"So, that's it? That's what I look like, when I turn into the kanaima?" Jackson asked, as he stared in awe at the monster before him."

"Pretty much . . . yeah. Though, for what it's worth, I think your cheekbones are actually a little higher than his," replied Stiles, shrugging his shoulders.

"Wow . . . no wonder I was afraid of mirrors," mused Jackson, as Stiles and Lydia pulled him into the protection of the darkness.

Without exchanging a single word between them, Derek, Isaac, Erica, Boyd and Scott shifted in unison, and surrounded Gerard . . . growling, clawing, and pouncing at him from all sides. And yet, it didn't take them long to realize that, though they outnumbered the elder Kanaima five-to-one, Derek's pack was still woefully outmatched. With a single flick of his tail, the Kanaima sent both Isaac and Erica flying across the cemetery. Both young wolves landed on gravestones, and were knocked unconscious on impact.

Boyd had only slightly better luck, managing to send a few well-placed kicks and jabs in the lizard's direction, before the latter shot a mouthful of venom into the wolf's open, growling, mouth, temporarily paralyzing him from the neck down.

With only Derek and Scott left in the fight, the two wolves were forced to shift from an offensive strategy, to a defensive one. And though each wolf took a gallant turn blocking the other from frontal lizard attacks, they knew they wouldn't be able to hold him off forever . . .

So, you could imagine everyone's surprise when Allison Argent, who had been perched precariously on the upper limb of a nearby tree, propelled herself on top of Kanaima Gerard, and covered its eyes with her black-gloved hands, temporarily blinding him . . .

The Kanaima stumbled, whipping its tail back and forth angrily, as it tried to shake off the female werewolf hunter. But Allison held fast, finding the whole experience not entirely dissimilar to the time a few years back, when she rode the mechanical bull at a Honky Tonk Restaurant, during a family vacation to Montana. Somehow, she had managed to stay on the ride longer than men twice her age and size. She won a t-shirt for her trouble. Her father was beyond proud . . .

Seeing an opportunity, Derek and Scott pounced on the Kanaima together, each ripping a sizeable chunk of skin out of its stomach with their claws. The Kanaima staggered backward in pain, as the two wolves roared in triumph, believing that the tide of the battle had finally turned in their favor. That was when it happened . . .

The Kanaima lurched forward, and scraped its claw vertically down Derek's midsection, leaving a large gaping wound in his wake. Derek groaned in agony, as blood poured from his stomach. The injury caused him to shift immediately back into human form. When he fell to the floor, his face was deathly pale. Even the Kanaima seemed shocked by what he had done, turning its head to admire its own handiwork.

Allison screamed, as she leapt from the Kanaima's back, and rushed to Derek's side, immediately throwing off her gloves, so that she could cup his face in her bare hands. "You're going to be OK. You're going to be OK," she whispered tearfully, over and over again, as she placed his head in her lap, and delicately massaged his temples.

But the way that wound looked, she wasn't entirely sure . . .

"Allison," Derek whispered, trying to find the energy to speak, as the world grew dark and cold around him.

"Oh god, Derek. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault," Allison cried, unable to see through the blur of her tears.

"No . . . Allison," Derek wheezed. "Please, don't blame yourself for this. I . . . I . . . love . . . you."

"Oh, Derek! I love you too!" Allison exclaimed.

But it was too late. Derek's eyes had rolled shut, before he had a chance to her hear her response.

"NOOOO!" Allison yelled, her screams of anguish echoing through the cemetery.

Jackson, Stiles and Lydia then emerged from the shadows, forming a semi-circle around the couple, with Scott following close behind them. Lydia knelt down to wrap her arms around her friend, as the latter turned and sobbed into her friend's chest. No one knew what to say. It was Jackson who finally broke the crowd's mournful silence.

"Allison, I know you said you would never force me to be the kanaima again. But please, let me avenge Derek for you."

Allison shook her head vigorously. "No, I couldn't ask you to do that, Jackson. Not after all you've been through."

Jackson knelt down toward Allison and took her hands in his. "Please, Allison. This monster inside me, it's taken everything. I'll never forgive myself for the things I've done . . . all the pain of caused the people of this town. Just let me do this one thing right."

Allison sighed, as she stared at Derek's seemingly lifeless body, taking his pulse with her fingertips. "We have to get him to the hospital," she said.

Scott placed his head on Derek's chest, and inhaled. "I'm afraid there's no time for that," he explained dolefully.

Allison sobbed. "I'm not leaving him like this."

"I'll stay with him," replied Scott, casting a meaningful look in Allison's direction.

Allison blinked, exchanging a look with Scott that said more to him than words ever could. "Thank you," she managed to utter.

Then, she turned her attention to Jackson. "Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked, rising to her feet.

Jackson nodded solemnly. "More than I've ever wanted to do anything."

"OK," said Allison finally, as she closed her eyes, and allowed her mind to darken with rage, as she pictured Gerard's laughing evil face, as the kanaima sliced into her lover's abdomen.

Jackson shuddered, and twitched, as he felt himself transform into the kanaima for one last time . . .

Despite what Stiles may have thought about Jackson's cheekbones, the two kanaimas looked so much alike that the group had trouble telling them apart. Unlike with the wolf pack, Kanaima Gerard found himself exactly evenly matched by Jackson. The two lizards boxed, parried and clawed at one another, sidestepping gravestone after gravestone, as they moved across the width of the cemetery, in a dance of death, knowing full well that one of them wasn't going to make it out alive. But which one?

Meanwhile, Scott was leaning over Derek's stomach, his tongue extended, as he gently licked the Alpha's large open wound. At first, nothing happened. And Scott feared he may have lost his friend and adversary for good. But then the wound slowly began to close.

Scott smiled softly, as the color returned to Derek's face, and his eyes fluttered open. "Please tell me you weren't licking me just now," Derek groaned.

"Way to be appreciative, asshat," Scott exclaimed with a smirk. "In case you haven't noticed, I just saved your life."

Derek managed a grin, as he sat up on his elbows. "Yeah, I guess I owe you one, man," he offered.

"More than one," remarked Scott, with a knowing wink.

The two wolves' eyes immediately wandered to the tall brunette female, who was currently engaged in watching the kanaima battle, attempting to control it with her mind, as best she could. "She's really something special, isn't she?" Scott mused.

"Yeah, she definitely is," replied Derek.

"Just . . . take care of her for me, OK?" Scott said, studiously avoiding the Alpha's eyes.

"I will," answered Derek, with a firm nod. "I promise."

Kanaima Jackson was getting tired. He didn't know how much longer he would be able to hold Gerard off. The thought of losing this battle to a man who had taken so much from Jackson and his friends, made him incredibly angry. In a rage, he lifted a nearby tombstone from the ground, holding it high over his head. He blanched when he saw the words inscribed in the cement. It was his mother's tombstone.

Up until this point, nobody knew that kanaimas could cry . . .

Suddenly, two ghostly figures appeared in the corner of the monster's vision. And though he had never seen them before, Jackson was pretty sure that they were his parents. And while they didn't look anything like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, to him, they were the most beautiful sight he had ever seen . . . .

"It's OK, Jackson," his mother said. "It's just a piece of cement. We'll always be with you, whether it's there or not."

"You're not alone Jackson," said his father, "those people over there," he continued, motioning toward Derek, Scott, Lydia and Stiles, "they are your real family. They care about you, and made you the man you are today. So, do them a favor, and KILL THAT OLD UGLY PIECE OF CRAP."

If Jackson had any doubts before that this was the ghost of his dad, they were definitely gone now . . .

Jackson felt himself slowly regaining his own humanity. And, somehow, he knew that he would never be the kanaima ever again. He didn't need to be . . . not anymore.

But still, Jackson had to act fast. With a triumphant yell, the lacrosse team co-captain hurled his mother's tombstone at the kanaima's head, instantly decapitating it. The teen watched with a mixture of horror and amazement, as the monstrous lizard's face fell to the floor with a thud, its now-headless body crumbling on top of it.

"I did it," said Jackson incredulously, staring down at the dead body of Gerard Argent, which had since morphed into naked human form. "I can't believe I did it."

The entire gang surged forward to congratulate Jackson, and celebrate the demise of Gerard Argent. Whoops and cheers of excitement filled the cemetery. And, for the first time in his life, Jackson felt like he belonged.

Jackson's parents were right. This was his family. And he loved them all dearly . . . even Stiles, who was currently poking Gerard's head with a stick, while Lydia scolded him for being "inappropriate and gross."

Only Allison hung back from the crowd . . . mourning the loss of the grandfather she used to know, the one that snuck her candy when she was a little kid, and her parents wouldn't let her have sweets . . . the grandfather who bought her water guns, and Nerf balls for her birthdays, when everyone else bought her Barbies and dresses. But most of all, she mourned for Derek, who had clawed his way into her heart, and who, now, she couldn't imagine living life without . . .

"Hey . . . decapitated kanaima head for your thoughts?"

Allison spun around to see Derek standing behind her. With a sigh of relief, she threw her arms around him, wetting his chest with grateful tears, as he rubbed her back with one hand, while running his fingers through her hair with the other. "I thought you were . . ." she began.

"I know," Derek replied.

"I love you so much, Derek. I thought I'd never get the chance to tell you," Allison said, looking up into the Alpha's large expressive eyes, as she ran her fingers up and down the toned muscles in his arms.

"I love you too, Allison Argent . . . more than I ever thought I could love anyone," he replied, pulling her in for a deep and passionate kiss.

And as the enemies-turned lovers embraced, rejoicing in the feel of one another's bodies against their skin, the world around them seemed to melt away, in a burning ring of fire . . .