Chapter 8

Stiles had lost his argument with Derek about his plan so he was currently sitting in the loft while Lydia and Jackson sat watching him. "I don't see why Derek felt you had to be here, I mean I seriously don't need anyone here" he grumbled not quite under his breath so both the Banshee and beta heard him.

"Probably because he knows that if left to yourself, you will probably go investigate on your own and get in trouble" Lydia said with an exasperated sigh.

"More trouble" Jackson snarks with his trademark sneer. Stiles glares at the beta who only snorts a laugh.

"Powerful Magic User remember?" Stiles complained looking at them both.

"Right, and remember how the 'Powerful Magic User' (and Stiles could hear him using quotes for that) walked into a door this morning and nearly knocked himself out" Jackson said with a happy smile that made the teen fume when he saw Lydia barely containing her own laugh.

"That was not my fault!" Stiles flailed throwing his arms out wide and almost knocking over the candle on the table. Luckily it wasn't lit.

"Stiles just do your thing. If…when you find something, we will investigate intelligently. Or perhaps you would prefer Allison or Erica to be here?" she asked with a curious expression.

Stiles muttered something too low for even Jackson to hear but Lydia knew she had won the point. Derek had called her last night to ask them to babysit Stiles and while Jackson complained Lydia had wholeheartedly approved.

Jackson, despite his general attitude, wouldn't overreact to anything they came upon but would wait till either she or Stiles gave him the word to attack. And once he got the word, he wouldn't hesitate. And that left out Scott and Isaac who were both too kind and optimistic to realize that if either of them had called for a fight, there was a damn good reason.

Boyd wouldn't be a bad choice either, but he was a bit too restrained in unexpected situations. Which was the direct opposite problem with Erica who was too unrestrained in almost every situation. The she-wolf was fierce in a fight, but not so valuable when diplomacy is the plan. Which was also why Allison was excluded. The simple fact was there were way too many supernatural beings who knew the name Argent and wouldn't come anywhere near her. Until she managed to atone for Gerard and Kate's actions, there are many who would not accept her, maybe not even then.

No, Derek had asked and agreed with her analysis and she knew that if Stiles would stop sulking, he would agree. But he was still carrying the chip on his shoulder about being the 'token human' despite the changes. "Why don't you try identifying potential individuals that you should officially meet?" Lydia said pointedly.

Stiles gave a final grunt but he yielded to the inevitable. Sure he could portal both of them to New York or something, but even he wasn't stupid enough to risk really pissing off Lydia. You would think with his powers he wouldn't worry anymore but the indomitable Ms. Martin's dangerousness didn't come from her powers. Besides, a very quiet voice prompted, she was right. Stiles wasn't stupid or as clueless as they sometimes thought, he had probably figured out the issues with the others as fast as Lydia had but it didn't mean he had to like it.

Enough. Time to focus. Rolling his shoulders, the teen slipped easily into the web of energy of his territory. Each time he did it, it got easier, so by now he was able to connect without really trying. But this time, instead of just 'going with the flow', Stiles was going to look specifically for something. Stiles opened his senses and got blasted so hard he moaned.

"Stiles?" Lydia's voice was worried. "What happened?" she demanded.

"I forgot about you two" he replied sheepishly. "Kinda got blinded by you two standing so close."

"Dumbass" Jackson snorted and Stiles was really tempted to portal his ass to that large lake in the Preserve but he congratulated himself on his restraint.

"You need to filter us out" Lydia added unnecessarily. Stiles knew that! But it wasn't so easy, especially with the pack bonds between them. Wait…that gave him an idea. Reaching out with the pack bonds, Stiles visualized a thread connecting him to the banshee and former kanima and allowed himself to get a true feel for each of them. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but it was almost like tasting their essence, and god help him if he ever admitted that!

Once he had the two of them committed to memory Stiles found it easy to screen them out. So before going any further, he concentrated on the rest of the pack, quickly locating each of them and assigning them a 'thread' and place in his thoughts. The good news with all of this was that Stiles was pretty sure that he would be able to locate any of the pack with very little effort in the future.

But now that they were eliminated from his 'radar', Stiles opened up his senses to the ley lines and was surprised by the number of presences he detected, there were dozens! The closest was faint, barely anything at all but he reached out mentally and felt a surprised reaction. He was wrong. It wasn't something barely supernatural, it was just really small. After a moment he realized it must be a pixie before the creature took off in a burst of speed. Stiles followed along for several moments before he spotted the nest in the Preserve. There must be dozens or even hundreds of the small creatures, most no larger than a hummingbird and fairly harmless. Stiles noted the location and left them alone.

Coming back he detected two very strong presences, one significantly greater than the other. Shifting his awareness he first noticed the smell of ozone and the taste of electricity. It was buried deep, but it was moving closer to the surface. Stiles was reminded eerily of Lydia and how she came to terms with her heritage. Maybe someone doing the same? The other presence, which seemed a bit familiar to Stiles, was significantly more. He had the impression of age and strength and a sharp tang of a scent. Close to wolf but definitely not one. So probably not a shifter or something he has encountered before. He gets the sense of concern, anxiety, and…guilt? Both presences are definitely female and Stiles notes the location of them before moving on.

His mind seeks out and suddenly he feels a strong pull towards the west edge of town. Not even Stiles has spent much time there considering it is even worse shape than the industrial district. Lots of abandoned homes and buildings falling apart. Stiles feels three miserable presences below ground level, maybe in a basement? They feel sick to his senses and Stiles gets a quick wave of desperation that snaps him out of his trance.

"What?" Lydia says quickly but calmly.

"Problem. Somethings wrong" he tells them scrambling to his feet.

"Fine, but we aren't taking the jeep" Jackson complains looking at the teen.

Stiles smiles. "No problem. That way if something happens we will lose your car not mine."

Lydia winks at Stiles as they watch Jackson suddenly objecting to the plan and by the time they reach the parking lot they have agreed to take the jeep but Jackson insisted on driving much to Stiles' dismay. "You need to guide us. Besides, this leaves you free to do your thing if we need it" Lydia declares easily and Stiles grudgingly agrees.

It takes them about fifteen minutes to close in on the area and both Jackson and Lydia are not happy to be here. Stiles directs Jackson to a house in an abandoned neighborhood and they stop at a house that is barely standing. Seriously, even the Hale house looks good by comparison. You know it's bad when even criminals won't stay here.

"What a dump" Jackson says looking like he would rather be anywhere else. "What could be living here?"

"Let's find out" Stiles says with a smirk and heads toward the hole where a door once stood. Walking carefully, Lydia refuses to set foot in the place saying that he and Jackson should be fine without her. Stiles doesn't blame her as he isn't one hundred percent sure that the floor won't collapse so he is walking carefully, but now that he is here, he can sense the presences much clearer and can tell they are diminished and hurting. "Basement" he says quietly and carefully moves down the rotted stairs ignoring Jackson's complaints.

By the time they reach the concrete floor, it has gotten dark so Stiles conjures a ball of warm golden light that he sends around the room, showing the wretched condition of the basement. "Stilinski, there can't be anything here. This place is empty" he says sniffing carefully but not sensing anything.

Stiles however does. He can tell that the beings he sensed are here, but they are using the last reserves of their strength to hide. Taking a deep breath, Stiles centers himself and connects to the ley lines. Normally he does this without any outward sign, but this time he wants to make an impression.

"Holy Shit!" Jackson yelps staring at the no longer ordinary looking teen. Stiles now is glowing with a strong, warm light that shoots out and drives every shadow in the place away. Opening his eyes, the golden glow contained with them sends an atavistic chill down the beta's back as he feels the raw power pouring off of the teen.

Stiles moves his hands and mystical symbols, runes, and figures appear on the floor around him as if written in light before moving around the basement, sliding up the walls and ceiling, until the entire place is covered with them. "Show yourselves" Stiles voice makes Jackson almost whimper at the command vibrating in his voice and he probably would have, though he would have vehemently denied it, if it wasn't for the fact that the voice was not scary or intimidating, but rather the voice of rightful authority and sureness.

Jackson stiffened as he sniffed and finally smelled something that wasn't here before and he looked in the corner where three small shapes were huddled together. It took a moment before he could really see them and his eyes widened when he did. They looked like people but they could not have been more than two feet tall but it was hard to say for certain with how hunched over they were. They were wearing tattered rags and the sudden scent of sickness almost cost the beta his lunch.

Stiles however stepped forward, slowly as to not startle them, before his appearance faded to the normal Stiles. Crouching down to their level he stared for a moment before looking at the one in the middle who appeared male but Jackson wasn't sure. "You are brownies. How are you so sick?" Stiles gently asks them.

The middle one replied rapidly in a language that Jackson has never heard but Stiles appears to understand the as he nods along. "Please wait just a moment" he says and stands up and his eyes light up again. Stiles holds out his hands and beams of light shoot out and hit the walls and Jackson hears a sound like breaking glass and he spins around but can't see anything.

"You did it!" the brownie cries out in English and Jackson looks at the little guy. "You freed us!"

"What?" Jackson asks looking at Stiles.

"They were bound to this place by a warlock decades ago. But then he died, but his spell kept them prisoners here and they grew weaker and weaker. They couldn't escape. I broke his spell" Stiles explained.

"So they can leave?" Jackson asks.

Stiles frowned and spoke in that sing song language with the brownies, two of them talking while the third seemed utterly exhausted and barely standing. After several minutes the teen stood up with an angry expression. "They are sick. The ground here is poisonous to them and they can barely move. If they leave, they will probably be killed by something in their weakened condition."

"So what do we do? Take them to the loft?" Jackson asks uncertainly.

Stiles considers that for a moment but the loft area would be just as bad for the brownies. They need healthy land, a place to wait and heal until they are restored. "No. I have a better idea. Meet me at the Hale House" he says and Jackson looks confused until Stiles gestures and a ring of fire forms and Jackson can see the wrecked mansion on the other side. The teen speaks to the brownies and then steps through with the small figures quickly following after him.

"STILINSKI!" Jackson roars and leaps forward but the portal closes and he is left grasping empty air.

"Jackson!" he hears Lydia yelling. "What is going on down there?"

Derek snarled as he hung up the phone. Lydia had nearly deafened him yelling about Stiles doing that magic door thing with three creatures they found in an old house. She and Jackson were heading for the Hale House to try and catch up to the teen and Derek was fairly certain that Stiles would regret not talking to her first.

"What's wrong?" Boyd asks when Derek put his phone away.

"Stiles" is all Derek says but both Boyd and Peter look at the Alpha knowingly. Peter had returned from his travels barely an hour ago and had enthusiastically agreed to join them after being stuck in a car for hours. "It seems he teleported unknown beings with him to the house" he says as he changes direction away from their patrol and heads at top speed for the family home, his betas right on his heels.

It's a short run from to the house and Derek spends it mostly trying to figure out how to get his mate to stop doing this kind of shit. He hears Jackson's Porsche as they get close and then he hears Scott's bike and Allison's Toyota. Apparently Lydia called in the full pack. He bites off a smile at the thought that Lydia will probably make Stiles regret his rashness more than he ever could.

When the wolves break into the clearing the rest of the pack is only just getting out of their cars and Derek angles to stop right before Lydia. He scents a trace of Stiles, but he doesn't see the teen. "What happened?" he demands.

"Jackson said they found some small men and Stiles opened a portal and took them here and left us behind" her voice was trembling with barely concealed anger. Derek growled but then he heard Stiles' heartbeat and then his steps and looked up to see the teen walk out of the house.

He looks shocked to see everyone standing there as if ready for battle. "What the hell?" Stiles mutters. "Why is everyone here?"

"You run off with some random creature without a word and you are surprised?" Erica snarls and Stiles looks at her in confusion before turning to Jackson.

"Didn't you tell Lydia what we found?" he asks the beta.

"How the hell would I know?" Jackson snaps back. "You just did that light thing and then took off with them chasing after you!"

Stiles pinches his nose and takes a deep breath before opening his eyes and looking at Lydia first. "I told Jackson. They were brownies" he says carefully and Lydia pauses with a surprised look.

"The girls that sell cookies?" Scott asks with a confused look.

Honestly, the whole evening was worth it to Stiles, even all the complaints afterwards, just for the look on the banshee's face at Scott's question. Stiles swore he could actually see the vein in her head throbbing as she magnificently and gracefully managed not to humiliate the poor teen with her reply. "Brownies Scott, not girl scouts" Lydia enunciates very slowly. "They are benign house spirits" she adds looking at Jackson with a trace of exasperation.

"I didn't know that" he protests looking around at the pack. "I thought he just meant they were brown."

"I should have stayed dead" Peter mutters but Derek still hears him and sends a minor glare his way as Stiles walks over to join them.

"Can you please tell us what happened?" Derek says trying to be calm and patient.

Stiles sighs unhappily. "Apparently a couple of decades ago there was a warlock living in that house. He was mostly harmless, but he had some definitely not okay ideas about human superiority. Dolores Umbridge levels of mean you know? Usilis, he's kind of their chief, told me that this guy lured them to his house and once they were there the guy put a binding spell on the house that trapped them inside it. They couldn't escape and he drove off the rest of their clan who fled leaving behind the three he had captured. The warlock apparently used them as slaves until he died but his bindings were still there so they were trapped. Added to that, as he got older, the guy's morals got a whole lot darker so that by the time he died the house and everything was basically poisoned by his malice. The poor Brownies were basically abandoned in a prison and slowly getting sicker and sicker" he explains to the pack.

"How long ago did the guy die?" Isaac asks with a slight tremor and Derek can tell that the beta is definitely feeling akin to the treatment the Brownies received.

"About 20 years ago" Stiles said and everyone looks nauseous at the thought.

"So where are they?" Erica asks softly.

"They are in the basement…resting. I cast some healing magic on them but really just being here, in a place that is clean and pure, will do wonders. I offered to send them on their way whenever they wanted but I think they are really nervous that I am like him. I think that if they weren't so sick and desperate to get away from that house, they would never have trusted me enough to come" he adds with a heavy sigh just as Derek's arm pulls him to the Alpha's side and Stiles just leans in to the comfort.

"They can stay as long as they need" Derek promises the teen.

"Stiles…do they know who, or what, you are?" Lydia asks with a calculating look.

"I'm not sure…probably not" he answers with a frown. "Why?"

"Brownies are spirits of the home and hearth. They are happiest taking care of good people and places. I imagine that if they knew you were an Arcanist and friend of the Fae Queens, they may want to stay" she says cautiously.

"Do we want them to stay?" Boyd asks and Peter snorts loud enough that the others all look at him.

"Brownies take care of the homes of the families they choose. We never had any, but where they feel safe and welcome, they protect the home from small dangers like fire while also keeping the place clean and neat. A bowl of milk each night, some honey on occasion, and they are very happy. I agree with Ms. Martin. If they wish to stay, they would be more than helpful" Peter tells them looking at his nephew with a surprisingly open expression.

Derek nods slowly. "Let's give them some space to heal first. Stiles can introduce me and we can offer them a safe place to live or passage to their clan."

Stiles smiles happily at that thought. He hated how scared the poor things were of him but when they stepped into the Hale house through the portal, he could see an almost instant improvement in their health. He was glad he was able to help them.

Everyone sat down on the couches in the loft after they returned from the house. Stiles had introduced Derek to the Brownies but they decided the rest of the pack would wait to meet them for a bit to let them recover first. Derek recounted that they had been very nice to him and had recognized him as both an Alpha and a Hale.

"So, apparently we need to update the 'How to take care of Stiles' plan" Derek said with a put upon look that caused said teen to let out a wail of complaint "but we will handle that later. Peter arrived back just before everything blew up so I thought it might be smart if everyone heard from him how things went." Derek nodded at his uncle to take over.

"Well, I understand you have already met Alphas Satomi, Flores, and Marshall?" he asks the group who all nod. "Well those three were the easy ones. All of them had alliances with the Hales at one time or another so getting them to at least listen was fairly easy. All of them had also experienced what they described like being in another wolf's territory since our boy's rather dramatic night."

"So they knew something had happened?" Lydia asks the eldest wolf.

Peter paused as he considered her question. "Not really. They didn't have anything that they could point at, rather just a growing sense of unease that took them some time to even recognize. Satomi felt it first, which considering she is closest is hardly a surprise. The other two didn't even feel it for a few days and even then it was more like an 'itch' they said. Once I gave them a bit of information, they were cautious, but willing to go forward. The others…they are more complicated."

"Complicated how?" Scott asks.

"Alpha Flores' territory is outside Silicon Valley, they actually own a great deal of land in San Francisco and San Jose. Also, they are very invested in the tech industries and are apparently doing very well, made a lot of money. Alpha Marshall's territory is up in Redding and they are more traditional in their businesses. Both packs are relatively close to us and well within our Arcanist's reach. Alpha Delgado hadn't felt anything yet" he adds.

"Where is he?" Erica asks.

"Los Angeles. Apparently a lot of his pack are in the film industry. Some of the more well-known make-up artists are members of the Delgado Pack" Peter snorts in amusement. "But Alpha Roberts in Sacramento was feeling the effects though it hadn't been enough to cause her to worry yet."

"Alpha Perkins in Fresno and Alpha Reynolds in Monterey were also both beginning to feel it as well. Alpha Bouvier over in Reno had too but Alpha Ferris in Medford had not. I didn't go see the Williams Pack in Eugene, as even Talia had some issues with him, so I decided to return and check in" Peter finished.

Everyone was quiet for a bit before Lydia cleared her throat. "I wasn't aware there were so many packs in the area…" she trailed off looking uncertain but quickly refocused. "Okay, so we definitely have most of the northern part of the state as well as part of Nevada, but Reno is on the border so it may only go a little bit there. And so far the effect doesn't reach Los Angeles" she summarizes before she is interrupted.

"Yet" Peter says quickly and she looks at him in surprise. "I would not count it out yet. I can't exactly explain it but it felt like I was on my pack's territory everywhere I went. I think our Mr. Stilinski's reach is still expanding but it appears to take some time after that expansion for those in that area to feel it" Peter explains.

Lydia looks thoughtful. "If we go by what Lizzie told us that Merlin's area was all of England and Scotland, then that would be about the distance from LA to the Oregon border. However I think that we also need to consider that it may be connected to the land itself. That was an island and Stiles' territory may be less constrained." She looks at Stiles with a thoughtful expression. "Stiles, can you visualize your territory as if you were looking at a map?" she asks.

Stiles looks surprised by the question. "I don't know, I haven't tried. So far it has all been about lights and patterns, nothing that connects with the real world" he admits. He looks like he is thinking about something serious before looking back up "I don't think I will be able to until things are settled. I have the feeling that when I hit my real boundaries, there will be markers of some kind" he finishes.

"Why do you think that?" Peter asks curiously.

"Something Mab said" Stiles answers absently and the entire pack except for Derek startles.

"When did you speak with Mab?!" Lydia demands looking shocked.

Stiles looks caught out and glances over at the Alpha for help but Derek just smirks so Stiles winces and proceeds to tell everyone about the Winter Queen's last visit. Lydia and Peter both lay into him about hiding things and Derek is enjoying the show when Stiles points out that the Alpha knew about it and Derek is suddenly dragged in to the banshee and beta's complaints. The Alpha chooses to ignore the self-satisfied smirk on the teen's face when that happens.

"Why again are we on Stiles duty?" Erica asks the Huntress as they sit opposite the teen under discussion. Stiles had decided to try again with looking for others and Derek had traded Lydia and Jackson out.

"Apparently Derek thinks that we will be able to keep him 'safer' than the others" Allison says with a chuckle remembering exactly how Derek phrased it.

Eric stares at the brunette for a few seconds before glancing over at the teen. "He thinks Stiles won't risk pissing us off" she suggests.

Allison laughs. "That and he figures that anyone we find will be a bit more…respectful…with both of us there to back him up."

Erica smiles wickedly. "More scared you mean" she giggles.

Allison just nods as she looks at the boy sitting on the floor. Ever since she had gone with him to meet Lizzie and Arthur, Allison knew that he was going to be something that was not so easily categorized. Her father had showed her the report before he sent it to Clarissant, he also let both Derek and Stiles look it over and neither of them had objected to what he wanted to send. She herself had made a few edits, but it was suitably accurate without being too overt. The general tone had walked a fine line between 'everything's under control' and 'for god's sake don't make him angry'. Chris had confessed that he was concerned that some Hunters would take Stiles' existence as a challenge if not a personal affront.

"Is he allowed to go look for anyone he finds?" Erica asks and they both hear Stiles' snort.

"He is right here and can decide things for himself" Stiles says without opening his eyes. His voice had a mix of irritation and affection. Allison thought that may have had something to do with how his father had happily supported Derek's lecture after they found the Brownies. Apparently the Sheriff's argument about 'what's good for the goose' caught the teen off guard. Having his father compare Stiles' efforts to control his diet to Derek's safety rules was both a betrayal and a source of guilt. Allison didn't imagine that Stiles was going to change that much but she thought he would at least think about the Alpha's warnings and concerns.

"Okay I found the two females from before, a pair of something in town near the park, another two over in the industrial district, and one near Danny's house" Stiles says opening his eyes.

"I thought there might be more" Allison mumbled but Stiles heard her.

"There are" he says with a smile "but I figured we should just take them in small groups" he explained and the three headed out to his Jeep.

"Well that was fun" Erica says sarcastically as they re-enter the loft. She diverts to the kitchen to grab them some drinks.

"It was definitely interesting" Allison says carefully. "I was surprised to find out that Mrs. Jacobs was a real witch."

Stiles snorted. "I wasn't. Melissa had always said that she was a one of a kind." Knowing that the former nurse had been a witch was surprising but Melissa had always said that the older woman's patients always did seem to do better around her. She was apparently pretty well known both for her herbal teas and natural flower arrangements that turned out to be more magical than anyone had realized.

"Well we should have known that Celeste's Bakery was a front" Erica says with a snort "everyone said her stuff was magical." Stiles had conspired with Celeste to restrict his dad's access to the food there not long after the sisters had opened the place four years ago but he had no idea they were anything out of the ordinary. But when the three of them entered the shop, Celeste and her sister Arwen had immediately recognized the touch of the Queens on Stiles and had been shocked. When Stiles admitted he was an Arcanist Arwen actually fainted.

"I really felt bad about Arwen" Stiles muttered but both of the girls cut him off with laughs about how Celeste had teased her sister afterwards.

"They were very polite though" Allison says with a smile as she pulls out one of the mini cakes that the sisters had insisted they take when they left.

"Well since Stiles allowed them to stay…" Erica smiled taking a bite of her cake and moaned in delight.

"I wasn't going to kick them out" Stiles says looking concern "but those dwarves? I'm not sure about them." Two dwarven brothers had taken over a building in the industrial area in an abandoned factory and were turning it into a workshop. It seems that they are the advance scouts for a group of dwarves that were coming to look at mining some of the metals around the Nemeton because apparently the metals and ores soaked up the magic of the area and were critical to the creation of dwarven crafts.

"Well they were caught off guard by your appearance and when they realized that they would need your permission for the rest of the clan to come, let alone to do any mining, you can understand their reaction" Allison said diplomatically. The brothers hadn't exactly been rude, but they were obvious unhappy about the change in circumstances. Stiles ultimately declared that they would have to officially speak with Derek about staying.

"Unfortunately we didn't find the other two. I swear they were close to Allison's when we left but by the time we finished with 'Gimli' and 'Thorin', they were gone. I couldn't sense them anywhere" Stiles complained.

"Well it is right before school starts" Erica reminds him and both he and Allison looked at the blonde with confused expressions. "If it's a parent and their kid, maybe they are back to school shopping" she says very slowly.

Stiles blushes in embarrassment at the she-wolf's tone. He hadn't even thought about that. Speaking of, school was starting next week so the pack was going to have to get ready too!

Standing up and shaking off the water he looked around the beach with a sigh of resignation. The summer had been glorious but he was going to have to go back to Beacon Hills and all the craziness in a few days and he knew that he would miss his friends and family here in Hawaii. Setting down his surfboard, Danny dropped to the warm sands to stare out at the waves as he tried to soak it all up. The islands felt like another world from the Hills but he did miss some things. Jackson had been texting him, apparently he had buried his grudge with McCall and Stilinski, and that had been such a surprise that he had privately asked Lydia to confirm it.

That the redhead had done so was almost as big a shock as the news itself. Seems that she was bonding with not only Allison, but also Erica Reyes and Danny would have sworn those two would kill each other before ever becoming friends, especially after the blonde's rather startling transformation this year. "Finished already?" a warm voice said from behind him and Danny smiled as he looked up into a pair a cool blue eyes.

Danny enjoyed the view of the other man's chiseled body as he sat down beside him, chest muscles glistening in the sunlight. "Taking a break" Danny replies. "You know I could teach you how to surf. If you wanted to go out with me."

The other man snorted. "I had enough time on the water thanks" he answers and Danny smirks thinking back to the first time he saw the blonde.

Danny had been visiting his cousin who was working a fishing boat when he spotted two familiar faces coming off a Japanese fishing boat. He hadn't spoken to either of the twins when they arrived at Beacon Hills though he definitely appreciated the view. They had been fairly anti-social before suddenly disappearing before the year was even out. Ethan had given a vague 'family emergency' excuse for their departure and had avoided explaining how they had ended up on a fishing boat in the pacific but Danny had to admit he hadn't really cared. Aiden had been grumpy and standoffish but Ethan had quickly succumbed to the Hawaiian's charms and they had spent quite a bit of time together and Danny had thoroughly enjoyed that but Ethan had avoided the topic each time Danny had tried to raise it but he felt he had to try again. "So have you thought anymore about returning to Beacon Hills?" Danny asks trying to sound casual.

Ethan sighed and looked over at the other teen. "Look…it's not that I don't want to keep seeing you" the blonde says looking serious "but…it's really complicated. We came to Beacon Hills with our guardians and I am pretty sure that they have left by now."

Danny frowned at the other teen. "They just took off and left you both behind?" he asks, concern clear in his voice.

Ethan snorts. "Trust me it isn't any great loss. Aiden and I were in a bad place with our p…family and they helped us get out but they weren't very nice people."

Danny stares for a few moments before responding. "So what are you going to do?"

Ethan stares out over the water with a lost expression. "I don't know. For the first time it is up to us and we don't know what to do."

Danny can tell the teen feels lost and his heart goes out to him. Since he had found the twins on the pier, Danny had managed to see Ethan just about every day and the difference between the person before him and the one he saw at BHHS was so different that he could see something serious happening between them if given half a chance. Even Aiden seemed different than he was before, both of the twins had had the arrogance knocked out them, that easy swagger was gone and they both were easily startled and on edge.

"So if you don't know what to do next…can't you figure that out in Beacon Hills. I mean you are going to want to graduate no matter what you end up doing right?" Danny suggested.

Ethan nodded absently before he shook his head. "That would be a very bad idea. Of anywhere we could go, I think Beacon Hills would be the worst possible idea."

"Why? I mean I get it if you don't want to see your guardians again, but you said they were probably gone. Seems that Beacon Hills would be the best place to avoid them" Danny says.

Ethan remains quiet for quite some time before taking a deep breath and turning to face the teen. "My brother and I, well we got mixed up in some bad stuff." He sees Danny about to interrupt and stops him. "No I won't go into details and yes it was that bad. We did some stuff that we thought we had to do even though we didn't really like it. While we were there, the guy who was running things, he sent us to hurt someone."

Danny pulled back a bit and looked at the teen in shock. "But you didn't did you?"

Ethan sighed again and Danny reeled at the look of guilt on his face. "We tried. We had done stuff like that before, but this time…this time we screwed up royally."

"Screwed up how?" Danny asks, desperate to understand how the guy he has spent all this time with could be a completely different person.

"We went after the wrong guy. We threatened him and his friend but the guy…he kicked out asses" he admits and sees a look of doubt on Danny's face. "I'm serious. He threw me through a window…or maybe it was a door. I don't really remember as I was down in seconds. Aiden tried to fight but the guy gave him a serious beat down. The only reason we are still alive is because he didn't want to bother with us…we weren't worth the effort." Ethan shakes his head. "Deucalion, the leader of our…gang you could say, he thought the guy was weak and a liability to the guy he really wanted. After seeing the guy…I'm not sure Duke is even still alive. I've seen Duke kill people Danny and in a fight between him and the kid…he wouldn't stand a chance."

"The kid?" Danny asks not believing this.

"No, Duke. If he pissed off that kid…he's probably dead. Deucalion didn't mind innocent people getting caught in the crossfire and I would bet that if he tried threatening anyone who that kid likes…well, it would not be pretty" Ethan finishes.

Danny sits silently for several minutes as they both watch the waves and he considers everything Ethan had said. Finding out the teen was in a gang, apparently a really bad one, was a surprise, but he seemed to genuinely regret it. It appeared that he and Aiden had done what they did to survive but still… "Wait…so you don't want to go back because that guy may still be there?" he asks.

Ethan nods. "The guy terrified Aiden. And my brother doesn't scare easily but he will not risk making the guy angry again. He was sure that he would have killed us both and he isn't exactly sure why he didn't" he explains. "There's no way we could go back. I doubt we would last a day" he admits with a weak smile.

Danny can't believe it and just doesn't see how this could happen. Who in Beacon Hills could be that scary? Okay…maybe Derek Hale, or Miguel as Stiles called him, that guy could pull it off, but why would their paths even cross. "You said kid…does the guy go to our school?" he asks and sees Ethan's eyes flicker in fear and realizes he is on to something. "Who is it?" he demands.

Ethan stares at him for a while before he drops his shoulders in resignation. "Do you know the Sheriff's kid?"

Danny's eyes bug out in shock. "STILES?!?" he yells.