Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf
Two-Pack II
Isaac had driven them from the wreck site to the place that Malia had affectionately dubbed the place where she and Stiles had sex so many months ago, a small creek that led to the main river in the preserve. Scott was right, it would be a good place for her to hole up yet still try in some way remain tethered to her anchor.
"Can you smell her?" Scott asked, having regained his sickly grey pallor during the short trip, and Isaac looked worriedly across at his boyfriend, then shook his head regretfully.
"Not yet, are you sure you're up to this? I can try and find her?" he suggested, but Scott shook his head slowly as he looked around at the area, and he had to admit, it was quite pretty, he could see why the two of them liked it so much.
"It has to be me. Come on honey, please?" he asked tiredly, and Isaac stopped the car and then hurried round to help Scott out his side.
He helped Scott up, but the small power boost that he seemed to have gotten from bad mouthing Peter and realising Stiles was once more part of the pack seemed to be fading fast, to Isaac's alarm. However, he supposed that despite the small supernatural edge Stiles had, he was still essentially human, and furthermore the pack consisted of Scott, Isaac and Stiles, with Kira and the kids hanging on by a thread, he needed everyone else back first, and in that regard, Malia, who had been absent from the disintegration of the pack as a whole, was the best bet.
"You think she's here? I cant smell her." Isaac admitted worriedly, but Scott closed his eyes, making Isaac panic for a second, fearing the pain was overcoming him, but his boyfriend then nodded.
"She's here, she's hiding from us though, using the creek to hide her scent. Malia!" he called, leaving Isaac supporting him with a slightly confused look on his face, how the hell did he know she was here? "Malia, can you hear me? I know you're here…somewhere." He said feebly, closing his eyes again.
He was trying to get a scent, or a chemosignal, or anything on her, but none of it was working, so he was going deeper. As the Alpha, as the lead wolf, he was bound in ways none of them understood to his pack, and to Malia, who he had originally met in her coyote form, he was bound in a different way, it was like he could sense her, well at least sense her coyote form and sort of see through her, the primal part of him calling to the currently dominant primal part of her. He could see her padding over the cold, hard ground, crunching over branches and soggy leaves, she could smell them, but she didn't want to speak to them, she didn't want to see them. Scott could well understand, stay and faced everything that was going on, or be a cute coyote with nothing to worry about bar a genocidal war on squirrels (there was one on a tree above them, he could hear it scurrying over the branches), he would make the same choice probably, take a break from all this crap.
But he needed her, and he knew she missed them, and most importantly, missed Stiles, the same one who had broken her heart in the first place.
"Malia? Honey, I know you're here. I'm sorry sweetie, we didn't realise how badly you were flailing, none of us did, and we're so sorry. You should never, ever have felt this was your only option. We let you down, we all did. You should never have felt like you had no choice but to run away. Believe me," Scott admitted softly, staggering a little and it was only Isaac's reflexes that kept him up, "I get the appeal. But we need you back Malia, I need you back. If you don't come back, I'm afraid we're all going to die. Agravaine is winning, but I have a plan to stop him. But if I'm going to make it work, I'll need your help, I'll need everyone. And more than that, Malia, you're part of my pack, you're our friend, my friend, and I care about you too damned much to let you spend all your days out here as a coyote. You're a kick-ass werecoyote and you can be so much better than an animal in the woods, waging war on squirrels. I know it hurts, I know you're hurting, but here's something that Morrell said once: if you're going through hell, keep going." He rasped tiredly, and felt something shift.
Hesitantly, a small furry face peeked around the corner of some rocks, the coyote's eyes glowing blue as she approached them nervously, and Isaac, looking worriedly at Scott, looked pleadingly at Malia.
"Come on honey, we all miss you. We've been looking for you since you left, we just didn't know where to find you. Come home Malia, please, we all really miss you, and like Scott said, we also need you. Not because we're screwed against Agravaine without you, but because you're our friend, part of our pack, one of us. At the very least, become a human again. You have a dad Malia, and I don't mean Peter, I mean your actual dad, and he loves you. Don't you think he deserves to know why his daughter's vanished without a trace?" he asked softly, and the coyote dropped her gaze in shame, and they edged towards her, and at a look from Scott, Isaac let him go, and he sank down to the ground, so that he was looking at Malia right at her eye level.
"And I know what happened with you and Stiles, things haven't been great with him. Malia, he's joined Agravaine." He told her, and her animal jaw dropped open in a very human expression of shock which would have been quite comical if Scott wasn't worried if he laughed she would run off.
"But," he whispered, leaning close to her and hesitantly reaching out to stroke the smooth fur on her face, "he's actually undercover, he's on our side. That's why he broke up with you, to protect you. He's still with us, and if I were you, I'd want to be human when I kicked his ass." He told her softly, and risked letting his eyes glow red for a second.
He could feel them flicker a little, going gold for a second before his force of will led them into becoming red once again. And as Malia's glowing blue eyes fixed on his, he felt a surge of power as she reverted back to her normal, though very naked, human form right in front of him, and she looked at him angrily.
"He did what?" she demanded furiously, and he allowed himself a smile as he reached out and wrapped her in a hug, which she gratefully returned, and for a second, he didn't care that she was stark naked, he just cared that she was back.
Isaac then appeared beside her, hurriedly taking off his jacket and offering it to Malia, who shrugged it on, looking quite at home in his long black coat, and he then wrapped her in a hug as well, both boys holding her close.
"We've missed you." Scott muttered into her ear, and she sniffed a little, avoiding looking at him as she did so.
"I'm sorry I ran, I just, I couldn't deal with it anymore, all of it, the dogs, losing all the time, Peter, school, and then Stiles, I…you look like crap." She said bluntly, and silence reigned for a second before Scott started laughing, he had missed her blunt attitude.
"Says the girl who two seconds ago was walking on all fours and covered in fur. Yeah, I've felt better. Agravaine poured his fire down my throat, I'm…I'm dying." He admitted, and there was something about admitting it to someone else who didn't already know it that made it feel worse, more inevitable, more final somehow.
"W-what? Dying?" Malia asked in disbelief, looking anxiously between Scott and Isaac, though it was the slight, tremulous nod that Isaac gave her that confirmed it, and she looked back at her Alpha, who nodded grimly.
"Yeah. I'm dying. But, I have a plan, but I need everyone to try and make this work. Thing is, the pack kind of disintegrated after you left, at the moment it's kind of broken what with one thing and another." He admitted lamely, and she gave him an unimpressed look.
"Leave you alone for a minute and look what happens, everything's gone to pot. I shouldn't have run." She said softly, and Scott smiled a little.
"Hey, if I could transform into a coyote and get away from all this, I'd be running too. But we do miss you Malia, we all do. Please come home, and at least, go back to your dad, he's lost you once. He doesn't deserve to lose you again." He whispered, and she smiled sadly and nodded, before hugging him tightly.
"Ok. Take me home, then, we see if we can fix you." She said, and Scott felt a rush of power coming back into him, and his eyes glowed red as it happened, and this time, they kept their red colour for a second or two before fading to gold.
But as Isaac helped him to his feet and guided him and Malia towards the car, Scott did feel slightly better. He had Stiles back, and Malia, and he still had Isaac on side, and he was fairly sure he had Kira, Liam, Violet and Garrett. Now, all he had to do was get the rest, and he might just get enough power to outlast this and see off Agravaine.
He hoped.
Rolling his eyes at his own hopefulness, considering after the last few weeks he didn't really deserve to be hopeful at all, he let Isaac mother him into the car as he sent a text, hoping that the person at the other end would reply in time. It was time to put the next part of his pack back together.
XX
By the time Stiles got back to the steel mill, the dogs had mostly passed out from their exhaustion after celebrating their victory. Stiles felt rage bubble inside him, they were basically celebrating the fact that Agravaine had murdered his best friend. Well, as far as he was concerned, they were celebrating a bit too soon, as, with a bit of luck, they would soon discover.
It was like he had finally come to terms with himself, he knew now that going undercover (which admittedly could have been handled better) had been the right call to make, as, thanks to Agravaine's actions, they were all convinced that he had no choice but to be on their side. And that left him uniquely qualified to help Scott bring the Corrupter and his pack down, and save his best friend.
Well, provided none of them woke up and found what he was doing, Thane and Malakai for example wouldn't hesitate before they murdered him. That simply meant that this trickster couldn't get caught.
Grinning to himself, rather liking the trickster moniker, he edged further into the steel mill. The real problem was actually Peter, but it seemed as though the Machiavellian monster was elsewhere, avoiding celebrating until his victory truly was assured. Which meant, Stiles thought with a savagely satisfied grin, there was still time for them to pull it out the bag and really upset his apple cart.
He couldn't believe all the damage he had helped to do to his best friend. Once this was over, he and Scott were going to go and do best friend stuff again, they could leave Isaac babysitting the pack (hopefully they wouldn't mutiny on him like they had with Scott, and on Stiles himself when Scott and Isaac had been out of town for the weekend). Actually, that sounded quite fun, only downside was Isaac was a lot more volatile especially to those who had just rebelled against Scott. Ah well, it could be fun.
He had helped get his best friend killed, just like he had with Allison. At least though, there was still a chance to save Scott, and he wasn't going to pass it up, he needed Scott, they were brothers, something that Stiles had lost sight of, drowning in self-hatred and self-pity.
But that all obviously depended upon him not getting caught with what he was about to do.
Agravaine was sprawled out on the sort of melted metal throne he had created for himself with the rest of the dogs dotted around him like guard dogs, with Thane lying closest and Malakai nearest after that, the two most lethal of them. Bonnie was at the bottom, closest to Rhyley and Ciara. Stiles briefly pondered about waking her up, but he elected against it. Whatever was going on with her, he didn't know enough about what she'd discovered to risk waking her and asking for her help in trying to stop Agravaine.
The trick was to get to Agravaine's flask. He didn't care if the flask was a gift from some dead best friend, or from Hollis before their relationship had soured, but all he did know was that he was going to use it to help save Scott and the rest of his friends from the Ghost Pack. He crept across the room, almost wetting himself with terror when Eoghan gave a particularly loud snore just after he passed him, though the bigger Barghest simply coiled more tightly around Ciara and muttered something about badgers. Cursing under his breath, his heart hammering in his chest from the fright, Stiles edged forward, approaching the raised steps that Agravaine had made his throne of sorts. His eyes glinted a light silver as he strived to see the flask, where was it? Without it, he couldn't weaken Agravaine, and then, Scott would die all the faster.
Bingpot!
There it was, just visible in the folds of Agravaine's long trench coat, and naturally, Thane was lying right in front of where he needed to be in order to get it. Freaking useless ugly dogs…
Stiles took a deep steadying breath to try and calm his pounding heart, terrified that if nothing else, it would be that that woke them and got his made very dead. But he took it slowly, after all, Scott was counting on him, he needed to do this to save Scott. He hesitantly put his foot just centimetres away from Thane's splayed hand as the Grim slept. Right, one foot, now the other. Holding his breath, Stiles raised his other leg high above Thane's head, praying he wouldn't wake up, if nothing else his current predicament would look highly suggestive, and grizzly, dirty murderer wasn't really his type. Thane moved a little, and Stiles fought down a shriek, but he only sleepily scratched his neck before lowering his hand back to the floor beside him. Rolling his eyes in desperate exasperation, Stiles lowered his other foot to the narrow gap between Thane's sleeping form and the foot of the throne that Agravaine was lying sprawled in. Right, half way there, now for the really tricky part. Alert for any sign of movement from the dogs, he slowly reached a hand towards the flask, his heart caught in his throat and his stomach doing somersaults, aware of every little sound, every little movement the dogs made. And Agravaine, he seemed sound asleep, what if he wasn't? Suppressing that all too terrifying thought, Stiles took a last, steadying breath and very gently extracted the flask from Agravaine's jacket. Breathing out through his teeth in relief as the Corrupter didn't move one jot, he extended his trembling hand into his pocket, extracting the bottle of mountain ash that Isaac had procured for him. Right, now, easy does it, to fail now would be all too deadly.
Right, both bottles, now… Stiles slowly undid the lid of Agravaine's flask, chancing a sniff of the contents and screwed up his nose, it was whisky, and clearly, not good stuff, the dogs really should be taking better of themselves, they were just grungy, it was nasty. Right, one down, one to go. Using his thumb, he dislodged the stopper on the bottle of the mountain ash, and very carefully, started to pour a little of it in, figuring if nothing else the poor quality of the whisky would hopefully hide the taste of the mountain ash. Trembling at the slight rattling sound the mountain ash made as it was poured into the flask, he looked frantically around, but the dogs made no movement and shaking head to toe in fear, he managed to manoeuvre the stopper back onto the bottle of mountain ash and slipped the bottle back into his pocket.
Now for the last part of the gauntlet.
One flask out the way, he carefully screwed the lid back onto Agravaine's flask, and ever so gently shook the flask a little, interspersing the mountain ash all through the drink. Breathing a sigh of relief, Stiles cast a nervous look around, someone was stirring, their breathing had changed, he was running out of time, but how could you be stealthy and quick because if they found him with Agravaine's flask…
Throwing caution to the wind Stiles pushed forward, and just managed to slip the flask back into the folds of Agravaine's coat and took a chance, jumping over Thane's form and edging away from the throne just as Agravaine gave a tired yawn, roaring a little as he woke up, and Stiles stood frozen, heart hammering, as Agravaine, apparently unconcerned, extracted his flask from his coat and took a swig.
Bingo, Stiles thought with a savage grin as the dogs all started to wake up, and Agravaine stirred himself, stretching as he stood up.
"Ah, Stiles my lad. Out of the way Thane, honestly." Agravaine complained, stepping over the Grim, who growled at him under his breath and glared at Stiles as he too got to his feet.
The dogs were all now awake, coming back to themselves, but Stiles was just relieved it had worked. He had managed to spike Agravaine's flask with mountain ash, which would hopefully weaken the wolf turned dog enough to weaken him, and he'd done it without the occupational hazard of having his throat ripped out, so, yay him.
Now if only he could guarantee that it would help save Scott.
"You've won right?" Stiles asked, keeping his voice neutral, trying to suppress the all-consuming fiery hatred he felt for the dog for victimising his best friend the way he had done.
Agravaine chuckled, and wrapped an arm around Stiles' shoulders jovially, smiling smugly.
"Oh you could say that, poor Hollis is in his death throes, and what's more, your former Alpha is now hovering outside death's door. I think it's time my dear boy, for us to push our advantage, wouldn't you agree?" he asked conspiratorially, and Stiles mulled it over for a second.
Actually, with everything that had happened, it actually probably was a good time to push ahead. Scott had a plan, and from the looks of it, knew how to defeat Agravaine. And what was more, Scott didn't have long left, in fact, if he could get Agravaine to make a final push, they might actually be able to fix all this tonight.
"Yeah, I'd say so." Stiles agreed, smirking a little, and Agravaine smiled.
"I'm glad we're on the same page. Now, all that remains is to find Hollis and finish off Scott. My friends!" he called, yelling to his pack, and the dogs all turned to face him, though Stiles noticed the angry look that Bonnie gave him, and the fearful look that Rhyley gave him, spreading sedition was kind of fun when his best friend wasn't the target, "it's time! Hollis' life ebbs away by the second, as does that of the vaunted True Alpha. Now my friends, rally our whists, summon the revenants, it's time to bring an ending to this, it is time to unleash all hell. Tonight, the streets of Beacon Hills run red with the blood of our enemies! Tonight, we end it all!" he bellowed, and the dogs howled in appreciation, and Stiles felt a chill echo through that dark place inside him that the remainder of the Nogitsune inhabited.
Agravaine's darkness was calling out to the darkness inside him, and the damned Gwyllgi thought he had the whole thing in the bag. But, he was sorely underestimating exactly just how stubborn his brother could be. Scott may be down, and holding on for grim life, but he wasn't out yet. All he had to do was make sure that the pack was ready for the final showdown.
So, as the dogs used their insidious powers to summon their ranks of undead dogs and people from across town, including the remaining psychologically charged revenants like Allison, Erica, Boyd and Matt, Stiles slipped into the corner, keeping a close hand on his sword as he did so, and making sure his gauntlets were secure. And while keeping an eye on the dogs to make sure none of them were watching him, he tucked the bottle of mountain ash away in the shadows of the room, and fishes his phone out of his pocket to send a text to Scott, to warn him that Agravaine was moving towards his endgame tonight.
Now all that was left to do was pray he got the message and was able to prepare for it in time as the dogs prepared for the final showdown.
XX
Peter smiled as Agravaine hung up the phone. Finally, after all these months of plotting, it was finally time. Tonight was the night. He would once more be the Alpha!
All this time, picking at them, needling them, the pack had finally deserted Scott, and he was dying. Now was the opportune time to strike. He would rip his throat out with his teeth, take Scott's Alpha power, then slaughter the entire pack. He'd prepared thoroughly for this moment, plotting and scheming, setting everything up so it all transpired according to his design, not only that, but he'd been savouring his power, killing all those Prime Betas in Britain along with finishing off Jennifer before she reached the Nemeton, he had the power of a dozen dead wolves and an extremely powerful Darach surging through him. Now all that remained was to kill their little Scott, and with the death of their oh so noble Alpha, his pack would truly be no more.
But…well, last minute reversals of fortune were Scott's stock in trade after all, and things always had the chance of going awry when he least expected it. That was what Kate was for, and that reminded him, she was clearly up to something, he just hadn't figured out what yet. Didn't matter, they had both kept up their ends of the bargain, and he couldn't do anything to her, she was his insurance policy after all. But still, it was slightly unsettling as to what she could be up to, but oddly enough, he trusted her to carry out her end of the bargain. After all, to both of their equal disgust, however much they wanted to deny it, they were bound together. And that meant she would hold up her side of the bargain.
And of course, if he succeeded, their bargain would suddenly become null and void and then he could do what he should have done in the first place and rip her head off and use it as a flowerpot. Ah, the possibilities, he thought with a dark smirk, the joy of his imminent victory and the scores he was about to settle filling his mind.
"Well Kate, it's finally time. It ends tonight, and I'll finally be rid of that irritating, self-righteous little brat, and I'll be the Alpha once again. If all goes well, I'll give you a head start." He purred, flashing her an indulgent smile as he headed for the door while she leaned against the doorway with a resentful expression on her face.
"You've got it all figured out don't you? What about the Calaveras, they're still out there." She pointed out, and he grinned, clicking his fingers as he was about to head out the door as though he had just remembered something.
"Ah, I'm so glad you reminded me! In keeping with our bargain, I didn't tell them exactly where you were, after all, I don't want them shooting up my apartment. But as insurance, to ensure you don't double cross me at the worst possible moment, I did tell them how to tune their emitters to help them find you. Have a nice night." He told her, and laughed as he departed the apartment as her face turned into the furious face of a Nagual.
And now, win or lose, Kate would be out of his hair, as the Calaveras would come looking for her. And whatever happened then, she would wind up leading them into a trap so they could at last be finished off.
Oh yes, it was all coming together.
Inside Kate snarled as Peter left. If she strained her hearing, she could hear the tuning sounds of ultrasonic emitters, wired specifically to hunt a werejaguar, sounded like they were gearing up to come after her. While furious at this rather early double-cross, she couldn't help but admire Peter for it either: by ensuring the Calaveras were chasing after her, that kept her and them out of his hair while he made his move against Scott. He also had to suspect that she was up to something, yet would still theoretically adhere to their agreement as each other's insurance policy.
Jackass.
But, in true spirit of their relationship, Peter didn't know that she had replenished two of her four dead Berserkers. While she did intend to hold up her end of the bargain, it was totally up to her how and most importantly when she would fulfil her half of it, should she need to. And if she didn't need to, then that's what the Berserkers were for.
Leverage.
Taking a last wistful look around his apartment, damn it was a nice apartment, she headed off to start leading the Calaveras on a merry chase. It was all going to end tonight, and that meant she had to be fashionably late to the party.
And if they could finally rid themselves of those gate-crashing Calaveras, so much the better.
So taking one last fond look at Peter's plush apartment, the pitch of the emitters getting ever closer, she summoned her Berserkers to her, and headed out, ready to help settle this whole thing in the way that suited her and her father's plans the most, whatever form that might take.
XX
Isaac had driven them back to the ranch where Malia lived with her father. Scott had slept most of the way there, his breath coming in worrying rattles, with both Isaac and Malia fixing him with worried looks every time they heard him do so, and Malia had been positively alarmed when Scott had woken himself up with a coughing fit, spitting black blood into a tissue that Isaac gave him, more alarmed by his boyfriend's grey pallor with every passing minute. However, they had made it, and to their great relief, Melissa was standing outside with Malia's father, Henry, and to Isaac's slight surprise, Derek.
Malia nervously climbed out the car and slunk towards her father, who's face was inscrutable. Melissa fretted as she helped Scott out of the car as Isaac shot a look at Derek, but the look he gave him wasn't quite as vicious as the one he'd given them the night before when he'd lost it with them, he, oddly enough, was the lesser of several evils.
Malia came to a stop at the top of the stairs and looked nervously at her father, who still hadn't moved or said anything.
"I'm sorry dad, I…" she began, and his face then broke into a relieved smile as he wrapped her in a tight hug.
"Oh Malia." He breathed in relief, and she hugged him close, smiling a little.
Scott smiled a little as he leaned against the car, giving them a minute before he turned to his mother, grinning mockingly.
"Great hairdo mom." He teased, and she shot him a very vexed look.
Indeed, the hair at the top of her hat was very squashed and flat, but the rest looked as though she had stuck her finger in a socket to achieve the look, and Isaac and even Derek allowed themselves grins of amusement.
"Well forgive me for not being very fashion conscious, but I'm trying to save my son from dying while helping him fix his pack. Besides, the middle of town is being dug up so I had to take the ring road, I had quite good fun!" she admitted, and Scott rolled his eyes in amusement.
"How did you get on?" he asked, and she smiled mysteriously.
"You'll see." She assured him.
Scott had wanted her to explain everything to Henry, however when she had gotten here…
"Oh Malia, I wish you'd told me about Peter when you found out. I didn't want you to find out that way." He told her, and Malia's jaw dropped as she looked at her father in surprise.
"Wait, you knew? I mean, you know I'm not your daughter?" she asked, her voice shaking, and he shook his head, laying both his hands on her shoulders.
"I know I'm not your birth father Malia. But you are my daughter. Your mother told me not long after she fell pregnant with you. I was angry at first, of course I was, but in her defence, I wasn't exactly a great listener at the time. Probably still aren't, and I'm sorry you didn't feel like you could tell me about all this supernatural stuff, or anything else going on with you. But as soon as I saw you, that day in the hospital, I didn't care that you were someone's else's kid. You were my daughter." He told her proudly, tears materialising in his eyes, and Malia sniffed, wiping at her eyes as she looked at her father nervously.
"But dad, if you know I'm a coyote, that I…" she began, but he shook his head gruffly.
"I never believed that was your fault Malia, and I still don't. Fair enough, I now know you're a coyote, and that I tried to shoot you a lot, sorry about that," he mumbled lamely, and she laughed, "but whatever happened that night, it wasn't your fault. It's something in you that you can't control, just like my anger was before I got you back. I can relate, at least a little. Malia, you are my daughter. That's never going to change, whether you're coyote, roadrunner or any other member of the Looney Tunes, or anything else you might be. Ok?" he asked firmly, and she smiled and threw herself into his arms as he hugged her, and as they hugged, Scott leaned happily over to his mother.
Hey, even if he died, at least he had helped fix Malia and her father.
"So he knew?" he asked, and Melissa nodded.
"He suspected there was something 'wacky' involved, I believe is how he put it," she told him, smiling a little, the man may be a bit gruff and rough round the edges, but he was a good man, "but didn't know all the ins and outs. He did know about Peter being her father though, and I don't have to be a werewolf to confirm he isn't lying. She's his little girl, no matter what. And explaining the wacky stuff got a little easier when her cousin showed up." She said, looking at Derek, who went a bit pale as Scott and Isaac turned their gazes onto him.
Taking her cue, Melissa took Isaac's hand and led him away from Derek and Scott (Isaac gave Derek a dirty look as she led him away, which made her pull him along more insistently), letting Scott speak to Derek alone, while on the porch Malia and Henry were sitting, talking softly.
"Wacky huh?" Scott asked derisively, his eyes flicking over towards Malia and Henry before looking back at Derek, who looked sadly at Scott, his entire scent one of remorse.
"Yeah. Scott, I swear I wasn't trying to one-up you, or lead a mutiny against you, and I sure as hell didn't want this to happen. I would never want any of this to happen. And it's like I told you Scott, you're a damn good Alpha. I-I just wanted to help, to try and get you out of the corner Jackson had backed you into. I'm so sorry it went so wrong, that this is happening. Scott, I…I'm sorry." He mumbled, and Scott felt a surge of power as he heard Derek apologise, and grinned a little.
"You know, I think that's probably the first time you've genuinely apologised in all the time I've known you," he taunted, grinning a little, and Derek allowed himself a small grin, and looked up in time to see that Scott's eyes were glowing red, and to his great delight, they only flickered gold a little before resorting to red, "did it hurt?" he asked, giving the former Alpha a cocky grin, and Derek shrugged, not looking at his younger Alpha.
"Just a little. I just wanted to help Scott, I didn't think it would go so wrong. Besides, it's not like I did any better as an Alpha! Didn't find one in time, killed one myself by accident, had to give up my power to save the other who buggered off south, and drove the other to fall in love with you. I hated it, it sucks! And at least you can hate it and be good at it!" he protested, and Scott laughed, feeling a little better, "I hated it and on top of that, I was bad at it!"
"I know that what happened wasn't what you wanted to happen, and I took it the wrong way. I just felt it was someone else having a go at me, telling me I sucked, telling me it was my fault, that I was so bad, they actually wanted you back to replace me. I didn't deal with it well, but at least with you, you didn't mean to rebel. But I need my pack back Derek, I need everyone to stop Agravaine, and I think I know how to do it. Will you help me?" he asked softly, and Derek allowed himself a genuine smile, and even indulged in a hug as he wrapped the younger boy in a tight hug.
"Of course, least I can do is help you get out of this mess. By the way, your boyfriend is actually really scary when he's pissed." He told him, looking over at Isaac, who was glaring at him, but there was a small smile on the face of his former Beta, and his gaze had softened a little.
"Yeah, he told me how much he went off on one. From what he said, you got off easily, I don't think he'd have hesitated in killing any of you." Scott mused as he leaned against the car tiredly, and Derek nodded grimly.
"Yep, Jackson still managed to get close. So you have a plan?" Derek asked, and Scott nodded, a cunning smile, one Derek had never seen before, appearing on his face.
"Yeah, actually." He replied as Isaac and Melissa joined them.
"Are you boys alright?" Melissa asked hopefully, and Scott nodded, feeling stronger than he had in a while, well, he was dying so that wasn't a fair comparison, but still, he didn't feel like death warmed up, he just felt like dying warmed up…quite literally actually when he thought about it.
"Getting there." Scott replied, and Isaac looked over at Derek as the four of them leaned against the car.
"I know you aren't as to blame as some of the others, so, I'm sorry you kind of got, you know, all of it." Isaac grumbled, not meeting his former Alpha's eyes (Derek suspected Melissa may have had a hand in this), and Derek nodded before stepping round Scott and hugging Isaac as well.
"Hey, I only have myself to blame, I basically made you his Prime Beta by throwing you out, though got to say, you came out of that deal pretty good," he mused, and Isaac chuckled a little, "but I never meant to make things worse, I just wanted to try and help Scott out of the corner he'd been backed into. Everything went so wrong, so fast." Derek admitted, and as he broke off, Scott and Isaac shared a look, yeah, he didn't know the half of it yet.
But they would, and then Peter was going to learn the hard way that you didn't fuck with Scott's pack.
Well, hopefully.
"So, what now?" Melissa asked, all business, and they were wasting time here, the clock was ticking, her son was dying, her phone was ringing…hell her phone was ringing!
As she headed off to go answer the call, Scott pondered his next move, mulling it all over. He still needed the rest of the pack, he still needed the Nemeton purged, he also had to make sure everyone was in the safest place when the shit met the fan later on. Stiles' text had warned him that the Ghost Pack was moving to end the whole thing, and that was good, it suited him. He was fairly sure in all the chaos the Berserkers and Calaveras would make their presence known as well, so now, it was all just a matter of whatever came next.
Which was what exactly?
"Ok, mom," Scott said as an inexplicably smiling Melissa came back to their side, "can you go and recruit the sheriff, find out if he's coming with us tonight? Once that's done, you need to get the hospital to make sure it's locked down good and tight, because I'm pretty sure Agravaine will attack there to try and split us up. Then, get whatever guns you need, if you're dead set on coming with us." He told her worriedly, and she nodded, looking at him evenly.
"Scott, honey, you're dying, and if you're going to try and undo it, I want to be there when it happens." She told him, the pride in her voice unmistakable, and he smiled before turning to the former Alpha standing beside him.
"Derek, can you go and help Argent, but only after you speak to Braeden, Martagh has a way to purge the Nemeton but she'll need her help. Oh, can you also make sure Dexio is either safe at home, at the police station or the hospital tonight please?" he asked, and Derek nodded, though he looked a little uncertain.
"What about me?" Malia asked, as she and her father trotted down the stairs towards them, clearly having finished their conversation, and Henry laid a hand on her shoulder.
"You mean what about us?" he asked pointedly, and Scott nodded, noting the excited grin on Malia's face, and he cocked his head at her pityingly.
"Sweetie, first, you need to go shower, because, well, you know…" he told her awkwardly, and she blushed while her father chuckled, "then, bring your dad up to speed, if he's going to war with us tonight, he needs to know everything. I'll call you when it's time." Scott told them, and they both nodded, and Henry guided Malia towards the house.
"What do you make of this cousin of yours by the way?" he muttered, and Malia sniggered a little.
"Ah, he's not so bad." She assured him, and Derek nodded proudly, grinning, and very proud of himself.
"Hear that? I'm not so bad!" he told them brightly, and Isaac rolled his eyes.
"So we heard, ok, we ready? Where are we going next?" he asked his boyfriend, and Scott knew where he was going next, besides, he couldn't fix the other part that needed fixed unless he fixed that part first.
"To see Lydia. Let's go."
XX
"Lydia?" Natalie asked worriedly as her daughter sat at her desk in her room, kneading her temples.
How could she have done this to Scott? She had been there, she had been there when Scott had almost killed himself once before, and she had been party to doing the same damn thing to him all over again! How could she have done that to him, to Scott? Scott only ever tried to protect people, especially the people he cared about, his friends, and his friends had repaid him by essentially badmouthing him, rebelling against him, and helping their enemy kill him.
What had they done? What had she done?
"I'm-I'm trying to find Prada, it's about the only vaguely useful thing I can do." She complained, and that was another problem, she hadn't seen her poor little dog in weeks, ever since she'd run off when Jennifer had ambushed her, she didn't even know if she was still alive.
Natalie looked worriedly at her daughter. She had heard of what had happened to Scott from the sheriff when he had called to tell her Scott likely wouldn't be back at school at all, his voice breaking as he did so. How did she help her daughter see this wasn't her fault?
"Lydia, what happened to Scott-" she began, and Lydia turned and shot her mother a tired though still sharp look.
"What happened to Scott was because of us mom. Everyone who undermined him, made him feel he was making everything worse, made him feel useless. We did that to him, we broke him down, we ground him down, and then because we essentially staged a coup, Agravaine has been able to murder Scott. The dogs are going to win, and we're going to lose someone our friend, our friend who we destroyed. Don't tell me it isn't our fault, or if it's somehow Scott's fault. It's our fault, all our fault." She whispered bitterly.
That scream, she had screamed, signifying that Scott was dead. He may not have died yet, but she had screamed for him, and he was going to die. Scott, who she trusted to get them out of anything, who had fought the Pombero to protect her, chased after Peter and the Nogitsune to save her, who would do anything to protect her simply because he cared about her, Scott, who she had helped betray. She had done this, not as much as some of the others, but she too had been having a go at Scott, breaking down his belief in his self and as a result, his ability to do the very thing everyone wanted him to do.
They had destroyed him, and they would have to live with that for the rest of their lives.
Melissa was going to lose her son, and Isaac was going to lose the person he loved most in the world. Scott, their kind, selfless, compassionate and good, hell great leader, was going to die, and they were going to lose their friend.
They might as well have killed him themselves.
Her mother had vanished, but she didn't care. She knew her mother wanted to help, but there was no way to fix anything, no way, she wouldn't even get into the hospital to apologise (and perhaps assuage her own guilt), Isaac wouldn't let one of the rebels anywhere close to his dying boyfriend, not when he blamed them as ardently, and rightly, as he did. She just wanted to speak to Scott one last time, to let him know how much he meant to her, to tell him how sorry she was that she had even been part of this, party to destroying him, but then hell, even if she got in, what would she even say?
"Lydia?"
Lydia felt her heart lift as she heard the voice, and she turned on her chair to see Scott, grey in colour with currents of acid green and poison yellow undulating across his body, his body quivering, his breathing ragged, standing in her doorway. Behind him, a horrified looking Natalie was helping Isaac support him, though the mask of concern on Isaac's face didn't exactly instil confidence in Scott's condition.
"Scott!" Lydia breathed, leaping to her feet and hurrying over to help him, he looked like he was about to drop down dead in front of her.
She reached towards him, and Isaac growled warningly at her, his eyes glowing gold, and she recoiled, feeling the searing, hateful heat the Prime Beta was directing at her. She deserved it, she knew she did, but still, it wasn't easy, ever since Scott had initially dumped Isaac the two of them had been close, just as she was close to Scott as well.
Scott turned and sent his boyfriend a chiding look, and Isaac's eyes returned to their normal blue colour and he did soften his gaze, and with a begrudging jerk of his head, he allowed Lydia, her mother and himself to help Scott's shaking body to the bed.
Natalie then pointedly took Isaac's arm (she hastily withdrew it when he growled at her and she sent her daughter a terrified look, which both Scott and Lydia suppressed a grin) though he did follow her out of the room with relative good grace, leaving Scott and Lydia sitting beside each other on the bed, the tension in the room thick, and the silence deafening.
At least it was until Scott started to cough, his whole body heaving as he did so, coughing into a tissue and when it finally subsided, he pulled it away to discover more clots of black blood inside it, and he shook a little as he looked at it. Lydia looked at it in horror, she'd seen black blood before, they all had, but when it was like this, when it was Scott, and when he was so clearly dying after what they had helped do to him, it hit differently.
"Oh Scott, I'm so sorry." She whimpered, and wrapped him in a hug, and to her great relief, she felt him return it after a second, holding her tightly, his face buried into her shoulder.
"Lydia, it's ok." He assured her, and she rolled her tear-filled eyes, honestly, that was typical Scott, always caring more about everyone else, especially when they didn't deserve it.
How the hell had they forgotten that, and done what they did to him? He hadn't deserved any of it, and yet here he was, still trying to save them all after they had all rebelled and virtually abandoned him, allowing Agravaine to take him down.
They deserved everything they got.
"No, it isn't. Scott, I'm so sorry. You've always tried to do your best, to protect us, all of us. I know you never, ever would want any of what has happened to happen. And we all stabbed you in the back, when if it wasn't for you, we'd all have been dead long ago, me in particular. We, I let everything get to me, and I'm so sorry. This isn't your fault, none of this is, I know that, we all should know that. You're the one who's been trying to fix it all, and you might actually have managed it if you hadn't had to deal with all of us having a go at you. We've been riding you for weeks, making you feel like this is all your fault, and I'm so sorry Scott. I'm so, so sorry. With everything, Allison, Aiden, then Stiles, and the Pombero, Peter, the dogs, Mason, it all got to me. I've been frightened for weeks, terrified that something else would happen, that we'd lose someone else we love, that we care about, and now, we're going to lose you. We're g-g-going to lose you, we're going to lose you after everything, and I-" she sobbed, and he held her softly, rocking her a little and pressed a kiss onto her head.
"I'm not going to die." He whispered in her ear, and she pulled away from him, looking at him sadly as tears ran down her cheeks.
"Scott, you're talking to the messenger of death here, remember? I screamed for you." She told him, taking his hand and squeezing it, and he allowed himself a small smile.
"Don't scream for me Argentina," he said with a slight smile, and Lydia felt something odd flutter in her chest, something that she hadn't felt in some time: hope.
"Scott?" she asked suspiciously, though a small smile was also now appearing on her face, there was something about him, he seemed different, more at peace, yet also more confident and decisive.
Dismissing the thought that this could be a last impending doom burst of false confidence, she looked at him as his warm brown eyes looked at her pleadingly.
"I think I know how to stop Agravaine, but the only way I'm going to do that is to rebuild my pack. But I also need help." He told her, and she took his hand and squeezed it.
"Scott, I let you down once, and I'm not going to do it again." She promised, and he grinned, and his eyes flared red, and it was like only a bit of his eyes flashed to gold before returning to red.
Scott felt another surge of power enter him, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't moving quick enough. He still had to bring the others back into the pack, what if he didn't have enough time to fix them all?
"Thank you," he said earnestly, driving the thoughts of failure form his mind, "I need you guys. I let you down, I…" he started, but she shook her head insistently.
"Scott, this isn't your fault, we did this to you, we helped Agravaine do this to you. So, what is it you need me to do?" she asked, and he smiled a little before looking at her anxiously, the rest of his plan very much depended on her being able to help now, not her willingness, as that was apparent, but her ability.
"Well, that's the thing. I kind of need to find the Owlman, and Agravaine blasted him away when we fought him. He's dying, we all know it, but is there any way you can help us track him?" he asked hopefully, and Lydia was about to respond negatively when Martagh appeared in a swirl of autumnal leaves, smiling proudly as she saw the Alpha sitting with his banshee.
"Ah, good, I see fences are being mended. Good news young Alpha, I have recruited Braeden to help me purge the Nemeton. Morrell proved a little more…reticent, some nonsense about her brother I expect. Either that or she's just being obstinate," she lamented, and Scott grinned, yeah, that sounded like Morrell, "but both of them are on side. Morrell is on side with a bump on her head," she explained, her eyes flashing and they both laughed, "but she is on side."
Scott smiled, yeah, it was all coming together, now if only he could find the Owlman.
"Wait, we can purge the Nemeton?" Lydia asked in shock, and Martagh smiled slightly as she leaned against Lydia's desk, her eyes worried as she surveyed Scott who was looking grimmer by the second.
"Yes, we now have the means, and with your help, I'm hoping we shall have the capacity." She explained, and Scott nodded, that was another part of the reason they had come here next.
"Good, that's great actually. Martagh, is there a way that Lydia can find the Owlman?" he asked excitedly, and Martagh nodded slowly, her face puzzled.
"Well, yes, she could scry for him, but I've not taught her that yet. You want to work with the Owlman?" she asked in confusion, and Scott nodded, a cunning smile coming to his face, and Martagh found herself breathing a bit easier.
"Want to? Not particularly, but I think we need him. And the fact that he's dying and can't have much longer left than I've got makes me think he might actually listen for a change. Isaac!" he called, and there was a slight yelp from downstairs (it sounded as though Isaac had just trampled Natalie) and he burst into Lydia's room, looking anxious, though seemed to calm down when he saw Scott was still breathing and not in any immediate danger.
"You're alright," he said softly, relaxing a little, and he shot a neutral look at Lydia, betraying nothing, and Scott smiled a little.
"We're good honey, you can turn off the death glare." He chastened his boyfriend, who gave a grunt and simply looked away from Lydia, who hung her head, she and Scott might be ok, but she had a feeling Isaac wouldn't be ok with any of them until this was over and Scott was safe.
"So, child, scrying. Scrying is the ability to use a crystal, channelling the energies within you in order to find something you seek. Usually it helps to have an item belonging to the person you're looking for," Martagh explained, pulling the map of Beacon Hills (a gift from Stiles for pack activities) off the wall and laying it on the desk behind her, and Lydia headed over.
Scott, being nosey and curious, sent Isaac a puppy dog look and he, predictably, while glaring at him, immediately crumbled, and helped him over and helped prop him up as Scott looked at the developing lesson.
"-however, as you are a Banshee, your ability to scry is far different than that of most others with the same ability. As a Banshee, you are a harbinger of death, wired into an unseen network of energy. It is that which you must tap into in order to scry effectively." Martagh explained, and once more enjoying the prospect of learning a new skill, Lydia settled herself at her desk, looking up at her mentor as she flattened the map in front of her.
"So, what? I basically look for whoever's going to die?" she asked sceptically, and Martagh nodded.
"That is the long and short of it yes. To scry, one needs a map and a crystal. Not to be a crystal snob, but amethyst is always the best crystal to use, it acts as the most powerful augment to one's abilities. Here," Martagh said, extracting a pointed purple crystal attached to a chain from her pocket and passing it to Lydia, "dangle it above the map. Now, your method of scrying is highly different than all traditional applications of the practice. You need to focus, centre yourself, and call upon the very same network you're connected to. Doing it as a Banshee is slightly more difficult, but you will still be able to scry for anyone you wish, you just have to have an understanding of their deaths, however imminent that might be. A little grim admittedly, but that's the way it is I suppose. Call on your power, and feel who you're looking for, formulate their death in your mind…that's it. Visualise the one you seek, see the Owlman. His death is impending," Martagh coached from behind Lydia, the crystal starting to swing over the map as she concentrated, "look for it in the midst of the voices, in the midst of the screams. That's it, focus now. Concentrate, see the Owlman in your mind's eye, divine his location."
Lydia had shut her eyes, she could hear the voices inside her head, but it was one in particular she was looking for, for Hollis, the Owlman. She could just about make him out, but it was hard to concentrate, Scott's imminent death was hanging over her like a heat lamp, distracting her from finding who she was really looking for. With a twist of her guts due to self-revulsion as she was once more assailed by a wave of guilt due to her complicity in his predicament, she forced down the notion, and then, she caught it. The screech of the Owlman, the lamenting cry of failure, of loss. She homed in on it, she could feel the crystal swinging more viciously as she lowered it closer and closer to the map, it was swinging back and forth, and she was nearly there…
And the crystal landed. Pleased with herself, and suddenly afraid it had landed off the map, she opened her eyes hesitantly, to see that it had indeed landed on the map, the point of the crystal clearly indicating where they should look for the Owlman.
"I did it!" she exclaimed happily, and Scott and Isaac both grinned at her while Martagh, suitably impressed, patted her shoulder.
"You did, good girl. Hmm, you know it?" she asked, peering at the map, and Scott looked at it too, but it was Isaac who nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fairly sure that's the old clock tower on the edge of town…would suit his aesthetic, and besides, it's been empty for ages." He explained, squeezing Scott's hand as he noticed Scott sway a little, and Lydia turned with a grin to Scott.
"Ok, so what now?" she asked excitedly, she could feel it, there was something about Scott's newfound confidence that was just contagious, and her Alpha smiled at her.
"Relax. You need to prepare to fix the Nemeton, and you can't do that until I've put the pack back together. But you can help me do one thing." He said, and Isaac looked at him, a little lost.
"What else is there?" he asked, and Scott indicated downstairs.
"It's all ending tonight, which means we need to make sure everyone is safe and in the right position. So, I need to make sure the school is totally evacuated, and we need her mom's help to do that." He explained, and Isaac's eyes widened in comprehension as he started to help his boyfriend to the door, Lydia following hurriedly after them.
Behind them, Martagh permitted herself an indulgent grin, pride filling her like a balloon.
They were a damn good unit when they worked together, and it was clear that Scott's plan was giving them an invigorating new confidence. So much so, that whatever he had planned, might just work.
XX
Hollis screamed in agonised frustration, having fallen while trying to get across the room to his chair. He had returned, barely, to the clocktower that he had made his home following his fight with Agravaine. The dog was, the dog had…
Tears of rage, frustration and hopelessness filled his eyes as he hammered the floor in his rage. Agravaine was too strong now, and he had days left at best. Hell, he mused, as he looked down at his burning torso, fresh from being savaged and blasted by Agravaine, he would be lucky if he had that left.
Filling his mouth with bile, he spat viciously on the floor, trying to vent at least some of his frustrations. He had failed, he had failed her, failed him, failed them both! Agravaine, that blasted, insane, twisted murderous animal would survive, and he, he would die, his wife and son unavenged…
Hollis screamed furiously, hammering the floor, and managed to use his rage to transform him back into his owl form. He pushed himself up off the floor, staggering in agony over to his chair, which he flopped down into, crying out in pain as he reverted back to his human form.
At least now he was sitting upright, he could survey the damage from his battle with Agravaine. Two smouldering scorch marks were on his bare chest, and they weren't healing, either in his owl form or his human form. His body smelled of burned flesh, and the sickly stench of death filled his nostrils, though truthfully, he'd smelled that before now, it was just getting worse now. The skin where he'd sustained the blasts was melting away piece by piece, incinerating in little flares of acrid yellow flame. Soon now it would burn all the way through his skin and once it got inside his body, it would kill him. His veins were beginning to go black, not even the poisonous green that you would hope for after encountering that foul beast. His body was weak, the various magics he had unleashed upon his body no longer being supported by his own body, his body was betraying him, and his power ebbed by the minute.
He looked at the ring on his finger, and as he did so, images of his former life, before Agravaine, flashed through his mind, making him sob as his heart was rent apart. The images of the woman who would be his wife filled them, happy and laughing as they fell in love. Their wedding day, as he kissed his new wife, who was a vision in white, her long auburn hair curled into ringlets, and he felt like the luckiest man in the world. The day she told him that she was pregnant with their son, the happiest day of his life. Even the conversation when she had revealed that she was actually a witch, hell, that just made him love her more, the fact that she kept is quiet in order to spare his feelings, and to protect him. And that awful day when he had come home to find his wife and son savaged by that monster, and how her life had ended as he held her, pleading for help that never came.
He had vowed that day to hunt down Agravaine, to finish him. At first, when it was just Agravaine and Thane, he had come close, several times actually. Even when he had found Bonnie, with planning and strategy, he had nearly bested the three dogs, but after that, as Agravaine came to realise the true extent of his power, he never got close enough as a human again. It was then that he had sought his wife's magic books, her grimoire, or book of shadows, whatever you wanted to call it, and sought something, anything that would give the edge.
Once or twice, he had surprised Agravaine, almost killed him, but it seemed the more the Corrupter spread his noxious influence, the stronger the foul beast got. It was after he had found Eoghan and Ciara that it had occurred to Hollis: the curse that his wife had placed upon Agravaine with her dying breaths hadn't been a curse at all, in fact, if anything it had been a gift to the monster. Agravaine, a manipulative and ruthless sociopath, devoid of compassion and consumed with power and his own twisted worldview, had realised that being cursed into being as foul on the outside as he was on the inside, was actually a benefit to him. Agravaine had relished it, adapting to his new reality, and worse taking others down with him. And once he'd realised the extent of what he could do, Hollis had never made any real progress again, with Agravaine always managing to outlast him.
Now though, his life force ebbing away, he realised the truth: he had failed his wife and son, and what was more, now that the dog had defeated the Alpha and had the Nemeton, he wasn't even going to go down with him either. Hollis would die, and Agravaine would endure, the curse unbroken, and Hollis' wife, his vengeance, all wasted.
He sobbed in earnest, clutching at the ring, the glowing red jewel in the centre of it looking dimmer by the day, just like his life. He had failed her, failed him, failed them both, this was it, the end, he had failed…
"I can't go on, he's too strong. He needs to pay, but if he doesn't die before I do, he'll win. He'll win by default, win because he beat the boy, win because he's got the Nemeton. I'm sorry my loves, I let you down, I thought I could stop him, but I can't. I need help, I can't go on, I just want to see you all again, but he's out of control, and I…I'm powerless. I've failed utterly." He whispered to the ring despondently, and the ring gave a feeble surge of light.
"Maybe not." A voice said from the door, and Hollis leaped up, screeching in alarm, turning into his owl form as he spiralled to confront the intruder.
However, he stopped short as he saw the leader of the three people who had managed to find his lair. While the hunter had levelled his two handguns at him, and the taller of the two teenagers had two ring daggers in his hands, his eyes glowing gold as he glowered at the Owlman, the teenager in the centre was the one who caught his attention. The boy was struggling to stay upright, his skin was grey, his veins a mix between toxic yellow, acrid green or just dead black. There was a sheen of sweat on his forehead, his body looked as though it was about to give way, and while his own sense of smell was much less developed than the wolves, he could smell the boy's impending death from over here.
"The young Alpha. You look as good as I feel." The Owlman croaked tiredly, before slumping back into his chair, and while the hunter and the other wolf lowered their weapons slightly, they kept a suspicious eye on Hollis, but quite honestly, he knew he couldn't take the three of them, with how he felt, he'd be lucky to take down even one of them.
"Right back at you. How did you find me?" he asked tiredly, and suppressed a cry of pain as the burns on his chest broiled once again, and Scott came towards him, his boyfriend helping him to sit down on the table opposite him.
"Our friend scried for you." He informed him, and Hollis bit back a curse.
They shouldn't be able to use supernatural means to find him, he'd taken care of that many years ago. Yet another sign of his dwindling life force, his spells were starting to diminish in strength, leaving him vulnerable.
"Damn. Well, I'm here young wolf. Agravaine has won, and he's defeated both of us. What exactly did you hope to achieve by coming here?" he asked, sounding bored, struggling to keep talking, he was so very tired, but he kept going, out of idle curiosity if nothing else.
Scott groaned, it was like being close to Hollis, who was also suffering the effects of Agravaine's power, was exacerbating his own situation. He knew he was fairly safe here, after all, Hollis couldn't do anything, he looked nearly as bad as Scott did, and Isaac and Argent (who Isaac had summoned for backup) were more than capable of dealing with him as it stood.
He shook his head in annoyance however, this poor little me was getting seriously old, not just from Hollis, but from Jackson, Stiles, hell, even Agravaine, it was really starting to piss him off.
"Hollis, you've been trying for years to kill Agravaine. You've never managed it, all you do is get beat up. Agravaine has only gotten stronger, and you've gotten weaker. And now, we're all screwed. He's defeated me, and he has the Nemeton. So, even if you go down, the curse bound to your ring won't end. It'll just keep ticking over perpetually, and he'll always be a Gwyllgi, instead of a werewolf. Yeah, I know he used to be a wolf, which, by the way, if you'd told me ages ago might have helped us stop him much sooner," he sneered waspishly, and Hollis looked slightly affronted, but he was dying, he was way past caring, "but if, for once, you listen to me, we might be able to stop him."
Hollis scoffed, then wished he hadn't as his chest seared furiously as he did so, and he clutched at his pecs as he did so, trying to suppress the pain, but the pain was getting unbearable, he couldn't control it anymore, the magics he had performed weren't sustaining him anymore.
"Stop him? Boy, it's done, we're done. The beast has won. I'm dead, or soon will be, and so will you. And then he'll slaughter your friends as well." He told him, his eyes closed, exhaustion seeping out of his body.
However, Scott wasn't having it, any of it. This idiot had brought his feud to town, determined to kill Agravaine, but in his pathological hatred for dogs, he had killed dozens of innocent animals, and dozens of people alongside it. And now, he was having a pity party for himself, and he was so, so done with it.
His eyes flashed red and he mustered his strength, roaring. The entire clocktower shook, and Hollis' amber eyes flashed in response as he looked back at the young, stubborn Alpha, who was looking extremely angry, yet also supremely determined.
"Enough! I am so sick of this, of all this! You, Agravaine, all of them, you all come here for your pissing contest and people get caught in the crossfire. What have you actually achieved huh? All you've done is harass Agravaine. He killed your wife, your son!" Scott yelled, and Hollis got to his feet, anger coursing through him.
"You don't need to remind me of what that monster has done boy!" he spat, and Scott got to his feet, growling himself, as an alarmed Isaac and Argent flanked him in case the now incensed Owlman made to attack him.
"Well clearly, I do. Agravaine has taken everything from you. You've tried to stop him, but all you've wound up doing is made him stronger. So, how about you stop what you're doing and for once, listen to me. If you die, with the curse unbroken, Agravaine wins. Agravaine wins, your wife and son aren't avenged, and we all die, all of us. But, I think I know how to stop him, once and for all. But I need your help to do it." He explained, hating the idea of working with him, but he needed him, he needed everyone, and sadly, Hollis was one of them.
"You can't beat him boy, if you could, he'd have been stopped by now." Hollis sneered dismissively, and Argent glowered at him, his guns twitching as though longing to put a bullet into each eye.
"Maybe he could be had you had any sort of a plan, instead of lashing out and hoping for the best, or if you had told Scott everything he needed to know instead of doling it out in drabbles for dramatic effect. Now, shut up and listen." The hunter ordered, and while Hollis threw a resentful look at Argent, he did turn his attention back to the dying Alpha.
"Agravaine is powerful, and has gotten even stronger since he defeated me. He also has the Nemeton. But I know things he doesn't know, and I know how to stop him. You've been fighting a losing battle against him all these years, never even really hurting him. But if you listen to me, I can help you inflict genuine pain onto him. We can finish him, together, and you can finally cause him some pain, of the same sort he inflicted on you all those years ago. Your wife and son are dead, you're about to join them. You can't avenge them once you die, but if you help me, help me stop all this, stop him…then I can make sure that he's brought down for what he did to you, to your family, to everyone." Scott told him fervently, and Hollis looked at the boy, and oddly enough, felt himself believing him.
How was this boy so stubborn, yet so charismatic? After all, there was a reason that Agravaine wanted him, in every sense of the word. He could feel the power coming from the boy, the earnest belief in what he was trying to do, it wasn't a hypnotic effect like Agravaine. No, this was like…it felt as though there was a small fire building in his chest, it was genuine hope, something that he hadn't felt in a very long time.
"You really think you know how to stop Agravaine?" Hollis asked suspiciously, and Scott nodded, smiling grimly.
"Yeah, believe it or not, I've dealt with his sort before. I know everything I need to know now, and I think I know how to get him to basically destroy himself, but I need your help. We can do this, we can stop him. And you're going to die, just like me," he said softly, his voice shaking a little, but he still looked determinedly at Hollis, who nodded at him evenly, "might as well do it doing something good, and stopping the evil bastard before he hurts anyone else, before he does to anyone else what he did to you. What do you say?" Scott asked, and at last, at long last, he finally got through to Agravaine's nemesis, who hesitantly extended a hand towards Scott, and they shook on it.
"What exactly do you have in mind?" he asked suspiciously, and Scott looked grim as he explained, not liking what he was asking, not liking it at all.
Hollis however, allowed himself the avian version of a smile, and thought that this plan of his could in fact be made to work.
XX
"I understand that Natalie, but you're not telling me exactly…" Ken protested as he was on the phone to Lydia's mother, while the three youngest members of the pack sat in Kira's living room, hanging out.
Noshiko watched worriedly from the doorway. Kira had told her of what had happened, how the pack had rebelled, turning on Scott during his hour of need, and hence allowing this disaster to occur. Now it was like she was acting as the last bit of glue trying to keep any semblance of the pack left together, after Isaac had banished the others. She sniffed dismissively, if it had been her, banishing would be the least of their worries, but she was trying to be better about bloody vengeance.
Kira was teaching Liam Go, and to Noshiko's shock, the boy was actually quite a strategic player. She had been watching him, and with some amusement, and slight trepidation, noticed that he was fast becoming quite smitten with her daughter. On the other side of Liam, Garrett was watching their game with slight interest, as was Violet who was sitting beside Kira, good, they were learning the value of strategy.
"So what's a divine move?" Violet asked with interest, and Kira pointed to the board.
"Say if Liam was beating me, and I had a few pieces left, in other words, I couldn't really win. But if I then pulled off a move that changed the fortune of the entire game, allowed me to win, that is a divine move. That's what we could do with right now." She lamented, just as the doorbell rang, and the three kids looked at each other anxiously.
Noshiko looked worriedly at them as she headed to answer the door. She and Ken had debated about leaving town after the Nogitsune was defeated, but knew that after all the revelations poor Kira had endured during the battle, she would never forgive them if they left town and her friends, so had elected to stay. Would it perhaps have been better, kinder, if they had stuck to their guns and left town? Would their daughter now be enduring the pain of watching her entire pack disintegrate? Though, she mused sadly, Jackson had probably thought he was safe in London, only to be sucked right back into this whole mess, there would be no guarantees that she would be safe back in New York anyway. Casting a worried look back at her daughter and her friends, she opened the door to see Scott standing there, looking like death warmed up, with Isaac supporting him.
"Scott!" Kira exclaimed in shock, flattening her mother against the wall and helping him into the house, while Noshiko tried to extract herself from the wall.
"You should be in the hospital." Liam moaned worriedly as Scott flopped down tiredly onto the couch, but Scott, his eyes closed, shook his head.
"I can't be, there's no point lying there just waiting to die. Besides, I think I know to defeat Agravaine, but I need help." He told them opening his eyes, and Kira and Isaac exchanged a worried look, the whites of his eyes were slowly turning yellow, with little black blood vessels in them, a sure sign that his time was running out.
"You can count on us, what do you need?" Violet asked excitedly, and Scott smiled a little at her enthusiasm.
"Well, it's going to end tonight, however we spin it. Revenants, whists, all of it are going to come after us, and Camden informed me you're quite the chemical whiz. Some Molotovs would be very helpful." He told her, and she grinned widely.
"Um, we need to keep her away from Aiden when all this is over." Kira pointed out sardonically, and Isaac snorted in amusement.
"What about us?" Garrett asked, looking worriedly at Scott, and Scott turned his eyes to the two younger boys.
"Well, the school needs to be evacuated, sounds like Lydia's mom is already on the phone with Kira's dad. If one of you could help make sure the school's safe, that would be a help. Actually, Liam if you do that, Garrett can you help Argent assemble weapons, we're going to need them. Mrs Yukimura," he said, turning to Kira's mother, and she looked at him with interest, "could you cover the hospital tonight? I'm going to get Argent to send one of his hunter friends there, but if you're there, it would be a help." He told her, and she nodded, a cunning smile playing on her face.
She had a funny feeling that Agravaine and his cohort were about to learn the hard way that one shouldn't underestimate Scott McCall, it seemed as though he had a plan. Perhaps this was indeed another divine move, but could he pull off two, hell three if you included the kanima fight Lydia had told them about one night when she'd come for a girls night with Kira and Malia?
Ken came through, looking slightly harassed, and Kira looked anxiously at her Alpha.
"And what about me?" she asked, slightly put out that he'd dealt with the three younger kids first, and Scott patted her hand to reassure her.
"I need help Kira, I've reassembled most of the pack, and I kind of need someone who hasn't, you know, gone off on one, to help rally them all when they arrive, can you babysit?" he asked with a slight smile.
It wasn't that he had any doubts about the ones he had already spoken to, it was if something happened to him and he was out of it (or worse) before he got back, and the most divisive ones, ie Jackson, started their crap, and she smiled broadly, though suddenly looked a little anxious as the full implication sank in.
"Course I can, you can rely on me…I think." She admitted ruefully, and Scott looked at them all thankfully.
"Good, thank you. Ok, I need to go, I still need to fix the twins and Jackson." He said, and Kira looked at him nervously, the face that he had come to associate with her about to give bad news, such as the fact that they had a pop quiz for chemistry that day.
"Um, not to sound alarmist, but I think the twins were considering skipping town, they know it's about to go to hell, and with you dying…well let's just say I think they're scared of Isaac." She told him diplomatically, and Isaac tried and failed not to look too pleased with himself.
"Good." He muttered savagely, the injustice of the twins turning on his boyfriend still stinging, but he knew they didn't deserve to leave town deep down.
Have their asses kicked, sure, but not leave town.
"Oh for god…" Scott complained, and Isaac affected a kicked puppy look.
"Sorry honey, but I was mad, it's kind of their fault you're dying." He told him resentfully, not meeting Scott's eyes, and Scott rolled his eyes and took Isaac's hand and kissed it.
"It's not you I'm mad at, it's them. And really, he was that scary?" he asked Kira out of the corner of his mouth as Isaac brightened up, and Liam answered for her, nodding with a smirk on his face.
"Oh yeah, they were all shaking when he tore them a new one, kind of satisfying really!" he told them brightly, and Scott laughed, which he regretted as he started to cough, but it didn't last as long nor was it as debilitating as usual, which he supposed was a bonus.
"When did you become my knight in shining armour?" he whispered playfully to Isaac, who went scarlet, and Kira permitted herself an amused, resigned sigh.
Nice to know the two of them were still hopelessly in love with each other even though Scott was dying.
"Come on guys, you dying aside, there's a kid present!" Garrett protested with a grin, covering Liam's eyes.
"I'm not a kid!" he protested, and Scott smirked as Kira's father looked worriedly at Scott.
"Scott, are you sure this is a good idea, you look awful, and the rest of it, what you're planning, not to mention the fact that Natalie saddled me with the responsibility of trying to reason with Coach," he complained, and the kids all grinned, "are you sure you're up this?" he asked kindly, and Scott nodded, his face determined.
"Yeah, I am. I need to do this, if I don't, Agravaine wins, and I'm not having that. I can do this." He told him, and Noshiko gave him an appraising look.
"You truly are a unique young man Scott, you're different somehow." She told him, and he nodded, looking quite pleased with himself.
"I think I finally realised part of my problem, I was resisting who I was, and so I wasn't seeing the bigger picture. Now, I am. I'm the Alpha of Beacon Hills," he told her, his eyes glowing red, "and now, I'm going to remind Agravaine and all his little friends of that. I'm going to bring him down, and save my pack in the process. And I'm going to make them all regret the day the ever came this town, my town. I'm the protector of Beacon Hills, and I'm going to make sure they never forget that again."
Noshiko felt a little surge of power within her as Scott's glowing red eyes met her own, and she noticed that Kira's own eyes also shone amber, and Isaac's glowed gold. Scott, the boy who she had so easily dismissed as no more than a nascent Alpha struggling to find his feet, had finally found his purpose, his confidence. He had been resisting his power, and trying to juggle too many aspects of his character to fully integrate himself with his power as an Alpha, but it seemed as though that had finally changed. He had learned the virtue of power, and now, he was finally learning how to wield it.
"You have found quite the engaging Alpha, Kira." She complimented her daughter, who grinned, and Scott shot her a thankful look.
"Thank you. You guys ready?" he asked, and they all nodded, and Isaac helped him get to his feet, Kira on his other side helping to steady him.
"Yeah, we're with you." Liam told him, speaking for all of them, and Scott shot them a thankful look.
"I know, thank you guys. Now let's go." He told them, and with the young Alpha in the lead, the house emptied in his wake as they prepared for the final showdown.
So, the pack is starting to come back together, but obviously the worst of the mutineers are still to be dealt with.
Ive been wanting to give someone in the pack the ability to scry for a while after watching Charmed (the original one naturally) so much, and it finally occurred to me how to do it
And I couldnt resist having Isaac mom Scott as Scott puts it when Allison and Kira have both done it previously too
What has Scott got in mind, and just what is the nature of Peter and Kate's deal?
Please read and review!