inhuman [2] // teen wolf

52. goodbye, old friend

Riley was once again back at Scott's house with a whole new dilemma; Peter had figured out a way to let the Nogitsune out without hurting Stiles, and it involved Scott and Lydia going into his head and literally howling at Stiles to get him to snap out of the Nogitsune's distraction. When the two got out of his head, Stiles started to vomit a very long bandage out of his mouth which seemed like it went for miles. It all fell onto the ground and a creature (the true form of the nogitsune) started to climb out of it. Its whole head was covered in bandages and it wore a bomber jacket from the forties; Scott and Deaton held it down as it unwrapped its bandage, revealing another Stiles! To make the matters worse, the original Stiles that had vomited up the other Stiles had disappeared and taken Lydia with him. They had called Noshiko and she arrived with her accompanying Oni, where they stamped him with the self symbol. He was finally himself.

Riley rushed up the stairs once they had told her what happened, as Stiles was lying on Scott's bed as Melissa's recorded his vital signs. Scott went up with her, and the two stood at the doorway and Stiles sat up.

"Riley." He said solemnly, and she walked over to him, knowing that in that moment, there was no darkness surrounding him. "Riley, it's --"

He was cut off as the wind was knocked out of him; Riley had sent her arms flying around him as she pulled him into a very tight hug. Tears lined her eyes as her mouth involuntarily formed into a very grateful smile.

"You're back." She whispered, clutching onto him. His arms wrapped around her torso as he smiled into her neck, feeling the warmth he had missed so damn much.

Now that the whole Stiles situation was fixed, she had to know how Isaac was doing; apparently the nogitsune had done the same thing to him and the two twins as he had done to Derek; and they almost killed Allison and Kira. Deaton was at the school with them, digging the flies out from their throats to ensure that they wouldn't be possessed again. She took her phone out and sent a quick text to Allison, asking for him.

"I'm going to go find Lydia." Riley confirmed, bidding goodbye to the company and leaving them alone. There really was nothing else to do but try to find Lydia until nightfall; then the Oni would come out and try to slay the nogitsune.

---

Riley had absolutely no luck in trying to find Lydia, only having word that Allison and Isaac had found her car, yet she was nowhere to be found. Riley didn't really care as much as she did about Allison and Isaac being together; they were happy, and she couldn't be mad at that. It was nearing the night time and time was running out; who knew if Lydia was even alive? Where would the Nogitsune even be hiding her and why would he take her, out of all people? This whole thing really confused her and she had no idea what to do.

During her walk around the suburbs, wondering wherever her feet lead her, she felt a chill running down her spine as the wind picked up. She pulled her jacket in closer as she walked with a hunch, trying to conserve her heat. She kept her head down, giving up on finding the girl and heading back towards Scott's house, but her plan was not followed through. She was only a few houses down when she looked both ways on the road and walked across but someone suddenly bumped into her.

"Riley, I'm so glad to have found you." Stiles had grabbed her arms to stop her from falling, as she frowned at the boy.

"Stiles? What are you doing here?" She asked, feeling a large wave of worry come across her as she looked at the pale boy.

"We've been looking everywhere for you. Where have you been?" He asked, letting go and walking alongside her to Scott's.

"Looking for Lydia, I told you." She replied, slightly shaking from the cold winds. Stiles was wearing a simple t shirt and jeans, but he had no goosebumps.

"You did? Oh, I must have missed that." He replied, and she stopped walking when she realized he had too. Before she could turn around however, Stiles had grabbed her knife from her belt. She quickly spun around, beyond worried. That knife could kill her; it was the only thing that Emma was vulnerable to, because her family made it and her family wasn't supernatural. Yes, it had wolfsbane in it, but wolfsbane was not supernatural; it was just a plant used against the supernatural.

"Give me my knife back, Stiles." She warned, holding her hand out. He looked up at her, then frowned.

"Oh, Riley. I can't have someone like you running around and ruining my game." He tutted, then his mischievous smile returned. Suddenly, as if someone had pulled a large blanket over the sun, it turned pitch black, and all Riley could see were two great bulging eyes a few metres above her, staring maliciously down at her. "Your little friend can't help you now, Riley."

As if Stiles was a puppet on strings, Riley could only just make out his distorted face as he clenched the knife in his hands. The Nogistune had figured out how to be in two places at once; it carefully extracted itself from the body of Stiles and distracted Emma, while Stiles took care of Riley.

Before Riley could say anything, Stiles held the knife tightly and pushed it right through Riley's stomach, sending a million chills all over her already cold body. Her eyes widened and she gasped, looking down at the knife that was now inside of her, and looked back up to Stiles. She realized for sure that that was not her best friend.

"No..." She whispered, and felt the tightening around the blade as he slowly twisted it. She grabbed onto the blade from where it entered her stomach and gripped it as tightly as she could, minimising the twisting sensation. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched the Nogitsune in horror, knowing regretfully that it had finally brought her pain.

"I'm stronger than your little shield, Riley. Nothing can stop me." He whispered, and ripped the knife out of her with such force that blood spurted out and sprayed his shirt with droplets.

She felt a wave of coldness slowly creeping around her, as the sparkles in her glossy brown eyes slowly began to fade. The blood soaked her peach shirt until it was nothing but the deep crimson colour of death.

Riley struggled for words. She had none. She had no last words. Her breathing was shallow. Her hands clutched her stomach as she fell to the ground limply, looking up at the star covered sky that was suddenly clear again as she tried to not cry. Oddly enough, she had no pain at all. This was it. This was the day that she died. At least she had a beautiful view. She could hear the muffled words of the Nogitsune and the distant sounds of footsteps coming from every direction.

The last thing she saw was a white angelic fog forming around her, and the face of Emma Beacon in the middle of it, who was looking down at her with a small smile. She looked so young and clean. She wasn't wearing any face paint, no dirt crowded her face and her dark hair fell down the sides of her head in perfect little curls. There was no leather or wolf skin; only a silky white dress drooped on her strong frame. Down at her sides, were two very beautiful twin boys holding her hands. Her sons. She was absolutely beautiful, and Riley watched in awe as the warrior side of Emma diminished in front of her eyes. She took her last breath and the dying girl faded away until her eyes bore nothing of the once bright and alive sparkle Riley Beacon once had.

Author's Note.

If you have made this far, thank you for taking the time to indulge in this journey with Riley and I. It truly was a great time writing her and witnessing her coming alive on every page.

The ending may come as a shock to some of you, but it definitely felt right to end the second book here. Some may disagree, but we all can't get along!

Once again, thank you for coming along this ride, and I hope you enjoyed.

- missuniverse-

ps. Don't you worry guys, the third in this series is well and truly on its way! I hope I caught you in surprise ;)