Here's chapter ten and then we'll launch into Motel California. I'll try to have that chapter up sooner, within the next couple days.

CHAPTER TEN

SOMATOFORMIC

Deaton mulled over some x-rays, his mind torn between three things; what happened between the Alpha Pack and Derek's pack, his actual work—and his conversation with Sonia Mortem.

"What do you plan to do, Sonia?" Deaton asked the young woman. She had invited him in, sent Georgie to bed, and now they sat around the kitchen island with mugs of steaming herbal tea.

"If there really is another witch practitioner here—and he or she is killing people..." Sonia trailed off. "Then I'll have to call them."

"After all these years hiding from them," Deaton frowned, "you would jeopardize everything you came here to protect and build for yourself and for your sister."

"By law they can not do anything to me or her," Sonia told him after a moments pause. "I don't practice anymore—Georgie never practiced. By definition—we're human. They can not interfere with us, but they can stop whoever is doing this once we have proof that it is a practitioner."

"Do you really think they've grown so much in the past fourteen years?" Deaton posed for her.

Sonia hesitated, "I don't know. All I know is that I can't stand by while innocents are being slaughtered in the name of sacrifice. It is an insult to those of us that have grown to modernize ourselves and leave the old ways for our heritage to the past. And if it isn't a practitioner—if it's someone else doing this in the name of a Darach—then it may not be necessary to involve them."

"And if it really comes to that?" Deaton asked her patiently. "What about Georgie, Sonia? It may also be time to tell her the truth."

Sonia drew her eyes to the counter in thought. Yes—it may be time. "Not yet."

A knock at the door jolted him out of his thoughts, "It's open."

When he didn't hear anyone answer him he walked around to the front to see Morrell standing at the gate with Aiden and Kali behind her supporting an unconscious and bloody Ennis. Morrell stood with a very serious look on her face, "We could use a little help."

Deaton put his hand in his lap coat's pockets, "Try the hospital."

"Open the gate, Alan," Ms. Morrell told him, addressing him by his first name.

"No," Deaton answered her sternly.

"Help us," Kali growled, standing next to Morrell. She brushed back the other woman's hair, threatening, "Or maybe I just kill her," her eyes flashed Alpha-red.

"Not here you won't," Deaton told her with certainty.

Kali blinked in confusion as something in the office made her shift back to human form, her teeth retreating and her eyes turning brown again.

Deaton glared between the wolves, "I suggest you leave. Don't make me insist."

"Alan," Ms. Morrell caught his attention, "If he dies, they'll go after the others. And don't think your little protege Scott won't find his way into the middle of it. They'll kill him—you know they will." Deaton considered her, still stern. "Alan, please."

Deaton struggled inwardly, before finally reaching down and pushing the gate open.

"Jared, I'm warning you," Coach glared at the boy, "I'm an empathetic vomiter. You throw up, I'm gonna throw up right back on you. And it will be profoundly disgusting."

The boy groaned, "Please don't talk about throwing up. It's not good."

"I might throw up on you just to make a point, Jared," Coach continued.

"It's not good," Jared muttered to himself, "It's not good."

"Now the rest of you," Coach announced to the team, "Don't think we're gonna miss this meet because of a slight traffic jam, a minor tornado warning—Jared," he pointed accusingly to the boy mentioned, "We're gonna make this thing. Nothing is gonna stop us! Stilinski, put your hand down."

Stiles half-lowered his hand sheepishly, "You know, there's, like, a food exit about a half a mile up. I don't know if we stop and then maybe-"

"We're not gonna stop!" Coach barked at him.

"Okay," Stiles conceded, before going on, "But if we stop-"

"Stilinski!" Coach shouted, "Shut it! Seriously! It's a little bus! Stop asking me questions!"

"I hate him," Stiles muttered, leaning back in his seat. He glanced at Scott, "Did you call Deaton?"

"I keep getting his voice mail," Scott grunted in pain.

"That's it," Stiles dug in his pocket for his phone, "I'm calling Lydia and Allison."

"How could they help in any way?" Jessie asked.

"They're back in Beacon Hills anyway," Scott muttered.

"No they're not," Stiles pointed behind them, "They're been following us for hours. Pathetic."

Jessie tuned in to hear the conversation, hearing Lydia's voice answer, "Hey, Stiles. We're just about to walk into a movie, uh, you know-"

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

"Okay," Lydia answered sheepishly.

"Okay, look, Scott's still hurt," Stiles told them.

There was a moment of silence before Allison spoke, "What do you mean still? He's not healing?"

"No, he's not healing," Stiles looked at Scott as he spoke. "I think he's actually getting worse. The blood's turning, like, a black color."

"What's wrong with him?" Lydia asked.

Stiles rolled his eyes, "What's wrong with him? I don't have a PhD in lycanthropy—how am I supposed to know that?"

"We need to get him off the bus," Allison determined.

Lydia's voice asked her, "And take him where, a hospital?"

"If he's dying, yeah," Allison answered her. "Stiles, there's a rest area about a mile up. Tell the coach to pull over."

"Yeah, I've been trying," Stiles grumbled.

"Well, reason with him," Allison told him.

"Reason?" Stiles nearly shouted, slouching and lowering his volume once they noticed Georgie in the next seat over giving them a weird look. "Have you met this guy?"

"Just try something," Allison said again, frustrated.

Stiles faced off with Coach in the middle of the bus, "Coach, it's five minutes for a bathroom break, okay? We've been on this thing for, like, three hours-"

Coach blew his whistle in his face, not bothering to let the whistle drop from his lips.

"It's 60 miles to the next rest stop-"

Whistle.

"Being cooped up for hours is not good-"

Whistle.

Stiles was starting to lose his patience, his voice getting louder, "You know, our bladders aren't exactly-"

Whistle.

"Coach this is-"

Whistle.

"Can you-"

Whistle.

"Please let me talk!"

Looooooong whistle.

"Coach!" Jessie shouted, standing up and pushing Stiles out of the way to stand and look the Coach in the eye, "We need to stop and rest and then maybe traffic will let up. Pull the bus over!"

Coach looked at her for a moment, and she thought he was going to whistle in her face. But he did something neither expected. He complied, "Okay, Hansen. Guys! We're pulling over for a five minute bathroom break! Not a minute longer!"

When coach turned his back to speak with the driver, Stiles gave Jessie an incredulous look, "How did you do that?"

Jessie shrugged, "I don't know..."

Jessie and Stiles held Scott up by his arms, taking him to the mens room with Lydia and Allison trailing behind them. They didn't notice, but Georgie watched them as they passed, going to tap Isaac on the shoulder, "Yeah?"

"What's wrong with Scott?" Georgie asked in concern.

Isaac cast a look toward the bathroom where his girlfriend had gone in with the others, worried enough himself. "He's just not feeling well."

Stiles and Jessie gently sat Scott down by the sinks. Stiles stood with Lydia and Allison while Jessie pulled up Scott's shirt, gasping at the sight of his wound bleeding thick black goo, the color traveling up his veins.

"Oh my god," Allison gasped. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Sorry," Scott muttered, hanging onto consciousness.

Jessie lightly slapped his face, cupping his chin in her hand, "Scott, stay up, alright? Stay awake—stay with me."

"This shouldn't be happening," Allison murmured. "I've seen him heal from worse than this."

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

"They wouldn't be able to do anything," Jessie said from her seated position next to Scott.

"You know, it could be psychological," Lydia thought up.

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

"No, somatoformic," Lydia answered him, "A physical illness from a psychogenic cause."

"It's all in his head," Jessie explained, sensing that Stiles was getting frustrated from not understanding.

"Because of Derek," Stiles realized. "He's not letting himself heal 'cause Derek died."

"So what do we do?" Allison asked, chewing on her thumbnail.

"Stitch him up," Lydia pulled a small kit out of her purse, seeing the three of them give her 'really?' looks, "I'm serious, maybe all he needs to do is just believe it's healing."

Deaton carefully cut through Ennis' shirt, surveying the injuries with a critical eye, "Someone please turn the sign on the front door to 'closed'. This could take a while."

"He's gonna need another shirt," Jessie told Stiles. "Can you get his bag?"

"Yeah—I hate needles anyway," Stiles made to leave, hesitating. "You know what you're doing?"

Allison didn't take her eyes off the needle she was sterilizing with a lighter, "Yeah, my father taught me."

"I mean—how fast are you gonna..." Stiles swallowed, "I mean, the bus, like, the bus could leave."

"Stall it then," Jessie told him.

"I can help," Lydia followed Stiles out of the bathroom.

Jessie handed Allison some thread, but she didn't take it. She stared at the outstretched thread with wide-eyes, emotion swimming in them. "Allison?"

Her eyes snapped up to her former friend, "I don't think—I can't do it..."

"Allison, you can do it," Jessie said. "You have to. Scott needs help."

Allison stared between the thread, the needle and Scott on the floor, tears beginning to fall, "I can't—I can't—I can't..."

"Okay then hand me the needle," Jessie told her shortly, nearly ripping the sterilized needle from her hands. "Keep an eye on the door, okay?"

Allison shakily nodded and stepped away. Jessie kneeled in front of Scott, "Scott?" Scott's eyes were slipping closed. Jessie grabbed his chin again, "Stay with me Scott, please. Stay awake."

Jessie concentrated hard and poked the thread through the needle slowly and carefully. She quickly finished it and went to hold some skin together to start stitching him up but before her hand touched him, the skin rapidly pulled itself together and healed before her eyes—not completely though. The black goo in his veins was gone. The gashes were smaller than they used to be but still there. Scott blinked, "What happened?"

Jessie sighed out in relief, "You're healing." She lent forward to wrap her arms around Scott's neck, just so overcome with relief and happiness that he was healing—that he was getting better. Scott chuckled at her enthusiasm, "I told you it would heal," but he wrapped his arms around her back.

"Let's go!" Coach whistled at everyone from the bus, "Back on the bus!"

Lydia and Stiles exchanged worried looks.

Scott threaded his arms into his jacket, picking up his helmet. When he turned around, he gasped at the sight of Isaac in his bedroom doorway, "Whoa."

"Where are you going?" Isaac asked nonchalantly.

"Uh, I was gonna... go get some food to eat," Scott thought up.

"Oh, cool, I'll come with you," Isaac offered.

"Nah, dude, it's okay," Scott assured him. "I can eat alone."

"What are you getting?" Isaac asked him curiously.

"Um, Mexican," Scott made up on the spot.

"Dude, I love Mexican-"

"Isaac," Scott interrupted him seriously, making Isaac's fake smile drop. "I can eat alone—it's okay."

"You're not going alone," Isaac told him just as seriously. "We'll take Jessie's car."

"Jessie?" Scott asked him, a small accusation in his tone.

"Did you really think she couldn't see right through you?" Isaac smirked at him.

Jessie drove, breaking numerous speeding laws on the way, and parked in front of the abandoned mall. Isaac took her hand in his as they walked with Scott inside. Jessie kept a hand on Scott's jacket sleeve as he spoke, "We're just gonna talk to him, try to reason with him. That's it, all right?"

Isaac gave him a look.

"What?"

"Nothing," Isaac muttered, "It's just that, uh, I'm actually kind of hungry now."

Scott chuckled and Jessie smiled at the break of humor, "Me too."

"We'll eat later," Jessie promised.

"Is he okay?" Lydia ran toward Scott behind supported by Allison and Jessie. Lydia took Scott's bag from Allison and walked with them, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Scott muttered, "Where's Stiles?"

"Trying to stall coach," Lydia answered, peering toward Allison. "We still don't have gas."

"I'm not leaving him," Allison determined.

"Then we have to leave the car," Lydia sarcastically replied.

"Sounds good," Allison didn't catch on.

"What?" Lydia squeaked. "That wasn't an actual suggestion."

Deucalion stood, hands on his walking stick, in the middle of one of the empty escalators, "You didn't come alone."

"Yeah," Scott accepted as Jessie's hands slipped form his sleeve and Isaac's hand, "This is Isaac—and Jessie."

"I'm not talking about Isaac and little Miss Grimm," Deucalion announced.

Derek appeared from the shadows, already transformed, Baako and Cora flanking him.

"You knew I would do this?" Scott realized. "Derek, don't. You can't do this so no one gets hurt. If someone else dies-"

"Him," Derek growled, pointing at Deucalion, "Just him."

"Just me?" Deucalion asked, though it sounded more like a statement. "Now, how's a blind man find his way into a place like this all on his own?"

The heard the scratching and crumbling of stone as Kali slid down a pillar by the claws of her hands and her feet. Scott, Jessie and Isaac turned when they heard Ennis making his way up from the lower floor by another broken escalator, already transformed.

On the floor above them, the twins stood at the edge of the ground, the railing long gone.

In a moment of fear, Jessie grabbed Scott's sleeve by his elbow, the friends exchanging a grim look.

Once outside and closer to the other cross country members, the group started to hear shouting and saw a crowd forming around someone. "Stiles, what's happening?" Scott asked as Stiles found them with a worried look on his face.

"He went after Ethan," Stiles answered, "I told him what was happening with you and Isaac just went after him."

"Isaac?" Jessie asked in shock, ducking out of Scott's arm and rushing toward the group, pushing her way to the front to be greeted with the sight of her boyfriend smashing his fist repeatedly into Ethan's face.

"Isaac!" Jessie shouted for his attention. His fist stuttered in the air but still landed on its target. Ethan wasn't even fighting back.

"Isaac! Back off!" Coach yelled, whistling.

"Isaac—stop it!" Jessie yelled at him, "Stop it now! You need to calm down! Isaac!"

Scott suddenly appeared next to her, a hand on her shoulder as he was still weak, and he yelled, "ISAAC!" in the same voice he used when Isaac panicked in the janitor's closet.

Isaac completely backed off, not being able to land another punch in Ethan's face. He stared at Scott in shock. Jessie sighed, her and Scott leaning against each other as they stared at Isaac back, ignoring the whispers all around them from the other students.

"An animal clinic?" Cora asked as she and Peter stood in front of Deaton's office.

"It's not as ordinary as it looks," Peter told her. "The building's half made out of mountain ash. I'm not actually sure how to get in."

"Well, maybe we could do what normal people do—and knock on the door," Cora suggested, starting to walk for it but Peter grabbed her arm to stop her.

"They're here," He sensed.

"Who?" Cora asked him, knowing it wasn't anyone friendly.

"All of them."

"But how do we know who's in there?" Cora asked her uncle, "Is it Derek or Ennis or... both?"

They heard the door slam open and quickly ducked behind the car. Kali stormed out of the office, pushing Aiden's comforting hands off of her. But he wrestled with her wrists until he had them in his grasp and she growled up at the sky in fierce rage and agony, the sound setting off car alarms.

"Well, we know one thing," Peter told her as he led her away. "That wasn't for Derek."

Derek growled and immediately went to attack his one and only target—Deucalion. But Kali landed in front of him, transforming as she swung her body around to kick at him with her clawed feet. Derek faced off with her, ducking at her swinging leg and swiping at her with his arms.

The twins jumped from the floor above them all, merging into their Mega-Alpha form seamlessly. Baako growled and immediately went to attack them and got thrown to the floor. Jessie gasped at the sight of her brother being thrown around and ran to his aid, ignoring Scott's shouts, "Jessie—don't!"

Jessie scurried in front her brother's fallen body and shouted, "No!" raising her hands in front of her, even slightly pushing them forward, the force propelling the merged twins into the stone wall behind them, leaving a crater in the cement and causing the twins to split.

Derek grabbed Kali's arm, twisting her around and kicking her in the stomach.

Isaac had gone after Ennis, Scott reluctantly following after him. The two tried to team up against the larger Alpha, but Ennis avoided their swipes easily. He kicked Isaac in the stomach, dropping him to the floor and while Scott looked to check on his friend, Ennis swiped at him with his claws, slashing his torso. Scott coughed in pain, bending over on the stone floor.

Cora growled and ran for Ennis, raising her right arm to swipe at him. But Ennis caught her arm and twisted her away from him, smashing his hand into her arm, breaking the bone. Cora screamed at the sharp pain as Ennis threw her to the ground.

Jessie caught sight of Deucalion standing serenely on the escalator steps, anger rushing through her and also her need for answers. She ran to stand in front of him on the ground, "Deucalion! You know something about me. The twins saw what I could do and said 'it's her'. What do you know?"

She didn't get an answer though before one of the twins came up behind her and lifted her like a rag doll, throwing her into the same wall she smashed the twins into. She landed with a painful thud.

Isaac had brought himself up to go get her, but he was accosted by Ennis and thrown further away on the ground. Scott dragged himself over to her meanwhile, picking her head up off the ground, "Jessie!"

Jessie groaned, "Scott..."

Ennis picked Baako up, holding him for Kali to swiftly swipe at him with her clawed foot, pulling him down for the count and pushing him to Derek's feet.

Both twins took Isaac in their clutches as Ennis stood by Scott and Jessie with an arm on Scott's shoulder, Jessie's head in the boy's lap. Cora laid on the floor with Kali's restraining foot on her neck.

"Kill him!" Deucalion demanded of Derek, obviously referring to the weakened Baako at his feet.

Derek and Baako exchanged horrified looks, Derek looking back at Deucalion.

"The others can go," Deucalion promised. "You're beaten. Do it, Derek. Take the first step."

"Are we serious with this kid?" Kali mocked. "Look at him. He's an Alpha? To what? A couple of useless teenagers?" She looked around at the others they've detained.

Jessie groaned in Scott's lap as she heard Deucalion say, "Some have more promise than others."

"Let him rise to the occasion then," Kali surmised. "What'll it be, Derek? Pack... or family?" She lowered her foot on Cora's neck, the young girl choking in pain at the pressure.

Derek looked between his sister and his beta. But before he could make a move to do anything, an arrow whizzed through the air, hitting the twin holding Isaac. Another arrow flew through the air, a flash bolt lighting up and blinding Kali, making her screech.

"Your eyes!" Deucalion shouted, crouching in his perch as more flash bolt arrows exploded near them, "Cover your eyes!"

Allison let enough arrows out to give Cora, Scott, Isaac and Derek the chance to get away from their captors. Scott grunted as he helped Jessie stand up, she still felt weak but she was gaining more consciousness as Isaac came to stand next to her and take her into his arms instead.

Derek and Cora supported Baako as Scott growled at Ennis who hadn't been blinded. The two wolves ignored their circle of on-lookers as they ran for each other, smashing their shoulders together with an almost equal force. Jessie gasped when Scott looked up with red eyes, "Oh my god..."

Scott groaned and blinked, his eyes going back to their normal yellow color. Derek came up behind Ennis and punched him in the back. The two swiped at each other, Ennis getting a good shot in and punching Derek in the face. Derek tumbled but landed on his feet easily, coming back up for more. Derek landed a punch in his chest, the two grabbing for each other, trying to get the upper hand as they got closer and closer the ledge of the second floor they were on.

Scott and Jessie noticed. Scott tried to crawl toward them as Jessie shouted, "Derek!"

Ennis headbutted Derek in the face as they continued to struggle. Scott slid his body closer and swiped his claw into the back of Ennis' calf. The Alpha growled in pain, his knee buckling underneath him. Derek tried to use the opportunity to throw Ennis over the edge, but the other Alpha kept a tight grip on him, pulling him over the ledge with him.

Jessie screamed, "DEREK!" breaking out of Isaac's arms and rushing toward the ledge, watching with Scott as Derek and Ennis fell to the lower floor and crashed to their deaths on the broken escalators with a harsh, echoing bang.

"NO!" Jessie shouted, feeling Isaac's arms pulling her away from the edge of the floor. Isaac scrambled to pull Scott away, the two friends joined hands as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"Let's go over this one more time," Stiles conversed with Lydia in the seat second to the back. Jessie sat with Scott behind them and Allison sat with Isaac next to Jessie and Scott. Scott still leaned against the cold window. "So it's the sacrifices, right? Everything has to do with them and someone who thinks he's, like, a dark druid of some kind."

"Or actually is a dark druid," Lydia pointed out.

Stiles mulled it over, "A Darach."

"You know..." Lydia began hesitantly, "Some ancient cultures sacrificed people—in preparation for battle."

"So we got Alpha werewolves against a dark druid," Stiles summed up.

"Yeah," Lydia muttered.

Behind them, Jessie peered at Scott in concern, "If Derek really is... dead—it's not your fault."

Scott sighed, "...maybe..."

"Not maybe," Jessie told him, "Actually. Scott—there isn't anything else we could've done that we didn't. We warned him. They were too close to the edge. It wasn't our fault. It wasn't."

"Thank you, Jessie," Scott whispered, leaning over to kiss her forehead where her scar was.

Deaton grimly looked at Ms. Morrell as she covered Ennis' dead body with a sheet, "I don't think you really know what you've gotten yourself into here."

"It's a little late to be playing big brother, don't you think?" She asked back.

Marissa sighed as she stepped out of the bakery for the day, trusting Naomi and Chelsea to close up shop without her. She made her way to the small parking lot next to the bakery and swiftly entered her car, putting her purse on the passengers seat next to her. She was about to put the key in the ignition when she heard something slam against her window.

She screamed, startled by the noise, and gasped loudly when she saw a bloody hand print put there by none of than Derek Hale. Marissa scrambled to get out of her car as Derek fell to the floor, coughing up blood. "Derek!" She knelt by his body and cupped his head in her hands, "Derek!"

There it is for you. I hope you've checked out the trailers because I worked pretty hard on them, as well as the ones for next season! I'm almost done with season 3B so updates will be coming up a bit more steadily now. Enjoy.

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