'It will be fun' he said.

'I've known this girl since nursery school' he said.

'I'll get her to introduce you to all of her friends' he said.

'You won't be left out' he said.

'You'll have a good time' he said.

Is that why I'm standing in a room of people dancing, with no idea where you or Scott are, Stilinski? Last time I saw Stiles, he had just received a kiss from Heather and she'd taken him to 'pick out a bottle of wine'. Last time I saw Scott, he was trying - emphasis on the trying - to flirt with girls. I call both Scott and Stiles but neither of them answer. I sit on the sofa, drinking punch after punch, before I start to feel sick. 

"She ditched me." Stiles sighs, grabbing my wrist and pulling me out of the party.

"Where are we going?" I ask, more excited than I probably should've sounded.

"Home." He says. "I'm taking you home."

"I can drive myself." 

"You're intoxicated." He deadpans.

"I can't get intoxicated, dummy. I'm a werewolf." I giggle.

"Okay, one, you just giggled. Two, you're a dolorwolf and we don't know how they react to alcohol. Three, I am your best friend and it's my responsibility to chaperone you. And four, you probably shouldn't say what you are in public." He lectures me, on the way back to his Jeep. He pauses, rethinking what I said. "And did you just call me dummy?" 

"Uh - no commentary on the topic." I snigger. He shakes his head and helps me into his Jeep. "Dude, what if - what if you were to be erased from existence. Who would be my chaperone then?"

"I'm pretty sure you can't get erased from existence, Kay." He laughs, putting the Jeep into drive. On the way home, I start going into theories that are deeper than Peter's V-Necks and Stiles politely agrees but laughs along.

"Stiles, I'm being deadly serious, what if this doesn't even exist and it's all just a figment of our minds." I roll my eyes. "Don't you believe me?" I groan in annoyance. "Think a moment and think of all the possible dreams that you have experienced in your life. Is it not possible that everything around you is nothing but an incredibly intricate dream?" 

"But we have people and things around us that we cannot doubt, because we can hear, see, smell, taste and feel them, right?" Stiles actually engages in the conversation this time. 

"Well, yes, and no. People who take LSD, for example, say that they can touch the most convincing hallucinations, but people don't claim that their visions are 'reality'." I try to explain. Stiles just has a blank expression when he finally has time to rip his gaze from the road. "Dreams simulate sensations as well, after all, what you perceive is what different sections of your brain tell you to." 

My elaboration makes much more of a difference because Stiles has furrowed his brows and says, "well, you've made me rethink everything, Kayden." He pauses. "If that's even your name."

⍟⍟⍟  

From Isaac:

Meet me at Derek's Loft ASAP, need you.

I reread the text over and over. He needs me. He actually needs me. I feel like a 13 year old girl getting a text from the guy she likes. Even though I'm a 16 year old girl getting a text from the guy she likes.

I was going to set off for school, but I guess Chemistry can wait. I grab the keys to Mom's car and drive myself to Derek's place. $250 more and I can get myself the car I want. Only $250. I put the car into park when I arrive at Derek's place and don't hesitate just to walk in. 

"You know, I'm starting to not like this idea." Isaac says, pacing.

"What idea?"

"Oh, Kayden, didn't hear you knocking. Please, do come right in." Derek says, sarcastically. I put my hands on my hips and send him a glare. "Peter's going to help him remember the other night."

"If Peter's involved, it sounds kinda dangerous." I grimace at the name. I honestly can't stand the guy - but it's for Isaac. If I can start to like Allison slightly more around Lydia, I can definitely be in the same room as Peter Hale for Isaac. 

"You know what? I definitely don't like this idea, and I definitely don't like him." Isaac shakes his head, still pacing the floor.

"You'll be fine." Derek assures him. 

"Does it have to be him?" Isaac asks, stopping his pacing to stand next to me.

"He knows how to do it, I don't." Derek utters in annoyance. "It'd be more dangerous if I tried doing it myself."

"You know Scott doesn't trust him, right?" I tell Derek, who is sat in a chair reading something.

"Yeah, and personally - well, I trust Scott." Isaac messes with his fingers in anxiousness.

"Do you trust me?" Derek questions, finally tearing away his fixated eyes from his book.

"Yeah." Isaac nods, his eyes locked with Derek's. It's cute - the father, son relationship they have. Maybe it's because mine's never around? Derek smiles a very small smile - but it's there - before looking back down to his book. "I still don't like him."

"Nobody likes him." Derek sighs, shaking his head. I smile, giving Isaac's hand a reassuring squeeze. He looks down at me and smiles back. The door then opens, revealing Mr Peter Hale himself - standing there. 

"Boys." He pauses and looks at me, rolling his eyes. "And Kayden." He says, looking down his nose at me. Little bitch. I'll cut him up into tiny little pieces and make him into dog food - maybe even feed it to one of the dogs at the clinic. No. That's cannibalism - he's pretty much a dog himself. "F.Y.I, yes, coming back from the dead has left my abilities somewhat impaired, but the hearing still works. So I hope you're comfortable saying whatever it is that you're feeling, straight to my face."

"We don't like you." Derek and I say, simultaneously. Derek slams the big, fat book closed and throws it onto the table, standing up. "Now shut up and help us."

Peter pauses a second, taking it all in. "Fair enough." He shrugs. He retracts his claws, which make me extremely uncomfortable, but I don't show it. I lead Isaac to a chair to sit on and Derek and I, take the little two seater. "Relax. I'll be able to get more out of you if you're calm."

"How do you know how to do this again?" Isaac asks, starting to panic at the idea. 

"It's an ancient ritual used mostly by Alphas, since it's a skill that requires quite a bit of practice." Peter explains, walking behind Isaac. "One slip and you can paralyse someone.Or kill them."

"You kill him, and I kill you, honey bunch." I seethe, a muscle feathering my jaw at him. 

"You - You've had enough practice though, right?" Isaac tries to convince himself.

"Well, I've never paralysed anyone." Peter plasters a fake smile on his features. Derek and I furrow our brows and Isaac nods before realising what he said.

"Wait, does that mean that you-" Before Isaac could even finish his sentence, Peter pushed his claws into the back of Isaac's neck, making him strain. His eyes go a golden hue and Derek's head jolts up in alarm. Peter throws his head back and I see his eyes are a bright blue - killing an innocent. Well, in his case, multiple innocents.

"Peter! I swear to God if you kill Isaac, I'm going to make a werewolf skin coat out-!" I yell.

"Wait, I see them." He cuts me off. After a few more seconds of Isaac struggling, Peter finally pulls his claws out of his neck and Isaac doubles over. I rush to Isaac to see if he's okay, but he doesn't answer me. All I get is a stunned look. 

"What'd you see?" Derek asks.

"It was confusing." Peter shakes his head, panting - drama queen. "Um im-images. Vague shapes."

"But you saw something." I prompt, still looking at Isaac, who is rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Isaac found them." Peter states. I see a tear escape Isaac's eye as he watches Peter's every move.

"Erica and Boyd?"

"I barely saw them. I mean, glimpses." Peter trails off.

"But you did see them." Derek demands, worried for his pack.

"Worse." Peter says in almost a whisper.

"Deucalion." Derek mutters.

"He was talking to them. Something about time running out." 

"What does it mean?" Isaac finally whispers. 

Isaac and I look at Derek who is messing with his hands. He lets out a sigh and his eyes meet with ours. "He's gonna kill them."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, he didn't say that." Peter shakes his head. I let out a sigh of relief. I miss Erica so much. And Boyd. "He did make them a promise that by the full moon they'd both be dead."

"The next full moon?" Derek growls.

"As in tomorrow tonight?" I screech. 

"Yes, tomorrow night."

⍟⍟⍟  

"I don't see anything." Derek shakes his head at Allison and Lydia. Okay, so Derek dragged my ass back down to the school because I wouldn't answer any calls or texts from Scott and, Scott needed Derek to check out some bruises this girl, that's looking for Scott and I, gave Lydia and Allison, so he thought he might as well take me. I hated every bit of the journey - but hey, I got some cool looks walking into school out of Derek's car, so that's an upside right?

"Look again." Scott insists. All I see is two bruises that are symmetrical and make a pattern.

"How is a bruise going to tell me where Erica and Boyd are?" Derek grunts, crossing his arms over his chest in frustration. 

Scott looks at me for help and I sigh, deciding to do it. "It's the same on both side, Derek. Exactly the same."

"It's nothing." He mumbles.

"Pareidolia." Lydia hums. "Seeing patterns that aren't there." Everyone looks at her blankly. "It's a subset of apophenia."

"They're trying to help." I whisper to Derek who has a glare, burning straight through my head and right past Stiles' head - whom was just sat on the table, spectating the whole scene.

"These two." Derek deadpanned. He points to Lydia and begins to talk again. "This one, who used me to resurrect my psychotic uncle. Thank you." He then points to Allison. "And this one, who shot about 30 arrows into me and my pack."

"Don't forget me." I say, holding a hand up in front of me. Derek looks at me and furrows his brows. "She shot me too." I pause. "And stabbed me."

"Okay, all right, come on." Stiles finally speaks up. "Nobody died, all right? Look, there may have been a little maiming, okay, a little mangling. But no death." He sure likes the word maiming. "That's what I call an important distinction."

"My mother died." Allison whispers, slitting her eyes at Derek. 

"Your family's little honour code killed you mother. Not me." Derek growls at her. 

"That girl was looking for Scott and Kayden. I'm here to help them. Not you." Allison glowers at him. I still don't like her - just a lot further down than before.

"You wanna help?" He scoffs. "Then find something real."

He starts to walk away, but I follow him, grabbing his arm. "Derek, give them a chance?" I ask, tilting my head to the side. "Okay. They're on our side now."

Derek moves his head closer to my ear and whispers, "well, then maybe you should tell her what her mother was actually trying to do that night." With that, he storms out of the classroom, slamming the door. I look at Scott, who I knew had listened to the whole conversation. 

⍟⍟⍟  

"Okay, but what would a pack of Alpha's want with Boyd and Erica?" Stiles asks Scott, but they both know I'm going to answer anyway.

I sigh, looking between them both. "I'm not sure it's them they want."

"Okay, what, like Derek? They're recruiting?" Stiles questions and I get a sense of other werewolves, other than Scott. I look back and see the back of the new twins heads. Scott is looking back too, catching their scent also. "Hey, Scott, Kayden." We turn around and Stiles looks at us both confused. "You coming?"

I knit my brows together and look back over my shoulder. They've gone. We make our way to our next class and I think about how Isaac still isn't back in school. I miss him. And he gets to spend his time, finding Erica and Boyd, which is what I want to help out most with, not sit in business and listen to Coach - whom probably isn't even qualified to be a business teacher. I sink down in my seat, in front of Stilinski, when Coach slams the big book on the table, notifying everyone class has started.

"The stock market is based on two principles. What are they?" Coach asks the class. Risk and reward. Scott raises his hand and Coach nods. "Yes McCall, you can go to the bathroom. Anybody else?"

I stifle a laugh and Scott puts his hand down and furrows his brows at Coach. "Uh, no, Coach, I know the answer." He stutters. 

Coach just lets out a breathy laugh which turns into a cackle. He immediately stops when he realises Scott is being genuine. "Oh, you're serious?"

"Yeah. It's risk and reward." Scott states simply, with a smile.

"Wow! Who are you? And what have you done to McCall?" Coach walks closer and closer to my brother, really impressed.

I have a devilish idea, which might just get me landed in detention, but it's so worth it. "He was abducted by aliens to be experimented on. It's made his, you know," I whistle, "smaller ever since he came back."

Most of the class laugh and Coach looks at me in perturbation. "Thanks, for that, McCall." Coach nods, really disturbed. He turns back to my brother and smiles again. "I like you better. I like you better." 

He makes his way back to the front of the class. "Does anybody have a quarter? A quarter."

"Yep." Stiles nods, reaching into his pocket. I hear something plastic hit the floor and I look down to see an XXL condom packet and I snort. This lesson keeps getting better and better. I turn around to see Stiles' face almost as red as the stripes on his flannel.

Coach strides over to the condom packet and bends down to pick it up. "Stilinski, I - uh - I think you dropped something." He hands the condom back to Stiles and smiles like a proud father. "And congratulations."

I spin myself around in the chair and face Stiles. "That is so not yours!" I whisper a little too loud so the people in the surrounding areas heard, but not everyone. I could see Scott chuckling in his seat and I can't help a smile make it's way onto my face. Stiles looks so shell-shocked.

"Risk and reward. Put the quarter in the mug, win the reward." He says, holding up a mug. He sets it on the floor and moves back a few metres. "Okay, watch Coach." He bounces the quarter on the floor and it lands in the mug.

Everyone gives him a round of applause. "Okay, Danny. Risk, reward."

"What's the reward?" Danny wisely questions.

"You don't have to take the pop quiz tomorrow." Coach shakes his head.

"Coach, it's not a pop quiz if you tell us about it." Danny says, quietly.

"Danny, you know, I really expect more from you at this point. Really."

"McCall, risk, reward?" He says, placing the quarter on my desk. "The risk. If you don't put the quarter in the mug, you have to take the pop - the quiz tomorrow. And - and you have to write an essay." Coach pauses. "Risk, more work. Reward, no work at all. Or choose not to play."

"I'd rather just stick to embarrassing McCall and Stilinski." I nod, pushing the quarter away from me with my index finger.

Coach shakes his head at me. "What are we going to do with you McCall?" He turns to my brother, placing the coin on his desk. "Risk or reward, McCall - other McCall."

"But isn't this just chance?" Scott asks, furrowing his brows.

"No. You know your abilities, your co-ordination, your focus, past experience - all factors affecting the outcome." Coach explains to him. For a moment there, my heart dropped. I thought he knew Scott was a werewolf for a second. "So what's it going to be, McCall? More work. No work. Or choose not to play." Scott examines the coin for a second, playing with it in his fingers. He puts the quarter on his book and shakes his head. "No play. Okay, who's next? Who wants the quarter?" Stiles drums on his table. "There you go! There's a gambling man!"

Stiles readies himself to get the quarter in the mug and the door opens. Mr Stilinski walks through, with one of his deputies. "Stiles." He calls.

"Yeah, Coach. I got it." He licks his lips in concentration.

I roll my eyes and sigh. "Stiles!" I yell, that makes him look up so I gesture my head over to the door where his Dad is. He leaves the room with his Dad and I listen in.

"I couldn't find her. I just figured she'd hooked up with her other friends. Has no one really seen her since last night?"

"We put out an A.P.B, but, Stiles, all her friends say you're the last one who saw her."

"Me?"

"We hope that it's just a series of bad decisions based on too much to drink. But if you remember anything else, call me."

"Yes! Reward!" Coach shouts as Danny just got the quarter in the mug. "Anyone else? Greenburg, put your hand down, you don't have a chance."

⍟⍟⍟  

"So you think they kidnapped Heather to turn her?" Scott questions Stiles, as we walk through the hallways. What was the actual point of me being here today? School's almost over anyway.

"Derek says it's easier to turn teenagers." Stiles shrugs.

"But what would a pack of Alphas want with a Beta?" I furrow my brows.

"Kay, I don't know, I don't care." He snaps. "All right? This girl - Our moms were best friends before mine died, all right? We used to take freaking bubble baths together when we were three. I gotta find her." 

"Then we need Isaac to remember." I sigh. "If we get him to remember, we find Erica, Boyd and Heather."

"How? Peter and Derek couldn't do it. You know any other werewolves with a better trick, Kayden?" Stiles rolls his eyes in annoyance.

"Maybe not a werewolf. But somebody who knows a lot about them." Scott replies. Deaton.

Fast forward a few hours and we're in the animal clinic. Scott, Stiles, Derek, Deaton, Isaac and I. The plan was to put Isaac in an ice bath to slow his heart rate and something about his mind, I didn't quite catch. Derek, Scott and Stiles are putting ice in a metal tub full of water, while Deaton tries to talk Isaac through it all. "Obviously, it's not going to be particularly - comfortable. But if we slow your heart rate down enough, you'll slip into a trance-like state."

"Like, being hypnotised." Isaac suggests as we all walk closer to the tub of ice and water. 

"Exactly, you'll be half transformed. It'll let us access your sub-conscious mind." Deaton nods. Isaac bends down at the tub, resting his arms on the side and I just stay behind him.

"How slow does his heart rate need to be?" Scott questions, like he is reading my mind. I was just about to ask that, myself.

"Very slow."

"Okay, well, how slow is 'very slow'?" Derek asks irritated at the lack of information we were receiving.

"Nearly dead." Deaton shrugs. His tone of voice was so casual and much more enthusiastic than I like. What is wrong with this guy? 

"Oh, that's great." I mutter under my breath, despite everyone hearing me. 

Isaac puts his hand in the water but immediately pulls back at how cold it was. "It's safe though, right?"

"Of course it is." I nod. I turn to Deaton and frown. "It is, isn't it?"

"Do you want me to answer honestly?"

"No. No, not really." Isaac trailed off. We were interrupted by the sound of plastic hitting skin. Everyone looks up to see Stiles, who had slapped a rubber glove onto his hand. 

"What?" Stiles asks, with his face inscrutable. We all glare at him and he sharply exhales, ripping the glove from his hand and throws it to the floor.

Isaac stands up, letting out a shaky breath. "Look, you don't have to do this if it feels too risky." Derek has concern plastered all over his features, a sight you don't see too often. Isaac nods, but proceeds to take off his shirt. I stare at his back muscles and freeze. I've. Never. Seen. This. Guy. Shirtless. Before.

"Kayden, you will be the main person to hold him down. Scott and Derek will help you apply the pressure that's needed." Deaton explains, bringing me back to reality.

"Uh - okay." I press my lips into one thin line and my heart starts beating erratically. What if I drown him by accident? What if he dies, and it's all my fault? I don't want his blood on my hands. Not Isaac's. I place my hand on his back gently and guide him to the tub. He slowly gets in and lets out puffs of air every second to help him get through it quicker.

I place my hands on his shoulders, Scott and Derek putting theirs on top of mine. I quickly give Isaac's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, but he probably couldn't feel it over the freezing cold water, numbing his body like pins and needles to a great extent. Scott and Derek push on my hands, Isaac submerging in the water. I hold him down - or try to - and he lifts his head up, growling. 

He's half transformed. Stiles grabs onto his legs to hold him down. "Get him back under." Deaton orders. Oh yeah, old man. You think it's that easy? His head goes under again, but he starts to strain against our hold on him and resurfaces. "Hold. Him."

"We're trying!" Derek snaps. We push him down again, only this time, he stops struggling. His body goes limp in the water and I can feel my heart beating in my throat. We all let go and he floats to the top. My eyes widen in disbelief. Did we kill him? He takes in a small breath, letting us know he is in fact alive. I let out a sigh of relief and wait a few seconds. 

"Now remember, only I talk to him. Too many voices will confuse him and draw him out." We all nod and Deaton turns to Isaac, who still has his eyes closed. "Isaac? Can you hear me?"

"Yes." He whispers. "I can hear you."

"This is Dr Deaton. I'd like to ask you a few questions, is that all right?" 

"Where's Kayden?" Isaac struggles to get out. I move to the side of the tub, putting my hand in the water to grab his hand, ignoring the pain it gives me due to how cold it is.

"Right here Isaac." I whisper softly, trying not to startle him.

"Would I be able to ask you a few questions?" Deaton tries again.

"Yes."

"I want to ask you about the night you found Erica and Boyd." Deaton says. "I want you to remember it for me in as much vivid detail as possible, like you're actually there again."

"I - I don't want to do that. I don't - I don't want to do that." He shakes his head violently. "Kayden, don't make me do that."

"Isaac, it's all right." I hush, still holding his hand. The lights start to flicker as Isaac struggles in the tub.

"They're just memories, Isaac. You can't be hurt by a memory." Deaton assures him. 

"I don't wanna do that!"

"It's all right." Deaton mutters, softly as possible.

"I don't wanna do that!"

"Isaac, please. Remember it for me." I shush him, softly - like a mother would shush a baby to sleep. 

"For you." He nods, trailing off and calming down. "For you."

"Now, let's go back to that night. To the place you found Erica and Boyd. Can you tell me what you see? Is there some kind of building? A house?"

"It's not - it's not a house. It's stone. Marble, I think." Isaac shivers, his lips are now already blue.

"Perfect." Deaton tells him, clearly, yet softly. "Can you give me any other descriptors?"

"It's dusty, so empty."

"Like an abandoned building?" The lights start to flicker again and Isaac starts to stir, furrowing his brows in discomfort. "Isaac? Isaac."

"Someone's coming." He panics. "Someone's here." He grabs onto my other arm with his spare hand and crushes my hand which is still in his.

"Isaac, relax." Deaton hushes.

"No, no, no. They see me! They see me!" He worries, filled with fear. He starts splashing around in the water and I hear my bones crunch, but I bite my cheek, trying not to startle him. 

"Just memories." Deaton tells him again. "You won't be hurt by your memories. Just relax. Relax." Isaac does just that, and eases himself back into the tub. "Good. Now tell us what you see. Tell us everything."

I see Isaac's eyes moving around, underneath his closed lid, like he is actually there and looking around, taking in his own surroundings. His eyes slowly open and he speaks again. "I hear him. He's talking about the full moon, about being out of control when the moon rises."

"Is he talking to Erica?" Deaton questions.

"I think so I can't - I can't see her. I ca- I can't see either of them." He shivers.

"Can you hear anything else?"

"They're worried. They're worried what they'll do during the full moon. They're - worried that they're going to hurt each other."

"If they're locked in together on the full moon, they're gonna tear each other apart." Derek mumbles, lowly.

"Isaac, we need to find them right now." Deaton says, a little more stern than the previous times. "Can you see them?"

"No."

"Do you know what kind of room it is? Is there any kind of a marker? A number on a door? A sign?" Isaac jolts upright and takes a deep breath in.

"They're here." He whispers in fear before sinking back down in the water. "They're here. They're hear."

"It's all right."

"No."

"Just tell us-"

"They see me. They found me. They're here!" 

"This isn't working!" Derek snaps. "Isaac, where are you?"

"I can't see them! It's too dark!" He yells in fear. My eyes start tearing up at how worked up he is getting. He must've been so scared if he's acting like this now.

"Just tell me where you are!" He shouts at Isaac.

"I can't see!"

"Derek, stop, you're confusing him!" I growl.

"Isaac, where are you?" Derek raises his voice in a hostile way. "Just tell me where you are!"

"His heart rate! He could go into shock!" Deaton warns him.

"Derek! Let him go!" I order.

"Isaac, where are you?! What'd you see?!" He bellows, this time the loudest.

"A vault! It's a bank vault!" Isaac screams in terror. "I saw it! I saw the name." He snaps out of his subconsciousness and we help him out of the tub. I wrap a towel around him and he stutters it out. "It's B-Beacon Hills First National Bank. It's um, an abandoned bank, and they're keeping them locked inside, inside the vault." My eyes fall to my shoes at what he said right before he came out. We're all silent and he just shakes his head in confusion. "What?"

"You don't remember what you said, right before you came out of it do you?" Stiles questions him.

"No." He shakes his head.

"You said that when they captured you, they dragged you into a room. And there was a body in it." Stiles explains. 

"What body?" He asks, looking at everyone until his eyes land on me.

"Erica." I say in barely even a whisper. "You said it was Erica."

 ⍟⍟⍟  

"She's not dead!" Derek insists.

"Derek, he said 'There's a dead body. It's Erica.' It doesn't exactly leave us much room for interpretation." Stiles fires back. I am currently cuddling up to Isaac, sad from the news, not saying anything, just listening. Isaac is much warmer now and I'm pretty sure he's only used me as a hot water bottle right now.

"Then who was in the vault with Boyd?" Derek snaps.

"Someone else, obviously."

"And maybe it was the girl on the motorcycle." Scott input. "Okay, the one who saved you." He looks over to Isaac.

He shakes his head. "No, she wasn't like us. And whoever was in the vault with Boyd was." 

"What if that's how Erica died?" Stiles knits his brows together, trying to piece up his theory. "They, like, put them against each other during the full moons and see which one survives. It's like werewolf thunderdome." 

"Then we get them out tonight." Derek shrugs. 

"Be smart about this, Derek." Deaton speaks up. "You can't just go storming in."

"If Isaac got in, so can we." Derek nods, crossing his arms over his chest - making his frame look a whole lot broader and muscular in general.

"But he didn't get through a vault door, did he?" Deaton says, wisely.

"We need a plan." Scott steps forward.

"How are we supposed to come up with a plan to break into a bank vault in less than 24 hours?" Derek questions Scott, like he's the dumbest person he's ever met. I mean, he probably is but I think Scott is onto something here.

"Uh, I think someone already did." Stiles shrugs, holding his phone, about to read an article from online. "Beacon Hills First National closes only three months after bank robbery." He reads aloud. "It doesn't say here how it was robbed, but it probably won't take long to find out."

"How long?" Derek grits his teeth, a muscle feathering in his jaw.

"It's internet Derek." Stiles laughs. Derek raises his eyebrows at him. "Okay? Minutes."

⍟⍟⍟  

I wake up to the sound of a printer printing something and someone talking. I sit up to see I am lying on Stiles' bed, Stiles on the floor and Scott in the office chair. The floor is covered in sheets of paper, most of them - news articles printed from the internet - scattered everywhere. I look at the door and Mr Stilinski is examining the scene in front of his eyes. "Boys." He says. No movement from either of them. "Boys!" 

Scott and Stiles scramble to their feet and Stiles has a piece of paper stuck on his face, probably from all the drool he produces in his sleep. "I gotta get to work. You three, get to school."

"Dad!" Stiles calls as he starts to move to leave the house. He stops in his tracks and looks back at his son. "Heather?"

"No, nothing yet." His Dad shakes his head. He leaves the room and Stiles groans.

"Ten hours and nothing." Stiles yells, referring to all the sheets of paper on his floor.

"We're gonna find something." Scott nods in assurance. 

"Finding something doesn't make Erica any less dead." I frown. "Or Boyd any less about-to-be-dead."

"Well, we still have time." Scott nods again.

"Is this whole, like, 'remain optimistic in the face of a complete utter disaster' thing a part of 'be a better Scott McCall' program?" Stiles asks him, getting irritated.

"Uh, not if it doesn't work." He chuckles lightly, trying to change the mood. 

"No, it works." Stiles sighs. He picks up a piece of paper and hands it to me. "Oh. Dad! Dad!" He calls after him, running down the hall. I look down to see a picture of his Dad arresting the bank robbers. This is our first lead. 

⍟⍟⍟  

"Okay, you see this?" Stiles points at a map of the bank. "This is how they got in. It's a rooftop air conditioning vent. Leads down inside into the wall of the vault, which is here." He circles the part of the map where the vent is, in red marker. "Okay? One of the robbers was lowered into this shaft. Now, that space is so small, it took him about 12 hours to drill into that wall, which is made by stone, by the way. Then throughout the rest of the night, they siphoned the cash up back to the guys on the roof, through that one little shaft in the wall." He put a dot on the aforementioned shaft and put the lid back on the pen. "Boom."

"Can we fit in there?" I ask, furrowing my brows. 

"Yes, we can but very, very barely." Stiles nods. "And they patched the wall, obviously, so we're gonna need a drill of some kind. I'm thinking maybe a diamond bit-"

"Look, forget the drill." Derek sighs.

"Sorry?" Stiles whips his head around to face Derek.

"If I go in first, how much space do I have?"

"What do you - what do you think you're gonna do, Derek?" Stiles drums his fingers on the table in a Mexican wave like pattern. "You gonna punch through the wall?"

Derek sighs, standing up straighter and crossing his arms over his chest. "Yes, Stiles, I'm going to punch through the wall."

"Okay, big guy. Let's see it. Let's see that fist. Big, old fist. Make it, come on." Stiles mocks and Derek raises his fist. "Get it out don't be scared. Big, bad wolf, yeah, look at that." Stiles puts his hand a short distance away from Derek's fist and grabs Derek's other wrist to make this 'experiment' more accurate. "You see this? That's maybe three inches of room to gather enough force to punch through solid co-" Derek punches Stiles' hand and he hits the metal table with all the papers. "He could do it."

"Stiles, a 6 year old girl would be able to do that to you." I tease Stiles, laughing at his reaction.

"I'll get through the wall." Derek says in confidence. "Who's following me down?"

"Don't look at me." Peter says from the stairs. "I'm not up to fighting speed yet, and honestly, with Isaac out of commission, you're not looking at very good odds for yourself." 

"So I'm supposed to just let them die?" Derek scoffs.

"One of them's already dead." Peter hums.

"Stop saying she's dead!" I snap. "We don't know that." 

"Do I have to remind you what we're up against here?" Peter rolls his eyes at me. Ah, the good Hale eye roll. Must run in the family. "A pack of Alphas. All of them, killers. And if that's not enough to scare your tampon back in, try to remember that two of them combine bodies to form one giant Alpha. I'm sure Erica and Boyd were sweet kids. They're going to be missed."

"Could someone kill him again, please?" Stiles wonders out loud.

"I'd be glad to do the honours." I snarl at the bastard - who, I might add, isn't even helping us!

"Derek, seriously. Not worth the risk."

"What about you?" Derek says.

"Yeah, if you want me to come-" Stiles shrugs. Scott, Derek and I just glare at Stiles.

"Not you." Derek cuts him off.

"Scott. Got it." Stiles nods, pointing back at us with his thumb.

"Woah, and me. I'm coming too." I shake my head at Derek in disbelief.

"No you're not."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not safe."

"I have spent my whole summer helping you look for them, I'm not just going to watch you save them - I'm coming too."

"Isaac would want you to stay." Scott tells me quietly. I pause, trying to figure out whether he is trying to trick me, but I know it's true. I just nod in reply and slump down on the couch. "I don't know about Erica, but if Boyd's still alive we have to do something."

"For the love of Jesus, she's not dead!" I yell from the couch.

Scott ignores my outburst and carries on. "We have to try."

"But?" I prompt him, knowing there's something else.

"Who's the other girl?" He finishes. "The one locked in there with Boyd?"

⍟⍟⍟  

Stiles is pacing at the window and it's making me nervous. "I can't take waiting around like this, you know. It's nerve-racking. My nerves are racked. They're severely racked. Racked."

"I could beat you unconscious and wake you when it's over." Peter says, quietly and calmly. How is he so calm? Is this like a normal evening for him?

"You think Erica's really dead?" Stiles asks.

"No!" I snap.

"You think I really care?" Peter rolls his eyes again. If he's not careful, one of these days I will gouge his eyes out with spoons, he won't be able to eye roll then, will he?

"I just - I don't understand the bank, though, okay?" He starts pacing again and I actually just want to slam my head in a car door. "Wha- like, why wouldn't they chain them up in some underground lair or something? They're an Alpha pack, right? So shouldn't they have an lair?" 

"They're werewolves, not bond villains." Peter sighs. 

"Wait a sec. Wait a sec. Maybe they're living there, you know? Like maybe the bank vault reminds them of their little wolf dens."

"Wolf dens." 

I'm just going to leave them to it - it's rather entertaining.

"Yeah, wolf dens. Where do you live?"

"In an underground network of caves hidden deep in the woods."

"Woah, really?"

"No, you idiot. I have an apartment downtown."

"Okay, fine but still, that just proves that there's something up with that bank. And why wait around for the full moon, huh? Why not just kill them whenever they want to?"

"Maybe they think it's poetic."

"They've already had three full moons to be poetic."

"And here you've only had one full hour to be so annoying-" Peter cuts himself off.

"The day is looking up! Is he having a heart attack? A stroke? Both?" I start to get excited but Peter growls a no at me.

"No, go one, finish what you were saying. I'm an- annoying," Stiles sounds out the word annoying. "What were you going to say there?"

"What are the walls made of?" He asks, standing up. 

"What? Uh..." Stiles looks up and around the room. "I don't know, like wood or brick."

"No, he means the vault, you nonce." I lightly tap Stiles around the back of the head.

"What are the wall made out of?" Peter asks again, scanning through the papers on the table. "Where would it say that? Doesn't say anything. Where would it say the materials, the type of stone?" 

"Oh, uh -  here. It's gotta be in there." He brings out a wad of papers from his backpack, sealed together with a bulldog clip. We all scan through the papers and Stiles points to a section of one of the papers. "There that's it."

"Hecatolite." Peter whispers.

"Is that awful?" I question, looking over his shoulder to read the paper. "That sounds awful."

"Get them on the phone." Peter tells me. "Call them. Now!"

"Okay, why?!"

" 'Cause Boyd and that girl are going to kill each other. They're gonna kill Derek and Scott." Peter panics. Wow, this guy has actual emotions? Damn.

"Kay, now's not the best time."

"Scott! Scott! No, listen to me, okay? Look, you gotta get out of there. The walls in the vault are made with a mineral called hecatolite, it scatters the moonlight."

"What does that mean?"

"Look, it keeps the moonlight out, okay? They haven't felt the full moon in months."

Peter grabs my phone. "Think of it like the gladiators in the Roman Colosseum. They used to starve the lions for three days, making them more vicious, more out of control. Deucalion has kept them from shifting for three full moons, diminishing their tolerance to it."

Stiles takes the phone from Peter this time. "Scott, they're going to be stronger."

Peter speaks down the phone in urgency. "More savage, more bloodthirsty, Scott. They're the lions, and you've just stepped into the Colosseum."

"Right, that's it, I'm going to help them." With that, I go and leave for the bank, despite Stiles and Peter's pleas not to. I really hope I make it in time.

------------------------------

first off, YOU'RE WELCOME FOR BLESSING YOUR EYES WITH THE GIF

This was a long chapter omg. I was going to have Kayden go to the bank, but that would've made this a whole lot longer, it is 1am and I've got school so I'm going to be so tired, but it's worth it. THE NEXT EPISODE I HAVE PLANNED OUT AND I AM SO EXCITED TO WRITE IT AND PUT IT OUT THERE FOR YOU! BE PREPARED, I HAVE A LOT OF BIG THINGS PLANNED.