chapter seventeen
a hospital visit

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GETTING OFF of Scott's motorcycle, only to be met with the twins outside the school, was becoming a recurring theme. And as Scott spotted the two boys as well, he looked at the blonde with an annoyed expression. The two barely got any sleep when they got home from the party. In fact, they only had an hour before they had to start getting ready for school when they got home. So Odessa and Scott... not happy werewolves.

Today's ride to school was unlike any other, however, as the twins followed the Alpha on their own bikes. Even though Odessa was used to riding, she didn't find it fun when Scott sped through the streets trying to get away from them.

Sending a look of apology toward his blonde friend, Scott glanced at the twins on either side of him, "you guys going to be doing this all day?"

Ethan nodded, "all day."

"All night," Aiden finished.

"Is this about being in my pack?"

"This is about you being the target of demonic ninjas."

Ethan raised his brow at his brother, "you mean the demonic ninjas that pulled swords out of their chests and completely kicked our asses?"

"Yeah. Those demonic ninjas."

Having enough of their talk, too tired to take more of it, Odessa hung her helmet on Scott's handle on his bike, "okay, I can't do this right now. I'm gonna go find Stiles."

Scott nodded, needing to talk to him as well, "I'll meet you at your locker."

Saluting him, the blonde turned her back to the other werewolves and into school. Even though it had only been a few hours since she last saw him, her phone lacked the text he told her he would send, which made her nervous. If she wasn't so distracted and on edge last night, she would've insisted on coming with him to wherever he needed to go. Odessa was unequivocally worried about him, and the worst part is, she had no idea how to help him.

When a twin-less Scott met her at her locker, the two scoped the halls for their friend, who they found by his own locker, seemingly lost in thought. Before Scott had the chance to fill him in on what happened at the loft, Stiles started rambling about what he discovered when he left. The Stilinski filled Scott in on what Odessa and him were talking about before he left the party while he opened the door to the vacant chemistry classroom.

"So then Odie tells me about phosphors and the key having chemicals on it, right," the boys turned to the blonde, who nodded quickly, watching the anxious boy nervously, "and so that made me think of the chemistry closet and the fact that someone had to let Barrow in," Stiles paused, gazing at the blackboard that used to have the atomic numbers and letters, "it's gone," he backed up, "okay, it doesn't matter though. It doesn't matter. I've still got the key," he brought out his key ring and was about to open the chemical storage room, only to not find the key, "what the hell," he whispered, "I had it... I had it here. I had it here this morning, I swear to God, I had it this morning."

"The key you were talking about last night?"

"Yeah, I showed to you, right? I showed it to Odie. Didn't I show it to you, too?"

"No," his best friend shook his head, "you just told me about it. I never actually saw it."

Stiles' breath started to grow heavy, walking closer to the empty board, "I was here a couple hours ago. And the message left to Barrow spelling Kira's name was right there on the board in my handwriting and I had the key to the chemistry closet."

Confused as to what was going on, Odessa furrowed her brow, "Stiles, I saw everything. You showed me the key multiple times and I was here with you when we saw the blackboard. Someone probably erased it before you came back to school this morning."

Despite her words, Scott turned to his best friend, starting to fill with worry, "so you unlocked the chemistry closet so Barrow could hide in it from the cops and then you wrote him a message to kill Kira?"

"I know how it sounds... but look at this," Stiles took out a piece of paper from his pocket, "this is the news report that came out about Barrow when they caught him, okay? About the shrapnel bomb that he used. See this," he pointed down to the text and pictures provided, "see what he did? He put nuts, bolts and screws. And then he hid the bomb and the detonator in a box that he wrapped as a birthday present. What does that sound like to you?"

"Coach," the Alpha recollected, "the joke we played on Coach."

"That was my idea. You remember? That was my idea. That's no coincidence. It can't be."

Scott looked to Odessa, who appeared as lost for words as he was, "I don't want to sound like I'm trying to tell you that you're wrong. But I don't think you're trying to kill people either."

Stiles crumbled up the news article while gazing back to the empty board, "it was here. It was all here."

"Hey," the Ember softly spoke, trying to get his attention, "are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, dude, you're looking really tired."

The hazel eyed boy nodded distractedly, "yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping really..."

"Why don't you go home," Scott offered, patting his best friend's shoulder, "take a sick day or something."

As the Stilinski nodded, eyes still on the board, Scott looked to Odessa, who gave him a reassuring nod and small smile, telling him she'd handle it. Scott took his leave, no doubt going to be found by the twins as soon as he stepped foot in the hallway, leaving Odessa with Stiles, the girl nervous to leave him by himself.

The blonde kept her goodbye simple, "if you need anything, call me, okay?"

Stiles barely nodded again, moving his eyes to her now retreating figure before calling to her, stopping her in her tracks, "Odie?"

"Yeah," the Ember turned back around to face him.

"Could you... could you come with me?"

Odessa furrowed her brow, taking a step forward, "to your house?"

"No," Stiles looked down to his slightly shaking hands, "to the hospital."

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"Dr. Gardner's not back until next week," Melissa McCall apologetically informed her son's best friend, who was leaning against the reception desk with Odessa next to him, "do you want to try waiting for one of the urgent care doctors or..."

The boy pushed off the desk, glancing around anxiously as Odessa eyed him worried, "Stiles?"

"Are you all right," Melissa asked, coming out of the desk to talk to him properly.

"I don't know," Stiles answered shakily, "I guess... I guess not really."

Melissa nodded calmly, "all right, kiddo," she glanced at Odessa, who just looked at her with pursed lips and a worried expression, "all right. Come with me. It's okay."

The Ember walked behind the pair as Melissa guided Stiles into an empty patient room, sitting him on the bed. Odessa seated herself on an empty chair in the room, facing the boy, but still a few steps away, wanting to give him some room.

As Melissa asked him what had been happening so she could write it down, Stiles answered, and in between his answers, bit his finger nails nervously, "blackouts. But not for that long. And sleep walking, which I used to do a lot as a kid. Um... also having some really bad anxiety."

Melissa paused her listing, "panic attacks?"

"Yeah, a couple," Stiles glanced at the blonde sitting in front him, who smiled reassuringly in return, "oh, and I temporarily lost the ability to read. But that might have had more to do with this giant magic tree and a whole human sacrifice thing."

The woman gave him a comforting smile, "I recall something vaguely about that, yes," she looked back to her paper, "how many hours of sleep are you getting?"

"Eight."

"A night?"

"In the last three days," his answer made the two other people in the room pause. Odessa knew he was having trouble sleeping and having night terrors, but she only guessed at how bad it really was. She didn't have to guess anymore. The blonde watched him slowly count his shaking fingers, reminding himself that he wasn't dreaming, "yeah, definitely eight."

"Been feeling irritable," Melissa asked with his back to him, getting out her supplies.

"Yeah. Possibly to the point of homicide."

"Inability to focus?"

"No, the Adderall's not working."

"Impulsive behavior?"

"More than my usual? Hard to tell."

"Vivid dreams during the day?"

"Okay, basically all of the above," Stiles watched the woman come back in front of him, "do you know what this is?"

Melissa nodded, "I think so."

Looking down, Stiles found a needle pointed toward him in her hand, "uh, what's that?"

"Do you trust me?"

"When you're not holding a needle."

The McCall woman chuckled before pulling up his shirt sleeve, "it's Midazolam," she told him, sticking the needle in his arm, administering the drug and taking it out, "it's a sedative."

As the drug started to pump through his veins, he asked, "why'd you give me a sedative?"

"Because you, Stiles, are one profoundly sleep-deprived young man," she told him, "you need rest and you need it now. Lie down," she helped him lie back on the bed.

"Okay, how long's it take to," Stiles started before trailing off, lying down on the bed, "oh. Not long at all."

Melissa tucked the boy under a blanket, holding his hand, and brushed the stray hairs off his forehead before whispering, "get some rest."

As Stiles' breath became slower and deeper with sleep, he whispered something back, "thanks, Mom."

Melissa watched him for a moment, taken aback but still touched by his words, before turning off the light. She looked back to Odessa, who didn't seem to be leaving for a while, "you can stay here as long as you like, sweetheart. Just don't wake him up."

"Of course," the blonde tried to crack a smile at her guardian, "thanks, Melissa."

Giving the girl a kiss on the forehead, Melissa left the room, and closed the door behind her, getting back to work. Leaving Odessa in silence with a sleeping boy in front of her.

The Ember couldn't take her eyes off his sleeping figure. Watching his chest go up and down made it easier for her to sit in the silence of the room. She could faintly hear conversations outside the room due to her advanced hearing but didn't feel like eavesdropping.

Her thoughts echoing through her head brought tears to her eyes unwillingly. There was a recurring theme happening surrounding Odessa—she hadn't been able to help Stiles with anything he was going through. Even though it took a little bit for the boy to trust her and treat her as a friend and not a stranger, once they did, Odessa cherished those moments with him and thought about them often, wondering what was the next adventure they could go on together in the future.

The Ember didn't even try to calm him. She looked down to her hands, lip quivering, triggering the frustration fueled tears that were threatening to fall down her cheeks. What the hell was going on with her? Just as she thought she was finally getting a hold of her powers and what she was, it seemed her abilities switched positions. When she came to Beacon Hills, she couldn't even extend her claws without freaking out. Now she could do that, and more, with ease. While she could barely get Stiles to calm down in the boy's bathroom at school during his freak out.

She thought back to two nights ago and how she reacted to the shadows she and the rest of her friends faced last night, trying to rack her brain as to why her reaction was different than the others. When watching Aiden, he was still and after they released him, he fell to the floor almost paralyzed. While Odessa was shaking while they handled her, and crying and shivering when they dropped her to the ground. She just wished she understood.

Looking out the window next to her, she noticed the sun was beginning to set. She knew she needed to get home to Scott and help him. With one more glance to the sleeping boy, Odessa got up from her chair and left his room, closing the door softly behind her, not wanting to wake him up. The blonde traveled down to the lobby to where the reception desk was.

"Hi," she greeted the woman behind the desk, rather quickly, seeing she was in a hurry, "is Nurse McCall still here?"

"She left about 20 minutes ago. Why?"

"No reason. Thank you," Odessa smiled politely before making her way to the hospital main entrance doors, muttering to herself, "I knew I should've rode my bike here."

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Odessa had never ran faster in her life, and she thanked whoever was up above for her werewolf speed and agility. With sweat forming on her brow, and her claws and fangs already out to fight whoever she needed to, the Ember Wolf ran through the back door that was already open to stumble upon a fully shifted Derek and Scott fighting the shadows she couldn't seem to get away from. And her sudden appearance caught their attention.

She growled as one of the shadows came toward her with their sword and mentally prepared herself to fight. The key to a fight where one opponent has a weapon and the other doesn't—is to duck and for them to miss as much as possible. And that's what Odessa did. Every swipe the shadow took to her, she ducked out of the way, giving her an opportunity to retaliate without them having enough time to block her. The sound of glass breaking from another room sounded, along with growling, and she only guessed the twins decided to make an appearance.

The Stone ducked under another swing of their sword and swung her leg out, causing the shadow to fall to the floor. She crouched down and got ready to swipe her claws to them, only for the shadow to grab her wrist and fling to the wall, crumbling to the ground with a groan. The girl picked herself up and used all her strength to push the shadow out of the house, hearing Scott yell for his Mom to release the Mountain Ash.

The bottle that held the Mountain Ash shattered at her feet as all the shadows were now trapped outside the McCall residence. The werewolves in the room, along with Kira and Melissa, let out breaths of relief, having fought them off for the time being.

Stretching her neck, causing it to crack a couple times due to the stiffness, Odessa made her way to Scott and Derek as they faced the welcome mat outside the guarded house.

The Alpha gave the blonde a nod of greeting and appreciation as Derek glanced around the floor, "all of the baseboards are ash wood?"

"Uh, yeah. It was Deaton's idea," Scott answered before asking firmly, "and where the hell did you come from?"

"I've been following you."

"For how long."

"All day."

The two teens watched Derek walk back into the kitchen. Suddenly, Odessa caught an unfamiliar scent, "hey, Scotty, why do I smell blood?"

"Scott, this isn't good!"

They looked toward the study before Scott answered her hurriedly and vaguely, "it's my Dad," before running in the direction of his Mom's voice.

Odessa sighed before going into the direction of the kitchen herself. She knew Melissa didn't need too many people in the room, and she didn't want to get in the way. As she got closer to the kitchen, she could start to hear what Derek was saying, "she's a Kitsune, idiot. Use your eyes. You can see it all around her. The younger ones give off an aura. She just hasn't learned how to conceal it yet. She probably doesn't know what kind she is either."

Odessa spoke, making her presence known as she walked through the archway, "oh, yeah, and I'm sure if she did she'd tell you two losers," she chuckled sarcastically before leaning against the countertop, "still cute though."

Her words seemed to make a very tense Kira calmer, the relaxed attitude Odessa was displaying took the edge off of the situation for her, only by a bit. Still being surrounded by werewolves and shadow ninjas were freaking Kira out, but at least she had Scott and Odessa, people who she was starting to feel comfortable around, to be there with her. There was still something on her mind that was bugging her, however. The Yukimura excused herself to find Scott, leaving the werewolves alone.

"I wasn't gonna hurt her," Aiden told Derek, who was watching the shadows, who were still outside the door.

The Hale almost scoffed, "not yet."

"Why do you think we're here, Derek? For a study group. We're here to protect Scott."

"We're trying to fight for him."

"I'm sure you are," Derek hummed at the twins, turning around to face them, "I'm sure you'd kill for him. But are you willing to die for him?"

"Are you willing to fight for everyone in his pack," Odessa's question made the other werewolves look to her, almost as if they forgot she was in the room. She pushed herself off the countertop in which she was leaning against and slowly walked toward the twins, crossing her arms, "because it's not just Scott that you would be fighting for if you joined the pack. It's me... it's Stiles, Isaac, Allison," she looked to Aiden specifically, "Lydia. It's all of us. So instead of following Scott around like lost puppies, maybe show him you're all in for everyone. Not just him."

Before anyone could try to respond to the girl, the house started to rumble. The shadows were getting impatient, it seemed. Odessa swallowed thickly as she watched them use their swords to bang on the Mountain Ash shield from the outside.

"What are they doing," Scott asked while walking into the kitchen, Kira following behind him.

"Testing for weaknesses," Ethan answered. The shadows continued to bang on the shield, causing bowls and glasses to break around them due to the impact. As everyone glanced around the still rumbling and shaking house, Ethan looked toward the open door, watching a shadow peak his hand through the shield, "guys? We have a problem."

Scott's phone seemed to ring at just the right time. The werewolves listened to the conversation as Scott picked up his phone, "Allison, please tell me that you have something. They're here. They're trying to get in. And it looks like they're gonna be able to do it."

"Okay, okay listen. They're Japanese demand. They're called the oni," Allison relayed the information her and her Dad received from the Yakuza, "they're looking for something possessed. Someone with a dark spirit attached to them."

"A nogitsune."

"How'd you know that? Scott?"

"Just... tell me what else," the McCall glanced around the room, the shadows growing stronger and stronger.

"Okay, they won't hurt you," Allison told him, "they know you're supernatural but once they do this check, once they realize that you're not carrying with you this dark spirit, then they won't hurt you, I promise. All they're looking for is the nogitsune."

Without a goodbye, Scott hung up the phone with a grave expression.

Seeing his face, Kira walked up to him anxiously, "I'm right, aren't I? They're looking for me."

"They're looking for a dark spirit," Scott gently corrected, "and I know it's not you."

"Scott," Derek called, eyeing the oni nervously, "we're going to have to do something."

At his words, the oni stepped foot through the door, making the twins and Derek tense up and ready to fight. Odessa looked to Scott, who met her brown eyes, and gave him a nod of her head, signaling him to do what he was already thinking.

"Don't do anything."

The three werewolves turned back to the Alpha in shock.

Ethan blinked, eyeing the oni, "is he serious?"

The two oni snarled at them, stepping forward into the room as Scott stood firmly, "I said don't do anything," he turned to Kira and offered his hand for her to take, and she did, "trust me," he whispered, squeezing her hand. Together, they walked toward the oni and stood right in front of them, ready for whatever came their way.

Odessa felt a sense of deja vu as she watched the oni cup Scott's and Kira's cheek, almost paralyzing them on their feet. The oni's beat yellow eyes glowed as they searched the souls of the two supernatural creatures, bringing them to their knees. After a couple of seconds, Scott and Kira were released from their grasp and dropped to the floor. It was only when the oni disappeared into ash did the others in the room rush to their aid.

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Odessa jogged behind Scott as he followed his Mom into Beacon Hills Memorial, yelling to the Doctor in charge, "hey, stab wound to the left chest," she described her ex-husband's condition, still pressing down on the wound, "possible collapsed lung. Pulse is weak."

Scott and Odessa turned to the woman as she watched Agent McCall get wheeled away into surgery, "we'll find Stiles," the former told her softly before going down the hallway.

After checking his room he was admitted to, the two teens didn't find him, coming to the conclusion that Stiles had woken up and was somewhere else in the building. Going down the same hallway as his room, the two paused after hearing a thud come from one of the bigger rooms next to them.

Scott opened the door, only to find exactly who they were looking for, "Stiles? You okay?"

The hazel eyed boy turned around, "yeah, fine," he answered casually, glancing between his two friends. His eyes halted on Odessa's figure a few seconds longer than usual. And as he did, the blonde felt her heart accelerate its rhythm, almost like the same way she felt when the oni was about to attack her. Hearing her heartbeat, Scott glanced toward her questioningly, the girl shaking her head in response, brushing it off.

Stiles watched the exchange unbothered, "what's been going on?"

As the three left the room, both werewolves failed to see the firefly by their feet on the ground, breathing its last breath.

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let the void of it all begin.
don't be a silent reader :)