TW Fic: Should We Believe?
Title: Should We Believe?
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Pairing/Characters: Jackson Whittemore, Isaac Lahey, Scott McCall, Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski, Lydia Martin, Erica Reyes, Allison Argent, Vernon Boyd
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~3, 800
Summary: "It all started a long time ago-"
"Um, sorry, can we maybe start not that long ago?" Isaac interrupted sheepishly, sitting down on one of the rocks around the house as it became obvious that he was finally about to get some answers.
"You want to hear the story and maybe get a tree?" Jackson asked snidely, feeling irked at being cut off before he'd even begun.
"Ugh, yeah, sure, I want a tree."
"As I was saying, it all started a long time ago, when I was a young man determined to change the world with my invention, the thneed."
Content Notes/Warnings: AU - Fusion
Author's notes: So, this was written for my bidder, Kendall, over at the sterekcampaign to help their cause. I can't thank him enough for choosing me and for being super patient while I procrastinated and anguished over the story. Special kudos go to thegreatandterriblematt for being an awesome beta.
Wolx - wolf + fox (Derek)
Folf - fox + wolf (Stiles)
Frish - frog + fish (Erica)
Smommee-Swan (Allison)
Bar-ba-Loot (Boyd)
-8-8-8-8-8-8-
The screech of the doorbell was loud and grating, echoing throughout the house and surprising both the man living there and the young boy who had pressed the button. The old man contemplated whether to use one of the defense gadgets connected with the door to scare away his unwanted visitor, and absently, while he thought, pressed a button, then listened to the startled shouts of the boy that followed as he was flung around and finally dropped to the ground.
Thinking that would be enough to chase away the boy, Jackson turned back to go deeper into the house, but stopped at the sudden and insistent pounding on his door. Hunching his shoulders in irritation, he whirled around and stomped to the front door.
As he flung it suddenly open, the boy screamed and tumbled down the small steps leading up to the entryway, and Jackson couldn't help giving a smirk in satisfaction, before it dropped from his face. He glared down at the persistent kid, instead.
"What the hell do you want, kid? Can't you read the signs?" He barked sharply, banging the cane he had snatched up against the side of the door, where a worn plate, with the words "GO AWAY" scrawled on the wooden surface, was nailed.
The boy was silent for a minute, staring in obvious wonder at Jackson, as if he was some mythical creature, before he snapped out of his daze and scrambled to stand up.
"I can read alright, doesn't mean I like to heed the warnings," he answered as he brushed off his clothes, vainly trying to straighten them up again.
"Well, you should start. Next time it could cost you your life!" Jackson glared up at the boy, who was surprisingly tall for someone so young.
Choosing to ignore the warning, again, the kid extended a hand in his direction with a bright smile. "I'm Isaac, nice to finally meet you, Mr. Whittemore."
Jackson stared at the proffered hand for barely a second before slapping it away with his cane and turned around to go back inside his house, with a scoff. "Go away, kid."
The door snapped shut behind him, but through it he could still hear the outraged shouts of the boy.
"Hey! I told you my name!" Isaac pounded on the door again, before jumping away as a boot appeared from out of nowhere to kick him. "I just wanted to ask you what happened to all the trees! You know, the real ones."
Jackson froze in place, finger hovering over the button for another one of the gadgets, then slowly turned around to stare at the wooden door.
"The trees?" His voice was soft, but it sounded loud in the silence of the house, that had fallen after the yelling. He doubted that the kid outside could hear him, but he got a response anyway.
"Yeah. The real trees that, you know, grow out of the ground and stuff."
"I didn't think anyone cared about them anymore, nobody has for a long time." Jackson mumbled, mostly to himself, but the kid, Isaac, once again answered him, as if Jackson had been talking directly to him.
"I do! I care about the trees and I want to know what happened to them."
Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, the old man crept closer to his door and looked out through the small peephole to see Isaac pressed against it with his ear, face contorted in concentration as he was clearly focusing on listening in. With a mischievous grin, Jackson banged his cane against the wood and heard the shocked cry as Isaac tumbled down the steps once again.
"Oh, come on! Old lady Martin said that if I bring you this stuff you will tell me what happened to the trees." Jackson peered through the peephole to see Isaac rummaging in his pocket, before making a small sound of triumph, opening his palm to reveal a couple of marshmallows, some coins and a rusted nail.
"Lydia?" His murmur was too soft to hear this time, but he shook his head and snorted loudly before going to sit down heavily in the chair by one of the windows. "So you wanna know what happened to the trees? Why they're all gone?" He asked sharply, his voice rough as he trailed off. "It's because of me," he muttered bitterly, clenching a hand into a fist.
"Wait, what?"
A whisper-ma-phone suddenly popped out of the window and Isaac leaned cautiously toward it.
"It's because of me!"
Was bellowed right in his ear, making him stumble back and clutch at his t-shirt where his heart was beating rapidly.
"It all started a long time ago-"
"Um, sorry, can we maybe start not that long ago?" Isaac interrupted sheepishly, sitting down on one of the rocks around the house as it became obvious that he was finally about to get some answers.
"You want to hear the story and maybe get a tree?" Jackson asked snidely, feeling irked at being cut off before he'd even begun.
"Ugh, yeah, sure, I want a tree."
"As I was saying, it all started a long time ago, when I was a young man determined to change the world with my invention, the thneed."
"Thneed?" Isaac asked, wrinkling his forehead in confusion, but a glare through the window in his direction quickly made him fall quiet again.
Jackson sighed tiredly and explained what his invention did, its many uses and advantages, how stupidly enthusiastic he had been and how grand his plans were. Until he chopped down his very first tree.
-8-8-8-8-8-8-
"Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you're doing? Did you chop down that tree?"
Jackson whirled around in surprise to look at the young man standing on top of the tree, glaring daggers in his direction with his arms crossed over his chest.
He was almost as tall as the blond, but his hair was dark and a little curly around the edges where it was slightly more longish and his bangs fell around his forehead and ears, while his eyes would be a warm chocolate, if they weren't currently glowering angrily. But the clothes he was wearing were the most captivating thing at the moment and the most downright strange thing as well. His outfit appeared to be made entirely out of leaves, mostly in various shades of green and brown, but a second look told Jackson that they were actually sewn on the fabric like a sort of decoration.
"Are you wearing an overall?" He blurted out before he could stop himself and felt his cheeks warm for a second before the other boy's squawk of indignation interrupted his mortification.
"No! This is not an overall-"
"But, it looks like an overall," Jackson interrupted. "It's just cut off at the knees, and the straps of the upper half are… a bit different."
The other looked down at his clothes as if trying to see what Jackson meant and his eyebrows rose momentarily as if realizing for the first time what his outfit looked like. He coughed and scratched at his head before a low growl interrupted whatever he was going to say.
"You're right, Derek," he muttered with a sigh, mostly under his breath, leaving Jackson to wonder who he was talking to, as there was no one around them, save for the forest animals that he had met as soon as he had set foot among the trees.
"I am Scott," his voice echoed around the clearing as he straightened his back, looming over the intruder as the animals gathered around them. "I'm the Guardian of the forest. I speak for the trees."
"O-okay." Jackson stared for a moment with a perplexed expression on his face, waiting for something more, before shrugging and extending his hand in greeting. "Well, I'm Jackson Whittemore and I'm about to change the world with the greatest invention, ever!"
He was so excited that he had finally found the perfect material for his thneed that he could have whooped with joy and the giddy feeling in his chest only grew until he was almost anxious to start sewing right away.
"No. Leave! Vacate the premises, take your axe and get out," Scott interrupted, with a scowl, waving his hand in a shooing motion. One of the wolxes growled as if for emphasis and took a menacing step forward.
"Yeah, right, that's not going to happen." Jackson replied and tried to dismiss the slight trepidation inspired by the wolx. What was his deal anyway? He couldn't understand why the animals were suddenly acting hostile towards him now, when they had certainly been quite friendly when he arrived (and fed them marshmallows, but that's not important).
-8-8-8-8-8-8-
"Wait, wait, wait. So you're telling me you basically bribed the forest animals into liking you with marshmallows?" Isaac interrupted once again, incredulity written all over his face. "That's insane."
"Maybe," Jackson snapped in irritation, "But it certainly worked in my favor at the time," he bit out, before popping one of the marshmallows the kid had brought into his mouth. God, they tasted just as good as they used to. He couldn't believe it had been years since he had one.
"I could bring you more, if you want?" Isaac asked slyly, and Jackson bristled in irritation, but he couldn't bring himself to refuse. It really had been too long.
"Fine. But don't think you can bribe me into telling you the rest of the story."
"Oh no, no of course not." The boy agreed breezily, with a deceptive shrug.
Jackson narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but didn't comment, instead choosing to continue his tale.
-8-8-8-8-8-8-
It had been nearly two weeks since Jackson found the Truffula trees and sewed his first thneeed, and almost a whole week since he started going to the nearby town in an attempt to sell it. So far, he hadn't had much success, or rather no success at all, if he was completely honest with himself. It didn't really help that Scott had decided to stick around to make sure he wouldn't chop down anymore of his trees and for some reason he found the forest-guardian's presence both irritating and calming. It was strange how the guardian of the forest had started grudgingly supporting him, while at the same time he wouldn't stop nagging about the fallen tree, and the consequences of chopping more down.
"You've already chopped it down, so I hope at the very least it will be worth it in the end." Scott had murmured softly one night as he stroked a hand through one of the folves' fur (Stiles was it? What the hell was a Stiles?) and the alpha of the wolxes licked his muzzle insistently.
Just as he was losing hope and starting to think that all the insults his family hurled at him throughout the years were true after all, and that his excited call to his mom had been for nothing, he sold the thneed. Or rather, he left it on the bench where the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen was sitting with a book in her lap. She'd barely glanced at him before snatching his thneed and folding it into a hat so she could shield her eyes from the glare of the sun.
-8-8-8-8-8-8-
"That's when everything started changing. That's when I started changing," the old man sighed heavily as he closed his eyes.
"How so?" Isaac asked quietly, with his head propped on his knees.
Disregarding the boy's question, Jackson asked, "Which way does a tree fall?"
"Down?" Isaac replied without much thought before frowning in confusion, "Why?"
Jackson couldn't help barking out a sharp laugh at his answer. "That's what I said as well when Scott asked me. But that's not correct. 'A tree falls the way it leans. Be careful which way you lean.'" Jackson recalled the words the guardian of the forest had spoken so long ago. He should have paid more attention to them, instead of ignoring the warning they contained.
"O-okay." The boy drawled out in confusion again, "So what happened next?"
Squinting his eyes, Jackson decided that he'd had enough company for the day. "What happens next is that you need to go now."
"What?! Why? We're not even halfway through the story yet!" Isaac protested loudly as he jumped up in indignation.
"Go home, boy," the old man ordered with a sneer as he pressed another one of the buttons, and the boot appeared to chase away the kid. "Come back tomorrow," he said finally, once Isaac had dodged a couple of the kicks.
"Fine! I will come back tomorrow and I will get a tree." The high-schooler yelled, before jumping on his bike and speeding away in the direction of the town.
"Mm, maybe, that's just maybe," Jackson murmured under his breath. He didn't want to, but he couldn't help the feeling of hope blooming inside his chest. Maybe it wasn't too late to fix everything. Maybe.
-8-8-8-8-8-8-
True to his word and to Jackson's surprise, Isaac showed up the next day. He looked a little haggard and the old man couldn't help asking what has happened. The boy grumbled about the crazy Harris who was currently ruling over the town with his stupid bottled fresh air, and Jackson winced, because that was his fault as well, that the air was so polluted some asshole had found a way to sell clean air.
"So what happened next?" Isaac asked hesitantly, wondering if he would be shot down again and chased away. But Jackson only sighed tiredly and continued his story.
"My family arrived. That's what happened."
-8-8-8-8-8-8-
"Scott, please, I promise it won't happen again," Jackson pleaded as he stood between the guardian and his family. "It was an accident! Greenberg didn't mean to chop down the tree. We'll figure out a way to harvest the trees without chopping them down. Just please, don't do anything to them." His mother will probably chew him out later for stooping so low as to beg a supposed mythical creature, but he didn't care at that moment, because Scott looked frankly murderous, the air around him seemingly simmering with barely repressed anger. Even the animals stood apart from Scott, though still close enough to provide help if the need arose.
Boyd, the youngest of the bar-ba-loots, looked around in confusion, not understanding what was going on and why everyone was so upset. His sweet little Erica was upset as well, croaking worriedly from the pond with the other frish, and that practically never happened.
"It was not an accident, Jackson," the guardian bit out through clenched teeth as he glared daggers at the offender. The guy didn't even have the grace to look ashamed.
"It won't happen again, I promise," Jackson repeated, desperately trying to make Scott believe.
"It better not," Scott threatened as he finally took a step back. "I truly hope it won't happen."
But it did happen again.
Mrs. Whittemore had always been an ambitious woman. If getting what she wanted meant manipulating and corrupting her own son, then so be it. And that was exactly what happened. Her sweet little Jackie was always so eager to please her, she knew it was only a matter of time before he broke his promise to that ignorant foolish 'guardian of the forest'. She just had to be patient enough and continue whispering in his ear about how famous he could become, how rich and popular, how proud she would be of him, if only he would start cutting down the trees and allowed the factory to work faster.
-8-8-8-8-8-8-
"I gave in in the end," Jackson whispered bitterly, sounding broken and once again feeling violated and disgusted that his own mother had helped turn him into a monster. "I really didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. Scott tried to warn me, then he tried to stop me, but I was too blindsided by my desperation to keep pleasing my family."
Isaac stayed quiet where he was sitting on one of the rocks in the yard. When he'd first gone on his quest to find a real tree, he'd kind of expected to go through a few challenges maybe, or battle some creature. He certainly hadn't expected to just sit on some rock and listen to an old man recount his life story. Not that he was complaining, well, not really.
Jackson stayed silent for several minutes, lost in his own thoughts, and surprisingly enough Isaac didn't urge him to continue.
"For a while I didn't see him. I was too busy with my business, with the factory and designing new versions of the thneed. So he came to see me."
-8-8-8-8-8-8-
He was sitting in his office, keeping track of the fortune he had made so far while looking over the latest model for the expansion of his factory, when there came a rustling sound coming from the open balcony. A second later, Scott appeared, with his expression grim and listless.
"So how are things? Happy yet?" There was a forced casualness to his tone, but there was no mistaking the pain in his voice.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Jackson demanded as he rounded his desk to stand in front of the guardian.
"I came to see you. One last time," Scott answered, not making a move to close the distance between them.
"What?" Jackson asked in momentary surprise before getting a hold of himself. "Get out." The blond barked, as he made a shooing gesture with his hand.
"Why? Do I make you uncomfortable? Remind you of the promises you made?" Scott asked quietly as he stared him straight in the eyes, "Of the man you used to be?"
"You know what, if you really were the "guardian of the forest" then why haven't you used your so-called powers to stop me?" The sarcasm dripped from his words like the chemicals polluting the sky and the waters.
"I told you, that's not how it works."
"Well, then that means there's nothing you can do to stop me."
The sound of the cutting-machine drifted through the air and Scott turned silently to look out though the window. On one of the hills in the distance, still standing defiantly, was a pink Truffula tree. The mechanical monster quickly approached it before the automatic axe swung through the air. The crack of splintering wood was deafening in the silence that followed.
"That's it. The very last one. That may stop you," Scott murmured softly as he gazed at the fallen tree.
Jackson blinked, and suddenly it was like his eyes were open for the first time in what felt like forever. Terror slowly overcame him as he looked around the bare fields, not a single tree standing, no flower or grass swaying in the wind. Everything was devoid of color.
Scott jumped down from the balcony and Jackson rushed down the stairs, desperately hoping that somehow he would wake up from this nightmare. As he reached the last step, he saw all animals huddled close to the guardian; Allison the smommee-Swan was perched listlessly on Derek's back, her beautiful golden feathers splattered in grime and who knew what else.
Scott scooped her up gently when she chirped at him and cradled her close to his chest. Derek took a menacing yet shaky step towards Jackson, only stopping when Stiles tugged on his tail with small barking sound.
"I don't want any trouble," Jackson said hastily, lifting his hands to shield himself if it became necessary.
"And you won't get any, not from them," Scott murmured, not facing him as he placed Allison on Derek's back once again. He scratched the wolx's head and leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Next, he moved to Stiles, the guardian kneeled down and rubbed their noses together, and something in the way he did it screamed 'Goodbye'. Stiles whimpered softly, but eventually turned away to stand beside Derek. Boyd flung himself in Scott's open arms, Erica somehow clinging to his fur, and they were both enveloped in a hug. Every other animal followed, each one receiving a hug, a whispered word or a gentle touch.
-8-8-8-8-8-8-
"He sent them away, every single one of them because they couldn't live here anymore. There was no food, no tree or grass to play in. There was nothing left." Jackson said with bitterness in his voice. "Then he left as well." "Whispering that he trusted me." But he didn't say that, he just couldn't.
Isaac released a shuddering breath, his eyes turning to the grey fields and stormy sky, trying hard to imagine the trees, the grass, and the flowers that once were there.
"Isaac." It was the first time the old man had addressed him by his name and the boy jerked his head around to see him standing on the threshold of the front door. "Do you know what that word means? 'Unless'."
"No," came the whispered reply and Jackson smiled a little.
"Unless someone like you cares, a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." He dug around his pockets until he made a small sound of triumph. Slowly approaching the boy, Jackson took one of his hands and dropped something in his palm. "Take this seed, help it grow and maybe, just maybe, Scott and his friends will come back."
Isaac stared down at the small seed in wonder before looking up at the old man. "I will, I will take care of it," The boy promised and Jackson smiled again.
"Come on, shoo, go, plant it somewhere the people will see it and remember the past days."
With nothing more than a nod and a bright grin, Isaac hopped on his bike and hurried to go back home so he could plant the seed.
-8-8-8-8-8-8-
It was some weeks later when Jackson heard thunder and saw lightning flash through his window. A second later, there was a knock on his front door, and he threw it open to reveal Scott, standing there with a small smile on his face. Without a word, Jackson pulled the guardian into a one armed hug, before leading him to the back yard, where his garden was, filled with Truffula trees and all types of flowers.
Scott grinned at the sight and laughed in pure delight as they sat down on the bench facing the garden.
A rustling came from behind them and they both turned around to see Stiles and Derek standing just a few feet away. Right behind those two was Boyd, peaking over a bushy tail with Erica clinging to his head while Allison passed over them with a cheerful chirp to settle on one of the growing trees.
"Thank you."
Scott only smiled at him without a saying a single word.