A/N: I apologize in advance for this whole chapter, but you all had to know that Ayla wouldn't handle Allison's death well. And like I said, maybe have some tissues handy.
GAME
[3×12]
GREY FUR RUBBED UP AGAINST AYLA'S LEG AS SHE STARED AT HER BEDROOM WALL. Lucifer gave a gentle meow as he continued to brush up against her, but she didn't react. She couldn't remember when her tears had ran dry, she just knew they had stopped at some point. The memories still replayed however.
Both Derek and Chris Argent had arrived only a moment after Allison's death. You would think a father who had just found his daughter dead would've fallen apart. That he would've crumpled to the ground, sobbing. But Argent had barely even reacted. He had just stood there, too shocked to react in any other way.
Most of the teenagers had been crying by then. Kira's mother was pulling her away from the dead body of the girl that she had started to see as a friend. Stiles, Lydia and Piper hadn't emerged yet, but all three already knew what had happened. Well, maybe not Stiles, who was so weak that he had barely been concious. Piper may not have seen anything, but she could tell from Lydia's scream and tears what had happened.
And then Chris Argent had finally reacted, reminding everyone they needed a story. Ayla wasn't really sure what that story had been. She didn't end up staying to find out. Agent McCall had been right. Her and Derek didn't need to be caught at any other crime scenes. So the former alpha had walked over to his still sobbing niece and dragged her to her feet.
He had then taken her home, where she had continued to cry in her room. She didn't know where any of the others were. She couldn't even wrap her mind around the fact that Allison was dead. The two had never been as close as Ayla and Lydia were or Ayla and Piper, but she had still been one of her best friends. And as selfish as it was, Ayla just kept thinking of all the ways that she had been a crappy friend to the other girl since they met.
To be fair, the two probably should've never been friends in the first place. They had been, though, and it seemed like every five seconds the two had found something to do that hurt the other. They had still been close to being best friends at this point, however, and it hurt to lose the other girl.
Finally unable to take the thoughts in her head, Ayla stood up. She did so so fast that Lucifer was lurched off the bed. He landed on all fours, and looked up at her with a face that said, "Really?"
And that was enough to make a whole other wave of tears fall. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, kneeling down next to him. She pulled the feline into her arms, and he didn't hiss at her this time. He didn't give any sign of protest as she held him and cried on the floor.
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Having heard the twins groaning in pain, Ayla finally made her way out of her room. She still had Lucifer in her arms, given that he hadn't seemed to mind being held. But he gave a hiss and scratched at her arms as she neared the other three werewolves. Not wanting to hurt him- even as she felt the sting of his claws forcing their way through her skin- Ayla gently sat the cat on the floor. He quickly ran back towards her room as she walked closer to the others.
"You should be fine in a couple hours. Unless whoever shot you manages to find you again," Derek was saying. He had burned all of the poison out of the two teenagers. All three frowned as they noticed that Ayla had just entered the room.
Ethan just looked at her for a short moment, before grabbing his T-shirt and pulling it back on. Aidan walked towards the door. "Lydia's with Scott. We need to go," he said.
"Are you gonna try to convince her to go with you?" Derek asked him.
"I'm gonna try to convince her to run and hide, like any sane person would do," Aidan told him.
"And Danny?" Derek wondered, turning to Ethan.
"Allison's dead. Stiles is dying. What do you think?" he asked.
"I think Danny won't believe you. And Lydia would never run and hide," Derek told them.
"Because of Stiles?" Aidan asked.
"Not everything is about you boys. Lydia won't run because she won't leave her pack, whether it's losing or not," Ayla said. Everyone turned to the she-wolf, but she had turned her focus to the floor boards.
"You've been trying to find a way into Scott's pack. Trying to earn his trust, trying to fight for him. You've had it wrong the whole time. You don't fight for a leader. You fight for a leader's cause," Derek told the twins.
"What cause?" Aidan wondered.
"Scott's always been about one thing. Saving his friends. He will do anything and everything to save the people he cares about. When there's no chance of winning, he keeps fighting. When all hope is lost, he finds another way. And when he's beaten down, he stands up again. You want to earn a place in his pack? You want redemption? Find another way to stand and fight," Derek told them.
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Following her uncle's advice, Ayla went back into her room and got ready to leave. She pulled her dark hair back- knowing she would want it like that when she inevitably got into a fight today. Then she pulled on her jacket and boots and headed for the door.
"You leaving?" Derek asked.
She turned back towards him, shrugging. "Find another way, right?" she said.
He nodded, but she could see the concern in his eyes. Concern about whether or not Allison would be the last one to be ran through with a sword. "I can't lose anyone else tonight," she told him.
"Yeah, and no one can lose you either," Derek told her.
The she-wolf frowned. If she was being honest, her own life was the last thing on her list of concerns. "It'll be fine," was all she said, before walking out the door.
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Standing outside the high school, Ayla watched as the blue jeep pulled up. Her friends piled out, with Lydia helping keep Stiles standing. "What are you doing here?" Scott asked the other werewolf.
"I called Deaton just after you guys left. He told me to meet you here. Derek's getting the box," she told them. Apparently the nogitsune could only be contained in something created by the Nemeton. Fortunately, they had a box made from it back at the loft. Derek just needed to get it to them.
The six teenagers walked towards the doors, stopping just outside the school. "Scott, hold on," Stiles said, stopping the alpha from walking inside. "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?"
"The plan is to save you. That's the plan I'm going with," Scott told him.
Stiles frowned at his best friend and Ayla reached over to take his hand. He looked at the she-wolf in surprise. "We already lost one friend this week. We're not losing you too," she told him, squeezing his hand. Stiles just gave the Hale a nod as she dropped his hand.
Scott pushed the doors open and they all walked inside what was supposed to be the high school. Instead of finding a locker lined hallway, they were greeted by a snow covered garden. The temperature inside matched the scenery and Ayla was glad she had grabbed her jacket.
"Oh, this is definitely not part of the plan," Stiles muttered.
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The six teenagers looked around in confusion as snow fell all around them. Kira put out her hand, catching some of the snow flakes out of the air. Her and Piper exchanged a confused look, neither knowing what to make of this.
All of them turned back towards where they had came in as they heard someone approaching. Standing by the doors was the bandage wrapped nogitsune. Kira unsheathed her katana as all of them faced him. "Like I promised, Stiles. We're going to kill all of them. One by one," he said.
An oni materialized next to the the kitsune and Piper. It slashed out its sword, making Piper stumbled back. But Kira had already slashed out her own sword to block the blade from hitting the other girl.
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"What the hell is this? Where are we?" Scott asked the creature.
"Between life and death," the nogitsune replied.
"Bardo," Lydia realized.
"But there are no peaceful deities here, Lydia. You're dying, Stiles. And now everyone you care about is dying, too," the nogitsune told them.
"What? What do you mean?" Stiles asked.
"I've captured almost all of the territories on the board, Stiles. The hospital, the sheriff's station, and now the animal clinic," he explained.
All of them looked around. They were currently surrounded by the oni, and now even their families were under attack.
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"Do you know the ritual of seppuku, Stiles?" the nogitsune asked, taking a few steps towards the boy.
"No, and I don't want to," Stiles told him, standing close to Lydia.
"When a samurai disembowels himself with his own sword to maintain his honor, but that's not the cut that kills him. The killing stroke is made by his kaishakunin, who beheads the samurai with his own katana," the nogitsune explained. He then held out one bandaged finger towards the alpha. "Scott. Scott is your kaishakunin. I'm going to make your best friend kill you, Stiles. And you're going to let him. Because just like you, they're all going to die. Everyone touched by an oni's blade. Unless Scott kills you first," he said. Only now he was right in front of Stiles, standing face to face with him.
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Stiles asked him.
"To win the game," he explained. As soon as the words left his mouth, the oni whipped their swords around to attack.
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The two werewolves and kitsune tried to fight off the creatures, while the two humans and banshee decided to hide. The three of them were crouched on the ground, trying to stay out of the way of the slicing swords and claws.
The three fighting off the creatures were currently surrounded, standing in a sort of triangle to keep each other from being stabbed in the back. "How is this happening? How are we in this place?" Scott asked.
"You're asking me?" Kira wondered. "A month ago, I'd never even touched a sword."
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The fight went on but at some point one of the oni forced Kira's sword out of her hands. The kitsune backed away as two of them walked towards her with swords out. Stiles had been sitting in the snow with Lydia and Piper, but suddenly lurched forward. He grabbed the sword off the ground, standing up with it in his hands. Both Lydia and Piper started to rush towards him, only to realize that he had the sword aimed at his stomach.
"Stiles, no!" Scott yelled as he saw his best friend. The oni backed off and both werewolves moved towards Stiles.
"What if it saves you? What if it saves all of you?" Stiles wondered.
"What if it's another trick?" Lydia asked him.
"No more tricks, Lydia," the nogitsune told her, before addressing the alpha. "End it, Scott. Let your friend fall on his own sword. Do for him what he cannot do for himself. Do it, Scott. Be his kaishakunin. Give up the game."
Stiles' hands shook as he held the sword, but he suddenly noticed that the snow wasn't what was reflected in the metal. The high school was. He looked around, spotting a desk and textbook nearby.
"You have no moves left," the nogitsune told him.
Stiles shook his head, lowering the sword. "I do," he realized, tossing the katana back to Kira. "A divine move. Stop fighting them. It's an illusion. You have to stop fighting them. It looks real and it feels real, but Scott, you gotta trust me, it's an illusion."
The oni moved to block the doors with the nogitsune. The two werewolves exchanged a look, trying to mentally prepare themselves for this. They started walking towards the doors, the others following behind. The oni slashed their swords out at the werewolves and kitsune, and it definitely felt real when the swords sliced against their skin. But they just continued until they made it through the doors.
The teenagers stumbled into the familiar hallway. Scott looked down at his shirt, which had been soaked through with blood only moments ago. The white shirt showed no sign of the previous fight "We're okay," he realized. "We're-"
He was interrupted by Evil Stiles throwing both him and Ayla into the lockers. He then shoved Kira and Piper to the side and moved towards Stiles and Lydia. "This was my game," he said. "You think you can beat me at my game?"
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"Divine move?" Evil Stiles asked as he started walking towards the two. Both Stiles and Lydia backed away. "Divine move. You think you have any moves at all? You can kill the oni, but me? Me? I'm a thousand years old! You can't kill me!"
"But we can change you," Lydia told him.
He came to a stop, looking at the banshee in confusion. "What?" he asked.
"You forgot about the scroll," Stiles explained.
"The Shugendo scroll," Lydia clarified.
"Change the host," he realized.
"You can't be a fox and a wolf," Stiles reminded.
And with that, Ayla grabbed the nogitsune. Scott took his arm, biting into it. The nogitsune screamed in pain and the two werewolves let him go. Just as they did, Kira walked up behind him and stabbed him through the stomach.
The nogitsune convulsed, falling onto his knees. A single fly flew out of his mouth and down the hall, only to be caught in the triskele box by Isaac. The beta had just entered down the hall. All of them then watched as the nogitsune finished convulsing and simply turned to dust. And as soon as he did, Stiles hit the floor.
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All of them stood around Stiles as he slowly came to. They all gave a sigh of relief when he opened his eyes. "Oh, God. I fainted, didn't I?" he asked.
"Yep, you did, Velma," Piper informed him.
"We're alive. We all alive?" Stiles asked.
All of them frowned. Not all of them.
"Yeah, we're okay," Scott said.
But Lydia suddenly stood up, looking down the hall. "Lyds?" Ayla asked, worry seeping in. The strawberry blonde took off running down the hall, and the Hale was the first to follow after her. The two girls ran out to see four figures standing outside, one of which was laying on the ground. All their friends reached them and Lydia went back to Stiles.
Ayla, however, took off down the steps. "Derek?" she yelled. She couldn't make out the faces through the fog, but she could smell the blood.
But as she got down the steps, she could see that it was Aidan on the ground and Ethan crying over him. "Oh, God," she mumbled, tears filling her eyes.
"Hey," Derek said, taking her arm.
"No, not again," she muttered, shaking her head. "No, no, no."
Derek pulled her into his arms as she began crying.
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The next few days were rough on everyone. Stiles was okay, and Melissa had confirmed that he seemed perfectly healthy now that the nogitsune was gone.
They held Allison's funeral and listened to all the talks the teachers were required to give about the two students the school had lost. The whole pack knew that the memorials and counselors were all supposed to be helpful. They didn't actually help much, though.
Honestly, the first week was better than the second still. During that week, everyone understood their grief. By week two, the world was moving on while they were all still mourning their friends. But they were trying to get back to some kind of normal.
Ethan and Isaac were both packing up to leave town. Ethan wouldn't stay now that his brother was gone. Ayla had thought that maybe he would stay for Danny, but Danny wasn't staying in the small town either. He had gotten some scholarship and was leaving town soon.
Isaac was leaving with Chris Argent. As much as Ayla hated the idea of the beta leaving, she was just happy he was finally getting a new start.
She helped all three of her friends pack their things. She welcomed the distraction if she was being honest. If she didn't keep herself busy, she would start thinking too much. Thinking led to crying most of the time, and she didn't want to cry anymore.
She had been spending a lot of time with Lydia, more by the strawberry blonde's choice than hers. The banshee was a lot more clingy than Ayla was used to, but she couldn't blame her right now. If Lydia wanted to keep her busy, then she would let her.
The person she wasn't seeing much of was Scott. That was her choice- not his. But that was also why she was currently standing outside the alpha's house. She took a deep breath, debating whether or not she should really do this. She didn't let herself overthink. She knocked on the window.
Scott came to his bedroom window, and managed a smile as he saw the she-wolf on the other side. He pulled the window open for her. "You know, my mom likes you. You can use the front door," he told her.
Ayla gave him a forced smile in return. "Sorry, force of habit," she told him.
Scott gave a shrug and moved out of the way to let her climb through the window. "I haven't seen you in a few days," he told her.
She nodded. "Yeah, I've been staying busy. Isaac and Ethan needed some help getting packed to leave town. And Lyds basically won't leave my side half the time," she told him.
Scott frowned at the last part. "How's she doing?" he wondered.
Ayla shrugged. "She's dealing like the rest of us," she replied.
He nodded and took a seat on his bed. "Uh, Malia was here this morning," he informed her.
"Yeah, Piper told me. I think she's hoping I'll try to help her," Ayla told him.
"I mean, she is kind of your cousin," Scott reminded, having learned about Malia over the past few days.
Ayla frowned at the reminder. "I think Malia is better off not knowing she's related to my family," she told him. She gave a sigh as she walked over and sat down next to him. "We don't really have the best history."
Scott frowned at her. He had already guessed where this was going. It wasn't hard to put together from the way she had been avoiding him since everything happened. "Your family or us?" he wondered.
Ayla looked down at the ground, avoiding the other werewolf's eyes. She didn't want to start crying. If she started crying, Scott would try to comfort her like he always did and she would let him. Then she would never get out what she wanted to say.
"I don't want to hurt you," she told him.
"Then don't," Scott said, taking her hand. He expected her to pull her hand away, but she didn't. She rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand as the two sat together in silence for a moment.
"You would think that I would be used to losing people by now. But after the past two years, I think I just need a break from everything. Derek's been trying to get me to get out of this place for a bit. Go visit my dad, or Cora or go with Isaac for a week or so. I don't really know yet. I just know I can't keep doing this," she told him.
"We're not going to lose anyone else," Scott said.
Ayla looked up at him. "You can't promise that," she reminded. She took a breath, fighting back the tears threatening to spill. "I just need a break, okay? It's not a forever thing."
Scott frowned, but nodded. He didn't want a break. He wanted her. But even more than that, he wanted her to be happy. "Yeah," he mumbled.
"I'm still... I'll still be a howl away when you need me," she told him, making the werewolf roll his eyes. Ayla let out something that was between a laugh and sob. She quickly wiped at one of her eyes to keep a tear from falling. "And I'll see you at school," she added.
Scott nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you at school," he agreed.
The she-wolf gave a nod, before standing up. His hand dropped from hers as she walked away.
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Her tears had dried on Ayla's cheeks by the time she walked into the loft. "Der, you better be in the mood for ice cream," she called as she pushed the sliding door open.
She looked inside the main room, but found no one there. What she did find were bullets and canisters scattered across the floor. "Der? Derek!"
Yes, this is how I'm choosing to end season 3. Why do you think I started this chapter with an apology?
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