☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒

TWENTY NINE;

TREACHEROUS TIES

"I was wondering when you were going to visit."

Sage stood in front of Deaton, her head shaking slightly as she narrowed her eyes on the man. She was still angry that he didn't tell her about the fact he was a druid, and more than likely, the emissary to the Hale family, to Talia's pack. She thought that the man, at the very least, trusted her enough to tell her that.

The blonde's grip on his gate tightened, wishing that he would let her in. "I was a little caught up."

The man nodded once before opening the gate, allowing the supernatural druid to come through his barrier. His hand went to her side, helping her until she was in the back room and sitting down on one of his drawers, her head leaning back against the wall as she huffed out in exasperation.

Deaton crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned on the cabinets across the room from her, his eyes glancing to her neck and the dark circles under her eyes, trying to assess all of the damage Jennifer had done to the girl.

He would be lying if he said he didn't have his assumptions about what the woman did to Sage, that much was obvious when she had been throwing up in Harris' classroom. He also knew, though, that mistletoe was a substance that was could kill, and Sage was dying. Just taking a single glance at her, he saw that.

"Do you know what's wrong with me?" Sage asked, staring at the man.

Deaton frowned before nodding. "Yes. When a druid changes from good and light to dark and destruction, they have the ability to access magic, if you could say, from nature. Jennifer had done exactly that with rituals, and with all of these sacrifices, she is trying her hardest to give back to whatever had been the source of her power."

"What does the mistletoe have to do with all of this?" Sage wondered, wincing when she felt her stomach churn in her stomach at the very word of what was infecting every part of her body.

"Jennifer is using it to feed off your energy, Sage," Deaton explained. "She didn't just choose you because you were close to Derek, she chose you because you are the last sacrifice after the guardians. The mistletoe is just a way to slow you down. If she were wanting to kill you now, you would be dead."

Sage blinked, surprised at the revelation. "Why me?"

"Because you are the sacrifice that completes the fivefold knot; you have the independence of a virgin, the heart of a warrior, the capability of a healer, the wisdom of a philosopher, and the protective instinct of a guardian."

Sage's body tensed when Deaton explained it to her, when he explained that because of who she was, she had been chosen as the ending sacrifice. That when she realized all of Jennifer's exact positions of when she would convulse had correlated; the main goal all along had been for the woman to get inside of her head, to change her and manipulate the person she was.

"When she had me last night, she said something. She said that she could see a darkness consuming me, that it was taking away parts of who I am. She said that she could see who I was becoming," Sage explained, just before she lifted her eyes to meet with Deaton. "Who am I becoming?"

Deaton watched her, eyes flickering every so often before his lips tugged down. "Do you want me to lie to you, or do you want me to tell you what I see?"

"Deaton, please," she pleaded, her hands gripping the sides of the counter a bit tighter when she realized that the answer she was going to get could very well change herself in a good way, or a bad one.

"I see your mother when I look at you," Deaton admitted, his hands tightened further around his chest.

Sage felt defeated.

She should have expected that. When anyone saw her anymore, it was always her mother that they immediately thought back to. Every single day, she was growing more and more unpredictable and insane just like the woman that raised her for ten years. Every single day, the pain running through her veins was driving her into a slow insanity.

Maybe Jennifer was doing her a favor.

Sage hadn't had a chance to reply, her phone buzzing with a text. She apologized to Deaton, glancing down at her phone to see that it was Isaac who had sent it. When she read it, she continued to go over the words again and again, refusing to believe that it was real. She should have known, she should have suspected it with how the man was talking to her earlier.

Deaton noticed her distress. "What is it?"

"She took Allison's dad," Sage stumbled out, her hands shaking more than usual as she gripped her phone tightly. "She has all three of them now. The Sheriff, Melissa, Chris, they're all going to die, aren't they?"

Deaton sat up from his position on the cabinet, frowning deeply.

Sage only grew more confused when her phone began to ring, glancing down to see that Lydia was the one calling her. She hadn't spoken to the girl since last night when they nearly died, and somehow she wasn't particularly ready to talk to her best friend again so soon.

Pressing answer, she held the phone up to her ear. "Hey, Lydia. I can't t—"

"Sage, he's having a panic attack," Lydia spluttered out on the other end, the sound of ruckus bringing Sage's attention completely on the call. "He got Isaac's text and he started having a panic attack when he realized she has all three now. I don't— Sage, I don't know what to do."

Sage didn't even need to ask who it was, already having had enough experience with Stiles and his panic attacks. She knew what to do, and how to calm him, she just wasn't there to physically stand in front of him and help.

"Lydia, put me on speaker phone," Sage rushed, hearing the sound of the phone beep before she began to talk to Stiles. "Stiles, hey, are you there? Can you hear me?"

There was the loud sounds of wheezing before a voice replied. "Y—yes. Sage, I can't breathe."

"I know," Sage muttered, running her hands through her damp hair. "Just listen to my voice, okay? Do you remember when you took me to the cliff at the preserve? You remember that, right? It was after everything started happening and I needed to get away. Do you remember what you told me?"

She needed to try to get his mind off the fact that he was actually having the panic attack. The last time he had one was when he had gotten his father fired, Stiles forced to swallow down the abrupt sensation and inability to breathe. Sage had been right there with him, trying about a million different things before she kissed him to stop it, and then proceeded to calm him down by getting his mind off things.

She wasn't there to kiss him, so only this would suffice.

"Sage—" Stiles cried out, and she realized that he was still struggling.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she continued. "You told me that you loved me. Do you remember what you were feeling that day? Do you know how I felt? I was happy. I was so happy to know that you finally admitted it, to know that I could finally depend on you for anything and everything. I knew that you would be there for me. I knew that you loved me back.

"Stiles, you've just got to calm down and think about that day. Think about what you were feeling, think about everything that we said, and just take deep breaths, okay? Just pay attention to my voice, not the other sounds around you. You're okay, baby. I promise you that you're okay."

She paused after that, trying to ignore the stinging in her eyes as she opened them, praying to god that it worked. Her free hand tightened on the side of the counter, not even concerned about the tile digging into her skin as she waited.

Then, there was a large exhale from the other end, and Lydia's voice was back.

"Sage, it worked. He's back, he's fine."

Letting out a small relieved sigh, Sage nodded a few times. "Okay. Good. That's... that's good."

She heard the clicking of a phone, figuring that it was one of the two taking the phone off of speaker, and quickly wiped the stray tear that had fallen in her attempt to help Stiles. She hadn't even looked over once at Deaton, too worried about what the look on his face is going to be.

"Sage?" a voice broke, and she immediately recognized it to be Stiles instead of Lydia.

The blonde smiled lightly, her lip quivering. "Hey, are you okay now?"

"Yeah," Stiles replied, and she could hear the huffing of him trying to catch his breath. "Thank you. I didn't— thank you."

Sage nodded, her head falling back on the wall. "You're welcome. Just don't scare me like that again. I'm going to need therapy because of the heart attack you just gave me."

The boy let out a small stifle, sighing once again before the line went quiet for a few seconds. Sage's brows furred, pulling her phone away from her ear to see that she was still on the phone, Stiles just went quiet. "Stiles?"

"Morrell," Stiles explained, just before there was more shuffling from the other end. "Sage, I have to go. Text me if you find out anything from the others or Deaton. Be careful."

"You too," Sage answered, just before she pulled the phone from her ear to hang up.

She ignored the stinging that she felt every time she ended a phone call with Stiles only to realize either one of them could find themselves saying, "I love you," because, in all honesty, the love in the relationship was six feet under in a hole covered with all of the stuff they have been dealing with lately.

Right now, she just needed to figure out a way to save herself and Cora from Deaton.

"A panic attack?" Deaton asked, nodding towards the phone Sage was sitting down.

Sage nodded in agreement. "He used to have them when his mom died, and had one back last year when his father lost his job. This one was worse though."

"Because it's not his father's job, it's his life."

Sage swallowed hard before nodding. "Do you know how to help me get the mistletoe out of my body? Any herbs or magic druid potions you've gotten hidden somewhere in this place? Or, is it not possible?"

Deaton pursed his lips, looking as if he were holding back a possible thing that could save her life. Sage noticed, her own eyes narrowing as she stared accusingly at the man, wondering why he was adamant on keeping something from her.

"You do know something," Sage realized, her eyes widening slightly.

The man frowned, staring at the blonde. "It would require Allison, Scott, and Stiles; they would need to be willing to do this in order for it to work. It's not something any of you will enjoy, especially you. The consequences will be severe."

"It can't be as bad as dying," Sage disagreed, only to realize that the man glowered. "It is as bad as dying?"

"Do you remember a year ago when your altor abilities had been influenced by Jackson's cut on his neck?" Deaton began, which only made Sage nod in confusion. "Your abilities were effected because the claws of a werewolf had interfered with healing, in turn creating a reaction. Any time one of those in your pack got injured, your own didn't just replicate—"

"It bled," Sage remembered, her thoughts immediately falling back to when Derek had been clawed from the back and she was forced to run around the school, nearly dying. "I'm plenty aware. I don't see why this is relevant though."

Deaton paused, his face contorting as he tried to think of a way to explain it. "Because you are a druid and the mistletoe has effected your system differently than a werewolf's, the only way that you are going to survive is if you die in the place of the final sacrifice like Jennifer wanted."

"Die," Sage deadpanned, repeating his word. "How am I supposed to survive if I die?"

"Not everyone that dies stays dead, Sage," Deaton mused. "You, of all people, should know that."

Sage clenched her jaw, thinking back to Peter. "What does this have to do with Allison, Scott, and Stiles?"

She didn't like thinking about them having anything to do with death, and could only go back to Argent's last words to her. He told her not to do anything stupid, to make sure her friends didn't do anything stupid, and she couldn't help but wonder if this was what he meant, if he had known that they would do everything and anything possible to get all three parents back.

"If your friends want to find their parents, they are going to have to become surrogate sacrifices. They are going to need to find something that means something to their parent, something that can connect them; and, when they die in the place of their parents, you will experience their deaths along with them."

"You want to cut my neck again," Sage realized, her body falling slack on the counter.

Deaton nodded once, staring her with sad eyes. "You will be dead along with them."

☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒

Sage used to fear oblivion.

Only a few weeks ago had she been speaking of it, but now that she knew what her future would become, that scared her so much more. Knowing what was going to happen to her by the end of the night scared her more than not knowing, because if she hadn't of asked... if she hadn't of known that she was going to die, she wouldn't feel dread in her chest.

Deaton had told her to stay at the clinic while he went to go get Stiles, telling her that she needed to call Allison, Isaac, and Lydia to all get to the place. When she asked why there were so many people necessary, he told her that there needed to be three people to hold down Scott, Allison, and Stiles.

Sage wished she hadn't of asked after that.

"Sage? Are you here?" a voice called out from the front of the place.

The blonde hissed out, slowly moving herself off of the cabinet as she took steps to the front. No one was there to stable her but the walls, and by the time she was rounding th corner she had nearly fallen flat on her face. The only comforting fact was that it had been hours since she threw up the mistletoe, which just meant that Jennifer was only easing her into her death later than she hoped.

Lydia was standing there, frowning slightly as she watched the blonde carefully push back the barrier to let in her best friend. Sage didn't fail to notice the line around the strawberry blonde's neck, figuring that she had the same one around her own. She hadn't bothered to check, too afraid of what she would see in her reflection.

The girl wrapped an arm around Sage. "Is anyone else here?"

"Allison and Isaac should be coming—" her voice was cut off when the bell of the clinic door rang, and frowned. "—now."

The two teenagers walked through the doors, Allison's face cold and lifeless as she nodded towards her best friends, easily making her way through the barrier and into the place with Isaac tagging behind her. The look in her eyes was something that Sage has seen way too much in the past twenty four hours, a look of all hope having been lost.

"What's going on? Does Deaton know how to find them?" Allison asked as they all went into the back of the room again, Sage returning to her place on the counter considering she couldn't stand in a single place for more than five seconds.

Sage nodded, absentmindedly playing with her ring. "Yes."

"Then why aren't we doing anything right now?" Allison questioned, raising her eyebrows as she stared at the blonde, assuming that Sage had all of the answers when the girl truly didn't.

A voice came from behind Allison. "Because, first, we need to find the nemeton."

Everyone turned around to notice that Stiles and Deaton had finally arrived, the teenage boy sending a single look towards Sage before moving over to the operation table. The vet had to have, at least, informed Stiles on what the gist of the whole operation was going to be about because he was speaking about the nemeton only seconds later.

"It has to be on a terrulic current," Stiles began. "Or, maybe even at the access of two, or where they all intersect."

"It's where Derek took Paige to die," Sage said, making all eyes turn to her for a split second. "Talia took all of those memories away from him and Peter, so they're not going to know where it is."

Allison stepped up. "My dad and Gerard were there once but Gerard said it was years ago and he couldn't remember where it was. My dad obviously isn't here to tell us now."

"Yeah," Stiles muttered, frowning as he glanced up at Deaton. "Mine either."

Isaac, who had been standing off to the side next to Sage, asked, "Then, how do we find this place?"

Sage and Deaton met eyes, the two having gone over all the possibilities and only coming up with one. The whole thing was absolutely insane, and Sage wasn't too sure that she was comfortable knowing that was going to happen, but she had to do it. Not just to save herself, but to save the Sheriff, Melissa, and Argent.

"There's a way, but it's dangerous," Sage started, picking at her jeans just before glancing up at her friends. "We're going to need Scott."

☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒

"How did you guys find out?"

Scott's voice was soft as he stepped up to his best friends and his boss. Stiles, Deaton, and Sage all ended up going on their way to find Scott after many calls to question where he was, saying that the whole thing was important. There was only an abrupt conversation between Stiles and Scott, of which one boy had to explain to the other what the meaning of critical situation is.

Everything was so critical that Sage almost wished the boy hadn't picked up; because, while it was important that they find all of the parents, it was also important that her friends stay alive. The last thing she needed was their inability to wake up, which, she guess, meant her inability to wake up as well.

Stiles pushed off of the jeep while Sage stayed behind. "Lydia. You?"

"Uh, Morrell," Scott muttered, glancing in between the three. "None of the other alphas know where it is either."

"So, if this works, are you going to tell them?"

Scott recoiled a bit, realizing that he was going to have to. "I can't stop Jennifer without them."

Sage had honestly forgotten all about the fact that Jennifer was still living and breathing in the same town as them. All of her attention had been put into finding out where Scott, Stiles, and Allison's parents were.

Deaton seemed to agree with where her head was at. "How about we focus on finding your parents right now?"

"What's the plan?" Scott asked, his eyes flickering back to Sage, who was intently listening in on the conversation yet not actually involving herself.

"Essentially, you, Allison, and Stiles need to be surrogate sacrifices for your parents."

Scott turned to face his best friend. "We die for them?"

"But, he can bring us back," Stiles informed, just before turning to Deaton. "You can... you can bring us back, right?"

Deaton frowned, facing the boy as well. "Do you remember the part where Sage said it was dangerous? If it goes right, the four of you will be dead for a few seconds. This is also the only way for us to help save Sage's life."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked, his eyebrows furring as he looked at the blonde, who was still deteriorating by the hour, looking even worse than when he had last left her.

Sage figured it was her turn to step up and explain, knowing that all of this should come from her instead of Deaton.

"I'm going to die with you three. Jennifer's whole plan to kill me had been because I was the very final sacrifice. After your parents, she was going to kill me because I tied the knot together. The only way for me to survive is if I die with you three, in turn completing what your surrogate sacrifices would accomplish. Like Deaton said, if it all goes right, the four of us will only be dead for a few seconds."

"How?" Scott questioned. "Your abilities don't stretch to actually kill you."

Deaton took over, figuring that it was easier for him to explain. "But, they can be manipulated. If a werewolf's claws get too deep into an altor's nervous system, it's almost like a poison to their box of abilities. It happened to her a year ago, and if we do it again, the effects of it should last long enough for her to die due to your own sacrifice."

"Basically, when you three die, I die," Sage reiterated, dumbing it down into the easiest way of understanding.

"There's something else you need to think about," Deaton added. "This is a dangerous thing for more reasons than one. You'll be giving power back to the nemeton, a place that hasn't had power for a long time. This kind of power is like a magnet, it attracts the supernatural. The kind of things someone like the Argent's can fill the pages of a beastiary with. It will draw them here, like a beacon."

Stiles was quick to intrude. "It doesn't sound like anything worse than what we've already seen."

"You would be surprised at what you have yet to see."

When Scott noticed the glower still on his boss' face, he forced himself to ask. "Is that it?"

"No," Deaton denied, just before glancing back at Scott. "It will also have an effect on the four of you. You won't be able to see it but you'll feel it. Every day, for the rest of your lives, it will be a... kind of a... darkness around your heart— and permanent, like a scar."

"Like a tattoo."

☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒

There was already a darkness in her heart as she watched Lydia, Deaton, and Isaac dump another bag of ice into the tubs. Something was creeping up in her veins, and she tried so desperately hard to prepare herself for how much pain she was going to be in in just a few minutes.

She knew that the actually dying wasn't going to be the worst part; it would be the flood of pain that hit her when her friends died and she was just waiting for the milliseconds to die herself. That pain, the one where she lost someone she was connected to, hurt more than ripping off her own arm would.

It wasn't just agony; it was as though all of the life was sucked out of her in those few seconds, and she was blind to anything but pain. It was a fire drawing into her blood and igniting something that should not be aflame. It was pulling at a part of her soul that needed to stay in tact, but wouldn't.

It was it's own death.

When the three had finally finished dumping the ice, Deaton found himself turning to look at the four teenagers. He had told the three beside her to find something that connected them to their parents, an object that could create a link, while he told her to find something that defined her. He told her to find something that had been with her ever since the fire, and made her who she was.

The only thing that would keep her alive while in the dark is herself.

"What did you bring?" Deaton asked, his eyes darting between the four of them.

Stiles had been the first one to speak up, holding the object for everyone to see. "Um, I got my dad's badge. Jennifer kind of crushed it, you know, in her hand so I tried hammering it out a bit. It still doesn't look great."

"It doesn't need to look good if it has meaning."

Isaac had been intently focused on Stiles up until he glanced down at Allison's hands, looking at the thing in surprise. "Is that an actual silver bullet?"

"Yeah, my dad made it. It's kind of a ceremonial thing," Allison explained. "When one of us finishes learning all of the skills to be a hunter, we forge a silver bullet as a testament to the code."

Deaton frowned before turning to the blonde that was standing in between Scott and Allison, gripping tightly onto something. "Sage? You got something that defined yourself, didn't you?"

"Huh?" she asked, lifting her head slightly to see that the attention was now on her. "Oh. Yeah. Um, it's my leather jacket. It wasn't originally mine, it used to belong to Luke. I had it in my backpack the day that the fire started because I forgot my own. I haven't really taken it off ever since."

She tried to ignore the lump in her throat as she slowly pulled the jacket on her body, knowing that everyone was watching as she did it. Ever since she was ten years old, the piece of clothing has become her safety blanket. No matter how many times she tried to put it away, she couldn't; it made her everything she was.

"Scott?"

The werewolf looked up when he realized it was his turn, and opened his hand to reveal a watch. "My dad got my mom this watch when she first got hired at the hospital. She used to say it was the only thing in her marriage that ever worked."

"Okay," Deaton began as soon as the four had explained the sentiments of their lives. "The three of you will get in and each of us will hold you down until you are essentially... well, dead. Sage, you should feel the water in your lungs soon after. But, it's not going to just be someone to hold you under, it needs to be someone who can pull you back. Someone that has a strong connection to you— a, kind of, emotional tether."

Sage frowned, feeling a lump form in her throat. She didn't ignore the fact that her eyes instinctively glanced over to Stiles, wondering if she would actually be able to hold him down, knowing that she was killing herself and him. She didn't know if she would even physically be able to do it, or if their relationship was even strong anymore.

Deaton seemed to think so, though, because after what he had seen earlier with Sage calming down the teenage boy, he knew that she was the only one capable of being his tether. "Sage, you go with Stiles."

Sage met with the boy's eyes, sending him a half smile as she tried to ignore the fact that she knew it was coming. She knew that Deaton was going to put her with him, have her experience her boyfriend's pain right as she stood over him, trying to breathe herself.

At least, the last faces the two saw would be each other.

Lydia moved to go towards Allison after that, only for Deaton's voice to call out. "Lydia, I'm going to need you to help with Sage when she falls."

"Are you sure?" Allison broke out, turning her attention away from the look she shared with Scott and over to the vet. "Scott and I both have to go under."

Deaton only shook his head once, and the tension in the room became evident the second that Allison and Isaac glanced over at each other. Sage was, somehow, expecting it. She figured that if Lydia was going to be helping her when her abilities kicked in, that Allison didn't have enough of a connection with Deaton for him to put her under.

Which only left Isaac.

Hesitantly, Allison met Scott's eyes, only for the teenage boy to nod once despite the pain he was feeling about the fact that the girl he loved, the girl he said he would wait for, had moved on to one of his friends. "It's okay."

As he walked over to Deaton, there was a sense of suffering in his eyes that no one could ignore. Sage figured that they needed to get on with the whole thing, knowing that if she thought about it anymore she would doubt it, and weakly stumbled over to Scott as well, sending the boy a frown.

Scott was going to be the one that had to penetrate her neck, something that she wished he didn't have to do. Deaton had already instructed them on everything they had to do, alerting Scott to make sure it was at the base of her neck and no lower.

"Sage, remember," Deaton began to explain. "While the other three are looking for the nemeton, you need to look for yourself. You need to find yourself, no matter what situation you are put in or else it won't work, and you won't come back."

Sage nodded, sucking in all of the information. She didn't have the heart to tell Deaton that she didn't even know who she was, and that there was a great chance that she didn't come out of this; that she would be stuck in between life and death without even knowing it.

Someone placed their hands on her shoulders, squeezing tightly. "Are you ready?"

"No," Sage admitted to Scott, just before turning to look at the rest of her friends. "But I know it's the only way."

From behind her, the werewolf took a deep breath as she tilted her head forward, enough for one of her closest friends to prepare himself to move his claws into her neck. She knew what it felt like, but it didn't ignore the fact that the after effects are what scares her most.

She hadn't even had a chance to hiss out in pain before something sharp was falling in the base of her neck, a searing agony flooding through her spine. It had disappeared a second later though, although she still felt like something had been left inside of her skin; just like Deaton said, it felt like someone had invaded her system.

When she was stable enough to turn around, she noticed that Scott had taken a few steps away from her, his golden eyes slowly shifting back into their brown orbs. Sage turned to look at the veterinarian, figuring that he was the only one who could give them orders at this point because no one knew out they were going to proceed after that.

"Okay." Deaton nodded. "Let's start."

Sage glanced up with her hand still on her neck, rubbing at the pained spot while meeting Stiles' eyes. He slowly walked over to her, and the two didn't bother saying anything to each other as he began to pull off his jacket and shoes. Allison and Scott were doing the same thing from the other side of the room, along with Lydia and Isaac's help.

She couldn't help but feel like, somehow, they knew she needed to be with Stiles right now.

About halfway through the preparations, Sage found her eyes slowly start flooding with unwanted tears, adjusting the sleeves to her own leather jacket as she realized this could very well be the last time she is in the same room as all of her friends if the plan goes wrong.

Sage's head lifted up rather quickly and she was staring in horror at the ground. Stiles was the one to notice, having been so close to her. When he grabbed a hold of her shoulders, she turned to look at him with an unsteady look, water threatening to come down her cheeks.

"Derek," she mumbled out. "I didn't get to say goodbye to Derek."

Stiles shook his head. "You don't need to say goodbye when you're coming back."

Sage swallowed hard, blinking to get the heavy weight of the tears off her lids, and nodded once before tremors began to spark throughout her body. The boy in front of her wrapped his arms around her, just like she had done with him in the hospital, and his grip only tightened when she tightly gripped his black tee shirt.

"I can't lose you," Sage muttered into her shoulder, well aware that the teenagers on the other side of the room were hugging each other too, just in case there wasn't a chance for them to say goodbye.

Only in case.

Stiles pulled away from her and shook his head. "You won't."

Sage didn't know if she believed him or not, but opted on reasoning. She glanced up when Deaton called out their names quietly, hating to interrupt their goodbyes but knowing that they were short on time, needing to find all of their parents before it was too late.

Scott, Allison, and Stiles all slowly walked over to the tubs of ice, staring down at their deaths with their parents' objects practically cutting into their skin. Allison had been the first one to put her foot into the water, letting out a harsh breath at the temperature that was sure to freeze them the second they got in.

Stiles glanced back at Sage, who was now giving him a reassuring nod. She wasn't sure who she was reassuring though, herself or him. That seemed to be the push the teenage boy needed, and he turned back around to slowly grip the sides of the tub and place his legs in one by one.

Scott went next, letting out his own hiss, and before Sage could even blink all of them were slowly moving their bodies into the water. She realized that that was it, and that they were now prepared to give their lives up for people that they loved. She saw each of them trembling, but not a single one of the three attempted to get out.

They were ready to die.

Stiles turned to Scott, who was taking deep breaths to control his shaking. "By the way, uh, if I don't make it back and you do, you should probably know something. Your dad's in town."

That was the last thing anyone bothered to say in the room before Deaton was nodding towards herself and Isaac, alerting them that now was the time. Now was the time for her to face her boyfriend, to look into the eyes of the boy she loved, and to watch as that light slowly slipped away until it was dull.

She took a deep breath, pulling up her jacket sleeves before her hands found Stiles' shoulders, adjusting them a few times as she tried to ignore her pounding heart. He stared up at her, something that she wished he wouldn't, and he nodded once to tell her that it was okay.

It wasn't okay, it was never going to be okay.

Sage's hands tightened and she glanced over at Deaton for assurance. The man looked just as helpless as she and Isaac, only before he turned back to Scott and they knew that it had to be now. The blonde allowed her hands to push onto Stiles' shoulders, watching as his eyes closed shut the second that he was underwater.

The darkness consumed her heart only a few seconds later.

☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒

well. my apologies. there's only like three more chapters left until part one is finished.