"𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝑔𝒶𝓂ℯ𝓈 𝓎ℴ𝓊 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓎ℯ𝒹 𝓌ℯ𝓇ℯ 𝓃ℯ𝓋ℯ𝓇 𝒻𝓊𝓃"

Ophelia stares at the ceiling of Scott's bedroom. She hadn't slept at all. She couldn't. There was too much running through her mind. It's been two days since everything at the hospital. Whilst she had been with... Stiles, Derek and Scott had found a bag on the roof top full of cables, wire cutters, and power tools that had been left by Stiles, or more like, the nogitsune. The werewolves had found a loose wire that, after an explosion, had managed to electrocute multiple people in the parking lot, including Isaac. And in the last two days, no one has seen Stiles Stilinski. He's vanished.

She hadn't been keen to be left alone. After everything that had been happening to her, being alone was the last thing on Earth she wanted. So Ophelia had been bunkering with Scott and Melissa. The family had been more than welcome to let her stay with them, and because Scott was so willing, she thought the least he deserved was to know about her own troubles. She told him about the damn riddles, the voices she had been hearing in the middle of the woods, the interaction between Stiles, Kira's mother, and the oni, and her own experience face to face with the nogitsune. Ophelia Stone is petrified of what is occurring within her mind. And the worst part is that she has no idea what she can do about it.

Deaton hadn't heard back from Freya, and to Ophelia's surprise her entire family had been completely radio silent. She hasn't heard from any of them in the last few weeks. Normally, not getting a weekly check-in from at least one of her siblings would lead her to believe they were dealing with some sort of malevolent evil. But all of the Mikaelsons? Something must be catastrophically wrong. But it's not like she could just up and leave to New Orleans. She doesn't know what's wrong with her, and she can't risk bringing whatever evil might be poisoning her own mind over to them. When she's found a way to rid all of this, then she'll go to her family. Surely they'll be okay. They have to be.

The boy on the bed beside her stirs in his sleep and Ophelia quickly straightens up. She had been offered the guest room but politely declined. She meant when she said that she didn't want to be alone, so she had resorted in sleeping in the armchair in Scott's bedroom. Scott's eyes blink open and he stares into space emptily. She doesn't disrupt him. The last few days had been a lot, they're all still processing it. A few minutes later, he shuffles on the mattress and turns over to face his friend. "Morning," he greets her groggily.

Ophelia gives him a tired smile. "Hey, sleep okay?"

Scott nods and pushes himself to sit up against his pillows. "Yeah, okay," he replies. "Anything?"

She sighs. "Same as before," she answers quietly.

The werewolf rubs the side of his face with his hand. "Still can't find his scent?"

Ophelia closes her eyes briefly. "Nothing." She had attempted to look for Stiles multiple times since he had gone missing, and each time she had come back with the same answer. It's like he's literally disappeared into thin air. There's no trace of him: no scent, no chemo-signals, no blood... nothing.

The pair of teens go to their respective bathrooms to change and freshen up for school. School... It seems so pointless compared to everything they're going through right now. But maybe Stiles would show up. It's almost an impossible chance, but it's still a chance. Ophelia yawns loudly as she follows Scott down the staircase, glancing down to her phone to see the numerous messages from Lydia checking in. Scott throws her an apple from the fruit bowl and the hybrid catches it without looking up from the device. He's only starting to get used to her extreme supernatural reflexes.

Suddenly, the boy notices his mother seated at the dining table and Ophelia crashes straight into his back. "Son of a bitch!" she hisses as she rubs her nose. When she realises why he's stopped, a frown adorns her face.

Melissa McCall cradles her mug of tea as she stares in front of her. She looks just as down as the teens behind her, and she hasn't noticed their arrival despite how loud it had been. "Any news?" Scott questions his mother.

The nurse turns her head slightly. "They're still looking for him," she replies. "It's past the forty-eight hour mark but I guess if anyone's going to be missing for two days and turn up just fine, it's Stiles." The teens share a look at her words. They aren't even sure if Stiles is still Stiles anymore.

Ophelia softly clears her throat as she shifts the bag on her shoulder. "And Isaac?"

Melissa stands up from the dining table and moves in front of them. "Maybe we should go by the hospital before school," she suggests. Both Ophelia and Scott look to one another and quickly nod in agreement. Their friend needs all the help he can get.

Half an hour later, Melissa leads them out the elevator and through the corridor of the third floor of the hospital. Seated on the bench outside Isaac's room are Boyd and Allison, both fast asleep. Scott gently rubs Allison's shoulder and she turns around as she wakes up, bumping into the werewolf beside her. "Have you both been here all night?"

Allison nods as she blinks the sleep out of her eyes. "Yeah... They won't let us see him because we aren't family."

Boyd rolls his eyes and leans back against the wall. "Bullshit," he mutters in frustration.

"I told them he doesn't have any," the Argent adds with a frown.

"He's got us," Melissa corrects. The woman takes out her hospital ID to show the four. "And I have a key card."

Ophelia smiles. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

Melissa grins and swipes the card through the lock on Isaac's room. She turns to the small group behind her as the doors open. "Be quick," she tells them.

With Scott leading them through, they slowly approach the boy laying in the bed in the centre of the room. Multiple machines beep around him as they monitor his heart and vitals; he's still in the Intensive Care Unit. As they move closer, Ophelia begs herself not to cry at the sight of her friend. Almost the entire right side of Isaac's body is covered in burns that are so dark they could be black.

Allison's eyes widen in shock at his physical state, then confusion overtakes her features. "I thought he'd be healing by now," she points out. She glances to the blonde-haired girl. "Did you try giving him some blood?"

Ophelia sharply inhales. The second she had woken up from her broken neck and found out about Isaac, the first thing she had done was to place her bloodied wrist up to his lips. To her horror, it had done the exact opposite to what it was supposed to do. Isaac Lahey had coughed the crimson liquid up. His body had rejected the vampire blood. It reminds her of when she hadn't been able to heal Cora because she had been poisoned with the mistletoe. But Isaac isn't poisoned, he had been electrocuted. Nothing should be stopping him from ingesting the blood and letting it heal his fatal wounds. Maybe something supernatural is standing in her way. It's the only feasible explanation. And the only supernatural force that she could think of that would want Isaac not to heal is the nogitsune. For whatever reason, Ophelia believes that the dark spirit currently possessing Stiles wants Isaac Lahey to stay the way he is.

"It doesn't work," Scott answers quietly. Both Allison and Boyd's eyes widen in alarm.

The girl nods. "Yeah, trust me, I tried." Boyd places a hand on her shoulder as they continue to stare at their suffering packmate. She thickly swallows the lump in her throat and takes a step back. She can't watch him like this.

As Scott takes hold of Isaac's arm to take some of his pain, Ophelia gives both him and Allison an apologetic glance before rushing out the room, Boyd hot on her heels. "Hey, Fi," the werewolf calls out. She turns around and he hesitates at the tears running down her cheeks. "Woah, uh, are you okay?"

Ophelia drops down onto the bench. "Honestly? No." She coughs up a dry laugh. "Definitely not, but that doesn't matter right now."

Boyd's brows furrow in concern as he sits beside her. "Hey, of course it does. Why'd you say that?"

"Because Isaac is dying," she says bluntly. "Isaac is dying in there and I can't save him, Stiles is who knows where and I can't find him, I'm losing my fucking mind and I don't-" Ophelia's interrupted as the boy next to her pulls her into a gentle hug. A quiet sob leaves her lips. "I don't know what I'm doing, Boyd," she whispers. "I don't know what to do."

"It's okay if you don't know what to do next," he tells her softly. "It's okay if you don't have a plan, yeah? Because you've got all of us with you to help figure that out. Whatever's going on with you, or Stiles, or Isaac, it's all going to be okay."

Ophelia wipes her nose with the end of her sweater as she pulls away. "How are you so damn optimistic? You're sounding like Scott."

He snorts. She cracks a small smile. "Look, I'm optimistic because I know you, Ophelia. You don't give up. When the people you care about are in danger, you fight for them. I've seen it."

Another tear trickles down her cheek. "Yeah," she murmurs. "I don't give up." A small smile lifts at Boyd's lips as he watches her features harden with determination. "I don't give up," she repeats confidently.

The doors to Isaac's room slide open and Allison and Scott walk out, the latter a little more worse for wear than when he had entered. Obviously the boy in there is in a shit load of pain. All except Boyd agree to go to school, the werewolf insisting that someone should stay and keep an eye on Isaac. After all, they're the only family he's got left.

As the three follow Melissa out to the parking lot, Allison touches Ophelia's shoulder and motions for her to stay behind. Sending Scott a brief glance who gives her a reassuring look, she takes a deep breath and stops beside the brunette. "What's up?" she questions.

Allison clears her throat, almost nervously, and plays with the strap of her shoulder bag. "I, um, I've been wanting to talk to you for a while," she begins. Ophelia arches a brow for her to continue. "I'm sorry."

Well that was the last thing on Earth she had expected to leave the girl's mouth. Ophelia's eyes widen. "Huh?"

A small smile appears on Allison's lips at the sheer shock etched onto the blonde's face. "I'm sorry," she repeats seriously. "For everything. With how I've treated you, for what I..." She closes her eyes for a second. "For what I did to you. It wasn't okay." Allison gnaws onto her lip as she tries to avoid Ophelia's piercing stare. "I hope- I really hope that one day we can be friends. Or maybe not friends exactly but at least move past what happened, because I want to like you, and Scott trusts you, so technically that means I should trust you-"

Ophelia chuckles. Allison's mouth snaps closed at the sound. "If anything, it's me that should be giving you the hour apology." Her smile fades. "Allison, I'm sorry. I am so, so deeply sorry for what I did."

Tears well in her eyes. "It's okay," she whispers. "I understand, well, sort of. You did what you had to do, to save yourself and Scott." The tear finally falls and Allison quickly wipes it away. "It still hurts, I think it's always going to hurt, but I don't want to violently murder you whenever I see you now."

"Likewise," Ophelia agrees. They share a smile. "I think that's a step forward in the right direction, don't you?"

"Hey, you guys coming or what?" Scott yells. Once he gets their attention, he waves a hand to Melissa's car, the woman having generously offered to drive them to school before her shift. Allison and Ophelia look to one another. The smiles don't leave their faces as they join their friend.

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"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

Ophelia glares daggers to the teenage boy that accidentally bumps into her in the middle of the school corridor. "No, but what am I going to do about it?"

The phone line is silent for a few moments aside from background chatter. "And you still haven't found Stiles?" The lack of response that is given from the hybrid makes Malia sigh. "Okay, uh, I don't know what you guys normally do in these kinds of situations, but... isn't not doing anything worse?"

"Not doing anything?" Ophelia repeats in frustration. "I'm doing literally everything I can possibly think of, and none of it is working!"

"No! I didn't mean with Stiles," Malia rushes out. "I meant more about the weird conversations inside your brain and stuff... Can't you, like, go to the... what is he? The vet?"

Ophelia Stone's face falls black. "Oh, my fuck!" she exclaims, ignoring the heads that turn her way. "Malia, you're a bloody genius! You are so smart that if I was with you right now I'd kiss you."

The werecoyote laughs. "Maybe thank me by actually going to him?" she suggests.

She grins. "Absolutely." She doesn't know why she hadn't gone to Deaton yet at all. Naturally, he seems like the most reasonable person to go to talk about supernatural problems she's not experienced in if she can't reach her family. Maybe Alan Deaton knows exactly what to do about whatever is happening to her.

"Uh, okay, so, my time's up," Malia says, her words tinged with sadness. "Brunski's staring at me and..."

"Oh, go," Ophelia rushes out. "Seriously though, thank you." Her jaw clenches in anger. "And by the way, if it was up to me, Brunski would've been dead the second he laid a hand on you."

"Trust me, I'm restraining myself," the brunette mutters in agreement. "Do me a favour and don't die, 'kay?"

She smiles. "Can't promise anything," she replies. The call abruptly hangs up as Malia tries her best efforts to avoid getting even further on the bad side of the head orderly at Eichen House. As Ophelia pockets her phone, she turns the corner to almost run face first straight into Scott for the second time that day. Her eyes flick between himself and Kira. "Uh, hey?"

"Hey, Fi," Scott greets,

Kira brightly smiles at the blonde-haired girl. "Hi! It's nice to see you again. Scott told me about how you're hearing voices and stuff-" Her eyes widen in alarm as she catches the blank stare Ophelia gives the werewolf. "Um, I don't know if I'm meant to know that, but just in case I am, I was doing some research about kitsunes-"

"I'm sorry," Ophelia interrupts in confusion. "Why are my problems related to kitsunes?" Scott rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably and leads the girls to a more private section of the hallway.

Kira bites onto her lip as she shifts under the hybrid's piercing gaze. "Well, um, since Stiles might be possessed by the nogitsune, it's just a theory that maybe... Well, Scott said you've been having all these strange things happen lately?" Ophelia nods. "And if you've been experiencing these things whilst Stiles has been controlled, it's possible that..." Kira clears her throat. "Uh, it's possible that the nogitsune might still be trying to find the right host." Ophelia stares at her. "... I can't tell if you just have a resting bitch face or if you want to kill me."

Scott's eyes widen. "No, no, she doesn't want to kill you," he quickly reassures. "Right, Lia?" he asks his best friend pointedly. She continues to stare at Kira. Scott waves a hand in front of her face. "Fi?"

"Did I break her or something?" Kira whispers.

"Ophelia," Scott calls out a little louder.

The girl in question blinks. "So the nogitsune is jumping between both me and Stiles?" she asks for clarification. Kira hesitantly nods. "And is there any way to know who it's going to choose?" Ophelia knows she definitely hasn't been controlled by the dark spirit yet. Perhaps the riddles are something to do with the process? Perhaps she needs to do or say something correctly for her mind to fully let the nogitsune in. She just doesn't realise exactly how right she is.

"The thing is, in all of the stories, kitsune are tricksters," Kira explains. "They're mischievous. What I mean is, the nogitsune is, theoretically, switching between you to keep you on your toes. It's trying to be unpredictable; it doesn't want us to know what its next move will be. Realistically speaking, we have no way of knowing if either you or Stiles will be its the final target."

Ophelia hums. "That sounds about right," she mutters.

"Look, they don't really get caught up in right or wrong," Kira continues. "Or even understand it."

Scott's brows pinch together. "What's that mean? It's just doing this for the hell of it?"

"No," Kira states with a shake of her head. "There's something else I found. If you somehow offend a nogitsune, it can react pretty badly."

"How do you offend a nogitsune?"

Kira grimaces. "I don't know... But if it's doing something this bad? Then someone really, really offended it."

Ophelia sighs. "What's the bet I'm the one that did it?" Scott rolls his eyes, but she remains fully serious. "No, really, I'm betting you half a grand that I'm the one who pissed off this piece of ancient shit."

The boy's eyes widen comically. "Half a grand?" he repeats in disbelief.

"That's all you got out of that?" she deadpans. "How about how I could possibly be the reason why all this crap is happening?"

Kira tries to refrain from smiling at their impending bickering. "It doesn't matter who offended it," she interjects.

Ophelia throws her hands up. "Well, I can one-hundred percent confirm I'm not a demon right now because Stiles is still missing... and well, I'm not feeling evil." Her lips purse when Scott arches a brow. "Okay, fine, I'm just feeling my normal amount of evil. The point is I'm not possessed, okay? Okay!"

Not wanting to be alone also included during school hours. And because Ophelia and Scott only share half their classes together, she had managed to compel a bunch of the teachers to let her sit in on them. The one adult she didn't have to compel to let her be somewhere she isn't meant to be is one of the only people in the school she's able to tolerate. Bobby Finstock couldn't give a damn about Ophelia being in the boy's locker room. He's got much bigger problems to deal with than his favourite student intruding on the cross-country meeting.

The shrill sound of the whistle blowing rings through her ears as Coach glances around the room. "Listen up! Anybody catches the slightest glimpse of Stilinski, you contact the first available teacher. Got it? Got it?" There's a chorus of agreement. "There's a card on my desk for Isaac Lahey, and every one of you losers is not only going to sign it, you're going to write a personal message so profound and deep, it's going to bring a tear to Coach's eye. Who's first?" Danny hops up off his bench and plucks the pen out of the man's hand. "Ah, Danny! That's how you do it, buddy. Keep it PG."

In the back of the room, Ophelia and Scott converse with the twins, much to the girl's disapproval. She still isn't a fan of them. "No Stiles, no demonic ninjas," Aiden begins.

Ethan nods as he folds his arms. "Things are getting too quiet."

"Yeah, I know," Scott says. "Yeah, it's making me nervous, too."

Ophelia clicks her tongue. "Well, we better start preparing for some serious chaos because quiet is never-" The girl abruptly stops speaking as she tilts her head to the side.

Scott raises his eyebrows. "Fi, you okay?" he questions.

She holds up a finger. "Listen."

After a few seconds, Scott glances back to her. "It's an emitter," he realises. "One of Argent's."

"And what the fuck is one of Argent's emitters doing here?" she asks them. The boys share a look and quickly follow after Ophelia as she rushes out of the locker room, leading them down the hallway. "Basement," she concludes quickly.

As they hurry down the stairs, Ophelia turns to the right for her eyes to immediately lock onto a boy standing at the end of the corridor facing away from them. She knew who it was the second she had heard the emitter. Stiles slowly turns around at their arrival with the device still pulsating in his hand. He holds his hands up in a non-threatening manner. "Okay, I know what you guys are thinking, but it's me. I swear to God, it's me."

Without any warning (but not to Ophelia's surprise) Ethan and Aiden growl from behind her, then dart past herself and Scott, snarling as they lunge for Stiles. The emitter clatters to the floor as each of the twins wrap a hand around the human's throat, lifting him up off the floor as they choke him. Scott rushes past his best friend and over to the werewolves. "Wait, stop!" He grabs hold of Ethan's sweatshirt and throws him into a nearby filing cabinet. "I said, stop!" But when Aiden turns to him, eyes glowing and a growl slipping past his lips, Scott lets out a booming roar. Aiden flinches and quickly takes a step backward, like a dog cowering with its tail between its legs.

Ophelia hasn't moved throughout the entire interaction. Her eyes narrow as she watches Stiles slump on the ground, his hand rubbing against his throat as he catches his breath. Something's still not right. It could be because she has goosebumps once more, something she's noticed had appeared whenever she'd been in the presence of what she now knows was the nogitsune. Or it could be because she knows Stiles Stilinski so well that she had immediately picked out what was wrong.

Stiles looks at Scott, briefly impressed of how he had managed to subdue the twins. "It's me, Scott," he promises. "I swear it's me."

She had seen the small glint in his eyes as the twins had lunged toward him, despite his best efforts at keeping the terrified façade. She knows that this is dark kitsune, that this isn't her best friend, but she can't say anything now. Not yet anyway. Not when he can hear everything she says. She needs to get Scott alone without creating any suspicion.

"I don't know where I've been the last two days, or what I've been doing, but this is me. I promise." His eyes move past the boys and to the hybrid. "Fi, I swear, it's me. It's really me." Ophelia keeps her heart calm and steady, just in case he can somehow hear it. She forces a small smile that she hopes looks genuine as she moves closer to the group.

Ethan breathes heavily as he recovers from being thrown across the room. "You know what happened at the hospital?"

"I know more than that," he replies. Stiles looks between his two best friends before walking over to a duffle bag on the ground and picking up a piece of paper. "You see this? It's a blueprint of the hospital's electrical wiring," he says as he spreads it out. The four behind him crowd closer for a better look. "You see all these markings in red? That's my handwriting." Stiles' eyes flick up to the group. "I know I did this," he tells them in concern. "I caused the accident." He moves the blueprint to reveal the unzipped duffle bag underneath. "And everything in this bag? It's all stuff that could be part of something bigger."

Ophelia's eyes widen at the power tools, documents, and rope visible to them. Ethan grabs a saw of some kind and stares at it for a second before looking back to Stiles. "What the fuck have you been up to?" he questions the boy.

"I think something worse," Stiles admits grimly, fiddling with his fingers anxiously. "A lot worse."

The twins and Ophelia get to work with setting the bag onto a nearby table and pulling out the various supplies filling it. The girl's eyes narrow once more at the chains that are dumped on the table. "What the hell were you doing?" Aiden asks incredulously. "Building a Terminator?"

"Thank you for that," Stiles comments sarcastically as he continues to pace back and forth.

Ophelia's eyebrows furrow as she finds a folded map at the bottom of the bag. Confusion falls over her as she realises it's a map of the Beacon Hills Preserve. "Hey, uh, this is a map," she calls out. The boys all shuffle closer to her as she smooths it out over the table.

"Isn't that the cross-country trail?" Ethan points out.

Scott trails his finger along the map and stops where the marked red line ends. "That's the Tate car," he says. "Where Malia Tate's family died."

"You mean that's where her father put the steel-jawed traps," Stiles corrects.

Ophelia's eyes widen. "Isn't the cross-country team out there now?"

Alarm quickly spreads across the group like wildfire. "Shit, we need to go," Scott states. "We need to go now."

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By the time Stiles' Jeep screeches to a stop in the Preserve, the cross-country team is nowhere to be seen. Coach stands up from his seat on a rock and drops his whistle in surprise at seeing the missing boy. "Stilinski... Whoa."

"Coach, listen close," Stiles begins urgently as they run over to the man. It doesn't take Ophelia, Stiles, and Aiden long to explain to Coach why they're here and why they're so stressed. With a sudden panic, Finstock leads the three teenagers through the woods and cuts across the trail the team is currently running, hoping to cut them off. Up ahead, they see Scott and Kira holding onto each other's arms. "Scott!" Stiles shouts. His arms fling out in front of Coach beside him. "Stop, stop, stop! Everyone, stop!"

The cross-country team that has finally caught up slows as they hear the frantic words. Stiles bends down to rifle through the piles of leaves until he finds a circular handle attached to a chain. He slowly pulls along the links, but instead of finding a trap like they had thought, nothing is attached.

Coach claps sarcastically as he approaches the boy. "Congratulations, Stilinski," he deadpans. "You found a length of chain!" Ophelia's stares at the chain in confusion, similar to Stiles. "Can somebody now please tell me what the hell's going on?"

As he walks toward the dozens of teenagers watching, Scott, the twins, and Ophelia notice the trip wire inches before his shoe. "Coach!" she yells in warning. But they've noticed it too late.

In the blink of an eye, an arrow has imbedded itself into Bobby Finstock's stomach. There are a few gasps, and the large group of teenagers stare at him in horror. Coach slowly looks down to the arrow. "Aw, crap," he mutters. As blood pools around the weapon, the man stumbles backward and collapses onto the ground. Whilst a crowd quickly forms around Coach as he screams his lungs out, pleading desperately for someone to take the arrow out of his body, Ophelia freezes. "Oh, my God, I'm going to die... Get it out of me! I'm going to die!"

She's still a little distance away from her peers, but with the distraction of Coach, none of her friends have seemed to notice her absence.

"Ophelia..."

The voice calling out to her isn't something that surprises her as much as it should. She's getting used to imaginary people talking to her lately. But it still surprises her because it's happening now. Stiles is back there, and the last time she checked, it still looked like he wasn't himself. Maybe the nogitsune has learned to multitask. The girl cautiously steps further away from her friends and into the woods, brushing past bushes blocking her path.

"Ophelia..."

It's almost taunting her. But at the same time, in a way it's irresistible. She feels obligated to follow it. She can still hear Coach's screams, but they're more distant. She's a fair way from them now. As she pulls back a branch to reveal a sunny clearing, Ophelia's heart thuds faster. Considerably faster. She's almost paralysed by fear. But then again, she can't help but move closer. The person standing in the centre of the clearing looks human at first glance. However, as she moves over to them, it's certain that they aren't. At least, she doesn't think they are.

The person, or whatever they are, is dressed in khaki green pants, a black shirt, and a leather jacket. But what scares Ophelia the most is how where there should be skin there are bandages. They slowly turn around to face her and her heart leaps into her throat. Now she's paralysed by fear. Their teeth look like some sort of metal, iron perhaps, and stained on the material around the mouth is something akin to black blood. The nogitsune. She doesn't know how she's seeing the spirit in person. She has to be hallucinating. It's not real.

"But Ophelia, I'm very real."

The girl's hand dropped by her side begins to shake as the figure takes a step toward her. It moves strangely, not humanely. Like it's walking through quicksand or thick mud. Ophelia sucks in a deep breath and straightens herself. "Leave me alone," she growls.

"We're just getting started, though," the nogitsune counters, almost playfully. "Aren't you having fun?" Its head tilts to the side when she tenses. "I am." She can't move as it edges closer toward her. "Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. What is it?"

She screws her eyes shut. "No, leave me alone," she says, this time in a soft voice. "Just piss off." Ophelia sharply inhales as she feels a cold breath against her neck. The bandaged fingers brush aside the loose strands of hair escaping her ponytail and graze her neck. "Please just leave me alone," she whispers desperately. Her whole body trembles.

"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. What is it?"

"I told you before, I don't know."

"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it."

A tear slips out of her closed eye and runs down her flushed cheek. "I don't know." The spirit continues to speak the question softly into her ear, each time spoken just as calm as the other, and she only gains more and more agitated. She's never wanted someone to rip her dead heart out more than this very moment. "I don't know," she repeats.

"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it."

Ophelia clutches her head as if she's experiencing a debilitating migraine. "I don't know!" she screams. The girl drops to her knees on the blanket of dried leaves beneath her and silently sobs.

She can barely here the frantic footsteps quickly approaching her. Scott's eyes widen in fear as he finally lays eyes on his friend, his heart dropping to the floor as he finds her cradled up in a ball on the ground, her hands tightly holding onto her head. The boy drops down beside her and places a gentle hand on her arm. Ophelia can't tell the difference between the nogitsune and her friend. Her head snaps up, her eyes glowing bright as she roars at him. Scott stumbles back from the sheer force of the sound, his own eyes scarlet as he stares at her. Once she realises that it really is Scott, she scrambles up to her feet.

He slowly follows her movements, concern etched upon his face as he studies her fragile state. "Woah, Fi, it's me, okay? It's Scott," he says, trying to remain as calm as possible. "It's Scott, okay? What happened? Are you-"

She holds her hands out in front of her, tears continuing to drop repeatedly. "It's me," she says hoarsely. "It's still me, it's still me."

Scott quickly nods, a tear of his own trailing down his cheek as he takes slow steps toward her. "Yeah, hey, I know it's you," he reassures her softly. "You're okay, I promise you, you're okay." Once he gets close enough, he pulls her into a tight hug, and her body falls limp against him. Ophelia sobs as she clutches onto him as tight as possible, trying to ground herself and remind herself that this is real. She's here. She's okay. It's gone.

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By the time Scott manages to calm the girl down and they return to the cross-country team, the ambulance containing Coach has left. Ophelia's beating herself up. If she hadn't let herself get distracted, she would've been able to save him. She would've been able to give him her blood and he would be okay. It's her fault he's not. With Scott's arm wrapped around her back, she leans her head on his shoulder as they watch Stiles' reunion with his father. Ophelia taps his shoulder with one of her fingers and his head tilts down to her. "Scott, I need to tell you something," she begins in a whisper, so quiet only the supernatural would be able to hear.

"Yeah, what's up?" he answers, just as quiet as her.

Her eyes move back to the father and son. "That's not Stiles."

Scott's brows shoot up. "Wait, what?"

She quickly slaps her hand over his mouth. "Shh," she hisses. Double checking Stiles is still occupied, she says, "I don't know how to explain it, but I promise you that's not our Stiles." Scott's eyes are wide in incredulity at her hushed words, however, based on how he had just found her, he's tempted to believe her.

"Ophelia, Scott," Ethan calls out. The pair turn around to find the boy searching the back of the Jeep. "You better look at this."

Upon joining him, they find a duffle bag unzipped. A different bag to the one before. Her eyes widen in alarm as she picks up the roll of blue wrapping paper. "Holy shit," she murmurs.

"This is the same wrapping paper we used for Coach's birthday present," Scott informs Ethan.

"Wasn't that William Barrow's thing?" Ethan doesn't wait for a response, he knows. "A bomb made from nails and bolts, all wrapped in a birthday present?" Scott's eyes are wide as he realises the connection and he and Ophelia glance over to Stiles still talking to his father. "Where did it go off?"

"... On a school bus."

When they finally get back to the high school, a large crowd has formed behind the Sheriff's deputies blocking their path to the yellow bus. Inside is Deputy Parrish diffusing what they're assuming is a very real bomb held by a petrified Jared. The air is thick with tension and fear as they wait for the result. The bus is either going to explode in a few seconds, or they've come to the wrong conclusion and there isn't a bomb.

Stood by her friends (and the twins), Ophelia waits anxiously as Noah Stilinski's radio crackles to life. "It's not a bomb, sir, but there is something in the box..." They watch as Parrish walks through the bus and up to the front windshield. Then he presses a plaque to the glass. It's the Sheriff's nameplate.

Ophelia watches Noah lean forward with squinted eyes in confusion, then she hears his heart rate skyrocket. "My God," the man whispers in realisation. "There is a bomb, but not here." The teenagers look at each other in alarm as frantic calls are made to the Sheriff's station to inform the people inside that there is an explosive device set to go off at any second.

When Stiles, Ophelia, and Scott arrive at the sight of the explosion just minutes after the Sheriff, it's almost a surprise the building is still standing. The sheer sight of the destruction has sent Scott into a state of panic, the boy gripping onto a nearby desk as he surveys the area. Ophelia places a hand on his shoulder when he begins to hyperventilate, and she emphasises herself taking a deep breath. "Scott, hey," she speaks firmly. His wide eyes snap over to her. "You gotta try and stay focused for me, okay? We need to help as many people as we can."

Scott follows her movements as he inhales through his nose. Then he notices the faint sight of veins snaking down her cheeks. "Woah, do you need to leave?" he asks her in worry.

Ophelia closes her eyes for a second and tries to block out the blood. It's everywhere. Her body is screaming for her to rip into someone's neck and drain them dry. She can't think about anything but blood. But she has to distract herself. There are people here who are dying, and she might be the only one that can save them. "I'm okay," she dismisses. Scott's frown deepens as he watches her purse her lips into a thin line. "I'm fine."

"Get me an ambulance here at the Sheriff's station," Stilinski stresses into his phone. "We've got an explosion. We've got multiple officers down. Multiple officers down! We need an ambulance ASAP, on the double."

"Scott," Stiles, or the nogitsune, calls out in alarm. "Fi, I need some help here." With wide eyes of panic, Stiles' hands hover over a deputy's body on the ground. Scott quickly rushes over and drops beside Stiles, however, Ophelia takes another few seconds to centre herself. But by the time she's bitten into her wrist and joined her friends, she's there to watch the man take his last breath. Scott's mouth drops open in horror; he looks like someone has literally kicked him in the stomach. With tears in his eyes, he gently places the deputy's bloodied hand back on his chest.

Ophelia stumbles away from the body as a tear slips down her cheek. She could have saved him. Before she can internally berate herself anymore, her attention is pulled over to the side where she finds Chris Argent and Derek. Derek looks like he's just been shot, and when Ophelia catches sight of the hundreds of shards of glass and pieces of wood sticking out of his back, he might as well have been. The girl's eyes widen as she separates herself from Scott and Stiles and hurries over to the man she considers a good friend. "Derek? Derek, what happened?"

Chris glances to her briefly then back to the werewolf. "He saved my life," he says quietly.

Ophelia's fangs puncture her wrist and she quickly holds it out to the wounded. "Drink," she orders.

Even with the excruciating pain he's in, Derek Hale is still the same stubborn bastard. "No," he says firmly, pushing her arm away weakly. "No way."

She blinks at him in shock. "Excuse me? Drink," she repeats sternly. "You look like you're about to pass out."

"No. Because if you do that then that means I owe you one. I don't want to owe you."

Ophelia stares at the man in disbelief. "You know what, I can't be fucked arguing with you, so fine." She turns to Chris. "You okay?" she questions.

His eyes widen slightly in surprise that she had even bothered asking. "Uh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he replies quickly.

Just as she turns around her arm is quickly grabbed onto by Scott, Stiles following right behind. "W-what's going on?" she asks in confusion.

Before either of the boys can reply, they run into Kira as they head back to the entrance. "The oni," the girl breathes out. "They're coming."

Scott's head snaps to the side as he looks at Stiles who is clearly distracted by the madness around them. "Stiles, we gotta get you out of here," he yells urgently. "Stiles!"

As Ophelia follows her friends out the station and over to the Jeep, she can't help but acknowledge the familiar feeling of dread settling within the pits of her stomach. Something's telling her that whatever is going to happen next isn't going to be good. And it's not just that the oni are coming... If she's correct, Stiles is currently still being controlled by the nogitsune. And as she slams the passenger door closed behind her, Ophelia gets a glimpse into the eyes of the boy when he isn't aware she's watching him. He's enjoying this. Whatever is happening, it's like he wants to be in the centre of the chaos.

Rain pelts down onto them as the Jeep speeds through the roads of Beacon Hills, the destination the one place that currently will keep them safe from the oni. For a little while, at least. "It's an animal clinic?" Kira questions in confusion.

"Yeah," Scott confirms. He glances back to her seated next to an unusually quiet Ophelia. "The place is lined with mountain ash, just like my house. It will buy us some time."

"But they can get through it?" Stiles asks, reminding both Scott and Kira what had happened last week when the oni had invaded the McCall household.

Scott nods grimly. "Eventually..."

This doesn't comfort Stiles in the slightest. "Nobody's got any better ideas?" At the silence that greets him in return, he sighs in defeat. "Okay, sure. Animal clinic."

As she stares at the back of the boy's head as they drive, Ophelia realises that he is genuinely worried because the oni can kill him. But then her small smile fades as she realises that would mean not only the nogitsune would die, but so would he. She needs to do whatever she can to protect Stiles Stilinski from these creatures. Until they can find a way to somehow separate the dark spirit from him, they need to keep him alive. He can't die. She can't lose the real Stiles.

By the time they pull into the parking lot of the clinic, the pelting rain has turned into a downpour. Ophelia can barely see in front of her as she scrambles out the car behind Kira. The group races over to the back door, and just as they begin to break through the lock, they hear a noise that stops them immediately. By now, they've all come to associate the oni with a specific chirp-rattle-like sound before they appear. The three creatures hold ninjatōs as they step up menacingly to the group of four. Scott glances back to the boy they're here for and tosses him the keys. "Stiles, get inside!"

A growl rumbles in the back of Ophelia's throat as she cracks her neck side to side. She rings her hands out in front of her as Scott lets out a loud roar. "Oh, I've been wanting to kill someone all day," she mutters. "This is gonna be fun."

As Stiles frantically tries to open the doors, Scott, Ophelia, and Kira race forward and engulf themselves in a battle with the oni. None of them think of the fact that Stiles isn't the only one that hasn't been tested yet. This is the first time Ophelia Stone is face to face with an oni, and neither her nor her friends remember that she's one of the two targets the creatures are after.

Ophelia ducks under one of the swords just as Stiles manages to open the doors. "Hey, Kira!" he yells over the rain. "Get inside! Kira!" The hybrid glances over to the kitsune because she knows her being here would only end badly. But Kira doesn't budge, moving to throw various objects around the parking lot at the oni.

To her utter delight, Ophelia gets close enough to one of the shadow ninjas to snap their neck. The sound of cracking rings through her ears, but her smile quickly drops when the oni's head unnaturally falls back into place. "What the actual flying fuck? Scott, you conveniently failed to mention these things can't die!"

The True Alpha briefly looks to her as he swipes at one of the oni. "We just need to hold them back!" he yells back.

Ophelia curtly nods and places a firm kick onto the chest plate of the creature, sending it flying back to the other side of the parking lot. But then something happens to shocks them all. With a burst of courage, Kira grabs onto the oni's wrist that stands before her and pulls at it. The creature flips through the air and lands roughly on the ground, the ninjatō out of its grip. In the midst of aiding Scott, Ophelia glances to Kira in shock. "Pick it up!" she shrieks to the girl.

Still dazed that she'd managed to even do that in the first place, Kira nods and grabs the discarded sword to begin effortlessly fighting one of the oni like she's been mastering fencing in her spare time. Fighting the creatures off with her claws and kicks, Ophelia speeds around the area as she tries to help Scott and Kira as best as she can.

Then she hears the slice of metal slicing through flesh and bone. Ophelia stands frozen still as she watches the oni stab its ninjatō through Scott. Time seems to slow down as she yells out the boy's name, but she can't hear her voice. Kira's scream sounds distant and muffled. Scott's mouth gasps open as he slowly looks up from the sword and locks eyes with his best friend. An ear-shattering roar fills the air as Ophelia launches herself at the oni that had dealt Scott the deadly blow. With a single punch, the girl manages to send it flying backward and onto its back.

Watching from his position by the door, Stiles rushes over to the three. "All right, come on! Get him inside! Get him inside!" With himself and Kira supporting Scott, Ophelia lingers behind as she makes sure none of the oni are following them.

The group rushes inside the building as the blonde-haired girl slams the double doors closed behind them. Scott gasps as they stumble through to the examination room and he leans back against the metal table. Ophelia watches with concern; they need to get the sword out before she can try healing him. As she moves up to him, she locks eyes with Scott and the boy gives her a firm nod as she places a hand on the grip of the weapon. Scott grits his teeth together as he braces himself for the blinding pain he's about to experience, but before Ophelia can rip the ninjatō out of his body, the sound of a skull smashing into brick is heard from behind them.

Ophelia's heart thuds faster as she spots the unconscious figure of Kira sprawled on the floor with Stiles stood above her. Slowly lifting his head up, Stiles' eyes move to the pair a few metres away from him and he sighs. He purses his lips together as he moves so he's standing right behind Ophelia. He watches her shaking hands remove from the sword sticking out from Scott's body, and he brushes her damp hair off her neck. Taking a deep breath, Stiles grazes his lips over her shoulder as he inhales the scent of fear and smirks when she shudders.

Scott's frozen in both shock and pain as he watches the interaction. Stiles' entire demeanour has done a complete shift compared to how he had been mere minutes ago. Then his heart drops as he remembers her warning from earlier. I don't know how to explain it, but I promise you that's not our Stiles.

"Just leave me alone," she begs. "Leave us alone." Ophelia holds her breath as his fingers drum along her shoulder and trail up to her neck. Her eyes are screwed shut, unable to see the sheer fear and concern on Scott's face as he watches. "Just go away."

"You know I can't do that," he murmurs, Stiles murmurs. His hand lightly trails up her opposite arm then rests in the same position as the other. "You just have to work with me, Ophelia. It would make both our lives so much easier." His fingers tap against her skin. The girl's lip wobbles as she tries to tell herself this is just another hallucination, that it's just another dream. "I thought we figured earlier that all of this is real," he whispers softly. "And until you're ready to realise that, well... you're just in my way."

Scott can only watch in horror as Stiles snaps her neck. Ophelia slumps to the floor like a rag doll. Stiles casually steps over her body, his eyes locked onto the sword protruding out of the werewolf's stomach.

He calmly walks up to the boy and playfully taps his fingers along the hilt of the ninjatō. Stiles holds a hand up to Scott, as if he's trying to seem like he hasn't just severely injured the two girls now on the floor. "You okay?"

Sweat trickles down Scott's forehead as he stares at his friend. "Please don't," he begs. "Stop."

"It's okay," Stiles reassures him. He places his hand back onto the sword, then places his other on Scott's shoulder like he's about to pull it out. But instead of removing the blade, he twists it sharply, blatantly ignoring the screams of agony it elicits from Scott. He pulls the sword out a little, then twists it in the other direction. "Does it hurt? Hey, look at me." Scott's eyes reluctantly meet his. "You should have done your reading, Scott." Another yell of anguish leaves the werewolf's lips. "See, a nogitsune feeds of chaos, strife, and pain... This morning, you took it from Isaac, then you took it from Coach, and then from a dying deputy." He rubs Scott's shoulder in a comforting manner. "All that pain... You took it all."

Stiles tightly grabs onto the side of Scott's face as he leans closer.

"Now, give it to me." Black veins begin to travel from Scott's cheek and into Stiles' arm as the nogitsune siphons the pain from the teenager before him. After a few moments, he pulls away, both boys breathing heavily. "You really have to learn, Scott," he comments in amusement. "Or you should've listened to Ophelia, I know she never trusted me, not since the other night." He clicks his tongue as he casts a look to the girl. "She's becoming a real pain in my ass... You really have to learn not to trust a fox. Mmm-mmm. Know why? 'Cause they're tricksters. They'll fool you. They'll fool everyone."

"Not everyone."

Alan Deaton appears and jabs a syringe in Stiles' neck. The boy grabs onto the collar of the veterinarian's jacket and coughs a few times as the needle is taken out. He chuckles briefly as he realises what's happening, then drops to the floor and falls unconscious.

Scott lets out a breath of relief and turns to his boss, confused within his pain. Deaton meets his eyes and takes a deep breath as he grabs the hilt of the sword. In one swift motion, he wrenches the ninjatō out of Scott's body, the boy groaning in pain as he leans back against the table supporting him. As Scott catches his breath, he nods over to Stiles' body. "W-what was that?" he asks breathlessly. "Was that a cure? Is he okay?"

"I don't know, but I've never loved you more than I do right now, Doc." The males quickly look down to see Ophelia slowly pulling herself up off the ground. She grunts as she cracks her neck. "Holy shit, I've never hated an evil spirit more."

Deaton gives her the smallest smile, and Scott's face falls in relief as they lock eyes. "Are you okay?" he questions her in worry.

Ophelia's eyes widen. "Sorry, no, no. I should be asking you that."

After a second, Scott nods. "Yeah, I am, thanks to you," he tells Deaton.

As the vet looks between the teens as Ophelia offers Scott her blood, he grimly reveals, "The fox is poisoned. But it's not dead." They all turn back to Stiles. "Not yet."

Whilst Scott moves over to Kira as she stirs awake, Ophelia locks eyes with Deaton and nods her head over to the hallway. They need to talk; privately. He follows behind her as she leads them into a space where it would be harder for Scott to overhear (if he did try to), and he takes a seat beside her in the waiting chairs. "We have a problem," she begins. "And as much as I don't want to say it is, I think it's a big one."

Deaton arches a brow. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know if Scott's told you, but I've had a few... conversations with the nogitsune." She watches the man still. "And I don't mean with the Stiles side of it, that's only happened twice. Kira seems to think its jumping between both me and Stiles until it finds what it's looking for. And since Stiles has been possessed and I haven't yet..."

"You think it's only a matter of time until it does," he finishes quietly.

Ophelia nods as she nervously gnaws on her lip. "Is there any way for me to stop it from happening? Is there a trick, or something, to avoid letting it fully inside my head?"

After a few seconds of silence, Deaton nods. "It seems to be that the nogitsune targets you when you're vulnerable, when you're least expecting it. Sleep would be a common one."

Her eyes widen. "So I'm just going back to not sleeping again?"

A sad smile graces his face. "I don't know, Ophelia. I really don't. But I don't think it would hurt to try."

She closes her eyes as she leans her head back against the wall. "It feels like it's already inside me," she whispers. "Like, it's not fully there, but it's there. I don't think I'm completely me, I don't feel like I'm in control of everything I'm doing." When she opens her eyes, a tear falls. She's so sick of crying lately. "I have an idea, and I need you to keep it from Scott for a day or so."

Deaton's lips purse. "How dangerous is this idea?" he asks hesitantly.

She smiles. "Probably very. But it's the least dangerous out of all the other ideas I've had. Your sister works at the mental health hospital, right?" The man nods his head slightly, his brows furrowed with confusion. "And I know you know I know they have a secret supernatural unit there, people that can help keep someone safe; perhaps from themselves or from a dark spirit."

He nods once more. "I think I know where you're going with this..."

"I need to go pay a visit to Eichen House."

𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘵... 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘤 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 / 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 🥰

𝘈𝘓𝘚𝘖 𝘐𝘔 𝘚𝘖 𝘌𝘟𝘊𝘐𝘛𝘌𝘋 𝘠𝘈𝘓𝘓 𝘞𝘌 𝘎𝘌𝘛 𝘗𝘙𝘖𝘗𝘌𝘙 𝘍𝘐 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘔𝘈𝘓𝘐𝘈 𝘊𝘖𝘕𝘛𝘌𝘕𝘛 𝘕𝘌𝘟𝘛 𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘞𝘏𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘖𝘖