insatiable
Darkness surrounded her, clinging to her lungs like smoke until breathing felt impossible.
Screaming was a thing of the past, suffering was her present. She knew what was happening, in all of her times of being through this same loop of seeing her death, she had learned to focus on the finer details, hoping to piece them together. Every time she had seen it before, it had been a series of flashing images in her mind, never a clear vision. The brunette had picked up a some of the details; how she'd been wearing her hair, what she was wearing, the shade of scarlet red nail polish on her fingers, a color that Allison had picked out for her two weeks ago, taunting her for each of those weeks as she waited for it to happen to her.
She knew how she died. A ninjato to her stomach, forced by one of the Oni. She knew how it felt, all of the pain that would wash over her as it tore through her flesh. She knew who. Void and his Oni. Why. To save Lydia from him. To put an end to Void. But what her mind had kept hidden was the direst parts. The when and where.
That was until now. She knew from the get-go that there was something different about it, it felt more real as if she was actually living through it, not just seeing it as an event in the future. Kins looked around her, all of the things that she had never seen before, the where. As she looked, it didn't seem familiar, she hadn't seen this place before, but for some reason, its name rang a bell to her. Oak Creek. Kinsey stood before a set of tall steel gates reading those words, a chill down her spine, the same kind of nausea that Eichen House provided her with. This place had been a grave to more than just her, she could feel it in her bones, bad things had happened here.
The brunette dared to push open the metal gates, the cold stinging her plans as the sound of the metal scraping across the ground filled her ears, like nails on a chalkboard. She looked up, a wall made of concrete, towering over her head making her feel as small as a mouse. Just like she had the details about herself, she tried to remember the details about this place, preparing herself in the only way she could. It was as Kinsey stood in the middle of Oak Creek that things had started to appear around her, finally allowing her to see the full picture. Out of nowhere, her friends had appeared, the Oni with them, all fighting against one another. Kira was on her own, fighting Oni off with her katana. Isaac was too standing alone, transformed as he swung his claws at them. It was only as she turned around that she found Allison right, her bow raised, shooting them each at the Oni surrounding Isaac as the Oni's ninjatos slashed through the flesh of his chest.
Kinsey looked down at her hands, Chinese ring daggers in either one of them. The four of them hadn't just stumbled upon this place, facing another unplanned attack from the Oni, they had come here with a purpose. The brunette paused for a moment, watching the fight around her as she considered watching it play out, seeing her death to its full extent, or to search for why they were here, hoping to give herself an advantage when she lived through the real thing. Perhaps it would be the thing that saved them.
The brunette turned, looking around her again until she saw a silver gate behind her, left open. It drew her in, like an electrical pulse inside of her, telling her something was that way, Lydia. With a stealth to her walk, Kinsey walked closer to the gate, a small tunnel, a light at the other end as she slowly stepped into it, her walk turning into her run as she followed the muffled voices in her ears, hoping that they were real voices, not just the ones of people who had died here just as she would. Her boots clicked against the floor of the concrete tunnel, the voices getting closer, more distinct until she recognized them as Scott and Stiles.
"No. No, no, no." Lydia's panicked voice mumbled as she looked at the two boys. "Wait. Why are you here?"
"Lydia." Stiles deadpanned. "We're here for you."
"You weren't supposed to be here." Lydia began panting, freaking out at the two of them. "You didn't get my message?" She asked as she looked at the werewolf with tears in her eyes.
"Lydia, what's happening?" Scott questioned her, unsure what message she meant.
"Who else is here?" Her voice was in a murmur for a second before it quickly turned to a shout, the desperation in her voice clear to the boys. "Who came with you? Who else is here?" The wolf turned around to look at his pale, sickly best friend who looked just as concerned as he did. The two began listing off names. Allison, Isaac, Kira. And the final one. Kinsey. "No. No, no, no. She's got to get out of here. Now!"
As the three began rushing back down the tunnel, Kinsey took the lead, running back to where her fight had been taking place, where her death took place. Lydia was desperate to stop it, but Kinsey knew, just as she had known for weeks, there was nothing that would stop her death. It was inevitable. And it seemed that she was about to see it, feel it, one last time before the death took place for real. She quickly found herself beside Allison again, looking at the huntress as she reached for her final arrow, a worried look across her face, she knew it was her last shot, if it did no harm, she was defenseless, Isaac too. He wasn't strong enough to fight against them, they'd torn him apart, down to his knees, Oni around him ready to end him with one more slash to his chest. Allison grabbed the arrow, pulling back her bow as she aimed for the Oni with its sword raised. It felt as though time slowed, every second counting on this single arrow. They watched as it flew through the air, landing in the chest of the Oni. The creature froze, as did they as they watched with slack jaws. Its weapon dropping to the floor, the ninja placed its hand on its chest. A greenish-yellow light emitted from its wound. Like a firefly.
The ground shook beneath them as the Oni perished into a cloud of dark smoke, defeated. The brunette girl looked to her right, a smile across her face as she looked at Allison, wondering if it was not in fact her death she was seeing, but whether it was her mind showing her how to defeat the Oni. And then she saw it. An Oni running straight towards them, the ninjato out stretched as it prepared for the hit.
With horror in her eyes Kinsey dropped her daggers, both of them clanging on the ground as she grabbed Allison's arms, spinning the two of them around just in time for the sword to pierce into her back, straight through her stomach, tearing through the flesh as she watched Allison's face, a scream of her name. A light faded out of her eyes as the sword was pulled back out of her, falling into Allison's arms as the two of them dropped to the floor, the older brunette sobbing.
Her scarlet blood stained her lips as she tried to cough out her words, her hands on her bloody wound, it was almost ironic, the shade of her blood was the same shade as the polish she wore.
"Kinsey. Kinsey. No, no, no. Kinsey, stay with me." Allison pleaded through her sob as she placed pressure on the wound.
"It's okay." Kinsey reassured her with a bloody smile. "It doesn't hurt. It's okay." She murmured.
"Kinsey."
"It's okay. It's okay." The brunette repeated. "I'm ready." She lied. "I love you."
With an ear-piercing scream, the brunette shot up in bed, the entire apartment shaking beneath it, the mirror opposite her bed shattering with the high-pitched squeal. A pair of arms had tightly wrapped around her, steadying her as she kicked, screamed, and cried, desperate to get out of it, the hell that was her own mind. The person who had their arms wrapped around her didn't care if the sound pierced their ears almost to the point of bleeding, if not deafness, they kept them on her, saying her name softly until she calmed down. Whimpering as she looked around her, trying to make sure that she wasn't still there. That she didn't have to relive it in so much detail again.
Her uncle stood in the doorway of her bedroom, slowly lowering his hands from his ears, worry across his face as he looked back at the girl. The same worried expression that he'd felt since he had gotten home, finding her in her bed, seemingly sound asleep as Allison and Isaac sat around her, waiting for her to wake up. None of them were quite sure what had happened to her, only a few details Deaton had been able to provide them with. He'd told them about what Scott had to do to get into Stiles's head, to separate him from the other Stiles, Void Stiles. And how she was a part of that too, how she had to go in there with him. Deaton still wasn't sure how Void managed to escape with Lydia, they were all too focused on the creature materializing from the floor, but what he did tell them was that when they had turned around Lydia was gone. And after that the brunette had passed out, hitting her head with a loud thud on the laminate flooring.
Kinsey turned her head from her uncle, finding Allison standing to the left of her bed, horror in her eyes, that same kind of horror that she'd seen in her eyes during her nightmare. Her hands hadn't been on her ears like Chris's had, but over her mouth as she too whimpered, no matter how many times she saw Kinsey go through it, every time she screamed like that, it scared her, terrified her. It would never be something she got used to, watching it would never get easier to stomach. She hoped that gene of hers would never click. She couldn't handle it as well as Kins.
After noticing that neither her uncle nor her cousin was the ones with their arms still wrapped around her, the brunette turned to look behind her with a furrowed brow, wondering who the person was. Isaac was the last person she expected to see looking back at her, not after the last interaction they'd had. There was worry in his eyes too, not a hint of anger inside of him, only concern for his girlfriend who looked back at him with soft, sorrowful eyes.
Chris and Allison took that as their cue to leave as the man guided his daughter out of the room, allowing the two of them a chance to talk, they all knew it was needed, now that they all knew of her secret with Stiles. The one Void made sure Isaac found out about.
"Y-Your here." Kinsey stammered for words, unable to hide her surprise. Isaac nodded, he didn't know why she would even question him being here, even if things were uncertain between them he would never not run to her aid. "Why?" She asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?" He asked with a furrowed brow. "Because I got possessed by some fly for a few hours?" Isaac mocked, a slight laugh. Though it had cleared a few things up for Kinsey, why he had acted so weird, plotting revenge on the twins. Kinsey stammered again, wondering if the wolf didn't remember what had happened, that he had been told the truth by Void, giving her a chance to tell him herself, the right way, how it should have been done a long time ago. "Kinsey, you don't have to try and say it. I remember." He informed her, calmly.
"You do?" She reiterated, Isaac nodded again. "I'm so sorry. I-"
"Have feelings for someone that you've endured hell with? Who you have an entire history with in the space of a few months?" Isaac asked, taking the girl by surprise, how well he was taking it, or at least how well he seemed to be taking it. "Sounds familiar. Don't you think?" He shrugged. "I get it, I do. And I'm not mad. I mean- I'm not thrilled, but I understand. I knew."
"You knew?"
"Obviously. Everyone knew. Stiles didn't exactly try to hide it, and well, we all know you better than you think we do."
"Your- Your not mad?" She mumbled with surprise.
"No." He shrugged. "Because you chose me. Even after you kissed him in the locker room, you still chose me. You could have spent your entire summer with him, but you chose me. Maybe part of you does love Stiles, but I know that you love me too. More."
Kinsey nodded as she looked away, he wasn't wrong. She felt a lot of love for Stiles, she always had and as far as she knew, she always would, but the feelings she shared for the two boys had differences, a lot of them. They weren't the same kinds of love, perhaps because of the story of her and the two boys, their relationships had always been different. Both were unexpected, she had been caught in a whirlwind, but they had both started and progressed so differently. Kinsey still couldn't help but feel surprised by his reaction, she had expected screaming and fighting, it was the entire reason she had been so scared to tell him, in case she lost him. Unsure what she was supposed to say next, the brunette avoided eye contact as she looked around them, then it caught her attention. Clothes were laid out on the chair in the corner of her room, Allison must have put them there, but that wasn't why they stood out. It was that they were the ones she had been wearing in her nightmare when she died.
The brunette didn't say anything else as she jumped out of bed, picking up the clothes, making the most of the day, she had a best friend to find, goodbyes to say. Today was her last day. Isaac sat on the girl's bed, watching as she paced around the room after getting dressed, frantic as if there weren't enough hours in the day to find Lydia. He knew it was urgent, of course, it was, but Kinsey was running around like a headless chicken, filing through all of her drawers to look for something, last time he had seen her like this, it ended in them finding a dead body. Because of that, he had to ask if the scream she had unleashed when she had woken up had been a death prediction. Just the mention of the word "death" had shaken Kinsey as she paused, looking over at the wolf, forgetting how to speak as she stared at him until she finally learned again, telling him that it was just a nightmare, nothing to worry about. There were bigger problems at hand. A death, yes, but he didn't need to know those details.
After filing through every drawer in her room Kinsey finally found a notepad, confusing the wolf even more than he already was. With all of her frantic movements, he didn't expect that to be the thing that she was searching for. As she held the notepad in her hand she looked at the wolf sitting on her bed, asking if he would be able to give her a moment. Naturally, as her concerned boyfriend, he had to ask what she was doing with it. Another lie escaping her mouth as she said that she was going to try and communicate with Lydia somehow, needing space to do so. Isaac didn't argue with that, it seemed fair, he asked no further questions as he left her alone, going to ask Argent if he could do anything to help them find Lydia.
Kinsey stared down at the blank notepad, taking a deep breath as she wrote the first word.
𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯,
Her hand trembled around the pen, her eyes filling with tears, dropping onto the paper, trying to think how she was supposed to say goodbye, to anyone, but especially to Allison, she'd already wimped out by writing it in a letter rather than saying it to her in person, but she had seen how it happened, how quick she faded away in her cousin's arms, if she didn't write her goodbyes, she wouldn't be able to give them. It was hard putting an entire life into words.
There wasn't a day that the two of them hadn't spoken to one another since they'd learned how to talk. They had been through things no other pair should have been through. They'd grown up together, and grown in other ways together too. They'd trained as a pair. They were a package deal, where there was Kinsey, there was Allison. It had never not been that way. They were each other's other half, the shoulder to cry on, a love that no boyfriend or anyone else could ever give to them. And now, they were losing that. Pulled apart by the thing that seemed to pull apart all Argents- death. It was their personal family curse.
So Kinsey knew that she couldn't make her letter a said goodbye, or one at all. She knew that it wasn't a complete goodbye, not when they were what they were, it was a see you later. One day the two would be reunited by the gene inside of them, the angel gene, Allison would come to it one day, she was sure of it. Great sacrifice? Pure of heart? That was Allison. Whether it be by the time she was eighteen or eighty, Allison would come to her abilities, and perhaps then, the two of them could see each other as often as they liked, still as connected as they are today. Kinsey tried not to dwell on the sadness of her passing in her letter, but to make sure that Allison knew why it was happening, and how she was supposed to deal with it, not how they had dealt with Kate's death, or Victoria's. Allison wasn't to cry, but to live, for both of them. To do all the things that they had planned together. So that one day when they did reunite, Allison would have more stories to tell her than Kinsey knew what to do with. She would have a beautiful family to carry on the Argent family line, hunters in training, continuing their lineage.
𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯.
Kinsey stood either between Allison and Isaac, all three of them staring through a metal fence at Lydia's abandoned blue car, they had found it quicker than they had anticipated, thankfully, the redhead's new car had come with tracking, something that all of them considered installing into their cars if disappearances were going to become a regular occurrence.
A large sign hung on the metal fence "no trespassing", it read. Not as though that had ever been something to stop any of them. Kinsey and Allison both looked at the large lock keeping the gate shut, their heads turning to Isaac in unison, he was the only one strongest to break it, they'd left their bolt cutters in an abandoned bank a long time ago. With a roll of his eyes, Isaac grabbed the chain, slowly pulling apart the metal until it was unlinked, the lock easily snapping off in his hand as he opened the gate for them, making it clear why they brought him along.
"The scents strong with emotion." Isaac mumbled as they stepped closer to the car.
"Fear?" Allison asked.
He corrected her. "Anger."
"That's our Lydia." Kinsey scoffed with a smile. "Let's see what else we can find."
Isaac and Allison nodded in agreement as they began looking around the car, the wolf looking under it while the older huntress scoured inside of it. Kinsey headed for the trunk of the car, it was open, much to her surprise, and pleasure. It was empty, expected of Lydia since it was still new, the only thing Lydia had ever kept in the trunk of her car was a spare pair of heels. Kinsey leaned in further to the boot, a small ball of white in the corner of her eye as she reached for it, both Isaac and Allison shouting to see if she had found anything, but she reassured them that she hadn't. Kinsey pulled out the small ball of white, a crumpled up piece of paper, a note. She unraveled it quietly, surprised to find Lydia's handwriting on it. A message. A clear one at that.
Don't find me. Kinsey remembered how she'd heard the redhead ask Scott if he had gotten her message, these were the kinds of messages she was leaving. Ones to stop them from coming, she had seen it too now. It was when the Nogitsune had touched them at Scott's house, he had used their connection, sharing Kinsey's death with both of them. Now, Lydia was desperate to stop her best friend's death, by stopping everyone, perhaps even killing herself to do it.
Isaac and Allison had already climbed inside of the car to find more clues while Kinsey stood at the trunk of the car, hiding the note in her jacket pocket as she slammed it shut, ignoring it and every other message Lydia would try to send her.
The two in the car had been discussing the day of Isaac's change in personality, when he'd been possessed by a fly, when he had almost gotten his revenge for Allison hurting him last year with her daggers. But that wasn't the part Allison focused on or the wolf at all. She was concerned for Kinsey, she had been different lately, too different, she wondered if she had said anything to him that she felt like she couldn't tell her. Isaac had agreed that his girlfriend had been off lately, he'd put it down to the secret she was trying to keep, how she was scared of the outcome, but even in the past few hours, when it wasn't a secret anymore, she knew that he knew, she was still acting strange. Something was bothering her, and she wasn't willing to tell anyone.
Isaac opened his mouth, but hesitated, choosing not to talk about it. Allison wouldn't want to know that. Except, she did. She pushed him, urging him to tell her before Kinsey gave up looking around the outside of Lydia's car for clues. With a little more hesitation, he gave in, telling Allison about the night before he wasn't himself, trying not to give her too much detail about what led to it, Allison had caught on on her own. But he emphasized what Kinsey had said to him, how it didn't seem like a normal I love you, there was something different about it. Isaac struggled for words that explained it, but Allison managed to finish his sentence. It felt like she was saying her goodbyes to him.
With that thought the two of them sat back in the seats of Lydia's car, they could still hear Kinsey outside of the car, fiddling with every part of the car, wondering if there was some kind of hidden compartment, even in the fuel cap. Allison turned to her left, looking at the car window, an urge came over her as she furrowed her brow at it. She hadn't done it in a long time, she hadn't had a reason to now that she wasn't with Scott, but for some reason, her mind told her to do it. Allison took a deep breath, breathing onto the window until it was condensated revealing a message.
Don't find me. It read. Allison and Isaac turned to one another with a look of concern, startled as Kinsey appeared at the condensated window, right behind the message. Neither of them said a word as they looked at Kinsey, expecting her to know what the message meant, Lydia had to be the one who left it, who else? And Kinsey was connected to Lydia. But the brunette acted just as surprised as them. Shrugging her shoulders, not even taking a guess. Allison stared at Kinsey as the brunette quickly wiped the message off of Lydia's car window, her brows knitted.
·❥·
"I had a feeling I'd find you two down here." Chris smiled as he walked into his workshop, both his niece and daughter sat at the workbench, Allison dismantling the sight on her crossbow as Kinsey sat beside her, sharpening her daggers, she knew she would need them tonight.
The two brunettes looked at him, faint smiles before they turned back to their weapons, he had trained them well, preparing their weapons when a battle felt like it was approaching and they certainly had that feeling now, Void wouldn't go down without a fight, they didn't need a kind of premonition to know that. Allison admitted that the two of them had come down here because they couldn't handle sitting around and doing nothing while they waited for news, whether it be on Lydia or the girl who had gone missing from Eichen, Meredith, a girl who might just be of use to them. Stiles suggested that she might be like Lydia and Kinsey from what he had seen of her at Eichen, but as Stilinski went to speak to her, she had escaped the institution. Isaac had joined in on the search to find her, leaving the two huntresses to their own devices until he knew more.
As Allison explained everything to her father, catching him up, she began growing frustrated, she felt useless, as did Kinsey. The brunette's frustration began to show as she struggled to properly dismantle the sight of her crossbow, no matter how many times she turned the screwdriver they saw no difference, it too was useless. Chris grabbed ahold of his daughter's hand.
"Leave it for now, hmm?" He suggested, despite her urge to do something Allison put down the screwdriver, Kinsey putting down her daggers. "I have something else for you both to do." Chris proposed as he kneeled down to his safe, both girls furrowing their brows at him as they turned on their stools. "Something we should have done a long time ago."
He placed a small black briefcase on the bench in front of them, their eyes widening at the sight, rows upon rows of silver bars, all engraved with the Argent symbol, the logo of their family, their business, the girls both very familiar with it by now. Chris placed a hand on their shoulders, all looking down at the silver bars, announcing that it was time the two of them finally graduated. It had been a long time coming, he had known they were ready for a long time, but he didn't want to rush, now, he could see the two of them needed it. Their faces lit up as they looked at the man with smiles from ear to ear, in some disbelief that they were ready. A warmth spread through the younger brunette, one she hadn't felt in a long time. She couldn't think of a better way to tell her uncle goodbye, or to her life, to all she had achieved, one last achievement before she left. She'd die a fully trained hunter.
Chris began explaining the process, explaining all of the tools they needed, slight intervals of the day that he had done it for himself, he couldn't express enough how proud of them he was, how much they had both accomplished in their young lives, most of which being in the past year they had spent in Beacon Hills, not even a year yet, actually. The two of them had never failed him, he felt as though they were his biggest accomplishment, above all of the hunting he had done, they were the thing he was most proud of. They were still young, things that he had learned in twenty years they had learned in ten months. And now, they were ready to graduate. He was eighteen in his graduation, Allison was eighteen in a few months, Kinsey edging on seventeen, her birthday only a month and two days away.
"Remember, you can start over." Chris explained as he lay the bowl of melted silver down. "I was a bit of a perfectionist about it myself, I always wanted the seal to look just right." He explained as he held up his silver bullet.
He himself had made six bullets, but he'd used them all, only at a close range, though. Chris told them that despite legends, it wasn't as accurate as lead, what he currently used. He stood up to leave the room, prepared to let them have this moment alone, together. It was a special day, he knew the two of them might want to do it together, they did everything together. Before he left Kinsey asked about her mother, her graduation. Until then, Kinsey hadn't really thought about her mother graduating as a hunter, she forgot her mother was a hunter at all, only an arsonist. It was then that Chris informed his niece that Kate hadn't made a bullet in her graduation, in fact, she wore her mother's around her neck. Kate had made a necklace, a locket. The one she wore.
Kinsey was surprised as she held the necklace in her hand, even more sentiment than she knew, her mother had never been sentimental, the necklace was as sentimental as she got, her mother had always told her that it was something to do with Kinsley, her grandmother, she probably did it so her daughter didn't see her as soft, but the truth had come out now. Even a snippet of Kate Argent had been soft, at least at one point in her life, a very long time ago.
"I think we should use our own molds." Allison announced.
"You have a bullet mould?" Her father questioned, he wouldn't put it past them.
"No, not a bullet. An arrowhead and a dagger. Our weapons. Those are our weapons, so I think we should make those." The older brunette suggested.
Chris smiled at the two of them, Kinsey seemed to agree with the idea as she smiled, nodding in agreement with Allison who sought her approval, the two of them had never been ones for rules, apparently, their graduation was just another thing that the two of them were changing about the hunters they were, just like they had changed the code. As proud as ever, Chris planted a kiss on the girls' foreheads, Allison stopped him once again before he left. She had a few more things to say of her own.
"Dad... If something happens..."
"Hey, hey." He stopped her. "You don't need to worry about me."
"Well, yeah. I didn't get to say anything to mom."
"You didn't need to say anything. And I'm going to be around a long time. We all are. I promise."
Kinsey bowed her head, it hadn't gone unnoticed by her older cousin, glancing at her as Kinsey fiddled with her fingers knowing that statement wasn't true, Allison suspected that it wasn't too, she was beginning to piece together the puzzle, and now, she believed she was seeing it in full, it seemed she knew what was going to happen tonight.
"Then take it as a reminder." Allison proposed. "Maybe you don't need to hear it, but I need to know that I said it. I love you. I'm proud of you. Uh, I'm proud of us." She said with tearful eyes as she grabbed ahold of Kinsey's hand, both weakly smiling at one another.
Chris pulled the two of them into a hug, spending a few minutes in blissful silence, refusing to let go of one another as they held onto one another as tight as ever, for the last time they would do this, all three of them together, wrapped in each others arms providing each other with comfort. It was the last time the three of them would prevail together. After tonight, only two would.
While wrapped in the hug, Kinsey's phone began to ring. With sniffles, the three pulled away, she pulled out her phone to see Stiles's name on her screen, the kind of call that they had waited for. Finally, some news. She answered the call, asking the brunette to get to Scott's house as soon as she could, they had Meredith, now they needed her. Kinsey agreed to come as soon as possible, but she had one more thing to do before she did. She was about to leave, but before she did she stopped beside Allison, grabbing a hold of her hand as she asked her to do a favor. It was the last favor she would be able to ask for. She asked Allison to complete her mould. Not in the mould of a dagger, but an arrowhead.
"But you use a dagger, don't you want that?" Allison questioned softly.
With a tear rolling down her face Kinsey shook her head. "No." She mumbled. "Because my sister uses an arrowhead, we have this habit of sticking together."
·❥·
Kinsey walked out of the apartment, prepared to drive herself to the McCall house, but she lost her chance, as soon as she walked out of the building she had found a blue Jeep sat waiting for her, Scott and Stiles had opted for picking her up instead, a slight detour, Scott had his phone in his hand, about to call her and tell her that there had been a change in their plan, at least in the part of her making her own way to the house. The brunette furrowed her brows as she saw a girl sitting in the back of the Jeep, she looked petrified, she couldn't blame the girl, she had had to endure Stiles's ravid driving, and well, if she was right to assume, she was Meredith, a girl who'd escaped an metal institution today. It was no surprise that she looked in a constant state of fear.
Stiles gave the two girls a quick introduction as Kinsey climbed in the back of the Jeep, as Kinsey held out her hand to shake Meredith's the other girl had stared down at it, confused by it, almost a look of disgust as she stared at it. Kinsey sighed, shaking it off, choosing not to focus on the girl and her slightly strange aura, they had a redheaded banshee to find, an escapee to question and protect from Brunski, according to Stiles. Though Kinsey had no idea who Brunski was, she had already agreed to help them as best as she could, unsure what they respected her to do.
Riddled with anticipating the four of them had rushed in through Scott's back door, tripping on their own feet at the sight of Rafael standing in the kitchen, his arms folded as he looked at them with his victim beside him, Isaac sat with a frustrated smile as he looked at his girlfriend, he had been listening to Rafael drone on for the past hour, not helping Scott like he had intended to do when he had left her and Allison. It was the worst hour of his life, and he had spent hours locked in a freezer by his father. This topped that. He hated Rafael with every fiber of his being.
Scott questioned his father on what he was doing here, he deflected with same question, Kinsey quickly answering that it was their free period, Stiles adding that they were doing a group study.
"Who's she?" Rafael asked.
"Kinsey. You've met." Stiles deadpanned, hoping to deflect. But Rafael narrowed his eyes, it was clear he wasn't talking about Kinsey, they had met, multiple times in fact. "She's my girlfriend." He answered, throwing his arm over Meredith's shoulder, the girl cringing.
"You're not my type." Meredith deadpanned. A slight grin grew across Kinsey and Isaac's faces as they glanced at one another, struggling to compose themselves as they both looked down at the ground. Stiles tried to continue the lie, suggesting that he and his girlfriend had a few things that they should talk about upstairs, Meredith had other plans."He's my type." Meredith added with a flirtatious smile, looking straight at Isaac.
Kinsey's head shot up at, her lip curling in anger at the strange girl from Eichen. She had stepped forward, her fist clenched, prepared to fight for Isaac, she was already sick of Meredith after all of the looks she had been giving her on the ride over here, coming after her boyfriend was the final straw. Before Kinsey managed to step too close to Meredith, Scott had pulled her back, warning her to put away the metaphorical claws as she retreated, standing with folded arms.
"Okay. Isaac, you can come too." Stiles mumbled. Kinsey looked at him with wide eyes, silently questioning if he was really going to let Meredith in the close vicinity of her boyfriend when she had just admitted that he was her type, and she hadn't been afraid to flirt with her expressions either, who knew what the girl would do with an empty room. "And Kinsey." He sighed.
Stiles began leading Meredith upstairs, Isaac and Kinsey following behind. "I'm gonna kill her." Kinsey mumbled to her boyfriend as they trailed behind.
Half an hour. That was how long Meredith had been sat on the edge of Scott's bed, looking up at the three teenagers who crowded around her, each taking it in turns to describe Lydia Martin, a girl that they had all been convinced Meredith already knew about. Kinsey wasn't entirely sure if she believed Meredith knew Lydia, nor was she sure why everyone was so convinced she did. It wasn't as if Lydia donated her time to mental institutions, not unless there was a mall hidden in there somewhere. Otherwise, she would avoid it like the plague. Still, she tried to be supportive and help describe Lydia. A five foot three strawberry blonde never seen without heels or her hair done, angry 99% of the time and as Isaac added, surprisingly strong, recalling the time she had dragged him through the entire school halls with ease.
"Lydia?" Meredith repeated. "The redhead girl?"
While Stiles saw that as progress, Kinsey saw it as her repeating something that had been said at least thirteen times since they had come upstairs, but she kept her mouth quiet as she paced the room, her hands running through her hair, strongly considering killing Meredith before she tried to actually help, so far, she had done nothing of the sorts. While they worked on Meredith Kinsey walked around the room trying to remember her dream, she could visualise the place that she'd saw her death, clearly, but what she struggled to remember was where that was, she knew that she had seen the name on the gates, but she could no longer envision it, her mind was blank. It was gone, as if someone had snatched it away just when she needed to know it. Then Meredith could go back to Eichen, she would be useless, well, she still was useless.
"Now all you need to do is tell us where she is." Stiles proposed.
"Okay." Meredith deadpans. "If she tells me."
"If... If she tells you?" Isaac repeated with confusion. "Uh, can you ask her?"
"I already did." Meredith shrugged.
"Perfect. Perfect." Stiles nodded. "What did she say?"
"She said..." Meredith paused, for a very long time. "She doesn't want to be found."
Kinsey scoffed from the corner of the room, she felt as though she was going insane, Isaac had looked over at her with concern, he could tell too that she was losing it, now wasn't the time for Lydia to be stubborn and not tell them or Meredith where she was. If Kinsey didn't die from the Oni stabbing her in the stomach she was going to die of her brain exploding in frustration. Stiles pulled both Isaac and Kinsey aside to Scott's bathroom, prepared to re-evaluate what they were doing so that they actually got some answers out of Meredith, both halves of the couple came to the same conclusion, torturing the answer out of her, Stiles on the other hand, didn't agree. She had just escaped Eichen, that was enough torture for a lifetime.
Isaac tried to take it back, changing his answer to scaring her, but Stiles insisted that the two of them weren't allowed to psychologically torture Meredith either, much to Kinsey's dismay, she sat with folded arms, eyes narrowed at the girl on Scott's bed. As the brunette stared at her she wondered if they had been taking the wrong approach, simply questioning her wasn't enough.
Kinsey turned to Stiles, questioning him, asking if he said she heard things, like a banshee, like an angel. He nodded, at least he suspected that Meredith was like her and Lydia somehow. The brunette nodded before asking why they weren't approaching Meredith like that, telling her to tap into those abilities just like she and Lydia did whenever they wanted to know something, it had been done to them plenty of times before. Hell, Stiles had pulled out every trick in the book to get Lydia to find Deaton during the reign of the Darach. Maybe that was what they had to do with Meredith, appeal to her abilities.
The two boys looked at one another, nodding in agreement, that was their new plan. Stiles took the lead, allowing Kinsey to sit in the corner of the room again, hoping that some focus would let her remember the name of where she had been last night.
"Okay, just to try focus on the sounds around you." Stiles urged softly. "On what you're hearing."
"Yeah." Isaac nodded.
"Just focus on the silence."
"Listen to the silence." Isaac chimed again.
"Focusing on the silence."
"Listening to the...
"Okay, will you just let me handle this, Isaac. Please?" Stiles interrupted him. "I just... I have more experience with these kinds of things. Banshee's. Angel's."
Isaac looked at him, questioning if he really believed that. "I'm dating one."
"I've known her longer." Stiles deadpanned.
"Oh, my God!" Kinsey shouted, jumping up from the chair in the corner of the room.
Kinsey moved both of the boys aside, taking it into her own hands as she knelt down in front of Meredith, Angel to whatever kind of supernatural creature Meredith was. Isaac and Stiles took a step back, standing with folded arms as they watched the brunette try to work her magic. Kinsey took a deep breath, trying to think about what she would do if it was her trying to hear, but she'd never got the chance. Meredith had spoke before her, asking if she was going to answer it. Kinsey looked at Isaac and Stiles, confused, turning back to the girl, asking what they needed to answer since she didn't have a clue. The phone, Meredith said.
Stiles chimed in, asking what phone. Kinsey turned to him. The phone, she told him, whatever it meant. The boy pulled out his phone, placing it to his ear, talking to someone who wasn't there, after a few seconds of fake talking, he insisted that the call was for Meredith, handing the phone to her. Meredith placed the phone to her ear, nodding a few times, leaving the three watching in anticipation. She put it back down, handing it to Kinsey. Coup de fourde.
The two boys stammered, unsure what that meant, or even what language it was, Kinsey knew it was French, what it meant was what she was unsure of. Just in time, Scott walked in. He knew it and that wasn't all he knew. He knew where Lydia was. A place called Oak Creek. Kinsey's brows knitted at the name, it was familiar, yet not familiar at all. She didn't know if that was the place it took place, where she had been last night. Either way, it was time to find Lydia.
None of them had ever rushed out of the door as quickly as they had in that moment, each teen nearly tripping over one another as they raced downstairs, trying to get to the Jeep. They called Eichen, letting them know that they had found the missing girl, telling them Scott's address, but they couldn't wait. They didn't have time. Multiple things told them that.
One. Kinsey's mind, she felt the clock ticking in her head. Two. It was nightfall. Three. Stiles. He looked terrible, as though he was dying. His time was running out, perhaps quicker than that of Kinsey's. During the drive to Oak Creek, his condition worsened, nobody failed to notice it. The entire car ride had been in silence because of it. Scott kept peering in the rear view mirror at the couple in the back, seeing if they noticed it too, both giving sly signals that they had. Kinsey had grown nervous quickly as she sat in the car, seeing Stiles deteriating, knowing that she would be dead soon. Her hands began to shake, her breaths trembling, though she tried to hide it, Isaac grabbed ahold of her hand, trying to calm her, steadying them. She looked at him with a feigned smile across her face, he had no idea what he was about to witness, that by the morning, she'd be gone, he wouldn't have a girlfriend to comfort anymore.
Kinsey mouthed one more time. I love you. Making sure he knew. One last time.
"Hey, you okay?" Stiles asked as he looked at the wolf beside him.
"Mm-hmm." Scott hummed. "You don't have to worry about me." He added, trying to imply it was himself he needed to worry about, but he wasn't sure Stiles got the memo.
So Isaac made sure he did. "All right, I'm gonna say it. You look like you're dying." Kinsey had quickly nudged him in his side while Scott turned around, both giving him a look of warning, he ignored them both. "You're pale, and you're thin, and you look like you're getting worse. We're all sitting here thinking it. When we find the other you, is he gonna look like he's getting better?"
"What happens if he gets hurt?" Scott asked hesitantly.
"What do you mean?" Stiles questioned. "Like if he dies, then do I die? I don't care. Just as long as no one else dies because of me."
Kinsey's grip on Isaac hand tightened at those words, clearly, it made her uncomfortable as she swallowed the lump in her throat, she wished she could grant him that wish, but she couldn't, she was going to leave behind a wreckage, a lack of hope, guilt and blame. As long as it meant Void would be killed, she could accept that. Perhaps she wasn't ready like she kept trying to tell herself, hoping one day it would become true, but she knew that her death would be worthwhile somehow. That it would be the beginning of the end.
The rest of the car ride remained silent, nobody wanted to speak, afraid that it would be filled by Stiles' goodbyes if the worse did happen. Kinsey didn't know whether Stiles would die with Void, she didn't make it that far, her mind wouldn't let her see that part, she wished she knew, maybe then she could spend some of her last moments trying to do something that would save him. It should have been like that, but it wasn't. She'd die not knowing what happened next, whether it really was a worthwhile death, she would only know if she ended up in an afterlife like her aunt's where she could look over them. Who knew if she would. Whether she was worthy of such peace that whoever controlled it all believed she deserved to watch her loved one's lives play out.
As they pulled up to Oak Creek Allison and Kira were just getting out of the car in front of them, a weapon in each of their hands. Her cousin with her crossbow, Kira with her katana. As Kinsey got out of the Jeep she pulled her daggers out of the brown boots on her feet, looking down at them and the hands that held them tightly, the scarlet red fingernails, the curled hair on her head, the clothes she was wearing. She looked up at the steel gates where Allison and Kira waited.
This was it. She looked around and she knew. Tonight was the night she died. Here.
Everyone shared nervous looks, most unaware what they were about to walk into. There really was fear in the unknown, and this, this was as unbeknownst some of them would ever be.
"We've done this before guys." Scott announced, looking between his friends, his pack. "Just a couple of weeks ago we were standing around just like this and we saved Malia, remember?" A nod was shared across the group. "That was a total stranger. This is Lydia."
"I'm here to save my best friend." Allison insisted.
"I came to save mine."
"I'm here because Kinsey made me come." Isaac deadpanned with a shrug, another nuge into his side. "And to save Lydia and Stiles, I guess..."
On that note, the group began walking into Oak Creek, led by the couple who stood close to one another, scared to seperate just yet, Allison walked close behind Kinsey, just as eager to keep her at arms length, she knew it was necessary. Kinsey pointed down to the tunnels, urging Scott and Stiles to look down there for Lydia, they didn't ask questions, she was an Angel, they knew they would be stupid not to follow something she said. Meanwhile, the rest of them walked further in to the camp, the site of the fight, the death and the heartbreak.
What Kinsey didn't expect was to be met with Noshiko, flanked by two Oni. The woman urged her daughter to go home, to take her friends with her, an order none of them cared for. Allison drew her crossbow, Kinsey spinning the daggers in her hands, prepared to use them against an Oni tonight, Isaac extending his claws in preparation. Kira told her mother that when she had looked at the game she knew who she was really playing, her.
Allison drew on one of the Oni, demanding that Kira's mother call them off, but Noshiko did nothing but mock the huntress, laughing at their bravery, stupidity, telling them they couldn't keep Stiles alive, they couldn't save him, she tried that seventy years ago, how their friend was gone now. Another thing Kira didn't care for, suggesting that Stiles doesn't have to die, maybe Rhys didn't have to die, whoever that was, Kinsey and the other two didn't quite know who he was, someone who clearly meant a lot to Kira's mother.
Noshiko smiled at her daughter, she was no longer the fox. Kira was. But the fact remained, the Nogitsune was still her demon to bury. As she spoke those words, the Oni disappeared into the puff of black smoke once again.
It was only a matter of seconds after the Oni disappeared that Noshiko took a deep breath, she seemed startled as she opened her hand, a dying firefly in her palm, quickly disappearing into the same puff of black smoke. The teenagers all wanted to know the same thing. What was it? The answer was simple, but it wasn't one that Noshiko gave them. A voice came from behind, a familiar one. With weapons drawn they whipped around, Void stood with his smug smirk, each of the Oni around him, there had been a change in ownership.
That was where the final battle begun. The Oni rushed towards each of the teenagers, taking on each of them, weapons flying through the air, metal clanging off each other as Kinsey's daggers hit their ninjato's, Kira's katana too. Most of the group had been separated in the fight, pushed back by the Oni until only Allison and Kinsey stood side by side.
For a while, they were doing well, until they weren't. Kinsey saw the shift, how did she know? It resembled her dream, where everyone was stood was identical, two Oni on Isaac as he swung a claw or two at their chests, they dodged every hit. She knew in that moment, these were her last ones. She didn't stop fighting. The Oni closest to her remained fighting her, her dagger hitting it time and time again, yet to prove of worth.
Every arrow that Allison thre their way was split in half by the Oni's ninjatos, dropping down to the floor, Kinsey looked at every opportunity, keeping count of the arrows left in her bag, waiting for that moment she turned to only see one. The arrows were her clock. Each one brought her to her death, closer to it. She could feel it building up inside of her, she wasn't sure if it was how her death was supposed to feel to an Angel, or if this was how anyone who knew they were going to die would feel as the moment drew closer.
Scott and Stiles continued running through the tunnels, following Scott's scent on the redhead, a maze of tunnels around them, hardly any light for most of their running, until their was a small one at the end of the tunnel. Scott's running picked up, telling his best friend behind him that it was Lydia, they had found her, and they had, the two rushed up to a small metal gate, Lydia was there, alone, standing in a small cylinder, meeting them at the gate.
"No. No, no, no." Lydia's panicked voice mumbled as she looked at the two boys. "Wait. Why are you here?"
"Lydia." Stiles deadpanned. "We're here for you."
"You weren't supposed to be here." Lydia began panting, freaking out at the two of them. "You didn't get my message?" She asked as she looked at the werewolf with tears in her eyes. There had been many messages that she had sent. Particualry to the two she hoped would listen the most, the ones who would understand it. Allison and Kinsey. But she could see now, her mission had failed.
"Lydia, what's happening?" Scott questioned her, unsure what message she meant.
"Who else is here?" Her voice was in a murmur for a second before it quickly turned to a shout, the desperation in her voice clear to the boys. "Who came with you? Who else is here?" The wolf turned around to look at his pale, sickly best friend who looked just as concerned as he did. The two began listing off names. Allison, Isaac, Kira. And the final one. Kinsey. "No. No, no, no. She's got to get out of here. Now!"
"What? Why?" Stiles couldn't wrap his head around what she was trying to say. So Lydia made it very clear to him. She didn't slur her words, there was no time for that now, if Kinsey hadn't said it then she would do it for her. Kinsey Argent was going to die.
Kinsey looked beside herself again, watching as Allison reached for her final arrow, a silver one, one that she had made just tonight in honour of their graduation. That was the arrow that would kill the Oni. It was a detail Kinsey hadn't known before, her dream didn't allow her to see what led up to her death, the fact that she graduated, that she managed to spend one last moment in the arms of her uncle and Allison before she died. A moment all of them would treasure for what part of their lives they spent unable to do it again. Kinsey turned back to her Oni, he was gone, it had appeared at Isaac's side, most of the Oni surrounding her boyfriend as he struggled to fight all of them off. Slashes across his chest, slowing dropping him to his knees.
There was worry across Allison's face as she pulled back her arrow, she knew it was her last shot, worried it would do no harm, they would be left defenseless, Isaac would be too. Dead. Killed by an Oni, at the hands of the Nogitsune. He wasn't strong enough to fight them alone. Not now, it had gotten to that point of the night, to that point of the dream.
With a deep breath Allison shot the arrow, both her and her cousin's eyes watching as it flew through the air, even if Kinsey had known the outcome, she still felt some satisfaction in seeing it again, forgetting about what came next just for a moment, relishing in the victory that came before the end. Proud of Allison for one last time, when she could watch her from aside, not an afterlife she wasn't sure she would get. Time slowed, just like it had in the dream. It whistled as it flew through the air, landing in the chest of the Oni. The creature froze, dropping its weapons, its hands moving to hold its chest as the glow emitted from it, that greenish-yellow color of those fireflies.
As the ground shook beneath them the Oni perished, another dark cloud of smoke. One down. Another one to go, this one, not an Oni. The brunette girl looked to her right, a smile across her face as she looked at Allison, one last time, she thought to herself. She watched as the Oni had appeared behind her cousin with its sword at the ready, prepared to hit her.
Her eyes grew wide with horror just as they had before, dropping her weapons to the floor, the metal clanging against the concrete. Just as Kinsey went to grab Allison's arms, prepared to spin her around, avoiding the hit, things changed. Allison had grabbed onto her first, looking her in the eye, stopping her from moving, even more horror in Kinsey's eyes, a light fading out of Alli's as the sword was pushed into her back, straight through her stomach, tearing the flesh. The Oni pulled it back out, taking Allison's life with it, their legs falling weak beneath them.
The ground shook again as Kinsey screamed her cousin's name, another scream paired with it, that of her partner, her banshee half. Lydia had felt it too. Allison Argent had taken the hit.
Allison Argent would be the one who died tonight.
Kinsey sobbed as the two of them dropped to the floor, wrapping Allison in her arms as she shook her head, refusing to believe it. This wasn't how it worked.
"No, no, no." Kinsey sobbed as she placed her hand on Allison's bleeding wound, her scarlet blood stained her lips as she tried to cough out her words, her own hands meeting Kinsey's on her bloody wound, it was almost ironic, the shade of her blood was the same shade as the polish she wore. "This wasn't supposed to happen." Kinsey whimpered. "What have you done?"
The other Oni faded into the darkness, Kira rushing to her mother, Isaac dropping to his knees as he watched his girlfriend sob with her dying cousin in her arms. Scott watched from the gate, he was stuck in shell shock, unable to move as he watched the love of his lie slowly die.
"It's okay," Allison reassued her with a bloody smile. "Kinsey, it's okay."
"It was supposed to be." Kinsey sobbed. "It was supposed to be me." She repeated.
"I'm okay. It's okay. It doesn't hurt."
"Allison."
"Is Lydia okay? Did they find her? Can you feel her?" Kinsey nodded as tears streamed down her face, she could feel Lydia, she could feel her pain, how she felt the same as she did knowing that Allison was withering away with every breath that she took. She was at her end. "It's perfect." The brunette smiled through her blood. "I'm in the arms of my best friend. My sister."
"Please don't leave me." Kinsey begged. "I can't do this without you."
Allison nodded. She knew that she could. She was sure of it. "Kinsey..." The girl spluttered. "I felt it." She admitted. Kinsey's mouth gaped slightly, she didn't have to hear the words to know what Allison meant. She had felt her death, she'd known to stop her, it wasn't a whim. At some point, the older brunette felt it, she'd seen it and felt it how an Angel felt it. "I love you, Kinsey." Allison took another staggered breath. "You have to... You have to tell my Dad..."
With one final breath, Allison Argent was gone. Her eyes slowly closing as she let death in. Her gloved hand dropping to the floor. Tonight. Allison Argent died.
a/n: heartbroken.