Derek's loft.
That's where I am, wallowing in self pity.
Stiles is no longer in the metal asylum, he broke out.
Derek actually gets released from Jail, I need to go and pick him up.
I grab my keys and head to my dads office.
Once I walk in my dad waves me over.
"I'll take care of this, Parrish." Dad says and I poke my tongue out at Derek.
"Sheriff, I'm not kidding. This thing's a few watts from being a lightsaber." Parrish says and dad takes it from him. "I said I'll take care of it." Dad says and we follow him into his office.
"The specialist I saw in LA told me the thing that every doctor says when he's trying to avoid a lawsuit. 'We can't say for sure'." Dad says and I raise an eyebrow before climbing into a chair.
"And then I spoke with Melissa." He adds and pulls some stuff from a file. "These are brain scans. My wife's and Stiles'. I knew they were similar." He says handing them to Argent. "But those are the same. Exactly the same."
"And I'm guessing this isn't possible?" Derek says and I scoff. "Duh, Derek. Duh." I say and he looks down at me with a glare. "Not even remotely." Dad answers.
"So the trickster is still playing tricks." Argent says. "But why this trick?" Derek asks.
"Isn't it obvious?" I ask they all look to me. Probably not a good time to be jokey. Gonna do it anyway. "He wants to see me cry. Duh." I say and they all glare at me.
"If you can't be serious. You can wait outside." Dad says and I roll my eyes. "I'm not 12." I say and he raises an eyebrow. "Act it then." He says and I roll my eyes again.
"When I was in the Army, an officer told me, 'if you want to defeat your enemy, you don't take away their courage. You take away their hope'." Dad says and I roll my eyes. That's literally the same as what I said.
"You don't look like a man who gives up hope easily." Argent says. He's sucking up. "Nia does." Derek asks and I gasp and look up at him. "Are you serious?" I ask and he nods. "Yeah." He says and I roll my eyes. "Dick." I mutter and turn my attention back to my dad.
"Stiles may also give up hope easily." Dad says and I roll my eyes.
"If this thing inside him, if it's using his mother's disease as some sort of psychological trick, then this isn't just a fight for his body. It's also a figjt for his mind. Right?" He asks and I furrow an eyebrow. I thought that was common knowledge. Is it not?
"You know, he's left people severely injured." Argent says. "And others severely dead." He says and I roll my eyes.
"That's why I need the two of you." Dad says. "And me." I add and none of them even acknowledge me. Rude.
"I need people who are experienced in this kind of thing. I need you to help me stop him." Dad says. "And by stop him, you mean trap him." Argent says and dad nods and hands Argent his lightsabre back.
****
Once we get to the Argent's apartment we head inside.
"This is everything non-lethal I could find." Allison says as we head into Argent's office. "Take all of it." He says and Allison starts putting stuff in bags.
"What's the plan here?" Dad asks and I look around curiously. "Our best shot right now is for Derek to try and pick up Stiles' scent at Eichen House. Especially if he went through something stressful there." Argent says.
"Should all five of us be going to the same place?" Dad asks. "Where else has Stiles been showing up?" Argent asks. "The hospital." I add for them.
"Okay, hold on. We did this already. He disappeared. We started looking for him. Then walked right into a trap at the hospital." Derek says.
"He's getting us to repeat the same moves." Argent says. "So, what do we do? Wait for him to come to us?" Allison asks and I laugh. "Sorry... I'm nervous." IÂ say as Derek grabs my shoulder.
"We can't. Not if the oni find him when the sun goes down." Derek says. "Scott's working on them right now, with Kira." Dad adds.
"That's the problem." Chris says gaining our attention. "We're all trying to outfox the fox." Chris says and I groan and lean my head backwards into Derek's chest.
"Listen." Dad says and we all turn to him. "I'll understand if anyone wants to back out." He says.
"I'm not gonna be the first wolf to fun from a fox." Derek says before grabbing something off of the table. "Apparently I'm carrying the lightsaber." Argent says to Allison.
"Dad, you and Derek hit Eichen House. Sheriff it's you and me in the hospital." Allison says as they grab stuff off of the table. "We all meet in the school." She finishes.
"What about me?" I ask and she looks around confused. "I'll take her with us." Derek says grabbing my hand. Sweet.
I head out of the door and tell Dad to be careful. "Come on boys, get a move on." I say calling behind them for me.
****
Just as we get to Eichen house, dad texts and tells us to head home.
I rush home and we head up to Stiles room.
"What is all this?" Argent asks gesturing to the chess board Stiles used to tell dad about the supernatural. I laugh softly.
"What ars these sticky notes for?" Argent asks. "This is what Stiles used to try and explain to me about all of you." Dad says looking around at them.
"Well, maybe it's a message from Stiles. The real Stiles." Allison suggests.
"You think there's any reason my name's on the king?" Derek asks and I shrug. "He doesn't like you." I say shrugging which makes Derek roll his eyes.
"You're heavily guarded. Though I guess the alarming detail is that you're one move from being in checkmate." Dad says.
"It's not a message from Stiles. It's a threat from the nogitsune." Argent says and I look up at Derek, worried.
"He's at the loft. That's what he's trying to tell us." Allison says. "And he wants is to come there." Argent says.
"Night's falling." Derek says. "This couldn't sound anymore like a trap." Argent says. "I don't think it is." Dad says and I scrunch up my face. As much as I would love for it to not be a trap, I think it is.
"I think your opinion may be slightly biased, Sheriff." Argent says and he turns to me. "Hear me out." Dad says.
"What we're dealing with here is basically someone who lacks motive. No rhyme, no reason, right?" Dad says. "Meaning what?" Argent asks. "Our enemy is not a killer. It's a trickster. The killing is jusy a by-product." Dad says.
"If you're trying to say it won't kill us, I'm not feeling too confident about that." Derek says. "It won't. It wants irony. It wants to play a trick. It wants a joke. All we need to do is come up with a new punch line." Dad says.
"The sun is setting, Sheriff. What do you have in mind?" Argent asks.
We talk over the plan and head for the loft.
Dad and I open the loft and head inside. Stiles, well the nogitsune, I think. Turns to us.
"Hi Nia, hi dad." He says and dad gets out his handcuffs.
"You wanna handcuff me?" Stiles asks. "If my son is still here, if there's still a part of him standing here infront of me, then he'll put these on willingly and he'll come with me." Dad says as we approach him. As we do approach him, I bring on the water works.
"Because he knows. We're here to protect him from himself and from others." Dad says. "Please put them on Stiles." I sob. This is pathetic. I would never cry to Stiles' face.
Stiles puts his hand out and dad handcuffs him.
But when dad takes a step back, Stiles looks up. "You're not my son." Dad says and he shakes his head for no before pulling his wrists apart and breaking the handcuffs off. That's pretty cool.
Allison, Argent and Derek walk in. Except Derek walks slowly in front of them so he can get to my side. Aw cutie.
Allison uses the tazer gun, but that doesn't work.
Derek wolfs up and growls at Stiles. Derek goes to attack Stiles, but Stiles pulls his arm in a lock and smacks Derek's face off of a table.
I cringe, this can't get any worse.
Oh but it does, when Stiles throws Derek into a wall.
I rush to Derek's side when Argent pulls a gun out on Stiles, well the nogitsune.
"Are you okay?" I ask whilst dad trys to talk Argent out of it.
"You'd think he wouldn't have his powers because he possesses a 17 year old boy with no supernatural abilities." Derek says and I cringe. "Yeah, that will be one to tell the kids. Uncle Stiles got possessed and threw your dad around like a rag doll." I say and Derek groans as I help him up.
Dad pulls a gun out on Argent and I roll my eyes. I feel sick. Can I go to bed now. Im looking at it and it looks so comfy.
"You're not going to shoot my son." Dad says. "You said it yourself, Sheriff. That's not your son." Argent says and I roll my eyes.
"Obviously not, no. But we still need to help him. You can't just shoot him. We need to save him." I say but Argent doesn't move his gun down.
Stiles turns to look at me. Derek puts an arm in front of me and takes a defensive step forward. Stiles smirks and then turns back to dad and Argent.
"Put the gun down. Put it down." Dad says sternly. "Dad he's going to shoot me. He's going to kill me, dad." Stiles says and I reach forward and grab Derek's hand that was still infront of me.
"Don't listen to him." Argent says. "Put it down. Now! Do it! Put it down!" Dad shouts.
"Pull the trigger. Come on." Stiles says and the shouting starts. Everyone was shouting.
The room becomes visibly darker ans everyone looks at the windows. The Oni.
"I'm glad you all have your guns out." Stiles says once everyone stops shouting. "Because you're not here to kill me. You're here to protect me." He says as the Oni appear.
Derek pushes me behind him this time.
Argent and dad start shouting the Oni at the front. Derek pulls me along with him to behind Stiles. Derek puts a defensive hand towards my stomach as he and Allison prepare to fight these Oni.
****
"Jesus." I say as Derek slides to the flooe beside me. "Are you okay?" He asks me and I nod. "Im fine, but you aren't." I say and he shrugs. "I'll heal." He says and I sigh.
"Look at this shirt. This is tragic." I say whilst looking at the blood stains all over the white t-shirt.
Scott and Kira run into the loft and dad aims his gun at them but quickly lowers it.
"What happened?" Scott asks. "They disappeared. They literally just vanished. " Allison says as Scott comes closer. "And so did Stiles." Dad says.