smoke and mirrors
Kinsey paced around the Sheriff's department as she and Stiles waited for the man to arrive, she grew more anxious with every passing moment. Her mother. Her mother did this. There wasn't a doubt in her mind. Her mother was conniving. A schemer. It was no coincidence that when she'd disappeared from the sewer Scott and Kira had gone missing. It couldn't be a coincidence. There was no such thing in her life, everything was connected, she had learned that the hard way, all of this seemed to apply to the same logic. The only thing for her to do was listen to Deaton. To save Scott, they had to go to Mexico. Stiles had been trying to convince his father all night for them to go but ultimately, he had failed, that was when the big guns came in, someone he never seemed to say no to. Her.
The Sheriff walked into the department, the two jumping up as he sighed, he knew what his son had planned, he was transparent. He was trying to play on his weakness for the sweet Angel that he was dating. Usually, even he would admit that it would work, he found it hard to say no to an Angel, a huntress, and someone who had done a lot for him and his family. But today was when he drew the line.
He ushered the two into his office, shutting the door behind him softly, giving the two hope that today would go their way, he could have slammed the door in frustration, but he didn't. So far, it was looking hopeful- "You're not going to Mexico." Sheriff Stilinski sternly insisted as he pointed a finger at the two of them, using his best intimidation tactics.
Their plan had quickly flown out of the window. Now there was only one thing for them to do, to beg him to hear them out, to see how dire this situation was as if he hadn't seen the state of the loft that the two had been taken from last night. The broken windows. The blood. A crime scene of sorts. Kinsey hadn't even seen the loft, and even she knew that this was dire, perhaps it was a daughter's intuition, but this entire thing had Kate Argent written all over it.
"Dad, Scott, and Kira have been kidnapped and taken to Mexico, okay?" Stiles reiterated, a point the man had heard all night. In the loft. On the way home from the night. While he was getting in bed last night. The moment he opened his eyes this morning. He had heard it loud and clear, the repetition of it didn't change his mind. "I think that's a pretty good reason for a trip to Mexico."
"Okay." Sheriff Stilinski sighed as he moved over to his desk, placing his hands on it as he leaned on it, naturally, his son copied his stance as he stood on the opposite side of it, both trying their hardest to assert authority on the other while the brunette girl stood beside Stiles as she chewed anxiously on her red painted nails. "Even if Deaton is right about this the best thing to do is to go through the proper channels." He tried to reason with his son, as his son tried to reason with him too. Neither seeing eye to eye about the right approach to dealing with a couple of powerful and rare supernaturals, especially when neither of them knew about Kate's recent sightings in town. A detail Kinsey would rather keep to herself until she knew what her mother wanted and how to get rid of her, it would have to stay that way too. "That means we call the right law enforcement agencies, border patrol, putting out an all-points."
"All due respect, Sheriff, but I can't wait around for the wheels of bureaucracy to start spinning in five different government offices. Someone needs to go down there and rescue them. I need to. It was my mother who did this and I can't let her hurt people again." She tried to plead with the man, he knew what it meant to her to protect people, how it was who she was, quite literally. Stiles added that if she went, he would be to, a fact Noah never doubted, but it didn't mean he would allow either of them to go.
I can keep you from going, he reminded the pair. They would find a way, Stiles reassured him. He would lock them in a cell, the Sheriff threatened them. Kinsey would find a way to break out, the teenage boy argued again as the girl beside him nodded, she was more than capable.
"Guys, please." The man pleaded with a shake of the head. "Look, just give me a little more time to verify something slightly more concrete than a psychic guy by some guy with a third eye!" The man shouted, in complete disbelief that those words had even left his mouth. He still found it an absolute absurdity that people could have psychic visions, let alone three eyes. The brunette girl bowed her head at the mention of psychic visions, she wished she had that right now, some way to see what was going on, to get them more information. She was desperate. "Look, I'll call every law enforcement agency all the way down to South America if I have to. If nothing turns up, then I'll book the flights to Mexico. We'll all go. Okay?"
"Okay." Stiles nodded, looking at the girl beside him who nodded hesitantly, it didn't seem to be very negotiable, the Sheriff was standing his ground. "Okay. Great. Do I get a gun?" He asked, the two looked at him with blank faces. A second of silence.
"No." The two stated plainly, as though that wasn't obvious enough, he couldn't be trusted with a bat, let alone a real weapon. "Do you have a gun?" Sheriff Stilinski questioned the huntress, an exaggerated scoff escaping her mouth as she told him no. She was nervous. Her game was off, it had been a rough couple of days. Weeks. Months. The man raised a brow at her, a pressing look, he extended his hand, waiting for her to cough it up. With a sigh the brunette revealed the gun in the waist of her jeans, handing it to him. "Thank you." He announced, opening the door for them with a proud and slightly smug smile.
With a bowed head the two walked out of the office, the door shutting behind them. "There was more where that came from, right?" Stiles asked the girl.
"You think I'd give up my only gun?" Kinsey scoffed. "Please, I've got one in the back. My boot. In my car. They're everywhere. That was just the one I keep under your bed."
Stiles's face dropped, asking her to repeat that last hiding place, the brunette walking away as if she had never said anything at all. Of course, he wasn't going to let it go that easily, he had more questions about the gun she had apparently been hiding under his bed, he wanted to know how long he had been sleeping above it, using things like bats instead of it. Kinsey didn't answer any of his questions, she kept him asking all the way back to the McCall house where Malia would be waiting, they weren't going to wait for Noah to call every law enforcement agency, this was Scott and Kira, it couldn't wait another moment.
As soon as they walked into the McCall house Stiles took Malia up to Scott's room, searching for a piece of clothing in his closet for her to sniff the wolf out. He kept throwing stuff at her, waiting for her to confirm that she had a hold on something other than fabric softner, he even took a few shots at the huntress, hoping that now would be another time that little werewolf gene inside of her decided to show itself again. Unfortunately for them, it seemed that only near death brought it out of her, and the zipper of Scott's jackets wasn't going to kill her.
Stiles looked at the two sisters holding a pile of Scott's clothes, a thought crossed his mind as he rushed to the bathroom like a man on a mission, the two girls following him with a both of their brows furrowed, watching him dig through a laundry basket. He pulled out a pair of Scott's dirty boxers, holding them up to the girls, their faces contorted in disgust, questioning if he was really being serious. And he was. Scott's life was on the line, he reminded them.
Malia refused to sniff them, turning back to Scott's bedroom, determined to find something that wasn't his underwear, she grabbed his pillow from his bed as she took a good sniff of it, a look of relief washing over her face as she shook it at the couple, that worked too, much better than the dirty boxer shorts.
Eager to get on the road the three rushed downstairs to find Liam sitting on the dining table, the boy quickly stood up to greet them, he had been patiently waiting for them while they searched the Alpha's room, he thought it would be best to stay out of the way, only downstairs wasn't the kind of out of the way that Stiles was aiming for. His house was. Stiles urged him to go there, for the second time, he insisted that the beta wouldn't be going with them, Liam still didn't get why he wasn't allowed, the last time he asked, Stiles had shut him down and ended the phone call so quick he hadn't had a chance, but now he did.
Stiles gladly explained his reasoning, it was a full moon tonight, and he didn't feel like driving all the way down to Mexico just to have his throat ripped out. He already carried enough risk of that with his huntress girlfriend who apparently had weapons hidden all over this town, and Malia, a werecoyote who was as big as a risk as her little sister.
"You can lock me up, right? Chain me down in the back seat or something?" Liam questioned the huntress, she seemed like someone who would be equipped for that.
Considering the fact he tore through the last set of chains they put him in, that wasn't an option, the only chance of getting him down there would be to freeze him in carbonite, as Stiles put it. A more than willing Liam agreed as he asked where they would get it from. The two sisters turned to the boy standing in between them, his eyes narrowed on the wolf, dislking him a little more as he asked how he also hadn't watched it. Would he have to do a big screening of Star Wars for the entire town? It seemed he was the only one who had watched it.
If Liam's chances of joining them weren't already slim, now they were non-exsistent. Still unable to fathom the lack of Star Wars fans in Beacon Hills the Stilinski boy turned to the door, ready to end the conversation there as Liam stopped him again, blocking the door as he suggested a way to take him- putting him in the trunk.
"You'd get out of that too." Malia reassured him.
Kinsey placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, hoping to talk some sense into him since Malia and Stiles hadn't been successful in doing so. "Liam, you've been a werewolf for all of five minutes. You don't have to do this."
"I know I don't, but I want to." He insisted.
"God you're just like your brother." Stiles mumbled beneath his breath in frustration. Kinsey and Malia froze, their eyes as wide as UFO's as they watched Liam's face contort, unsure what he was talking about. Liam repeated that word. Brother. Perhaps the boy was confused, he didn't have a brother, maybe he was talking about someone else, he must have misspoke. At least that was his first thought, and then he looked at the two girls who stood on either side of him, they looked as guilty as Stiles did, trying to avoid making eye contact with him. "I meant Scott. His like your big brother now, right? 'Cause of the bite." He tried to play it off with the best lie he had ever told, he just happened to be lying to the wrong kind of person.
"You're lying." Liam stated blankly, his anger growing, it was clear they knew something that he didn't even know about himself. It was as he questioned what it could be, how one of them had managed to gain some kind of secret that he didn't even know that it occurred to him, only one person in front of him was capable of something like that. "You saw something, didn't you. That night that Scott kidnapped me, you touched me and you freaked out. What did you see?"
"Nothing." Kinsey reassured him, failing to convince the beta as he stepped closer to her with his lip curled up, seething with anger, the huntress had a hand raised, walking backward as both the coyote and Stiles took a step back from him. "Liam, look, I know you don't like being lied to. And I don't either, trust me, I know that it sucks, but right now we have bigger problems. And I swear to you, once this is over I will tell you everything I know. But you have to trust me on this, it isn't something you need to know right now. Think about Scott, all right? Scott needs you and lashing out on me isn't going to help any of us."
Liam stopped, taking a deep breath as he thought of his Alpha, the three around him waited for a moment, until he seemed calmer, straightening his posture as he told them once again that he wanted to come with them to Mexico, no matter what it took. Chains. A trunk. Something had to be big enough to handle him. Stiles butted in, he believed he had an idea.
Braeden pulled up in a prison transport van that she had secured through the title of us marshal, a detail Stiles didn't have enough time to question her on before Derek pulled up, surprised that they had brought Liam along, but Liam's presence wasn't the one to be questioned. Who Derek had brought was the person they all needed to question. Peter. The man justified his presence, it would take everyone they could get to save Scott, including him, and considering Scott and Kira were taken the night before a full moon, they should probably get going.
Malia questioned what that meant, she turned to Kinsey, any mention of Kate pointed to her, she was the woman's daughter, she assumed that her sister knew everything revolving around her. It was Peter who spoke first, elaborating on his own words, if Kate had taken the Alpha back to the same temple she had taken Derek, how did they know she wasn't planning to do the same thing to him?
Liam was still confused, asking if she wanted to make Scott younger. More specifically, back to a time when he wasn't a werewolf. While a werewolf couldn't steal a true Alpha's power, a Nagual jaguar with the power of Tezcatlipoca behind her might just be able to. All of them were stressed and worried, but Kinsey was significantly more worried as she began pacing around with a hand running through her hair. This was her fault. She should have armed herself when she visited her mother, she should have killed her while she had the chance.
Choosing not to focus on his consistently paranoid daughter, Peter suggested that they get going as he pointed to the array of vehicles behind him. Stiles shook his head, not until Lydia was here, they couldn't leave without her. She was at the school, finding something of Kira's with her scent for the two lycanthropes to track her down. While Stiles tried to reach her, the rest of the people waiting to save Scott waited around with their nerves growing as Peter's words repeated in their heads, wondering whether Kate could take Scott's power, and if she could, had she already done it? Was she about to have power that none of them could fight against?
Stiles regrouped with them, Lydia wasn't answering her phone. Braeden suggested that they all leave, that Lydia follows them down there, an idea Peter jumped at as he advised that they call her on the road, the boy disagreed again. What if something was wrong? What if she was in some kind of trouble? Peter rolled his eyes, telling him to stay and find her, that they would go without him, he didn't provide a benefit to him anyway.
Before the option could be considered, Liam suggested that he ask his friend Mason who was in a study group at the school, he could ask him to look for her. Stiles looked to the one person out of the rest who might just understand where he was coming from, but even Kinsey nodded, the time on the clock was running out, as much as she cared for Lydia and wanted to ensure she was safe, waiting run the risk of losing Scott. Perhaps it was best that they asked Mason. With Kinsey in agreement he gave up, agreeing to it as they began dispersing to their respective vehicles. The rest of the group headed towards the van, while Malia and Peter headed to Derek's car, the same car Kinsey would be riding with.
Stiles stopped her, asking if she would be okay riding with Peter. The girl shrugged, she was fine, she had Malia too, she joked that the three of them could do some bonding. Stiles sternly shook his head, anything to do with the man being close to her, or Malia, made him uncomfortable, he had always felt uncomfortable with the idea of Peter being her father, but he couldn't help that. But he could limit Peter's manipulation on her. Especially after the dead pool situation. The boy insisted on no bonding. Instructing her to play the music, to play it loud.
Peter made one last announcement, reminding everyone to remember what they were dealing with. It wasn't just Kate, it was the Berserkers, they may see human eyes behind the skulls but they couldn't assume there was any humanity left. He could sense that Liam was terrified of the Berserkers, and rightly so, but he reassured the young beta that it was that fear that would keep him alive. His final reminder- You don't fight Berserkers to survive. You fight to kill.
Music blared loudly in Derek's SUV, Kinsey sat in the passenger seat, bopping her head along to it, she made sure to face toward the window, even her body pointed towards it. No bonding. No talking. That was how she and Malia would survive the drive. Malia wasn't opposed to it, she'd happily curled up in the back of the car, watching what a father-daughter relationship with him looked like, then, she could decide if she wanted one with her biological father too. If not, there was no loss for her, she had a father, she had Henry, the only father she had ever known, unlike Kinsey, she was lucky in that department. Kinsey had no other choice, it was either she gained a relationship with Peter, or lived fatherless. The huntress had told her what that had been like, to wonder who her father was for all of those years, how even if it was Peter Hale who turned out to be her father, she had been relieved to know that she had one at all.
"Do you mind if I turn the radio down?" Peter asked as his youngest daughter turned to him, she had considered spitting out a hateful no, to keep Stiles's words in mind, but she shook her head, allowing him to turn the dial down. Family was her weakness after all. The brunette turned back to the window. "You worried about Stiles?"
"I'm worried about everyone." She corrected him.
"Do I need to be worried about you?" The man asked his daughter as he looked at her again, she turned back despite her orders from Stiles, she could see the concern in his eyes, as could Malia, it was a look she only ever saw when he looked at Kinsey. Not her, his eldest daughter, maybe in time, if she chose to pursue a relationship with her father, she would recieve that concern too, a fatherly look. Kinsey didn't answer the question, she wasn't sure which answer would be a lie. It was uncertain just how much danger she could be in, perhaps the same as everyone else, but in these circumstances, maybe it was significantly more than the rest. "We have to go through the Berserekers to get to Kate. Then we have to go through Kate to get to Scott and Kira. Trust me, it's going to get messy."
"I can handle her." She reassured her father. "Without killing people." She added as she peered at her sister in the back of the car, she knew how Malia's mind worked, her first instinct was for her to kill.
"Scott says we don't kill people." Malia told their father, incase he didn't know about the moral compass of the Alpha who lead their pack. But he was very aware, it was number one in Scott's how to be a good leader book, sequel to the Be-A-Better-Scott-McCall book.
"You think Scott would kill to save Kira?" Peter asked his youngest daughter who looked at him with hesitance, unsure if he would. "Would you? Kill to save Stiles?" He asked. She didn't give a word of an answer. She didn't need to, all three of them knew the answer.
Kinsey turned the volume dial back up until she had almost deafened the three of them with the sound of music, she didn't want anymore talking, not if those were the questions he would ask, a caring father one minute, a man who wanted to know how far his daughter would go to save a person she cared about. He needed to know her instincts, tonight may just rely on them, she had to release that part inside of her, the Hale, the werewolf, the huntress, all with killer instincts. He would get her to that point one day, no matter what it took, he was sure that one day, his perfect little daughter would shed her skin and become the killer that he knew she could be.
She remained quiet for a long time, allowing her thoughts to consume her, as they all did. While Peter and Kinsey sat allowing the music to act as a barrier, Malia kept an eye on the full moon, it was taking an effect on her, she could feel it glimmering inside of her, she tried to shut it out, she took deep breaths that the loud music covered, keeping it hidden from the two in the front seats which she didn't mind. She wanted to help save Scott and Kira, she couldn't allow it to take over, destroying her chances of being of any assistance to them. If Liam could do it so could she.
The huntress pulled out her phone, the views outside no longer acting as a distraction for her as she searched for the name in her contact list, soon finding it, she began drafting a message, one that was simple, that got the point across. It was time she did it. The two had been in contact a lot more lately as they began rebuilding a friendship, helping each other through their problems, all the while, she had been avoiding telling him about what she knew.
I need to tell you something. Her text read, vague, she hated vague texts and here she was, doing it herself. She sent it without hesitation as her father peered over at the phone, unable to remain silent, he couldn't help but be curious when he saw the name of her ex-boyfriend.
He turned down the music again, turning the girl's attention to him, it was clear he was about to speak again. A Last minute love confession? He asked. No, the girl stated plainly with a shake of the head, something else, she told him. Vague, again. Peter stared at her, waiting for her to tell it all, it was only a matter of time, it would build up and she would explode. She had been building up since the minute Stiles had muttered that phrase.
Liam knows about Isaac, she told him. Kind of, she corrected herself. Peter raised a brow, asking how that had happened, she had been keeping it so well under wraps. And then he guessed. She hadn't told him at all. Her blabbermouth boyfriend had. On a full moon nonetheless. Kinsey had nodded, he hit the nail on the head, she told him about the deal that she had made, that when it was all over, she would explain it to him. But she didn't want to. Telling Parrish was already hard enough, now she had to do that again? Tell someone that their father was an abusive man who'd met a violent death, a perhaps deserved one, but a violent one still.
People can't help who their parents are, he told her. Malia scoffed, wasn't that the truth. The two turned to her, watching as her face contorted, her act was up, the two had seen it. Kinsey knew it was the look of a coyote trying to stay in control, the moon was taking its toll. Malia told her that it was fine, she could stay human.
That's your problem, he interjected. Scott had them believing that control and humanity was the same for them. He offered them both some fatherly advice. If they were gonna face something as animal as a Berserker and try to win, they needed to focus on the animal inside of them. Both of them would need every ounce of ferocity and savagery you can muster. They'll need it all.
Soon, the cars pulled up to La Iglesia, Peter looked at his daughters once again, reminding them both that they had to be animals in this fight. A roar sounded through their ears, startling each of them, that wasn't them. Their heads turned to look out of the windscreen, a Berserker swinging Derek around, throwing him against a wall as Kinsey jumped out of the car, screaming his name, a gun in hand as she and Braeden began firing at the creature, soon sending it fleeing.
"Derek!" Kinsey called out, rushing to the injured wolf as already, the pack found themselves at a loss, staring at the two with slacked jaws. Unsure how it had all escalated so quickly, moments ago they thought they were going to go into this with a fighting chance. Their confidence was at an all-time low now.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just get to Scott." He urged the girl as he held his badly bleeding wound. "Just find him. We'll be right behind you. Go! You too, Kinsey." The wolf instructed through his labored breathing. The huntress didn't move unlike Peter who had rushed into La Iglesia. Derek gave the mercenary behind her a pleading look, they both knew what was happening, Kinsey did too, but that was the exact reason she wasn't going to leave.
"I'm not going anywhere." Kinsey sternly insisted with a shake of her head. She could feel it, this was going to be it. Her eyes filling with tears.
"Hey." The wolf grabbed his cousin's hand. "Go save him. Go and save Scott."
Kinsey shook her head again as a tear escaped, rolling down her cheek. She refused. She wasn't leaving his side, the rest of them could save Scott. She was staying here with him and Braeden. It wasn't an option. Braeden tried to encourage her to leave too, reassuring the girl that she would stay with him, it wasn't good enough for her. She wanted to be here. Stiles stepped forward with a hand on the girl's shoulder, urging her to follow everyone else into La Iglesia. The girl shook his hand off of her, snapping at him with another loud no.
"I'm not moving. And you are not dying on me." The girl begged. "You're not dying on me, okay? I can't let you die. I need you. Derek, please."
"Kinsey-" Stiles tried to reason with her again.
"No. No, I'm not doing this again. You're not allowed to die on me. No!" Kinsey ordered before it all overwhelmed her, she began sobbing as Stiles looked at the dying wolf and Braeden, the two of them nodded, it was time that they didn't give her a choice in the matter. Stiles picked her up from beneath her arms, pulling her up off of the ground as she kicked and screamed. "No. Derek, please." She continued to beg.
"Go." He warned her again with a weak nod. "I'll still be here. I promise." He told her, both knew it might be a lie, he couldn't determine how long he had, how long it would take to save Scott. It wasn't up to them. It wasn't even up to a harbinger of death. She felt it. She didn't control it.
Determined to save Scott and return to Derek as fast as possible, Kinsey suddenly rushed toward the church to follow the others, Stiles chasing after her, giving the dying wolf another look, for all of their sakes, he hoped that he would still be alive when they returned. The two of them quickly caught up to the other three, aimlessly running through the tunnels of La Iglesia before the Hale wolf stopped them all, blocking the tunnels as they all ran into his back. Before they could try to move any further, they had to figure out where they were, then they would figure out how to find Scott and Kira. He looked around, trying to figure out where to go as Stiles's cellphone rang, the boy didn't even know he had service down here, but he did, and he was about to use it to hear a very angry father lecture him as he separated himself from the group.
Peter turned to his youngest daughter, raising his arms, silently questioning if he was serious, it was a matter of life or death and Stiles was taking phone calls. The tunnels echoed the call, they all listened to a furious Noah threaten to hobble his son when he returned, the anger had quickly turned to softness as he questioned whether he was okay, whether he was safe. The boy asked if his father wanted him to lie, that was the only answer he had needed, instead, he asked what he could do to help. Stiles explained what was going on with Lydia, how they had sent Mason to her but now they weren't hearing from either of them.
He didn't know what he was doing, he admitted. He had no idea, he was just trying to save all of his friends. Noah couldn't discipline him for that, he agreed that he would find Lydia and Mason, while his son needed to find Scott and Kira. That he needed to save his friends. Stiles gave Noah a final warning, that if there was a Berserker at the school, he would need firepower. A lot of it.
"What do we do now?' Liam asked as he looked between the more experienced people.
"Duck." Malia grabbed him, pulling him to the ground as everyone else followed her order as the Berserker charged towards them, its boney fist pounding into the wall where Liam's head was a second ago.
Peter urged for them all to run as he grabbed his youngest daughter, shielding her as they began clamoring through the cramped, dark tunnels while the Berserked chased them. Once they'd all reached a more open space, Kinsey threw Stiles the katana, ordering him to find Kira and Scott, it was up to the lycanthropes to fight the boney creatures chasing them. Kinsey pulled out a gun as Malia and Liam readied themselves, each prepared to fight against the Berserker.
Kinsey aimed the gun at the Berserker, her finger hovering on the trigger as Malia and Liam had chosen to wait for her to shoot, to initiate the fight. But she couldn't do it. Something about this didn't feel right. It was as if something inside of her was telling her not to do it, not to shoot the Berserker. Malia called the girl's name as the huntress turned to her, the coyote nodded toward the creature, encouraging her to shoot.
Something isn't right. Kinsey shook her head, lowering her gun as she turned back to it with his eyes narrowed. Almost as if she knew the Berserker that looked at her. Before she had a chance to figure it out, Peter appeared, attacking the creature, intimating the fight for her as the others began taking their turn in throwing hits.
Kinsey stood still as she watched the fight, repeating to herself that something wasn't right, she tried to figure out the feeling inside of her, what it meant, what it was trying to tell her. The three fighting the Berserker managed to get in some good punches as the creature rebuffed, they were succeeding in their fight, it should have felt like a good thing, and yet, to the huntress, it felt like it was the worst thing they could be doing. This was the kind of thing that she needed help from Lydia with. Malia, Peter, and Liam continue to land their punches on the Berserker, Peter swung again, knocking him down. He tossed a bone dagger to Malia, insisting that she take him, to aim for the skull. He and Liam grabbed the Berserker's arms, driving him back into a stone column. Malia readied the bone dagger as she raised it back to make a blow that would kill him.
Kinsey's eyes widened. It was Scott. The Berserker was Scott. She rushed toward them, yelling at Malia to stop but it was too late as the dagger came down toward Scott's skull, about to kill him, seconds before striking Scott, a sword flashed down, severing the dagger.
"It's Scott," Kinsey warned them. "It's Scott."
Liam looked into the creature's eyes, it was true. It was Scott, this was his Alpha. The moment of hesitation was all that he had needed to free himself as he drove into the two wolves, throwing them both off, punching Malia out as they all landed on the floor with a grunt. He then turned to Kinsey, her heart in her throat as she stumbled back with her hands shaking around the gun she held in her hand. "Scott. It's me. It's Kinsey." She tried to plead.
Scott swung as Kinsey ducked, the blow hitting Stiles instead, backhanding him to the floor. The Angel stood up breathlessly as Scott picked Liam up from the floor, smashing him against a wall, his deadly grip choking him. Kinsey repeatedly called his name, trying to call the Alpha off, every shout fell on death ears, as Peter had said, it was wrong to assume there was any humanity left inside of a Berserker. Even if that Berserker was their friend.
Liam looks into its eyes and realizes it is his Alpha. This moment of hesitation is all Scott needs to free himself. He drives Peter into Liam and throws them both off. He punches Malia out. When Stiles calls his name and tries to reach him, Scott backhands him to the floor. He then picks up Liam and smashes him against the stone wall choking him.
"Scott, Scott, listen, listen, listen!" Liam pleaded as he was raised into the air, Scott's boney fist raired back to kill him. "You're not a monster! You're a werewolf! Like me." His words echoed, it was the exact words that Scott had said to him the night of his first full moon. Meaningful words that plead to his humanity, the humanity he chose to believe was still inside of him. He watched as something changed in Scott's eyes.
The Berserker lowered his fist and Liam. Scott seemed to struggle, tearing off the pieces of bone armor. He reaches up and rips the bear skull from his head in two pieces with a mighty roar. The skull coming apart with a flash of golden light as the rest stood back, watching Scott become a werewolf again, the person they knew and loved him for.
His eyes were a seeing red, he was transformed as he looked at the three members of a family in a row. Peter standing just behind his two breathless daughters. You. He spat out at the man, the entirety of the group turning to look at him in confusion. Kinsey and Malia looked at their father, to each other, and then to the Alpha, unsure what was happening.
"The only one who knew as much as Argent about Berserkers. About the Nagual." He confronted the former Alpha as his youngest daughter looked at him hoping that this wasn't going where it seemed like it was. "You taught Kate. You helped her. All for power."
"For my family's power." Peter's voice commanded the room as Malia stumbled back, dragging a betrayed Kinsey with her. "To be rightfully inherited by me. Not usurped by some idiot teenage boy, so incorruptible, he wouldn't shed the blood of his enemies even when justified. You don't deserve your power.
Peter's eyes began glowing a cold blue as he began transforming, pulling his daughters further away from him as they backed up in fear, watching as his head twisted, his bones cracked, the man became a monster with bigger fangs than they had ever seen before. Like a demon wolf. A man that neither wanted to recognize as their father. He roared loudly, prepared to fight Scott, a second roar intercepting him as Malia transformed too, coming at their father as he batted both her and Kinsey away in a single sleep, slamming them into a broken stone wall.
"Oh, I'm sorry, girls, we'll talk about this later." Peter apologized as he turned back to the Alpha. Kira raised her katana, swinging it, wanting to aid her boyfriend in the fight, but he called her off with an echo of her name. Enough for her to take a step back, lowering her weapon.
Peter taunted the wolf, reminding him that it was he was his first beta, that his bite was to thank for changing his life and it was his bite that could end it too. Scott was neither intimidated by the wolf nor scared, he egged the former Alpha on, telling him to end it, because he would never get another chance. Peter was willing to take him up on the offer as they both growled, launching at one another, crashing together in the air.
As Scott and Peter fought the Hale was getting the best of him, throwing him into walls, little by little he weakened the Alpha, admonishing him as he did so, telling him to fight like the Alpha he was. Kira and Stiles rushed over to Malia, ensuring they were okay, both girls groaning in pain as they sat up, they were fine, weak, and injured, but fine. Kinsey turned to Stiles, holding his hand, wincing in pain, trying to stand up, he took the hint, helping her to her feet.
I need to find her, the girl insisted weakly. Stiles turned back to the fight happening behind him, turning back to her as he nodded, ushering her toward the tunnels to help her find Kate. As they reached the tunnels the two stopped for a second, looking back at the fight, their friend briefly gaining the upper hand as he landed several blows. Even more of a sign that they Scott could do this, he could handle himself, fighting his battle while she fought hers.
Moments after Stiles and Kinsey had worked their way into the tunnels, believing that Scott had held his ground, Peter came bouncing back, recovering the lead as Scott staggered back. Peter continued taunting the wolf, telling him that to win, he would have to kill him. Scott hadn't ever been inclined to kill an enemy, he always thought there was a better way, this might be the first time he ever had a glimmer of hesitation. Tempted to kill their enemy and ensure that he didn't come back this time. Even if the enemy did father two of his friends. Peter threw the wolf across the room, that second of thought helping Peter to beat him down.
Liam stepped up to take on the wolf threatening his Alpha, no matter how strong Peter may be, it was his duty to fight with him, supporting him in battles of all kinds. He would be a good beta. He was strong, he could feel it. And he was seething, unlike every other time he didn't keep any of his anger in. He used every ounce of it as he charged toward Peter.
Peter barely glanced at the wolf as he threw an old church pew crashing over Liam's head, it was that action that riled something in Scott, flicking a switch, an urge to protect his beta as he rose to his feet, ready to take on the man again. This time. Peter didn't stand a chance, Peter failed to land a punch, the younger wolf avoiding and deflecting every one. He landed a blow on the man so hard he flew across the church, landing on his back. On his last legs.
Scott leaped on the alter, looking down at the Hale wolf. You were never an Alpha, he snarled at the man. But you were always a monster. Peter was enraged, beginning to rise for a round two, a chance snatched from his as Peter smashed a fist down on him, breaking the man's jaw, the wolf was defeated, knocked unconscious as La Iglesia fell to silence.
The Alpha looked up from the still Hale, turning to his daughters, Malia had made her decision, a relationship with Peter was one she never wanted. Something she would never miss, because it was something she never had. Unlike someone else. The Alpha knitted a brow. Where is Kinsey?
Bullets fired through the tunnels as Stiles and Kinsey made carefully, following the sound as the two of them tried to be careful not to be hit by one of the bullets. The huntress reassured him it was Chris, perhaps it sounded weird to him, someone who wasn't a hunter trained beneath her uncle, but she knew that those gunshots belonged to him. He was going after Kate too, it was a gunfire that would lead her to her mother. All of a sudden, it stopped, the two of them unable to find out where to go as they came to a crossroads.
Stiles questioned what they were supposed to do. She wasn't sure, but she intended to follow a feeling inside of her, an instinct. As the two stopped in the crossroads the brunette grabbed the boy's face softly, planting a kiss on his lips. The boy embraced it for a moment before he pulled away to question its meaning of it. "Get out of here." She told him. "If I'm not out within the next ten minutes. Don't wait up for me." She ordered him, he shook his head, stammering for words. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure that she never comes back, Stiles. Even if I have to go with her to make sure of it." The brunette told him as she began walking away.
Stiles pulled her back. "No, no, no. Nuh-uh." He frantically rambled. "You're not going with her."
"I'm going to do whatever it takes." She told him. "And I need you to know that I did it for you. All of you. I need to save my friends too." Kinsey pleaded her case, using his own words against him. The brunette planted another kiss on his lips before leaving him in the dark tunnels.
Kinsey stumbled her way through the tunnels, her entire body aching, perhaps bleeding, but the pain was in too many places for her to tell as she took whatever turns her mind told her to. Who was to know where she would end up? Perhaps in a dead end, perhaps back outside. Or if she'd found herself lucky enough- to her mother and Chris. She ventured deep into the temple until a faint sound of a woman's voice was echoing in her ears, another noise for her to follow, growing closer as she picked up her speed, hoping not to lose it again.
"You want to kill me, Chris?" Kate asked her brother breathlessly, both of them were weak, they were both bleeding and unsure how much they could take.
"No," Chris admitted to his little sister, holding onto his bleeding wound with one hand, his gun in the other. "But I don't want to save you anymore either. I don't know that you're worth saving. Do you know who is? Your daughter."
Kate rolled her eyes. "It's just like when we were kids. Always trying to make me the bad guy. You can't see them clearly anymore, can you? Scott's not your little hero. None of 'em are. Not when they killed Allison."
Before an angry Chris could correct her, snarling anything toward her, a voice came from behind him, commanding the room as it echoed. "Allison died." She corrected her mother as they both turned to the speaking shadow. With a snarl, Kinsey stepped towards Kate, coming from out of the shadows. "She died saving her friends. She died so that she could save me. Who would you die for, mom? Hmm?" Kinsey asked the woman as she joined her uncle, the woman stared at her daughter as she slowly raised a gun to her, aiming at her head.
Kate scoffed. "You're not gonna kill me." She told her child. "And you're not gonna catch me."
The woman began running back through the tunnels as Kinsey stepped forward to follow her, to prove the woman wrong and end all of this. Chris's arm stretched out in front of her, shaking his head at her. She wasn't worth it, he told her, and she wouldn't be coming back. The teenage girl stood down as she put her gun back in its sleeve, her uncle wrapping her up in a hug.
"Do you think she's proud of us?" Kinsey asked, mumbled into her uncle's chest. "Allison?"
"Yeah." Chris nodded. "Yeah, I do."
As morning dawned, everyone had made their way out of temple. Battered and bruised, but the entirety of them were alive. Somehow. An unconscious Peter had been loaded with wolfsbane, it would keep him out for the ride back to Beacon Hills, giving the daughter who had been left with the decision of what would happen to him to decide on an appropriate punishment. Everyone in the pack was in agreement that it would be left to her and Malia, a responsibility that the coyote had passed up on. This was Kinsey's decision. And she had options.
The moment she had stumbled out of the temple with her uncle she had been wrapped up by an alive, evolved Derek, Stiles had told him what she said, what she might have to do, they'd all had the high hopes that it wouldn't take her leaving, dying or anything that didn't involve coming to Beacon Hills with them. Though it was supposed to be a joyful reunion, something told the girl it was only temporary, that this, this hug, was leading to a goodbye. And not the goodbye she was going to share with her uncle. He would be leaving too, where he would go, even he wasn't sure, all he knew was that it was time to move on from Beacon Hills and everything that came with it, family too. For now, the closest they would be is over a phone call.
But he reassured her that she would be fine. She was Kinsey Argent. She would always be fine. It was who she was. She would figure it all out, and somehow, she didn't doubt it. "Thank you." An exhausted Kinsey mumbled as she hugged the wolf. "For not dying on me. Completely." The girl said with a soft chuckle.
As son as she had left her cousin's arms, she turned to the Calaveras and her uncle Chris, he had made a deal with them weeks ago, to hunt down Kate with them, he knew it would involved her being left behind, but he knew now more than ever that she was capable of being alone, she was capable of fighting her own battles. She had learned from the best. The student had become the master. Araya reassured the girl that they would find her mother, and they wouldn't stop, in turn, they would leave her, Scott, and their friends alone, even if the Alpha had bitten an innocent, she stuck to her deals. And this was no different.
"This isn't the end, lobito." Araya told the girl. "I hope you're ready."
Kinsey nodded, agreeing that she was. A line of friends, family, stood waiting for her, people who were willing to help her in the next steps of her life, whatever that may be. Whatever choices she made. Life or death choices. They would be the people there. Stiles joined the girl's side as Chris held out open arms for him, Stiles accepted the hug as Chris gripped him tightly. Take care of my niece, he warned the teenage boy, otherwise, Kate wouldn't be the only on he was hunting. The boy nodded frantically, promising that she was safe with him, and Scott, he added as the Alpha nodded from behind them. He had made a promise a long time ago to keep her safe, it wouldn't be one that he ever broke.
With the peace of mind they provided, Chris planted a kiss on his niece's forehead before leaving with the Calaveras. For the first time in seventeen years, they would live separate lives, and they knew Allison would be proud of them for it. For how far they had come.
As soon as the vehicles touched Beacon Hills soil again, matters were taken care of. Kinsey sent a man like Peter Hale to the only place he deserved to be. Eichen. Where monsters like him would be in "safe" keeping, Derek and Braeden had done the favor of taking him there, saving her from saying goodbyes that she didn't care to say, there were other things she needed and wanted to do with her time. The first had taken her to the Argent apartment, to her old bedroom where she had kept the Bestiary in the safe, she had placed it in the care of Lydia, telling her to give it to the man who deserved to find out what he was. Parrish. The second involved sitting Liam down, she explained it all to him with the help of Stiles and Malia, his past, how he had two brothers. Issac, his second eldest brother who was in France, and Parrish, a man who he would see more often. It was a lot for him to take in. He had two half brothers. Even more family to care for and protect.
Kinsey reassured him that half-siblings weren't so bad.
With Kinsey and Malia in tow, Stiles rushed into the Sheriff's station where his father waited with plenty of options for how to punish his son, after he wrapped him tightly first, ensuring that he'd come home in one piece, and as a hero of sorts. Kinsey and Malia stood aside, watching the pair hug tightly, insulting the bad smell of one another. The two were witnessing a real relationship a child should have with a father, and while Malia had that to return to with Henry Tate, the Argent didn't. And she was content with that. She had one hell of a father figure.
"Hi, girls." Sheriff greeted the girls, opening arms for them to join the family hug. "What do you say we get outta here, get something to eat?" He asked the two girls.
Stiles jumped at the offer. He was starving. Sheriff Stilinski suggested pizza as he guided both of the girls out of the station, Stiles was about to follow, only to find that he was handcuffed to the desk, leaving him stranded as the three of them grinned. Sheriff Stilinski proudly squeezed who was responsible for slipping the cuffs on as he told her "It's good to have a huntress around."