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THIRTY EIGHT.

THE END.

As soon as they got to Lydia's house, Sage quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, sending a look at Stiles before throwing open the door and running up to the Martin's front door. Scott already took it upon himself to call her about fifty more times since they left Stiles' house, stressing that Jackson's death was all planned out by Gerard because it was the ending phase for a Kanima. He also said that Isaac and him were going to take Jackson's body to Derek, and that Lydia was the final puzzle piece in the equation. Jackson needed to be brought back and the one person who could do that was Lydia, the only person that the teenage boy has ever loved.

So, the situation couldn't be stressed enough as Sage's finger repeatedly pressed on the doorbell, giving no shits what-so-ever if the Martin's got pissed at her. She hated Lydia's dad anyways, she was just waiting for their divorce. Thankfully though, neither parent showed up, and it was just Lydia. She was still wearing the same clothes from the game, although her face was swelled up from crying. "I know, Scott texted me. Let's go."

"Hey," Sage said, stopping Lydia before she moved anymore. "You're going to be okay."

"He's dead and then he's not? How am I supposed to cope with that, Sage? How can I possibly..." Lydia's voice trailed off and she shook her head. "We need to go. Scott said that it was an emergency."

The two girls jogged back to Stiles' jeep, Sage getting in the front seat while Lydia sat in the middle of the back. Stiles cleared his throat and started the car while Sage tapped on the interior of the car, her ADHD starting to ooze over as she grew even more impatient. She just wanted to find Scott and end this once and for all. For right now though, she was curious as to what her strawberry blonde friend knew about everything. She's been kept in the dark for so long, and Sage was getting tired of it. Besides, she suspected that Lydia already knew more than she was letting on.

"How much do you know?" Sage finally asked, breaking the silence that was in the car. Stiles darted his eyes her way, looking at her in question as to what she was thinking. The blonde shook her head, her way of dismissing Stiles disapproval. Lydia needed to know everything.

"Bits and pieces. It all comes in dreams," Lydia admitted. "Peter talked about werewolves and what you were. I didn't think it was true until I remembered back to the night of the formal. The doctors were confused about how you were effected by every little thing that happened to me."

"Yeah, that wasn't one of my brightest moments," Sage agreed, scoffing slightly. The night of the formal isn't something she's ever going to forget. It was literally the first time she ever felt completely hopeless, aside from the hostage situation at the station. "I'm sorry that we kept everything from you for so long. It's just that—"

Lydia sighed. "I know. You were just protecting me."

"Sage thinks she can protect everyone," Stiles added. Before a fight could break out between him and his girlfriend, he quickly asked, "Are you sure we're going the right way? This is leading to an abandoned warehouse."

"This is where Scott said to go. He just sent the directions. I don't know anything else," Sage replied, deciding not to speak to him about his remark on her protection issues. When Stiles asked where the next turn was, she went to answer, "Lef—" Her word was cut off as she felt a sting of pain go into her shoulder, letting out a small screech at it.

"Sage!?" Both Lydia and Stiles yelled in sync, Stiles moving to stop the car on the side of the road.

Sage realized he was beginning to pull over and shook her head. "No! Keep going!"

"What the hell is happening? Who's hurt?" Stiles frantically asked as he picked up his speed. They were just a few minutes away now, and Sage let out a hiss through her teeth as she rolled her shoulder. Someone had been shot with an arrow, and she was fairly sure she knew exactly who did it.

"It was Isaac," Sage confirmed.

Stiles turned to her with wide eyes. "But he's a part of Derek's pack. I thought you didn't connect to them?!"

"Well, apparently Isaac changed packs because my shoulder is stinging like hell right now, Stiles," Sage snapped, groaning in pain as she moved so her head was in between her knees. "Come on, Isaac. Get the damn thing out so your ass can heal."

The pain never subsided, and they were getting closer when she felt another stabbing sensaation at her left shoulder, the opposite of the one Isaac was shot in. Much like how she knew it was one werewolf's injury, she could tell this one belonged to Isaac. She just held in her groans, not wanting to alert Stiles even more. Lydia was quiet in the backseat, and Sage couldn't blame her. She hadn't really ever seen her friend cringing in pain because some idiot werewolves decided they wanted to brawl.

Then the overblowing amount of pain came, and that was enough to startle Stiles so that he nearly lost control of the wheel. The agony didn't generate in one area, rather in a million different places from her sides to her back, feeling like someone had just mauled apart her body. It was, once again, Isaac's injuries. Stiles glanced over at her in panic while Lydia's hand went over her mouth to control her own cries. They could do nothing to help her, and that was the worst part of it.

For Sage though, the worst part was knowing who was doing all of this to Isaac. There was no one else in that warehouse that would be hurting Isaac with arrows and ring daggers apart from Allison. Gerard had finally gotten to her, he finally broke her. Stiles started to slow down and Sage felt herself growing even more irritated because someone could be dying in that warehouse. "Stiles, if you don't speed up I swear to you, you will regret it!"

"Okay, okay, it's right there," Stiles said, his hands fidgiting on the wheel as he realized there was no real way in. The exit was most likely on the other side of the building and they didn't have the time for that. So he decided to go straight. "Guys, I suggest you hold on!"

The two girls did as told, and soon enough, they were speeding through a wall. There was a loud bang and the sound of metal grinding against metal. Lydia let out a yelp while Sage did her best to protect herself. When she looked over, she noticed that Stiles' eyes were closed, despite him being the one in control of the car. There was a thump and then the car screeched to a stop.

Slowly, everyone opened their eyes. Stiles realized that they actually hit the Kanima, but he needed to confirm it. "Did I hit him?"

He spoke too soon though, and the Kanima had bounced back up, landing on the hood of the car. This time, everyone in the car let out some sort of sound from terror, Stiles' mouth opening wide to let out a long screech. That was when everyone shuffled out of the car, Sage and Stiles flinging their's open while Lydia was already two steps ahead of them.

As Stiles ran over to help Sage, her arm wrapped around his shoulder and his own stabling her at the waist, they watched Lydia rush over to Jackson. "Jackson?"

"Lydia, no! Run!" Sage cried out when she realized he had a hand outstretched, ready to claw at anyone who came near him.

Stiles and her both moved forward, only to be stopped by Scott. Before they could protest, they realized why the werewolf had halted them in the first place. Lydia had retrieved a key from her pocket, and immediately,Sage knew what it was. When they shared their secrets during the time they spent as roommates in the hospital, Lydia told her than Jackson gave her a key to his house. It was a symbolic way for them to express that they actually loved each other without actually saying those three words.

Jackson seemed to notice what it was, too. Every single person in the room stared in anticipation as the Kanima slowly disappeared, revealing the human that had been hidden behind the reptile all along. His face was still guarded with scales, and his teeth still snarled out, but there was hope because as he took the key from Lydia, his eyes lost their flare. As if he caught on how close he was to hurting the one person he's ever truly loved, he backed away, disgusted in himself.

The teenage boy continued to back further from everyone until he was standing as far away as possible, and already knowing that his fate was decided from the start, he nodded once. Sage caught on too late that this was his goodbye, and barely had time to register before Derek and Peter were impaling Jackson, one from the front and one from the back.

Two people fell to the ground, and that was exactly as it should have been.

Lydia's arms grabbed a hold of Jackson before he hit the cement ground, and Stiles was quick to take hold of Sage's waist, hoisting her up as best as he could. Scott helped, his arm wrapping around the other side of her, the two boys carrying her weight as much as possible. She choked out a strangled sob, but didn't dare say anything. She was going to have to experience Jackson's death all over again, and she knew this would hurt worse because it was definite. Derek turned to her and gave a sorrow look, as if he were sending a silent apology her way. She wondered if things between them would ever be the same again.

"Do you— do you still—" Jackson felt his words slowly stopping, meaning his life was coming to an end.

Lydia furiously began to nod her head, tears streaming down her face as she bit down on her bottom lip. "I do, I do still love you. I do, I do still love you." She repeated it over and over again, trying to let the words sink in. For the very first time since their relationship started, neither one feared saying the words to each other. She needed him to know. He had to know.

And then Jackson fell for the second time that night, and Sage felt herself letting go again. Her teeth clashed together as she grabbed fistfuls of both boys' shirts, refraining from screaming even though it hurt her not to. It wasn't even the physical pain anymore. It was the gut-wrenching truth that he wasn't going to come back, and he wasn't going to have a life, or a family. He was never going to walk Lydia down the aisle, and he wasn't going to be there to sneer at Sage when she needed words of encouragement.

Only one good thing came out of it. He wasn't dying the Kanima, but the boy that Scott, Stiles, Lydia, and Sage all grew up with. He was the boy that stole Sage's markers because he was too cool to take out his own in class, he was the boy that kissed Lydia Martin on the merry-go-round during fifth grade to secure their relationship forever, he was the boy that played alongside Scott on the Beacon Hills High lacrosse field.

He died Jackson.

It was a moment of silence before Allison spoke, her head moving through the darkness. "Where's Gerard?" She asked, nodding towards the stain that came from the sea of mountain ash flooding through the man's body. Sage curled her fingers out of Scott's shirt so that he could be closer to Jackson, falling onto only Stiles, who was more than willing to let her.

"He can't be far now," Chris Argent said.

Lydia finally got up from the ground after laying Jackson down, the boy completely free of what was the Kanima. Sage felt her heart breaking as she noticed her friend was trying the hardest possible to keep herself from shattering. Never before had anyone apart from Sage seen Lydia Martin cry, and now it was finally that time. The blonde stepped away from her boyfriend, ready and waiting to collect the pieces of the girl. Only she never had the chance to because behind her, someone was slowly rising back up.

Lydia whipped her head around just in time to see that Jackson was picking himself up. No one in the room spoke, all holding their breaths as they watch the boy arch himself back until he gives one single, roaring howl.

And then they knew everything was going to be okay.

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"Are you sure you can't fit me in your suitcase?"

"Sage, I'm not putting you in my suitcase. I could barely stand you for a year. I don't need you invading my life during the summer, too."

"Aw, where's the fun in that, Whittemore? We can go sight-seeing."

Sage grinned at Jackson, the two of them standing at the terminal. She had been begging for Jackson to take her with him to London, although she was shot down every single time. After what happened to him these past few months, his adoptive parents decided that moving to London was a good idea. A new start. Allison had already left them to go to France with her dad, needing an escape. As horrible as it sounded, Sage wasn't upset about it. She needed time to get over what Allison did. She also knew, though, that when her parents died, she went crazy. So she couldn't exactly hold a grudge.

She just needed time.

"Have you talked to Lydia?" Jackson asked, playing around with his suitcase. Sage frowned immediately, knowing that the question would be coming up eventually, she just prayed it wouldn't come this soon. After Lydia got over the whole dying one true love thing, she was pissed. Actually, pissed was an understatement. They shared a few good weeks up until Jackson broke the news that he had to leave. Now, Lydia was doing her best to avoid Jackson Whittemore at all costs.

She shook her head, pursing her lips. "I'm sorry. But hey, maybe you'll meet some super hot model chick that can actually stand your dick personality."

"Why are you even here again?" Jackson glared at her. On the inside, he was relieved that she showed up. He already said his goodbyes to everyone except her. Danny was the hardest, and surprising, Coach. Of course, there was the whole explaining his ressurection from the dead and then adding on that he was leaving.

"I'm here because I figured you needed a friend right now," Sage said. She heard the intercom come on, the flight that Jackson was supposed to be boarding getting called out. Sage smiled lightly, trying to hide the fact that she was actually really sad on the inside. "I'm going to miss you, Jackass."

"I know," Jackson agreed, nodding his head. They stared at each other for a moment, Jackson's parents calling for him to say his goodbyes and finally leave California forever. The teenage boy cleared his throat, going to turn around just as he felt someone wrap their arms around his neck. Sage buried her head into his neck, and he sighed. Her goodbye was just as hard. "I need to go, Sage."

"You better call me. I need to be updated on how long it takes for you to get a British accent."

Jackson snorted before finally pulling away, sending one last smile before walking away. Sage moved to turn around, her hands digging deep into the leather jacket that she pulled out from the back of the her closest. She missed it. Right when she was about to make her way to the exit, a voice called out through the airport, ringing through her ears. The two words alone nearly made her choke up again.

"Goodbye, Sage."

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n.e.

For the very last time on this book, I get to write a shitty author's note that makes no sense what-so-ever. Okay, so I hope you guys liked this chapter. I'm actually super emotional because I was looking at the number of views and Sage hit 300K today. I'm so extremely proud of the way Sage came out, and I'm now officially invested in her life. Season two was an intense struggle and I thought I was going to die but I need to thank you guys so much for sticking with me. My writing sometimes sucks, and I forget how to spell words sometimes, but you've always continued to read and I can't be more thankful for that. For you all. And Amanda, Sam, and Tara who all have encouraged me to finish this damn book.

So, I've been holding out on this for, like, ever. The sequel to Sage is going to be called Still and there is a lot of references to that title in particular. Only a few people know, but it's extremely important. You guys are finally getting some actual saiden next book! I want you guys to get hyped about Sage and Aiden because there is a lot of secrets and hatred and love gravitating around them because they are each other's first love. They always will be.

So for the very last time on this book, comment and tell me what you thought of it.

i love you.