𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

Cora and I sit on Stiles' bed while he paces back and forth, the Sheriff looking at his son in concern.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay. Yes, okay" The Stilinski boy mutters, turning to his dad "...No"

"Stiles?" Sheriff Stilinski frowns.

"Dad, I'm sorry, okay? I'm just...I'm trying to...I'm just trying to figure out how to start here" Stiles says, looking confused himself.

"Hey, I don't have this kind of time" The Sheriff states.

"For the last year, you've had all these cases that you couldn't figure out, right? I mean, all the murders involving Kate Argent, and then Matt killing all the people who had drowned him, and all these murders right now. It's like...It's like you've been playing a losing game" Stiles tries his best to start the explanation.

"Stiles, the last thing I need right now is a job performance review from my own son" Sheriff snaps in annoyance.

"I know" Stiles groans, looking around the room until he pauses noticing something.

"Okay, see, but that's just it, Dad" Stiles perks up, grabbing his chess board "The- The reason that you're losing the game is 'cause you've never been able to see the whole board. I need to show you the whole board"

Stiles sets up the chess board and proceeds to write down everyone's names onto sticky notes, sticking them to individual chess pieces. Pink for werewolves, purple for hunters, blue for druids, yellow for kanimas, green for witches, etc. The dorky boy begins explaining the supernatural world to his father while Cora and I listen intently, correcting him every so often.

"Scott and Derek are werewolves?" Sheriff states with an unsure facial expression.

"Yes" Stiles nods.

"And Kate Argent was a werewolf?" The man asks.

"Hunter" Stiles corrects "That's- Purple's hunter"

"Along with Allison and her father" Cora buts him.

"The whole Argent family to be honest with you" I add with a shrug and the Sheriff nods slowly.

"Yeah, and...And my friend Deaton, the veterinarian, is a kanima?" He questions us.

"Well, no, no, no, no, no. He's a Druid, okay? Well, we think" Stiles explains, glancing at me and I nod in encouragement.

"So who's the kanima?" Sheriff asks in disbelief.

"Jackson" Stiles answers.

"No, Jackson's a werewolf" Sheriff retorts.

"Jackson was a kanima first, and then Peter and Derek killed him and he came back to life as a werewolf. Now, he's in London" Stiles tells the man.

"And Natalia is also a Druid?" Sheriff wonders aloud.

"Witch" I correct, shooting him a smile and he seems more confused, but goes with it anyways.

"Who's the Darack?" Sheriff Stilinski asks in confusion.

"It's 'Darach'" Stiles corrects his father who gives him a deadpan look.

"We don't know yet" Cora answers for him.

"We don't know yet" Stiles repeats, pointing at my best friend.

"But he was killed by werewolves?" Sheriff replies.

"Slashed up and left for dead" Stiles nods.

"We think" I add.

"We think. Yeah" Stiles repeats, glancing at me.

"Why was Jackson the kanima?" Sheriff asks.

"Cause sometimes, the shape that you take reflects the person that you are" Stiles informs his father.

"And what shape would an increasingly confused and angrier-by-the-second father take?" The Sheriff asks with a glare.

"That would be more of an expression, like the one you're currently wearing" Stiles responds sheepishly.

"Yeah" Sheriff nods before standing up to walk away.

"Dad!" Stiles yells, jumping to his feet and blocking his father from leaving "Dad, would you- I can prove it, okay? She's one of them. A werewolf"

Cora's head snaps up at the mention of her and I twiddle my thumbs, watching the father son duo argue.

"Stiles. Stiles!" Sheriff snaps, trying to calm his son down "That's enough"

"Dad, can you please just hold on?" Stiles pleads and the Sheriff stops, turning to us.

"You ready?" Stiles asks Cora and I.

We both nod in response and I stand up, Cora following my actions.

"All right, Dad, just watch this, okay?" Stiles states.

All of a sudden, Cora passes out and my eyes widen as I try to grab her but fail. Her body hits the ground and the Sheriff rushes towards us, checking her pulse. I notice the wound on her head gushing with blood and worry fills my gut.

"Call an ambulance" Sheriff demands.

❦ ❦ ❦

Stiles gets off the phone and sits down next to me as we wait outside Cora's hospital room.

"What did Scott say?" I ask curiously.

"The Darach took Mr Westover, Allison and her dad just found him. It's not guardians, it's philosophers that it's sacrificing" The boy explains to me.

"But what about Tara?" I frown in confusion.

"She used to teach middle school before she became a cop" Stiles answers.

"So the Darach's gonna take another teacher" I say, deep in thought and Stiles nods.

"And all the teachers are gonna be in the same place tonight" Stiles states.

"The recital" I finish in realisation.

"Stiles, you've got to convince your dad to believe" I perk up, grabbing the boy's arm.

"I-I can try" He stutters, nodding.

"There he is" I state, nodding at the Sheriff who is walking towards the reception "Go"

Stiles jumps up and speed walks towards his dad, leaving me sat outside my best friend's room. I slump down in the seat, running my fingers through my dark curls and let out a sigh.

I drag myself out the seat and head into Cora's room, Derek's head quickly snapping up to look at me.

"How is she?" I ask, walking over to where he's sat by her bedside.

"She's still out" He answers, looking at his sister in worry "What happened to her?"

"She came at Aiden and he hit her with a weight" I explain.

"I'm sensing a 'but' here" Derek frowns, looking up at me.

"I think there's something else going on. She's not healing like she should be" I express my concern and he nods in agreement.

"I was thinking the same thing" He hums.

"I gotta go. Can you keep me updated?" I ask hopefully.

"Sure" He nods.

"Thanks, Derbear" I smile and he chuckles weakly, turning back to Cora's pale figure.

"No problem, little witch" He replies.

I take one last glance at my sickly best friend before exiting the room and heading towards the direction the Stilinskis went in. As I turn the corner, the reception coming into view, I see the Sheriff walking away from a defeated looking Stiles.

"Mom would have believed me" Stiles declares and my heart drops.

I remember the day my mom told me about Claudia's passing. It broke my heart. The Stilinski woman was always so kind and welcoming to my brother and I. She treated us like we were her own children, much like my mom does with Stiles.

I remember feeling as if I had lost a parent of my own, a non biological parent but a parent none the less. After Claudia passed, Stiles and I stopped communicating and drifted apart leaving Scott to update us on each other's lives every so often.

"Stiles" I sigh as he turns to me.

He shakes his head and tries to walk past me but I grab his arm, making him face me.

"Give him some time. He'll come around" I assure the boy, rubbing his arm.

He gives me a weak smile and I return the gesture, dropping my hand to my side.

"We should get to that recital" I tell him and he nods.

I feel his hand on the small of my back as we exit the hospital and butterflies erupt in my stomach, making me want to hit my head off a wall.

Stiles opens the passenger door for me and I shoot him a grateful smile, jumping into the car. He rounds the Jeep and climbs into the driver seat, immediately starting up the engine and pulling out of the parking space.

We reach the school pretty quickly and hop out the Jeep, running towards the school entrance. Stiles opens the door and turns to me, allowing me to slip inside before he closes the door behind him. I spot my brother and grab Stiles' arm, dragging him over.

"Where's Lydia?" I ask, worry seeping into my brain.

Scott looks beside him and his eyes widen as he looks back at us, realising the girl is gone.

"Shit" I curse, turning to the door.

The three of us race outside, the doors slamming behind us and I frantically look around for the strawberry blonde.

"Lydia?" Stiles calls out as I pull out my phone, firing multiple texts to the Martin girl.

"Lydia!" Scott barks.

Scott's eyes turn bright gold as he uses his wolf eyes to look around the area.

"Anything?" Stiles asks him and he shakes his head 'no'.

"She's not answering texts" I state.

"What do we do?" Stiles replies.

"Scott?" I snap at my brother who isn't answering us.

He abruptly grabs his ears in pain and falls down onto one knee.

"Scotty!" I gasp in concern.

He pulls himself up and looks at us, eyes shining bright yellow.

"I know where she is" He declares before running back into the school.

"Scott, wait up!" Stiles hollers, grabbing me and gently tugging me after him.

We race after my brother until he turns a corner and we lose him.

"Which way did he go?" I ask in disbelief.

Stiles opens his mouth to speak when I hear a loud growl followed by the clashing of metal.

"This way!" I perk up, running towards the noise.

Stiles and I skid to a stop outside an English classroom and my eyes widen when I see Miss Blake stood next to Lydia who is tied to a chair with a garrotte around her neck. Before either of us can enter the room, the woman throws out her arm and the desk flies towards us, slamming the door shut.

"No!" I groan, hitting the door.

We both repeatedly slam ourselves against the door, kicking and hitting the wood, but it doesn't budge. I look through the window and see Sheriff Stilinski lift his gun, pointing it at Miss Blake.

"There was a girl years ago, we found her in the woods, her face and body slashed apart" The man speaks up and I listen intently "That was you, wasn't it?"

"Maybe I should've started with philosophers, with knowledge and strategy" She declares, walking towards him.

The Sheriff fires a shot at her leg and she pauses, looking down at her leg in pain. I watch in awe as her wound heals completely.

"Healers" She says before grabbing the knife that is lodged in Sheriff Stilinski's shoulder, lifting him up and pinning him against the wall of stacked chairs "Warriors"

"Guardians" She continues as she rips his badge from his uniform, crushing it in her hand and dropping it on the floor.

"Virgins" She finishes before planting her lips on his.

His eyes widen in shock as she transforms into her real form, all slashed up and gruesome looking. The Darach.

She grabs the Sheriff and in a flash, she smashes through the window and the pair disappear. Stiles and I use all our strength to push the door open and slip inside. Stiles runs to the window before stopping still while I rush to my brother's side, helping him up.

"Dad?" Stiles speaks up.