Chapter 2: June the Mechanic
"So what now?" Stiles asked, completely ignoring me.
"She thinks she knows where we can find Derek," Scott explained, shrugging.
"Is she gonna tell us where?" Malia said impatiently, squinting in the sunlight.
"Actually she's - giving us a guide," Scott answered. On cue, we heard the rumble of an engine as a motorcycle cruised down the hectic streets. The woman, who was clad in all black leather despite the desert heat, stopped her bike in front of us and took off her helmet. A familiar face surfaced, but only one I had seen briefly before. In that time, she didn't have the long, jagged scars down her face and neck.
"You know her?" Stiles asked, patting Scott on the chest.
Not taking my eyes off of her, I answered, "Braeden."
Stiles whirled around to look at me, "You know her?"
I shrugged, "Briefly. I mean I only heard her name after Derek explained who saved him from the Calaveras the last time."
"She's a mercenary," Scott went on.
"And right now I'm the only one who's gonna take you to la iglesia."
"The church?" Lydia translated.
"What's The Church?" Stiles asked. Braeden looked over to him.
"It's not a place you'll find God."
"Okay-" I began, balling my hands into fists and raising them up in that awkward-mom-dance style, "- total badass moment over and done with. Shall we get moving?"
"Okay for the record next time, Scott gets to sit on someone's lap," I said grumpily as I squished myself onto Kira's lap. She held her arms tight around me and I used that as a means to steadily plop my legs up onto the laps of the two other girls in the backseat. Lydia shot me a dirty look as I set my converse-clad feet on her, and I narrowed my eyes.
"You're the one who has an actual seat, so not a damn peep out of you, missy," I said, waving a threatening finger. It grew silent, and we eventually settled into an awkward quiet as Stiles followed Braeden down the dirt road. I managed to pull out my phone from my pocket and started playing games on it for a little bit. Malia, obviously disliking the stillness, leaned forward as best as she could with my legs still perched on her lap.
"Okay, I'll ask. Who's Kate Argent?"
Kira's hand slipped out from where it was previously pinned, "Uh - I'd like to know too."
"Well we were at her funeral," Stiles said, glancing over to Scott, "So I'd like to know how she got out of a casket that was buried six feet underground."
"She was never in it," Scott said dramatically. I rolled my eyes slightly.
"She was Allison's aunt," Lydia explained, "And a total sociopath."
Kira glanced back at Scott sympathetically, "You don't have to talk about it now if you don't want to."
Malia, being ever curious and completely unable to tread lightly around sore subjects, shook her head, "Um, yes he does." She proceeded to gesture at him to continue.
"Yeah, she's right," Scott agreed quietly, "You guys should know, you need to know."
"Alright, from what I've gathered about this woman, Kate was the one who set the fire that killed most of Derek's family," I started when Scott took too long to start explaining.
"Some of them survived, like Cora and Peter," Scott continued.
"A very angry Peter," Lydia added bitterly.
"Yeah he's the one who bit and turned me." Scott continued.
"And the one who finally caught up to Kate and killed her," Lydia finished.
"And we saw her buried," Stiles said as he adjusted his hands on the steering wheel.
"No," Scott argued, "We saw a casket remember? She wasn't in it. Yeah the Calaveras had heard that Kate had been clawed by an alpha's claws. They wanted to make sure she was really dead. But she wasn't. Her body was healing more and more as she got closer to a full moon. She was coming back."
"An exceptional feat really," I input, "I mean, to be technically dead in every way, shape, and form, and come back to life? It's pretty much unheard of, except for apparently every werewolf you know." I cringed when I got to the last bit.
"Anyways," Scott continued, "They switched out the bodies. They took her back to Mexico and threw her in that same room we were all just in. If a hunter is bit, they have to take their own life before they change. The Calaveras, they treat the code like law, and they make it their responsibility to enforce it. She ended up creating a diversion to escape."
"Good for her, I wouldn't do it either," Malia said.
"Yeah but would you kill half a dozen people to get out?" Scott contended, "Because that's what she did. She killed six hunters and disappeared out into the night."
"Araya says that every person she's sent out after Kate hasn't come back."
"So she's sending us?" I asked,
"She took Derek, that's why we're going out there."
"What does she even want with Derek anyway?" I pressed.
"Whatever it is, it's bound to be really really shitty." Stiles stated.
"So Kate's a werewolf now?" Kira asked.
"I don't know. There's a saying that sometimes the shape you take reflects the person you are."
"What kind of shape is sociopathic bitch?" Lydia remarked. As soon as her words hung in the air, Stiles' jeep lurched to the side. I was hurdled off of the laps of the three girls and awkwardly stuck in between their shins and the two front seats. When Stiles got control of the jeep again, he immediately pulled over to the side of the road, and hopped out.
Scott followed suit, and turned around to help the four of us get out. He shot the passenger's seat forward, and awkwardly let half of my body sink to the ground. I paused for a second with my cheek pressed to the floor of the jeep before madly scrambling about. I kicked the walls and windows (and maybe almost Malia's head) as I tumbled out of the jeep. Graciously, I landed on solid ground on two feet, with my hands in the air, and a big smile on my face.
Okay, not true. I somehow did a flip though, and landed flat on my ass outside of Stiles' car. Scott quickly extended his hand and I took it gratefully, standing up and brushing away the hair that continually whipped at my face due to the large gusts of wind. I walked out to the side brushing the dust off of my shorts and met Stiles' eye.
"June, could you please not kick the interior of my jeep anymore? I just cleaned the windows."
My face morphed into a giant what the fuck glare, as my mouth fell open. "I'm fine, thanks. For the record, Stilinski, we are taking Ginny's car next time. Where there is comfortable seating for more than five people."
"We couldn't tell Ginny-"
"Yes, we totally could have! She's been advocating for me to go on a road trip since I turned sixteen! She was over the moon when I told her I was going to Mexico!"
"Well - wait, Ginny knows we're here?"
"What happened?" Braeden interrupted, as she finally pulled over and got off her bike. Stiles went back to investigating his jeep, Scott and I doing the same.
"I don't know, it felt like we hit something," Stiles answered.
"Scott, we need to get there by night," Braeden scolded. "It's too dangerous otherwise."
Scott spent a couple moments weighing the pros and cons of leaving all of us behind.
"I could go," I offered Scott. Everyone looked back to me, Stiles almost snapped his neck looking back at me.
"No!"
"What, why not?"
"Because - n-no!"
"Oh, well in that case, nevermind," I said sarcastically.
"Your boyfriend's right," Braeden said, and I looked to her. "Not entirely sure we should have a witch in an ancient Aztec temple without at least scoping the place out first."
"Fine," I said, crossing my arms. I looked over to Scott, "I guess it's on you now."
Stiles turned back to Scott as well, "Go," He said, waving his arms.
"Not without you!" Scott refused.
"Dude, someone needs to find Derek," Stiles argued, "We'll figure something out, we always do. Just go."
Scott glanced back my way and I nodded at him. For good measure, I gave a thumbs up. He spent a few moments more debating it when Braeden started walking back to her bike. Sighing, Scott nodded and walked over to her. Kira was quick to rush after him.
"June, can you grab the toolbox out of the trunk?" Stiles asked he propped open the hood of his jeep. I walked around to the back and popped open the trunk. Sifting around through dirty socks and lacrosse sticks, I dug out the desired toolbox. When I got back to the front, Scott and Braeden had left, and Stiles was already assessing the damage to the smoking engine.
"Do you know what you're doing?" I asked, handing him the tools.
"Yeah, totally," Stiles said, scratching at his temple.
"Bitch-ass liar says 'what?'" I mumbled.
"What?"
"Nothing!" I said more audibly, pulling my long hair back into a bun. I watched as Stiles worked on the jeep a bit more, and Malia walked along the frame of the car. She stopped suddenly at one of the front tires, and crouched down. She reached her hand in under the frame and above the tire.
"Stiles, I don't think we hit something," She grunted, as she pulled something loose. "I think something hit us." She stood up to show us a giant bone grooved and ridged near the top, but sharpened at the bottom. Malia handed it over to Stiles, who in turn handed it over to me. I examined it, turning it over in my hands.
"Any idea what that could be?"
"Well it's a bear claw. At least the bone part is, but it's been carved down, and sharpened."
Stiles narrowed his eyes at it, "Okay, well any idea what could have done that?"
"Well, depending on the branch of mythology and the region that we're in I-" I paused, remembering back to something that Chris Argent once said before.
"Werewolves, berserkers, I could easily add a nogitsune to the list."
"Oh no," I said.
"Oh no?" Stiles repeated, "Oh no? What - what's 'oh no,' June?"
I turned to face him, my eyes slightly wide, "Um - if it's what I think it is, we might want to get this jeep up and running real fast."
The jeep was not up and running real fast. Night had fallen, and at this point, all was still. Stiles was currently on top of the jeep's engine, digging at it in attempt to make it work. Lydia had been assigned to flashlight duty, and I was standing next to Kira watching them work. Malia was keeping an eye on our surroundings for us.
"Maybe we should just walk," Lydia suggested.
Stiles took the screwdriver that was currently residing in his mouth out, and glared at the ginger, "Hey I will never abandon this jeep, you understand me? Ever! Ever."
"Okay hang loose, Mother Goose," I said, and everyone stopped to look at me. I crossed my arms, "Well it got you to shut up."
"Work faster, Stiles," I heard Malia say from behind me, "There is something out here with us."
"Aliens?" I asked hopefully, "Please say aliens."
"June, enough with the aliens-"
"I will not!" I argued like a child, "The truth is out there, and I am determined to find it and continue the long line of work that Fox Mulder has worked so hard to procure to the public!"
"June-"
"It will not be in vain, Stilinski!"
"Both of you, save it for date night, alright?" Lydia said, and my eyes widened as I blushed, "Stiles, get back to work."
"Well I totally would if you could just please hold the flashlight still for a second. It's really hard to see anything when you keep shaking it like that!"
Lydia shook the flashlight more to prove a point, "I'm shaking it like this because we're in the middle of nowhere with your broken down jeep, and we're being attacked by yet another razor-clawed monster. And I'm terrified."
"Well just be slightly less terrified," He contended. I rolled my eyes at him as he went back to fixing his jeep. "Here, hold this," He handed me a part of his jeep that was pretty sizable.
"What is this?"
He glanced up at me, "I don't know, I'm hoping it's not important."
"Oh, God," Lydia trailed off. I took the part and peered inside at the engine.
"You know I could totally just-"
"We're fine, June! I've got this." It would have been perfectly believable had it not been followed by an odd noise that came from the engine. We all looked down at it, then I glanced back up at Stiles with a raised eyebrow.
"Yep, I've still got this."
Kira walked over to us and put her katana in the light being given off from Stiles' headlights. She reflected the light to cast a glance at our surroundings, and stopped when she saw something move in the distance.
"Did you see that?" She asked me and I nodded. Before anyone could do anything, Malia let out a growl and took off running.
"Malia, wait!" Kira yelled, and promptly ran after her.
"Hey, Malia!" I yelled as well. I was about to make a dash for it when Lydia grabbed my arm. I turned around to see that she had Stiles' arm in her grasp as well.
"You, fix the jeep," She pointed the flashlight at Stiles. I made to move again and she gripped my arm tighter, "June, focus! If something comes after us, you need to protect us. And you also need to make sure that Stiles doesn't fuck up his jeep any more than he already has." I sighed, and nodded at her.
"Stiles, time is of the essence here, so move quickly." He nodded and screwed in what he thought must have been something that came loose. Unfortunately, all that happened instead was another loud clunk and the headlights went out on his jeep.
"And that would be the battery," Stiles trailed off.
I rolled my eyes, "Alright, you're done," I told him. Before he could even reply, I magically hoisted him in the air and planted him a solid five feet away from the jeep. By the time he got up, I had already taken off my shoulder bag, and handed it to Lydia. Opening the bag, I pulled out a spare flashlight. Stiles marched up to us and before he yell at me, I wrenched the screwdriver out of his grasp and thrust the flashlight into his hands.
"You - you are not fixing this jeep anymore. Hold the flashlight over the engine like Lydia is doing and keep quiet," I ordered. Begrudgingly, Stiles did so, and I crawled under the jeep.
I noticed he basically unscrewed his battery loose, so I tightened up a few nuts and bolts to get it into place again. Reaching for the part that Stiles had previously removed, I placed it back in the empty place it was supposed to go. Lastly, I told Stiles to hand me his flashlight. He rolled it under the jeep, and I caught it, ready to assess the damage.
It turns out that the bear claw (hopefully not belonging to a berserker) was lodged in the radiator of his jeep. Solving the problem that was the damage, I moved to fix it all together. Rolling the flashlight back out, I yelled for Lydia to toss me the lighter in my purse. I instructed Stiles to go grab the coolant from his trunk, and I felt the lighter hit my side. I flicked it several times when finally, there was a flame.
Magically, I manipulated the flame to grow larger and collect in my hand. I moved the ball of fire towards the radiator where I could see the metal melting down. Telekinetically, I welded the hole in the radiator shut. Now instead of a gaping hole, was a smooth patch of cooling metal. I extinguished the fire in my hand and crawled out from under the jeep.
Stiles came back around from the trunk holding some coolant in his hands. I snatched it and filled up the car with some coolant.
"Stiles, go start the jeep, it should work now." He did as I asked, and started the jeep up. Thankfully, it worked, and the engine roared to life. Lydia climbed in the backseat, and I waited for Kira and Malia to come back. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the two racing back to us, and I ushered them into the jeep as well. When everyone else was in, I climbed into the front seat, and Stiles took off into the night.
I didn't even have time to appreciate that I wasn't sitting on someone's lap before I rounded on Malia. "You - you please don't do that ever again!"
"Do what?" She asked.
"We - we thought you just took off, we thought you were running."
"I was running," She stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"No, he means that we thought you were leaving." I explained to her.
"I wouldn't leave without you guys," Malia said, glancing between Stiles and me.
"What - really?" Stiles asked.
She shook her head, "No I would never leave without you." She looked to Kira and Lydia, "Them I would leave."
I sighed, "Yeah it's progress."
Lydia looked down at Malia's side, "That doesn't look good."
"It's okay," she assured her.
"Are you sure? It looks pretty deep."
"No, I can already feel it healing," Malia said.
"You didn't see anything?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "Barely. It had a strong scent, though."
"Like what?" Stiles asked.
"Like death."
I nodded, "All the more reason for us to get the hell out of Mexico. Stiles, could you maybe drive a bit faster?"
Stiles made a face, and shifted gears. We sped along down the road and eventually reached what looked like an abandoned town. Upon closer inspection, the buildings were all reduced to rubble in some way.
"Where the hell are we supposed to find them," Stiles muttered, tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel.
"I'm not a genius - well, yes I am - but I'm fairly certain they're going to be in that big church that's the only thing still standing in this town," I said aloud, pointing directly ahead of us. The headlights shone on the church, and Stiles pulled over and stopped completely.
He cut the engine as we saw movement up ahead. I hopped out of the jeep and opened the backseat up before racing over to what I could now recognize as Scott and Braeden carrying Derek between them. At least I assumed it was Derek, this one had no facial hair, and looked to be about our age.
Stiles' eyes widened considerably, and I nudged him, "I'm not just seeing things, am I? That-" I gestured to Derek, "- That's a thing?"
He nodded slowly, eyes still wide and still on Derek. I heard Malia, Kira, and Lydia run up behind us.
"Is that him? Is that Derek?" Malia asked us. I shrugged, eyes glancing up and down the figure of Derek-slash-Benjamin-Button.
"Sort of," I heard Stiles answer, and I shook my head.
"Okay well he is so not sitting on my lap on the ride back."
It was pouring rain by the time we got back to Beacon Hills, quite the opposite weather from what we were experiencing in Mexico. We dropped Kira and Malia back off at their respective homes before rushing over to the animal clinic.
Scott hoisted Derek up over his shoulder and we all trudged inside. Deaton, who had been called previously, was waiting for us in the exam room. He cleared off a metal slab and Scott gently set Derek down on it. We adjusted him, and soon enough, Lydia, Scott, Stiles, Deaton, and I were huddled around him.
"Wow," Deaton said, his eyes wide.
"Wow? Wow as in, 'I've seen this before and I know exactly what to do,' kind of wow? Cause that's the kind of wow we're hoping for," Stiles asked.
Deaton offered a shaky smile, "I think you may be overestimating my abilities."
I grabbed onto his hand, "He's cold. Really cold." Deaton grabbed his other hand, and started a brief assessment. Scott looked over him worryingly.
"Do you think this is permanent?"
"I'm not sure a medical diagnosis is even adequate. This is well beyond my experience."
"Maybe we should try to get a hold of Max Tivoli," I joked. I was only met with confused, semi-hopeful glances.
I rolled my eyes, "He's like the original Benjamin Button, okay? He doesn't exist." I looked over to Deaton, "So what do we do with him?"
"Until he wakes up, probably not much," Deaton answered. "It might be best to leave him with me. He'll be safe here."
"You mean from Kate," Stiles commented.
"If she's alive and she is what you say she is, she won't be able to walk past that gate."
"But why would she want to do this to him?" Lydia asked.
"Knowing Kate, it's probably for a reason that won't be any good for anyone but her."
"And bad for everyone else," Stiles trailed off, and Deaton nodded.
"You guys should probably go home," Deaton told us. "He doesn't look to be in any danger. So maybe the rest of you should get some sleep? It is a school night." I glanced around at everyone else, and all their faces read tired, mirroring my own. "And you all need to start taking care of your own lives again."
"Someone should stay with you," Scott argued, and again, Deaton nodded.
"I'll stay," Lydia piped in. I whipped my head over to her, along with Scott and Stiles. "My grades are fine! Despite missing a few classes..."
"Yeah I am so not okay with this," Stiles said. Lydia rolled her eyes.
"Guys, go."
"No. Anyways, what if - what if something happens? Like on the off chance that Kate comes here?"
"Then I'll stay with them," I offered. Stiles began shaking his head vehemently.
"Hell no. Not okay with this."
"I'm serious," I said. "If Kate comes back, then I can protect them long enough for you guys to get back here. Not to mention that out of the four of us, Lydia and I can actually afford to miss school."
"Totally one hundred percent not okay with this," Stiles argued against me.
"Stiles look, either I stay here, or you drive me home to get more clothes and head back to your place," I refuted, "And I'm not ready to go back home just yet." I looked at Stiles, who flinched. He glanced over at me sympathetically, recalling that terrible day from one week ago.
"Really now Moony, won't you let us in? The California air has always been rough on the skin, you know this."
Still not moving, I just stared at them. My parents were at my doorstep in Beacon Hills. The same parents who cast me out. I was too shocked to do anything.
"Moony?"
"June?" Stiles asked from behind me, and opened the door a little bit more. My parents took that as their cue to walk in, brushing past Stiles and I into the entryway. I slowly turned around, and watched as they scrutinized my home.
My mother wrinkled her nose a bit, "Well you can certainly see Ginny's taste shining through, but overall, the place is quite modern. Where's the library?"
When she was received with only blank stares, she scoffed, "Oh please, June. You've always strived for academics, you think we thought you stopped practicing your magic as soon as you came over here?"
"I'm sorry, did you two say you were her parents?" I turned to Stiles as he stepped closer to them.
My mother extended her hand to Stiles, "Evelyn Astor, and my husband Robert. I'm so sorry, I don't think I caught your name."
"Uh - Stiles." My mother raised her eyebrows up to prompt him, "Stiles - Stilinski."
"Stiles Stilinski? I have to say that's a first. And are you a friend of June's?"
"No," I muttered quietly. Everyone's gaze turned to me. I began to shake with anger, "No." I repeated more firmly.
"No? He's not your friend?"
"No as in no, you can't be here. You have no right to come here and - and just talk to me like nothing has changed!" My voice was growing louder and louder, "And you definitely cannot come here and talk to my family. What are you doing here?"
"Well, Moony, we missed you," My father said, with a fond smile on his face.
"Yeah, bullshit," I spat.
"June, we risked our lives and reputation to come see you! Surely that warrants a slightly warmer tone."
"I'm still calling bullshit. You couldn't risk your reputation for your own daughter once before, what makes you think I'd believe you would do it now?"
"Well would you believe us if we told you we were here on Council business?"
"The same Council that cast me out? What could they possibly want out here?"
My mother straightened up a bit, "Well June, as it so happens, the High Priestess would like to extend the invitation for you to move back to New York City."