At lunchtime, Jacob, Scott, Stiles, Allison, Lydia, Erica, and Tracy gathered in the empty bleachers of the lacrosse field. Jacob pulled out meals and drinks from his pocket dimension, and they all ate together under the warm afternoon sun.
Scott broke the comfortable silence. "Jacob, I have a plan to save Jackson. But I need your help."
Jacob raised an eyebrow. "I don't feel like saving that idiot."
"Come on," Scott pressed. "I just need you to make his parents forget everything."
Jacob leaned back. "Tell me this plan of yours."
Scott took a breath. "I'll capture Jackson and take him to that abandoned warehouse where we fought Gerard and the Zimas. I'll bring his parents there too. Then I'll give Jackson a fatal wound in front of them. Hopefully, his mother loves him enough to call out his name and turn him back into a werewolf. After that, I'll need you to make his parents forget they were kidnapped and saw their son turn into a monster."
Jacob studied him for a moment, then smirked. "Did you come up with that on your own?"
Scott nodded proudly. "Yes. I thought of it this morning during class."
Jacob's smirk widened. "Well, I guess you're not a hopeless idiot after all. I'm proud of you, son."
Scott growled. "Screw you."
Jacob and Stiles burst out laughing.
Allison ignored the two idiots and focused on Scott. "When are you planning to do it?"
Scott's expression turned thoughtful. "First, I need someone to help me kidnap Jackson's parents."
Jacob held up a hand. "I'm not kidnapping anyone. I'll help you erase their memories, and that's it."
Scott looked at Stiles.
Stiles sighed heavily. "Fine. But not tonight. Erica and I are going to watch a movie with Jacob and the others."
Scott nodded. "I wasn't planning to do it tonight anyway. I still need to ask Derek for help. I don't think I can fatally injure Jackson. I need Derek to do it."
Stiles frowned. "Why can't you do it?"
Scott's voice dropped. "What if I kill him by accident? I couldn't live with that."
Jacob's eyes lit up. "Kill him by accident? That sounds fun. I'll do it."
Scott shot him a look. "We're trying to save him, not kill him."
Jacob waved a dismissive hand. "Boring."
Allison asked, "What about the Kanima's master? Did you find him yet?"
Stiles shook his head. "No. I searched for a connection between the three victims—Isaac's dad, the hunter, and the mechanic. All I found was that they all knew each other. The mechanic and the hunter were in the same class at Beacon Hills High, both on the swimming team. Isaac's father was their swimming coach."
Lydia's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "So the Kanima's master might be one of the members of the swimming team."
Stiles nodded. "Maybe. But there are a lot of them, from different years and classes. It's hard to narrow down."
Allison asked, "Has the Kanima only attacked those three?"
"Yeah, at least as far as we know." Stiles shrugged. "Jackson hasn't shifted since the day I beat him. Unless he did while we were in Houston, but I doubt it. My dad said there were no murder cases last week."
Jacob stood and stretched. "Anyway, let me know when you're going to execute your plan. I want to be there to watch the fun."
---
Meanwhile, across town, Matt Daehler was released from the hospital.
He had healed physically weeks ago, but the doctors had kept him for psychological evaluation and monitoring. His parents drove him home in silence. When they arrived, Matt went straight to his room and slammed the door.
His parents exchanged a weary look, sighed, and left for work.
Matt watched from his window as their car disappeared down the street. Then he began to pace. Faster and faster. His breathing grew ragged. His hands clenched into fists.
Then he started breaking things.
His computer. His cameras. His fist punched through the drywall again and again until his knuckles bled. When the rage finally subsided, he collapsed onto his bed, staring at the ceiling.
'I'll make that freak Alexander regret destroying my balls,' he thought, his mind churning with venom. 'I'll make him wish he was dead.'
He closed his eyes. 'First, I need to see if I still can control that monster Jackson turns into tonight. Then I'll make him paralyze Alexander, and bring him to me. So I can have some fun.'
A slow, ugly smile spread across his face.
---
Back at the school, Jacob was walking toward his bike when he sneezed suddenly.
He grinned. "I don't know which beautiful girl is thinking about me."
Allison and Lydia glared at him.
Jacob held up his hands. "Relax. Maybe it's just Malia or Melissa."
Allison and Lydia ignored him, climbed into the red Mercedes, and drove away.
Jacob turned to Stiles. "I'm going to get Malia and Kitty. We'll meet at your house, then hit the town before the movie."
Stiles nodded. "Sounds good."
Jacob swung a leg over his bike and rode away.
Stiles looked at Scott. "You want to come with us?"
Scott shook his head. "No, I have to go to work. Then I need to talk to Derek afterward."
Stiles smirked. "Why are you still working anyway? Your mom's rich now." His smirk widened. "And let's not even talk about your daddy."
Scott's eyes flashed red. "Shut up, Stiles. I work because I love animals."
Stiles laughed and took Erica's hand. "Alright, see you later, man. Let's go, babe." He climbed into his Jeep and drove away.
Scott and Tracy got into his car and left school too.
---
Jacob, Malia, Kitty, Stiles, and Erica spent the evening shopping, grabbing dinner, and finally watching 21 Jump Street.
After the movie, they split up. Jacob drove home with Malia and Kitty. Stiles drove home with Erica.
---
The next day, Jacob skipped school and was fishing with Chris in the huge lake of Serendell when Melissa and Stiles suddenly appeared beside them.
Jacob looked up, immediately reading their expressions. "What's wrong?"
Melissa sighed. "There's a pregnant woman in the hospital. They brought her in around 1 a.m. last night. She was hysterical, talking about a monster. They gave her a sedative and let her sleep. She woke up this morning after I came in, and I talked to her." Melissa's voice tightened. "She said she was attacked by a dark, scaly, lizard-like creature. It was about to kill her, but then it stopped. It just stared at her stomach, sniffing and listening—like it was listening to the baby. Then it left without harming her."
Stiles added, "And there's more bad news."
Jacob's jaw tightened. "What?"
"Her partner was killed by the Kanima. My dad found the body and asked us to deal with Jackson soon."
Chris set down his fishing rod. "Are you sure it's the Kanima?"
Stiles nodded grimly. "Yeah. I saw the body. It was torn open—just like your hunter."
Jacob thought, 'I should have dealt with Matt sooner.' He looked at Melissa. "Where's Scott?"
Melissa sighed again, heavier this time. "He's blaming himself. He didn't want us to tell you—he's afraid you'll kill Jackson."
Jacob shook his head. "Tell him to try saving Jackson tonight. I'll find his master and deal with him."
Stiles frowned. "How are you going to find his master?"
Jacob asked, "First, tell me—were the pregnant woman and her partner on the same swimming team as the other victims?"
Stiles nodded. "Yes. Both of them were."
Jacob nodded slowly. "Then whoever's controlling the Kanima will probably come to the hospital to finish the job himself. The Kanima disobeyed him by not killing the pregnant woman for some reason, so he won't send it again."
Stiles caught on. "So we just have to stay close to her."
"Exactly. But he won't move until nightfall. We'll go this evening." Jacob reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out a device. He handed it to Melissa. "This is a Memory Neuralyzer. Same as the one from Men in Black, if you saw those movies."
Stiles's eyes lit up. "Can I play with it?" He reached for it, but Melissa quickly put it into her ring.
"No," she said firmly. "You might not." She looked at Jacob. "I know how it works—I've seen the movies. But why are you giving it to me?"
Jacob's voice was calm but serious. "Use it on the pregnant woman. Make her forget the Kanima. Make her believe her husband died in a wild animal attack."
He thought for a moment, recalling the pregnant woman's situation from the show—living in a trailer in the woods, barely getting by. "And tell Cogman to give her two hundred thousand dollars. She'll need it to raise her child."
Melissa's expression softened. "That's very kind of you."
Jacob shook his head. "No. It's our fault this happened to her. We could have prevented her partner's death. This is the least we can do."
Melissa sighed. "Alright. I'll go now."
Jacob added, "Talk to Scott. Tell him not to blame himself too much."
Melissa said, "I will." Then she vanished.
Stiles, however, didn't leave. He teleported to the palace, grabbed a chair, and returned, setting it up next to Jacob and Chris. He sat down with a satisfied sigh. "Jacob. Do you have an extra fishing rod?"
Jacob pulled one from his pocket dimension and handed it over. Stiles grinned and cast his line.
Just then, a translucent system window materialized before Jacob's eyes.
[System notification!
• Quest Sign-In available: Host can sign in after killing Matt.
• Event Sign-In available: Host can sign in after witnessing Jackson transform from Kanima to werewolf.]
Jacob stopped thinking about the pregnant woman and her dead partner, a smirk tugging at his lips. 'Nice.'
He dismissed the notifications and said, "Guys, let's compete. Whoever catches the biggest fish wins."
Stiles grinned. "Alright, but no telekinesis. And no using Sker Buffalo meat as bait."
Jacob laughed. "Deal."
Stiles cast him a sideways glance. "Speaking of Sker Buffalo… how did you get that? I heard Lydia tell her mom it's from the Godzilla universe, but you told us you bought it."
Jacob's smirk turned sly. "Lydia talks too much. I need to punish her."
Stiles's face paled. "Please don't. She'll kick my ass if she finds out I was the reason."
Jacob laughed again. "Then stop asking so many questions. All you need to know is that I have a large dimensional pocket left to me by my ancestor. He could probably travel to other worlds. There's a lot of good stuff in there, but most of it's locked. It unlocks on its own as I get stronger. That includes the fire and lightning spells I gave you guys, the serums, and even the summoning scrolls for Cogman and Kitty."
Stiles said, "Alright, alright. No more questions." Then he grinned. "But can you take something fun out of your pocket dimension right now?"
Jacob thought for a moment, then produced two scrolls. "One of these is a cleaning spell. The other is a repair spell. You guys can choose one."
Both Stiles and Chris sat up straighter, eyes gleaming.
Stiles said, "Wait—tell us what they do first."
Jacob explained both spells.
Chris nodded appreciatively. "Both are excellent. Hard to choose."
Stiles spoke quickly. "I want the repair spell."
Chris's eyes narrowed. "Hold on. I want it too."
Stiles blinked. "Then let's flip a coin for it."
They flipped. Stiles won.
Chris cleared his throat. "Best out of three."
Stiles stared at him. "I didn't know you were shameless, Chris."
Chris smirked unapologetically. "It's a repair spell. You have no idea how useful that would be." He glanced at Jacob. "Jacob, toss the coin this time. I think Stiles was cheating."
Stiles gasped in mock offense. "I was not!"
Jacob smiled and reached into his pocket dimension. He pulled out another repair scroll and tossed it to Stiles. Then he handed Chris a cleaning spell and a repair spell. "Here. You take the repair spell and give the cleaning one to Victoria."
Chris took them gratefully. "Thanks." He unrolled the repair scroll immediately. It dissolved into light and sank into his forehead.
Stiles stared at Jacob, outraged. "That's not fair! Give me a cleaning spell too! Or at least a Spartan laser, you stupid lizard!"
Jacob raised an eyebrow. "I can take back the scroll I just gave you if you think I'm being unfair."
Stiles's eyes widened in panic. He tried to open the scroll, but it flew from his hand as Jacob used his telekinesis.
Stiles dropped to his knees and hugged Jacob's leg. "I'm sorry I called a noble creature like you a lizard! I was just joking! Please give me the scroll back!"
Jacob smirked and tossed the scroll high above the lake. "Go fetch."
Stiles stripped off his shirt and threw it onto the chair, along with his phone. "Come on, man! You're so petty!"
He watched the scroll arc through the air, then leaped with all his enhanced strength. He caught it mid-air—but gravity took over, and he plunged into the lake with a tremendous splash.
A moment later, Chris's eyes, which had been closed while learning the repair spell, snapped open. He joined Jacob in calmly watching the spot where Stiles had fallen.
They both saw Stiles swimming frantically toward the shore, screaming at the top of his lungs. Behind him, a massive dorsal fin cut through the water.
A shark.
The fin disappeared. Then Stiles was launched into the air as the shark struck him from below.
"AAAHHH! That hurt!" Stiles flew upward, then splashed back down.
But he wasn't bleeding. The shark's razor-sharp teeth hadn't penetrated his skin at all.
When Stiles hit the water again, the tables turned. He swam after the shark with supernatural speed, caught it, and punched it repeatedly in the head until it went limp. Then he dragged it to shore.
He emerged from the water, dripping, and threw the massive shark at Jacob's feet. "I won our fishing competition."
Chris stared at the creature. It was enormous—easily over twenty feet long. "I've caught some unusually big fish here before, but this shark is way too big."
Jacob nodded. "Serendell is filled with supernatural energy, or magic, or whatever you want to call it. All the animals I brought from the outside world are mutating."
Chris's brow furrowed with concern. "Isn't that dangerous? Look at this shark. It's a tiger shark—they're aggressive, and they max out at fourteen feet in the outside world. This one's over twenty feet. What do you think it'll turn into after a few years here? And what about the lions? The tigers? The bears? How strong will they become?"
Jacob shrugged, unconcerned. "I don't know, but I'm looking forward to finding out. And the stronger they get, the tastier their meat will be. But I'm not eating lions or tigers—only herbivores. Just remember: don't swim in this lake. And tell Victoria the same."
Stiles said, "We should warn my dad and Natalie too. This lake is a death trap." He looked at Jacob. "Remind me again why you brought sharks here in the first place?"
Jacob shrugged again. "Aside from the delicious species—salmon, sea bass, shrimp, lobster, king crab, etc.—I didn't exactly choose the rest of the species I brought here. I just opened a large portal whenever I found a lot of fish, and they all got sucked in. The tiger shark is probably the least dangerous thing in there."
Stiles's eyes widened. "What's more dangerous than a tiger shark?"
Jacob started counting on his fingers. "Electric rays. Sting rays. All kinds of eels—especially that large green one that lives in coral reefs. Great white sharks. Orcas. Bluefin tuna. Barracuda. Swordfish. Giant squid. Giant octopus." He paused. "Those are just off the top of my head. I saw them all get sucked into the portal. Imagine what they'll mutate into after a few years here." He added thoughtfully, "And there might be more dangerous things I brought in without noticing."
Stiles stared at him. "That's reckless, you idiot! What if... what if, for example, the octopus mutates into a kraken?"
Jacob's eyes lit up. "Isn't that just more octopus meat for us?"
Stiles threw his hands up. "What if you brought a dangerous supernatural creature in here without knowing? What if it kept growing stronger until it became a real threat?"
Jacob waved a hand dismissively. "Relax. Serendell is mine. I'm in total control here. Nothing can beat me in my own domain." He gazed out at the vast lake, his expression turning thoughtful. "Speaking of supernatural creatures… do you guys think I accidentally brought in a beautiful mermaid?"
Stiles and Chris both turned to look at the lake.
Stiles's earlier panic melted into a mischievous grin. "Should we go for a swim and find out if she's there?"
Jacob smirked. "I can check if there's a mermaid—or any other supernatural creature—in the lake without getting wet."
He closed his eyes and focused on his connection with Serendell. The lake's depths unfolded in his mind—every creature, every shadow, every hidden corner. Fifteen minutes passed in silence.
Finally, he opened his eyes and shook his head. "Unfortunately, no mermaid. No supernatural creatures either. Just fish, shellfish, and other normal sea creatures. But I should have expected that. If there was any supernatural creature in Serendell, I'd sense it right away. Guess I was just hoping there might actually be a mermaid in the lake."
Both Stiles and Chris sighed in disappointment. Stiles muttered, "I wanted to see a beautiful mermaid."
Jacob said, "But I did see a school of seahorses—or herd, or whatever you call a group of them. And they were big. Some of them were probably four feet long."
Chris's eyebrows shot up. "Four feet? The largest seahorse species only grows to about fourteen inches."
Jacob nodded. "I know. Serendell's energy is making them grow bigger."
Stiles waved a hand dismissively. "Why are you excited about stupid giant seahorses? I wanted to see a beautiful mermaid!"
Jacob smirked. "Think about it—if the seahorses keep growing, we might be able to ride them around the lake. That would be fun."
Stiles sighed. "Yeah, that would be fun, but I really wanted to see a mermaid. Look, even Chris is disappointed." He nodded toward Chris, who wore a contemplative expression. "I wonder if they are as beautiful as in the stories. You know, with their bras made from scallop shells?"
Jacob shook his head. "You're too naive, Stiles."
Stiles frowned. "Why?"
Jacob grinned. "Mermaids don't wear bras."
Stiles's eyes widened. "Oh." A grin spread across his face. "Even better."
The three of them turned toward the lake, identical longing expressions on their faces.
Just then, Allison, Lydia, and Malia appeared beside them, making them jump.
Allison glanced around suspiciously. "What are you guys doing?"
Stiles, without thinking, blurted out, "We were looking for a mer..."
Jacob moved like lightning. He snatched the scroll from Stiles's hand and shoved it into his mouth, silencing him. Before Stiles could even process what happened, Jacob's foot connected with his ass and sent him flying into the horizon.
Chris cleared his throat awkwardly. "I'm going to… uh… I have things to do. I need to give this scroll to Victoria." He teleported out of Serendell before anyone could respond.
The three girls turned to Jacob with identical suspicious expressions.
Lydia crossed her arms. "What were you three really doing?"
Jacob pretended he hadn't heard the question. Instead, he spun around and pointed at the massive shark like he'd just discovered treasure. "Malia, look at this shark! I bet it'll taste delicious. I'll take it to Cogman so he can make us some fish and chips." He grabbed the shark and teleported away before anyone could stop him.
Allison stared at the empty space where Jacob had been. "They were definitely talking about something weird. Or perverted. Something they didn't want us to know about. Even my dad was panicking."
Lydia's lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile. "Don't worry. I'll make Stiles tell us what they were talking about."
To be continued… 😊