"TALK TO ME, ALEX."

The words reverberated in my skull like a broken record player — on a continuous loop. They sounded like words that had come from an alternative reality but it was just me who was a million miles away, the defences in my head so high the words had to fight to get through ... and even when they did, they didn't take my full attention. I felt as if I were dreaming, or highly sedated ... barely living but the fall back into reality was harsh.

I clung to the handle above my head in his FJ Cruiser and glanced sideways to him. He was driving, so his attention was mainly focused on the road but upon feeling my gaze on him, he glanced over at me promptly. His eyes lingered for some few seconds, no longer than five, but it was enough for me to read the great level of concern in his irises.

I shrugged after a few more minutes, "I don't know what you want me to say."

What was there to say? I felt like a walking zombie, my thoughts were a million miles away — conjuring every possible scenario as to how we could fail ... as to how I could lose Stiles. My body ached and my eyes burnt and deep down, though I had no intention of eating, my body screamed for food. I couldn't think as to when the last time I'd physically eaten, it was that bad. A combination of the fact I couldn't bring myself to do so due to the overwhelming — anxiety induced — nausea and the sheer fact that I didn't have the time.

"Anything." Derek responded quickly, "I'm struggling to decipher your chemo signals. I need words."

I nodded once, "Shit." I said to him, "There's a word."

"We're gonna do everything we can." He assured me, "You know that, don't you?"

I shook my head in a no, "I don't trust Christ Argent."

Derek was quiet though a deep sigh pooled from his lips. It sounded like he'd been holding it at bay for sometime. After a while, I glanced at him and saw his jaw clenched, "No." Was all he said.

While it sounded contradictory, I knew that was his way of agreeing with me. Back in the Sheriff's office there was something about Chris' demeanour that made the hairs on the back of my neck rise. I wasn't sure if I was reading into it too much, then again, it wasn't like you could blame me. His sister was nothing short of a psychopath who had burned my mother, my family and their home to the ground. His wife had taken matters into her own hands, a perpetrator of attempted murder against a sixteen year old boy and his father... well, there wasn't enough words in this world to define Gerard Argent.

The Argent family were dangerous — each and every one of them had been hardwired into killing werewolves and other creatures alike. To me, you could renounce your beliefs but if the time came it was easy to slip back into old habits.

I was almost willing to bet that Chris Argent had conjured up a secret plan of his own, one that ended with both
Stiles and the Nogitsune dead. Though it didn't matter how much I longed for the Nogitsune to be stopped and to be out of our lives, Hell would freeze over before I would let anything happen to Stiles.

"We have to be cautious around him." I concluded as Derek turned into their apartment complex.

He nodded, pulling into a space before he turned his attention to me fully, "I know."

I looked at him firmly and I hoped my gaze expressed how serious I was about my next words, "I won't let anything happen to Stiles, Derek."

A short sigh emitted from Derek then — a knowing sigh, one that depicted he knew how resolute my words were. He nodded his head again and reached for the door handle as he said, "I know."

I was satisfied that he knew how serious I was about this but all I had to do now was instil that same seriousness upon Chris Argent. I didn't even want to turn Stiles into a werewolf. If there was any other way of separating him for the Nogitsune I'd push it — no matter how hard it was.

Derek and I walked side by side to the Argent's apartment building, the same building Ethan and Aiden lived in. Our strides were in unison as I tucked my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket. The Sheriff and Chris were waiting for us by the entrance doors and once we'd reached them they were held open for us and we stepped into the elevator waiting to go. As the elevator doors slid shut a thick silence formulated.

Eyes of uncertainly and fidgety movements demanded my attention. The chemo signals in this elevator were strong and they all seemed to be emitting from Chris and the Sheriff. I didn't like any of them, the uncertainty and distrust were the two that claimed my focus.

I wanted to bring it to light — the fact that I could read them both like an open book despite their stoic faces — but before I had the chance the elevator doors opened on the fifth floor. Chris was the first out and he guided us to his apartment while saying, "I called ahead and had Allison dig out anything non-lethal that could be of use to us."

I nodded though I knew he couldn't see me behind him. He opened his apartment and left the door open for us to follow through. The Sheriff followed Chris closely, and I behind the Sheriff. Derek hung at the back and he closed the door behind him though through the two men I saw Allison emerge at the opposite end of the hallway and she walked towards us to meet us.

She passed through a door to our left, her fathers study, and guided us in while saying, "This is everything non-lethal I could find."

The five of us gathered around the desk and I examined the items she'd gotten out. There was a rather large coil of rope, a pair of handcuffs and a small chain paired with a stun gun, cable ties and what looked like mountain ash. I folded my arms across my chest tightly knowing just how much weaponry the Argents held and only six items were non-lethal.

I could feel Allison's gaze burning into me but I didn't meet it. All I could think about was how this was no where near enough to take down the Nogitsune, an ancient creature that used thousands of bolts of electricity to kick start its power.

I glanced at Derek as Chris said, "We'll take all of it."

My cousin met my gaze and seemed to be thinking the same thing as me when he arched his brow in question.

"What's the plan here?" The Sheriff asked.

"Well, our best shot right now is for Derek and Alex to try to pick up Stiles' scent at Eichen House. Especially if he went through something stressful there." Chris said.

I swallowed thickly, keeping my words to myself. While it was a good idea, I wasn't sure I wanted to feel the extent of Stiles' pain. If what my nightmare last night — what Malia had explained to us — was anything to go by, I could only assume we'd pick up a lot of emotion there.

"Should all five of us be going to the same place?" The Sheriff questioned.

"Where else has Stiles been showing up?"

I almost wanted to correct him to the Nogitsune. This wasn't Stiles we were dealing with. In my mind Stiles and the Nogitsune were two different people. We'd dropped Stiles off at Eichen House, yes, but it was the Nogitsune who had escaped from there.

"The Nogitsune." The words fumbled past my lips before I had the chance to hold them back. I felt everyone's gaze on me before I said, "And the school and the hospital."

"Okay, hold on, we did this already." Derek argued from beside me, "He disappeared, we started looking for him then walked right into a trap at the hospital."

"He's getting us to repeat the same moves." Chris noted.

"So, what do we do?" Allison asked, "Wait for him to come to us."

"We can't." Derek shot down, "Not if the Oni find him when the sun goes down."

"Scott's working on that with Kira." I informed them.

"That's the problem." Chris mumbled somewhat cryptically, "We're all tying to outfox the fox."

I nodded, "It's a lose-lose for us and he knows it. That's why he's making us do it." I said to them before releasing a deep sigh, "He knows that we're willing to do anything — even if it does mean playing the same game over and over again. He knows that we won't hurt him because that means hurting Stiles. That's the problem he knows how desperate we are — some of us, anyways."

And it was true. The Nogitsune had each and every one of us figured out. He probably knew us better than we knew ourselves. He was a trickster, after all. It was his job to know his opponents like the back of his hand. He'd be a rubbish trickster if he didn't.

He'd had plenty of time to observe us while he'd been dormant in Stiles' mind.

Silence ensued when we realised that no matter what we did, we were already outsmarted.

Opposite me, I met the Sheriff's gaze. He and I were ready to do absolutely anything to get Stiles back to us safely. We'd sacrifice ourselves to save him, there was no doubt about it, but our three companions did not share those same thoughts and we couldn't expect them too either.

Stiles was the Sheriff and I's family.

He sighed deeply, "Listen. I'll understand if anyone wants to back out."

They exchanged glances with one another and I looked at Derek. He met my gaze and pressed his lips together before turning away and saying, "I'm not gonna be the first wolf to run from a fox." He reached forward and grabbed the stun gun.

"Apparently I'm carrying the lightsaber." Chris said.

"Dad, you, Derek and Alex hit Eichen House." Allison said, grabbing a brief case and closing it up, "Sheriff, it's you and me in the hospital. We all meet in the school."

We nodded, suddenly preparing to leave and the Sheriff and Allison were already heading for the office door with bags in their hands. They disappeared too quickly for my liking and without looking back at Chris and Derek I hurried out the office, catching them just before they reached the front door.

"Sheriff!"

The man turned back to me as he halted in the doorway. I had so much to say but I just couldn't put any of it into words...

He retraced his steps, closing the distance between him and I and he reached out and pulled me into an embrace. I fixed my arms around his body, my chin resting on his shoulder while he rubbed my back and nodded, "I know, Alex." He said to me quietly, telling me he knew exactly what I wanted to say to him, "I know."

______________________

Eichen House was too much to bare and I was thankful we received a call from the Sheriff stating the motion sensors in Stiles' room had picked up on someone inside.

Not just anyone though...

Him.

The second Chris, Derek and I had located the basement of Eichen House I'd been suffocated by an array of emotions. Stiles had suffered here and it hurt to feel the extent of the emotional trauma he'd endured. It left me feeling physically sick .. and what was worse was that I could patch what I'd dreamt about to what had actually happened. I had somewhat of a clue.

I'd been useless. I couldn't focus on Stiles' scent, just the chemo signals that had been left behind following what had occurred here last night.

Derek had done all the work though I could tell by the small grimace on his face that he could feel the extent of what had happened.

I couldn't shake the feelings. They stuck with me and weighed heavy on my shoulders. A reminder that Stiles was still suffering.

When we'd gotten to the Stilinski household — my home — the Sheriff's car was already parked outside and the front door was unlocked. When I stepped over the threshold I shuddered. I had no idea of the Nogitsune was still here, the thought of him sitting in Stiles and I's bed was chilling.

While I wanted to find him, I dreaded it. I was far from prepared to face him again.

As of late, this house didn't feel like a home. It had been so long since we had been happy here, since we had all been here — Stiles, the Sheriff and I that was. It sucked... it really did, especially when I had made so many memories here.

I just wanted this to be over. I needed to wake up from this cruel nightmare.

I led Derek and Chris up to Stiles and I's room, noticing the door was already open when I'd looked coming up the stairs. I could make out the Sheriff's back in the doorway and when I crossed the banister and entered the room I found him and Allison standing around.

For a second, I halted in the threshold of the doorway. Derek and Chris had no choice but to stop behind me but they don't stay anything — instead, I could just feel an abundance of eyes on my person while I looked around.

Everything was exactly how I had left it. There was nothing out of place, everything on Stiles' desk remained, the posters were still hung in their rightful places, my empty washing basket was tucked in the corner and next to Stiles' pile of dirty laundry. The bed was even the same, a pillow on the floor and the covers thrown back into a messy ball from where I'd jumped out last night and ran.

It was exactly the same yet it felt so different.

The air in here had shifted drastically. It was ominous ... and that scared me.

"Alex?" The Sheriff's words echoed in my ears, "What is it?"

Slowly, I stepped into the room and looked around further. I shook my head wordlessly. Since the Nogitsune had wormed it's way into our lives it left behind an eerie tension. The first time I'd felt it was that night at the hospital when Issac had been electrocuted.

The second time I'd felt it was the night at the animal clinic, after Deaton had temporarily poisoned it.

This was the fifth time I'd felt it — the third time today.

This morning, after I woke up from that nightmare. In Eichen House and now ... standing in this bedroom again.

"He was in here." I mumbled to myself. I traced my fingers across the leather of the back of Stiles' desk chair before turning around slowly. They were all looking at me skeptically when I added, "I feel him."

The Sheriff's eyes widened with hope and his voice matched, "Stiles?"

I shook my head, "The Nogitsune."

I faced away from them again, looking at the chess board out on the desk. I hadn't left his behind. I pushed the chair to the side, "Sheriff, have you seen this?"

The man sighed, "Yes." He answered, "I don't understand what it means though."

"What is it?" Chris questioned curiously as they walked over to see.

"It's a chess board." I mumbled, inspecting the sticky notes closely. Stiles had told me of how he'd explained the supernatural to his father. He and Cora had used a chess board and stuck all of our names on various pieces to depict who represented what.

"This is what Stiles used to try and explain to me about all of ... you." The Sheriff enlightened.

"Well, maybe it's a message from Stiles." Allison suggested, "The real Stiles."

I turned my head to see her standing next to me and I arched my brow, "Or a threat from the Nogitsune."

"You think there's any reason my name's on the King?" Derek wondered aloud.

"Well, you're heavily guarded." The Sheriff responded, "Though I guess the alarming detail is that you're one move from being in checkmate."

I eyed the board and the names on the pieces. I knew very little about Chess but I did have knowledge of the pieces and their meanings.

Derek had been labelled the Black King with Peter a Black Knight — it was almost ironic however as he was far from a Knight. Deaton had been labelled as the Black Rook and how fitting that he had been. He was massively important within our pack, without him we all would be dead by now, there was no denying that. He was our Druid, our advisory.

What I found most comical though were the Black Pawns and their positioning on the board. Ethan and Aiden stood close to the Black King — Derek — protecting him from his opponent while Scott had been labelled off towards the left side of the board.

My eyes located a Black Pawn that had been removed from the board and I picked up the pink label on the top of it and swallowed deeply.

"Issac." I mumbled.

"The Nogitsune has already taken him out." Allison responded quietly.

I looked to was about to checkmate Derek when I saw names of the Argent family on the board. Stiles had written their names on lilac sticky notes, Deaton had been written on a blue and Jackson — of all people — on a yellow. We were written on pink.

He'd labelled Kate a White Pawn, Jackson a White Rook and Allison and Chris a White Knight.

"Hang on..." I mumbled to myself. A few of us were missing from this chessboard, myself and Lydia included. I scanned the board once more, looking at the Black King — at Derek — and the Black Queen next to it. There was a pink sticky note underneath the Queen and I lifted the piece to retrieve the sticky note, bringing it close to my face.

A shiver tan down my spine when I read the name written on it.

"Who is it?" Derek asked me curiously.

I was aware that they'd watched me retrieve the name and meeting Derek's gaze I had a feeling he already knew who was written on the paper.

I turned the small sticky note for them all to see while saying, "Me."

Why had Stiles — or the Nogitsune — labelled me as the Queen? The most powerful piece on the board.

I was heavily guarded — like Derek though what surprised me slightly was the Pawn that was positioned directly in front of the Queen — in front of me — had Aiden's name on it. I couldn't decipher if it were a coincidence or the Nogitsune's way of continuing to mess with us in indirect ways. I knew the protection around Derek and I signified something — perhaps the Nogitsune thought we were untouchable... but then again, that was far from true because he'd managed to get me on my own and twist a sword through my stomach.

There was one thing for certain — as much as I craved for it not to be — this was a threat from the Nogitsune. It wasn't a message from Stiles, we were naive to hope it was.

With a deep sigh I placed my name tag on the chess piece before saying, "It's not a message from Stiles. It's a threat from the Nogitsune."

"He's at the loft." Allison cracked, "That's what he's trying to tell us."

I nodded. It would certainly explain why Derek was one move from being in checkmate. It was his way of telling us that he was waiting for us at the loft. It unnerved me. It had been days since it had been occupied, god knows what kind of traps the Nogitsune had put in place there.

"And he wants us to come there." Chris said.

"Night's falling." Derek stated, brining me to look out of the window. A heavy sigh pooled from my lips when I realised he was right. The sun was beginning it's slow decent and within the next hour we would be thrust into darkness once more and the Oni would be out.

"This couldn't sound any more like a trap." Chris admitted sceptically.

The Sheriff shook his head however, "I don't think it is."

"I think your opinion might be slightly biased, Sheriff."

I almost wanted to tell Argent to shut the hell up. He'd been winding up my very last nerve all day and the fact I was so sceptical of him didn't make it any better.

I was thankful when the Sheriff was quick to intervene, "Hear me out." He said, "What we're dealing with here is basically someone who lacks motive. No rhyme, no reason, right?"

I nodded, he sounded like Stiles when he was trying to figure something out. It reminded me of when we were trying to connect the array of dots within the complicated case of Matt Daehler and the 2006 swim team. The Sheriff was clearly using his knowledge from both the army and being a policeman.

"Meaning what?" Chris pried.

"Our enemy is not a killer." The Sheriff said, "It's a trickster. The killing is just a by-product."

"If you're trying to say it won't kill us, I'm not feeling too confident about that." Derek muttered.

"It won't." The Sheriff replied, "It wants irony. It wants to play a trick. It wants a joke... all we need to do is come up with a new punch line."

"The sun is setting, Sheriff." Chris responded with, "What do you have in mind?"

________________________

Like always, we were poorly prepared. The plan was reasonably solid. As long as we stuck to it, I didn't see it backfiring against us though it all came down to how the Nogitsune was going to play our game. I couldn't be hopeful, I'd lost too much to rely on hope by now.

This whole thing with the Nogitsune had dragged the life out of me. I was barely living, just existing in a world where fought to see another day. The truth was, I was hanging on by a thin thread but the only thing that kept me going — that forced me out of bed the next day and the day after that — was saving Stiles.

I hated that our only way was to change the body of the host — I fucking detested it, but if it was the only way to save him I was willing to make that change. I would help him and be by him every damn step of the way if it meant I had him by my side for the rest of my life. I was willing to live with the potential consequence of him hating me, of never wanting to speak to me again if we turned him into a werewolf... I could deal with it.

I would find a way to deal with it.

I hesitated by the sliding door to the loft, my eyes glued to my feet before I dragged them up the wooden object. I had no idea what was waiting for us behind this door and again, my ever growing fear of the unknown caused my nerve endings to ignite with anxiety. My hands began to tremble by my side and I swallowed thickly, my mouth dry.

Beside me, I heard a heavy sigh, "Are you ready?"

I glanced to the Sheriff to see his eyes had shadowed with concern. He sounded as hesitant as I felt, and he certainly looked as anxious as I felt.

I ground my teeth together for a second before I shook my head.

"Neither." Was all he murmured.

It was my turn to sigh and following it, I grabbed the latch on the loft and pulled on the door to open it with baited breath. The door rolled open, the loud creak echoing through the spacious loft that opened out before us and our ears.

The golden glow from the setting sun spilled in through the window and scattered across the loft, around the figure standing in the middle of the room where the large table once was.

I could feel my heart drumming against its cage as I stepped over the threshold of the doors with the Sheriff by my side. We were both equally as tense as the other and my fingers curled into one another at my side, cracking the bones anxiously to ease the tension building within myself.

My pulse spiked and it pounded behind my ear, sending the vibrations through my head and into my body. It put me on edge and it made me hyperaware of my surroundings.

Stiles' back was to us though I didn't recognise the clothes he was wearing. I noticed his shoulders tense ever so slightly following our entrance but he reminded facing away from us.

My eyes narrowed ever so slightly while I inhaled through my nose. I was having a hard time deciphering just exactly who this was standing before us. In the video the Sheriff had showed to me from the motion sensors there was no question it had been Void ... the Nogitsune— now, I wasn't so sure.

In the few times we'd met one another I had started to pick out little things about the Nogitsune. One of them was his ridiculously straight posture, as if his back was strapped to a board though he dipped his chin ever so slightly to portray this malicious demeanour.

I had no doubt, however, that the Nogitsune knew all of Stiles' mannerisms. In fact, I knew he did. It was how he'd managed to play us so many times.

Since our last interaction I'd been able to look back on my encounters with the Nogitsune and force myself to locate his tells for further reference. One of the tells I'd found was the change in the air that came following the Nogitsune's appearance. He brought it with him and I half expected to be able to feel it now — like I had done back in Stiles' bedroom — but I couldn't...

Though I couldn't feel Stiles, nor catch his scent, either.

As the Sheriff moved to step forward, I reached out and grabbed his arm.

This was killing me ... not being able to decipher if it were my own damn boyfriend standing in front of me or a demented ancient spirit.

I felt the Sheriff's gaze burn through the side of my skull but I didn't dare take my eyes off the person standing in front of us. I didn't trust that the second I looked away I'd miss something. That was how demented this was driving me ... that was how much I was losing my mind.

His head shifted to the left slightly and the simple action alone caused a spike in my heart rate. The suspense was killing me.

My breath hitched, lodging itself in my throat in anticipation when he slowly started to turn to face us. I had no doubt he'd felt our presence — probably even knew who it was that was standing behind him. He was brave — I had to admit, standing with his back to us in the first place.

What was to say Allison didn't have an arrow aimed at his back? Or a tranquilliser filled with wolf lichen.

The thought alone forced my guard up even more. It was like he counted on it being the Sheriff and I. He knew we wouldn't make a move and so he knew he could put himself in such a vulnerable position.

Finally my eyes we able to meet his and the softness of the hazel colour made my blood run so cold. Stiles' eyes always told a story ... they always depicted whatever he was feeling. He was like an open book in that sense, he had no control. In this moment, I became suffocated by an array of emotions swirling in his beautiful hazel orbs — eyes I had fallen head over heals for...

Pain, raw fear and confusion bore into my soul and ripped through me harsher than a knife. It stuck me so hard I stumbled back one step, all from meeting his gaze. Everything I had questioned in the last two minutes was no longer valid. I second guessed myself, I questioned my sanity and I wondered if what I thought I had sussed out was all wrong.

One second.

One fleeting glance..

That was all it took for me to question everything...

He tore his gaze away from me and his eyes flickered to the right, no doubt fixating on the Sheriff and I watched as he swallowed deeply.

The expression remained, it never faulted and neither did the words he spoke ... words that struck deep.

"Hey, dad."

____________________

A/N; Do you guys even read this anymore? Do you even remember what is happening? I guess I'm to blame for that, lol. I suck. I'm too obsessed with my Steve Harrington fic but I read a few chapters from this book and remembered why I love Alex and Stiles so much.

So.. my New Year's resolution is to write more of Monsters, after all I've been writing this for 2 and a half years and I've only uploaded 8 times ( including this chapter ) this year and that makes me a shitty author 💀

I suggest you familiarise yourself with that's been going on in the previous chapters because I am determined to have season 3 completed by the end of January.