Hey guys. I'm sorry for the unannounced absence. I don't really feel like talking about it publicly, but just know that I had a very good reason for disappearing and (I hope to god) it won't happen again. I can't guarantee I'll update regularly for a while, but I will when I can. So no update schedules for now, but there will be new chapters every now and then. I debated not continuing with this story because of a certain plotline that strikes a little too close to home, but you guys have been so wonderful and I don't want to disappoint you. So I'll be continuing on, but I'm a little unsure about how the story goes now. You'll see what I mean later.

Anyway. Here's the next chapter, and I hope you like it.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Now.

It takes Isaac almost an hour, but he finally breaks free. Normally he would have been able to get out of a situation like that in a matter of minutes, but whatever Stiles and Lydia had given him has messed with his system. He can't tap into his wolf powers, and he's finding it hard enough to stand, let alone walk. He doesn't suppose this matters, though, because he's got nowhere to go. The nogitsune's taken over Stiles, and Lydia joined them. Allison's on their side too, and, from what he was able to understand, they've also done something to Scott. That's most of the pack gone, and without them Isaac feels lost.

He wanders the streets, and after a while it starts to rain, but he doesn't mind. He barely even feels it, if he's honest, because he's so deep within his own thoughts. It's not just concern for his friends that's making him feel so crazy – it's also a selfish fear, a primal instinct to keep himself alive. He's strongest with the pack, so it would make sense that he's weak without them. But this bothers him, because he'd spent years being weak – and he'd spent years being alone. He'd thought that had changed, but here he is, taken out by something as simple as mind control spell. He doubts Scott would have ever fallen for that.

As he walks, he shoves his hands in his pockets and kicks a rock in front of him, and he lets the rain come down. He lets himself think about Stiles and Lydia, and Scott, and even Kira, but he doesn't let his mind linger too long on the subject of Allison. He almost wishes that she hadn't fought it back in the woods, because to have her come back to herself only to be taken over again had been too cruel, almost like losing her again. But if she keeps fighting, maybe she'll be able to find a way to come back to herself for good. If any of them have the potential to fight something like this, it's Allison.

She's a fighter, and Isaac knows that well. He's got the scars to prove it, after all. But even if she does fight, there's no guarantee that she'll win. She's got Stiles to contend with, or rather the nogitsune, and they still don't know how powerful he is. But if he can easily take out Isaac, and even go after Scott – the true alpha, the most powerful werewolf in Beacon Hills – then he must be pretty damn powerful, or at the very least incredibly confident. Neither of those bode well for them.

And then there's Lydia. Isaac wants to hate her, but he can't. He hasn't had as much to do with her as he has with the others, but he does admire her. She's been through a lot, and she hasn't let it make her weak – but she also hasn't let it make her hard. She's always had a quick wit and a sharp tongue, but she's not a cold person. She has soft edges, a kind smile, and the kind of mind that makes people yearn for her approval. There's something almost intoxicating about her look of approval, and Isaac has the feeling that if he knew her better, he would be striving for her approval too.

For now, he'll just settle for not being killed by her. He's not sure how likely that is, because he still doesn't know what her motivations are. They got rid of the fly that the nogitsune poisoned her with – which, if he heard correctly, is the same method they used to get to Allison – but they hadn't saved her. He'd known it from the start, and had acknowledged it even before Scott had. Lydia had been linked to the nogitsune, although he's still not entirely sure how. She's still linked to him now, and she may not be possessed anymore but she's sure as hell not herself. He doesn't know what she's capable of or how far she'll go.

He's also not sure how far he's gone. His shirt is soaked through and his shoes are heavy, and his feet are starting to ache, and his whole body aches for that matter, but he doesn't really notice it. He just keeps walking, with nowhere to go.

After a while a light washes over him and he moves out of the way, suddenly realizing that he'd been walking down the middle of the road. The car swerves around him, and then it pulls over up ahead. He should be wary, but he's not. He just keeps walking, and as he passes by the car door opens and voices spill out from inside.

"I'm telling you, we should -"

"We can't just -"

"I thought we were -"

"We don't have time -"

"Stop it."

The last voice is the only female one, and she's stern. Her voice is familiar, and Isaac turns to look, and even though everything is distorted through the rain he knows who it is. Mrs McCall hurries over to him, and then she comes to a stop in front of him. He looks up at her, blinking against the rain still hitting his face, and then he finds himself pressed against her as she envelopes him in a firm hug. He rests his head on her shoulder for a moment, and he can almost pretend that this is what it's like to be peaceful.

"I didn't know where you were," she says, and she doesn't mention Scott which must mean that she knows. The hug ends but she holds on, wrapping her arm around his shoulders and steering him toward the car, not even waiting for any kind of protest.

He finds himself in the backseat, and he's not altogether surprised to find that the Sheriff is next to him. Mrs McCall gets back into the passenger's side in the front, and Isaac cranes his neck and sees that Mr Argent is driving. It takes Isaac a second to adjust to this, to remember that some people's parents are actually supportive and genuinely interested in their children's welfare – and that all the people in the car know about the supernatural.

They also know not to push him, and it soon becomes clear why. They drive in silence, and Isaac stares out the window and thinks of nothing but Allison. He should be worried about Scott and Stiles and Lydia and working out how to save them, but instead he's replaying the past day over and over in his mind. He knows it wasn't her, not really, but he can't get past the look in her eyes. It hadn't been anger, or disgust, or any other such strong and negative emotion. It had been complete apathetic dismissal. When she'd punched him – both today and just after she'd been infected – it had been like he was beneath her, like she didn't even want to waste the time to really hurt him.

And, ironically, that's what hurt the most.

It's not long before they pull up at the animal clinic, and as soon as they do Isaac starts to feel a little better. He may not have his alpha, but they're not alone. And if anyone's going to be able to help, it will be Deaton. Isaac follows the adults into the clinic, noticing how at ease Mr Argent is as he leads the way around the back and walks straight through the back door without knocking. Mrs McCall sticks close to Isaac, and the Sheriff sticks close to her, and Mr Argent leads the way.

Deaton is there, as he always is, even though it has to be getting late. He's at the front desk sifting through a pile of papers, but he sets these aside immediately as he sees the group that approaches him. He knows a bit about what's going on, and has been helping them in their fight against the nogitsune – and he knows that something dire must have happened to bring all of the parents here, along with a lone werewolf. (He hates to think it, but he might be the last member of the McCall pack.)

"Are you okay?" Deaton asks, addressing his first question to Isaac. When the werewolf nods, he turns his attention to Argent. "What happened?"

While Mr Argent fills Deaton in on what's gone on, Isaac sits down on the nearest chair, at the recommendation of Mrs McCall, who darts off into another room and somehow comes back with a towel and a dry shirt. Isaac shrugs into it, keeping an eye on Mr Argent and Deaton, listening to the story and wondering why he's not surprised. He also wonders what the nogitsune is planning, and why he hadn't just killed him. Maybe it's the same as with Allison – he just doesn't think he's worth the effort.

By the time Mr Argent has filled Deaton in on the situation, Isaac is starting to warm up. It's been a hellish couple of days, but the effects of the potion that Lydia and Stiles had dosed him with are definitely fading. Aside from a faint nausea and a slight headache, he's fine, which means he can focus on what's going on. Maybe he can find a way to save them.

"Hm." Deaton leans against the counter, thoughtful but seeming unworried. If Isaac couldn't hear his heartbeat he might even believe his act, but he can tell that the druid is as worried as the rest of them; he's just better at hiding it. "It seems that the nogitsune is making his next move."

"Positioning the players," Argent adds, grim. "But the question is: what's the endgame here?"

"This nogitsune," Mrs McCall says, "it likes chaos and destruction, right?"

"Right." Deaton glances at Isaac and then away again. "So maybe its first goal is to destroy Scott's pack."

The Sheriff, who up until now had been leaning against the wall and looking like he's trying not to strangle someone – although Isaac can't quite tell who the anger is directed at – steps forward. "Why leave Isaac then? Do they think he's not a threat?"

Deaton turns to him now, and Isaac does his best to look back steadily, to hide the fact that he's terrified and losing his mind and his friends and everything that's ever mattered to him. "Is that what happened, Isaac?" he asks, not unkindly. "Did the nogitsune actually let you go?"

Isaac dips his head, and then he offers up a brief account of the events that had brought him here. Mrs McCall lets out a sound that's halfway between pain and pride when he says that Allison's infected now, and the Sheriff winces when he recounts the story of how Stiles and Lydia had done it. When he's finished, there's silence, the kind of silence that pierces his heart and makes him wish that he hadn't spoken at all.

Then Mr Argent speaks, and Isaac braces himself. The hunter has never been a fan of his, and he's sure to have criticism to give. "I don't think it's like that," he says. "It doesn't sound like they've actually taken anyone out yet. They're not killing, just… manipulating. If they really weren't threatened by Isaac, they would have just gotten rid of him. But they kept him around, which must mean they think he could be useful."

Unsure whether this is meant to be a compliment, Isaac says nothing. Deaton looks troubled. Mrs McCall and the Sheriff are look at each other. And Argent looks like he's about to go on the warpath, if only he could find the start of the trail.

"Is there anything we can do?" Melissa asks, worrying her lip and turning back to the vet. "Normally I'd leave this to the kids, but…"

She leaves the sentence hanging; no elaboration necessary.

"There is something," Deaton says, but the reluctance in his voice causes tension to buzz through the room. Whatever it is, it's bad; and whatever it is, they're going to do it. "It would be very dangerous, and it would involve… Do you all remember the sacrifice that your children made when you were trapped in the Nemeton?"

Isaac watches the parents as one by one the lights flick on. They know where this is going, but they're not backing down.

"Yes," Argent says at last, the word tight, like he doesn't want to say it but he knows that somebody has to.

"This would be something similar," Deaton says delicately, and suddenly Isaac doesn't feel so safe anymore. It had been dangerous enough the first time, and he can't imagine doing it again. Everything was supposed to be better, but Beacon Hills just keeps throwing more and more chaos their way.

Mrs McCall swallows, nervous but determined. "Are you saying that we… Would we have to die?"

There's no room for lies, no time for hesitance. "Yes," he says.

The room is silent, but the rain keeps pounding on the roof. And somewhere out there, Isaac is sure the nogitsune is laughing at them.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

I love Isaac, and will never be okay with the way that he's just been a complete non-issue this season, like no one's even expressed any sense of missing him or anything (at least in the episodes I've seen). Sigh. Anyway. I hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to review. I'll see you next chapter, which will have some, uh, 'action'.