Pushing Stiles' bedroom door open, Aurelia stormed in. "I think there is something wrong with Derek. I don't know what it is but I just feel it." Lia rambled, dropping her bag onto the floor and sitting in Stiles' chair. After waking up next to Isaac an hour later, she hugged him goodbye and went to leave. Noticing as she was leaving that Derek was nowhere in sight which didn't settle well with her. Leaving the trio there, she headed for Stiles' house because they said they needed to talk to her. Not specifying how important it was, Aurelia didn't think much of it — although she probably should have.
"I'm sure he's fine, but, anyway Lia! We found out who the killer is!" Stiles yelled, raising from his bed and cutting her off. Aurelia raised her eyebrows, glancing over to Scott to see if he was telling the truth. "It's Matt."
Rolling her eyes, she dropped her head back. "Lia, he's telling the truth." Aurelia's mouth dropped open, silently asking them to continue. Scott and Stiles took it in turns to tell Lia about how when people had started to jump in the pool Matt was thrown in, little did everyone know — Matt couldn't swim. Jackson ended up pulling Matt out which already made the two question Matt's innocence. All questions were answered when Stiles and Scott were leaving the party, their eyes landing on a very menacing Matt stood with the fully formed Kanima — no fear of the creature, just pure control. "And then within a blink of an eye, he was gone."
"Gone?"
"Like a freaking magician doing a disappearing act!" Stiles yelled throwing his arms around. "I told yo— I told you, it was him. Nobody listened."
"Okay, Stiles!" Aurelia breathed, holding both her hands out. Her palms facing him. "What do we do now? I don't suppose he'd be down for a civil conversatio—" Hearing the front door open, the friends instantly knew that it was Noah. Silent communication told them they all were thinking the same thing, they needed to tell him. Waiting for the older Stilinski to enter the room, Aurelia paced, her mind reeling with how they were going to prove it.
"Dad!" Stiles called as he walked past his room. "We've found the killer." Stiles nodded, pulling his father towards his table.
"We think we have." Aurelia corrected, ignoring the scowl from Stiles.
"No, we have." Landing on the page of the yearbook, Stiles' finger rested on Matt's picture.
"So this kid's the real killer?" The ex-Sheriff asked his son sceptically, looking through his lashes at the group.
"Yeah." Stiles nodded.
"No." Noah shrugged.
"Yes!"
"No."
"Dad, come on. Everybody knows that the police look for ways to connect victims in a murder, okay? So all he had to do is, like, look through their transcripts and figure out which class they all had in common." Stiles rambled, waving his arms around and beginning to pace just like Lia had been.
"Yeah, except for the fact that the rave promoter Kara wasn't in Harris's class." Noah reasoned, making Aurelia tilt her head in thought.
"All right, okay, you're right, sorry."
Stiles sassed, throwing his roughed up hands in the air in feign surrender. "Then I guess they dropped the charges against him?" He questioned, Lia smirking behind him when she figured out his game.
"No, you know what? They're not dropping the charges. But that doesn't prove anything." Stilinski argued, holding his pointer finger to the boy. "Scott, Lia, do you believe this?"
"It's really hard to explain how we know this, but you just gotta trust us. We know it's Matt." Scott nodded, watching as Noah's eyes flicked to Aurelia expectantly.
"It's him." She nodded sheepishly, cringing as Noah inwardly groaned and rubbed his temple therapeutically.
"Yeah, he took Harris's car, okay?" Stiles put forward. "Look, he knew that if a cop found tire tracks at one of the murders, and that if enough of the victims were in Harris's class, that they'd arrest him."
"All right, fine. I'll allow the remote possibility, but give me a motive." Noah partially caved, still needing something to validate him bending over backwards for them. "I mean, why would this kid want most of the 2006 swim team and its coach dead?"
"Isn't it obvious? Our swim team sucks! They haven't won in, like, six years." Stiles yelled, looking over to Aurelia who was staring off into space.
"Pure psychopathy?" She deadpanned, the three boys falling silent for a few seconds as they stared at the zoned-out girl.
"Okay— we don't have a motive yet. I mean, come on, does Harris?" Stiles drawled, pulling his attention away from Lia.
"What do you want me to do?" Noah asked, fully caving.
"We need to look at the evidence." Aurelia smiled, snapping out of her trance and leaning on the desk.
"Yeah, that would be in the station, where I no longer work." Stilinski sighed, eyeing his son who cringed.
"Trust me, they'll let you in." Stiles smiled.
"Trust you?" Noah spluttered, his eyes as wide as saucers.
"Trust— trust Scott?" Stilinski still looked sceptical, an eyebrow raised. "Trust Lia?" He asked in a quiet voice.
"Lia— Lia I trust." Noah nodded, looking to the Lahey who stood beaming in the corner.
Entering the police station, the three teens followed the former Sheriff through the doors and into the dimly lit building. Following a conversation between Noah and the deputy on shift that night, they trailed through the winding corridors of the Sheriff's station until they eventually made it to his former office. "We should look at the hospital stuff first, okay?" Aurelia whispered entering the office and beginning to pull out boxes related to the case.
"Why?" Scott asked, following the girl to the table.
"Because all the murders were committed by Jackson, except for one, you remember?" Stiles mumbled, finishing the girls thought and lugging more boxes behind his father.
"The pregnant girl, Jessica." Scott thought aloud, lifting papers and shuffling through the unimportant ones.
"Exactly. Since Matt had to kill her himself, somebody from the hospital could've seen him." Aurelia explained, hoping that would be the case — a lingering thought in the back of her mind telling her nothing was that cut and dry.
"I don't know, guys. I mean, look at this. There was a six-car pileup that night, the hospital was jammed." Noah told them, showing them the files and the security footage from the casualties that day.
Taking the mouse from his father, he clicked play again. "All right, just keep going." All four pairs of eyes stayed attached to the monitor, desperate to get a glimpse of their killer. "Look, he had to have passed one of the cameras on that floor to get to Jessica, okay? He's gotta be on the footage somewhere."
"Oh, hold on, stop!" Scott yelled, his hand landing on Stiles' to pull the video back. "Did you see that? Scroll back."
"That's him! That's Matt!" Lia yelled, straightening her back and throwing her arms in the air.
"All I see is the back of someone's head." Noah winced, zooming in slightly.
"Matt's head, yeah. I sit behind him in history." Stiles nodded. "He's got a very distinct cranium, it's weird." Stiles rambled, ignoring Aurelia's snigger. The older Stilinski just stared at his goofball son, before asking him if he was crazy. "All right, fine, then look at his jacket, huh? How many people do you know who wear black leather jackets?" Stiles attempted to reason, Aurelia could have named nine at most — but that wasn't going to help their case so she kept quiet.
Trying to stop the argument between father and son, Scott cut in. "Okay, can we scroll forward? There's gotta be a shot of him coming at one of the cameras."
Following the guy on a few more cameras, they found him reach an intersection. "Right there, stop! See, there he is again." Stiles yelled, pointing at the miniature man clad in black.
"You mean there's the back of his head again."
"Okay, but look. He's talking to someone." Lia cut in, getting closer to the screen to get a good look. "Scott... he's talking to your Mom."
Scott quickly pulled out his phone and began to ring his mother. Aurelia paced the confines of the room, listening in to the conversation. "This one's sixteen, he's got dark hair, looks like a normal teenager." Lia couldn't hear Melissa's response, making the silence even more agonising. "Okay, Mom, I'm gonna take a picture and send it to you. Do you recognize him? Do you remember him?" Scott asked, and Lia stopped pacing. Staring at her brother figure expectantly. "She remembers him." Scott nodded, looking between his friends excitedly.
"We've got shoe prints alongside the tire tracks at the trailer site." Noah rushed, pulling out the prints and smacking them on the table.
"And if they match, that puts Matt at the scene of three murders. The trailer, the hospital, and the rave." Aurelia chimed, rocking on the balls of her feet, adrenaline pumping through her veins at the mere thought they'd actually solved this.
"Actually, four. A credit card receipt for an oil change was signed by Matt at the garage where the mechanic was killed." Noah informed the teens, things were finally starting to piece together.
"When?" Stiles asked, staring down at his father.
"A couple of hours before you got there."
"All right, Dad, if one's an incident, two's a coincidence, and three's a pattern, what's four?" Stiles inquired, watching his Dad crack a smirk.
"Four's enough for a warrant." Stiles clapped his hands together and Aurelia breathed a sigh of relief. "Scott, call your Mom back, see how quick she can get here. If I can get an official ID, I can get a search warrant." Noah ordered, turning to the others. "You two, go to the front desk. Tell them to let Scott's Mom in when she gets here."
"On it," Stiles responded, opening the door for Lia and following her out into the corridor. Rippling footsteps was the only sound audible throughout the building as the two friends ran into the reception of the police station. Something was different, however. It was too quiet. Too empty. Taking it upon herself to investigate further, Lia ran towards the front desk and began to look around. "Hello?" Stiles naively called out. Alerting whoever ordered the attack on the very dead receptionist, that they were there. Flying to cover her mouth, Aurelia's hands shook upon finding the dead body. Calling out for Stiles she rushed around the desk and fell to her knees beside the women. Feeling around for a pulse desperately, she then solemnly rose to her feet. Losing all words, she looked towards Stiles — her eyes widening as she looked down the barrel of a gun hovering over the boy's shoulder.
Terror. The type of fear that makes you freeze up, not physically but mentally. Unable to think of an escape. Only aware of the imminent danger staring you directly in the face. Walk of shame. Usually, a term used to describe someone feelings after doing something wrong. In this sense, the walk of shame meant something entirely different — a failure to protect themselves and others. The shame being in failure, not humiliation. Forced to walk back into the room you left with a loaded pistol pressed against your temple, instilled an appreciation for the little things in life. "Matt? Matt, whatever's going on, I guarantee you there's a solution that doesn't involve a gun." Noah tried to insure, holding his hands up as his son returned to his side. Stiles' whiskey eyes never leaving Lia's frame.
"You know, it's funny you say that because I don't think you're aware of just how right you are." Matt laughed, Scott wincing as Aurelia tightened her eyes and the gun pressed further into the skin of her head.
"I know you don't wanna hurt people."
"Actually, I wanna hurt a lot of people." Matt corrected the former cop, the grip around Lia's chest tightening painfully. "You four weren't on my list, but I could be persuaded." He nodded sadistically, Lia finding it progressively harder to hold in the emotions bubbling at the seams. "And one way is to try dialling somebody on your cell phone, like McCall is doing. Tha— that could definitely get someone hurt." Matt smirked, his eyes darkening as he stared at the men across from him. "Everyone. Now!" He yelled insisting that everyone place their phones on the table, using his own hands to remove Aurelia's from her back pocket — something which Stiles caught and hated as he watched the girl cringe.
Pointing them to the cell room, Matt made Stiles handcuff his own father to one of the metal bars made to keep the prisoners in place whilst the officers dealt with other things. "Tighter," Matt ordered, Stiles hesitated looking between his father and Aurelia who was being held by Matt, a gun still held at her head. Phoenix's in the myth were immortal, and even though they were certain that's what Aurelia was — they didn't feel like testing it.
"Do what he says, Stiles." Aurelia nodded, wincing as the gun pressed harder and the grip around her neck tightened.
"What, are you gonna kill everyone in here?" Scott seethed, wanting to move forwards and help Lia but refraining knowing it would only put her in more danger.
"No, that's what Jackson's for. I just think about killing them, and he does it." Matt smiled, walking them out of the room and leaving the Sheriff in the dark and out of the way.
"Deleted and we're done." Stiles snapped, taking longer to get anything done because of the threat on their lives. "All right, so, Matt, since all the people you brutally murdered deserved it because they killed you first — whatever that means — I think we're good here, right?" Stiles snarked, moving around the desk and facing the homicidal teenager. "So we'll just get my dad, and we'll go, you know? You continue on the whole vengeance thing. Enjoy the Kanima—" Stiles smiled, moving forwards to grab Lia when Matt pulled her back and nodded to the door.
"Sounds like your mom's here, McCall." He announced condescendingly.
"Matt, don't do this," Lia begged, loving the women as if she was her own mother.
"When she comes to the door, I'll just tell her to leave. I'll tell her we didn't find anything. Please, Matt." Scott begged, looking at him desperately.
Releasing his grip on the girl, he rounded on the werewolf. Aurelia fell forward and ran to Stiles her breathing shallow. "If you don't move now, I'm gonna kill Lia and Stiles first, and then your Mom," Matt yelled, the gun still aimed for the pair. Hesitantly, Scott began to leave. Matt changed the direction of the gun to Scott and followed after him. Stopping at door, he turned back over his shoulder and eyed the ones left behind. "Even think about moving or calling anyone, and I'll put a bullet in his Mom's skull before you can even say Kanima."
Stiles pulled the girl into him and hugged her, glad to have her safe — well safer than what she previously was. "Are you okay?" Stiles asked, pulling her back and scanning her face for tears.
"I'm fine. But we need to go." Aurelia insisted, grabbing his hand and heading for the door.
"But Melissa! He said he'd shoot them both." Stiles whisper-yelled, resisting her strength.
"You really think Scott's gonna let that happen. Before he pulls the trigger, Scott will have tackled him. He probably has shit aim anyway, I hope." Aurelia yelled, opening the door and dragging him through. Trying the laptops on the way past, but it seemed that someone cut the wires. "Of course, Jackson cut the wires. For fu—" Hearing a thump from the other room, Aurelia and Stiles chased it — wondering who ended up on the floor and who won the fight. "Derek?" Aurelia gasped, looking at the paralysed wolf on the floor.
"Jackson," Stiles warned, looking to his right where a partially formed Kanima stood.
"Hi," Lia whispered, finally facing the killer they had been chasing for weeks.
"This is the one controlling him? This kid?" Derek spat, staring up at the killer.
"Unfortunately," Lia whispered, knowing the wolf could hear her.
"Well, Derek, not everyone's lucky enough to be a big, bad werewolf. Oh, yeah, that's right. I've learned a few things lately." Matt laughed manically. "Werewolves, hunters, Kanimas. It's like a frickin' Halloween party every full moon." He laughed, turning to the door where Stiles and Lia stood. "Except for you two. What are you?"
"Phoenix."
"Abominable snowman."
Matt stared at the two, unsure who to believe and which one to punch. "But, uh, it's more of, like, a wintertime thing, you know, seasonal." Stiles continued. Scott yelled out as Jackson's trail flew to the back of their necks, slicing the skin and injecting them with its paralytic toxic. "You bitch." Stiles pushed out as it began to take effect, falling to his knees. Aurelia, however, just grabbed the back of her neck in pain — but lost no mobility. Matt stood confused as she didn't fall to the door, the Kanima venom so far had worked on everyone as far as Matt was aware. Jackson raised his trail again to nick the back of her neck, but Aurelia was too smart for that — she refused to fall for the same trick twice. Spinning around she caught his tail and forced it away, her hands eventually slipping off due to the thick, paralytic slime covering his skin.
Matt tried to find the words, as he repeatedly opened and closed his mouth. "Ho— how?"
"As she said, Phoenix." Scott shrugged, grabbing her arm and pulling her closer.
By this point, Stiles had lost all movement and dropped to the floor — landing on Derek. "Get him off of me." Derek spat, trying to get the buzz-cut boy off him.
"Oh, I don't know, Derek. I think you two make a pretty good pair." Matt chimed, squatting down next to them — the gun still tightly clutched in his hand. "It must kinda suck, though, to have all that power taken away from you with just a little cut to the back of the neck. I bet you're not used to feeling this helpless." He teased, trusting the Kanima to watch his back.
"Still got some teeth. Why don't you get down here a little closer, huh? We'll see how helpless I am." Derek warned, making Aurelia smirk because no matter how helpless he was — he had a set of balls to talk to the guy with a gun like that.
"Yeah, bitch." Stiles chimed, wanting to push Matt that tiny bit further.
"Is that her? Do what I tell you to and I won't hurt her. I won't even let Jackson near her." Matt reassured as Scott's mother could be heard pulling up outside.
"Scott, don't trust him!" However, Stiles' sharp tongue and loud mouth landed him in hot water when Matt moved towards him and stood on his throat cutting off his air supply.
"This work better for you?" Aurelia went to push him away but stopped as Jackson grabbed Scott and threatened to tear out his throat.
"Okay, just stop! Stop!" Aurelia screamed, shaking her hands around as the pure fear of both her boys being hurt made her forget how to control her own limbs.
"Then do what I tell you to." Matt seethed, Aurelia nodded frantically — breathing a sigh of relief as Matt removed his foot. "You, take them in there. You, with me." Matt ordered, pointing at Aurelia. "You I'm curious about, you, I've never heard of, I don't know what you are capable of." Pointing the gun at her, he made her move Derek and Stiles off to the side as Scott was forced out of the room. Standing in the dark, he waited for Melissa to walk through the door — the loaded gun still aimed for Lia's head, still not sure what damage it would do.
"Mel?" Aurelia whispered as the door opened and a severely worn out nurse entered.
Throwing her hand to her heart she jumped. "You scared me, where is every—"
"Mel, just do what he says. He promised he wouldn't hurt you." Aurelia begged as Matt revealed himself, the gun glinting against the dim lights. Melissa's eyes widened as her sight landed on the gun, her heart stopping and her breath getting caught in her throat.
"But I didn't say I wouldn't hurt you," Matt spoke, lowering the gun to Aurelia's abdomen and firing a bullet. Although her hearing dipped out, she still managed to make out the screams from Scott and Stiles as they called out for her — unable to move whether it be from paralysis or the Kanima blocking their way.
"Lia! Sweethear—" Melissa tried, going to move forward when Matt pointed the gun back at Lia.
"Back, BACK!"
"Mel, stop, please stop!" She begged, holding her stomach and keeping herself steady against the wall beside her.
"I said get back!" Matt screamed at Melissa when she tried to desperately help her as she couldn't keep herself up anymore.
"Melissa, do it. Please, just listen to him." She begged, holding herself on one hand and trying subtly to get the bullet out with the other. Subduing her whimpers by biting down on her tongue or lip.
"Get up, Lahey." Everyone began talking, Stiles from his place on the floor in whatever room he'd been dumped in, Scott and the Sheriff from their confines and Melissa who was facing the killer and the girl dying in front of her. "SHUT UP! Everybody shut the hell up! Now, get up, or I shoot her next!" Matt threatened, now pointing the gun at the McCall.
"Please, she needs to see a doctor." She begged, tears leaking from her eyes.
"You think so?"
"It's all right. I'm okay." Aurelia assured, pushing herself up the wall so the threats would subside.
"No, sweetie, you're not okay." Melissa cried, wiping away her tears as she looked at the girl she considered a daughter.
"It doesn't hurt, I promise."
"That's the adrenaline, okay? Please, let m— let me just take a look at her, okay? I mean, I can help stop the bleeding." Melissa tried, wanting to move forward but stopping as Matt grabbed her and forced her away.
"They have no idea, do they?" Matt sneered, pushing Melissa through the door as he spoke over his shoulder to Aurelia who hissed at the pain.
"Please. Let me just take a quick look. I—" Melissa begged, her hands gripping the metal bars of the cell she was locked in. Matt scowled rounding on the women and aiming his gun at Scott's head. Threatening that if she didn't be quiet, the next bullet would be piercing his skull. "Okay. Okay." She caved, moving back from the cell door.
"Back to the front, you two," Matt ordered, whilst Scott looked at his mother, Aurelia met eyes with her best friends father. Having been watching her since they entered the room, he already noticed the blood trailing down her shirt — but wasn't surprised she was still walking. He had always known she was the toughest. "After you." He spat, forcing them to leave the room.
"The evidence is gone. Why don't you just go?" Aurelia asked, their legs walking them past the Kanima and into a room lined with shut down computers.
"You think the evidence mattered that much, huh? No, no, I— I want the book." Matt spat, pacing back and forth with Jackson looming behind him.
"What— what book?" Scott asked, his hand now grasping Lia's.
"The bestiary. Not just a few pages, I want the entire thing."
"We don't have it. It's Gerard's. What do you want it for, anyway?" Scott asked, angling himself in front of Aurelia so if any more bullets were fired, they would hit him not her.
"I need answers."
"Answers to what?" Scott yelled, getting fed up with him dancing around the problem. Matt raised the gun and fired one bullet into Scott side. Aurelia cried out, catching him as he stumbled back — that's what they got for yelling.
"To this." Matt retorted, tugging up the side of his shirt and revealing a section of scales that had now replaced his skin. Indicating to everyone that somehow, Matt was transforming into a Kanima himself. And the only thing worse than one, was two.
Walking them into another room, as the boy couldn't seem to decide where he wanted them to say, he reloaded his gun. "There." He ordered, pointing to the place he wanted them to stand. "You know, I feel sorry for you both, cause right now, you're thinking, 'how am I gonna explain this when it heals?'. And the sad part is, you don't even realize how incredible it is that you actually are healing." Matt spat, flailing the gun around as if it wasn't packed with bullets. "Cause you know what happens to everyone else when they get shot? They die."
"Is that what happened to you? You drowned, didn't you?" Aurelia asked, starting to put the pieces together.
"He shouldn't have let them drink," Matt mumbled, looking at the daughter of his killer.
"Wha— who—Matt, what do you mean?"
"Lahey! He shouldn't have let them drink." He screamed, pointing the gun at the girl.
"What, who was drinking?" Scott asked, wincing at the burning of the bullet hole.
Matt raised and hand to his head and sighed. "The swim team, you idiot! I didn't know what was happening. I didn't know they had just won state, and Lahey, he's letting his favourites come over to have a couple of drinks to celebrate. Who cares if they're 17, right?" Matt yelled, looking at the girl again. Hating the fact she was there that day, and it took until now for her to find out about it.
"I remember, you had come home with Zac." Aurelia trailed, looking up and watching Matt.
"He had this first edition Spiderman, or was it Batman?" Aurelia shrugged, not knowing and simply not caring. "And we were gonna make a trade. But then I'm over there and I hear music. And everyone's having a good time, and I see Sean. He throws Jessica in the pool. And the— and then Bennett goes in and—"
"Bennett? What— the hunter?" Scott asked, finally figuring out the motive for the kills.
"And then Camden." Matt deadpanned, watching as Aurelia's face paled and stomach dropped. "Your jarhead brother, he grabs me. He thinks it's funny."
"They threw you in." She whispered, the whole story becoming so much more clear. Remembering how her father screamed at her to go inside, she didn't think much of it at the time — but now? It was all so clear.
Matt breathed a deep breath and fiddled with the gun. "I— I yelled that I can't swim, but nobody listens. I go under and I swallow water, and no one cares." He swallowed thickly, Scott and Aurelia just stared on in shock, not knowing what else to say. "And I see these bodies underwater. I— I see Jessica's got her hands down Sean's board shorts. Tucker's grabbing Kara. And I'm drowning. I'm dying, and they're laughing. All of a sudden, I was just— I'm lying by the pool. And Lahey is right there, right above me, and he sa— he says, 'you tell no one', 'this is your fault', 'you don't know how to swim?', 'what little bastard doesn't know how to swim?', 'you say nothing', 'you tell no one'." He repeated, his voice shaking as he relived it. "And I didn't. I didn't tell anyone. And I would see them at school, and they wouldn't even look at me." He spoke, tears pooling in his eyes. "I'd wake up in the middle of the night. I'd gasp for breath. And my parents, they thought I was an asthmatic. The— they even gave me an inhaler. They didn't know that every time I closed my eyes, I— I was drowning. You know about that little white light that they talk about, you see when you die?" He asked, beginning to pace. "Well, I didn't see anything. Just darkness. Everything was dark."
"Yeah, well, nobody said my father was an angel. Trust me, me and Isaac would know." Matt went to speak again but she cut him off. "At least he didn't hold you under the water, he got you out." Scott pulled her back, knowing it wasn't helping.
"Stop trying to undermine my trauma because you've got some of your own!" He yelled.
"That's not what I—"
"SHUT UP!" He screamed, his eyes reflecting that of a madman. "But the— then came the Argent's funeral, and everything changed." Aurelia's eyebrows furrowed, unable to tell whether it was related to the pain or the confusion as to how a funeral changed everything for him. "I was taking some photos, and then, purely by accident, Lahey gets in one of the photos. I look down at the screen on my camera, and I just had this unbelievable rage that fills up inside of me, and I just— I look at him, and I— I wanna see him dead."
Aurelia sucked in a breath, even though they were talking about someone who hurt her more than anyone in the world. It was still her father, he wasn't always like that. "And the next day, he was. You know, Einstein was right. Imagination is more important than knowledge. It was like something out of Greek mythology. You'll know about this Lia, the Phoenix." He seethed, venom dripping from his words. "Like— like the furies coming down to punish Orestes." Noticing Scott's confused face, he rounded on him. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"
"Was he the guy who stabbed out his eyes?
Matt groaned in frustration and smacked the side of his head. "God, that's Oedipus, you dumbass! The furies are deities of vengeance. Their tears ran of blood, and they had snakes for hair. If there was a crime that had gone unpunished, the furies would do the punishing." He informed, Aurelia, having already known all this from her research on Greek Mythology. "Jackson is my fury. You know, when I saw him the next night, it was like this bond had been cemented between the two of us. I knew he had killed Lahey for me, and I knew he would do it again. So, I went to Tucker's garage. I even paid for an oil change. And guess what. He didn't even recognize me." He laughed under his breath, his voice steading and becoming darker. "So when he wasn't looking, I took a shot of him from my camera. And in a few hours, he was dead."
Shivers rippled down Aurelia spine, making her stand straighter and pull her shoulders back. When the pain that had settled in her stomach didn't roar, she knew she healed. Knowing she needed to keep up the weak act, she screwed her eyes shut and scrunched her nose — hoping Matt would take it as her being in pain. It seemed to work as Matt smiled. "So I took more pictures. All I had to do was take their picture, and Jackson would take their life."
A painful silence hung in the air around them, no one spoke, no one moved. Not until the lights short-circuited and the odd working computers shut down. "What is this? What's happening? What's going on?" Matt questioned, jumping up from his place as the emergency lights flicked on.
"I don't know," Scott answered sincerely, still holding a hand to his side. Shattering the windows, bullets rang out through the air — sending the trio down to the floor to cover their heads. Glass rained down above them, Matt resorting to crawling underneath a table. Bullets ricocheted off every flat and uneven surface, knocking out the cameras and shattering framed photos belonging to the dead officers. Not gaining a second of silence as the firing ceased, a smoke bomb was launched through the window. Thick, grey smoke coated the floor of the room leaving Matt coughing on the floor. Scott and Aurelia, however, had already started making their escape as soon as the bullets stopped, landing them a mere two meters from the door when the smoke reached them. Running through the door, Scott pounced on Jackson — catching him off guard and throwing him to the floor. Aurelia shot through the door and down to Stiles.
"Take him! Go!" Derek ordered, his movement beginning to return. Slinking an arm over her shoulder, she helped the boy to his feet. Steading herself more as Scott grabbed his other side, helping her get him out of the room. Winding down the corridor, Jackson followed after them. Passing off Stiles to Scott, Aurelia began slamming the doors behind them — leaning on them so Stiles and Scott could get further in front.
"I hate lizards." She deadpanned. Waiting for Jackson to open the door, she readied herself. As the door flew open, she extended her talons — something of which Scott taught her in the back of their English class — and slashed his face. Whilst his head flew to the side, she raised her foot, drew her knee to her chest and kicked it outwards. Throwing him backwards through the door and landing flat on his back on the floor.
Running into the room where Stiles and Scott was, she helped Scott lower him onto a chair and gently rested his head on the back of the chair. "Don't move," Scott ordered, cringing at his choice of words when Stiles pulled an offended look at him. "You know what I mean."
"You find Matt, I'll find Derek?" Aurelia asked, looking to Scott who after a moments thought, conceded with a nod, before watching his sister figure run out the door.
After finding Derek the pair ended up coming face to face with Jackson, who slowly began to shift into fully formed Kanima. "GET OUT OF HERE!" Derek yelled out over the shouting from Melissa and Noah, the gunfire and whatever was happening elsewhere. Aurelia refused to let go of Derek's jacket, not wanting to leave him — partly because she knew what Jackson was capable of and also because she didn't want to leave him herself. "You know what it's like to lose your parents, save your friends that grief and save their parents." Lia nodded, taking off for the cells without a second thought to the man she was leaving behind. He was smarter and more skilled than Jackson.
Chasing after Matt, of whom she had spotted running towards the cell room, she witnessed him run at the Sheriff and send his fist flying into his face. Blood boiling, Aurelia ran into the room and kicked his leg, sending him to his knees. You see, not only had Scott been teaching her control, she'd been learning self-defence with both Scott and Allison — knowing that at some point it would come in handy. Matt turned around over his shoulder and hit Aurelia sending her flying backwards. "Matt? Matt, please, listen to me. The girl that may as well be my daughter has been shot, and I've heard other gunfire, Scott or Stiles could have also been shot, and I don't know what's happening, but can you please just let me see them?" She begged, her hands tightly coiled on the bars.
"How totally clueless are you people?" Matt hissed, staring down the women.
Aurelia looked around the room for any other exits, spotting Stiles crawling along the floor with all this strength. "Do you not listen to a word we say?" She groaned, skidding over to him and sitting him up — staying close to him in case Matt tried anything. Hearing a growling from behind her, Derek loomed in the corner his red Alpha eyes glowing in the dark. Melissa's mouth dropped at his morphed face and extended claws. Expecting Scott to be at the other side preparing to fight, Aurelia looked behind her. Her heart stopping when she saw the Kanima. No trace of Jackson left.
Leaving Derek and the Kanima to fight, Aurelia ran to the draws and rooted through them, looking for the keys to get Melissa out. Not caring that Matt had made a run for it, if she didn't get to him. Someone would. Derek ended up being launched over the table, landing on Aurelia with force. "For the love of God, Derek! Couldn't have landed anywhere else could you?" Lia yelled throwing him off her, so she could continue searching. Meanwhile, the Kanima tauntingly climbed above Melissa, making the poor women's breath shake and tears flow down her cheeks. Long claws pierced the back of the Kanima and threw it to the floor. "Oh, God, Scott? Scott, you okay?" Melissa let out a terrified sob as she realised whatever these creatures were — her son was also. "No!"
Aurelia ran at the creature, fiery eyes glowing as she let out a pulse wave. Sending him backwards, before slicing him with her talons. The Kanima then fled, following after its master who had clearly left some moments ago. Turning around to her friend she watched as Melissa shrunk into the corner. Seeing both Aurelia and Scott like that was just too much for her.
Grabbing onto Lia's hand, Scott dragged her from the room wanting to chase after Matt and the Kanima. "What are you doing here? It wasn't supposed to happen like this." Scott scolded, after running into Gerard in the hallway.
"Trust me, I'm aware of that," Gerard responded civilly.
Aurelia simply looked confused as to why they were talking like they were on the same side. "I've done everything that you've asked of me. I'm part of Derek's pack, I've given you all the information that you wanted, I told you Matt was controlling Jackson—"
"You did what?" Aurelia growled.
"Then leave him to us. Help your friends. Leave Matt and Jackson to me. Deal with your mother." Gerard cut in, making Aurelia's mouth drop. "Go!"
Walking past them, a small tub fell from his pocket. Scott dropped down and picked the box up. Unbeknownst to the rest of them, switching it with one in his pocket. "You dropped this."
Gerard took it from his hand and pushed them forward. "Go!"
a/n : long one this time, 6498 words, and a hell of a lot happened.