"I told you, I'm fine." Rachel snapped for the fifteenth time, glaring daggers at Isaac who'd asked a grand total of thirteen times. The other two had been Allison & her father, who Rachel had chosen to stay with whilst Scott & Stiles searched for Derek & Lydia was taken to a hospital downtown. Rachel was encouraged to go with her, but refused; no hospital could help her. If she wasn't healing from her own injuries, it was because Cora wasn't healing.

"You don't look fine." He repeated the answer he'd given each & every time she attempted to ensure him she was fine for the time being.

"Because I'm not, you idiot! I feel like my head could explode at any given moment & I think Lydia shattered one of my eardrums, but I can't afford to focus on either of those right now because my sister isn't healing. She's getting worse, I can feel it, and no one will answer my fucking phone calls."

"Why didn't you go with Scott & Stiles?"

"Scott & Stiles went to find Derek. Derek is not at the hospital with Cora." Rachel deadpanned, leaning against Argent's car as she began to feel dizzy once again. She had almost fallen a few minutes ago, and if it happened again she doubted anyone would let her go anywhere alone— which was exactly what she planned to do. "And before you ask, I didn't go with Lydia because they weren't taking her to Beacon Memorial, and according to the text I got while Lydia was being strangled, Cora is at Beacon Memorial. I need Argent to drive me there."

"Wait, why wouldn't they take her to Beacon Memorial?" Isaac questioned, taking a step closer to her as he noticed the way she seemed to struggle to stay upright. Rachel was in more pain than she was willing to admit, and it was really starting to show. "That's the closest."

"It's being evacuated because of the storm." Rachel told him, taking out her phone & pulling up the news report. "They're saying it's gonna get really bad."

"I overheard an EMT saying the backup generators might be too old to last if the power goes out." Allison chimed in as she overheard the last bit of their conversation. She had been over talking to her dad before, but as that concluded she'd opted to check in on Rachel.

"I'm taking the three of you home." Argent announced as he walked over, no longer conversing with the authorities regarding the pianist that'd been killed during the concert. Another sacrifice, another person they couldn't save— another failure.

Rachel shook her head. "I have to get to the hospital."

"We have to get to the hospital." Isaac corrected. "Cora's there with just Peter."

Argent hesitated for a moment, but as the school lights behind them flickered into darkness, he decided it was for the better. "I'll drive."

If Rachel weren't on the verge of dropping dead, she definitely would have been more wary of the former hunter's offer, but this time, she didn't think twice before getting into the car. Allison sat in the front with her father, whilst Isaac was in the back with Rachel— she wasn't all that pleased with the arrangement, being that she was certain he'd ask if she was okay at least five additional times on the drive, but she didn't bother arguing.

"Are you okay?" This time he asked it as he noticed it was a struggle for her to get the seat belt across her waist; the small bit of strength needed to pull it was a lot for her in her current state, but she managed.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Rachel asked him, changing the subject from her wellbeing to that of something Jennifer Blake had implanted in her mind— you'll figure it out once your friends stop lying to you. Which friends? Scott & Stiles? Isaac & Allison? Or all of them? Rachel hadn't been able to hear all that well, but she had been listening to the woman's heart when she spoke & it didn't skip, meaning she wasn't lying. She could have been exaggerating to some degree, but there was some truth behind what she said & it made Rachel question everything.

"No?"

"Nothing at all?"

"No." Isaac repeated, his heart rate remaining steady to verify his answer.

"Allison, what about you?" Rachel questioned, her attention now shifting to the girl in the front seat. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"No.." Allison trailed off, looking back at her with confusion. Argent looked over at his daughter, a mix of suspicion & concern as his gaze shifted to the mirror before Allison could notice. "What's wrong?"

Rachel had two options. She could lie, and tell Allison that nothing was wrong & she was just curious of what had gone on while she was in the room with Jennifer, but Isaac would know— she doubted he would call her out on it here, but he definitely would later. Or, she could tell the truth, and maybe the two would help her figure out which of her friends was the one withholding vital truths regarding her abilities. Rachel went with the latter.

"When I first came to, Jennifer was talking to me. None of it made much sense, but she told me it would eventually— once I found out what my friends were lying me about." The reflector explained, leaning against the window & watching the rain pour down over it.

"And you believed her?"

"I could hear her heart & it was steady."

"Still, that doesn't always mean people are being truthful." Argent cut in, looking at her in the rearview mirror. "I've met hunters who could lie undetectably. It was a part of their training to learn it."

"This is a druid we're talking about; a dark, demented one, but a druid all the same. She was once an advisor to a pack just like Deaton— if anyone would know about me, it would be a druid, right?" No one answered, because no one knew much about druids except for Argent, who only really knew that they aligned with werewolves & were extremely knowledgable on the supernatural. "I just can't stop thinking about it."

It was something to focus on besides the pain, she told herself— but Rachel knew it was more than that. Jennifer Blake had instilled doubt in her mind, doubt regarding her blind trust in her friends & family. She didn't question them on anything they did anymore, she just went with it & hoped for the best. She trusted Scott & Stiles, and Jennifer had managed to make her question it.

Druids were walking supernatural encyclopedias; if her mother had trusted Deaton's judgement & advise, Rachel couldn't help but take what Jennifer had said to heart. She could have lied, Argent wasn't wrong about that, but why would she? Why would she lie to Rachel when she could have just killed her? She didn't believe everything the woman had said, that was for sure, but the part about her friends potentially lying to her was something she couldn't get out of her head because it made sense.

For weeks she'd noticed the way her friends looked at her strangely. The way Stiles would stare at her when he thought she wasn't looking, it was as though she was a stranger to him. He acted differently around her, distant, like they were merely acquaintances rather than best friends. He didn't text her anywhere near as much as he used to, or even talk to her all that much; most of her conversations were with either Cora, Scott or Isaac.

There was also the way Lydia was acting a bit different around her— the strawberry blonde had barely talked to Rachel since returning from the Glen Capri, and she still had yet to tell her the full story of how she managed to find her. Whenever Rachel asked, Lydia would brush it off by saying Stiles had seen the door open & went to check, but she knew it was a lie.

Not to mention her family members, who where undoubtedly always lying to her in some way. Derek only told the truth when he had no other choices & Peter didn't know the meaning of the word honesty. Rachel would bet her entire forty-million dollars inheritance on Peter's lying; he was always hiding something from someone. Derek had been lying to her the entire time she was in London (technically he just wasn't telling her things, but she considered it lying). The more she thought about it, the more she came to realize it seemed everyone around her was lying about something.

"What exactly did she tell you?" Allison asked, curious of what the Darach had said to Rachel to leave such a lasting effect.

"She told me I'm a time bomb." Rachel recalled, choosing not to hide anything— she could lie to the people who were lying to her, but she was going to be honest with Allison since she didn't seem to be involved in whatever Lydia & Stiles were hiding. "She said she didn't need to kill me because I'd do it myself soon enough. Something about the way she said it, like it was funny to her, I don't think she meant I would do it knowingly."

"Was she talking about your abilities?" Isaac questioned, now more interested than before. He didn't believe the Darach had been telling the truth, but he also hadn't been there to see for himself. "About how the alphas wanted you?"

"I guess. She said Deucalion has no idea what he's in for." Rachel shrugged. "She said something about a guardian, I think that's why they wanted me— they thought that's what I was, but Jennifer said I'm not. According to her, I'm not anything.

"There was a page about guardians in the bestiary." Allison chimed in, remembering the creature from when she'd been searching for more on the Kanima. It was on one of the pages Lydia has translated for her, although the mythology was rather confusing & she skipped over most of it.

"There was?" Rachel sat up straighter as soon as the girl's words registered in her mind, her pain now becoming a secondary focus. "What did it say?"

"I don't really remember much, it was really confusing. I stopped reading when I realized it had nothing to do with the Kanima—"

"Guardians are companions to wolf packs; they're essentially a supernatural shield & wield power greater than any alpha you've ever met." Argent interrupted his daughter, reciting the information told to him by his father years ago. "They exist with one soul purpose, to protect their alpha with their life. There was a time when nearly every pack had a guardian, they've existed as long as werewolves, but never made themselves known unless their pack was threatened."

"You've seen them before?" Rachel asked him, intrigued. It didn't sound at all like her, but the drive to the hospital would be at least another five minutes & she was always eager to learn more about supernatural creatures she had yet to meet or read about.

"I watched my father kill one. What was left of one." Argent was quick to correct himself. "Guardians were good, in theory— but evolution corrupted them. They lost control of themselves. They became more vicious, more bloodthirsty, and instead of just killing those who threatened their pack, they began to kill everyone they could. They got stronger when they killed, and their desire for power soon became so insatiable that they turned on their own packs. Specifically, their alphas.

"Hearing of it, hunters shifted their focus from werewolves to guardians & killed every last one they could find, which, wasn't all that many, as the news had travelled faster among the supernatural & alphas had already killed their guardians. For us, our code was set aside & all guardians were killed, even innocent ones, out of fear they'd eventually become corrupt like the rest. They were hunted to extinction, and if any are still alive today, finding them would be next to impossible. The only way to identify them is by the way their eyes glow silver."

"So that explains why Deucalion thinks I am one." Rachel exhaled, not realizing she'd been holding her breath for the majority of the story. "Can guardians reflect like I do?"

"I don't know." Argent shook his head. He only knew what he learned from his father; he had only been fifteen when he witnessed Gerard killing the guardian. He'd never encountered one since. "I just know that if you were one, you would have tried to kill anyone or anything that threatened your pack, myself, Allison & the alphas included, if you were."

"That's.. nice to know." The brunette commented, taking a moment to think over everything she had just learned.

In her seventeen years she had definitely never met a guardian, or a pack with one, so she didn't doubt Argent was right about them being hunted to extinction. If Deucalion really did think she was one, that would mean she was something rare & valuable to him, hence why none of the alphas had done anything more than leave her with a few scratches. But.. if he found out she wasn't in fact the rare & all powerful supernatural creature he initially believed, what would happen then?

What would happen if he already knew?

Rachel had fought Kali. Deucalion had been there, watching the fight. Rachel didn't become a merciless killer & slaughter them all when her brother fell over the ledge with Ennis, she had simply watched, helplessly; unable to do anything more than run away a few moments later. If she were a guardian, she would have killed them all, according to Argent. She would have killed her own pack & had no control over it.

Deucalion did already know, he had to. There was no possible way he could not know by now, so why hadn't he made a move to use her to get Derek to join him? Sure, they said were giving him until the next full moon, but that didn't mean they actually meant it. They were a pack full of homicidal lunatics, no one took what they said honestly; everyone simply assumed they'd be back trying to kill them by the next day.

"Are we almost there?" Rachel suddenly asked, wondering if she should text Stiles or Scott to inform them of where she was going; not that they would answer her. Argent nodded at her in the mirror, prompting the brunette to take out her phone & type a message.

To: Batman
I've sent you like a thousand texts already, but this one's important. We're on our way to the hospital, I heard it's being evacuated & I don't want to leave Cora there alone with Peter. Please text me back when you see this, no one's answering me & I'm starting to think you're all dead.

She hit the send button & to her surprise, her phone beeped with a reply a few seconds later.

From: Batman
not dead, at the hospital, probably gonna be soon.

To: Batman
You're at the hospital that's being evacuated? Beacon Memorial?

From: Batman
YES!!! Now dont text me back unless u want the twins to kill me because my phones not on silent & i think whoevers outside heard it

"Is there any way you can drive a little faster?" Rachel asked, getting looks of concern from her two friends. "Stiles is apparently at the hospital & so are the alphas."

"What about Scott & Derek?" Isaac wondered aloud.

"I don't think Stiles would go to an evacuating hospital alone." Now not only was her sister in danger, but all of her friends were too. The alphas had gone back on their word of giving Derek until the full moon (or had they?) and Stiles was left hiding in a dark corner while his supernatural friends were who the hell knows where.

Before she could add on anymore, her phone chimed again.

From: Batman
Ok false alarm. We r at the hospital cuz Jennifer said shes the only one who can save Cora & my dad, shes here with us but the bitch wont tell us anything until we get her out alive & we cant leave without Cora. Scott, Cora, Peter & me are in an ambulance but the driver is dead & Dereks stuck in an elevator with Jennifer bc the alphas cut the power & voltron wolf is roaming around waiting to kill us & Scotts about to leave to go get Derek & Peter is useless & Cora was throwing up mistletoe but shes out cold now & this is very very bad!!! Pls hurry!!!!!!!!!!!!

"News update. They took Jennifer with them to the hospital & the alphas are trying to kill her, but we need her alive to save Cora & Stiles' dad. Stiles said Cora was throwing up mistletoe & now she's unconscious— I can't feel her pain as strong as before, meaning it's bad. Very bad. Derek's trapped in an elevator with Jennifer; Stiles, Cora & Peter are in an ambulance with a dead driver & Scott's wandering the halls Ethan & Aiden are patrolling." Rachel recited Stiles' message with significantly less and's. "In other words, we're screwed."

To: Batman
Stay there & turn your fucking phone on silent.

—

"They got everyone evacuated." Rachel commented as they entered the emergency room, the area void of any life. The doors were open & the floor was littered with leaves & debris from the storm; wind whistled past her as she stood just beyond the doorway, looking around the room. She could hear & smell decently enough to know there was no one lurking in the shadows on this particular floor, but she still looked out of instinct.

Isaac, Allison & her father had already gone father into the building, standing near the back of the emergency room in silence. Rachel couldn't see them all that well from where she was standing in the dim lighting, but she heard Argent chamber a round into the pistol he brought & immediately knew something wasn't right. She hated the sound of guns, especially the sound of them being loaded as it was almost always followed by the immense pain of being shot, but chose not to comment on it in this particular situation & instead moved farther into the room, closer to where the Argents were. Rachel still didn't fully trust either of them, but she trusted them enough for the time being.

"Stay close to me." Argent instructed them, cautiously advancing forward towards where he'd apparently heard the noise that prompted him to load his gun.

Rachel stayed still despite being told otherwise & listened closely for the sound. At first she heard nothing, but after a moment she picked up on it— footsteps, coming towards them. She could faintly hear a few on the floor below them, but what was most alarming were the ones sounding as though they were coming down the hall leading straight into the emergency room.

Argent raised his gun, prepared to shoot at whomever was coming around the corner. Rachel stayed quiet, holding her breath in anticipation until a familiar scent caught her attention. "Don't shoot."

She ran over, pushing past Argent & skidding to a stop at the corner, where she caught sight of Scott & his mother. She looked behind them, hoping to find Stiles & her sister, but her heart dropped as soon realized no one else was with them. "Where are Stiles & Cora?"

"I left them in the ambulance with Peter, Derek's still stuck in the elevator with Jennifer. We have to get them out." Scott answered her. She wanted to snap at him for prioritizing Derek & Jennifer over her dying sister, but opted not to as she remembered Stiles mentioning Jennifer was the only way to save her sister. And his father.

"Guess it's a good thing I didn't come alone after all."

—

"So then, they're essentially trapped?" Argent questioned after Scott had explained the situation to him in a more detailed manner, explaining how the elevator had stopped between floors leaving them with no means of escape.

"Right." Scott nodded. "There's no way of getting them out without turning the power back on."

"But wait, wait, wait," Rachel interrupted before they could start on a plan of how to turn the power back on. "We have to be smart about this. If the power's back on, they're gonna hear the elevator moving, and they'll be on Jennifer & Derek as soon as it stops."

"We can't get in a fight with them." Scott added, agreeing with her. They'd done that once before, the alphas were too strong to fight— especially in a closed space like the hospital. The alphas may be outnumbered, but one of them could easily take three betas.

"You've got us now." Argent announced as if it were supposed to be reassuring, nodding at Allison. Rachel didn't want to offend him, but he wasn't an army— he was one hunter with a gun. One hunter who was extremely good with a gun, and Allison was a champion archer, but still. Fighting the alphas wasn't an option.

"It's too much risk." Scott argued, shaking his head. Rachel was thankful he was on her side for once, the side hoping to minimize the violence; one of which she didn't often choose. "They want her dead, and if she dies, there's nothing we can do for Stiles' dad or Cora."

Argent sighed. "I don't even think I know which teacher this is."

"She's.. she's the one with the brown hair. She's kinda hot." Isaac shrugged, everyone immediately turning to look at him like he was insane aside from Rachel, who simply rolled her eyes. She couldn't say she wasn't expecting him to say something along the lines of that— Isaac had a habit of saying what was on his mind without much of a filter. "No, it's jus— just an observation."

Before Rachel could think of a sarcastic response, Allison spoke up. "I have an idea."

Ten minutes later found Rachel & Isaac in Argent's car, waiting for a phone call from Allison to confirm that things were going just as she'd hoped. The huntress hadn't really told either of them all that much about what she planned on doing, but Rachel had understood it involved Allison being a distraction. They were going to fake an escape, making it seen as though Jennifer Blake were fleeing— but in reality, it would be Allison.

The girl had caught sight of her reflection in the hospital window & somehow come to the conclusion she looked like the english teacher & would be able to pass as her in order to trick the alphas. Rachel didn't see the resemblance, but it was the best plan they were going to get & a last resort, so she didn't argue. In fact, she almost volunteered herself in place of Allison— her hair was longer, since Allison had gotten hers cut over the summer & Rachel had not, and she was far faster in case it went wrong, but she was noticeably shorter, even in heels.

That unfortunate factor had landed Rachel in the front seat of Argent's Toyota RAV4 with Isaac. She wasn't unhappy with her role; being a getaway driver was something she'd become quite good at. She was mildly annoyed that Isaac wouldn't let her drive because she still technically didn't have a license, but otherwise she was content. Isaac's phone soon began to vibrate, the call being answered by Rachel— she set it up on the dash whilst it loaded, the video lagging slightly from the storm.

"You ready?" Allison asked, her face appearing on the screen after a few seconds.

"Yeah." They both responded.

"You're not nervous, are you?" She asked them suspiciously, the question more so directed at Isaac. Getaway driving was a day off for Rachel— usually she was thrown right into the eye of the hurricane & left to find a way out while dodging arrows & bullets.

"Do I look nervous?" He shot back.

"No, not at all." Allison answered, shaking her head. Her lie was extremely obvious, but she went with it, setting her phone down on the floor so they had a clear view of the lower half of the hallway.

"Did he look nervous?" They could hear Chris Argent ask from off-screen.

"Terrified."

Rachel bit her lip to keep from laughing. Isaac wasn't amused. "I can still hear you. Very, very clearly."

Allison knelt down, coming back into the camera's frame. "Just go as soon as you see them, okay?"

"Yeah." Isaac nodded. "Yeah, I got it."

"I said I could drive if you're nervous." Rachel offered once more, knowing he would decline. She really didn't want to drive— she wanted to be able to keep checking her phone for any new messages from Scott, Stiles or Derek. Or Peter. This was probably the only time she would never be happy to receive a message from him.

"I think that would only make me more nervous."

The reflector shrugged. "Your loss. I'm a great getaway driver. Stiles has only gotten whiplash twice."

Isaac was going to say something along the lines of twice being far too many times, but stopped as the twins came into view his phone— Allison had told them the window of opportunity would be small, so they had to be fast about it. Rachel had seen them too, the girl's heart now beating just a little bit faster as she realized things had officially begun. She took the phone off the dash & ended the call, setting it in one of the empty drink holders.

Isaac floored the gas pedal, speeding off from where they were parked over to the entrance of the underground garage where the ambulances were kept. The car screeched to a halt directly in front of it, Rachel getting slammed back against her seat from the sudden force. She swore she heard Isaac mutter "karma" but didn't comment on it as they moved back into the spot where one of the two ambulances had left from.

Rachel practically fell out of the SUV as soon as she saw her sister, Stiles & Peter, the former alpha having to carry Cora. She was sickly pale & out cold, looking dangerously close to death. Rachel helped Peter get her into the back seat, the oldest surviving Hale climbing in with her whilst Rachel got back into the passenger seat. She looked back in the rearview mirror out of instinct, her heart practically freezing in her chest when she noticed Stiles hadn't gotten in.

Her head snapped to the side, her eyes finding him still standing in the back of the ambulance examining a clipboard. "Stiles, come on, we have to go!"

It was like he didn't even hear her. Stiles dropped the clipboard, the item falling to the floor of the ambulance in the blink of an eye, just as he turned & bolted for the door as if his life depended on it. Rachel didn't even think before reaching for the door handle, ready to chase after him until a voice caught her attention.

"Rachel, don't. You're still hurt." Isaac warned her, referring to the wound on her head inflicted by Jennifer. It had healed considerably, but he still noticed the way Rachel would occasionally have to reach for a wall or chair to steady herself & avoid falling.

Rachel shook her head. "Something's wrong, I have to go after him. The alphas are still here & it's not safe."

"It's not safe for you either." Isaac argued. "Please."

"I'll come back. I promise." She assured him, nodding. She didn't completely believe it, especially whereas she planned to sprint as fast as she possibly could to find Stiles & it would likely result in her passing out, but she was going to say it. Before leaving, Rachel leaned over & kissed him— she may not have believed what she said, but she meant it. She was going to come back this time. "I'll come back."

She slipped out of the car before he could protest again & ran for the door. Rachel was able to run faster than she initially expected, her injuries suppressed by the rush of adrenaline she got from fear. Fear that Stiles would end up running into one of the alphas & get himself killed. She found the stairwell in record time, following Stiles' scent to track which way he'd gone.

It led her up to the roof, presumably where the control panel & power switches were— where Scott's mom was supposed to be. But when Rachel arrived up on the roof, gasping for air from running countless flights of stairs, she didn't see Scott's mom. Or Scott. The only person standing on the roof was Stiles, his eyes welled with tears.

"They're gone." He muttered as she walked over to him. "She took her."

It took her a minute to realize just what he meant, but when she did, the ache in her heart doubled. The guardians Jennifer had been collecting weren't law enforcement, but parents— he had realized that when staring at the clipboard, because forms classified parents & guardians as essentially the same thing. It wasn't another police officer Jennifer had been after all along, but instead none other than Melissa McCall.

"What about Scott?" Rachel asked, her voice quiet in comparison to the loud winds blowing past them. "Where is he?"

"He's with Deucalion now."

—

UNEDITED

today on how to cram an entire episode into one chapter & skip all the action scenes: this cringe-filled chapter! this was probably literal shit & tbh i kinda want to rewrite it but i'm also lowkey happy with the way it turned out. just to clarify, rachel is not a guardian. a guardian is just a supernatural creature i made up that i was going to use in a different fanfiction but decided against it when i realized it fit in here. i like making my own mythology. i opted to have argent tell the story rather than deaton (at a later time) because i felt like it was more of a hunter thing. it's not as detailed as i wanted it to be, but overall i'm okay with it.

& lol can we talk about how peter now knows about risaac (tbh he suspected it for awhile now tho, idk if i hinted at that) cue him constantly teasing her & being an annoying pain in the ass uncle