With Noshiko, Kira and Emma rallying together against the Nogitsune, it was a very dangerous war to be in the middle of. Riley still did not want to come out, afraid of the dangers and problems awaiting for her when she did. She had no time to heal; Emma was helping with that. Riley was still hurt from Isaac almost dying and with the whole Stiles thing; she wasn't ready. Emma respected that and was glad that she could go up against a Nogitsune. Riley knew that she couldn't let her do that; if Emma ran a spear through Stiles and killed the Nogitsune, she would kill Stiles as well. Emma oversaw Riley's love for him and even though his death would hurt her, the Nogitsune would hurt her far worse. Emma, too, had to make sacrifices for sake of protecting Riley. She wasn't there to make sure everyone else survived; the only thing she did was protect Riley and that was it.
"Is Riley okay with this?" Noshiko asked, as the three girls sat in her home. Kira sat uncomfortably, wondering if Emma had remembered her and Riley's argument a couple days earlier. "With you being here."
"Riley is aware and she is the one who is in charge. She chooses when she wants to come back out and when she does, I will do as she wants. I am merely here for protection. I will do anything to protect her." Emma explained, setting the cup down on the table as Kira admired her warrior's outfit. "The Nogitsune is in Eichen House and as you know, it is the most heavily guarded area in Beacon Hills. We must make him come out. We must make him believe that it is safe."
"Please, Nogitsune does not care for safety. If the host dies he will simply possess another."
"Stiles, mom. If Stiles dies." Kira interrupted, looking at her sadly. Noshiko nodded at her, turning her attention back to Emma.
"Right, if Stiles dies. We mustn't allow that, Emma. Riley wouldn't want that." Noshiko reminded, and Emma slightly scoffed.
"I must do what I have to to protect her, even if that means killing the boy to get to the Nogistune. I must think ahead for her." Emma replied, and felt Riley's protests inside. Riley didn't want that, and thought about the consequences if she stayed in there for too long. Someone was bound to get hurt, and if she didn't hurry up and muster the courage to help her friends soon, then Stiles would be in serious danger because of her.
No, you can't hurt Stiles. I don't care about that stupid spirit, you're not hurting Stiles.
"I only protect you, Riley. Not Stiles--"
No, you are not hurting Stiles.
"What did you say?" Kira asked suddenly, hearing Riley's name. Emma looked up at her, her eyes still glowing a bright silver, until they suddenly flickered from a dull brown back to the silver. "Riley?"
"Riley, I'm helping you, I need to get rid of the danger in order for you to live. To survive." Emma spoke, looking down at her lap. Her head twitched, as Riley made her shake her head.
Do not hurt Stiles. You hurt Stiles, you hurt me. Badly.
"Let her out." Kira said forcefully, standing up as her hands balled into fists at her side. Noshiko watched her daughter, putting a hand on her arm.
"Riley comes out when she wants to. I cannot force her." Emma repeated, and she stood up as well. "I sense tension. I will leave you two alone. Thank you for your time."
The girl got up and left, disappointed that there was no war.
"Riley, you do not understand. It is my duty to--"
Emma, you don't understand. Losing Stiles to me is like you losing your family, you losing me.
Flashes of her family crossed Riley's mind, forcing Emma to see them as well. She gripped onto her spear as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Stiles is not your blood." Emma said, as she walked down the sidewalk in the darkening night. She shook the tears away, her dulled eyes glowing brightly again.
He might not be, but he is my family.
Emma knew she couldn't argue with Riley for long until she wanted control again.
"I only want to protect you." Emma replied. Her eyes started to dim down and the silver was replaced by Riley's brown.
"I know." Riley said, now fully in control of her body again. She hurt, she was still hurting, but she knew she had to put her pain aside for Stiles.
She had to keep reminding herself that it was for Stiles as she travelled a long journey back to her house in the center of town. As she walked along, passing the overhead street lights watching her bear-skinned shoes touch the pavement every time she made a step forward, she kept her thoughts on Stiles and Isaac. She was going to save Stiles from the Nogitsune and she was going to save Isaac from his pain. She was going to help people.
-
A text from Allison the next night woke Riley up from her little nap. She was exhausted from walking almost all night and needed to sleep basically all day to recover. Her parents were over ecstatic to see their baby okay and promised to be around more, even if it meant they were going to be work at home parents. They didn't care about their work anymore and Riley was their wake up call.
"I don't know if you're still Emma or not, but we could really use your firepower. Derek's loft, now."
Riley was slightly taken aback by her bluntness, having recalled (and scolded) Emma pegging a sharp object at her only a couple days ago. But nevertheless, her friends needed her and she was going to do exactly that; help. Having Emma in control the past couple days shone a new light on Riley's realizations that because Riley was protected no matter what, she could go out of her way in helping others because she was never in any danger. Emma was always there to protect Riley and that was what she was always going to do.
She quickly got dressed, checking the time along the way; it was only a quarter to 7, and she realized that it was growing dark very quickly. The Oni must have come out to play. On Emma's joyride in Riley's body, she picked up a few small knives for Riley so she too could add to her protection. It was never a bad thing to be extra safe, right? The two crept down the stairs as quietly as they could, and passed her parents on the sofa who had fallen asleep with the TV on. She was going to go and turn it off for them, but she couldn't risk them waking up. She reached outside and ran over to her car, starting it up and backing out of the driveway where she drove over to Derek's loft.
She parked next to a large black SUV that only could have been the Argents', and went up the building where she met Derek, Chris, Allison and Stilinski. Stiles was there too. She tucked the knife in its holder and shoved it in her belt behind her back, so it wasn't visible at first glance. She stepped down into the main area, the four looking back and visibly looking shocked at the colour of her eyes. They were normal. Allison looked back at the sleep deprived boy and before Riley could protest, she raised a stun gun and shot at him. Stiles snatched the pins, the electricity visibly going along the lines and into his hand, yet he seemed unaffected. He took the two lines, pulled and threw the stun gun straight out of Allison's hand, where it landed on the ground a few metres away. Derek's eyes glowed and he roared at Stiles, flicking his claws out as he ran at the boy. Stiles easily fended him off, grabbing his arm as he twisted it backwards then throwing him into a support beam where he fell to the ground. Riley walked over and stood next to Allison, watching the scene as Chris raised his gun at Stiles' head.
The room just got a lot more tense as Riley's hand flew to the knife behind her back. She wasn't going to use it; she felt better knowing that it was there. She knew it wasn't Stiles, but Stilinski didn't think so.
"Argent, please. Don't do this." He said calmly, his hand slowly moving to the gun placed in the holder on his belt.
"Why not? I've done it before. Werewolves, Beserkers... I can easily add a Nogitsune to the list." Chris threatened, glaring at the smirking boy. He wanted this; he lived on strife and they were giving him exactly that.
Stilinski grabbed the gun and aimed it at Argent. "You're not shooting my son.""
"You said yourself Sheriff, that's not your son." He replied, and Riley noticed his finger tensing at the trigger.
"Put it down." Sheriff warned, readying his stance. Stiles had tears in his eyes as he looked at his dad.
"Dad, dad he's going to shoot me. He's going to kill me." He whimpered, and the Sheriff's face turned to stone.
"Don't listen." Argent warned, but Stilinski didn't listen.
"Put it down, now!" Stilinski yelled, and Stiles turned to Argent. Stilinski continued to yell, not giving two shits about what Stiles was telling Argent.
"Pull the trigger. Shoot me." He said, as Argent's eyes widened. "Shoot me!" He screamed, and Riley flinched at the noises. "Shoot me!"
"Stop it! Stop it all of you! He wants this, he wants you to fight!" Riley shouted, her voice carrying louder than the others. "STOP!" Emma's voice doubled over hers and in turn, drowned out all other noises as they look at her.
"Well, it's not exactly what I want. You see, you're not here to kill me." Stiles said, as he turned around and looked out the window, everyone noticing that it was dark. Suddenly four Oni stepped out of thin air and brandished their swords. "You're here to protect me."
Sheriff and Argent started to shoot. The bullets did nothing; they just hit the armor and bounced onto the ground. Two of the Oni reappeared behind them, as Allison and Derek protected Stiles from them. Riley ran over to him, grabbed his shirt and pulled him over to the corner of the loft, hiding him from the Oni. She turned to him and grabbed his shirt.
"Stiles, you're in there. I know you are. Stop playing with the Nogitsune, fight it!" She shook, but he only smiled at her.
"I admire your resistance to the fact that he's gone, good for you. Look at you, hiding and cowering behind your little shield. What would you do if she wasn't there? What if you were all alone, abandoned, just like you are now?" He taunted. Riley shook her head, trying not to let his words get to her.
"You're lying. You don't mean it." She said forcefully, looking around every second to make sure the Oni were occupied. One had slashed Derek on the shoulder as he howled in pain, then it turned to Riley.
Oh, shit.
She took a few steps forward, breathing deeply as she took her knife out, ready for what was to come. It came sprinting at her with its sword in hand, but just before it could get to her, it literally bounced off, as if there was glass right in front of her. But it wasn't glass, it was Emma; she was ready to fight. Even though these Oni were here to kill the Nogitsune and that was what Emma had wanted, it was currently trying to harm Riley, and no matter what, she couldn't let that happen. The Oni got up, and Emma had too; her silhouette had risen and Riley could see the spear hanging in front of her held by Emma.
It ran again, but Emma had taken the initiative and fought for both of them; she blocked every move, in turn having Riley do the same. Something came out of Riley that night; it was like the warrior side of her. She had managed to stab it in its shoulder, where it dropped the sword and staggered back. Riley picked it up and with one final blow, she let out a war cry just like Emma and stabbed the sword straight through its mask, as it split down the middle. The dark smoke that was its body thinned out, and Riley saw something glowing in its chest. She reached out, knowing that it wasn't solid anymore, it pulled it out with her hand. The Oni dissipated, leaving only its broken mask on the ground and the dead firefly that lay in Riley's hand.
She picked the two pieces of mask up and held them together, admiring how the mask had been depicted as an angry spirit. Once the other Oni had realized she had killed one of their own, they all disappeared, but Stiles did too.