Pretenders

FIVE

  CHAPTER FIVE
( REUNITED )

THEO RUSHES UP. "We have to warn her." He winces.
Liam helps him stand. "You're still injured. Don't do something stupid."
Theo rolls his eyes. "Can I just go home?"
Scott shrugs. "If my mom says you can leave, then we can help you get home." He leaves to ask.
"Does it hurt?" Liam asks.
Theo shrugs, but then winces again. He nods. "Yeah, it hurts."
Liam wraps an arm around Theo's waist and brings Theo's arm around his neck to support him. "You're gonna be fine."
Scott walks in. "My mom says you're clear to leave, just don't be alone."
Theo nods. "Then lets go."
The pack drive to Theo's house and sit down inside. Liam stays by Theo's side. Theo shuffles in his seat as Alex walks into the living room.
  "Have you healed?" Theo asks.
  Alex nods. "Yea. Why is everyone here?"
  Liam looks at her. "Do you know where the sword is?"
  Alex furrows her brows. "What?"
  "The sword," Theo explains, "the one that can turn you back to stone."
  Alex shrugs. "It's at the bottom of the ocean. Why?"
  "Is there anyway your brother could get it," Stiles asks.
  Her eyes widen. "Uhhhh. Possibly."
"If he has it, he can essentially kill you," Theo voices.
Alex nods. "Essentially." She pinches the bridge of her nose. "Shit." She grabs a bottle of vodka and flicks it open. She begins to drink.
"You're an alcoholic, aren't you?" Scott questions.
Theo snaps his fingers. "Yep. Both of us. It's great."
Stiles rubs his face. "Oh my god."
Alex slams the bottle down on the counter. "Me and god," she turns to them, "we don't get along."
Stiles scoffs. "Hello tumblr."
She rolls her eyes. "Hey asshole. I was alive way before tumblr. And I'm also not kidding."
"Nice," Stiles retorts.
"What are you gonna do about your brother?" Scott asks.
Alex shrugs. "Don't know. Maybe," she pushes herself off the counter and opens a secret compartment filled with guns and pulls out a rifle, "I use every assassin trick in the book to invade where he is and kill everyone there." She cocks the rifle.
  Scott stands and walks towards her. "Whoa, whoa. Calm down and no killing."
  Alex cocks her eyebrow at him. "You maybe an alpha, but you're not my alpha."
  "But we don't have to kill everyone," Scott argues, "or anyone."
  Alex scoffs. "Who said anything about 'we'? I'm doing this alone."
  Theo stands up. Liam helps support him. "Hold on a minute. You are not doing this alone."
  "You could all get killed," she argues.
  "Yea, but technically so could you," Theo says.
  "I would just be going back to the way I should be, stone," Alex tells them.
  Theo rolls his eyes. "And I should still be in hell. You don't see me jumping back down there because that's where I should be."
  "But-"
  Theo cuts her off. "Alex, you are my best friend, the only friend I've had in a long time. I can't lose you."
Alex gives him a sad smile. She looks down and places the gun on the counter. "Okay." She looks back up. "Then, what do I do?"
Theo lets out a relived sigh. "What if you talk to him? Do you have any good memories together?"
Alex smiles and nods. "Yes. I remember training him and playing games in the woods."
"Then," Theo starts, "remind him."
Alex furrows her brows. "You think that'll work."
He shrugs. "I think that it's worth a try."
  She nods. "Okay then. What if it doesn't work?"
"Then I guess you can kill him," Theo says.
Scott rolls his eyes. "Can we refrain from killing?"
Alex shakes her head. "Nope. It's my job."
"Fine." Scott crosses his arms. "What's the plan?"
  Alex shrugs. "Go to the woods and find them."
  "That is an awful plan," Stiles says.
  "As someone once told me: make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, throw away the plan," Alex tells them.
  "That is terrible advice," Mason comments.
  "I mean," Alex shrugs, "it works."
  "How about we relax today, and then figure it out tomorrow," Theo suggests.
  "Okay." She sits down. "Lets watch a movie."

+++

  The pack slowly wakes up to the smell of food.
  "What time is it?" Liam questions.
  Theo walks over to him. "It's 10:30. Wake up."
  Liam sits up. "How are you feeling?"
  "Better."
  Liam smiles. "Good."
  They get lost in each other's eyes before Mason clears his throat. They quickly look away, their cheeks dusted pink. Theo walks into the kitchen to help Alex.
  Mason sits next to Liam, nudging him. "Dude."
  "What?" Liam whispers.
  "You and Theo?"
  Liam rolls his eyes. "Nothings going on."
  Mason clears his throat. "Sure." He gets up and sits next to Corey at the table.
  They all settle down to eat breakfast.
  After they finish eating, Scott starts to talk. "So what's the plan?"
  "We go to the woods and summon him," Alex says.
  "Summon him?" Corey asks.
  Alex nods. "Yes. He is a deity."
"What god is his father?" Mason questions.
"His father is Zeus." Alex rolls her eyes. "The most arrogant god."
Liam cocks his eyebrow. "Did you just insult the king of gods?"
Alex shrugs. "I like Hades better."
"Didn't he cause all the problems is Greek mythology?" Mason asks.
Liam shakes his head. "No. Hades didn't really do much actually."
"It was mostly Zeus who screwed everything up," Alex says.
  "Oh."
  The sit in silence for a few minutes.
  Alex shrugs. "Alright. Lets go into the woods."
  They all venture out in the woods into a clearing. Alex begins to make markings in the trees.
"What are you doing?" Mason asks.
"I'm making his symbol." She continues to carve. "He will be able to feel its power radiating." She stops and take two steps back. She raises her arm to the symbol and begins am incantation. "Retsam rouy llac." Her eyes glow white as the symbol glows gold. Everything stops glowing as she lowers her arm. "He's coming."
They feel a presence behind them and turn to see Devon. "I'm back." He pulls out a sword. Alex moves back. "And look what I got."
"No."
Devon spins the sword in his hand. "Yes. Now I'm more powerful."
Alex laughs. "Okay, sure." Her smile drops. "Why are you doing this?"
Devon's eyes fill with unshed tears. "Because you killed her." He points the sword at her.
"She wouldn't stop," Alex whispers.
He lowers the sword. "Stop what?"
"I just wanted to be left alone," she admits. "I didn't want to be her weapon." Her voice cracks at the end. She shakes her head as her eyes fill with tears. "And that's all I was."
"That's the thing Alex," Devon starts. "You always thought about yourself. No one ever thought to pay attention to me!"
"What do mean?" She asks.
"You were turned to stone and mom was in Tartarus." He takes a deep breath. "You came back and didn't look for me. No one ever thought to see if I was even alive! With mother it was always about you! Alex this, Alex that. 'Why doesn't Alex listen to me? Why can't you be more like your sister?' I was never enough!"
"Then why are you so mad she's dead?!" Alex yells.
"I'm not mad that she's dead." He's tears start to fall. "I'm mad that you left me."
They stand in silence before Alex speaks. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
"Well you did," Devon shoots back.
"I'm sorry," Alex admits.
"Yeah, me too," Devon replies.
They stand in silence once more, just staring, trying to get their thoughts under control.
"You're the only family I have left," Devon says.
Alex sniffs. "Then why are you trying to kill me?"
Devon looks down and drops the sword. He looks back up. "I don't know." Tears stream down his face. "I'm so lost."
Alex walks forward and hold his face in her hands. "And thats okay. You will find your way, no matter how long it takes." The hug and fall to the floor, a crying Devon in Alex's arms.
  "I'm sorry, I'm s-so sorry," Devon repeats.
  "It's okay. We all make mistakes. It's how we recover that matters," Alex tells him.
  "It's been years since someone hugged me. Thousands," Devon admits.
  Alex responds by hugging him tighter. She mouths 'go home' to the pack and they leave the siblings in the clearing.