Scott spoke with the twins while Maggie and Caleb stood at one end with Stiles. When Scott joined them, Stiles said, "So then she starts talking about the phosphors and the key having chemicals on it, right? And so that made me think of the chemistry closet and the fact that someone had to let Barrow in... it's gone. Okay, it doesn't matter though. It doesn't matter. I've still got the key." Stiles stuck a hand in his pocket and didn't find anything. "What the hell? I had it. I had it here. I had it here this morning. I swear to God, I had it this morning."
Maggie shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I didn't see it. I don't think Caleb did either."
"The key you were talking about last night?" Scott asked.
"Yeah," Stiles answered. "I showed it to you, right? Didn't I show it to you?"
Scott shook his head. "No, you just told me, Caleb and Maggie about it. We never actually saw it."
Stiles started getting more and more agitated and his voice took on a panicked tone. "I was here a couple of hours ago. And the message left to Barrow spelling Kira's name was right there and I had the key to the chemistry closet."
"So you unlocked the chemistry closet so Barrow could hide it from the cops and then you wrote that message to kill Kira?"
Stiles let out a sigh. "I know how it sounds. But look at this. This is the news report that came out about Barrow when they caught him, okay? About the shrapnel bomb that he used. See this? See what he did? He put nuts, bolts, and screws. And then he hid the bomb and the detonator in a box that he wrapped as a birthday present. What does that sound like to you?"
Scott looked at them. "Coach."
Stiles nodded. "The joke we played on Coach. That was my idea. You remember? That was my idea. That's no coincidence. It can't be."
"I don't want to sound like I'm trying to tell you that you're wrong. But I don't think you're trying to kill people either."
Stiles studied the room. "It was here. It was all here."
Caleb glanced at his friend with a frown. "You should take it easy. You look exhausted."
He turned away from him. "I'm fine, Caleb. I just haven't been sleeping well."
"Take a sick day. Coach will have to suck it up. Maggie will go with you."
Maggie shot her brother a look. "Why me?"
"Because you should."
She rolled her eyes and let out a quiet huff.
Stiles turned to Scott. "Did you tell him?"
Scott shook his head. "Caleb's right. You should get some rest."
Outside, Maggie held out her hand and Stiles frowned. "What?"
"Keys," she demanded.
"What? No. I'm not giving you my keys."
Maggie grabbed the keys and began walking towards the Jeep.
"Marguerite! Give them back!"
"Get in the car. Passenger's seat. I'm driving. No arguing."
"Where are you taking me, Maggie?"
She said nothing and drove to the hospital and he frowned. "Maggie, what are we doing here?"
"The hospital is the best place for you at this time," she said.
"Make sure it's your Melissa, okay?"
"Well obviously."
They walked into the hospital and made their way to the front desk and saw Melissa. She looked up. "Stiles? Maggie? What are you two doing here?"
Maggie glanced back at her friend. "Uh, Stiles needs to talk to someone. Could you spare a few minutes?"
Melissa looked at her computer. "Doctor Gardner's not back until next week. Your dad is busy. Do you want to try waiting at one of the urgent care doctors or... Stiles. Are you all right?"
Maggie looked back at him to see that his eyes were widening and his breath was quickening. "Melissa, please. Stiles? Hey, Stiles, look at me. You're gonna be just fine."
He shook his head like he didn't believe her and gripped her hand tightly. Melissa nodded. "All right, kiddo. All right. Come with me. It's okay. Maggie, I think you should be with him."
She led them into a room and closed the door behind them. "Stiles, why don't you sit on the bed, and we can figure out what's going on. I'm going to ask you a few questions and hopefully we can figure out what's going on."
Maggie took a seat next to Stiles and Melissa pulled up a chair and opened her notepad. "All right, so why don't you tell me what's been happening recently. And I'll take some notes."
Stiles sighed and was silent for a moment. "Um, well, I've been having some blackouts... but not for that long. And sleepwalking, which I used to do a lot as a kid. Um, also having some really bad anxiety."
Melissa looked up at him. "Panic attacks?"
Stiles nodded. "Yeah, a couple. Oh, and I temporarily lost the ability to read. But that might have had more to do with this giant magic tree and a whole human sacrifice thing."
Melissa let out a soft laugh. "I recall something vaguely about that, yes. How many hours of sleep are you getting?"
"Eight."
"A night?"
Stiles fidgeted awkwardly. "In the last three days. Yeah, definitely eight." He noticed Maggie's expression. "Maggie, it's okay."
Maggie shook her head and said softly, "No, Stiles. It isn't."
Melissa looked at Stiles. "Been feeling irritable?"
Stiles nodded. "Yeah. Possibly to the point of homicide."
"Inability to focus?"
"No. The Adderall's not working."
"Impulsive behavior?"
"More than usual? Hard to tell."
"Vivid dreams during the day?"
Stiles let out a sigh. "Okay, basically all of the above. Do you know what this is?"
Melissa nodded. "I think so. I'll be right back. I'm gonna go run and get something."
She left the room and Stiles turned to Maggie. "Admit it. You think I'm a freaking mess."
Maggie nodded. "You are, but we're all messy. There's a lot going on right now." She let out a sigh. "I wish you'd said something earlier, Stiles. I thought we were friends."
"We are friends. But you're right. I should've told you how bad things got."
"Yeah. You should have. But I'm gonna do what I can to help you."
Melissa reentered the room and said, "I need you to roll up your sleeve, Stiles."
He frowned at her. "Sure. Uh, what's that?"
A large needle inched closer to him and he gripped Maggie's hand. Melissa said softly, "Do you trust me?"
Stiles let out a nervous laugh. "When you're not holding a needle."
She sanitized his arm and Stiles continued holding Maggie's hand. Melissa told him, "Stiles, I need you to relax."
She positioned the needle and Stiles had a death grip on Maggie's hand as the needle was pushed in. Melissa released the contents. "It's Midazolam. A sedative."
Stiles turned to her. "Why'd you give me a sedative?"
Melissa laid him down. "Because, you, Stiles, are one profoundly sleep-deprived young man. You need rest and you need it now. Lie down."
"Okay. How long's it take to... Oh. Not long at all. Melissa, Maggie?"
Stiles settled and Melissa pulled the covers up. She started walking off and Stiles grabbed her hand, releasing a deep sigh. Melissa tapped his hand a few times. "Get some rest."
As Stiles drifted off, he whispered, "Thanks, Mom."
Maggie followed Melissa outside.
Melissa looked at the blonde and said, "I have no idea what's going on with him, but you should be prepared in case things don't go well."
"In case he dies, you mean," Maggie stated with a slight voice break.
She sighed. "Yes. In case he dies. But I will do everything in my power to prevent that. Okay?"
Maggie nodded. "Melissa, I can't lose him. I-I-I can't."
"And I hope you don't have to."
Maggie nodded and made her way back to Stiles' room. She gently stroked his hair back. "Whatever's going on with you, I just hope you'll be okay. You have to fight because I can't lose you, Stiles. I can't. So please, fight as hard as you can and come bac. Come back to me."
She rested her head on his chest and fell asleep. About an hour later, she woke to silence. She noticed a text and a voicemail from her brother telling her to get to Scott's.
She made her to Scott's and entered the house.
Maggie saw Scott's father lying on the ground and rushed over to them and looked to her Melissa. "What happened? What can I do?"
"He was stabbed. Protect the others. How's Stiles?"
"He's sleeping, but there's something off. He's not the Stiles I know."
Scott frowned at her. "Maggie, I think you're overreacting. I know Stiles, and he's the same as he's been. Just tired."
Maggie narrowed her eyes. "He's not himself, Scott. Trust me."
Derek stepped between Maggie and Scott. "We can't afford an argument between you two right now."
Maggie glared at her friend and nodded.
Derek turned to Scott. "So all the baseboards are ash wood?"
Scott nodded. "Uh, yeah. It was Deaton's idea. And where the hell did you come from?"
Derek shrugged. "I've been following you."
"For how long?"
"All day. I was checking up on you at school. I followed Maggie and Stiles to the hospital and then left to check on you."
Agent McCall began gasping for air and Melissa rushed over to him. "Scott, Tabitha, this isn't good!" Melissa yelled.
The agent managed to say, "Need to call for backup."
Scott, Caleb and Maggie knelt next to Melissa and the former two asked, "How bad is it?"
Melissa instructed Maggie to apply pressure to his wound, and as she did so, Melissa said, "From the way that his arm is rotated, the tendon looks torn. He could be on his way to a collapsed lung."
Caleb glanced back at the masked figures. "They're staying until the sun comes up. You're know that, right?"
Scott nodded and Melissa sighed. "At the rate he's bleeding, he's not gonna make it that long. We got to get him to the hospital."
Scott sighed. "I don't know."
Maggie pursed her lips. "We have to fight."
Scott met her eyes. "How? I mean, I don't think guns work on these things."
Melissa turned to her son. "Then what does?"
Caleb smirked. "Nothing man-made. Luckily, Maggie and I have magic."
Derek nodded. "The Oni are a force of nature. You don't fight a tsunami. You endure it. And you hope that you're not destroyed in its path."
"Then how do we do it?" Aiden wondered.
"Two of you already have. This is Japanese kanji for "self". This means he is still himself. Tabitha is as well. The Oni are looking for one who is no longer themselves."
Maggie raised a brow. "No longer themselves? You mean possessed. Right?"
Derek nodded. "Exactly. Possessed by a dark spirit."
Aiden narrowed his eyes at Kira. "It's Kira, right? You going to tell us what you are?"
Kira frowned. "What? What do you mean?"
"Aiden, watch!" He grabbed Kira's hand and pressed it to the Mountain Ash barrier and it flickered. "See that? She can't go through it either."
"So what are you?" Aiden demanded.
Derek rolled his eyes. "She's a kitsune, idiot. Use your eyes. You can see it all around her. The younger ones give off an aura. She just hasn't learned how to conceal it yet. She probably doesn't know what kind she is either."
Scott shook his head. "It's not you. It can't be. What I saw around you, it didn't look evil."
Aiden narrowed his eyes. "But isn't that what a shapeshifter does? Isn't that why a kitsune is called the trickster spirit? It's supposed to trick you."
Kira looked at them with a worried expression. "How are you so sure? How do you know I'm not the bad guy?"
Maggie gave her a small smile. "Kira, trust me. You're not evil. Awkward and shy, but not evil."
Aiden tried to justify himself. "I wasn't going to hurt her. Not yet." He noticed Derek's expression. "Why do you think we're here, Derek? For a study group? We're here to protect Scott. We're trying to fight for him."
Derek frowned. "I'm sure you are. I'm sure you'd kill for him. But are you willing to die for him?"
Maggie and Caleb glanced at the door as a loud bang sounded. They quickly realized the Oni were checking the door for weaknesses. Unfortunately for the group, they found nd one and started pounding on the door.
Maggie turned to Scott and ordered, "Call Allison. Now."
"Can't you?"
"Quit wasting time and call her."
He did so. "Allison, please tell me that you have something. They're here. They're trying to get in. And it looks like they're gonna be able to do it."
Scott put her on speaker so Maggie and Caleb could hear her and Allison said, "Okay, okay, listen. They're Japanese demons. They're called the Oni. They're looking for someone possessed. Someone with a dark spirit attached to them."
"A Nogitsune," Scott, Maggie and Caleb replied.
"How'd you know that? Scott? Maggie? Caleb?"
"Just tell us what else," Scott said.
"Okay, they won't hurt you. They know you're supernatural, but once they do this check, once they realize that you're not carrying with you this dark spirit, then they won't hurt you. I promise. All they're looking for is the Nogitsune."
"I'm right here, aren't I?" Kira said. "They're looking for me."
Caleb shook his head. "They're looking for a dark spirit. As far as I know, that isn't you."
"Scott, we're going to have to do something."
Scott shook his head. "Don't do anything."
Aiden frowned. "Is he serious?"
Maggie nodded. "Yeah. He is."
"I said don't do anything," Scott repeated. "Trust me." He took Kira's hand. "You're gonna be okay."
The Oni reached for them and a backwards five appeared on the back of their ears. Scott and Kira fell and Maggie made her way over to them to make sure they were okay. Scott gave her a nod as the Oni disappeared.
"Maggie, Caleb and I will find Stiles."
Scott used his enhanced smell while Maggie and Caleb looked in each room. Maggie came upon a room and saw a figure in the middle of the room and realized who it was. "Hey, Stiles. Are you okay?"
Stiles slowly met her eyes. "Yeah, fine. What's been going on?"