Risen

40

"She's not dead" Derek said

"Derek, he said, there's a dead body. It's Erica" Stiles reminded "doesn't exactly leave us much room for interpretation"

"Then who was in the vault with Boyd?" he asked

"Someone else, obviously" shrugging his shoulders

"And maybe it was the girl on the motorcycle" Scott added "okay, the one who saved you?" looking at Isaac

"No, she wasn't like us" Isaac replied "and whoever was in the vault with Boyd was"

"What if that's how Erica died?" Stiles asked "they, like, pit them against each other during the full moons and see which one survives. It's like werewolf thunderdome"

"Then we get them out tonight" Derek said

"Be smart about this, Derek" Deaton said "you can't just go storming in"

"If Isaac got in, then so can we" determined

"But he didn't get through a vault door, did he?" He countered

"We need a plan, Derek" Nova spoke up

"How are we gonna come up with a plan to break into a bank vault in less than 24 hours?" Derek asked

"Uh, I think someone already did" Stiles said, looking at his phone "Beacon Hills First National closes its doors three months after vault robbery. Doesn't say here how it was robbed, but it probably won't take long to find out"

"How long?" He asked

"It's the Internet, Derek" sarcasm in his voice "okay? Minutes"

∆

The next night, Nova was the first to arrive at the loft, putting her book on the bed as she sat down,

"Turns out, there was something in the book" she informed "Enjin did stop the crows, left me vulnerable for a few seconds, but he did"

"So, what happened?" Derek asked, setting a takeout back next to her

"It's called a brief detachment" opening the bag "it only happens with hatchlings – phoenixes who haven't fully come into their power. When there's danger, and the hatchling is unable to protect themselves as they usually would, the phoenix will detach from their host in order to stop it" pulling out a picture she drew from her pocket "this is how it looked"

Derek looked at the picture, which was a rough sketch, but he could see her point, a figure was curled up in a ball on the floor, protecting their head with their arms, and a phoenix was above them, talons attached to the figure with it's wings spread wide.

"For those few seconds, he was protecting everyone" she added ". . and not every hatchling can survive the detachment" causing Derek to look at her "some hatchlings rely on their phoenix so much, their body temperature drops dramatically in those few seconds. Even when the phoenix reattaches itself, there's nothing they could do except find a new host"

". . You survived it because you didn't know about him" thinking for a moment "until you got here, you never had to rely on him"

"It's a very risky move for a phoenix" nodding slightly

Inside the takeout box was an order of fish and chips, another takeout box containing fried mushrooms and zucchini sticks, Derek taking one of her fries. Nova had learned a lot during the summer, training with her newfound abilities, adding her influence over fire to her kickboxing lessons, which packed a much harder punch. It would knock anyone down, even those caught in the crossfire, but she never needed to use those abilities.

X

"Okay" Stiles said, laying a set of blueprints down on the table "you see this?" pointing to an area with a red marker "this is how they got in. It's a rooftop air conditioning vent. Leads down inside into the wall of the vault, which is here" pointing to another area "okay? One of the robbers was lowered into this shaft. Now, that space is so small, it took him about twelve hours to drill into that wall, which is stone, by the way. Then throughout the rest of the night, they siphoned the cash up to the guys back on the roof through that one little shaft in the wall. Boom"

"Can we fit in there?" Scott asked

"Yes, we can" nodding slightly "but very, very barely. And they also patched the wall, obviously, so we're gonna need a drill of some kind. I'm thinking maybe a diamond bit . ."

"Look, forget the drill" Derek said

"Sorry?" looking at him

"If I go in first, how much space do I have?" looking at the blueprints

"What do you . . what do you think you're gonna do, Derek?" Stiles asked "you gonna punch through the wall?"

"Yes, Stiles, I'm gonna punch through the wall" looking at him, standing straight with arms crossed

"Okay, okay, big guy" encouraging him "let's see it. Let's see that fist. Big, old fist. Make it, come on. Get it out there" Derek holding up a clenched fist "don't be scared. Big, bad wolf. Yeah, look at that. Okay, see this?" grabbing his wrist and holding his opened hand close to his fist "that's maybe three inches of room to gather enough force to punch through solid co – "

Derek suddenly punched his hands, the force causing Stiles to bump against the table, a snort emitting from Nova, her laughter soon filling the air,

"Ah!" Stiles groaned "ah!" taking a few steps away from the table "he could do it"

"I'll get through the wall" Derek said, lowering his hand "who's following me down?" looking at Peter

"Don't look at me" shaking his head slightly as he was seated on the spiral staircase "I'm  not up to fighting speed yet, and honestly, with Isaac out of commission, you're not looking at very good odds for yourself"

"So I'm supposed to just let them die?" He asked

"One of them is already dead" bluntness in his voice

"We don't know that" he countered

"Do I have to remind you what we're up against here?" he asked "a pack of alphas. All of them, killers. And if that's not enough to scare your testicles back into your stomach, try to remember that two of them combine bodies to form one giant alpha. Not to mention, if they find out about her . ." pointing to Nova "she'll be their next target. You know how almost every supernatural creature wants to challenge a phoenix, and she hasn't come into her full power yet. They could rip her to shreds" dropping his hand "and I'm sure Erica and Boyd were sweet kids. They're gonna be missed"

"Could someone kill him again, please?" Stiles asked "– wait, you're a phoenix?" looking at Nova, earning a small nod "I have so many questions. ."

"Derek, seriously?" looking at his nephew "not worth the risk"

"What about you?" Derek asked

"Yeah, if you want me to come . ." Stiles muttered

"Not you" looking at him

"Got it" nodding slightly

"I don't know about Erica" Scott said "but if Boyd's still alive, we have to do something. We have to try"

"But?" Derek asked

"Who's the other girl?" He questioned "the one locked in there with Boyd?"