Chapter Text
The Nogitsune is kicking everyone’s ass. It doesn’t help that Stiles is the one that figured out it’s inside him. Maybe it had something to do with the sacrifice and open door?
Stiles used his Spark and the Nogitsune’s shadow tricks against it to put his soul into his own shadow and just enough magic to mimic that he’s the living body and not the imitation shadow.
He’s the only one that knows Noggy is using his physical body … so … theoretically … if Scott’s pack kills Noggy without forcing it out of his form … Stiles will die with it. He will not let it use that leverage against Scott’s pack.
Wait! When did he start thinking of it as Scott’s pack? Not the pack or his pack. When did that divide creep in there?
Stiles sees Allison and realizes that’s when he noticed, but it had started years ago. Middle School? Fourth or fifth grade? Maybe third? When Scott picked a fight with Jax and expected Stiles to defend him … because Scott was jealous Stiles was spending time with Jax.
Lydia and Stiles are poring over Peter’s books when she accidentally touches him.
Stiles scoots away.
Lydia notices and is not allowing this secret. She lunges and grabs his hand. “Stiles? Why don’t I feel life in you? I don’t feel death either, but … you feel cold as the grave.”
He sighs as his shoulders slump. “This isn’t me. This isn’t my body! Noggy has my … I used my Spark and his tricks to put my soul into my shadow. It still has control of my body.”
She slowly asks, “if it has the body … that means we kill you when we kill it!”
He nods. “Unless you get it to change form. If it shifts form … my body will reform around my shadow, and I’ll be free of it. I should survive then.”
She steps back. “Then we can’t let them kill it!”
He grabs her hand to keep her from grabbing her phone to call Scott. “One life is worth killing it to save hundreds more. If we don’t stop it … it will break free of its shadow in Beacon Hills because it can’t go very far from its shadow. It’ll be free to kill hundreds if I die and it escapes. That’s why I’m the best choice as bait.”
There’s a knock at the front door.
They look at each other.
Peter’s the only one that knows they’re there, and he’s out with Derek and the Sheriff trying to track this thing.
Peter wouldn’t knock on his own door.
Stiles looks at her “… It tracked me! Hide!”
The upstairs window explodes inward, and then Void Stiles is standing in front of them.
It shocks Stiles with lightning, knocking him out, and grabs Lydia.
It kicks the back door out into the backyard and drags Lydia away.
That night
Scott says, “okay. Deaton says to get rid of the Demon, I have to bite him so Kira can kill it with her blessed silver-plated sword.”
Stiles looks at him. “What?”
Scott shrugs. “Something about changing the host.” He studies Stiles. “Are you sure you can track it?
Stiles nods. “Yeah. Positive.”
Chris drives as Stiles sits up front with the window down.
Allison and her boyfriend Isaac, Kira and her boyfriend Scott, and Liam sit in the back seat.
Stiles closes his eyes and stops breathing. He grips Chris’ wrist and shows him the glowing trail of purple energy between Stiles and Noggy.
Chris starts the SUV and follows the trail until they pull up in front of the old Containment Camp.
When he stops, Stiles opens his eyes. “This is where he was summoned during World War II by Kira’s mother.”
Kira leans forward. “How do you know that?”
Stiles shrugs. “While Noggy was going through my mind, I was going through his.”
They split up and search.
Liam is with Stiles.
They find Lydia.
Stiles picks the locks, and the three run to the top floor as they search for Noggy.
That’s when Noggy hides the link between them, making it invisible to Stiles.
If Stiles put himself into a trance … he could find it … but then he couldn’t move to follow it or fight.
Half an hour later
Stiles shoves Lydia into an empty office and throws up his arm to block the blow aimed at him.
Stiles attacks Noggy and gets thrown into the wall for his trouble. He slides to the floor in a heap as he struggles to catch his breath. He’s pretty sure his ribs are cracked.
Liam and Noggy fight until Liam gets knocked out, and they make enough noise to draw Scott up there.
Stiles jumps back into the fray even though he’s not as strong as the supernatural.
While they are fighting … Allison, Isaac, and Chris are fighting the ONI.
Allison takes out the ONIs with her bow from the top of the stairs.
That’s when the body is tossed out the upstairs window and lands on the abandoned station wagon’s hood a few feet from them.
Chris doesn’t see the chest move to show respiration.
There is a supernatural scream from the top floor, and the other windows blow out.
Because of the link Stiles had used for Chris to drive here, Chris sees the purple energy and dust settle around Stiles.
Stiles takes in a breath and groans but doesn’t wake up.
Now he’s breathing.
Scott looks out the window and down at the courtyard.
Lydia runs out the front door yelling, “Stiles! Stiles! Please don’t be dead!”
She grabs his ankles and pulls him down the hood to check his vitals. “Thank God! He’s alive!” She prods on him. “Cracked ribs, concussion, possibly a fractured arm …”
Liam jumps out of the top window and lands next to the car and Lydia, while Scott slowly walks out the front door with Kira under his arm.
No rush. Noggy’s dead.
Liam hesitantly touches Stiles’ arm. His hand immediately black spiderwebs, and he grunts in pain. He clutches Stiles' wrist in alarm. “What the hell?”
That gets Scott’s attention. “He’s in pain. You instinctively leeched some of his pain.”
Chris and Liam lift Stiles and lay him in the back.
Chris says, “get in. We have to get him to a hospital.”
An hour later
John gets onto Scott. “You didn’t think it would be a good idea to call me and let me know my son is in the hospital? He’s 16, for God’s sake! You didn’t think I would need to know?”
Scott shakes his head. “He’s almost 18. I didn’t think we needed to call the parent for a little fender bender.”
John steps forward and puts his finger into Scott’s face. “No! He just turned 16 a couple of months ago! He’s just tall for his age. Chris is with you, so this wasn’t a fender bender!” He looks at Melissa when she comes out to explain Stiles’ condition. “Tell Scott how old Stiles is!”
She looks at Scott with a frown. “He just turned 16 a few months ago.” She turns back to John. “Stiles needs to stay for observation. He has a concussion, his left forearm is fractured, the doctor is finishing up the cast now, and he has three fractured ribs. Considering he was thrown out of a second-floor window … he’s doing better than I was afraid. The hood of that car must have taken the brunt of the impact.”
John crosses his arms and glares at Scott. “Thrown out of a second-floor window?!”
Scott frowns and steps back.
Lydia sits up from the chair by the door. “Stiles insisted on trying to stop that thing after it nearly blew you up and kidnapped me. He thought the risk to himself was worth saving you and the town.” She turns to Melissa. “Can I see him now? He and Liam saved my life.”
Melissa nods as John pulls Scott and Melissa aside to explain what happened in the showdown that no one told him about.
He’s awake and holding his head. The lights and noise hurt his head. He’s also not happy about the cast.
Liam comes in a minute later. He inches in and toes the ground.
Stiles calls him over. “I’m okay. It’s not your fault. That thing knocked you out, and Scott took his sweet ass time getting up there to help us. You did the best you could. I’m just lucky I landed on that car. It still hurts, but at least I’m not dead.”
Liam hesitantly reaches forward and takes his wrist to take some of Stiles’ pain.
Stiles sighs and relaxes. “I’ll have to keep you around if you can do that.”
Liam smiles happily.
Lydia and Liam leave when John walks in and wraps Stiles in a careful hug because of the cracked ribs.
John frowns, “don’t you ever take that kind of risk again! I can’t lose you!”