CHAPTER TWENTY

TRANSMUTATION

Stiles was working at his desk on his math homework while Georgie laid out on his bed, eyes glazing over her science textbook, when Alec walked in, "Drop what you're doing. I'm taking you both out to dinner. Whatever you want."

"We're what?" Stiles asked. "Can you... do that?" He knew most of their hospital bills had been paid off, but he knew there were still worries.

But his father grinned and produced a piece of paper from his pocket, handing it to Stiles.

"What is it?"

"A letter of apology from Eichen House. Apparently, they've decided to pay back our bill to make up for..." he trailed off, grimacing at the reasons. "Well, you guys and Lydia almost getting murdered."

Stiles jumped up, "I have never been so happy to have almost been murdered."

Georgie laughed at his antics.

Alec clapped his hand on his son's shoulder, happy enough as well, "We're going to be okay. And at least for the moment, I can afford to take my son and his girlfriend out to dinner. Georgie, is Italian still your favorite?"

Georgie grinned widely, "You bet."

Once again, Liam was desperately trying to distract himself from his fears and anxieties and his inevitable string of groveling for Beth's forgiveness, by hovering in his room with Mason.

"I know something's going on," Mason told him, sitting next to him on the bed. "I know you don't want to talk about it. But you're still my best friend. And, um... considering the fact that the last good friend I made turned out to be a professional killer, I'm thinking that I don't have too many options for new ones. So, when you're ready to talk, talk." When and how did Liam land such an amazing best friend? Mason suddenly grinned, "Until then, I know I can kick your ass in at least one of these games."

Liam smirked, reaching into the pile and picking one out, "Never played this one."

They were playing for close to three hours when Mason finally spoke up again about something serious. "You know you have to make it up to Beth though, right?"

Liam sighed, "Yeah, I know."

"I mean, I don't even know what you guys were talking about," he said. "But I know she looked pretty upset earlier. You might have to beg for forgiveness."

"I know," Liam agreed.

And so, the next day, Liam looked everywhere for Beth in the halls between classes. It sucked that they didn't have any classes together. It was close to the end of the day when he finally caught sight of her at the end the hall, behind a host of moving teenagers.

"Beth!" he called, but over the roar of students excited for the big game, she couldn't hear him.

"Beth!" he tried again, but one of her friends had flagged her down further down the hallway and she disappeared. He hadn't known that she had heard that last attempt to get her attention but was still too stung to talk to him.

To make matters worse, the real game against Devenford was going to start soon and he hadn't seen Scott all day. Or Jessie. Stiles didn't seem as bothered, "Everything's fine. I got a text from him this morning and he said he might be a little late."

"Well, how late is late? Is he always late?" Liam badgered him as they walked into the locker room. "We're playing Devenford Prep again and this time it's an actual game. He shouldn't be late."

Those words grabbed Coach's attention nearby, "Who shouldn't be late?"

Stiles hesitated. "Scott and Jessie. They might be slightly late."

Those words seemed to blow Coach's mind as he stammered, "Slightly late is still late. What are they doing?"

"They're doing something that's going to make them slightly late," Stiles stammered, finding the whole conversation awkward. He didn't want to think about what Scott and Jessie were doing.

But Coach didn't get it yet. "What could Scott and Jessie be doing right now that's more important than playing in the first game?"

Liam and Stiles just stared at him. The reason was obvious wasn't it? Scott and Jessie, alone?

"Oh, Coach," Stiles murmured when he saw the realization dawn on the older man's face finally.

But time wore on and soon Liam and Stiles were on the bench in their uniforms waiting for the game to start. His knee bounced up and down as he looked around. He saw Georgie and the Sheriff walking over and sitting with Beth. He saw Mason in the stands. He saw Malia sitting off on her own, before Kira joined her. But still no Scott or Jessie.

"They're still not here," he gritted his teeth.

"Okay, what's really going on?" Stiles asked. "Are you nervous about the full moon? It's not for another 24 hours."

Liam gazed up at the almost-full moon warily.

Stiles huffed, "Liam, you're gonna be fine. Okay? Just try not to rage out on anyone."

Liam gave him a look, "You're not worried?"

"Okay, I'm mildly concerned. Mildly," Stiles stressed, but he still pulled out his phone and texted Scott again, with the phrase very worried.

"We're gonna lose without him," Liam said.

"No, we're not," Stiles insisted. "We can be just as good without Scott. Okay? I've been practicing. Let me tell you something. I'm getting good. Really good."

But of course, when the game started, Stiles flopped. He lost the ball as quickly as he got it in his net, he tripped over his cleats, and he got tackled three times over. On the line tackle by two green jerseys, Liam stood over him, wondering when the 'really good' started.

Stiles groaned, "Yeah. I'm gonna call Scott again."

Jordan didn't like the smell of the water plant underground pipes as he moved through them looking for Peter. It was dark and wet and didn't smell all that great. But he knew something wasn't okay with Peter and didn't think they should have let him go.

He heard some kind of pained groaning and rounded a corner with his piece and flashlight, shining it on Chris Argent's face. The man was pinned to the wall by a serrated metal pipe that had been stabbed through his midsection and bent in front of him, so he couldn't simply walk forward to pull it out and get off of the wall. Before the deputy said anything, he looked around, knowing whoever did this to him could still be here.

"They're gone," Chris groaned.

Now knowing the coast was clear, Jordan put his light down and raced over, "How long have you been like this?"

"I don't know," he groaned, head lolling weakly. "Might have blacked out a few times."

"Peter Hale did this?" Jordan guessed.

Chris lifted his eyes. "You were following him?"

"Every day since Meredith Walker."

With as much effort as he had left and a little urgency, Chris said, "Listen to me. Kate's going after Scott. Peter and Kate. You've got to warn them."

"I can't. There's no service down here," Jordan told him. He'd already checked his phone when he first got down there and saw no bars.

"Then just go," Chris gasped out.

"If I leave right now, you'll be dead by the time I get back," he pointed out. "We're getting you out of here."

"Come on!" Coach shouted angrily as the ref's whistle blew after Devenford made yet another goal against Beacon Hills.

On the bench, Stiles was staring at his phone void of any responses to his texts to both Scott and Jessie. "All right. Neither of them are answering. I gotta go see what's going on."

"You're leaving?" Liam gaped. "What are you going to tell Coach?"

Stiles thought of making up an excuse for Coach but looked over to see the man throwing a slight tantrum, tossing his clipboard on the ground and shouting, "Stupid! Stupid old..."

"Uh, you don't tell him anything. Okay?" he decided. "Liam, you're gonna be okay. All right?"

Liam nodded small as Stiles left. He approached his dad, sitting with Georgie and Beth and told them, "Scott and Jessie still aren't answering any of my texts or calls today. What about you?"

Beth chewed on her lip and shook her head. She hadn't seen her sister at all. She'd tried calling twice and texting but got nothing back. Neither had she gotten anything from Scott, and she knew he'd answer her if he thought she was worried.

"Let's go see if we can find them," Alec said, already standing.

"Want us to stay here if he shows up?" Georgie offered.

"Yes," Stiles said, giving her a quick kiss before following his dad off the field.

Beth bounced her knees, trapping her clenched hands on her lap, as she stared out at the field.

"Liam! Get on the field!" Coach yelled, and she saw Liam staring over at them, before he got startled enough to run into the game.

Beth watched and cringed as the game went on. She noticed Brett had gotten the ball and was heading right passed Liam. But Liam seemed completely frozen in place.

"Liam, for the love of God, move!" Coach shouted.

But when Liam finally seemed to unfreeze, Brett had already passed him and made the shot.

Jessie was disoriented when she woke up and strained when she realized her hands were shackled above her head on a wall, holding her up. She looked around and saw she was in some kind of circular room with iron bars and bones littering the ground. She hissed in pain as she felt like something was burning into her wrists. Looking up, she saw that her shackles were coated in something gooey and red. And she knew what it had to be – dead man's blood. It was something vampires couldn't live off of. It made them sick. Her skin was breaking out into hives at the contact.

"Scott?" she whimpered, her hair falling haphazardly into her eyes.

"Scott!" she yelled, her voice echoing all around her. She tried to pull free from the shackles, but that only proved to make them dig more into her skin and seer into her. If she broke the skin and the dead blood got in, it may poison her.

"SCOTT!"

Alex did not understand why Lydia had showed up at his apartment, or how she even knew where it was. She didn't have much in the way of explanation either. Just that since he felt like death, she could somehow find him. She didn't know if that was because he had died and come back, or if it marked him for death again. But she said she needed his backup for something more pressing. He felt uneasy waltzing into Eichen House again after the last time they were there, but dutifully followed her.

"Still nothing. I think we're going to have to move him to the sixth floor," they heard a doctor saying.

Lydia marched in, seeing what she had feared, a comatose Deaton on the hospital bed. "You're not taking him anywhere."

The doctor looked startled upon her arrival, "Well, unless you're family, I don't think you can make that decision."

"We're close enough," she quipped. "Let me talk to him."

He looked skeptical, "He's not responding to any stimuli. We can talk to him, but there's no way of knowing he's actually hearing us."

"Trust me on this. He'll hear me."

Beth flinched harshly when she saw Brett completely body check Liam, earning a whistle.

Liam groaned as he fell on the ground, glaring up at his 'rival.' "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Because you're afraid," Brett goaded him. "I can smell it on you from across the field. Are you hurt?"

"No," Liam said.

"Are you still alive?"

"Obviously," Liam spat.

"Then get up," Brett spurred him on.

Liam stood just as the referee reached them. "You good to play?" He nodded. The man gave Brett a look, "You planning on pulling something like that again?"

Brett just smirked at Liam, "Only if I have to."

Malia was glad Kira was in the game when Peter stalked over and sat next to her in the bleachers. "So, who's winning?"

"I told you not to come here," she growled.

"If you want to have a clandestine meeting you need to choose a clandestine location," he retorted.

"After what happened with you and Meredith, I'm pretty sure I can do without any kind of one-on-one father-daughter time," she told him.

"How about mother-daughter time?" he asked, earning her attention. "That's right. I found our Desert Wolf."

Malia had to admit she was desperate for answers about her mother. "Is she definitely my mother?"

"Yes," he said. "But if you want to find her, you're going to have to do something for me. Something that's come naturally to you for a very long time."

She knew there had to be a catch. Even if he was her father, he wouldn't help her unless he benefited. "Do you always have to get something in return?"

"When it's something I can't do on my own? Yes," he said casually.

"What do you want?"

He looked at her like he'd caught her in his web. "I want you to kill Kate Argent."

Even if he'd gotten some sense knocked into him by Brett, it hadn't been enough to save the game, and they lost miserably. Liam was sulking in the locker room alone once the team cleared out. Or at least, he was alone until Brett wandered over. "You okay?"

He shrugged. "We lost."

"But you're okay, right?" Brett pointed out. Worst case scenario – at least where lacrosse in concerned – had happened and he was fine.

"Why'd you do that?" Liam asked. "Why'd you help me?"

"Because of Scott," Brett said clearly. "He saved me. He saved all of us. Do you know how lucky you are?"

Liam frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Scott's a True Alpha," Brett explained like he was calling Scott an angel. "That means he didn't get his power because he was born with it. He didn't get it by stealing or killing someone. He earned it. You're not strong just because you can lift a lot of weight now. You're strong because you endure. Satomi calls it strength of character. You're lucky to have him." With his piece said, Brett made his way out of the locker room, leaving Liam alone again.

Liam stared ahead, knee bouncing again, "Then why isn't he here?"

Jordan had tried again and again to bend the metal bar back so Chris could get out. But it didn't want to give, and Chris screamed bloody murder during his attempts. Taking another break, Jordan panted, "Sorry. I'm sorry. I can't do it myself. It's not bending back and it's not coming out of the wall."

"Leave," Chris tried again. He was starting to want to pass out again.

"I can't do that either," Jordan told him, determined. "I need you to help me. I know you're hurt and tired, but I need you to gather everything you've got and help me."

"I've got nothing," Chris told him, panting in pain, head hanging down.

"Grab the bar, sir," the deputy tried to encourage him.

"I've got nothing left. Please, go. Just go. You're running out of time," Chris begged him.

"You know what you need? Adrenaline," Jordan coached him. "There's two ways to get it. Fear and anger. Since you don't look like a guy who's afraid of anything, you need to get angry. You need to get so angry that your brain lets loose every bit of adrenaline it has left!"

Chris threw up his head against the stone behind him and almost cried, "I'm too tired to be angry."

"Okay," Jordan sighed, trying to think of a way to motivate this man to want to get out of this alive. "I don't know much about you or what you've been through. But Georgie told me some of it. And I know about Allison. I know how she felt about Scott. And I think if she knew what was happening to him, she'd be pretty angry. At least angry enough to try one more time to get the hell out of here. So whatever trigger you need, if it's Allison, or your sister, or Peter, use it. Use it right now."

Chris thought of his daughter. She had been in love with Scott to her dying breath, and so dedicated to her friends that she died protecting them. She had even been trying to help them with her last words, helping them to survive, to defeat the Oni that had slain her. She had the fighting spirit. And he needed to find that within himself now. For her.

So, he and Jordan both folded their hands on the bar and started bending it. He screamed through the pain, determined now to make it out.

Stiles and his dad jogged up the stairs leading to Derek's loft as quick as they could. When they arrived, the door was already wide open, and they walked in, feeling like they were walking into the scene of a crime. The table was in shatters, some of the light bulbs hanging from the ceiling were dead or broken. There had definitely been a fight. And there was – for some reason – a black witch's hat in the center of the room.

Derek, Marissa, Connor, and Braeden were already there, assessing the damage.

The Sheriff was gaping at the room, "What the hell happened?"

"It was supposed to be a date," Derek explained, gesturing to the lights. But it had obviously gone wrong.

"They were both here?" Stiles asked, noticing the completely shattered window at the end of the loft.

Connor added, "And they're both gone."

Stiles' phone vibrated, and he pulled it out to see Lydia's name. "Hey."

Her voice sounded urgent as she told him what he already knew, "Scott's been taken."

"Scott and Jessie," he sighed. "We just don't know where."

He was surprised when Deaton chimed in, "Mexico. And if you want to save their lives, that's where you're going too."

"Okay, but there's one more thing," Stiles accepted their mission, but had to ask. "Does a pointy black witch hat mean anything to you?"

At the vet clinic, Lydia and Deaton were frowning in confusion. But Alex's face – usually unflappable – had gone white. "Shit. It's Hilda. She must have paired up with Kate to get to Jessie." He looked at Lydia, face completely overtaken by determination, "We need to get to them. Now."

When Scott woke up, he tried to move but found his wrists and ankles bound in leather straps and vines of wolfsbane, cascading over the rest of his body. He could hear the slight rumbling of beserkers flanking him when suddenly he heard Kate's malicious voice.

"Tell me, Scott. They ever teach you the myth of Artemis and Actaeon in school?" she asked him, her boots thudding on the stone ground as she approached him. When he didn't answer she just feigned disappointment, "No? I didn't think so. Well, Artemis was a goddess. And Actaeon was a hunter that happened to see Artemis bathing naked one day. This did not make the goddess too happy. In fact, she was so angry, Artemis turned Actaeon into a deer and this sent his own hounds into a frenzy. He was actually torn apart by his own hunting dogs." She seemed to find some glee in the mythical violence as she picked up a hollowed-out skull that looked just like the beserker's masks. Scott gaped when he saw that they had some kind of straps on them.

"What are you doing?"

She chuckled at his question. "I'm not gonna turn you into a deer. But you are about to become something unrecognizable to your friends." She started walking around the table, holding the mask over his face, "They won't know what they're fighting. Or killing."

Scott started struggling with his bounds, thrashing desperately to get out of them, "Kate, hold on..." But she just grinned as she started lowering it onto his face and he begged for her to stop and screamed for her not to, "No, Kate, no. No, Kate. Don't. No, no. No! Wait. No, no! Kate, don't! No! Stop! Wait, no!"

Next chapter is the last chapter.