"My dad's got an APB out–"
"For a five foot eight, sixteen year old?"
"I recommended nine foot tall rampaging werewolf," Stiles offered. They were seated around the kitchen counter, waiting for Scott to get up. He was out really early the night before, his body exhausted and healing. He needed the rest. Addy had her fingers intertwined with Liam's under the counter.
Now that he had her again, he wasn't letting go. The night before held so many emotions, and they both thoroughly enjoyed each one of them. However, the night would probably be the last they would get in a while because if they didn't figure out how to save Mason, then a lot of people were going to die.
"It still might not be him," Liam defended. He talked to Addy about it in the morning, but she was hesitant to get his hopes up. "But Hayden's at the school looking."
"I can keep checking the woods," Malia offered.
"My mom can check all the hospitals in the county. We can find him." Scott rounded the corner, fully dressed and well rested. They all seemed in better shape than they had been over the past few days.
"What happens then?" Addy asked.
"We figure out a way to save him," Scott announced. Lydia was the one who knew the most. She had gotten the story from Gerard and Chris. The story of the first hunter, and how she killed the Beast the first time. But they didn't want to kill the Beast, not until Mason was safe. And it was going to be impossible to figure out how to separate the two.
"Okay, where else could we look?" Lydia asked.
"Let's ask Corey." Scott suddenly reached his hand out and grabbed the material of a shirt. Corey became visible, surprising everyone that he was in the room with them. Ruby red eyes stared at the scared boy, who stuttered over his words.
"Wait. Wait, it's not my fault. They took him and I couldn't do anything. They took him..."
"Who?"
Addy's jaw clenched. "The Dread Doctors," she answered. Corey nodded his head, and Scott loosened his grip.
)( * )(
"How stupid are we to be doing this?" Liam asked
"I'm going to rip his throat out," Addy almost growled. Her hands at her sides became fists, and her eyes glowed.
"Stop that." Scott shook her out of her daze. "And we're not stupid; we're desperate."
The three of them reached the boys' locker room where they unfortunately set up a meeting with the one person that knew the most about the Dread Doctors, and the one person Addy was willing to kill. She wanted to kill. Theo Raeken and his bitch, Tracy Stewart. However, he was right. They needed to do what they needed to save Mason. And that included talking to him.
"How desperate?" Addison raised an eyebrow, her hands still in fists.
"Incredibly desperate." Scott grimaced as he opened the door. Liam shrugged at her. Scott knew what he was doing.
"I told you we'd end up on the same side," Theo said. He stood up tall while Tracy leaned against one of the lockers.
"How about I punch you in the balls to remind you we're not?" Liam smirked. Theo chuckled at the threat.
"I love this kid."
"I don't." The only member of Theo's pack stood up and walked closer to Liam.
"Back off," Addy hissed, stepping in front of him. Tracy continued walking forward, her claws extending and lightly tracing over Addy's cheek. A little more pressure and she would be paralyzed. She didn't budge, and her heart rate didn't rise, but rather, she looked deep into her eyes and smirked.
With a fiery fist, Addy grabbed Tracy's wrist and didn't let go until she was nearly screaming in pain. Addy watched as she fell to the floor, trying to rip her arm out of her grasp. It was like a veil fell over her, and she watched the girl suffer. Not the innocent girl before all of this, but the girl that would kill them on Theo's command, the girl who fought against them.
"Addy!" Scott growled. She finally let go, and took a step back. The skin where she was holding was blistered and red, worse than a third degree burn but not quite beyond repair. The half kanima crawled away, nursing her injured arm against her chest. Addy's fingers uncurled, and she gave Scott a nod that she would be okay. "We know you're not on our side, Theo. You said you wanted to help Lydia, but you left Eichen with something else, didn't you?"
"You mean the mask? Are you worried about that?"
"Did you put it on?" Scott countered. The mask was dangerous. It caused death before, and would again if anyone else got their hands on it. Theo didn't answer and they knew the answer was yes. "Who did you see?'
"Not Mason."
"What does that mean? It's not him?" Liam hopefully asked. Mason was his best friend. He wanted every possibility for it not to be him. The spark of hope he held was slowly dying out, and the chances for his best friend to survive were slimming.
"It probably means he's a lost cause," Theo told him. Liam didn't know whether to take that as a good thing or a bad thing. "We all want the same thing. We want Mason back."
"Yeah, but we want him back alive," Addy snarled, stepping forward again. She noticed Tracy step back and she smirked. Theo's eyes lingered on Addy. She cowered back at his stare. Liam pulled her into his side, not liking him looking at her like that.
"Well, I'm open to compromise," he suddenly spoke. "You still got the map with telluric currents on it? Bring it to the operating theater in two hours." Scott scowled but led his two pack mates out of the locker room.
"How desperate are we?" Addy muttered.
"Incredibly."
"I hate this plan."
)( * )(
"They called him Der Soldat. That's German for 'The Solider'," Theo suddenly spoke. He arrived so quickly and quietly that it startled Addy. She glared at him, something he became accustomed to. Theo only smirked. "I'm pretty sure he fought in World War II."
"And he was a Nazi," Scott joined the conversation. They were stupid to go there, especially with the one thing Theo wanted. The telluric currents in Beacon Hills were powerful things, and they were just going to give him the key. It didn't matter that they were using him to get Mason back. Theo was using them as well.
"And an alpha werewolf," he informed. "The Dread Doctors have been using him to prolong their lives. They've been doing it for decades, actually probably longer."
"How old are these guys?" Addy asked. She avoided making eye contact with Theo, but rather focused on Liam's hand which had a tight grip on her own. Any signs of him fighting or anything remotely dangerous never showed on his hands. They'd become calloused from his long days of lacrosse, but not a single cut, scratch, or broken bone showed.
"Who knows? But wherever they go, he goes, too."
"So how do we find him?" Liam questioned. He hated this plan as much as Addy did. A weight had been lifted off his shoulders when she fully forgave him. He didn't have to worry anymore that she would leave him for good. That terrified him: the thought of Addy always being by his side, but never his.
"Keeping him alive requires a pretty unique set of conditions. There's gotta be a power source, it has to be underground–"
"And on a telluric current." Scott pulled out the map from his jacket and hesitantly passed it over.
Theo unfolded it, smirking at the trails it led to. "Looks like we're going on a hike."
"I hate hikes," Addy muttered.
)( * )(
Winner for the most awkward car ride ever had to have been that one. Theo didn't trust Scott's pack enough to go looking for Mason without him, and Scott didn't trust Theo with the map of telluric currents. Addy and Liam just didn't trust him altogether. So, with Scott at the wheel, Liam in the passenger seat, Theo and Addy sat in the back, they went on. No music played, and no one dared talk.
Theo would make one small movement in his seat, and she would tense up. Scott gave her a look in the mirror. She was extremely close to punching him, or just straight up killing him right then and there. But she couldn't. If Scott and Liam could go without killing anyone, so could she. Even if the person she despised most was sitting next to her.
It was dark when they reached the edge of the woods. Theo looked at the map one last time to get the general direction of where they had to go. Addy glared at him when he began walking alongside her.
"Your glares don't do anything to me, you know," Theo mused.
"But you know what will?" Addy grabbed the collar of his shirt, and pushed him up against the tree. He only smirked, the same smirk that she was getting so close to ripping it off his face. Addison snarled, and threw him to the ground. Her hands blazed in the dark night, clenching and unclenching at her side.
"Addy!" Scott stopped her for the second time that day. Theo sat up on his elbows. His eyes glowed up at Addy's. She took it as a threat, and would have followed through with what she wanted to do, but Liam grabbed her elbow and pulled her back. As much as he wanted to see her kick his ass, they needed him to find Mason, and that was much more important at the moment.
Everything looked the same the farther they walked. It was getting harder to see. The only light they had was from the moon, and even then the tall trees blocked it. She had trouble not tripping over the various branches and roots embedded in the ground. Liam kept her up. His cool hands were in hers. They'd been holding hands ever since they met. It was odd not seeing them together for those weeks apart.
"Where is he?"
"I thought we were looking for him," Theo quipped, standing up.
"You know who I'm talking about." Scott knew about Deucalion. In fact, he knew a lot more than Theo thought he did. "You shouldn't trust him."
"And you're the one who let him live," Theo returned. Scott quickly reminded him that he wasn't a murderer, and that hopefully he never would have to be. "Do you honestly think you're gonna get through this without killing anyone?"
Liam stopped suddenly, Addy nearly falling over with the sudden lack of movement. The two older boys ahead stopped and turned back. "We're close."
"You got his scent?"
Liam nodded his head.
"Which way?" Theo questioned. The beta remained quiet. Theo wanted the power Mason – the Beast – held, and if that meant killing him, so be it. Nothing was going to get in his way to become an alpha. Liam knew that. It was why he didn't want to tell him the direction of his best friend. "You think you're going to leave me behind?"
"Liam," Scott sighed.
Addy rubbed her thumb along his wrist. As much as she wanted to leave him behind as well, they couldn't. Theo knew the most about what Mason was, and they needed his help. It was a risk they needed to take. "He wants to kill him," Liam defended.
"I just want his power. You want to fight someone that actually wants to kill Mason? Go fight Parrish," Theo raised his voice. They all knew that he would kill Mason if he needed to. How else was he supposed to get the power from him? If a werewolf wants the alpha status, they kill the alpha. It was the same ideal, except this werewolf was nine feet tall and could only be killed with a pike that they had no idea where it could be.
"Who did you see when you put on the mask?" Addy interrupted.
"I told you it wasn't Mason," he said. It was stupid of him to put the mask on, and a large part of Addy wished he had died from it.
"Who was it?" Liam shouted, tired of him avoiding the question.
Theo sighed. They weren't going to get anywhere until he told his side of the story. "I saw a man dying in the snow. He was impaled by a spear."
Scott quickly corrected him with saying it was a pike. They all heard the story from Lydia, an interesting tale with a sad ending. The tale of the first hunter of the Argents, the bravest of them all to go after the Beast. "Then you all know what it means; time is running out. Where is he, Liam? What direction?" Theo asked one more time.
Liam gritted his teeth before reluctantly caving in. "This way." He dragged Addy with him, and led everyone to where Mason was held. A rickety old cabin shone in the moonlight. It was old and worn down, and anyone that would have been able to find it would have avoided the building as much as possible. It was creepy. However, Liam rushed to the door, eager to get Mason out of there and into safety.
"Wait." Addy grabbed his arm. They had no idea who was in there or what was going to happen as soon as they opened that door. "Listen."
"It's him," Liam assured after a moment of listening to the single heartbeat in there. He flung the door open and ran inside, Addy chasing after him. He wasn't thinking straight and that was dangerous. Sometimes you needed to listen to your brain more than your heart.
There were spotlights that illuminated the dingy room. Moss and vines sprouted from the cracks in the wall, and a musty smell made Addy's nose twitch. It was definitely a place that the Dread Doctors would work. The place screamed evil scientist.
"Mason?" Liam whisper shouted. There was no answer, just the eerie sound of water dripping. Addy didn't like it. Something felt off. They rounded the corner where an unconscious Mason rested. The two kneeled down beside him, gently shaking his shoulders to wake him. A needle was attacked to the back of his neck, the tubing leading up to where the soldier was. It was in a glass tube with liquid around it. Addy made a disgusted face at it, but put her focus onto Mason.
"It's connected to him."
"What is this thing?" Addy muttered.
"I don't know," Theo honestly answered. He had never been there before. It was one of the many places the Dread Doctors used. He had only been to a few of them.
Mason stirred. He kept his head down; the needle was too uncomfortable any other way. "Liam, I can feel it," Mason gasped, his voice was filled with anguish. He was scared and in pain, and had no idea what was really going on. "It's in my skull."
"Don't move," Addy instructed. She held his arm. It was the only form of comfort she could use without hurting him more. While the others argued, she mumbled soothing words to the scared boy. "Mason, we're gonna get you out of here, okay?"
"Hold him still," Scott told them. Theo stood and watched as they anchored him in place. "Okay, alright. I'm gonna try to pull it out. Let me know if it hurts." Scott barely touched the thing when Mason screamed in pain.
"It hurt! It definitely hurts!" Mason shouted.
A whirring and clicking was suddenly brought into the room. Addy's breathing hitched: the Dread Doctors. She slowly turned her head, and there they stood, a few feet away from Theo. The teenagers were touching their property, something they've worked to accomplish. It was like taking a cub from a grizzly bear, except this bear didn't have claws.
"They wanted us here," Addy muttered, standing up from her spot. The three Dread Doctors were spread out through the room, each of them advancing towards them. "Get that thing out of his neck, quick. I'm not sticking around any longer than I have to."
Theo. Theo Raeken. Its voice was automated, just like it was every time it spoke. Addy shivered. It was all too familiar to her.
"He's coming with us," Theo demanded. Addy looked up at Scott. She was terrified. The Dread Doctors scared her more than anyone else in the pack, but she was the one who was always fighting them. It was like she attracted them towards her.
Failure, Theo Raeken. The Surgeon continued it slow pace towards them. It was the first time Addy saw Theo stutter over his words. She was frozen in her spot, unable to move, and only one voice was clear in her head. Not a complete failure. We learned from you. The mark of a true failure. Repeating the same mistake again and again.
A growl broke her from her faze. She didn't notice how close the Doctor was, only two feet away from where she stood. Addy stumbled back, right into Scott's chest.
You have the entitlement and narcissism typical of your generation. In that, you are a profound success.
Mason screamed again. They barely moved the thing and he was in extreme pain. "Scott, I-I can't get it out. I don't know what to do," Liam panicked. Scott left Addy's side and kneeled down by his beta. They had to get out of there.
But your failure taught us one thing. The banality of evil that you were and would always be an ordinary evil. We believed that to resurrect the perfect killer we had to start with the perfect evil. From you, we learned true evil comes by corrupting something truly good.
Its dead eyes seemed to be staring at Addy. She still didn't know why, how, or what they did to her. She obviously wasn't the Beast, and they weren't trying to create that. She wanted to know, but it wasn't the time or the place for questions. Not when Theo began fighting against them.
Addy jumped back as one of the Doctors came after her. "Addy!" Liam panicked. He jumped up from beside Mason and fought alongside her. She pushed it back with her shield, and Liam slashed his claws against it. It was just about to swing at him, but Addy grabbed its arm, and with tremendous strength she didn't even know she had, pushed the Doctor back into the wall.
They couldn't beat that thing. It had no weakness as far as they knew. It got back up, and before either of them could do any damage, tossed them both into barrels right beside Scott. As they got cornered, a scream stopped everyone in their movements.
Mason was standing up. The needle in his neck was slowly pulled out, but his shouts of pain never stopped.
Transformation. Transformation without frequency.
Black smoke crowded around his feet and slowly escalated up and around his body. Mason's eyes shone such a bright blue that Addy couldn't even look into them. He was turning into the Beast: the Beast of Beacon Hills.
"Mason!" Liam shouted.
"That's not my name," he growled. Mason's voice was distorted, almost like the Dread Doctors'. The black smoke enveloped him completely and he was fully transformed into the Beast. It growled, showing its teeth on display. It wasn't Mason anymore. Mason was somewhere deep inside that thing, and they needed a way to get him out... alive.
Addy, Liam, and Scott flew back as the Beast threw one of the Dread Doctors. It convulsed on the floor, blood dripping from its metal mask. They watched in horror as it picked up one of the other two by the neck, and with a single tug, ripped its head off. Mason – the Beast – ventured over to the Surgeon and Theo.
Theo was tossed to the side, and lucky for him, not killed. The Beast had one objective at the moment, and that was to destroy its creators.
Success.
It grabbed the final Dread Doctor, and dragged it up the stairs. Hesitantly, the three followed it. Before The Beast could make its final kill, a ball of fire slammed into it.
Similar to in the library, a shot gun went off, hitting the Beast over and over again. But this time, instead of running of and disappearing, it transformed. They were expecting Mason – he was under the smoke at the start. However, a man they did not know appeared. He rose up in the shadows, blood covering his bare skin but no harm done to him.
"La Bête du Gévaudan," Gerard Argent shouted. "I know your name. Do you remember mine?"
"Argent." The man turned back towards them before running off into the woods. Parrish chased after him, the fire still surrounding his body. Addy had no idea who that was, or where Mason went. At that point, algebra would have made more sense to her. Everything that was going on, everything they were doing, it was past her brain capability to comprehend. This wasn't math where everything had rules. This was the supernatural, where they played around with and broke the rules.
"What the hell was that?" Scott questioned.
"You've seen the Beast of Gévuaudan; that was the man," Gerard answered.
"Sebastien Valet."
"So where's Mason?" Addy questioned. There was a gasp from behind her and she whirled around to the source. The Dread Doctor on the ground was still alive. Curiosity got the best of her, and she kneeled down beside it. The others were too busy in conversation to notice her move. "Guys. Guys! I think it's still alive."
"Addy, get away from it," Liam demanded. However, she did the opposite and helped get the thing up to standing position. "Addy!"
"We can get answers from him," she asserted. Answers for her, for Mason: if they could get it to talk, they could find out everything that was going on. It was selfish of her to want the answers. The possibility put everyone around it at risk, but she was willing to take that risk. If it meant helping Mason, she would do it. Maybe she would just be lucky enough to figure out herself along the way.
"She's right," Scott caved, going to the other side of the Doctor. He was heavy. The amount of layers it wore and the metal mask weighed a ton. "We'll get him to Deaton. He might know what to do."
)( * )(
Word count: 3800
October 17, 2016
I'm not even gonna lie I forgot I wasn't completed this story. I've been so busy lately oh my goodness, so sorry for the wait.
Anyway love you all.