𝐃𝐄 𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐃
what a shame. what a shame we all remain such fragile broken things. a beauty half betrayed. butterflies with punctured wings. Still there are darkened places deep in my heart where once was blazing light, now there's a tiny spark

HOPE TOOK IN a deep breath before sliding the doors to Derek's loft open. Her heart felt like it was in her throat as she noticed Stiles in the middle of the room, his back to them. But, it wasn't Stiles, and that thought alone made her heart clench tightly.

Noah stepped up beside her, both of them watching as the Nogitsune slowly turned to face them.

"Hey, dad." He smirked as his darkened eyes landed on Hope's figure. "Hope, my love." He tilted his head, his smirk widening as he noticed how disheveled she looked. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, the baby hairs sticking out everywhere. There was purple bags under her eyes and she had ripped jeans and an oversized hoodie that was obviously Stiles'.

Hope shuddered at the look in his eyes before steeling herself. Her eyes seemed to hardened, her posture straightened, and she glared at him.

Noah slowly began walking toward Stiles. "If my son is still here, if there's still a part of him standing here in front of me, then he'll put these on willingly and he'll come with me, because he knows I'm here to protect him from himself and from others." Stiles looked down at his hands thinking for a moment before placing them out in front of him. Noah hesitantly placed the cuffs on his wrists. But, once he stepped back and looked up at his son, he noticed the wicked grin on his face. "You're not my son."

His smirk widened and he broke the cuffs off by harshly pulling his hands apart.

Just then, three figures turned around the corner and entered the loft. Allison and Chris had stepping in first, the father and daughter immediately positioning themselves beside Noah, as Derek stood to the left of Hope.

The Nogitsune, however, paid them no mind except raising a brow at their dramatic entrance. His dark eyes stayed on the figure of Hope Mikaelson who could also not take her eyes off of him.

The thousand year old Demon could feel the power radiate off of the teenage girl. And not only that, he could feel the hurt and grief that she buried beneath her mind and skin, making her even stronger. Once, he thought that pain only made the mind weaker, but that seemed to be the opposite case for the tribrid standing before him.

Allison, alarmed that the Nogitsune was focusing on Hope, directed her stun-gun at the demon and pressed the trigger. The jolts of electricity crackled throughout the loft causing Hope to jerk her gaze away from the fox, and onto the cords with her blue eyes. She wasn't exactly surprised when the Nogitsune easily grabbed a hold of the cords in his hands, his face setting into a disappointed sneer before he was snatching the cords back and slinging the entire gun across the room.

They were playing a vicious game with someone who had all the cards, and they hadn't even been dealt their hand.

Hope swallowed thickly as that was the moment everyone set in motion. And even before she had time to process, Derek let out a menacing growl that echoed through the almost empty loft, and rushed toward the Nogitsune.

In a matter of seconds, the Nogitsune had managed to grab a hold of the werewolf and slam him into the table, before flinging him into of the pillars. With that came the loud bang of his body before Derek found himself laying on his stomachs, momentarily winded.

Everything seemed to have slowed down as Hope watched the whole scene play out in front of her, memories from long ago surfacing thanks to the spell she had done nearly two hours ago. She could feel her magic crackling around her body as she recalled the Hollow's words; I never fully left you, Hope. I could never because you're my true vessel.

The sound of a gun cocking was heard, and everyone turned to see that Chris Argent had a hold of the gun that was previously hidden in the back of his jeans.

Hope seemed to snap out of her thoughts and took a small step towards him. "Chris..."

"Argent." Noah held up his hand, eyes wide as he turned to the oldest Argent. "Listen to me. Don't do this."

"Why not?" Chris asked, tightening the grip on the gun but didn't release. "I've done it before. Werewolves, Berserkers. I can easily add a Nogitsune to the list."

Hope chewed on the inside of her cheek as she took another step closer to the older Argent. "You're not going to shoot Stiles, Chris. I won't let you." She looked up into his baby blue eyes.

Chris glanced down at her, but then put his attention back to the Nogitsune. "Well, you said it yourself, Sheriff, that's not your son."

"Put it down," Noah demanded, noticing the way Hope stared up at Chris, knowing that if the older Argent continued to threaten Stiles, he was going to be in a world of pain. He then pulled out his own gun and pointed it at Argent once the older man tightened his jaw at Hope's stance.

"Dad," Stiles' voice interrupted the stressful situation. It was the first time that he had spoken since Derek, Chris, and Allison had entered the building. "He's going to shoot me. He's going to kill me."

Chris shook his head. "Don't listen."

"Put it down," Sheriff Stilinski said, his gun never wavering from it's position.

"Now! Do it!" The Nogitsune was growing more riled up by the second, turning to Argent with a little smirk. "Pull the trigger. Come on."

"Listen to me, you put the gun down now! Put the gun down!"

Allison looked between her father, Noah, Hope, and the Nogitsune, her brows eyes full of concern and worry. She hopes her father wouldn't shoot Stiles, but she also knew better. She knows that when push comes to shove, Chris will pull the trigger. "Dad," she called out, her eyes wavering over to Hope who now has hardened her gaze, although the brunette can see the storm brewing underneath.

"Shoot me!" the Nogitsune snarled, breaking the momentary silence. "Shoot me! Shoot me! Shoot me! Come on, you coward, shoot me!"

"Shut up!" Hope screamed loudly, and suddenly, the guns from Noah and Chris went flying from their hands, and the loft went deadly silent. The auburn haired tribrid breathed out deeply and looked at everyone in the loft. "He's thriving on this argument. Look at him." They all looked over at the Nogitsune who was grinning, black veins flowing up his neck. "Strife. Chaos. He loves it, it makes him stronger. This is exactly what he wants."

And at that very moment, the sun that had been shining through the large loft dimmed until the horizon faded into a dark hue.

Stiles turned to face Hope, seemingly proud of her, his hands falling behind his back. "Not exactly. I was kind of hoping Scott would be here. But I'm glad you had all have your guns out, because you're not here to kill me."

"What do you mean?"

Materializing from the darkness that the night provided, masked silhouettes began to appear into the room one by one directly in front of them. Almost immediately, the six in the room took a step back, knowing very well the threat that the Oni posed to them.

"You're here to protect me."

As Chris and Noah scrambled to get their respectful guns, Derek jumped up so he was beside Hope as they faced the Oni's together.

The duo briefly glanced at one another before jumping into action.

Hope jumped over one of the Oni's while simultaneously throwing a spell at said Oni, "Illustrant." The spell was suppose to send an electrical current to whatever she aimed at. A burst of what looked like lightening sparked from her hand and toward the Oni. But, she knew it wouldn't do much damage, if any. So, she shouted, "Immobilus!"

The Oni struggled in place for a second as the current went to hit it. But, seeing as the dark figure was made out of shadows pretty much, only black waves could be seen as the ninja deflected the magic. And then, it was charging back at the tribrid who was yelling at herself for forgetting that her magic barely affects the demons.

"Fluctus Inlpulsa!" Hope made a movement with one hand going over the other, producing a ball of energy in her hand. She focused on the golden energy ball as she dodged the Oni's sword. She but her lip hard enough in concentration that it bled, but she kept recalling the Hollow's words "you are my true vessel", meaning she could draw from the Hollow's presence.

Just as she nearly got cut in half by one of the Oni's swords, the ball of energy in her hand went from gold to a bright blue.

"Yes!" She shouted in excitement before looking up and connecting eyes with two of the Oni's. "This'll be fun to watch." She breathed in deeply and put as much energy into the ball as she possibly could and flung it at them.

Everyone watched in amazement as it hit on of the Oni's, surprisingly knocking it back about two feet before the ball of energy stopped on the Oni's stomach.

Said Oni paused and looked down at the energy ball as it didn't move through the figure, black waves lapping around it, trying to push the orb out, but to no avail.

Suddenly, the Oni's bright green eyes turned to a golden color, then a bright blue. The Oni bursted with the light blue and then seemed to swallow in on itself.

With a loud pop, the Oni was gone, and so was the energy ball.

Hope smirked as she staggered, falling to her knees beside Derek who had a pretty big gash along his shoulder and back.

Just then, Scott and Kira ran into the loft, and everyone looked up at them with tired and concerned eyes.

That's also the moment Hope realized that all the Oni had disappeared... along with the Nogitsune.

HOPE RAN DOWN the stairs of the McCall residence, her damp hair flying behind her. She had just gotten out of the shower when she had heard Scott yell for her from downstairs. She hadn't known what to expect, but she stopped in surprise upon seeing pretty much the whole group (Scott, Aiden, Melissa, Deaton, and Lydia) there, lowering an injured Stiles — Nogitsune — on the couch.

"What the hell happened?!" She tribrid exclaimed as she made her way toward Scott.

Said boy briefly turned to her, sighing. "Lydia found him. Banshee," he explained as simply as he could and she nodded, glancing over at Lydia who sent her a small smile.

The tribrid's mine was reeling as she took a closer look at Stiles and his wound that was pretty fatal looking. Had the Oni done that to him? It was plausible, but still didn't make sense. Was it self-inflicted to make it easy for him to manipulate them when they're so worried about Stiles' well-being? She sighed heavily as her mind raced. She just felt like there were still so many important pieces to the puzzle that they were missing.

"Guys, this is crazy," Melissa announced, wringing her hands together nervously as she looked down toward the boy who was practically her second son. "He needs to be in the hospital."

Scott stepped away from his best friend, casting a look toward his mother. "Mom, remember what happened last time he went to the hospital?"

Hope tuned their conversation out as she watched Deaton kneel in front of Stiles, grabbing the separate halves of his shirt where it was torn. He peeled it away from the dried and sticky blood that coaxed the lower half of his abdomen. The blood, though, was no longer seeping out of the wound.

"It doesn't look like he's bleeding," Deaton said, tilting his head. "I think he might even be healing?"

Hope frowned. "You seem to be right." Although that is a good thing for Stiles', it wasn't a good thing that the Nogitsune was healing. That only meant bad things.

Aiden looked to the older man. "You mean, healing like we heal?"

"That's good, right?" Scott asked, relieved that his best friend was safe for now.

"For him, yes," Deaton assured, moving away slightly. "Us?" He looked back toward the group of five worrying faces behind him, slightly shaking his head. "I'm not so sure."

Aiden took a step forward, "Well, if we're not going to kill him, why aren't we at least tying him down with really big chains?"

"I might have something more effective," Deaton announced, pulling out a small black case. Undoing the buckle at the top, he pulled out a small glass jar containing a liquid that the trio — Hope, Scott, and Lydia — were all too familiar with.

Kanima venom.

The vet looked between the three wolves, the teenagers all nodding in understanding before moving to Stiles' side. Scott and Aiden both grabbed a hold of his face, prying his jaw open so that Deaton could get the venom into his system the most effective way possible. Hope swallowed thickly as she made her way behind the couch, placing her delicate hands on Stiles' shoulders.

Just as the clear liquid was squirted into Stiles' mouth, Scott and Hope flinched and went jumping backward slightly when Stiles' eyes snapped open.

Immediately, his expression held certain malice, the venom not quite taking its toll on him. He reached out and grabbed a hold of Aiden's neck. His grip tightened around Aiden's airways who was having trouble breaking free from the grip.

"Pairilis," Hope called out, snapped her hand closed, moving it down, forcing the Nogitsune into his seat just as the venom began to work.

Stiles grunted, the venom beginning to coax the inner workings of his body and made his limbs feel like a billion pins and needles were pricking at his skin. He was rendered completely paralyzed, frozen to his spot on the couch as he sank back into its plushness, eyes flittering up toward Deaton. "Kanima venom," he growled. "Nice touch."

A low roar emitted through the room, Aiden's claw slicing through the air as his fangs protruded from his gums.

"You know how they say that twins get a feeling when the other one's in pain?" Stiles wondered aloud in a taunting manner, a smug expression plastered on his face. "You didn't lose that talent, too, did you? Oh, I hope not. You're going to need it. Okay, I'll give you a hint – Ethan's at the school." ​

Hope moved around so she stood between Lydia and Scott, swallowing thickly as her blue eyes connected with the Nogitsune's dark ones.

Before Aiden could say anything, Scott was already speaking, "Go." ​

Aiden's jaw was set firmly, trying to keep his temper in check before he stormed toward the front door.

And that left the rest of them to simply stare at the teenage boy that had quickly become a stranger, his head lolled back as he watched Aiden slip out of the house.

"Oh, I hope he gets there in time," Stiles said, feigning worry. "I like the twins. Short tempers. Homicidal compulsions. They're a lot more fun than you bakemono trying to save the world every day."

Melissa stepped forward, growing tired of the whole situation. "Doc, you brought something to paralyze his body – you got anything for his mouth?"

"Yes. I do." He nodded and the sound of duct tape being torn off the roll was heard, a long piece of the silvery adhesive strip in Deaton's hold.

The Nogitsune smirked slightly, amused at the situation at hand. But quickly became enraged when Deaton finally placed the tape across his lips; making it so that he wouldn't be able to speak, the sound of his muffled screams filled the air around them.

Hope's heart was beating frantically in her chest as she continued the stare down with the Nogitsune as he began to chuckle manically, not taking his eyes off of her.

"Hey," Scott softly whispered as he reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the staring contest. He gave her an encouraging look as she stared up at him with big blue eyes. "It's okay. We'll find a way to save him."

"I just can't stand to see something like this happening to someone I care for." She glanced to the Nogitsune who was giggling now at their scene. "I know Stiles is in there somewhere and I'm not stopping until we get him back." She was determined to get her Stiles back. No matter what.

THEY WERE SOON ushered into the kitchen and away from their shell of a friend — none of them had been able to think clearly around him.

As Deaton assisted the teenagers to devise a plan in order to save Stiles, Melissa opted to stay out there and tend to his wound.

"How much longer do you think we have?" Scott demanded, getting straight to the point as they entered the kitchen.

"Probably not long if he has healing like us," Hope spoke up, wrapping her arms around her waist. She was wearing one of Stiles' flannels, some light blue jeans that had rips in them, and some converses that she had slipped on before running down the stairs earlier.

Deaton shrugged, "I wish I knew. But if we don't figure out something soon, we're going to need to find a better place to keep him. I think we're grossly underestimating the danger here. He might be paralyzed, but it still feels like he's got us right in the palm of his hand."

"But the scroll said to change his body," Lydia announced, referring to the tiny scroll they found in Katashi's silver prosthetic finger.

"That's if I translated it correctly," Deaton clarified, his dark eyes surveying all three supernatural creatures in front of him. "We're looking for a cure in something that might actually be nothing more than a proverb or a metaphor."

"What if he doesn't want it?" Scott asked, finally voicing the question that had been replaying in his mind since they found the scroll. "He's never asked to be a werewolf."

Hope licked her lips as she turned to look at him. "He didn't ask to be possessed either, Scott." If Stiles ends up hating her for the rest of his life by making this decision for him, then so be it. At least he will be safe and alive. "What if it saves him, Scott?"

He ran a hand down his face. "What if it kills him?"

Hope's breathing stuttered for a second. She didn't think about that. With this kind of werewolf, there is two possibilities; become a supernatural or die. And either could happen to Stiles. "Crap!" She gripped at her hair and shut her eyes tightly.

Lydia walked over to her, rubbing her back gently.

Deaton frowned, looking between Scott and Hope. "Something needs to be done sooner than later."

"I can try calling Derek again," Scott breathed out, pulling his phone out of his pocket and preparing to scroll through his contacts.

"Maybe we should call someone else," Lydia commented, looking up at the duo, tilting her head.

Hope lowered her hands from her hair as she stared at the strawberry blonde in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me, Lydia!"

PETER HALE NOW stood in the living room of the McCall residence, looking over the Nogitsune.

"He doesn't look like he would survive a slap across the face, much less the bite of a werewolf," Peter mused, slowly making a completely three-sixty around the couch before coming back around and facing Stiles, crouching down in front of him and locking eyes with the Nogitsune.

"You don't think it would work?" Scott asked, blinking rapidly as he processed everything.

"This is more a war of the mind than the body," Peter explained as the Nogitsune seemed unamused by the whole situation. "There are better methods to winning this battle."​

Deaton stepped forward, untrusting of the man beside them. "What kind of methods?"

Peter had been quick to flick Scott's wrist out, claws emerging from his nail beds mere inches from Stiles' face who raised a condescending eyebrow, completely unbothered. "We're going to get into his head."

After going into his explanation, which involved Hope and Scott going into Stiles' mind, Peter had tugged Lydia off to speak.

Hope watched as the Omega and the Banshee became engrossed in conversation, the tribrid growing curious to what they were talking about. But, she turned her focus on Scott, taking in a small breath. "Scott... yesterday I had found out something big. You know the Hollow that had possessed me years ago. Well... yeah... I found out it's still a part of me." His eyes widened in surprise at her words. "And I had just killed an Oni with said Hollow's magic core that is connected to me. Although it took a lot of my energy to do so, I think..." her blue eyes held hope in them. "I think I might be able to defeat the Nogitsune and the Oni once we get Stiles safe and sound."

Scott's brows furrowed in thought. "But... if it took a lot of energy out of you by simply destroying one Oni... what will happen when you destroy multiple, along with Void?"

The tribrid gave him a look and shrugged. "I might die, Scott. But it's worth it if—"

"No." He automatically shook his head, reaching forward to grip her shoulder. "I want the Oni and the Nogitsune gone just like everyone else... but not if it kills you in the process. Hope, you're my—"

Scott was cut off by Deaton's voice sounding, "Hey guys, we need you both in the living room."

Scott gave her a firm look. "We'll talk about this later."

Hope nodded and followed after them, although she knows she'll do anything in her power to make sure that her friends, her pack, her family is safe. And if that results in her dying... so what?

"Okay, let's here the plan," the tribrid said, turning her attention to Peter who nodded at her with a grin on his face.

"Scott is going to try and dig through pale and sickly Evil Stiles' mind to unearth pale and sickly Real Stiles and guide him back from the depths of his own subconscious," Peter explained. "But he's not going to do it alone."

And with that, Hope was being ushered to the seat on the couch beside Stiles, the teenage boy glancing over at her with a glint in his eyes as Scott stood directly behind them.

The True Alpha's claws were thenbared, Peter guiding them so that they rested upon Stiles' neck.

"So, what do we do if we find him?"

"You're going to have to guide him out somehow," Peter simply replied. Hope visibly tensed up when she felt the tips of Scott's claws reach the back of her neck. "Try to give him back control of his mind, his body."

"Could you elaborate of the "somehow"?" Lydia demanded, her eyes trained on Hope as she watched her best friend shuffled in place to get comfortable. "It's not feeling very specific at the moment."

Peter rolled his eyes, "Improvise."

"What if this is just another trick?" Scott finally asked.

"When are you people going to start trusting me?" Peter questioned, sounding a little dramatic and amused.

Hope raised an eyebrow as she glanced at him through the corner of her eye. "He meant the Nogitsune, dumbass."

He looked to her, frowning. "Oh."

"Scott, we're running out of time," Deaton announced, bringing everyone back to the topic at hand.

The Alpha nodded, sucking in a deep breath as his eyes blazed their crimson shade while he fully prepared his mind and body to pull himself and Hope into the subconscious of Stiles Stilinski.

And without a moment's notice, a loud gasp emitted throughout the room as Hope felt Scott's claws puncture her skin. ​

HOPE'S EYES SNAPPED open, and she sucked in a huge breath, chest heaving up and down rapidly.

Her body felt heavy, almost like it was being weighed down by something. And when she tried to push herself upright, she was instantly sent back down on her back. Taking in a breath to calm herself, she glanced around to see that there were restraints secured around her wrists and ankles along with a single restraint across her body – efficiently holding her down to a bed. No matter how hard she struggled to break free of the restraints, she was not going anywhere.

"Hope, are you all right?" Scott's voice sounded from her left, and when she turned her head on the pillow she saw that he was strapped down to a bed right beside her.

As Scott went back to struggling against his restraints, Hope closed her eyes and calmed her erratic heartbeat. Focusing on her magic core along with the Hollow's to assure herself that they were both there.

And although both her and Hollow are one in the same, their magic signatures are still different. And if Hope focuses just enough — although it takes practice to notice this sort of thing — she can feel the different sensations coming off of the cores. Although hers was stronger, she can still feel the Hollow's core practically throbbing with power.

Taking in a deep breath, she tried to mend them together, knowing that it would be useful. But, to no avail, they had two different aura's and signatures, meaning they just won't mend.

Shaking her head, Hope decided just to focus on getting out of their current situation. She moved her hands in a weird angle so that her palm faced one of the straps. She held her breath and focused as best as she could, sending a vibration toward the strap, and watched in satisfaction as it ripped. She couldn't reach all of the straps, but with enough of them ripped or merely weakened, she used her werewolf strength, and ripped the rest off of her.

Smiling, she sat up and looked over to Scott who was still struggling, not noticing that she was free.

She couldn't help but giggle in amusement. "Scott." She watched as his head snapped toward her and his eyes widened in surprise. "You're a werewolf, idiot. Use your strength."

It was almost as though that snapped him in immediate action. The auburn haired girl watches as his fists clenched at his sides, beginning to raise them up as he started to harness his strength; fighting against the leather to break free of their hold. He grunted as he began to strain himself, the veins on his arms and neck bulged out from beneath his skin – and just like that, the straps broke, finally releasing Scott from their grip.

His dark eyes widened, head snapping back toward Hope to see a knowing and proud look on her face. He shook off the ripped straps before leaning forward to unbuckle the ones wrapped around his ankles.

They both jumped up to their feet and looked around, realizing that this had to be Stiles' room in Eichen House.

"What now?" Scott pondered, frowning.

"I don't know," Hope admitted, her eyes locked on the door in front of her. "I've only been inside my own kind and my uncles. Although that was just kind of reruns of our past — this is different. It's live." She licked her lips. "We're basically going in blind."

Hope took a step forward, her mind racing with all of the possibilities of what could be lying behind the door, also knowing that she would not forgive herself if they were not able to find and save Stiles.

She grabbed the door handle and yanked it open, stepping out of the room but before she could turn to face Scott, the door flew shut – locking her and Scott away from each other. Her eyes widened, hand frantically grabbing the doorknob and twisting it, but opened to no avail.

"Scott!" Hope cried out, her voice laced with panic as it echoed around her.

When she received no response was when she realized that she was completely alone at this point — alone in Stiles' mind.

For all she knew, this could be a trick, a plan from the Nogitsune, trying to get her alone and break through the barriers in her mind in order to gain control of her.

Steeling herself, Hope began to turn around to survey the new area around her.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as a chill rand own her spine as she noticed she was no longer at Eichen House.

She was standing outside the Abattoir.

She took her lip in between her teeth nervously, taking one step forward, knowing that if she didn't take the steps now, that she never probably would.

As she took her first official step inside the Abattoir, the temperature seemed to plummet and the atmosphere seemed ominous, the surrounding area turning into a blue aura.

She could see herself in the reflection of a mirror that hung up on one of the walls. She was no longer seventeen year old Hope — no, she was back in her seven year old body.

But how?

She took one more step forward and suddenly, she was seeing herself being tempted by the blue glow of the Hollow. It beckoned to her, and she had no choose but to take more steps towards the ominous blur.

The blue blue seemed to snap out of existence and there stop another version of Hope.

An older Hope.

Maybe a nineteen year old version of her. With glowing golden eyes with black veins flowing from under her eyes, and blood dripping from her mouth that was slightly open to reveal fangs.

Seventeen year old Hope gasped and stumbled backwards as the full-activated tribrid Hope advanced towards her with a malicious intent.

"No, no, no. I never wanted this. I don't want this", Hope kept mumbling to herself as she continued to stumble back.

"This was always your endgame, Hope," a taunting voice that didn't sound like her came from the older version of her. "You can't escape destiny." A laugh emitted from the girl, echoing throughout the compound, surrounding the seventeen year old.

"No." Hope shook her head and turned to run, but ran straight into an out-of-place white door. Taking in a deep breath, she pushed it open.

The auburn haired girl was met with a stark white room.

"Hope!" Scott's voice cried out from behind her. She whirled around in the direction of his voice, seeing that Scott was rushing toward her; his hands reaching out to wrap around her forearms, his eyes wide and filled with worry. "Are you okay? You look spooked. What happened?"

She didn't answer him as her blue eyes landed on something in the distance.

Scott opened his mouth to say something but stopped when she pointed a finger to something off in the distance.

The Nemeton, well, what's left of it now, and atop of it sat Stiles and the Nogitsune battling one another with a Japanese board game called Go. It wasn't just a battle to win the game, though, it was battle for Stiles' mind and body.

Hope took a step forward, Scott following her action as the duo raced to save their friend.

As they walked, their pace steadily grew to a jog before quickly morphing into a full-on sprint.

In that moment, they didn't notice the illusion, but it soon dawned upon them – the more distance they covered, the further away the Nemeton got. Everything they had gone through had all been a trick. ​

Hope stopped suddenly, and Scott skidded to a stop and looked back at her with bewildered eyes. She took in a stuttering breath. "It's never ending. We won't reach him." She watched the scene happen in front of her before shouting, "Stiles!" Hoping it would gain his attention, but no matter how loud they were, he just couldn't seem to hear them. "Stiles, over here!" ​

Her shoulders sagged and she chewed on the inside of her cheek as she thought over every possible theory.

Then it clicked.

"He's part of our pack," she pointed out, straightening her shoulders.

Confused, Scott looked toward her. "What? What do you mean?"

"He's human," Hope insisted, "But he's still part of the pack, right? Just like Allison and Lydia."

"Yeah," Scott whispered, nodding. "Yeah, of course."

A slight smirked appeared on the witches lips as she continued, "So how do wolves signal their location to the rest of the pack?" ​

Scott turned his head, realization flooding into his body as he noticed the knowing look on Hope's face.

This was how they saved Stiles.

As they conversed, the mummified creature that called itself the Nogitsune glanced toward them – taking notice that the two supernatural creatures had made it passed the tests Stiles' mind put in front of them.

With one final look at one another, the transformed; Scott with fangs, claws, and glowing crimson eyes, while Hope had golden eyes and claws.

"They howl."

They both sucked in large amount of air before releasing it which results in floor rattling howls that mended together, making the whole white room visibly shake. It echoed loudly, flying directly in Stiles' direction.

The loudness of the howl had been just enough for it to reach the teenage boy, causing him to cast a glance in the direction of his two friends. When his eyes fell upon Hope, rage immediately bubbled in his blood as he prepared himself to make an extremely bold move. His hands reached out before swiping them across the board and shoving all of the black and white pieces to the hard bark beneath them.

Enraged, the Nogitsune retaliated with its own bellowing cry; and as it echoed around Hope and Scott, they were met with a sensation of the world caving in around them as they snapped out of Stiles' minds.

Hope's eyes snapped opened, eyes a bright golden hue. And at the exact same time, Scott and Stiles' eyes opened. The true Alpha tore his claws out of their necks as they all gasped for air.

Before she could think clearly, Hope was immediately crouching down in front of Stiles. "Did it work?"

"What happened?" Lydia breathed out, looming over Hope and Stiles. "Why didn't it work?"

Peter reached out to grab Lydia's bicep. "Because it's not science, Lydia – it's supernatural," he explained, a dark and serious look was on his face as he ushered the Banshee away from everyone else. "I did my part, now, give me the name."

"What name?" Scott questioned, leaving Hope's side as he became increasingly wary of what Peter was talking about. None of them trusted Peter, and for good reason as he watched him drag Lydia further away from them. "What are you talking about?"

"Lydia, a deal is a deal – even with me."

"Malia," she whispered into his ear.

Hope didn't hear any of that conversation happening, her whole attention was on Stiles. She slowly reached up and placed her hand on his face. "Stiles, please wake up."

And as soon as the sentence left Hope's lips, Stiles shot forward, muffled sounds coming from behind the duct tape as his arm began to flail about his sides, reaching up he ripped the black tape off of his lips before heaving over.

Scott was quick to grab Hope by her waist and pull her away from the scene as everyone watched.

They watched in horror as Stiles fell to the floor while pulling a long and thick strand of gauze out of his mouth – the exact same gauze that's wrapped around the Nogitsune's entire body. And within seconds, he was vomiting the cloth up, a hazy black mist exiting the boy along with it.

The gauze was piling up on the floor as Stiles continued to dry heave afterward as the people around him continued to watch in complete shock.

A mummified hand materialized out of the pile of swirling gauze – Stiles immediately shot back, pushing himself as far away from it as he could.

They all watched as a body began to pull itself out of the cloth pile – first its arm, its head came next – gaping in horror as they realized that the Nogitsune had become strong enough to create a body of its own, no longer needing a host to contain it.

Once it was completely materialized, its hand reached up to the gauze wrapped around its face, desperately trying to peel it off, but to no avail. It lunged toward the group, Scott and Peter shot forward to grab a hold of the creature before shoving it back onto the couch.

"Hold him!"

"I'm trying!" Scott hissed, finding difficultly in the task of holding the thrashing body on the couch.

The way that it was trying to uncover its face had caused something to snap in Hope. "Wait, wait, wait!" She cried out, pushing them out of her way as she grabbed the end of the gauze and began to unravel it – it revealing the familiar face of his friend.

It was Stiles. It was the real Stiles.

Their Stiles.

His big caramel eyes were wide and glassy with certain fear, completely discombobulated.

"Hope?" Stiles croaked out as his eyes landed on Hope's big and tearful blue ones.

Suddenly, Deaton's voice sounded from behind them: "Scott. Hope."​

Their heads whipped around, Hope's hand landing in Stiles' shoulder as she moves, and they instantly noticed that the only people left in his living room had been Melissa and Deaton.

All three of them were staring toward the back door that was now wide open.

Lydia and the Nogitsune were gone. Along with Peter.

"Where are they?" Scott asked, fear evident on his features as he bolted forward. "Where are they?!"

Hope jumped up to her feet, looking around with an erratic beating heart and wide eyes.

Scott went straight toward the door, his head whipping around in search of Lydia or any sign for the Nogitsune or Peter.

But it was too late.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

𝗍𝗁𝗋𝖾𝖾 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗅𝖾𝖿𝗍 !!! 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝖾𝗑𝖼𝗂𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝗎𝗒𝗌 ?? 𝗂 𝗁𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗍𝗅𝗒 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗂𝗍 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝗎𝗒𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗉𝗅𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖾𝖽. 𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌 𝗐𝗈𝗇𝗍 𝖻𝖾 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝖾𝖺𝗅𝖾𝖽 𝗎𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗅 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗍 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄. 𝖻𝗍𝗐 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖻𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝖾𝖾 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄𝗌 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗌 -- 𝗂𝗍 𝗀𝗈𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗌𝖾𝖺𝗌𝗈𝗇𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗐𝗈𝗅𝖿 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝖾𝗑𝗍𝗋𝖺 𝗌𝖼𝖾𝗇𝖾𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗂𝗇𝖺𝗅 𝗂𝖽𝖾𝖺𝗌 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗋𝖽 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝖺 𝗅𝗈𝗍 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖻𝖾 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝖾𝖺𝗅𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗆𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗁𝖺𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 -- 𝖾𝗂𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗂𝗇 𝖾𝗑𝖼𝗂𝗍𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍, 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝖼𝗄, 𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗂𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝗈𝗋 𝗌𝖺𝖽𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌