Chapter 45: Lie Ability
Virgil was no stranger to gloomy and dimly lit hallways. His time back in juvenile hall had not been pleasant but it was starting to feel like summer camp compared to this place. Every step he took down this 'special' ward made chills go up and down his spine and goosebumps erupt all over his arms and legs. Both from the place, and the people. Passing by one room, he jumped when a hand slammed against the door's glass port hole. Virgil then stiffened up when the hand disappeared and a face appeared. A face of a man that had no mouth. The guy was staring hard at him for a moment before he went took his index finger and made a throat cutting gesture at his neck. Virgil swallowed before he just moved to keep going.
"Is this a psych ward or hell?" he muttered off to himself.
"Is there a difference?" said a new voice. Off to the side was another room but had a glass wall revealing the occupant inside. It was a pale looking, raggedy man that seemed to be on the thin side. He was looking at Virgil with hunger in his eyes. "Please...please tell me that you're my new bunk mate. I lost my last one and they promised me a new one. Please, I'm so...hungry," he growled.
He then opened his mouth to reveal two rows of shark like teeth. Virgil realized this must be one of those cannibal Wendigos that he had heard about.
"Sorry. no dice. If you're that hungry, chew on your hand." He then doubled his walking pace. Once he was out of the Wendigo's sight, he moved to wipe his brow clean with his jacket sleeve. 'I could see why Stiles was so worried before,' he thought to himself.
At the thought of the werewolf, he moved to take out the hand drawn map of the ward he had given to Virgil. "Okay," he muttered as he studied it. "Lydia's room should be not too far from here."
Following the map, he moved until he saw that he just needed to make one more turn until he got to the right room. He was pulling out the key Stiles made when a blue flash was caught at the corner of his eye. He turned to see some kind of blue shockwave pulsing through the walls and floor of the entire place, heading right for him. Virgil braced himself but it didn't seem to do anything to him. But, as it passed, the halls began to get more lively as the patients/prisoners all started to scream or throw themselves against the walls or doors. Cries, roars, snarls and screams started ringing out. It was like a pen full of wild animals had all just woken up at once.
"What the hell?" he gasped out.
Virgil didn't get to dwell too much on it because he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He went and moved into an alcove just when a finely dressed men came up and stopped at a room a little further down the hall. Virgil let his head peek through to try and get a better look as he saw the man whose photo Dr. Deaton had shown them. Dr. Fenris or Valack depending on who you asked. He was standing in the doorway, giving a stern look inside the room he had just opened.
"Tell me Ms. Martin, did you feel that little energy ripple just now?" he asked calmly and academically as if discussing notes. "Did that make you see anything?"
In the room, lying on the bed, atop a slightly bloodstained pillow, Lydia was lying quite still. A small hole at the side of her head was lightly bleeding but it seemed like she barely felt it. "Yes," she told him, with a bare minimum reaction.
"What do you see?"
"I can see everything," she said, again in that same monotone and out of touch expression on her face.
Her main focus was on the images that seemed to be running through her eyes like a fast paced movie. She was seeing everything that had been happening since she had been admitted to Eichen House since before the Supermoon. She saw the chimeras being created and killed by the Dread Doctors. Sheriff Stilinski getting slapped by Ms. McCall for his choice against Kira. Saw Kira leaving town with her parents. Satomi and her pack howling in mourning and calling for blood. Scott and Stiles arguing at the animal clinic where Scott went and banished him from the pack. Liam holding Hayden with Scott's blood staining his hands. Theo killing Scott in the school library. Stiles holding his hand out to the full moon, pleading with it before he started to transform. Scott letting out a pained roar as he was brought back from the final brink of death.
"Define everything," Valack asked, both with equal measures of patience and eagerness.
"My friends," she muttered. "Everything that happened during the Supermoon."
Valack smiled as he stepped further inside and moved to set himself right at Lydia's bedside. With him going inside, Virgil moved to go closer but was mindful to stay far enough to be able to hide and get away if anyone else came around. Yet, was close enough to be able to pick up what Lydia and Valack were saying to each other as they dropped their volume a bit. Not to mention jump Valack if it came to that.
"And what exactly did you see happen?"
"Them leaving. One by one. Kira, Malia, Liam, Stiles. Leaving Scott. Turning away or turning on him. Losing faith in him and him losing faith in them."
As Lydia was talking, Virgil pulled his deck out and shuffled. He focused on Lydia's voice as he went to draw her soul card. He looked and found that it was The High Priestess. His eyes narrowed. He remembered drawing this card two years ago for Martin back at the high school cafeteria. But that wasn't why he was reacting like this. Back then, the card had been reversed. Now, it was in its upright position. This new position tells Virgil that Lydia had gone through a profound change. She's gone from someone insecure on her own inner power, wisdom and ignorant to her surroundings, into someone confident in her abilities, her intelligence and mindful of everything and everyone around her.
"Yes, its true. My sources tell me the same. You can see it because I've amplified your abilities. Giving you insight into things and events you couldn't before. What else have your senses shown you?" asked Valack.
"I see Scott making his mark. Theo and Tracy found it where he carved it into the wall. A circle around another circle. The symbol of Scott's pack."
"Yes, but it was more than a symbol, wasn't it? It was a promise. A promise to rebuild his pack again." He then smirked. "Easy a promise to make, but I imagine it will only be a matter of time before he discovers it won't be as easy to keep."
"He already has. And he still won't stop. Not until he gets everyone back. Including his best friend."
"Yes, Scott McCall is quite the idealist. An admirable quality for a young man," Valack nodded with a hint of respect in his tone. But it quickly curved into a smirk. "But all the idealism in the world won't undo the damage that has been wrought. Especially when one lets ideals blind them to harsh realities. Then, it's no longer honorable but instead becomes plain foolish."
Virgil rolled his eyes. He wouldn't argue with the doctor on that.
"He will. Scott will learn. From the one person he never thought he could learn anything from."
"Are you saying that he will succeed after all? He is coming for you now, isn't he? That burst of energy is proof of their arrival."
Lydia started to shake a bit. "They're here, but Scott's not the one who's here now."
At that, Virgil stiffened. Was Lydia about to give him away? He braced himself to get ready and charge Valack.
"Who is?" Valack pushed.
"The one who will never be," she told him. "No matter how much he wants to believe he is."
Virgil was taken aback. 'She can't be talking about me, could she?' he thought to himself. He then heard some footsteps and he turned around to see Theo Raeken approaching with Tracy, Josh and Corey in tow. They were all looking at him with hard predatory looks in their eyes. "Oh fuck," he muttered to himself.
Virgil moved to go and charge for Theo but Tracy moved and intercepted him. She caught his fist with her clawed hand and moved to claw at his face with her other hand. Virgil instinctively moved his face out of the way and swung his other fist right at Tracy which connected right in her jaw. That made a growl erupt from Josh who charged for Virgil and shoved him at full strength. Josh's hands collided with Virgil's chest and he was sent flying off for the fence. Valack heard the commotion and went to check it out but managed to duck back inside before Virgil's body could hit him. The young man bounced against the fence where Corey moved to pin him down with his foot while Tracy and Josh subdued the doctor.
Theo stepped into the room and gave it a crude once over. "I can't believe this is a medical establishment."
"What do you want?" Valack said, struggling against Tracy's hard grip.
"What do you think I want Doctor? I want her," he said giving Lydia a pointed look.
"Yeah, well I think you're both out of luck then," he heard Virgil say outside the room.
"Oh, and why's that Virge?" Theo asked back in amusement.
"Virgil," he spat angrily before his tone became cocky. "And I think that guy wants him too. And he doesn't look in the mood to share."
With that, Theo stepped out to look out in the hall. Approaching was Parrish. He was glowing with the air bending around him from the heat his body was giving off. His eyes burned with a fiery glow that clashed with the stone-cold expression on his face.
Theo quickly ducked back into the room and grabbed Lydia, holding her by the neck at clawpoint. Virgil let himself take in the sight of Lydia Martin for the first time since his graduation. The so called ice queen of Beacon Hills High that he remembered couldn't look more different. While she was pale and could make out a bloody gash on the side of her head, there seemed to be a...strength to her that he couldn't remember seeing before. Coming here to save her was more to try and repay a debt to Stiles but Virgil found himself actually wanting to genuinely help her for himself.
"Back off," Theo warned. The sight of Lydia being held hostage didn't seem to make the Hellhound stop his advance. If anything, his face grew angry. Theo then tightened his grip so his claws drew blood. "I'm warning you, I'll do it."
That made Parrish stop his advance but the heat surrounding him grew into visible flames which made the others all gasp in shock. Tracy let Valack go while Corey removed his foot from pinning Virgil down. The three of them were breathing and sweating nervously. Even Theo was starting to sweat from anxiety over the heat.
"Take him," he ordered.
Corey's eyes widened. "But's he's on fire."
"You'll heal. Do it," he ordered harshly.
Tracy growled and ran to be the first to follow his orders. She let her toxins rush to her claws as she moved to strike at Parrish's abdomen to try and paralyze him. Stabbing her claws through his flesh was like sticking them through boiling water. Her hand burned and Parrish didn't seem to be affected at all. He just growled at her and with one swing of his hand, bashed her head into the nearby glass wall.
"Stupid bitch," Virgil muttered as he let himself sit up from the floor.
Josh was the next to try. He ripped some metal wire casing from the wall to feed into the power grid but when he grabbed onto Parrish, the electricity he was pouring into him was having little effect. "Theo, this isn't working!"
Parrish didn't give him a chance to get a response as he grabbed him and threw him up against the wall, hard. Theo saw that he was down two chimeras and only Corey was left. Before he could try to order Corey to attack, he felt a pain in the back of his leg. Valack had seized the opportunity of the battle's chaos to grab a drill and attack Theo. The chimera was stunned and he let Lydia go.
"Sorry Theo, but I still need her."
Valack moved to try and grab her but was suddenly grabbed from behind. He turned to see that it was Virgil.
"Sorry Doc, time for Lydia to check out," he grunted as Valack struggled against him.
As they struggled, Parrish grabbed Josh by the throat and lifted him in the air and slammed him back to the ground. He was going to give him a swipe of his fiery hand but it was grabbed by Corey, who snuck up on him by being invisible. Corey was confident but it vanished as Parrish' whole arm went aflame. He then moved to break free of Corey's grip and grabbed him by the throat. Corey managed to let out a scream before his whole body was enveloped in Parrish's fire. The chimera was then launched up for Valack. The doctor saw the fiery chimera coming for him so he quickly turned his body where Virgil was put right in the line of fire, literally, instead. Corey slammed into Virgil and the two fell into a heap just beyond the fence. With Virgil no longer on him, Valack then hurriedly swooped down for Lydia and grabbed her by the arms, carrying her off.
"Get the hell off me you dumb dipshit," Virgil grunted as he tried to push the burning Corey off of him.
Virgil managed to push the young chimera off just as Valack managed to reach a door with Lydia at the other end of the hall.
"You shouldn't have gotten yourself involved young man," Valack spat to Virgil as he took the banshee away.
Virgil raced for them but Valack gave him a parting smile before he went and slammed the door shut. Virgil leapt forward to try and stop it but the door slammed shut just a second before Virgil hit it. The door didn't budge.
"No, no, no," he cried as he pushed and slammed against the door. "C'mon!" he roared as he threw himself against the door again and again.
He had been so close. Stiles would never forgive him.
Theo was pissed that he lost Lydia so easily to Valack. Especially when he had her literally in his hands. All because of Parrish's interference. He managed to stand through the pain in his leg and reached for the pole that Josh had ripped off the wall earlier. He then went and threw it like a spear for Parrish and it connected straight through his chest. For a moment, it looked like it didn't work but Parrish started to falter and then fell to his knees. His burning eyes finally moved to begin sizzling out.
Scott and Liam had identical stunned expressions as their eyes stayed stuck to Stiles' form lying on the ground. Both of them were still unsure if they had really seen what had just happened. Liam was the first to break the silence between them.
"Did he...did Stiles really just-"
"He did," his alpha lightly breathed out. "Stiles got passed the mountain ash."
"Whoa," Liam breathed out.
Scott knew that Stiles had been trying to train himself in passing the mountain ash, and that he had gotten out of the ash circle he trapped himself in at the school. Even still, to actually see it with his own eyes, it was mind boggling. Is this how everyone else felt when he had done it before? But his shock quickly faded when he realized that Stiles wasn't moving.
"Stiles," he called out. "Stiles!"
Scott's calls did nothing as Stiles was still lying face first on the ground, not having moved a muscle since he collapsed after passing the barrier. Scott leapt forward at the doorway but was repelled by the barrier as soon as he hit it. He landed on his back and slid a few feet back where he stopped at Liam's feet. The beta came up behind him and helped Scott back to his feet.
After, he then went and carefully stuck his own hand out to have it pushed back as soon as his fingers hit the barrier. "Wait, I thought that would've gone away. Shouldn't it have disappeared?" asked Liam.
"No," Scott growled out irritably. "Stiles went passed the mountain ash, he didn't break it." He then went to lean against the barrier again as he tried to call out to his fallen friend again. "Stiles! Stiles, get up!" he cried out even louder and desperately than before.
Liam's breathing began to quicken. "He's going to be okay, right?" he asked his alpha, nervously.
Scott closed his eyes and let his hearing reach out. His ears could pick out the subtle rhythm of a heartbeat and a bit of light but steady breathing coming off Stiles. "Yeah," he sighed in relief. "He's just passed out." That made Liam deflate a bit. "Passing the mountain ash must've drained him and I guess it didn't help that this was Stiles' second time tonight."
Liam then narrowed his eyes as he looked behind them. "So then what do we do about the four guards?"
"What four guards?"
Liam pushed his chin to point ahead and Scott turned to see four guards started coming around the corner, all armed with shock batons. In the anxiety and suspense of everything that was happening, they hadn't been keeping themselves quiet and must've attracted attention.
"So do we not attack them too?" asked Liam.
Scott tried to gesture his hands out, calmingly trying to pacify the situration but the guard who got there first didn't care. He charged his baton and moved to use it on Scott but the alpha caught it as sparks flew off, grazing his shirt. The heat from them reacted to his bandaged wound and Scott angrily threw a hard punch across the guy's temple.
"We attack them," he heaved out to Liam.
The other three charged for them but Scott and Liam growled as they went for them. A short while later, the four guards were all lying on the ground as Scott and Liam tried to get their bearings back. Scott lifted his shirt to see that the bandages that Ms. Ramsey dressed him with were stained with fresh blood. The wound had reopened and the old sting from them had come back. The sight of it made Liam feel renewed guilt for the part he played in Scott getting those wounds.
"Still? They still haven't healed?"
Scott dropped back his shirt over them. "No. Not yet. But don't worry, it will. It just will take time."
Liam sighed as he moved to test the mountain ash and found his hand hit the barrier again, showing it was still going strong. But he then quickly noticed something. "Scott," he suddenly gasped.
"What?" Scott asked turning around.
Liam pointed to the empty hall ahead of them. "Where the hell is Stiles?"
Scott blinked as he realized that Stiles was gone. "He must've come to and gone off while we were fighting," he realized.
Liam moved to touch the doorway and his hand hit against the mountain ash barrier which was still going strong. He then looked at his watch. "The plan was for them to have five minutes. It's been over ten. The brownout's over. The system's back online now."
"Which means the keycard we have won't work to get us out."
"What is keeping them? Shouldn't Virgil have gotten Lydia and gotten back by now?"
"He should've." They had no way of knowing what was going on from the other side of that doorway. The mountain ash did more than deny them entry. Their senses didn't seem to give them any access to anything being said or done beyond this gate. They were blind and needed to know what was happening with Stiles, Lydia and Virgil. Scott went and grabbed for a walkie from the nearest downed guard and started to speak into it. "Anyone have eyes on the closed unit? I need a status report."
"It's a warzone down here," responded the officer on the other end.
"Ten four. And what about the patients? Lydia Martin?" he asked almost too eagerly.
Eager enough though for the officer to be suspicious. "Who is this?" he asked, tone full of suspicion.
Scott and Liam shared a look before Scott went and muttered. "Unit 9" He had heard a deputy on Stiles' police radio say it once.
"There is no Unit 9," the officer responded harshly. "Who is this? How did you get-"
That was as far as he got as Scott just went and crushed the walkie in his grip and let the debris rain down to the floor. He was never good with that kind of stuff.
"Alright, we need to get in there."
"How? We can't get passed the mountain ash."
"No, we can't. But there may be someone else here who can."
"Who?" Liam desperately asked.
"Meredith," Scott calmly answered.
Natalie Martin made it to the front gates of Eichen with her nerves at a wreck. Seeing the files and photos that Sheriff Stilinski had given her, she knew she couldn't let Lydia stay here another minute. She didn't know what she was going to do to help her daughter, but she would be confused and lost on that with her at home instead of here. The gates seemed closed which seemed strange to her as she knew that Eichen had to be open right now. Fenris had told her that it would be. She was going to reach for the buzzer but saw that the gate was unlocked. She pushed it open and slid on in. She moved to head to the main building but stopped when she came upon a body lying on the ground. It was the body of a security guard and she saw that there were fresh blood red, claw like marks across his back. Lying next to him was a shock baton. Natalie picked it up and saw that it was in working order. With it in hand, she stomped off for the nearest entrance.
Stiles let a sniffle loose through his nose before he let himself open his eyes and realized that he was lying on a cold, stone floor. As he raised his head up and saw the low lit hallway, everything suddenly came back to him. Eichen House, the brownout, and the mountain ash barrier. The barrier that he had actually passed. He went to push himself up but his body felt like it weighed a ton of bricks. He guessed he should've expected that, after all, getting through the ash line Virgil made at the school left him starving. At that, he remembered Virgil had already gone ahead after Lydia.
He inaudibly grunted as he struggled to pick himself up and get to his feet. He managed it after a moment but felt the need to lean into the nearest wall. Stiles took some deep breaths and then turned around to see that Scott and Liam were fighting with some security guards. He blinked as he wondered how he hadn't heard any of it. And he still wasn't hearing it. His ears were ringing, likely from the stress of passing the mountain ash and must not have cleared up. He shook his head and started to trudge on ahead. Stiles wanted to help them but they were on the opposite side of the mountain ash. Besides, Scott and Liam could take care of themselves. Lydia and Virgil still needed his help and they didn't have much time.
Still leaning a bit off the wall, Stiles started to stomp off down the hall. To anyone watching, it almost looked like Stiles was limping. But, after a moment, he felt himself able to keep stomping off without relying on the wall for support. After a couple of more steps, his stomps became more even and steady. The heat was rising to his forehead and his breaths were coming out deep and heavy. They almost overtook the noise coming from the patients going wild inside their rooms. Some were banging against the doors but when they caught sight of Stiles, they seemed to calm down a bit and a few even stepped back from the door, both in fear, or in respect. Or both. Stiles didn't even notice. All that he cared about was getting to Lydia and Virgil.
His nostrils flared up as he smelled burning smoke. It was the smell of fire and burnt flesh. And blood. Stiles began to fill with adrenaline as he hurried his pace, ignoring his fallen fatigue and moved faster for where he knew Lydia's room was. He could hear Virgil's voice crying out in anger and managed to also pick up an annoyingly familiar one following it.
"You're going to pay for interfering. Your feathered friend was smart enough to back out. You should've too." Theo's tone was one of annoyance and barely repressed anger.
"What can I say," said Virgil in a matching tone. "I don't appreciate dicks trying to tell me what to do."
Stiles went and made a turn and came upon quite the scene. Parrish was on his knees, smoke rising from his body, in the middle of the hall. Next to him were Tracy and Josh, hurt and slightly stunned with another body further down, smoldering a bit. He guessed that they all must've come in from another entry point beside the main entrance, unbothered by the mountain ash. Yet, he barely registered the fact when his eyes fell over by a fence at the opposite end where Theo stood facing down Virgil, his claws out and ready to use them on the taller human. Virgil didn't look scared though. He seemed ready to fight and looked more angry than scared of Theo. Stiles then went and let out a hard roar which made everyone in the hall jump in surprise.
"What's wrong Theo?" Stiles grunted out as he glared at him, face shifted and angry. "The big bad alpha can't pick on someone his own size?" He then looked at the other two. "Or you?"
At that, Tracy managed to get to her feet and started to run away while Josh began to crawl off right behind her. Theo turned to fully face Stiles, trying to keep himself steady though couldn't help but panic. He hadn't prepared for this. He knew that Scott and the others couldn't get passed the mountain ash. That's why they needed Zach and Virgil. With Zach off the table, he assumed that everything would run smoothly with little interference from the werewolves. Yet, it looked like Stiles just went and threw yet another wrench in his plans. He had passed the mountain ash barrier surrounding this place. And with Tracy and Josh hightailing it, and Corey all but useless, he was all alone. While he could see that Stiles was a little worn out, probably from passing the mountain ash, it would still be too close for comfort.
But Theo kept his game face on and confidently took a few steps forward. "You sure you want to do this? We both know that Scott wouldn't like it."
Stiles just took a few steps forward, wearing a confident smirk himself. "Scott doesn't like a lot of things. And right now, this might not be one of them. Even if it was, that really doesn't matter for me anymore anyway." He drove the point home by bringing out his claws at full length. "You made sure of that, remember?"
"Karma's a real nasty bitch, isn't it Theo?" Virgil said from where he still stood.
Theo's jaw tightened. It seemed bluffing wouldn't get him out of this one. There was definitely going to be a fight here and it was one that he might not win.
However, the moment was interrupted when a growl erupted from Parrish. His fire seemed to re-ignite and he went to yank the pole that Theo speared him with out of his chest and tossed it off to the side. He then got up and bared out his glowing eyes and teeth. For a moment, Theo thought the hellhound was going to come for him, but the guy then went and turned to gaze upon Stiles.
"Parrish?" Stiles tried to calmly call out to him.
The deputy started to step over for him, seemingly deaf to the young werewolf's words. Theo smirk came back in full force as it seemed his luck hadn't run out yet. He then ran off, leaving the hellhound and beast to go at each other. If the epitaph at the doctor's lab was anything to go by than he wanted to be far away from there.
"Parrish, stop!" Stiles tried again but Parrish only picked up speed.
Stiles moved to try and attack him but Parrish grabbed his clawed hand at the wrist and grabbed for his throat with the other hand. He then lifted him into the air slightly so that they were at eye level.
"Stiles!" Virgil cried out. He went to grab for the drill Valack used earlier and ran to try and help him.
"No!" Stiles managed to gasp out. "Stay back!"
Parrish then moved to make his flames hotter and surround Stiles, who let his blue eyes shine out as he caught Parrish's own glowing eyes staring right at them. Not just staring back, but it was like the hellhound was peeking right into Stiles' very soul. Parrish was growling but kept his gaze locked right on him. It took another moment but Stiles also realized that Parrish's flames didn't feel hot.
Virgil saw that as Parrish let his fire engulf Stiles, he wasn't being burned like Corey had been. He couldn't understand what was happening here. As they just stared at one another, Virgil squinted as he noticed something flicker in Stiles' eyes. The blue glow seemed to fade and be replaced with a golden one. He blinked but saw that the blue colored glow was still there. He guessed it must've been a trick of the fire's light.
After a moment, the experience became tense as Parrish started speaking. "Death is attached to you." The voice wasn't Parrish's. It was deeper, rougher, harder. It belonged to the Hellhound. "Death will follow you. You will deliver it. It is your destiny." Stiles' eyes widened as the words came out so grimly and resolutely. But the Hellhound then went put him down, yet kept his grip and gaze on him. "Go forth and fulfill your purpose. Unleash it."
With that, Parrish let him go and started to walk off without another word or action, not even looking back. Stiles just stood there, letting his shifted features vanish as Virgil moved to stop over at his side.
"What the hell was all that?" the human gasped out hysterically.
"I don't know. I really have no clue Virge."
"Virgil," he quickly spat out, despite his shot nerves.
A/N: I hope you all liked that little bit of drama there. I'm sorry for the lack of update. I had originally planned to update last month but got distracted by the arrival of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. I couldn't put it down and spent all my free time on it. I only finally reached the ending a few days ago. Let me give a good shoutout to Teen Wolf alumni Tyler Hoechlin and Cody Christian for their voice roles of Sephiroth and Cloud. They both did great work.
The next chapter will have Lydia revealing to Valack some behind the scene events even he was not aware of as he tries to unravel the mystery behind Gevaudan. Stiles and Virgil move to save her while Theo and his pack try to complicate matters with everyone else.
