Sorry for the wait everyone! Life got a wee bit hectic and this chapter was really hard to write! I made sure to make it extra long for you to make up for it!

"Just when I thought things could finally begin to be somewhat normal, shit like this happens. I mean, we had a nice dinner, I was all curled up in bed, having a very nice dream and—"

"Stiles, please, shut the hell up and drive, ok?"

Stiles grit his teeth to bite back the response he had for Scott. Instead, he kept his eyes forward on the road as he drove. Why couldn't these things happen at a decent hour? Then again, when was there ever a good time for a crisis to happen.

Scott had been on edge since Stiles had picked him up at his house. Not that Stiles blamed him of course. He was sure that if he could hear Erica's howls, he'd be on edge too.

"Turn right up here." Scott directed Stiles to take the Jeep onto a back road. Of course, it wasn't like they could go somewhere nearby or anything.

They didn't say anything for a while, with the exception of Scott giving directions. There wasn't much to talk about at the moment, other than Stiles's ramblings. The road snaked further into the backwoods, away from the town. Well at least the chances of bystanders getting caught in the fight were considerably lessened.

"What the hell is that?" Stiles stared as the headlights of his Jeep reflected off corrugated tin. The tin, he realized, was the roof of what looked like a warehouse, an old warehouse by the state the wood was in.

"Looks like an old gold mining site." Scott answered, "I can hear the river close by, and there are sluices over there."

Stiles took a moment to look at Scott, "And you know this…how?"

Scott shrugged, "I didn't have History with Allison."

"I should have known…" Stiles rolled his eyes, "So Erica and Boyd are in there?"

"The howling has stopped, so I can't know for sure." Scott nodded, "I can smell Erica and Boyd, faintly."

"They still alive?" Stiles gulped, turning off the engine.

Scott shrugged, "I don't smell decay, if that's what you're asking…" As he opened the Jeep's door, Derek's Camero and Jackson's Porsche pulled up behind them.

Isaac made his way towards Scott and Stiles after he got out of the Camero, "Have you seen anything?"

Stiles shook his head, "We just got here."

"Shut up."

The teens looked at Derek, who was looking over the site, "Something's wrong…the scent is off…"

Scott sniffed, "Yeah, I smell it too…I can smell Erica and Boyd, but there's something else…"

"There's wolfsbane here…" Derek grit his teeth, fangs already making an appearance for the evening. The other werewolves sneered at the smell (or at least that's what Stiles imagined they were sneering at).

Not that Stiles blamed them. Since when was wolfsbane a good sign, "Great. And who do we know that loves wolfsbane and hates werewolves?"

No one answered Stiles, but then again, it was a rhetorical question. Stiles already knew the answer. And, as the young pack moved closer to the warehouse and saw the tell tale SUVs parked just out of side on the other side of the building, there was no doubt (if there had ever been).

"Damn it, I thought we were done with this bullshit." Scott clenched his fists tightly.

Stiles couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. "Fucking Argents…"

"What's an Argent?"

Stiles nearly jumped out of his skin, whirling around to face Harry, "What the hell? When did the British arrive?"

The rest of the pack, Stiles couldn't help but notice, seemed just as startled. Whoa, since when did that happen? Super senses must have been dampened by the wolfsbane or something.

"Where's Remus?" Derek asked, frowning, "I told Peter to call him."

"Remus and I have been here for a few minutes." Harry nodded, "We parked a ways down the road and finished the journey on foot so as not to alert whatever might be in there. Then scout out the perimeter to check for any traps and set up standard wards to prevent us from being noticed. Remus should be returning from examining the cars momentarily. Now, what's an Argent?"

Stiles looked at Scott, then at Isaac, just to make sure he wasn't the only one who hadn't been caught off guard. No, it wasn't just him, the others looked gobsmacked too. Though Isaac looked a little bit awestruck, but he didn't count…

It was then Remus came into view, though why Stiles hadn't heard his footsteps on the underbrush, he couldn't understand. He could clearly see a twig snapping under the older werewolf's foot, but no sound reached his ears. The older man was carrying a small box under his left arm, "I've disabled the cars, they won't be going anywhere." He explained to Derek, "I also took the liberty of removing the weapons and ammo inside the vehicles."

"Where is it?" Jackson asked, eyebrow arched skeptically.

Remus chuckled softly, "In here." He pat the side of the box gently, "I just shrunk everything to fit." The wizard looked back at Derek, "I hope you don't mind that I acted before you got here."

The Alpha just stared. Seriously? Even Derek was speechless? Sure, the Alpha didn't talk much, but now he couldn't speak. Stiles grit his teeth. The Brits had been in Beacon Hills for what, a few days? And they were already making a battle with the Argents look like a cakewalk.

Derek cleared his throat, "I should be asking you if you'll be alright taking orders from a younger Alpha."

Remus shook his head, "I've followed younger into battle. I'll be fine."

"Now, can someone please inform me about what Argents are?" Harry was tapping his foot impatiently.

A foot that Stiles noticed was covered in an interesting looking boot.

"What the hell are you wearing?"

It surprised Stiles that he hadn't been the one to ask the question; instead it had been Scott who had spoken up. Not that Stiles blamed him. Both Remus and Harry wore black leather boots that went up to just below their knees. The leather was odd looking…like alligator skin instead of cow leather. There were more patches of the leather strapped over the wizards' thighs and even their chests, like armor of sorts. But what was really weird were the long overcoats the two were wearing. Stiles couldn't see what color exactly they were in the dark, but he could see how the fabric fell to nearly their ankles and the long bell sleeves nearly covered their hands.

But the real kicker for Stiles was the fact that there was a sword hanging from Harry's hip. A long and slender one, maybe decorative, but a sword none the less. Who actually used swords these days?

Remus shook his head, "These are typical combat clothes for wizards. We dressed for a worst case scenario. Now, Argents?"

Derek grunted, "The Argent family is a family of werewolf hunters." At the raised eyebrow, Derek shrugged, "Long story short: we have a tentative truce with them. We don't harm innocent humans, they don't kill us."

Harry snorted, "I doubt it's that simple. We wouldn't be out here looking for a young woman in distress if it were."

"Yeah, we'll it's complicated." Scott murmured.

"Give us the short version then." Remus nodded, "I'd like to be informed."

Stiles ran a hand through his hair, agitated, "Alright, here we go. Six years ago, Kate Argent set fire to Derek's house and killed his family. A few months ago, Peter killed Kate in revenge. Now Chris, the guy in charge of these hunters kinda and Kate's brother, was going to let it slide because Kate was batshit insane and broke the hunter code or whatever-"

"Kate got what she deserved, basically." The group turned to Peter, who was adjusting from his partially shifted form, "Murdering an entire family can do wonders for your standing as a person, even a hunter."

"Right…" Stiles shook his head, "But then Gerard, Kate and Chris's dad, rolls into town with this psycho "kill them all" mentality. Yeah, we just barely finished dealing with him before you guys moved into town."

"Obviously not." Harry shook his head, looking at the warehouse, "If he's hurting your packmates, he's still a threat."

"Well yeah…" Stiles shrugged, "But he was dying of cancer, and we barely were able to stop him from using the Bite to cure himself and becoming super powerful."

Harry opened his mouth to question Stiles last statement, then shook his head, "Never mind, I'm sure I'll get the full story later. So we can expect Gerard and Chris in there?"

Isaac nodded, "Unless Allison is with them."

Remus raised an eyebrow, "And Allison is…"

"Scott's ex-girlfriend; Chris's daughter."

Both wizards gave Scott an even look, eyebrows raised. Poor Scott, Stiles couldn't help but feel bad for him. It wasn't his fault that Allison had taken a dive off the deep end because of Gerard.

"And I thought I had bad luck with girls…" Harry muttered, running a hand through his hair, "Enough chat. What's the plan Derek?"

The Alpha clenched his fists, "Did you see more than one entrance into the warehouse?"

Both wizards shook their heads, "Just the one door." Remus replied.

"Well," Harry added, "And the windows." He jerked his head up to the high gaping windows.

After a moment, Derek nodded, "McCall, Lahey, Whittemore, sneak through the windows. Try not to get yourselves shot at. Peter and I will take the door." After a moment, he looked at the wizards, trying to figure out what to do with them, "Both of you come with me."

"What about me?" Stiles frowned, stepping toward Derek.

The Alpha returned his frown, "Stay with the cars."

"Hell no!" There was no way Stiles was going to let himself be left behind because he was the token human. Unless Harry and Remus counted, which he wasn't sure of, "I'm coming with you!"

Then Stiles felt Derek's iron grip on his arm and could see the red flashing through his eyes, "Stay. In. The. Car."

With that, the Beacon Hills pack moved to invade the warehouse. Stiles clenched his fists tightly, waiting until they had all entered the building before following after them, "No one leaves me behind…" he grumbled.

Derek could just imagine Stiles following them, even though he couldn't hear him, and it took all his control not to run back outside and lock the teenager in his car. He was not going to have the human hurt on his watch. It was bad enough that he had to watch the two new members of the pack (if Derek could consider them that) in combat, not to mention deal with psychotic hunters and try and rescue Erica and Boyd, he did not need to keep Stiles out of trouble on top of that.

So to say that Derek was on edge as he moved inside the warehouse would have been an understatement. He had two men who were practically strangers behind him, along with his semi-sane uncle. He was only minutely relieved to see the silhouettes of his other Betas in the high windows. Right now, he needed to focus on Erica…if she was still even alive…

Derek gestured for Peter, Remus, and Harry to duck behind some rusted machinery. No need to betray their presence just yet…

The warehouse wasn't quiet, which was odd to Derek. He hadn't heard anyone talking while they had been standing outside, but now that he was inside the building, he could hear the argument inside.

"Dad, you need help! Look at yourself!"

Well, that meant Chris Argent was in the warehouse, along with Gerard. But then again, they were expecting that.

It was the smell of blood Derek wasn't expecting. Or rather, he was hoping he wouldn't have to face. And it made his gut coil tightly when he realized he recognized whose blood it was.

The Alpha carefully looked around the gears he was crouched behind to get a good look at the situation.

There was Chris, with his back to them, and at his side was Allison. Great, just another piece of the drama Derek had to deal with. Hopefully Scott could keep it together long enough to finish the job. Especially when they had to deal with Gerard, who was standing across from his son and granddaughter. Granted, Gerard didn't look as intimidating as he used to, with his clothes a rumpled mess and his skin smeared with the black ooze that came from a rejected bite. For someone Derek had watch mercilessly kill an Omega, he was starting to look an awful lot like one. And not the strong kind, like Remus.

He would have found Gerard's situation slightly humorous if not for the fact that he could see Erica, hair matted with blood and whimpering quietly, cowering over Boyd's body. It was a grim realization that he referred to it as "Boyd's body" and not "Boyd."

The poor girl, who Derek had promised strength and protection to, was trying to shy away from Gerard, who had that damn sword with him. Judging by the size and shape of Erica (and Boyd's) wounds, Gerard was having a grand old time cutting into the two teens.

"Not until I get that damn Alpha and his whole pack's heads mounted on my walls." Gerard grabbed Erica by her hair, yanking her up from where she was cowering, "Come on, doll. Howl! You don't want to end up like your boyfriend now, do you?"

Erica let out a pitiful howl, choked by the sounds of her own sobs. But Derek heard them, at it made his fangs gnash against his gums. He may have been too late to save Boyd, but he wasn't going to let down Erica. Not again.

"Gerard, stop!" It was Allison this time. Well at least she wasn't on her psychotic grandfather's side, so that was a plus.

Gerard sneered, "Are you so quick to turn back to your little mongrel boyfriend after what he did to your family? First your mother, now me?"

"That's not fair Gerard!"

"Life's not fair, Allison." Gerard scowled at her, holding the sword against Erica, "Come on! Where's the fearsome Alpha now?"

Derek couldn't take it anymore, "Stay here until I give the signal." He whispered, knowing he could be heard by any lycan ears. He just had to hope that Peter would grab Stiles before he put himself in the line of fire. With his orders given, he stepped out from behind the machinery, "I'm here Gerard, now let Erica go."

He'd be lying if he said he didn't appreciate the spooked look on Chris and Allison's faces when they whirled around and saw that Derek was standing behind them. Even Gerard looked surprised, which was odd considering it was his plan to get Derek there.

"Since when did you get so sneaky?" Gerard narrowed his eyes at him, "I should have known you were coming a mile away."

It was then he heard Remus's voice, low and hushed from behind the old machines, "Harry and I stunned the scouts surrounding the area-"

"Your scouts have been taken care of-" Derek said for the hunters to hear.

"-they're unconscious by the side of the road, near the brook-"

"Don't worry; they're by the creek a ways back. They're fine." Internally, he had to hand it to Remus and Harry. Apparently Derek and his pack had been walking into a trap and the Brits had disabled it…without being asked. Deep in the back of his mind, Derek knew that he would have to ask about this supposed war that the wizards had just finished fighting.

But that would have to wait. Gerard needed his full attention at the moment.

"Now this isn't your style, Mr. Hale." Gerard sneered, tightening his grip on Erica's hair, "You don't have the know-how to plan an attack like this." Erica was whimpering louder now, tears welling up in her eyes. "Where's the rest of your rag tag pack?"

"They're here." Derek nodded, lowering his voice so the pack, but not the hunters, "Surround them. Remus, you and Harry keep out of sight. If there is an opening to get Erica out of here, take it."

For the first time, Derek felt like the pack was actually acting like a unit. Even Scott and Jackson were behaving, which was abnormal, but not unappreciated.

"Looks like your pups are finally starting to act like a pack." Gerard smirked, "Took them long enough."

"It's amazing what the threat of a psychopath can do to a pack." Derek grit his teeth, "I'm here, let Erica go. You don't have any business with her."

"On the contrary, "Gerard shook his head, "I have all the business in the word annihilating vermin like you."

It was then Chris decided to rejoin the conversation, "Dad, they're kids! You're torturing and killing them! This isn't what we do!"

"Oh shut up Chris!" The old man threw Erica back to the ground, causing her to scurry as far back as she could from the hunter, "Since when did you become such a whiner? Show some backbone."

"Since when did backbone involve torture and murder?" Derek could hear Stiles's voice behind him and resisted the urge to groan in exasperation. Damnit Stiles… Derek moved himself into the line of fire between Stiles and Gerard. Gerard was holding the sword, but that didn't mean he didn't have a gun tucked away somewhere. "Like seriously, what do you plan on gaining from all this? Even if you managed to kill all of us, how do you plan on covering up the fact there are a bunch of teens missing?"

Derek rolled his eyes. While it was true, there was no way that Gerard could possibly try and cover up the deaths or disappearances of more than 6 people, it wasn't the time to try and argue the logics of the situation.

Granted, with Gerard, there wasn't much logic for the situation to begin with.

"We aren't here to fight." Well, that sounded odd coming from his mouth, "Just give us Erica and Boyd so that we can get out of your hair."

In the poor lighting, Derek could see a shape moving towards where Erica was cowering. Given the smaller build, Derek assumed it was Harry, with Remus following behind him as backup (at least, that's what Derek assumed he was doing). Well at least the young wizard was good at stealth…either that or the humans just weren't good at observation.

It was then Gerard began to laugh. A rather annoying sound considering the situation. "Give you them?" He smirked, "I don't plan on letting any of you go." His gaze darkened considerably, "Especially when I can crush you under my heel once and for all."

With that he turned, plunging the sword through Erica, who had been reaching over Boyd in an attempt to take Harry's outstretched hand. The sword went through her back and back out through her chest, ripping a hole in her heart.

"NO!" Derek surged forward as the blonde's blood splattered over Harry once Gerard removed the sword, his Betas right behind him. But try as he might to get to Erica, Derek couldn't move any closer. A quick glance down confirmed the line of Mountain Ash that was surrounding Gerard and the other hunters. Even Remus hadn't been able to follow Harry into the circle.

Already, he could heart Erica's heartbeat falter, sputtering to a stop. How could he have failed again…and they had done everything right this time…

In the middle of his internal rant against himself, he noticed Harry was moving again, gently moving Erica to lie beside Boyd before looking up at Gerard, "You bloody bastard…"

"Oh-ho! Who is this now?" Gerard chuckled, wiping off Erica's blood against Boyd's pant leg, "I didn't realize you had new recruits, Hale." The older man turned his back to Derek, focusing on Harry, "And that's a voice of someone who's not from around here."

"Brilliant deduction, however did you manage to figure that out?" Harry's lips were pressed into a thin sneer.

"Don't get lippy with me, boy." Gerard frowned, "You're human, so you have that going for you. Don't test my patience."

Harry was not amused, from Derek's guess. His usual good natured smile was gone, and in its place was a steely gaze, "Don't call me boy." He said coldly, the cadence of his accent sending shivers down Derek's spine, "And your so called "patience" seems to involve murdering defenseless teens. At least have the bollocks to face facts that you're the monster here."

"You're forgetting the fact we're surrounded by werewolves, boy." Gerard was laughing again, but Derek wasn't listening.

He was watching Harry.

The young wizard's eyes were narrowed in anger; the "Emerald City" eyes, as Isaac had called them, now a more sickly acid green that nearly reflected in the poor lighting. Harry stood up from where he had been crouching over Erica's body, his cloak draped around his slender frame and the sword that tied to his belt. Gerard might not have noticed a killer instinct when it was invoked, but Derek sure did. There was no doubt that Harry would have no qualms killing the old man to avenge the life of a girl he had never met. Harry, who had just hours ago offered Derek the first serving of the meal he had made, would soon offer Gerard's head to him. And it made the Alpha in him rumble with pride.

"I heard that you went quite a ways to try and become a werewolf yourself, Mr. Argent." Harry said calmly. It was devoid of the usual polite tone Derek had heard earlier that night. "All in an attempt to cheat Death."

Gerard, it seemed, had lost his jovial attitude, "Don't you dare lecture me, boy. You wouldn't know the first thing about survival."

Harry laughed, one mirthless burst of air, "Why don't you bloody try me?" He reached under his cloak, drawing forth the thin sword he had kept tucked away.

"What is it with people and fighting with swords?" Stiles's words made Derek blink. He had nearly forgotten that he wasn't the only one watching the showdown. The teen had gotten so close to the fight that he was nearly shoulder to shoulder with Derek.

"Stiles..." Derek grit his teeth, "What did I tell you? You could get hurt."

Stiles, to Derek's annoyance, was not impressed, "And how is that different than normal?"

Derek didn't have time for Stiles's smartass comments, "I'll deal with you later." He growled half heartedly, pushing Stiles to stand behind him.

Back in the circle of Mountain Ash, metal had met metal. The clanging swords didn't echo in the poor acoustics of the warehouse, but to the ears of the werewolves, they might as well have.

"How cute, junior's got himself a pretty sword." Gerard growled, swinging his silver sword at the younger man, "But you're going to need a lot more than that to get one over on me."

Isaac looked like he was about to jump out of his skin trying to get across the Mountain Ash and get to Harry. Derek knew the feeling; being helpless to stop Gerard…again.

The force of Gerard's swing knocked Harry off balance, stumbling against a support beam. It was all the opening Gerard needed to thrust his sword into Harry's stomach, pinning him to the beam.

"NO!" It was Isaac who screamed this time, his features warped from wolfing out in his rage. Remus wasn't faring any better, running up against the Mountain Ash several times.

Harry, despite having a sword in his gut, still had a firm grip on his sword, and used it to thrust in turn at Gerard. It was a poor shot at the angle he was at, and Gerard was easily able to step out of Harry's reach. That being said, Harry was barely able to sink the sword an inch into Gerard's shoulder. Even by human standards, it wasn't a crucial injury.

"Nice try kid." Gerard pressed a hand to his bleeding shoulder, "I've gotten far worse from monsters far scarier than you. I would say better luck next time, but…" he chuckled again, "there probably won't be a next time."

"You're right, there won't be." Harry grunted, stepping away from the support beam.

For the first time, Derek could hear Remus's heartbeat race as he watched the younger wizard, "Harry…"

Harry gave the older werewolf a small smile, "Don't worry Remus, I just got the wind knocked out of me." With that, Harry shrugged off his cloak. It was then Derek could see the leather armor that was strapped to various places over Harry's clothes. Including his stomach. The spot where Gerard's sword had been hadn't even left a scratch.

"Oh thank Merlin for dragon hide…" Remus breathed, his shoulders sagging, and his heartbeat returning to normal. Derek couldn't help but return the sentiment, though not exactly praying to Merlin…must be a wizard thing.

The younger wizard turned his attention back to Gerard. "Your first mistake was assuming I'm anything like those you've faced before. I'm not your average human or even your average werewolf."

"I can see that." Gerard smirked, "You borrow that from your Dungeons and Dragons costume?"

Harry let out a snort, rolling his eyes, "Cute. But not my point." He shook his head, "Your second mistake was assuming this was an ordinary sword. If you had the same sense of smell that our lycan friends do, you'd smell something very wrong with this sword."

That comment made Derek pause. He hadn't been focusing on his sense of smell, he had been relying on his sight to see in the poor light. But now that he focused on smell, and tried to smell through the blood and wolfsbane that had been in the Argents' cars…there was something wrong. The sword didn't smell like steel, or even silver like Gerard's. It was a sour smell, one that burned Derek's nose.

"Acid…" He heard Scott mutter, rubbing his nose in irritation.

"Close, but not quite." Harry held up the sword. Already, Gerard's blood on the tip of the sword was turning black and dripping to the ground, "It's Basilisk venom. And this sword isn't laced with it; it's imbued with the venom." He looked evenly at Gerard, "Already you should begin to feel the burn as the venom seeps through your body. Your vision will go next, followed by your nervous system. In short, you have about 45 seconds to live." Harry's voice lowered as he glared at Gerard, "Good bye, Mr. Argent. I would say it was a pleasure, but," he chuckled, a bitter mockery of Gerard's own laugh, "I must not tell lies."

With that, Harry walked past Gerard, giving the older man a shove in his wounded shoulder. The old hunter fell over without a fight.

"Ok, that was slightly badass." Stiles grumbled, trying to get around Derek, "Let me get through, sourwolf. I need to brush aside the Mountain Ash."

With a grunt, Derek stepped out of the way, allowing the human to break the circle of Mountain Ash. Once it was broken, the werewolves ran forward, Derek making a beeline to Erica and Boyd's bodies.

Boyd had been killed long before Erica had begun to howl, that much was certain. His body was cold and Derek could smell the scent of death on the teen. Gerard had only needed one of them to howl for help…no need to keep two teens alive…

"I'm so sorry…" Derek hung his head, resting his hand on their heads. All this trouble, and he still couldn't save them. Even with two wizards, who were trained in combat, who had outfoxed Argent at every turn, and they still couldn't stop Gerard from ruining two lives…

It was eerily silent in warehouse. Thankfully, Chris and Allison had decided to keep their mouths shut for the duration of the showdown. Granted, Derek was sure they had only been there to stop Gerard, but he hardly cared now. They had failed just as much as Derek had. Filled with grief and frustration, Derek let out a pained howl. The Betas followed suit (with the exception of Peter, who was checking Gerard's body).

In the corner of Derek's eye, he could see Harry kneeling beside him, looking over Erica and Boyd's bodies, "So young…" He murmured, "It was long before their time…"

"They weren't even 17 yet, of course it was before their time." Derek snapped, eyes flashing red.

But Harry wasn't paying attention to the Alpha. In fact, Derek could see that Harry's eyes had lost focus. And considering how sharp those eyes had been when facing down Gerard, that was saying something. But now…the younger wizard stared at the bodies in front of them, his hands reaching over their chests and resting on their hearts (or, for Erica, the hole where her heart would have been).

"Harry?" Remus's voice sounded over Derek's shoulder, "What are you doing?"

Harry didn't answer. Instead, the wizard's head fell back, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling as he held his hands over Erica and Boyd's hearts.

It was white. Everything was white. And bright.

Erica shut her eyes, trying to adjust to the brightness of…wherever she was. When she opened her eyes again, she realized that she was in the forest. It was the Beacon Hills reserve. But everything was white.

And, to her eternal shame, she was naked.

"What the hell is going on?" Erica crossed her arms over her chest, trying to cover herself.

"Erica?" Another voice echoed through the woods. She knew that voice…

"Boyd? Is that you?" Even if she had no idea what was going on, it would be comforting to have Boyd by her side.

Sure enough, Boyd came walking through the white trees towards her. And sure enough, he was naked too. "You have any idea where we are?" He asked, looking away (probably in an attempt to preserve modesty, Erica noted).

"I would say we were in the reserve, but…the reserve doesn't look like this." Erica ducked behind a tree. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Boyd shook his head, "I remember being in pumped full of wolfsbane and getting dragged to some old warehouse…"He swallowed, "I think we're…"

"Dead?"

Erica and Boyd turned at the sound of the new voice. Unlike them, the stranger wasn't naked. Instead, he was dressed in white, a loose fitting shirt and pair of pants. His black hair was in tousled waves, framing his angular face. A pair of tidy glasses framed a pair of green-

It was then Erica was hit with a memory. The pain of Gerard Argent's sword, the torture, watching Boyd die, watching the pack come to her rescue, trying to crawl away, a hand reaching out to her, connected to a pair of bright green eyes.

"Oh my god, we're dead…" Erica could feel her hands shaking.

The stranger nodded, "Yes, I'm afraid you are quite dead."

"And who are you?" Boyd asked, "The Grim Reaper?"

The stranger, or the Reaper, or whatever the hell he was, shook his head, "Not quite. But I am someone who can help."

Erica felt like she was going to throw up, "I don't want to die…I'm not ready to die…"

She felt a hand on her back, Boyd's large and callused one. "It'll be ok Erica…" He tried to say calmly, but in his eyes, Erica could see the fear.

"I know you're not ready to die." The Reaper replied, his voice softened by a European accent, "You died before your time." He nodded, walking closer to them, "And I'm here to offer you a choice."

"A choice?" Boyd asked, wrapping his arm around Erica, keeping her close.

"Yes," He continued, "You see, this isn't the Afterlife, it's a transition place. You can either move on, accept your death and continue to the Afterlife-"

"Yeah, that's not happening." Boyd muttered.

"-or I can take you back."

Erica raised her eyebrow, "You mean bring us back to life?"

The Reaper nodded, "Yes. It will be painful, you'll still be suffering the wounds you had when you died. But you'll be alive."

"But I had a hole in my heart from where Gerard stabbed me!" Erica blurted, "What's going to stop me from dying again?"

A light chuckle passed through the air, "There's only one way to find out, hm?" The smaller man reached out his hands to them, "Shall we?"

Seeing that hand reached to her a second time nearly caused Erica to spin into a panic attack. But Boyd's tight grip around her reassured her. "If you go, I go." He murmured in her ear.

After a deep breath, Erica nodded, "Alright." She whispered, reaching out and took the stranger's hand.

"What the hell is going on, Remus?" Derek turned to look at the older wizard. "What is Harry doing?"

Remus, for the second time that night, looked panicked, "I don't know what he's doing, Derek, I swear. I don't know what's going on."

"Is it a spell?" Stiles asked, looking over to get a closer look at Harry. The wizard hadn't blinked at all during the five minutes since Gerard's death, they weren't even sure if he was breathing. He was as still as a statue.

"No, that's not how our spells work." Remus was shaking his head rapidly, "For us, we use Latin and Greek based words or phrases to activate the magic within to trigger a specific command which is channeled through the wand and-"

"I'm sorry, did you just say spell?"

It was only then that the pack turned their attention to the remaining Argents. Chris and Allison had made their way to stand behind the rest of the pack. Well, that was awkward… Stiles thought, never turn your back on a hunter…

Remus looked at Derek, "Should I tell them?" He asked.

"No." Derek grit his teeth, "The less they know, the better."

The older wizard nodded, drawing the wand from his arm holster and pointed it at Chris, "Stupefy!"

In an instant, the hunter crumpled where he stood, falling to a dead heap.

Allison let out a scream, "Oh my god! What did you do to my dad?"

Remus didn't answer, simply repeating the spell on her.

"What the hell was that?" Scott turned to Remus, alarmed. Not that Stiles blamed Scott, he'd probably freak too if he saw his ex-girlfriend drop like a lead balloon.

"It's a stunning spell." Remus explained, taking a deep breath, "It's the same thing Harry and I used on the scouts. They're harmlessly unconscious. I was also planning on casting a memory charm on them so that don't remember what happened here."

Derek raised an eyebrow, "Do it."

With a nod, Remus made his way over to the two hunters.

"Alright, now that we know wizards are an awesome addition to any local werewolf pack." Stiles muttered, "Especially when one's got the magic sword of death. Seriously, where the hell did he get that thing?"

Remus shook his head, finishing the charm on the Argents, "It's a ridiculously long story, and I don't even know all of it. Only Harry knows all of it."

Stiles could pretty much see the gears turning in Derek's head, "When you said you had followed younger men." The Alpha started, "You were referring to Harry, weren't you?"

Remus nodded, "I was. Harry wouldn't agree, but…you're looking at the reason the Wizarding War ended."

That got the pack's attention, Stiles knew. All eyes were back on Harry. Granted, Isaac's eyes had never left Harry. Something about presenting or whatever. But something twisted in Stiles's gut, looking at Harry. Slight, slender Harry, who liked to cook and tease his godparents and play with his little godson. Cold, determined Harry, who could easily kill the man who had been tormenting the pack for months.

Just when Stiles thought the questions had been answered…it was going to be a long night.

"Something's happening…" Isaac whispered, pointing at Harry's face.

Stiles blinked, getting a good look at the young wizard's face. Now that his head was tilted back, Harry's hair was off of his forehead. There was an odd scar in the middle of Harry's forehead, a lightning bolt. It was now black; oozing what looked like ink down his forehead and to his eyes.

"What is that? Some sort of rune?" Stiles looked between Remus and Harry, "You guys use runes, right?"

Remus shook his head, "We do, but Harry's had that scar since he was a baby. And it's never done that before."

"Well that's comforting…" Stiles muttered, "Not even the freaking wizards know what's going on."

"It's not just Harry…" Scott added, "Look."

Stiles looked towards where Scott was pointing. The flesh on Erica's chest, under Harry's hand, was knitting itself back together.

"What the hell…" Derek leaned over Erica, touching the closing wound.

It was then Erica opened her eyes, gasping desperately for breath.

"Holy shit!" Stiles jumped at the sudden movement, "What the hell just happened?"

Derek wasn't paying attention to Stiles though. He was more focused on Erica, grabbing her quickly, "Erica, you're alive!"

Erica grimaced, "Yeah, but it hurts like a bitch!" She hissed as Derek tried to lay her in a more comfortable position, "Boyd should be back too…he said he'd bring us both back." She turned her head slightly to look at Boyd's body.

"I'm here Erica…" Boyd's sudden revival wasn't as dramatic as Erica's but it was still something. The teen turned his head to the side, coughing up thick bile from his lungs.

"He actually did it…" Erica murmured, reaching for Boyd's hand.

Derek furrowed his brow, "Who?"

"She's referring to me."

The pack, who all seemed torn in who they should be looking at, turned their attention back to Harry, who had snapped out of his catatonic state. The young wizard was standing slowly before walking over to where he discarded his cloak. He didn't pay any mind to the stunned expressions on anyone's face (including Remus, which Stiles took as a bad sign), instead moved back towards Erica, draping his cloak over her like a blanket, "There you go miss."

Erica blinked up at Harry, "Cutest Grim Reaper ever…" she mumbled. Whatever the hell that meant. Then again, Stiles was just trying to keep up until someone explained what the hell was going on.

Remus seemed to have shaken off his shock and was laying his own cloak over Boyd, "We should get out of here before our hunter friends wake up."

"Um, can we take a time out here?" Stiles shook his head, "Are we just going to ignore the whole Lazarus act we just watched?"

"Of course not, Stiles." Remus smiled softly, though the exhaustion was clear on his face, "I have questions too. But seeing as it is nearly dawn, it might be best for us to attack this topic when we are rested, and in the case of poor Erica and Boyd here, recovered."

Derek nodded slowly, "Whittemore, Lahey, get Erica to my car." He ordered. As Erica was being moved, the Alpha stared at Remus, eyes narrowed, "This time, we get the full story. No secrets."

"I shared all my secrets with you," Remus sighed, "The story you're asking for is Harry's to tell."

Stiles looked back at Harry, who was helping Isaac and Jackson by waving his wand and floating Erica. It would seem that even for a wizard, Harry was an interesting character.

Fucking confusing, but interesting.

"Let's get Boyd out of here too." Derek stood, going to Boyd.

Remus nodded, "I can use a spell if you would like."

"Yeah, I'm sure you can." Derek rubbed the bridge of his nose, sounding tired.

Well, Stiles reasoned, It had been a long night for all of them…

A soft thumph sounded outside the warehouse walls, followed by Isaac's distressed voice, "Harry!"

Damnit…

Derek growled, "I thought we were done with this bullshit…"

Stiles wasn't sure who moved faster, Derek or Remus, out the front of the warehouse and to the cars outside. By the time Stiles managed to catch up, the two were standing next to Jackson and the Camero, looking down at Isaac on the ground. As he got closer, Stiles realized what he was seeing was Isaac kneeling on the ground.

Cradling a lifeless Harry in his arms.

Yes, in the end, most people just wanted to see Gerard die. I gave him a kind of anti climatic death because... in comparison to what Harry has faced, he really isn't all that evil. I'm sure Harry's just like "Oh just die, you bitch." I apologize if my action scene wasn't all that great. It was difficult to manages all those characters (Jackson seemed to fall into the background this time...) and provide enough detail to convey the action. For that, I apologize.

And yes, this is where I took some liberties with Harry being the Master of Death. No, I'm not going to make it so he can resurrect any one he damn well pleases. I plan on explaining it a bit more in the next chapter. But hey, Erica and Boyd are alive! Yay!

Alright, for the next chapter, I'm planning on Harry revealing his backstory...after he wakes up of course. I'm thinking maybe Isaac might step in and take care of Harry while he's...out of commission. Is that something you guys would like to see?

This story is pretty much running off the suggestions of the comments I get, so comment away and let me know what you want to see!