a/n: like the previous episode, scenes that don't have anything to do with noel will be skipped. see the episode itself for plot details. also, enjoy two episodes in one week as an apology for going so long between updates!!

—

After the opening scenes of the 1940s flashback and Void's meeting with Mr. Yukimura, Scott and Kira are looking at photos of who Kira assumes to be her grandmother that look just like her. Scott points out how it feels like everything about their current situation links back to her family, and Kira gets a phone call from her dad.

—

Suddenly Scott and Kira are at the school, with Noel in tow. Scott ended up asking him to meet them at the school, since it was likely this had something to do with the nogitsune.

When the trio enters the room, Noshiko asks if Kira brought what she asked for, and Kira hands over a vial. "You're not seriously giving Dad magic mushrooms," she asks, but quiets at a look from her mother. Yukimura coughs up a napkinful of black sludge with a great deal of effort, and Noel jumps in to help steady him and stand him up beside his desk.

"Stiles did this?" Scott asks remorsefully, Noshiko explaining that he wanted her last tail but she had kept it safe with her since his disappearance.

"Mom, you need to talk to us," Kira begs, "about everything."

Scott pulls out the photo he and Kira said was her grandma, Noshiko taking it and asking them where they got it. Kira asks if it's her grandma, but Noshiko corrects that it's her.

—

A 1940s sequence plays, then Scott points out that if that's Noshiko in the picture, she must be 90 years old. "Depending on when she was born," Noel points out, adding "not that I'm asking of course."

"I'm closer to 900," Noshiko says with a smile, Kira looking shocked before saying "Yeah. Sure. Why not. Dad, how old are you?"

Her dad gives her a look, saying "43. But I've been told I look mid-30s."

Kira gives a nervous laugh, handing her mother a sword. Noshiko explains that the last time it was used it shattered, back in 1943 against a nogitsune.

"All of this, it's all happened before, hasn't it?" Scott asks, as Noshiko confirms and Yukimura quotes "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

"But where did it come from?" Noel asks, and Noshiko begins to tell her story of a WW2 internment camp in Oak Creek. Scott points out that Yukimura had told Allison and Isaac there was no internment camp in Oak Creek, but he retaliates that the Argents have a history of violence and he didn't know if he could trust them.

"There was a camp, but all records were erased. They covered it up," Noshiko says bitterly, as Yukimura explains that the Oak Creek internment camp was his obsession as a grad student, and that's how he met Kira's mother.

Kira asks as she takes one of her father's photos "So where did the nogitsune come from?" and her mother asks in return "Isn't it obvious? It came from me."

—

A 1940s sequence, and Noshiko tries putting the pieces of the sword back together. She asks Kira for help, pointing out how little time they have. Kira refuses to help until she's told everything, Noel moving to argue but she cuts him off.

"No! I need to know everything," Kira insists, Yukimura asking his wife to tell them what they need to know. Noshiko looks between Kira and the boys, saying almost through her teeth "Wolves and foxes tend not to get along. Not just in fables and stories."

"But allies, however unlikely, should be welcomed," Yukimura says, adding "Especially in times of war."

Noshiko appears to concede, putting a piece of sword down as we go to the station.

—

Argent and Derek's charges are being dropped with the sheriff's pull, who tells them he needs their help trapping the nogitsune before it takes away all of Stiles' hope.

—

A 1940 sequence, interrupted in the middle of a kiss by Noel's phone ringing. He looks down at it as everyone stares at him, apologizing quickly "Sorry, it's Derek, the sheriff must have let him and Allison's dad go."

"Go ahead and take it. And that was perfect timing, because we don't want to hear your Casablanca story, we want to know how to save Stiles," Kira pleads, Noel leaving the room as he answers the phone with a relieved "Hey, are you alright? What's going on?"

Noshiko insists to them that she's telling them the full story, but Scott disagrees, saying "You're stalling. When the sun goes down, the oni are gonna come after him again, aren't they?"

Scott pleads with Noshiko to call the Oni off, trying to convince them that Stiles isn't completely gone, but Noshiko tells him that when she finishes her story, they won't want her to call the Oni off.

—

After the break, we're at the Argents' house, and Allison shows the sheriff, her dad, Derek, and Noel (who decided to join them instead of staying with the Yukimuras) all the non-lethal stuff she found in their collection. Argent says to take all of it, Noel asking "What exactly is your plan here?"

"Our best shot right now is to see if you or Derek can pick up on Stiles' scent over at Eichen House," Argent explains. "Especially if he went through something stressful there."

"Should all five of us be going to the same place," the sheriff asks, Argent asking where else Stiles has been showing up.

"The school, the hospital," Allison supplies, as Derek tells them to hold on.

"We did this already," he points out. "He disappeared, we started looking for him, then walked right into a trap at the hospital."

"He's getting us to repeat the same moves," Argent agrees, and Allison asks "So what do we do, wait for him to come to us?"

"We can't, the Oni might find him when the sun goes down before he finds us. Scott and Kira are with Mrs. Yukimura trying to stop them, but she's stalling them," Noel says with a frown, leaning his head against Derek's shoulder in thought. Derek doesn't even blink at the casual affection.

"That's the problem, we're all trying to outfox the fox," Argent says, Derek trying to think of something as the sheriff tells them to listen to him.

"I'll understand if anyone wants to back out," he says sincerely, looking at them all. Derek and Noel share a glance, Noel giving a slight nod of his head with a hopeful smile as Derek gives a small smile of his own. Derek turns back to the group, saying with the smile still on his face "We're not gonna be the first pair of wolves to run from a fox" as he leans in to start grabbing supplies. Noel just watches, pressing his cheek to Derek's arm and surveying what he chooses to bring.

Allison assigns roles, saying "Derek and Noel will go to Eichen House, the sheriff and I will go to the hospital, and Dad, go where you think you're needed. Then we'll all meet up at the school."

"I'll babysit the lovebirds, make sure they actually put in some work. Plus, both sides need a hunter," Argent says, Noel taking a step back from Derek in embarrassment. Derek glances over his shoulder at Noel, reaching his hand out and taking hold of Noel's nonchalantly with a passing 'go to hell' glance at Argent.

They're all in the middle of leaving when Argent picks up two guns, Noel noticing and holding Derek back as he asks "What do you need those for?"

"I like to prepare for the worst," Argent says, loading the magazines as we go back to Noshiko at the school.

—

A few 1940s sequences, and we're at the hospital with the sheriff and Allison. They have a conversation about bravery in the elevator, and on Allison's list of things she doesn't know, one of her items is "I don't know if Noel's even my best friend anymore, or if he's safe being with Derek, or if we can even trust Derek."

After she calms down, they discover that Void has broken into the sheriff's house, and is currently in Stiles' room.

—

A few 1940s sequences before Kira repairs the katana that can help kill the nogitsune. We then go to the Stilinski residence.

—

Argent walks over to a chess board covered in sticky notes, asking what it's all about. The sheriff explains that Stiles had used it to explain everything about the supernatural to him, Allison suggesting that it could be a message from the real Stiles.

"Think there's any reason why my name's on the king?" Derek asks, and the sheriff says that he's heavily guarded.

"Should I take offense to the fact that I'm the queen then?" Noel asks, looking at his spot right next to Derek on Stiles' chess board. The sheriff shrugs, saying that the truly alarming detail is that Derek is one move away from a checkmate, and nothing Noel's piece could do would save him.

Argent theorizes that this isn't a message from Stiles, it's a threat from the nogitsune, Allison deciphering that it means he's at the loft. Argent says that he wants them to join him there, and since night is falling, it sounds more like a trap than anything they've faced yet. The sheriff disagrees, and when Argent calls him out for being biased, the sheriff asks him to hear him out.

"What we're dealing with here is basically someone who lacks motive. No rhyme, no reason, right? Our enemy's not a killer, it's a trickster, the killing is just a byproduct."

"If you're trying to say it won't kill us, I'm not feeling too confident about that," Derek says as he rejoins hands with Noel.

The sheriff isn't deterred, promising "It won't. It wants irony, it wants to play a trick, it wants a joke. All we need to do is come up with a new punchline."

"Well, the sun is setting, sheriff. What do you have in mind?" Argent asks, as the sheriff looks down at the chessboard and tries to figure something out.

—

Scott's text to come to Derek's loft comes from Noel instead of Allison, and from there the episode is unchanged.