❝ THE END TO THE DEAD POOL ❞
⇠ ✽ ▧ ✭ ⇢
Emma chewed on her thumbnail as she sat on the picnic table watching the teenagers who were retreating from the party. After Mason had cut the power to the DJ booth, the DJ just began packing up after the failed effort of trying to knock out some werewolves from the dead pool. She could hear murmurs of continuing the party at other student's houses but paid no attention. Emma wasn't going to spend the rest of her night at a party; she was spending it at home or Mason's house. Emma was meeting Lydia at the sheriff's station tomorrow morning. Only because Lydia had asked her to come, so she wasn't up there alone. Stiles had gotten a concussion from their trip to Eichen House, where they both almost died until Parrish showed up.
So while Stiles is at the hospital, Emma is taking his place. Emma is waiting on Mason. His mom was giving them a ride; Mason was on the cleanup committee, so he was picking up the tables and emptying trashcans. Emma was focusing on Parrish, who was finishing up his paperwork. The deputies arrived not too long ago to arrest the three security guards that tried and failed to kill Scott, Malia, and Liam.
Emma couldn't describe the utter joy she felt when the bald guard walked past her in handcuffs. The two werewolves and the one werecoyote left not too long ago. Malia was talking about going to see Stiles after Emma had read them the text from Lydia. Scott took Liam home, so that left Emma sitting there by herself until Parrish called her over.
The boredom had struck Emma, so she decided to clean up the empty coke bottles and red solo cups on the floor, so it was less work for the friendly custodian Mr. Richards and the cleanup committee. Mr. Richards was a sweet older man who had a smile on his face, even though he was cleaning up after careless teenagers.
"Hey," a familiar voice called, Emma furrowed her eyebrows and saw Brett standing there with his hands in his pockets. Behind him was his sister Lori, who looked bored. Emma had no idea why the heck Brett was standing in front of her. Satomi's pack was supposed to be in hiding since the assassins seemed to like to target their pack as much as Scott's.
"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in hiding!" Emma exclaimed in a whisper as she approached him. She still had the cups and bottles in her hands as she stared up at Brett, who was acting pretty careless at the moment. Emma did not have this scar on her neck, just for Brett to walk around. Brett smirked at her; Emma sighed, "Hello Brett, how are you today?"
Brett chuckled to himself as Emma walked over to the trash can. She tossed the trash away before turning back to Brett. "I'm doing just fine, thank you for asking," Brett remarked. Why is he acting like this? His whole pack is supposed to be hiding from the assassins. He could be putting his entire pack in danger.
"Seriously, you should be in hiding. The assassins are getting worse. They almost set Liam, Scott, and Malia on fire tonight," Emma told him. Brett nodded his head and held his hands up in defense, "And it's about to rain, it also doesn't look like you have an umbrella."
"Okay, mom!" Brett remarked; Emma sighed and took her seat back onto the picnic table. Emma was aware that she was acting like a helicopter mom, but Brett almost lost his life once, and she didn't want it to happen again. Satomi's pack seemed to be getting picked off one by one, and at this rate. Emma never wanted to see the day that Satomi's pack were all dead. "I just wanted to give you this, and then Lori and I are leaving."
Brett held out a thank you card for Emma to take; a small smile rose to her face. "Thank you, Brett" Emma opened the card, and she saw a neatly handwritten note that Satomi wrote to Emma. Satomi was saying thank you for saving Brett, and that Emma was brave. She also noted that if Brett gave Emma and Liam trouble again, then she would ground him. On the right side of the card was 'thanks for saving my life, I owe you one.'
"We didn't know your address to mail it to you, and then I tried to have Johnny give it to you. Which he said it was a bad idea, and Lori said it was a bad idea. So that's why I'm here," Brett explained as he took the seat next to her. This seemed like something that Emma would never get used to, her and Brett just talking like normal, like nothing ever happened. What's even weirder is that he knows Johnny Killorn. It's funny how the two boys her made her feel the worst about herself were friends.
"You're friends with Johnny Killorn?" Emma asked she wanted to double-check before she lost her mind. Emma, however, was going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Brett had changed. She wasn't sure if that wouldn't have happened if she didn't save his life. Maybe Johnny had changed from the middle school bully he used to be.
"Yeah, our parents were best friends," Brett answered with a slight shrug. She remembered vaguely that Deaton said he was a born werewolf, which meant his parents were one. They died in a fire similar to the Hale fire. Satomi took Brett and Lori in a raised them. Which raised a question, was Johnny a born werewolf himself?
"Is he a – you know?" Emma asked quietly. She didn't want to yell the word werewolf. Seeing as they just escaped one group of assassins, she didn't want to bring on another group. It was just her, Brett, and Lori. Luckily Parrish wasn't too far away, which made her feel better.
"No, but he does know about werewolves. His dad was a bitten werewolf," Brett replied. Emma was glad she just learned the difference. Emma didn't even know there was a difference between bitten werewolves and born werewolves. Dr. Deaton gave her a rundown of all the things she still had questions about when she was stuck at the clinic waiting for Scott to find Liam.
Emma's mind flashes back to her brushing him off when she was running to get the waters. Sure, it was a good enough reason, and Emma doesn't owe him anything. Her stomach churned at the thought that she hurt his feelings by cutting him off. "If you see him, could you tell him sorry for brushing him off? I was in a bit of a rush," Emma stated as she played with her fingers nervously.
"Totally," Brett said as he stood up from the picnic table, "He's a lot different now, Em. You don't need to give him the light of day if you don't want to. But he's not the same Johnny. I have to go, Lori's ready to get home."
"Bye, Brett, thank you for bringing me this. Get home safe, okay? If you need any help, call me, Scott, or Kira, really anyone in Scott's pack," Emma rambled as she saw Mason waving her over, which must've meant that his mother was finally here. It was perfect timing because the sky was starting to up. Sprinkles of rain was dropping on her hair and shoulders. "Please, just be careful."
Something didn't settle right in her stomach. She wasn't sure if the iced coffee she had earlier or something terrible was going to happen. Emma stood up from the table as well; Brett gave her an awkward wave before walking over to his sister. Emma made her way over to Mason, who had a smirk on his face.
"Don't, let's go home," Emma warned. Even though she tried to play it off that she was severe, a smile was forcing its way onto her lips. Mason acted innocent, but she knew that he would tease her about Brett coming to talk to her.
⁂
"Yeah, they're all fine: Brett, Lori, Satomi, and everyone else. I'll keep you updated. Please be careful with Meredith; we don't know what she's capable of," Scott told her over the phone. Emma was walking up to the sheriff's stations with a bag of breakfast in hand. Lydia had stayed the night at the police station, even though she was told to go home. Emma had gone and grabbed her some breakfast since she was pretty sure that Lydia hadn't eaten dinner last night or breakfast.
"Okay, you guys be careful, too," Emma replied. She hung up and slid her phone into her back pocket. Last night was a very eventful night. After Mason and Emma had left, Brett and Lori were met with a bunch of werewolf hunters in the pouring down rain. Luckily, Satomi had reached out to Kira, telling her that Brett and Lori hadn't returned yet, and they were being flushed out of their hiding spot. Kira found Brett and Lori standing in the middle of the lacrosse field, ready to face their death.
Emma had felt so bad, because if she would've just taken the card from Johnny, then Brett and Lori would've never gone to the school to give it to her. She should have asked Mason's mom if she could provide them with a ride, at least to Emma's house, and they could go from there. Emma was on edge about the state of Satomi's pack. She was happy that Scott, Kira, Mr. Argent, Braeden, and Derek were going to protect the pack from the hunters coming after them last night.
Emma opened the door; she saw Lydia sleeping on the chair. Emma walked over and shook her lightly, "Lydia," Emma called quietly, she didn't want to scare Lydia awake. She was sleeping on a chair; she could get hurt. Lydia's eyes opened and then squinted as the bright sunlight hit her. "I brought you breakfast," Emma told her. She sat up and stretched with a small yawn. Emma handed her the coffee that she asked to bring last night and the everything bagel.
"Thanks, Em, did you bring me new clothes too?" Lydia asked with a raspy voice. Lydia brought the coffee cup up to her lips and blew gently to cool down the hot liquid. Emma froze, her face scrunching together in a cringe. Emma had this feeling that she forgot something, but she couldn't remember what.
"Oh, shoot – Lydia, I'm sorry. I stopped because a mama duck and baby ducks were crossing the road, and it threw me off," Emma admitted. Lydia chuckled under her breath before taking a sip of her coffee. "Did Meredith talk yet?"
Lydia shrugged, "Not that I know of," Lydia answered. The door to Stilinski's office opened. His left arm was being held in a black sling. Emma was happy that he was back in the office, and he was healthy. Emma smiled at him and waved hello, before handing him a coffee as well. Emma asked Stiles what type of coffee his dad liked.
Sheriff Stilinski took it with a smile. Emma had become a quick favorite out of Stiles' friends. She brought him baked goods and coffee. Scott had never done that. He barley brings his mother takeout, especially when she's working the long shifts.
"Thank you, Emma," Sheriff Stilinski took a sip, wincing a little when the hot beverage hit his mouth. He looked over at Lydia, who was stretching to wake herself up some more, "I thought I told you to go home." Emma took the seat next to Lydia, and Sheriff Stilinski took the seat next to Emma.
"I thought I told you I wasn't going anywhere. Did they get anything out of her?" Lydia sassed back; Emma sipped on her chocolate milk as she waited for Sheriff Stilinski's reply. The FBI had been trying to get her to talk all night, but she stayed silent. Their best bet have Meredith speak to Lydia; Emma figured they had some type of Banshee bond.
"Should have gone with the medium," Sheriff sighed as he set his coffee down to hold his wounded shoulder. Emma nodded her head; she'd seen plenty of cases where they bring in mediums and solved cold cases. She usually watched them during sick days, where she spends the whole day in her bed or on her couch.
"Lydia's the closest thing to a medium we got," Emma muttered, taking sipping the straw from her yoo-hoo. Emma's eyebrows furrowed as she pulled away from her drink, "Unless you guys knew one already? And they just happen to move out of the country?" Emma wondered out loud.
"That does sound like something that would happen to us. Sadly, we don't have a medium," Lydia replied; Emma shrugged her shoulders and held out her yoo-hoo to cheers. Lydia gently tapped her coffee against the box of chocolate milk.
Deputy Parrish turned the corner and walked towards the three, "We went through everything in Brunski's office, and so far, everything amounts to pretty much nothing." Emma, Lydia, and Sheriff Stilinski stood up. Emma grabbed the paper bag handing it to Parrish. He had a rough week, so she thought buying him breakfast wouldn't hurt. The man got set on fire and survived without a scratch on him. If Emma could, she'd buy him breakfast every day for a year, or three. "Thank you, Emma. And Lydia, did you not go home yet?"
"Not until Meredith starts talking," Lydia replied, standing her ground. Emma was right there next to her. Standing her ground with Lydia, but honestly, a police dog barking at this point would sit Emma back down in her chair.
Sheriff Stilinski looked a little annoyed at Lydia's persistence. Emma was sure that Lydia would stay in this sheriff's station until Meredith talked. The pack would create a schedule on who's going to stay with Lydia.
"Lydia, I promise she'll talk, and when she does, I'll let you know. Trust me on this. Everybody talks eventually," Sheriff Stilinski explained. Lydia threw her head back and rolled her eyes.
"Then let me try," Lydia replied.
"No, we've already discussed this," Sheriff Stilinski said sternly, his dad's voice was coming out. Just as much as Lydia was standing her ground, so was sheriff Stilinski. He had every right to be precautious. Meredith was the Benefactor, the one in charge of creating a list to kill all the supernaturals in Beacon Hills. She was dangerous, and Stiles' dad didn't want Lydia or any other supernatural to get hurt.
Also, a quick side note, Emma was right about the Benefactor being a woman. She wanted to celebrate it. But right now is the worst time to hand out 'I was right about the Benefactor being a woman' cookies. Maybe once everything is all over and calmed down if that'll ever happen.
"I've gotten through to her before," Lydia stated, bringing Emma back down from her victory speech in her head. "Just let me try."
Eyes floated over to Emma, and she was beginning to wonder if she was saying her thoughts out loud, "Uh, I agree with Lydia," Emma smiled in a reply. By Lydia's reaction, she as guessing that was the reply that Lydia wanted to hear.
"Fine," Sheriff Stilinski replied with a groan, he ran his right hand through his hair, "Fine, but Parrish and I go in there with you and Emma." Sheriff Stilinski rebuttals.
Emma lightly punched the air, "Yay, I'm not being sidelined" Emma cheered quietly, she lightly clapped her hands together. Sheriff Stilinski furrowed his eyebrows but chose to let it slide. Emma thought the two men in uniform would make her stand outside while Lydia and Meredith talked. Even though being in action sometimes made her anxious, she hated getting the abbreviated versions of everything.
Sheriff began to walk over to the door, Lydia and Emma followed him. Parrish fell in line right behind the two teens, "All right, Meredith, we're trying something different in hopes of getting you to talk. We're going to let you and Lydia talk." Sheriff informed the Benefactor, whose facial expression remained blank. It was almost like she wasn't even in her body.
"Hi Meredith," Lydia said quietly; Meredith barely moved an inch. Emma wasn't even sure she's blinked since they've stepped foot in the office. Emma's blinked a bunch of times already. Emma leaned on the Sheriff's desk in the middle of Stiles' dad and Parrish. "I think I'm getting an idea of how all this happened. You used Brunski, right? You knew he'd killed people, and that he would do it again," Lydia sat down next to Meredith. "He used my grandmother's code for the dead pool. He put it online. He took the money from the Hale Vault, then turned the bearer bonds into cash. He made the payments. Was it Brunski's idea to fake your death? Did he get nervous because you helped us with one of the cipher keys?"
"I wanted to help," Meredith replied. Emma looked over to Sheriff Stilinski. This is the most that they've gotten out of her so far. Emma knew that it would work; it's because of their unique banshee bond. It's like her and Liam's twin telepathy, but they just have the same supernatural ability.
"All you ever wanted to do was help," Lydia stated. Emma watched as Meredith shook her head lightly; Emma would've missed it if she blinked. Emma had an internal battle; she felt bad for Meredith, especially with how she was treated at Eichen house. But she was also the Benefactor, the one that put a price on her brother and her friend's life. "Is that why you're here? I know you wouldn't want to be here if you didn't want to talk."
"I do. But only to one person," Meredith answered, Emma, chewed on the inside of her cheek. Was there a second Benefactor? Or at least her right-hand man, well technically her right-hand man was Brunski, so a backup right-hand man? Emma still couldn't believe she was the Benefactor; Emma never would've guessed her in a million years. She was so timid and quiet, but you can never count the quiet kids out. Although Emma bragged about how she was an excellent judge of character, she was never very good at seeking out the bad guys in movies and television. Now that her life involves bad guys in the supernatural, she was not going to be the best at figuring out who's bad and who's not. Emma was pretty sure that Stiles was going to fill her in on who he thinks the bad guy or woman is, and Emma will go from there.
"Who?" Lydia asked Meredith. Sheriff Stilinski, Emma, and Parrish were leaning forward slightly in anticipation.
"Peter . . . Peter Hale," Meredith replied, Emma's jaw slacked at Meredith's words. Peter? The bad guy from sophomore year? Who turned somewhat into an ally, is back to being evil? There should be a bad guy reform program. Maybe Emma could teach it. She loves helping people.
"I did not expect that," Emma whispered, it was supposed to be said under her breath, but luckily it didn't. Because she earned some stern looks from the two policemen and Lydia. "Sorry." Emma apologized before hiding her face in her hands.
⁂
"Her? That's the girl that stole my money?" Peter asked. It wasn't long after Meredith said Peter's name that they called him down to the station to ask him a few questions about his part in the dead pool. They were staring at Meredith through a two-way mirror. The girl in question had her head down, and her eyebrows furrowed. She looked guilty of her actions. Emma was beginning to feel bad for her, even though she shouldn't.
"That girl is a Banshee. They're more dangerous than you think," Lydia shot back. Emma smirked over at Peter. Emma was standing in between Lydia and Peter.
"Oh, I think that girl's pilot light went out a long time ago," Peter replied. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl almost on his face.
"Meredith constructed a dead pool, a functioning one. I think she's more aware than you think she is," Emma added. She didn't like standing next to Peter. She could feel his pessimism trying to destroy her optimism. Not only that, he could be the bad guy again, and Emma didn't want him to flip the switch and attack. Emma's the closest person he could harm.
"Sheriff, not to question the unquestionably sterling reputation of your department, but are you absolutely sure you got the one?" Peter asked, looking over to Sheriff Stilinski; Emma and Lydia shared a look before they looked back at Peter. Everyone was unamused at the moment. No one wanted to be here.
Emma was getting worried because Scott texted them that assassins were coming to the warehouse they were at. They weren't sure when, but they knew it was happening. He originally asked for backup, but everyone was busy trying to do their own thing to stop the dead pool. Stiles and Malia were going to the lake house to find something in the study to help prevent the dead pool.
Emma, also being the helicopter mom, was checked in on Liam before Peter arrived to let him know the state of everything and make sure he was okay. Liam's helping their mom around the office, so he was keeping himself busy. Emma hadn't felt scared at all yet, so that meant he was somewhat okay.
"How about you just go in there and see what she has to say?" Sheriff Stilinski offered, he trusted Lydia and Emma way more than he trusted Peter. Sheriff Stilinski would hear what the girls have to say first, over the man who once tried to kill his son, Scott, Lydia, Allison, and Jackson.
Peter let out a sigh, he put his hands on his hips, "I guess I'll go in there" Peter bit his lip before walking over to where Parrish was standing by the door. Emma had heard about Peter's temper, not to mention his sharp tongue. If Peter upsets Meredith, he could ruin their chance at stopping the dead pool. And Stiles would be their only hope, which isn't a bad thing. Emma trusted Stiles in moments like these, nail-biting down, to the wire moments.
"Peter, please be nice to her. She may have stolen your money, but --" Emma said sweetly, she rocked back and forth on her converse. Peter looked unamused at Emma's words.
"But? Why is there a but? There should be no 'but' after she may have stolen your money. There's no silver lining in this, Emma," Peter replied; Sheriff kept a close watch on the interaction.
"But . . . at least you still got great h-hair, and those cool shoes" Emma trailed off awkwardly. Yeah, she didn't have anything else to say. Emma only knew the bad things about Peter. She assumed that there were good things he had done, helping the pack out when he didn't have to. She'd only heard stories from Stiles, and as much as she loves him, he was a bigger pessimist than Peter.
Peter sent her an annoyed look. Emma chewed on her cheek and began to play with her fingers. The staredown he was giving her made her feel self-conscious; she wanted to back herself into a dark corner where no one could see her. "Thankfully, my hair cut and shoes are worth 117 million dollars," Peter snapped and continued his walk to the door; Parrish opened the door and closed it behind him.
Emma returned to her spot next to Lydia. Emma had a small pout on her lips. All she was trying to do was be optimistic, "He's mean," Emma said, Lydia, rubbed her back. Peter walked into the interrogation room and sat across from Meredith.
"Okay . . . Meredith, where's my money? Or more correctly, what's left of it," Peter began. Meredith stayed quiet; her lip didn't even quiver. Instead, she lifted her hand out; her body leaned forward to touch Peter's cheek. Emma furrowed her eyebrows. What could be the relationship between Peter and Meredith? Secret lovers at one point?
Peter's shoulders tensed up right before he gripped her wrist tightly, he pulled her hand away from his face. Deputy Parrish moved forward, "Let her go," Deputy Parrish ordered. Peter didn't obey. He kept hold of her wrist, "Let her go," Deputy Parrish said with a more demanding tone, his hand flew to the holster holding his gun, ready to pull it out if Peter didn't obey.
Emma watched in anticipation as to what Peter was going to do. Peter gently put her hand down onto the table. Once Meredith's hand touched the table, Peter pulled his hand away, "Why did you do that?" Peter asked the Banshee as he looked down at the table.
"They're all gone," Meredith replied. Okay, they've have known each other before today.
Oh, my God. They have met before," Lydia added, Emma nodded her head in agreement.
"Definitely used to date," Emma muttered to herself; Lydia sent her a curious look before shrugging her shoulders. It was a possibility. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife at this point.
"The burns. They're all... gone," Meredith stated, she knew him after the Hale fire. When he was in a coma, they didn't talk then. She must've been at the same hospital as him, maybe even the same room? Why now would she ask to speak with him?
Peter was stunned by the reply for a few seconds and then bounced right back to the topic of the dead pool. "Meredith, you put everyone, including my nephew and my daughter on a death list. Don't you think you owe us the slightest explanation of why?" Peter quizzed in a loud voice.
"You said it had to be kept secret," Meredith replied. Emma's jaw slacked at Meredith's words; Peter said it had to be kept secret? So, Peter was a part of the dead pool?
"I said? I said that to you?" Peter asked slowly, his tone becoming more and more annoyed after every word. Emma watched as Meredith began to deflate, her shoulders were slumped, her head hung low.
"You said it," Meredith said so quietly that Emma almost didn't catch it. Meredith looked so betrayed; Emma wanted to save her from the bad man. But in this case, Peter may or may not be the good guy.
"Meredith. Allow me to remind you yet again. We have never met . . . Ever" Peter ranted, Emma's gut was telling her this was going to take a very drastic turn.
"What is he doing?" Lydia muttered; the strawberry-blonde had the same feeling as Emma. The whole plan was to have Peter calm, cool and collected talk to her. Figure out what they need to know about the dead pool and stop it. He was letting his anger get the best of him at the moment.
"You don't remember?" Meredith questioned sadly; Emma had an unsettling feeling in her stomach. It felt like Meredith almost idolized Peter, of all people in Beacon Hills.
"No, but maybe you do," Peter growled, he stood up, and Lydia hit her hands up against the glass of the two-way mirror. She knew what was happening way before Sheriff Stilinski, Deputy Parrish, and Emma.
"No, don't!" Lydia screamed at Peter. He flung the table out of his way to get to Meredith easier. Before Parrish could do something, he shoved his claws into the back of her neck. Emma's eyes widened as Meredith's head flew back, and her jaw slacked open in pain.
Sheriff Stilinski moved to the door; the two teenage girls followed after him closely into the interrogation room. Sheriff Stilinski drew his gun and lifted it towards Peter. Parrish had the same stance. A gun pointed at Peter Hale.
"Don't! Don't touch them!" Lydia shouted, stopping the two policemen from moving any further, "If you break the bond, you can kill them. Both of them."
"What are we supposed to do?" Sheriff Stilinski asked the strawberry blonde. Lydia had been the only one who experienced this before. When they tried to save Stiles from void Stiles and on Isaac after being kidnapped by the Alpha pack, that's what Emma's been told, whether it was directly said to her, or she heard about it while other people were talking.
"I don't know," Lydia muttered, Sheriff Stilinski and Deputy Parrish lowered their guns, Emma chewed her lip in confusion.
"What is he doing to her?" Deputy Parrish quizzed, Meredith's eyes shot upon, and she let out a painful groan. Emma's eyebrows furrowed, and her stomach churned to Meredith.
"He's seeing her memories," Lydia replied. She was sure there was an official name for it, but the strawberry blonde's brain was racked at the moment.
"Is she in pain? Is this hurting her?" Emma quizzed; she didn't want Meredith in pain. There had to be a way to see someone's memories without hurting them.
Lydia shrugged in reply, "I'm not sure Peter cares," Lydia murmured. Emma let out a pitiful sigh as she picked at her fingernails. The room fell quiet as they watched the two in anticipation. All they really could do was wait.
Their ears perked up barely when Meredith began to mumble under her breath. It was so quiet that nobody could catch it, except for Lydia, who seemed to be catching on. "Do you hear that? She's saying something," Sheriff Stilinski said lowly.
"Can you understand that?" Emma asked Lydia, looking to her for the answer.
"I can. I can hear perfectly," Lydia responded; Emma looked to Meredith then back to Lydia, hoping she would let everyone in on what Meredith was currently murmuring.
"She was in the hospital. The same hospital," Lydia said, Emma sent Lydia a confused look.
"Same as who?" Deputy Parrish asked.
"Peter," Lydia answered, Emma's jaw slacked a bit. From the scattered stories Emma has been told, there was only one-time Peter was in a hospital. It was from the Hale fire when he suffered 4th-degree burns. But if Emma remembered correctly, he was in a coma for most of it, until he wasn't and he was killing people in Beacon Hills.
"It was right after the fire, right?" Emma quizzed as her eyes danced back and forth between Meredith and Peter.
Lydia nodded her head, "Yes, Meredith could hear him," Lydia stated. Emma looked over to Lydia, who was incredibly focused on the words that Meredith was muttering.
"Hear what?" Sheriff Stilinski questioned.
"Everything, she was hearing every thought in his head, like they'd somehow found the same wavelength. And now everything going through his mind was also going right into hers," Lydia explained. Emma couldn't help but feel bad for this girl; Peter was not very nice. Nobody could have a conversation with him without treating you like an idiot. She couldn't imagine what he was thinking in his head. He probably says way nicer things compared to what he is thinking in his head.
"For how long?" Sheriff Stilinski quizzed.
"Weeks. Maybe even months. It was almost like he was standing right over her bed, talking about the fire. About getting revenge," Lydia replied, her stomach churned at the thought that Peter was the catalyst for the dead pool. That was the reason why he wasn't even on the dead pool. Peter was why all of her friends were on the dead pool, why the majority of Satomi's pack was killed. Meredith was the puppet, and Peter was the puppet master.
Peter's claws detached from her neck, Meredith's head lolled backward, and her body went limp. Parrish reached out to catch her before she completely fell off the chair. Peter stumbled back, tripping over his own feet, and falling to the ground. Parrish helped Meredith set up straight.
Sheriff Stilinski pulled his gun out and aimed it at Peter. Emma narrowed her eyes at Peter. "It was your idea, and you don't even remember," Lydia said in disgust.
"Are you kidding me?" Peter asked in annoyance at Sheriff Stilinski, aiming his gun right at Peter's head. As the pieces began to fall, it started making sense. The only reason they took Peter's money because he had the idea in the first place. And now suddenly, he has all of his power back, and Derek loses all of his. Emma wasn't sure if those two things had any correlation with each other, or if it was a coincidence.
"Hands where I can see them," Sheriff Stilinski threatened the werewolf.
"How the hell was I supposed to remember any of that?" Peter scoffed as he stood up. Sheriff Stilinski clicked off the safety, so any wrong move Peter would be shot.
"Well, you seemed to remember everyone who had a part in the fire last year and killed them all," Emma added quietly, she wanted to have her say, but she didn't want to be there when everything gets worse. Peter sent her an annoyed look; Emma looked to her left to make sure Parrish was still there. Incase Peter was coming for her, and she didn't have her mop, so she has to rely on Parrish.
"Meredith got it from you," Lydia announced to Peter, glanced at the gun in Sheriff Stilinski's hand before he looked over to Lydia with a nervous look on his face. He was pleading to the jury right now, and no one seemed to be on his side.
Peter's breath was shaking, "I was out of my mind. Do you know what it's like for one of us to be in a coma? Paralyzed but cognizant? You try not going crazy," Peter defended himself. Emma could see his point. He went into a coma with such anger and rage about the fire. No wonder his thoughts were pointing to revenge. Emma wanted to believe that he changed and be good, especially for Malia, but old habits die hard.
"She was listening to you," Deputy Parrish added. Emma looked over at him and back to Peter, who's facial expression was back to annoyed.
"She was listening to the ranting and raving of a lunatic," Peter began; he paused and thought about what he said, "A former lunatic. I'm much healthier now. I had nothing to do with this."
Emma glanced at Meredith, who looked crushed, "If she was following your lead on this, then how do we know there isn't more?" Sheriff Stilinski with his gun still pointed right at Peter.
"Stealing my own money? Really?" Peter scoffed; Emma had bet that there were people who'd gone to the extreme to get their plan to work. In Prison Break, Michael tattooed the entire prison floor plan on his body and robbed a bank to put himself in prison. So stealing his own money doesn't seem like a reach.
"Like you were going to use it anyway," Sheriff snapped back. Emma gulped as the tension in the room felt so thick you could cut it with a knife.
"Stop," Lydia spoke, "Stop it. This is what she wants. It's why she's here." Peter smirked and nodded towards Meredith. Which only upset Sheriff Stilinski more. "Look around, Sheriff. There are three people in here right now. Three people still on the dead pool. Me, Parrish . . . And Meredith."
Emma bit her lip; this was all starting to make sense. It was a setup; Emma was expectation assassins to kick down the door any minute and start shooting.
"But not him," Deputy Parrish pointed.
"Lydia's right, we don't want to kill each other," Peter began. Emma's heart began to race. She took a step backward, feeling that something terrible would happen if they didn't deescalate the situation.
"The only person I'm pointing a gun at is you," Sheriff replied through gritted teeth.
"Then you better make it a perfect shot, Sheriff, because I don't go down easy," Peter said calmly. Emma and Lydia shared a look. Lydia could see Emma's worried expression all over her face. This room was starting to feel claustrophobic from the tension. Emma didn't like confrontation, and here she is being thrown into the fire.
"I'm willing to bet that a bullet between the eyes doesn't heal fast . . . Not even for your kind," Sheriff threatened, he cocked the gun and pointed it an inch from Peter's forehead.
Emma cupped her hands over her mouth, "Stop, Sheriff please," Emma begged. They didn't listen; Peter spoke up, only adding more fuel to the fire.
"This department's getting more corrupted by the second. What are you going to charge me with, Sheriff?" Peter ranted; Emma looked to Parrish. His eyes were focused on Peter, and then her eyes glanced down to Meredith, whose expression was unreadable. "How are you going to explain this to a judge? A telepathic girl overhears thoughts of a comatose werewolf and decides to enact his plans for retribution? Hmm. They're going to be pointing a gun at your head and asking you to go quietly."
"Let him go. You have to let him go," Lydia spoke up. There was no way this wasn't going to end badly. Violence was never the answer. It always ends badly.
"I'd take the word of a Banshee, Sheriff," Peter stated; Emma winced as she chewed to heard on the inside of her cheek and made a small cut. This confrontation was leaving her far too anxious to sit still, "I leave. No triggers pulled. No bloodshed."
Sheriff Stilinski cringed as he pulled the gun away from his head. It looked like it took almost all the restraint in the world for Stiles' dad to do that. Peter walked around Sheriff Stilinski and to the door but stopped once the Sheriff spoke. "That's twice, Peter. There's not going to be a third," Sheriff Stilinski warned. Peter continued walking with arrogance, pooling out of his pours.
Meredith stood up, trying to go after him, but Parrish grabbed hold of the banshee, "No. It's not finished. No, it's not finished! No! It's not – It's not finished!" Meredith screamed after Peter.
Emma let out a sigh and walked out of the interrogation room. Emma calmed her breathing down and made her way to Sheriff Stilinski's office. She sat down on the chairs outside and felt herself relax. She checked her phone and found no texts. That wasn't good. She wasn't being updated about her friends and Satomi's pack.
"Hey, you feeling okay?" Lydia asked Emma as she sat down next to her. Emma looked up from her phone; she locked it and put the device back into her pocket.
"Yeah, that was just scary. I'm not a big fan of confrontation or violence," Emma answered the strawberry blonde. Lydia sent her a sentimental smile nodding her head to Emma's words.
"You're all new to this. It was scary when I first found out about the supernatural. It's always good to have a friend there," Lydia told her. She wrapped an arm around Emma and pulled her into a side hug. Emma was happy she had a good friend like Lydia. She liked having Lydia by her side. She made Emma feel better.
Lydia's phone began to ring before Emma could reply, she looked at it to see a video call from Stiles; Lydia answered it and held it up for her and Emma to see Stiles, "Hi, Stiles" Emma waved.
Stiles sighed before waving back, "Hi Emma – okay, so Malia and I found something. It's like some weird computer thing," Stiles flipped the camera to show Emma and Lydia. Their eyebrows furrowed as they looked closer at the three colossal metal boxes with tape spinning. Emma's eyes caught on the ripped drywall next to it, she knew it was necessary to stop the dead pool, but Lydia's mom would be mad. "You see it? There's got to be a way to turn it off, right?"
Lydia stood up and began to pace around. Emma stood as well and followed her movements so she could see what was going on as well. "I don't know. I don't know anything about computers from the 1970s" Lydia rolled her eyes. Out of everyone, Lydia was the best guess; she was a literal genius.
"Emma? What do you know about the 1970's technology?" Stiles asked the blonde-haired girl. Emma lifted her eyebrows. Nothing, she knew nothing.
"Nothing, I sometimes struggle with this day technology," Emma replied. Stiles' eyes narrowed slightly before opening again. "I'm guessing you guys have no clue either?"
"No idea," Malia added, popping her head in. Emma waved at Malia as she tried to keep up with Lydia's pacing.
"Okay, where's the monitor?" Lydia quizzed as she stopped walking, staring down at the screen of her phone. Stiles walked away, giving the two girls a view of the computers and ripped up drywall.
"Lydia, there is no monitor. There are buttons, knobs, spindles, and no monitor," Stiles informed the two girls.
"Holy cow, what did you do to that wall?" Emma pointed out, Stiles looked over and cringed with a shrug of his shoulders. "You know, you can make that into a closet space once the monitors get taken out. It'll add some value to the house."
"Emma, not the time!" Stiles scolded her as he turned to look back at Malia, giving the two girls a view of the carpet for a second.
"Wait, turn the phone back. Point it at the carpet," Lydia told Stiles. Emma sent her a confused look at the same time Stiles sent her one.
"The what?" Stiles asked.
"The floor! Just show me the floor," Lydia exclaimed, Stiles showed her the carpet. Emma wasn't sure why Lydia was so fascinated with the carpet all of a sudden. Lydia began pacing all of a sudden, Emma tried to keep up again. "Where's the stain? There should be red blotches, a wine stain."
"There's nothing," Stiles replied.
"That doesn't make sense. I gave the $500 I was supposed to use to hire cleaners to Brunski," Lydia muttered to herself.
"It was gone whenever we went up to the lake house. When everyone was taking the PSAT's. I thought the cleaners had already come," Emma added; Lydia paused and looked to Emma. Jenna once referred to red wine as a carpet killer, to have a name like that. It means it doesn't come out of carpets easy, or by itself.
"Lydia, what the hell does wine have to do with anything?" Stiles asked, bringing the girl's attention back to him.
"Red wine doesn't just disappear. Unless it wasn't wine," Lydia trailed off.
"What? What do you mean?" Stiles quizzed. Lydia started to pace again, but Emma stayed still. She was growing tired of chasing her around.
"The ashes weren't ashes. The study isn't a study. The record player isn't a record player. So . . . So maybe the wine wasn't wine," Lydia paused, looking deep in thought before she whipped around, walking back towards Emma, "Stiles, you have to find the wine. Find the bottle. There could be something about it."
"What kind? What's it called?" Stiles questioned.
"It's a 1982 Cotes du Rhone," Lydia informed him. Stiles mumbled the name a few times under his breath, before nodding his head.
"Got it," Stiles said before hanging up. Lydia dropped her arms back to her side and looked over to Emma.
"Why did he have to hang up?" Emma pouted; everything was starting to build up, the dead pool could be over, and they were probably going to find out over text.
As Emma predicted, a text was sent to her by Scott.
The dead pool is over, and everyone is safe.
⁂
Sheriff Stilinski dropped Emma off at her house. She looked up at her home. She had been so worried that her house would be attacked in efforts to get to Liam. Now that the dead pool was over it felt safe once more, Liam was safe.
Emma opened the front door only to be met with Liam, a small smile on his face, matched hers. "It's over" Liam said. Emma nodded and pulled him into a hug.
"It's over" Emma echoed.
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Sorry this took so long! I've started my classes and I've just been focused on them for a little. So if I'm not updating it's because I have to focus on school.
Also bc of Harry Potter tiktok I've switched realities and I'm currently dating Fred Weasley. So I haven't switched back into teen wolf 😂😂.