Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or any of its characters. If I did, Sterek would be canon.

A/N: The fox is temporarily poisoned.

The Hale Pack: Locked Up

"There are more." Lydia confirmed sourly. "A lot more."

The moment Scott and Stiles walked into the dining room the next morning, all eyes were on Stiles.

Almost all of the central pack were present, the only absences being Isaac and Allison teen-wise, and Derek.

"Shouldn't he be tied up?" Ethan asked.

"Or locked up?" Aiden added.

"No." Cora stated sternly. "Not until the poison wears off."

What little they knew about the Nogitsune was discouraging, to say the least, so Cora wanted to take advantage of whatever time she had left with the real Stiles.

"Personally, I'm with them and think I should be locked up right now, but Scotty here is trying to talk me out of it." Stiles stated, trying to act casual but his true emotions were as clear as day to his pack. "So, I'm going to go make breakfast and pretend everything is normal, while you guys stay as far away from me as possible, just in case."

"No, we're spending the day together, as a pack." Scott declared. "We research better together."

"I think I'd be a pretty big distraction today, Scotty." Stiles argued.

"I'm going to be busy all day." Lydia announced. She was going to lead Parrish and John to dismantle the other traps the Nogitsune had set up. "You'll have to research without me."

"We were gonna go to the hospital," Erica told Scott apologetically. "My dad's getting released and we wanted to check on Isaac."

Stiles looked down in shame. He wanted to ask them to give his best to Jake but figured it wouldn't be taken well.

"The Nogitsune was going to do something to him before the Oni showed up. Right?" Erica asked for confirmation, even though she knew she was right.

"Yes." Stiles confirmed without making eye contact.

"What exactly was it going to do?" She demanded.

"Still crash the car, only fatally." Stiles explained with his fists clenched, and eyes full of shame. "It was going to fake an episode to get him to speed up, then knock him out, and grab the wheel to swerve into a tree. If the Oni hadn't shown up-"

"Well, it did." Erica declared, and Stiles finally looked at her. "So you can't feel guilty about that. Just about Isaac, Coach, and Scott."

"Hey!" Scott snapped.

"No, she's right." Stiles reached out to place a hand on Scott's shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"I'm not saying you should feel guilty about that, just that you can." Erica corrected. "I don't think you're any more responsible for this mess than Tammy was for the people Matt had her kill."

"This is different." Stiles insisted.

"Why? Because it's you?" The blonde challenged.

"Yes, that's exactly why." Stiles retorted. "I'm aware of what's happening to me, she wasn't."

"So, you're choosing to do these things?" Malia asked calmly.

"No, of course not!" Stiles corrected without thinking. None of it was really his choice, even when he had to make a decision. He didn't like either option, nor did he come up with them, Stiles was given the options by the voices.

"Then how is it different?" The coyote asked, Stiles just stared at her in disbelief. "I mean, if that Tammy girl wasn't responsible for what the Kimono did-"

"Kanima." Lydia corrected.

"-How are you responsible for what the Nogitsune is doing?" Malia continued like Lydia hadn't spoken.

"I had chances to warn you, and I didn't do enough." Stiles declared, truly believing it.

"You mean the message at the loft about how we shouldn't trust you?" Ethan asked for confirmation.

"Yes, and the one in the school parking lot about how I freed Barrow." Stiles confirmed.

"Oh, we must have missed that one." Ethan frowned.

"I didn't," Danny corrected. "Lydia and I filled it in."

"Why?" Cora demanded with a growl. "Wait, don't answer. I already know. It was Derek and his stupid order to keep the Nogitsune a secret."

"Did you try to tell us directly? Not with a note but with your words?" Erica asked Stiles.

"Yes, I tried a million times even before I knew what was possessing me." Stiles answered honestly. "Every time I thought I was in control, I tried to say something but I always ended up saying something else entirely."

"So you tried to tell us, tried to fight back, and are so scared of what it can do that you want to be locked up." Erica summarised with a smirk as she folded her arms. She then lifted her right eyebrow and asked, "How exactly are you responsible for this again?"

"You think you're real clever, don't you?" Stiles narrowed his eyes at her.

"You know I'm right," Erica smirked as she held out both arms. "So, stop being stupid and give me a hug. I've gotta go see my dad."

After Erica, Boyd, and Cora left to go to the hospital, Stiles turned to Scott.

"You should be with Allison and Isaac. I'll be fine with everyone here watching over me." Stiles told his best friend.

"We won't let him out of our sight." Jackson vowed.

Scott was reluctant. A part of him wanted to stay with Stiles, but a bigger part of him longed to be at the hospital with his mate's, taking Isaac's pain. He was torn on what to do, then that little voice in his head decided to choose for him. It told him that he could help Isaac more than he could help Stiles in that moment.

"Okay, I'll only be a couple of hours, we're still technically not allowed in his room, so my mum has to wait for the right moment to sneak us in." Scott explained. "Call me if anything happens."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

They spent hours researching the Nogitsune but found nothing about how to exorcise one. No book or website had the answers they sought and it was frustrating for everyone.

At 2pm, Erica, her parents, Cora, Boyd, Allison, and Scott returned to the house, and everyone was distracted from their research.

Jake had been caught up to date on what was really going on and was wary but still took the time to reassure Stiles that he didn't blame him for the crash. Hayley reassured him too, then the couple went back to their house so Jake could rest. Because the house was within earshot, Erica was content to stay at the pack house a little longer.

"How's the research going?" Allison asked as she slumped into a chair.

"Not well," Stiles sighed.

"Do we have to keep doing this?" Malia asked as she slammed her book shut. "We've been reading all day and found nothing."

"We can't stop, we're running out of time before the poison wears off." Jackson argued. He may prefer action to research, but he knew when the latter was necessary.

"What are we going to do when it does?" Erica asked nobody in particular.

"We're going to lock me up." Stiles answered.

"No!" Scott protested immediately. "We're not doing that."

"I don't like it, but he's right. We'll have to if we don't find anything useful." Boyd reluctantly chimed in. He had hoped to have found something by then, and the lack of results made him reconsider his initial plan. "But we still have time. We need to keep searching, but we also need to take a break every now and then. Let's pause, order some food, and relax for a few hours."

"I like the sound of that." Malia smiled, eager to put the books away and do something fun.

"You guys can relax, I'm gonna keep searching," Stiles declared as he turned the page of his book on Kitsunes.

"What if stressing yourself out just makes you burn through the poison faster?" Jackson asked, hoping to convince Stiles to ease up a little.

"Deaton never said anything about that, just that I should stay awake as long as possible," Stiles replied as he continued to read.

"You need energy to stay awake, you should eat something." Allison stated.

Stiles stopped reading as he thought it over. Cooking always helped clear his head, and he needed a clear mind and plenty of energy if he wanted to run around town and take people's pain later.

So, Stiles agreed to pause the research for a late lunch. But as soon as they finished cleaning up after dinner, it was back to researching.

Then, at around 6:30pm, the front door opened.

"Who is it?" Allison asked the werewolves when she heard the door shut.

"Stiles' dad, and Lydia," Scott told her, just as the pair walked into the room.

"Were you two together all day?" Stiles asked the pair with a frown.

"Yes." John answered calmly. "We, and Parrish, spent the day dismantling the other traps around town. All eight of them."

Stiles frowned. If they found 8 traps, there were still 4 they missed.

"What traps?" Boyd asked before Stiles could.

"A bomb at the bowling alley, set to go off tomorrow." The Sheriff began as he looked at Stiles, who looked ashamed. "Three more crossbows rigged to trip wires at different locations in the preserve. Two along your usual jogging route, and one near the training clearing. The coffee machine at the diner was rigged to get one degree hotter every hour, until the temperature maxed out. A vaporiser filled with wolfsbane was in Victoria's glovebox." He listed, and that particular item made Allison and Scott exchange a look. "A bucket of cement was rigged above Allison's bedroom door at the apartment. And a remote activated sonic emitter was under the passenger seat of Derek's camaro."

Stiles felt a sense of dread and longed to tell them about the four remaining traps, but the voices whispered to him. They reminded him that it was necessary to defeat the Nogitsune.

"You cannot warn them. The traps must go off and you must be there to take the victims' pain when they do." The voices whispered, and Stiles had to grit his teeth to prevent himself from sighing.

He felt eyes on him and looked up to see Lydia staring at him with wide eyes. He knew from her expression that she heard the whispers too.

"But you disabled them all?" Scott asked for confirmation, unknowingly regaining Stiles and Lydia's attention.

"We did," John answered. "Most of it's in my car, but Parrish took the more sensitive materials into evidence. There are no prints, and he's making sure there's no trace back to Stiles if the feds get involved."

"Okay." Scott nodded. "Did you check all the cars, or just follow the plans?"

"We did a sweep of all pack-owned vehicles, including your bikes, and came up with nothing." John informed him.

"So, what now?" Stiles asked.

"I need to get back to the station to check on everyone. There's nothing else we can do until Deaton tells us more, or one of Chris' contacts gets back to us with more information about the Nogitsune." John told him apologetically. "Just make the most of the creature being poisoned and relax with your pack while you can, kiddo."

"Did Scott tell you to say that?" Stiles asked with an accusatory glare.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Lydia got Stiles alone a few minutes later.

"What are the voices?" She demanded.

"You mean the Banshee voices?" Stiles tried to deflect.

"No. You know what I'm talking about." Lydia declared with a glare. "What are they?"

"They're the collective consciousness in the Nemeton, formed by all the druids that connected themselves to it over the years." Stiles told her. "They're guiding me."

"To do what?" Lydia demanded as she folded her arms.

"To stop the Nogitsune." Stiles answered carefully.

"How? By getting it out of you? Or by killing it?" Lydia asked.

Stiles sighed. He had really hoped she wouldn't ask that question.

"Stiles." Lydia drawled in a warning tone. "Tell me you're working to get the Nogitsune out of you."

"In order to get it out of me, it needs to be stronger. And to make it stronger, more people have to be hurt. Maybe even killed." Stiles reluctantly admitted, knowing she wouldn't stop until she got to the truth.

"Which means you have to decide if they get hurt or not." Lydia realised, empathetic and understanding. "It's different when it's you making the choice, not the Nogitsune."

"Exactly!" Stiles exclaimed, relieved that she was empathising instead of judging, or telling him what to do. "It's one thing when I'm literally out of control and the Nogitsune is the one setting up traps, twisting blades, and taking pain. But if I go through with this, I'll be the one letting people get hurt, I'll be taking their pain to feed the Nogitsune knowing that, if it separates from me, it'll be stronger and free to do so much worse. How can I live with that?"

"You could learn to live with it by working every day to make up for it. You help as many people can, and devote your life to doing better. That's what the Argents, the twins, and Peter do." Lydia reminded him.

"So, you think I should separate from it?" Stiles asked.

"It's the only way we can kill it." Lydia stated.

"No, if it's in me, you might be able to still kill it. It'll be harder, for sure, but-" Stiles began to correct her, but Lydia cut him off.

"We can't kill you, Stiles. Something that looks like you, sure, but not you. We'd never be able to live with ourselves." She told him.

It was true. If they had to kill Stiles to kill the Nogitsune, nobody in the pack would be able to recover. The guilt would tear the pack apart, and Derek would likely go feral. It would be different if the Nogitsune killed Stiles then they killed the Nogitsune. That, they could live with. Killing Stiles in the process of killing the Nogitsune is what would break them.

Which was why Lydia found it so easy to empathise with his plight. In a way, she had to make the same choice now that he had told her. If she encouraged him to do whatever it took to separate from the Nogitsune, she was encouraging him to let other people get hurt. If she told him to save everyone, she was essentially telling him to let himself die.

It was a surprisingly easy choice.

"You need to separate from the Nogitsune by any means necessary. It's the only way we'll be able to truly fight back against it." Lydia told him without hesitation. "I know you'll only go as far as you have to."

"What if something goes wrong and I go too far without meaning to?" Stiles couldn't help but ask. "It already killed Katashi. A deputy is dead because of the Nogitsune. What if somebody else dies because of me?"

"Then we'll deal with it together." Lydia told him. "Why don't you tell everyone what you told me, and we'll take a vote?"

"We both know exactly how that would go. Scott would tell me there's another way that doesn't involve hurting anyone, and Allison will back him up. Jackson, Erica, Cora, Malia, and the twins will tell me to kill whoever I have to to get the Nogitsune out of me. Danny will say to not kill anybody, but if it's not going to cause permanent injuries, go ahead and separate. And Boyd will ask what I feel is the right thing to do." Stiles summarised confidently.

"You're probably right, but why don't we find out for sure?" Lydia prompted.

"I can't rope them into this." Stiles protested. "I shouldn't have even told you."

"I'm glad you did. You shouldn't carry this burden on your own." Lydia told him as she reached out to grasp his hand.

"This is all my fault. If I hadn't come up with the idea to bind our pack to the Nemeton, none of this would have ever happened." Stiles lamented as Lydia's thumb caressed his hand.

"We decided it was the best option and talked everyone into it together." Lydia reminded him. "If it's your fault, then it's mine too."

"You're not the one possessed."

"So, I have even more reason to feel guilty than you do." Lydia retorted without missing a beat.

Stiles scowled because she was right. If she wound up going through bardo and getting possessed instead of him, he'd feel even worse than he already did and likely wish he were in her place.

Well, in that hypothetical scenario, he would have gotten his wish.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

When his dad returned home from the station, Stiles was waiting for him in his home office. John knew to go there thanks to the text Stiles had sent him.

The sheriff knew that it would be bad from the serious tone of the text, and he had a pretty good idea of what his son was going to say.

He locked the door to soundproof the room, then took his seat behind the desk and waited for his son to speak.

"Dad, I know this is going to be hard for you, but I need you to trust me," Stiles began while leaning forward in his seat. "I'm a threat right now, whether we like it or not, and it's safer for everyone if I'm locked away."

"Do you really think hiding away in the basement is the best move?" John asked, ready with his response.

"No, not the basement. You and every other human in the pack could be tricked into letting me out." Stiles corrected, surprising his dad. "I can't stay here. When I say I need to be locked up, I mean it."

"What? You want me to lock you up at the station?" John asked incredulously. "Not gonna happen."

"No, the station would be just as risky as here," Stiles stated, confusing his father, who couldn't think of anywhere else Stiles could be locked up. "The only safe place for me to be, where I can't possibly hurt anyone, is Eichen House."

"Eichen House?" The sheriff exclaimed in shock. "No. No way in hell."

"It's the only option." Stiles stated confidently. The voices told him it was where he needed to be and he trusted them. "I'll be somewhere I can't just leave on a whim. Somewhere they can care for my condition and-"

"Derek told me that the dementia is just a trick by the Nogitsune, before he was locked up." John interrupted with a stern glare, silently scolding his son for trying to use such a dirty trick.

"It is. That's not what I meant." Stiles stated, and his dad gestured for him to go on. "This poison could wear off at any second and Eichen House has a secret supernatural ward. I want to check into the standard human section, and be treated as if I really do have dementia. I want to be able to be checked out the second you find something useful, but I also want to be transferred to the supernatural ward if something happens. Y'know, so, if the poison wears off before you guys find something useful, I'll be somewhere truly equipped to handle this thing."

"I don't like it." John declared as he folded his arms.

"I know, but I need you to trust me on this." Stiles pleaded. "I can't be here. I'm terrified of what's going to happen."

"I can make sure the pack won't bother you if you stay in the basement." The sheriff tried, hoping to keep his son close enough to keep an eye on. Somewhere he could visit freely.

"You can't be here 24/7. Even if you could, that just puts you at risk."

"I'm your dad, it's my job to protect you." John pointed out.

"And right now, I need you to protect me from this thing inside me." Stiles retorted. "And the best way to do that is with a voluntary 72 hour hold at Eichen House."

"Just 72 hours?" John asked, persuaded by the time limit. It felt different knowing there was a set end to his time in the facility.

"I promise."

"Okay." John nodded. "Fine, if this is really what you want. How are you going to tell the pack?"

"Well, you're going to drop me off at Eichen House, then tell them when you get home." Stiles informed him.

"What is it with you and Derek keeping secrets from the pack right now?" John asked rhetorically.

"If I tell them myself, Cora will knock me out, Boyd will carry me down to the basement, and Lydia will lock me in the cell. Then they'll all take turns guarding me so you can't let me out." Stiles answered anyway.

"Okay, fine." John conceded, easily imagining that exact scenario. "But we're gonna have to be careful sneaking out. If they see you leave with a bag, they'll know something is up."

"Good thinking, pops." Stiles grinned. "I knew I could count on you." He smiled softly, then his face dropped. "Now, we need to talk about Derek."

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do for him." John stated. While it was technically true, he had a plan to try, he just didn't want to get his son's hopes up.

"What's McCall got on him?" Stiles asked.

"He won't tell me." John reluctantly admitted. "He says my connection to Derek makes me compromised, but I'm working on it."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Around 7:30pm, just after dinner, the Sheriff received a frantic call from Parrish about an incident at the loft in the building Derek owned.

Tara was sent out to respond to a noise complaint and called in for help and an ambulance.

He immediately ordered the pack to stay put, then took off.

Parrish arrived at the building at the same time as John did, so they made their way up to the loft together.

John and Parrish arrived in their respective uniforms, and found the sliding door already wide open, allowing them to see Tara lying in the middle of the room in a pool of blood, with someone leaning over her.

"This is the Beacon Hills Sheriff's Department. Put your hands up and step away from the woman." John ordered with his gun raised.

"I'm taking her pain." A familiar voice replied.

"Stiles?" John asked incredulously as he stepped forward.

"Be careful, there are trip wires." Stiles warned.

John and Parrish looked down in unison and saw the thin wire stretched along the doorway.

"How many?" Parrish asked as he carefully stepped over the wire.

"Three. She stepped over the first and hit the second. The third is by the bedroom door." Stiles told them. "You need to disarm them before the ambulance gets here."

"I'm on it." Parrish declared, and moved to dismantle the one by the front door first.

"What are you doing here?" The sheriff demanded as he approached his son.

"I snuck out when I remembered the trap." Stiles lied convincingly. The truth was that the voices had told him the trap had been triggered. The other two trip wires in the loft were just decoys, the other three traps were in different locations, he just wanted to keep Parrish busy. "I have my phone and I imagine Danny is tracking it right now. So don't be surprised if they just show up."

"How is she?" Stilinski asked while nodding to Tara.

"She should be fine. Straight through her shoulder, there's an exit wound. Rifle's set up over there." Stiles replied, putting on a brave front that his dad saw right through. "She only passed out when I started taking her pain, I think the adrenaline wore off."

"It's not your fault." John stated sternly.

"Then who's fault is it?" Stiles snapped without thinking.

"The Nogitsune's." John replied sternly. "So, stop blaming yourself and just focus on taking her pain. Okay?"

Stiles nodded shakily and did as he was told.

"The ambulance is pulling up outside now." Parrish announced. "The trip wire by the door wasn't rigged to a weapon, just a party popper. Looks like the one by the bedroom is too."

"Still, be careful. Don't let your guard down." John cautioned.

"I won't."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

When they realised Stiles was missing again, the pack had Danny track his phone.

When Danny announced that Stiles was with John at the loft, Cora ordered him to pull up the surveillance footage. There was only one camera in the loft, pointed at the door, that just caught the centre of the room.

"Is that Tara?" Erica asked as she stared at the screen in horror.

"Yeah," Scott confirmed with a deep frown. "She looks hurt, can you go back?" He asked Danny. "See what happened?"

Danny could and he did, so they were able to see Tara enter the loft. They watched as she noticed the trip wire by the door and carefully stepped over it. She identified herself as a deputy and called out for anybody present to reveal themselves. Nobody responded so she walked forwards with her weapon drawn, slow and alert, only to suddenly look down in a panic when she caught the second trip wire. She tried to move out of the way, but didn't get far. The bullet went through her shoulder and she collapsed to the ground.

She used her radio to call in the incident and moved to get up. She cried out in pain when she had to use her injured arm to push herself up, but she did it.

She moved to tear a piece of fabric from her uniform, only to freeze when she heard a noise behind her.

Then Stiles came running in, leaping over the tripwire.

He told her not to move, then began babbling out apologies as he took her pain. She looked nervous but wisely didn't comment anything more than reassurances that it was his fault.

Tara passed out a few seconds later, about a minute before Parrish and the Sheriff showed up.

"How did Stiles get there? Did he take his Jeep?" Ethan asked.

"No, it's still here, he must have gone on foot so we wouldn't hear him leave." Scott answered with a deep frown. "The real question is 'how did he know?'"

"We all heard the sheriff get the call." Aiden reminded him.

"Yeah, but Stiles got there first." Lydia chimed in, having the same thought as Scott. "Even with traffic, to get to the loft from here would take longer running the back streets to avoid being seen. Either the sheriff would've seen him running alongside the car, or he left first."

"So, you think he remembered the trap and didn't tell us about it?" Jackson asked for confirmation.

"It's the only explanation." Lydia stated confidently.

"So, was that the last one? Or are there more?" Malia wondered.

"Why would he go off on his own, instead of taking one of us with him?" Ethan asked with a frown.

"Because he's scared the poison will wear off early and he'll hurt someone else." Scott stated knowingly. "He feels guilty enough about what happened at the clinic, he's not going to risk hurting any of you too."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

After the paramedics arrived and took Tara to the hospital, John began interrogating his son.

"What the Hell are you doing here?" The Sheriff demanded.

"I remembered the trap and came to disarm it, but I got here too late." Stiles lied well.

"Are there more?" Parrish asked.

"Yeah, three. But not here." Stiles answered honestly, knowing that by the time they arrived, the next trap would have already been triggered.

"Then you and I will go disarm them," The sheriff declared. "Can you take over at the station?" He asked Parrish.

"I can try." The deputy replied, knowing McCall was there and would make it difficult.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

First, Stiles and John went to the public section of the preserve, where a man fell victim to an animal trap on his nighttime run. (It was bad, and would likely need amputating.)

Second, they went to the public library. There, Stiles took the pain of a librarian who was trapped under a sabotage shelving unit while restocking. (That one was mild, not even a concussion, just a nasty bump.)

Then they were back in the car, heading to (what was supposed to be) their final stop of the night.

"There's only one left right?" John asked for confirmation.

"Yeah," Stiles confirmed grimly.

"Where is it?"

"The ice rink."

"Boyd's working tonight." John realised, his eyes wide.

"I know." Stiles replied gravely.

They arrived to find the zamboni tipped on its side, with Boyd pinned under it.

Boyd heard footsteps approaching and turned his head to look, and sighed in relief when he saw John and Stiles.

"I can't move my arms," Boyd told the pair. That was the most frustrating part, he was strong enough to free himself, he was just trapped in the wrong position to use said strength.

Stiles immediately pulled out his phone. "Fuck, I thought- We can't lift that, I need to call for help."

"We're here," A familiar voice called out, the three guys looked in unison to see Erica jogging towards her with Cora by her side.

"How did you-?" John began to ask.

"Our mate bond." Cora answered before he could even finish his question.

"How'd this happen?" John asked Boyd as he and the three teenagers carefully walked across the ice to get to him.

"I heard a grinding sound and got off to check it out. One second I was looking, the next, the zamboni was being pushed on top of me." Boyd explained as the group grew closer.

"Pushed? By who?" Erica demanded, alarmed by the thought that somebody was helping the Nogitsune.

"Well, I never met her, but it looked a Hell of a lot like Kate Argent." Boyd replied.

John and Stiles shared a look, and Stiles opened his mouth to speak, but then John looked away.

"Okay, you two are going to lift on the count of three. One, two, three." John counted, and the girls lifted the zamboni.

Boyd cried out in pain. He had noticed while he was trapped but, the moment the pressure was lifted, he realised he'd been injured. The pain came first, followed by the scent of his own blood.

He knew he probably shouldn't look, but he did anyway. He immediately regretted it when he saw the bone sticking out of his leg.

"Oh God," Boyd mumbled as he suppressed a gag.

Erica and Cora got the zamboni right side up, and immediately abandoned it to check on their mate.

"It's okay, you're okay." Cora assured Boyd while crouching down. "I know it hurts like hell, but you'll heal in minutes. I just have to reset the bone. Stiles can take your pain. Okay?"

"Okay." Boyd nodded shakily as Stiles crouched too and took his hand, immediately draining the pain from his body.

"I'll reset it," John stated, because he had the training to do so, unlike Cora. So, Erica and Cora settled for holding his hands while Stiles grasped his shoulder.

Even though Stiles took the pain, Boyd still felt his bone being shoved back into place and it felt weird.

"Okay," John began as he watched Boyd's skin stitch itself back together. "It shouldn't take long now. Can you call someone to cover the rest of your shift?"

"No, the damage to the ice is too extensive. I can't resurface it now, they'll have to call someone in to seal the cracks." Boyd announced while examining the damage caused by the zamboni being pushed over. "I'm gonna have a hard time explaining this one."

"It's my fault, blame me." Stiles chimed in as the black veins on his arms faded.

"You didn't push it onto me," Boyd reminded him while sitting up.

"I was going to, that was the plan." Stiles informed him. "I messed with the zamboni so it made that noise, and I was supposed to be here to push it. I thought the Nogitsune being poisoned meant I'd get here and you'd have hurt your hand trying to fix it, or something. But apparently I teamed up with Kate fucking Argent and have no memory of it!"

And that was what truly terrified Stiles. He thought the voices had told him everything he didn't remember, but they never mentioned that.

"It's not your fault." Boyd assured him, but Stiles barely heard him over the other voices.

"We do not know how she knew to be here, but the Nogitsune didn't tell her. You haven't been near her since the night she was turned." The voices whispered to Stiles.

Well, that was a little comforting, but it still begged the questions; Why was she there? And was it just a coincidence that she did exactly what the Nogitsune was going to do?

"Did she say anything to you?" Erica asked Boyd with a frown.

"No, she just looked at me, smirked, and walked away." Boyd told him.

"Okay, can you call in the incident from home, or does it have to be here?" Cora asked.

"Here's probably better." Boyd answered reluctantly. He too was eager to be at home while he healed, but he knew that if he left, he'd be asked to do something else like take a picture of the damage, or wait for the manager to come inspect it. So, he was better off making the call from the rink.

"Then we'll stay while you do." Cora declared.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

By the next day, John was a little more willing to send Stiles to Eichen House. He wasn't thrilled about it, but agreed it was for the best after the traps.

John had to work that day so they had to wait until the evening.

After dinner, Stiles packed a bag with three days worth of clothes and carefully crept downstairs.

Stiles and John managed to sneak out unseen, but the coyote and wolves heard them drive away and got suspicious.

Before heading to Eichen House, Stiles convinced John to take him to the station to see Derek.

Stiles wanted privacy as he talked to his mate, but he didn't get it. He and Derek were separated by a cell, Chris was in the neighbouring cell, and John stood guard to make sure it wasn't a secret escape attempt.

"You shouldn't be in here," Stiles declared as he gripped the bars of the cell.

"I can break out anytime I want, but Chris convinced me to stay put. He thinks we can beat the charges," Derek explained soothingly.

"We can." Chris chimed in confidently.

"Do you mind? We're trying to have a moment." Stiles huffed, Chris chuckled and playfully conceded.

"Pretend I'm not even here."

"Promise me that if you can't beat this, you'll break out before they can take you to prison." Stiles begged Derek.

"I promise," Derek vowed without hesitation. He wanted to do things the right way, if possible, but he was fully prepared to be a fugitive if necessary. That was the only reason he stayed with Chris. Well, not the only reason. It was also because he knew the hunter was hiding something, and he wanted to know what.

"Good." Stiles nodded. Then he sighed. "Look, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just gonna say it."

"You're leaving me for someone who isn't wanted for murder?" Derek joked, hoping to ease the tension. It succeeded in making Stiles chuckle.

"No," Stiles shook his head as he chuckled, the suggestion utterly ridiculous to him, granting him a moment of levity. Then his expression sombered. "But I am checking myself into Eichen House for 72 hours."

"What? You can't do that." Derek began to protest, but Stiles spoke up before he could say anything else.

"It's safer in there than out here." Stiles insisted. "Isaac still hasn't healed from the attack at the hospital. I killed Katashi, and now you're sitting in jail for it. I almost killed Scott the other night. Last night, three more traps went off. There was a fourth plan that I didn't see through, but you know who showed up to finish the job? Kate Argent. She somehow knew to be at the ice rink to push the zamboni onto Boyd. The bone was sticking out of his leg, Derek! My dad had to reset it."

"Is he healing okay?" Derek asked in alarm.

"Yeah, Erica and Cora had to support him a little last night, but he's doing fine now."

"Did Kate say anything to him?" Chris asked, reminding Stiles that they weren't alone.

"No, apparently she just smirked and left." Stiles answered while glancing at the hunter.

"Is she working with the Nogitsune?" Derek asked.

"I don't think so, I'm pretty sure I'd remember that." Stiles replied, choosing his words carefully. "But her being in town is all the more reason I need to be locked up. With you in here, and the Nogitsune possessing me, the pack is gonna have a hard time focusing. If they're worried about me, they'll be vulnerable to Kate, and if they're worried about her while I'm walking free, the poison could wear off and I could hurt them. Two threats are too many, so I need to take myself off the board."

"We dealt with a whole pack of threats, plus a Darach, and we won. We can handle this. If you really want to be locked up, there's always the cells in the basement." Derek reminded him. "You don't have to go to Eichen House."

"Yes, I do." Stiles corrected calmly. "Lydia, Allison, and Danny could all be tricked into letting me out at home."

"Believe me, Derek, anything you're thinking of, I've already said." John declared.

"He's right. You can't talk me out of this, Der-bear." Stiles stated. "I'm only telling you as a courtesy."

"What did the pack say?" Derek asked.

Stiles just shot him an incredulous look.

"You didn't tell them." Derek realised with a disappointed sigh.

"Of course I didn't, they'd hold me hostage." Stiles declared like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, and I'd support them." Derek shot back. "You want to be locked up? Fine. Your dad can take all the spare keys and hide them so nobody can let you out of the cells in our basement. We have them, why not finally use them?"

"Because if I get out, I'll be in the perfect place to slaughter everyone I love!" Stiles exclaimed, frustrated by the fact that his mate didn't take the situation as seriously as he thought he should.

"If that's the plan, the Nogitsune will just escape Eichen House and go straight to the house. The wards don't work on you." Derek argued. "At least we have cameras in the basement, and Danny can set it up to alert us if someone goes down to talk to you. The pack understands how serious this is and they'll do what needs to be done."

"I'm not risking it, Derek, and that's final." Stiles stated stubbornly.

"I will break out of this cell and lock you up myself if I have to!" Derek threatened. He could never actually hold his own mate like a prisoner, but he sold it well.

"Then do it." Stiles called his bluff, knowing that Derek wouldn't have warned him if he was really going to. Derek growled in frustration and stomped forward.

Derek grasped the bars in both hands, while shooting his mate a pointed look. Stiles responded with an expectant look of his own. Derek flexed, acting like he was going to bend the bars, but Stiles didn't buy it for a second.

Derek growled again as he gave up the charade, released the bars, and dramatically turned away. He resisted the urge to punch metal and stomped to the other end of the cell before turning again so he was looking at Stiles.

"Why are you like this?" Derek asked.

"Don't act like this is new for me," Stiles retorted. "You've known this since the day we met."

"No, this is a new level of stubbornness. You've really outdone yourself." Derek began to pace as he spoke.

"I should go." Stiles said then turned away.

"Stiles, wait." Derek pleaded as he stopped pacing and strode towards his mate, getting as close as he could until the bars stopped him. Stiles stopped walking and looked back. "Please, don't do this."

"I have to." Stiles told him apologetically. "I love you."

"I love you too," Derek replied softly, terrified that it'd be the last time his mate would hear him say it.

Stiles and John left without another word, leaving the two suspects in their respective cells.

Derek waited until he heard the pair get in the cruiser and drive away, then called out for Parrish.

Seconds later, Parrish strode into sight.

"What's wrong?" Parrish asked with a frown.

"I need to make a phone call."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Derek called Cora, had her call a pack meeting in the living room, and asked someone to call Scott and Allison (who went back to the hospital), and Kira (who had to go home at 6pm for dinner). Lydia called Allison, who was with Scott at the hospital, and Erica called Kira.

Once the entire pack was present in some form, Derek took a deep breath and began the dreaded conversation.

"So, as I'm sure you all know, Stiles wants to be locked up until we know how to deal with the Nogitsune." Derek began his speech calmly but was unable to go on thanks to one of his betas.

"Where did he go?" Erica demanded. "Was he just visiting you? Or was he trying to convince his dad to lock him in with you?"

"He came to tell me he's not getting locked in the basement." Derek told her. "He's convinced his dad to check him in at Eichen House." Derek informed them, and there was an immediate uproar. So loud he had to pull the phone away from his ear.

"What the hell?" Erica exclaimed. "How can you send him there? He's not insane, he's possessed-"

"Are you insane?" Cora demanded. "You know what that place is like and you let your mate-"

"You can't let him do that!" Jackson shouted. "Break out and stop him! He needs to be here where-"

"He doesn't belong there, he should be here with us." Boyd stated. "We have to protect him-"

"Are you sure about this?" Danny asked skeptically. "Is he going in as a human with FTD or-"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Derek," Allison's voice came through Lydia's phone.

"Are you insane?" Lydia demanded, uncharacteristically furious. "The fact that I keep getting drawn there isn't good-"

"Maybe this is a good thing," Aiden stated, rendering the others silent in shock. "If he feels like this is the best move, maybe we should support him."

"What?" Cora growled.

"If he feels like Eichen House is the right place for him while we try to figure this out, we should respect that." Aiden stated confidently.

Then they were all talking over each other again and it was frustrating the alpha to no end.

"Enough!" Derek shouted, and his betas quickly fell silent.

"I don't like this any more than you do, but Stiles wouldn't listen to me." Derek continued calmly. "He's checking in for 72 hours. As long as you find something by then-"

"What if we don't?" Jackson interjected snappily. "Researching is getting us nowhere, Argent is distracted dealing with the murder charges against the two of you, and Deaton clearly knows more than he's letting on. Face it, we're stuck."

"We can't give up, Stiles needs us," Boyd declared.

"I'm not saying we give up, I'm saying we can't keep sitting inside reading," Jackson corrected. "We need to be out there searching."

"And where would you start?" Derek challenged with an unseen raised eyebrow. It was all well and good to say they needed to do something, but it wasn't very helpful unless he had a good idea to go with it.

"Eichen House. That's where Stiles is heading and that's where Lydia keeps going back to." Jackson replied confidently. "She led you and the sheriff to that basement twice, there's gotta be something important down there that we've been missing."

Derek felt a little guilty for doubting the beta because that was actually a pretty good starting point.

"That's a really good idea. Thank you, Jackson, I'm proud of you." The alpha stated, making the teen smile.

"So we're going to Eichen House?" Malia asked.

"Not all of you," Derek corrected. "There's no way they'll let more than three people in, if that."

"Can we borrow your badge?" Erica asked.

"No."

"I vote for me, Lydia, and Jackson to go." Cora declared.

"Excuse you?" Erica demanded in outrage.

"It's Jackson's plan, and we need Lydia's abilities to figure this out." Cora defended calmly.

"Fine," Erica huffed, accepting defeat. "Since we can't find anything on the Nogitsune, I'll start looking into Eichen House instead."

"I'll help." Danny volunteered while standing up to get his backpack, which contained his laptop.

"Allison, Scott, I want you to stay at the hospital with Isaac." Derek ordered

"I will." Allison's voice came through the phone, but there was nothing from Scott, which made Derek suspicious.

"Scott?"

"He's not here, he left the second you said Stiles was checking into Eichen House." Allison informed him casually, and the alpha could practically hear her smirking.

"Of course he did." Derek sighed. "Okay, fine. Maybe he can convince him to stay in the basement."

"Here's hoping." Jackson huffed.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Scott pulled up outside Eichen House on his bike to find Stiles and the Sheriff standing in front of the gate. They clearly heard the motor and/or the wheels because they both turned to look at him.

He got off his bike, took off his helmet, and stormed over to the pair.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Scott demanded as he looked at his best friend.

"Because we wanted to avoid something like this." John answered for his son.

"It's only 72 hours." Stiles added, hoping it'd calm Scott down.

It didn't.

"This is the same place where Barrow came from. The guy who had a tumor inside him filled with flies." Scott reminded his best friend, then looked to the sheriff. "You don't know everything yet."

"I know enough." John declared confidently. "Nogitsunes, Kitsunes, Oni, or whatever they're called."

"Wow, that was actually all surprisingly correct."

"Scott, I saw an MRI that looked exactly like my wife's. And it terrifies me." John explained, noticing Stiles' guilty expression out of the corner of his eye. "I'm headed down to L.A. tomorrow to talk to a specialist."

He was going to be certain. He believed Derek about the Nogitsune, but he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he didn't look into all possible angles. For all they knew, the Nogitsune was powerful enough to give Stiles FTD, or at least compromised his immune system enough that his wolf healing wasn't able to prevent it from developing naturally.

John was fairly certain that it was a trick, the scan was too familiar, and he wanted a specialist's opinion. Mostly, he wanted to be told the scan was a fake.

"Then why are you putting him in here?" Scott demanded.

"He's not. It was my decision." Stiles corrected quickly.

"Stiles, I can't help you if you're in here."

"And I can't hurt you."

"Deaton's got some ideas. Argent's calling people. We're gonna find something. And if we can't…" Scott trailed off, unsure of what he was going to say next.

"If you can't…" Stiles took over as he stepped closer to his best friend. "If you can't, then you have to do something for me, okay? Make sure I never get out."

Scott didn't know how to respond, so he just stared at his friend.

Stiles glanced at his dad and knew he heard what he'd said.

"Come on." John whispered as he nodded towards the gate. He didn't like it, but he didn't have much of a choice. Be it dementia, the Nogitsune, or both, something was making Stiles hurt people. As his father, and the county Sheriff, it was John's responsibility to protect Stiles, even if it meant protecting others from him.

The gate buzzed open and Scott watched helplessly as the pair made their way inside. He was half tempted to grab Stiles and run back to the Hale House, but he couldn't bring himself to take away Stiles' free will.

As they walked through the building, John was unsettled by the other patients. His reluctance grew with every step, along with the urge to grab his son and run.

"Mr. Stilinski?" A nurse called out. "This way please."

John and Stiles exchanged a look, and John desperately hoped that Stiles would say that he had changed his mind and wanted to go home. But the words never came and John realised that Stiles was waiting for the go-ahead, so he gave a small nod.

They were taken to an office, where John was given some paperwork to sign. He circled 'parent' but hesitated before signing. He looked to his son, again hoping that Stiles would back out.

"First 72 hours there's no phone calls, no emails, no visitors. We will be taking you from here to a brief physical. In the morning you'll be assessed by a staff psychologist, speak to a social worker and attend group therapy." The nurse told Stiles.

John heard every word but didn't fully take it in because he was distracted by the sounds around him. Then he looked back to see two staff members opening a door, but it wasn't a regular door, it was made of bars, like the door of a prison cell.

"I feel like we're forgetting something." John declared as he set the pen down.

The nurse didn't seem to hear him as she placed a pair of slippers on the desk. "You will be wearing these, Stiles," She said. "No laces allowed. You don't have a belt, do you?"

"No."

"And please empty your pockets in here." She added as she patted a white tray.

John heard a slam and looked back to see the barred door being closed and locked. Something about it triggered his memory and he looked at his son, who was undoing the laces of his shoes.

"Your pillow. Your pillow. We forgot your pillow."

"Dad, it's okay."

"No, no. You're never going to be able to fall asleep. We- We got to go back." John insisted and moved to get out of his chair, only to freeze when his son spoke up.

"It's fine, Dad. I don't need it." Stiles assured him. It was true, but John didn't buy it one bit because he didn't know about Deaton's order to stay awake.

"I can't believe I forgot it. I mean, every time that we've ever stayed in a hotel, the first thing you pack is your pillow." John rambled, disappointed in himself for forgetting something so important.

"You can bring it tomorrow. It's alright." Stiles tried to assure his dad, but it didn't work. He then started emptying his pockets into the tray, starting with his keys. Sure, he could tell his dad that he was told not to sleep, but he knew it would only make it worse for John, so he kept quiet.

As Stiles added coins and his phone to the tray, John was overwhelmed by the sounds of metal doors closing, and his mind ran rampant with images of his son locked up. It was too much, and the sheriff shot to his feet.

"Okay, you know what? Stop. Stop. Enough. Stiles, get your stuff." John ordered. It was too much for him, the thought of leaving his son locked up in that place. The pillow was just an excuse. "I'm not checking you in here if you're not gonna get one good night's sleep."

"Dad." Stiles began as he rose to his feet. He then stepped forward and placed both hands on his dad's shoulders "I haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks." Stiles reminded him softly.

John wanted to say something, he just didn't know what. Then Stiles was hugging him and he still couldn't find the words, so he just hugged him back. There was nothing he could say that would change Stiles' mind and he knew it.

When they parted, Stiles resisted the urge to say goodbye and simply walked away. The nurse was soon by his side, leading him through the building. And John was left alone in the office.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Cora, Lydia, and Jackson returned to the Hale House wearing matching expressions of frustration.

"They wouldn't let us in tonight, but we have permission to check out the basement in the morning." Lydia announced before anybody could ask.

"Did you see Stiles?" Erica asked.

"No, but his dad's cruiser was still there when we arrived, and gone when we left. We must have just missed him." Cora told her mate grumpily while folding her arms. "He's checked in now, there's no way to get to him. Is the sheriff back yet?"

"Not yet," Boyd declared with a concerned frown. "If he left before you did, he should be home by now. Danny, can you check his phone?"

"Scott's too. I want to know where he went after Eichen House." Erica requested.

Danny opened his laptop, typed in his password, then got to work.

"The sheriff is at the station, and Scott just left the hospital with Allison." Danny announced.

"Okay good, keep an eye on them until the sheriff's home, and they're here or at their homes." Cora ordered. "The rest of us are gonna research again. There has to be something we missed."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

After his physical, as the nurse led Stiles up the stairs to his room, Stiles looked around.

Then he saw someone step out of their room.

It was a guy, a rather familiar guy. Stiles couldn't place him at first, but then he looked his way.

Stiles stopped walking and stared in disbelief. It couldn't be…

"Stiles?" The nurse prompted, causing Stiles to look at her instead of the other guy. "This way, please." She requested, and the other guy took advantage of the opportunity to slip back into his room.

Stiles and the nurse continued up the stairs, but they didn't get very far before Stiles heard a voice and looked up.

What he saw filled him with terror.

A man. A very frantic man holding a rope made of sheets.

"I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky."

"Hey, do you see that?" Stiles asked the nurse.

"I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky." The man repeated as he tied a rope made of sheets to the bannister.

"Stiles, wait for me." The nurse called out as Stiles rushed past her.

"I'm the part of the bird that's not in the sky."

"That guy up there." Stiles said as he sped up, hoping to get to the patient in time.

"I can swim in the ocean, yet still remain dry. I can swim in the ocean, yet still remain dry."

"Hey, hey stop it!" Stiles cried out desperately as he ran up the stairs. "Stop!"

"I can swim in the ocean, yet still remain dry…" The man continued to chant as he climbed up onto the bannister, the other end of the sheets wrapped around his neck.

"Stop! Somebody stop him!"

"I can swim in the ocean, yet still remain dry." The man repeated, then stepped off.

There was a sickening crack as the man's neck snapped.

"Oh!" The nurse gasped as she and Stiles froze in unison and stared up at his dangling body.

There was a commotion from below and Stiles looked down to see a crowd of patients gathering at the bottom of the stairs.

But there was somebody else amongst the crowd, somebody who definitely shouldn't be there.

The Nogitsune.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

After John and Stiles went into Eichen House, Scott hopped back on his bike and drove straight to the hospital.

He and Allison weren't allowed to see Isaac, and Melissa couldn't sneak them in again that night, so they decided to go to the animal clinic together to press Deaton for information.

They barely started the conversation when Deaton's phone rang and the vet answered it without hesitation, or even a comment.

"Who's calling him at this time of night?" Allison asked her mate in a whisper.

"Someone from the station, so either the sheriff or- Nope. It's your dad." Scott whispered back. Deaton then put the phone on speaker for Allison to hear.

"Did you have any trouble with Ikeda?" Chris asked.

"Only minor. The white wolf was exactly where you said it would be. But we have two problems now. First, the lichen is not a cure. It'll wear off in a matter of days." Deaton informed him.

"But while it does work, the Oni won't go after Stiles, right?" Chris asked for confirmation.

"I hope." Deaton replied, and nobody felt reassured by his words. "Eichen House has an unusual history. It might not be all that safe for the Oni there as well."

"What's the second problem?" Chris inquired.

"I checked with your contacts in Japan. The Yakuza Boss you saw killed by the Oni never found the scroll." Deaton informed him.

"What scroll?" Scott asked.

"A Shugendo Scroll." Deaton informed his employee. "The Shugendo were the ascetic mystics of Japan."

"The scroll had information on how to exorcise a Nogitsune." Chris added, frustration clear in his voice.

"So we need to find that scroll?" Scott asked for confirmation.

"Exactly." Deaton confirmed. "And I did get a name of the man who last purchased it. Kincaid."

"He was with Katashi." Allison reminded her dad. "He's the guy who met with Isaac to buy the gun."

"Sounds like Katashi wanted the scroll for himself." Deaton theorised.

"But Stilinski already told me nothing like it was found among his things." Chris informed them. "And a paranoid like Katashi would keep it close. Probably on him at all times."

"What's the Shugendo Scroll look like?" Allison asked with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Deaton got out of his chair, opened a drawer behind him, and retrieved a large scroll from within.

"Something like this." The vet declared as he handed it to her.

She studied it for a moment then asked, "Do these come in different sizes?"

"Any size." Deaton answered.

"Then I think I know where it might be." She declared.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

"Okay, I know there's the whole 72 hour thing but I'd really need to use the phone." Stiles declared as he followed the nurse down the corridor.

"The accident that occurred is being taken care of." She informed him.

"You're seriously referring to that as an accident?" Stiles demanded, making the nurse freeze once the key was in the lock.

"Incident." She amended.

"Slightly better. Still need to use the phone." Stiles stated as the nurse turned the key and opened the door. "Just five minutes. Three minutes, please. A three minute call."

"Would you like to go to sleep, Stiles? Or would you like to be introduced to our five-point restraint system?" She asked in a calm yet stern tone. Stiles blanched at the mention of a restraint system.

"I would go with sleep." A male voice came from behind him and Stiles turned to see a guy around his age restrained to his bed, giving a little wave.

The nurse took advantage of Stiles' distraction to close the door and lock him in.

"Hey, wait, wait, wait!" Stiles pleaded as he banged on the door, but he was ignored. He sighed and gave up on yelling and banging, but kept staring at the door as he willed it to open.

"I'm Oliver." His roommate greeted politely.

"Stiles."

"There was a suicide, huh?" Oliver asked. for confirmation.

"Yeah."

"Is it Monday? There's a much higher rate of suicide on Mondays."

"Okay then." Stiles whispered. It was Wednesday but he didn't bother telling Oliver that. Instead, he decided to yell for help again. "Um, hey, can someone... Someone just please let me out of here. Someone. Anyone."

"I heard it by the way. It happened in the stairwell, right?"

"Yeah. How'd you know that?" Stiles asked, wondering if Oliver was supernatural in some way. He gave up yelling and sat down on the empty bed.

"I heard the echo." Oliver answered, and Stiles had never heard any supernatural creature describe enhanced hearing as an echo, so quickly crossed that off the list.

"What do you mean?"

"It's this place. Something about the way that it was built. Everything echoes. Eventually. That's why they call it Echo House."

Stiles was incredibly creeped out by Oliver and decided not to respond. Instead, he turned his head and looked out of the window and watched the night go by.

Soon enough, it was morning, and Oliver woke up to find that Stiles hadn't moved an inch.

"Have you been awake all night?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, I can't sleep without my pillow." Stiles informed him casually, but left out the part where leaving his pillow at home was intentional.

Oliver began coughing violently and Stiles looked at him in concern.

"You okay?"

"I swallowed a bug the other day. You ever do that?" Oliver asked but didn't give Stiles the chance to answer. "I keep coughing like it's still in my throat."

"That's disgusting, Oliver." Stiles told him. "You don't have any idea when they unlock the doors, do you?"

As if on cue, the door to their room was unlocked.

"Now." Oliver helpfully declared.

Once Oliver was released from his restraints, he offered to show Stiles around, and Stiles asked to be shown the phone.

"Most of the people here are okay. The violent ones are in the closed unit." Oliver explained as he led Stiles to the phones, pointing out people along the way. "That's Hillary. She has OCD. That's Gary. He thinks he's Jesus Christ. Dan. Also Jesus. That's Mary…"

"Mary Magdalene?" Stiles guessed.

"No, she also thinks she's Jesus." Oliver corrected as they arrived at the phone. A young woman was using it so they came to a stop while they waited. "You'd be surprised how many Jesuses we get."

"Not really." Stiles corrected.

"Hey, how come you want to use the phone already?" Oliver asked.

"'Cause after one night, I've changed my mind about this place being safe for me. Or anyone. Ever." Stiles informed Oliver bluntly.

He meant it. Screw what the voices said, he couldn't stay there long enough to let the creature take over, he needed to get out.

"No. No, I think you're wrong." The woman using the phone declared, catching Stiles' attention. "I really think I should tell them. They're going to want to know the story. The whole story. I really think they should know. Yes, I do. One of them is standing right behind me."

Her final words made Stiles suspicious. Was she talking about him? If she was, did 'they' mean his pack?

Something about the way she spoke was familiar to him but he couldn't place it.

He looked away when she hung up the phone, waiting until she had walked past him to look again.

"Who was that?" He asked Oliver. Oliver didn't answer immediately, so Stiles made his way to the phone.

"That's Meredith." Oliver finally answered as he followed Stiles. That name rang a bell to Stiles but he couldn't place it so he pushed it out of his mind. "She's a little weird."

"You're a little weird. She's a lot weird." Stiles corrected as he picked up the phone and lifted it to his ear. There was no dial tone. He pressed the button on the receiver a few times but nothing changed. "It's dead."

"Yeah. They turn off all the phones for 24 hours after a suicide." Oliver declared like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why wouldn't you tell me that before?" Stiles demanded, letting his frustration show.

"Why didn't you ask?" Oliver retorted, and Stiles slammed down the phone and stormed away. "What are you going to do now?"

"I'm getting out of this nuthouse." Stiles declared as he marched, uncaring of Oliver following him.

"That's not really the appropriate way to describe a facility like this." Oliver corrected.

Stiles ignored him, but was brought to a sudden stop when a familiar teen stepped into his path.

It was the same guy he had seen the night prior, just before the suicide.

"Oh, he-ey, Matt," Stiles greeted awkwardly. "When did you get out of juvie?"

Matt answered by punching Stiles in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Hey, Daehler!" A guard called out as he and another rushed over to restrain Matt.

A third guard was soon on Stiles, pinning him to the ground and holding his arms behind his back.

"No! Hey, what the hell?" Stiles protested. "He hit me."

"A few more like this, Matt, and you're headed to the closed unit." A guard warned

"Okay, Wait, wait, wait. Stop. I didn't do anything." Stiles argued as he watched Matt get carried away by two guards, but the third guard still didn't let him go. "Stop!"

Then Stiles looked down and realised that he was on top of a grate. A very familiar grate.

He has seen it from below twice before. First, when he was in the cage with his wolf, then again when he was alone and thought he was in the basement, only to wake up in the woods. He stopped struggling against the guard as he looked down. If the basement was that easy to find, maybe he could afford to stay a little longer.

"Enough!" A familiar voice called out. And the guard loosened his hold on Stiles, but didn't let go completely. "Enough." Morrell repeated and the guard finally got off of Stiles.

Stiles didn't notice his guidance counsellor at first, too distracted by his memories to take in reality for a moment. Then she spoke again.

"Stiles." Morrell began calmly, her soothing voice bringing Stiles back to reality. "You saw something, didn't you?"

"That basement. I've been down there before." He told her.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Back at the sheriff's station, Derek and Chris were back to back in their cells.

"Still nothing?" Chris asked. "Derek?"

"Hold on." The alpha ordered, his eyes closed as he focused on the voices a few rooms over.

"Hey, where's the sheriff?"

"Stilinski's out for the day. So the Katashi murder is now a Federal Investigation." Parrish told the older deputy. "Everything here that wasn't blown up needs to be placed in Lockup."

"You were right. They're moving all the evidence." Derek told the hunter dourly.

"Was there anything about the murder itself? Any other details?" Chris implored.

"Just about putting Katashi's things in a Federal Lockup and something about Stilinski being out for the day." Derek replied, still not in the mood for making smalltalk with a man he saw as a threat to his mate. He was only saying enough to stay civil while they were locked up, because a united front was the only way they'd get through the situation. However, that didn't mean he automatically trusted the man.

"Why are you being so short with me?" Chris asked gruffly.

"You know why. If all of this is true, people are dead because of Stiles." Derek stated. "That means the treaty is over, right?"

"Not necessarily." Chris corrected. "Because the question remains; is it really Stiles? Remember, we've had this problem before."

"But we got lucky with Tammy." Derek reminded the hunter. "The council recognised the unique circumstances. What happens when you don't get lucky?"

"I guess it depends on how much or how little of Stiles is left." Chris replied honestly. "You ever heard of the Berserkers?"

"Germanic warriors. They wore the skins of bears to channel their ferocity." Derek stated in lieu of an answer.

"They didn't just wear them. They became them." Chris corrected. "You know, a couple of years ago, a family came to us for help with their son. This group of teenagers, they were doing all sorts of rituals with animal skins. Somehow they tapped into it. But with Berserkers, the human side doesn't last long. They're not tempered by the moon."

"He killed people?"

"He tore them apart." Chris recalled with a grimace. "Eventually, I had to tell the family their son was gone. It took three of us to take him down. Almost every bullet we had. And when it was over, I felt no remorse. None. I knew that kid was long gone."

"Would you feel any remorse putting Stiles down?" Derek asked, giving the hunter the chance to regain his trust.

"Stiles, yes. But not a Nogitsune." The hunter answered honestly.

Derek had nothing to say to that. Chris was just reinforcing what Derek already knew. He couldn't trust the hunter to save his mate, he had to keep any on Chris at all times until the Nogitsune was out of Stiles, lest the hunter decide it was too late to save him.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Stiles was attending his first group session and it was making him antsy. He should be in the basement, getting it over with, but the voices warned him that he'd be caught and sedated if he tried too soon. So, he sat there and steadily grew increasingly agitated and impatient, while trying to take in what Morell was saying. Something about guilt.

"I want to go back to the topic of guilt today. It might surprise you to hear me say that guilt is a good thing. It's a rather mature emotion." Morrell explained. As she spoke, she noticed Stiles and Matt repeatedly glance at each other when the other wasn't looking. "Matt, you said something about guilt the other day. You said it came with a visceral reaction."

"I said it made me feel sick to my stomach." Matt corrected snappily as Oliver coughed.

"Guilt often becomes physical. You feel it in your gut. It's not just psychological." She explained, but Stiles was distracted by a familiar sensation of being watched. He looked behind him to see the Nogitsune in its bandaged form. But instead of its usual dark clothes, it was dressed in grey trousers and a white doctor's coat. It was seemingly talking to a shaky patient, not looking his way, but he felt its gaze all the same and it freaked him out. Stiles quickly looked away, too freaked out to even look at the creature.

"How does guilt make you feel, Stiles?" Morrell asked.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Guilt. What does it make you feel?"

"Nervous." Stiles blurted the answer without really thinking about it.

"Like a sense of urgency?" Morell asked for confirmation, and he nodded. "You feel an urgent need to make up for something you've done. To apologise." She continued, oblivious to the fact that Stiles kept seeing the Nogitsune out of the corner of his eye. Slowly creeping around the room to get closer to him. Seeing its bandaged hand resting on the leg of the person next to him. Morrell missed it, but Meredith saw. "These are healthy responses. Does anyone know what we call someone who doesn't experience guilt?"

Oliver raised his hand a little and answered, "Sociopath."

"That's right, Oliver." Morrell confirmed, but was quickly distracted by the sight when Stiles hung his head and stared at the ground. That's when she noticed the purplish marks marring his skin.

"I'm sorry, everyone, but we need to take a break." Moreel declared suddenly. "Come with me, Stiles. I'd like to talk to you for a minute."

She led Stiles to an empty room, closed the door, and had him lift his shirt so she could see his back.

"It's called a Lichtenberg figure. They appear on lightning strike victims. The fact that they're appearing on you after a shot of Wolf Lichen is both significant and strange." She informed him calmly.

"By significant and strange do you mean hopeful and optimistic?" Stiles asked, somewhat sarcastically.

"When the marks fade, the Nogitsune's grip over you will return." She warned as she retrieved a bottle of pills from the cabinet.

"What are these? Sleeping pills?" Stiles asked, prepared to give them right back to her.

"Amphetamines." She corrected. "Sleeping is exactly what you don't want to do. You're vulnerable when you're asleep."

"Yeah, the doc said something similar, but he didn't give me any drugs." Stiles huffed. "Will they even work?"

"Yes." She replied confidently. "You're not in tune with your wolf right now, so you are not benefitting from its enhanced metabolism."

"So all I have to do is stay awake?" He asked. It wasn't that he didn't believe Deaton, he just wanted reassurance that the man was right.

"For now. If your friends haven't figured out something by the time those marks are gone, I'll come find you." She warned.

"To tell me what to do?" He asked.

"No, to give you an injection. Pancuronium Bromide." She informed him as she held up a vial. "It causes respiratory paralysis."

"That sounds a lot like death." Stiles commented.

"It's used for lethal injection, yes." Morrell confirmed without blinking.

"So when the Nogitsune takes over, you're going to kill me?" Stiles asked, unsure of how to feel about that.

On one hand, it was a relief to know that someone was willing to stop the Nogitsune no matter what, but it sucked that it was someone he relied on.

She wasn't pack but she was important to him. He relied on his sessions with her to keep him sane. She had become a part of his support system, and finding out that she could kill him so easily was disconcerting, to say the least.

"I'm going to do what I've always done. Maintain the balance." Morrell told him. He knew it was her way of saying it wasn't personal, but it didn't help at all.

"Okay then. I've missed our talks. Thanks for the illicit drugs." He huffed as he walked away.

"Stiles." She called out, making him freeze. "Stay awake."

He didn't say anything, just left, pocketting the pill bottle along the way.

He made his way through Eichen House, following the whispers to the basement door.

He made his way to it and tried to open it, only to find it locked.

No, it couldn't be locked, he had to get down there, so he tried again, and again, but without his werewolf strength, it was in vain.

"What are you doing?" Oliver's voice came from behind, startling him.

"I need to get through here. To the basement." Stiles admitted, hoping that the other boy would know something useful.

"Doctors don't even have a key to this door. Only Brunski." Oliver informed Stiles.

"Is that the head orderly?" Stiles asked while filing the name away in his mind.

"He's got keys to everything in here."

"Does he keep them on him all the time?" Stiles asked, his mind racing with possibilities.

"If you want them, you'll probably have to figure out a way to trick him." Oliver declared with a grin.

"Well, part of me is getting very good at playing tricks." Stiles informed his temporary roommate.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Allison heard a knock on the door of her parents' apartment and opened it to reveal Scott, Erica, Boyd, and the twins.

"My father said all of the Katashi evidence is being moved to a Federal Lockup by armored car tonight. Probably within the next few hours." She informed the group while leading them into the apartment to where Lydia was waiting.

"We're going to rob an armored car?" Ethan asked incredulously.

"You said that wrong," Erica told him. "It's 'we're going to rob an armored car!'" She exclaimed in excitement.

"Well, we're going to try." Lydia corrected.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Stiles was in the bathroom at Eichen House, staring into the mirror.

The shower was running, filling the room with steam, but Stiles paid it no mind. He just ignored whoever was there, took a pill, and tried to psych himself up.

"Okay." He told himself. "Okay, just got to stay awake, Stiles. You just gotta stay…"

It was then that the steam cleared enough for him to see the reflection of the guy in the shower. Thinking he was seeing things, he turned to get a better look.

Sensing his gaze, the teen in the shower looked over his shoulder and smirked.

"Oh, crap," Stiles groaned when he saw Matt Daehler.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to fight you, I just want to shower." Matt assured the fellow teenager as he looked away from Stiles.

"Good. That's uh, that's good." Stiles nodded.

"Why are you staring?" Matt demanded when he continued to feel Stiles' eyes on him.

"I see the scales are gone." Stiles commented.

"Not gone, just hidden, like your claws." Matt corrected. "I'm a full Kanima now. But, unlike Tammy, I don't have a master. In juvie, I couldn't control when I shifted, I just kept blacking out and waking up next to dead bodies until they transferred me here. Here, they don't give me roommates, so I haven't been hurting anyone. Well, not without meaning to. Over the last three months or so, I've been feeling more and more in control, now I can shift on command."

To prove his point, Matt shifted into the Kanima, tail and all, for five seconds then shifted back to human.

"So, uh... if you're fully in control, why did you punch me?" Stiles asked.

"Did you think I was going to thank you?" Matt retorted.

"No, I just meant-" Stiles began, then cut himself off with a sigh. "Clearly things didn't work out perfectly if your first response was to punch me in the face."

"Things are perfect, I'm happy here." Matt stated honestly. He started to think he really was crazy because he felt like he belonged in Eichen House. The people there knew not to bother him, and were just the right amount of crazy for him to live with. There was order and structure there, but also chaos. It was perfect for Matt, but having Stiles there would ruin it, and he told him as much. "I belong here, you don't. So leave."

"I will, there's just something I need to do here first." Stiles told him, hoping Matt would be able to help him and Oliver with their plan.

Matt turned off the shower, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, then made his way to Stiles.

"Okay. What do you want?" Matt asked, knowing that helping Stiles was the fastest way to get him out of there.

"I need to get into the basement. Which means that I need to get the keys off of that orderly. The big one."

"Brunski." Matt stated knowingly.

"You help me, and I'll leave." Stiles offered, and Matt was quick to accept the deal.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

"This is a really bad plan." Scott stated.

"It's not that bad." Lydia defended weakly.

"It's not that good." Ethan chimed in as Aiden sighed and rubbed his head.

"I, for one, think it's a great plan." Erica declared as she patted Lydia on the back.

"We can do this," Boyd insisted, fully on board with the plan even though he thought it wasn't a great one.

"None of us knows the route they're going to take. If Allison can get one of her dad's GPS trackers on the armored car then we can follow it." Lydia explained

"So when it gets here-" Allison pointed at a spot on the map.

"We attack them?" Aiden chimed in.

"No." Lydia corrected sternly. "Your bikes will be in the middle of the road, looking like you guys and Erica got into an accident. And when the driver gets out to help…"

"We attack him?" Aiden tried again and Erica nodded.

"No." Allison and Lydia yelled in unison.

"Wow, okay, claws in." Erica raised her hands playfully. She didn't understand why the other two girls were so against a fight that night, but she knew them well enough to not question it until after.

"You distract him and Scott and Boyd will break open the back door." Lydia told Aiden.

"We hope." Scott stated, worried that, even together, he and Boyd wouldn't be strong enough to do it.

"And you'll get Katashi's finger." Lydia told Ethan and Erica.

"It's not his actual finger, is it?" Ethan asked, making Erica roll her eyes.

"Do we really need these two?" The blonde asked the banshee. "I can fake an accident on my bike, no problem."

Scott shot Lydia a worried look, and the redhead resisted the urge to sigh.

"We are so out of our league." She declared. Why did Stiles have to choose then to check himself into Eichen House?

"Why aren't we just going to Stilinski for help?" Ethan asked Scott.

"Because if he gets caught, then it's the Sheriff tampering with federal evidence." Scott explained. He was still angry at his dad for investigating John, he couldn't go and get the sheriff in trouble himself.

"Guys, this is going to work. We can do this." Allison stated confidently. "We're losing Stiles. My Dad's in jail for murder. We need to do this."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Oliver and Matt caused a commotion by staging a fight wherein Oliver yelled something about holes being drilled into heads.

Matt got the keys from Brunski and handed them to Stiles. Oliver noticed and smiled triumphantly.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Chris was led to a conference room in the station and went in alone.

He was expected to see his lawyer, and was surprised when he found someone else.

"They told me my lawyer was here. So either I'm going to congratulate you on recently passing the bar or I should be worried about something."

Araya Calavera turned in her chair and smiled at him. "Hello, Christoph."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Stiles quickly made his way to the basement door and began trying different keys.

"Come on." He sighed as he kept trying key after key. "Come on. I thought this guy had a key to everything." He muttered, then a hand landed on his shoulder.

"I do." Brunski stated as he took the keys from Stiles. "But nobody has the key to that room." He added before dragging Stiles away.

Grabbing back-up along the way, Brunski took Stiles to 'the quiet room' as he called it.

The bottle of pills was found in Stiles' pocket, and Brunski seemed overly pleased to find them.

"Want to tell us where you got these?"

"A vending machine." Stiles answered sarkily.

Brunski made a comment about loving the sarcastic ones, and Stiles knew he was going to hate whatever happened next.

Then, Brunski ordered that Stiles be injected with a sedative, despite Stiles' insistence that he had to stay awake.

The sedative easily overpowered the pills, and soon enough Stiles was on the floor, barely conscious as he watched the three orderlies leave.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

"You're going to Eichen House? I thought you said they wouldn't let you in this morning because of some incident last night?" Erica reminded Cora incredulously. "What makes you think they'll let you in now?"

"I don't, that's why I'm breaking in." Cora declared with a steely gaze.

"What about getting Katashi's finger?" Boyd asked with a frown.

"You don't need me for that plan, especially not now." Cora argued. "Scott just text to say Kira's crazy good with a sword and is tagging along."

"We saw it, but that doesn't mean you should go off on your own." Boyd argued calmly. "At least take Jackson with you, he's not coming tonight."

"I'll ask him, but if he says no I'm going alone." Cora declared.

Jackson said yes and admitted that the only reason he wasn't going with the group was because he had the same idea she did.

"We're going to need to change if we want to blend in." Cora reluctantly informed him while gesturing to their leather jackets.

So, the pair changed their clothes then made their way to Eichen House on their bikes. They easily kept over the gate and then blended into the crowd.

They wandered around for a few minutes before finally catching Stiles' scent. They followed the trail to the Quiet Room, made sure the coast was clear, then Cora broke the lock.

Jackson kept watch as Cora woke Stiles up.

Stiles woke up yelling.

"Shh!" Cora ordered.

"Hey, hey, hey. Shh!" Jackson tried soothing Stiles, but when that didn't work, he tried a harsher approach. "Shut up."

Stiles finally recognised where he was and who was with him, and relaxed marginally.

"How did you get in here?" Stiles demanded, terrified that they'd followed his example and checked themselves in.

"I broke the lock." Cora replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Get up."

"I meant here as in Eichen House." Stiles elaborated in a huff, as Jackson helped him to his feet.

"We jumped the fence. We came to search the basement."

"That's where I'm heading too," Stiles told them. "I'm gonna need you to break the lock for me, then go home. I don't know how long I was asleep, or how long we have until the poison wears off, so you can't be near me."

"We came to find whatever keeps drawing Lydia back to that basement, and we're not leaving without it." Jackson stated.

Stiles groaned. "My God, this must be how my dad feels."

"C'mon," Cora nodded for him to follow her. "We need to get moving before we're caught."

Unfortunately, the door Stiles led them to was being guarded thanks to his break in attempt.

Fortunately, someone showed up to help.

"There's another way to the basement." Matt informed the three pack mates in a whisper, startling them.

"Daehler?" Jackson asked incredulously.

"Yeah, we have a deal. He helps me get to the basement, I leave this place and never come back." Stiles quietly informed the pair. "He doesn't want out or anything, don't worry."

"What, you like it here?" Jackson asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't have to explain myself to you, Whittemore."

"Enough, you two, we don't have time for this."

"So, what's the other way?" Stiles asked, eager to get to the basement as soon as possible.

"Through the Closed Unit. Where they keep the real psychos." Matt answered, then turned and led the way.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

At the Sheriff's station, a portion of the pack were gathered in the parking lot. Allison watched through the scope of her crossbow as the armoured truck was loaded up.

"You're up." She told Kira.

Kira nodded then moved. She sprinted to the truck and placed the tracker on it. She looked back at Allison and Scott and smiled. Then she heard a door open.

She quickly moved around the side of the truck as Deputy Parrish came out of the building.

"Okay, let's get out of here." Parrish stated as he opened the passenger side door. Then he looked up and saw that the driver was slumped on the wheel, unconscious and bleeding from his head.

Parrish immediately drew his weapon and made his way around the truck, searching for the culprit.

"We have to do something." Scott told his mate, concerned that Kira would be caught and blamed for whatever was going on.

Then, just as Parrish got to the back of the truck, the doors flung open and a muscular man kept out. He easily knocked out Parrish as Allison and Scott watched.

"Who the hell is that?" Scott asked, though he didn't expect his mate to have the answer.

"Kincaid." Allison declared.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

"You want to talk about the code?" Chris asked.

"Ours is more than a code of behavior. It's a code of honor." Araya told him. "These things bind our families. You don't abandon such things lightly."

"Where in the code does it say my wife had to kill herself?" Chris demanded. Even though Victoria was still alive, she had asked him to help her end her life when she was first bitten, only his reaction changed her mind. The fact that she had asked still haunted him, and he was plagued by nightmares of a life where he agreed.

"Your wife would have honored us with her dying breath." Araya stated. "Now she is one of them, not one of us no matter how much she likes to pretend she is both."

"She honored her daughter by living." Chris declared. He believed that and would stand by it for all of his life.

"Your family is very complicated, though. Isn't it?"

"What do you really want to know?" Chris demanded, fed up with her cryptic responses. "This isn't about Victoria. Is this about Allison? Kate? What are you fishing for?"

"I don't fish, mijo." She declared as she rose to her feet and turned towards the door. "I hunt."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Scott and Allison approached Kincaid as he retrieved Katashi's silver finger from the armoured truck.

"We need that finger." Scott told the bigger werewolf without fear.

Kincaid looked his way and didn't seem phased by the fact that Allison was aiming a crossbow at him.

"Why should I give it to you?" Kincaid asked.

"There's a briefcase in there with $150,000 in it." Allison informed him.

"The scroll inside this prosthetic finger is worth three million." Kincaid replied, knowing full well that they were after the same thing he was.

"Give me the finger." Scott demanded. Kincaid shot him a look. "You know what I mean."

Kira chose that moment to leap off the top of the truck and onto Kincaid's back.

He simply rolled his shoulder and flipped her off of him.

"I guess negotiations are over." Kincaid stated as he looked at them with glowing blue eyes, and his wolf teeth on full display. He let out a loud, intimidating roar as he lowered into a crouch, preparing to pounce.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

"Okay, you're here, I'm leaving now," Matt declared. "This is the last time I help any of you."

With that, the Kanima turned and left, leaving the two werewolves and the possessed teen alone.

"I see he's just as friendly as ever." Jackson commented dryly.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" Cora asked Stiles.

"Do you?" Stiles shot back.

"We'll know it when we see it." Cora stated.

"Well, I'm looking for something to do with that." Stiles declared as he pointed to the Kanji on the wall.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Kincaid was able to catch Allison's arrows, knock out Kira, and hold his own against Scott.

He was strong and only the connection to the Nemeton gave Scott the boost he needed to land a few hits, not that any of them had much of an effect on the other werewolf.

Then the twins, Lydia, Erica, and Boyd showed up.

Lydia rushed over to Allison and helped her up, and the pair watched together as the four werewolves took on Kincaid as a team.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

"This place definitely used to be a lot more fun." Cora commented as she flipped through old files. "Electroshock, ice baths. Trepanation?"

"That's what Oliver was talking about. Trepanation is when they drill into your head." Stiles informed her.

"Who's Oliver and why was he talking about drilling holes into heads?" Jackson asked with a frown.

"He's my roomate here, he's kinda weird. He was yelling about it when he and Matt caused a distraction to get Brunski's keys." Stiles explained, and Jackson didn't bother asking who Brunski was.

"No wonder they don't want anyone down here." Cora commented as she read more.

Stiles sighed and tossed the file he was reading.

"There's nothing here." He huffed. "Could you do me a favor?" He asked the pair. "Could you just check the lines on my back? Just tell me if they're fading."

Jackson lifted Stiles' shirt and immediately frowned. "Yeah, they're almost gone."

"Okay, you two need to get out of here." Stiles ordered as Jackson lowered his shirt.

"No," Cora and Jackson refused in unison.

"It's too dangerous for you to stay."

"Then you go back to the padded room, we're staying to find whatever keeps drawing Lydia here." Jackson stated.

"No, I need to be down here, you two have to go." Stiles tried but they refused again.

And so began a long argument.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

The twins tossed Kincaid to the ground near Scott. Boyd and Erica backed off, but the twins moved in for the kill.

"Stop." Scott gasped weakly. "Ethan, Aiden."

"Stop!" Lydia screeched.

"You want him to come after us?" Aiden demanded.

"Scott, we've seen guys like this. Trust us. He's dangerous." Ethan told the beta.

"So are we." Scott reminded them. "And he looks smart enough to remember that." Scott then stepped forwards and took the finger from Kincaid's pocket, and retrieved the scroll from within.

"We're here to save a life, not end one." Scott reminded the twins, then dropped the finger to the ground.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

As they argued about who should leave, Cora got distracted by a noise and led the boys back to the Kanji.

There, she knocked on the wall, cluing the boys into the fact that there was a space behind it.

Stiles picked up a pipe and started swinging, busting a hole into the wall.

Inside the wall was a body.

"This is him." Stiles informed the pair, and they all finally understood why Lydia specifically had been drawn there.

"The Nogitsune?" Cora asked for confirmation and Stiles nodded.

Cora reached out and opened the pocket on the nogitsune's jacket. Within said pocket was an old picture. She glanced at it and her eyes went wide.

"Recognise them?" She asked as she passed him the photo.

"One of them." Stiles gasped.

"Is that-" Jackson gasped as he looked at the picture over Stiles' shoulder.

"I need to get this to Scott." Stiles declared as he rose to his feet.

Then, he was tased.

Jackson turned to see who was responsible, and was tased too.

"You took Brunski's keys." Oliver declared. "I took his stun gun." He added. Cora attempted to charge at him, but thanks to the advice of the Nogitsune, the human managed to side step at just the right time, and tased her too.

"I also got his Haldol." Oliver added as he pulled out a needle. He jammed it into Cora's arm, then pushed the plunger.

Jackson was just recovering from the shock of being tased and was about to get up when Oliver tased him again. Prepared that time, Jackson pushed through the pain and knocked the Taser out his hand.

He grabbed Oliver by the throat and squeezed.

"Don't kill him, just knock him out," Stiles ordered.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Jackson demanded, unconsciously loosening his hold on Oliver's throat as he looked to Stiles for an answer.

"Oliver."

"Your roommate? Why is he attacking us?" Jackson asked incredulously. "And what the hell did he give Cora?"

"A sedative, she'll burn through it in as little as ten minutes if she's eaten well today, up to an hour if she hasn't." Stiles explained, both he and Jackson oblivious to the fact that Oliver was taking advantage of the distraction.

With a shaky hand, Oliver reached into his pocket and pulled out a second needle. He pushed the cap off the needle with his thumb, adjusted his hold on the syringe, then jabbed the needle into Jackson's neck.

As Jackson fell to the floor, Stiles tried to crawl away, but Oliver was quick to pick up the taser and use it again.

"Like I was saying, Stiles, I heard they used to do trepanation here." Oliver declared while rubbing his throat.

"Oliver... What are you doing?" Stiles asked weakly.

"I'm going to let the evil spirits out." Oliver told him as he picked up a drill.

Maybe it was being tased twice, or maybe panic clouded his memory, or perhaps it was the lack of real sleep, but something had Stiles dazed enough that Oliver was able to restrain him to a gurney.

"I borrowed a few pointers from the five point restraint." Oliver declared once he knew Stiles was paying attention.

Stiles looked to find his wrists bound by leather cuffs. He tried to bust free but still lacked the werewolf strength required to do so.

"Oliver, stop this." Stiles pleaded.

Oliver coughed up blood and a dead fly, but didn't respond to Stiles' pleas. "Oliver, listen to me." He begged, but Oliver didn't stop. Instead, he powered up the drill. "Stop! Oliver! Oliver! Stop!"

"Start with her." A familiar voice ordered, and Oliver stopped the drill. When Oliver moved, Stiles could see the Nogitsune across the room, just casually sitting there. It turned its head and looked at him when it felt his gaze.

"You did this." Stiles whispered his realisation. "You got into his head."

"Every Dracula needs a Renfield." The Nogitsune replied.

Stiles looked over to Oliver and saw him securing Cora's wrists. Jackson was lying next to her, already restrained.

"Just let them go."

"Let me in." The Nogitsune demanded.

Stiles was ready to agree, but knew he couldn't make it that easy or the Nogitsune would get suspicious. So he caught against his restraints again and pretended to ignore the creature.

"Stiles." The Nogitsune snarled as it crept towards him. "Do you want them to leave here alive? Do you want us to leave? We can walk out of this place."

"Just let them go please." Stiles begged as he watched Oliver tighten the restraint on Cora's other wrist.

"Let me in." The Nogitsune whispered as it placed a hand on the gurney and came up beside Stiles. Stiles screamed in frustration as he fought against the restraints again. "Let me in, Stiles! Let me in!"

"Just let them go please!" Stiles yelled.

"Let me in, Stiles!" The Nogitsune ordered as Oliver powered up the drill and moved it towards Cora's head. "Let me in! Let me in and I'll let them live. Let me in!"

As the creature repeated itself, Stiles closed his eyes and let the tears fall.

It was time.

Time to let the Nogitsune in, truly and completely.

The Nogitsune felt it the moment the teen stopped fighting, and basked in its triumph.

The fight was finally over and the body was his.

"Oliver." The Nogitsune called out, causing the boy to stop and turn to him.

The Nogitsune released itself from the restraints and stood up, rubbing its new wrists as it looked at Oliver.

It knocked Oliver out with a punch and took the drill.

"Stiles?" Cora called out, sounding dazed.

The Nogitsune looked at her and smiled.

Sure, it could have a lot of fun hurting her and Jackson, and it was no stranger to going against its word, but it had something far more fun in mind for the pack, so it left the two werewolves be for the time being.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

At the animal clinic, Scott showed Deaton the scroll.

"There isn't much here, unfortunately." The vet declared.

"Does it say anything?" Scott asked.

"My Japanese isn't great. But it appears to say that one method of expelling a Nogitsune is to change the body of the host."

"Change the body?" Scott whispered, the wheels turning in his mind.

"Which begs the question, how do we change Stiles' body?"

"By turning him back into a werewolf." Scott declared. Deaton looked dubious.

"He never stopped being a werewolf, that side of him is just suppressed." The vet argued.

"How can you be sure? You said nothing like this has ever happened before." Scott retorted. He was confident that he was right and wanted his boss to believe him.

"It hasn't, but a werewolf has never turned back into a human before either."

"But he didn't become human, he became a fox," Scott argued. "Maybe the key is Derek biting him to turn him back into a wolf."

"It's certainly worth a shot." Deaton agreed with a sigh. He didn't think it would work, but he didn't have a better idea.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Once she ripped herself free of the restraints, Cora freed Jackson, then restrained Oliver for revenge. With the photo in Jackson's pocket, the pair left Eichen House the same way they arrived, though they did pass Morrell on the way and took a minute to stop and tell her what happened with Stiles and Oliver.

"Well, that was a total shit show," Cora commented as they made their way from the gate to their bikes. (Jackson's Porsche was in the body shop for repairs.)

"At least we got the picture." Jackson replied.

"We don't even know if that's what Lydia was drawn to." Cora argued.

"Stiles said we should show Scott. It has to mean something."

"It means the girl in the picture looks like Kira, and he thinks her family has some connection to this. We already know her mom is the one summoning the Oni, he doesn't. That's all." Cora stated confidently.

"There's got to be more." Jackson insisted. "Kira's mom is hiding something, maybe this picture is the key to getting her to open up."

"That's a lot of faith in a wrinkly old picture." Cora stated as they came to a stop by their respective bikes.

"No, it's faith in my pack." Jackson corrected. "Stiles thinks it's important, so I do too."

Cora nodded in respect.

They then drove home, arriving at the preserve at the same time as Scott.

"This is it." Lydia declared the moment her mate showed her the picture. "This is what kept drawing me back there. You said it was with the Nogitsune's body?"

"Yeah, in its pocket." Cora confirmed.

"She looks like Kira," Scott commented as he looked at the picture over Lydia's shoulder.

"We noticed," Jackson replied. "You think you can use this to get her mum to tell us the truth?"

"I can try."

A/N: Happy Belated New Year! Sorry about this chapter. I wanted Matt to be the one to knock out Cora and Jackson, but it came out differently than I intended and all my attempts to write his involvement were clunky and awkward, so he made a far smaller appearance than I planned. Anyway, I'm going in for surgery on my finger tomorrow and probably won't be writing for a couple of weeks, sorry, but I'll be back as soon as possible.