Chapter Text
A 16-year-old boy was running through the streets of New Orleans during a stormy night, rain drenching the city harshly as if a hurricane was occurring within its confines, but regardless of the stormy night, the boy continued to run as his heartbeat in his ears and his mind filled with anxiety. The boy’s name was Asmund Mikaelson, son of Niklaus Mikaelson and Lucien Henderson, and he possessed shoulder-length brown hair, red eyes, and an athletic build with a scar spanning his left eye that appeared as if after a violent fight. Asmund was anything but a normal child, since his father, Niklaus, was a hybrid of a werewolf and vampire, while his other father, Lucien, was a hermaphrodite witch, meaning that he gave birth to Asmund, thus making Asmund a tribrid of vampire, werewolf, and witch just like his stepsister, Hope, who was the result of Niklaus and Hayley Marshall, a hybrid like Niklaus. Tears streamed down Asmund’s face, mixed with the rain befalling the city, as he ran through the streets of New Orleans to try and find his father, Lucien, who he had located would be in the Mikaelson villa with Niklaus and the other Mikaelson siblings and Asmund hoped that he would reach the villa in time since earlier in the day, he had a terrifying premonition of Lucien dying on that day so he was rushing to try and prevent the vision from coming to pass. As Asmund reached the villa’s massive double doors, he slammed them open just as a heavy thunderclap echoed across the city while Asmund stared in horror at the sight in front of him as he saw a mysterious figure cloaked in a dark outfit, hiding the figure’s identity, was stabbing Lucien through the chest with a glowing sword.
“Thus ends the reign of the Grand Witch.” the mysterious figure growled in a dark voice unrecognizable to Asmund.
“No!” Asmund shouted in anguish and rage.
Asmund’s eyes glowed bright red, his powers overflowing within him, as he let out a gut-wrenching scream and unleashed his powers causing the city to be shaken by powerful magic while he was rendered unconscious by the outburst and fell to the ground unconscious, drained of his abilities being used erratically.
3 years later
Asmund gasped as he jolted away from a nightmare and found himself sitting in a chair within the library section of the Salvatore School for Gifted Youth, which was a special school located in Mystic Falls, Virginia that was created to help supernatural kids learn in a safe environment and with other kids that were similar. Asmund was now almost 19 and he had cut his hair to a short stylish hairstyle and he had grown out a short stubble on his face during the last few years as he attended school with his stepsister and made new friends in the school while learning under the guidance of different teachers and the headmaster, Alaric Saltzman. As Asmund composed himself after waking from a nightmare, he looked at his wristwatch to realize that it was late at night and he sighed as he got up to gather his belongings before heading out of the library and towards his room, footsteps softly echoing throughout the halls while he ran a hand over his tired face.
“Asmund?” a man’s voice said behind him and Asmund turned slightly to see a man with brown hair, brown eyes, and a beard wearing a black suit looking at him in confusion.
“Hey, Mr. Saltzman.” Asmund greeted with a tired smile, “I’m sorry for being out in the halls late…I was studying in the library, but must have fallen asleep in the chair.”
“It’s alright, Asmund.” Alaric assured him as he chuckled softly, “I wasn’t going to get onto you about being out past curfew…you’re almost 19 anyways so I trust you. I was just concerned about you since you look like you haven’t been getting any sleep at all.”
“Yeah, just some tests coming up and I’m cramming all my studies in to make sure I pass the tests.” Asmund explained as he didn’t tell the headmaster about his nightmares involving his father dying, “I’ll be alright though. Goodnight, Mr. Saltzman.”
“Night…” Alaric said as he wasn’t entirely convinced that Asmund was alright but he wasn’t going to press the issue especially since it was late so he let Asmund retire to his room.
Asmund groaned in exhaustion as he walked into his room and closed the door behind him before dropping his bag against the desk near his bed and then fell upon the bed face-first onto the pillow as he let himself begin to fall asleep.
“Asmund?” a boy’s voice said tiredly and Asmund turned his head to the right to see his roommate, Landon Kirby, in his own bed a few feet away from Asmund’s own bed, “You okay?”
“Yeah, just a late night in the library.” Asmund replied, “Sorry I woke you, Landon…go to sleep.”
While Landon turned over and went back to sleep, Asmund continued to lay in his bed awake as he turned over onto his back so he could stare at the ceiling and reminisce about his time in New Orleans, causing him to silently cry because both of his fathers had died with Niklaus passing shortly after Lucien as Niklaus saved Asmund and Hope from the Hollow, an evil spirit who was intent on destroying Hope and Asmund. Soon Asmund fell asleep, not plagued by any more nightmares, and he awoke the next morning to find that Landon was already awake and seemed to have left the room to not disturb Asmund’s sleep, so Asmund got out of bed and stretched his muscles out before going to take a shower and getting ready for the day, thankful that it was the weekend which meant that he had the day off to meditate and study his magic without any distraction from classes. As Asmund gathered his bag and started walking down the hall towards the garden, he grabbed an apple from the kitchen and started to eat it as he walked down the halls.
“Hey Asmund.” a boy’s voice called out behind him and Asmund stopped to turn and see his friend, MG, coming up to him.
Asmund had met MG when his friend joined several years ago after turning into a vampire and they had grown to become close friends over the years even after both of Asmund’s fathers died and Asmund had grown to see the vampire as a brother to him.
“Hey MG, what’s up?” Asmund asked smiling at the vampire
“I was wondering if you’ve seen Lizzie or Josie today?” MG asked and Asmund tilted his head curiously, “I tried asking the witches but they haven’t seen the twins yet.”
“Give me a moment.” Asmund said as he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly as his breath turned icy cold while he summoned his powers.
His eyes snapped open to reveal that they were glowing crystal ice blue as a blue aura started to cover his body, using his powers to see throughout the Salvatore School’s property to try and find Josie and Lizzie Saltzman, and he eventually sensed two girls at the treehouse that wasn’t that far from the school. The girls were sitting across from each other, silently enchanting magic spells as they trained together, and Asmund recognized both of them as the Saltzman twins as Lizzie had long blonde hair and brown eyes while Josie had long brown hair and brown eyes.
“They are at the treehouse.” Asmund told MG as he broke his spell and he returned to normal while looking at the young vampire, “Seems that they are practicing some magic.”
“Thanks so much, Asmund.” MG said grateful for Asmund’s help, “See you later?”
Asmund nodded and MG smiled at him before speeding off with his vampire speed as Asmund continued out into the garden and found a secluded spot to relax and practice his magic and a few hours passed by while he spent some time to himself without any distractions, until he heard someone coming out into the garden. Asmund opened his mouth to speak as he turned around, when suddenly he felt magic cast upon him causing him to fall unconscious.
Asmund a boy’s voice echoed in Asmund’s mind as the young Mikaelson started to come to, “Asmund, can you hear me?”
“Kaleb?” Asmund groaned confused as he felt a massive headache forming in his head as he awoke to find himself laying on his own bed with his vampire friend, Kaleb, looking at him with concern written on his face, “Ugh, what happened?”
“That’s a long story, but we need your help.” Kaleb said urgently and Asmund looked at the vampire confused.
“Dude, I just woke up from a sleeping spell.” Asmund muttered as he swung his legs around off his bed and his feet landed on the ground, only for him to gasp in shock as he sensed that things were different in the school.
He quickly got up as he tapped into his powers, sensing that Hope, Alaric, and Landon were no longer at the school and Kaleb seemed to be a hybrid of a vampire and a…dragon somehow?
“Kaleb, what the hell is going on?” Asmund questioned angrily as he clenched his fists, “Where is my sister?”
“As I said man, it’s a long story.” Kaleb said meekly. “There is a monster coming to attack the school and the witches’ barrier won’t hold up long.”
“Amateurs…” Asmund scoffed as he took in a deep breath and clasped his hands together.
A bright golden light started to shine through Asmund’s clasped hands and then slapped his hands against the floor as he cast the massive barrier spell throughout the school’s property, including the treehouse as well, and keeping any unwanted guests out of the barrier line. Satisfied with his work, Asmund sighed as he stood up straight and looked towards Kaleb with his arms crossed waiting for an explanation.
“How long have I been asleep, Kaleb?” he asked the hybrid vampire/dragon.
“Almost a year…” Kaleb answered with a distraught look on his face and Asmund looked at him stunned, unable to believe that he had been placed under a magical spell for a year only to awake to find that the school was under attack and three of the closest people to him were not at the school.
“Tell me everything.” Asmund demanded as his eyes glowed slightly in rage.
In telling him how they had found Asmund in a sleeping spell cast by a mysterious enemy, Kaleb mentioned that no matter how many spells they tried to awaken him from the spell, none of them worked, even when his aunts Freya and Davina tried to wake him up without success. Over the last year, Landon was possessed by his father, Malivore, who sent monsters to the school in order to cause chaos, and only the tribrid's blood could destroy him. Since Malivore took over Landon's body and used his son for a vessel, Hope was unable to kill Landon until she realized that she could become the full tribrid and then fight Malivore and put an end to the monsters attacking the school. Alaric and the others had been against the idea, but since Asmund was in a magical coma, the duty fell upon her to save the school. Hope turned into a full tribrid thus unlocking the key to defeating Landon’s father. After she killed Malivore, also killing Landon at the same time, Hope disappeared and Alaric was found in a coma in the hospital later that night, so the school currently had a temporary headmaster, even though Kaleb didn't think the substitute could stand up for them if the worst came to pass so Kaleb was beyond relief when they were finally able to wake Asmund up from his coma. He also explained that there were two more supernatural kids that had recently joined the school; Ethan, a young boy who used to go to Mystic Falls High until Malivore possessed him through and granted the boy invisibility while the other student, Cleo, a girl was a muse that had been awoken by Hope in order to try and gain inspiration to defeat Malivore and since Malivore’s demise, both of the new kids were training with MG and the squad so they would be ready just in case the school came under attack again.
“Damn, I’m asleep for a year and things just turn to shit.” Asmund grumbled as he scratched his head while taking everything in that Kaleb had told him, “Have you been able to locate Hope?”
“No, but I’m hoping that you’re going to be able to locate her.” Kaleb said with a look of hope on his face.
“Fine, take me to her room.” Asmund replied and they went out to the hallway where they walked down a few corridors until they reached a room, entering it to find it empty with a picture of Landon and Hope on a nightstand by one of the beds, “Leave me.”
Asmund looked around the room slowly before walking over to Hope's nightstand and picking up the picture on the stand that showed Hope with her boyfriend, looking at it sadly as Hope looked happy in the photo. Kaleb nodded silently and left the room, closing the door behind him so Asmund could have the room to himself while he gazed around the room gradually before gathering some supplies and as he sat cross-legged on the floor inside of a circle of candles around him, he took in a deep breath as he placed the picture in front of him, summoned his magic to light the flames, and closed his eyes while focusing on Hope while using his powers to magically send an astral form of himself to her location. He opened his eyes to find that he was standing in the middle of a street outside of Mystic Falls at night and he looked around confused as he saw that the streets were empty, void of any people or animals until he heard a car coming up behind him as headlight beams came upon him, causing him to turn around to see a silver sedan coming up to him only to stop in front of him. Asmund titled his head slightly as the driver’s door opened and he saw someone getting out of the car, his eyes widening in shock as he saw that it was Hope stepping outside of the car dressed in leather pants, a red shirt, and leather jacket and she looked at him with a mildly amused scoff.
“You’re awake.” she said with an arched eyebrow and she crossed her arms while leaning back on the hood of the car, “Is this the Squad’s best plan?”
“I heard about Landon, Hope.” Asmund started to say as he walked towards her but she held up a hand to stop him.
“Enough about that.” she told him, “Look; it’s cool that you’re awake now, Asmund but I suggest that you stay out of my way and tell the rest of our friends to stay away as well.”
“You defeated Malivore, Hope.” Asmund said looking at her confused as he wondered what was with her change of attitude, “Where are you going?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Hope questioned mockingly, “I am getting as far away from the Salvatore School as I can.”
“But why?” Asmund questioned shaking his head, “It doesn’t make sense…I get you being hurt from Landon’s death and you feel responsible, but that isn’t a reason to leave.”
He stopped as he looked at his sister, noticing that she didn’t even show any emotion at the mention of Landon’s death, and fear chilled down his back as he realized that something was very wrong with Hope and in a moment, everything clicked with him as he understood that she had done something very stupid which must have been done when she killed Malivore and Alaric must have found out, causing Hope to send a message to the others by hurting their headmaster so they would hate her and not follow her.
“Hope, your humanity…” Asmund started to say and she smirked wickedly at him.
“Yes, it’s off.” she said, “So much easier to navigate life with it off. Now, if you don’t mind…vanish.”
She thrust her hand out at her brother, causing Asmund’s astral form to break and forcing him to return to his body, gasping for breath as he clutched his chest in pain, before looking around the room and then got up to rush out of the room, heading downstairs to the gym where he sensed Kaleb and several other students within the exercise room. He barged in loudly and everyone inside of the room stopped talking, looking at him in shock at his loud entry, as he narrowed his eyes in anger.
“We have a major problem, guys.” he told them as they all stared at him, wondering what he was about to tell them.