𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒚-𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 | 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽𝔂'𝓼 𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻

𝘐 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬

"YOU WANNA HANDCUFF ME?"

"If my son is still here..." There's footsteps again. "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."

Charlotte looks to the group beside her, all four of them intensely listening to Noah try to convince his son to turn himself in. She doesn't need to listen further before she lowers her voice to a whisper that only Derek is able to hear. "That's not Stiles."

The werewolf's eyes widen at her accusation. "Are you sure?" he questions, just as quiet.

She nods. "I know my best friend and that's not him."

Just as Allison and Chris catch on to their quiet conversation, they hear the devastated Noah Stilinski repeat her assumption. "You're not my son."

"Okay, go team! Go, go, go!" Charlotte hisses, vigorously motioning to the door.

They enter just in time to see the nogitsune break apart the handcuffs locking his wrists together, but it's as if he's pulling cotton candy apart, not metal. Charlotte almost double takes in shock seeing Stiles in front of her, however, everything about him screams evil. It's the first time she's been in front of the fox knowing that it's really him. Walking down the stairs, she tries to keep as calm a façade as she can in a moment like this. She watches him laugh silently at the new company like he's enjoying them being here.

Allison raises the taser in her hand and aims it towards the possessed teenager. But as soon as she pulls the trigger, Stiles grabs onto the charges as if he's completely unaffected by the electricity now coursing through his body. He forcefully pulls the weapon out of Allison's grip and the taser clatters to the ground.

Derek growls and lunges forward only for his arm to be twisted behind his back, his head slammed against a table, then being thrown into a wall. As Charlotte realises that no taser, let alone a werewolf, is going to affect the dark kitsune, she stands frozen, unsure of what to do. They didn't plan this far. In fact, no one thought that they would even come face to face with the nogitsune at all. They had been too hopeful that they would face Stiles.

But when the familiar sound of a gun being cocked rings through her ears, Charlotte's blood runs ice cold. Allison quickly moves to stand beside her girlfriend and the two share a look filled with terror as they watch Chris Argent aim his firearm at their best friend's head. Stiles turns around to face the barrel and tilts his head to the side ever so slightly.

"Argent, listen to me," Noah begins fearfully, his hand held up in front of the hunter. "Don't do this."

Chris's eyes remained locked on the boy as he replies, "Why not? I've done it before. Werewolves, berserkers... I can easily add a nogitsune to the list."

This revelation causes the Sheriff to whip out his own gun to point at the man. "You're not gonna shoot my son," he says lowly.

Allison's eyes widen in alarm and she moves forward until Charlotte grabs onto her hand, holding her back. "You said it yourself, Sheriff," Chris replies. "That's not your son."

"Put it down," Noah demands. But when Chris doesn't move a muscle, his voice hardens. "Put it down."

Stiles' eyes flick over to his father. "Dad, he's gonna shoot me," he says fearfully. "He's gonna kill me, Dad."

His voice makes Charlotte look over to him and her eyebrows furrow as she studies his body language. The tears watering in his eyes causes her heart to crack, but she reminds herself that this is the nogitsune. It's the nogitsune. His whole goal, his only goal, is to manipulate them. "Don't listen to him," she calls out, but it's useless, they don't listen. She's the only one in the room who catches the slight upturn of Stiles' lips, although the speed of how quickly his expression turns back to one of terror causes her to question whether it even happened in the first place.

"Put it down," Noah orders, his gun still trained on Argent. "Now! Do it! Put it down!"

Everyone watches as Stiles turns his head to Chris, his entire demeanour changing like someone has flipped a switch to a light. "Pull the trigger," he taunts. "Come on."

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

"Shoot me."

"Put the gun down, now!"

"Shoot me!"

"Put the gun down!"

"Shoot me!"

"Argent, you put it down!"

As Charlotte's eyes go back and forth between the three in the spotlight, her heart drops into her stomach. "Strife," she whispers in understanding. Herself and Allison lock eyes.

"Put it down! Put it down!"

She looks out the window and realises that they're quickly losing sunlight. Charlotte raises her voice to yell over the top of the arguing. "Stop!" The sheer desperation in her voice makes them all look over to her.

"You're doing exactly what he wants," Allison adds urgently.

Stiles' lips twitch into a smirk as he looks between the two girls. "Not exactly... I was kind of hoping Scott would be here! But I'm glad you all have your guns out, because you aren't here to kill me." He turns around to face the window on the back wall.

Charlotte quietly groans in frustration as she spots the clouds of black smoke beginning to materialise out of thin air. "Oh fuck," she hisses.

"You're here to protect me."

The group watches in horror as each of the oni pull out a ninjatō and position themselves into their attacking and defensive stances. Chris and Noah both step forward and immediately begin to shoot at them, and Allison tightly grabs onto Charlotte's arm causing the blonde to turn around and roll her eyes in annoyance. Derek's eyes glow their signature blue as they face two oni that have moved to stand in front of them at the front door. Allison pulls out her ring daggers and Charlotte rolls her shoulders back while taking a deep breath. "All right, you fuckers, let's do this."

Ten minutes later, Charlotte winces in pain as she flexes her arm out in front of her. Her heart pulsates wildly in her chest, anxiety and adrenaline both on overdrive. Everyone's heads snap up when they see movement at the door, but sighs of relief are exhaled once they realise it's just Scott and Kira.

"Thank God you're here," Charlotte calls out.

Scott scans the group, his eyes lingering on Derek who has a large cut from one of the swords on his shoulder blade. "What the hell happened?"

"They disappeared," Allison answers, trying to catch her breath.

"She means they literally just vanished into nothing," Charlotte corrects.

Noah takes a deep breath before stating, "And so did Stiles."

»»———-　　———-««

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

Charlotte flicks her indicator on and subconsciously a smiles spreads across her face as she thinks about the girl they are going to see. Lydia chuckles at her expression and leans against the passenger door. "I take it you're excited to see her again?"

"Obviously! I haven't seen her since the day she turned back from a coyote... I just wish that we aren't going to tell her that her dad is a psychotic maniac who has tried to kill us... multiple times."

Lydia grimaces and softly sighs. "She won't think of you any differently," she reassures. "It just sucks that we're the only ones that know about it."

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

Charlotte turns the wheel once more and her sister looks at her in confusion. "Are we lost?"

She glances to the strawberry blonde in amusement. "Me?" She chuckles. "Dee, please. I have never gotten lost before and never will."

"No, I'm serious," Lydia continues. "You just made your fourth right, and four rights make a circle..."

Charlotte rolls her eyes. "I know that. Look, this is your car, okay? Something's obviously wrong with it, despite it being new. The GPS was fine before, right?"

"Yeah, I've never had a problem with it," Lydia confirms.

"Can you check and see if something's malfunctioned? Maybe the route's been changed."

After a few seconds, Lydia clears her throat. "Well, uh, the GPS isn't even on."

"What the fuck?" Charlotte exclaims in frustration. "But I've been hearing the damn annoying voice!"

"No, I have too..." But when the siblings look back to the screen that should be displaying the map of Beacon Hills, instead of the navigation system announcing directions like both the siblings had been hearing, a radio station is playing music. Charlotte dryly swallows and begins to press random buttons, hoping that one of them will turn the device back on. "Hey," Lydia calls out softly. When her sister refuses to respond, her voice raises. "Charles, what's going on?"

"I need to stop," she announces suddenly. "I need to pull over right now."

The car veers around the corner, the wheels screeching as they pull into a nearby parking lot. Lydia grips onto the side of the car as Charlotte presses her foot down further on the gas pedal. But the second Lydia notices a body laying only metres in front of them, she yells, "Charlotte, stop! Stop!"

She immediately slams on the brakes, and the siblings jerk forward forcefully against their seatbelts. After taking a moment to recover, they jump out the car and their eyes widen once recognising the person who appears unconscious. "Oh, my God," Charlotte whispers in alarm.

"Stiles!" Lydia calls out.

Charlotte grabs onto her twin's hand, pulling her back from running over. "We don't know if it's really him or not," she reminds. "We need to call someone instead of going up to him."

"What about Deaton?"

»»———-　　———-««

Scott and Aiden carry the unconscious boy into the McCall's living room, the Martin twins alongside Melissa and Deaton quickly following behind. "The couch, put him on the couch," Scott instructs, helping Aiden prop Stiles up. He's pale, sickly pale, and the bags underneath his eyes are severe from having, presumably, no sleep in a long while.

"Guys, this is crazy!" Melissa exclaims worriedly. "He needs to be in the hospital."

Charlotte glances over to the woman. "Remember what happened the last time he was in a hospital?" The rhetorical question makes Melissa fall quiet.

They watch Deaton lift Stiles' ripped shirt up, revealing a long gash on his lower abdomen. "It doesn't look like he's bleeding," the veterinarian gathers. "I think he might even be healing."

Aiden's eyes widen slightly. "You mean, healing like we heal?"

"That's good though, right?" Scott asks.

The blonde-haired banshee sighs. "Brilliant for him, shit for us."

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

Charlotte gnaws on her fingernails anxiously. She's worried about Stiles, obviously, but she's also worried about someone else. Since she had dropped Allison back last night, she's been unsuccessful trying to reach the huntress. Worried isn't the right word to use, it's not strong enough. But she knows it's silly, there has to be a reasonable explanation why she hasn't been in contact.

"Well, if we're not going to kill him," Aiden begins. "Why aren't we at least tying him down with really big chains?"

Charlotte snorts in amusement, but her smile quickly falls. "Actually, that's not a terrible idea," she muses seriously. Aiden nods. "Considering he broke through the handcuffs last night..."

"I might have something a little more effective," Deaton states. He unzips his briefcase and pulls out a small glass vial filled with an opaque liquid. Scott seems to quickly recognise it and gestures to Aiden to help him hold Stiles steady so they can open his mouth. Lydia, Charlotte, and Melissa share a look filled with worry, and watch the process with their breaths caught in their throats. It can't be this easy.

As Deaton manages to drop a fair amount of the liquid into Stiles' mouth, the boy's eyes snap open and he instantly catches Aiden off-guard by wrapping a hand around his throat. The werewolf's eyes widen in alarm as he struggles to remove Stiles' hand; he hadn't been expecting the human to suddenly have super-strength. "Get him off me!" Aiden yells. "Get him off me!"

Scott and Charlotte dart forward and grab onto one of Stiles' arms, and the possessed boy laughs at their struggle. However, it's only when Stiles' hand begins to shake that he's forced to let go and Aiden can break free. Charlotte tries to suppress a smug smile as he falls back against the couch, his muscles spasming from the paralytic venom he had been given. "Kanima venom," Stiles grumbles. "Nice touch."

"One thing Whittewhore's useful for," Charlotte mutters, missing the eye roll from Lydia.

Aiden growls in anger and steps forward but stops when the nogitsune speaks up once more. "You know how they say that twins get a feeling when the other one's in pain? You didn't lose that talent, too, did you? Oh, I hope not," he taunts. "You're gonna need it." Charlotte's eyes narrow and she glances to Aiden and Scott who look just as confused. "Okay, I'll give a little hint. Ethan's at the school."

Aiden looks to Scott for advice on what to do, and the Alpha doesn't hesitate to say, "Go!"

As he runs out the front door, the nogitsune leans back on the couch and begins to laugh manically. "Oh, I hope he gets there in time."

"Shut the fuck up," Charlotte interrupts bluntly.

He clicks his tongue. "I like the twins! Short tempers, homicidal compulsions... Just like you, Charlie. They're more fun than the rest of you bakemono trying to save the world every day."

Charlotte clenches her jaw as anger bubbles inside of her, and she feels Lydia gently grab hold of her hand for comfort. But it's not enough. The use of the Japanese word just reminds her that her best friend isn't here. As she glares at Stiles, she finally starts to realise that he's not here at all. She doesn't know if a part of him is still fighting. She just knows that this thing is really, really getting on her nerves. She pushes Lydia's hand away and walks over to the couch, stopping just short in front of him. Stiles raises an eyebrow in amusement and his mouth opens, then it snaps shut shortly after.

The sound of a palm connecting against skin is something no one had expected. Not even the nogitsune itself.

"Fuck you," Charlotte seethes. She shakes her hand out as it begins to burn and turns her back on him, unable to see his wide eyes of shock.

"Not that that didn't work, but Doc, you brought something to paralyse his body," Melissa begins. "You got anything for his mouth?"

Deaton nods in response and rifles through his bag, pulling out a roll of duct tape. "Yes, I do."

Charlotte grits her teeth as the tape is placed over the mouth of her best friend, and he screams through it as a response. Lydia takes her sister's hand once more, gripping onto it tightly as Stiles proceeds to laugh. The strawberry blonde leads her sister, Scott, and Deaton into the kitchen for some privacy as Melissa tends to Stiles' wound.

"How much longer do you think we have?"

Deaton shrugs at Scott's question. "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."

Charlotte casts a look back into the living room to find Stiles already staring back at her. She quickly turns around and clears her throat anxiously. "Despite the kanima venom, I still don't like this."

The veterinarian nods. "Me either," he agrees. "I think we're grossly underestimating the danger here. He might be paralysed, but it still feels like he's got us right in the palm of his hand."

The blonde-haired banshee rubs her hands up and down her arms. Ever since she had come face to face with the nogistune a few hours ago, she's had goosebumps. She's not sure if Lydia feels the same, but she's immensely unsettled. It could be the fact that the dark spirit has caused hundreds, possibly thousands, of deaths throughout its time, or because she's so damn terrified.

The fact that Deaton is also so visibly anxious about the situation and for once is unsure of what to do doesn't help the teenagers with their worrying. Normally, he's their go-to when something supernatural goes wrong. Normally, he has all the information. Or even when he doesn't share it, they know he has it. But right now, as Charlotte studies his body language and face, it becomes apparent that he's hoping for some sort of miracle to happen in order to save them all; just like she is.

"The scroll said to change his body," Lydia says.

Deaton grimaces. "That's if I translated it correctly. We're looking for a cure in something that might actually be nothing more than a proverb or metaphor."

Scott looks between them all before voicing, "And what if he doesn't want it? He's never asked to be a werewolf."

Charlotte sighs. "Look, Scott, if it's between him dying or becoming a werewolf? I'm choosing the dog without hesitation."

"But it's not our choice to make!" Scott tells her, the volume of his voice raising with frustration.

"What if it saves his life?" Lydia questions softly.

"What if it kills him?" Deaton counters. The twins share a look.

"I've never done this before," Scott says. "I mean, what if I bite him a-and accidentally hit an artery or something?"

Charlotte smiles slightly at her best friend. "Scotty, everyone has to do something for the first time." He sighs. "Look, Derek can help if you want, we're all here for you."

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

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

Lydia closes her eyes, hesitating to speak. "We could... Maybe... Well, maybe there's someone else." Charlotte's face falls in horror as she catches on to who is being suggested. She gives Lydia a look of disapproval, and as soon as Scott comes to the realisation, his expression mimics his best friend's.

»»———-　　———-««

Peter Hale's eyes narrow as he circles Stiles seated on the couch, and eventually stops in front of the boy to stare. "He doesn't look like he would survive a slap across the face, much less the bite of a werewolf."

"Well, he's actually gone through the first one," Charlotte mutters to herself. Peter glances to her with a brow arched in interest.

"You don't think it would work?" Scott queries, a little deflated that the former Alpha doesn't think the bite would be successful.

"This is more a war of the mind than the body," Peter explains. The nogitsune stares up at him blankly. "There are better methods to winning this battle." Lydia and Charlotte share a brief look, both of them having the same idea that somehow Peter will extort them to give up further information about his child.

Deaton steps up beside the Hale, curious as to what his suggestion could be. "What kind of methods?"

Peter grabs onto Scott's wrist and flicks his claws out. "We're going to get into his head," he answers proudly. Stiles' head tilts to the side, almost like he's impressed by Peter's plan.

Five minutes later, exactly what the twins had predicted happens.

"We said we'd do it!" Lydia quietly exclaims.

Charlotte folds her arms over her chest as she glares at the man stood before them. "But only if you help."

"And only if Scott doesn't know about it."

They don't give Peter a chance to respond as they walk back into the living room, immediately to be questioned by Deaton. "So, do we have a plan?"

"Scott is going to try and dig through pale and sickly Evil Stiles' mind to unearth pale and sickly real Stiles," Peter says. "Then guide him back through the depths of his own subconscious." He pauses for a few beats before adding, "But he's not going to do it alone."

Scott's eyes widen. "What do you mean?"

"I'll do it, I'm coming with you."

Everyone turns their eyes onto the blonde whose confident expression doesn't falter, despite now all the attention placed on her. Lydia looks nervous as she asks, "Are you sure?"

Charlotte smiles and nods. "It's Stiles," she reminds her. "I'd do anything for him." She tries to disregard the fear that spikes as she gains closer to the nogitsune and she takes the spare seat on the couch beside him, making sure to leave a decent gap between them. Charlotte takes a deep breath and tries her best to ignore his piercing stare on the side of her face.

Scott allows Peter to guide his claws into the correct positions on both of Stiles and Charlotte's necks. "So what do we do if we find him?"

Peter shrugs. "You're going to have to guide him out, somehow... Try to give him back control of his mind, his body."

Charlotte rolls her eyes at his vague response. "Yeah, I'm not liking the 'somehow.' Could we delve into that a little further please?"

"Improvise," he replies.

She suppresses another eye roll. "Improvise," Charlotte mocks.

Scott's brows furrow in thought. "What if this is just another trick?"

Peter scoffs. "When are you people going to start trusting me?"

"For fuck's sake, man, get over yourself!"

Scott stifles a laugh at his best friend's response. He glances to Peter and gestures to Stiles. "I meant him," he clarifies.

"Oh..."

"Scott, we're running out of time," Deaton points out, reminding them of the almost worn off kanima venom and the fact that it's nearing sundown; meaning the oni aren't far.

Charlotte turns her head to the side to look at the True Alpha and she gives him a reassuring nod. "We'll be okay." Scott takes a few deep breaths before his eyes glow crimson. His claws pierce through his friends' necks and both of them gasp, all of their eyes falling shut.

Hearing the familiar sound of voices inaudibly whispering to her, Charlotte's eyes snap open. With her chest heaving up and down, she attempts to sit up but quickly finds that she can't move her arms nor legs. Her body is strapped down. She turns her head to the side and almost immediately locks eyes with Scott who appears just as alarmed as she is. But as Charlotte watches Scott struggle in his own restraints, she scoffs in disbelief. "Dude, do you seriously need me to remind you that you're a goddamn werewolf?"

"We're in Stiles' head-"

"And you're a supernatural creature with supernatural fucking strength," she retorts incredulously. "Scott, break free!" He quickly nods and, eventually, the leather restraints snap. He doesn't wait to jump up and rush over to her to help her get out of her own. As Charlotte rubs her irritated wrists, she looks around the room and realises exactly where they are. Tiled walls, tiled floors, the barricaded window, metal furniture... " We're in Eichen," she mutters. Her voice raises in frustration. "Of course we are!"

Scott takes a deep breath. "Well, what do we do now?" he questions.

Charlotte stares at him blankly. "I've been inside multiple peoples' heads before, so just let me take out the checklist I've made for moments like these..." Scott's eyebrows raise in both surprise and hope, and she throws her hands up in frustration. "Oh, I don't fucking know!"

The werewolf sighs and they both turn toward the door that looms in the corner of the room. "I guess, just... stay behind me," he says.

"Absolutely fine with me," she agrees. As Scott succeeds in twisting the handle, Charlotte takes a deep breath at the darkness that appears behind it. She follows her best friend, but just as Scott reaches the threshold, the door slams shut behind him. Her eyes widen in terror and she lunges forward, heart racing in her chest as she forcefully tugs and twists at the handle. "Scott? Scott!"

Charlotte inhales a shaky breath and leans her forehead against the now locked door. All she needs to do is avoid having a panic attack until she finds Scott. Or... if she can find Scott. She closes her eyes tightly for a few seconds, then takes a deep breath as she turns around. But she stops in her tracks at what she finds. It's a completely different setting. Instead of a white tiled room, it's a hallway. With her heart in her throat, Charlotte cautiously moves forward, anticipating something or someone to jump out at her. When she looks upward, she notices something strange.

A single red balloon floats down from the ceiling.

The next is blue.

Then red.

A sob catches in her throat as she screws her eyes shut, willing the memory that has suddenly resurfaced to disappear back into the depths of her mind. A tear rolls down her cheek.

When she opens her eyes, the setting has changed once more. She's in another hallway, but this one she recognises instantly. Lockers line the walls on either side of her and the floor is covered in balloons. She forces herself to look down and she realises that she's wearing the dress from the dance. The dance where her whole life changed. If Charlotte was able to look in a mirror, she would find dried blood staining her neck with puncture marks in the skin from teeth. She glances around in confusion, trying to find the person she had been with.

Then she hears the echoes of his voice. But she can't see him. It's just her. "What happened, Jackson?" Stiles presses in fear. "What did you do?"

Her line of sight finds the double doors at the end of the hallway and Charlotte breaks into a run toward them. It doesn't take her long to sprint out to the lacrosse fields, nor does it take her long to spot her sister in the distance. She knows she screams out to warn Lydia, but she can't hear herself. She watches as Peter Hale approaches the girl with strawberry blonde hair, but before Charlotte can reach her, Lydia collapses to the ground.

Her feet dig into the ground as she abruptly stops running. Bile rises up in her throat as she stares at her sister bleeding as she lays on the grass. She's frozen still; she can't move a muscle. But her hands fly up to cover her ears as a booming yell suddenly rings through her ears, loud enough to instantly gift her with a migraine.

"Charlotte!"

She would never imagine finding comfort in Peter Hale, but right now his voice does just that. It brings her back down to reality. It's not real. None of this is real. She's done this before. Lydia's alive, she's okay. So Charlotte takes a deep breath and sinks to her knees beside her sister. She brushes bloodied strands of hair off Lydia's face and sadly smiles. And just as she takes her twin's hand in her own, a bright light suddenly blinds her vision.

She removes her hands off her eyes and flinches at her new surroundings. It's so quiet that she could hear a pin drop. The room she's in is incredibly large, so large that it could be a warehouse. The floors are a light grey tiling, and she notices how the already brightly painted walls appear even whiter with the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. It looks like she's just walked into a gigantic dentist's office. Then she spots something in her peripheral vision. Charlotte spins around and her eyes widen at the sight of Scott standing a few metres away from her. "Oh, thank God," he whispers in relief. The two race forward and embrace each other in a tight hug.

"That was horrible," she declares. "We are never doing this again." As they pull away Scott stares off into the distance. The second she focuses on what he's seen, Charlotte's eyes widen. "Oh, my God... We found him."

Sure enough, Stiles Stilinski is in the distance and joint by none other than the Nemeton itself. Beside the boy is another figure and from their position she can make out bandages covering its body. Scott and Charlotte don't need to say anything before they begin to run towards the supernatural tree, their footsteps echoing in the vast room. But after a few moments, the pair quickly realise that they are getting nowhere. Literally not getting any closer. It feels like they're running through quicksand.

"Stiles!" Both of their voices reach a volume that would normally cause one to stop and glare, however, somehow it's like Stiles can't hear them.

"Stiles! Stiles, over here!" Charlotte yells, waving her arms to try and get his attention.

"He can't hear us," Scott tells her in defeat. All they can do is watch their best friend and the bandaged creature, that they've realised is the nogistune, continue to play a board game. A fucking board game.

After a moment of racking her brain for a suggestion, any suggestion, Charlotte quietly laughs. "Why didn't I think of this..." Scott glances to her in confusion. "Stiles is part of your pack."

"What?" he questions, trying to catch his breath. "What do you mean?"

"He's human. But he's still part of the pack, right?"

Scott nods and straightens up, though, he still doesn't get her point. "Yeah," he confirms. "Yeah, of course."

A small smile adorns Charlotte's face. "So, how do wolves signal their location to the rest of the pack?"

Finally, he understands what she's trying to say. They watch the nogistune take its attention off Stiles and turn to them, almost like its realised exactly what it about to happen. Scott takes a deep breath and transforms into his werewolf form. "They howl."

Despite how loud the roar is, Charlotte doesn't flinch. She holds her breath as she watches Stiles suddenly looks over to them, like he's just realised that they're here with him. Stiles looks back to the nogitsune, and Scott and Charlotte can vaguely hear a low growl-like sound from the dark kitsune. Stiles doesn't hesitate any longer before he swipes all the pieces off the board in one swift motion. In response, the nogitsune roars straight in Stiles' face.

All three teenagers wake up with a loud gasp and Scott quickly retracts his claws from his friends' necks. Charlotte jumps off the couch and clutches the back of her neck, and Lydia rushes over to her, scanning her body for any sign of harm. "I'm okay," the blonde-haired girl rushes out. As she wipes the blood from underneath her nose, Scott runs over to Stiles whose head has fallen onto his chest. Her eyes widen in alarm and she shakes her head in disbelief. "No, no, no... Why didn't it work?"

"Because it's not science, Charlotte." Peter grabs onto her and Lydia's arms. "It's supernatural." He lowers his voice as he adds, "I did my part. Now give me the name." Charlotte rips her arm away and violently slaps Peter's hand away. His jaw clenches but he lets go of Lydia's.

"What name?" They look over to Scott who has heard their entire conversation. But Peter doesn't let them respond as he drags them into the kitchen, ignoring Scott's yells. "What are you talking about?"

"A deal is a deal," Peter says lowly. "Even with me."

Still clutching onto her neck, Charlotte scowls at him, then Lydia gently nudges her side. They share a look and understand that there's no point lying. Lydia sighs and leans closer to him so she can whisper into his ear, "Malia."

As soon as the name leaves her lips, Stiles suddenly wakes up. The boy gasps through the tape covering his mouth and startles the entire room in the process. He frantically rips the tape off before proceeding to pull bandages out of his mouth and what appears to look like black smoke. Everyone watches in horror as Stiles stumbles and falls onto the floor, the rest of the bandages tumbling out of his mouth with a final retch. While he gasps at the feeling of having his throat cleared of any obstruction, black smoke starts to build up out of the pile of bandages.

Charlotte's eyes widen as a hand materialises out from the floor. Her sister's hold on her arm tightens as the group backs up against the wall. "It's a fucking mummy!" she shrieks.

It doesn't take long for a figure to emerge out of the bandages. It pulls its body out of the floorboards and they all flinch at the fully formed bandaged figure, identical to the one Scott and Charlotte had seen within Stiles' mind. It holds its hands in front of his face and attempts to try and pull them off. After realising it's going to be unsuccessful, he suddenly lunges toward the group. Deaton and Melissa quickly push the Martin twins behind them protectively whilst Scott and Peter dart forward to tackle the figure, managing to pin him to the couch. "Hold him!" Peter yells.

"I'm trying," Scott shouts back. But then he notices something. "Wait, wait!" Scott places a firm hand on Peter's shoulder and both of them pause. The figure in the chair stops resisting. Cautiously, Scott begins to pull the bandages of its face. His mouth falls open in shock at who is revealed underneath.

Stiles' wide eyes stare at his best friend as he straightens himself. "Scott?" he questions, voice filled with relief.

Deaton closes his eyes for a brief second and breaks the silence that has engulfed the room. "Scott," he calls out. The boy turns around at his name, and Deaton moves to the side to let him see that the front door is swung wide open.

Scott's head snaps to the side and he realises that the nogitsune previously on the floor is gone. But his heart plummets to his feet in horror as he realises something far worse. Much, much worse. He can't find Charlotte and Lydia. "Where are they?" He feels his eyes burn at the thought of losing his best friend. His sister. Scott receives a clueless silence from Melissa and Deaton, each giving him solemn looks. His jaw clenches in rage. "Where are they? Lydia? Charlotte!"

Watching from the couch, a single tear trails down Stiles' cheek. They're gone, and he can't help but feel like it's all his fault.

𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨... 😔