Stiles took Malia back to his house so they could add some things to Stiles' murder board. Both of them were reluctant to leave me behind after the breakdown I had over Lydia, but I ushered them away regardless. My mind wasn't clear, I could hardly focus on much at all, and I knew I would be of little help to whatever investigation we were ensuing. Scott and Kira, both looking beat after tonight's events, headed home as well, leaving me completely alone in the hospital. Well, almost alone.

"Are you sure you're gonna be alright?" Theo asked me, staring intently at the butterfly bandages stuck to my forehead.

I nodded, "Ginny's on her way with some clothes and a healing potion, I'll be just fine, thanks." Despite Stiles's ever helpful comfort, my whole body was still shaking after tonight.

"Okay. Just - just drink some water, or something, I guess," I smiled minutely, nodding in acknowledgement. He turned to leave but before he got to the doors, I called out to him.

"What made you think of the tourniquet?"

He shrugged, "I dunno, I'd seen it all the time in movies and figured it had to be somewhat accurate."

I crossed my arms and brought my thumbnail to my mouth. "Thank you," I murmured softly. When he looked like he didn't hear me, I removed my thumb and repeated myself, "Thank you for saving her life."

He smiled, "It's nothing." I didn't argue back as he turned and exited the hospital.

Ginny arrived about twenty minutes later, carrying a fresh pair of clothes and a worried expression plastered on her face. She fawned, checking every single scratch that was visible on my body. Eventually, while I appreciated the gesture, I had to push her away. I was not the one who should have been coddled. Feeling her warm hands on my skin seemed to immediately calm me down, however, for the shaking decreased immensely.

"How is she?"

"Melissa said she was gonna be alright," I informed her, bringing my hand back up to my mouth, "We were cutting it close, but she's gonna pull through."

"But you're not convinced," She could read me like a book. I shut my eyes.

"It's not that I don't trust the word of medical professionals..." I couldn't really begin to explain the kind of state I was in.

"You just need to see it for yourself," Ginny finished for me and I nodded, looking her directly in the eye.

"Ginny, it was almost identical to Allison," I whispered, "I mean - that was all I could see was her and Allison, and I just couldn't - I couldn't let it happen again. Not - not to Lydia. Not to anybody. I'd rather it be me than see anyone else I love die."

"June Child you stop saying that. Right now," Ginny snapped angrily. "You do not have the luxury of saying such a thing when you are all that I have. So stop thinking that way and stop it for good. You focus on being here for Lydia." My eyes were wide when she spoke, and all I could do was nod. She nodded back, "Good. Now I take it you're not gonna be home for the evening?"

"Not until she's out of the hospital," I answered, turning back towards the doors she was wheeled through. Natalie Martin sure was taking her time in coming back out here to inform us of what was going on.

"Your phone charger is tucked in between your clothes, call me if you need anything else. Or call Stiles, maybe he can help me swing your car over if need be."

I hugged her goodbye, and turned to look at my surroundings. Seeing as it was still the middle of the night, the hospital wasn't as busy as it could've been. I trudged over to a cluster of chairs and sank down into one. After the satisfying feeling of sitting down radiated through my bones, it occurred to me that this was probably the first time I had sat down after all the events of tonight. I hugged the clothing tighter to me as I waited for anyone to walk back through those doors.

Interrupted from my own negative train of thought, my phone buzzed from my back pocket. I grabbed at it and saw a very unexpected phone number fly up on the screen.

"Dr. Deaton?" I answered, wondering why he needed to contact me.

"If you're wondering if I called the wrong number, I didn't," His tone, while friendly, struck a very serious chord, and I sat up with rapt attention.

"What's going on?"

"Something unprecedented," I heard a rattling on his end, "What we've been experiencing is something of the likes I've never seen."

"Like?"

"A man comes along with the talons of an eagle," He listed, "Possibly a shapeshifter, I'm thinking garuda."

I shrugged, despite being on a phone call with him, "Possible."

"Tracy's claws are the unmistakable claws of a werewolf." I stiffened.

"I thought she was a kanima," I questioned.

"That's just it, I'm afraid. She's a werewolf who bears the venom and scales of a kanima."

"Are you saying that she's both?"

"And the other shapeshifter. He is both werewolf and garuda." My eyes widened.

"How is that possible?"

"It's not. Tracy shouldn't be both a werewolf and a kanima, nor should she have been able to get across the line of mountain ash that we laid out to keep her in the animal clinic. So think, June, if Tracy can get across the mountain ash when nothing supernatural is able to do that...?"

"Tracy's not supernatural, then?" I wondered if the question was rhetorical.

"Precisely. If she wasn't born, and she wasn't bitten..." This suddenly didn't feel very rhetorical.

"She was made," My heart began racing again at the thought.

"She had to have been," He confirmed, and I started bouncing my leg up and down.

"So this means..."

"Someone is trying to make supernatural creatures with non-supernatural means. And whoever they are, they're somehow managing to blur the lines between science and the supernatural."

His words shook me to the core, "Deaton, wh-what you're talking about, it - it can't be-"

"I myself am a man of science, June. And this is something that rattles the foundation of everything I currently believe."

"What is this, then?"

"The rules, June. The rules have changed."

I ran a hand through my hair, wincing slightly as the tugging of my hair also tugged on the cut that embedded itself in my forehead. "What do you need me to do?"

"The research you've conducted. If anything you or Ginny possess in that study of yours has any information on a group of people attempting to change the rules of the supernatural or attempted to do something truly outside the lines, it is something you must take into consideration. Anything you can find, turn it into a digital copy and send it my way. I'm leaving town for a few days, so let me know what you find by email."

"You're leaving?"

"Just a few days."

"Does Scott know about this?"

"I've just left his house. I wish you the best, June. Find out what you can."

"I'll do what I can," I hung up the phone, and thanked whatever higher being for my timing. Natalie Martin and Melissa McCall walked through the doors, Natalie still dressed in her date clothes, and Melissa adorned in light green scrubs this time, indicating she just came from the OR. I immediately stood up, and walked over to them, both looking exhausted.

"How is she?" I asked, and Natalie seemed surprised that I was still here, as if I could be anywhere else.

"She's just fine," She was quiet, but in a relieved sense, as if she let all her worries roll off her shoulders. I felt myself doing the same. "She's in recovery."

"Can I see her?" I asked hopefully, and Natalie smiled at my eagerness.

"Don't you want to go home? Shower a little, get some sleep?" Melissa asked me, and I shook my head, eyes not leaving Lydia's mom.

"I'll leave when she does."

"It's immediate family only," I heard Melissa say, and I could feel the tears well up in my eyes again, "You're welcome to wait out here-"

"Let her see her," Natalie's warm voice caught me by surprise, and I felt myself reeling.

"What?"

"You have done far enough for my daughter, including saving her life," She turned to Melissa, "June's always been considered a sister to Lydia, I don't see a problem with letting her through. If you needed my permission or whatever, you've got it."

My heart soared, and my eyes shone with gratitude as the woman simply smiled at me. Melissa sighed, and gave me a room number, going on about something regarding paperwork for Natalie to fill out. I wasted no time in bursting through the doors and finding said room number Lydia was in. When I found her, my knees nearly buckled.

In all her glory, Lydia was fast asleep. Granted, I knew it was because of the drugs the hospital gave her, but she was still alive. Breathing on her own, hooked up to only an IV and the standard machines that are attached post-surgery, she lay peacefully under the standard hospital sheets. Wiping my face of the tears I didn't realize had fallen, I set all my stuff down on the table adjacent to the bed and the chair that sat beside it.

Not even caring about overstepping my welcome, I headed over to the bathroom, knowing that Lydia wouldn't use it for some time. I glanced at the antibacterial toiletries and told myself that they were going to have to do. Not waiting for Melissa to come in and scold me for doing it, I hopped in the patient shower and washed away the remnants of tonight. The water was a reasonable temperature, and the pressure helped rid me of Lydia's blood that I couldn't wash off by myself. The water stung at the small cuts all over my legs and arms, but I couldn't care less.

I was in and out in less than ten minutes, patting my hair dry and throwing the towel into the laundry chute. I happily changed into my spare clothes quickly after. Ginny, knowing me too well, packed my well worn Calvin Klein sports bra and tee shirt, my comfiest pair of joggers, and the fuzziest grey socks that I could tuck my joggers into. Feeling more refreshed than words could fathom, I stuffed my dirty clothes into the bag Ginny had also brought, and plugged my phone in. I gave one last relieved look Lydia's way before curling up in the reclining chair next to her bed and falling into a deeper sleep than I thought was possible.

*****

I woke up to someone literally waving coffee under my nose. Startled, I inhaled sharply through my nose and sat up to see who was waking me. It wasn't difficult, for almost immediately I was met with striking green eyes and a police uniform.

"Coffee?" Parrish asked, waving the cup in front of my face again, forcing me to take it from him. I smiled in thanks, gazing around the room before my sights set on Lydia. Her back was turned to me, and I felt comforted in her shoulders rising and falling with every breath she took.

"How'd you get in here?" I asked, mentally flinching at how cracked my voice was.

"I should be asking you that," He replied, "I'm the one who can come in if not immediate family."

"Lydia's mom let me come in," I answered him, placing the coffee down and stretching my stiff limbs. "I spent the night here. Now what are you doing?"

"Same as you, I guess," He shrugged, "I wanted to see if she was alright."

I smiled, "That's very thoughtful of you." I took a few gulps of the still warm coffee before heading to the bathroom with the toothbrush Ginny had also packed. Freshening up a little bit, I sighed at my hair and started braiding it back from my face. As I did so, I walked out of the bathroom and back to my seat, only to find that Parrish had turned on the television, and was flipping through the channels. He sighed, and settled on the old Bruce Lee movie that didn't have static impeding the picture.

Melissa came in to check up on Lydia (and also to sneak in some food for myself) and explained that since the surgery went well, she should be out of the hospital in a few days. I smiled, thanking her for everything she'd done for Lydia. Stiles texted me around ten thirty asking how she was doing and how the cut on my head was. I replied saying I was alright, and relayed what information Melissa had given me. About an hour later, the movie had reached its climactic fight sequence, and Jordan and I were completely enthralled until we heard a voice.

"What are you doing here?" My head whipped over to the sound of Lydia's groggy voice, relieved to finally hear it. Her eyes squinted as she faced the sunlight, but she still looked at me regardless.

"Currently experiencing one of the most one-sided sleepovers of my life, if we're being honest." I grinned as she rolled her eyes. Watching her carefully, I saw as she scoot over ever-so-slightly, eyes welcoming and happy. I kicked off my shoes and took her invitation to crawl up onto the hospital bed, careful to avoid any stray wires. Once we were settled, our eyes drifted over to Parrish.

"And what are you doing here?"

He smiled, "Officially, I'm here to gather eyewitness testimony. Unofficially, I'm trying to find something to watch, but all that's coming in is this kung fu movie. You like kung fu movies?"

"Do you know how to do that?" Her question had me curious.

"I know a little jiu jitsu." Parrish admitted, "In the army, they taught us CQC, close quarters combat."

"Can you teach me?"

"You want to learn jiu jitsu? Hand-to-hand?"

"I want to learn how to fight," Lydia corrected, eyes set in determination. "Can you teach me?"

Jordan smiled a bit, "Yeah, I can teach you."

"Okay, while you two keep making googly eyes like you are now, I'm gonna order some food. Anyone feeling Chinese after seeing this movie, or is that just me?"

{+}

"Donovan is missing? The boy who threatened you and your dad's lives is missing? And you don't think it's a good idea to be on the lookout for him?" June's scolding words came from a place of caring, but didn't really help in the current situation. Stiles stayed on the line regardless, Malia following closely behind as the two of them made their way to the most secluded part of the library. The school day was already over, but it didn't hurt to be a little cautious when talking about things like this.

"There's a few other things I'm a little more worried about here, June. I'm putting you on speaker," He took the phone out of the crook of his neck and set it down on the table filled with open books. Scott and Kira both looked up as Stiles and Malia arrived.

"We got the bestiary," Malia spoke, setting the book down on the table and opening it up. With June's help, they had located the book back to June's house, where she was using it to find out if there was anything to cross-reference it with in the study in hopes of helping Parrish find out what he was. That was where both Malia and Stiles went on their off period.

"Anything in here about half-werewolves, half-kanimas?" Kira asked half-heartedly, knowing the answer already.

"Chimeras," Scott corrected, and everyone looked to him. It was weird, he almost felt as if June was looking at him through the phone as well.

"Um, what?" Stiles asked.

"Chimera. It's a creature made of incongruous parts."

"From ancient Greece," June sounded impressed as she explained, "The head of a lion with the head of a goat sprouting from the back. It also had a tail that ended in a snakes head. In modern science it's defined as something that carries two sets of DNA. Nice phrasing there, Scott."

"Thanks. Anyways, if Liam said he found two burial sites, it means Tracy's not the only one."

"Who's the second chimera?" Kira asked.

"And why were they buried?" Stiles contributed.

"Deaton says it's a part of their process," Scott glanced over to Malia.

"The people in masks," She confirmed, her voice seeming distant, still attached to the fear she felt just last night.

Quite unexpectedly, a shrill scream sounded from the phone, and everyone jumped in surprise. Whoever was yelling sounded like they were in sheer agony. The sound was cut off by a door shutting and June swearing under her breath.

"Add to the list of why hospitals completely suck," She mumbled before adding on, "Do you think we're going to be looking for another werewolf-kanima mix, or could they be changing things up?"

"What do you mean?" Kira asked her.

"I just mean, the guy with the talons who came before Tracy. When I talked to Deaton he said they were possibly the result of a garuda, which last time I checked wasn't a kanima. But we all saw the guy, he had the fangs and eyes of a werewolf. Are we really so sure they're going to just stick to one type of chimera?"

"She's right," Stiles agreed, "What if whoever these guys are, what if they're looking for something else in Tracy and whoever else they took?"

"Like what?" Scott asked.

"Something worse than a half-werewolf, half-kanima most likely," June stated before the conversation was once again cut off by a tremendous yell of pain. She huffed. "Look, I've been away from Lydia too long for my liking, call me if you find anything out on this." She ended the call and left the rest of them stew in her thoughts. It was shortly after that when Scott received a text from June, which read: You actually might want to get to the hospital.

{+}

"He came in about forty five minutes ago," Melissa was repeating all the information to Scott and Kira that she had previously explained to me. All four of us were walking at a brisk pace, towards the sound of the poor kid screaming.

"Melissa," Dr. Geyer reached Scott's mom, keeping up with her pace, "I'm gonna find an anesthesiologist covering acute pain. See what you can do."

"Okay," She panted, turning back to the three of us, flinching as the boy kept yelling. Not even the door which separated him from the rest of us could muffle his screams.

"Mom, what's happening to him?"

"It's the pain, nothing's working. We've already pumped him full of morphine."

"Can't they do anything to help him?" Kira asked from behind.

Melissa shrugged, "At this point, we can put him in a medically-induced coma. It's how we help burn victims deal with the pain."

"Let me see if I can help," Scott offered. His mom nodded, taking us through the door. The screams were much louder on his side of the door, but at that point, my hearing had grown accustomed to the sharp cries.

"Please make it stop," The boy, whose name read Corey on the clipboard at the end of his bed, begged. With Melissa keeping watch, Scott grasped his hand and began taking the pain. His head snapped back as he began to groan. My eyes widened in concern when he couldn't seem to let go, despite how much pain it was causing him. I hustled over to Scott, Kira directly in front of me, and together we grabbed his hands and pulled him away slowly. Scott's plan seemed to work, however, for Corey settled back onto the sheets in relief.

"I'm okay," He assured us, "Let me see it, let me see his arm."

Melissa obliged, unbuckling the cuffs that kept Corey still and removing the bandage covering his entire forearm. What was underneath was unexpected to say the least.

I wasn't a queasy person by any means. I mean for Christ's sake, the night before I covered an open wound with my bare hands. Blood had stained my hands many a times, but this was something else entirely. His arm looked like someone had mistaken it for a Greek rotisserie and tried to shear off the meat residing on his bones. Bone was protruding in places, and others, well, something other than blood certainly made the Chinese food I ate earlier want to make a comeback.

"Holy..." Kira trailed off.

"What is that?" Scott asked.

"The lab says scorpion venom," Melissa answered.

"Scorpion?" I repeated, unsure I heard correctly.

"I know, but that's not the weirdest part." She began redressing his wound. "Because a sting this bad means he should've been dead ten hours ago. And the scorpion that stung him would've been ten feet tall."

"Oh my god like the one from Teen Titans," I muttered, receiving very pointed looks. "Not helping, I get it. But for real, please tell me that doesn't mean there's a ten foot tall scorpion running around Beacon Hills."

"Lucas..." We all turned our heads back over to Corey, who groggily looked at all of us. "It was Lucas."

"Hey, Corey," Scott got a little closer to him, leaning over in a comforting manner. "What Lucas did to you, he's gonna do it to someone else, and it's gonna be much worse."

"We need to know what happened," Kira implored. I myself was keeping a fair distance from him and his arm, no offense to Corey.

"I don't really know," He started, "He's never been like that before."

"Been like what?"

"Aggressive. We were taking it slow, but it wasn't me. He was the shy one. Then we're hanging out today and it's like he was a different person."

"Like, different how?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Like, super confident," Corey answered, "We were just kissing, and then I felt this sharp sting on my arm and - and then I looked up at him, and I swear his eyes turned black."

"You mean totally black?" Kira questioned.

"The whole eye," He confirmed, and I felt Scott glance over at me. I knew he was thinking of the time we fought off berserkers in Argent's warehouse, and how my eyes had turned completely purple as I began losing control of my magic. "But it was only for a second. And then he said sorry, that he'll see me at the club tonight, and then he just left. And then a few minutes later, I'm in the worst pain of my life."

"Hold on, you said club," Kira mentioned, "What club?"

"Every Friday night. Sinema," Was all Corey had as an answer. I vaguely recalled Mason saying something about that being a fantastic LGBTQ nightclub that conveniently let people under twenty one in all the time.

All of us exited the room after Melissa said he needed rest, and we grouped together by the elevators.

"We have to get to that club," Scott stated obviously, pulling out his phone, "Liam said something about being there, maybe we can give him a head's up."

"I'll text him and let him know you're on the way," I agreed, pulling up Liam's name in my own phone.

"You're not coming with us?" Kira asked, head tilted in confusion.

"I promised Lydia I'd stay with her," I muttered, "Not only that, but what if more people come in as a result of what's going on? I can stay here and keep you guys posted if anything else remotely alarming happens."

Not having enough time to argue, Scott nodded in agreement, guiding Kira along through the now open elevator doors.

{+}

Malia sat on Tracy Stewart's bed, wondering how any of what had occurred within the past twenty four hours could have been prevented. She was so close, Tracy had woken up. And then she was brutally murdered by the men in masks.

She didn't like to admit it, even to herself, but those masked villains terrified her. She couldn't move once one of them gripped her face and shoved her against the wall. All she could do was watch as Tracy was injected with mercury, and the people in masks doomed Tracy to a "terminal condition."

Malia refused to let her fear overcome her ability to think. She instead stood up and headed over to the wall of drawings next to Tracy's bed. Flicking through them, she realized that she was talented, and had a real potential. She shook her head of cloudy thoughts, focused on getting to work. Malia knew there was something here, there just had to be.

Across the room, Tracy's wallet resided on top of something else on her dresser. Malia wasn't sure why it caught her attention, but she decided to follow her gut anyway. Slowly treading across the carpet, Malia removed the wallet to see a book. The cover was shielded by a sticky note that was no doubt from Tracy's father. It read:

Here's the book you asked for. Cheesy stuff, but it's still a fun, scary read.

As soon as Malia tore the post-it away from the book, her whole body froze. For there on the cover sat the masked people who attacked her and killed Tracy Stewart. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that they were also the ones making these so-called chimeras. The title for the book was even more fitting: TR McCammon's The Dread Doctors.

*****

Across town, a third and unknown chimera by the name of Donovan Donati was killed by the sheriff's son after attacking him in the high school parking lot.

Total filler, and a total nightmare to crank out. Gotta say, these weren't my favorite episodes of the show. Anyways, I will not post until at least next week, for I'm headed to the Windy City this weekend! Catch me in Chicago, how bout dat? Love you all, vote and comment please! Unedited of course. Xx.