chapter twenty-four.

TEN BEWITCHING FLOWERS ONCE laid in his trembling grasp was now inside each victim from the bombing at the police station, he knew all the flowers in the world couldn't fix what he done but he hoped this act would bring them some comfort in their misery. Walking out of the hospital, his shoulders felt lighter but the hole in his chest hadn't moved and stayed just as big.

"I knew we'd find you here." A voice said behind him, it was teasing just a soft almost sad he did find him here. Arthur huffed a breath, he peanut need people worry about him not after what he did, in fact they should be cutting him off from their lives.

"Isaac? Alice, what are you doing here?" Arthur inquired, lifting his chin from his chest and takes his hands out of his pocket to face them behind him. He doesn't want Alice to see her big brother being fragile, he doesn't want her to worry about him more than she should.

"What are you doing here?" Alice countered, walking straight into his arms holding onto the warmth he provided, it took him a second to react before petting her silk hair. "I came into your room and you were gone again, you weren't picking up phone -"

"Just breath, I'm right here." Arthur reassured, patting down her ebony hair and kissed the top of her head. "You didn't have to come down here, I'm fine."

"We wanted too, Arthur." Isaac insisted, striding forth and stops in front of him. "You didn't have to come here by yourself."

"No, I needed to. After what I done I should be able to look in their face and face it." Arthur sniped. He shouldn't be trying to soften what he done, he had the chance to tell someone word could've made everything different right now.

Alice slips out of his arms glancing at Arthur perplexed, "What did you?"

"Alice, I can't tell you." Arthur replied, tears builds up in his eyes backing up. He came out her to be alone not to confess his sins especially not to the one who looks to him. She looks up to a murderer. "I don't want you to hate me."

"Arthur." Her slim fingers clutch his wrist to keep him from slipping through her fingers again and tried to meet his eyes. "Hey, I could never hate you, you're my big brother and I love you no matter what." She stands on her toes wrapping her arms around his shoulders, he hesitated before holding onto her tightly.

"I'm sorry." Arthur mumbled into her hair, glancing at Isaac he yanks him into their hug and feels him hold him just as tight. "I am so sorry I let you down."

"It might take time but it'll be alright." Isaac promised, his forehead resting on his shoulder and Alice's temple on both their shoulders. "Everything will be alright."

"You don't have to be alone." His sister whispered into his chest. "We'll be here. We'll always be here." And tiny part of him actually believed him.

* * *

"THIS CAR IS PRETTIER than me -" The last thing Arthur wanted was to leave his cozy bed and face the world again, the threat has vanished for a whole day and he is anxiously waiting for his next move. Lydia had bought a new car and wanted to go on a drive somewhere, but he hadn't expected for another person to join. A known pit forms in stomach pressing his lips together, "What is he doing here? If he staying he's sitting in the back."

"You heard him, Aiden." Lydia responses tilting her head. The omega huffs and switches to the passenger seat. "And no bad blood, he tried to find you."

"Thanks." Arthur said after a few heartbeats of silence clicking his belt as the car begins moving. "But, it still doesn't explain why he's third wheeling."

"Think of him as morel support." Lydia replies, leaning forward her chin above the center of the wheel.

She looks adorable concentrating on the road so they don't die, Arthur thought containing a light laugh. He asks, "Do we at least get to know where we're going?"

"I need to check on something." She answers stealthy. He shoots her a look upon her answers shorter than herself and decides to drop it leaning against his soft seat.

Aiden reaches forward and reads a crumbled sheet, "Who is Malia Tate?"

"It's Mah-leah." Arthur corrects, mind drifting to the Werecoyote they had rescued, it's strange knowing they exist would that mean werecats and werebears are out there somewhere?

"Neither of you need to worry about it." Lydia replies, without looking back she takes the page from his hand and into her cup holder.

"Well, I'm actually a little worried we're totally lost." Aiden confesses, elbows resting on both shoulder seats.

Lydia spares him a glance, "Why do you think that?"

"'Cause you just made your fourth right." He replies. "And four rights make a circle."

"I did not." She disagrees, shaking her head tightening her hands on the wheel. "Did I? It's a brand-new car. The GPS was fine before."

"Maybe the GPS would work better if it was on." Arthur suggests, fingers tracing the seatbelt stitches.

"What?" Lydia breaths out. The blue eyed boy peeks at her as her breathing becomes uneven pressing random buttons, he wonders if she had been hearing something they hadn't.

"Lydia?" Arthur calls, clamping a hand on her wrist to gain her attention. Her colossal green irises fall on him, "You okay?"

"I need to stop." She trembles. "I need to pull over right now." Her wrist breaks from his hand to make a sudden turn, the passengers tumble left yells leaving their mouths.

"Lydia, slow down!" The cherry red ignores them another turn, cars honk at her and Arthur clutches the arm rest trying to control his quickening heart.

"Lydia, stop!" The blue Toyota whirls into a parking lot tires screeching as it stops meters away from a limp body. Another win for her Banshee instincts.

* * *

A LIMP AND PALE Stiles is brought through Scott's door in Aiden and Arthur's arms, the last thing he wanted to do is come face to face with him again, Lydia could've drove off and left him but there are innocent bystanders and his friend is still somewhere inside that decaying body. And how does he expect to beat him if he avoids him like a coward. Arthur is no coward.

"The couch, put him on the couch." Scott instructs, moving the cushions and they drop his body.

"Guys, this is crazy." Melissa insists. Deaton frowns besides her observing the trickster. "He needs to be in the hospital."

"Mom, remember what happened last time he went to the hospital?" Scott cautions, glimpsing back at her.

Deaton knees and parts his ripped t-shirt revealing a jagged crimson cut across his pale stomach. Arthur grimaces hoping Stiles wouldn't be in anguish because of him. "It doesn't look like he's bleeding. I think he might even be healing."

"You mean healing like we heal?" Aiden questions, glancing down at Deaton. "That's good, right?"

"For him, yes." Deaton nods but the look on his face says otherwise as he stands. "Us? I'm not so sure."

"Well, if we're not going to kill him, why aren't we at least tying him down with really big chains?" Aiden inquired, arms crossed.

"Do you carry around large chains?" Arthur retorted, raising an eyebrow.

"In my car, yes." Aiden replies. The blue eyed boy shoots him a 'What the hell' look making him shrug. "You never know when you're gonna have to tie someone up."

"Are you serious?" Arthur asks, expression twisted in disbelief unable to tell whether or not he's lying.

"I might have something more effective." Deaton interrupts Aiden from answering. He frowns at his lack of answer and turns to the veteran as he opens his briefcase and pulls out a dark brown bottle. Nodding at the boys, Arthur grips Stiles' arms while Scott and Aiden tilt his head and open his mouth letting Deaton drop tiny doses in his mouth.

The trickster's eyes snaps open and breaks out of Arthur's grip effortlessly wrapping his fingers around Aiden's throat. "Get him off me! Get him off me!" Neither Scott and Arthur could pry his hand off until the venom kicks in making his hand tremble.

"Kanima venom. Nice touch." He praises, his arms collapse by his side rendering his body paralyzed. The omega roars striding forth threateningly. "You know how they say that twins get a feeling when the other one's in pain? You didn't lose that talent, too, did you?" His blue eyes meets Aiden's anxious glance. "Oh, I hope not. You're going to need it. Okay, I'll give a little hint : Ethan's at the school."

A single word from Scott is enough to send the omega ambling out the door and to rescue his brother, Void Stiles' laughter trailing, the same one that makes Arthur's veins freeze.

"Oh, I hope he gets there in time. I like the twins. Short tempers. Homicidal compulsions. They're a lot more fun than you bakemono trying to save the world every day." He mocks, rolling his eyes they land on blue ones. He grins. "Arthur, have you figured the riddle yet? What is it the more you take away?"

The last thing he wants to play along with his stupid game but the curious part of him needed to know what it meant, the answer wasn't hard to figure out since it dig one in heart. He licks his lips replying, "A hole."

"Can you feel it? The hole I left you?" He taunts, lips quirking in a smirk. "You can try to ignore it but you'll loose the game. You're my favorite, Arthur, this is me helping you."

His nostrils flare digging his nails in his palm to stop himself from lashing out, "I'm not some freakin' toy you can mess around with." Arthur snipes his voice standing over an edge, eyes narrowing into slits. "Screw you."

"Doc, you brought something to paralyze his body." He's thankful Melissa opened her mouth when she did because he feels like a ticking time bomb - a horrible metaphor. "- You got anything for his mouth?"

"Yes, I do." Deaton says ripping black tape and gluing it over his mouth. Void glares and starts shouting his words blocked by the tap. Fingers slides inside Arthur's tense ones but snaps back, his eyebrows furrow as she leads him into the kitchen.

Standing on her toes, she presses her hands to both sides of his cheeks and winces. "You're so cold."

"Really? I thought I'd be boiling." He says, pressing his lips together, he peers at his knuckles taps the wooden table. The whole 'being his favorite' has left him feeling nauseating, when a trickster calls you their favorite it because you're their greatest toy, their pleasurable one to torture because it brings them amusement. Arthur doesn't want to be his favorite, he might actually vomit.

Her hand rubs his back, he flinches but relaxes at the sight of her. She asks, "Are you alright?"

"Nothing I can't handle." Arthur answers, offering her a smile to lighten her concern. He sighs straightening when Deaton and Scott enters the kitchen.

"How much longer do you think we have?" Scott quizzes, eyebrows raised.

"I wish I knew. But if we don't figure out something soon, we're going to need to find a better place to keep him." Deaton explains crossing his arms over his chest. "I think we're grossly underestimating the danger here. He might be paralyzed, but it still feels like he's got us right in the palm of his hand."

Silence fell in between them.

"The scroll said to change his body." Lydia says, hands by her side.

Deaton glimpses away from the window, countering, "That's if I translated it correctly. We're looking for a cure in something that might actually be nothing more than a proverb or a metaphor."

"And what if he doesn't want it?" Scott hinders, doe eyes swimming in anxiety flickering between them. "He's never asked to be a werewolf."

"What if it saves his life?" Arthur retaliates, leaning against the tiny bit of space between the wall and fridge. If they don't try this and Stiles is gone forever, he'd abandon his dream of becoming a doctor. How could he become one if he couldn't do everything in his power to save his friend like he promised to do.

"What if it kills him? I've never done this before." Scott gulps. "I mean, what if I bite him and accidentally hit an artery or something?"

"The venom is not going to last long." Deaton warns, his voice trembling. "Something needs to be done sooner than later."

Scott sighs taking his phone out. "I can try calling Derek again."

Arthur peeks at Lydia recognizing her thoughtful expression, pursed lips and darting eyes. He went to move his hand only to notice their pinkies were connected, he could've died on the spot but chooses to breath, he clears his throat. "You got an idea?"

"Maybe we should call someone else." Lydia suggests hesitate. Arthur only knew three werewolves ( minus Scott and Derek ) Isaac, he's only been for like ten seconds. The twins are currently unavailable saving one another and those are the only ones he remembers.

Thirty minutes later, Arthur opens the ringing door and there stood a smiling Peter like he hadn't left him for dead underneath a tree ( a long story ) and holds back a curse. He'd rather wait in an endless lines for hours then let him help them.

"Well, aren't going to let me in?" Peter inquiries with an arched eyebrow.

"Is he really necessary?" The blue eyed boy asks his friends with a frown.

Peter strides inside bumping shoulders with him and walks in a 360 angle around Stiles inspecting him, "He doesn't look like he would survive a slap across the face, much less the bite of a werewolf."

Scott sighs nearly defeated. "You don't think it would work?"

"This is more a war of the mind than the body." Peter clarifies, hand on the head of the couch. "There are better methods to winning this battle."

"What kind of methods?" Deaton questions, advancing.

In a flick of the wrist, Peter snaps Scott's wrist forth unveil sharp claws, Void tilts his head aloof only making Peter's smile widen. "We're going to get into his head."

Minutes later, Lydia returns from her chat with the demonic werewolf. "So, do we have a plan?" Deaton ask the pair.

"Scott is going to try and dig through pale and sickly Evil Stiles's mind to unearth pale and sickly Real Stiles. Then guide him back from the depths of his own subconscious." Peter explains, strolling around the couch and pauses behind Void Stiles. "But he's not going to do it alone." His darken eyes falls on Lydia.

Her spooked expression made him step up, "I'll do it." Arthur volunteers raising a hand, trailing forward blocking the cherry red slightly with his shoulder from his eyes.

"In you're state?" Peter scoffs, peering at him up and down. "You can barely keep your eyes open."

"Don't act like you care, Peter." Arthur snarls, crossing his arms.

"I don't." He answers bluntly. "But Scott could kill you in your fragile state." His glare sharpens, he would've sat down besides Stiles if Lydia hadn't stopped him.

"It's fine, Arthur." She assures, taking a seat besides him. The Alpha takes his place in between them claws grazing their neck, Arthur chews his thumbnail. "So, what do we do if we find him?" Scott questions, eyes glued to their exposed necks.

"You're gonna have to guide him out somehow." Peter answers, shrugging lightly. "Try to give him control of his body and mind."

"Could you elaborate on the 'somehow'?" Lydia breaths out shaky, shoulders visibly stiff. "It's not feeling very specific at the moment."

"Improvise."

"What if this is just another trick?" Scott inquires.

Peter laughs nervously, strolling diagonal from the act. "When are you people going to start trusting me?"

"I'm pretty sure he meant him." Arthur comments pointing to the tied trickster, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh."

"Scott, we're running out of time." Deaton says. Scott inhales closing his eyes and reopens them, crimson replaces the brown irises his claws impales their necks, Lydia's mouth parts in shock tilting her head. And now the humans and werewolf play a well hated game called : waiting.

* * *

( author's note. ) I found the episode where they went into
Stiles' mind so boring, I knew if I found it boring then
you guys would too. So enjoy the blooming relationship between Ethan
and Arthur! And one more chapter left, I am beyond excited!