CONTROL ➳ D. HALE [2]

28 ; kings and queens

28 ➳ KINGS AND QUEENS

"I grabbed everything non-lethal to humans that I could find," Allison said as she led the group into her father's study. When Elise had gone to pick up Derek from the station, Noah Stilinksi had pulled Chris and the couple aside to ask for help in trapping Stiles. Before the explosion at the hospital, Stiles had received a scan that showed signs of the same form of dementia that had taken his mother's life. Elise could still remember the day they'd received the news that Claudia had died. Elise had been around ten at the time, barely able to grasp the fact that some people left and never came back.

Stiles had escaped from Eichen House the night before, prompting Noah to take a second look at everything that had happened since the nogitsune had taken over. When he had compared Stiles' scan with that of his late wife's, however, he'd found that the two scans weren't just similar, they were completely identical. That was not just improbable, but impossible- just one more trick that the nogitsune had thrown at them. The thing that made this trick special, though, was that it meant Stiles could still be saved.

"So, what exactly is the plan here?" Elise asked as Derek and the Argents began loading up with supplies. "I mean, even if we can find him, how do we get him to come with us?"

"Our best bet right now is to have Derek pick up his scent at Eichen House. If that doesn't work, Elise, you're our plan B," Chris instructed, an authoritative tone to his voice. "At least one of you two should be able to pick out something there, especially if he went through something stressful."

Elise nodded, her hand reaching toward one of the smoke grenades that Allison had set out on the table. Noah softly batted her hand away, flashing her a stern look before casting his gaze toward Chris. "Are you sure we should all be going to the same place?"

"Where else has Stiles been showing up?" Chis asked.

Allison's brows furrowed in through briefly before she responded, "The hospital, the school-"

"Hold on," Derek interrupted, earning a glare from Allison. "We've done this already. He went missing and we went looking and it ended with us walking right into a trap at the hospital."

"He's getting us to repeat the same moves," Chris noted.

Elise sighed, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth. The afternoon sun cast a soft light through the open windows of the study, making the scene seem much more serene than it really was. Tendrils of tension flickered off of each individual in the room, clouding Elise's vision. The brunette took a steadying breath to clear her senses before she responded. "So, what do we do? Wait for him to come to us? The sun won't be up for much longer and the Oni will be coming for him."

"We've got Scott and Kira working on that," Noah announced. They had found a picture of a woman that looked strikingly like Kira at the Eichen House when Stiles had been reclaimed by the nogitsune. Kira and Scott had decided to talk to her parents about the ordeal, hoping that it might shed some light on Kira's family history in relation to the nogitsune.

"Then that's the problem," Chris breathed. "We're trying to outfox the fox."

A heavy silence settled over the group, no one fully knowing what to say. Elise's nails dug into the palms of her hands as she scanned her eyes over the collection on the table. It seemed that no matter what they did, the nogitsune was always one step ahead of them.

"Listen," Noah spoke softly, breaking the silence. "I understand if any of you want to back out now."

"I'm not leaving Stiles," Elise replied, followed by a series of agreements from the rest of the group.