a/n: due to unforeseen circumstances irl, there is no full episode coming this week. instead, please enjoy this special episode, throwing things back in time to season one! for those who aren't aware, "search for a cure" was a webseries created in 2011 set shortly after scott was bitten. i hope you all enjoy this brief return to the first season, and i'll see you next week for 4x06!

—

PART ONE

The webisode opens from a werewolf's POV, running through the preserve at night. Their vision is red as they run seemingly on all fours from the preserve to a parking lot. They approach what is clearly Stiles' jeep, jumping onto the roof as Stiles and Noel talk to each other inside. Noel jumps at the sound, and they both look upward and out the window as we see that the werewolf we followed was, of course, Scott.

Stiles sighs, annoyed but relieved that it's Scott and not someone else, as Scott asks what they managed to find out. Stiles almost smirks as Noel turns to look at him, and we cut to the three of them standing at the hood of the jeep watching a video of a man lecturing on Stiles' phone.

"The term 'lycanthrope' is derived from the Greek myth of Lycan, the king of Arcadia, renowned for his cruelty. He was later transformed into a wolf by Zeus- Turned into a monster as punishment for his own monstrous actions. But lycanthrope, as we all know, is just another name for werewolf."

As the man lectures, Scott looks surprisedly at Stiles and Noel, the latter of whom keeps fidgeting with his fingers and chewing his lips as he listens.

"The half-man half-wolf legend appears in dozens of different cultures from the Vilkatas of Lithuania to the Wawkalak of Russia to the more commonly known Loup-Garou of France. Now contrary to some belief, the werewolf's abilities are not beholden to the full moon. Rather, they can be called upon at will. Now those abilities can range from incredible speed to remarkable agility, and capability to move in the bipedal run while equally adept as a quadruped."

As the man lists off these abilities and traits, we see clips of Scott performing the actions, as he watches the video with curiosity and surprise at the man's knowledge.

"Yes, I'm aware of lycanthropy, the psychological disorder in which a person mistakenly believes themself to be a wild animal, but I'm not here to discuss that. I'm not talking about a disorder of the mind, I'm talking about werewolves. The actual and proven existence of werewolves."

Behind the man as he turns to face the notes on his board, his class/audience begins to chatter as the video ends along with the first episode of the miniseries.

—

PART TWO

Stiles looks at Scott and says "This is the guy. This is your cure."

"So who is he?" Scott asks, as Stiles explains that he legally changed his name to Dr. Conrad Fenris.

"Are you serious?" Scott asks in shock, as Stiles smiles and Scott looks on blankly. Stiles realizes Scott doesn't actually know the significance, as Noel chimes in "Well, Fenris was the son of Loki in Norse mythos. Stiles has-"

"I have a picture," Stiles cuts in and shows Scott a photo of a man on a horse fighting a wolf. Scott asks if the man is Fenris, and Stiles corrects him "He's the wolf, dumbass! He's supposed to be the influence for the story of Little Red Riding Hood."

Scott seems to be starting to understand, asking "Why would that guy change his name?"

"He ruined his career after that lecture," Noel explains, still chewing on his lip and fidgeting with his fingers. Stiles argues "But can you really blame those people for laughing at him? Take us this time last month, would you have taken this guy seriously if he tried to tell you werewolves were real?"

"No," Scott admits, as he knits his eyebrows in confusion and asks "But why did he change his name to a giant wolf? Isn't that a little excessive?"

"It's probably because he still believes," Noel says, as a shudder wracks through his body and he looks over his shoulder as if expecting to see someone there.

Scott still seems skeptical, but cautiously optimistic. He asks Stiles and Noel what makes them so sure that Fenris has a cure, and Stiles admits that he's not. But he defends that he's seen every video he could possibly find about the man and vouches for his expertise. As evidence, he plays another video.

"Myths like these propagate across all cultures. Ideas that you could wear animal skin and take on the attributes of that animal; warriors called berserkers would drape themselves in the pelts of bears and were seen to fight in uncontrollable almost trancelike fury. It's where we derive the term berserk. Now, were these berserkers convincing themselves of this animal, or was it actually happening?"

"This is the closest thing we've got to a certified expert," Stiles points out, as Noel argues "Well, we also have Derek."

"And there you go, mentioning his name again. You gotta let that little crush of yours go, dude, it's never gonna happen," Stiles insists as he turns to Noel, who now seems sheepish.

"How are we even gonna find this guy?" Scott asks to redirect the subject, as Stiles looks toward the door of the building they're parked in front of. "I already did."

Fenris steps out of the building as the three boys watch him, and the second episode ends.

—

PART THREE

As Fenris walks to his car, the three boys watch, trying to act natural. This is a herculean task for Noel, who can't seem to stop fidgeting. Their cover thankfully isn't blown, until of course they start to follow him on foot. Fenris immediately notices that he's being followed, but when Scott points this out, Stiles defends that there's no way he knows.

The second time Fenris turns around, Noel leans into Stiles, asking "Should we maybe just... Pretend to duck into a car to throw him off?"

"No, he doesn't know we're following him, shut up," Stiles says sharply, as Fenris speeds up his walking. Stiles speeds up to match, as Scott and Noel shoot each other nervous glances and keep pace despite their feelings on the subject.

Eventually, Fenris breaks into a run, and Stiles simply says "get him" as he and Scott run as well. Noel hangs back, face scrunched in worry, as he puts a hand on his face and leans into it with a sigh.

Scott and Stiles tackle Fenris down and Fenris throws them his keys and wallet, begging them not to hurt him. Stiles insists that they're not gonna hurt him, remembering the tackling and amending "Again."

Noel walks in and apologizes profusely, saying "W-We just wanted a few minutes to talk to you, please?"

"About what?!" Fenris yells, as Noel jumps at the volume and shrinks back. Scott turns and looks at him, patting his arm and positioning himself between Fenris and Noel to try and calm the boy's anxiety.

We suddenly see the trunk of Fenris's car as Scott tells him they have a few questions, but Fenris apologizes and informs them he doesn't talk about "that" anymore.

"It won't take long at all, just a few questions-" Scott insists, but Fenris again denies, harsher this time. "I said no."

He proceeds to drive away as the boys watch, and Noel asks softly "What do we do now?"

"We move to plan B," Stiles says with a sigh, Scott immediately asking "Are we gonna regret plan B?"

"Only if we get caught," Stiles says with a shrug, as the third episode ends.

—

PART FOUR

At his house, Fenris hops in his car and drives off as we pan across the seat and see the three boys hiding in the jeep. They hop out quickly, Noel whispering "I hate plan B, I hate plan B..."

"Yeah, I get it, and I hate the fact that you won't shut up about it," Stiles hisses under his breath as they slink across the street, letting themselves into Fenris's backyard.

"This really is a bad idea," Scott agrees with Noel, as Stiles accuses them of always hating his ideas. "We hate them because they keep getting us in trouble," Noel defends his stance, as Stiles puts one finger over Noel's lips and the other over his own. Noel looks surprised at the contact, narrowing his eyes as Stiles widens his own in a subtle warning gesture. He then pulls back, going back to sneaking around and saying "We learn more from our failures than our successes, so both of you, shut up and learn something."

Noel and Scott share a 'can you believe this guy?' glance before following Stiles, as Scott quips "Does that make you a genius then, Stiles?"

Stiles turns to face them looking wounded, as Noel chokes back a laugh and bites his lip. The three finally reach Fenris's back porch, trying the door and finding it locked. Stiles removes his flannel and begins to wrap it around his hand, as Scott asks if he's sure about what he's doing.

"It's just glass," Stiles points out, as he rears back and attempts to punch through the glass. His hand bounces off like it's nothing, as he cries out in shock and pain, exclaiming "Son of a mother freaking-!!"

"And what did we learn from that failure?" Scott asks sarcastically, as Noel unleashes a laugh and Stiles laughs off his pain and embarrassment.

Stiles starts to formulate a plan of action to get into Fenris's house, Scott looking on and listening to humor him as Noel looks around them. He looks across from them and sees a small flower pot, picking it up and finding a key underneath. He clears his throat and breaks Stiles from his concentration, who says "Hey, man, I was just about to find something, could you maybe-"

"Here," he says simply as he pushes the key into Stiles' hand. Stiles looks down at it and then at Noel, narrowing his eyes and saying "That was-"

"Plan C, of course," Noel finishes for him and crosses his arms, confident and cool for once as he gestures for Stiles to go ahead. Stiles obliges, unlocking the door and stepping inside.

Once in, Scott asks what they're looking for, Stiles explaining that in one of his videos, Fenris mentioned having years of extensive research to back himself up. Noel nods, asking "So like, we're looking for books and papers and sketches and stuff?"

Stiles nods, continuing to walk deeper into the house as Scott asks "We're not gonna steal any of that, are we?"

"No, we're just gonna take what we need, and I'm gonna take pictures on my phone," Stiles explains, as suddenly in the hallway, Fenris appears and says "Good plan."

The three turn to look at him, seeing that he has a gun, as they all take a step back and the fourth episode ends.

—

PART FIVE

Fenris demands that the three of them get out of his house, gun still pointed at them as they back up in time with him.

Stiles and Noel turn to do just that, but Scott stops them and says "Just five minutes, please, just a few questions?"

Fenris isn't convinced, warning again "If you cannot see the gun in my hand, I can recommend a good eye doctor. Otherwise, get out of my house or I will shoot you."

"Five minutes. We wouldn't do this unless we had a really good reason," Scott insists, Fenris not giving in still.

"I changed my name," he says angrily, "to get away from nut-jobs like you who think this crap is real!"

"Wh- You mean you don't actually believe it?" Noel asks in shock, as Fenris assures them that of course he doesn't.

Scott asks why he bothered to change his name to Fenris then, as Stiles ensures that he gets credit for figuring out that aspect. Fenris stares at the three boys, Scott stating that he's pretty sure Fenris believes it all.

Suddenly Noel's arms lower, as he says "Wait... You're not gonna shoot us."

"What makes you think that?" Fenris asks and brandishes his gun again, as Noel quotes "'I will do no harm or injustice.' You took that oath when you became a doctor, right? It's harm and injustice to shoot three kids in your house who just need advice and guidance, which you refused to give us in our preferred public setting."

Fenris stares at Noel before sighing and lowering his gun, saying almost under his breath "God, I hate that oath... Sounds like one of your parents is definitely a lawyer, kid."

"My uncle," Noel corrects with a smile, proud of his accomplishment in deescalating the situation as Stiles and Scott both pat his shoulders gratefully.

We move to what is presumably Fenris's study or office space, as he explains that he was living in Wisconsin when a woman was brought into his ER due to a hunting accident. When he removed the arrow that had been shot into her, he began to dress her wound, and found it completely healed in three minutes.

"I learned two things that day," he explains as he walks over to the boys with a folder. "There are some people in this world who heal with an ability that science can't explain. Imagine what that means to somebody who's dedicated his life to healing; It's like catching a glimpse of the Holy Grail."

The boys watch Fenris with shock on their faces, as Scott asks "Well, what's the second thing?"

Fenris pauses as he looks down at the folder in his hand, continuing "There are also some people in this world who wanna kill them. Wanna guess why they use an arrow?"

Stiles looks at an illustration of a werewolf being pierced by an arrow, answering "She wouldn't heal until it was taken out."

"They also cut them in half," Fenris confirms, Noel's expression reading pure shock and sickness at the thought.

"Sever the body, there's no way it'll heal," he finishes, as Noel chews the skin around his nails and asks "Why do people want them dead? They're not doing anything wrong, they're just existing."

Fenris seems amused, saying "They're the unknown. They're somebody more powerful than yourself. But I can't imagine why in the world anybody would be afraid of someone like this."

Stiles moves as if he wants to say something, but Fenris isn't finished talking. "I spent five years looking for her. I found her here in Beacon Hills and then she disappeared. All I found was this photograph of her with a young man and woman, probably her children."

He lays the picture down on the coffee table, and since he sits in the middle, Noel picks it up for he and the boys to examine. He looks at it for a second and his breath catches as we see his pupils dilate. His hand shakes, and Scott says his name questioningly as Noel exhales and a small breath of steam (as if he was in the cold) leaves his mouth.

Noel drops the photo in absolute shock at the steam leaving his mouth. As it flutters to the ground, the camera focuses on it, and we see a young Derek and Laura in the background of the photo with their smiling mother as the fifth episode ends.

—

PART SIX

Noel is still shaken up where he sits between Scott and Stiles, staring at the photo on the coffee table silently as Fenris speaks.

"When I connected the woman to the werewolf myth, I found that there were differences between those born and those bitten. Those families who are born into it were said to have a ritual once a year on the Wolf Moon."

"What moon?" Scott asks, Stiles answering "Native Americans gave every full moon a name. February is the Ice Moon, the Storm Moon is in March-"

Fenris cuts in to finish the explanation. "They called January the Wolf Moon because hungry wolves would howl outside the villages in midwinter."

"What was the ritual?" Noel asks and rubs his shoulder, unable to tear his eyes off the photo still. Fenris doesn't notice his state, answering "It's like a family reunion. They would get together and perform rites of passage, and they would draw power from one another. Supposedly they were stronger together in packs, the alpha, the beta, and even the omega, the lowest of the wolves. They all, each, contributed... To the strength of the... Pack... They each- DAMMIT!"

Fenris loses his train of thought as he finishes speaking, bursting out in a small fit of rage at the end as the boys jump and turn to look at him, even Noel. Scott asks him if he's okay, as Fenris admits that his housekeeper wants him to stop smoking and has hidden his cigarettes from him.

"You're a doctor and you smoke cigarettes?" Stiles asks, like it's a joke or a gotcha, and Fenris angrily tells them that their five minutes with him are up.

Scott requests one more question, and when Fenris doesn't stop him, he asks solemnly "Is there a cure? You said there's differences between werewolves who were bitten... Can whoever it was that was bitten be cured?"

"Yes," Fenris says after a dramatic pause, and Scott seems to light up. But then Fenris continues, saying "Cut them in half. Death cures all ailments."

Scott and Stiles look disheartened and disappointed, as Noel's expression remains unbothered. Fenris apologizes, lamenting that his fifteen years of research never provided him with a cure. He then questions why the boys are even this interested in the topic, since it's all myth and legend anyway.

"You sure about that?" Stiles asks and gives him a look, as Fenris confirms that he's beyond sure, and that he has the certainty of someone who's completely ruined his professional career and personal standing for it.

He then asks the boys if they know what it's like to know that you ruined your own life, and that you completely did it to yourself, and the boys remain silent. Fenris again announces his need for a cigarette, restating that their five minutes are up as they leave.

Scott turns and looks over his shoulder, asking Fenris if he still believes it all anyway. Fenris admits that he does sometimes, until he snaps back to reality. He admits that maybe there are people with the abilities of werewolves that he's observed, but that actual werewolves themselves are an impossible notion.

Scott nods, thanking him for his five minutes, adding "Your housekeeper's right, you really should quit smoking. But if you really need one, they're in the bookshelf. Third shelf, behind the books."

He then flashes his yellow eyes at Fenris before turning and walking down the steps, joining Stiles and Noel at the jeep. Fenris watches them walk away, smiling to himself as he rushes inside to check the bookshelf.

Sure enough, he finds his carton of cigarettes there, running back out the door just as the boys drive away. He smiles in the direction they headed, as the screen goes to black and the webseries ends.