Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I'm a thousand years old. You can't kill me"

~~~

Thomas stumbled out of the bathroom, groaning. "Remind me never to drink Gally's secret recipe again." Minho laughed, before groaning and clutching his head.

Newt laughed at both of them. "Sure thing, Tommy. Now go get properly dressed. "

"Hey boys," Thomas heard a voice say from the entrance of their hut. He turned to see Brenda there with Teresa standing behind her. "Vince wants to see us. Something about shifting boxes. " Minho groaned loudly.

Teresa rolled her eyes. "Come on, boys. And Thomas, don't forget your shirt. "

~~~

Thomas stepped out of the hut after getting dressed. He looked out at the Safe Haven and saw his friends talking to Vince. Thomas stares at Newt for a minute, looking healthy as ever, not a slight trace of the flare on him.

Thomas thinks back to the night where Newt almost died. The knife was lodged in between his third and fourth ribs, inches away from his heart. Newt was about to fully become a crank if it weren't for Brenda, who arrived just in time. Now they're all here, at the Safe Haven, the place Thomas didn't think he'd have made it to.

Everything was perfect. Well, as perfect as it could get. Everyone still has nightmares about the maze, the scorch, and the last city. Sometimes people would disappear for hours and come back with red, puffy eyes, but no one would say anything. Thomas was thankful that all his friends were here, but he couldn't help but feel like something or someone was missing. Someone he can't remember.

"Yo, Thomas. Get over here, shank! " Minho yelled. Thomas shook himself free of his thoughts and ran over. "What's up, Vince?"

"I need you four," he said, pointing at Thomas, Newt, Minho, and Brenda. "To clean out the hut over there."

"Oh, come on," Minho whined. "Why can't we just hang by the lake?" Vince looked at him pointedly. Minho pouted. "Fine."

~~~

The hut was dusty inside and filled with boxes that had different tools and weapons in them. The four of them split up, going to different ends of the room to move the boxes. Thomas started sorting through the boxes when he heard a light buzzing sound. He waved his hand around his head, trying to ward away the fly.

Newt looked over at him. "You alright, Tommy?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a fly," Thomas said. Newt shrugged and went back to his boxes. Thomas looked back and saw 己 written on one of the boxes. Images flashed in his mind. There was a basement with the symbol engraved on it. There was a tattoo of it on the back of someone's ear. Thomas stumbled back.

"Are you sure you're alright, Tommy?" Newt said while Minho and Brenda looked at Thomas curiously. Thomas shook his head. "I'm fine. It's just this symbol on the box. " Newt looked over. "What symbol?"

Thomas looked at him strangely. "That symbol right there," he said, pointing to the center of the box. "Thomas, are you sure you're alright?" Brenda asked.

"Why do you guys keep asking me that? I'm fine. This symbol keeps bugging me. I feel like I've seen it before, "Thomas said while inspecting the box closer. Minho looked at him in worry. "Thomas. There is no symbol on the box."

" What? Yes. There is. It's right th-" Thomas stopped as he looked at the box, which no longer had a symbol on it. "I swear it was right there."

"Hey guys," Teresa said, as she walked into the hut. "Vince told me to help you guys with this stuff so that you guys can finish faster." She noticed Thomas staring at a box in his hands. "Are you alright, Tom?" He looked up at her. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just forget I said anything, guys. "

Newt, Minho, and Brenda all look at him in concern. He flashed them a smile. "Don't worry. I'm fine. " Thomas went back to sorting his boxes. However, he couldn't get the sound of a fly buzzing out of his head.

Chapter Text

Thomas was in a basement. It was dark. There's a girl. She's on the ground with a boy towering over her with a drill, threatening to put it through her head. "Malia!" Thomas yells and tries to move, but finds that he can't.

"What is happening to me?"

"What is happening to us?"

Thomas turns around sharply to find a figure at the door. "Who are you?"

The figure chuckled. He walked into the light. Thomas's eyes widened as he looked at the decaying mummy. "Are we really doing this again, Stiles?"

Pain shot through Thomas's head as memories started to flood in. A night in the woods looking for a body with a boy. The boy is Scott. His best friend was Scott. A giant lizard is holding a hand up to a redheaded girl. No, a strawberry blonde girl. Her name is Lydia. Jackson is the lizard.Flashes of a curly blond boy, a blonde girl, and a muscular black boy go through his head. Isaac, Erica, and Boyd, Thomas's memory supplies. A smiling girl flashes through her head before being replaced by her dead body. Allison. A blonde boy with razor-sharp fangs and gold eyes. Liam. A handsome black-haired, green-eyed man was glaring at him. Thomas's mind gave him more images of the man. Of Derek. Derek smirking at him. Derek leaving. Derek coming back. Cuddling together. Kissing each other

Thomas clutched his head and screamed. No, his name's not Thomas. It's Stiles Stilinski. And the thing standing in front of him was the Nogitsune.

"You're dead," Stiles whispered. The Nogitsune laughed. "Not dead, merely starving. Don't worry, Stiles, you'll feed me soon enough. "

"Never," Stiles spat at him. "Never again."

The Nogitsune walked up to him and gripped him by the shoulders, pulling him up and walking him to the door. "Yes, you will, Stiles. You'll eventually let me in. " The Nogitsune pulled Stiles through the door, which landed them on a cliff overlooking the Safe Haven. "And when you do, we'll burn this place to the ground." The Nogitsune pushed Stiles off the cliff.

Thomas woke up gasping for breath. He sat up and looked around wildly. His head was hurting from all the memories that kept going through his mind. Thomas laid back down. He's no longer Stiles. Stiles is gone, along with everyone he's known. He has a new family. A new identity. A new home and a fresh start. The Nogitsune couldn't get him here. It was just a bad dream.

But Thomas knew all that was a lie. Something is going to happen in his peaceful new life. And Thomas knew he would never forget these newly acquired memories. Especially not the ones with the beautiful green eyes.

Chapter Text

Thomas's head kept hurting throughout the day as memories kept flooding in and out of his head. Images of his past friends, of the werewolves, and all the craziness he's been through before the Maze kept him up all night.  

“Hey, Tommy. Get us some fertilizer, will you? "Newt said while throwing Thomas a bucket. Thomas caught it while glaring at him. "Fine, you jerk." Newt just smirked.

Thomas made his way into the forest. Last time he went into the forest to get fertilizer, a stung Ben chased him out, yelling about killing him.

Thomas's brain is still a bit foggy as he walks through the forest. The memories are coming back in full force, and he can't help but look around, just in case someone is following him. He can hear the annoying buzzing sound of a fly again.

Thomas kept walking until he tripped over a root. "Son of a bitch," Thomas said as he picked himself up. He looked at the root and another image flashed through his head. It looked like the roots of the Nemeton. Thomas traced the root to a tree stump. "How the hell is this here?" Thomas breathed out, touching the tree.

"There are nemetons all over the world, Stiles. And they're all connected. How do you think I'm here? " The Nogitsune said, suddenly appearing on the tree.

Stiles's head starts to hurt. He closed his eyes. "What do you want from me?"

"You know what I want, Stiles. Tell me. What gets bigger the more you take away? " Stiles opened his eyes. "No. Not this again. "

"What gets bigger the more you take away?" The Nogitsune yelled. The pain in Stiles' head increases.

"A hole," Stiles screamed back.

"What gets wetter the more it dries?"

Stiles falls to the ground, clutching his head as it starts to hurt even more. "A towel," he cried out.

"When is a door not a door?"

Stiles is on the ground, sobbing in pain. "When it's ajar."

"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. What is it, Stiles? "

"No, please," Stiles pleaded. He screamed as the pain in his head increased. It felt like his head was being split open with an ax.

"Everyone has it, but no one can lose it. What is it, Stiles? Tell me and it’ll stop," The Nogitsune said, close to Stiles' ear.

"A shadow," Stiles whispered, giving in, the pain in his head becoming unbearable.

The Nogitsune smirked.

~~~

"Thomas's been in the forest for a long time," Newt said, as he and Minho finished planting another tree.

"He'll be fine," Minho shrugged. "Shank probably needs some time alone."

"I'm gonna go check up on him. Last time he was alone in a forest, Ben chased him out. " Newt said, already making his way into the trees. Minho rolled his eyes, but followed Newt in.

The two of them walked for a few minutes before they heard a shout. "Thomas!" Minho yelled as Newt and Minho ran toward the yell. They found Thomas with his back turned to them.

"Tommy? You alright? " Newt asked. Thomas turned to face them. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a fly," he said nonchalantly. He walked past them. "Come on. It's almost lunchtime. I'm starving. "

Minho and Newt looked at each other before Minho shrugged and followed Thomas. Newt glanced back at the spot Thomas was standing in and noticed a small symbol. Before he could look closer, it disappeared. Newt shook his head. It was probably just a trick of light.

Chapter Text

Thomas had been acting strange for the past few days. Newt would find him up at night just staring at the wall behind him. Sometimes he would disappear for a few minutes and then reappear as if nothing had happened.

He found Thomas sitting on the cliff overlooking the Safe Haven. "Hey, Tommy," Newt said, coming up to Thomas near the fire. Thomas looked up at him. "I haven't talked to you in a few days. Is everything alright? " Newt asked. Something in Thomas's eyes changed. There was some sort of panic in his eyes before it was replaced by cool indifference. 

"I'm alright," Thomas said in an odd voice. "Just thinking." Thomas suddenly smiled, but it looked all wrong with the eyebags under his eyes. "It's weird, you know. Not having anything to be worried about. "

"Well, if you want something to worry about, I'd talk to Vince," Newt said, chuckling.

Thomas gave him a sidelong glance. "I mean, not having to worry about surviving. Everything here is so peaceful, and there's no chaos. It sometimes gets a bit too peaceful. "

"You're being paranoid, Tommy," Newt said gently, laying a hand on Thomas's shoulder. "Everything's fine now."

"Yeah, everything's fine now." Thomas looked out at the Safe Haven. He got up and patted Newt on the shoulder. "I haven't slept well in the past few days, so I'm gonna head to bed now. G'night Newt. " 

Newt found himself staring after Thomas with furrowed eyebrows. "Well, that was odd," he whispered to himself, shivering slightly as the air grew slightly colder. 

~~~

Newt, Minho, and Thomas were in the forest cutting down dry wood for the bonfire in the evening when they heard a loud boom. Minho saw smoke coming from the fields. He ran towards it, followed by Newt and Thomas. 

When they got there, everything was in total chaos. It looked like a bomb went off, scorching the center of the field and setting the crops on fire. The worst part was the sight of several wounded bodies. Aris came limping towards them. His face was covered in angry red blisters and bruises.

"What happened?" Thomas yelled, anxiously. 

"I don’t know," Aris said in a terrified voice. "One second I was working, and the next thing I knew, I was thrown across the field with fire burning my skin." 

Suddenly, two medjacks pushed their way through the group, carrying someone on a stretcher. Minho caught a flash of long brown hair as the medjacks rushed to the medical tent. 

Aris hissed as he shifted. "There was something else," Aris said, addressing Thomas. "Teresa. She was really close to where the explosion happened." 

Minho saw many emotions flicker through Thomas’s eyes before landing on grief, although it looked slightly... fake. Thomas ran to the medical tent, and Minho felt like he should stop him. He didn’t know what the feeling was, but something about Thomas didn't sit right with him. 

"You feel it, too." Minho looked at Newt in surprise. "Thomas’s been weird ever since he freaked out about seeing that symbol." 

Minho shrugged. "It could be nothing. I mean, that symbol wasn’t even there. "

"I thought so too, but then I saw a weird symbol when we found Tommy in the woods."

"What? Do you think it means something?" 

Newt shrugged. "Maybe. But we should probably check up on everyone. That was a really unexpected explosion."

"Unexpected indeed."

Chapter Text

Newt, Minho, and Thomas anxiously wait outside the medical hut, hoping for news of Teresa. According to witnesses around the field, she was the closest to the blast. 

A few moments later, Clint came out with a grim expression on his face. Newt knew exactly what that meant. "I'm sorry, you guys," Clint said, shaking his head. "She's dead." 

Thomas took in a shuddering breath before he turned away. Newt put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to offer some comfort. Thomas was the closest to Teresa. Even after everything she did, Teresa was like a sister to Thomas. Thomas shook him off and ran toward the forest. Newt just watched him go.

~~~

Stiles ran through the forest, hoping to find the nemeton again. When he got there, he collapsed. Stiles could hear the laughter in his head and feel the Nogitsune in his bones. 

“That was fun, wasn’t it, Stiles?" said a chilling voice. Stiles looked up and saw his own face staring back at him. Stiles started to get up. "Why?" he screamed. "Why won’t you just leave me alone?" Stiles felt a weight on his shoulder and fell to the ground. 

Void shook his head. “Stiles. You know why. I’m hungry. And today was interesting, don't you say?"

"That's one word for it, you son of a bitch." 

"Oh, such a temper. You’re definitely not going to like what happens next.” Just as he said that, Stiles heard screams coming from the fields. 

Stiles felt panic flare through him. "What did you do?" he yelled. Void just smirked. He vanished in a blink, and the weight Stiles felt lifted. 

Stiles ran toward the fields. When he got there, he saw people lying on the ground, with their arms and legs bent at weird angles. Their clothes were ripped, and bruises littered their bodies. He also saw several animal carcasses all over the field. “Oh shit,” he whispered. 

Newt ran up next to him. “Tommy, what the bloody hell happened?” He didn’t receive an answer. Winston limped over to them. His arms were covered with bruises and bitemarks. “Someone let the animals out.” 

“Clint! Jeff!” Newt yelled. “Get these people to the medical hut.” He turned to Thomas and asked, “Do you know what the hell is happening today?" 

Thomas shook his head. “I was in the forest when I heard screams.” There was no way Thomas could tell Newt the truth, even though it was probably the best. Thomas gazed up at the cliffs. He'll have to get rid of the Nogitsune himself.

~~~

Newt has been searching for Thomas for the past hour. “Dammit. Where did that boy go?” Newt was worried about him. and a bit wary. Whenever Thomas disappeared, bad things seemed to happen. Newt doesn’t want to believe it, but Thomas might have something to do with whatever has been happening. 

Minho ran up to him, out of breath.

Newt smirked at him. "I thought you were a runner."

Minho flipped him off. "Shut it, shank. There's a boat on the horizon."

Newt gasped. "I thought we were the only survivors."

"Apparently not. Did you find Thomas?"

Newt shook his head. "I don't know where that boy went."

"Right here," came a voice from behind them. "Sorry to worry you, Newt." Thomas stopped next to them. "Did something else happen?" 

Newt hadn't noticed it before, but it looked like Thomas hadn't slept in days, and his skin looked paler than usual. He also noticed something else. 

"Thomas? What's that in your hair?"

Thomas touched his hair. "Oh, it's nothing." 

"Forget about Thomas's hair. There's a boat on the horizon," Minho yelled. 

Thomas suddenly looked interested. "Boat?"

"Thomas, Newt, Minho," yelled Vince. "The boat's here."

The three ran toward the shore and watched as four people got out. 

The girl with long strawberry blonde hair looked over. "Stiles!"

Chapter Text

Scott, Lydia, Malia, and Derek have been in the Safe Haven for five days. Stiles pretended he didn’t know them. After Lydia recognized him, Stiles replied back with what she said four years ago. "What the hell is a Stiles?" That shocked all four of them. Malia got angry. Scott looked devastated. Lydia looked like she had swallowed a lemon. And Derek.

God, Derek.

He looked like his entire world was being ripped from under his feet. Which Stiles presumed it was. Derek always said that Stiles was the world to him. To hear him say that he didn’t know who Derek was must have crushed him. But not as much as it crushed Stiles. He knew he was deliberately deceiving his best friends and the love of his life.

Why was he doing it? He still wasn’t sure. Stiles thought that it was for the best. He wasn’t going to be around for much longer. Void hadn’t said anything to him for the past five days, which made him think something big was going to happen. 

Stiles knows he has to get rid of it as soon as possible. Which is why he is currently at the top of the cliff, dead at night, hoping against hope that this will work. Void appeared next to him. "What are you doing?" he asked sharply. 

Stiles didn’t say anything.

Void broke out into a grin. "You’re going to jump, aren’t you?"

Stiles still didn’t say anything. He looked over the cliff. 

"Do it." Void, goaded. "Do it. And I’ll leave everyone alone." 

"Promise," Stiles whispered. 

"If you die, everyone will be left alone." 

Stiles looked back over the cliff. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Then, he jumped.

~~~

Newt was pissed. He'd been looking for Thomas for the past half hour. He feels like this is all he does nowadays. Look for Thomas. "Son of a bitch keeps running away. The least he can do is tell me where he went." Newt moves the leaves from his face as he treks through the forest. The cliffs came into his line of sight. He sees a figure standing at the top. 

Newt makes his way closer and sees that the person is dangerously close to the edge. The figure stumbled before they jumped off. 

"NO!" Newt shouted before running toward the bottom of the cliff. When he reached there, he saw a splayed-out body. 

It was Thomas. Newt fell to his knees next to him. "No. No. No. Tommy, what did you do?" Newt put an arm under Thomas’s knees and under his shoulder and lifted him up. He was dangerously light, most likely from the loss of blood. Newt could feel the blood running down his arms as he stumbled through the forest, hoping to get to the medical tent in time.

Is this how Minho felt when he was carrying Newt back? Like everything was slowed down and the only goal was to get Thomas to a medjack?

Which it is.

He had to get Thomas to the medjacks.

~~~

Derek hasn't slept in four days. Every time he tried, thoughts of Stiles would plague his mind. He was right there, but it wasn't Stiles. It was some stranger wearing his face, who wouldn’t even look at him.

Stiles has been missing for over a year. Right after he disappeared, a virus started. It was a modified version of wolfsbane that the hunters started using. One of them accidentally injected themselves. Then, it started spreading. First to all of Beacon Hills, then to the rest of the world. Somehow, Derek Scott, Lydia, and Malia survived. They heard talk about a safe haven, so they searched for it. 

They didn’t imagine that once they did, they would find Stiles. But it wasn’t Stiles. It was Thomas, Derek thought venomously. 

Derek walked through the forest, hoping to clear his head. "Derek," came a familiar voice from behind him. Derek turned to see Sti-Thomas there. 

"I’m sorry," Thomas apologized.

Derek furrowed his eyebrows. "Why are you sorry?"

"I lied to you," Thomas said, finally meeting Derek’s eyes. "I do know you. You’re Derek. My Derek."

Derek felt something ignite in him. Something that was snuffed out when he heard Stiles ask who he was. "Stiles," Derek whispered. 

Stiles nodded his head, tears flowing down his cheeks. Derek wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close. Stiles buried his head in Derek’s chest. 

Derek breathed in the smell of him and stilled. It didn’t smell like Stiles. Before he could question it, he heard a voice yell "no" and felt a sharp pain in his stomach. 

‘Stiles’ pulled away from him. He held a bloody knife in his hands. "That was too easy," he said, grinning maliciously. He twirled the knife. "And having Wolfsbane grow here is very convenient."

"Who are you?" Derek asked, falling to his knees, blood pouring out. His healing didn't work due to the wolfsbane. ‘Stiles’ grinned. "You know who I am."

Derek’s eyes widened in realization. "No. You’re dead." 

"Did you really think that? You put me in a box."

"It was secure," Derek panted out. 

"Clearly not," Void said, gesturing to himself. "Now I have to go. By the time anyone finds out, you'll be dead. They'll blame it on the people here, and I know Malia will try to attack them. So much chaos," Void cackled.

Derek started to feel even more lightheaded. "Goodbye Derek," Void said, before disappearing.

Chapter Text

Newt paced the length of the medical tent as he watched Clint look over Thomas. Clint looked confused as he turned to talk to Newt. "There’s nothing wrong with him. There’s no injury."

"That’s impossible," Newt said in disbelief. "I carried him here. I felt blood running down my hands and he fell from the cliffs." 

Clint shrugged. "I don’t know, man. He’s perfectly fine. He just won’t get up." 

~~~

Stiles woke up in a dark room. He looked around and noticed that it wasn't even a room. There were no walls, or a ceiling, or even a floor. Stiles felt himself float higher before he was slammed down. Pain coursed through his body as he picked himself up.

"Wake up Tommy. Please."

Stiles looked around wildly, but there was no one else in the room. "What the fuck?" he whispered as he started walking around the place. 

Stiles didn’t know how long it had been. He’d been walking for quite a while when he heard another voice. 

"Please wake up Stiles."

"Wake up Stiles," he whispered to himself. "Wake up," he said, louder than the last. "WAKE UP," he yelled. His eyes opened to a bright room. He looked around and saw the concerned faces of Newt and Malia staring back at him. 

"Thomas!" "Stiles!" They both yelled at the same time. "Hey guys," Stiles said, sheepishly. "What the fuck Stiles?" Malia yelled. "You scared us."

Newt looked confused but let the name slide. "Yeah. What the hell, Tommy?"

Before Stiles could respond, Scott came in, dragging a body behind him. Clint slapped a hand to his forehead before sliding it down his face. "What the hell is happening to this place?"

Stiles’s blood ran cold as he saw who Scott had dragged in. Derek was bleeding out from a wound in his stomach. His eyes were closed and he didn’t seem to be breathing. Stiles leaped up from his bed and ran over. Both Scott and he pulled Derek onto the bed. Clint closed the curtain around it.

"What the hell happened, Scott?" Stiles all but yelled. 

"You remember," Scott breathed out. He quickly regained his composure. "I don’t know. I found him like that in the woods, and it seems like someone used Wolfsbane." 

Clint came out from behind the curtains. "There’s nothing I can do. The wound isn’t closing, but he’s still breathing."

Stiles ran to Derek’s side and collapsed on the chair next to him. He gripped one of Derek’s hands in his own and whispered, "Please wake up, Der. I need you."