what happened to where you go, i go?
[ 4.12 ]
Willow stood next to Stiles in his father's office. As soon as the sun came up, they rushed to tell him all about Scott and Kira being kidnapped. Really, they were just trying to be courteous and let him know they were going to Mexico instead of lying like last time.
"Dad, Scott and Kira have been kidnapped and taken to Mexico, okay? I think that's a pretty good reason for a trip to Mexico!" Stiles exclaimed, needing his father to sense the urgency.
"Okay. Even if Deaton is right about this—"
"Yeah..." Stiles said, sensing his father's hesitancy.
"The best thing to do is to go through the proper channels," he informed them.
Stiles scoffed in disbelief. "Dad—"
"That means calling the right law enforcement agencies, border patrol, putting out an all-points."
"Dad, we can't just wait around for the wheels of bureaucracy to start spinning in five different government offices, okay? Someone needs to go down there right now, find them, and rescue them! We're going!" Stiles declared. He also snatched Willow's hand to make it abundantly clear that they were a united front.
"I can keep you from going," Noah said, glaring at them.
"I'd find a way," he said, shrugging. "And Willow's not legally yours."
Noah raised an eyebrow at the challenge. "I can throw you both in a cell!"
"I'd still find a way," Stiles said. "I'll get Willow to use her mind control."
With a heavy sigh, Noah walked around his desk. "Stiles, please, just give me a little more time to verify something slightly more concrete than a psychic vision by some guy with a third eye! Look, I will call every law enforcement agency all the way down to South America if I have to. If nothing turns up, then I'll book three flights to Mexico. We'll all go. Okay?"
"Okay. Okay, great," Stiles said, nodding. "Do I get a gun?"
"No," Noah told him flatly.
Then as he exited the office, Willow turned to Stiles. "We're not really waiting for the proper channels, are we?"
"Hell no."
☽︎
At Derek's loft, he was standing with Braeden and preloading enough guns for a small army. Derek continued to look at them in distaste even if he knew they were necessary.
"I still don't like relying on these things," he stated.
"I get it," Braeden said, shrugging. "You miss your power. I would, too."
But Derek shook his head. "It's not about power, it's about being able to help. I don't like feeling helpless. I don't like not being able to protect Willow."
"Willow can protect herself, even if it doesn't always seem that way," Braeden said, recalling all the different stories she'd heard about the Incantator. "And I'm human. Do I look helpless?"
"You're a much better shot than me," he mumbled half-heartedly, looking away.
Braeden studied him carefully, taking in his expression. "Do you really think you won't be coming back?"
"Not alive."
"Derek," she said, narrowing her eyes. "You can't really be serious."
"It doesn't matter," he said dismissively.
"It does when one of my only friends is convinced he's about to die!" she exclaimed. This was why she didn't get attached to people. "And what did Willow have to say about this? About you feeling like you're gonna die there?"
Derek shook his head. "I can't - I can't look her in the eye and tell her that. I can't. It'll just be better if I act like nothing's—"
"Yeah, well, you won't be the one that has to live with the fact that you never got a goodbye," Braeden cut him off coldly.
"Braeden, I can't - I mean, how am I supposed — I just can't—"
"You can't even think about a world where you and Willow aren't together. I get it," Braeden said softly. "But on the off chance that you're right — and that we can't take down two Berserkers — Willow deserves to know. She deserves a goodbye."
But Derek didn't even know if he could get through a goodbye. How was he supposed to look down at those big blue eyes as they filled with tears and tell Willow that he thought he was going to die, that he was going to leave her on her own? After mourning Warren's death, Willow told Derek that as long as she had him and Scribbles, she'd survive. And she'd come back from Mexico alone and hanging by a thread held together by a cat.
The thought alone was almost as worse as actually dying.
"I don't - I don't even know if this is enough firepower to take down one Berserker," Derek said, changing the subject and clearing his throat. He just couldn't talk about Willow anymore.
Thankfully, Peter came down the spiral staircase — Derek had no idea how long his uncle had been upstairs. "Not even close," Peter told them. "Killing a Berserker is next to impossible. It's not just the firepower, it's breaking the animal spirit from the human."
"Well, the only person we know with that kind of experience is Argent, and he's not getting back to me," Derek muttered.
No one had heard from the hunter in hours. Of course, that was because Peter left him alone in the sewers, impaled by a rusty metal rod.
"Well, then you're going to need help — like Malia, maybe Liam, and definitely me," he said.
Derek narrowed his eyes at Peter. "Since when do you help?"
Peter smirked at him, not giving anything away. "Is showing a bit of personal growth a crime?"
"For you?" Braeden asked, crossing her arms. "Yes."
☽︎
Stiles, Malia, and Willow rushed around Scott's house. They needed to get something with Scott's scent to help track him before they met with everyone else to go to Mexico. Stiles dug through his closet and threw a shirt at Malia.
"Here, try that," he instructed.
Malia sniffed the garment and shook her head. "Fabric softener."
"Laundry basket!" Willow exclaimed, and Stiles ran straight to the bathroom.
Unfortunately, Scott stayed pretty on top of his laundry. That meant the only thing in the basket for Stiles to grab with Scott's scent was a pair of blue boxers. He held them out to Malia, who instantly grimaced.
"Oh, come on, Stiles," Willow said, shaking her head. "Don't make her smell those."
But Stiles only thrusted the underwear toward the werecoyote. "Remember, Scott's life is on the line."
Instead of doing that, Malia searched the room for literally anything else. She walked over to Scott's bed and gave Stiles a pointed look as she picked up the pillow and sniffed it.
"Yeah, that works, too," Stiles mumbled sheepishly.
"Do you think you've got a good enough scent?" Willow asked Malia as she put the pillow down.
"Yeah," she said, nodding. The three of them rushed downstairs. "I remember all that stuff Derek taught me."
Before the three of them could rush out the door, they spotted the fifteen-year-old werewolf standing in the dining room.
"Liam, go home," Stiles said immediately, walking past him. "You're not coming with us.
"Why not?" Liam asked, trailing after them.
"Liam, it's a full moon," Willow reminded him softly. "Only your second one."
"And I don't feel like driving all the way down to Mexico just to have you rip my throat out!" Stiles couldn't help but snap.
"You can lock me up, right? Chain me down to the backseat or something?" Liam asked, desperate to come along.
"You tore through the last chains, remember?" Malia reminded him.
"Yeah, we would have to freeze you in carbonite to get you down there," Stiles added.
"Okay, then where do we get carbonite?" he asked.
Stiles sighed in annoyance as the boy didn't get his Star Wars reference. It was just like trying to talk about it with Scott — the references go right over his head. "Seriously? You haven't seen it, either?"
With a scoff, Stiles turned to leave, but Liam wasn't having it. "Wait! What if we put me in the trunk?"
"You'd get out of that, too," Malia told him.
"Liam, you've been a werewolf all of five minutes," Stiles told him. "You don't have to do this.
"I know I don't, but I want to," Liam said. His wide, sad, puppy dog eyes landed on Willow. "I - I want to be brave and I want to help. Scott would do it for me. So would you. Please."
"If Liam wants to come with us, then—"
"It's the full moon, Willow, and he's an IED," Stiles interrupted, shaking his head. "And we have no chains!"
"There's gotta be bigger chains, a bigger trunk, or something!" Liam argued. "There has to be."
Stiles sighed before an idea came to mind. It could work, but it'd depend on what kind of connections a certain mercenary had. "Maybe there is."
☽︎
Everyone regrouped at the parking garage at the loft. Braeden parked a black prison transport van across from Stiles' jeep while Derek and Peter got out of Derek's car.
"How'd you get a prison transport van?" Stiles asked skeptically. Yes, he'd asked for one, but he didn't expect her to get it so quickly and easily.
Braeden scoffed cockily. "I'm a U.S. Marshal."
"Yeah, I thought that was just a cover," Stiles mumbled. He looked to Willow for answers, who only shrugged, not knowing if that was true or not.
"Are we really bringing him?" Derek asked, giving a pointed look to Liam.
Willow pouted at Derek and wrapped her arms around Liam's waist. "He is a very brave werewolf and he is coming." Derek bit back a smile and put his hands up in defense
"Are we really bringing him?" Stiles then asked, glaring at Peter.
Peter rolled his eyes. "We're bringing everyone that we can. And, considering Scott and Kira were taken the night before a full moon, we should probably get going."
"What's that mean?" Malia asked him.
"If Kate took Scott back to the same temple that she took Derek, how do we know she's not planning to do the same thing to him?" he asked. None of them had really considered the reasons why Kate took Scott and Kira.
"What, she wants to make him younger?" Liam asked.
"Or take him back to when he wasn't a werewolf," Derek said, frowning. They couldn't have Scott losing his power too.
"A werewolf can't steal a True Alpha's power," Peter claimed. "But, maybe a Nagual Jaguar with the power of Tezcatlipoca behind her? Maybe she can. So, if everyone is sufficiently freaked out, I say we get going."
"We can't," Stiles said, shaking his head. "Not without Lydia."
"Look, I hate to agree with Peter, but we've got to get a move on. If she's not here in a few more minutes, we've got to leave her," Braeden said.
"Well, then we'll wait a few more minutes. She's probably already on the way from the school," Stiles said grouchily.
"While we're waiting," Braeden began, her eyes falling on Willow, "Derek has something he needs to talk to you about, Willow."
"No, he doesn't," Derek said, narrowing his eyes at Braeden. She only glared back.
"Tell her, or I will," she said, it obvious that she wasn't bluffing.
Willow slowly dropped her arms around Liam and looked at Derek. "Tell me what?"
Derek looked between Willow and Braeden, looking crushed before he gave in with a heavy sigh. He nodded his head to the side, silently asking her to follow him so that the others wouldn't overhear. Well, the nosy werewolves and coyote would all be listening and repeating back to the humans, but the illusion of privacy was nice.
"What is it?" Willow asked, already beginning to worry. She didn't like the troubled expression on Derek's face. "Something's bothering you."
"It's - it's about Lydia — about her... feeling," Derek said hesitantly. "It's not just a feeling, and I think we both know it. This didn't end with the Deadpool. The cipher key, the scream from the other day — this is what it's all been about."
Willow's ears started to pound as tears welled in her eyes at the mere thought of what he was suggesting. She shook her head frantically. "No, Derek. No, no. You're not - you can't - you're not—"
"I'm not coming back," he said.
"No."
"And I just need you to be okay—"
"No!" Willow shouted, grabbing his hands. "No, I'm not okay with that."
"I am," Derek whispered, leaning down to press his forehead to hers. It did nothing to stop hers from shaking her head in refusal. "If it saves Scott and Kira."
"No," Willow said again, pulling away. "You're not going. You're staying here where you're safe."
"You know that we need everyone to do this," he told her, staying calm.
"You're staying here!" Willow ordered, her eyes glowing pink. But the same color didn't appear in Derek's. "Why - you're - it didn't work."
"Valerian root." Derek knew she'd try something like that.
"Derek, you can't!" she said, her voice cracking. "You can't. You can't do this. I can't lose you."
He held her hands gently. "I don't want you to lose me either."
"Then don't go!" Willow started to struggle, so he simply pulled her against his chest to hold her. He let her pound her fists on his chest as she pleaded with him. "Please. Please, just s - stay. We'll stay. Together. Please."
"You know I can't just stay behind," he told her. "And on the chance that I'm right about this, you deserve a go—"
"You're not saying goodbye," Willow whispered, digging her face into his chest. "This isn't a goodbye. And you're not leaving my sight for one second. Or Braeden's. And then you're going to come back home with us and Scott and Kira. I'm not losing you, Derek. I can't. I can't."
Derek gently rubbed her back comfortingly. Willow may not have been accepting that this was a goodbye, but that didn't change anything. It didn't change the fact that a banshee predicted his death. Death was coming for him, and they couldn't stop it.
He was supposed to watch her graduate. They were going to go to South America and visit Cora and Boyd for a few weeks. Willow wanted to drag him to New York and show him all her favorite spots to go with her father when they'd take their yearly trip there each summer. There was so much that Derek and Willow were meant to do together, but it seemed fate had other plans.
Five sets of eyes were glued to the embracing couple as Derek tried to whisper affectionate and comforting words to Willow — though no words would ease the pain of her potentially losing him. Malia was the only one with supernatural hearing that could actually bear to repeat what they were saying to Stiles and Braeden. Peter felt his chest ache at the possibility of losing Derek, and Liam was already crying because Willow was crying.
Liam hadn't known Willow for that long — and Derek even less — but he was already incredibly attached to them. It was a reminder as to why he was coming — he couldn't let anything bad happen to them. It wasn't just about being brave to save Scott and Kira. It was to protect Willow and Derek too.
"Maybe - maybe Lydia was wrong," Stiles whispered, shaking his head. None of them wanted to lose Derek. "She could get here, and the feeling could be gone."
"Has Lydia ever been wrong about these things before?" Malia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not even once," Peter said.
"I'll call her," Stiles told them, pulling out his phone. "She - she should be here already."
As Stiles stepped away to try and get ahold of Lydia, Derek and Willow slowly joined them once more. Willow's eyes were red, and tears slipped down her splotchy cheeks as she continued to cry, not letting go of Derek's arm, which she was wrapped around as she held his hand.
No one said anything to them — they didn't know what to say.
"What's she doing at the school, anyway?" Derek asked, trying to keep the attention off him and Willow. They needed to focus once more on the mission.
"We got Kira's sword, but we need something with a stronger scent," Malia said, holding up Kira's katana. "Lydia went to get a jacket out of her locker."
Stiles sighed heavily and put his phone in his pocket as he came back. "Nothing..."
"If she has a car, she can catch up to us," Braeden declared.
"That's a good point," Peter noted. "We'll call her from the road."
"No, what if something happened? What if she's in trouble?" Stiles asked, clearly worried about her. With Derek going on about his potential death, he couldn't help but worry that they were all going to die.
"Fine. You stay — you find her. We're going on without you," he told him.
"I could call Mason," Liam suggested. "He has a study group at the school. Maybe he could look for her?"
Stiles sighed before nodding. "All right. Fine." As they started deciding who was going to ride in which car, Stiles whispered lowly to Malia. "I need to be back there with Derek and Liam — I've got some experience dealing with out-of-control teen wolves. You gonna be okay riding with Peter?"
"He is my father. Maybe we could do some bonding," she said.
"No. No bonding," he insisted. "Play the radio. Play it loud."
"Remember what we're dealing with," Peter told them all, ignoring Stiles' comments about not bonding. "It's not just Kate, it's Berserkers. You might see human eyes behind those skulls. Do not assume there's any humanity left. This little one is terrified of them, aren't you?"
Liam tensed as Peter smirked at him. On instinct, he reached for Willow's hand, but because she was clutching onto Derek, he settled for holding the bottom of her sweater.
"Leave Liam alone, Peter," Willow said, her voice impossibly quiet.
Peter looked at her a bit apologetically before turning back to Liam. "Don't worry, my friend. It is that fear that will keep you alive. A reminder to everyone? You do not fight Berserkers to survive — you fight to kill."
☽︎
The remainder of Willow's day was spent in the back of a police transport van with Derek, Liam, and Stiles while Braeden drove. Not once did Derek let go of her hand, his thumb gently brushing over her knuckles as a reminder that he was still there with her.
Just before the sun began to sink, they put a set of handcuffs around Liam's wrists, keeping him chained to the bench.
"All good?" Derek asked. Liam gave a test pull to make sure the handcuffs wouldn't snap right away. "Okay. Now, I brought something to help you."
Stiles and Willow watched curiously as Derek pulled out the triskele talisman — or paperweight, as Peter would say. He held it out to Liam as he spoke softly.
"This has been with my family for centuries. It's a very powerful supernatural talisman," Derek said, lying through his teeth. "We use it to teach betas how to control themselves on a full moon."
Liam looked at the triskele as he took it, studying the design. Willow and Stiles were too busy looking at Derek in disbelief, as they knew better. Derek glared at Stiles and jerked his head toward the triskele, silently telling him to back his lie up.
"Yes," Stiles said slowly. "It's powerful. Very powerful."
"It's what Kate came out of hiding and revealed herself to be alive and kidnapped Derek to turn him into a teenager for," Willow added, which technically wasn't a lie.
Liam nodded, keeping his eyes on the triskele. He could already feel the full moon's effect as it started to rise in the sky. His head began to pound and he felt like crawling out of his skin as his anger spiked.
"Whatever you were gonna teach me," Liam said, breathing deeply, "I think you better start."
The fingers clutching the triskele began to grow claws as his eyes started to glow.
"Liam, you with me?" Derek asked him carefully. "We have a mantra that we use. You repeat it. You focus on the words. It's like meditating — you say the words until you feel control coming back to you."
"Okay," Liam said, a tremor racking his body. It was getting harder and harder to stay in his seat. "Okay, okay! What are the words?"
"Okay, look at the triskelion. See the symbol? I have a tattoo on my back, it's the same thing. Each spiral means something," Derek explained.
"Alpha, beta, omega," Stiles added.
"It represents the idea that we can always rise to one and fall back to another. Betas can become alphas. Alphas can become betas."
Liam let out a snarl before looking up at him and away from the triskele. "Can alphas become omegas?"
Derek nodded in response, knowing he'd come pretty close to becoming an omega after his horrible attempt at being an alpha. "All you have to do is say the three words, and with each one, you tell yourself you're getting calmer, more in control. Go ahead."
"Alpha, beta—"
"Slower," Derek instructed when Liam tried to rush the words out of his mouth.
"Alpha... Beta... Omega..." Between each word, Liam took deep, ragged breaths. "Alpha... Beta... Omega..."
"Good," he told him. "Say it again. Remember, every time you say the words, you're getting calmer."
"Alpha... Beta... Omega..." Liam's voice shifted, turning deeper as he got more worked up. The mantra wasn't helping one bit.
"Say it again," Derek continued, watching him carefully. Liam stopped saying the words over and over and instead began yanking on the handcuffs.
"Derek, I don't think the powerful talisman-of-self-control is working," Stiles snapped. Liam tried to swipe at him, so Stiles lifted his feet off the ground and pulled his knees into his chest.
"Liam, say it again!" Derek said loudly as Liam started to scream and growl.
Then the beta tried to lunge at Derek. He stayed in the handcuffs, but the momentum lifted the right side of the van off the road for a few moments. Braeden swerved, trying to keep the vehicle in control.
"Liam!" Derek, Stiles, and Willow all shouted the boy's name, trying to get through to him.
"Derek?" Braeden asked, looking back at them to see what was going on.
Liam then harshly pulled one hand up, breaking it free of the handcuffs. Derek instantly pushed Willow back into the corner of the van, not wanting her close to Liam.
"I think we're gonna need to go a little faster!" Stiles shouted, scooting back.
"Keep going!" Derek yelled at her as Braeden floored it.
The next thing they knew, Liam's other hand was free. None of them heard as Braeden told them they were almost there. They were focused on Liam, who lunged at Derek, wanting to rip his throat out over that stupid triskele. Derek caught his wrists just before he got him. Willow and Stiles got on either side and tried to help. Even with Stiles, Derek, and Willow all trying to push Liam back, it was hard to keep his claws out of Derek's face.
"Derek, I don't think alpha, beta, omega is resonating with him!" Stiles shouted as Liam continued to snarl and bite the air angrily.
"You know any other mantras?" Derek asked, glaring at his unhelpful statement.
"Liam!" Willow called. "Think about Brett!"
"I hate Brett!" Liam yelled. The very name brought a new wave of white-hot rage on. "He's trying to fuck you!"
"No. Liam, what three things cannot be long hidden?" Willow asked, trying to get Liam to look at her. He only growled and kept fighting. "Liam! Liam, look at me. What three things cannot long be hidden? What three things?"
"Sun," Liam said, having to force the word out. "The moon... The truth."
"That's it. Say it again," Stiles instructed.
Liam took in a deep breath and looked at Willow. He slowly forced himself to release Derek. "The sun... the moon... the truth."
"Derek?" Braeden called, no longer hearing their struggle.
Derek kept his eyes on Liam, who sat back down. "We're okay."
"Sun, moon, and the truth," Liam whispered. When he looked up at them once again, his eyes were back to normal and his fangs were gone. "The sun, the moon, the truth."
"Liam, do you think you'll be okay?" Willow asked him.
"I - I think so," he said, leaning his head back against the wall of the van. "I can't believe I did it!" he said excitedly. Then he glanced at Derek and chuckled. "For a minute there, I thought I was gonna tear the two of you apart."
"Yeah, that would have made for an awkward ride home, so thanks," Stiles mumbled.
Derek nodded in agreement and glanced out the window on the back door. Braeden had just pulled up to the church where Scott and Kira were being held. "You think you can bring the same level of control and strength inside La Iglesia?"
Liam smiled and nodded softly. Willow leaned across the van and kissed his slightly sweaty forehead. "Now it's time to show Peter who is the bravest boy."
"Suck it, Peter. I'm the bravest boy," Liam claimed, earning a laugh from the other boys. "Don't tell him I said that. He's very scary."
Stiles snorted and shook his head. "All right! We might actually be able to do this."
"And we'll bring everyone home. Everyone," Willow said, giving Derek a pointed look.
Derek nodded and then leaned down to kiss her forehead. His lips lingered for a moment before he stood and moved to open the door.
It happened so quickly that none of them could stop it.
A Berserker grabbed Derek before he could even put his feet on the ground. It pinned him to a rock and plunged a two-inch-long piece of sharp bone into his chest three times.
And Willow could do nothing but scream in horror. Stiles wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from running out of the van as Braeden emptied an entire round of bullets into the Berserker to get it to leave Derek alone. The monster ran off to find cover.
As soon as it was safe, Stiles let Willow go. She rushed to Derek's side, crouching beside him. There were three gaping holes in his chest as an impossible amount of blood seeped through his shirt and slipped out of his mouth. Everyone else ran over, seeing the state that he was in.
"D - Derek," Willow said, her shaking hands hovering over his wounds. There wasn't anything she could do.
"How bad is it?" Peter asked, looking at his nephew with wide eyes.
"I'm fine!" Derek said, hardly able to catch his breath. "I'm fine. Just get to Scott."
"You're not - you're not fine," Willow said, shaking her head. She glanced at Peter, seeing the pain in his eyes. If he went, he wouldn't be seeing Derek again. "Peter, what do we do—"
"Just find him," Derek interrupted, coughing up more blood. "We'll be right behind you. Go!"
It was Malia who pulled Peter away and toward the church. Liam reluctantly followed, as did Stiles. Though Stiles paused and looked at Derek over his shoulder. It didn't feel right to leave him.
"Hey... Hey, save him," Derek said softly. Stiles nodded before running after the others. He wouldn't let this be for nothing. Then his eyes fell on Willow, who was still by his side and on the verge of breaking down. "Lydia was right."
"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "You're gonna be okay."
Derek smiled weakly and shook his head. "No, I'm not. And that - that thing is still out there."
"Can you still pull a trigger?" Braeden asked him, looking around the abandoned ruins, searching for the Berserker.
"Yeah," he answered, nodding a bit.
Braeden placed a gun in his hand. "Stay with us! You're gonna be okay."
He managed a laugh. "It's a mortal wound... and right now, I'm feeling pretty mortal."
"I'm not - I'm not letting you die," Willow told him.
They heard the low growl of the Berserker, signaling that it was near. "You might just have to... concentrate on saving yourself," Derek said, trying to catch his breath.
"Stay with him," Braeden told Willow. As if leaving was even an option. The mercenary placed a spare gun by Willow's feet, but she didn't even glance at it. She also didn't glance at her when she walked off to try and find the monster.
Willow felt as if her entire world was crashing down around her as Derek looked at her. He was sad and in pain, but at the same time, it was clear he was at peace with this. How could he be at peace with dying? With leaving her?
"Wh - what happened to where you go, I go?" Willow asked, feeling her throat tighten.
"Guess we were all talk," he told her. Derek raised a hand to cup her cheek, brushing his thumb against her cheek for the last time.
Willow grabbed his hand and moved it to her mouth, clenching her eyes shut as she kissed it. She tried with all her might for the kiss to heal him. She leaned down to kiss his forehead, his cheek, his neck. But not a damn thing happened. Willow kissed him desperately on the lips, remembering the first time she'd healed him.
But his wounds weren't magically healing over. His energy wasn't returning to him. Derek wasn't getting better. He was dying.
When nothing happened, Willow choked on a sob and pressed her forehead to his. "Please," she begged. She didn't know to whom she was begging.
"I - I'm sorry."
"Don't. Don't apologize," she told him. This wasn't Derek's fault. It wasn't Willow's or Scott's for getting kidnapped. Not Lydia's for predicting it. Kate did this.
Willow flinched when she heard the sound of multiple gunshots. She hadn't even noticed when Kate and her Berserker arrived, held off by Braeden. But then a small army of hunters drove up, including Chris and Parrish.
Looking away from Derek, Willow frantically searched for Kate and the Berserker. It seemed no matter how many times they were shot, they wouldn't go down. Nothing seemed to be able to pierce the armor of bone that the Berserker wore. Perhaps Peter had underestimated how strong they really were when he warned them all.
Kate moved with impossibly fast speed. Wolves had nothing on jaguars when it came to that. Hunters dropped one by one — they didn't even see Kate coming.
"You're next, Araya!" Kate shouted her threat to the older hunter after ripping a hunter's throat out. "I'm coming to kill you next."
"Come, La Loba," Araya said, extending her electrified baton. "Let me show you how the Calaveras die."
"Wi - Will..."
At hearing Derek weakly call for her, Willow turned back to face him. "Derek?"
"I - I lov..." Derek trailed off, not having the breath in his lungs to finish the sentence. He could hardly keep his head up and his eyes open as he looked at her — Derek wanted Willow's face to be the last thing he saw. And then he managed a small, comforting smile before his face went slack and he drew his last breath, closing his eyes for the last time.
Green eyes that would never again make Willow feel like she was burning.
"D - Derek?" Willow said, her voice cracking. She held his face, wishing more than anything that he'd wake up. But he wasn't going to. She couldn't even feel a pulse. "Derek, no. Please! No, no, no, no."
The chaos around Willow was drowned out, the pounding in her ears growing as she collapsed against Derek's body, clutching him tightly. She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe.
All Willow knew was that Derek was dead, and a pained scream that could rival a Banshee left her lips.
☽︎
Deep in the temple of La Iglesia, everything was going according to Peter's plan as Malia and Liam fought the Berserker that was Scott with the intent to kill. Well, not everything was going according to plan, as that pesky feeling of guilt was creeping up on Peter once more.
The oldest Hale would've preferred to carve out the part of his mind telling him that this was wrong, that killing Scott was wrong. But it seemed impossible, and soon, he began pulling his punches as he fought off Scott.
And it didn't help that he could hear Willow's soft cries even over the sound of gunshots outside. He could hear her pleading with Derek to stay awake, to stay alive. Because of Peter's stupid obsession with power, Derek was going to die.
"Wait, stop, stop, stop!" Peter suddenly said, grabbing Malia's arm to keep her from stabbing a long knife made of bone into Scott's head while Liam kept him pinned to a wall. Breaking the skull mask would be the thing to kill him.
"What are you—"
"That's Scott!" Peter interrupted. He reached out and snatched the dingy piece of cloth tied around the alpha's bicep, revealing his tattoo. Then he shoved that arm against the wall, helping Liam to restrain him. "It's Scott!"
Before Malia could even ask how Peter knew that, Stiles ran in with Kira, who he'd managed to find. And she told him exactly what Peter knew. "No, wait! Wait! It's Scott!"
"We know it's Scott," Liam grunted out, having to use all his strength to keep the alpha restrained. "What do we do?"
"We have—" Peter growled as Scott knocked him on his ass. Then he threw Liam to the other side of the room. "We have to try and reconnect him to his humanity."
"How the hell do we do — shit!" Stiles exclaimed as Scott came toward him. "Scott? Scott, don't! Scott, it's me—"
Scott simply punched Stiles hard enough to break his nose. He charged at Liam, who was still recovering on the ground.
"Scott, don't!" Kira shouted as he picked Liam up and held him against the wall.
"Scott. Scott!" Liam pleaded, hands prying at the fingers around his throat to try and free himself. He met Scott's brown eyes, the rest of his face covered by the skull. Scott raised a hand to crush Liam's head in, who began to panic. He needed to get through to him. "Scott, listen! Listen! Listen! You're not a monster! You're a werewolf... like me."
Slowly, the hand that was ready to attack Liam lowered. Then Scott released him and stumbled backward, twisting his neck as he seemed to be fighting an internal battle. One by one, he pulled off the armor Kate covered him in. Scott then hunched over and grasped the skull mask tightly, prying it off with all his strength, breaking it with a golden glow.
Scott stood before them, once again himself, and fully shifted. His angry, red eyes were focused on Peter.
"You," he said accusingly. "The only one who knew as much as Argent about the Berserkers, about the Nagual. You taught Kate—"
"Yes, I did," Peter interrupted. "I... made the wrong choices in the name of power. Evidently, I'm developing a conscious, and it couldn't be more annoying."
"I'm not just going to let you walk away like you did nothing—"
Scott was once again cut off, but not by Peter. All those with supernatural hearing tensed up as they heard Willow's agonizing scream, even from deep in the church.
"Derek," Peter breathed out, all of them knowing who that scream was for.
"He - he's dead, isn't he?" Stiles asked.
"It's my fault," Peter breathed out, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. He didn't want them to see the regret and pain in them. "I didn't - this wasn't—"
"What did you expect, Peter?" Scott spat angrily. "You expected me to be the only casualty?"
Peter stepped toward the door to go out to Willow, but Scott blocked him, still not trusting him. Peter growled lowly. "Tell you what — kick my ass and tell me I'm a bad person after this is all over. Willow is out there right now, more alone than she's ever been. So, get out of my way."
☽︎
It was so silent outside the temple that you could hear a hairpin drop. Willow didn't notice the silence though, too concerned with grieving. But slowly, the pounding in her ears began to die out and she heard someone calling her name.
"Willow! Willow!" It was Chris, who sounded so alarmed and a bit confused. "WILLOW!"
Willow turned quickly to find Chris in the crowd of hunters only to discover that all the chaos had died down. No one was shooting at Kate or the Berserker. In fact, no one was moving at all.
All she saw was glowing pink eyes, everyone near unable to even lift a finger. Chris stood near the car he'd arrived in, his gun hanging at his side as his eyes glowed pink. He couldn't move, but he could talk.
"Willow, you have to get ahold of yourself," he instructed. "You're controlling everyone."
Willow stood slowly and turned in a circle, taking in all the frozen hunters. But then her eyes fell on Kate Argent, who was in the exact same state. The werejaguar was glaring fiercely at her.
"Let me go, you little brat," she hissed, trying to fight against the compulsion. She couldn't even command the Berserker in this state, which was standing to the side.
Putting one foot in front of the other, Willow found that her legs weren't as weak as she thought they'd be. She slowly approached Kate, her fury and pain rising with each step as she stood across from her.
"You killed him," Willow said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Oh, Sweetie," she said, laughing harshly. "He's been living on borrowed time since the fire."
"You killed him."
"And what?" Kate asked in a condescending tone. "Want me to tell you how I regret it and was blinded by rage? Want me to apologize?"
"No," Willow said, her tone void of emotion. "I want you to stop breathing. Just like he did."
The pink glow in Kate's eyes intensified, and she suddenly found herself unable to breathe. She gasped, desperate to take in air, though none made it to her lungs as they seized up. Kate's knees gave out and she fell to the ground, looking up at Willow helplessly, who hadn't even moved.
Willow must've looked a sight — angry glowing pink eyes, Derek's blood staining her hands and lips, Kate Argent choking at her feet.
And she was content to let the werejaguar—
"Willow!" Chris shouted once more. "Willow, stop this! Let her go!"
"Isn't this why you're all here? To kill her?" Willow asked, looking at Kate, who was trying her best to keep her eyes open. If she was human, she'd already be dead. "I'm just helping."
"We're hunters, Willow. This isn't you, and you'll regret this!" Chris shouted. He couldn't let Willow kill someone. He couldn't let Willow kill his sister. "What would Derek think? What would Warren think?"
Willow flinched at the mention of her father, her hold on Kate breaking as well. Kate gasped for air as it rushed to her lungs, making her dizzy. Willow let out a shaky breath and stepped backward, some of her sense returning. She had been ready to kill Kate, even if only just for a moment.
The pink glow faded from everyone's eyes as Willow continued to back away, her hands shaking. "I'm - I'm sorry," she whispered as the hunters regained control of their bodies. "I'm sorry."
Though Kate was still trying to catch her breath, she still managed to laugh darkly. "You naive, spineless, little girl," she said, getting to her feet. "You should've killed me. But I guess if you wanna see Derek again, I'll gladly lend a hand."
Kate snared and moved to lunge at Willow, only to freeze. A deep growl that rattled her bones sounded, coming from an unknown source.
Willow turned to look back at Derek, wanting to make sure no one touched his body, only to discover he was gone. She watched with wide eyes as a large black wolf jumped out from behind the wall she'd left Derek leaning on. With glowing blue eyes, the wolf jumped at Kate, knocking her on her back.
She screamed helplessly as the wolf tore into her mercilessly. Then as it let up, Kate tried to drag her body away, leaving behind a bloody trail in the dirt as she watched the wolf with fear in her eyes.
And then as the wolf began to grow and morph into a person, black fur fading into tan skin, Willow's knees began to shake. She might've dropped to the ground from shock if Braeden hadn't appeared behind her and kept her standing.
The wolf was Derek, alive and well and towering over Kate.
By that time, the others had rushed out of the temple and stopped in their tracks at what they saw. No one spared them a glance, hardly able to believe that Derek survived and could now fully shift into a wolf.
"You were - you were dead," Kate said in disbelief.
"No... I was evolving," Derek said. Willow's heart sped up at the sound of it, having convinced herself she'd never hear it again. "Something you'll never do."
But now that Kate was back in control, she had the Berserker move toward Derek, ready to attack. But Derek moved faster, rushing up on the beast. They all watched as he grabbed the Berserker's skull-covered head. It began to crack under the force he applied. The skull caved in as Derek killed the Berserker with his bare hands, something an army of hunters with an endless supply of guns couldn't even do.
With everyone distracted, Kate tried to escape. But Chris hadn't taken his eyes off his sister. The sound of the gunshot drew everyone's attention once more, seeing how the bullet full of yellow wolfsbane hit Kate in the chest. She still continued to run, and Chris chased after her.
All was quiet for a moment, and then—
"Derek?" Willow whispered, her voice cracking a bit. She almost didn't believe that he was standing there.
But as soon as their eyes met and the corners of his mouth twitched, the beginning of a soft smile forming, Willow's feet started moving. She crossed the short distance through the city ruins and threw herself at Derek, who caught her and lifted her off her feet as they hugged.
"Y - you're here? You're alive?" she asked, refusing to let him go.
"I'm alive," he said, kissing the top of her head. "I'm okay."
As Willow's feet touched the ground again, she kept her arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss him. She kissed him passionately, desperately, terrified that he was going to slip through her fingers. And as they finally parted, they kept their foreheads pressed together, gazing lovingly at the other.
"I love you," Willow murmured, as he held the side of her face, brushing his thumb along her cheek. He wiped away the tears on her face in the process. "God, I can't believe you're here."
"I love you," Derek whispered, finishing what he'd so desperately wanted to say as he was dying. "And I'm not going anywhere."
"So, he can just turn into a dog now?" Liam couldn't help but ask from the side. And obviously, everyone heard him, as no one dared to interrupt the reunion between Willow and Derek. "I don't think Scribbles is gonna like that very much."
"This is Jackson all over again. Why are they always naked after coming back to life?" Stiles complained. "Find him some pants. That's fucking disgusting."
Most everyone had averted their eyes, but not one particularly shameless mercenary. "Jesus, Willow. How does that even fit in you?"
Derek chuckled in disbelief while Willow hid her burning cheeks in his chest. "Do you have spare clothes in your car?"
"In the trunk. This is definitely not what I thought I'd use them for."
☽︎
Scott did kick Peter's ass. Though he didn't kill him, it was made abundantly clear who was the stronger werewolf. So, in the end, as he healed many, many broken bones while laying in the dirt at La Iglesia, Peter was very glad he backed out of his plan. No way would he win in a fight against Scott.
As the sun began to rise, Willow finally left Derek's side, who was speaking with Chris about their plan to catch Kate, who managed to get away. Willow wandered over to Peter, who was sitting alone with his back leaning against a crumbled wall. She sat next to him and silently nudged his shoulder with hers, unable to hide the smile on her lips.
"What?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You're a good person," she said, now full-on grinning.
Peter groaned and rolled his eyes. "Don't call me that," he complained, earning a giggle from her. "It's disgusting."
"It's true," she told him. "You could've had them kill Scott, but you changed your mind. You realized it wasn't worth it."
"I mean, it wouldn't have worked anyway. Stiles and Kira would've told them if I hadn't," he mumbled. "Then Scott would've thrown me in Eichen House."
Peter wasn't really a good person, he knew. But he was slightly better. And if he'd never met Willow, he certainly never would've backed out of his plan to kill Scott.
"He still wanted to," Willow admitted. "I talked him out of it. But they'll never trust you again — except maybe Malia."
"You'll trust me?" he asked, almost sounding hopeful.
"Yeah," she answered, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I don't care what the others think of you. You've proved enough times that you're not just a power-hungry psychopath. There's a heart in there somewhere."
Peter snorted at the comment. Then he sighed, watching Derek as he spoke quietly with Chris. "I'm glad you're both okay. I didn't - I didn't mean for all this—"
"It's okay," she said, softly. "Derek's alive. Everyone's alive. And we'll be okay."
For the first time in months — really since the Alpha Pack showed up and human sacrifices began — Willow felt like everything would be okay. At least for a short amount of time, anyway.
After a few more minutes of healing, Willow managed to pull Peter off the ground. The hunters were getting ready to leave, and it appeared that Chris would be going with them. He was looking at everyone like he was ready to say goodbye.
"You're really going with them?" Scott asked, sad to see the hunter leave Beacon Hills once more. There was no telling when he'd return — if he'd return.
"I made a deal with the Calaveras weeks ago," Chris told them. "They'll leave you alone — all of you." He gave a pointed look to Scott and Willow, both of whom broke their promise to Araya not to bite someone or misuse the Charmspeak — even though both times were an accident. "But only if I help them catch Kate."
"What if you can't?" Kira asked him.
"I'll find her," he said, sounding confident. "Someone has to."
With Kate the only loose end and everyone alive, all that was left to do was leave Mexico and return to Beacon Hills. There, they'd have to face not only their angry parents and guardians after leaving the country — for the second time — but they'd have to face Coach Finstock as well. Scott, Stiles, and Liam missed a lacrosse practice, and Coach would be furious, especially after the humiliating defeat against Devenford Prep.
Willow walked hand in hand with Derek over to his car. They'd be riding with Braeden and Peter back to Beacon Hills while the others took the prison transport van.
"You're not really a U.S. Marshal, are you?" Derek asked Braeden, eying her skeptically.
"I was," Braeden told them. "But I spent too long looking for one person. It's hard to keep a job when part of it becomes an obsession."
"Who were you after?" he asked.
"All I know is a code name — the Desert Wolf."
The name didn't mean anything to Willow or Derek, but it did to Peter, who choked on air at the very mention of her. The others looked at him questioningly. Peter sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.
"Uh, that would be Malia's mother," he admitted. Well, he was fairly sure she was Malia's mother. Talia stole most of his memories of the woman, but he'd done some investigating of his own.
"I'm sorry," Braeden said, letting out a humorless chuckle. "You saw one of the most dangerous and lethal supernatural creatures on earth, and you decided to fuck her and knock her up?"
Derek couldn't help but laugh at the disapproving look Braeden was sending Peter. And Peter only shrugged in response.
"Well, she was really hot, so," Peter said nonchalantly. "Malia has been asking questions about her mother though. I worry she'll go looking for her. And trust me — a woman like that isn't winning any mother of the year awards."
"Well, maybe you and Braeden could find her first," Willow suggested. "You probably didn't have a werewolf to help you on any of your past searches."
"You want me to go on a little field trip to hunt down my insane ex?" Peter asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'd rather be locked up in Eichen House."
Derek smirked at him while wrapping an arm around Willow's shoulders. "Oh, I'm sure Scott could still arrange that."
☽︎
The ride back to Beacon Hills wasn't nearly as troublesome as their departure was. Willow and Derek sat curled up against each other in the backseat while Braeden drove and Peter complained from the passenger side about how the couple made him want to throw up. But his complaints were shallow and only said to tease them — if either or both of them had died, Peter never would've recovered.
When the pack did return to Beacon Hills, everyone split up to do their own thing and speak to their parents. Liam was hoping that his mother and stepfather would believe the whole "I was at Mason's house for two days and was having so much fun I forgot to contact you" spiel that Stiles made him practice reciting the whole drive back. And Willow and Stiles were left to face Noah, who was absolutely furious at them for leaving.
And though he was angry and worried, Noah sighed in relief when he saw both of them step into his office, Malia and Derek a few steps behind. Noah rushed forward to hug Stiles tightly, and a second later, Stiles pulled Willow into the hug. She smiled and leaned her head on Noah's shoulder, letting him hug them.
"Dad, you smell terrible," Stiles commented, as Noah hadn't showered since they disappeared.
"Yup. You both do, too," Noah said, laughing. Then he spotted Malia. "Come here."
Malia was delighted to be included in the family hug. Derek leaned back against the wall, a soft smile on his face. You couldn't pay him to join in the group hug, but it was nice to see.
"I'm just so glad you're all safe," Noah said, finally pulling away. "Hey, what do you say we get outta here? Get something to eat?"
"Great! I'm starving," Stiles said, grinning.
"Okay," Malia agreed.
However, when Stiles stepped away from the desk, he was harshly held back by the handcuff around his wrist. Noah walked on as if nothing happened.
"Yo, Daddy?" Stiles called.
Willow giggled at his predicament. "Well, it's not as bad as him throwing you in a cell. I'll bring you back some food."
Stiles narrowed his eyes at her. "Look at your wrist, Will."
Because Willow hadn't tried to move yet, she didn't notice it. But her left hand was handcuffed to the desk just like Stiles. She turned to look at Noah with wide eyes and tugged loosely on the cuff.
"What did I do?" she asked him innocently.
But Noah ignored her and looked at Derek. "You coming for food, son?" Derek looked at Willow's wrist, and Noah seemingly read his mind. "Don't even think about it."
"But - but it hurts," Willow said, pulling on the handcuff once again.
"Oh, please," Stiles scoffed. "No, it doesn't. Your wrist is way smaller than mine, and mine doesn't hurt! You're just trying to bat your eyes and manipulate Derek like you always do!"
"I do not bat my—"
"What's your favorite food?" Noah asked Malia and Derek, ignoring the now bickering pair handcuffed to the desk. As he asked, he slowly led Malia out of the office, nudging Derek along as well.
"Uh, pizza," Malia mumbled, glancing at Stiles over her shoulder.
"Pizza good with you, Derek?" Noah asked him.
Derek looked at Willow and smiled apologetically, knowing he didn't need to come in between her and Noah's form of parenting. And, well, he was starving. "Pizza's, uh, good."
"Hey!" Willow exclaimed, pouting as they left. "But—"
"Dad?" Stiles called helplessly. There was no way they were getting out of the handcuffs anytime soon. "Bring me back a slice?"
"I can't believe this," Willow said, leaning against the desk.
"I mean, it's better than being grounded," he admitted, shrugging. And at least Noah didn't throw them in a cell as he'd threatened a few days ago.
"I've never been grounded, so I wouldn't know," Willow told him, which of course, earned a scoff from Stiles, who frequently got grounded. She had never done anything bad enough to warrant serious punishment — both with her father and Noah. "But how could Derek just leave?"
"I mean, he wouldn't have freed me either way, so I don't really care," Stiles said, shrugging. "But you should def withhold the 'I'm so happy you're not dead' sex for at least a few days as punishment."
"Stiles!" Willow hissed.
He leaned back to dodge the slap she was aiming at him. Unfortunately, he couldn't run away, so eventually, she landed a hit. "Don't act like that wasn't exactly what was going to happen as soon as you got him alone!"
☽︎
[ insert john mulaney new in town bit: i'll write the season finale, i'm gonna give peter a redemption arc, as that was a given. then, for a little back story, i will pepper in the fact that derek's got a monster in between his legs ]