chapter sixty-six
❝i am doll parts, bad skin, doll heart ❞
required reading

━━━━༺❀༻━━━━

Noah Stilinski crossed a red X over Tracy Stewart. He looked at the photo of the boy next to hers. Lucas. "Chimeras."

"Two dead Chimeras." Stiles corrected.

"And eight new ones." Added Malia.

Kennedy, who stood between both of them, slowly nod. "So, that's 10 in all." She hummed.

"I'm thinking maybe 11," Noah said as he put up the third photo. Kennedy felt her heart sink as she saw the photo of Donovan. The boy she had killed. Stiles grabbed her hand, entwining their fingers together. "Our station tech guys confirmed something for me," Noah began, "They said, both the holding cell lock and cameras could have malfunctioned because of something electromagnetic. You said that, uh, these guys,"

"Dread Doctors," Malia said.

"Are we really calling them that?" Noah asked the were coyote.

Malia ignored him, "So they broke Donovan out?"

Noah shrugged, "It's how they got into Eichen, isn't it?" He asked the trio. Kennedy didn't want to answer. She didn't want to say that she had killed Donovan. She couldn't manage it out.

"Donovan's a Chimera," Malia affirmed, walking towards the board.

"Yeah." Sighed the Sheriff as he looked back at the board. "But is he a failure like Lucas and Tracy?"

Stiles turned away, looking at his hands as Kennedy walked over, "If he is, he's probably dead." She said, reaching for the red marker. She just wanted it over with, she wanted Donovan swiped under the rug so she could pretend she never did what she had done,

Noah grabbed her wrist, "Not until I've seen a body." He told the girl. Kennedy pursed her lips, putting the marker down.

Sheriff Stilinski looked over at his son, "You're uncharacteristically quiet."

Everyone looked at Stiles. He glanced at Kennedy, who seemed to be way better at pretending everything was okay than he was. "Yeah... Sorry, I'm, uh," Stiles stuttered, "I'm just trying to think about it." He walked closer, "These are all teenagers, right? So, now shouldn't we be trying to figure out why these teenagers?" Kennedy rose a brow, "If the Dread Doctors, if they went through all that,"

"Burying them, killing them, breaking one of them out of jail," Kennedy listed off, nodding along.

"They couldn't have been chosen at random." The sheriff said finally.

"They had to have something in common," Malia adds.

Noah pinches his fingers together, "Something that made them right for this experiment."

Stiles tilted his head to the side, "Something that made them special." He said finally. Kennedy looked at her boyfriend, swallowing thickly before smiling.

༺❀༻

Kennedy looked down at Scott McCall's coffee table, seeing the numerous paper copies of The Dread Doctors. She tilted her head slightly, taking a bite of a pretzel stick. The cover seemed to stare at her, challenging her to read it. Of course, she had to. She just didn't know what would be the aftermath.

"My mom's book club usually has more wine," Lydia commented.

Stiles speaks up, "Well, they also probably didn't read books that cause violent hallucinations." He commented.

"That's why Malia's here," Scott said, looking at the Tate. Malia looked up, smiling.

"So none of us go running into traffic?" Kira chimed.

Scott shrugged, "Or worse."

Malia looked down, "Like what happened to Judy." Kennedy looked up from the table, everyone sending Malia confused looks. "Chapter 14."

Lydia rose a brow, leaning over to grab the book, "Maybe I should have my mother read it. She might remember a girl with a tail leaping off the ceiling and attacking everyone." Lydia said with a sarcastic closed-mouth smile.

"Yeah, if it works," Stiles mumbled.

"It has to," Lydia said.

Kennedy looked at the redhead, "What does that mean?" She asked.

Lydia held the book in her hands, "I think I saw them during my surgery." She confessed, "When I look at the cover of the book, it's almost like," The Martin shook her head, unsure what to think.

"A memory trying to surface," Theo mumbled. Kennedy looked up, locking eyes with the Raeken. Some part of her felt off with him in the room. She hadn't usually felt it before, but now...something told her that Theodore Raeken wasn't all he made himself out to be.

Kira looked at Malia, "Isn't that what Valack wanted when he wrote it?"

"If they did something to me, I want to know what it is," Lydia said as she walked around. Kennedy sighed, grabbing herself and Stiles a copy.

Kennedy looked at the packet in her hands. "My mom is connected to the Dread Doctors. I want to find out why." She said before walking away. She sighed as she sat with Stiles, looking at the cover one more time.

Time passed, Kennedy leaned onto Stiles's shoulder as she flipped the page. The words from the horribly gruesome story struggled to click in her head. Malia watched Stiles rub his shoulder, "What did you do to your shoulder?" She asked.

Stiles looked up, "What are you talking about?"

Malia rose a brow, "I can smell the blood. What happened?" Her eyes went between Stiles and Kennedy.

"We were," Kennedy bit her lip, "Doing things, and I got a little too excited and I scratched him," Kennedy lied. Malia listened to Stiles's heartbeat, which seemed to quicken. Kennedy's, however, didn't.

Stiles sighed, "Wait, so, how much do you remember anyway? With the accident, did it play like a movie in your head, or was it like being completely in it again?"

Malia looked down in thought, "In it." She answered honestly.

Kennedy shrugged, "Was it just the crash?" She inquired. She used her senses to listen to Malia's heartbeat.

"Nothing," Malia chimed, but her heart seemed to pick up for just a moment. Kennedy said nothing, looking back at the packet.

Obviously, reading a book as intense and packed as The Dread Doctors eventually lead to all of them falling asleep. Kennedy curled up as she rested her head on Stiles's chest on the floor of Scott's living room. Theo stared at them, wondering how long it would be until Kennedy realized what happened to her. If she knew what happened to the color of her eyes.

How long would it take Kennedy to realize it was all because of Sloane?

༺❀༻

༺❀༻

Kennedy Hale walked aside Kira Yukimura as the two girls followed their boyfriends. "What if we need some kind of trigger?" Asked Scott. "Wasn't Malia driving when she remembered the crash?"

Stiles nods, "Yeah, but how are we supposed to trigger a memory that we don't remember?" He asked.

"It's probably not going to be an instant thing," Kennedy stated, keeping her handbag in the bend of her arm. Kira looked over, nodding. "It could take minutes, hours, maybe days." She explained. "Maybe it'll be like my visions, where we won't know until moments before they happen,"

"Okay, but you haven't had a vision since the summer when you had a vision about Malia almost running over a sophomore," Stiles told her. Kennedy blushed, knowing that was true.

She didn't know how they worked. The dreams and the visions. Sometimes, they were every day, constantly. Other times, like recently, they were sporadic and only happened every so often. What was the point of being a Seer when you can't even see?

The lights in the hallway began to flicker, catching the group's attention. Stiles and Scott looked at each other, before slowly looking behind them. Kennedy turned her head, all three of them looking at the Kitsune.

"That wasn't me. I swear." Kira said innocently.

Scott looked between the group, "We keep an eye on each other today, okay?"

Stiles follows the statement with his own, "Yes, and keep an eye out for eight other potentially homicidal Chimeras."

"And keep an eye out for the Dread Doctors."

Kennedy sighs, "And my mom," She mumbled, feeling Stiles's hand entwine with hers. She looks over, smiling softly.

Kira and Scott begin to walk away, "Starting to see the appeal of a third eye." Stiles mumbled. Kennedy rolled her eyes, leading Stiles along. She pulls him to an empty classroom, "Uh, Ken, as much as I love crossing math classroom off our list, I'm not sure I'm in the mood,"

"Valack said I had a third eye, right?" She asked her boyfriend.

"Hopefully a metaphorical one," Stiles said, nodding his head.

Kennedy smiled, "I think that, if he can control what he sees, maybe I can control what I see." She explained, "And maybe I can find out more about the Dread Doctors, my mom, or make the process of my memory coming to surface faster." She explained whilst waving her hands around. Stiles watched his girlfriend with narrowed eyes, interested in the concept.

Stiles leaned on the desk, "Okay, but how do we control your...seerness?" He asked with a furrowed brow. Kennedy pursed her lips together, looking at the ground in thought.

"Um, sometimes in TV shows when a witch needs to do a spell she focuses on what she's doing." Stiles watches as Kennedy begins pushing desks back, leaving an empty space in the middle of the room. Kennedy sat down, looking at her boyfriend. "Come sit,"

Stiles seemed unsure as he sat across from Kennedy, her hands linking with his. "I feel like I'm in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer." He said in confusion.

"Sh, I'm focusing," Kennedy whispered. Stiles watched his girlfriend close her eyes, her mind focusing on herself, their hands, and nothing else. Stiles didn't know how this would work. Why would it work? She's not a witch, so why would rules about witches in TV shows apply to her?

However, Stiles's thoughts come to a halt when Kennedy's eyes spring open. Instead of their usual hazel that Stiles adored, they were stark white. It had worked. She was in a vision. Stiles didn't know what to do now. He didn't want to let go, in case it cut off whatever vision she was having, but he also needed to call Scott. Weighing his options, Stiles sat still, figuring he'd be able to cut off the connection when he sees any signs of danger.

Kennedy was eight years old.

The small child trotted through a hallway. Seventeen-year-old Kennedy tried to fish through her memories of where she was, but she couldn't piece it together. The eight-year-old version of her ran past, causing present Kennedy to go after her.

It was a door. The blue door. The image seemed familiar to Kennedy as she stood directly behind her younger self. Kennedy watched the brunette child reach for the metal handle, pushing it open. Present Kennedy frowned as she followed, the sound of screaming filling her ears.

It was brutal. Blood splattered all over the walls and present Kennedy gasped as some organ flew past her head. Young Kennedy froze in fear, her hazel eyes wide as she looked at the scene in front of her. Present Kennedy slowly looked up, her eyes finding the same scene.

Deucalion was surrounded by bodies. His pack. Sloane Valet stood only feet away, pulling away from a body she had killed herself. Deucalion's wolf form struck through the eight-year-olds mind. She was terrified. Whatever she imagined the monster under her bed to look like, was exactly that. Deucalion's eyes landed on the little girl, his crimson red eyes shifting to their normal color. Sloane turned around, her face contorting to humanity as she watched the man she had left Kennedy's father for approach the child.

Present Kennedy looked between them. Deucalion and herself. The Demon-Wolf kneeled to match the girl's height. His blood-covered face contorted into a wicked grin. "Kennedy Valet, how nice to finally meet you,"

"Kenny, I told you to stay with Lydia," Sloane scolded as she walked over. Deucalion held up a hand, causing the woman to freeze her movements.

"Kennedy, what do you know about death?" Deucalion asked the child. Sloane clamped her mouth shut, looking over.

Eight-year-old Kennedy tilted her head to the side, "I know people die when they're old," Kennedy said, her eyes looking around the gory room. Present Kennedy frowned, trying to find this memory but coming up with nothing. Deucalion's lips tilted up as he nodded at the child. "Or some people die cause bad people hurt them,"

Deucalion clicked his tongue, "Very good," He said. Present Kennedy watched as he rubbed his hands together, the blood smearing in between his palms. "There's another time people die," Kennedy's younger self tilted her head to the side in confusion. "People die when they risk their lives for the greater good. Like my pack." The child looked around the room again, studying the bloodied bodies and the organs and blood that smeared around her. "They died for you, Kennedy." The words seemed to catch both present Kennedy's and her younger self's attention.

"What do you mean?" Kennedy asked in confusion.

"They died for you to become what your mother and I became," Deucalion explained. Kennedy's eyes widened as she watched her mother and Deucalion's eyes turn to glowing red. "But there's one more, I saved him just for you,"

The seventeen-year-old frowned as she watched the bloody Deucalion pick up her younger self. Sloane Valet seemed to be just as confused as present Kennedy. Kennedy furrowed her brow, watching Deucalion carry the little brunette to a body.

It was alive.

The man had to have been no older than thirty. He had shaggy yellowish blond hair and a set of brown eyes. Kennedy stood over the man across from her younger self. He was shredded, his body attempting to heal itself. He was a werewolf, Kennedy concluded as she saw his brown eyes flash yellow.

Younger Kennedy turned her head towards the Demon Wolf himself. "What happened to him?" She asked cluelessly. Though, as she looked at the blood all over her mother and the man her mother had been dating, the list of possibilities wasn't very long.

"He sacrificed himself for you," Is all Deucalion said. Kennedy watched as the Demon Wolf grabbed the eight-year-old Kennedy's hand, claws coming from her fingertips. The child's eyes flashed yellow on instinct, her hand following Deucalion's directions. Present Kennedy's eyes widened as she opened her mouth in horror, praying this was all some twisted dream. Deucalion aided the young girl's hand to the stranger's throat. Her small claws dug through his skin with ease, the blood spewing from his neck onto the little girl's face.

Kennedy Hale watched her younger self's yellow eyes turn into a shade of steel blue. Sloane's face was unbothered. Like she had been waiting for this moment. Young Kennedy looked at the body for a long moment, feeling more than powerful.

"How did it feel?" Asked Deucalion, smiling at the little girl.

"I liked it," Young Kennedy whispered as she looked at Deucalion, her eyes still shining that bright blue.

Deucalion smiled proudly, kneeling down, "That's my future Heir," He crooned. Present Kennedy breathed heavily as she watched the scene before her. The memory played out agonizingly. Kennedy had killed someone before.

She was always a killer.

Stiles watched as a tear slipped through Kennedy's eyes. "Kenny? Ken, can you hear me?" He watched as Kennedy's pale-colored eyes seemed to scan back and forth wherever she was. Her hands tightened around Stiles's, causing him to open his mouth in pain. "Ken! Ken, stop!" He shouted, hearing his bones cracking. Suddenly, Kennedy stopped. Her grip around his hands loosened, and she was staring blankly into nothingness once again.

She was at a door. When she opened the door, she walked into Beacon Hills Hospital just in time to watch a young Scott McCall being pulled down the hall on a gurney. Kennedy frowned, following the crowd of people, including Melissa McCall.  "You're okay, sweetheart. You just need to breathe, okay?"

Kennedy could hear young Scott's wheezing as he looked at his mom, "Where's Roxy?" Kennedy looked over a doctor's shoulder, seeing the bloody leash in Scott's hand.

"Sweetheart, she didn't make it."

Kennedy came to a slow stop as she watched them disappear down the hall. The sound of wheezing still in her ear caused Kennedy to whip around. "Scott?"

"Ken," There he was, present-day Scott Mccall, wheezing as he leaned against a wall.

The Hale rushed forwards, helping Scott slide to the ground. "Scott, what happened? What's going on?"

"How did you..."

"Get here? I opened a door." Kennedy deadpanned. "Now what's going on, is, is this your vision? Why can't you breathe?"

Scott clutched onto Kennedy's arm, "I think," He wheezed out. Kennedy nodded, needing him to continue, "I'm having an asthma attack,"

Kennedy shook her head, "That makes no sense, you're a werewolf," She said. Kennedy watched as Scott only continued to struggle. She sighed in frustration. "How do we wake up?"

"I don't," Scott tried to say, but it was no use. Kennedy's shoulders slouched as she looked around aimlessly.

"Sorry," She began. For a moment, Kennedy paused. "No, I'm not," She hummed before slapping Scott across the face. Scott's head snapped to the side, and Kennedy frowned as she realized they didn't wake up. "Okay, now I'm sorry."

"I've got it! I've got the inhaler!" A voice echoed around them.

Kennedy looked around, "Is that...Liam?" She mumbled. Scott practically laid there, limp. Kennedy groaned in frustration. "Come on, Ken, what do you do when your co-alpha best friend is having an asthma attack?" She whispered, looking around the hospital. Kennedy gasped, running over to the inhaler sitting on a cart of supplies.

Grabbing the object, Kennedy kneeled back down to her friend, "I'm going to put this to your mouth, just...inhale. Okay?" Scott faintly nodded as Kennedy raised the inhaler to his lips. She pressed the button, Scott letting in a short breath.

"Scott."

Kennedy's eyes flung open as she tugged away from Stiles. The Stilinski whined in pain, holding his hands as Kennedy sprung to her feet. Stiles jumped back slightly. "Oh my god," Kennedy whispered. "When you have your memory, please don't pull me into it," Kennedy said.

"Wait, you had your memory?"

"Kind of, and so did Scott. He literally just about died in there if it weren't for me and Liam on the conscious side of things," Kennedy explained. She shook her head, "But it wasn't a memory about Dread Doctors,"

Stiles shrugged, "Then what was it?" He asked her.

Kennedy looked down, the memory scorched into her brain like a third-degree burn. "It was Deucalion. I met him when he formed the Alpha pack with my mom." She explained. Stiles's eyes widened slightly. "He had me kill someone,"

Stiles's heart dropped. First Donovan, and now this. Kennedy's hazel eyes glared into the floor as Stiles stepped closer. "It'll be okay," Is all he said. Kennedy slowly looked at him, not so convinced.

༺❀༻

Kennedy climbed out of the passenger seat of Lydia Martin's car while Stiles clambered out of the back seat. "Okay, then what are we doing here if you've already had your suppressed memory?"

"It wasn't the right memory." Lydia said, "I remembered my grandmother in Eichen House. There was nothing to do with surgery, nothing to do with the Dread Doctors."

"Mine wasn't about Dread Doctors either," said Kennedy. She didn't clarify what her memory was to Lydia, and she didn't plan to.

"So, if we've read the book, why don't I have the full memory of my experience with them?" Lydia asked with a frown.

Stiles spoke up, "I'm not supposed to know that, am I?"

Lydia slowed down, "No, something... happened during the surgery. But now I think that maybe it has more to do with me being a Banshee." Lydia said, looking between Kennedy and Stiles. "It's not my memory."

"It's someone else's." Kennedy sighed, "Cool, that's exactly what I wanted to experience," She said sarcastically, leading the way into the hospital.

The three walk into the room Lydia had her surgery. "Can you turn the lights on?" Lydia asked.

Stiles reached for the switch, "Uh... Not going on."

"Ask someone."

Kennedy spoke up, "Hey, I thought this was more of an auditory thing." She commented.

"I still wanna see what I'm hearing," Lydia mumbled. Stiles and Kennedy looked at each other, nodding in fairness before walking back into the hall.

Melissa McCall was at the front desk when Kennedy and Stiles came walking over, "Hey, Melissa? Do you know what is going on with the power? We need help with Lydia."

The older McCall began to walk, "Well, you've been having issues for the last hour, maintenance is coming to check it out. For now, that floor is down to backup lighting." Melissa frowned, looking at Stiles. "But you said this was more of a hearing thing."

"Auditory." Stiles corrected.

Kennedy smiled, "It's also a Lydia thing," She hummed.

The couple walked back towards the elevator, walking inside. "Well, let's just hope Lydia doesn't yell at us about the power," Kennedy said casually. Stiles didn't say anything, slowly nudging his girlfriend. "What is your..." Kennedy slowly trailed off, seeing someone else was in the elevator with them. "Problem,"

Stiles looked like he had seen a ghost, because in a way he had. The elevator door opened, and the woman walked past the two. Kennedy and Stiles silently followed the woman, unsure what was going on. "Ken," Stiles's voice trembled as they followed the woman down the hall.

"Stiles, it's your memory," Kennedy declared, the two rounding a corner. "It's your-"

"Mom." Stiles finished her sentence, walking faster. Kennedy sighed, speeding her pace as well.

Kennedy raced up the stairs, "Stiles, just hold on,"

"Mom?" Stiles called out, racing to the top of the building. Kennedy and her boyfriend came to a stop, seeing Claudia Stilinki standing at the edge. "Mom, what are you doing?"

"Claudia." Kennedy nearly jumps as she looks at Noah Stilinski. He slowly approached the ladder. "What are you doing up there?"

Claudia slowly shook her head, "I couldn't stand to be in that room anymore." She said, stepping down, "Not with him looking at me like that."

"Claudia," Noah began.

"He's trying to hurt me." Claudia blurted. Kennedy clenched her jaw, looking at Stiles for a moment. "I don't care if you don't believe me, but he is. He's trying to kill me."

Kennedy's hand reached for Stiles's. What an awful thing to say, she thought. She knew it wasn't Claudia's fault, but the protectiveness Kennedy had over Stiles overwhelmed her. "No. That's not true." Noah said softly, so softly. "Come on down." Noah assisted his wife onto the ground, sighing as he pulled her into a hug. "You have to remind yourself that it's the disease." Noah said, pulling away to look at his wife, "Remember what the dementia does?" Kennedy's thumb rubbed over Stiles's knuckles, "It gives you delusions. It makes you think that people are out to get you,"

Claudia spoke up, "You don't see the way he looks at me." She uttered out.

"Claudia, he's 10 years old."

"He's trying to kill me." Claudia snapped, looking right at Kennedy and Stiles. Kennedy narrowed her eyes, moving in front of Stiles. "Stop it." She shouted, "Stop looking at me like that. Stop it! Stop looking at me!"

"Mom... What are you doing?" Stiles whispered as Claudia came running at them. "Kennedy!"

Kennedy growled loudly as Claudia tackled her to the ground.  Stiles fell backward, both teens snapping back into reality. A boy Kennedy didn't recognize was attacking her. She bared her teeth, careful not to flash her eyes as she kicked him off of her. She grabbed Stiles, the two of them running.

Stiles grunts as he is pushed to the ground. Kennedy screams as the boy grabs her, shoving her. Kennedy tries to fight off the boy with large teeth, but struggles. She shouts in pain as his claws dig into her stomach. Suddenly, another figure grabs the man's arm, roaring loudly. Kennedy stumbles into Stiles, holding her wound as Theo Raeken attacks her attacker.

"Ken, you're bleeding," Stiles whispered in concern.

Kennedy swallowed a lump in her throat, "I'm fine," She uttered out. The couple looked over at Theo, who flipped the presumed Chimera to the ground. Theo and the Chimera struggle, until Theo falls, and the chimera stomps on his hand.

Still wounded, Kennedy growls as she runs forward, swinging her leg in the air as she kicks him backward. She lands on her feet easily. Theo takes the time to stand up. The chimera runs forward, Kennedy grabbing his arm and snapping it back. Theo's hand grabbed the Chimera's neck. Stiles's face contorted into shock as Theo's claws ripped through the chimera's throat, blood splattering onto the pavement. Flashes of what Kennedy had done to Donovan flashed through her mind as she looked over at Theo.

"Ken," Stiles's voice echoed in Kennedy's ear, causing her to spin towards him. Kennedy practically fell in Stiles's arms as she looked down at the body.

"Stiles, Kennedy," Theo said lowly. Stiles looked at the Raeken as he made Kennedy look the other way. "You can't say anything." He told them. Kennedy closed her eyes, trying to erase what she had just seen. "Please, don't say anything."

Stiles ran his fingers through Kennedy's auburn hair. "Why not?" He asked quietly. Theo's eyes met Stiles's. For a moment, Theo looked at Kennedy, who seemed so innocent in this moment. However, Theo's next words would change that.

"Because I never said anything about Donovan."