A/N: Hello darlings! Thanks for everyone who favorited and followed this story! I really appreciate the fact that you guys are sticking around after over 50 chapters - you guys are awesome!

There's going to be more Kaeho in this chapter than in the previous ones, just so you're forewarned!

Phoebe Nixon: Thank you for your review, and for the editing note! I churn the S3 chapters out in one day, so there's usually some errors in there. I try to fix them before I post but, like last chapter, I might miss one or two. And I'm glad you like the added scenes and the 'info-dump' too!

Also, thanks to LynZann, xXbriannaXx, and Guest reviewer Jason for your reviews!

Stay gold, my lovelies!


Neris walked silently beside Scott, following Deucalion to wherever he was leading. Neither of them bothered to ask, knowing he had a tendency to withhold complete information.

She could tell Scott was worrying; she was too, but there was no way to contact the others to try and formulate a plan with the wolfy super-hearing she was around.

Unless… she thought, reaching out to Kaeho with her mind. Kaeho? Are you there?

Of course I'm here, his mental voice laughed. When I'm not in my own head…that's the time to worry.

Actually, it's now. Scott and I are with Deucalion. Don't yell!

What?! Kaeho yelled anyway, and Neris winced slightly at the volume banging around inside her head. Neris, why are you and Scott with him? What happened to Jennifer? What happened at the hospital?

Jennifer got away, and she took Scott's mom, Neris explained. Scott thinks he needs Deucalion to find his mom and take down Jennifer, and Deucalion told me that as long as I was with Scott, Deucalion wouldn't ruin his potential as a True Alpha.

But why you?

I think whatever obsessive personality he got after his sight got taken away hasn't just latched on to the perfect Alpha pack, but his feelings for my mom too. He told me I could've been his daughter and that he'd have made a good dad.

Creepy, came Kaeho's voice, the mental equivalence of a shudder accompanying his words.

I know, but I have to look out for Scott. I need you to find Stiles. He's probably freaking out right now, and he'll need help getting a plan together with the others.

Our mental connection will help, too.

Yeah, I wouldn't mention that to Isaac. Neris remarked. We're already on rocky ground; I don't want to make it worse.

I won't say a word, he promised. Be careful, Neris.

You too.

/

Kaeho arrived at the hospital, figuring it'd be the best place to start looking for Stiles. There were police cars surrounding the area, and man and women with FBI jackets performing a search on the surrounding areas of the hospital. Stiles, looking thoroughly agitated, came walking out of the main entrance.

"Stiles!" Kaeho called, waving the boy over.

"Kaeho, what are you doing here?" Stiles asked. "Neris and Scott went off with Deucalion; why aren't you trying to find them or something?"

"Neris told me to find you," Kaeho began.

"You talked to her?" Stiles cut him off. "Is she okay? And Scott, he's okay too, right? Why haven't they called me?"

"Slow down," Kaeho requested. "She and Scott are okay – not too pleased about being with Deucalion, but they're okay. She didn't call me, we talked through our minds. It's a mākutu thing. Anyways, Neris thinks you might need help coming up with a plan."

"The plan right now is to find Allison and her dad," Stiles told him. "Someone spray painted their last name on the elevator doors."

"Lead the way."

/

"The word is guardian Allison," Mr. Argent stated as he opened the door to their apartment. "You know that's a role I haven't exactly lived up to lately."

He led the teens into the office, Stiles closing the door behind him. Mr. Argent flicked on the lights

"But she took Scott's mother and Stiles' father; that's not a coincidence." Allison returned.

"Yeah, and also consider the fact that someone put your name up in large block letters on the elevator doors." Stiles added. "That kind of felt like a warning to me."

"I think it might be Morell." Allison continued. "She knows a lot more than she lets on and she might even be trying to help us."

"Well she needs to get on that a lot faster, okay? Seeing as the lunar eclipse is less than two freaking nights away."

"Stiles," Mr. Argent began, "Don't give up hope."

"He could already be dead." Stiles voiced weakly.

"I don't think so," Mr. Argent disagreed. "There's something about Jennifer's tactics; it's like she's still positioning, still moving pieces into place."

"And you're one of them," Allison pointed out.

"Then let's not wait around to see her next move." Mr. Argent took out a map of the telluric currents, unfolding it and placing it on the table. "Everything she's done has been on the telluric currents. So, Melissa and the Sherriff have to be somewhere in one of those currents, right?"

"Right," Kaeho agreed. "But I don't think it'd be one she's already used. Or else she'd run the risk of overloading the spiritual energy. If she didn't, she wouldn't be able to draw from it anymore."

Mr. Argent looked over to Stiles. "Stiles, if we're going to find them, we need your help.

"You seriously want to go after her?" Stiles asked. "I mean, what if she just takes you like the others, huh? No offense, but what's the difference between you and them?"

Mr. Argent took out a pistol and loaded it. "I'm carrying a .45. Maybe she can heal from a shot to the leg and a few slashes to the face, but personally, I'd like to see how she holds up with half her skull blown off." He set the gun back on the table, "We've got one priority right now, and that is to find Melissa and your dad. We've got a map and every clue we need to figure this out; the only thing we don't have is time, which is why I need all three of you."

Stiles sighed and looked up, "Where do we start?"

They all gathered around the map, and Chris got a black light to reveal the markings he had made.

"The places where the sacrifices have been committed have usually been different from where the bodies have been found."

"Yeah, and they usually follow the same current," Kaeho added.

"I think the placement has to do with the strength of the current," Mr. Argent continued. "So, there's the school, the animal clinic, the bank."

"Wait a sec, she wouldn't use the same place twice, would she?" Stiles asked.

"Only if she didn't succeed the first time." Mr. Argent replied, rapping the black light sharply on the bank icon on the map.

"Scott's boss," Allison murmured.

"Deaton. He was the only failure; that could mean something."

"That's just one place so far," Stiles told them. "We're gonna need a lot more help."

"What about Lydia?" Allison suggested.

"Lydia?" Mr. Argent repeated. "What can she do?"

"Uh, Lydia's got sort of a talent. She somehow ended up finding a couple of the bodies, um, without actually looking for them." Stiles explained.

"Well, what is she?" Mr. Argent asked. "Psychic?"

Stiles paused. "She's something."

Kaeho looked down to Stiles, his eyebrows furrowed. "Neris didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Stiles asked, looking up from his crouched place at the desk.

"Lydia. About her connection with death, about her – well, I guess with everything that happened she didn't think it was the right time." Kaeho went on. "I'll go talk to her; Stiles, you should probably come too."

"But first, we need to prepare." Mr. Argent told them.

Pistols, a crossbow, a rifle, machine guns and Allison's ring daggers were pulled out of the Argent's arms cache and organized on the desk.

"I thought you guys were retired," Stiles commented.

"Retired yes; defenseless, no." Mr. Argent replied. "And make sure your phones are on; if you hear from Scott or Neris you let us know immediately."

"Yeah, I'm thinking that's gonna be kind of unlikely," Stiles told them, pulling out his phone nonetheless.

"Neris knows how to contact me," Kaeho reassured him. "It'll be okay."

"Both of you try to remember he's just doing what he thinks is right." Mr. Argent told them.

"And Neris?" Allison asked. "Why did she go?"

"Because if she didn't, Deucalion threatened to ruin Scott, to make him kill someone," Kaeho told her. "She knows what it does to a person, and she doesn't want that for Scott."

Allison gave him a small nod of understanding before her eyes flickered to the office's door; they widened in surprise as she saw who stood there.

"I can't shoot a gun, nor use a cross bow," Isaac began, "but…well, I'm getting pretty good with these." He pulled out his claws, displaying them to those in the office.

"Well, now that you've got some more help," Kaeho began, turning to Stiles, "Stiles, let's go talk to Lydia."

Kaeho guided Stiles swiftly out of the room and out of the apartment, the confused faces of Isaac and the Argents at their backs.

"What was that about?" Stiles asked as they rode the elevator to the ground floor. "Do you have something against Isaac or…?"

"No," Kaeho shook his head. "I mean, I don't think he likes me all that much since his girlfriend has been spending a lot of time around me, even though there's nothing going on in that department. Neris just doesn't want him knowing we can communicate telepathically."

"So instead, you act all weird?"

"Yeah, it wasn't my best idea," he admitted.

/

"I don't believe it," Lydia remarked after Stiles and Kaeho had filled her in on what had been happening. "Scott and Neris can't really be with them; they can't be."

Stiles sighed, "You didn't see the look on his face, though. It was…"

"Then what can I do?" She asked. "I mean, I get that I'm some kind of, like, human Geiger counter for death, but I don't know how to turn it on and off yet. All I know is that she tried to kill me because of –"

Lydia stopped, her expression melting into realization. Her eyes flickered up to meet Kaeho's, who gave her a reassuring nod.

"I know," he told her. "And Neris confirmed it for you. Jennifer had decided to kill you when she thought you were a philosopher, but you're not. She stopped when you screamed, and then she realized why she really had to kill you."

"Because of what?" Stiles asked, but neither teens answered. "Hey, Lydia. What?"

"When she called me a Banshee," Lydia revealed. "She was surprised by it. What if that's not why she tried to kill me?"

"Then why did she?"

"That's what we need to find out."

/

A full day had passed; Neris and Scott had missed school. The twins and Kali were hunting Ms. Morrell somewhere in the woods. She could hear them crashing through branches and dead leaves. Neris had the distinct feeling that someone was watching her, but she shrugged off the feeling and chalked it up to the uncomfortable situation she and Scott were in.

The pair was standing by Deucalion in a clearing in the woods as night fell, a small glowing firefly at the edge of the clearing.

"It's a firefly," Scott remarked, noticing Deucalion had been staring at it.

"Unusual for this region." Deucalion replied.

"It's because of Jennifer, isn't it?" He asked. "Just before all this started, a deer crashed into Lydia's car, the cats went crazy at the animal clinic, birds flew into the high school, it was all her."

"The signs I was told to look out for," Neris continued. "When Derek told me about the Alpha pack, I thought that's what they meant. I didn't even bother to see if there were other possibilities."

"You couldn't have known," Scott reassured her.

"They say animals can sense natural disasters when they're about to happen," Deucalion voiced. "Maybe they can sense supernatural ones as well."

"Does she scare you?" Scott asked him.

"She concerns me, if she's willing to kill that many innocent people for her cause." He answered. "People like your mother and Stiles' father."

"Are you willing to kill innocent people?"

"I'll kill any living thing that gets in my way."

Neris drew in a deep breath, holding back the sarcasm and anger that was boiling within her. If it wasn't for Scott and his continued belief that Deucalion would help him find his mother, Neris would have walked away hours ago.

She felt the sensation of being watched creep up again, this time turning to find the source. Her eyes scanned the clearing, but she couldn't see anyone else around. Then, her eyes came to rest on a silhouetted figure standing at the edge. It was a male; that was all she could tell while he lurked in the shadows.

"Neris?" Scott asked. "What is it?"

She turned to him, "That guy; you don't see him?"

Scott looked in the direction that Neris had been staring, his eyebrows furrowing. "I don't see anyone."

Neris looked back, and sure enough the man was gone. Perhaps her eyes were playing tricks on her. There was no way someone could be there without Scott and Deucalion noticing – and smelling, and hearing – them.

Deucalion began walking, Neris and Scott following behind, coming to a stop in another clearing close by. Ms. Morrell was standing inside a perfect circle of mountain ash.

"How did you know, Marin, that we'd come for you?" Deucalion asked as they approached her.

"Because Jennifer and I are the same," she answered. "And I know you've always been suspicious of us, of what we can do."

"With good reason," Kali remarked. "We know you sent that girl, the one who helped Isaac."

"What was her name?" Deucalion asked.

"Braeden," Ms. Morrell answered fiercely. "And I sent her to do what I've always done: maintain balance."

"What do you know about Jennifer?" Kali questioned.

"Nothing more than you know." She replied, turning her attention to the two teens standing next to Deucalion. "This isn't you, Scott. Nor you, Neris. Go back to your friends."

"They can decide what's right for themselves." Deucalion replied, holding up his cane to emphasize that they were staying.

"Not without all the information," Morrell argued. "Have you told him everything you've done? How you've piled up bodies in a narcissistically psychotic effort to form your perfect pack? Bodies that include Ennis, by the way."

Kali looked over to Deaton, her blank expression crumbling slightly at the mention of Ennis.

"My brother saved him," Morrell continued. "He and Neris had healed him; they did everything they could and succeeded. Ennis was alive when Deucalion went in to see him. He wants you to go after Derek, Kali – to force his decision. If Derek joins the pack, it paves the way for Scott."

"The lies people will tell when they're begging for their life." Deucalion drawled.

Morrell gave a small smirk, "Ask him. Or Neris; though she'd actually tell you the truth."

With a scowl, Deucalion took his cane, popping off the tip to reveal the blade hidden underneath, and threw it underhanded at Morrell. It pierced her chest and she stumbled back, breaking the line of mountain ash. Scott and Neris ran over to her, reaching her before the others.

Kali snarled and she pulled out her fangs, the twins advancing as well.

"Hey! Back off," Scott warned sharply.

They pulled back, startled. Scott turned back to Ms. Morrell, who was breathing heavily. He gestured to the cane and she nodded in assent. He slowly gripped the handle and pulled it out of her chest, wrenching a cry from her.

"I'm not going to let them kill you," he promised her, "but if you know something, if you know where they are."

"The Nemeton," she told him. "You find that, you'll find Jennifer. Find the Nemeton." Still breathing heavily, Ms. Morrell shifted so that she was looking at Neris. "Neris, he's coming."

"Who's coming?" Neris asked, suddenly feeling she was being watched again.

She looked up to find the shadowed man standing there, his features fully revealed. He had olive toned skin framed by curly dark hair, high cheekbones and coffee colored eyes. Though he was dressed in a modern suit, Neris knew he was ancient. And the small smile that tugged on his lips when she looked at him told Neris that he was here for her.

/

Deaton had brought Stiles, Lydia and Kaeho to the Animal Clinic, where they were soon joined by Allison and Isaac.

"It has to be on a telluric current, or maybe even at the axis of two or where they all intersect." Stiles voiced. "I just know it's where Derek took Paige to die."

"My dad and Gerard were there once, but Gerard said it was years ago and he couldn't remember where it was." Allison added. "My dad obviously isn't here to tell us now."

"Yeah, mine either," Stiles replied.

"Jennifer's body was found by it, barely alive, before she became the Darach." Kaeho told them. "But there's no way we'd have access to those files, is there?"

"Then how do we find this place?" Isaac questioned.

"There might be a way, but it's dangerous." Deaton told them. "We're gonna need Scott."

"What, not Neris?" Stiles asked.

"Neris' parent wasn't taken," Deaton answered, turning to Kaeho. "But where we find Neris, we'll find Scott."

"They're in the woods," Kaeho answered. "In a clearing; I can get us there."

"How do you know that?" Isaac asked.

"Uh," he fumbled. "It's a mākutu thing?"

"Right," Isaac frowned, unconvinced.

/

Once Kaeho told Neris that he, Deaton and Stiles were on their way, Neris pulled Scott away and took him to the meeting place they had decided on. She told him Stiles had discovered their parents were being held at the Nemeton as well. The two walked up to Stiles' jeep that he, Deaton and Kaeho were leaning against, waiting for Scott and Neris to show up.

"How'd you guys find out?" Scott asked them once they arrived.

"Lydia," Stiles replied. "You?"

"Morrell," Scott looked to Deaton. "None of the other Alphas know where it is either."

"So if this works, are you going to tell them?"

"I can't stop Jennifer without them." Scott answered, his expression clouding.

"How 'bout we concentrate on finding your parents, first?" Deaton suggested.

Scott nodded, "What's the plan?"

"Essentially you, Allison and Stiles need to be surrogate sacrifices for your parents." Deaton explained.

"We die for them?" Scott questioned.

"But he can bring us back," Stiles added, turning to Deaton. "You can – you can bring us back, right?"

"You remember the part where I said it was dangerous?" Deaton asked. "If it goes right, the three of you will be dead for a few seconds, but there's something else you need to think about. This is a dangerous thing for more reasons than one. You'll be giving power back to the Nemeton – a place that hasn't had power for a long time. This kind of power is like a magnet; it attracts the supernatural. The kind of things that a family like the Argents can fill the pages of a bestiary with. It will draw them here, like a beacon."

"That doesn't sound any worse than anything we've already seen." Stiles remarked.

"You'd be surprised at what you have yet to see." Deaton replied.

"Is that it?" Scott asked.

"No," he confessed. "It will also have an effect on the three of you. You won't be able to see it, but you'll feel it. Every day, for the rest of your lives, it'll be a kind of a…a darkness around your heart, and permanent. Like a scar."

"Like a tattoo," Scott breathed.

/

At the animal clinic, the teenagers filled three large tubs with ice water and mistletoe as they waited for Scott, Stiles and Allison to return. Deaton had sent them to find something personal that belonged to their parents. As they were waiting, Neris pulled Deaton aside.

"I don't know how much you know about sirens, about their secrets," she began, speaking as low as she could to prevent being overheard. "But have you heard anything about The Summoning?"

"The ultimate secret, guarded since its initiation centuries ago, where the god Hades summons a siren to the Underworld to be tasked?" Deaton asked. "Never heard of it."

Neris gave a small laugh, "Yeah, I figured. Well, I think I'm going to be Summoned."

"Have you –"

"Yeah, I saw him," she confirmed. "I mean, I had a feeling this would happen when Jennifer started killing people. Sacrifices like that, generating power of this magnitude, she's essentially stealing from the god of the dead. And with you about to get Scott, Stiles and Allison to open a Hellmouth..."

"Reawakening the Nemeton won't open a Hellmouth." Deaton argued.

"But have you taken into account the fact that all three aren't just acting as guardians for their parents, but that they're willing?" She asked. "What do you think that's going to do? There's a reason the link at the Morrigan's Cave was severed, and now you're trying to open one up here?"

"Neris," Deaton took her shoulders in his hands. "It will be dangerous; we all know that. But the Nemeton will have its guardians."

"And the things that are brought here by it?"

"Will be dealt with," he answered.

The sound of the front door opening was heard, and the pair walked back into the examination room. Deaton helped Isaac and Lydia pour the final bags of ice into the tubs as Neris stood off to the side, flanked by Kaeho.

"Alright, what did you bring?" Deaton asked the awaiting sacrifices.

"Um, I got my dad's badge," Stiles spoke first, raising the golden star he was holding in his hand. "Jennifer kind of crushed it in her hand, so I tried hammering it out a bit. Still doesn't look great."

"It doesn't need to look good if it has meaning," Deaton reassured him.

"Is that an actual silver bullet?" Isaac asked, looking down at the object Allison was twisting in between her thumb and forefinger.

"My dad made it; it's kind of a ceremonial thing," she answered. "When one of us finishes learning all the skills to be a hunter we forge a silver bullet as a testament to the code."

"Scott?" Deaton asked.

Scott sighed heavily and opened his hand, revealing a Timex watch. "My dad got my mom this watch when she first got hired at the hospital. She used to say it was the only thing in her marriage that ever worked."

"Okay, the three of you will get in and each of us will hold you down until you are essentially, well, dead." Deaton instructed. "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 began to step toward Allison – they were best friends, after all.

"Lydia," Deaton halted her. "You go with Stiles."

There were multiple silent exchanges being thrown around the room. Everyone looked to Stiles, who looked to Lydia, and she back at him. Allison looked to Scott, who looked from her to Neris, while Neris and Isaac looked at each other. Everyone was realizing that Isaac would act as Allison's emotional tether.

"Are you sure?" Allison asked. "I mean, Scott and I both have to go under?"

Deaton wore a stern expression, causing Allison to look up at Isaac. After a split second unspoken exchange, she turned to Scott and Isaac gazed over to Neris.

"It's okay," Scott nodded, though he wasn't entirely pleased with the situation.

"Yeah," Neris agreed softly, "it's – it's fine."

"Neris?" Scott spoke, silently asking her to be his tether.

"Uh, actually, I think Deaton should take this one," she stammered. "I, uh, I might have to go somewhere. But, until I do, I'm going to be right there with you." She looked to Stiles. "Both of you."

The three teens slipped into the tubs. Allison gave an audible shudder as her foot touched the icy water. Stiles looked back at Lydia for reassurance before stepping in, Scott stepping into his tub moments later. Slowly, each of them lowered themselves, submerging their bodies up to their necks in the freezing water. As she promised, Neris sat in between Stiles and Scott's tubs to be there for both of them while she could.

"By the way, if I don't make it back and you do, you should probably know something. " Stiles began, through shivers and chattering teeth, "your dad's is in town."

Scott blanched, the shock of the news flooring him. Neris reached over, putting a comforting hand on his arm. As their tethers stepped up to the tubs, Scott, Stiles and Allison looked to each other for last minute reassurance. With Scott giving a final encouraging nod to Stiles, each of the tethers reached out and pushed them under the water.

As she felt her friends dying, Neris could feel her own breath becoming labored. She looked down, seeing deep reddish purple veins beginning to trail up her skin.

"Neris?" Kaeho asked worriedly, seeing the pomegranate colors threads sidling under her skin. "What's going on?"

"Dr. Deaton," Neris looked up at him, the veins beginning to creep up her neck. "Can I call it or what?" She gave a breathy laugh as she began to weaken, leaning against the edge of Scott's tub for support. "I knew I'd be summoned when they died."

"You'll be fine, Neris," he reassured her.

"I'm scared," she confessed as the veins crept closer to her eyes.

"Me too," he replied.

"Neris, what's going on?" Kaeho repeated, kneeling down next to her.

Neris couldn't answer. The threads had reached her eyes and they flashed black, as they did when she transformed into a harpy. But this time there was no transformation. Instead, her body went slack and she slumped to the floor. As Kaeho scooped her up and took her to the examination table shoved up against the wall, demanding for Deaton to explain and help him, Isaac heard what no one else could.

Her heart had stopped beating.