â  The Oniâ
word count: 7628
"You know there are patients that need that," Melissa McCall teased. Her words startled Cyrus, making him cringe slightly at being caught taking blood from the hospital. Slowly, he turned around and smiled awkwardly.
"Melissa, I promise you, we won't experience a shortage in blood," Cyrus assured. "How did you even manage to catch me?"
"As soon as Isaac came in with your sister ripped to shreds and told me you two were Vampires, I knew you were the cause of some rarer blood types going missing," Melissa explained, "but tonight was slow, and nothing has disappeared for a while, so I camped out here to really see for myself."
Cyrus cursed under his breath, but ended up chuckling at her antics. "Well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone; my sister and I need to eat too."
"There are also patients who need that blood you're taking. Maybe I should just hang up some garlic around this floor to keep you away?" Melissa joked, however the look of pure horror on Cyrus' face made her smile drop. "You're not actually weakened by garlic, are you?"
"Do you remember that night when your son brought you dinner from that Italian restaurant, and for the rest of the night I couldn't work near you?" Cyrus recalled. Melissa furrowed her brow as she remembered that night vaguely. The corners of her mouth curved upwards slightly as she connected the dots. She couldn't help but laugh, thinking that the garlic joke she made would just be harmless, but clearly was an actual threat since it would weaken Cyrus. "It's nice to know you find my weaknesses amusing, McCall."
She rolled her eyes, "I'll be sure to let Scott know that Italian is a no go if we want to keep our top surgeon in good shape." Cyrus smiled at the compliment, taking out his hospital ID so he could finally clock out of the hospital after being on call for so many hours. He bid Melissa farewell as he swiped his ID before leaving, taking long strides as he kept the blood packets secure and out of sight. When he stopped by his car, he felt uneasy with the parking lot atmosphere.
It was the middle of the night, and normally there were a decent number of cars but somehow tonight the hospital was near deserted. Cyrus quickly stored the blood in the trunk of the car, but shifted his eyes around the parking lot, wondering if he were being watched. He concentrated, trying to see if there were any minds he could read nearby that could tell him if he weren't alone. He heard and could smell no one, but he still remained cautious as he unlocked the door to the driver's seat.
He stiffened as he felt a presence behind him, and somehow, he managed to know just what that presence was. Slowly, he turned around and faced the dark figure with eyes glowing neon green just like a firefly. Cyrus' lips thinned as he kept his body still, knowing well that the demon wanted. He felt the sharp, claw like, fingertips of the demon trace against the flesh behind his ear. Staring right into the demon's eyes, he felt a sharp scrape on his neck and collapsed to the ground, paralysed as the demon faded into the darkness of the night.
-
Juno stood still with her arms folded over her chest, covering the neon pink bralette that Allison had given her to wear to the black light party. Staring down at her chest, she cringed, feeling over exposed since Allison's chest was a good two sizes smaller than Juno's. Her high waisted denim shorts had pink flowers painted on them with paint that would glow under the black light; Allison offered Juno a pair of heels to match, but she stuck with her trademark pink converses, not looking to sit down every five minutes because of her shoes.
She bounced up and down slightly on her tip toes as a cool breeze washed over her; she had been waiting outside of Derek's loft waiting for both Allison and Isaac for a little over five minutes, and she was growing impatient. Numerous party goers dressed from head to toe in neon clothes would jog past her, eager to get to the party. Some would stop and try to flirt with her, to which they would only get a nasty glare from Juno as a response.
Finally, Allison and Isaac both arrived; Isaac was slightly shaken up, but Allison eagerly jogged up to Juno to shower her with compliments over her appearance to which Juno reciprocated upon seeing Allison in her black mini skirt and bright green top. Eyeing Isaac oddly, she asked Allison if he was okay, to which Allison brushed it off as nervousness that Derek might catch everyone, but Juno knew there was something more to it, but decided not to pry.
The three made their way into the complex; Juno found herself reluctantly opening the entrance to Derek's loft as she could hear the pounding bass through the thick brick walls. Allison placed her hand on Juno's shoulder reassuringly, flinching slightly when she touched her ice-cold skin. Juno exhaled, pulling the large metal door to the side and instantly squinting as neon lights attacked her eyes. Loud electric music filled her ears, making her unable to hear what anyone said to her unless they shouted. She walked forward cautiously, not knowing exactly what to do first. Allison grabbed hold of Isaac's hand and lead him out to the crowd of drunken teenagers, dancing along to the music.
Juno stood on her own just at the edge of the crowd; she had been to parties before, but they weren't ever like this, and it had been many years since her last party. She kept her arms folded over her chest, carefully edging towards the crowd of rowdy strangers. Dodging the sweating bodies, Juno made her way through the tight crowd. While making her way towards the body artist that she saw painting Aiden's body, she felt a pair of hands snake through her arms and place themselves on her breasts.
She was in a state of shock, being mixed with both discomfort and rage, she slowly turned around and glared into the tall stranger's blue eyes. Blue paint was splattered alongside his face and through his blond hair.
"Woah, sick contacts!" He exclaimed, staring into Juno's eyes who had begun glowing a vibrant gold due to her uncontrollable anger. His hands were still firmly placed on her chest, keeping them there as he was unaware of Juno's anger. She gritted her teeth and grabbed onto the man's wrists with brute force, causing the blond to slowly sink towards the ground as his cries were almost inaudible due to the thumping lyrics. Juno added a solid kick into his groin for good measure, before storming away from the pathetic man holding onto his crotch in the foetal position on the ground.
Aiden had heard the cries of the boy and had turned his head, shocked to see a fuming Juno march right up to him.
"You alright?" He asked, genuinely concerned about her. A part of him was only being nice to her since he and Ethan wanted to be a part of Scott's pack and knew that her being close with Stiles meant she had connections with Scott, but another part of him found her enticing.
The scowl on Juno's face didn't fade. She looked up at Aiden, then scanned his shirtless body, noticing the odd luminous paint of fake gashes in his chest.
"Peachy," she bluntly replied. A half smile formed on his face, his bright white teeth causing her to step back slightly from the shock of seeing them be so bright. Aiden chuckled at her response but noticed Juno's eyes not shift back to their regular brown when her anger had ceased.
Stepping away from the body artist, he leaned down to her ear so only she could hear him. "Your eyes," he warned.
Juno shrugged. "People seem to think they're contacts," she sighed. "They're my natural eyes. Why hide them if no one is alarmed by them for once?"
This only increased his curiosity in her. He didn't know Juno's eyes would naturally glow, and that the brown he would see in daylight was just a disguise. He found it unique, and became more intrigued by her.
"Why are you here?" he asked, inching closer to her side.
"Allison invited me," she answered, keeping her eyes on the crowd. "She's off with Isaac though."
"I thought Isaac was into you?" Aiden asked. Juno just shrugged, not having an answer for him. The two stood by each other awkwardly. While Aiden would find himself inching closer to Juno, her eyes were glued onto the loft door that slowly slid open. The crowd of people dressed in glowing colours didn't bother to look over to the three new guests who looked out of place.
Juno could smell Stiles' blood over Aiden's Werewolf scent. Looking over to the door, she saw Scott and Stiles standing on either side of a girl far shorter than them who she had seen at school recently, but never interacted with her.
Stiles' eyes scanned the crowd as he explained to Scott the story of how a mysterious key found its way to his possession. As he was talking to Scott, he noticed a glimpse of bright gold that he knew belonged to Juno. He cut himself off, staring at Juno in her revealing clothes that he'd never expect a girl as proper as her to wear. He clenched his jaw, seeing Aiden stand close by her side and grinning down at her, clearly trying to get her to crack a smile.
"It can wait," Stiles urged, patting Scott's back before he weaved through the crowd towards the blonde. Juno watched as Stiles furiously made his way through the crowd, occasionally tripping over his feet which caused the corners of her mouth to curve up ever so slightly. Aiden watched Stiles struggle to catch his breath with his hands on his hips, standing tall in front of him and Juno, coming off as overly confident. Aiden rolled his eyes at his antics; Stiles was reasonably taller than Aiden , but his height difference didn't make him any more intimidating than a fly to him.
"Juno! You look great!" Stiles exclaimed over the loud music, not taking his eyes off of her face. Juno smiled, appreciating the lack of eye wandering on his part. She nodded in thanks, then folded her arms again to stay somewhat modest. Aiden sighed and left the two alone; hearing Stiles' rapid beating heart and seeing Juno's adoring eyes made him not feel the need to advance on Juno in any other way than as a friend.
"You look very out of place," Juno pointed out, noticing Stiles' lack of glowing attire.
Stiles shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged awkwardly. "You see I didn't know I was coming here twenty minutes ago so it's not like I could prepare for a rave" he joked. He had a breathy laugh, it dying off slowly as he kept watching Juno's golden eyes twinkle, swirls of metallic glistening under the black light. Juno noticed him staring and could sense his heart racing. Allison brought her hear to distract herself from Stiles, but here she was, being completely hung up about him like usual.
"Y-yeah, I was helping out Scott and Kira with some stuff. You've met Kira, right?" Stiles said, trying to break the awkwardness between them.
Juno shook her head, "no I've not met her, but I've seen her around school," she responded, thinning her lips as things were silent between them again.
Stiles didn't need a power like Juno's to sense the awkwardness of the situation. Juno was still distancing herself from him, but found it difficult when he was the only person in the immediate vicinity she could stand. He had hoped deep down that she would stop distancing herself, as the tension between them was becoming unbearable, but he didn't know exactly how Juno's mind worked, so he was unsure whether or not the relationship between the two would be the same again.
Juno looked up at Stiles. The glowing colours reflecting off of his deep brown eyes as he looked around the room at all of the different colours. Something in Juno finally clicked. While she was afraid that Stiles had stronger feelings for Lydia than her, she realised that there was no point in waiting around for him. Juno placed a firm hand on his shoulder, causing Stiles to flinch slightly before raising an eyebrow at her in surprise.
"Dance with me," Juno said bluntly, staring up at Stiles with her golden eyes. Stiles' eyes widened, and his mouth hung open at her statement. He began to stutter, trying to for a sentence, but before he could even form words, Juno's hand ran from his shoulder and down to his hand. She intertwined her fingers with his, then lead him towards the crowd of people without uttering a syllable.
Stiles watched her golden curls bounce as she walked in awe, admiring the sudden boost of confidence in her. They were in the middle of the crowd, and while the upbeat music began to slow ever so slightly, Juno inched closer to Stiles, her body just barely brushing up against his. They swayed gently to the music while most around them were bouncing to the beat.
Stiles' hand hesitantly made its way onto her waist, his thumb tracing light circles on her ice-cold skin, while his palm rested on the leather belt hugging the denim shorts to her body. Juno draped a hand around the back of his neck, while her other hand held onto his shoulder, reassuring his own hand placement as okay. Stiles then held onto her with both of his hands, moving with her to the music without taking his eyes off of her glowing ones.
Lydia was off to the side standing by the heater sipping soda from a red cup when her eyes fell on Juno and Stiles. The corners of her mouth curved up slightly, seeing him sink low to mutter something in her ear, causing her to erupt in laughter, before dying down again and bringing him closer. Lydia found Scott who was grinning across the room, watching Juno and Stiles also. His eyes connected with Lydia's, and he pointed at them and jumped up slightly. Lydia chuckled, then took another sip from her drink, rolling her eyes at Scott's excitement.
Juno could feel her mind spinning the longer she was close to Stiles. The feeling of his warm hands on her cold skin sent her into a frenzy. She ran her fingers along Stiles' jawline, tracing her fingertips along each of his freckles that scattered down to his neck. Her eyes gave off a soft gold glow onto his pale skin. She leaned closer to his neck slightly; Stiles' scent had her completely in a trance. She felt her mouth water as she felt his breath on her skin as she inched her face closer to his neck.
Her nails dug into Stiles' shoulders as the sweetness of his blood made her lose her mind. Her pupils dilated, and her brain was foggy. Juno felt her teeth begin to sharpen as her eyes scanned over Stiles' neck, looking as if it were inviting her to sink her razor sharp teeth into his delicate skin. Stiles hissed in pain, muttering in Juno's ear that she was hurting him. She jerked herself back, the pain in his voice bringing her back to reality.
Stiles looked down at her with worry in his eyes as Juno stood as stiff as a statue in front of him. He rubbed his shoulders, reassuring Juno that he was fine, until he felt something odd on his fingers. Bringing his hand into his vision, his eyes widened noticing small traces of blood on his fingers. Juno gasped; staring down at her hands, she saw each of her fingertips covered in Stiles' blood.
She began to apologise frantically, tears beginning to well up in her eyes from how terrible she felt for hurting Stiles in such a way. Stiles tried to make eye contact with Juno as he repeatedly told her that he was fine, but the scent of his fresh blood made it difficult for her to focus. She felt dizzy, and the loud music and glowing lights were not helping her.
"St-Stiles I-" She breathed out. "Get away from me," she urged, the blood from his shoulders sending Juno into a near uncontrollable hunger. She quickly weaved through the crowd to find a bathroom, leaving Stiles in a state of shock in the middle of a crowd of people. He began to follow her, but he knew that his bleeding was not going to help her. Instead, he went the opposite direction to a different bathroom.
Juno stumbled through the bathroom door, frantically locking it behind her before leaning over the porcelain sink, gripping onto either side of it for dear life. She looked up into the mirror in front of her, seeing nothing. She cursed to herself, remembering that regular mirrors wouldn't work like the one she had in her bedroom at home. She looked down at the sides of the white sink that were stained with Stiles' crimson red blood.
She brought both of her hands up to her nose slowly, letting Stiles' intoxicating scent wash over her. Her eyes fluttered shut as she felt high on the most powerful drug in the world. Her hands were shaking as she pressed her fingertips to her lips. Stiles' blood stained her muted pink lips, the dark red blood accentuating their fullness. Juno licked her lips and felt her eyes roll to the back of her head. It was nothing like she had imagined. His scent was nothing compared to his taste. Juno felt herself lose her balance just from the brief taste of Stiles' blood from her fingers.
She caught her balance and held onto the sink again. She frantically washed her hands and wiped the blood from her lips, hoping that there was no evidence of her tasting it. Taking a deep breath, she looked up into the mirror again. Expecting to see the wall behind her, Juno froze when she saw a dark hooded figure in the mirror with glowing lime eyes.
Juno turned around and met face to face with the figure that was in the mirror. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound left her lips for an unexplainable reason. The figure's glowing eyes began to glow brighter. It brought its hand to the side of her head and gripped onto her tightly. She fought against the figure's grip, grabbing its hand with both of hers, trying to force it off of her, but she was no match for the figure before her.
The figure cocked its head to the side slightly as it delved into Juno's mind. A few painfully long seconds later, Juno felt a piercing scrape behind her ear, and she fell to the floor, completely paralysed. Before her, she watched the figure disappear into a dark cloud of smoke, then laid on the stone ground, unable to move or speak.
It wasn't until Juno heard the music die off did someone begin banging on the bathroom door.
"Juno? Juno are you in there!?" She heard Scott call out. Juno tried to tell Scott she was there, but her muscles refused. She heard the door bang again, and again, before it finally flew off of its hinges. Scott muttered something before rushing to her side in an instant, gently pulling her cold, limp, body off the ground and rushing out of the bathroom with her in his arms.
The warmth of Scott's body was enough to make Juno's body unfrozen, although she simply shivered in his grasp as he carefully set her down on Derek's couch. She looked around and noticed that the loft was deserted, and nearly everyone had left except for the twins, Lydia, the girl Scott had arrived with, Isaac, Allison, and Derek who must have arrived not long ago.
"It got her too?" Aiden questioned. He watched Scott take off his jacket and give it to her, although it wasn't her body temperature that had her barely moving since she was normally cold, it was the shock that had her frozen.
Scott brushed away her blonde curls and examined Juno's neck, noticing the odd symbol engraved into her skin behind her ear.
"She has the exact same mark as Isaac and Lydia," Scott confirmed.
"I've got it too," Derek added, showing the group the unfamiliar mark embedded into his skin. Juno gently traced her fingertips over the back of her ear, feeling the change in texture as she felt the mark on her skin. She looked around at the others confusedly, adjusting Scott's jacket that draped over her shoulders. She tried her best to not grimace at the Werewolf scent that lingered on his jacket, not wanting to return it so she didn't seem impolite.
The Werewolves began to group together as one of the dark figures emerged from the shadows. Juno watched Scott's eyes glow a vibrant ruby red as his fingernails grew to claws. She got up from the couch to stand her ground, not letting the simple shock of what happened belittle her. Juno stood by Scott's side much to his surprised, staring menacingly at the group of figures with glowing lime eyes.
Scott charged at the figures, and as did the other wolves, while Juno carefully examined their way of fighting before attacking one of them. The wolves were not having much luck, their speed being nothing compared to the dark figures'. Juno stepped in as Scott was thrown to the ground, throwing punches at the demonic entity. She was of equal speed compared to the demon, being able to dodge their attacks, however her strength could do no more than stun them for less than a second.
Juno was the only one fighting who wasn't weakened, or on the floor in pain. She looked around, noticing that Scott was still persisting in keeping the figures away, while Derek was bruised on the floor, panting alongside a pained Isaac. Juno watched Aiden standing frozen in place as the figure gripped tightly onto one side of his head, just like it had done to her.
Before she could stop the figure, it had already marked Aiden, sending him paralysed to the floor. While the figure was caught off guard, she brought her fist to the figure's head at full force. Her jaw dropped when she heard the sound of glass shattering. She stared at the face of the figure, it's angered mask now in pieces on the floor, exposing nothing but darkness.
Juno stepped back in shock, watching the figure unsheathe a katana strapped to itself. However, the sun began to rise and its rays seeped through the large window panes across from her. As the sunlight hit each of the demonic figures, they faded away into dark ash. She looked around in confusion before looking down at her knuckles, bruised and scarred from breaking the mask.
"What the hell were those things?" Scott asked, Ethan running over to his brother to try and coax him awake. Juno looked at Scott with pure confusion on her face, before looking over to Derek who also was clueless.
All eyes were finally on Isaac, who stared at Allison intently. "Your dad's twenty four hours are up."
-
Stiles was frantically talking to Scott. His hands were shaking like mad, his eyes were wild, and he would occasionally stutter as his lips moved faster than his brain could comprehend his words. When Juno had left him, he re-examined the mysterious key in his pocket and noticed it had glowing substance on it. Connecting the dots, he realised it was chemicals, so he darted to the school and used it to access the chemistry classroom.
He discovered that somehow, he was the one who must have planned to kill the new girl, Kira. While Juno was distancing herself from him, he was helping Scott save the new girl Kira from William Barrow, and he found out that it must have been him who gave Barrow instructions to kill Kira as his handwriting was identical to the clue left on the blackboard.
"I swear I had it..." Stiles muttered, realising that the key to the chemistry closet was missing. "That doesn't matter, look at-" He cut himself off when he noticed that the clues on the blackboard were missing. He shook his head, holding his hands together to try and stop them from shaking. "No, I swear I was there it was my handwriting!"
"Dude, I don't want to say that you're wrong, but I don't think you're trying to kill anyone either," Scott said, placing a reassuring hand on his best friend's shoulder. "You haven't been getting much sleep man, you should take a day off school," he said, noticing the dark circles under Stiles' bloodshot eyes.
Stiles nodded slowly, leaving Scott behind as he left the school without a word to anyone else. He drove his way towards the hospital, knowing that the things he was experiencing were an all too familiar set of symptoms he had witnessed his mother experience, but he wanted to get a definite diagnosis before making assumptions.
Walking into the hospital, he played with his hands to hide how much they were shaking. He was looking for Melissa, but she was nowhere to be found.
"Stiles?" A low, husky voice asked. Stiles jumped slightly as he looked up and saw Cyrus, standing across from him with concern on his face. "Something you need?"
Stiles struggled to find words. He wasn't sure if he should trust him, as he had never properly met him. Cyrus only ever showed hostility around Stiles, from the incident at Derek's loft, to him throwing him out of Juno's hospital room when she was admitted. However, Cyrus showed no animosity or resentment towards him and showed sincere worry for him. Stiles thought perhaps since Juno had stuck with him for so many centuries and trusted him with her life, Stiles could too.
"I just- I don't-" Stiles struggled, his breathing beginning to speed up as he struggled to find the right words to describe what he had been through, almost embarrassed to admit that he was probably going crazy. Cyrus furrowed his brow, feeling sorry for him. He gently placed his hand on Stiles shoulder and lead him down the hall.
"Don't worry mate, just come with me," he reassured, his normal stern tone now becoming soft.
Cyrus would normally show little softness to people who weren't Juno, but he knew that Stiles had no bad intentions whatsoever after reading his mind when Juno was admitted in the hospital. Seeing Juno finally open up to someone, and have it be someone as genuine as Stiles made Cyrus happy for once. To see Stiles walk into the hospital with skin paler than his own, eyes dark, and hands trembling furiously, he couldn't just let him roam helplessly. As much as he didn't like to admit, Cyrus did have emotions, and he did somewhat care about Stiles' wellbeing.
"Just sit down there, and I'll ask you some questions so I can figure out what I can do to help you," Cyrus began, picking up a clipboard with a form attached, and pen. "How many hours of sleep have you been getting?"
"Eight hours," Stiles mumbled.
"A night?"
"For the last three days," Stiles said nonchalantly. Cyrus stopped his writing, looking over to Stiles with sympathy. He could clearly see the lack of sleep on the boy's face; his eyes were bloodshot, and the dark circles didn't go unnoticed. Cyrus wrote it down and hummed.
"Have you been experiencing any other abnormalities? Irritable behaviour, anxiety...?" Cyrus questioned, encouraging Stiles to tell him what was wrong.
Stiles took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck, distracting himself from how much his hands trembled.
"Uh, I've been sleepwalking which I haven't done since I was a kid," he began. "Blackouts, but not for that long... I've also been having lots of really bad anxiety."
"Panic attacks? Have you experienced anxiety before?"
Stiles simply nodded, avoiding Cyrus' gaze, feeling somewhat ashamed. Cyrus hummed in concern as he wrote down all of Stiles' symptoms.
"I also temporary lost the ability to read," Stiles said, breaking the silence, "but maybe that had more to do with a magical tree and human sacrifices."
Cyrus chuckled softly -a rarity- as he finished his notes. "Yeah I remember hearing about that. Do you experience any vivid dreams during the day?" He asked again. Stiles nodded. "Impulsive behaviour?"
"More than usual," Stiles chuckled breathlessly.
"Inability to focus?"
"Let's just say all of the above," Stiles cut in, feeling more and more ashamed of admitting his abnormalities in front of a well put together man like Cyrus.
Cyrus tapped the end of his pen on the clipboard as he added down extra notes. A part of him sunk slightly as he connected a possible disorder that was associated with his symptoms, but he couldn't be one hundred percent sure. He walked over to the counter and put plastic gloves on as he readied a needle, however Melissa poking her head through the door stopped him.
"Dr Clarke, your sister is here to see you; she says it's urgent," Melissa stated. Stiles' posture improved as he looked out of the doorway with hopeful eyes but sunk again slightly as he didn't see Juno there. Cyrus sighed, muttering something under his breath about Juno not being at school.
He made his way over to Melissa and showed him what he had written down, and spoke to her lowly so only she could hear him.
"I was just readying a sedative for Mr Stilinski since he's suffering from acute insomnia so make sure you give that to him, and I'll need to go over these with you when I'm done with Juno because this isn't looking too good," he explained. Melissa glanced down at his notes, then looked back up at Cyrus worriedly, but nodded as she went into the room Stiles was in to sedate him.
Stiles couldn't hear what Cyrus had told her, but he knew from the concerned look on both of their faces when they talked that it wasn't good. He had suspected that he was experiencing what his mother had but he couldn't be sure. Seeing Cyrus' uncertainty and worry however, seemed to confirm that to Stiles.
Cyrus strode through the hall and towards the hospital entrance, where a worried Juno stood, twirling the ends of her blonde hair in her fingers as she waited anxiously for her brother.
"You can't see him, I have him sedated," Cyrus began, wanting to get the argument he thought the two would have out of the way.
Juno raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What? I'm not here to- what what do you mean? Is Stiles here?" She asked worriedly. Cyrus then regretted jumping to conclusions and held onto her shoulders firmly to stop her from speeding past him.
"Stiles wasn't feeling well so he came here for help. Don't go on and badger him, just tell me what you were here for," he said sternly. Juno looked over his shoulder, noticing a worried Melissa softly close the door of the room Stiles was in. She noticed Juno and sent her a soft smile which Juno returned, but that didn't stop the concern from brewing up inside of Juno.
She paused that thought just for a brief moment to ask Cyrus about something more important: the dark figures that have been following her and the others.
She grabbed onto the fabric of Cyrus' white doctor's coat and lead him down a hall and into the elevator, where she pressed the button to the basement so they could talk alone. When out of the elevator, she asked Cyrus if there was anyone down at this hour. When he responded with a simple shake of his head, she pulled out the shattered mask of the dark figure she attacked, holding the pieces in her small palms.
"I know you dealt with something similar to what we're dealing with, but can you tell me if it's the same dark creature?" Juno asked.
Cyrus sighed, recognising the broken mask immediately.
"Do they have eyes that glow like fireflies? And a sense of eternal darkness around them?" He asked, just to make sure. When Juno nodded, he made her put the mask away.
"They're called the Oni," Cyrus explained. "They are Japanese demons. Remember when I made the mistake of being kind to someone for once and saving that nasty old fellow's life from a loose Newborn? That man was Chris Argent's father, and he wanted me to accompany his son to a deal with the Yakuza and make sure he didn't get hurt if things went south."
"During that deal, one of those men were possessed by an evil Japanese spirit that they call the Nogitsune, or Void. The Oni arrived, and killed the man possessed, but not without fighting the others who stood in their way from killing the Nogitsune," he told.
"Their mission is to kill a Nogitsune? Then why are they marking us?" Juno asked, brushing her hair away from her ear to show Cyrus the mark the Oni had placed on her neck.
Cyrus brushes away his dark brown curls and showed Juno his mark also from when he was in the parking lot.
"They got me too. The Oni are searching for someone possessed by a Nogitsune. You know how it is since you've been marked: they stare right at you, as if you're a trance and they're searching through your soul. Once they realise you aren't possessed, they mark you with that, which is Japanese kanji for self."
Juno nodded, and was about to speak when Cyrus interrupted her. "By the way, they cannot be defeated. You and I are faster than them, and we practically equate to their levels of strength, but we can't kill them at all. If they're around again, you just need to let them do what they need to do, which is find the Nogitsune. No one will get hurt if you leave them alone."
Juno cursed, "great, Scott had a plan to attack them if they showed up tonight and he's going to be alone."
Cyrus scoffed, "well that pup clearly isn't the sharpest tool in the shed," he joked. "You may want to tell your friend that he will be killed, or someone else will, if he tries to fight off the Oni."
Juno nodded rapidly. "Right. Thanks for everything," she said hurriedly, before rushing to the elevator and leaving the hospital, sprinting to Scott's house as fast as she could.
Cyrus meanwhile returned to the level where Stiles was sleeping. He peeked in the room, making sure that he was okay, before scanning down the list of his symptoms.
Melissa McCall stopped in front of Cyrus, holding a yellow folder with the word 'deceased' stamped over the front of it. She looked pained as she handed it over. Cyrus examined the contents of the folder with a frown, noticing the exact same symptoms on his form and the form of his deceased mother.
Cyrus sighed, and began scribbling furiously on the form containing Stiles' medical details and symptoms, where under the diagnosis notes, he wrote the possibility of frontotemporal dementia as high.
-
It had taken Juno just a little longer to find Scott's home as his scent was for whatever reason not as strong as usual. She arrived just a few moments after the sun had set. Knocking furiously on his front door, she waited for Scott to answer. The door opened instantly, and Scott stood in the doorway panting with panic. His fearful eyes became confused as he wondered why Juno was at his home and how she had found him. Quickly, he grabbed onto her shoulders and yanked her into the house, dragging her into the dining room where Aiden, Derek, Ethan, and Kira were.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Derek spat, glaring at Juno.
"I'm here to help you, and why did you drag me like that through your house, Scott?"
"Sorry," Scott said breathlessly, "we're kind of surrounded by demons right now and I needed you in as quickly as possible."
Derek marched up to Juno, towering over her to try and threaten her. "We don't need help from a corpse," he spat.
Scott shoved Derek away from her and started cursing him out. Juno furrowed her brow as she could smell the scent of fresh blood over the scent of Werewolf. She could smell bitterness in the blood, telling her that the person bleeding was of mature age and possibly of foul nature, but she knew no one of that description. Her eyes glowed, but they weren't as vibrant as normal. She moved closer to Scott to mask the scent of fresh blood.
"Someone is bleeding..." She muttered, her eyes returning to their soft brown as Scott's scent overpowered the bitter blood.
"Oh great. Now other than these demonic figures we have a Vampire who is probably going to run and eat your dying dad," Derek cursed.
Juno shoved Derek, sending him flying across the room and hitting his back forcefully against the wall.
"Lucky the scent of wet dogs overpowers the particular scent of whoever is bleeding," Juno snarled, glaring at Derek as he slowly picked himself up, groaning from the pain. "I'm not here to be childish and pick fights with you, Hale, so if you could just be civil for a moment so I can tell you all something you ought to know, that'd be marvellous," Juno said.
Derek huffed, folding his arms and muttering something under his breath, but Juno ignored his immaturity and looked over to Scott.
"They're called the Oni. They're Japanese demons who are looking for someone who is possessed by a dark spirit, the Nogitsune," Juno explained. "Cyrus told me that they will kill any living thing that stands in their way from finding the Nogitsune, so you need to do nothing and let them mark you."
Derek scoffed, "you want us to stand around and do nothing?"
Juno rolled her eyes, "if you want to put it like that, yes. You must stand around and do nothing. I'm assuming Scott and Kira haven't been marked, so we all need to stay out of the Oni's way, so they can mark them as themselves," she said. "That's why we have the mark," Juno brushed away her hair and showed them all the kanji engraved into her skin. "It means self. It means you aren't possessed."
The windows then suddenly began to bang as the Oni were forcing their way into Scott's house. Juno watched as the windows shattered, and the Oni began to use their katanas to break some sort of invisible barrier that created a holographic sheen whenever they touched it. Juno guessed that the barrier was caused by Mountain Ash and waited for the unstoppable demons to enter the home.
"Are Scott and Kira the only ones they haven't marked?" Juno asked. She looked over to Kira, who nodded, fear clearly evident in her doe eyes. That's when Juno moved away to the edge of the room, standing in between Ethan and Aiden as she waited for the Oni to enter.
In a few short moments, the Oni had broken the Mountain Ash barrier, and marched towards Scott and Kira. Derek eyed Juno suspiciously as he didn't trust a word she said. In his mind he wondered why Scott was trusting her and going through with what she said, but he wasn't going to argue with him.
"Just stay back guys," Scott instructed as he took Kira's hand in his own, waiting for the Oni to mark them. Juno watched as two of the Oni gripped onto the sides of their heads. The strange clicking sound came from the demons as they searched their minds, eyes glowing brighter than ever. Suddenly, they marked their necks, and faded into the darkness as they found Scott and Kira to be themselves.
The two collapsed to the ground, shivering from the cold that had them nearly paralysed. Ethan and Aiden ran to their sides to coax them back into moving, retrieving blankets for them to warm them up.
Derek eyed Juno oddly; he felt guilty for doubting her just because of the rivalry they had, but he knew that they may have gotten more people hurt if she hand't had come to give them information.
"You were right about them," Derek admitted, not making eye contact with Juno. Derek didn't add onto his statement, hoping that what he had said was enough to imply to Juno that he was thankful for his help.
Fortunately, Juno could see the reluctance evident on his face, and picked up on what Derek was trying to say. She sighed, trying to fight the smirk that formed on her lips.
"You're welcome," she teased. Walking past him, she 'playfully' punched Derek in the shoulder, sending him to his knees as he winced in pain and clutched his shoulder with his hand. "That's what you get for being immature!" She called out as she left Scott's house to visit Stiles at the hospital.
"Says you," Derek muttered, glaring at the back of Juno as she ignored his mumbling.
-
Juno had been waiting in the Hospital parking lot for quite some time. She questioned whether or not she should see Stiles after Cyrus had told her earlier not to bother him, but also she wasn't sure how she would face him after the intimacy and the awkwardness they shared at Derek's loft. Just as she was about to enter, she saw Scott pull up on his motorbike and approach her.
"You here to see Stiles too?" He asked.
Juno shrugged. "I'm contemplating whether or not I should..."
Scott sighed in frustration. "Come on Juno, you can't keep hiding away forever!" He whined, almost desperate for Juno to see Stiles. "Just come with me, I'm sure he would want to see you more than me," he chuckled.
Juno stuck by Scott's side closely while making their way through the hospital. "Do you know what room he was in?" Scott asked.
"No," Juno answered, "just check down this hall, I'll go find my brother and ask him." She then went in the opposite direction as Scott, making her way towards the blood room where Cyrus was often found the most. As she made many turns, she found herself lost as her mind was frantically thinking about whether or not she should just turn back and go home.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something strange. Slowly turning her head, she saw a set of double doors, behind which was a tall, lanky figure, standing ominously still. She recognised the figure anywhere, knowing instantly that it was Stiles. His head was tilted to the side ever so slightly, and his navy and white striped shirt had its sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing off his twitching hands.
Juno carefully opened the doors, stepping into the connection between the non emergency ward and the emergency ward.
"Stiles?" She asked, cautiously stepping towards him. "Are you okay?"
His head slowly twisted to see her out of the corner of his eye. He still had dark rings around his eyes, and there was an odd glint to them that made Juno feel slightly uneasy. The room was suddenly extremely cold, and Juno could have sworn she saw the hint of a menacing smirk on his face before he completely turned around to face her.
"Yeah! Fine!" Stiles enthused, his expression turning from dark to enthused. He strode over to Juno, his posture much straighter than normal. Without any warning, his arms were wrapped around her body tightly, pulling her close to his chest.
Juno's eyes widened, and her body tensed at his sudden confidence. She felt his hands squeeze onto her waist as he nuzzled his face into her neck, no doubt causing neck pain from their significant height difference. She slowly wrapped her arms around him, almost unsure if she should as she wasn't entirely sure if what was happening was real or not.
There was something about Stiles' blood scent that wasn't right also. Normally he smelt sweet, and his scent was stronger and intoxicating unlike any other. In that moment, Juno wasn't as dizzy as she was when they were at the black light party. Juno however brushed it off as just the shock of his actions, or just her growing used to his scent.
So she finally let her body relax, and indulged herself in his embrace, feeling warmest she's ever felt in centuries.
The warmest she's ever felt since she was human.
~
I'm so sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, but as you can tell from the word count that this is the longest chapter to date!
I haven't fully proof read this chapter so I'm sorry for any mistakes. I'm so excited for Void!Stiles to be fully into play!