𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒚-𝒔𝒊𝒙 | 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽𝔂'𝓼 𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺'𝘴 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳

HER EYES SLOWLY FLUTTER OPEN, and she winces at the blinding pain found behind her eyes. No doubt a concussion. In hindsight, she probably shouldn't have slapped the dark kitsune. Her shaking fingers reach up to gently touch her forehead and she hisses once she makes contact. Pulling her hand back, she sighs at the crimson staining her fingers. With her vision blurry, barely able to see, she props herself up on her elbows and grimaces as her arm grazes over something cold and slimy.

"Charlotte?"

At Lydia's trembling voice, she forces her brain to wake itself up and to ignore the throbbing pain. Her head snaps over to the side and she breathes a small sigh of relief as her sister appears to be unharmed. "Are you okay?" she questions quickly, shuffling over to sit by her side.

Lydia gives a half-hearted nod. "I guess, but I have no idea where we are."

As she glances around, all Charlotte can make out is that they're in some sort of tunnel, and it's somewhere she doesn't recognise. In the distance, water trickles onto the floor, the sound vibrating across the walls and hitting both of the banshees like a truck is crashing right in front of them. "Okay, we need to get out of here," Charlotte voices determinedly. She attempts to stand up but stumbles into the nearby wall as a sudden wave of nausea hits her.

Lydia scrambles up, concern etched into her face, and wraps an arm around her sister's waist to help support her. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she replies. She sighs at the pointed look Lydia is giving her. "I'm fine," she repeats dismissively. And she'll have to be because a concussion is the least of their problems. "We just need to get out of here."

They grip onto each other's hands and the twins begin the seemingly never-ending journey through the labyrinth of tunnels. As the minutes pass, their eyes dart around as they start to hear guttural screams of agony. They sound a million miles away, yet so close. Assuming that they are the cries of people as they die horrible deaths, Charlotte screws her eyes shut as if it would somehow block out the sounds that echo in her head. They've been in here for whoever knows how long and she already feels like she's losing her mind.

"Can you hear them?"

Her breath catches in her throat at the sight of a figure in the distance slowly making their way out of the shadows. Despite not being able to visually recognise who it is, the distinguishable voice is enough for the siblings to freeze in fear.

"Louder than usual, isn't it?"

Charlotte's heart pounds within her chest like an anvil. She holds onto Lydia's hand with vice-like grip, both of their knuckles turning white as they try to block out the nogitsune who holds the voice of their friend.

"Well, that's because a lot of bad things happened down here." As Stiles slowly walks towards them with a smirk plastered on his face, the twins turn their backs on him and hurriedly head in the opposite direction. "What are the voices telling you? Are they saying that Stiles is dying?"

"Shut up," Charlotte mutters tiredly, leaning into her sister who helps support her by keeping an arm around her waist. She feels like someone is stabbing a knife into her head every few seconds.

"He is, you know," he says in a sing-song voice. "He's dying."

When turning the corner in the dark corridor, Lydia lets out a small whimper in fear as her confident demeanour falters for a second. Charlotte takes one look at her terrified sister and tries her best to push her own distress down, her sole goal right now being to protect her twin. "Then what the fuck do you need us for?" Her voice raises to a yell and she hears the chuckle from the nogitsune. "You think we can tell you something?"

They reach a dead end, but the Martin sisters have a moment of hope as they spot the iron gate sealing them off from the outside. Lunging forward, they both yank it, desperately trying to get it open. No use. It's locked. Charlotte forces herself to hold back a sob as she hears the sudden haunting laughter echoing through the tunnels. She's scared, terrified even, and in a shit load of pain.

"Oh, I know you can," he calls out to them.

Lydia glances to her sister who looks like she could pass out at any given second and her jaw clenches. This time, she's the one to respond. "We're not telling you anything!" she shrieks.

"You won't have to." The whisper they hear is far too close and the girls spin around in alarm. Their eyes widen at the boy who stands directly behind them. "You'll be screaming."

»»———-　　———-««

Scott helps a weak Stiles, their Stiles, down the stairs of his home. They enter the living room with Melissa right behind them to find Noshiko Yukimura waiting for them. She looks directly at the boy who was only recently possessed as she asks, "Do you recognise me, hm?" Stiles nods and gently releases himself from Scott's grip to walk toward her.

Kira suddenly bursts into the house. "Stop!" she calls out, urging her mother not to go through with what she knows is planned.

Stiles continues to approach them and holds a hand up to Kira. "It's okay," he assures. "I'm the one who asked her to come."

Kira quietly scoffs. "You're the one who's going to get stabbed with swords! Mom, please don't do this to him."

"It's already done," Noshiko says.

Melissa gasps in a panic as the oni appear out of thin air. They stare at Stiles for a few moments before one of them lunges toward him, gripping onto his head as its gleaming yellow eyes bore into his soul. His friends can only watch in fear that something could go wrong until the examination is finished. Stiles crumples to the floor the second he is released and the oni disappear.

As the boy convulses, Noshiko nods to the teenagers. "Look behind his ear," she instructs quickly.

As Scott flips Stiles' ear, he breathes a sigh of relief when he finds the small black kanji five identical to his own inked into the skin. "It worked."

Still violently shivering, Stiles manages to sit up. "So, I'm actually me?"

"More you than the nogitsune," Noshiko replies.

"Can the oni find him?" Stiles questions.

"Tomorrow night. It's too close to dawn now."

Stiles clenches his jaw in frustration. "Can they kill him?"

"It depends on how strong he is."

Scott jumps in, not hesitating to fire questions regarding the twins. "What about Charlotte and Lydia? Why would he take them?"

"He would only take them for an advantage," the woman replies.

His brows furrow for a moment before realisation dawns upon him. "You mean their power?"

"The power of a banshee," Noshiko confirms with a nod. "One alone is incredible." She arches a brow before adding, "Two? I have no idea what he'll be able to do with both of them."

»»———-　　———-««

The minute that Allison Argent had been told over the phone by Scott that Lydia and Charlotte had been taken by the nogitsune, she had broken down into tears. She had barely registered when he had informed her that Stiles was okay, that Peter's 'ritual' had actually worked. Her brain had fallen blank the second the twins' names were stated. The entire night was spent with her pacing around her room, sharpening arrows and cleaning various weapons to distract herself, stealing and drinking an entire bottle of wine from her father's cabinet, and staring at her phone, waiting for a message- waiting for anything to tell her that both her best friend and girlfriend are safe.

When knuckles quietly rap on her door and Isaac pokes his head through, she registers that it's now morning. "Hey," he greets softly. She gestures a hand for him to come in. "I'm sorry... Your dad said you were in here. Um, I..." he trails off and inhales a deep breath, appearing to centre his own emotions before continuing. "We're gonna find them, Allison."

She nods and jumps off her bed, swinging her bag over her shoulder and grabbing her car keys in the process. "I know we are. Who said we aren't?"

Isaac sighs. "Okay, I came around here to check if you were okay," he begins. "But right now... right now I'm thinking we go out and see if we can find them ourselves."

The corners of Allison's lips upturn as she gives him a weak, thankful smile. "Sounds good." Then her phone buzzes and her eyes widen as reads the message.

"What is it?"

"They found Lydia's car," she answers in a whisper.

He raises his eyebrows. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

It takes them ten minutes to get to the Beacon Hills impound lot. There's only one car inside. Lydia's blue Toyota. Allison and Isaac approach the large gates that clearly state 'No Trespassing' on multiple signs. The werewolf rips off the chain locking them together and holds the gate open for her to walk through first.

"That's it," Allison confirms. "That's Lydia's car..."

"The scent's strong of emotion," Isaac announces after taking a moment to take in their surroundings.

"Fear?"

"Anger," he corrects. He cracks a smile. "Definitely from Charles."

Allison laughs but her eyes are glassy from tears. She clears her throat. "Let's see what else we can find. There has to be something." She opens the passenger door and slides into the car, Isaac following.

They sit in silence until quiet sobs fill the vehicle. Isaac's eyes widen in alarm as he turns in his seat to look at her, concern etched into his face. "Hey, are you okay?"

She sniffles and harshly away wipes the tears trailing down her cheeks. "I-I didn't get to tell her," she whispers.

"Tell her what?" he asks gently.

"I didn't- I didn't tell her I love her," Allison gets out between hiccups.

Isaac's eyebrows draw together in confusion. "But you've told each other that you love each other before."

She nods and closes her eyes in an attempt to pause the tears. "Yeah, but I tell her everyday. I didn't tell her yesterday. The one fucking day I don't get the chance to talk to her, everything turns to shit! She's gone and I don't know if I'll be able to tell her how much I love her again."

He frowns as he watches the tears continuing to slip down her cheeks, but a small smile adorns his face as his eyes lock onto the ink on her wrist. "Hold on, did you guys get matching tattoos?"

His smile only widens when he receives a giggle. "Y-yeah, we did." Allison's fingers trace the arrow. "She made it all poetic, but really I was doing it just because she was so excited. You should've seen her face, her eyes lit up the minute she had the idea and-" She cuts herself off as another sob escapes her.

Isaac sighs softly and he leans over to pull her into a comforting hug. "You're gonna see her again," he says reassuringly, gently rubbing her back as she turns her head on his shoulder. "You're gonna see both of them again. And you're gonna get the chance to tell her how much you love her again. Allison, you guys are made for each other. It's like you're soulmates."

She smiles. "Yeah, that's what she said."

The werewolf's eyes widen in panic when she pulls away, further tears streaking down her face. "Fuck, I can't say anything right..."

Allison laughs and they both smile. She sucks in a deep breath. "It's okay," she says. "Thank you," she adds quietly. However, her face falls as she stares at the window of her car door. She frowns and leans forward so she can fog up the glass with her breath. Allison's heart stops for a millisecond at what she reads.

"'Don't find me?'" Isaac reads. "I take it we're gonna do the complete opposite of this, right?" Her response is jumping out the car and slamming the door behind her as she hurries back through the gates.

»»———-　　———-««

As Charlotte and Lydia make their way back down the stairs and to the locked iron gate, a tear slides down the blonde-haired girl's cheek. "They're gonna find us," she whispers in between her heavy breaths. It feels like her head's about to explode. "They're gonna find us," she repeats. "Our-our friends are gonna find us."

The twins try to pull the gate open despite knowing that their attempts are futile, and they ignore the voice that pops up from behind them. "You think so? I myself was kind of wondering what they're doing right now."

"Shut up!" Charlotte shrieks. She tugs on her hair to the point where her headache from the ongoing screams and concussion worsens, but the pain is a somewhat pleasant distraction from everything happening.

"What, Charlie? Are you going to hit me again?"

"Tempted to," she snaps. She grits her teeth in irritation and glances to her sister when Lydia gently takes her hand.

"Don't listen to him," Lydia reminds quietly.

But the nogitsune pays no mind to either of them and continues his taunts. "What useless lead they're chasing... I wonder if maybe some of them have bigger problems to deal with right now?"

"Stop it," Charlotte mumbles. She doesn't even bother to dry the next tear that drops directly onto the ground instead of taking the normal route down her face.

"Are they really spending every single minute looking for the two of you? Or, are they waiting for nightfall? Focused on some hopeless gesture to pass the time?"

Lydia clutches onto the bars for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and mustering the courage to turn around and look him in the eye. "What do you want?"

"More."

Charlotte's heart returns to its rapid pace (something she's becoming accustomed to) when the body of her best friend stands up from his position on the stairwell and takes a single step down, keeping eye contact with her the entire time. "More what?" she asks, her voice no louder than a whisper.

"The trickster stories are all about food. The coyote, the raven, the fox. They're all hungry." As he gains closer, and despite the pain, Charlotte pushes her sister behind her protectively. "I'm the same."

"What, you're a greedy asshole?"

His lips curl into a smirk at the blonde's snarky reply and he stops before her. "I just crave something a little different... I eat what you feel." Lydia's lip wobbles as he tightly grips Charlotte's chin, not budging even as she flinches away from him. A tear escapes Lydia's eye as she watches helplessly. "And I am insatiable."

»»———-　　———-««

Meredith Walker. A banshee in Beacon Hills, discovered by Stiles during his brief time in Eichen House. Because of her supernatural abilities, they all jumped to the conclusion that she would be aware of Lydia and Charlotte's. However, their assumption had been incorrect. Meredith has no idea who either of the Martins are. After Meredith's escape from Eichen earlier that morning, it had taken a few hours for Scott and Stiles to track her down, eventually receiving a call from Kira at the school informing him that she was there. Now, minus Kira, they pull up in the McCall house's driveway.

The three burst inside only to stop short at the sight before them. Isaac sits awkwardly at the dining room table, staring up at Rafael McCall who stands looking straight at the teenagers who have just barged in. "What are you doing?" Scott presses his father.

"I could ask you the same thing," he retorts.

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

McCall raises an eyebrow at Meredith. "Who's she?"

Improvising quickly, Stiles wraps an arm around her shoulders. "She's my girlfriend." Scott purses his lips together tightly to avoid grinning.

Meredith pulls away from him slightly and deadpans, "You're not my type."

Stiles swallows. "Well, uh, obviously we have a lot to talk about. We should maybe take this upstairs."

"He's my type." Everyone falls silent as Meredith looks over at Isaac.

The Stilinski boy blinks. "Okay. Isaac, you can come too." As they move toward the staircase to head to Scott's room, McCall pulls his son aside, leaving his friends to go up without him. Filing inside the bedroom, Meredith sits on the end of the bed as Stiles and Isaac stand before her. "Okay, Meredith, these girls we're trying to find. Their names are Charlotte and Lydia, okay?"

The curly-haired girl's eyes widen in realisation. "Charlotte? Lydia? You mean the sisters."

Stiles breathes a short sigh of relief. "Yes!" he exclaims. "Yes! Good. Progress. Now, all you got to do is tell us where they are."

"Okay. If they tell me."

Isaac stares at her in confusion. "If they tell you?" The banshee nods. "Well, can you ask them?"

"I already did," she confirms with a proud smile.

"Perfect," Stiles says. "Perfect. What did they say?"

Meredith's eyes flick between them. "They said... they don't want to be found."

Stiles' eyebrows raise slightly. "That's good, too."

Isaac sighs and walks into the adjoining bathroom, nodding his head to Stiles to gesture him to follow. They spend the following minutes trying to think of different ideas on how Meredith might be able to contact the twins. "I'm just saying-"

"Isaac," Stiles interjects, holding a hand up to the werewolf. "We're not going to torture her."

"I meant scare her."

"We're not going to psychologically torture her either."

"Fine." Isaac's eyes squint in thought. "Okay, how about this. You said she hears things, right?" Stiles nods. "Doesn't that mean she's like them? Charles and Lydia?" Stiles stares at him blankly. "A banshee?" Isaac reminds.

The boys rush back into the bedroom. Stiles kneels down in front of Meredith and tries to calmly, and patiently, speak his next words. "Okay, focus on the sounds around you, or what you're hearing. Just focus on the silence."

"Listen to the silence," Isaac adds.

"Focusing on the silence."

"Listening to the-"

"Okay, will you just let me handle this, Isaac?" Stiles snaps. "Please? I just... I have more experience with banshees." Isaac sighs.

Meredith is the one to interrupt their bickering. "Isn't anyone going to get that?" she questions.

The boys share a look then turn back to her. "Get what?" Stiles asks.

"The phone," she says.

"What phone?"

Isaac nudges his arm as if it's obvious. "The phone."

Stiles looks to his pocket as Meredith points to it. "Oh, the phone! My phone? Yes!" He pulls the device out and humours her by pretending to answer it. "Hello. Yes, she's actually sitting right here." He holds the phone out for her. "It's for you."

Meredith places the phone up to her ear and listens intensely for a few moments before handing it back to Stiles. "They say, 'Coup de foudre.'"

"'Coup de' what?" Stiles' head tilts. "'Coup de' what? What is that Spanish?" Isaac purses lips together, unsure of the answer.

"French." The boys spin around to find Scott in the doorway. "It's French," the True Alpha repeats. A newfound hope fills within his chest and he manages to give his friends a small smile. "I know where they are."

After making sure Sheriff Stilinski would take Meredith back to Eichen, Stiles, Scott, and Isaac sit in the Jeep, breaking the speed limit as they drive toward Oak Creek. Stiles glances to Scott, back to the road, then back to Scott as he notices just how worried his best friend is. "Hey, you okay?"

Scott nods. "Yeah, yeah, you don't have to worry about me."

"All right, I'll say it," Isaac begins. "You look like you're dying." Scott's head snaps over to the boy in the back, his eyes wide at the blunt statement directed to Stiles. "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 he's getting better?"

"What happens if he gets hurt?"

Stiles takes a second to process Scott's question. "You mean if he dies, do I die?" As he thinks about the twins, the love of his life and his sister, he doesn't care. He can't find himself to. "I don't care. Just so long as no one else dies because of me." He glances to the boy beside him. "I remember everything I did, Scott. I remember pushing that sword into you. I remember twisting it."

"It wasn't you," Scott tries to insist.

"Yeah, but I remember it." Stiles closes his eyes for a split-second. "You guys gotta promise me. You can't let anyone else get hurt because of me."

»»———-　　———-««

Sliding down the stone wall, Charlotte tries her absolute hardest to maintain a steady breathing pattern. The last thing she needs to do is add her own fear to void's magical, supernatural concoction. As she twirls each charm attached onto her silver bracelet, her shoulders begin to shake, a symptom of an oncoming panic attack. "Lottie," Lydia says softly. She crouches down before her twin and gently lays her hands on top of the girl's. "You gotta breathe for me, okay?"

Her blue eyes snap open and she quickly nods. "Yeah- yeah, I'm trying."

Lydia gnaws on her lip, her own anxiety crushing her as she tries to ignore the piercing stare on their backs. He's watching their every move. "Okay, um, what are you going to say to Allison when you see her?" But when she sees tears prick in her sister's eyes, she curses under her breath. "Shit, wrong thing to say... You know, I've been thinking of asking if you wanna get another dog."

A faint smile appears on Charlotte's lips and her eyes dimly light up at the thought. "Another dog?"

"Yeah."

She brushes a strand of hair off her forehead covered in a thick layer of sweat and dried blood. "Prada would hate it."

"I know."

"And you still want to?"

Lydia hesitates but right now she knows that she needs to say something to ground her sister. And if that means committing to convincing their mother later on to get another dog, so be it. "Fuck yeah."

"I want a Doberman," Charlotte answers, her smile slowly growing wider as the conversation continues. She's yet to notice that she's now breathing steadily.

"Done," Lydia replies quickly. Both girls giggle but their laughter trails off as they return to staring out the gate.

Charlotte's smile falls as she has a sudden epiphany. She spins around to the nogitsune who has been quiet for the last hour or so. "You're scared shitless, aren't you? You know they're coming."

Lydia removes her eyes from the courtyard behind the gate. With tears still wet on her cheeks and under her eyes, she says in a sing-song voice, "You know they're going to kill you."

He stands up and slowly walks over to corner Lydia by bracing himself against the wall with his arm above her head. "Well, that's exactly why I'm keeping you so close," he whispers. Before Charlotte can punch his arm, he quickly backs away out of attacking distance. She stares at him as a shiver runs down her spine, unsure if it's because of the sudden drop in temperature or her terror.

Right outside Oak Creek, the Jeep finally parks, and the boys jump out to meet Allison and Kira waiting for them, each with their own weapons. The kitsune holds her katana, whilst the huntress has her bow and quiver strapped to her back. Scott looks between them all, trying to conceal his own fear as best as he can for all of their sakes. "We've done this before, guys," he begins. "A couple weeks ago, we were standing just like this and we saved Malia. Remember? That was a total stranger. This is them. It's Lottie and Lydia."

Allison takes a deep breath. "I'm here to save my girlfriend and best friend," she speaks determinedly.

"I came to save mine," Scott adds. "Best friend," he clarifies as he looks over to Stiles. Everyone smiles half-heartedly.

"I just didn't feel like doing any homework," Isaac says. He's the first one to walk through the black iron gates that are wide open for them, and the rest of the group follow through to be met with Noshiko and her oni.

Charlotte's eyes narrow as she tries to study the boy before her. "What are you planning?" she questions. She hopes he can't hear her heartbeat. Instead of answering, he only shrugs. A few minutes pass until he clears his throat and grips tightly onto either their arms, then pulls them through the previously locked gate and into the small courtyard behind it. Charlotte can't even feel the bruising grip on her arm. Even the pain in her head is starting to fade. Her eyes dart around the area and she can't help but smile widely. "They're here," she says softly.

Lydia looks around them, her eyes scanning every inch of the small space. "And we don't need to scream to know that they're going to kill you."

"Good," he responds. "Because that's exactly why I brought you. I needed to know when they'd be close enough." The twins watch him pull something out of his pocket, and their eyes widen in horror as they instantly recognise it to be a tail used to control the oni. "When my own death was closing in."

As if on cue, clouds of black smoke materialise around them. Charlotte looks around in alarm as she counts the oni surrounding them, their beady neon yellow eyes staring only at the nogistune. It's when the ninjatōs are drawn that the siblings race out of the firing line and press their backs firmly up against the concrete wall.

"'Cause only when they're close, can I do this," he announces. He raises the tail, the action causing each of the oni to step closer to him. He waits for the perfect moment, right before their swords can pierce through his body, to snap the tail in half.

Then they all disappear. It's just her and her sister. Charlotte gasps for air as a sudden icy grip constricts around her lungs. Something feels wrong; so incredibly wrong. But she doesn't know why. She turns to Lydia in terror. She is so terrified. "What do we do?"

"I... I don't know!"

It's not long before they hear footsteps quickly approaching. The twins race over to the gate just as Scott and Stiles reach them on the other side. "Lydia? Charles? Are you okay?" Stiles hurries out in concern.

Lydia's eyes are wide as she begins to properly panic. "No! No, no, no," she whispers.

Charlotte freezes in her position, not making a move despite seeing Stiles for the first time since the dreamscape. "Why are you here?" she asks quietly, afraid that if she speaks too loudly something catastrophic would occur.

Scott and Stiles share a look in confusion then turn back to the siblings as if it's blatantly obvious that they're here to save them. As Scott swings the gate open, Stiles' replies, "We're here for you."

"No! You weren't supposed to be here," Charlotte rushes out. Terrified isn't correct anymore. She is petrified. But she still doesn't know why.

"Didn't you get our message?" Lydia presses them distraughtly.

"Guys, what's happening?" Scott questions urgently.

"Who else is here?" Lydia continues, her voice raising with volume on each word. "Who came with you?"

A few tears roll down Charlotte's cheeks as she repeats her sister's words. "Who else is here?"

All four of them break off into a sprint through the tunnels. "Lydia!" Stiles calls out. "Lydia, I can't..."

Charlotte slows for a second to find Stiles stumbling and struggling to keep up. Then she locks eyes with her twin. "Go," Lydia yells. "Go!"

She doesn't need to be told again before taking off after Scott's figure disappearing at the end of the corridor. Her heart pounds in her chest as she lets her feet carry her through the puddles and towards the faint light up ahead. As she continues to run, Charlotte winces at the mountainous load of voices that suddenly begin screaming in her head, just like when herself and Lydia had first woken up earlier. But eventually it all becomes too much. As a name jumps out like someone's placed a spotlight on it, Charlotte Martin releases a soul-crushing scream.

"ALLISON!"

She can tell that Lydia has just repeated the same thing, but she doesn't allow herself to stop nor turn back around. She pushes herself to go and when she finally reaches the exit, she scans the yard, frantically searching for her girlfriend. But when she veers to the right, she double takes, questioning whether reality is real or fabricated for her in this moment. Her entire body begins to shake and bile rises in her throat as her nightmares come to life.

Charlotte watches as Allison falls. She watches as Scott catches her in his arms before she can hit the ground. She can barely see in front of her as tears blur her vision, but she sprints toward the violent scene, pushing past her pack members who stand frozen in horror. "No, no, no, no, no..." Falling down onto her knees, Charlotte's hands tremble above the wound on Allison's stomach. She's been stabbed.

With tears in his own eyes, Scott gently moves Allison's head on his best friend's lap, then stands up to back away and let them have their private final moment.

"No, don't you fucking dare," Charlotte mutters angrily.

Allison entwines their fingers together, her eyes wide as her body starts to deteriorate like a dying flower. "Oh, my God, they found you," she breathes in relief, her chest rising and falling heavily. "I knew they would find you."

A silent sob moves through the banshee's body as she leans down to rest their foreheads against one another. "Why did you have to come?" she whispers. "Why didn't you listen to our warning?"

She weakly plays with Charlotte's fingers as she stares up at the love of her life. A single tear falls down her cheek and she softly smiles. "I came- I came because I love you. I-I had to tell you that again."

Charlotte shakes her head vigorously as she brushes strands of Allison's hair out of her eyes with her free hand. "No, don't say that. Don't talk like this is the last time we're gonna see each other." She turns around briefly and locks eyes with him. "You have to take her pain." Her voice breaks as she adds, "Scott, please."

But before he can walk forward, Allison gains their attention back. "It won't w-work," she gasps.

"No, baby, we have to try-"

"It's because it doesn't hurt."

As she stares at the girl in her arms, she suddenly finds it harder and harder to get oxygen into her lungs. "You can't leave me," Charlotte chokes out.

"It's okay- it's okay. It's perfect," Allison assures. "I'm in the arms of my best friend. The first person I truly loved, the person I'll always love. I love you," she repeats quietly. "Charlotte-Charlotte Martin."

As blood drips out of her lips, Charlotte's hand quickly darts out to gently wipe it away off her chin. It's at this moment she realises that Allison has accepted the fact that she's dying. She's dying. "I'm not doing this," she denies. A sob interrupts her sentence halfway. "I'm not doing the whole 'this is the end' speech, because I love you so fucking much that I don't think I'll be able to do this without you." The huntress tightens the hold on her hand as she says, "Allison, you are my entire world."

Tears continue to drop out of the pair of brown eyes, but then they widen as Allison comes to a sudden realisation. "You have to tell my dad! You have to tell my dad! Tell him-" She starts to breath shallowly, then after a moment her chest stops rising.

"No, no, no, no," Charlotte mutters in disbelief. Everyone watches as Allison Argent's gloved hand falls to the floor, and Charlotte's entire world falls apart. She stares in shock and her hand continues to shake uncontrollably as she reaches up to let her fingers graze against Allison's snow white cheek. What happens next is something that no one will ever be able to forget. The scream that leaves her mouth isn't like normal. This time it's filled with so much anguish, so much heartbreak and rage, that the sound waves of her voice cause the people around her to fly back and crash into crates or solid objects.

They say you die twice in your life. One time when you stop breathing, and a second, when somebody says your name for the last time. Charlotte Martin is empty. She feels absolutely nothing. She is back to feeling numb.

Allison Argent is dead.

𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯 😃