Chapter Text
Derek fills him in on the way to the hospital. Isaac had gone looking for Erica and Boyd and had found trouble instead.
He'd been brought into the hospital by a woman Scott didn't know and immediately rushed into the ER. Melissa had gone back with him and that's all Scott knows.
They've clearly missed something between here and there because the elevator doors open on a frightening scene as the giant Alpha, Ennis, dangles Scott in the air, massive hand wrapped around his throat and squeezing.
Derek lunges out of the elevator without hesitation and tackles the behemoth wolf. Ennis lets go of Scott, when Derek barrels into his side, and Scott goes crumpling to the ground. Stiles is beside him as fast as his uncoordinated limbs will take him and he pats at Scott's face, while Derek and the other Alpha scuffle further down the hall.
"Scott, buddy, you with me? Wake up."
Scott wheezes, but meets Stiles' eyes blearily. He rasps out as his windpipe heals, "Isaac. There's...another one...here."
"Another Alpha?" Stiles asks.
Scott nods.
"Okay. I'll find Isaac," Stiles says. "You good?"
When he receives a nod, he takes off toward the doors that lead to the patient corridor.
"Stiles!" Derek calls out to him. "Don't!"
Stiles glances back at him, but Derek is too busy grappling with the Alpha to do much else and Scott is half-unconscious. So he goes through the doors without a second thought.
He moves down the hallway as inconspicuously as he can. There's not really anyone around and Stiles doesn't know where the hell all the hospital employees disappear to all the time, but he's grateful for their absence in moment's like this.
The repetitive sound of wheels rolling reaches his ears and he fumbles to a stop, ducking into a doorway as a nurse passes by him pushing a gurney. Stiles breathes out a sigh of relief when she doesn't stop, then peeks out to make sure she's gone before he resumes his search. That's when he notices she isn't wearing any shoes.
It's the female Alpha, Kali, and Stiles can't be sure, but the curly hair on the cart looks a lot like it belongs to Isaac.
Without thinking he bolts out into the open and yells, "Hey!"
The woman stops and Stiles is really wishing he had thought first, because she turns around and gives him a grin full of fangs. Kali steps away from the gurney, so there's a point for Stiles since Isaac is temporarily saved, but then she's slinking toward him, feet moving in a way that reminds Stiles of a gymnast on a balance beam.
"So," the Alpha breathes out, "the druid wants to play."
"Uh. No," Stiles says, wondering why the hell she just called him a druid. He sets that aside for now to focus on the present, more pressing matter, namely staying alive. "No, I do not want to play. I just...want to take Isaac and skedaddle on out of here. Yup, that is the...plan…" Stiles swallows thickly, nervous because his plan isn't a plan at all.
Kali smirks and begins circling him. "Leaving so soon? But I want to know how your date tonight went, Stiles."
"Well, it was rudely interrupted actually," Stiles responds, wanting to slap himself for it.
"Too bad. Guess I'll have to make it up to you." She bends her fingers and makes them crack, getting closer as she continues to circuit him.
Stiles is completely helpless. He doesn't have any magical defenses, he can't call Cor, he doesn't even have a weapon or weapon-like object in his hand for crying out loud. He. Is. Screwed.
"Deucalion thought you might be a threat, you know," she simpers. "That's why we showed ourselves so soon. We had other plans to wait a while, but your little stunt at the warehouse piqued his interest. Once he saw you for himself though, he dismissed you as a threat. I have to say I agree with him. You're just a one-trick witch and without that little monster of yours you can't do shit."
Stiles catches movement over her shoulder as she stops walking to lean in close and sneer in his face. He locks eyes with her.
"You're right. I'm pretty useless without Cor. There's really only one thing I've ever been good at."
"And what's that?" she asks, straightening up and crossing her arms.
"Distractions," Stiles says plainly and dives out of the way as Melissa McCall rams the Alpha with Isaac's gurney.
Kali goes sprawling onto the floor, barely catching herself with her hands. She twists around and snarls up at them, but Melissa pays her no heed as she gets into position for her next move, while Stiles pulls Isaac out of the way. Kali's eyes go to Stiles, wheeling away her target and she's crouching to leap after him when Melissa slams defibrillator paddles into her back.
The shock surges through her system and she spasms before going down in an unconscious heap.
"Clear," Melissa spits at her still form.
"Holy—crap!" Stiles exclaims. "Ms. McCall, that was—that was—holy crap!"
"Nobody abducts one of my patients. Let's go." Melissa grabs Isaac's gurney and starts jetting down the hallway, following Stiles' lead. "Scott and Derek?"
"Fighting off the big one. Winning hopefully."
They round a corner and almost collide with the very werewolves they're looking for. Scott, who is panting heavily, has one of Derek's arms slung over his shoulders and is pulling him along; Derek has a gash the size of Texas on his left side and at least half a dozen other wounds littering his body.
"Where's Ennis?" Stiles demands.
"Right behind us," Scott says.
"This way," Melissa interjects and leads them back towards the elevators the long way.
They think they're going to make it. There's no sign of Ennis or Kali and the elevator is within reach.
But then the elevator dings and the doors slide open and Deucalion is there.
Everyone grinds to a halt.
Deucalion tilts an ear toward them and smiles, closed-lipped and pleased. "Well," he says. "I thought I was late to the party. Seems I arrived just in time."
Nobody says anything.
Deucalion steps into the frame of the elevator and Ennis appears with Kali's unconscious form folded over his shoulder in the next second, stopping next to Deucalion and growling at the group.
"Now, now, Ennis," the blind man says. "No time for that now. Kali needs to recover. We must get her home. But please. You go first."
Deucalion moves to the side and holds his cane against the doors, keeping them open.
Nobody moves.
"Please, I insist," Deucalion says pleasantly. "We've all got wounds to go home and lick. We'll finish this another time."
Derek breathes out a ragged, wet breath and says, "Go."
Everyone moves then, Scott and Derek first. Then Melissa pushing Isaac. Then Stiles.
Deucalion smiles when everyone is in the elevator then removes his cane so the doors can close. "Have a nice evening," he calls, just before the doors separate them.
Nobody breathes for a moment.
A collective wave of disbelieving relief washes over the group and Scott sags against the wall, pulling Derek right along with him and not caring one bit.
"How did we not just die?" Scott asks.
"I have no idea," Stiles says, moving to Derek's side to caress his face and inspect his side.
"They...don't want to...kill us yet…" Derek says and presses his head into Stiles' palm.
"Great," Stiles says sarcastically. "Live to die another day."
"Don't say that, Stiles," Scott says, ever the optimist. "We'll figure this out."
Melissa is hovering over Isaac, checking him over, and without looking up at them says, "Well, first thing's first. You've all got to get out of here and get somewhere safe you can heal up. Then you can figure out how to kick their asses."
Scott smiles at her a little, admiring his mother's ferocity and cool demeanor under pressure. Stiles will have to tell him about her hero act in the hallway.
When the doors open, Melissa takes them out a side door where employees go for smoke breaks. She and Stiles manage to bustle Isaac, who is drugged to high-heaven and doesn't stir even once, into a wheelchair that she pushes out to the Camaro in the parking lot.
Stiles crawls into the back first, helping drag Derek back with him and then cradling him in his lap, while attempting to staunch the bleeding. Scott gets Isaac in the passenger seat, then hugs Melissa tightly before hopping in the driver's seat. He guns the engine and then takes off into the night.