Bravely Courageous

48

At the sheriff station, Parrish looked at the siblings and said, "Maggie, Caleb, I know this is hard."

Maggie slouched in her seat, crossed her arms and glared at him as she retorted, "Caleb and I already told you. Those guys came out of nowhere. They jumped us and attempted to steal our car. It looked like one of them had a knife and I think they might've been wearing masks, but I wasn't sure. Everything happened so fast. As soon as he was able, Scott called Argent."

He sighed. "Okay, that's enough. Thank you, Maggie. Thank you, Caleb."

The two left the office and leaned against the back wall. Caleb pulled his sister into his arms and Maggie relished in her brother's embrace.

---

As the two were making their way home, they got a text from Scott telling them to meet the others at the Animal Clinic.

Maggie stumbled, feeling a strange rush, and ran to the clinic, followed by her brother.

When they got there, they noticed that Stiles had arrived and ran to help him. Her aching legs, sore feet and heaving chest as she gasped for air seemed like nothing when she saw the state Stiles was in.

Kira and Maggie walked in, both supporting Stiles, and Lydia stumbled slightly, so Scott and Caleb rushed to support her.

Lydia looked up at them. "Something's happening. I had this sudden rushing feeling, like we're running out of time."

Maggie nodded. "I got that same feeling."

They made their way into the operating room and Stiles said, "Yeah. Yeah, I kind of got that feeling, too."

After a moment of trying to catch her breath, Maggie asked in a faintly harsh tone, "Where to?"

"The school," Scott answered, frowning at his friend. "What's going on with you?"

Maggie shook her head. "Nothing. Let's go."

Once again, they climbed into the Jeep and drove to the school. Stiles climbed out and stumbled to a railing and Maggie ran towards him. Stiles turned slowly to face his friends and said, "Scott, hold on. I know what you're all thinking. If this works, it might kill me too. But even if it does, you have to go through with it. Stick with the plan, okay?"

Maggie frowned. "Yeah, and it's a stupid plan."

Scott nodded. "The plan is to save you. That's the plan I'm going with."

They walked to the front door and Scott opened it. Maggie and Caleb exhaled, preparing to see the lockers and instead, saw snow. "What the hell?"

Scott frowned. "Oh, this is definitely not part of the plan."

They stood near each other as they observed their surroundings. A bandaged soldier wearing an old bomber jacket appeared. Maggie and Caleb moved to stand in front of Stiles and Lydia, the former reaching her hand back to take Stiles' hand.

The Oni materialized before them and Maggie and Caleb stared daggers at them.

One Oni came close to Maggie and she kicked at it, causing it to stumble slightly. The Nogitsune stepped closer to them. "Like I promised, Stiles, we're going to kill all of them. One by one."

Scott's voice took on an angry tone. "What the hell is this? Where are we?"

"Between life and death."

"Bardo," Lydia stated.

Maggie and Caleb's eyes narrowed further as the Nogitsune continued. "But there are no peaceful deities here, Lydia. You're dying, Stiles. And now everyone you care about is dying, too."