Chapter Text
Stiles picked up his backpack that was leaning on the worn out sofa in the living room and made his way to his jeep that his mom had helped him pick out. He cherished the car the most from all of his possessions, since it always reminded him of her. Stiles didn’t really want to go to school but he knew that if there was any way he wanted to get out of Beacon hills it was through good grades and making sure he got accepted into a college far from his hometown.
The small town had a lot of good memories associated with it. He especially liked the memories of him sitting in the coffeeshops that his mom would take him to, to make him feel better when he was feeling lonely or sad. Or all the memories of him playing with the deputies at the police station, where he spent most of his time after his mother’s death. But for every good memory there were five horrible ones. Like Beacon Hills Hospital, where his mother had died. That memory was still fresh in Stiles’ mind and one that often tormented him. Or the fact that ever since his mother’s death, his father has been doing nothing but drinking and working. And of course he can’t forget his elementary school, where all the kids would play tricks on him, all but one, who went by the name of Scott McCall.
After 10 years not much had changed. His elementary school bullies became his high school bullies, his father still running on booze, and Scott, well if Stiles was being honest, Scott had changed. When it came to highschool, Scott joined the popular kids by default thanks to puberty, presenting as an alpha, and then he joined the lacrosse team so he became one with the people who would torment him. It didn’t help that Stiles presented as an omega, which everyone knew was the weakest in the hierarchy. At first Stiles and Scott would still hang out every now and then. Scott would invite Stiles to parties that Stiles knew no one wanted him at. Stiles still went though because it was time he got to spend with Scott. But after awhile Scott would just leave Stiles at the party and hang out with the popular kids. Eventually Stiles would just decline the invitations that Scott had so ‘generously’ extended to him. After that it didn’t take Scott long to phase out Stiles from his social circle. So it was just him now; but he wasn’t mad. He was excited. This was his last year in highschool, and so far he had a 4.0 GPA and he’s going to keep it that way. If everything goes to plan, he’ll be able to go to university far from this place and finally be able to leave it all behind. It was easier said than done, the popular kids, or “The Alphas” as everyone around school had started calling them since they were all alphas, had made it their mission to disturb Stiles every opportunity they got. It didn’t help that Stiles was human, made him easy to pick on. Needless to say it made studying at school difficult. The group consisted of: Jackson Whittemore (Alpha kanima), Isaac Lahey (Alpha werewolf), Vernon Boyd (Alpha werewolf), Erica Reyes (Alpha werecat), Lydia Martin (Alpha banshee), Scott McCall (Alpha werewolf), Allison Argent (Alpha human) and their leader Derek Hale (Alpha werewolf).
Jackson Whittemore is the adopted son of one of the richest married couple in town. So ever since childhood the boy had everything he wanted and needed. Everyone was always around Jackson so that they could get an inside look at the luxurious life. Stiles remembers Jackson from grade 1. Jackson had just come in, and as soon as the teacher read his name out loud to the class, everyone except Stiles gasped. Everyone knew he was the rich kid. So of course the kids swarmed to him. Stiles often wondered if he would be more popular if he was rich.
Isaac Lahey is “the cute boy” of the group. Everyone knew Isaac as the cute boy ever since they were young, even if he did have bruises on his face as a kid. Then it was made public news that his father was abusing his wife and kids.It became the talk of the school in grade 3. But people fell to his support in no time, helping him through his time of need and making sure he had everything he needed. While Stiles had nothing against people helping Isaac in his time of need, he wondered where were they when he needed them, because when his mother died the school did not hesitate to take a moment from it’s daily routine of tormenting him, but instead made it worse. Stiles often wondered if he would be more popular if he was more likeable.
Vernon Boyd, or “Boyd” as he would tell teachers when they would call him for attendance. Boyd was the mysterious one of the group. He didn’t speak much, or do much. He liked to keep to himself and liked it if people he didn’t know did the same. No one really knew much about him and people were scared of him because of that. But that didn’t stop them from undressing him with their eyes. He was attractive and powerful and Stiles wasn’t going to argue with that. Boyd was attractive and powerful, powerful enough to lift Stiles up and throw him in the dumpster behind school. Stiles wondered if he would be more popular if he was strong.
Erica Reyes; she was something else. She wore her acrylic nails like claws and makeup like war paint. People charmed by every step she took, unable to take their eyes off of her. She knew that she was hot and she was going to take full advantage of it. People would do everything she said without any questions even though they knew she was in a relationship with Boyd. People didn’t seem to care about that fact. So Stiles often wondered, what if he was more attractive, would he be more popular?
Lydia Martin. The smartest student in the school. Lydia had always been on top of every class. She hated being corrected, and would only talk to people she deemed “worthy”. She wouldn’t even give you the time of the day unless you were worth something. People were always taken aback by her combo of beauty and brains. Stiles was always second to her, and he had never been able to beat her marks. No one dared question her or even look at her without her permission. Not many things would scare that girl, if anything. Stiles wondered if he would be popular if he was the smartest in the school.
Scott McCall. Once Stiles’ friend and now a part of the group that makes him question his existence. Scott was just like Stiles, a quirky kid, but the difference was that Scott was an alpha, an alpha that happened to look really good with his shirt on and off. So people fell head over heels for Scott in highschool and Stiles couldn’t help but wonder if people would like him more if he was an alpha too.
Allison Argent. Although people were scared of Lydia, Allison striked just as much fear into people’s hearts. She excelled with all weapons, with her speciality in bows. She was on the school’s archery team and people had seen first hand how amazing her aim was. So people found her talent and skill cool. She didn’t mind the attention and fame but it was obvious that she liked being feared better than loved. Stiles would often wonder, what if he was good at something? Would people like him more?
Which brings us to the leader, Derek Hale. There wasn’t a single soul in Beacon hills who didn’t know Derek. Derek was smart in every subject, not the smartest, but never failed a class. He was a part of every sport team for the boys, all except the badminton team. He would have joined but he just didn’t enjoy the game. He was attractive and he knew it. And thanks to his parents' wealth he was also rich by default. So no wonder everyone liked him; well everyone except Stiles. Stiles might have liked Derek if it weren’t for the teeny tiny fact that he and his friends were bullies, and Derek had the power to influence his friends to change. They listen to his every command, and yet he sees what they do, sees how they treat people and does nothing about it.
Stiles was always scared of Derek, if Stiles was being totally honest. Stiles had been beaten up by Jackson, humiliated by Lydia, thrown in the dumpster by Boyd, made fun of by Isaac, betrayed by Scott, threatened by Allison, but nothing, nothing from Derek. He didn’t care enough to beat Stiles up or even bat an eyelash towards him, and he definitely didn’t give a damn to help him either. So Stiles thought, if Derek did ever do something to him it would mean that Derek would be really really pissed, and that probably would be how Stiles died. Or that’s how Stiles imagines it at least.
Today was the first day of his last year and Stiles was really excited. Just one more year and he could finally leave this town behind. Stiles entered the school gates and immediately made his way towards his locker, to find his locker had already been vandalized with “your stupid”. Stiles scoffed at it; it wasn’t the first time he was seeing this. Jackson and Isaac had done this many times before, this was kind of their M.O. However they had lost creativity over the years. It started out with funny names they would call Stiles, but eventually it just turned into phrases like, well “Your stupid”. And he knew it was Jackson or Isaac because firstly they used ‘your’ instead of ‘you’re’. No one else in their group was that stupid. Secondly the others didn’t play pranks, they were more direct, one might even say, more “hands-on”. But that didn’t mean Jackson and Isaac didn’t take part in beating Stiles up, they definitely did, it’s just that it was only those two who did stuff like vandalize Stiles’ lockers.
Stiles used his locker, put the books from his bag into his locker, and took the ones he needed with him. He started to make his way to his first class, which was English class with Ms.Crow. She was a nice lady kind to all, but very oblivious. It seemed she never noticed any of the bullying that happened in her class. Isn’t that funny, she can spot a literary device from a mile away but seems to have trouble noticing the obvious signs of bullying.
Just as he was about to enter the class, the door was blocked by Jackson and Isaac.
“Do me a favour and disappear.” Jackson said while Isaac just grinned. Stiles assumed Jackson was getting a head start on his daily quota of “pick on Stiles”.
“Come on Jackson, just let me in, I'll stay out of your way.” Stiles said, keeping his head down.
Jackson seemed to get a little angry at the response Stiles gave. “You existing gets in my way.” He responded.
Stiles knew that if he continued this conversation it was going to end with him having bruises all over his body that he would have to tend to later. So he decided to just observe class from outside. Previously he would just wait until the bell rang and then everyone would take a seat, and he’d walk right in without any problem. Sure he got scolded by teachers for being a little late, but he could handle that. Jackson however got creative, he would just find Stiles after class and beat him up then saying “better not see you in class next time. I can’t focus on learning when there’s a freak in the room.” So instead Stiles would observe class from the hall. The teachers would mark him absent and he’d get a call home every month saying that he’s been missing too many classes but his dad was either at work or too drunk to notice. Stiles was also called down to the office now and then. The principal would ask him to justify why he’s been away from so many classes. Stiles tried explaining to them that he was being bullied and that the kids responsible wouldn’t let him attend. When the principal heard this, she laughed and said “Stiles you’re going to need a better story than that.” In that instant Stiles knew he wasn’t going to be trusted so he just lied and played “the dead mother card”. It worked wonders on adults most of the time, not so much on teenagers. The principal always let him go though because Stiles’ grades were always good, even though he had to pick up assignments ten minutes after the bell dismissed the class, and hand them in a day advance to ensure he wasn’t late, and ten minutes after class to make sure he wasn’t targeted. The system worked amazingly. It had its flaws like if the assignment was a presentation Stiles had no choice but to go in, stand in front of his peers and give his presentation and ultimately be beat up after school or class. That happened every now and then but he’d rather take a beating than lose 10% of his mark.
So Stiles took his seat in the hall and took out his paper and pencil, ready to make notes when he noticed a strange man walking in the halls. The man, who looked no older than 25, was wearing a robe,not something you see everyday, but Stiles supposed he could be a monk or a priest of some sort. The man was walking, but it didn’t look like he knew where he was or where he was going. Stiles ignored the man and put his focus back to the teacher, he couldn’t risk being distracted especially since he already had the disadvantage of being so far from the teacher.
But it wasn’t long until Stiles was disturbed by the man. “Hi, excuse me. Perhaps you could help me. I’m trying to find the room with the devices that make beautiful noises.”
Stiles thought that was an odd way of asking for the music room. “I think you mean the music room, 2 lefts, take the stairs down, a right, then a left and that should be it.” Stiles said in a hurry fully knowing that there is no way that the person understood what he said. To his surprise the man nodded his head to acknowledge that he understood and started to follow the directions that Stiles had just said.
The rest of the day was more or less the same. Either being forced to observe class from outside or if he was lucky he got to enter the class. Lunch was always the hard part for Stiles. Teachers wouldn’t allow him to eat in class, the cafeteria was off limits thanks to the Alphas making a mockery of him. So Stiles would be left with the hallways, which worked great until the hall monitors would ask him to leave. Which meant the only place left was the washrooms. At first it was kind of gross, but Stiles got used to it, and he adapted to it. Not the cleanest place, but at least it was safe.
In his last period Stiles made sure to leave 5 minutes before the bell rang so he could get to his car without anyone giving him trouble. And he guessed he was in luck today because he made it without any trouble. Stiles got in and made his way to the coffee shop that he and his mom often visited. Stiles liked to just sit there and relax. Plus it was one place where the kids from the school didn’t come since it was considered to be an old people’s place. And they weren’t wrong, it was mainly the geriatric population that came to this particular coffee shop but it was only because it was the closest one to the retirement home. Stiles didn’t really care though.
Stiles arrived at the coffee shop, got himself a coffee and sat down on the chair outside of the shop. Just enjoying his cup and the moment of silence. Albeit that it didn’t last long.
The weirdly dressed man from the school had also come here. Stiles didn’t let his eyes linger too long but he feared it was already too late since the man had already started to make his way towards Stiles.
“Ah, so we meet again.” the man with the robe said.
“I guess we do.” Stiles said before going back to his coffee.
“Your instructions were most helpful. I was able to find the room with no problems. Thank you again for that.”
“No worries.” Stiles said and hesitated before starting to speak again: “i know it’s not my place...but why were you looking for the music room? Hardly anyone goes there willingly.”
The man sat down in the chair across from Stiles and started to speak. “A friend of mine passed away a long time ago. Almost 11 years now. She had told me that this town was the most beautiful place she had ever seen and that life would not be complete if i had not seen it.”
“I’m sorry, for your loss. But i can’t imagine what your friend saw in this town. Doesn’t seem so special.” Stiles said.
“I said the same thing, but she did always have a way of finding beauty even where it didn’t exist. She used to say ‘We often get used to beauty, so…’” the man was interrupted by Stiles. “So when it comes to noticing it, we often don’t.” the man looked at Stiles with a smile. “My mom used to say that.” Stiles said.
The man looked to his wrist and then back at Stiles.“Well it’s time for me to get going. Lots to see and do.” The man said getting up from his chair, putting his hand out to shake Stiles’.
“Well best of luck on your trip.” Stiles offered to the man as he shaked hands with him.
“It’s not goodbye yet. I’m sure we will meet again, Stiles.” The man said as he walked away and before Stiles even realized that there was no way for the man to have known his name the man was gone. He shrugged it off justifying it with weak excuses like "he probably heard the name at school while someone was making fun of him."
Stiles left the coffee place and went home to get started on his homework. He noticed his dad still hadn’t come home which Stiles took relief to because he couldn’t be bothered to clean up vomit or spilled liquor off of the floor right now. Stiles went straight to his room and started on his work. He managed to finish it rather quickly. He looked at the digital clock sitting on his desk, the time was only 9:30pm. Which means Stiles had an entire hour to himself before he had to go to sleep. Stiles decided he would read and then go to sleep.
The next day the cycle repeated again. Everything was ‘normal’ business since that day, and if Stiles was being honest he was really missing the stranger now, at least he had a genuine conversation with the monk looking dude.
Weeks went by and nothing had changed, Stiles was still getting pushed around by Jackson and his lackeys. Derek was still doing nothing to stop him and Scott was still pretending it wasn’t happening. One day Jackson had even beaten Stiles up in the parking lot in front of Scott, and Stiles noticed that the man did not even bat an eye towards Stiles. But this week was special for Stiles, well today, October 22 was special and he wasn’t going to let anyone ruin it for him.. It was Stiles’ birthday. Stiles didn’t really celebrate his birthdays with parties after his mother passed, not that anyone would come even if he did. Instead Stiles would buy a cupcake, drive up to his favourite spot in beacon hills that overlooked the entire town, and just spent the entire afternoon talking to the wind, pretending he was having a conversation with his mom. This was her favourite place too, well she had many favourite places but out of all of them this was Stiles’ favourite. He and his mom would often come up here during the night and look at the constellations, Stiles could probably name all of them by now. So Stiles would often just park his jeep there and sit on the hood and forget his worries. The place was always empty, well usually empty, so Stiles found it to be soothing.
Stiles was talking to the wind and just being free when he heard twigs snap and his head turned quickly in the direction of the sound. He was shocked to find the stranger from weeks ago, still in the weird monk outfit. Stiles was the first to speak. “It’s you again…”
“Ahh so we meet again.” The man said moving towards Stiles slowly and gesturing to ask if he could take a seat on the hood of Stiles’ car as well. Stiles nodded and moved a little to give the man some room.
“The night is beautiful, the stars are really shining bright today.” The man said.
“Yeah, they really are.” Stiles said, not really having observed them earlier.
The two quickly fell into a comfortable silence. Which was broken with: “Libra is really radiating tonight. You know what that means, it must be someone special’s birthday today.” the man said pointing to the constellation.
Stiles huffed a little air. “I’ve never heard that one before.”
“You haven’t? Hmm it’s quite common where I come from. The old myth goes, that each zodiac sign choses special children, special little children that they look after because they are destined for something creatures of Earth have never seen before. And every year on their birthday the zodiac sign of that child shines extra brightly to make sure that the child knows they are being looked after. So, I guess Libra’s special child’s birthday is today. ” The man explains.
“Huh...what do you know. It’s my birthday today, any chances Libra is shining for me?” Stiles said in a jokingly manner with a smile on his face.
“I shine only for you Stiles.” The man whispered, but Stiles was able to hear it.
Stiles jerked his body away from the stranger after what he heard and questioned the man confusingly. “What did you say?”
The man took a deep breath and got off the hood of Stiles’ car, putting his hands up to show that he meant no harm to Stiles. “I’m a friend, not foe Stiles.”
“How do you know my name. We never exchanged names.” Stiles responded
“I know the name of all the children I choose.”
“What does that even mean? Look man, I don’t want any trouble, I’m going to get in my car and head back home. I’ll forget this ever happened, so just step away from the car.” Stiles said slowly as he moved towards the car.
The man started moving away from the car but as he was moving he spoke: “The stars have chosen their soldier, there is no running from it Stiles.”
Stiles had already gotten in his car, he turned it on and started to reverse so he could exit. As he exited he saw the man from his rear view mirror. Stiles breathed out air from his mouth and let relief fall over his body. Stiles drove straight home, and went straight to his room, ignoring the mess by the sofa which he could only assume was vomit and alcohol from his father’s digestive tract. As soon as he opened the door, the man was there, sitting on his desk with a book in his hand. The man looked up from his book and gave a smile to Stiles before starting to speak.
“Alright then, time to get packed. Your training starts tomorrow.”
“How...when...WHO ARE YOU?” Stiles whispered loudly trying not to raise any suspicion from his drunk father downstairs.
“Alright i see this would go a lot faster if i just explain somethings to you. Firstly, my name is Libra. I chose you as a potential soldier for the holy war the day you were born. Well actually you were bound to be chosen thanks to your mother. Regardless, the next step: we test if you actually possess the strength to become a holy warrior. If you do, you will gain power and will get the honour to fight in the name of the Libra faction and help the Zodiac’s. If you fail the test you will die. It’s quite simple.”
Stiles’ eyes widened. Of course he knew that there were scientifically unexplainable creatures alive on earth like Banshees, Werewolves, Kanimas and so many other things that go bump in the night, but this sounded way too far-fetched. “Wait, so you want me to fight in a war that I have no idea of, want no part of, and i get no choice in the matter? That sounds so fair.” Stiles said the last part sarcastically. “And what the hell did you say about my mother.”
“Alright i rarely say this, but i guess i was wrong. It didn’t go smoother after explaining it to you. Well there’s always plan B.” The man said placing a hand on Stiles and just like that Stiles had fallen asleep.
When Stiles awoke he felt a little groggy. He woke to a room that was completely white, not a spot of colour, dust, or anything remotely solid. No gates to be seen anywhere, just a very large, white room.
Stiles stood in silence for a minute before taking control of his breathing that was going rampant. Stiles noticed a tiny flicker occur in the lights of the room and not long after in the middle of the room, a projection or hologram of sorts appeared. It read: “Trial 1: Aries”.