Disclaimer: I do not own Legacies or any of the characters in this story. Legacies belongs to Warner Bros., the CW, Julie Plec, Brett Matthews, Leslie Morgenstein, and Gina Girolamo. The Vampire Diaries is based on a book series by L.J. Smith.

Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for -fair use- for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Chapter 1: Ready To Be A Phoenix Again?

A whole month had gone by since Hope first discovered that Landon was alive. The people she called her friends, who she'd dropped everything for to help on countless occasions, had refused to help her, arguing that if they siphoned open a rift to the prison world, monsters or maybe even Malivore himself could escape. Anger festered in Hope's heart like poison at the memory of their words. Monsters were coming anyway—in droves, as a matter of fact—and Landon was still trapped in the prison world with who knew how many of them? He was human right now, and Hope could only hope that in this month they'd forced her to wait to rescue him, none of those monsters had done the unthinkable.

She'd tried appealing to Josie and Lizzie directly for help to siphon the prison world open sooner, but Lizzie sided with MG, who hid the ascendant in the first place, and when she tried to go to Josie, Lizzie had intercepted them and convinced Josie that it was the wrong course of action. Hope knew in her bones that if the situation was reversed, if it was any of them trapped in the prison world right now, Landon wouldn't hesitate to get them out immediately. He would lay his life on the line to save any one of them. Why none of them seemed to care about his wellbeing in return and why they tried to force her to get over him after only a few weeks had passed since he dissolved, she couldn't understand. Would they be able to get over the love of their life after only three weeks, if ever? Would they be acting any differently than she was when there was a way to rescue the person they loved? Dr. Saltzman had once told her that she should try grieving sometime, but the moment she actually did, she was met with ridicule and everyone telling her to just get over it.

The next celestial event was occurring right now, and Hope was out in the woods by the old mill, the ascendant clasped in her hand like the key to life itself. She hadn't bothered to tell the others where she was going; why would they care seeing as they abandoned Landon for an extra month knowing full well that he could die?

Hope had spent every waking second of the past month trying to find a way to get Landon out without the twins' help or a celestial event, but no matter how many books she pored over, she never found the answer. However, she did manage to discover one very useful piece of information for when she got him back. It had to do with the golden arrow. The arrow supposedly killed his phoenix side, according to what everybody thought, but, as it turned out, that wasn't the case: the arrow actually now contained his phoenix powers. Once she had him back, she could coerce the twins into putting Landon's powers back into his body using the same ritual they'd planned to try to save Rafael earlier this year. Landon had confided in her that he considered those powers to be the most important part of himself, and while Hope disagreed, believing that his pure heart and beautiful mind were the parts of him that mattered most, she knew how he felt when he lost his phoenix powers, as though he'd lost the only thing that made him who he was, and she could imagine that she would feel the same if she lost her magic. But, if she admitted it to herself, she knew her motivations for turning him back weren't completely selfless on her part. She never wanted to feel the crushing grief of believing she would never see him again. With his phoenix powers restored, he would be immortal again, and once she destroyed the golden arrow, there would be nothing that could kill him permanently. Nature's loophole destroyed forever.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Hope whipped in the direction of Lizzie's voice, her blue eyes narrowing. "I'm going to rescue Landon."

Lizzie wasn't alone. Josie, Kaleb, MG, and Dr. Saltzman were all there with her. Hope stiffened. What were they here for? Were they all teaming up for some sort of stupid intervention to try to convince her not to go to the prison world to save Landon? Again? Like hell.

"What are all of you doing here?" she asked, keeping her voice level, but she knew it was tinged with hostility.

"We're here to help you," Josie said.

"Help me?" she raised her eyebrows in disbelief. Rage was coursing through her and she clenched her teeth. Now they wanted to help her?

"Yes. Help you find the hobbit and bring him back to the Shire from his unexpected journey. What else would we be here for?" Lizzie asked with a roll of her eyes.

"Funny," she said in a steely voice. "None of you wanted to help me a month ago."

"Hope, it was too dangerous then," Dr. Saltzman said. "MG was right. But now we can bring Landon home safely, and you could use our help searching the prison world for him. We'll find him faster if we work together."

Hope clenched her jaw. Dr. Saltzman had a point, but she'd seen red when he uttered the words 'MG was right'. Besides, she was planning to use a locator spell to find Landon anyway. She didn't need their help. Though, she supposed it would be easier to let them tag along than protest and start an argument; she only had so long until the celestial event was over and didn't intend to waste any more time. "Fine," she said in a clipped voice.

"Let's bring our boy home," Kaleb said. He was the only person here Hope wasn't angry with. Kaleb hadn't done anything to keep her from getting to Landon… but then again, he didn't do anything to help her, either. Maybe she should rethink her lack of anger.

She held out the ascendant and the twins moved forward. Josie had taken her magic back recently, returning to the Salvatore school with her new girlfriend, Finch, who'd turned out to be a werewolf. Hope and the twins started chanting, and soon they were all consumed by a glowing white light. When it dimmed, the six of them were in the prison world.

Hope could see smoke rising in the distance, and even though it was evening, the sky was still a dark, burnt orange from the fires. Landon had been breathing in smoke the whole time he was here, if he was still in Mystic Falls at all. With the number of monsters crawling around this place, if he'd thought no one was coming for him, he might have tried to put as much distance between himself and them as possible, and that would mean leaving the city.

Hope snatched the ascendant so the twins were no longer able to touch it, pocketing it and turning her back on them all to walk away.

"Hope, where are you going?!" she heard Dr. Saltzman call.

She called over her shoulder without stopping: "It's like you said: we'll find him faster if there are more of us. That implies splitting up." There was a bite to her voice as she said it.

"Alright. Fine," he said. "We'll split up. Everyone meet back here. No one leaves until we're all back. That includes Landon."

"You got it," she heard Kaleb say. "Come on, MG."

Hope made her way into the forest and then crouched down, pulling out the two things she'd brought with her besides the ascendant and the Bennett blood: a map and a picture of her and Landon that he'd always kept framed beside his bed.

She performed the locator spell, pricking her finger. Her blood fell onto the map and she waited until it started sliding along the parchment, revealing the path to Landon's location.

"I'm coming for you," she whispered her promise even though he wasn't there to hear it.

Hope folded the map up and broke out into a run, bolting in the direction her blood pointed. The map led her into the city, past small shops and restaurants until she finally reached Landon's location: The Mystic Falls Grill. She stopped in front of it for a moment, staring at the building. This was where she'd met Landon, where he used to serve her peanut butter blasts, where he asked her to go with him to the town square that night when they danced.

Heart thudding with heartache, Hope burst into the Grill, unable to take not seeing him a moment longer, only to stop once she was through the doors, her eyes scanning the restaurant in confusion. She couldn't she him.

"Landon?" she called out. "Landon, where are you?" There was no answer, but when she glanced down at the map, it didn't say he'd moved, so he had to be in this building somewhere. "Landon, it's Hope! I came to get you!"

She walked deeper into the Grill, wondering if maybe he was hiding in one of the back rooms. But why wouldn't he have come out when she called to him? Fear lurched through her; what if something bad had happened to him before she could get here?

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shape surge out from behind the bar. It lunged at her, tackling her off her feet. Hope responded instantaneously, using her legs to obtain leverage and shift positions with her attacker, flipping them over so she was on top of them instead, her yellow wolf eyes flashing as she slammed them into the ground.

But then she saw his face and went still. "Landon?"

Landon struggled underneath her, making a valiant attempt to regain the upper hand, but Hope was stronger than him, and she pinned his wrists down beside his head, her knees on either side of his torso to keep him down.

"Landon, it's me! It's Hope!" she tried to reason with him, wondering why he would still be struggling now that he'd seen it was her.

"How stupid do you think I am?!" he exclaimed. His voice sounded hoarse. Whether that was from lack of water, too much smoke, or screaming, Hope didn't know. "I fell for this once, I'm not falling for it again."

"Landon, what are you talking about?! It's me! It's Hope. I came to rescue you," she said. "There was a celestial event. I came for you."

He hesitated, wavering, but distrust still shined in his eyes. Those gray-green eyes she adored.

"Prove it," he whispered, sounding hopeful despite his mistrust.

"I… I don't know how," she said. "I…" She reached into her pocket and pulled out the ascendant. She showed it to him. "I came to get you, Landon, because I love you. And I want you to trust me, to come with me willingly, but I'm getting you out of here one way or another." If she had to, she would use a spell to knock him out and take him back home while he was unconscious. She could convince him it was all real later when they were safe, far away from all the monsters, and she'd figure out exactly what he meant by he'd fallen for this before. What all had happened to him these past two months?

"Hope?" he murmured, a flicker of something darting through his eyes. His heartrate had increased, and while he still looked unsure, her earnest words and the sight of the ascendant had caused him to vacillate in his conviction that she wasn't real.

"Yes, Landon, it's me," she said, her voice breaking a bit as her eyes rimmed with tears. The urge to pull him up into her arms and never let him to, to press her lips to his in an eternal kiss, was strong inside her.

"Hope," he said, voice breathless as he moved to sit up.

She let him, and then his arms were wrapped around her, burying her into a hug. She felt something hot and wet on her neck, and knew she wasn't the only one who was crying.

"I've missed you so much," Landon choked out.

"I've missed you, too," she murmured, running her fingers through his hair. Those words didn't even describe the pain she'd felt at losing him. No words in the English language could.

After a few moments, they pulled back from the embrace and rose to their feet. Hope put the ascendant back in her pocket.

"Come on," she held his hand in hers. "We need to get back to the meeting place. Hopefully the others will be waiting for us there. If not, I'll astral project and tell them I found you."

"The others? Who came with you?" he asked curiously as he followed her.

"Dr. Saltzman and the usual super squad," she said, but her voice was tight with ire. She was still angry with them, and honestly it didn't feel like they were much of a "squad" lately. Weren't squads supposed to work together? Weren't squads supposed to not abandon their members to suffer and possibly die? Maybe she should change their name from super squad to Suicide Squad—that would be more accurate considering they left Landon to die.

The two of them reached the meeting place, and sure enough, the others were still out searching. They hadn't expected her to find Landon this quickly, as though she would waste time wandering around the prison world without bringing the tools for a locator spell. Hope astral projected to find the other two groups: MG and Kaleb making up one and Lizzie, Josie, and Dr. Saltzman making up the other. She told them she found Landon and to come back, and that was it. She ceased her spell without another word to any of them.

Eventually, the first of the two groups emerged from the trees. While they waited for them, every little sound set Landon on edge, and when he heard the rustling of Kaleb and MG making their way into the clearing, he'd pulled out a dagger she hadn't known he had. When he recognized them, his eyes flicked to Hope, as though he was looking for confirmation that it was actually the two of them and not some monster wearing their faces. Hope gave him a reassuring nod, and Landon relaxed, lowering the knife.

"Landon?" MG moved toward him, as though he couldn't believe it was really him, but then his eyes flicked to the knife Landon was holding. "Whatcha got there, buddy?"

"N-Nothing," Landon said, sliding the knife back up into a sheath on his wrist hidden beneath his sleeve. He was staring at Kaleb and MG like he could scarcely believe they were standing in front of him, like he expected them to vanish at any moment, dissipating like mist on a warm day.

"Really? Because it looked to me like you had a knife," MG said, the pitch of his voice rising fractionally.

"What else was he supposed to defend himself with while trapped here?" Hope snapped, eyebrows raised. She wanted Dr. Saltzman and the twins to hurry up and get here so they could leave and she could take Landon up to his room where they would be alone.

Before anyone could respond, Dr. Saltzman and the twins came out of a copse of trees and into the clearing.

"Well, muppet, you're a sight for sore eyes," Lizzie said the moment she took in Landon's appearance.

Hope glanced at him. He was skinnier than he used to be, his cheekbones sharp. He was dirty, and his hair was a bit longer than it normally was. It needed a trim, so long as he wanted to cut it short again. Knowing Landon, he probably did. He hated having his hair too long.

"Don't call me that," Landon whispered.

"What?" Lizzie asked, looking confused.

"Muppet. Don't call me that," he repeated himself.

"Alright," Hope said before Lizzie could retort. "We're all here. Now let's get out of here." Landon's been here long enough.

She took out the ascendant and the Bennett blood and began the incantation. The twins gripped her arms for the assist. A few moments later, a flash of light surrounded them, and then they were all back in their world, in the dark under the trees by the old mill.

Hope turned to Landon. "Come on," she said tenderly, "let's go inside."

He nodded his assent, looking like he wanted to bolt into the school at top speed to get out of this forest. She took his hand in hers and they started making their way back toward the Salvatore school. Landon's grip was tight, as though he was afraid that if he let go of her, she would disappear and this would all have turned out to be a dream. The others were walking along the path with them.

Hope and Landon entered the school and she guided him toward the stairs. The two of them ascended without even bothering to glance back at the others. She was still angry with them. Landon was too distracted. Her mind swarmed like a nest of angry bees. Landon was alive, but what if he hadn't been? And Malivore was in that prison world; they all knew his disgusting plan for Landon if he ever took him over as his vessel again. And the others hadn't cared. They put off saving him as long as possible, and the darker parts of Hope knew for a fact that if it had been any of them trapped in that prison world in his stead, if it had been the twins or MG or Dr. Saltzman, they wouldn't have hesitated to get in there at the earliest opportunity, consequences be damned. They would do everything in their power to rescue one of their own little unspoken group before anything bad could happen. And that thought filled her with a fury that made her want to obliterate all of them. Landon had done so much for them; he'd been the one to figure out how to stop many of the monsters, and now that she thought about it, so had she. They always depended on her to be their savior, ready to defend them and risk her life for theirs at their every beck and call, but the moment she and Landon needed their help, they turned their backs on them. Her eyes were finally opened. They didn't really care about Landon. Or her. They only cared about what they could get from the two of them.

They made it the last few paces down the hall to Landon's room. Since they'd lost Rafael, he hadn't had a roommate. His room was empty, whereas hers was occupied by Cleo. Thoughts of her new roommate only worsened the anger beating through her veins. Cleo had barely known her for one day before she tried to convince her to get over Landon's death. It had only been about a month since she thought she'd lost him. Cleo had the audacity to get her to sculpt a bust of him out of his remains and then told her to smash it. And when she wouldn't, Cleo had tried to sell it to that woman to save the school. She'd attempted to make Hope feel guilty for not asking her questions about her life when she was busy grieving. Dr. Saltzman's words flashed through her mind again. You should try it sometime.

I did, she thought. I did, but I didn't need to, because he was alive. But when I did, because I let myself start believing that maybe he wasn't—because they all kept pressuring me to accept that he wasn't—it still wasn't good enough for them. They wanted me to act like an emotionless robot and keep my world revolving around them, as usual.

Lizzie's words invaded her mind next. So, forgive me for prioritizing that over your emotional needs, for once.

But when had anyone other than Landon and her family ever prioritized her emotional needs? No one at this school had ever done that. The inequity of the situation made her want to take Landon and run away. They could go back to New Orleans together, finish up their education there and figure out what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. It was a nice thought, but she exhaled a frustrated breath because she knew she would never do that. She had to stay, whether she wanted to or not. She'd told Landon as much back in the prison world, before all of this happened to them.

She pushed open the door to Landon's room and once they were both inside, shut it behind them, quickly using her magic to lock it and put up a barrier spell only she could take down. She didn't want anyone walking in on them uninvited, especially while she was helping him get cleaned up and settled. Later, she'd remove it so she could bring the twins in to siphon his magic out of the golden arrow and put it back in him, but for now, no one was to enter this room. She wanted to be alone with the love of her life for a while. It had been too long since they'd been together.

Hope reached out and stroked the side of Landon's cheek. His eyes fluttered shut as he leaned into her touch, and she felt something in her heart break, tears stinging her eyes. He had been through so much and he went through it all alone.

"Let's get you cleaned up," she whispered, running her thumb across his cheekbone, too prominent beneath her touch, his cheek below sunken in.

Landon nodded, still not opening his eyes until Hope had lowered her hand to take his, tugging him gently toward the bathroom.

She helped him get cleaned up, washing his body and hair, trying not to flinch at the sight of new scars all along his body. Once they'd removed a few layers of dirt from him, Landon dried off, got dressed in new clothes, and Hope trimmed his hair back to his preferred length. It had grown a few inches in the time he'd been missing.

Then, they were back in his room, Landon sitting on the edge of his bed while Hope set up the ritual for the twins.

"What are you doing?" he asked, frowning slightly, his head tilted to the side with curiosity.

She glanced up at him. "You remember that ritual we were going to have the twins perform on you to save Raf?"

Landon nodded.

"Well, this is something like it, but we're going to siphon the golden arrow instead… to transfer your powers back to you," she said.

His eyes widened. "That—That's possible?"

Hope inclined her head. "I took a leaf out of your book and did a lot of research while you were gone, trying to find a way to bring you back. I didn't find any alternatives to a celestial event or the twins siphoning open the prison world—which they outright refused to do—but I did learn a few things about the golden arrow. It absorbed your magic, so now we just need the twins to siphon it out and put it back in to you."

Landon looked hopeful for a moment, but then doubt crept across his features. "Do you think they will?"

"Of course they will," Hope said adamantly. She'd force them to do it at gunpoint if she had to. Hope winced at the thought. Despite how angry she was and the negative thoughts she'd been having about them, these people were her friends. But she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she was expendable to them, and Landon definitely felt expendable in their eyes.

She finished the last few touches on the ritual and rose to her feet. "Are you going to be okay here alone if I go and get one of them?"

For a moment, Landon looked panicked, but the expression faded almost as quick as it had come, and he nodded. His face still looked grim, a wary glint in his eyes, his muscles tense, but he agreed.

"I'll be right back," she promised, walking over to him and pressing her lips to his in a soft kiss. Landon didn't kiss back much, just a small press of his own lips, but his eyes closed in contentment, and Hope knew everything was going to be okay.

She drew back after a moment and headed for the door, pulling it open and closing it behind her as she sought out one of the twins. She was hoping she'd locate Josie first. After all, Josie had almost helped her open the portal to find Landon when she first took the ascendant back from MG. If it wasn't for Lizzie showing up right when she did to talk her out of it, Hope would have had Landon a month ago. That would be one month less of trauma for both of them.

She found her sitting on a couch downstairs, talking quietly with Finch, and cleared her throat. The two of them both looked up to see her.

"Jo, can I have your help with Landon?" she asked.

Josie nodded. "Of course. What's wrong?"

Hope pulled out the golden arrow. "I want to give him his powers back. They're trapped in the golden arrow and I need your help to do it since I can't siphon."

Josie took the arrow from her and turned the thin metal rod over in her fingers, examining it. "They're actually in the golden arrow?"

"Yes," Hope said. "I don't know why none of us thought of it before. It makes sense."

Finch rose to her feet. "How did Landon's powers get trapped in this arrow?" She hadn't met Landon yet, but had heard plenty about him in the past month. No one mentioned to her what Landon had been.

"Landon is a phoenix. He got stabbed with the arrow and it absorbed his powers," Hope explained. "Come on, Jo, I don't want to leave him for too long."

Finch was staring at her with wide eyes. Phoenixes were real?

"Shouldn't I get Lizzie first?" Josie asked.

"No," Hope's voice was sharp. "We can do this without her."

Josie looked at her like she was trying to see what was going on inside her head, but then nodded. "Okay."

Josie followed Hope upstairs, Finch on her heels, and they entered Landon's room. He was right where Hope had left him, sitting on the edge of the bed, body taut like a puppet whose strings were being yanked on and held as far as they could stretch, but some of the tension bled out of his shoulders when he saw Hope had returned.

"Hi, Landon," Josie said, sounding a little awkward, like she wasn't quite sure how to approach him. "How are you feeling?"

Landon met her eyes and whispered, "Hey, Jo." He didn't answer her question. Probably because Landon hated to lie anymore ever since his lies had hurt Hope, and he didn't want to tell the truth about how he was really doing. Hope locked it away so she could talk to him about it later.

"This is Finch," Josie said, gesturing to her. "My girlfriend."

Landon gave her a small smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I've heard a lot about you," Finch said.

"Josie?" Hope's eyes flicked to the golden arrow.

"Right," she said, and then moved forward into the circle of herbs and candles Hope spread across the ground. Landon moved in, too. "Ready to be a phoenix again?" she was trying to seem upbeat when she spoke to Landon, but they could all sense the tension in the air.

He nodded wordlessly, and Hope frowned. Landon hadn't spoken much since he'd been rescued, and he kept watching everyone like he was expecting the worst.

Josie began the spell, and the golden arrow glowed with orange light as Landon slowly started to become a phoenix again.

Hope you guys liked this first chapter. Please leave a review and share your thoughts. :)