darkest timeline } { of recovered memories and big reveals

[braveandstupid]

Elena: [Cora had sent out a group text to those impacted by this memory business saying that Peter would be at the Abattoir Monday night to talk to Freya about his potentially messed with memories. All involved were welcome to attend. When they do arrive, Freya has a line of shots set up on the bar, and Elena is there nursing one of them. The one benefit of working the graveyard the night before is that she can show up early.]

Stiles: [He and Derek show up at the same time, having kidnapped his friend for the afternoon since he wasn't needed at the summit. He's wearing a crossbody laptop case, but it doesn't have a computer inside. It's a mouse transport, where a group of four Aesling mice are hanging out in.] Did we miss the party?

Elena: [shakes her head as she gestures to the shots] Help yourself. We're still waiting on your sister and Peter.

Derek: [and he's just going to hover a bit, looking around, before taking a seat at the bar. He's not sure what to do, honestly, and isn't sure if he should talk to Elena. After all, she was there that day. Did she know what happened? What he did? He decided to err on the side of caution and just look at the shotglass, debating on if he's going to drink it.]

Stiles: [well, he's going to sit down near Elena, all smiles.] Great. [he takes the shot, then moves the glass out of the way and opens his bag] Can I get some kind of cake? I promised them cake. [and he'll gently lift the four mice up and onto the bar counter.]

Elena: [knows nothing. she is jon snow. at least as far as her current memories are concerned. Her eyes widen when she sees the mice though, bright smile flashing at them] Oh wow. They really are mice.

Priest: Hail, Lost Priestess of the Scream! [and the four mice raise their hands in celebration]

Stiles: [blinks] ..... You recognize her?

Priest: Yes. We met her on the Night of the Big Secret.

Elena: Uh. Hi? [she's not really sure how to greet them but apparently she's a priestess. that's new and interesting information] Nice to see you again?

Rebekah: [before she can say anything further, though, something heavy comes down nearby] Take the mice off the bar.

Elena: Beks ...

Rebekah: I know they're special mice, but if the very human health inspector walks in, we could be in a lot of trouble.

Stiles: [and the mice will scamper up onto Stiles' shoulders] Better?

Rebekah: For now. You said something about cake?

Stiles: Yes, can I please get some for them? [bright grin]

Derek: [he's just watching in amusement, sipping a bit from the shot glass]

Rebekah: [gestures for him to follow her] We might have something in the kitchen, and at least it'll be out of view.

Stiles: [and he will go to follow her]

Derek: [and that leaves Derek alone with Elena. Crap.] Um... hi.

Elena: Hi. [she's not really sure what to say to him either. she's good enough at reading people to know that the last time they met, it wasn't a good day for him. she doesn't want to make him uncomfortable, so after a moment, she finishes her drink and clears her throat] Cora talks about you all the time. It's clear she loves you a lot.

Derek: [that elicits a smile from him] Yeah, it's mutual. I miss her, with her living here and all.

Elena: [there, the smile's good] I know the feeling. I have a little brother too. He's taken up this whole nomad lifestyle, so I don't see him as often as I'd like.

Derek: Does he at least enjoy it?

Elena: Oh yeah. He's happier than he's ever been.

Derek: It sounds nice. Traveling all the time, going only where you want to.

Elena: Yeah, it does. I think it would drive me crazy after a while though. I've always been one to keep myself rooted, you know? Have a home, have a family. But it's what he needs to do, so I don't mind being a place he can stop and call home for a while.

Derek: I only really get to travel when I work with Stiles. Otherwise I'm just at home.

Elena: You never get to take a vacation or anything?

Derek: [shakes his head] Stiles and I went to Vegas once on a case though.

Elena: [she raises an eyebrow as she reaches for another shot] Did you have fun?

Derek: It was alright. Loud. Almost got married by Elvis to the creature we were hunting.

Elena: [almost chokes on the shot] Wait, what?

Derek: [chuckles and tells her about the case] Stiles figured she was using me as her own food source and saved me.

Elena: [she laughs] I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh but ... that certainly sounds like an eventful trip.

Derek: It's okay to laugh. [she has a nice laugh] Most of our cases are odd like that, which I think might be more Stiles' family punking him than what we could be working on.

Elena: At least you have some variety to spice things up. [a beat] Not that I can say my days are quiet. I work in a New York City emergency room. But I always feel like I'm more of a spectator than a participant.

Derek: Yeah, but most of my time is spent in a small town under the watchful eye of my mother. Not much to do in town for someone my age.

Elena: [she frowns, understanding] That's why I went to medical school in New York. I was stuck in a small town with Damon stalking my every move and surrounded by terrible memories. When I had the opportunity, I just ... ran. And fortunately, my friends were smart enough not to let me do it alone. [she looks over at him curiously] Have you ever thought about coming out here? To stay with Cora and Peter?

Derek: I have, but my mother won't allow it.

Elena: Why not?

Derek: She's training my older sister to be alpha one day, and I'm her second. So I need to be there for her.

Elena: [nods, because she gets it. That kind of family responsibility. She won't judge him for it] Well, then you should enjoy your vacation while you're here. Is Cora taking you around to see all the sights?

Derek: Yeah. Between her and Stiles, any free time I have is taken.

Elena: [she nods] Sounds like when this is over, you'll need a vacation from your vacation.

Derek: I may just hide in my room for a day and sleep

Elena: Man, that sounds so nice. [tired resident is tired] I haven't had a day off to just sleep in a long time.

Derek: I'm sure. City as big as this, I'm surprised you even get to go home.

Elena: There are legal rules on how sleep deprived your residents can be. My only saving grace.

Derek: I hope you at least make enough money so that when you do get a vacation, you can go on a spectacular one.

Elena: [shakes her head] Not as a resident. Maybe one day when I'm a fancy attending or running my own practice.

Derek: Then you can actually sleep every day

Elena: Something to aspire to at least. [and then the door opens and Cora makes her way in]

Cora: Hey. Where's you chaperone? [teasing]

Derek: [looks over his shoulder and smiles at his sister] In the kitchen. Not sure if he's getting the mice cake or is becoming a french chef with them on his head.

Cora: Probably a little of both. Hey, Elena.

Elena: Hey. Now it looks like we're waiting on Peter.

Peter: [and he will be a few seconds behind Cora, sliding his phone back in his pocket] No need to wait. [and he will take a look around the place, a bit uneasy at the idea of why he is coming here.]

Freya: [catches sight of the gathered group and finishes her last order before making her way closer. She eyes Peter briefly before speaking] We should probably take this upstairs. I'll get Stiles- Elena?

Elena: I know the way. [and she'll finish her last shot before leading the way towards a door marked private that leads upstairs to the living space of the Mikaelsons. Elena takes the second door on the right, opening it to Freya's private sitting area. When the door closes, the sound of the bar is shut out below] Have a seat.

Derek & Peter: [they go to find seats, prefereably near each other.]

Stiles: [is watching the mice dance around the piece of spiced cake Rebekah gave them]

Cora: [there's a small couch for the boys to settle onto and Cora moves to perch on the arm next to her brother. United Hale front. Meanwhile, Elena settles into one of the nearby chairs to wait]

Freya: [pokes her head in] Peter and Cora are here. Are you ready?

Priest: [stops dancing, looking at Freya, then Stiles] The time has come.

Stiles: What time?

Priest: The revelation of the past.

Stiles: Well, let's take the revelation on the road. [he picks up the cake slice and the mice jump into the bag so they can walk through the bar unseen]

Freya: [and she will raise an eyebrow as she leads the way up. Once everyone is in, she rips the band-aid off] I definitely altered your memory. That much is easy to tell.

Peter: [cautious] How is it easy to tell?

Freya: My magic is an extension of me. Another witch wouldn't be able to pick it up, but since I'm intimately familiar with what my own magic looks like, I can see the metaphorical threads.

Stiles: So that's why I don't feel anything. Huh.

Peter: Well, can you unalter it?

Freya: I can. [Elena starts to make a concerned expression, and Freya holds up a finger] But since I don't know what exactly it was that I did, it's not necessarily the safest option. I'm just going to be slicing the threads. Whatever I covered up might be a lot to handle.

Derek: [looks at Peter] You know, maybe it's better not to. Mom wouldn't be thrilled if she's the one who asked her to do it.

Peter: Your mother could have done it herself. No, this was done outside of her wishes. [thinks]

Stiles: Maybe cut one thread at a time and see how it goes?

Elena: Maybe we should go with the less intrusive option first. [Elena looks over at the mice perched around Stiles] See what the mice know, and then see if we really need what's in Peter's head?

Stiles: Depends on if they will tell us. [lets the mice back out, and they gather around the cake slice] So, you guys ready to spill?

Priest: We cannot, not until the hour of the awakening. [the priest points at the clock] It has said at nine oh six on this day, all things will become clear.

Freya: [frowns as she looks at the clock, then back at the mice] This day? You're sure.

Cora: So we have an hour to kill.

Elena: [looking at the mice directly] What are we awakening from? Can you tell us that?

Priest: The future God of Rambling Sentences said not to tell until such time, or it may risk the lives of the family of Hale.

Derek: [sits up] Wait, what?

Cora: [frowns as she turns to face the mice] What's that supposed to mean?

Stiles: Wait, go back to this whole future God of Rambling Sentences. Explain.

Priest: [the mouse nose wiggles, unsure on how to please his god] Are you certain the God wishes to know before the chosen time?

Stiles: [sees the mice cowering and nods] I do. And we're not angry at you. You've done a good job keeping this secret until now.

Freya: ["future" also sticks in her mind, and she's moving to pull one of the grimmoires off the shelf and starts paging through it, letting him deal with the mice for now]

Priest: [nods] On the day of the great change, the souls of the future God of Rambling Sentences, as well as the future Priestess of the Scream, and the future Priestess of the Angry Magic, arrived into the bodies of their younger selves. They were frightened of the events of their time, and traveled to prevent them from coming to be.

Elena: [eyebrows go up and she turns to Freya] You can time travel?

Freya: Dahlia wrote the spell, years ago. [she holds up the grimmoire she was investigating] You're sent back to the date you want to change, and you get three days to do it, before you're sent back to the future. I knew there was something about that specific amount of time.

Stiles: The three days we can't remember.

Priest: Yes. But it was said when the date of the spell arrived, the memories would awaken inside of the travelers.

Peter: Which is in one hour. But my memory was changed by you, because I remember that day... somewhat.

Freya: [she nods] If you're willing to wait an hour, it would be much safer undoing it.

Stiles: Yeah, I'm getting the feeling we should wait after all.

Derek: [quietly] But why that day?

Cora: [also confused - she doesn't remember much, but something from dinner comes back to her] Mom said they came to the house to warn her about Paige. More specifically, the banshee came to the house. [looks at Elena]

Elena: I don't ... I don't know who Paige is.

Derek: Paige was my girlfriend at the time. [looks at Peter, worried]

Peter: An alpha was going to turn her that night. You warned us about her death, so we stopped it. You don't remember that?

Elena: [shakes her head] It must be part of the three day window. I always assumed ... Isobel, the one who taught me how to banshee, she thought it was an early fugue state. But I hadn't even been bitten yet. It never made sense. [she had felt like she was losing her mind and accepted the easy answer, but now the easy answer was wrong. and she doesn't know what to do with that information]

Stiles: Yet somehow, time traveling does. [rubs his eyes] My mom is going to kill me.

Freya: I'm sure we must have had a reason. I wouldn't have cast that spell without a reason.

Peter: [walks over to put his hands on Derek's shoulders, trying to ground his nephew] Let's just hope that the magic isn't limited by time zones and making us wait fo four hours.

Cora: [also reaches over for a show of support, giving Derek's hand a squeeze] Whatever it is, it'll be okay.

Elena: [and at six after nine on the dot, Elena, Freya and Stiles suddenly stop, then fall unconscious. For Elena, who is sitting on something, it's fine, no harm done. but unfortunately for Freya, she was standing in the middle of the room and has little to cushion her fall as her legs give out from under her]

Peter: [and since he's on his feet, he's going to rush over and catch Freya]

Stiles: [and he's been kneeling in front of the table with the mice, and he'll just fall off to the side]

Elena: [At first, there's just silence as the time travelers slip back into place. Cora will slide off the arm of the couch and put a pillow under Stiles' head, because it's probably better than nothing. But then Elena begins to stir in her chair, eyes blinking open as she takes in the setting as she does. She does at least recognize Freya's loft, but there's a bit of a "how did I get here?" expression on her face until her eyes land on each of the Hales. Peter and Cora first, before finally Derek, and relief washes over her features. She honestly looks so happy to see him, that before the rest of her brain can catch up, remember what she did and how things may be different, she's launching herself out of her chair and throwing her arms around his neck] It worked. You're okay.

Derek: [and he is very confused because he can see the change. Her demeanor was different, and he's shocked as she has this sudden familiarity with him enough to hug him like that. His arms keep out to the side, looking at Peter and Cora in confusion] Um... what worked?

Elena: [she pulls back when he doesn't respond, and the conflicting timelines start to try and compete for which one was real. She takes a step back, as the headache begins to come on] Sorry. For a second, I ... [that isn't the question he asked.] Paige. We were trying to save Paige. We hoped that saving Paige would save you.

Freya: [as she speaks Freya starts to come to, one hand coming to her forehead as she does. Unlike Elena, however, when she looks up and sees Peter, she knows she's probably not that lucky, and pulls back and away, trying to give herself some space]

Peter: [and that doesn't seem to bother him, since they aren't really close. But he is concerned about them in general]

Stiles: [and just groans, rubbing at his head because ow]

Derek: Save me from what?

Priest: The awakening is upon us! [and the mice begin to dance and sing]

Elena: Dying. [to put it very simply but the headache is becoming too much and she needs to sit back down]

Cora: [looks over at Stiles] You good?

Stiles: [starts to sit up] Yeah. Magic packs a wallop. [looks up at her and smiles] Hi.

Derek: [and he's going to inch back, his eyes wide. That is not something he wants to know]

Elena: [yeah, if she had her way she would have never told him, but right now everything is blurring together and she can't be more helpful than that. She lets him back away, closing her eyes as the timelines try to reassert themselves and pick which one is "real" and which is the remnant.]

Cora: Hi. [but she heard that part about her brother being dead, so she's not going to return that smile quite yet] Explain.

Freya: Paige rejects the bite. Derek does the merciful thing, the right thing, by any standard, but it changes the color of his eyes. And that causes problems for your mother. Gerard Argent plays his power games, as Gerard is wont to do. He claims Cora as restitution.

Cora: The fuck he does. [no, she doesn't want this information any more either] My mother wouldn't allow that. [even with their complicated relationship now, she knows that much. or at least she thinks she does]

Stiles: She doesn't have a choice. But it doesn't matter, because they renig and burn the house down a year later with almost everyone inside. [sighs]

Freya: Derek tries to get his sister back, fails and trades himself for her instead. Laura, Cora and Peter flee to New York, while Derek gets to be Gerard's werewolf test dummy for a decade. Eventually Laura gets you back, I don't know the details how, but that shifts the battle ground from Beacon Hills to New York. Laura decides to go on the offensive, and takes out most of the family, save for Chris Argent who agrees to keep his distance to protect his daughter. We thought it was over. Until the moment it wasn't.

Elena: I screamed for you. [she looks over to Peter. she can still see it, when she looks at him, but she tries to focus on the living man in front of her, rather than the dead one she left behind] When I got to the police station, I found out about the rest of you. All of you. And in what was probably a poor, grief-driven life choice, we decided to try and fix it.

Peter: [and he stiffens, his jaw set]

Stiles: [rubbing his temple] Freya took us back to the night of Paige's death. We felt if we stopped that, Derek wouldn't get his blue eyes and the Argents wouldn't put Talia in a hard spot.

Elena: And it worked? [she looks over at Derek, an apology written on her face, as she knows that none of this is easy to hear] You're here, at least.

Derek: [ yeah, very uncomfortable. And he looks at Stiles, feeling betrayed in a way]

Peter: [looking back at Freya] Why? Why would you three do that for us? Beyond Stiles, we barely know you.

Cora: [sees that betrayal and knows what Stiles means to him. She gets up from where she is and makes her way over to her brother, resting her hand on his arm and giving it a soft squeeze of support]

Freya: [she honestly doesn't want to say it again, because while for him it's been thirteen years, for her it's been five minutes, but she's going to have to use her words eventually] In this timeline, you barely know us. In the other, we were allies. My brother and his girlfriend were members of your pack. [and there's more but if he's going to make her return his memories he'll find out the rest]

Stiles: [sees it too] Derek. Cora. We were friends then too. But you know how sheltered you feel now? It was much worse. And Cora, you were way angrier. [groans, rubbing his head again] But you were together.

Derek: Until we're dead.

Stiles: Yeah, that sucked. [and he looks at Cora, his eyes sad]

Cora: [doesn't know what to do with any of this honestly, because this is all way, way too much and she needs to leave. But she won't without her brother and her uncle. She turns her attention to Freya and stays focused] So can you fix him now?

Freya: [looks at Peter, knowing how much she changed, some at his request] Is that still what you want?

Peter: [nods] There's still pieces missing. Do it.

Freya: Fine. [pushing up onto her knees, she moves closer and rests her hands on either side of his head. Closing her eyes, she focuses her magic and begins to chant softly, slowly unwinding the pieces she had used to gloss over the rest. Back comes Stiles' declaration in front of his mother, his and Elena's conversation in the car, Elena exposing Freya for having feelings like a real girl. But with it also comes Peter coming clean to his sister about Kate and the risk to the future, and asking Freya to manipulate his feelings for Kate to protect his family. Since it's undoing rather than manipulating, he doesn't pass out this time. But when Freya does pull back, she looks hesitant, knowing that now he has the full picture of that night.]

Peter: [and he staggers back a few steps, blinking rapidly. It was his fault. Or it would have been. It also makes more sense why Talia sent him away] It's true...

Derek: [still feels awkward] I still don't understand why you'd all care.

Freya: [she looks from Derek to Elena, and she can see Elena struggling, unsure how to articulate the answer to that statement. So she does it instead] Is it so hard to believe that someone would love you enough to reject a world without you in it?

Peter: [and his eyes widen and he speaks softly, unsure] What?

Stiles: [and he looks at Cora, a hesitant smile] Loss makes you do crazy things.

Derek: [and he's going to watch that, then look at Elena]

Elena: [looks back at him and shrugs awkwardly, not really wanting to say more than that. Their entire relationship previously had been all about earning his trust, slowly but surely, brick by brick. She's not going to walk that back now that they're in different places again. But she still feels what she feels, so eventually her eyes drop to her hands, playing with the bracelet on one wrist]

Freya: [glances to Peter, before saying softly] You already knew that. [but it's more of a gentle reminder, as the memories are likely still settling]

Cora: [is just uncomfortable with all of this, with the way Stiles is looking at her, and all of this information is too much. She remembers seeing that look from him before, one day in class when for some reason he wouldn't stop looking at her. She had passed it off at the time as Stiles being weird - it was Stiles, he was always weird - but now she knows what it really was, and she can't be in this room anymore] We should go.

Derek: [inches closer to his sister] Yeah.

Peter: [he watches Freya a moment, then nods. Understanding] We need to think about all this. [and he's going to head to his niece and nephew] We'll be in touch.

Stiles: [and he's going to just pull himself up onto the couch, shoulders slumped]

Freya: [nods, walking the Hales to the back door and letting them out so that they don't have to go through the bar. Once they're gone, she closes the door behind them]

Elena: [looks up to meet her eyes before saying one word:] Tequila.

Freya: [nods again, in agreement.] Tequila. [she turns to Stiles] Tequila?

Stiles: Yes, with a side of curly fries.

Priest: [jumps into Stiles' lap] The future god said to remind you that you are willing to let them go and move on as long as they are alive and happy.

Stiles: Yeah, well Derek's not happy. Most of the time.

Freya: [sends a text down to the bar for curly fries - Rebekah will bring them up when they're done - but the tequila is fortunately already in the apartment. She gathers three glasses and the bottle off a shelf before making her way back] We will figure it out. But I think for at least tonight, we are allowed to wallow just a little.

Stiles: Yeah. Then I'll try and figure out how to deal with Derek. Why did we want these memories back?

Freya: It wouldn't be a price if it didn't suck.

Elena: How bad are things with Derek? I know he told me he doesn't leave Beacon Hills much. I think. Things are still ... rearranging.

Stiles: I think, because of our intervention, now that I think about it, Talia kept a tight leash on him. Like, he only gets to leave town to help me, and that's because my mom asked her.

Elena: [shakes her head] I'd say let me know if there's anything I can do to help but any further interventions from me should probably wait until after Damon leaves town. [buries her face in her hands] God, Damon is alive. How did I fuck that one up? [she reaches for her tequila]

Stiles: Yeah... [he stops as something in his memory collides] My mom's alive. She's not supposed to be...

Freya: I told you I had a plan.

Stiles: [and yeah, he's going to just rub his eyes. Totally dusty]

Freya: [You're welcome.]

Elena: [may have slight concerns about how she did that but she doesn't want to burden Stiles with that right now] At least good came out of this.

Stiles: They're alive. That's what matters. [reaches for the tequila]

Freya: [and with that they will have their night of wallowing with tequila and curly fries, and try to start fresh in the morning]

Stiles: [fresh with a killer hangover [