just…"

"No, Scott," she says with a worn smile, "we talked. You know where I stand. Now let me make this decision."

TEEN WOLF

Erica laughs, and it's with that laugh Derek groans and leans back in to continue kissing her.

"I can't stay away from you," he tells her in between kisses. "Your laugh, the way you wrinkle your nose when you're frustrated, the way you bite your lip… I think I'm addicted to you."

Derek moves his head to leave a trail of kisses down Erica's jaw and neck, making the blonde close her eyes and savor the moment.

"I never thought I would ever be head over heels for anyone normal. Well, semi-normal, I suppose. But I definitely didn't expect to fall for you," Derek tells her as he traces circles in Erica's open palm, a small but sensual action.

"Ouch," Erica laughs playfully.

"You know what I mean," Derek tells her.

Erica rests her head on Derek's chest and sighs happily, "I feel like this is too good to be true. In a way it kind of is already. For a second I can have bliss with you, but then reality sets in and life sucks again. I just feel like soon enough this is all going to go away. And I don't want it to."

Derek kisses the top of Erica's head, "Well, I don't know what the future holds, but I can tell you that I will never leave you if I can help it."

"I'm so not used to this yet," Erica smiles.

"Used to what?" Derek wonders.

"You being all romantic and nice. It's a nice change, but I kind of miss the Derek that would give me shit. It fueled my fire."

Derek laughs, "Oh I can give you shit if that's what you want."

Erica runs her hand along Derek's bare stomach subconsciously, "I wonder if Cora's going to walk in on us again."

"I'm surprised she's not back yet," Derek frowns slightly, looking at the clock on the wall.

"Maybe she took your advice and went back home," Erica suggests, snuggling in closer to Derek.

"It'd be the best damn thing she could do. She definitely does not need to get caught up in this Root of Evil mess."

"That's for sure," Erica sighs.

"Hey," Derek says, pulling her chin up so she can face him after noticing her sad tone. "You don't need to get anymore caught up in it either. Don't let your mind go there."

"I know," Erica says sadly. "I try and think about other things, but sometimes it just jumps right back."

"Well, I can always distract you if you want," Derek suggests, leaning in and kissing her neck again.

"I suppose that would be… okay…" Erica answers, feeling a bit distracted like he mentioned.

"And if that's not distracting enough, I could always do this," Derek adds, flipping Erica quickly so that his body lies on top of hers, pressing her into the couch.

Leaning in he kisses her hard and doesn't stop for a few minutes. When they pull apart, Erica laughs.

"Yeah, that can definitely do it," she tells him right before he leans in again.

TEEN WOLF

Why'd I bring a purse? Allison asks herself. It's not like I'm going on a date right now

It's then that she pulls open the door of the brick building and steps inside, listening to the jingle of the bell above the entrance as she does so. Her heels click plainly on the floors as she makes her way to the front counter.

And a dress? It's the middle of November for crying out loud.

"We're not open," calls a male voice from the back. It's a voice Allison didn't know well enough and knew all too well wrapped together.

Swallowing her fears she calls back, "It's urgent."

Without a further word, the man appears in the front of the clinic. The sunlight shines on his bald head in a way that would've made Allison smile under normal circumstances, but today of all days was not the day to be smiling.

The man opens his mouth to speak, but instead a woman's voice rings through the room, "Allison."

The girl's eyes connect with Ms. Morell and then move back to Deaton's. Allison's heart is pounding in her chest so hard she fears the cavity will break open and her heart will come falling out before she has a chance to do what she came here to do.

"What can we do for you?" Deaton asks plainly, his voice crisp.

"I… I think you know," she states, "you should anyway."

Deaton shakes his head, "I'm afraid I can't help you with that."

Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Ms. Morell takes a step forward, "Brother, this is her duty. Let the girl do what needs to be done."

"Marin, please," Deaton insists, "this isn't the time."

"Of course it is. The time is now; you, Allison, and I all know it is. There's no point in delaying things," Ms. Morell locks eyes with Allison now, "Time is of the essence. If you want to go to the Netherworld and have any chance of coming back we need to do it sooner than later."

"We at least need to let the others know," Deaton tells them, defeat in his tone.

Allison shakes her head and straightens her posture, "No. Scott, Camilla, Lydia… none of them can know. I need to get this done and over with – and when I come back they can thank me."

"But your anchor…"

"No, no one can know about this until it's over," she states sternly, "when it's over you can do whatever you want. Tweet about it, post it on Tumblr, I don't care."

It's Marin that gets them focused when she says, "Deaton, prepare the ice bath."

TEEN WOLF

Lydia sits with her head pressed against the window of the blue jeep, but suddenly she bolts upright, startling Stiles.

"What? What is it?" the boy asks, the strings of his hoodie swaying as he moves about from being scared.

"I'm… its freezing. Stiles, it's absolutely freezing. Can… you've got to turn on the heat," she stammers.

The boy is quick to do so and as the car begins to heat up, Lydia buttons her green coat the rest of the way up. Nothing helps though.

"Do you want my sweatshirt?" Stiles asks worriedly.

Lydia nods and rips the striped hoodie out of Stiles' hands practically before he can get it off. She wraps it around her and zips it up, putting the hood over her strawberry blonde bun. For a minute she thinks she'll be okay when she looks at Stiles and sees his eyes wide.

"What?" she asks him.

"You're… you're blue," he spits out.

Lydia yanks down the mirror to examine herself and gasps when she sees her lips are blue, she looks like she's been thrown into an ice bath. The girl exhales and her breath is visible, even in the heat of the car, and before she knows it she's cold again and her teeth are chattering.

"I'm f-f-freezing," she says through the cold, "what the h-h-hell is g-going on?"

Just then her mouth drops open and a scream pours out.

TEEN WOLF

Camilla taps her pen hard on her desk and stares at the paper in front of her. Ever since she had got home, Camilla has been pondering Kelly's riddle, pouring over every word, even writing the rhyme over and over again.

"…to its roots Evil will stick. WHAT THE HELL?" she yells at herself angrily. "Its roots are evil, because it's the freaking Root of Evil. But where are evil's roots?"

She groans and hits herself in the head lightly, "One by one the fingers prick. Why do they need to prick fingers? What will blood do? And who the hell is they anyways? How is blood going to bring The Root back?"

Camilla stands up and paces her floor, placing the pen in her mouth to chew on, a habit she has had since she was little and can't seem to stop.

"Blood blood blood. Blood is here, The Root is here. We need The Root there, but we can't have blood there because we can't send anyone there… How do we get The Root there if it is here and blood is here. What is here and there?"

Camilla's mind whirs when all of a sudden it hits her.

"The nemeton. The nemeton is here, but Allison, Scott, and Stiles said it was there too. Holy shit, a tree has roots. That's The Root's roots! FUCK YES!"

Excited, Camilla rushes to grab her phone and dial Nolan. She groans as the phone rings, begging for the auburn headed boy to answer.

"C'MON NOLAN!" she screams right as he answers.

"Woah, sorry. My phone was under my cat."

"I don't care, because IFREAKINGFIGUREDITOUT!" she slurs into the phone.

"What? You're yelling and talking fast and I didn't understand a word you said," Nolan tells her.

"Nolan, I—" Camilla stops speaking when she hears a loud crack followed by a crash.

"Camilla? What was that? Are you okay?" Nolan asks, but his questions fall upon deaf ears as Camilla drops her phone and rushes towards the noise.

She rips open her bedroom door and heads to the living room where she heard the noises. There, she sees Peter standing over her father who was bleeding from the head.

"So nice of you to join us, pretty lady," Peter smiles. "So sorry to say you'll have to let the big boys fight this one out."

Before she can process his words, Camilla feels a sharp pain fly across her head and she hits a wall. She slumps to the floor and her head spins and throbs from unmanageable pain.

She slowly brings her hand up to her face and feels something wet. She looks up to the ceiling to see if there was a leak, but everything looks normal. She looks back down at her hand and sees the liquid she felt has a dark red color. Blood. That fucker hit her hard.

Using all of her strength, she uses the wall to help her stand back up. When she's up on her feet, she leans against the wall and tries to get past her aching, spinning head.

She looks at the scene before her and sees that her father had too gotten back up on his feet, but he was not faring well.

Peter repeatedly punches him, but Ron doesn't back down. He takes everything and barely falters. He even gets a few hits in himself.

Camilla notices that her father starts to slow down, so she makes her way to the liquor cabinet, where not only was there an abundance of liquor, but also a few weapons. Weapons that could kill werewolves.

She selects a random handgun and cocks it. Peter's head turns as he realizes for the first time that Camilla wasn't still incapacitated.

"Well, I suppose I underestimated you. Bravo," he smirks. He turns to slash at her father one last time, knowing he won't get any more chances, but he isn't quick enough and Camilla fires one shot straight into his head.

Peter's body immediately falls to the floor, just as Ron does when he realizes he doesn't have to fight anymore. On his knees, he observes his attacker's body.

"Right through the brain with a silver bullet," he smiles. "That's my girl."

"Um, holy shit," a voice says from the doorway.

The father and daughter look up and spot Nolan, who was as pale as Peter's dead body.

"I, um, heard the ruckus through the phone, which you abandoned, so I figured I'd check it out. I'm glad I didn't get here sooner," Nolan says weakly, his eyes darting from Camilla to Peter's body.

"Why don't we step outside so you don't have to keep looking at a dead guy, huh?" Camilla suggests, stepping forward and swaying to the side a bit.

"Um, maybe you should sit down. You're bleeding pretty profusely and I suspect you have a concussion at least."

"What the hell?" another voice roars from the door.

"Isaac, welcome to the party!" Ron says with a laugh. "God I have a weird life."

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I called Isaac too. I figured he'd wanna know," Nolan adds.

Isaac rushes to Camilla's side immediately, "Babe, are you okay? You're bleeding? Is he dead? Did you kill him? Did he hurt you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Yes, I killed him. Yes, he freaking bitch slapped me. The bastard deserved to die. But that's beside the point, because I figured out the riddle," Camilla tells them. "And we need to go now before anyone does anything else to screw this up. I have a feeling Peter wasn't just here to beat us up, he was here with another agenda. One ordered by The Root."

"Okay, explain on the way to… Where are we going?" Isaac asks.

"Scott's," Camilla tells him, stepping forward again, only to nearly topple over. "Okay, maybe I shouldn't walk."

With that, Isaac scoops his girlfriend up and heads out to his car with Nolan right behind him.

TEEN WOLF

Isaac throws the door of the McCall house open and runs inside, calling out "Scott!" as he does so.

He frantically darts into the living room and then hurries up the stairs to check in the boy's room, however when he gets to Scott's room he only finds Melissa, carefree as she hangs up a few of her son's shirts.

"Hey, Isaac," she says with a smile, "what can I help you with?"

"I need Scott," he throws out, "it's an emergency."

She shrugs, "He left for work about thirty minutes ago…"

"Oh no. Oh no no no no no!"

In an instant Isaac is out of the room and running down the stairs and back to the car.

"Is Scott here?" Nolan asks.

Isaac shakes his head, "No, Melissa said he just left for work."

"Shit. We need to go," Camilla demands. "Step on it, babe!"

Isaac does as she tells him and prays they're not too late.

TEEN WOLF

Derek and Erica rush into Deaton's office and move towards the main care area.

When they enter, the scene before them is chaos.

Camilla, for some reason bloody and battered, sits cradled in Isaac's arms sobbing uncontrollably.

Lydia bawls as Stiles holds her close, tears pouring from his eyes.

Nolan and Jackson hold hands as the two let a few tears glide down, Nolan crying a bit more than Jackson.

But the worst part of the whole scene is the two in the middle of the room. Allison and Scott.

Both of them are soaking wet and not moving. Erica's hand moves to her mouth as she realizes what has happened.

Derek roars and punches the wall nearest to him, leaving several cracks.

"There was another way," Lydia sobs. "There was another way…"

Erica can't move her eyes from the dead brunette before her. She watches as their dead body is held by their significant other, tears pouring from that poor soul's eyes.

"It's all my fault," Camilla moans. "I could've figured it out sooner, I could've… I could've stopped this!" Isaac just holds on tighter as his girlfriend loses her sanity.

"Baby, you couldn't have stopped it. It had already happened. Minds were made up. There was nothing you could've done to stop it. It's not your fault," Isaac whispers to her, kissing her on the forehead over and over.

Camilla can't answer through her cries and she just holds on to Isaac tighter, getting blood from her previous wounds all over him, not that he cared or even noticed.

Erica looks at Scott but looks away fast. She can't bear to see him like that. Just like the image of her parents, she'll never be able to un-see the pain on Scott's face as he looked down at the love of his life, dead. She didn't know what was tears and what was water from the ice bath that took Allison's life.

But when she looks at Allison, she knows she will forever be haunted by the sight.

She looks at peace. Though her lips are blue and her skin is unnaturally pale, she looks so calm and serene. That sight is what brings tears to Erica's eyes. Allison Argent, dead in the arms of Scott McCall, looks like an absolute angel.

TEEN WOLF

Nolan walks briskly behind the skinny blonde nurse in front of him. The way she speaks is eerily upbeat and different from the nurses he had experienced a few days prior, and her bright pink scrubs seem inappropriate to Nolan – although he doesn't say anything about them.

They stop then, at the familiar tall metal door with a small, bar covered window on it. The nurse beams at Nolan before she turns around and says, "Have a nice visit with your mom and be careful."

She pulls the door open then and escorts Nolan in, shutting the door behind him as soon as he crosses the threshold.

It's dark. Nolan knows his mother prefers it that way, but the darkness makes him uneasy. The scent of the room is stale and rusty and the boy is sure if there were any lights on he'd see the whole place has a covering of mold on it. He relaxes slightly when he hears footsteps and humming in the room and when his mother materializes in the darkness he lets out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Mom?" he says, just above a whisper.

"I think somebody better put out the big light," Kelly sings, and although there isn't any music playing Nolan feels certain that there's a tune playing in the room.

"Mom?" he asks again, his heart rate picking up as he says the familiar, yet unfamiliar name.

"Cause I can't stand to see you this way. Allison, I know this world is killing you-u-u-u."

He looks down, knowing his shoes are there but not being able to see them due to his eyes not having fully adjusted to the blackness of the room, "Yeah, mom, my friend Allison sort of…"

"Is she swimming with the fishes, sweetie?"

After the words leave her mouth she bursts into laughter and then stops abruptly.

"Come on everybody," she sings, "I say now let's play a game… I bet you I could make a rhyme out of anybody's name."

"Mom, would you please talk to me? Would you please try to put an idea together and tell me how you knew how to stop Malum without anyone having to die?"

The woman's face changes just then, it's like a missing piece has just been put into a puzzle and suddenly everything makes perfect sense. It was like Kelly had been placed into a new level of clarity and, although it was impossible, Nolan was sure his mother had begun to glow.

"Nolan," she says the name slowly at first, tasting it to make certain it's right. "Nolan," she says again, this time satisfied with how it sounds.

"M-mom?" the boy stutters, confused by the sudden change in his mother.

She rushed to him and places her hands on either side of his face, an intensity fills the room as she says, "Nolan, they're coming."

TEEN WOLF

A/N: And that's the end. For now anyways! We've got a whole new season for you coming later on! Thank you so much to everyone who reads, comments, favorites, follows, whatever! We absolutely love writing this, and we're glad that you like it too! Let us know anything you think about this whole season; critiques, praises, anything! It's a sad ending, but there's much more to come. We introduced two new OC's, Susan and Kelly. Well, Susan had been mentioned before but didn't have an actual part yet. But anyways, Susan, in our eyes is played by the one and only Connie Britton, and Kelly is played by Paula Malcomson (you guys might know her as Katniss's mother in The Hunger Games!). We're so proud of our writing this season, and we hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for next season! Thanks so much! -Narly