A lot had happened since Derek and Scott left Harper that evening in the hospital. Beacon Hill's Memorial Hospital went into yet another blackout, Isaac and a dozen other people were electrocuted badly, and here's the cherry on top of the cake: Stiles was missing- again.
It had been an entire weekend and Harper had made herself ill from the amount of panicking she had been doing. The only contact anybody had had from him in over forty-eight hours were two text messages. One was to his dad, the other to Harper. It was short and to the point, and Harper had read it over so many times that she could quote it off by heart.
I'm ok. Don't try looking for me. I'll be back soon, my little dove.
Harper went to Scott as soon as she had received the message an hour after his disappearance, ranting about how unlike him it was. One, he would never take off without her. Two, Stiles never typed 'ok', it was always 'okay'. Three, Stiles had called Harper many things over the years- Harps, sunshine, sweetheart, babe, baby, beautiful, princess- all that cheesy stuff only meant for her ears- however, Stiles had never called her 'little dove'.
The news she received next was even more shocking. In fact, out of all of the shocks Harper had had in her past sixteen years of being alive, this was probably near finding out she had a half-brother and her dad had faked his own death, but yeah, otherwise it might take the cake.
The oni was here to find whoever had been possessed by a dark spirit called the Nogitsune. So far the group didn't know much about it, just the fact that it was Stiles that had been possessed by it and it was thirsty for something- pain, revenge, blood- they didn't know.
Whenever Harper wasn't comforting Allison outside Isaac's hospital room, she remained in her bed, scrolling through pictures upon pictures of herself and Stiles on her phone and worrying about him. So far the petite brunette had had a total of three panic attacks, a brand new record for her in the amount of time.
Melissa thought it would be a good idea for Harper to go to school on Monday, and the Empath agreed. There was no point in moping around and being sad, at least while she was in class she could focus on something other than the Stiles-shaped hole in her heart.
Harper slammed her locker door shut just as three bodies walked past her. She noticed one of them as Scott and quickly grabbed his wrist, forcing him to look back. He was with the twins, much to her surprise. She had heard that they wanted to join Scott's pack, but Harper knew Scott didn't want them, not after what they had done to Boyd.
"Where are you going?" She asked when she saw the panicked look on Scott's face, "don't you guys have cross country?"
"There's a werewolf emitter coming from down in the basement," one of the twins, Aiden she assumed, huffed from beside the Alpha.
Harper shrugged, "I'm coming with."
Scott's eyes softened, but before he could say anything she cut him off, "please, I have a free period, no counsellor and I'm in desperate need of getting my mind off of Stiles."
"Let her," Ethan declared, "she can look after herself."
Harper sent him a weak smile as Scott nodded, the four going down the steps and heading towards where the high-pitched noise was coming from. Of course, Harper couldn't hear it, but she knew when they were getting close from the werewolves constant wincing.
Harper's breath hitched in her throat when she saw who was stood down the hall, their back turned to them. She knew that haircut and those dark flannels from anywhere. It was Stiles. As he turned around, his eyes meeting hers, she took a step forward- only to get tugged back by her best friend.
"Harper," Scott warned.
All of the excitement of Stiles being there had clouded over Harper's senses and made her forget what was inside him. The Nogitsune.
"Okay," he lifted his hands up in defense, "I know what you guys are thinking, but it's me. I swear to god, it's me. Harper, Scott... it's me."
Loud growls echoed from behind Harper, her eyes widening as she turned to find Ethan and Aiden in werewolf mode, blue eyes glittering and fangs and claws extended. She grabbed one of their jumpers.
"Stop!" She exclaimed, but the twin quickly ripped away from her tight grip as they both ran at Stiles.
Aiden pinned the teenage boy up against the wall, his hand wrapped around Stiles' neck as he choked. Scott quickly jumped into action, yelling at the twins to stop as he grabbed Ethan by his back and threw him across the room. He hit against some old lockers and fell to the concrete ground, grunting. Aiden growled at Scott, however, the Alpha glowed his red eyes and growled back louder, immediately overpowering him.
A heavy silence filled the basement, Harper's eyes moving to Stiles who was staring between her and Scott frantically.
"It's me," he pleaded, "guys I swear, it's me. I don't know where I've been the last few days, or what I've been doing, but this is me. I promise."
Scott glanced over at Harper as if to ask if she was believing what was leaving the lips of Stiles' body. The brunette showed no sign of what she thought, just blinking at Scott blankly.
Something inside Harper didn't feel right when she looked at her boyfriend, what was for sure. Scott looked away, but Harper couldn't stop staring at Stiles, even when he wasn't looking at her.
"You remember what happened at the hospital?" Ethan panted as he climbed up off of the floor.
"I know more than that," Stiles began, walking over to a bag in the corner of the room and pulling some paper out of it, "you see this? It's a blueprint of the hospital's electrical wiring. You see all these markings in red? That's my handwriting. I know I did this. I caused the accident."
Nobody said anything, so Stiles continued pulling this out. Harper folded her arms across her chest, growing more suspicious as she grew colder towards him.
"Everything in this bag, it's all stuff that could be a part of something bigger," Stiles explained.
Aiden picked up a knife, "What the hell have you been up to?"
The Stilinski boy swallowed, "I think something worse. A lot worse."
Maybe Stiles was Stiles. After all, why would the Nogitsune help them ruin one of his plans? It made no sense. Harper tried to brush away the feeling of concern in the pit of her stomach.
"The hell were you doing? Building a terminator?" Aiden scoffed as he picked out some tape and rope.
"Thank you for that," Stiles retorted sarcastically
"Guys, this is a map," Scott realised, pointing at the paper on the desk.
Harper peered over his shoulder on her toes, "isn't that the cross country map? As in the one the team is running today?"
Scott nodded, pointing at a particular spot, "that's where the Tate car is. Where Malia Tate's family died."
"You mean where her dad put the steel-jaw traps," Stiles scoffed.
Harper's brows raised and she gulped, "oh no."
...
Just like a madman, Stiles drove his jeep as quickly as he possibly could to the woods where the cross country trail was, the brakes squealing as he parked near the rock Coach Finstock leaned against.
While the werewolves ran off to stop the runners, Stiles and Harper raced over to a very confused Bobby Finstock, frantically telling him to call off of the cross country. It was too late.
They ran as quick as they could, taking a shortcut through some trees until they made it to where the map had said there would be a trap. Luckily the runners hadn't made it there yet, only just coming up to the area.
"Stop, stop!" Stiles yelled, waving his hands around crazily, "everybody, stop!"
Everybody froze, watching Stiles silently as he bent down, feeling past all of the leaves that had fallen. The trees were so empty and the ground was so littered with them that it was impossible to see half your shoes.
Metal clanking together rung in Harper's ears as Stiles slowly pulled up a chain, uncovering it from the leaves. The tension in the air was thick as Stiles grabbed the last of the chain out, confusion over his face when he saw it was attached to nothing.
Slow clapping came from Coach, "congratulations, Stilinski, you found a length of chain. Can somebody now please tell me what the hell is going on?"
Harper looked up just as Scott yelled for Coach to watch out. The sound of something splitting through the air pierced her eardrums, a gasp escaping her lips as an arrow entered straight into Coach Finstock's chest.
"Oh crap," the man muttered, before looking down at it and fainting.
He fell backwards, everybody crowding around him immediately. Scott got everybody to move back a little as Coach's eyes fluttered open only seconds later, his yells of terror filling the air.
"Get it out of me! Get it out of me. Get it out of me. Get it out of me," Coach screamed, blood staining his grey shirt, "oh my god, I'm gonna die. Get it out of me. I'm gonna die!"
The patch grew bigger as he scrambled to get away from the hands attempting to stop the bleeding. Thanks to the ring Harry had given Harper, she felt only a slight twinge in her chest but nothing significant. That would have been hard to explain to the two dozen cross country runners currently watching their teacher wither around in his own blood.
"Coach, you're not gonna die," Harper tried to calm him as she moved her hands over his wound, crimson liquid immediately staining them.
"I'm gonna die!" He ignored her.
Aiden huffed, holding onto Coach's shoulder, "it will hurt less if you stop moving."
"Get that thing out of me!"
"Stay still, Coach, an ambulance is on its way," Ethan attempted to console him before turning to the other students, "get back, get back! Give him some room!"
Everybody obeyed, too scared not to listen to the teenagers taking control. Scott made sure nobody was looking before he grabbed his teacher's hand, taking the pain away. Harper could feel as it transferred from one body to the other, although it didn't hurt her.
Coach gurgled nonsense under his breath before his head rolled to the side, his eyes closing.
"At least when he's unconscious he's not panicking," Harper muttered, lifting her hands that had been next to Stiles.
His were covered in blood too as they shook, "I could have killed him. I could have killed him, right? What if it was his head or his throat?"
"But it wasn't," Scott reassured him, "and he's gonna alright."
Aiden's head tilted into the distance, "I think I just heard an ambulance coming."
Stiles' face fell, "and my dad."
...
The police and an ambulance had arrived five minutes ago. Coach Finstock was wheeled off onto a stretcher, thankfully still unconscious and therefore not making a fuss. Sheriff Stilinski and Stiles had been reunited, Scott and Harper watching from where they stood side by side by one of the parked cars.
"Scott," Harper whispered, tugging on his sleeve so he looked at her, "something doesn't feel right."
His brows furrowed together, "what do you mean?"
"With Stiles," she murmured, keeping her voice as low as she could, "I didn't want to say anything because he was around, but I don't think Stiles is completely all here. He's not acting himself."
"He's freaked out," Scott attempted to reassure her, "why would he expose his plan if he wasn't himself? And he freaked out about Coach getting shot by that arrow. Look at him now with his dad."
"He hasn't spoken a word to me," Harper swallowed, "and when I'm around him I don't sense any fear or panic coming from him, it's all just... just emptiness."
Scott paused, thinking the Empath's words over. He shook his head, about to tell Harper that she was just being paranoid after what he had told her when Ethan spoke up from behind them. The brunette tore her eyes away from her boyfriend, looking at the concerned werewolf.
"Scott, you better look at this," Ethan grabbed a box of nails out of the duffel bag in Stiles' jeep, showing it to them.
"Isn't this the same wrapping paper you and Stiles used for that prank you pulled on Coach?" Harper questioned, picking up the item of topic and showing it to her best friend who nodded.
"Isn't that William Barrow's thing?" Ethan questioned, "a bomb made from bolts and nails all wrapped in a birthday present? Where did it go off?"
Scott looked back at Stiles who was wiping his bloodied hands on a rag while talking to his dad. He turned back to the pair, his eyes wide and alert.
"On a school bus."
...
The buses at the school were evacuated as soon as Harper and Scott explained their theory to Sheriff Stilinski. Everybody piled into their cars as they made their way down to the school where a boy in Harper's grade, Jared, sat at the back of the bus- a present with identical wrapping paper to the one in Stiles' jeep in his hands.
Harper, Scott, and Stiles were forced to watch along with half of the school and Beacon Hills police department as Deputy Parrish climbed onto the bus, ready to inspect the potential bomb. Nobody spoke a word as they waited for an explosion to go off, Harper forgetting all about her suspicions on Stiles' behaviour.
Only when Parrish debunked the present and came back with what was truly inside did they realise the bomb wasn't on the bus but at the Sheriff's station. By the time they got there, the inside had been blown up, the wooden structure shattered across the floor and police officers lying on the ground, crying in agony.
Horror was etched across Harper's face, discomfort heating her skin as she felt their pain. She thanked Harry for the ring on her finger that was stopping her from experiencing the shards of glass in officer's backs, or the blood trickling from their concussed heads. The scene around her was something Harper had never seen before. It was devastation at its finest.
"Get me an ambulance here, at the sheriff's station," Sheriff Stilinski ordered down the phone, "we've got an explosion. We got multiple officers down. Multiple officers down! We need an ambulance ASAP, on the double."
Stiles raced over to an officer who had blood streaming from his mouth, his breath heaving up and down as he laid on the floor surrounded by broken parts of the station. He kneeled over the man, concern written across his face.
"Scott?" He called worriedly, "Harper? Can one of you do something? Take his pain? Anything to make it easier?"
"I can only take away the emotional stuff," Harper whispered as Scott's hand reached out and grabbed the man's.
Scott's veins turned black and he grunted as the physical pain seeped from the dying man's system to Scott's, quickly disappearing. Stiles' eyes flickered up to Harper.
"You can do something," he rushed, "I don't think he's gonna make it, Harper, I don't think- You could make him feel better that way, do something."
Harper swallowed and touched the man's shoulder, her eyes shining purple slightly as she took away all of the anxiety and fear he was experiencing. She watched as the panic on his face quickly drifted away, his breathing slowing. For a moment Harper thought the man was going to be okay, with Scott taking his physical pain and Harper taking his mental pain, but he suddenly began to splutter blood before his head slowly rolled to the side, his eyes closing.
Everything was inaudible as Sheriff Stilinski began yelling at the teenagers to leave, a static buzzing overwhelming Harper and making it hard for her to function. She could tell Scott felt the same way as he got up, pulling Stiles and Harper with him to the exit.
Kira suddenly rushed inside, her dark eyes wide as she grabbed Scott's arm.
"The oni," she referred to the demonic ninjas, "they're coming."
"Stiles," Scott panicked, "we've got to get you out of here."
...
Rain hammered down on the windows of the jeep as Stiles pulled up at the animal shelter, the closest place any of them had keys to. The freezing liquid running down Harper's body washed away any of the blood from Coach or the dead police officer in the seconds that it took to get to the door of the clinic.
They whirled around when snarling came from behind them, an instant signal of the oni's arrival. Harper gulped and took a step back while Scott walked forwards, squinting his eyes through the weather.
"Stiles, get inside," Scott ordered, throwing the keys at the other teenage boy who caught them with ease.
As the oni began to make their way towards the group, Stiles frantically worked on getting the door open, Harper right beside him, chewing down on her lip. He finally opened it after a few seconds of fumbling, pushing Harper into the warmth before following.
He left the door open, ready for Kira and Scott to follow once they had gotten rid of the oni. Harper's teeth chattered together as she moved into the main room, taking off the soaked denim jacket around her body. The November weather was a bitch, but she had bigger problems to deal with.
"Scott didn't listen, did he, little dove?" Stiles murmured from behind her, his voice deeper and slower than usual.
Harper froze. There was that nickname again, and she realised quickly what he was talking about. She had known all along that it hadn't been Stiles. It hadn't been Stiles since their goodbye at the hospital. She felt like an idiot for not trying to convince Scott further.
"Turn around when we're talking to you, Harper," he chuckled lowly, making her skin crawl, "come on, Harps. Stiles wants you to turn around, too."
Harper hesitantly turned, her hands trembling and her eyes wide. Stiles had changed completely. He was paler than usual, purple markings under his eyes and his wet hair clinging to his forehead. The black clothing he was clad in only added to the sinister vibes.
"Good girl," he muttered, extending his hand to stroke her cheek, "you're so beautiful, Harper. Inside and out," he chuckled, his thumb trailing over her trembling lips, "it's a shame your pack never appreciated your abilities."
Harper gulped, causing him to chuckle.
"I do," Stiles cocked his head to the side, his eyes not leaving hers, "I appreciate your empathic abilities. In fact, I would love to use them."
A door slammed in the other room, a smirk taking over her boyfriend's face as he lifted a finger to his lips, warning her to keep quiet. Harper wasn't completely stupid, she knew what a demon would do to her if she disobeyed him. She kept quiet as she heard Scott and Kira rush into the main room.
"Where's Stiles and Harper?" Scott grunted, sounding like he was in pain.
"I don't know," Kira panted, "stay still."
Stiles left the room, Harper hovering in the doorway as she found Scott sat on the metal table, a metal sword through his stomach. Kira moved her hands around it, getting ready to pull it out so he could heal when Stiles grabbed her wrist, squeezing it until she cried out.
Harper gasped as Stiles smacked Kira's head down onto the table, completely knocking her out. Scott was horrified at the neutral expression Stiles wore, realising that Harper had been right the whole time. The petite brunette rushed over to Kira, tears in her eyes as she checked for her pulse. Thankfully the Japanese girl was still breathing.
Stiles took a deep breath before walking towards Scott. He drummed his fingers along the handle of the weapon impaling his best friend, his eyes drifting up to make contact with the werewolves.
"You okay?" He muttered rhetorically before wrapping his fingers along the sword, "actually."
He released it, Harper and Scott watching in fear and confusion as Stiles bent down beside his girlfriend. Grabbing her hand, Harper wondered what he was doing until his fingers took hold of the Verum family ring and slipped it off. Swallowing thickly, she watched as he pocketed it and sent her a smirk.
"Don't look so scared, little dove," he muttered before walking over to Scott.
Scott looked at his best friend with wide eyes, "please don't," he whispered, "stop."
"It's okay," Stiles' voice was barely audible as he readjusted one hand on the handle of the sword, the other reaching out to hold Scott's shoulder.
Then, he twisted. Scott and Harper both felt the intense pain of the blade cutting through them as Stiles twisted it back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Slowly. Slower. Slower. Harper let out dry sobs, holding onto her stomach that was starting to bleed, staining her grey shirt. She could hear Scott as he cried out, withering to get away from Stiles but not hurt him.
"Does it hurt?" Stiles questioned blankly, "hey, look at me. You really should have listened to Harper, 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."
Harper was forced to watch as Stiles gripped either side of Scott's face, both their veins turning black as the pain from Scott transferred over to Stiles. She shuddered as Stiles' eyes rolled back into his head, grunts escaping his lips from everything he was taking.
Once he was finished, his hands dropped from Scott's side. Scott was left panting, eyes wide as he waited for Stiles' next move. The hazel-eyed boy looked over his shoulder at Harper who was sat on the floor, her back up against the wall and her hands placed over her bleeding stomach.
"You see, Harper?" Stiles chuckled, crouching down so his face was just inches away from hers, "this is what I mean when I say I could use you. Unfortunately, it's impossible for a Nogitsune to possess an Empath, although imagine how much I could feed from that..." he chuckled at the thought, "but I somehow ended up lucky enough to be in this host, with you so close."
His hand was caressing her face again, and while normally Harper would soak up all of the attention she could get from Stiles, she hated this. This was not the Stiles she knew, this was some demonic spirit in her boyfriend's body.
"Imagine all of the things we could do..." his lips were close to her ear, "you feeling everything, me taking it from you. How powerful would that make us?"
Harper grunted in pain, although no words left her mouth as he stared at her. His hazel eyes were much darker and more intimidating than usual. Fear racked her body, scared of what he would do next, but Scott spoke up.
"Leave her alone," he spat.
Stiles chuckled lowly, moving back to face Scott. He completely forgot about what he had just said to Harper, instead going back to mocking Scott.
"You really have to learn, Scott. You really have to learn not to trust a fox," he smirked, raising his finger and shaking it before readjusting his grip on Scott's shoulders, "Mmm-hmm. Know why? 'Cause they're tricksters. They'll fool you. They'll fool everyone."
"Not everyone," Deaton suddenly appeared out of nowhere, injecting a needle into Stiles' neck and inserting something.
Harper watched as Stiles laughed through the pain before he choked a little, his body collapsing right on the ground beside hers. His head was just fractions away from her body, her eyes wide as saw how innocent he now looked.
Before Harper could as Deaton what he had done to Stiles, she heard Scott's heavy breathing before Deaton pulled the sword out of Scott himself. Harper and Scott both gasped loudly at the burning sensation, groaning in agony. Oh, how Harper wished she had her ring.
"W-what was that?" Scott stammered through pants, gesturing with his head down to the unconscious Stiles, "was that a cure? Is he okay?"
Harper felt her stomach healing thanks to Scott, the pain slowly subsiding as she moved to Stiles, placing his head on her knees.
"The fox is poisoned, but it's not dead," Deaton replied calmly as Harper stroked Stiles' rain-soaked face, "not yet."
...
so... void is here. excuse how parts of this chapter are soo bad, i havent had time to proof read it. good news though- i have the next two chapters written up already :) ill post them soon
pls gimmie comments telling me what you think,,, they make me sooooo happy :)