The Plan

AN: Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter. Also, posted another chapter in the prequel, if you'd like to check that out. I hope you enjoy this chapter. As always, let me know how you felt about the chatper. I'm excited for the next one, it's my favoite in the story.

Stiles sped off in the Jeep once Steve and Scott got in. They pulled in behind the deputies who had their sirens blaring.

"Unit Five heading northwest on Crescent. Reporting an incredibly large. . . something," Clark's voice came over the radio

"Unit Nice to dispatch. I think I've got eyes on this thing. It's some kind of rabid animal."

"Unit Five to Nine. Trust me that's no animal."

"Unit Six to dispatch. There's a situation downtown. Multiple fatalities."

"Copy, medics on the way. Do you have the perp in sight, Unit Six?"

"Negative. Looks like a 10-91E. Animal Attack."

"10-4, can you say what kind of animal?"

"We need to get ahead of them before someone else gets hurt," Steve said as he looked at the sea of red and blue lights in front of them.

"All units stay back, do not engage. I repeat do not engage," Stiles ordered over the radio.

"Stiles, get off the radio," the sheriff shouted, "All units, alert. Wait for backup. Repeat, no one goes near this thing."

"Unit Five reporting a sighting on Hill Road southbound."

"Unit Nine, I've got it turning off Oakridge, southbound on Beachwood."

"All units, this is dispatch. We've got a 911 call with addition sighting on Mitchell."

"Wait a second," Stiles said, "Beachwood to Mitchell."

"It's heading for the hospital," Scott interrupted.

"Dad," Stiles called over the radio.

"Stiles, get off this channel."

"Dad, just listen to me alright. It's heading for the hospital. It's heading for Beacon Memorial. You hear me. It's heading for the hospital." Stiles sped up after he put the transmitter down.

"Unit Five, Clark, I need eyes on Parrish," the sheriff said, "Does anyone have Parrish's 20?"

"All units, we have a 911 emergency call reporting a man on fire running into Beacon Memorial," the dispatcher said.

"Clark, disregard."

Once they made it to the hospital, the three stepped out and headed for the entrance. The sheriff cocked his gun behind them causing them to duck and turn around. "Shh," The sheriff said holding his finger to his mouth.

The building shook and there was a roar. "Fourth floor," Scott told them and they headed up the stairs.

The lights flickered as they exited the stairwell. Small flames licked the walls and various equipment left in the hall. The sheriff led them down the hall, aiming his gun. A wheelchair had caught fire near the doorway to the next hall. Right as they were stepping into the hall, a ball of fire flew past them and collided with the wall dissipating to reveal Parrish as he fell to the floor. He turned over revealing deep claw marks across his chest. His orange eyes stared at the group before returning to their natural green.

Smoke and flames covered the hall as Scott and Steve looked towards the other end. The two were unable to spot The Beast through the smoke. "Parrish are you okay?" the sheriff asked behind Steve. "Deputy," he shouted when there was no response.

The alphas heard Parrish start to breathe heavily as he stirred. Stiles joined the two in their survey. Steve found giant, bloody pawprints and started following them after pointing it out to the others. As they continued down the hall, the pawprints became shoes. Eventually, the footprints faded away altogether.

"Did you guys catch a scent?" Stiles asked.

"No," Steve answered, "All I can smell is the smoke." They looked back towards Parrish. His wounds had healed and the sheriff was helping him get back on his feet. Scott's phone buzzed.

"It's Deaton," he told the others. "He wants to talk to us."

They left the hospital and headed to the animal clinic. Deaton met them at the door.

"What did you want to talk about?" Scott asked as they walked inside.

"I found something that I think you all should know about," Deaton said as they entered the back room. He held up a thick envelope. "What I'm about to show you, shouldn't even exist." He started to place photos on the table in between them. Each photo showed a different supernatural creature with a hole drilled into its head. "This is the only surviving evidence of Dr. Valack's time as Chief Medical Officer at Eichen House. To call it human experimentation would be charitable." Scott grabbed one of the pictures and lifted it to the light so he could see it. "A banshee," Deaton told him. "She died screaming." The room was quiet for a moment before Deaton resumed laying down the photos.

"So, he drilled holes into their heads? All of them?" Stiles asked.

"That was the experimentation part," Deaton answered. "He did it to werewolves, banshees, wendigos, any creature he could get his hands on."

"Why?" Steve asked.

"Valack found that trepanation would initially heighten their powers, but to levels that couldn't be contained."

"So, he wants to make Lydia more powerful," Scott said.

"Yeah, except she's going to end up like them," Stiles said gesturing at the photos.

"Worse actually," Deaton started. The three looked at him in surprise. "Lydia's abilities were already pretty exceptional to begin with. Putting a hole in her head will be like causing a leak in a nuclear reactor. She'll hear everything. Every death, every dying scream, all at once."

"And that's gonna kill her?" Scott asked

"Not only that. Her own dying scream could be so powerful that it might kill everyone around her as well."

Stiles pulled one of the photos closer to him. "We have to get her out," he muttered.

"You know about my pack?" Steve asked Deaton.

"Yes, Marin's told me quite a bit, actually. I also know that Fiona is at Eichen and catatonic as well," Scott and Stiles turned towards Steve.

"Can we stop this," Steve said pointing at a picture, "Once the hole is drilled. Can we save her?"

Deaton shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Your pack might be able to slow the effect, but not for very long. And once you start trying to heal her, the force of it will consume you. You won't be able to stop."

"So, anyone who would try to heal her would die," Steve phrased, "But if the hole is drilled before we get her, what can be done?"

"I'm looking into it still," Deaton said looking at the others. The three nodded before heading for the door. "Steve, don't try to heal her," Deaton called out before they exited.

"I know," Steve nodded before exiting.

"What happened to Lydia?" Fiona asked Meredith.

"She's awake now."

"Then why are we still here?" Fiona asked looking at the abandoned facility that had been created in their minds.

"Because we can sense death approaching," Meredith stated before walking away.

"Where are you going?" Fiona asked, following the other banshee around the corner.

"Banshees predict death by communicating with each other, and those that have died before us," Meredith said as she continued on.

"I'm aware."

"In here our powers are amplified. We can see further into the future than we normally could."

The two rounded another corner and found Lydia kneeling on the ground, covering her ears and screaming silently. "She's being overwhelmed," Fiona stated.

"Valack is going to amplify her powers through trepanation. She'll hear everything until it destroys her and everyone around, including us."

"Can we stop it?" Fiona asked.

"We can't," Meredith stated turning towards the other banshee. "But the others can."

"Scott and Steve," Fiona muttered. "How amplified are our powers?"

"All our abilities outside become freely available to us. We can usually only communicate in whispers to each other, but here we can directly interact. We are able to make contact fully."

"So I could heal her," Fiona said as she approached Lydia.

Meredith grabbed her hand before Fiona could reach Lydia. "If you do you'll die."

"You said her scream would kill us anyway."

"But we still have time. Valack hasn't drilled the hole yet."

"But once it happens, I can save her."

Meredith shook her head. "It'll consume you before it is fully healed. It'll only slow the effect."

"Which will buy everyone more time."

"It will kill you," Meredith repeated.

"But it will save everyone else."

Both packs met at Scott's house the next day to announce the plan. "There's four steps," Stiles started. "We get into Eichen, we get into the Closed Unit, we get Lydia and Fiona, we get out."

"And we have to do all this while getting past orderlies, guards, electric door locks, and a mountain ash barrier," Scott added.

"You have a plan for all of that?" Malia asked.

"We do," August told her.

"I stole this the other night off an orderly," Stiles said holding up a keycard.

"And I stole this the night before," August added holding up his. They set both of the cards down on the table.

"Unfortunately, they're useless 'cause they reset the codes each night," Stiles stated.

"So why did you take them?" Kira asked.

"I'm getting to that," Stiles said.

"The only way to get Lydia and Fiona out of Eichen is to make these keycards work again," Scott said.

"How are you going to do that?" Liam asked

"We're getting to that, okay, just listen," Stiles said shaking his hands at everyone.

"According to their procedures. All keycards revert to a default code during a reboot," August stated dropping the binder on the table.

"And I verified that," Stiles said turning his laptop, "Two weeks ago, there was a reboot, caused by a brownout. If we trigger a reboot—"

"The card goes back to default mode. It works again," Liam finished.

"How do we cause a brownout?" Kira asked.

"That's your part, you're going to draw power from the mainline but only enough to cause a brownout," Scott said.

"Not blackout," Stiles added pointing his hands at her, "Do that and you send Eichen into lockdown, which would be bad. Very, very bad.

"There's an electrical room behind the reception counter." Scott pointed to the blueprints. "The main power line goes into two breakers that run power to all of Eichen."

"Okay, slight problem. I don't know how to cause a brownout," Kira stated.

"That's okay. You have time to practice," Scott told her.

"A whole day," August added.

"Let's say all this goes perfectly," Malia started. "How does a brownout get us into the Closed Unit of Eichen?"

"The system takes five minutes to reboot," Stiles said, "In that five minutes, all alarms will be turned off and the key card should work."

"Steve, Charlie, me, Liam, and Zach will get Stiles to the gate of the Closed Unit," Scott began.

"After that, Zach and Stiles go ahead on their own since we can't get past the barrier," Steve finished.

"And when we're gone, all anyone's going to think is that there was a reboot of the security system caused by a brownout," Scott added.

"Uh, any questions?" Stiles asked.

"One at a time," August added as everyone opened their mouths.

"How do we get into Eichen House in the first place?" Liam asked.

"We know some people who are going to help," Steve answered.

"What's our worst-case scenario?" Malia asked

"Eichen goes into lockdown. Metal sheets block off and electrify all the exits. We're trapped until the lockdown is lifted. Also, security will likely be heightened from some previous events," August explained looking down slightly. "So everyone needs to be careful, and follow the plan," August added, emphasizing the last part.

"What if I can't do it?" Kira asked.

"You will do it," August told her, "Jay and Leonard will help you learn. The two of them and Malia will be in the electrical room with you to keep you safe."

"Do we get codenames?" Jay asked.

"No," Stiles told him.

"What about Fiona?" Charlie asked staring at Steve.

"Once the brownout starts I'll be running the halls to find her," August answered him.

"You don't know where she is?" Charlie growled.

"I'll find her," August told him.

"Is there anything you didn't think of?" Malia asked.

"Probably," August answered.

"This plan basically all hinges on me," Kira said.

"Guys, if we don't do this, we lose Lydia and Fiona. Lydia's going to die in there tonight. And she might take a lot of innocent people with her," Scott told them.

"Get ready," Steve told everyone, "Go practice, you can do it," He added to Kira.

Everyone left leaving Stiles, Steve, Scott, and August alone. "What if Kira can't do it?" August said.

"She'll do it," Scott told them before he and Stiles left.

Steve moved to follow but August stopped him. "Zach's not like the harpies we face. He doesn't have talons, so he isn't going to be much help in a fight. You still want him to go with Stiles in case things go south?"

"That's why he needs to go. He'll be able to fly Lydia to Deaton faster than any of us can drive."

"If he can get out into the open," August commented.

"He'll figure it out," Steve stated before the two followed after Scott and Stiles.

"What?" Kira asked the three staring at her. They were in the science lab with a light bulb powered by a generator attached by a bare wire.

"Do it. Do your thing." Malia told her.

"What thing? I don't have a thing."

"You did it before. You had to learn how, right?" Malia asked.

"Actually no, it just happened."

"How'd you learn to fight with a sword?" Malia asked.

"That just kind of happened too."

"So, you've never worked for anything and basically you're a cheater?" Malia asked.

"Okay," Leonard interrupted. "Look at the wire, find the electricity and starting drawing the power."

"How do you know what to do?" Kira asked

"My girlfriend is a kitsune too. She's a fire one, but it should be similar enough," he replied. Jay leaned on to the table to watch closely.

"Okay," She breathed before grabbing the wire. Electricity crackled briefly before the light bulb exploded. "It didn't work."

"Oh my god," Jay yelled out as he pulled a large shard of glass from his cheek and ran towards the front of the room.

"Really?" Malia asked turning to Leonard as she plucked a shard that landed in her forehead. "He knows he'll heal, right?"

Leonard shrugged before replacing the lightbulb. "Try again, but this time pull the energy, not amplify it."

Kira reached for the wire again, and the bulb exploded. Malia groaned in frustration.

August went with Stiles to the sheriff's station to talk with Parrish. "We're going to get Lydia out of Eichen," Stiles told him.

"We need you to drive a van to their morgue due to 'overflow' issues at Beacon Memorial," August added, sliding the keys to Parrish.

"How many people am I bringing in?

"Seven," Stiles told him.

"You know they check the body bags when we drive in."

"That's why we are bringing a, um, not very well-preserved corpse," August stated.

"Okay and then what?"

Stiles and August finished explaining their plan to Parrish.

"That's the worse plan I've ever heard," Parrish told them when they finished. He slid the keys back underneath the counter.

"Okay, the plan is perfect and it'll work perfectly, especially if you agree to drive the van," Stiles said.

"Honestly, I've heard of worse plans working," August added causing Stiles to turn at him.

"Is the sheriff on board with this?" Parrish asked.

"How do you think I got the keys?" Stiles replied.

"I thought you stole them."

"While that's a perfectly reasonable assumption, I did not steal them," Stiles said, "We need you because all of the Eichen guards know all of the sheriff's deputies."

"We need a real deputy, and one who already knows what's going on," August added.

"It's not safe to bring me along. I'm dangerous," Parrish told them.

"So is the giant murdering werewolf that's killed over thirty people, but somehow didn't kill you," Stiles said.

"Look, Lydia is in danger, and you're the only one who can help," August stated.

Parrish paused for a moment before taking the keys.

"Yes," Stiles cheered.

Kira rested her head in her hands. The counter and floor around her were covered in broken light bulbs. Malia had put on a pair of safety goggles to mock Jay who had found a face shield and was hiding behind a desk. Leonard continued to offer advice as he switched lightbulbs.

"Can I ask you a question?" Kira asked Malia.

"No," Malia replied.

"Did your mother really try to kill you?"

"Did your mother try to leave you in the desert with skinwalkers?" Malia retorted.

"Are you really going to try to kill her first?" Kira asked. Malia sighed and moved towards Kira, removing the safety glasses. "Why'd you take off the googles?"

"Because this time you're gonna do it. And it's gonna work. Because this is the only way we're getting Lydia out of Eichen House."

"Wait, that might be it," Leonard said as he moved across from Kira. "You said everything just came naturally. Did it usually when you needed it to help yourself or someone else?" Kira nodded. "Okay, I'm going to grab on, and won't be able to let go until you lower the power enough to cause a brownout. If you fail, I might die."

"No—" Kira started but Leonard grabbed the wires. He stiffened as electricity ran through his body. Kira quickly grabbed the wires and started to pull the power away, dimming the light.

"You did it," Leonard panted as he let go.

"I did it," Kira repeated excitedly before the voltage shot up, shattering the lightbulb and causing the lights on the ceiling to explode too.

"We should go," Malia said.

"Yeah," Kira nodded and four of them ran out of the room.

"They're going to break Lydia out of Eichen House," Corey told Theo and Lucas while they were working out.

"Do they have a plan?" Lucas asked.

"It seems like it. Kira was trying to create a brownout in the science lab," Corey answered.

"Explains the lights," Theo chuckled as he looked at the buster ceiling lights. "Maybe they could use some help."

"You want Josh to cause the brownout for them?" Lucas asked.

"No, I want to get to Lydia, use her to bring us the hellhound so we can stop The Beast."

"Then what do we do with Lydia?" Lucas asked.

"Doesn't matter after that, Scott can have her back if he really wants," he said walking out of the weight room.

"You were spying?"

"Yeah. This gets Theo the hellhound to fight The Beast and it keeps all of us from dying again."

"How's Mason going to take that news?"

"He doesn't have to find out," Corey told Lucas. "It's not my fault Scott and Steve don't know what to do. That's why you're with Theo, isn't it?"

"I have no issues with spying," Lucas told him. "And I have no issues with taking down The Beast. I just wanted to make sure you are aware of the consequences." Corey opened his mouth to respond, but closed it before walking out after Theo. "We're going to be there tonight too," Lucas thought.

Steve got Lucas's message while he and Scott were going over the plan in the library. The alpha's eyes widened in response before he noticed Stiles and August coming to meet them.

"What is it?" August thought to him.

"Theo and his pack will be there tonight," Steve told him as he and Scott moved to meet them halfway. The hunter tilted his head slightly as they reached each other.

"Hey, did you check on the evidence from the hospital?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, my dad's still running the lab work on the shoeprints, but is kind of mystified about how giant clawed werewolf feet turn back into a pair of sneakers."

"Argent said it wouldn't be like anything we've ever seen before," Scott said.

"Did he say it was going to defy the laws of physics?"

The four stopped when they noticed Theo in between the shelves, flipping through a book. "What're you doing here?" Scott asked him

"I still need to graduate," the chimera said, putting the book back.

"No. No, what you need is to be beaten severely with a lead pipe wrapped in barbed wire," Stiles said.

"I can go grab the one in my trunk," August said smiling at Theo.

"Okay, I admit that mistakes were made."

"Murders. Some murders were made," Stiles corrected him.

"You know how the Soviets helped us win World War II? They knew how to make it through a Russian winter," Theo told them.

"Wow, and I thought my next history lesson would have to wait until Monday," Steve said.

"If you're planning to break Lydia out of Eichen House, you still need to get past the Mountain Ash. We can make it through. You two can't." Theo looked at the two alphas while August turned to Steve.

"What do you really want?" Scott asked him.

"I know you saw the fresco. Two seriously pissed off creatures, the hellhound and The Beast, fighting over a pile of dead bodies. I don't want to be one of the bodies, it's that simple."

"That's weird," Steve commented, "I'm pretty sure I saw your face painted on the fresco."

"Didn't you draw that?" August asked the alpha.

"Oh yeah," Steve said as he flashed his eyes at Theo.

"Look, either I can get you to Lydia, or we can see who gets to her first," Theo stated, glaring at Steve before walking out of the library.

"There's no way he knows what Valack's doing. Why's he so interested in her?" Stiles asked.

"He probably thinks what we're all thinking. That Lydia's got something bigger to do with this. That maybe she's the only one who can actually save us."

"Something like that," Steve muttered, August looked at him, "I'll explain once we get to Scott's," he added, pointing at his ears and nodding towards where Theo left.

August nodded before the four of them headed out to the parking lot and piling into the Jeep. They were greeted by Kira, Malia, Liam and the werecats when they entered Scott's house.

"We were practicing and we may have caused a blackout at the school," Jay confessed as they walked through the door.

"She took out the whole school?" Scott asked.

"She took out the whole grid," Malia said.

"Look, I failed every single practice try."

"But we came close with the last one," Leonard added.

"This isn't going to work," Malia told them.

"How far can we get without the brownout?" Liam asked.

"The front door," Stiles answered.

"We're going," Scott said.

"Scott, we went through boxes of light bulbs," Kira told him. August sighed next to Steve.

"It doesn't matter. You can do this. Leonard said you were close," Scott said walking towards her.

"The keycard won't work unless there's a reboot. And there's no reboot without a brownout," Kira argued.

"I know you can do this," Scott told her. He turned to face everyone else, "Anyone here think that she can't?"

"Not me," Liam said.

"I was the one that put you in the plan," Stiles admitted.

"I know she can," Steve added.

"What?" Malia asked when everyone looked at her.

"I believe in you too, Kira," Stiles whispered to her.

"I'm the one who's going to be locked in an electrical room with her," she said.

"Not just you," Leonard said, "She can do it."

"You can do it," Malia finally stated.

"You guys are all crazy. We're gonna die," Kira said shaking her head.

"We'll be fine," August said, "Let's get some rest before we meet at Eichen tonight. Oh, and here," he added passing around clothespins to the werewolves and Stiles.

"Yeah, you're gonna want those," Stiles answered their confused looks.

They left, leaving Scott, Stiles, Steve, and August. "What is it?" Scott asked once he noticed the other two had stuck around.

"Theo's not going to Eichen to rescue Lydia. He's going to get Parrish," Steve told them.

"Why?" Stiles asked.

"To fight The Beast."

"The real question is how do you know about this or that Theo was going to be there before he told us?" August asked.

"Lucas is a spy, isn't he?" Charlie asked as he stepped through the doorway. "You cut him off from everybody else when you two finished sparring. That's why you let him go with Theo."

"Yeah," Steve admitted. "I didn't want anyone else to know so everyone would react naturally."

"Isn't spying a little unethical?" Scott asked.

"Theo isn't exactly ethical," Steve told him. "This does allow some opportunities for us though."

"Lucas can help Zach fight Theo off once you two are passed the mountain ash," August said.

Steve shook his head. "Only if it's necessary. If he does that, then he can't watch Theo anymore."

"Okay, so barely helpful," Stiles stated.

"We could have Josh cause the blackout for us," Steve suggested.

"No, Kira can do it," Scott insisted. "Let's just get some rest before tonight." Steve and August nodded and headed out of the house behind Charlie.

"We'll keep Josh on the table as far as options go," August said once they got into his SUV. Steve nodded in agreement.

"Theo and his pack are going to cause issues. They aren't going to follow our plan," Charlie stated from the backseat as they headed towards home.

"No, but Lucas should be able to keep Theo from triggering a lockdown," Steve told him.

"I'll try to see if I can find an override for the lockdown, just in case," August added.

"Why don't you just have Lucas bring Theo to us and eliminate the problem?" Charlie asked.

"Theo played everyone before you all got here. He's not going to be dumb enough to fall for a trap," Steve stated.

Charlie huffed as he fell back into the seat. "Oh, you'll want this for tonight," August told him, handing him a clothespin. The beta's eyes narrowed as he took the clothespin.

"Jay, I need a favor," he thought to the werecheetah.