Like Mother, Like Daughter
Chapter 8: Demon of Truth
Making his way towards Ryan and Hope's apartment, Roman thought about the newest monster that was terrorizing the school. According to Josie when he last talked to her, shortly before he set out to pass along the message to his Tribrid ex and her Golem boyfriend, the latest supernatural foe was called an Oni. Josie's explanation about an Oni, after being a translator for a 14th century samurai that somehow got transported from his time to theirs, was that it was a demonic Japanese spirit. Apparently, in its traditional mythology, it would crave and eat human flesh. Gross.
She told him right after that, when she saw the disgust on his face, that if it was sent by Malivore, chances are it would only be after Landon, so she doubted that it would go out and start munching on innocent people. Roman didn't quite like the little bit of hesitation he heard in her voice at the time, but he figured that the last Oni fact she passed along to him was worse than the flesh-eating bit.
"You won't know an Oni when you see it. It possesses people and it can literally be anyone at any time."
He wondered which was worse: being possessed by a Japanese mythological demon or being eaten by it?
'Yeah, I'm gonna go with being possessed,' he thought as he was only a foot away from Ryan and Hope's door. 'Didn't quite like being emotionally manipulated before and I definitely wouldn't like being physically possessed on top of that. I'd rather have someone eat me.'
He was right in front of their door now, but just as he raised his fist to knock, a sound made his eyebrows furrow.
It was a moan. A rather erotic moan…
"Your sausage is so good, Ryan. Best one I ever had."
"Mmm, I know what you mean. I haven't had a peach as soft or as tasty as yours in years. I think I'm addicted."
No.
Fucking.
Way.
Eyes widening and jaw dropping in shock, Roman pulled his fist back a bit. Were they seriously having sex right now?
As if to confirm, Hope's voice met his ears again: "You sure know how to take care of a girl's eggs, Ry. They're just how I always want them."
"Mmm, I can't take all the credit, you know. Eggs are only as good as the meat that goes with them."
"Well, it's a damn good thing you're packing some amazing meat."
A chuckle from Ryan. Then: "You're not dry, are you?"
"How can I be dry when I have such a talented man taking care of me this morning?"
Roman gagged. He did not need to hear this!
"You pick the best fruit. Everything's so ripe and juicy and so perfectly red and pink."
A pleased giggle made his ears burn and wish that he didn't have vampire hearing.
Hope was almost seductive in her response: "And the beans you got are the best."
That's it. He couldn't take it anymore. His ex-girlfriend having sex with her boyfriend in the middle of the day was hard to digest but hearing them complement each other sexually was so much worse!
Rapping desperately at the door, Roman called out to the couple inside the apartment: "It's Roman, I need to talk to you two! I know you're busy enjoying each other—wait, I mean…"
The door opened and Roman barely managed to pull back his fist in time before it could collide with Hope's face. Hope was staring at him with a puzzled expression. Much to his surprise, she wasn't wearing a robe or Ryan's shirt or anything that signified that they had been fooling around before he arrived. Instead, she wore a black short-sleeved shirt, dark blue denim jeans, and her signature necklaces—the one with the Mikaelson crest engraved on the front and Hayley's, the latter having been given to her during the deceased Hybrid's funeral a few years prior. Behind Hope he could see Ryan. The Golem appeared at the kitchen doorway, looking both curious and annoyed to see him. He was also fully clothed in a white button-down and black dress pants.
'Maybe I was wrong about what they were doing,' he thought, his cheeks and ears burning with embarrassment.
"Roman," Hope began tentatively, noticing the redness. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he said quickly. "Yeah. Umm…" He cleared his throat. "Did I interrupt anything?"
"Well, we were having breakfast."
"Breakfast?"
"Yeah. Ryan and I went grocery shopping the other day. We wanted to make an English breakfast. Neither of us have had it before and we figured it would be a fun thing to try."
"An English…breakfast?"
"Yeah. It has bacon, fried eggs, sausage, mushrooms, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, and toast. We also found some really good peaches and decided to have those on the side."
"Oh…"
Roman felt absolutely mortified now and, if he was honest, a bit like an ass. No matter how suggestive the sounds and comments, he shouldn't have just assumed that Hope was having sex. Even if they had been engaged in that activity, he had no right to be bothered by it; they weren't together anymore and Hope made it clear that she didn't want to have much to do with him other than him gathering intel for her from the Salvatore school.
Hope furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asked.
"Yeah," he answered.
"Why are you acting so weird, then?" She continued to question him, her arms folding across her chest now as Ryan came up so he was now standing right behind her.
Roman shook his head. "It's not important, just me being a dumbass," he told her. Ignoring the way her eyebrows rose in interest and Ryan's muttered agreement to calling himself a dumbass, the vampire continued: "There's a new monster at the school."
Instantly the couple was on high alert. Rightfully so, any references to Malivore's monsters made them nervous. This sentient mud puddle often sent monsters after Landon and Hope and wanted her dead because her Tribrid blood was the only one that could destroy him; the Oni is just the most recent of those monsters and, in Roman's opinion, the most dangerous to everyone involved. And Ryan…well, Roman didn't like the guy, but he felt sympathetic for him. After all, his reasoning was being afraid of Malivore because of how he'd keep him prisoner forever if he got pulled back into him again.
"What's the new monster?" Hope asked, stepping forward.
"It's called an Oni," Roman answered. "This samurai somehow came to our time from his and he approached the Salvatore school. Apparently he's got this thing on him—his sword, I think—that drew him to supernatural creatures, so naturally he'd go to the school. Anyway, Josie was able to translate for him when Dorian kept asking him why he was here. She told us that he was hunting the Oni, this ghost demon from his time, and that it was trickier than most monsters because it can possess anyone through touch."
Hope looked mollified and Ryan was disturbed. "Through touch?" Hope asked. "As in…if this thing was possessing anyone, we literally wouldn't know until they touched us and we were possessed?"
Roman nodded.
"Is it after Hope?" Ryan asked.
"I think it only wants Landon."
"You think? Or you know?"
"I don't think Malivore would send a monster after his only weakness with the intent to possess her."
"Well, you're still using I think, and since I've gotten to know how your brain works within the last few weeks of being forced to interact with you, I'm not banking on any of your opinions."
"Really? Then whose would you trust? A teenage girl who doesn't remember either of us, a 14th-century samurai with a language barrier, or your biased opinion?"
"Any one of them would be better than yours."
"That's enough," Hope chided both boys, her annoyed eyes flickering between them for a moment before settling on Roman. "Is there anything else?"
"Josie touched the sword when Landon brought up this idea to let the Oni possess him and then be run through with the sword to kill him and the Oni," the vampire replied.
Ryan snorted.
"What?" Hope was utterly dumbfounded. "Why the hell would he suggest something like that?"
"Because he's stupid," Ryan mumbled.
Roman found himself agreeing with Ryan again. Landon was stupid.
Hope pretended not to hear Ryan's derisive comment. "What makes him think that letting Malivore's monster possess him is a good idea? How is that okay? Malivore is the one who wants to take control of Landon," she said. She couldn't understand her Phoenix ex-boyfriend at all; he didn't want to be Malivore's puppet, yet he was perfectly willing to let his father's monster possess him?
Roman shook his head. "His reasoning is that since the sword that the samurai has can kill the Oni, if he lets the Oni possess him and someone kills him with the sword, the Oni will stay dead and return to Malivore and his Phoenix DNA will resurrect him." Roman had to admit that as stupid as it was, the reasoning was a pretty good one. The only major flaw was, of course, Malivore. Having the only son that can continue his bloodline be taken to him like that is making everything way too easy for him. It's basically serving Landon to the bad guy on a silver platter.
"Landon's ridiculous idea aside, what happened when Josie touched the sword? I'm guessing that that's important?" Hope's query was met with a firm nod from the younger of the two men.
"It's imbued with a lot of black magic," he said. "So much that, when she was telling us about it before I came here to let you guys know, she actually flinched and couldn't hold it for very long."
"Great," Hope groaned, sliding a hand down her face in exasperation. "So we're dealing with a monster who is relentlessly pursuing Landon to possess him and bring him to Malivore, Landon who wants to be a martyr and hand himself over, and a weapon that can kill the Oni but is so filled with black magic it could probably corrupt every witch that touched it…great, just great. This is exactly what I wanted to deal with today." The heavy sarcasm was not lost on anyone.
"I'm sorry," Roman apologized. He really was sorry that he had to bring her such awful news. He didn't want her to stress herself out with anything else when she already had enough to deal with, but he wanted to be truthful with her, and part of being truthful was telling her everything that was going on at school.
"No, don't be sorry, it's not your fault," she sighed. "Okay, Ryan and I will be there soon. Just give us about twenty minutes and we'll be ready to help out."
Roman nodded. "Okay," he said.
"Thanks, Roman," she said.
"You're welcome."
Hope elbowed Ryan and he grunted out a thank you of his own. Roman just nodded at him. With that, Hope closed the door and Roman dug his hands deep into his pockets as he trekked back to the school. While he was going, he bumped into someone.
"Sorry," Roman said. The person didn't reply and continued walking. "Okay, then," he mumbled.
As he walked, he stopped when he noticed Alaric and Landon. A weird feeling stirred in the back of his mind when he saw the Phoenix, like there was an itch there that he couldn't reach to scratch.
'Go to Landon,' a voice whispered to him.
'What?' He thought.
The voice didn't respond for a minute, making Roman believe that he was just hearing things. When he started walking again to return to the Salvatore school and, in turn, drew closer to Alaric and Landon, that voice returned, practically screaming inside of his head: 'GO TO LANDON!' Roman winced at the volume and ignored the voice, but with every step he took away from the pair, the louder and more violent the voice became.
'GO AFTER LANDON!'
'BRING HIM TO ME!'
'YOU MUST DO AS I SAY!'
It was nearly unbearable for Roman to deal with the voice—it was so loud—as he returned to the Salvatore school, but when he did, he made a beeline for where Josie was.
"You don't need to do that spell anymore," Roman interrupted her, slamming the door behind him.
Startled, Josie glared at the vampire who broke her concentration. "What are you talking about?" She demanded, angry that he barged in while she attempted to find the Oni using a locator spell.
"You don't need to do that spell anymore," Roman began, his head aching as the voice kept urging him to find Landon. "Because I'm pretty sure that the Oni is inside of me."
Legacies – LMLD - Legacies
Just like everyone else in the world— other than Ryan and Hope— who didn't remember him, Josie didn't believe him and did the locator spell anyway. When the spell pointed to him, Josie instantly created a barrier spell around the room they were in and went to get the samurai; when Roman protested, Josie told him that the samurai knew more about the Oni than any of them, and he would know what to do. She quickly followed that up with: "he doesn't have his sword on him anyway, so you don't have to worry about being impaled."
'Great. Thanks, Josie.'
When they returned, however, the samurai tried to attack him because he noticed that his eyes flashed the same blood red that was characteristic for the Oni. Josie managed to stop him, but now they were standing in the room, cautiously staring him down while trying to figure out how he didn't act possessed.
"I don't understand," Josie was saying. "How can he resist? I thought that when the Oni possessed people—supernatural or not—, they blindly did its bidding and then couldn't remember anything afterwards."
The samurai explained something in Japanese, and Josie met Roman's eyes again, this time with an almost sympathetic expression. "He said that people whose minds are broken can resist the Oni's influence. I guess if you've experienced hardship and it's traumatized you, you're not as likely to be manipulated."
Roman pondered that for a minute. People whose minds are broken…
His biological family all died in an accident when he was a child and then he was alone for years until he met his adoptive family, August Muller, Greta Sienna, and their adoptive daughter, Antoinette Sienna. He was turned into a vampire in his late teens and for the first time since he lost his real family, Roman felt loved and not utterly alone. But, as with everything, his happiness hadn't lasted long…
His adoptive father was brutally murdered by Klaus Mikaelson years after his adoption and transition into vampirism. He hadn't had a front row seat like his mother did, but he came out of their house towards the end with his sister and saw his dead body on the ground and his still beating heart in Klaus' bloodied hand.
His adoptive mother became cruel, distant, and emotionally manipulative afterwards. She consistently brainwashed him into believing in her even when his instincts contradicted her words. She made him think that all hybrids were inherently evil.
Years later, he met Hope and he fell in love with her quicker than he thought he could fall in love with someone. She had already started making him the happiest he'd been in a long time, but his mother made him use her for her own personal gain. He made him violate her mind and obtain information on the whereabouts of Hope's unconscious mother Hayley, lying to him about only binding her and Hope in order to make him cooperate. He stupidly believed her and brought Hayley to her. When he drove to the location with Hope, he had to watch the girl he loved stare at him with so much anger and betrayal when he cuffed her with the anti-magic handcuffs that it broke his heart. Then he learned that his mother planned to kill them all along, not just bind him, and his devastation grew.
Then his mother was killed in self-defense from Hayley, who had been trying to protect Hope at the time. He knew that she deserved it for her bigotry and prejudices, but she was still his mother. As manipulative as she was, she was the woman who raised and loved him since he had been taken in by him and her husband and raised with his adoptive sister, Antoinette. Losing her had been a hard blow no matter how bad of a person she truly was.
He got kicked out as a student at the school shortly after and lost Hope's trust, later being tortured by her when she was possessed by the Hollow. He was lucky to escape with his life, but it had come very close. And now, after jumping into Malivore to help Hope after Triad invaded, his older sister didn't remember him. He was very close to Antoinette and she was always his safe place, but now that was taken from him until he, Ryan, and Hope found a way to return everyone's memories of them. Roman certainly hadn't been through as much as Hope had but given everything that had happened during his long life, having a broken mind wasn't impossible by any means.
"What do we do now?" Roman asked.
"Well, I don't want to have to use that sword—it has too much black magic—, so I'm going to see if there's another way to kill the Oni. If not, then I have no choice."
"Can I at least walk around in this school without barrier spells blocking me?"
Josie hesitated.
"Please? You already said that I can resist the Oni's influence because I have a broken mind, and I've already ignored its attempts to make me chase after Landon, I don't need to be trapped here."
"...Okay."
Legacies – LMLD – Legacies
This damn Oni was persistent.
It kept screaming and demanding for Roman to leave the school and find Landon, but he managed to resist. It wasn't easy, especially when he would feel his feet being forced in the opposite direction, but he'd quickly put a stop to that and force the Oni's presence back.
Maybe being traumatized from childhood had its advantages, no matter how small or bittersweet those advantages were.
Roman was going to go to his room and barricade himself within it until Josie made up her mind on whether or not to use the sword on him when he heard Lizzie's voice from the kitchen. She was very loud and he walked towards her out of curiosity.
'NO, YOU FOOL! DON'T GO NEAR THE STUPID TEENAGE GIRL! GO TO LANDON! I NEED LANDON!'
There was that resistance in his feet again, forcing him into place. He released a low grunt and tried to move but found himself frozen.
'Turn around.'
Roman turned, the Oni controlling his actions.
'Now walk.'
The vampire took a few steps, straining against each one, before he growled under his breath through tightly clenched teeth, "I don't think so, you stupid demon."
Shoving the Oni back into the deepest recesses of his dark mind, Roman regained control of his body and turned around again. This time, when he walked forward, it was towards the kitchen. When he entered the room, he saw Lizzie sitting there, aggressively eating a rather large sundae. She was wearing a long, dark blue dress that was more old-fashioned than anything he recalled her ever wearing, her hair wavy and spilling past her shoulders. She looked very upset, stuck somewhere between devastated and furious.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid," she ranted to herself as she dug deep into the ice cream. "Of course he isn't real. No real guy ever likes you because you're messed up inside."
Ooh. Looks like she just had her heart broken. Ouch. Roman felt sympathy for the blonde, knowing exactly how she felt. After all, he was still in love with a woman who would never want him again because of the horrible things he did to her and her family.
"Everybody knows it," Lizzie continued, still looking down at the spoon she just removed from her bowl, oblivious to his company. "Everyone except you because you are a crazy person who talks to herself."
You are a crazy person who talks to herself.
Yep, Roman definitely knew how she felt since he had a broken mind and a demon spirit yelling at him all the time. This time, as she took a bite of her sundae, she looked up and met Roman's eyes.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, mouth full.
Roman stepped closer so he was right across from her now. "I heard you," he said. "I was concerned and wanted to see how you're doing."
Lizzie scoffed and took another bite of her sundae. "Yeah, right. Who would be concerned about the crazy girl?"
"I would," Roman waited until she was looking at him again. "Look, I know we only just met a couple weeks ago, but I think you're a great girl. A little abrasive at times, but you have good intentions and you try your best. Whoever this guy is that's broken your heart and made you feel like you're less doesn't deserve your time. If anything, he deserves to get his ass kicked because playing with a girl's feelings is never okay." What he didn't say was that he learned that lesson firsthand, but since Lizzie still didn't remember him or Hope, he couldn't add that.
Lizzie stared at him for a long time, checking if he was sincere. When she determined that he was, she rose from her seat and slowly walked over to him. She was so close that Roman had to lean back to avoid touching her. He didn't want to transfer the Oni to her, but her uncomfortable proximity wasn't making it easy for him.
"Will you help me get over him?" She asked.
Roman gulped. "H-How do you want me to help you?" He asked, though he had a pretty good idea of how.
"Kiss me."
"Lizzie—"
"Come on, please. You think I'm a great girl and that guy definitely isn't worth my time. Maybe you can be."
"You're not thinking clearly, please, you don't want me," he said, scrambling backward off his chair.
But she was determined, and he knew by the look in her eyes that she wasn't going to give up. She cast a spell that forced him to freeze in his tracks. This time he couldn't fight it because it was a witch's spell and not the Oni's influence.
"My head hasn't been this clear in days. I want you," Lizzie said before she leaned in and connected their lips in a fiery kiss, grabbing his shoulders to hold him against her.
'No, no, no,' Roman thought as he felt the Oni fade from his head and into Lizzie's, a dark laugh echoing in his mind as the demon was transferred.
Lizzie pulled away, smiling at him. "You're a good distraction," she claimed. She was about to kiss him again when she suddenly froze, her mouth opening slightly and her eyes becoming blurry and half-lidded. Roman watched with horror as she placed a hand to her head and collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
"Fuck!" Roman panicked. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
Fishing his phone from his pocket after Lizzie's unconsciousness released him from her freezing spell, Roman dialed Hope's number and held it to his ear. After a few rings, she picked up.
"Hello?"
"Are you almost here?" Roman demanded, staring anxiously down at the blonde at his feet. He couldn't touch her now. The Oni would repossess him and they'd return to square one.
"Yes. Why?"
"The Oni possessed Lizzie."
"What? How?"
"It's a long story, just please get here!" Before she could reply, Roman ended the call and nervously ran his fingers through his hair several times.
'My life is such a mess.'
Legacies – LMLD – Legacies
It felt like time dragged on while waiting anxiously for Hope and Ryan to get there, but the minute Hope appeared in the kitchen- with Ryan, Josie, the samurai, and his sword in tow- she panicked when she saw Lizzie lying on the ground, and Roman pulled his gaze from Lizzie to Hope.
"Lizzie!" The Tribrid called out.
Josie beat her to Lizzie's body, the brunette twin calling out to her sister before shooting an accusing glare up at Roman. "How the hell did this happen?" She shouted.
Roman held up his hands in defense. "Before you start accusing me of anything, I didn't touch her. Lizzie was upset because she had her heart broken and I was giving her a pep talk when she got it into her head to kiss me as a distraction. She used a spell on me to keep me from moving. I literally couldn't do anything."
"That doesn't matter now," Hope interjected, seeing Josie about to spit fire at the vampire again. "What matters is Lizzie."
Josie's glare settled on Hope. "Don't act like you care about her," she snapped. "You're a stranger and she's my sister. You don't need to tell me that she matters!"
Hope's temper flared and she couldn't control her mouth when she spat: "Then act like it instead of blaming Roman for something he didn't do!"
Josie's glare intensified and she was about to respond in a very nasty way when her sister's voice came groggily from the floor:
"I've never had two girls fight over me before. I don't know if I like it."
"Oh, Lizzie," Josie was instantly softer as she regarded her sister. She was careful not to touch her, though. "You're going to be okay. I know that you're possessed right now, but we're going to fix you, okay?"
"There's no fixing me, Jo. I'm shattered and the pieces are too small to be put back together," Lizzie was crying now.
"Lizzie…" Josie murmured helplessly.
"Sebastian isn't real," her twin whimpered, tears running down her cheeks as the pain and sadness quickly overwhelmed everything else she was feeling. "I thought I was getting better, but all this time I've been seeing things and hearing things and feeling things that no one else does and it's scary, scarier than any demon in my head, although that sucks, too."
It was heart wrenching for everyone in the room to watch Lizzie like this, so broken and defeated. The way she bowed her head and the hopelessness in her voice as she talked about her struggles with her mental health...it cut them all to the core to witness the devastating spectacle. Even Ryan..., who didn't know Lizzie at all, was moved by her. He placed a hand on Hope's shoulder as she leaned against him, her hands against her mouth and tears in her eyes as her friend endured her emotional turmoil.
"Lizzie, it's okay—" Josie whispered, her eyes shining with tears. She could feel her twin's pain and it was unbearable. She just wanted to make it stop, to make things better for her.
"Tell Dad I love him," Lizzie sniffled. "But you have to end this."
"What?" Josie gasped.
"Josie, you have to do this for me, okay?" Lizzie said, nodding towards the samurai who once again had possession of his black magic sword. "The Oni needs to die and it's only a matter of time before you kick my ass in the Merge, anyway."
Josie looked down, the mention of their coven's ritual of the stronger twin absorbing their weaker twin's powers and life force to become the leader of the Gemini like another stab to her heart. The Merge weighed heavily on them. They didn't think that they'd have to do it because of being Siphoners—the "defective" witches in the magical world—and being the remaining living Gemini witches, but apparently even the rules applied to them. She didn't think it was fair. What was a coven when you were the only one left, especially if the price you had to pay to be that only one was murder your own sister? Josie couldn't live with herself if she did that, she couldn't live with the thought of losing Lizzie…
"This is better than the Merge," Lizzie desperately continued, trying to convince Josie and make her understand. "At least this way you won't be stuck living with a messed up part of me in your brain forever, driving you as crazy as I am."
Josie shook her head. "We weren't going to talk about that until we had real solutions," she said.
"Maybe this is it."
Lizzie then let out a cry of pain and she doubled over, still on the floor. "Josie, please!" She cried. "I'll settle for anyone at this point, but you're my sister, I want you to do it! You were by my side when we came into the world and I want you to be there when I leave it!"
Josie felt absolutely gutted. Her sister wanted her to take her and the Oni down, and she wasn't taking no for an answer. Looking back and forth between the samurai sword and Lizzie, an idea struck her.
"I have another idea," she murmured, making her way over to the samurai before taking the sword out of the sheath at his waist. He made no move to stop her; he only stared at her as if he knew that she had to be the one to do this.
She returned to Lizzie. "I can draw the black magic out of this and get the Oni out of you," she said before gripping the sword in her hands, being careful not to cut herself. Ignoring the pain that flowed through her system at the influx of black magic, she focused and did what she did best: siphoned the magic out of the source.
Her head tilted up as her hands glowed red, her eyes turning a solid black as gray veins climbed up from her hands to her cheeks. The black magic pouring into her body made her feel uncomfortable, but it was a rush, too. She felt powerful in that moment, as if nothing and no one could stop her. It was empowering…addicting, even… but the feeling stopped when she finished absorbing all of the magic and she dropped the sword, letting it fall to the white tiled kitchen floor with a deafening clatter.
Josie took a deep breath and, meeting Lizzie's eyes, she raised her hands and threw them towards her kneeling sister, screaming as the black magic left her body and entered Lizzie's in a powerful blast of dark smoke, forcing a cry out of the blonde. For several tense minutes, the Oni lingered inside of Lizzie, but it was drawn out and among the black smoke was a horned red demon face. Despite its attempts to resist, the black magic did its job and the Oni left Lizzie. The vengeful spirit lingered in the air for only a few seconds before it plunged into the floor, no doubt returning to Malivore to be trapped once more. Panting, the Saltzman twins stared at each other.
"You did it," Lizzie panted, a smile lifting her lips as the demon's expulsion gave her a new peace of mind. "I love you."
"You better," Josie whispered, exhausted. Then, at the same time, both girls fell unconscious. Demon possession and black magic absorption took a lot out of you.
Legacies – LMLD - Legacies
After finding a spell to return the samurai to his time, Lizzie slept peacefully in her bed while her sister was spending time with Landon. While she rested, flashes of that girl, Hope, started appearing in her subconscious.
There was one of Hope kneeling before her, their hands clasped together as she stared at her with a worried expression, as if she were planning to do something reckless. Josie was in the background, also tightly holding the girl's hands.
Several more passed in near rapid succession: Hope in the Salvatore school's uniform, Hope smiling at her, and Hope in a car with them. She had to be important to all of them, whoever this were-witch hybrid truly was.
Then, it hit her.
Lizzie bolted upright in bed, her eyes wide with excited realization. "Hope…Andrea…Mikaelson!" She exclaimed slowly, a smile forming on her face.
Hope was important to them!
She was the only Tribrid in existence: a witch, werewolf, and vampire, special and incredibly rare because of being the only one of her kind to be born as three species.
She was Klaus Mikaelson's daughter with Hayley Marshall, born eighteen years ago.
She was Nature's loophole, the miracle baby.
But most importantly…
Hope Andrea Mikaelson was Landon's former girlfriend, a student at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted, and Lizzie and Josie's friend.
That black magic may have blasted the Oni out of her body, but it blasted all of her memories of Hope that she'd lost somehow into her head.