I do not own Teen Wolf.
Stiles didn't sleep much, even though he knew that was sort of the whole point of him being there. He'd already had an evaluation done by the doctor with his dad present and he nodded his agreement when they mentioned running some tests.
He wasn't stupid. He knew it had nothing to do with worrying about what he might have run into out in the woods, like toxicity from breathing in so much of the repellent, or anything to do with the hypothermia. It was how he got out there. They wanted to evaluate his mental state.
Based on the guilt on his dad's face, he had a feeling he and Melissa had been talking about it before. She likely filled him in on what he had come in for the other day when she put him to sleep for a few hours.
Stiles couldn't look at his dad as he agreed, too afraid to read his expression, to see the deep fear that he knew must be there. That he might have to repeat what he went through with his wife with his only son.
He faked needing more sleep after the conversation, so his dad would leave to get some paperwork signed and busy himself with coffee and talking to Melissa and maybe even go home for a bit to get a shower or something.
In truth, he just lied on his side facing away from the door, trying to remember the night before and what happened in his dream. He felt like he discovered something, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe it was just that he was actually crazy.
A sharp intake of breath in the doorway caught his attention and he rolled over to see Scott standing there.
He sat up immediately at the expression on his face, and he knew it was more than exhaustion that caused moisture to easily fill his eyes.
The look on Scott's face confirmed it all—he had really scared him. And that was saying a lot. Scott had thrown down with alpha werewolf packs, Gerard Argent, kanimas, Peter Hale, and Deucalion of all things, and he barely batted an eyelash. But the fear on his face now? There was no denying that Stiles had terrified him last night. That Scott was beside himself with worry.
Scott was crossing the room and throwing his arms around his best friend before Stiles could open his mouth to apologize, and he squeezed him so tightly, Stiles' breath actually caught in his throat a little.
He forgot sometimes that Scott was stronger than the average human, a hell of a lot stronger actually, because Scott was nothing if not extremely gentle whenever around people and especially him. But he could feel him hugging him tighter than normal and it made his tears slip out against their will.
Scott buried his face in his neck, breathing his scent in as if trying to determine just how okay he was, but it was Stiles who could practically smell the terror on him. It broke his heart he had done this to his best friend, even if he didn't remember most of it.
"I'm so sorry."
Scott pulled away, shaking his head. "It's okay, as long as you're okay."
Stiles met his gaze, eyes softening. "I'm not entirely sure."
Scott didn't waver their locked eyes and swallowed.
"Do you remember anything?" he asked instead, perching himself on the edge of the bed.
Stiles shook his head. "Bits and pieces. But nothing substantial. Dad told me some of the stuff I said to you but none of it really clicks or sparks any memory. I'm sorry I put so much pressure on you to find me. That wasn't fair."
Scott shook his head. "No, I'm grateful you trusted me. I still failed in the end. We all were out looking for you, everyone, but my dad ended up being the one to save the day. How's that for a plot twist?" he tried to joke.
Stiles smiled only slightly, but it was forced.
"When can we spring you from here?"
"I'm not sure. They want to run tests all day, so maybe tonight?"
"I've got to go to school, but I've only got two classes. I can come back later? Be here while they're running tests?"
Stiles looked at him, chewing on his lip.
"You don't have to."
Scott knew him too well. "I'll be back once my last class finishes. Promise."
Stiles nodded, smiling for real this time, grateful. "Thanks, Scottie."
He smiled back broadly. "All right, I'll let you sleep. I'm glad you're okay."
Stiles didn't bother to correct him as he gave him one last quick hug and let him go.
Scott snagged Lydia when she was staring off into space out of the window outside of her chemistry lab.
"Lydia?"
She jolted like she was electrocuted.
She had left her lab early due to having a bad headache. Or at least, that's what she thought. It was as if every single tinkle of glass stirrer hitting beaker echoed, every pen drop made her jump, and she slipped out of the room before her professor could notice.
And now Scott had nearly made her jump out of her skin, and he wasn't oblivious.
"Sorry. You okay?"
Lydia nodded quickly. "Yeah, sorry, just… thinking. I'm a little oversensitive to sounds today. How's it going?"
"Good. I'm done classes for the day. I was going to head over to the hospital. They're running tests on Stiles all afternoon but he should be discharged some time tonight. Did you want to come with me?"
A classroom door closing made her jerk spastically.
"Uh, I should probably just go home."
She didn't want to tell him Scott the truth. That she was putting off seeing Stiles. That she was embarrassed, no mortified, of her epic fail at finding him. Plus her slowly growing confidence in her abilities had now completely shattered. She couldn't face Stiles after his grand declaration of him believing in her that one night with Barrow. In reality, she was new at this, she had no idea what she was doing, and, if anything, she was just getting in the way.
Plus, with her extenuating hearing, it was probably best she didn't go to a hospital full of beeping and machinery.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Lydia nodded. "I'm fine. I'll text you later." she murmured, pulling away to head to her car. She had to get out of there.
Stiles practically tuned out the doctor's warnings before the MRI, his mind muddled with so much more than what was going on.
He nodded along, answered the questions, promised the natural noises from the machine wouldn't bother him, and forced a smile at his father when he promised that he and Melissa would be right outside the room.
And then it was just him and Scott.
It was quiet between them for a moment before Stiles spoke, knowing he probably already knew even if they hadn't said it in so many words that morning.
"You know what they're looking for right?" Scott didn't answer, but he knew he was listening. "It's called frontotemporal 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."
Scott wiped the moisture that slipped from his eye as subtly as he could.
"Stiles, if you have it, we'll do something…"
Their eyes met for a long moment.
"I'll do something."
Stiles looked up at him at that, lip beginning to tremble. Scott had never promised that. Stiles had never asked for it, never wanted it, and even now, he didn't. He saw the life that came with it. Maybe his wouldn't have the same weight like Scott's, but it was more than fighting off supernatural creatures and the call of the moon. It was the lying, the keeping secrets, the pretending to be normal when you were nothing but.
The fact that Scott would turn him to save his life, knowing full well what it entailed, meant he couldn't handle losing him. That he wouldn't. And that gave Stiles hope. Hope that he wasn't the monster he feared he might be becoming.
Both of their eyes were wet when he crashed into a hug with Scott, still sitting on the edge of the MRI table, squeezing his best-friend-turned-brother to him tightly and burying his tears in his shoulder to hide them from the watching parents behind the glass.
Scott was the most important person in the world to him. The one person he couldn't live without. Sometimes it was nice to be reminded that the feeling was mutual, even if he felt like he didn't deserve it.
Scott eventually pulled away, tears littering his face too, and he corrected his throat.
"I'll be in the hall, okay? We'll… go get some food after this or something, okay? Like real food."
Stiles smiled. "Sounds good."
Scott patted him on the shoulder and left the room, so Stiles moved back into the machine as instructed.
The doctor talked to him through a microphone inside the machine, but he still felt more alone than ever.
He was told he'd need to be still for approximately forty-five minutes. Quite a long time for an ADHD teenager.
Time passed slowly, the clanging sound becoming too much after a while. Maybe he should have accepted the earplugs or headphones.
His mind wouldn't stop racing. What if they found the disease like his mom? He was young, but it wasn't the kind of thing you'd forget. The paranoia. The panic. The constant fear. He felt that these days more than ever. Did that really mean…?
Maybe it was all in his head, these nightmares he had. He barely remembered them, just enough to remember there was a man taunting him in them. No details. It was exhausting trying to rack his brain to remember, to no avail.
Stiles closed his eyes tightly, trying to keep his emotions in check. He wouldn't know anything until the scan came out. He couldn't panic.
"Have you figured out my riddle yet?"
An all too familiar menacing voice.
Stiles opened his eyes, to find himself standing away from the machine, all else foggy. He could see his dad and Melissa and the doctor beyond the glass, but there was a strange glow around the room.
Like a dream.
He was dreaming, right? He must have fallen asleep.
The bandaged man was moving around the room, standing in front of the window now.
"If you answer correctly, we might consider letting them go."
Stiles was confused. "Letting who go?"
The bandaged man grinned with metallic teeth and turned towards the glass. "Your friends. Your family. Everyone who ever meant something to you. We're going to destroy all of them, Stiles. One by one."
He remembered everything now. It seemed when he was dreaming, his memory of what had been going on returned. This dark deity was trying to possess him. Had already done so. It was just a matter of time before he took over completely. And apparently his plan was worse than Stiles thought.
He couldn't help his tears from falling. His family, his friends, they may never know it wasn't really him. They might think he went crazy and did it all. They were all in danger, and he had no way to warn them. "Why?"
"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. What is it?"
He remembered the question before. He still didn't know the answer. "I don't know."
"Everyone has it but no one can lose it. What is it?"
"I don't know." Stiles replied louder, moving away as he started unraveling his bandages.
"EVERYONE HAS IT, BUT NO ONE CAN LOSE IT. WHAT IS IT?!"
Stiles covered his ears, tears spilling as he turned away from the monster, wanting to wake up. Trying to get out.
He could hear the movement behind him, the sound of the bandages hitting the floor. He was unravelling them. Stiles didn't want to see his face, not sure what kind of distortion would be there.
"What is it, Stiles?" the voice asked, calmer and normal now.
The riddle still played in his head. And then it clicked.
He swallowed as he opened his eyes and straightened up, turning around.
"A shadow."
The last bandage across his face was removed, and Stiles found himself staring into his own face.
"Let me in."
"N-no. Stay away from me."
"It's too late, Stiles. Haven't you figured it out?"
"No. NO."
"Let me in. Let me in. It's been me all along. Let me in."
"No, I won't!"
"Let me in, Stiles."
The next thing he saw was the inside of the MRI machine. He was back.
But his head moved slowly, taking in the surroundings… without his consent.
What… what the hell was…?
The lights suddenly went out, each light along the machine one by one, and his body whisked itself away before he could stop it.
"Wait… wait, my dad…"
Nothing answered him.
The lights came back on, like a power surge, but shortly after all went out completely.
His body moved to the hospital room he had been in before and started getting dressed in the dark while the people in the hospital frantically ran around.
"Stop, stop, stop." he begged internally, but nothing.
He tried moving his arms, legs, even a finger, but nothing was working. He was fully paralyzed. Only able to watch from his own eyes.
Once his sneakers were tied, his body strolled casually through the hospital. He came to a stop when the elevator opened at the end of the hall to reveal Noshiko Yukimura.
"Kira's mom? Why are we—" Stiles asked the controller of his body, but of course, no answer.
He walked to meet her.
"You know me." she said to him, and even though Stiles didn't fully understand, another part of his body seemed to. He felt it straighten and then nod once, as if in understanding. "Then you remember that I won't be deterred by your choice of host. Even if it is an innocent boy."
"Are you threatening us?" his voice asked, aloud, but with more control and conviction than he'd ever heard come out of his mouth before.
Like out of smoke, two Oni warriors appeared behind her. "Now I'm threatening you."
"We're not really afraid of your little fireflies." Stiles' voice said, a tinge of amusement beneath the cold tone. Stiles suddenly remembered killing one in his hand days before. Or rather, watching his body do so for him.
He began walking away.
"If the Oni can't defeat you, I know someone who will." Noshiko promised.
Stiles didn't like the sound of any of it.
But, though he tried, no one seemed to be able to hear his screams.
Lydia sat in her car across town, trying to drown out the sound of the clanging that had been going on in her head for hours. No matter how loud she cranked the music, she could still hear it at the back of her head, like she was hearing it separately from what her regular hearing was taking in. She had already taken pain killers and no relief.
She didn't know what was going on with her. If this was her supernatural power, how useful could it really be? It lead her nowhere the night before, just delayed them from really finding Stiles, and for all she knew she got the Sheriff in trouble for investigating somewhere without concrete evidence.
She wished she could go with Scott to the hospital, see Stiles, but she was too humiliated. She didn't want to be around anyone.
Scott was a good friend, a great friend actually. He was what Stiles needed at the hospital while they ran tests. Not her. Not someone who was too selfish and proud to be around him.
She knew Stiles had been having a hard time. She knew he had been sleepwalking. Why hadn't she said something to someone else? She knew she wanted Stiles to be able to confide in her, but maybe if she had said something to Scott or somebody else, they could have prevented him from getting so lost in the first place. Like, stationed someone outside his house to keep lookout? Rotate nights? His dad worked nights—he couldn't always keep him safe.
Lydia sighed. Punishing herself for the past wasn't really helping her headache any.
And if Stiles was sick, well, it was inevitable, right?
She couldn't imagine it though. Sweet, funny, kind-hearted and playful Stiles, a crazy person? She'd seen her share of crazy. She didn't want him to be thrown in that character, it wasn't right. There was something more going on. Something… bigger. She knew that. She knew that deep in her bones. And she really didn't think it had anything to do with her feelings for him.
Allison, Scott and Stiles had all had their share of Bardo symptoms. This had to just be some sort of weird manifestation of that. After all that she had learned about the supernatural, she had to believe that. The others had stopped… so why didn't Stiles'?
Lydia was so caught up in her thoughts, she startled when a voice sounded, like it was living in the back of her head.
"Let me in. Let me in."
It had a threatening, scratchy quality to it. Like it was… from another world. A demon. Lydia had seen enough movies to know what the bad guys sounded like.
But there was something that sparked her attention with this voice in particular. She had heard it before. She knew she had.
She replayed the words. It clicked. She'd heard it one night in Stiles' room, when they were studying that time.
"Let me in, Stiles."
Stiles? She… The voice, in Stiles' room… it wasn't speaking to her…
Stiles hadn't been himself, had been blacking out and having memory lapses, sleepwalking, being scared that something was really wrong…
Ever since they came back to Beacon Hills, she'd felt nervous around him… she felt like there was something to fear… but he also made her feel safe… she thought her powers were just false, but it was something she couldn't shake… almost as if some part of him was something to fear…
She opened her mouth and let out an almighty scream as she finally understood what had been happening all along.
Lydia drove to the hospital, knowing she had to tell Scott what was really going on with Stiles. Plus, she knew what she was feeling was tied to there for more than one reason. Something bad was going to happen.
Sure enough, she pulled in to the parking lot to see chaos ensuing.
She braked hard, eyes wide as she watched a long cable with sparks flying from the end come flying off the roof towards an ambulance driving to the entrance.
It swerved out of the way, but hit a fire hydrant, and water spewed from the broken mechanism like an overenthusiastic fountain.
Water quickly flooded the parking lot, and the ambulance driver stepped out of the van, rubbing his head.
Lydia felt the scream in her throat before his foot hit the water, but he went down almost instantly, spasms flitting through his body from the electrocuted water.
"Get back! Everyone get back!" Kira screamed.
What was she doing there?
Still, a couple people didn't understand and got out of their vehicles, collapsing as the electricity overloaded their bodies.
Lydia saw in horror as Allison moved towards one of the fallen, but the water was quickly reaching where she and Isaac were. Her mouth couldn't form the warning in time, and she was too far away, but Isaac got there first.
"Allison, no!" he said, throwing an arm out and pushing her back.
She fell back onto the grass, but the water still came, and down Isaac went.
"Isaac!" Allison shouted as he seized in the water, helpless.
One car nearly hit Kira, but she climbed over it like some sort of ninja, doing a flip off the end and grasping the flying wire.
She covered her hand over the sparking end as if it was nothing and closed her eyes in concentration as she seemed to seal the electricity inside.
When her eyes opened, they glowed orange, and Lydia finally saw the kitsune within.
Lydia's eyes scanned the rest of the scene, hoping no one else saw Kira's little magic trick. It would be hard to explain.
A flood of people came out of the hospital, Derek and Scott in tow. They ran towards them as Lydia did the same, Kira heading over as soon as she saw them collecting.
"Are you guys okay?" he asked the three girls.
Allison nodded quickly but clearly was distressed.
"Scott, Stiles—" Lydia began, but Derek interrupted from a few feet away.
"He's not breathing. SCOTT! He's not breathing!"
Isaac was lying in the water, unmoving.
"No." Allison whispered as Scott ran over.
Lydia swallowed as Kira looked just as scared as she felt. Hospital staff were starting to pour from inside, coming to assist as professional help arrived from all sides.
"I thought… I thought werewolves had healing powers?" Lydia asked, feeling dumb.
"Depends on the level of damage. Certain voltages of electricity can stop their ability to shift and cut off some of their other abilities. Werewolves… they can still die." Kira answered quietly, rubbing Allison's arm when she saw the tears in her eyes.
They watched Isaac get put on a gurney and wheeled inside. Already, electrical burns were formed over a good portion of one side of his body. It didn't look good.
"Come on. We should all go inside. Talk as a pack." Allison said stoutly, wiping her face and putting her chin up as she led the way.
Derek directed them into a private empty hospital room so they could talk privately. Scott wasn't with him.
"When Stiles was sleepwalking, his jeep ended up here, so Scott and I checked out everywhere we could think of. That included the roof." Derek began.
"You said chemo-signals on the roof indicated some sort of struggle?" Allison remembered the text she received.
Derek nodded. "We didn't know what that meant before. Now we think we do. We went up to check, right before everything went down. Scott thinks Stiles was trying to protect us, trying not to do something. That he was at war with himself… at war with something in him."
"So, Stiles caused the electrical accident?" Kira asked.
"Sort of." Derek said. "The wire was cut when we went up there and there were tools that could have done a lot of damage. The whole electrical box exploded and the wire got loose. He was at the hospital all day. Even if it wasn't from the other night, maybe he'd been up there before his MRI. And because of what we discovered at the substation that night with Barrow…"
"Wait, what do you mean?" Allison asked.
Kira grimaced. "I took Derek there earlier, to go over everything that happened that night. We found Stiles' bat magnetized to one of the power devices. It was magnetized so strongly Derek had to use full werewolf strength to get it off. Because of the electric outbreak then, and my foxfire abilities being so… unrefined, we think it jumpstarted what's going on with Stiles. That that level of voltage has something to do with helping it gain power."
"You mean him being possessed?" Lydia finally said.
Allison looked shocked, while the other two looked at her in surprise, clearly not expecting her to know.
"Look, I don't know how I know, but I've known something isn't right with him, and he's known it too. He's been jumpier than ever, paranoid, having blackouts… He wanted to get
checked out for psychiatric attention. He wanted to be sure it wasn't supernatural, but I think deep down he knew something bigger was happening. And tonight… I heard words I had heard before… this time with his name. The voice was saying 'let me in'."
"Stiles… Stiles is the nogitsune? The dark fox spirit the Oni have been hell bent on finding?" Allison asked.
"Think about it, Allison. He's the only one of us that hasn't been checked."
"He wasn't? Not even at… oh."
"So what now?" Kira piped up.
"Now we have to find out how the hell to get the nogitsune the hell out of him." Allison said determinedly.
"I don't imagine that's going to be easy."
"Nothing we do ever seems to be."
Derek sighed. "Well, we're going to have to find him first. Two people saw Stiles' jeep leave the hospital."
"What about Isaac? Is he going to be okay?" Kira asked worriedly.
"They won't tell us anything. We tried to tell them he doesn't have any family left." Allison explained.
"He doesn't?" Lydia asked, that piece of trivia unbeknownst to her.
"He has us." Derek said, a touch of aggression to it as he moved towards the nurse's station.
Two days passed.
No sign of Stiles. Isaac wasn't doing much better. They had no better clue how to get the nogitsune out of Stiles than they did before. Things were looking pretty dreary all around.
Lydia looked up as Scott came out of Isaac's hospital room, wincing, eyes squinted as if in pain.
"I took some of his pain. As much as I could handle. He's in a lot of it, but hopefully it helps. It won't heal him, but… it's the best we can do for now."
Allison linked an arm with him, pressing a grateful kiss to his shoulder. "I wish we could do more."
"Right now, the medical staff here can help him more than we can, and hopefully they will be able to get him to a point where he can heal again." Scott said firmly, but Lydia could tell he was more worried than he was letting on. She had a feeling Scott was used to being the eternal optimist of the group. As a leader, he sort of had to be.
She wondered how exhausting that got to be after a while.
"No word about Stiles yet?" Lydia asked.
"None. The Sheriff got a text from him that said he was fine and not to look for him. That he'd be back. But who knows who really composed that text." Scott said.
Allison sent him a serious look. "We have to tell Stilinski what's really wrong with Stiles."
"You sound like Derek." he mumbled.
"Well Derek has a point. His dad thinks Stiles has dementia and freaked out and ran away. Even your mom this morning said if anyone was going to be missing for two days and come back just fine, it would be Stiles. But Stiles isn't Stiles right now."
"Those scans showed he does have frontotemperal dementia." Scott reminded her, although even he didn't look fully convinced. Maybe it was just denial for coping purposes.
"But who knows if those are even real? If this 'trickster' spirit really is inside Stiles, who's to say it couldn't do something that messed up?"
"Okay. Well. We'll have to meet up with everyone later to further talk about stuff. We have to get to school."
Lydia didn't know how she was going to concentrate on classes. She had been trying to throw her all into them the last couple days, keep busy, but with Stiles missing from the seat next to her in a few of them, it was hard to keep her mind from straying before long.
She was grateful when she made it to lunch time. It meant she could meet up with Scott and Allison and feel normal for feeling so worried.
Allison chewed on her Caesar wrap as she read her phone screen.
"Derek said he's on his way to talk to my dad. What the hell does he want to talk to him about?" She quickly typed back.
"Maybe he wants to ask more about the night your dad confronted the Oni all those years ago?" Lydia offered. She knew they all were researching to the best of their abilities everything they could about nogitsunes, Oni, and possession in general. They did not want this whole thing to end like The Exorcist.
"He said there was one of his emitters in his loft." Allison said when her phone pinged.
"Emitters?"
"My family used them to ward off werewolves. They send off a ringing sound that only the supernatural can hear. They used to use them to help hunt them down, trap them in a certain area."
Scott shifted uncomfortably. Lydia had a feeling Allison's family's werewolf hunting days still brought up some unhappy memories.
His body language suddenly changed and he stood up, body on full alert.
"What is it?" Allison asked, getting to her feet as well, Lydia following.
"I hear one."
"An emitter?"
"Yeah, there's one somewhere in the school. Sounds like it might be coming from the basement."
"Let's go." Lydia said, packing up her stuff.
Scott hesitated. "It could be a trap."
"From who?"
They all met eyes and quickened their pace out of the cafeteria. If it was a trap from the nogitsune, that meant Stiles' body was in the building.
Scott went first down the basement hallway, holding up an arm to guard the two girls behind him. Lydia felt her breath halt in her chest when she saw the ring dagger Allison had hidden under her sleeve.
The brunette at the end of the corridor turned slowly and immediately raised his hands in surrender, a glowing silver instrument in his hand.
"Okay, I know what you guys are thinking, but it's me. I swear to god, it's me."
"Stay behind me." Scott told the other two, watching his best friend carefully.
Lydia would've listened without the instruction. As much as she wanted to rush to check Stiles over, make sure she was okay, there was a greater force inside her telling her to stay back. That it wasn't safe. And Scott was her best bet for protection.
Stiles' face became earnest. "It's me, Scott. I swear, it's me. I don't know where I've been the last few days or what I've been doing, but this is me, I promise."
"Do you know what happened at the hospital?" Allison asked from her spot behind her boyfriend, her stance wary.
"I know more than that." he told them, eyes flickering to Lydia before crossing the room to a bag on the floor. He began pulling things out. He held up a folded piece of paper. "You see this? It's a blueprint of the hospital's electrical wiring." He spread it out on the floor for them to see. "You see all these markings in red? That's my handwriting. I know I did this. I caused the accident. And everything in this bag, it's all stuff that can be a part of something bigger."
"What the hell have you been up to?" Allison asked, horrified like the others.
"I think something worse. A lot worse." Stiles said softly.
"Guys, it's not me. Listen to me. Hear ME! Guys! Don't trust him! He's lying to you! Get away from him! From me! There's a bomb! Tell my dad! Tell the station to evacuate!" Stiles screamed from inside, but his mouth didn't form any words.
Scott straightened up. "We need to figure out what the plan is."
The nogitsune continued, unperturbed by Stiles' screams. "I found another blueprint. It's of the high school."
"Do you think he used this for when Barrow was there?"
"Well, Barrow tried to set off a bomb there, remember? Or that's what we thought? What if the nogitsune wants to do that again?"
"You guys need to take a look at this." Allison said, having been digging through the bag. "Wrapping paper… I'm assuming the nogitsune isn't delivering birthday presents out of the goodness of his heart."
"Wasn't that William Barrow's thing? A bomb made from nails and bolts, all wrapped like a birthday present." Lydia said worriedly. "Where did it go off?"
"On a school bus." Scott said hoarsely. "We need to get to Beacon Hills High now. Call the Sheriff."
"No, no, no. GUYS! It's a distraction! He's tricking you! Scott! Please! Allison! Lydia! Listen to me!" Stiles screeched.
"They can't hear you. They're falling right into place."
"You son of a bitch, I swear, when I get out of here…"
"Oh Stiles, you and I are going to have so much fun together. Don't worry. You won't be getting out of here any time soon."
"Motherfu-"
"Lydia…?" Allison asked, confused over why she paused.
She shook her head. "Sorry. Nothing. Just thought I heard… something."
A flicker of something crossed Stiles' face, but it was gone so quick. Lydia moved forward down the hallway, not bothering to ask what it was. He probably would try to convince her to listen to her powers, to trust them, and he didn't know how much they recently put him at risk. She didn't want to bring that all up when they just found him.
Plus, she didn't know how she could have heard the faint scream of her name from Stiles when he was right next to her. Her 'powers' were useless.
They arrived at the school, and by then, the whole place was in a panic.
An ambulance was already there, as well as several deputies and Stiles' dad.
"What the hell happened? Are we too late?" Allison demanded.
Kira came running from across the parking lot.
"What's Kira doing here?" Lydia said in surprise.
"Guys. Perfect timing. I have to tell you what I found out." Kira said breathlessly.
Allison steadied her. "Okay, but first, what the hell happened?"
"Oh, yeah, that. Um, Coach Finstock was sort of… shot with an arrow." she said with a grimace.
"How the hell did that happen? Is he going to be okay?"
"Yeah, it got him in the stomach. He had taken students out on the cross-country trail and he hit a trip wire and bam."
"Damn." Scott looked around the crowd. "It gathered way too much attention. There are too many people here. Even more that will get hurt."
"What are you talking about?" Kira asked.
"We think there's a bomb. Or that there will be. On one of the school buses."
"There are a few out on a field trip that are due back any minute."
"How do you know all this?" Allison asked her, amused but grateful.
"My dad works here, remember? He was talking about how bummed he was that he couldn't go, but marine biology doesn't really relate to history. I actually came to meet him for lunch and saw him talking to my mom in his classroom. And I found out she was the one who has summoned the Oni. She's been breaking her tails—"
"Excuse me? Her tails?" Lydia said incredulously. She had heard of some supernatural craziness, but Kira's mom having actual tails, meaning Kira might too, was just a little beyond her comprehension level at the moment.
"They're not tail tails… they're like… knive-looking things. I don't really know how it works, but kitsunes earn them. She snaps them, Oni come, I guess. Anyways. She definitely knows more about everything than she's let on. We have to get more information from her. Later, you know, when people's lives aren't at immediate risk." Kira said sheepishly.
"That's really helpful, Kira, thank you. We'll do that later for sure." Scott told her honestly.
He slipped through the crowd to check on Coach Finstock, and Lydia watched in fascination as he placed a hand on his arm and black coursed up his veins. Scott's eyes screwed shut, and she understood that that was what it looked like when he took people's pain. She knew he could do so—he had done so earlier with Isaac—but she hadn't actually seen it done. Of course Scott would try to make it easier on the man.
The paramedic looked grateful that his patient had quit shouting complaints as loudly. Scott excused himself and headed back over.
Lydia finally noticed Stiles had slipped away and was talking to his dad, who enveloped him in a hug. She was glad they could have a reunion.
Stiles, on the other hand, wasn't as thrilled. The real Stiles.
"Get away from him."
"Where were you? What made you run?" his dad asked.
"I uh… heard the diagnosis. The mic was on. I just… freaked out, Dad. I'm sorry."
"You lying son of a bitch. I would never bolt for two days and leave him to deal with that on his own. Not after everything he went through with Mom—"
"It's okay, Stiles. I know it was a lot. I was just… worried. With your… It doesn't matter, okay? As long as you're safe."
"I'm sorry I scared you. I just needed some time to think."
His dad pulled him into a second close hug. "You're here now. I'm glad you're home."
Stiles nodded against his will.
"Dad, dad, please. You know me. You know it's not me."
"The buses are here. Gotta go. We'll talk later, 'kay?"
"Dad! Dad!"
Stiles' body moved back to where his friends were, no indication that he was screaming.
"Coach got shot with an arrow." Allison said when he rejoined them.
"Oh, I bet he's taking it well. How dramatic is he being?"
Scott smirked. "Academy Award winning."
Stiles felt his face melt into a frown. "That was my doing, wasn't it?"
They all exchanged a look.
Stiles ran a hand through his hair. "I could have killed him. I could have killed him, right? What if it was his head or his throat—"
"But it wasn't. And he's going to be all right." Scott promised. He clasped his best friend on the shoulder supportively.
Stiles nodded.
The police were talking with the teachers present on the field trip. The Sheriff was directing people around, saying orders into his radio, and they knew then that something had happened.
Word spread fast through the crowd as everyone collected behind deputy guarded lines. There was a birthday present wrapped in the same paper they found in Stiles' bag on the bus, on one of the student's laps. It hadn't gone off yet, but maybe it was just a matter of time.
There were several deputies there, and Stiles' dad, keeping the students back and away from the area the best they could.
"Sheriff!" Scott shouted. "Do you guys know if it's really a bomb?"
"We're waiting for the bomb squad. They're… delayed."
"Delayed?! But it could go off at any moment!"
"Yes, Scott, I'm aware of that, but there are protocols…"
"Screw that." one of the deputies said that was next to him, heading to the van to start unloading gear.
"Parrish! What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Scott stepped back as they proceeded to argue, the deputy apparently convincing him enough to let him go on the bus.
Lydia watched the exchange from her spot next to Allison, not realizing she was leaning slightly away from Stiles.
She hoped he hadn't noticed. She wasn't meaning to be so wary of him. It was a gut instinct. It was stupid. She had always felt so safe with him. But he wasn't really 'him' anymore, not completely, right? It was only natural?
"Okay, now neither my dad nor Derek are getting back to me. What the hell is going on?" Allison muttered under her breath, checking her phone for the umpteenth time. "My dad has been looking for Stiles nonstop. You'd think he'd respond enthusiastically when I let him know we found him."
"Maybe he and Derek are working on something together?"
"Without talking to us about it first? That would be interesting. They're not exactly the type to get along. It's usually more of a last resort thing, like when they went to see Katashi."
"Really? Why not?"
"Hmm, I think it has something to do with my family being werewolf hunters for generations, or the fact that my dad's sister burned almost all of Derek's family alive."
Lydia swallowed. "Oh. Right."
Allison smiled at her. "Sorry. I can be a little blunt when it comes to my family history."
"Well, at least you get right to the point." she replied with a grin.
"It's not a bomb, sir, but there is something in the box." a voice came through the loudspeaker.
Everyone looked up as Parrish placed a nameplate against the windshield of the bus so they could read it.
Sheriff Stilinski.
It looked like a desk nameplate.
"Oh god. There's a bomb, but not here." the Sheriff muttered.
He was immediately on the phone, and the four of them all looked at each other.
It was the Sheriff's station that was under attack.
