Disclaimer: Not mine, borrowed and nurtured. A/N: I hope 2021 is a kickass year for you all. This is the final chapter to my alt world fic which kept me entertained during hiatus. Thank you for being on this crazy journey, I hope you enjoy the end of this rollercoaster. Reviews make me happy x
X
Breathe, darling.
This is
just a chapter.
It is not
your whole story.
- S.O. LOURIE
When Kol entered the kitchen, Rebekah stood by the stove wearing a Rousseau's apron, stirring the gumbo with a wooden spoon. Kol found Davina, Bonnie, and Caroline, peeling beans for that night's New Year's Eve banquet. He kissed his wife, intending only to grab a coffee, and picked up an empty mug from the table.
Rebekah looked up when the coffee machine whirred to life noisily.
"Kol! I need you on spices. I've done the bay leaves," she pushed the mortar and pestle towards him with a grunt. "Marcel's with Hope," she explained. "Something about Josie not talking to her."
Kol groaned, "I need coffee first," he almost reached for the bourbon.
Bonnie, Davina, and Caroline were discussing Josie's reluctance to face reality.
"She just needs time," Bonnie explained, "To accept her own grief, and regain her confidence."
Davina sighed, "When I was ostracised as Regent, it took me years to regain my confidence."
Caroline sighed, "She wouldn't come out of her room to see Lizzie, I worry she's not coping."
Rebekah opened the fridge for broccoli and celery, "Time heals all wounds," she added.
Kol ate a cold blueberry pancake from the middle of the table. "Where's Lizzie?" he asked.
"She's with MG-" Davina pulled her hair into a bun as if bean peeling was serious business.
Kol's eyebrows raised to the ceiling, was MG ready for that?
"-Bunny hunting," Caroline smiled over her mug of cold coffee.
Rebekah began chopping broccoli at a quickened pace, as Stefan visited their minds.
Kol changed the subject, "What about the merge, will it still go ahead?"
Bonnie threw another bean onto Davina's pile, "I think we owe Sebastian a thank you…"
Davina nodded, "He saved Lizzie by creating a loophole to the merge."
Kol mused, "As a heretic, she can't merge... So where does that leave Josie?"
Caroline sighed, "I don't know, but I think we will all need counselling."
Rebekah pulled Kol to his feet, much to his annoyance. He sculled his coffee, then pounded the spices. The gumbo bubbled away on the stove and smelled almost as good as Sophie Deveraux's. His stomach grumbled in protest, whilst Bonnie collected the beans into the salad bowl.
Hope sat on her bed, worried for Josie who refused to come out of her room since their return from the Prison World. Hope was out of ideas, and with Lizzie learning how to control her recent vampire urges, and Penelope eager to try again with Josie, things were now complicated.
"I don't know how to help her, Marcel. I know she wants to tell me what happened, but it's like she doesn't want to burden me, but I was there, at least for some of the ride," Hope muttered.
Marcel nodded, "When Josie's ready she'll confide in you. It took me decades before I forgave Klaus, and it might take that long for Josie to accept her own guilt, and shame."
Hope mumbled, "I don't want her to go through this alone."
Marcel offered some advice, "Sometimes we need space to understand it ourselves."
Hope curled her hair behind her ears, thinking about her break up with Rafael.
"Raf reminded me I had a crush on Josie when we were fourteen," she admitted. "Like forever ago."
Marcel reached out to her. "I just want you to be happy, with whoever you choose, boy or girl. Klaus and Hayley would be so proud of everything you've accomplished here, you know that, right?"
Hope wiped her eyes on the back of her hands. "I know, I just miss them so much," she mumbled.
Marcel hugged her, "You'll be okay, kid. I'm here for you, always and forever."
Hope smiled over his shoulder, "Thank you, Marcel, I love you."
She pulled herself together enough to realise what it was that she needed from him.
He noticed her intense stare, "What, what are you thinking?"
Hope relaxed her shoulders, "You can show me what Josie saw all those years ago."
Marcel sighed, "Just be careful, the mind is a maze, and I don't want you getting lost in there."
Hope wrapped her hands around his mind. "I won't," she promised.
She closed her eyes, and let his memories lead her to Josie.
Caroline found Lizzie in the library flicking through Stefan's journals. She had been up all night worrying over Lizzie's transition and wondered why Ric was ignoring her phone calls. She regretted letting Ric leave, even if she were mad at him that night. They were supposed to be partners, raising their girls together. How would he react discovering Lizzie was a Heretic and it was her fault?
"Lizzie?" Lizzie's lips were stained with bunnies' blood and hair tangled with grey fur and leaves. "Are you okay?" Caroline moved the journals to the coffee table to free up the seat beside her.
Lizzie shrugged, "I just ate Thumper, but yeah, MG is a good teacher. He told me Stefan used to drink animal blood because he was a Ripper in the 1920s – Mum, what if I can't control it? What if I crave more than just bunny blood? I'm scared I'm going to kill someone..." she whispered.
Caroline took Lizzie's hand, "It's okay to be scared, I was – you know what helped me? Knowing my own strength and relying on my friends and family. We are all here for you Lizzie, and being a vampire is not the end, it is the beginning. You can reinvent yourself. Go places you never thought you could go. Somebody once told me, being a vampire meant having a thousand birthdays. I know it's a big transition, and I know it was not your choice, but you will always be my Lizzie, and I will always love you."
Lizzie withdrew her hand, returning Stefan's journals to the large gap in the shelf one by one, lost in her thoughts for several minutes. Caroline waited until her daughter was ready to confide in her.
"I know, and MG's been amazing. I feel like I woke up as Alice Cullen, but I can't SEE my future. I'm just living in darkness… is that what Malivore is like, how Josie felt, trapped there? I feel so lost, like I can't even blame anyone because it was my decision to be with Sebastian, because I thought he was my fairytale prince, and I'm such an idiot!"
Caroline took the journals from Lizzie, "You're not an idiot. You remind me of me when I was sixteen. Naive but driven, beautiful but insecure. I'll teach you how I controlled my urges; with alcohol, whiskey, and lots of sex," she admitted, aware of Lizzie's grotesque expression in her peripheral.
"With whom? Not dad?"
Caroline laughed, "No, although your dad and I were engaged once, but that's another story. When I was young, I had a past with a vampire and a werewolf. Stefan and I were soulmates, Tyler and I, high school sweethearts. We needed each other, like you needed Sebastian, and MG."
Lizzie leaned against the bookcase, "I'm never going to see Sebastian again, am I?"
Caroline hugged Lizzie, "Someday, that's what I always tell myself. Someday you'll see him again."
She knew Lizzie needed her whole family to get through her recent trauma and loss.
"I've called you father; I want him to come home."
Lizzie sniffed back tears. "Thanks mum. I love you."
They broke apart when the library door opened and shut, and Wendy and Jade entered hand in hand, dressed in faded jeans and pro-feminist t-shirts.
"We didn't mean to interrupt-" Jade began her eyes darted from Caroline to Lizzie.
"It's okay, we were about to leave," Caroline forced a smile.
Wendy glanced at Jade, bouncing on her hyperactive toes. "Thank you for your offer, but-"
"-We've been stuck in Mystic Falls our whole lives-" Jade put her hands in her back pockets.
Wendy leaned against her girlfriend, "-we thought it was time to travel the world, you know?"
Caroline had offered them teaching posts, after some training to learn their craft. She was a little disheartened but understood their need to travel the world. It had once been a dream of hers too.
"I hope you'll come back and visit us someday?" Caroline asked, shaking their hands.
Wendy hugged Lizzie, "Good luck, with your next adventure. We're off to Brooklyn!"
Jade smiled, "We're only a phone call away if you need us."
Hope sifted through Marcel's memories, drifting through the decades… Christmases with her parents when she was a baby, Marcel saving her from Monique and the ancestors. She sifted through memories flitting through her mind until she located Marcel's shocked expression, as he stared into The Hollow's chilling blue gaze – Josie.
She felt his emotions and let herself wander through his memories; a stranger passing through.
She witnessed the war through her brother's eyes… his defeat… his torture… his pain.
She saw Josie… no, The Hollow, and her minions come to life.
She saw covens, vampires and wolves decimated before her eyes.
She saw evil reincarnated.
Hope understood Josie's fear, she understood how she felt, lost beneath the Hollow's fury.
Hope opened her eyes, her face reminiscent of his horrors, tears wet against her ashen cheeks.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Hope wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his shirt.
Marcel held her tight, "Just like your mother, you are. Fierce, yet protective. It's all in the past, and if you and Kol hadn't've gone back in time, I might not even be standing here today. You saved me, Hope. Don't be sorry. Whatever pain I suffered during the Hollow's reign, it's only a memory now."
Hope sniffed back tears, "I wish I could take away your pain."
Marcel grinned, taking her hands in his, "You already did."
Penelope knocked on Josie's door, trusting her instincts. Josie wouldn't open the door for Lizzie or Hope, so Penelope made it her business to discover the truth. She deserved closure so she could move on with her life. The corridors were quiet, everyone had either gone home for the holidays or were in their rooms waiting for celebrations to start.
"Go away Lizzie, I'm not in the mood to celebrate," Josie's voice came though her door.
Penelope frowned, "It's not Lizzie, and I'm not taking no for an answer this time, Josie."
BANG! Penelope's spell broke the door off its hinges revealing Josie in a black lace dress, her mahogany lipstick drawn on her cheek in her surprise. Sitting on the floor was Alyssa, similarly dressed, with a Ouija board between them. Penelope noticed the curtains drawn, and candles flickering from the wintery breeze.
"What the hell is this? A séance?"
"You ruined my lipstick," Josie frowned, then rectified her mistake with the wave of her hand.
Alyssa raised her veil, "We're summoning Sebastian's ghost, naturally or unnaturally in his case."
Penelope frowned, "Lizzie needs you, Josie. She's a heretic now, don't you care?"
Josie took in Penelope's combat boots and blouse, eyeing her like a hungry lioness.
"She made her choice," Josie peered at herself in her mirror, fluffing her long hair.
Penelope glanced at Alyssa who continued to move the board without Josie's contribution.
"She had no choice. If she didn't transition, she would have died. Sebastian took her innocence."
"She chose to live as a Heretic; she needs to embrace her darkness, like I have."
Alyssa turned to them, "We all have light and dark inside of us, some of us, greyer than others."
Josie walked into Penelope's personal space, "We both know loving me was your destruction."
Penelope frowned, a bitterness in her mouth, "It was my mistake."
Penelope didn't give two hoots what happened next, she had tried, but Josie was a lost cause, and she wasn't going to put anymore energy into saving someone who didn't want to be saved.
"It's better this way. I'm setting you free," Josie's small voice caught Penelope in her tracks.
She felt a loneliness overwhelm her, and her frustration bubbled into missing what Hope said they had shared. She trusted her instincts and grabbed Josie, planting a kiss of passion, tenderness, and love on her unsuspecting lips. Memories of their relationship burst through her foggy mind. Their endless fights about co-dependency, stolen kisses in hallways, and letters that went unread.
"I love you, Jojo," she opened her eyes to witness black veins spreading over Josie's dark expression.
Startled, Penelope stumbled backwards against Josie's bed.
"I warned you," Josie clicked her fingers and Penelope collapsed into a deep sleep.
Landon walked out of detention, there was something strange about Mr Clarke, he couldn't quite put his finger on it – it wasn't the obsession with Greek mythology, he was a history teacher after all. No, Mr Clarke had interrogated him about Malivore, but why? Landon needed answers. He avoided Bob's gaze as he mopped the hallways and hurried to Dorian's office.
"Mr Williams, I need your help-"
Jeremy Gilbert sat with Dorian, they had books spread over his desk, and were pouring bourbon into their teas. Kaleb leaned against the wall, draining a blood bag in his first like it was a slushie.
"What are you doing here?" Landon and Kaleb asked at the same time.
"What is it Landon?" Dorian offered him a seat beside Jeremy, whose crossbow remained at his feet.
He locked the door before he sat down, "I've got a creepy vibe from Mr Clarke."
Dorian sighed, and pushed a book towards him, glancing in Kaleb's direction.
"You'd be right, Jeremy's already told me about the blood on his tie, and his midnight rendezvous."
Landon pulled the book toward him, it was a photograph from Triad Industries, showing Mr Clarke in a suit with an ID card. The photograph was taken in 1953, and he looked the same age.
"He works for Triad Industries," Jeremy explained to Landon's dumfounded expression.
"He's obsessed with monsters," Kaleb added, tossing his empty blood bag into the bin.
"And he's been chasing them for decades," Dorian said, flicking through the book.
"What's he want with me?" Landon asked, feeling a chill down his spine.
Dorian shrugged, "We don't know, but you're a Phoenix, and you're the only one of your kind."
"You're too valuable to be poached," Jeremy reminded Landon. "Be on your guard."
Landon swallowed, suddenly nervous. "So, what's the plan?"
Later that day, Kol carried the gumbo to the dinner table, noticing the new janitor skulking by the door. Where had he been? Rebekah passed him in the hall, greeted Marcel, and returned to her room to get changed.
Davina caught his preoccupied expression as she set the table, "You okay?"
"Yeah, can't shake the feeling that I've seen Bob's face from some place."
Mr Clarke descended the stairs and called Bob over, this peaked Kol's suspicion.
"Did you do what I asked?" Mr Clarke muttered.
"There were complications..."
"What complications?"
"In the form of somebody who mistook me for somebody else."
"Did you handle it?"
"I uh, did my best but-."
"Fine, the plan goes ahead. I'll call you if I need you."
Kol had the urge to use an antique vase as a weapon to scare the truth out of them, but it was Bonnie who bumped into Mr Clarke, whether on purpose or by accident Kol couldn't tell. She was somewhat clumsy. A shifty Bob disappeared to his quarters, but Mr Clarke offered Bonnie his hand, and gave an apology, retrieving the books she had been carrying before he also took his leave.
"What did you see?" Kol hissed to Bonnie when Mr Clarke was out of earshot.
Bonnie hesitated, "I saw a black pit of death. I could hear screaming beneath its surface."
Kol's hairline receded, "Malivore? I knew it, he's not a history teacher at all!"
"Who?" Davina came from the kitchen with two bottles of pinot noir '55.
Dorian entered with Jeremy, "Clarke, he's from Triad Industries."
Bonnie poured herself a glass of wine, "What's he doing here?"
Landon wrung his hands nervously, "We think he's after me, and other rare collectables."
Realization hit Davina and she grabbed Kol's sleeve. "Kol, you don't think… Hope?"
Kol vamp sped after Mr Clarke eager for answers.
Lizzie was humming along to Folklore by Taylor Swift, an album borrowed from the library, which had been a birthday gift for Caroline from Elena. She wondered if she'd ever find love again. One of the songs, Cardigan, was her chosen mantra, not only did it represent how she felt becoming somebody alien from herself, but it also gave her comfort in her sudden loneliness.
Her green tea sat untouched on MG's bedside table, forgotten, as she mourned her dead boyfriend.
I knew you, tried to change the ending, Peter losing Wendy
"Lizzie! Josie's taking on the Necromancer!" MG skidded into his room and found Lizzie on his bed.
"She's what?" Lizzie dropped Prisoner of Azkaban which she'd been enjoying. "Where's Hope?"
MG shrugged, "I don't know, I sent Kaleb to find her. What do we do about Josie?"
Lizzie pulled on her jacket, and glimpsed the heavy snow falling outside her window. A chill hit her, as she remembered dark magic coursed through her sister's soul. She was no longer sweet Josie, but a corrupt version, Lizzie barely recognised.
"I don't know, I can't read her like I used to," Lizzie sounded frustrated.
"May I?" Lizzie nodded and MG held her hands, "Listen, focus on one sound, and follow it."
She took a deep breath and her body relaxed. She cleared the scatter of noise with a loud hum, her eyes closed, trying to find her twin. A panic overtook her - a reminder of decades they'd spent apart. She tried again, hearing pockets of excitement; Caroline, Bonnie and Davina discussing Triad, Alyssa casting a spell; Jed and Pedro playing a round of chess; Bob dropping a shovel on the ground; and the rise and fall of Penelope's heartbeat in the next room.
Her eyes snapped open, "Penelope's in Josie's room."
MG stared at her, "And Josie?"
Lizzie smiled, "I'll find her, but Pen needs our help."
MG pushed open the door, as Lizzie vamp-crashed into the wall, trying out her new abilities, "Ouch!"
Josie had kept her promise, to meet with the Necromancer in the Salvatore grounds. She had promised him her darkness, so he could win against Malivore, the monster killer. They had a rivalry which lasted centuries. Josie didn't much care for it, but she did want her life back, and if giving her power to the Necromancer meant freedom, she would take it.
Penelope was asleep in her dorm, she wasn't a monster, even if everybody thought her to be one.
Sebastian was long gone, to purgatory or hell, and Wendy and Jade were leaving, with or without Alyssa. Hope would want to save her, that was how she was – a martyr, a hero, her friend… She couldn't let anyone stop her – this was her choice.
Josie met Lizzie by the Greenhouse, "Mg told you."
Lizzie shrugged, "'Family is power,' at least that's what Hope's uncle Elijah used to say."
Josie nodded, "The Necromancer wants our power, my darkness. I want him to take it."
Lizzie understood the desperation in her eyes, it was the same look she had right before she took on Fake-Klaus, but this time Lizzie was ready, ready to do what she should have done then.
She took Josie's hands, "I'm not leaving you behind this time. We'll do it together."
Josie agreed, "Remember the spell?"
Lizzie nodded, "Never forgot it."
Josie saw a figure walking towards them, he was tall, and his cackle echoed across the grounds.
"I trust you, Jo. You had my back, and now I've got yours, always."
The Necromancer stepped into the circle marked for him, five torches lit at the wave of Josie's hand, and Lizzie was left awed and impressed. The plants in the greenhouse seemed to be listening, leaning against the windows, and casting monstrous shadows onto the cement.
Josie began the spell, and Lizzie repeated it with confidence, "Magia Tollox De Terras!"
Hope ran passed the greenhouse; she didn't have much time. She saw Landon's curls bob out of sight. She had told them to go back to their dorms where they would be safe, but they wanted to help her fight, she'd told him and Kaleb to hide out in the greenhouse. Hope turned her attention back to the ritual where The Necromancer pranced, singing to the heavens.
"Magia Tollox De Terras. Solvo."
Josie's eyes were entirely black, and Lizzie's were as white as the crescent moon peeking beneath the grey clouds. The merge had started, and she had no way of knowing what might happen should she interfere. She needed Penelope, she needed to cast a spell that countered the merge, to save both twins from their worst alias'.
Hope uprooted one of the torches and wielded it like a weapon, even though she knew fire could not kill the Necromancer, as they had already seen in The Prison World. Maybe she could knock him out instead – Hope was desperate to stop the ritual in whichever way she could.
Marcel pulled her back. "I can't let you do that."
"What am I supposed to do, let them merge? That's not going to happen," Hope hissed.
Somebody appeared behind her, hair wrapped in a red ribbon which resembled Snow White.
"You were supposed to bring Sebastian home, you broke your promise, and now he's dead!"
Alyssa snatched the torch from Hope and set the Necromancer alight. He flailed out of the circle, but his new set of powers consumed the flames, and he rose to his feet undefeated and victorious.
The Necromancer patted his singed clothes, "When will you learn, I cannot be kill-!"
His head rolled from his body, and blood splattered Hope and Alyssa's clothes. They screamed in the aftermath, and Marcel pushed them back behind him, his fangs elongated.
Bob lowered his shovel in his bloodied hands. "His ego was getting on my nerves," he admitted.
Hope turned to check on Lizzie and Josie, thankfully they were both alright.
Lizzie helped Josie to her feet behind them. "How do you feel?"
"More like myself," Josie smiled, a brightness in her eyes.
Hope greeted Lizzie and Josie with a hug, "I'm so glad you're both okay."
There was a shout and Kol shoved Mr Clarke forwards by the scruff of his shirt. Clarke's hair and clothes were sopping wet, and their former teacher's teeth were chattering. Hope was pretty sure Kol had used the frozen lake as a third teacher. She sent him an exasperated look, to which he replied with raised eyebrows, "What? I needed answers!"
Marcel grabbed Bob before he could run, and Hope noticed Penelope using MG as a conduit, performing a barrier spell to keep both Bob and Clarke from leaving the Salvatore grounds. Hope saw Davina, Bonnie and Caroline emerge from the porch, as if they had heard the commotion from inside. The windows had opened, and some of the students eavesdropped from their rooms.
Kol threw Clarke into their circle. "Dorian was right, he's from Triad, been rounding up monsters since his arrival. Set Bob to assassinate the Necromancer," Kol frowned.
Clarke rose to his feet, "It was his debt to pay. His memories his prize."
Clarke clicked his fingers, leaving Bob to clutch his uniform and stare at the 'S' emblem on his shirt.
"You've got to be kidding me? I work for Bonnie fucking Bennett?"
Marcel and Kol exchanged a bewildered look, "Who are you?" they asked both Bob and Clarke.
Clarke dusted off his pants, "Miss Bennett guessed my true form – Malivore." He stood up straight, observing the Necromancer's fallen head, and body with a grim smile.
Bob turned to Hope, Lizzie and Josie with a faux-hurt voice.
"What, you don't recognise me? Malachai Parker, aka Uncle Kai."
Landon, and Kaleb stood in the greenhouse watching the events unfold threw a cracked glass window. The greenhouse was musty and smelled like blood and bone potting mix. Snow dusted the window frames, and Landon watched his breath fog up the glass with every breath he took.
"Uh what are you guys doing?" Jed asked from behind them, grinning when Landon yelped in fright.
"Jesus, what are you doing here?" Landon's heart was racing.
"Alyssa needed back up, saw you spying."
Jed sucker punched Kaleb for the fun of it and knocked him backward into a giant Venus flytrap.
"Get me out of here!" Kaleb yelled, trying to strangle the plant from the inside.
After rescuing a flailing Kaleb from the carnivorous plant, Jed fed it slugs, and rummaged under the table for a juicy snail. Instead, he found a tarp, which he pulled, coming inches with an unconscious Alaric. Jed let out a shout which made Landon jump a mile, "What now?"
"You find a spider, or something?" Kaleb asked, pushing Jed aside.
"No, something much bigger," Jed prodded an unresponsive Alaric in the shoulder.
"Dr Saltzman? Is he dead?" Landon had joined them.
Kaleb checked Dr Saltzman's neck and wrist, "Nah, I can feel a pulse, but he doesn't look good."
"Landon, stay here, Jed and I will take him back to Bonnie."
"Is it wise to move a body?" Jed seemed cautious, resting on his haunches.
"He's not dead, yet." Kaleb pulled Dr Saltzman out from under the table with minimal effort.
Landon noticed something glinting in Alaric's hand, "What's he got in his hand?"
Dr Saltzman grabbed Landon by the neck. "A golden arrow!" he growled.
Landon struggled to escape Dr Saltzman and yelled when the arrow stabbed him in the stomach.
"Landon!" Kaleb and Jed struggled to repress Dr Saltzman's sudden burst of power.
Landon fell as if in slow motion, his hands held the arrow, and warm, sticky blood soaked his favourite plaid shirt, "Get Hope," he rasped, as the pain became unbearable.
A wolf's howl echoed through the grounds – Jed. Hope looked up to see a crowd gathering around the greenhouse. She began to run towards them, finding Kaleb's worried face in the crowd. Josie and Lizzie comforted each other, as Hope assessed Landon's injury with her heart in her chest – he had lost a lot of blood already.
"Something wrong, it doesn't feel like last time. I think I'm dying, for real." Landon's hands held onto Jed's as the beta werewolf tried to help his friend sit up.
Hope heard another howl in the wind – Raf had answered.
"Raf's coming!" Hope told Landon. "We're not going to leave you alone this time."
Josie and Lizzie sat beside them. "If I die, I want Lizzie to do my eulogy, because she tells it as it is," Landon chuckled, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth. Lizzie smiled, "Ok, Hobbit."
Malivore glared at Kai, "That arrow belongs to the Necromancer. It was made to destroy me."
Kai shrugged, "I told you, I ran into a complication – Alaric tried to kill me. I acted in self-defence. The Necromancer resurrected him at my request. I gave him the arrow as a gift of thanks. I didn't know what it did, thought it was just an antique," Kai admitted without a care.
Malivore knelt beside his son. "You are my family, my fire, my blood."
Landon felt Clarke's hand beneath his head, his mind drifting into unconsciousness.
"Family doesn't end in blood," Landon rasped.
Landon saw a black wolf sprinting towards him in his peripheral vision, he smiled.
"Rafi," Landon groaned. He turned to Malivore, "I just want the pain to stop."
Hope bit into her wrist, sending a desperate look to Malivore.
"Will my blood heal him?" she asked.
Rafael slid through the snow and caught Landon in his arms, "Hang in there bro," he pleaded.
Hope let her blood dribble into Landon's accepting mouth. Josie and Lizzie supported each other, as their friend's final breaths grew near. Hope bit her lip, praying her blood still had healing properties for a phoenix. Rafael sent her a look of gratitude, as if telling her in silence that he would not hold her accountable, she had done all that she could.
Kol grabbed Malivore's shoulder, impatient, "You heard Hope, will it help him?"
"Only if Landon is willing."
MG had an idea, "Siphon the magic from the arrow, maybe it will stop whatever curse it has on it?"
Lizzie and Josie put one hand on Landon, and the other on the arrow, together, as they siphoned the magic from the object, they pulled it from his chest. Raf and Hope pressed their hands against his wound, desperate to stop the bleeding. Landon smiled, curling his hand over theirs, "Thanks."
Malivore sighed as the life in Landon's eyes faded, "I only wished to protect him from the world."
Kol scooped Hope up, as Landon's body burst into flames, then turned into molten rock, and cracked into ash. Snow fell where his body had been, and Hope clung onto Kol for support, hearing Rafael's sobs cut through her heart. She looked up to Landon's death had affected every one of her friends, and even, to her surprise, that of her family. Rebekah was sobbing beside Marcel, Davina had tears glistening down her cheeks, and even Kol seemed to understand her devastation.
Malivore grieved his son, and glared at Kai, "You owe me a life."
Hope gasped as Malivore consume Kai Parker, like Hexxus from Fern Gully.
Another yell rocked Mystic Falls when Jeremy discovered Dr Satlzman's body in the greenhouse.
MG sat with Lizzie on the stairs during Dr Saltzman's funeral. He was silent, unsure of what to say. He worried he'd say something stupid and ruin the moment. Lizzie had her hands in her lap, her jaw clenched. MG had no way of knowing what she was thinking unless he read her mind. He thought of the one thing he often wondered, and it slipped from his mouth:
"Do you miss it, being human?"
Lizzie looked lost, scared, unlike herself, but maybe that was because she was a Heretic now, and was still dealing with her witch and a vampire ability. He wanted to be there for her, it was just difficult sometimes, trying to read her.
"Do you?" Lizzie snapped, running her shaking hands through her long blond hair.
MG nodded, "Sometimes," he shrugged. "I never really got a funeral or a eulogy either."
Lizzie suppressed her anger and grief; she was sick of people dying and leaving her behind.
"MG, I don't really feel like talking," she confessed, staring at the carpet.
MG understood, taking her hand, "Ok, what do you feel like doing?" he asked.
Lizzie glanced at him, contemplating something that made her cheeks flush, then she stood up.
"We're going to write your eulogy," she sounded so sure that MG just went with it.
"What about the wake?" he pointed at the trays of salmon puffs laid out on the table.
Lizzie pulled him up the stairs by the arm, and vamp sped them to her room.
Hope sat on the grass by the lake, missing Marcel and Rebekah who left for New Orleans after the funeral. They had overstayed their welcome, or the body count had been too much, Hope couldn't blame them. She knew she was just being bitter; her brother would have stayed longer if he could, but he had a city to run, and a restaurant. Rebekah had hugged her tightly, and reassured her, she had done all she could to save Landon, and Alaric's death was nobody's fault but Kai's.
Kol and Davina were having tea on the patio keeping an eye on Hope, probably worried for her sanity. She had checked on Raf, before he'd gone to visit his dad's, grieving in his own time. Lizzie was with Caroline, helping with the funeral. Funerals, she had had her share of them, with Hayley and Klaus, and Elijah. They never got any easier and she always felt drained from crying all day.
She took a deep breath, calming her shattered nerves, hoping that today would be the day that Landon returned to her – she was doubting her faith, and believing that maybe Landon had been right, maybe he only had one get out of gaol free card on him. She still hadn't told Josie that she loved her, and during Dr Saltzman's funeral seemed like the worst timing in the world.
She wanted to be there for Rafael, Josie, and Lizzie, but she was barely holding it together herself. Landon had been there for her, they had a history, and he was Rafael's brother, she hadn't been prepared to lose him so suddenly from her life. She felt like Malivore had just abandoned him, like he had everybody else and an anger grew in her, like it did with Lizzie, every now and then.
She wanted to scream, to let go of her power, to feel free of it, just for a minute.
Caroline had written a eulogy for Dr Saltzman, Hope didn't know how, when it had only been a few hours since his death. Maybe she should have written one for Landon? His parents were dead, like hers. Who would be coming to his funeral? Caroline had wanted to include Landon's with Dr Saltzman's, but as they weren't sure if he was truly dead – she granted one more day, for Hope.
Josie collapsed onto the grass beside Hope, who snapped out of her funk almost immediately.
"Josie, I'm sorry. I should be in there supporting you, like you supported me with Landon."
Josie sighed, hugging her legs to her chest, "I feel numb, like I can't breathe."
Hope held Josie for a few moments, not saying anything, but understanding the death of a parent.
"It never gets any easier," Hope murmured. "You just miss them more."
Josie rested her head against Hope's and let her tears fall freely, staring at an old apple tree.
"I'm sorry I didn't let you in. I was struggling with all the bad things I'd done in my past."
Hope held her tighter, "We don't have to talk about all that now. You've got enough on your mind."
Josie shook her head, "I know, but I was scared of moving forward."
Hope lifted her head seeing Josie properly for the first time since losing her in 1942. She was half terrified of Josie's confession yet excited, because maybe there was a chance she felt the same way? Maybe they could move on together?
Josie continued, "I almost lost myself in those fifty years of being possessed by the Hollow."
Hope understood the feeling, "Tonight, I was so scared I was going to lose my best friend, again."
Josie smiled, "You always knew me, even the darkest parts of my soul."
Hope shrugged, "Somebody had to look after you, when you were looking after Lizzie."
Josie's smile faded, "Co-dependency that's why Penelope and I broke up."
Hope had overheard Josie make amends with Penelope after the funeral, apologising for forcing her into a deep sleep. Penelope was well rested, yet adamant it never happen again. Josie had promised and they agreed to stay friends. Hope had then answered the door to find herself face to face with a stranger, however she did look oddly familiar.
The stranger greeted Bonnie, Caroline and Josie and Lizzie, and was introduced as Emma Stefanie Salvatore, Damon, and Elena's daughter, "A progeny of two cured vampires. There's no way I'd have magical abilities, right? I thought so too but yesterday I witnessed my uncle's murder, and I know you don't teach humans, but maybe there's room for a psychic? Or legacies. I mean, I am family."
Josie shook Hope gently, "Where did you go?" she asked, but not in an angry tone, she sounded curious, as if she wouldn't mind escaping her mind either.
Hope smiled, "Nowhere, Emma seems nice," she said.
Josie entwined her fingers with Hope's as if to try out how it felt.
Hope liked the way Josie's hand fit in hers. "Josie, I think I'm in love with you."
"You think, or you know?" Josie asked shrewdly.
Hope was honest, "I knew the moment I had a crush on you."
Josie blushed, "I think I knew the moment I set your room alight, and I'm sorry for that."
Hope tucked a strand of Josie's hair behind her ear, mesmerised by her awkward smile.
"Would it be ok if I kissed you now?" she whispered.
Josie nodded, "Yes please."
With mischief twinkling in her eyes, Hope kissed Josie slowly but sweetly, pausing for a response. Josie felt herself melt against Hope's tender kisses. She licked her bottom lip, comfortable and safe with her best friend, feeling a tug on her heart strings. Hope let out a giggle when they toppled over onto the grass, resuming more passionate kisses, hands tangled in each other's hair.
On the hill overlooking them, Davina eyed Kol suspiciously.
"How long have you known?" she demanded.
Kol sipped his tea, "I had an inkling."
Davina smiled to herself, "Freya's going to be thrilled."
Landon opened his eyes, he was sitting on a grave in Lafayette cemetery, which he hastened off as quickly as he could. There was a strange fog around him, and it wasn't snowing anymore. He clutched his bloodied shirt and raised it to feel the arrow that had embedded in his skin, was gone, and so was the pain. He licked his lips, tasting blood on his tongue – Hope's blood!
"Rafi? Hope? Josie?" Landon called out to the deserted graveyard, knowing he was alone.
The gate opened ahead of him, and a bright light blinded him.
"I'm really dead then." He was disappointed, but not surprised, he thought.
He walked towards the gates, determined to end his chapter with pride – he'd lived a good life
"Not yet, brother." Landon was jolted backward when Clarke grabbed his shoulder.
"What the fuck?" Landon glared at him, "Brother? Clarke? Ryan? I remember you."
Clarke patted Landon's shoulder, "Good, Dad had his hands full. He wanted me to give you this."
Clarke dropped a small silver key into Landon's reluctant hand. "What is it?" he asked.
Clarke shrugged, kicking a pebble across the graveyard, "Another chance."
Landon closed his fist around the key, and saw he was standing by the gates again, but there was no blinding light. The gates were locked, and he looked for his brother, but he'd vanished. With a deep breath, Landon tried the lock on the gate and twisted the key all the way to the right – it unlocked with a screech. "Get out of gaol free card," he mumbled.
Landon pocketed the key; it might come in handy again.
He shielded his eyes from the sun and doubled over as oxygen blasted his lungs. He felt blood pumping through his body and felt elated to be alive – suddenly he was running towards the Salvatore boarding school, he thought of playing guitar with MG, raiding icecream from the freezer, laughing with Rafi, Kaleb, and Jed, and taking whatever insults Lizzie threw at him, because that's what you did when you didn't have a care in the world.
Landon tripped and flew down the asphalt grazing his knee, "Ow!"
He noticed the flag at half mast, and felt a pang of guilt, knowing it was marked for him.
Landon wished he had speed capabilities like a werewolf or vampire.
He had flown once when he'd saved Dorian from Kai, the memory popped into his head.
"No way," he breathed, gritting his teeth so he sounded like a deranged dinosaur. "Activate PHOENIX POWERS!" He jumped in the air and flapped his arms.
There was a laugh which shattered his spirits, and Landon opened his eyes to see Alyssa.
"Took your damn time," she said, sculling her champagne. "Lizzie's halfway through your eulogy."
Hope sat by the fire, turning Malivore's key in her fingers, as if by some miracle it would tell her its secrets. Landon had already explained how he'd escaped death using it – she wondered what else it unlocked. She had bid Kol and Davina goodnight, and Josie, with a kiss and a hug, content with her life, more so then when she had started the adventure back in time. She knew there was no way to go back to their old timeline, too much had changed – she would make do with what she had.
Hope stared at the fire, the key's rotation lulling her to sleep. She adjusted herself on the cushions, sitting up to see Pedro watching her from the other side of the room – it was past his bedtime.
"What?" she sighed. "Do you think it has any magic left in it?"
Pedro opened his hand, "Let me see," and she gave him the key, trusting his opinion. "I think it's got one more secret to unlock," he beamed, and he pulled Hope to her feet, pulling her to the door.
Hope sighed, "Pedro, this is the front door. The key's not going to work on this lock."
Pedro gave her a 'try me' look, to which she accepted his bluff, and slotted the key into the lock.
Her jaw dropped, and she clicked it all the way to the left.
With bated breath, Hope opened the door, and tears welled up in her eyes.
She didn't understand how, or why, but she gripped the key in the palm of her hand, as a reminder of her current reality. His eyes were no longer a glowing blue, but warm and loving, and Hope ran to him, a loud sob left her lips, and she wrapped her arms around her father, overwhelmed with happiness.
"Told you she'd be happy to see us," Klaus smirked to someone Hope hadn't noticed.
She looked through her blurry eyes to see her mother, Hayley, beaming at her.
"How is this happening?" Hope whispered, hugging Hayley next. "Am I dreaming?"
Pedro walked out to join them, "I think the timeline reset. Malivore must've done it."
Hope looked down at the key in her hand, and noticed a small M etched onto its crest.
A/N: At 7k words, I hope you enjoyed the ride. I hope this made up for 3x01, I will be writing more legacies drabbles in future. I really enjoyed exploring all the different relationships in this fic. Who were your favourite characters/favourite pairings? What would you like to see in Legacies s3? Hit me up if you'd like me to write an epilogue, or continue with drabble pairings in the same verse? Thank you to all my readers and reviewers, means a lot to read your thoughts on each chapter.