!content warning in the first few paragraphs!

chapter twenty-nine
❝ if you're out there, i hope that you're okay ❞
frayed

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"Kennedy, no!"

It was dark. Wherever she was.

The air whisked around her as she looked at the figure in the door. Her eyes watered as she held something in her hands. "I don't want to be like this," She cried out. She was sad. So freaking sad.

"Kennedy, this isn't you."

"Isn't it!? I'm a monster!" She shouted, holding the object in her hand. It was cold, metal, maybe.

The figure stepped closer. "You're not a monster. You're anything but. Ken, youre the best thing that's ever happened to me."

The Hale sat up abruptly in the seat she currently sat in. She leaned off the window of the back seat of Allison's car. Lydia turned around, "Someone was tired." She said. Kennedy groaned, rubbing her eyes. "How are you feeling?"

Kennedy rose a brow, "How do you think I'm feeling?" She asked, leaning back on to the window.

Allison purses her lips, "My dad said you could stay with us for a few days, to clear your head." She remarked. The two human girls in the front felt bad for their friend, who just lost her cousin.

"I'm fine, really," Kennedy mumbled. "Honestly, a road trip with my two best friends is just what I needed." Kennedy remarked, "Even if it's to stalk my boyfriend and a bunch of hormone filled werewolves."

Allison looked ahead, "Am I getting too close? I'm getting way too close, aren't I?"

Lydia twirled her hair with her fingers, "That depends." She began, "Are you just following the bus, or are you planning on mounting it at some point?"

"Yeah, I should back off."

Kennedy sat up, "Well, that also depends." She shrugged.

"Oh, do you mean the bus or the ex-boyfriend you're currently stalking?" Lydia said as she scratched the back of her neck.

Allison shrugged, "Well, after what happened, I'm not letting him out of my sight." She followed. Kennedy and Lydia hummed in response. "And by the way, this all started when he came knocking at my door."

"For what?" Lydia asks. Allison sighs, beginning to tell the story.

༺❀༻

Kennedy looked up from her dad, seeing Scott walk into the loft. Kennedy hadn't been back in the loft until now, but her dad forced her to tag along. She was still mad at Derek for abandoning Isaac, and so she had been staying at Lydia's or Peters of recent times.

"I know where they are." Scott said.

"Same building as the Argents, we know." Derek followed

Boyd looked up, "Cora and I followed the twins."

Scott looked at Kennedy, who slowly shrugged. "Then they want you to know." He said to them.

Peter kept an arm wrapped around his daughter. "Or, more likely, they don't care." He added. Kennedy looked down at the table again.

"What is this?" Asked Scott as he looked at it as well. He noticed the extreme about if supplies all around them.

"Isn't it obvious?" Peter replies, "The schemers are scheming, coming up with a coup de main, better known as a pre-emptive strike."

Scott looked at the Hale's, "You're going after them?" He asked.

"Tomorrow." Derek explained, "And you're gonna help us." He said.

Peter looked at his daughter. Kennedy sighed, "I'm in. You know that." She stated to him. Peter patted her back, and everyone watched Derek explain the plan.

"They're one floor above them in the penthouse, right above Allison." Derek explained.

Scott looked up, "So kill them first, that's the plan?" He asked.

"They won't even see it coming." Boyd said. Kennedy shrugged, knowing he was right.

"Why is the default plan always murder?" Scott asked, looking around. "Just once, can someone try to come up with something that doesn't involve killing everyone?"

Peter looked at his daughters friend, "You never get tired of being so blandly moral, do you? Not that I disagree with him."

"I do." Cora stated, "Why do we need this kid?"

Kennedy looked at her cousin, "This kid helped save your life." She snapped. Peter gripped her shoulder, keeping her in place.

"You know we can't just sit back and wait for them to make the first move."

Scott shook his head, "You can't beat a pack of alphas."

Cora nods, "That's why we're going after Deucalion, just him."

"Cut off the head of the snake and the body dies." Boyd says.

Peter speaks up, "Only this isn't a snake, it's a hydra." The eldest Hale stated. "And like Scott says, they're all alphas."

Derek crossed his arms. "Deucalion's still the leader."

"Let's hope so." Peter said. He looked down at his daughter, "Because, well, Ke best, do you know what happened when Hercules cut off one of the heads of the hydra?"

Kennedy looked at each of the people standing at the table. "Two more grew back in its place." She answered.

"My girl's been doing her summer reading."

༺❀༻

Kennedy texted Stiles on her phone, letting him know she was safe at home with a peter. Which was a total lie, obviously. Lydia looked up, "So is that whole not let them out of your sight thing literal or more like a general rule?"

"Why?" Allison asked.

Lydia turned back to her book, "You're running on fumes." Kennedy peaked over, seeing the nearly empty gas tank. "Yeah. And I'm pretty sure that bus holds a lot more gas than this Toyota."

Allison shrugs, "What if we stop?"

Lydia shrugs, "Is it really that big of a deal? I mean, so we lose them. We know where they're headed."Kennedy looked down at her phone, now answering a text from Peter saying she's with Lydia.

"You didn't see what happened." Allison mumbled, shaking her head

"I know who started it." Lydia mumbled.

Allison rose  brow, "Is that what Aiden told you?"

"Aiden?" Kennedy looked up at Lydia's voice. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a second. Is that why you invited me on this whole little road trip thing?" She asked. Allison was silent, "Oh, my gosh. You're keeping an eye on them and me."

Allison looked at her friend. "So there's nothing going on between you two?"

Lydia put a hand to her chest. "I am appalled by the insinuation."

"Nothing?" Kennedy and Allison asked at the same time.

Lydia looked straight ahead. "Nothing."

Kennedy sighed, "Well, Daddy Dearest is officially off the radar. Not that he was on it to begin with." She said, holding up her phone.

"Your dad seems really careless about where you are, huh?" Allison asked her friend. Kennedy shrugged.

"He cared at first, but now it just seems like he only cares when it's Stiles." Kennedy explained. "I could be a heroin addict and he wouldn't blink an eye." Both Allison and Kennedy watched Lydia put on a chapstick.

The redhead looked at them both, "What?" She asked.

Suddenly, every car came to an abrupt stop. "Great, exactly what we need." Kennedy mumbled. "Is this the part that we share our feelings?"

Lydia turned around. "Kennedy, how do you feel about Isaac and Boyd being in that bus?"

"I think they're going to rip Ethan a new one and I can't do anything about it." Kennedy answers. "The only bad thing about being stuck in here."

Allison sighs, "Scott will control them," She says. "I hope." The three girls all fell into silence, all focussed on their own things. Allison was worried about Scott, Isaac, Stiles, and Kennedy, Lydia was worried about her secret hookups with Aiden, and Kennedy was worried about everyone on the bus. Allison glanced at the rear view mirror to look at Kennedy, who just looked out the window while they waited. In less than a year, Kennedy found out everything was a lie, and then lost Peter, Ben, Erica, her own humanity. And now she lost Derek.

Kennedy's phone rang, and she realized it was Stiles. "What do I say?" She whisper hisses as if Stiles will hear her from the bus.

"Say we're going to a movie!" Lydia answers. Allison nods in agreement, and Kennedy answers the phone.

"Hey, Stiles." Kennedy chirps. "I can't talk long, we're just about to walk into a movie, uh, you know, the popcorn and-"

"I know you guys are right behind us. Put me on speaker."

Kennedy purses her lips, "Right," She pulls away from her phone, putting it on speaker for the girls up front to hear.

Stiles speaks up on the other line, "Okay, look, Scott's still hurt."

Allison looks at the phone. "What do you mean still? He's not healing?"

"No, he's not healing. I think he's actually getting worse." Stiles explained. "The blood's turning, like, a black color."

Lydia stutter out, "What's wrong with him?" She asked.

"What's wrong with him? I don't," Stiles began, "Do I have a PhD in lycanthropy? How am I supposed to know that?"

Kennedy shrugged, "My parents never taught me about that stuff. I guess they never got the chance to." She explained.

"We need to get him off the bus." Says Allison.

Lydia shakes her head. "And take him where, a hospital?" She asked sarcastically.

"If he's dying, yeah." Allison retorts. Kennedy sinks in her seat, worrying about Scott. "Stiles, there's a rest area about a mile up. Tell the coach to pull over."

"Yeah, I've been trying."

Allison shrugs "Well, reason with him."

Stiles scoffs, "Reason? Have you met this guy?"

"Just try something." Allison snaps. Kennedy takes the phone off speaker, bringing it to her ear.

"Keep us updated, okay?"

Stiles sighed on the other end, "Yeah, I will." He says. The couple get off the phone, and Kennedy sighs.

"If I could call my dad, I could ask what's wrong, but,"

"We know you can't Ken, and it's okay." Allison tells the Hale. "It's gotta be something from the Alpha, right?"

Kennedy shrugs, "But why are Isaac, Boyd, and I fine? I healed."

Lydia sighed, "Maybe he's allergic to dogs!" Allison and Kennedy stared at the redhead. "Sorry."

Allison sighed, "Look, we just need to find a way to get this bus to pull over."

༺❀༻

Kennedy slowly pulled up where Scott said they could meet. She looked over, seeing two people on his bike. She climbed out, seeing Isaac. "Hey, Kenny," Isaac chuckled as Kennedy walked around to hug him. She felt better, knowing he was with Scott now. She also felt better hugging him for just a moment.

Scott looked at the two, "We're just gonna talk to him, try to reason with him. That's it, all right?" The McCall looked at the face Isaac was making. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just that I'm actually kind of hungry now." Isaac mumbled. Kennedy smiled, and Scott patted Isaac's back.

"So am I."

The three werewolves walked into the abandoned mall, seeing a figure at the escalators. "You didn't come alone." Deucalion called out.

"Yeah. This is Isaac."

Kennedy stepped forward, "I'm Kennedy. Kennedy Hale."

Deucalion tilts his head, "Kennedy Valet, is the name I remember calling you when you were a baby." Kennedy furrowed her brows as he held out his walking stick. "Come, Kennedy, I want to meet you face to face." The youngest Hale stepped forward, Scott grabbing her wrist.

"Ken, no,"

"He won't hurt me." Kennedy argues. "I don't know how I know, but I do." Isaac and Scott watched the Hale girl step up the stairs, approaching the Demon Alpha. Deucalion's hands traveled her face.

He sighed, "You look just like her," He breathed out, "You have the same fate, too,"

Kennedy frowned, "What do you mean?" She asked quietly.

"Death."

The words seemed to echo as Kennedy stepped down, but Deucalion grabbed her wrist tightly. "I'm not talking about Isaac and Kennedy," He said to Scott, causing Kennedy to look behind her. Derek walked in slowly, and she could see Boyd and Cora.

Scott looked at the alpha. "You knew I would do this?" He asked. Kennedy swallowed thickly as she was forced to stand next to Deucalion. "Derek, don't. You can't do this so no one gets hurt. If someone else dies-"

"Him. Just him." Derek said as he pointed at the Alpha of alphas.

Deucalion rose a brow, "Just me?" He placed his hand on Kennedy's shoulder, "Now, how's a blind man find his way into a place like this all on his own?"

The Hale looked up at him, "You didn't come alone," She whispered. The sound of someone scraping something caused her to look back, Kali slid down the wall slowly. Kennedy's eyes widened as Ennis came from behind Isaac and Derek. The twins were a above them.

༺❀༻

"Jared, you suck!" Coach Finstock yelled as everyone piled out of the bus. Lydia and Kennedy climbed out of Allison's car, watching Allison and Stiles carry Scott. "Hey, somebody grab some towels or a mop or a new bus."

Kennedy shook her head, following everyone to the bathroom. Allison pulled up Scott's shirt, and everyone saw it. The nasty scratch was an inky black, and it was more gross than anything Kennedy has seen injury wise. "Why didn't you tell us?" Allison asked.

Scott weakly looked up. "Sorry."

Allison looked at her ex, "Okay. Just give us a second, okay?" The four other teens gathered around? "This shouldn't be happening. I've seen him heal from worse than this."

"Okay, what do we do then? Do we just call an ambulance?" Asked Stiles.

Kennedy shook her head, "What if it's too late? What if they can't help?" Allison looked back at Scott.

"We gotta do something."

Lydia finally spoke up, "You know, it could be psychological."

Stiles looked at her, "What do you mean, like, psychosomatic?" He asked.

"Somatoformic." Lydia corrected. Stiles and Allison just looked at her confused. "A physical illness from a psychogenic cause." Stiles flailed his arm. "Yes, it's all in his head."

Stiles looked at his friend, "All in his head? Because of Derek. He's not letting himself heal 'cause Derek died." Kennedy bit her lip, now feeling horrible for her friend.

Allison spoke up, "So what do we do?"

"Stitch him up." Everyone gave Lydia a crazed look. "I'm serious. Maybe all he needs to do is just believe it's healing."

Minutes later, Allison is preparing a needle, "He's gonna need another shirt. Where's his bag?"

Stiles looked up, "Um, I'm gonna get it. I hate needles anyway, so do you know what you're doing?"

"Yeah, my father taught me."

"I mean, how fast are you gonna," Stiles began to stumble over his words, "I mean, the bus, like, the bus could leave."

"Well, you just make sure it doesn't leave."

Kennedy sighed, "I can help." She grabbed Stiles's hand. "Come on," She gestured to Lydia, the three walking out.

Minutes later, three teens stood by the bus, trying to figure out how to prolong it. "So," Lydia began, "How have you two been doing?" She asked, looking at the couple holding hands.

Stiles rose a brow, "What?"

Lydia slouched her shoulders, "This is incredibly awkward. I have never been the third wheel before!" She huffed.

Kennedy smirked, wrapping her arms around Lydia. "Please, Stiles is the real third wheel," Stiles gawked at his girlfriend as Lydia and Kennedy hung onto each other flirtatiously. He blinked, unable to form a real reply. Kennedy and Lydia did an air kiss, which had been something they've done since they met.

"Okay, I get it!" Stiles flailed his arms. "But jeez, calm down,"

Kennedy and Lydia laughed, until Coach spoke up. "Let's go, back on the bus!" He yelled.

"You and Lydia go check on Allison and Scott, I'll stall Coach." Stiles said. The girls nodded, walking back towards the bathrooms.

Scott and Allison came stumbling out, "Is he okay?" Lydia began, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Scott said, "Stiles. Where's Stiles?"

"Trying to stall coach." Kennedy answered.

Lydia looked at the Argent, "We still don't have gas."

Allison shrugged, "I'm not leaving him

"Then we have to leave the car."

"Sounds good."

Lydia and Kennedy looked up, "What?" The Martin asked, "That wasn't an actual suggestion. Allison, wait."

Kennedy looked at the car, then her friends. "Screw it." She said, grabbing Lydia's hand and pulling her away.

Loud sounds causes the four of them to approach Stiles quickly. "Stiles, what's happening?"

"They went after him. I told 'em what was happening with you and they just went after him."

Scott looked up, "Who, Boyd?"

Kennedy ran ahead, seeing Isaac punching Ethan. Boyd watched, not bothering to move. Danny tried to move him, but was quickly moved out of the way. "Isaac!" Kennedy yelled, grabbing Isaac's fist. He pushed against her, trying to hit Ethan again.

"Isaac!" Both Kennedy and Isaac looked back at Scott. The entire group fell silent as Kennedy held onto Isaac's wrists. Kennedy pulled away from Isaac, looking at the worried stare Stiles gave her.

༺❀༻

Deucalion leaned to Kennedy's ears. "You know, Kennedy, this could all be yours. If you just paid attention to your eyes, and your mind." He said slowly. Kennedy frowned, realizing he knew what was happening to her. The dreams, her eyes being slightly darker than usual. He knew more than she did. Kennedy looks around, yelling out when Derek goes towards Deucalion. Kali steps in. Deucalion leans down, "Show me what you can do, Valet."

Kennedy looks back at Deucalion, her eyes flashing their dark yellow. She turned back to her pack, letting out a roar as she tackles Kali. Boyd and Cora fought Ennis, while Isaac and Scott went for the twins.

"Kennedy, go!" Derek yelled to her cousin. She rolled on the ground a few times, landing next to Isaac. She looked up, watching the twins throw Scott into the wall, and Cora get a broken bone from Ennis. Kennedy stood up, her face changing into its complete wolf form. She jumped at the twins. To Isaac and Scott's surprise, she deflected their hits, jumped over kicks, and even landed on her feet every time they threw her in a direction. Scott watched as Kennedy's eyes darkened a shade, nearly orange. The twins threw her backwards, and she slid on the ground. Isaac and Scott jump back into action, but both get injured and disregarded in the process. The twins held onto Isaac and Scott, while Kali pinned down Cora.

"Kill him. The others can go." Deucalion said to Derek, talking about Boyd. "You're beaten. Do it, Derek. Take the first step."

Kennedy stood up, "He's not beaten yet," She said slowly.

Kali rolls her eyes, "Are we serious with this kid? Look at him. He's an Alpha? To what? A couple of useless teenagers?" She asked.

"Some have more promise than others." Deucalion said, gesturing to Scott and Kennedy.

"Let him rise to the occasion then. What'll it be, Derek? Pack or family?" Kali asked. Kennedy looked up, seeing Allison slowly walk into view. Derek looked at everyone around him, unsure what choice he'd have to make. Allison pulled back her bow, letting out the arrow. It hits the twins, and the impact causes them to split into two again. Another one fires, and Kali screams at the bright light.

Deucalion ducked down. "Your eyes! Cover your eyes!" He yelled out. Kennedy looked up, trying her best to fight around the bright lights.

Kennedy ran to Cora, helping her to her feet. She looked up at Allison, giving a charming salute. The Hale girl helps Cora and Boyd make their escape, leaving Ennis, Derek, Scott, and Isaac. Scott roars, running at Ennis. Kennedy follows suit, coming from behind. The pair both jump at the alpha. Scott is thrown back, and Kennedy claws Ennis's chest. He growls, grabbing her arm and throwing her into Scott. The duo tumble to the ground, and Allison looks at them both. Their eyes were red. Like an Alpha. Scott shakes his head, and suddenly they were yellow. Kennedy closes her eyes tightly, opening them again to be a yellow-orange again. Kennedy looks up as Derek attacks Ennis. Scott groans in pain, grabbing Kennedy's hand. The best friends try to regain their strength to help, but fall to the ground.

"Come on!" Scott yells to her. Kennedy closes her eyes, opening them again to crawl to Derek. Scott and Kennedy painfully try to get closer. Kennedy notices the edge of the floor, where the escalators were. Kennedy closed her eyes tightly, pushing off the ground. She stood up slowly, watching Scott scratch the back of Ennis's leg. Kennedy steps forward, but time stops when she watches Ennis and Derek begin to stumble. Her heart drops when Derek's wide eyes make eye contact with her.

And he fell.

Kennedy screamed in horror as she ran towards Derek to grab him. She nearly fell herself, but Isaac came up behind her and grabbed her waist. Kennedy screamed and cried as she heard the loud thump of him landing. "Derek!" She screeched, pushing against the Lahey. He was dead. Derek was dead.

༺❀༻

Kennedy leaned on Stiles's shoulder, the two sitting next to each other while Lydia sat in front of them. Stiles kept his arms around her, attempting to comfort her. He knew she was holding everything in. He hadn't seen her cry over Derek once since they got back. He knew she blamed herself for not being able to save him, but Stiles wasnt going to make her talk, not until she's ready.

Lydia turned around as Stiles began to speak. "All right. Let's go over this one more time. So it's the sacrifices, right? Everything has to do with them and someone who thinks he's, like, a dark druid of some kind."

"Or actually is a dark druid." Kennedy added, playing with Stiles's fingers.

"A Darach."

Lydia looked down in thought, "You know, some ancient cultures sacrificed people in preparation for battle." She explained to them both.

Stiles looked out the window in thought, "So we got Alpha werewolves against a dark druid." He states.

"Looks like it." Kennedy said slowly, "This sounds like one hell of a time." The Hale leaned onto Stiles again, looking out the window. Lydia turned to her phone again, and Stiles looked at his girlfriend.

"Hey, you know I trust you, right?" He asked. Kennedy looked up at him, nodding in reply. "Then you know that, even if you're not ready to tell me about what you think Deucalion knows, I'm going to trust that it's for a good reason."

Kennedy raised her hand, caressing Stiles's face. "I know," She whispered. "I don't really want to talk about it until we're back home." Her voice was soft and innocent, causing Stiles to smile down at her.

He kissed her forehead, "Then let's talk about Twilight's horrible depiction of werewolves," He whispered, causing her to burst into giggles. Lydia smiled as she heard them talking, grateful that someone made her best friend as happy as she deserved to be.

NATALIA'S NOTES
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omg hey guys. bet you didn't expect to see me so soon<3

well, surprise, because im almost done writing 3B (almost to the eichen house episode) & YALL ISTG I THOUGHT 3A WAS ROUGH...somebody tell peter to get my girl a therapist. season 4 will be good for her, i promise i'll give her a break. okay? okay.

in other news, tomorrow i have a meeting with my academic advisor for college stuff & i literally don't know what i'm doing i'm SO STUPID & k keep asking my stepdad for help & he yells at me but like im 17 & all i do is write teen wolf fanfics you think i know how to COLLEGE? i need derek as an uncle for like 10 minutes cause i know he'd help me!

ive been trying to think of a kennedy & stiles ship name because stennedy & kiles dont speak to me but stale & hilinski don't really either LMAO i cursed myself with this didnt i. well at least we have kisaac</3. which i'm glad y'all also ship kisaac because OMG theyre so cute & bestie aurora can vouch that i will give y'all more kisaac content IM A GOOD PERSON.

well okay i'm actually evil & all i've done the last "3 seasons" of this book is torture kennedy & then y'all can imagine what i'm gonna do to her s5 & 6a so like...ya know...but like i said season 4 she'll get a trauma break I PROMISE!

also , i think i'm gonna separate s6 into two acts because 6a is like 2 years before 6b & i feel like it makes more sense for my plans for those two seasons to split them up. so in total this book is gonna have 6 acts & a couple epilogue/bonus chapters i prewrote when i was still writing season 1 so...yeah this is gonna be a pretty CHUNKY fic.

i was gonna split it into two but tbh i have SO many fics on my page & i personally get too lazy to look through peoples accounts (including my own) so i think i am actually gonna keep it all here & just make sure to keep most episodes in one so that way it's only like 110 chapters (excluding the acts & what not chapters).

anywhore, i hope you enjoyed this chapter, because the next one is in fact MOTEL CALIFORNIA, and we all know that if anyone's gonna struggle with whatever the fuck is happening there, it's gonna be our girl<3. i'll see you all soon!

toodles!