A/N – Hey guys, so this chapter was pretty tricky to write because of the lack of content from the episode. But I included a pretty important part that will apply to my ending in a big way. Right now, we are still so-far-so-good for how I want to end this season, so fingers crossed. I only got a few reviews on the last episode's chapter, so pretty please write something! I challenge anyone who hasn't reviewed yet to do so and let me know how you're liking the story. You don't even need an account! So yeah, get on that!
Emily's eyes flew open as she gasped for a breath. She tried to sit up but was halted by the pain that shot through her left arm. She looked around and took in her surroundings. The dimly lit hospital room was filled by the annoying beeping coming from the heart monitor next to her and the sickeningly strong smell of antiseptic.
She huffed at all the wires connecting her to the machine. She pulled out her IV with a wince and disconnected the plastic clip around her finger. The machine started to go wild since it couldn't detect her heart rate.
"Shit" she said under her breath as she reached back and unplugged it. As soon as she did, it went silent. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough since someone happened to hear the commotion.
Her door slammed open and a twin appeared in the frame. His eyes were wild as he looked to her bed and saw her glancing at him with innocent eyes.
"What the hell did you do?" he asked with a sigh. He shut the door and walked over to her. She hopped off the bed and felt slightly unsteady on her feet but covered it up quickly. She started to look for her clothes. "What do you think you're doing? The doctors haven't cleared you yet."
She rolled her eyes in annoyance as she found her stuff. When she turned back to him, he was standing before her with a stubborn look and his arms crossed tightly across his chest.
"Screw that. I'm getting out of here" she said as he raised his eye brows.
"I don't think so" he said sternly.
"Listen…" she said before she paused with a questioning look upon her face. He looked confused at first before an amused grin flashed across his face.
"Ethan" he provided with a chuckle.
"Right. Ethan, I can't just sit here and do nothing. If any of what I just saw was real, then I need to help. Stiles is loose and I need to find him" she said.
"Okay, okay. I'm going to go get Aiden. He's with Isaac. When we get back, we'll talk about our next move. Just don't go anywhere, okay?" he begged.
Emily hesitated before nodding reluctantly. Ethan nodded and ran out of the room. Emily quickly changed her clothes as her phone flashed and vibrated. When she looked down, she saw that it was a text from Stiles.
Meet at the Nemeton. Come alone or I'll slit his throat.
Emily felt her stomach drop as she read the text. Quietly, she slinked out of the room. She knew that if she didn't leave then, the twins would never have let her go alone. And that wasn't a chance she was willing to take.
XXXXX
Emily didn't have enough strength to transport herself to the tree, so she had no choice but to walk. It was raining heavily as an eerie fog circled around her. Dawn hadn't broken yet and the sky was still dark as she continued to walk. Twenty minutes later, she came across a clearing.
Standing next to the gigantic stump with his back to her was Stiles. He was stroking the surface of the Nemeton until he heard the crunch of the leaves under her feet. He turned to her and she could tell immediately that it wasn't really Stiles. He glanced around as if looking for her backup. He walked towards her until he was a few feet away from her.
"Well, Emily. It's nice to know you can follow instructions" he mused. Stiles tilted his head and squinted his eyes slightly. "Or should I call you Emilena?"
"No" she said flatly, but she stiffened noticeably.
"But why, it's your name." When Emily didn't say anything, Stiles chuckled and nodded. "Alright, noted."
"Why did you want to see me?"
"Believe it or not, I'm very curious about you. You possess great power. Power that is rare and very valuable. The Ultimate Power. But you are weak. You don't deserve to hold such might" he taunted and watched as she clenched her fists and ground her teeth. She knew he was just trying to work her up and she refused to give in.
"You seem to talk a big game, but I wonder how far you have this planned out. I think you underestimated what Stiles is capable of. You thought that by picking the underdog, your job would be easy. But he's actually a lot smarter than you think" Emily said, appearing casual.
In actuality, every word she said was calculated. The weight of her statement caused a slight flicker in Stiles' expression. If she hadn't been looking for an ounce of recognition, she would have missed it completely. But there was a split second when his features softened and his eyes turned warm with understanding before turning hard once again. The statement didn't seem to faze the nogitsune, who simply kept going.
"We know you saw things that happened a few hours ago and want to let you in on a little secret. Are you ready?" He leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "Stiles never let me in until the very end."
He pulled back to see Emily's face. Complete betrayal was painted upon her features. She looked up at him with her mouth slightly open in disbelief.
"That's right. Stiles isn't as loyal as you believed. But since he willingly let me in, I control us now. And with that control, I can decide when he can come through" Stiles taunted.
Suddenly, his eyes softened and his shoulders slouched as though the string that was holding him up was cut. He looked around wildly and took a deep breath. When his eyes fell upon Emily, his face was colored with guilt.
"Em, let me explain" he begged. She closed her eyes and listened to his voice. She knew it was him.
"No. I don't want to hear it. What gives you the right to make excuses, Stiles?! You betrayed me! I know I can't hold everything against you. When you had no control, I know you did things you never do. I know you didn't mean to put me in the hospital. But I want you to look me in the eye and tell me you had no control of what happened in that basement with Malia."
He looked away and said nothing. He tried to reach out for her but she wrapped her arms around herself.
"Don't touch me" she said in a cold, quiet voice. "That's what I thought. And you know, this isn't just me being a stupid teenage girl. Because what I thought we had wasn't a stupid teenaged crush. What I told you and you told me made me think it was real. It just goes to show the nogitsune picked the right host. You were a trickster even before it possessed you."
His eyes suddenly hardened as he cracked his neck. She looked to the ground and bit her lip when she heard a tsk-ing sound coming from Stiles. He chuckled as he backed away.
"Shame. The one chance he had to actually talk to you and you just shit on him. I can feel him inside us. He is so disgusted with himself. Too bad he didn't get a chance to tell you what really happened."
With each word his voice faded more and more as if he were at the end of a tunnel. When she looked up, he was nowhere in sight. The fog was so thick that it was almost suffocating. She blinked the rain out of her eyes as she looked around frantically. She looked up at the sky as the rain came pelting down.
"Bastard!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. But what he didn't see was the smirk on her face.
XXXXX
The rain had stopped when Emily approached the school. The sun finally escaped from behind the clouds, but it didn't do much to warm her up. She shivered as she dripped down the empty hallway. Scott had texted her and told her to come as soon as possible.
When she walked in the room, everybody eyed her curiously. She simply shook her head in dismissal as she shrugged off her soaked jacket. Scott took his own off and handed it to her which she accepted graciously.
Emily looked at Noshiko and saw that she was holding an old picture. She squinted curiously and saw the spitting image of Kira.
"Is this my grandmother?" Kira asked.
"No," Noshiko said. "It's me."
XXXXX
The group had spent the last hour listening to Noshiko detail her experience with the nogitsune. She had just finished piecing the broken sword back together and looked up at the group.
"The literal translation is 'a bolt of lightning.' In French, it can also mean love at first sight.'" Noshiko said. Emily looked down and smiled to herself and Kira glanced at Scott. They both held their own feelings towards the phrase. "But a bolt of lightning happens to be what we need right now."
"For what?" Kira asked.
"Exorcising the nogitsune from Rhys' body shattered the Katana. But you can put it back together" her mother told her.
"Why can't you just do it yourself?" Kira retorted.
"Because I am not a thunder kitsune" Noshiko said. Kira looked hesitantly down at the sword. "Do you trust me?"
"I just found out you're 900 years old. I don't think I'm ever going to trust you again" Kira snapped. Emily glanced at Scott with a slight smirk.
"Remind me not to tell her how old I am, then" she whispered. Kira looked at her in confusion before her mother caught her attention again.
"Trust me on this." Noshiko grabbed her hand and held it over the Katana.
A bright blue light erupted from Kira's hand. The sound of metal clanking filled the air accompanied by Kira's gasp. Emily watched as the Katana solidified in a final blue glow.
Kira pulled her hand away and smiled in amazement at the group. Noshiko gently picked up the Katana and held it out to her daughter.
"Go ahead, take it. It's yours now."
"What if I don't want it?" Kira asked with a slight shake of her head.
"You need it." Noshiko gave her a knowing smile and tossed it to Kira who caught it with ease. "You see, it gives you balance."
Noshiko gave Emily a slight glance before speaking again.
"We are nothing if not creatures of balance. To preserve it. To defend it" she said. Emily squinted slightly at the comment before looking away.
"My powers are yours now, Kira."
"You didn't tell us anything" Scott said through gritted teeth.
"You want to save Stiles? Kill him. That's the only way" Noshiko said.
"Bullshit" Emily said under her breath. Noshiko's eyes snapped to her in fury.
"Excuse me?" she said in a deadly voice.
"Bullshit" Emily repeated louder as she took a step closer to her. "I'm not going to kill him. Neither is Kira, Scott, you, or anybody. Because we will find a way to save him."
Emily and Noshiko continued to stare each other down as the others shifted uncomfortably.
"Will you three excuse us?" Noshiko ordered. "We have some things to discuss."
XXXXX
Scott and Kira had left for Derek's loft while Noshiko and Emily finished up a very heated conversation.
"But if that doesn't succeed, we will have no choice but to kill him. If you can't stop him, Stiles must die" she told Emily.
"And what gives you the right to act so righteous and tell us what to do? This is all happening because of you" Emily seethed.
"You heard the story. I had to make sacrifices."
"You don't know anything about sacrifice, lady. I'm not one to try to one-up people, but you are really out of line. If you want to talk about sacrifice, you are really talking to the wrong girl" Emily snapped as she turned away. Noshiko grabbed her wrist and turned her back, but just as quickly Emily had her pinned against the wall with her good arm.
"I understand that you don't want to kill your love, but it's what I had to do!" she yelled. Emily scuffed and rolled her eyes.
"Well then, maybe you didn't have the same love that Stiles and I have. Or maybe you just weren't strong enough" Emily whispered as she pushed her away.
Emily started to walk away before she paused and called after her shoulder.
"But I am. And I will do anything it takes to make sure Stiles lives."
