a/n: the edits in this chapter are h o r r i b l e. like, lowkey inexcusably bad. they're disproportionate and generally messed up, but honestly i just had to make them all quickly so i could finally post this chapter and stop being lazy. i'm sorry for the lack of good edits in this chapter, but i hope the content makes up for it!
♡, steven.

—

Noel makes his first appearance in Stiles' room, trying to help him and Scott convince the sheriff that Matt is the killer. He doesn't say anything until the sheriff asks Noel and Scott if they believe Stiles, and Noel lets Scott talk.

"It's really hard to explain how we know this, but you just have to trust us. We know it's Matt," Scott says, Noel nodding in agreement.

Stiles continues, saying "Yeah, he took Harris's car. He knew that if a cop found tire tracks at one of the murders, and if enough of the victims were in Harris's class, they would arrest him."

"Alright, fine," the sheriff begins. "I'll allow the remote possibility, but give me a motive. I mean, why would this kid want most of the 2006 swim team and its coach dead?"

"Isn't it obvious? Our swim team sucks!" Stiles says, Noel facepalming before telling the sheriff "Honestly, we don't have a motive yet. But correct me if I'm wrong, neither does Harris."

"What do you boys want me to do?" the sheriff asks, Scott saying they need to look at the evidence. Stiles and Noel agree, the sheriff telling them the evidence is in the station where he no longer works.

"They'll let you in, trust me," Stiles assures him, the sheriff asking him skeptically "Trust you?"

"Trust... Trust Noel and Scott?" he suggests instead, the sheriff looking at the other two boys and nodding. "Them I trust."

—

In the next scene at the sheriff's station, the four men walk in and the deputy at the front desk asks why they're there at two in the morning. The sheriff tells her that they wouldn't be if it wasn't extremely important, and in the background, Stiles whispers to Scott and Noel "We look at the hospital stuff first, okay?"

Scott asks why, and Stiles says "Because all the murders were committed by Jackson except for one, remember?"

"The pregnant girl, Jessica," Noel supplies, Stiles nodding and continuing "Since Matt had to kill her himself, somebody from the hospital could have seen him."

The deputy nods to the sheriff to let him and the boys into the station, and the sheriff calls for them to follow him as he goes back. All three follow after him, and in the next scene they're watching security footage from the hospital the night of the murder.

The sheriff points out that they haven't seen Matt yet, but Stiles insists the boy had to be there to kill Jessica and urges them to keep watching. Soon after this, Scott points out Matt, and Noel leans forward looking angry at the sight of the other teen in the video.

"All I see is the back of someone's head," the sheriff says, Noel jumping in with "The back of Matt's head. I sit behind him in like half of my classes, I'd know the back of that head anywhere."

"Are you crazy?" the sheriff asks him, Noel bashfully replying "No, but... Look at his jacket. How many people do you know that wear black leather jackets?"

A tense pause. The camera flashes out from Noel's face to show all four of them, and we can see that Noel is wearing Derek's leather jacket at that very moment. He stops, thinks, and says with his eyes closed "Nevermind, don't answer that."

"Come on, can we just scroll forward? There has to be some sort of shot of him coming at the cameras," Scott says, changing the topic.

The sheriff plays the video again, and Stiles stops it when Matt comes on screen again. The sheriff points out that it's just the back of Matt's head once again, and Stiles notes that Matt is talking to someone. Scott looks at the footage with wide eyes, saying "He's talking to my mom."

—

In the next scene Scott is on the phone with his mom, trying to see if she remembers talking to Matt. He describes the boy to her, and she reminds him that she already talked to the police.

"Okay, I'm gonna take a picture and send it to you."
He does, and she tells them that she remembers stopping Matt because he was tracking mud in the hospital hall. Looking defeated, Noel turns away from the phone and looks up at the corkboard on the sheriff's wall.

When they hang up with Melissa, the sheriff says they have footprints that were found by the car at the trailer site in the files.

"If they match, that puts Matt at the scene of three murders," Stiles says, Noel and Scott smiling like they're finally getting somewhere.

"Actually, four," the sheriff corrects his son, telling them a credit card receipt for an oil change was signed by Matt at the garage where the mechanic was killed.

"When?" Noel asks, the sheriff saying "A couple of hours before Stiles got there."

"Dad, if one's an incident, two's a coincidence, three's a pattern, what's four?" Stiles asks, and the sheriff responds with a subtle smile "Four's enough for a warrant."

Stiles and Noel fist bump, the sheriff directing Scott to call his mother back and see how quickly she can get to the station. "If I can get an official ID, I can get a search warrant," he explains to him before turning back to his son and Noel.

"Stiles, go to the front desk and tell them to let Scott's mom in when she gets here." Stiles goes to do so as Noel puts a congratulatory hand on the sheriff's shoulder, and the man smiles at the boy appreciatively.

When Stiles gets to the front and sees the deputy on the floor dead, he goes to tell his dad but is met with Matt holding a gun up to him. Matt smiles eerily, saying nothing before we cut to black.

—

After the break, we see Derek standing in a space of all white, Deaton calling his name repeatedly. What finally makes him open his eyes is Noel's voice saying once, sharply, "Derek!"

Derek wakes up in the middle of the Hale house, and the scene continues as normal, until Deaton warns Derek not to trust Peter.

Derek claims he doesn't trust anyone, and Deaton smiles knowingly before saying "There is one. But even then, you don't trust him as completely as you should. It's a wonder your relationship isn't already in shambles."

Derek knits his eyebrows together, contemplating what the man had just said. He hardly has time to dwell on it though, as Deaton quickly continues "Unfortunately, the one person you should be trusting the most out of everyone doesn't even trust you at all."

"Scott," Derek agrees, before Deaton says "He's with Stilinski, and Noel. You need to find them as fast as you can. I've known Gerard for a long time, and he always has a plan. Something tells me it's going exactly the way he wants it to."

The camera lingers on Derek for a second before we go back to the station.

—

Scott lowers his phone from his ear and looks to Noel and the sheriff to tell them his mom is on her way. Both of them are staring at the door, and Scott turns to see Stiles coming in held at gunpoint by Matt.

"Matt," the sheriff says almost softly, holding his hands up, "Whatever's going on, I can guarantee there's a solution that doesn't involve a gun."

"You know, it's funny you say that," Matt says, ignoring the sheriff's words, "because I don't think you're aware of just how right you are."

"I know you don't want to hurt people," the sheriff tries to reason, Matt denying and saying "Actually, I want to hurt a lot of people. You four weren't on my list, but I can be persuaded. And one way is to try dialing somebody on your cell phone like McCall is doing."

Scott immediately moves his hand away from his thigh, Stiles and Noel turning to look at him. "That could definitely get someone hurt," Matt says, gesturing for them all to drop their phones. When they don't, he yells "NOW!" and the sheriff tells them to do it.

They all do, and suddenly we see Stiles handcuffing his father in a holding cell. When Stiles does as he's told, Matt takes the three boys out of the room as the sheriff watches helplessly.

As they're walking down the hall, they see all three of the deputies lying dead in the hallway, Scott asking "What, are you gonna kill everyone in here?!"

"No, that's what Jackson's for," Matt says smugly. "I just think about killing them, and he does it." He says the last phrase almost in Noel's face, after he sees that the boy has covered his mouth in shock at the revelation that Jackson had killed three more people.

Matt shoves the three boys back on their way, letting Noel linger back a bit to process the carnage.

—

After the scene where Gerard gives Allison the letter from her mother, we're back at the station, Noel helping Scott shred all the papers that could incriminate Matt.

Stiles deletes the same files from the sheriff's computer, saying "Deleted. And we're done. Since all the people that you brutally murdered deserved it because they killed you first, whatever that means, I think we're good here. Right? I'll just get my dad, and we'll go, you can continue on the whole vengeance thing, enjoy the kanima."

"Just have him home by midnight. His parents get worried," Noel says, every muscle in his body tense with anger.

Lights shine through the blinds indicating a car pulling in, and Matt says "Sounds like your mom's here, McCall."

"Matt, don't do this," Scott says, half pleading and half angry. "When she comes through the door, I'll just tell her to leave. I'll tell her we didn't find anything. Please, Matt."

The front door creaks open, and they all look to the sound except Matt. "If you don't move, now, I'm gonna kill Stiles first. And then your mom."

The four walk out of the office together and Matt tells Scott to open the door. Scott says "please" once again, but Matt just repeats "Open. The. Door."

Scott opens the door, and there stands Derek. Noel stares at his boyfriend, completely shocked and relieved, until Derek falls to the floor at their feet. Noel moves to kneel beside him but Matt holds him back with an arm, smiling as he looks at Derek's paralyzed form.

The boys all look to Jackson, in his half kanima form, as he steps into the room and we cut to commercial.

—

After Allison has a bit of a moment and assembles her crossbow, we're back at the station. Matt leans down to get a good look at Derek, who asks "This is the one controlling him? This kid?"

"Well, Derek, not everyone's lucky enough to be a big bad werewolf," Matt says icily, everyone looking at each other in slight shock.

"Oh yeah, that's right, I've learned a few things lately. Werewolves, hunters, kanimas- it's like a freaking Halloween party every full moon. Except for you Stiles," he says, turning to the only other human in the room "What do you turn into?"

"Abominable Snowman," Stiles supplies, voice dripping with sarcasm. "But it's more of a wintertime thing, you know, seasonal?"

Matt tips his head and narrows his eyes, Jackson obediently slashing the back of Stiles' neck and paralyzing him. As Stiles falls on top of Derek, he lets out a shaky "Bitch..."

Scott and Noel move to catch Stiles, but Jackson holds up a hand and shakes his head eerily while waving one finger in front of their faces.

"Get him. Off of me," Derek demands, but Matt says "Oh, I don't know, Derek, I think you two make a pretty good pair. Definitely a better pair than you and Noel."

Noel doesn't look possessive of Derek and he isn't angry about the comment, but his expression shows that he definitely isn't happy with the general situation. Matt then says "It must kind of suck, though, to have all that power taken away from you with just a little cut to the back of the neck. I bet you're not used to feeling this helpless."

"Why don't you get down there a bit closer to his face and see how helpless he is then," Noel says, Stiles piping up "Yeah, bitch," from where he lays, still on top of Derek.

Matt turns to look at Noel, standing and grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him close so they're chest to chest. Noel doesn't lose his angry stance, even as Derek yells "Don't touch him!"

Matt just holds Noel there for a second, breathing heavily through his teeth and staring in his eyes menacingly. Noel doesn't waver, looking fearlessly at Matt in return. Suddenly Matt's anger slips away, and he laughs coldly, his grip on Noel's collar tightening.

"Ah, Noel. The outlier in my equation," he says almost wistfully, Noel looking suddenly confused. Matt elaborates, saying "Just about every time I'm close to getting what I want, you come in and you distract him."

"I distract who?" Noel asks, searching Matt's face for answers. The boy laughs again, shaking his head as if he's amused before suddenly tightening his grip again and growling out. "You could be the downfall of everything I'm trying to do here, and you don't even know how you're making this so difficult for me!"

The grip becomes tight enough to choke and Noel lets out a strangled gasp, Scott once again moving to help, but Jackson holds him back. He does so less fiercely this time, however. His attention is focused too heavily on Matt and Noel.

Matt looks over Noel's shoulder at Jackson, tilting his head at the struggling boy in his grasp. Jackson doesn't move, his eyes green and human when they had been reptilian up to this point. Matt cries out in frustration when he notices this, suddenly putting his gun up to Noel's forehead.

"DO IT OR I WILL," Matt demands, and like lightning, Jackson surges forward and slashes his claws viciously across the back of Noel's neck- the scratch is deep enough to render him totally unconscious instead of just paralyzed.

Matt simultaneously drops the boy and shoves him away, Jackson catching him and laying him down almost gently. Scott and Derek watch the whole thing occur, before sharing a look.

Matt stares in anger at Jackson as he stands back up, blinking as his eyes go back to their reptilian form. Satisfied, Matt takes a few calming breaths and turns back to Derek while laughing.

"Looks like you have your hands full with him, don't you?" he asks, as Melissa finally pulls up outside of the station.

"Is that her?" Matt asks, and after seeing the look on Scott's face, he says "Do what I tell you to and I won't hurt her. I won't even let Jackson near her."

"Scott, don't trust him!" Stiles yells, Matt flipping him over and standing on his chest. "Is this better for you?" he asks Matt as Stiles struggles to breathe, Scott begging him to stop.

"Then do what I tell you to!" Matt demands, Scott agreeing to do so. After another few seconds, Matt steps off of Stiles and the boy takes a few deep breaths. He still finds an opportunity to be sarcastic, though, asking "God, do you have a choking fetish or something?!"

Ignoring him, Matt tells Jackson to take the three on the ground into the other room while Scott stays with him.

When Scott tells his mom that if she does what he says Matt won't hurt her, Matt agrees with him and shoots Scott in the stomach. Melissa screams and the sheriff yells "Scott?! Stiles! Noel! What happened?!"

"I didn't say I wouldn't hurt you," Matt says to Scott, Melissa moving to help Scott. Matt demands that she steps back, and Scott reassures her that he's okay. She moves again to help him, but Scott tells her to do what Matt says.

She does, and Matt tells Scott to stand. The sheriff yells at Matt to listen to him, and Matt panics, yelling at everyone to shut up. Matt tells Scott to get up or he'll shoot Melissa, and Scott gets up.

—

Noel is seen laying on the ground in the office as Derek and Stiles discuss why Matt may be turning into the kanima, but he is still unconscious.

—

After Allison swears to kill Derek and whoever tries to protect him, and Matt explains how he almost died by drowning, the power goes out and alarms go off. Gunshots suddenly reign down through the station, shattering all the windows.

When Scott runs in to check on Stiles, Noel, and Derek, Derek gestures to the two younger boys and says "Take them." Scott hesitates, but does as he was told after Derek tells him again to go, almost effortlessly grabbing Stiles and a half-conscious Noel and pulling them out of the station.

The three are closely pursued by Jackson as they try to escape, Noel saying suddenly "Drop me."

"Are you insane?!" Scott asks as he keeps going, Noel saying "He won't hurt me! Drop me and go, you have to get Stiles out of here!"

"He won't hurt you but they will," Scott says, still not dropping Noel. He ends up just barely making it to a room with a stable door, locking it as he goes in and standing there looking at the door with the two limp boys still in his arms.

Scott sits them both down in chairs, telling them not to move. They both give Scott a look, and Scott says "You know what I mean" before leaving the room to rejoin the fight.

—

This is the last time he is seen in the episode.