Olivia's POV:

"Does it hurt? Hey, look at me." The fox simply says as Scott hesitantly looks up. "You should have done your reading, Scott. See, a Nogitsune feeds off chaos, strife, and pain. This morning, you and Olivia took it from Isaac, coach, and then from a dying deputy." He looks over at me. "And you, you have the most of it which kind of explains why your powers haven't been working."

I clench my jaw. "What are you talking about?"

"Remember that shadow you first met at that banshees party?" He asked and my eyes widen. "I was there with you through the start of it all. I was only a fragment inside your head which then proceeded to get bigger and bigger and bigger." He twisted the sword more as Scott lets out another groan in pain. "All that pain I caused for you, I made it happen. All those lives that were lost, I'm the one that controlled for it to happen. Those visions you had where some of your friends died, I made sure you remembered the screams that came out of your mouths, the gut-wrenching heartbreak of losing someone you care about, I created all of that pain. You both took it all." He looks back up at Scott and cups the side of his face. "Now, give it to me."

Black veins begin to travel from Scott's face to the Fox's hand which causes him to gasp at the amount inside.

He shoves Scott away to the floor and stormed his way over to me, causing my eyes to widen.

"Stiles wait, don't—" He clamps both of his hands on my face, cutting me off from my sentence as I feel everything drain from inside me which causes my eyes to roll back.

"It's a shame that you could've had a real life. I thought you'd be the smart one to figure this out. You really have to learn, Olivia. You really have to learn not to trust a fox." I feel him move a hand away and it snaps me back to him with his face close, holding a smirk on his face. "Mm-mmm. Wanna know why? 'Cause, they're tricksters. They'll fool ya. They'll fool everyone...and now, Chaos has come again!"

A sword plunges through my chest but instantly I snapped my eyes open with a gasp, frantically looking around the hospital break room with panted breaths.

I quickly pat under my scrubs and I sigh in relief as I lean back against the chair. Just a nightmare. Just a stupid traumatizing nightmare.

"Someone's finally awake!" A coffee cup is placed in front of me which causes me to jump at the sudden item. "Figured you needed a pick-me-up."

I offer a tired smile, watching as Aislinn took a seat in front of me. "What would I do without you?"

"Suffer from the long agonizing hours to deal with our medical director." She snorted. "Anyway, how'd it go with the school?" I wince in remembrance. "That bad?"

"Suspended for a month and got kicked out of their school art show."

"I'll bet that pissed him off."

I take a sip of my coffee. "You have no idea. He blames me for what happened to my...well, my ex-wife." I mumble before taking a sip of my coffee.

"Ouch."

"Yeah, ouch."

"Have you two ever sat down to talk about it?"

I shook my head. "Not really. A day or two after the service, I pretty much went right back to work to make enough money to move. I couldn't be in that house anymore."

"What about your family? Or your other friends that may or may not be just as cool as me." She playfully nudged my foot. "Or whoever you didn't add to your contact list that's been spamming your phone."

"Not since the funeral when I changed my number but...wait. What do you mean spamming?"

"When I first came in, I saw that your phone's been buzzing nonstop but you were passed out." She fished the device out of her pocket and placed it in front of me. "I answered for you but once I asked who it was they immediately hung up. "

I furrow my brows in confusion, seeing it listed as a private number. "Weird."

"Hey, don't stress about it." Aislinn reached across to place her hands over mine with a small smile. "It's probably a scam caller."

"Yeah of course...a scam." I mutter, moving my hand away to drink the rest of my coffee.

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I push open the front door with a yawn, quickly drying my soaked shoes on the floor mat before I step inside the house.

My eyes trail to the living room, seeing Griffin passed out on the couch with a half-eaten pizza on the coffee table and I couldn't help but smile at the sight.

I quietly walk over to him and shut the TV off with the remote before covering his body with the throw blanket.

I went over to the kitchen and just as I pull open the cabinet door,

"Is that why Erica made it seem like you...have a crush on me?"

I look behind me in confusion. "Griffin? You awake?" I call out, waiting for a few seconds but it stays quiet. The only sounds heard were from the small taps from the rain hitting the windows.

Maybe I didn't turn off the TV correctly.

I turn back around but instantly come face to face with a blurred feminine figure, feeling their cold hand cup my cheek. "Olivia...come back to me."

My eyes widen in recognition at the voice. "Allison?"

She tilts her head to the side. "I will rise again!" Her voice deepened into a voice I dreaded to hear, causing my heart to sink. "We'll play a new game! A game of chaos, strife, and pain!"

"N-No! Get away!"

She lunges at me which causes the glass cup to slip from my hand and instantly shatter on the ground as I scramble away from the figure. "What the--!"

"Mom?" I turn, meeting Griffin's tired expression as he worriedly crouched down to my level. "What happened? I heard you scream."

"I-I thought I...." I look back up, seeing that the blurry figure disappeared and I guiltily met his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Come on, it's late." He carefully helps me stand up from the floor. Just as we turn to the next hall, we're immediately met with the barrel of a gun. "Christ!"

I quickly push Griffin behind me but my eyes slightly widen in recognition of the older man soaked from the rain. "What the hell! Argent?"

He slowly lowers his gun with panted breaths escaping his lips, but he didn't dare move another step. Almost as if he was in shock to see us as well. "Sorry, I-I heard a crash and..."

I quickly shake my head and pull him into a tight embrace, patting his back a few times. "Good to see you again."

"You know, you could just use the front door, right? Knock or something?" Griffin scoffed in playful disbelief. "Usually as soon a grandfather meets their grandson, they give him a dollar for fun. Not be face-to-face with the barrel of a gun!"

Argent pulls away from the hug and moves to Griffin next. "I never use the front door. Especially when it's not safe. I've been trying to call you."

I furrow my brows in confusion. "I changed my number but...wait, who says it's not safe?"

Argent slowly looks over to me and tilts his head to the side. "You're seeing her too."

I'm taken aback at the sudden thought but look over to Griffin. "Hey, why don't you head to bed? It's passed your bedtime."

He raised a brow. "I can't go to school tomorrow, remember?"

"You may not have school but it doesn't mean you get a free pass to stay up all night."

He lets out a huff before he turns to Argent. "Will you still be here tomorrow?"

"Of course kid." Argent reassured as he pats Griffin's shoulder. "Listen to your mom, alright?" Griffin reluctantly nods before heading upstairs, disappearing from our sight.

"Okay, start talking." I say as I snatch the broom near the refrigerator and start to clean up the glass shards. "You've been seeing Allison?"

"I mean, I've dreamt about her. You know, now and then over the years I've had images flicker in front of my eyes like blurry photos." He explained, taking a seat on the stool to sit in front of the kitchen island. "And then, two weeks ago, something changed. Those random images flickering through my head got clearer. I saw flashes of her crying out, silently screaming in pain, in agony. She was suffering. But I started seeing her face more and more. And then I started hearing her voice. And I can hear somebody whispering to me."

Once I finish cleaning up the mess, I grab a cup from the cupboard to warm up some coffee. "Whispering what?"

"One word, and only one. I hear it every time I go to sleep and every time I wake up, and I only wake up from nightmares."

I stop pouring the liquid into the cup, feeling my heart sink in remembrance of last week. "Don't tell me it's Bardo." His eyes widen in disbelief.

"How did you...?"

"It started happening last week." I put the cup into the microwave and set the timer before letting it reheat and lean against the counter. "I was at the grocery store but lost the list of things we needed so I called Griffin. I told him to name off what we didn't have since I had a pen and paper but once I finished the list...I wrote bardo without even realizing it."

The microwave beeps repetitively, indicating it was done and I take the cup out from the machine. I pour a little bit more creamer before pushing the cup in front of him.

He carefully takes the cup. "Olivia, do you know what bardo is?"

"Yeah, I still have the book report Kira gave me in high school in one of our boxes. Something about a state between life and death."

"You and I, we're both seeing her. We're both speaking the same word." Argent emphasized as he gestured to the two of us. "It's not just a dream. Allison is caught between life and death!"

"Argent, I don't think it's that simple. It's just a Tibetan word. A concept--"

"Well, that fսcking concept is waking me up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, telling me my daughter is still out there! Your wife--y-your son's mother!" He exclaimed but I quickly shushed him.

"Argent, please, it's been four years. She...she died in the crash." I pause, not wanting the pain of the memory to overwhelm me again. "She's gone."

"I know we all die. I'm not pretending to know what happens next. But if there was something after this life, some next step, I don't think she made it. Maybe that crash made her not cross over because she still has unfinished business and I think she's trying to tell us."

I feel my tears begin to well up but I quickly wipe them away with my sleeve. "Hypothetically, let's say I believe you. What can we actually do to help? I don't have my powers anymore so I can't help her. The connection is gone."

"I know, I know. There's a-a...a ritual of some kind. I know a few details. I got a feeling the real answers are in Beacon Hills." He downs the rest of the coffee. "It has to be done by the next full moon. And if it's not, we don't get another chance."

"And how do we know if this ritual will backfire? With our luck, there are going to be repercussions." I question. "And do you even have anything for the ritual? I don't exactly have anything with Allison's blood beside the mementos. They demolished the car."

He stands up from the stool and walks over to the back door, snatching the briefcase from the ground and walking back over to the table.

He pulls off the latches and pulls open the case, revealing a familiar Katana blade with streaks of old blood stains.

"This is the sword that killed you which we could assume is the time your resurrection powers jumpstarted. Your blood from before stained the blade." He explained. "And from what Allison said, it was supposed to be her that night but you changed the timeline. That connection itself might be more than enough to bring her back."

"I don't have anyone to watch Griffin since he's suspended and I don't feel comfortable at the idea of leaving him behind." I close the briefcase, not wanting to look at the dreaded sword anymore. "And honestly? I don't know if we're ready to be in Beacon Hills. I don't know if I'm ready. It's been years since we've been there."

"None of us have," He walks over to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. "But if you drive out early tomorrow morning, I can meet you there by afternoon."

I cross my arms over my chest. "We're gonna need more help. I don't know where everyone else is."

"Which is why you're not my only stop tonight." He pulls out his phone and types something in where in a matter of seconds, my phone buzzes in my pocket. "I sent you some phone numbers that you might recognize."

"I've been saving my time off to take Griffin on a getaway but..."I hesitantly glance upstairs before letting out a sigh. "Guess it's a good thing I didn't use it yet."

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