Stiles had woken up and Melissa scolded Sam for staying overnight while also giving her something to increase her energy.
Now, they, Scott, Stiles, Melissa, the sheriff and Sam were standing in an MRI room. Sam stood beside Stiles, the two having their pinkies linked like they used to when they were younger.
Sam wasn't listening but Melissa and the Sheriff listened to some doctor talk about what was what.
"Want me to get you a blanket or something?", Sam whispered to Stiles. Goosebumps were rising on his arms.
"I'm fine.", he shook his head, not making eye contact with her as he picked at his hospital gown. Sam nodded.
"Stiles," the doctor turned to them, "just to warn you, you're going to hear a lot of noise during the MRI. It's due to pulses of electricity going through the metal coils inside the machine. If you want we can get you some earplugs or headphones…" The doctor offered.
"Uh, no. No, I don't need anything.", Stiles' lips quirked.
"Hey, we're just on the other side of that window. Okay?", Sheriff reassured his son.
"Okay.", Stiles nodded. Sheriff plastered a smile on his lips before walking out with Melissa and the doctor.
None of them said anything.
"You know what they're looking for, right?", Stiles finally spoke up. His voice sounded so empty as Scott and Sam looked at him. "It's called frontal-temporal dementia. Areas of your brain start to shrink. It's what my mother had. It's the only form of dementia that can hit teenagers. And there's no cure."
"We can find a way.", Sam says, determined. They looked at her with sad looks.
"Stiles, if you have it, we'll do something.", Scott sniffled as he looked at his best friend with watery eyes. "I'll do something."
Stiles swallowed and pulled the two of his friends in for a tight hug. Sam tried her best to keep in anymore oncoming tears. Hard to do since Stiles wasn't always the first to initiate hugs like his life was on the line.
They held each other for a while before they let go, so he could finish his test. Scott walked back, brushing his eyes.
Sam backed away from Stiles. "We'll be right outside. We'll see you in an hour, yeah?" He nodded and she gave him the best smile she could as she walked out to the waiting room.
As she leaned her back on the wall, she let out a shaky sigh. How could she have not known? He was dying this entire time?
"You can't keep taking the world on your shoulders for us, y'know.", she heard Scott say.
"And what am I supposed to do, Scott? You guys are my everything.", Sam croaked as she looked back at the door. "We're doing all this saving and this entire time, he was already dying. We weren't saving him.", she rubbed her wet cheek against her shoulder.
"That's not on you. Nor is it on him.", Scott said, pulling her toward him. Her forehead hit his chest.
"I don't wanna lose him, Scott. He almost lost us.", Sam whimpered.
"We won't. I'll do whatever it takes to save him.", Scott shakily declared.
"Me too.", Sam says and wipes her eyes. "I just don't want him to see me down.", she told him and walked back inside to see the doctor's monitor.
Melissa stood by her and rubbed her back, comfortably.
Stiles laid in the scanner uncomfortably until he squeezed his eyes shut, only opening them to find himself outside the scanner.
"Have you figured out my riddle yet?" a voice says, belonging to the figure with the bandages wrapped around his face.
Stiles quickly walks around the table, following the figure.
"If you answer correctly, we might consider letting them go." The wrapped face told Stiles over the other side of the table.
"Letting who go?", Stiles shakily asks.
"Your friends. Your family.", the creep tells Stiles, looking towards three figures behind the glass window, seeing his dad, Mrs. McCall and Sam all with worried looks on their faces.
"Everyone, whoever meant something to you. We're going to destroy all of them, Stiles. One-by-one."
"W-why?", Stiles whimpers, tears falling down his cheeks.
"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. What is it?", the figure asks harshly, turning around to face Stiles who trembled in place.
"I don't know.", Stiles sobs.
He asks Stiles the same question again and again but Stiles replies, unsure of the answer. The voice raises, making Stiles turn his head away from the Nogitsune.
His hands shoot up to his head and he presses them against his ears, tears spilling out of his eyes.
As he flinched from the shouting, the apparition started to unwrap the bandages off his head. Layers and layers of cloth drop to the floor and form a wrinkled, dirty pile at his feet.
"What is it!?", the creep shouts, making Stiles flinch.
"I don't know!", Stiles shouts loudly back, his hands are covering his ears and his lips are quivering as he looks at Sam who looked at him, worriedly and unaware.
"What is it, Stiles?", the voice whispers.
Stiles' eyes widened as he lowered his hands from his ears and whispered back to the voice in realization. "A shadow."
From behind Stiles, the creep finally takes the one bandage untied from around his head. His hand gently unwraps the last cloth from him to reveal Stiles' face. Stiles turns around to see another version of himself.
The lights suddenly shut down, making Sam instantly defensive. Something's off. A sudden blackout?? It was too convenient for anything to happen.
Something's really off. The moment the lights turn back on, she looks over to see that Stiles is once again gone.
She rushed out just before anyone could ask. "Stiles!", she yelled, running down the halls. "Scott!!", she screamed, feeling her eyes water with tears again.
She didn't find Scott anywhere, so her best bet was to look outside. Before she could, she saw Isaac being rushed on a gurney surrounded by doctors that helped him into a room.
Everything felt like it was going slow motion for her. She didn't even notice Scott and Derek running up to her but felt them grab onto her.
From then on, the past two days seemed to go by like a blur. Stiles was still missing.
She obsessively continued to text him but got no replies.
Her mom felt bad for her, but Sam was taking too many tardies and absences. She had to go to school.
She avoided Scott and Lydia, even the twins and Kira. Isaac was still in the hospital so going all day without them seemed to drag on the day even longer.
After passing periods, she felt her phone vibrate and saw Scott's name as she pulled out her phone to see his text.
Basement. ASAP. HURRY!
She sighed as she rushed to the basement. Once she got in, she heard Aiden finishing his sneer only to pause at a familiar voice.
Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she swallowed. All eyes were on her as she rushed to her best friend, pulling him into a hug which he returned. "You're an ass.", she mumbled.
He patted her back as they let go. He could only give her a weak smile. Weak, but welcomed, nonetheless.
Stiles brought her over and sat across the room, pointing at paper.
"You see this? It's a blueprint of the hospital's electrical wiring. You see all the markings in red? That's my handwriting.", he said as she and the other boys knelt down to look at the paper.
He took multiple blueprints out of a duffle bag. "I know I did this. I know I caused the accident. Everything in this bag; it's all part of something bigger." Aiden reached into the duffle bag and grabbed out a hand saw.
"What the hell have you been up to?", he asked Stiles.
"I think something worse.", Stiles admitted, shaking his head, "a lot worse."
Sam picked up the bag, which was unexpectedly heavy, and dragged it over to a table. She looked into it with wide eyes, beginning to take rolls of duct tape, heaps of rope, chains, and blueprints out.
"What the hell were you doing, building a terminator?", Ethan asked.
"Thank you for that." Stiles said with the roll of his eyes. Sam decided to open one of the blueprints to see what else the other Stiles was planning.
"This isn't a blueprint.", she muttered.
"This is a map.", Scott realized.
"Isn't this the lacrosse trail?", Ethan asked, pointing his finger to a bold black line that winded around the woods.
"And that's the Tate car—where Malia Tate's family died.", Scott mumbled.
"I mean that's where her father put the steel jaw traps.", Stiles pointed to an area close to Lookout Point.
"You were putting traps on the Lacrosse trail?", Sam asked.
"For who though?", Scott asked before picking up his buzzing phone from the table. "What, dad?" He paused. "Wait…what? Why? Okay, fine. Bye." He hung up looking frazzled.
"What now?", Sam asked, rolling her eyes. Scott had been trying to avoid his dad recently.
Scott looked at her. "He actually needs you." Her eyebrows raised. "The hell does he need me for? He doesn't like me."
"He said he needed to question you about Stiles.", he sighed. Sam looked over at Stiles with furrowed eyebrows.
"They still think you're missing?", Sam whispered.
"I'll talk to my dad." Stiles turned to her. "Don't tell him anything, please."
Sam nodded her head. "Yeah. Call me if you find anything on the trail, please. And stay together even if you can't. I don't care, find a way.", she said, pointing at all of them before leaving.
She headed off to the station and sighed as she walked through. She paused, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion as she saw Derek and Chris Argent handcuffed to a bench outside the sheriff's office.
"What the hell are you doing here?", she rushed over to them.
Derek looked at her, confused, ready to get up but forgot he was handcuffed. Chris' eyes were filled with worry. "What are you doing here?", Chris asked her.
Before she could reply, she frowned as she saw Agent McCall. "Samantha." He curtly nodded.
"Can we please get this over with? I still have classes.", Sam says, raising her eyebrows, crossing her arms.
"Do you recognize this?" McCall took a few steps towards her, holding up the plastic bag. A gun was inside it.
"That is a gun.", she nodded. "Why're you showing me that, exactly?"
McCall sighed before smiling. "Samantha Wilson, you're under arrest for suspicion of murder of the Japanese Yakuza."
"Excuse me?", she squeaked before feeling herself getting handcuffed. "What the hell!?", she screamed at the older McCall in his face.
The officer began giving her the usual right spiel. "You don't have to tell me that, because I didn't do anything!", she shouted.
"You don't know anything about the murder of the old Yakuza?", McCall asked her with a smirk.
"Uh, no. I've been too busy worrying about your son and my missing best friend!", she yelled.
McCall frowned. "Room six." He nodded to the officer who began dragging her to said room.
"You didn't even mention this to Scott, huh? Smart move, agent dickhead!", she yelled, before being shoved into a small, dark room and handcuffed to a table.
She growled to herself as her leg bounced. How did she get wrapped up in Yakuza business? She didn't even know the Yakuza would be in Beacon Hills, much less California. Maybe Florida! Florida was a good place for that type of crap.
The doorknob slowly turned and in came Agent McCall, a smug expression plastered on his face as he sat down across from Sam with a tape recorder. She rolled her eyes. He plopped a manila folder that contained her life files onto the metal table.
"Are you really gonna question me about Stiles?", she asked as McCall pressed buttons on his small recorder.
"That'll be saved for later. We just needed to get you down here.", he said, staring back at her.
"And this was the best way?", she asked.
"That's besides the point. Before we waste our time with questioning, do you have anything you'd like to admit?"
"I admit that I wanted to stay in bed all day, but that's about it.", she says, dully.
"Where were you two nights ago?", he asked. She frowned in confusion. "In the hospital. You were there."
"Later that night, Melissa said you never went home. Why not?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I remember that. She scolded me the next morning because I stayed at the hospital all night. You actually think that I, being me," she gestured to herself. "Could kill some old Yakuza leader?"
"There's nothing to think about. All I know is that we got a call tipping us off that you were the one who pulled the trigger.", he said. Her head tilted in confusion.
"Who called in that?"
"It was an anonymous caller. Had to have been one of the mafia members.", he shrugged.
"Do you even have solid evidence that I even held that gun, much less actually met up with the Yakuza?? Why the hell are Derek and Chris here?", she asked.
"We found the Yakuza's briefcase with a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in Mr. Argent's apartment, along with Mr. Hale looking over it.", he informed and her eyes widened.
"Someone set us up.", she whispered.
"Repeat that?"
"Someone set us up.", she repeated in realization. "We didn't do this."
"Why do you not have an alibi for where you were that night?"
"McCall, I was literally distraught that I had almost lost my best friend as he bled out in the freezing cold. I just told you your own wife scolded me for not leaving the hospital. I stayed right outside Stiles' room and didn't leave until it was time for his tests. You can check the cameras.", she fussed. "I didn't do this and neither did Derek or Chris."
McCall nodded before getting out of his chair leaving the room. A different officer walked in, undid her handcuffs, and led her to the bench Derek and Chris were sitting at.
She frowned as she was forced next to Derek and handcuffed once again.
"I hate the cops.", she rolled her eyes. "They think I killed some Yakuza leader.", she said.
Derek nodded. "You were right, we were set up."
"Would you have any idea why Stiles would frame us for murder?", Chris asked her.
Her eyes widened. "Stiles?"
"The thing inside Stiles.", he corrected. She looked back and forth between Chris and Derek in confusion before realizing what they were talking about. "The Nogitsune?", she gravely asked.
Chris nodded. "It's a powerful dark spirit. It feeds off of chaos, strife and pain.", Chris informed. Her eyebrows furrowed. It sounded a lot like Eris. Though, Eris didn't need to possess anyone to cause and feed off of chaos. She did that all by herself.
"It was that thing those Oni were looking for.", Derek reminded her. She looked down. "The Nogitsune was planning something this entire time. That's why Stiles went missing."
"How do you know that?", Derek asked her. She swallowed. "Stiles was in the school basement just now. He had a duffle bag with blueprints and all these different supplies. Scott and the twins are on the cross-country trail. He planted something in there for someone."
Her eyes widened as she remembered the blueprints. She looked around, frantically. "He planted something here too. But where is it and what is it?"
"Relax, I haven't heard anything yet.", Derek reassured and she looked at him worriedly.
A half hour went by, and Sam looked up at the ceiling. Why did the Nogitsune frame them? Did he– or it have something against the Japanese mafia?
And since it's a spirit, it needed someone to blame?
"I could easily get out of these, you know.", Derek said, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"So could I.", Chris replied.
"Well, I cannot, so shut up.", I growled at the men.
"I'm not interested in being a fugitive from the law.", Chris said to Derek.
"Yeah, well, I'm not interested in being a victim to a seventeen year old possessed by a psychotic fox."
"Just give me a few more minutes.", Chris pleaded. Derek ignored him, beginning to tug on the metal. "Derek!", Chris growled.
"Fine. But if something happens, don't expect me to risk my life to save yours.", Derek hissed at the older man.
"Cut it out. For once, be allies. We're both stuck here!", she snapped at the men on her left. Only twenty minutes passed and suddenly, the police station turned into pure chaos after a phone call came into the front desk. Every officer in the building was running around in horror.
"What in the hell is going on?", Sam asked, watching every officer run around.
Derek's eyes darted around as an officer came over to the bench and undid Chris' handcuffs.
"What's happening?", Chris asked, alerted. The officer didn't answer but instead moved onto Derek and Sam.
"What's happening?", Chris asked Derek, whose head was tilted as he listened and looked behind them in the sheriff's office.
His eyes widened as he looked at Chris and Sam. "Get down!", Derek screamed. He pushed the officer out of the way and wrapped his hands around two on each side of him, shoving them to the floor. Sam squeezed her eyes shut as she covered her face from the exploded debris.
She felt exhausted before she could uncover her face and fell unconscious.
She opened her eyes to loud yells and a darkened setting. How long was she out…?
She winced as she felt her arm tingling with pain. She lifted it to see a glass shard sticking out of her arm.
"Fuck…", she whispered and noticed Chris Argent trying to keep Derek awake.
She spotted Scott and Stiles, immediately turning over so she could get up.
She looked at Stiles, specifically, as they ran up to her. She could sense it now. The spirit that rested inside her best friend. Their eyes met, his darkened, empty ones to her confused, dazed orbs.
The Nogitsune.
Scott and Kira ran out with Stiles and she felt weak all over again. The Nogitsune was awake, taking over Stiles right as they left.
She felt dizzy, the ringing in her ears getting louder and louder before her eyes closed once more.
"Sam."
Sam's eyes opened as she heard Stiles' voice. She was back in the darkness. At least it wasn't freezing. Was this what he was seeing?
"Stiles?", Sam whispered. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.", she heard him cry.
"Stiles, where are you? Where did the Nogitsune take you?", Sam asked.
Silence.
"Stiles.", she called. No answer. She felt herself growing more and more upset. Upset at herself for even leaving Stiles with Scott and Kira. Upset at herself for leaving in the first place.
She covered her eyes as a bright light shone on top of her and filled the area. She looked around, now aware of where she was.
She realized she was back in the same clean, white room from before. No one was here, though.
Sam frowned as she looked around and started walking. "Y'know… you're smarter than you look.", she heard behind her. It sounded like Stiles.
Sam turned around to see him. But…
"What?", Sam asked. The apparition of Stiles rolled his eyes. "You caught on to me. Why didn't you say anything?", he smirked.
She glowered at him. "What did you do to Stiles?"
He smiled. "What do you mean? I am Stiles and he is me." She shook her head. "No, you're a possession. What're you trying to do!?"
He frowned as he began to circle her. "I just wanna cause a little… chaos. A little fun, here and there. I'm a trickster. Is that so wrong?"
"Uh, setting up bombs, causing distress to people for your own selfish gains, killing and framing people? Yeah, that's wrong.", Sam says. "Now you got me here. What do you want from me?"
He stopped and smirked. "I need you. Stiles is a perfect host. He's, what you might call, two faced. Always keeping up a smile, but behind closed doors, he's a wreck." Sam frowned as she looked away.
He's been keeping stuff to himself… It's no wonder why he told her all those things. He felt left behind…
The apparition cooed. "You didn't even know? Such a shame."
Sam huffed. "Why do you need me?", she grounded out.
He hummed, walking up to her. "You're…my trump card. I could've easily gone for any of those mongrels, but they wouldn't have been enough. I can't be both a werewolf and a fox. However, they are powerful, but they have plenty to lose, which makes them practically useless. You and Stiles, however, not so much.", he said and circled her once again.
"At least with Stiles, he feels as if he needs to protect everyone with needless tactics. You, on the other hand, you protect without thinking. You're, what we call, ningen no tate. A human shield. All you have left is your friends and your dear mother, but after that, what else is there?", he asked, widely grinning. "You two are driven by your negative emotions and the constant need to survive while the others are driven by the confidence, determination in the powers of their own. Sad."
Sam looks down at her feet as he continues.
"Your powers are boosted by the night and shadows which are almost too perfect to lose. I need that.", he says and suddenly grabs her face, forcing her to look into his dark eyes. "I need you."
He smiled. "I'll give you a day. A day to think about it. If you don't give in, you lose what you have left. If you do, I'll consider leaving everyone alone.", he said and released her face.
Sam shut her eyes before waking up in her room. She calmed her beating heart down and rushed for her phone.
Multiple notifications were on the screen as she looked at them.
Scott's texts were panicked, Lydia's was too. She didn't get anything from Stiles. She didn't need to. She already knew.
She looked at the text from Derek and frowned.
Brought you home. Treated you myself. I'll be back.
She looked at her wrapped arm and sighed. She didn't feel any stitches which was a good thing.
Sam called Scott and in no time, he answered. "Hey, you okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." He let out a sigh of relief. "Stiles… the Nogitsune….He's out cold and Stiles checked himself in the Eichen institution.", he told her. Her eyes widened.
"What?", Sam asked. "He checked himself in.", he repeated. Sam got up, "No, Scott! That's a bad idea."
"How? He's not gonna hurt anyone.", Scott replies. She ran her fingers through her coils. "Stiles may not hurt anyone, but the Nogitsune could. He's already thought this through. He's gonna make it worse for Stiles."
Scott went silent for a bit. "How do you know that?", he suddenly asked. Sam bit her lip. Sam only has a day to come up with this plan. And fast.
"We need to talk. You and me. If you can get Kira on this, it'd probably be good too.", Sam said and he agreed.
They met up at school and went into the basement.
"Okay, what the hell happened?", he asked. Sam frowned. "The Nogitsune wants me.", Sam says and watched his eyes widened as he shook his head.
"No. No.", he said and Sam's shoulders slumped. "I have a plan.", she says but he cuts her off. "I don't care what your plan is, we have an actual plan right here." He pulls out a small scroll.
"This, this is what's gonna stop the Nogitsune.", he said and looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please don't tell me you're gonna let him."
"Scott, I only have a day. He's being lenient with me and I doubt he's doing it with Stiles. This is why I called. He wants me as his trump card, but I'm not letting him have me that easily.", Sam says.
His jaw clenched as he shook his head. Sam placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, haven't our plans almost always worked? This one will. I promise.", Sam says, trying to ease his tension.
He looked at her with glossy eyes. "This can't keep happening."
Sam gave him a sad smile. "I know, but I'm doing it for Stiles. I'm doing it for all of us. We all have to be safe. I'm gonna make sure of that."
He reluctantly nodded and she told him her plan after he had told her what the scroll was for.
It was perfect. She'd make the Nogitsune think he'll have the power to control Stiles and Sam, while Scott changes the Nogitsune.
This had to work.
Later on, Allison had informed Sam that Stiles was now in Derek's loft and she rushed straight there.
"You want to handcuff me?", Sam hears Stiles say as she walked up.
"If my son is still here, if there is still a part of him standing here in front of me, then he'll put these on willingly and he'll come with me because he knows I'm here to protect him from himself and from others.", she hears Sheriff Stillinski say.
Allison, Chris, and Derek showed up and they heard the sound of handcuffs being tightened.
"You're not my son.", they heard the Sheriff mutter and the sound of handcuffs breaking and clattering on the floor.
They all walked in and heard Stiles scoff and laugh.
As they circled Stiles, Allison raised a taser and shot it at Stiles but he caught the wires, glaring at her. It did nothing as he ripped it from her hands and threw it to the side.
Derek growled and bared his fangs, rushing at Stiles but Stiles caught his arm and twisted it back. The sound of a sickening crack filled her ears as Stiles hit Derek's head on a table and threw him up against a pillar.
"Stiles, stop!", Sam yelled, holding out her hand, pausing the boy in his place. He looked at her with an empty, but smug look. "Aw… worried about your boyfriend? Did you forget what I told you?", he raised an eyebrow.
Before she could reply, the sound of a gun cock made everyone look up at Argent as he pointed a gun at Stiles. Sam's eyes widened as did Stiles' eyebrows raised in challenge.
Sam immediately stepped in front of Stiles. The Nogitsune may have taken control, but once he's gone…
"Argent, listen to me, don't do this.", the Sheriff said, holding up a hand as Sam glared at the man holding the gun.
"Why not? I've done it before. Werewolves, berserkers, I can easily add a nogitsune to the list.", Chris said, making Sam growl at him in warning. "Sam.", Argent warned, his determined expression faltering just a bit.
Suddenly the Sheriff then pointed a gun at Argent. "You're not going to shoot my son."
"You said it yourself, Sheriff. That's not your son."
"Put it down. Put it down.", Sheriff ordered.
"Dad, he's going to shoot me.", she hears Stiles' voice crack. "He's going to kill me, dad." Sam turned to him. "Stop!", she fussed.
"Don't listen.", Argent countered.
"Put it down." the Sheriff said again after looking at Stiles. "NOW, DO IT, PUT IT DOWN!" The tension made Sam falter her hold, causing Stiles to smile and grab Sam, twisting her arm behind her back.
"Now you'll have a hybrid and a Nogitsune on your list. Pull the trigger.", Stiles suddenly said, and Argent's hardened expression faltered, taken aback that he would say that.
"Stiles, stop it!", Sam yelled. He looked at her with a smirk before turning back to older men. Sam looked outside to see night pouring in once more as tension rose. He's doing it again. This fuels him.
"LISTEN TO ME, YOU PUT THE GUN DOWN NOW!", Sheriff Stilinski yelled at Argent.
"SHOOT ME!", Stiles yelled, telling Argent to shoot him and the Sheriff repeatedly telling Argent to put the gun down. Derek looked at the windows then at Sam as the room filled in with darkness.
"You gave him exactly what he wanted!", Sam shouted as they stopped. Stiles looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Not exactly. I was kind of hoping Scott would be here but I'm glad you all have your guns out because you're not here to kill me."
He turned around, pulling her away from the large window. "You're here to protect me."
He ran out of the loft and Sam followed him, only to see that he had disappeared again. She sighed in disappointment, going back inside the loft.
Derek winced, taking off his shirt as the sheriff and Argent discussed.
She walked over to Derek, seeing a large gash on his back.
"I'm sorry...", Sam shamefully apologizes, not meeting his eyes. He sighed. "This isn't your fault. We just gotta find another way to deal with this."
Yeah, but... If Stiles was this powerful, even with the Nogitsune, what could they even make of that?
Allison had gotten a text from Lydia, saying that she and Aiden found Stiles passed out and took him somewhere safe.
She sighed in relief. He wasn't dead at least.
The next day, Scott had given Derek Stiles' chessboard that had their names on it. Some names were knocked from the board and had black strips which worried them.
What the hell did that mean?
"What are you doing?", Peter asked as he walked in, moving over to the table that Derek was standing at. He frowned at the huge gash that crossed Derek's shoulder and shoulder blade.
It hadn't healed yet. It worried Sam greatly. Derek had already explained that he got cut by one of the Onis swords but he didn't think it was too bad since he's had so much worse.
Derek noticed their staring and frowned. "It's from one of their swords. It'll heal," Derek muttered, not looking away from confusing chessboard in front of him.
"It's been hours, though?", she says, concerned.
Derek looked at her, giving her a reassuring look. "I'll be fine."
Peter looked at her knowingly and walked over to her. "So, what all do you know, Samantha?"
She looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Peter frowned. "I mean, what all did Stiles tell you? He didn't give you any plans, any clues?"
Sam looked down at her lap. She couldn't tell them the plan. It was too risky. If something were to happen to either of them, she wouldn't know what to do.
"He's been making plans, but I wasn't around long to see. I got arrested the other day.", she told him. His eyebrows raise just a bit. "That part's true. I was there.", Derek says.
Peter seemed to be pleased with the answer for now.
"So you're playing chess?", Peter asked as he walked over to his nephew.
"Back in his room, Stiles had a board with my name on one of the pieces. Sam's too, and her piece was closer to his. If this is a game to him, then I need to figure out the plays.", Derek says.
"Not so easy to do when it's a game without rules.", Peter said.
Derek looked up at his uncle. "What does that mean?"
"You're dealing with the kind of spirit that's lived too long to play by human rules. It's a fox spirit that chose to become human — and supposedly, that's something they can do only after about one hundred years. If a Kitsune is an annoying pain-in-the-ass, then a Nogitsune, which is a dark Kitsune, is a freaking disaster. Besides, chess is Stiles' game. It's not the game of a Japanese Fox.", Peter muttered.
Peter grabbed his jacket, ready to leave as he glanced at Sam who sat on Derek's bed with a sullen look on her face. He knows something happened with her and the Nogitsune.
She didn't say what, but he knew. It frustrated him to think that she may be keeping vital information from them at such a time like this.
Maybe the Nogitsune had gotten to her... He dreaded the thought of it.
"Do yourself a favor and put something on that," Peter warned, heading to the door, "before it gets infected."
Derek frowned at his uncle who left and rolled his eyes before complying. All three of them missed the dark fly that entered Derek's wound. He went to go and find a first aid kit and looked over at Sam who didn't meet his eyes.
He frowned softly. He didn't like this. He didn't like to see her in such a sullen way. It wasn't like her. With everything going on, especially with Stiles, he understood her feelings. Slowly losing a friend. She was grieving. She was worried. Scared. Scared she was gonna lose someone close to her.
Stiles and Sam behaved like brothers and sisters. A way Derek remembered him, and Laura behaved with each other.
He remembers getting on Laura's nerves here and there, her hugs, their talks... Everything. Everything before the fire. And now he was witnessing it right in front of him. A repeat of a loss.
He looked at the kit in his hands before he walked up to Sam who didn't look up until he stood before her. He gave her a light smile. "You wanna help me with this?"
She returned the smile. "Okay.", she says, holding her hands out for the kit. He sat on the bed next to her and she got behind him, opening the kit as he took his shirt off.
She cleaned it up as best as she could, blowing lightly on the wound as he winces and let out a breath of his own when it got too much before she wrapped up his wound and gave it a light rub.
"You sure you're okay?", Derek suddenly asks her. She frowned. "I'm...I don't know.", she sighed. "I don't want my feelings to get in the way of what's going on."
Derek turned to her as she moved from behind him. "He's your friend, though.", he says. She nods. "He is. He's been there for me for as long as I can remember. Ever since I moved here, he was one of my first friends. Stuck with me for so long, even after his mom died."
She looked down. "When the funeral happened, he didn't talk to me for a while which worried me. But he came to my house one day and he was cheerful and goofy as ever as nothing ever happened. I knew better, though. He was always trying to make me feel better, but I told him to stop because he was grieving, and it was okay to do that."
She smiled at him. "From then on, it was always me just taking care of him instead."
Derek nods. "You do that a lot." He lifted a hand to let his thumb rub her cheek. "You care so much. I don't want that to be a weakness of yours."
Her eyes widened a bit at his sudden actions. Isaac's words echoed in her mind as she looked in Derek's eyes.
She tilted her head a bit into his hand, staring back at him in wonder. His green eyes usually held a spark of light in his eyes, despite them being filled with faint sadness he carried. They seemed almost empty...
Derek's thumb moved to the scar over her eyelid, rubbing it softly as his face changed into anger once he remembered how Kate slashed at her eye then to the recent memory of Chris, who had a gun pointed at her, not once but twice now. "Those Argents. They'll never learn.", he growled.
She frowned as she noticed the undertone of his lower eyelids turning red. "You okay?", she asked. Derek looked at her for a moment before smiling.
"Come with me for a bit, yeah?", Derek said, getting up and putting on another shirt.
She watched him get ready, now weirded out by his change in behavior. Maybe he was tired. He did practically get thrown across his own home and slashed in the back.
What was he in a hurry for?
"You sure you aren't tired?", she asked. He looked at her as he slung a duffle bag over his shoulder. "I feel fine. Let's go.", he says.
Sam wasn't sure what the hell was happening the moment she got in his car. She felt herself fall into slumber on the ride to...wherever he was taking her.
Poor, poor Samantha. Your time's almost up.
Her eyes popped open as she looked around. She could only see the road and Derek driving. He glanced at her with a wide smile. It wasn't as smug like the last wide smile he had shown. It was new... Almost crazed.
She didn't feel frightened by his wide smile. She can't remember the last time he gave her such a smile, nonetheless it was a smile. She was pleasingly happy to see him smile as she longed for it. She didn't question it. She didn't question him.
As Chris opened his door, his eyebrows furrowed as he saw Derek and Sam at his door. Derek, who looked beyond tired, the dark reddening circles more apparent now and Sam, who also seemed exhausted and held a blank expression as she looked at the older man. "You guys okay?", he asked.
"I need to show you something.", Derek said bluntly as Sam followed behind him. Chris frowned at the sight of the duffle bag, confused as to why the two were so vague. So quiet.
Chris walked with Derek back to his office. Derek pulled something out of his pocket and opened his hand, letting what he had in his hand drop onto the desk. Talia's claws clattered on the table.
"Do you know who these belonged to?", Derek asked, not looking at Chris. "These claws are all that was left of my mother... after your psychotic sister burned her and the rest of my family alive."
Chris subtly reached under his jacket, grabbing the gun that he had hidden. But before he could pull it out, Sam raised a hand, using Chris' shadow to slam the older man's head into the doorframe, knocking him out for the moment.
Derek gave Sam a proud, wicked smile. "Smart girl.", he praised, making her smile happily.
Derek yanked the man into a chair, restraining him by rope. Chris came to a few minutes after as Derek rummaged through the duffle bag once more.
"Derek," Chris said, looking around dazedly. "Derek, listen to me. This isn't you. Neither of you.", he says as he looked at Sam.
"This is us, though.", Derek says, smiling at Sam before bringing out a bottle of lighter fluid and pouring it over Chris' head.
"Derek! Listen to me! Whatever's gotten into your head, this isn't the way to deal with it.", Chris exclaims, desperately.
"You burn my family, I burn yours.", Derek said, tossing the empty bottle away before pulling out a lighter and hovered it in front of Chris's face, taunting him. "In fact, I'll burn the whole building down around you!"
Chris blew out the small flame, triggering Derek to stand and snatch at the older man's chin. Chris' muffled yell made Sam smile as Derek pointed at Chris before lighting the flame again.
"That was Kate. You know I had nothing to do with that. I'm not your enemy, Derek," Chris said as Derek slowly sat back down. "Not anymore."
"Yeah, you are.", Derek stated, waving the flame around, his eyes targeted on the flickering light like a beacon. "You and Allison. Which is why... I'm not gonna light this yet." Derek let out a breathy laugh with a wide grin as he taunted Chris with the light again. "I'm not!"
He sat back, messing with the lighter. "We're going to wait until she gets home and we're going to let her watch.", Derek told him.
Chris let out a frustrated yell as Sam laughed.
Chris glared at the girl. "Are you the one doing this?", he growled.
"Nope.", Sam grinned childishly. "I don't have mind controlling powers, so I'm not the one you should be talking to.", she said, patting Derek's shoulders.
Chris looked at Derek. "You don't want to kill me. If you do, you're gonna regret it."
Derek grew angry again. "Why shouldn't I kill you?", Derek asked, standing. He began pacing the office, walking over to a window. "How many of us have you murdered? You're not my ally! You're a Hunter!"
"You're right. I am a Hunter.", Chris said, his eyes glancing at Sam. She seemed to be getting gradually tired. Her eyes fluttered as she leaned on the door frame.
It confused him, but before anything could happen, he had to get out.
Derek, however, was covering his ears, trying to block out any of Chris' words. "Trained before I could even speak, and trained others. Do you know what the first lesson we teach is? We take our children, we bind them in a chair just like this. Then, we wait for them to get out. Most of them it takes hours. Others? Seconds."
With that, Chris pushed back, slamming himself and the chair back into the ground, and breaking the chair like it was nothing. Derek turned, fully shifted, roared at the older man before he jumped over the desk to attack him.
Grabbing the handgun that was held under the desk, Chris prodded it under Derek's chin stopping Derek from attacking.
"I don't want to kill you, Derek!", Chris shouted. "Don't make me kill you. Please!"
Before anyone could do anything, black blood began to drip from Derek's nose, who's eyes fluttered before he fell to the floor. Chris huffed, staring at Derek at confusion before looking over at Sam.
Sam's eyes rolled back as she backed away from the scene before her. "Sam," Chris walked over to the girl, his hand stretched out cautiously.
She didn't say anything before the sun started to set. Chris noticed the change of lighting and turned back to Derek who stirred awake and back to Sam who was no longer there.
He frowned and shook his head before helping Derek up.
Stiles jolted awake, struggling to peel his taped mouth open.
He fell to his knees, gagging as he pulled cloth out of his mouth.
Everyone backed as Stiles finally pulled out all the dirty cloth from his body.
They watched as a hand rose up out of the bundle of cloth on the floor. Suddenly a body seemed to come from under the cloth, looking around as it saw the crowded people before it.
Before it could charge at anyone, Scott and Peter tackled it and held it down.
"Hold on, hold on!", Scott yelled at Peter before unraveling the dirty rags to reveal Stiles' shocked face.
"Scott...?", Stiles whispered as he looked around.
"Scott.", Deaton called and Scott realized Lydia was gone. "Lydia!?", Scott ran out of the house find Lydia as Stiles sat back in disappointment and fright.
He shook as he thought of the danger his favorite girls could be in.
Derek groaned, wiping at his nose in confusion as he came to. "Where's Sam?"
"She's gone.", Chris replied. Derek's eyes widened as he looked at the older man. What the hell was happening...?
He remembered what he did. He remembered that she helped him.
After he and Chris talked, he left the apartments and called Peter.
His uncle answered after the first ring. "Peter, did you see Sam?", he asked.
Peter, who looked at Stiles, shook his head. "No, she was supposed to be with you, wasn't she?"
Peter's question caused everyone to look at him in confusion. "She was and then she left. A lot happened, but she left. I can't think of any place she could've gone.", Derek replied.
Stiles' eyes pooled with tears. This was all his fault. Lydia was gone and so was Sam. But he did what the Nogitsune said. Though... He did defy him as well. But how long was he gonna follow behind someone that wanted to cause harm to his life and everyone in it...?
