Disclaimer: "I do not own Teen Wolf. The show, the characters, and any quotes from the show belong to Jeff Davis and his amazing team of writers. I only own Nixie, and anything I make her do or say."

Chapter 3: Episode 5x13

"They're alive."

Nixie, who is outside helping Stiles with his jeep, hears Liam inside the house. Patting Stiles on the shoulder, she says, "I'll be back." "Alright. Grab me a sandwich if you don't mind. And maybe two more containers for the trunk." "Sure thing."

In the kitchen, she hears Liam explain how the chimeras are alive, and Scott says he knows. Liam, trying to be helpful, also reports that it's Theo that did it. Scott knows that too.

Then Liam mentions Hayden, and Nixie realizes that she hadn't mentioned that to Scott yet. "She's okay?" Liam shrugs to Scott's question and says, "She's alive. I'm not sure she's totally okay. But she's definitely alive." "That's good." Liam nods, and then asks, "Where are you guys going?" "To get Kira. Her dad told us that her mom took her out to New Mexico, to this place called Shiprock."

And that conversation with Ken had started off drastically different then what Nixie had planned. As soon as they got to the door, he ignored Scott completely and pointed at her. Blinking in surprise, Nixie then remembered that she'd cleared out her room as Ken asked, "Where did you go?" Scott and Stiles both turn to her, and Nixie stares for a moment in shock.

Then, thinking fast, she says, "I moved to the lake house on Lydia's property." Ken blinks, and then asks, "Why? We told you…" "I know. And I appreciate it more than you know. It's just…" Sighing, she says, "I stayed for one night, and it felt wrong. None of you were here, and I didn't know when anyone was coming back. The lake house is supposed to be empty, but not this house. It felt too weird, too wrong. So I moved."

Ken stares at her a moment longer, and then hugs her and says, "Never disappear without leaving a note to explain things again." "Got it."

Then Scott asked about Kira, and though it took some digging and persuading, they managed to convince Ken to tell them where Kira and her mom were going. They all nodded their thanks, and then Ken said, "Wait."

He leaves the door for a moment, and then comes back with a bouquet of blue roses. Handing them to Scott, he says, "There's three more. Hold on." As he brings them all over to them, he looks to Nixie and says, "I don't know what the young deputy did, but please be aware he is trying to make up for it."

Four bouquets of solid blue roses. Nixie stares at the one in her hands so long that Ken has time to shut the door and the boys are down the steps before Stiles finally gets her attention. Turning to them, she asks, "Why is he sending me flowers?" Stiles rolls his eyes and says, "Because you aren't talking to him. And when the girl stops talking to the guy, and when the guy really cares, he does everything he can think of to make it better. Flowers are at the top of the list."

Scott does ask, "Why blue though?" But Nixie already knew the answer to that. Stiles says for her anyway, "They're her favorite color. And Jordan knows that. Someone should tell the poor guy that you've relocated."

Sighing, Nixie says, "Well, I don't know how we're going to get them anywhere on the bikes." Stiles shrugs and says, "I'll hold two. Tie the other two on the back of Scott's. They might end up a little windblown, but they'll be alright."

They take them to the lake house, and luckily the boys are in a hurry, so they opt for not coming in when Nixie suggests it. She finds the spare key, where it always is, in one of the lights by the door, and then sets the flowers inside, and then they had headed back to Stiles' house to prepare to go get Kira.

Working on his jeep for this journey was taking a while, which is what had given Liam time to get here and talk to Scott.

Scott looks down at his own bag that he's holding to bring with him and says, "They're trying to figure out a way to help her, but it's dangerous. So we're gonna go find her and bring her back." "I'll come with you." Nixie sighs and feels pity for Liam. Upset as she was with him, it hadn't all been his fault. Like Mason had said before, there had been about eight-hundred other extenuating circumstances.

But Nixie isn't surprised when Scott says, "Ah, you can't." Nixie doesn't feel anything else break inside her, so this isn't something that changes anything. Liam is just still a broken piece of the pack for now. She still feels pity for him though when he pleads, "Let me help. Let me do something. Just tell me what I can do." And Scott, after a moment of thought, simply says, "Don't do anything."

He walks out the door, leaving Liam standing there in the house alone. Well, mostly alone. Nixie walks into the room with two more containers of water and three sandwiches, one for each of them on this trip. Setting them on the table, she turns to Liam and says, "Give him time Liam. He just needs time." "What if we don't have time?"

She gives him a look and says, "Certain things have to be left for later Liam. These are the things that aren't nearly as time sensitive at the rest. Finding Kira is time sensitive. Getting Lydia out of Eichen is time sensitive. And figuring out what the dread doctors are up to is time sensitive." Coming up to him, she puts her hands on his shoulders and says, "Getting Scott to forgive you? That's not nearly as time sensitive as you might think. Just keep trying. Keep showing him you're sorry. It won't be lost on him. Just be patient and give it time. You have all the time in the world to earn his forgiveness Liam."

"What if something happens to him?" Nixie shines her eyes and smiles before saying, "I won't let that happen." Liam nods, and then sighs when Nixie wraps him in one of her hugs. He feels some of the tension ease out of his body, and then he asks, "Are you going?" "Yeah. Don't worry Liam. We're all working through this. Just stick with Mason and keep your friend safe for now. I think that's all we can ask you to do at this point."

She lets him go, and then says, "Go home and rest Liam. You've got classes again tomorrow."

Outside, Stiles is just saying, "You wanna get the band back together Scott, you don't leave out the drummer." Holding up her hands, she asks, "What am I? Chopped liver?" Stiles looks up at her and says, "You're not the drummer. You're the electric guitar player." "I thought that was Kira." "Well, then, you're the bass player." "Why can't I be the singer?" "That's Lydia. I thought that was obvious."

Nixie laughs and says, "Oh. How silly of me." "Exactly. Now, everybody cross all their fingers and toes." She joins Scott at the engine and raises an eyebrow, to which Scott sighs and they both turn their attention to the engine and pray.

And it starts.

Stiles runs back around to stare at it in surprise, obviously not having expected it to work just then. Then he shouts, "Success! Yes!" Nixie climbs in the back with the other two containers of water, shoving them all to one side and settling on hers. Scott is about to toss his bag back, when he sees the numerous containers in the back. Stiles glances too and says, "It's a minor leak. Very minor."

Scott pulls his bag back, but then Nixie grabs it. Pushing it behind her head, she says, "Wake me when we get there." Grinning, Scott says, "Sure thing Nix."

In the desert, after being stabbed by one of the skin walkers and having a heart to heart with her mother, Noshiko sits down beside Kira. "They say a lot of things and creatures are evil Kira, that aren't necessarily. Skinwalkers, Kitsune… dragons."

Kira looks at her and asks, "Dragons? You mean Nixie?" Noshiko nods and smiles before saying, "You see how ridiculous that seems? Of all of your friends, of all we've ever encountered, even I know Nixie would never be evil. She cares too much. It is why she is the dragon that she is. It's why her color is blue."

Kira sighs and leans over on her mother's shoulder. "Nixie doesn't have a spirit inside of her trying to take control." "All supernatural creatures have dual sides Kira. The werewolf is part man and part human. The kitsune is part fox and part human. And Nixie… she is part dragon and part human. And even now, especially now, if she is not on the same page as her dragon… then it could be causing problems for her."

"What do you mean? I thought you didn't know much about dragons." "We didn't, and there is still much we don't. But Deaton has been trying to educate all of the adults about dragons when we have time." Putting an arm around her daughter, Noshiko says, "Nixie being a dragon, in and of itself, is rare. Being a blue dragon? Even rarer. But there are steps after she turns eighteen, that need to be followed." "Like what?" "We need to see her… all of her. In particular, her mate needs to see her, and show her that he still loves her for all of who she is. Both the dragon and the human. And any problems she faces, she will need to face with us. Any concerns she has about the pack… those need to be addressed publicly, and not privately."

Kira laughs and says, "Nixie may be having a problem with that." "I hope not." "Why?" "Because the more problems a dragon has at that point, once they are meant to be fully realized, the more pain she will be in the longer she waits to resolve this issue. It may not even be a pain she understands. But she will not feel right, or whole, until the pack has seen her for what she is and accepted her as such." "But we know what she is?" "Yes, but you haven't seen it. Not all of it. Bits and pieces, but never the whole. Nixie hasn't had the ability to show you until now."

A pause, and then Kira says, "If so much about her is meant to be out in the open and not secret, why is she a dragon? Nixie always used to keep secrets. In fact, I'm pretty sure she still does." "She keeps secrets in the interest of protecting those she loves. Protecting them from worry, from pain, and from heartache. That is what her secrets are kept for. But the supernatural rules always have a way of ensuring certain things that we may not always like. For Nixie, that will be her inability to hide certain things without consequences, like her injuries, or when she is angry and confused. Each secret she keeps will have it's unique consequence."

Sighing, Kira says, "Then for her sake, I hope it's not too many." "We shall see Kira. We shall see."

"Man, I think the jeep's over heating again." Stiles nods and says, "Probably." "Should we pull over and put more antifreeze in it?" Stiles shakes his head and says, "No, we can just turn the heat on." Scott and Stiles both roll down their windows, and then Stiles suddenly feels a rush of cool at his backside. Turning to glance at Nixie, still asleep, he can feel the cool air emanating from her body. She was her own personal air conditioning unit. And it felt good.

Looking back to Scott, he asks, "You find anything yet?" "They're mostly the same stuff you already knew. 'Damnatio memoriae was a roman practice. A government decree to destroy the images of the damned. They would scratch off their names from inscriptions, chisel their face off of statues. The romans believed it was a punishment worse than death'." Stiles nods and says, "Being forgotten."

Both boys jump when Nixie's cool arms suddenly wrap around each of their shoulders. Leaning forward with tired eyes, looking at the book, she says, "Sounds like a bitch." Scott grins, and then says, "Listen to this." Nixie leans closer as Scott reads, "Damnatio memoriae was later used on a serial killer in 1598, known as the Demon Tailor. He lured children into his shop in Paris, where he would kill them and boil the flesh off their bones to eat. The courts believed the crimes so horrible, they ordered all documents destroyed. To this day no one knows his real name."

Stiles nudges Nixie back to middle so he can share some more of her cool energy, and then sighs and says, "So the dread doctors resurrected a killer who was so bad that he had to literally be erased from history." Scott adds, "A killer that became a werewolf."

Nixie adds, "Which probably made him a better killer." Stiles huffs and says, "That's great." And he steps on the gas to get them down the road faster. Nixie stays leaning forward for a while, covering them in her cool energy. She felt fine, but she knew they were hot and sweating from the heat.

Later on, Scott asks, "You still not talking to Malia?" Stiles glances at him, having traded places so Scott was driving now. "Uh, she's not talking to me. Or anyone, I guess." Scott nods and says, "I think I know why." Nixie opens her eyes from the back seat, and then asks, "She found her mother, didn't she?" Scott looks in the rearview mirror and asks, "You knew?" "No. I mean, not for sure. I suspected though." Stiles looks between them and then asks, "Her mother? As in the desert wolf?"

Scott nods and Stiles huffs and says, "I knew she was still looking. She erased her name off my board, but I just… I knew she never stopped." Nixie nods, and then looks to Scott when he says, "When I was at her house, I'm pretty sure Braeden was there too." "Braeden?" Stiles asked it, but that was news to Nixie as well.

Pulling out her phone while the boys discuss the possibility of Malia planning to kill her mother, she texts Malia, "Hey, is Braeden with you?" It takes a minute, but then Malia replies, "Yes, and I'm not talking about." "You don't have to. Does she have my number?" "No?" "Well, then make sure she does. And make sure she remembers that the same rule applies to her just like it still applies to you. Anything. ANYTHING!"

It takes a minute longer, but then Malia responds and says, "She's got it. And Nixie… Thank you." "I love you Malia. You're family. Don't forget that. And tell Braeden if she gets hurt and doesn't call me, I'm going to kick her ass."

The next message she receives is from a new number, and Nixie smiles when she reads, "It's Braeden. Malia tells me your some badass dragon. Still think I could take you, so not sure how you plan on kicking my ass. But the sentiment is appreciated. Gotta go. Bye." "Bye."

And then the engine sputters, and Scott asks, "What's happening?" Nixie leans forward, and then laughs and says, "Out of gas." Stiles looks too and says, "Yeah, we're out of gas." "It says we have half a tank." Nixie looks to Scott as Stiles says, "Not necessarily." Scott looks at Nixie, and she shakes her head, and then he looks to Stiles and says, "You didn't fix the gas gauge, did you?" "Not necessarily."

Nixie turns to him and says, "How about, just… no. Because it's definitely not fixed." "Okay, you know what? My jeep does not respond well to sarcasm." "Well, please express my deepest sympathies to your jeep." "I will. When we get back and put gas in her again. Come on. Hand me that gas can in the back."

Nixie passes it forward, and then they all get out and start heading up the road towards where the nearest gas station is.

When they get there, it's closed, and there are chains around the gas pumps. Raising an eyebrow, Nixie says, "Must be pretty bad in New Mexico. I don't think I've ever seen such drastic measures taken to protect a gas pump." Stiles tries the door and says, "Locked."

Scott tugs on the chains, and then looks to Nixie and asks, "You wanna do the honors?" She snaps the lock in her hand, and then helps Scott unwind it as he asks Stiles, "You got a twenty?"

He sticks it in the door, and then comes back to them as they fill the container with gas.

It's after Stiles tucks the nozzle away and Nixie is turning back towards the road, when she freezes as he says, "There was a pin." Scott looks back at him, and then at Nixie who's cool vibe has suddenly magnified. She's worried. Looking back at Stiles, Scott waits for more.

"There was one little metal pin attached to the scaffolding. He was trying to pull me down." Scott lowers his eyes and says in understanding and sorrow, "He was trying to kill you." "Yeah, so then I pulled the pin. And… all these metal braces came down. And one of them… it just went right through him."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Stiles looks up and says, "It was just the way you were looking at me that night. You know, you were standing there with that wrench in your hand. You were looking at me like I just bashed you in the head with it. You know, like I'd broken your sacred rule and that's it, there's no going back."

"Stiles, I know the difference." "What?" "I know what self-defense is." Turning to Nixie, he asks, "Why didn't you tell me though?" Nixie closes her eyes and says, "I…" "That's on me Scott."

Nixie looks to Stiles and says, "Stiles… no…" "It is Nixie." Moving in front of her, he says to Scott, "She got there at the end. She saw what was happening. If… if she hadn't roared and distracted him, I might not have even made it to the pin. But I did. And then I tried to call the police, but when they came the body was just gone, Jordan had already taken it. And then I… I begged her Scott. She talked about telling you, or telling my dad. But I just… I just couldn't."

"I could've argued with you though." Stiles turns to her and says, "No Nix. No, because that's… that's not what you do. You knew you weren't gonna convince me otherwise, at least not that night. And that's what you do. You became what I needed you to be. And right then, that was my confident. You kept the secret for me because you knew that was what I needed from you."

Wrapping her in a hug, he sighs and says, "And it wasn't fair of me to ask it of you, but you did it anyway. You always do. And I'll never be able to repay you for that." She hugs him back and says, "Shut up Stiles. I'd do a whole lot more for you, and it wouldn't even take me a second to decide to do it." "I know."

Scott joins them, and then smiles at Nixie and says, "Now that we're all kind of on the same page again, let's go get Kira and bring her up to speed with us." Nixie nods, and then all three look up at the sky as clouds roll in lightly. Huffing, Nixie says, "I just need to shut off my emotions I guess. I can't even cry happy tears without making it rain." Stiles laughs and puts an arm around her as they head back up the road.

It's later when Scott suddenly shakes Nixie awake. He was in the back now, and she was in the passenger seat.

She'd gotten more sleep on this road trip then she had in weeks. She should probably take that into consideration on the walls of the cabin.

Eyes fluttering, she finds herself staring at a mountain covered in dark clouds, lightning and thunder all around it. Mouth dropping open, she asks, "What the hell is that?" Stiles shakes his head and says, "Damn. I was really hoping maybe you were having a nightmare and had something to do with it." "Thanks." "Just keeping it honest." He punches the gas pedal and heads them faster towards the mountain where Kira is obviously going through something to try and regain control of her fox.

As they're pulled over to take a look at things, trying to figure out how to drive in there, Scott suddenly says, "I don't know why I believed him." Stiles looks over at him and Scott adds, "I don't know why we didn't just keep talking that night. Five more minutes, and we would've figured out that there were two different stories. We would've filled a lot of blanks."

Shaking his head at himself, he says, "Should've just kept talking." Stiles and Nixie look at each other, and she backs away back towards the jeep to give them a moment. But Scott turns to her and says, "And you. You knew. Even more than Stiles, you knew from the beginning. I should've listened. I should've known."

Shaking his head again, he adds, "Should've just kept talking." Stiles nods, but says, "He knew we wouldn't." "I didn't want it to happen like this." "Like what?" Scott looks to both of them and says, "I knew. I knew sooner or later, one of us was going to get a little too much blood on our hands. And I half thought it was gonna be Malia."

Stiles sighs and says, "Well, she definitely seems like she's working on it." Scott shakes his head and says, "I just always thought that if it were to happen, then it should be me. I'm the one who's constantly putting you guys in danger, risking your lives for people you don't even know."

Looking to Nixie, he says, "It should've been me." Stiles puts a hand on his shoulder, but smiles and chuckles when Nixie launches herself into Scott's arms, the same way she used to. Holding him tight, she sighs and says, "You're a good alpha Scott. And we'd follow you anywhere. Because even if you do make mistakes, you are always trying to do what's right. And that's why we risk our lives for people we don't know. Because it's right. Because it's what a true alpha would do."

Leaning back she says, "And so would his pack." He smiles down at her, and then sighs into her hug while Stiles says, "Alright you two. Come on. We've only got a few hours to sunrise."

But as Scott makes to leave, Nixie holds him still and asks, "Am I the only one who sees that? Or hears that?" Scott looks back in time to see a flash of light, hearing the clang of what sounds like swords. Pointing, he says, "It's Kira!"

It's as they're racing towards the mountain, still a little dark outside, when Nixie gets a call on her phone. Over the noise of dirt flying and the wind, she holds the phone to her ear and asks, "Yeah Malia? What's wrong?" "I'm about to do something else you're not going to like. Or Scott." "And that is?" "Theo can help me find my mother. And if that were all, I wouldn't be doing it. But my mom has Deaton."

Nixie pauses. In any other situation she would argue. But if Theo knew how to find Deaton? Well, then as much as she hates him, she'd probably try to use him to get there too. Sighing, Nixie says, "Malia… I'm not going to try to talk you out of it." "Good." "But please… please… for the love of God and all things holy. Please be careful. Do not trust him." "Don't worry. I will never trust him again." "Good. Take Braeden with you wherever you end up going. If he so much as nicks you and Braeden doesn't shoot him dead, I'll kill him myself."

Turning back to the front after she hangs up, she says, "Guys, the storm is dying down." Scott nods and says, "I know." "Well, I hate to be a killjoy, but I don't exactly have a good feeling about it dying down." Both boys look at her, and then Stiles hits the gas again, maxing the jeep out as fast as it will go.

When they pull into the valley, Noshiko and Kira are fighting off some… questionably dressed women.

These must be the skinwalkers that Ken told them about.

Scott rolls out of the jeep on the ground, growling at the skinwalkers. Stiles shouts, "Get in!"

Kira runs to the jeep, Scott behind her. Nixie pulls her into the backseat and holds her as tight as she can. Kira sighs and says, "You're so cold." "Comes with being a blue dragon. Get your mom." "Mom!"

Noshiko climbs in the front seat and Stiles shifts gears and starts peeling out of there. But one of the skinwalkers, the one with red mud around her eyes, prepares to throw her spear. And Nixie already saw what she did to Noshiko's car.

Stiles glances back and says, "Oh, she looks pissed." Kira does too and adds, "We're not going to make it."

Nixie snarls and says, "Drive Stiles." "What?" Climbing into the back, she tosses the back window up and says, "DRIVE!" And she jumps out and rolls on the ground towards the skinwalkers. The spear comes, but she catches it and throws it back, landing just an inch in front of the skinwalker's feet.

Then she roars, and despite her order, Stiles stops driving at the edge of the clearing and they all turn back to look at her.

And though his mother had told him about them, Scott's eyes still widen along with everyone else's, when her wings tear through the back of her shirt. Her scales coat her whole body, and she morphs partially as her wings lift her a few inches off the ground. Roaring down at the skinwalkers, she hurls huge gusts of wind and dust at them, showing the power and strength in her wings.

Stiles starts to scramble, to yell at her to come on, but Noshiko holds up a hand and says, "Look."

Nixie lands on the ground in confusion when the skinwalkers drop their weapons. And instead of pursuing her, or preparing to fight her, they kneel before her, their heads bowed in respect.

Scales leaving to reveal her skin, she says, "I don't understand." The one with red mud around her eyes rises, and says, "It has been centuries since our eyes have been blessed with the presence of a dragon. And a blue one… we have not seen in an even greater length of time."

Nixie's wings curl behind her, for the moment not needed. Nodding, she says, "We're leaving. And I'm taking my friend with me." "And because we know what you are, we will let you go freely. But with warning." The woman steps closer, until she is just a foot from Nixie. Reaching out to touch her, she looks down, and Nixie does too.

Beneath where she had first landed, ice and snow and frost had formed on the ground. Looking at the skinwalker, she says, "Sorry." The skinwalker actually smiles very slightly, and then responds, "You are powerful and brave, and a fierce warrior and protector. And while you may be in pain, and while you may still be learning, we know you will have control."

Glancing at the jeep, she says, "But your friend does not. She wields the sword, but the fox wields her. She has no control. She has no hope. Not without us." Nixie stares for a moment, and then nods and says, "If she does ever return… I don't want her to be stuck here forever. I would never allow her to become bound to this place forever. I don't think I could stand it." "You can stand far more than you think, and even more than they think. But for you, we will agree to think of another solution." "Thank you."

When she gets back to the jeep, she leans against it and closes her eyes while forcing her wings back into her body. It hurts, but she forces herself not to react or cringe. Then she climbs back inside with Kira and Scott's help.

That's when Kira points out, "Your back is raw Nix. Where your wings came out." Nixie reaches back to touch the spot, and yeah, the skin feels rubbed raw. Sighing, she says, "It'll pass. Stiles, get us out of here." He nods, and then punches it and gets them back on the road to home.

Noshiko looks back at her and asks, "What did they want?" "They said they had a great deal of respect for me because I was a dragon. They also told me probably what they already told you, that Kira has no control." Sighing as she leans back, even with her back hurting, she says, "I told them I wouldn't allow them to keep her here. They said they would let us go freely, but with that warning." Noshiko nods, and then asks, "How are you?" "I'm fine. Tired right now, but fine." "Good."

Kira and Scott kiss and make out half the way home, and then when they arrive at his house, everyone sort of collapses and falls asleep. Well, not Nixie. She feels awake and alert.

Which is why she wasn't surprised by the knock that came on the door. Pulling it open, she hugs Mason, and then Liam, and then says, "Living room. Kira's getting him."

They wait for Scott to be awake, and then he asks, "What's wrong?"

Mason starts and says, "I found out something from Corey. We know what Theo's doing." Nixie steps in and says, "Then let's please get on with finding whatever it is he wants so we can get to it first and use it against him." Liam says, "He's looking for an alpha. A blind alpha"

Scott pauses, and then says, "Deucalion." Mason asks, "You know him?" Nixie smiles and says, "Scott's the reason he's still alive." Scott looks at her, and then asks, "You think he really did change?" "I think you made him want to Scott. And I think we can definitely find him before Theo does." "How?"

Nixie tosses him her phone, and then shrugs and says, "Keeping up with people is kind of my thing." And Scott laughs before dialing the number, the beginnings of a plan finally beginning to take shape.

Chapter 3! Woohoo! And hopefully chapter 4 will follow shortly after this one. :)