We found where Lydia could be. Scott called Allison. I called Alex. We took Stiles's jeep and he drove. I was on edge, not only because of Lydia but because he looked extremely pale. He got paler by the minute. I knew what was happening to him.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked Scott.
"Yeah. Yeah, you don't have to worry about me," Scott told him.
"All right, I'll say it. You look like you're dying," Issac said. "You're pale, thin, and you look like you're getting worse. And we're all sitting here thinking it. When we find the other you, is he gonna look like he's getting better?"
"What happens if he gets hurt?" I asked.
"What do you mean? Like if he dies, do I die?" I nodded. "I don't care. Just so long as no one else dies because of me. I remember everything I did. Scott, I remember pushing that sword into you. I remember twisting it. I remember doing all that stuff at the hospital."
"It wasn't you," Scott said.
"Yeah, but I remember it," Stiles said. "You guys gotta promise me. You can't let anyone else get hurt because of me."
"Just a thought," Issac began again. "Should we have brought Lucy?"
"I am right here," I told him, offended.
"No, he's right," Scott agreed. "If someone dies, you- "
"I have my support beams," I told him assuringly. "Maybe some of us will get injured, but no one's going to die tonight. I won't let that happen."
Stiles stopped in front of the gates. I knew it was here. Oak Creek. Vines grew on the gate. It was old and abandoned. I bet it had been about seventy years since anyone had stepped foot in this place.
"Lucy!"
Allison stepped out of the car. She threw me something and I caught it. I examined it and found a button. I pressed it, flicked it, and it extended. It was strong and sturdy with a smooth black material. I looked at her. I smiled in thanks.
"We've done this before, guys," said Scott. "A couple of weeks ago, we were standing around, just like this, and we saved Malia. Remember? That was a total stranger. This is Lydia."
"I'm here to save my best friend," Allison said.
"I came to save mine," Scott said, glancing at Stiles.
"I just didn't felt like doing any homework," Issac added. He looked at me. And to protect me.
"Twist it, pull, and snap it," Allison instructed, giving me a preview. "Press this button." Blades came out from the ends.
"Wow, okay... " I took it from her, slightly frightened. She had put a lot of thought into it.
"I'm here," Alex assured as we walked through the gates. He took two sabers from his back sheath.
Issac, Alex, Allison, Kira, and I approached Kira's mother. Scott and Stiles went to find Lydia. Two Oni stood behind her.
"Kira, turn around and go home," she warned. "Take your friends with you."
"I can't," Kira said. "When I looked at the game, I realized who I was actually playing. You."
"Call them off," Allison told her, pointing her arrow at her.
"You think you could take him alive?" she questioned in disbelief. "You think you can save him?"
"What if we can?" I asked.
"I tried something like that seventy years ago," she said. "Your friend is gone."
"Are you sure? Or if Stiles doesn't have to die, maybe Rhys didn't have to die, either?" Kira remarked.
The Oni whipped their swords around. I glanced at Alex, giving him a look of be careful.
"I see I'm no longer the fox now, Kira - you are," she responded. "But, the Nogitsune is still my demon to bury."
The two Oni disappeared. She exhaled. Something had broken inside her. I felt it. She opened the palm of her hand. The glow died down.
"Mom?" Kira asked, worried.
"What is that?" asked Issac, confused. "What does it mean?"
"It means there's been a change in ownership." I turned around. This wasn't Stiles. The Oni stood behind him. "Now they belong to me." They took an offensive stance.
They came at us. I stood my ground. Our weapons clanged at contact. I pushed, my staff sliding up his sword and pushing it away. I ducked as the Oni behind me swung his sword. I jumped, spinning in the air, kicking one and hitting the other with my bo staff.
"Alex!" I called. I grunted, blocking another Oni's sword. I hit it in the head and it fell.
"Remember at Derek's loft?" I shouted to him. "Your lightning. It did something. It made the Oni vanish, but only for a split moment."
"What are you saying?!" he called back.
An Oni sliced my arm. I fell, clutching my arm. "Isn't it obvious?!" I called, getting back up.
Alex used the light from his fingertips to create a surge of electricity at the Oni. It vanished. Knowing it would reappear in its same position, I got ready to hit it. Alex stopped and the Oni wasn't there.
"Lucy!"
I turned around, raising the staff to block me. He fell. Issac had blocked me. I thrust my staff at it and hit at the Oni fiercely. It backed up, dodging me with his sword. I swung at its feet, tripping it.
"How do we stop them?!" Issac yelled.
"You can't!" Kira's mother called back.
I turned. An Oni sliced his chest. I ran towards him, but another Oni stood in my way. And then, there was just this noise. Issac was in immense pain, Alex and Kira were exhausted. Allison was scared. Someone was getting close to dying.
I tried to knock the sword from the Oni's hand. As Allison instructed, I twisted, pulled, then snapped. The thing broke in two. I blocked the sword, ignoring the pain in my arm.
I kicked the Oni away. I ran on top of old wooden crates, spun, and kicked the Oni in the head. I landed on my feet, then hit the hand of the Oni. It lost its grip on the sword and it slipped from its hand.
From behind, Alex stuck his saber into his back, pulled out, then hit him for extra measure before it fell on the ground.
I looked at Issac. He was on the ground. The Oni hovered over him. I reconnected the two and jumped on his back, holding the staff to choke him.
Allison was in the back. She aimed her arrow at the Oni. I kept holding onto the Oni. Allison let go. The arrow shot into its chest. It glowed a bright greenish-yellow. I got off from him, then lost my balance when the ground shook.
It felt like a part of my soul broke off from me. I heard someone yell my name. I turned. I was able to move before it impaled me, but it slashed my side. I went on all fours. And then I heard Lydia's pained scream. "Allison!"
I looked behind me. I stumbled in the shock of things. Scott took her in his arms. I glanced at Alex. His saber clattered to the ground. He fell to his knees. Thunder rumbled as the clouds covered the rest of the sky, creating a thick blanket. Everything was silent.
"Did you find her? Is she okay? Is Lydia safe?"
"She's okay, yeah." He touched her hand. "I can't - I can't take your pain."
"It's because it doesn't hurt," she said.
"Lucy!" Scott called for me. "You can - you can heal her right?"
"Scott, it's okay... "
I felt useless once again. Her life force was dying quickly - fading away into nothing, getting dimmer. I couldn't heal her. She wasn't savable. She had looked at me. It was her telling me it was okay, that she didn't need me to heal her. It was okay that she was going to die. It wasn't okay.
I looked at Issac as he started to crawl towards me. He put his arm around me and grabbed my hand assuringly, trying to take away any pain I was feeling.
I broke down. I closed my eyes. I felt everyone's energy. They all had it. And then Allison's turned off while one was getting dimmer. I felt Scott and Alex's heartbreak. Another presence came into the area. It was Allison's father. Emotions of shock, denial, and fear filled the place.
The emotions I bottled together was waiting to explode. I yelled out. The ground shook. The ring came out from my heart. It passed through everyone. They were feeling my pain and their own.