I jolted awake my chest heaving as I looked around to see that I was still in my room. It had been so real, Stiles was there and he was in trouble. That's when the panic hit me, the overwhelming feeling that Stiles really was in trouble. I hurried to grab some clothes and shoes.
I called Scott first. "Get Isaac up, something's wrong with Stiles, I can't explain it is just. Something's wrong."
"Bella how'd you..." he started to ask before I cut him off.
"I don't know. Just hurry." I hung up dialing Destiny's number.
"What's going on?" She mumbled half awake.
"Did Taylor stay with you?" I asked walking into Rory's room and shook her awake.
"We're both here." I hear Taylor say.
"What do you want Bella?" Roy mumbled half awake.
"Something's happened to Stiles and I don't know how to explain how I know. But we're meeting Scott and Isaac so everyone move your asses. Rory and I will be there in record time to get you." I hung up as I watched Rory grab clothes and pull them on, and we both rushed out of the house.
We arrived at the same time Scott and Isaac did, the six of us bursting into Stiles's room, only to see Lydia and Aiden already in there.
"How did you know? Did he call you guys too?" Scott asked them.
"I heard it." Lydia answered him.
"Don't ask." Adien advised them. "It gets more confusing when you ask."
"Okay." I muttered with a nod as I stared at the strings. "Not as confusing as this."
"He uses red for unsolved cases." Rory spoke up walking closer and looking at some of the cases.
"Maybe he thinks he's part of a unsolved case?" Adien asked looking around at us.
"Or is an unsolved case." Isaac spoke.
"Hold on. Is he still out there?" Lydia asked us.
"Wait! You two don't know where he is?" Rory followed after her.
"He said he was in an industrial basement somewhere." Scott told them making me frown.
"We came here to get a better scent." Isaac explained.
"That's not what you saw is it Bells?" Destiny asked me, turning the attention to me.
I shook my head. "He was in the woods. In the- in the dream I had he was in the woods. And this isn't the first time I've had a dream like this that's actually happened."
"Scott what else did he say?" Rory asked him on the verge of panic.
"Something's wrong with his leg. It's bleeding." Scott recalled the conversation.
"And he's freezing." Isaac input.
"Tonight's the coldest night of the year. It's gonna drop into the 20's." Adien warned them.
"What did his dad say?" Lydia asked.
"We kind of... We didn't tell him yet." Scott looked away from us.
"Scott!" I snapped at him.
"Stiles is bleeding and freezing and you didn't call his dad?" Rory spat at him now enraged.
"He made me promise not to." Scott muttered. "We can find him by scent. If he was sleepwalking, he couldn't have gotten far, right?"
"Scott you're telling me you didn't see that his Jepp was gone?" I asked incredulously gesturing wildly towards the front of the house.
"You promised you wouldn't call his dad. I didn't." Rory cast a glance at Scott as she pulled out her phone.
"Wait, Rory, hold on. I can get more help. I can call Derek, Allison..."
"Everyone except for the cops. Great idea." Rory snapped.
"You guys remember that Bella and Lydia only get these feelings when someone is about to die, right?" Aiden asked looking at Scott.
"You don't have to call his dad." Scott shook his head. "It's five minutes to the station."
"We'll catch up." Lydia told him.
"What? Why?" Scott asked her.
"Because there's something here." I answered for her.
"Yeah." Isaac agreed. "Evidence of total insanity."
"We can figure out what's wrong with him after we find a way to keep him from freezing to death."
"Go. We'll be right behind you." Rory nodded to the two of them.
I stared at the strings following them to each of the cases on his walls.
Lydia's phone buzzed as she checked it. "Nothing at hospital. Derek headed to the high school. Isaac is going to find Allison. And Scott's with the Sheriff."
Adien pulled one of the strings my head spinning to look at him. "What did you just do?"
He pulled his hand back looking between Lydia and I as we stared at him. "Did you touch one of the strings?" I asked.
"Maybe." Adien replied making me turn and reach out pulling one of the strings.
The whispers starting as soon as I let go.
"What did that sound like to you?" Lydia asked.
"Like a string being pulled." Destiny said from behind us.
"Exactly what she said." Aiden agreed.
"You didn't hear people whispering?" I asked.
"No. Definitely not." Taylor answered.
Lydia leaned closer and pulled another string. "You didn't hear that?"
"Lydia, I'm not sure anyone hears what you and Bella hear." Adien told her.
"They're whispering." I told them. "Something about a house."
"What house?" Rory asked making me lean closer like Lydia was and pull the string.
I turned my head to look at the photo the string was attached to. "That one."
"What's Eichen House?" Adien asked looking at the photo.
"A mental health center." Lydia replied.
"It's where William Barrow, the shrapnel bomber, was committed." I informed him.
"Is that it?" Adien questioned.
"That's where he is? That's where Stiles is." Lydia spoke, but I wasn't so sure.
"We're going to Eichen House." Adien spoke up.
"You guys go ahead." Destiny told them.
"We're gonna look elsewhere." Rory nodded at Lydia.
"We'll find him Bella. We won't stop looking until we do. I promise." Aiden told me giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"Thanks Adien." I nodded at him.
As soon they left the room Taylor and I found clothes with Stiles's scent on them and we left.
"You sure this is the right way?" Rory asked as I told her to turn.
"Yeah, I'm sure." I replied taking a sniff of the air.
"Melissa!" Destiny exclaimed as we stopped next to them.
"Stiles is out there, isn't he?" Melissa asked us.
"Yeah. We're pretty sure he is." I nodded as we all took off into the woods.
Stiles was screaming as they pulled him out, fighting as they tried to get him to wake up.
"Stiles! Stiles." Melissa repeated holding onto him.
I crouched Infront of placing my hands on his shoulders. "Stiles! Stiles, you're okay."
He shuddered and stopped fighting, breathing heavily as Melissa held onto him.
"Rory you should ride with them." Destiny told her.
She nodded her head walking towards their car getting into the back with Stiles.
"I need to run by the house, before we head to the hospital." I told them tossing Taylor Rory's car keys. "Watch the curbs."
"Hey!" I heard her yell after me as I took off.
As soon as I reached my room I began digging through the closet to find the book I was looking for. I began flipping through the pages until I found what I was looking for.
"The Nogitsune." I read out as I scanned the page. "Oh my god Stiles."
I grabbed the book and took off running looking for the Nematon.
My phone rang causing me to stop.
"Des, what's going on?" I answered worried.
"Stiles is okay, he's sleeping right now. Papa Stilinski said he doesn't really remember all that much, said it was kind of like a dream for him. And Melissa is sending us home because we have school in the morning. You'll be there right?" She asked me.
"Yeah, definitely. I'll meet you guys at school in the morning." I replied, as I walked into the clearing seeing the tree.
I climbed into the middle of it, opening my Grimoire and reading through it. "The blood of the willing must be given to communicate with the ancestral lines they so wish to find."
I took the blade and cut my palm open, holding it over the Nematon as I recited. "Hoc sanguine offero, velim coniungere cum venefica stirpe mea in quaerendis responsa." (With this blood i offer, i wish to connect with my witch lineage in search of answers.)
"You've called on your witch ancestors." A loud voice calls making me spin around trying to find the source.
"I need to know everything I can about The Nogitsune." I replied still not seeing anyone in the dark fog that now encircled me.
I heard whispered murmurs break out across the darkness.
"And what is it you wish to seek?" A new voice asked.
"A way to stop it without harming the host body. There has to be a way." I answered them.
"Everything comes at a price little hybrid." A voice warned.
"I don't care what happens to me. If I can save Stiles, then that's what I'll do." I argued.
"The host body needs to be separated from The Nogitsune. Then remember that it is a fox spirit, you can not be a fox and a wolf at the same time."
"How do I separate the host body from The Nogitsune?" I asked, my patience beginning to slip, because the longer it took to separate them the stronger The Nogitsune would get.
"Through his mind. Stiles is like a brother to you correct?" The first voice responded and continued to talk before I could answer. "And a member of your pack? Scott may be the True Alpha, but he is not a True Wolf. You must enter Stiles's mind, you are a witch and a banshee. Everything else you need is in the Grimoire you posses."
I shot up with a gasp, looking around the forest breathing heavily as the sun rays started to peak through the trees. I grabbed my Grimoire and hurried off the Nematon, staring at it for a moment before I took off. I checked my phone to see school would be starting in less than an hour, along with tons of missed calls and text messages.
I hit the call button.
"Bells where the hell are you? And where the hell have you been?" Des asked incredulously the second she picked up.
"Uh, well long story short, I took my grimoire to The Nematon to talk to my dead witch ancestors about Stiles and The Nogitsune." I admitted to her.
"And you didn't bother to tell us." She hissed at me. "Anything could have happened."
"Excellent point. But... I found out some information that we can use to figure out how to save Stiles. So it was well worth whatever risk." I shrugged to myself.
"Okay fair point. So we can save him?" She asked.
"Yeah we can save him. I'm going to do some research at the hospital with Stiles, just so I can keep an eye on him if that's okay." I worried she wouldn't want me to be alone.
"Yeah. We'll meet you there after school, Stiles is getting tests done today." She told me.
"Okay. I'll see you guys after school and I'll keep you updated on Stiles."
"Bella you should be in school." Melissa told me as she watched me walk into the hospital.
I shook my head. "No. I need to be here, with Stiles."
"I don't want your grades slipping." She told me.
"My grades are perfect. Besides, someone needs to keep the others informed of what's going on." I bargained with her.
She gave me a half smile and nodded. "Okay. You know where his room is?"
"Yeah. I do. Thank you." I took off towards his room.
"I'm not sure I know how to pronounce this... or if it's not actually a misspelling..." Dr. Vandenberg looked at the chart.
Papa Stilinski impatiently spoke. "Just call him Stiles."
"Okay. Stiles, just to warn you, you're going to hear a lot of noise during the MRI. It's due to pulses of electricity going through metal coils inside the machine. Uh, if you want, we can get you earplugs or headphones."
"Oh, no. No, I don't need anything." Stiles shook his head.
"Hey, we're just on the other side of that window, okay?" Stilinski reminded him.
"Okay." Stiles patted his dads shoulder as he Melissa and the doctor left the room, leaving Scott, Rory, and I with Stiles.
"You know what they're looking for, right?" Stiles turned to look at us. "It's called frontotemporal dementia. Areas of your brain start to shrink. It's what my mother had. It's the only form of dementia that can hit teenagers... and there's no cure."
Rory grabbed my hand tightly giving it a squeeze.
"Stiles, if you have it, we'll do something. I will do something." I told him making him look up at me before I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. "You're my brother. I'm not going to lose you. I promise."
Scott gave him a hug and stepped back letting Rory approach him, we stood back giving them some space. They shared a short kiss before Rory joined us and we left the room.
We watched as Stiles laid down and was moved into the machine when Dr. Vandenberg spoke into the microphone. "Okay, Stiles... This will take about forty-five minutes to an hour. Now, remember, try not to move. Even just a little bit.
Stiles, you're going to hear that noise now. It's going to be a loud clanging-- kind of like a hammer hitting an anvil."
As soon as the machine started the sound was ponding like a hammer inside of my skull.
"Rory I have to... I need to go." I took off not giving her a chance to reply or take off after me.
I made it to an empty room and threw up a sound barrier and screamed. Suddenly the sound stopped but I felt like I had been dunked in ice water. The electricity began flickering as I made a realization.
"Stiles." I muttered to myself taking off out of the room looking for him.
The halls were full of panicked people trying to make their way out of the hospital.
"You know me." A voice spoke making me perk up in interest following it. "Then you remember that I won't be deterred by your choice of host... even if it's an innocent boy."
"Are you threatening us?" I hear Stiles ask, but I knew it wasn't really him.
"Now I'm threatening you." The voice replied.
"Oni." I sensed them appearing.
"We're not really afraid of your little fireflies." Stiles replied again.
"If the Oni can't defeat you, I know someone who will."
"Stiles!" I called out hoping he could hear me but no answer as I made it out front.
Get back! Everyone get back! Everyone get back!" I heard Kira yelling as I stepped through the doors.
"Allison!"
"Isaac!"
I watched Kira almost get hit by a car before she flips over it and lands in the water. I took off at a sprint towards them.
"Bella no!" I heard Destiny yell but I didn't slow down or stop.
A quick spell under my breath as I landed in the electrified water. I headed straight for Isaac as Kira grabbed the live wire and put it out.
"Isaac?" Derek asked as he reached us, I had turned Isaac onto his back.
"Derek he's not breathing."
"Scott, he's not breathing!" Derek yelled out to him.
"Come on Isaac. Breath, come on." I muttered as I started doing CPR.
Personal from the hospital came out and rushed him inside on a gurney. Allison, Taylor, Des, and I sat waiting for someone to let us see him.
At some point during the night, Taylor and Des had fallen asleep their heads on my shoulders as I flipped through my Grimoire looking for more answers.
I looked up around 5 to see Allison leaning on her sister Taylor making me smile softly before returning my eyes to the page I was on.
"Have you 4 been here all night?" Scott asked making me look up to see him asking a now awake Allison.
"Yeah... They won't let us see him." Allison told him sitting up straight.
"Because we're not family. I told them he doesn't have any." I told them
"He's got us." Melissa said before pulling something out of her purse and holding it up. "And I've got a key card."
She opened the door and let us in telling us. "Be quick."
Scott and Allison made it to his bed side first as I guided Des and Taylor who were still half awake after them.
"I thought he'd be healing by now." Allison spoke worry laced in her voice.
"So did I." Scott replied not taking his eyes off Isaac as we reached the bed.
Scott reached down and gently wrapped his hand around Isaac's forearm.
"Is he in pain?" Allison asked him.
Scott started taking his pain before letting out a sharp gasp, panting. "It won't heal him, but it helps with the pain."
"Did Stiles really do this?" Allison asked an undertone of determination in her voice.
"Whatever's controlling him did it-- whatever's inside him." Scott looked up at her.
"Well, then how do we get whatever's inside of him the hell out of him?" She turned looking at all of us.
"I'm working on it." I nodded to her before reaching down and taking some of Isaac's pain.
The three of us were walking around in the school halls when Destiny spoke up.
"So what do we know about Kitsune?" She asked turning her head to look at me.
"They're tricksters. They have one hell of a mischievous streak, they have no idea on what right and wrong is. But if you offended a Nogitsune it can react badly. I don't know how you offend one, but for it to be doing something like this. It had to of been really offended." I told them remember the little information I was able to find.
"Come on. We're gonna be late for Cross Country practice." Taylor rolled her eyes, grabbing my hand and pulling me with her.
"Meet you out front Des." I called out with a wave.
We were standing with the others when coach blew the whistle and everyone took off running. I nudged Taylor and we took off at a jog not really caring about our time.
"Call Des. Get it on speaker phone." I looked at Taylor knowing she always had her phone on her.
"So what's the plan for Stiles?" She asked once there was a large enough gab between the other students and us.
"So I talked to my dead witch ancestors." I started before Des made a comment.
"Still wish you would have told us what you were doing."
"I'm aware." I rolled my eyes. "Anyway. They told me I need to separate the host body from The Nogitsune. And they made a point to remind me that it is a fox sprit. And that you can't be a fox and a wolf at the same time."
"So how are we supposed to separate Stiles and The Nogitsune?" Taylor asked.
"Through his mind. I'm still trying to figure out the information, and how to do it. They said everything I need is in my Grimoire, but I'm still looking." I told them as Taylor and I slowed to a walk.
Taylor and I both fell silent as we heard Coach yelling in the distance followed by an ambulance.
"What's going on you two? You both got really quiet." Des asked from the phone.
"We heard coach screaming and an ambulance." Taylor replied.
"Stiles is out here." I told them.
We made our way following Scott and the twins scents, to the back of Stiles's Jeep.
"Scott? Bella? You two better look at this." Ethan said dragging my attention away from Stiles and his dad hugging.
"This is the same wrapping paper we used for Coach's birthday present." Scott said picking up the wrapping paper.
"Wasn't that William Barrow's thing? A bomb made from nails and bolts, all wrapped up in a birthday present?" Ethan asked as he rummaged through the bag. "Where did it go off?"
"On a school bus." I replied. "But this isn't about William Barrow. He was just another piece in the chess game."
We were headed back towards the school when I stopped.
"Bella we have to go." Taylor turned to look at me.
I shook my head. "The police station. We have to get to the police station."
I grabbed her hand as we took off in a sprint. By the time we got there the bomb had already went off. The other arriving just as we were making our way into the building.
"Get me an ambulance here at the sheriff's station. We've got an explosion. We've got multiple officers down. Multiple officers down! We need an ambulance ASAP, on the double." Stilinski said into his radio.
"Scott? Scott?" I heard Stiles yell making me look for him.
I quickly located Stiles who looked okay. I knew something was off but he looked okay and Derek didn't. So I hurried over to him.
"Derek. Derek." Argent said before grabbing him to keep him on his feet.
"I'm okay." Derek replied breathing heavily.
"You saved my life." Argent looked at him.
"Yes it's all very cute." I interrupted. "Derek has a lot of glass in his back and he can't heal until it's been removed."
"Can you do something? Take his pain? Anything to make it easier?" Stiles asked Scott making me turn to look at him.
"Go, go, go." Stilinski warned them as Kira came running in.
"The Oni-- they're coming." She told Scott.
"Stiles, we gotta get you out of here." Scott said pulling Scott out of the station before I could stop him.
"No, no, no." I muttered looking at the empty space turning back towards the others.
"Bella what is it?" Destiny asked walking up behind me.
"It's not Stiles." I told them as the pieces fell together.
"What do you mean it's not Stiles?" Derek asked.
"It's Void." I replied taking off dialing a number of someone who could help.
"They're going to the animal clinic. I'll meet you there."
I hung up and dialed Rory's number.
"What is it Bella?" She answered.
"I need you to drop whatever you're doing and swing by the station to pick up Taylor and Des and then met us at the animal clinic. Don't ask questions. It has to do with Stiles." I quickly shot off to her.
"Be there soon." She replied hanging up.
"Does it hurt?" I heard Stiles ask as I walked in the front door, Deaton held a finger against his lips telling me to be quiet.
"Hey, look at me." Void Stiles continued.
"You should have done your reading, Scott. See, a Nogitsune feeds off chaos, strife, and pain. This morning, you took it from Isaac, then you took it from Coach, and then from a dying deputy. All that pain... You took it all. Now, give it to me."
They both let out gaps as Deaton and I quietly moved towards them. Void Stiles chuckled. "You really have to learn, Scott. You really have to learn not to trust a Fox. Mmm-mmm. Know why? 'Cause they're tricksters. They'll fool you. They'll fool everyone."
"Not everyone." Deaton said making Void turn to look at him letting him inject him with whatever was on the needle he had.
Void dropped to the ground unconscious while I rushed over to Scott.
"One quick motion." Deaton nodded at me as I grabbed the sword inside Scott and pulled it out.
Scott let out a few groans before speaking. "What was that? Was that a cure? Is he okay?"
"The Fox is poisoned... But, it's not dead. Not yet." Deaton told him.
"Yeah not by a long shot." I spoke looking at Void passed out on the ground.