Chapter 24

This is a surprise" she says looking at the man walking into her office. "Last I heard you were dead."

Phil manages to look a bit embarrassed, but he shrugs. "Protocol unfortunately. My status was fairly top secret and then everything happened with Hyrda and I've been busy" he tells her as she offers him a seat on the sofa.

"Well, I am glad you are okay, but still mad you lied about it. When Tony told me he saw you, he was still rather worked up about it" she says with a smirk. "So, what is this about? You looking for a job too?"

"No, I'm good actually. Been keeping busy."

"Rebuilding Shield?" she asks and at his surprised look "of which I know nothing of course."

Phil sighs. "Does that man know nothing about keeping quiet?" he asks her.

"Well, as CEO of Stark he did need to let me know about some things. Besides, Maria Hill has been sending you all sorts of toys as well."

Phil chuckles. "Ah. That is a better rationale." He frowns a bit "Actually it's your role as CEO of Stark that I have come to talk with you Chairwoman Potts."

Pepper smiles at the obvious flattery. She has been with Tony for years and despite Phil's years with Shield, she has a bullshit detector that is second to none. "Oh really? And how can the CEO of Stark Industries help an out of work former spy?"

Phil acknowledges the dig. "Romanoff recently made a trip to California and used you as a cover story."

"Beacon Hills" Pepper replies easily. "Not entirely a cover story."

"Really?" Phil looks more than interested.

"Tony gave me some information on what's going on there and I have had some of our people looking into things. It is very interesting especially as no one seems to be paying attention to the things that are happening there" she says.

"Like?"

Pepper leans back and takes a sip of her tea. "Well to start with, the air quality in Northern California has seen an 11% decrease in particulates over the last month. We have also observed increase plant coverage in the rural areas. Several wineries in Napa have also reported rather exciting news about grapes."

"Grapes?" Phil looks surprised.

"Yes. It seems that this was supposed to be a rather lackluster year. But for some reasons the grapes are all growing phenomenally well. Which is true across the region for all crops actually but no one else seems to have noticed yet. Of course, that improvement may be the sudden regular rainfalls that have been going through California in the last few weeks, again despite predictions of a dry season. In fact, our hydrologists say that if it continues like this for another month or two, we will see California's aquifers restored to levels not seen in decades. Then there has been signs of new businesses and economic development centered around Beacon Hills and a sharp reduction in people moving out of the area. There is a normal ebb and flow anywhere but there has been a noticeable shift in the last month or so that won't show up for the government probably for at least a year or but we pay closer attention, especially when the area is 'interesting'."

"You said not entirely a cover story?" Phil says after a moment's thought.

Pepper nods. "Tony came up with the cover story based on our actual plans. He has been looking at setting up a green energy center for a while now. A mix of research and prototype development. No heavy manufacturing, more like an innovation hub. After your report and his digging, he thought Beacon Hills might be a good choice. And after Natasha's report when she got back, I think it might be a good idea to have our foot in the door so to speak."

Phil ponders for a moment. He needs a reason to be there, but he didn't really think that this would line up so easily. "Pepper" he finally says looking at her "I need a good reason to go there and…" he pauses.

"Snoop around?"

"Collect intel" he offers instead. "Agent Romanov's report was clear that what was going on really wasn't Shield business and I am good with that, but in my recent work, I have been dealing with some 'special people' and it seems that Beacon Hills has more than it's fair share and unlike previous contacts that Shield made, these are not the kinds of people I think should be in anyone's files. I think that I need to check it out personally, make a few contacts in case something happens."

Pepper nods in understanding. "You know that Natasha was really impressed with the people there. She even did an amazing job for her cover story" she tells him a bit surprised. But of course she was undercover at Stark for a while so she had the chance to learn a lot about how they did things.

"Not surprising. Romanov excels at everything" Phil laughs. "Are you seriously considering going there?"

Pepper looks at him for a moment before getting up and walking to her desk. Picking up a file she comes back and hands it to him as she sits down.

Phil opens it up and is pleasantly surprised. "You already have plans? It's definite?" The folder contains rather detailed outlines for a rather significant facility in Beacon Hills.

"Well, we have some work to do to finalize things and I was going to send someone there, but if you have a day or so, I could prep you on what I need and you could manage it for me while you are 'gathering intel' or whatever you need to do. As long as you actually do what I need" she adds.

Phil smiles. "I'm all yours."

Pepper returns the smile. "Tomorrow. Tonight, we are having dinner and you are going to tell me everything that you have been up to since you 'died'!" she smiles and then frowns. "That you can actually tell me I mean."

Phil nods. He could use a friendly ear.

"Do you often come out here?" Kira asks looking around the woods with a bit of concern. Ever since she found out about, well, everything she has been a bit nervous around the pack and walking through the Preserve doesn't seem like the best idea.

Allison laughs. "Actually yes. My dad and I set up a range out here to practice my archery" she tells the other girl. "I also use it with my knives so I thought it would be a good opportunity for you to practice without your mom."

Kira rolls her eyes. Ever since she discovered her heritage her mother has been pushing her, training her to use her sword and learn about her powers. She even attacked her in her dad's classroom one time. "Well that would be nice I guess, but you don't have a sword" she points out.

"True. But using your sword isn't always about sword fighting. Your mom is good at that and can teach you pretty well considering how much experience she has, but you may fight foes that don't have a sword. I thought we could try techniques for you to use when facing opponents who have different weapons or styles of fighting."

Finally, they come to the clearing where Allison has set up her targets, fighting dummies, and several other pieces of equipment including some rather strange looking items. Chris Argent is there putting out several items and looks up at the girls and smiles. "Kira" he says politely.

"Mr. Argent? Are you going to train with us?" she asks looking surprised.

He shakes his head. "No. I have a meeting to get to but I promised Allison I would set things up for you two so you could get some training in." He looks at his daughter "I should be back by dinner, are you okay to clean up and bring everything home?"

Allison nods and he says goodbye to both girls before heading out. Kira watches him leave as Allison goes over to pick up her bow and quiver of arrows. "Is he okay?" she asks with concern.

Allison looks after her father with a frown. "There were some hunters nearby who we were watching but the left right after the Hunters Council sent word of the Interdict. They were chasing the Alpha Pack and weren't happy to hear it had been defeated."

Kira frowns. "But isn't that a good thing? Erica told me about them, and I think learning they were beaten would be make them happy."

"Well, that it was someone else who did it appeared to be a problem for them."

"But they left?"

"Yes, which would be a good thing, but they haven't been seen since. Two of them went back to their homes but the rest are missing. Dad's worried that they may be up to something. He doesn't trust their leader and not having an eye on them makes him nervous" she explains.

Kira just nods politely. She doesn't really understand the whole Hunter thing. Erica explained it but her mother told her that Kitsune rarely deal with them so her mother didn't have a lot of history with them and her opinion wasn't very high of how they operated anyway. "So, I thought we could start with testing your reflexes."

Kira looks confused but Allison nocks and arrow in her bow. "Think you can block my arrows?"

Kira's eyes widen. Allison is going to shoot her? Stammering her answer Allison walks off as Kira pulls out her sword and takes her stance. Allison turns, aims and fires all in one smooth motion and Kira almost screams but she swings her sword and feels the blade slice the arrow in half. It was at least two feet off to her side, no danger. "I did it!" she yells with excitement.

Allison smiles and draws another arrow. Kira frowns when she shifts her aim before firing. She barely manages her swing but she still snaps the arrow in half but she realizes that if she had missed it would have hit her! Kira looks at Allison in shock. "You tried to hit me!"

Allison looks innocent as her dimples appear before she is nocking another arrow. "And I'm going to again!" she fires.

Kira manages to move just enough that when her sword misses this time the arrow misses by less than an inch. "Allison!" she yells looking at the other girl but Allison is already firing again.

A bright orange lights Kira's eyes and her sword dances in and splits the arrow down the center, shattering it. She doesn't get to enjoy her success as Allison is firing again. 'Ok, let's do this' she thinks and swings again.

Derek left his meeting with Kreyna and Dave feeling pretty good. He had managed to get a lot of questions answered about the plans for the new house. Who was he kidding, that place wasn't a house, it was a compound! He had started with the old Hale house plans but Stiles had started adding what he wanted and then Stephen and Wong had showed up and it expanded again. Then Peter and Cora got involved and they brought in Lydia and surprisingly, Boyd. Both of them added quite a bit along with his uncle and sister until the place was looking more like Stark Tower or something like that.

He had argued that it was serious overkill and they had all reluctantly agreed but then Kreyna had joined in and started talking about how to disguise large parts of the place from your casual viewer. Then Dave joined in and fully half the place suddenly was underground. The most recent plan had multiple levels shaped into the bedrock and he had thought that everyone would object to living in a cave but instead they were all excited. Stiles had moved most of the magical stuff he wanted down there, Cora wanted to create a new vault for the chronicles and a library that could be sealed off safely. Peter had added storage rooms, training spaces, and enough sleeping spaces that they could house a pack 10 times the one his mother had led. The former idea of escape tunnels had turned into an underground complex that was going to be masterfully hidden so that even if a dumb teen member of the pack did bring a girl down there, they wouldn't see 90% of the place. There would be no cutting things off with mountain ash this time.

"Are they always like that?" Aiden asks as they walk back to the old Hale house clearing.

"Apparently" Derek replies with a shrug. He had taken the former alpha along to observe how he interacted with the two elder non-humans but also because he was trying to figure out how to integrate the twins into their own pack. Learning that Aiden was a bit adrift since Ethan and Danny were dating, Derek had figured bringing him along and watching him would help Derek better understand the twins. "Dave is still pretty new, and Kreyna is a bit standoffish, but he definitely prefers dealing with me than Stiles."

Aiden snorts in agreement and Derek manages to contain his smirk. The twins had finally gotten their sit down with the High Alphas after Danny's visit and it had gone fairly well. As well as could be expected he supposed. The two of them were highly respectful and almost terrified of Stiles when they arrived. Derek had been shocked by the scents coming off of them, but he didn't mention it then or even later, he knew Stiles would have been thrown knowing that. They had told them about how Deucalion had recruited them, their old pack life, and everything they did under the orders of the Alpha Pack. They were honest, open, and fully transparent and Stiles had even shared he had watched for signs of deception and saw nothing. He was also rather sympathetic to their situation.

Turns out that they hadn't been very trusted on their own among the Alphas and were just one step above the betas that they used for cannon fodder. If it wasn't for their ability to merge, Derek seriously doubted that Deucalion would have selected them but apparently the man knew about their potential and that was why he had selected them over their uncle. They had admitted to killing their own pack but after hearing everything they went through, even Stiles had admitted he would have been hard pressed to blame them for that.

"This is more than just a house" Aiden says cautiously. He had mostly observed, silently, but he had paid attention to the talking, even if he didn't contribute too much.

"Yes. If it was just for the pack, it wouldn't need to be so elaborate, but with Stiles and I being High Alphas, Stiles being the Arcanist, and Beacon Hills becoming a new center of magic and the supernatural community, the place is going to have to be much more than just a pack house. But I do like the idea Kreyna had about shifting some of the elements around to other locations."

Aiden nods. Then looks interested "Is he really going to start a magic school?" he finally asks sounding almost amused.

Derek snorts. "And miss out on playing Headmaster? Oh, he's serious about it. Of course, now it has shifted from magic school to supernatural school and is getting lots of advice from other magic users. Some of his witch friends are getting worked about about it as well, seems that there are some serious gaps in learning magic when it's mostly on your own or one on one. He also wants the place to be open to the non-humans who have been shut out , the centaurs, werewolves, Dwarves, and anyone else to get the chance come together so he moved a big chunk of the plans he originally had for the house in order to build the new place that would stand on it's own. Peter has agreed to tie it in with his wilderness stations and the Sasquatch and Dwarves are going to build it out mostly underground as well so it won't attract too much attention."

Aiden looks doubtful. "Alpha Hale"

"Derek."

"Derek" Aiden starts again "You do know that a lot of people are talking about Beacon Hills, don't you?" he asks looking worried. "Ethan and I had managed to make a few connections during our time with the pack that we didn't lose when they died, and we had heard rumors and more about things here when we tried to find out what had happened. Even in Hawaii, when we were looking for a possible place to go to before we ran into Danny, talk was already starting about the Hales and Beacon Hills."

Derek looks concerned. "Really?"

Aiden rolls his eyes and sighs heavily. "Derek. You guys killed Deucalion, Kali, and Ennis."

"Ennis isn't dead, I think."

Aiden nodded at that point, a surprise that both of the twins had found out when they had talked earlier. Though learning about his severed arm seemed to make them less concerned about his possible return and had made them even more polite to Stiles. "Well everyone thinks he is. As far as we know he wasn't picked up by a boat like we were. But people had heard what happened and no one was expecting the sad remains of the once powerful Hales to manage that. Then there was word of the Darach and then the rumors started that one or even more of the Fae Queens were spotted. It is going to be impossible to keep people from getting really interested in what is going on if this continues. And all of that" he gestures back to the meeting "is going to get you a lot of attention. And not just from supes."

Derek nods in agreement as they reach his car. Stiles and Lydia had been discussing that earlier. They were both worried that people would discover the supernatural and then things would be way more dangerous. Apparently, they had called Stephen, Lizzy and Arthur and were discussing ideas. "Stiles is working on that" he says, and Aiden surprisingly drops it. Derek doesn't laugh but he has discovered that the quickest way to get either twin to drop a subject was to mention that Stiles had it under control or was dealing with it. They were no longer panicking when he was around, no longer worried that he would wipe them out if they made a mistake, but they were not about to cross him. God help them if Erica ever figures it out how much they were wary of him, she would make their lives hell.

Stiles scratched at his neck again, trying to drive away the tension that his headache was giving him. It had been getting worse all afternoon and he was over and done with it. First, he had a minor disagreement with his dad over the vegetarian egg white omelet Stiles had made with soy bacon, which he had to admit to himself was truly bad. He knows that people like it, but he must have screwed it up somehow. So Stiles was certain that either Tara or Celeste would give him something unhealthy in sympathy. Then he had a rather unproductive session with Lydia about the growing supernatural population in Beacon Hills. They were both worried that people would notice but he couldn't figure out what he was going to do about it. After a rather intense shouting match, they had both apologized and decided to take a break whereupon Lydia started quizzing Stiles on how dating Derek was going. Which was fine, it was, they had been on several dates and had more than a few make out sessions, but Derek was absolutely firm, 'oh god was he!' on nothing else till Stiles was 18. But it was weird talking about it with his ex-crush even if he was over her and lizard lips.

The good news was that they had a semi-breakthrough. Realizing that Stiles had people who could help, he and Lydia had sent out several emails to Martinique, Kiran, Wong, and even roped in Yvette to ask her boss to see if anyone had any ideas of how to keep people, if they found out about the supernatural, from spilling the beans and oh yeah, how to deal with every single person having a video camera on them at all times that immediately loaded to the internet!

Ah well, at least Lydia was right that this was bigger than just them so others were just as vested in helping figure this out. Lydia had decided that she needed some retail therapy so she had called Jackson for a quick trip to San Francisco for some shopping and dinner. To be fair, she had been working hard so she deserved the break. He was a bit surprised until she admitted that Kira and Allison were out in the woods sparring and she had no interest in that.

Then there was the tension in the pack. Scott and Isaac were still having issues with the twins, which Stiles couldn't argue with, but at the same time they had opted to give them a chance so it didn't seem fair to just shut them out and keep treating them harshly. Boyd and Erica, surprisingly, seemed more willing to give them a second chance than anyone. Stiles guesses that having seen Kali, Deucalion, Ennis and how they all acted, not to mention the story of their original pack, had reminded the pair of how close they came to running away and when the twins had shared that the Alphas were looking for members of Derek's pack to 'pick off', well the betas were very glad they had decided to stay with Derek.

"Argh! Why won't this damn itching stop!?" Stiles yells out. Derek is out with Aiden at the house site talking with Kreyna and Dave about plans and he was going to go too but he decided not to when Derek gave him a silent signal. It was actually amazing how quickly he was picking up on Derek's signals, but Stiles could tell he wanted him to sit this one out. And to be fair, he wasn't exactly needed. Stiles had already talked with Dave since he arrived, about the sanctum and had updated his notes about what he wanted. But Stiles figured Derek wanted some time with Aiden alone. He was also fairly sure that Kreyna was still just a little freaked out around Stiles, which was a bummer as Jaymin and Taleesa were totally adorable!

Stiles flops down on the couch scratching the phantom itch. "I hate this!" he yells again just as he realizes pack is near. Glancing over he watches for a moment before the loft door opens and Cora strides in looking pissed off.

"Would you stop!" she growls out and Stiles sits up looking surprised.

"Stop what?"

"You have been pacing and muttering all morning and now you have moved up to yelling" she growls out and Stiles flushes remembering that she is just two floors down and while he 'tuned' her out, he guesses it's not so easy for her to turn off her hearing.

"Sorry" he mutters getting up to pace again, not noticing her reaction to that "I just can't sit still."

"Did you take your medication?" she asks remembering someone said something about that once.

Stiles snorts. "No. I haven't had to in a while. My ADHD was the result of my magic messing with me. Once I started using it, everything evened out and I was fine."

Cora stared slightly confused. She had never been sick and had been young when the fire happened, so she didn't really remember the human pack members and being sick. And all the adults in the Alvarez pack, except the Emissary, were wolves so she really didn't know anything about humans and what to do when they were sick. "So then go do some magic or something" she finally says in frustration.

Stiles rolls his eyes and gives her a look that was almost 40% Derek glare of frustration (he was practicing) and snorts again. "It's not the same thing" he tells her.

"What, you were mentally messed up before because of your magic, your messed up now, so why isn't it your magic again?" she demands crossing her arms and glaring much better than he did, at least a 80% Derek damn her.

Stiles stares and opens his mouth for a moment and stops, mouth just hanging there. Cora stares at him with her Hale glare and finally he closes his mouth with a snap. Could it be that simple? Is his magic trying to get his attention? Suddenly focused, Stiles moves over to the open area and drops down to sit cross legged and he closes his eyes.

"Stiles?" Cora is surprised at the sudden change in his behavior and now sounds more concerned than mad.

"Shhh" he orders and he can tell she bristled at that and he is glad his eyes are closed. "I'm taking your advice. Maybe my magic is trying to alert me to something." He starts his breathing and meditation exercises to focus and connect him the ley lines and the land.

Cora shuffles forward, but only just a bit "Something dangerous?" she asks carefully. Stiles actually hears the slight rustle that he is pretty sure means she has her phone out and when he hears the clicks he is sure of it.

"That's what I am going to find out. There are so many magical people here that it is all just a fog now, I don't really react to things unless I am concentrating. But maybe the headache is the land reacting to something" he tells her and then takes a deeper breath and in seconds he connects.

Sinking into the shadows he heads for a river a light that he feels nearby. In seconds he is there and once he connects, the world lights up. He feels the ley lines all around town and his thoughts spread out, expanding each time they cross lines, opening him up. He feels Yvette down below, apparently taking a nap as surprise, surprise the necromancer is a night owl. But he also feels Peter heading back to the loft and he idly wonders if Cora called him. He starts identifying the various people around the area he knows and feels and everything seems alright but there is something…he shifts his perceptions and moves to the preserve. He senses the centaurs and the Sasquatch, he even feels Derek and Aiden but he doesn't feel that whatever he's feeling involves them. Moving along he senses the pixies and sprites that they spotted a week ago and with giggles and mental kisses he passes a group of dryads that had apparently been here for years but only woke up after Stiles ascended. It's not them either. He feels something familiar…pack? He moves and spots the bright orange and ozone that's Kira and the sharp tang of Allison's aura, still sparring. He smiles for a second before he feels it. With a jerk his sight shifts and he feels a mass of black and green, a 'wrongness' heading for the girls, and moving fast!

Cora is watching his face, unsure whether to call Derek or not when she hears Peter coming out of the elevator. Finally! She is about to call out when Stiles scent changes sharply to something angry and fearful. His face contorts and then his eyes open and Cora gasps. She has heard everyone tell her about Stiles and she has seen some of his magic, but the spastic teen suddenly looks like something that she would not want to mess with. His eyes are glowing blue white and she can see the normally hidden tattoos on both arms glowing brightly as well as the ones currently hidden by his jeans. She is about to open her mouth when he starts to levitate up and all of these glowing symbols and lights start surrounding him. She isn't afraid, just concerned, but that doesn't prevent her from stepping back several steps when she impacts something firm yet warm and she suddenly realizes it's Peter.

"What happened?" her uncle's voice is firm and determined, no humor or his typical sarcasm. This is the pack's Left Hand, looking for threats to the pack.

She stumbles for what to say, she just wanted him to quit pacing! "DANGER!" Stiles voice echoes with a hum of power and both betas react with flashing eyes and claws flicking out as they react to the Alpha voice. Cora is bracing for a fight before she even realizes that the human just did that!

"Where" Peter calls out, apparently not surprised or at least not showing it.

"Kira and Allison!" Stiles yells and suddenly his hands are moving, and a fiery ring opens. "Go, I will get the others! You have only minutes!"

Peter roars and leaps for the ring, Cora only a breath behind him as the ring closes.

Allison and Kira had moved onto knives versus sword and Kira was doing significantly better than Allison. Despite her rather remarkable skill with the ring daggers her father had gotten her, Ali was having no luck getting inside Kira's sword zone as the Kitsune moved with lightning fast reflexes and speed. Ali had done better with her arrows, actually managing to graze the other girl twice, but in hand to hand with weapons, she could see that a straight on approach wasn't going to work.

Instead she shifted to a less offensive stance and began playing defense, attempting to lure her opponent in and possibly make a mistake, but from Kira's smirk the kitsune saw the Hunter's plan. Unfortunately it wasn't Allison's plan and she realized it when Ali's foot snaked out and grabbed Kira's ankle just as she placed her foot. With a spin-jerk, Ali pulled away from Kira, pulling her leg forward and the other girl was suddenly off balance. Twisting she spun her daggers and dove in for the point when the sound of steel impacting steel rang out and Ali's eyes widened in surprise as her daggers were blocked by the katana.

"Nice try" Kira said and Ali looked down and saw what had happened. She had attempted to trip Kira by pulling her leg forward, counting on Kira to have her center of balance and weight closer to her back leg so that Allison's move would throw her off balance. Instead Kira had shifted her center forward with her entangled leg so Ali ended up pulling all of her forward, not just the leg. Kira was now not only on point, she was able to block both daggers and stop the attack. Of course now they were tangled.

"You do realize that this close, your sword is limited, unlike my knives" Ali said sweetly with a smile.

Kira smiled back. "Do you remember I'm a thunder Kitsune?" Kira says and her eyes flash bright orange and Allison has only a second's realization before the electricity hits her and she is bouncing on her butt from what felt like a a slightly reduced shock from a taser.

"Ow" Ali says slowly as she lays on the ground before opening her eyes to see Kira looking down at her worriedly. "Okay, remind me not to do that again. Let's go back to when I was shooting at you from a distance."

Kira laughed and offered her a hand which she willingly grabbed and with Kira's help got back to her feet with only a little wobble. "Sorry" the kitsune says with a worried look "I tried to dial it down."

"You did" Ali reassures the other girl. "Still hurts though. However, great technique for fighting. We definitely need to get you to do that and see how it would work with the wolves."

Kira laughs at that and Ali joins in when the air suddenly buzzes and both of them feel it. Something's coming! Spinning around so that they are back to back Ali wishes her bow was closer but before she can say anything she spots a fiery portal open and she hears a roar and suddenly Cora and Peter come rushing through before it snaps shut.

"What's happening?" she barks out at the two wolves in full beta form.

"Stiles said something's coming, and you were in danger" Cora growls out. Ali takes a second before moving to the SUV confident the others would be able to watch her back and she grabs her bow and slips on the quiver. Now more confidently armed she jumps on the hood and then the roof the vehicle and draws an arrow. Kira, Cora, and Peter have surrounded her in a ring, all watching the woods, straining to detect anything. "Should we run?"

"I can sense anything" Kira says, her eyes flashing.

"No, but Stiles said we had only minutes so it's close" Peter snarls around his fangs. "I think it's better to stand our ground here, this is a good place for a fight." Allison doesn't reply but smiles a bit at Peter's observation. Her father had picked this place just for that reason.

They are on guard when another portal opens and they all spin, eyes on it as Isaac and Scott come barreling out. "Scott!" Allison yells and the young alpha locks onto her and moves towards the SUV, Isaac right behind and they add to the ring giving each warrior less of the circle to cover. "Did Stiles tell you what it was?" she demands.

"No" Scott replies but then he hears something. Something large and loud. He spins towards Peter "That way" he growls and the others move to focus on where he's pointing.

"I don't hear…there" Cora started to object when she heard the sound of trees splintering. Scott's alpha power gave him enough of an edge that they had sufficient warning to brace but they were not prepared for what came bursting through the woods. The head was reptilian and huge, larger than a lions, with fangs and a black-green ichor dripping from those horrible teeth that smelled of death and caused the ground to smoke when they hit the forest floor. It was at least five feet up and the neck was so long that they hadn't seen the body. It was bad, but they were ready, trained, and JESUS there's more than one!?! A second lizard pokes out followed by a third before a hulking shadow comes from behind and Ali gasps seeing that all three of the lizards are connected to a body the size of a large elephant! It has three heads!!!

"Move!" Scott roars and leaps forward, Isaac on his flank as Cora and Peter go left and Kira moves right. Allison starts firing but her first two arrows bounce off the thing's scaley hide. She stops and realizes she needs to make her shots count and looks for the others and spots that Scott and Isaac have their head trying to watch them both so it has paused. A stationary target? Yes, please! And she fires and feels a rush as her arrow pierces the glaring eye on Scott's side. The head shrieks and jerks away but Isaac is there and slashes with his claws. It tries to duck but that just puts it in Scott's way and he reaches out with both hands to tear at the other side, just below the jaws causing another shriek. It snaps and tries to bite the two wolves but they are moving quickly and in sync and are dodging those teeth as they score hit after hit.

Glancing away she looks over at Peter and Cora and the two betas are having similar impacts, though slower. She isn't able to get a clear shot as the head is moving too much and she doesn't want to risk hitting the wolves. But she has to admit both Hales are fighting well. Worried, she looks over at Kira who is alone but seeing the condition of the third head, she almost smiles. One eye has been destroyed and the ugly scar is dripping ichor from it. There are several chunks carved out and then the head, furious with pain rushes forward like a battering ram and Ali freezes in fear for her friend. Kira however uses her katana to block the head like she had with Allison earlier and unleashes a much more powerful burst of electricity causing the head to shriek and pull back, but Kira is ready and awaiting and she jumps, leaping higher than even Ali on the SUV and brings her katana down on that thick, scaly neck with a scream and suddenly the head is bouncing on the forest floor, blood pouring out from the severed neck as it thrashes around.

Looking back she sees Scott and Isaac have made serious progress and apparently so did Kira because the girl ran to help Cora and Peter. It is moments later when Scott finally manages a deep enough cut in the middle head's neck that the thing seems to shudder and Isaac pounces, tearing into the other side. They both are a flurry of claws and suddenly the second head is down. One to go!

Allison looks over and feels a bit of relief. Peter and Cora, while not as strong compared to Scott's alpha strength, they had done enough damage and it is only a few moments after joining them that Kira spots her opening and with a scream the third and final head goes flying, blood spattering wildly from the third neck as the body stumbles before collapsing with enough force to shake the ground and Ali's SUV.

All six of the pack are staring at the beast and the three heads, breathing heavy. "Everyone okay?" Scott yells looking around, trying to spot any injuries.

Kira and Allison are both fine, but Peter, Cora, and Isaac have all taken wounds, but luckily none of them seem to have been bitten. Peter took a bad hit when he tried to shield Cora and looks to have two or three broken ribs. Isaac has a bad gash from one of the things claws when he got too close to the body as the thing had legs with long, sharp talons. Cora has multiple gashes on her arms and back, apparently there were spines behind the head that were razor sharp and she had gotten caught by them several times.

"Well that was unpleasant" Peter said looking worriedly and breathing very carefully as it still hurt even with werewolf healing.

"Good thing Stiles detected it, whatever it is, was" Isaac says looking at the thing and trying to block out the smell of blood and poison coming from the heads. "Anyone know what the hell it was?" he asks.

No one seems to, at least not going by the shakes of head. "That thing's scales were like armor. If you all hadn't shown up, Kira and I would have been seriously outmatched" she says gratefully as she pulls out some bandages for Cora's arms. She knows they will heal, but they still look bad and it might help.

"Why didn't Stiles come?" Kira asks sounding slightly resentful. His magic, or Derek, would have been a big help.

"I thought he was, but maybe we took it out too fast?" Scott offers.

Cora is the only one looking in the thing's direction when it happens but she can't believe what she is seeing so she stares, watching for a second before screaming a warning. "NO!"

Everyone spins and jaws drop at the sight. The creature's body is stumbling back up, standing and the three necks are all thrashing again, but there is a pulsing mass in the each one of necks, green and squishy, with a wet sheen and the most horrendous smell! They are engorging, the mass at the end growing bigger and bigger as the necks all swell to nearly twice their girth. They are staring in shock when Peter whispers "Oh please no."

No one gets to ask him why before the middle neck rips in half and the giant mucus and pus bulb on the now two ends split open and there are two, slightly smaller heads looking disoriented before focusing on the pack. The other two necks follow after and suddenly there are six heads all swirling around and roaring.

"Hydra" Cora shouts and they all move.

Tara really wonders who she pissed off in a past life, or maybe she annoyed a witch somehow, there were witches in town now, right? Either way, something or someone was out to get her. Mr. Thompson had been screaming again that another one of his dogs had been taken, this time one of the old bloodhounds and he was sure it was the same bird, though he had been out at the market when whatever happened, happened. Tara and Jordan had returned to check things out but they had no luck. There were no signs of anything this time and they were there for nearly two hours when the damn god came trotting around the barn, happy as can be. At that point Mr. Thompson had admitted that she had a habit of getting out and running around but he had been certain that wasn't the case this time!

Jordan had managed to give the old man a rather stern lecture about wasting police time and resources that she was fairly certain the man wouldn't have taken from her, but if it got him to knock it off she wasn't going to complain. By the time they got back in the cruiser, Thompson was rather subdued, Jordan was looking pleased at himself, and Tara was seriously contemplating a box of eclairs from Celeste's.

"Should we check on Brown while we are here?" he asks looking way too happy.

She rolls her eyes but puts the car and gear and drives over. They get out and see Mike has made good progress on the fence. He is happy to see them and no, no other issues. "But I did hear that Riley lost a sheep, but he called the rangers."

They thanked him and headed out but decided that since Riley hadn't called them, not their problem. Besides that was way too likely to be an actual mountain lion. Tara was slowing down approaching the curve in the road when something caught her eye and she slammed on the brakes, throwing Jordan forward to slam into his seat-belt.

"Tara!" he yelps but they both see the deer, a young buck running furiously across the road like something was after it. They watched it running into the meadow in confusion. "What's chasing it?" he asks looking around and not spotting anything.

"I don't…" she starts but then her eyes widen in shock as she sees it. Thompson apparently was only kind of right. It swoops down and grabs the deer and with a twist, breaks its neck and then takes off, never touching the ground. Seconds later, it's gone.

"Tara" Jordan whispers staring after the sight.

"Uh huh?" she mutters.

"Was that…?"

"Think so."

"That was not a bird" he whines.

No. That was not a bird. Not unless birds are the size of a pony, with leathery wings, claws, fangs, and a rather long, serpentine tail that can snatch a young deer on the run, kill it, and fly off with it in its talons. Also, she is fairly certain that the metallic scales she spotted are not common on birds.

"Are you serious!" Parrish almost wails.

"Yep. That was a dragon." Dammit, she wants a raise.

Scott slammed into a tree, his breath punched out by the impact as he slid down before snarling and staggering back up. This was not good. Six to three they had managed, but six to six was not anywhere close to good and that was before Kira had accidentally made it seven. She had tried something different and had split a head in half, cutting it right between the eyes and part way down the neck. I think she had hoped that not cutting it off would make a difference. It didn't. The Hydra had managed to form two new heads from the one she split so now they were fighting a losing battle against the thing with heads that they couldn't cut off.

Peter had managed to blind one of the heads, clawing out both eyes, right before another had dove in and almost bit his arm off. He had just avoided it but on the back swing it had hit him right in his broken rib and he went down hard. Coughing blood as it seems that at least one of the broken ribs had punctured his lung.

Cora had managed to move him out of the way, Kira and Isaac providing a distraction while Allison had managed to shoot several flash bangs at the beast giving them all a brief pause. It was short lived though as the thing rushed her and smashed her SUV. She rolled away safely but all of her spare weapons were now out of reach. "This thing is too much!" Allison shouted and Scott roared his challenge. He wasn't going to let this thing near her!

Just then the air shifted and another fiery portal opened up and the roar that came through shook the trees louder than Scott's had. A huge form came flying, larger than anything as the merged form of the twins powered into the monster followed by Derek in his full alpha form, Boyd and Erica right behind, and Stiles coming through right as the portal closes with Eddie and Yvette jumping through at the last second.

Stiles doesn't have time for them and summons his shields as he looks in shock at the beast in front of him. The wolves have launched multiple attacks and Allison takes the shift in the fight to grab Peter and pull him towards Stiles while Cora joins the others. Now it's seven heads versus three alphas, four betas, and a kitsune. They have the advantage again but Aiden and Ethan suddenly tears the head off the one they are fighting with a retching sound and a fountain of ichor and other bodily fluids. They roar in triumph.

"NO!" the others who were already there all yell out, but too late.

Derek, Boyd, and Erica all look shocked but then Isaac explains. "It's a Hydra. The heads regenerate!" he says ducking the one he was fighting. Derek and the Franken-wolf both look in shock as the beheaded neck bulges and rips apart and in seconds two heads emerge. It's now even again at 8:8.

"What the Hell?!" Erica yells but she jumps back just as one head turns on another. She watches in shock as one of the head bites into the neck of another that appears to have been blinded. The head bites deep and in seconds the blinded head drops to the ground, the neck flailing around. "Oh that's disgusting!" she yells.

Boyd and Isaac are both next to the neck that is throbbing and growing when they hear a shout "DOWN!" and both of them drop without thought just as a blast of fire roars right where they were standing, engulfing the regenerating head and the stench of burning flesh and ichor is overwhelming but the neck twists before collapsing and going limp. It's not regenerating! Another head dives for Isaac and he moves, but it's not enough as the jaws close on his leg, biting deep and he can feel the burning sensation of the poison. He screams.

Boyd and Scott are both there in seconds, driving claws at the eyes of the head causing it to release and jump back as another head dives in. Scott blocks it and Boyd is already moving himself and Isaac out of reach as he pulls the blonde beta away as Scott covers their retreat. Erica and Derek increase their attacks on the other heads to help give them cover.

Boyd reaches Stiles who looks slightly pale. Yvette and Eddie are seeing to Peter but Eddie comes over to help. "Stiles, you killed the head!"

"That's the only way to stop a hydra from spawning two heads when you cut one off. But it took a lot Boyd. I don't know if I can do that seven more times" Stiles admits as he watches the fight. Kira yells for him just as she does a spin, jump, and strike and her katana chops off the head she was fighting. Stiles inhales deeply, the tattoos on his arm glowing brightly as he unleashes another stream of fire. Boyd rears back in shock at the heat, it is much more than he expected and he watches as Stiles pours his strength into the flame, holding it until the neck is burned completely before letting go. He starts to sag, and Boyd jumps up and stabilizes him.

"Derek!" Boyd yells "Stiles can't do too many more of those" he tells his alpha and he hears Derek grunt in acknowledgement without taking his attention away from the fight. They have taken out two heads leaving six still fighting, but the thing is being a lot more cautious now that fire is in the fight. The twins have separated and are fighting separate heads, Derek and Cora have their own heads to fight, and Kira is actually fending off two of them with Scott and her dancing back and forth trying to confuse their two. Peter and Isaac are both down and out for the fight and Allison is still shooting but she is mostly managing to distract a head when she can. "I have to get back" Boyd tells Stiles who nods and shoves him and he heads to help Kira.

"Stiles" Peter groans and the teen looks at him. "Can you call more fire?"

Stiles thinks. He probably can get two, maybe three more but that is pushing it. Summoning fire is one thing, but the Hydra is resistant to magic thanks to its scales and own magic. Stiles' fire is only effective once the head is gone and it takes a lot to burn the stump enough. As they saw, the Hydra can bite its own heads off to initiate regeneration so if he doesn't burn enough, it won't last. But fire is only one option.

Stiles focuses on his legs and the tattoos on both light up. Peter and the others look confused but Stiles has a plan! He reaches down and finds water beneath them and calls it, drawing it up. While at the same time he reaches for the earth under the Hydra, shifting and moving it down. He feels both forces closing in on each other. "EVERYONE JUMP BACK!" he screams and the pack obeys that command without hesitation. Derek had been drilling them on that. Even the twins had gotten it over and over that in a fight if either Derek or Stiles gave a command, obey. Don't argue or try to figure out why. That training pays off as all of them jump back and retreat, even Derek. The Hydra looks confused and starts after them, when its foot comes down to a squelching sound. Then there is a loud crack and the ground drops at least two feet and the beast drops down into thick, sticky, mud.

The wolves back further away as it thrashes and then six heads let out a shriek so loud even the humans are almost knocked over. The wolves are much worse off and Erica and Isaac both drop with their ears covered. Scott, Derek and the twins all simultaneous let out a roar that is equally as deafening but not piercing as the Hydra's and almost drowns it out. The very trees shake with the force of the alphas' united voice and Stiles and the other are seriously impressed.

"That won't hold it long!" Derek yells and almost like a prediction the Hydra shoves against the mud and manages to get a claw up. One of the head looks at the one that Scott and Boyd attacked and in a sudden strike it bites it off, dropping the blinded head to the ground.

"Stiles!" Cora yells seeing it but two of the heads swing around almost shielding the flailing neck and Stiles, exhausted, tries to summon fire. Maybe he can push past them.

Suddenly there is another shriek and a flash of movement as something drops down behind the Hydra from the treetops. They can't make it out but they can definitely see the sudden explosion of fire that engulfs the severed neck in a fire jet so hot they can all feel it from the other side of the damn thing. The Hydra's heads all spin around at the intruder but it is already moving away, flying out of reach though the heads desperately try to bite it out of the air. It comes around and Stiles looks in shock at the reptilian wings and lizard like body flying around the Hydra shrieking back at it in defiance.

"HOLY SHIT IS THAT A DRAGON!?" Erica screams but no one responds as the thing blasts out another jet of fire but the Hydra shrugs it off and tries to bite it again. The dragon, about the size of a really large dog, easily dodges and uses its own claws rather effectively, digging gouges in the head that got too close.

Stiles stares in surprise at the display and that the dragon is ignoring them...but then looks over at Kira. "Kira, can you take another head?" he yells out and she looks back at him with a look of absolute disbelief. To be fair, the rest of the pack is looking at him pretty much the same.

"The dragon's fire can't hurt it, but it can burn the stumps!" he yells and his eyes widen as he summons a shield that just barely stops the head launching at Cora who was momentarily distracted. He is almost sure he is right about this.

Kira looks back at the two beasts fighting and really wishes she had gone with Lydia instead. But she focuses and draws in her strength like her mother has been training her to do. She feels the surge of strength and the air dances with electricity and she runs, leaps, and with a rather impressive twist she swings and almost severs the bottom jaw of one of the heads clean off. The thing screams and rears back as another dives for her but Derek is there and he gouges its neck with a deep strike and before it can recover, Kira is there to deliver the coup de grace, slicing the head and sending it backwards. The Hydra screams but the dragon's is louder as it blasts the stump mere seconds after Kira's cut and almost instantly the neck drops limply.

The dragon lets out a roar of triumph which is echoed by the wolves. The Hyrda, now down to four heads, is becoming wilder and more frantic, still half stuck in the mud. But one of the heads sees the wounded and shrieks causing the others to all swing and look at them and with a heave, it pulls out of the pit and charges. Stiles' eyes widen in shock but he summons a shield and hopes for the best as the wolves try and race after it. He sees the dragon behind it and the dragon's roar is loud…how is it roaring without opening its mouth? Stiles has only a second to wonder before he realizes the roar is behind him and even less time before a jet of fire comes over his head right into the faces of the Hydra's four heads who all rear back to avoid the blast. Just as a second dragon, slightly larger than the first flies over him then and roars.

By now the others have caught up and Ethan and Aiden have rejoined together and have attacked the Hydra's backside and tail and from the sudden bellows of pain, their claws are doing a damn good job. Derek and Cora jump on the side, distracting two heads while Scott, Boyd, and Erica move against the others leaving Kira free to watch for her chance. Erica's head hisses angrily at the blonde, jaws wide as it glares at her right before an arrow pierces the thing's eyes and it shrieks. It had paused too long and Allison had taken her shot perfectly. The head tries to move away from the she wolf, keeping it's good eye on her but that leaves it blind to Kira who slides up and with a swing takes the head. The three remaining shriek but with a blast from one of the dragons, the neck drops and the Hydra starts backing away, but the twins are there and they strike again and it screams and tries to turn but that lets Derek and Cora strike deep cuts into a head while Scott does that to another. The Hydra rears up, but it can't escape. It only takes another minute before Kira manages to complete the attack on the head Derek and Cora had wounded and once she does, a dragon blasts it. The other's roar almost taunting. The last two heads fall quickly after that with each dragon searing the necks and the body finally collapsing in a heap.

The wolves all stare at the monstrous body lying half in the mud surrounded by severed heads in some macabre scene of death when they watch the two dragons land slightly off to the side, away from the pack, but watching them closely with intelligent eyes. Derek doesn't collapse. No, he just sits down all at once. Erica and Cora, they collapse and are lying flat on the ground, chests heaving. Boyd is bent over breathing deeply while Scott is sitting down trying to catch his breath. The twins are separated and moving, but really slowly. Allison has moved to help Isaac and Peter. Stiles looks over at the Hydra's body before looking at the two dragons.

Now that he is up close and looking carefully, they are really impressive. Both of them are about four feet tall from feet to the top of their backs, but their necks give them a lot more height. Their tails are long and ridged and both are covered with scales that appear to be a black with iridescent copper and streaks of gold that look really cool if he is being honest. But then again, they are dragons. The thing is they both helped and they are sitting there looking at Stiles and those eyes are not the eyes like the Hydra. That thing was crazy! The dragons' eyes are calculating.

"Uh, thank you" Stiles says looking at the two dragons and opening his magical senses. Both of them light up with magic and life energy that is pretty close of overwhelming. The Hydra was what he sensed earlier but these two are just as powerful as it was. "I'm Stiles" he introduces himself.

"Did you just say hi to a dragon?" Cora mutters in disbelief.

❱❱ It is how one shows good manners cub ❰❰The voice is pretty close to indescribable. If fire and lava and wind all had a voice, this would be it. But it also had, for some unknown reason, a slight British accent. Which makes absolutely no sense. ❱❱ I am Frommenth ❖ My mate is Yndriesdi. ❰❰

"You have got to be shitting me" Erica says into the stunned silence.

Yndriesdi looks at the blonde she-wolf who manages to actually blush at the dragon's amused reaction.

"Thank you for the help with the Hyrda. I am not sure we could have stopped it without you." Stiles says as Derek slowly moves over to stand beside him.

❱❱ We felt the ascension of the six-fold and have come ❰❰Frommenth says seriously and everyone turns to look at Stiles who groans.

Taking pity on the teen, the Alpha straightens up to address the dragons. "I am Derek Hale, Alpha of this land, and mate to the Arcanist. On behalf of my pack and all of us, thank you again for helping defeating the Hydra. Do you know why it came?" Derek asks to cover for Stiles.

❱❱ The rising of one such as your mate has opened doors to those long lost ❖ While many will be drawn here most will not risk his wrath ❖ The serpent-abomination is a creature of rage and fury, but without thought beyond killing and devouring ❖ It is drawn to power and kills whatever it finds ❖ It is a mindless beast ❰❰ Yndriesdi tells them with a rather unpleasant tone.

"Oky, but what about you? Why did you come?" Stiles asks surprised at the level of disgust he hears from the dragon regarding the Hydra.

Yndriesdi does what Stiles can only assume is the dragon version of a laugh. ❱❱ We are among the last of our kind risen one ❖ The magic here is strong and growing stronger ❖ It will be a good place to nest ❰❰