ACT ONE, CHAPTER NINE
Party Crashers

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

     JACKSON WAS GOING TO BE AT A PRIVATE SHOW AND TICKETS WERE VERY EXPENSIVE. Since Stiles was going to be outside surrounding the building with mountain ash powder, Scott gave Andi the second ticket so she could get in. Andi decided on wearing a high waist pair of black skinny jeans and a pink long sleeved crop top. She used a black scrunchie to tie her hair up into a high ponytail that was a bit neater than her occasional messy ponytails and she wore a pair of heeled ankle boots.

     "To be honest, you still look the same as any other day," Erica laughed and Andi scoffed.

     "You've probably never even considered this, but not everybody can turn into a bombshell overnight," she said.

     "Ladies, you're both beautiful but right now we got business to take care of," Isaac said as they walked into the crowd.

     Andi looked around and her stomach did somersaults when she saw the amount of people in the room. The music was playing so loud that her head was vibrating and the room was dark with nothing but coloured lights and people were dancing and sweating. The three of them split up as they merged with the crowd and looked for any sign of Jackson.

     Meanwhile outside, Derek and Boyd were face to face with Argent and his group of hunters.

     "Derek, back off," he said.

     "Back off? That's all you got? I have to be honest, I was really expecting more from the big bad veteran werewolf hunter," Derek said.

     "How about, didn't anyone ever tell you not to bring claws to a gunfight?" Argent asked and the men behind him pointed their guns at the two werewolves.

     "I didn't just bring claws," Derek said with a smug smile on his face.

     Argent looked confused but turned around when he heard the hunters behind him collapsing onto the ground. None of them could move and it wasn't the kanima who paralyzed them. He noticed Jasmine standing there with bright blue eyes right before they changed back to brown.

     "Jasmine Nicks. Clearly, you still think werewolves and humans can live together in harmony," Argent said.

     "This is bigger than you and me. There is a teenage boy inside of that thing and there is a way to save him," Jasmine said. "We don't have to kill him."

     "For every minute you think you can save him, he is out there killing someone else."

     "And if you kill him, the person controlling him will just find someone else to use to finish the job. This is not going to stop until we find the person who is using him and controlling him and we stop them."

     "We both know your magic is wearing down. It already took a lot for you just to paralyze my men."

     "If there is one thing you should know, it's to never underestimate the women in our family because we don't back down."

     "What do you mean we? You're the only witch in town."

     Jasmine smiled as Argent looked at her confused, not knowing what she was talking about. "Didn't your daughter tell you about the new girl at her school?" she asked and realization dawned on Argent's face.

     "You have a granddaughter," he said. "And she's inside."

     Jasmine laughed. "And she's more powerful than you think. So don't underestimate her or me."

     Inside the building, Andi found Jackson inside the crowd. She stayed hidden while Isaac and Erica distracted him as Isaac pulled out a syringe from his back pocket. Before he could inject him with it, he and Erica fell onto the ground. Isaac tried to reach for the syringe but someone kicked it out of the way and far from his reach.

     "Andi, get it!" he said and Andi hurried to pick it up.

     She hurried behind Jackson and prepared to use the syringe on him. Everyone else was too busy to notice her green eyes as Jackson grabbed his head. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and stuck the needle into the vein in his neck and injected the substance into his system. He started to collapse and Isaac was there to lift him up and carry him away from the crowd. They brought him into a private room and tried to figure out what to do with him.

     "So now that we have Jackson, how do we catch his master?" Andi asked.

     Before anyone could answer, the door opened quickly followed by Stiles reassuring everyone that it was just him. "Is he okay?" he asked while looking at an unconscious Jackson.

     "Let's find out," Isaac said as his claws came out and he approached him.

     He reached out and grabbed Isaac's arm and twisted it painfully. Isaac was panting once Jackson let him go and he backed up against the wall.

     "Okay, no one does anything like that ever again, okay?" Stiles asked and the others nodded. "Maybe except for Andi since she doesn't have to approach him to hurt him."

     "I thought the ketamine was supposed to put him out?" Isaac whined as he held his arm.

     "Yeah, well this is all we're going to get so let's just hope that whoever is controlling him decides to show up tonight," Stiles said.

     Andi carefully grabbed Isaac's arm and he nearly flinched at her touch. "I just want to see it," she said and Isaac nodded as he let her hold his arm. She carefully pressed her fingers into his skin and he hissed in pain. She closed her eyes as she focused her attention on Isaac's arm. "Asinta Mulaf Hinto, Sho Bala," she whispered the incantation and Isaac could feel the pain fading away. When she let go and opened her eyes, Isaac was no longer in pain and was able to move his arm.

     "What was that?" he asked.

     "It's a pain reduction spell. It won't heal you but it helps the pain until you do," Andi answered and turned her attention back to Jackson who was now awake.

     "I'm here. I'm right here with you," he said in a distorted voice and everyone was very disturbed.

     Stiles approached him carefully. "Jackson, is that you?" he asked.

     "Us. We're all here," Jackson said and Stiles looked at the others.

     "Are you the one killing people?"

     "We're the ones killing murderers."

     "So, all the people you've killed so far─"

     "Deserved it."

     Andi looked at Isaac and Erica who only watched as Stiles asked him these questions.

     "See, there's a rulebook that says you only go after murderers," he said.

     "Anything can break if enough pressure is applied," Jackson said.

     "So, the people you're killing are all murderers?"

     "Each and every one."

     "Well, who did they murder?"

     "Me."

     Andi looked at Jackson confused just like everyone else. The people who were killed supposedly murdered the master but Andi figured it could only be metaphorically, otherwise the master would not be alive to control the kanima.

     "Wait, what? What do you mean?" Stiles asked.

     "They murdered me," Jackson said. Isaac stood up straight and Andi's heart started beating rapidly when Jackson's eyes turned yellow and he started to shift. "They murdered me."

     "More ketamine. The man needs more ketamine. Come on!" Stiles stammered when he saw Jackson's claws.

     "We don't have anymore," Isaac said as he held up an empty bottle that used to be filled with ketamine but now it was gone due to using it all on Jackson.

     "You used the whole bottle?" Stiles asked incredulously.

     "And yet, it still wasn't enough to keep him down," Andi said.

     The four of them looked at Jackson who was now standing up and scales were starting to cover his skin. He hissed and his head twitched and everyone just watched in horror.

     "Okay, Wicked Witch of the West, do your thing," Stiles said and Andi only glared at him.

     "What do you want me to do, Stiles? Set him on fire?" she asked.

     "Is that an option?"

     "No!"

     Stiles ushered everybody out and they all leaned against the door to keep it closed. "Is there something we can use to block the door?" he asked but the kanima busted right through the wall and everyone was in shock.

     "That thing is the devil!" Andi said.

     The four of them headed out of the building and saw Derek standing right outside. Andi and Stiles turned around and saw that Isaac and Erica couldn't get past the mountain ash barrier Stiles made.

     "Yes! It worked!" he said excitedly but Derek didn't look so happy.

     "Scott. Stiles, break it," he said.

     "What? No way!" Stiles protested.

     "Scott's dying!"

     "How do you even know that?"

     "Oh my God, Stiles, I just know now break it!"

     Stiles broke the seal which allowed Derek to run right inside and Erica and Isaac to get out. Andi inhaled deeply when she realized that her grandmother was still somewhere nearby.

     "I have to find my grandmother," she said before she left the others to find her. "Grams!"

     When she turned the corner, she was facing a bunch of men with guns in their hands. Before she could say or do anything, they collapsed to the ground unconscious and her grandmother was standing there. Andi had never seen her grandmother use magic before but now it helped her to realize how real everything was. She couldn't deny anything anymore.

     "What happened with Jackson?" her grandmother asked and Andi sighed.

     "He got away. Grams, I'm so sorry I failed," she said as she looked away.

     She was assigned to help them capture Jackson and his master but they could barely keep Jackson contained before he shifted and got loose.

     "You kids did all you could. I know it's not easy to have the fate of the town resting on your shoulders but you will get stronger as time goes," her grandmother said but Andi didn't say anything, still feeling like a failure. "Let's go home."

━━━━

     It had been a couple of days since what happened with Jackson at the private concert at the warehouse district and Andi wasn't sure on what to do. It was the night of the full moon so she knew that Scott, Isaac, Erica and the other werewolves were going to be busy with their own problems. She went to school as if everything was normal but she was painfully aware that it was the furthest thing from. Lydia went around the school asking people if they were going to be able to make it to her birthday party and Andi could only sigh. She wasn't sure where she and Lydia stood but that was the least of her worries.

     She used the last couple of days to get better at her magic and even advanced with her abilities. She could do more than inflict and reduce pain and trigger someone's healing and it was getting easier to harness her power but Jackson was still on the loose and killing people without knowing anything and no one knew who his master was.

     The whole day went by as if it was any other day and Andi was home before she knew it. She had given Allison her cell number after Matt went to the hospital so she wasn't surprised when she got a text from her to meet up at Lydia's house with the address. She settled for a simple pair of jeans and a comfy sweatshirt since it was supposed to be a chilly night. Once she was ready, she left the house and started heading to Lydia's where she would meet up with Allison. When she arrived at the address Allison had texted to her, she saw the brunette standing right outside of the house.

     "Hey," Andi said and Allison turned around.

     "Glad to see you could make it," she said and Andi shrugged.

     "I'm not really sure why you wanted me to come here anyway. I get the feeling Lydia still doesn't like me like many other people in this town," she said.

     "Why do you say that?" Allison asked as they walked up to the door.

     "Kendall seems to think I am the reason her boyfriend broke up with her, Derek thinks I'm too small and weak to help you guys and Erica is just something else, which I can't understand because I'm the one who defended her and asked her if she was okay when everyone else laughed at her," Andi said and exhaled heavily as soon as she got all of that out. "Everyone else just sucks."

     "Well tonight could be your chance to feel like a normal kid even if it's just for a few minutes," Allison said with a bright smile.

     "It's been so long, I don't even know what normal is anymore," Andi sighed while Allison rang the doorbell.

     Lydia answered and smiled when she saw Allison but didn't smile as much when she saw Andi standing next to her. "Come on in, and don't forget to try the punch," she said as she let them inside the house.

     The girls walked inside and Andi observed how nice the house looked. Her grandmother's house wasn't nearly as fancy but it was still a nice house and cozy to live in overall so she had no complaints.

     "So, how long have you been a witch?" Allison asked and Andi only looked at her.

     "Actually, I've always been a witch but I just didn't know it until last month. My parents hoped that it would skip me but they still had my grandmother use a suppression spell on me when I was a baby so I wouldn't be able to use my powers. A few weeks ago, it was starting to wear off and I caused an accident at school that no one could explain. So without an explanation, my parents booked me a flight, bought me a plane ticket and sent me here to live with my grandmother in less than a week," Andi said as she picked up a glass of punch.

     "What kind of accident was it?" Allison questioned and her eyes widened. "Did you set the school on fire?"

     "No! Nothing like that. It actually involved a flask with a corrosive liquid and a mean girl in a science class," Andi replied before taking a sip.

     "You made the flask explode?"

     "Bingo!"

     "Wait, did any of that stuff get on the girl?" Allison asked and Andi shook her head.

     "God, no. Fortunately for her, she was wearing protective lab gear like the school enforced us to wear during any science experiment," she said before taking another sip of punch.

     "So, before all of that, you never knew anything about witches? Your parents never told you anything and when something happened, they just sent you away without so much as an explanation for why it even happened?" Allison asked.

     Andi's chest tightened when she thought about her parents and how they handled the situation. She still felt like they had given up on her after what they did. She still hasn't spoken to them since she let her feelings out on the phone with her mother and she didn't know when she was going to pick up the phone again to call them. Not even they had tried to reach out to her so she assumed they had their own things to worry about, possibly more important than their daughter, whom they left in the dark and abandoned when things went south.

     "They gave up on me. End of story," she said as she walked out into the backyard.

     She raised her eyebrows when she saw the pool and took another sip of punch. Her grandmother didn't even have a backyard but Lydia had a backyard with a pool. After a while, more people started to show up, including drag queens and people who weren't even from school. When Andi finished her glass of punch, she went to the punch stand to get some more. Lydia stood next to her and Andi took a few steps back to put some space between them.

     "Happy birthday, Lydia," she said and the strawberry blonde looked at her as she filled an empty glass with some punch. Andi smiled awkwardly as she turned around. "Nevermind."

     Andi went to find Allison but had no such luck. She leaned against the wall away from everyone else and scanned the crowd. Her eyes fell on two familiar people and she tried to figure out who they were.

     "I don't care, just cast the spell!" a painfully familiar voice shouted.

     "She is only a baby! This is not fair on her!" Andi recognized her grandmother's voice, refusing to do as her father said.

     "Jasmine, if you don't do this, you will never see Amanda again. She will never know your name," her mother said and her grandmother had tears in her eyes.

     Her parents turned around and Andi's heart started to pound violently against her ribcage. They were supposed to be back in Atlanta, yet here they were in Beacon Hills at Lydia's birthday party. Andi blinked a couple of times but her parents were still standing there.

     "You are an abomination," her father said and his words stung.

     "Why couldn't you be a normal human child?" her mother asked and tears started to slide down Andi's cheeks.

     "You gave up on me," she said.

     "You are nothing but a vile creature who will destroy worlds if not kept under control. You almost blinded that girl at school," her mother said.

     "I'm sorry, it was an accident. I didn't mean to do it. I'm so sorry I couldn't be the perfect kid you wanted," Andi said while her parents glared at her.

     "Look at you, crying in the middle of a crowd. You're so pathetic," her father said and Andi closed her eyes tightly.

     "I'm sorry," she said and when she opened them, her parents were gone and everyone was dancing and mingling as if she didn't just get berated in the middle of a crowd. She wiped her cheeks and found Lydia inside the house talking to a few guests. "May I use your bathroom?"

     "Upstairs and on the second door to your left," the strawberry blonde said and Andi nodded as she went upstairs.

     When she found the bathroom, she locked herself in and sat on the closed toilet seat with her fingers running through her hair. She kept inhaling and exhaling deeply and heavily to steady herself but it was a little difficult with the growing lump in her throat. Her legs wobbled as she stood up and leaned against the sink to keep herself from falling to the floor. She rinsed her face with cold water and used the hand towel to wipe it away. Once her breathing was back to a steady pace and there was no evidence of crying left on her face, she left the bathroom to look for the others. Allison was nowhere to be found but she did find Scott and Stiles by the pool. Stiles looked like someone dunked his head in the water and Scott looked very concerned.

     "Are you guys okay?" she asked and Scott's brows pulled together.

     "Are you okay?" he asked and Andi blinked in confusion. She was so sure no one could tell she had a breakdown. Scott saw the confusion on her face and clarified why he asked. "Enhance hearing. Your heartbeat is a little faster than normal."

     "I think someone might have spiked the punch with some acid or something," Andi said as she shrugged her shoulders.

     "The punch was spiked with something, but I don't think it was acid," Scott said.

     "Well, it was some type of hallucinogen. Everyone here is freaking out, I just saw my parents talking to my grandmother right here in the middle of the party. I don't know what you guys saw but we should probably go," Andi said.

     "I can't swim!"

     The three kids turned around and saw two people carrying another person to the pool, ignoring him as he protested and screamed he couldn't swim. The two partygoers didn't seem to care as they still threw him into the pool and everyone watched as he flailed around in the water. Jackson rushed over to the pool's edge and reached into the water to grab him and pull him out. The boy turned out to be Matt and he was soaking wet head to toe. He stood up and glared at everyone who stood by and watched him nearly drown.

     "What are you all staring at?" he asked but everyone kept staring.

     "Deaton said the fear of water may be coming from the kanima's master, right?" Andi asked and the boys nodded. "Matt can't swim. Who else do you know has a fear of water?"

     Not much else was said when they heard the wailing sirens of police cruisers and everyone left the party in a hurry. Andi lost the boys in the crowd but her theory still stands. The kanima's master was afraid of water and so was Matt. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the law, that wasn't going to be enough to connect him to all the gruesome murders. She was really starting to wish that she had stayed in Atlanta.