Had it not been for the fact that Derek knew he was walking on enemy territory, he'd have taken the time to enjoy the atmosphere around him. The tall greenery granted perfect shade from the moonlight, but the three of them were able to see where they sat foot, nonetheless.

"Is it me? Or it's too quiet around here," asked Erica as she trailed behind Derek.

"It is too calm," said Derek simply.

They did their best to keep their voices on the low end, but they expected their enemies to hear them regardless of those efforts.

"I can't smell anything other than wet dirt and vegetation," said Boyd.

"If you're trying to tell us that this doesn't make any sense, then you can save your breath. It's pretty obvious that we walked right into a trap," Derek was quick to respond and by then, he'd already stopped walking, he stood still and scrutinized the area as well as he could. Both Boyd and Erica copied his actions; they stood facing different ways.

"I guess all we need to do now, is to wait for them to make a move," muttered Erica.

The silence that followed Erica's comment after that was deafening, and for a moment, the only thing Derek could hear was the sound of his own heartbeats, accompanied by those of Boyd's and Erica's. Although, he noted that theirs drummed their chests a little harder and faster than his did. He'd have spent however much time he needed to express how unfair all of that was to them, coming back to life only to be immediately thrown back into a rampaging, red storm level of a danger.

He had to cease all cogitations when a new sound came to his ears, one that sounded so close, he could've sworn it had happened right in front of him. It was the sound of something solid piercing through something wet, damp and mushy; kind of like a blade that had stabbed through a warm body to dance within its insides. The second new thing that hit him out of nowhere, was the putrid smell of rancid blood.

"Did you hear that?" questioned Erica as she half frantically looked around herself.

"Can you smell that?" Boyd followed her question with another one.

Derek felt relieved to know that he wasn't going crazy, knowing that both of them had caught the sound and the smell, but that feeling was quickly replaced by that of mild pain emanating from his right forearm. Something small and very sharp had grazed him hard enough to break his skin. Two short groans behind him indicated that Erica and Boyd were facing the same fate. When he finally looked down at his arm, he noticed a tiny scratch that had already began to heal under his eyes.

"Get down!"

He thought it was Kali's voice that'd just hollered at them to get down, and without bracing the three of them threw themselves to the ground, to dodge whatever it was that she was warning them about. Lucky they did, because what they hadn't realized, was that they weren't as alone in that greenhouse as they thought they were.

A horde of longtails had already surrounded them, and were inches away from ending their lives, if it weren't for Anas and Kali among them, stabbing the beasts straight through their hearts with what Derek immediately assumed to be a mountain ash laced blade, considering they weren't getting back up after they'd fallen.

"What the hell is happening? We didn't even see them coming! How?" Screamed Erica, as she'd gotten back to her feet in order to fight.

It was perfectly understandable for Boyd and Erica to be hoodwinked and fall for such ruse, but it wasn't Derek's first time standing against deceitful enemies, that would choose not so stellar methods to take them down. It was also not the first time for him to be trapped in an illusion like that. The creatures seemed like they were coming out of thin air, when in reality, they had already been standing there, waiting for them from the very beginning, and it was Derek's and Erica's, as well as Boyd's entire senses that had deceived them.

"It was a powerful illusion, we weren't alone in here from the get go!" somehow Derek had found the chance to yell the answer at her, right as he blocked one of the longtail's hands from gouging his eyes out of him.

"Take these!"

Both Kali and Anas hurled three small objects their way. Once he'd held one, Derek understood that it was a knife. The longtails were extremely powerful and resistant, fighting them barehanded would have been a sorry case of suicide. They needed the mountain ash laced weapons, and all they had to do after that, was to hold on long enough and score a bull's eye hit through the monster's chests.

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And thus, it had begun. A constant sequence of jumping, kicking, dodging and clawing took place, sprinkled with a few attempted stabbings, some of which were successful. It allowed them to cut the numbers of their enemies shorter.

"Don't let them touch you with the end of their tails! Or you'll be sorry!" Kali screamed at Erica who'd barely managed to avoid one of their tail attacks.

The young blond did not have the luxury to retort with anything, too focused on the fight, even though it looked more like they were all trying to survive, rather than take the creatures down. They were rapidly losing ground, so much so, that at some point, Boyd was pushed to stand back-to-back against Derek.

"They were standing in the greenhouse all along?" said Boyd.

"It does look like it. Anas and Kali broke us out of the illusion when they scratched us," said Derek.

Those were the only words they were allowed to exchange. After that, the circumstances around them forced them apart, for each of them to carry on the fight on their own sides.

*****

"So, we're just gonna try the door? Like we're coming for tea or something," said Isaac, as he stood behind Allison.

The five of them had arrived at the mansion, just like most of their friends had already done so before them. Allison was the first inline, facing the backdoor. She stood there for a moment, seemingly contemplating her options, but then she gripped the doorknob and slowly twisted it, "It seems like that's exactly what we're gonna do," she said before carefully taking her first step inside.

Chris Argent threw a look at each of the remaining group members behind him and then followed after Allison, "Are you getting anything?" he asked the two werewolves.

"No, nothing," said Alec.

"Except for the heartbeats we were able to hear since earlier," added Isaac.

"Can't you smell anything?" Daniel thought it was a good time to ask his question.

"Absolutely nothing," said Isaac.

"This smells like a trap, through and through," said Chris, pensive looking, allowing his weapon of choice to follow his gaze gradually towards the ground.

"It is one," said Allison calmy, without stopping.

"Wait, how are you so sure?" Alec followed after her and Daniel did the same after Alec.

Isaac and Chris seemed to share a thought, they both stopped where they stood for a moment in order to voice their concerns, "Do you... Have any idea as to why her behavior would be so skewered after she came back, like this?" Isaac sounded hesitant and took the time to pick his words carefully.

"No, and it kills me. The others seem fine," Chris said, then he continued, "Out of all the people that you've resurrected that day in Mexico, she seems to be the only one that kept memories of where she went after her death,"

"I actually had the chance to ask Kali about it. I saw her only once when I was one of their captives there. I was very sarcastic about it, but she did give me a straight and genuine answer," said Isaac, as both men started walking ahead towards the others.

"What did she say?"

"She said she doesn't remember anything after the moment of her death. She said that the last thing she could recall was Jennifer's fury before she stabbed her with hundreds of little glass pieces. She said she remembered sharp pain and then... Waking up in a lab, like what had happened before that was all nothing but a nightmare," said Isaac.

They didn't have time to speak further, as they'd caught up to Allison and the others, and they did not want to discuss the subject in front of her. They'd walked close enough to them right in time to hear Alec's persistance with his questions, "I don't understand. You say you know it's a trap so, why not?"

"What's the problem?" asked Chris.

"She says she's sure we're walking into a trap, but says it is also impossible for us to leave," Daniel decided to clarify, since neither Allison nor Alec seemed to be willing to do so.

"Why can't we go back?" the youngest werewolf of the two asked again.

By the time he'd finished his question, Allison had already turned to face him, her face terrifyingly expressionless. She seemed to be aiming her weapon right at Alec, who was rooted in his spot, "Let me show you why," she said, before firing her gun without the slightest hesitation, under everyone else's horrified eyes.

Someone yelped in pain, but it wasn't Alec. In fact, it wasn't even his voice. It came from very close behind him instead. Allison didn't say a thing and the others took a few seconds to assimilate what had just happened, but by the look on their faces, it was clear that no amount of time in the world would have been sufficient for them to fully grasp the idea.

That was until the voice spoke again, "They informed me of your comeback... They did. But I didn't believe them," she said. Far from the spot she'd been shot in, Kate Argent stood a few feet ahead of Allison, "And look at you! You look just like... Well, I wasn't really there when you... You know?" Kate finished by making a gesture with her index finger, moving it from one side of her own throat towards the other, bearing a short lived, ridiculous grimace on her facial features.

"I did not expect the reunion between us to be heartwarming or anything, but I gotta say, you're reaching lows I didn't think anyone could sink to, not even you," said Allison, just as cold and expressionless as she'd looked before.

"What's this supposed to mean?" asked Daniel.

"We were stuck in an illusion, but I am not sure of what kind," explained Chris.

"You're as sharp as I can remember, Chris. So quick to find an answer to everything," Kate turned back towards Allison before adding, "The real question here, is why didn't it work on you?"

"I worked hard on my ability to see through bullshit. It's a must in our family," said Allison in a bone chilling tone.