Authors Note:
Yay! So this chapter marks the end of Battlefield. The following several chapters will be based on the season final of S2: MASTER PLAN. I'm really excited about finishing a season. There's going to be some VERY interesting plot developments soon. AGAIN, please don't forget to follow/favourite and review! It really boosts my spirits, especially when I've got writers block. Also, don't forget to visit my polyvore page (Jaiime95) to check out all the outfits I've created for my characters.
AND... Lastly I have decided on some of the 'casting'. You can check my user profile to see who I would cast as the characters of my story :)
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Final Countdown.
Several Days Later
Avery had been avoiding Sam more than ever. The makeshift pack that they had joined had dispersed for the moment. After the realization that Scott may have told Gerard everything, their safe house at the Beacon Hill's Rail Depot became sorely compromised. So now the pack was scattered across town, in whatever hotel or hideaway that was safe. Erica and Boyd had hardly seen their parents for weeks now, with all this wolfy shenanigans there wasn't time for it. Sam was off with Isaac in the woods training before school. Isaac had been cleared of all murder charges thanks to the rampage of Matthew Daehler. The Kanima drama may have finally been coming to a close but that gave everyone more reason to be cautious.
And who was Avery with? Derek Hale, that was who. They had come by his old house to collect a few books in the hopes of finding a way to fix Jackson Whittemore without killing him. So far they were having no luck.
"I told you, I don't want to be around Sam at the moment." Avery said for the thousandth time to Derek, "I can't stand all the sympathetic glances he keeps giving me. It's like he's just waiting for me to break and it's making me anxious."
"Excuses." Derek shook his head as he flipped through a book rapidly. Avery rolled her eyes as knelt down to get to the bottom shelf of books. An awkward silence sat in the air before Derek suddenly spoke.
"When Victoria tried to kill you and Scott, do you remember how I got you out of there?"
"Urgh... Yes. Vaguely." Avery popped her head up, turning to look at him. She was slightly concerned where this conversation was going.
"She's dead."
"So the part where you bit her?" Avery asked as her eyes widened in understanding.
"Real. But she died by her own hand. I bit her your hunters code did the rest." He bit the inside of his cheek and looked down at Avery for her response. She let out a deep sigh, "And that's why the hunters have been so diligently after us. That's why they were at the sheriff's station."
"I understand." She nodded, "I just can't help but think how my parents are taking it. My mum was best friends with Victoria all her life."
Derek bowed his head and went to leave to room. Avery may have even explained his actions out of shame, but she had to be wrong. Shame was only for people who had a care what others thought.
"More than ever, they'll be after us. They're going to want revenge. We should start rounding everyone up and moving on." Avery got to her feet. She paused and chuckled, "I had this small hope in me that things wouldn't end up like this. I didn't want to live on the run for my entire life. I thought this whole Kanima thing could be sorted out quickly, but either with Jackson or with Sam, everything's taking a lot longer than I thought it would."
"I guess now you know why werewolves hate you self-righteous hunter types so much after all." Derek chuffed lightly, Avery let a tiny smirk form on her lips.
"I don't think I properly thanked you letting us stay." She dropped her gaze, "Really… we would have been dead without you. I would especially be dead and you know, Scott's just as lucky to have you around."
"We were probably better of leaving Scott in that club." He grumbled lowly.
"You don't really think that?" she frowned; again he grumbled and went back to looking for books in the rubble that had once been his great family home. She didn't need a response, really. Derek's silence had shown all his cards. Sure he wasn't on the greatest speaking terms with Scott at the moment, but that didn't mean that they couldn't patch things up. The little wolf still had a lot to learn and he would need Derek there to teach him.
"How's your leg?" Derek switched the subject.
"Healing really well." Avery patted the bandage. She was wearing denim shorts today so it was easily visible, "I think Deaton put some funky healing cream on it. It's practically back to normal."
"Mind if I have a look?" he moved closer, Avery nodded and began to unbind it. This morning there had been the last of a scab. Another week maybe and it would be completely healed, but there would always be a nasty scar. As she unfolded it though, something different met her eyes. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. She reached down to touch the smooth skin of her leg, just as astounded as Derek was. Not even a scar to mark her ordeal, that was slightly disappointing. Derek's brows formed an intrigued frown.
"So judging from your reaction, that's not normal. Is it?" she asked. He almost even chuckled, before he shook his head.
"Unless generic antiseptic now has accelerated healing properties, I'm going to say no." he stood up straight.
"So it's some freaky Kanima/ Master bond stuff right?" She asked skeptically. Derek shrugged.
"Probably. Although I'm not exactly the expert on the topic." He replied, eyes still locked on the healed area, "You should keep it covered. We don't know who we can trust now days."
Avery did as he suggested, he was probably right. She bound it loosely and followed Derek towards the front door. As they reached there, the door opened on the other side to reveal two nervous Betas; Erica and Boyd. They stared awkwardly between Derek and Avery. Avery glanced sideways to the Alpha to notice his demeanour shift. He appeared to know everything that was about to happen before the Beta's could even speak. She however, was sorely confused.
"You decided, when?" Derek asked.
"Tonight." Erica responded, avoiding eye contact.
"At the game, everyone's gonna be there. We figured it was the best time." Boyd added.
"It's not like we want to." Erica finished. Derek walked forward, the anger seeping from him.
"What do you want?" he cocked his head to the side.
"Since I just turned 16 a month ago I wouldn't mind getting my license." Erica quipped, "I can't do that if I'm dead you know."
"Well, I told you there was a price." Derek's voice was stony and cold.
"Yeah, but you didn't say it would be like this!" Boyd shook his head.
"Yeah, but I told you how to survive! You do it as a pack and you're not a pack without an alpha."
"We know…" Boyd's gaze finally dropped as the penny did. Avery's jaw dropped and she finally threw her two bobs-worth in.
"You want to look for another pack?" she said, her voice mimicking Derek's. Boyd and Erica looked between one another and nodded.
"I think we already did." Boyd replied coolly.
"We were in the woods and all of a sudden we heard this howling, like it was unbelievable." Erica's eyes lighting up with hope.
"There must have been a dozen of them." Boyd said.
"Maybe more." Erica added.
"Or maybe only two. Do you know what the beau geste effect is? If they modulate their howls with a rapid shift in tone, two wolves can sound like twenty." Derek explained.
"Or it could be hunters, trust me I've heard that trick a thousand times. Hook a recorded howl up to speakers and in the wolves come. It's like clockwork." Avery clarified.
"Look that doesn't matter okay?" Erica stood defiantly, "There's got to be another pack out there, somewhere. There's just gotta be! We've made up our minds."
"You've lost Derek. It's over. We're leaving." Boyd began to back away.
"No, you're running. And once you start, you never stop. You'll always be running." He shouted at them. The beta's quivered but not out of fear, out of hatred. Derek turned away from them as Erica grabbed Boyd's hand to leave.
"Wait!" Avery ran to them, "Don't do this."
"We can't make ourselves any clearer." Erica bit her lip.
"So maybe Derek hasn't done the best so far. Maybe alone his pack isn't strong enough." Avery took Erica's hands in her own, "But you've got two ex-hunters on your side, not to mention that one of them is now a fully fledged Kanima. You've barely just made it through your first full moon and there's years of training ahead both of you. Leaving now is copping out."
"Tell me one thing Avery." Erica stared back intensely, there was the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes, "Could you one-hundred percent guarantee our safety. I mean undeniably, that we'll make it out of this alive?"
And for once in the argument Avery couldn't say something back. She knew she couldn't promise anything. At the moment, anything could happen which was why they needed Erica and Boyd to stay. They needed to stay together as the misfit pack that they were. She couldn't lie to Erica. Not because it was out of her moral code but also because the she-wolf would hear her heart flutter. Avery dropped her head and let out a deep sigh. No one needed to say anything else as Erica nodded and sighed too. Their hands slipped apart.
"Be smart…" Avery said softly, "Be safe."
And with that the two wolves left without another word.
xxxx
"Left!" Sam shouted as he ran behind Isaac. They weren't far out from the ruins of the Hale House now. After an entire afternoon of training, Sam was happy that Isaac had made progress. He had come the furthest out of the three Betas. When the full moon took hold he was the one with the most composure, something that Sam knew wasn't easy for new wolves.
But dodging through a maze of standing and fallen trees had proved more difficult than Isaac had anticipated. All his senses were on the line as they practiced the best way to outrun a seasoned hunter. Sam had worked the Beta into a comfortable sweat before they finally slowed down to catch their breaths.
"If you keep that pace, you'll lose a hunter in no time. But if you combine smart thinking too they'll never be able to catch you. Never under-estimate your opponent, they'll always use it against you." Sam explained as Isaac stretched.
"Don't you think it's cheating having hunters on our side?" Isaac commented playfully, Sam shook his head.
"Ex-hunter." He corrected. Isaac took in a deep breath and shook his upper torso, then continued to stretch again. Sam and Isaac stood in the middle of the quiet woods stretching and breathing in all the fresh air their lungs could allow.
"You know, I never liked my family." Isaac stated, his eyes darted between Sam and a pine tree, "My Dad wasn't the greatest, my brother was kind of a douche and I never knew my Mum. You and Derek are kind the closest thing I have. "
Sam stopped stretching as Isaac avoided making eye contact.
"But, I don't know if I believe what Derek said about Scott. I mean I'm not going to stand here and say that it's not true, because Derek wouldn't lie to us like that, but there's got to be a reason." Isaac explained. Sam nodded as he thought about Isaac's proposition.
"Scott's usually trustworthy?"
"The best." Isaac confessed.
"So you think Gerard may have something against him?" Sam asked. Isaac nodded.
"Out of everyone, he's got the most to lose. He's got family, friends... Allison."
"I've known the Argents for a while." Sam spoke, "It's just their style to use extortion to get what they want. What I want to know is why you're telling me and not Derek?"
"Huh…" Isaac smirked, "I think you can work that out for yourself."
Sam smiled back as, unexpectedly, Erica and Boyd came through the clearing. They waltzed right up to Isaac, something unspoken going on between the three of them.
"Hey there, everyone else here for training too?" Sam questioned, although he sensed their presence was about something else.
"We spoke to Derek." Erica said directly to Isaac, "He wasn't happy, but we've made up our minds. Are you in tonight?"
"I don't know." Isaac shrugged and glanced between his friends, "I want to, but I don't know if I can leave Beacon Hills behind."
"You're all planning on leaving…" Sam drawled out, it wasn't a question, more confirmation. Erica nodded and exhaled.
"We're not cut out for fighting off the Argents." She said briefly, "I've just explained it all to Derek and your sister. I can't do it again."
"Look Isaac." Boyd took over, "You know where to find us if you make up your mind. Sunset, okay?"
"Okay…" Isaac frowned and the two beta's left. Whatever trust Isaac thought he had in Sam was slowly being chipped away. As Sam looked at Isaac he was more disappointed than angry, "I was going to tell you. I just didn't know how."
"Sounds like you've already made up your mind." Sam quipped.
"I really don't know. I'm afraid of the Argents, there's no doubt about that but…"
"But you can't leave everyone behind." Sam finished the boy's sentence.
"No. I can't." Isaac began to justify his thoughts, "I still trust Scott and no matter what he may have done, he's still going to need help. If Derek won't stand with him, than someone has to."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Sam clasped Isaac's shoulder, "Find Scott and do the right thing. If you need any help, I'll be right there to back you both up."
Isaac clenched his mouth tightly and let his head nod wildly. Sam pulled him tight and patted him strongly on the back. When they pulled apart Isaac took off into the woods instantaneously, off to find Scott and do what he knew was right. Sam couldn't help but feel proud. He had never thought about being a parent much until this moment, but watching Isaac grow in character, made him ache for the life he could have had with Ilena. Once Isaac was a fair way off Sam made true on his promise and followed after. Isaac may have been on the right path, but that didn't mean he couldn't stumble. Sam was going to back the kid up. This was one little wolf the Argents weren't getting their grubby hands on.
xxxx
Avery walked back to where Derek was standing, a sinking feeling in her gut. Her eyes glanced over him, hunched on the table, his fists in tight balls.
"They're young. They'll come around, just give them time." She tried to set his mind to rest. His hands tightened around a piece of mirror, when suddenly he picked it up and threw it swiftly in Avery's direction. The shard flew right past her ear, barely missing her. She jumped with shock and almost began to shout at the Alpha before another voice spoke behind her.
"I'd expected a slightly warmer welcome." The voice spoke. Avery hadn't heard it in years, and while it was slightly deeper, she could never forget who it belonged to, "But, point taken."
"Avery, come here." Derek called, but she couldn't move. She was rooted in her place, eyes wide and heart beating like there was no tomorrow.
"It's quite a situation you've got yourself in Derek. I mean, I'm out of commission for two weeks and suddenly there's lizard people, geriatric psychopaths and you're cooking up werewolves out of every self-esteem deprived adolescent." Again he spoke moving forward and pressing a clammy hand on Avery's shoulder, "Not to mention the fine company you've got around you. You're really a sucker for the hunter ladies aren't you?"
"What do you want?"
"Well, I wanna help. You're my nephew." His voice spoke again. He continued walking forward to Derek leaving Avery behind, not even bothering with a glance at her, "You're the only relative I have left. You know there's still a lot that I can teach you. Can we just talk?"
Now Avery had known for sure, she could see the man in all his hideous glory. In flesh and blood was the resurrected Peter Hale, here to taunt Derek into submission. But he had made one terrible mistake, as he placed his hand comfortingly onto Derek's shoulder. Derek merely stared down at it with a terrible scowl and his red eyes lit up.
"Sure, let's talk." Derek grabbed Peter and threw him through the air. Avery finally found the strength to move her feet and get out of the way, as Peter sailed past and smashed through the stair banister. Derek marched past Avery and back to Peter, throwing punches and Peter over all different parts of the house. Through panels and smashing tables. As far as she was concerned, this was the best way anyone had ever dealt with Peter. Period.
"You don't actually think I wanna be Alpha again? Considering my last performance ended in my death," Derek grabbed him by the collar ready to throw another power punch before Peter held up his hands and shouted, "Okay, go ahead and do it. Hit me. Hit me! I can see that it's cathartic for you. You're letting go of all the anger, self-loathing and hatred that comes along with total and complete failure. I may be the one taking the beating Derek, but you've already been beaten."
Derek almost dropped the punch he was holding back. Peter's words had hit the Alpha hard. But Avery had dealt with people like him a thousand times over in her life, she was used to hearing these manipulative conversations. Watching Derek beat the shit out of the guy responsible for her greatest trauma wasn't only cathartic for him. So Avery walked right up to Peter as he berated Derek and let her own punch fly.
The sound that echoed from Peter was something she wasn't quite sure was human. It was girly, that was for sure, but strange all the same. Like strangling a chipmunk. Avery stood up tall and met Derek's impressed stare. His mouth wide open and his eyes darted back between Peter slumped on the floor, mouth bleeding, and Avery shaking her hand.
"Whaaat…?" Peter drawled out, spitting some bloodied saliva out, before getting on his hands and knees, "Remind me, which hunter family you're from again?"
"Venator." She spat out, folding her arms across her chest. Peter looked up at her pathetically and took in her figure. When he noticed the scar across her face he merely sighed. Using a nearby doorframe, he propped himself onto his feet.
"Ah…" he huffed, "You're not begrudging are you?"
"Not at all." Avery pouted. Her hip stuck out to the side as the sarcasm oozed from her. She was ready to deliver another blow already.
"Did that feel good? Derek stood at her side and folded his arms too.
"You have no idea." Avery breathed out. Violence was rather therapeutic.
"Jeez!" Peter rubbed his jaw, "That's the strongest punch any hunter's ever delivered."
Avery stood smugly, she wouldn't be surprised if that was the first actual punch Peter had from a female hunter. They weren't usually known for being the muscle of their family names. Avery was glad the Venator's did things differently.
"Look, both of you." Peter stood firm on his feet, "With what's to come, you're going to need all the help you can get."
"You can't help me as much as I can trust you." Derek shook his head.
"See, prime example, right here." Peter held his arms wide open, "I'm not healing as fast. Coming back from the dead isn't easy you know. I'm not as strong as I used to be. I need a pack, an alpha, like you. I need you as much as you need me."
"Why would I want help from a total psycho?" Derek questioned.
"Good one." Avery nodded in approval. Derek merely glared at her. She shrugged.
"First of all, I'm not a total psycho. By the way you're the one that slashed my throat open, but we're all works in progress right." Peter said in his defence, "We need each other. Sometimes when you need help, you'd turn to people you'd never expect. I'd have thought you'd have understood that more than anyone Miss Venator."
"Don't act like you know anything about me." Avery's nostrils flared.
"Look, you tried to build your pack, you tried to prepare for the worst but you weren't ready. Because of it, Gerard is winning. He's taking his time, he's toying with Scott. He's going after your wolves. One by one, he's relishing in victory."
"How about you tell me something I don't know." Derek grit his teeth.
"Oh I'm going to and it's going to prove why you should trust me. Why you need to trust me. Because I'm going to tell you how to stop Jackson."
xxxx
Sam had followed Isaac all afternoon. It was good the wolf hadn't mastered how to track a Kanima scent, then again even Derek wasn't the best at it. Isaac had found Scott at Deaton's Veterinary clinic and was still trying to work out his decision whether to stay or leave Beacon Hills. Sam had watched him pace back and forth in the car park after Scott left to play lacrosse. When finally Isaac had broke into a sprint towards the school Sam couldn't help but let a huge smile show on his face.
Now he hid behind the bleachers as Isaac sat himself beside Scott and they planned what to do next. As it turned out, this was no ordinary lacrosse game. Gerard Argent stood proudly in the corner of the field waiting. Jackson was on the field, which meant only bad things. Scott was benched and so the two boys tried to work out how to get Scott into the game before the timer reached zero and Gerard intended to massacre everyone Scott held dear.
Sam was so wildly concentrated on Isaac's protection that he almost missed the lady that went to stand next to Gerard. He did a double take as there stood his mother, Andrea. He tried to get his ears to listen to the hushed conversation that they were having. No matter how much he strained to get control over his were-self, he couldn't do it. He needed someone else with control. So instead he focused on one name, one person that he knew could help him. They'd been at odds for a while now, but it wasn't time for fighting anymore. They had to be one again.
"AVERY!" he screamed and finally he grasped her attention.
xxxx
"What do you mean? You know how to kill Jackson?" Derek shook his head. Suddenly Avery gripped her own as images flashed across her eyes. She could see through Sam as he hid watching the lacrosse game and then to look at the two figures standing on the edge of the field.
"Avery! AVERY!" Sam's voice echoed. Avery stumbled backwards as she tried to focus seeing through him than what was going on in front of her. Gerard and her mother! She let go of her head and felt out for the nearest wall, steading herself on it.
"I need to listen into what they're saying. I can't do it without you." Sam explained. Avery inhaled. She hadn't felt Sam tugging for control before but in the heated argument with Peter it wasn't likely she'd pay attention anyway. Now Sam absolutely needed her, so focusing they both listened into what Gerard and their mother were talking about.
"It could be good for you Andrea. I know that Brian isn't keen on the gore, but until you get a grip on those children of yours, you might as well practice on the rest of Derek's pack." Gerard said with a chuckle at the end.
"Oh trust me Gerard, I've had more than enough experience slicing and dicing up Beta's. It's the Alpha's you'll get trouble with. Especially Hale. He's not the most impressive Alpha I've ever come across but he's still a pain in the ass." Victoria replied.
"Now remember, Hale's mine." Gerard sniffled in the cold, "But you can have that one." He pointed to the field.
Through Sam's eyes, Avery could see just who Gerard was talking about. Getting off the bench and ready to play was Isaac.
"Sam. You need to make sure that our mother stays as far away from Isaac as possible. She's not to lay a finger on him, do you understand." Avery commanded.
"Two steps ahead of you sis." Sam replied, watching as something bizarre was happening on the field. Isaac was mowing down his own team members in order to get Scott playing instead. It was only when Jackson bumped past Isaac that he went down. Scott ran onto the field as Isaac stayed still. Sam looked around as Gerard disappeared with Andrea into the locker area. His eyes darted between the field and the two seasoned hunters as Isaac was lifted onto a stretcher.
", – Jackson nicked me. I'm not hurt I just can't move." Sam listened into the two wolves' conversation as Isaac grunted. Sam would have stayed in his position had he not noticed the two paramedics taking Isaac from the field. Those weren't ordinary medics; they were planted by the hunters. He had remembered seeing them fight along side his parents when Ilena... Well when they were back in Florida. They took Isaac away and towards the locker room which couldn't mean good things. Sam began to sprint. He pushed past the crowd faster than he had even before, his feet peeling one after the other off the moist grass. Down into the hallways of the school, his shoes screeched as they met the linoleum. He was surprised about how nothing in the high school had changed a bit. But he was losing focus. Isaac was where his priorities needed to lie. As he approached the locker room door, Sam began shifting into his other form. When he finally reached the change rooms, he smashed the door open and roared ferociously.
Crawling away on the ground was indeed Isaac. Standing right behind him though was Andrea. The woman gripped tightly onto a double-edged broadsword, ready to slice Isaac into two. At the resounding roar, all the hunters turned around and even Isaac's head twisted to see who had come to his aid.
"Sam?" Andrea hissed. But Sam wasn't in the mood for family catch up time. He leapt into action as two other hunters present began to attack. They drew forth their guns, shooting straight into Sam's gut to no effect. He simply threw one into a nearby wall rendering them unconscious and strangled the other one until he did the same. When he turned to face Gerard and his mother he realised that Gerard had slipped away. Instead in his place stood Scott, shifted and ready to back Sam up. Andrea looked between the two, sword still in hand and visibly fumed.
"So, this is the company you have now?" she spat with disgust, "I've never had more of a reason to kill you."
Without warning, she swung the sword so that it slit across Sam's stomach. He stumbled back for a moment before Scott leapt into action.
"No, Scott!" Sam screamed as Andrea dropped the sword and reached into her pocket. She dodged Scott's charge and pulled forth a taser, hitting the wolf square in the gut. He slammed into the ground and shook violently. Before anyone else had time to attack, Andrea had disappeared from the room like Gerard. The two teens and Sam were left disgruntled. Sam moved to Isaac's side as his stomach quickly healed and he shifted out of his Kanima form. Scott coughed and got to his feet, his body aching from the ordeal.
"We need to get back to the field before the timer runs out." He said, helping get Isaac to his feet with Sam. The three all left the locker room and hastily got back to the field as the crowd went wild. Beacon Hills was winning, but they didn't have time to celebrate as the last thirty seconds ticked away. Their breathing was heavy and their pulses raced until finally the buzzer went off and more cheering erupted from the bleachers. They could see Stiles running around madly in celebration on the field. Still Gerard and Andrea weren't in sight. Maybe nothing was going to happen after all.
Nope, they were wrong. Without warning all the lights on the field began to turn off. One by one the pitch blackened until shrieking began and people started to run around in panic. Scott let go of Isaac and started calling out for his mother, while Sam kept Isaac close to his side. His claws grew ready to attack again if necessary. People kept barging past trying to get away, trying to get out of there. But yet everyone seemed so unsure of what they were running away from. When the lights finally came back on, there was a giant huddle of Beacon Hills players in the middle of the field. Someone was laying in the centre, unmoving. Sam and Isaac moved closer as in front Scott and his mother pushed through the crowd.
"It's Jackson." Scott said with realisation. His mother pushed everyone back, inspecting the boy. She pulled his shirt up to reveal blood gushing from his lower torso. It was everywhere. Another girl ran in, screaming Jackson's name over and over again. Everything was happening in such a flurry that when Scott's mother finally sat back up and declared Jackson dead, no one really believed it.
Avery slipped out of Sam's view point and back into the familiarity of the Hale house. She let go of the wall and tried to process exactly what had just happened. Had the kid they were trying to save really just died? It seemed impossible that after everything Gerard would get rid of his most valuable asset. Either way, her eyes (rather Sam's eyes) hadn't been deceiving.
"You said you know how to save Jackson." Avery stared back at Peter, as he and Derek stood over her.
"Actually, how to save him. There's a myth that you can cure a werewolf simply by–." Avery cut Peter off before he could finish.
"You're too late Peter. Jackson's dead." She gulped.