44. Letharia Vulpina

As the wire fell of the roof, I ran downstairs to make sure nobody was hurt. By the time I reached in the parking I saw Kira standing there dodging the wire and an ambulance crashed into a water pipe. The water started filling up the parking lot, and as the driver struggled to get out he stepped into the water and got electrocuted. Then I saw Isaac walk in, form behind me and Allison also got there, she parked her car near me and quickly got out after seeing the chaos. As I was looking at the mess before me which was probably caused by Stiles, I realized that Allison was about to step in the water so I pushed her out of the way but then as I was about to step in the water instead, Isaac caught me and then threw me aside while stepping in the water himself and getting badly electrocuted. "ISAAC!" I yelled at top of my lungs, then I started to go towards him so that I could pull him out but Allison pulled me back and restrained me. "Please, Allison, let me go." I yelled at her but she didn't let me go. 

Then as more people started getting electrocuted Kira suddenly jumped in the water and grabbed the wire and then used her Kitsune power to turn it off. By the time she did that her eyes started glowing and lot of people gathered around. As soon as I was sure the water was safe, I freed myself from Allison's grip and ran towards Isaac. I sat next to him and tried to wake him, "Baby, please wake up. Isaac, please." I shook him but he didn't respond. By that time Derek also got there and started to call Isaac but when Isaac didn't move at all, I checked for his pulse and he was no longer breathing. "He's not breathing. Derek he's not breathing!" I yelled. Then Derek yelled for Scott. Then Scott came and checked Isaac, he used his Alpha voice which trigged Isaac and his heart started beating but very weakly. Then Scott lifted Isaac and we brought him inside. Melissa saw us, so she brought a stretcher for him, When we settled him on the stretcher I realized all of his left side was burnt. Then doctors took him in ICU, and told me to wait in the waiting area. As I was standing in the lobby with Derek, Scott and Allison, I heard Dad coming from behind and asking if I saw Stiles. When I turned I saw his face change when he noticed that I was trembling, my whole face was red from crying. 

"What happened Sweetie? If it's about Stiles, I promise we'll find him." 

He said as he pulled me in for a hug. "Isaac got electrocuted in the parking lot while saving me Dad. He's badly injured. He even stopped breathing for a while. We don't know if he'll survive." I said while crying. 

"Oh, honey. He'll be alright. Nothing will happen to him." 

Dad tried to reassure me but when I didn't stop crying so, Derek came from behind and said, 

"He's a werewolf Ruth, that too a strong one. His healing powers will soon kick in and he'll be like before in no time." 

Then Dad said that he'll look for Stiles and I should stay with Isaac and if anything comes up he'll call me. Soon he left for the station to get an APB on Stiles. Then as it started getting late I forcefully sent Allison and Scott home too, as it was school night, but Derek stayed with me. Around midnight, I got a text from Stiles saying that he was okay and I shouldn't look for him as he'll be back soon. I called Dad after reading it and he informed me that he got the same text. After that I turned my phone off and again sat in the waiting area next to Derek. 

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"Rue wake up." 

I heard someone say, and as I forced my eyes open I notice Scott and Melissa standing in front of me. It has been a day since all the chaos. 

"Have you been here all night?" 

Scott asked, as I stood up. "Yeah, they won't let me see him because I'm not family, even though I told them he doesn't have any." Melissa then hugged me and said that he had them and she has a key card. Then she swiped her key card which allowed Scott and me to enter the room. The room was exceptionally large which showed that he needed special care. After entering the room Scott held my hand firmly providing me the support I needed. Then we both slowly walked towards his bedside, but then we saw his left side was still burnt and he wasn't healing. "I thought he'd be healing by now." I said and Scott said that he thought that too. Then Scott grabbed his hand, "Is he in pain?" I asked barely controlling my emotions, Scott slowly nodded and then started to take Isaac's pain away. As soon as Scott started the process, Isaac started to move but then Scott winced in pain and had to let go. 

"It won't heal him, but it helps with the pain." 

Scott told me as he backed up a little, and I just nodded then Scott sighed and pulled me in a hug which god knew how much I needed. I hid my face in his chest while he rested his chin on my head. "Did Sty really do this?" I asked Scott held my face and wiped my tears with his thumb while saying, 

"Whatever's controlling him did it. Remember Rue, it's not Stiles. It's the whatever inside him." 

"Well, then how do we get whatever's inside of him the hell out of him? And should we tell Dad about it? I mean I haven't seen since he was at the hospital. Should I call him and tell this?" I asked 

"Shh... Take a deep breath Rue. Right now you focus on Isaac and I'll work on everything else." 

Scott reassured me. Then we walked out of the room and Scott left for school, I sat down at my previous seat.

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After a few hours I got a text from Scott saying he found Stiles in the school basement and he was himself. Melissa was working at the reception so I went to her and requested her to take care for Isaac for a while I go to school and see Stiles. Then in a few minutes I arrived at school. I checked Scott's location and he was still in the basement so I also went there. 

The door was already open and as I walked in Stiles back was to me and he was sitting on the floor with a blueprint in front of him. "Sty." I called him and he instantly turned his head. After seeing me he ran towards me and engulfed me in a tight hug. 

"Rue, oh my god. I am so sorry. I am so so sorry. I didn't knew what I was doing, I didn't meant Isaac to get hurt." 

Stiles apologized again and again. I finally hugged him. "It was not you Sty. You know that it was not you." Our moment was cut short when Aiden reminded us that we needed to figure out what Stiles was up to for last two days. We took out all the blueprints and the tools Stiles had in his bag on the table so that we could get a clue on what he was planning. 

"What the hell were you doing? Building a Terminator?" 

Aiden asked after looking at all the tools. Then I found a piece of paper and when I opened it was a map. "Guys look, this is a map." I said opening it on the table. 

"Isn't that the cross country trail? That's the Tate car, where Malia Tate's family died." 

Scott said while trailing the marked spots on the map. Then Stiles asked if we meant the place where her father put the steel-jawed traps. We nodded as realization hit us about what the thing controlling Stiles did. As I was getting ready to go with Scott and Stiles they stopped me saying it would be way too risky I should go back to hospital. I retaliated but they kicked me out, so I had no other option but to go. 

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After sitting in the hospital for a while, I saw Allison and Lydia come in. 

"Hey, Rue how are you?" 

Lydia asked but instead of replying I just hugged the two of them. "Hey Ally, why do you have knifes on you?" I asked as I pulled back. She and Lydia looked at each other and then Lydia told me that Peter approached her mom and gave her his phone number so she was planning to visit him and thought it would be better if Allison went with her. "Well, then let me collect my things, I'll go with you as well. Peter's scared of me, he knows I am unpredictable when it comes to him and seeing how emotional I am at the moment, he will know that I'll kill him without a second thought." 

"Are you sure you wanna come? I mean you aren't too exhausted?" 

Lydia asked I shook my head and grabbed my coat and we left after I informed Melissa. 

 As we were outside Derek's loft and Lydia was about to go in I pulled her hand to stop her,  "While, it's smart to bring us with you, I still think the rest of this is totally insane." 

"I tried to find Stiles and I led everyone into a mental institution. I call that a colossal failure. Look, I just need to figure this out and he's the only one offering help." 

Lydia said, Allison cleared her throat, 

"Lydia, you know very well, Peter doesn't offer help. He offers a chance for you to be manipulated into giving him what he wants." 

Allison said, hoping Lydia changes her mind but instead she tells us that she wants to see what he wants and opens the door. Peter was standing by the window looking outside but as we stepped in he turned, 

"The hunters and the Banshee. Ladies come in please." 

Then as we went inside Peter looked at Allison and me and smiled but then his smiled dropped as soon as he looked at Lydia, 

"They'll leave." 

"The last time I was alone with you...I almost bled out on a lacrosse field. They'll stay." 

Lydia said smiling. Then Peter asked her if she really thinks he was trying to kill her when he bit her, he reminded her that she was his back up plan and then he said that if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have discovered Lydia's ability in the first place. "You attacked her and nearly killed her, dickhead." I spat. He smirked towards me and said that power doesn't come without a little pain and struggle. "Well, if that's the case, how about I give you a little pain and struggle?" I asked smiling. 

"Well, how about the fact you brainwashed her and used her to bring yourself back to life?"

Allison asked and he again justified it by saying he did that so that he could be here to help Lydia master her abilities. "He's insane. We're leaving." I declared and Allison also nodded, so Allison and I held Lydia's hand and started walking but then Peter stopped us, 

"You want the truth Lydia? It's not the scream that gives you power. All the scream does is help drown out the noise, allowing you to hear what you really need to. I can help you focus on your hearing." 

Then we turned and Allison stated that he wants something in return. He laughed, 

"No, I'm dedicating my life to helping out narcissistic teenage girls. Of course I want something in return."

Then he picked up a box form the table and dropped some claws on the table. "These are the claws of Derek's mother?" I asked as I picked one up. Peter nodded and explained, 

"My sister, Talia, before she died, she tole a memory from me. It's something only a very powerful alpha can do. That memory is locked inside those claws.

Then Lydia asked why did he sister stole a memory from him and he sarcastically said that if he remembers the memory, he might be able to tell us. Then Lydia asked him what she was supposed to do. Peter told her to focus and listen but nothing was happening so they started bickering about how Lydia was not focusing. Then Peter got angry and was moving towards Lydia but Allison and I stopped him by taking out our electrocuting sticks. He took out his claws and then he told Allison her aunt had one of those, just to poke her. 

"Stop it. All three of you." 

Lydia said, but then Peter started to brag about how he killed Kate so I took out a knife and was about to stab him when Lydia yelled at us to stop while throwing the claws on a wall behind us. Then she started moving towards them as if she was hearing something. Peter asked her all kind of questions, like if she was hearing something, was it the memory, was Derek's mother saying something, but Lydia didn't say anything until she touched those. Then Peter yelled at her to tell him what it was, so she turned and told him he wasn't just an uncle. 

As Peter was still processing all this I got a call from Stiles, saying he placed a bomb in the station and he and Scott were heading there. After that I quickly ended the call but before I could say anything, Allison told me that, she heard the call and that I should go. She reassured me, she'll handle Peter so I left as fast as I could, as the only thing in my mind was Dad was there and was not picking up his phone. 

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As I got to the station everyone was running around and Dad was no where to be found, but then I saw Derek and Mr. Argent handcuffed in front of Dad's office. "What the hell are you two doing here?" I asked as a deputy came and started unlocking them, but instead of replying to me Derek focused on something, and suddenly he yelled at Mr. Argent and me to get down and then he threw himself over us shielding us and seconds later the bomb goes off blowing up Dad's office windows. 

After everything settled Derek removed himself from us, his back was covered with glass. By that time Dad, Stiles and Scott also got there. As Mr. Argent was assisting him I ran off to find Scott so that he could help Derek. "Scott! Where are you?" I yelled. 

"Ruth, what are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here." 

Dad said as he saw me standing there. "Dad...Derek. He's got a lot of glass in his back. He saved me and Mr. Argent." I said. Then Dad and I saw Scott and Stiles sitting beside a dead deputy so he yelled at us to get out of here. "But, Derek. He needs help." I reminded him.  

"I'll help him. But right now I need you three gone from here. Now." 

Dad again yelled so Scott grabbed my arm and dragged me out of there, but as we were at the gate Kira came in and told us the Oni were coming. We took Kira and we left for animal clinic, while in the jeep I called Mr. Argent to make sure Derek was alright and he told me that he had already take out the glass and he was healing. Then my phone chimed again and it was Lydia's text, saying that Malia Tate was Peter's daughter. I choose to ignore that information till Stiles was safe. As we got to the clinic it was raining, we ran towards the door but the Oni got there. Scott threw the keys at me and told me get Stiles inside. I opened the door and pushed Stiles inside, but then he reminded me that Kira was still outside, so we both stood in front of the door and yelled at Kira to come inside but she didn't listen to us as she was throwing things at the Oni. "Shit. Scott and Kira cannot handle them alone. I am going out but you lock the door Sty and don't come out until one of us tells you to." After that I took my knifes and gun which were strapped to my thigh and waist and started fighting with the Oni. 

As Scott and I were struggling with them we saw Kira holding a metal pipe and attacking them effortlessly. But then one of them came from behind and stabbed Scott with their sword. Kira and I yelled and then we both kicked him off Scott. Stiles got out by that time and helped us carry Scott inside. As we got inside Kira started to removed the sword but then Stiles grabbed her hand, and twisted it, then threw her so hard that she fell unconscious. Before I could react to it he stabbed my thigh with a pipe which didn't allow me to move. Then he went back to Scott and grabbed the handle of the sword and started twisting it. "Stiles stop. This isn't you. Please stop." I yelled, but he didn't stop and kept twisting it while I kept yelling. He got annoyed and then from his other hand he started moving the pipe in my leg as well as I screamed at top of my lungs. 

"Does it hurt? Hey, you both look at me. You two should really have done your reading. See, a Nogitsune feeds off chaos, strife and pain. This morning when you Scott, took it from Isaac, then took it from Coach and then from dying deputy. All of the pain, you took it all. And you Ruth have different kind of pain, heartbreak, for your lover Isaac. Now, give it to me." 

Stiles said and then he forced Scott to take my pain and then he took it from Scott by almost killing him. After it was done he looked at us and smiled, 

"You two, really have to learn not to trust a fox. Know why? Cause they're tricksters. They'll fool you. They'll fool everyone." 

But then out of the blue Deaton appeared and injected Stiles with something causing him to fall unconscious. He then removed the sword from Scott and the pipe from my leg. He then brought out a his bag and started treating my leg while I asked if he cured Stiles. While wrapping a bandage around my leg he told us that the fox was poisoned but it's not dead.