We ran back to the elevator and tried to wake up my brother. Stiles was shaking him. All of this was happening so fucking fast I didn't know what was reality and what was speculation.
" Derek? Derek, come on!" Stiles begged as he continued to shake him.
" Let me try?" I asked him. Stiles moved to the side and I took my brother's shirt in my hands. I felt my eyes glow as I roared in my brother's face. He woke up and his eyes were glowing right back at me. That ruby red of an Alpha.
" Where is she?" Derek asked as he looked angry and worried about being unconscious for a few minutes. This was going to hit him fucking hard I just know it.
" Jennifer? Gone with Scott's mom." Stiles replied as Derek sat up with my help.
" She took her?" He asked us as I nodded.
" Yeah, and if that's not enough of a kick to the balls, Scott left with Deucalion, okay? So we gotta get you out of here. The police are coming right now, and we gotta get you the hell out of here. You can't be seen here. It would be a fucking disaster!" I said as he went wide-eyed.
" What about Cora?" Derek asked the both of us.
" Isaac and Peter are with her. Please get out of here!" I told him as he got up.
" Get out of here when the chance finds you." He tells me as he embraced me and ran off.
" This is a fucking nightmare." Stiles tells me as I sighed.
" And I have a dead suspicion it's going to get worse." I replied as he took my hand in his. We went down to the lobby and waited. I see Stiles look over at a man coming towards us as the chaos ensued.
" Oh, just perfect…" Stiles groans as I can feel his frustration coming off in harsh waves.
" Who?" I asked him as this piqued my interest. Stiles leaned over.
" Scott's dad, Rafael. Not a good guy. I'll explain more later, just act cool." He told me as I bit my lip.
" Fucking Hell. I'll do my best." I replied as he tightened lightly on my hand. Rafael then proceeded to stand in front of us. I see the other FBI agents looking at the destruction.
" A Stilinski at the center of this whole mess. What a shocker. Think you can answer some questions without the usual level of sarcasm?" Rafael asked Stiles with such arrogance about him. Jesus! He is worse than Peter and that says a lot about someone I just fucking met.
" If you ask the questions without the usual level of stupid." Stiles replied with sarcasm leaking off his tongue as if it was a weapon. Rafael gave a smile of annoyance before speaking up.
" Where is your dad, and why's no one been able to contact him?" He asked him as I can see the glare deep in his eyes. God this dude is pretentious.
" I don't know. I haven't seen him in hours." Stiles replied as he shrugged his shoulders. Let's keep this dude in the dark.
" Is he drinking again?" Rafael asked him. Wait what! Oh fuck no!
" What do you mean, "again?" He never had to stop." Stiles asked him with an irritable tone speaking volumes.
" But he did have to slow down. Is he drinking like he used to?" Rafael asked Stiles. Oh god! Can this dude get off his high horse?
" All right, how about this? Next time I see him, I'll give him a field sobriety test, okay? We'll do the alphabet- start with "F," end with "U..." " Stiles said with anger rolling off of him. God, I had to speak up.
" Seems like you don't know what the term ' mind your own fucking business.'' means old man." I said with the Hale glare upon my brow. Rafael looked at me for the first time and raised an eyebrow.
" And you are?" He asked as I smirked, my lip pursed as I chuckled.
" Raven Hale, Stiles' girlfriend, and I don't take kindly to your attitude being all high and mighty when as you can see everything has gone to shit as of late." I said with annoyance as all of this going on and him pointing hated jabs at Stiles and his father. I also saw his gaze rise as I said my last name.
" How about you just tell me what the hell happened here?" He asked the both of us. I seemed to have hit my mark with my reply to his high attitude.
" I don't know what happened here. We were stuck in the elevators the whole time." Stiles replied to him.
" Then you aren't the ones who put the name on the doors, are you?" He asked us, this took me off guard.
" What name?" We asked at the same time.
" Argent." He replied. That name? Of all the names. That one! We were soon let go and had to reconvene with the Argents.
" The word is "guardian," Allison- more than anyone, you know that's a role I haven't exactly lived up to lately." Argent said as the four of us walk into his office after telling him what information we could get.
" But she took Scott's mother and Stiles' father. That's not a coincidence." Allison replied to her father with no hesitation.
" Yeah. I'd also consider the fact that someone put your name up in large block letters on the elevator door. That kind of felt like a warning to me." Stiles replied as I spoke up.
" If that isn't an omen of being kidnapped, I don't know what is. You need to hide." I told him. I can't let these people down. I feel like I am responsible.
" I think it might be Morrell. She knows a lot more than she lets on, and she might even be trying to help us." Allison perked at our discussion. She was right. Morrell had to know something.
" Well, she needs to get on that a lot faster, okay? Seeing as how the lunar eclipse is less than two freaking nights away. Raven won't have her power. None of the werewolves will." Stiles said as I looked at my hands. Who knows how long it will last?
" Stiles, don't give up hope." Argent said as I looked up in confusion. How are we not to lose hope when it's fading so quickly?
" They could already be dead. Cora is dying." I say with tears in my eyes.
" I don't think so. There's something about Jennifer's tactics... It's like she's still positioning. Still moving pieces into place." Argent explained to us. I see the annoyance on Stiles' face. I place my hands on his shoulder.
" And you're one of them." Allison reminded her father, who nodded at the predicament.
" Then, let's not wait around to see the next move." Argent said moving things around his desk. He pulls a map out and lays it before us.
" Everything she's done has been on a telluric current, so Melissa and the Sheriff have to be somewhere on one of those currents, right?" He says as I look at all the marked locations of where people have been taken and where people have been slaughtered on the telluric currents.
" Stiles, if we're gonna find them, we need your help. Don't think I forgot about the Alpha standing in the room with us." Argent said as Stiles stayed where he was.
" You seriously want to go after her? I mean, what if she just takes you like the others, huh? No offense, but what's the difference between you and them?" Stiles gave him all the possibilities. I'm honestly with Stiles on this.
" You could be walking into her trap." I told him as he lifted his hand to reveal a gun.
" I'm carrying a forty-five. Maybe she can heal from a shot to the leg and a few slashes to the face, but personally, I'd like to see how she holds up with half her skull blown off. We've got one priority right now, and that is to find Melissa and your dad. We've got a map and every clue we need to figure this out- the only thing we don't have is time, which is why I need all of you." Argent told us with a serious tone that gave me chills.
" Where do we start? Might as well shake up the possibilities." Stiles mumbles to him. I was still off put by this.
" The places where the sacrifices have been committed have usually been different from where the bodies have been found. I think the placement has to do with the strength of the current, so there's the school, the animal clinic, the bank." Argent tells us as I watched him move the UV light about.
" Wait a sec- she wouldn't use the same place twice, would she?" Stiles asked him as the thought hit me. This might have to do with success and failure. Risk and reward!
"..Only if she didn't succeed the first time." Argent replied.
" Scott's boss." Allison spoke up quickly as I nodded. This was all a map for us to find and capture her alive.
" Deaton. It was her only failure. That could mean something." Argent replied to Allison.
" That's just one place so far. We're gonna need a lot more help." Stiles says as I stood firm on this.
" What about Lydia?" Allison asked as I felt heated about all of this still transpiring.
" Lydia? What can she do?" Argent asked as I smirked. What can't Lydia do at this point?
" Uh, Lydia's got sort of a talent... She somehow ended up finding a couple of the bodies, um... without actually looking for them." Stiles tells Argent, I see him perk up as he heard this.
" What is she? Psychic?" Argent asked as I shrugged. This was something I didn't know yet.
" She's something. Something that might be powerful enough to help us in this dark time." I say as I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder. Morning arose as Stiles and I watched as the Argents pull weapon after weapon out and having them displayed for the entire room to see. Jesus fuck!
" Whoa. I thought you guys were retired...?" Stiles asked bewildered.
" Not hunting werewolves?" I asked as my heart jumped a little. All these weapons made me nervous.
" Retired, yes. Defenseless? No. Hunting werewolves? Not anymore." Argent says as he was holding an assault rifle.
" Make sure your phone's on. If you hear from Scott, you let us know immediately." Argent tells us as Stiles shrugged.
" Yeah, I'm thinking that's gonna be kind of unlikely." Stiles replied glumly.
" Try to remember- he's just doing what he thinks is right." Argent says calmly.
" I can't shoot a gun or use a crossbow, but... well…" Isaac's voice came into the room as he made his claws come out.
" I'm getting pretty good with these." He said with a smirk.
" We better check up on Lydia. She did suffer at Jennifer's hands." I said as Stiles nodded.
" We will keep you guys updated." Stiles said before we left. We stopped by his place and changed. I wore a red crop top and black jeans with my combat boots. We drove over in silence as the chaos in the air was suffering our moods. When we got there, Lydia let us in.
" I don't believe it. Scott can't really be with them. He can't be." Lydia said in disbelief as we explained what was going on.
" You didn't see the look on his face, though. It was." Stiles said as his mood dropped.
" It was like he had no voice but to agree with the choice of no return." I continued before sitting down as the stress was making me feel as if I was being mentally tortured.
" Then, what can I do?" Lydia asked as she looked at us with conviction.
" I mean, I get that I'm some kind of, like, human Geiger counter for death, but... I don't know how to turn it on and off yet. All I know is that she tried to kill me because of." She spoke but let it seize her up as she began to think.
" Because of what? Hey, Lydia- what?" Stiles asked her as she let the words slip out.
" When she called me a Banshee, she was surprised by it. What if that's not why she tried to kill me?" She asked us. Banshee! It all made sense!
" Then why did she?" Stiles asked her. She looked up bewildered.
" That's what we need to find out." She said standing up. I see her gaze trail to me.
" What are you thinking?" She asked me.
" Banshees are harbingers of death. I can explain it later." I said as we all left to go to Stiles' Jeep. We went to school to just keep our attention.
" This is fucking stupid!" I said as the three of us went down the corridor. Lydia was trying to get a hold of Aiden.
" Aiden's still not texting me back." She says as Stiles stopped. I was concerned about what was happening in the here and now.
" Okay, well, maybe we could just... We could go over there, and." Lydia recounts what we can do. Stiles' phone goes off and he looks at it. I see his face drop.
" What?" She asked him. I see his hand shaking and fear wafting off of him.
" Oh, God." Lydia gasped as I got scared.
" Sti?" I asked as I reached for him.
" What is it now? What is happening?" I asked as he licked his lips.
" It's from Isaac. Jennifer, she t-She has Allison's father. She took him. She's got all three, now." He says as fear quickly booms off of him.
" There's still time...We still have time, right?" Lydia asked us. Stiles' focus looked to be getting lost in all that he read.
" Babe?" I asked as I see him shaking.
" I think I'm having a panic attack." He said as his voice was shaking. I went wide-eyed.
" Fuck! Not good!" I exclaimed as I took him. Lydia followed us.
" Locker room." Stiles said as his heartbeat was loud in my sensitive ears.
" Just try and think about something else! Anything else!" Lydia exclaimed as we got him to the locker room. He slid down against some lockers as his breath was being inhaled and exhaled at a pretty quick pace. I was in front of him, trying to keep calm.
" Like what?" He exclaimed quickly. He was overwhelmed and scared.
" Uh... happy things! Good things! Uh... friends? Family? Oh! I mean, not family." Lydia said as she realized what she said.
" Oh, God." Stiles gasped as he didn't have control.
" Sti, please. You have to focus." I said as I had his head in my hands.
" Okay, uh, just... try and slow your breathing." Lydia said as I tried to get Stiles to focus on me.
" I can't. I can't!" He exclaimed as I can smell the tears welling up.
" Stiles look at me. Breathe." I told him as he looked dead into my eyes.
" Kiss him." Lydia exclaimed quickly. I looked at Stiles and kissed him. I held myself there and heard his heartbeat slowing down. I felt his fear dispelling. I pulled away as he calmed down.
" You ok?" I asked him as he leaned on me and held me. I rubbed his head as extra comfort.
" I stopped panicking. How?" He asked as he lifted his head.
" I read once, that holding your breath could stop a panic attack. So, when I told Raven to kiss you. I saw you held your breath." Lydia informed us nonchalantly.
" I did?" Stiles asked as I nodded. I was proud he was calm.
" You always do Sti." I replied with a small smile. He smiled softly back.
" With all the trauma you guys go through, I would tell you to sign up for a few sessions with the guidance counselor." Lydia says before pausing. We all get the same idea.
" Morrell." Stiles said her name before we all got up and scrambled to the counselor's office. We quickly got into her office to find a girl that was sitting opposite her desk.
" Are you here for Ms. Morrell?" Stiles asked her.
" No, I thought this was gym class." She replied to him.
" Sweetheart, we're not in the mood for funny. Do you know where she is?" Lydia asked bluntly.
"If I did, I wouldn't be waiting here for twenty minutes! So, how about you two back out the door and wait your turn?" The girl demanded as Lydia pursed her lips.
" We're not here for a session. If anything we have an important issue to discuss with her." I say as worry filled my chest.
" Well I am- and I've got some serious issues to work on." She informed us.
" Hey, wait, wait, wait- you're Danielle. You're Heather's best friend." Stiles asked her. Danielle looked saddened.
" I was Heather's best friend. We've been working on that issue three times a week." She said as she pointed at the empty chair.
" Hold on- did you say Ms. Morrell's twenty minutes late?" Lydia asked her. Danielle promptly nodded.
" And I don't know why, either. She's always on time." She replied with concern
" I was seeing her at the beginning of the semester. She was never late." Lydia said as she looked at Stiles and me with worry.
" Then we have a big fucking problem staring us in the face." I said as dread filled my thoughts. I felt Stiles grab my hand as if sensing my fear.
" What if we're not the only ones who think she knows something?" Lydia asked us.
" Then I want to know what she knows." Stiles said before I went to the desk and began looking at files. Stiles coming by my side to help.
" What are you doing?" Lydia asked me as she sounded surprised. I was too focused to figure this out.
" Trying to find her, we have to go to some extreme measure to figure this out." I replied as I shuffled through files.
" Those files are private!" Danielle exclaimed to me as Lydia scoffed.
" Yeah, she's kind of right." She replied as I gave Stiles a file that had Lydia's name on it.
" That one's yours." He told her as I heard her chirp.
" Let me see that." She exclaimed. I see her dig through it before I saw the fucking tree drawing I see her doodling in class.
" Wait, Lydia- that's your drawing, the same one." I exclaimed to her. She looked confused.
" Yeah, I know. It's a tree." She said as if it wasn't a clue to anything
" Yeah. Good, too." Danielle said with an impressed tone.
" Thank you." She said with a thankful tone.
" No, but that's the same one, though." Stiles said to her as I got up.
" Same as what?" She asked even more confused.
" The same one we always see you drawing in class. It's the same fucking tree!" I exclaimed to her. This has to fucking mean something!
" It's a tree. I like drawing trees." She said shrugging.
" No, but it's the exact same one. Don't you see?" Stiles said as I got an idea.
" Can you open your notebook?" I asked her. She nods and pulls it out. I watch as she pulls it out. She opens it to reveal the exact tree drawing. We flip through and there are more fucking trees.
" It's exactly the same." I said as her face goes blank.
" Okay, you can have my session. You got bigger issues." Danielle says as she quickly leaves the room. All these trees staring us in the face like a big sign waiting to shine at us.
" What is this...?" Lydia asked in horror. I take the notebook and flip it. It's roots.
" I know where they are." Stiles said as I had a feeling I know what this is. We quickly leave the room after putting the files back.
" It's the Nemeton. That's where she's keeping them. It has to be." Stiles tells her.
" Stilinski! Hale!" Rafael's voice catches us. Fuck no!
"Agh…Fuck! Why me? Why am I included!" I exclaimed with annoyance.
" All right, look- go to Derek, okay? He and Peter, they've been there before, so they'll know where it is. Tell them it's the root cellar, all right? They'll know." Stiles tells her. She quickly leaves before Rafael is in front of us.
" Did you know your dad's car is in the school parking lot and has been since last night?" He asked Stiles, who looked bewildered. We knew this already!
" No, what does that mean?" Stiles asked him. He let out a sigh.
" It means he's officially missing." Her replied. We were both taken to an empty classroom.
" Stiles, why am I getting the feeling you know something that could help us find your dad?" Rafael asked him before turning his attention to me.
" Raven, seems you and Stiles both know more than you let on." He said before looking at both of us. I felt Stiles take my hand.
" If I did, why would I not tell you?" Stiles asked him as I can feel his glare on the FBI Agent.
" If it meant helping your dad, why wouldn't you?" He replied to him. This was making it more obvious that he was prying into something deep.
" So, you're asking me to tell you what I wouldn't tell you?" Stiles asked with sarcasm leaving his voice.
" First, I have no idea what you just said. Second, how about you just help me help you?" Rafael asked in a calm tone. His heartbeat was as steady as a drum.
" Well, I don't know how to help you help me tell you something that would help you if I don't know it!" Stiles replied with even more sarcasm.
" Are you doing this on purpose?" Rafael asked him.
" No, he's not." I say as I was getting annoyed. We could be doing something more productive, but here we were playing idiot in the dark.
" I don't know anything, okay? Can I just go? Please, I'm dead tired and would rather not be here." Stiles said before letting out a yawn.
" We are both kind of dealing with our own problematic issues at the moment that don't involve being interrogated by some asshole." I told him flatly. He sighed in annoyance but picked up the conversation.
" Where are your other friends?" He asked us.
" You mean Scott?" Stiles asked him.
" I mean Scott… I mean Isaac Lahey, Allison Argent, these twins, Ethan and Aiden... I've been told your whole little clique didn't show up at school today." Rafael stated as I felt my heart rate pick up.
" I don't have a clique." Stiles replied before I spoke up.
" If anything it's just Scott, Stiles, and myself." I stated as I felt Stiles squeeze my hand.
" Stiles, Raven. come on, There's been a pretty disturbing amount of violent activity in this county in the last few months- several murders tied to this school. I don't know what's going on here, but it's serious. And hey- your dad is missing." Rafael says as if trying to convince us to talk, but I'm a tight-lipped bitch that won't fess up. He looks dead at us before sighing in defeat.
" Fine. But I don't want you going home alone. You have someone you can stay with tonight?" He asked us as a familiar scent wafts my nose. I turned to see a familiar druid.
" They are with me." Deaton said aloud. Rafael lets us go. We had all reconvened back at the animal clinic to discuss the information we had acquired.
" It has to be on a telluric current, or maybe even at the axis of two, or where they all intersect. I just know it's where Derek took Paige to die." Stiles said as he leaned on the steel table.
" My dad and Gerard were there, once. But Gerard said it was years ago and he couldn't remember where it was... And, my dad obviously isn't here to tell us now." Allison added in on the deliberation of what we need to do.
" Yeah, mine either." Stiles said as I was fearful. We are in a deadlock of saving everyone and taking Jennifer down.
" Then how do we find this place?" Isaac asked as Deaton spoke up.
" There might be a way... But it's dangerous. We're gonna need Scott." Deaton explained as the chill flooded the room. Another damn ritual!
" It's always the dangerous way, we get things done." I said as the chill went down my spine.
" I'll text Scott to meet us at the preserve entrance." Stiles says as he pulls his phone out. It wasn't long before a reply hit his phone.
" Let's get a move on. Isaac, I need you to set up three tubs. They are in the back. We'll finish it when we return." Deaton told him. Isaac nodded before going back. Deaton, Stiles, and I went outside to his jeep and got in. The drive was again quiet, the dread of this all hitting me at once. We got to the preserve entrance and waited for Scott to appear. He came out of the woods before too long.
" How'd you guys find out?" Scott asked us as I was sitting on the Jeep. I hopped off.
" Lydia. You?" Stiles asked Scott. He looked slightly disheveled.
" Morrell. None of the other Alphas know where it is, either." Scott said as I looked up and sighed.
" All the information and yet the missing piece is still out of reach." I said as Stiles pulled me to him.
" So, if this works, are you gonna tell them?" Stiles asked Scott, who shrugged.
" I can't stop Jennifer without them." Scott said as he looked tired of all the carnage.
" How about we concentrate on finding your parents first?" Deaton asked as we all nodded. I wanted to help so bad. I felt like I could be of use.
" What's the plan?" Scott asked Deaton. I hated this part.
" Essentially, you, Allison, and Stiles need to be surrogate sacrifices for your parents." Deaton said as I see Scott's stunned face. I felt my emotions running all over the place.
" We die for them?" Scott blurted out in horror.
" But he can bring us back!... You can bring us back, right?" Stiles asked as Deaton had a blank stare.
" You remember the part where I said it was dangerous?" He replied before explaining it.
" If it goes right, the three of you will be dead for a few seconds... But, there's something else you need to think about. This is a dangerous ritual for more reasons than one. You'll be giving power back to the Nemeton, a place that hasn't had power for a long time. This kind of power is like a magnet- it attracts the supernatural, the kind of things that a family like the Argents can fill a bestiary with. It will draw them here, like a beacon." Deaton said as he was giving us the full down low of it all. The feeling of a chance to die and come back to save us all or to die and stay dead.
" Doesn't sound worse than anything we've already seen." Stiles replied as I heard his heart beating a little quickly. His fear said it all.
" You'd be surprised at what you have yet to see." Deaton told him as I smirked. There was a lot out there that we still have yet to figure out.
" Is that it?" Scott asked as I saw Deaton shake his head. There's more!
" No. It'll also have an effect on the three of you. You won't be able to see it, but you'll feel it... every day, for the rest of your lives. It'll be a kind of... darkness around your heart, and permanent, like a scar." Deaton says as I felt the next words Scott said hit deep in my soul.
" Like a tattoo." Scott said as I put one of my hands on one of the wings tattooed on my shoulder. We returned to the Animal Clinic after Scott and Stiles made quick stops to grab their items for the ritual. I was helping fill up a tub with ice after Deaton put mistletoe into them. They were filled to the brim with ice and water.
" All right. What did you bring?" Deaton asked as I saw them holding an item each.
" Um, I got my dad's badge. Jennifer kind of crushed it in her hand, so I tried hammering it out a little bit. Still doesn't look right." Stiles said as he fumbled with it in his hands. I walked over and gave him a reassuring hug.
" Well, it doesn't have to look good if it has meaning." Deaton told him as I put my hands on his as I gave him a love-filled gaze.
" Is that an actual silver bullet?" Isaac asked Allison. I see her holding one as I gave a light smile.
" My dad made it. It's kind of a ceremonial thing. When one of us finishes learning all the skills to be a Hunter, we forge a silver bullet as a testament to the Code." She replied as she held it firm in her hands.
" Scott?" Deaton says as I see Scott holding a watch.
" My dad got my mom this watch when she first got hired at the hospital. She used to say it was the only thing in their marriage that ever worked." Scott replied as I see the value of their items.
" Okay. The three of you will get in. Each of us will hold you under until you're essentially... well, dead." Deaton told them as I felt nervous.
" But, it's not just someone to hold you under- it needs to be someone who can pull you back, someone with a strong connection to you. A kind of emotional tether." Deaton explained to us, the room filled with quiet air.
" Raven... You go with Stiles." Deaton says as I nodded. Lydia sat down as she was here to keep me calm while Stiles was under the water.
" Are you sure? I mean, Scott and I both have to go under." Allison says with worry.
"...It's okay." Scott says as Isaac steps up to help Allison. Stiles, Allison, and Scott all get in their tubs. Stiles gets chest deep.
" I'll be here when you get back. I know you can do this Stiles." I said as he nodded. I gave him a heated kiss before parting with him.
" By the way, if I don't make it back and you do, you should probably know something…" Stiles says as he looked over to Scott.
" Your dad's in town." He told him, I see Scott's face fill with dread. I put my hands on Stiles' shoulders. Issac, Deaton, and I then pushed them down in the water till they stilled. I pull my hands out as Stiles remained at the bottom. I felt worried to fill me before I begin to feel lightheaded. I look over at Deaton as I feel my vision blurring. This wasn't of nervousness.
" Raven?" He asked as I fall to the ground. A loud roar echoed through my ears. I feel hot as the darkness pulls me deep as I proceeded to pass out.