Thank you so much for all of your feedback! My birthday was yesterday, and it absolutely made my day to see so many new reviews. Thanks again for reading! -V

Chapter 12: Channels

Scott sat beside Daria's hospital bed that night, trying to work out everything that had happened.

It was almost certain that Stiles, or rather the Nogitsune inside him, had sabotaged the wiring of the hospital resulting in two deaths and causing Isaac to be hospitalized. He stared at Daria's lifeless figure, wishing he could understand if she was also somehow involved.

What was the reason for the second symbol? Would the Nogitsune use her as well?

"She's not a part of this." Derek stood at the doorway with a somber expression.

"How do you know? What if the Nogitsune somehow has a hold over her too?"

"Because Kira's father told me what the symbol means."

"What? What does it mean?"

Derek walked over to Daria and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "It means 'vessel'. Some kind of ancient spirit is already inside of her. I don't know what kind, or what she can do, but the Oni put her in a deep sleep to keep the Nogitsune from taking control."

"Daria… is a vessel?" He blinked several times. "That's what Deaton meant."

"What are you talking about?"

"Stiles and I talked to Deaton about it days ago. We think she might be something called an empath, but Deaton said that a person had to become an empath. Like you can't be born one."

"Scott…"

"What," Scott whipped around and leaned over the edge of the bed. "Daria?"

"What are you doing?" Derek stared at Scott, perplexed.

Scott avoided eye contact. "Daria has been kind of… calling out my name."

"What?" The older wolf looked taken aback and slightly… hurt?

"It started right after we got to the hospital with my dad. I heard her voice in my mind, and somehow I knew I needed to find her."

Derek stumbled back into a nearby seat, deep in thought from this new revelation.

"I don't know how to communicate back. But I can't help but feel like she needs to tell me something."

Derek suddenly looked at Scott. "You do know how."

Scott looked at his hand, realizing what he was insinuating. He recalled the time Peter had gone into his mind, implanting memories with his claws through Scott's neck. He knew that powerful werewolves could enter the minds of others by the same method, but to do that to Daria? It was difficult to imagine. "She's human. What if it's too risky?"

"If what you say is true, then she's also an empath or something else. She wouldn't call to you if she didn't need you."

"Well, can't you do it? I've never done anything like this before."

Derek averted his gaze. "She's not calling out to me, Scott. You're the one who needs to do this."

Deep down Scott knew Derek was right. For whatever reason, Daria could only communicate with him, and he needed to find a way to help her. Scott finally rose to close the blinds to the window and the door. Then he stepped beside Daria's bed and nestled his hand beneath her neck.

"Okay," Scott steadied his breathing as best as he could. "Is there anything else I need to do?"

Derek shook his head, moving only to check Daria's neck and reposition Scott's fingers until they were evenly spaced along her neck. "I'll make sure no one comes in. Just help her."

Scott took another deep breath and nodded in agreement. "Please let this work."

The moment his claws entered her neck the room brightened until he was completely surrounded by white light. It was just like the room he had seen when he, Allison, and Stiles were searching for the location of the nemeton.

The nemeton was still there in the room, and next to it sat Daria, whose gaze was fixed on the depths of a clear pool of water.

"DARIA!"

"Scott?" She lifted her head and gasped. "You found me."

He approached the pool and was shocked to find the water reflecting the image of himself in the hospital room with his claws in Daria's neck. "That's me."

"Yeah," she shrugged. "For some reason you're the only person I can see or hear."

"But why?"

"Beats me!" She poked at the water with a scowl. "If I could figure out how to change the channel, believe me, I would."

"So you've seen everything I've done since the Oni put you into this deep sleep?"

"Pretty much. And I can't answer your question about what I am. I don't know what a vessel is or an empath. It just feels… like me."

Scott sat beside her near the edge of the pond. "Deaton's looking for a way to subdue the Nogitsune. When he gets back, I'm sure he'll have some answers."

"The Nogitsune…" she peered at the water sadly. "It's my brother, isn't it."

"How did you know?"

"Stiles and I have always been close, but every hug, every pat on the back, every time I even brushed past him since around the time the coyote girl was rescued, he would cringe away from me. My touch physically repulsed him."

Scott frowned. "The Nogitsune is a dark spirit. Maybe the spirit in you is the opposite. It makes sense. And it explains why you helped calm me down mid-transformation."

Daria took his hand. "I know you probably need this time to figure out what to do against the Nogitsune, but I needed to talk to you. I don't know how long I'll be trapped in a mystical coma, but maybe you could reason with the Oni and get them to reverse what they did."

He smiled softly. "I'll see what I can do."

"And before you go…" she trailed off, peering sadly into the water.

"What is it?"

She looked up at him with a sad smile. "Can you tell me how Derek's doing?"

"Of course." Scott's eyes widened in surprise. Derek's relationship with Daria must have been more serious than he realized. "He misses you. And you can't see it, but he's sitting right next to us in the hospital room."

Her hand glossed over the surface of the pool. "I wish I could see him."

"I'll let him know you said that."

A tear slid down her cheek and landed in the pool. "Thank you, Scott."

The white room faded, and Scott retracted his claws from her neck. Derek immediately took a layer of gauze and tucked it gently between her neck and the pillow.

"What did you see?"

"It was just like when Allison, Stiles, and I crossed over to find the location of the Nemeton. Daria was there, and she could see and hear everything I've been saying and doing since the Oni marked her."

"But only you…" Derek stepped back with a resigned expression, and Scott realized the older wolf was jealous.

"Well, yeah, but it's not like that."

"Maybe it is. Maybe the both of you have a deeper connection. Maybe… you're supposed to be with her."

"Are you kidding?" Scott scoffed. "She only asked about one person when I spoke to her. It wasn't me. It wasn't even Stiles or her dad. It was you."

Scott could feel the hope and relief eke out of his friend as he moved beside Daria and clasped her hand gently.

"So is she, like, your girlfriend now?"

"Yes," said Derek without hesitation. "And I'll wait for her as long as it takes."

Scott watched in awe as a single tear fell from Derek's eye and landed on Daria's wrist. Then to Scott's amazement, the tear soaked into the skin.

"Did you see that?"

Derek began to nod but quickly froze.

"What - what happened?"

Derek stared at him with an expression of overwhelming surprise and relief.

"She said my name."

Scott grinned, glad that Derek had reached her somehow. She'd finally figured out how to change the channel.