Chapter 07: Evolution
A couple of days later and Liam had been taken and left in a well and Scott was going out of his mind trying to locate him. He'd spent time with Argent doing just that and when he had located him, he had eventually called in Elizabeth when he'd heard his cry. Elizabeth was there when Scott managed to pull him out of the well, Scott didn't let Deaton take care of Liam he had to get Elizabeth to do the kick starting again.
"Scott, you can't save everyone...we can try but you know it might not be possible," Elizabeth told him as they stood in the clinic over Liam on the exam table. "Let me do this and then I need to go and do some research," Elizabeth said taking hold of Liam's hand and motioning for Scott to hold him in place.
At school the next day Scott, Stiles, Malia and Kira were taking their PSATs when a student near Malia and Stiles collapsed and Lydia's mother finds a rash on the student and Coach. Scott stood near the window and noticed that his Aunt had arrived with his father. Scott motioned towards the side of the school before he tried to contact her she was contacting him.
'Scott, I need you to listen to me if you feel yourself changing stay in the locker room. I'll find my way to you. I promise,' Elizabeth said quietly watching as Scott nodded before he disappeared from her sight. 'It's happening isn't it? Go now,'
"Ace, what are you doing?" Rafael questioned, looking at his younger sister as she stood away from everyone.
"Rafe, he's my nephew. And something is wrong...I can feel it," Elizabeth answered honestly looking up at her older brother. "I need to get in there, so let me." with that Elizabeth ran off she didn't care about what her brother had to say. Elizabeth slipped inside the High-school through one of the unguarded entrances and made her way to the locker room where Kira's father had found Scott. "Come 'ere kiddo,"
"Ace?" Scott muttered, before he told Kira's father to get Stiles. "You shouldn't be here,"
"Shh, I know. And I'm fine," Elizabeth held Scott and tried to force him to relax. "Your mom will know what to do...and your dad's probably going to kill me,"
"What did you feel?" Scott questioned Elizabeth as Stiles turned up and looked at her.
"How did you get here?" Stiles questioned, Elizabeth just smiled at him and continued to hold Scott.
"Help me get him up, and Scott. I don't know what I felt. It's weird," Elizabeth replied, as the two of them moved to stand up. "Take them to the Hale vault, there's a way in through the basement,"
Derek was at the hospital with Braeden who had been injured tracking down Satomi's pack when Melissa arrived telling him that there was someone that he was looking for. Melissa told him about Elizabeth being at the school with the kids having found her way in. Derek looked at Braeden and then Satomi and Melissa before going with Melissa and Satomi to the morgue where Deaton was waiting for them. Elizabeth sat on the floor of the vault with Malia in her arms as Scott had refused to sit still with her. Kira called out for Scott, as the three of them couldn't see. Elizabeth moved over to Kira and sat with her while Scott looked for the cure that Stiles was yelling about through the door.
Derek raced to the high school, he needed to make sure that they were okay. Derek opened the vault and raced down the stairs just as Scott broke the jar with the cure in it and released the spores. Derek pulled Elizabeth into his arms as Scott and Stiles went to Malia and Kira.
"You weren't infected were you?" Derek questioned, pulling away from her as she shook her head.
"No, I felt what was happening though," Elizabeth replied, pulling Derek into a hug again. "I'll work it out what's happening you know...at least I hope I will,"
The following day Scott, Stiles, Liam and Kira were standing in the dining room of the McCall house talking about a plan that they had. Elizabeth and Melissa didn't like the plan one bit, but knew for it to be believable they would both have to be truly upset. Derek was in his loft with Braeden, and trying to hide what was happening to him. He was hoping that Elizabeth would have an answer for him soon.
"You've lost everything?" Braeden questioned, Derek confirmed with her as Elizabeth sent him a text telling him that she'd heal him when she had a chance he was still technically a supernatural to her. "And Elizabeth?"
"What about her?" Derek questioned, pocketing his phone again as he looked at her. "She's my best-friend,"
"Is that all she is?" Braeden replied, she didn't want to step on any toes but she was falling for Derek as much as she hadn't wanted to admit it.
"That's all she is," he wasn't even sure that's all that they were.
Five days later and the teenagers were at their annual bonfire – Stiles and Lydia had been captured in Eichen house. Scott, Liam and Malia had ended feeling at though they were drunk although it wasn't possible for that to happen. Elizabeth could feel something happening while she was with Derek and like days earlier it was a feeling that she couldn't explain. The two of them raced to the high-school with Braeden. Derek and Braeden heading inside while Elizabeth found Mason and had him help her with disabling the DJ's music.
"Stay here," Elizabeth said before thinking better of it. "On second thoughts come with me," she laughed feeling the glares from the teenagers when the music had stopped.
"Who are you?" Mason questioned as he followed Elizabeth inside to where Derek and Braeden were with Scott, Liam and Malia.
"Scott's aunt," Elizabeth answered before she found Scott and hugged him not caring that she was going to end up covered in gasoline.
They discovered that reason for the dead-pool was Peter from when he was in the hospital covered in burns from the Hale House fire. Elizabeth had been with Lydia at the sheriff's station after Lydia and Stiles had been rescued by Parrish, and that was how they had discovered that it was Peter. Meredith another Banshee had shown them this after Peter had dug his claws into her neck to get to her memories.
Around a week later, Scott and Elizabeth were sitting having breakfast at his house when he felt the need to ask her a question. "Ace, can you help Liam? He seems I don't know unsure,"
"Maybe," Elizabeth replied as she had some of the coffee that was sitting in front of her. "I can sense it too,"
"You can? Wait is that how you used to know all about what I was feeling as a kid?" Scott was now curious about what his aunt could sense.
"Yeah, all those times that you were scared or unsure of something I could feel it. It wasn't the werewolf in me either," she laughed having another cup of coffee. "I'll talk to him,"
Elizabeth talked with Liam before the game that night, she found out that he was having nightmare's and hallucinations of the berserker's. Elizabeth had Liam take her hand so that she could show him that he'd be okay with Scott. Scott and Kira missed it due to being captured by Kate.
"Elizabeth was it? I need your help," Parrish had called her after talking with Lydia.
'Yeah, what can I help with?' Elizabeth questioned before she left the lacrosse field and headed to her car.
"Mr Argent is missing," Parrish said before adding that he had feeling he knew where he was.
'Give me five and I'll be there,' Elizabeth answered as she drove to him and found him waiting at the entrance of the sewers. "Hey, what is it? Wait never mind, Argent is...pinned to a wall,"
"He's what? Did you just say he was pinned to a wall?" Parrish questioned, Elizabeth nodded and the two of them walked down the sewer and came across the older man. "I know you somehow, not from the police station,"
"Yeah, long time ago," Elizabeth answered before she put her hand on Argent's shoulder. "Argent, do exactly what Parrish tell you," Together they managed to free Argent and Elizabeth kept lessening his pain. "Parrish, stay with Argent until you find my nephew...yes he's missing I can feel it,"
"We'll find Scott,"
Less then a few hours later Derek was dying in Mexico, and Elizabeth could feel it. Elizabeth had kept herself in Beacon Hills, to keep their parents safe and she didn't like it. Derek believed that he wouldn't be returning to Mexico, Elizabeth had worked out what was happening to Derek and she hadn't been able to tell him as they hadn't been left alone. Braeden was always with him. Elizabeth stood with Melissa and pulled out her phone, she needed to contact Derek. They had all been up against the berserker's and Kate and Peter's master plan had been to turn Scott into one. Scott had decided that keeping Elizabeth's secret from Stiles' father was the best thing until Stiles had reluctantly told him about it and told him to trust her.
"Derek, I know what's happening...I finally worked it out," Elizabeth said the instant that Derek answered his phone. "Derek, listen to me. You're evolving the loss of everything it's turning, changing...Kate unknowingly helped,"
'Are you sure?' Derek choked out before dropping his phone to his side and succumbing.
"Derek!" Elizabeth shouted through the phone.
'Elizabeth?' Braeden picked up Derek's phone, and looked at the name. "He's dead,"
"I know...but he's not," Elizabeth took a deep breath, attempting to composing herself before she continued. "He's evolving, trust me...everything he's been going through, I just worked it out, I promised him that I would,"
Braeden dropped Derek's phone and grabbed her gun joining in the fire fight that was going on to stop the Kate and the Berserker's from killing Derek's family and Elizabeth's. Braeden turned away from Derek, and when she looked back he was gone.
Meanwhile inside the church, Scott was fighting Peter having regained his self. Scott looked at Liam, who had stepped up to take on Peter, it was then that Scott continued his fight. Stiles had found Kira and she had told him what Kate had done to Scott. Stiles had screamed at them to stop, as it was Scott and they couldn't kill him. Malia, Kira and Stiles were flung across the room, before Scott had pinned Liam to the wall. It was Liam who got through to him echoing his words, telling Scott that he was like him, like his aunt. Peter still insisted and believed that he was an alpha, that both Scott and Elizabeth had taken it from him.
"Are you going to be alright with the full-moon?" Melissa questioned, looking at the younger woman and seeing wet patches forming on her shirt.
"I think so," Elizabeth replied looking back at Melissa, the older woman seeing the reason for the patches being that tears were rolling down her face. "But I don't know," Melissa pulled her into her arms to comfort her unsure of what she had just heard.
"Can you control it?" Melissa asked, Elizabeth nodded and her eyes flashing purple before fading again. Elizabeth crumpled to the floor before she heard her phone ring again. Melissa picked up the phone looking at the name flashing on the screen, it was Derek's, Melissa answered and pressed the phone to Elizabeth 's ear.
"Ellie, are you there?" Derek's voice rang out in her phone the second she answered. "I'm okay, you were right,"
'Derek, I'm sorry it took me so long,' Elizabeth said as Melissa pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.
"But you found out," Derek told her, pausing before he continued. "Just like you said you would, I trust you Ellie, I always will,"
'Stay safe Derek, please,' Elizabeth said the next part of her sentence quietly. 'It's working again, I can feel it,'
"I can too," Derek didn't have to say thank you to her, it was something unspoken between them. "Even though I evolved, I still feel what you do to help,"
'You always will,' Elizabeth told him, before she realised that he was trying to say good bye to her without actually saying it. 'It's not goodbye, it's see you later,' Elizabeth looked at Melissa, and let a single tear fall again. 'Der, please be careful,'
"Help Scott, he might need it," Derek took a breath before he continued. "And, Elizabeth I'm Sorry...see you later,"
Melissa looked at her, and pulled her closer as Elizabeth rested her head on her shoulder. Elizabeth and Melissa stayed that way until Scott turned up and saw them sitting in the same position. Scott saw the look on Elizabeth's face and realised that she had talked with Derek. Melissa motioned for her son to come to them as she knew how close they were.
"Scott, you're okay," Elizabeth mumbled, pulling Scott towards and then shoving him briefly towards his mother. "Hug your mother and then me,"
"He's okay Ace," Scott said hugging his mother before he hugged Elizabeth. "Walk with me?"
"He's gone isn't he?" Elizabeth questioned, wiping her eyes on Scott's shoulder, the teenager nodded hugging her tighter.
"He is, but he's searching for Malia's mother," Scott answered, as Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her nephew tighter than before. "You worked out why he was losing all his werewolf abilities didn't you?"
"He was evolving, his eyes being blue for so long, and then one day being yellow. The healing taking longer than usual, the last thing that Derek had told me before you had disappeared...his eyes were no longer changing and he'd lost all the strength he had," Elizabeth blurted out she had to tell him what she had found out, it had taken her weeks but she had done it. "I still have to help him though,"
"Wait so even with him evolving...you still need to keep his spine together?" Scott questioned as they ended up sitting in his room while his mother was downstairs. "He told me you were looking into it but so was Deaton, how did you work it out?"
"Yes, when he evolved...I felt myself subconsciously pulling him back together. Something his mother had told me," Elizabeth told him, before she found that Scott was holding her hand and starting to take on some of the emotional pain that she was feeling. "I was with your mom when I told him,"
"Wait, is that why you were both on the floor?" Scott looked at her, all she could do was nod. She didn't know what else to do. "Ace, he'll come back,"
"I know...It's just hard," Elizabeth said as she pulled her hand away from him. "I'm okay,"
Scott and Elizabeth sat in his room talking for a while longer before his aunt fell asleep on the bed and he went back downstairs to talk with his mother. Melissa looked at Scott wondering if he was going to tell her what was going on, and why Elizabeth was taking it so hard.
"Mom, she's been connected to Derek for a long time...since before I was born," Scott told her as they sat at the dinner table.
"Tell me everything, I don't care that your Aunt is like you. I need you to tell me everything," Melissa took Scott's hand in hers and shook it briefly as they laid on the table. "Scott, don't keep me in the dark,"
"Mom, from what she's told me. She became connected to Derek the day they met as kids...something like Stiles and I," Scott said, blinking as he realised what he had said. "Like Stiles and I, they're best-friends...she told me something and I promised her that I wouldn't tell anyone,"
"Scott, what did she make you promise?" Melissa questioned, watching as Scott turned his head to the side as though he was listening to something.
'Scott, don't...please...'
"Mom, I can't. I promised her that I wouldn't tell anyone," Scott said, looking at her with pleading eyes. He didn't want to tell his mother what Elizabeth had told him. "Mom, don't make me,"
"Scott," The tone in Melissa's voice said everything she didn't care what Elizabeth would do.
"Mom," Scott said again, before he heard Elizabeth's footsteps down the stairs.
"I've known Derek since I was five years old. Every full-moon since I was seven or eight years old was spent with his family. Derek's my anchor...he'll tell people that his anchor is his anger but I know that's not true," Elizabeth sat at the table and looked at Scott shrugging. "Couldn't sleep," Scott glared at her, they both needed it but he needed to talk to his mother.
Elizabeth returned the glare, her eyes flashing between red and purple/blue. Scott closed his eyes and glared back at her with red eyes. Melissa looked between the two and slammed her hand down on the table knocking them back to their senses.
"Knock it off, and tell me what's going on," Melissa said firmly as she looked between the two of them.
"This is one thing that I can't tell you, Melissa. I'm sorry," Elizabeth told her, looking directly at the older woman as she spoke. "I will tell you this, when he hurts, I hurt,"
"Does this have anything to do with your being a witch?" Melissa questioned, Elizabeth nodded putting her head in her hands. "Can you stop it?"
"No," Elizabeth said simply taking a deep breath as she did and saw the look that Scott was giving her.
"Scott,"
"Mom, don't make her," Scott said before Elizabeth noticed that his heart was beating faster.
"Scott, take a deep breath and calm down," Elizabeth muttered, watching as his nails started to become claws which was something Melissa noticed as well. "Use me,"
"What?" Scott looked up at his aunt and then across at his mother before looking down at his hand. Scott pushed away from the table and raced to the stairwell with Elizabeth following close behind him.
"Hey, look at me," Elizabeth put one hand to his face and grabbed one of his hands with her free hand. "Take a deep breath, and look at me. I know your mom said to use yourself as an anchor it doesn't look like that's working,"
Scott looked at his hands as his breathing got faster and so did his heartbeat. He didn't know what was going on, whether it was because hours earlier he had been a berserker? Or what it was. Elizabeth kept her hand on his, and made sure he was still looking at her.
"What do I use then?" Scott questioned, gripping her hand tighter and forcing himself to look at her his eyes changing.
"Use Stiles, use your mom, use me?" Elizabeth replied, glancing at her hand and then back at him as she listened to his heart beat. "Do you want to know why Derek's been mine for so long?" Scott's heart beat and breathing were slowly returning to normal and his claws going back to fingernails.
"Why?" Scott questioned, as his aunt dragged him around so that they were sitting on the steps.
"Because he's my best-friend, he tells me if he thinks I've done something totally stupid...the first time was when I moved away," Elizabeth answered, pausing as she looked at him and saw that his fingernails were fingernails. "He trust's me and I trust him, he may not always be smart but he knows when to protect someone,"
"Protect someone? Is that what he did when he turned Erica, Boyd and Isaac?" Scott was confused, Elizabeth rolled her eyes and shook her head at him.
"No that was pure stupidity because he wanted a pack...Isaac seems to be like you though for the most part," Elizabeth thought for a second, wrapping her arms around him. "Kiddo, no matter how many stupid things we do we're there for each other and that's why he's my anchor. Who did you decide on?"
Scott looked at Elizabeth for a second before he answered her. "You and mom," Scott smiled resting his head on her shoulder. "You're always there,"
"And we always will be," Melissa said as she had overheard them talking. "How did you know him being his own anchor wasn't working?"
"His heart was going erratic," Elizabeth answered, looking at Melissa as Scott hadn't moved his head from her shoulder. "And then his breathing started to get faster,"
"I'll stop asking you two questions, just promise me that you'll look after one another," Melissa smiled at them putting a hand on both of them.
"We already do mom," Scott answered placing his hand on hers before pulling her in for a hug. "She's not just my aunt, she's one of my best-friends,"
"Mel, I always have," Elizabeth smiled at her before she joined into the hug. "How can I not with this puppy dog face?"
"Did you just call my son a puppy dog?" Melissa questioned, raising an eyebrow at the two of them as she hugged them both.
"Yeah..." Elizabeth shrugged, Scott punched her in the arm before the three of them stood up. "I think...I might go away again for a while..."
"Don't, I still need you," Scott said as he took her hand making it clear that he didn't want his Aunt to go away again. "I need help with Liam,"
"You don't need my help kiddo," Elizabeth smiled at him as the three of them walked into the kitchen. "Trust yourself, he's more like you and Stiles than you think,"
Scott looked between his mother and his aunt, before he realised what Elizabeth had said it dawned on him that she wanted him to grow. He needed to work things out for himself without completely depending on someone else to tell him, though that was were Stiles had come in. Stiles the more independent almost wild child, getting into trouble more often than not.