THE GUARD

23

"I myself was kind of wondering what they're doing right now. What useless lead they're chasing. I wonder if maybe some of them, have bigger problems to deal with right now."

He glanced back to Apollo, a rigid smile coming across his features.

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

Lydia slowly turned to face them both, trying to ignore the numbness in Apollo's once bright eyes.

"What do you want?"

"More," the Nogitsune stepped closer.

"More what?"

"The trickster stories are all about food, Lydia. The coyote, the raven, the fox," he gave a laugh as he nodded to Apollo. "They're all hungry. I'm the same. I just crave something a little different."

Apollo watched, ignoring Lydia's pleading eyes as Stiles stepped to her side.

"I eat what you feel." She cried out as he grabbed her hair, pressing his lips to her ear. "And I'm insatiable."

"What about you?" Lydia called, trying to look over her shoulder to Apollo. "What are you doing Pollo?"

"He thinks I'm Stiles," he whispered against her ear. "He thinks he's protecting me from the rest of you."

"Let him go," Lydia growled.

"He chooses to be here. All I do is put the thoughts in his head that pathetic little Stiles is in danger, and then he does whatever I ask."

The Nogitsune stepped back from Lydia, looking up at Apollo with a smirk.

"My little guard."

A silence settled over the three, Lydia's breathing bouncing off the walls and reminding them how alone they truly were.

"You're nervous," she whispered. "Aren't you? You know they're coming. You know they're going to kill you."

Apollo moved forward, but stopped when the Nogitsune held out a hand, leaning closer to Lydia.

"Well, that's exactly why I'm keeping you so close."

"Please," the girl tried one last time to reach out to her friend.

"What's not clicking, Lydia?" Stiles whispered against her ear. "Apollo's gone."

The silence seemed to linger, Stiles pulling Lydia away as Apollo followed closely.

"They're here. And I don't need to scream to know that they're going to kill you," she smiled.

Apollo's eyes widened at the mention of death, looking to him with concern.

"Good. Because that's exactly why I brought you," the Nogitsune pulled out a dagger. "I needed to know when they'd be close enough. When my own death was closing in."

The Oni suddenly appeared in the room, Lydia looking around with wide eyes. They all pointed their weapons at the Nogitsune, Apollo stepping in front of him with a growl.

"Cause only when they're close can I do this." He snapped the dagger, and suddenly the Oni stopped, Apollo's laughter echoing on the walls. "Come."

Apollo did as told, nodding to the Oni as they all followed him above ground.

When they walked through the gates, Apollo recognized Allison, Isaac, and Kira all standing in front of Mrs. Yukimura.

"What does that mean?" The Lahey asked, clearly in a panic.

"It means there's been a change in ownership. Now they belong to me." The Nogitsune stepped behind Apollo, letting the bronze eyed boy lead the charge.

He rushed forward at Isaac, the Oni doing the same as metal against metal filled the air.

"Apollo, snap out of it man."

He ignored the wolf, sending a hit to his stomach and kicking him backward. Isaac rushed forward, recovering quickly and clawing at Apollo's face.

The boy cried out, feeling blood coat his hand as he reeled back.

"Isaac," his soft eyes met the boy's. "Isaac, what's going on?"

"Apollo?" His yellow eyes faded to brown, reaching out to his friend. "I'm sorry man-"

Apollo kicked the boy's legs out from under him, tackling him to the ground as his hands went to Isaac's throat.

"You're all so easy to trick." He grinned as Isaac's face began to turn red, but suddenly he felt a sharp pain go through his arm.

He fell of Isaac with a grunt, turning to see Allison had fired an arrow at him. He went to run at his twin, but she fired another arrow at the Oni, and suddenly a yellow light flashed around them.

The sound of a sword falling to the ground made Apollo go rigid, watching as one of the soldiers disappeared.

"I have to do everything myself then." Apollo seethed, rushing forward to take the dropped sword, and rushing at Allison.

Without a single thought passing through his mind he drove the blade into the girl's stomach, her fearful eyes meeting ones that seemed void. Her brother's eyes, that seemed to have no recognition of what he had just done.

Apollo pulled the sword back, dropping it to the ground with a huff of air, and with that they all disappeared.

Scott McCall sprinted toward his first love, catching her before her body could hit the ground.

"Allison-"

"Did you find her? Is she okay? Is Lydia safe?"

"Yeah, she's okay," Scott assured her.

"He didn't know, Scott. It wasn't his fault. You have to tell him."

Scott nodded softly as tears burned behind his eyes. They had all watched Apollo do it, and even if he wasn't himself Scott wasn't planning on letting him forget.

"It wasn't Apollo's fault."

"I know," he lied. Scott frantically tried to take the girls hand, trying to hold back the sobs as she faded. "I can't take your pain."

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

"No."

"It's okay. It's okay," the girl nodded through her sobs. "It's perfect. I'm in the arms of my first love. The first person I ever loved. The person I'll always love. I love you."

Scott was crying now too, holding the girl as close as possible.

"Scott. Scott McCall."

"Don't. Please, don't. Allison don't, please."

"You have to tell my dad. You have to tell my dad. Tell him—"

And the world seemed to stop for a moment when Allison Argent took her last breath. Crying filling the air as a weight pressed down on all the teenagers who had just watched a friend kill a friend. A brother kill a sister. A twin kill a twin.

Their only thought, besides the dead girl, being if they would save her brother in time for him to grieve what he had done.

Or if the events of that night were proof enough he was lost to them.