Chapter 49: ☽︎Insatiable☾︎

...

Stiles had been taken up to Scott's room where Melissa was giving him a check up. His eyes dialated when she shined a light in them, and when she went to check his pulse through his wrist, she hesitated. He saw this and offered his arm to her. When she finished she set his arm down and looked at him. "Well, medically, you seem okay. You're definitely a real person." She chuckled.

"Okay, so I'm real, but am I really me?"

"Hey." Y/n called from the door way, giving Stiles a little smile when he looked at her.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me." Melissa smiled at the girl as she passed and Y/n took her previous spot.

"You have no idea how relieved I am that you're back." She huffed a laugh.

"Am I?" He wondered.

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me what you feel. You were able to sense... Him when he was around, even from the beginning." He took her hand and placed it on the side of his face, holding her there with his own.

She closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them again and they glowed softly. She focused on him, letting her magic flow over him to feel for anything other. After a moment her eyes dimmed and she gently rubbed his cheek with her thumb. "I just feel you."

He sighed, feeling a little better with her words, but he needs just a little more. "I just need to be sure." Scott came into the room then and Stiles sat up as Y/n turned to look at him. "Is she here?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay, let's do this." Scott and Y/n shared a look. Y/n knew that Stiles was now fully himself, but she still didn't like this idea. "Guys, we have to do this." Scott and Y/n helped him stand and then slowly made their way downstairs where Noshiko was waiting.

"Do you recognize me?" She asked him and he nodded.

Stiles gave Y/n's hand a squeaze, letting her know he'd be okay to stand on his own. Kira rushed in behind her mother, asking her to stop, but Noshiko quieted her. "It's okay." Stiles assured. "I'm the one that asked her to come."

"You're the one who's going to get stabbed with swords. Mom, don't do this to him."

"It's already done." Noshiko responded. Two oni suddenly appeared. One behind Stiles to make sure he doesn't get away, and one in front to conduct the search. The oni put it's hand on the side of Stiles' head, eyes shining brightly into his as the oni searched his soul. After a moment the oni removed it's hand and they disappeared. Y/n lunged forward and caught Stiles before he could hit the ground, lowering them both down as she held him. "Look behind his ear." She did as told and smiled when she saw the Kanji marking him as himself.

"It worked."

"So I'm actually me?"

"I told you you were."

"More you than the nogitsune." Noshiko commented.

"Can the oni find him?" He asked.

"Tomorrow night. It's too close to dawn now."

"Can they kill him?"

"It depends on how strong he is.

"What about Lydia?" Y/n asked.

"Why would he take her?" Scott added.

"He would only take her for an advantage."

"You mean her power?"

"The power of a banshee."

...

Noah sat at his desk in the Sheriff's office, staring out at the lightening sky. Jordan Parrish sees him through th glass and knocked on the door before he opened it. "Go home, Sheriff. If anything comes up about Stiles, you know I'd call you in a second."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Well, neither am I since my shift doesn't end until dawn. You need a coffee?"

He shook his head. "Aw, you're a good guy, Parrish. That's what they all said at your previous station. Though no one could tell me exactly why you left." He finally turned to look at the Deputy.

"Maybe I needed a change. I don't really know. I guess... I kind of felt drawn here. And I knew there were openings."

"Do you know why there were openings?"

"The statistics don't worry me."

"They worry me."

"Well, maybe you need to get some sleep. Go home, Sheriff." Jordan left the room and Noah stood up with a sigh.

He grabbed his coat from the back of his chair, feeling the pockets but they were empty. "Ah, if I could just find my keys."

"In your coffee cup." Noah's head whipped around at the sound of his son's voice, spotting him with Scott and Y/n behind him. "You always drop them in your empty cup." Stiles pointed to the said object on the man's desk. Noah was unsure for a moment. The last time he saw Stiles, he was possessed and had been controlling Y/n as well, but with an assuring nod from Scott, he dropped his jacket and rushed around the desk to engulf Stiles in a hug. "Oh!" Stiles chuckled at the force yet he hugged back with just as much. Y/n smiled at the sight. "Hey, Dad."

When they released each other Noah looked at Scott and Y/n as she went over to his desk. "Is it over?"

She pulled the keys from the cup as Scott answered. "Not yet." They filled him in on what had happened and he immediatly jumped into action, leaving the three in his office for a few minutes until he came back.

"We got an APB out on Lydia's car. Every unit on the road is looking for her."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Y/n asked.

"At this hour? No, not really."

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

"Okay." He glanced out the door to make sure no one could eavesdrop before facing them again. "What would a nogitsune need with a banshee?"

Y/n sighed. "I have no clue. He might need her to find a body, tell him who's going to die, when they're going to die, or he's just holding her for leverage. It could be anything."

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

"Me?"

"You said you got the whole story from Noshiko?"

"Yeah, but that happened during World War II. Like 70 years ago."

"Wait, what did you say?" Stiles asked, something about what Noah had said had reminded him of something.

"Noshiko told me about the internment camp-"

"No, before that." He looked to Noah. "You said, the whole story."

"Yeah." Scott agreed.

"What is it?" Y/n asked Stiles.

That phrase was spoken by the girl on the phone when he was in Eichen. "There's a girl at Eichen House. Her name's Meredith. I think she might be able to help."

After a quick call from Jordan to the facility he went into the office to share what he found out. "Sheriff, Meredith Walker."

"She's still there?"

"Yeah, but they mover her to the Closed Unit."

"Why?" Y/n wondered.

"They said behavioral issues."

"What issues?" Stiles asked.

"She wouldn't stop screaming." Y/n shared a look with Scott and Stiles then. She wondered, could this Meredith be a banshee as well? The only way for her to know for sure would be to meet her, then she should be able to find out. When Noah went to see Meredith he found out that she had somehow gotten out. While he was looking for her he made Scott, Stiles, and Y/n go back to Scott's house to wait.

After everything he went through the night before Y/n had Stiles lay on the couch to get some rest. He protested at first, but with a look from her he relented. He held onto her hand when she went to leave him be and she took the hint, moving to sit on the edge of the couch beside him instead. She took her other hand and gently carded her fingers through his hair. Despite himself his exhaustion slowly started to grip hold of him, coaxing him into unconsciousness. But before he fell asleep, he had to say something while they had a moment.

"I'm sorry." His voice was heavy with sleep, almost a whisper, but she heard him.

"For what?" Her tone was just as quiet.

"For what I made you do. What he made you do."

"You don't have to be sorry, Stiles. You didn't make me do anything. It was all him. And, even if it wasn't, I would do anything for you." His mouth twitched up into a tired smile. He was going to say he'd do the same for her, but he couldn't make the words come out. Although she didn't need him to. She already knew he'd do the same for her. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead, maybe using her magic to push him over the edge of unconsciousness so he could get some rest. When he was finally asleep she set his hand down and went to the kitchen with Scott. She took a seat and leaned her head on the back of the chair with a sigh, closing her eyes as she takes a moment of rest. Scott looked at his friend for a moment, trying not to stare, but something was on his mind. "You're gonna burn a hole in me."

Scott blinked, startled from his thoughts. "Huh?"

"I can feel you staring."

"Oh, uh, sorry." He looked away, but then looked back again.

She picked her head up to look at him. "I know you have questions."

"A few." He admitted.

"Go ahead and ask. I won't be offended."

He's quiet for a moment, trying to think of what he wants to ask first. "What happened? I mean, how did he get you on his side?"

"He came to me in the middle of the night. I was going to burn his face off until he mentioned I couldn't do anything to him without hurting Stiles, too, so I had no choice but to listen. He said the oni would keep coming after him until him and Stiles were dead. He used that to get me to agree to do whatever he said no matter what. But that wasn't enough for him. He had to have complete control over me. He possessed me with one of those fly things and, well, you know the rest from there."

"You said you remember what happened when you were with him. That a part of you liked it."

She shifted in her seat, feeling a little uncomfortable. She wasn't particularly happy with this line of questioning, but Scott was her best friend. She could trust him not to judge and to understand what happened. "I remember everything. I remember forcing Mr. Yukimura into talking. I remember hurting Allison and Derek, wanting to hurt Chris and the Sheriff if l needed to. I remember..." She paused, clenching her hands to keep them from shaking. Scott noticed and reached over to hold her hand reassuringly. She took a deep breath. "I remember taking the kaiken from Noshiko and then..." She couldn't bring herself to say it, but Scott knew what she was getting at. "And I did like it. A small, dark part of me enjoyed what I did, and wanted to do more."

"It wasn't you, though."

"It could have been. If I didn't have Alan, if I didn't have you or Stiles, that's who I could have turned out to be. And, even though I never wanted to be, that's who I was for a while. And that's what I have to come to terms with." She never thought she would have done something like that, whether she was being controlled or not. Her mother taught her that having magic was a gift, and it was their responsibility to use it for good. But what she did was anything but, and she's going to do whatever she can to make up for it. "But enough about all that. Let's talk about something nicer. Like you and Kira for instance. I know you like her a lot."

"How did you..." He trailed off his question when she gave him a look.

"How do I know anything? I can feel it." He chuckled and shook his head. They lapsed into an easy conversation, the two friends having a normal talk for the first time in what felt like forever.

Stiles stirred in his sleep, his rest becoming restless. His eyes flew open with a gasp as he scrambled to stand. Y/n and Scott rushed to him before he could fall, his blurry vision focusing on them after a moment. "Hey! You okay?" Scott asked.

"What happened? How long was I out?" Stiles asked.

"Just a couple of hours. It's okay." Y/n assured. "You should sit down."

He shook his head. "Where's my dad?"

"He's at Eichen House, questioning everyone. Looking for Meredith." Scott informed. "We promised him we wouldn't let you out of our sight."

"Okay, what about the others?"

Y/n answered this time. "Allison, Isaac, the twins, they're all looking for Lydia."

"It's starting to feel like we're waiting for a ransom call."

"We'll find her."

Stiles rubbed his hands together and then reached for his jacket to put it on. "You okay?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, I don't know why, I just can't seem to get warm."

"Maybe you should just sit down. Take it easy." Scott reached out to guide Stiles to the couch. He pulled back almost as soon as he made contact and Y/n saw the black veins on Scott's hand. "You're in pain."

"It's not that bad. Just more of a dull ache."

"Where?" Y/n asked.

"Sort of everywhere."

Y/n took his hand, but he pulled away when he saw her concerned look. "Stiles, you're freezing." He sat on the couch and rubbed at his face anxiously. She crouched in front of him and took his hands again. This time he let her. "Stiles, tell me the truth. How much does it actually hurt?" His gaze flicked over her face and away, and she could tell that the answer was a lot.

Scott's phone buzzed with a call and he looked to see who it was. "It's Kira." He answered. "Hey, what's up?"

"She's here. In Coach's class. And you need to get here now too. Like, right now."

The three gave each other a look before they made their way to the school. They burst through the doors seeing their fellow classmates roaming the halls, going from class to class. The boys started to head for Coach's office, but Y/n stopped them. "What is it?" Scott asked.

"Just trust me, she's this way." They did trust her and so they followed her lead when she went down a different hall.

Meredith had gone to the music room where she bent over the opening of a grand piano, plucking at the strings so she could hear the voices. She didn't notice Brunski had entered the room as she tried to listen. "I can hear you. But I can't understand. Just a little louder, please." She asked them, and continued to pluck the strings. Brunski quietly made his way behind her and made his taser buzz. Meredith froze, recognizing the sound and knowing who was behind her before she even turned around.

"Let's go, sweetheart. As you know, I am not averse to using the tools of my trade." He pressed the button with a sickening smile. "As often as necessary."

"I just- I need another second, okay? They're trying to tell me something." Her voice shook. She was nervous of what he might do, but this was too important.

"Meredith."

"Please. They're trying to tell me something."

Brunski came up closer and raised his arm to tase her, but Coach grabbed his arm and held it in place. "This school has a very strict no bullying policy." Coach forced Brunski's hand to where the orderly tased himself. Brunski fell to the floor with convulsions while Coach stood over him with the taser. Y/n, Stiles, Scott and Kira ran into the room a moment later and looked wide-eyed at their Economics teacher. "Well? Get her outta here." He urged the teens.

Y/n grinned and grabbed the man by the shoulders to place a kiss on his cheek. "You are amazing, Coach."

"Don't get soft on me now, L/n." Despite his words he couldn't help the small smile at her praise. Meredith had pulled back a bit when Stiles reached for her, but was more willing when Y/n gently took her by the arm and started to lead her out of the school with the others following.

Brunski started to get up with a snarl. "You little piece of-" Coach tased him again.

"We also frown on cursing."

The five scrambled to the Jeep, Y/n climbing in the back with Meredith while the boys took the front seats. Kira told Scott she'd call him before she ran off. The three turned to look at Meredith. "Okay. Where's Lydia?" Stiles asked her.

"Who's Lydia?"

Scott and Stiles looked at each other before they looked to Y/n for answers. She rolled her eyes. "Let's just get her back to Scott's house, we can talk better there." Per Y/n's instruction they went back to the McCall house where they found Rafael and Isaac. "Oh, hey, it's Agent Skyscraper."

Rafael gave her an unimpressed look. "What are you doing here?" Scott asked his father.

"I could ask you the same thing." He responded as he looked between the teens.

"Free period." Stiles said. "We're doing group study."

He glanced at Meredith. "Who's she?"

Y/n put her arm over Meredith's shoulders and gave Rafael a smile. "She's my friend." Meredith looked at her with a tiny smile.

"We should maybe take this upstairs." Stiles suggested.

"Isaac, why don't you come too?"

"Uh-"

"Come on." He couldn't fight as she took his arm and led him upstairs with Stiles and Meredith. They ended up in Scott's room and Y/n guided Meredith to sit on the bed. "Okay. Meredith-"

"You're her, right?" Meredith spoke up, looking at the girl in front of her.

"'Her'?" Meredith nodded. "What do you mean?"

"The girl with the purple eyes."

"Yeah, I am. You could feel it, couldn't you?" Another nod. "I thought so. Just like I can feel that you're special too." Meredith sat up a little more, happy that she thought she was special. "Meredith, I need your help. We want to find our friend, she's special, just like you. Her name is Lydia."

"Lydia? You mean the red-haired girl."

"Yes! Yes! Good. Progress." Stiles cheered.

"Have you spoken to her?" Y/n asked and Meredith nodded once again.

"Now, all you got to do is tell us where she is."

"Okay." She agreed.

"Okay."

"If she tells me."

"If she tells you?"

"Can you ask her?" Isaac questioned.

"I already did."

"What did she say?" Y/n asked.

"She said she doesn't want to be found."

"Did she give you a reason why?" This time Meredith shook her head no.

Stiles pulled Y/n and Isaac into the bathroom to discuss their options, Isaac offering one that had the couple looking at him strangely. "I'm just saying." He defended.

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

"I meant scare her."

"We're not going to psychologically torture her either." Stiles denied.

"Fine. How about this? You said she hears things, right?" He asked Y/n and she nodded.

"Yeah. She hears the voices of banshees that have passed."

"Doesn't that mean she's like Lydia? A banshee?"

"That's exactly what that means. I could feel it almost as soon as we got near her."

"Maybe she's heard something else that could help us."

They moved back into the bedroom where Y/n crouched in front of Meredith, the two boys leaning over her. "Hey, Meredith, I need you to do something for me. I want you to focus on your hearing. Any voices or sounds other than us talking."

"Just try and focus on the sounds around you. On what you're hearing. Just focus on the silence." Stiles said.

"Listen to the silence." Isaac added.

"Focusing on the silence."

"Listening to the-"

"Guys." Y/n looked back at them. "I appreciate you trying to help, but I think I've got this." They backed off and she turned to Meredith again. "Do you hear anything?"

"His phone is ringing." She looked at Stiles expectantly.

When he didn't move Y/n reached back and nudged him. "Answer it."

"Oh! Right, answer the phone." He pulled his phone from his pocket and pretended to answer. "Hello... Yes, she's actually sitting right here." He pointed to Meredith and gave her the phone. "It's for you."

Meredith took the device and held it to her ear, listening to the voices on the other end. She nodded and handed the phone back, looking to Y/n for the message. "They say, 'coup de foudre'."

"Coude de what?" Stiles tried to repeat. "What is that, Spanish?"

"French." Y/n said at the same time Scott had from the door, making them turn to him as he continued. "It's French." From the story Noshiko told him and Kira, he figured out that Void had taken Lydia to the tunnels underneath Oak Creek. He called Allison to tell her where to meet them.

While on their way in the Jeep, Stiles glanced in the rearview to see Scott looking worried. "Hey, you okay?" He asked his friend.

"Yeah." He quickly replied. "Yeah. You don't have to worry about me."

"All right, I'll say it." Isaac spoke up from beside Scott. "You look like you're dying."

"Isaac!" Y/n turned to glare at him from the front.

"It's true! He's pale, thin and he looks like he's getting worse. And we're all thinking it. When we find the other you, is he gonna look like he's getting better?"

"What happens if he gets hurt?" Scott eventually asked.

"You mean if he dies, do I die?" Stiles questioned. "I don't care."

"Stiles, don't say that." Y/n frowned.

"I don't. Just as long as no one else dies because of me. I remember everything I did, Y/n. I remember pushing that sword into Scott. I remember twisting it."

Scott glanced at Y/n who had shifted to keep her gaze away from everyone. He remembered having a similar conversation with her earlier that day. "It wasn't you." He repeated his assurances, athough he had a feeling Stiles' response would be similiar to Y/n's.

"Yeah, but I remember it. You guys gotta promise me. You can't let anyone else get hurt because of me." Scott nods, but Y/n remains silent. Stiles glances at her with a small frown. He knows what he said upset her, but he meant every word. He didn't want anyone else to get hurt because of him and he didn't care if he died to make it happen.

The rest of the car ride is silent and soon they're pulling up to the old camp, Allison and Kira already waiting for them. They gather in front of the opened gates and Scott looks at his group of friends. "We've done this before, guys. A couple 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 said.

"I came to save mine."

"I just didn't feel like doing any homework." Isaac quipped. With that they all walked through the gates and came upon Noshiko with two oni behind her.

"Kira, turn around and go home." Noshiko ordered. "Take your friends with you."

"I can't." Kira denied, facing the three with Isaac and Allison while Y/n, Stiles, and Scott went inside to find Lydia. "When I looked at the game I realized who I was actually playing. You."

Y/n paused in her steps making the other two stop as well. She closed her eyes as she reached out with her magic to find Lydia. It was difficult at first, having to push back the ghosts of screams that still echoed through the camp, but she was finally able to feel Lydia. "She's here. Come on." She started running again and they followed her.

Lydia was alone in the room, still in shock from watching Void take control of the oni by sacrificing Noshiko's last tail, when she heard approaching footsteps and turned to see Y/n with the boys right behind her. She rushed to the bars as soon as Y/n got there, the witch calling her friend's name in relief. "Are you alright?" Scott asked.

"No. No, no, no. Why are you here?" Lydia asked in a panic.

"Lydia, we're here for you." Stiles informed.

"You weren't supposed to be here. You didn't get my message?" She looked to Y/n, wondering if her message had indeed got to her through the other banshee like she had wanted.

"Lydia, what's happening?" Y/n asked.

"Who else is here? Who came with you? Who else is here?"

"Kira, Isaac and Allison." Lydia's breath hitched at the Hunter's name and Y/n's stomach dropped. "No. No, it can't be." She breathed. Lydia's eyes told her everything she needed to know. "Oh, God. Go. Go, go!" She urged them and started running with the rest following.

"Y/n, what's happening?" Scott asked as they ran.

"We have to get to Allison!" Scott was going to ask why, but with the witch's urgency, and the banshee's worry, he had an idea why. An awful thought, and that thought pushed him into catching up with her. Stiles started to weaken, stumbling to a stop and Lydia caught him before he could fall. Y/n stalled, looking back at them and at Scott's retreating form. She was conflicted. Stiles is slowly dying, while Allison is about to die. Stiles still had time, while Allison's was quickly running out. "Watch him!" She told Lydia before she ran to catch up with Scott. She pushed herself to go as fast as she could, even using magic to make her that much quicker, but when she heard Lydia's scream of their friend's name, she realized she might be too late.

She got outside just as Scott was lowering Allison to the ground, holding her in his lap. "Allison."

"Did you find her? Is she okay? Is Lydia safe?"

"She's okay. Yeah." He brushed some of her hair from her face and looked at Y/n when she fell to her knees beside them. Scott grabbed Allison's arm, the wolf trying to take her pain. Scott's brows furrowed when it didn't work. "I can't-" His voice was strained. "I can't take your pain."

"It's because it doesn't hurt." Allison quietly explained.

"No."

She nodded. "It's okay."

"Y/n." He looked up to his friend.

Y/n put her hands over the wound, her eyes shining with tears and magic as she tried to heal Allison, but it wasn't working. The injury was too severe, already draining the girl of life as she bled out. "I c- I can't heal her." Her voice shook, and even though she already admitted it, she kept trying. Until Allison gently put her hand on Y/n's, making the witch look up at her.

"It's okay. Don't waste your energy on me." Allison mustered up a small smile towards her other best friend. Allison had grown close with Lydia and Y/n ever since she met the pair. She had spent more time with Lydia in the beginning, Y/n seeming to be busy often with Scott and Stiles. Although Allison and Y/n had gotten their opportunity to spend a lot of time together when she went to Paris and found the other witch, calling Y/n with the news that there was someone she could learn more from. When they returned to Beacon Hills they had a bond as strong together as they did with Lydia separately. Allison thought it a shame that the three of them have now run out of time.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Y/n apologized with glassy eyes, letting her now bloody hands fall into her lap.

"It's okay." The young Hunter assured her friend tearily, and looked up at Scott who couldn't believe what was happening. "It's okay. It's okay. It's perfect. I'm in the arms of my first love. The first person I've ever loved. The person I'll always love. I lo- I love you. Scott. Scott McCall." She reached up and gently touched his lips, blood slowly starting to coat her own.

"Don't, please, don't." He cried. "Allison, don't, please."

She remembered something then. "You have to tell my dad. You have to tell my dad. Tell him. You have- have t-" Her words started to fail her as her breathing stuttered, and then stopped. Her eyes drifted shut and her hand fell limply to the ground.

"No!" Scott sobbed.

Y/n let her fingers graze over Allison's, the tears flowing freely down her cheeks when she could no longer feel the spark of life in her. Scott pressed a kiss to Allison's forehead. Lydia sobbed next to an unconscious Stiles as she felt Allison go. Chris had run through the gates with gun drawn, ready for a fight, only to stop when he saw his daughter in Scott's arms, unmoving. Y/n held onto Allison's hand as she spoke a phrase for her that she never imagined she would ever have to.

"Illa volat cum sua alas suas ad sidera."

~~~

Published: 11/24/21

Edited: 4/12/22

I'm not crying, I just have pain in my eyes (;'༎ຶٹ༎ຶ')