Maggie, feeling like something was weirdly wrong, ran to Scott's and banged on the door.
Melissa frowned. "Maggie, are you-"
The blonde cut her off. "I'm fully aware of how late it is, but I need to talk to Scott right now."
"He's asleep."
"Melissa, please," she said in a desperate tone.
Melissa nodded. "Okay. Come on in."
Scott woke up to a ringing phone and saw Maggie in the doorway to his room and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Answer your phone," Maggie ordered.
Scott did as she said.
Stiles' voice came through. "Scott, Maggie, I don't, I don't know where I am. I don't know how I got here. I think I was sleepwalking."
Maggie sucked in a breath. "Where are you? What do you see?"
He answered in a panicked voice, "Ah, it's dark. It's hard to see. I think there's something wrong with my-"
The call ended and Maggie grabbed Scott's phone and called Stiles again. Voicemail. "Come on, Stiles. Answer. Please." She called again, and got his voicemail a second time.
Scott muttered, "God, come on. Come on."
The call finally connected and he said, "Stiles?"
"Scott, Maggie, I don't think I can get out of here. I can't move."
"Where are you?" Maggie asked again. "Stiles, tell us. Please."
Stiles' voice remained panicked. "I don't know. I don't know, it's too dark. I can't see much and something's wrong with my leg. It's stuck on something. And it's... I think it's bleeding."
Maggie began shaking and she tried calming herself. "How bad is it? Stiles. How bad?" He didn't answer. "Stiles, come on. Answer me. Can you hear me?"
He finally answered. "Ah, there's some kind of smell down here. Something smells terrible. It's brutal. My eyes are watering."
"Okay, listen," Scott said. "I'm calling your dad."
"No, no, no, no, don't."
"But your dad-"
"Don't. Just please don't call him. Same goes for you, Maggie. Promise me you won't. He already worries about me too much. Scott, please."
Maggie shook her head. "He can help, Stiles."
Stiles started sniffling. "No, no, no, just please." His sniffles grew louder and he calmed himself down. "Please don't call him or her. Come find me. You can do it. He doesn't have to know. Scott, you can find me."
Scott glanced to Maggie. "I don't know if I can do this."
Maggie glanced at her friend. "We will."
Stiles suddenly said, "Oh, I gotta call you back. I have to turn my phone off."
"Stiles, no! Wait!" Maggie cried.
"I'm gonna call you back."
"Hold on, Stiles, wait. Hold on, man," Scott said.
Stiles hung up and she turned to Scott. "I'm going to Stiles' to see if I can find anything."
"Maggie, Isaac and I going that way too."
"Meet me there then."
Maggie sent a message to her brother and raced to the Stilinski household and ran up to Stiles' room.
She got a text from Scott saying, 'Stiles thinks he's in an industrial place, and he doesn't think he's alone'.
Scott and Isaac arrived about the same time as Lydia, Caleb and Aiden. Maggie turned to the strawberry blonde and asked, "How did you know, Lydia? Did he call you?"
Lydia shook her head. "I heard it. He called you?"
Aiden let out a sigh. "Don't ask. It gets more confusing when you ask."
Maggie nodded. "Yeah, he called me and Scott. After I had a sixth sense that something was wrong."
Dmitri nodded. "I had the same sense and went to find Lydia when you texted me."
Maggie made her way to the murder board. "He uses red for unsolved cases."
"Maybe he thinks he's part of an unsolved case?"
Maggie slowly turned to face everyone. "Or is an unsolved case."
Lydia's eyes narrowed. "Hold on. Is he still out there? You don't know where he is?"
Maggie glared at Scott as he said, "He said he was in an industrial basement somewhere. We came here to get a better scent."
"What else did he say?" Lydia and Dmitri wondered.
"He said there was something wrong with his leg; that it was bleeding," Maggie said in a concerned tone.
"And freezing," Isaac added.
Maggie's eyes narrowed. "Are you happy now, Scott?"
Aiden frowned. "Tonight's the coldest night of the year. It's going to drop into the 20s."
"Aiden! Shut up! This is Stiles. I-I... I can't lose him."
"What did his dad say?" Lydia asked, taking Maggie's hand.
Scott let out a sigh. "We kind of didn't tell him yet. I don't know about Maggie."
Lydia's eyes narrowed. "Stiles is bleeding and freezing and you didn't call his dad?"
Maggie scoffed. "Who do you think I am? Of course I called his dad."
Scott met Lydia's eyes. "He made me promise not to. I didn't realize Maggie did. We can find him by scent. If he was sleepwalking, he couldn't have gotten far, right?"
Lydia frowned. "You guys didn't notice his Jeep is gone, did you? You promised you wouldn't call his dad. I didn't. Maggie, maybe I can get him."
She pulled out her phone and Scott protested, "Wait, Lydia, hold on. I can get more help. I can get more help. I can call Derek. Allison, everyone except for the cops."
"Great idea," Lydia answered sarcastically.
"Lydia, call his dad," Caleb ordered. "He needs to be told about his missing son."
She nodded and Aiden turned to them. "You guys remember she gets these feelings when someone's about to die, right?"
Maggie shot him a look. "I'm gonna do whatever it takes to find him. Whatever it takes."
Scott shook his head. "You don't have to call his dad. It's five minutes to the station."
They made their way downstairs and Lydia said, "We'll catch up."
Maggie frowned. "Why?"
Lydia met her eyes. "There's something here."
Isaac scoffed. "Yeah. Evidence of total insanity."
Maggie glared at Isaac and he glared back. An annoyed look crossed Scott's face and he let out a sigh. "We can figure out what's wrong with him after we find a way to keep him from freezing to death."
Lydia turned to them and placed a gentle hand on Maggie's shoulder. "Go. We'll be right behind you." She turned to Caleb . "Go."
Caleb frowned. "Lydia-"
"Your sister needs you. I'll be okay."
They reached the station and met up with the sheriff and told him everything. The sheriff said, "Come on. If his Jeep is gone, that's where we start. Parrish, let's get an APB out on a blue 190 CJ-5 Jeep. Cordova, I want a list of any kind of industrial basement or sub-level of any building that he could've gotten into while sleepwalking. It's the coldest night of the year so far. So if he's out there barefoot in just a T-shirt, he could already by hypothermic. Let's move fast. Let's think fast. The three of you, come with me." The sheriff led them into his office. "Okay. Is there anything you need to tell me that I can't tell anyone out there?"
Scott nodded. "Lydia knew he was missing."
"Can she help find him?"
Caleb glanced up. "She's working on that."
"Anything else?"
Scott nodded. "I called Derek and Allison for help."
"Can you find him by scent?"
There was a knock on the door and Parrish appeared. "We got it, sir. We found the Jeep."
She let out a sigh of relief and Parrish continued. "It's dead. He must have left the lights on."
They reached the hospital and Maggie frowned. "Here?"
Scott shrugged. "That's what we're going to find out."
Maggie and Caleb followed Scott and Derek.
Derek let out a sigh. "He's not here. Not anymore."
Scott glanced at him. "You mean the whole building?"
"Gone."
Maggie focused on the plan she'd finally solidified. "Scott, tell the sheriff. Derek, find Allison."
They climbed up to the roof and Maggje noticed a bag of cables next to a generator. "What the hell is he up to?"
Derek turned to her. "We'll find him, Maggie." He turned to Scott. "Notice how strong the scent is up here? Ever hear of chemo signals? Chemical signals that communicate emotion. And just our sweat can give off anger, fear, or disgust. Take a deep breath and tell me what you feel."
Scott closed his eyes for a moment. "Stress. I think. Maggie's panic and frustration and Caleb's worry is distracting me."
"And anxiety," Derek added. "From both of them."
Caleb frowned as he looked around. "What the hell was he doing up here?"
Derek glanced to him. "I have no idea. But there was definitely some kind of struggle."
"With who?" Scott wondered.
Lydia informed them that she believed he was at Eichen House, so they rushed over there.
Sheriff Stilinski said to Lydia. "I don't want to say, "Are you sure about this", but..."
Maggie's eyes narrowed. "Lydia was sure."
Scott's voice lowered. "Lydia heard voices. He's here."
The sheriff walked up to the front desk and said, "I need access to all the basement rooms in this facility."
They were led down to the basement and Lydia stopped in front of a door. "It's here! It's right here."
The sheriff kicked the door open. There was a descending staircase, and Maggie ran down into the darkness. "Stiles! Stiles!"
"Maggie, wait!" Scott and Caleb yelled.
At the bottom, Maggie started overturning boxes and desperately looking in nooks and crannies to find Stiles. Nothing. She heard the sheriff ask, "Lydia?"
Lydia shook her head and frowned. "I don't get it. This has to be it."
His eyes narrowed. "Then where is he? Where is he?! Where is he?!"
"Stop it!" Maggie screamed. "Stop it!"
Sheriff Stilinski sighed before saying, "I'm sorry. I just want to find him."
Lydia and Caleb nodded. "We all do."
Lydia insisted on driving Maggie and Caleb home after the night's events, and the siblings didn't argue.
The witch just wanted the boy she found endearing safe.
The next morning, she was greeted with her brother's face. "Hey. Melissa called to say that Stiles was found in Malia's old coyote den."
Maggie rubbed her eyes and smiled. "I'm gonna go to the hospital to see him."
Caleb nodded. "I'll tell you how school goes."
"You're the best."
Maggie threw on a long purple shirt that went down to her thighs, black leggings, and black boots.
When she got to the hospital, Melissa explained Stiles' situation to her. "He's resting, so it'll be quiet, but I don't think anyone will have an objection to you being in his room. And if they do, I'll talk to them. His tests will start in the early afternoon."
Stiles woke up about an hour later and frowned at Maggie. "Why aren't you at school?"
Maggie smiled sadly. "I didn't want you to be alone. Stiles, if... If you don't make it-"
"Hey, I'm not going anywhere, Maggie. I promise."
Melissa came to take Stiles to his tests and then he was taken to get an MRI.
Scott and Caleb arrived and they joined the doctor in looking at the charts. "I'm not sure I know how to pronounce this. Or if it's not actually a misspelling."
Maggie glanced at the doctor. "Stiles works."
The doctor nodded. "Okay." He said into the microphone, "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."
Stiles shook his head. "Oh, no, no, I don't need anything."
Sheriff Stilinski smiled at his son. "Hey, we're just on the other side of that window, okay?"
He nodded and Melissa appeared next to the doctor. Stiles turned to Maggie, Caleb and Scott. "You know what they're looking for, right? 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."
He glanced to Maggie and her smile wavered. Caleb placed a hand on her shoulder.
Maggie sucked in a breath, wishing her magic gave her the ability to heal. But unfortunately, one couldn't always get what they wanted.
Scott said to him, "Stiles, if you have it, we'll do something. I'll do something."
It quickly occurred to Maggie and Caleb that he was talking about turning Stiles. They shared a look and an understanding nod. Scott threw his arms around Stiles and managed to compose himself. Maggie noticed a tear falling down Stiles' cheek and quickly tried to wipe one of her own before anyone saw.
They pulled away and gave each other a pat on the shoulder. Scott and Caleb left the room so Maggie could have some time alone with Stiles.
"I'll be okay, Maggie," Stiles told her softly. "I'm not going anywhere."
She nodded and sniffled before saying, "Scott, Caleb and I will gonna be on the other side of that glass, okay? With your dad and his mom."
"I know."
She walked off and turned. Stiles grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. He hugged her and the two shared a soft smile before Maggie left the room.
Melissa sent the teens to the waiting room and Maggie curled up her on the seat while Scott and Caleb sat next to her. Derek walked up to them and noticed Maggie's expression. "Maggie? Are you okay?"
Maggie nodded absentmindedly, then shook her head.
Scott glanced at his friend before turning to Derek. "You know the stuff you were telling me about the chemo signals earlier? It reminded me of the time you were teaching me to use anger to control the shift."
Derek laughed softly. "I think you ended up teaching me more about that."
"Are you teaching me again?"
Derek shrugged. "Think of it more like sharing a few trade secrets. You know, I took Cora back to South America, right? It's where she spent most of her time after the fire. But that's not the only reason I left. I needed to talk to my mother."
"Your dead mother?"
He nodded. "She told me something that changed my perspective on a lot of things. She said that my family didn't just live in Beacon Hills. They protected it. This town needs someone to protect it. Someone like you."
Scott looked at Derek. "And someone like you to teach me a few trade secrets."
He suddenly thought of something and Derek asked, "What?"
"He was trying to protect us. Stiles was trying to protect us."
"From himself," Derek and Caleb realized.
Scott glanced to her. "Maggie was worried about him. And I think she was right to be."
They made their way to the roof and Derek grabbed a bag of tools down.
Maggie knelt next to the bag of tools as lights dimmed for a moment. She turned to Derek, Caleb and Scott. "This was a power surge. Something is wrong. Scott, Derek, Caleb, I think Stiles is the Nogitsune."
Scott nodded and let out a sigh. "Yeah, I think you're right."