Split

Chapter 7: The Merge

Pheobe looked at her surroundings and saw a white room with no doors or windows, just a room. She recognized it from dreams she used to have and realized that she was about to see into Ariana's eyes as a dream.

"This must be the looking into each other's eyes thing Ariana was talking about," Pheobe said out loud knowing no one would hear her. She stood in fear as she heard Ariana's voice shouting in what seemed like fear still going through her spell books. A sleepy Lisa sheepishly followed her.

"What are you doing up so late?" Lisa asked still sleepy.

"I can't let Pheobe become mentally merged with me. When we merge, I have to keep her locked away in my mind," Ariana said with a sigh.

"Why?" Lisa asked, clearly worried about her friend's well-being.

"Because I've done a lot of bad things and I merging with her will make me see myself as a monster," she said effortlessly.

Lisa looked at her with sympathy. She knew Ariana had a lot of damage and had done a lot of terrible things but she cared about her. I mean, she was still a part of her best friend.

She sighed and walked over to the fearful girl, gently placing her hand on her shoulder in reassurance. "Well, I don't think you're a monster," she said with a slight smile. Ariana genuinely returned the smile but quickly brushed it off and stood up.

"You thinking I'm not doesn't not make me one and soon that's all I'll see myself as," she chuckled with a slight shriek in her voice as it grew colder, "Get the boys and Pheobe ready for morning."

Pheobe watched them and couldn't help but feel a tear run down her cheek, but at the same time knew Ariana was right. As soon as they merged, Pheobe would completely break down over all the things Ariana had done, because technically she'd done them too and she would never be able to forgive herself. She also saw that if they merged, maybe she wouldn't be so fragile and naive.

"What would be so terrible about that?" She thought.

Morning hours
Everyone had been prepared and ready to go to the Dark realm for the merge, none of them knowing how their lives had come to this. The only one left was Jim, who came early with an apple in hand as he walked majestically with a smile on his face.

"People are usually not so happy when they know they're dying," Pheobe said, her eyebrow raised.

"Well, I've wanted this ever since I was 19 and well, I'm glad it's for something important. I hope what you're doing is for the best." He said optimistically only giving Pheobe and everyone else in the room an unsure expression.

"I hope so too," Pheobe replied with a slight smile still not knowing whether or not they're the bad guys. She then turned her attention to Liam, who didn't have to come.

"You don't have to come, you know," she said with a smile glancing at her boyfriend.

"I don't, I suppose but I want to be there for you, no matter who you turn out to be," he replied, returning her smile. It was hard to believe but her presence alone lighted a fire in him that he could never explain.

Pheobe could feel her cheeks begin to heat up and gave him a short, but quite passionate kiss.

Lisa had been seated on the ground, playing with a tiny stick as she was lost in her thoughts but couldn't help but glance momentarily at the couple with something like jealousy in her eyes. She was, however taken out of her envious glance by a loud Ariana.

"Oh my goodness, you two are so cute! I legit ship!" She sarcastically squealed like a 14 year old girl earning an involuntary laugh from Lisa making Ariana smirk as though she had just won a Grammy. Lisa, along with Ariana, however got a disapproving look from the couple.

"Come on now, into the blue glowing portal with a place of darkness, blood sacrifice and evil within it," Ariana said with a sarcastic voice and a fake smile. The three followed her into the portal and found themselves in the wasteland known as the Dark Realm.

Ariana drew a triangle with a small circle inside it for her and Phoebe to stand inside of, being surrounded by all the sacrifices and ingredients. Lisa and Liam stood outside of the circle, Liam still bewildered by their surroundings.

"How about the sacrifice of love?" Lisa asked.

"No, worries, they'll be making their grand entrance soon," Ariana said rather calmly making Lisa shrug.

Pheobe and Ariana sat in the circle with their hands intertwined. "Repeat after me," Ariana began, receiving a nod from Pheobe. "Phîracterum Anmebia Ploniùm," Ariana said and began to chant on with Pheobe.

"You guys might want to stand a little farther away," Ariana warned their two friends making them nod and walk a few feet away from them. She then continued chanting the spell with Pheobe making a bright blue light emerge from the two, almost blinding Jim, Lisa and Liam. They looked away immediately.

"I know what you want to do and I'm fine with it!" Pheobe shouted to Ariana.

"What?" Ariana cluelessly asked. Pheobe was too overtaken by all the power serging through them to answer. As soon as the light was gone, Liam, Jim and Lisa noticed only one of the two Preivah Witches showing that they had merged.

Without hesitation, she looked at Jim and sighed. "And now, it's time for the sacrifice, this is a werewolf of the seven werewolf bloodlines." She said with a shriek in her voice.

"If you don't want to, I could just do it myself," he said while glancing at the knife in her hand.

"No, only a witch can carry out the sacrifice," she sighed.

"It's okay, I want this," Jim told her trying to reassure her. He just wanted to die. He couldn't take the pain anymore. Ariana/ Pheobe sighed and knelt down to him and took the knife. She hugged him and could feel a tear stream down her face as she shoved the knife into his chest. A small streak of light appeared in her eyes. She couldn't help but smile as she could feel so much power go through her. She realized that Jim was still dead in her arms.

As she kept glancing at his dead body, a colorless portal emerged and come out of it was Pheobe's adoptive mother and father angrily. Ariana/ Pheobe was too distracted to notice her arrival.

"Do you honestly think you can  snuff us out that easily!" Her voice grew colder, "Amethyst Libora" The woman shouted whilst using Mr Wheeler as a power source and caught Ariana/ Pheobe off guard, suffocating her with her magic. Ariana/Pheobe tried to chant a spell to stop her but failed. Mrs. Wheeler clenched her fist more with a deep evil in her eyes, suffocating her adoptive daughter more. She held her neck firmly and could feel the air slowly getting snuffed out. She could feel death.

Liam and Lisa saw what was happening and couldn't find a way to stop them from killing their adoptive daughter. Liam tried turning into a werewolf to protect her but to no avail. This made Lisa take a sharp pocketknife out of her pocket and threw the knife at her accurately hitting Mrs. Wheeler chest.

Mrs. Wheeler touched her chest only and turned her back to see an unempathetic Lisa staring her directly in the eyes. She mouthed the word "Why" to Lisa only to have her look away from her. She fell to the ground and immediately died. The shocked Mr. Wheeler got a threatening look from Lisa to leave and he did exactly that.

Ariana/Pheobe was finally able to catch her breath but despite needing to feel grateful for being saved by Lisa, both her and Liam were bewildered at how she perfectly targeted the knife at Mrs. Wheeler, how she made Me. Wheeler leave despite him being able to kill her instantly, including how in the world she could mercilessly kill Mrs. Wheeler like that.

"How did you learn that?" She asked Lisa curiously.

"My aunt taught me, you know, for self-defense purposes," Lisa replied nervously still leaving Liam and her best friend suspicious of her. "It doesn't really matter though, are you okay, Pheobe?"

"I am, and I go by Ariana now," she said, confusing the two and immediately leaving.

A. N: did you like the chapter? Any tips? AT ALL?
I don't know what to call the merged version of Pheobe and Ariana. Should they go by one of their names or a whole new name for a whole new them?
Thank you for reading. I'm going back to my boarding school soon so no phone... See you in December.