018. VISITING DOCTOR
VALLACK
"PLEASE empty your pockets into the container." said the Eichen worker from behind the front desk, as the four teenagers approached for visitation.
Before any of them actually started to empty their pockets, Scott said, "We're here to see—"
But he was soon cut off by the man in Eichen scrubs again, repeating his previous statement— "Please empty your pockets into the container."
Lydia placed her faux suede handbag into the plastic box, Scott and Stiles dug out their phones from their pockets, along with some sets of keys. Then, the orderly kept staring at Kira uncomfortably, making her furrow her brows until he asked, "Please remove your belt and place it into the container."
"...I kind of need the belt." Kira replied hesitantly, "I mean, it's crucial to the outfit."
"Please remove your belt—" he said unwaveringly in a monotone voice, "which patients will attempt to take from you and use to strangle either themselves or others."
"Right." Kira nodded, pursing her lips awkwardly, and then removed her katana belt and placed it in the box, "Got it."
A few moments later, Dr Conrad Fenris—another doctor who worked at the facility, was walking the group of supernatural teens through the building and down to the closed unit.
"I'll remind you that I'm only doing this as a favor to Deaton," Fenris told the four of them, "and I'm doing it against my better judgment."
"Hey, what's the etiquette for talking to this guy?" Stiles couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "I mean, do you ever look at the other eye?
""I wouldn't." Dr Fenris responded with a sigh, "In fact, while you're down here, try not to make eye contact with anyone or anything."
—
Once the four teenagers had made it down to the entrance of the closed unit, accompanied by Dr Fenris, just as the man was about to unlock the gate with the Eichen key-card, Scott and Kira suddenly stopped half way through the corridor, catching Lydia and Stiles' attention and questioning expressions.
"You didn't think you were all going, did you?" Dr Fenris said to them, looking at the kitsune and true-alpha with a knowing look.
"It's mountain ash, isn't it?" Scott guessed, he and Kira both sensing an invisible restriction in the air around them.
"It's everywhere," replied Dr Fenris, "but heavily concentrated down here."
Stiles looked with narrowing and suspicious eyes at Scott, not liking the idea of going in without them— but Scott just returned the look with a reassuring pursed-lip smile.
"Valack's cell is the last one at the end of the hall." Dr Fenris said, directed to Stiles and Lydia— the only two who could go beyond this point.
Stiles looked back at Scott again unsurely, but Scott just once again gave him a reassuring look in return, he nodded and said "We'll be right here."
Stiles and Lydia walked slowly down the eerie corridor, their steps slow and cautious. They turned and gave each other one final look, before heading down to the end of the corridor of nightmares.
—
The first cell they passed by contained a woman, one who looked fairly normal to the naked eye, she was dressed in a medical scrub dress, bare foot— she simply just looked deranged.
Stiles wasn't surprised, being locked up in a place like this would be enough to drive the sanest person alive to insanity.
Lydia kept her eyes to the ground mostly, taking Doctor Fenris' advice to not make eye contact with anyone or anything down here.
This was Lydia's first time walking the halls of the Eichen House closed unit— but Stiles had walked these halls before. To save his girl.
The next cell that Stiles passed by made him have to take a double take. Surely, his eyes were deceiving him— because behind the indestructible glass wall, he saw the face of Donovan Donati.
Lydia noticed Stiles' sudden shift in attitude, as the boy in the red hoodie didn't take his eyes off the cell the entire time they took to walk past it. But after Stiles passed by a singular steel wall in the glass, when he looked back in the cell he no longer saw Donovan, but a monstrous creature with a dehumanised face.
Stiles let out a deep breath, knowing that what just happened was a trick played on his mind and that he did not actually just see the face of a boy he indirectly murdered.
"Who'd you see in there, Stilinski?"
Both Stiles and Lydia almost jumped at the sound of that familiar voice. Stiles rushed to the next cell where he'd heard that voice from, his eyes widened and a weak smile even creeping onto his lips, Lydia quickly following suit and standing beside him behind the glass of the cell belonging to such a familiar face.
There he was, in the flesh— Ace Carter, sat down on the cold, concrete floor of his cell. His back was leant against the wall, one of his knees bent up with his elbow resting on it, the other leg rested straight on the ground.
His hair was longer— much much longer. His forehead was drowned in his long, darker brown, slightly greasy strands.
Ace had been a hostage in this place for about 8 months now, after all.
Despite his clearly ill, pale, malnourished physique— his expression held a smile, one of genuine joy to see his little sister's lover.
"Ace— oh my God," Stiles said with a hint of shock in his voice, even though he knew that Aspen's brother was down here. "How— uh, how are you?"
"You really askin' me that, kid?" Ace scoffed with a sarcastic-like humour, raising his eyebrows as he looked up at Stiles on the other side of the glass cell.
Stiles couldn't help but let out a very small chuckle-like breath, his lips pursing into a forced attempt at a smile in return. But seeing Aspen's brother like this brought him no joy, especially since he knew how much Aspen was missing Ace. He may have re-entered their lives as a villain, but it's because of him that Aspen had her freedom right now.
He wasn't necessarily forgiven for every cruel, evil thing he ever did— but his redemption was pretty substantial. He could have skipped town last year, he could have gotten out after everything, he could have been free.
But instead— he sacrificed everything he ever had so that his sister could find the happiness she deserved.
This was Ace's penance.
"While it's nice to see you both," Ace sighed, flicking his gaze between Stiles and Lydia, "I do just have to check— my sister's not with you, is she?"
"No, uh, she's not," Lydia replied, "she knew it wouldn't be smart for her to come here, so she stayed behind."
"Good," Ace said with a suddenly more serious tone, "make sure it stays that way."
Stiles and Lydia both just nodded.
"So—" Ace sighed once again, focusing back on the Stilinski boy, "I asked you a question, kid. Who'd you see in the cell before me?"
"I, uhh..." Stiles hesitated nervously in a low and hoarse tone, before clearing his throat to stall a bit more.
"Relax," Ace chuckled a little, back to his unwavering joking, sarcastic nature. "I won't actually make you answer that— I understand it's a bit of a personal question, isn't it?"
When Stiles just looked confused, not knowing what to say, Ace sighed once again before picking himself up off the floor. Stiles couldn't help but notice how he stumbled to his feet weakly, having to lean on the wall to pick himself up, he made a few winces too as if he was in pain.
Stiles could only imagine what they were doing to him down here.
"The creature next door—" Ace begun to speak once again, feeling up to a bit of a story time considering this was his first interaction with some friendly faces since Derek came by last year. "It's called the the Sluagh. According to the myth— and by myth, I mean that blabby mouth over there—" Ace pointed in the direction of Doctor Vallack at the end of the hall, "they can supposedly take on the appearance of 'lost souls'— or some bullshit like that."
Stiles and Lydia gave each other a look when Ace pointed to the very man they had come here to see. Ace picked up on the look they gave each other, and his eyebrows furrowed with curiosity, as he crossed his arms over his chest and leant against the wall.
"Yo— weird vibe here..." Ace said as he wagged his finger between them, "what's goin' on? Wait— why are you guys even here?"
"It's uh..." Stiles replied hesitantly, "It's Vallack. We need to talk to him."
"Oh he'll just love that," Ace chuckled with humour, "the guy loves talking, in fact he rarely ever shuts up— do you Vallack?!" Ace called out to the man with an amused face.
Stiles and Lydia turned around to Vallack again, seeing the man with the bloody-stained bandage wrapped around his forehead just raise his hand in a waving motion.
Stiles then gave Lydia another knowing look, the two of them having some silent discussion with their eyes, followed by a 'are you sure' from Stiles, and a nod from Lydia.
And then Lydia was giving Ace one final look and a weak smile, before walking off in the direction of Vallack's cell. She knew Stiles had more to say to Aspen's brother than she did— so she figured she'd start on talking to Vallack alone, giving Stiles a moment alone with the Carter man.
"What, does Sherlock not need Watson today?" Ace said with narrowed eyes, noticing that Lydia had just gone off without Stiles.
"Watson just needs a minute," Stiles replied using Ace's reference with a weak smile, "to tell Aspen's brother that she misses him, a lot."
Ace's face suddenly fell— his sarcastic, joking nature crumbling down for a minute, as if it was a wall that he puts up as a defence mechanism so no one could ever really see his true emotions.
His eyes softened, and his lips pursed together as he stared at Stiles on the other side of the glass.
A silence washed over them for a moment, as Ace wasn't initially sure how to respond. But then a few seconds later, he did.
"Tell her I miss her too," he said to Stiles, "but also tell her that she needs to let me go. Knowing her she's probably wasting her time trying to find a way to break me out of here— which is never going to happen."
"You know her, Ace—" Stiles replied, "once she sets her mind to something, nothing and no one is gonna stop her."
Ace didn't reply to that, instead he let out a breath and darted his eyes to the ground, his arms still crossed over his chest almost defensively.
Ace missed his sister every second of every minute of every day. Even when he was climbing through hell, being experimented on with cruelty—he thought of her. He thought of what it would be like to hug his sister one more time, he spent his time wondering whether or not she was happy out there.
Wanting to change the subject, Ace spoke up again, returning to the conversation about the myth of the Sluagh.
"Wanna know what lost soul I saw when they brought me down here, Stiles?" Stiles didn't reply, he just continued to look at Ace engagingly, as the man answered his own question—
"It was like looking in a mirror."
Ace sighed again, letting out a deep breath as he uncrossed his arms from his chest. "At first I thought I had gone insane—" he continued, "Walking past a cell and seeing myself behind the glass, I mean, I know this place drives you to insanity but I thought 'jeez, that was quick'."
Stiles thought about how he had seen Donovan Donati behind the glass, knowing that he was the 'lost soul' that the creature took the appearance of. He was a lost soul because he was dead.
But Ace was never dead— not for real.
"It wasn't until I got to talking with Vallack over there—" Ace continued, "that I found out about the myth. 'Lost souls' he said..."
Ace let out a humourless laugh, while Stiles just stayed quiet, not knowing exactly what to say to all of this.
"That creature—it takes on the appearance of lost souls, Stiles." said Ace, "It takes on the appearance of lost souls—and I saw myself. And let's face it, 'lost soul' is just a kinder way of saying lost cause."
"You're not a lost cause, Ace." Stiles spoke up, "The very fact that you're down here—doing what you're doing for your sister—proves that."
Ace's lips formed a line-like smile, appreciating the words even though he couldn't believe in them.
"Speaking of my sister— how is she? You guys are back together, right? Last I heard you were broken up and seeing other people— and I'd really rather not to have to kick your ass through this cell. Truth be told I actually kinda like you."
"Yeah—" Stiles chuckled a bit, "We uh—we're back together."
Stiles then hesitated to answer the rest of the question, which did not go unnoticed by the man behind the glass. "But Aspen—she's... she's been better. Things are sort of just getting crazy again, and I think it's taking a toll on her. She's gonna be okay, though. She's the strongest out of us all."
"What are you talking about? What—what's going on, Stiles?"
"It— it's a long story," Stiles sighed, looking over at Lydia talking to Vallack and then back to Ace, "And I really have to go figure some of it out—"
"It's fine," Ace cut him off, nodding his head, "It's okay, really, go. I've taken up enough of your time."
Stiles looked back at Lydia who was now looking back at him too, knowing he should really get over there now, but as the Stilinski boy looked back at Ace—he couldn't help but ask one last question.
"Hey Ace, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, anything, kid." Ace nodded in reply.
"Do you think that—" Stiles begun, cut himself off, and then tried again, "Do you think that it's possible for Aspen to..."
"Spit it out, Stiles." Ace chuckled, "I have places to be, don't you know?" he added with sarcasm.
"I..." Stiles said nervously with hesitation, looking back at Lydia who was focussed on Valack and hopefully not listening, and continuing in a lower voice, "I did something really bad, Ace... something I can't take back."
"Does this by any chance have anything to do with what you saw in the cell before me?" Ace asked in response, and while Stiles didn't verbally answer— Ace could see it in his eyes he was right.
"I'm just..." Stiles spoke up, "I guess I'm scared Aspen is going to look at me differently if I tell her..."
"If you tell her?" Ace replied, "You mean you're thinking of keeping whatever this is from her? Haven't you guys learnt your lesson about keeping secrets?"
"I know, I know..." Stiles responded, "I'm just... I'm really scared of losing her—again, you know?"
"Stilinski— listen to me," Ace spoke, "If I know one thing in this world it's that my sister loves you more than what's humanly possible. She's loved you since she discovered the meaning of the word, and I am sure that there is nothing in this world that you could do that could change that fact."
Stiles just smiled weakly, it was nice to hear those reassuring words from someone who Aspen loved so much. It almost made him believe that it was true.
"Now—" Ace added, "go help the red-head Sherlock figure out whatever the hell is happening to Beacon Hills this time, alright? And then do me a favour and save the day like you guys always seem to do."
And with that, Stiles bid ace goodbye and joined Lydia in the interrogation with Doctor Gabriel Vallack.
—
"Did you bring the book?" Vallack asked as the Stilinski boy approached the cell to stand beside the strawberry blonde. Stiles dug his hand into his pocket to retrieve the novel, and held it up to the glass.
"Very nice." said Vallack, "First edition. Of course, there was only one printing..."
"There is no T.R. McCammon, is there?" Lydia guessed.
"No." he replied simply, shaking his head.
"You wrote the book." Lydia guessed again, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly.
"That's right, Lydia." said Vallack, "Maybe you've already guessed that it's not just a book."
"What is it?" the strawberry blonde continued to do the talking, as Stiles couldn't help but keep turning around, his gaze landing on Ace's cell every time.
"A tool..." Vallack answered, "Designed to open your eyes."
"To what?" Stiles asked skeptically.
"To them..." Vallack responded suddenly much more seriously, his voice like a warning tone, "The Dread Doctors."
"Why did you use a pseudonym?" Lydia continued to question.
"I had a professional reputation once—" he replied, "I wasn't interested in ruining it by putting my name on a second-rate piece of trash."
"Then why write the book in the first place?" Stiles asked.
"You haven't even read it yet, have you?" Vallack asked Stiles, "I wrote it because no one believed me. Because no one listened."
Stiles was suddenly washed over with a feeling of guilt in his stomach at those words.
No one, not even himself— believed Aspen when she said she wasn't responsible for what happened to Tracy.
No one listened to her, instead they all made her think she was insane and sent her home.
Well, everyone except for Lydia.
"They're here, aren't they?" Vallack spoke up again, "In Beacon Hills?"
"What are they?" asked Lydia.
"Not entirely human. At least, not anymore." Vallack explained, "They were scientists once... Scientists who worshiped the supernatural. Tesla said, 'If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.' They found their secrets in electromagnetic forces—ways to prolong their lives, give them power, and, most importantly, making you forget you ever saw them."
"What do they want?" Lydia questioned more.
"Good question, Lydia." he said back, "Everybody wants something, don't they?"
"Okay, so what do you want?" Stiles asked him skeptically.
Vallack held out a recording device he had in his hand, and placed it in the glass ceiled box between the cell and the outside of it. "Hit record." he said.
"What do you want me to say?" Lydia asked a little nervously.
"I don't want you to say anything..." Vallack replied, "I want you to scream."
—
"I can't hear anything." Scott said to Kira out in the corridor, feeling a little weakened, "Must be the mountain ash."
"I feel it, too." Kira replied, "To be honest, I feel a little weak..."
"Yeah, it's like being sedated." Scott replied.
"This was a bad idea, wasn't it?" Kira said nervously, starting to doubt the plan to come down here in the first place.
"They'll be okay without us." Scott said, referring to Stiles and Lydia, "And those two? They work pretty well together, you know— with all this supernatural stuff. No super strength or samurai swords, but they stay alive."
Kira looked up at Scott from where she was staring at the ground, resting her head against the wall as she looked into Scott's eyes.
"He used to have like— a giant crush on her, didn't he?"
The thought made Scott chuckle a bit, as the McCall boy was reminded of such simpler times— like their freshman year, and some of their sophomore year too.
"Yeah..." Scott replied chuckling, "yeah he did. You should've seen the way he was around her when we were freshmen."
"Was it bad?" Kira asked, chuckling a little too.
"Kind of obsessive," Scott told her with humour in his tone, "God— it drove Aspen crazy."
"That must've sucked for her though, right?" Kira replied, "I mean, from what I've gathered about the two of them, Aspen was the one to fall first, wasn't she?"
"Yeah, she was," Scott couldn't help but smile as he talked about the love story of his two best friends. "We were fifteen when she first told me about her feelings for him. God, she was so nervous to tell me..."
"What were they like?" Kira asked, referring to Stiles and Aspen. The Yukimura girl couldn't help but be curious.
She, like everyone else, admired the great love that was shared between Aspen Bellator and Stiles Stilinski. But their lives had darkened a lot since their love story first began, and Kira couldn't help but wonder what that kind of love was like before such darkness got in the way and tainted it.
"They were a mess," Scott chuckled lightheartedly. "Watching the two of them hide their feelings from each other was... exhausting. Aspen practically turned into a pile of mush around him, and she'd go bright red any time he said she looked nice or called her pretty."
Kira smiled as she listened to Scott describe what their relationship used to be like.
"Honestly, I think Stiles fell in love with her long before he realised it." Scott continued, "I mean, there was this guy— he left for England before you transferred in, his name was Jackson. He used to flirt with Aspen all the time and it would drive Stiles insane."
"Just like how his crush on Lydia drove her insane..." Kira replied, looking up at Scott.
"Exactly." Scott said, "you see how the whole thing was exhausting for me?" he added and laughed.
"The truth is, Stiles' crush on Lydia was never anything more than an obsessive admiration. The two of them were just cut out for the friendship that they share now. What he and Aspen share— that's true love."
Suddenly Scott's attention was drawn to the flickering of the lights all the way down the corridor, making his eyebrows furrow as he turned his back to Kira, looking around suddenly on high alert.
"Did you see that?" Scott asked Kira, with his back to her still.
"No..." Kira said with a wary and concerned voice, "But I am seeing this..."
Scott turned around—and his eyes laid upon Kira's hands— which were electrified with bolts of electricity, and his eyes widened with confusion and fear both at once.
—
"No way." Stiles said to Vallack's request for Lydia to record her scream for him "Not happening. Sorry."
"He's the only one that knows anything." Lydia whispered to Stiles as the two of them backed away from the cell a little.
"The guy is a nut-job who drilled a hole into his head!" Stiles whisper-shouted back, "He's probably lying his ass off."
"How many have died so far?" Vallack called out to them, "All of them teenagers? Am I right? Want to know how many died the first time they came here? Wonder how many more will die if they succeed?"
"This did happen before..." Lydia said in realisation.
"And now they're back—" said Vallack, all because a few teenagers who never even considered the consequences decided to reignite a supernatural force they barely understand."
"The Nemeton..." Lydia murmured under her breath.
"How do you even know about that?" Stiles questioned him, looking the man up and down skeptically.
"I know it because I saw it!" he replied, and then ripped off the bandage that wrapped around his forehead—exposing bloody red hole in his head, and seconds later— his third eye opened inside it.
Then the lights began to flicker.
"Who did you come with?" Vallack asked in a sudden panic.
"Our friends..." Lydia replied nervously.
"What are they?!"
"Don't answer." Stiles said protectively, narrowing his eyes on Vallack even more.
Only a few seconds later, Vallack figured it out. "You brought a Kitsune!" he called out with a tone of irritation and anger.
"What's happening?" Lydia asked in a panic as the lights started to burst until the whole corridor was blacked out.
"She's disrupting the building's defenses." Vallack explained.
"What do you mean?" Lydia asked, "How?"
"It's not just the mountain ash that keeps this building secure—it's the electromagnetic energy." said Vallack, "Eichen is built on the convergence of telluric currents. Ley lines. It's what allows it to keep certain supernatural creatures in... and certain others out. They knew you were coming. They're here. And you unlocked the door for them."
Vallack impatiently handed the recording device to them again, "Hit record. Do it now!" he yelled, "It costs you nothing."
"But it's worth something to you, so you're not getting it for free." Stiles said back.
"What does the book do?" Lydia asked Vallack impatiently.
"Tell us." Stiles added demandingly.
"I told you—it opens your eyes." said Vallack.
"How?" Lydia pressed further.
"It triggers the memory centers of the brain, clearing the fog and bringing the images of the Dread Doctors into focus." he explained with more detail, "I wrote the book in an effort to find out if anyone else like me had ever seen them before. I thought I could circulate it, an effort to trigger someone's—anyone else's—memory. They'd see the cover, a hint of memory... They pick up the book, read it... The suppressed memories surface, and they'd find their way to me to discover more. Just like you did."
"Did it work with anyone else?" Stiles questioned furthermore.
"You didn't see it on The New York Times' Best Seller list, did you?" Vallack replied with sarcasm.
"So, all we have to do is read the book?" said Lydia in a nervous, questioning panic.
"If you've seen them, if they've done something to you... Then the book will help you remember." Vallack told them, "Now... give me what I want."
And so Lydia did what he wanted— she hit record, and she screamed.
And the next thing they knew— Eichen House was under attack from the Dread Doctors.
//
HI ACE I MISSED U❤️❤️❤️❤️
this chapter literally had none of our gal aspen in it i miss her already wtf
she's probably busy wiping theo's blood off her hands tbh