A/N: Not much to say, other than how freakishly fast I updated! Heck yes! I just had some thoughts and so I put them down, planning to take five minutes to do so… and this happened. So here ya go! Enjoy!

Brace yourselves,

-Kenxi

People always seemed to wake up with a start in the movies, grabbing the attention of their capturer rather quickly when they could have made a plan or something while pretending to be out still. This wasn't the case with Stiles—his dad was in law enforcement after all.

Waking up was a slow and difficult thing to do with the heaviness of sleep weighing his consciousness down. The more he woke, though, the more pain and sickening nausea he felt, bringing him to be nearly fully alert a whole lot faster.

Kate Argent had kidnapped him.

Stiles almost jerked his head up at the memory of getting his skull bashed in, but stilled at the last second before he could signal his wakening to his kidnapper. Focus, Stiles, he told himself. His head was so incredibly muddled with the shooting pains attacking it that he was hardly able to do so.

Restraints were on his hands, that much he could tell as he slowly brought his senses up to speed. He could feel the sturdy but cloth-like material tight around his wrists, but not uncomfortable tight, surprisingly; his legs remained unbound. Stiles couldn't feel for sure what type of chair he was sitting in (that would require either moving or opening his eyes), but figured that didn't matter too much anyway. In the end he was still tied up and in a chair.

Trying to keep his breaths even so that Kate couldn't really tell if he was awake or not, if she was even listening, Stiles tapped into his other senses, attempting to figure out where he was…ish. The room felt pretty cool, but not freezing. That was the general temperature in the start of fall—maybe a bit cooler at night—which meant that wherever he was did not include heat, or at least it wasn't turned on. Maybe too expensive? Perhaps Kate didn't want to turn it on because she didn't live here; which would mean that this was probably an abandoned place, seeing how most people kept heat on whether they were there or not. Most people. Stiles swallowed a groan. Sheesh, maybe he was just overthinking it all. He couldn't hear anything, though, or really smell much other than mustiness, which either meant that he was in a basement somewhere, or that the walls were sturdy enough to keep sounds out, like the wind or birds.

His heart stuttered a bit in his chest, something Kate would no doubt catch with her super hearing. But he couldn't help it. The thought of being trapped inside a basement only brought bad memories—memories of which he would rather suppress and forget. The restraints on his hands did remind him of when Oliver had captured him and Malia at Eichen House. He had woken up to a nightmare, restrained and oh so tired and scared out of his mind. He had been as helpless then as he was now, with no way out. The Nogitsune trying to seep into his mind while he was weak and defenseless—

He had to stop. Already Stiles could feel the panic clamping down on his chest, his throat constricting even as he tried to breathe. He was hardly thinking nor caring about Kate knowing that he was awake. Why did it matter? It hadn't mattered back then, back when he was down in that basement, just trying to save his friends although he ended up killing one of them anyway. His panic froze for a second at the thought that had just come with no warning label, startling him before the attack came back with full force.

Both the thought and the full onset of panic was enough to bring his eyes open, as if it were an instinct. Stiles gasped, desperate to get air circulating through his lungs, but it was no use. He didn't believe that. It wasn't his fault Allison died. It wasn't. He could hear the awful, strangled noises he was making. His hands were tingling like they always did when he was hit with a panic attack, but so was the center of his chest this time, as well. That feeling, along with the warmish one that danced near his heart was always a sign that he needed to relax, now.

But he couldn't. He couldn't breathe. All he could do was sit in that stupid chair, clenching and unclenching his hands, his body bucking a little with the want of air. He tried to force his mind onto something other than the horrors of his past. Something other than the thought of his dad being left without him, or Scott being left without him, or Lydia…Lydia. Something about holding your breath? Breathing. Online reading? Kissing…Lydia…

His thoughts were diming, and shadows were jumping all over his vision. The panic refused to leave though. His own mind wouldn't—

And then his head was jerking backward, away from the pain that lashed out at him. The shock was what took him out of the horrible haze, bringing him back to reality, to now. Pain sparkled across his cheek, blood rushing to the area on his face as he figured it out. Someone had just slapped him. Who…?

"You've got some serious anxiety, kid. I'd recommend a counselor."

Without really thinking, Stiles mumbled, "I tried that once; I'm still not sure if she was trying to help me or get me killed." When he heard a laugh, he realized only then that he'd said the words out loud, and he tried focusing his eyes; he finally saw a blurry figure standing in front of him.

Stiles blinked, waiting for his vision to fully return as he caught ahold of his breathing once more. When he did, he was mildly surprised to see Kate Argent standing before him. Not so much because of her, seeing how he already knew she was back, thanks to the painful reminder on the back of his head, but because he hadn't even realized she had come to him during his attack, and furthermore that she even cared enough to stop it. Although, thinking about it again, she probably didn't want him passing out since he had just woken up. Probably wanted to talk to him about whatever. Yeah, that was most likely it.

Now that he'd gotten over the initial, overwhelming events, he ignored Kate, seeing how she wasn't doing anything right now anyway, and he took a moment to see where he was.

He was a little taken back by how accurate his ideas had been. The space he was in did look a bit industrial, with pretty tall walls and few small windows that were sealed shut with glass. So it wasn't a basement, but it did look pretty empty, aside from the chair he sat in a wooden table to his right. The place was probably around fifty squared feet with dirty cement floors. Maybe an empty storage facility of some kind?

His chair looked nothing like the one he had sat in right before the Nogitsune had taken over his body completely, but it was still a chair, nonetheless, and he was still tied to it by bonds that appeared pretty human proof. Stiles jerked his wrists against the restraints, testing their strength anyway, but they hardly budged, feeling soft and rough at the same time. Finally, coming to the conclusion that there was no way out right now, he pulled his still throbbing head up, meeting Kate's intense, smiling eyes.

She had silently let him take in his surroundings with thoughtful patience. How courteous for a kidnapper, Stiles thought. Once his eyes met hers, though, she said, "Now I'm curious, did you really think that I wouldn't hear the second you woke up? Please, I thought you were the smart one, Stiles. It is Stiles, isn't it?" She didn't pause for an answer. "I wondered how long you would pretend to sleep before finally coming to your senses, but the amusement was short lived." To Stiles, it sounded like she was still amused, but whatever. Kate pursed her lips at him like she was almost pitying him. "I didn't have to wait long before you freaked yourself out, it seems. At first I thought you could pull out of it yourself without the embarrassment of your enemy's help, but I decided to step in out of the goodness of my heart."

In the back of Stiles' mind it felt like her last words were lyrics from a song he couldn't name, and so reflexively he said, "You really didn't have to do that," as if it was another line from the song or something. Man, he was really out of it. Stiles blinked lazily, trying to refocus his splotchy vision. The nausea had returned a little, but he swallowed and breathed evenly to keep it controlled.

Kate made a face, contorting her beautiful features. "Sorry about the concussion, by the way; I didn't have time to grab chloroform or anything like that. I don't really have supplies for human kidnapping—just for werewolf torturing/killing. You know, from back in the day." She winked at him, like it was a joke.

"Not enough time? What, too busy killing people?" The second Stiles said it, he knew that it wasn't true. No one in the pack had heard anything of Kate Argent since she had disappeared. For all he knew, she hadn't even touched the innocent.

So why had she come back? She must have known that her low profile was keeping the pack off her, so why suddenly reintroduce herself, kidnapping Scott McCall's, the Alpha's, best friend?

"Ah," Kate had before been standing in front of Stiles, but now she grabbed the table next to him and dragged it over with a loud screeching noise so she could sit down, face to face with him. "I can see the wheels turning in the handsome noggin' of yours. Tell me, Stiles. Tell me why I've come back. You know the answer, I can see it on your face." She leaned in a little closer, and her eyes bore into his own.

Stiles swallowed visibly, pushing himself back against the hard chair. She was close enough now that he could smell the sweat off her skin and feel the hot breath from her mouth. "We didn't know where you were," he whispered, but as he continued his voice gained strength. "I'm guessing you knew that, so the only reason you came back was because…." He scrambled his brain, trying to find the answer. Then it hit him and he froze. "Because there is something more important than you." Kate frowned, and Stiles quickly elaborated. "You wouldn't risk returning to Beacon Hills if there wasn't something more important than your well-being. Scott would kill you the second he knew you were back, so you didn't make yourself known. Instead, you took me as leverage." Stiles felt his eyes widen. "You don't want to be killed before Scott knows which is why you took me, so that you can explain it to him. You want him to help you. You came back to Beacon Hills because whatever is going on is going to take more than just you to handle it—you need Scott's pack." Stiles felt so satisfied that he actually relaxed back into the chair, allowing small smile on his face.

Kate watched him for a moment, her eyes wandering over his face like she was searching for something. Finally, "Very good, Stiles. I'm truly impressed. You did, however, miss the part where there's nothing more important than me. Especially not this crazy supernatural thing. I was willing to risk Scott killing me because I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be able to do it. But there is something bigger on the other hand. Bigger than you, me, Scott, Derek…." She smiled wistfully at the last name, but sardonically at the same time. What a psycho. "I do need Scott's help, however, and that is why I snatched you lovely thing up."

And just like that, her sort of business tone shifted, as did the topic of their conversation. "You know, I still remember when you were so full of energy that you rarely ever moved at all without some sort of flailing of the limbs." Kate licked her lips, an unreadable expression passing her face like a shadow. "Look at you now. Not nearly as many jokes or jitters as before. Something horrible must have happened to you as to have taken so much of that away. It's almost as if you've finally grown up, Stiles Stilinski."

Stiles looked away, not wanting her to see any pain at all in his eyes. Reality happened. The Nogitsune happened. Peter Freaking Hale happened. He took in a slow breath, throwing the mask back on. "Well you know, dealing with psycho maniacs like yourself tends to raise kids like us up so fast." He let the spite flavor his words like muscle memory. "So what was that you were saying before? About something being bigger than you…?"

She smirked, but didn't call him on the former joke. "Yes, there's a new monster in town. It attacked me a few days ago, and I want to kill it. If I do recall correctly, I believe there have been four or so deaths in the neighborhood? I'm just about positive that's what we're looking for. Scott McCall is really the one who needs my help."

Any calm that had harbored itself in his body disappeared in an instant. The cool air in the building was suddenly freezing, and goose bumps prickled his arms and neck. "You're saying that whatever has been killing those people is supernatural?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me that you knew people were dying and actually believed it was anything but." It wasn't a question.

A shaky breath left Stiles' mouth, and he turned his gaze away from Kate. The nightmares were undoubtedly a part of this then. They weren't a coincidence if this really was supernatural. Deep down, Stiles guiltily did feel that there was more to this than animal attacks. After all, three is a pattern, right? But after everything that they'd been through, maybe they'd all just wanted it to be something normal. Something that they couldn't control.

If only they were so lucky.

Stiles cleared his throat, finally bringing himself to face Kate again. Her expression was pretty much blank. "I guess this is the part where we call Scott, then."

Kate Argent smiled.

A/N: Anything ya'll are hoping to see in upcoming chapters? What do you think is going on? Let me know in the comments, please review! Thanks mucho!

-Kenxi