Allison had hot-wired an unwatched ambulance and now they sped down the interstate, with the siren wailing and blue lights flashing, in the direction of Beacon Hills.
Stiles had always thought of the small town as the forecourt to hell, but he never would have guessed that the showdown of the end of the world would be set in his home town.
As the traffic cleared, Allison turned off the siren and the only sound inside the car was the howling of the motor. The sun was going down at the horizon, turning the sky into a canvas and painting it in an agressive pallete of red.
Scott sat on the passenger seat next to her, his hand reaching out toward hers and she entwined them without saying a word or taking her eyes of the street. He had taken the stones from Peter, claiming that they were safer in the care of the true alpha, and now he examined them with his free hand, holding them up against the dying sunlight and trying to grasp their power.
In the back, Peter had claimed one of the gurneys for himself. Within seconds he had fallen asleep, despite the loud squealing of the sirens.
Stiles was hunched over the second gurney where Derek was lying, who had finally morphed back into his human form. Stiles had thrown a scratchy blanket over his nacked form and took care of his wounds. The wolfsbane bullet had been really nasty to pull out of Derek's leg. The werewolf had howled and lashed out, but never brought his sharp claws into Stiles direction. Instead he clawed them into his own skin and bit down onto his bottom lip, until it was broken, too, and bleeded heavily. The human tried to soothe the wolf with his voice and a steady hand on his hip. When the toxic bullet had finally left his body, Derek had crashed onto the gurney, passing out for a moment.
He gained consciousness again while Stiles was washing the blood off his face with a wet towel. Derek watched his face silently as he worked. His strokes were gentle across his skin and the wolf felt content to purr under his care.
„The banshee said I should take care of you", Stiles finally broke the silence.
„We act so strange", Derek sighed.
„What do you mean?" Stiles paused his movements and concentrated fully on Derek's soft spoken words.
„Every person, everything we create, we use all this power to destroy."
„Yeah", Stiles sighed. „We call that human nature. Guess it's also the supernaturals' nature. You learned about that on the internet?"
„I'm not finished yet", Derek croaked. „I'm up to ''V''."
Stiles let his eyes wander over Derek's features. The man was so smart and yet so clueless, so strong and yet so vunerable, and above all the most beautiful person Stiles had ever laid his eyes upon. He wanted to tell Derek everything, wanted to make him understand how important, how perfect he was.
„''V'' is good", he said instead. „Some very good words in ''V''."
„Like what?"
Stiles cheeks flamed up under Derek's gaze and he fished for something to say. As he looked at the werewolf tender eyes, he realized that he already knew the right words.
„Valiant", he breathed. „Vulnerable. Very beautiful."
The corners of Derek's mouth twitched up and his eyes gleamed at Stiles. The human was hypnotised by the kaleidoscope of colours.
In the background, he could hear the funky tune of Allison's cell phone ringing, but he paid it no mind. All his senses were focused on Derek. The glowing of his skin, the spicy smell of his sweat, the raising of his chest as he breathed in and out. In this moment, he didn't care about anything. Not about the mission, not about their imminent doom, only about the soft look in Derek's bright eyes as he starred right back at him.
Derek licked his lips absentmindedly and Stiles eyes shot down to his mouth. Without thinking, he leaned forward, eager to taste those full lips.
„Dude, Allison's Dad wants to talk to you."
Stiles shot back up as he heard Scott calling for him and found the alpha grinning at him over the back of the seat. Derek was glaring daggers at him and Stiles laid a reassuring hand on his arm to keep him from eating his best friend. Even though Scott totally deserved it right now.
„Scott, buddy, I'm kind of busy right now."
„Yeah, sorry, but he said it was important and he wanted to talk to one of his agents."
„He phoned Allison, not me. Let her talk to him!"
„I can't", she chimmed in. „I'm driving."
„Driving my ass", he stage-whispered so that his partner could hear his complain. „You just don't like to do the boring official stuff, you just wanna shoot people."
He snapped Allison's cell phone out of Scott's hand and turned to Derek before he lifted it to his ear.
„This could take some time. Try to get some rest."
Instead of following Stiles suggestion, Derek sat up and reached an arm out towards Scott.
„I don't need rest, I wanna learn."
„Woah, big guy, don't make me tie you to the stretcher, because I will if you don't take care of yourself!", Stiles told him and tried to push him back down by his shoulder.
„Let him Stiles", Scott interfered and handed Derek his phone, who immediately pulled up a search engine and began to read up random words with ''W''.
Stiles shook his head disapprovingly but let the werewolf endulge himself into the broad knowledge of the internet, as he turned to the phone in his hand.
„Mr. Argent", he said, his voice back to its cold, professional tone after the childish bicker with his friends. „I'm sorry that you had to wait, there were some differences to be sorted out.
The hunter didn't seem surprised by his agents' antics and just went on with the programme.
„Agent Stilinski, I first would like to salute a fellow hunter. You're a shining example of our society-"
„Mr. Argent, I'm not one to turn down a compliment, God knows my self-esteem sucks these speeches up, but I'm not a hunter and working for the WCD is just a one time mission. Now, do you have any idea when you gonna be getting to the point?"
Stiles knew he probably shouldn't mouth back at one of the most powerful men in the world, but they both had more pressing things to do right now.
He could hear the annoyed growl of the older man, before the hunter finally answered.
„I'm gonna give you to Dr. Deaton."
„Agent Stilinski?", came the calm voice of the head scientist of the supernatural studies.
„Make it quick, doc", Stiles urged him on and the doctor didn't delay the bad news any longer.
„The dark moon is already rising above Beacon Hills. Its powers will reach their peak when it stands directly above the nemeton. From then on, nothing can keep it from draining the energy out of every living creature."
Stiles sighed as the pressure of their mission struck him once again. He scrubbed a hand over his eyes and tried to compose himself.
„How much time do we have?"
„Three hours and fifty-eight minutes."
„I'll call you back in four hours."
He didn't wait for an answer before he hung up and gave the phone back to Scott. Derek was still frowning down at the phone in his hand and Stiles decided not to interrupt whatever research he just did. Instead, he leaned forward and rested his arms over the backrest between Scott and Allison.
„So, Allison said she took you onto this fun adventure, because you knew some important stuff and not only for your great skills at snogging."
His two friends turned a deeper shade of red than the sunset.
„Dude, it wasn't initially that we-"
„Stiles, you know we're not a couple anymore", Allison affirmed and Scott stopped midsentence and jerked his head around to look at her.
„But we gonna be again, right?", he asked in a yearning tone, his big brown eyes fixed on the side of her face.
Allison squirmed on her seat, not taking her eyes off the darkening road.
„With all the stuff that happened between us-" She let out a stream of air and shrugged her shoulder, obviously not able to find the right words to finish the sentence and Stiles couldn't take the tension any longer.
„Well, the important stuff you know", Stiles said carefuly and poked at Scott's shoulder. „Wanna share?"
„Yeah, sure." The alpha blinked and turned away from Allison, facing Stiles over the backrest. „What do you wanna know?"
„I don't know. Let's start with the giant pack of homicidal werewolves attacking us and trying to kill Derek?"
Scott scratched his crooked jaw and arranged his thoughts before he answered.
„You remember these four alphas that kidnapped your neighbour? Well, I knew them from before, because they had brought me to their leader, Deucalion. He was a really creepy guy. He seemed to be blind, but I still had the feeling like he was starring right at me. He wanted me to give him the stones, but I didn't have them and even if I did have them I wouldn't have given them to some strange dude."
Stiles smiled at his best friend's courage and his need to always do what he thought was right. These character traits had turned him into a true alpha, someone who seemed fit to be entrusted with all of the werewolf society's secrets.
„I told him that the legends said that the dark moon would soon rise and that we needed the stones to keep it from gaining enough power to erase the life from our planet, but he said I was an idiot-"
He was distracted as Allison snorted next to him.
„I'm sorry", sha said quickly. „Continue."
„Uhm, yeah, he said that he wants to use the dark moon's power. That he knew a way to chanel the energy and become the most powerful alpha in the world. At this point, I was fully wolfed out, dude, but he just laughed at me and slurped his Scotch. But he was laughing at me so much, that he choke on his drink and at first I panicked, but then used the Heimlich maneuver."
Stiles couldn't keep himself from facepalming and Derek looked shortly up from his phone's screen at the loud strike as Stiles' hand connected with his forehead.
„You saved the life of the big baddie?"
„What was I supposed to do?", Scott countered a bit flustered. „Letting him die? There was still his group of alpha friends outside of his door. I couldn't take them on by myself!"
„So you saved the big baddie. And then?" Stiles still tried to grasp the fact that Scott was too good for his own sake.
„He let me go."
Stiles gaped at him, waving his hand in the air in a gesture of incomprehension.
„He let you go?"
„Yes, he let me go, because I saved his life and now he owed me mine. But he was very specific that he'd rip me apart the next time he'd see me."
„So, you think he's gonna cause any more trouble? I'd prefer he'd rather not, because we're on a pretty tight schedule."
„I don't think so." Scott screwed up his nose and put his thinky-face on. „While they held me captive, the werewolves were talking about how they needed the stones to pay Deucalion back. Seemed like he had pack members from the different alphas in his control and they followed his commands so that he wouldn't hurt their families, but in the end, they had revolted against him and wanted to get the stones before him, so they could exchange them for their pack members' lives."
„I hope you're right, dude. Let's pray that we don't hear from him before this thing is over."
„Don't worry, Stiles", Scott assured him, his face lighting up with optimism. „As soon as we have brought the pentachoron and the stones to the nemeton, everything will be alright."
„I hope so, Scotty-boy, I really hope so."
He turned back around to Derek, who was still hunched over the phone and had a distraught look on his face.
„What got your panties in a twist?", Stiles tried to lighten the werewolf's mood but was only met with unamused, narrowed eyes.
„I'm not wearing any."
„Yeah, no, I know. I mean why are you so moody."
„Then why didn't you just say so?", Derek snarled.
Stiles flinched back startled.
„Whoa there, someone's grumpy. Maybe you should get some rest."
„Is that an order? Do you think just because I'm a werewolf you can push me around?"
He shot angrily forward, the blanket slipping down to his lap, and Stiles threw up his hands in a pacifying gesture.
„Derek, stop it!", Scott shouted. He looked just as surprised as Stiles felt at Derek's sudden outburst. „Stiles is right, you need to rest. The wolfsbane's keeping your wounds from healing quickly."
„I don't want the human to push me around", the angry werewolf spat out.
„Stiles is just worried about you, man. We all are."
Scott's voice was soft and understanding, where his eyes were adamant. Derek met his gaze with an estimating look, before he threw Scott's phone at him, who catched it effortless, thanks to his werewolf reflexes. Facing the side of the ambulance, Derek laid down on the gurney and pulled the blanket back up over his shoulders in an aggressive movement.
Stiles was speechless. He just wanted to be fun and flirty and had absolutely no clue where their conversation had went wrong. His hand automatically reached out towards the werewolf's shoulder, acting on the subconcious need to comfort him, but he stopped himself and laid it uselessly into his lap. Derek seemed to be to much on edge to deal with Stiles' needy self right now and he didn't know how he would react. He bit his lip nervously, not knowing what he could do to make the situation better, but also not wanting to leave it at that.
Hoping that Derek wouldn't dash out at him, he leant over him and whispered close to his ear.
„I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sorry, Derek. I just want you to be safe. And happy", he added as an afterthought.
The werewolf's whole body tensed up at the human's close proximity. His smell was concerned and so full of regret that Derek had to keep himself from turning around and pulling him into a comforting hug. He wanted to believe that Stiles wasn't like the other humans, wanted to replace his new knowledge with every small information about Stiles, but he didn't know what he was supposed to think anymore.
He breathed through his mouth to withstand Stiles' enticing scent and clenched his eyes shut.
„I'm sleeping", he huffed and Stiles pulled away flustered.
„Yeah, right. Sorry!"
Stiles glanced over to make sure that Peter was still okay and then turned back to his previous position between Scott and Allison to stare out of the windshield.
„Dude", Scott softly caught his attention and pressed his phone into Stiles hand without another word.
The phone's browser history was opened on the screen and Stiles gaped at the list. Side after side on the topic of War were opened, brutal pictures depicting the cruelty of nations fighting their battles at the expense of innocent people. Derek's search had lead him further to nuclear weapons, war crimes, the war on werewolves and their later enslavement to serve as weapons in the battlefield.
Stiles exhaled heavily.
„You think he thinks I think he's just a tool to win this war?" he rushed out and gnawed on his lip as he waited for Scott to answer. Luckily, Scott had known Stiles long enough to understand what he was trying to say.
„I think he knows that you're not like that. That our whole society has changed and isn't like that anymore."
„Scott, you're part of an organization that takes care of werewolves in need. Don't tell me you didn't know that the level of racism that supernatural creatures endure didn't decrease. The only difference between then and now is that you can't own them like a little pet anymore! Let me kindly present you exhibit A."
In a big gesture, he held out his arms towards Allison.
„A as in Argents, the royal family of werewolf racists."
She threw a quick look over her shoulder in mock offence.
„Hey, leave me out of this!"
„Sorry, Allison, but let's be honest, your long line of famous hunters was just your whole family hating on werewolves. I know it's not all of you, you and your dad are actually pretty cool, but you can't deny your mother, your aunt and some of those cousins of yours."
Allison scrunched up her face and shrugged her shoulder, before she nodded her head in recognition.
„Yeah, but we are not those people and Derek knows it", Scott insisted.
„How can you be so sure?"
„He's the patrachoron. He knows this kind of stuff."
„But how?" Stiles yelled in frustration, quickly silencing himself as he remembered the sleeping men in the back of the car and continued in a lower voice. „Could you pleace explain me what exactly Derek is, 'cause I feel like a four-dimensional object bounded by five tetrahedral, that represents the simplest possible convex regular four-polytope, isn't quite the right answer."
Scott squinted his eyes at him.
„I didn't understand anything except for ''four-dimensional object'', so I'm going with yes."
„Scott, I'm so close to rectifying your jaw with my fist!"
„Dude, chill! I'll tell you as much as I know. It was about, uhm, four thousand years ago when the dark moon was rising the first time. Legends say the werewolves back then were way more powerful and knew about magic, so it was pretty easy for them to stop the apocalypse by just opening a door to another dimension and cramming the moon inside. But the humans were horrified as they saw what the werewolves were capable of, so they locked them in their den with wolfsbane and burnt them down, which accidentally freed the dark energy of the moon."
„Does your fairytale have a happy ending?"
„I'm getting to it. The surviving werewolves found some claws in the ashes. They took them with them as the weak pack hid away from the humans, because they believed that someday the dark moon would have gathered enough energy again to come back and then they would need all the power that lay in their ancestor's remains. In every generation of werewolves are true alphas, who are deemed worthy to protect our people's legends and secrets and that's why I had to learn all this stuff. However, as soon as it was known that the dark moon was returning, the remains were brought from their secret hiding place to the most capable man for resurrection. The legends always said that the pentachoron would wear the sign of trinity, the triskelion that stands for our three dimensions, to mark him. Within him would be the door to the fourth dimension, a place of power and knowledge and some texts even say that it will let him predict the future, but that's just speculation. I think that the werewolves back then were just so in tune with their intuition that some people might have thought that they were some kind of psychic."
„Ok, pause the history lesson. So, Derek was conjured through his four thousand years old organic remains after he was burnt alive by some ancient hunters?"
„Yes."
„Only to become a super weapon to defeat the dark moon?"
„Yes. No, I mean-"
„Tell me how that isn't history repeating itself? How is that a happy ending?" Stiles rised a skeptical eyebrow at Scott. „Does he remember his previous life? Why should he help saving the race that killed him?"
„I don't know. But he's the pentachoron. He will know the right thing to do", Scott answered finally, even though his usually optimistic tone didn't sound very certain.
Derek winced in his sleep, his fingers clenching and unclenching, and without thinking about it, Stiles grasped his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. It wasn't fair, the werewolf had been through so much and now he was brought back into this life to endure all the pain of battle once again.
Derek relaxed at the familiar touch and it calmed down Stiles in turn. Scott smiled at his best friend with new hope in his eyes.
„I'm sure he knows."