"The time is now."

♰ ♰ ♰

"I've got to meet with the medical examiner and try to figure out what happened with Jackson." Noah breathes out.

He stands opposite Isaac and Scott; the pair looking at him worriedly. They can smell the stress and sadness on him.

"I've got an APB out on Stiles. His Jeep is still in the parking lot, so that means-" Noah pauses, defeatedly breathing out a long sigh. "The hell, I don't know what that means. Um, look, if he answers his phone, if he answers his emails, if either one of you see him-"

"We'll call you." Isaac gently finishes for the Sheriff. Noah gives a thankful smile.

"Look, he's probably just freaked out from all the attention or something. We'll find him." Scott reassures.

"Yeah... I'll see you, okay?" Noah tells the boys. Coach watches the Sheriff leave and approaches his now only alive team captain.

"McCall... We need you on the team, okay? You know I can't put you on the field next season if you don't get your grades up." Coach quietly tells the boy.

"Yeah, I know, Coach." Scott sheepishly responds.

"All right. I mean, I-I know I yell a lot, but it's not like I hate you guys." Coach begins to explain, pausing a second before shrugging. "Well, I kind of hate Greenberg, but, you know... that's different. It's Greenberg!" He says exasperatedly. "I'm just saying, we-- I-- need you on the team. Get your grades back up."

"I will." Scott nods. Coach nods back.

"I know." Coach tells the teen before clearing out of the room with the rest of the team.

"Is that everyone?" Scott asks Isaac. Isaac quickly checks the vicinity.

"I think so..." Isaac says, before quickly turning back at the sound of screeching metal. He turns to see Stiles' locker door on the ground and Scott pulling out his items. "You're gonna find him by scent?"

"Yeah. We both are." Scott confirms before handing Isaac a shoe.

"But how come you get his shirt, and I get a shoe?" Isaac frowns.

Scott raises his head at the scent of wolves entering the room, eyes widening as Derek stands across the room. Isaac follows his eyes and stands straight as he watches Derek.

"We need to talk." Derek tells the two.

"All of us." Peter speaks up as he rounds the corner.

"Holy shit." Scott breathes out. Peter smirks at his response. Scott shakes his head. "Isabel already told me you were back." Scott frowns. Peter raises his brow.

"Did she now?"

"Yes. And she told me what you did." Scott spits out, anger building as he thinks back to he almost dying. "She could've died because of you!" He shakes his head before turning back to Derek. "How could you?"

"You know, I thought the same thing when I saw you talking to Gerard at the Sheriff's station." Derek counters, arms crossed.

"Okay, hold on! He-he threatened to kill my mom! And I had to get close to him. What was I supposed to do?" Scott splutters out.

"I'm gonna go with Scott on this one. Have you seen his mom? She's gorgeous!" Peter breathes out. Derek and Scott both turn to Peter and frown.

"Shut up!" They yell at him, simultaneously.

"Who is he?" Isaac quietly asks Scott in his ear.

"That's Peter, Derek's uncle. A little while back, he tried to kill us all, and then we set him on fire, and Derek slashed his throat." Scott explains.

"Hi." Peter smiles, giving a little wave.

"That's good to know..." Isaac trails off.

"Look, he knows how to stop Jackson... and maybe how to save him." Derek interrupts.

"Well, that's very helpful - except Jackson's dead." Isaac sarcastically tells his Alpha.

"What?" Derek frowns.

"Yeah, Jackson's dead. It just happened on the field." Scott tells the older wolves. They share a look.

"Okay, why is no one taking this as good news?" Isaac asks, watching to two.

"Because if Jackson is dead, it didn't just happen- Gerard wanted it to happen." Peter explains.

"But why?" Derek asks his uncle.

"Well, that's exactly what we need to figure out. And something tells me the window of opportunity is closing. Quickly." Peter tells the group.

♰ ♰ ♰

Noah paces around his sons room, phone call connected to Melissa on the other end. He runs a hand across his head in worry and frustration.

"Yeah, I'm not finding any clues here. Listen, if he - if he shows up at the hospital-" He pauses, allowing Melissa to reassure him on the other end. "Okay, thanks." He gives a small smile, even though she can't see it before hanging up.

He keeps the phone in his hands as he flicks through the messages from the rest of the team looking for him.

"Oh, come on, Stiles... Where the hell are you?" He quietly breathes out. Stiles stands in the doorway, watching his father.

"Right here." Stiles weakly calls out, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

Noah turns at his voice, looking at him in disbelief as he takes his son's appearance in. His face was battered and bruised, looked like he was in a fight.

"It's okay, Dad. It's okay." Stiles calls out as Noah walks him down, before grabbing his face to check the wound gently.

"Who did it?" Noah furiously asks.

"It's okay- it was just a couple kids from the other team. You know, they were really pissed about losing, and I was- I was mouthing off, you know? The next thing I know-" Stiles begins to lie.

"Who was it?" Noah asks again.

"Dad, I don't know. I didn't even see them, really." Stiles continues, trying to deflect.

"I want descriptions." Noah demands.

"Look, Dad, come on. It's not even that bad!"

"I-I'm calling that school. I'm calling then, and I'll personally go down there, and I'm gonna pistol-whip these little bastards!" Noah furiously shouts.

"Dad!" Stiles shouts, causing his dad to stop. "I just... I said I was okay." Stiles' voice trembles.

"God." Noah sighs, grabbing his son and holding him close.

He feels Stiles grab him back, and the two stay in a hug until one of them finally pulls away.

Noah gives a sad smile as he leaves his sons room, allowing him to take a shower and clean himself off. He calls the station to call off the search but not before he tells Isabel that Stiles is safe at home.

Within 10 minutes, Noah lets Isabel into the house and directs her upstairs. She quickly pulls Noah in for a hug, which he gladly reciprocates. He can feel her tremble against him and he holds her shoulders as he pulls away.

"He's okay." Noah reassures her.

She gives a quick nod, feeling her eyes burning at the threat of tears. He lets her go, watching as she quickly makes her way up the staircase to Stiles' room.

While the police were looking for Stiles, Isabel and Lydia tried to go the the hospital to see Jackson. Lydia tried to force her way in, but they wouldn't let her. Isabel held her as she mourned Jackson.

Lydia didn't want to leave the hospital, but when Isabel received the call from Stiles' dad saying he was home, she knew it was the right thing to do. The boy she loved was now dead, she couldn't keep Isabel from hers. She waited in the car and watched Isabel rush in.

Isabel knocks on the door, wanting to barge straight in and see him, but not wanting to be rude. Stiles lays on his bed, not looking up at the knock on the door.

"Dad, I said I'm fine." He groans.

Isabel feels her heart race at the sound of his voice. She knocks again. Stiles takes a breath and stands from his bed, moving to the door.

"Oh, come on Dad. How many times-" He breathes out as he opens the door. He freezes as she takes in the sight of Isabel instead.

The tears finally well over as she takes in the sight of him, the bruises on his cheek and the busted lip. Stiles moves forward as he watches her cry, gently wiping them away.

She tries to muster up the words - any words, but they fail her. She drops her head before quickly picking it back up and shaking her head, looking at his beaten face. She gently places her hands on his cheeks.

Stiles lets out a breath as she moves closer, but takes over and places his lips onto hers. She reciprocates the kiss, trying not to hurt him as she kisses him back. As their lips separate, their faces remain close together.

"Hey, you wanna come in?" Stiles breathes out. Isabel nods in response, taking his hands in hers as he leads her into the room. "How are you doing?" He quietly asks the red-head.

"How am I doing?" Isabel asks incredulously. "Stiles what happened?" Stiles leads her over to the bed and sits her down, before quickly taking the seat next to her.

"Izzy, it's fine." He tries to tell the girl. She shakes her head at him. "Seriously. It's fine, I'm fine and I'm home." Isabel raises a brow, but decides not to push.

"Did they tell you?" She asks the boy. "About Jackson?" Stiles sighs before nodding slowly.

"Yeah, I heard. How is she?" Stiles quietly asks.

"She's broken." Isabel looks down at her hands. "She keeps telling me there's something she needs to give him - that she's supposed to give him." Isabel's voice trembles as she feels Lydia's grief fill her body. "Sorry. I think I connected to her." Stiles nods, still holding her hand.

"Hey, let me get some tissues, okay?" He stands, placing a kiss on her forehead as she wipes her tears away.

She feels Stiles' phone continuously vibrate on the bed but leaves it. Stiles quickly returns back from the bathroom.

"Hey, sorry, I didn't have any tissues, so-" He sheepishly says as he hands Isabel the roll of tissue paper.

"That's fine. God, I am such a mess." Isabel chuckles sadly as she wipes her face with the tissue. Stiles phone goes off again, Isabel sighs and hands him the phone as he re-takes his seat next to her. "You have seventeen missed messages from Scott."

"I know." Stiles sighs, taking the phone but throwing it aside.

"You're ignoring him?" Isabel asks.

"No. No, not really." Stiles shrugs.

Isabel looks around the familiar room, spotting a bunch of items on the side that she didn't recognise. She stands, moving over and examines the items.

"Why do you have women's jewelry?" Isabel frowns, turning to Stiles. He quickly stands and fumbles over.

"Oh, uh... it's not what you're thinking. It's just some stuff I bought, you know, for your birthday - since it's coming up soon." Stiles sheepishly explains.

"For me? Stiles you don't have to get me anything." She shakes her head, placing the jewellery back.

"Yeah. I just- I kind of didn't know what to get you, so I just bought you, like, a bunch of stuff. Like, a lot of stuff...You know, I was gonna return anything that I didn't give you." Stiles chuckles.

Isabel smiles at the boy as she turns around, leaning against his chest of drawers. She looks down to the side and her eyes widen at the item sat on the floor.

"A flat-screen TV?" She asks incredulously. Stiles beams at her as he watches an amused smile cover her face.

"Yeah, that I'm definitely returning." He grins.

She laughs, shaking her head at him. Her phone buzzes in her pocket, and she pulls it out to see a message from Scott. She frowns as she reads it before quickly rushing over to Stiles.

"You're gonna want to read this." She breathes out, holding her phone out for Stiles. He reads the message and sighs, placing his head in his hands. "He wants me to bring Lydia." Isabel sighs.

"How much does she know about this stuff?"

"Pieces...?" Isabel sighs. "We only spoke a little about it. I didn't want to get her too involved. She said half of it's like a dream."

"Yeah? Well, did you tell her the other half is like a freaking nightmare?" Stiles exclaims. Isabel shakes her head.

"She doesn't care. She wants to help him. Stiles, I can help him." Stiles looks at her in disbelief.

"See, that's the problem! None of you care about getting hurt." Stiles humourlessly laughs.

"Stiles..." she sighs, trying to grab him but he paces away. He takes a moment before returning.

"Do you know how I'll feel? I'll be devastated! The other night? Do you know what that did to me? I had to lay there and watch!" Stiles exclaims. Isabel sighs as he continues. "I thought you were going to die, Izzy. And if you die, I will literally go out of my freakin' mind!"

"Stiles, please." She attempts again but he shakes her off. She feels the tears well in her eyes again.

"You see, death doesn't happen to you, Isabel - it happens to everyone around you, okay? To all the people left standing at your funeral, trying to figure out how they're gonna live the rest of their lives now, without you in it? And look at my face, huh? Come on, you think this was meant to hurt me?" He gestures to himself as he moves closer to the girl he loved.

He takes a moment to look over her face, spotting the scared look she held behind her eyes as a rogue tear falls. He quickly steps back as she holds her arms to comfort herself. He internally shouts at himself as he watches the aftermath of his venting.

"Um... I'm so sorry..." he trails off. Isabel shakes her head, quickly wiping the tears that fall.

"It's okay. We'll find him ourselves." Isabel quietly tells the boy before leaving the Stilinski house.

She jumps back into Lydia's car, where Lydia watches her closely. The second Lydia sees the tears fall she holds her close.

Noah silently watches the girl leave, spotting her crying as she went. He makes his way up to his son's room, spotting him sat at him desk, defeated.

"She left, huh?" Noah quietly calls out.

"Yeah." Stiles sighs.

"These things happen, son. Don't let it get you down. If it's meant to be, you'll always find your way back to each other." He pauses for a second. "Listen- I know that getting beaten up, and with what happened to Jackson, has got you pretty shaken. But, be happy about one thing: the game. You were amazing."

"Thanks, Dad." Stiles gives a small smile.

"No, I mean it. Look, it was pretty much over... and then you got the ball, and you started running. You scored, and the tide just turned. And you scored again and again. You weren't just MVP of the game- you were a hero." Noah grins.

"No, I'm not a hero, Dad."

"You were last night." Noah smiles before patting him on the shoulder and leaving the room.

"I'm not a hero." Stiles breathes out to himself.

♰ ♰ ♰

"I think he stopped moving." Isaac trails off.

"Where's Derek?" Chris asks, but the group turn to see Derek making his entrance.

"Someone certainly enjoys making an entrance." Peter scoffs to himself as he hides in the shadows.

"I'm here for Jackson- not you." Chris explains as Derek takes a defensive stance.

"Somehow, I don't find that very comforting." Derek counters. "Get him inside." He motions to Jackson's body in the bag.

"Where are they?" Scott asks Derek.

"Who?" Derek asks.

"Peter and Lydia!" Scott exclaims, but Derek ignores him and starts to open Jackson's body bag. "Whoa! Hold on a second- you said you knew how to save him."

"We're past that." Derek says simply.

"What about-"

"Think about it, Scott! Gerard controls him now. He's turned Jackson into his own personal guard dog, and he set all of this in motion so that Jackson could get even bigger and more powerful."

"No. No, he wouldn't do that. If Jackson's a dog, he's turning rabid, and my father wouldn't let a rabid dog live." Argent defends.

"Of course not..." Gerard speaks from the back of the room. "Anything that dangerous, that out of control... is better off dead."

Jackson swings his claws, impaling Derek on them as he growls. Jackson stands, still holding Derek who gasps in pain before throwing him aside.

"Well done to the last, Scott. Like the concerned friend you are, you brought Jackson to Derek to save him. You just didn't realize that you were also bringing Derek to me." Gerard smirks.

An arrow whistles through the air, Scott quickly ducks out of the way but Isaac - standing behind him takes the shot. He groans as the arrow impales his shoulder and falls to the ground. Scott lifts his head to see where the shot came from and freezes as he recognises the huntress behind the bow.

"Allison?!" Scott shouts.

He quickly turns to help Isaac get out of the line of fire. Argent aims his gun at Jackson, before taking a shot. Jackson flinches back from the shot and hisses before taking off behind the car.

Chris shoots out the tinted windows, trying to catch sight of the creature. As he reloads, Jackson jumps atop of the car, now fully in his Kanima shape.

Jackson uses his tail to wrap around Argent's gun, ripping it out of his grip and snarls at him. Chris begins to retreat, grabbing his knife to defend himself, but Jackson follows him. He roars as he throws Argent back, hitting the ground with a painful groan.

Derek jumps over Argent, transformed and ready to take on Jackson. Scott transforms behind, ready to help alongside Isaac, now healed. The three wolves try to overpower Jackson, but he doesn't seem to be stopping, injuring the wolves and managing to stop them all.

As Isaac tries to re-join the fight, Allison stops him, using her blades to slice at him. He tries to slash her back, but she easily dodges, slipping around to behind the wolf. She impales her blades into Isaac's back, making him fall to the floor.

She makes her way toward her target: Derek. He lay on the floor after Jackson's attack and looks up at the huntress as she approaches. Scott jumps forward.

"No, Allison!" Scott shouts.

Jackson appears behind the brunette, swiping the knifes out of her hands and wrapping his claws around her throat. Allison gasps as Jackson allows just enough space for ragged breaths.

"Not yet, sweetheart." Gerard calls out.

"What are you doing?" Allison asks.

"He's doing what he came here to do." Scott breathes out.

"Then you know." Gerard turns to the boy.

"What's he talking about?" Allison asks her grandfather.

"It was the night outside the hospital, wasn't it? When I threatened your mother. I knew I saw something in your eyes. You could just smell it, couldn't you?" Gerard smirks.

"He's dying." Isaac pants.

"I am. I have been for a while now, Unfortunately, science doesn't have a curse for cancer yet... But the supernatural does." Gerard explains, watching Derek closely.

Allison gasps at her grandfather, but all Jackson does is tighten his grip on her throat.

"You monster." Chris breathes out.

"Not yet."

"What are you doing?" Allison cries out.

"You'll kill her, too?" Chris asks him father, appalled.

"When it comes to survival...? I'd kill my own son!" Gerard shouts. "Scott." Gerard smiles.