Can I request a fic with necromancer!Stiles in canonverse? Maybe it's temporary or maybe it's what his spark is, but either way, it can only stretch for a certain time period like three years or something or else they're too hard to bring back, and so Stiles ofcourse starts with Allison, trying to revive everyone, but everytime he brings someone back it takes a major toll on him but he keeps going until he's close to death? Up to you if the revived are themselves or not, thanks!!
After much rewriting…I got this. I hope it is good enough, anon! :3
Whether or not Lydia was close to her father didn’t change thesituation or how frantic she was. He had gotten caught in thecross-hares of the recent supernatural attack on BeaconHills…leaving him badly injured. Lydia, Scott, and Liam were all inthe back of the Jeep as it was being driven by Stiles and Kirasitting next to him on the phone with the hospital.
“Can’t you go any faster?!” cried Lydia, cradling her dyingfather’s head in her hands.
“Look, I am pushing this Jeep to its limits!” Stiles barked back,anxiety spiking. “If you could do any better, please enlightenme!”
“Guys! Not. Helping.” Scott hissed, stopping Lydia from arguingback.
Everyone fell silent. With the exception of Kira, of course. She wasstill frantically talking to someone on the other end, trying toexplain their situation. Scott and Liam were doing everything theycould to ease the pain of Mr. Martin. But it didn’t seem to work. Hewas shouting in pain and writhing in agony. Stiles couldn’t help butwatch the expressions of his three friends and Mr. Martin from hisrearview here and there…hoping to god no one would pull them over.
They made it half way to their destination before Stiles had to slamthe breaks. Hard. Everyone lurched forward and it certainly didn’thelp Mr. Martin’s case. While they were all mutterings their ‘ows’and ‘what the hells’…Stiles was staring in horror at whatwas before them.
There was a massive blockade. And by massive, it meant that there wasa mess of shit that there was no way around. But…but this was thequickest way to the hospital without traffic. Stiles punched hissteering wheel, ignoring the sting and the possible bruising to come.
“Fuck!”
“What’s wrong?” Lydia’s shaky voice came. “Stiles?”
No…no no no no no! He wasn’t going to have this! He wasn’t going tohave someone else die on his watch! Stiles hit the gas, shootingbackwards like a bat out of hell. He was going to have to take adetour to save Lydia’s father. And by god, they were going to savehim!
There were a few outcries of shock – all of which Stiles ignored.He flipped a major bitch, set the car in drive, and barreled throughthe dirt road nearby. This was not a wise move most would say. ButStiles was desperate. He wanted to do something!
He plowed through the dirt road, grunting with each little bump.Fortunately, everyone else went onward with their activities, lettingStiles use the gears in his head to help. However they were gettingto the hospital was just fine. Just as long as they got there. Andfor fuck’s sake…Stiles was going to get them there! No ifs,ands, or buts! No one else was going to die!
Were they?
The road started to get rough – bumpy. There were curses from allthe parties. But especially Stiles. His entire buzzed with agitation.And it felt like…it felt like there was death looming somewhere.Felt it in his chest. Judging by the desperation and fear consumingLydia’s being…she felt it, too. Which with Stiles, it was more orless nothing. Probably just anxiety shooting through the roof. Butwith Lydia?
Fuck…
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!
“How’s he doing back there?” Stiles called, fighting to bury theworry.
“How do you think?!” bit Lydia.
“So…no slushies for the brave kiddo just yet?”
That got a sad laugh from the Banshee. Got a struggling grin fromeveryone else. Not Stiles’ best work but it was something. That’s whyhe was there, right? Ease the tension with shitty jokes?
He took a sharp turn, seeing the real road coming up. From what hesaw there was absolutely no traffic ahead. Finally! Something goodout of their lives! Kira seemed to have emergency nurses ready forthe, upon arrival, Lydia was looking calmer, and the werewolves haddrained enough pain to stop Mr. Martin’s screaming. Things werelooking up! Things were going their way and nobody was dying! Hooray!
Then, when Stiles got back on the actual road…he felt his stomachtighten. It was like that one time in the sixth grade and the schoolthought it was a nice idea to serve undercooked fake burgers to thekids and half of the bodies in there got food poisoning. Stilesincluded. It was a moment in his life that Stiles would never forget.Ever.
He had that feeling.
Right now.
He swallowed down whatever form of bile was going to likely come up.He couldn’t puke his guts out at a time like this. Lydia’s dad wasinjured! Hospital! Need to go! Fuck puking! He could puke afterMr. Martin got on a stretcher! But right now? Nope. Nada. He wasgoing to troop on through to get to that goddamned hospital. And thatwas that!
That nausea intensified. Soon, he was starting to lose his ability tosee. Everything was getting fuzzy. Voices were growing fuzzy, too.The last thing he heard was…
Lydia scream.
When Stiles came to – they had made it halfway to the hospital.They were also pulled to the side of the road. And Stiles was outsideof his Jeep with Mr. Martin on the ground, who was sitting up andlooking like he was waking up from a nap. Stiles eyes his friends foranswers because he had blacked out and he had no clue what happenedin that space of time or how long it was.
Judging by the expression of his friends…something horrifichappened.
Stiles swallowed, pushing the fear of his black out and the last timehe used to have them to the back of his mind. He shakily stood,sweeping his gaze across them all. None of them spoke. Just…staredat him. Like he was a freak.
“Okaaaay…” he said anxiously, wishing he wasn’t there rightnow. “Why is everyone staring at me like a sideshow freak?”
He was half hoping Scott would answer. Or Liam. Or Kira. Youknow…anyone that wasn’t Lydia.
But that’s who answered.
With a mixture of panic and curiosity and minor frustration.
“Why is everyone staring at you like a sideshow freak? Well, maybebecause you pulled the car over with your eyes closed seconds after Iscreamed, got out of the car, dragged my father’s lifeless body ontothe side of the road, ignored all of us shouting what the hell, andthen…then…these weird symbols appeared out of nowhere on yourhands! All hissing and whispering in a language I don’t know! Youreyes went this…grayish color and when you touched my dad, well, asyou can see, he is now very much alive. Although he’s a bit dazed.”
“Does that mean he still needs to go to the hospital?” mumbledLiam nervously, prepping himself to either have dirty looks thrown athim or Lydia to turn to bark at him.
Scott sighed, quickly getting in-between all of them and first hadhis attention to the others. “We are going to take Mr. Martin tothe hospital. Make sure he’s actually okay.” He then turned toStiles, a flicker of fear in his eyes. “I’ll drive. And then takeyou home.”
Stiles wanted to argue. Wanted to demand more of an explanation aboutwhat happened. Lydia’s words barely made sense. She made it soundlike he had basically gone into a trance and brought her dad to lifebecause apparently the man had died. Which, to be honest, soundedcrazy. No matter how much shit they had seen. But he didn’t argue. Hekept his mouth shut tight, only nodding and glaring up at the sky,wondering how in the hell did all of this happen to them on an almostdaily basis.
Oh.
Right.
They resurrected a magic tree that turned Beacon Hills into a literalbeacon.
And apparently Stiles brought someone back from the dead!
Wait…
Brought someone back from the dead…
Stiles’ head swam with questions and a need to figure out how thatwas even possible. Last he checked he was…well…a bit more humanthan the rest of the pack. (If no one included Mason, Melissa, or thesheriff.) So what could he be if he brought someone back from thedead? Could he bring back someone that had been dead for a bit longerthan Mr. Martin supposedly had been? Was he actually something or wasit one of those fluke moments that he suffered bouts of?
Whatever the answers, he couldn’t find out while being ushered backinto the Jeep. He would have to wait until he was dropped off athome. Once there…he could bury himself in research. Bury himself indiscovering what could’ve happened. And maybe, just maybe, he couldexperiment with this new found ability if it turned out to be something solid…
~+~
“Why are you even here?”
“I just wanted to see how my favorite nephew was doing in his brandnew home. Is that so wrong of me?”
Derek paused in mid hanging up a Batman logo in the guest room thatStiles picked out. He glanced over his shoulder, his face in neutral,and answered in a deadpan, “Yes.”
He may have evolved and went on a little journey to take some freshair so he could become a better person…but that didn’t mean hesuddenly liked Peter. Not even being offered his mother’s pumpkinchocolate chip bread could make Derek like Peter. Which was whatPeter had in his hands right at this moment.
In the words of Stiles: pathetic.
Peter huffed, rolling his eyes as he set the plate of peace offeringdown on the dresser. “And here I thought you would have matured.What, being evolved and all.”
Derek clenched his jaw tightly, ready to give up on decoratingStiles’ guest room and seeing what the hell his uncle wanted. ButStiles would be a bit upset if he learned that Derek had decoratedthe guest room Lydia picked first instead of his. So…decoratingStiles’ room and trying not to kill his uncle it is. “Nope.”
“Maybe you would mature if you didn’t surround yourself with thoseteenagers. I mean, come on, Derek. You bought this huge house all toyourself…and now you are decorating a room for each and every oneof them just in case they so happen to want to spend the night here.That is, for lack of a better term, pretty pitiful of you, Derek.”
Derek gritted his teeth, mentally chanting the mantra he learned fromSatomi. Peter was not worth it. It would be a backwards step from allthe progress he made. Which, in his mind, was some pretty damn goodprogress. He was even laughing openly and smiling more! Granted, itdid spook the others the first time he did it, and Stiles madecomments left and right that he didn’t know Derek’s face could evendo that. But it was progress. Derek didn’t want to take a stepback from it.
“No one said you had to come back here after being released fromEichen.” Derek settled with responding. Rather bitterly, too.
“True…” mused Peter. “But I wanted to see the development ofthis lovely group. I heard they had a real hard time a few monthsback.”
A twitch in the eye. “Why are you really here?”
“Well, Derek, I came here to speak to you about something curious Iheard from an old roommate of mine.”
“Vallack?”
“Yes. He came to visit me before my release.”
“So?”
“So…he mentioned Stiles.”
Derek tensed, fingers twitching visibly. “So? I know Stiles andLydia went to visit him in Eichen for information about the DreadDoctors. Old news.”
“Ah. Well, did you hear the news that he knows that Stiles isn’thuman?”
If Peter wanted his undivided attention…he got it. Derek set theBatman logo aside, eyes narrowed skeptically and listening as well ashe could. Turning into an actual wolf meant he was almost like anAlpha again. He could tell when Peter was lying easier than ever.Could smell it, too. Saying that Stiles was indeed not humanwas something huge to lie about.
If his uncle had been lying…
“What do you mean Stiles isn’t human?”
Peter opened his mouth to answer with a smug look on his face. He wasinterrupted by the front door opening and slamming shut. They bothstared at the doorway of Stiles’ room, recognizing the scent stormingaround the front room towards the hall.
It was Lydia.
What was she doing here?
“Derek?!” she snapped, her frustration heightening with hervoice.
“Down here in Stiles’ room.” Derek called out, stealing a glareat Peter. “Careful. We have an escaped patient in here.”
“Reformed.” corrected Peter just as Lydia got closer.
“Unlikely.”
“I resent that.”
“Don’t care.”
Lydia entered the room just as Peter was about to retort to Derek’sstatement. She had a notebook in her hand, and her face betrayed theamount of frustration she smelled of and sounded of. Her facewas…full of worry and panic. Even Peter couldn’t act so smug seeingher like that.
“You don’t look so good…” Peter said with a hint of concern.“That does not make me feel okay.”
Lydia threw a half hearted glare his way, clicking her tongue. “Well,I am so sorry that you don’t feel okay about it.” Shebrushed past him briskly, reaching out and grabbing Derek’s arm witha surprising amount of force. “Do you know anything about symbols?”
Symbols? Sure, Derek knew about symbols. All kinds of them. He was abit of a nerd when it came to that. Not that he was ashamed of it. Heprided himself in knowing things that others of his kind sometimesdidn’t take the time in learning. He nodded slowly, wondering why sheneeded his help in that. She knew symbols, too. Well, some of them. Alot of them. If she was coming to him…she must’ve been stooped.
“Thank god…” she sighed, frantically opening her notebook. “Ineed to know what these mean. O-or what they belong to.”
She found the page she was looking for, shoving the notebook into hischest with one of her manicured nails on the page. Derek oofed, againsurprised with her strength. He ignored the amusement his uncle woreto see what symbols Lydia so desperately needed him to look at. Ittook him five seconds to see the symbols, go white as a sheet, andfeel cold from head to toe.
“I don’t like that look…” Lydia said quietly.
“I don’t either. May I see it?” Peter echoed, having steppedcloser with a hand out.
Figuring why the hell not, Derek handed the notebook over so hisuncle could take a look at it. Would help him jump to the matters athand.
“Lydia…where did you see those?” asked Derek grimly.
“Want the long version or the short?”
“Whatever version will tell me the easiest.”
She nodded, suddenly appearing uncomfortable in her own skin. “Isaw it about an hour ago at the latest. Stiles, Scott, Liam, Kira,and I were heading to the hospital with my dad. He had been attackedand he was dying. He died enroute to the hospital. But after hedied…all the sudden…Stiles stopped the car, got out, yanked mydad out onto the street, and -”
“Wait…did you see these on Stiles?”
She swallowed, nodding again. “Yes. And when they went away and hewoke up from his trance…my dad was alive again.”
Derek looked up at his uncle, white as a sheet. Peter shared the samehorrified expression. It was bad if Derek made that look…but it wasa totally different story altogether when Peter made thatlook. Especially because Peter rarely got scared. If he ever gotscared.
“Why do you both look like someone was murdered?” Lydia askedwarily.
“Well…it might have been better if it was someone beingmurdered.” shrugged Peter.
“What do you mean?”
“How do I describe this? Hmmm…have you seen Pet Semetary?”
Derek rolled his eyes, flexing his hands to keep his zen. “Stilesis a necromancer.”
“Always ruining the fun, aren’t we, Derek?”
It was Lydia’s turn to roll her eyes. She ignored Peter’s presencealtogether, although her face had gone just as pale as the werewolveshad upon hearing that the symbols had been on Stiles. “And whatdoes a necromancer entitle? I’m pretty certain it doesn’t mean thewikipedia definition. Nothing we’ve seen has been the wikipediadefinition.”
“As I had asked earlier,” Peter hummed, suddenly enjoying this.“Have you seen Pet Semetary?”
“Where’s Stiles?” asked Derek, glowering at his uncle from theside.
Lydia seemed confused by the questions. Mostly Peter’s probably. Butthe gears were clicking and it was clear to her that the situationwasn’t to be taken lightly. “Scott said he dropped Stiles off athome. That was about an hour ago, though. I think.”
A pit sunk in Derek’s stomach. Stiles’ might have gone home. For allabout two minutes before going out on a test run. And he had afeeling who he was going for first.
“Call Scott. Tell him to find Chris. Make sure they know whatStiles is. Get a hold of everyone else and tell them to be on theirtoes. Tell them to look for faces that shouldn’t be here. And tellthem to be wary. Include them in what Stiles is. Read off the passageabout necromancers in the bestiary if you need to.”
Lydia opened her mouth to ask why, but Peter beat her to speaking.
“And what are you going to do, Derek?”
The younger wolf turned heel and hustled out of the room with hisanswer hanging in the air with a sense of ominous doom.
“I’m going to stop Stiles.”
~+~
He had blacked out. For how long, he didn’t know. But when he cameto…there was dirt and mud everywhere. A circle with strange symbolswas drawn onto the floor of the shed he was in with a piece of chalkhe didn’t know where it came from. A shovel was beside the circle,obviously well used. Beside that was a composition notebook lyingopen with scribbles that were clearly his handwriting.
AllisonArgent – death by the Oni while in the Nogitsune’s control
EricaReyes – death by the Alpha pack
VernonBoyd – death by Ethan & Aiden forcing him onto Derek’s claws
LauraHale – death by Peter Hale
Stiles stared in horror at the list, licking his lips and tapping hislegs with high levels of anxiety. The pieces of what happened whilehe was blacked out started falling into place. He remembered thepassage he had read from the bestiary moments before he blacked out.
Necromancersare in the darker corners of the Witch class, but have been banishedfrom a normal Witch coven due to their dark powers. They aredangerous due to their ability to revive the dead fully, or summon adeceased’s spirit to communicate with, or use as a source of weaponand protection. Tread carefully when dealing with a Necromancer. Theyare similar to Tricksters, falsifying peace before unleashing theirpower. The newly woken ones are especially dangerous, due to theNecromancer pull is stronger, and they lose all ability to stopthemselves from using their dark powers. Only approach when they haveresurrected a corpse fully. Performing a full on resurrection weakensthem and if they do it enough in one sitting…kills them.
Shit. Shit shit shit shit.
What did Stiles do? What. Did. He. Do?!
Panic set in. He backed into the door of the shed he was in,hyperventilating. That lasted for all about two minutes before helurched over and vomited. Vomited black blood. Now the panic reallybegan to take over. His ragged breathing sounded more like pitifulwhines. His chest tightened and his throat was starting to close off.He fumbled for his phone, his mind racing and jumping immediately toone thing.
Derek. He had to call Derek.
The dial tone did little to ease his panic. In fact…it made itworse. He held his breath, trying to count to ten. Come on…why wasDerek not answering the phone?
“Stiles?”
Stiles released the breath he was holding. He was stillpanicking…but at least he could breathe now. “Derek…”
Whoa. Was that…was that really him talking? He sounded sohoarse…so breathy…
“Stiles?! Where the hell are you?!”
“I…I don’t know. I’m in a shed somewhere…” Stiles swallowed,staring at the notebook again. He dropped his voice into a whisper ashe said, “I didn’t mean to…”
There was a faint gush of air leaving Derek from his end of the call.And he swore so quietly that Stiles wasn’t sure he actually heard it.“What did you do, Stiles?”
Stiles looked down at the black blood he threw up, suddenly feelingthe effects of his autopilot escapades taking hold. He was swayingslightly – eyes fluttering and trying to go into his skull. “Ithink I’m dying…”
“Stiles! What. Did. You. Do?!”
He slid to the floor, head starting to bob. “Threw up blackblood…covered in dirt and mud…there’s a circle with symbols…Iwrote names in a notebook, but I don’t remember anything…” Heswallowed, taking note that it hurt to do that. “I think I blackedout…”
There was silence. Silence in voice. Stiles could hear Derek movingas fast as he could, panting a little. Maybe he was running? Therewas some wind rushing by. Did Derek catch his scent? Oh, dear god,please say that Derek caught his scent from something. He didn’t wantto die alone.
“Stiles…who did you bring back?”
The evenness in Derek’s tone caused Stiles to shudder and becomeenveloped in guilt. He glanced back at the notebook before closinghis eyes. This was going to make him feel like an absolute dick.Allison was all his fault, he knew that. But Erica, Boyd, and Laura?Derek had felt guilt about them. Always had. Still did, despiteleaving Beacon Hills for a while to recover from all the shit thatkept happening to him. This was going to tear up Derek to hell andback. That wasn’t what he needed. Not when he had improved so much…
“Allison.” He coughed, feeling ready to throw up again.“Erica…Boyd…and…” He coughed worse, his entire body joltingalmost back to his feet. “Laura.”
He braced himself for Derek to scream at him. To tell him that he wasan idiot and should have fought against this entity he didn’t evenknow existed until Lydia’s father had died in the back of his Jeep.In fact…he wanted Derek to scream at him. He deserved it.
But he didn’t get that.
“Stiles…I need you to try to open the door of this shed. I needyou to get outside so I can find you. Once I do…we’re going to findthem before they destroy this town. We’re going to have to kill themagain.”
How could Derek be so calm about this? These were people he knew whenthey were alive. Two of them were his Betas – his own creations.One was his sister, for the love of god! Stiles licked his lips,struggling to find the door as his vision started to blur.
“She’s your sister…” was what he croaked out. He didn’t knowwhy he said it, but he did. And he couldn’t take that back. “She’syour sister, Der…”
There was a pregnant pause. It was uncomfortable. Stiles couldalready feel what Derek was going to say before he even said it.That…that made all of this a whole lot worse.
“Not anymore.”
Stiles nodded, knowing in the back of his mind that the werewolfcouldn’t see it. He grunted, fumbling around at the doorknob he wasfinally able to find. “How do we kill them?”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“Will they…will they try to kill me first?”
“No. As long as you’re alive – they are alive. If you die…theydie. I think.”
“Then maybe -”
“Out of the question!”
He winced at the rise in Derek’s voice. The sound of grief and furybehind it. Of course. No one would let him die when it came to thewhole Nogitsune incident. Why would anyone let him die now when heroyally fucked up because he was 'newly woken’? He sighed,still fighting with the doorknob to turn.
“We’re going to fix this, Stiles. Okay? We’re going to fix this.”
“Uh…uh-huh…”
Things were turning black. He felt his heart slowing down. Hisairways were starting to fail. This was it. He was actually going todie. Going to die for real…
“Stiles? Stiles, stay with me. I need you to stay awake!” Derekshouted frantically.
Huh…when was the last time Derek sounded like that?
Stiles groaned, forcing his eyes to stay open and attempted torefocus his vision. “So tired…”
“You need to stay awake. You can’t fall asleep. Fight it!”
He laughed sharply, wincing at the jolt of pain it brought.“Easy…for you…to say…”
“I mean it, Stiles! We are going to fix this! You are not dying!”
“You died…”
“I evolved, Stiles. I didn’t really die.”
“Didn’t want to leave you…”
“I know you didn’t. That’s why I had to shout at you to go saveScott.”
Stiles groaned, slouching into the door. There were so going to besplinters in his face after this. “I fucked up…I fucked up sobad, Derek…”
“You worked fast, that’s for sure. I was going to stop you.”
“Too slow, big guy…”
“Obviously.”
“Didn’t…get to sleep in that room…”
“It wasn’t finished yet. I was working on it before all this.”
“Sorry…” He closed his eyes, curling up on the floor. Peace. Hefelt at peace. “Sorry…”
The last thing he had heard was Derek screaming his name through thephone – voice full of sheer terror.
~+~
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!
Why had he been so slow?!
If he had gotten the information sooner…he could’ve prevented allof this!
Derek swore, ending the call with Stiles to start up a new one. Hehad to tell Scott what was going on. Tell everyone to be on high redalert a hundred times more than needed. As he was pulling up Scott’snumber…Scott was calling him. He answered quickly, eyes wide andstomach sinking worse than it already was. He barely got out Scott’sname before Scott began speaking rapidly.
“Allison was here! She was right here in Mr. Argent’s apartment! Ohmy god…she looked so alive. Like…like she had never been dead.And…and she…she seemed normal! Just like herself! The minute Mr.Argent got out his gun…she snapped. She snapped! She almost killedus! W-we have her tied up and knocked out but…wh-what do we do?!”
Allison was there? Shit. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.
“Scott…you need to calm down. You need to relax and listen tome.” Derek exhaled slowly, jerking left in the direction of hisdestination. “Stiles just called me. He blacked out and had no ideawhat happened. He knows that he resurrected Allison…but she isn’tthe only one. Erica, Boyd, and Laura are also around, not to mentionLydia’s father. You need to tell everyone to keep an eye out forthem. Tell Chris what’s going on, and you need to bring Allison overto the loft. I still own it and it’ll be far away from where therecan be any collateral damage. I’ll meet you guys there as soon as Ifind Stiles.”
“Stiles is missing?”
“I have his scent. I’ll find him. Just get to the loft. And don’tlet Allison get in your head. Both of you. She isn’t Allison anymore.We have to destroy her.”
“Destroy her? We have to kill her again?”
“Unless you want to have a homicidal maniac trying to kill youevery day – yes.”
“There has to be another way!”
“There isn’t another way! Chris can tell you why. Right now…Ineed to find Stiles. Tell everyone to be careful and get tothe loft. Now.”
Derek ended the call, puffing out a frustrated breath. God help him,he did admire Scott. The kid was mature in some ways for his age. Butthis? There wasn’t a way to save these people Stiles brought back.Dark Magic was impossible to turn to light. Had seen it first handmere months ago…
And now was not the time for coming up with 'another way’ toend this peacefully.
Stiles was dying.
He couldn’t allow that.
He failed in stopping Stiles from going on autopilot and resurrectingthose close to them that had died more or less recently. The best hecould do was stop Stiles from dying and stop those…things…fromunleashing themselves on the people close to them before they lashedon the whole town.
The wolf panted, moving hurriedly towards the direction he thoughtStiles could be in. The only shed he could think of that no one wouldbother with was the old one near the cemetery. Would make sense.Convenient, too. Dig up the bodies, drag them, to the shed onto thecircle, and perform the ceremony.
Please…please let Stiles be there…
His scent was so messed up that it was difficult to be certain he hadit. But he was going to check that shed first. Check it first and ifnot…
God…please…let Stiles be there…
It took a matter of minutes before Derek made it to the cemetery. Hemade a mad dash towards the shed, definitely catching the familiarscent of Stiles. He slammed into the door, grunting with disguardedpain. That was one hundred percent Stiles behind there, despite thefact that his scent was rigid.
There was no heartbeat on the other side.
“Stiles?” He pounded on the door, feeling fear unlike any other.“Stiles!”
No. No no no no no no no! NO! Stiles couldn’t be…hewasn’t…
Derek bashed the door in, sending chunks of wood flying everywhere.Luckily, none of them landed on Stiles, save some small bits. He waslying on the floor…unmoving and near drying black blood. Derekfrantically dragged Stiles out onto the grass – had to get him awayfrom the dark stench in there.
Derek dragged Stiles as far as he could away from the shed. Was closeto the trees before he stopped. He then dropped to his knees, shakingthe younger man roughly.
No response.
“Fuck…no…”
Derek gripped at his hair, feeling his chest walls being attacked byhow rapid his heartbeat was. This wasn’t happening. He wasn’t goingto lose Stiles. He wasn’t! He propped Stiles’ head up slightly,checked to make sure the airway was clear, and immediately forced airinto Stiles’ mouth.
“C'mon, Stiles…”
He pumped his hands onto the still chest of the man bellow him. Hehadn’t done CPR in years. He had hoped he never had to. Look wherethat hope got him.
“C'mon Stiles…”
Listen for heart. Listen for breathing. Put in air. Pump chest.Listen for heart. Listen for breathing. Put in air. Pump chest.Listen for heart. Listen for breathing. Put in air. Pump chest.Listen for…
“STILES! COME ON!”
In one, quick, erratic movement…Derek slammed his fists ontoStiles’ chest, wincing when he heard a very small crack. It was astupid move. He shouldn’t have done that. He could have seriouslyinjured Stiles and make it impossible to save him.
Instead, Stiles’ eyes snapped open, shimmering bone white, and hegasped so loud that it frightened nearby bird in the trees.
He rolled over, coughing and gasping for air. His hands were graspingthe grass tightly…killing it as it seemed like he was sucking thelife out the blades. That’s when Derek noticed that the grass beneathwhere Stiles had laid was dead. Incredibly dead. Derek barely touchedStiles’ back before the newly awakened necromancer puked. Thank godit wasn’t black blood this time. Looked more like pizza.
“Dammit…I liked that meal…you made it…” groaned Stiles.
Derek fought the urge to laugh. Of course Stiles would make some formof light hearted comment after having just about died. He helpedStiles sit up, moving him away from the vomit. Stiles leaned againstDerek, shivering and seemingly seeking warmth. The wolf stripped offhis precious leather jacket he gained the heart to wear again,draping it over the necromancer.
“I’m sorry…” Stiles whimpered.
Derek grunted, sweeping Stiles into his arms and started carrying himout of the cemetery. The brush of death must’ve taken atoll…because Stiles didn’t tease him about the bridal stylecarrying. The stare Stiles held was weak, flickering between the bonewhite and the normal whiskey color. But he was awake. That was a goodthing.
“I messed shit up…” he continued, drooping his head onto thewolf’s shoulder.
Derek sighed, rolling his eyes. “Would it make you better if Iagreed with you?”
“Yeah…”
Of course it would… “Well, too bad. Because I don’t agree withyou. You had no control.”
“But…I brought back Erica and Boyd…and…and Laura…”
“You probably had something in the back of your mind telling youthat this would make things better. This would fix things. I know youfeel guilt about Allison…and I know that you know I feel guiltabout Erica, Boyd, and Laura…somewhere…you wanted to fix things.”
“I fucked it up…”
“Stiles -”
The necromancer jerked suddenly in Derek’s arms, screaming wildly.Derek almost dropped him out shock. But after a second of recoveringfrom the initial shock, Derek clutched tighter onto Stiles, holdingthe flailing teen while keeping on high alert for whatever startedthis bizarre behavior.
He didn’t have to wait long.
Someone rather strong and incredibly quiet slammed a fist into theside of Derek’s head, sending him flying to the ground. He lost holdof a screaming and thrashing Stiles, snarling with frustration at thefact. He ignored whoever it was that attacked him in order to getback to Stiles. It was a bad idea to do that – he knew it. ButStiles was his main concern. He had to make sure nothing happened toStiles. Not when he was so vulnerable.
“Where are you going, Der-Bear?”
Derek’s blood ran cold. No…oh no…no…not right now! Any othertime but now! He glanced up through his lashes, steadying his unevenbreaths the best he could. An invisible knife seemed to shove its wayinto his chest when he saw his sister, his dead sister,standing above him wearing that same smirk he remembered. Part of himwanted to scramble to his feet – to get up and hug the life out ofher. To hold her and smell her and…and…
No.
This wasn’t his sister.
Not anymore.
Derek stayed where he was, glaring hatred at her and tensing his bodyfor any sudden movements he needed to make. If she caught him offguard…she will kill him. She will rip him apart…all while callinghim Der-Bear and telling him that she loves him. Andthen, when she finished…she would take Stiles away and do god knowswhat. Maybe make him revive more people. Keep him teetering on theedge of life before stopping him. The very idea made his insides boilwith rage.
She wasn’t going to have Stiles.
None of them were.
Laura crouched down, making a pouty face, and reached out to touchDerek. She brushed his hair aside and tilted her head. Everythingabout her spoke normal. That this was normal Laura and nothing hadever happened to her.
That she had always been alive…
“Why are you looking at me like that, Der-Bear?” she sighed. “Isaid I was only going to be gone for a little while. Just needed tosee what the hell was going on here. Didn’t think you would get solonely and follow me all the way down here, too. You were always soimpulsive.”
Derek continued to glare, sitting up and poised his fists for theready. Laura frowned. She reached out to touch him again and…
Derek smacked her hand away.
With claws.
Laura gasped, looking so stunned and hurt by Derek’s reaction thatshe didn’t move for a good minute. Then, her brows furrowed and hereyes flickered red. This caused Derek to flinch and shy away onlyslightly. Fuck…she was an Alpha when she died…why shouldn’t shebe when she was resurrected? And if she was an Alpha again…
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she whispered, her voice fullof venom. “Why did you do that?”
He didn’t say anything, starting to slowly scoot away from her. Hecouldn’t hear Stiles again…and the heartbeat was starting to thinout into nothing. He needed to get Stiles away from the situation.Get Stiles back to the loft where the rest of the pack would be.Somewhere where Stiles could be safe. And leave Derek to take care ofhis sister…
Laura reached out for him for a third time, her eyes piercing andglowing fiery red. A low rumble was vibrating in her throat –demanding respect from the Beta. Derek growled back, still advancingtowards Stiles without taking his eyes off his resurrected sister. Hehad to fight the urge to obey, the urge to bow to the Alpha beforehim. Despite having been an Alpha himself for a short time…theAlpha pull would always inflict him, he just would be able to resistit longer than a regular Beta. His sister’s hand twitched at hisresistance and her brow pinched together.
“What is wrong with you, Derek? Are you that mad at me, you big manchild?”
She stood up, towering over him. Derek’s nostrils flared – feelingthe danger. He got to his feet, now looming over her. This made Laurasnarl, glowering at him with disdain. It was turning into a standoffthat would only end in torn flesh and blood. If that’s what it tookto make sure that Laura wouldn’t take Stiles, or do whatever it wasshe had planned for the young necromancer, then he would do it. Itwould pain him, even though he was prepared to attack Laura and killher again. It still pained him…pained him unlike any pain he hadever had before.
Laura brushed gentle fingers against his arm, as if trying to tellhim that she still loved him and that he needed to toss aside hisparanoia. He slashed at her chest, feeling his claws going in deep.She gasped, staggering backwards in shock. A wave of nausea sweptthrough Derek and for a brief moment thought that he had made amistake. That he had hurt his sister. But he knew better. This wasn’tLaura…not anymore. It may wear her face…but it wasn’t her.
He took a step back, body wound up and ready to go into fight mode.Judging by the expression on Laura’s face…he was going to need it.Her eyes were wild and face shifted. There was a low growl rollingoff her tongue and her claws were prepared to rip him in two. Derekgrowled back, his face shifting as well.
But then…Laura stared at something behind him with wide, terrifiedeyes. Derek didn’t want to look behind him, afraid it was a ruse. Hehad read that resurrected from a necromancer’s hand can be trickylike a fox. But when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he suddenlyrelaxed and dared to remove his gaze from Laura.
It was Stiles. He appeared healthier but still sickly. He wasgripping tightly onto Derek’s shoulder for support since he wasswaying a little. And his eyes…they were that bone white again.
“Stiles?” breathed the male wolf, his voice as firm as he couldmake it.
Laura’s terrified look shifted to aggressive, and her face startedshifting again. “You’re not putting me back there. I will kill youfirst!”
A low, echo of a chuckle emanated from Stiles. Like it wasn’t him.Like someone was in control of him. “Kill me and you will die.”
Derek winced, unable to look at Stiles or Laura. There was avibrating echo rumbling out of Stiles. Like the Skinwalkers he hadmet on one occasion. It made his blood run cold. Colder than when hehad heard Laura’s voice he had thought he forgotten.
Laura sneered, wanting to strike but didn’t. Like she was scared to.Scared of the one who brought her back. She backed off, her bodytwitching, itching, to spill blood. She glared venomous daggers atboth Stiles and her brother before letting out a roar. Derekshivered, the Alpha pull tugging harsher. Stiles…chuckled again.
“Shut up. You’re mine. I brought you back. I can take you back tothat place again.” Stiles said coldly, uncharacteristically. “ButI won’t take you back to that place. Instead…I’m taking yousomewhere else. You will follow us. You will obey. Andif you step a toe out of line…I will slit your throat.”
The words made Derek want to vomit. This wasn’t Stiles. The manbeside him wasn’t Stiles. It was like the Nogitsune all over again. Apresence that wore Stiles’ face, had his voice. Had his scent muddledin there somewhere…
A scoff left Laura. Like she didn’t believe the threat. But she stooddown, bowing her head in submission. It was then that Derek feltStiles nearly fall over. He caught him, startled by the suddenweight. When he looked over it was…it was Stiles again. Appearingso confused and dazed that it wasn’t a surprise that Laura didn’tstrike then.
“Um…I think I blacked out…” Stiles admitted, his bodytrembling with cold. “What did I miss?”
~+~
Upon arriving at the loft, the entire pack was there. So was Allison.And Erica. And Boyd. They were tied up with the back hovering aroundthem with claws or a hunter’s weapon in hand. It apparently amusedAllison, Erica, and Boyd to see them all on edge. Adding Laura to themix added to the tension.
Stiles could see it everywhere.
In the bodies of his friends.
In their eyes.
In their breaths.
What seemed like hours after arriving with Derek and Laura to theloft, Lydia arrived with Melissa, the sheriff, and Mr. Martin in tow.Mr. Martin was cackling, mocking them and digging into Lydia’s head.But Lydia wore a stony expression as she tossed her father next tothe others that Stiles had brought back.
And that’s when all hell broke loose.
Allison began sobbing, begging Scott, Lydia, and her father to lether go. That she was still her.
Erica began sobbing, too. Looking for comfort from Derek andapologizing for running away.
Boyd looked at Derek and Scott and basically everyone with distress,silently pleading with them.
Laura was rocking back and forth, sobbing and asking why she wasgoing through this.
Mr. Martin was pleading with his daughter to let him go back to thehospital to get better.
When Peter arrived, strolling on in with a happy step…things gotworse. The resurrected became louder – aggressive. Chris had to usethat electric baton on all of them more than once, no matter how muchit looked painful to him. When Allison screamed and sobbed more…helooked ready to puke.
“Well, this seems like a happy reunion.” Peter sighed, keepinghis distance. “Have we figured out what we’re doing with thesedearly departed?”
“We could feed you to them.” Malia snapped.
“I second the notion.” Lydia hummed.
Peter raised his hands in surrender, smiling a little wry. “Oh,come on now. I would give them indigestion.”
“You give the living indigestion.” Stiles retorted, proud ofhimself for being able to still have his whits about him.
Peter rolled his eyes, giving a look that spoke volumes of howunimpressed he was at the comment. Laura began to attempt an escapefrom her binds, shrieking how much she wanted to rip his throat outand drink his blood. The visuals made Kira go green.
“Do we have a plan on what to do…?” asked Liam quietly, hisface white as a sheet.
“I thought we were waiting for this Deaton guy?” Mason respondedin two seconds flat.
“That would be best.” Chris mused. “He would know how to dothis without us having to kill them by force.”
“But we are still killing them…” pouted Scott.
“Do we have a choice?” inquired Melissa, not looking too keen onthe killing thing.
“No.” Derek answered briskly. “Dark Magic is impossible topurify.”
Stiles flinched at the conversation. It was like he wasn’t there.Like they forgot that this was his fault. That he brought them allinto this mess when things were looking up again. He took a seat onthe old couch, bouncing his legs and fidgeting anxiously.
Arguments started to arise. Arguments about not killing them andfinding a way to purify them. Arguments about how impossible it wasto do that. Arguments that maybe Stiles could fix it the same way he'broke’ it. Arguments about…everything. And it fueled theresurrected. They sneered and mocked them – threatening to eat themalive and burn their corpses. Taunted the others to shoot them orgive them a huge hug. Erica was the loudest, trying to flaunt herselfand laughing like a fucking demon.
It made Stiles want to lock himself in Eichen House and throw awaythe key.
This wasn’t them. Any of them. The living and the resurrected. It waslike the Nogitsune was back…causing chaos and strife. Stilesshuddered, covering his ears and ignoring the loud voices. Which onlygot louder when Deaton arrived and agreed with Derek in the fact thatDark Magic couldn’t be purified. Stiles groaned, bowing his headbetween his legs as the sounds couldn’t be drowned out.
Why couldn’t he just be human like he was before?
Why did he have to be like the rest of them?
Why wasn’t he normal?
“What? No! Are you insane?!” barked the sheriff. “We can’t haveStiles do that! They could kill him!”
Oh…now Stiles was paying attention. Hanging on every word.
“Sir, if I might remind you that we have four individuals that aresupposed to be dead that your son brought back to life through DarkMagic. Also known as necromancy. This is the only way.” Deaton saidin his damn cryptically calm voice.
“I agree with the sheriff.” Derek gruffed. “Your plan is toodangerous and could hurt Stiles.”
“Again…do I have to remind you of the predicament we’re in?”
“And I’m going to say it again: I agree with the sheriff. It. Is.Too. Dangerous.”
“Are we sure this is the only thing we can do?” Kira asked withpanic. “It does sound dangerous.”
“Not only does it sound dangerous…it sounds like it could killStiles.” huffed Lydia.
“Oh, it could.” confirmed Peter a bit too happily. “But whatchoice do we have? These four need to go. So what if Stiles goes withthem? An evil done to save the greater good.”
“Not like this.” Scott snarled.
“Then what will you people have us do? Let them run around likelittle toddlers in a toy store?”
“We can still feed you to them.” growled Malia.
“We have to do what I have suggested.” Deaton said, the calmstarting to shake.
“We are not doing that!” roared Derek.
“He is my son. And this…this is going to put him in danger. Nodice.” the sheriff stated sternly.
Enough was enough. Stiles got to his feet, anger radiating off ofhim. “Hey! I’m right fucking here!”
The room fell silent. Even the croons of the resurrected ceased. Alleyes fell on Stiles anxiously. Even Peter seemed jittery by thenecromancer’s sudden outburst. The sea seemed to part as Stiles madehis way towards the vet, a firm gaze in his eyes. Whatever thissolution was…Stiles wanted to do it. He had to fix what he hadmessed with. Even if it could hurt or kill him.
“What do I have to do?” he asked roughly, hands flexing from thefists they were in.
Deaton sighed, adverting his gaze briefly. “It’s simple really. Youhave to take back what you gave them.”
Well that was vague. “Okay. How do I do that?”
“You channel all your energy into the life source that you gavethem. Channel it and bring it back into your own body. It’ll berough, might kill you because they’ll fight back. But you have to doit. Before we have to do this another way and it’ll be worse off thanbefore. The Dark Magic you put in them will be released into the airand it’ll find someone else to take over. Whether they are alive ornot. We don’t want that.”
“We also don’t want to have Stiles get himself killed!” Derekhissed.
Deaton opened his mouth to argue with Derek and everyone else gearingthemselves to protest. But Stiles beat him to it.
“I have to do this, guys! I did this…it’s my mess…” He lickedhis lips, downcasting his eyes in an attempt to hide how scared heactually was. “I want to do this.”
No one argued with Stiles. It was clear that they wanted to. Clearthat they wanted to find a different solution to this mess. But theydidn’t say anything. They nodded solemnly and stood back as far asthey could.
“Stiles…you don’t have to do this.” the sheriff said softly.“You don’t have to do this, kiddo. We can do something else. Figureout another way.”
Stiles shook his head, licking at his lips again. “Yeah…I kindahave to do this. I, uh, created them. I have to destroy them.”
No one looked at him after that. No one spoke after that. Deaton justled him over to Allison first, pulling her away from the group.Stiles got onto his knees…staring into Allison’s eyes. She waslaughing at him…her normally sunny eyes glowing with malice. It wasterrifying. He swallowed, reaching his hand out to touch her. Shesnapped at him like a wild animal, cackling maniacally when Scott,Chris, the sheriff, and Derek swarmed around him.
“You think you can destroy us?” she taunted, her stupidly cutedimples showing. “You can’t destroy us. You’re too weak.” Shefrowned, looking ready to cry. “You did it to make up for mistakes,Stiles. You helped kill me…do you want to live with that again?”She traveled her stare towards to Derek, her lip quivering. “Youcouldn’t protect them. You couldn’t protect Erica, Boyd, and yoursister. You want Stiles to put that guilt back in you? Don’t you wantto see them happy again? Fix things?”
Panic coursed through Stiles. Nausea settled in his gut. Could he dothis? Could he take away the life he gave these people again?
A strong hand gripped at his shoulder and for a moment, he thought itwas his dad. But when he looked…it was Derek. It was Derek givinghim the same reassuring squeeze the wolf once was on the receivingend of after Boyd’s death. That was all Stiles needed. Theconfirmation that this was okay. That he was okay to do this.
“You don’t have the guts.” Allison spat. “You were always tooscared to do anything. Spineless…worthless…pathetic… What goodare you for, anyways?”
The world went dark as Stiles gripped at his old friend’s face.
~+~
Everything had gone back to normal in a matter of weeks.
The pack went to school. The sheriff continued with his job. Melissacontinued hers. Chris went back to hunting Kate.
And Peter was still hovering over Derek like some damned fly.
“All I’m saying is that it’s strange for young Mr. Stilinski tosuddenly not have any trace of his necromancy escapades since thatday.”
Derek rolled his eyes, finishing up the paint in Malia’s room. Yes,he thought it was strange that Stiles seemed to return to human afterreturning the life he gave to the four resurrected back into himself,but he didn’t want to dwell on it. He was just glad that Stilesseemed to be doing well.
And that Stiles adored his room.
Peter sighed, taking a seat on the floor instead of leaving likeDerek wanted him to. He fiddled with the plastic on the floor placedthere to protect the carpet from the paint. If Derek wasn’t on aladder…he would dump a bucket of paint on Peter’s head.
Oh.
Wait.
Derek glanced over his shoulder, contemplating actually dumping thepaint on his uncle. He decided against it. Would be a waste of goodpaint. He went back to what he was doing, heaving an annoyed sigh.
“Don’t you find it just a little strange?”
“Yes. But I’m not bothered by it.”
“You’re not bothered in the slightest that Stiles blacked out andcaused chaos again? Chaos that included bringing back your sister andyour two deceased Betas back into the world of the living? If wehadn’t caught all four of them and disposed of them when we did -”
“I know. Now shut up. I’m trying to concentrate.”
Peter heaved am annoyed sigh back, getting up from off the floor.“You do realize that no one from the pack actually wants to stay inyour cozy little rooms, right?”
“Stiles does.”
“Oh, well, one person. Big whoop.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be meeting up with your psychiatrist?”
“Now you’re not actually going to make me go to that ridiculousappointment, are you?”
“I could just have you locked up again.”
There was a pause before Peter decided that he lost and he finallyleft. Derek relaxed at the sound of the door closing. And at thesound of familiar footsteps roaming the halls.
“I’m in Malia’s room!”
Moments later, Stiles appeared. He reeked of anxiety and guilt. Itwas nothing new…but it was something Derek hated. The werewolfhopped off that ladder and wiped off his hands with a dirty rag hehad bought when he first started renovating this house. Stiles hadn’tvisited far too much since the necromancy incident. But when hedid…
“You need to talk?”
Stiles nodded, worrying at his lip.
“Would you like to go out to eat?”
Again, Stiles nodded.
“Okay.” Derek tossed aside the rag, pulling out his car keys fromhis pocket. “You pick.”
“Okay…” Stiles mumbled.
“You can talk while we drive. And I’ll tell you the same things aslast time.”
“That I need to forgive myself…”
“That’s right.”
Stiles shrugged, sighed, and finally massaged a spot on his forehead.“That’s fine. I just…I just need someone to talk toabout…you-know-what…without getting sympathetic looks. Moreimportantly…I need to talk to someone that isn’t going to tell methat I shouldn’t worry about the fact that I think my burst ofnecromancy wasn’t an accident.”
“I can do that.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here.”
Derek managed a soft smile, maneuvering his arm in a way that toldthe teen to lead the way. And that’s what Stiles did. Led the way outof the house and into the car, where the very second Derek startedthe engine…Stiles began to talk.