The next morning Derek and Katherine both woke up slowly, not wanting to face the day. Derek quickly cleaned Katherine's head wound again and they both got ready to hunt down the Nogitsune. They were almost ready to leave when Aiden and Ethan came rushing through the door.
"Katherine, are you okay?!" Aiden asked her.
"I'm fine" She told him, as he hugged her.
"I was so worried about you" He admitted, as Katherine gave him a sad smile.
"We...we heard about Allison" Ethan told them.
"Katherine, I'm sorry, I know how close you two were" Aiden said, shocking Katherine because it was the first time somebody had used Allison in the past tense.
"Thanks" She replied.
"Scott's with Lydia, they're planning their next move" Ethan told them.
"Okay, c'mon we better go" She said to Derek.
"Woah wait, where are you going?" Aiden asked.
"I'm going to help my friends" She exclaimed.
"It's too dangerous Katherine, after what happened last night..." Aiden trailed off.
"We need to go Aiden" Ethan insisted.
"Are you trying to convince me to go with you?" Katherine questioned.
"I'm trying to convince you to run and hide" Aiden retorted.
"Like any sane person would" Ethan interjected.
"And Danny?" Katherine inquired.
"Allison's dead, Stiles is dying. What do you think?" Ethan asked.
"I think Danny won't believe you" Katherine told him.
"I would never run and hide" Katherine continued.
"What, because of your pack?" Aiden questioned, looking at Derek.
"Because it's the right thing to do. If you want to get into Scott's pack this is the way to do it" Katherine explained.
Suddenly she felt her phone vibrate. She had a text from Lydia saying that they needed the box that had Talia Hale's claws in because it was made from the Nemeton.
"Derek..." She trailed off, showing him the message.
Derek ran up stairs and soon came back with the box a few seconds later.
"What's going on?" Aiden asked.
"We're going to kill that son of a bitch" Katherine told them.
They were a few minutes away from the school when Katherine got a phone call from Stiles.
"Katherine! We've got problems, big problems. The Nogitsune has taken over the hospital and the police station, he's trying to kill the people we care about" Stiles explained.
"Okay, how do we help?" She questioned.
"We're going to try to beat the Nogitsune, but we need you to keep the Oni at bay, and when the times right we need you to trap the Nogitsune in the box" He told her.
"How is he going to fit in this tiny box?" She questioned.
"Magic?" Stiles joked, coughing on the other end.
"Hey, are you alright?" She asked.
"Yeah, I just...Katherine if something happens, you know you're my best friend and I love you" Stiles told her.
"I love you too, but nothing's going to happen, okay? We're not losing anyone else" Katherine insisted.
"Be careful" Stiles replied.
"Yeah, you too" She warned, hanging up.
"So this is it" Derek announced.
"The final stand" Katherine replied.
"Now you guys are finishing each other's sentences? Give me a break" Ethan laughed.
"Did you bring us a present?" The Nogitsune smirked as he saw Derek and Katherine approach.
"I bought two more" Derek stated as Aiden and Ethan walked over to them.
"Now I've heard of an Alpha Pack, Derek, but not a pack of former Alpha's. It's a little sad, isn't it?" He taunted.
"Some of us are more than former Alpha's" He said, looking at Katherine.
"And besides, I may not be an Alpha anymore...but I can still fight like one" He explained, roaring, as they all charged at the Oni.
Katherine charged at one, dodging it's blow and hitting it in the face, throwing it off balance. It quickly got back up and tried to stab her again, as another one went to join them. She hit one in the stomach before ducking and kicking at the other Oni's legs throwing it off balance again. She sighed realising there was nothing they could do to beat them, only slow them down.
"Where the hell are they?" Aiden shouted.
"The jeeps here, they can't be far" Ethan replied, ducking before one of the Oni tried to hit him.
"In the school!" Derek insisted.
Distracted, Katherine didn't see one of them coming up behind her and throwing her off balance. She quickly rolled out of the way before the Oni impaled it's knife into the ground. Sitting upright, she rolled to her side and kicked the Oni in the face, bringing it back to the floor again.
"We can't do this! We can't beat them" Aiden exclaimed, as his brother got his arm slashed by one of their swords.
"Take the box, we'll hold them off!" Ethan told Katherine and Derek.
Seeing one of the Oni come up behind him, Katherine and Derek pushed it down the stairs before it could hurt him, knowing that they couldn't leave the brothers. Suddenly an arrow pierced one of the Oni in the chest, and they turned around to see Chris and Isaac. All of a sudden the Oni disappeared in a cloud of black smoke, just like it had the day before.
"What was that?" Ethan asked.
"Silver" Chris replied.
"Isaac the box! Get it to Scott!" Derek ordered, as Isaac ran off after the Nogitsune.
He then grabbed one of the Oni, holding it still while Chris shot an arrow into it, destroying it completely. Chris then tried to shot the other one, but it saw the attack coming and broke the arrow in half with its sword.
"Get the arrow, it's the last one" Chris explained.
Aiden quickly retrieved the arrow before the Oni could, ducking and sliding past it before it could hit him. He twisted around, and stabbed the Oni in the chest with the arrow, destroying the last one. Slowly his eyes started to flicker and he looked down to where he had been impaled by the Oni's sword.
"Aiden!" Katherine and Ethan both shouted, as Aiden pulled the sword out of himself.
Derek reached him before he could fall to the ground and gently lowered him down. Katherine and Ethan ran over to him, sitting down in front of him. She put a hand to her face, in shock when she realised that the wound would be fatal.
"Does it hurt you as much as it hurts me?" Aiden asked his brother.
"Yeah" Ethan replied, as he started crying.
Katherine too burst out crying at the scene.
"It's okay" Aiden told her.
"No, no...I can't lose anyone else" Katherine sobbed.
"It'll be okay, Katherine. I promise" He insisted.
"Thank you, for being there for me. For trusting me. For not giving up on me" Aiden continued, as Katherine smiled sadly at him.
"I'll always remember you Aiden...and I know that you're one of the good guys" She told him, pulling him into a quick kiss.
"Sh...shhhh" Ethan whispered to him, as Katherine held onto his neck.
They both let out a cry of defeat as they heard his heart stop, and lowered him to the ground. Katherine gripped onto his shirt as tears spilled down her cheeks.
"No, not again" She cried.
"Katherine, it-" Derek was cut off by Katherine abruptly standing up.
"Why are you going?!" Derek called out as she ran towards the school.
"To finish this. To finish him" She explained, coming to the doors.
She could hear the Nogitsune realising that they meant to change him into a werewolf, and he quickly knocked Scott out before he could bite him.
"Looks like you've run out of options" The Nogitsune laughed.
Angrily Katherine kicked open the doors to school, ripping them off their hinges.
"Not quite" She growled, picking up Kira's sword.
"You killed my best friend...my boyfriend...and now I'm going to kill you!" She shouted running towards him before he could escape.
She leapt onto him, biting straight into his neck, as he screamed.
"You think your bite can kill me? You're not an Alpha" The Nogitsune smirked.
"No, I'm much more than that" She told him, raising the sword.
"I'll see you in hell" She growled, stabbing him through the chest.
The Nogitsune opened its mouth and let out a fly that was quickly captured by Isaac. The Nogitsune then fell to the ground, cracking apart and becoming dust.
The next week flew by like a blur. The pack didn't go to school, and hardly went out of their own houses, too shocked by the events that had happened. She spent most of her days at Derek's loft and Stiles' house.
"How are you feeling?" Stiles asked as she walked down the stairs.
"I'm...getting there" She replied.
"Me too" He stated, opening the door for her, as they stepped into the car.
It was decided that Allison and Aiden would get a double funeral, where everyone could pay their respects. Most of the town was there, not because they knew the teenagers but just because even they knew how wrong it was someone of their age to have died. When Katherine and Stiles arrived they were happy to see so many familiar faces and Katherine was very surprised to see one in particular.
"Jackson?" She called out when she saw him.
"Hey" He smiled, hugging her tightly.
"What are you doing here?" She questioned.
"Allison was one of my best friends at one time, I had to come say goodbye" He explained.
"I'm happy your here" She smiled sadly.
"...I know I never met Aiden, but I know if you chose him he was a great guy" Jackson told her.
"Yeah, he was" She replied as they walked into the church for the service.
There were a few prays sang, and some speeches made by the teenagers friends and all too soon it was Katherine's turn to speak.
"Allison and Aiden...they were more than just my best friend and boyfriend. They were part of me and always will be...I'll never stop missing them and I'll never forget them...I had this big speech I was going to say about them, but that's not going to bring them back, nothing is. They weren't perfect, they could be moody but they were there for me and everyone around them. They both came good in the end and that's how I'll remember them. I'll always love them" She spoke before walking down to her seat.
After the service and the burying of the bodies she saw Ethan standing by his brothers grave and went to speak to him.
"Hey" She said softly.
"Hey, Katherine. Thanks for the speech, it was nice to hear someone being honest...it meant a lot" He replied, sincerely.
"That's okay...It'll get better you know" She told him.
"Will it?" He questioned.
"Yes. Not straight away, but day by day it'll get better. You'll still have your off days, but you'll have your good days too" She explained.
"...Have you...have you lost someone like this before?" Ethan asked.
"Lots of times. So, you know I'm speaking from experience" She told him.
"I have to leave this place Katherine, everything reminds me of him, it's too much" Ethan exclaimed.
"I know, I've been here a few times myself. It is better to just leave it all behind sometimes, or it will be too painful" She replied.
"Thanks for understanding" He smiled.
"Anytime" She said, pulling him into a hug.
"Bye Katherine" He said, walking away, with the first smile on his face for a week.
She turned away to find Stiles and Scott, but instead found Derek walking over to her.
"You okay?" He asked.
"No...But I'll get there" She told him.
"...Uh, I know this is probably bad timing, but...um..." He trailed off.
"Spit it out, Hale" She laughed.
"Do you want to move back into the loft with me?" He asked.
"Of course I would" She replied.
"Really?" He inquired, shocked.
"Yes, I can't stay at the Stilinski's forever, can I?...I mean not that I'm saying I'll be staying at the loft forever..." She stuttered awkwardly.
Smiling he pulled her into a tight hug, stroking her back. Suddenly she pulled back realising something.
"Crap! I almost forgot, I need to say goodbye to Isaac and Chris before they leave" She told him.
"They'll be at Chris' apartment" Derek replied.
"Have you already said goodbye?" She questioned.
"Yeah, I gave him some advice" Derek exclaimed.
"Advice? God, help him if he's taking advice from you" She laughed.
"Hey! I stayed in France for a couple of months I'll have you know" He retorted.
"Oh, yeah it shows" She smirked, as she ran off to Chris's apartment.
She slowly walked through the apartment doors, tearing up at remembering all times she and Allison had, had there.
"Hey Katherine. Thanks for the speech, I know Allison would have liked it...she would have probably laughed" Chris smiled when he saw her.
"She probably would have" Katherine replied.
"Oh, there you are, I've been looking for you all day...Katherine, I'm sorry but-" He was cut off as Katherine putting a hand up.
"You're going to France with Chris, I know. I came to say goodbye" She explained.
"You're not cross?" He questioned.
"How could I ever be cross with you?" She smirked as he laughed.
"I am going to miss you like hell though" She continued, pulling him into a warm hug.
"I'm not surprised, how will you deal with Derek?" He laughed, as she hit him on the shoulder.
"You call me anytime okay?" She told him.
"I promise" He replied.
"Bye Katherine...thank you for being there for my daughter" Chris exclaimed as they all walked out of the apartment for the last time.
Later on the pack that was left met up at Scott's house, where they were toasting to Allison and Aiden's lives.
When she saw Lydia and Scott on the outside of the room, looking like they were going to burst into tears she walked over to them.
"Hey, guys" She said, sitting down next to Lydia.
"How do you do it Katherine?" Scott asked.
"Do what?" She questioned.
"Keep going?" He explained.
"Because I have to. Because I've still got all you guys, and you both got us" She exclaimed.
"Thanks, Kat" Lydia said, squeezing her hand.
"So, how come Derek's not here?" Lydia asked.
"I don't know actually. He's supposed to" She realised.
"Go, we'll tell the others" Scott told her.
"Thanks" She smiled, walking out of the house, and towards Derek's loft.
She soon came to the top of the stairs in the building and instantly the smell hit her, smoke was filling up the floor. She ran to the loft and walked through the now clearing smoke to see bullets all over and blood on the floor. She gasped when she realised it was Derek's blood.
"Derek?!" She yelled.