Chapter 14

Behind the wall in his mind, Stiles was furious, and that fury was aimed mostly at himself. How could he have let this happen? Why had his subconscious been so afraid that it had locked him away? Why couldn't he have been strong enough to face the pain? The thought made him scream and bash at the wall between himself and his body. He could see himself, see what he was doing, and it's not what he wanted, no matter what his body thought it craved. No, being intimate with Niklaus Mikaelson was not on his list of people to be intimate with; right now there was only Derek, and Klaus certainly wasn't the alpha. Even as the original hybrid bent to kiss him again, he heard the roar, and they both stiffened. Stiles felt the smile-that-wasn't-his-smile spread across his lips, and turned his head against the doorframe to look towards the elevator.

"Looks like we've got company." he heard himself repeat the words from earlier, and Klaus nodded, barely glancing away from Stiles.

"Indeed. Perhaps we should make for the exits." Klaus finally replied, and though Stiles nodded, he could feel the licks of panic that were beginning on the other side of the wall. He felt triumphant that his guiltless self was panicking, and almost hoped maybe feel regret. He'd threatened Lydia – he would never have threatened Lydia. Of course, he would've ordered her away from the original, but that was different, and he was surprised that Peter hadn't been there.

"Stiles, isn't it?" the voice of Klaus' youngest brother caught his attention and he turned, that same uncomfortable smile on his features.

"That's me." he cocked his head, and he knew he probably looked half mad. He wished he had control; if he did, he would reach inside his pocket and take his anchor, smash it against the floor, but apparently that wasn't an option. He could see the threat this original posed, see that he thought death was probably the safest way to deal with one such as himself, and it should be scaring him, but instead his other self just let out a cackle. "If you're here to kill me, I think the one you've handed your leash to will disapprove." the youngest original's grin just widened.

"You certainly are cheeky." he noted, and Stiles gave another crazy sounding laugh.

"That's one way to put it." the smile dropped as he studied the original. There was no way he was here alone. His conscienceless self didn't want to see Derek because it actually felt fear for what would happen and that could only make Stiles wary. "I know why you're here." his darker self noted, and Kol lifted a brow. He was seeing the resemblance now; the expression was definitely Elijah's. His self that was in control reached into his pocket where the anchor should have been and then froze. The piece was missing. He whipped around immediately to see Klaus, looking sad as he gazed at the onyx in his hand.

"You aren't yourself, Stiles. You're going to get yourself killed as you are now." his body snarled, a feral sound, and leapt at Klaus, but he was caught from behind by Kol.

"Now!" the youngest shouted, even as his spark pulsed in reaction, throwing the original off. He could feel them now, feel his whole pack coming, and he shuddered at the feeling. The fear from his conscienceless self was hitting him in waves and in turn scaring him. His darker self was terrified of the pain it would feel by destroying the new anchor and letting down the wall. He spun, facing Klaus now who still had his anchor.

"If you break that," he heard himself say, "You're going to put me in so much pain that I could die." his voice hissed, and watched Klaus hesitate. "Give it back to me. I know you don't want to hurt me." he voice was pleading now and it was cracking away at the original. Inside, his darker self was gloating. Manipulating people was just so easy. "If you don't give it back they're going to hurt me. They want to hurt me. They want me to change back so I can kill you, because now you're a threat." as his pack approached he could feel the glass getting thinner and it was making his darker side edgy. Klaus reached to hand it over but then Kol was back on his feet, darting forward and stealing the anchor away.

"Who knew you were so gullible, Nik?" Kol asked, eyes cold, and Klaus glared. Of course, now Stiles' darker half felt like it had no choice. With a flex of his fingers, the window shattered outwards and he was standing on the sill.

"Break it and I'll be out this window before my conscience can come back into play. The other me will wake up just before his skull shatters on the concrete." Stiles could feel the maddening grin on his face and it only made himself fight harder. When had he become this sort of suicidal? He'd never been self serving like this. Where did this come from? He pounded harder and when the originals watched him skeptically, he leaned back, taunting them. And then his voice slammed into him.

"Stiles!" Stiles watched the glass in his mind shatter at the single syllable, his vision shaking as if two sets of eyes were becoming one. "Stiles stop!" he vaguely heard the sound of his temporary anchor fracturing and as the glass shattered in his mind, the pain poured in. There was a disembodied scream that he realized was probably his own and he clapped his hands to his head. He pushed past the pain, trying to see Derek, but even as he caught sight of Derek another wave of pain hit him. His vision focused and finally his tongue was his own.

"Derek?" he called, and he was so relieved he was finally back in control, but even he could hear the fear and his own voice. He saw the relief in Derek's expression, but then he was hit with more pain, and his balance wavered. Before he knew it, he was tipping backwards, limbs flailing for purchase. He watched the relief turn to panic as Derek lurched forward, but then Stiles was faced with the New York sky and he was falling.

Alright everyone, this was the second last chapter! Hope you liked it!