My ears were ringing, but I heard muffled voices. Cries and screams. The distant static of a radio. I was crouched in the corner, using my body to shield Charlie. What happened was starting to scream it's way into my thoughts. There was a bomb in the Sheriff's office. It went off.

I remember seeing Derek tackle Chris as I turned and slammed into the corner the very second the bomb went off. I sat back, feeling debris fall off my shoulders and down my back. I plopped down on my butt on the ground. I pulled Charlie away from me and examined him.

He wasn't crying, he wasn't screaming. He was looking around the room with wild eyes. But he was fine. "Charlie," I said and he looked at me. "It's okay. You're fine." I ran my hand reassuringly down the back of his head. I got him to his feet and then made to stand.

"Kit?" it was Chris' voice.

"We're okay," I called back. I couldn't see him. Standing proved harder than I thought. My hand flew to my side as I stood, to feel the sharp pain that now plagued me. There was something in me. I got a grip on it and pulled it out, biting back a scream. It was a piece of wood. I tossed it to the side.

I took Charlie's hand and then turned around. Chris stood. "Derek." Derek was standing, but he was wobbling. Standing behind him I was able to see why. His back was full of glass shards. "Derek." Chris quickly caught him before he fell.

"I'm okay," Derek's words were barely audible. But he was not okay. "I'm okay."

"You saved my life," Chris told him. I walked up to them, putting a hand on Derek's arm. He was clearly in a lot of pain. He looked at me through barely open eyes.

"Charlie," he said.

"He's fine." My answer brought him visible relief.

"Kit," Chris said. "You're bleeding."

"I'll heal."

"You need to leave, get Charlie out of here."

But something in me wanted to stay. I didn't want to leave. I knew Chris was right. I need to go heal and get Charlie somewhere safe. But where is safe? Stiles took Charlie from my home. Who's to say he won't do it again? I looked at Chris. He seemed to see the hesitation on my face.

But it was Derek who spoke. "Go." I looked at him, slightly shocked. I can still be useful here. "Get Charlie home. Find Emma." I had almost forgotten about her. Six words I'll never say out loud. He looked me in the eyes. "Beckett, go." I nodded and I left.

Charlie and I went out to the truck. I got him in and then climbed in myself. But something was…weird. We were half way home when I realized what it was. It was another vision coming on. No, not now. Something must've triggered it. I drove faster, trying to get home before it took over.

I parked crooked in the driveway, and almost fell out of the truck. My head was growing fuzzy, my eyes were glowing. I got Charlie out of the truck and got to the house as fast as I could. I opened the door and fell inside, belly first. That did not feel good.

"Kit!" Hands were on me, rolling me over. I saw Emma's face but couldn't hear her words. Reality was fading out. I was losing my grip. But at least I knew that Charlie was safe. Emma's face vanished from site and I was no longer on the ground.

I was standing in a hallway. Somehow I knew it was the sheriff's station. I saw another me, her hand on a door knob as a floor board creaked. I froze, my head snapping up to see who caused it. All I saw was a shadow from a hallway a few feet away. But She knew who it was.

Quietly, and quickly, the other me opened the door and ran inside, shutting it just the same. I had followed her into the room. She turned around and saw what I saw; Stiles and Derek lying on the floor next to each other. Stiles looked extremely relieved. "Oh, thank goodness!"

The other me crossed the room. "Kanima got you?" I asked them both as I knelt down next to Derek. He clearly wasn't happy with his current situation. Kanima? Why did I come back here, to this?

"No, we're just lying here cause we want to," Stiles said sarcastically. The other me didn't reply to Stiles, but instead reached down and took Derek's hand. I closed my eyes and sighed, trying to relax. When I opened my eyes they glowed yellow.

"Oh, my-" Stiles said. I walked closer to the other me. She's the Kirin. What is she doing? She cocked her head to the side, like she was focusing on something. Suddenly her veins glowed the same yellow as her eyes. The color went down her arm and into Derek.

Then, massive gunfire filled the air, along with the breaking and shattering noises of the bullets ripping through things. I let go of Derek, my eyes turning back to normal. "Argent," I said and Derek nodded. He made to stand and the other me grabbed his arm to help him as Scott ran into the room.

"Sara?!" he said. Why is he still calling me that? Was this really that long ago?

"Get Stiles out of here," I told him as I steadied Derek. Then I looked at Derek. "You good?" It was two words, but they clearly meant more than that.

He nodded. "Thanks."

I saw Scott with Stiles draped over his arm. He was pretty much dragging him. After they'd left the room, another teenager appeared in the doorway. He was looking in the direction they had gone, his body half covered in scales. I'm going to assume that's the Kanima, Jackson. He only paused for a moment before he turned and followed Scott and Stiles.

"Go," Derek said. I looked back at the other me and Derek.

"What?"

"Leave me. Go after Jackson," he said. Why does this feel like déjà vu? Because he just told me this. That's what brought this on. It was Derek. Derek made me remember. The other me sighed and then walked over to a chair and sat Derek down. She paused and looked at him with questioning eyes.

The same way I looked at Derek today, I was looking at him then. Once again, we were at the sheriff's station and he was hurt somehow and he told me to go, to leave him. That's why I'm remembering this. Derek gave the other me a light shove. "Beckett, go."

(EMMA'S POV)

"Did you have any trouble with Ikeda?" Chris Argent's voice blared through the phone's speaker. I was at the vet clinic with Scott and Allison, Deaton behind the desk in front of us. I had come to talk to Deaton. But I happened to show up at the same time as Scott and Allison.

"Only minor," Deaton replied. "The white wolf was exactly where you said it would be. But, we have two problems now. First, the lichen is not a cure. It'll wear off in a matter of days." Scott told me that Deaton made some kind of potion that is keeping the Nogitsune at bay inside of Stiles.

Then he informed me that Stiles has checked himself into a mental institution. It's supposed to be a 72 hour thing, but it still sounds stupid. I guess if the serum wears off and Stiles decides to kill people it's better to have him in a place where, whoever he kills, their loss won't affect society too incredible bad.

"But while it does, the Oni won't go after Stiles, right?" Chris asked.

"I hope. Eichen House has an unusual history. It might not be all that safe for the Oni there as well."

"What's the second problem?"

"I checked with your contacts in Japan. The Yakuza boss you saw killed by the Oni never found the scroll," Deaton said.

"What scroll?" Scott asked.

"A Shugendo Scroll. The Shugendo were the ascetic mystics of Japan."

Then Chris spoke. "The scroll had information on how to exorcise a Nogitsune."

"So we need to find that scroll," Scott said.

Deaton nodded. "Exactly. And I did get a name of the man who last purchased it. Kincaid."

"He was with Katashi," Allison said. The man who Stiles framed Derek and Chris for killing. I found out that juicy bit, too. "He's the guy who met with Isaac to buy the gun." I'm only understanding half of what they're saying.

"Sounds like Katashi wanted the scroll for himself."

"But Stilinski already told me nothing like it was found among his things," Chris said. "And a paranoid like Katashi would keep it close. Probably on him at all times."

"What does a Shugendo Scroll look like?" Allison asked. Deaton then stood and walked over to a drawer. A second later he was pulling a scroll out of it.

He gave it to Allison. "Something like this."

She looked it over. "Do these come in different sizes?"

"Any size."

"Then I think I know where it might be."

"Great," I said. Everyone looked at me. Probably because I haven't said a word. "But we have a third problem. And it's the reason why I came."

Scott looked worried. "What is it?"

"It's Kit," I said in an exhale. "Something's wrong with her."

"What do you mean?"

"Okay, calm down." I held up my hands to ward off the coming comments about why I didn't say something sooner.

"Emma," Deaton said and I looked at him. "What happened?"

"And," Scott looked at me again. "Come to think of it, where were you? She thought you were missing."

"That's another story for another day," I said. "But I wish I would've been here." That last part was for Scott's benefit. But I meant it. "I got back late, last night. Just a little while before she came home after what had happened at the police station. I was standing in the living room when the front door opened. Kit literally fell through the door. I quickly ran to her and saw that she was bleeding, and I thought that was the problem, that she just needed to heal. But I was wrong.

"Her eyes started glowing and she wasn't responding to anything I was saying. She wasn't even responding to pain." I sighed. "So I figured she was having another flashback. Something probably triggered it. I was going to wait it out. But it never stopped."

"What do you mean?" Deaton asked.

"She's still in the flashback as we speak. It's been almost twenty four hours."

"Is she healing?" Chris asked.

"She wasn't at first. But I took some of her pain and that seemed to jump start things." I was more frustrated than I thought. I looked at Deaton. "This is the part where you fix this."

"Matters of the mind," Deaton began, "are much more complicated-"

"Than removing a Nogitsune from a 17 year old boy?" I huffed. "I'm open to suggestions, here."

He seemed to be deep in thought. So I tried to keep my mouth shut and let him come up with a way to fix her. "We need to figure out what triggered her flashback in the first place. You said she was at the station when the bomb went off?" That last part seemed more directed toward Chris.

He promptly answered. "Yeah, she and Charlie. After the bomb went off, we all got to our feet. Besides the wound to her side she seemed fine."

"Did you talk to her?" I asked him. "It seems all her flashbacks are triggered by words."

"I asked if she was okay and told her to go home." There was a pause. "Derek talked to her."

"Was he the last person to talk to her?" Deaton asked.

"I think so," Chris said.

"Do you remember what he said?"

"He told her to take Charlie home and to find Emma. But she didn't seem like she wanted to go."

"Then why did she?" I asked. There was another pause.

"He looked at her and said 'Beckett, go'. She left right after that, without another word."

"Then that must be it," Deaton said. "What do we know about Kit's other flashbacks?" Everyone looked at me. I sighed.

"Well, Blair's grave took her back to when Blair died," I thought aloud. "Scott's roar took her to when she first ever heard him roar. But that same time she had another vision. This one was of her and Aaron in their room talking about Peter and Lydia. She told me she had another one at the black light party."

"She did?" Scott asked. Both him and Allison unaware of this.

"Yeah. She said that, in it, you guys were at Derek's planning to break into a vault."

"When we were going to rescue Boyd and Erica," Scott said. "But we ended up finding Boyd, Cora, and Blair."

Deaton looked at me. "What brought that one on?"

"She said that she was trying to picture what his loft looked like without the lights and the music," I said.

"She was trying to remember," Chris said, and I almost forgot about him.

I nodded. "Another time, she went to the warehouse where you guys have her car. She got in the front seat of it. Touching the wheel caused her to flash back to a time when she was dropping Aaron off at the high school. After he got out of the car, she saw Tobias standing in the parking lot."

"That must have been shortly after he arrived in town," Deaton said.

I went on. "And then there was Stiles' text, the night he went missing. She told me that while she and Derek were searching the high school, that he took her to the pool in hopes of her remembering. She told him that she didn't remember anything, but she told me that she did remember bits and pieces. She remembers pulling Derek and Stiles out of the pool and fighting the Kanima." I paused. "Anyone? Now's a perfect time for ideas."

"All of the other times, she woke herself."

"Yeah, but it's never been this long. Her eyes are still glowing and her claws are out."

"Just like when she was in the woods," Allison said, "with Stiles and Lydia."

Deaton looked ready for a lecture. "It seems some of her flashbacks she's able to come out of on her own. But the longer the flashback, the more she needs help. After Scott's roar, her second flashback was of her and Aaron talking about Lydia and Peter. While, at the same time, Stiles and Lydia were trying to shake her out of it. The flashback she had at Derek's loft during the party, Aaron was with her in the flashback and in person.

"At the high school when she and Derek were at the pool, same thing. She was flashing back to him and Stiles in the water, but she was only getting pieces because Derek was there."

"Pulling her back," I said. "How do we pull her out now? There's no way we can know what she's seeing."

"No. But you can influence it."

"Care to elaborate?"

Deaton smiled. "When we're dreaming, if a television is left on, it can influence the person's dreams. Like how if your smoke alarm is going off, you might hear it in your dream."

"Okay," I sighed. "But that doesn't explain why this one is lasting so long."

"When she first got to the station," Chris said, "Kit said that the night before, Stiles broke into her house and drugged her, so he could take Charlie."

"Drugged her? With what?" Scott asked.

"I don't know. She said it was some kind of wolf's bane."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a baggie with the rag I had found. I recognized the smell as poisonous and bagged it to get it away from me. I gave it to Deaton. "Here. This must be what he used. I found it at the house." Deaton took it and opened the baggie, smelling it's contents.

"This one's rare," he said. "And powerful. This could be what's trapping her in her mind."

"Can you reverse it's effects?" I asked.

"I'm afraid not. This one she has to fight on her own."

"What happens if she loses?" Scott asked.

He sighed. "If she doesn't pull herself out soon, all the memories will be too much for her brain to handle."

"What are you saying?"

"If Kit doesn't wake up in the next twenty four hours, she never will."

(KIT'S POV)

"You sure you're okay?" I knew the man before me and the other me was Ben. I wasn't sure how, though. But he was my father; the man I thought was my uncle.

The other me sighed. "Okay as I'll ever be." He poured a cup of coffee.

"It's been a while since you've stayed with me. I forgot about the screaming," he turned around and faced me. "I might need to sound proof your room." What is he talking about?

"Someone call the cops again?"

"Almost." He took a sip of his cup. "But it's fine. Nothing I can't handle." I glanced around before looking at him. "You're sure you'll be fine? I can take the day off."

"No!" I put my hands out in front of me, motioning for him to stop. "That's completely unnecessary. Really, Ben. I'm an adult and have been on my own for years."

"That's what concerns me."

I glared at him. "If this is going to be a problem, I can find somewhere else to stay."

It was quiet a second as he stared at me. "Yeah, but you won't." He sat his cup down and then left the room. The other me smiled, following him to the front door. "So. What do I call you this time?" He put his jacket on, giving me a knowing look. I crossed my arms.

"Sara," I said. "Sara Grant. Same story as always. I'm the niece who's crashing here a few days and then I'm gone."

"Yeah, but is it really going to be a few days?"

"Maybe. I have a new case."

"That what the thing in the kitchen was about?" he asked. I simply nodded. "Well. Stay as long as you'd like. Let me know if there's anything I can do."

"Actually. There is one thing. Are you still friends with the Sheriff?"

"Yeah, Noah and I go way back. Why?"

"What do you know about his son?"

"Too much to go into right now," he sighed, grabbing his bag off the stairs.

"That bad, huh?"

"Why?" he suddenly looked concerned. "Does Stiles have something to do with your new case?" What case?

"A little. I just need to know about his friend."

"Scott? He's a good kid." He walked to the door. "I'm going to be late."

"Yeah, okay."

"I'll see you tonight." He turned back and looked at me. "Right?" I quickly nodded and then he was gone. It was just me and her standing in the house. One I don't recognize, but clearly should know. I only know that's Ben from photos Aaron has shown me. But the other me didn't move. In fact, it seemed like she was frozen. Like the flashback had stopped, but instead of me waking up, I'm left here.

"Hello, Kit." I knew the voice before I saw the face. Because the voice was mine. I turned around, and there I was. The room around us faded to a solid white and we were all that was left. I wasn't sure what to say. I was looking at myself and she was staring right back.

Her hair was the same as mine. But her eyes were heavy, worn. She wore dark jeans that nearly covered her black, thick boots. She wore a grey shirt that was loose, but not too loose. I looked her over before landing on her face. I was just too stunned to speak instantly. No one's ever talked to me in one of these.

"Yes," she said. "I am you."

"How…?"

"I believe you mean when. When am I?" she corrected. "I'm the version of you who fought Tobias. The version of you who was the Kirin."

"Why-why are you here…in my head?"

"Our head," she corrected again. "This is where you'd ask how. And, before you ask if I'm real…the answer is yes. I'm as real as you."

"How are you in my head?"

"When you touched the Nemeton you gave me access to your brain, your memories."

"But nothing happened."

"I'm not talking about when you were in the woods with Aaron. I'm talking about when you were fighting Tobias and you touched the Nemeton. I took back what was mine, coping your subconscious, along with the other versions of me."

"You're the Nemeton?" I asked, more confused than I was.

"No, Kit. I am the Kirin."

(EMMA'S POV)

I walked the isle, jail bars on my left. I stopped in between Derek's and Chris' cells, since they had them separated. Both boys looked shocked to see me. In fact, this is the last thing I wanted to be doing right now. After our conversation with Deaton last night, I'm sure Chris told Derek everything.

Or he overheard it. But I got the sense that Derek being locked up while Kit was possibly dying wasn't such a good idea. I'm only here to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. So far, I don't think he has. "You two look pathetic," I said as both boys stood.

Derek shot me a glance that said I was the one who was pathetic. And, yes, I am. I sighed. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood." I put my hands on the bars and used them to hold me up. I was starting to wear baggy clothes. It might just be my imagination, but I feel like the whole world can see my stomach. "I'm at my wit's end."

"How's Kit?" Derek asked. I only looked at him for a second, before I huffed and dropped my head. If I stared at his face much longer I might cry. He was showing way too much pain. Too much for me to take.

"Same," I said. "I've tried everything." I didn't want my voice to sound helpless, but I didn't have a choice in the matter.

"How much more time does she have?"

"Deaton thinks about four hours. Maybe more." I looked up at him. "I think I came here as an excuse to leave the house."

"How did you even get in here?" Chris asked.

"Sweet talked the deputy," I tossed my thumb over my shoulder, at the door out of here. "He's also watching Charlie. Again. So I guess I better leave." I pushed off the bars. I turned around to leave, only taking a few steps before I stopped. My mind was suddenly thinking. I thought I was done with that business.

I turned around and looked at Derek. "Why do we call her Kit?" I know it's out there. I could tell by the strange looks they gave me. "I'm serious. Was that her idea?"

Chris shrugged. "When she first told me about who she was, Kit was all she'd tell me."

"She told me Kit was a nickname," Derek said. "Something her friends called her."

I stepped toward him. "Right, but you called her Beckett. Why?"

He sighed through his nose, clearly annoyed with my questions. "I don't know." His eyes looked around the room. "I call her that when I'm serious about what I'm saying." He looked at me. "Or when I'm telling her I love her."

"How often do you say it?"

"I don't know. Not very often. Why?"

I felt on the verge of something. I tried to calm down since he was getting annoyed with me. "When was the last time you called her that?"

He thought for a minute. "The night of the eclipse. We were at my loft."

"Were you alone?"

"No. Peter and Cora were trying to get me to leave town. I had just given up being an Alpha and Kali was coming after me. Kit showed up with Lydia, Aaron, and Ethan to warn me about Kali. When I asked for Kit's input, I called her Beckett."

"Why?"

He sighed through his nose again, rolled his eyes. "Because I wanted her to know I was serious. That I'd listen to what she had to say."

I thought for a minute. "What about the first time you called her Beckett?"

"It was…" he sighed, thinking. "The night we got stuck in the sheriff's station with Matt and Jackson."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but go on."

"Just before I went to the station, she told me what her real name was and about her other pack. It was also the night that Lydia used me to bring back Peter," he said. "She showed up at the station after I did. Stiles and I were both paralyzed by Jackson. Somehow she sped up the healing process, made the venom leave my body faster. But we were interrupted when the Argents showed up."

I couldn't help but notice the change in his tone, that subtle jab. My eyes shifted to Chris. He looked away, clearly annoyed by Derek's tone. I looked back at Derek as he continued. "I wasn't ready to face Jackson yet, so I told her to go." He paused, and got a look like he was kicking himself for doing something.

"What?"

"I said, 'Beckett, go,'" he said. "That's the same thing I told her the other night."

"Under the same circumstances," I said, piecing it together. I knew Derek must have triggered Kit's flashback but I didn't know to what extent. Both times he said it they were at the sheriff's station, under pressure, other people were in danger, in one there was gunfire and in the other an explosion.

And both times Derek was not near a hundred percent, both times she came to his aid, and both times he told her to go. He told her to leave him in the name of helping someone else. That wasn't just a trigger word. It was more than that. Like when Stiles sent her that text.

He knew just what to say. And it got her involved. And what she remembered caused Derek to probe for more, to make him want her to remember. Now the two are on awkward terms. Stiles is trying to drive a wedge between Kit and her friends. Between Kit and Derek. And now he's threatening her life.

But, wait. The Nogitsune feeds off of strife. And that's what's happening. That's what she's caused by all of this. Two people seem to hold everyone together, that's Stiles and Kit. Kit was gone after the Nemeton turned back on, leaving Stiles the prime target.

"It's a trick." The words were out of my mouth before I knew it. I looked at Chris and Derek. They were both waiting for me to elaborate. "Kit's not dying, Stiles just wants us to think she is."

(KIT'S POV)

"What do you mean you're the Kirin?" I asked. "I thought I was."

"You were my host, one of many," she replied.

"Then what are you?"

"I am the Kirin."

I sighed. "No. What are you physically? Are you some kind of spirit?"

"If that is the term you are most comfortable with, yes."

"And what if it's not."

"Without me inside of you, your brain lacks the knowledge and the capacity to understand the complexity that is the reality of my existence."

"What?"

"My point exactly."

"Okay." I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "I thought this was a flashback, not a meet and greet."

"It was a flashback. In fact, you had a few of them. But that is not all that this is," she said. "Stiles chose the wolf's bane he did for a reason."

"Wait. How do you know Stiles?"

"I know all of them. Through you."

"Because you were living in me for…?"

"183 years. Yes."

I sighed. "They said that the Kirin was gone. As long as the Nemeton's on there can't be a Kirin because it doesn't need one."

"While Scott and Stiles are correct, they are also wrong."

"How?"

"Because you saved me."

"I saved you?" I scoffed. "Oh, this just keeps getting better."

"The night you fought Tobias, the night of the eclipse-"

"The night I don't remember," I added.

"-before the moon had fully risen, you injected yourself with Kirin's bane," she said. "The mixture made you as you were born, a tiger. It separated you from me. By doing this, when the Nemeton took you and it's powers, it left me. The serum masked my presence and I was able hide deep within your subconscious."

I stared at her blankly. It sounds crazy. Can I really trust this? "You've been with me the whole time?"

"Yes."

"Then why am I not the Kirin? Why don't I remember?"

"When the Nemeton took away my powers that included the ability to share with you our memories." She was very matter of fact. Like a creepy robot. "I am sorry for the inconvenience my actions have caused."

"No, you can't apologize."

"If you are having trouble believing me, you should know that Kit did."

"Did what?"

"Believe me."

"She knew you? The old me knew about you? How?"

"She did not know of my existence until the Nemeton took back it's powers. If you recall, your body had vanished for a month."

"Yes…? I suppose you know where I was."

"You were with me," she said.

"Okay." This is crazy. I give up. "Why are you here?"

"Because you are in danger."

"Danger? How?"

"The Nogitsune within Stiles gave you this form of wolf's bane in the hopes that you would meet a painful death."

"Oh," I said, sarcastically. "Thank you for that."

"You are welcome," she smiled and I sighed. "In order to ensure your survival, I separated your subconscious from your body, trapping you within your mind."

"What?!"

"Don't worry. It's not permanent."

"I need to leave," I said.

"You can't."

"Why?"

"Because the toxin is still in your body."

"Then make it leave."

"I can't," she said.

I groaned. "Can't or won't?"

"Can't."

"Then how do I get home?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Home?" she repeated.

"Yes. In Beacon Hills."

She straightened. "Beacon Hills is not your home. Derek Hale is."

"What?" I asked.

"You okay?" the question echoed in the room. I didn't know where it was coming from, but I knew it was Derek's voice.

"It's not my home," that voice was me. "You are."

I looked at the other me, the Kirin. "You got that from one conversation? How can a person be your home?" She opened her mouth and I held up my hand. "You know what? Don't answer that."

"It is that same connection that you shared with Derek that has allowed me to save you," she said. "Had you not had a flashback when you did, I wouldn't have been able to save you."

I eyed her skeptically. "You're the one causing the flashbacks." She nodded. "What is it going to take to get you out of my head?!"

"It's simple, Kit," she said. "All you have to do is remember me."

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: the flashback scenes are from Chapter 21: Round Two; of Guardian: Trust the Instinct (Bk 2), Chapter 1: Sara Grant; of Guardian (Teen Wolf FanFic), the first book in the series, and Chapter 12: Home Pt2; of Guardian: This Might Hurt (Bk 3a)