As Lucy thought, Derek was still in the elevator. Stiles knelt next to him. "Derek?"
He slapped him a few times. "Derek, come on!"
Lucy shrugged and balled her fist, ready to punch Derek, and her fist was grabbed.
"Where is she?" Derek asked.
"Good. You're awake. Jennifer's long gone. She took Melissa with her."
Derek's eyes widened. "She took her?"
Stiles let out a sigh. "Yeah, and if that's not enough of a kick in the balls, Scott left with Deucalion, okay? So we gotta get you out of here. The police are coming right now, and we gotta get you the hell out of here. Whoa."
"What about Cora?"
"She'll be okay, Derek."
He rushed off, leaving Lucy and Stiles in the Emergency Room. They sat in the uncomfortable chairs and Stiles noticed a tall man and muttered, "Oh, just perfect."
"Who is he?" Lucy asked quietly.
He didn't answer her and the agent walked over. "A Stilinski at the center of this whole mess. What a shocker. Think you can answer some questions without the usual level of sarcasm?"
"If you ask the questions without your usual level of stupid," Stiles retorted.
"Where's your dad, and why's no one been able to contact him?"
Stiles shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen him in hours."
"Is he drinking again?"
"What do you mean, again? He never had to stop."
"But he did have to slow down. Is he drinking like he used to?"
Lucy glared at the agent, and the air suddenly got cold. Stiles glanced to her. "Lu, stop it."
"I can't," Lucy hissed.
He sighed and narrowed his eyes at the agent. "Alright, how about this? Next time I see him, I'll give him a field sobriety test, okay? We'll do the alphabet, start with "F," and end with "U"."
The agent sighed. "How about you or your girlfriend just tell me what the hell happened here."
Stiles shook his head while Lucy continued glaring at the agent. "I don't know what happened here. We were stuck in the elevators the whole time."
"You're not the ones who put the name on the doors, are you?"
The elevator dinged and closed to reveal the name, ARGENT.
They reached the Argents' apartment and Argent said, "The word is guardian, Allison. More than anyone, you know that's a role I haven't exactly lived up to lately."
Stiles shrugged. "Yeah, I'd also consider the fact that someone put your name up in a large block letters on the elevator doors. That kind of felt like a warning to me."
"I think it might be Morrell," Allison said. "She knows more than she lets on, and she might even be trying to help us."
Lucy frowned slightly. "Well, she better hurry."
Stiles nodded at her words. "Seeing as how the lunar eclipse is less than two freaking nights away."
Argent turned to him. "Stiles, don't give up hope."
"They could already be dead," Stiles said, sitting down.
Argent shook his head. "I don't think so. There's something about Jennifer's tactics. It's like she's still positioning, still moving pieces into place."
Lucy knelt in front of Stiles. "Your dad and Scott's mom aren't dead."
Allison's eyes widened. "And you're one of them."
Argent started getting them ready. "Then let's not wait around to see the next move. Everything she's done has been on a telluric current, so Melissa and the sheriff have to be somewhere on one of those currents, right? Stiles, if we're gonna find them, we need your help."
Stiles let out a scoff. "You seriously want to go after her? I mean, what if she just takes you like the others, huh? No offense, but what's the difference between you and them?"
Lucy shot him a look as Argent said, "I'm carrying a .45. Maybe she can heal from a shot to the leg, a sword injury, and a few slashes to the face, but personally, I'd like to see how she holds up with half her skull blown off. We've got one priority right now, and that is to find Melissa and your dad. We've got a map and every clue we need to figure this out. The only thing we don't have is time, which is why I need each of you."
Stiles sighed. "Where do we start?"
"The place where the sacrifices have been committed have usually been different from where the bodies have been found. I think the placement has to do with the strength of the current, so there's the school, the Animal Clinic, the bank."
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Would she really use the same place twice?"
Argent met her eyes. "Only if she didn't succeed the first time."
"Scott's boss," Allison realized.
"Deaton. It was her only failure. That could mean something."
Stiles released a frustrated sigh. "That's just one place so far. We're gonna need a lot more help?"
"What about Lydia?" Allison wondered.
"Lydia? What can she do?" Argent asked.
Stiles took a moment to think. "Uh, Lydia's got sort of a talent. She somehow ended up finding a couple of the bodies, um, without actually looking for them."
"What is she? Psychic?"
Lucy shook her head. "No, she's not. I'm not sure what she is, but she's not psychic. You know, if I go to sleep, I might be able to use hypnokinesis, control of dreams, to find them."
Stiles nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."
Argent made his way to an arms cache and opens it. Stiles let out a breath. "Whoa." A gun clicked and he added, "I thought you guys were retired."
He shot a smirk towards Stiles. "Retired, yes. Defenseless, no. Make sure your phone's on. You too, Lucy. If you hear from Scott, you let us know immediately."
A new voice grasped their attention and Lucy turned to see Isaac at the door. "I can't shoot a gun or use a crossbow, but... Well, I'm... I'm getting pretty good with these." He flicked his claws.
Lucy scoffed. "Siding with the bad guy. That's a new story."
Stiles frowned at her while Argent said, "Each of you, try to remember he's just doing what he thinks is right."
"Yeah, well, I've been around that enough to not tolerate it."
Stiles and Lucy headed to Lydia's so they could tell her the information they'd heard. Lydia shook her head. "I don't believe it. Scott can't really be with them. He can't be."
Stiles sighed. "You didn't see the look on his face, though. It was..."
Lucy narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, well, Scott's with them."
Lydia frowned at her. "What's going on with her?"
Stiles glanced at Lucy. "She's mad at him. She'll get over it."
Lydia turned to Stiles. "Then what can I do? I mean, I get that I'm some kind of, like, human geiger counter for death, like Lu, but... I don't know how to turn it on and off yet. All I know is that she tried to kill me because of..."
Lucy leaned closer to her. "Because of what, Lyds? What?"
She looked at her. "When she called me a Banshee, she was surprised by it. What if that's not why she killed me?"
"Then why did she?" Stiles asked.
Lydia glanced between them. "That's what we need to find out."
As school the next day, fear was evident on Stiles' face. "What's wrong?"
Stiles slowly met Lucy's eyes. "It's from Isaac. Jennifer, she t... she has Allison's father. She took him. She's got all three now."
"Stiles," she said softly, "they're all still alive."
Stiles didn't listen, and started panicking. Lydia glanced to Lucy and back at Stiles. "We still have time, right?"
He began gasping for air and Lucy called, "Stiles? Hey, talk to me. What's happening? Stiles."
He started gasping for air as he looked around. "I think I'm having a panic attack."
They rushed to the boys locker room.
Stiles sat in front of a set of lockers and Lucy said, "Stiles, come on, please."
His gasped for air continued and Lucy bit her lip. "Hey, try to think of something else."
Stiles looks at me, eyes filled with panic. "Like what?"
"Um, happy things. Good things. Uh, friends, family."
His panic intensified. "Okay, maybe that wasn't the best thing to say."
"Oh, God."
"Stiles, listen to me. You need to slow your breathing."
His hyperventilating worsened. "I can't. I can't."
"Kiss him," Lydia said, looking at Lucy.
She paused, a lock of Stiles' hair still in her hand. "What?"
"Kiss him. Just do it."
Lucy gently pressed her lips to his and she felt his body relax. He stared at her in awe. "Ooh. How'd you do that?"
Lydia smiled at Lucy. "I read once that holding your breath could stop a panic attack. So when she kissed you, you held your breath."
"I did?" Stiles asked, looking between Lucy and Lydia.
Lucy tousled his hair. "Yeah, you did."
Stiles shot an appreciative smile to Lydia. "Thanks. That was really smart."
She just nodded. "I read it somewhere."
Lucy rested my forehead on Stiles' before saying, "I think you should see the guidance counselor. If you'd like, I can go with you."
He nodded and the three of them made their way to the guidance office. Lucy intertwined her hand with Stiles' and gave his a comforting squeeze.
When they entered the guidance office, they noticed a girl sitting in a chair on one side of the desk. Stiles asked her, "Are you here for Ms. Morrell?"
"No, I thought this was gym class," she answered sarcastically.
Lucy crossed her arms and narrow her eyes. "Sarcasm is not appreciated. Do you know where Ms. Morrell is?"
The girl, in return, narrowed her eyes at Lucy. "If I did, I wouldn't be waiting for her for 20 minutes. So how about you three back out the door and wait your turn."
Lydia shook her head. "We're not here for a session."
"Well, I am. And I've got some serious issues to work on."
Stiles' eyes widened. "Hey, wait, wait. You're Danielle. You're Heather's best friend."
"I was Heather's best friend," Danielle said. "We've been working on that issue three times a week."
Lucy saw a look she couldn't figure out in Stiles' eyes. She frowned, remembering Danielle's words. "Ms. Morrell is 20 minutes late?"
Danielle glanced to her and nodded. "And I don't know why. She's always on time."
Lydia glanced between them. "I was seeing her at the beginning of the semester. She was never late."
Stiles frowned. "Then she's not late. She's missing."
Lucy took a moment to think. "I have the feeling she knows more than she's letting on, and I intend to find out what she knows."
She made her way over to Morrell's desk and started sifting through the files, soon joined by Stiles. "What are you two doing?" Lydia questioned.
Stiles shrugged. "Ask Lu."
While sifting through files, Lucy said, "I'm looking for something that might help us find her."
Danielle frowned at her. "Those files are private."
Lydia nodded. "Yeah, she's kind of right."
Lucy's glare deepened. "Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea." One file caught her attention, and she held it out to Lydia. "This is yours."
"Let me see that," she replied, taking it from Lucy.
While she flipped through it, something caught Stiles' attention. "Wait, Lydia, that's your drawing."
Lydia nodded at his words. "Yeah, I know it's a tree."
Danielle looked at the drawing. "Yeah, good too."
"Thank you."
Lucy walked over to her and stared at her drawing. "Wait a minute. Lydia, that's the same."
"Same as what?"
"The same tree you're drawing over and over."
She nodded, seemingly confused. "Lydia, no. It's the same tree. You keep drawing the same tree."
Stiles turned to her. "Give me your bag." He pulled out her notebook and started flipping through the pages. "There. See?"
Danielle's eyes widened. "Okay, you can have my session. You got bigger issues."
She left the office while Lydia stared at her trees. "What is this?"
Stiles studied the pictures and flipped the tree upside down. "I know where they are." They left the guidance office, and he continued. "It's the Nemeton. That's where she's keeping them. It has to be."
"Stilinski," the agent said.
Stiles let out an annoyed groan. "Agh. Alright, look, you two go to Derek, okay? He and Peter, they've been there before, so they'll know where it is. Tell them it's the root cellar, alright? They'll know."
Lydia grabbed Lucy's wrist and they ran off. She saw Peter and frowned. "You."
"Me."
"You."
Peter let out an annoyed sigh. "Me. Derek, we have visitors."
Derek made his way over to them and they explained the Nemeton while Lydia glanced between them seeing their confused faces. "You don't know where it is? But Stiles said you'd been there."
Peter nodded at her. "We have. But after a few memorable experiences there, Talia... Derek's mother and my oldest sister... decided that she didn't ever want us going back. She knew how dangerous it was and took the memory of its location from us."
Lucy fiddled with her necklace. "And how exactly are we supposed to find this upside down tree?"
No one answered her, and then Lydia said, "We need to get to the clinic."
When they arrived, Stiles jumped into an extremely thrilling conversation. "It has to be on a telluric current, or maybe even at the axis of two or where they all intersect. I just know it's where Derek took Paige to die."
Allison walked closer to the table. "My dad and Gerard were there once. But Gerard said it was years ago, and he couldn't remember where it was. And my dad obviously isn't here to tell us now."
Stiles sighed and said quietly, "Yeah, mine either."
Lucy took his hand while Isaac asked, "Then how do we find this place?"
Deaton glanced between them. "There might be a way. But it's dangerous. We're gonna need Scott."
The three of them left to get whatever they needed while Lucy helped Deaton set up three tubs of water. "So this is like what you did with Isaac?"
He nodded. "Yes. Now, I don't want to alarm you, but the three of them will be basically dead."
Lucy frowned. "They're actually going to die?"
"Basically, yes. They'll basically be between, as you say, Elysium and the Underworld."
"Will my ears ring?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, they will. Assuming all goes well, it won't last too long."
The teens returned and started explaining what they'd brought. Stiles was first to speak. "Um, I got my dad's badge. Jennifer kind of crushed it in her hand, so I tried hammering it out a bit. Still doesn't look too good."
Deaton smiled at him. "Well, it doesn't need to look good if it has meaning." He then turns to Allison. "Is that an actual silver bullet?"
Allison nodded. "My dad made it. It's kind of a ceremonial thing. When one of us finishes learning all the skills to be a hunter, we forge a silver bullet as a testament to the code."
"Scott?"
"My dad got my mom this watch when she first got hired at the hospital. She used to say it was the only thing in their marriage that ever worked."
Deaton gave each of them a nod. "Okay, the three of you will get in. Each of us will hold you down until you're essentially... Well, dead. But it's not just someone to hold you under. It needs to be someone who can pull you back, someone that has a strong connection to you, a kind of emotional tether. Isaac and Lydia, you're with Allison. Lucy, you'll be going with Stiles. I'll stay with Scott."
Allison turned to Deaton. "Are you sure? I mean, Scott and I both have to go under."
Scott nodded at her. "It's okay."
They climbed into the bathtub and Stiles turned to his friend. "By the way, if I don't make it back and you do, you should probably know something. Your dad's in town." He turned to Lucy. "I should've said this a long time ago, but I love you, Lu. I love you so freaking much."
Lucy swallowed and pushed Stiles down into the water. A couple minutes pass, and she felt his life force drain, along with Scott and Allison's.
She prayed silently. Dad, bring them back. Please. Bring him back. I can't lose them, especially him.