"You think you can beat a pack of alphas?" I demanded. "You're delusional."
"Am I?" she asked, smirking. "Tell her Derek. Tell her what happens on the total lunar eclipse."
My eyebrows furrowed and I searched through my mind but I couldn't recall coming across that certain piece of information. It felt weird. Not knowing. And a little scary.
Fear of the unknown.
Derek and I's eyes met.
He looked worried. "We lose all our power."
My eyes dropped to the ground and I took a step back, processing this new found information. I felt Derek's hands on my back and I leant back into him when my phone buzzed. It was a text from Scott. It read; We have a plan.
I looked to Derek and he walked forward, opening the elevator doors wider.
After a few minutes of nervous anticipation the elevator lights flickered back on. Derek pressed a button and the elevator began moving.
Time seemed to slow down. I turned around to see Jennifer in her darach form, her face mutilated and disgusting. She swung an arm at me and I dived out of the way, missing the swoosh of power, although sending bolts of pain up my whole body. She went to punch Derek but I kicked out her legs from where I lay on the floor. She flicked her hand at me and slid across the elevator floor, hitting my head hard. Everything went fuzzy and I fought desperately to stay conscious. Black dots began to cloud my vision but I refused to let them take over. I saw the darach push Derek back against the elevator wall, hard, knocking him out. I closed my eyes as the dizziness became to much and when I opened them again she was gone. The elevator doors opened and I saw Scott rushing down the hall.
"Violet!" He called. "Where is she?"
"I-I don't know," I said, stumbling to my feet but I swayed and almost fell.
"Mum," Scott gasped before rushing over.
"Scott!" Stiles shouted, running after him. He skidded to a stop and our eyes met. "Guardians," he choked out.
"Dad..Melissa," I murmured, realisation dawning on me. I took off, running as fast as I possibly could after Scott, Stiles close behind me. I ran up to the roof in time to hear Deucalion.
"You help me catch her and I'll help you get your mother and Stiles' father back," he was saying.
"Scott!" I called, stopping him from where he was walking toward Deucalion.
"Don't do this. Don't go with him," Stiles said.
"I don't know what else to do," Scott said.
"Scott there's gotta be something else. We always have a plan B," I said. Scott turned to me and the sight of tears in his eyes brought tears to my own.
"Not this time," he said.
"Scott," I called after him and hurried down to him. He hugged me tightly and I ignored how much it hurt. I leaned up, my lips brushing his ear, "Remember who the real enemy is," I murmured. He pulled back and searched my face before giving me a small nod.
"I'm going to get your dad back," he promised. I nodded.
"I know," I said, my voice wavering. "I know."
A tear slid down his cheek before he turned and left, following Deucalion.
Stiles watched for a moment more before running back down. I took in a few steadying breaths and followed more slowly. Everywhere around me spun and I knew I was about to pass out, from blood loss and probably concussion. My phoned binged and I looked down to see it was a text from Isaac.
Where the hell are you guys? Are you ok? We have Cora. Safe. But she's not looking good.
I let out a sigh of relief.
I looked to see Stiles slapping Derek, trying desperately to wake him up.
"Derek come on!" Stiles shouted, raising his hand to hit him again. I caught his arm and gently pushed him away. I cupped Derek's cheek.
"Derek," i said. His eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Where is she?" He demanded.
"Jennifer's gone. With Scott's mum," Stiles replied.
"She took her?"
"Yeah and if that's not enough of a kick to the balls Scott left with Deucalion. So we gotta get you out of here. Police are coming right now and we gotta get you the hell out of here," Stiles said, grabbing his hand and pulling him up.
"What about Cora?" Derek asked.
"Peter and Isaac have her," I said. "She's safe for now."
"I have to go," Derek said. We all stood. "Are you ok?" He asked. I searched his face and clenched my jaw. I nodded. He leaned down and kissed me, quickly and passionately. He pulled back and our eyes met again, connecting before he brushed past us, squeezing Stiles' arm and disappearing.
I let out a long breath. "I have to get this piece of glass out of me," I said.
"What piece of-?"
I cut him off by lifting my shirt.
"Holy shit!" Stiles exclaimed.
"Mmm," I hummed, jogging out of the elevator, sort of limping, and down to a medical tray. I rummaged through it till I found the necessary equipment. I quickly threaded the needle and slid down the wall so I wasn't standing, so I wouldn't lose as much blood. Stiles fell to his knees beside me.
"Do you know what you're doing?" He asked.
"More or less," i said before gripping the massive piece of glass and beginning to pull it out. I shouted in pain as it tore through my entire body but I kept pulling till it was free. I threw it off to the side and quickly pressed some bandages down to stem the blood flow. Blood poured out, saturating the bandages and making me feel severely lightheaded. "I have to get this stitched up," I muttered. I lay down on my back so less blood came out and took the bandage off. I began stitching the gaping wound up, wincing every time I had to pull the needle through. I finished just as we heard the doors down the hall and around the corner fly open. I quickly tied it up, kicked the bloody bandage and piece of glass out of the way and standing up. Stiles helped me over to a chair and we sat. I began biting a nail.
.
FBI agents were scattered around. I looked up and my eyes widened. Scott's dad was there.
"Perfect," I breathed out. He marched over to us.
"The two Stillinski's at the centre of this, what a shocker," he said. I glared up at him. "Think you can answer the questions without the usual level of sarcasm?"
"If you can ask them without the usual level of stupidity," I smiled innocently. He smirked.
"Someone's grown up," he said. "Where's your dad and why's no one been able to contact him?"
"I don't know, we haven't seen him in hours," Stiles said.
"Is he drinking again?" McCall asked. I scoffed.
"What do you mean again? He never had to stop," Stiles said.
"But he did have to slow down. Is he drinking like he used to?" McCall questioned.
"Ok how about this? Next time I see him I'll give him the field sobriety test ok?" Stiles said.
"And we'll do the alphabet. Start with F end with U," I said. McCall chuckled.
"How about you just tell me what the hell happened here?" He said.
"We don't know what happened here," Stiles said.
"We were stuck in the elevators the whole time," we both said at the same time and thank god our minds worked exactly the same.
"You're not the one that put the name on the door are you?" McCall asked.
"Name? What name?" Stiles asked.
"Argent," I breathed out.
"So you do know?" McCall questioned.
"No I just saw it then," I lied, pointing down the hall at the elevator, which was actually out of my view. Not that he needed to know that. He turned his back, craning his neck to look at the elevator and in the time I grabbed Stiles' hand, dragging him away.
"Guardians," I gasped out.
"What?" Stiles asked. "We've already established that."
"Scott's mum, our dad..and Allison's dad," I said. "Argent."
Stiles' eyes widened.
-O-
"But she took Scott's mother and Violet's father," Allison told her dad as Stiles, Chris, Allison and I walked through their apartment toward Chris's desk. "That's not a coincidence."
"Yeah and also consider the fact that someone put your name up in large block letters on the elevator doors," Stiles said, sitting down. "That kind of felt like a warning to me."
"I think it might be Morell. She knows a lot more than she lets on and she might even be trying to help us," Allison said.
"Well she needs to get on that a lot faster," Stiles said.
"Violet?" Chris questioned, looking to me.
''I don't know why we're debating it," I said. "There's thousands of possible people she could have taken and she's taken our parents. No offence but it's pretty obvious it's going to be you next. She's just doing it to mess with us, make us weaker. She's using them as a distraction."
"And the lunar eclipse it two freaking nights away," Stiles sighed.
"Stiles, don't give up hope," Chris said.
"He could already be dead," Stiles said.
"I don't think so," I said. "She's still moving pieces into place, still positioning things. "
"And you're one of them," Allison said to her dad.
"Then let's not wait around to see her next move," Chris said, pulling out and unfolding a map. "Everything she's done has been on the telluric currents so Melissa and the sheriff have to be on one of those currents right? Stiles, Violet, it we're going to find them we're going to need your help."
"You seriously want to go after her?" Stiles questioned. "What if she just takes you like the others? No offence but what's the difference between you and them?"
Chris pulled out a gun, loading it. "I'm carrying a 45. Maybe she can heal a few shots to the leg and a few slashes to the face but personally I'd like to see how she heals with half her skull blown off. We've got one priority right now and that is to find Melissa and the sheriff. We've got to figure this out. But we don't have much time which is why I need all of you."
Stiles sighed in defeat. "Where do we start?"
.
"The places where the sacrifices have been taken are usually different to where the bodies have been found," i explained. "I think the placement has to do with the strength of the current so. There's the school," I hovered the light over the map, showing what could only be seen under the light. "The vet clinic, the bank."
"Wait so she wouldn't use the same place twice would she?" Stiles asked.
"Only if she didn't succeed the first time," Chris said. He pointed to the bank where we'd saved Deaton. "Scott's boss. I really feel like that could mean something," he said.
"That's just one place so far, we're going to need a lot more help," Stiles said.
"What about Lydia?" I suggested.
"Lydia? What can she do?" Chris asked.
"Lydia's got sort of a talent," Stiles said. "She somehow ended up finding a couple of the bodies. Without actually looking for them."
"What is she? Psychic?" Chris questioned.
"She was bitten by an alpha and didn't get turned," i said. "She's immune to the bite. She's something."
.
Chris, Allison and I began laying out different guns and bows and knives. I picked up a composite bow, feeling it in my hands and aimed it, with no arrow in it, to get a feel of it. Chris did the same to a gun while Allison spun some knives around her fingers.
"Woah," Stiles said. I scrunched my nose up and put it down, picking up an ASP pistol with a 7 round magazine and a silencer on it. I slipped it under my shirt.
"I thought you guys were retired," Stiles said to Allison and Chris.
"Retired? Yes. Defenceless? No," Chris said. "Make sure your phones are on. If you hear from Scott you let us know immediately."
Stiles looked down at his phone. "Yeah I'm thinking that's gonna be kinda unlikely."
"All of you try to remember he's just doing what he thinks is right," Chris said. We turned around to Isaac.
"I can't shoot a gun or use a crossbow but..well.. I am getting pretty good with these," he said, holding up a clawed hand.
-O-
"Are you gonna be ok?" I asked Stiles. He and Lydia were going to school, Allison, Chris and Isaac were going to the bank vault but I didn't want to go with them, figured they'd be ok by themselves.
"Yeah. Yeah I'll be fine," he said. "Are you going to be ok?"
"I'm going to Derek's," I said instead of an answer. "I'm going to see if Cora is…" I trailed off. Stiles nodded and kissed the top of my head. "We're gonna get him back Stiles," I said, looking up to my brother. "I promise you I will get him back."
"And I believe you Vi," Stiles said. "But what if he's not alive when we do?"
"We'll be ok," I said, wiping my eyes as they burned with tears. "We'll be ok."
.
I pulled open the loft door and Derek glanced up at me from where he sat next to Cora. She lay on the bed, pale. She looked horrible. Peter stood off in the corner. Even he didn't make any snarky jokes.
"Hey," I said, walking down. He stood and gently grabbed my arm, pulling me into a hug.
"I love you," he murmured. I pulled back, cupping his cheeks.
"What's wrong?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing in worry.
"Peter said…he said there's a way I can save her," Derek said.
"Maybe," Peter added. "He can give up his alpha power by taking away more pain than should be possible. It might heal her."
"Might?" I questioned.
"I have to do it," Derek said.
"It could kill him," Peter pointed out.
"KIll you?" I asked. Derek ran his thumb along my bottom lip.
"I have to do something," he said. I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against his chest.
"Derek just think about what else you'd be losing," Peter said.
"I don't care about power," Derek said, his arm around my waist tightening. "Not anymore."
"What about the power to fight back?" Peter said. "Correct me if I'm wrong but Kali's still coming for you and if you couldn't beat her as an alpha how do you think you're going to beat her as a beta?"
"Peter," I interrupted, looking up to him. "You talk as if Derek's alone in this. But he's not. None of us will let him get hurt," I said. I could feel Derek's gaze burning into me. "I won't."
"Violet, sweety, you're a tiny fourteen-"
"Fifteen."
"-Year old girl against an alpha. More than one actually," Peter pointed out. "And you're still injured aren't you?"
I shifted uncomfortably. "I'm fine," I said. "And on the lunar eclipse, I'm not the one who loses their power am I?"
Peter's eyes narrowed. My phone buzzed and I pulled it out, my eyes scanning over the screen for a moment before my lips parted.
"No," I breathed out.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Derek asked. I let out a breath, closing my eyes for a moment.
"Allison's dad was taken," I said. "She's-…She's got all three of them."
"What if all of this was part of Jennifer's plan? Maybe she wants you to give up your power so that you need her," Peter said. "So that you need her to face the alphas."
Before anyone could say anything there was a knock on the door. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Peter went and opened the door. After a few minutes he called back, "Derek we have a visitor."
I turned to see Lydia. "Lydia," I said, walking up to meet her. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder, pulling me into her side. "Is Stiles ok?" I immediately asked. "Are you?"
"I am. Stiles is…he's alright. He had a bit of a panic attack but he's fine now. He's talking to Scott's dad because they found out the Sheriff is missing," Lydia said.
"Scott's dad?" Derek questioned.
"Don't ask," I said.
"So…we think we know where your parents are. You know how I always draw that tree?" Lydia said. I nodded. "It's the same tree. Every time. Stiles turned it upside down and.."
"It's the nemeton," I said. Lydia nodded. "They're at the nemeton." I turned to Derek. "That's where you and Pai-" I cut myself off, meeting Derek's gaze. I gave him an apologetic look. "I mean..you know where that is right?" I said.
"No," Peter answered.
"What do you mean 'no'?" Lydia asked.
"After a few memorable experiences there Talia, Derek's mother, my older sister, decided that she didn't ever want us going back," Peter explained. "She knew how dangerous it was and took the memory of its location from us."
"But then how are we supposed to find it?" Lydia asked.
I sighed, pulling away from her to go and sit on Derek's lap. "Ask Deaton." I suggested. "He'll know something."
Lydia nodded. "Are you coming?" She asked. I looked to Derek.
"Call me if you find anything out," I said. She sighed and nodded before leaving.
Cora let out a cough and Derek gently moved me to sit beside him. "I don't have a choice," he said. "I have to do it."
"We always have a choice," Peter said.
"And you consistently manage to choose the wrong one," I snapped at him. He narrowed his eyes.
"Derek, facing Kali as a beta will not go down well," Peter said.
"I have to do this," Derek said. He turned to me and leaned down, pressing his lips to mine and cupping my neck. I gripped his shirt as his lips moved against mine. He pulled away and looked at me before turning back to Cora. He began seeping the pain out of her, the veins in his arms turning black. He continued for a few minutes before his breathing started to become labour. I stood and backed up, my eyes wide. He threw his head back, howling in pain as his eyes went from red to blue. He fell back, unconscious. I raced over to him, slipping my arm under his head and pulling him up, leaning him back against the wall. I kissed the top of his head and glanced back at Cora. She was slowly waking up, her skin becoming less paler. My phone began ringing and I answered it, standing back up.
"Stiles?"
"Violet. Hey."
"Have you found the nemeton?"
"No but uh…we found a way to find it," Stiles said.
"How?" I demanded.
"We have to….you know that thing that Deaton tried to do with Isaac when we were looking for Erica and Boyd?" Stiles said.
"Drown him you mean?" I said.
"Yeah basically. We have to be surrogate sacrifices for our parents. We have to um..well basically die for awhile. Apparently it will show us where our parents are, but it will…it'll give power back to the nemeton. Draw creatures here. Apparently it will also leave a kind of…darkness around our hearts," Stiles explained.
"I'll do it," I immediately said.
"No," Stiles said. "It's dangerous. I'll do it."
"Stiles I can't let you do that. No way," I said.
"Violet," he warned.
"Fine," I said. "We'll both do it."
"I-…." he sighed. "Fine. But you need something, something that ties you to dad. Meet us at the clinic in an hour?"
"Yep. I'll be there," I said. "And Stiles?"
"Mm."
"I love you."
"I love you too Vi."
.
Forty minutes later Derek came to. Cora was practically better and she poured some water into his mouth.
"You're ok," he breathed. She smiled.
"All because of you," she said. I squeezed her shoulder and crouched down.
"I have to go," I said.
"Where?" Derek asked, pushing himself so he was sitting up better.
"We um….there's a way we can find our parents," I said before explaining it to him, that Scott, Allison, Stiles and I would be sacrifices.
"No," he immediately said. "No way it's too dangerous."
"And what you just did wasn't?" I questioned. "You can't do something like that and then expect me not to do something similar."
"Violet..'' Derek groaned. I gave him a soft smile.
"I have to go," I said, standing. He struggled to his feet.
"I'm coming with you," he stated.
I sighed and nodded. "Good. I need a ride anyway."
.
Derek and I walked into the vet clinic. Four bathtubs filled with ice were in the room. Lydia, Stiles, Scott, Allison, Isaac and Deaton stood around.
"Violet, Derek," Deaton nodded to us. "So..what did you bring?"
I'd changed clothes into some shorts and a singlet. I figured I was going to be freezing anyway.
"Um..I got my dad's badge," Stiles said. "Jennifer kind of crushed it in her hand so…I tried hammering it out a bit. But it still doesn't look great."
"It doesn't need to look good if it has meaning," Deaton said.
"Is that an actual silver bullet?" Isaac asked, looking at the bullet in Allison's hand.
"My dad made it. It's kind of a ceremonial thing. When one of us finishes learning all the skills to be a hunter we forge a silver bullet as a testament to the code," Allison explained.
"Scott?" Deaton prompted.
"My dad got my mum this watch when she first got hired at the hospital," Scott explained. "She used to say it was the only in their marriage that ever worked."
They looked to me.
I looked down to the heart pendant necklace in my hand. "My dad gave me this necklace on my twelfth birthday," I said. "It was my mother's. She got it on her twelfth birthday."
"Dad said that you looked even more like her when you wore it," Stiles said. I nodded.
"Ok. The four of you will get in," Deaton explained. "Each of us will hold you down till you're essentially, well, dead. But it's not just someone to hold you under. It needs to be someone who can pull you back. Someone that has a strong connection to you. A kind of emotional tether."
Lydia walked toward Allison but Deaton stopped her. "Lydia. You go with Stiles," he said. That left Isaac with Allison though because Deaton would go with Scott and Derek with me.
"Are you sure, I mean, Scott and I both have to go under," Allison said.
Scott gulped and blinked away his hurt and nodded. "It's ok," he said.
I shrugged off Derek's jacket that was on my shoulders and handed it to him as Stiles, Allison and Scott pulled their jackets off as well.
"I can't do this. I can't drown you," Derek said.
"Derek. Please," I said. He sighed and kissed me. He kissed me longer than he should have, seeing as Deaton and my brother were mere metres away. I pulled away and stepped toward the tub as Allison, Stiles and Scott did the same. I was on the end, next to Allison. She smiled at me and grabbed my hand momentarily.
I took in a deep breath and stepped in. My breath caught in my throat. The water was absolutely freezing. It made my feet ache until i couldn't feel them anymore. I slowly slid in till I was sitting in the icy water. I could barely breathe. I felt Derek put his hands on my shoulders, his thumbs drawing soothing circles on my skin and I draw warmth from him. I clutched the necklace desperately in my hand, the gold biting into my palm. Stiles, Scott and Allison had climbed in as well. Shivers began to rack my body as pain shot throughout it.
''By the way," Stiles spoke through huffed breaths. "If I don't make it back and you do there's something you should know."
"Your dad's in town," I said for Stiles.
I wasn't sure if Scott gasped or not because his breath was already coming out in puffs.
Derek's hands tightened on my shoulders as Isaac lay his hands on Allison, Deaton's hands on Scott's shoulder and Lydia's on Stiles'.
Derek pressed his lips to the top of my head before I was plunged underneath the waters surface. Coldness enveloped me. For a moment I was thrown back to the nightmares I had from when the kanima had scratched me. The fear of drowning. Fear rushed through me as I was put back in the dream where Derek had been drowning me. He was drowning me again.
I thrashed wildly for a moment before gripping the necklace in my hand harder and forcing my limbs to stop. I wasn't sure if a tear trickled down my cheek or if you could even cry under water. I looked up at the blurry image of Derek, standing above me. For a moment I thought his eyes flashed red, before I realised he wasn't an alpha anymore, so it must have been my mind playing tricks on me.
I let out a breath, the water bubbling. My lungs were beginning to scream for air, my mouth begging to be opened. I forced my body to relax.
I took a deep breath in and water filled my mouth, spluttering down my throat and into my lungs.
Darkness pressed in at all sides. It had always been there, taunting me, trying to pull me into its black depths. For the first time, I allowed it to consume me.
~O~
A/N: HELLO! I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN AGES. I'M SORRY. I LOVE YOU.
I know this wasn't long but I thought it was kinda good…? Sort of? anyway I'll get on writing the next one and I promise you'll have it by the end of the week if I get heaps of reviews.
Also I know the timeline was a bit out. Derek should have been giving up his power whilst they were going under but he had to be there to hold down Violet. I have plans that will only work if Violet and Stiles had the darkness so yeah, it had to happen. *evil chuckle*
Last time I said I wasn't sure people were reading because I didn't get any reviews but then I did! I got tonnes and it made me soooo happy! If it weren't for them I might not have updated at all :/ so PLEASE REVIEW! I CAN PROMISE I WILL UPDATE FASTER IF YOU DO!
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Thank you a lot. Love you all x
PS. YOU SHOULD REVIEW.