"You want to handcuff me?"
Noah Stilinski hesitated for a moment before sighing slightly,
"If my son is still here, if there's still a part of him standing here in front of me, then he'll put these on willingly and he'll come with me, because he knows I'm here to protect him from himself and from others"
Stiles extended his hands out and Noah clicked the cuffs onto him before gritting his teeth,
"You're not my son"
Stiles simply broke out of the handcuffs and smirked while Derek, Allison, Chris and Rory all stepped into the loft. Derek was the first to attempt an attack on Stiles, although it was fruitless as Stiles simply just tossed him off to the side. Allison was the next to try, holding up a taser and clicking onto the trigger, although Stiles just caught the darts before yanking it forwards, pulling the device from her hands.
Chris was sudden and quick with his movements, pulling a gun from his waistband and pointed it at Stiles' head. Allison and Noah both jumped at the action.
"Argent, listen to me. Don't do this" Noah said sternly, holding his hand out towards the man.
"Why not?" Chris questioned rhetorically before saying,
"I've done it before. Werewolves, Berserkers. I can easily add a Nogitsune to the list"
"You're not going to shoot my son" Noah snapped at him.
"You said it yourself, Sheriff" Chris said harshly,
"That's not your son"
"Put it down" Noah said sternly before pulling his own gun out and snapping,
"Put it down!"
"Dad" It was Stiles' voice and it shook, tears surfacing in his eyes,
"He's going to shoot me. He's gonna kill me, Dad"
"Don't listen" Chris warned.
"Put it down!" Noah snapped,
"Now! Do it! Put it down!"
"Dad, please, stop" Allison pleaded with her father.
"Pull the trigger" Stiles taunted Chris,
"Come on. Do it"
"Dad, stop! Put the gun down!"
"Listen to me, you put the gun down now!"
"Shoot me!"
"Put the gun down now!"
"Dad! Put it down!"
"Shoot me!"
"Argent, you put it down!"
Their voices all mixed together in Rory's head as she watched them all before seeing a certain glint in Stiles' eyes, realisation struck her and it struck hard,
"Strife"
"Put it down! Put it down!" Noah repeated himself again, anger clear in his voice.
"Stop. Stop it!" Rory called out over their voices causing all of them to turn to her,
"This what he wants. This is exactly what he wants"
"Not exactly" Stiles smirked at her as she looked over at him,
"I was kind of hoping Scott would be here. But I'm glad you all have your guns out because you're not here to kill me. You're here to protect me"
They all turned to see the Oni appear out of the first strokes of shadow, Derek and Allison took up one side of Stiles while Chris and Noah took up the other. Rory's eyes glowed before she circled her hands together before thrusting her right palm out, creating a temporary barrier on Stiles' left side.
The boy reached out for her hand and pulled her towards him, cupping her right hand and examining it,
"You really think I'd hurt you"
Rory tugged at her hand although it didn't move from Stiles' grip, his eyes trailing over the bandage before smirking,
"We would never hurt you"
The brunette wobbled on her feet for a moment before falling back onto her ass when Stiles disappeared, the Oni going with him,
"Ow"
Scott rushed into the loft before looking between the five people that were still in there, watching as Derek pulled Rory to her feet,
"What happened?"
"They disappeared" Allison informed him,
"They literally just vanished"
"And so did Stiles"
"The couch. Put him on the couch"
"Guys, this is crazy" Melissa McCall said in concern as she watched Aiden and Scott put Stiles down onto the couch in the McCall living room,
"He needs to be in the hospital"
"Mom, remember what happened the last time he went to the hospital?" Scott questioned his mother rhetorically.
"It doesn't look like he's bleeding" Deaton observed as he examined Stiles' wound,
"I think he might even be healing"
"You mean healing like we heal?" Aiden questioned in curiosity.
"That's good, right?" Lydia asked cautiously.
"For him, yes. Us? I'm not so sure" Deaton answered with a small frown.
"Well, if we're not going to kill him, why aren't we at least tying him down with really big chains?" Aiden questioned, staring at Stiles cautiously.
"I might have something more effective," Deaton said as he pulled out a small vial from his bag,
"Hold him"
Aiden and Scott both went forwards and held Stiles down against the couch, although Stiles' hand shot out and wrapped around Aiden's throat.
"Get him off me! Get him off me!"
Rory's eyes turned blue and her hand shot out slamming Stiles back into the couch, a screeching sound echoing through the house as the couch skidded across the ground. Deaton nodded over at Rory before walking over to Stiles and dropping Kanima venom into his mouth.
"Kanima venom" Stiles chuckled out, smirking darkly,
"Nice touch"
Aiden growled lowly as he rolled his shoulders out in annoyance.
"You know how they say that twins get a feeling when the other one's in pain? You didn't lose that talent, too, did you? Oh, I hope not. You're going to need it" Stiles smirked up at the ex-alpha,
"Okay. I'll give a little hint. Ethan's at the school"
"Go" Scott told the boy with a nod causing Aiden to rush out of the house rapidly.
Stiles let out another chuckle as he turned back to the group, his smirk not once flickering away,
"Oh, I hope he gets there in time. I like the twins. Short tempers. Homicidal compulsions. They're a lot more fun than you bakemono trying to save the world every day"
"Doc, you brought something to paralyze his body" Melissa commented as she turned to Deaton,
"You got anything for his mouth?"
"Yes, I do" Deaton nodded as he ripped a piece of duct tape from the roll and placed it over Stiles' mouth.
Stiles let out a chuckle through the tape as he looked over the group before letting out a scream that, although was muffled by the tape, made his neck veins stand out.
"But the scroll said to change his body"
"That's if I translated it correctly" Deaton told the alpha,
"We're looking for a cure in something that might actually be nothing more than a proverb or a metaphor"
"And what if he doesn't want it?" Scott questioned in a stressed fashion,
"He's never asked to be a werewolf"
"What if it saves his life?" Lydia suggested with a small shrug.
"What if it kills him?"
"I've never done this before and you're 'what if it kills him' is not helping!" Scott stressed at Rory who simply raised her eyebrow before smirking slightly.
"Sorry" Rory dragged out.
"I mean, what if I bite him and accidentally hit an artery or something?" Scott ranted slightly.
"The venom is not going to last long" Deaton advised the trio sternly,
"Something needs to be done sooner or later"
"I can try calling Derek again" Scott offered reaching into his pocket only to stop when Rory suggested.
"Maybe we should call someone else"
"He doesn't look like he would survive a slap across the face, much less the bite of a werewolf"
"And you said I was unhelpful" Rory muttered to Scott with an eye roll.
"You don't think it would work?" Scott questioned the man in curiosity, side glancing Rory for a moment.
"This is more a war of the mind than the body" Peter informed him,
"There are better methods to winning this battle"
"What kind of methods?"
"We're going to get into his head" Peter announced as he grabbed Scott's wrist, flicking it forwards, Scott's claws automatically coming out as he did so.
"So, do we have a plan?" Deaton asked in curiosity.
"Scott is going to try and dig through pale and sickly evil Stiles' mind to unearth pale and sickly real Stiles, then guide him back from the depths of his own subconscious." Peter explained,
"But he's not going to do it alone"
"What do you mean?" Scott questioned after exchanging a look with Lydia and Rory.
"Somebody needs to go in with you"
"Why me?" Rory demanded as she recoiled back slightly.
"You and Stiles love each other, don't you?" Peter questioned the witch with a smug smile on his face.
Rory narrowed her eyes at him threateningly,
"Can you walk with someone's foot up your ass?"
Scott placed his hand on Rory's shoulder, giving the girl a look causing her to shrug slightly, nonchalant about the threat she'd just given to her father's uncle,
"Just curious"
Scott gave her another look before gesturing to the couch where Stiles was seated. A huff left Rory's nose as she moved towards the couch and then sat down beside Stiles who watched her move, a smirk glowing in his eyes.
"So, what do we do if we find him?" Rory questioned.
"You're going to have to guide him out somehow" Peter informed her,
"Try to give him back control of his mind, his body"
"Could elaborate on the 'somehow'?" Lydia demanded with narrowed eyes,
"It's not feeling super specific at the moment and I don't want my best friend to die, or Scott, or Stiles"
Peter glanced over at Lydia for a moment before looking back to Rory with a smirk,
"Improvise"
"What if this is just another trick?" Scott questioned as he glanced over at Stiles.
"When are you people going to start trusting me?" Peter demanded in frustration.
They all glanced over at the man while Rory sighed with an eye roll,
"One, never, and two, Scott meant him"
Peter watched as Rory used her head to gesture over to Stiles,
"Oh"
"Scott" Deaton called out to him,
"We're running out of time"
"If I come out of this paralyzed, McCall, you are so dead"
Rory's eyes snapped open and she found herself strapped down to a bed in what the brunette could only assume was Eichen House, the girl struggled against the bunds that were keeping her down for a moment before glancing over at Scott who was in the bed beside her.
"Do I actually need to remind you that you're a werewolf?" Rory demanded as she tugged on her own restraints.
"We're in Stiles' head" Scott reminded her.
"And?" Rory asked,
"You're a supernatural creature with supernatural strength. Break free"
Scott nodded once before pulling his arms free of the restraints and then pulling his feet before he padded across the room and undid Rory's, pulling her to her feet.
"Huh, thanks" Rory said with a sigh.
"What now?" Scott questioned in curiosity.
Rory shrugged slightly,
"Uh, not sure. I've never really done the whole in someone else's head thing before... I think"
Scott nodded slightly before grabbing her hand,
"Just stay behind me, okay?"
"Yeah, okay" Rory nodded back at him as he opened a door, although before Rory could walk through after him, the pair were pulled apart by something that didn't feel like it should be real and the door slammed shut.
"Scott?" Rory called out through the door trying the doorhandle although it didn't budge, Rory willed her eyes to glow before holding her hand out towards the door,
"Motus!"
The door groaned but didn't budge causing Rory to turned around and look around the room that she was in, searching for any possible exit, although now the room was bedless and the window was gone causing Rory to feel claustrophobic.
The brunette took a step forwards away from the door and kicked a balloon causing her to look up as more and more balloons fell down onto the ground, streamers and confetti joining it. A shaky breath went into Rory's nose as the sound of people singing Happy Birthday entered her ears.
She remembered this, she remembered it all too well. Her sixteenth birthday party, the last time she'd seen her ex-boyfriend, the last semi-normal day that she'd had before she moved to Beacon Hills.
"Happy Birthday dear Rory"
Rory pushed open the door that was in front of her and found herself in the apartment back in Boston, the one that was now empty and had white sheets covering the furniture. The brunette stopped in front of the kitchen bench where the highly decorated cake was sitting with sparklers burning in the top.
"Happy Birthday Majo"
Rory turned her head and jumped backwards when she found the Nogitsune standing next to her, a low growl left its mouth before the it said,
"Make a wish"
Rory scrambled back away from him, he stalked after her, almost half her speed while the brunette looked for a way to get away from the creature. Her hand clasped onto a door handle behind her and she twisted it before scrambling through, slamming the door behind her, leaning her forehead against it in relief.
"Don't give up, kid"
Rory spun around rapidly to see a woman - she looked almost identical to Rory herself, but just older - she was smiling gently and had a baby cradled in her arms.
"Who are you?"
"You know that already" The woman told her nonchalantly before looking down at the baby in her arms rocking it back and forth,
"Go back through that door. It can't hurt you, it's not real"
Rory hesitantly looked at the woman before turning back towards the door and grabbing the door handle, taking a deep breath before she pushed it open.
"Aurora!"
Rory gave the big door a hard shove before she found herself in a large white room, Scott rushed over to her, grabbing her shoulder gently causing her to jump and let out a small noise,
"Ah! Oh Scott, thank god"
"You okay?" Scott asked her in concern.
"Yeah, yeah I'm good" Rory nodded breathing heavily before her eyes caught sight of Stiles and the Nogitsune in the distance,
"There"
"Stiles!"
The pair started running towards the pair that were sitting on the Nemeton in front of a board, the game that plagued Rory's dreams being played by them both, Stiles looked overly concentrated as he frowned down at the pieces.
"Seriously?" Rory breathed out in frustration,
"Is it just me or is he getting further away?"
"You're so not alone there" Scott tells her, the pair both breathing heavily. The pair stopped in their tracks and caught their breath before Rory glanced over at Scott in sudden realisation.
"Stiles is a part of your pack, right?"
"What do you mean?" Scott questioned in confusion.
"He's human, but he's part of the pack" Rory repeated,
"Like me, like Allison, like Lydia"
"Yeah, of course"
"So, how do wolves signal their location to the rest of the pack?" Rory grinned at him.
"They howl"
Scott's eyes turned red and a loud, echoing howl shot from his mouth catching not only Stiles' attention, but the Nogitsune's as well. Stiles looked over and saw Scott and Rory before looking back at the Nogitsune and swiping his hands across the board sending the pieces flying in every direction.
Rory shot up from the couch suddenly being back in her own body, flinching as she felt blood drip down the back of her neck. Lydia appeared at her side with a tissue, holding it out for the brunette to take, which she did.
"Did it work?" Scott questioned rapidly,
"What happened?"
"Is it not working?" Rory questioned in curiosity.
"It's not science, Aura" Peter told the girl sternly,
"It's supernatural"
Rory gave the man a sharp look as he grabbed Lydia's arm and pulled her off to the side,
"I did my part. Now give me the name"
"What name? What are you talking about?" Scott questioned with a frown.
"Lydia, a deal is a deal" Peter said sternly,
"Even with me"
Lydia rocked up to the top of her toes and whispered something that Rory couldn't hear, but Scott obviously did by the look on his face, although before he could say anything Stiles shot off the couch and buckled over. The tape was ripped from his mouth before a long string of bandage came pouring out of his mouth.
Rory winced slightly, a disgusted look crossing her face once Stiles had finished expelling the bandage, he was pulled to his feet by Scott. A figure started pulling itself out of the puddle. Scott and Peter jumping forwards and holding the creature harshly.
A sharp, chilling feeling shot up Rory's spine causing her to freeze, Stiles hovering over her shoulder, although she knew it wasn't actually Stiles. His fingers danced over her neck as he moved her hair, muttering gently,
"I'm sorry, Majo"
Rory couldn't do anything to stop him from placing his hand on the side of her face and giving a harsh shove into the wall beside her.