"𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒾 𝑔ℴ𝓉 𝓈𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓉ℯ𝓇, 𝒾 𝑔ℴ𝓉
𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒹ℯ𝓇 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓃𝒾𝒸𝓀 ℴ𝒻 𝓉𝒾𝓂ℯ"

"You want to what?"

Stiles closes his eyes for a second, then takes a small step toward her. "I remember something you told me a while ago, about how your families' dad, Miguel, or something-"

"Mikael," she corrects softly with a small smile.

"Yeah, Mikael. You said a witch had him desiccated and entombed, right?" He begs his heart not to betray him as he speaks the next words because he knows she'll be listening. She's been listening to them since they stepped foot in the building. "We got in contact with your sister, Freya." Shock falls upon Ophelia as she suddenly stills. "She's willing to do the same to you. And I know that if my friend, my best friend, is here right now – even the smallest part of her – I know that she'll come with us because she knows it's the right thing to do to protect us and herself."

Another tear falls from her eye and drops straight to the ground. Ophelia nods and moves toward him, just as Stiles releases a heavy sigh of relief. Outside the loft and listening intently to the conversation, Derek Hale's face falls in horror. "It's not her," he whispers frantically to the three beside him. "It's not Ophelia." But by the time they race into the apartment, they're too late.

With her fangs grazing Stiles' neck, she looks up at the sudden entrance and smiles. "Oh, I do love a good party." She feels the boy shiver as one of her teeth moves over his pulse point and watches the Sheriff flinch toward them. "Uh, uh," she tuts. "You move, he dies."

Derek swallows as the dark veins trail down her face and he glances to the Argents beside him. It's too risky. They can't do anything. They literally can't do anything. If they fire a bullet, she will catch it and rip into Stiles' neck at the same time. Wolfsbane and vervain would be pointless. It would slow her down (possibly), but it wouldn't subdue her. Not to mention she's juiced up on litres of blood. Attacking the nogitsune would only cause them more problems and dead bodies. They can't afford either of those.

But Christopher Argent knows that the dark kitsune isn't just going to let them all walk out of here. It's not possible. With a click, the barrel of his gun is pointed at Ophelia's head. She arches a brow in amusement and Noah Stilinski's eyes widen in terror. Her clawed fingers run down Stiles' arm as she declares, "Well, this just got interesting!"

"You won't kill him," Chris states boldly.

"Oh, Mr Argent, I think you're mistaking how far I'm willing to go."

Stilinski's hand carrying his own gun shakes as he follows her movements. Her hand tightly grips onto Stiles' arm, the boy shutting his eyes as he tries to hide his pain, and her fangs slowly pierce through the delicate skin of his neck. As soon as he hears his son cry out, the Sheriff's firearm is pointed straight at Argent. "Put it down," he demands.

The hunter watches Ophelia slowly drink the teenage boy's blood and his pistol doesn't falter in the air. "She's not letting us out of here," he says.

"You willing to risk Stiles' life on that assumption?" Derek snaps.

"Put it down, Argent. Put it down!"

Allison's eyes are wide in horror as she watches one of her friends drain the life out of the other. "Dad, listen to him!"

Stilinski glances between his son and Chris rapidly. "Now!" he yells. "Do it!"

Ophelia stops. She slowly withdrawals away from the boy and licks the scarlet liquid off her lips. Her claws dig slightly into Stiles' wrist and the boy slumps against her, exhausted from the loss of blood. She tilts her head as she watches the interaction between the men. "Go on, shoot me," she whispers tantalisingly.

A bullet won't do anything to her. Argent knows that, everyone knows that. But he's hoping that it would slow her down enough to free Stiles. However, Stilinski isn't willing to gamble with that hope. "Listen to me, you put that gun down now!"

She locks eyes with Chris and a smile graces her face. "Shoot me."

"Put the gun down, now!"

Her voice hardens. "Shoot me," she repeats. Droplets of blood appear on Stiles' arm.

"Put the gun down!"

"Shoot me!"

"Argent, you put it down!"

Allison's eyes are locked onto the gaping puncture wounds in Stiles' neck and the claws that continue to dig into his arms, but then she looks to Ophelia's face. She hears the roars leaving her mouth as she demands to be shot at, but what she sees is different. Amusement, enjoyment sparkles in Ophelia's eyes. And that's when Allison comes to a sudden realisation. "Strife," she whispers. As the word leaves her lips, the apartment darkens as the sun starts to set. She and Derek both look out the window in horror. "Stop!" she yells. "Stop it! This is what she wants! This is exactly what she wants!"

Ophelia finally releases her hold on Stiles and gives him a gentle push forward. He stumbles and his father immediately takes him into his arms. "Well, not exactly," she corrects. The smile has returned. "I was sort of hoping Scott was gonna be here... I guess you'll do for now. And I'm glad you have all your guns and fun tools out, because you're not here to try and kill me."

They watch her turn around to face the large window. Four oni materialise out of the shadows and each pull out a ninjatō as they position themselves into attacking stances.

"You're actually here to protect me."

Ophelia backs up behind Chris and Stilinski who naturally re-aim their guns at the oni. As the creatures take a synchronised step forward, shots are fired. Allison wraps an arm around Stiles so she can support him and leads him into the corner so they're out of the firing line. They need to get him medical attention as soon as possible. Derek spins around to find two of the oni have moved behind him, and his eyes glow bright cobalt as he roars and lunges toward them.

It takes another ten minutes for Scott and Kira to finally show up. When they race through the open barn door, they're met with Argent and Stilinski whipping around to draw their guns on them until they realise they aren't in any danger. Scott's eyes widen at the large gash on Derek's shoulder. "What the hell happened?" he asks in alarm.

"They disappeared," Allison answers. "They literally just vanished."

Noah Stilinski sighs. "And so did Ophelia."

That's when Scott lays eyes on his best friend. Stiles' breathing has finally evened out, but his skin is coated in layers of sweat and his heart still beats rapidly. But that's not what concerns the True Alpha. What concerns him is how Allison is placing her fingers on Stiles' neck. Scott connects the dots and races over, immediately taking the boy's hand to take his pain. It's not terrible, but it's manageable for a werewolf.

Stiles gives him a weak smile. "You took your time," he rasps. Scott rolls his eyes.

Derek winces as he rolls his shoulder. "So, what's the plan?"

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

Noshiko Yukimura cautiously descends into the basement of Eichen House, ignoring the chill that envelopes her body as she walks down the stairs. As she makes her way over to the wall that once the kanji now inked on various young adults in Beacon Hills, she slows as screams ring through her head, screams that have stayed with her for her entire life. Tears spring to her eyes as she lays eyes on the corpse behind the wall, exactly how three teenagers had found it not so long ago. The woman crouches down and picks up pieces of the drywall off the floor, slotting two of them together so the carving is whole.

"Why? What's so special about the backwards five? Why that kanji?" Noshiko turns her head slightly toward the direction the voice had come from. "Why 'self'? Hm?"

"To signify that he died as himself," the kitsune replies, glancing to the remains of the man she once loved. As she says her next words, she stands up and turns to the girl behind her. "Because Rhys wasn't a monster." Noshiko holds out her last tail toward her in a threatening manner. "Not like you."

Ophelia grimaces. "I'm really not popular at the moment... Okay, humour me. If I'm such a monster, why'd you call off the oni?" Her head tilts to the side in thought and she arches a brow as she approaches. "What happened to the woman who called out for chaos, strife, and pain to descend upon everyone and everything? What happened?"

She holds the nogitsune's eyes, even as a sliver of fear strikes through her as they stand face to face. "I don't want that anymore," she says.

A sigh of disappointment leaves Ophelia's lips. "Unfortunately for you..." She closes her eyes for a second, but when they open, they're bright red. "I do." Without any warning, she tightly grabs onto Noshiko's wrist. The kitsune cries out in agony as she feels a bone break and can only watch helplessly as Ophelia playfully plucks the kaiken out of her shaking hand. "Did you bring this here thinking you would be able to hide it from me?" She clicks her tongue and smiles. "Bad idea."

Noshiko braces herself for the tail to be used on herself, but her eyes widen in horror as Ophelia stabs the kaiken deep into her stomach then rips it through her skin. "What have you done?" she demands.

The tail clatters to the floor as blood rapidly pools at Ophelia's snow-white skin and she locks eyes with the woman stood before her. "Chaos is come again," she whispers. Whilst her skin begins to knit itself together at an accelerated pace, hundreds of flies exit the wound and swarm around the kitsune who vigorously swats the insects with her hands. When they finally disappear, Noshiko opens her eyes to discover that no one except for her remains in the basement. Ophelia Stone is gone.

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

"Turn right onto Gaffner Boulevard and continue for half a mile."

Aiden sighs as he watches Lydia turn the wheel again. "You at least going to tell me where we're going?" he questions.

"I need to check on something," she replies vaguely.

He grabs the piece of paper sitting in one of the cup holders. "Who is, uh, Mahlyah Tate?"

Lydia's lips twitch at his mispronunciation. "It's Mah-leah," she corrects, snatching the paper out of his hands. "And you don't need to worry about it." But Lydia Martin is worrying about it.

The second she and Allison had discovered that Peter Hale is Malia Tate's biological father, the first person she wanted to turn to was her best friend. But at the time, she couldn't get in contact with Ophelia. Later, she would realise that the hybrid was being attacked by the nogitsune with their friends at the animal clinic, then the following day, voluntarily being admitted to Eichen House with Stiles. Lydia hadn't had the chance to tell her friend about Malia, and it pains her because out of everyone outside the Tate family Ophelia is the one person who deserves to know. Visiting Malia now is a distraction. Well, an attempt to distract herself.

Her best friend is gone. Malia is one of the only people that would help Lydia remind herself of the real Ophelia. She remembers how her face would light up at the mere mention of the werecoyote, or how she would be ecstatic to recall an adventure they had in the woods. It reminds her of the simpler times, like when they weren't being tormented by an ancient, thousand year old dark kitsune.

"Turn right onto Commerce Way and continue for a quarter mile."

"Well, I'm actually a little worried we're totally lost," Aiden says.

She sighs and gives him a look. "Why do you think that?"

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

"I did not!" Lydia denies. "... Did I?" She shakes her head as she tries to reason, "It's a brand-new car. The GPS was fine before."

"Well, maybe the GPS would work better if it was on," he counters.

"What?" But when Lydia looks down to the screen, sure enough, the GPS isn't on. She swallows nervously because she knows that she had been hearing instructions for the last five minutes and begins to press random buttons, hoping that one of them will return the map.

"Lydia," Aiden calls out in concern. "You okay?"

The banshee inhales a few short breathes before stating, "I need to stop. I need to pull over right now." She takes a sharp turn into the nearby parking lot and swerves around, unable to hear Aiden's frantic yells.

But when he notices the body lying up ahead, his calls turn more urgent. "Lydia, stop!"

The tires screech as the car comes to an abrupt stop and both teens jump out, immediately racing toward the person. A few steps further and they recognise her. Lydia stares at Ophelia in both shock and terror, completely unaware of the fly that buzzes around her head and crawls into Aiden's ear. It doesn't take them long to call Scott, quickly informing him of their most recent change of events and giving him a heads up of who is about to drop by his house.

Ten minutes later, Scott and Aiden carry an unconscious Ophelia Stone into the McCall's living room with Lydia, Stiles, Melissa, and Deaton following behind. "The couch, put her on the couch," Scott instructs, helping Aiden prop the girl up. Her skin is as white as snow, and the bags underneath her eyes are a dark purple from presumably having no sleep in weeks. Even though they all know a hybrid can't die too easily, well... she looks like she's dying.

The group watch Deaton crouch in front of her and study the mass of dried blood surrounding a large rip in her t-shirt. The tear in the fabric reveals her stomach underneath, but, of course, there's no wound in sight. Whatever had caused the blood is long gone. "So she's still healing," Stiles gathers, his fingers gently touching the bandage on his neck.

Scott glances to him and nods, then looks down to his boss. "That's good though, right?"

"I'm not too sure about us," Deaton replies.

Then Melissa McCall brings up an important question. "So, if she's physically fine, why is she unconscious?"

Everyone turns to the veterinarian once more and it's extremely unsettling to see him stay silent, for once unable to answer. "I don't know," he says quietly.

"Well, if we're not going to kill her," Aiden begins. He winces when Lydia smacks his arm. Stiles snorts. "Why aren't we at least tying her down with really, really big chains?"

"I might have something a little more effective," Deaton counters. He unzips his briefcase and pulls out a small glass vial filled with an opaque liquid. Stiles' jaw falls open in realisation, then he grins. Scott also recognises the substance and gestures for Aiden to help him hold Ophelia steady so they can open her mouth. Lydia, Stiles, and Melissa share a look filled with worry, each of their breaths caught in their throats. It can't be this easy.

As Deaton manages to drop a fair amount of the liquid into her mouth, Ophelia's eyes suddenly snap open glowing crimson and she giggles, instantly catching Aiden off-guard by wrapping a hand tightly around his throat. It's quickly dawns upon them all that she was never unconscious. Aiden's eyes widen in fear as he realises that he can't remove her hand. "Get her off," he chokes. "Get her off me!"

It takes Scott, Deaton, and Stiles to even lift a finger off Aiden's throat. She continues to giggle manically at their feeble attempts, but it's not long before her smile falls in the speed of light. Aiden is only able to get away because she's forced to let go. Ophelia stares at her shaking hand and she falls back against the couch, all her muscles spasming from the paralytic venom. "Kanima venom," she spits out.

Stiles grins again and moves in front of her tauntingly, knowing that she couldn't try to attack him even if she wanted to. "Yeah, bitch, and it's funny because we all know how much the real Fi hates this crap. Hate isn't a strong enough word-"

He's cut off by her loud sigh. "You know how they say that twins always get this feeling when the other one's in pain?" Her eyes lock onto Aiden's and she pouts. "Oh, I hope you didn't lose that talent. Because you're gonna need it." She watches Aiden and Scott share a look, just as confused as the other. "Okay, fine, fine. You've been so persistent, I guess you deserve a hint." Ophelia's voice drops down to a whisper. "Ethan's at the school." Aiden's head snaps over to Scott and the Alpha doesn't hesitate before urging him to go. As he runs out the front door, Ophelia's head drops back to watch him and she giggles once more. "Oh, I hope he gets there in time, I really do. I like the twins! Short tempers, homicidal compulsions..." Her head turns back so she can look straight at Scott. "They're a hell of a lot more fun than you bakemono trying to save the world every day."

Lydia's jaw clenches tightly as she tries to remind herself that this is the nogitsune. It's trying to get a reaction out of them. But it's easier said than done. The addition of the Japanese word just makes her remember that Ophelia really isn't here at all. She glares daggers at the blonde-haired girl and ever so slightly relaxes when she feels Stiles' hand slip into her own, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Doc, you brought something to paralyse her body," Melissa begins. "You got anything for her mouth?"

Deaton nods and pulls out a roll of duct tape from his bag. They watch Ophelia roll her eyes in exasperation. "Yes, I do."

Scott and Stiles share a look as they watch the veterinarian place the tape over her mouth, then listen to a muffled scream as she looks directly at the two boys. Stiles has to close his eyes, eventually forcing himself to turn away as she breaks back into a chorus of manic laughter. Scott, Lydia, and Deaton follow him into the kitchen for some privacy as Melissa keeps a watchful eye on the nogitsune. "How much longer do you think we have?"

"I wish I knew," Deaton replies to Scott. "But if we don't figure out something soon, and I mean soon, we're going to need to find a safer and more secure place to keep her. I think we're grossly underestimating the danger here. She might be paralysed, but it still feels like she's got us right in the palm of her hand." Lydia glances back to the living room and flinches when she finds Ophelia staring back at her.

The fact that Deaton is so incredibly anxious and unsure of what to do does nothing to help the teenagers with their crippling anxiety. Normally, he's the first person they go to. He always has the information and answers, and even when he's not being upfront about it, they can still tell that he has it. However, right now, it seems like Alan Deaton is praying for a miracle to save them.

As Melissa watches Ophelia Stone opposite to her, she feels helpless. This teenager has become like family. And now when she's struggling, when she is so clearly helpless herself, there is currently nothing they can do to save her. The two lock eyes and a word leaves Ophelia's lips, but the tape makes it once again muffled. Melissa ignores it, she has to. But then it happens again. She watches a tear trail down the girl's cheek. "Ophelia?" she says softly.

Without any hesitation, she nods. Another tear falls as the woman hurries over and gently peels the tape off, just in time to hear her say more clearly, "Mum." Melissa McCall's heart splits into two as she cradles the girl's face, wiping her tears away.

But then something changes.

It's frightening how quickly she transitions from looking distraught to holding a condescending glare. Ophelia grins. "Oh, Melissa," she whispers. "Really? All I need is a few tears? A sickening emotional moment? That's all it takes? Come on, you can't crumble that easily." Her smile widens as the woman is unable to meet her eyes. "Seriously, it's pathetic. I'd start taking their advice when they say to leave me alone no matter what happens. I'm a little worried that this moment might take a toll on your mental health!"

Tears brim in Melissa's eyes as she slaps the tape back on Ophelia's mouth, drowning out her quiet giggles as she glowers at the girl back in her chair.

"The scroll said to change her body," Lydia remembers.

Deaton grimaces. "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 metaphor."

Stiles' eyes narrow and he raises a hand. "Uh, hi, I could just be pointing out the obvious here..." The attention falls onto him. "But we can't change her body."

Ophelia Stone is part werewolf and part vampire. They literally can't do anything to change her. From what she had told her friends in the past, she would instantly reject a bite from any other creature, and even if she wouldn't, it's not like they know any other creatures in the first place.

"Well, we're back to square zero," Lydia says quietly. Her eyes meet the veterinarian. "Have you gotten in contact with Freya? Or any of her family?"

He sighs. "Nothing. I haven't heard from any of them in weeks, actually."

Stiles raises his eyebrows. "Then they're either all dead or in some catastrophic battle against one of the many, many enemies they've made over a thousand years."

"Then what the hell do we do?" Scott questions. Silence falls over the group and it suddenly becomes clearer than ever that they really are waiting for a miracle to save Ophelia.

"That venom is not going to last long," Deaton points out. "Something needs to be done sooner than later."

Scott glances back to the living room and pulls out his phone. "I can try calling Derek again..."

Stiles rolls his eyes. "Yeah, like he knows what to do," he remarks.

Lydia closes her eyes, hesitating to speak. "Maybe... Maybe we should call someone else..." The second Scott understands who she is talking about, he turns to stare at the banshee in exasperation.

Stiles takes a little longer. Then his face falls in horror. "Him?" he shrieks. "No! Absolutely not! Over my dead body!"

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

Peter Hale circles the paralysed girl seated on the couch with interest. He arches a brow as Ophelia stares back at him blankly, clearly disinterested by his presence. "Well, this is interesting," the man remarks.

Stiles rolls his eyes. "I'm really not in the mood for," he waves his hands about, "your attitude."

Peter stops and turns to stare at him. "I have an attitude?"

Scott's eyes widen and he quickly steps in between them to stop the impending argument. "Okay, look, all we want to know is if you have any ideas..." He meets Ophelia's eyes to find her lips now lifted into an amused smile. "Anything."

"Firstly, this is more of a war of the mind, not the body," Peter begins. "And I think I have a method that could help win this battle."

Deaton steps up beside him, curious as to what the suggestion might be. "What kind of method?"

Peter suddenly grabs onto Scott's wrist and flicks his claws out. "We're going to get into her head," he answers proudly. Ophelia's eyebrows raise in curiosity, almost like she's impressed by the idea.

Before anyone can ask him to elaborate, he grabs onto Lydia's wrist and pulls her out of the room for a private moment. Stiles Stilinski doesn't know what exactly is being talked about, but the banshee had told him previously that she had only recently gained some knowledge that Peter Hale values greatly. He can only guess that this conversation has something to do with that.

A minute later, they return to the living room, immediately being questioned by Deaton. "So," the man announces. "Do we have a plan?"

Peter rests his hands on the couch right behind Ophelia's head, completely unbothered by the evil lurking in front of him. "Scott is going to try and dig through pale and sickly Evil Fi's mind to unearth incredibly strong and violent real Fi." He pauses for a beat. "Then guide her back through the depths of her own subconscious." He pauses yet again, but for what just seems like a dramatic moment. "But he's not doing it alone."

Scott's eyes widen. "Wait, what do you mean?"

"Somebody needs to go with you," Peter drawls, slowly turning his head over to Lydia.

Almost instantly, she nods. "Yeah, okay," she confirms confidently. Scott's eyes widen further, Stiles mimicking his expression, but the banshee sighs. "It's Lia," she says softly, ignoring how the nogitsune's eyes roll. "I'd do anything for her." But as she takes the spare seat on the couch, trying to leave a fairly decent gap between her and the girl, she can't help but acknowledge the fear that spikes within her. She knows that Ophelia is paralysed, so she isn't in any physical danger, but there's still something about being so close to the dark kitsune that scares her.

Scott allows Peter to guide his claws into the correct positions on Ophelia's neck. "So what do we do if we find her?" he asks.

"You're going to have to try and guide her out, somehow," Peter says. "Try to give her back the control of her mind and her body."

Lydia tenses as she feels Scott's claws brush against her neck. "Could you elaborate on the 'somehow'?" she retorts in panic. "It's not feeling very specific at the moment."

"... Improvise."

"Improvise," Stiles mocks.

Scott stares into space for a few moments before voicing, "What if this is just another trick?"

Offence flashes across Peter's face as he scoffs. "When are you people going to start trusting me?"

"I meant her," Scott clarifies dryly, nodding to Ophelia.

"Oh..."

"Scott, we're running out of time," Deaton calls out gravely, reminding them of the almost worn off kanima venom and the fact that it's nearing sundown. The oni aren't far. The True Alpha takes a few deep breaths, and when his eyes open, they're rubies. His claws plunge into his friends' neck, and both of them gasp, all of their eyes falling shut.

The familiar sound of voices whispering inside her head causes Lydia's eyes to snap open. As her heart beats rapidly from anxiety, she attempts to sit up but quickly finds that she can't move her arms nor legs. Her entire body is bound to the bed. She turns her head to the side and almost instantly locks eyes with Scott who appears just as panicked as she is. However, as Lydia watches him continue to struggle against his restrains, she rolls her eyes. "Do you actually need me to remind you that you're a werewolf?"

"We're in her head," Scott retorts, atomically assuming that this is a little different compared to reality.

"You're a supernatural creature with supernatural strength!" Lydia exclaims. "Break free."

He takes a deep breath and, eventually, the leather restraints snap off. He doesn't hesitate to jump off the bed and hurry over to help his friend out of her own. When they're successfully free to move around, both teenagers take a second to study the room they've found themselves in. Tiled walls, tiled floors, the barricaded window... They're in Eichen House. "What now?" Scott asks quietly.

"I don't know," the banshee replies, at a complete loss for ideas. "This is my first time in someone else's head."

Their attention falls onto the door that looms in front of them. "Just... stay behind me," Scott says protectively. Lydia walks behind him slowly as he approaches the door and cautiously turns the handle, creaking it open. She stares at the abyss of darkness that seems to engulf Scott fully as he walks through, but as soon as he passes the threshold, the door slams shut behind him.

Lydia's eyes widen in terror and she lunges forward, forcefully tugging at the handle. "Scott?" she yells. "Scott!" She inhales a sharp breath, trying to keep herself together. She has to find a way out of here. For a second, she closes her eyes and leans her forehead against the door after realising that there is no way it would open. Then she turns around. It's a hallway, not the room they had been in seconds earlier. As she slowly walks away from the door, a single red balloon floats down from the ceiling. The next is blue.

Her head tilts up to the ceiling as she watches the mass of coloured balloons fall on and around her and a tear rolls down her cheek. When they finally stop, she realises that something's changed again. She's in a hallway still, but this time it's clear that it's within the high school. Music plays faintly and silver streamers decorate the lockers around her. She just doesn't realise that she's wearing the bloodstained dress from the dance that had changed her entire life.

Lydia slowly walks through the masses of balloons covering the floor, looking for the person she had been searching for that night. "Jackson?" she calls out. No reply.

She moves past a wall, heading toward the double doors at the end of the hallway, then suddenly stops. Lydia backtracks to the wall, and as she turns to face it her eyes widen in horror. Dripping down the white paint is something red. She holds her breath as she tentatively reaches out to touch the substance, then recoils back in alarm when she realises that it's blood. Lydia takes a step back, flinching as her heel pops a balloon, and she freezes once more as she takes in the sight before her.

Written in what she's confirmed is blood is, 'GET OUT OF MY DAMN HEAD.' As she reads the message over and over again, she's almost certain that her heart has stopped beating.

"Lydia," a light, singsong voice calls out.

Her eyes screw shut and her fists clench by her sides as she tries to ignore it. Then she hears it again.

"Lydia..."

Lydia's eyes are squeezed shut tightly as she tries to desperately block out the familiar voice of her friend calling out her name. She blindly stumbles backward and jumps as her heel pops yet another balloon. The sound echoes through the hallway eerily, ringing through her ears. Then she hears her again. But this time, she sounds far too close. Lydia's lip wobbles in fear as she stays impossibly still, listening to the sound of her best friend breathing calmly in front of her.

"Boo."

Lydia's eyes snap open, but instead of being greeted by Ophelia like she had expected, she stands face to face with the bandaged nogitsune. Without another thought, Lydia Martin spins on her heels and hurries down the hallway, weaving her way through the pool of balloons. A tear slips down her cheek as she hears a threatening growl, then the footsteps of the nogitsune as it starts to follow her. The banshee bursts through the double doors at the end of the hallway and ditches her shoes in the process. For some reason, she feels guided toward the lacrosse field. Maybe she'd find Jackson there. It doesn't take her long to reach the grass and she spins around, trying to find someone familiar under the floodlights.

"Lydia..."

Her voice sounds close, once again. Lydia still can't see anyone. But then she hears a low snarl. She whirls around at the sound and her eyes widen in panic as Ophelia stands before her, dark veins trailing down her cheeks as her fangs peak out of her lips. She looks hungry and Lydia's the meal. A sharp, excruciating pain courses through her body and her knees give out under her. A breath leaves her lips as she crashes onto the ground, her eyes fluttering from the agony found in her neck. Fighting to keep herself awake, Lydia forces herself to open her eyes. And when she looks up at Ophelia instead of Peter, she watches her friend lick the blood off her lips and smile. For the first time in a long time, Lydia is petrified of Ophelia Stone.

And then she hears the booming yell of her name travel across the field and into her ears, loud enough to gift her with a migraine. She would never imagine finding comfort in Peter Hale, but right now, his voice does just that. It brings her back down to reality. None of this is real. Lydia takes a deep breath and allows herself to give into the pain. It's then does she see the blinding white light.

Scott McCall had stepped out of the room to find himself standing in the middle of a street. The rays of sun shine through the clouds above and warm his body, giving him a sense of comfort in a place where he has no idea what to expect. He turns around to get a look of his new surroundings. The street is a dead-end and it's empty. No cars, no people, and no houses. Except for one at the end. Right at the end is a two-story home coated in white paint. On the manicured lawn is an array of children's toys, a swing set beside the path leading to the red front door.

Brows furrowed with curiosity, he approaches the home, trying to find a source of life whether it's another human being or an animal. But so far, he's completely alone. Then the front door swings open and a young girl, not more than eight years old, races outside, her laughter floating into the air like a song. And Scott can't help but smile. As he gains closer, he watches her jump onto the swing and kick off from the ground, giggling to herself as she gets higher into the air.

"Hey," he calls out hesitantly, raising his hand to wave when she looks up at him.

The child's smile widens when they lock eyes and she flings herself off the swing to sprint over to him. Seconds later, the blonde-haired blur crashes into him. Scott's eyes widen in surprise as she quickly wraps her arms around him like a koala and he awkwardly pats her back. "I'm so happy you're here," she squeals with excitement. "He said you'd come."

Scott wants to ask who 'he' is, but he's too distracted by her voice. Her accent is British. And when the girl pulls back, his heart stops beating for a few seconds. Her eyes are bright green. "... Ophelia?" he questions quietly.

Her eyebrows pinch together and her nose scrunches slightly. "What's wrong?" she asks in confusion.

Scott hesitates for a moment, then shakes his head in dismissal. "Nothing," he says quickly. "No, nothing." And when she grins and takes his hand, he allows her to lead him over to the white house. When they enter, he immediately takes notice of the strong smell of smoke, presumably coming from a fireplace somewhere. He looks down to the child and has to smile once more as she hums to herself, swinging their hands back and forth.

"Lia! Where are you?"

The girl tugs on Scott's hand impatiently and he grins as he keeps up with her pace. The living room is large, adorned with a few picture frames on various surfaces and a huge arrangement of lilies on the dining table. "We're here, Nik!" she calls out excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Scott's eyes widen slightly as a man comes out of the kitchen, widely smiling at himself and Ophelia. "Klaus?" he exclaims in surprise.

"Scott." Niklaus nods to him as a greeting, then his eyes flick back down to the girl. "See, kid, I told you he'd come save you." Ophelia giggles and looks up to Scott with wide eyes.

The True Alpha looks between the two in confusion. "Save you?" he repeats.

"Yeah, we knew you'd come save her," Klaus says with a warm smile.

"You always save me," Ophelia adds.

Scott's lips purse together. "Actually, it's normally the other way around," he murmurs to himself. If Klaus heard, he doesn't show it. Scott clears his throat. "So, uh, what am I saving you from?" he asks her softly.

Her eyes squint in thought. "Um..." She looks over to her brother for help. "I can't remember."

Niklaus' eyes glow bright yellow and he lets out a booming roar. Ophelia jumps in the air in fear. "From the big, bad wolf!" he calls out, growling playfully as she screeches and sprints outside, giggles trailing after her. Scott grins when she calls his name in panic and he hurries to assist her.

But when the teenage boy crouches down beside her, he freezes. Distantly, he can hear Peter Hale yelling Lydia's name. Then he feels something run down below his nose. Scott touches a finger against his skin and finds blood. His nose is bleeding. Ophelia's eyes suddenly widen and one of her hands dart out to grab onto his wrist. "Please don't leave," she whispers.

Scott's heart aches at how her voice wobbles. He thinks that if his Ophelia could meet this one, she'd be incredibly envious of who she used to be. Of whom she used to be before she became accustomed to a life of the supernatural. A life of living in danger, or being the danger. Hearing Lydia's name reminds him of why he's here. This isn't real. This isn't his Ophelia, and the Klaus he knows doesn't have yellow eyes because his werewolf curse wasn't broken for another eight years. Scott sadly smiles at the child staring at him with tears in her eyes. "I gotta leave, Fi. You know I have to. But I'll see you soon, okay?"

A tear falls down her cheek but her eyes harden. "No, you have to stay," she says coldly.

"I can't-"

"What's going on, Scott?" Klaus asks. Scott's head snaps to the side to find the man now right beside them. The hybrid smiles innocently. "Leaving so soon?"

"Yeah, I'm really sorry, I've got something I need to do-"

"She doesn't want you to leave," Niklaus reiterates lowly, almost threateningly.

Scott nods, ever so slowly inching away from them. "Yeah, and I get that, but I'll see her soon-"

"You can't leave me," Ophelia begs. However, when Scott doesn't say anything else, her breathing becomes heavier. As the seconds pass by, he listens to the nauseating sound of bones snapping cleanly in half.

Before he can even realise it, a small, white wolf stands before him with her ears pinned back and lips curled back in a snarl. And Scott suddenly realises that they aren't letting him leave no matter what. He doesn't want to find out what happens if he dies in here. He can't risk it. He has to find Lydia and their Ophelia. So, he turns on his heels and runs. He runs through the house, dodging pieces of furniture and trying to remember the way to the front door. A thunderous roar reaches his ears, but he can't figure out if it's from Klaus or Ophelia. Maybe both. He hears the snapping of jaws and his eyes widen when he realises that they're inches before his ankles.

"You can't leave!"

As he bursts through the door that leads him out of the home, all Scott can hear is the begs of the small child, pleading him not to leave her. Instead of running out onto the street, the door opens to a large, white room. The light is so bright it almost blinds him for a moment. When he looks around, he realises that it's the same room he, Stiles, and Ophelia had been in when they were all sacrificed during the ritual. As Scott spins around, he finally lays eyes on Lydia and sighs in relief, rushing over to her side.

Lydia exhales heavily when she notices him. "We are never doing this again," she declares. "That was horrible."

Scott nods. He still can't get eight year old Ophelia's voice out of his head. "Yeah," he agrees. "Yeah, it was."

It doesn't take Lydia long to realise he's staring off into the distance, and when she finds what he's focused on, her eyes widen. "Oh, my God," she whispers. "We found her."

Ophelia Stone silently sits atop of the Nemeton on the other side of the room, completely focused on what is in front of her. Across from her is another figure with bandages covering its body. Lydia and Scott don't need to say anything to realise that it's the nogitsune. They don't hesitate another second before breaking off into a run toward the supernatural tree, their footsteps echoing in the vast room. However, after a few moments, they quickly realise that they're getting nowhere. It's like they're running through quicksand. No matter how hard they try, they don't move any closer.

"Ophelia!" Scott yells desperately. Both of their voices reach a volume that would cause someone to stop and glare, but somehow, Ophelia isn't hearing them.

"Ophelia!" Lydia calls, waving her arms to try and get her friend's attention. "Fi, over here!" The girl with blonde hair remains lifeless and still, providing no reaction whatsoever to the pair screaming her name. All they can do is watch Ophelia and the nogitsune continue their boardgame. Scott and Lydia take a second to catch their breaths, and whilst they do, Lydia Martin has an epiphany. "She's part of our pack."

Scott turns to look at her in confusion. "What?"

"Ophelia. She's part of our pack, right?"

He nods and straightens himself, but he still doesn't understand what she's trying to get at. "Yeah, yeah, of course she is."

Lydia smiles. "So how do wolves signal their location to the rest of the pack?"

Finally, it dawns upon him what she's trying to say. They watch the nogitsune turn toward them, almost as if it's realised exactly what is about to happen. Scott takes a deep breath and transforms into his werewolf form. "They howl," he replies.

The powerful roar reverberates through the entire room, shaking the stones on the Go board, and travels into the ears of Ophelia Stone. Lydia and Scott hold their breaths as she suddenly looks over to them, realising that they're with her. Her glowing red eyes return to the nogitsune and she stares at it, not flinching as it growls lowly at her, challenging her to make a move. And she does. The last move Ophelia plays is swiping all of the stones off the board, completely ignoring the angry roar the dark kitsune releases in her face.

All three of them wake up with a loud gasp, Scott instantly retracting his claws out of the girls' bodies. Lydia jumps off the couch clutching the back of her neck in pain, both herself and Scott moving so they can look at their friend. "Did it work?" Scott asks. His voice raises in urgency as he crouches before Ophelia. "Did it work?"

Tears spring to Lydia's eyes as she stares at her best friend with her head slumped against her chest, eyes closed. "What happened?" she says weakly. No one answers her. "Why didn't it work?" she yells in frustration.

"Because it's not science, Lydia," Peter responds. "It's supernatural." His voice lowers to a mutter as he grips her arm. "I did my part. Now give me the name."

Stiles' eyebrows furrow as he watches them. "What name?" This has to be connected to whatever they were talking about earlier.

"What are you talking about?" Scott adds having heard the entire conversation, his eyes narrowing when Peter drags the girl away. "What name?"

But the Hale doesn't let her respond as he leads her into the kitchen, ignoring Scott's yells. "A deal is a deal, Lydia," he says lowly. "Even with me."

Still clutching onto her neck, Lydia slowly turns her head to meet his eyes. She leans close enough so she can directly whisper into his ear, "Malia."

The second the name leaves her lips, Ophelia's eyes snap open and she gasps through the tape covering her mouth, startling the entire room in the process. She frantically rips the tape off before proceeding to cough and splutter, gagging for air to reach her lungs. The girl reaches a hand into her mouth, and to the horror of everyone watching, pulls out a bandage. Ophelia falls to her knees, her eyes watering as she continues to pull out the seemingly endless material from her mouth. With a final retch, the last of the bandages tumble onto the floor. Whilst she scrambles back gasping at the feeling of her throat clear from any obstruction, black smoke begins to build up out of the pile of bandages.

Stiles stumbles backward in shock as a hand materialises out of the floor, tightly gripping onto Melissa's arm. "It's a fucking mummy!" he shrieks in terror.

It doesn't take long for something, or someone, to emerge out of the bandages. It pulls its body out of the floorboards and everyone flinches at the fully formed bandaged figure, identical to the one Lydia and Scott had seen within Ophelia's mind. Stiles closes his eyes as he feels his heart skyrocket at the sight of the monster that had terrorised him. It holds its hands in front of its face and attempts to pull the bandages away, but after realising that the attempts are unsuccessful, the figure lunges toward the watching group. Deaton and Melissa protectively push Stiles and Lydia behind them whilst Scott and Peter dart forward to tackle and pin the body to the couch.

"Hold it!" Peter yells.

"I'm trying," Scott shouts back. But he hesitates as he notices something. "Wait, wait!" He firmly places a hand on Peter's shoulder and both of them pause. The figure in the chair stops resisting. Cautiously, Scott begins to pull the bandages away and his eyes widen at who is underneath.

Ophelia stares at her best friend in shock. "Scott?" she whispers softly, her voice filled with immense relief. The werewolf notices the tears in her eyes and something about her makes him realise that this is really her.

Deaton closes his eyes for a split-second and breaks the silence. "Scott," he calls out. The boy turns around and Deaton moves to the side to let them see that the front door is swung wide open.

As Scott looks down to the floor of the couch where Ophelia had been before, well, who they had previously thought was Ophelia, he realises that what he now knows is the nogitsune is gone. And so is Lydia. "Where are they? Where are they?" Scott races past the adults and out the front door, frantically calling the banshee's name.

Stiles slumps down onto the floor beside Ophelia and places his hand on top of hers, knowing exactly how she's feeling in this very second. She leans her head back and a tear drops out of her eye. They had saved her, sure, but at what cost? Lydia's gone and she can't help but feel like it's all her fault.

𝘞𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘐'𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘚𝘖 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨! 🥰