Clear liquid drips from the body bag that the EMTs have placed Jackson in. They close the door to the ambulance, and the EMT tells Melissa that they don't need her help anymore. Melissa asks if she can ride with them and doesn't give the woman time to object.

 

One of Gerard's hunters opens the door to the basement and throws Stiles down the stairs. When he gets up, he hears whimpering in the darkness and backs up against the wall. He fumbles for the light switch. When he turns it on, he sees Erica and Boyd strung up from the ceiling with their mouths taped shut.

 

Sheriff Stilinski tells Scott and Isaac that he's going to meet with the ME and see if he can find out what happened to Jackson. He's also got an APB out on Stiles. The Jeep is still in the parking lot, but the Sheriff doesn't know what that means. He tries to keep his emotions under control as he asks the boys to contact him if they hear from Stiles. Scott promises that they'll find him. 

 

Coach Finstock comes over and begs Scott to get his grades up. Finstock says that he yells a lot, but he doesn't hate them. Except for Greenberg. 

 

They wait until everyone is gone, and then Scott rips the door off Stiles's locker. He wanted to get some of Stiles's clothes so he and Isaac could track him by scent. "How come you get a shirt and I get a shoe?" Isaac asks. But then suddenly Derek is there, telling Scott they need to talk. He's brought Peter with him. "Holy shhhh--" goes Scott.

 

Stiles shushes Erica as he tries to untie her. He touches the wires at her wrists and gets electrocuted. The lights in the basement flicker. Gerard comes down the stairs and tells Stiles that the wolves were trying to warn him that the bonds were electrified. Stiles asks him what he's doing with them, and Gerard says they're just holding onto them since they can't torture Derek's location out of them. "Okay. So what are you doing with me?" Stiles asks. "Because Scott can find me, all right? He knows my scent. It's pungent, you know. It's more like a stench. He could find me even if I was buried at the bottom of a sewer covered in fecal matter and urine..." Gerard threatens to beat Stiles to a pulp and then proceeds to demonstrate. He downs Stiles in one hit. 

 

Scott frowns at Derek. "What the hell is this?" Derek replies that he thought the same thing when he saw Scott talking to Gerard at the sheriff station. Scott defends himself by saying that Gerard was going to hurt his mom and he had to get close to Gerard. Peter agrees with Scott. "Have you seen his mom? She's gorgeous." "Shut up," Derek and Scott both say. Isaac asks who Peter is, and Scott explains that Peter tried to kill them all so they set him on fire and Derek slashed his throat. "Good to know," Isaac whispers. Derek explains that Peter can help them save Jackson, but Isaac replies that Jackson is dead. Scott tells them it just happened on the lacrosse field. Everyone looks concerned, and Peter says that if Jackson is dead it's because Gerard wanted him to be, so they need to figure out what his plan is very quickly.

 

Chris walks in on Gerard and Allison talking. He saw the lights flicker and was concerned. Gerard tells him that it's probably just one of the wolves getting comfortable. Gerard advises Allison to get some sleep because the next 24 hours are going ot be eventful. Chris stops Gerard from leaving and asks what happened at the game. "Didn't you hear? We won," Gerard replies, and then leaves. Chris goes to talk to Allison and says he wants her to step aside and let the adults finish it. Allison won't because Derek is responsible for Jackson as well as Kate and her mother. Chris asks her about Scott. She asks when he started caring about Scott, and he says he cares about her. She doesn't believe it. She thinks he should be proud, because she's turned into the person he wanted her to be. Chris disagrees. She's becoming the person Gerard wants. Chris picks up her crossbow and cuts the string. 

 

At the morgue, Melissa McCall approaches the body bag with Jackson's body. She notices the clear goo oozing down the examination table and decides to open up the bag to see what's going on. She psyches herself up and then pulls on the zipper.

 

The scene cuts to Sheriff Stilinski standing in his son's room reporting that he's not finding any clues. Stiles walks into his room, beaten, to find his dad asking wondering out loud where he is. "Right here," Stiles says. His dad rushes forward to examine his face, and Stiles tries to tell him that he's okay. The Sheriff demands to know who did it. Stiles lies and tells him it was just some kids from the other team. His dad asks for descriptions, but Stiles tries to calm him down by insisting that it's not that bad. The Sheriff turns his fear into anger and says that he will "personally go down there and pistol whip these little bastards." Stiles yells at his father to calm him down, and they hug each other. 

 

Scott, Isaac, Derek, and Peter go to the Hale House. Scott announces that the Sheriff found Stiles, though no one seems to care. Derek protests that he looked everywhere, but Peter goes straight for a loose board in the main staircase. "You didn't look here." He pulls out on a briefcase covered in dust. "What is that, a book?" Derek asks. Peter gives him a scathing look. "No. It's a laptop, what century are you living in?" Peter has stored all the Hales' files on the laptop, an equivalent source of information to the Argents' bestiary.

 

Scott gets a call from his mom. She tells him that she's freaked out and that he should come down to the morgue to see what she found about Jackson. He is covered in a clear cocoon, and his fingernails are shifted into claws.

 

Stiles is lying on his bed when there's a knock on the door. He thinks it's his father and tries to tell him to go away, but the knocking is insistent, and he gets up to answer. Lydia is standing there, tears brimming in her eyes. She asks what happened to his face, but he brushes the question aside. They stand awkwardly before Stiles invites her in, and she stands in his room with her back to him. He asks how she is, and she replies that they won't let her see Jackson. She starts to cry as she tells him that she's supposed to give Jackson his key back and clutches the key on a chain around her neck in both hands. (NOTE: She already gave him his key back, so he must have dropped it when he turned into the kanima in Scott's room in 2x05 - Venomous.)

 

At the morgue, Scott and Isaac check out Jackson's cocooned body. The body jerks, and they all jump back. Scott asks his mom to zip up the bag, much to her dismay, because isn't her son a big bad Werewolf? She does it, but the zipper gets stuck just under Jackson's chin. Jackson jerks again, and his mouth opens, revealing rows of blackish sharp teeth. Scott implores his mom to finish zipping the bag.

 

Back at the Argents' basement, Chris goes to talk to Boyd and Erica. He tells them that his family has been hunters for a long time, long enough to learn that a certain level of electric current can keep them from transforming. At another level they wouldn't be able to heal, and at another their strength is reduced to that of a regular human. He claims that their scientific understanding of Werewolf makes them less supernatural. The difference between natural and supernatural start to blur. And he tells them that sometimes you can be surprised which side of the line you end up on. Chris flirts with adjusting the settings on the electrical current holding them hostage, but ultimately doesn't change it because he hears someone coming.

 

Stiles doesn't have any tissues for Lydia to use, so he offers her a roll of toilet paper instead. She looks at him like he's kind of an idiot but takes it anyway and wipes her eyes. Stiles gets a text message from Scott that he doesn't check. Lydia gets up and looks around his room, noticing a collection of jewelry on his dresser. She asks him about it, and he admits that it was stuff he bought her for her birthday. He didn't know what to get, so he bought a collection of things. She's flattered, but not quite sure what to say, until she sees the flat screen TV, which lets her make a sarcastic remark. Stiles says he's definitely returning that. Another text message come through, and Lydia makes him read that one.

 

Derek reports to Peter that Jackson is encased in a cocoon of the venom from his claws. "That sounds sufficiently terrifying," Peter replies. Peter finds information on the kanima and shows Derek that not only is Jackson just in the beta shape now, he's turning into something bigger and badder. Derek is incredulous. "That has wings." Derek tells Scott to bring Jackson to them, but Scott says they don't have time for that. Peter finds an animation of the new form and plays it. Both he and Derek jump back in terror, and Peter slams the laptop closed. They decide to meet halfway.

 

Gerard wakes Allison up in the middle of the night and informs her that it's starting.

 

Meanwhile, Scott and Isaac carry Jackson in the bodybag out to the parking lot. Scott loses his grip on the bag and drops his side just as Chris Argent pulls up behind them.

 

Even though they have to go meet Scott and Isaac, Peter is quick to point out to Derek that they don't actually know what's going on. He's sure Gerard has a plan, and he's just as sure that they don't know what it is. Derek declares that he's taking the chance to kill Jackson if it arises.

 

Scott asks Chris what he wants, and Chris replies by telling him that they have a common enemy in Gerard. 

 

Lydia tells Stiles that she wants to help Jackson. Stiles replies that her problem is that she doesn't care about getting hurt. "But you know how I'll feel? I'll be devastated, and if you die I will literally go out of my friggin mind. You see, death doesn't happen to you, Lydia, it happens to everyone around you, okay? To all the people left standing at your funeral, trying to figure out how they're going to live the rest of their lives now without you in it." Stiles realizes that he's transferring his feelings about his mother's death onto her and apologizes, but Lydia is sufficiently upset and freaked out that she leaves to find Jackson on her own.

 

Chris tells Scott that Gerard is corrupting Allison the same way that he corrupted Kate. He says that both he and Scott are losing Allison, and Scott agrees. Chris offers to help them get Jackson out of there, and they load the bag into his SUV.

 

Stiles sits in his room alone, checking his phone. His dad comes in and asks him if there's anything romantic brewing with Lydia. Stiles tells him that she's in love with someone else. The Sheriff comes and sits next to his son, concerned that everything that's happened with the beating and Jackson has got him shaken, but he reminds him to be happy about the game. Stiles doesn't take much comfort in this, but his dad presses the point. "You weren't just the MVP of the game. You were a hero." Stiles denies that he's a hero.

 

Chris pulls the car to a stop somewhere in an warehouse district. Isaac thinks Jackson has stopped moving. 

 

Derek gallops up the street toward them on all fours and does a forward flip, landing in a crouch with his red eyes glowing. Peter, from afar, rolls his eyes. "Someone certainly enjoys making an entrance," he says, loud enough for the Werewolf in the area to hear. Derek stares at the unexpected Chris, and Chris announces that he's only there for Jackson. Derek is not comforted. 

 

They take Jackson inside a warehouse, and Scott asks where Peter and Lydia are. Peter is lurking behind an iron beam. Scott realizes that Derek isn't going to try to save Jackson and Derek tells him to wisen up, that Gerard is controlling Jackson and has been planning to make Jackson even more powerful. This is the first Chris has heard these accusations, and he denies that Gerard could have fallen so far. 

 

Gerard appears suddenly and confirms that something as out of control as Jackson is better off dead. 

 

Derek takes this as confirmation that he should kill Jackson and tries, but Jackson shoves his claws into Derek's chest and throws him across the warehouse. 

 

Gerard gloats in high melodramatic fashion that Scott followed his plan perfectly, delivering Jackson to Derek and Derek to Gerard. Allison takes the opportunity to shoot Isaac with a few arrows. Scott grabs Isaac and hauls him away, while Chris shoots Jackson, to little effect. Jackson completely shifts into the kanima and takes Chris's gun from him. Chris runs and draws a knife to fight the kanima off, but he is batted across the room with one swing.

 

Derek, despite having been impaled on the kanima's claws, is not paralyzed and comes flying over some pallets with a roar. Scott and Isaac rush to join him, while Peter watches from a safe distance. The kanima's claws don't have any noticeable paralytic effect until it swipes Derek across the middle. Seeing his alpha go down, Isaac moves in to attack, but Allison gets in his way and stabs him several times with her ring blades. She starts to go for Derek, but Scott steps in the way.

 

Gerard has the kanima grab Allison by the throat. She's confused, but Scott isn't. "He's doing what he came here to do." Gerard is surprised to learn that Scott knows what's going on, and he realizes that he gave himself away the night outside the hospital. The Werewolf can smell that Gerard has cancer, although apparently only Scott thought this was important information. Since science doesn't have a cure, Gerard will take a supernatural one, and he glances at Derek. Chris finally understands what's going on and is horrified by his father. Gerard keeps having the kanima squeeze Allison's throat, and Chris asks if Gerard would kill his granddaughter. "When it comes to survival, I'd kill my own son," Gerard replies. 

 

Gerard motions for Scott to get on with what must be done. Derek looks up at him helplessly. Scott hauls Derek up, and Derek begs him not to do this because Gerard will kill him immediately after and become an alpha. Derek begs some more, and Scott says that he's sorry but he has to. He jerks Derek back so his mouth is open, and Gerard impales himself on Derek's teeth, essentially using Derek's body against his consent to give himself the bite. 

 

Gerard holds his bitten arm up in triumph. Everyone else's expressions shift from stunned to horrified as Gerard's wound starts to bleed black. Gerard looks at his arm and then demands to know what Scott did. Derek looks up at Scott as well, and Scott turns to him to explain. Everyone said Gerard had a plan, but he had a plan, too. Gerard pops open his pill case as he understands what happened. When Scott returned his pill case to him in earlier, it was a switched case filled with mountain ash pills. Gerard crushes the pills in his hand and roars, "Mountain ash!"  much to the delight of Teen Wolf fans and gif makers everywhere. And then he falls to his knees as black ooze starts coming out of his nose and eyes. He vomits black ooze and then falls over.

 

Derek gives Scott a wounded look. "Why didn't you tell me?" "Because you might be an alpha, but you're not mine." 

 

Gerard crawls on the ground in agony and orders the kanima to kill everyone. 

 

Allison takes the opportunity to elbow the kanima in the face to get away. As she does, Stiles crashes his Jeep into the warehouse and then into the kanima. He has Lydia with him. Stiles pants and opens his eyes, asking Scott if he hit him. The kanima leaps onto the hood of the Jeep, and both Stiles and Lydia scream and get out.

 

Lydia steps in front of the kanima calling Jackson's name. She holds up the key he had been asking for. Stiles tries to stop her, but Scott holds him back. 

 

The key triggers a memory of Jackson giving her the key one night after they made love. In the memory, they joke that it's just to make her a more accessible booty call, but it was clearly more than that. 

 

Jackson is nearly transformed back into himself when the scene cuts back, and he takes the key from her hand. It's a bittersweet moment, because while the key was a symbol of love, her giving it back is a symbol of their breaking up.

 

Derek is recovering from the paralysis, and he sees Peter making his move while Jackson is distracted. Derek's eyes go red, and he joins him. They both stab Jackson with their claws from either side. Lydia rushes forward and catches Jackson in her arms as he falls. Derek backs away and pulls Isaac by the shoulder back with him. 

 

Jackson asks Lydia, "Do you still?" And she replies, "I do. I do still love you." He falls against her, and the key from his hand drops to the floor. 

 

Stiles, Scott, and Allison stand next to each other, shocked and saddened. Scott and Allison hold hands. 

 

Lydia lays Jackson down, and the rest of his kanima transformation disappears. 

 

Allison notices that Gerard is missing, but Chris insists he can't be far.

 

Lydia gets up and starts to walk away, crying. Stiles moves forward to meet her, but then stops. They all notice Jackson's claws curling into the concrete. His eyes open, and they are werewolf blue. In a shot copied straight from Terminator, Jackson rises, reborn, in the lights of the Jeep, surrounded by inexplicable fog. 

 

Jackson, naked, turns his wolfed out face to the sky and roars. Then, shifted back to normal, he looks at Lydia, terrified. She rushes to him and hugs him. Stiles wipes tears from his eyes. Scott just looks vaguely surprised. When he notices that Stiles was crying, Stiles replies, "Scratched my Jeep." It's unclear whether Stiles was upset at Jackson's presumed death, at the fact that Jackson wasn't dead after all and Lydia still loves him, or at the stress of the situation overall--most likely a mixture of all three. 

 

Later, Scott and Allison are in her room, sitting on her bed. She apologizes for having been so cold and obsessed with revenge. She apologizes for having to break up with him, but he tells her it's okay. She asks how that could be okay, and he tells her that he can wait. Scott has complete faith that they will be together eventually, so he's fine waiting until that time arrives. "There's no such thing as fate," Allison tells him. Scott just shrugs with a grin. "There's no such thing as Werewolf." They kiss, and Scott leaves.

 

Chris comes in and hugs Allison.

 

Meanwhile, Boyd and Erica are free and running through the forest. They pause to catch their breaths, but they are suddenly surrounded by a group of Werewolf.

 

The next morning, Deaton examines the black ooze droplets Gerard left outside the warehouse. Marin Morrell asks him if he's planning on getting his hands dirty. He replies that he does what he has to. "Good, I never liked you being retired anyway." 

 

Derek, Isaac, and Peter wander up to the Hale House, and Peter announces that Derek hasn't told Isaac everything. Isaac asks what the symbol on the door of the house means, and Derek tells him that it means the alpha pack is coming. Peter clarifies that they're not coming, they're already here. 

 

Stiles and Scott head out to the field to practice lacrosse. Stiles asks if Scott genuinely believes that Allison will come back to him. He says that he does. Scott asks about Lydia, and Stiles admits that his 10-year plan for making Lydia fall in love with him may have to stretch to 15 but the plan is still in motion. Scott asks why Stiles doesn't just ask her out, and Stiles laughs at him, suggesting that they just get down to practicing. Scott realizes that he's right back where he started before becoming a werewolf, with no lacrosse, no popularity, and no girlfriend. "Dude, you still got me," Stiles says. "I had you before." "Yeah, and you still got me, so life fulfilled." 

 

Stiles makes Scott promise not to use his superpowers while they practice, and Scott gets tired of telling him that he won't. Scott crouches down, and his eyes glow. As the scene cuts to black, Stiles shoots the ball. "I said no wolf powers!"