Zero POV

It had been three weeks since we returned from the Underworld and Phoenix was acting more and more strange.

Not only was she using pet names, but any time we were alone, she insisted on being intimate. I declined every time though, for every time I kissed her, something felt off.

It all started after she fell in that tub of blood in the Underworld.

Wait! That's it! Maybe the Phoenix Queen really did rise. I thought to myself as everything became clear.

The pet names, kisses being off, and even the time the mirror was broken.

"Kaname, we have a problem." I remarked, walking into his and Yuki's bedroom.

"What's wrong, Zero?" Yuki was the first to ask, worry instantly filling her brown eyes.

I then went on to explain my theory.

"Hmm. . . So you're saying Phoenix actually didn't come back with us, that the Phoenix Queen highjacked her body?"

"Well. Yes. But Phoenix did in fact come back with us. Her body is just being possessed by the the Phoenix Queen so her spirit is detained."

"Wow. That explains the strange behavior." Yuki nodded her head, putting it all together.

"So, how do you suppose we get Phoenix's spirit back?" I questioned.

"Hmm. . . Any suggestions, Kaname?" Yuki asked.

"We'll need to do this ceremony." He simply said, holding the book up for us to see.

"We are not throwing her into lava! It would kill Phoenix." I objected.

"The amulet she was given from her mother would protect her." Kaname assured me, closing the book. "It has a spell put on it that is directly for keeping our Phoenix safe."

"And how do you suppose we get that amulet on her? The Phoenix Queen hasn't exactly be seen wearing it."

"Hmm. . . Good point." Yuki stated.

"We have another option that isn't so complicated." Kaname said, going through the book again. "We could separate the Queen from our Phoenix's body. . ."

"I'm already liking the sound of this plan. How do we do it?" I asked, sitting my hands down on the desk before me.

"Well, we'll still need to get into the Underworld. . . We need some of the Queen's blood. It's in the tub Phoenix fell into." Kaname announced calmly. "But once we release the Queen's hold on Phoenix, she'll regain her own form."

"Isn't that what we don't want?"

"It's our only option, Zero." Kaname replied, frowning.

"Oh my gosh! This is all prophesied in this book. It talks about how Rosette tried to bring the Queen back and how she died trying and how Phoenix's body got possessed. And look at this!" Yuki held the book up then, showing a picture of a figure with large golden wings and fire surrounding their body. Next to that figure, towered a female that was naked with horns on her head, sharp fanged- teeth, and large midnight black wings. Upon closer examination, it revealed the golden winged figure shooting flames at the other one, burning her to ashes. "A descendant of The Phoenix Queen is said to rise and take their ancestor's life, thus ending the Phoenix Queen's reign of torture and destruction to the world. The descendant then takes over the Phoenix Queen's kingdom of ashes and helps it be reborn in peace and unity. Before this can happen, there is a grave battle that costs the lives of many, leaving much destruction in it's wake. This is telling what's going to happen guys."

"Oh my gosh. . ." I swallowed hard, trying to take it all in. Regaining my composure, I put on a serious expression. "When do we do this and how?"

"Three days from now. When the moon is full again. I have a source that I believe can get us into the Underworld. And then we can get our Phoenix back." Kaname stated, walking over to the window and staring out at the night sky.

***

Three days later, we stood outside the entrance of the catacombs that would lead us down to the Underworld.

"Ready for this?" I asked the two purebloods standing next to me.

"Yes. Let's do this." Yuki said, trying to sound confident, though from the way she played with the ends of her hair I could tell she was nervous.

"Let's go." Kaname was the first one to enter the catacombs, Yuki following close behind. "Now, my witch associate can only keep the entrance open for a few hours. So we need to hurry."

I nodded, knowing we only had a small window to do what we needed, especially since it would only be a matter of time before the Queen found out what we were doing.

Phoenix's POV

It had been three long weeks that my body had been inhabited by that monster.

In that time, I had to sit back and watch the Phoenix Queen throw herself at my fiancee. Despite her efforts, I could tell Zero sensed something was off and I knew it was a matter of time before he figured everything out.

"What is that fiancee of your's up to?" The Queen had asked me one night when Zero had gone away with Kaname and Yuki.

"He knows something is up, you know. It's only a matter of time before he and my friends stop you." I smirked at her.

"They'll never stop me. I'll destroy them before that happens." She spoke with vehemence.

"You can try." I scoffed. "Those vampires aren't as weak as you may assume."

"Please, I'm the Queen of the Underworld. Those vampires wouldn't even exist if it weren't for my involvement with the Progenitor. I was the one who gave them the idea to create more of them." She smirked at me in the mirror. "And not to mention, I have the power to take their lives away."

"You won't win. Believe me on that one." I said confidently, though on on the inside I was praying I was right.

Zero's POV

I watched with curious eyes as Kaname dumped the vile of black liquid we had obtained from the Underworld into the pot.

"I hope this works." I said as the pureblood added other ingredients to the concoction.

"It will. We just have to make sure the others don't suspect a thing so the plan works."

"Do you think we'll be able to pull this off?" Yuki asked, sceptical.

"Yes. Just stick to the plan." Kaname finished adding the last ingredients and then poured the pot's contents into a wine glass. "Make sure she drinks all of this."

I nodded, taking the cup.

"Remember, right after dinner give it to her when we give everyone else glasses of blood tablets." Kaname directed. "We have twenty minutes until the plan is put into action. Any questions?"

When none of us said anything, I took that as my cue and went upstairs to the Phoenix Queen.

I stopped just outside the door, taking a deep breath. Thankfully, I had already hidden the drink for later before I came up.

"Hey, baby. Where have you been all day?" I resisted against the urge to pull away as she wrapped her arms around me. "I missed you."

"Kaname, Yuki, and I had some business to attend to." Was all I said as I began getting ready for dinner. "You should get ready for dinner. Kaname and Yuki went all out for tonight's. Four course meal with dessert and everything."

"Ooh! I love dessert. Alrighty. I'll be ready in ten minutes." She disappeared out of the room, carrying one of my favorite dresses of Phoenix's.

"This better work." I thought to myself as I went downstairs, meeting the others.

Kaname POV

I observed everything going around me, my anticipation growing with each passing moment.

In just a short time, we would get our Phoenix back, along with the Queen being free.

That was a thought that both joyed and frightened me.

"Kaname, are you okay?" My beloved asked from beside me, her brown eyes clearly showing her nervousness.

I took her hand and kissed the top of it.

"Yes. I'm okay." Was all I said as Zero entered the room, Phoenix/The Queen coming shortly after.

Everyone took their seats and within moments the meal began.

It didn't take long before everyone was done eating.

The wine glasses were then passed out, Zero handing Phoenix's hers.

"Let us make a toast." I stated, standing. Everyone else did the same, following my pursuit. "May we continue living peacefully together and remain true to ourselves. Let's drink."

After raising our glasses in the air, everyone began downing the contents.

I watched Phoenix carefully and when she gasped, dropping her empty glass, I knew the plan had worked.

Phoenix POV

As the Phoenix Queen drank the glass of dark liquid, I felt a pull inside my body.

In my head, I heard screams off agony as the Queen was pushed out of my body. The sensation from that alone was indescribable. It felt like a huge weight had been removed from me and replaced with a feeling of lightness. That's when I knew I had control over my body again.

"You bastards!" An angry voice said throughout the room and as the realization hit me, I watched in horror as she took form.

She stood 6 feet tall, long dark hair cascading down her back. She wore a white bra and skirt, a lot of her grayish skin showing, black tattoos glowing all over her body. On her head, she had yellow horns, just as I had seen before, and she had sharp, fanged- teeth. Jutting out of her back were two large midnight black wings and she had a black, spiked tail.

Gasps went around the room as the Queen stared me down through crimson red eyes.

"I told you that you wouldn't win." I told her, smirking.

"This isn't the end of our little charade. I have my body back now and when I get strong enough, I will come back! And when I do, I'll kill you all." With that, the Queen spread her wings and burst through the ceiling.

"I hope that's a promise!" I shouted after her.

Once she was gone, I turned to all my friends who were staring at me with confused expressions on their faces. Well, all of them, but Kaname, Yumi, and my fiancee.

"What the hell just happened?" Aido was the first to ask, his jaw dropping.

"Yeah. What happened?" Ruka asked as well.

"Long story short, that being you just saw was the Phoenix Queen. For the past several weeks, she has been in control over my body, pretending to be me." I explained, cocking my hip to the side.

"I knew Phoenix wasn't really that nice! It makes since now." Aido declared

"Hey, watch it, Mr." I warned him, my eyes darkening in shades a little bit.

I then turned to my fiancee who had been quiet the whole time.

"Zero? Are you alright?" I questioned, touching a hand to his cheek.

He leaned into my hand, a smile on his face.

"Love?" I was growing a little worried at his silence.

I let out a little gasp then, as he pulled me close and pressed his lips against mine in a passion- filled kiss.

Sparks ignited throughout my body. It had been so long since I'd kissed Zero.

"You really are back." He whispered once the kiss ended, resting his forehead on mine.

"Yes. And it's all thanks to you, Kaname, and Yuki." I turned to face my adoptive siblings. "I was watching through the mirrors. She had me trapped in a dimension full of them, where I could see all of you. I screamed and screamed, banging on the mirrors, but none of you could hear me. The Queen was the only one who did and she only spoke about me being trapped in that dimension forever. . ."

Zero rubbed circles on my back then, comforting me.

"I'm just glad it's over. . ." I sighed, running my fingers through my auburn hair. "If you guys don't mind, I think I'm going to rest for a bit. . ."

"Okay. Shout for us if you need anything." Yuki stated as I made my ascent up the stairs.

"I'll come with you." Zero followed close behind, intertwining his fingers with mine when he caught up to me.

We walked in silence until we made it to our bedroom.

I stared at the door for a long time, nervous to be going in since the Queen had resided in it for the past several weeks. I didn't know if I could handle sleeping in the same bed she had when she was in my body.

Zero, noticing my hesitation, squeezed my hand gently.

"It's okay, Phoenix. She isn't here anymore." He tried reassuring me.

"I know. . ." I sighed, turning the door handle and entering the large room.

First thing I did was walk over to the bed and pull the sheets off, burning them to ashes.

"I never liked those sheets either." Zero chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. He disappeared into the closet for a few moments and when he returned he was carrying a fresh set of bed sheets and comforter.

It only took us a few minutes before we had the bed made.

Wordlessly, I crawled into the bed, snuggling under the blankets, with Zero following behind, pulling me close to him and wrapping his arms around me.

"I missed you, Phoenix. . ."

"I missed you too, Zero. . . More than you can imagine."

Sleep overtook both of us a few moments later.
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A/N: Hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I've had a lot of stuff going on in my life right now and wasn't able to write. . .

This is another of my longest chapters so I hope you're pleased with it. Please comment any suggestions. I feel the story is going nowhere and I'd love to hear your input on how to continue it. Also, please vote if you like it. I'd really appreciate any feedback

- Vanessa