Two Pack II: Teen Wolf Season Four

by lordtrayus

The Nogitsune is gone, Scott and Isaac are back together, and Stiles has gone back to normal. But, rather than deal with the grief of losing Allison, Scott's pack has to contend with Derek's imprisonment, former foes of the twins trying to settle scores, and taming Malia. But worst of all is a new enemy coming to town, bringing with them an old friend who could destroy them all...

45. Episode 11: Raptor Part 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf

Two-Pack II

The twins were at the gas station on the road out of town, both of them in a state of high dudgeon. They had wanted so much to find a pack, and they had finally had one, with the first decent Alpha they'd had since Maria, and they had had a hand in destroying it.

Scott, the Alpha they had been happy to be Betas too, so idealistic, compassionate and good, and they had destroyed him. In their fear, their crippling anxieties, the terror that they would once more be torn asunder by the increasing strength of their enemies, so soon after Aiden had almost been killed, it had messed with their heads. Terrified, driven solely be fear and frustration, they had turned on the best Alpha they had ever had, the one who was so different from the abusive monsters that had been the norm for them since that foul woman had destroyed their first pack.

And then, in light of their treason, in light of what they had been party to, in light of their treachery towards their Alpha, their Prime Beta had lost it, and had banished them, banished all of them who had had a hand in what had happened to Scott.

"This is my fault." Ethan whispered as they filled up their bikes, their gear slung in bags on their backs, and Aiden growled, wondering how he should play this.

Yeah, Ethan had been the more rebellious of them, but he had been motivated by his fear of losing his twin. Arguably, Ethan had actually been affected by Aiden's near-death experience than what Aiden had. But while Ethan had sided with Jackson, and obviously Danny, Aiden in the end hadn't stuck by his Alpha. He had done what he had done since they had been born, sided with his brother to protect him, even though if it wasn't for Scott, he would have been killed by the Oni.

Scott, who had moved hell and earth to save him, to spare him, and Aiden had repaid him with betraying him.

They were both as bad as each other.

"Let's not do this ok, we both fucked up." Aiden said bitterly, not looking at his twin, who looked regretfully at Beacon Hills, at their home.

When they had gotten back to the apartment, they had quickly gathered their things, not wanting to encounter anyone. With Scott dying in the hospital, Melissa, Isaac, Camden and Rakaisha hadn't been there, giving them the time to get their stuff before any of them had returned. They had then skulked around for a while, but could feel the bonds of their pack disintegrating as Scott's life trickled away, something which they had helped bring about. They had gone back and forth about it for hours, until finally agreeing: if their pack was once again gone, they had no reason to stay behind. And heart-breaking though it was, they elected to go. Ethan hadn't yet had the heart to call Danny to tell them that they were over, that they had to be over, and the two of them were procrastinating fleeing town, neither of them wanted to go.

They had a pack, well, had had a pack here. They had friends, something which had been a very rare commodity until now, and they both had people they loved (even if Aiden and Lydia were still split up). But it was all over now.

"Let's go." Aiden ordered tersely, just wanting to get it over with.

Their pack was done, gone, and their Alpha, the Alpha they had helped Agravaine kill, was dying. There was nothing left for them here.

"But…" Ethan whimpered, and Aiden sniffed, wiping at his eyes furiously as he got onto his bike.

"They don't want us here anymore bro, let's go." He told him, not meeting his eyes as he started his engine, just as a beat up car pulled in behind them, and Ethan, head hanging low in defeat, got onto his bike, before the car behind them blared their horn, making them both jump.

"What's your problem?" Aiden snapped, getting off his bike angrily, Ethan right behind him as the car's doors opened, and Scott and Isaac clambered out, both of them glaring at the twins.

"So that's it? You just cut town without saying goodbye, not only to us, but to Lydia and Danny as well? After what you've done?" Isaac spat furiously, though his eyes flicked to Scott worriedly as he supported himself on the hood of the car to get around to face them, glaring at them himself.

"You-you made it pretty clear that…" Ethan began bravely, though his voice faltered as Isaac glared at him, his gold eyes drilling into him, and he wisely went quiet, looking at his shoes.

"Yeah, because I was angry. I wanted you out of the hospital, and away from Scott, especially when you two helped put him there!" he spat, though Scott shot him a reproving look, and he breathed heavily through his nose to calm down, and Aiden looked pleadingly at Scott.

"Scott, we screwed up, and after all you've done for us…" he began, and Scott held up a hand and the twins went silent as their Alpha glared at them.

"Isaac didn't want you to leave town, and I certainly don't. But really? You two, who begged me to become part of my pack, you're finally in it, and after one blow up you're cutting town, and leaving Lydia and Danny behind?" he challenged, and both twins hung their heads in shame.

"That's just it though," Ethan whispered mainly to his shoes, and even with their wolf hearing the other two boys were straining to hear him, "we've never had a pack like yours before, but we've never rebelled before either. You gave us a pack, a home, friends, and then we came along and screwed it up, me in particular. Aiden wouldn't have sided against you if I hadn't." he admitted, and Aiden kept his head down as well, even though it was mostly true.

"You saved me, after all the trouble we gave you, and you just…wouldn't let me die. And I'm only alive thanks to you. And when you, our Alpha, needed us, we abandoned you and sided with that asshole Jackson. We don't deserve to be part of your pack." He told them, and Scott and Isaac exchanged an annoyed look, before Scott sighed resentfully and walked over to the two of them.

And for someone who was dying, hell he still had a strong right hook, as he punched both Aiden and Ethan in the face, knocking them both off their feet and crashing to the ground of the parking lot.

"Hey! What are you guys doing?" the manager of the station bellowed, waddling out of the kiosk with his coffee in hand, and Isaac stood upright, glaring at him as Scott stood, panting weakly above his two fallen Betas.

"We're having a bit of family drama at the moment, family business, go back to your drink." He advised, exerting a bit of wolf power without glowing his eyes, and while the man looked at them suspiciously, but without any cars in sight to come and try and take their spots, he simply glowered before going back inside.

Not a second too soon, as Isaac quickly had to stoop forward to help support Scott's weight as the exertion of punching the twins in such quick succession had tired him out. He was breathing heavily and he sort of collapsed a little into Isaac's grip, and when Isaac half-hauled him back to the hood of the car, his boyfriend's body was shaking, and he looked even sicker than before.

"Scott…" Isaac fretted, dabbing at his boyfriend's forehead while Aiden and Ethan propped themselves up on their elbows, but Scott patted Isaac's hand then forced it down gently, his sickening yellow eyes looking at Isaac pleadingly.

"I'm ok, trust me." He begged, before turning his attention to the twins, who were looking at him worriedly, and something about the expression triggered a memory in him.

It was how Isaac used to look when he had first come to stay with him, the look of someone who'd been abused too many times and was used to waiting for the blow to fall. Morons, he thought with a slightly sad smile.

"We don't want you to leave." Scott said, and despite how weak he was, and looked, his voice came across strong, and Ethan looked nervously at his best friend, who glowered down at him.

"But Isaac-" he began, but their Prime Beta cut him off.

"I threw you out the hospital, the town maybe, yeah, fair enough. But I was angry. You pair, who like you say have gotten so much out of being in the pack, turned on Scott, when if it hadn't been for him, Aiden would be dead and you would be an only child. So yeah, I was majorly pissed, still am that you'd take the side of that arrogant douchebag Jackson over Scott when you both owe him so much. I might even have thrown you out the pack, but like I said at the hospital, you lot helped destroy it. But…see this idiot beside me?" he asked sharply, gesturing to Scott, who looked mildly affronted and muttered something disparaging about his boyfriend under his breath, "he's your Alpha. He's my Alpha. But above all…he's our Alpha. And even though he's dying, he's spent the last several hours putting the pack back together, because he cares. He loves us, and he knows that if he dies, the only way we have any chance of staying alive when Agravaine comes for us is if we're all together. But our pack is gone." Isaac said bitterly, glaring at the two of them, and that was when Scott took over.

"Because we let it fall apart, we all did. Yeah, you and the others little rebellion finished us off, but quite frankly, I think we started to die as a whole after the whole Nogitsune fiasco. But that's ok. I think…I think I can put us back together. You wanted a different kind of Alpha, and you know what? I am a different Alpha. I don't use you for your skills, or your ability to hurt maim or kill. I don't use you as my punching bag," he told them earnestly, "I have you in my pack because you worked so damned hard to prove to me you belong here. You protected one of the most important people in the world to me when I had to do other things," he said, Isaac going a little pink as he did so, "you helped me rob an armoured car to try and save my best friend, and you fought with us side by side against the Oni and the Nogitsune. You were both willing to fight and die to prove to me that you belong here, and you know what? You're like a fungus, you grew on all of us. You do belong here. You are our friends, and my Betas.

So if you want to leave, go on ahead. Leave me, leave Lydia, Danny, all of us behind. Or, if you want, you can come with me, help me put our pack, our family back together, and we can hopefully end this. Yeah, I've got a plan," he told them as they looked at him in awe, "but I need all of us for it to work. Yeah, you fucked up, but frankly, I don't think anyone hasn't fucked up recently. But you know what a bigger fuck up will be? You two leaving town, and abandoning us, abandoning me, abandoning everyone who cares about you, all because of one fight. You are my pack, but if you want to leave, fine, go ahead. But when we all care about you, and you both have people you love here, even if we're all going to die because I don't actually know what I'm doing, I'd rather we all were here together to see it all go to pot than you two being the last members of a pack left alive again.

At the end of the day, I will always fight for my friends, and even though we've had our asses handed to us recently, and the fact that Jackson and I are dying, and Stiles has betrayed us, I'm not going to stop now. And you shouldn't either."

Aiden and Ethan laid on the floor, looking at their Alpha who had a sort of shimmer around him, one likely caused by the petrol fumes in the air, but it was effective regardless. What Scott said sounded like what Derek had told them so many months before: that no matter what happened, Scott would always fight for his friends. Hell, that was one of the reasons they had wanted to be part of his pack to begin with. And here he was, having been accused of incompetence, of being weak, of being useless, of letting their friends die, been mutinied against, and now was physically dying all because of his pack, and here he was, still trying to save them all.

Why the hell had they even considered leaving him, or turning on him?

"I'm so sorry Scott." Aiden said softly, tears in his eyes, and Ethan nodded fervently beside him, tears in his own eyes.

"I am too."

"Want to help me end it?" Scott asked with a cocky grin, and both twins grinned, and he extended a hand to help them up.

The sentiment was lost when Isaac slapped his hand down with a chiding look (to which Scott rolled his eyes) but he then extended his hands towards the twins and helped them both back to their feet. And once on their feet, the twins wrapped their Alpha in a tight, loving hug.

Isaac sighed in contentment, and watched as Scott's eyes glowed a shining red, and to his delight, they didn't even flicker gold this time. He nearly had his full strength back, it was actually working!

"We're so sorry, we don't deserve you, you know." Ethan muttered, and Scott grinned and nodded, and Isaac was further heartened to see that there was a touch more of Scott's normal colour back in his cheeks.

"You're right, you don't." he told them, leaning against the car, and Isaac glowered at the two of them from behind their backs, and they both turned to face him.

"We're sorry, for what we did to Scott, helped do to him. I was actually surprised you didn't try to kill us." Aiden said hesitantly, and Isaac gave him a cold smile.

"Oh, there's still time. He won't let me, but if he dies, well, all bets are off." He warned, his mouth twitching a little, and Ethan smiled nervously.

"We ok?" he asked hopefully, only to be met with an icy glare.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself. I'm not yelling at you, or trying to kill you, let's just leave it at that." He told him sharply, but Ethan felt a surge of delight as he saw Isaac grin a little, and wrapped his best friend in a hug, which his brother also joined in on.

"We're sorry."

"You will be, can't believe you were just going to skip town, cowards." He complained, as the twins turned eagerly back towards their Alpha, both affecting their eager to please puppy expressions as Scott had labelled them.

"So what do we do now?" Aiden asked, and Scott cocked his head.

"You get to go home, go back to the penthouse. Pray Lydia isn't there." He mused, and Aiden's face fell in dismay, to which Isaac grinned as he leaned against the car beside his boyfriend.

"Then what?" Ethan asked curiously, and Scott's eyes glowed red once more.

"Then, you start working with Camden and Rakaisha, they're there already, planning for tonight. You help them, because one way or another, it ends tonight. We've got one place left to go to finish putting the pack back together, and then, we're going to finish this. I know how to stop Agravaine, once and for all. So, you with me?" he asked, and both twins met his question with a resounding grin.

And as Isaac drove them away from the gas station, the twins motorbikes flanking the car like an escort as they did so, Scott felt his power continuing to come back together. He'd been defeated, and suffered a major loss, sure, and Agravaine was still stronger, but he was feeling stronger than he had when he'd woken up in the hospital. His pack was reuniting, and there was one thing he knew in his gut; that when they were united, nothing could really stop them.

XX

The two of them had fled back to Danny's room, essentially locking themselves away after Isaac had thrown them out. Danny was huddled in the corner of his bed, sitting against the wall, wracked with guilt, the shame of what he had helped do to Scott tormenting him every second. He had never seen Isaac so furious, so beside himself with rage, and he couldn't help but remember, it was him. It had been all his fault. Say what you would about all the others, the rising rebellion against Scott's leadership, it had been him, him finally snapping out of his frustration at watching his best friend wither and die before his very eyes while Scott seemed to do nothing, it had been him who had finally and totally broken Scott. And now, Scott was dying, Lydia had even screamed for him, and they were all going to die, and it was all Danny's fault.

Jackson meanwhile was sequestered on his own bed, shaking with fever, it was like after he had learned Scott was dying, it had gotten worse, it was like the poison which had already been killing him had kicked into overdrive when the Alpha had been infected the same way. He was shaking, but it wasn't the poison that was really bothering him. It was that horrible, twisting, empty feeling in his gut that was making him feel this terrible. It was him, it was his fault, this was all his fault, all because he'd been, well, him.

Once before, Scott had been the only one to try and save him, back when he'd been the kanima. Only Scott had attempted to save him, only Scott had said that no matter how much of a jerk he was, he didn't deserve to die, and he had tried so hard to save him, even when Jackson had murdered over a dozen people and had tried to kill him, Allison, Melissa, Stiles, and all the others basically. He'd owed him. But when he had come back, as soon as he fell back into being his old self again, he had started to rub the wrong way against Scott's authority. Add the fact that he was dying, and Jackson had become the worst version of himself, the usual, arrogant, obnoxious spoilt little brat he'd always been, and had started ripping Scott's pack apart without meaning to. His little temper tantrum had gotten worse, aggravated by his terror of dying again, and he'd actually been impeding Scott who was still despite everything, despite Jackson being this obtuse arrogant jerk who was making his life difficult, was still trying his damndest to save him. Scott was one of the few people who would actually care enough to try and save him, and ever since this had started, Scott had promised Jackson that he would do everything he could to try and save him.

And Jackson had repaid him by basically spitting in his face and telling him he wasn't trying hard enough, constantly complain that Scott wasn't good enough, and basically destroy whatever confidence Scott might have had in himself all while Scott was still trying to save his worthless, ungrateful life.

It was Jackson's fault that Scott was now dying. Frustrated, angry, bitter about everything that Scott had that he didn't, while still being a much better person than he had ever been, he had led the rebellion against Scott, trying to force him to become someone that he wasn't. Actually, if he had been the sort of person Jackson had tried to force him to become, Jackson would have been dead when he was the kanima. Scott was all about saving people, not killing them. Yet Jackson, in his little fear-fuelled strop, had tried to force Scott to become a killer even though all Scott had wanted was time to figure it all out. Hell, just before this had happened it seemed as though Scott had had an epiphany, but Jackson and his little gang had forced Scott into a corner, and as a result, their Alpha, this kind, good person who always tried to protect people, was dying.

And it was all Jackson's fault.

"I did this to him, it's all my fault." Jackson muttered to himself.

There was no refuting it, no refusing it. This was all on him, he had done this to Scott, he had gotten Scott killed, all because he was a selfish, immature, spoilt, obnoxious little brat who never learned the lesson that he should have the first time: if you were less of an arrogant douchebag, people would try less to kill you and try more to save you. And it wasn't just him, he and Danny had led the twins and Lydia to an extent against Scott, and on top of Stiles defection, it had utterly destroyed their Alpha, who had never done anything more than try to protect them all and keep them all alive.

He had seen it when Scott had hit him, how close to the edge Scott had been. He didn't stop though, he kept pushing, even though he could see that Scott was broken, that Scott was so fed up, so sick of dealing with it all, the constant failures, the losses, and Jackson, being the contemptible piece of shit that he was, blamed Scott for all of it, just to try and get Scott to do it his way, which they didn't even know would work anyway.

He had destroyed Scott, the one person in the pack who actually cared if he lived or died and had the power to try and fix it.

And now Scott was going to die, and it was all his fault.

"We were both to blame Jackson, we…we destroyed Scott, we killed him. We might as well have just stabbed him or something ourselves." Danny lamented and Jackson was inclined to agree as he laid on his own bed, body quivering, realising that both he and Scott's life could now most likely be measured in terms of hours instead of years and decades. He had killed them both, he was going to die, and so was Scott, and he had helped the person who had poisoned him in the first place murder the one person who might actually have been able to save him, only Jackson had been too much of a little brat to see it.

"He doesn't deserve it." Jackson whispered, knowing full well who did deserve it, and he wrapped his arms tighter round himself as his feverish body seared with pain once again.

XX

Outside Danny's house, Scott was looking apprehensively at the room that Danny was currently sharing with Jackson. His stomach churned, and for a change, it wasn't because of the Baleful Breath immolating him from the inside out. The others, while it had hurt, stung, yeah, but in the end, he knew they would always come back to him, they hadn't been as rebellious, Derek had meant well just hadn't done it very well (seemed to be a recurrent theme), the twins had been frightened and bound by their brotherly bond, and Lydia had suffered quite enough, but they were all back in his camp.

It was Jackson and Danny though, well less so Danny. Danny had been the one who had pushed him over the edge, but the one who had gotten him up to that precipice was Jackson, Jackson who had been inciting everyone against Scott in his perpetual temper tantrum at his leadership. Jackson, what was it with him? He'd always been an entitled, arrogant bully, only wanting to be a wolf because he wanted to be the best, and hence better than Scott. Naturally though his motherlode of issues had messed that up, but…

He didn't want to confront Jackson, at the end of the day, however unwittingly, it was Jackson's fault that his pack had disintegrated, his fault that he was currently dying. He had gotten stronger, he didn't really need them, least of all Jackson, he was only peripherally in the pack anyway, he'd left town. He didn't care about Scott, even when Scott cared about him, even though all it does is get Scott into trouble, hurting him, biting him in the ass.

Why should he care about someone who clearly doesn't care if Scott lived or died, provided he got what he wanted?

"Scott?" Isaac asked softly from beside him, his hand wrapped around Scott's, noticing that Scott was shaking a little and giving his hand a gentle squeeze, and Scott squeezed back with a little bit more force than he had intended, and Isaac realised with a pitying jolt that Scott was afraid, afraid to talk to the person who had inflicted so much damage onto him.

Isaac let go of Scott's hand and gently snaked his arm around Scott's shoulders, bringing him close to him and letting Scott lie his head on his shoulder, turning and pressing a light kiss into Scott's hair.

"Look, you don't need to face him if you don't want to. If you want me to storm up there and finish him off, I'll do it quite happily, thought about it a lot even before all this," he mused wistfully, and Scott snorted in amusement on his shoulder, "and I don't see why you care, he's an arrogant, conceited, self-absorbed piece of shit who would rather spit on you and save you. But," he admitted, smiling ruefully as he looked at his boyfriend, not at all liking how ragged his breath was, "no matter how much he deserves it, you won't let him die, and despite everything, you still care about him. God knows why, but you do. You don't have to go in and speak to him if you don't want to honey, but I think deep down, you know you're going to." He whispered softly into his boyfriend's ear, and Scott felt a little, molten drop of courage fill him as he did so.

"Seriously, when did you get so amazing?" he purred, sitting up a little and nuzzling him, and Isaac smiled and nuzzled him back.

"My dorky, loveable boyfriend took me in and made me fall in love with him, all his bad habits started rubbing off on me. Want me to come in with you?" he asked, and Scott could see how much even asking that was stressing Isaac out, his scent changed, and his voice wavered and his puppy dog eyes were begging Scott to say yes.

He had promised Melissa he wouldn't let him out of his sight, and what was more, he would be unattended if anything happened to him. But what was more, he would also be going in to confront the two people who had done the most damage to him, one of whom Isaac hadn't liked even before this had started, and now hated, and Isaac wouldn't be there beside him.

Scott sighed, but he knew he had to do this alone, he had to talk to Jackson alone, and Danny had to be talked to as well.

Would cast a bit of a pall on negotiations if Isaac skewered them both with his knives he suspected, people would ask awkward questions.

"Not this time honey. I won't be long." He promised, and kissed Isaac before taking a deep breath and heading to confront the Beta who had done this to him.

XX

"What do we do?" Danny asked miserably from the corner, watching as his best friend shuddered in pain, trying to overcome the fever, but they both knew it wasn't going to happen, and that at most he had hours left.

"I was wondering that myself." Said a voice from the door, and both Jackson and Danny looked up to see, to their shock, their Alpha standing in the doorway.

Scott came in slowly, not wanting to look at Jackson as he did so. Danny got up hesitantly, and after a second's indecision helped Scott to sit beside Jackson on the bed.

"Scott, what are you doing here?" Danny asked uncertainly, as he had chanced a look out the window and had seen Isaac standing outside, glaring up at the window, playing with one of his knives, which was rather a menacing sight he had to say.

Scott looked up at him, and both Danny and Jackson exchanged horrified glances at how grey, and well, dead Scott looked, the proof of what they had helped do to him was right in front of them, they had helped to this to him.

"I don't really know, not really." He admitted, and that part was technically true, he didn't know if he wanted to yell at them, hit them, throw them out of town, or go all Deucalion on them and just kill them, any option seemed quite appealing at the moment.

"You look like hell." Jackson said quietly, and Scott turned and shot him an acidic look.

"So now I know how you feel, is that it? I'm getting what I deserve? That this is what should happen to me because I didn't do enough to save you? This is what you both wanted right? You both wanted me to attack Agravaine, you both forced me into that battle because you were sick of me being the Alpha. You wanted me to step up and be the Alpha you wanted. You two who get to sit back and criticise everything I do while bitching about me behind my back. After all, its's all my fault isn't it?" he hissed malevolently, his entire body shaking with anger, with revulsion, and he realised just how angry he was at them, how much he hated them, both of them, because they were both as bad as each other, "My fault that you're dying, my fault that we're getting our asses handed to us, my fault that Stiles got possessed and has betrayed us, my fault that Allison died, my fault that Mason died. That's it isn't it? So, because of all that, because of everything I've failed at, because I'm such a bad Alpha, who won't lead, who won't ask how high when you say jump, it's all my fault. So yeah, I look like shit, but that's ok, because both of you think I deserve it, because I did what you guys wanted. And now, I'm dying, you're dying, and Agravaine is going to kill us all, so, you win!" he exclaimed coldly, his voice like ice, his eyes hard and his face a mask of pained, furious betrayal.

Neither Jackson or Danny looked at him, both of them looking as though they were about to throw up. Scott watched them with savage approval, rage burning inside him as he glowered at them. He was usually very forgiving, always willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt, but this time, this time he wanted to make them hurt. He had tried everything he could to save Jackson, not just this time but before with the kanima affair as well. Everyone else had wanted him dead, and like Stiles had rightly said at the time, the fact that no one cared enough to properly try and save him was down to Jackson, no one else. And ever since he'd come back, he'd been constantly riding Scott, giving him grief when Scott was the one trying to save him. Jackson had made everything worse, inciting everyone else against him, and basically saying everything that Scott had been saying about himself inside his own head.

He knew that Peter had helped, and obviously Jackson's fear of dying once again, this time due to Agravaine's scheming, had all combined to make him even more of a jerk than usual, railing against Scott's leadership, using every opportunity he got to undermine him, criticise him and blame him for everything that was going wrong.

To be blamed for losing Allison, for Mason, when he had been trying to save them, by this arrogant twat who demanded to be a werewolf just so he could go back to being better than Scott at something so he didn't have his thunder stolen, it rankled. Everyone else had gotten off fairly light, but like hell was he going to let this smug, spoilt, arrogant little daddy's boy get away with everything he'd done to him since he'd been delivered to Lydia's door.

Who the hell did he think he was?

"Scott, we…" Danny ventured bravely, only to be cut off when Scott turned his glowing red eyes onto him, and he flinched away, taking a step away from him.

He wasn't used to Scott looking this angry, this furious, and honestly, it was scary.

"You wanted to save your best friend. Here's a question for you Danny, since you're oh so clever and figured out what we all were when we were trying to keep you out of it," he asked tightly, and Danny recoiled from the sheer venom in Scott's voice, he didn't even seem like he was applying his Alpha power, just his anger, "so, since you figured us out, did you know Jackson was the kanima? And if you did would you have stuck a bullet in his head like Argent wanted to, ripped his throat out like Derek wanted to? Huh? No, I don't reckon you would, yet you and Jackson are all keen to have a go at me for not magically knowing Stiles was betraying us!" he thundered, he now knew the truth about Stiles but they didn't have to know yet, besides, despite his initial hesitancy to come and speak to them, he found he was building up a head of steam and was feeling it really quite cathartic raging at them, "you both sat back saying I should be doing this, doing that, without realising what I'm about, what I've always been about. Keeping people alive, especially my friends. And yes, as you two so kindly pointed out," he spat furiously, and he was starting to lose control, fangs were starting to appear inside his mouth, "Allison is dead, and so is Mason. And don't you dare think I don't feel guilty every day because of that. But I try to keep everyone alive, that's the sort of Alpha I am, that I want to be. If it wasn't for me being like that, a lot of us would be dead, including you two, including Lydia, Ethan, all of you! So, here it is: you want an Alpha who's a killer, a murderer, that's up to you. But unless you missed it, Gerard and Matt were murderers Jackson, and so was Ethan, Danny. You had a complete freakout when you discovered he used to kill people, yet you wanted me to be a killer?

I get it, you're frustrated, you're angry, you're scared, you both are. But we didn't ask you to find out what we are, I wanted you kept out of it, I just wanted Ethan to tell you and leave it at that. You're the one who found out and wanted to be part of all this, well guess what, you are part of it, and it isn't all fun and games like you two seem to think it is! It isn't about power, or being better than anyone else. It's about all of us staying alive and it being my job to keep you all alive even if you're a bunch of selfish, backstabbing traitors!" Scott roared at them, both of them cowering before his fury, both of them with tears in their eyes, shaking in fear and remorse.

"And as for you," Scott growled, turning his full attention onto Jackson, who recoiled away from the Alpha's glare, "ever since you came back all you've done is sit back and bitch about me, about me being in charge, about how I keep screwing up, how I'm not doing enough to keep you alive. Well, here's a newsflash for you jerkwad, you'd be dead several times over if it wasn't for me!" he spat, and Jackson flinched, "Argent, the kanima, you know everyone else was in favour of just letting you die? After all, everything that happened to you, becoming the kanima, becoming a werewolf, is all because you're that petty and pathetic that you couldn't bear someone being better than you at anything and went looking to become a wolf just so you could beat me! All you do is cause trouble, and that's all you've done since you came back to town. You're nothing more than a arrogant, spoilt little brat, and not to mention you swanned off to London and avoided the Alphas and the Nogitsune, you didn't have to watch her die, you don't have to live day in and day out with the knowledge that you're the reason she's dead crippling you! And then you come here, thinking you know what we've all been through, watching my best friend become a monster, my first love get murdered, and my boyfriend nearly die, while you were sitting nice and cosy in your big swanky house in London, and only came back here because you got roped in by Agravaine, you wouldn't give two shits otherwise because you're a self-absorbed, pathetic little brat!" he stormed at Jackson, who's lip was trembling, his eyes filling with tears, but he hated Jackson so much at the moment that it just egged him on and he paced towards both him and Danny, and they retreated towards the wall in terror at his anger, and because the shame of what he was throwing at them was all right on the money, "I've been trying to save you, but I'm not going fast enough, or not doing right, but all you do is sit back and criticise while I'm actually trying to keep you alive because none of the others actually care enough about you to try! So you got what you wanted, I'm dying, so are you finally happy? Is that what you wanted, me to suffer the same as you? Because, thanks to you two forcing me into a position and basically blackmailing me into doing something I really didn't want to do, my insides are now immolating me from the inside out and I had to look my mom in the eyes and tell her that her only son is dying!" he screamed viciously, finishing backing them up into the wall, and he let out a deep, frustrated, simmering breath, catharsis washing all over him as he did so.

He stood there, shaking in rage, his entire body was now worked up, but he actually felt better. Venting all of the negative feelings he'd endured recently, most of which had been kicked off in some way by Jackson and his antics, were finally washing out of him. The weeks of bitterness, rage, frustration and despair had all come flowing out of him, right at the person who as far as he was concerned, was the biggest problem in his pack, the one with the biggest mouth, and the biggest ego, which made a very bad combination. He stood, breathing like he'd just run a marathon such was his rage, and stood glaring at the two of them, and didn't even feel the slightest shred of remorse. The two of them were pinned against the wall, both of them cowering and sobbing on the floor as the full force of their Alpha's bitter, heartrending rage. Good, served them both right. He didn't feel remotely sorry either. Well, he actually felt a little sorry, but not all that much.

Giving a tired huff of air, he lowered himself tenderly down to the bed, where he started coughing. However, as he tried to regain the use of his lungs, he felt the searing pain inside him overtake him, he kept coughing, he couldn't stop. He was terrified, he couldn't catch his breath, his lungs were immolating him from inside, he so wanted Isaac to hear and come running, where was he?

He continued to cough, but he then felt a hand patting his back slightly, and also taking some of the pain he was in away, allowing him to get back control. Panting weakly, struggling to regain his breath, he roughly wiped his hand across his mouth and wiped away the globules of black, poisoned blood that came with it. Looking at his hand in disgust, he turned, expecting to see Isaac, thinking his boyfriend had arrived to help soothe him, but to his great surprise, it was actually a very nervous looking Jackson who had been patting his back.

"Sucks doesn't it? And I don't mean that because I think you deserve it, or anything. I'm saying that because it majorly sucks, it's horrible." He whispered sadly, as he sat beside him, his head hung low, his eyes wet with tears, sniffing and shaking as an aftereffect of being on the receiving end of his Alpha's fury.

Danny slowly sat down beside Scott on his other side, also shaking, looking utterly miserable as he too laid a hand on Scott's back.

"Scott…I'm so sorry. I never, ever meant for any of this to happen, and I don't blame you if you hate me, or want to kill me, or just leave me to get finished off by the dogs, we deserve it. We helped do this to you, I was just so frustrated, but because of me, because of us, you're now dying. You didn't seem like you knew what you were doing, and…"

"So, you rebel and betray me?" Scott snapped, and both of them recoiled, taking their hands off his back as his acidic anger was turned onto them once again, "I didn't see you pair coming up with any bright ideas short of kill Agravaine, which by the way we can't just do, as he's too powerful. All it seems like you two have done since all this started is sit back and have a go at me, complain that I'm useless and don't have a clue while you sit on your asses and wait for me to solve it all for you!

I don't want either of you dead, funnily enough. Despite everything you've done, despite the fact that you both stabbed me in the back while making me feel like a total, incompetent idiot, who made me feel about this big," he hissed, showing his two fingers almost touching, "I still want to save you. Don't know why I should, because even if this works all I can see happening is the two of you pissing me off more and more as time goes on. But I still want to save you, save you Jackson.

And there, that's the difference between me and other Alphas," Scott snarled, tears running down his face, trying not to cry but his resolve was failing, he was so tired, in so much pain, and just so…done with the two of them, "any other Alpha that we've met would have put you out your misery and killed you. If you had done to someone like Deucalion what you've done to me, he'd have ripped your throat out. But see, I care because you're my friends, even you Jackson. And yeah, I admit, I didn't know how to save you, but newsflash, none of us did. But you used that as your excuse to bitch about me, undermine me, wear me down, and now, this has happened. At the end of the day, your problem Jackson is the fact that I'm your Alpha, and you hate that, and you hate me." He said in a watery voice while both of his companions looked at their shoes, stomachs churning in shame.

The truth was, Jackson did resent it, but that was only because he was, as Scott rightly said, an immature, spoilt little brat. When you got the best of everything, and you were always the best at lacrosse, having someone like Scott come along and suddenly be better than you was extremely humbling, and extremely aggravating. And in his quest to be better than Scott, as he was psychologically unable to accept that Scott, weak, asthmatic Scott, was suddenly better than him, he had become embroiled in the supernatural and had demanded to be turned into a werewolf, which naturally had backfired. And had it not been for Scott's dogged determination, he would have properly died after the fight with Gerard. He owed Scott his life, like Lydia had said when he had first arrived, and not only did he owe him his life, but he continued to owe it as Scott was still determinedly trying to save him. And Jackson had repaid him by stabbing him in the back and getting him killed, and had led others, including his best friend, to rebel too, leaving Scott extremely exposed and easy prey for Agravaine.

"You didn't deserve it. It's me who doesn't deserve you." Jackson muttered wetly, and Scott turned to glower at him, his eyebrow raising.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he demanded irritably, and Jackson fixed him with a look, and Scott was shocked to see that there were tears in Jackson's eyes.

"I'm talking about you. All you've ever done is try to help people, to protect them. And then you have an asshole like me who only cares about himself, who got sucked into all this because he couldn't stand you beating me. I shafted you, Lydia, everyone, and then started killing people left, right and centre. All through it, you're the only one who actually tried to save me, even though with what I'd done, what I was doing, I sure as hell didn't deserve it. And ever since I've come back, all I've done is be a thorn in your side, a whining little brat who keeps causing you trouble when you're trying your hardest to save my ungrateful ass. And I kept pushing you, I didn't care how much it hurt you, because I only cared about me, just like I always do. And yet despite everything, you went to fight Agravaine, after I bullied you into it, and still fought him to try and save the person who tried to force you to do it that way in the first place. Why the hell do you keep trying to save me?" Jackson pleaded, and Scott allowed himself a small, rueful smile.

"Because no matter how much of an ass you are, and how happy it would make a lot of people in the pack if you did die," he pointed out, his smile taking a little of the sting out of his words, and Jackson snorted in amusement, "I'm not one of them. You're an arrogant, high-maintenance, highly strung pain in the ass…but deep down, you're a good person. You still tried to protect us when you were the kanima, and it was your feelings for Lydia that brought you back as well. And I care about you, an utter dick though you may be. You're part of my pack," he whispered ruefully, "whether you like it or not. And Danny, you're just an ass, and I still care about you too, and you're part of my pack as well." He mumbled tearfully, and then something finally broke between the three of them, and Jackson hesitantly, ignoring Danny's amused look, wrapped Scott in a hug, which Danny then joined in on as well, hugging him from the other side.

"I'm so sorry Scott." Jackson whispered, hugging the broken Alpha, and Danny nodded fervently into Scott's shoulder.

"I'm sorry too, I'm an idiot, I was completely horrible to you, and you really didn't deserve it. Can you forgive us?" Danny begged sadly, and in the middle, Scott felt a surge of power flood through him, his eyes glowing bright red, and this time they didn't flicker at all.

He had them back, he had his pack back, he'd won them over. He was back, he felt stronger than he had in weeks, and even though he was still dying, he did feel a little better about it all.

"Maybe, only if you promise to work with me instead of undermining me all the time. And if you trust me." He told them, and Jackson looked at him curiously, a slightly hopeful expression on his face.

"Wait…do you actually have a plan?" he asked suspiciously, and Scott gave him a mysterious smile.

"Maybe I do, I think for all the trouble you've caused me I'm going to keep it quiet." He teased, and slowly got back to his feet, and Jackson jetted to his feet, though regretted it and flopped back down onto the bed, making both Scott and Danny look at him in alarm.

"Huh…it's a race to see who'll die first." He mused darkly, and Scott squeezed his knee reassuringly, and both Danny and Jackson felt a little sort of hopeful talisman blossom inside their chests as they saw Scott's reassuring smile.

"If I do this right, it won't be one of us. Now, listen."

XX

"She hit me on the head with her staff!" Morrell protested as her Missionary apprentice drove them to the Nemeton, and Braeden hid a smirk.

"Well, I think the whole pack is feeling a little resentful due to your brother's role in this whole debacle. You reckon this plan will work?" she asked, and Morrell mulled it over in her mind.

The ritual the rather belligerent Scuffock had shown her certainly would be powerful enough to purge the Nemeton under normal circumstances, sure. However, these were not normal circumstances. The entire town was out of balance, the dead were rising all over the place, and the Corrupter's malignant presence was like a cancer throughout the town. Add that to the fact that the Alpha was dying, and truth be told it wasn't looking good for their side.

"I suspect it all depends on whether or not this plan Scott has to weaken Agravaine will work." She mused as the car pulled to a stop, and Morrell blanched as she saw how deeply Agravaine's corruption had taken root in the Nemeton.

This, this was an abomination, that deluded monster had no business doing this to a sacred Druidic site, it was little more than desecration!

"Hell's tits." Braeden cursed, truly seeing the darkly twisted Nemeton for the first time, no wonder the damned dog was so powerful.

"You want us to purge that?" Lydia asked in disbelief as she arrived with Martagh, and the Scuffock nodded, looking grimly at the gnarled and choked stump.

"Yes apprentice. If not, all this is for not, and your Alpha will die all the faster. And besides…we owe it ourselves to try and fix it, restore some sanity to the town." She explained, and Morrell nodded emphatically beside her.

"And some balance, this is further upsetting the balance of the battle between your pack and the dogs. If we can purify it, the scales should become more equal, perhaps even tilt back in your favour." She explained, all the while glaring at Martagh, who seemed supremely unconcerned by this.

"Yeah, but how do we do this? I mean, one Scuffock, strong though she might be," Braeden said, inclining her head towards Martagh, who responded in kind, "one untrained Banshee, and a Druid Emissary and Missionary aren't enough to purge this amount of damage surely?" she reasoned, and Martagh revealed the ritual that the bizarre Beasturo operative had given her from her pocket.

"The ritual itself is very powerful, but we have to believe in Scott. He thinks Agravaine can be weakened enough for us to try this." She explained, and Lydia looked at her sceptically.

"How do we know Agravaine has been weakened though?" she pointed out, and the Scuffock shrugged.

"No clue apprentice, but I'll say this, I have learned to trust that Alpha of yours. He's rather a unique one, very stubborn too." She told her fondly, and Lydia smiled a little and nodded.

"Yeah, he certainly is." She admitted ruefully, a feeling of revulsion searing the inside of her stomach for the role she had played in nearly destroying him.

"And I trust the kid too, but how does he expect us to fix this?" Braeden asked derisively, and Martagh smiled, and gestured.

"By purifying the Nemeton as he requested. Come." She chided, and the four of them surrounded the blacked, gnarled and twisted stump of the Nemeton, one of them standing at each point in the compass, with Martagh standing at the east point, opposite Lydia, while Morrell stood north opposite Braeden.

The vicious, thorny black vines of Agravaine's corruption erupted all around them, clearly perceiving some form of threat towards their person. The vines shot towards them like serpents, and while Lydia flinched, she held her ground, as did Martagh. Morrell hissed through her teeth as the vines wrapped round her feet and arms, as though trying to pull her towards the Nemeton itself, but she squared her feet and stood her ground. Braeden yanked them back a little, as if trying to take control, but at a look from Martagh, desisted, and the vines snaked around the Missionary.

With its four would-be attackers now bound, the Nemeton yanked at them, trying to bring them in for reasons unknown, though likely insidious. The thorns were digging into their skin, and all four women forced down cries of pain as it tried resolutely to yank them towards the stump. Lydia's eyes were fixed of those of her mentor, who nodded steadily to reassure her young apprentice, this was a necessary, yet vital part of the ritual.

They all shrieked as the thorns started to dig into them, drawing blood as the vines continued to ensnare them, acting more like snakes than vines. Twisted and gnarled roots erupted from the ground, showering them in earth as they swept around them, joining them in crushing them, and Martagh could feel all three of the other's gazes on her, just a little longer…

The Nemeton then jerked them all forwards, their feet digging into the earth as much as they could, and Martagh took a deep breath, centring herself and beginning the ritual.

She extended her power into the earth beneath her, feeling the power inherent in the earth, the poison that Agravaine had unleashed and invoked the power of the old gods, calling upon their strength to help undo this atrocity that Agravaine had unleashed. Her power radiated out of her, filling the earth, and abruptly, the roots that had been binding her eased off, their black bark turning back to normal brown as the roots came alive, and with a twisting, grinding noise, the roots slammed down on top of the vines that had ensnared her, freeing her from their grasp. Blood trickling from the holes they had punctured within her, she then gestured, her staff leaping into her hand, and gathering her strength, she slammed her staff, rippling with powerful energy, into the ground.

A shockwave erupted from it, the damaged vines reeling back as though wounded as her purified roots surrounded her, acting as protection as she channelled her strength to continue her purge.

"By the power of Aveta, Gaia, and the strength inherent of the earth itself, take our blood as sacrifice! Aid us in combating this dark poison, I command you!" she shouted, her roots twisting around her, knocking the vines from the air as they sped at her to impale her.

White light erupted from her staff, ballooning out and hitting the trunk of the Nemeton, and that was just enough to give Morrell the power she needed.

Dropping to the floor, blood dripping from the various punctures made by the dark and twisted vines, she dug her hands into the now disturbed earth, smiling grimly as she did so.

"As the four compass points join together in strength, unity and purity, we release you, great one!" she cried, directing her gaze onto the gnarled and twisted trunk of the Nemeton.

Power exuded from her now muddy hands, pulsing into the earth as she did so, and a second later purified roots of normal brown bark erupted out of the ground, acting as a shield for her and knocking away the vines that were acting like a hydra as they tried to strike at her.

Lydia gathered her strength, and as a vine went right for her exposed neck, she screamed, the sonic power knocking it sprawling to the floor. She could feel the sheer energy channelling through their circle, and she added her own strength to it, reaching out with her mind's eye, determined to undo the damage being done by the corruption.

"As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so too does our power. The rising light will act to purify this shadow, and send its darkness into the west!" she cried, as more roots entwined around her, acting like armour as the glowing white light emitting from her, Morrell and Martagh increased in radiance, and the dark vines were now lashing out, twisting and writhing away from the light that was now burning them, steam or smoke rising from them as they jetted about in a frenzy, realising that they were in danger.

The vines, partly to protect themselves and partly to try and stop the attack all contorted around each other, heading right for Braeden, but the Missionary had freed herself of her vines and raised a hand, white light emitting from it as she too drew power from the earth.

"And as the elements combine, we combine our strength, and as one, cast off this poison, and restore the Nemeton to it's rightful state, using our blood to consecrate this holy ground, and return it to our hands once more!" she yelled, and as one, all four women squeezed blood from their various lacerations onto the ground.

The blood fell onto the damp, leafy earth, but as it did so, light began to emit from the droplets as they trickled towards the Nemeton. The vines gave a sort of inhuman screech, all of them twisting and writhing, trying determinedly to break the circle of the four women surrounding the stump of the Nemeton, but with the light now blazing off of them, their bodies burning up, the vines were forced to either recede or instead started to disintegrate. The four women surged forward, the white light of their ritual beaming across the area, as all four of them moved towards the stunted stump of the Nemeton. The tree was making a creaking groaning noise as the black, noxious weeds tried to entrap them, the vines tried to attack then, and pulses of malevolent power pulsated from it with increasing frequency, but they held firm, struggling ahead.

A wall of insidious vines moved in front of Lydia, weeds trying to entrap her feet and images of everything that had happened, the dead bodies, the suicides, Allison, Mason, Scott, all of it, Aiden, yet she held firm. As her body shook with power, her eyes went their glowing green colour, and gathering her strength, she emitted a powerful scream, combined with the power of her scream erupting from her hands. The combined assault shredded the vines in front of her to smithereens, leaving behind little more than wisps of smoke and a few broken twigs and thorns as she finally reached the tree, and laid her bleeding hands upon the centre.

The Nemeton drank her blood hungrily, a different pulse reaching out as Lydia struggled to hold on, the ritual was intense, she was burning out faster than she ever would have imagined…

Braeden, through sheer, bull-headed determination had managed to break through her vines, and though they were now ensnared around her neck, trying frantically to pull her back, it was to no avail as she too laid a hand on the trunk, the blood soaking into the ancient bark and a further pulse erupted, and the vines and weeds surrounding her vanished into nothing as she collapsed, panting, onto the stump. The Nemeton surged again, the virulent roots and vines reeling away from the power as Morrell broke through the vines trying to stop her on her side, and contributed her blood to it as well. Their blood was spiralling around the very centre of the Nemeton, like water going down a plughole, but their bodies were burning out, they were exhausted, please let it end soon…

And finally Martagh used her staff to obliterate the gnarled and twisted vines blocking her path and slammed her bloodied hand onto the stump of the Nemeton. Blood trickled from it, and it swirled in with the others, all of it pooling in the centre of the stump. Nothing happened for a second until…

A massive silver shockwave emitted from the stump of the Nemeton. The vines, thorns and weeds that had been choking it for weeks shrieked in inhuman agony, twisting and lashing as the shockwave of light overcame them, disintegrating them in wisps of black and yellow smoke. The thorns and weeds disintegrated as the shockwave washed over them, and the Nemeton finally began to heal. Its bark turned back to its normal, healthy colour, its tainted appearance restored to its prior aesthetic. The shockwave washed over the four girls, their wounds healing instantly as its pulse continued to wash across the town, purifying the entire grove where it stood as it went.

A boy about to jump off a roof felt the wave wash over him, and he promptly started screaming in terror, clambering back off the ledge and rushing to a very confused Parrish who had been trying to talk him down.

Someone raised an empty bottle to smash it into the head of the soldier on day leave who someone else had let in front of them in the queue, but as the wave washed over him and instead he lowered the bottle and offered to buy the man a drink.

Scott was back in the twins apartment, and had been forced to lie down by Melissa and Isaac. He felt a wave of power rush over him, and his eyes glowed red, luxuriating as the power filled him, and he smiled triumphantly.

Stiles staggered as the wave washed over him, and he suppressed a grin, that could only mean that Agravaine's day was about to get a lot worse.

Agravaine stumbled, a bizarre feeling filling his chest as he threw a hand out against the wall to steady himself, panting weakly. This was impossible, Hollis was done for, why was his foe's impending death still affecting him? He raged angrily and stormed away, determined to find the damn Owlman and end him once and for all, how could he still be able to bring him down with him when he had the Nemeton and the power of the defeated True Alpha behind him?

"We did it!" Lydia exclaimed brightly, actually feeling better than she had in weeks, and Martagh smiled as she surveyed the now restored Nemeton, feeling rather proud of what they had achieved.

The Nemeton was restored to its former state, and in thanks, they were too. That ritual had been intense, had been drawing on the core of their beings to power it, but it had been worth it. It was now purged, and as a result, Agravaine's power had taken a dent, and with any luck it would bolster Scott for the coming battle as well.

"That was a bit intense." Braeden remarked, trying to pick leaves out of her hair, and Morrell smiled.

"Yes it was, but now the balance is getting closer to being back on track, Agravaine's power will be weakened, as will the power of the dead in town. With any luck, it'll give Scott the scope he needs for this plan of his to work. Speaking of, what now?" she asked the Scuffock, while also glaring at her, the bump on her head was still tender from where she'd hit her with her staff.

"We prepare ourselves. From what Scott said, he fears the hammer will at least fall at the hospital, if you want you could go there to reinforce them?" she suggested, and Morrell nodded smartly, she would reinforce the hospital then, and pray the young Alpha knew what he was doing.

"I'll give you a lift, then Derek and I are going to help Scott." Braeden explained, and with a nod, she and her mentor left the purged Nemeton, leaving Lydia and Martagh standing beside it, the Scuffock looking at it musingly, the centre of the tree didn't look quite right, it looked, well, almost like it was molten, unless-!

"Lydia, extend your hand to the Nemeton." She commanded, and after sending her a sceptical look, Lydia did so, her outstretched hand reaching for the centre of the tree.

And to Martagh's delight, a shaft of boiling, liquid wood erupted from the centre of the tree, shooting into the air. The molten wood ascended through the air, before landing in Lydia's hand, and while her eyes widened in alarm as it happened, she held her ground. The molten wood was pleasantly warm, as though it belonged there, in her hand. The shaft started to coil around itself, forming an extremely tight figure of eight formation as it extended up and down above Lydia's outstretched hand. As it reached the ground it started to cool, solidifying into hardened wood, creaking as it settled. The shaft extending above her hand also tightly wound itself, though left a sort of cage like structure at the top which a crystal of pure, glowing amber sprouted. The wood cooled, going hard and rigid, and Lydia looked at the staff that had been created in her hand in shock, and Martagh smiled as the restored Nemeton went back to normal.

"A staff?" Lydia asked breathlessly, the entwined dark greenish brown wood in one half and the light almost white wood in another, and Martagh nodded proudly.

"Indeed. It seems as though the Nemeton wanted to thank you for your role in purifying it. Try it out." She instructed, but it was as she hoped.

Lydia had conjured her own staff, from the Nemeton nonetheless, which would make it that much more powerful than any ordinary staff. Furthermore, the fact that it naturally had a crystal within it meant it was also more powerful than most weapons of its kind. This was excellent.

"It's so balanced, it's easy to use." She told her mentor in surprise, and Martagh smiled happily, beholding her apprentice with her new weapon.

"As it should be, it's but an extension of you child. You can use this to help direct your abilities, help you to focus them as well. Good thing we have some time before the showdown begins, you'll need instructing in how to use this weapon and how to meld it with your powers. Come, we have much to do." She told her, beckoning her towards the car, and Lydia followed in her wake, holding her staff to her.

It felt almost like a part of her, an extension of her, warm and pleasing to the touch. It was light and balanced, the same height as her, and she could feel the power radiating from it as well. It was comfortable to hold, and she felt more connected to the power of the pack, of Beacon Hills, her own power, simply by wielding it. She smiled slightly as she got into the car, she'd been nagging Martagh enough for the chance to wield a staff, now she finally had one.

That would make for a fun surprise tonight.

XX

The entire pack was back together (minus Stiles), assembled in the twins penthouse (with the rent still rapidly running out) preparing for the oncoming battle. Malia was currently stationed on the roof, listening intently for a shriek from the Owlman (they couldn't believe Scott was crazy enough to actually work with the guy) that would alert them to the start of Agravaine's inevitable onslaught.

Inside, Scott had been forced to lie down by his mother and his boyfriend, with both Argent and Camden promising that they would take point in planning the battle. In a corner of the room, Martagh was giving Lydia a crash course in how to use her new staff, with Aiden watching surreptitiously from the side, which made Ethan roll his eyes, bemused. Kira was checking her sword was ready for battle, and was sparring with Rakaisha, who also seemed to be a dab hand with one of the swords that Argent had brought them all. Liam, Garrett and Violet were assembling the various weapons that Argent had brought with them to help outfit the pack, which includes guns, cattle prods, knives, arrows, swords and a particularly heavy looking bat. Jackson was resting fitfully on a couch, watched over by Danny as he readied his bow and made sure everyone had emergency medical supplies as well, for which he was being supervised by Braeden. Meanwhile Derek, Isaac, Camden, Argent, Melissa and John were all assembled around the table, poring over the map of Beacon Hills that the sheriff had brought with him.

"Alright, so Parrish and the core of my boys will be at the station, with the rest out on patrol with as much firepower as they can muster. You really think that Agravaine is going to go after the station?" John asked, and Camden nodded grimly.

"Scott is, and so am I. Agravaine knows it has to end tonight, the Owlman is dying, so is Scott, so if it's going to end any way but the way he wants it, he knows we have to face him. He knows, due to it's importance to everyone here, that the police station is a natural target." He explained, and Isaac exchanged a look with Melissa.

They had elected not to tell anyone else about Stiles role as an undercover agent, lest it lead Agravaine to suspect him too early. And currently, with Scott out of commission and Stiles still undercover, Isaac was in temporary command of the pack due to his role as the Prime Beta (and the fact that he was the Prime Beta wasn't a fact that he'd abused at all, especially on the mutineers (though admittedly he'd been far kinder to Lydia and the twins than to Jackson and Danny)) so hence he was here helping plan the battle.

"And Gareth's there too?" Isaac asked, and Argent nodded, tapping the police station with his finger on the map.

"Yeah, I figured it'll get nastier as the hospital, bigger area to defend, and while I'm loathe to admit it, and it's no reflection on Gareth, Natasha is a better shot. Who else is at the police station?" he asked curiously, aware that several important members of the pack's extended protection bubble had been sent there.

"Natalie had all the teachers lock themselves up at home, so in theory, they should all be fairly safe. Coach is already at the cop station, he's trying to get a restraining order against Greenberg, thinks he'll have some luck with Elba as everyone else has ignored him, but he's keeping him there. Natalie herself is there too, and so is Dexio." Melissa explained, and Argent nodded, satisfied.

Yeah, Dexio was a bit of an odd one, Melissa had to admit, he had agreed to go to the cop station when Derek had told him there was a threat quite handily, which unsettled her for some reason, but she couldn't place why.

"Once we head out, Braeden is reluctantly heading to the station to reinforce it as well," Derek explained, feeling a savage glare burn a hole in his head from his girlfriend as he did so, "and along with Gareth and the cops there, including Parrish, Malia's father is going there too to lend a hand." he summed up, and Isaac, his arms crossed across his chest, looked worriedly at Melissa.

"What about the hospital?" he asked, and she pointed it out on the map.

"Well, I had a word with Killian, and he agreed to lock it down, only one way in or out, which is probably another question I'll have to ask if we survive this, as to why he's not objecting. Natasha is there, and Noshiko is there with Kira's father and Liam's parents, and Morrell is there too. Everyone else should be relatively safe, at least that's the hope. Danny's mother is out of town, we're all here and about to go into the breach anyway. So hopefully, we're all set, whatever that means." She reasoned, readying her weapon and checking it was loaded before slipping it back into the holster Argent had lent her.

"Next question, them?" John asked quietly, indicating the three youngest kids with a nod, and Camden frowned.

"Hey, I'm not delighted about it either, but I can't deny, Garrett and Violet saved our skins, and Liam wants to settle this, for Mason. I don't like it sheriff, but I do get it. We can't ask him to stay behind if nobody else is." He reasoned darkly, though he wasn't relishing the idea of putting the youngest member of the pack directly into harm's way.

"And even if we survive the gauntlet of undead that Agravaine is going to be sending our way," Derek pointed out, tracing the path they were going to have to take to resume their attack on the steel mill, "how do we know Scott's plan will work?" he asked, though he looked at Isaac worriedly as he said so, but when Isaac didn't growl, he assumed he was alright.

Once again, Melissa met her newest surrogate son's eyes, both of them having a silent conversation, and Isaac gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head, to which she agreed. While it would be nice if they could give the pack a proper head's up about Stiles, too much was riding on secrecy for this.

"We trust Scott. Are you sure we're ready for this?" Melissa asked nervously, she didn't know which was worse, sitting at home while her kids went off to fight evil, or waiting anxiously to go into battle with them.

Abruptly, Isaac's phone rang, and the entire room went quiet, and Isaac heard Scott start to move in the bedroom as he did so. There was only one person who could be calling.

"Malia?" he asked tersely as he answered the phone, and her voice, sounding tense, came back over the line.

"It's starting, whists, revenants, they're all coming out in force. Hedwig says there's no sign of the dogs or the remaining big four revenants though." She told him, which the whole room heard as Isaac had had the foresight to put the phone on speaker.

"Anything else?" Argent asked tightly, as the whole pack hovered nervously behind them, waiting for the signal.

"Not yet…wait, I'm hearing gunfire, and not from the cop station or the hospital. The Calaveras must have twigged, which means…yep, there they are, the Berserkers aren't far behind. Got to say, creepy and demented he might be, but he's kind of handy!" Malia told them brightly as she relayed all of Hollis' messages to them, and Isaac grinned.

"Well, tell Hedwig as you so affectionately call him to get ready, then come on down. It's time." He ordered, and she gave an affirmative before hanging up.

"Scott…" Jackson said in shock as Scott edged out of the bedroom.

He still looked like hell, but there was something else to him, a sort of quiet confidence, a fire, a power to him, and he flashed them all a smile, and admittedly, he did look slightly better than he had before he'd been forced to go for a lie down.

"Everyone ready?" he asked, and with that there was a flurry of activity as they all readied themselves for battle.

Danny donned his jacket, slinging his quiver over his back, and picked up his bow. He'd also taken Isaac's supply of arrows, as Isaac would be using his claws and knives tonight, and he was set. Jackson tiredly got to his feet, but he gave the Alpha a nod, his eyes glowing blue as he grew his claws, and also made sure he had a knife in his boot. The twins also glowed their eyes and stood side by side, cracking their knuckles. Kira took a last look at her sword before putting it back in her sheathe, nodding, her eyes glowing amber. Liam squeezed her hand, and then revealed that in addition to some of the numerous Molotovs that they'd made, he was also wielding one of the cattle prods. Beside him, Garrett and Violet were both heavily armed, with two guns apiece, extra ammunition, a knife in Garrett's case, and knuckle dusters in Violets, along with their own stock of Molotovs. Malia opened the door at that point, growling, her eyes glowing blue as she did so, fangs and claws at the ready. Braeden had both a shotgun and her electric pulse gun both ready, and she too was outfitted with Molotovs. Kaisha twirled her fingers, her eyes and tattoos glowing bright green as she nodded in response. Camden was armed with a machine gun and two bandoliers of ammunition, along with a knife in each boot. Argent simply nodded, one gun visible, but Scott knew from experience that he had plenty more where that came from. John and Melissa shared a look and readied their own guns. Martagh and Lydia then joined them, both of them brandishing their staffs. Scott's eyes then travelled to his boyfriend, who's eyes glowed gold and he readied his two ring daggers.

They were ready then.

"Ok, this ends tonight. Nobody else dies. Agravaine has taken enough from us. Tonight, we finish it." He said simply, the time (and energy) for speeches long since passed, and despite the fact that he was dying, he took a last look at his pack, his eyes glowing red, demonstrating the power of the Alpha, before he turned and headed for the door without belying any of his weakness.

And with that, his pack followed, and it was his pack, their bonds all but fully restored, all of them convinced to follow their leader into the breach one last time. And if Scott had his way, very soon they would be totally restored. They just had to survive the journey first, but it was like Scott had thought: when his pack was together, nothing could stop them.

XX

"Come on, you've kept me here for hours already!" Finstock complained, and Natalie rolled her eyes, it was so hard to feel any sympathy for him when one, they were trying to save his life by keeping him here as she highly doubted he would listen like the majority of the staff, and two, when he was trying something so ridiculous as to get a restraining order against one of his own students.

"Gareth?" Parrish asked worriedly, as Elba once more tried to calm Finstock down, and the hunter frowned, his head cocked into the wind as he stood at the open door of the police station.

"Trouble." He replied, and Parrish pulled out his gun, readying it.

"Hey, what's going on?" Natalie asked in slight alarm as she saw the hunter and the young deputy ready their weapons, and Finstock stopped complaining as the sound of distant braying barks, getting ever closer, started to reach their ears.

"Um, is this anything to do with all the weird stuff that's been happening in town recently?" Dexio asked nervously, and Parrish nodded, and gestured for Elba to take them all towards the back of the station.

And it was then that he saw it, an army of dozens of decapitated dog corpses, aided and abetted by undead revenants, all heading right for them.

"What the-?" Dexio gasped, fumbling backwards with Natalie and Finstock as Parrish, Elba, Malia's father Henry and Gareth all opened fire as the Battle of Beacon Hills began.

XX

"So you want to tell me why you had the rest of the hospital sealed off?" Dunbar asked Killian in a low voice as they commenced their rounds, and Killian cast a worried look around the fairly quiet hospital as he slowed to walk with his companion.

Killian wasn't a fool, when Melissa had came to him, after begging him to release her son, and demanded that he seal off the hospital as much as he could without shutting it as much as he could, he had chosen to listen to her. He knew what was going on here, after all, the thing that had brought him back from his secondment and made him decide to stay were the rising numbers of bizarre incidents happening in this hospital, and it further proved his suspicions that the supernatural was growing increasingly volatile within Beacon Hills and what was more, Melissa's son was right in the centre of it. And if the request came from this boy of hers, who if his gut was right, was the person trying to protect everyone, then he would do as much as he could to ensure that he did what was required of him, as if he was right about the boy, and he had every reason to suspect that he was, then he would do as instructed as it would help save lives.

And he also wasn't blind, on top of not being a fool. He had seen the Yukimura girl's parents both floating around the hospital, and unless his eyes deceived him her mother had a sword about her person, which he had seen when Noshiko had happened to sneeze and her coat had opened slightly to reveal it when she blew her nose. He'd also noticed Marin Morrell, who had given him a respectful nod as she had arrived, from one colleague to another, not hinting the amount of times he had helped patch her up when she had been a child under Talia's care. And what was more, there was that new dangerous looking woman, Natasha, she was also her, and he had a feeling she was rather heavily armed for a night at the hospital.

"I wish I could, suffice to say that…" he began just as screams started erupting from the far end of the hospital. Exchanging alarmed glances, the two rushed along the corridor to see Natasha brandishing two pistols while Noshiko forced her husband behind her, a sword rising in her hands to an en garde position, and Dunbar and Killian felt their stomachs drop as they saw numerous headless dogs along with patients who they had pronounced dead themselves not that long ago, surging into the hospital, right for its defenders.

Killian sighed a little as Noshiko cleaved a dog in half with her sword.

He hated it when he was right.

XX

The door to the twin's apartment building flew open, and the battle was on as clouds misted over the moon. War cries from the Owlman filled the air as whists and revenants swarmed towards the pack as they began their push towards Agravaine's lair for the final showdown.

Scott was out in front, not even belying his weakness as he gave a thunderous roar, his strength tearing vicious whists asunder as he led the pack deep into the throng of milling undead. He was savage yet controlled, his fury unbridled, but not losing sight of their true objective. He slashed and hacked his way through the revenants, hurling them bodily away from him as he led his pack in their onslaught as the cries of the various undead filled the air, the din of battle setting in.

Isaac was right behind him, his knives dancing around him like fireflies as he elegantly dodged and weaved through the battle zone, his exacting combat style aiming for critical strikes, severing the spinal columns of his opponents. He moved like a viper at times, tearing through anyone who got too close to his boyfriend and Alpha, their joint strength leading the pack onward.

Camden was spraying machine gun rounds through the air, felling the numerous revenants that surged towards him and his brother, undeterred by Scott. However the Alpha was doing it however, he was still extremely powerful, and was cutting through whatever came his way, trusting the two Lahey brothers to have his back. Whists and revenants stumbled away from the barrage of machine gun bullets, keeping the undead at bay as they traversed towards the steel mill.

Kaisha was with them, her entire body aglow with green energy as she stood side by side with her fiancé, his brother and his brother's boyfriend. Green spirals of magic were sending undead creatures sprawling through the air, crashing into walls, and the occasional jet of savage green energy from her eyes incinerated some were they stood. She and Camden were two parts of the same hole, each of them anticipating where the other had left themselves vulnerable, allowing them to defend that point while the other went on the offensive.

They were making good progress. They had elected not to take cars or anything as it wasn't actually that far to the steel mill, and with hordes of the undead at Agravaine's command, they had reasoned that it would be more trouble than it was worth. Scott snarled, he was getting closer to the steel mill, he could feel it, the dark pull of Agravaine's Baleful Breath inside him, immolating him, determined to kill him, but he wouldn't give in. He weaved backwards as a whist leapt at him from out of nowhere, only for the beast to be intercepted by Isaac, using one of his knives to slice through its spinal column and send it sprawling. Scott smiled a little at him before shoving him away, catching the revenant that had been about to attack his boyfriend in a chokehold and throwing the monster away. Meeting Isaac's grin with one of his own, the two renewed their offensive.

Kira was unstoppable, leaping and weaving through the milling whists, lightning crackling off her as she did so. Jets of lightning seared several revenants as they moved to take them, her power making them regret their life choices, well, death choices in their case. She plunged her sword into the ground, a current of lightning zapping through it, making revenants and whists shriek and reel from her attack, which she immediately exploited, using her elegant battle form to cut through their ranks.

Liam was right beside her, his cattle prod being used to startling effect. However, that wasn't all he was wielding in this battle, as he threw a Molotov into a throng of whists, the decapitated dogs howling in agony. Liam tackled another revenant with his prod, sticking close behind his girlfriend.

On the other side of Kira, all three of the youngest kids arguably in the place where they should be safest, Garrett and Violet were battling back to back, bullets lancing from each gun as they laid down suppressing fire, trying to make sure the pack wasn't overwhelmed. For neophytes, their weapons were being wielded with shocking ease, and that kept the undead at bay. When they slipped through, Violet demonstrated the proper use of her knuckle dusters, aided and abetted by Garrett as the pack battled through the piles of undead they were now facing.

There was an inhuman shriek from above, and the Owlman swooped down, putting the whole pack on edge. But rather than hinder, he seized several revenants and swooped back into the air with them, dropping them from a great height so their bodies shattered when meeting the pavement.

With the Owlman running interference, the pack was about halfway there, they were doing rather well. However the toll of fighting so much was weakening Scott and there was no telling if he was endangering his life all the faster just by being here, which is why they had to finish this quickly.

Martagh moved like a cat, her staff a blur around her as she batted through the various forms of undead creature. Gestures with her staff sent the beasts and revenant high into the air, or blew them away from her that she might as well have summoned a hurricane. She progressed onward, her staff creating shockwaves that sent the dead sprawling, the Scuffock ensuring the protection of the True Alpha as he led his pack towards their final battle.

Lydia was now getting used to her staff in earnest, using it to direct sonic blasts that gouged out chunks of stone, and seemed to be flattening any undead being unfortunate enough to encounter her attack. Lydia was relishing this, kicking ass was actually rather fun truth be told, and now she could finally amplify her abilities with her staff in hand, she was a force to be reckoned with, her screams pushing back the revenants with the resonance, allowing Lydia to push ahead, directing energy from her staff to bulldoze her way through Agravaine's ranks.

The twins had clearly benefitted from Martagh' training, both of them using their new skills and putting them to the test. The pack's fighting ability was vastly improved all round due to the teaching of the Scuffock but you could see it in the twins primarily. No longer did their style rely on one another, but instead supplemented each other, both of them able to act without the other now, showing their ferocity as they followed their Alpha through the legion of undead.

The Owlman screeched and divebombed several meandering whists, his massive talons ripping them apart.

Danny led the next party, his bow and arrow working overtime shooting down milling threats, his aim true as he took down whatever whists and revenants he could reach.

Malia, all ferocity, was next, snarling furiously, blue eyes glowing as she unbridled her anger, channelling her every negative emotion recently into helping Scott push through Agravaine's lines. Ripping into yet another whist and throwing the ruined creature aside, she sprang forwards, snarling angrily, looking for her next target.

Derek was right beside his cousin, and even he had to admit, the pack had gotten much more effective at fighting since Martagh had turned up, it was like they all worked together as separate parts of one cohesive unit now, a unit that their Alpha had unleashed. Smiling proudly at what Scott had achieved, he cleaned a particularly ambitious revenant's head off as he pushed onwards.

Jackson, still weak, was determined not to give in, especially when Scott was at the forefront of this, pushing towards the damned dog. Jackson breathed determinedly, his claws flashing as he missed any stragglers, still doing his part to help battle the undead, and occasionally threw a Molotov at their ranks for a bit of variety.

They were very nearly there, the building itself was in sight, and Scott had no doubt that the Calaveras and Berserkers would soon be on them. That being said, they had made good progress, battling through Agravaine's undead horde, and the final battle was in sight. However the dead here were just as thick as anywhere else, and he knew his pack had to be getting tired. Just a little further, that was all that was required, he thought to himself, panting weakly, but keeping up the momentum.

At the rear of the group, Argent, Melissa and Stilinski were laying down covering fire, Melissa's eyes fixed in a mix of worry and pride for her son as she watched him lead their assault, her guns scattering the attacking revenants. Stilinski was beside her, keeping more reinforcements at bay and preventing them from helping attack the kids groups, determined to reach his son and bring him home. Bringing up the rear was Argent, making sure they weren't surprised from behind, blowing holes in any undead creature too stupid to stay away from him.

They entered what would have been the parking lot of the steel mill, surging on ahead as the panicking undead tried to escape the combined force of Scott's pack. Once safely inside, Martagh gestured with her staff, the gate slamming shut and crushing more undead, and also more importantly, cutting off undead reinforcements for a while. With the flow of undead cut off, the pack sprang into action, their full force coming into play.

Wolves, the kitsune, coyote, humans, hunters, Djinn, Banshee and Scuffock combined their power, forcing back Agravaine's undead minions. Roars and growls, eyes of different colours filled the night air as they forced back the undead, forcing them away from the door that they were aiming for, the door into Agravaine's lair. Swirling green magic combined with the raw power of the Scuffock, supplemented by the screaming sonic power of the Banshee, as the din of battle raged all around them. Bullets sped through the air, tearing undead flesh asunder as the adults pushed into the compound, Scott leading the charge, the door was just in sight. The night air was filled with the sounds of a town at supernatural war, the dust and debris torn up by the fighting misting through the air, the eyes of Scott's pack a kaleidoscope of colours. There was a shockwave of sonic lightning enhanced energy, scattering the remaining forces of the undead to the floor, and giving the pack a chance to make a break for it.

Scott beckoned, heading towards the door as the undead tried to recover themselves. It was too late however, they were down, and very soon, all being well, they would be out. Scott looked at the door, his stomach twisting in alarm, knowing what was about to happen, what was about to go down. He felt Argent lay a proud hand on his shoulder, and after taking a deep steadying breath, he beckoned to Aiden.

Aiden grinned and promptly kicked open the door, and with a last, terse nod, Scott led them into the steel mill for the final showdown with Agravaine, and to end the threat of his Ghost Pack once and for all.

The showdown begins at last!

I hope everyone liked Scott and Jackson's heart to heart, make no mistake, Jackson is the real issue here, Danny just got caught up in it even though he did act like an ass too. And if anyone was wondering where Isaac was when Scott started coughing, he was outside, preparing to go in when he heard Jackson and Danny calm him down, he figures him coming in and trying to kill them could be seen as counterproductive

And the Nemeton is now finally back in the pack's hands, giving Scott enough of a power boost to see him through the night...hopefully

Thanks again for keeping reading, especially with the massive gaps between updates, but now we're finally at the final battle, so one episode left!

And the music, odd though it is, for the battle through the milling hordes of undead is the Buffy theme tune (the Teen Wolf one is being saved for next episode)

Hope you're enjoying, and until then, please read and review!