"𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙖 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛-𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙"

Meilani yawned as she followed after Malia and Lydia into Beacon Hills High School. She'd been up late the night before with Kira and Isaac after the alarm had been tripped at the animal clinic. Tracy's body had been stolen from inside and Melissa had called to let Meilani know that bodies had been taken from the hospital as well. She couldn't get much of a scent from the animal clinic, not even with Isaac there helping her scope it out. They had gone back to the McCall residence with next to nothing and Meilani hadn't slept much after that as her mind raced over every single possibility. It didn't help that Stiles hadn't returned many of her texts that night after she'd called him to let him know what was going on. That only added to her worry and she just prayed that Stiles had passed out early that night and that nothing else was going on.

"The Dread Doctors by T.R. McCammon," Lydia read, holding up the small book in her hand as she walked through the hall with Malia and Meilani on either side of her. She tilted her had as she inspected the worn out, dark cover with the three masked doctors on the front. "There's something about this book. Has anyone actually read it yet?"

"Just me and I didn't understand any of it," Malia responded, stopping at her locker to prop it open so she could get her books for the morning periods. 

Meilani leant her side against the lockers as the side of her head banged lightly, causing the lockers to rattle. She pulled her jean jacket tighter around her form as a shiver went down her spine from the cold breeze that blew through the halls from the propped open outside doors. "Yeah, I talked to Stiles about it after Malia had finished. Said he couldn't find a single thing on the author and that he figures it might be a pen name. Like Lemony Snicket kind of deal." 

Lydia nods to let Meilani know she'd heard her and flipped the book around so she could read the back description of the book. "In a small New England town, teenagers are taken in the night and buried alive. Days later they emerge transformed, wreaking havoc and spreading terror, commanded by an ancient order of parascientists known only as the Dread Doctors." She slowly lifted her gaze from the book and over to her two best friends to her side who wore equal looks of exasperation. "Sounds vaguely familiar. Malia, how does it end?"

"It doesn't. This is supposed to be volume one," Malia replied, placing her hands on her hips with a shake of her head. "There's no volume two and I am pretty sure we're living volume two."

Meilani puffed out her cheeks and took the book from Lydia's hand, examining it herself with a heavy sigh. "Then the real question is . . . is this a novel or someone's predictions?"

"I don't think the Dread Doctors are the ones that are stealing the bodies," Meilani explained to Isaac as the two walked along the outside campus of the school in between periods. She hiked her bag higher onto her shoulder and tugged a hand through her curls, blinking the exhaustion from her eyes even though she knew that Isaac could feel her exhaustion at the moment. "Think about it. They killed Tracy and walked away. They killed Lucas and walked away. Why would leave they leave and come back to take the bodies?"

Isaac absently tapped his books against his side as he let Meilani's words settle, lips pursed as he thought it over. "Someone else has to be taking them, Lans."

"Yes, but the bodies aren't just bodies. They're failures."

"So if the Chimeras are all failures, what's the success even going to be?" Isaac asked, furrowing his eyebrows and turning to glance at Meilani as he pushed open the door that lead back into the school and held it open for Meilani to step through. "Like . . . what are they even trying to do?"

Meilani scoffed softly and dropped her hand back to her side. "Bad. Probably really bad with how our fucking track record is." She stops shortly in the hallway, gripping onto Isaac's cardigan sleeve as her nose twitches from the stench of stale blood. Her eyes snap to his eyes, waiting for him to catch on to the scent and they both rush to the library where the smell had came from, only to find nothing. Everything look as it had the day before and Meilani felt the confusion wash over her. 

Isaac licked his lips as his eyes continued to scan the library, waiting for something to pop up but nothing did. "Are we suddenly going crazy again?"

"Honestly? I wouldn't be surprised."

"Sorry, but I'd never even heard of the Kanima until a few days ago," Theo said to Meilani, flipping through the printed out pages of the Dread Doctor book that Kira had printed for Meilani to give to Theo. "You want me to read this?"

Meilani shook her head, crossing her arms as she rocked back on her sneaker covered heels. "Well, not yet. I'm only on chapter one still."

Theo laughed softly and glanced up from the printed out pages to look at Meilani. "You guys do this a lot, huh? You know . . . get involved?"

"Unfortunately," Meilani mumbled, exhaling heavily.

"What about the author?" Theo inquired after a moment of silence, tossing the pinned stack next to his backpack onto the locker room bench next to him. "If he knew all about these guys, shouldn't we be talking to him?"

"We thought about that, but it's pretty much a dead end."

Theo picked the stack back up and flipped to the back page of it, holding it up for Meilani to see as she moved closer to him. "What about him?"

"This book is dedicated to Dr. Gabriel Valack," Meilani read, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of the name and she blinked when she heard Theo ask if she knew him. "Yeah, I do . . . and I know where to find him."

Later that night, Meilani stood in Stiles' room as she watched him fret around the space as he got dressed. He hadn't gone to school that day as he hadn't been feeling that great when he woke up and Meilani's eyes narrowed as she inspected him. Something about him seemed off as he was a bit more jittery than usual. She couldn't even exactly place the chemosignals that wafted off him and she had doubts about him coming with them to Eichen House to speak to Valack.

"Stop staring at me like that, Lani," Stiles sighed, tugging on his zip up hoodie and winced when he moved a certain way. "I'm coming with you."

Meilani poked her tongue into her cheek and crossed her arms, placing her weight to one side as she continued to eye him. "No, you're not. What's wrong? Why did you wince?"

"Just my elbow. Told you I fell," Stiles replied quickly, zipping up his hoodie and swiping up his phone and Jeep keys from his bed.

"You never lie to me so why are you doing that right now?" Meilani questioned, pressing on his chest when he tried to walk past her. Her eyes were filled with both worry and annoyance and she wasn't sure which emotion she felt stronger. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, I swear. Just . . . had a long night last night, okay?" Stiles answered, his hand coming up to cup Meilani's cheek as his thumb brushed over her cheek gently. "I'm okay, baby. I promise. I'm going with you. I won't let you go to that place without me."

Meilani's jaw ticked slightly, hating that he still lied to her even though he knew that she could hear his heart rate. It was a small lie because his heart rate hadn't spiked too high, but it was still a lie. A twist of a truth and Meilani wanted to sock Stiles in the face for even thinking it was okay to lie to her face when they never did that. She pushed her tongue into her cheek and nodded, too tired to argue with him at the moment. "Okay . . . well if it's your elbow I can heal it."

Stiles shook his head and pressed his lips softly to her forehead. "I'll be fine, baby. We need to talk to Valak. That's the important thing right now, okay? Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

Meilani opened her mouth to argue with Stiles, to say that she could hear his freakin' heart beat, but she closed it shortly after. She really didn't have the energy to fight with Stiles at the moment, nor did she really want to. The pack had enough to deal with at the moment and Meilani couldn't let something like this get to her. Stiles and her never lied to each other so she just silently prayed that Stiles would own up to his actual pain and let her help him.

If they made it through Eichen House that was. 

The pack stood outside of Eichen House while Lydia and Kira tried to get someone to answer the intercom at the front gate. Meilani stood close to Stiles, her hands stuffed deep into the pockets of her sleek leather jacket. She turned to face him, clicking her booted heels together as her eyes inspect over Stiles' face. He was leant against the side of Roscoe, his own hands stuffed into his zip up hoodie's pockets with a distant expression on his face. Almost like he was lost in thought. Thoughts that Meilani desperately wanted to know so she could help him. 

"Sti, are you gonna be okay in there? You seem a little off," Meilani noted, her eyes soft as she tilted her head at him. 

Stiles' glazed and distant eyes met Meilani's, the usual bright and shiny glow to them gone. It left behind a dull, stale honey color compared to the usual freshly picked honey shine to them that Meilani always enjoyed. A total contrast to usual Stiles and it shattered Meilani's heart to see it. Little did she know that Stiles' own heart was broken on the floor at his feet, his hands itching to hold hers but he held back, keeping his clammy hands in his pockets. The fear that she would feel the sweat and instantly know even more that he'd been lying too great for him to take the risk of taking her into his arms. "I think we're all a little off, Lani."

Meilani pursed her lips and glanced over her shoulder to Kira who had Scott stood near her with Isaac while Lydia grumbled complaints into the intercom about the service being shitty here. "Some of us more than others, I guess."

Stiles' eyebrows furrowed and he pushed off the side of Roscoe slightly, his eyes flickering over to a timid Kira. "What happened?"

Meilani puffed out her cheeks and bounced on her feet as a cold breeze passed through, even her werewolf heat not enough to aid her in the brisk coldness that currently settled over Beacon Hills. Almost like the weather alone was warning the pack of their future. "When the other Chimera, Lucas, when he came after us, Kira said something in Japanese."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"Stiles, Kira doesn't know Japanese," Meilani reminded Stiles with a small huff.

"Still not terrible. That is, like, the least terrible thing to happen this week, Meilani."

Meilani rolled her lips into her mouth and crossed her arms, her gaze focusing back on Stiles again. "I also think I might have stopped her from killing Lucas."

Stiles was silent for a moment as his eyes scanned her face, almost as if he were having an internal battle with himself. He kissed his teeth after a long moment and shifted back against the side of the Jeep. "Well, it would have been so bad to kill Lucas? Wasn't he about to kill you? I mean, that just sounds like self-defense."

"No, it's more than that, thought. I mean, she nearly took his head off, Stiles."

Stiles poked his tongue into his cheek and shook his head, making sure to keep his shaking and clammy hands in his pockets away from Meilani's sight. "What if she had no other choice? There's gotta be a point where self-defense is justified. Tracy killed her own father and Lucas would have killed you."

Meilani froze for a moment, stunned momentarily by Stiles trying to justify killing Lucas. She couldn't even tell if he trying to convince her or himself at the moment. A heavy feeling of confusion settling over her and she noticed Isaac's head snap up at her battling emotions and look in her direction. She subtly shook her head at him when he asked her through their mind link if she needed him. "They're not the bad guys. They're the victims. We shouldn't be killing the people we are supposed to save. I'm tired of people dying, Stiles, okay?"

Before Stiles could respond, a loud buzzing sound erupted behind them and Meilani glanced over her shoulder to see the Eichen House gate finally swing open after it had been released from its mechanism. Meilani turned on her heel to lead the pack through the gate and into the mental asylum where they approached Schrader who still looked just as creepy as he had when Stiles was in Eichen during Void. 

"Please, empty your pockets into the bin," Schrader said in a monotone voice, placing a small, clear bin on the counter for the pack to place their items into; which they reluctantly did. However, his eyes landed on the belt around Kira's waist before they could scurry on past. "Put your belt in the container."

Kira balked, hand reflexively gripping the belt buckle that doubled as her katana and gulped quietly. "Uh, I kind of need the belt. I mean, it's crucial to the outfit."

"Please remove your belt which patients will attempt to take from you and use to strangle either themselves or others," Schrader repeated, leaning his hands on the counter and eyeing down Kira until she reluctantly unwrapped the belt from around herself and placing the belt into the bin with everything else. 

The pack were then lead away by a nearby guard who waved them after him through the staircase that lead down further into the building. "I'll remind you that I am only doing this as a favor to Deaton. I'm doing it against my better judgement."

"Hey, what's the etiquette for talking to this guy?" Stiles questioned, following closely behind the guard next to Meilani and Isaac while the others trailed behind them. "I mean, do you ever look at the other eye?"

"I wouldn't. In fact, while you're down there, try not to make eye contact with anyone or anything."

The pack all exchange looks with each other as they continue through the corridors. Well, at least some of them continued through the corridor towards the gated area. Isaac, Kira, and Meilani all stopped as if pushed by an invisible force while Stiles, Scott and Lydia all continued on as if nothing happened. Until they reached the gate that lead to where Valak was being kept and noticed that the trio had stopped suddenly.

The guard pulled out his keys and shot a look towards the two werewolves and kitsune. "What? You didn't all of you would be going now did you?"

Meilani's eyes scanned the invisible barrier and pressed her hand against it, seeing the faint blue shimmer of what could only be mountain ash. "There's mountain ash?"

"Everywhere, but heavily concentrated down here," the guard replied and pushed his key into the gate, unlocking it for Stiles, Scott and Lydia so they could pass on through. "You three will have to stay here until your friends come back."

Meilani nodded assuringly at Scott and Stiles who had both turned to look at her worriedly. "It'll be fine. We'll be right here when you get back."

The trio weren't sure how long it had been since Scott, Stiles and Lydia walked through the gate to speak to Valak, just that all of their energy had been drained. Meilani sat on the ground next to Isaac's legs and absently played with his shoelaces while Kira chewed her lip, pacing back and forth. Isaac's hand pat Meilani's head assuringly, knowing that Meilani was silently freaking out over Stiles. No thanks to their mind link through the wolf mate bond.

"He's gonna be okay, Lans."

Meilani rolled her lips into her mouth and fiddled with the end of Isaac's shoelace, sighing in her mind. "He never lies to me, Isaac. Where did that come from?"

"Maybe he really is okay and he doesn't want to worry you more than you already are. You've got enough on your plate with the Dread Doctors, Liam and Theo. He doesn't want to add to it."

Meilani snorted in her head and lifted her gaze to Isaac's with a raised eyebrow. "Since when are you nice to Stiles?"

"I'm always nice to Stiles, please. Nothing but a good friend to that spastic boy."

Meilani went to say a witty remark back when the lights above began to flicker and she stumbled to her feet, Isaac's hand dropping back to his side as the trio all glanced up warily at the lights. A weird buzzing sound was heard from nearby and Isaac and Meilani both turned to see Kira's hand lighting up with blue electricity, staring at it like she'd never seen her hand before in her life. Meilani stepped closer to Kira when her whole began to flicker and zap with blue electricity.

"Kiki, whatever you are doing, I need you stop," Meilani said gently, holding her hands up to her in case she needed to step in and do something. Her eyes kept watch around them in case someone came out and saw what was happening because there was no way Meilani could lie her way out of this one.

Kira's heart rate spiked out of fear, the chemo signals wafting heavily into Meilani and Isaac's nostrils. Her head shook frantically as she stared at Meilani and Isaac with wide eyes. "I swear, I'm not doing anything. It's just happening."

"Lans!" Isaac cried, grabbing Meilani and tug her into his chest as he turned them both away just as the lights above began to pop. He covered their heads as light rained down on the both of them and he didn't move his head from on top of Meilani's until the popping sounds stopped. Meilani's head was kept in Isaac's chest as he slowly raised his head to make sure that the coast was clear, his gaze landing on the collapsed form of Kira. "Kira?"

Meilani lightly pushed from Isaac to get to Kira and check on her. When she went to reach her hand out and pull Kira up into her arms so she could try and heal her, she was sent soaring back when a spark of blue electricity shot out and smacked Meilani in the middle of the chest. Isaac grunted in pain as he felt the burning sensation in his own chest, but he ignored it as he rushed over to her just as the guard came back out from the closed gate.

"Hey, you okay?" the guard asked, standing above Isaac and Meilani as his eyes bounced between them.

Meilani whined as her hand pressed to her chest, rubbing at the sore spot harshly. "Yeah, but something is happening and I think she's causing it."

The guard walked forward closer to Kira as his eyes trailed over her flickering blue form and tugged a hand through his hair. "We need to get her out of here."

"How do we do that if we can't even touch her?" Isaac questioned, helping Meilani back to her feet and pressing his hand to her back, the black veins appearing to help heal her quicker than normal. We need to do something."

As if on cue, the sound of a body dropping followed by a squish of blood was heard behind them. Isaac and Meilani both whirred around to see the Dread Doctors stood on the other side of the gate just a few mere feet from the both of them. Isaac gripped onto Meilani's leather jacket sleeve and tugged her back with him to put some space between them and the doctors as they stumbled back to stand with the guard and Kira.

"I think you better run," the guard commented over Meilani's shoulder, watching the Dread Doctors as they communicated in a clicking sort of sound that none of them could understand.

"I can't just leave my friend behind," Meilani breathed, hand gripping onto Isaac's sleeve next to her as she kept him in place as she knew that Isaac wouldn't hesitate to throw himself at the doctors and fight them himself. 

As the head doctor uses his gloves to warp open the gate, the guard runs off to the right and away from the supernatural creatures before he got caught in the crossfire. Meilani mentally cursed the guard in his head with a huff and turned from the doctors, dropping to pick up Kira. A scream leaves her lips as she fights through the blue electricity to lift Kira into her arms, the girl gripping her arms around Meilani's neck. She grips tight to the kitsune, ignoring the way the electric shocks burnt her skin and sent jolts through her nerves and making it near impossible to even hold onto Kira.

Fighting through the pain, Meilani whipped around and kicked open the staff door that the guard had run through moments prior and yelled for Isaac to follow her over her shoulder, rushing blindly through the door with Kira gripped in her arms. She stumbled over her own feet, her strength diminishing the more and more she held Kira, but she never stopped or let go. Not even when Isaac offered to take Kira next. She barreled through the asylum and to the outside where she tripped down the stairs, her feet tripping over the other as twisted to land on her back and let Kira fall on her stomach. 

"You - you saved me . . . " Kira panted, laying her cheek against Meilani's stomach while Isaac ran over to them and dropped at Meilani's side. 

Meilani squeezed her eyes shut, her skin smoking and sizzling from the electricity and she weakly allowed Isaac to grip onto her hand, allowing him to take most of her pain. Her chest heaved up and down as her body slowly began to heal itself, mostly aided by Isaac who silently cursed Meilani through their link to which she tried to laugh at. "Always, Kira. I'll never leave you behind."

Meilani wasn't about to leave anyone behind again.

AUTHORS NOTE

Hi hey hello

So . . . hi! Long time no see, my babies. I missed you and I missed Meilani so fucking much, wow. My full time job has really been taking over my life, but I finally got around to writing for this bad boy and honestly? Kind of torn on how it came out, but I really wanted to write so here this little something is. Might come back and edit this a bit later. who knows? enjoy this for now!

I am also  not ready because the angst has kind of begun and we don't vibe in this house over it.