what if stiles and i can't get back to how things were?

[ 3.23 — 3.24 ]

Willow was silent as she leaned against the doorframe of Scott's room. While she and Stiles couldn't bring themselves to look at each other, she still wanted to be there while Melissa checked over his health. She wanted to be there to make sure Stiles was Stiles.

Melissa went to check Stiles' pulse but paused before grabbing his wrists. Flashes of how aggressive the Nogitsune had been the day before ran through her mind. She was scared that he was still there and waiting to hurt her.

Seeing that fear, Stiles slowly offered his wrist. It broke his heart to see her scared of him, but at the same time, he thought he deserved it.

"Well, medically, you seem okay. You're definitely a real person," Melissa told Stiles, managing a nervous laugh.

"Okay, so I'm real, but am I the real me?" Stiles asked. Unfortunately, Melissa didn't have an answer, but the person who did just arrived. When Scott came into the room, Stiles sat up and looked at him expectantly. "Is she here?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Okay, let's do this," Stiles said, moving to get off the bed. He noticed the uneasy and hesitant looks on all their faces — even Willow, who was looking at the ground. "Guys, we have to do this."

Stiles took the lead as they all went downstairs. Kira's mother was already waiting for them, her cold gaze focused on Stiles.

"Do you recognize me?" Noshiko asked him.

Then Kira ran into the house, having caught up with her mother and determined to keep this from happening. "Stop!"

Stiles shook his head, not looking away from Noshiko. "It's okay. I'm the one who asked her to come."

"You're the one who's going to get stabbed with swords," Kira told him, fear spreading throughout her. "Mom, don't do this to him."

"It's already done," Noshiko said.

Confusion washed over Stiles, and he slowly turned his head to see two Oni had appeared behind him. They marched forward, and despite his instincts telling him to run, Stiles stayed put.

Everyone held their breath as one of the Oni tested him, placing its hand on the left side of his face. Its eyes began to glow a bright yellow, and Willow clutched Scott's hand nervously.

As quickly as it began, the test was over. And the Oni vanished before Stiles even hit the ground, shivering from the cold that was seeping all the way down to his bones. Scott, Kira, and Willow all rushed to his side to make sure he was alright.

"Look behind his ear," Noshiko instructed.

Scott turned Stiles' head, revealing the backward-five-looking kanji symbol that they all had. "It worked."

"So, I'm actually me?" Stiles asked, managing to pull himself to his knees.

"More you than the Nogitsune," she said.

"Can the Oni find him?" he questioned.

"Tomorrow night. It's too close to dawn now," Noshiko said. They didn't like the answer. They didn't like having to wait, but there wasn't another choice.

"Can they kill him?" Stiles asked.

"Depends on how strong he is."

"What about Lydia?" Scott then asked. The girl was still missing. "Why would he take her?"

"He would only take her for an advantage," she explained.

"You mean her power?"

"The power of a Banshee," Noshiko specified. "He must feel he needs her for something — or at least out of the picture. And no doubt, he's angry at you for finding a way to keep him from using Willow's abilities."

"Angry enough to come after her?" Kira asked nervously.

"He won't touch her. Not again," Scott said, a determined and angry look on his face. They wouldn't lose her to the Nogitsune a third time.

"There's no way to know. He's too unpredictable," Noshiko claimed. "Just remember to keep blocking her powers, and he won't be able to use her."

☽︎

With the confirmation that Stiles was actually Stiles, there was one place they had to take him. To his father.

Willow went along with Scott and Stiles to the police station. As she stepped inside and spotted the almost complete repairs from the bombing, guilt washed over Willow. People had died, and she helped.

But then she tried to remember what Derek had said to her back when she visited him in the holding cell — for her one day and a half of freedom before the Nogitsune reclaimed her. If Willow didn't blame Jackson for the things he did as the kanima, then she needed to work on not blaming herself for what she did while being controlled.

That didn't really make her feel better, but it was a start.

"Well, then maybe you need to get some sleep. Go home, Sheriff," they heard Officer Parrish say as he left Noah's office.

Stiles sighed nervously as they stood in the doorway, unnoticed by his father. Willow instinctively reached out to squeeze his hand comfortingly but stopped herself before she could touch him. Scott was the only one to notice how she withdrew her hand.

"Ah, if I could just find my keys," Noah muttered, looking around his office for them.

"In your coffee cup," Stiles spoke up. "You always drop them in your empty cup."

Noah turned quickly and saw his son that had been missing for so long. Both he and Stiles let out shaky breaths, relieved to see the other.

"Hey, Dad," he greeted softly.

Noah moved across the room in three steps and hugged Stiles tightly. Scott and Willow moved to the side, giving them a moment to reunite. Then as they parted, Noah looked from Stiles to Scott, a hopeful expression on his face.

"Is it over?"

"Not yet," Scott muttered, picking up the keys that were inside the coffee mug.

The trio quickly explained all that had happened the last day. About the flies that made Derek, Ethan, Aiden, and Isaac lose control and act violently toward those around them. How the others were busy capturing Stiles. With Peter and Lydia's help, Scott managed to free Stiles' mind, which led to two identical bodies running around. And Willow was now herself and powerless as long as they kept injecting her with the painful valerian mixture. Now, the only priority was finding Lydia, who was taken by the Nogitsune.

"We got an APB out on Lydia's car. Every unit on the road is looking for her," Noah said, coming back into his office after briefing his officers.

"Isn't there anything else that we could do?" Scott asked anxiously.

"At this hour? No, not really."

"He took her for a reason, Dad. Look, if we can figure out the why, then we'll figure out the where," Stiles told him.

"Okay, what would a Nogitsune need with a Banshee?" Noah asked. "It's not like she can control people like Willow — or is that new?"

"No, she can't," Stiles said, shaking his head. Then he sighed. "I don't know, Lydia's pretty good at finding dead bodies. Maybe he needs to find a body?"

"Scott, you know more about this than all of us—"

Scott interrupted Noah quickly. "Me?"

"You said you heard the whole story from Noshiko?" he asked.

"Yeah, but that happened during World War II, like seventy years ago," Scott told them.

"Wait, what did you say?" Stiles suddenly asked, a frown on his face. Something he heard struck a chord in his mind.

"Noshiko told me about the internment camp—"

"No, before that," he said, looking at his father. "You said the whole story."

"Yeah," Scott said, not seeing what that could mean. But clearly, Stiles was thinking of something important. "What is it?"

"There's a girl at Eichen House," Stiles muttered. "Her name's Meredith. I think she might be able to help."

Noah worked quickly, having Parrish run a quick background check and make all the appropriate calls.

"Sheriff? Meredith Walker," Parrish said, now having her full name.

"She's still there?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, but they moved her to the closed unit," he explained.

"Why?" Willow asked softly. It hadn't even been a full week since Stiles left Eichen House. What could've changed?

"They said behavioral issues."

"What issues?" Stiles asked.

Parrish's answer made them all tense up. It also gave them a good idea as to what exactly Meredith Walker was.

"She wouldn't stop screaming."

She was a banshee.

☽︎

"I'm going."

"You're not going!"

"I'm going."

"You're not leaving this house, Will!"

"I'm going."

"But what if he—"

"Scott!" Willow exclaimed. "I have missed so much school!"

"I swear to god, Willow, if you don't sort out your priorities—"

As luck would have it, Meredith Walker decided to escape Eichen House just as they all needed her. So, while the police searched for her, Scott, Stiles, and Willow had nothing to do but return to Scott's house.

As they waited, Stiles gave in to his exhaustion and fell asleep on the couch. Once the sun came up, Willow voiced her decision to go to school for the day to Scott, who wasn't pleased with the decision. He didn't want there to be any more splitting up between the pack. If they were going to defeat the Nogitsune, they needed to be together.

"But Kira will be at school," Willow had argued when Scott made the point that she'd be alone.

Truthfully, Willow was sure that the Nogitsune was scared — well, maybe not scared — but Kira made him nervous. She was the one to jumpstart his power and could very well be the one to cut that same power off.

But the Kira argument hadn't worked, so now Willow was simply responding with, "I'm going," each time Scott tried to stop her.

"Well, your car's not here, and I'm not taking you—"

"I'm going," Willow said, rolling her eyes. Honestly, did he forget that she was a star cross-country runner? She could walk a few miles. She just had to leave soon so that she'd have time to get there.

"You're not going to school."

"I'm going to school."

"I can take her to school."

Scott and Willow's childish bickering ceased as they both turned and saw Derek. He had silently made his way into the kitchen without being noticed. To be honest, he hadn't said anything at first because he was just watching Willow.

His Willow — at least, according to Deaton and Peter and Deucalion, it was his Willow.

Dressed in the same blue skirt from the day before and one of Scott's old sweaters while worrying about school, which she hadn't been to in a week. And before that, she left early many times while under the subtle influence of the Nogitsune. And missing that much school — while not as horrifying as the other atrocities she'd committed in the past few days — was a nightmare to think about for Willow.

"Derek," Willow breathed out, her eyes wide.

He was still dressed in the clothes from the day before, and she couldn't help but wonder if he came straight there from Chris' apartment. The same man and apartment that she practically seduced Derek into trying to burn.

"Derek, she—"

"Willow's spent weeks not able to control her own mind and body," Derek told him. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Scott, his jaw tight. "If she wants to go to school, she's going to school."

Warmth washed over Willow like a tidal wave. There he was after everything, fighting for Willow to do what she wanted. Because he understood more than anyone — except perhaps Stiles — how much she needed to be able to do something herself. Because she wanted to and not because the Nogitsune was making her want to.

Emotional tears welled in her eyes but she tried to keep them at bay. Then she looked away from Derek and back at Scott. "I'll come straight here after school. I promise."

After a moment, Scott nodded. But before Willow could step away, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Fine," Scott said softly. "But we both know your grades will survive after all this is over. So don't lie to yourself about the real reason you're so desperate to go."

☽︎

Scott's words stayed with Willow for the entirety of the mostly silent car ride. Even when Derek stopped at the Stilinski house so that she could grab her backpack, she didn't say much. And Derek stayed silent too, knowing she'd talk when she wanted to. He couldn't imagine what she was thinking and feeling, but he'd be there through it all as she processed it.

It was when they were still five minutes from the school that the sound of a soft sniffle hit Derek's ears. He glanced at Willow quickly to see that she had been silently crying and was wiping at those tears with the sleeve of Scott's sweater.

"Oh, hey," Derek said softly. He quickly pulled the car over onto the side of the road. Then he was pulling Willow over the center console and into his lap so that he could hold her against his chest. "Hey, what's wrong, baby girl? Why are you crying?"

"It - it's Scott," she said, hiding her face in his neck while she cried. "He's right. I mean, I do care about class, but that's - that's not the real reason I fought him so hard."

Derek rubbed her back comfortingly. "Willow, whatever your reasons are—"

"I don't want to be around Stiles," Willow admitted before he could even finish his words of comfort. Then she choked on a sob as her crying intensified, shame washing over her at the confession. "He doesn't d - deserve it — deserve me avoiding him, but I - I can't even look at him. I can't."

"Willow," he said softly, coaxing her head away from his neck so that he could look at her. His thumbs swiped at the fresh tears on her cheeks, which were quickly replaced with more. "What you and Stiles went through — what you lost of yourselves — none of us expect you to just go back to normal right away after all that. Some things just take time to recover from."

"How much time do you think it'll take to recover from this? How long before - before I'm able to look at him without being so nervous and confused?" she asked, hiding her face in his chest once more. "I know it's Stiles — the real one. He does - doesn't deserve me avoiding him. Not when - not when he needs all of us right now."

Derek combed his fingers through her hair. "It's not even been a day — a full twenty-four hours — since you got your control back."

Willow knew that, of course. Though it seemed her measure of time was now going to revolve around those valerian injections. Scott gave her the second dose just after the sun came up, and it was just as excruciatingly painful as the first. And already, she was dreading the third that would come just before sundown.

"With time, you'll work through this," Derek told her. "And I'll be here for you as you do. And when you're ready to sit down and talk to him about what happened, you and Stiles can be there for each other. Just like you've always been there for each other."

"What if that's not possible?" she asked quietly. In the back of her mind, it had been one of her greatest fears. "What if Stiles and I can't get back to how things were?"

What if that heartwarmingly-close friendship was lost, just like her bond with Allison had been lost?

"Do you want to know something about Stiles?" he asked her. As if Willow didn't know everything about the boy. "He has this annoyingly persistent way of worming his way into people's hearts."

Though her face was still hidden against his chest, she managed a small smile as he inadvertently admitted to caring about Stiles Stilinski. If she'd have told him back when they first met that he'd be saying that one day, he'd call her insane.

"And because of that," Derek continued, "I think that you and Stiles will be just fine. You have a friendship that can survive even something like this — especially because neither of you did anything wrong."

"It doesn't feel like I did nothing wrong."

"I know. And I know that Stiles is probably feeling the exact same way — the fear, the anxiety, the guilt."

"You think I should talk to him?"

"Not unless you want to. And not until you're ready," he told her. "But with time, you're going to be alright."

Derek once again coaxed her out of his chest, warm hands guiding her cheeks so that she would look at him. And while Willow may have been confused each time she looked at Stiles, still unable to sort out what was real and what was planted there by the Nogitsune, that wasn't the case when she looked at Derek.

When Willow looked at Derek, she wasn't confused about anything. About any feeling. She was certain about how much she loved him. How much she needed him. And Willow was certain that as long as she had Derek, she'd be able to survive anything.

Even putting back together all the fragments of her mind and emotions that the Nogitsune left behind.

☽︎

Returning to school helped Willow to feel like she could breathe properly for the first time in days. Though all of her friends but Kira were gone, she still was glad to be there. Each teacher supplied her with a packet of makeup work, which hopefully wouldn't take too long to complete. She even worked through lunch, desperate to catch up.

Willow was one of the first to arrive at Coach's class, even beating him there. And when he came out of his office that connected the classroom with the locker room, he was on the phone.

It didn't take Willow and other nosy students long to realize he was arguing with the hospital about the billing for his treatment.

"Ten thousand dollars? They pulled an arrow out of my stomach! What did they do, fill it up with diamonds?" Coach asked angrily, facing the chalkboard. "All right, fine. What — Okay. Just send me the bill. Fine!"

As Coach hung up, Willow looked down at her textbook, that familiar sense of guilt rearing its ugly head. Perhaps when she got out of class, she could call the hospital and arrange for Coach's bill to be paid. She had the money, and while it didn't fix things, it'd at least help him out.

"Okay, listen up, kids!" Coach snapped, facing them all. "Today, we're — You know what? Today we're going to discuss the corrupt institution of healthcare!"

"Um, Coach?" Danny suddenly interrupted. "We have an unexpected guest."

Willow, from the front row, quickly turned to see what he was talking about. And she could hardly believe her eyes when they fell on the very girl they were searching for.

Meredith Walker was dressed in the standard grey sweats that were issued to patients and she was staring at the desk, murmuring to herself. But as if she could feel all their curious stares, she looked up sharply.

Coach cautiously approached Meredith, and pretty much every other student circled the desk she was in, wanting to hear the questions that he would ask. And Willow joined too, but not before pulling Kira to the side.

"Call Scott," she instructed. "We need to make sure they don't send her back before he gets here."

Then Willow stood behind Coach, who was crouching in front of the desk.

"Sweetheart? Sweetheart?" Coach called, not getting any kind of response. "Do you want to tell me which insane asylum you escaped from?"

"Coach, "insane asylum" isn't proper terminology anymore," Danny informed him.

"Okay," he said, nodding in understanding. Then he tried to get through to Meredith once more. "Sweetheart? What - what nuthouse did you escape from?"

Willow had to resist sighing heavily as he used an even worse term.

"Eichen House," Meredith answered.

In sync, everyone in the room backed away. Eichen House had a reputation, and not a good one. Even Coach couldn't help but put some distance in between them. The only one unbothered was Willow, who stepped forward and kneeled in front of Meredith.

"You're name's Meredith, isn't it?" Willow asked softly. Meredith nodded in response. Coach shot her a questioning look, wondering how on earth she knew that, but Willow waved him off. "I'm Willow. I think you met one of my friends at Eichen House."

"Yes," she told her. "Stiles."

"Meredith," Coach said, testing out the name. "Wanna tell me what you're doing so far from there?"

"Trying to help," Meredith muttered. "I can hear them."

"Are they screaming?" Willow asked carefully.

Meredith's eyes lit up, realizing that someone knew what was going on. Someone understood. She grabbed Willow's hand tightly, and practically everyone but Willow flinched. "Yes. They're screaming."

"That's got to be terrifying," Coach mumbled. "What, uh - why do they scream?"

"They scream when someone's about to die," she answered.

"Are they screaming right now?" Coach asked. "How many of them?"

There was a far-off look in Meredith's eyes, and her answer filled Willow with dread. "All of them."

☽︎

The best thing about Coach's office was that it had multiple points of entry. So, as soon as Coach exited his office through the door that led to the hallway, Willow — who had been spying from the window in the boy's locker room — slipped into the room where Meredith was being kept.

"Meredith," Willow whispered, getting her attention. Kira was on the other side of the door, hopefully convincing Coach to not hand Meredith over. But Willow planned to get her out just in case. "Can you tell me if the voices are just screaming or if they're saying something more?"

"There's... there's something more," Meredith mumbled. "But I can't make it out yet."

"Then let's go somewhere where you can hear them better," Willow said, offering her a hand.

The two girls made it out of the office moments before the orderlies from Eichen House stormed into the room. Meredith, despite never having stepped foot in the school, ended up leading Willow through the halls. She walked purposefully toward the music room, seemingly drawn there by the voices that Willow couldn't hear.

Willow left Meredith to her own devices, knowing that Lydia had more success when they didn't bother her. Instead, she kept texting Scott, letting him know where in the school to come once they arrived. Then she put away her phone and watched as Meredith bent over a piano, plucking the strings.

"I can hear you, but I can't understand," Meredith whispered. Willow crept forward as Meredith plucked more piano strings. Though she couldn't hear anything but the low notes that emitted from them, she knew it was a different story for the banshee. "Just a little louder, please."

"Let's go, sweetheart." Both girls turned quickly, not having noticed the orderly from Eichen House, Brunski, who managed to locate them. He was smirking at Meredith as he held up a taser. "As you know, I'm not averse to using the tools of my trade as often as necessary."

Willow flinched as Brunski turned it on, the crackle of electricity filling the air.

"I just... I need another second, okay? They're trying to tell me something," Meredith stuttered out nervously. Then she turned back to the piano.

Brunski stepped closer, not planning on giving her a second. "Meredith—"

"Please," she interrupted frantically. "They're trying to tell me something."

"Sir, you don't have to use that," Willow said, moving closer to Meredith.

"Move over, Sweetheart," Brunski said. "I've got no qualms about taking down a student. She's going back to Eichen House now."

Brunski raised the taser, planning to use it on both girls. But before Willow could even think about screaming for help, Coach Finstock appeared. He grabbed the taser and pushed it against Brunski's neck.

"This school has a very strict no-bullying policy," Coach stated as Brunski fell to the ground, twitching from the electricity.

Scott, Stiles, and Kira ran into the room a moment later, looking down at the orderly Coach attacked in shock. When none of them moved to grab Meredith, he waved his hands around.

"Well? Get her outta here!"

Willow took Meredith's hand and pulled her from the room, running out of the school and to the jeep. While the girls climbed in the backseat, Scott and Stiles climbed in the front.

"I'll call you," Scott told Kira, who was standing by the window.

Then all three of them turned to look at Meredith. "Okay. Where's Lydia?" Stiles asked her.

Meredith glanced at Scott and Willow questioningly before looking at Stiles. "Who's Lydia?"

☽︎

The four of them ran into Scott's house, only to stop dead in their tracks when they saw Rafael McCall waiting on them. Isaac was sitting in a chair, looking rather uncomfortable as the man had likely been questioning him.

"What are you doing here?" Scott asked. The last time his father showed up unannounced, he got stabbed and almost died.

"I could ask you the same thing," he shot back.

"Free period," Stiles lied. "We're doing group study."

Rafael looked at Meredith, unfamiliar with her. "Who's she?"

"She's my... girlfriend," Stiles told him, awkwardly wrapping an arm around Meredith's shoulder.

"You're not my type," Meredith said, looking up at him with a somewhat disgusted face.

"Well, obviously, we have a lot to talk about," Stiles muttered. Willow had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. "We should maybe take this upstairs?"

Meredith then set her sights on Isaac. "He's my type."

"Okay," Stiles said, glaring at Isaac. And Isaac had a flattered smirk on his face as Meredith smiled at him. "Isaac, you can come, too."

Stiles, Willow, Isaac, and Meredith all scurried up to Scott's room while he stayed behind and handled his father. Once in the room, Stiles tried his best to update Meredith on everything. As soon as she understood, they could try to find Lydia and the Nogitsune.

"Lydia? You mean, the red-haired girl?" Meredith asked, finally having an idea of what they were talking about.

"Yes! Yes! Good! Progress!" Stiles told her excitedly. "Now, all you got to do is tell us where she is."

"Okay! Okay," Meredith said, glad to be helpful. "If she tells me."

"If she tells you?" Isaac questioned. "Can you ask her?"

Meredith simply smiled at them. "I already did."

"Perfect. Perfect! What did she say?" Stiles asked.

"She says she doesn't want to be found," Meredith informed them.

Stiles' excitement quickly faded away. "That's good, too... Okay," he mumbled.

To get some space from Meredith to discuss what to do, the three of them moved to talk in the bathroom connected to Scott's room.

"So, this is useless," Stiles muttered.

"Maybe not," Willow said, looking at the ground as she thought. "I mean, what if Lydia really doesn't want to be found? Isaac, you said that when you and Allison found her car, she left a note on the window saying to not look for her."

"Okay, that's insane, Willow," Stiles said, scoffing. "No way does she want to be trapped with that psychopath. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Stiles, she's been my best friend since we were babies. I think I know what I'm talking about," she said, crossing her arms. "For all we know, this is a banshee thing. Maybe she really did send Meredith a message. Maybe something bad will happen if we go after her — right now, at least."

"Look," Stiles said, softly. "If you're scared, that's fine. You don't have to come with us, and no one will blame you. But we have to get answers from Meredith. We can't leave Lydia."

Willow sighed in defeat. Stiles wasn't listening to her, too consumed with finding Lydia. They weren't thinking everything through. And because of that, they were risking running in blind. But Stiles should've known just as well as Willow to not underestimate the Nogitsune.

But arguing wasn't going to work, so she stayed silent while Isaac and Stiles discussed different plans. And each plan was worse than the last.

"I'm just saying," Isaac muttered.

"Isaac, we're not going to torture her—"

"I meant scare her—"

"We're not going to psychologically torture her, either!" Stiles snapped.

"Fine," Isaac grumbled unhappily.

"Why don't we just focus on Meredith and what she hears," Willow suggested, rubbing her forehead. She was feeling a headache coming on.

"She hears things?" Isaac asked. "Like what?"

"Like what Lydia hears," Willow said, looking over at Meredith who was still sitting on the bed. "She's a banshee, so let's treat it like when Lydia gets one of her feelings."

Stiles rushed back over to Meredith, his eyes wide with the new idea. He crouched in front of her. "Okay, just try to focus on the sounds around you."

"On what you're hearing," Isaac added.

"Just focus on the silence."

"Listen to the silence."

"Focusing on the silence."

"Listening to the—"

"Guys," Willow interrupted. "She can't focus and listen to the silence when you two are being so loud."

"Fair point," Stiles muttered. "And from now on, will you just let me handle this, Isaac? Please? I just - I have more experience with banshees."

"Yeah, and mental patients," Isaac said under his breath. Stiles shot him a very annoyed look at the unhelpful comment.

"Isn't anyone going to get that?" Meredith suddenly asked, looking at them expectantly.

"Get what?" Stiles asked, frowning.

"The phone," she replied in a 'duh' tone.

"What phone?" Stiles asked once more, not understanding.

"The phone!" Willow suddenly said, realizing what was happening. Meredith was hearing something that they couldn't.

Meredith nodded along with Willow, pointing at Stiles' pocket where his phone was. Isaac joined in, and finally, Stiles got the point.

"Oh, the phone! My phone, yes," he said, digging out the device. Stiles put it to his ear, pretending to answer the call. "Hello? Yes, she's actually sitting right here — It's for you."

Meredith carefully took the phone from him and answered it. She was silent for a moment, nodding along to what she heard in her mind. Then she handed the phone back to Stiles as the "call" ended.

"They say coup de foudre," Meredith told them.

Stiles and Isaac shared a confused look. "Coup de — what? What is that, Spanish?"

"It's French," Willow stated, a frown on her lips. "It means an unforeseen event."

"Are you sure?" Stiles asked her. "That - that doesn't make any sense."

"She's right," Scott said, standing in the doorway. "And it has more meaning than that. I know where they are. I know where he took Lydia."

☽︎

Willow leaned weakly against Isaac in the back seat of the jeep. As Stiles sped to the Oak Creek Japanese internment camp where this all began, the blonde beta was in charge of giving Willow her latest dose of valerian. By the time they reached their destination, most if not all of that burning pain would've faded.

"Hey, you okay?" Stiles asked, glancing at Scott. The alpha had been fairly silent since they called for Allison and Kira to meet them.

"Yeah," he responded, shaking off his worry. "Yeah, you don't have to worry about me."

"All right, I'm gonna say it," Isaac spoke up, looking at Stiles. "You look like you're dying. You're pale, thin, and you look like you're getting worse. And we're all sitting here thinking it. When we find the other you, is he gonna look like he's getting better?"

Willow eyed the back of Stiles' head, knowing he was right. No amount of rest and recovery would improve Stiles' condition. The dark circles under his eyes continued to grow, and he constantly looked on the brink of passing out.

"What happens if he gets hurt?" Scott asked Stiles, hoping he'd have an answer.

"What do you mean, like if he dies, do I die?" Stiles asked tiredly. "I don't care, just so long as no one else dies because of me. I remember everything I did, Scott. I remember pushing that sword into you. I remember twisting it."

"It wasn't you," Scott told him.

"Yeah, but I remember it," he mumbled. Stiles looked at Willow in the rearview mirror, who instantly looked away. "I remember all of it."

Derek was right when he told Willow that Stiles was feeling everything she was. The fear and the guilt, having to bear the burden of remembering all they were forced to do.

"You guys gotta promise me," Stiles continued. "You can't let anyone else get hurt because of me."

As they reached Oak Creek, Willow couldn't stop the uneasy feeling that crept up on her. But she didn't voice how scared she suddenly was as they all gathered outside the gate. The lock was already broken, telling them that Kira's mother and the Oni had already arrived to take care of the Nogitsune.

"We've done this before, guys," Scott said, looking at them all. He looked like a leader. An alpha. "A couple of weeks ago, we were standing around, just like this, and we saved Malia. Remember? That was a total stranger — this is Lydia."

"I'm here to save my best friend," Allison declared bravely.

Willow never would be able to understand how Allison always managed to be so brave. She wished she could be the same, but instead, the Nogitsune had her ready to crawl under her bed and hide.

"And I came to save mine," Scott said, looking at Stiles.

"I just didn't feel like doing any homework," Isaac muttered, trying to ease the tension. Willow appreciated it, managing a small smile.

With that settled, the six of them entered the camp, splitting up. While Kira, Allison, and Isaac searched for the Oni, Scott, Stiles, and Willow looked for Lydia. Scott ran around until he managed to pick up on Lydia's scent — as well as the slightly-decaying scent of the Nogitsune.

"She's here," Scott said as they ran deeper into the camp. "This way."

Scott's nose led them underground and through a series of transportation tunnels. At the very end of one of them, they found Lydia locked inside a circular cell.

"Lydia? Are you all right?" Scott asked as they rushed over.

Lydia grasped the bars desperately, looking at them with wide eyes. "No, no, no, no. Why are you here?" she asked.

"Lydia, we're here for you," Stiles told her, opening the cell once Scott broke the lock. "We—"

"You weren't supposed to be here!" Lydia interrupted. "You didn't get my message?"

"Lydia, what's happening?" Scott asked.

"Who else is here? Who came with you?" Lydia asked, her panic increasing. Stiles slowly turned to Willow, realizing that she had been right back at the house. There weren't meant to find Lydia. "Who else is here?"

"Scott, we've got to go back," Willow said, turning and pushing the alpha forward.

With Lydia in tow, the four of them raced back the way they came, desperate to get back before anything horrible could happen. But as they moved through the tunnels, Stiles' health bottomed out.

"Lydia... Will," Stiles muttered weakly. His steps faltered before he leaned against the wall. "Lydia, I can't - I can't..."

As Stiles collapsed on the ground, Scott ran ahead. Lydia and Willow stopped to check on Stiles, who slowly lost consciousness.

"Stiles, you gotta wake up," Willow said, while Lydia pat his freezing cold cheek. "You gotta wake up."

Then Lydia's attempts at waking Stiles ceased. Willow's eyes followed her as she stared off into space, her eyes glossing over.

Then the loudest scream they had heard yet left her lips, the name tearing a hole through their hearts. Lydia fell apart in Willow's arms, choking on sobs as the name echoed around them. As it haunted them just like the death of its owner would.

Allison.

☽︎

Willow stared out the window of Derek's loft, a blank expression on her face. Though it was blank, that didn't mean she was numb. No. She was in agony, the image of Scott holding Allison's body ingrained in her mind.

Erica. Warren. Allison.

How many people would they lose before Beacon Hills was safe? Before things could return to the closest thing to normal they'd ever manage to get again?

As Willow mourned, Derek dealt with the twins. While the others had been dealing with Stiles and the Nogitsune, the twins were being hunted. Derek only just managed to save them, but not without sustaining multiple injuries. And Derek had to burn the wolfsbane out of each bullet wound.

The twins may have constantly complained about Willow's abilities, but they would've given anything for her to have access to the healing ability in that moment.

"Should be fine in a couple hours," Derek said, putting away his lighter as he finished with Ethan. "Unless whoever shot you manages to find you again."

Aiden, who had been waiting by the window, walked to the door purposefully now that they were fixed up. "Lydia's with Scott. We need to go."

"You're gonna try to convince her to go with you?" Derek asked him.

"I'm gonna try and convince her to run and hide like any sane person would do," he shot back.

"And Danny?" Derek asked, looking at Ethan.

"Allison's dead." Willow bit her lip to suppress a sob. As if they needed reminding when it hadn't even been a full day. "Stiles is dying. What do you think?"

"Even if Danny did believe you, he wouldn't run," Willow whispered, knowing they'd hear. "And Lydia would never run and hide — especially after this."

"Because of Stiles?" Aiden asked her.

"Because of Allison!" Willow said, getting up and turning to look at them.

The two girls may have had their issues, but that didn't mean Willow didn't still love her. That Willow wouldn't miss her.

"And because of Scott," Derek added, crossing his arms. "You've been trying to find a way into his pack. Trying to earn his trust. Trying to fight for him. You've had it wrong this whole time. You don't fight for a leader — you fight for a leader's cause."

"What cause?" Aiden asked.

"Scott's always been about one thing — saving his friends," he said. Even if not everyone could always be saved. "He will do anything and everything to save the people he cares about. When there's no chance of winning? He keeps fighting. When all hope is lost? He finds another way. And when he's beaten down, he stands up again. You want to earn a place in his pack? You want redemption? Find another way to stand and fight!"

Derek's motivating speech must have gotten through to the twins, who opted to stay. They silently trailed to the bathroom to clean the rest of the blood off and wait. That was all any of them could do until the sun sank once again — wait.

How many more times would the sun have to set before they put an end to all of this?

Once again, Willow sank back to her spot by the window, where she curled into herself. There was only one more hour until sundown, and there was only one way to mark the time.

"Are you ready?" Derek asked, pulling up a chair beside Willow.

In response, she held out her arm, resting it on his knee. He held a syringe in his hand, filled with the valerian concoction. It would be her fifth and the first time Derek would be giving it to her.

"Do I need to get either of the twins to hold you down?" he asked, taking her wrist in his other hand. "Peter said it hurts a lot."

"No. I'll stay still," Willow whispered. Deep down, she wanted to struggle, but if she was being honest, a small part of her thought that burning pain was a form of punishment for all the people she'd hurt. "Go ahead."

Derek was careful as he stuck the needle in the crook of her elbow, finding a vein. Her body's reaction was almost immediate as soon as he pressed down on the plunger, shooting the valerian into her system.

Willow's entire body tensed up as her veins began to glow a soft pink color. Her screams tore through the air, voice breaking from how forceful it was. Derek tossed the syringe to the side as soon as he was done and pulled her into his arms, holding her as she worked through the pain.

It felt as if her entire body was on fire, burning from the inside out. Like it was burning the magic out of her. Eventually, the screams fizzled out, turning into hoarse cries. Derek rocked her back and forth, wiping the tears from her cheeks as he did so.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he murmured, hating that he had to do something that caused her pain. "It'll be okay."

"No, it - it won't," Willow cried, her words garbled. "She's dead, Derek, and I'm partly to blame. I helped him do this. And now we're losing."

"It is not your fault," Derek told her, holding her face up so that she'd look at him. "And maybe Allison's dead, but we can't let her sacrifice be for nothing. We get back up and keep fighting."

"Just like Allison would," she whispered.

"Just like Allison would," he repeated.

☽︎

Things moved quickly after the sun came down. Deaton made an educated guess that perhaps the very box that Derek's mother's claws were kept in could trap the Nogitsune's spirit. With the container made from the wood of an ash tree in hand, Derek, Willow, and the twins went to the school.

That was where the Nogitsune and Oni were waiting for them.

Derek was already fully shifted as he and Willow walked toward the school — the twins were waiting in the shadows. The body sitting on the stairs with a smirk on his face looked like Stiles, but they knew better. The Nogitsune had two Oni flanking him, ready for a fight. 

"Did you bring us a present?" the Nogitsune asked teasingly, tilting his head as he glanced at Willow and then the triskele box.

"I brought two," Derek said as the twins came out of hiding.

The Nogitsune's smirk grew, seeing three sets of glowing blue eyes. "I've heard of an Alpha Pack, Derek, but not a pack of former alphas. It's a little sad, isn't it?"

"I might not be an alpha anymore, but I can still fight like one," Derek growled out.

As the three werewolves charged, Willow backed away. She didn't stand a chance against an Oni in a fight, so she was meant to stay back.

"Where the hell are they?" Ethan asked as he jumped back, narrowly avoiding a sword to the knee.

"The jeep's here. They have to be somewhere," Aiden shouted, keeping his own Oni at bay.

"In the school!" Derek yelled. "You have to get on the box. Someone get on the box!"

Willow spotted the ash wood box that was sitting untouched on the concrete. She moved toward it, but a strong hand grabbed the back of her jacket and shoved her into the brick wall. With a smirk on its stolen face, the Nogitsune wrapped a hand around Willow's throat.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he told her. "You're gonna stay here like my good little Charmer and watch as they kill all your friends."

Willow was terrified. So terrified that she wanted to cry and scream for help. But that's not what Allison would do. She'd be brave — was brave — braver than Willow ever could be.

"You don't control me anymore," Willow said, glaring up at him. "And you never will."

"We'll see about that," he said, leaning close and brushing his nose along her neck. He took in her scent and let out a groan. "Fuck, I missed you. That little blocker won't be in your system forever. Imagine how much pain I could devour after making you kill Derek with your own hands. That'll be a meal I never forget."

"Scott will stop you."

"How can they stop me when you can't even fight off a few little fireflies?" Void asked.

He turned her head, forcing her to watch as the Oni began to overpower the twins and Derek. And the Nogitsune wasn't the only one to realize they were losing.

"We can't do this! We can't beat them!" Aiden yelled.

"Take the box, we'll hold them off," Ethan told Derek.

Derek lunged for the box only to be thrown back by an Oni. He roared loudly before lunging at it. But then an arrow soared through the air, landing in the Oni's chest. They all watched as its chest began to glow yellow. Then as the Oni yanked out the arrow, it disappeared completely in a cloud of shadows.

It had died, just like the one Allison killed before being stabbed.

Everyone turned to see Chris standing at the top of the stairs, a crossbow in hand. Isaac jumped to the bottom of the stairwell, joining the fight as well.

"What was that?" Derek asked, his eyes wide.

"Silver," he answered.

Willow's eyes slowly trailed back to the Nogitsune, smirking when she saw the genuine concern on his face. "What was that about your little fireflies?"

Void groaned in frustration before dragging Willow along by her throat. She tried to scream for help, but he cut it off by cutting off her air supply. He angrily stormed into the school, determined to find the other half of the pack and get rid of Stiles. Then he'd have all his power.

Unaware of the furiously approaching Nogitsune, Scott, Stiles, Lydia, and Kira stood in the empty hallway, having finally overcome the illusion that was keeping them trapped. And it was just in time too, as Stiles had been ready to kill himself, thinking it would put a stop to everything.

"We're okay," Scott said in disbelief, looking at the others. "We're—"

Scott was cut off by an impossibly strong force throwing him against the lockers. Kira was the next to drop as the Nogitsune attacked her.

"This was my game. You think you can beat me at my game?" the Nogitsune asked, seething as he glared at Stiles and Lydia. With one last crushing squeeze on her throat, he threw Willow at his feet.

Willow gasped for air, her head pounding as oxygen rushed to her lungs finally. She weakly crawled away, backing into a locker as she tried to stay conscious. Had he held her for much longer, she would've been choked to death.

"Divine move... Divine move? You think you have any moves at all? You can kill the Oni, but me?" the Nogitsune shouted angrily as he chased Lydia and Stiles down the hallway. "Me? I'm a thousand years old — you can't kill me!"

"But we can change you!" Lydia said suddenly.

Her words stopped the dark spirit in his tracks. "What?"

"You forgot about the scroll," Stiles stated.

Lydia's look of fear then morphed to a smug one. "The Shugendo scroll."

"Change the host," the Nogitsune muttered under his breath, realizing what they meant.

"You can't be a fox and a wolf," Stiles claimed.

Then Scott came up behind the Nogitsune and bit down on his arm before he could run. He let out a loud scream as Scott released him. But the scream was silenced as a sword ran through his back and chest, Kira dealing a final blow.

They watched as a lone fly escaped the mouth of his body and flew down the hallway. But before it could escape, Isaac appeared and trapped it in the triskele box. Then the body resembling Stiles began to convulse uncontrollably and crack as if it was made of stone. Before it could crash to the floor, it dissolved into smoke and shadows, out of existence forever.

"Is it - is it over?" Willow asked weakly, still leaning against a locker on the ground.

Before anyone could respond, Stiles suddenly collapsed. They all rushed to his side, terrified that he would die now that the Nogitsune was gone as well.

But Scott kept a sensitive ear on Stiles' heartbeat, which only seemed to get stronger the longer he laid there. Eventually, the human's eyes opened and he saw all of them kneeling over him with worried expressions.

"Oh, God," he muttered. "I fainted, didn't I?" Everyone sighed in relief, letting out soft chuckles at his question. "We're alive? We're all alive?"

"Yeah," Scott said after a moment, "we're okay."

But they weren't all alive.

Before any celebrating could begin, a familiar feeling washed over Lydia, who stood quickly. With a frown on her face, Lydia looked to the exit.

"Lydia, what is it?" Willow asked, touching her hand softly. "Who is it?"

Instead of answering, Lydia took off. Everyone followed, dreading what they'd discover. Once outside, Lydia froze at the top of the stairs and only looked at the scene for a moment before turning to muffle her horrified scream in Stiles' chest.

Down below, Derek and Chris surrounded the twins. Though the Oni were defeated, it wasn't without yet another casualty. Even from across the courtyard, Ethan's sobs of agony reached their ears.

Allison. Aiden.

The Nogitsune was gone, but so were they.

☽︎

The first day back at school was the hardest. It was impossibly hard to act like nothing happened. To act like Allison was killed in a mugging gone wrong instead of killed after saving Isaac's life. To act like Aiden died in a motorcycle accident instead of dying for his brother and the pack.

"I wish I could say something to him," Kira said, sounding so sad. She still hadn't spoken to Scott since the night it all ended. She was talking to Willow and Lydia as they stood by their lockers. "I wish I could say something to all of them. But I don't how much space or how much time I'm supposed to give them. And I know I'm still just the new girl at school."

"You ever run track?" As Coach Finstock's voice reached them, they turned to see him leading Malia Tate down the hall. "I mean, you have excellent muscle definition."

"Not for long," Lydia stated, realizing that she was enrolling in school.

"I sometimes ran from cougars trying to eat me," Malia told Coach bluntly.

"I've had the same problem," he muttered. "So, listen, we're gonna start off slow. You know, a few classes here and there. Don't worry. You'll learn fast."

As they passed, Malia met Willow's gaze. She smiled softly, recognizing the girl who helped get the tangles out of her hair after shifting back to human. Willow smiled back, hugging her books closer to her chest.

"I intend to."

☽︎

Willow and Derek laid on the couch in his loft. She had been laying against his chest, silently toying with his fingers as she thought. Derek was just happy to have her in his arms again.

"I, um, Stiles and I are gonna talk tonight. After dinner," Willow said softly. "It's - it's time."

"It'll be alright," Derek told her, knowing she was nervous about it. He gently kissed her neck, lips brushing the chain of her necklace. The necklace that used to belong to his mother was back where it should be, around Willow's neck after Derek had the broken clasp repaired.

"I just want normal," she murmured, nuzzling her head against his chest. "Maybe we can have normal now."

"We both have glowing eyes," he reminded her, a small smile on his lips. "Normal isn't exactly the word I'd use."

"I don't think mine will be glowing any time soon," Willow said, sighing.

Being controlled by the Nogitsune made her think differently about her powers. She had already been on the fence about possessing the ability to control people, but now her mind was made up.

She didn't ever want to take away someone's free will again. She wanted to distance herself from her abilities, especially the Charmspeak and love manipulation. Willow wouldn't even playfully use it on Derek. And everyone in the pack respected her decision, knowing how horrible things had been for her the past few weeks. And they knew how she was still struggling to sort out her emotions and memories.

"How's Malia doing?" Derek asked, wondering about how his cousin was adjusting to school. There wasn't much time to discuss or process the fact that she was Peter's daughter — which she was completely unaware of.

"Well, Scott is gonna be her werecoyote tutor and I'm her school tutor," she stated. "Scott taught her how to flick her claws out without fully shifting, so that's progress."

"Good. After spending so much time as a coyote, she'll likely have a harder time learning control," Derek said. "But she has all of us—"

When Derek cut himself off, Willow turned her head to look at him. He had a frown on his face and was listening to something past the walls of the loft.

"Derek?" Willow whispered, worry creeping up on her. "What is it?"

What it was were hunters. The same group of hunters that captured and tortured Peter and Derek after dropping Cora and Boyd off in South America.

It wasn't long before all six of them had Willow and Derek backed into a corner, rifles pointed at them.

"Now, my friend, you're gonna tell us about La Loba," the hunter, Severo, asked. "Where is the She-Wolf?"

"You should just go ahead and kill me 'cause you're never going to find Cora," Derek spat. He wouldn't dare give up his sister's location.

Severo tilted his head with a frown. "Cora? Who the hell is Cora?"

"Then who are you looking for?" Willow asked, gripping the back of Derek's shirt, who was keeping her hidden with his frame.

Before Severo could answer, a smoke bomb was thrown into the loft. Derek grabbed Willow and pulled her behind the couch, not wanting her hurt as a new threat arrived.

"Where are they?" one of the hunters asked, unable to see through the smoke.

"Light them up!" another shouted.

Willow let out a squeak and covered her head when guns started going off. One by one, the mysterious new arrival took out the hunters until there were none left.

Derek carefully got to his feet and looked around the smoky room, trying to locate the threat with his senses. Willow got up from behind the couch, unable to make out anything through the smoke.

Suddenly, the intruder took Willow out too. She screamed as a clawed hand wrapped around her ankle and threw her against the wall, rendering her unconscious as she hit her head.

"Willow!" Derek shouted, rushing to her side. Then he frantically looked around, hearing a low chuckle sound.

"Gotta be honest with you," the woman began. Derek froze, not able to believe that he was hearing that voice again. "I'm a little surprised you're still keeping that cutie around. Mark me down as jealous."

Derek stood and moved closer to her voice. "You're not real," he whispered, shaking his head. It must have been what Stiles had gone through — seeing things and people that weren't there. "You're not here."

But if Derek thought he was dreaming, the wake-up call came in the form of a bullet in his abdomen. He let out a pained groan as he fell to his knees, clutching his bleeding stomach.

He spotted her silhouette coming near in the smoke that was slowly clearing. "It's real — you're real."

"That's right, Derek," Kate Argent said, sauntering out of the smoke with a smirk on her face. She was alive and well, dressed in a leather jacket with a gun in hand. "And, if seeing me is a surprise, watch this."

No, Derek wasn't dreaming. But as Kate lunged toward him, her face shifting into something else entirely — something inhuman — he wished that he was trapped in a dream. Because reality was much worse.