Chapter Text
PROLOGUE
My story had always seemed to transcend my own grasp of understanding. Most have the luxury—or arrogance—of believing their story began with their first breath, the birth of a new life into this world. My story was much more complicated. It’s a story that began long before my birth, before my mom knew she was pregnant, before she even was born… My story started with my father, Niklaus Mikaelson, and the legends known as the Originals. Every action in the last thousand years has led to the moment where my father and mother met, had a one night stand, and she magically became pregnant with me: the tribrid. A werewolf, a witch, and a future vampire. These three supernatural creatures were never fated to mix… or maybe, fate is exactly what happened.
Why does any of this matter? Why is the beginning of the story so important? Well, the truth is I thought this was the end of my story. The beginning of this story starts when I thought the only way to protect my best friend—the Phoenix—was to sacrifice myself. I don’t make friends easily. In fact, most would probably argue that I don’t make friends ever. Landon Kirby had managed to weasel his way into my heart as an annoying damsel in distress for the entire time I’d known him. Along the way, Landon Kirby became my best friend… family. I thought my life was fated to sacrifice myself to save him………
I guess, I was wrong. My story was just beginning.
-H.A. Mikaelson -- 3 September 2031 --
FORT VALLEY, GA, USA ….. 5 MAY 2030 ….. TRIAD HEADQUARTERS
“Landon, I have a plan but you’re going to hate it.” Hope stared into his eyes, seeing his soft, warm smile. His eyes were electric after helping Hope kill the headless monster, and he looked so proud of himself. Hope saw a spark of self-confidence in Landon that she never thought she’d witness. But his bright and optimistic heart was much too soft for what would happen in the next few minutes. “Thank you for being my best friend.” It killed Hope to know these were their last moments. “I never made it easy for you.” She hugged him. Landon laughed, wrapping his arms tightly around the shorter teen.
“You’re worth it. You’re my sister, Hope.” He murmured; his heart was so full of love. “So far, I don’t hate this.” Landon teased, but he felt her tense. Pulling back, he felt her hands lingering on his neck. “You’re about to do something stupid, aren’t you?” Landon didn’t have the energy to sound disappointed. At the nod from the redhead, he wiped a tear that was rolling down her cheek.
“I’m sorry.” In an instant, Hope snapped his neck and he dropped to the floor. Taking out the school cellphone, Hope dialed the one phone number that she had memorized despite her previous fights.
“Hope, did you find Landon?” Alaric’s voice was rushed through the phone. He answered on the first ring. Hope could imagine him waiting around for a phone call, panicked and angry.
“Yeah. He’s in Fort Valley, Georgia. You’re going to need to write it down.” She responded, looking down at the bubbling pit. Her gut twisted as she knew her fate.
“Triad Headquarters? Are you crazy?” Alaric reprimanded. He always had a hard time keeping a clear line between headmaster and father figure when it came to Hope.
“There’s no time. Clarke found the final artifact and tossed it into the pit, which is Landon’s father by the way. Now, Malivore is going to rise unless I stop him.” The irony was never lost on Hope. She always seemed to be the only answer to every insurmountable problem. But there would always be a price when it came to saving the world. It just seemed… fated that Hope Mikaelson would need to pay that price. “Landon has all the answers, but I killed him because he’d try to stop me. Don’t worry, Landon will come back.” Hope felt her nerves vibrate as she tried to explain everything in such a limited timeframe. “But, apparently, Malivore was created by a witch, a werewolf, and a vampire. Malivore was invincible because only they could destroy it. Until me… I’m the loophole. I can stop it.” Hope rambled out as quickly as possible. The pit was churning faster and taking some weird shapes. Being the loophole or not, Hope didn’t have much time to act.
“Hope, no. Just wait until I get there. Don’t do anything crazy.” Alaric hissed, pacing around his desk. He was too far from Georgia to stop Hope. They both knew it. The teen tribrid’s next words struck Alaric like a stake to the heart.
“I always thought my life was a cosmic mistake… an abomination. But I finally have a purpose. This is why I’m here.” Her words were cold and distant as she tried to hide her fear. Hope always had a bad habit of being the hero. “This is where you tell me you’re proud of me.” Hope suggested with a raspy voice when Alaric didn’t respond. He cleared his throat, trying to buy time for himself to formulate a plan. But he was too far away, and he had no plan to stop Hope… he had no plan to stop Malivore from rising and destroying everything. Hope had a plan, and he’d be damned if he allowed her to execute that plan with any doubts in her heart. Swallowing his helplessness, Alaric leaned against his desk in acceptance.
“Of course, I’m… I’m so p-proud of you, Hope.” Alaric felt the tears on his cheeks. He tried to wipe them away. “You don’t need to do this…”
“I do.” She assured him. It was shaky, but firm. “You won’t even remember me afterwards. I’ll just… be gone. It’s better this way. I never wanted to hurt anyone, especially not Josie or Landon or you. But I need you to do something first.”
“Hope…” He trailed off, not sure if his voice could formulate any resistance.
“I need you to promise me that you’ll call maintenance to pack up my room. I need you to take all the files you have on me and burn them… along with Landon’s journal. Promise me?”
“I will not help you erase yourself from our lives.” Alaric tried to stand firm. At Hope’s airy chuckle, he knew it was a lost cause. “What about Landon? Or Lizzie? What about Josie?”
“I don’t want them to be haunted by another ghost. They deserve to be happy and free of Hope Mikaelson. It’s better this way.” The Malivore pit started to take form, and Hope knew she couldn’t waste time on this debate. “I have to go. Promise me.” There was a pause before Alaric’s long sigh.
“I promise.” He cried. Hope swallowed a shaky breath.
“Thank you. I know you won’t remember this but… for what it’s worth… tell Josie I’m sorry. Goodbye, Dr. Saltzman.” Hope hung up the school phone, deleting the call history and wiping any of her personal details before gently setting it beside Landon. Turning back to the edge, Hope began to step on the chain railing to jump into the pit. Across the catwalk, she saw Clarke stand up and snap his neck back into place.
“Sorry, I was eavesdropping.” Clarke smiled, watching Hope with eagerness. “What’re you waiting for?” He glanced down at the pit.
“I assumed you were going to try to stop me.” Hope smirked, tilting her head at him in interest. He was bizarrely excited for a man who just lost everything.
“Hell no. I was only trying to raise my father because I’m terrified of him. I knew he’d find a way out someday. But if you are right about this loophole and you kill the bastard once and for all, be my guest. And if you’re wrong… Well, no harm done because you’ll be dead. So, go on. I’ll be rooting for you.”
“That not all you’ll be doing.” Hope smirked, amused by Clarke. She cast a spell, satisfaction washing over her as Hope allowed herself to get some small vengeance on the man who caused them all so much pain. Hope might not be The Great Evil, but she was still a Mikaelson. And she was pissed off.
“Whatever you think you just did, didn’t work.” Clarke scoffed, but his laughter died when Hope slapped her hand over her mouth and Clarke reacted instantly with a hand over his own mouth. “How’d you do that? Why did I do that?” He demanded as they both lowered their hands.
“It’s a basic mimic spell. We learned it in second grade.” Hope felt contentment seep into her bones at Clarke’s panic. “Also, in second grade: follow the leader.” She took a step closer to Clarke.
“You don’t have to do this.” Clarke tried to dissuade as he involuntarily stepped forwards to match Hope’s actions.
“I know. But it’s the only part I’m actually enjoying.” She grabbed the metal railing with one hand and Clarke’s throat with the other. He mimicked her movements, clearly trying to fight but failing. Hope smirked. “Too bad you’re so clumsy.” She taunted his previous quip. They took the step onto the railing together. Then, never breaking eye contact, the two leaned over the edge and fell into the black pit… into the darkness. The irony about taking your enemy down with you is that you both have the small spark of relief. You realize that neither one of you wanted to die alone. Loneliness is the only thing more terrifying than the darkness.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MYSTIC FALLS, VA, USA ….. 5 MAY 2030 ….. SALVATORE SCHOOL
Alaric stood over a fire, staring blankly at the ashy remains of unknown documents smoldering in a barrel. He grimaced, remembering that he needed to burn something quickly and that it was important but… he just couldn’t remember exactly what it was that went up in flames. There was only one small piece of paper in his hand, and it adorned his own scrawled handwritten instructions. ‘Fort Valley, GA. Landon needs you.’ It was simple and generic. The school phone on Alaric’s hip rang. The Caller ID displayed one of the other school phones, but they all should’ve been locked up in his office.
“Who is this?” He answered on instinct. The headmaster’s heart raced as he waited for an answer.
“Dr. Saltzman, it’s Landon.” For some reason, Alaric’s heart plummeted. He didn’t know who he expected, but he was disappointed that it was the phoenix on the other end of the line.
“You need my help.” Alaric informed, staring at the note in his hands like it might provide some answers.
“Yeah, I guess I do. How’d you know that?” Landon asked, confused as he stared over the railing at Malivore. But what he saw was a giant empty gaping hole in the middle of the room. There was no ooze. Malivore was gone.
“I don’t remember why but I wrote down that you needed my help.” Alaric answered. Staring at the glowing orange, Alaric watched the embers smolder. “I’ll pack up some things and meet you there. We’ll figure out this Malivore thing.”
“Dr. Saltzman, Malivore is gone. It was here and then I woke up and… it’s gone.” Landon looked around, but there was no one else in the room. “I don’t remember what happened.” Landon swallowed nervously, hating the sudden feeling of loneliness and loss. “Why would Malivore be gone?”
“I don’t know.” Alaric admitted too. “Look, I’ll be there. Don’t go anywhere. And don’t do anything crazy.” The headmaster added on instinct as he went to his Jeep.
“Dr. Saltzman, I don’t really do crazy.” Landon retorted, recalling that perhaps he’d made some reckless calls, but he didn’t really do crazy. Alaric paused, trying not to overthink why he’d felt compelled to add his warning.
“Never mind. I’ll be there in a couple hours.” Alaric hung up and called Lizzie.
“Dad? Are you okay?” Lizzie rushed out in worry. She knew that the vote was happening soon for the fate of her father’s position at the school. Lizzie was with Josie in the dining room, the council needing to wait until the other voting members return. With the student board only consisting of four council members, they couldn’t make such a huge decision without two members present.
“I’m fine, sweetie. I’m driving to Fort Valley, Georgia. I need to pick Landon up from there.” Alaric responded.
“Oh okay, do you need anything? Do you want Josie and I to come with?” Lizzie had some hope in her tone. Alaric dismissed the idea. The two needed to recover, and it was a miracle that Josie even lived. The Malivore bullet would have killed Josie if she didn’t ingest the cure. It was lucky.
“No, I was hoping you could get my duffle bag from my office. I know Josie needs to stay for the vote.” Alaric sighed, trying not to dwell on his mistakes. He still needed to bring Landon home before he could worry about his own employment status.
“I don’t think they’ll end up voting tonight. We have Kaleb and Josie, but Raf is missing.” Lizzie informed her father.
“Raf? What happened?” As if Alaric Saltzman didn’t have enough problems with his memory being altered, Malivore mysteriously being destroyed, and Landon in another state.
“We don’t know. He’s been missing since the attack.” Lizzie hung up the phone as she walked up to her father. He was sitting in his Jeep. While they’d been on the phone, Lizzie had retrieved his bag from the office. Josie quietly walked with her sister, exhausted from the day and almost dying. They made their way to where the twins knew their father would be sulking. “Ms. Tigg is the other voting member, and she’s also not here. They’re postponing the vote until things get settled down.”
“Thanks, Lizzie. I am so proud of you girls.” Alaric gave Lizzie and Josie a tight hug before taking his duffle bag. It was hefty, and he placed it in under the back seat. He really didn’t need to get pulled over and have a police officer see his hunting crossbow or daggers through the windows. “I’ll call as soon as I get Landon. He’s saying that Malivore is gone, but neither of us knows why. There’s… something missing.”
“There’s no way Landon stopped Malivore. He’s not a superhero.” Lizzie scoffed, frowning as she also had a blank memory. Josie’s arms were wrapped around her body as she thought about the blank void in her mind. She rubbed the healed bullet wound, and the taste of metallic copper fluttered back to her senses as she remembered taking the cure for the Malivore bullet. It was lucky that her dad found it in the storeroom.
“Do you think someone jumped inside?” Josie wondered, biting her lip. One look at her dad, and Josie felt a coldness wrap around her shoulders. It was May, but she felt a sudden chill. “It couldn’t have been someone important to us, right? I mean, we’d know. We’d know, right?” Alaric thought back to the box and documents burning, erasing whoever it was from the records. Alaric looked at his teenage daughters staring at him in desperate need of reassurance. They didn’t know Alaric had some part in erasing whoever it was from their lives, and somehow, he felt guilty. Pushing that remorse down, Alaric gave a half-hearted smile.
“Of course, there’d be documents, pictures, records… something. If whoever jumped into Malivore was close to us, we’d know.” He hated himself every time he lied to the twins. He hated himself a lot.
“Drive safe, Dad.” Josie smiled, still unsteady. Her fingers played with her necklace, clenching onto the metal talisman like a lifeline.
“I will, sweetie.” Alaric gave them both another hug, kissing the top of their heads before getting in his Jeep. “Josie, I am so sorry.” Alaric blurted out, and all three Saltzmans froze. Alaric didn’t know where that sudden outburst came from or why, but Josie and Lizzie were more concerned. Their dad had been under a tremendous amount of pressure during the school year, and now he was potentially going to be removed as Headmaster. “For everything. I’m sorry to both you girls.” Alaric covered his blunder, trying to shake off the unease.
“It’s okay, Dad. We love you.” Lizzie answered, linking arms with her sister. “Drive safe.” Alaric waved to them through the rolled down window.
“Love you, girls.” He smiled at them.
“Love you!” The twins told him, warming his heart despite his anxiousness. Alaric Saltzman had faced many monsters in the last year, but this ending seemed too sudden. Malivore always seemed so invincible. And now it was defeated, and no one knew how. Alaric knew in his bones that this chapter of Malivore may have ended, but whatever happened was just the start. They lost someone. He didn’t know who, but he still felt a void. Whoever was lost did matter.