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babeyvenus · 2 years ago

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My Future

Derek Hale x OC

Samantha, Stiles and Scott are always joking about the impossible. Who wouldn't when your best friend's dad is the sheriff of Beacon Hills? All jokes stop when they realize the impossible is indeed possible.

Chapter 63: We Hear You

Regardless of how he was feeling, Stiles sat on a bench, keeping himself from crying. He shouldn't have to. He wasn't gone. Not yet.

He felt the bench shift and saw an old woman turned to him, smiling. "I'm waiting for a train."

Stiles nodded a bit. "Yeah, it's probably running late.", he mumbled.

"I'm going to see my grandchildren.", the lady smiled widely, her manner surprisingly making Stiles' smile as well.

The small woman laid her shaky hand on his shoulder. "Who are you going to see?", she asked.

"Uh," his jaw shifted as he swallowed. "No one."

The lady furrowed her brow, confused. Stiles looked at her confused and before he could ask what was wrong, the intercom came on, a voice speaking through it. "The following stops have been canceled, Hollatine, Batten," Stiles got up and took a few steps towards the speaker of the intercom. "Bay Burry, Deer Ridge, Red Oak Trenton, Anderson, King Springs."

Once the calls were done, Stiles' eyes tracked the wires that ran across the ceiling, wrapping themselves around different poles of each speaker.

He followed where all the wires gathered, moving into a room he hadn't seen. Peter's eyes followed him as he leaned on a pillar, his arms crossed against his chest. "Intercom.", he said. and Stiles glanced at him. "Maybe a radio?" Stiles looked back, going up to the door and opened it, walking in with Peter behind him.

Stiles looked at all the controls of the radio. Something he was familiar with in his jeep.

He frowned, his eyes widening. He has a radio in his jeep that connects to the sheriff's station.

"If I could fix this to contact the sheriff's station, I could get someone to get us out.", Stiles said, already touching up on some stuff.

"Your theory is ridiculous.", Peter spoke as he paced behind him.

Stiles noticed a black wire was broken. "Magnetic disturbances and a few pixelated photos doesn't mean that you can use a ham radio to communicate across a supernatural barrier.", Peter said, making Stiles look at him with an unimpressed face before the boy reached down, grabbed both ends of the cord and focused on putting it together.

"Ghost Riders can't be seen, heard, or remembered. You really think they're gonna leave a gadget around that you can use to call your friends?", Peter asked.

Once Stiles got the two ends together and twisted them, he turned the dial on the radio which caused a loud high-pitched feedback to come through. Both him and Peter covered their ears, groaning.

On the other side of the world, Sam, Scott, and Malia wince, trying to block out the high pitch whine coming from the jeep.

"How'd you turn it on?", Malia asked. Sam frowned. "I don't have the keys.", she said and rushed to open the driver's side door.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "A radio?" How had she not noticed that before?

While Stiles was trying to figure out the ham radio, trying new things, Peter sat relaxed. "Take your time. No rush. Only thing at stake is any evidence of our existence… soon to be lost… forever.", he mumbled.

"Okay, not helping.", Stiles retorted, turning a dial on causing and with Peter's sensitive hearing, he heard the horses, his attention snapping towards the door.

"Shit.", Peter muttered before running up to the machines and unplugged them all.

Before Stiles could ask, Peter snuck them out before the Ghost Rider could find them. The both of them hid behind the one pillar, watching the rider go in with his gun and after a bit, came back out, visibly looking angry at the passengers.

Peter leaned in over Stiles's shoulder, whispering. "In case you're keeping count, that's twice I've saved your life today."

Stiles frowned before following the eldest Hale.

Scott searched the jeep with Lydia and Sam. The noise that came from the radio suddenly stopped. Scott looked up. "Why'd it stop?", Malia asked.

"It doesn't matter." Lydia stated, trying to push on the Master Switch, but it wasn't working. She sighed, "There has to be a reason."

Scott sniffed, looking around the jeep. "What…?" He mumbled, closing his eyes to breathe in the rush of familiar scents.

"You caught a scent?" Lydia perked up. "Yeah. Uh….ours… mine, yours, all four of ours.", Scott said.

"Mine?" Malia asked, confused. "I've never been in this Jeep before."

"Neither have I.", Scott shook his head.

"Well for some reason, I was in there but I still don't know why.", Sam said. Lydia spoke up. "Yes, you guys have been in here. You just don't remember it."

"I thought we were done with that.", Malia said before glancing at Scott who cleared his throat.

"Parrish checked the VIN number, though. There's no record of the owner."

"Well, the jeep is here somehow. Are we just gonna ignore the fact that I somehow magically appeared in it?", Sam emphasized with wide eyes.

They looked at her with unsure faces. "Sam, he can't be real. Maybe you just sleepwalked your way inside.", Malia said.

Sam frowned at the girl. "I don't sleep walk. I never have. And how could I have gotten in the jeep, there's no signs of aggressive entry. I didn't break a handle or a window, and it was locked."

"Well we might have some type answers.", Lydia said, holding a registration form. Scott reached for it, grabbed it and read it. "This is from '96. And there's no name."

"But there's an address.", Lydia pointed out and Sam moved closer to see the address. "129 Woodbine Lane. That's–"

"The sheriff's house.", Lydia said, sadly. She took a deep breath before readying herself. "I need to go there."

Sam and Scott frowned. "By yourself?", Sam asked. Lydia nodded. "I feel like I need to."

The three gave her a nod, watching her leave the jeep and ran into her car, leaving the school's parking lot.

Sam got into the jeep, moving to the passenger side and sighed. With glossy eyes, she settled into the seat, looking down at her hands.

Where she sat felt so… real. It felt normal. She didn't feel out of place. Visions flashed through her mind once more.

She was in the passenger seat. In a dress. She went to the winter formal? She remembers that.

She remembered waking up, covered in dirt. She remembers seeing the light scar over her eyelid but never questioned why it was there in the first place.

She turned to the back seats, moving back there as she looked at the front seats, another vision flashing through her mind.

She remembers being outside the sheriff's station, watching the receptionist. Two guys were in the front seats but she can't remember their faces.

She remembers a man with a black leather jacket and a boy with a red flannel shirt talking. Who was the man? Why wasn't he here? Was he affected too? Did he know Stiles?

Moments later, Lydia had shown up and they watched as the guy from earlier backed his tow truck in front of the jeep and got out to face the teenagers. "We already paid you. I gave you all of my money for that drop fee.", Scott said.

"Yeah, I dropped it, all right? Now I'm picking it up again.", the man said.

"How much?" Lydia asked, getting into her purse. "I'll write you a check."

The man stopped her. "It's not about how much.", he said. "They want it out of here, okay? It's not up to me."

"Well, this vehicle isn't abandoned. You saw me in it!", Sam exclaimed as she stepped in front of the jeep.

The guy scoffed, a slight smile coming to his face. "Either you move, or I move you. I'm hookin' this thing up and I am towing it away."

Sam glared at the man. "You're not touching this damn jeep.", she growled.

Scott noticed the girl's nails had gotten longer and darker and before he could say anything, the back of the tow truck squealed and gained the teenagers' attention, seeing Malia holding the hook.

As she held it up, she yanked it off of the wire, making the guy turn around to take notice. "Your truck's broke.", she said, nonchalantly handing him the metal hook.

In shock, he grabbed it with slow hands. Malia grinned as the man left.

Scott looked at Sam who had yet to calm down, and grabbed both her hands. "You need to relax. Breathe.", he said, softly making her fists clench before helping them unclench as he takes a breath and softly lets it out.

He had her repeat the motions, slowly calming her down and saw her nails had shortened once more.

"How'd you know to do that?", Sam asked. Scott smiled. "I think you taught me."

In the train station, Ghost Riders gathered, making the passengers hurtle into mass hysteria. Stiles jumped over a bench, crouching down behind it and Peter did the same, watching everything unfold.

Stiles saw one of the Ghost Riders drop a Beacon Hills Lacrosse player and others. "This place is really starting to fill up.", Peter muttered.

One Lacrosse player got up taking off her helmet and another girl was near, seeing her on the floor. "Gwen?" Gwen glanced up, seeing the other girl who she seemed to know. "Gwen!"

"Phoebe?", Gwen hugged her and Phoebe hugged back. "Oh, my god, you're here!"

Stiles frowned as he watched the interaction. "Wait a second. That girl — I know that girl. Her name is Gwen. She plays lacrosse."

He looked at Peter before looking at the Ghost riders. "How long has this been going on?", Stiles whispered to Peter.

Peter glanced at the Arrivals and Departures board, seeing how Beacon Hills was listed first and he turned back, realizing what was happening. "This isn't a train station, this is a way station.", he said, now frustrated. "It's not gonna stop."

He looked back at the board once more. This was it. Beacon Hills was going to be a big hit within a few days and there wasn't much they could do. Peter sighed harshly as he placed his forehead in the side of the bench.

"What is it?", Stiles asked, noticing Peter's sudden behavior. "What are those places? Bannack? Canaan? I know you know something."

"We gotta get out of here. Nobody is safe.", Peter said.

"Yeah, in here?", Stiles asked, sarcastically.

"In Beacon Hills. Your friends, your family, everyone. Everyone that you've ever known.", Peter said, crouching. "They're gonna be taken.", he said before hurrying off into the tunnel.

"Where are you going?", Stiles called out, before following him.

He caught up with Peter, panting. "What did you see up there? The towns. What did it mean?"

"I just told you. They're never gonna stop.", Peter said.

Stiles frowned. "Okay, so what's the plan then?"

"I'm goin' through the portal.", Peter simply said.

"Wait, wait, wait.", Stiles stopped him. "No one gets through the portal. You said that yourself."

"No human can. But I'm better than a human, remember? I'll heal.", Peter reminded him.

Stiles moved to stand in front of Peter. "If you survive, you have to find my friends, okay? You have to tell them about us, 'cause they're not gonna remember me, so you have to tell them that I'm here—"

Peter cut him off. "Stiles, lemme make this perfectly clear. When I survive—if I survive, I'm going to get as far away from Beacon Hills as I possibly can," Peter told him.

"And, if I happen upon one of your below-average friends and it doesn't inconvenience me, I might mention your name.", he says and walks around him.

"Yeah? What about Malia?", Stiles asked, making Peter come to a stop. "Even after all the shitty things you've done, I know you're doing this for her. You're risking being incinerated for her. And I'm okay with that."

Peter turned to Stiles promptly, only to get cut off by the sound of neighing in the distance. "You need to stall them.", he told Stiles.

"W-What? How?", he asked, knowing he didn't stand a chance against those things.

"Use your head.", Peter said, rushing to hide behind a pillar.

Peter shifted his foot and felt something hard underneath it. He looked down and saw Stiles' keys to the Jeep. With a frown, he picked them up, watching as Stiles threw a bench into the middle of the tracks, which slowed the horses down a little.

After the one passed, Peter jumped from the platform, grasping onto the back of the horse, fighting with the rider on the way out.

Stiles watched the interaction, a weird sense of relief flooded his body as he saw Peter go through before looking at the rider who looked up at him.

Before Stiles could run, the rider cracked his whip, wrapping it around Stiles' neck, and pulled him down to the tracks before leaving through the portal.

Stiles groaned as his back hit the wall behind him, rubbing his sore neck. His eyes widened as he saw a light shine from his wrist, seeing the illuminated crescent moon on the corner of his wrist.

He remembers that Sam had linked him to her whenever something went wrong. Either she got the message, or something was wrong on the other end.

He hoped it was the former.

The four that sat in the jeep, almost lulled to sleep, had jumped at the loud, ground shaking roar they had heard.

Once it stopped, they looked at each other. "What the hell was that?", Sam asked.

"You guys heard that too?", Malia asked. Lydia frowned. "I think all of Beacon Hills heard it."

"Who is it?", Scott asked, looking at both Sam and Malia.

"I'm not sure, but I think I recognize it.", Malia said hesitantly.

"It does sound scarily familiar.", Sam said. Impatiently, Lydia snapped at them. "Go!"

The three rushed out of the jeep, the two following the burnt scent while Sam followed them.

"Hey, any luck?", Scott asked, finding Sam and Malia in a small clearing.

"No.", Malia said. "He hasn't roared again. I've got a scent, but…"

"There's something wrong with it," Scott finished for her, knowing what she meant.

They heard another loud roar, weakening as they got closer. After a moment of looking, they spotted a charred body on the ground.

They could barely recognize the body but Sam paused as she saw it. Another vision flashed as she remembered red eyes. She remembers being chased into the woods.

"I hear a heartbeat.", Malia said, glancing between Scott and Sam.

"Who is that?", Scott asked.

"I don't know, but I know the scent. Even through the barbecue.", she told him.

Sam frowned at her. "You don't remember who it is?", she asked as she knelt by the body.

Malia frowned in confusion and kneeled at Peter's other side. Scott looked around for any signs of fire. "How do you think he got here? There's no tracks, no fire…", he said.

Peter's eyes flashed open, the light blue the only color against the black remains of his body. Malia and Sam gasped and flinched away.

"Oh, my God!", Malia exclaimed, looking up at Scott. "Peter!"

Scott came and knelt near Peter's head, still confused. "Who's Peter?"

"Peter Hale — my dad.", Malia clarified.

"Peter….?", Sam muttered as she looked at the man before looking in his eyes. Her memories of the man flooded her brain, making her gasp softly.

She remembered his snarkiness, his sarcasm, even him defending her and vice versa. She especially remembers him biting her. "He bit me…"

Scott nodded. "Me too.", he muttered, remembering every moment specifically with Peter. "How could I forget him?", he asked, looking down at the man.

"How did I forget him?", Malia asked, frowning. She glanced down, seeing Peter trying to move his hand. "He has something."

Peter tried his best to speak, but he couldn't. His wheezes spoke for him. Sam quickly grabbed Peter's hand, shocked at the pain she absorbed.

It seemed to be helping him heal faster, but still. Where had she learned to do that?

Groaning at the pain she absorbed, she watched as her arms darkened as she looked at the charred man.

Scott and Malia helped, wincing in pain as well, helping the eldest Hale ease into relief as he teetered his way in and out of consciousness.

Malia checked his hand again, and she grabbed what he was holding.

"What is it?", Sam asked. The three frowned as she held up what he held tightly.

It was a set of car keys.

Before any of them could say anything, a bright light shined in Scott and Malia's face as they looked at Sam.

Both of them looked at the girl in shock, while Sam looked at them in confusion. "What?", she asked.

Scott hurriedly pulled out his phone and showed Sam her reflection, showing that a bright crescent moon was shining on her forehead.

Her eyes widened. What the hell…?

A quick vision flashed once more. She saw the jeep toppled over with fire near it. Why was the jeep toppled over? What happened? Who was in it?

She shook her head, watching the crescent moon dim into a black print now. She pulled her hood over her head, covering it and looked at the two in front of her. "We gotta get him help."

They nodded, looking at the man who slowly passed out. It was easier to pick him up now, helping him to the hospital.

After Malia went with her father to the hospital, Scott, Lydia and Sam sat in the Jeep. Lydia sat in the driver's seat, holding up the key to the car, looking at it intently.

The one question bothered Sam. Why did Peter have the keys to the jeep in the first place?

Lydia put in the key and turned it, only for the Jeep engine to sputter, refusing to start.

"This damn jeep.", Sam sighed.

Lydia huffed before trying again, pressing on the gas pedal repeatedly while twisting the ignition. The car sputtered, but it wasn't enough to turn on.

"Don't flood it.", Scott told her.

Lydia looked at him confused. "Do you even know what that means?"

Scott shook his head. "Not really." Sam looked at Lydia's foot. "Ease up a little."

Letting out a breath, Lydia turned the key one last time, suddenly hearing the rumbling of the Jeep. The headlights of the car shined the graveled ground below them, making them let out relieved laughs.

However, that didn't bring back any memories. They got one thing done, but they were far from finished. "Now what?", Sam frowned.

"No clue—", Scott was cut off by the radio in the car cutting on loudly, the static hurting their ears.

"Hello?"

Scott reached to turn it down, but Lydia quickly grabbed his wrist to stop him. "Wait, wait, wait, wait!" she said quickly, her eyes wide. The car went silent.

"Hello?", they heard. "Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me?"

Their eyes widened.

Lydia grabbed the radio and held it to her mouth, shaking before she spoke. "S-Stiles?", she asked. They waited in anticipation for an answer.

Scott leaned in close as well. "Stiles? Are you there?"

"Scott? Lydia? Is that you?", Stiles asked, the relief in his tone clear.

Everyone's face brightened into relieved smiles. "Oh, my God, Stiles! We can hear you!", Lydia exclaimed. "I told you guys he was real!", Sam exclaimed.

"Sammy!? Oh, my God. You know me? You guys remember me?", he asked, excited.

Lydia hesitated again, looking at Scott and Sam. "Stiles, is this… you? Is this actually you?", she asked.

"Yeah.", he said, sniffling. "Listen to me. Do you remember the last thing I said to you?"

"You said…", Lydia closed her eyes, faintly remembering his voice echoing in her mind. "You said, 'Remember I love you.'"

Stiles was quiet, but where he stood he was relieved, more hopeful than he was before. Peter had done it.

Sam grabbed the radio from Lydia's hand. "Stiles, where are you? Are you okay?", he heard.

He smiled. "You have no idea how good it feels to hear you guys. Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. You guys have to remember me."

"Everything's in bits and pieces for me, but I'm remembering.", Sam says with a smile. "Did you see the moon? Did you get it?", Stiles asked.

"The moon?", Sam asked, confused. "You made a link to me whenever something was wrong, whether I was sick or hurt.", Stiles explained quickly. "It's a crescent moon on my wrist."

Sam frowned as she realized what he meant. "We saw it on my forehead. That was you?"

Stiles nodded, though she couldn't see him. "Yeah, it's a long story, but–"

"Where are you?", Lydia questioned.

"We're comin' to get you.", Scott said quickly.

"No, no, no. You can't. You won't be able to find me.", Stiles told them quickly.

"Stiles, what – what are you talking about?", Scott asked, shaking his head. "Just tell us where you are, and w-we'll come and—"

"Look, just remember this," Stiles interrupted him, rushing. "Canaan. Okay? You have to find Canaan. Just find Canaan."

Then the radio cut off on his end, sending the three into unsettled silence. "The Nogitsune…", Sam said, suddenly, making Scott and Lydia look at her in shock.

"I remember hearing his voice. He sounded so scared and alone… it was so sudden. He kept hanging up and we couldn't find him.", Sam said, her eyes glossing over.

Scott placed a hand on her arm. "We're gonna find our best friend." He looked at Lydia who looks at him with glistening eyes. "We're close.", he says, nodding at her.

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babeyvenus · 2 years ago

Text

My Future

Derek Hale x OC

Chapter 65: I remember

The four arrived at Scott's house, reminded by Scott that Liam and Hayden had been planning to catch a Ghost Rider.

Exiting the car, Scott and Sam walked inside the house, seeing Hayden and Liam standing at the kitchen table.

They noticed another face and immediately Scott growled. However, Sam frowned at the boy, another vision flashing through her mind.

She remembers being chained up and sluggish. She remembers seeing Liam, Mason and Scott in a room with Mason hooked up to tubes.

More so, he had her chained up and had her sick.

She glared at him and he gave a nervous smile. "Somehow I don't think we're gonna hug this out.", he said.

Scott huffed through his nose, anger radiating off of his body. "I hope you realize it's taking all of my strength to not tear you in half right now.", he growled.

"Please let me.", Sam said angrily. Theo frowned. "Really, Sammy? What happened to you was a mistake. I apologized, didn't I?"

"No, actually, you didn't. I remember saving your ass, though. Again.", she said, crossing her arms.

A growl caught their attention as they looked over to see Malia, who glowered at the boy.

"Hey, Malia.", Theo waved. "You aren't still upset about the whole shooting thing, are you? Or is holding grudges genetic?"

Malia's eyes brightened to a blue hue as she let out a loud, angered growl. Rushing at Theo, she throws him to the ground and lands on top of him, slamming her fists into his face.

No one bothered to stop her, validating her anger for what he did to her. Surprisingly, Theo wasn't fighting back.

Malia stopped, huffing as she glared at him. He coughed. "It's okay, you don't have to stop.", he said as blood dripped down his nose.

Malia flicked her wrist, her claws growing out. "Trust me, I won't."

Before she could pierce Theo in any way, Liam and Scott grabbed her, picking her up and dragged her away from the Chimera.

"Malia, enough!", Scott exclaimed. "Just– slow down, okay?"

"Didn't he try to kill you?", Sam asked. "He tried to take over your place," She turned to Theo. "And all for what, jealousy?"

Theo frowned.

"I know." Scott said. "That's why we're putting him back in the ground."

Liam shook his head, "You can't."

"Why not?", Sam asked.

"He remembers Stiles.", the underclassman said.

Sam paused. She looked at Theo once more. That would make sense, considering he was the only one that remembered her the moment she walked in. Why did he remember her? Why didn't anyone else remember her?

"The Dread Doctors knew all about the Wild Hunt. He can help us.", Liam insisted.

"Or he could kill us.", Scott said.

"He's my responsibility.", Liam told Scott, holding up a sword blade. "Noshiko gave me the sword."

Theo sighed, sitting up against the fridge. "It's so awkward when Mom and Dad fight."

"Shut up!", Liam and Scott shouted.

"You both are right.", Hayden said. "If Theo tries anything we'll send him back to the Skinwalkers. But for right now-"

Scott shook his head. "He goes back now.", Scott ordered.

"Except Liam's the one with the sword.", Theo muttered.

"Shut up!", the 5 teens yelled at him.

Scott dragged Liam to another room to talk to him alone. Once he was out of sight, Malia moved over to Theo again. Sam stepped in front of her. "Malia.", Sam warned lightly.

"Can you give me a second alone with Theo?", Malia asked.

"Why?", Hayden asks, nervous.

"So I can kill him.", Malia says with furrowed eyebrows.

"Okay, look.", Theo said, getting to his feet. "I know that there's mixed feelings all around."

"You're damn straight.", Sam said, turning to him.

"But I might be your only option to stop the Wild Hunt.", Theo said.

Sam frowned. She didn't want to trust Theo so quickly. Not after what he's done to receive his power that he didn't deserve.

Liam and Scott returned to the kitchen, an uncertain look coming from Scott.

Theo wiped away some of his blood, watching as Liam walked up to him. "I can put you back in the ground anytime.", Liam warned Theo.

"You also need a transformer that can handle five billion joules of electricity. I know where to find one and I can show you how it works.", Theo said.

"How the hell would you even know where to find something like that?", Sam asked. Theo smirked at her. "I have my ways."

Malia growled lowly at his smug behavior. "I'll also tell you if Malia promises not to kill me.", Theo said.

Scott looked at Malia and Liam looked back and forth between them before deciding. "She promises." Liam told Theo.

"No, I don't.", Malia said, shaking her head before turning to Scott. "We're really gonna do this? Trust him?"

"I don't think we have much of a choice, Malia.", Sam said. "If there's even the slightest chance we can get rid of the Wild Hunt and save Stiles, I'm all for it."

Malia frowned at her.

Theo crossed his arms. "Thank you."

Sam frowned at the boy. "Don't think this makes us trust you. If you even twitch the wrong way, you're going back to hell."

Theo frowned, a slight pout dropping his face.

"I've got an idea.", Malia said as she walked out of the kitchen. "It may not be better. But at least it's not him.", she said and left the house.

Sam sighed and turned to Liam. "You're doing great.", she praised lightly, and looked between him and Hayden. "Both of you.", she said, smiling at them.

Liam felt a nostalgic sense of pride and smiled at her.

"Just keep him in check.", Sam said, making the two underclassmen nod at her before she turned to the alpha. Scott's eyes never left Theo's place as he stood on edge, ready to attack if he needed to.

Sam grabbed Scott's grab lightly, gaining his attention. "Ease up. You gotta trust them. They've been doing well without us so far.", she said, making his shoulders slump a bit.

Scott glanced at Liam, the poor beta's eyes drifting from his alpha to his hostage. The alpha sighed. "Fine."

Sam lets go. "Just let me know when you need me.", she said and left the house. She paused, seeing Lydia still outside the McCall house.

She looked unnerved. Sam walked up to her. "You haven't left yet?", she said, making Lydia jump a bit in shock.

Lydia placed a hand over her chest, getting her heart to steady. "What's wrong?", Sam asked. Lydia frowned at her.

She let out a sigh. "Okay, so you know how Lenore created an apparition of Caleb so that she didn't have to be alone?"

Sam nodded.

"Well," She bit her lip. "What if the Sheriff is doing the same thing? What if he conjured up Claudia to deal with losing Stiles?"

Sam frowned. "It makes no sense, Lydia. Despite how he believes he never had a son, it doesn't explain why she's still alive."

Lydia shook her head. "I heard what Elias said, though. He said that she's dead. And that the sheriff has a son."

Sam's eyes widened a bit.

"There's more to all of this.", Lydia said, then she looked down, a guilty expression washing over her face. "There's… something I didn't tell you guys. About what I found when I was researching Claudia."

Sam frowned. "What did you find?"

Lydia looked up at the girl. "She had frontotemporal dementia.", she said, making Sam's eyes widen.

Another vision flashed through her mind. She was in a hospital room. She was holding someone's hand, standing next to a tearful Scott.

"You know what they're looking for, right? It's called frontotemporal dementia.", she heard. "Areas of your brain start to shrink. It's what my mother had. It's the only form of dementia that can hit teenagers."

Lydia continued. "She should have died from it, but all of a sudden, she was miraculously healthy, which isn't possible because–"

"There's no cure.", Sam said, looking down. Lydia nodded.

She remembered that. She also remembered stressing over someone and coming in contact with the Nogitsune.

It had to have been Stiles. The memories were piecing together, which she was appreciative of, but it was enough. They needed to do more and fast.

"Scott and the kids have a plan to catch a Ghost Rider tomorrow night. I don't know what we could do about Claudia.", Sam said and scratched behind her neck. "And I don't really wanna tell the sheriff that his wife doesn't exist."

"But that's the thing. What if him conjuring Claudia up is what's stopping him from being able to remember Stiles?", Lydia suggested.

Sam paused, thinking. It could be. With Lenore's way of creating her son once more to live with him… It was possible.

Lydia lets out a huff. "I mean– come on. You saw how she was when you peeled her wallpaper. She wasn't just angry."

Sam nods, remembering Claudia's face. "She was worried. Hell, scared even.", she said and looked up at Lydia. "She knows something. She knows enough to hide it."

Lydia nods. She frowns, looking down with a sad face. "I'll… I'll tell him.", she says and Sam nods, frowning sadly.

After what Sam had told the sheriff, she hadn't bothered to apologize. She didn't want to be the one to make it worse. With that, Lydia headed to the Stilinski house to explain.

The next few hours, Sam got ready to help Scott and the others trap at least one Ghost Rider, but instead she heard her doorbell ring.

Frowning, she thought her mom would've unlocked the door with her key, but the doorbell kept ringing. She left her room, searching for her mom who was supposed to have a key to get in the house.

It'd make sense for the woman to call her, at least, to let her know she needed to be let in, but she hadn't even got that. Not even a text.

So, downstairs she went and answered the door. She half expected her mother, but was more surprised to see the sheriff standing at her door with a sullen look on his face and a lacrosse helmet in his hands.

"You were right.", he said, making her confused. "About Stiles. Lydia told me everything.", he explained.

Her eyes widened as she let him in. "I don't remember everything, but it's all coming back. Claudia… Claudia's really dead.", he said, quietly.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this.", Sam said, frowning sadly. "And I'm sorry about what I said."

Noah shook his head as he sat on the couch. "No. No, you were right. I'm sorry. I forgot my own kids.", he says, making her eyes widen a bit. "Fought to forget you guys, even. That's not on you."

He wrung his hands tightly. "I–" He lets out a shaky breath. "There's not enough apologies in the world that could make up how much you've been through and how much I've contributed to that."

He looked up at her with a glaze over his eyes. "You guys were friends. The best of friends. You kept him strong when she died. You did what I couldn't.", he said and handed her the helmet.

Sam bit her tongue as the man poured his heart out. There was so much she wanted to say. For Noah to have his memories was enough. It was enough for her to feel sane.

"It," She swallowed the lump in her throat, clearing her voice as she looked at the helmet in her hands.

"It's still all in puzzles. I remember only a few things with him but I can't see his face.", she says, her eyes glossing.

"I know he's there and I know he was, but I can't see him. His voice sounds so far away and I know I've heard it before.", she whispers, untrusting her voice. Noah watches the girl struggle to find her words.

"With everyone telling me that there was a possibility that he wasn't real, I almost believed it. But it was like he wouldn't leave me alone." She shut her eyes tight, fighting back tears as she laid her forehead on the front of the helmet.

"And I felt so alone for so long and I didn't know why. I didn't know it was because of him. He wasn't here and I let him go without a fight. I let my life go without a fight.", she said, trembling.

She looked at Noah. "I want Stiles back. If he's the key to all of this happening in the first place, I want that back. I wouldn't want anything else to change."

The sheriff nodded, his own eyes glossing over. "I didn't realize that he was a key point in my life too. Not until I lost him."

He frowned, rubbing his face. "I was… I was happy. Happy knowing that I had Claudia as if nothing happened, but deep down I think I knew something was missing."

Looking down at his hands, his jaw clenched. "When you peeled the wallpaper back, you could almost see it."

He looked up at her. "His room was right behind the wallpaper." He shook his head. "It was a part of the blueprint of the house and somehow I just dismissed it."

Sam frowned as he continued. "Memories came back and the more they did, the more his room became whole again.", Noah explained, with a faint smile on his face. "His desk, his bulletin wall with all the cases with those strings. His bed, his jersey… everything."

He glanced at the helmet. "I believe… If you remember him enough, stuff will come back to you. He'll come back."

Sam looked at her reflection through the helmet, rubbing it with her thumbs, she let out a soft breath. Determined, she looked up at the man. "We need to let them know."

As they left the house, Sam noticed her mother's car wasn't in the driveway. The absence of the car made her nervous. In fact, the entire street seemed empty. She left it up to it being night time, but she expected a few houses to have lights on.

All of them were dark. She looked at the sheriff, nervous.

Noah gave her a reassuring nod, and led the girl to the McCall house. Once they arrived, the teens' shocked faces met them, glancing back and forth between the man and Sam.

Noah walks over and rests one of his hands on the kitchen counter, moving his eyes around the table to look at each teen. “I have a son. His name is Mieczyslaw Stilinski… but we call him Stiles– I remember.”, he says, confident.

He cleared his throat. “When Stiles was a little kid, he couldn’t say his first name… not sure why, it pretty much rolls off the tongue–”, he says, with a smile. “–but, uh, the closest he could get was ‘Mischief’. And his mother called him that until…”, he trails off, his eyes dropping to his feet.

Letting out a shaky breath, he lifts his head once more, a soft smile coming to his face. “I remember when, uh– when Stiles first got his jeep–”

His eyes bounced between Sam and Scott. “It belonged to his mother and she wanted him to have it. The first time when he took a spin behind the wheel, he went straight into a ditch. I gave him his first roll of duct tape that day. He was always getting into trouble, but he always had a good heart. Always.", he said, nodding.

He gave the two an appreciative nod. "I'm so grateful that you two stuck by him. You two are the reason why he's… well, him. I don't think I would want it any other way."

Noah sniffs, smiling. “We’re here tonight because my goofball son decided to drag Scott and Sam, his greatest friends in the world, into the woods to see a dead body.”

Sam's eyes widened a bit as she remembered how Scott got bit. There was someone there with them that night. They were there because of Stiles.

Sam and Scott smiled wistfully at each other before the boy looked at the sheriff. “How did you remember?”, Scott asked, softly.

Noah steps closer to the table, pointing at Lydia. "It started with Stiles’ jersey.”

He takes a breath. “Then I found the red string for his crime board– finally his whole room came back, and all the memories… and then the strangest thing happened–”

Sam frowned. “What kind of strange thing?”

“I thought I saw him,” Noah whispers, his eyebrows furrowed. “It’s like something opened right there in the middle of the room. Just for a moment– and then it was gone."

The teens looked at each other. “A rift.”

Noah makes a face and steps closer to the table with our shared statement, setting his hands against the edge as he leans against it.

“I thought there was only one rift– we saw it disappear.”, Liam argues, Scott frowned, remembering, but looks at Noah. “You remembered Stiles… and then a new rift was created.”

“If the Sheriff can do it…”, Lydia trails off. Sam smiles. “We can too.”

“But that rift closed.”, Liam repeated.

Scott smiled, determined. "Then we’ll open it again.”

Noah looks at the teens. “How?”

“By us also remembering Stiles.”, Sam says, determined. “We have to remember everything.”

After coming up with ideas, Sam left with the sheriff to see Stiles' room. Once she did, her heart pounded in her chest.

She was half expecting the room to be empty, but it was full, crossed with strings that stretched across the room.

As she stood in the doorway, she remembered seeing a small frame of a boy, curled into a ball and faced away from her on the bed.

Once that memory dispersed, she glanced at the red strings she saw. "Red strings…", she muttered. "Unsolved cases.", Noah says from behind her.

She remembers that. Being the sheriff's son made Stiles obsessed with every case he had, ready and willing to help his father figure it out, always there.

Staring at the red strings, she remembers seeing the strings tied to two rings that were impaled with scissors that stuck out of the middle of the bed.

She remembers the Nogitsune. The fear and anger she held for the apparition. She remembers Allison dying because of it.

"You have to watch. Watch him die."

She sat the Stilinski boy's head on her legs and let him rest until his eyes finally opened again. He looked around and sighed. "Oh god… I fainted, didn't I?", the boy asked, making the relieved teens laugh. Sam smiled down at the boy. "We're alive, Stiles."

As she walks around the room, ducking under each string, she looks closer at the bulletin board, noticing a picture with her and Scott and another boy.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the boy's face. He had buzz cut hair, moles on his face and a dimpled smile.

They looked happy… well, as happy as could be. They were dressed up. She looked at the date of the picture. That was the date of the winter formal two years ago…

"Sam, you're okay.", the boy exclaimed, tightly hugging her. "Where have you been? What happened? You didn't answer your phone and we've been looking for you the past two—" He stepped away from the girl, looking at his hands, covered in her blood.

She lifted a hand to her eye, remembering every bit of that night. She remembered how she got the cut on her eyelid, growing irritated.

In the midst of her remembering, she remembered Peter biting her, the powers she got afterwards. But…

Who was she with in that basement…? Why was she there?

"He told me everything that happened that night.", she heard Noah say from the door. She turned to him, seeing him lean in the doorway.

"He was excited to have you go to the formal with him. Even if he wasn't going to be able to dance with Lydia. But he was determined that he was.", Noah said with a faint smile.

It dropped as he looked at her. "He was worried about you, kiddo. He made me promise not to tell your mom about you "going missing". It freaked me out too, because–" He frowned sadly as he looked down for a moment.

"I felt like I was gonna fail you again.", he said, looking at her. Sam's eyes widened as she remembered seeing the sheriff's blurry face for a moment in a hospital.

He looked distraught, though he tried to keep a brave face as she dipped in and out of consciousness.

She remembered hearing his voice, panicked as he called for backup.

Before then, she remembers meeting Stiles for the first time.

As her bottom lip trembled for the last time of the night, she ran into his arms, blubbering a small, weak apology.

The older Stilinski held the girl in his arms tightly, fighting off his own tears. He let the girl wet up his shirt before noticing a bright light behind her.

Sam also turned, the light catching her attention. It was a rift. She didn't do that.

She left his arms as she walked up to the rift, seeing train tracks in the distance. She looked at Noah over her shoulder, seeing him pull out a gun before giving her a nod of approval.

With sweaty palms, they headed in.

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