Chapter 19- Letharia Vulpina

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~An Unknown place
A group of Yakuza are gathered at their boss Ikeda's home. He is angry because his pet white wolf is sick and he grows tired of waiting for the doctor. It is Dr. Deaton who comes to treat the wolf. After a brief examination he asks if the wolf, Yuki, has been around any unusual plants. He describes a type of lichen that is "bright green, almost neon." The boss admits that such a plant grows in his garden. Deaton says he needs a sample to determine the species. When all of his men refuse to show the doctor to the garden, he calls them superstitious idiots and takes Deaton himself.
The garden is the same one where young Chris Argent first encountered the Oni. The lichen grows on top of the fountain where the blood fell when the Nogitsune was killed. Deaton hands a glass container to the boss, and then bends down to take a sample of the plant. He says it is likely that Yuki would never come anywhere near the place. He says the wolf can sense what happened in the garden, to the boss's father and the Nogitsune that possessed him. The boss pulls a gun on him. Deaton is nonplussed and calmly explains that the plant is Letharia Vulpina or "Wolf Lichen" and describes the process by which it is used to kill predators, wolves and foxes. He says "they" would put out meat stuffed with the lichen and broken glass that the animals would eat. The broken glass would perforate the internal organs and allow the vulpinic acid to reach them faster. Angry and confused, the boss wants to know what Deaton did to his wolf. The doctor says he gave him a strong paralytic agent and that the glass vial the boss is holding is coated with the same substance. The boss drops the gun, his hand no longer able to hold it, and collapses. As he places his sample into the bottle, Deaton explains this particular plant is quite special because it was born out of the blood of a Nogitsune. Deaton says "there is a fox hiding inside a teenage boy and I'm going to poison it."

~In Beacon hills.
A sparking power line from the roof of Beacon Hills Hospital is flying at Kira's face. It whips past her but then, like it has a mind of its own, it seems to chase her, backing her up in the parking lot. An ambulance speeds around the corner and hits the electrified line. The driver loses control and rams a fire hydrant, water sprays everywhere and begins to pool and run across the parking lot. Dazed by the impact, the ambulance driver stumbles out of the vehicle. When his foot hits the wet ground he is instantly electrocuted. Isaac and Allison arrive just in time to witness this. When Allison runs forward to help the driver, Isaac pushes her back just as the water reaches his feet. He is also felled by the electrified water. A girl steps from a car and is electrocuted. Derek and Scott arrive just as Kira somersaults over a car and grabs the live wire. She caps the sparking end with her free hand and the power subsides as her eyes begin to glow a warm amber. Kira's Mom exits the hospital just in time to witness her daughter's power. Derek rushes to Isaac and finds he is not breathing.

~48 hours later
Scott lays on his bed fully clothed as he recalls what happened that night. A badly burned Isaac is rushed into the emergency room. Deputy Parrish reports that Stiles' Jeep was seen leaving the hospital. Kira's mom warns her that it "is not the time" for people to see her power. Agent McCall notes that the power line was cut and warns that everyone should be looking for signs of sabotage. Derek tells Scott and Sadie to tell Sheriff Stilinski what's really wrong with Stiles.

~McCall's kitchen.
Melissa McCall holds a cup of tea at the kitchen table when her son comes in. "Any news? "Scott asked. "They're still looking for him. It's past the 48-hour mark, but I guess if anyone's going to be missing for two days and turn up just fine, it's Stiles."Melissa said. Scott looked around, "How's Sadie?"He whispered. "She left early this morning after I told her. She texted me an hour ago saying she needed some space. I just hope she's not somewhere trying to find him by herself."Melissa said and Scott nodded. "What about Isaac?"He asked. "Maybe we should go by the hospital before school."Melissa says and they head out.

~Sheriff's station.
Sheriff Stilinski is looking at a text from his son. It reads – "Am ok. Please don't look for me. Be back soon." Deputy Parrish arrives with a delivery man, he has two boxes wrapped in brown paper which Parrish explains are "printer cartridges and stuff, batteries for the next blackout." Agent McCall enters and asks if the Sheriff has had any problems with Yakuza.

~Beacon Hills hospital.
Allison has fallen asleep in the hallway of the hospital. She explains to Scott and Mrs. McCall that they won't let her in to see Isaac because she is not family. She says she told them that he doesn't have any family. Melissa says "he's got us" and produces her key card and lets Allison and Scott in to see him. Isaac is badly burned on the side of his face and neck. Both Allison and Scott are surprised that he is not healing. Scott takes his arm and absorbs some of Isaac's pain. He explains that it won't heal him but he won't hurt as much. Allison wants to know if Stiles is really responsible. Scott says whatever is inside of Stiles did it and that he is working on getting it out of his friend.

~Sometime later at school.
Kira explains to Scott that Kitsune are tricksters and have no concept of right or wrong but that Nogitsunes react badly if you offend it adding that with the level of bad being perpetrated, someone really, really offended this Nogitsune.

~Boys locker room.
Coach blows his whistle and reminds his team that if anyone sees Stiles they should immediately report it to a teacher. He then says there is a card for Isaac on his desk. He insists that the team not only sign the card but each must write a personal message so profound and deep that it will "bring a tear coach's eye." Danny is first up to sign. The coach warns him to keep it "PG."

~Later; beacon hills high school hallway.
"No Stiles, no demonic ninjas. Things are getting too quiet."Aiden says to his brother and Scott. "Yeah, I know."Scott says. "Yeah, it's making me nervous, too."Ethan says. At that moment their werewolf hearing picks up a piercing tone,"Do you guys hear that?"Scott asks them and they nod. "It's an emitter. One of Argent's."Ethan says. "It's coming from the basement."Aiden says.
They follow the sound to the basement where they find Stiles waiting."Okay, I know what you guys are thinking, but it's me. I swear to God, it's me."Stiles says but the twins attack anyway. "Wait, stop! I said, stop!"Scott yells and he tosses Ethan into some old lockers and growls at Aiden until he stops. Scott then looked to his best friend, "It's me, Scott. I swear it's me. I don't know where I've been the last two days or what I've been doing, but this is me. I promise."Stiles says. "You know what happened at the hospital?"Scott asked. Stiles nodded and bent down to a duffle bag by his feet, "I know more than that. You see this? It's a blueprint of the hospital's electrical wiring. You see all these markings in red? That's my handwriting. I know I did this. I caused the accident and everything in this bag; it's all stuff that could be part of something bigger."Stiles says. Aiden looks inside the bag, "What the hell have you been up to?"He asks. Stiles pulls out a bag full of rope, wire and tools as well as a map of the Cross Country Team's running trail. "I think something worse, a lot worse."Stiles said, Believing the Nogitsune has used Stiles to set up booby-traps along the trail; they race to stop the team.

~Somewhere else in school.
Lydia sees her mom down at the end of the hall in school. She is talking to Peter Hale. As she draws closer Peter disappears in the crowd. When questioned, Lydia's Mom says Peter claimed to be from the health department and was there to set up hearing tests for the students. He also apparently slipped Mrs. Martin his phone number to which she chirps "still got it."

~Argent's apartment.
Chris Argent returns home to find his door ajar and an ultrasonic emitter stabbed into the top of his office desk. Derek Hale is in the room." Lose something?"Derek says talking about the ultrasonic emitter he found in his loft; Derek knocks the gun from Argent's hand and places his claws against his neck. Chris pulls another gun and holds it to Derek's temple. "Why are you breaking into my apartment?"Chris asks Derek. "Why are you leaving emitters in my loft?"Derek fires back. "I have no idea why that would be in your loft. I spent the entirety of the last two days trying to find Stiles."Chris said. An uneasy truce is established and the weapons are put away. "Any luck?"Derek asks him. "No."Chris says. "Me either."Derek says. "Okay, we're both trying to find Stiles. Mind if I ask what you planned on doing if you find him?"Chris asks. "Well, that depends on which Stiles I find."Derek says...

~Cross Country trail.
On the trail, Danny takes the lead but is passed by a gleeful Kira who suddenly realizes that she can run supernaturally fast. Stiles and Aiden catch up to Coach at the start of the trail. "Coach!"Stiles shouts and He looks. "Stilinski Whoa."He says surprised he was there. "Coach, listen close "Stiles says.

~Argent's apartment.
"Broken."Chris says when he notices he gun safe is broken. He opens the door and see's a silver brief case. "This isn't mine."He says as he pulls it out. Chris goes to opened it, "Careful."Derek said. They found a bunch of cash, the same amount they would have got for the gun they were pretend selling to Silverfinger. "How much do you think that is?"Derek asked. "We never took the money."Chris said. "Whose money is it?"Derek asked. "It belongs to a yakuza named Katashi. He has a nickname."Chris says and before he can say anything Agent McCall and two deputy's stroll in, "You mean something like Silverfinger?"He says as he holds up Katashi's silver singer in an evidence bag. "Where did you get that?"Chris asks Agent McCall. "Off Katashi's dead body."He replies.

~Cross country trail.
Ethan catches and tackles Danny who is confused until the weretwin says he "missed" him and starts kissing him. Scott manages to stop Kira who is still giddy with her speed ability. Stiles, Coach, and Aiden arrive and they manage to stop the rest of the cross country team. Stiles finds a chain under some leaves but it is attached to nothing. Coach, believing this is just another funny/weird Stilinski moment begins to berate him and steps forward into a tripwire. An arrow punctures Coach's diaphragm and he collapses.

~Derek's loft.
Allison and Lydia arrive at Derek's Loft to see Peter. Allison is trying to talk her friend out of it but Lydia, worried about her recent "colossal failure" in using her Banshee abilities, wants the help Peter is offering. Allison says Peter doesn't offer help, he offers to manipulate people into giving him what he wants.

~Cross country trail.
"Get it out of me! Get it out of me. Get it out of me. Oh, my God, I'm going to die. Get it out of me! I'm going to die! "Coach shouted. "Coach, you're not going to die."Scott says. "I'm going to die!"Coach says. "It will hurt less if you stop moving, Coach."Stiles says putting pressure around the wound. "Get that thing out of me!"Coach yells. "Stay still, Coach. An ambulance is coming."Aiden says. "Get it out! I'm gonna die!"Coach yells frantic. Stiles gives Scott a look to take some of his pain away and he nods. "Get back! Get back! Give him some room! Get back!"Aiden says so no one can see. Scott does it and Coach passes out, "I think he just passed out."Scott says. "I could have killed him. I could have killed him, right? What if it was his head or his throat?"Stiles whispers to Scott. "But it wasn't. And he's going to be all right. I think I just heard an ambulance coming."Scott says. "And my dad."Stiles replies.

~Sheriff's station.
Derek and Chris are handcuffed to a bench outside Sheriff Stilinski's office. "So, I don't suppose you have any idea why Stiles would frame us for murder?"Derek asks Chris. "I didn't think Stiles was smart enough to frame us for murder. To be honest, I'm not entirely convinced that's why we're here."Chris admits. "What do you mean?"Derek asks confused. "McCall is going to come out here any minute and probably talk attorneys. Say you've agreed to allow mine to represent you."Chris says to him. "Why should I trust your attorney?"Derek asks. Chris looked at him, "Because I'm not calling my attorney yet. I just want more time."Chris says. "To do what?"Derek asks. "To figure out what we're really doing here."Chris explains.

~Derek's loft.
Peter wants Allison to leave. Lydia says she stays because the last time she was alone with Peter she almost bled out on a lacrosse field and so did one of her best friends. Peter defends himself, explaining again that he didn't want to kill them because they were his "backup plan" and then claims that the bite is what brought out her nascent abilities. Then, in a passable Humphrey Bogart accent, Peter says "I'm the spark that lit your fire sweetheart." He then uses circular logic to suggest that he brainwashed her and used her to bring him back to life so that he could be here now helping her understand her banshee abilities to which Allison says "he's insane." They turn to leave but Peter entices them back with information about her powers. He says her Banshee scream simply blocks out all the other noise so she can hear what she really needs to. He says that he can help her focus her hearing. He explains that in exchange for his help he needs Lydia to listen to his dead sister's claws to find out what memory she stole from him.

~Cross Country Trail
Coach gets put into an ambulance and Sheriff Stilinski finally gets to hug his son. Aiden discovers wrapping paper in the back of Stiles' Jeep. Remembering that William Barrow used a gift wrapped package to deliver his bomb to a school bus, they call the school and evacuate all the kids off the busses – all but one.

~Beacon hills high school.
Jared is sitting near the back of the bus. "Back those kids up! Move!"Mr. Stilinski shouts. He then turns to Parrish, "We wait for the bomb squad."He says. "I'm a certified HDT. Two years in the army. I can at least find out if this thing's real."Parrish says and Mr. Stilinski nods.

~Derek's loft.
Lydia holds Talia's claws. Peter says she needs to focus but says he can "see the wheels spinning" behind her eyes. He explains that her hearing is attuned to a level of the universe that no one else can hear. But it only works if she is listening. When he yells at her to try harder, Allison whips out the electroshock/cattle prod device. He pops his claws and says Aunt Kate had the same thing but it didn't help her when he slashed her throat. Lydia screams at them to stop and throws Talia's claws so hard they stick into a wooden beam like darts. She begins to hear whispering. Peter grows more and more agitated as Lydia listens to the voices. Finally she turns and says "you're not just an uncle."

~Sheriff's station.
"I could easily get out of these, you know."Derek says. "So could I but I'm not interested in being a fugitive from the law."Chris says. "Well, I'm not interested in being a victim to a 17-year-old possessed by a psychotic fox."Derek says and starts to mess with the handcuffs. "Just give me a few more minutes."Chris says but Derek continues to mess with the handcuff. "Derek!"He whisper shouts and Derek stops. "Okay, fine. If something happens, don't expect me to risk my life trying to save yours."Derek mutters.

~Beacon hills high school.
Mrs. Yukimura is waiting for her husband in his classroom. Kira is following him at a discrete distance. He enters, closes the door and retrieves a large History of the World book from a shelf. She is incredulous that he "hid them in a book" but he says it's the safest place around a bunch of teenagers because few would ever "willingly open a book." Inside the pages have been cut to create nine slots. Each is designed to hold a single black knife. Mr. Yukimura tells his wife that she needs to tell Kira "especially about this" indicating the book. He says she has already "sacrificed five." He says three of the Oni are gone then asks "how many tails are you willing to sacrifice?" She says all of them if she has to. She then removes one of the knives, about a foot in length, all black with a rectangular hilt. She snaps the knife in two causing her husband to wince as if in pain. A pale blue light escapes the two broken pieces of the knife. She lays the pieces down and repeats the process with a second knife. She says "these Oni will be stronger, much stronger."

~School bus.
Parrish enters the bus and tries to keep Jared calm while he checks out the wrapped package. Jared is sweating profusely,"Jared, it will be very helpful if you could resist throwing up on the potential explosive device. Hey, can you do that for me?"Parrish asks him and Jared looks at him. "I think so. You- You look really-"Jared starts but Parrish cuts him off, "Handsome?"He says and then smiles, "Thank you. For a second there, I thought you were going to say I look really young and I was gonna have to launch into my explanation about how I'm actually 24 and that anyone can look young if they eat right and exercise. Although it's probably just good genes anyway, right?"Parrish says distracting Jared and Parrish has managed to snip the ribbon from the box. He slowly pries open the lid and looks inside. Parrish radios to the Sheriff that it is not a bomb but that something else was in the box. He then walks to the front of the bus and holds up the nameplate from Sheriff Stilinski's desk. The sheriff remembers the packages delivered to him that morning and realizes that the bomb is at the station.

~Sheriff's station.
The Deputies at the station are in a panic. They hastily unlock Argent and Derek's handcuffs and run for the door. Derek seems to hear something coming from the box on Stilinski's desk and yells for Argent to get down then covers him with his own body to shield him from the blast.

~Mr. Yukimura's classroom.
Mr. Yukimura and his wife watch as the sun sets.

~At the Nemeton
Fireflies erupt from the magic stump. These are slightly different than the ones seen before. There is a blue, slightly metallic, sheen to their wings.

~Inside the Sheriff's station.
"Get me an ambulance here, at the sheriff's station. We've got an explosion. We got multiple officers down. Multiple officers down. We need an ambulance ASAP. On the double."Mr. Stilinski says into a phone. Derek's back is riddled with glass shards as Argent helps him stand. Derek says he's okay, Argent points out that Derek saved his life. Stiles and Scott kneel by one badly injured deputy. "Can you do something? Take his pain? Anything to make it easier?"Stiles asks and Scott does until the man dies. Kira runs in,"The Oni. They're coming."Kira says. Scott looks at Stiles, "Stiles, we gotta get you out of here."He says and Stiles nods. They plan to take Stiles to the Vet Clinic since it is lined with Mountain Ash and will offer some limited protection from Oni's.

~Derek's loft.
Lydia denies knowing anything beyond the fact that Peter is a father. Peter makes to physically threaten her but Allison jabs him in the back with the cattle prod and he is left writhing on the floor. Later, in the car, she and Allison each pull up a different image on their phones. One is of Peter, the other is Malia Tate. Lydia says Malia is Peter's daughter.

~Deaton's clinic.
Scott, Stiles and Kira arrive at the clinic just before the Oni. Scott and Kira fight them off while Stiles unlocks the door. During the fight one of the Oni stabs Scott in the stomach, leaving the sword lodged in him. They manage to get Scott inside, Kira goes to pull the sword out of Scott but then Stiles grabs Kira's arm and slams her head into the exam table, knocking her out.

Sadie's outfit- http://www.polyvore.com/sadies_outfit/set?id=151246662
~School a little bit earlier; Janitor's closet.
*Sadie's pov*
I woke up confused and dazed. I groaned but it came out muffled, I furrowed my eyebrows, "Why do I have duck tape over my mouth?"I thought and then I remembered...

~Flashback to earlier this morning.
Looking for Stiles led Sadie to the school. It was too early for any students to be here; at least normal ones. She walked down the hall and as she did her feeling was getting stronger and she knew Stiles was close. She turned a corner to see Stiles looking through a duffle bag. "Stiles "She breathed out. He looked up and from the look on his face she knew he was surprised. He zipped up the bag,"Sadie"He said with a smile. Sadie smiled and she ran up to him and hugged him. They pulled away and Sadie pulled him into a kiss, but she knew something was wrong as soon as he kissed back. She quickly pulled away and started to slowly back away from him, "Sadie- baby, what's wrong?"He asked confused and she could tell that was fake. "You sick freak! You're not Stiles."She said and she went to turn around and run but he grabbed her and covered her mouth as he dragged her into a nearby janitor's closet. He tossed her to the floor and she quickly stood up, "If you're inside his head then you know what I can do."She said to him. He smiled,"Yeah but you wouldn't accidently want to hurt Stiles now, would you? Plus you have seen what I can create inside his head."He said and she glared at him knowing he was right, she couldn't hurt him without knowing she was hurting Stiles too. "Let him go."She said and he smiled, "He's saying the same thing, how sweet."He said. "What do you want? Why are you doing this?"She asked. "You'll find out."He said. Sadie laughed, "You really think I'm going to let you go out there and pretend to be Stiles?"She asked. "Of course I don't; which is why you're not going to wake up until it's too late."He said with a smile and before Sadie could do anything; something was blown into her face and then everything went black...
~End of flashback.

Sadie took off the duck tape from her mouth and then she looked around for a pair of scissors to cut the tape from around her hands and ankles. Luckily she found one and then she took off the tape and exited the janitor's closet. The sun was almost gone and Sadie went to grab her phone from her back pocket but it was gone, "That bastard."She muttered and with that she ran to find her brother and friends; hoping that the Nogitsune hadn't done too much damage.

~Deaton's clinic; now.
Nogitsune Stiles then grabs the hilt of the sword and twists."You should have done your reading, Scott. See, a Nogitsune feeds off chaos, strife, and pain. This morning, you took it from Isaac, then you took it from Coach and then from a dying deputy. All that pain. You took it all, now, give it to me."Nogitsune Stiles says and then places his hand to the side of Scott's head, he absorbs all the pain Scott has taken. Nogitsune Stiles smiles after he's done," You really have to learn not to trust a fox. Know why? 'Cause they're tricksters. They'll fool you. They'll fool everyone."He says and then he pauses, "Well, maybe not everyone."He says and Scott furrows his eyebrows. "Your sister is very smart, I was not expecting her to find me and be able to tell I wasn't her boyfriend. You on the other hand were so busy running around with me that you didn't even wonder where your sister was."Nogitsune Stiles says and Scott glares at him, "What did you do to her?"Scott said. Nogitsune Stiles smiled, "Nothing, I just made her go to sleep for a while, so she couldn't stop me."He said and then out of nowhere Sadie steps up and says "Not long enough." Then she injects a syringe (with wolf lichen) into Stiles' neck that Deaton had giving her minutes earlier. The Nogitsune collapses on the floor and Sadie rushes to check on Kira as Deaton pulls the sword out of Scott ,"What was that? Was that a cure? Is he okay?"Scott asked Deaton. "The fox is poisoned but it's not dead, not yet."Deaton says...

^Ooo damn! Deaton and Sadie are bad-asses! Haha, so my lovelies...what did you think? Just drop a comment below and I'll update when I have, let says about 10? Yeah, 10. Oh also it's getting close to the end so let me know if you want the 4th season!! If you guy's will keep reading then I'll keep writing! I love you guys, I really do. I hope you guys have had a good week, well, talk to you in the comments!^~Taylor <3

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