"IT'S ONLY 72 HOURS" STILES TOLD HIS best friend. the serum deaton injected the evil stiles with, brought the boy back. temporarily. stiles decided behind everyone's back that it was best if he were admitted to eichen house. a mental institution. "scott, i saw an MRI that looked exactly like my wife's. and it terrifies me. i'm heading down to L.A tomorrow to talk to a specialist" the sheriff told him.
"then why are you putting him in here?"
"he's not. it was my decision" the boy said. "stiles, i can't help you if you're in here"
"and i can't hurt you" he countered. "deaton's got some ideas, argent's calling people. we're gonna find something and if we can't..."
"if you can't...if you can't, then you have to do something for me, okay? make sure i never get out"
"and what am i supposed to tell mariana?" the second her name was uttered, a speeding car screeched as it came to an absolute stop in front of the three. stiles' heart dropped as mariana exited her car, her teary eyes filled with rage. "mari-" the boy attempted to talk. but when does anyone get to talk when mariana parker is mad?
"FUCK YOU!" she yelled, shoving him. he let himself tumble back, scott gently grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "you don't get to avoid me the only time you're you and then pull this shit behind my back! you said we're stiles and mariana. you promised. you don't get to make promises and then just leave! did it ever cross your fucking mind that we wouldn't be okay with this?! is this why you went behind my back?! behind scott's?! lydia's?! your friends?! your pack?!"
he cautiously approached her. she let out a chocked sob the moment his hand gently grabbed her's. he pulled her into his arms, one around her waist, his other wrapped around her head, lovingly holding her. she wrapped her arms around him and cried. "please don't do this"
"i have to, mari. i need to" he responded, his voice breaking. he took a small step back, still holding her as he looked down at the girl. even with her puffy eyebags and red-shot eyes, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. and he would never forgive himself for putting her in harms way. at least more harm than he already had. "you were right about one thing. we are stiles and mariana. but right now you just gotta be mariana. cause when the serum passes, i won't be stiles anymore"
"we're going to save you, stiles. i don't care how long it takes, i'm going to do everything i can to bring you back to us" she vowed. the boy softly smiled as he wiped her tears. he leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. she rested her hands on his cheek. she wished they could stay like that forever. the two pulled away, "i gotta go now, mari. i can't hurt you if i'm in here. go back home, do everything you can like you promised, okay?"
she sniffled as she nodded, giving him one last hug. she turned around, giving noah a hug as well. "i'm going to save your son. i'll do anything it takes" she whispered to him. he nodded his head, smiling gratefully. "i know you will, i believe in you" stiles said his goodbyes to scott. the two watched as they entered the gate, walking up the steps. "we're going to save him" the wolf spoke by her side.
"i know."
〖➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵〗
"i need you to kill me" deaton stopped what he was doing, frozen as he stood baffled. "i beg your pardon?"
"i need you to kill me." she repeated. "sort of. when stiles died, i died. and when i died, i met my creators. how do i know they were my creators? cause i haven't been able to successfully sleep since stiles went missing for the second time and since then, i've had the opportunity to break everything down. it was a pretty fucked up thing, really. they disguised themselves as hayley and hope, but that's not the point. the point is i need to talk to them to figure out how to turn into a quadbrid to save stiles and i can't do that unless i'm balancing life and death so i need you to kill me" she spoke in a full breath.
"...mariana, what you're asking of me is very dangerous. i hope you re-call that doing this will lead to a permanent darkness in your heart"
"i don't care what happens to me. i already have darkness in my heart. i want to save stiles and if you won't help me, i'll find a way to preform this spell myself and i promise you that'll be more dangerous because i have no fucking clue what i'm doing. deaton, please. i can't lose him. please."
〖➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵〗
the girl filled the tub with ice, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do. this was for stiles. the stiles who didn't trust her when she moved into town. the stiles that couldn't go a day without being a sarcastic jerk to at least one person. the stiles that would go to unbelievable lengths to protect the ones he loves. the stiles who wormed his way into her heart. the stiles she would forever be bound to. this was for her stiles.
once all the needed material were in the tub, mariana took a deep breath. "mariana" deaton called out to her. she looked at the man. "are you sure this is something you want to do?" he asked her. "this is stiles we're talking about. i would do it 50 times over if it meant saving him." she looked at the water, taking her shoes off. she slowly dipped her first leg in, shuddering breaths escaping her throat. her mind was only thinking of stiles as she lowered herself in.
"are you ready?" the vet asked her. "if this doesn't work, and i die, you tell the pack they do not stop looking for a way to save stiles. and my parents...tell my parents i'm sorry and that i loved them more than i ever imagined loving klaus and hayley" after a few moments of silence, the girl finally spoke. "i'm ready."
and with that, her body was submerged. she was so cold. her lungs begged for air and received water in return. she slipped in and out of consciousness, her lungs burning as they filled. eventually, pain gave way to numbness and she stopped fighting. her body floated to the top of the tub. deaton looked down at the girl, praying he didn't make a grave mistake. because mariana celeste parker was now dead.
there was no turning back now.
〖➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵〗
she woke with a gasp. she laid in a clearing, deep in the bayou. the clearing was in the shape of a big circle. around the circle, gravestones laid. each stone came in pairs. she stood up, walking to one. she crouched down, reading the lettering on the gravestones.
here lies celeste arbios
here lies stiles arbios
she then moved to the next one.
here lies celeste o'brien
here lies dylan o'brien
and the next one.
celeste
thomas
and the next one.
in loving memory of celeste rapp
in loving memory of mitch rapp
it was them. stiles and mariana. their past graves, right in front of her eyes. she looked up, the now few graves multiplied into thousands of headstones. each and every one of them was different, all their past lives, right there. "celeste" the girl shot up. her eyes flashed a vibrant purple at the sight of hayley marshall— or her creator, she should say. "glad to have you back" she greeted. "wish i could say the same. why hayley? why hope? why not just show me what you look like?"
"we're saving that for later" hope spoke, making the girl turn around to face her. "i don't have time for games. i need to save stiles. how do i turn myself into a full quadbrid?" she asked her. "you can't" she turned around, a low growl coming out her mouth as she faced klaus. "you and stiles are bound for eternity. these graves all belong to your past selves. both of you always find each other. death is simply inevitable to one of you."
"i don't understand" she said. "maybe it's best if you hear this from someone you're fond about. the girl turned around at a presence behind her. "what does he mean, scott?"
"it means your must break the curse. a great sacrifice must be made in order to save him from the death he is soon meant to face if your friends don't save him in time"
"what curse?"
"the curse you put on yourself and stiles" lydia spoke. the girl turned around to face her. "when the original stiles died, you sacrificed your entire being to have him back. the other times your souls reunited, there was no need for a sacrifice because you didn't know one needed to be made in order to save him"
"dylan o'brien died in a car crash" allison began. "thomas died in a burning building. mitch rapp died in the hands of his enemy. stiles will always die, that's the curse. but it's up to you when you decide to break it"
"well i want to now." mariana replied. "then you need to make the sacrifice" isaac told her. "what exactly do i need to sacrifice?" she asked. "your soul already knows but your mind doesn't. and your heart is stopping you from accepting it. so right now, you are completely ignorant, but you know."
the girl turned around, meeting eyes with stiles. "you need to break the curse, that's how you save stiles"
〖➵ ➵ ➵ ➵ ➵〗
the girl woke up in ice cold water, coughing as she took herself out off the tub. a towel wrapped around the girl, making her look towards deaton. "it's a curse. the nogitsune chose stiles because of a curse my original self put on us. that along with the hollow. i need to break it. that's how i save him. this is all because of me, i'm the only one that could stop it"
the girl looked at the vet. she had only seen his face once but she knew it all too well. "deaton...deaton, how long was i out?" when she got no reply, she began to grow worried. "deaton how long was i out?" she asked more firmly.
"a full day" he answered. "A FULL DAY?! oh my god, stiles"
"he escaped eichen house. everyone is out looking for him" he told the girl. "okay...that.. that gives me time."
"time for what?"