Chapter 12 – Code Breaker
What happened after Stiles warned the feral alpha off left Stiles emotionally wrung, exhausted and in pain. Peter had given her an ultimatum in his calm and soothing voice, leave Lydia bleeding out and help him find Derek or he would just kill her and then anyone he came across until Stiles agreed. She had refused to leave the strawberry blonde without first knowing she could get help, Peter sneered and rocked back on his heels contemplating disagreeing until he remembered how the skinny, pale girl before him had displayed the all-consuming aura of a spark – something he only heard of in legends.
"Call someone." He relented. "Be quick about it, my nephew's life is at stake."
"And so is hers!" Stiles slurred angrily as she unlocked her phone with shaking hands. "Derek is a freaking werewolf, he can heal. Lydia is human and she can die from blood loss."
Peter listened closely as Stiles spoke; her heart was beating against her chest like a jack hammer and her voice trembled over Derek's name and Lydia dying. There was no doubt in his mind that Stiles cared about the girl he attacked but her minute reaction to his nephew was both confusing and worrisome. He couldn't tell if she cared for him in a similar capacity as the girl or if she was afraid of him.
"Okay, Jackson is on his way." Stiles murmured, Peter blinked in confusion realising she wasn't talking to him but whispering in Lydia's ear, reassuring her she'd be alright. "He'll get you help but I have to go Lyd's and I am so, so sorry."
Peter almost felt bad, almost. His family was more important that some teenager no matter how powerful her best friend was. With a snarl he reminded Stiles about finding Derek and grabbed her bicep in a bruising grip, the usually sarcastic girl tripped and stumbled in her strappy heels, but Peter was eventually able to haul her off the lacrosse pitch and into her jeep. He directed her to drive to an underground car park where he'd left his own car.
"Don't worry, Stiles. If she survives, she'll become a werewolf." He reminded her gently, he would admit to being mildly disconcerted about the broiling rage radiating from the sparks tiny body which very nearly consumed the twang of anxiety that mellowed out the tension. Peter spared her a somewhat pleading look. "Don't be mad at me."
He felt his features scrunch in confusion as the words left his mouth, he didn't know why he said them but deep down his wolf whined pitifully at the thought of upsetting the more powerful creature. It was unusual as he had never acted in such a way even when his previous alpha, his own sister was mad or upset. Stiles gave a harsh, hate filled laugh.
"Funnily enough it's not you I'm mad at." She grumbled; she knew Jackson would make sure Lydia was safe before doing something stupid which means he'd be at the hospital with her. "It's Scott."
"Scott?" Now Peter just felt even more confused, why would she be mad at his beta?
"He was just so sure that you would use Allison to get to him, he didn't even give a second thought to anyone else." She huffed; her hands tightened around the steering wheel. "I haven't been the greatest friend, not to Lydia anyway. We fell apart a year ago after I made a colossal mistake, we were just starting to get passed it when Scott was bit. Now she might die and it's my fault…Scott believed you wanted to hurt him by getting the one closest to him but it's not Scott you want."
"I want my nephew. Alive and well. I want the guilty ones, who murdered my family to pay, and you are going to help me get at least one of those things."
Everything snapped into place for Stiles, Derek had Scott's phone. Scott had his GPS location on at all times and Stiles knew how to track it. Peter's logic in this was to hurt Lydia to get Stiles and by taking Stiles urge Scott into being an actual member of the pack. She felt a small smile tug at the corner of her lips, it would work if Scott wasn't completely blinded by Allison and the woefully good and can do no wrong hunters.
"You want me to find Derek." She stated as she pulled into the parking garage and stopped next to a silver Lexus. Peter said nothing as he got out and moved to the other car. "Yeah, I don't know if you noticed but we are underground, I can't trace anything from here."
Peter rolled his eyes, pulling out a laptop and small device, he placed them on the boot of the car with a purposeful look. "Stiles, I may have been in a coma for six years but I'm not stupid."
"Oh, would you look at that. MI-FI and I see you're a mac guy." She mused, sounding moderately impressed. "Does that go for all werewolves or just you?" She plugged the MI-FI into the laptop and typed the locator app once it booted up, she suppressed a smirk as Peter watched her unamused. "You still need Scott's username and password and I don't have that."
"I know your Scott's best friend, have been for many years. You know him better than even he knows himself; you know him so well that even if you didn't know his username and password you could guess it on the first try." Creeper wolf retorted with hint of a challenge in his tone. Stiles wanted to curse him out, because he was right, not that Scott had made it very difficult to guess after he changed. So, she turned back to the laptop and typed in Allison making sure to give Peter a meaningful look as she did.
"His username is Allison?" He asked in disbelief, Stiles gave a hum and moved onto the password, "His password is also Allison?"
"Still want him in your pack?" She couldn't resist the dig not taking her eyes from the screen as the map pinged the devices location. "They're keeping him at his house?"
Peter looked at the screen with carefully concealed anger as he replied. "Not at it. Under it. Stiles, before you get any ideas about following me, I want you to know I will not hesitate to kill you." Stiles blinked for a moment before scoffing.
"Well, that's good to know but I don't plan on rushing after you or anyone until I know Lydia is okay. She is more important than whatever mindless game you and the Argents are playing, I don't want to be a part of it and I certainly won't let my friends be casualty." With that Stiles spun on her heel and went back to her jeep.
Peter watched her peel out of the garage with a small, rather impressed grin. He rather liked the erratic and sarcastic girl; she wasn't afraid of him and she didn't pretend to not be afraid in general because she was but instead of letting it consume and rule over her. Stiles used her fear to make herself stronger and unpredictable.
Stiles stumbled into the hospital and immediately asked a passing nurse if the sheriff was her. The nurse took one look at her and pointed to the lift, saying that he was on the second floor with a girl who'd been attacked earlier. Stiles ran off to the lift and waited impatiently to get to the next floor, when the doors opened, she was met with her dad aggressively asking Jackson what happened.
"I don't know, okay? If you want to know what happened ask your daughter, she's the one who called me to get Lydia and then disappeared."
The sheriff glared at Jackson before turning on her, his glare flickered as did Jackson's overly smug look and Stiles knew she was a mess. Her makeup was smudged and smeared down her cheeks, her dress was ripped and dirty, she covered in small cuts and scrapes and her once tamed mass of curls was a frizzy and matted mess.
"Stiles, what the hell happened?"
"I…I don't…" Stiles felt her eyes fill with tears as the rapid change in emotions threatened to overwhelm her. "Lydia was… was worried about Jack-Jackson so we went out to look for him."
She took a deep shuddering breath as she tried to control herself, a few tears trailed down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them away only for more to take their place. Her dad took her into his arms and held her tightly, muttering that everything was going to be okay. Stiles had a hard time believing him.
"You didn't see what attacked her?" Stiles shook her head and pulled away. "What about you, why weren't you with everyone else?"
Stiles could only hiccup pathetically as she made an attempt at forming words that would make some form of sense. Jackson gently pulled her to the side as her dad moved away to answer the phone.
"Dad! Is she going to be okay?"
"We don't know, Stiles." He sighed a little. "The doctors don't know what's going on with her. It's like some sort of allergic reaction where her body keeps going into shock."
"This is to do with the Hale fire, isn't it?" Stiles murmured, finally gaining control of her emotions as theories and possibilities started to fit themselves together in her mind. "Dad, tell me what it has to do with Derek?"
The sheriff dropped his cell back into his pocket and approached Stiles carefully, Jackson backed up from the potential dispute. "I thought you said you barely knew Derek."
"We might know him a tiny bit more than that." She hedged; Noah sent her warning look. "Come on, dad. What do you know?"
"Okay, it's like I told you before. Everyone who was murdered was related to the Hale fire in some way. The bus driver, the video store guy and the two guys we found in the woods; but your friend has nothing to do with a six year old arson case." He made to move again but Stiles stopped him.
"When did you realise it was arson?"
"When we got a key witness. No, I'm not telling you who it is, but we know it was probably organised by a young woman."
"A young woman? Who?"
"Stiles, if I knew that she's be in cuffs already. All we know is she was in her twenties at the time and she wore a distinct pendant."
"You mean like a necklace?" The sheriff nodded and it all fell into place for Stiles. The hunters coming back after six years, the string of attacks starting up after Laura Hale was killed. Peter killing off each of the ones responsible for starting the fire except the ringleader, a young woman with a distinct pendant, one she gave to her niece. "Shit."
Stiles let the sheriff answer his phone as she dragged Jackson away, rubbing one hand over her mouth as she muttered a dozen or so curses under her breath. Jackson knew to wait for her to calm down before even trying to get a coherent sentence out of her, before they could get away from the reception desk four guys blocked their path. Argent, with his smug, smarmy grim looked down at Stiles before grabbing her bicep and dragging her downstairs into the morgue.
"Seriously! What is with assholes throwing me up against things." She commented, sarcasm thick in her tone, Jackson just raised his brow silently asking if she had really just asked that. "Shut it, Whittemore."
"Let me ask you a question Stiles." Argent started conversationally. "Have you ever seen a rabid dog?"
"Not really. But I'll make sure to put it on my to do list."
"Well I have and the only thing I can compare it to is seeing a friend of my turn on the full moon." Argent looked her dead in the eye. "Do you want to know what happened to him?"
"Look, no offence, but I don't care. Because the difference between my friends and yours is that mine weren't groomed to being homicidal killers." Stiles snapped with sweet smile, Argent moved back he had clearly been expecting to have the upper hand, but Stiles was nothing if not unpredictable when threatened or emotional.
"I had put to him down. I emptied an entire clip into him and the entire time he lay dying, he kept clawing his way towards me like killing me was the most important thing to him."
"Well, it's like I said, your friends are murderers that like to kill children and burn families alive."
"Stiles let me make this perfectly clear," Argent drawled, gesturing to the men behind him who all cocked their guns. "You do not have the high ground here and just so you know, we had nothing to do with that fire."
Stiles hummed in thought, completely unfazed, "Let me get this straight; you're in charge because all you boys know how to load a round and even though I never mentioned the Hale fire you automatically assume that's the one I'm talking about."
"Tell me Stiles, did you or did you not have to lock Scott up on the full moon? Was he out of control?"
"You know Scott isn't the problem here, he's like a lost puppy and it's so sad that you want to take home. No, see the problem is you think that because you have a big gun that you can just stroll in Beacon hills and stake your claim, but you're forgetting one big important detail."
Argent looked ready to snap but played along with whatever game Stiles had going, "What's that Stiles? What are we missing?"
"In this town my dad is the sheriff." Stiles smiled innocently. "I am currently locked in a room with four men in torn dress, covered in bruises. All I have to do is scream, then it's bye-bye hunters."
Argents smug grin fell in a heartbeat whiles Stiles' vindictive one grew, he took several quick steps away from the teens and held up his hands in surrender. He was now wondering if anyone had seen him grab Stiles and cursing himself for jumping the gun on dragging her for information. Chris steeled himself as her comment about the fire niggled its way to the front of his mind again.
"Okay, this doesn't mean anything but what do you know about the fire? No one affiliated with my family would dispose of an entire family of wolves unless they had proof, they committed a crime."
"A key witness that gave a young woman with a distinct family pendant information on how to start a fire and get away with it. A week later the Hale house burnt down leaving two kid as orphans and man in a coma with fourth degree burns. No matter what way you want to spin this Argent, it all lands on you and your family."
Stiles stormed out of the morgue leaving behind a dumbfounded Argent behind her, she turned to Jackson who held out his keys.
"I'm guessing we need to go help?" He stated, Stiles nodded and grabbed his keys.
"I'm driving but we need to make a stop first."
"I don't think this is the time to be worrying about what your wearing, Stiles." Jackson snarked.
"Shut it, Jackass. I meant the school; we're going to need some Molotov cocktails and you better make sure it's done right this time."
The drive to the school and the various minimal amount of illegal activities that occurred took twenty minutes. Then driving Jackson's crappy Porsche through the preserve was full of bumps and snarking comments.
"You know this isn't an all-terrain vehicle, right?"
"Did you pay for it?"
"…No."
"Well be quiet and get ready to jump out and throw the cocktail."
Jackson shifted, unbuckling his seatbelt and gripping the beaker with the chemical mixture inside by the neck. Stiles spun the car to the side with a grinding halt in the clearing the burnt out structure of the Hale house stood, in front of the mansion stood Chris, Derek, Scott and Allison. Peter Hale, stood in the headlights of the Porsche completely transformed into the hulking shadowy beast, his red eyes glowing like coals and focused on Scott. Jackson shot out of the car and launched the beaker, the feral alpha turned just in time to stop the beaker from smashing against his form. Peter snarled flashing his razor sharp teeth and roared, Stiles flew out of the car taking in the scene, no one was in the position to attack the alpha without the Molotov cocktail to weaken him.
Stiles narrowed her eyes on the beaker, gritting her teeth as she reached out and felt for the liquids in the glass casing. She willed the glass to heat and shatter, she felt the fire erupt and instantly catch onto Peter's fur, she felt his terror as the flames crawled up his arm and across his chest, she felt beads of sweat trickle down her forehead as the beast thrashed and flailed. Peter's memories of the Hale fire bombarded her mind as the fire died and he collapsed in the treeline. Stiles shook as exhaustion washed over her; she gripped the frame of the car as her knees turned to jelly beneath her. The heat of the fire left her, replaced by the tell tale feeling of cold that resulted in danger or death, it felt like stepping out of a sauna and into a snowstorm. Ice wrapped around her throat, she raised one hand to her neck and felt wide slash marks from the corner of her eye she noted Derek leaning over his uncles charred body, Scott stood with Allison in his arms.
"Stop Derek! You said the cure comes from the one who bit you." Scott shouted; Stiles refrained from rolling her eyes at Scott's naïve stupidity. Did he really believed that would work? Not only that but was the only thing on his mind being with Allison, who just tried to kill him, while Lydia was in the hospital because Peter attacked her.
Derek snarled, his eyes glowing icy blue as he turned back to Peter who was chuckling painfully, his own eyes glowing daringly. Derek didn't hesitate and swiped his clawed hand through the air and to tear open Peter's throat; Stiles' eyes widen as a gasp escaped her and she clutched her neck as a phantom pain flashed over her. Her knees finally gave out and Stiles dropped to the dirt, unnoticed by everyone but Jackson who had kept his eyes trained on her since the Molotov cocktail exploded in Peter's hand seemingly on its own. He moved to the side of the car where Stiles fell and wrapped an arm around her carefully while Scott snarled and ranted at Derek who ignored him and stalked over to the hunters. Argent pulled Allison behind him protectively and stared the new alpha down.
"Stiles, you okay?" Jackson whispered in her ear, although he was unsure if she actually heard him as her eyes where unfocused and glossy.
"Why would you kill him, Derek? Killing him was my only chance at being normal and you took it away!" Scott shouted, drawing Jackson's attention to the impending fight across the clearing.
Derek ignored him and instead reached out to grab Argent by his jacket lapels with a low warning growl to Allison, who had steadied her bow ready to fire. Derek spoke in quiet snarls that Jackson couldn't pick up from the distance between them but with Argent's determined no he figured it was about Kate and the fire. He turned back to Stiles his concern growing as she stared into nothing with a vacant expression.
Stiles was trapped in her own mind facing down an almost non-existent person, it had strangely humanoid shade with burning amethysts in the place of its eyes. Smokey wisps of shadows emitted from its body, pulsing and warping with shadows behind it and making the shade seem more terrifying and menacing than Stiles wanted to admit.
'Don't be afraid, Stiles.' The shadow spoke gently, it's voice like a soft caress that surrounded them.
'W-who are you?' She dared to ask when she finally found her own voice, the shade canted its head to the side in thought.
'That…is a question with no real answer. I am you, yet I am not.'
Stiles scoffed and rolled her eyes, the creature was suddenly less terrifying, 'Wow, that's really helpful. Care to elaborate on that?'
'I am the power inside you, but I am not strong enough to appear in a corporal form. I can only speak with you for a few more moments before your bodies self-preservation kicks in. You must not be afraid of yourself, Stiles. Afraid of us.'
Stiles inched forward curiously; the shade seemed scared of something itself. Maybe it was afraid of Stiles rejecting it or disregarding it.
'What do you mean?'
'The tales you have found regarding us dictate the power of Sparks being held by three individuals, but this is untrue. It was a single mage who held the power in her hands, the last Spark was entrusted to keep the supernatural world safe and secret. We are tied to the very structure of the supernatural world. We help keep it in balance, you coming into your power now promises great reckoning, Stiles. You cannot fear what is about to come, you must ensure the safety and balance of our world. We must become stronger to protect them all.'
Stiles absorbed everything the shade – was it really her or her power? – said, it was a lot to take in and she had feeling that what she was experiencing now, the predictions, cold feelings and sudden mirror-touch synaesthesia, was only the beginning. She nodded in understanding although there was a lingering doubt, she knew that, somehow, the shade would be there to guide her when needed. The shade appeared pleased with her agreement and the darkness around them flickered out of existence, revealing that she was still in the same place and the Argents where about to leave.
Stiles stood up and stalked over to the youngest, brushing passed Scott who attempted to grab her already severely bruised arm. Allison hesitated in getting into her father's car, she hadn't even seen Stiles was there with them in the first place.
"Stiles, I…" She tried to find an excuse to string together but the look of murder the burned in Stiles' usually cheerful brown eyes was enough to render her silent. Allison flinched when the other girl raised her hand, expecting to be struck, instead Stiles tore the necklace her aunt Kate had given her as a birthday present from her neck and then walked away.
Scott tried to grab Stiles once more, but she stepped away from him and turned to Jackson who was cautiously edging towards them.
"Can you make sure Scott gets home?" She asked, although Jackson knew that she was not asking and swallowed his annoyance, giving a single nod before going back to the car.
"What? Stiles, I'm not going anywhere. Give Allison her necklace back and tell me what your doing here!" Scott demanded, Stiles seemed to be moving on complete autopilot and didn't have the energy to deal with him.
"Leave it alone, McCall." Jackson interrupted; he took another sparing glance at Stiles as she entered the Hale house. "Just get in the car and stop being a dick to the person who you call a best friend."
Scott looked like he wanted to fight about it but as the Argents drove off, he adopted a kicked puppy look and trudged off to the waiting car instead. Jackson was about to follow when Derek, with his new alpha status, stopped him.
"Why did you come here?" He asked, his eyes flashed red momentarily.
"Stiles would've come with or without my help. I'd feel better knowing she wasn't hurt because of McCall's stupidity." He admitted quietly, trying to avoid Derek's stare.
"You care about her." It wasn't a question as much as an observation, of course Jackson cared about Stiles, she and Lydia were the only ones that ever saw passed his egotistical asshole routine. But he was also the reason she and Lydia stopped talking, he was jealous of their friendship, the closeness they shared and like any spoilt brat, he destroyed what he couldn't have.
"She was a friend once. She's Lydia's best friend, and I'd hate to be on the receiving end of either one's anger if the other was hurt."
Derek raised a brow; Stiles had told him she and Lydia were friends but were they really that close. "Stiles calls her a harpy." He stated causing Jackson to shrug stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"They have a strange relationship I've stopped trying to understand. Look, I got to get McCall out of here, can you keep an eye on her?"
"Yeah, sure." Derek would have anyway; Stiles was acting stranger than normal. Jackson moved to his car and Derek went into the house to see what she was doing.
Stiles had wiped down the pendant, wrapped it around Kates neck and moved her electroshock baton within reaching distance of her dead body, her gun was clutched in her rigid fingers. Stiles ripped up some of the old floorboards in the family room, her hands were held out in front of her as she pictured what she wanted to grow in the dirt beneath the house, she wanted vines of wolfsbane to grow so they could hide Peter's body before the police showed up.
"Stiles? What are you doing?" Derek asked somewhat hesitantly as he snuck up behind her and caught sight of the vibrant purple flowers that were bursting from the ground.
Stiles opened her eyes, blinking up at him in surprise for a moment before answering, "The police won't take much longer to put the pieces together. Especially when I tell my dad with the information I have about the necklace; we need to hide your uncle's body before I call him."
"How did you…?" Derek pointed to the pit questioningly, but Stiles just brushed him off like she did Scott, Derek wouldn't admit it but it kind of hurt.
"It doesn't matter. You need to put Peter's body in the hole and I'll deal with the rest."
Derek did as he was told and went outside to bring his uncle's charred and mutilated form back into the house where he carelessly dropped him into the space. Stiles immediately went to work, manipulating the vines to wrap around Peter hopefully trapping him for the time being. She moved away and leaned against the wall with a shaky breath as Derek replaced the floorboards, she sent a text to her dad about seeing Allison with the necklace and how the girl said she was borrowing it from her aunt.
"They'll be here in less than twenty minutes." She stated tiredly rubbing her eyes.
"How do you know that?"
"I know a lot more than I want to right now, Derek and I just want to go home."
Derek approached her, stopping directly in front of her and tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes.
"Are you okay?" He asked with as much gentle sincerity as possible, a small smile tugged at Stiles' mouth.
"Are you? You did just watch the only family you had left be burnt to crisp a second time and then slashed his throat open."
Derek mulled it over, Stiles' power was growing rapidly as she became more entangled in the supernatural. He didn't know much about Sparks but being as close as she was to this much death and destruction must be draining.
"I'm sorry; that couldn't be pleasant for you to experience."
Stiles shrugged one shoulder haplessly, a violent shiver wracked her body and she brought her arms up to hug herself.
"Do I need to be here for your dad's arrival, or can I make sure you get home safely?" He didn't wait for an answer, instead tugging her out of the burnt out house and towards the path that led through the preserve where his car should be nearby.
The ride to the Stilinski household was silent and Derek took note of the small injuries that Stiles had littering her exposed skin. It wouldn't seem like much, small cuts and scrapes mostly but there were also bruises running up her legs, most likely from falling and several on her arms turning the skin a mosaic of purple, blue and sickly green. She probably couldn't feel them giving the adrenaline running through her veins and the way her mind was distracted but she would definitely feel them in the morning.
Derek wanted to say something, anything but his mind was completely blank he had no idea what to say to Stiles. She may be a Spark, granted new in learning her powers, but still just as formidable and dangerous but she was human for the most part, she could still bruise, bleed and break and she knew this but didn't seem to care for her own safety if the people she cared about where in trouble. She willingly faced down Peter and hunters to protect her friends and family – to protect him. It was something he wasn't accustomed to, Laura looked out for him sure, but she also let him find his own way out of trouble. He pulled to a smooth stop outside the two story home, Stiles unbuckled and gave him a thankful smile as she moved to get step out.
"Thanks Derek."
Derek blinked. Why was she thanking him? She was the one the save him when Kate shot him, she was the one that figured out why the alpha was murdering people. She was the one that continuously put herself in danger and she was thanking him for driving her home?
"Sure. Get some rest, Stiles." He replied before taking off and leaving her alone, he had pack to build and he was going to make sure his betas were more competent than Scott was and that they would be able to stick close to Stiles without seeming suspicious and keep her safe. Moderately safe, she always seemed to get herself into some sort of danger and at least he'd be able to have someone that could contact him before she got too hurt.
So, a little more information on Sparks in general and how Stiles' powers are growing. Derek realising she isn't going to stop endangering herself is now making plans to do it himself, Jackson less of a prat as well but Scott is still his pretty, whiny self. I'm sorry if any of the characters seem a little OOC, especially Stiles and Peter but it will all make sense.