Weight of the World

48

At the sheriff station, Parrish looked at the blonde and said, "Molly, I know this is hard."

Molly slouched in her seat, crossed her arms and glared at him as she retorted, "I already explained it to you. Those guys came out of nowhere. They jumped us and tried to steal our car. It looked like one of them had a knife and I think they might've been wearing masks, but I wasn't sure. Everything happened so fast. As soon as he was able, Scott called Argent."

He sighed. "Okay, that's enough. Thank you, Molly."

Molly left the station and, upon noticing a text from Scott, made her way to the Animal Clinic.

When she got there, she noticed that Stiles had arrived and ran to help him. He looked, dare she say, awful.

Kira and Molly walked in, both supporting Stiles, and Lydia stumbled slightly, so Scott rushed to support her.

Lydia looked up at them. "Something's happening. I had this sudden rushing feeling, like we're running out of time."

They made their way into the operating room and Stiles said, "Yeah. Yeah, I kind of got that feeling, too."

After a moment of trying to catch her breath, Molly asked in a sharp tone, "Where to?"

"The school," Scott answered, frowning at his friend. "What's going on with you?"

Molly pursed her lips. "I just want to save him, okay?"

Once again, they climbed into the Jeep and drove to the school. Stiles climbed out and stumbled to a railing and Molly ran towards him. Stiles turned slowly to face his friends and said, "Scott, hold on. I know what you're all thinking. If this works, it might kill me too. But even if it does, you have to go through with it. Stick with the plan, okay?"

Molly frowned. "It's a stupid plan, Stiles."

Scott nodded. "The plan is to save you. That's the plan I'm going with."

They walked to the front door and Scott opened it. Molly exhaled, preparing to see the lockers and instead, saw snow. "What the hell?"

Scott frowned. "Oh, this is definitely not part of the plan."

They stood near each other as they observed their surroundings. A bandaged soldier wearing an old bomber jacket appeared. Molly moved to stand in front of Stiles and Lydia, reaching her hand back to take Stiles' hand.

The Oni materialized before them and Molly glared at them.

One Oni came close to Molly and she kicked at it, causing it to stumble slightly. The Nogitsune stepped closer to them. "Like I promised, Stiles, we're going to kill all of them. One by one."

Scott's voice took on an angry tone. "What the hell is this? Where are we?"

"Between life and death."

"Bardo," Lydia stated.

Molly's eyes narrowed further as the Nogitsune continued. "But there are no peaceful deities here, Lydia. You're dying, Stiles. And now everyone you care about is dying, too."

The huntress stared angrily at the Nogitsune. "I don't think so."

Stiles smiled lightly at Molly, then frowned. "What? What do you mean?"

A smirk grew on the Nogitsune's face. "I've captured almost all the territories on the board, Stiles. The hospital. The sheriff's station. And now the Animal Clinic."

The Nogitsune paused a moment before saying, "Do you know the ritual of seppuku, Stiles?"

He shook his head. "No, and I don't want to."