Seeking answers, Stiles and Cora listen as Peter tells them about werewolf eye color - they change from yellow to blue when that werewolf first takes an innocent life. Peter tells them about a teenaged Derek, who fell in love with Paige. When the plan to turn her, to ensure they will always be together, failed, Derek was forced to kill her to end her suffering. Peter leaves out that turning her was his idea, and that he asked Ennis to do the biting. Elsewhere, Scott and Allison visit Gerard, whose pain Scott helps alleviate in exchange for answers. Gerard explains the origins of the feud between the Hunters and the werewolves, but leaves out that Deucalion had originally wanted peace - Gerard was the one who sabotaged a meeting between the two sides, before blinding a vulnerable Deucalion. Dr. Deaton and Ms. Morrell are revealed to be emissaries - modern day druids, advisors to Alphas and ambassadors between werewolves and humans.
[PREVIOUSLY_ON] Derek: You don't know me. You don't know anything about me. Stiles: That was Derek Hale. His family... they all burned to death in a fire, like, ten years ago. Lydia: Is this is your house? Peter: Was. Scott: Who are they? Derek: Hunters... the kind who've been hunting us for centuries. Gerard: We kill them all. Derek: It's our sign for a vendetta, for revenge. Deucalion: Someone is going to die tonight. Derek: No. Everyone around me gets hurt. Unknown Werewolf: You're a Hale, aren't you? Hunter: Is this the one? Chris: Killed two of ours. Find the others. Bring them back alive. Alive. We go by the code. Cora: They were there for two days, waiting, hiding. That's what we're taught to do when the hunters find us... hide and heal. Stiles: Okay, so is two days standard, then, or are we thinking Derek's on, like, some extended getaway? Cora: Why do you care? Stiles: Why do I care? Let's see... because over the last few weeks, my best friend's tried to kill himself. His boss nearly got ritually sacrificed. A girl that I've known since I was three was ritually sacrificed. Boyd was killed by alphas. I... do you want me to keep going? 'Cause I can, all right? For, like, an hour. Cora: You think Derek can do anything about that? Stiles: Well, since he's the one everyone seems to be after, it's more like he should do something about it, yeah. Cora: I don't know. There's something different about him now. He wasn't like this when we knew him. Stiles: What was he like? Peter: A lot like Scott, actually. A lot like most teenagers... unbearably romantic, profoundly narcissistic, tolerable really only to other teenagers. Stiles: And so what happened? What changed him? Peter: Well, the same thing that changes a lot of young men... A girl. Stiles: You're telling me some girl broke his little heart? That's why Derek is the way he is? Peter: Do you remember Derek before he was an Alpha had blue eyes? Do you know why some wolves have blue eyes? Stiles: I just always thought it was, like, a genetic thing. Peter: If you want to know what changed Derek, you need to know what changed the color of his eyes. Gerard: Mm. Did you bring him? Oh. Oh, come in, Scott, and give an old man a little something for his pain. Allison: You don't have to do this. Gerard: If you want me to talk, this is how it's going to happen. Scott: If I do this, you have to tell us everything you know. Gerard: Everything. Ah. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Guy: What are you gonna do? Paige: Hey, do you guys mind? I'm trying to practice. Young Derek: How do you know we're not trying to practice here too? Paige: Yeah, well, see, I was practicing in the music room, and I'm pretty sure basketball practice takes place in the gym. Young Derek: Well, I'm pretty sure basketball practice takes place anywhere you got a basketball. See? Wait. Hold on. Hold on. If you can get the ball from me... maybe I'll stop. Come on. It'll be easy. Oops. Guys : Come on lover boy Young Derek: Sorry about that. Paige: Whatever. Young Derek: Hey, what's your name? Paige: I'm trying to practice, if you didn't notice. Young Derek: Okay. I'll just leave you alone, then... after you tell me your name. Paige: All right, I'll tell you my name if you can play one instrument in this room. Young Derek: One? Paige: Just one. Young Derek: Any of 'em? Paige: My name's Paige. Now please go, so I can practice. Young Derek: My name's... Paige: I know who you are. Gerard: They found a third body? Allison: Another doctor, right after Scott found Deaton. Gerard: Right after? Almost like it was expected he'd survive. Scott: What's that supposed to mean? Gerard: How do you know your dark druid isn't your wise veterinarian himself? Maybe he knew you'd find him. Maybe he planned it that way. Scott: He would never let anyone innocent die. Gerard: Don't be so sure. You'd be surprised how far some people would go to get rid of someone like Deucalion. Scott: Or someone like you? Gerard: I don't go easily, though, do I? You know, Scott, you've made me something of a celebrity here. I'm a medical mystery. The cancer is now virtually undetectable, but the doctors have no clue why my body keeps producing and ejecting this bizarre black fluid. Scott: I did what you wanted me to do. Tell us how to beat him. Gerard: You can't. I've tried. Allison: Then this is a complete waste of time. He doesn't know anything. Sorry you did this. Let's go. Gerard: Wait. I can tell you one thing. Deucalion may have lost his eyes, but he's not always blind. Stiles: Okay, so if Derek was a sophomore back then, how old was he? How old were you? How old are you now? Peter: Not as young as we could have been, but not as old as you might think. Stiles: Okay, that was frustratingly vague. How old are you? Cora: I'm 17. Stiles: See, that's an answer. That's how we answer people. Cora: Well, 17 how you'd measure in years. Stiles: All right, I'm just gonna drop it. What happened to Derek and the cello girl? Peter: What do you think happened? They were teenagers. One minute, it's, "I hate you, don't talk to me." The next, it's frantic groping in any dark corner they could manage to find themselves alone for five minutes. Their favorite dark corner was an abandoned distillery outside of Beacon Hills. Stiles: All right, hold up. How do you know all this? You just said that they were alone. Peter: Back then, I wasn't just Derek's Uncle. I was his best friend, his closest confidante. That's how I know. Young Derek: What? Paige: Why do you like me? Young Derek: What's that supposed to mean? Paige: Why do you like me? Young Derek: Why do you think I like you? Paige: Honestly, I think, at first, you liked me because I didn't like you. Young Derek: So now you're worried that now that I know you like me that I'm gonna stop liking you? Paige: Not worried. Just wondering when. Young Derek: What if I never stop liking you? Paige: What? Did you hear something? What's wrong? Young Derek: Something happened here. Paige: What do you mean? Young Derek: I caught a scent. It's blood. All right, now I definitely heard something. Paige: Derek, I don't hear anything. We have to go. Come on. Let's go. Ennis: There. You see it? They dragged him here, an arrow in his throat, and they hung him and cut him in half. They killed one of ours. Kali: One of yours. Why should I care about one of your pack? Unknown Werewolf: 'Cause the hunters don't discern packs, especially the Argents. Deucalion: But they do discern motive Ennis, why did they kill him? Marco: Because your young, naive beta killed one of them. Deucalion: Marco. He killed a hunter, didn't he? Ennis: Accidentally. Gerard: They were all there... Ennis, Kali, Deucalion... each with their own packs, before they'd killed them all and decided to form their little all-star team. Allison: But they didn't all live here, did they? Gerard: No, but there was an exceptionally powerful Alpha who did live here. She had a capacity to shape-shift that was rare among her kind. That made her something of a leader, the kind of person that they would go to for advice and guidance... Talia Hale. Talia: It's his right. We're not the only people to adhere to rituals thousands of years old. Deucalion: Which is no excuse for not evolving. Ennis: They ripped his claws right out of his fingers. How is that evolving? Useless debate. I'm done with it. Deucalion: Ennis, don't. Don't make us part of a historical cliche. With two such powers, it never ends at an eye for an eye. A skirmish becomes a war. A murder becomes a massacre. And we end up no better than our enemies. Peter: Our mark for vendetta. Stiles: Man, you guys really take that revenge thing to, like, a whole new level, don't you? Cora: It's not just revenge. Losing a member of your pack isn't like losing family. It's like you lose a limb. Peter: They wouldn't even let him see the body. Sheriff: Somebody called for a... Whoa. Ennis: I want his body. It belongs to me... both halves. Sheriff: First off... you need to step back. I'm just a deputy. I do what I'm told. And right now they're telling me there's a young man who was shot in the throat with an arrow and literally cut in half. This is a homicide investigation. Second, no matter how close you were... you're not related. Ennis: He was family to me. Cora: I don't get it. What does this have to do with Derek? Peter: Everything. It's never just a single moment. It's a confluence of events. Personally, I looked at Ennis' circumstances, I saw a profound loss. Derek saw something different. He saw opportunity. Stiles: Opportunity? To do what? Peter: To always be with her. [SCENE_BREAK] Paige: What are you staring at? Young Derek: I'm not staring. I'm listening. Am I distracting you? Paige: No, I've got laser-like focus. Young Derek: You sure about that? Paige: I hate you. Young Derek: No, you don't. You love me. Paige: Hate you. Young Derek: You love me. Peter: The thing was, he had this constant fear. He was obsessing over it, thinking about it all night, all day, always on his mind. Why does she eat alone? Young Derek: What are you doing here? Peter: I'm looking out for my favorite nephew, making sure no one has a crossbow aimed at your throat. Young Derek: I could get you banned from school grounds. You know that, right? Peter: No one would ban me from anywhere. I'm too good-looking. Doesn't she have any friends? Young Derek: A few, but she likes to study during lunch. and I kind of just don't think she likes my friends. Peter: No one should like your friends. They're a bunch of hormonal half-wits. But that one over there... she's perfect for you. And perfect combinations are rare in an imperfect world. It would worry me too, though. I'd probably be thinking about it all the time. Young Derek: Thinking about what? Peter: Her finding out. You've thought that through, right? You know it always happens. One minute, you're in this blissful teen romance, and next, she sees fangs, glowing eyes, claws. Young Derek: She doesn't have to find out. Peter: But they always do... especially when they're perfect for you. There's really only one way to make sure you'll always be together. Turn her. I kept telling him not to do it. Every day the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. You know teenagers. I bet he even blames me. He's probably convinced himself the whole thing was my idea. I have the perfect idea. Young Derek: Go away. Peter: Laura told you about the packs being here, right? There are more alphas than I've ever seen in one place. Your mother would never do it. And these packs won't be here much longer. The time to do it is now. One little bite, and she never gets sick again. She stays younger, more beautiful. Think how she'll be able to protect herself. Derek... the bite is a gift. Gerard: What is that? Chris: A Celtic five fold knot... It's a druid symbol. The air's different in here. Do you feel it? I think I know what this place is. Gerard: Is that blood? Chris: Sacrificial blood. We're in a nemeton. It's a sacred meeting place. Ancient Celtic druids would usually choose a large, older tree in a grove. It would represent the center of the world. There was a belief that cutting or harming the tree in any way would cause serious problems for the surrounding villages. Gerard: What sort of problems? Chris: Fires, plagues, strife... death and destruction of all kinds. Allison: How does he know all about Celtic symbols and druids? Gerard: Know thy enemy, Allison. The older wolves had a relationship with the druids. They called them emissaries. Scott: Like my boss, Deaton. Gerard: Do you know the myth of Lycaon? Scott: I know it's where we get the word "lycanthropy." Gerard: According to myth, some Greek citizens believed they owed their lives more to Prometheus than to the gods of Olympus. And some followers even took names to honor the titans instead of the gods. Scott: Like Deucalion. Gerard: The son of Prometheus. Lycaon didn't just refuse to honor the gods. He challenged them. He invited Zeus to a banquet and then tried to serve him the flesh of a human being. Angered, Zeus blew the place apart with lightning bolts and then punished Lycaon and his sons by turning them into wolves. The part that's lesser known is how Lycaon sought out the druids to help turn him back to human. Scott: Why druids? Gerard: The belief was that the ancient druids knew how to shape-shift. They couldn't make Lycaon and his sons human again, but they did teach them how to shift back and forth. And so the druids became important advisors to the packs. Cora: They keep us connected to humanity. But they're a secret even in the pack. Sometimes only the Alpha knows who the emissary is. Derek and I had no idea about Deaton. Peter: Or his sister, Morrell. Stiles: She's an emissary too? Peter: For the Alpha pack. Stiles: Our guidance counselor? Why the hell don't you people tell me any of this stuff, huh? I shared some really intimate details with her. Cora: And did she give you good advice? Stiles: Actually, yeah. Peter: That's what they do. That's what Deaton used to do for Talia. Deaton: While I admire your willingness to extend an olive branch, I have to tell you, it might not be welcome. Talia: And I'm not sure that Gerard is the one to accept it. Deaton: It's true. The Argents have a matriarchal leadership. Talia: Actually, I was speaking about the fact that he's a complete psychopath. The man cuts people in half with a broadsword. Deucalion: Do the two of you really have so little faith in people? You think Gerard isn't worried about the deaths on his own side? Deaton: Do you know the story of the scorpion and the frog? Deucalion: I have a feeling I'm about to hear it. Deaton: When the scorpion asked the frog to carry him across the river, the frog said, "how do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion replied, "why would I do that? Then we'd both drown." So the frog agreed. Halfway across the river, the scorpion stung the frog. When the frog asked him why he did it, since now they would both die, the scorpion replied... "It's my nature." Your faith in humanity may not matter if you underestimate Gerard's nature. Talia: Make sure you meet him on neutral ground. And do not walk in there alone. Deucalion: I'm an Alpha. I never walk alone. Paige: Derek? Derek, is that you? Cora: Ennis? Why would he choose him? Peter: Why not? Ennis needed a new member for his pack. Paige was young and strong. Doing a favor for Derek meant Ennis would be in good with Talia. Back then, everybody wanted to be in good with her. Stiles: He doesn't remember it was Ennis, does he? Peter: If he does, he keeps it to himself. Stiles: So then what happened? Did he turn her? Peter: Almost. He came at Ennis. A 15year-old boy against a giant. There was no reason for him to fight. She'd already been bitten. Gerard: I wasn't really surprised when Deaton came to arrange a meeting with Deucalion. As William Blake said, "any sinister person who means to be your enemy always start by trying to become your friend." Scott: How do you know he wasn't going there to make peace? Gerard: Because I'm not an idiot. Do you know the sanskrit fable of the scorpion and the turtle? Scott: Yeah, the scorpion asks the turtle for a ride across the river. Gerard: And when the scorpion stings the turtle, dooming them both, what does he say to explain his behavior? Scott: "It's my nature." Gerard: I know a werewolf's nature. I knew exactly what was coming... a trap. I think it's quite fitting that we are meeting in a distillery. You know, the process of distillation is the separating of two substances by pushing them into their different volatile states. Deucalion: Volatile is exactly the state I was hoping to avoid. Gerard: Ooh. Then this is going to come as quite a big disappointment. Deucalion: What have you done? Allison: They attacked you? Gerard: It was an ambush. One of the earliest weapons used by man was the spiked mace. i've made one of my own. I'd love to get your opinion on it. Deucalion: Your own people... Gerard: they wanted peace too. Look what you did to them. Cora: So did she turn? Peter: She should have. Most of the time, the bite takes. Most of the time. Stiles: When you offered it to me, you said, "if it doesn't kill you." Peter: If. Young Derek: What's happening to her? Peter: He knew the answer, though. It didn't matter that she was young and strong. Some people just aren't made for this. But she fought. She struggled desperately, trying to survive. Deucalion: Don't. Don't do this. I had a vision, a vision of peace. Gerard: A little shortsighted... wouldn't you say? Young Derek: I'm sorry. Paige: I knew. Young Derek: What do you mean? Paige: Right after I told you my name, I think I knew. I've seen things in this town before, things no one really could explain. And then there's the way that you talk... how you say things, like how you'd catch a scent. And I know you can hear things, things that no one else can hear. I knew. Young Derek: And you still liked me? Paige: I loved you. Stay.I'm gonna die... aren't I? Ow. I can't. I can't take it anymore. Derek, I can't. Derek... Please. Please. Young Derek: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Peter: I remember taking her body from his arms, to the woods, to a place where I knew that it would be found... another in a long line of Beacon Hills animal attacks. Cora: And what about Derek? Peter: Taking an innocent life takes... Something from you as well, a bit of your soul... darkening it, dimming the once brilliant, golden yellow to a cold, steel blue... like mine. Deaton: I'm sorry.The eyes will heal physically, but... your sight... Deucalion: Leave me alone. Marco, I said... leave me alone. Marco: You are alone. Scott: He sees as a wolf? Gerard: He's not always blind. Allison: Maybe we can use it against him. Gerard: Scott. Oh, I think about you sometimes, Scott. I do. I wonder, what if I'd done things differently? Getting the bite to cure my cancer. And I wonder when it became my nature to believe most things couldn't be asked for but had to be taken. Scott: I don't believe you. The whole time that you were telling your story, I was listening to your heartbeat. It never went up. It never went down. It was steady the whole time. Gerard: Because I was telling the truth. Scott: Or because you're a really good liar. If you lied and it gets people hurt... I'll be back to take away more than your pain. Cora: What? What's this... what's this look on your face? Stiles: What look? Cora: The kind of look that makes me want to punch you. Stiles: Oh, my God. You are so Derek's sister. I forgot. Cora: Well, what is with the look? Stiles: I just don't believe him. All right, in Ms. Blake's class, we're reading heart of darkness, and it's in first person, right? Narrated by Marlow. The thing is that he's... he's an unreliable narrator. You know the details of it have changed, you know, just because of his perspective. Cora: Well, then we heard the story from Peter's perspective. Stiles: Right, and I don't think we got the whole story. Cora: So, what, are... Are you just gonna ask Derek about the girl he fell in love with and then killed? Stiles: If I have to... Yeah. Talia: Derek. Young Derek: I did something... Something terrible. Talia: I know. Young Derek: My eyes... they're different. Talia: Different, but still beautiful... Just like the rest of you.
Visionary