chapter eighty-four
relics

━━━━༺❀༻━━━━

Kennedy stared at her reflection. She stared at it, stared at it, and stared at it.

She was sitting in front of her full body mirror, her legs crossed and her hands in her lap. She blinked. She blinked again. Kennedy clenched her hands into fists. Her toes curl and her nose flares.

Kennedy isn't looking at herself. She's not even staring at her room around her. No, she's staring at the two faceless figures in the mirror behind her. They weren't really there, but she had no other way to see them, to talk to them. Or rather, to listen to them.

"You're my daughter, Bunny. Everything I do is for you,"

The man's voice was unfamiliar, yet relaxed her in a way nothing ever did anymore. The nickname Bunny didn't make sense to her. But she wanted to know. She had to know.

"My last breath was me praying you would be saved. And you were."

The woman's voice was softer. Kinder than the man. She was comforting and loving. Kennedy felt like she wanted to cry. She wanted to see their faces, their eyes. But there was nothing there.

"Apologize. Say that you're sorry for decimating my family, for leaving me burned and broken for six years. Apologize for taking away my little girl! Apologize for killing my daughter's mother!"

Kennedy gasped as they started screaming. The woman ignited into flames and the man started screaming about a little girl and her mother. Tears rolled down her face and her ears began to ring. Her head was pounding. Aching to explode before Kennedy finally just screamed.

The mirror shattered and books fell off of Kennedy's desk. Silence suddenly surrounded her. Her heartbeat in her ears was the only thing. She breathed heavily, looking around her.

The door swung open, Danielle Tyler looking at her with wide eyes. "Are you okay?" She asked with worry.

Kennedy looked around her room, seeing the faceless figures gone. "Yeah, I'm fine." She mumbled softly.

Danielle craned her neck to see the shattered mirror in front of the girl with red hair. "Are you sure?" Danielle walked further into the room. Kennedy turned to look at her shattered reflection, frowning as she did. "What did you do? Punch it?"

The auburn-haired girl slowly shook her head, staring. "I didn't touch it." She whispered. Danielle's brows raised even higher as she leaned toward the shattered mirror. She stood up straight, looking at the books that had been flung off the desk. Kennedy hadn't done that either.

"Huh," Danielle clicked her tongue in thought as she looked around the room. "What did happen?"

Kennedy tried to explain. She really did. But it's really hard to explain how there are faceless people tormenting you. The visions of a boy you know you love but can't remember are haunting. Knowing someone is missing. People are missing. And yet, you can't do anything to fix it.

Danielle listened, fiddling with her ripped jeans. Her pink hair rested on her shoulders as she tried to comprehend what Kennedy was saying. The werecoyote wasn't expecting this when she came over. In fact, she came with a confession she wasn't sure if she was ready to make.

After a while, Kennedy breathes slowly and looks up. "I think I'm going crazy." She finalized. Danielle hummed at the thought.

"Maybe," Danielle said honestly, standing up and walking toward Kennedy's closet. The girl frowned. "But, that's why we talk to people about our problems. People like your best friends, your pack, your boyfriend,"

"Scott's still mad at me," Kennedy said as she sat on her bed, her hands falling into her lap.

Dani shuffled through Kennedy's clothes. "He's not mad at you. He's worried about everyone's safety. Your safety." She reached for a blue top off the rack, spinning to her friend. "He doesn't want you to get taken."

"Me and Liam's idea is the reason more people are in danger," Kennedy said sheepishly.

"So? You can't do anything to change it." Dani threw the shirt at Kennedy, turning back to grab a jacket. "All you can do is try and fix it by helping protect Gwen and everyone at that party. Including yourself."

༺❀༻

Kennedy looked at Jake Sullivan's student ID in Lydia's hand. "It's a relic," Lydia suggests, looking up. Danielle was next to the Martin, and Malia was in between Scott and Kennedy.

"What's a relic?" Malia asked.

"An object with a fixed association to the past." Lydia defined. "Jake's ID was left behind after he was taken. And Gwen found her sister's bracelet on her bedroom floor."

Danielle spoke up, "Okay, but how can someone be erased, and still leave something behind?" She asked as she looked toward the redhead.

Lydia tilted her head. "A conservation of mass." Everyone stared at her. "The total mass of any isolated system remains constant."

"So even the Ghost Riders have a weakness." Kennedy countered with a nod. Scott shifted on his feet as he looked in her direction. "And a relic would be proof that Stiles existed."

Malia nodded as she looked at her friend. "And maybe we can bring him back." She said as she looked over at Lydia.

"I gotta find Liam," Blurted Scott, moving to walk away from the group of girls. Kennedy stuttered, turning to watch as he walked away.

The Martin girl reached and nudged Kennedy's shoulder. "Hey." Lydia huffed. Kennedy turned to look at her best friend. "Go talk to him."

Scott is halfway down the hall when he hears the skitter of familiar heels. Surely enough, Kennedy is coming up behind him, her hand tight around the strap of her bag. "Can we talk?"

The McCall obviously seemed unsure. "Can it wait?" He asked, ignoring how Malia, Dani, and Lydia all awkwardly saunter down the other hall.

"No."

Scott shuts the door in an empty classroom and turns to his girlfriend. Kennedy is leaning on the teacher's desk, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. He comes closer but keeps his distance by leaning against a student's desk. Kennedy hates it. She could smell his annoyance and hurt from where she sat, and she wanted nothing more than for Scott to forgive her with a warm embrace.

She pushed her hair back, inhaling sharply. "I'm sorry about the party. It was totally stupid and I should've thought it through. I should've talked to you about it first,"

"You should've." Scott pressed his hands on the desk behind him, looking at the redhead in front of him. "With everything going on, it feels like you don't care enough to ask."

Kennedy's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. She gasped at him incredulously. "Scott, it wasn't like that, I swear." She came off the desk, stepping towards him. "I, just, I was so focused on helping Gwen and I didn't even think about anyone else and I'm sorry. I can't change it now but I can make sure everyone's safe. I just need to know you're with me on this." Her eyes bored into his. The familiar brown color warmed her heart as she tried to let him know she was being genuine.

He looked at her. His eyes studied her face and his shoulders slouched. He sighed through his nose and he bit the inside of his cheek. "I'm always with you. Always." Kennedy watched as Scott reached for her hand, their fingers lacing together slowly. "But I need to know you're with me, too." He wasn't just talking about the Ghost Riders. They both knew that.

She leaned into him, their lips pressing together softly. Her heart began to slow and she sunk into his embrace. Their lips came together like puzzle pieces, but Kennedy could feel how the pieces didn't quite fit.

When Scott pulled away, his eyes were practically heart-shaped. He stared at her with such admiration. He sighed slowly, studying her face. "Wanna come with me to find Liam?"

Kennedy tilted back slightly. "I want to, I do, but I promised Lydia I'd go talk to Stilinski about the relics, maybe to find Stiles." She explained, her thumb running over his knuckles. "But I'll come back right after and you can fill me in on the plan." Scott didn't seem sure, but he nodded anyways. Kennedy leaned into him again, kissing his lips.

This time, Scott noticed how the kiss felt off.

༺❀༻

"You want to search my house?"

Sheriff Noah Stilinski looked up at the two girls. Jake Sullivan's library card was between his fingers, and uncertainty laced his features. Lydia and Kennedy looked at each other, and back at him. "People are leaving things behind," Lydia explained, pressing her palms into the desk. "So if Stiles left anything-"

"Why, why would it be there?"

Lydia turned to look at Kennedy. The Stallard clenched her jaw as she shook her head. "You can't just erase people." She told him, her arms crossed over her chest. "They leave something behind. And I think," Her throat ached. Why did she feel like crying? "I know Stiles left something behind. If I find what he left, maybe I can trigger a vision and remember him. Or something."

And shockingly, that was how the two girls ended up in the Stilinski house.

Lydia was looking at photos. Photos of Noah and Claudia, truthfully. Kennedy looked around the living room, using her senses for anything. A lingering of some sort of unfamiliar scent. She thought maybe there was something, maybe. But it was hard to tell, with the mixture of Claudia and Noah bleeding into anything else. She was having a hard time deciphering it.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Kennedy whipped around, eyes on Claudia Stilinski. Her back began to tingle and the hair on her neck stood up. "No. But thank you, Mrs. Stilinski." Lydia's voice cut in the air, bringing Kennedy back to planet earth.

"Well, good luck." Claudia sighed, her fingers fiddling as she nodded. "I'll leave you to it."

Lydia looked over at Kennedy. "Hey," She whispered, stepping closer. "I saw something, last time I was here. A woman." Kennedy looked over in confusion. "She walked," Lydia raised her hand, pointing at the hallway.

Kennedy looked over at Lydia in surprise. "Maybe there's something more there." She offered. Lydia nodded, having a similar idea. The two girls began walking down the hall almost immediately.

They passed the front door. Kennedy felt a buzzing in her head, but she ignored it. She wanted to find something. She needed to. She needed to find Stiles. Lydia looked around the corner, staring down the familiar hallway in hopes to find someone. Maybe the woman. But there was nothing.

"Okay," Kennedy sighed, "That was the room I stayed in when we got back from Mexico," She recalled as she pointed to the door towards the end of the hall. "But I didn't stay in there the entire night." Lydia was silent, watching as Kennedy turned her heel slowly. Her eyes landed on the wallpaper, where one sheet ended and another began. "Hey, do you see that?"

Lydia leaned closer. The wallpaper was strange. It didn't quite lap the way it should and there was a small chip in it. Something she knew wasn't supposed to be there. Kennedy swallowed thickly, her hand raising to touch the wallpaper as she thought about that night.

Kennedy had a nightmare about something. A triggered memory after discovering Kate Argent was alive. The door then slammed open and a boy with no face, Stiles, froze up in shock, seeing a soon-to-be seventeen-year-old Kennedy curled up in the corner of the guest bedroom.

"Ken?"

The girls eyes were filled with tears as she looked up. She looks around the room, realizing where she was. Present-day Kennedy couldn't remember what the dream was about anymore, but she remembers that she had woken up screaming. Past Kennedy breathed heavily, slowly standing up. "Sorry, I'm sorry." She breathed out. "I had a bad dream,"

Stiles walked over, his hand on her arm. "About what?" He asked.

Kennedy doesn't remember what her past self replied with. Kennedy pursed her lips into a thin line. Instead of saying anything, Stiles pulled her into his arms. Past Kennedy tensed up for a moment, before relaxing in his embrace. Stiles's fingers raked through her hair. She felt safe.

Stiles slowly pulled away, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Why don't you come sleep in my room, alright?" His voice was soft.

Kennedy shook her head. "No, no. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Kenny," Stiles cut in, causing her to look back up. "Just come on." He held out his hand, causing Kennedy to look down at it. She wasn't sure at first, but she ends up taking it. Stiles slowly walks out of the guest bedroom, leading the girl into his.

Kennedy gasped as a hand wrapped around her wrist. She was pulled out of her memory, turning to see Claudia Stilinski holding her tightly. Lydia was behind Kennedy, a confused and almost dazed look on her face. She had seen something too. A different thing, but it was just as important.

"What are you doing?" Claudia hissed.

"You're hurting me." Kennedy's eyes flickered blue. She yanked away from Claudia's grip, bringing her hand to her wrist. The Stallard looked up, eyes widening as she realizes she had pulled on the wall paper. It had torn slightly off the wall.

Lydia felt icky. Something wasn't right but she didn't know what. She grabbed Kennedy's arm. "I'm sorry. We shouldn't have done that." Lydia said softly, pulling Kennedy away.

"I think that's something we can agree on."

Kennedy didn't bother holding back a growl as Lydia practically tugged her away from Mrs. Stilinski, the two of them rushing for the front door. Kennedy was a step ahead, glaring at everything in front of her. Lydia cleared her throat. "He said you didn't see it, did you?" She called out. Kennedy turned to look at her friend. "The person I saw this time. He also said, it's right in front of your face."

"The wall," Kennedy deadpanned. Lydia shrugged, as if saying maybe. Kennedy clenched her jaw, looking away. "Okay. What's the plan now?"

Lydia shrugged. "Dani and I can look into stuff. Maybe find something in the school records."

The Stallard nodded, looking at her phone. "Scott and the others rounded up almost everyone that was at that party. But they need help gathering the last few." She looked up at Lydia. "I guess I should get going."

"Please be careful." Lydia hummed pointedly. Kennedy tilted her head slightly. "You're marked, too, so just,"

Kennedy smirked. "Don't worry, I'll fight to the death before I get taken by a cowboy." She commented, walking to her car with a wink.

༺❀༻

Scott was joined by Mason, Corey, and Liam as they walked down the hall toward the locker room. "What's the plan?" Asked Liam. They had managed to rally most of the party attendees in the bunker Chris Argent now held weaponry in. However, they were missing a few guests. Lacrosse players, namely. Hayden Romero was searching for Gwen, trying to convince the human girl to come with her.

"Convince Okafur, Steinbach, and Wallace that playing tonight is a bad idea." Scott explained to the group of sophomores.

Kennedy came rounding the corner, walking towards them with a smile. "Howdy, boys," Kennedy sighed as she looked between them. "I'm here to save the day and kill some cowboys,"

Liam scrunched his nose. "Are you feeling okay? You're acting weird."

"Shut your face before I shove it into a wall, Dunbar."

"There's the Kenny I know."

Scott ignored the two, his attention steering towards Mason. "You've read everything there is to know on the Ghost Riders." The Hewitt nodded. "And you're the only one of us who's figured anything out. Have you come across anything that could stop them?"

Mason shook his head as he raked over everything. "Not yet. But I can try."

"Do that," Scott said. "Ken, go with him,"

Meanwhile, Lydia was typing away on her mom's computer, Danielle perched on the desk while eating a bag of pretzels. Danielle clicked her tongue in thought, leaning back slightly. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You already did," Lydia replied.

Danielle rolled her eyes. "When Kennedy has visions, do things," The Tyler girl trailed off as she tried to articulate her words. "Happen around her?"

Lydia's eyes detached from the screen. "What do you mean?" She asked quietly.

"I went to her house this morning, and when I got there I heard her scream. When I got to her room, her mirror was shattered, and everything on her desk was on the floor." Danielle recalled, remembering the dazed look on her friend's face. "When I asked Ken what she did, she said she didn't touch it."

"Was it a banshee scream?" Lydia needed to know. If Kennedy was a third supernatural creature, that would be even bigger than before.

Danielle shook her head. "No, just a normal scream." She answered quickly. The pink hair girl scooted on the desk, leaning downwards. "Do you think she did it with, you know, her mind?"

Lydia shrugged her shoulders, looking back at the computer for a moment. "Maybe. We don't know what else Seers can do other than predict futures." She told the werecoyote honestly. She sighed, leaning her elbows onto the table as she pressed her hands to her cheeks. "God, as if Kennedy needs any more on her plate." She muttered under her breath.

The two of them fell into silence. A silence they usually shared when it was just the two of them. It wasn't awkward, but both could tell there was something else there. Something Lydia couldn't quite name. Dani could, she could name it after sensing it herself. She stayed silent, though, not wanting to terrify Lydia Martin's unsure heart and nervous eyes.

Danielle reaches her hand out, wrapping her fingers around Lydia's wrist. The Martin fell silent, watching. Danielle pulled Lydia's hand towards her. She looked down, tracing the lines in Lydia's palm. "You know, the hand is one of the most frequent symbolized body parts in spirituality." She informed the redhead. "Aristotle calls it the tool of tools." She hummed with a smile.

Lydia felt her skin burn every time Danielle grazed her palm. But not burning like a flame. No, burning for more. Lydia wondered if Danielle could hear her quickening heart. If she could, she didn't show it.

"And what does the hand symbolize?" Lydia asked, her voice falling small and shy.

"Usually strength. Power." Danielle looked at Lydia's hand again, tracing shapes into it. "Sometimes things like generosity and stability." Lydia swallowed a lump in her throat. "Each hand means different things. The right hand is logical, aggressive, and conscious, while the left is usually the opposite, death, weakness, the usual. But together they represent balance."

Lydia hummed. "Why do you know so much about hand symbolization?" She asked with a teasing smile.

Danielle hummed. "My grandmother used to tell me all about it. She loved that kind of stuff," She laughed to herself. Lydia hadn't realized how much she loved Danielle's laugh. The door swung open, and Lydia tugged her hand from Danielle's. The redhead mostly ignored the way her skin cried for more of Danielle's gentle touch. She ignored her buzzing stomach and her beating heart. Natalie Martin came through the frame, eyes wide on her daughter.

"Were you tearing Claudia Stilinski's wallpaper off her wall?"

Kennedy walks down the bleachers, watching Scott, Corey, and Liam on the field. They were doing anything they could to push Steinbach, Wallace, Gwen, and Okafur to get out of the game. The downside? It was risking their game. Mason as anxiously sitting on the bench, and Coach Finstock was screaming in frustration.

"I'm gonna kill the three of you!"

Kennedy exhaled through her nose, slipping past another lacrosse player as she approached Mason Hewitt. She looked back at the field again, sitting down slowly. "Corey will yell if he sees them." She tells the boy. She runs her hands over her bare knees. "Malia and Argent are in the bunker. Dani and Lydia are looking up information about Claudia Stilinski. And you and I," Kennedy sighed slowly. "Are here."

Mason looked over at her. "Are you worried?" He asked. Kennedy looked at him questioningly. "That you'll be taken."

The Stallard paused in thought. Her head tilted back and forth slowly. "Maybe." She hummed. "But you and I both know I'll do whatever it takes to stop anyone else from getting taken tonight." She nudged his shoulder softly.

"Scott would do anything to keep you from getting taken." Mason hummed softly. Kennedy raised a brow. Mason shrugged. "I don't know what you and Stiles were like before he was taken, but I know what you and Scott were like." The redhead fell silent slowly. She didn't know what to say to him. What was there to say? "He cares about you. As a friend, as a girlfriend, whatever. You two are like, soulmates."

Soulmates.

"What can I say? Lydia and I are soulmates."

Kennedy was sitting in the backseat of a vehicle. She was uncomfortable, but she looked at the two people in the front. Sixteen-year-old Kennedy with long brown hair was in the passenger seat, wearing a pair of jeans and a white tank, along with a flannel. In the drivers seat, was a boy with no face. Stiles.

He chuckled and it was music to present Kennedy's ears. "Soulmates, you believe in that crap?" He said as he drove down a familiar road.

Younger Kennedy looked over, her hair up in a bun. "Don't you?" She asked. Stiles shook his head, smiling. Kennedy looks back at the road. "I think we have a lot of soulmates. Different ones that teach us different things. Lydia's my companion soulmate. It's like she was destined to be in my life so we can give each other love and encouragement. We're like, made to be best friends." She turned to look at Stiles as she grinned. "I think Scott and I are soul partners." Stiles glanced at her in confusion. Older Kennedy shifted in the backseat, furrowing a brow as she watched her younger self laguh. "Not romantically. Soul partners can be friends, family, a co-worker. I think Scott will always be my partner in crime. Wherever he goes, I'm sure I won't be too far behind."

Kennedy thought about it. She tried to pull at this memory, but couldn't. When had this happened? Where were they going? What was Stiles like? She watched his hands turn on the wheel. Slowly pulling over, Stiles brought the Jeep to a stop. Both Kennedy's frowned in confusion. He turned to look at the girl in his passenger seat. "What about me?" He asked with a teasing smile.

"Shouldn't you be driving?" Young Kennedy teasingly asked, a playful smile on her lips.

"I can't drive and look at you at the same time," Stiles added with a shrug. The younger Kennedy laughed while the older one watched him. She wanted to see his face so badly. She would do anything to see the color of his eyes. "So, what about me?"

There was a silence for a long moment. Older Kennedy watched her younger self. The way young Kennedy's hazel eyes were shining in a familiar way. Love. Admiration. Complete adoration. She was totally in love with this boy. Both Kennedy's knew that. "I think you're my soulmate." The younger girl nodded slowly.

Stiles scoffed, leaning back slowly as he tossed up a hand, "So Lydia gets companion soulmate, Scott gets soulmate partner, and I get nothing?" Both Kennedy's just kept smiling. "What!?" He asked, confused.

"Just, know that you're special, Stiles."

Kennedy blinked repeatedly as Mason stood up, pulling her with him. She stumbled slightly. "Yes!" He shouted in realization.

"Wrong team." Lori and Sydney said behind him.

Mason turned to Kennedy, "I have an idea."

The Stallard girl rushed to follow him. "I just had a vision of Stiles." She blurted, walking behind him. "That's two in one day."

"That's a good thing." Mason muttered, "Maybe you'll remember him soon."

"And the couple that's been tormenting me." She added. They stopped behind the bleachers. "Okay, what's your idea?"

"What if it's Parrish that stopped them the other night?" Mason asked. "But not Parrish Parrish. Hellhound Parrish." He suggested.

Kennedy crossed her hands over her chest slowly. "Why would a Hellhound stop the Ghost Riders?" She asked softly.

Mason shrugged.  "I don't know, but if the Ghost Riders are scared of him, maybe we can use Parrish again to keep the others safe." He explained to the Stallard. "Can you call your dad?"

"No, his phone broke a couple of weeks ago, and hasn't gotten a new one." She confessed. She looked across the field. "We can ask Hayden."

Hayden was looking out into the field. Something was weird. Everyone was acting strange. Different. She turned as Mason and Kennedy approached her. "It's Parrish. He's the reason the Ghost Rider left the party."

"Parrish?"

"Call on your sister. Tell her we need to meet Parrish at the school right now." Mason said.

Hayden gestured to the field. "What about Gwen? What about the other players?" She asked, "We have to keep them safe."

Mason nodded his head. "Parrish could keep everyone safe." He pointed out. Thunder rumbled in the sky, and the faint sound of horses flooded Kennedy's ears.

Rain began to pour over the lacrosse field. Kennedy looked towards her boyfriend, watching Corey come running towards him. "They're here!" Mason called.

Scott pulled off his helmet. "Liam!"

The Dunbar followed with his own helmet, pulling it off and tossing it to the side. "I see them!" He shouted. Kennedy could too. The heard of men with black eyes and horses.

The Ghost Riders.

Kennedy ran through the field. The ref blew a whistle to call off the game, and Scott pushed Gwen and the other lacrosse players behind him. Kennedy's hair stuck to her face from the rain. "Scott!"

The McCall whipped around, his arms opening to grab her quickly. "Okay, we've got all three, right?" He asked as he looked around. Kennedy clutched onto Scott's jersey, her eyes on the Ghost Riders in front of her.

"Scott," Liam said slowly, "There were four."

He was confused. Scott looked at Kennedy, but her eyes weren't on him. Scott grabbed Corey's wrist, joining Corey to see what he saw. Ghost Riders. Multiple. One running through the field with one of Scott's teammates dragging behind him on a rope. He screamed. Scott's body tensed as he could hear the screams.

And then suddenly, the boy was gone.

༺❀༻

Danielle and Lydia climbed out of the Martin's car quickly. Danielle rushed after her, knowing Natalie Martin would meet them in the hospital soon. The pink-haired coyote stopped, eyes wide. "Lydia," The other girl turned, tensing at Dani's expression. "Do you see that?"

Lydia turned around, studying the seemingly empty parking lot. "See what?" She asked. She watched Dani's face pale. All color drained from her face. "Dani, what's wrong?"

"The Ghost Rider."

Lydia's eyes went wide. Dani could see them, which only meant one thing. The banshee felt her throat burn and her heart pick up speed. "Dani, we have to go."

"Lydia, they're going to find me,"

"Come on!"

Lydia's hand wrapped around Danielle's wrist, tugging her through the parking lot. Danielle ran, dodging the whip going through the air. Her pink hair blew in her face. There were too many of them. Dani wasn't making it out of here.

The werecoyote grabbed Lydia's shoulder, tugging her back. Lydia turned around, her hazel eyes wide in fear. Dani smiled sadly. "Lydia, you're going to forget me."

"No-"

"But I need to tell you this in case I never see you again." Dani swallowed hard. Her hand linked around Lydia's, rain pouring down hard. She shook her head. The horse sounds cause her to jump up. "I love you."

Lydia swore the world stopped for an abrupt moment.

Danielle blinked repeatedly. "I've been in love with you for months and I'm sorry for not saying anything sooner, and I wish I had more time, but," Lydia looked down at their connects hands. A charm bracelet slipped off Danielle's wrist, and the werecoyote placed it between their hands. Dani squeezed tightly. "Remember that, okay?"

"Dani, I-"

CRASH.

Back on the lacrosse field, Kennedy noticed as the audience and other patrons began running. Ghost Riders walking through the field, coming to take them all. Kennedy couldn't breathe. She didn't know what to do or how to save everyone. They couldn't.

"Oh my, God! They're real!"

"Stay together! We'll protect you!" Shouted Liam.

"How!?" Gwen asked from behind him.

Kennedy looked back in the direction of the approaching Ghost Riders. The rain poured down on them heavily. Violently. She felt Scott's arm around her wrist. "Run!" He shouted. Scott grabbed onto Corey's hand to see what he saw. Three more Ghost Riders came from behind them. They huddled closer together. Kennedy wondered if this is how Stiles felt. When he could see the Ghost Riders coming. Coming for him. 

She grabbed onto Scott, looking over her shoulder again. Two more riders on horses came rushing forwards. One had a gun. Kennedy gasped as the gunshot through the air, and the boy in front of her was gone. Vanished into a puff of green smoke.

Corey pulled away from Scott, moving to stand in the front. Scott looked around, pulling Kennedy close. "I can still see them!" He shouted suddenly. Kennedy's heart sunk. No. No. No. No.

Kennedy spun around, putting another boy behind her. Her eyes began to glow their steel blue. Gwen froze at the sight of the gun. But a loud growl caused Kennedy to look back. Liam Dunbar's face had changed slightly; glowing eyes and fangs with a monstrous roar. He jumped at the Ghost Rider on the horse, tackling him to the ground.

"Liam!" Scott shouted. But he couldn't do anything. Kennedy and Scott were the only ones protecting the humans now. They had to stay put. Kennedy whimpered as she looked around helplessly. She couldn't breathe. She felt sick.

"Scott! Go!" Kennedy yelled as she turned towards him. Liam fell to the grass, and the Ghost Rider was up again. This time, Scott's eyes turned red as he let out his own threatening growl. Kennedy screamed as a boy shoved her back harshly, a gunshot through the air hitting his chest. She watched as he disappeared too.

Liam rushed over, "We can't stop them!" He shouted over the rain and the horses.

"Protect Gwen!"

Kennedy growled loudly as her eyes changed to blue again. She felt her head buzzing like it had been seemingly ever since this started. She winced, trying to ignore the excruciating pain behind her eyes. It burned. It ached. She felt like her head was being squished by a hundred pounds of brick. Maybe it was, in a way.

"Scott!" Kennedy called out. Her voice was drowned out by the rain, but Scott snapped his head at her momentarily. "It hurts!"

Gwen pushed herself in front of Scott, facing the Ghost Rider in front of her, head on. "Come on!" She screamed. She wanted to be taken, Hayden had made that realization before. She was sick of it. She was sick of being alone and she was sick of running.

As the gun raised into the air, Kennedy's eyes shifted white. Liam was the one to notice, stumbling back from her gaze slightly. Kennedy whimpered in pain, her eyes screwing shut as the screams and the voices of everyone being taken piled over her.

"No!"

The gunshot rang in Kennedy's ears as Gwen stumbled back. Green smoke slowly washed over her, fading into nothingness. It was then, too, when Kennedy screamed.

Liam shot back in surprise as one of the Ghost Riders flew off it's horse. Kennedy flung back in surprise herself, falling into Liam's arms as she sobbed from the pain. The Ghost Riders ran. Or rather, disappeared into the lightning.

Scott turned around, eyes wide. Kennedy was sinking into the grass, bloody tears coming from her eyes. Scott sank down, pulling her face into his hands. "Kennedy? Kennedy!"

The Stallard whimpered softly, looking up at him. "What's wrong with me?" That was all she could say. She felt sick and she felt like she herself had just fought off five Ghost Riders. But she didn't. She didn't do anything.

"Let's get her out of here! Come on!"

༺❀༻

"Scott, I'm fine."

Kennedy was on the floor, water bottle in hand, still soaked from the rain. Scott was a few feet away, on the phone with Malia and Chris. He turned towards her for a moment. "The Ghost Riders are affecting you, or at least the seer-you. We have to find out why." He told her, before bringing the phone back to his ear.

Kennedy sighed in defeat, bringing her hands to her lap. She looked down the hall, seeing the woman and the man that had been tormenting her for days. The faceless couple that did nothing but scream at her.

"You asked what happens when Kennedy is full seer, but I didn't want her to hear it," The woman said. Her voice was knowing, it seemed like she had more information on Kennedy's abilities than she did. "With what we have just done, she and Lydia will be in a very similar fragile state. Kennedy will be seeing things. Things of the past, present, and future at unsolicited times and all at once. She will struggle to identify fact versus fiction." The woman walked closer. And closer. Kennedy tilted her neck slowly, remembering when she went human temporarily to save Lydia. Who had done that for her? The woman was only a few feet away as she spoke. "If she does not find a way to control it, she could go insane, and you'd be surprised by the damage a seer is once they've lost their mind."

Kennedy clenched her hand into a fist, anger flooding over her for a moment. She jumped, looking over to see the plastic waterbottle by her foot had seemingly cracked. Had she done that? Kennedy looked back up. The woman was gone.

Hayden, Liam, Mason, and Corey came around the corner. Scott quickly hung up, walking towards them. "Everyone from the bunker's been taken."

"Everyone? How?"

"Doesn't matter how." Liam croaked, his arm around Hayden for a little bit of support.

"Malia is at the hospital. Argent's been hurt. My mom's with them." Scott added on. Kennedy slowly stood up, her hand wrapping around his.

Liam watched as Kennedy leaned into the McCall slightly, dried blood on her cheek. "Scott," The couple turned to the Dunbar. "Tonight-"

"No." Scott cut off the beta. "Hey, it's not your fault. It's mine." The statement caused Kennedy to look over in confusion. "We should have done both. Defend the bunker and use a lightning rod. It would have given us a better chance."

Kennedy clenched her jaw, wrapping her arms around Scott's arm. She pursed her lips, "We'll call you later," She said softly to the younger pack members, smiling softly as she and Scott turned to leave.

The two were walking to Kennedy's car. Scott held onto her tightly. "Do you have extra clothes?" He asked her. Kennedy shrugged. "Ken, come on,"

"Scott, I don't know." Kenney blurted, her eyes swelled with tears as she pushed him away slightly. "I don't think I know anything anymore." Scott's eyes laced into confusion. Kennedy inhaled sharply. Her throat was aching from the built-up tears and she just wanted the world to swallow her whole. "Can I stay at your place tonight?"

Scott's expression was soft. "Yeah, of course, you can," He stepped closer, a hand on her cheek as he studied her face. Kennedy leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering closed as he kissed her softly. His forehead pressed against hers. "I thought you were going to get taken." His voice was quiet, but she didn't miss the crack in it.

"I know," She whispered back. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling a tear roll down slowly.

At the hospital, Kennedy was in one of Scott's hoodies hiding in her car. Melissa and Malia came down the hall, Chris Argent in a hospital bed. "Is he okay?" Scott asked. Kennedy leaned to the bed, gazing over the Argent's condition.

"He has blunt force trauma to his temporal bone, three broken ribs, and multiple surface lacerations which seem to be from," Melissa shifted on her feet as she looked at her son. "Whip marks?" Kennedy swallowed the lump in her throat, looking at Malia. The Tate pursed her lips together into a thin line. "What he needs is a lot of rest."

Lydia's heels clicking caused Kennedy to look over. "What happened?" Asked Lydia. Kennedy looked over Lydias shoulder, waiting for their friend to show up. Melissa and the other nurse moved to bring Chris into his own room.

Malia rounded the corner, shrugging. "The Ghost Riders took everyone. We barely slowed them down." She explained.

"Dani. Danielle. She was, she was taken," The redhead blurted with wide eyes. She slowly held up a small charm bracelet. "This was all she left behind." Everyone's shoulders slouched, faint memories of the girl still there. Somehow.

"Tell us you found something else." Scott pleaded.

"I found out Claudia never had children." She said, defeated. "So, Stiles can't be her son."

Kennedy shook her head. "What about a relic?" She asked. Lydia pursed her lips together, silently shaking her head. Kennedy's shoulders slouched.

"There never was a Stiles, was there?" Asked Malia, fiddling her hands together as she looked at Scott.

Scott shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't even sound like a real name,"

"No, we have to keep looking," Kennedy stated, shaking her head repeatedly. "I remember him, okay? We can check the school records again, or call Scott's dad, or I'll induce every vision I can-"

"We're fighting the wrong battle." Malia stated.

Kennedy turned around. "We're trying to bring Stiles back." She huffed out.

"The Ghost Riders came back. We still have no way of stopping them." Malia stated. "And whatever they are, they're real. We can't keep chasing someone who isn't."

The Stallard girls lips were parted in disbelief. She spun towards Scott, pleading for him to be on her side. Scott pursed his lips together. "Ken, he didn't leave anything behind." He reminded her, moving to put a hand on her shoulder.

Kennedy flinched back. "He left me behind. He left us behind." She pointed at the group. "He left me behind just like that woman, and that man, and-"

"Wait, what?" Lydia asked in confusion.

"There are people missing and I am apparently the only person that remembers them." Kennedy sucked in a breath as she shook her head. "Stiles is real. And so are they." Her eyes went to every person in the group. "And I'm going to find them, and when I do, I'm going to bring them back."

Lydia looked over Kennedy's shoulder, watching as a cup of pens topples over on it's own. She looked to see if anyone else had noticed, and Scott did.

NATALIA'S NOTES
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if you noticed, this chapter contains the first gif of danielle instead of kennedy. i did this because this chapter is really where danielle gets her own story!! so expect the occasional dani gif instead of kenny. kennedy is still the main character but it's good to have a change every once in a while<3

anyways, i have nothing else to say other than hi!! i miss y'all so much!! i'm hoping to get back to writing MUCH more soon. i'll be focusing on finishing starting line & writing my newest upcoming fanfic.

it will center around sloane valet, a single mother, who gets a knock on her door from a family friend asking to help look for his younger brother. who is the family friend? dean winchester. YES!! sloane valet is getting a kennedy multiverse fic in SUPERNATURAL!! i'm very excited for this book. idk how long it'll be or ANYTHING like that, if it goes the full 15 seasons i expect it to be like...a series, but DONT COUNT ON IT. kennedy WILL be in the story, and shes 4/5 in it because i thought it'd be cute to have a little girl around sam & dean at first instead of a 10 year old like she should be.

anywhomst, i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. i'm so excited for y'all to see danielle, stiles , sloane, & peter!! THEYRE SO FUN TO WRITE!! i love showing you guys sloane's really sad past & her & peters dynamic. it really explains why sloane is the way she is & why she always wanted better for kennedy. it's sad & not a dynamic i support, but it's perfect for sloane & peter.

i'm gonna go now!! thank you for reading & commenting. i love you all so much, & i'll see you soon. TOODLES!!