canon au } { post-401: the dark moon

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[After taking an exciting trip down to Mexico, the gang finds themselves at La Iglesia. Buffy and Scott go inside to deal with the beserkers and rescue Derek, but the Derek they find isn’t exactly the Derek they’re expecting. Baffled, they pull him out of the wall and bring him outside to where the rest of the gang is very confused. Malia asks if that’s Derek, Stiles responds with “Sort of.” and Derek looks almost offended because what’s that supposed to mean.]

Buffy: Subtle. [to Stiles. She then nods towards the car] There's a blanket in the trunk. Make yourself useful.

Stiles: [makes a why me face but goes and does it, along with a granola bar and bottle of water. He packed for a long trip, and Derek looks like he could use it]

Dawn: [is just sort of ... staring in shock because what is even happening right now. Because that's Derek. There's no denying it's Derek. But he's also not, all at the same time]

Buffy: [to Scott] Let's get him in the car. We should get on the road sooner rather than later. [once Stiles returns and she sits Derek down in the backseat, she wraps the blanket around his shoulders and hands him the water with a small smile] Are you hungry?

Scott: [is also in shock, but honestly, not the weirdest thing to happen to him. Nope. Stiles crawling out of a pile of bandages on the floor still ranks up highest] Sure. [helps her, then goes over to Dawn once Derek is in the car and with Buffy] Listen, we're going to figure this out and get him back. I promise.

Stiles: [goes back to stand with Lydia, Malia and Kira, rejoining the clue of WTF IS GOING ON]

Derek: [shakes his head, wrapping the blanket around him a bit] No. I'm just... what's going on, Buffy? Who are these people?

Dawn: No. No, I know. [she gives Scott a small smile, before glancing back to him again] I just ... haven't seen him like that in a really long time.

Buffy: They're friends. [because that's the simplest way of doing things right now] They're here to take you home. And one of them you already know. [sort of. She glances back over at Dawn, who is decidedly older than when he last saw her, but she still mostly looks the same. Dawn doesn't really change much. It's the Summers genes]

Dawn: [catches that last part and takes a deep breath, giving Scott's arm a squeeze before moving over to face him, plastering on the best smile she can manage] Hey, Derek.

Scott: I'll go back in your car just in case. [looks at Derek because wow, that was Derek at his age.] I can see why you liked him then. [and then she wanders over so he goes to Stiles and plans game plan for getting back over the border with extra teen wolf in tow]

Derek: [blinks a moment, then gives Dawn a small smile] Dawn. Hey, I should have figured you weren't far behind.

Dawn: That's me. Where Buffy goes, I follow. [there's a pause, before she reaches for the front door] Scott's gonna drive, but you can trust him, okay? He's an alpha and a good one. We're going to get you back to Peter and Cora. [because as much as that first name is a question mark, she knows right now that Peter is the person that Derek trusts the most]

Buffy: [nods in agreement, running a hand over the top of his head] We'll get you home. Just get some rest for right now, okay?

Derek: [looks at Scott a moment] I thought he felt like one. But he's my age. [Alphas were adults, not kids. But then she mentions his family and looks relieved at that and nods.] Thanks.

Stiles: [a bit louder] No, I'm not telling Cora. I already told her about him missing, I call not it on telling her about this.

Scott: Stiles, she needs to hear it from someone she trusts.

Stiles: No, I'll be there to console her. But I'm done with being the bearer of bad news with my girlfriend.

Derek: [looks at Buffy, confused]

Buffy: [purses her lips, because thank you, Stiles. In Derek's mind, Cora is eleven. She takes a deep breath] I'll explain when we get there, okay? I'll be right back. Just stay here with Dawn. [and she's going to walk over and punch Stiles (very, very lightly) in the shoulder] You are aware that right now he thinks his sister is eleven at most, right?

Dawn: [just sighs and settles into the front seat, going into the glove compartment for the map] Stiles is ... a lot in large doses. But you get used to him.

Stiles: [works his jaw] Oh God he now thinks I'm a pedophile. I'm totally not a pedophile.

Scott: [rubs his neck, trying not to be amused at Stiles' situation]

Derek: [curling up in the back seat] He talks like you do. Is he your cousin or something?

Buffy: [amused, but stern] No, you're not. But we're going to have to ease him into some of this, okay? [she rubs his shoulder where she punched it, to try and ease away some of the ache] Once he goes to sleep, I will call Peter. He can tell Cora.

Dawn: [laughs a bit] No. He's actually Deputy Stilinski's kid. [she gets a million points for remembering that Stiles's dad was a deputy back then] The rambling is just a happy coincidence.

Derek: [thinks. His mom knew the deputy and his wife. Their son was Cora's age. Which was just confusing him more] This is just a bad dream. [curls more into the back seat.]

Stiles: I suddenly feel very sorry for Peter. I think that's a first.

Dawn: [she wishes it was. She closes her eyes for a moment as she faces the map, before turning and placing her hand on his knee gently] Whatever it is, we'll figure it out, okay? We're not going to let anything happen to you. [and she won't. Even if he's stuck this way and she never really gets him back, she'll protect him with everything she has.]

Buffy: [there's a bit of a smirk at that before ...]

Malia: Uh, guys, in case your forgetting that there's still a giant creepy desert creature out there, we should probably keep moving. [just saying]

Buffy: [glances to her for a moment before nodding] She's right. Let's hit the road. [she turns to Scott] You're driving.

Scott: [grins] Okay.

Stiles: Yeah, and my jeep doesn't need to get trashed again by some dagger throwing monster. Angels, let's go. [because he's so Charlie right now]

Malia: [just looks confused while Lydia and Kira roll their eyes, but they all pile back in the Jeep]

Buffy: [heads back to the car, going to slide in next to Derek in the back seat] You good to navigate? [that's more to Dawn and she'll slip an arm around Derek's shoulders if he wants to curl into her instead]

Dawn: [the eye contact with Derek breaks and she turns back to the map again] Yep. Ready to go.

Derek: [is confused enough and young enough to take any offered affection and curls into her. Completely trusting. So not like the adult at all.]

Scott: [notices that in the rearview and looks over at Dawn a moment] I'm good. [and we're driving home]

Buffy: [waits until Derek's fast asleep against her shoulder before reaching for her phone and pulling it out of her pocket. She holds down the button for Peter and places it to her ear, waiting for him to answer]

Peter: [has been at the loft, looking through his laptop for any mention of this la loba or what it may mean. sees the phone ring and looks up] Cora, it's Buffy. [and he answers it] Please tell me he's alive.

Cora: [had been dozing, but she sits up more when she hears Buffy's voice on the other end of the line. There's a moment where she considers eavesdropping, but she isn't sure she wants to hear the answer to that]

Buffy: He's alive. There's a but, though. [there's a pause] There's something I gotta tell you but you have to promise not to do something incredibly violent until I get back.

Dawn: [there's a huff of a laugh] I don't think that'll work, Buffy. But A for effort.

Peter: [hears Dawn. There is semi relief because Derek is alive. That is what matters. But his thumb is turning down the volume on his phone until it's at the lowest setting to avoid Cora from hearing it as it's pressed to his ear] Define incredibly violent.

Buffy: No murdering innocent people. Or even not so innocent people.

Cora: [she ... doesn't like that but she figures it's probably for her own good, so she sits back and waits]

Peter: For you to ask that means I'm not going to like this news. So just tell me what is happening? [notice he is not saying yes or no]

Buffy: [she notices. she takes a deep breath, closing her eyes and hoping that Cora can keep them from having to clean up a body] Kate Argent is alive. You didn't kill her, you turned her.

Peter: [is just silent. Deadly silent. and completely still from his pacing as well. Finally... it's faint, and devoid of any emotion] What?

Cora: [straightens a bit because Peter going that still is never a good sign]

Buffy: [sighs softly] Kate's alive, Peter. She's the one who took Derek.

Peter: She's the la loba, isn't she?

Buffy: Maybe? I don't know. Near as we can tell, she's a werejaguar and the Calaveras knew that. So it doesn't quite fit. [there's a pause as she brushes her hand against Derek's shoulder gently] There's more.

Peter: There's more. Wonderful.

Buffy: She took him to La Iglesia and did ... something to him. Scott and I found him in a wall behind some kind of Aztec symbol and ... [there's a beat as she tries to figure out how to say it] She deaged him, Peter. And what's more, he doesn't remember the fire, or anything after it. The only ones he recognized when we got him out were me and Dawn.

Peter: [thinks on this a moment, working his jaw a moment] Did either of you get a picture of the symbol?

Buffy: No. We were a little busy trying to get him out of there before whatever big nasty that was guarding him came back. But I we might be able to pick it out if we saw it again.

Peter: I will send Giles an inquiry for images in his archives for you to look at when you get back. [looks at Cora] Take him to my apartment. It isn't home, but at least the scents there will be calming. He can take the spare room. Call us when you get to town.

Buffy: Will do. We're not far out from the border. [he's got something productive to do. She hopes that will curb those violent tendencies just long enough for her to get there and handle this in person] I'll see you soon.

Cora: [oh, he's paying attention to her now. The worry is written all over her face and she waits patiently for him to get off the phone and tell her what's going on]

Peter: See you soon. [hangs up and looks at the phone a moment, resists throwing it at the wall and just closes his eyes, then carefully places it on the table] Sometimes I really regret not letting hunters kill your brother when he was younger.

Cora: [there's a part of her that snarls at that, but she manages to keep it from actually escaping] Is he okay?

Peter: Theoretically. [he looks over at her at the snarl] Kate Argent had him. [enjoy the redirection of that anger, Cora]

Cora: [oh hell yes she's angry] Derek said she was dead.

Peter: She was. I killed her. However, it seems that myth about cutting too deep with claws can turn a person is true.

Cora: [there's a sharp laugh at that] So not only is she not dead, but she's been running around as one of us? Perfect.

Peter: Actually, Buffy believes she is a werejaguar. Which substantiates that the shift takes on the form we reflect.

Cora: Does it matter? [because it doesn't. what matters is that Kate is a shifter and more importantly not dead] Everything that you did to get to her, to kill her and end this and you can't even do that right. She's alive and the one you manage to kill properly is my sister. Thanks a lot. [yep, she's going to blame Peter right now, because he's convenient and because she was never allowed to be angry at him for it. Distrustful, distanced, but never angry. Derek treated it like he had already taken care of it]

Peter: [he will take it because he's used to everyone hating him anyway. And he refuses to apologize for that because he was the one abandoned by his entire family when he needed them the most] Right now that isn't our biggest problem.

Cora: [she doesn't hate him, that's the problem. She wouldn't have been this angry if she hated him - hating him would be easier. She has to fight the urge to laugh again] Of course there's more.

Peter: It seems that as part of her plan, she has somehow de-aged your brother.

Cora: [her eyes turn on him, trying to study his face to see if he's messing with her. But he's not, he wouldn't make up something that crazy. Then the anger fades away to something that's almost close to fear] How much?

Peter: Seeing that he recognized Buffy and Dawn, the youngest would put him at fifteen. I'm going to assume that with him not recognizing Scott, he has no memories beyond whatever age he is at.

Cora: [annnnnd she needs to sit down. Because she can only guess what Kate was doing and none of them are good. her hands find the cushion of the couch from her and she lowers herself slowly, trying to figure out what to do. She can't tell Peter what she knows. Peter will kill him] Are they taking him back to the loft?

Peter: [has a few ideas of his own on why Kate would do this, and none of them are good either, and probably along the same train of thought] No, he won't know this place. For all he knows, we are all living at the preserve. My apartment will at least smell of me, and doesn't look shot to hell. [looks at the plaster and paint he had brought in]

Cora: [she nods, leaning back into the couch and crossing her arms in front of her chest] Should I be here?

Peter: [thinks] He won't recognize you right away. If he's 15, you're seven in his eyes. But he was a smart kid so he's probably already figuring out something is very wrong. You will want to be careful what you tell him because we need him to trust us.

Cora: [nods a bit. She figures as much, but she isn't sure how she feels about any of this. It probably won't hit her how screwed up this is until he gets here]

Peter: They should be back sometime during the night. I have a few things to send to Giles for research on Kate. If you need something to get your frustration out on [he motions to the rare walls and the holes in them] He will appreciate it when we get him back to normal.

Cora: [she considers for a moment before shaking her head] I think I'm just going to go for a run. I'll have my phone - you can text me if they get here before I get back. [she needs a little space from Peter right now, the anger needs to go somewhere if not him]

Peter: I don't think you will be able to outrun this, but I wish you luck. [and with that he's going to sit back down at the laptop, keeping his inner calm for now and just focusing on finding out the information he needs to fix his own problem - Kate]

Cora: [she won't bother with a response, just change her clothes and take off down the block]

Buffy: [and a few hours later, a text goes to Peter's phone] Ten minutes out.

Peter: [hasn't gotten a response from Giles and went to work on the wall. It was cathartic, really, plastering over the huge hole he made with his fist. But he sees the text and in turn sends one to Cora letting her know and then heads to his apartment that isn't actually all that far from Derek's - a few miles at most. And easy walk for him]

Derek: [fast asleep, only having woken up at the border for a moment before passing back out]

Stiles: [is going to drive the girls home and reenter this RP in the morning when he gets some sleep or texted by Cora]

Cora: [or possibly surprised by an overly emotional girlfriend in the middle of the night. we just don't know yet. But she was on her way back from running the preserve, which is probably not the best idea for most people at this time of night, but lets her lay into a tree or two without drawing too much attention to herself. She can feel the splinters under her nails and starts picking them out as she changes course to head to Peter's and hopefully beats the rest of them there.]

Buffy: [waits until they're pulling in front of Peter's building before nudging Derek gently to wake him up] Hey sleepy head. We're here.

Derek: [blinks awake, and then looks around] This isn't my house.

Scott: [nope, not going there. Scott McCall has mastered the art of not talking unless spoken to]

Buffy: [good boy, Scott] No, this is Peter's place. But it's okay, it's safe.

Cora: [yep, Cora spots the car and opts to ... take the fire escape. Sorry, Peter, your niece is coming through the window.]

Peter: [arrives at the same time, hovering just in the distance. He sees the flash of niece and sighs, then waits patiently to see and prepare himself before he is spoken to]

Derek: [is confused, but Peter was an adult now... maybe he got one while he was... however long he was where ever he was in Mexico.] Oh, okay. [really wants to go home, but Peter's place would be in the top 2 spots to be]

Dawn: [climbs out of the car first to stretch her legs and when she spots Peter she smiles] Speak of the devil. [it's friendly, though. she's not angry with him. yet.]

Buffy: [glances out the window and gives him a small smile, before starting to climb out of the car] Come on. We'll explain inside. [that is to Derek]

Peter: [watches, knowing he is upwind and Derek will be able to smell him. Things wolves do. But he keeps his sentry spot, curious]

Derek: [slides out of the car. He's well rested at least now, but still a bit unsteady. He stands, then smells his uncle in the air and looks over at him. And he blinks because that was not what he was expecting] Buffy...?

Buffy: It's him. I know how it looks, but it's him. I promise.

Peter: [hears it and there is a moment of hesitation. Derek was fifteen. Sixteen at most. He looked a bit older than he had when Paige had died. It was a point where Derek and he had been very close. A time where Derek was naive and trusting. So different than the wolf he had grown into. For a moment, the man he used to be ached for his nephew and what he must be going through. But he knew this wasn't going to last - he would see to it - and then it would be gone. He had to focus on that because anything else was not worth the effort of acknowledging. But he could play the part he had to in order to help his nephew adjust until then. So he offers Derek a rare smile as he walked over] Like she said, we'll explain. But let's get you inside first.

Scott: Should I stay or go home? [he should check in with his mom, but Derek is important to him so he doesn't want to abandon him either]

Dawn: [glances to Buffy for a moment, before shrugging. Buffy shrugs in return] Go home. Your mom's probably worried sick. Or about to kill you.

Scott: [and since Allison is off with Isaac in France, there is no sensitivity to that joke and he just laughs] No problem. Derek, my number is in your phone if you want to talk. When you're ready, okay?

Derek: [looks at him, then nods.] Sure. Thank you, for saving me.

Scott: No problem. [and he's off for home]

Peter: [goes to usher the rest of them inside and up to his apartment] Do any of you need something to eat? Drink? I should have something in the pantry.

Buffy: I think I'm good.

Dawn: I'm undecided. It may be one of those things where it depends on what you have.

Cora: [is waiting on the couch, and her head picks up at the sound of voices coming into the apartment. When the door opens she stands, for a lack of anything better to do, and when she sees Derek it's almost like the wind's been knocked out of her]

Peter: I have eggs and cheese for sure. And probably pretzels. I tend to like my meats and vegetables fresh.

Derek: [has been quiet, but stops as he enters the apartment, seeing Cora.] Laura? [he smiles at what he believes is his older sister]

Peter: [and he closes his eyes and tries not to wince]

Dawn: [is about to commandeer those pretzels when Derek speaks and she decides against it. She meets Cora's eyes across the room and hopes that she manages to hold it together]

Cora: [flinches, just for a moment at the name, before shaking her head. She can break it to him gently, but she's not going to lie to him. She's not going to pretend to be her dead sister] Cora.

Derek: [walks in closer, his eyes looking at her closer. He was figuring it out quickly. What the Stiles kid had said. Dawn was older. This Scott knew him. Peter looked way older. And now his baby sister was older than him.] Cora. [she's know that look, where he's trying to solve a puzzle with his senses]

Cora: [she nods slowly, just letting him figure it out as she tried to sort out the fact that this brother, the brother she remembered and wanted for so long after the fire was standing right there in front of her, and she didn't know how to react, at all.] Hi.

Derek: [it takes him a moment longer, and then he gives her probably the first smile he's done since he woke up in the wall] You got big.

Cora: [she huffs a laugh at that, before nodding] Yeah. It happens.

Derek: At least you didn't get too old. [looks over his shoulder at Peter]

Peter: [eyebrow up] Excuse me?

Cora: [actually laughs at that before shaking her head] I wouldn't make too many of those comments. He's a little sensitive about his age.

Peter: [and now he's glaring at both of you] Enough to slap you both upside the head if you don't get off that topic.

Derek: What, you lose your sense of humor in your old age?

Dawn: [annnnnnd she's taking Peter's arm and pulling him towards the kitchen] Pretzels. We're getting pretzels.

Cora: [her smile fades a bit, before glancing back to him. She takes his hand gently and pulls him towards the couch] So what do you remember?

Derek: [goes with his sister, his eyes taking in the room quickly before sitting down] Not a lot. Things are still kinda fuzzy. I don't remember what day it is. How long was I gone?

Cora: A while. [is the easiest way to say it, and also have it be true. She settles next to him, tucking one leg under the other as she sits] What's the last thing you remember clearly?

Derek: [tries to think really hard.] Basketball game. I was playing in an important game and the whole town was out to watch, and I ended up scoring the game winning 3 pointer and we all went out for a bonfire after. [which will link him to being 16, a year post Paige, a junior and around the time he met Kate who would be a senior (?) at the time]

Cora: [nods a bit as she processes that] Okay. Okay. [that orients things a bit] Well, it's currently 2014. And you're not normally ... sixteen. Which might explain why people have been acting weird.

Derek: [nervous laugh] You're kidding me, right? 2014?

Cora: [her teeth catch her bottom lip, and she shakes her head]

Derek: [thinks] That's.... I've been gone ten years?

Cora: [shakes her head as she reaches for her phone out of her pocket] You were here, just ... not like this. [she flips through the pictures for a moment, before pulling up one of the two of them that Dawn had taken and sent her. On the quad, at Berkeley, she couldn't even remember what they were fighting about (though not serious fighting, and the picture is mostly of her smacking him on the shoulder, but it was good enough that he could see himself - older, taller, broader, not really anything like the kid that was in front of her now.]

Derek: [takes the.... very tiny computer from his futuristic sister and looks at the photo. he goes to touch the screen, and the picture gets bigger and he jumps at that]

Peter: [watching from the kitchen, and tries not to laugh] He never was good with electronics.

Derek: I heard that.

Cora: [she smirks, before reaching over to help him zoom out the screen again] I got into Berkeley.

Derek: [looks, trying to see what his adult face is. they look very happy in it] Well, you get your smarts from me. Do I go there too?

Cora: [she nods] But I got in first. [because she feels the need to one up him because she can]

Derek: So I did my undergrad local and doing grad work there?

Cora: [there's a pause as she tries to figure out how to answer that] No, you're still on your undergrad. You kind of ... took a detour. [because their family was burned alive and their uncle with crazy and he had to deal with some shit. also if he brushes his finger the right way against the screen, there are probably more pictures of them - as well as pictures of him and a certain friend of his looking very snuggly]

Derek: [nope, he doesn't know that he can do that and is just going to hand it back to her.] Nerd. [he's pretty sure this detour is the thing they aren't talking about. He knows how avoidance works.] Is mom worried about me? Should I call her?

Peter: [puts his hand on the fridge because wow that was an unexpected hit of feelings he was trying to avoid. Because for all of you hating him, he still hates thinking of his sister being dead. That's what drove him crazy before the coma]

Buffy: [her hand finds it's way between his shoulders, not pushing but reminding him that she's here, and it's okay. It was going to get asked eventually, she just waits to see how Cora handles it]

Cora: [her face flickers for a moment, because even though Buffy was expecting the question, she wasn't. She was hoping she could have avoided it. She should have known better] Um. No. [she glances away, running a hand awkwardly through her hair as she does] Mom's ... she, uh ...

Derek: [he hears and smells the spike of anxiety from both of them, and his smile fades] Oh.

Peter: [reaches up to take Buffy's hand, steadying his voice] She's in a better place, Derek. That's all that matters.

Derek: [nods, but he curls up on the couch and folds his arms over his knees, trying not to cry]

Cora: [it's okay if he does. She did. She might now. She inches across the couch and curls into his shoulder, reminding him that she's still there. But if they're going to talk about that part, then they might as well talk about the rest, to avoid the question of Laura later] There was a fire, at the house. You, me and Peter are the only ones left.

Derek: [yeah, burying his eyes into his arms and leaning into his sister.]

Peter: [takes a deep breath, then squeezes her hand and goes into the living room. He sits on the edge of the couch, putting his hand on Derek's shoulder and just sits there as a silent presence.]

Cora: [she slides her arms around his shoulders, letting him stay close, her chin resting against his back as silent tears slip out. She hates that she had to tell him. He shouldn't have to go through this again. They shouldn't have had to go through this at all]

Peter: [looks at Cora a moment, and then in a rare moment of affection towards her, reaches up to run his hand along her hair. It was the one thing they all shared their grief for, and were united on when it came to the pain] It is a lot to take in, Derek. I think that's enough for the night for you to digest. [they can hit the whole "no talking to Kate Argent" bit in the morning]

Derek: [just nods, because he's done listening about the future and not wanting any part of it now]

Cora: [her eyes meet Peter's over Derek's back, and it's clear for a moment how much it hurts that he did the things he did. Because he's the person who saved her life, but he's also the man who killed her sister. She doesn't know which loyalty to choose and after a moment she pulls back, one hand coming up to brush at the corners of her eyes] I should go, probably. I need a shower. [and she fully intends to go home and see how long she can stand it before going to Stiles. She's trying not to be the neediest girlfriend in the world, even if all she wants to do at the moment is just burrow him and pretend the rest of the world isn't happening]

Peter: [he is what he is now, and he won't apologize for it, Cora. But he acknowledges it just the same with a small nod] I've got him. You get some rest.

Derek: [looks up at Cora, his eyes blue a moment, then Peter] Go where? You don't live here with us...? [because Hales stuck together, right?]

Cora: [she understands that. She just wishes it wasn't such a question of if she could trust him. She glances to Derek and shakes her head] You, me and Dawn have a place not too far from here. It's easier if we just give them their privacy.

Dawn: [not that it's easier on her living with another couple anyway - which is probably why she's at Stiles's house most nights - but for now it's a good enough cover] I'll walk her back. I should sleep some myself.

Derek: [looks at her, then up at Peter]

Peter: Buffy will be here with us. We'll keep you safe.

Derek: [nods, then softly] at least one thing hasn't changed.

Peter: [looks at Buffy with an eyebrow raised]

Buffy: [she gives a bit of a shrug in return, before moving back to the couch to get him up] Come on. I'll show you where the spare room is.

Cora: [just moves from the couch to Dawn, letting Buffy take over with Derek and trying to pull herself together]

Derek: [gets up and follows Buffy, giving a look back at Cora before disappearing down the hall]

Peter: See if Stiles or Scott has some clothes that could fit him we could borrow?

Cora: [nods a bit as she glances back at him] Yeah, I'll ask them tomorrow.

Peter: [nods] I'll see you both tomorrow then.

Cora: [nods, before letting Dawn wrap an arm around her shoulders and lead her out of the apartment]