Olivia's POV:
"Griffin," I whisper as I painfully clutched onto my side and pushed myself to stand with a glare. "Leave him out of this!"
"Want to know the hard part about attempting to take over your body all those years ago? You refused to let down your walls unless it came to threatening someone you love." The Nogitsune tutted. "It's why I went for someone easier, like Stiles. He outsmarted me and won, I'll give him that but Griffin on the other hand?" He gestured to himself. "His fears were too unbearable to ignore. His hopeless mindset made it so easy to take control!"
"Enough, take me!" Scott shouted as he took a step forward. "Let the others go."
"All the lives here belong to me." He stated. "Once I get my hands on the rest of the blood from the Phoenix herself, I'll be unstoppable!" He growls.
"He doesn't deserve to be in the crossfire! Kill me and he gets to be set free!" Scott immediately argues.
"Scott--" Derek warns.
I quickly shake my head. "No! I'll take his spot! He's my son!"
"You need her alive to drain the rest of the Phoenix blood so it has to be me!" Scott countered, not bothering to spare a glance my way. "Allison kills me, that's the move that wins the game, isn't it? You'll win if you drain the rest of Olivia's powers and kill me instead of dragging Griffin into this. It's the perfect trade-off for her to do what you say!"
Griffin tilts his head to the side. "I've already won." The Nogitsune snarled.
"You lose! Until I'm off the board!" Scott angrily shouts. "I'm still standing! And I'm still the alpha!"
"An arrow to the heart to save everyone else?" Griffin looks over to everyone else tied to their spots. "All the other players go free."
Griffin looks back over to Allison and waves his hand, causing the bow to quickly land in her hands.
Allison worriedly glances between Scott and I. "Olivia--"
"Kill him, Allison," Griffin snarled, showing off his metallic razor-sharp teeth and bringing the knife closer to Eli's throat. "and I win the game."
"Allison--"
The clicking of the Oni causes me to turn, instantly feeling the tip of their katana blade press against my back.
"In case you need more convincing." Griffin snarled and Allison guiltily met Scott's eyes.
"Scott, Griffin's my—"
"It's okay. Don't apologize for choosing your family." Scott reassured with a weak smile and nodded. "Do it."
Allison hesitantly nods before loading an arrow into the bow. She takes a deep breath before she pulls the string back, carefully aiming at where Scott stood.
"Game is mine!" Griffin yelled out, his voice laced with impatience. "Kill him!"
Allison releases the string and the arrow instantly plunges into his chest. Scott staggers back a bit but nods for Allison to shoot another. She pulls another arrow into the bow and lets go, watching as another arrow pierces through her friend's chest.
This time, Scott lets out a groan of pain, and his stance wobbles. Allison quickly loads another arrow, tears springing in her eyes and she releases another arrow.
Scott finally collapses on his back and Allison quickly rushes to his aid. I try to follow after them once I feel the blade move away from my back but the Oni roughly drags me up the steps as Griffin ties Eli back to the wooden column.
"She shot the arrows, now let my son go!" I remark, trying to fight off the Oni's tightened grip. "We had a deal!"
Griffin simply looks up to the sky and a firefly comes out from his mouth which causes him to fall backward unconscious.
"No!" I tried to run to his unconscious form since I didn't see any sort of movement from his chest to show him breathing but the Oni still held me in place. "Griffin!"
The firefly flew over to where Griffin previously stood and transformed back to the Nogitsune's original state with a sigh as he rested his knee on the floor.
Just the sight of the Nogitsune practically looking down at them with a smug demeanor as if he had us exactly where he wanted us, an all too familiar burning feeling stirred in my chest.
Revenge.
"The wolves howl to signal their position...to the rest of the pack." The Nogitsune growled with his fist clenched for us to see as Allison worriedly kept her hand pressed against Scott's bloodied chest. "Tell me, Scott McCall, what is the sound of the wolf who is ready to die?"
"I'd tell you," Scott panted with a glare. "but I'm not ready to die."
A single flame erupts from arrows that were plunged into Scott's heart and quickly travels to his chest, disappearing into nothing but healing the wound in the process. Almost as if the arrows never pierced through him in the first place.
Allison and Scott quickly stand.
"Foxfire." The Nogitsune growled as Scott and Allison quickly stood up.
A burst of flames enveloped Scott in the form of a fox and it traveled across to where Kira, who was still bound to the stone pillar with Hikari, Liam, and Phoebe, sat as she allowed the flames to cover herself once more. Her eyes brightly shined orange as she looked over to Scott who wore a grateful expression.
Allison swiftly drew back an arrow and fired, piercing it directly in the Nogitsune's forehead. It lets out an ear-piercing screech before yanking the arrow from its skull.
Several more of the Oni appeared in the forest but the sound of a roar caused us to look up, seeing as the barrier from the illusion tore down which caused Malia, Argent, Peter, and Melissa to appear with Parrish leading the charge.
An Oni tries to lunge towards Argent but with a single gunshot, the Oni disappears into the shadows.
At the same time from behind, Peter twirled two daggers in his hands before stabbing repeatedly into the Oni's chest and swiping across its throat, allowing it to drop on the floor into a puff of smoke.
"What is that?" The Nogitsune growled, watching as Melissa shot an arrow from her crossbow at another Oni and within seconds disappeared into a puff of smoke.
"Silver, you motherfucker." Argent simply stated with a glare, firing another bullet which caused another one of the Oni to drop to the ground and disappear. "Olivia!" He aims his gun at me.
I nod and duck just as the bullet pierces into the Oni's chest, causing it to disappear.
The Nogitsune growls but just before he can escape I lunge after him, grabbing ahold of his arms in a tight grip.
But in poor judgment, I felt his claws pierce through my arms. "Seeing how you haven't used your abilities since you arrived," He snarled in my face in a smug-like tone. "I'm starting to believe I drained the rest of the Phoenix blood when you put your hand on the nemeton."
"And who says I had it then?" I grunt, feeling his strength begin to push me back toward the steps. "You can't admit that you got outsmarted again."
"Doesn't matter. Whether I win or lose, you just made it easy to kill you now!" My feet nearly skids from the steps which causes him to laugh. "And once I'm through with you, I'll slaughter the rest of the people you love. Starting with that abandoned reject of a son!"
Almost like a switch at the mention of Griffin, the flames erupted in my arms which caused the sleeves of my jacket to instantly disintegrate.
The flames quickly travel across the Nogitsune's body which earns a loud screech to rattle our surroundings and I harshly shove him back. I push my hands forward, causing the surge of flames to hit his chest. The entirety of his body covered in flames caused him to disappear into a puff of smoke.
"Go help Scott! We'll free the others." Derek instructed as he and Eli tried to pull at the binds tied to his wrists. I worriedly glance down at Griffin's unconscious form. "I can hear his heartbeat. He's okay."
Thankfully, Melissa comes up from the other end of the stairs and crouches down to Griffin's level. "I'll look after him, I promise. Go!"
I nod and quickly run down the stairs. An Oni tries to sneakily attack Allison from the side but I aim my hands forward, causing the flames to push the Oni back in time for her to shoot him down with her arrows.
I glance around, seeing everyone else finally freed from the binds and having their battles against the Oni and picking them off one by one.
Mason, my dad, Deaton, Argent, and Sheriff Stilinski were firing bullet after bullet at each of the Oni with the help of Hikari, Liam, Kira, and Malia knocking the entities down to get a clear shot.
Phoebe attached the silver daggers to her bo staffs and skillfully slashed the blades across the Oni's throats alongside Peter and Melissa, taking down the remaining ones.
"No!"
We quickly looked toward the archway, seeing as the Nogitsune stumbled towards us once he saw that all of his Oni were gone and crouched down on his knees to the ground.
"Do you remember, Scott," The Nogitsune growled as everyone slowly crowded around with their weapons drawn at him. "the gift that you gave me? The bite of the alpha, the power of the werewolf."
He did what now?
The Nogitsune growled loudly and using its sharp claws, it pulled at the bandages wrapped around its head. To my disgust, it reveals its goblin-werewolf-like features with its eyes shining a bright green.
Scott lets out a ferocious roar as Derek and Eli land beside him, the two letting out a roar as well.
"Olivia, I can sense the Phoenix blood in him." Ophelia's voice rings in my ears. "His strength is doubled than your allies. They don't stand a chance. You need to drain his powers."
Before I could warn them, the three werewolves break into a sprint and I quickly follow after them with my arms ablaze.
Before the four of us could collide, my surroundings instantly changed. Instead of the ominous forest, I was put into an orange room with shoji screens for the walls and a wooden floor and ceiling. In each of the four corners were small white trees with no leaves.
I warily look around, keeping my arms on fire. "Guys?" I call out, my eyes widening in surprise at the sudden echo of my voice.
"Olivia, can you hear me?" I hear Scott distantly call. "Derek?"
"It's not real." Derek's voice echoed this time. "It's just another illusion."
"Dad?" Eli worriedly called out.
"Eli?" Derek's voice was immediately laced with concern. "Eli, can you hear me?"
"Yeah," Eli hesitantly answered. "Yeah, I can hear you."
The echoes of a dark chuckle cause me to quickly turn, seeing nothing but the white tree in the corner. "What the hell..." I whisper.
A low snarl causes me to turn forward but instantly I feel a slash across my back which causes me to let out a groan as I aimlessly shot a fireball. I expected the flames to catch the shoji screens on fire but it immediately disintegrated.
"Olivia? Wha—agh!" I hear Scott snarl.
The echoes from the roars soon followed after with another swipe from the Nogitsune's claws to slash across my side. I huff in frustration and try to swing a punch, only for it to miss completely as I feel another slash on my leg which causes my knees to buckle to the ground, hearing the others struggle trying to get a hit in as well.
"Harris had his chance." The Nogitsune's voice echoed around me and I quickly pushed myself up to stand with a glare, my hands igniting in flames in preparation. "Now it's my turn. My revenge. I'm going to kill them all, starting with this child right here."
"You wanna kill someone, start with me!" Derek angrily answered. Almost as if it was close by, the sounds of the slash caused me to quickly turn just as I heard another body slam to the ground.
I barely catch a glimpse of the Nogitsune's monstrous form just as he sweeps his leg across, sending me to trip as he slashes my stomach again before I fall forward.
"We can't fight him alone. He's too strong." Scott grunted.
"I'd be more than happy to set him on fire," I clenched my jaw as I pressed my hand onto my bloody stomach, pushing myself to stand once more. "but the phoenix blood practically maximized his abilities. No matter what we do, he'll just immediately heal himself before he jumps to attack the next person."
"Then we have to break the illusion. We have to catch him."
"You can't catch me! You can't kill me!" The Nogitsune tauntingly raised his tone as I frantically looked around to search for his voice. "You can't even find me!"
"You're right. We can't find you...but we can find each other." Scott smugly answered.
"A wolf howls to signal its pack," Derek concluded and immediately I started to smile in remembrance of Deucalion's training.
"What about a werewolf?" Eli curiously asks. "And...you know, for Olivia too."
"I have a method, don't worry about me." I reassure. "But for you guys..."
"A werewolf roars." Scott finishes for me before Derek lets out a ferocious roar with Scott doing a much louder one.
As Eli roared as well, I shut my eyes to focus on the temperature of my surroundings.
On the left side, I noticed a smaller form bent down on their left knee and holding their left hand out, looking straight ahead.
Eli.
Another form appears from behind and immediately I run after them the lunge, easily pushing through the shoji screen and jumping into the gold-lit room.
Eli tries to use every bit of his strength to push back the Nogitsune and I jump on its back, tightly wrapping my arms around its throat to put him in a chokehold.
At the same time, Derek comes in from my right and holds back the Nogitsune's arm from slashing downward while Scott appears from the left, swinging a punch that causes the Nogitsune to spit out a splatter of black liquid from its mouth.
Derek harshly headbutts the Nogitsune and I throw quick jabs at the side of the monster's cheek, grimacing at the squelch sounds of each bloodied hit before Eli stands to his feet.
All together, the four of us force the Nogitsune to his knees and instantly our surroundings shift once more, bringing us back to the ominous forest. This time, rather than the middle of the field, we were on top of the nemeton stump.
The Nogitsune manages to stand back up and fights through our grasps, easily flinging Eli off of the stump to the side. Derek quickly replaces Eli's position as I move around to push the Nogitsune's chest to prevent him from moving off as he lets out a roar.
Parrish jumps on the nemeton as well to push him back beside me, the cracks of his body emitting flickers of flames.
"Hold him! We gotta hold him!" Scott yelled over the Nogitsune's growls.
"You can't! You'll all burn up with him!" Parrish shouted which caused the Nogitsune to maniacally laugh as the green in his eyes glowed brighter.
Even through this, Ophelia's previous words practically haunted the back of my mind.
"My, my..." Ophelia's voice echoed in my thoughts. "You've been in such a mess, haven't you?"
My eyes open and I look around our cloudy surroundings, recognizing the haven I first met Ophelia.
"You could say that." I chuckle, taking in her off-shoulder white gown attire before pulling her into a warm embrace. "It's good to see you again."
"Likewise. Your loved ones all wish they could be here but given the current circumstances, only I can be the one to give the proper explanation before you go once more." She explained with a soft smile. "The Nogitsune's return created a detrimental shift into not only the supernatural order but the Phoenix bloodline as well. When you placed your hand on the nemeton to bring Allison back, not only did it activate your powers once more but he absorbed--"
My eyes widen in remembrance of when I accidentally sliced my hand with the blade. "the blood. He has the blood of the phoenix."
"He did not gain the entirety of the phoenix blood but containing half is enough for him to be incredibly powerful. Our home is being flooded with chaos because of him." She reluctantly answered. "I'm afraid if he is not stopped soon, your loved ones in both worlds will perish."
"How do I stop him?"
"Absorb the phoenix blood back into your system. Once the process is complete--" She pauses as she looks off to the side, hearing the faint screams. "Our village, it's getting worse. You must leave. I have to return--"
"Wait, wait, wait. If I absorb the phoenix blood back--"
"He then will be able to be stopped." Ophelia interrupted and I took notice of our surroundings disappearing once more. "Heed my warning, Olivia. If the trickster fox absorbs your powers, he'll be unstoppable and there will be truly nothing that can kill him. As the phoenix, your duty has been always to do what is right to keep humanity alive. No matter the risks, you must end this!"
No matter the risks.