𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄
i just wanted to be something good and now i've got a god complex. because i need to help the world and everyone in it, to be worth anything, and to satisfy that nagging burning aching guilt

HOPE STOOD BESIDE the bed that Stiles was laying on while Melissa checked to see if he was the real Stiles or not.

Somehow, she doesn't know how, Hope knows this is the real Stiles, her Stiles.

She silently watched as Melissa ran a light over Stiles' eyes, checking to see if they dilate correctly. She then went to check his pulse, but hesitated, scared to touch him so Stiles let out a small sigh and offered his arm to her.

"Well..." Melissa began after taking his pulse. "Medically, you seem okay. You're definitely a real person."

"Okay, so I'm real, but am I really me?" Stiles lightly asked, his caramel colored eyes sliding over to where Hope stood, sucking in a breath. He remembers everything he had said and done to the girl, and he was so terrified that she will hate him for all the pain has caused.

No one was able to answer his questions as Scott walked into the room, standing beside Hope.

Stiles swallowed thickly as his eyes left Hope, and turned his attention on his best friend. "Is she here?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah."

He sighed. "All right lets do this."

Hope walked over to him and grabbed his arm in support, offering him a small smile when he stared at her in surprise. "Come on," she murmured and ushered him out of the room. Although her heart was pounding harshly against her chest in anxiety. What if this went all wrong? 

They made their way downstairs to stand directly in front of Noshiko Yukimura.

"Do you recognize me?" The older woman asked as she stared Stiles directly in the eyes.

Before he could speak, Kira ran into the house, exclaiming, "Stop!" She jumped in front of her mother to stand in front of Stiles.

Stiles gave the girl a small smile to assure her he was alright. "It's okay. I'm the one who asked her to come."

Kira looked back at him. "You're the one who's going to get stabbed with swords." She then turned her attention back to her mother. "Mom, don't do this to him."

"Don't worry, Kira. I won't let anyone hurt Stiles," Hope spoke up confidently. She now knows she can destroy Oni's, granted that it takes lots of focus and energy, she knows she can take them if necessary. And it will he necessary if they try to lay a hand on Stiles.

Noshiko gave her daughter a frown. "It's already done."

The group of teenagers spun around when they felt a presence behind them; one of the Oni's. Another appeared right in front of Stiles, making Hope tense up at the act. It grabbed ahold of his head, it's eyes began turning glow as Stiles felt a burning sensation behind his ear. He almost fell to the floor if it wasn't for Hope holding his steady by his arm.

Lowering him slowly to the ground to lean on his knees, Hope gently grabbed his head and tilted it to the side so she could get a good look at the back of his ear. She grinned and looked up at everyone else. "He's safe. It's him. It's Stiles." Tears gathered in her eyes as Stiles slowly looked up at her. "You're here." She couldn't help herself as she launched into his arms, nuzzling her nose into the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent.

"It worked," Scott sighed out, smiling down at Hope and Stiles.

Stiles wrapped his arms around Hope, breathing in deeply as he looked up at Noshiko over Hope's shoulder. "So, I'm actually me?"

"More you than the Nogitsune." She nodded.

Hope sniffed as she turned in Stiles' arms to stare up at the older woman. "Can the Oni find him?"

"Tomorrow night. It's too close to dawn now," Mrs. Yukimura declared.

"Can they kill him?" Scott asked as he glanced down at Hope who was helping Stiles stand up now. He knew her plan was to try and kill not only the Nogitsune, but also the Oni's which would lead to her death. He didn't want that to happen. She was his pack... his family, he wasn't going to let her get hurt.

"It depends on how strong he is."

Hope frowned. "What about Lydia?" She asked, her grip on Stiles' arm tightening. "Why did he take her?" She tilted her head as Noshiko turned her wise eyes on her. "An advantage. He lost the one he had with Stiles, the one he had before we found out and changed the game plan. He wants her power. The power of a Banshee."

Noshiko offered the girl a small smile as a proud look took over her features. "They were right when they said that you're just as smart as you are powerful."

Stiles, Scott, Kira, and Melissa all smiled as they looked over at the tribrid.

AFTER PARRISH LEFT Noah in his often and walked away, the trio that consisted of Stiles, Scott, and Hope walked toward the open doorway.

"Ah, If I could just find my keys," Noah spoke to himself as he searched his jacket for said keys.

"In your coffee cup. You always drop them in your empty cup," Stiles spoke up and Noah paused before slowly turning to face them, his brows raising up his forehead at the sight of his son.

The older Stilinski turned his attention to Hope and Scott, asking for confirmation. Once they nodded, he let out a sigh of relief and ran toward his son, pulling him into a tight hug.

Stiles smiled into his fathers shoulder. "Hey, dad."

Noah smiled and then turned to Scott who walked over to the mug and pulled out the set of keys that was hidden in them. "Is it over?"

Hope sighed, rubbing her hands together. "Not yet."

They then went into great detail about what had happened just so Noah understood how dire the situation was.

A few minutes later, the Sheriff was entering the office again, speaking, "Okay, we got an APB out on Lydia's car. Every unit on the road is looking for her."

Scott stepped forward. "Is there anything else we could do?"

"At this hour? No, not really." Noah shook his head.

Stiles pushed himself away from the desk he was leaning on. "He took her for a reason, Dad." He sighed. "Look, If we can figure out the why, then we'll figure out the where.

"Okay." Noah sighed. "What would a Nogitsune need with a Banshee?"

Hope shrugged. "Lydia's pretty good at finding dead bodies." Although she has done her research on Banshee's, all the lores were different from the other, so she didn't know which one applies to Lydia. So, anything was possible.

"Scott, you know more about this than all of us," Hope said, turning to Scott.

"Me?" Scott questioned, pointing to himself with a small frown on his puppy face.

"You said you got the whole story from Noshiko?" Stilinski confirmed.

"Yeah, but that happened during World War II. Like seventy years ago," Scott told them, still looking confused.

"Wait." Stiles looked up at them with wide eyes, brows furrowed in thought. "What did you say?"

"Noshiko told me about the internment camp—" Scott began but Stiles cut him off.

"No, before that." He shook his head. "You said; the whole story."

"Yeah," Scott mumbling, turning to Hope who shrugged, also not understanding what Stiles was getting at. "What is it?"

"There's a girl at Eichen House. Her name is Meredith. I think she might be able to help," Stiles explained as he thought about the girl who was whispering things into the phone that hadn't been working at the time.

A few minutes later after the Sheriff asked Parrish to call Eichen House to see who Meredith was, said Deputy came to the door, saying, "Sheriff, Her name is Meredith Walker."

"She's still there?" Noah asked as the three teenagers quickly turned to him.

"Yeah, but they moved her to the Closed Unit."

Hope frowned. "Why?"

"They said behavioral issues," Parrish remarked.

"What issues?" Stiles asked, already having a hint.

"She wouldn't stop screaming."

Scott, Hope, and Stiles shared a look.

A FEW HOURS later found Hope sitting on the couch, running her hand through Stiles' hair who had his head laying in her lap, fast asleep. She was humming a song her mom would sing to her when she was younger before going to bed.

The atmosphere quickly went from calm to frantic once Stiles gasped awake and stood up quickly, stumbling on the spot.

Hope quickly launched forward and grabbed him by his shoulders, steadying him, making him look her in the eyes as Scott ran into the room with wide concerned eyes. "Hey, hey, it's okay, Stiles," she spoke calmly as his breathing and frantic movements slowed down.

"What happened? How long was I out?" Stiles breathed out quickly, looking around the room with wide eyes, fumbling with his hands.

"Just a couple of hours," Scott informed him, frowning.

"You should sit down," Hope continued to speak to him softly, trying to guide him to the couch, but he shook his head.

"Where's my dad?" He asked as he pulled away from Hope to pull down his long sleeves.

"He's at Eichen House, questioning everyone." Scott looked to Hope who's full attention was on Stiles. "Looking for Meredith."

Stiles took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Okay, what about the others?"

"Allison, Isaac, the twins, they're all looking for Lydia," Scott explained, staring at his best friend with worried brown eyes.

"It's starting to feel like we're waiting for a ransom call." Stiles sighed.

"We will find her, Stiles," Hope tried to comfort him as he he reached for his jacket, sliding it in. "Are you okay?" She took a small step towards him, concern washing over her. Something was right.

Stiles adjusted his jacket, shaking his head. "Yeah. I don't know why, I just can't seem to get warm." He looked to be shivering now.

"Maybe you should sit down. Take it easy," Scott stepped forward to lightly push her onto the couch, but stopped when his senses was suddenly filled with pain as black veins shot up his hands. "You're in pain." He stared up at his best friend with wide eyes.

"It's not that bad," Stiles mumbled, ignoring Scott and Hope's look of concern. "Just more like a dull ache.

"Where?" Hope asked, reaching out to place her hand on his shoulder.

"Sorts everywhere."

"Stiles..." the witch trailed off. "You're freezing," she stated once she lifted the other hand to touch his face. She looked him in the eyes, "tell us the truth. How much does it really hurt?"

All Stiles had to do was sit down and stare up at them, not saying a word for them to get the hint — it hurt a lot.

Just then, Scott's phone ring. "It's Kira," he whispered before Stiles nodded at him to answer it. "Hey, what's up?"

Hope sat down beside Stiles, reaching over to hold his hand. He looked startled at the touch, turning his head to stare at her. But, she wasn't focusing on him. She had her eyes closed, her lips moving as she mumbled a spell. A warming spell and a calming spell.

"Meredith is at the school!" Scott exclaimed to them as he hung up the phone. He turned to them just as Hope's eyes snapped open and Stiles let out a small sigh of relief.

The relief wouldn't last long, though.

AS THE TRIO ran into the school, they saw Kira and Coach standing outside the choir classroom. And as the Coach ran inside, they quickly followed too, and was amazed at the scene before them.

"This school has a very strict no bullying policy!" Finstock exclaimed as he tased Brunski who was tasked at bringing Meredith back to Eichen House.

The group quickly ran forward and stood in front of Meredith who stared at them with wide eyes.

Coach turned to the group of kids, glancing between them and Meredith. "Get her out of here!"

They didn't need to be told twice as they grabbed ahold of Meredith, and ran through the school until they reached Roscoe aka Stiles' jeep.

"I'll call you!" Kira told Scott before running back into the school.

As they all got situated in the jeep; Stiles driving, Scott in the passenger seat, and Hope and Meredith in the back, did they all turn to Meredith for answers.

"Where's Lydia?" Hope asked, not waiting for pleasantries.

Meredith looked at the trio with a confused expression. "Who's Lydia?"

AS THEY ALL stumbled into the McCall residence, they all froze upon seeing Rafael McCall standing over Isaac.

"What are you doing here?" Scott blurted out, staring at his father wide, confused brown eyes that were similar to the older man in front of him.

"I could ask you the same thing," Agent Douche stated, looking them all over.

"Free period. We're doing group study," Stiles supplied,

"Who's she?" Rafael asked, pointing to Meredith.

The group is silent for a moment as they glanced between one another, not knowing what to say.

"She's my girlfriend!" Stiles blurted out, awkwardly placing his arm around Meredith.

Rafael rose a brow, glancing to Hope who snorted but quickly covered it by clearing her throat.

"You're not my type." Meredith shook her head which only made Hope shut her mouth tightly to not let a chuckle pass her lips.

Stiles sighed. looking towards McCall. "Well, obviously we have a lot to talk about. We should maybe take this upstairs.

"He's my type," Meredith stated, looking towards Isaac.

Hope couldn't help herself as she busted out laughing. Stiles glared over at her, but quickly softened at her carefree attitude at the moment.

"Okay. Isaac, you can come too," Stiles mumbled as he removed his arm from Meredith, running a hand down the side of his face.

They — excluding Scott who stayed behind to speak to his father — made their way up to Scott's room.

"So, you don't know who Lydia is?" Hope asked as Meredith sat down on Scott's bed.

"Lydia?" Meredith tried to think. "You mean the red-haired girl?"

"Yes! Yes!" Stiles exclaimed, a smile making it's way onto his face. "Good. That's progress. Now, all you got to do is tell us where she is."

"I bet you want him to say 'yes, yes' in a different situation, huh?" Isaac leaned down to whisper into Hope's ear, making her eyes widen in surprise, and for her face to turn a bright red.

"Isaac, this is not the time," she hissed at him, clearing her throat and turning to Meredith, missing the small smirk on Isaac's lips.

Meredith slowly nodded. "If she tells me."

"If she tells you?" Isaac repeated with furrowed brows. "Can you ask her?"

"I already did." Meredith smiled, looking proud of herself.

"Perfect. Perfect. What did she say?" Stiles questioned, both of his hands shaped into fists, tapping them on one another like one does when playing 'rock, paper, shoot'.

"She said she doesn't want to be found," she informed them, looking between the trio.

"That's good too." Stiles nodded slowly, irritated with the lack of information they are receiving.

The trio them made their way into Scott's bathroom to discuss their next course of action.

"Isaac..." Hope trialed off after hearing his suggestion. "We are not going to torture her."

"I meant scare her," he whispered, defending himself.

"We're not going to psychologically torture her either," Stiles chimes in.

"Fine." Isaac sighed and turned his head to stare at Meredith who was still sitting on Scott's bed, staring at the floor. "How about this? You said she hears things, right? Doesn't that mean she's like Lydia? A Banshee?" He questioned, licking his lips.

"That could work," Stiles mumbled as they walked back over to Meredith. He crouched down in front of her. "Okay, just try to focus on the sounds around you."

"On what you're hearing," Isaac added.

"Just focus on the silence," Stiles told her.

"Listen to the silence," Isaac repeated Stiles, defeating the whole silence thing.

Hope had one arm crossed across her stomach, her free hand over her mouth as she watched the interact.

"Okay, will you just let me handle this, Isaac. Please?!" Stiles snapped slightly at the blonde, his eye twitching. "I just... I have more experience with Banshees."

Isaac rolled his eyes. "Yeah. And mental patients."

That was the last straw for Hope and she giggled into her hand. Although this was a stressful situation, Isaac and Stiles in a room together always made things slightly less suffocating.

"Isn't anyone going to get that?" Meredith interrupted them

Hope stopped laughing and softly asked, "Get what?"

"The phone."

"What phone?" Stiles questioned.

"The phone," Isaac whispered, realizing that this must be a banshee thing, pointing at Stiles pocket that held his phone.

"Oh, the phone!" Stiles played along, grabbing his phone out of his pocket. "My phone? Yes." He placed his phone to his ear, keeping the charade going. "Hello. Yes, she's actually sitting right here. It's for you."

Meredith took the phone from Stiles, a thoughtful look taking over her features.

They expected her to say something or have a conversation with someone, or herself but after a minute of silence she just handed the phone back to Stiles. "They say Coup de foudre."

"Coup de what? What is that Spanish?" Stiles asked which made Hope snort.

"French," she stated, giving him a look. "It's French." She looked at the three of them with wide eyes. "I know where Lydia is."

They all jumped into action at those words.

THE FOUR OF them were now in Stiles' jeep, on the way to where Lydia is. Hope sat in the back with Isaac as Stiles and Scott sat up front.

"Are you okay?" Stiles questioned, glancing over at Scott from the drivers seat.

"Yeah. Yeah. You don't have to worry about me," Scott said, glancing over at Stiles who was frowning.

"All right, I'll say it," Isaac spoke up, looking at Stiles. "You look like you're dying. You're pale, thin and you look like you're getting worse. And we're all sitting here thinking it. When we find the other you, is he gonna look like their getting better?"

Hope frowned, looking down as she fiddled with her long sleeve shirt. "What happens if he gets hurt?"

"You mean if The Nogitsune dies, do I die?" Stiles questioned, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't care. Just so long as no else dies because of me. I remember everything I did, guys. I remember pushing that sword into you, Scott. I remember twisting it. I remember taunting Hope, trying to suck the life from her, and then bashing her head in the wall."

"It wasn't you," Hope quickly spoke up, but knowing that was exactly what people told her — still tell her to this day, but she doesn't believe them. Sure, it was the Hollow's doing, but it was by her hands.

Stiles frowned. "Yeah, but I remember it. You guys gotta promise me. You can't let anyone else get hurt because of me."

"I can't promise that," Hope whispered to herself, jumping when Isaac reached over to grip her hand on his. She looked up into his blue eyes as he offered her a small comforting smile.

It wasn't much longer until they reached Oak Creek, all of them jumping out of Stiles' jeep to meet the rest of them.

"We've done this before, guys. A couple of weeks ago we were standing around just like this and we saved Malia, remember?" Scott began his prep talk. "That was a total stranger. This is Lydia."

"I'm here to save my best friend and Stiles," Hope spoke up. And yes, while that may be her top priority at the moment, she also wasn't going to forget to protect the others.

"I'm here to save my best friend, too," Allison said, offering Hope a small smile.

"I came to save mine," Scott stated, staring straight at Stiles.

Isaac shrugged. "I just didn't feel like doing any homework."

Hope fondly rolled her eyes and pushed him slightly. "You're so annoying."

"But you love me," he said with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes again. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Lahey." She then took in a deep breath as they all straightened their postures.

And then they all walked through the gates.

As they turned the corner, they ran into Noshiko. "Kira, turn around and go home. Take your friends with you."

Hope turned her head and signaled Scott and Stiles to find Lydia with a nod of her head as she stayed behind with Kira, Allison, and Isaac to fight against the Oni's if necessary.

"I can't. When I looked at the game I realized who I was actually playing. You." Kira stepped forward with a hardened look.

Allison raised her brow and knocked back an arrow. "Call them off."

Noshiko barley glanced at her. "You think you could take him alive? You think you can save him?"

"What if we can?" Hope challenged, raising one brow in question.

"I tried something like that seventy years ago. Your friend is gone," Noshiko told them, sounding confident.

But, Hope knows that there is always a loophole.

"Are you sure? Or if Stiles doesn't have to die." Kira  continued to take challenging step towards her mother. "Maybe Rhys didn't have to die either?"

The Oni's behind Noshiko got in a defensive stance with their swords. "I see I'm no longer the Fox now, Kira. You are. But the Nogitsune is still my demon to bury." The Oni's then disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

"Mom?" Kira questioned when her mother suddenly gasped, unfolding her hand to see a firefly flickering before disappearing in a puff of black smoke just like the Oni.

"What is it?" Isaac mumbled, "what does that mean?"

"It means." They all turned around to see Void Stiles standing there, smirking, the Oni's behind him. "There's been a change in ownership. Now they belong to me."

The Oni's then launched themselves at the group.

Kira blocked their hits with her sword as Hope ducked, swiped her leg out, tried to trip one, but it just went right through. She jumped back up and channeled both of her magic cores as she made two electric balls in her hands that were crackling with blue energy. She flung both electric balls at the Oni at the same time she shouted, "Concussa!" Which sent a shock wave to said Oni at the same time the electric balls did.

The Oni froze and seemed to be shocked severely, blue crackles of magic shifting throughout the shadow creature before it blew up in a black cloud.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Isaac exclaimed as he saw his best friend blow up the Oni.

Hope smirked proud of herself and that one moment of hesitation left her open for an Oni to jump at her. The sword sliced through her stomach and she let out a startled scream before she quickly ignored her pain, and started fighting.

She had to dodge a few hits from the Oni before she could get the upper hand and form a ball of energy in her hand, and shoving it into the Oni's stomach. It paused its actions and looked down into Hope's eyes who was suddenly smirking. She jumped back just in time for the Oni to explode in a puff of black smoke.

Hope turned her head just in time to see an arrow swerve past her and towards an Oni, the shadowy figure bursted into a grey cloud. She smirked and turned to Allison with a proud look in her eyes before she was suddenly ambushed by two Oni's.

"Can you guys give it a break already!" She exclaimed with an eye roll. "We all know I will win." Deep down, she could feel her energy depleting. She didn't know how much longer she could last.

She jumped backwards, doing a back flip, picking up a broken rode off of the ground, twirling it in her hand. She flicked her hair behind her ear and jumped into a fight with the two Oni's.

She was distracted in the fight with the Oni's, not noticing the moment Allison got stabbed. Not until Lydia's banshee scream could be heard echoing Allison's name.

Hope stopped mid fight and looked toward where she last saw Allison, and everything began to go in slow motion as she saw an Oni pull it's sword from her. The brunette staggered for a second, blood seeping from her mouth before she fell backwards to the ground.

And then another scream was heard.

It took Hope a second to realize the scream was coming from her. Every emotion she was feeling at the moment overwhelmed her; grief, pain, anger, guilt, it all bubbled up under the surface.

And as she screamed, Allison's body was wrapped around by blue magic, so bright that everyone had to close their eyes.

Once the light slowly faded and everyone could open their eyes once again, all the Oni's were gone.

And so was Allison's body.

All that was left behind was her bow and arrow, and some blood spots in the ground where she had fallen.