And here we are! My third (and for now, last) fix-it for that disaster of a movie.
Before I even watched the movie, around the time that the first long clip came out (the one where we learned Allison was coming back, and hunting the Hale pack... again) my first thought was: "She's the Nogitsune's host this time!" I had a lot of other thoughts that proved not to be true and aren't relevant right now (might, if I ever find the inspiration to write more fix-its), but that one was the biggest, followed closely by: "They're gonna have to bite her to free her." It was an interesting conundrum, in my mind. Wondering how they'd handle that. Of course, as we all know, that's not what happened. But what if it had?
Vermeil
By: Lalaith Quetzalli
In Stiles's mind, it's pretty clear what they have to do to defeat the Nogitsune, to save Allison, so why is it that he's the only one who's thought of this? Then again, that's how it always goes, isn't it? Even before his magic fully manifested he was the one with the power. The stakes are higher than ever, and it's time for the kid-gloves to come off. They will protect Eli, no matter what.
In Stiles's mind, it's pretty clear what they have to do to defeat the Nogitsune, to save Allison, so why is it that he's the only one who's thought of this? Then again, that's how it always goes, isn't it? He's the one who makes the plans. The one who sees the big picture and makes a strategy, while everyone else keeps running around like headless chickens believing that they'll win 'because they're the good guys'! As if that were some kind of superpower. That'd be like believing that good things happen to good people simply because they're good, or that being an innocent is some kind of shield that protects from the evils of the world. It's ridiculous, and pointless and a lie. Anyway! Even before his magic fully manifested he was the one with power. The Nogitsune itself knows this! Knew it from the very start. There's a reason why it chose him! And yet when he tries to explain the plan to the pack, they won't listen! Why? Why is it they never listen? Why can't they just trust him?!
He knows why, deep down, he knows, he just hadn't been able to accept it until now. To face the truth head on, process it, and deal with the consequences. And there will be consequences, how can there not? When all the plans certain individuals have made and been working towards will come crashing down the moment he gives this last, fateful step? He might have been willing to keep the status quo until now, to just not 'rock the boat' so-to-speak. It's not like it changed anything. But now… now things have changed. The stakes are so high (and aren't they always?), he… they cannot keep doing things with kid-gloves on. They cannot risk it. Not just for themselves but for their son. Eli is all that really matters, they will keep him safe!
"You need to bite her." Stiles declares, simple and direct.
All eyes turn to him instantly. He knows that a few people are still shocked by his arrival, though he doesn't know why. Did they think his husband and son could get into trouble and he wouldn't be there to get them out of it? Or that with so many fires, serious, clearly provoked fires, the FBI wouldn't take an interest? And granted, they could have sent someone else, what with Stiles on another mission just yesterday… but of course the moment everything started Stiles knew: Eli's dreams, his sleepwalking, Derek's nightmares, the way his wolf remained hyper-vigilant… their connection to the territory was warning them of the coming danger. They might not have known the stupid fox would be involved, but that was just details.
Obviously his dad, Parrish, Malia and Peter knew to expect him. Melissa and Chris might not have, but they're not exactly close these days. Even Jackson isn't surprised by Stiles being there, having arrived just in time to save Derek from the newly-resurrected Huntress (then again, with Ethan's job being what it is, Stiles has come across those two a few times in recent years, and they're still technically pack so…). Scott and Deaton being surprised though, he doesn't understand; why do they think they know anything at all? They don't even live in town anymore! The two of them took off for LA years ago, refusing to stay, giving no thought to those they were leaving behind. Also, they're not pack so… As for Lydia… Stiles will never understand why she's so hung-up on things really, she's the one who left him! He loved her with his whole heart; could have loved her for the rest of his life. In the end she was the one who decided love wasn't enough. Yes, he knows about the nightmares; but when backed against a wall, when pressed and threatened, he fights back, he fights and he wins, he doesn't give in and he doesn't give up. And most importantly: he doesn't abandon those he loves. She chose to give him up, so why does she act now like he's the bad guy, just because he managed to move on, found someone else to love, someone who won't leave him?!
In any case, a few people seem to not be too happy with him, and that's just fine with him. It's not like he's exactly happy with some of them. Listening to dreams they don't know the origin of? Doing a shoddy ritual on the freaking Nemeton?! Bringing someone back from death?! Did They Learn Absolutely Nothing Back In High-School?!
So no, he's not happy. There's no way he could be with everything that's happened tonight. He expected to arrive just in time to surprise his husband and son. Watch Eli do some bench-warming; he knows Derek really wants their son to play, believes he could be good at it, and Stiles himself doesn't doubt it, but that won't happen until Eli is ready for it. Just like his shift. And he isn't, not yet. His time will come. Just like it did for Stiles. He certainly didn't expect to see his son running out of the gym, absolutely hysterical, and then find his beloved husband on the floor, bleeding from a wound to his neck, and with an arrow pointed straight at his heart! On a bow being wielded by none other than Allison-freaking-Argent!
Now, Stiles isn't exactly a fan of Hunters (that is to say, he hates most of them totally and absolutely). But he thinks Chris is mostly decent. They'll never be friends, and Stiles will never stop thinking that if the man had been willing to act instead of being a coward his family, Gerard especially, wouldn't have managed to cause as much hurt and horror as he did before he finally died. And Allison… she made mistakes, so many mistakes, but doesn't everyone? And really, the worst of her mistakes, the days she turned on them, tortured and almost killed several of Derek's betas, it wasn't all on her. If people (like Scott and Chris) hadn't kept the truth from her about her mother's death; had been more interested in protecting everyone, and not just the memory of a psycho woman who chose to die instead of getting furry once in a while and staying with her family, things would have been very different indeed. Once Allison finally learned the truth things got better, she fought for them, with them. She died fighting with the pack… she certainly deserved better than being a murder meat-puppet for the very being that was controlling those that killed her in the first place!
"Stiles!" Scott cries out dramatically (way too dramatically, in Stiles's opinion). "I cannot do that! She's a Hunter!"
"That's not what you should be focusing on Scott…" Stiles shakes his head.
"Really?" Scott's tone turns challenging. "And what should I be focusing on then?"
"On saving her from the Nogitsune." Stiles states simply.
"That's what I'm trying to do!" Scott snaps.
"Are you?" Stiles own tone of voice turns snappy, he cannot help himself, Scott's attitude is driving him up a wall! "You do remember the kind of creature the Nogitsune is?"
"Yes!" Scott snaps. "That's why we have to go after it now, before it becomes even stronger. We have to rescue Allison!"
"Yes, and the way to do that is by biting her." Stiles insists.
"I told you I cannot do that!" Scott yells.
"You think she's the host." When Peter interrupts the heated exchange, his words are not a question, he knows what Stiles is thinking, and that he's not doubting it either.
"What…?"
"No!"
"That's not possible!"
It's clear that not many believe it, believe him. Stiles isn't even surprised anymore. Really, only his pack ever truly believes him, trusts him.
"You do remember that kitsune are spiritual beings, yes?" Stiles starts explaining things as if the others were little children. "Granted, they can create bodies for themselves, but that takes time, and power. Considering that the Nogitsune has spent the last decade and a half trapped in a jar with a Nemeton wood top, we can assume he had neither. It's why it sent you those dreams. You did the work for it! You gave it a body, and not just any body, but one that you'd have a hard time fighting against, someone who has the skill and training to go against us all; and what's more, who already has inside her the instincts to kill us all without remorse. It's not like she hasn't gone after wolves before, and she's certainly gone after Derek and his pack in the past, the fox doesn't even have to create the dark feelings, just bring them back out. Why do you think she remembers all your names but not that she was pack when she died?"
"Why bring her back?" Melissa asks quietly. "Why not just create a body, any body?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Peter says in a drawl. "The skills, the motivation, the fact that even now my fail-beta is refusing to believe any of it, refusing to even think that 'dear Allison' might try to kill him… again!"
"Shut up Peter!" Scott snaps. "And I'm not your beta! I'm the Alpha! The True Alpha!"
Several eyes go to him, and then to Deaton at that, but no comment is made… at least not until Malia speaks up:
"Really?" She asks, voice between teasing and challenging. "Who are you alpha to exactly?"
Scott opens his mouth to say… something. Stiles doesn't care. They need to focus!
"That doesn't matter!" He interrupts. "What matters is that we need to stop the Nogitsune, before whatever plan it's working on, comes to fruition. Right now Allison is its biggest weapon, with her as its host, it can use everything she knows, both her skills as a Huntress, and her personal knowledge of each of us, against us. We need to free her. Once we do that we can deal with the fucking fox, and this time we'll be doing more than putting him away in a stupid jar!"
"Haven't you heard anything I've said?" Scott demands. "I cannot bite Allison! She's a Hunter. She cannot be a werewolf!"
"Do you really think Allison would rather be a puppet for a freaking void kitsune than a werewolf?" Jackson demands. "Are you out of your mind McCall?"
"Ally would rather be a wolf, would rather… she would rather die, than be used to hurt someone else." Chris admits, voice hoarse and somewhat damp.
"No!" Scott snarls. "You cannot do that! I won't do that!" His expression goes mulish, he's made up his mind, and nothing will make him change it. "I won't do it. I won't bite her."
"Good thing we don't need you."
It's hard to tell who says it first, exactly, but as people look at them, they then follow their own eyes to the same individual. Derek's fully recovered by now, sitting up on Melissa's couch. There's blood on his shirt, and some on his skin, but no wound. And as he looks at each of them, his eyes focusing on Scott at the end, he blinks once, hazel eyes turning bright red… alpha red…
xXx
In the end things are both harder and easier than any of them could have expected. Harder because of course Scott cannot just leave it well enough alone. He refuses to accept that Stiles is right, that he even might be right. So when they find Allison they have to not just fight her long enough to knock her out, but also fight Scott as he keeps getting in the way. Stiles is pretty sure he doesn't hallucinate the nogitsune's gleeful cackling in the air. It's Melissa who eventually manages to get the tranquilizer shot in (something that seems to completely shock Scott, who was busy blocking Derek and Peter and Malia, and trying to keep an eye on Chris, and never expected his mom to be the one to pull out the gun and take the shot).
"Sourwolf, bite her, now!" Stiles orders.
The original plan was to get Allison to their place, somewhere they could make her comfortable, but they cannot risk it. Not with Scott being so obsessed with being right… he's liable to ruin it all. Derek knows what Stiles is thinking and just looks at his husband briefly, asking with his eyes if the spark is ready. Stiles nods, just once, as he braces himself.
"No!" Scott snarls, furious. "You cannot do that!"
Peter, Malia and Parrish work together to hold him back. At least until Mason approaches, slowly, and throws a fistful of mountain ash to create a barrier (Stiles taught him how to, years ago). Peter takes hold of his daughter, pulling her away just in the nick of time, as the ash settled in a perfect circle around the enraged werewolf. Parrish too manages to move just in time. Leaving Scott alone inside the barrier.
"Mr. Argent you cannot let them do that!" Scott yells as he punches the barrier.
Deaton makes to approach, intending to release him, until he hears the cocking of a gun, he can almost feel the muzzle pressed against his back.
"Don't move a muscle." Noah orders. "You so much as try to release him and I'll pull the trigger, you hear me?"
"Sheriff, you do not understand…" Deaton begins.
"Oh, I understand." Noah cuts him off. "Better than you do, I'm sure. See, I've actually been living in this town for the last decade. I didn't run away when the going got tough, didn't hide away somewhere until it was more convenient to return. Beacon Hills is my town and I will protect it, from psychotic foxes with a thirst for chaos and mayhem, and from crazy men with delusions of possessing what doesn't belong to them."
Deaton opens his mouth, then closes it again. Noah cannot see his face but he doesn't need to. It's clear the man isn't happy. The funny thing is, Noah didn't actually know anything for a fact, none of them did, at least, not entirely. They had a theory, putting together all the things Deaton's ever done, and not done, all the ways he could have made things better and just didn't, and even the times he made them worse, Stiles's instincts that he wasn't to be trusted, Peter's belief that he knew about the fire and did nothing to save them (might have even helped the Argents directly or indirectly). And the biggest clue of all: the fact that things around Beacon Hills got so much better when the man left!
Scott punches the barrier several times before trying to brace against it and… push. Nothing happens. Oh, the barrier glows blue, and there are sparks where he tries to push, but that's it. The barrier doesn't break, it doesn't even budge.
"Wha…?" Scott is at a loss. "Why doesn't it work? I'm a True Alpha! Mountain Ash doesn't work on me!"
"Hey Scottie!" Stiles calls with a fake cherry tone. "Did you know that the whole True Alpha myth is… well, a myth? Kind of like the one about how a beta killing the alpha that bit them will make them human again. They're both lies. Promoted by different individuals, but both lies nevertheless. In the case of the so-called True Alpha. There's no such thing. You cannot become an Alpha by being 'good', not even by sheer stubbornness."
"But Deaton said…" Scott turns to look at his mentor, who's very carefully not looking at him.
"He lied to you Scott!" Stiles deadpans. "That should be obvious enough by now."
"He'd never do that!" Scott's in absolute denial (as always when something doesn't fit his very narrow minded view of the world).
"Wouldn't he?" Stiles just snorts.
Really, he has a whole list! Starting with Deaton conveniently saying nothing about Scott's change in status until he had to, and going through the man's refusal to aid any of the Hale Alphas since Talia (not just Derek, but also Peter and Laura), yet he was always 'helping' Scott. The 'plan' to defeat Gerard, that had Scott betraying the local Alpha. Really, if Derek weren't as nice (much as he might try to pretend otherwise) as he is, Scott would have been in huge trouble; as the territory's alpha Derek would have been in his right to exile Scott from the territory, even to kill him outright for his betrayal. Deaton was even willing to help the Alpha Pack, when he didn't help Derek! Also, lets not forget the fact that Deucalion knew about a 'potential true alpha' before any of them did. How could he have if someone hadn't told him? Nevermind the true alpha being a lie in the first place!
Stiles says nothing in the end. Really, there's no point. No matter how long his list might be, Scott's never going to believe him. It'll be like Theo and Donovan all over again! At least he still has his pack, as long as he has them, nothing else matters.
"Stiles!" Derek's call pulls him abruptly back to the present.
Right, the battle isn't over just yet, and he still has a duty to fulfill. Time to send that fucking fox to hell once and for all!
It's… Stiles wouldn't say easy exactly, doing battle against a creature like the nogitsune, a thousand-year-old fox spirit, could never be anything even remotely easy but… Stiles knows it. Knows the creature, better than he ever wanted to, almost more than he knows himself, certainly better than the fox knows him in return. It's almost funny actually. Because once, all those years ago, the nogitsune chose him as a vessel, because between a very skilled huntress and a nerdy human (he hadn't manifested his magic yet), he realized that Stiles was the bigger danger, the greater threat to it and its plans. It seems that in the intervening years the fox has managed to forget. It's so sure of its own victory, that nothing can stop it. Like it's a god, like it's invincible, like they didn't stop it once before already. And this time… this time Stiles isn't half-dead, barely hanging onto his sanity, in a body so new he doesn't know quite how to control it just yet, and with brand new magic making him feel like his skin won't stop crawling… Also, the magic. The magic which the nogitsune unwittingly 'woke-up' in such a way as to make Stiles far more powerful than he'd have been otherwise.
Stiles is a spark. Which essentially means that he has magical potential, but it's really small, basic, not really enough for the practitioners of any of the disciplines to be interested in him. At least, that's how it's supposed to be. That's how it'd have been if he'd never been possessed by the nogitsune, spent weeks fighting in every way he knew how, resisting the fox spirit and doing his best to keep everyone safe. To the point where the nogitsune eventually decided that it was riskier for the two of them to stay together. So it connected both their power… Stiles thinks it intended to destroy Stiles entirely, instead Stiles split from the fox, with his own body. It wasn't easy, the body lacked the scars, the damage caused by a year running around with a pack of werewolves, going against all sorts of enemies, and especially spending several hours being tortured by a psychotic geriatric hunter! This was all good, and eventually he came to be very thankful of it. It was still hard at first, because he had to re-learn quite a few things; from the best ways to move, to make use of all of his body, to not overexert some muscles while not using others enough, to even his posture, his abilities, his limits. Still, what no one could have ever counted on was the other side-effect of him and the nogitsune splitting like that: and it's that his brand new body has a bigger magical core than his old one (consequence of the fusion of the two magics). He's still a Spark in the sense that he isn't affiliated to any of the formal disciplines of magic, but he can do a lot. He tends to borrow from all of them, and sometimes even combines things. It makes for some rather… interesting, at times even volatile, results; and he's half-convinced that his experiments with magic are at least part of the reason why Lydia left him. Much as she might have grown into her banshee abilities, she's never been fully invested in the supernatural world, not like he is. And she certainly doesn't understand, doesn't embrace the pack, the way he does.
It isn't much of a fight, in the end. Unlike what had happened when Stiles's original body was bitten (by Scott back then), Allison's doesn't crumble into dust; which is probably a good thing, to be honest Stiles wasn't a hundred percent sure that it wouldn't happen, and Chris would probably break completely if he were to lose Allison again. Still, something does change, though Stiles doesn't know quite what. And he cannot focus on that, all his attention on the nogitsune. It's in fly form, buzzing around, looking for its next host…
"There's nothing for you here." Stiles informs it.
It's the truth. Everyone there either carries still the mark of the oni, the kanji that protects them from possession, or they're a werewolf (or werecoyote) which makes them immune. Also, while Derek and the others were working on knocking down Allison, Stiles, Mason and his dad worked to ensure that the nogitsune wouldn't be able to leave the clearing (Stiles might be the one with serious magic, but the other two had just enough of a spark themselves to help set up things). It might not have been the original plan, to deal with the nogitsune right then and there, doesn't mean they weren't ready. Being ready for anything, plans, and alternatives and contingencies, it's the kind of thing Stiles does! They lined the clearing with a mix of mountain ash and foxglove, drops of Stiles's blood to heighten their properties with his own spark. The nogitsune has to know its trapped. Of course that doesn't mean it'll just give up. It'll fight, it'll take any host it possibly can; and in that moment, in that place, there's only one option…
Stiles waits, and waits, until the last possible second and then…
"Jordan, shift, now!" He orders.
Jordan, aware of his part in this plan from the start, doesn't even hesitate, allowing the hellfire to envelope him, right as the fly makes to enter him… the nogitsune doesn't realize what's coming until it's far too late. Hellfire… it's more than any fire humans could ever possibly create, half physical, half metaphysical, it doesn't just burn the physical form of the nogitsune (the fly) but also its very essence, the void fox spirit…
And just like that, it's all over.
xXx
Allison is seventeen. That's what's changed. The nogitsune was using its power to make Allison appear older, and with it gone, she's once again seventeen; she looks exactly like she did the day she died. Which makes sense (far more than her being resurrected and appearing like a grown woman… that part never sat well with Stiles); like, how or when would she have even grown up? He doesn't even want to think how the nogitsune decided on the exact shape Allison's 'grown' body would have.
"I don't understand." Chris admits.
Allison is asleep, on the bed in the guest-room of the house he and Melissa live in. Chris is sitting on a chair beside it, holding his daughter's hand in his own. Melissa already did a basic check-up. Everything seems to be in perfect order. In fact, Melissa could almost swear that the girl looks better than she did when she looked older (when Scott, Lydia and Malia got her to the hospital right after her resurrection).
Allison woke up briefly, shortly after they got to the house. She answered a few questions, about what she can remember (enough); she knows the nogitsune came back, that she was its host this time around, that they bit her in order to free her. She's already asked for training to ensure she won't lose control during the next full moon.
"It's quite simple actually." Stiles pipes up. "She was in limbo, in a dimension where minor things like time just… don't exist. Remember how she at one point mentioned closing her eyes during the fight at Oak Creek, then opening them again to find herself in the hospital?" She did, when they asked her about the things she remembered prior to waking in the hospital. "That's because, for her, time really didn't pass between her dying, and being brought back. Her soul was suspended in nothingness. She had no awareness, of anything at all."
Which is both a worry and a relief. On the one hand, she spent over a decade in limbo, not truly resting, not in heaven or… whatever afterlife they might choose to believe in; would they have ever known if the nogitsune hadn't done what it did? Hadn't used her as a host? And does that mean she'd have ended up in limbo for all eternity? On the other hand, had she not been in limbo it would have been impossible for her to come back; and Stiles would dare Chris to deny that he's beyond happy to have his daughter back. He might not like the circumstances that made it all possible, but he's certainly enjoying having her back. Also, at least she wasn't suffering. She wasn't aware of anything at all. As far as Allison's concerned, she blacked out during the battle against the nogitsune-controlled-Oni, and woke up in the hospital afterwards.
They might still not know what the nogitsune intended, making her older (or well, Stiles might have a few rather… wild, theories, but nothing he's willing to mention out-loud, it wouldn't really help or even change anything at this point); but it doesn't really matter anymore. Allison is free, and a wolf now so… they have to move on.
"Why did she change, when you didn't?" Melissa wants to know.
"Because I was no longer in my body when Scott bit the nogitsune back then." Stiles explains simply. "It pushed me out. The combination of its power and my spark allowed me to sort-of create a new body for myself." He shakes his head, pushing aside the thought of what would have happened if the two together hadn't been enough to create a new body… "So, that wasn't me that Scott bit, not really. It was just the nogitsune."
"Well, at least this time it's truly gone." Noah mutters.
"Yeah." Everyone agrees with that.
Things with Scott are… not okay. They're so not-okay that at one point they're forced to use the supernatural equivalent of a knock-out gas on him. The way Scott kept going from ranting about Derek being an alpha again (and who he must have killed for the power, and how awful he was at it the first time around) to how Allison was going to hate them all for biting her, how hunters were supposed to kill themselves, how she was no longer His Allison if she was a wolf… to how he loved her so much (which is particularly disturbing considering that Allison is, for all intents and purposes still seventeen! Over a decade younger than him, than all of them, now). It's clear Chris really isn't happy with Scott, refuses to let him anywhere near his daughter, and even Melissa looks beyond appalled by her son's attitude. So they leave Scott in the living room, while Chris stays with Allison in the guest bedroom.
Deaton stands close to the unconscious Scott, looking at him quietly.
"You do know you can't keep doing this, right?" Stiles asks abruptly.
The question takes everyone by surprise, even Deaton.
"I'm sure I know not…" The druid begins.
"I'm talking about all this True Alpha shtick, all this lying and posturing and what-not." Stiles cuts him off. "You cannot keep doing it indefinitely. And you know it."
"Mr. Stilinski…" Deaton begins.
"Hale." Stiles cuts in again. "Mr. Stilinski-Hale, that's my name."
Deaton blinks, as if truly surprised by that, Stiles doesn't know why. While it's really none of the cryptic man's business. Stiles did send an invitation to their wedding to Scott (he didn't show up, but anyway!) and considering the two men have been working together since abandoning Beacon Hills for LA…
"Mr. Stilinski-Hale." Deaton corrects with a very dramatic inclination of his head, making it obvious that he's just humoring Stiles and finds it all ridiculous. "I assure you I have no idea…"
"You don't need to keep lying," Stiles interrupts, once more. "I know what you've been doing. Most of us do actually." Before Deaton can try and weasel his way out of it he continues: "I found out the truth a few years ago. About how the whole 'True Alpha' shtick is nothing more than a myth. A lie created and propagated by emissaries, druids specifically, who for some unknown reason seem to believe that the Earth needs them to keep some 'mystical balance', like She's not perfectly capable of doing that all on her own. What's worse is that it's always Your idea of balance. Like, if there's too much good happening somewhere, there must be some bad to balance it out, godsforbid that there be more good than evil in this world!" He scoffs. "I don't know whose idea it was exactly. This whole 'artificial alpha' deal. But you must know, it cannot last forever. It never does. And while most so-called True Alphas might have been able to eventually become actual alphas. You know that will never happen with Scott. He's too… deluded, believing that one can exist in this world without fighting, without killing."
"Scott is a good man Mr…" Deaton begins.
"No, he's not." Surprisingly enough, it's Noah who intervenes then. "I might not have seen him in over a decade, but what I've seen in the last day was enough for me. Scott isn't a man, he's a man-child, one who's never grown up. He's been lead to believe that being stubborn is a virtue, that not wanting to follow other people's orders somehow makes him a good leader, that he knows better for no reason at all. He's not a man, he's a boy, and as long as you continue coddling him, fomenting his delusions, he'll never grow up." He turns to the staircase, to the woman standing there, silently crying: "I'm sorry Melissa…"
"No, you… you're right." She nods through her tears. "I may hate to admit it but you're right. Scott… he's my Scott, he's my son, and I love him, but he's not the kind of person I once thought he'd be, that he could have been… He's… I cannot help but see all of his father's worst traits in him and I cannot help but wonder, where did I go wrong?"
The worst part is that no one can even tell her she didn't. It's… not entirely her fault. She was a single mother, who for many years had to support herself an an asthmatic son, what's worse, an asthmatic son who kept insisting on pushing boundaries, on being reckless with his own life. Melissa did her best she could, but some things are just, truly, too much.
"He's the wolf who never wanted to be a wolf." Stiles points out. "Or rather, he was all for the pros, for the great health, and the strength, the speed, the popularity, the girl! But never accepted the cons, and refused to accept that they were all a package deal. He's the wolf who never learned about packs, he never knew how to be in one, how to be a beta, and yet you brainwashed him into believing that he'd be a marvelous alpha, why? Because you wanted to use him. And he went along with it, because being an alpha meant that other people had to follow his orders, and no one could order him around in return! And now… he doesn't know how to be an alpha, doesn't know how to be a beta, he barely knows how to be a wolf at all! You cannot keep this lie going for long. Because I've cut you off from the Nemeton. Necessary to ensure that stupidities like the one from yesterday won't be happening again, ever!"
Deaton gasps, eyes widening as he seems to finally realize something. It's the most visceral reaction Stiles (any of them really) has ever gotten from him. But in that moment he doesn't really care about that.
"Oh yeah, I've known about you leeching from the Nemeton all these years." Stiles nods. "I didn't do anything about it because… well I knew that the moment I intervened that the tree would latch onto me. It's been wanting me to be its guardian since we defeated the nogitsune the first time around. But back then I wasn't ready. I wanted to do things, to go places, and I knew I wouldn't be able to do that if I was bound to the Nemeton. And it was willing to wait until I was ready. And you, very conveniently, left town so I didn't have to worry about another stupid ritual exacerbating things, again!" Like with a certain surrogate sacrifice… "We had our theories, of course, about what you were planning long term. Pretty good ones, I gotta say. But nothing absolute. And like I said, with you and Scott gone we weren't in a rush." He exhales. "And then you went and did all… this. I always planned on retiring from the FBI. Maybe becoming a consultant, or a PI. Most of the trouble in the supernatural world can be solved with just the right people having the right information, and I can do all that from home! Also, Derek and I have been thinking about having another kid; Cora said she's willing to be surrogate again… though we'll probably do it as an actual surrogacy this time…"
Several jaws actually drop at that. Stiles wonders if he ought to be so proud that even after fifteen years people still haven't (or at least hadn't) realized the truth about Eli's parentage; or wonder about the total lack of braincells if after so long, if even after actually seeing and spending time with the kid, they couldn't see the obvious. Eli is so clearly half-Hale, half-Stilinski, and it's not just the name, and since men obviously cannot get pregnant (well, probably not, with magic involved… as interesting as the idea is Stiles would rather not, his figure would never recover from a pregnancy!)… Stiles's dad knew a week after first meeting the kid! (Long before Stiles himself did… in fact, back when even Cora didn't know for sure who her baby's daddy was!).
He's not lying, about his plans to retire. Perhaps it might not have always been part of his plans, but certainly since finding out about Eli, since finding out that Derek loves him, as much as Stiles does him; has since he was still a teenager. It might not have been the right time for them back then. What with Derek's shit-ton of trauma, and his need to avenge his family, and his belief that he didn't deserve anything good in the world… And Stiles… Well, there was the FBI, and his belief that Derek would never be interested in him, and if Lydia was finally giving him a chance he ought to take it… And then when that went to hell. It was the Hales that got him out of the emotional hole Lydia left him in. They gave him a reason to believe: in love, in family and himself, to believe that he wasn't unlovable, that he's enough, that someone rejecting him didn't have to be his fault… They, Derek especially, also made him realize that perhaps he was never so much in love with Lydia, as he was with the idea of her. He used to believe she was this perfect genius that lived behind a facade of popularity and shallowness and cruelty because she wasn't yet ready to show her true self to the world. That one day she'd see him, he'd earn her trust and help her show her true self… Truth is that while Lydia most certainly is a genius, she's also petty and shallow sometimes (she refused to be seen in public with him if he wasn't wearing the 'right kind of clothes', was completely against public shows of affection, and would often belittle Stiles's likes and hobbies in a back-handed way, deeming them unimportant), and she can be so very cruel… Even then when she first left him he tried so hard to get her back. Kept thinking that if he just did better she'd return to him… It was Jackson who pulled him out of his funk, made him see that Lydia would have never stayed. If it hadn't been those dreams, it'd have been his insistence that they marry (and her refusal to do so), their differing opinions on forming a family, on settling down… They were never going to last. After that he decided he needed some distance, being some other place, anywhere. And he ended in Beacon Hills. Funny, when he and Lydia left after the worst fight against Monroe's sycophants they told themselves and each other they'd never go back…
Stiles had known about Eli's existence before that. About Cora's kid, whom she didn't believe she could raise, as she didn't believe herself capable of being a mother (didn't want to), so she gave him to Derek to raise, though she still dropped by often. Regardless, she made sure that everyone, Eli included, saw her as 'Aunt Cora', not as his mom. She was the one who told him the truth about the kid's paternity. When he'd no idea what he was going to do with his life, what he had anymore aside from his job at the FBI. She gave him a lifeline, gave him something to focus on, to live for, to strive to be the best he could be. Stiles had been willing to leave the FBI the moment he learned the truth, but they stopped him. Convinced him that he was doing good at the agency. That he ought to stay, at least for a while. Not forever, but for some time. Until he was ready to strike out on his own, to settle down… That was when 'The Plan' was created.
Like he told Alan Deaton, he always planned to retire. He even planned on taking his place as the Nemeton's Guardian once he was back in Beacon Hills for good. It wouldn't even be a lie to say it was going to happen soon. His last case… it was a bit too much, even for him. He was ready to retire, to settle down, to embrace the life of a family man…
"The fail-beta of mine is a risk." Peter states bluntly.
No one comments on his choice of words this time. And… it's not like he's wrong, exactly. Scott is a risk, with his erratic behavior. And truly, he's never more dangerous than when he's most obsessed with a girl. And his obsession with Allison has always been the worst. Even when she was dating Isaac, when Scott himself was with Kira, he never stopped obsessing over her. Allison was going to have a hard enough time dealing with her brand new status as a werewolf, they couldn't allow Scott to make things even harder.
"We won't allow that." Stiles announces seriously.
"Oh…" Peter smiles widely. "You have a plan, sweetheart?"
Right, because Stiles is the one with the plans, always.
"He has a life in LA, doesn't he?" Stiles points out. "Then let him go back to it. We erase all memory of the last couple of days. Let him think he was in an accident or something and was unconscious or sick or whatever for a while. If he doesn't remember about the nogitsune, and Allison, then there's no reason for him to present any kind of risk."
"What about his status?" Malia wants to know. "You've already said he won't remain an alpha for much longer. And he doesn't have a pack. He's liable to go feral."
"Let Deaton deal with that." Derek decides.
"Good idea." Peter agrees wholeheartedly. "He chose McCall. The brat's his responsibility."
"Can't he join your pack?" Melissa asks softly, hesitantly. "If he's at such risk…"
"Melissa…" Stiles exhales, not knowing how to explain things to her… or rather, how to do it without hurting her.
"Scott can never be Hale Pack." Peter states, somewhat bluntly yet at the same time with a surprising amount of kindness. "He burnt that bridge a long time ago."
Yes he did, when he betrayed them all, time and again. Even if Derek were willing to overlook it… Well, it's not possible, precisely because it cannot be overlooked, his wolf could never overlook it. Things like disloyalty, outright betrayal… Scott's incredibly lucky that Derek loves Stiles, and respects Noah and Melissa enough to hold himself back from giving the foolish boy what his wolf insists he deserves. In fact, Stiles has serious doubts about any pack being willing to take Scott. Even if they don't know about his track record with the Hales, Scott's authority issues, and daddy issues, his stubbornness, and the fact that he was once and alpha… even just one of those things would make finding a pack difficult, all of them put together? It'll make it next to impossible. Well, it's none of their business in the end.
Arrangements are made in record time. Derek uses his alpha claws to extract the memories from a still-unconscious Scott. Stiles does a spell, he basically puts Deaton under a geas, to ensure he won't be revealing anything of what happened during the past two days to Scott, nor anything else that might lead Scott to believe that 'his alphahood' was stolen, he also ensures that the druid will never again be able to act, either covertly or directly, against the Hale Pack. Finally, he adds a spell to ensure that Scott won't be waking up until he's in his own room in LA.
He and Deaton will be back at their own apartments by the next day, and when the younger man wakes up the druid will make up a story about there having been some kind of accident during their most recent rescue operation. Scott got hit on the head pretty hard, hard enough a human would have certainly died; he healed, but slow, slower than expected, and has been unconscious for almost three days (and if eventually Scott is lead to believe that it was his near-death, his 'miraculous survival', that somehow drained his alpha-spark… all the better).
xXx
"Eli is your son?"
Lydia's the one asking the question, and Stiles doesn't understand why it's even a question!
"That's what I said, yes." Stiles shrugs.
"It's not just that you adopted him, he's truly yours." She insists.
"That's what I said." Stiles drawls.
"You never told me." She finally gets to the point. "You… his age, he must have been born when we were still together and… you never told me. You ch…"
"Before!" Stiles cuts her off before she can say that awful word. "Before we were ever together. Cora and I had… something of a fling. It was… nothing serious really. After the mess with the darach and the alpha pack was over, but before the whole thing with the nogitsune began. Before she left. She went looking for me… apparently she remembered me telling her that the next time I put my mouth to hers she better be awake…" At Lydia's wide-eyed look she clarifies. "When she was dying, due to the mistletoe? She stopped breathing at some point, I gave her CPR."
"And you told her she better be awake next time you pressed your mouth to hers?"
Stiles can hear Lydia's judgment loud and clear. And oh no, not this time!
"Hey!" He snaps, loud enough to make her almost jump. "Should I remind you how bad things were back then? My dad had been taken, same as Melissa; Scott had just betrayed us to go with an enemy, again! You had almost died; Derek was trying to recover after being used by a psycho bitch, again! Jeniffer-fucking-Blake was going to kill her last three sacrifices, my dad included, at any moment! The Alpha Pack was still threatening us all! Cora was dying! It was like the whole world was falling apart and there was nothing I could do! So excuse me if I said something stupid in a moment of hysteria while trying to save someone's life!"
Lydia's eyes are very wide. And it's not just her. Practically everyone in the room is looking at them and Stiles… he just doesn't care anymore. He's about done with everything, with everyone. He might have loved Lydia once, but that was a long time ago (sometimes it feels like a whole lifetime ago). Sometimes he even wonders why he ever did, because looking back on a lot of things… there's so much he doesn't like, from him, and from her. If he met the young Lydia today he really wouldn't like her. He doesn't think they were ever good for each other, not really. But he was just so hung up on the idea of her…
"What is it you really want to know Lydia?" He asks once he manages to mostly get himself under control. "What is it that really bothers you? I did not cheat on you. Though considering how quickly you jumped onto that idea I'm not sure you'll even believe me." He scoffs. "I did not keep anything from you either. I Did Not Know!" He takes a deep breath, forcing himself to keep calm (or as calm as he possibly could be). "Cora came to me one night. She wanted to thank me for helping her, told me she remembered what I said in the back of that ambulance. Somehow we went from talking to kissing. It was just sex, no strings attached. She left two days later. From what she's told me, she didn't realize she was pregnant until she was past the first trimester. She didn't know the baby was mine. I wasn't even the likeliest candidate, since she was on the pill, and I used a condom, and we only did it that one night."
Though, now that he thinks back on it, considering everything else: his magic, her being a Hale, the Nemeton, a part of him cannot help but wonder if other forces might not have been involved to a point. Ensuring the continuation of the Hale line, and connecting Stiles (the future Guardian) to the Hale Pack in a very definite way…
"They only realized he was mine years later." Stiles continues. "I've been told that my dad was the first to suspect it, actually. Then again, he was the only one who knew what I was like, and what I looked like as a kid, he saw the similarities when Cora and Derek did not."
He doesn't mention that Cora wasn't really around by then anyway. That's none of Lydia's (or anyone else's) business.
"And when did you find out?" Lydia presses.
"After E… my boss was convinced to put me on leave for a few weeks and I came to spend them here. I didn't want to stay home… not after you…" He shakes his head somewhat violently. "What is is you really want to know Lydia? If I kept him from you? If I lied? Are you trying to find some way to blame things on me?" She opens her mouth to say something but he doesn't let her interrupt. "No Lydia! This, the end of us, that wasn't on me. It was on you! You're the one who left. The one who refused to come back. Who stopped taking my calls. You barely even gave an explanation. And no, I don't call some nightmares an explanation. Because really, I work in a top secret division of the FBI, I go on top-secret missions several times a year, some not only highly classified, but also fairly dangerous, and you thought that a car accident would be the thing to do me in?! No, this wasn't about you being afraid, it was about having an excuse." He exhales. "I realized it a long time ago. Might not have wanted to admit it for a long while but truth is, we were never going to last. Because you never wanted us to. You never wanted us to settle down, to have a family, to buy a house together, you didn't even want to marry me… I have to wonder. Why did you even say yes when I asked you out in senior year? Why say yes when I asked you to be my girlfriend? Why stay for so long when you never wanted anything actually permanent with me?"
He suspects he knows the answer already. Because she didn't want to be alone. Not really (who does?) Before becoming a banshee she probably could have found some rich kid (or man), wrap him around her finger, have him do everything for her, while she had the life she wanted. But as a banshee… how could she have explained about the nightmares? The night terrors? The times when she would go into a fugue state, or when she'd just start talking, or writing, or even drawing, for no apparent reason? And the wailing (granted, that was pretty rare since the end of the war against Monroe and her minions)… Until even he became too much for her desire to remain 'independent', her own person. It's not that he doesn't realize where she's coming from. That her dad's infidelity and her mom's own attitude towards it scarred her in many, deep, ways. But why should he be made to pay for another man's wrongdoings?!
Lydia doesn't give an answer, but it's not like Stiles is expecting one, not really. She just grabs her bag and leaves in a huff. Jackson looks at Stiles, he says nothing; they understand each other just fine. Jackson might not like the way that Stiles called her out, but he knows why the other man did it; likewise Stiles might not entirely understand why Jackson will always go to Lydia, will never stop seeing her as a friend, despite all the times she's been cruel to him… But well, that's Jackson's business in the end. The two might be friends but that doesn't mean they have to agree on everything.
By the time Eli gets home after school (the only reason Stiles dare say as much as he did during the argument with Lydia was because he knew his son was nowhere near enough to hear) Deaton and Scott have left town already; Stiles and Derek are home; Allison is with them as well, will be staying a few days, or perhaps a few weeks, until she feels fully in control. They've installed her in the guest bedroom for the time being. Stiles is already making arrangements to make her legal. Which they talk about during dinner that night (Chris, Melissa, Peter and Noah are invited, both to eat and to participate in the planning).
"I know a few guys." He explains during dinner that night. "One of them worked with WitSec. He can get you papers that will be as legal as they can be. We'll probably have to make up a story once you're out, to explain your name, and any connection you might have to the Argents…"
"Not Argent." It's the first thing Allison says all night.
"Wha…?" That takes everyone by surprise.
"I'm not an Argent, not anymore." She states evenly.
"Is this about you being a werewolf?" Peter's eyes narrow.
"Surprisingly enough, no." Allison admits with a slight snort. "It's…" she turns to her dad. "Remember that summer we spent in France? After I went off the deep-end and hurt… hurt Derek's pack?" She waits for her dad's nod. "You know what I remember most about that summer? All the posturing. The way everyone there talked about 'doing the right thing' and 'fighting the good fight' and 'being honorable' and 'protecting' like they were freaking knights of Arthurian legend or something. But they never talked about what it was truly like, hunting. Coming against deranged wolves who can kill you at any time, and those who might attack you more out of fear than hate. And those who might be so terrified of us as Hunters, of what we might do as a group that they won't even fight… They talk pretty, but that's all they are: talks, words, nothing more. So I'm not an Argent anymore. Allison Argent is dead, and that's the way she's gonna stay." She takes a deep breath. "I'm different now. Not just because I'm a werewolf but… actually, I don't think it's about that at all. Even with the claws and the fangs, even though my control isn't very good just yet. Inside I still feel like… well, me."
"Because you're still you." Chris assures her. "You're still my daughter. Still my Allison…"
"Vermeil." Eli blurts out unexpectedly.
All eyes turn to him.
"What?" Chris and Allison ask at the same time.
Eli goes red all the way to the tips of his ears. Yet at his dads' encouraging looks, he finds the strength to settle down and explain his line of thought.
"Allison Vermeil, that should be your name." Eli explains.
"Why Vermeil?" Allison asks, though she doesn't sound exactly opposed, just curious.
"Well, Argent means silver, and it's all about silver killing wolves, like that old myth, right?" Eli does his best to explain. "Then, vermeil is French for silver-gilt, right? Like, when something, like a piece of jewelry, that's made of silver, is gilded with gold. And after that most people look at them, and they just see the gold, and feel that it's solid, and most may not realize that it's actually silver on the inside. Just like you, on the outside you might be a werewolf now, you might be 'gold', but inside you're still silver… doesn't matter if other people know it or not. You're still you."
"Allison Vermeil." Chris tries the name out.
She's still her… that's the part she focuses on.
"I like it." She decides.
And she does, she really does.
So... thoughts?
I don't know if it's just me, but I firmly believe that most fanfics make a lot more sense than canon. Especially when considering the canon of things like this movie, that left so much in the air it's hard to tell which way is up sometimes.
For those who're probably wondering about my decision regarding Eli's parentage... I actually saw it done in another fic and it fit so perfectly that I decided to go with it. I picture Cora as being someone who'd want to be Hale Pack, and contribute to the future of the pack, but not as someone who'd be too interested in being a mother. And there's nothing wrong with that! She's the fun aunt who likes to travel, yet is there when her pack truly needs her (she wasn't there for this mess because no one called her! Same as Stiles in the actual movie!).
Hope you enjoyed. As mentioned before. I'm taking a break from the TW fandom. I've written a lot over the past four months (fifteen separate fics, all but one of them, one-shots... the other being a two-shot). I'm thoroughly exhausted. So I need a break, immerse myself in other fandoms for a while. Will I come back? Definitely, though I cannot promise when that'll be. Might be in a few months, next year, who knows? To those wondering about future projects. I have a few ideas: like those crossovers for the DS-verse; a longer, multi-chapter (perhaps even multi-story) fix-it for the movie, going with the idea of "what if the Nogitsune weren't the real villain? What if there was someone else moving the strings, and had been from the very beginning (as in, from the start of the show)"; and finally, a time-travel fix-it, only, what if it were Scott who traveled back, a bad-friend, bad-alpha delusional Scott who believes that Stiles has always been at the core of his problems, so the best way to solve everything, is to cut him out of his life; how would things go then? Now, when will any of this fics will come out? No idea, like I said, I don't know when I'll be inspired for this fandom again. Still, I can promise I will come back.
So... thanks so much for reading, whether it was just this, or all of my fics. As always, feedback is very welcome (it's what keeps me going). Hope to see you around!