Olivia's POV:

"Hey." I look up from my phone, meeting Phoebe's look of concern. "You doing okay?"

I shrug with a small smile, ignoring the trembles in my hands as I quickly shove them into my pockets. "Besides the fact we're waiting for half of an Anuk-ite to come to the school, it could be worse."

She pulls out the stool from beside me and takes a seat. "Well besides from that."

I slowly nod in realization, knowing where she wanted to lead the conversation. "Honest answer?" I let out a puff of air, ignoring the heart-clenching pain that rose in my chest, and close my eyes. "I keep asking myself if there was something I could have done differently."

I feel a hand placed on my shoulder and I turn, meeting Phoebe's sympathetic expression. "I get it." She whispered with a warm smile before looking down at her lap. "When my mom died from the car crash, I couldn't bring myself to blame anyone but myself over a situation that I couldn't control. Like...maybe I shouldn't have dragged my mom to go out for some ice cream or maybe I should have listened to her about staying inside for the night. I came up with all sorts of these what ifs when in reality, it was the drunk driver."

My heart sinks in discomfort. "I'm sorry, Phoebe. I-It slipped my mind that--"

She quickly waved her hand dismissively. "No, no. It's okay. My point is that you shouldn't hold on to the pain. That grief? The longer you hold on to it..." She trailed off, almost as if she was remembering the tragedy. "you could never truly move on if you don't try to. From what you and the others taught me is that no matter how terrible things get, you will always have the people you love to bring you back to your feet. Without that support, you'll eventually lose yourself in the process and I don't want that to happen to you, Olivia. Sometimes I..." She pauses before shaking her head with a small smile. "Nevermind, it's too cliche."

I bump her shoulder. "Say it, I won't make fun of you."

"No, no--"

"Phoebe."

She rolled her eyes at my warning tone before letting out a chuckle. "Okay, okay. Sometimes I can see parts of my mom and yours in you. You've become a parental figure in my life, Liv, and it would kill me if I lost you." She awkwardly picked at her fingers. "I just...hope you never forget that at the end of the day, you're doing your best and that's okay."

Tears begin to spring in my eyes and I didn't hesitate to pull her into a tight hug. She's taken aback at first at the sudden action but in a matter of seconds, she wraps her arms around me too. "You have no idea about how much hearing that means the world to me."

Suddenly, the doors from the main entrance to the school slam open which causes me to worriedly turn to Scott.

The two boys anxiously walk closer to the door but Mrs. Finch nervously glanced between all of us. "That's her, isn't it?"

I stand up from my chair, shaking my hands in anticipation to get rid of the nerves as I walked to stand next to Scott. "Phoebe--"

"Stay behind with Mrs. Finch." Phoebe gently cut in with a firm nod. "Already planned to. I-I can feel the...effects starting to kick in." She accidentally stammered.

"Well, what are you planning on doing?" Mrs. Finch worriedly asked but Liam quickly shushed her as the three of us moved closer to the door. "You-you're not going to try to hurt her, are you? That's my daughter."

"Not anymore if the Anuk-Ite got to her." I grimly explain before I flick my wrist, forcing the flames to appear in the palm of my hands. 

"We're gonna do what we have to do." Liam added.

"What exactly does that mean?" I hear her whisper from behind to Phoebe.

"Just stay back with me, Mrs. Finch." Phoebe reassured.

"Ready?" Scott asked as his eyes landed on us, making sure we were in position.

"Ready." Liam answered for me since I simply nodded in confirmation.

Just before I could move to pull open the door, the sound of Phoebe's grunt which was soon followed by a body hitting the ground causes me to turn. However, a large textbook slammed into the back of my head and forces me to stumble into the cabinet in front of me and all I could hear were the sounds of coughs from Liam and Scott.

"Son of a--" I groan in frustration, seeing as Mrs. Finch sprinted out of the room into the entrance hall. "dammit!"

I worriedly look behind at the others, seeing Phoebe laid unconscious but Scott's eyes blaze red to fight the effects of the wolfsbane as Liam kept his eyes squeezed shut with discomfort.

"G-Go after her! Make sure she doesn't get herself killed!" Scott grunted. "We'll catch up!"

I reluctantly nod as I push myself up from the ground and sprint out of the classroom as well.

As soon as I stepped into the dark hallway, an unsettling feeling stirred in my stomach the more I sprinted down the hall. Looks like I'm heading the right way.

"You killed her!" I hear Mrs. Finch cry out. "You killed my daughter!"

As soon as I turn the corner, I skid to a stop and see Mrs. Finch fall to the floor and frantically trying to crawl away from 'Quinn' with one hand since the other was clutched onto the bleeding wound on her neck.

"Tell me who it is." Quinn's voice distorted, keeping her bright purple eyes on the woman below her.

I chuck the fireball towards her which collides at her chest, sending her to roll across the hall with a pained growl. "Sorry to break it to you but you won't be getting answers from us today." I huff, crouching down to Mrs. Finch's level in concern, meeting her tear-filled eyes and I press my hand against her wound to try to transfer my energy to hers. "Mrs. Finch, just keep your eyes open for me, okay?"

"I'm...I'm so sorry." Mrs. Finch weakly rasped. "I just thought--"

"It's okay." I reassure with a small smile. "Just keep still."

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere, Ophelia." I hear Quinn dryly chuckle which snapped my attention away to meet her fury-filled eyes. "I could feel the phoenix's instability from a mile away."

"Don't fall for their tricks, child." I hear Ophelia's voice echo in my thoughts. "It wants you to lose control!"

"Even if I didn't ask, you've got the wrong phoenix." I harshly remark before I aim my other hand at her. "I'm the phoenix that's going to make you pay for ruining Ophelia's life so don't even try to take another step if you want to get roasted to a crisp again."

Quinn slowly nods in amusement. "Ah, right. Olivia Flores. The girl who is barely keeping it together." My hand begins to tremble once more, earning a smirk to form on her expression. "Poor little Olivia, desperately holding on to the last bit of what makes her sane."

"Shut up." I grit through my teeth, not wanting to lose my focus to seal the wounds on Mrs. Finch's shoulder.

"Once I find my other half, I'll come after every single one of your loved ones until you are the last one standing. I'll come after your friends," She takes a step closer to us as her eyes glowed brighter. "your family," and another. "every single person you love."

My hand instantly ignited into flames, feeling the pricks of pain beginning to form along the sides of my head. "I swear to god, one more step--!"

"You'll never be strong enough to stop me. I mean...isn't that how your mom died?" She pouted, causing my heart to sink. "You got lucky the first time around but it came at a price. Who's to say you'll do the same with Allison?"

Almost as if something snapped, I set Mrs. Finch to the ground and lunged toward Quinn, causing us to crash into the lockers. With my fist aflame, I strike repetitive punches across her cheek which instantly charred her skin with each swing.

However, to my surprise, Quinn maniacally laughed in my face. "There she is!" She shouted before swiftly spinning us around and slamming my head against the lockers. "There's the Ophelia I know!"

"I said shut up!" I try to swing another punch but before I could side-step, she slashed her claws across my abdomen which sends me to stumble forward to the ground.

I shakily use my arms to try to sit up but the heel of her boot slammed into my back which sends me to land face-flat again. "While it was nice getting to see you again, Ophelia, I'm still a bit busy with my plans. My reunion."

I expected her to finish with the killing blow but instead, she let out a pained growl which causes me to look up.

She held onto her shoulder in confusion and wildly looked around for her attacker, seeing it was only us two and Mrs. Finch who was still injured. She shook her head in disbelief and sprinted down the next hallway, not bothering to spare a glance behind.

"Olivia!" I hear Scott call and in a matter of seconds, a pair of hands carefully help me stand from the ground.

"I tried to stop her." I grunted once I stood to my feet and he moved to carefully help Mrs. Finch to lean her back against the wall. "I couldn't finish healing her shoulder. Where's Liam?"

"He stayed back with Phoebe so she wouldn't be by herself." He quickly explained but I glanced behind to where Quinn ran off. "You think you have the strength to find Quinn?"

I roll my shoulder back with a crack. "I think, but I still need to heal Mrs. Finch's shoulder so that you and I--"

He quickly shakes his head. "There's no time. I'll stay, go find Quinn. I can't leave her."

My eyes widen. "But we need to face this together! What happens if she ends up finding Aaron? What if I'm too late again? I-I can't fight two people! They'll--"

He cuts me off by placing his hands on my shoulders. "Hey, hey, hey. You have proved more than enough of what you're capable of without my help." He reassured with a small smile. "You can do this, Liv. Go!"

I slowly nod before I break off into a sprint, following the droplets of blood that led to the next hallway.

Allison's POV:

"Something's wrong." Malia spoke up with a frown, leaning closer to the glass window that gave a clear view of Halwyn inside the machine in front of us.

"What is it?" Lydia questioned in concern.

"His heartbeat..." Malia furrowed her brows in concentration. "It's too fast and erratic."

Suddenly, Halwyn's body begins seizing with his muscles spasming wildly and in a matter of seconds, that machine started alarmingly beeping which causes my eyes to widen. "Lydia, shut it off!"

"Turn it off! Turn it off!" Malia anxiously tapped her hand with her own. Lydia quickly types away on the computer and I flick some of the switches downward. "Hurry!"

A ferocious roar escapes from Halwyn which causes him to stop seizing but once the machine is fully powered down, the lights above us instantly shut off.

After a brief moment, the backup generators activate as we scramble to enter the other room, watching as Halwyn had barely gotten off of the table in an apparent weakened state.

I watch in awe at the sight of his fire-based healing ability starting to heal his wounds which created a steam-like aura around his body, but he did not look happy.

"Where is it?" Halwyn lowly growled.

He tries to lunge toward us, but instantly his balance stumbles to the side, causing me to quickly rush to his side to lower him to the ground. Malia and I carefully lean his back against the wall but he frowns in confusion.

"What's happening?" He panted.

Malia worriedly meets our hesitant expressions before looking back down at him. "The Anuk-ite is destroying our city, that's what's happening. And we need you to tell us how to kill it."

"Guys." Lydia warned.

"Is there some sort of weakness?" I insist. "Weapons to use?"

"Guys!" Lydia exclaimed until she nodded her head towards his face. My eyes trail down to his nose and surprisingly, see molten silver beginning to pour out of his nose.

He weakly wipes under his nose with his fingers before glancing down at them, furrowing his brows into confusion until he looked up once more. "What did you do to me?"

"I'm sorry..." She whispered in devastation. "It was the only way to revive you."

He darkly chuckled. "Revive me so I can die?"

"No, so you could help us." Malia countered. "Tell us how to stop it."

Trickles of silver drop from the side of his mouth which causes my heart to sink at the sight, knowing we were running out of time. "You can't stop it. You can't kill it."

"But you did." I insisted.

"I trapped it." He emphasized. "I lost an ally that I considered a friend that day because of it. I made a vow for Ophelia to avenge her demise and reasoning for her instability with her abilities."

My eyes widen at the name. The original Phoenix?

"Well, how do we do that?" Malia impatiently asked before I could ask more about it.

He lets out a pained grunt. "Don't let it find its other half."

"How do we know it hasn't found it already?" Lydia worriedly asked.

"Because you wouldn't be alive to tell me." He rasped before his eyes flickered to mine. "Keep them apart. It's still weak."

"Even if one of them is supernatural?" I ask.

His eyes widen alarmingly. "A shapeshifter?"

"A werewolf." Malia informed.

His breath began to quicken. "You can't let the two halves merge. If you do, you won't be able to catch it." He groaned out in pain, not bothering to wipe the silver that started to bleed from the gunshot wound on his forehead.

"We shouldn't have done this." Lydia whispered, reaching over to clutch onto his hand. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."

His grip tightened, ignoring the silver that began to drip from his right eye, ears, mouth, and nose. "Okay, listen to me. If it finds its other half," He weakly spoke up with a resolute nod in acceptance. "if the two become one...do not look at it."

Halwyn's eyes flicker orange-red which causes more of the molten silver to run from his eyes, almost as if it were tears as he gasped for air.

"You can't..." He weakly trailed. "It will kill you with a look."

He lets out one final rasping breath until his grip loosens, letting his hands fall to his side and his eyes shut.

I accidentally sniffle, my stomach stirring in discomfort, and feel Malia rest her head against my shoulder with a grieving look as we sat in silence.

Olivia's POV:

I pull open the doors to the school library and quietly shut the door behind me, seeing that Quinn stood in front of the large wall of windows with her back towards me.

Flickers of fire erupted from my fingertips out of nerves and I glance down, seeing as they trembled in place.

Come on, Olivia. Focus! I inhale through my nose in an attempt to calm my breathing and shake my hands a bit.

Almost as if she sensed my fear, Quinn turned around to face me with an unreadable expression.

I clench my jaw, bouncing on the heels of my feet. "Totally not creepy." I mutter in annoyance. "Just one girl that's half of an Anuk-ite. I got this."

Though surely enough, another figure entered the library from the back entrance which causes Quinn to turn away as the boy walked down the staircase to stand next to her.

They stare at each other's eyes for a moment in silence before turning back to face me.

I flick my wrists into flames with a glare, feeling my eyes flash orange.

I sprint towards them but before I could swing a punch against Aaron's cheek, Quinn stepped in front of him to block the attack with her arm. She uses her free hand and sliced her claws across my chest, sending me to stumble backward. Aaron spun on his heel and struck down against my cheek which jerked my face to the left as I collapsed to the ground.

Aaron grabbed onto the collar of my shirt but before he could strike, I aim my hand towards him and blast the surge of flames. He recoiled back with a cry, attempting to extinguish the flames and I use it as my chance to crawl away.

However, I feel a hand harshly yank me backward and my back slams against the table, meeting Quinn's amused expression as she held a splintered wooden chair leg.

In a quick motion, she drives the stake into my thigh and I let out a choked gasp. "Agh--!"

"I'll admit, you almost had us there." Quinn chuckled, twisting the stake in her grasp which earned a cry to escape from my lips. "Almost." She swiftly jabbed at my chest in a pattern-like motion before chucking me across the entrance of the library.

I crash into the reception desk, causing some of the papers that were stacked on top to scatter.

I shakily try to stand to my feet but the sharp pain in my leg forces me to lie back down on the floor.

The sounds of grunts cause me to peek from the side of the desk, my eyes widening at the sight of Quinn pinning Aaron into a nearby bookcase, but they both grab each other in a choke-hold.

From what I can tell, it looked as if Quinn had the upper hand since she had a tight grip on Aaron's throat. However, Aaron manages to maneuver around her grip by snapping her neck with a loud crack, leaving her to collapse on the ground.

"Shit." I grunt, helplessly watching as Aaron kneeled behind her body and shakily aimed my hand towards him, creating a medium-sized fireball in the palm of my hands.

Mustering every bit of strength I had left, I throw it and it shakily flew towards him. He placed his left hand on Quinn's face with his eyes blazing a bright purple which caused dozens of spiders to scurry out of her mouth and trail up his arm to flood inside his mouth. Just as the fireball collided with his chest, I expected his body to become engulfed in flames but boy was I wrong. Instead of setting him in flames, it simply disintegrated which caused my eyes to widen in horror.

He stands to his feet and starts doubling over in pain, emitting a purple-ish red clouded smoke to appear around his form as he backed away into the aisle of bookshelves.

I grab onto the check-out reception desk and use it to hold my balance steady, catching a glimpse of Aaron's body morphing into a taller human that looked like flayed skin until he backed further away into the other bookshelf that blocked my vision.

I tightly grasp the stake embedded into my thigh and rip it out, letting it clatter to the ground. Before I could sprint after the Anuk-ite, someone yanked me backward and out of the library.

A familiar figure stumbles on top of me as we fell to the ground and my brows furrow into confusion, seeing that it was Lydia that pulled me out of there. "Agh--Lydia? W-What are you--"

"We have to run!" She hurriedly urged, wrapping my arm around her neck before helping me run towards the school's back entrance.

"Why?" I exclaim with a grunt, trying to fight off the sharp pain on my bloodied thigh as we ran through the halls. "Quinn and Aaron merged! I have to stop it!"

"You can't!" She panted, urging me to sprint faster. "You can't look at it. If you do, it'll kill you!"