"You know, I'm starting to not like this idea," Isaac said as he paced back and forth in front of the wall of windows in the new loft Derek got for us. Sounds kinda dangerous. You know what, I definitely don't like this idea, and I definitely don't like him."

I was sitting at the long table, reading a book with Derek sitting a few feet away, Derek saying, "You'll be fine."

"Does it have to be him?"

Isaac started to walk closer as I said without looking up, "He know how to do it, we don't."

"It'd be more dangerous if either of us tried to do it ourselves," Derek told him.

"You know Scott doesn't trust him, right?" Isaac asked. "And, personally, well, I trust Scott."

"Do you trust us?" Derek asked.

"You . . . yeah," Isaac answered, then looked toward me. "I don't really think it's fair to trust a girl that doesn't trust anyone."

I looked up, away from the book, but not toward him. "I'm working on it."

"Since when?"

I looked toward him, and he stared back, waiting for the insult that was to come when I opened my mouth, and Derek said, "Don't say it. I thought you were working on it."

"What does impatience and annoyance have to do with trust?" I asked with boredom, looking at him.

"Just don't say it."

I sighed, looking back down at my book, and Isaac said, "I still don't like him."

"Nobody likes him," I told him.

The loft door was slid open by the guy nobody liked, and Derek was already looking toward our uncle who saved my life and the guy that had also killed our older sister Laura. 

Derek was already looking at him as I looked up from my book, and Isaac leaned against the table as he looked up at him too.

"Boys, Tara," Peter started as he walked closer. "FYI, yes, coming back from the dead has left my abilities somewhat impared, but the hearing still works. So--" He stopped in front of us, looking over all of us. "I hope you're comfortable with saying whatever it is you're feeling," he looked at me last since I had said nobody liked him, "straight to my face." 

I looked at him blankly. "We don't like you." I slammed my book shut, putting it on the table as I stood up, looking back at Peter. "Now shut up and help us." 

Peter shrugged slightly. "Fair enough." 

Then he lowered his hand, his claws coming out as he did.

* 

Now, Isaac was sitting down in a chair, and I was sitting on the spiral staircase next to the window, and Derek was sitting on the couch not far off.

Peter was walking closer to Isaac. "Relax. I'll get more out of you if you're calm."

"How do you know how to do this, again?" Isaac asked as Peter stood behind him.

"It's an ancient ritual used mostly by Alphas," Peter answered. "Since it's a skill that requires quite a bit of practice. One slip and you could paralyze someone. Or kill them."

"You've have a lot of practice, though, right?"

"Well, I never paralyzed anyone."

My eyebrows furrowed at the careful word choice, and Isaac started to ask, "Wait, does that mean you--?"

Peter's claws dug quickly into the back of his neck, his other arm wrapping around his neck to keep him still as much as possible, and one of Isaac's hands gripped at the arm around him while the other went to his neck.

After a little time, Peter said, "Wait, I see them."

Then he practically fell away, his claws out of Isaac's neck and his arms catching himself against the table behind him.

Derek stood up before I did. "What'd you see?"

Peter panted for breath, straightening as I edged down the stairs in confusion. "It was confusing. Um, im--images. Vague shapes."

"But you saw something," I said.

"Isaac found them."

"Erica and Boyd?" Derek asked.

"I barely saw them. I mean, glimpses."

"But you did see them."

"Worse."

Realization his Derek's face. "Deucalion."

"He was talking to them. Something about time running out."

"What does it mean?" Isaac asked.

"He's gonna kill them," I said.

"No, no, no, no, no, he didn't say that," Peter said. "He did make them a promise that by the full moon that they'd both be dead."

"The next full moon?" I asked, looking at Isaac and Derek.

Peter looked toward me. "Tomorrow night."

*

Scott had called both me and Derek to the school, and now we were in an empty classroom with Lydia, Allison, Scott and Stiles.

Lydia and Allison said something about the girl Isaac had spoken about, about her leaving a bruise on their arms in a mirror pattern, and they held their arms out next to each other.

"I don't see anything," Derek said, and I shook my head, agreeing.

"Look again," Scott told us.

"How is a bruise gonna tell us where Boyd and Erica are?" Derek asked.

"It's the same on both sides. Exactly the same."

"It's nothing," I said.

"Pareidolia," Lydia said, and we looked toward her. "Seeing patterns that aren't there." No one said anything, and she got annoyed. "It's a subset of apophenia."

"Who cares?"

Scott turned this head toward me. "They're trying to help."

"These two?" I asked, my eyebrows raised slightly as I turned to look at Lydia. "This one, who used my brother to resurrect my psychotic uncle. Thank you."

Derek looked at Allison. "And this one, who shot about 30 arrows into me and my pack and nearly killed my sister with knives."

"They were Chinese ring daggers, actually," Allison said coldly, looking at us both with hate.

"Okay, all right, now, come on," Stiles said. "No one died, all right? Look, there may have been a little maiming, okay, a little magling, but no death. That's what I call an important distinction."

Both Derek and I turned our heads to send him a glare, but he didn't care.

"My mother died," Allison told us.

I looked back at her as Derek said, "Your family's little honor code killed your mother. Not me."

'That girl was looking for Scott. I'm here to help him, not you."

"You wanna help?" I asked. "Find something real."

Derek turned for the door, already leaving as I started to follow him, and Scott stopped me. "Tara . . . Give her a chance. Tell Derek to. Okay, they're on our side now."

"Well, then maybe you should tell her what her mother was actually trying to do that night," I told him, then turning to follow after Derek without another word.

*

Scott told us his plan about using Deaton's help to restore Isaac's memories of what happened to and where Boyd and Erica were.

Derek, Stiles, Scott and I were using bag after bag of ice to fill the water in the tub in Deaton's office.

I could hear Deaton tell Isaac, "Obviously, it's not going to be particularly . . . comfortable. But if we can slow your heart rate down enough, you'll slip into a trance-like state."

"Like being hynotized," Isaac said as they walked closer.

"Exactly. You'll be half transformed. It'll let us access your subconscious mind."

They stopped next to us by the tub, Deaton closer to Stiles and Scott next to Isaac. I stood next to Scott, Derek on the other side of me.

"How slow does his heart rate need to be?" Scott asked.

"Very slow," Deaton answered.

"Okay, well, how slow is 'very slow'?" I asked as I leaned against the tub.

"Nearly dead."

Isaac touched the water, pulling back quickly at the cold, and he looked up at Deaton. "It's safe, though, right?"

"Do you want me to answer honestly?"

"No," Isaac said, looking back at the water. "No, not really."

A snapping sound made us all look back at Stiles as he looked at teh glove on his hand with a small smile, and then he looked toward us. "What?"

I looked at the glove, nodding to it, still leaning against the tub, and he got severely annoyed, pulling the glove off and putting it down, walking back toward us.

Derek looked at Isaac. "Look, if it feels too risky, you don't have to do this."

Isaac looked to Scott as he stood, and Scott nodded.

He ignored the escape clause, removing his shirt and slowly, very slowly, got inside the water, the water spilling as Scott held him on one side, Derek on the other, pushing him down as I walked down further when Isaac came back up, his face changed with golden glowing eyes, canines and pointed ears, roaring as he tried to get out.

"Get him back under," Deaton said, and I walked forward, pushing his chest to get him back down. "Hold him."

"We're trying!" I snapped.

Finally, Isaac was under, and he wasn't fighting, but slowly coming back up.

Deaton held a finger to his lips. "Now, remember, only I talk to him. Too many voices will confuse him and draw him out." He looked down to Isaac. "Isaac? Can you hear me?"

"Yes. I can hear you."

"This is Dr. Deaton. I'd like to ask you a few questions. Is that all right?"

"Yes."

"I want to ask you about the night you found Erica and Boyd. I want you to remember it for me in as vivid detail as possible, like you're actually there again."

"I--I don't wanna do that." He started to move again. "I don't--I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna do that."

Being careful, Scott and Derek held him down again.

"Isaac, it's all right," Deaton said. "Just relax. They're just memories. You can't be hurt by a memory."

"I don't wanna do that."

"It's all right."

"I don't wanna do that."

"Relax. Relax." Finally, Isaac stopped fighting. "Good. NOw let's go back to that night. To the place you found Erica and Boyd. Can you tell me what you see? Is there some kind of building? A house?"

"It's not . . . it's not a house. It's stone. I think marble."

"That's perfect. Can ou give me any other descriptors?"

"It's dusty, so empty."

"Like an abandoned building?"

Isaac started to move again.

"Isaac? Isaac?"

"Someone's here," Isaac said, still moving. "Someone's here."

"Isaac, relax."

"No, no, no, they see me, they see me!"

"Just memories," Deaton said, and I noticed Isaac holding Scott's wrist. "You won't be hurt by your memories. Just relax. Relax." Listening, Isaac relaxed, letting go of Scott. "Good. Now tell us what you see. Tell us everything."

"I hear him," Isaac said. "He's talking about the full moon, about being out of control when the moon rises."

"Is he talking to Erica?"

"I think so. I can't--I can't see her, I ca--I can't . . . I can't see either of them."

"Can you hear anything else?"

"They're worried. They're worried what they'll do during the moon. They're . . . worried that they're gonna hurt each other."

I exhaled, closing my eyes. "If they're locked in together on the full moon, they're gonna tear each other apart."

Deaton turned back to Isaac. "Isaac, we need to find them right now. Can you see them?" 

"No," Isaac answered.

"Do you know what kind of room it is? Is tehre any kind of marker? A number on a door? A sign?" 

"They're here," Isaac said, starting to squirm. "They . . .they . . ." 

"It's all right." 

"No." 

"Just tell us--" 

"They see me. They found me. They're here!" 

"This isn't working," Derek stated, leaning closer to Isaac, demanding, "Isaac, where are you?" 

"I can't see them," Isaac muttered. "It's too dark!" 

"Just ell me where you are." 

"I can't see!" 

"Isaac, where are you? Just tell me where you are." 

"His heart rate . . . " Deaton trailed off. "He could go into shock." 

"Derek, let him go!" Scott exclaimed.

"Isaac where are you?" Derek demanded. "What did you see?" 

"They're dragging me into a room, it's dark. They're a dead body--it's Erica!" 

Isaac launched from the water. "A vault! It's a bank vault! I saw it. I saw the name." He started to get out of the water, getting the towel from Deaton and Scott. "It's, uh . . . B--Beacon Hills First National Bank. It's, um . . . it's an abandoned bank, and they're keeping them locked inside the vault." No one answered, and he looked around. "What?" 

"You don't remember what you said right before you came out of it, do you?" Stiles asked.

'No." 

'You said when they captured you that they dragged you into a room and that there was a body in it," Stiles said. 

"What body?" 

"Erica," I said with a sigh. "You said it was Erica." 

* 

Isaac and Stiles were sitting on a table now, and Derek said, "She's not dead."

I sighed. "Derek, he said, 'there's a dead body. It's Erica.' Doesn't exactly leave us much room for interpretation."

"Then who was in the vault with Boyd?" Derek asked, looking at me.

I had no clue, but I said anyway, "Someone else, obviously."

"And maybe it was the girl on the motorcycle," Scott said, looking at Isaac. "Okay, the one who saved you?"

"No, she wasn't like us," Isaac said. "And whoever was in the vault with Boyd was."

"What if that's how Erica died?" Stiles asked. "They, like, pit them against each other during the rull moons and see which one survives. It's like werewolf thunderdome."

"Then we get them out tonight," Derek said.

"Be smart about this, Derek," Deaton told him. "You can't jsut go storming in."

"If Isaac got in, then so can we."

"But he didn't get through a vault door, did he?"

"We need a plan," Scott agreed.

"How are we gonna come up with a plan to break into a bank vault in less than 24 hours?" I asked.

Stiles ignored the sarcasm and bitterness in my tone, looking down at his phone. "Oh, I think someone already did. 'Beacon Hills First National Bank closes its doors three months after vault robbery.'" He looked back up to me and Derek. "Doesn't say how it was robbed, but it probably won't take long to find out."

"How long?" I asked.

"It's the Internet, Tara. Okay, minutes."

*

"Okay, you see this?" Stiles asked us in the loft as he set out the bank map in front of us on the table. "This is how they got in. It's a rooftop air conditioning vent. Leads down inside into the wall of the vault, which is here." He circled something I didn't see. "Okay? One of the robbers was lowered into this shaft. Now, that space is so small, it took him about 12 hours to drill into that wall, which is stone, by the way. Then throughout the rest of the night, they siphoned the cash up to the guys back on the roof through that one little shaft in the wall." He threw his pen down. "Boom."

"Can we fit in there?" Scott asked.

"Yes, we can, but, very, very barely. Tara's the only one small enough to not worry about it." I didn't answer to the acknowledgement as he went on. "And they also patched the wall, obviously, so we're gonna need a drill of some kind. I'm thinking maybe a diamond bit--"

"Look, forget the drill," Derek cut him off.

"Sorry?" Stiles asked, looking toward him.

"If I go in first, how much space do I have?"

'What do you--what do you think you're gonna do, Derek? You gonna punch through the wall?" Both straightened up, facing each other.

Derek crossed his arms over his chest. "Yes, Stiles, I'm gonna punch through the wall."

"If I can do it, he definitely can do it," I stated, bored.

"You think you can do it?" Stiles asked me, and I nodded once. "Okay, okay, little girl." I narrowed my eyes at him, and Derek sighed, knowing that was the wrong thing to say to me. "Let's see it. Let see that fist. Big old fist. Make it. Come on. Get it out there. Don't be scared. Big, bad she-wolf." Humoring him, I put out my fist. "Yeah, look at that." As he grabbed my wrist, I tilted my head, looking back toward the window and saw Peter on the spiral staircase trying not to laugh because he knew that Stiles was gonna get punched for talking to me like I was a five-year-old. Stiles put his other hand flat out in front of my fist. "Okay, see this? That's maybe about three inches of room to gather enough force . . . " He let go of my wrist. " . . . to punch through solid conc--"

I punched his hand, not even using all of my strength to do so, and it was enough to make him turn to the table, hitting it. "Ah! Ow!" He started to walk away. "If she can do it, he can do it."

Scott raised his arms in a w-t-f gesture, but I ignored him, Derek saying, "I'll get through the wall. Who's following me down?" I started to open my mouth. "I already know you're going, shut up." I shut my mouth and we looked toward Peter.

"Don't look at me," he said. "I'm not up to fight speed yet. And, honestl, with Isaac out of commissinon, you're not looking at good odds yourselves."

"So we're just supposed to let them die?" I asked.

 "One of them is already dead."

"We don't know that," Derek denied.

"Do I have to remind you two what we're up against here? A pack of Alphas, all of them killers. And if that's not enough to scare your testicles back into your stomach, try to remember that two of them combine bodies to form one giant Alpha. I'm sure Erica and Boyd were sweet kids and are gonna be missed."

Stiles stood next to me and Scott and he asked, "Can somebody kill him again, please?"

Peter glared at him, then looked back at me and Derek. "Guys, seriously? Not worth the risk."

I ignored him, looking at Scott. "What about you?"

"Yeah, if you want me to come--" Stiles started.

I closed my eyes in annoyance. "Not you."

"Got it."

"I don't know about Erica," Scott said. "But if Boyd's still alive, we have to do something."

"But?" I asked, knowing that was what was coming.

"Who's the other girl? The one locked in there with Boyd."

That was a very good question.

Derek, Scott and me stopped right outside of the bank, and I noticed that Scott looked distracted, so I asked, "What?"

"There's just something I can't get out of my head," Scott answered.

"The moon's rising, Scott," Derek said. "What is it?"

"Risk and reward."

"Which means what?" I asked, trying to get him to hurry up.

"We're not measuring the risk with enough information. We don't know enough."

"We know time's running out," I said.

"Yeah, but think about it," Scott told me. "They put the triskele on your door four months ago. What have they been doing all this time? Why wait until now?

"We don't have the time to figure out every little detail," Derek said.

"Okay, but what if this detail, the reason why they waited... what if it's the most important one?"

"Then we do nothing," I said. "And Boyd and Erica are dead. I know what I'm risking. My life for theirs."

Derek looked up to the ladder above, running forward and jumping off the wall, grabbing each side of the ladder, swinging his legs underneath and boosted up to land on the bottom step of the ladder. He looked down to Scott next to me. "And I won't blame you if you don't follow me."

He continued to climb, and I of course, followed first.

Derek had to punch the wall four times to break it through, and the wall crumbled, allowing him to roll through.

Behind him, I stepped through, looking toward the growling mass of Boyd as he looked back at us, clearly nearly lost to the full moon already. Scott followed me.

"Boyd?" I asked.

"Boyd?" Derek repated. "It's us. It's Tara and Derek."

While Derek spoke, I heard Scott's phone, and Scott answered. "Stiles, now is not the best time."

"Scott! Scott!" Stiles yelled from the phone. "No, listen to me, okay? Lok, you gotta get outta there. Look, the walls of the vault are made with a mineral called hecatolite. It scatters the moonlight."

'What does that mean?"

I was listening to the phone call as Derek told a still growling Boyd, "We're here to get you out, okay?"

"look, it keeps the moonlight out, okay? They haven't felt the full moon in months."

"Okay, think of it like the gladiators in the Roman colosseum," Peter said. "They used to starve the lions for three days, making them more vicious, more out of control. Deucalion has kept them from shifting for three full moons, diminishing their tolerance to it."

Oh, shit . . .

"Scott, they're gonna be stronger--" Stiles started.

"More savage, more bloodthristy," Peter cut him off. "Scott, they're the lions. They're the starved lions, and you, Derek and Tara just stepped into the colesseum."

"Derek, we got a problem," Scott said.

I noddded, Scott looking at me, knowing I'd heard the phone call. "A really big problem."

Our gaze shifted to Boyd and the girl that was next to him now, growling as viciously as he was.

My heart stopped for a second when I looked at her.

It wasn't possible . . .

I'd seen her in the fire . . .

"Cora?" Derek asked as we looked at her.

"Who?" Scott asked us.

I swallowed, looking at my older sister, the one that had been home with me the day of the fire. I'd thought Peter and I'd been the only one to get out . . .

My voice sounded weaker, and I felt weaker, than I'd felt in a long time. "Cora?"

"Derek, Tara, get out," she told us. "Get out now!"

"Scott? Hey, Scott! Scott!"

"No," Scott said. I followed his gaze to the circle of Mountain ash surrounding us, parallel to the walls as the vault door opened. A girl in all black was lowering to the floor, completeing the circle, locking us in. "No! Wait!"

"Scott? Scott, are you hearing this?"

Cora and Boyd were disappearing, turning into complete monsters as they both roared, coming to attack.

Cora came at me and Derek as Boyd went after Scott, and I ducked down as Cora swung a clawed arm to my head, and both Derek and I backed away next to Scott.

"You guys know her?" Scott asked.

"She's our sister, my younger sister, older than Tara," Derek answered loudly.

"What the hell is she doing here?"

"Like I have a clue," I said. "I thought she was dead!"

"Look out!" Allison's voice yelled as Cora and Boyd came to attack.

As Cora tried to attack me, I rolled under her arm, somersalting into a standing position as Boyd went after Scott, and I didn't see what Derek did to Cora, but she was on the floor, scurrying toward me.

As she tried to send a claw straight to my chest, I used one arm to grab her wrist, then the other her throat.

She was stronger though. Completely given in while I was focusing on keeping my own monster sidee down.

She could easily use her free arm to grab at my arm holding her throat to keep her away, trying to pry it away as she roared, her eyes glowing gold with hair on her cheeks, her canines out, her ears pointed, her nose slightly scrunched, a triangle of hair on her forehead.

I allowed my own eyes to glow blue, my canines out as I roared back to my older sister.

"No!" Derek yelled as he looked behind me, trying to pull Cora away. "Don't break the seal!"

"Boyd!" Allison yelled.

Cora broke free of us as she and Boyd ran past us, past a bloody Scott, past the idiot Allison that broke the seal and set free two monsters.

Derek was out of the vault first, grabbing Allison as Scott and I walked out, Scott yelling, "Don't touch her!"

Derek let her go. "What were you thinking?"

"That I had to do something," Allison answered just as loudly.

'She saved our lives," Scott said.

I turned to him, demanding, "Yeah, and what do you think they're gonna do out there?" I turned to Allison, demanding in a yell, "Do you have any idea what we just set free?"

"You want to blame me?" Allison demanded, yelling back. "Well, I am not the one turning teenagers into killers."

As she finished, she looked at Derek, and he said, "No. No, that's just the rest of your family."

"I made mistakes. Gerard is not my fault."

"And what about your mother?" I asked, thinking of how she tried to kill Scott.

She fell silent for a second, confused. "What do you mean?"

I looked at her ex-boyfriend. "Tell her, Scott."

"What does she mean, Scott? What does she mean?"