Chapter 23

Jackson dives over another damn root, causing the blonde in his arms to bite back an exclamation of pain as they finally manage to cross the tree line and get some cover as he moves them to join Isaac where the beta has dragged Lydia and Deaton. "Here!" Isaac calls out and he jumps up helping Erica over to sit with her back to a tree where the she-wolf is able to lean up against it with a slight whimper.

"Go! I will be fine, it will heal in a bit" she orders and Jackson looks torn staring at Lydia and can't control the whine that escapes his lips at the sight of the unconscious redhead. "I will watch her Jackson, I swear" she says, her voice sincere and her heartbeat strong and steady despite the wound. Jackson looks at her but then nods and turns to leave. "Go with him Isaac, I will watch them" she urges the other teen and he hesitates for only a second before running after Jackson as they return to the fight.

Jackson spots Kali swiping her claws at Scott, tearing across his chest, but luckily Derek's warning shout had given the beta just enough time that he was able to pull back and turn what would have been a killing blow into just a serious scratch. The Alpha landed after flipping around but Scott had somehow still managed his own flip and his foot caught her on the chin, catching her by surprise, and spinning her around where she almost got nailed by a root. Scott took the moment of freedom to back away from her as he tried to staunch the blood flowing from the wounds on his chest.

Kali however recovered faster and started for him again just as Jackson and Isaac roared and crashed into the Alpha, their own claws out and tearing into her flesh. Jackson remembers how angry he had been when Scott had suddenly gotten skilled at Lacrosse out of nowhere and how when he figured out that it was being a werewolf that had given him that strength and power, it had consumed him with a jealous rage. It wasn't fair and Jackson was blinded by the urgent need to have it for himself. He had been terrified of Peter when the man was the Alpha, and Derek honestly wasn't much better during those days, but he still managed to demand the bite and he thought he had forced Derek to give it to him. Looking back he seriously wondered why the Alpha had agreed to do it, he could have stopped him from talking any number of ways. Instead Jackson had been forced to experience being twisted into the Kanima and used by Matt and Gerard to kill people. He had wanted the strength and freedom that came with being a werewolf so that he could finally prove himself and instead he became a mindless slave and it seriously messed with his head. Even once he was free and actually was a werewolf like he wanted, stronger and faster than he had ever been before, it hadn't erased his fear of not being good enough.

Fighting this Alpha was a cruel reminder that no matter how strong he got, there was always going to be someone stronger and right now, she was much stronger than he was. It didn't take more than a few seconds of fighting to realize this, the crazy woman was fighting three werewolves and she was pretty much kicking their asses. Not to mention that they all still had to duck and dodge the 'murder garden' but Jackson Wittemore was done with this and he was ready for it to be over. He couldn't beat her by himself? Fine. But the pack, his pack could. He ducked a swipe of the woman's feet just as Isaac landed a blow that spun the Alpha around when Jackson felt a surge of strength he hadn't felt before. It was like drinking a double espresso or an energy drink, he somehow felt more complete.

"Jackson!" Scott yells as he jumps back from a root that exploded in front of him and Scott saw a flash of red and Kali was diving for his throat, claws out. He wasn't sure how, but Jackson somehow managed to leap into the air and kick out, his feet connecting with Kali's face and sending her careening off to the side as he fell, rolled and sprung up beside a gaping McCall.

"Dude! That was incredible" the teen said looking at him in shock. Jackson wasn't sure where it came from but he definitely wasn't going to complain. Instead he just grinned wickedly and smirked at his co-captain before turning back to the Alpha.

Kali looks at the betas and snarls. Two of them are standing side by side when she spots the third beta a ways apart and just then a grasping root causes him to jump away from it and that move brings him closer to her and she narrows her eyes and smiles. With a bounce she closes in on him and she hears the others shout "Isaac!" too late but it still causes the pretty boy to look up just as Kali's claws rip through the tender flesh of his stomach. Her claws tearing through the skin like warm butter followed by a burst of hot blood and the teen's scream of agony.

Kali spins around, claws out and ready to rip his throat out when she is slammed into by a roaring ball of claws that rip into her sides as she goes crashing and slams into a tree.

While Scott went savage at the sight of Isaac being cut down by the crazed Alpha and launched himself at her, Jackson felt as if he was doused in ice water and everything he was feeling just shut off. Racing right behind Scott, Jackson ignored the snarling Alpha and scooped up the bleeding beta in a bridal carry, regretting the roughness of the move but knowing speed was more important than kindness right now. He yelled and Scott broke away from Kali and followed him, moving like they did on the Lacrosse field, dodging and weaving around the grasping roots as they got their packmate to safety. Jackson was moving fast, faster than he ever had before, and he leapt out of the clearing and turned and ran for Erica, hoping the vet was finally awake, McCall right behind him.

Breaking through the brush he crashed into the part of the field where they were and he found himself face to face with a snarling and golden eyed she-wolf who was standing in front of the unconscious Lydia and the slow moving Deaton, ready to rip apart whoever was coming at them. Recognizing Jackson, she began to stand down when she froze as she saw and smelt the blood coming from the curly-haired beta cradled in the other wolf's arms. "Isaac!" she screamed and moved to help.

They got Isaac down on the ground and the boy was trembling with pain and agony as Deaton finally got enough awareness to notice what was happening and then he was shoving them aside as he reached into his bag and began pulling out supplies. "Erica, I need your help! Hold him down. You two, help with the pain" he demands and the two betas both reach out and grab hold of Isaac, black veins running up their arms as they pull his pain while Erica pins the teen down. Jackson flinches when Deaton pulls out a large needle and starts sewing up the tears on his skin that are not healing fast enough due to having been inflicted by an Alpha.

Scott winces at the distant but still close sounds of the fight and knows that they can't stay here long, but they need to make sure that Isaac lives!

Kali, no longer occupied by the three retreating betas, spots Hale fighting with Deucalion and smiles viciously. Racing for the fighting pair she leaps for the back of the Hale Alpha but he must have heard her coming as he suddenly drops down and as she is flying over his head he kicks up, slamming into her gut as she goes over and she crashes to the ground.

Unfortunately for Derek, the female Alpha doesn't stay down long, but is up and attacking him in no time and now he is facing two insane Alphas. Deucalion has shifted into a monstrous form that screams 'abomination' as much or even more than the kanima ever did for Derek. He is as twisted a werewolf as Blake is a twisted druid, both of them corrupted by their thirst for power, revenge, and hate. He slashes at the man but he knows he isn't winning.

For every blow he lands, it seems that they each land one of their own and Deucalion's blows are stronger than Derek's. He has killed not only his pack, but so many others, taking their power. The man has become beyond corrupted in a way that screams 'wrong' to his senses but that very corruption has also made him unbelievably strong. Derek leaps and slams his fist into the man's head sending Deucalion sprawling onto the ground just as he feels claws tear at his back and he screams as Kali rips his back from waist to shoulder blade and he spins around and slams against a tree, his back screaming in agony from the impact.

He looks up and sees the insane woman, her fangs shining inside her twisted mouth as she growls at him. Derek slides down the tree as his legs give out and he sees the smile of triumph on the woman's face. He is staring at the woman and has the shocked joy to see her face when the first bullet tears through her right shoulder, knocking her forward, and a second later a second bullet slams into her back.

Roaring in fury, Kali spins around and Derek can now see the flashing blue eyes of his uncle running towards them flanked by Sheriff Stilinski, firing his gun at the woman, while Chris Argent, knives out, is racing towards the Darach.

"No!" Derek hears Blake shriek in rage but he doesn't have time to deal with that. Peter is no match for Kali or Deucalion and the sheriff is using regular bullets which means that she will shake those off in moments. Pushing up he grimaces and leaps for the woman as Peter arrives.

Boyd moves through the trees keeping a close eye on Melissa McCall as she runs behind him. He and Peter had managed to get to the edge of the clearing before everything went south and watches as Stiles' crystal, constantly pointing right at that tree stump no matter where they moved, the thing kept shifting to keep pointing at it which delighted the older Hale. Peter drew them to the far side where they had a clear line to the stump and they raced over. Boyd had been shocked as Peter led them to a hole in the ground with a door down there and when they dropped through it, they found themselves in a room under the tree and there they found the Sheriff, Melissa, and Chris Argent and the body of a deputy.

Peter and Boyd quickly freed the parents and they all moved out of the room pausing only for the Sheriff to grab his gun belt which had been taken from him by Blake and Murray when they brought him here. Chris's weapons were back in his car, except his knives so he was able to grab them, but that was it. The Sheriff had asked Boyd to carry the body of Officer Murray out of the cellar. Blake had slit his throat in front of them after he dragged Chris down and the Sheriff was still dealing with having to watch as the kid went down without making a sound. Chris had raged at the woman who only laughed at them before leaving promising that their deaths were for 'a higher purpose'.

Peter quickly updated them on what was happening and Boyd had taken off with the deputy's body, Melissa in tow, heading for where Deaton had been. Boyd inhaled at the shift of wind which brought two scents to his nose; blood and fear. Growling he sped up, a meep escaping from Melissa as he did, as the beta raced into the space where Deaton and Erica were holding on to Isaac who was bleeding, Jackson and Scott holding on to the teen. "Mom!" Scott yells looking up in relief and shock.

Melissa however doesn't pause to greet her son because as soon as she spots the bleeding teen, she shifts into her 'nurse mode', one Scott recognizes immediately, and he pulls Jackson back and out of the way as she moves quickly to take her place at Isaac's side as she barks at Deaton "What do you need!" she demands and the vet quickly starts her what he needs her to do.

Scott and Jackson both stand back and wobble a bit from the effects of the pain drain as Boyd lays the body of the deputy out of the way before looking at the triage team. "We need to help Derek" he tells the other two who both look down at Deaton and Melissa.

"Go, we're good" Melissa orders and the three wolves take off to rejoin the fight as Erica begins pulling Isaac's pain.

"No! You will not escape me! You are mine!" the Darach screams and she lets out a blast of shadows that slam into Chris and Noah and send them flying like they had been hit by a car. The two older men hit the ground hard, but both of them are still moving. "I will have my power, I will command the Nemeton and all of its power and you will die for a glorious purpose!" she shrieks just as a bullet flies past her head, the heat of its passage causing the woman to scream and duck.

Noah is staring at the woman from the ground, his gun still smoking. "Dammit" he moans "missed!" he complains but before he can respond, strong arms are grabbing him and hauling him up. He looks around and spots Scott pulling up Chris as Boyd helps him up and they move away from the Darach's part of the field. Jackson breaks off and lunges for the Darach but she flings her hand and a root flies across the field and catching Jackson in the side sending him slamming into the trees with a painful sounding crash.

"We're getting killed here" Noah says looking at Chris as Boyd and Scott race for the Darach and the other man only nods and looks grim. Noah looks around the field looking but he doesn't see him. Where is Stiles?

"We need to help Derek" Chris points and the two men start moving.

Derek would definitely appreciate any assistance. He and Peter have moved to cover each other's back but they were facing two Alphas and Peter was still not 100% after whatever he did to come back from the dead. But what he lacked in physical strength, Peter Hale made up in being plain mean and sneaky as hell. Kali was striking at him but he managed to dodge just enough to still get in his own blows before dancing out of range. Unfortunately this left Derek to deal with the insane Demon Wolf who was both brutally strong and insanely smart. He got in several hits but the Alpha just shrugged them off.

He was dazed from a blow to the head when he heard a gunshot followed by the whistle of a knife, both of them slamming into Deucalion as the Sheriff and Argent both decided to help him out. They stayed out of the Alpha's range, Chris making sure of that, but they gave Derek enough of a breather that he managed a solid hit on the Alpha causing him to stagger just in time for Scott's claws to rip along Deucalion's back as the beta flew past. Jackson and Boyd right behind him, both of them striking slashing blows at the Alpha without slowing down as they raced past.

Derek smiled at them. None of the betas could fight the Alpha of Alphas one on one or even three on one, but they could strike when he was distracted and he couldn't chase after them with Derek ready to take advantage of any distraction. They were annoying stings and bites, like three Chihuahua attacking a mastiff but they were enough to make things a bit more even for Derek and he was going to take anything that he could get.

Derek saw that Noah and Chris had quickly shifted to helping Peter with the arrival of the betas helping him so he trusted them to be okay and focused his attention on Deucalion. Unfortunately that left the Darach free and she sent a blast of magical energy that caught Derek in the side, burning and tearing his skin and sending the Alpha to the ground in a sprawl just as Peter was knocked down hard by Kali.

Kali spots Derek Hale go down close to her and she shifts her target and moves towards him as she is intercepted by the brunette beta. "Don't touch him" Scott roars and attacks the Alpha in a blur of claws, punches, and jabs. Kali is pushed back and cannot believe the strength and speed of this omega when she sees his golden eyes flash red. Her eyes' widen in shock and recognition and realizes that this was why Deucalion had ordered them to leave this boy alone, he was a potential True Alpha!!

She snarled angrily, furious at being kept in the dark about the boy but…he wasn't an Alpha yet. She watched and after he swung a bit too wide she saw her opening and plunged her claws into the boy's guts, her hand sliding inside him as his eyes widened in shock. He dropped to his knees as he slid off her claws and he looked up, eyes wide and disbelieving as Kali Steele roared in triumph and aimed her claws to tear out the boy's throat.

Scott watched her arm pull back, her red eyes blazing, and he saw his death looking at the woman. The only thing that helped was knowing that his mom was safe. Kali had just started to swing her arm down when he heard a loud 'twump' sound and he found himself staring in confusion at the vibrating arrow now sticking out of the woman's chest. From the look of shock on her face, Kali was just as surprised. A second arrow embedded in her chest next to the first and knocked her back a step as did a third arrow. Kali stared at the three arrows for a moment, blood pouring from the wounds, before she roared and looked up for a target, her red eyes blazing with hatred.

Peter Hale watched in satisfied fascination as he saw the exact moment that the female Alpha make her fatal mistake. Looking up, her eyes red and blazing like a bullseye gave the archer a precise target. Allison's fourth arrow went straight through Kali's right eye and out the back of her head, the arrow still twitching from the impact. Peter saw her blood shift from red to black even with the low light and he roared in joy as he realized that Argents weapons were, of course, thick with wolfsbane and the insane female alpha was dead before her body hit the ground.

Derek is stunned by the roar of shock and fury coming from Deucalion when he hears Peter's roar of triumph and he glances over and sees the arrow ridden body of the Alpha go down. Seizing his advantage of the man's distraction, Derek lunges forward and slams into the last member of the Alpha Pack and he goes to his knees but he doesn't go down, not yet. Deucalion roars defiantly at Derek and rises up, hands locked with each other in a fight for dominance, but he is forcing Derek back, his strength so much greater than Derek's. He glares at the Demon Wolf and grunts and groans loudly so the man won't hear Jackson and Boyd who are racing towards the struggling pair.

Jackson and Boyd leap, claws out, and rip deeply into the back of each of Deucalion's legs, ripping out the muscles in his legs and driving the Alpha to his knees in shock. He looks up and roars but Derek Hale has freed himself and is right there, looking so much like his damn mother that Deucalion's red vision blurs in rage. He doesn't see them but he feels Hale's claws as they tear through his throat and his blood starts pouring out of the wounds. Derek watches as the former pack leader strives to physically hold his torn flesh together. He starts to wobble and his eyes lose focus just as the Hale Alpha drives his claws into the man's chest and with a watery gurgle Deucalion, Alpha of Alphas, Demon Wolf, the wolf of wolfs feels the razor sharp claws that tear into his heart for only a moment before he drops to the ground.

Boyd, Jackson, and Derek roar in triumph and Derek turns around and sees his pack, struggling, but still standing as the last of the Alphas dies at his feet. Peter had helped Scott stand up, who is somehow healing faster than Derek would have guessed possible, as they both turn and charge the Darach.

Julia Baccari watched in stunned amazement at one arrow after another slammed into her former lover, the final one piercing her eye and sending the Alpha to the ground dead and she screamed in fury. Kali was hers to kill! Hers to punish for her betrayal. She looked around them, searching with eyes and magic, but she could not spot the archer despite her powers. She felt something blocking her sight and magic and she screamed in frustration. How did that damn druid summon so much magic without her knowledge?

She heard another roar, this one of pain, and she turned and saw Derek Hale fighting Deucalion. That stupid boy whose connection with the land she had used in order to link her magic to the lines of power flowing through this place was still fighting. She had used his family's ancient connection to the land to allow her to further corrupt the Nemeton and increase what she gained from every sacrifice. Of course she had had to use some of her precious magic to twist his memories so that he didn't remember her using him, all while arranging for his pack to see them as dating, as if she would ever touch another filthy animal! All the time and effort she put into controlling those dogs and hiding her from detection and it had all come to naught as they were somehow free and fighting her.

Nevertheless she was stunned when she saw the boy tear out Deucalion's throat before plunging his hand into the man's chest finally killing him and something inside her broke into a white-hot blinding rage. She had been denied her vengeance yet again! Both of the Alphas who destroyed her life had escaped her and these wolves would pay dearly for that!

She hears a roar, much closer this time, and looks up to see Peter Hale and Scott McCall rushing towards her, both of them snarling with their claws out but she only laughs as they bounce off her shield. Baccari flings her magic out at the elder Hale, slamming him into the ground as she conjurs a ball of fire and tosses it at the suddenly panic stricken wolf. Her fireball slams into the man and explodes, the fire igniting his clothes as the man screamed.

Peter screamed in terror and pain at the familiar burning that overwhelmed every sense he had. Rolling around he tries to put himself out but the pain is so intense. He never sees it coming but something slams into him, hard, and he finds himself being enveloped in something heavy and in moments the fire is out, leaving his skin raw with painful across his chest, neck, and arms. Looking up he sees the faces of the Sheriff and Chris Argent, who had just tackled him and put out the fire with their jackets right before he passes out.

Scott flinches at the sound and smell of Peter igniting in flames but he hears Chris Argent yelling they have him so he jumps for the Darach and slams into the barrier but he doesn't bounce back, he actually gets a grip on it. He is still bleeding from Kali's claws, but he has healed enough to continue the fight though he didn't know how much more he could take. But he couldn't stop, not when she was still here. Blake had done too much, killed too many people, and she had to be stopped. He felt his claws pushing into the barrier, like he was digging in and feeling that ever so slight give in the barrier as he pushed harder and harder against it and felt his eyes flashing and brightening with the effort.

Julia had seen the simple teen attack her field but she wasn't concerned. The hunter and the Sheriff had saved Peter Hale for the moment, but she had plenty more fireballs. She would spare the two humans a quick death, but only so that they could live long enough for her to sacrifice them and gain power from their deaths. A flash of blue startles the Darach as she turns and sees the boy still pushing against the mountain ash barrier and her eyes widen at the sight of his claws moving and pushing into the glowing wall! He is digging into the barrier, he is not being thrown back by it, and she watches in absolute shock as the teen's eyes flicker from gold to red before stabilizing a bright crimson and then the barrier shatters and she is knocked back from the force.

"How? You are a beta, you cannot be an Alpha!" she stares at the teen, his eyes blazing red as he looks at her with pity, but little mercy.

"He is a True Alpha" Marin Morrel says with a proud ring in her voice as she steps out from behind a tree. "He has risen to his power solely on his own merit and a True Alpha is gifted in so many ways" she says happily.

"Alpha, True or not, it won't be enough to save him" the Darach roars and she lets out an explosion of energy that blasts out from her and throws everyone away from her like leaves in the wind.

Scott spins to feet and leaps and catches Ms. Morrell just before she slams into a tree. Peter, Chris and Noah all crash to the ground behind them. Scott looks over and sees Derek, Jackson, and Boyd all being tossed into ground where the blast had caught them by surprise and tossed them away from the Darach and surprisingly sending them not too far from Derek. "Derek" Scott calls out to the Alpha.

Derek rolls over and tries to stand up but he hurts everywhere. Fighting Deucalion and Kali had taken almost everything he had and he was struggling to keep going. He smelled the blood and wounds on the rest of his pack members and he knew that they were just as bad shape. He looks over at Scott and tries to figure out why seeing the teen with red eyes registers as both wrong and right in his head, but he can't clear his head. He looks over at where the Darach, and sees her ranting and raging as she crackles with energy, her eyes a solid black as she screams into the air.

"You will all die and I will have my power" she yells at them as she raises her arms to the sky. There is an explosion of thunder and suddenly the wind is roaring through the clearing, bending the trees almost in half, the cracking of tree limbs above them audible even over the mad wind.

"What the hell?" Jackson yells looking on the edge of freaking out. To be fair, the rest of them don't look much better. The woman is insane and the power she is throwing around is like nothing they have ever seen. "How are we supposed to fight this?" he demands shrilly.

Derek doesn't know what to say or do. If any of them rush her, he knows for certain that she will kill them effortlessly, but they can't let her succeed in her plans. He opens his mouth to tell them to attack despite the cost when he feels a familiar prickling across his skin as he feels the hair all over his body start to rise as the air pressure in the clearing plummets and he remembers when he felt this sensation before. He was out with the pack when he was much younger when he experienced this right before….Derek's eyes widen in fear and he screams "GET DOWN!" at the top of his lungs, pushing all his energy into his full Alpha voice which adds magical authority to his words and drives his pack members to flatten themselves on the ground immediately. Boyd flings himself over the Sheriff as Derek covers Peter and Chris Argent as a blinding flash of light burns into their retinas, whiting out everything.

He knows there must be a space of time between the flash and the explosion but it doesn't feel like it. Derek feels the wave of scorching hot air blast over them just as the sound does and then the full force of the explosion hits them and Derek tightens his grip on the two men beneath him as he feels shrapnel tear dozens of cuts into his skin. The blast is strong enough that the very earth moves and they are moved backwards several feet before the worst of it is over.

Lifting his head, Derek blinks to clear his vision from the blinding lightning bolt that struck the clearing with way more force than the one that hit a tree near the pack during that night so many years ago. Derek had been fascinated by the lightning strike, even with the teasing from Laura, but this one was like nothing he had ever heard of or experienced before. Finally able to see he looked out at the clearing and his eyes locked on the burning crater that was now sitting where the stump of the Nemeton once was, because it was completely gone now, the few remaining bits and pieces of it burning like ash on the wind.

"Fuck!" Jackson groans as the beta looks up and sees the devastation. Several trees, closer to the stump, are now leaning precariously away from the crater, obviously pushed over by force of the blast.

"What was heck was that?" Scott groans as he staggers up to his feet. Derek stands and sees that Morrell is still out cold near Scott and Peter is still unconscious from the Darach's fire. Chris and the Sheriff appear to have been knocked out by the blast, but both have steady heartbeats and he doesn't smell too much blood so they are probably okay. Boyd stands up next to Jackson and the four wolves look over and see the Darach stagger to her feet, her jagged skin torn and bleeding and smoke rising from burns visible even from here.

"Oh my god! What does it take to kill this bitch?!" Jackson whines and Derek finds he agrees but she looks off so this might be their only chance. He is about to order his weary pack to attack when a piercing shriek shatters the air.

"What have you done?!" Julia Baccari screeches out as she stares at the wreckage of the Nemeton, still smoking and burning in the crater in the clearing. She is looking both furious and bereft as she looks around her. "How have you done this? You destroyed it!" she rails and Derek sees the woman has become completely unhinged.

"The Nemeton is gone" Deaton's voice surprises the wolves who look over and see the vet staggering out the trees with Lydia beside him. "It has been destroyed and its power has gone to its new home. Your corruption has been burned away and it flows true once more" the vet's voice is filled wonder but is underlined with an unearthly tremor.

"You can't have done this" the Darach shrieks "you do not have the power!" and sickly blue fires ignite in her hands as she raises them towards the vet.

Derek sees Lydia step in front of the vet and he watches her inhale deeply but that in no way prepares him for the wall of sound that rolls out from the redhead and drives him to his knees, his hands clasped to his ears desperately trying to block out the shrieking as he sees his betas all writhing on the ground beside him. The sound wall hits the Darach and Derek is barely able to focus enough to see the woman as she goes flying backwards to slam into the ground as Lydia wilts, the sound stopping suddenly. Deaton grabs the girl who looks wrung out as Derek sees the Darach stagger to her feet, yet again, bloody and dirty from the ground. Damn it! How is she still going!?

"You cannot stop me! Your Banshee used all her strength and it wasn't enough. The dogs are down and your magic is nothing compared to mine" she screams at Deaton.

"It isn't his magic you should worry about" a voice says, cold and vibrating with power yet sounding oh so familiar and Derek looks over in surprise and sees Stiles step out of the trees "its mine" he says, his voice sending chills down the Alpha's spine.

Derek and Scott both whisper "Stiles" and the look of shock on their faces make them look more like each other than they would ever be comfortable with admitting. Stiles is finally there, but he looks so wrong that Derek is not completely sure that the teen he is looking at is in fact the one he knows. His Stiles is wild, anxious, and energetic. Always moving and talking, his eyes taking in everything with their warm, whiskey color that never seems to miss anything. This…being…isn't him.

The youth walking into the field is cracking with energy, a kaleidoscope of colors dancing around him like some kind of aurora borealis of color and energy shimmering around his body as he steps into the clearing. His eyes, not that fiery green he once saw, are now a rainbow of colors and his tattoos are glowing a brilliant blue white on his arms, legs, and chest. The tattered remains of his pants are all that's left of his clothing and his face has an expression of nearly inhuman calm and detachment.

"You want the power of the Nemeton?" Stiles says in a strangely detached voice of vibrations and reverberations but no real emotion. "Then take it" he says and holds out his hands and a cascade of multicolored energy shoots forward from his hands to the Darach, to be sucked into the dark shadow that seems to surround her.

"YES!" she screams in exultation as the power touches her. Julia Baccari feels power like she has never felt before in her life pouring into to her from a boy, the boy that she had written off as the pitiful mascot of the wolf pack, the one not worthy of the bite. But he was now channeling the full power of the Nemeton into her and she drank it in. She felt herself being charged like never before, those hurts and bruises from the blast were a thing of the past as every cell in her body was filled with the magic he was giving her and she felt herself yelling in triumph at her success. This was so much more than she ever expected.

Scott stared at his friend, the powerful light flowing from him into the Darach and he watched as she healed. First all the cuts from the battle, the burns from the blast, and every mark they had made, but then he saw the older cuts, the one inflicted by Kali so long ago, were closing up as well as the woman seemed to fill with power and life energy. "Stiles! What are you doing? Stop it! Stop helping her!" he yells as he sees the woman look ecstatic at her new power. He makes to lunge towards his friend.

Derek grabs the new Alpha's arm to stop him. This seems wrong but not like Scott is thinking and he whispers "Trust him" as Derek sees the Darach's smile slip as she looks suddenly concerned.

"Stop. That's enough" she says but Stiles doesn't stop, the power flowing even faster than before. "Stop it!" she screeches in fear and Derek watches as he sees smoke rising from all over her body. A flicker and her skeleton flashes under her skin, lighting her up from the inside.

"You wanted power Julia Baccari. You broke the oaths you swore. You killed innocents to corrupt this place. You murdered my friends. You sought power? Well here it is, take it" Stiles says mercilessly and the power flow increases again.

Julia Baccari's screams rise to nearly inaudible levels as the woman's skin starts cracking, lines of glowing light seeping from them spreading across her face and body. Her screams get even louder as her body is overwhelmed with more power than she can survive and Derek suddenly smells it, smoke and electricity and fire, along with the smell of burning flesh that he has never forgotten. He stares in shock as he sees the woman's fingers turn to ash as Stiles pours magic into her, watching as it consumes her atom by atom. He watches with wide eyes as the former druid, the murderer of so many in her mad quest, is incinerated by the very power she sought so desperately to possess.

There is a flash and an explosion, much smaller than before, but when they look up all they see is Stiles standing there, his glowing undiminished in any way, and a circle of blackened earth, scoured clear of any grass or wood with only ash remaining, where Julia Baccari once stood. Derek looks at Stiles but he doesn't see the guy he knows. The guy who held him up in the pool for so long or the guy who nearly passed out at the thought of cutting off his arm or when Scott got his tattoo. No. This person looked like Stiles, but everything that made him…Stiles. That made him so…human...was gone. The being standing there looked human, but it lacked any humanity.

"Stiles!" Scott calls out a mix between happy and hopeful but Derek watches as his words seem foreign to the glowing mage. He gives no sign of understanding his best friend but he holds his hand up in front of him and Derek watches as the magic dances around his hands as Stiles stares at the energy, curious but without any joy or humor.

Scott starts to move forward but Derek grabs him and holds him back. "That's not Stiles" he growls but the new Alpha is strong and he pulls free and moves closer but the power the teen is giving off is too much and Scott can't get too close. He yells and yells but Stiles isn't paying attention. He gestures and Derek is stunned to see lines of white/green energy appear from across the clearing and seem to link into the boy making him appear to be standing in the center of a web of light. He makes another gesture and the earth shakes hard enough to cause even the wolves to struggle to keep their balance.

"What?" Derek hears a groan and glances over to see the Sheriff looking at his son and the man's face goes white with fear. He struggles up and moves closer to his son as he calls out. "Stiles! Stiles, stop this. Son listen to me!" he yells above the noise of the energy.

Derek watches as Stiles turns to look at his father, the man that Stiles tried so hard to protect and care for, his last remaining family, and Derek sees nothing there. No recognition. No understanding. No love. Just curiosity. Like he was surprised to be staring at something beneath his notice that had somehow managed to catch his eye. "Who are you?" Stiles strangely affected voice asks, genuinely curious, as he looks at his father. It's only a minute before his attention shifts and he ignores the two men again who are desperately trying to reach him.

"Deaton! What's happening?" Derek calls out to the vet who is staring at the teen in shock and confusion.

"I…I don't know. He has so much magic, I've never heard of this before" he admits looking lost and is about to say something else when there is a tremendous clap of thunder that shakes the field. Derek turns back to look at Stiles and is surprised to see a look of uncertainty on his face, that noise just caught him off guard.

Stiles opens his mouth, Derek doesn't know what he would have said, but all of a sudden a column of golden light comes shooting out from the trees like a battering ram and slams into the teen, knocking him to his feet. Derek yells and starts to move before he freezes as he watches the light spin around him and he stares as it thickens and solidifies like glowing honey. He stares as it grows and envelopes the sparking teen. Stiles' struggles and his eyes flash but nothing he does seems able to stop that golden ooze that is covering him and in seconds it has completely absorbed Stiles before it darkens and turns solid, leaving the teenage trapped like a fly in amber.

"Stiles!" Noah Stilinski's voice is thick with fear and worry as he moves to slam his fists against the golden column trapping his son but Derek sees something in the trees where the light came from. Turning towards it, he extends his claws and feels his eyes flash crimson as he sees a dark shape manifest and suddenly a woman is stepping out of the woods.

Derek is very forcefully reminded of his mother. Deucalion's presence screamed 'Alpha werewolf', even as twisted and corrupted as he was, there was no doubting his power. This woman? She made Deucalion presence seem like a whisper while she screamed power, Alpha, and strength but unlike the Demon wolf, she didn't feel wrong, she felt very right and it was all Derek could do not to drop to one knee in submission. The woman's eyes were glowing golden, her black dress shining like velvet that was accented by the chains and golden jewelry adorning her. Flowing behind her was her cloak of black feathers that shimmered as she walked and Derek caught accents of the deepest blues and greens among the black. "Who is that" Jackson croaked and Derek glanced to see the normally arrogant teen looking overwhelmed.

"We have very little time" the woman snapped at them. "If we are going to save him, we will have only one chance."

Derek was angry at everything. Tired of everything. And this was just the final straw. He was about to snap at her, no matter how powerful she seemed when Deaton looked at the woman in shock. The normally unflappable vet dropped to his knees and bowed his head at the woman and he looked up at her in stunned awe. "Morgaine" he said, voice thick. Derek looked at her and gulped down his anger and a bit of fear, he knew that name!

Derek started to speak but then he heard Allison's voice cry out happily "Lizzie!"