If You're Going Through Hell
A/N: Hi everyone. I did a bit of editing to the chapters I've posted so far. Nothing major, just a few grammar fixes here and there, though apparently ffnet thinks I've added about a thousand words to the story. If you happen to catch anything repeated, missing, etc., please let me know. Thank you again to everyone sticking with me on this journey! Oh, and just a heads up, this chapter gets a little gruesome towards the end.
Chapter 17: Song of the Redeemed
Derek, Scott, Stiles, Nolan, Brett, Lori, Isaac, Jackson, and Noshiko were momentarily struck blind once more by the flash of light that came from the opened door. They felt themselves being thrust forward, as though the ground beneath them had tilted, all landing with a crash in a row of seats. As they regained their senses, they realized that they were in an old movie theater, apparently long since abandoned if the layer of dust coating the entire room was anything to go by. They were alone, save for one other person sitting near the front of the auditorium, eyes fixed on the screen. Aiden didn't notice their sudden appearance, apparently remaining entranced by the images flashing by above him. The Pack took a moment to watch as well. Playing out like some sort of movie were scenes from Aiden's life – combining with his brother to form a giant wolf to attack Isaac and Braeden, going to school and messing with Scott and his Pack, fighting alongside Deucalion and the Alphas, fighting against the Alphas and nearly dying, clinging to Ethan as they realized they were now Omegas and fearing what the future would bring, working to try to earn a place in the McCall Pack, going to Derek for advice, fighting alongside Derek against the Oni, dying in his brother's arms. When the movie reached its conclusion, it switched to scenes from what must have been Aiden's childhood, his earliest memories, before continuing on through the familiar scenes that Scott and the others had been witness to.
"Well, we're not going to accomplish anything watching Aiden's 'It's a Wonderful Life' remake," Stiles said, finally breaking the silence after they'd watched the entire thing play through again. "Come on Sourwolf, we're going to need you to get through to him." Stiles didn't wait for a response, half-dragging Derek out of his seat and into the dusty aisle to walk down towards the row Aiden was sitting in. Scott quickly followed after them, while most of the rest of the Pack spread out instinctively, eyes darting around the theater for hidden enemies. Jackson alone remained seated in the back row, grabbing Isaac's arm and pulling him back down when the younger wolf tried to get up and join the others.
"Is everything ok Jackson?" Isaac asked, hesitantly glancing over his friend. Jackson was sweating, odd since the theater was rather cold. He was also shaking slightly, obviously nervous or worried about something.
"What if…how…what do I say to him?" Jackson finally asked, looking up to meet Isaac's gaze, eyes a whirlwind of emotion.
"What do you…oh," Isaac began, understanding dawning on him in the process. "You've never met your boyfriend's twin brother before, and you're afraid he won't like you."
"Ethan's told me all about him," Jackson said quietly, breaking the eye contact to instead stare at his hands clasped in his lap. "It was hard, at first. Both for him to talk about and for me to listen to, but I think once he started he couldn't stop. I feel like I know Aiden already, but he won't know me. And, from what Ethan told me, I don't think Aiden would want to know me. I don't…I don't want to make Ethan choose between me and his brother. That wouldn't be fair to him. And besides, I'm pretty sure I already know what choice he would make anyway. He can replace a boyfriend; he can't replace a twin brother."
"Jackson, you sound like you've already given up before you've even tried. That's not like you at all," Isaac replied, equally quietly, eyes darting around the room for inspiration. "Why are you so certain that Aiden isn't going to like you?"
"I brought his brother back to Beacon Hills and got him killed, for starters," Jackson answered tonelessly.
"Oh really? You what, chained him up and dragged him back to Beacon Hills against his will? Pulled the trigger on the gun with wolfsbane bullets? Really, Jackson?" Isaac asked, incredulous.
"I might as well have!" Jackson retorted, voice and temper rising. "He wouldn't have been there if I hadn't insisted we come back to try to find out what was going on!"
"That's weak Jackson. Like, really weak. And you know it," Isaac said with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Maybe. I just…I don't want to be alone again. I don't want to lose you, or Ethan, or any of the rest of our Pack again," Jackson said quietly, the fight almost visibly leaving his body. "I'm afraid."
Isaac stared open-mouthed at the older wolf for a moment, unsure how to respond. "Jackson," he finally began, "that's not going to happen. We're putting the Pack back together. We're all going to be together, for the very first time. You, me, Ethan, Aiden, Scott, Stiles…everyone. You're not going to lose anything here, I promise. I won't let that happen."
"You won't?" Jackson asked, looking up with an expression that was somehow both hopeful and doubtful at the same time.
"I promise," Isaac said again, more forcefully, as he wrapped his friend up in a tentative embrace. Jackson sighed, leaning into the touch and accepting the comfort from his packmate.
"Ok," he said as they drew apart and stood up. "I believe you." With that, they slowly moved to join the others, taking in the change in their surroundings. The movie of Aiden's life had stopped playing, the screen going blank. Derek, Aiden, Scott, and Stiles were locked in a rather intense looking discussion. Before they could determine what was going on, though, the room was filled with blinding light once more, and Jackson and Isaac joined the rest of the Pack in cascading backwards.
-o-
"We have to get out of here, before they start investigating," Mason whispered to Corey, voice barely noticeable even though they stood right next to one another. Corey nodded next to him, not daring to make any noise in response. Mason slung Nolan's backpack over his shoulder, securing it in place before ever so slowly pushing the door separating the kitchen and monitor room ajar. Corey peeked through the opening before pushing it slightly wider, noting that the two men were staring intently at the computer monitors and had their backs to the invisible boys. Once the door was open far enough, Corey and Mason squeezed through, silently pushing it back closed in the hopes that it would go unnoticed.
"There!" the second man exclaimed suddenly, drawing the first's attention to a monitor on the far right of the wall. Corey and Mason went rigid, holding their breath as they watched the two men with fear.
"What am I supposed to be seeing?" the first man asked grumpily, turning to his companion.
"Wait for it," the second replied. Another brief moment passed before he shouted again in triumph. "Did you see it? Just after the grenades went off, the door to the shed opened by itself." Corey and Mason could feel the blood draining from their faces as they stared at one another in horror. They were on the verge of being caught. Silently, they began to make their way towards the staircase that would lead them back outside.
"So what?" the first man asked, still unaware of the teens' presence. "It could 'ave been shook open by the explosions. There ain't no one there to open it."
"Exactly," the second man answered, face glowing with a look that said he had discovered something amazing. "Don't you remember? McCall had a freak in his pack that could make himself invisible. That one's dead, of course, but that doesn't mean he's the only one that could have that ability." Corey winced terribly at the statement, but slowly continued creeping forward anyway.
"So ya think there's some supernatural creature in here with us?" the first said, jumping to his feet and running to a control panel without waiting for a response. "Then why in tarnation are ya just standin' there? We gotta get this place in lockdown. Now!"
"Right, of course, my mistake," the second man replied, also jumping to his feet and breezing through a door into a room the hidden teens hadn't explored, coming within inches of running straight into them in the process. Mason pointed towards the stairs with his head, urging his boyfriend to move faster. Corey nodded, leading the way quickly, but quietly, up the stairs. They made it about halfway when the second man shouted towards the first from his spot in the other room.
"Scans are showing two other lifeforms here in the outpost! Quick, they're on the stairs leading outside!" Corey and Mason didn't wait to hear what happened next. Still cloaked in invisibility, they dashed up the stairs as fast as they could, barreling through the door at the top and out into the clearing. It was sheer pandemonium outside. Hunters were scattered everywhere, some on patrol, some setting up a perimeter, some talking in hushed tones, and all eyes darting around with suspicion, especially when they heard the door to the outpost bang open. Corey and Mason didn't stop, making a beeline straight for the trees and the relative safety they knew lay beyond.
"Attention! Attention!" the first man's voice called out, amplified throughout the clearing. "We have two unknown supernaturals inside the perimeter. This is not a drill! They are invisible and dangerous. We are going into lockdown immediately. Everyone to your stations, now! Secure the post and find those creatures!" The hunters began darting around the area before the speech had been completed. An alarm began to ring through the clearing as the man's voice cut out. Everything was in chaos. Mason and Corey bumped into several people, no longer concerned about anything other than putting as much distance as possible between them and the outpost. Shouts and cries echoed all around them as the hunters called out to one another orders, locations, or announcements that the invisible creatures were nearby.
Luck was on the teens' side. They made it into the trees, beyond the clearing just moments before an electric fence popped out of the ground, separating the outpost from the rest of the world. They kept going, though, terrified that they might still be caught or that their identity might be discovered. They ran for close to half a mile through the dense underbrush before Mason was too winded to continue and urged Corey to slow down and finally stop near a tall tree so they could catch their breath.
"I think…we made…it," he said, huffing slightly between words as he tried to get air into his lungs and his heartrate to descend. Corey shook his head slightly.
"We have to make it back to the Nemeton. That's the only place we know for sure where we will be safe," he said, slightly impatiently, his voice trembling in fear.
"You're right," Mason replied, finally drawing in full breaths and straightening back up. "But let's walk quietly, we don't want to accidentally lead the hunters there." Corey nodded, focusing on his hearing as much as possible to make sure there wasn't anyone else nearby before leading the way stealthily through the brush in the direction of the Nemeton. The first rays of sunlight began to appear through the canopy above them, alerting them to the fact that they had now been gone for several hours. Wordlessly, they continued forward, hoping with every fiber of being they had that they would make it back without being caught.
-o-
Stiles led Derek down the aisle toward the lone twin, his whole body radiating purpose. Scott quickly followed behind them, prepared to help if need be while most of the rest of the Pack silently spread out, offering a protective barrier. They could hear Jackson and Isaac in conversation still in the back row, but the three pack leaders knew it was a conversation they both needed and quickly tuned it out to give them some privacy.
"Stiles, do you have any idea of what I should say to get through to him," Derek asked, trying to hide the nervousness that nevertheless crept into his voice.
"I'm not sure. So far, everything has been about remembering what's happened and focusing on our identities as pack. That worked with Scott, Isaac, Brett, Lori, and Jackson. Hopefully it will work with Aiden too."
"But I don't really know that much about him. How am I supposed to do that?" was Derek's quick reply.
"Ummm," Stiles began, before being cut off.
"You don't have to remind me of anything, I know who I am," the lone twin's voice rang out, startling the three packmates who had made it down to his row and stood in the aisle next to him.
"You do?" Scott asked, gathering his composure first as Stiles scrutinized the wolf.
"I do," Aiden said simply, tearing his gaze away from the screen in front of him to make eye contact with his intruders. As he did, the screen went black. He glanced back at it briefly, a flash of disappointment crossing his face, before giving the others his full attention. "What do you want?" he asked cautiously, torn between putting up his guard or welcoming them. He finally settled into a somewhat neutral position, allowing them to move into the seats near him while still keeping a bit of distance.
"What do you remember?" Derek asked.
"Everything that was up there," Aiden replied, pointing towards the screen. "You've been here long enough to see it all, so you already know the answer to that question."
"Ok," Scott said slowly, not wanting to agitate the wolf in front of him. "Do you know where we are now?"
"In the world of the dead," Aiden answered immediately, not blinking or seemingly fazed at all by the pronouncement. "Where I've been for years, I think."
"How did you end up here? Not here, as in the world of the dead, but here here, in this room specifically," Stiles asked.
"I was just wandering around the tunnels," Aiden began, again torn between sharing his story with them and wanting to return to being alone. "I found this room by accident, and when I sat down it began to show me my memories. I guess I kind of got absorbed into it. I've left a couple of times to wander around some more, but I keep coming back here."
"How come?" Derek interjected.
"Because…" for a moment it looked like the wolf wasn't going to respond, before finally letting out a heavy sigh and collapsing into his seat. "Because it's the only way I can see my brother again."
"Oh," Scott replied. His face had indecision written all over it, something Aiden quickly picked up on.
"No!" he half-shouted, expression flying through emotions – fear, anger, pain, sadness. "My brother is not dead. Ethan is stronger than that!"
"Aiden," Derek said quietly, focusing on his bond with the younger wolf, trying to channel the truth into him through their connection. "I'm sorry. We tried. But Ethan was killed. Everyone was, the entire pack."
"No," Aiden said again, much more forcefully. "That can't be true. I don't believe you!"
"Aiden, please, let us explain," Derek begged, still trying to get the young wolf to calm down. He refused at first, continuing to insist that there was no way his brother could be dead already, it was much too soon. But eventually, he gave in and allowed the three to tell their story, explaining everything that had happened from the time Aiden died up to their adventures in Limbo and purpose in finding their packmates.
"So you're looking for Ethan, right? You're going to send him back to the real world, let him live again?" Aiden asked cautiously, not daring to hope too much.
"Well, yeah," Stiles replied, thrown off by the question. "We've got, like, a dozen people we're looking for. But Ethan is definitely one of them."
"Good," Aiden said, tone resolute and calm for the first time in the entire conversation. "Then I will help you find him. I want him to live again and have a chance at a better life."
"That's good," Derek said slowly, concerned by the twin's answer. "But what about you? Don't you want to live too? Don't you want to come back with us, with Ethan?"
Aiden looked lost at the question, as though he hadn't even considered it. "I can't," he finally said, simply, failing to hide the pain in his words or the lone tear that trailed down his cheek.
"Why not?" Scott asked, inching forward to try to comfort the wolf but afraid it would not be accepted.
"I'm not…well, I'm not one of you, one of your Pack," Aiden mumbled, staring at the ground in front of him and struggling to keep his emotions in check. "And after everything I did, I know there's no way I can be. But that doesn't matter to me," he continued on, quickly regaining his resolve, eyes darting up to meet Scott's. "Ethan was always the better of the two of us. He deserves to have a Pack, and I want him to be happy. Thank you for accepting him."
"Aiden, we want to accept you too," Scott said, tone quiet but firm nonetheless. Aiden was shocked, taking a step back as though Scott had assaulted him. He remained quiet though, allowing the Alpha to continue. "The only reason you don't have Pack bonds with us is because you were…taken…before we could form them. You are a part of our Pack."
"You're already bonded with me," Derek continued, picking up where Scott left off. "I know you felt it too, when it finished forming during our battle with the Oni. We," he gestured between himself and Aiden, "are pack."
"And besides," Stiles picked up, "we already have a marker set up for you in the real world and everything. Lydia will be pretty disappointed if she went through all the work of drawing those runes and you don't show up." Something flashed across Stiles' face as he said it, unreadable to the wolves, but it quickly dissipated. Derek continued to scrutinize him for just a moment anyway.
"Well…I don't know what to say…I never thought, after everything with Deucalion, that I'd get the chance to be a part of a pack again…especially not a pack like yours," Aiden said, staring directly at Scott.
"Everyone deserves a second chance," Scott replied, simply.
"Thank you…Scott, for everything," Aiden said, just before the room was flooded with blinding light and all of its occupants were sent cascading backwards. As the group pulled themselves back together, they found they were once again in the Portcullis.
"Is that going to happen every time?" Nolan asked.
"It's kind of looking that way," Brett replied, clearly annoyed.
"Um…hi," Jackson said, walking up to Aiden after being half-pushed a little too enthusiastically by Isaac.
"Hi," Aiden said back, looking him up and down.
"So…you don't know me, because, well, you died before we could meet, which I'm sorry about by the way, I should have been there to help and I wasn't, but anyways I wanted to introduce myself to you properly because I've heard a lot about you and I thought it would be a good idea to, you know…" Jackson rambled before trailing off, looking down at his feet as he scuffed his shoes against the dirt floor. Aiden continued to stare at the wolf for a moment before the lightbulb almost visibly went on inside his head.
"You're with Ethan," he said, a smug look on his face.
"Well, I, um, yeah, I am," Jackson stumbled, going red in the face. "We've been dating for awhile now."
"Good."
"Good?"
"Good," Aiden repeated, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding his head for emphasis. "I'm glad Ethan found someone and didn't just wallow after I died. Especially since that someone is part of Scott McCall's pack."
"Oh," Jackson said, at a loss for words. A sly, happy grin slowly came over his expression.
"But, we got to get two things clear," Aiden added, instantly wiping the happy expression from Jackson's face, to be replaced by one tinged by fear. "First, if you hurt him in any way, any way, I will destroy you." Jackson gulped but nodded his head in understanding, taking a step back. "And second," Aiden continued, a grin of his own forming, "he's gay, but I'm not, so before you ask, no, we cannot do stuff together." Several of the pack members laughed at the pronouncement. Jackson's face turned beet red, followed quickly by his ears, neck, and even the visible portions of his arms. Finally, Stiles took mercy on him.
"Alright, so, now that we've got that settled," he said, winking suggestively at the two as the others calmed down and focused their attention on him, "how about we get back to our search?"
"Everyone ready?" Scott asked, turning to each of them for confirmation before walking up to the nearest door to start the process once more. Once again, a face slowly emerged from the wood grain.
"Oh look, a bunch of kids off on some adventure," the face said with a deep voice, yawning as it did so. "I suppose you want my help." It paused, waiting until Scott nodded before proceeding. "Well, then, here it is. What matters most is the heart, without it we die a thousand times over. Beyond my door lies one who knows that well, one who has twice had a change of heart, though one is not like the other. If you wish to proceed, my door must be opened by the one whose own heart changed the day the other's heart proved true. Good luck."
"What kind of riddle is that? It didn't even rhyme!" Brett said exasperatedly, flopping down to sit on the ground in a huff.
"Riddles don't have to rhyme," Stiles replied, "but I agree that this one is a little out there."
"Let's break it down in pieces, like before," Noshiko said, voice calm and contemplative. "What do we know?"
"Well," piped up Nolan, "we know that it has something to do with hearts."
"No duh," Aiden interjected sarcastically, deflating some of Nolan's enthusiasm.
"I wasn't finished," he said, trudging on after a quick glance from Stiles. "The person we are looking for has had a change of heart twice. And the person who opens the door has also had a change of heart."
"Guys, I think it's…" Scott began before Stiles and Isaac interrupted him.
"It's not Allison!" they said in unison.
"We have a similar problem to the last riddle," Derek added before any of them could continue. "The Pack is made up of a lot of people who've had a change of heart. So how do we narrow it down?"
"It wasn't just a change of heart, though," Jackson mused, "the door said the person had changed their heart twice."
"But in different ways," Nolan added, "one is not like the other."
"Whatever that means," Brett said from his spot on the floor. Several of the others slowly joined him, sitting in a loose circle as they tried to think through the riddle and occasionally offering ideas on who it could be.
"Maybe Deucalion? He was sort of good, I guess, before he went crazy, then he was kind of good again," Scott threw out to the group at large.
"No way, Deucalion is part of your pack?" Aiden asked incredulously, turning from Scott to Stiles to Derek to Isaac as though hoping one of them would correct him.
"Well, yeah. Like I said, everyone deserves a second chance," Scott replied with a shrug.
"And, he was surprisingly helpful during the Anuk-Ite attack," Stiles replied, before turning to Scott also, "but I don't think its him. Like Nolan said, the riddle made a point of saying that the two changes of heart are different, and Deucalion simply had the same change of heart in reverse."
"Ok, then how about Chris Argent?" Scott continued.
"He really only had one change of heart," Derek answered, "he went from agreeing with Gerard to agreeing with us. No, letting you date Allison doesn't count as a change of heart." Derek finished exasperatedly, putting a stop to Scott's puppy dog eyes.
"Ok, then I have a kind of stupid question," Isaac interjected. He waited until Scott gestured for him to continue. "How can a person have two different kinds of change of heart? Like, what's the criteria here?"
"Well, there's the obvious one…good to evil or evil to good," Lori said.
"And you can literally change someone's heart, replacing it with a different one," Aiden added. When he did, Scott and Stiles both went rigid. "What," Aiden asked, confused by their reaction.
"You don't think?" Scott asked, turning to his best friend.
"Theo," Stiles said, nodding his head vigorously as the gears in his brain whirled into action, getting more excited with each sentence. "It all fits. Theo was obsessed with hearts, it's what mattered most to him. He had a literal change of heart when we were kids and the Dread Doctors put his sister's heart in him, and then he had a metaphorical change of heart when he joined our side. And the whole die a thousand times over part, that's what happened to him when he was sent to the Underworld and his sister kept ripping his, or rather her, heart out of his chest." By this point he had jumped to his feet, pacing slightly as the others rose to join him.
"So, then, if it is Theo, who is supposed to open the door?" Derek asked, quelling some of the excitement. Everyone turned silent for a few moments.
"Me," Nolan eventually replied quietly, fidgeting as all eyes turned to him. He looked up, making eye contact with Stiles as he continued. "It was back during the Anuk-Ite incident. I wasn't comfortable with what Monroe was doing for awhile, but I was too afraid to do anything. But I eventually decided I had to switch sides. The day I did, Theo and Liam and I ended up working together to fight Monroe's hunters in the hospital. And, at the end of the battle, Theo took Gabe's pain away as he was dying. It was the first time he'd ever done it, it proved he had changed."
"That works for me," Stiles said happily, slinging his arm across Nolan's shoulder as they both turned to Scott.
"Me too," Scott added, grinning as well. "Everyone else?" he asked, turning to get confirmation from the rest of the Pack members present. They all agreed, nodding or giving a thumbs up. "Alright, Nolan, go open the door for us."
Nolan gulped, then nodded his head before slowly walking up to the door, towing Stiles along with him by the arm still slung across his shoulder. As he approached, the face reemerged on the door. "Have an answer?" it asked with another yawn, eyeing Nolan up and down. Nolan nodded again, half-afraid to speak. "Then let's get this over with. I trust you know what to do."
Nolan hesitated slightly, almost visibly gathering up his courage before stepping forward the rest of the way, grasping the doorknob, and calling out in a slightly shaky voice, "Theo Raeken." He slowly pushed the door open, allowing the room to be bathed in blinding light as the Pack felt themselves catapulting forward once again.
The light dissipated, leaving the Pack standing in a tightknit group in a very dimly lit room. The room reeked of chemicals, almost too much to take for the werewolves. As their eyes began to adjust to the dark, they began to take in the rest of their surroundings – chairs and small end tables scattered about, a large reception desk in the front of the room, doors and hallways leading in multiple directions. They were still getting their bearings when a low whisper echoed through the hallways, seemingly coming from everywhere at once. "Theeeeoooooooo," the voice hissed through the air. Just then, Theo himself burst through a door leading into the room they were gathered in.
"No, Tara! Stop, please! At least give me a chance to…whoa, what are you guys doing here?" Theo stopped abruptly, shocked by the sudden appearance of the ten Packmates. They didn't have a chance to reply, though. Theo had barely gotten the words out when a hand burst through his chest from behind, clutching his still beating heart. Theo looked down at the hand in acceptance, as though he'd been expecting it. The hand withdrew, pulled backwards through his chest and body, and Theo collapsed to the floor, blood pooling out around him. Behind him stood his sister, Tara, a gaping hole in her own chest, where she casually placed the heart and wiped some blood off of her hand onto her shirt. As she did, Theo's body faded into the ground.
"Theo!" Scott called out, trying to reach for the young man before he disappeared completely, but he was too late.
"What…the hell…is going on here?" Stiles asked through gritted teeth, turning his attention to Tara.
"It's Theo's punishment, for what he did to me," she said simply, shrugging her shoulders at him as she turned to walk away. "Stick around and watch if you like, I'll make the next one more interesting." With that, she too vanished. A moment later, the wolves heard the distinct sound of a door opening somewhere further in the hospital and everyone heard the drawn out whispered "Theo" echoing through the halls.
"Tara please! Just let me expl…" Theo was cut off as he was forced through another door, flying through the air to land in a heap at the other end of the room. Several of the pack members rushed towards him, but before they could reach him Tara had appeared, waving a bone saw wildly through the air. The Pack was frozen in place as she used it to hack through her brother's ribcage, relishing in his sobs and pleas as she pulled his heart out once again. As before, he lasted only briefly before vanishing from sight.
"Tara, wait!" Scott called out as she made to leave again.
"Why? Why did you come here?" she retorted, immediately standing directly in front of them.
"You don't know the full story," Scott replied calmly, unshaken by her menacing expression.
"My own brother left me for dead, just so he could steal my heart for himself! What more do I need to know?" she shouted, waving the heart in his face.
"You need to know what he did with it," Nolan said quietly, catching her off guard. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized him. In the distance, they could here the tell-tale signs of Theo once more making his way towards them through the hallways, but this time Tara didn't call for him or chase after him. She was intrigued.
"Fine then," she said disdainfully, "enlighten me on what a saintly life my brother led after killing me." Several of the Pack members took turns walking her through the Dread Doctors' experiments and manipulations, how Theo was killed the first time and brought back to life. By this time Theo himself had appeared in the room, listening quietly to them tell his story. They went on to talk about the Ghostriders, how Theo had begun to change and help them. They told her about the Anuk-Ite, and Nolan told her how completely Theo had come full circle, how he had helped his dying friend and how much that had meant for him in his own attempts to become a better person. When he had finished, she whipped around to stare at her brother, who backed away in fear. "Is this true?" she demanded, stalking up to him.
"Yes," he answered, hanging his head. "All of it, the good and the bad. Tara," he looked back up, meeting her eyes, "I am so, so sorry for what I did to you. I know there's no way I can ever make it up or make it right. But I have changed, and with my…Pack's help, I became a better person, someone you can, maybe, be proud of."
Tara eyed him for a moment before turning back to the others. "Tell me what happened after that night in the hospital. What did my supposedly reformed brother do next?" And so they continued their story, telling her about how Theo had slowly become integrated into the Pack, how he had helped them through their continued battles with Monroe, and how he had ultimately died again, sacrificing himself while trying to save one of their friends.
"Tara," Stiles finished, "I won't lie to you. Theo has done a lot of bad, and he's made a lot of mistakes along the way. But, like a buddy of mine always says," he glanced at Scott with a grin, "everybody deserves a second chance. I was skeptical at the beginning, but I saw firsthand that Theo used his second chance to do good, to help."
"And now we need him to do it again, to help again," Scott added. "Can you find it in you to let him have that chance?"
Tara stared at Scott for a long time, coming closer to staring through him than anything. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed, she turned rapidly and thrust her hand into Theo's chest, yanking the heart out once again. Theo remained standing, gasping for air as his eyes darted between the hole in his chest and the heart in Tara's hand. "This belongs to me," she said, reaching her other hand out to tilt Theo's face up to make eye contact. "I can feel it beating, so I will know if you are lying. Tell me, Theo, are you really sorry for what you did to me?"
Theo's entire face took on a pained expression as he stuttered out an answer. "Yes, there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about that night. And, ever since I became friends with these guys, there hasn't been a day go by that I didn't regret what I did. I wish I could go back and undo it all, I wish I could do something to make it up to you. I'm just…I'm really, truly, sorry."
Tara remained contemplative, allowing the room to descend into silence as she turned and walked away from Theo, completely focused on the heart beating in her hand. "I loved you, Theo," she finally said, voice barely more than a whisper. "Do you know that? I loved you more than life itself. If you had asked, I would have given you this heart willingly, so that you could go on living." Both she and her brother had tears streaming down their faces as she took a few steps closer. "If I let you leave here and go with your friends, will you be a better person? Do you promise to do good?"
"You…you have my word, I will always try to…I will always try to be like you," he answered with a small, sad smile.
"Ok," she said, a note of resolution to her tone. She paused again, steeling herself for what she had to say. "Ok. Then…I will give this back to you, willingly. Take my heart, and use it to make the world a better place." Before anyone could say anything, she once more thrust her hand into Theo's chest. This time, though, she placed the beating heart inside and allowed it to remain. When she removed her hand, the spot on Theo's chest returned to normal, unblemished; and, a moment later, so did the wound in her own chest. For the first time in ten years, the brother and sister clung to one another in a fierce, loving hug. They wept openly, Theo muttering, "I'm sorry," over and over again while Tara whispered, "I love you," back just as many times.
Eventually, the two pulled away from one another, and as they did, Tara closed her eyes and tilted her head upwards as though listening to something. "I think…I can finally rest in peace," she said, turning her attention to her brother one more time, giving a soft smile to him as her body began to fade. "Take care of yourself, little brother. And make me proud."
"I will," he whispered back as she disappeared completely. The room was silent for a moment longer, before a blinding flash of light filled the air and the eleven people present all cascaded back towards a familiar room that now contained three wooden doors.