A/N: So, I hear people no liked the last cliffhanger. Well, I hope this makes up for it. So, before we start, a shout out! BTW, please reviews if you like, or if you didn't. I really didn't know how this chapter was going to go.

Splendyandslendy - Your review made me cry. Jerk! But thank you. I'm proud to have done something so well. I hope you can continue to enjoy this!

A Different Kind

"Mistakes are meant to be made from time to time. That's how people learn some of the best lessons in life," Ria said slowly.

The demon grinned at her. He hunched over a bit so that his face was almost level with hers. Ria stood her ground even though she wanted desperately to run. She couldn't run now. She'd sealed herself in with this thing. She'd chosen to fight and if she gave up it would cost her the people she loved the most.

"You can only learn a life lesson if you have a life to live! You will not be alive for more than a few minutes...If I choose to let you keep breathing for that long," the demon laughed.

"It's not up to you to decide when I die," Ria snapped.

"So sure," the demon launched at her without warning. Ria ducked and tumbled forward under him.

The demon sailed overhead and smacked into an invisible wall. The edge of the circle had stopped him. Ria almost laughed before he got up from the ground, growling. He turned on Ria suddenly looking absolutely furious and feral. Ria backed up until she herself met with the border of the circle.

"What do you even know about the boy you're trying to save? You heard that he made a deal with me, but do you know what that deal was?" the demon asked.

"I suppose you're about to ell me," Ria huffed

"When he was young he asked me to do something for him. He wanted me to kill his mother's boyfriend, so I did. He didn't like abusive ol' Mike, so he had me do him in. In exchange he had to return me a service that I wold choose, right down to when he would do it. Your little Ethan isn't just some sweet thing. He's as good as a killer!" the demon laughed.

Ria brought her foot up as fast and as hard as she could into the demon's jaw. His head snapped back and he stumbled a bit into the barrier.

"That...hurt...I'm going to kill you for that..." the demon hissed, sounding dangerously calm.

"Right," Ria shivered, "But before you do...I have something to ask you."

"I suppose I could grant a last request," he rumbled.

"Tell me your name," Ria said.

The demon froze up as if he was in shock. His eyes burned into Ria's but she couldn't look away. There was something in his eyes that didn't belong there. Something human. An emotion...could it be?

"You do not deserve to hear my name..." the demon paused for a long time, never breaking eye contact, "I will tell you, though...since you are going to die..."

Ria blinked. There was something odd going on behind his eyes.

"My name...is R-I-I-S...Riis," the demon said at last.

Ria took a step back. She heaved in a huge gulp of air and burst out laughing. She laughed so hard she could barely stand. The demon's jaw fell wide open in shock. He glared at her so hard she physically felt it and emitted a roar that was sure to shake the windows of her house. Ria didn't stop laughing. She instead pointed at her enemy with tears in her eyes and laughed some more before she regained the ability to speak.

"Riis? Like Reese Witherspoon? Or Reese peanut...butter-cups!" Ria guffawed.

The demon was looking at her as if she'd lost her mind. Ria stopped her laughter and stood up straight. She grinned stupidly at the Riis.

"And here I thought I was at least gonna hear something cool," Ria wiped some tears from her eyes.

"YOU DARE MOCK A ME?! YOU MUST BE INSANE!" Riis bellowed.

"Such a demon...that is afraid of a human..." Ria laughed little.

The demon charged her again. Ria rolled to the side this time. Almost all her fear of the demon had been destroyed in the moment he'd told her his name. She knew now what she'd seen in those haunting eyes. It was unbelievable that she'd been so afraid of him. He was big, ugly, and fearsome, but he had a weakness.

Ria dodged Riis' powerful hand twice more before he stopped to growl and glare at her. Ria was sitting on the ground halfway through another roll.

"I am insane, you know," Ria smiled.

"To act so fearless...you would have to be," Riis snarled back.

"Acting fearless? Isn't that exactly what you've been doing this whole time?" Ria smiled darkly, "All this time...you've been preying on my friend, making him scared of you. When you were scared of me the whole way through."

Riis laughed now, shaking his head.

"You think I fear you?!" he crouched down on one knee.

"I know you fear me. At first, I didn't know what to think about you saying I was in your way. I thought maybe you just wanted me dead for the hell of it. But a minute ago, in your eyes, I saw it!" Ria tapped the side of her face next to her eye.

Riis didn't say anything. He licked his sharp teeth and growled lowly as he prepared for another attack. Being so large in such a small place wasn't exactly advantageous for him. Ria was able to dodge him because he couldn't maneuver around the space like she could.

"If you're going to stare someone down, you might want to make sure you're able to hide the truth from your eyes. A demon of all things should be able to do that. To think humans have beaten you at your own lying game," Ria mocked him.

"If humans are such good liars, then maybe they make good demons themselves!" Riis roared.

"I guess so," Ria said simply.

Riis' eyes widened a bit. Ria kept a straight face and an even tone.

"So...what would that make you, Riis? If humans are better demons than you...If someone like me can hold a power that even you don't...If someone like me can strike fear into you without even trying...doesn't that just make you..." Ria paused purposefully, "Worthless?"

Riis threw his head back and roared. Ria twitched at the sound but did not move an inch. When the demon's eyes came back down to her they were glowing a faint red. He was drooling and shaking with anger.

"You think humans are better than me?!" he growled, "Let me tell you a little secret! Not all humans are as crazy as you! You are different. You are a different kind of person! You were so lucky as to be born with something different than others. Something no other human will have again for a very long time. You might as well be a demon yourself for what you have!"

"Oh?" Ria was genuinely curious now.

Riis got back on both feet to prepare for another attack. Ria remained seated on the icy ground.

"What was I born with?" Ria asked.

"You were born with a different kind of heart! One that has abilities and capacities beyond normal humans'. That is all you have, and I'm going to rip it from your body and burn it in my hand!" Riis came flying at her.

Ria sat still and lifted her right hand up in front of her. It came into contact with Riis' forehead as be barreled at her. Ria's wrist was broken as Riis' body stopped moving, pushing her back a few feet on the ground. Ria cried out shortly. Riis struggled to move but it was as if his body had been trapped in cement instead of air. Ria grinned at him despite the pain shooting up her arm.

"What...is this?!" Riis choked out.

"This is what you were afraid of," Ria's voice was strained now.

Every second that she kept in contact with the demon she had to hold him in place with all her might. With broken bones it wasn't easy.

"You are not welcome here!" Ria panted, "You are not welcome with my friend! You don't belong on this Earth with us!"

"Shut up!" Riis yelled, his voice now losing its edge as he panicked.

"You have no place here, demon!"

"St-stoooop!"

"GET OUT!" Ria commended with more power than she'd ever used in her life.

A bright flash of yellow light burst from their contact point. It burned Ria's palm and forced it away from Riis. Riis screamed in pain. Ria watched the light overtake his body and disintegrate it. Within seconds he was gone. Ria laughed and cried at the same time. Just like that, it was over.

Ria wobbled and stood up. She walked to the edge of the circle and kicked the ground hard, tearing the design up. The entire circle disappeared into the ground. Snow fell there and began to build up. Ria hadn't noticed it was snowing. It probably had been the whole time outside of the circle. Her footprints were almost covered now. Ria walked toward her house, crying the whole way. The experience finally caught up with her in the cold. Snowflakes mixed with her tears. Her wrist and arm hurt terribly. She felt weak from using so much energy on the demon. She was hungery, tired, sad, and happy all at once. It became too much, and for the second time Ria fell unconscious into the snow.

The first thing Ria saw when she woke was a pale blue curtain. She was in a hospital bed covered with two thin blankets. She was in her own pajamas which told her that Don must have been there. Ria sat up and winced. Her wrist was in a cast. Bandages were wrapped around her fingers.

"Hello?" Ria called weakly.

Her throat was unbearably dry. She looked around for something to drink but the bedside table was empty. Ria heard a gasp from the other side of the curtain and it was nearly ripped from its hooks as Don flew to her.

"Don..." Ria smiled momentarily.

Ria's smiled vanished when she got a good look at her brother's expression. He was furious. Don balled his fist and punched Ria right in the face.

"You idiot!" he said, keeping his voice low so as not to attract a nurse, "What the hell were you thinking?! I almost lost you because you had to go behind my back and pull a fucking stunt like that! What's wrong with you?!"

Ria's eyes stung with tears. She touched a hand to her already swelling cheek. She sobbed once under her brother's intense glare.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do," Ria sniffled.

"Didn't know what else to do?! If you'd waited you might have come up with something else! What if that crazy scheme of yours hadn't worked?" Don demanded.

"But it did work," Ria protested.

"Do you have any idea how to be afraid?" Don's voice raised.

"I was plenty afraid!" Ria yelled back.

Don stopped glaring. His face went blank then turned sad.

"I was terrified the whole time! I knew it was only a chance even before I called it there! I was scared...I knew that if I lost...it wouldn't just be my life. My life didn't matter to me as much as yours. Splendy...and Slender...Ethan. You guys all mean more to me than my life. So, yeah, I know how to be scared. I was damn scared that I was going to lose you! Even if I had died, at least I would have died defending you! And you know how stubborn I am. I'd have come back to haunt that demon and fight him on the spiritual plane..." Ria smirked.

"You're an idiot. No wonder Mom and Dad were so proud of you," Don said, yanking Ria into a tight hug.

The siblings held onto each other for several minutes, ignoring the nurse and doctor that came in to see what the yelling was about. When they stopped hugging they held hands and refused to let go.

"What happened to your face?" the doctor asked concernedly.

"I fell out of bed like a moron," Ria lied.

Ria went through a slew of questions and minor tests and instructions over the course of an hour. She nearly fell out of bed for real when she was told that she'd been out for nearly two whole days. Don stayed at her side the whole time, keeping her calm. She sighed deeply when the release papers finally came and Don helped her get dressed. He helped her into the car and drove away from the hospital with a smile.

"I'm so glad I'm going home. How did you find out anyway? How'd I get to the hospital?" Ria asked.

"Slenderman dropped you off. Splendy came and told me. Of course this was all after you'd gotten into it with that thing, jerk," Don said.

"Sorry. I made the guys promise not to tell you until it was over," Ria shrugged.

"How did you do it anyway?" Don asked.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, we gots to get some foods. IIIIIIIII'M hungry!" Ria announced loudly.

Donovan laughed at is little sister. She was really something else. He knew that wherever their parents were, they were proud of her. He sure was.