Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

February 25th, 2028, 9:17 PM Atlanta Georgia

Hope pulled up to the house, where the new werewolf was supposed to be. The house was on the outskirts of town, and it looked empty, all lights were off, and no sign of people inside. If Hope didn’t know any better then she would have guessed that the new wolf was of knowing legacy based on the far away location.

Hope got out of the jeep before Dr. Saltzman this was the first mission she was allowed to go on in over 3 months. She didn't know why she kept pushing it but she did. Hope quickly casted a radar spell to make sure the house was empty, and it was empty.

“Dissera Portus,” and the front door flung open, Hope and Dr. Saltzman quickly searched the house for anything that might belong to the new wolf to locate him. Hope ended up in a room with 3 twin sized beds that formed a u shape. One bed looked like it wasn’t being used, but there was a slight indent in the wall next to it, it wasn’t punched in, it was just that someone stood against that one specific spot.

Hope looked around the room and saw 3 suitcases, on the dresser, she saw one of the suitcase’s had the label of the new wolf’s name Rafael Johnson. Once again she felt that she should have known that name but she couldn’t place it. She opened up the suitcase and saw a book and decided to use that for the locator spell.

Hope quickly pulled out a map of the town, and slit her palm, and went on with the spell. Hope’s blood ran down the spine of the book, and once the blood hit the map it gathered around the town’s church. Dr. Saltzman just nodded his head, and both left. Dr. Saltzman also made a mental note to call a witch scout in the area to remove the evidence.

Church 9:36 PM

Hope knew that they were cutting it closer, she really did want this mission to end like a few others, when they arrived too late, and they were usually forced to kill the new supernatural. Hope was ironically praying that this mission would end well. They finally saw the church, Dr. Saltzman quickly slammed on the brakes and parked the car.

Hope, saw someone she never thought she would see again, Landon Kirby, especially when she was 8 hours away from the last spot they would see each other at, 6 years ago, and he looked nearly identical to how he was 6 years ago, just tall and older in general. Hope saw someone with him while driving in front of the church.

“I have two foster brothers, Rafael he's the youngest out of us by about a month, and Nick he's the middle child, which leaves me to be the oldest by almost exactly nine months”, Landon laughed out the last bit. Hope remembered the day that they met, it was Landon's birthday, January 9th she remembered fondly. They met at an art and music event in the park which was in front of the Mystic Grill.

The following nine months were some of the best times of her life. Surprisingly during that time she never met his brothers well than again most of their following meetings were the result of her sneaking out of the Salvatore school when she got a chance. She never got the chance to say goodbye, he moved away after the foster parents died in a fire, and the house was just ash, she was stuck in New Orleans at the time.

Hope recalled that it must be Nick, and it seemed like he didn't change much in the past 6 years from what Hope remembered Landon telling her about him. She never met his foster brother before, and her gut was turning at the implications of what both of them were doing in front of the location where the new wolf was at.

Nick still dresses in a ‘typical’ emo-like way minus all of the makeup, right now he has on black cargo pants, a plain black t-shirt with an unzipped jacket with red strips on the sleeves, the jacket was longer than normal, it ended halfway on the thigh and he what looks like a cross of athletic and outdoor hiking black shoes, and glasses with a gray rectangular frame. Landon wasn't lying when he said they could probably pass for siblings if it wasn't for a few key differences, Nick stood at 6 feet flat, while Landon was just a touch short at 5 8, and Nick's hair was completely black, just like Landon's, but unlike Landon's, it rested completely flat against his head compared to Landon’s curly hair. Nick had dull and devoid brown eyes that could easily pass for being black, and combined with all of his facial features being sharper than Landon's, it made it seem like his face belonged on that of a predator's. Landon had a dull green eyes that seemed permanently sad, it didn't help that he this permanent bags under his eyes even from a young age, and his facial features were as angular as Nick’s. Nick could have easily passed for scary in the natural world, but to Hope he was nothing compared to what the supernatural world had in store. Both of them were skinny, not skinny enough to see bones but enough to notice.

“Landon” Hope said, confused, and a bit shocked at meeting Landon again, but you could clearly make out that she sounded happy at the same time. “Hope?” called out Landon just as confused and shocked as she was, at this surprising meeting. Nick up to this point was leaning against the stone brick wall of the church, with one leg kicked into the wall as some kind of support. Nick simply raised an eyebrow, seeming to be just as confused about why she was there as his foster brother.

Dr. Saltsman Spoke up for the first time in a bit over 2 hours. He last spoke about the plan for what they would do once they got into town and located the newly turned wolf. “Do you know each other?” Dr. Saltzman already knew the answer but wanted the full story. He had a duffle bag over his left shoulder and was holding a crossbow that made Nick and Landon feel on edge. Hope replied with a fast and short answer “Long story”, as she continued to walk up the stairs.

Hope tries to open the door, while ignoring Landon, but she soon finds that the doors were sealed shut with chains. Hope heard the sounds of someone screaming, but it wasn't a normal scream, it was screaming often associated with new wolves' first turn. Both Landon and Nick looked spooked at the sound and you could clearly see that they were both worried for Rafael Johnson, Hope now remembered why that name sounded familiar and she felt more anxious than normal, she unconsciously knew that she would see Landon again. Hope quickly stepped back and called out “Dissera portus”, and with that, they heard the door unlock and the chains fall to the ground.

With the doors unlocked now, Hope confidently walked into the church, “Wait out here, Landon, Trust me” Hope said as she walked in. Dr. Saltzman followed after her, with Landon and Nick shortly after those two to make sure Rafael was safe, Landon was too worried to think straight, and Nick didn't trust either of those two, despite knowing some things about the girl their age from 6 years ago when Landon and Hope hang out during the summer, but 6 years was enough time for people to change radically especially since he just saw her use magic he guessed that since he just saw Hope unlock the door from at least from 3 feet away, and other the other one was armed with a crossbow, especially when since he saw his face, it was clear that this man has seen and done stuff, and wasn't above killing if necessary.

Hope confidently walked forward like she has done this millions of times before, “Shut down the exorcist” Dr. Saltzmen instructed, Hope resists the urge to roll her eyes, she wasn’t green behind the ear and needed to be told what to do “Silencio” she confidently spoke, leaving the preacher without a mouth, there was only smooth skin that remained where the mouth should have been. “Ad somnum” and with that the preacher and the two adults, fell unconscious, she casted the spell quickly after she saw her first spell affect the preacher, she didn't want them to get in the way of a wolf turning, she quickly channeled out magic to fling the adults a few feet back, so they would be out of the way.

Hope and Dr. Saltzman got to work right away, they grabbed what was inside of the duffle bags and got to work. Drilling stakes into the church's wooden floor, and quickly tied the chains into the stakes, and started to wrap them around Rafael's contorting body, while he was continuing to screaming pain. They managed to finish chaining Rafael into place right as he finished his wolf transformation.

Where Rafael once stood there was a large black wolf, that could have easily blended into the night and avoid being detected, and it was easily the same size as a motorbike. The wolf wasn’t happy at being chained up, he was growling and trying to lunge at them, but thankful the chains were holding up against him constantly lounging at his ‘prey’ and with each failed attempt it was only getting more angry. After a few minutes the wolf was no longer trying to attack them, it just stood there angrily growling.

“What the fuck Is going on?!” It was Nick who spoke, it was hard to clearly make out the emotions in his voice, it seemed that he recovered from the shock of seeing his foster brother’s body mutilate itself into a wolf, and said wolf just hungrily stared at all 4 of them like they would be his next meal. Hope turned around to try and explain the situation when she caught Landon’s terrified and afraid gaze, it looked like he was fighting off a panic attack, and she just froze, she couldn’t think of the right words to try and comfort him.

Dr. Saltzmen interrupted her before she could her mind back on track “Rafael, is just fine, we will explain in the morning, so he can also hear it for himself,” he paused looking at Nick who didn’t look happy at that response if the scowl was any for to go off of but he kept his mouth shut otherwise. Dr. Saltzmen continued once he was sure he wouldn’t get interrupted “Hope check outside the church, to see if we got any unwanted attention, and silence the building”. Hope taking this chance to try and refocus herself did as told, and walked off. Dr. Saltzmen also took this chance to grab the preacher and the other two adults, and drag them into the back area to peacefully sleep off the spell.

When Hope got back inside after checking around the church and silencing the building so no noise could escape into the outside world, she saw Nick comforting Landon. Landon no longer looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack, She saw Nick make Landon continue to go through a breathing exercise until Nick was satisfied that Landon had calmed down enough to where he wouldn't enter a panicked state at the slightless thing.

Dr. Saltzmen came back into the church's hall from the back area, and approached hope. “It will be about 9 hours before Rafael transforms back, can you try and convince those two,” he points at Nick and Landon who were watching the now asleep Black wolf “to get some sleep inside of the jeep, I need to do something really fast, I will be back in 30 minutes, I have to call Nathan and a few others”. Hope just nods and walks over to them.

“Hey, listen, it will be a while before Rafael turns back, you should try to get some sleep, because tomorrow will be a long day,” Hope stated trying to convince Landon and Nick when she got within arm's length of them.

It didn't seem like either of them needed much convincing to try and get some rest, because Nick managed to almost instantly fall asleep when he went to lay down on the pew, after taking his glasses off and putting them above where his head rested. Landon tried to fall asleep sitting against the pew, but she could clearly tell that he was uncomfortable. “The jeep outside has adjustable seats that you can use to fall asleep on, and they won't also screw up your spine in the morning,” Hope tried to convince Landon so he could get some comfortable sleep.

“I won't leave Rafael, I need to make sure he's okay” Landon tried to argue with as much strength as he could muster but it was clear he was mentally exhausted, and scared of what would happen if he left his brother.

“Go, I will keep an eye on Rafael, and get you at the first sign of trouble, I promise you, Landon,” Hope was wrong that Nick was asleep because he was the one that spoke. It looked like Landon was gonna try and argue with him but a stern glance which was somehow enhanced by the fact he wasn't wearing glasses making him seem more dangerous, made him stop trying to argue. Landon just nodded his head as he followed Hope to the jeep outside.

Hope took longer than was needed, she stayed with Landon inside the jeep until she was a hundred percent sure that he was asleep. Hope was also mentally preparing herself for the chat she would have with Dr. Saltzmen which was on how she knew Landon, and to a lesser extent Nick and Rafael.

When she went back into the church she saw Dr. Saltzmen waited for her in the second row of pews, she was thankful that he didn't ask the question she knew was on his mind when he spoke “Nice job today hope, get some rest, I will wake you up a bit before Rafael will transform back.” Hope wandered back outside and fell asleep in the shotgun seat, but not before making sure Landon was still asleep. Hope promised herself that she would never let Landon go again, and with that silent vow she fell asleep with a smile on her face for the first time since he moved away.

Next morning at 6:38 AM

Nick didn't sleep well, He was trying to process and wrap his head around the fact his brother was a werewolf and that supernatural creatures existed. And it didn't help that the adult with hope wouldn't shut up for well over an hour, he talked to a few people someone called Nathan, Dorian, and a few others who he didn't mention the names of, along with his daughter's Josie and Lizzie. Nick was finally able to go to sleep when he shut up at around midnight.

Nick was awoken again in the past hour, the first time he was waked up was when the adult with hope went to wake her up and bring her inside, they didn't talk once they got inside so he was able to fall asleep again easily, and now he was woken up to the sound of Bones popping. This time he didn't try and hide the fact he was awake, he immediately threw himself upwards and immediately put on his glasses, and looked in Rafael's direction he saw the wolf's Body contorting just like last night but it was transforming back into his brother's body.

When Rafael fully finished transforming back into his human body the chains around his limbs and neck glowed yellow for a second before they popped open. “Rafael, how are you feeling?” Nick rushed to his side and gave him a tight hug afraid that once he let go Rafael would vanish. “I feel stiff, and like I have just been ran over by an 18 wheeler,” Rafael replied to Nick's question before continuing “Where's Landon?”.

“He's outside still asleep in the jeep,” it was Hope who answered Rafeal's question. “Nick let Landon know Rafael is up and fine, I will just make sure he's a hundred percent fine, before we leave”, Nick decided to do what Hope told him to do.

Nick went outside and found the jeep in the same spot it was in yesterday when they rolled in, he saw Landon in the back row of seats, he looked like he had more comfortable sleep than anyone else last night. Nick opened the door and rolled him around by shoving him a bit to wake him. Landon groggily opened his eyes, when the events of last night hit him. Seeing the worry on his other brother's face he spoke quickly “Rafael is fine he just transformed back into his normal body, Hope and the adult are making sure he's fine”.

That still didn't seem to convince Landon, “come on, you can see for yourself, and so we can also get our answers,” Nick said to convince Landon. Nick also reached into a pocket inside his jacket, it was located right in above the heart, and grabbed a spare set of Landon's contacts knowing Landon didn't have any on him, and they probably weren't gonna stop for that. After giving Landon his contacts Nick went heading back inside the church. Landon followed shortly after Nick after he threw his contacts in.

Landon was scared, and nervous about his brother, his brothers were everything to him, his only family, the people he knew would stand by his side through literally hell and back, he never wanted to imagine what life would be like without them, the day's he meet both of them were some of the best days of life, he could only think of two occasions were he was maybe happier.

Landon was so happy when he saw Rafael was fine, he hugged him so tight most people would have assumed he was trying to kill him, but Landon couldn't contain how happy he was, he was afraid to let go, he was afraid that when he did Rafael would have vanished and this was some sort of horrific nightmare, and Landon never wanted to lose his brothers and would do anything to keep them safe.

Landon heard a forced cough, and turned around to look at the adult of the group. “Now that we have confirmed Rafael is okay, I would like to get moving. I will give you guys answers to your questions but it will be easier to explain with more proof, and I would like to show Rafael a unique opportunity”.

Landon exchanged glances with his brothers, and both of them shrugged their shoulders, indicating the choice was up to him. ‘Rafael deserves these answers, and I seriously doubt that he will let us walk free right now, better to cooperate and be in less danger, and I would like to talk to Hope again’ Landon thought to himself, he made up his mind quickly. Landon spoke up quickly “Okay then let's get going, and what's your name?” Landon directed the last bit at the adult with Hope.

“Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, it's Dr. Saltzmen,” the now-known adult introduced himself. “I believe you guys know hope based on your reaction to her last night, but care to formally introduce yourselves?”

Rafael, was the first one to speak up, “Well my name is Rafael, I don't know what my biological last name is so the system gave the last name of Johnson the person who found me,” the last part was barely above a whisper and it sounded like he had to force himself to say, to him it was a painful reminder that he was willingly abandoned.

Nick spoke next “Nicholas, Alexandria, Veick” his introduction was blunt and to the point, but unlike Rafael, Landon and everyone else could hear the pride and sadness in his voice since he knew his family, before all of the tragedies that forced him into the foster care system.

Landon was the last to speak “Landon, Kirby, the preacher at the church my family left me at gave me my last name,” he responded sadly, not wanting to think about his bio family, he had his family, his brothers and that was good enough, he repeated that same lie to himself easily enough.

After those sad introductions, the brothers followed Hope and Dr. Saltzmen outside to the jeep, right after they finished cleaning up all evidence of what happened last night. And the groups was on the road to Mystic Falls, Virginia.

Chapter Text

February 26th, Mystic Falls, Virginia 2:54 PM 

The drive to Mystic Falls was uneventful, despite Dr. Saltzman’s attempts to get some conversation going, they only stopped once, and that was to fill up the car with gas along with using the restrooms, but other than that it was a straight drive to mystic falls, where they were making good time. But all that they were getting out of Dr. Saltzmen, was that he was bringing them to this special place inside of Mystic Falls.

The Brothers couldn’t help themselves from feeling nostalgic, Mystic falls was the place where they met each other, and it was where almost 90% of their good memories were at, but life was never fair, and good memories were just that memories. 

The group didn’t stop inside of town, they were driving towards the outskirts, thankfully it was in the opposite direction of the house, that the brothers were not so keen on seeing the remains of, Nick was getting visibly quieter and smaller trying to shrink down in size and it looked like he was fighting off some horrific memories. 

After a bit farther of a drive the brothers soon recognized where they were going, the local rich kid boarding school, Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted. The group soon drove into the main school area, and up the driveway before they stopped at what they assumed was the staff parking area. “Hope, can you lead them into the office, I will be in shortly, I just need to talk to Dorian for a minute.” Dr. Saltzman instructed Hope, who just nodded, and started to walk away after saying “Follow me”, the brothers followed after, not seeing any other options.

Dr. Saltzman grabbed the duffle bag out of the truck and proceeded to the garage area, knowing that was where he would find Dorian. And he was right, he saw Dorain fixing up an AC unit, Dr. Saltzman threw the duffle bag into the mission supply closet before he wanted to talk to him. “Hey, how’s everything going, did anything interesting happen when I was gone?”. 

Dorain stopped what he was doing before responding “You were only gone for barely even a day and the school is intact so, no everything was normal for this place, I’m guessing the mission went well since you don't have a bottle with you right now?”, Dr. Saltzman waited to see if Dorain was gonna add anything else before responding “The mission was a success, but we had to bring his friends along to compel them, they should be gone later today, and I should go introduce him to the school.”

When Dr Saltzman started to walk away but paused at the door. “Dorian, while you have paused, can you grab MG and the twins? The twins will give the new kid a tour, he will meet them in the waiting room once we are done with our talk, and after he leaves for the tour MG will come into my office to compel the tagalongs, and once you finish fixing up the ac unit take the rest of the today off,” once Dr. Saltzman finished he left the garage knowing that Dorain would do what was asked of him.

Nick was starting to get antsy, on their way to the office the questions in his head were increasing. Some 12 year old was floating books with her mind, a kid who couldn’t be older than 8 launched a stone brick 100 plus yards, and someone’s head turned into a chicken before turning back after a few seconds. But as soon as they saw Hope most kids booked it, and very few stuck around. The students who stuck around looked older, but they were on edge. 

Nick was leaning against the wall directly in front of the principal desks, with a bookshelf to his left, which was giving him a weird feeling, like he should know something was there but he didn't know what since all he could see was just books and decided it was just his brain playing tricks on him. Landon was sitting to the right of Rafael in the only two chairs available in the room which wasn't the principal's chair, Rafael was in the other chair it looked like he was also tired of waiting. Hope was leaning against the door frame, and it was the only door preventing them from leaving, it looked like the windows were reinforced with the metal wires on the inside of the glass panes were any clue.              

After maybe 10 minutes Dr. Saltzman finally entered the office after knocking knowing Hope would probably be leaning against the door so she could get out of the way, “Hello, since all three of you guys lived in Mystic Falls for at least some time, so what do you know about this school?” This question seemed innocent enough but Nick was tired of dancing around the issue at hand. “I punched one of your students once, and sent him to the hospital, and now I’m thinking the kid was fucked up in the head for letting me beat the shit out of him, because in the 10 minutes you left us alone, I have seen an 8 old year throw a stone brick 100 plus yard, and aim it at a tree and said tree know has a clean hole through it, so cut the horse shit and get to the damn point!” 

Dr. Saltzman just signed as if he was expecting a different response but continued on “At one point I had this speech, but over the years with pop culture, it already laid the groundwork, in Twilight, Harry Potter, and more. And while yes most of the details are wrong, the truth is Witches, Vampires, and Werewolves are all real, and this school is meant to serve as a Hogwarts, this place’s goal is for students to be safe and about their abilities, and to find and house young and newly turned supernaturals from the danger out their,” Dr. Saltzman paused for a minute before continuing “Rafael, that's why you are here, you are a newly turned wolf, and last night was your first transformation”. 

Rafael looked ready to yell, but Landon cut him off “He isn’t lying both me and Nick saw it happen,” You could still tell Rafael was having a hard time swallowing this piece of information but combined with some of the things they saw earlier he was more than inclined to believe that magic existed but for him, to be involved was the hard part, but his brothers never lied him to before, but he didn’t remember last night at all. 

Seeing Rafael's hesitation, Hope grabbed a sphere resting on the bookshelf to her right and placed it in front of him. Once Hope placed the sphere down Dr. Saltzman got up and drew the curtains so it would be easier for him to see and make out the video, and so the brothers could see if a light beam was present and messing with them. Hope quickly casted a spell for it to project a memory, it was a memory of last night or more specifically when Rafael turned into his wolf. The brothers didn't see anything that could them to believe foul play, but this was mainly to convince Rafael he was a wolf since he had no recollection of last night, at this point all three brothers were convinced that magic was real and they weren't pulling a serious of fucked pranks. 

When the memory was done, playing Hope grabbed the memory sphere and put it back, but she returned to the desk where she just awkwardly stood. Dr. Saltzman went to the curtains to open them again, seeing no point to keep them shut, but he remained at the windows, and sat down on the window seal. 

Rafael managed to collect his thoughts before nodding to Dr. Saltzman to let him know to continue. “Now Rafael I have a question for you, Have you been involved in an accident, that has caused the life of someone,” Rafael’s mood instantly took a nosedive, and there was a haunted look on his face, Both Nick and Landon tensed up, with Nick stop leaning on the wall and stood straight it, like he was ready to restrain Rafael if had to. The last few times someone tried to get him to talk about it, well they ended up in the hospital for 2 weeks. Hope didn’t seem shocked by the question asked but was tense because of the weight of the answer they might get. 

Rafael was struggling to get the words out, and it looked like he was ready to cry, ”About a month ago, I lost my girlfriend,” Landon reached over and grabbed onto Rafael’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze to calm him down.  

“We were driving back home when we got caught up in a storm, and I took a turn too fast, we crashed, and she didn’t make it” Rafael managed to finish his story. At some point, Nick got behind Rafael, and when he finished he gave him a quick pat on his left shoulder, since this was the first time he talked about it with anyone minus them. 

“Our school has access to one of the best counselors, so feel free to go talk to her if you need to, and now the bad part, the werewolf curse lays dormant in the bloodline until the person, is responsible for the death of someone intentionally or unintentionally,” Dr. Saltzmen explained the last bit carefully not wanting to get a hostile reaction. 

Unfortunately, that's what he got from Rafael. “You're out of your mind! I'm not going to this school and I will not abandon my brothers!”. It looked like Rafael was about to say more but Dr. Saltzmen cut him off. 

“I will not force you to come to this school, it is entirely your choice, but this school was designed for young and new supernaturals, a place to be safe, a place where they can make friends, a place to learn to control their abilities,” Dr. Saltzman carefully explained try to make the school sound as appealing as possible. 

Bullshit was the thought running through the brother’s mind simultaneously. Landon and Nick were keeping their thoughts to themselves since it was Rafael's decision to attend or not, but Rafael was thinking along the same lines “So you would just let us walk out, and end of story, we wouldn't have to deal with you guys again?” 

Dr. Saltzman responded simply “As much I would discourage that action, no I wouldn't stop you, I would break too many bones trying to do so, and this school would be a valuable resource to you where you could learn to control your powers”. 

Dr. Saltzman saw that Rafael was thinking over the offer and decided to bring up a few things. “Two of my students are downstairs in the lobby ready to give you a tour if you decide to give this school a chance, and you will not have to deal with the cost of attending. A few legacy students and families have donated enough money to cover the cost of students in less than ideal situations,” Dr. Saltzman was careful to explain the last bit knowing the school's reputation for being a fancy rich kid boarding school. 

Dr. Saltzman also added quickly “And if you decide later on that you don't want to attend anymore then you can leave at any time”. Rafael now seemed somewhat convinced to at least try and give the school a chance, and just nodded. 

“Okay, as I have said two of my students are downstairs and are ready to give you a tour, I trust that you remember the way you came in?” Rafael just nodded and went to leave, Hope got out of the way of the door to allow Rafael to leave. 

Nick started to move after him along with Landon when he got out the chair he was sitting in, both of them went to follow after Rafael when Dr. Saltzman spoke up “Nick and Landon wait a minute I need to talk to you for a minute”. Nick stopped on the right side next to Landon who was halfway between the right seat and the door. 

Rafael turned around to face him and spoke with a hostile edge that would have made a knife's edge seem blunt, “What do you need from them”.

“We just need to ask a few more questions, nothing that you would be able to help with, and they will be done once you wrap up your tour,” Dr Saltzman explained quickly. Rafael was ready to argue but when he looked at his brothers both just nodded, and Landon made a motion with his head that pointed towards the door, Rafael just sighed before he left. 

Nick talked first but unlike the other times he talked there was a noticeable tension in his voice “Okay, what questions do you have for us?”. Unfortunately, he didn't get a response from Dr. Saltzman because there was a knock on the door. 

“Come in MG,” Dr. Saltzman said, once MG entered the room Hope got in front of the doors blocking the exit which made Nick tense up, ready to fight since his gut was screaming bloody murder. Running wasn't an option with all of the routes blocked off. This action wasn't missed by anyone in the room minus the one who just entered. 

Dr. Saltzman got to explaining, “This is MG, one of my student aides, he's also a vampire and will take over your questioning”. MG, didn't look anything special. But both Landon and Nick just got shoved into the supernatural world and knew better now. Everything was normal for a rich boarding school student, well kept looks and uniform, the only special thing was the same ring he saw on a third of the student body, and his eyes, they seemed focused and radiated authority and power, not a whole lot maybe something you would see in a general position of power inside of a company.

When MG, reached out to put a hand on Landon's left shoulder. Hope quickly casted a spell to freeze both of the brothers in place, to prevent either of them fight, but Nick saw a brief flicker of pain and regret crossed her eyes. “Um, what's happening,” Landon sounded worried, especially when he felt almost his entire body freeze up. 

“Forget everything you’ve seen or learned since last night. All that you need to know is that your friend has found a home where he can live a better life. You’ll miss him, but you know it’s for the best.” MG confidently spoke, with strange power in his words but it didn't work. 

“What the hell! No way I'm forgetting about this you crazy ass psycho,” if Landon was worried before then right now he was having a full-blown panic attack. 

“MG, are you sure you did it right?” Dr. Saltzman asked, trying to regain control of the situation. “Positive, it's the easiest trick in the book,” MG responded clearly panicked as much as Landon was, Hope was shocked from joy and confusion.

Landon who was struggling to move, it was clear that he was trying to run, but MG hastily made a horrific decision, he tried to strangle Landon in front of a very protective brother. Hope's spell also failed from the shock of the compel not working on Landon or the fact MG was trying to strangle him. But that didn’t matter Nick took advantage of the spell failing which he used to protect his brother. 

Hope didn't catch on to the fact her spell failed until it was too late. Because when Hope finally managed to cast the sleeping spell, Nick already managed to launch a powerful kick into MG's neck, and it would've killed him if he wasn't a vampire. With MG dead, it loosened his grip around Landon's neck for Nick to shoulder him so he could try to run to the doors so he could escape. But Hope's sleep spell fully activates moments later. Nick quickly fell over face first artificially tired, but she used another spell to prevent him and Landon from crashing into the ground. 

“Throw the two into a werewolf transition cell, and test them for vervain. And once they are up, let me know so I can send a vampire to try and compel Landon again, and Nick,” Dr. Saltzman immediately instructed Hope. Hope wanted to yell at Dr. Saltzman about how that was a stupid idea for multiple reasons, but she knew better than to push her luck, when he was upset and did what was asked of her. 

When Hope left the room magically levitating both Nick and Landon towards the cellular. Dr. Saltzman went over to MG's ‘corpse’ and flung it over his shoulders so he could drop him off at the medical center, so he could recover once he woke up again.

Chapter Text

Nick Pov date unknown, location unknown

Nick woke up feeling drowsy, and felt the unsmooth and rough bricks against his back. Nick noticed the inside pocket of his jacket against his heart felt different and opened it and saw a tube with 2 small blue pills and a piece of paper which he guessed would be some kind of note. He decided not to open it right now, he looked through all of the pockets on him and saw everything he had remained untouched, he put the small tube in his pocket. Nick adjusted himself to stand up and saw Landon on the only bed in the cell. He was inside of a cell in a potentially unknown location. He looked around and saw a window at the top of the cell, it was just bars close enough to prevent anything human from getting out, but at least it let some sunlight in. Across the bars was a coat hanger which had multiple chains on each rack, and noticed that in the cell were multiple hooks that the chains must go to. And surprisingly there was a closet or cabinet inside the cell, it was to the left of where Nick woke up. Nick thought, ‘Okay so it’s day and it doesn't look like that much time has passed or it's the next day’.

Nick saw Landon waking up and walked over knowing he would most likely have a panic attack inside the cell despite how big it was, it was easily 7 feet tall and maybe 10 feet long with a width of 6 and a half feet if he had to guess. So this panic attack would be his cleithrophobia, not his claustrophobia.

Landon once he got all of the drowsiness out of his system started to hyperventilate and look more pale. “Breath in, and breathe out, imagine you are inside of a clearing, what do you see, what do you smell, what do you hear,” Nick instructed Landon, this wasn't the first time he had to manage one of his panic attacks.

Landon shut his eyes and started to ramble things off still panicked “I feel the sun, the wind, I see oak trees, grass, bugs, flowers, flowers, I smell them as well, I hear birds chirping,” at this point, his breathing returned to normal and his skin returned to normal color.

“Thanks, any idea of where we are or how much time has passed,” Landon asked Nick once his thoughts were clear since he was most likely awake before him given the fact he seemed to be more aware of their situation.

“No confirmed answers, but I would wage we aren't too far from the school, because of the hooks in the wall, they are the same ones they used to keep the chains in place for when Rafael was a wolf, so this is most likely a safe spot for werewolves transformation, and for how much time has passed no idea, if it's the same day maybe an hour or 2 based on the sunlight we are getting, but I have no ideas about the date,” Nick caught Landon up to speed with his observation.

Nick walked over to the door hoping the person who put them in here would have been dumb enough to leave the door unlocked. ‘So much for wishful thinking’ Nick grimly thought to himself.

Nick went over to the bed in the cell and took the other side, both Landon and Nick shared a look, and both thought the same thing as the other. ‘Guess we have to wait.’

Landon didn't have anything left to ask Nick, and Nick didn't have anything to add to their conversation. Both of them kept silent, since they had nothing to do. The silence was comfortable since both just wanted to organize their own thoughts.

Once Nick was sure Landon wouldn't relapse he walked back over to the spot on the wall he woke up at. Both Landon and Nick lost track of time organizing their thoughts. When Landon spoke, ”Why?”

Nick knew what Landon meant, Nick was also thinking about it, and Nick couldn’t feel sad about it ”I don’t want to lose my family, ever, when I woke up before I saw you I was afraid that they would have already killed you, I don’t feel sad about what I did, he attacked you, he could have easily killed you, I just wanted to protect my family”.

Landon just nodded, He was grateful to be alive. After that silence followed, both were organizing their thoughts about the supernatural world, when they heard 2 footsteps approaching the cell area. Nick instantly decided to fake being asleep and go from there.

Rafael pov February 26th, 3:10 PM

Rafael still didn't feel comfortable leaving Landon and Nick alone with Hope but more so Dr. Saltzman, but he knew that Landon and Nick would have each other's backs.

When Rafael got to the waiting room he saw two girls and a boy in the school uniform start walking towards him. But the boy walked straight past him towards one of the offices. He looked guilty so he was mostly likely in trouble. “Hi, I'm Lizzie and this is my fraternal twin Josie, and we are here to be your tour guides,” the blonde girl who was the one he now known as Lizze spoke.

Rafael had no room to judge because he didn’t look like his brothers, but he almost couldn’t see it. Lizzie had blond wavy hair with blue eyes, and was a head taller than Josie. Josie had wavy brown hair with brown eyes, they only shared two similarities as far as he could see, similar eyebrow shape, and round facial features. Rafael guessed that each one took after a different parent. But right now both had on the same school uniform.

Rafael just nodded “Hi I'm Rafael” he introduced himself shortly. Rafael just wanted to take this tour of the school and see his brothers again as soon as possible.

“Dad forgot to mention what kind of supernatural you were so what are you?” Josie was the one who asked this question.

“I'm a werewolf,” Rafael was still trying to wrap his head around that fact himself. Both of them just nodded like that was the answer they were expecting. Rafael just assumed that they were related to a staff member he hasn’t met yet.

“Okay follow us, and we will get this tour started,” Lizzie started before pausing to continue explaining “If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask,” and the twins started to walk away. Rafael soon followed after them.

During the tour, they pointed out which building had what, the building they were just in had all of the administrative stuff, and the supernatural free zone for human guests. And they pointed out the second building which has all of the inside classrooms, and the dining hall. They mentioned they would come back to it later but they had to bring him to his supervisor.

The school's driveway led to the third building, which was the main building students used, it had all of their personal rooms and club areas. There were multiple paths that students could use that lead to the various other builds, on the left side the paths lead to the garage area he was at this afternoon, and the administrative building. On the right side led to the biggest building on campus it was 3 times bigger than the dorm building or the lodge as it was referred to as by the students, that building was the actual school part of the school, and the main path split off into a trail through the woods were it lead to a place called the old mill, and there was a small lake half a mile in diameter on the very backside of the school but it was much faster to go by the administrative building to get to it.

The twins brought him over to the werewolf section of the building so he could meet the werewolf supervisor. Lizzie knocked on the door to an office with a sign that said werewolf supervisor, and had the name Jake Roller. Lizzie spoke while she was knocking “Hey you got someone with questions,” and the door opened to reveal a male in their mid 40s, who was just a bit taller than Rafael, he had on a plain brown polo, and brown shorts, and had his hair buzzed.

“Hi, my name is Jake, and I'm guessing you're the new wolf, Alaric just sent me a message,” the now known character introduced himself. And Jake motioned for Rafael to come inside his office, Rafael complied with the request. The Saltzman twins stayed outside and took a seat on the bench in front of the office.

When Rafael went inside the office he noticed that it was bland, there were no decorations or anything, just a desk in the middle of the room with a computer open on it. There were two chairs in front of the desk similar to Dr. Saltzman's office, he quickly took a seat. Rafael noticed the only thing in the room minus the desk and chairs were 4 filing cabinets lined up on the back wall, with a clock but other than that it was the epitome of bland.

“Hello, as stated before my name is Jake, I'm in charge of overseeing the wolves and making sure they behave themselves, and as I newly turned wolf I would be willing to wager you have questions so ask away,” Jake inquired of Rafael.

“So, what does it mean exactly to be a werewolf, minus that pain once every month?” Rafael decided to ask that question and go from there once his question was answered.

“Once your werewolf curse has been activated by taking someone's life, the bearer of the curse has increased physical capabilities usually 2 to 3 times but it depends on the person, most of the time it's expressed through an increase in speed, strength, durability, hand eye coordination, and senses,” Jake explained the positive of becoming a werewolf, he stopped so Rafael could process the given information.

Rafael nodded along processing all that before thinking to himself ‘Okay that explains why I was able to throw a 200 pound lawnmower 50 yards’.

Once Jake was confident that Rafael processed that bit of information, he continued on with the mental aspects of the conversation “Wolves also tend to experience an increase in energy and when not properly handled it leads to aggression and a wide variety of behavioral problems, like stated before aggression, disobedience, attention seeking, and your relationship with other people also became more important which is what explains werewolf pack behavior, as well for a like of a better term your primal wolf side takes over your thoughts”. Jake finished the explanation of what being a werewolf has in store for him.

“As a werewolf here, you would be required to attend various classes so you can learn the self control necessary to control your werewolf powers and urges, and along with that every full moon you will be required to go to a werewolf transition cell so everyone can be as safe as possible,” Jake explained what would be expected of him if he were to join the school.

Rafael just nodded and started to ask a question, well two questions “I have two questions, one how did werewolves come to be and what would I have to do to get caught up?”.

Jake just nodded and appreciated that this conversation was going better than he expected given what Dr. Saltzman said about him. “To answer your second question, you would be put into the recovery program or as the students call it academic boot camp hell weeks, this program was designed for students who had no idea about their magical ancestry and were put into this world when they powers were activated, because of how much you missed you would be in this program for about 4 to 8 weeks depending on how things go to catch you up to speed on the required classes but you would be free to join any beginning elective right now and not have to worry about catching up since our second semester just started 2 weeks ago,” Jake gave a basic overview of the program that Rafael would be put into.

Rafael didn't seem to mind the first question not being answered he guessed that if he sticks around he would learn it soon enough. Rafael asked a new question on his mind, “how long will it take for a werewolf to learn to control their powers and urges if I can catch up to the people who have been here since they were what?”

Jake had to resist the urge to slap himself, he really needed to start explaining it better. “when I said control I meant to say manage, to provide an example it's like learning to deal with ADHD or something similar without the use of any medication, it will affect every day to some degree but you can learn to manage it, but for werewolves, there is no medication that can help, it's only your self control,” Jake clarified what he meant.

Neither of the two spoke for a few minutes, it didn't seem like Rafael had any more questions so Jake decided to end the conversation. “Rafael, I hope you enjoy the rest of your tour, and later today I can introduce you to the school's wolf pack if you want”.

Rafael didn't know how to feel about that, he had his family his own pack, but yet he wanted to meet the pack at the school. People like him, people who understood what he was feeling and could help.

Rafael made his decision, “Yes I would like to meet the pack,” Jake seemed pleased at that answer and responded quickly. “Okay, Once you have finished the tour please come back to my office so I can bring you to meet the wolf pack, and I believe that is everything so feel free to leave if you don't have any more questions”.

Rafael smiled a bit but was still conflicted between the pack, people like him, and his brothers. Rafael just nodded before getting out of the chair and leaving the office where he saw his tour guides.

Once Rafael left the room Jake sent two quick messages, one to a scout he knew this student would be of interest to, and the second one to Emma, so she could schedule an appointment with him if he decided to attend. To Jake it was clear Rafael would need help with the death of that person, and he had more issues.

“Now that you have finished talking to your supervisor, we can give you a more detailed tour,” Lizzie was the one that spoke to Rafael as soon as he left the office. If it wasn't for the fact he heard Josie speak earlier Rafael would have assumed she was mute, because since then he hasn't heard a single sound from her.

On the way out of the building, they stopped to show him the example room, cabiney was the best way to describe the room. Afterwards, he got a detailed tour of each building the first time was more of a speed walk through.

Inside the second building, Despite it being a weekend they saw several students walking around somewhere inside having class. “The Salvatore school was designed to foster a community, and be inclusive of all supernaturals,” Lizzie started to talk about the school. Rafael had a feeling where this would go, typical school spirit stuff, school is a family yada yada yada.

Josie decided to add something for once to this conversation “The wolves are very much a secluded click, so just remember there's more to this school, minus them”.

Rafael just nodded, not really caring, either way. Clicks were normal and no matter what clicks would form no matter what the school did.

Hope pov Salvatore Medical wing 3 54 PM

Hope still wanted to strangle MG, and Dr. Saltzman, for similar reasons, the treatment of Landon. Why couldn't they just accept he was a supernatural, they did the fucking vervain blood tests, three by her and two done by the doctor, all of them negative.

If she knew how much of a headache that mission would have been she would have ordered Ashley, and Henry to create a distraction. And with that distraction grab Landon and his brothers and hide them away. And deal with the consequences of letting a monster loose later once she knew all of them were safe.

Hope saw MG regain consciousness from his temporary death. MG lifted himself into an upward position from his hospital bed, and was immediately on guard. Any time Hope Mikaelson smiled, period, something bad was gonna happen. MG quickly scanned the room and was mentally preparing himself for the worst when he saw no one. He sighed and resigned himself to his fate, which was gonna be horrific if that smile was anything to go by.

“Do I get any last words or questions?” MG was hopeful, that Hope wouldn't kill him right away. MG would guess that Hope would drag him away torture him and kill him on repeat, before she did it for good. Any more time he could get so the school could find him the better.

“You'll live,” was the simple response MG received. Hope grabbed a medical scalpel and syringe from the nearby desk. “Alaric, wants you to try and compel, Nick and Landon again once, once he gets conformation, that you don't have a genetic deformity that makes you unable to compel people,” Hope soaked in the scared face of MG, her smile increasing at his obvious fear of the person who just snapped his neck.

MG remembered those eyes, he knew saw a sick sense of satisfaction in those black eyes, and he couldn't stop himself from shuddering. “Wait, what do you mean by checking to see if I can compel, I know, I can compel that natural, he probably just has some vervain in his blood,” MG was quick to realize what Hope just said.

Hope decided to give MG a tiny break and explain “According to Alaric, the compelling didn't work despite the fact, both are naturals with no vervain in their system is because, There is a new breed of vampires who can't compel,” at the last bit she had to stop herself from laughing at how stupid that was, as the daughter of one of the originals she knew for a fact, that was bullshit, Landon was a supernatural, at the very least a unactivated one with enough mental strength to shrug it off.

Hope started to smile again, “So what will it be? Are you gonna put up a fight,” and positioned the scalpel in front of the heart, “Or, are you gonna compile,” and the syringe was aimed at his jugular veins.

“Do I get to choose the place where you stab me if I compile?” MG asked hopefully.
Hope just shook her head, and took that as her quo. Hope quickly stabbed the syringe into his jugular vein, she made sure that MG would be in some kind of above average pain but he wouldn't die, Dr. Saltzman would come and check on him sometime soon, now that an hour had passed since his most recent death.

Once Hope filled the syringe with the necessary blood, she placed it on the counter with the test along with the scalpel. MG was still in pain from the syringe when Hope spoke, “MG you know the rules stay put until Mr. Rahorn, make sure you're good to go.”

Hope was about to leave the medical wing Dr. Saltzman entered with some she recognized Nathan. Nathan was one of the school's many scouts, he had messy sandy blond hair, green eyes, was the same height as Dorain, and if she remembered correctly he was the same age biologically as Dr. Saltzman, but he stopped aging at 22. Nathan was wearing a plain brown t-shirt with ripped blue jeans, he had nothing else on him minus his daylight ring. Right after Jeremy this was the scout she had to deal with the most.

“MG, good news a scout has returned so you won't have to try and compel Landon and Nick again,” Dr. Saltzman informed MG who was relieved at the fact he would have to face either of those two.

“Hope, you will help Nathan compel those two, they should be up, the monitoring spell just went off,” Hope groaned internally forgetting about the monitoring spell inside of the werewolf transition space, she knew the spell wore off, but wanted to keep that fact to herself.

Hope didn't want to compile, she knew Landon would be safe, but his brother had no idea. Hope was praying to herself that Nick was also a werewolf, since he would be immune to being compelled. She never wanted to cause Landon any form of pain if possible. She just hoped that he didn't have any of the vervain pills she left for him. Vervain on an empty stomach was dangerous.

Nick pov

Nick was waiting for something to happen, he kept hearing the footsteps approaching. Nick thought they were gonna walk by because neither showed signs of stopping or slowing down. Nick wondered if Landon would be able to handle the situation since he removed himself from it out of instinct.

Nick was wrong, at the last second he guessed both turned into the room, if the silence of walking was anything to go by. “Hello, I know you are awake Nick I can hear your heartbeat,” this voice belonged to someone new, ‘definitely male based on the tone’.

Nick was having an internal debate, he wasn't sure if the new voice was bluffing or not, and if he could convince the new person he was actually asleep. Nick knew full well that he was just shoved into this supernatural world and he only had a base level understanding.

“And I'm guessing you're here to try and drug me, or kill me as some kind of revenge for your friend?” Nick decided to play into the bluff. Nick wanted to keep the focus away from Landon, since their magical drug trick failed and now would mostly likely just kill him.

“What was the kid's name? MC, Mac, MJ, no it was MG, correct? So when's the funeral?” Nick wanted to keep the focus on him so taunting this person would be the best bet. Nick was careful to avoid prolonged eye contact to avoid being compelled as it was referred to. But Nick was able to easily make out all of the details of the new person. He only saw two similarities between him and MG, both had an intense look in their eyes, and both had on the same ring, now that he thought about it a third of the school had the same ring, and those who had a ring were probably vampires. Other than that they shared no common traits.

Nick finally noticed the second person Hope, but she wasn't paying attention to the exchange between him and the new person. Hope was staring at Landon, who was trying to go unnoticed in the corner of the room.

“Sorry, but you're gonna have to try harder to kill a vampire,” the new person fired back. Nick should have felt a lot of things at that, but he felt more annoyed than anything. Nick knew he should have felt bad about killing someone but he couldn't, he tried to hurt his brother, and now he was walking around like nothing happened.

“I guess, I have to try decapitating the bastard next time,” Nick shot back. Nick had no idea how this vampire immorality worked, but if had to wage how to make it permanent, he would guess. A stake through the heart based on the myths, destroying the body while they were dead or alive, and something to do with the ring.

The new person was getting tired of this conversation, he just wanted to finish the job and ordered, “Hope, restrain them,” that seemed to knock Hope back to her senses.

Now that Hope wasn't paying attention to Landon, and now she was glaring at the new person. Before she faced towards Nick who was still sitting against the wall Nick saw regret in her eyes, along with that scowl. Hope didn't want to be here or want to do it, but it didn't matter.

Hope did a quick series of hand gestures. Nick felt this invisible string wrap around his limbs and attach themselves at his joints, he felt it trying to pull him, and make him move but the string was so tiny it was easy to ignore. “I'm gonna take a nap,” Nick knew it was probably a bad idea to piss off someone who would willingly help them but he didn't care.

“You useless idiot, do your job right!” Druggie 2.0 yelled furiously. Nick saw the look in Hope's eyes, she was about to maim that sad man.

Nick guessed Hope redid the spell because the tiny string around his limbs no longer felt tiny. The strings each felt like iron ropes, cold and impossible to ignore. Nick was being forced to walk to the edge of the cell, he stopped only 6 inches away from the bar right in front of the new person. Nick tried to fight but it was impossible, it was almost no different than sleep paralysis, it was an out of body experience, he knew what was going on but couldn't move of his own free will.

The new person gave the same monologue as MG, “Forget everything you’ve seen or learned since last night. All that you need to know is that your friend has found a home where he can live a better life. You’ll miss him, but you know it’s for the best, go home.” Nick didn't know if it took a few seconds to kick in but he felt fine, and he remembered everything.

Nick felt the spell drop, and decided that this was his best bet. Nick quickly flung his right arm out of one of the openings in the bars and tried to snap the new guy's neck. Nick couldn't process what happened because he was launched into the back wall of the cell which knocked him out.

Landon was thankful that the attention was never on him during this conversation. Landon rushed to Nick's side, he didn't know any first aid minus the basics, and if he got out of this situation with his memories that would be one of the first he would learn.

Landon wasn't paying attention to the fight between Hope and the new person. Landon overheard the conversation. It wasn't difficult on the fact both were screaming “Alaric ordered me to compel both, so fess up you, you gave both of them vervain didn't you!” The vampire accused Hope.

Hope was losing patience fast, “Shut up, or I will kill you for good,” they both knew full well that she could and would kill him. The new person stormed off.

Hope approached the cell “Landon I will be right back, I will get something to help Nick,” Hope tried to comfort Landon who didn’t look convinced. Hope got up and left.

Nick was confused, he remembered trying to snap the dude’s neck but he was blasted back. And now he was in Dr. Saltzman’s office, he couldn't move, he was stuck. He couldn't feel his body, just his face, he couldn't move his head around, he was fully stuck staring at Dr. Saltzman’s desk, Nick guessed that he was in the closed off section of the bookshelf.

Dr. Saltzman was just reading and signing papers, he looked in the back corner and saw the digital clock read off February 26th, 4 23 PM when Hope barged in screaming “I told you that they were supernaturals, both of them don’t have vervain in their systems, and shaked off being compelled”.

Dr. Saltzman let out a tired sigh, already getting tired of this conversation, “For the last time, neither Landon or Nick are supernatural, they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

“First it was, oh, they have vervain in their blood, an herb only commonly grew in Virginia and Louisiana, next it was there is a new breed of vampires who can’t compel, what's next their naturals who have a super rare recessive gene that makes them immune to being compelled?” Hope shot back not understanding why Dr. Saltzman was so against this.

“What makes you even say that they are supernaturals?” Dr. Saltzman was already tired of this conversation, it was the same one after Hope got back from placing those two in the transition space.

“The fact is they can't be compelled, and werewolf habits, werewolves are naturally drawn to other supernaturals and for the most part only answer to the strongest,” Hope was going to continue but Dr. Saltzman cut her off.

“You said before that they had a brother-like bond, and Landon is the oldest out of the three, with Rafael as the youngest, and I doubt that has anything to do with strength,” Dr. Saltzman was quick to counter the claims.

“Remember Kevin, he was basically in the same situation as Rafael, but when he activated his werewolf gene, he completely ignored his older siblings, and Werewolves protect their leader, Rafael only left because Nick was with Landon,” Hope tried to convince Dr. Saltzman but she was having no luck.

“Hope, the one time you use emotions you completely ignore facts, this is only based on unconfirmed social werewolf behavior, and I seriously doubt that 3 unknowing supernaturals are coincidentally found together we only usually find one, once a month, and we have no idea what kind of supernatural they would be they are displaying no traits of any unactivated supernatural, I'm just trying to protect the students of the school, especially from dangerous people like Nick who's capable of killing in cold blood, we stay alive because we follow the rules” Dr. Saltzman shot back getting more and more frustrated with every second of this conversation.

“Then why do we even allow werewolves in this school?! All of them are killers, and are seriously saying if you weren't in Nick's shoes and if it was one of the twins instead of Landon you wouldn't have done something similar,” Dr. Saltzman didn't answer the question “You are bloody hypocrite, and you say this frequently in a world were witches, werewolves, and vampires exist, expected the unknown, it's possible that there are new species out there, we don't talk to any other supernatural communities around the world, so it's possible we just don't know about them,” Hope shot back, if she even had the slightest doubt that either weren't supernaturals she would see to it they got sent away from the danger she was all around the corner.

Nick was pissed, he thought that Dr. Saltzman was anything but human, he didn't transform last night, he didn't do the compelling himself, and seemed like a practical person so if could use magic he would instead of a crossbow. Nick remembered him saying supernaturals, and thought Dr. Saltzman just fell into the others category but no he was human just like him and Landon but now he was doubting if either one of them were human.

Nick at some point stopped believing this was some kind of crazy dream, but he still didn't have any clue what was going on, or how he was seeing and hearing this conversation. Nick was still skeptical if this conversation was actually real or happening. It didn't matter because Hope’s frustration got the better of her and stormed out of the room.

Dr. Saltzman got out of his desk and went to the bookshelf. He grabbed the box, Nick was stuck viewing the conversation from and carried it off. Nick made sure to mentally map out the route in his head because at some point he was knocked down and couldn't see anything. But inside the box he saw two items that he thought were destroyed in the fire, his family's journal and his dad's knife. Nick thought that they were destroyed in the fire, and yet here they were just fine but he didn't see his family's demon mask. The box he was trapped in got placed into a lock based on the clicking sound and the heavy thunk of the door. Nick was stuck waiting in the box when he felt his consciousness fade away.

Rafael Pov Dorm Building 4 30 PM

The rest of Rafael’s tour went off without any issue, Rafael was already getting annoyed with the twins, he just asked to see the werewolf transition space, and they shot it down completely with no reason, if he went to this school he should know where the transition space was, and that not to mention they weren’t gonna let him see his brothers.

When they got to Jake’s office, the twins said goodbye and left. Rafael knocked on the door, and Jake opened up the door, “I hope your tour went well”. Rafael just nodded that the tour went well.

“Hey before we go meet the other wolves, could I go see my brothers?” Rafael wanted to talk to them and make sure that they were safe, he would also like to hear their opinions.

“Okay, follow me,” Jake answered. Jake was glad he asked Dr. Saltzman about Rafael's brother otherwise he would have no idea where they were.

Jake led Rafael to the dormitory building’s basement where the transition spaces were located.

Rafael was mad at what he saw, both of his brothers were locked inside of a cage. Rafael instantly upon seeing this wanted to go to the principal office and rip his head off. Jake left the immediate area to give them some privacy. Rafael idly wondered if the twins knew if this was happening to them and were ordered to keep him away.

Landon was sitting against the back wall, and Nick was asleep on the bed, but his gut was screaming that Nick wasn't asleep, he was a light sleeper, and for him not to be awake by now, was scary.

“Hi, Raf, how’s your day going?” Landon asked, he was relieved to see Rafael was fine, But Landon was still scared about Nick. He was starting to doubt Hope would show up again.

“What the hell are you doing inside of a cage! And what's up with Nick?,” Rafael wanted answers he was concerned with the safety of his brothers. Rafael looked around the room hoping to find a way to open the cell. Rafael made a mental note to ask Nick to teach him how to pick a lock.

“They are in there, because Dr. Saltzman, decided to be extra stupid today,” There was a large bit of malice inside that voice when they said that. “He put them in this cell because he thinks both are naturals, and wants to compel them to forget about the supernatural, and wants them close by, and Nick is unconscious because Nathan swapped out his daylight ring with a different ring that is magically enchanted to blast people back if they mean harm,” Rafael recognized the voice from this morning, it was Hope.

Hope, walked over to the door, pulled out a key, and unlocked the door. She walked over to Landon and gave him a tiny vial filled with a pale green liquid. “That will wake Nick up, and help heal him from any physical damage he took when being slammed into a wall, and sorry for taking longer than expected, I had to deal with some things,” Hope walked out into the hallway to give the brothers some space.

Rafael went inside the cell, “Do you think that potion or whatever will actually help Nick, he’s a tough cookie we probably can wait a few hours and he will be up and running,” Rafael didn’t trust anyone inside of this school right now.

Landon was still slightly panicked at the thought of Nick being in some kind of danger, “Yes, but he crashed into the wall head first pretty hard, he could have brain damage, or internal bleeding, he could be in a coma instead of being unconscious, and we don’t have enough of this potion to test it on ourselves.”

Rafael sighed, Landon was right, if they wanted Nick to be okay then they would have to trust Hope, and the potion she gave them. Rafael propped Nick upwards, so it would be easier for him to digest the liquid while he was unconscious, Landon popped the cork off the vial and poured it down Nick’s throat. They left him propped up, on top of the bed resting against the wall.

“Enjoying the school so far?,” Landon broke the ice, while they were waiting for any signs of Nick’s condition improving.

“The school is nice, the people are a hit or a miss and most of them being a miss, but I’m not leaving you or Nick,” Rafael stated, Landon was ready to argue that he should stay when they heard groaning.

“Ugh, who slapped my head in with a bunch of dead fish,” and with that both Landon and Rafael were at his side, both were slamming him with questions trying to prove that he was all right. “The last I remember was trying to snap druggie 2.0’s neck, I wear both contacts and glass because during i fight in 8th grade i almost jumped off a build because they broke my glasses, Raf your holding up 4 fingers on your left hand, and 2 on your right, Lan your contacts also hide your true eye color because your second set of foster parents tried to kill because they thought you were possessed by the devil, and Raf you were planning to break up with Cassie before she died”.

Nick answered their questions, while he was doing basic motor skills with his fingers to see if he had potential nerve damage, he didn’t see or feel anything out of the ordinary and decided he was physically good, while still trying to shake off the dizziness.

“Raf, what are you doing down here in the cell, with us,” Nick was curious to see Rafael, given what he just saw he didn’t think Dr. Saltman would be so keen to even give them a tiny breath of freedom.

“I needed to make sure you guys were okay, but you're obviously not, care to explain?” Rafael explained, before asking his brothers what was going on.

All three of them exchanged stories, from when Rafael left the office to just now. “Okay, so let me get this straight, this magical school has a normal sports team? Why are they playing their equivalent of quidditch?” Landon was confused, shouldn't they have their own magical sports?

“Nah, they tried but it was too dangerous, someone almost died,” Rafael gave the same explanation Lizzie gave him.

“So, what exactly have you learned while not being stuck in a cell,” Nick made fun of their predicament, but was genuinely curious.

“Nothing major, just a basic overview of the werewolf curse, and what to expect from it moving forward,” Rafael responded.

“Nothing about this school? What to expect when you enroll?” Nick asked Rafael, pretty sure knowing where this conversation was going to go.

“I'm not leaving you guys again,” Rafael said with what would have been an impressive amount of resolve in his voice, but Landon and Nick have convinced Rafael to do much dumb stuff.

“Rafael, as the pessimist of the group I have to point this out, we have been extremely lucky to stay together for this long, you should take this chance, this place will be safe for you, and you can learn about your werewolf side,” Nick stated calmly.

“I'm not abandoning you guys,” Rafael still not budging yet.

“You won't abandoning us, and think about it this way, we know where you will be so if we get separated we can find each other at your graduation, and we have no way of contacting each other if we don't get put in other foster homes” Landon interjected before Rafael could continue on with the pseudo speech he had prepared mentally.

“Okay we are doing it this way, pros and cons,” Nick stated to hopefully cut down on the tension building up.

“What are we 7?” Rafael said.

“you're acting like you’re 7 so, yes” Landon, stated as if it was a common and simple fact. Rafael never liked it when they subconsciously agreed to gang up on him.

“Pro, Raf will be safe, and be able to learn about his power, and he will be surrounded by people that can help him” Nick stated.

“You think I will be safe here? They shoved you inside of a jail cell!” Rafael yelled out in frustration and shock at what Nick said, he was just magically assaulted not even 30 minutes ago.

“Saltzman seems hyper focused on keeping supernaturals safe, you are one so you won't have to worry about that unless you do something stupid,” Nick interjected.

“Con, we will be separated, and we won't have a chance to stay together,” Rafael stated the most obvious con that was all on their mind.

“Pro, if we get separated, we will know at least where one of us is, and be able to use him as an in between,” Nick managed to turn around that con to some degree but all three knew it was less than ideal.

“Con, how will we explain this to our foster parents? ‘Oh you know, Rafael is a werewolf, so we need the basement once a month to make sure he doesn't kill anyone’,” Landon stated another con after thinking about their current situation if Rafael said no.

“Pro, your safer over here with other supernaturals, than out in the wild, I seriously doubt the government does not know about supernaturals they just lack a reason to start this pissing match,” Nick said what was worrying him, the government should at least have an idea about this, if two random people, got shoved into this world. They were likely not the only ones to know about the supernatural who shouldn’t know about it.

After a few more minutes of thinking no one could come up with more pros or cons. Rafael sighed in defeat, only those two would be able to convince him to do basically anything.

“Be safe bro, and don't do anything I wouldn't do” Nick said, he was sad to be separated from one of his brothers, but he knew Rafael would be fine.

“Okay, so just don't commit an act of terrorism, along with a few other crimes,” Rafael jokes, at how unlimited the last bit was.

“Okay, fine don't do anything Landon wouldn't do,” Nick shot back, but you could tell he didn't mean it, all three of them smiled at it.

“Okay, be safe and take care of each other, and talk to me regularly,” Rafael responded “Love you, bros,” Rafael added quickly.

Landon and Nick responded back with “Love you, bro”.

Rafael walked past Hope who was waiting outside the door, towards Jake. “Jake, can we go see Dr. Saltzman, I would like to enroll here,” Rafael asked Jake once he got within arm’s length, Jake was waiting at the exit slash entrance of the basement. Jake nodded not expecting this outcome, since Rafael saw his brothers were basically prisoners.

They walked over to the administrative building and knocked on the door and prompted “Come in followed”.

Once they got inside the office, Rafael didn't bother to take a seat and just started the conversation “I would like to enroll here”.

“That's great news, it should only take a few minutes to fill out the paperwork to sign up and Ms. Tigs can set you up on the academic side tomorrow morning,” Dr. Saltzman responded, while reaching into a filing cabinet and grabbing out the forms required. Rafael quickly scanned the legal stuff, and saw that it was the basic school form like any other, and signed it.

“That's all I need you to do, so you're free to go,” Dr. Saltzman said. “Jake, I hope you can set up his living arrangement?”

“I can do that after I introduce Rafael to the wolf pack,” was the simple response Jake gave.

Both of them left after that. And after a few minutes of walking, they ended up in the gym. The gym was probably a loose term to describe it, 300 students were around and it wasn't even a bit overcrowded. Some were on the bleachers, others were off to the side, but most were divided into various groups playing on the court.

Someone walked up to Jake, “Hi, Jake decided to join in on the fun for once,” it was a light hearted jab more along the lines of an inside joke, the person continued with “Who's the new person,” while pointing at Rafael.

“Jed, is the alpha of this pack, and Jed this is a new student, Rafael” Jake quickly introduced the other. Jed had black hair, with dark brown eyes, nowhere near as dark as Nike’s eyes, and he was the same height as Nike. Despite sharing a lot of common traits with Nike, Jed didn’t give off the same presence that Nike did, Nike also had sharp angular features and was skinny, while Jed had much rounder features and had an athletic build.

“Welcome to the pack, me and the rest of the 10th year wolves were throwing around a basketball, if you would like to join us,” Jed spoke.

Rafael joined them, Jake also took that as his quo to leave, knowing Jed would keep things mostly under control.

Landon pov, werewolf transition space 4 43 PM

Landon was confused about how his life was turning out for him. In the past 24 hours not only has he discovered the existence of vampires, witches, and werewolves with Rafael being in the former category.

Landon also saw Hope again, and somehow she was involved in all of this madness. Landon wanted to stay in this world, he wanted to stay with Rafael, although he would never admit it he was jealous of Rafael, he could stay in this ironically magic world.

Landon doubted that if he was a natural who was somehow immune to being compelled, he would be allowed to stay based on his treatment. He was also glad that Nick was normal just like him. He was also glad he wouldn't have to give all of his family up at once.

No one has spoken since Rafael left, Landon was still sitting against the wall from when they had a conversation. Nick was doing basic exercises seeing if he had permanent or temporary damage. And Hope was sitting on the bench outside the cell drawing in a sketch pad.

“You, guys haven't had anything to eat since last night, right?” Hope asked, but she was pretty sure of the answer. Both Landon and Nick shook their heads, no.

“Okay, I will grab you something,” Hope left quickly, giving the brothers some space.

“Do you trust Hope?” Nick asked after waiting a few minutes to make sure Hope left. He stopped doing exercises at some point.

“I think so, she hasn't actively done anything not to deserve it,” Landon answered, Which was good enough for Nick. Landon's gut instinct was usually correct about people. Landon was pretty sure if it wasn't for Hope, helping Nick something bad would have happened.

Nick decided this was as good of a time as any. Nick opened his jacket and saw the vial was intact, he popped the cork open and read the note left inside. ‘If there's a blank in your memory, have one, it will be most effective within a week of the forgotten memories,’ no signature but that wouldn't be necessary, and it would only lead to trouble.

Landon was confused at the vial Nick was holding. Nick, upon seeing his confusion, gave him the note. “this must be a vervain memory restoration pill, I'm guessing Hope gave it to me while I was unconscious, but do you recognize the handwriting?” Nick asked Landon to be sure.

“Yes, it's her handwriting, but they are kind of useless if we are both naturally immune to being compelled,” Landon said.

“But she didn't know I was immune at the time when she slipped the drugs on me,” Nick responded, ignoring how Landon knew the first bit.

Landon could see Nick's mind was running a hundred miles per hour when he was gazing off.

“Wait, Nick, the cell door is just shut, not locked, correct?” Landon asked to which Nick just nodded.

“What's stopping us from leaving?” Landon asked, knowing that's what was most likely on Nick’s mind.

“Three things, a, it's dinner time and because of the location of the cell we would most likely run into someone who knows we shouldn't be running around, b, how did they know we were awake? This cell is enchanted to keep werewolves in, and to monitor them remotely, so as soon we leave an alarm most likely goes off, and we only have 3 minutes at max of a head start, and three doubt either of us has enough steam to try and outrun anyone right, and most people that would chase us would be hostile,” Nick counted off everything he could think of.

“then shouldn't they have heard our conversation?” Landon asked, confused on why Nick would continue this conversation.

“What practical advantage would that give if you could monitor their vitals,” after pausing to let Landon think he continued “In short nothing, so we are free to talk to some degree we just have to worry about normal eavesdropping,” Nick responded.

Landon nodded, at times like these, when he felt powerless and stuck, he was glad he was Nick’s brother. Landon wasn't sure how Nick was able to stay calm almost all of the time, especially in tense situations like the one they were stuck in.

Landon was still unsure of what he thought about Hope given everything, but he couldn't blame her. Hope never lied to him actively, just withheld stuff, and even right she was looking out for his brothers. But Landon doubted that if it was just Nick and Rafael, Hope would have been nearly as helpful or she would have cared in the first place.

Nick rummaged through the cabinet in the corner of the cell, he found a deck of normal cards. Both of them played various card games to keep themselves busy.

“Still addicted to peanut butter blasts with whipped cream on the bottom,” Landon asked when he recognized the smell, the only place in town that used that much cooking grease, was the Mystic Grill.

“Don’t knock it until you try it Landon, I doubt you would want the school food, so I grabbed this instead for you guys” Hope countered, while handing Landon the bag through the opening in the bars.

Landon just nodded, school food, even from a rich boarding school didn't sound appealing. “You still remember?” Landon asked Hope, surprised that she remembered what he usually ordered.

Hope just smiled. “Thanks Hope,” Nick paused before adding “And no hard feelings for getting you in trouble with Druggie 2.0?” Nick asked Hope.

“We're even,” Was the simple response Hope gave, not questioning why he called Nathan a druggie. All of them started eating but continued the conversation in between bites.

“Before we moved, you mentioned going to New Orleans for a family emergency, did everything turn out okay?” Landon asked, he missed being able to talk to Hope.

“It turned out fine for the most part, I got to spend time with my family,” Hope paused before continuing to explain a bit more, “and it was also relaxing not having to worry about hiding my supernatural side, well over half of the population is supernatural, and the city was unintentionally made into two sections, the supernatural side, and the natural side”.

“If that's the case, wouldn't there be a supernatural school in New Orleans?” Landon asked not seeing why Hope would be here.

“The Salvatore school is the first of its kind, and the supernaturals of New Orleans prefer to teach their kids themselves using their family methods and learn their family's techniques, and my dad had too many enemies there, and no one knew what I looked over here, so my dad basically sent me over here to keep me safe, that's why I lived with my mom and various family members and friends,” Hope quickly explained.

“Thanks for the company, but why are you eating down here with us? Why not your other friends, who aren’t stuck in a jail cell or mom if she still lives in town?” Nick asked.

“Don’t have any friends here, and none of my family live in town, and I don't feel like socializing,” Hope responded, not really caring. “Especially with a new student showing up, most of the time the student body devolves into a madhouse of a party throughout the night,” she added after realizing what Rafael's signing up would mean.

Both Landon and Nick shared a laugh knowing Rafael would hate being the center of attention. At this point they all finished their meals, “Goodnight, see you first thing in the morning,” Hope said. She grabbed the bag so as not to get the brothers in trouble.

Landon and Nick continued playing card games, both of them looked each other in the eye to see if the other caught the hidden meaning. No one, well maybe minus Rafael would look over them, and everyone would be gone later tonight so it would be a mostly clear break. They would leave once it was close to pitch black, they just had to hope that no one was watching the werewolf monitors, or they were able to put enough distance in between them fast.

Josie Pov Salvatore dining hall 5 20 PM

The last 24 hours for Josie weren’t the best, she was used to a lot of things. Like how her dad favored Hope Mikaelson and spent more time with her than both of his biological daughters combined, or how he let almost anything slide when it comes to Hope but with her and Lizzie they were harshly punished.

Dinner was nothing special, it was just normal food, Josie was with her sister when MG decided to join them. “Hello, how are my favorite twins doing, and what's the new student like?”

“Okay, and Rafael, he seemed nice, although he didn't talk too much so we don’t know much about him other than what you overheard,” Josie explained. “I called dibs,” Lizzie reminded Josie, Josie didn’t know who was more self centered, her sister or Hope. Lizzie heard what MG said about Rafael accidentally killing his girlfriend, and yet she still wanted to push her luck right away, expecting him to fall in line because they were the principal’s daughters at least in name. While Hope always did what she wanted, and got away with it, and right now she was stringing along that natural. “When do you think I should try to approach him?” Lizzie asked. Josie had to resist the urge to punch her sister.

Kaleb, approaches the group, he had an athletic football build, with his black hair in dreads, and the same strong eyes associated with any vampires. He was still in school uniform when he approached them. Kaleb was only a Mutual friend to both of the Twins through MG. Kaleb approaches them, thankfully changing conversations. “MG, is it true that you got laid out by one of the naturals, and the Doc said you had a deformity that prevents you from compelling?”.

“Yes, on both accounts,” MG answered nervously, “But good news, I can compel, it’s properly just a different herb with similar effects to Vervain,” MG responded giving the same explanation that Dr. Saltzman came up with.

“What do you say, we get even with the natural, it’s not going to hurt anyone minus him, and he will just forget about it tomorrow,” Kaleb asked MG. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” MG said nervously, MG knew he was just afraid of Nick, but this seemed more dangerous than it should.

“Listen, it’s already bad enough that the werewolves and witches refer to the Vampires as “Marshall’s personal undying punching bag” but as soon they learn about that a natural managed to kill a vampire without breaking a sweat let alone you failing to compel a natural, the vampires are going to be a laughing stock for the next hundred years,” Kaleb tried to get MG to see reason.

“If you want to try be my guest, but I’m not getting involved Kaleb,” MG stated firmly standing his ground. Kaleb sighed in defeat and walked away to join with the rest of his vampire friends.

Lizzie went back for seconds, leaving Josie and MG alone. “Josie, I’m pretty sure you already know this but Rafael signed up to be a student here and some students have already started setting up the old mill for the party, and started smuggling in alcohol,” MG explained to Josie who just nodded, she probably wouldn't go.

“We both know Josie won't go to the party, but if are looking for company I would be more than willing to go,” Penelope said. Penelope had hazel eyes with brown wavy hair similar to Josie’s and both of them stood at the same height. Josie wasn't surprised by the fact she was eavesdropping or her unstoppable desire to attack her. She was also still in the school uniform, but Josie knew why she failed magically last semester so she was redoing it over the weekends.

“Hey, we both don't know that,” MG poorly defended Josie. They all heard screaming in the kitchen, and Josie heard some muttering about Lizzie having an episode.

“See, she won't be going, she doesn't care about herself, she only cares about her sister,” Penelope stated with a tiny amount of frustration that only MG picked up on. While all of them ducked behind the tables around them, because of the knives being thrown around.

Josie, impulsively took advantage of the chaos by her sister faking an episode, and muttered “Incendia,”. Penelope's arm quickly caught on fire, thankfully no real damage was done because two of her friends quickly put the fire out, only her hair was burned off.

Josie knew Lizzie was faking an episode, despite her magically throwing around knives at ‘random’ no one was hurt, or whatever she was using to fake an episode. It was common for Lizzie to fake an episode usually after a mission when their dad got back so they could spend time together.

Josie knew that she should go get her dad so Lizzie would stop faking it sooner and be less likely for collateral damage. But Josie didn't want to, Lizzie ate up whatever remaining time that was left of their dad's time. Josie just wanted to have some of their dad's time as well. Josie sighed in defeat, and she quickly ran out of the dining hall to the administrative building to get her dad.

Rafael Pov Old Mill 10 27 PM

Rafael, was shocked he enjoyed his time with the other werewolf students, and surprisingly this pack wasn’t run through brute force, or was like a gang, like Rafael imagined it was. Jed was the current alpha because the three stronger wolf students didn’t want the position or felt they were incapable of leading the pack. Jed was the wolf he spent the most time with, he gave off positive gym dude vibes, The other wolf students were nothing special.

Rafael, was questioning if every new student was treated like this, or if it was because they wanted a covenant excuse to smuggle alcohol onto school grounds. Because in the 5 and a half hours he has been a new student, they somehow managed to smuggle in well over 20 gallons of beer, and set up the old mill to have a party while from this afternoon it looked like the building could collapse in on itself.

Rafael was sitting next to Josie, she was nice, but still extremely shy. Both of them were standing on the outskirts of the old mill, watching the chaos unfold. Inside the old mill was a dance competition, he recognized a wolf student named Ryan, but that was it. On the left hand side, there was a mini mob surrounding a pit, where various fights were going on, this was where most of the werewolves were. Currently, it was a three way between the strongest of the pack Kevin, Owen, and Max. and a few feet away was a mini gambling ring.

“What, are they drinking?” Rafael asked, pointing to the contestants that just finished fighting, both of them were drinking a red liquid, if Rafael had to guess, he would say it was blood.

“Vampire blood, has regenerative properties that heal people if they ingest it or they get injected with some, and this is how vampires are made out of naturals, if they die with vampire blood still active inside their system they turn into one if they consume blood within 24 hours, but it’s a natural survival instinct to eat blood upon transition so that rarely happens, it’s only common if one person knows what's going on and it is purposely trying to get that person kill, but some naturals are incapable of turning into vampires for a multitude of different reasons,” Josie over explained, and also as a subtle warning to prevent Rafael from getting any idea.

“Hey, where’s your sister, this seems more like her kind of thing, she’s more social than you,” Rafael asked Josie, trying to change the subject.

“She faked an episode to spend time with Dad, and I don't want to deal with her right now, and I can rub it in that I went to the party that she wanted to go to,” Josie answered with a lot more malice than Rafael expected.

Rafael knew how sore of a subject family could be, and he didn’t want to overstep a boundary if he could help it. “How’s it going, new wolf, making friends outside the pack already? Are we not good enough for you?” Rafael sighed, Jed insisted on calling him new wolf, and he didn’t why Jed was so opposed to keeping the wolves divided from the school but he didn't care enough to ask.

“Okay, I'm gonna spend time with my brothers,” Rafael wanted to spend as much time as possible with his brothers before they left in the morning. Jed nodded and walked away.

“I can help you Rafael, I doubt you want to spend time with them inside of a cell,” Josie kept on shocking Rafael, she really did give off the wrong impression.

“Thank you,” Rafael wasn't going to say no to someone who would help him.

Rafael and Josie stopped once at the school building to grab a box with 2 small rats from inside one of the classrooms. The school apparently just left everything unlocked. “The werewolf transition space has been enchanted, and it can’t tell the difference between humans and well anything, and I don't want to trip the alarm,” Josie explained before Rafael could ask.

Neither saw anybody, and nobody saw them. It was easy to reason why nobody was around since the young kids were more heavily watched over, and all of the old kids were partying at the old mill. They arrived at the transition space, and both Landon and Nick were playing cards.

“What’s up Rafael, so who's the new person?” Nick asked bored, he doubted that she was a vampire given that she lacked the ring and the strength that radiated from the eye, like the other two.

“Nothing, and she agreed to help me let you guys at least for a bit, I believe I mentioned her, Josie?” Rafael responded.

“I doubt that the headmaster allowed this, and no you didn’t mention Josie” Landon responded.

“He doesn't know, and if he won't if you guys don't cause an issue, most people will be drunk enough not to question it,” Josie cut Rafael off with the explanation.

Josie ‘unlocked’ the cell's door, and taped the box up, and hid it underneath the bed so it would go unnoticed. “The werewolf transition space has a monitoring spell built into it,” Josie told Landon and Nick, thinking that they didn't know.

“Come on, follow me, let's enjoy our final night together,” Rafael said. Both of the previously trapped brothers took notice of the hallway, despite there were no ceiling lights it was well light. It didn’t affect them because this person was signing herself up for trouble.

“You make it sound like we are gonna die tomorrow, we are just gonna get the memories drugged out of us,” Nick joked trying to lighten the mood. Rafael scowled at this, still not pleased with the fact.

All 4 of them walked back to the party, and Josie was right, everyone who knew about Landon and Nick had too much to drink to notice, and the other students just didn't notice or care. At some point, Josie left the brothers alone.

“You guys are gonna escape now right? I know you didn't need the help, I just needed to make sure you guys got away, and goodbye bros, I love you” Rafael stated to his brothers.

“Ya, Thanks either way, Raf figured out an excuse to stay out of trouble,” Landon stated, grateful that Rafael saw both him and Nick off.

“Love bro,” both Landon and Nick said while leaving the old mill, towards the gates of the school.

“Landon, go ahead I need to check something, and if you have to wait for me, wait by the gate hidden somewhere and if I'm not back in 15 minutes run,” Nick said to Landon once they saw the school buildings. Landon just nodded, they left Rafael behind today, Landon would wait until Nick got back. Landon sat on a bench outside the building surprisingly calm.

Nick followed the mental map he made while he was stuck inside the box. It led him to the biggest building on campus. Up two flights of stairs, 2 left turns, straight for 100ish feet then a right turn. Nick was shocked, no cameras he could see, and no patrolling the school grounds, did this school want to be found out? Nick was shocked that he was complaining it just made his time easier. Nick stopped at a painting of someone who was probably famous in the supernatural world. Nick grabbed the corner of the picture and shaked it to see if was hiding something. Nick was right, he swung the painting to reveal a safe, with a keypad. Nick punched in the code he saw inside the box 0-7-4-6-7-5. He heard the clicking sound and the door popped open.

Nick was grinning like a madman, that wasn't a dream. He grabbed his family's journal and put it in his jacket's left hand inside pocket. He grabbed his dad's knife which was still in its sheath and he attached it to a belt inside the box and threw it on. The sheath of the knife was nothing special, it was well made, the only difference between it and an ordinary sheath was that it was made of a black metal compared to the standard leather or wood. The handle was also nothing special, it was a typical Japanese katana handle just smaller. The length of the blade was also just an average 6 and a half inches, and there was no sign of damage on the knife anywhere.

Nick’s smile broadens ten times at the sight of his family demon mask. It was covered in a blood red paint. It was very much a traditional Japanese demon mask, but it lacked the mouth section, right now the mask only covered the top half of the face from the top of cheekbones to the bridge of the nose to, and the mask ended just a bit over Nick's hairline, and this gave the mask a phantom thief look, and were the horns should be were tiny stubs with cracks indicating that at one point the mask had horn but they must have fallen off at some point for one reason or another. Nick grabbed the mask and found a spot to clip it onto the belt. He was glad his jacket covered both the knife and the mask. He would need to find a better spot to store the mask.

Nick rushed back to Landon, when he realized that the conversation he saw through the demon mask had to have happened. That's why he knew where his family heirlooms were. What is that why Hope mentioned the supernatural side of New Orleans, that was unnecessary information, did Hope want them to go there and figure out what they were, or was Nick overthinking things again. If Hope wanted them to go there she would have phrased things more directly, unless she knew Nick overheard that conversation somehow. Nick wanted to rip his hair out, I'm just gonna let Landon decide, was his final thought on the matter.

Nick saw Landon sitting on a bench outside the building looking more tense and scared like something happened, but nothing happened to Nick's knowledge, “Landon where are we going?” Nick asked.

“Do you remember if you have a quick stash from when we lived here?” Landon asked, already moving away from school. Nick boosted Landon over the fence, while Nick managed to climb it. “I think the closest one is south of here, but it has old clothes, 50 dollars, and few utility items but it has no food,” Nick answered after thinking about it for a minute, Landon made gestures which meant lead the way.

“Where are we going, Landon?” Nick asked Landon again hoping Landon wouldn't ignore him this time. “I don't know, just follow the wind,” was the answer Landon gave. They continued to walk for 17 minutes before Nick stopped at a dead tree. Nick rolled over the log, and used his feet to kick away the dirt, there was a small brown backpack that was stuffed. Nick opened the backpack and threw out the old clothes, and all that remained was 3 flashlights, a box of matches, various outdoor clips, and a small tarp. Nick unclipped the mask and put it in the bag.

“I thought you said your demon mask was stolen the night of the house fire?” Landon asked Nick, he was happy Nick had it again. “It was, and somehow it ended up at the Salvatore school, that's what I grabbed along with my other family heirlooms,” Nick replied simply, they were his by birth.

Nick pulled out the 50 dollars before slinging the backpack on. “Where's the nearest bus station?” Nick knew Landon still had the town memorized. “The Nearest leads to northeast states, and the furthest one leads to southwest states, so which way do we go?” Landon asked for Nick’s input, since they would be running together so he should have some say.

“Southwest I doubt they will chase after us once we pass the Mississippi River, and if they do we have more areas to run to,” Nick finally decided after thinking things over. They walked to that bus stop hoping for the best.

“Why did you insist on waiting inside that cell longer Nick, yes we got to see Rafael again but why did you want to wait?” Landon asked Nick, while walking into town.

“ I don't know, it just felt right,” Nick responded. He didn't have a logical reason, he already had everything set up to make it look like they didn't get any help from the outside.

“And why are you so tense? Did you see a ghost,” Nick asked Landon while trying to lighten the mood.

“Remember you describing the demon mask as a gut pull that never goes away?” Landon asked Nick. Nick nodded and he remembered describing it like that to his brothers when they learned about it.

“I think I felt that exact same sensation, while I was outside that building, and one second I was aware and outside, and then I'm inside the building holding this,” Landon tried to explain, Landon reached inside his pocket and pulled a knife from his jacket inside pocket.

It was a ceremonial knife, the blade was dull from design if the smoothness was an indication, and the intricate carvings on the blade itself. The metal was also black. With the blade itself being 7 inches long. There was no hand guard, and the pummel had three tiny ‘spikes’ that formed a triangle.

Nick couldn't judge Landon, Nick already stole something from the school, and now they had even more reasons to run. “Okay, just keep it hidden in your jacket, I doubt it will trigger a metal alarm,” Nick responded to which Landon just nodded. It would take too long to run it back to the school and Nick would have been a hypocrite if he insisted on returning it.

The brothers walked towards the bus stop hoping things would soon make sense.

Malivoire pov Triad industries same time

Malivore was pleased with the recent turn of events. He felt one of the keys light up, and he was experiencing a slight increase in power that he knew would fade. Malivore was now deciding on what to do, activate the phoenix power in a potential future host, along with the demon blood in the bodyguard he gave him, or grabbing the key, and finally capturing the Tribrid, yes it would make more sense just to kill her, but nature would soon just make another one, nature would have one tribrid, just like they would have only one true Malivore.

Malivore thought he had already waited over 300 years. As soon one domino piece fell, all would soon follow, he could wait another hundreds of years. Most of his primary plans died out, including Landon he would have 3 potential vessels. It will be easier to age up Landon's body than de-aging it. Malivore decided, activating Landon and Nick's powers, grab the key, and contain the tribrid, hopefully without activating her vampire side.

Now Malivore just needed to send some of the monsters he contained to track down Landon and Nick. Malivore reached out to feel the location of the key, it was with both of them. The nearest pit that was big enough was about 6 hours out from their current location. One of his plans already failed to activate their powers before this time would be successful.

Chapter Text

Alaric pov February 27th 5 43 am

Alaric, was a morning riser, he has been for a long time. Alaric got ready for the day, he knew Nathan slept in when possible, so they could compel Landon and Nick and have them be on their way by 9 at the latest. Once Alaric got ready for the day, he made his way to his office.

Alaric liked to get an early start whenever possible, especially right after being away for a day. Alaric was making good progress on today's work when Dorian walked into his office, “We got a problem,”.

“Okay, what is the current problem?,” Alaric already started to feel a headache forming.

“Two supernatural objects were stolen, one is of unknown origin and abilities, and there is a barrier spell blocking me from checking on the naturals,” Dorian explained the current situation to his understanding.

“What objects were stolen? And the only barrier spell put up was the anti tribrid one,” Alaric asked, wanting to know which objects, and why someone would put up a barrier in front of the cellar.

“The two objects were a knife from circa in the 12th century along with the top part of a traditional Japanese demon mask from the early 14th century, but want to know the crazy part?” Alaric remembered the incident with the mask, who ever had it was extremely stupid, but Alaric nodded to which Dorain continued on “None of the alarms were triggered, if it wasn't for the painting hanging open and the knife missing from the glass case we wouldn't know about this,” Dorain finished explaining.

“I will get Josie to siphon the barrier, so we can see if the naturals remain,” Alaric said. Alaric left towards the lodge, he hoped Lizzie was feeling better after her episode yesterday. He walked towards the room before gently knocking.

He heard Josie’s voice, he forgot she was an early riser like him. “Who is it, and what do you want this early in the morning?,” there was no early morning grogginess in her voice.

“Your dad, and I need you to siphon a barrier as soon as possible,” Alaric responded. “Give me ten minutes,” Josie answered. “Okay,” was the reply Alaric gave.

Josie walked out of her room ten minutes later. “Thank you for helping me, Josie,” Alaric said while making their way to the cellar where Dorian was waiting for them.

Dorian knocked on the air, where a clear wall with a red tint popped up, showing there was a barrier in place. When Josie tried to touch the barrier to siphon it, she was allowed through without any issues.

“Dorian, can you please touch the barrier so I can siphon it,” Josie requested from Dorian, to which he complied and did as requested. It took Josie 4 minutes to siphon in all of the magic inside the barrier.

Alaric took the lead, “Thanks, Josie, you can stay up here, it should take a minute,” Dorain said, following after Alaric. Josie just nodded and stayed upstairs by the entrance.

Alaric was expecting to see both Landon and Nick asleep or maybe one of them awake. But no both were gone, Alaric scanned the room to see how they escaped since the werewolf monitor didn't go off. He found a makeshift box, which was a drawer from the cabinet inside the cell. It had two alive rats, and he found two hairpins discarded by the door frame into the hallway. Alaric didn't know the cellar had a vermin infestation, but he made sure to make a note to clean it out.

“Dorian, do you have any idea where they could have gone?, ” Alaric asked Dorian.

“They are probably still in town since they don't have a mode of transportation or any money to get a bus, so I'm gonna get the scouts here and start searching town,” Dorian knew that Alaric would try to help out but cut him off before he could offer his aid, “and you could figure out something to tell the staff and students,” Dorian quickly replied, before leaving doing as he said he would.

Alaric sighed and walked back up the stairs, “Josie, do you know anything about the two naturals that were downstairs, and anything that might be of use when tracking them down?,” Alaric asked his daughter.

“I know both were bystanders, and they saw Rafael transform into a werewolf, and they were brought back here to be compelled but that failed so you were gonna wait 24 hours to try again and go from there, and i don’t anything about them, Rafael wasn’t talking much during the tour, all he said about them were that their were his brothers” Josie responded to the question.

Alaric nodded, he was pretty sure Josie wouldn’t know anything but had to make sure, ”Okay, please wait in your room while I figure out what happened,” Alaric requested of his daughter. “Okay,” was the reply he got out of the youngest twin.

Alaric left for the supervisor's office, he stopped at the lobby area to message the scouts still in the field about the situation and gave them photos of the supernatural objects, and Landon and Nick’s files, which they got from when they were tracking down Rafael, so they could identify them. Alaric knew that Jake would be up by now, despite no longer being in the military, he was still stuck with his sleep pattern.

Alaric checked the office first to see if he was there, and saw the light on. He knocked and was greeted by a “Come in,”.

“Hey, Jake, which room is Rafael in?” Alaric rushed out the question, catching Jake off guard.

“Room 219R, is he already in trouble?” Jake responded to the question, but was confused about what was going on.

“Potentially, the two naturals we brought with him yesterday have escaped before we could compel them, and two supernatural objects have gone missing, one of which is the mask that sent a werewolf student of yours on an attempted murder spree,” Alaric explained the current situation.

Jake paled, he remembered that incident clearly, and the new scar on his shoulder was a permanent reminder. They found the mask in the ruins of a house about 6 years ago. The house was burned down by supernatural means, and they still have no idea what started the fire or why. Almost everything in the house was burned to ash, the mask was able to escape with no damage, along with a few other nick knacks. And about 3 months ago, a new student, trying to prove a point that the mask wasn’t special, it was just lucky, and he put it on. Said student lost their mind and started to attack everything that moved, and when they restrained him to try and remove the mask, it wouldn’t budge, it was like the mask glued itself on the face. They couldn’t manage to remove the mask without killing the student, the only good thing was that he was a foster kid, no parents that they had to explain that to.

Jake got up from his desk and joined Alaric to Rafael’s room. Right now, he was rooming by himself unironically in the same room that the now dead student lived in. Jake knocked wanting to see if Rafael was up so they could question him. Rafael opened the door, he must have just got up because he looked tired. “Hello, what do you need from me?,” Rafael asked.

“Did you help Landon and Nick escape, or did you aid them in stealing two supernatural objects?,” Alaric started talking, not pulling anything back.

“No, I was at the party last night. It was being thrown at the old mill. Josie was with the entire time at the party,” Rafael explained, acting confused, and he somehow managed to fool both of them, and it was true to a certain degree. Josie left right after getting back to the party.

“Do you have any idea of where they could have gone?,” Alaric wanted to get as much information as possible from the only source they had available.

“Nope, and if they don’t want to be found the chances of you guys managing to track them down are slim to none, and i have no idea where they would have went to,” Rafael responded, the last part was a slight lie but he knew Nick wouldn’t go back to his home states. Nick was paranoid and cautious when it came to their safety.

“Thanks for your time,” Alaric responded. Rafael nodded and closed the door. Both adults left, and headed back to Jake’s office. Both adults knew to take everything Rafael said with a pound of skepticism.

“Jake, can you get 8th years and above ready for assembly at 8, and as of right the school is in lockdown, and inform the rest of the staff, and that two supernaturals objects were stolen, along with that the naturals have escaped, and have the under-staff inform the remaining students students when they are all accounted for ” Alaric requested of Jake.

“Yes, sir, I will get on it right away,” Jake responded immediately.

Alaric left for his office, he was really glad that when they were searching for Rafael, they got their hands on all 3 of their foster home files. Alaric was initially gonna throw away the other two’s files, but he was glad that he kept them. After searching through his filing cabinets, he found both of Landon's and Nick’s files.

Landon. Middle and Last name unknown, current last name Kirby.

Height: 5 ft 10 in

Eye color; heterochromia,

Right eye: green
Left eye: purple

Hair: Black curly hair

Weight: 142 pounds

Date of Birth January 9th, 2012

Other, Landon has an extreme case of farsightedness and uses contacts, which also hide his natural eye color because of trauma caused by his second foster family. Left eye color is a result of a unique mutation. Landon was found at church in Kansas when he was 2, with a note with his first name and date of birth. Landon has Claustrophobia and cleithrophobia, but no other form of trauma. Landon has no mental or social disorders. Landon has a low case of asthma. Family relations are unknown.

Alaric didn’t find much of this useful, but it did explain why Hope yelled at him, when he tried to put the two in two different 5th year wolf cells, and why she placed them together inside of a 10th wolf cell. Alaric read through the number of foster homes and locations, he was only in 4 different states Kansas, Virginia, Georgia, and Kentucky. All foster homes lasted only 5 months at a max minus two, one lasted 3 years, and that was his first foster home, and his 6th one, which lasted the same length as his first foster home. Alaric was surprised at the location and helped to explain how Landon and Hope knew each other, he lived in Mystic Falls for a period of time. He read why he was changed location, and it read, Foster parents died in a house fire, caused by a gas leak. Alaric didn’t recognize the address and moved on to Nick's.

Nickolaus, Alexandria, Veick

Height: 6 00 ft

Eye color: Brown

Hair: Black, Flat straight

Weight: 138 pounds

Date of Birth September 7th, 2012

Other, Nick, was put into the foster system at 6, following the death of his sole parent at 5, and the rest of his family dying in the following 1 years. Nick has developed a mild to moderate case of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), Nick has difficulty feeling or expressing empathy, he often feels no remorse towards people he has hurt mentally or physically. Nick also has a history of acting impulsively and violently when the people he cares about are in danger. Nick is nearsighted and uses both glasses and contacts after almost jumping off a building.

Alaric quickly scanned the family tree attached and saw nothing of interest or anything that could be linked to supernatural origins. Nick’s dad came to the US following WW2, and his mom’s family came during the intermediate time between WW1 and WW2. Alaric also compared his foster home history with Landon’s, he was shocked ever since living here. Both of them lived together at the same foster home. Alaric checked Rafael’s file and saw the same thing, which seemed odd. Alaric also made note of where Nick has lived, both the Dakotas with his extended family, and Minnesota with his mom and dad. And while in the foster home system, Kansas, Virginia, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Kentucky.

Alaric made sure to let the scouts know to check those states, and towns mentioned. He made a list and quickly sent it to all of the scouts. Alaric made his way to the main hall, which was just an open space where most events took place at. He really should just order the construction of an actual Auditorium for assemblies. They didn't need to use the gym for this small of an assembly.

Hope pov 7:30 am room

Hope was woken up by pounding on her door. She really didn't want to deal with anything right now. She finally saw Landon again, but he had to leave for his own safety. She really wished she had grabbed something of his when they stopped at his current foster parent's place, so she could find him again. She knew she could locate him using other methods, but she was stuck inside the Salvatore school, which crossed them out. But she knew better than most, once the supernatural world got to you, you could never get away.

“Hope, get ready, there's an emergency assembly, in 20 minutes,” a non familiar voice said. Hope groaned, already knowing what to expect, she thought Dr. Saltzman would have been the one to wake her up and question her, but she guessed wrong. After getting ready, Hope made her way to the assembly, aka the main hall. Hope remembered what happened yesterday, on her way to the library, she saw Josie lit one of her ex's hair on fire while Lizzie was having an episode.

Hope didn't enjoy assemblies, they were a waste of time, and too many people were packed into a tight space. Dr. Saltzman started talking once most of the student body was there. “Hello, I would like to inform you that the two naturals have escaped during the middle of the night close to 11 PM when the left school grounds, if you know anything please tell one of the staff, and they stole two objects of unknown supernatural origins before leaving the school, both are considered dangerous don't try to approach them,”. Hope was pissed, Landon wasn't dangerous in any sense of the word, but Nick, she could agree with being dangerous if yesterday was any indication.

“The school is in lockdown, so if it's not mandatory, then you are not allowed to leave school grounds, and this includes no visitors, no leaving campus, and please refrain from discussing the situation over social media, even if it is indirectly.” Dr. Saltzman finished with his speech. Hope walked off expecting most of that. Hope didn't know why they would steal supernatural objects, she was leaning towards someone who saw them and wanted to pin the blame on them. Hope wandered off to the dock while she was in thought.

“Hope, we need to have a quick chat,” Alaric said when he approached the dock. Hope reminded herself internally not to let her guard down even in friendly space right now.

“Okay, what are you going to question me on?” Hope asked, already knowing it would be about Landon, and well, now the two objects, she wished she knew which objects.

“What do you know about the naturals escaping, and why would they steal two supernatural objects?,” Dr. Saltzman asked. He knew Hope was close to Landon from what he saw, but he didn’t know if she was acquaintance with Nick. Dr. Saltzman also seriously doubted she would help them steal two magical objects, especially one if she knew it was dangerous, he just wanted to make sure.

“Do you even know if they stole them or are just blaming the most guilty looking party?” Hope asked, she knew Landon well enough to know he wouldn't steal.

“If they didn't steal them, why did they flee?” Dr. Saltzman tried to counter, but he wouldn’t admit it, he would have done something similar if he were in their shoes.

“Oh, I don't know, you attempted to order them to forget about their brother, and MG tried to strangle Landon, so general fear for their safety,” Hope pointed out the obvious fact.

“That doesn't matter, why did they steal the items, and do you have any way of locating them?,” Dr. Saltzman changed the subject back on track.

“Again, do we know if they stole them or are just looking to blame, and no I have no idea, and what went missing?,” Hope asked, seeing Dr. Saltzman was trying to change the subject, and finally asked the question that was on her mind.

“The demon mask, and 12th century knife of unknown abilities and origins,” was the simple response Dr. Saltzman gave, knowing Hope would understand the dangers. The only thing they could confirm was that once it was put on, it would curse the wearer to extreme bloodlust and couldn’t be taken off until they died.

“Okay,” Hope now understood why he kept pushing. The demon mask was dangerous, if the first incident was any indication.

“Wait, are you accusing me of helping them steal something I know is dangerous?” Hope, asked seeing the accusation, was at the front of his mind.

“So you aren't denying the fact you helped them escape,” Dr. Saltzman, asked not seeing her deny that part of the statement. Dr. Saltzman didn't try to defend himself, He thought if it was someone else, then the answer was a yes if it heavily benefited her, she was a Mikaleason, but with this Landon person he was unsure.

“I didn't help them escape or steal the supernatural objects,” Hope stated. It was the simple truth, she was completely uninvolved in the theft of the stolen objects and didn’t directly aid them in escaping, unlike Josie.

“Okay, then explain why they were able to escape and seemed aware of the security inside the transition space?” Dr. Saltzman, the thought that they managed to figure out the security of the cell with limited information was an impossible pill for him to swallow. He easily conceived himself that if they could figure that out, then they could easily steal from the school.

“I don't know,” Hope responded, it was the truth, she didn't know how they did it. But she was pretty sure that she helped to some degree unintentionally, and they figured it out before Josie mentioned it last night.

“Do you have at least some way of tracking them down, before they spill our secret to the world, I don’t have the gift of giving them the benefit of the doubt,” Dr. Saltzman asked, the sooner the situation was dealt with the better.

Hope decided to end that conversation by walking away. “No, I don't have any way to track them down,” Hope Lied. She knew of a few methods to track them down, but they wouldn’t be possible alone or in the next months or years depending on which one.

“And they wouldn’t spill the supernatural, and I know this for a fact, Rafael will always be safer inside of it and if the world is unaware of it, compared to outside of it or running around if the world finds out,” Hope said the simple truth. They would do anything to keep their other brothers safe.

Josie pov 6:30 am her room.

Josie wasn't shocked that both of the naturals escaped, or that Rafael allowed it to happen. She was lying if she said she wasn't also happy with the outcome. Hope seemed fond of Landon. Josie wasn't shocked that Lizzie was still asleep when she got back to her room. She was still confused that someone would set up a natural barrier spell, she didn't even know that existed.

Josie went to the desk and started finishing up some of her personal projects. Most of them were just her memorizing the application of offensive magic. That's another thing that her dad favored Hope with. He trained her to take care of herself with actively practical magic.

While the school and most of the witches were stuck with extremely situationally spells. The most useful ones were a whistle spell for werewolves, A semi effective sleep spell, and later on variety of chain spells, illusions if you could get creative, and maybe a few prank spells.

They at least had it better than the werewolves and vampires, all they learned was self control. Josie knew why they weren't actively learning harmful spells, or how to use their abilities to the maximum potential. But their world was hardly friendly, it wasn't uncommon to hear about supernaturals killing one another for tiny reasons.

Josie was just thankful that her dad and Dorian left all of the books that had offensive magic untouched. But she was still mad that Hope got all of their dad's time and attention. Was one day that focused solely on them, his actual daughters, so much to ask for? Josie was also upset with MG, she knew he remained on good terms with Penelope after their breakup, but she didn't know that meant kissing partners.

When she left Rafael alone with his brothers, she went to the kitchen to see MG and Penelope kissing, and MG was about to feed on Penelope. Why did everything in her life always, and she meant always go to shit?

Her dad, favoring a Mikaelson who showed no promises to be better than the rest of her cursed family, she activated her werewolf side at nine. And the person she killed was sire bonded to her, so she couldn't tell the truth, she refused to believe it was just an accident. Josie thought it was a trial made by Hope's family to see if she could be a Mikaelson.

Lizzie was constantly faking stuff and acting out, which got their dad's remaining attention. Which left Josie with no time, whatever she had would barely even qualify as scraps. She tried to get attention multiple ways, but one that seemed to be effective was her being the good daughter. It also had the unattended side effect of her getting praised and being verbally shown she was better than her sister at something.

She did genuinely enjoy helping people, but what was wrong with being selfish on a few occasions? Josie soon decided to be lazy this morning before the football game, when she was having issues focusing. That was a good thought, her dad would be there supporting her and Lizzie, and Hope would be nowhere to be seen.

They will have a lot of fun, and both of them were in starting positions this year. She realized that breakfast would be ready soon. And left, she didn't bother to wake up Lizzie if she wanted to sleep in, she could.

Josie wasn't shocked to see MG waiting downstairs, by the doors. She still wasn't happy about it. “Hey, can we talk about Last Night?,” MG carefully approached the subject.

“I don't see what we need to talk about,” Josie responded with a weak glare, no matter what they did she could never hate any of her friends even when they undeliberately stabbed her in the back.

“Listen, Josie, I’m really sorry, for last night, about how I sneaked off to make out with your ex, I had an extreme lapse in judgment, you know I would never mean to hurt you,” MG explained, his side.

“What does everyone see in her?,” Josie, asked. But she could see the hypocrisy in her own statement, she easily fell for Penelope.

“She’s nothing special, you are a million times better than her,” MG said truthfully.

“Then why?” Josie asked, she just wanted to know why she always suffered despite helping almost anywhere, while all of the selfish people got everything so easily.

“She’s just easy, convenient, and she’s just gifted at manipulating you into believing you are the only person who matters in this world,” MG answered truthfully, with a lot of shame in his voice and face while looking into her eyes.

“But, why can’t she leave me alone? She was the one who broke up with me,” Josie said, frustratedly.

“It wasn’t deliberate on either of our parts for you to find us, Jo, and I have no Idea,” MG answered.

“Okay, But please keep me out of whatever develops between you two,” Josie. She was really questioning her mentality of that trying to make people happy will make her happy.

“Nothing will come out of this, Josie, it was a lapse of judgment on my end,” MG responded.

Josie nodded, “Let's get breakfast MG, Lizzie is sleeping in, so just us two,” she said.

MG just nodded, and both of them remained silent during the trip to the dining hall. They saw Jake, waiting by the door, “Good morning, Josie and MG, I'm just letting you know that we are having an assembly in an hour, at the main hall,”.

“Thanks for letting us know,” MG said.

Once again, breakfast was nothing special, the wolves showed up first followed by the earlier risers. Then miscellaneous people followed in. There weren't as many people as normal, which was kind of expected since apparently the party didn't end until her dad broke it up at midnight.

“Josie before i fucked up last night, did you enjoy yourself?,” MG asked.

“Kinda of, I spent most of my time there with Rafael watching the chaos from a distance, but it was fun,” Josie explained.

“MG, I believe I know what the assembly will be about,” Josie said, while looking around nervously.

“Okay, what?,” MG asked.

“The two naturals with Rafael, escaped at some point last night,” Josie answered truthfully, she would have known about this, even if she didn't help.

“What? How did they escape?,” MG responded, with clear worry in his words.

“Promise you will not tell?,” Josie asked worriedly, she really didn’t want to get in trouble.

“Yes,” MG said, he wouldn't break her trust again anytime soon if he could help it.

“I think they might have escaped because of me,” Josie said, She really needed to get this off her chest. She just wanted to help make Rafael happy at least for a bit.

“Rafael, said he was going to visit his brothers, and I thought that I could help him, and make that time more special so I agreed to help him sneak out,” Josie continued to explain.

“But, well, things didn’t go to plan, I thought Rafael would at least try not to cause trouble but, I was wrong, I’m guessing when I left those three alone, I’m guessing Landon and Nick took that chance to escape,” Josie finished explaining to MG.

“Josie, please don’t beat yourself up for that, you were just trying to help, you couldn’t have predicted this,” MG said, trying to support her, and making her feel better which only had the opposite effect.

Both of them finished eating in silence after that. They made their way to the main hall “MG, I will fill Lizzie in if she doesn't show,” Josie said, not seeing the point of going back to wake up her sister and wait 30 minutes to miss the assembly.

Thankfully the main hall was already set up, so neither of them needed to help. They found seats near the back so they could leave as soon as possible. Knowing what was likely to be discussed. Josie was only keeping half an ear open, just in case, the only part that she didn’t know or expected was that two objects were stolen.

Josie left as soon as her Dad finished speaking. Josie wasn’t in any rush, she knew the school needed to keep up appearances, so she was going to be forced to play at the flag football event. She saw most of the students go to the dining hall afterwards on her way back to her room.

Josie opened the door to see Lizzie awake and moving, “Good morning, Jo,” Lizzie greeted her sister when she walked in. “What got you out of bed this morning?, and moving around this early, you normally wait until I'm up,” Lizzie asked her sister.

“Dad, came by this morning, to see if one of us would lower a Barrier, around the naturals, both of them escaped at some point and stole two supernatural objects,” Josie explained what happened this morning.

Lizzie nodded, “Thanks for letting me know, I'm gonna have breakfast,” Lizzie said before walking out of the room. Lizzie smiled at this turn of events, because she saw this as an oppurity to get closer to Rafael. Josie started getting her and her sister's gear ready for the day, and finished up right before the She devil made herself known.

Hope Pov Dormitory, building 8:37 am

Hope was confused, she knew how dangerous that mask was. And right now it was floating around. She wanted to help find it, but she was afraid that Landon and Nick were somehow involved. And especially when Dr. Saltzman was being so stubborn. Hope groaned out in frustration and knew she was going to regret this. She would help Dr. Saltzman find the demon mask at risk of Landon, and Nick being captured again.

Josie helped break them out last time, which was unexpected, but she could knew this way it be easier for her to get directly involved with little skin. That's why she placed up the barrier spell, every second Landon got the better. That barrier spell was made by her aunt Freya when she was young, and in constant danger, it allowed the cast to know what happens on the outside while prevent certain categories from entering it. Hope was going to throw it after leaving, but she saw Ms. Tigs around the corner and just left, and was nearly caught when Josie and Rafael showed up later at night. She specific made it for naturals because it would be Dorain who would check on them in the morning, to see if their were there.

Hope made her way to the Saltzman twin's room and saw the door was open. She didn’t bother to knock when the door was open for the public to see. Once she entered the room, she made sure to shut the door and magically silence the room. From the outside, she spoke seeing Josie staring at her “I need your help,” Hope said, but it was clear she didn't like saying it.

It has been a while since she has been inside the twin's room, it hasn't changed at all in the past 2 years. Josie was the only one in the room. ‘Even better,’ Hope thought to yourself. If Lizzie were here, the odds of getting Josie to compile instantly went down the drain. Well, the same thing could be said if the roles were reversed, she just needed one of the twins alone, she had enough blackmail for both, but that didn’t mean she wanted to use all of it up at once.

“Upset, that your new toy abounded you once he found out you're crazy?,” Josie said, trying to rattle Hope and getting her off the rails, and prove to her dad that she didn’t belong in this school.

Hope ignored the jab, “I need your help in locating a magically object, and in doing so it will end the lockdown, and maybe your dad might show up for one of your football games,” Hope shot back, She really wished Dr. saltzman would have allowed Ashley into the Salvatore school so she could do this spell with her instead.

“Why would I help you? Find this object, and what object are you trying to find?,” Josie asked not seeing the point in complying with Hope's demands.

“The demon mask,” Hope answered the last part, hoping Josie would understand.

“Oh, so you want an excuse to kill more students again?,” Josie asked, she remembered the entire situation, and how when all the adults turned away to find a method to remove it, Hope just killed the student stating it was the only way.

“I did what was necessary, no one else was willing to do it, and we had no other option,” Hope explained, she already had to deal with Dr. Saltzman, and the rest of the staff breathing down her neck for the entire following 3 months with most only just now loosen their grips. And also in her defense, he was stuck in that cell for 2 weeks with nothing working, each failed attempt only making him more insane. You would think after that point it would be considered a mercy kill but she was wrong about it.

“Then what's your excuse for beating the shit out of the vampires monthly almost for the past 2 years?,” Josie asked, wanting to know.

“Listen, I just thought for somebody willing to light their ex girlfriend's hair on fire, you would be more than willing to cooperate,” Hope stated simply with a lot of frustration.

“Are you blackmailing me?,” Josie said, shocked more than anything. But she shouldn’t have been shocked, she was a Mikaelson. It was just that Hope never did anything this drastic, it was just subtle manipulation.

“No, im looking for someone with kindred spirit,” she said sarcastically before snapping back with “of fucking course im black mailing you!,” Hope finished.

“No, I'm not budging,” Josie said, trying to stand strong, but you could tell she was having second doubts, If history has made one thing clear, you never wanted enemy out of a Mikaelson.

“Okay i guess you want your dad to know, that you have copied down at least 15 dark magic spells from my family's grimoire, and you have been learning offensive magic, and the fact you helped Landon and Nick escape,” Hope said, laying down most of what she had on Josie. Josie didn't question how Hope knew that last bit and just assumed she bugged the entire damn school.

Hope pulled a bronze bracelet from her back pocket “This bracelet prevents magic from being traced, but still allows full access, so you won't get in trouble,” Hope explained seeing Josie on the edge, and decided to shove her over the edge.

“What's stopping you from going to any other person in this school?,” Josie asked, not wanting to do anything for a Mikaelson.

“Just shut up and help me,” Hope ordered. Hope didn’t want to go to anyone because she either didn’t have enough blackmail, or they weren’t skilled or powerful enough, and fear would only be so effective against some people.

“This is a dark magic locator spell that requires two people to perform the spell,” Hope explained and started to prepare the spell.

Alaric Pov Office 8 47 am

Alaric called Dorian for an update hoping he would have good news.

“Any luck?” Alaric asked optimistically.

“Yes and no, we know they got on a bus, but we don't know where they are going,” Dorian responded, while continuing his explanation.

“What direction,” Alaric asked.

“Southwest,” Dorian answered.

“Do you know how they got the money to buy a bus ticket?,” Alaric asked, not knowing how they would have the money in their pockets.

“No, we have already checked the pawn shops to see if they sold the objects, and none of the shops have bought anything yet today,” Dorian explained.

“Any robberies or heists?,” Alaric asked, but he knew that was an extreme that he doubted that those two would have gone that far.

“No crimes inside town, or anything strange, most of the scouts have already left town in that direction,” Dorian answered.

“Come back to school, we still have to keep up appearances,” Alaric ordered.

“Okay,” Dorian said while hanging up.

Alaric decided to call Butch to update her, “Hello, The two naturals have escaped before being compelled and have a magically objects one if which is extremely dangerous, and i believe that they might head to their foster home, so stay in town for a few hours and look around,” He requested from her.

“Okay, will do, and their current foster parents have been compelled, and we have Rafael's possessions,” Butch responded while updating him on her situation.

“Thank you, and good job Butch,” Alaric responded.

Alaric hanged up, and he decided to call Sheriff Donovan to update him about the situation.

“Sheriff, we have a potential issue, last night, two supernatural objects were stolen, we know for a fact one of them is extremely dangerous, and the other is a complete unknown,” Alaric said, while catching him up to speed.

“Do you have leads or something?” Donovan asked, even through the phone Alaric could tell he had a headache forming.

“We suspect that two naturals who stumbled into our world, stole them and we have reason to believe that they fled southwest” Alaric responded.

“Can you send over any information you have on these naturals?,” Donovan requested from the principal.

Alaric sent over images of the objects along with the pictures of Landon and Nick.

“Okay, I will see what I can do,” Donovan said, with a hopeful tone.

“Thanks, but before you go, could you file them as a missing person to make tracking them easier?,” Alaric made his request known to Donovan.

“Yes, I can do that, it will take a few minutes, so keep your scouts in line until then,” Donovan responded.

“Thanks for all of the help,” Alaric said before hanging up.

Alaric sighed, he loved his job, but moments and situations like these made the job hard. He looked down at his desk and saw an open notebook, write in a new entry.

Hope Mikaelson performed dark magic at 8:52 am, student dormitory. He sighed why did she have to do dark magic right now. He knew today would be a long day. He left to find Hope. And he would desperately need some alcohol later.

Hope pov Josie's room 8:52 am

Hope knew instantly that the spell worked when her mind started to show her the inside of a bag. She saw the demon mask at the top of various miscellaneous items. She tried to listen to see if anyone was talking but she just heard radio music. There was nothing in the bag that indicated who it belonged to or where it was going.

Hope tried to magically shift their view of the situation. But that soon proved unnecessary.

“Nick, the knife's blade is glowing red,” Landon said. Hope immediately recognized the voice, he was clearly panicking, they heard rustling sounds, Landon must have been trying to show Nick.

There was a roar like sound, combined with a gust sound. Hope felt the bag in motion, followed by the sound of glass shattering. The contents of the bag spilled out including the mask, thankfully there was a nearby sign. South 81, 50 miles out of Tennessee.

The connection of the spell cut, Hope shot a glare at Josie. “Oops, but that answers that question, they stole the items,” Josie responded to the glare. Hope knew Josie ended the spell early on purpose.

“Thanks for the help,” Hope didn't mean it, especially right after what Josie just did. But she now knew that Landon was in danger, and where to find him.

Hope walked out of the room after grabbing her spell book, she canceled the spell early so she could clean up the mess. Hope started making her way to Dr. Saltzman's office after hiding her family's grimoire inside her room. Hope was thinking of a way that Dr. Saltzman would allow her to join this mission.

“Hope, we need to have a word, right now,” Hope growled in frustration, she forgot Ms. Tigs also had access to the school's dark magic log. Ms Tigs was the school's counselor, she was mainly there because of the activation requirements for werewolves, and for the more painful and gruesome vampire deaths. Ms. Tigs was the same height as Hope, with brown eyes, and medium brown hair, she was in her typical semi professional clothes.

“This conversation can wait,” Hope said, brushing off Ms. Tigs. It was bad enough that she was required to attend their session once a week. Their sessions were painful, an hour of Hope not talking, to Ms. Tigs who was constantly trying to get a conversation started.

“Hope, this conversation can't be delayed, you performed dark magic,” Ms. Tig said while blocking the way, so Hope couldn't leave.

“Listen, do you know where I can find Dr. Saltzman?,” Hope asked. The sooner they left the better chance was Landon would be safe.

“If it's to explain why you performed black magic, yes, but you aren't allowed to leave school grounds at all,” Ms. Tigs responded.

“Is that a yes or no?,” Hope asked with a hostile edge. She really didn't want to play this stupid game right now.

“He is probably looking for you, so he's either at the doc, outside your room, or he is still in his office,” Ms. Tigs responded. The counselor complied she didn't want to cause a scene, tension were already high enough.

Hope had already figured as much, she went to his office hoping to catch him as soon as possible. Ms. Tigs followed after Hope, trying to get a conversation started, but Hope just ignored her.

Hope spotted Dr. Saltzman as he was walking towards the building. “Hope, are you gonna accept the consequences for once in your life?,” He was peeved.

“I thought you wanted to find those objects?,” Hope knew her best bet was to haggle. Ms. Tigs took a step back to let the conversation play out, and to push people away from the potential danger zone.

“Hope, for fucks sake that doesn't matter, you performed dark magic!,” The ex vampire hunter said. “Would you prefer if I used to black magic instead!?,” Hope fired back. She knew for a fact that if she did black magic, she would get the boot no matter what, dark she could reason out of it.

“No, but you lied to me, and you are a student here, you shouldn't be concerned with this, and second we have scouts dealing with the situation,” Dr. Saltzman said.

“Okay then, where are either the objects or the ‘naturals’,” Hope shot back, but it was clear there was obvious sarcasm at the words naturals. “I didn't lie to you, you were asking about them, not the objects,” Hope explained, she knew he meant both but he phrased it poorly.

Dr. Saltzman was a rock in a tough place and he could only blame himself. He wanted to find those objects, and deal with the threats, but he knew that info came at a price. Hope, he knew he already had her to get away with a lot, and she knew how to deal with him. “Hope, tell us where the objects are,” He ordered.

Hope didn't budge, “No, if I tell you where they are, you are going to let me come with you,” She demanded.

“No, you are a student here and you can't demand anything, you are going to tell us where the objects are,” Dr. Saltzman ordered again.

“Tick tock, every second you stand here you are wasting time which means they are getting further away,” Hope stated the truth, yes they had a general idea of where they were but every second wasted was more distance even with magical travel.

Hope noticed Dr. Saltzman was on the edge, and Hope saw it. “You do know that they are in a different state, and this police station may not accept that a demon mask can make you have an unstoppable desire to kill on mass, unlike ours,” Hell, even Hope was shocked that the local Sheriff was on their side.

“Hope we will deal with the consequences of your actions later, just get in the car,” Dr. Saltzman ordered, he knew for a damn fact he would need alcohol later. “I'm gonna guess you are gonna waste 10 minutes talking to Dorian and your daughters,” Hope said.

“Maybe, if you had someone you genuinely cared for, you would understand,” Dr. Saltzman shot back, already regretting his decision. “I do have People i care about, but you don't allow me to have any contact with them,” Hope fired back, she was still pissed he wouldn't allow to at least write to her family or her siblings.

“I'm sorry I care about you, and don't want you to turn out like the rest of your dammed family, and the only reason you care about Ashley and Henry is because of their sire bond to you, what's next you're gonna sire bond Landon to you and insist he's innocent?!,” Dr. Saltzman responded.

“Don’t ever accuse me of not caring what happens to my siblings, or my family, and my family may be crazy, but at least we stand together,” Hope said with a silent threat. Normally, she would have done more, but she could get even later, and so she walked off to the jeep.

Alaric pov

‘That could have gone a whole lot better,’ and then grimmly continued, ‘and a whole lot worse,’ Alaric thought to himself once he saw Hope walk away. “Alaric, why are you allowing Hope to join you, and do you even know if she's telling the truth?” Ms. Tigs asked once she approached him.

“The safety of the school is our top priority, and if that means bending the rules, so be it, and it's not like it's a first year, it's someone who can handle herself, and right now I don't think she would lie,” Alaric said. He walked towards the dormitories to find his daughters and apologize to them.

Alaric knocked on the room's door, and got no response. He checked in the dining hall and saw Lizzie eating. Lizzie appeared to be better than yesterday. While Josie looked tired, Alaric guessed that meant she went to the party and left before he broke it up. Both of them were in a school jersey.

“Dad, please, no more bad news,” Lizzie said. “You, don't even know if it's news,” Alaric tried to defend himself, but both of his daughters stared disbelieving at him. “Fine, we have a lead on the supernatural objects so I will not be able to watch you guys,” Alaric said.

“But, Dad, you're the coach and Principal, you also have to attend this,” Lizzie said, trying to get her dad to stick around and support them.

“Sorry, no can do, someone will fill my spot at the game, and for the sake of the school while this going on lose to avoid suspicion, it was hard enough to explain a werewolf kicking a soccer ball through a brick wall,” Alaric explained.

“Let us come with you instead,” Lizzie said, hoping for something when she saw her dad wasn’t going to budge. “It won't matter, you just ordered us to lose this stupid football,” Lizzie stated, trying to convince her, and hoping her dad would see that, let her and Josie tag along.

“No, you can't come with me, we have no idea of what we might face and I'm not putting you in danger, and this football game is important, they think you are just a bunch of spoiled rich kids, and it reinforces that image,” He tried to explain. Neither of them were happy with it, and he didn't blame either one of them.

“But those wolves, are always so mean when they win,” Lizzie complained to her dad, knowing he wouldn’t budge at this point.

“Listen, they are just insecure, they think everyone in this school is a pampered rich kid, and it makes them feel good about themselves,” Alaric tried to defend the choice that the school should always lose.

“So, what we are supposed to be everybody's punching bag to make them feel good about themselves, what about us then?,” Lizzie asked, but she never got a response.

“Good luck, Dad,” The brown siphonor said, cutting off this conversation before it could potentially escalate, something that Alaric was happy about. The blonde siphonor also joined in with her sister. “Thanks, and remember to listen to the coach, and the staff,” He said before leaving.

Dr. Saltzman found Dorian by the main hall, getting back from the search in town. “Stay in the library just in case, Hope tracked down the objects,” Dr. Saltzman said, quickly informing the school’s groundskeeper.

“Why do you need me in the library? Who's gonna watch over the students at the football game? And I'm guessing you allowed Hope to blackmail you into letting her join you,” Dorian asked. The groundskeeper looked tired from running around the town.

“Yes, my priority is the safety of the school, and call it gut feeling but I think I will need to call you about something going wrong, and I don't who, what about Mr. Alex, the magic chemistry teacher he should be back or get Nathan to do it,” Alaric responded to Dorian's questions.

“Okay, good luck, once you know where you are going, send a message, and update the scouts,” Dorain requested, while walking off. Dorian sighed in frustration at Dr. Saltzman's actions. Dr. Saltzman was continuing to favor Hope and this would bite them in the butt.

Alaric walked to his jeep, and saw Hope in a conversation with Rafael. “I'm tagging along,” Rafael demanded. Alaric knew today would be extremely long.

Rafael pov 8:00 am

Rafael, was pissed. Anyone he thought with a functional brain cell could tell you why they escaped. The fact that they were gonna being mentally drugged to forget about this, and who's what else, add in a student who tried to strangle one for shits and giggles, and the staff has been anything but friendly towards them.

Rafael really hated the fact that they managed to convince him to give this school a chance. The school was honestly nice for the most part. The werewolves were friendly and were decent people, he just didn't care for the vampires as a whole because of their compulsion abilities. Shallow to judge them as a whole, yes, did he care, no.

Witches he didn't know, the blonde one from yesterday was annoying as hell, trying to flirt with him. But the other twin was nice enough, just extremely shy or almost a complete wallflower. And then there was Lizzie's freakout during dinner with a butter knife almost chopping off a student's ear. But those were the only witches he was forced to deal with.

Rafael already knew about the current situation because of the principal and the supervisor knocking on his door in the morning. But he still didn't believe that Landon and Nick would steal two random objects. He knew Nick would steal but, he wouldn't do it randomly he always had something in mind, and stealing a complete unknown was too big of a risk for him to do. Landon wouldn't steal, period.

Rafael was kind of glad there was no projector or them passing out images so the odds of his brothers escaping for good went up drastically. It was kind of hard to find someone or something when you have no idea what they look like.

Rafael was also struggling with how the students were acting like this was normal. How every few months something like this happened, whether it was a lockdown because of a missing object or a monster attacking the school. Rafael also wanted to laugh at that because apparently a monster broke into the school a few months back and possessed a student and made them go on an attempted killing spree, and how the school decided not to increase security at all.

Rafael knew for a fact Nick would be laughing his ass off for their stupidity and from all of the ideas going through his head at what he could do. Rafael was also questioning the staff's sanity as a whole. Their top priority was to keep the supernatural's secret safe, and yet there was basically no security anywhere. There were Timberwolves students on school guards this morning, and no one knew until they saw the vans. Anyone could have been seen practicing something, hell, when he showed up yesterday, they saw people using them willy nilly, all of them just assumed they were supernaturals, and no one bothered to check.

Yes, it would look suspicious if the school had extremely advanced security, but could they just say it was because of this one student's parents being paranoid? This school had a reputation already for being spoiled rich kids, just fully leaning into it.

And they were in lockdown, technically, and yet students were getting ready for a charity football game. Which wasn't even for 3 more hours and it was only a 30 minute drive into town. Rafael thought that their priorities were a bit skewed.

Rafael was happy that he was a new student and wasn’t going to be forced into cheering for a team that lost nearly every time. Rafael was glad that there were two gyms, a big gym that he was at yesterday, and a smaller one for magically related stuff. And that was another thing that confused him, the school was filled with weapons, not props around the school, real, actual weapons used to kill, and that gym also served as a magical armoury of sorts. He just wanted to blow off his frustration in peace, and was hoping there would be a punching bag.

Rafael made his way to the small gym to find it unoccupied, and the doors were unlocked as well. ‘Do they seriously want the students to kill themselves, or are they just this incompetent?,’ Rafael thought to himself. Rafael found a punching bag in the back storage closet, and got it set up. While he was beating up the punching bag, he didn’t notice Jed approaching him, but there were no lackeys. “Rafael, those are your ‘brothers’, the naturals who fled, and stole from us?,” Jed said for once he sounded serious. It was a shocking difference from how he normally spoke and too how he held himself.

“They didn't steal jackshit, and I don't blame them for running, given how everyone acts and treats them,” Rafael fired back.

“That doesn't change the fact, that they have put the entire pack in danger,” Jed said without budging, before continuing on. “You are coming with me so we can have a chat with Jake,” Jed demanded of Rafael, fully hostile at this point.

“Piss off, first thing this god dammed morning, him and the principal are knocking on my fucking door and questioning me,” Rafael fired back, he silently admitted that he was wrong about jed, and was now wondering if all of the wolves were just as annoying.

“That doesn't matter, they are a threat to the pack, so you are going to help us deal with them,” Jed stated, expecting Rafael to instantly fall in line.

“You, and everyone else, here in this damn school is out of their bloody mind,” Rafael said, already losing his mind at this situation.

“Listen, i’m not dumb like you, i know for a fucking fact those ‘brothers’ of yours will stab this school in the fucking back, along with the supernatural comunity as whole ousting us to the god dam world where it will be no different then the salem witch trials,” Jed yelled pissed, with clear venom at the words brothers, like they were a dieases that need to be killed.

Rafael grabbed Jed by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up in the air. Rafael was grateful that this idiot decided to approach him alone without any backup. “Listen here, you one pathetic excuse for a human being, they are brothers in everything but blood, whatever issue you have with them, you have with me!, and they would never do anything that would endanger innocent people,” Rafael yelled. Rafael never wanted to beat the crap out of somebody, so badly.

Rafael dropped the Salvatore's alpha with a deadly look in his eye, daring him to something stupid, which he was more than willing to comply with. “Listen, I'm your alpha, you will do what I say, and that means helping us kill those worthless naturals,” Jed said in a condescending tone.

Rafael had enough of this man child's tantrum, and punched him dead square in the face. “You're only Alpha, because the others allow it, you can't make me do shit, when even a newly turned wolf has more strength then you,” Rafael said with a deadly glare that would have killed if it could.

Jed stumbled back not expecting this conversation to become this hostile. “Listen here you are new, so this will be a one time mercy offer, you apologize, and i will forgot all about this, and will stay welcomed in the pack or will be isolated for the rest of your time here, because no werewolf will associated with traitor, vampires hate the wolves, and you will be forever marked as the brother of the two naturals who got millions of supernaturals killed,” Jed tried to offer a deal, but it was more of failed attempt to regain control of the situation.

But the deal failed, miserably, and it only pissed off Rafael. “If that's how it is, I want nothing with this pathetic excuse of a pack, I will stay by my family through hell and back,” Rafael stated. He knew he should stay inside the gym to blow off the steam from this conversation but he didn't want to stay in the presence of that asshole. Rafael walked past Jed towards his room, hoping to find something to do.

Rafael didn’t see Jed smiling when he walked past him, even if he did, Rafael would have assumed he was crazy or some kind of masochist. Jed knew he was going to the extremes to test Rafael to see if he was what he considered a wolf in actions not in biology, and a true pack member, Loyalty to one’s pack. And that was why Jed was smiling, he stood by his pack even when the whole world would be against them.

Rafael, wasn't even surprised anymore, that everyone was going on with their day. And it was only Jed right now being an asshole. The newest Salvatore student found his way to his room. He was right in assuming he should have stayed in the gym, because he was going stir crazy.

Rafael recalled how Jake mentioned they had a scout grabbing his stuff from his current? Most recent foster home. So right now his room was bland, He just had 6 sets of the school uniform. He wouldn't do much to decorate or anything. The more he did now was the more he had to remove when he was forced to leave.

Rafael was really hating today, it seemed like almost everyone was dead set on tracking down his brothers to kill them. He couldn't think of any way to help them. He doubted the staff would allow him to join in tracking them, because they knew he would help his brothers.

He had to at least try to help them, especially when an entire school is dead set on capturing them or killing them, assuming Jed wasn't an outlier. He didn't know what happened last night or what objects were stolen, or if they were even guilty of stealing them. Rafael wouldn't put it past Dr. Saltzman to just assume the worst and blame the most guilty looking party with only a ¼ of the story.

Rafael was really hoping that Dr. Saltzman was desperate or something, because he wanted this crazy idea to work. Rafael walked towards the garage, hoping that he could catch Dr. Saltzman before he left or convince one of the scouts to let him join.

He quickly made his way to the garage to find that all of the school cars were gone, minus the black jeep that they used yesterday. And now Rafael just had to wait. He knew this idea was stupid, but this gave him the best chance of helping his brothers.

He didn't have to wait that long, only ten minutes tops, when he saw Hope approaching. “Rafael, get out of here,” Hope demanded.

“Good morning to you too, Marshall,” he responded sarcastically. Rafael was really getting mixed signs from her. Add in the uncertainty of rumors he heard about her from the wolf pack, but he was considering that with a lot more than a pound of salt.

“Rafael, please just go, and stay out of trouble,” Hope said it a bit calmer, but still a bit hostile.

“I'm not going anywhere, until I can talk to Dr. Saltzman,” Rafael stated, not even close to budging, he wasn't going to be afraid of anything to help his brothers.

“Listen, please just go away,” Hope was almost pleading at this point although Rafael didn’t notice. She didn't want to put him in danger, and potentially dying, which would cause serious pain for Landon.

“Like I said, I'm not going anywhere,” Rafael said. He learned to be stubborn from both of his older brothers, and they were the only ones who could make him budge.

“Why?” Hope asked, hoping that she could use it to convince him to walk away. Every single time they leave school grounds, they entered the unknown and the dangers that wouldn't hesitate to kill.

“Well, my brothers are being hunted, and I don't trust anyone in this damned school,” Rafael shot back, not expecting for Hope to care in the slightest.

“Listen to me, Rafael, I promise you I will help your brothers if we run into them,” Hope said with a surprising amount of concern in her voice. Hope knew if her position was swapped with Rafael and their siblings she would be acting the same way.

“What do you mean if? Aren't you going to actively look for them?,” Rafael asked, seeing that keyword.

“I know where the stolen objects are roughly, so that's what we are doing,” Hope said, hoping that both of them would leave the items behind.

“Let me guess, magic,” Rafael asked, but he was pretty sure of the answer. Hope just nodded.

“How has your first 24 hours been going minus all of this drama?,” Hope asked, knowing it would be a bit before Dr. Saltzman showed up.

“The first impression were good, but the follow-ups have been less than ideal,” Rafael responded. Hope chose to leave it as that.

“So how exactly are we going to find the objects when they had about a ten hour headstart on us?,” Rafael asked, he doubted that objects could walk, so that they could be driven somewhere.

“Yesterday given your current weakened state, and he didn't want to over expose the your brothers to the supernatural, he chose to get here slower, but all of the cars here are magically modified to go well beyond normal speeds, so it's only close to a 10 to 30 minute head start, but this method it can cause whiplash,” Hope explained to Rafael, who just nodded it made enough sense.

“Rafael, please promise me one thing, if things get out of hand, and we run into your brothers, you will grab them and run, and you won't look back until they are safe,” Hope.

“They are my brothers, I will do anything to protect them,” Rafael answered. Hope nodded, considering that good enough.

Both of them heard the door opening, and saw Dr. Saltzman approaching. “I'm tagging along,” Rafael demanded. he knew he was in no position to demand anything, but he didn't have any better options.

“Fine, you can help us track down your brothers once we get the items back here safely, and no matter what you do, don't touch either one of the objects without some kind of protection,” Dr. Saltzman said. He walked over to the cabinet, grabbed the same duffle bag from yesterday, and started throwing stuff inside of it before throwing it inside of the trunk. Rafael could tell Hope wanted to comment but kept her mouth shut.

He motioned for them to jump in the jeep. “Hope where are the objects?,” Dr. Saltzman asked. “As of 15 minutes ago South 81, 50 miles out of Tennessee,” Hope responded. Dr. Saltzman nodded and started to drive to the given location.

Chapter Text

Hope pov 9:47 am

She was slightly wrong about how long it would take, but that didn’t matter. The bus was in the middle of the road, and it was in horrific shape. The entire insides were charred black, and everyone was a charcoal mummy. The outside of the bus wasn't that bad, just heat marks, minus a shattered window. The front of the bus was in worse shape, it looked to be completely melted and it looks like someone attempted to take a bite out of it.

There was a burned puddle of something a few inches away from the shattered window. With 3 distinct tracks into the nearby woods. Vanishing after a few feet into the woods. With the potent smell blocking both of Hope's and Rafael's werewolf senses.

Rafael was still by the jeep, he returned there right after he saw the inside of the bus. He was holding himself better than expected, given that he just saw 27 dead bodies burned beyond recognition. The smell was awful, to put it very mildly.

She was standing by Dr. Saltzman listening, into the conversation at hand. “Hello, Sir, could you explain what happened?,” Dr. Saltzman said when he approached the officer.

“Sorry sir, but you can drive around, we are just investigating, you can find it in the news later,” The officer responded simply.

“Listen, can I ask at least a quick question?,” Dr. Saltzman asked, the officer who just shrugged in response, not seeing the harm, they were mostly done there, they just needed a chemical specialists to show up and do tests.

“We just reported two missing people in our hometown, we believe that they were on this bus, could we take a look at the tickets or something?,” Dr. Saltzman asked carefully.

“Where are you from? I would like to double check with that local station, and the people you are looking for,” the officer responded, not seeing the harm in it.

“Mystic Falls, Virginia, and we are looking for Landon Kirby, and Nick Veick,” Dr. Saltzman responded. The officer nodded his head and walked off to his car to radio Mystic Falls to confirm.

“Those tracks stop after a few feet, and neither me or Rafael, can smell anything, because of that,” and was pointing to the bus “smell combined with smoke,” Hope told Alaric what she noticed, before walking to join Rafael.

“You good now?,” Hope asked Rafael a bit harshly.

“I no longer want to throw up from the smell of burnt humans, How can you deal with it?,” Rafael responded before asking.

“I just don't think about it,” She shrugged her shoulders and responded simply.

Rafael looked disbursed at the implications of her not really caring that 27 people just got killed.

“Say what you want, but worse has happened, this is only really the tip of the iceberg,” Hope said simply. It wouldn't do Rafael any good if she hid what was in store, for the supernatural world.

“What do you think happened here?,” Rafael asked, he didn't know why he asked, he guessed morbid curiosity.

“The naturals are going to say either gas leak, or engine failure, but for the supernatural side, probably an angry witch going to an extreme,” Hope said.

She was nervous, something that Rafael didn't pick up on. She was worried about Landon. And was scared about having two magical objects that are most likely dangerous on the loose.

Dr. Saltzman approached the two, “The officer complied, and gave me the list of passengers, it was almost a full bus, the only seats without a body are the ones that Landon and Nick were in,” He commented while not holding back the accusations in his voice.

“The tracking spell I did was for objects, that still doesn't mean they stole the objects,” Hope defended, but she knew it was a weak defense.

“What, are you also implying that they would burn down a bus?” Rafael asked. There was no way in hell that they would do something like that.

“That doesn't matter, we can solve our natural issue soon, and I'm not saying they did, I'm saying that the objects did something,” Dr. Saltzman defended, he was positive neither of them were capable of something like that.

Hope was reluctant to admit that Dr. Saltzman had a point, she knew Landon had mentioned the knife glowing red before she guessed the fire happened.

“Okay, but how are we gonna find them, their tracks vanish within a yard, and Rafael’s senses can't pick up anything,” Hope asked, and there was no indication that those footprints were theirs.

“We just have to check the old fashion way I guess,” was the reply that Dr. Saltzman gave while he started walking in the direction of the footprints. After grabbing his duffel bag from the trunk of the jeep.

“Remember our promise Rafael,” Hope whispered when she walked past him following after the principal. Rafael sighed, why couldn't things just have remained simple. He and his brothers against everyone else. He started walking after those two so he would lose them.

Lizzie pov 10 am football field

Lizzie knew what to expect, despite this being her first time as a lead. Once they got to the field, they warmed up for half an hour and more or less decided on which plan to start with.

She was still upset with her dad. They finally had an actual chance to win without any supernatural powers, and yet they were still ordered to lose. She was on the sidelines with her sister, and the other players. They got Mr. Alex’s to be the substitute coach, which was concerning since he just incinerated himself in hellfire barely even 2 weeks ago, but looked fine for the most part.

Mr. Alex was standing off to the side, not doing much. Josie was staring at her pleading for her, to explain what their dad told them. Lizzie knew she was selfish a lot of the time, but the only person who could get her to do something like this was her sister.

Lizzie cracked the ice, and brought forward the bad news, “We are ordered to throw the game today, to avoid attention brought to us, following the soccer incident, and because our school is technically in lockdown,” She whispered carefully to the other players.

“That’s bullshit, I’m not losing to a bunch of scrubs, I was being offered scholarships at D1 schools,” Kaleb said to her.

“Listen, we are going to lose, so we are gonna win by losing,” she answered back.

Kaleb was still not happy with how things were turning out. “Kaleb, drop it, it will not do us any good,” Josie said.

Kaleb almost growled in frustration before stalking off to complain with the wolf students who would agree with him. “Listen, you do not have to like, but this is for the safety of the school,” Lizzie fired at him.

Hope Pov Tennessee woods

Hope was expecting the smell of smoke to get weaker the further they got away, but that wasn't the case. The smoke smell was only getting stronger. The forest for the most part was silent, they were the only things making sounds. Dr. Saltzman stopped a few feet away and was trying to look for something in between the trees.

But there was nothing, and that was the bad part, everything seemed normal. But nothing was, it was dead silent, no signs of fire contrary to the smoke smell, and no signs of the Landon or the two objects.

“Should we split up? We don't even know if we are going in the right direction?,” Rafael asked, he couldn't smell anything other than smoke, and there were no foot tracks somehow. Right now they were stopped on this tiny human made trail. On his left was a medium gully maybe 10 to 12 feet deep, and you couldn’t safely jump it, because the next point of land was maybe 6 feet away, and the gully extended almost all of the way back to the road, and in front of them was a boulder pile up. To his right was a steep hill, with the road in that direction way out of sight. They could go forward up the rocks and follow this man made trail, or go back a bit and go in a different direction. There have been no signs of life in the woods at all for maybe a few years.

Dr. Saltzman seemed to consider his options before nodding, “Okay, meet back here in an hour, and if you see anything, call immediately and do not approach, Hope and Rafael stick together,” He said. He knew it was a risk given how they felt about those two, but he just had enough faith that they would do what's necessary.

“What direction are we going?,” Rafael asked Hope. She shrugged her shoulders not really caring, she had already made up her mind that those two objects got away somehow. And they were only sticking around so Dr. Saltzman could try to hunt the ‘naturals’, which was turning out to be a wild goose chase. Hope would sooner do a lot of things than let that happen.

“Okay, let's go back a bit, and see if we can find a path in the opposite direction,” Rafael suggested because Dr. Saltzman had already started heading up the small rock pile. Hope not thinking of anything better didn’t say anything and started walking.

Right before either group got too far away from one another they heard something being chased, both were running fast and hard if the twig snapping sounds were any indication. Along with the ongoing chase there was the same gust roar sound from the bus sending Hope immediately into danger mode. She and Rafael’s sense of smell soon became engulfed in smoke.

The sound of the chase was rapidly approaching, All of them faced towards the general direction of the sounds. With Dr. Saltzman slowly getting off the rocks and getting right in front of her and Rafael, he opened up his duffle bag and pulled out his trusty crossbow and aimed in that general direction. Hope herself was ready to cast a wide variety of spells, but she was still somewhat drained from the dark magic spell from this morning. Rafael just put his fists up, trying to act calm.

Nick jumped off the tiny cliff, and started falling fast enough to, manage to avoid a stream of fire. Dr. Saltzman had already fired his crossbow, cutting into his arm, but it was a non serious cut. Nick kept running forward with a grim look, Hope also noticed at some point he must have lost his glasses, since he didn’t have them on, but tackled Rafael into the gully along with himself.

Hope didn’t know what to expect anymore, Nick was running for his life and charged straight forward with a look that would have challenged death itself. And as soon as he got near them he instantly tackled Rafael into the gully both were now running. She didn’t know where Landon was, or where that stupid mask was.

She would absolutely tear Nick apart, inch by inch, layer by layer, if he was somehow responsible for anything happening to Landon. She was praying that whatever chasing Nick wasn't Landon amped up on supernatural bullshit, from that mask.

That didn't matter right now, because the thing hunting Nick moves fast. A fire stream was launched towards her and the oldest Saltzman, right across the gully. Despite the fact they were surrounded by trees, nothing was set a blazed. And that fire stream could travel fast for long distances, since they couldn’t see anything.

Both of them dodged the fire heading towards them. Dr. Saltzman stumbled backwards, and started rolling down the hill, while she moved to her right side. “Come get me, you fire freak,” she heard Nick scream at the top of his lungs.

“Knife obsessed maniac of a circus freak,” Nick continued screaming, but his voice was getting further away. Hope continued to listen, not hearing any footsteps, as if the unknown predator was sitting, weighing her options. Either way it didn't waste that much time; it soon sped off in the direction of Nick’s voice.

Hope took a second to gather her breath. She was smiling to herself. Whether or not this predator knew it or not, it gave her the perfect opportunity. Dr. Saltzman wouldn't be in the way, and it was chasing Landon's brother, she had an ideal chance to find Landon.

Hope knew her wolf senses didn't smell anything right now, but they would be enhanced when she turned. She quickly spelled her clothes into her ring before turning. ‘Perks of being a tribrid, fully in control of mind while in my wolf state,’ Hope thought to herself, when she transformed, she was so used to transforming into her wolf form and could no longer feel the pain often associated with it.

She quickly started to sniff around, hoping to find Landon's trail. She would be lying if she said it was easy, that damn smell of smoke was everywhere. They're were two new scents that she didn’t recognize. One smelled dark, and a tiny amount of blood. The second one was dull, it had a smell, it was just hard to make out the smell, which smelled like ash, and mud somehow.

Hope decided her best bet was the second one and started running in that direction. ‘The smoke smell is probably from the predator,’ she thought. She missed not being able to transform and ‘wolfing out’ as Kol has dubbed it because of the spells on school grounds letting Dr. Saltzman know if a werewolf was on the grounds of the Salvatore school. Hope was almost positive it was there to annoy her. There was no way she would transform just to be in a dingy cell, and she would get nothing by turning into a wolf inside of her room.

Lizzie pov 10:45 am football field

Lizzie joined with the team doing various warm ups while waiting for the wolves to show up, ironic because they were playing on their field, and they were the ones forced to wait. As was to be expected with Kaleb bragging that, he was indeed the best player followed by any of the other wolves.

Josie walked up to her sister during a brief break between warm ups, “Liz, they just showed up,” Josie said while pointing towards the Timberwolves’ team walking out of the building.

“Okay, time to greet them,” She responded, she knew that as the official captain, she was the one stuck with the job of being nice and making them feel welcomed. Dana the blonde bitch spotted her and Josie and walked towards them. Josie walked back to join the rest of her team.

Dana walked up to her, “Hello Lizzie, and other, where’s your dad? No show again? That makes it what? 15 games?,” She asked Lizzie.

“That doesn't matter right now, this is on your school grounds, and you were the ones late, what's that about?,” Lizzie asked impatiently.

“Well, it was supposed to be at your school, but what happened again?,” Dana asked with fake innocence before answering her own question, “The sprinkler system broke, destroying the field,”.

“Listen, can we just agree to have a good game today?,” Lizzie asked Dana, but she knew better than to expect that from someone like her.

“Maybe, but your team just sucks, you have always lost to us, remember that,” Dana responded. “Dana, get over here,” Lizzie heard the number one jackass, Connor yell across the field.

Dana gave a twisted smile at her before joining up with her team. “at least i didn't have to fuck the captain to get on the team,” Lizze muttered to herself.

“Have fun with your 15 minute warm ups,” Lizzie yelled for Dana to hear this one.

“We would only need three for your pathetic excuse of school,” Dana yelled back. Lizzie took this as her cue to walk off to join the rest of her school.

Hope pov Tennessee woods

Hope kept on running in wolf form, the smell that she was chasing was all over the place. It was endless circles that only brought her further into the woods. She didn't remember when, but she realized that she could no longer smell any other scents. It wasn't that she wasn't paying attention, it was more or less that all of the other scents just vanished, including the one she was following.

Hope quickly stopped running when she came to that conclusion, and transformed back into a human, and threw her clothes on. Hope didn't know what to do, she needed to find Landon. But the danger of that predator running around was still present, and she didn’t know where Dr. Saltzman was or his condition, but he was probably fine along with Rafael.

Nick, he was actively and willingly being chased by that predator. He had an ideal chance to dump it on them, but kept to himself, why? Hope didn't want to transform back into wolf form, because she needed to process everything she knew, so she started walking in the direction she heard Nick running to.

Nick pov Tennessee woods

He just kept on running, he has been running for the past two, maybe three hours now, with almost no stops, and well over 40 miles. He was surprised his body was keeping up, he knew it was mostly adrenaline, but even still his body should have given in by now.

“Nick, it's good to see you again, but where is Landon?,” Rafael asked the middle child of their weird family. Rafael chased after Nick, when he shoved them in the gully, and neither has stopped running since.

Nick grabbed Raf's shoulder and stayed still, waiting for some kind of noise, something to alert them of danger, but nothing. “Follow me, during the initial chase, I found a semi safe spot for Landon to hide in,” Nick answered Rafael’s question.

Nick continued walking, stopping every few minutes to see if that thing was chasing them still. “Can you please tell me everything you know about them hunting us?,” Nick whispered to Rafael.

“Well, the entire school's scouts for finding supernaturals are looking for you two instead, and I would bet most of the students would join if allowed,” Rafael said, not seeing the point in maintaining Nick's extreme caution.

Nick only looked mildly annoyed, but he knew he was being extremely overcautious. “Wait, how did you get to join in? Or even Hope,” Nick asked with a slight, dangerous look in his eyes.

“Nick, I swear I'm real and not some kind of illusion spell or disguise,” Rafael responded to the dangerous look in his brother’s eyes.

Nick grabbed Rafael by the shoulders and shoved him into a tree. “Prove it,” Nick demanded. He kept Rafael pinned to the tree with his left arm, and showing his dad's knife attached to the stolen belt, and there was a tiny glimpse of his family's demon mask.

“I thought you said that your family's knife and demon mask were stolen,” Rafael said, seeing the knife clearly, while barely seeing the demon mask.

Nick let go of Rafael, the only people who knew about his family's demon mask were his bio family, which was all dead minus him, and his brothers. “Sorry, Raf,” Nick quickly apologized.

“You're good, but next time, just ask a question instead of assaulting me,” Rafael responded. “In my defense, I panicked, and I didn't want to waste time,” Nick attempted to defend with.

“And yes, Rafael, they were stolen, I found them inside the Salvatore school when we were escaping,” Nick answered the question Rafael was going to ask sooner or later.

“What happened exactly?,” Rafael asked, wanting to know more about the situation his brothers were in.

“There was this crazy lady, who walked in front of the bus, and started breathing fire. Both of us managed to jump out of the window, avoiding the worst of the fire, but she has kept chasing us,” Nick explained as if this was a normal situation to be stuck in.

“So that thing you are running from something that can breathe fire, and you have a knife and enough insanity to make anything work,” Rafael joked about the last thing.

“Trust me, I tried to stab her, it didn't work,” Nick said leaving at that. “And how did you get allowed into this hunt, if students aren't allowed?,” Nick asked the question still on his mind.

“Well, I sort of demanded to tag along, and he looked too tired to deal with it, as for Hope, no idea,” Rafael answered.

“Listen, if you think the coast is clear, run and grab Landon with you, I will keep that thing busy,” Nick asked of Rafael once they saw an abandoned shack. “He's in the cellar,” Nick explained before running off again.

Lizzie pov 10:55 am football field

The Head referee from the Mystic Falls team yelled, “Team captains, please make your way to the center of the field,”. Lizzie soon made her way to the center, to see Dana again, the number one jackass jock of their school Connor, and a new kid.

The referee started his speech, “Alright, everybody, I want a good clean game today,” This only made the Mystic Falls high team laugh by throwing insults that Connor started. The referee allowed for them to continue with it, even laughing at some of the comments. Lizzie was gonna respond to the remarks but, Josie jabbed her in the ribs preventing Lizzie from doing anything.

The referee didn’t even try to hide the fact that he was laughing at the team’s immature jokes. “Anyways, let’s do the coin toss. Call it in the air,” he says, positioning a quarter in his hand.

Dana, the ever annoying bitch called out first “Tails,” Before Lizzie had a chance to say something, while also cutting off her new teammate.

“Tails,” The coach said, grabbing the quarter once it landed, before anyone else could see it. “Alright, you know the drill, wolves you get the ball, shake and join up with your teams,” He added.

Josie offered her to Connor to shake, but he slapped it away with an extreme amount of venom, before walking forwards to shoulder check her, which almost sent her stumbling to the ground. The referee already walked away, and had his back turned to the situation, Lizzie doubted even if he had seen it, he would have done anything.

Lizzie managed to bite her tongue, but was barely keeping herself together from attacking both of those two jerks. She managed to strain out in a polite tone, “Good luck,” and that was all that she could manage before she would have ripped off her head.

Dana didn’t extend her hand out, “Thanks, but we don’t need luck, because we actually know how to play this game,” She said with a sneer that broke into full blown laughter.

Kaleb was the only one who had a pleasant interaction. The new kid, who remained silent, not doing anything until now extended his hand to Kaleb, “Sorry about them, and Good luck,” he said sincerely.

“Thanks, and don’t worry about it, we have had to deal with worse, what’s your name?,” Kaleb responded.

“Ethan,” He responded before walking off to join his team.

And so the game started, once they got back to their team, and it went as horrifically as they were expecting. Kaleb at least decided not to fight the orders of them losing, but it was clear he would rather do a large list of things before agreeing to this again.

Landon pov Tennessee Woods

Landon was frustrated; no matter the situation, he was always the useless one. He was the oldest brother, and yet he was constantly getting treated like he was the youngest. Nick shoved him inside of this cellar, thinking he would be safe, but he didn’t want to be safe, he wanted to help his brother.

And for once, Nick left him completely defenseless. He knew Nick would have claimed he did it to prevent him from doing something stupid, and that women seemed obsessed with the knife he stole.

During the initial chase, whoever had the knife, was the one being chased. He had no idea what was so special about that knife. But he was sure that knife would be safer with them. Ironically, the one who had originally stolen it thought it would be safer with them. They had no idea of what it could do, compared to that woman, who most likely has an idea.

It was also ironic that he was also stuck inside a cellar again. But this cellar he was now trapped in through his own volition, and yet it seemed no different than the one at the Salvatore tour school. The only difference was Nick wasn't around, God he sounded so weak, needing to rely constantly on someone else, which were usually either of his brothers.

Landon heard someone approaching the trap door, into the cellar. He was going to die, there was nothing he could use to defend himself. The crowbar was so rusted to the point that it had the same structural integrity as a poorly made toothpick bridge. There was nothing else he could use to defend himself with.

“Lan, you in there? Remember the incident we swore not to talk about, the one in 7th grade,” Rafael asked. Landon shuddered, he remembered, and the only people who knew were them.

“Yes, and please I don't want to ever deal with that memory,” Landon responded to Rafael’s question.

Rafael opened the trap door and walked in. Landon hugged Rafael, relieved to see his brother was safe. “Raf, what are you doing here?,” Landon asked his brother.

“Listen, the school is up in arms about you escaping, and two supernatural objects I tagged along so I could try to stop them,” Rafael explained.

“Thanks, how did you find me?,” Landon asked his youngest brother.

“Hope did this spell to find the magical objects, and it led us here to find a destroyed bus, and when we followed the tracks, and we ran into Nick running, he tackled me and brought me here,” Rafael explained what was going on.

“Let me guess, Nick has already filled you in on the details,” Landon asked, both of them knew he didn't like to waste time.

“More or less, there is a fire breathing woman chasing you, and she also blew up the bus, and she seems obsessed about this magical knife,” Rafael stated towards Landon, who shrugged his shoulders, which Rafael understood as a yes.

“Okay, and what's up with you stealing two supernatural objects? I know one is the knife, and what's the other?,” Rafael asked his oldest brother.

“I don't know about the other one, the only things we stole were, that knife, and what the school had of Nick's family possessions, and before you ask, no I have no idea why, I stole that knife, it was like I know where it was, and can't control myself, I need it,” Landon tried to explain to his brother, he knew Rafael would understand, but that didn’t excuse his actions.

Rafael just stood there, he knew Landon was telling the truth, but he was more shocked that Landon did this more than anything. Rafael started laughing, which only made Landon feel worse than he already was.

“Sorry, it's just funny, that you stole something,” Rafael poorly defended himself. “And I'm guessing we are staying put until we hear from Nick,” Rafael asked Landon.

Landon remembered Nick telling him to run if he thought it was safe. But he couldn't, he just abandoned Rafael, he wouldn't abandon Nick as well. “Ya, we are staying put,” Landon responded, both of the brothers fell into idle chatter, reminiscing about old memories.

Nick pov Tennessee woods

Nick was currently climbing a tree, he knew how to because of Landon. For a long time, almost as long as he had known Landon. Whenever Landon was stressed, anxious, or anything really, and just needed a place to think, he would climb the tallest thing, which usually ended up being a tree. It was therapeutic in a weird sense, he was as free as the winds.

Nick tried to find any bright flashes of light, or smoke. The sooner he got that fire freak's attention, the sooner his brother could leave safely. Seeing nothing, he quickly scaled down the tree and started walking. There was no sound anywhere, that thing must have killed everything in the forest because there were no signs of life. Nick grabbed out the ceremonial object that was hidden in his jacket’s pocket. Both times he pulled it out of his jacket that woman soon appeared, he was hoping it would happen thrice. He was soon proven correct because of the footsteps approaching, but this time the knife’s blade didn’t glow red, it just remained the nightmare inducing black.

“Nick, you are coming with us,” Dr. Saltzman said once he saw Nick standing there, with the knife in his hand. While quickly pulling his crossbow out of his duffle bag, which hangs loosely around his left shoulder.

“Piss off,” was the simple reply Nick gave to the orders. He had an eye focused on the adult, with the other looking at the blade praying it would turn red soon, which meant that fire freak was near. But the sight of the adult made his blood start boiling, but right now he had higher priorities than to engage in a self center fight.

“You don't have a choice, you're coming back with us,” Dr. Saltzman stated. He had his crossbow aimed at Nick’s chest.

“Sorry if I don’t find the idea of being attached to a crazy man’s chain appealing,” Nick bluntly said with sarcasm as if he genuinely considered the idea, which was nowhere near a possibility. Hell had a better chance to freeze over.

“Just give me that knife, and mask, you have no idea what they can do,” Dr. Saltzman said, trying to convince Nick with logic.

“Then please do tell, what’s so special about this knife?” Nick inquired, with both of his eyes now fully focused on Dr. Saltzman. While pointing the knife towards his throat, a silent warning.

“Just give me the knife and the mask,” Dr. Saltzman, orders, while he naively thought Nick was just bluffing. Yes, he saw Nick kill MG temporarily, but that was an impulse reaction, it wasn’t premeditated. And he was positive that he was a better fighter than Nick. Both assumptions were wrong. Nick was dangerous, if anything what was to come was an indication.

“You can have the damn knife, But you stole my family’s heirlooms, They are mine!” Nick growled out the last part in a possessive manner, they were the last things he had of his bio family. “and you can shove your demands up your ass!” Nick yelled. If they had the knife, then that fire breathing woman was their problem.

“That’s a bunch of crap,” Dr. Saltzman said, thinking it was a bunch of bullshit, his pathetic excuse to justify stealing. And he would not settle with only getting one out of four things they need to get.

“Oh, because I don't look it! My family has been here for over fifty years, sorry we if dont look the part!” Nick yelled at the poor accusation made.

Before this conversation was going to blow over into full blown violence between those two. The Women appeared and started breathing fire. Nick quickly dodged this fire stream, similarly to the past few. Dr. Saltzman also managed to avoid the fire stream and quickly shot his crossbow. Dr. Saltzman never would have expected that the bolt would just bounce off her skin, but that's what happened. Nick quickly unsheathed his dad's knife, and soon charged her while she was distracted. The ceremonial knife in his left hand, and his family's in his right hand.

Nick was surprised when he got in close range with the woman, she didn't seem interested in blasting him with fire. She just kept on trying to grapple the ceremonial knife out of his left hand. But like last time, his knives kept skidding off her skin, with no sign of damage. The woman was trying to catch his left hand mid swipes, to steal the knife. Nick was surprisingly fast enough to adjust his position and arm to keep catching her off guard, and prevent her from stealing it out of his hand.

Dr. Saltzman kept trying to shoot the women with his crossbow, but each time was no different than the first. The woman was only getting annoyed by the adults' sheinages, and started to focus on him instead of Nick.

MG pov football field 11:05 am

MG knew what to expect, but that didn’t make it any less painful to watch and cheer for the school. Within the first five minutes, the mystic wolves were already up 4 points. For once, MG didn’t mind being a bench warmer.

Penelope walked up to him, he honestly forgot she was a part of the team. What even was the student coaches’ job exactly? MG couldn’t recall any time she did anything for the minus show up for the games and gave condescending advice.

“Penelope, remember you promised me that you would help me get the attention of Lizzie, and yet I'm making no progress, and you almost cost me my friendship with Josie,” MG felt like he was stabbing Josie in the back more than a thousand times over by having this conversation. MG knew Josie would be more helpful, and yet he was dumb enough to make a deal with Penelope instead of her, and yet still refused to call the deal off.

“I am helping,” Penelope replied simply while watching a new freshman witch player getting tackled and carried off the field.

“How?!,” MG demanded, he was pissed, but kept it quiet enough for most people not to hear him.

“You spend more time with Josie than with Lizzie, I wanted you to end that friendship so you would spend more time with Lizzie directly,” Penelope explained, and it also had the benefit of isolating Josie allowing her to get back with Josie.

“No, I will not sacrifice my friendships just to be with Lizzie,” MG said with aggression, he thinks he is starting to develop ripper urges after almost tasting Penelope’s blood.

“See, this is what I mean, you are too good for Lizzie, but if you are so dead set on getting her without sacrifices, then once you get on the field, and show off, and score points,” Penelope said.

“But I thought we were supposed to lose today,” MG said, confused not seeing how this was remontley helpful.

“Trust me, Lizzie is a self centered brat, she will be more happy with winning the game than upsetting her dad,” Penelope explained, which MG regretfully agreed with, seeing as it made sense.

MG was called to start, after the wolves scored three more points against them. MG saw that Lizzie and Dana were insulting each other, he could eavesdrop but didn’t want to invade Lizzie’s privacy despite being in an open field. Lizzie tossed MG the ball, and did what was recommended by Penelope and scored three points.

MG was congratulated by his teammates, but he was mainly looking towards Lizzie to see her reaction. Lizzie looked happy at first but Josie elbowed her in the ribs, and she quickly walked over and angrily whispered, “MG, what the fuck is your issue, we are supposed to lose,” she explained thinking he must have forgot the point of today was.

“Lizzie, I know we are supposed to lose, but we can make it a close loss,” MG explained carefully, not expecting such a reaction out of her, to his knowledge it was just lose, not lose horrifically. Lizzie nodded her agreeing with him, and she could at the very least brag that Dana was useless to her team, while she contributed.

Lizzie walked away to get into her next starting position. MG started to walk away, but Josie walked over to him, and said with a sad disappointment in her eyes, “Remember we are supposed to lose so don't get any crazy ideas,”.

Hope pov Tennessee woods

Hope didn't know, what happened while she was on her wild goose chase. But she stumbled across Dr. Saltzman and Nick fighting a disheveled woman breathing fire. Or the fact that women kept walking everything off, knife cuts, stabs, crossbow bolts to the heart. The only time it appeared that the woman was on the defense was when Nick went to decapitate her with the supernatural knife. After that, it seemed like Nick was exclusively going for that, but he was quickly losing steam. Both of his arms had cuts from when the woman nicked his skin from a passing punch, and he was losing blood in his arms fast.

Hope was watching, hoping for an opportunity to reveal itself. To either take down that woman or give them a chance to escape. But it was the first option that revealed itself. The woman jumped backwards, creating more space and started spewing out fire at a continuous rate, while it looked like her body was having a seizure.

Hope quickly muttered “Corum spiritus prohibera,” Freya taught her this spell for when both Henry and Ashley were learning to feed, in case her mom wasn’t around, as a way to prevent them from going too far. And here she was using it to kill someone. The woman soon stopped spewing fire, and just fell over, the light in her eyes wouldn't fade for a few more hours.

Hope quickly approached, the two, both were panting from exhaustion. Nick quickly took off his jacket and used his family's knife to slash off the sleeves, and wrapped them around the worst sections of bleeding, to apply pressure to prevent bleeding out as fast, he quickly threw on his jacket again, surprised it wasn't burned. And that's when Hope noticed, his entire arms were burned, from the hands up. The burns weren't recent, they were fully healed, yet they left behind brutal scars, and they looked even worse when his blood was dripping down them.

Nick tossed the supernatural knife at Hope, which she managed to catch before he bolted out of the clearing that was made because of the fight. Nick knew he should have at least talked to Landon about it, but he could always find his family a different way, the safety of his brothers was his absolute priority.

Dr. Saltzman finally managed to catch his breath, “Why didn't you stop him? He still has the mask,” He asked, not understanding, why Hope just let him get away.

Hope slapped her head, she completely forgot about that mask. She was more concerned about finding the right moment to kill that woman and get the knife. ‘Fuck, and where’s Landon,’ Hope thought to herself.

“Take care of yourself, I will chase after him,” Hope said before running off in the same direction.

Hope soon managed to catch up to Nick, it wasn't that hard, he must have started to lose balance because of the lack of blood, he was leaning against a tree, barely keeping himself upwards.

“Rest, you won't do Landon any favors if you die from blood loss,” Hope said. She quickly started to use her limited healing knowledge. She would give him her blood if she had to, but she didn't want any more people sire bonded to her. Thankfully she could manage Nick's injuries, nothing serious, he just needed blood, and the cuts needed to be sealed up.

“Where's Landon?,” Hope asked Landon's middle brother, she needed to see Landon again, she needed to make sure he was safe.

“You got that stupid knife, and if you think we are dumb enough to tell random people that could easily spiral out of control, you are insane, we are ironically safer in your world,” Nick shot back, not seeing why she was sticking around. And he wouldn't admit but he was jealous of the people who were allowed to be in this supernatural world. Maybe that's why he hated Dr. Saltzman so much, he was a natural just like them, and yet he was allowed to stay, why? That thought made him want to stab the bastard. Repeatedly.

“I just want to see him before you guys run off, okay?,” Hope said, she also stopped the blood spell, when Nick’s skin tone returned to normal. Hope was purposely avoiding the conversation about the demon mask and she didn’t know why.

“Hope, what was Dr. Saltzman talking about when he was talking about a mask?,” Nick asked, derailing the conversation from what Hope wanted.

“The mask he is referring to is a the top part of traditional Japanese demon mask from around the mid 14th century, it cursed a student to extreme bloodlust when they put it on,” Hope explained hoping that he would hand it over. she didn't want to use force on someone Landon cared about, but she would if necessary.

“No offense, but you can shove your demands, that mask has been in my family for seven hundred years,” Nick responded. He knew he was being selfish, he just wanted to keep what was left of his family.

“Nick, you need to understand, that mask is a complete unknown, we just know it's dangerous,” Hope tried to convince Nick. But she was now having some conflicting feelings, if she had to give up her family's necklace or any of their possessions, she would be acting similarly.

“It's been in my family for seven centuries, maybe there is a reason for that,” Nick challenged weakly. Nick was still shocked about his family's demon mask being supernatural. The only thing that could have pointed to that, was that it seemed like the demon mask never aged, or seemed damaged. Nick was also confused, he knew he had put on the mask multiple times when he was younger as a way to feel close to his family, and never felt anything different.

Nick got up from leaning against the tree when it appeared Hope was done fixing his wounds. “Thanks for fixing me up,” Nick said appreciating the gesture, it would be much more simple for Hope to let him die and take the mask.

“Nick, can I please at least see Landon and make sure he is fine?,” Hope asked of the middle child of Landon’s family.

“And why would I do that? Oh, so you can easily get all three things left on your shopping list,” Nick snarkily commented.

“If it wasn't for the fact that Landon cared about you, I would have stabbed or strangled you just now,” Hope said simply. It was the truth, she didn't mean any harm to Landon, she just wanted to make sure he was safe. And besides, it would be easy to lie to Dr. Saltzman and say the mask managed to make it impossible for her to follow because it blocked scent, or it trapped her in an illusion somehow.

“Fine, follow me,” Nick said. He was hoping that Landon and Rafael took this chance to get a head start running away. And he was also pretty sure Hope was being truthful, and he knew for a fact Rafael could knock her out if she tried something. And because he didn’t have much strength left, despite being healed. Another thing was that he was pretty sure that Hope had more tricks to make him comply with her demands.

Josie Pov football field 11:30 AM

Josie was called off at half time, with the current score of 35-9. Josie wasn’t happy about the last exchange. Finch was a werewolf who wanted to work as a scout after graduation. She was at Mystic Falls High School as training to blend in. But that didn’t mean being as aggressive as possible for this stupid school rivalry, Josie was willing to bet that if she was normal, her shoulder would be busted.

And Josie was starting to become increasingly upset with MG, all of the points they got so far were from him. They were supposed to lose today, but why couldn’t he understand that, and if he couldn’t, he should be off the field. She tried to talk to Lizzie about it, but she blew her off. She was used to her sister acting like this, but it didn’t make it any less painful.

It seemed like the team all reached the collective agreement at this point to say fuck the orders given by her dad, their princpal. Mr. Alex wandered off somewhere so he couldn’t stop this bullshit once the game got started again.

Josie would actually do what was ordered of them, when Lizzie threw the ball towards her, she failed to catch it. It didn’t matter a call was made when Lizzie got tackled by Dana, which only reinforced Lizzie’s insane desire to crush the wolves.

“Josie, forgot what dad said, we are going to win today, we just won't use any of our abilities, and if you don’t like it, you can sit on the benches by your crazy ex,” Lizzie said, before the start of the next play. Josie didn’t want to be anywhere near that bitch and reluctantly nodded.

The game quickly started to turn around thanks to Kaleb, along with several other students. Josie was almost positive at this point that the only reason why she was doing this was because Dana was bullying her. Josie never liked fighting with her sister but right now was one of the very few expectations, she didn’t want to lose their dad for good.

Landon Pov Tennessee woods

Landon and Rafael were still inside that cellar. Right now, they were talking about that one time in 8th grade when some kid managed to smuggle one of the school toilets out of the building. “That was an absolute field day,” Rafael said in between laughs.

“Do you know who even did that?,” Landon asked the youngest brother.

“How the hell am I supposed to know? Nick would be the one who would know for sure,” Rafael responded. Nick was always up to something, because he was usually hanging out with the crazy people say it's “free entertainment”, when he wasn’t with either of them.

“Child of Malivore, come out if you don't want your friends to die,” A new female spoke, from behind the trap door. Both of the brothers shut up and looked at each hoping one of them had something.

Landon didn't know who she was referring to, but he didn’t want his brother to die because of him. He looked at Rafael, who was contemplating something. Landon didn't know why, but he knew specifically that the woman was talking about him. He just hoped it wasn't the fire freak from before, which he doubted. Even single time her mouth opened instead of words, it was fire.

Rafael just grabbed his shoulder and looked into his eyes. Both just nodded, they would face this together. Landon walked out first, not knowing what to expect. Landon saw who spoke, it was a woman but she was not normal, she was covered in bark, she was also was a shade of green that looked like moss, and had vines instead of hair.

“I'm sorry, but I will do what's required of me,” she spoke softly, with regret in her voice.

“Listen, we don't know what's up with this child of Malivore stuff, and we don't have the knife, so can we go?,” Landon asked optimistically.

The lady didn't respond, she just raised her hand so her palm faced towards Rafael. Trees launched out of the ground quickly shoving, Rafael backwards and binding him into the top part of the abandoned shack.
Landon was afraid he should have taken his multiple chances to run with Rafael or hell, even when they just walked out. The lady moved her arms to attack him when he felt magically shoved out of the way from the sharp wood spear that was shot his way.

“Women, you're going to die!,” Nick yelled angrily. When he and Hope came into the general area. What Hope was doing there was a different matter. Landon has seen him this pissed but this was a new level even for him. Nick soon charged the women with his family's knife.

But was blasted backwards from a high pressure water stream to the gut. A man emerged from the tree line. Landon ran to Nick before taking a look around. Hope was standing between them and the two unknowns. And the man appeared to be made of water, given that he was seeing through, and looked like he was made of it.

“Incendia,” Hope muttered quickly, trying to burn the woman who attacked Landon alive. But that soon proved worthless, because the water man threw up a water shield blocking the fire spell. Landon naively thought to himself that things couldn't get worse. Because the fire woman who was chasing them walked into the clearing, holding either an unconscious or dead Dr. Saltzman. She shaked the body before pointing towards Hope.

The tree lady translated, “What my undesirable ally is trying to say, is hand over the knife, Hope Mikaelson or he dies,” she spoke with certainty. Rafael was the only one confused at the use of her true name. Both Landon and Nick guessed that was Hope's true last name, based on the flinch.

Nick got up, ready to fight after catching his breath after the almost literal gut punch he received. The tree lady looked annoyed at how things were going, and soon shot a wood spike at Nick. This wood spike was different, it was a black wood that was easily the size of someone's chest. Landon, doing the only thing he could, shoved Nick out of the way and took it himself.

Landon didn't think he would feel anything with this death since it pierced his chest wide open. But he was wrong, it was painful, he wanted to scream but couldn't, he felt everything dimming over. The last thing he saw was Hope in clear pain at his death, before his eyes didn't function anymore, and he soon crashed into the ground, falling backwards because of the monument in the wood spear.

Landon saw everything fade to black, then to white. He didn't see any memories or anything, unlike how people talked about their near death experiences. He was just in a gray scaled version of Mystic Falls. He didn't know where specifically, but he knew it was Mystic Falls.

He saw a dock nearby and wandered over to see what must be death or the ferryman. He looked like what most people imagined, they had a scythe strapped to their back. And they wore a black cloak with no hood, but it made their blue fire hair more prevalent.

The ferryman, pointed at him, before pointing towards the boat. “Hey, Mr or Mrs death, what's going on? Could I become a ghost instead?” Landon asked, not knowing how they wanted to be addressed. And he wanted to be a ghost so he could watch over his brothers. He knew Nick would have a suicidal episode, and Rafael’s minor depression would get even more severe. Death only stared at him, with their prominent eyebrows giving a command to get in the boat. It seemed that they were rushing him to peace if the light across the lake was any indication.

Landon didn't know what was happening; he just buckled over in pain. It started in his stomach before moving all over his body. This time he could scream, and that's what he did, he screamed. It was a horrific kind of pain that could barely be described, and any attempt did it injustice. Landon saw that his body was on fire, and it was slowly disintegrating itself leaving behind ash. Death looked upset with what was happening but made no moves to stop it.

Landon's vision faded to black, before turning red? No, it was more of a fire. Wait, he was on fire, and was engulfed in it. His skin peeled off inside of the fire turning into an ash cocoon of sorts. He felt the massive hole in his stomach fix itself somehow, and it felt normal. Before he had his chest shot open.

Once the fire around his ash cocoon died down, he felt like he could move his body. And his body felt normal, but his mind was still in shock and was reverting to simple thinking and instinct. Landon smashed himself out of his cocoon by launching himself upwards.

It took a minute for him to fully process what was happening in front of him. There was a dragon, who was fighting Nick? Nick wasn't the same, he had on his family's demon mask, but it appeared as if he was actually merging into a demon. Hope was fighting both the tree lady and the water man. While Rafael was still pinned into the shack and was in shock from his resurrection? Dr. Saltzman as well but he had out his crossbow and was providing long range support to Hope.

MG pov Football field 11:50 am

MG was enjoying how things were turning out. They were in the lead with 42 to 35, but that’s when things started to change. They just randomly started to drop the ball, or the trajectory would change last second, or how their flags were extremely loose now. While the Wolves just never appeared to be in any trouble, they wouldn’t drop the ball, they were able to catch everything, and their flags were bolted into place.

MG was called off into the sidelines. Mr. Alex was still gone, but Penelope was still around. “Penelope, what’s going on out there, we need to turn this around,” MG said once he got close to her.

“You already did your part, and cut the bullshit with me, you don’t give a flying fuck about this team or sport, it’s jus whatever Lizze needs,” Penelope snaps at him.

“You need to calm down,” MG responded. MG knew she had better emotional control than this, but didn’t question why she was so angry.

“Sorry, I’m just tired, it’s the same thing every fucking time, She just bows down to either her dad or worthless sister,” Penelope responded, she didn’t need to say the name MG know she was referring to Josie.

Josie was currently on the bench because Lizzie didn’t like how she was undermining her efforts. Lizzie was called off the field after their current play went wrong allowing the wolves to score. MG saw Josie pleading with Lizzie to follow the plan laid out by their dad. Lizzie still wasn’t budging.

“She is stronger than both, and yet she never makes them see her point, and everyone just walks over her, and she never does anything about it,” Penelope said, seeing the same interaction as MG.

“You said you wanted to win this game, follow me,” Penelope said while walking off.

MG followed after Penelope, she made her to the wolves’ equipment room, and quickly pulled out the equipment, which was rigged, all of the flags were tied to the belts instead of being attached with velcro. The footballs they were playing with were the wolves, and all of them were underinflated. MG at this point wouldn’t be shocked if they also had steroids hidden somewhere, after all 2 players on their team had their parents work at the local pharmacy.

“Why haven’t you told anyone else yet?” MG asked. The only question on his mind, there was easily enough evidence to get them disqualified.

“Almost everyone here today is in support of them, and said we planted it, and this means we have an excuse to even out the playing field,” Penelope explained it MG.

MG understood what Penelope meant, and soon ran off to let the team, he ran into Lizzie. “Where have you been MG?” she asked with frustration, they had to drastically change plans because he vanished.

“Good news, Liz, I just found out the wolves are cheating, and if they are cheating we don’t we also cheat, it’s clear that no one is gonna do anything about it,” MG explained what he saw, and gave the pitch.

Lizzie smiled at this news, it gave them the excuse they needed to get the necessary edge over them, and hopefully it would convince Josie to give up on losing, she wanted to win with her sister at her side. “Thanks MG, we have five minutes to score 14 to tie and 21 to win,” Lizzie informed MG.

They soon got back, to find a break had been called, Kaleb asked, “Where have you been, Lizzie and MG?”

“Good news, we found out they have rigged equipment, so that means we can use our supernatural powers, just be careful,” Lizzie said.

“Lizzie, that goes against everything dad told us,” Josie said, she tried the only thing she though might work whispering into so only her sister could hear, “Do you want dad to be disappointed in us, or do want him to continuing favor Hope?,” she knew it was a low blow but she didn't want her dad to be disappointed.

“Listen Jo, everyone in this town is too stupid to put two and two together, as long as we don't make it obvious,” Lizzie justified her orders, no one else needed to be convinced minus her annoying sister.

“Josie, right now you are either with us, or not, so the choice is with you, sit on the benches or join us, and help us win,” Lizzie said, before Josie could try to argue. Josie reluctantly joined them at the start line, she was benched just a bit after half time.

Nick Pov Tennessee woods,

suicide warning

Nick didn't want to live anymore. He got his brother killed. He still had Rafael, but that didn’t seem to matter to him right now. He NEEDS blood. He wanted to kill, he needed revenge, he deserved to die, He's the reason why Landon was dead. That thought alone made him want to rip his own worthless heart out. He grabbed the demon mask attached to the belt. Hope said it gave them extreme bloodlust, he hoped it also enhanced his strength so he could enjoy beating these worthless scum.

Nick made a deal with the devil when he put it on. He didn't care. He would be the devil, the true demon. The demon, not even Satan or Lucifer, would try to deal with. He would be the true king of the demons. As soon as the mask hit his face, he immediately noticed a lot of changes.

Everything just felt numb, no emotions, just facts and logic. Telling him to run, he had no reason to fight. Even more reasons to kill himself, he was a coward. He felt that bloodlust Hope was talking about sinking in, growing every millisecond, he just needed to kill these freaks, then himself. He wouldn't kill Rafael, he just killed his oldest brother. There was no way he would kill the youngest. His life was forfeit, he would drag all of these bastards to hell with him, and that thought gave him a sick sense of comfort, he was going to hell.

Suicide though section over

Nick felt the mask fusing into his skin, expanding all of his physical aspects. And his mind started to become more numb, he couldn't handle complex thoughts from the shock of Landon's death, most likely. Everything was pure instinct from the mask. And yet it seemed as if this lock he didn't know existed was shattered open, and felt more complete than ever before.

He slit his thumb open on the backside of his knife, allowing the blood to drip onto the blade. The blood which was wasn't the standard red, it was black. The blood gathers onto the cross guard of the knife, before igniting. The blood turned into black fire that covered his knife, turning it into a sword. The fire was hollow, it produced no heat, it produced coldness that would give extreme frostbite.

Nick launched himself at the fire freak, he managed to get into an attacking distance within half a second. Which was impressive given that she was easily thirty feet away. He started swinging the sword around, but unlike last time, he could pierce her skin if he kept hacking. When the blood landed on him, it gave him a sick sense of satisfaction, proving he was already a monster.

This time, it appeared as if the woman actually wanted to kill him, which made him laugh. She should have killed me before he put on the damn mask. The woman kept breathing fire and wasn't pulling punches anymore. Nick picked up the unconscious Dr. Saltzman, whom she had dropped during the first waves of attack, and threw him out of the way, also waking him up, when he crashed into the shack.

The woman created more distance between her and Nick. Nick noticed the wounds he got earlier had reopened up, and yet he felt fine. The scars from the fire he still beared when covered in running blood made it look like an actual fire on his arms. But he just saw them as a sign of him turning into a monster, he should be horrified by that, but he strangely found comfort in that tile. Monster. He killed his brother, he was a monster.

Nick allowed the woman to do what she wanted, not thinking it would change the outcome. But he was wrong, the woman turned into a Dragon. Nick's only outward expression was a sigh of frustration, he needed every second before he went fully insane. Nick soon just charged the dragon while it was grounded.

The dragon didn't stay grounded for long, taking into the air, and spewing fire over him. And for some reason, there were still no signs of damage on the trees. Nick started running, he wanted to avoid Rafael becoming potential collateral damage. Nick’s black fire around the knife's blade started to mutate. He just turned around and pointed the knife towards the dragon. The blade shattered into around 12 blobs of darkness, before shaping into bullets, launching themselves at the dragon. The bullets didn't pierce the skin, but they left behind dents.

The fire blast launched at him in return should have killed him, but it didn't. He felt his body squeeze into itself, and shrink into the ground before zipping away into a branch of a tree. He didn't care what happened, he benefited from it. Nick felt his gut moving, molding something, the shadows inside of the trees turned into bullets, before launching into the dragon. There was no sign of damage unlike the first time.

The dragon swatted Nick off the tree branch he was crouched on, dropping his knife mid flight. Nick was set flying back to where Hope was fighting the tree lady, and the water man. Rafael was pinned still, and Dr. Saltzman, the worthless bastard he was having a call, while trying to provide support to Hope. He didn't want to see Landon's body, it would remind him of his failures, the reason why he should die. Nick should have died from the crash, he was launched from a mile up and away, and landed on his neck, heck he felt it shatter. And yet he was walking it off, he was fully functional, and he felt his body fix his neck within the first second.

“Aim for the neck,” The worthless adult yelled at him. Nick rolled his eyes like he didn't figure that out. All of the bullets he shot at the dragon, they made sure to cover the front of their neck. And when he went to got out of the way of the incoming fire breath, trying to find something that he could use as a weapon. Hope was busy fending off the other threats so he could grab the knife he stole. His Shadow bullets were no longer as fast or deadly as they were originally.

Nick kept the comments to himself, he felt the bloodlust became ideal for a bit, but that still didn't mean he had anything but limited time. Nick felt his gut molding the shadow inside his jacket. The shadow took shape as a scythe. It was as long as he was tall, and the beam was straight, but this scythe had two blades. The first blade was at the top, and it was completely normal. The second was different, there was enough of a gap between the two blades that he could easily fit most necks through, and that part of the beam was razor sharp. The second blade was curved like the first, and the same length, but he could immediately tell it was lighter, and on the underside had a serrated edge that could almost be used as a chainsaw. Where the pommel should have been was a spot to hook in something, probably chains or rope to restrict movement.

Nick grabbed the scythe once it was fully formed in front of him. His bleeding was only speeding up at this point, and it appeared as if his skin was taking in the new black blood he had, while rejecting the normal red blood. He also noticed that his skin was getting dark, until it turned black. His arms were just an inhumane gray that no skin should ever be, but they were getting darker every second. Nick felt the same squeeze, and he found himself on a tree branch.

The dragon already seemed used to this trick, like it has killed someone with a similar ability. The dragon tried to swat him, but Nick launched himself onto the dragon. He started swinging the scythe around, cutting off the creature's main horns, which fell to the ground. When he landed on the creature's head, before running to the spine of the dragon.

The dragon tried to shake him off, spinning, diving bombing, and high speeds, but he wasn't budging. Nick swung his scythe into the dragon's spine, it pierced the skin. Nick started to attempt to saw the spine in half, but the dragon soon turned back into a human form. Nick kicked her in the spine as a way to jump backwards, and managed to catch himself on a tree branch.

He had no idea why she brought him well over 10 miles away just to die alone, but that didn't matter. She was in human form easier to kill. It looked like she also didn't mean to turn back based on the panic in her eyes. Nick knew he would remember this because of his photographic memory, but he wanted to remember these memories with joy.

The fear in face, begging, pleading for Mercy. He would give her mercy, because he was running out of time, he needed to make sure the tree lady, and the water man also died. The bloodlust may have been idle for a few minutes but it was now growing at an exceptional rate. Nick quickly plunged the second scythe blade into her heart, hoping to give her the most painful death possible.

She appeared to still be alive, just in excruciating pain and agony. Nick wanted to leave her there, but he knew it would bite them in the butt. Nick swung his scythe again, and this time the blades went around her neck and she met the razor sharp steel section between them. She was now headless. Nothing could have lived that Nick thought.

Nick couldn't feel the tug, that sustained his scythe, he felt he was getting weaker. Nick felt normal, before he put on the demon mask. Nick wanted to see if he could take off the mask, and he could. But that soon proved to cause a new issue.

Nick felt his stomach turn, he was used to throwing up. His third foster, his last before meeting Landon. That thought made him want to cry. He was the reason why his brother was dead, he had no right to call him his brother anymore. Those worthless scumbags would often choke him and make him vomit if they deemed that he ate too much. Whatever he was throwing up, it was a lot similar to throwing up completely undigested food. He kept throwing up for what most have been a single minute, but felt like hours.

And it was painful, it felt like his insides were being slowly ripped apart, and disconnected from one another. Then his organs were being sent up his throat, and he was forced to spit them out. He also wasn't just puking out his organs, he noticed it was blood, muscle, and tissues. Nick was losing strength, he could barely keep his head up, and prevent throwing up on himself.

Nick was surprised, after that painful minute, he felt fine, better even. Despite him throwing up his literal insides, he felt whole, like that never happened. He still had heartbeats. Heartbeats, as in multiple. He quickly searched to find if there was more pulse, if it was just his imagination. He felt around his chest and came to the conclusion he had three hearts now. One was in the normal spot, the second one was on his right side, and the third one was slightly above his pelvic bone on his right side.

Nick also noticed his body felt stronger, and it was like nothing had happened in the past 24 hours. Nick knew he had wasted enough time and ran back to the clearing not knowing what was happening. Hoping Rafael would be fine. He tried to reach for his gut for the shadows to do something, and felt a ping, he didn't know why, but he knew it would be worth a pit stop. He soon found his family’s knife along with Dr. Saltzman’s duffle bag, he grabbed both before running back into that clearing with his brothers.

Lizzie Pov Football field 11:57 AM

Lizzie was extremely happy right now, they would fine beat these worthless wolves, and she would be able to make fun of Dana. In the next two plays following the time out, the stallions managed to tie up the score, with vamp speeds, and light magic from her.

It forced the wolves to call a timeout themselves to make a new plan since they were on the back foot, while they were busy celebrating early, thinking nothing could happen. Lizzie was hyping up the team for the final play, but it was completely unnecessary. “We are going to win this, we are not going to be the losers this year, it will be them,”.

The timeout was called to end, and players lined up at their starting points. Lizzie starts with the ball and manages to throw it, but Josie gets ran over by an extremely vengeful Dana. Lizzie didn’t notice. Lizzie was already celebrating when she saw Kaleb about to make a touchdown. But Josie muttered a spell so Kaleb would drop the ball.

Kaleb surprisingly didn’t notice until it was too late, by the time he did notice, the wolves had already grabbed the drop ball and scored themselves. Lizzie was pissed, but she didn’t think anyone would sabotage them, she looked around to see if there were staff, and saw none. Lizzie didn’t know what to think, she wanted to call foul play but no one would screw them over, not even her sister.

The whistle blew to signal the end of the game. She didn’t want to do the stupid good game high bullshit, she wanted to storm off but couldn’t, where the fuck was Mr. alex to drive them back.

Hope pov Tennessee woods

Hope was in shock, Landon was dead. And dead beyond vampire blood. His chest was completely shot open. She wanted to cry. But she was more murder hungry than sad. Which was saying a lot she could only think maybe two times she was sadder, the death of her dad and uncle, and the death of her mom. She knew she should have stopped Nick from putting on the mask, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She didn't care about Nick or Rafael, She only cared about Landon, who was now dead.

When Nick launched himself at the fire breather, the fight between her, the dryad, and the water nymph started. She was a Mikaelson, they were never to be messed with, and she would prove that. She started with dryad, she kept casting fire spells trying to roast that bitch alive. The water nymph kept slinging around the water block all of the various fire attacks.

And when she tried to attack the water nymph, with the very few lightning spells or other one was to deal with the water, she knew, and to make it worse she wasn’t capable of making a fire spell stronger enough to evaporate the water, and even if she could she doubt that she had the necessary strength right now. And the dryad blocked all of the various spells with wood beams and pillars, and it appeared as if both creatures knew what spell she was going to use next, and wasn’t able to catch either off guard. She was thankful that her vampire side remained inactive, because it appeared this dryad was using multiple different woods, and the sparks created enough ash that she would have been affected by.

Hope had to duck when Dr. Saltzman came flying overhead. She heard him crash into the shack, and gasped in pain from being brutally thrown. He was alive, she thought, and left it at that. Their battle was more or less the same, they were stuck at an impasse, both sides gaining nothing over the other.

The fighting only came to brief halt when The original women turned into a Fucking dragon. Hope was more or less shocked because Nick’s outward expression didn't show anything, like killing a dragon was no different than killing a human. But it soon picked up when the dragon chased after Nick.

Hope was only half paying attention to Dr. Saltzman and Rafael. Dr. Saltzman was barking orders at Dorian, telling him to call all of the scouts, that there 3 supernatural creatures of unknown race trying to kill them. And gave their location, and then ordered him to figure out how to kill a dragon, a water nymph, and a dryad.

Hope didn't hear any other bits from that conversation, she was more concerned about staying alive and killing them. It was slightly easier when Dr. Useless got off of the phone and started using a crossbow he found laying around. Why did that shack have a crossbow was an unrelated question she had, but that almost cost her left arm. That was also something she noticed, they didn’t seemed interested in killing her, they wanted something else plus the knife.

Hope, was making no progress in this fight, she had hoped that she wouldn't need magic today, because that locator spell takes half of what she had. It would have only been a fourth but those stupid siphonors couldn't produce their own magic, and it quickly left their system if they didn't use it.

Hope was also frustrated that she didn't commit the death spell to memory because that would have been extremely useful in this fight. And she didn't know how to use a knife. Swords, axes, batons, and staffs, yes, but she never learned how to use a knife, she didn't feel like risking it in an actual fight when it was clear that was their main priority.

She stopped getting arrow support, so that meant Dorian was calling the professional useless dad. She didn't have the vamp hearing to make out most of it, but it was clear anything that would normally kill someone should do the trick for the nymph, and dryad. A bit tough since together they were making a nearly perfect defensive duo. She heard something completely snap, and shatter, with a crash.

Hope saw Nick walking out of the crater. He was launched into, but that wasn't the worrying part. His skin was turning black, and it was spreading all over his body, and the mask was sinking into his skin. Even though he was wearing basically all black it was easy to tell what was his skin and clothes. His skin seemed to radiate power, and it could easily be described as nothingness, with purple energy running on top of veins, with white strips forming on his skin barely noticeable right now. Nick almost instantly restarted his fight with the dragon, it appeared as if he was manipulating the shadows themselves. And the stubs in the mask now had blood red horns that could easily be described as the personification of carnage. Hope didn't know how to react to these changes, she was afraid that he was compatible with the mask making him harder to kill. Once the original student put on the mask, he looked fine, he just had the mask stuck on, he wasn’t turning into an actual demon like Nick right now.

The tribrid also started to notice the constant smell of smoke was getting stronger. She didn’t put much thought into assuming it was the dragon, but she soon realized the dragon was gone along with Nick. “Landon?!” Rafael yelled. That was the first time she heard from him since the split up. She had heard him struggling even more to be free.

Hope didn't want to look, to be disappointed, or to see some kind of zombie Landon. But against her better judgment, she looked, and was speechless. He appeared just fine, he was in some kind of cocoon of ash. He didn't look like everything was fine though.

Landon's eyes were glazing over, like he was on autopilot. And the next few things shocked her. The dryad shot a wood spike at him, but he managed to catch the spike, despite it being launched at high speeds, and his hands burned it into ash almost instantly once he caught it. Hope didn't know what to do, she was beyond joy that Landon was alive, but was also shocked at what was happening.

Landon just took over the fight more or less. Yes, she helped, but she soon realized that she was blocking most attacks, and he had pyrokinesis. He was burning the wood, and turning the water into steam without batting an eye. Only a few attacks managed to slip past, cutting into Landon's arm drawing blood but he healed just as fast as he was injured. The water nymph tried to fist fight Landon, but as soon as he made contact, Landon's exposed skin absorbed him.

Neither of them didn't need to be told, they knew this was their chance to end this. Landon used the fire from his previous attacks, and Hope just casted another fire spell killing the dryad. But the dryad's body wouldn't burn, she was dead. Hope was positive of that, but she kept trying to burn that worthless bitch, unintentionally starting a major fire.

Landon, still in autopilot, just moved his hands in a similar gesture to what the water nymph did, and boom, his palm started blasting water. He managed to douse the fire before it spread. After the fire was extinguished, Landon's arm spat out the water nymph. But it was clear he was dead, he looked like he was put into a dehydrator for over three hundred years. His corpse looked very human despite it appearing he was made of water.

Landon collapsed, falling onto his butt, he no longer looked glazed over. Hope was concerned about Landon. “Landon, are you okay? What happened? How are you alive?” she asked. She was happy that he was alive and appeared normal, but she was waiting for the bullet to be shot. Hope was also completely ignoring Dr. Saltzman when he was approaching.

Hope touched Landon's arm wanting to feel his skin to see if he was actually alive. Which still had blood on it, but when she touched his arm, she felt some of his blood and discovered it felt like mud.

Dr. Saltzman also must have freed Rafael from the wood binds, or they fell apart after the dryad's death. Rafael blitzed past her and embraced the oldest brother. Hope was annoyed, but kept it in check, it wasn't every day you saw someone get their chest shot open, and walk it off. “Raf, air,” Landon choked out, from Rafael almost hugging him to death.

“Where's Nick?” Landon asked, not seeing Nick, already fearing for a million worst case scenarios. Landon tried to stand, but Hope quickly, without using that much force, pushed him to continue sitting.

“We have no clue, we just got done fighting those,” Hope pointed her head to the bodies laying around a few feet away. “How are you holding up?” she asked.

“I don't know, by all rights, I should be dead, and yet I'm still breathing,” Landon responded, still in shock about it himself.

Landon tried to stand up, but Hope and Rafael just stared at him, “Rest, you just died, and most likely just forcibly awakened your powers,” Hope ordered Landon.

“I can rest once I know Nick isn't about to kill himself once he is done doing who's what, where is he?” Landon asked, not wanting to see Nick through any kind of pain he caused him. He didn't regret jumping in front of the stake that killed him.

“Rafael, go find Nick,” Hope ordered of Rafael, not wanting to leave Landon alone, with Dr. Saltzman nearby. She had no idea what had happened, so she couldn't predict how he would react.

“Can either of you two tell me what happened, and how Landon is alive?” Hope asked, when she saw Rafael not doing what was told of him.

“His body just started to light on fire, and when the fire died out, there was this ash pile he emerged from, he is most likely a phoenix,” Dr. Saltzman explained what he saw. Rafael just nodded, not having anything else to add.

“Landon and Hope, I believe I owe both of you an apology,” Dr. Saltzman started, it was clear that he didn't like admitting to a mistake but wanted to make it even. “Hope, I'm sorry for doubting you when you said that they are supernaturals, and Landon, I'm sorry for the treatment I gave to you and Nick,” He finished, he knew it wouldn't fix anything but a good apology was always a good first step.

Hope wanted to make a million snarky comments, but she was too happy to make any. Landon just nodded, still processing everything. “Lan?” Nick’s voice was overfilled with relief at seeing his brother alive and well, but filled with shock. Nick fully walked into the clearing before running over to hug his brother. He just wanted to enjoy the moment and not question anything. Nick dropped Dr. Saltzman’s duffel bag, which was left behind from where he had fought the dragon the first time.

“Before you ask, Nick, Landon is most likely a phoenix, since he resurrected himself, and something else, given he absorbed the water nymph, and used its power,” Rafael stated knowing this question would be on his mind.

Nick let go, a bit afraid that as soon as he did, Landon would vanish forever. Nick walked back over to the duffel bag and saw four plastic water bottles inside. He grabbed two of them and emptied them, before walking over to the dryad. He pulled out his knife, shocked that he found it so easily, and stabbed the corpse, and started draining it of its blood.

“Nick, what the hell are you doing?” Landon asked disturbed at what his brother was doing.

“We have no idea how you second set of powers works, so far as we know, you need to have the genetic information in your system to copy the powers, and this is more effective then blending up a body, and drink that” Nick responded simply while filling up the water bottles, and grabbed a sharpie from inside the duffle bag and labeled them. Nick didn't want to deal with a dehydrated body, that they would have to blend up to get any use out of, if even half of his theories were right.

“Rafael, watch Landon, and don't let him do anything dumb, I'm gonna bury the dragon's corpse once I get blood out of it,” Nick said like this was something normal to be discussing, putting Dr. Saltzman on edge because of how casual he was about it. Hope was also shocked that no scout has yet to arrive to help, but filed that away for later.

Nick walked back off into the woods after finding a shovel inside the shack. Hope also took this as her cue to get rid of the evidence. Dr. Saltzman also helped, while making a phone call to Dorian to update him, and having Dorian make all of the phone calls. Leaving Rafael alone with Landon, someone she could trust to look over him.

“Dr. Saltzman, Nick said that the demon mask belongs to his family, and he appears just fine, heck, he could even take off the mask,” Hope started talking once he hung up, but was cut off from trying to plead a case for Nick so he could keep it.

“Hope, I'm aware, he can keep it, but whatever happens to it, falls on his hands,” Dr. Saltzman said to him it made more sense than keeping it. Nick could use it, while everyone else, he wasn't sure about them.

“What are you going to do about Landon and Nick?” Hope asked, she was only really concerned about Landon though. And Hope didn’t want it to become necessary for her to forcibly prevent him from doing something stupid.

“If they want, they can join the Salvatore school, they are supernaturals, and it would go against our mission to abandon them,” Dr. Saltzman said, but he was doubtful that either one would sign up. Both fell into silence after that, and just continued digging with the shovels Dr. Saltzman had packed.

Josie pov football field 12:00 pm

Josie, similar to her sister, wasn't looking forward to the typical good game bullshit, they would have to put up with. They all got in a line and did their high fives. Josie against her better judgment, decided to be nice unlike the wolves and the rest of her team.

The only decent people were Finch, and the new kid Ethan. Things were going well until Lizzie got to Dana, “Shut up loser,” Dana said before Lizzie got to say anything, though Lizzie probably wouldn’t have said anything though.

Lizzie, deciding to be the more immature child of the two, socked her right in the face. Following that action mob mentality kicked in, and Josie quickly decided to leave the immediate danger pit. All of the referees and coaches started to try and separate the fight with varying degrees of success, She also noticed that Mr. Alex was back, and was sweating heavily.

Landon pov Tennessee woods

Both Hope and Dr. Saltzman finished burying the body a few minutes ago. Right now, Hope was casting magic to prevent naturals from finding the bodies. Nick also got back to see them wrapping up, He tossed the shovel inside the duffle bag along with the new blood bottles, which he quickly labeled as dragon before throwing them in there as well.

Nick was in a better mood than he was 10 minutes ago, but that wasn't saying much. He was upset with a lot of things, Landon and Rafael not listening to him when he said run, how Landon killed himself for him, he would have a serious discussion with Landon later.

“What are we going to do now, flaming chicken nugget?” Nick asked Landon.

Landon quirked his eyebrow while stifling his laughter, “Flaming chicken nugget?” Landon asked. He was used to Nick calling people weird nicknames, but this one was new.

“Well, you are a phoenix, so you are a chicken nugget that's always on fire,” Nick explained like it was the most obvious thing. Landon and Rafael both laughed at this logic, but they needed to laugh, especially after everything in the past 30 minutes.

“I have an offer for you two,” Dr. Saltzman said, once he walked over to them to join the conversation.

All of the brothers looked at him, with a large amount of distant, and distrust that he deserved. “I would like to offer both of you a place at the Salavotre school, exact same deal as Rafael, and Nick you can keep you family's demon mask but you must take full responsibility for it, but we will hold onto the knife since that's what all three monsters desired,” He laid the offer out. Once they had more information about the knife, they could re-discuss that part of the deal. And it sounded like it was stolen because it could be used practically, so there was no direct connection between it and the brothers.

Landon looked at both of his brothers. Rafael would go along with them, and Nick left the decision in his hands. He hated it when they made him choose. Why couldn't one of them just state their opinion, and they go with that. “And while you are there, we can help you figure out what are you are exactly and help you figure out your abilities,” Dr. Saltzman kept pushing, he wanted to make amends and give them a safe spot, and a potential home was the best thing he could do.

The newly awakened phoenix made up his mind. It would also allow him and his brothers to stay together. He wanted answers about his family, and he would finally get some. And a tiny part of him also wanted to see hope again, he missed her. “Yes, I would like to attend,” Landon said his piece uneasily. He didn’t know why or how, but he knew for sure the adult was being honest and he meant no danger.

“Count me in as well,” Nick said. Dr. Saltzman nodded. He was happy with things, and how things turned out today despite the start.

Dr. Saltzman grabbed the duffle bag and started walking back to the road. Rafael offered Landon his shoulder, who shook his head. He was physically fine. He didn't need any help. The three brothers, plus Hope, followed Dr. Saltzman out of the forest.

Josie Pov Football Field 12:15 PM

It took almost ten minutes for things to calm down, and for everyone to separate from one another. The wolves were locked inside the gym, while they were stuck inside their bus. Most of them were fine now because of their supernatural healing factors, but that didn’t mean they were okay physically.

Mr. Alex, once he got on the bus he was, livid, to put it mildly. “What the hell were you thinking?!, I expected better from almost all of you, and the rest of you guys should have been able to rein in the others,” he demanded an explanation.

“We still lost,” Lizzie poorly defended herself, and the team's actions, ignoring the fact that they were trying to win.

“That doesn’t matter, you will try to win, and you were using your powers todo it, and the only reason you lost is because someone actual understands what's at stake here, if I had my way I would have everyone here minus that individual compelled to forgot about the supernatural world,” Mr. Alex continued to rip into them.

“Does anyone here have a valid excuse as to why you did this shit?!” Mr. Alex asked again.

No one this time was dumb enough to raise their hand. “Okay, once Dr. Saltzman gets back, you will be forced to explain this situation,” He finished, seeing that most, at least looked like they regretted their action.

“And all of you are still under lockdown conditions until your punishment has been finished,” The magical chemistry teacher added, while remembering to mention it.

“What do you mean, is lockdown still active?” one of the werewolf students asked.

“The situation has been resolved,” was the simple response they got out of him. Before he sat in the driver’s seat, and drove them back to the Salvatore school.

Landon Pov

Unlike last time they were stuck inside this car, Dr. Saltzman managed to get a conversation going, ”Can Someone please fill me in on how you guys know Hope?, and Landon or Nick do either of you two have motion sickness?,” he asked the question that has been long on his mind, and asked the others so he could get back to the Salvatore school faster.

“Neither of us have motion sickness, and the only one of us who knows Hope is Landon, we just get whatever run information he provides,” Nick responded to the questions, while looking out the window.

With that response, Dr. Saltzman immediately picked up the speed. “We have magically enchanted all of the cars to go a lot faster,” Dr. Saltzman explained the sudden increase in speed. He wasn’t going as fast as he could because he didn’t want to reopen any wounds somehow at the sudden increase in speed.

Hope decided to answer the original question, “I met Landon one day when my mom brought me to see this event in the town square,” She explained, he just needed the basics.

Landon added in “And for the following months, we often ran into each other, until we had to leave,” Landon added in the last bit, he missed Mystic Falls. Landon also didn't want to tell the adult about how later they would sneak out and meet each other. It was difficult when both houses were on the outskirts of town, and barely half a mile apart. He wanted to keep those meetings as secret as he could, Nick and Rafael already gave him enough grief about that. If his brothers called him Romeo one more time, he would jokingly strangle them.

“Hope, I'm guessing Mikaelson is your actual last name?” Landon was pretty sure of the answer, but just wanted to make sure.

“I thought your last name was Marshall?” Rafael asked, confused, he thought the tree lady used the last name of the abusive parent or something to get into her head.

“To put it simply Rafael, my family has a thousand enemies for each year, the earth has existed,” Hope put it bluntly. “So if you know what's good for you, you will keep quiet,” Hope threatened Rafael, not caring that Dr. Saltzman heard. She had enough issues as is.

Landon quickly changed where this conversation was going. He didn't want to get in between his brother and someone he didn't exactly know what he felt, he knew he liked Hope, it was more than the bond he had with his brothers, and that scared him. He never had a good connection with anyone, minus his brothers and his foster family at Mystic Falls.

“Nick, what happened with your fight?” Landon asked the middle child, wanting to make sure he was fine.

“That fire freak was a dragon, and I killed it,” Nick said simply. He wasn't sure of a lot of details. After throwing up, he couldn't use his powers anymore, he didn't know if they were even his. Nick also made sure to bury his old organs with the corpse.

Landon just stared at the back of his head, expecting more from him, but he didn't seem interested in talking anymore or giving more details. Rafael gave him more details “After your stupidity, he put on the mask, and it looked like his body was mutating into a demon body, and he could control shadows,” Rafael was still upset with Landon’s actions, of him sacrificing himself.

“Nick, are you okay?,” Landon didn't want his sibling to be upset with him.

“Landon, we can talk later,” Nick’s voice made it clear that he didn't want to discuss it right now, but he wasn't that upset.

“Dr. Saltzman or Hope, what exactly are our abilities? We are pretty sure I'm a phoenix and Nick is most likely a demon,” Landon asked, hoping to learn more.

“We have no idea, until today we had no idea that, dragons, dryads, nymphs, demons, and phoenixes existed, so we have no concrete facts, other than what we saw today,” Dr. Saltzman said. Hope let Dr. Saltzman do his thing, not needing to add anything, she also made a mental note to call Freya and Kol later when she got the chance. Landon didn't know how to feel, he finally had a chance to find his family, but only to learn he was the first of his kind. He should have known better to get his hopes up, they threw him away.

“And I'm guessing that means you have no idea what that means for his copy abilities,” Nick asked. He couldn't recall a monster from a traditional myth that had the power to copy. And Nick also found it funny that Landon's last name was Kirby, which was an ironic last name.

“Yes, we can probably find something in the next few days, though,” Dr. Saltzman responded optimistically.

Landon Pov Salvatore school 1:57 PM

Landon didn't know how to feel exactly, here he was at the school that was hunting him not even 5 hours ago. And shoved him inside of a cell to be drugged to forget about them. Fate was one twisted bitch. Landon was also glad that it appeared that Dr. Saltzman had called the school ahead of time to let them know. No one has done anything besides giving them weird looks like yesterday.

It also appeared as if something else also happened while they were gone. Landon didn't want to know since it appeared more people were more on edge about that than anything else. They made it to Dr. Saltzman’s office, none of them bothered to take a seat, more of a precaution than anything else. Dr. Saltzman didn't seem to mind or care, he was grabbing the papers for older siblings to sign. The principal slid the papers across the desk, both of them read the terms before signing, not wanting to be trapped at the school, and seeing nothing unusual they signed, becoming students there.

“Okay, if you know anyone in town please hold off on meeting with them so we can get a story straight, second I would like for all of you guys to get check out by the doctor to make sure you are fine, and the scout should be back in with all of your stuff in the next hour or so, and your living arrangements will be set by then,” Dr. Saltzman paused before continuing, he knew it was unfair to them but he had to at least try to be fair. He would just give them a lighter punishment, the vast majority of the school would hate those two already, but still.

“Hope, until further notice you are not allowed off school grounds without staff supervision, and you are no longer allowed on recruitment missions or any major mission that normal students aren't allowed on, you will have community service to serve at a later date, and your appointments with Ms. Tigs are now weekly starting tomorrow, your punishment are on indefinitely hold until Ms. Tigs says otherwise,” Dr. Saltzman started with Hope, who just shrugged their shoulders she expected worse, but being able to see Landon on the daily made up for it.

Now the more unfair part of the punishment he had to dish out, “Sir, if this is about mine and Landon's actions then you should now it was all mine, I stole the mask and knife, and I was the one who managed to break us out,” Nick said already seeing where this was going. Landon felt bad, despite Nick being upset with him, here he was sacrificing his head. Landon wanted to stop him, but he knew Nick wouldn’t allow it.

Dr. Saltzman didn't know if he should feel relieved or concerned that Nick gave up his metaphorically head so easily. “Okay, since you did this before you were a student here, you will get a single thing of community service, for threatened staff, and attacking a student and causing mild harm,” Dr. Saltzman chose not to mention them escaping or theft, it made since, they only stole stuff they could use to defend themselves with, and what belonged to them. Dr. Saltzman knew from the cameras it was a lie, but allowed Nick to take the blame if he wanted it.

Dr. Saltzman also took this chance to let Nick know some details, “Nick, the demon mask has some history here, so keep it hidden away,”.

“I’m guessing you are referring to the part where it cursed a student to blood lust, Hope mentioned that while chasing after me, after the first confrontation with the dragon you had,” Nick asked, already knowing but just wanting to confirm facts. Dr. Saltzman just nodded his head.

“Before you go, can you please elaborate on how you escaped?” Dr. Saltzman asked, he didn't want a repeat of this with actual naturals, and next time he would put them through various tests first.

“No offense to my brother, who is a furry, but a cage designed to contain a wolf will not be effective at containing a human,” Nick said. Landon knew that Nick would call Rafael a furry sooner or later, but he didn't expect him to do it in front of the principal of the school they just joined. Rafael only looked mildly annoyed seeing the truth in the statement. And Hope's eye dangerously twitched, being a tribrid, she also felt that jab was also aimed at her indirectly.

Dr. Saltzman's eyes twitched. Nick chose to explain further. “In my old set of glass i hollowed out the support area to have lock picks, and there were some inside the cabinet, i used the ones hidden in their because why not, and for the rats, they walked close to window inside the cell for me to grab, i just had to hide them, and make sure they couldn’t escape, i did that because it was applied that those were safe spots for werewolf transformations, and it would make sense if you could remotely monitor them, and I doubted that they would be distinguish between a wolf, and a rat, if they couldn’t from a wolf and a human,” Nick followed explained. He wasn’t upset with losing his glasses, he had a spare, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be annoying to hollow out the support again to hide lock picks or mini knives.

“That's it for now, all three of you should be called down tomorrow to figure out your schedule,” Dr. Saltzman said, dismissing them from his office. On the way out, they saw 20 to 30 students waiting in the office looking upset with an angry adult in coach wear.

Once they walked past them, Hope asked, “Do you know where the medical wing is?”.

All of the brothers shook their heads, all of them felt fine and weren't planning on stopping there. “Landon, you just died, and Nick, you should see if there were any negative effects you haven't noticed,” Hope said, recognizing that look, she often had to force Henry when he was a student here to get checked out.

Landon didn't want to go, but he recognized that look on Hope's face from Nick and Rafael, they weren't asking. They were telling you to do it, or they would force you. Landon sighed and just followed Hope, his brothers right behind him.

They soon walked into a mini hospital, with 5 beds on each side. And in the very back was a bunch of medical cabinets and a desk that Landon guessed was the doctor. “Hope, you know the rules, unless you are injured, get out, and Alaric already told the staff about your punishment,” The doctor spoke upon seeing them. The doctor had short, untidy brown hair, with green eyes, and was wearing typical doctor clothing, he appeared to be as tall as Dr. Saltzman.

Hope, was willing to do a lot of stuff most people considered insane and dumb, but she wouldn't piss off a doctor. Someone who had the job to patch you up if you got injured, and just left, she knew she was fine, she was born with vampire blood in her system. Besides, she needs to talk to her aunt Freya, and uncle Kol.

Landon didn't know what to expect, and was feeling uneasy. How could they explain the situation they just went through? “He also explained what happened, take a bed, you should be out of here in ten minutes tops,” The doctor said, seeing Landon's face.

“Okay, since right now you are effectively the first of your species, I would recommend coming to me at the first sign something is off, just know we are learning with you,” The doctor said, once Landon and Nick took a seat on different beds.

The doctor looked over Landon first, “You should be fine, but we have no idea the limit of Resurrection abilities, so keep out for any pain in your chest, and try not to die,” he said after few minutes, Landon was glad to be done, the worst part was he grabbed a blood sample for future use and study.

Nick's check up was normal as well for the most part. The doctor untied the jacket sleeves that were still on as impromptu bandages. There were no new scars on his arms, “either heavily clean them before sewing them back on or throw them out,” the doctor said, putting them off to the side.

“Are you aware that you have multiple heartbeats?” The doctor asked Nick, who just nodded, as he was already used to it.

“Can you please tell me everything that happened that could explain your new anatomy?” the doctor requested.

Nick sighed, he kind of wished he had told Landon beforehand to prevent a freak out. “After my fight with the dragon, I noticed I was losing strength rapidly, and I took off the mask to see if that would help, it didn't, I threw up all of my insides while I was generating new ones,” Nick explained what happened.

“Okay, I would like for you to stop in sometime soon so I can see all of the changes, but you should be good for now,” The doctor said, giving him the all clear. Nick grabbed the sleeves of his jacket so he could sew them back on. Nick was also glad the doctor didn't mention anything about skin grafting, he liked his scar, they reminded him of his failures. Valid reasons to kill himself, and the reminders of why he had to continue living.

Landon was upset with his brother, “Why didn't you tell us that?! You could have died?” that came out more hypocritical than he meant it.

“Because I was fine, I could walk it off, and I was gonna mention it,” Nick said, he didn't know when, but he was going to mention it. “Before this conversation continues on, can we move it somewhere else, and not in a hallway?” Nick didn't want to cause a scene.

“We can continue it in my room,” Rafael offered, he didn't know how well soundproofed it was, but it was better than nothing.

Josie Pov Administrative building 2:10 PM

Josie was called down to the office, along with the rest of the team. Everyone was here, and it appeared everyone took the time to change, and freshen up. Josie was the second to last, the person in last was MG, who showed up before they were called in. She knew the lockdown ended, but that didn’t explain why Nick or Landon were here, they should have been compelled in the field.

Josie, along with the rest of the team walked into the office. It was packed, and everyone was shoulder to shoulder. Her dad got started right away, “I would like for you to explain what happened,” It was open ended but she knew he meant that question for Lizzie she was the captain.

“We used your abilities in front of a crowd, and we tried to win, but we still lost, and nobody found out,” Lizzie said half apologetically.

“What about you started a mini riot at the end of the game?” The principal asked his daughter directly.

“I couldn't control my reactions,” Lizzie said. She knew she couldn't blame Dana, but desperately wanted to. It was Dana’s fault she was in trouble, but Lizzie knew if she blamed Dana, her dad would just forceable sign her up for sessions with Ms. Tigs.

“Okay, and is there anything missing that you want to bring forward?” Dr. Saltzman asked, hoping there wasn’t anything else. No one responded.

“Okay, everyone involved will be forced into ten hours of community service, half of that is required to be with the wolves, Lizzie as team captain, and for allowing the disobeying of orders, displaying your abilities, and started a massive brawl, you will be a student aid for the staff for the entirety next month,” Dr. Saltzman knew he shouldn’t have singled out his daughter but, he needed to make an example out of someone publicly because he is starting to realize how much favoring Hope would screw them over.

Lizzie was going to try to say something, but their dad cut her off, “End of discussion,”. This was their punishment, and if they didn’t like it they should have followed orders.

Josie was upset, she did what was asked of them, and she understood why everyone would be upset with her if they found out. The only one who shouldn’t have been mad was her dad. She was only thankful for the fact that they didn’t drop her name. But that didn’t change the fact he gave her just as equal punishment, she understood that she used magic in public but no one saw, and it was the only one to prevent them from winning, she blamed that Satan bitch. She just hoped that he would pull her off to the side and tell her she didn’t have to do it, but if dealing with her dad’s favoritism in the past was any indication, that wouldn't happen.

“What about Lockdown being over?” Josie asked, hoping he wouldn’t cut her off. She could ask the witch supervisor, but she was also so mean to everyone. And when she was decent, she was never helpful to anyone.

Dr. Saltzman knew he had to explain the situation to the students, but at least this way he could control the amount of information given, “Landon and Nick’s supernatural powers activated during the chase to find them, we have not confirmed anything yet other then their have a variation on the witch gene,” he didn’t feel it was necessary information that monster appeared to be alive, or the exactly details, they had theories but nothing factual.

Josie was upset with the special treatment being shown indirectly with the brothers, because Landon was friends with Hope, or what. She wanted to say and ask a million questions, but she knew better than to do it right, especially when she was in hot water directly.

“What exactly, are these changes?” MG asked. Josie knew he was afraid, but he managed to keep it out of his voice. She was shocked that Dr. Saltzman answered, given that he was upset with them.

“Landon, has a mutation of the pyromancer abilities most likely, and Nick has control of shadows,” Dr. Saltzman answered, they should be aware of the confirmed facts, assuming there weren't one-time things, and he had no desire to start mass panic by informing the students about monster that they dealt with.

Nick sounded like an actual demon, at least with the powers he displayed so far, and she didn't trust him. She was used to dealing with demons, metaphorically speaking with the likes of Hope and Penelope, but now they have most likely an actual demon in the school. She didn't see the point in taking such big risks, let them fend for themselves. No one had anything else to say, so Dr. Saltzman waved to motion everyone out of the room.

Landon Pov Rafael’s room 2: 23 PM

Landon really wasn't looking forward to this conversation. He knew Nick was upset with him, and he hated it, he just wanted Nick to live. Why couldn't he just be happy with that?

“Nick, why are you upset with me?” Landon asked. He didn't want his brother to hate him, he just did what he thought was best at the time.

“Oh, I don’t know, the fact that you are the dumbest idiot!” Nick responded, with a lot more aggression than was needed.

“Nick, calm down,” Rafael jumped in, knowing Landon wouldn't be able to respond to Nick's aggression.

“Raf, I'm trying okay?, But both of you were idiots,” Nick said while trying to calm down. He didn’t like it when he was mad at his brothers, and never wanted them to feel afraid around him.

“That's hypocritical of you, put on a cursed mask, all you knew about it was that it enhanced bloodlust,” Rafael called Nick out on his stupid actions.

“It has been in my family for seven centuries, that is most likely the case for a reason,” Nick defended himself, but he knew the truth he just wanted to make sure he would kill those things that hurt his family.

“That doesn’t matter, you still did something equally as stupid as whatever you are claiming we did,” Rafael defended his and Landon's actions.

“I told you to run if you had the chance, you had multiple and yet stayed put, why?” Nick asked, not seeing why they didn't leave.

“Because we didn’t want to abandon you,” Landon said, even though it was a mutual departure with Rafael, it still left like they abandoned him. Landon didn't feel comfortable leaving Nick behind.

“Okay, thanks for the sentiment, but I would have been able to find you,” Nick said truthfully, and he was almost positive he would have been able to.

“How?” Rafael asked Nick, not seeing how he would be able to track them down.

“I don’t know,” Nick said, but he was confident that he could have figured out something.

“Okay, now you are a full blown hypocrite,” Rafael said. Nick was going to do something more stupid than their own actions.

Nick didn’t even try to deny it, He asked his oldest brother, “Landon, I have one question for you, why did you do it?”.

“You are my brother, I didn't want to see you die,” Landon said, he just wanted to be useful to his family.

“I have no value, unlike you,” Nick said simply, with no hint of emotion. He couldn't see anything of value in his life. Compared to his brothers.

“Shut up both of you, both of you have value,” Rafael said, trying to remove all of the depression in the air.

“You could have died for good, Landon do you know what it was to feel like, seeing you get killed in front of me and knowing I could have done something this time, what it was like to see you get pierced open like a sheeskab, and see you organs drop out of your body?,” Nick asked Landon trying to make his bother understand his side.

“Nick, and Rafael, I’m sorry about you seeing me die, but I'm fine now, and don’t regret it, and I would gladly die for either of you,” Landon apologized for his actions but made it clear that he wouldn't change his actions in the future.

“Don’t, we have no idea if that will happen again, it could be a one time thing, or next time it's the one McGuffin item that could keep you dead,” Nick said. He didn't want to be the reason why his brother died for good.

“We don’t know anything, and how times do you hear about phoenixs only dying once, it’s always and forever, let alone any myth that talks about how to kill one, none of the media about supernaturals are accurate according to Dr. saltzman,” Landon defend himself, he was having difficulty imagine a way that would keep him dead.

“Dr. Saltzman also said they didn’t believe that magical creatures like us existed, so nothing confirmed,” Nick said, before continuing, “and promise me one thing,” he was almost pleading to his brother.

“What?” Landon asked the criminally insane middle child.

“No matter what, you will not get yourself killed again, or sacrifice yourself for me,” Nick requested of his oldest brother, with Rafael nodding his head in agreement.

“No, until you can say with full truth you are no longer suicidal,” Landon responded, he knew it was a low blow, but he didn't care, he could finally be useful to a certain degree.

Nick wanted Landon to agree, but he knew better. He wanted to keep pushing, but he knew Landon would usually just be a wallflower. Nick let it be, glad that Landon was actually stating what he thought compared to when they met. Landon was so afraid, and scared that he wouldn’t state his opinion, and would just do what everyone else wanted for the most part.

“Nick and Rafael, thanks for caring about me,” Landon said. It felt good knowing that he had people who cared about him.

“No problem, and while the mood is positive now, Nick you kept your promises,” Rafael said to the middle child. Both Landon and Rafael knew he would be beating himself up at that.

“That doesn't change the fact that I let Landon die or that I felt joy and satisfaction at killing her,” Nick responded. Hell, he never thought about his promise to his dad during the fight, he just wanted to kill. He was no better than everyone who has come before him.

All of them heard the sound of knocking, “You can come in,” Rafael responded to the knocking.

Two people walked in, a woman who had a surprising resemblance to Rafael. Both shared the same intense dark brown eyes, with similarly dark brown hair, but she was just a tad taller than Rafael. She had on a green camouflage vest, with athletic slash punk clothing. Rafael greeted one of them, “Hi Jake, who's the new person?”. Landon noticed a small amount of distrust was in his voice, which was aided by Rafael standing in between the four of them.

“Hi, Rafael, this is Lucia, she was the scout that found you and alerted us to you, and cleaned up the mess with your foster parents,” Jake responded and introduced the new person. Lucia nodded, not saying anything else.

“Either way, Rafael you have been changed into your permanent room, Landon and Nick, you will also live with him,” Jake explained why they were there.

Jake started to walk away, and Rafael followed him, both of his brothers followed after them. Landon was nervous when he was led up a staircase with a door at the end. But he was proven wrong, at least for now.

There appeared to be a balcony on the very left side of the room. The balcony also appeared, to allow for easy access to the building's roof. There were three twin size beds all lined up on the back wall. A dresser, attached to the wall that covered the staircase with their suitcases and bags on top of it. With a small bathroom in the right corner.

Nick went over to his bag and threw on his spare glasses. Neither of the brothers were sure on why Nick was so insistent on wearing glasses when he just kept on losing them. “We will leave you guys to get set up,” Jake said, leaving with Lucia following after him.

None of the brothers unpacked, they never stayed anywhere long enough to bother. Landon also found it amusing that on Nick’s bag was a rule school book, which would only make Nick more annoying to deal with. Landon looked at his brothers, and all of them mentally agreed to spend the rest of the day being lazy.

Nick started cleaning the sleeves of his jacket, after putting his knife away in his suitcase and his mask for right now, Rafael grabbed his book and started reading, and Landon decided to continue on with his solo D&D adventure. Both of his brothers would play with him, but they never really cared for it.

Jake pov 2 37 Jake's office

“Thanks Jake,” Butch said to him, once they sat down in his office.

“No problem, are you glad to see your son again?” Jake asked the mom of Rafael.

“ya, I'm glad he turned out fine,” Butch said, happy to see him okay. While looking at her drink with regret at how things turned out.

“You do know it wasn't your fault, you just activated your curse,” Jake said, seeing the look in her eyes.

“That doesn't change the fact I almost killed him,” she responded, ashamed. She remembered everything, how she wanted to rip her son apart.

“Even in your wolf form, you managed to stop yourself, you knew he was your son,” Jake said, trying to help his friend.

“Listen, i appreciate what you are trying to do but, I have made peace with the fact my son is safer away from me,” Butch attempted to defend her actions. She was just glad to see her son happy.

Jake and Butch continued to drink in silence, neither saying a word. Butch was remanicanse on how things turned out this way. She activated her werewolf gene when Rafael was 5. She was serving in the military before being dismissed for behavioral issues. Her husband died three years before, and her family, who were watching Rafael and taking care of him, died shortly after getting back.

She didn't know anything about this stupid curse or bloodline until she changed for the first time. She knew for a fact that if it were anyone else who found her, she would have been put down. Jake was a scout at the time, and he was desperate to find her in case she was in public. They fought in their wolf forms, she didn't remember a whole lot from that night. She just remembered a few crucial bits. How, almost immediately after turning she stalked into her son's room, and wanted blood.

Thankfully, she didn't make the worst mistake of her life. Jake injured his wolf form while breaking into the house. Almost immediately she switched from a monster to a protector, she put herself in between the door and her kid.

She didn't remember anything after that. Jake filled her in after they transformed back into humans. She was ashamed of herself for almost attacking her son. She wanted to run away and keep her son safe. Conveniently Jake offered her a job at the Salavotre school. First it was a coach position while she learned about her wolf side, and then she became a scout for the school.

“Jake, I have a quick question,” Butch said to her oldest friend at this point.

“What is it Butch?,” Jake asked, expecting her to request him to watch out for her son, but was proven wrong.

“What happened exactly today? And everyone is used to Alaric bending the rules for Hope, but what caused him to order you to put them inside that room,” Butch asked her question.

“Supernatural bullshit, Rafael’s brothers aren’t normal and I'm pretty sure he wants them to be out of the way incase of something happens, and maybe as a weird way to apologize for his actions,” Jake explained, but he guessed at the last part.

“Jake, can promise me that you will watch out for Rafael,” Butch requested from the person responsible for turning her life around.

“Yes, but you should at least talk to your son, you don’t even have to tell him,” Jake responded. He wanted his friend to be happy, and he was pretty sure it would also help Rafael if she did tell him. He would know his mom loved him.

Butch gave it though before deciding not to do anything, she knew her son would be better off without her, He had his own family now. She finished her drink, and left the office to get on the move again. “Thanks, Jake, for everything,” she said while walking out of the office.

Josie pov 2:50 Josie’s Salvatore room

Josie was surprised by the knock on the door, but was grateful for it. She didn’t have anything to do, and her sister was just complaining about how unfair life is. Blaming everyone except herself, like always. Josie got up and opened the door, surprised to see her father outside the door. “Hi, what do you need from us?” Josie asked her dad, not expecting him to be a dad.

“Lizzie, can you leave us alone for a minute?” their dad requested from the oldest child. Once he got entered his daughter’s room.

“Josie will just tell me,” Lizzie responded, not getting off her bed, but it was clear she was still frustrated with her dad's decision. Alaric just nodded to the comment assuming it was true. He shut the door so the conversation wouldn’t be overheard, he sat down on Josie's bed and looked at her.

Josie was willing to bet it would have been false. She didn’t tell Lizzie everything, and she wouldn’t tell her sister that she was the reason why they lost. She didn’t tell Lizzie that she was dating Penople until it was over, or she was dumb enough to have a crush on Hope when she was thirteen, she was willing to bet Hope used some kind of twisted spell for her own kicks.

Josie also didn’t tell Lizzie about the fact that she was learning offensive magic, Lizzie probably thought she was over preparing for classes. But that didn’t matter. Josie knew her sister had a vengeful streak almost as long as Hope’s or any Mikaelson’s, thankfully Lizzie was above torturing her sister.

“Josie, thanks for everything today,” Their dad started off before going on, “For helping us siphoning the barrier and for obeying instructions.” Josie looked over to see her sister, now sitting up staring at her with shock and anger in her eyes. “You will have to serve a minor punishment, just five hours whenever, and won't be forced to do it with the wolves, it's a warning to you, please don't do magic in public again,” their dad finished what he was talking about. Josie was also pleasantly shocked that her dad wasn't doing his normal group punishment stuff, and let her off the hook more or less, and took it as a sign he would actually be her dad now.

“Who told, or did Mr. Alex’s see me do the magic?” Josie asked, she wanted to know how she was found out.

“Yes, Mr. Alex saw you do the spell, and Penolope also told us, she requested that you go unpunished,” Alaric explained to the youngest twin. Josie was twitching in full blown annoyance at the name of Penonolpe momentarily forgetting about everything else. Why couldn’t that worthless bitch stay the fuck away from her, and what game was she even playing at.

“Okay,” was all that she could muster. She was also in shock that her dad gave her somewhat special treatment to her, and would hopefully soon start acting like a dad. She was also trying to figure out what Penelope was playing. He got up and left the room leaving her alone to fend off a furious twin.

“Josie, what the hell were you thinking!” Lizzie started yelling once she was sure her dad wouldn’t hear, and shut the door after he walked out. Josie regretted having her sister listen to the conversation.

“I was doing what was asked of us! Sorry I actually care, and don't want to be abandoned for good, because of your petty selfishness,” Josie shot back at her sister.

“I'm the petty one? You are the one who almost screwed us over! Dad will always be in Hope's pocket now,” Lizzie yelled to her sister.

“If you weren't always causing issues every single second maybe he would love you,” Josie said in response before continuing. “And I stop it from happening because he knows I will listen to him!” Josie claimed, if they were associated with good then they would be the better option.

“He will never love us if we can't prove we are incapable of following simple directions, I hope you have fun burning this bridge for good one day.” Josie cut off her sister who was about to start screaming again, and made sure to emphasize the word hope.

“Dad is practically wrapped around that thing's fingers by disobeying and acting up! This is why you're no better than Hope, you only look after yourself,” Lizzie yelled back. If it worked for one person, it will work again on the same person. Lizzie also ignored that her plan would do nothing to help her sister, it would just help her.

“Why can't you see I'm trying to help us, I don't want him to associate us with anything bad, unlike Hope who is nothing but trouble,” Josie defended her actions, she was mad at being called just as selfish as hope by someone who actually was, but kept her mouth shut.

“I'm tired of being used! To whores and monsters, Dana, Hope, Penelope, and a million more, I just don't want to be in this little game of yours,” Lizzie fired back.

Lizzie stormed out of their room. Josie sighed in relief, she wouldn't have to put up with her sister when she was being unreasonable. She knew Lizzie would be fine, but she wasn't sure about herself. Right now, Josie wouldn't put it past her twin to spill that can of worms, she was the reason why they lost.

Hope pov 3:17 Hope’s Salvatore Room

Hope was glad she managed to sneak a burner phone on campus. Dr. Saltzman may have confiscated her normal phone, for her various actions but that wouldn't stop her. She was glad that she lived in a single room, the same one since she started here. Hope peeled back one of the floorboards right beside her bed, and this was the spot where she hid all of the contraband items. She wouldn’t use any of the school’s phones because nine times out ten they were bugged, and she also had the same suspicion with the multiple public payphones around town.

She grabbed the burner phone, and debated on who to call first Aunt Freya or Uncle Kol. She decided to call Kol last, he would probably end up asking fewer questions. Which meant she had more energy to deal with Freya. “Hello, who am I talking to?” Freya asked over the phone.

“Hi, Aunt Freya,” Hope responded, smiling at hearing a familiar voice.

“Hope what happened, and whose phone is this?” Freya asked her niece slash student.

“It's a burner phone Dad left me,” Hope paused remembering her dad before continuing. “I promise not to freak out and storm the school?” Hope asked.

“Hope that's not helping, do you need anything?” Freya asked, now worrying for the safety of her niece. Hope could have sworn she heard her aunt grab car keys just in case.

“To cut the long story short, because of a sequence of events, we have two unknowns of supernatural origin, and we believe that monsters like dragons exist because we just fought one,” Hope explained, knowing Freya would blow up.

“What!?! Hope if you got hurt because of someone's stupidity, I will kill them,” Freya exploded in fury, worried that her niece was hurt.

“I'm fine, I just need to pick your brain about a few questions,” Hope stated to her witch aunt, hoping for a positive response.

“Ask away, but I will most likely not have an answer,” Freya told her niece. She doubted that she would have anything of use for unknown creatures. Even if she had all of Dahila’s grimoires, Hope made it clear that she never wanted them, but they both agreed that they were unfortunately too useful to burn.

Hope knew that but remained hopeful, “One of the new students is most likely a hybrid of something, we are almost positive for the first thing the second not so much, so far we knew for sure, they appear to have a copy power, and their blood feels like and acts like mud,” Hope stated what she was sure of, choosing to leave out Landon's phoenix side, and Nick entirely not caring for him, and he appeared to have more common powers while she was stumped at thinking what the other half Landon could be. She was also pretty sure Nick would be able to find out easily by himself, not to mention his brothers would help him.

“I have no idea, but I will let you know if I get something, and what's their other half?” Freya asked, surprised that another hybrid was walking around.

“We are almost positive he's a phoenix, he walked off having his chest shot open, and just revived himself in a fire,” Hope said.

“Okay,” was the simple response Freya gave, not knowing what to do with the information that phoenixes existed somehow.

“Could you also send me a list of offensive spells?” Hope asked the person who trained her in magic.

“Why?,” Freya asked Hope, she wasn't opposed to it, she just wanted to know why, and potentially talk her out of something stupid, but if she somehow found the bastard that killed Hope’s mom, Alaric was dead set on protecting then she would gladly send her a list ten miles long.

“Today, when I was caught up with trying to find, I got into a fight with a water nymph and dryad, and I could only fight to a standstill,” Hope explained. She knew that she would need to get stronger.

“Okay, I will send some over later, can you now give me the long story, Hope?” Freya agreed to what Hope requested, but was still curious.

“Remember when I lived here with mom, how I meet a natural, turns out all of his brothers are supernaturals, we found them when one of them awaked his werewolf gene, and they others brothers managed to shake off a compulsion, and they escaped at night because Dr. Saltzman want to try and make them forgot about, during their escape the middle brother find his family items that were left behind when they got sent to a new foster home, and we didn't know that so we followed them, both of their powers awakened, and we found monsters exist for real,” Hope gave her the crash course of what the past 48 hours were for her.

“You are referring to Landon right?” Freya asked, remembering Hope talking about him on a few occasions. She also remembered Niklaus thinking of ways to kill him if he tried something.

“Yes,” Hope admitted sheepishly.

“Just take care of yourself, Hope,” Freya said half teasing her niece, but she would call Alaric later to get the full story.

“Thanks for the help, and will do,” Hope responded while hanging up. She expected having to fight her aunt not to do anything. The tribrid quickly called Kol.

“Hello, who is this?” Hope recognized Davina's voice, she also wasn't shocked about it.

“Hope, can I talk to Kol, Aunty D?” Hope responded.

“Hope, what's going on? Do you need us to come get you? Where are you?” Davina asked her niece.

“I'm fine, and I'm at the Salvatore school, I was calling because I have a question about kemiya,” Hope answered her Aunt. She wouldn't ask about offensive magic from her. She knew a wide variety of spells and was powerful but she would show up to take her away from danger.

“You want your Uncle to do your homework for you?” Davina teased her niece.

“We both knew he would gladly do it, and no, I need to ask him a question,” Hope responded.

Hope heard the phone move a bit before hearing her uncle, “How’s my favorite little nerd?” he teased like always. She smiled, glad to know some things never changed.

“Good, I have a question, for pyromancers, they are only capable of fire magic, correct? But using a kemiya object, spelled the right way, means they could perform all magic?” Hope asked the question on her mind. She wanted to know if Landon would be stuck using his fire powers and whatever he could copy.

“In theory, yes, but you do know their more skilled practitioners of kemiya if you want a more definitive answer or something like that is capable of being made,” Kol responded to the question.

Hope smiled despite the fact that Kol didn't make this branch of magic he was by far the most skilled and knowledgeable on it, perks of being able to live forever. “Thanks, be safe,” Hope teased her uncle.

“I should be the one telling you that, Hope,” Kol teased back to his niece, knowing her natural talent to attract danger that gave his youngest brother a million grey hairs, before hanging up. When she finished her call, she felt a large piece of paper teleport into her pocket. She smiled at seeing the list, but decided to hold off until next weekend to start practicing them.

Alaric pov 8 pm

Dorian found Alaric outside, staring outside of the gate. “What are you doing out here?” Alaric was surprised, completely zoning out, at Dorian's questions.

“Do you think I'm making the right choice?” Alaric asked the person he trusted the most, at the school.

“You are gonna have to be a lot more specific, the multiple hope situations, the monster, the knife, the new supernaturals,” Dorian listed off the multiple things that came to his mind.

“All I guess, I just want to protect these kids as much as possible, and yet it seems the world is getting more dangerous, dragons today, hydras tomorrow, then the apocalypse,” Alaric said.

“And it very well could just be a one and done situation, we shouldn't work the students up anymore,” Dorian said, but you could tell he doubted it himself.

Both started to wander back inside, ending up in his office. Alaric poured both of them drinks. Dorain said after taking a sip, “And Alaric, thanks for actually standing your ground and laying out a punishment against Hope,”.

“She actually didn't even try to fight it,” Alaric said simply. He expected millions of things to happen before Hope fell over and just took a punishment. He still hasn't seen a pig fly yet. So he was planning on her disobeying him.

“We both know she's plotting something, right? And just because she didn't fight it then doesn't mean she won't fight it later,” Dorian said simply. Both of them knew it was probably true.

“Yeah, but it does seem that she is a bit more tame right now compared to normal,” Alaric said hopefully.

“What do you think of the three brothers so far?” Dorian asked his best friend, who was a bit skeptical of the older two.

“Rafael seems fine, perfectly normal as can be for a newly activated wolf, Nick seems reasonable and if his files made anything clear don't mess with his brothers, And Landon seems fine, just worried about the interest Hope has shown in him, and his other set of abilities could be very interesting,” Alaric responded to the grounds keeper.

“What do you mean?” Dorian asked the principal, the groundskeeper never expected anything good out of a Mikaelson.

“I don't know, they seem close, apparently they used to know each other when they lived here, and he is aware of her hiding her last name, but not the history,” Alaric explained, but he doubted it was that clean of a cut. And was also afraid of what would happen once he found out, he didn’t want any progress to keep her away from her family to be undone, because of this affection.

“If that kid is smart, he will run once he finds out how crazy she is gonna become,” Dorian said, not really caring about how it will affect Hope.

“I doubt it,” Alaric responded simply, he didn't know why but he doubted Landon would take a dip after finding out.

“And, I think you did the right thing. It’s better to keep them uninformed while we are still figuring stuff out,” Dorian said, seeing that Alaric was still conflicted with lying to the students.

“What do you think Landon's other half is, and what Nick is?” Alaric asked Dorian, knowing he probably started the betting pool, which wasn’t shocking knowing the staff's betting history.

“Landon got everyone stumped, right now the only thing we can think of is he had a mutation of the doplenger gene or a new species, Nick is more spread out, 3 say Tariaksuq, 5 say shadow walker, and the rest say underworld creature,” Dorian caught him up on the betting pool.

“I will bet a hundred dollars on Landon being a new species, and fifty on Nick being a Tariaksuq,” Alaric guessed, while remembering to collect his bet for guessing werewolf.

“Okay, do you need me to do anything else, or I'm I good to crash tonight?” Dorian asked, once he finished his drink.

“Nope, have a good night's rest,” Alaric said to his friend. Dorian left, leaving Alaric to finish his work for today, before heading back to his room to sleep. Praying that tomorrow would be uneventful.

Malivore pov Triad industries

Malivore wasn’t disappointed with how things turned out. Yes, the knife got away, but he still had plenty of stored energy and was regaining energy faster now with the key inside the lock. The tribrid remained unactivated, and he knew what she was fully capable of.

He was pleased with the turnout of the curse modification he made to the demon mask. All seven hundred years, and 30 souls of demonic cultivation through the ancestors minus the original brothers, plus all of their victims of built up demon energy inside of one person.

The only thing that displeased him was the news of his phoenix son. He didn't want any of his kids to have his powers, because that meant they most likely needed to eat as much as him. He already needed to figure out a solution to that, but he was drawing blanks on ideas. He had no desire to create muses, so they would be a short term solution. All witches, even specialized ones, were the same. For nature, nature, this and that, natural law stuff. If he really was such a sin against nature, then why did they make him in the first place hypocritical bastards.

But Malivore was also curious to see how much of his powers mutated inside of son. When he absorbed the water nymph, it seemed not to affect anyone's memory. He could also use its abilities, something he couldn't do. Malivore was hopeful somehow that this vessel would be immune to tribrid blood, it would remove that threat entirely. It was also beneficial that the tribrid seemed fond of the body.

Malivore, was also glad the dragon was gone, it took him almost fifty years to get enough energy and make a pit big enough to spit her out, and she was useless. Dragons were always praised as being able to find any treasure, and yet in the five years she was loose she came up with nothing. To be more precise nothing he could gain from, he had no need for money.

Malivore was deciding on his next course of action for the knife, but it was difficult. He needed to eat, and that useless son seemed to be delayed in giving him food. Malivore decided to send a gargoyle. He knew better than to make a decision while hungry, but he wanted more information about his son's new powers. Could he absorb normal supernaturals and magically made creatures? He was honestly considering giving up on his plan a, and b depending on how things went, he would keep them alive they could be of use after all. He wanted his bloodline to become a species after all.

Chapter Text

Landon Pov February 28th 6 21 am Landon's Salvatore room

Landon woke up, and he didn't see either of his brothers, but wasn't shocked about that, they always woke up before him. He somehow managed to see a note on the nightstand with Rafael’s signature chicken scratch handwriting. Correction, chicken scratch was somehow easier to read than Rafael’s handwriting.

Going for a run, Nick is joining me, we should be back by 7. Take care, Nick says don’t do anything stupid.

Landon got ready for the day. He honestly regretted skipping dinner, none of them felt like they could eat last night. And he would be lying to himself if it wasn't also because he was afraid of being near so many people that probably hated his guts. And rightfully so, all he does is cause trouble.

He was technically responsible for starting the lockdown, despite Nick taking the blame. And Rafael mentioned how he had threatened the school's wolf pack's alpha. And just in general he wanted to avoid the general, on slot of questions.

Landon grabbed one of his contacts and popped them in. Landon knew he could wait since he had no immediate plans, but it would have made anything impossible to see anything. Landon got out of his bed, and grabbed clothes from his bag, and while grabbing his clothes he noticed on Nick's jacket, which was on his bag, the rule book with a paper maker.

Landon decided to leave it be, if Nick found something he would tell them. Landon knew that Nick probably read it after he and Rafael crashed last night. Nick was always up the latest out of them, and up the soonest. Landon started to get ready for the day, knowing that once Rafael and Nick got back they would shower.

Once he was done getting himself set for today, he tried to find something to do, so he could be productive, but couldn't find anything. Rafael made his bed before leaving, Nick’s bed was identical to what it was last night indicating he slept standing up again.

Landon wanted to find a map of the school's grounds or something, to see if he could find somewhere to keep busy for the next twenty minutes. Landon wished he had a watch so he could at least go exploring, but he knew he would quickly lose track of time, and his brothers would flip out if he vanished.

Josie pov 6:30 am Josie’s room Salvatore school

Josie was instantly awakened by the first ring of her alarm. She didn't know what to expect this morning, but she wasn't looking forward to it. After their fight, she immediately regretted everything she had said. She regretted all of her actions at the football game, she didn't want to lose her sister.

She was also worried about her sister, Lizzie didn’t show up last night. Josie wanted to call or text her dad or someone to help find her, to make sure she was safe. Thankfully a classmate texted and let her know she was crashing in their room.

Josie wanted to make up with her sister, this was their first confrontational fight. And she had no idea where to start to mend their relationship, how much space did she need to give Lizzie, how did she go about apologizing? Josie was starting to feel overwhelmed, and started trying to calm herself.

She got out of her bed and started getting ready for today. She didn't hate Mondays as much as everyone else, she was honestly looking forward to today. She would be learning chain spells and connection spells for the rest of the year. Or was looking forward to it. She would have been able to do it with Lizzie, but given that her sister rightfully hated her, she doubted she would have any fun.

After getting ready, she went to the dining hall, and saw it was more empty than normal at this hour, only 20 wolves compared to the 50 or so in the ‘inner/older pack’. And she didn't see MG this morning, which she wasn't shocked about, She knew that he would hate her, given his obvious crush on her sister, and her actions against Lizzie. She wouldn’t be shocked if MG stayed away from her for a while. Josie assumed the rest of the morning crowd was tired from yesterday.

Rafael pov lower gym 6:47

Rafael was having fun with his brother, right both of them were sparring with each other. When Rafael thought back, the last time he signed up for either wrestling or boxing was in middle school. Same with Nick, and he easily remembered why both loved sparring with one another, and it was a great way to let loose some steam. It didn't help that he couldn't sleep all of last night, and was just feeling restless in general.

When he woke up saw Nick was awake and wasn't surprised by that or the fact he wasn't in his bed, and he was just leaning against the back wall. They agreed to go for a run, and after an hour or so, they ended up down here. When he went to find the punching bag from yesterday, he found boxing gloves and helmets instead, and that's how he was sparring against the middle child.

Rafael eventually managed to get the upper hand on his brother and punched him out of the section they dubbed as their fighting space. Rafael knew their spar was unfair to Nick, but he was still proud to have won their match regardless. Nick didn't have the necessary weight to make wrestling work against him, Rafael was easily thirty pounds more than Nick, and finally, Nick was never comfortable at using either wrestling or boxing, despite continuing to keep having semi infrequent practice.

The only thing going in Nick's favor was that they were both about the same height, which meant similar reach, and Nick has been in more fights. And to add a cherry on top of this horrific match up was Rafael had received no serious injuries yesterday. He just got minor rope burns on his wrists, ankles, and torso from him struggling to free himself. He was upset with yesterday because he wasn't able to help at all.

Rafael was also surprised to see Nick keeping up with him physically for the entire morning. He was physically stronger than most of the wolf students, probably upper twenties, based on what the pack made him do yesterday. But considering most of the wolves worked out, the fact that he was that strong already was impressive. But Rafael doubted it, considering how Jed acted later, he probably lied to inflate his ego to make it easier to control him somehow.

“Good job, little bro,” Nick said to him once he caught his breath from the punch that knocked him out of the ring.

“Thanks, what do you think today will be like?” Rafael asked his brother, both stopped and took a seat on the bench, after they finished cleaning up their mess. Which was them just putting away the sparring gear.

“I have no idea, we will probably wait around until we get called to the office, but I'm guessing a crash course on the basics, and intermediate topics,” Nick said what he guessed would happen.

“Are you excited?” Nick asked the youngest brother.

“Eh, School is School, even if we are in the closest thing to real life Hogwarts,” Rafael responded to Nick.

“So you're telling me you are not excited to learn about your abilities and powers?” Nick teased his youngest brother, expecting him to be more excited.

“Yes, but I don't see why you are sticking around, most people will hate both of you, and pissed off a third of the school, so big targets,” Rafael repsoned, he just thought it would be better for them if they hightailed it and ran.

“It's always been us three against the world, and this time it's no different, all of us are supernaturals,” Nick said.

Rafael just nodded his head, it was true, it was always them, against everyone. “Race to our room,” he said while bolting, getting a head start. Nick smiled and started to chase after his youngest brother, not caring if they woke someone up.

Landon's Pov 7:05 am Landon's Salvatore room

He was just laying on top of his bed, jotting down several music ideas for later. That was something else he wanted to find out, if he could borrow a guitar from the school on occasions. He enjoyed making and playing music, but he never felt comfortable playing in front of anyone. And it didn't help that he didn't have his own, he was constantly borrowing a guitar from one store to another. He and his brothers could usually find odd jobs around the neighborhood, they could do for cash when they were younger.

Which reminded Landon that he would have to find a payphone to call their previous workplace to let them know they quit. Landon smiled at the thought of having a phone one day, it made everything so much easier.

“Good Morning, Lan,” Nick said when he walked in after opening the balcony doors. Landon also noticed that he was sweating.

“Nick for fucks sake, why did use the balcony, better question how?” Landon shouldn't have been shocked that Nick somehow did something like this.

“Good Morning, Landon,” Rafael said after seeing him when he opened the normal door.

“I win, Rafi, I get the shower first,” Nick said to Rafael before he turned around to see him standing by the balcony doors.

“How? You never passed me,” Rafael asked, sure he had won their makeshift competition.

“The balcony,” Nick responded simply, like this explanation was all that was needed.

“Again, why and how?” Landon asked the middle child, who was grabbing clothes to change into after a shower.

“On the left hand side of the balcony, there is a tree, tall and close enough, so I scaled it and jumped,” Nick elaborated, and explained as if this was completely normal and his brothers were the weird ones. Landon didn't question it, and he did notice the tree yesterday, but didn't assume it was that close but kept it in mind for later.

Landon and Rafael sighed, not knowing what else to do about Nick's shenanigans. Nick took the shower first, leaving Landon and Rafael to talk. “How was your run this morning?” Landon asked his brother.

“Pretty good, we ran around the perimeter of the school for the first two laps before it devolved into tag in the woods,” Rafael explained to the only brother who slept in most of the time. Even then, Landon didn’t sleep in until what most people considered normal. Rafael and Landon both blamed their crappy sleep schedule on John, and Amanda. They lived an hour out of town, and they wouldn’t waste money or time to drive them to school, so they had to wake up early and walk. Hell, the only reason why they had foster kids, was for an extra paycheck, and more labour they didn’t have to pay for their farm. And those bastards made sure to mention when they beat them. Rafael also made a mental note to ask about the metal silo he saw this morning later.

“Anything else?” Landon asked his youngest brother because both of them appeared to be more tired than normal from what only sounded like a light jog.

“Ya, after a bit we ended up in the lower gym which has the storage room, we were trying to find a punching bag, but we found boxing equipment, so we did that for 30 minutes,” Rafael explained, it felt good to spar with his brother.

“Excited?” Landon decided to make some idle chatter while they waited for Nick to do his thing.

“More nervous than another else, you would think after being the new kids over twenty times, we wouldn't be, but I guess I'm wrong,” Rafael explained.

“How's your music coming along?” Rafael asked when he saw Landon's pocket notebook on Landon’s nightstand.

“Good,” Landon responded, he was still stuck on one song, but at least he was making progress.

“Raf, your turn,” Nick said when he walked out of the bathroom, in his typical dark colors, minus his jacket, which was sitting on top of his bag with the sleeves still detached. His shirt's sleeves were long enough to cover his scars on his arms. All of them had scars. Rafael had some from their multiple abusive alcoholic foster parents, and a cigarette burn. Landon had a few scratches that were easy to hide, the worst one was under his left armpit when one beat him with a metal cane. While Nick just had too many to keep track of. None of them were ashamed of their scars, it was just always easier to hide them and never deal with the pity. Or Nick's case, how horrific they looked, they probably could make someone with a weak stomach throw up.

“Nick, aren't we supposed to be in uniforms?” Rafael asked, pointing to the closet which had suits in various sizes.

“According to the rule book a uniform is anything considered casual or professional with a Salvatore school logo located on either a shirt or jacket, and we can get pins from the office,” Nick explained what he found while reading last night.

Rafael shrugged, Landon guessed that he would probably still wear one of the suits provided to them. Either way Rafael started to get ready for the day. Nick and Landon just stood by waiting for him to finish up.

“Nick, did you grab a map or schedule?” Landon asked his brother.

“Nope, they probably will give us one when we sign up for stuff,” Nick responded, and they could ask for directions from one of the staff. Nick doubted the staff would do anything actively against them unlike students, but wouldn't hold his breath. If foster care taught him anything, adults could easily be more vile than people their age.

“I think after we eat, we should wait near the administrative building,” Landon suggested his idea. Nick nodded, Landon knew he agreed with the plan.

Both Landon and Nick waited for Rafael to finish up, and they were right he threw on one of the provided suits. “Overachiever,” Nick teased his brother.

“Sorry I doubt mind what you have dubbed as fancy shit,” Rafael responded. Landon and Rafael both knew Nick hated fancy clothing. Nick said it was like a million tiny needles drilling into you, and it restricted everything.

“Okay, if you two are done, let's go. I know both of you are hungry,” Landon said, ignoring his own hunger.

Both of them just nodded and left the room. There were no keys to lock the door which left him and probably Nick nervous. Landon knew nothing would probably happen but that still didn't make it any better.

On their way down they bumped into Hope, and Landon couldn't help but smile. “Good morning, and good luck today,” she greeted them, Landon felt it was more directed at him than his brothers.

“Thanks you too, any advice for today?” Landon asked, wanting to be prepared for today. Landon nudged his head, hoping his brothers would give him some privacy. Rafael was going to tease him most likely, but Nick elbowed him, both just walked away.

“A few, the crash course is a self study class, so you can probably get it done in half the time they say, Dr. Rahorn will probably talk to you and Nick later to catalog your confirmed abilities and do some tests, after breakfast go to the administrative building, back office on the left hand side on the ground floor is the academic advisor, it will save you guys some time, and in general if have any questions ask hopefully i can help,” Hope rambled off a response to his questions, making sure to include everything she could think of.

“Okay thank you, and while I'm thinking, on a scale from 1 to 10, how screwed are we if Rafael pissed off the entire wolf pack,” Landon asked, worried that his brother might be in danger.

“You shouldn't worry, Jed doesn't hold grudges, and the wolf pack was a mess for a while, and to prevent it from becoming like that Jed, came with test to see if they capable of being a true wolf or something like that, he will probably talk to Rafael later this week about it,” Hope explained.

Landon nodded his head, grateful to learn something useful. “Why would you know?” Landon asked, not knowing why she would wolf stuff if she was a witch. “Sorry that came out a lot worse than I wanted it to,” Landon said when he realized it was a lot more rude than he wanted it to be.

Hope just smiled and chuckled at his apology, only he would apologize over the dumbest stuff. “Four things, you fine, second my little adoptive brother is a wolf, third if one part of this school is out of whack, it affects everyone,” Hope looked around and saw no one before continuing “Four I will explain later but I'm also a wolf so i keep an eye on the pack,” she continued when she was sure that no one was around.

“Thanks Hope, for everything,” Landon said. He wanted to know what she meant, were there such things as hybrids in this world? Landon soon found his way to the dining room, thanks to a map posted on a support beam. He saw both of his brothers in a back corner, talking. He walked over to them, and saw they had already grabbed him a plate of pancakes.

Landon noticed that it appeared that most of the students were here. Thankfully, most were busy talking to their respective groups to notice him, but a few did. He tried to keep his head high, but couldn't, he just started to stare at the floor looking out for footsteps.

“Okay, calm down, you hungry wolf, there is no need for tenths,” Nick teased Rafael. Landon wasn't sure if Rafael actually ate that much or was commenting on how fast he was eating. Rafael right now was eating so fast it would put speed eaters to shame.

“Has he actually eaten that much?” Landon asked worried that something might be wrong with Rafael, or if they had to pay for their food, they would seriously need to find jobs fast.

“No, but he is on his third helping, in five or six minutes,” Nick responded. Trying his best to filter out all of the excess noise from the conversation with little luck.

“What did your girlfriend know?” Rafael teased his brother, once he finished eating everything on his plate while also managing to avoid Nick's elbow.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Landon responded after almost choking on his food.

“She is the only person I know here minus you two, and I don't feel like walking around underprepared,” Landon justified his actions, but he knew his brothers were just teasing him.

“What did you learn then?” Nick kept teasing his brother in between bites of his own food.

“Not much,” Landon responded sheepishly, he was more concerned about the school and the situation they were stuck in. “But, apparently the crash course is easier than Rafael’s advisor implied, and most likely the doctor will run more tests on us,” Landon explained. He chooses to leave out Jed and the other wolf students because, as much as he trusted Hope, he wasn't willing to bank on it.

“Great, we have been unofficially promoted to lab rats,” Nick responded casually with only a hint of sarcasm.

Landon shrugged, he knew it could be a lot worse for them. Nick and Landon finished eating in silence before leaving the dining hall, when most of the students got up to leave. “So, do we just wait to be called over the speaker system or go knock on the principal's door?” Rafael asked when they stepped outside.

“Hope mentioned where the academic advisor's office was, so go there first and hope they are there, and get ready for the next few months,” Landon said. He was doubting they would be welcomed to finish high school here.

Hope Pov 8 am Mrs Tigs room

Hope normally wouldn't be up by now, but things have changed. One of the ways was that she was now forced into this torture every Monday instead of every other Monday. She also wanted to wish Landon good luck for his first day here. Normally, she wouldn't be up right now because her first class today was at 12, but she swore Mrs Tigs did this to annoy her. She could wake up early and function, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed it.

She was tempted to bring her sketchbook and doodle in that for the entire two hours, but the last time she tried something like that, Ms. Tigs took her new sketchbook for the remainder of the year, which was only a few weeks, but still. She was basically left with no other option other than to sit and mind wander until the two hours were up. Even now, she was confused about why she was forced into counseling. She just did a minor dark magic spell.

The first few times she tried to avoid these sessions, that annoying counselor would always find her. And every single time, it felt like being forced into a cage with more stuff being restricted. At the very least, if she showed up, they didn't do anything to restrict her or annoy her as much.

“Good morning, Hope,” Ms. Tigs greeted her when she walked into her office. It was very much a typical counselor’s room.

Hope just nodded at her before crashing into the sofa. Hope stared up at the ceiling. Now this was the boring part, keeping herself entertained for the next 2 hours of mental torture.

“Hope, can you tell me what you are in here for?” Ms. Tigs started off with an obvious question.

“You know, unless you completely forgot about yesterday,” Hope responded with point blank sarcasm, and even though Ms. Tigs couldn't see Hope's eyes, she knew the counselor saw her roll her eyes.

“Yes, I quite clearly remember yesterday, but I was asking what actions in specific, and why you did them,” Ms Tigs responded, not phased by Hope's sarcasm.

Hope was done with this conversation, she only responded because she would usually give up after the first response and 30 minutes of having no success h a conversation. But unfortunately, Ms. Tigs wasn't going to be taking no for an answer today. “Hope you can't just do nothing this time, I'm just trying to help you,”.

Hope wasn't going to respond, but couldn't stop herself from answering. Unfortunately, she recognized the spell used, “You spelled this room with an impulse spell,” Hope sat up and stared at the counselor rhetorically asking.

“Yes, it has been modified a bit so you just have to answer my questions, it won’t make you say everything on your mind,” the counselor said. She didn't want to know everything that came to the mind of a Mikaelson.

“And you wonder why I hate you,” Hope responded, quickly scanning the room to see if there was a barrier spell or something to stop her from leaving.

“This is getting off topic. Hope the reason why you have been in these counselor sessions is because of your tendencies for breaking the rules, and doing you please, and you needing mental help, in general,” Ms. Tigs tried to convince her that she needed help.

“Piss off, your only saying this shit because I'm Mikaelson, when Andrew was in charge of the pack abusing students, you allowed it happen no attempts to stop it anyone else from doing something, now you better let me or I will tell Freya about this stunt,” Hope yelled at the worthless adult I front of her. She knew it sounded lame to threaten to tell someone's aunt about something, but her aunt would actively hunt this person down until she died, which she knew wouldn't die from natural causes. Hope knew she was trapped in here because of the black candle in the corner of the room. Hypocrites, was the main thought when she saw it, she knew it was dark magic just from pulsing her magic a bit, and she also learned of a barrier spell protecting it.

“I'm sorry, but no you can't leave, and we did try to help the wolf students, we talked to Andrew,” Ms. Tigs responded not concerned about Freya showing up.

“Bullshit, the most you did was tell him to knock it off and it was bad, hell you assumed everything at face level, like always, Now you are going to let me leave,” Hope said not believing her for an instance, before trying to order to let her go.

“No, for the last time you can't leave, you need help,” Ms. Tigs said to her.

“The therapist should know this, but you can not help someone who doesn't need help, and even if I did need help, I would choose someone I trust,” Hope shot at her while mentally preparing a spell.

“Okay, and why exactly do you not trust me?” Ms. Tigs asked her patient.

“You don't obey, client confidentiality, something that's required even for school counselors,” Hope responded. She never told anything that needed to be reported, and yet on multiple occasions, something that Hope told her ended up being known by Dr. Saltzman.

“And what makes you say that?” Ms. Tigs feigned innocence.

“I told you that both of my siblings were sired to me, and soon afterwards they were either forced to leave or weren't allowed in, or the time I told you I was getting along with Josie, and Dr. Saltzman decided to congratulate me on making a friend,” Hope said, she kind of felt bad about the last one she just need away to test her theory. That this backstabbing whore in front of her was telling everything to Dr. Saltzman.

She was more pissed at the fact she trusted at one point for no reason, maybe she just needed someone, with everyone in her family doing their own thing. Hope wished more than ever that her godmother Camille was alive and wasn't killed by Lucien. The tribrid just wanted to meet her once, and hoped that she would be able to help her with anything, or just meet her in person.

Besides, her stupidity meant that she was now alone on school grounds. She didn’t even know why they kept her siblings from coming, other than their sire bond to her. When some of the students are sire bonded directly to each other. And she also blamed Ms. Tigs for creating no outlet for her to release physical energy. Ever since Dr. Saltzman wasn't able to keep up with her in training, it fully stopped. She resorted to wolfing out in the woods during the night, she made the mistake of telling her forced therapist about it. Soon afterwards, they put a spell up that let them know and forced her to revert back into her normal form. She blamed Ms. Tigs for not having any way to release a lot of physical stress and energy as the reason why she was constantly picking fights, bonus none of them could die.

Hope noticed the counselor didn't respond or attempt to defend herself “You know it's true, now defend yourself,” Hope challenged her.

Ms. Tigs didn't have to say anything to the accusation made. She couldn't deny them, they were true, she just thought they would be good things for Alaric to know. She honestly didn't know why she told him, none of them would have affected much, but that was in the past right now.

“I will let you know why, Ad somnum,” Hope said, taking her chance to get out of this situation. Hope was pretty sure why Ms. Tigs was doing it because of the kind of obvious crush she had on Dr. Saltzman, and Hope would dangle the answer over Ms. Tigs’ head to get back at her but that would come later.

Hope quickly left, when the spell ran out knowing it was set to a time limit. When knocking out Ms. Tigs didn’t work, it was the only option left. Not wanting to be anywhere near that backstabber. She managed to avoid everyone, she didn't know why the school taught the invisibility spell but their issue. She honestly didn't care how much more trouble she just got herself into. Hope didn't need any help, she didn't even know why they kept on insisting on her needing help.

She kind of understood when her father and uncle mutually committed suicide. Despite not ending on the best of terms with her uncle, but she did miss Elijah, but her dad's death was entirely her fault. She thankfully wasn't even here to witness the multitude of parties celebrating their deaths, and she was glad she wasn't anywhere near non-family for the following weeks. It still hurts to think about her parents and uncle's deaths and how all of them are her fault because of her trying to unite her family.

When Hope got to her room, she was debating on just skipping class and her community service, before deciding not to. She was already gonna be yelled at for what she just did, so she would play this stupid game of tug of war.

Landon Pov makeup class 11:28 AM

Landon didn't know what to expect from this school and world, but he wasn't expecting it to be so similar to a normal school. The Salvatore school still had the normal graduation requirements, plus the supernatural ones. He had no idea what classes he would have to sign up for since neither he nor Nick knew what they could do for sure. The advisor confirmed what Hope said, the doctor wanted to catalog what they knew and run some tests, and he wasn't looking forward to that. And because Rafael decided to be normal they knew for sure what supernatural classes he would be stuck with.

Today all they learned was some basic terms and special categories. To him, the only things that stuck out were the five main herbs grown, kemiya, magical chemistry, and a special witch category called a pyromancer. He was only curious in the last one because of the dragon he saw yesterday, and hoping it would somehow help him figure out how to control his pyrokinesis. But there was only one confirmed person, and according to the teacher, they were dead, and they were still figuring stuff out about that category.

Landon also knew why Hope was so dead set on hiding her lineage, the only parts of magical history they touched upon were the creation of vampires and werewolves. And some of the more recent stuff, and yikes, the Mikaelsons, were a crazy bunch. But it didn’t provide any answer to Landon, about what Hope was. Landon also wasn't surprised by the fact that this history teacher was eccentric as hell, because in the hour so far, he has mentioned thirty-seven different conspiracy theories. The only history teacher he had, who might have had him beat was his 6th social studies one, that man knew everything about baseball. Landon knew Nick’s previous world history teacher was crazier somehow, from what Nick described that class, it was a full on cult, and the teacher had every single historical torture method memorized. He was pretty sure Rafael was guessing why they put a history teacher in charge of the makeup class, based on his hands twitching like he was debating if he should punch him.

Thankfully, Hope was mostly correct. Right now, it was just them, so that was the teacher was giving a speech and actually talking instead of screaming at them to read the textbook and do their work. Which is what they were doing, reading out of a textbook, which was probably magically produced because, what publisher would have allowed for this to be made? They would have assumed this person drank vodka from birth and poured some directly into their blood every minute.

The advisor was able to make Rafael his fixed schedule, assuming no issues would happen between classmates. While he and Nick were stuck with half schedules, while the staff figured out what they could do exactly and got a better grip on their powers, so the remaining time would most likely be them stuck inside of the library trying to find answers.

Landon was more concerned about the wide variety of classes that they had. They had more common and typically stuff, but he was more concerned with half of them having weapons or some kind of violence involved, intro to weapons, weapon construction, unarmed self defense, but there were no supernatural offensive class which seemed weird, and the lack of safety by not locking up weapons that were laying around the school. Landon could understand why they need these more dangerous classes if yesterday was any indication of normal, or if the textbooks were to go by.

He was honestly glad that magical chemistry didn't require you to be a witch. It was just magical ingredients instead of normal stuff. Landon remembered Nick and Rafael constantly teasing him for about a year or so, when he told them he wanted to get a job as a practical chemist. Landon blamed their uncle James, which reminded him that he was still most likely in town. He made a mental note to talk to him once Dr. Saltzman got a cover story made.

Landon remembered when he was 8 and was watching old movies with Uncle James, and him explaining all of the practical effects that he could explain because of his background in practical effects using chemistry before he started teaching it. Landon also remembered begging him to allow him to do a chemistry experiment. James cracked one day, and that started his ‘addiction’, to quote his brothers.

Landon guessed his interest in kemiya was because it sounded similar to chemistry. Both combined stuff, to make or improve something, it honestly sounded like medieval alchemy. Fuck he was starting to sound like Nick. He loved his brothers, but if he started rambling off about their special interests, he would need to step away for a few minutes.

This school also seemed to have multiple classes for almost every single career. He knew Rafael would be interested in the multiple astrology classes and mechanic ones. Landon was expecting this class to be more intense and fast paced, but if today was an indication, then they would be moving at a snail's pace for the rest of the year. He was more or less waiting for time to be up, so he could go exploring with Nick. Because they weren't allowed to be in any supernatural classes until they finished this one. So he wanted to finish these classes as soon as possible.

Rafael had a class almost immediately after this one. Both he and Nick, didn't have anything immediately after this, so that would give them maybe an hour before both had to show up to English. Landon was hoping that there would be some way for him and his brothers to just cram the textbook and test out of this class.

Landon was glad when he heard the teacher say pack your bags and get out. He could tell that both of his brothers were happy with these, since it looked like both were trying to fall asleep instead of doing their work. “Do you think we will ever get away from handwritten work?” Rafael asked with frustration, Landon knew his werewolf brother preferred online work because of his crappy handwriting. It was a minor miracle that he and Nick could read it.

“Maybe for the normal classes?” Landon responded optimistically, but he also wasn't sure, and he also agreed with Rafael.

“Good luck, and don't do anything stupid,” Nick said to his youngest brother once they got outside of the classroom, and Rafael immediately started to look at his map. Which they received after talking to the advisor.

“Thanks, and don’t cause any more issues, Nick,” Rafael teased back before immediately turning once they got to the second floor. Nick shrugged at the comment.

“Okay, Landon, where do you want to explore?” Nick asked Landon. He didn't know, so he shrugged his shoulders. He just knew they had 30 minutes to explore. He was kind of disappointed that he wouldn't share classes with Rafael until tomorrow. Landon just started to walk in a random direction and hope for the best, knowing Nick would keep track of time for him.

Alaric pov Alaric’s office 11:38 AM

Alaric was busy trying to translate the inscription on the blade. Gaulish was never his best language, he sent pictures to Caroline hoping that she could help translate it, since he knew no one else who could help, but he hadn't heard back yet. But if she had a good lead about the merge, like she said last time they called, he wanted her to follow it for its worth.

He was silently complaining that every single object that he runs into was in a language that he doesn't know. Would it be so hard for the object to be either German or Spanish, or better yet, English next time. It was just a clean cut that Gaulish was his worst language.

His translation job was going okay. He was still trying to find anything that referenced that knife. That he was having a better time with. He was starting to question if the inscription on the blade was just from a bad forging process, as it didn't appear to be actual words or letters. The only part he could say for sure was intended was the writing on the cross guard.

That knife was currently sitting inside of a clear rectangular container, covered in hydrochloric acid. “Alaric, we need to talk,” Ms. Tigs said when she walked into his office, not bothering to knock.

“What is it this time?” He responded, already expecting it to be related to Hope. Not bothering to look up from his book.

“Is that the knife that went missing, and the monsters were trying to get it?” Ms. Tigs asked, seeing the knife inside of the plastic container on his desk.

“Any luck in figuring out, why all of these mythical creatures want it?” the counselor asked, remembering the message in the staff room. Which reminded her to talk to MG and Landon to see how they were handling their encounter with death.

Alaric just nodded his head at the question. “Typical supernatural object, it has the power to make the world fall into a wasteland or save it,” The principal responded. Annoyed, it appeared that every object was the same, they had the power to save or destroy the world.

“Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Destroy it,” Ms. Tigs said, already frustrated with today.

Alaric grabbed a metal pen on his desk and dropped it into the pit of hydrochloric acid. Almost as soon as the pen touched the acid, it started to dissolve. “It's been in there for half an hour, and that's not even the worst of what I have done,” He responded, he was starting to agree with the stories of this knife being indestructible. He had tried, fire, crushing it under his truck, a circular saw, which destroyed the saw, explosives, and finally acid. He was starting to believe those stories.

“What is it that you need?” Alaric asked the therapist, getting the conversation back on track from when she showed up. While he continued to flip through pages in one of the books in front of him.

“I'm done with Hope, I no longer want to carry on with these sessions, period,” Ms. Tigs said to her boss.

Alaric groaned, he knew better than to expect Hope to roll over and take what she had coming. “What did she do this time?” he asked, hoping to find a way to fix this.

“She has made it explicitly clear that she doesn't trust me, and she made it known she will probably do anything to avoid these sessions,” she explained. Ms. Tigs couldn't blame Hope for the lack of trust, she stomped on it for no reason. But if Hope was willing to knock her to avoid these sessions right now, Ms. Tigs wouldn't put murder off the counter, if Hope was desperate enough or in a foul enough mood.

“What exactly do you want me to do about it? Every single time she does something, you are always the first one saying to punish her, and you just want her to walk away scott free?” Dr. Saltzman asked, not seeing her point, especially since he didn’t even know what she did.

“Okay, I don't know, I just don't think it will be safe for me to continue these sessions anymore,” She responded. Ms. Tigs normally would have something prepared, but was more concerned with her safety, and she didn’t feel like herself up in a barrier for these sessions. Hope could easily wait until she had to drop it.

“Okay, what about the therapy box? Can't we just shove her in there for a few hours? And what did Hope do exactly?” Alaric asked, not seeing why a therapy box wasn't being considered, they could easily place her inside of it.

“We have no therapy box on hand, Andrew smashed it, and Vardemus says it will be a few months before he can fix it,” Ms. Tigs responded. She already considered it, but she didn't want to see the physical psyche of any of the Mikaelsons. She would be willing to bet Hope would stick around inside there and make her forceable end the game. And she was honestly wondering why she keeps on forgetting to send the therapy box off to be fixed, it had been needing to be fixed for two years now.

“What did Hope do?” Dr. Saltzman asked, seeing she dodged the question, which was out of character for Ms. Tigs.

“As soon as she saw the barrier spell was there, and I wasn't gonna drop it, until we started to make progress she knocked me out until time was up,” She explained to her boss.

“Okay, go, I will deal with this later,” Alaric said. He made a mental note to talk to Hope about it later. But right now he had bigger issues. Ms. Tigs just nodded and left. She wouldn't put it past Hope to place a curse or give her blood and make a happy little accident happen.

Rafael pov 2 PM upper gym

Rafael wasn’t looking forward to this. The wolves had their own P.E. class because they were too physically strong for the other students to keep up with. Which meant he would be trapped inside of a room with only werewolves who hated his guts

He hasn't seen either of his brothers since the crash course class, which made him nervous enough. He guessed that seeing slash hearing about how close his brothers were to death slash, or being killed, made his separation anxiety worse than before. Previously, he knew he could go a long while, maybe a few days, five at max before he started to get this nervous and jumpy.

Thankfully, for right now, it seemed like all of the wolves were giving him space. Rafael was more concerned with that, they were giving him space, and weren't doing anything. He was willing to bet they would have tried something by now. Maybe they were just gonna isolate him, and make him beg for forgiveness?

Either way, Rafael wasn't going to budge to this weird interrogation practice. Nick would have called it psychological warfare, but he wasn't here to correct him. Rafael soon just got started with this class. And he was seriously starting to question his sanity, something he has never done before. Rafael was starting to question if he had made up that conversation with Jed from yesterday. All of the wolves were extra nice to him, probably playing dumb.

It didn't matter, because Jed or any wolf did nothing for the entire class period. Rafael just wanted to get out of the gym once they were done, but life wasn't simple. He saw Jed waiting outside in the hall still in his gym clothes, waiting for him, he presumed. Rafael guessed he wanted to make sure he didn't miss the chance to fight him.

Rafael almost jumped forward with a punch when he saw Jed draw something out of his pocket. Jed put his hands up when he slowly grabbed the veil out of his pocket. The alpha of the Salvatore school put his hands up in a surrender motion. “ Please calm down, I swear I just want a peaceful conversation,” Jed said, seeing that Rafael was twitching with anticipation for a fight.

“Say your piece and get out of my way,” Rafael demanded, more confused at how peaceful things were going, he was expecting to be full on jumped. He just wanted to leave, but he knew for some reason he would get answers, and Jed wouldn't give up, and didn't want his brothers anywhere near danger.

“Okay, I'm guessing you have covered the basics of magical herbs so far, and in this veil is wolfsbane, and blue calamus,” Jed said, showing the contents of the veil.

“Get to the damn point,” Rafael said when saw the similarities between the herbs in the viel and the pictures shown. And Rafael was starting to get aggressive, where he was fully considering just jumping Jed.

“Okay, then you know as soon as I take them, I can't lie, and I will have just ingested poison, that also weakens our werewolf abilities,” Jed said before chugging the contents without a second thought. He let out a pained breath indicating at least some kind of poison or something with a negative reaction.

“You're fucking mad,” Rafael said, not seeing why he would cripple himself before a fight.

“I'm not mad, I just needed you to know everything I said was true when I explained my actions yesterday,” Jed said before moving to sit down on a bench in the hallway.

“Okay, contrary to what I made you believe, every threat I gave yesterday was hollow, and I would never go through with any of them,” Jed started the conversation.

“Bullshit,” Rafael said, looking at Jed in the eyes, not bothering to sit down at the open spot on the bench.

Jed sighed, knowing this conversation would be difficult no matter what. “I can't lie, for the next hour,” Jed said to Rafael.

“I'm having this conversation so you can at least understand what I did, and why,” Jed said.

“You threatened my brothers, so go to hell, I don't give a damn about your reasons,” Rafael fired back he knew should have walked away.

“Listen, two years before, you showed up, the wolf pack was a mess, the then alpha ran it like a gang or military troops,” Jed started his explanation.

“He was able to gain an iron grip on the pack, because all of the stronger wolves just graduated, which meant no one was able to beat him,” Jed continued on giving more explanation on why he was able to gain power.

“And we later learned that during the summer, he made a deal with a witch to make something that would increase his werewolf side, so werewolf steroids. Andrew also did a ceremony to increase his wolf side in general permanently,” Jed said, that bit of news wasn't shocking after they found out he was forcing Alyssa to make the same drug, thankfully, they were able to keep that detail hidden from most people.

“What happened to this witch?” Rafael asked out of morbid curiosity, he blames Nick.

“He killed her,” Jed responded, remembering what Andrew was like before the start of his 8th grade year, and the hell he caused. Andrew was a damn good actor, fooling everyone including all of the staff for those years before he got what he wanted. And easily beat the previous alpha put in charge by the former alpha, who just left in front of everyone to show his strength.

“Why exactly did you allow him to remain in power? And I seriously doubt this school is so irresponsible to let a tyrant remain in control of a third of the students,” Rafael asked, but if the school system has taught him anything, it was, it was worthless, and to do it yourself, and the bully got away scott free. Fuck Connor Lockwood.

“No one could stop him, even when ten, or twenty people jumped him, he beat them back, and it only made things worse. Only recently the wolf pack has started to become less isolated. Before then, nothing that happened in the pack was leaked to the staff, and he made sure of it, that's why we have supervisors now,” Jed explained. They tried to get the school to help them, but they didn't do anything that caused real change. The most they did was try and talk sense into Andrew.

“And unfortunately, because of the history between the various factions, some people in the pack began to agree with his ideology, and that was, the wolves were in charge, and the school needed to get rid of the other factions,” now this was the unpleasant part of the story. Jed was ashamed that around a hundred so other wolves agreed that wolves should be in power. Last time he checked, once he and Henry killed Andrew, all of those wolves loyal to Andrew were expelled and were now somewhere in Canada, but they ran into werewolf hunters so there were only ten or so remaining.

“He started to make untriggered werewolves kill vampire students as a warning, and to make them become their ‘better selves’,” Jed said, he was for once glad he was already triggered, by killing that abusive piece of shit, of a sperm donor.

“And the school was doing absolutely nothing while a bloody civil war was brewing?!” Rafael asked, not seeing how the school was so blind.

“He managed to make them look like a bunch of isolated incidents of fights going to far, and since he made sure none of the vampires died for good, at least not yet, the staff let the students off with just warnings and didn't questions things until it started to escalate too far,” Jed explained, he hated Andrew with a bloody passion, but he had to admit he was smart at the shit he caused.

“During this time, he started to pick on a student named Henry, because he came from the Crescent Wolf Pack. They have the unique ability to control when they turn minus the first time, he started to abuse him and call him a fake wolf, because he didn't transform every full moon with the pack,” Jed started to explain how this story ended. Jed was Andrew's second favorite target because he refused to tell how he was triggered and because he defended Henry when he could. Jed honestly wondered who left more scars on his body, his sperm donor or Andrew.

“One day both of us decided enough was enough, we decided to do something, ideally cripple him, but killing him was fine,” Jed said. He was tired of dealing with someone even more abusive than that thing he had to call a dad. But he wasn't joking, both of them, along with most of the pack, wanted to see his corpse rotting, hanged, or spiked into a tree.

“We managed to get the Saltzman twins to spell him so we could sneak wolfsbane into his food, to weaken him enough so we could beat him. And that night we jumped him at the turret,” Jed explained. He knew there was no way in hell they could beat him otherwise, and that's also how the school found out, Josie told her dad. Now the turret, despite his punishment to clean it, was now permanently blood stained, and no one went near it.

“We managed to kill him, but Henry died because of injuries sustained. But somehow he managed to get his hands on something, and figured out a way to turn him into a hybrid if he died,” Jed explained. He was almost positive that something wasn't Klaus's blood, like most people speculate, but he guessed it was Hope's blood. But that was something not everyone was aware of with blue calamus. You could only say something that you know was true. He knew Henry had something, but he couldn't rule out anything. Thankfully, Blue Calamus also didn’t force you to give all of the context, he didn’t want to put the wolf pack in any danger. He didn’t want to know what Hope would do to keep her ancestry hidden.

Jed was on a very short list of people who knew for sure Hope was a Mikaelson, he suspected most of the pack also came to the same conclusion. Henry was a dead giveaway. A crescent wolf, whose alpha at the time was Hayley Marshall. Hayley and the wolves claimed that Hope was Hayley's niece, that they found out through DNA testing when her unknown bio sister died. Most people assumed that's why they were always together, was because they were familiar with one another. But for most packs alpha positions are hereditary until one gets overthrown, and most have their heirs receive a bodyguard who are typically similar age and would serve as their advisor, once the kid took the alpha position.

It was a good lie, most people didn't know Hayley Lebonnar or Marshall was an honorary Mikaelson, or the one who gave birth to the miracle Mikaelson. Most people assumed Hope was being raised by her family, and wasn't in a private school that was known to most of the supernatural community. When Hayley first showed up, everyone just called her a Mikaelson, and they faked Hope's death following the ancestors' attempted sacrifice of an infant.

Hell, most people didn't even know Hayley's actual name, most just called her various demeaning names. Most also assumed that she was trapped to the Mikaelson through a blood curse, and during those seven years of Marcel's reign as an evolved vampire was when she found her niece. Most people didn't question it, and most thought Niklaus was using it as a replacement for the daughter they lost when they killed Dahlia, and when she died through her linking spell also killed their daughter.

Jed knew for sure when he overheard a conversation between the two, the night they killed Andrew. He knew for sure Hope gave Henry something out of worry for his safety. He heard Hope clearly state that it would cure and heal him, and if necessary, give him a second life. It didn't take a genius to realize she was part vampire given her beyond werewolf healing factor, and he had already had suspicion that Hope was the miracle tribrid baby. He saw just a few nights ago another wolf with Henry in his wolf form, he knew there was only one crescent wolf at the school, which was Henry. And it was clear that she was a witch.

“Wait, so the school is just okay with you killing another student?” Rafael asked once he had fully wrapped his head around what Jed said.

“No, we fully explained what happened, and Henry took the blame, he said that was his first kill, most people didn't know he was already triggered since he chose not to transform, either way he was expelled for killing in cold blood,” Jed explained, he was the only student at the time who knew he was triggered, Andrew also knew but thankfully no one believed him, and he started to doubt if it was true later, giving them a beneficial edge. Jed still blamed himself for that miss, Henry should have been alpha, Jed was willing to bet Henry killed Andrew, but neither knew for sure. Both of them were already triggered, so they couldn't tell that way, even if allowing Henry would have given Hope indirectly control of the pack.

“No offense, but how exactly does this excuse your actions from yesterday?” Rafael asked, not minding the little history lesson, but not seeing how it was important.

“After that shit storm, I decided to implement a test of sorts. If you ask me, a werewolf is someone loyal to their pack no matter what, they stand by them through everything, no matter the danger you are in because of them,” Jed started to explain his reasoning.

“Yesterday, when you stood by them with no regards to your safety, just their's and not knowing for sure, you stood by them, you are a wolf,” Jed started to connect his actions of yesterday to what he meant.

“This test was to see if they were loyal to the pack, and to each other, if everyone is concerned with each other's safety there's nothing to fear, and that's why we were so isolated, people don't understand it's all of us or none,” Jed finished off.

“How exactly is this test supposed to prevent someone like Andrew?” Rafael asked not seeing how.

“Andrew didn't care about anyone minus himself, he saw us as tools, doing this test means determining the character, especially when you know which buttons to hit, and we can prevent them from gaining power inside the pack,” Jed spoke, he hated being alpha but it was better than someone like Andrew. He always did end up feeling bad for being dick to any of his wolves. But it did give him a comforting thought, if he was to ever start being like Andrew or his dad someone would kill without hesitation. Because of that bad first or second encounter.

“And for what it's worth, if you have no desire to be a part of the pack, you can walk away, but the pack always looks out for another, including the ones joined through association,” Jed said, before leaving to allow Rafael to think over everything. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now with the truth herb in his system, he couldn't find any hibiscus flowers in the garden this morning. So Jed was gonna hide in his room for about an hour.

Hope pov magic spell class 2 30 PM

Hope was shocked that Alaric was dwindling his thumbs, especially after yesterday. She thought he would be more eager to punish and try to rein her in. The only Tribrid was questioning if Ms. Tigs had told him.

Hope was also shocked at the now public knowledge of the Saltzman twins’ feud. Hope knew Lizzie could be petty, but she didn't think Lizzie would be so mean as to rat out her sister to the entire school. Hope already saw it affecting Josie. At lunch, some kids dropped their food on top of her, and she was just being distracted from the pain of the betrayal, if her lack of focus was any indication.

She wasn't bothering to listen to the teacher about chain spells, she knew it wouldn't work. Lizzie hated Josie, and everyone hated Josie as well, minus her ex, weirdly enough. But Hope didn't want to get into that drama, and no one trusted her. Chain spells only work with mutual trust, and a similar focus, something this group completely lacked.

Hope also knew that she would be forced into serving community service in the next 30 or so minutes, and she would hopefully leave before watching any attempt at magic. She was right, a spelled piece of paper floated on in before dropping into the teacher’s hand. “Hope, Lizzie, and Josie go to the Library,” The teacher spoke. Hope didn't need to be told twice before leaving as soon as possible. She was confused on why Josie seemed to be in trouble but pushed that off to the side.

Hope knew this was because of her punishment, she guessed Alaric would make her new punishment known to people to shame her into better behavior was her guess at what he was going to attempt.

“What did Dad's favorite child do? You never get in trouble,” Lizzie questioned Hope in the hallway.

“Nothing you need to be concerned with, I believe you should be more worried about yourself,” Hope responded to Lizzie.

Lizzie remained uncharacteristically quiet following that. She would soon find out when she got to the library to find him messing around with other magical objects, like yesterday wasn't a reminder to never touch any.

“Lizzie, Ms. Tigs needs you to supervise the first years, they are in the garden learn about the basics of magical herbs. Josie, the bus will be here in a minute, so wait outside. I need to talk to Hope,” Dr. Saltzman started once he saw them all there. Lizzie was going to fight it, but a quick look from her dad shut her up.

The twins shot her a dirty look, which she didn't give any thought to, before either walked away. “What do you need from me?” Hope asked once both were no longer in hearing range.

“Can you please tell me what happened today?” Dr. Saltzman asked.

“Nothing?” Hope responded, not seeing where he was going, if he had something, he should just spit it out.

“Okay, then what happened at your therapy session with Ms. Tigs?” Dr. Saltzman questioned.

“Again, nothing,” Hope responded, she was tired of this stupid game.

“I gave you a chance to come clean, which you didn't take,” Dr. Saltzman spoke, but he didn't see any changes in the way Hope acted.

“Why did you think it would be a good idea to knock out Ms. Tigs to avoid these sessions? We are only doing this to help you,” Dr. Saltzman asked Hope, who just shrugged her shoulders, not caring about the disappointment laced in his words.

“I don't need it, and I'm not going to do these ‘therapy sessions’ with someone who can't keep their pathetic mouth shut,” Hope responded. Hope knew these sessions were a way to gain control over her and keep her away from being a Mikaelson. She was born one, and would die as one.

“Hope, that isn't something you can determine. Just go, and don't cause any more issues,” Dr. Saltzman said. He would figure something out later.

Hope just walked, more shocked that he didn't have a new punishment ready for her. She was more concerned about how calm he was based on what she did. Hope didn't trust Ms. Tigs to any degree, and Dr. Saltzman didn't like to wait with anything.

Hope soon got on the bus ignoring everyone. It's not like she had anyone she would willingly start a conversation with. Josie was fine, she also needed to get the bracelet back, but she could deal with that later. There were no wolves she knew the names of, and the vampire here she knew was MG, whom she was very much still tempted to stab him. Hope knew Nick was in trouble as well, but she had no reason to hang out with him. She only cared about his brother.

Nick pov 3 10 pm Mystic Falls town square

Nick was just listening to the supervisors rambling about their punishment, and how this was supposed to be drama free and mutual bonding. But you could easily tell no one was going to work with the other group. He was just hoping he could finish off fast enough so he could use the pay phone nearby. Nick kind of felt bad for their previous employer, he was nice to them, and they just vanished. Well, it wasn't entirely their fault but still.

Nick was mostly right with his guess of what would happen. The Timberwolves were constantly complaining and weren't doing anything, while the Salvatore students minus him, Hope, and the person who helped them escape, were dragging their feet. The things he was wrong about were simple, he didn't recognize the two timberwolf students, but they were interacting with the Salvatore students and they were getting along most with them. But Connor wasn't permanently crippled the one time you need a piece of shit alcoholic to be a piece of shit, they're not.

It appeared as if that worthless thing that should have been crippled wasn't going to notice him, which was fine by him, less issues today. But one of his stupid new friends apparently didn't know the history between the two, when he was trying to stir up drama. “Asshole, move faster,” the idiot jock tried to tease or mock.

“Sorry, you are too stupid that you can't handle basic functions,” Nick responded while not bothering to look at him.

Upon recognizing Nick's voice, Connor asked one of the Timberwolves’ teachers, who had haunted his nightmares for a long time, “What the hell is a criminal doing here?”

“Last time I checked, you're the criminal, Connor,” Nick shot back, turning around to stare at the bastard.

“But I'm amazed that you don't have permanent damage, perks of having an alcoholic uncle,” Nick said, he and Rafael genuinely thought he would be permanently crippled, at the very least severely handicapped. Connor's uncle probably decided to pay for their injuries to be fully healed, while drunk, giving their history.

“Knock it off,” One of the chaperones yelled at them. Neither Connor nor his cronies did anything following that, just his goons trying to stare a hole into his head. Nick would probably be more afraid of sleeping poodle than any of them combined. Nick didn't feel like putting up with anyone else's bullshit and started to get back to work. The sooner he got done the sooner he could sneak off, and head back to see his brothers.

Nick had to remind himself that this was to protect Landon a few times. It wasn't that the community service was bad, it was just tedious. But he was glad he took the sole blame, he didn't know how Landon would react to Connor after their last encounter.

“Hey, I'm missing some history here, but what was that about?” The new male kid, he didn't recognize nervously asked. Nick remembered everyone here minus the two students trying to interact with both groups.

“Ask anyone and you will get the same answer,” Nick responded. Small towns always talked about the same event even for a few hundred years after.

“Listen, I might be new here, but I can tell you I'm not gonna get the true story,” The new kid said.

“What's your name?” Nick asked him. More out of personal curiosity.

“Ethan, and I'm guessing you're Nick?” Ethan responded, while asking his own question. He remembered Connor mentioning him, and the physical description matched. But he was expecting a full-on psychopath, who was just running around, punching, kicking, stabbing, yelling, and laughing at their pain because he could.

“Yes, and why exactly do you want to know? It doesn't affect you in any way,” Nick asked, not seeing why Ethan should care, or how it would affect him. Ethan shrugged his shoulders, he didn't have a valid reason as to why he wanted to know. He was just on the wrong foot with his captain, but that didn't justify him digging up dirt on him.

Nick sighed “Long story short, Connor and his friends one day decided to try to kill my brother for shits and giggles, and I broke both his arms and jaw,” Following that all of his brothers had nightmares of what could have happened, for months, and another reason he was an insomniac. So many fewer nightmares.

But it was kind of ironic because they were going to burn Landon alive. They already dumped a few gallons of gasoline on Landon, when both he and Rafael knew something was wrong and found him about to be killed. Connor lit a match and was going to toss it, but thankfully his arm wouldn't move. Did either he or Rafael care? No. They still beat the shit out of them. Neither he nor Rafael wanted to know why Connor wanted to hurt Landon. Landon never did anything to the asshole.

He honestly didn't know what happened after that, their aunt and uncle dealt with it. Nick hated it, he was nothing more than a problem. They should have just let him suffer the consequences. Nick didn't care about the damage he caused to Connor. Nick’s priority will always be to his brothers. The only thing they were told was that they weren't in trouble and the situation was handled.

“Why?” Ethan asked, not thinking it would be remotely clean cut. He knew Connor was an asshole especially since the entire team cheated, but him trying to kill someone was too far.

“I have no idea why he tried to kill my brother, and I don't care what you think, but I didn't go far enough,” Nick said, not caring, hoping to end this conversation.

“Okay, while I may not agree with the last bit, I'm not judging, I would probably do the same for my sister,” Ethan spoke. He almost had to do something worse for his sister, but thankfully his neighbor showed up and stopped his dad. He truthfully had no idea what happened to his dad, one day he was as good as could be of a parent, the next, an abusive dad, that was going out of control.

“So how long have you lived here?” Ethan asked, hoping to change the conversation while they continued to work.

“I lived here from 7 to 10, and only came back recently with no idea how long we are going to stay,” Nick responded. He was grateful for the change in conversation topic.

“What caused you to move?” Ethan asked, he knew he shouldn't be this noisy, but he was enjoying this conversation. It was a lot better than the recent ones he was stuck dealing with at school. He hated most of the team, most were cheaters and they hated him for trying to make things fair.

“You're nosy,” Nick chuckled before answering his question. “My aunt and uncle died in a house fire, and were shoved in the foster system again,” Nick stated. That was also something he wanted to do, he wanted to visit their graves, hopefully sometime soon.

“I'm sorry to hear that,” Ethan responded truthfully.

Nick shrugged, he didn't want to hear any pity, or empathy from someone he didn't or care about. “It's fine, you wouldn't have known,” he said, bluntly.

“Hey if you're not new here any advice?” Ethan asked to Nick.

“Find someone else to be your tour guide, second, the only rule in Mystic Falls is simple, you don't question shit, if the problem fixes itself, and choose your fights carefully,” Nick spoke, he finally knew why that was a rule of Mystic Falls. The supernaturals are almost always to blame for whatever issue, just let them fix it. And the last bit was a warning, he didn't want someone to be caught in the crossfire of a supernatural fight, because they didn’t know any better, to reduce collateral damage.

“Thanks, and what do you mean exactly, by choosing your fights?” That seemed like an odd statement given his question.

“The only reason why I'm not hanged for beating the shit out of Connor is simple, the Lockwoods no longer have any or as much power,” Nick stated, before elaborating. That was the other part, in small towns, everyone knew everyone, you had to be careful with who you chose to be friends with, and who you turned into enemies.

“Tyler, was the last the one with biological relation to the name, but his brother is a result of cheating, so he was cut out in all but name, and Connor is a result of Tyler's wife cheating on him, because Tyler was soon discovered dead, and being able to identify time of death, that's how how we know. And with his death, his brother took over but no likes him because of his own actions, and Connor and uncle and nephew don't get along so you can go after Connor to a certain degree, and their name no longer holds any value, or important position so they can't do much either way,” Nick gave the crash course of the Lockwood family drama. Nick knew that's how he was alive, because no one liked them anymore especially after the multiple actions of Connor's uncle. And the sins of their parents in general.

Nick and Ethan didn't talk after that. Ethan didn't know what to think about, he knew Mystic Falls was a smallish town with only around ten thousand people, and names mattered, but it was still a shock. Both just carried on, with their community service. Nick managed to finish his section and managed to sneak off, and found a pay phone.

“Hello, who is this?” Nick called David's personal phone, he didn't want to call the store itself.

“Hi, Mr. Lucas, it's Nick, I'm sorry for us balling, we got swapped to a new foster family, and we are no longer in town,” Nick answered, he probably should have waited until the school had a cover story ready for him and brothers but he didn't want to ghost David anymore.

“Okay, thanks for letting me know, can you give me your new address so I can send your paychecks,” David responded. Nick stated the address before saying thanks and hung up. David was always nice to them, and he felt bad for just dipping, but that was the problem with foster care.

Nick felt his gut was just punched open. His mind was screaming bloody murder, all of his thoughts just poofed out of existence. Nick's only thought was that Landon was in danger. This was exactly like even sessions, he found Landon in some kind of danger. The only time it was this intense was with Connor trying to kill Landon.

Nick didn't bother to look around and just started to head back to the Salvatore school. He knew Landon was there, and not anywhere else, he knew it for a fact. Nick started running, he didn't care, he knew his brother was endangered.

Hope Pov 3 10 pm Mystic Falls town square

Hope just got started, knowing the sooner they got done, the sooner they could head back. Hope felt bad for Josie, it was clear that Lizzie told everyone, and it was Josie who caused them to lose. And everyone was avoiding her.

Hope thought Lizzie was better than that. She knew Lizzie was petty, but throwing one's sister under the bus like that was a new low for the Oldest Saltzman twin. Hope knew most people would say that statement is hypocritical coming from given what her father had done, but her dad's actions never actually harmed his siblings, physically.

Hope didn't know why Josie was sticking around her, but she didn't care too much. She just wanted to start a conversation, hopefully making this go by faster. And thankfully everyone was staying away from them, allowing them to talk more freely. Her aunt Freya, specifically charmed her necklaces to prevent Vamp hearing in the immediate area. “Have you ever done community service, on your own time?” Hope asked honestly, she knew it was probably from Josie cleaning up all of Lizzie's mess.

“No, I just have a lot of experience in cleaning up messes, like the one you left in my room,” Josie shot back. Annoyed at cleaning up the spell circle and destroying evidence.

“Be lucky I had enough magic so we didn't need to use a sacrifice, and while I'm thinking about it, keep the bracelet,” Hope responded. She still felt somewhat drained from yesterday, using raw magic to bypass a condition like a sacrifice was draining. Hope was grateful it wasn't truly integral to spell because she wouldn't have been able to do that. Hope knew it was a risk for Josie to keep the bracelet, but that didn't matter, she was pretty sure the gamble would be worth it.

“Is that supposed to help?” Josie asked with enough sass that would have made Lizzie seem incompetent at using sass. Josie was also happy with being able to keep the bracelet; it would save her trouble from trying to reverse engineer it. She started trying yesterday after Lizzie stormed out of the room, to distract her, and she soon realized that the task was going to be nearly impossible.

“I don't know, but it also makes sense with you always cleaning up after your sister,” The tribrid responded. Hope felt bad for Josie right now.

“Leave my sister out of this,” Josie yelled at her.

“It's true, your sister only causes messes, she started this massive fight, sending everyone here to community service, and she flat out stabbed you in the back,” Hope said.

“Speaking from experience? How many times have you daggered your so-called siblings? Or your actual family?” Josie asked Hope.

“None,” Hope bristles at the comment, despite her dad giving her his daggers, she never even considered using them. Despite the fact that her dad made one for everyone in the family, including himself, and for their potential future partners. The only one she bothered to bring with her to the Salavotre school was the one made for her dad. She honestly didn't know why. Most likely for sentimental reasons, that even though they only maybe spent a few months together, he trusted her with the only thing that could take him out of commission. But sadly, she forgot that Marcel's venom was lethal to her family, and probably to her.

Hope knew this was probably unnecessary but it would serve her point. Hope wanted to take the chance to help Josie, the slight bonus was that siphon witches were extremely useful, but even more rare. “She shouldn't be upset with you, but herself, she brought this on herself. You tried to stop this, I can't even think of a reason why Alaric decided to punish you,” Hope she had to play this game carefully.

“Why are you trying to do this?” Josie asked, she knew better to trust any Mikaelson, especially the spawn of Niklaus himself, thanks to her dad.

“Do what?” Hope genuinely asked, not seeing what Josie was directly accusing her of.

“Picking fights, or why you are trying to start drama between me and my sister,” Josie explained, what did Hope have to gain.

“For the first one, your dad is a human, and can't keep up with me anymore or for a while and is determined to prevent me from doing anything physical intensive, so fights are the most convenient thing, and the second one, I'm trying to help you, you can't keep helping your sister, let her struggle for a bit by herself,” Hope responded. And when Josie was isolated from her sister, it would be easier to show she isn't as bad as Josie's dad probably made her and her family out to be.

“I don't need life advice from a Mikaelson,” Josie said simply. She was frustrated with everyone thinking Lizzie was holding her back.

“What happened yesterday?” Josie asked Hope, switching the flow of the conversation.

“Nothing happened,” Hope responded. She knew Josie was good at reading but hoped she wouldn't push her luck. While starting to move to a different section, Josie followed after her.

“Can the bullshit, dad was rattled, and that doesn't explain what happened to this new toy of yours, you don't just wake up the next morning with your powers on, it's either a traumatic event, or it flows,” Josie said remembering how witches got tapped. And that seemed too convenient. It was most likely a traumatic event that got things going.

Hope knew what she could do, Dr. Saltzman talked to her later, and requested to keep things down, since while they were figuring stuff out. She knew him well enough to already expect that, and she didn’t have anything to tell. Hope soon slightly shifted the trash stick, while walking and made it look like she accidentally stabbed herself. She knew Josie wouldn't pick up on the intended, she might think it was a bit convenient but Hope honestly thought Dr. Saltzman was right about keeping some stuff hidden, at least for right now.

Hope had to deal with easily, much worse pain than this self stabbing. It was just a quick wince, but it served its purpose. It distracted Josie, despite her hatred of her and the Mikaelson, she would still be willing to help nine times out of ten. “Are you okay?” Josie asked.

“It's fine,” Hope said, and gasped when she pulled it off her foot. Thanks to her unsired vampire side and triggered werewolf side, she was already healed. And she knew that the hole was tiny, and didn't go past the sole of her shoe.

“Thanks for bothering to worry, instead of just assuming I'm fine,” Hope said. It was truthful enough, half of the time, Dr. Saltzman and everyone else just expected for her to walk off almost anything without issue. That was another reason why she missed her parents so much, no matter what they were worried about her health. It could be overbearing at times, like when her dad threatened to put her in a castle because of how much danger she attracts. But it did make her feel normal, and not the cosmic mistake she was.

Both of them got started on moving the full trash bags to one of the supervisor's trucks, which he was running them to the dump. And thankfully, Josie dropped the conversation. “I thought MG, was going for your sister?” Hope asked Josie, upon seeing him making out with Dana.

“I don't know anymore, given his making out with her sworn enemy, I would say no, and it would never happen anyway,” Josie responded truthfully.

“And he has the impulse control of a toddler on a hundred pounds of sugar, and is dumb enough not to think about the consequences of his actions,” Josie said with a lot more spit than she expected. She was upset with MG, again, this was their thrice in the past days.

Hope didn't expect Josie to be that harsh. “Aren't you friends?” Hope asked genuinely curious, she knew those two were close, and was on the very short list of people who knew for sure she was a Mikaelson. She knew one of the twins told him after they found out, because Coraline requested they siphon the hollow’s power out of her into her dad.

“I don't know anymore,” Josie responded truthfully. She was mad at him for making out with her ex, and the fact that he avoided her all day because she was trying to follow directions. And right now he was making out with someone, her sister hated more than Hope, most days.

“Is that why MG is friends with you? To get closer to Lizzie?” Hope asked, she honestly didn't know how MG and Josie were friends.

“I doubt it, we were friends before he got a crush on Lizzie, although he never stood a chance,” Josie responded. She was questioning how she was friends with MG, she thought she was a good judge of character, but she was completely wrong. MG has no backbone, constantly being dragged around by her sister, and her last girlfriend was Satan incarnate.

“What do you mean exactly? Did MG already try or did Lizzie mention something?” Hope asked truthfully, she was expecting this conversation to be a lot more of a drag than it actually was, and she was honestly enjoying it.

“She called dibs,” Josie said simply. She knew Hope would understand.

“A, that's disgusting, everybody has a choice, and can't be claimed like a piece of meat, second, when will you get what you want?” Hope spoke. She didn't understand why Josie just sat back and let her sister run over. But she was more disgusted at Lizzie who viewed someone, as a piece of meat.

“Once I no longer have to deal with you,” Josie snapped. She just couldn't control herself, and launched over, like she was about to vomit.

“Are you okay, Josie?” Hope asked, worried about Josie suddenly in pain.

“No, Lizzie is in trouble, twin pain,” Josie rattled with concern for her sister.

Hope looked around and saw none of the chaperones looking around or paying attention. “Follow me,” Hope said simply, and both managed to sneak off. They ran into Nick sneaking off.

“What are you doing, sneaking off?” Josie asked, not expecting anything good.

“Can it, you're sneaking off as well, Landon is in danger, if you really need to know,” Nick said while picking up speed.

Both of them followed after him, Hope was easily keeping pace, while Josie was struggling but wasn't too far behind. “How do you know Landon's in danger?” Hope asked Landon's middle sibling.

“I don't know, I just know, okay?” Nick said, he truthfully had no idea why or how he knew Landon was in danger, but it was useful, he could always try to be there. Nick just hoped Rafael was nearby to help Landon. Nick also chose not to question them on why they were running to the school when he met up with them.

All three of them arrived at the gates of the Salavotre school. Nick tried climbing the fence knowing it would be faster but ran into a barrier. “Fuck,” Nick said. He had no idea what to do about a barrier, he doubted his demon powers could be useful, if he could willingly activate them. He still most likely needed the demon mask to activate them, that was a problem for future Nick. And another future problem, he found a temporary spot to store a mask not wanting to bring it everywhere, but he needed to find a long term solution.

The person who helped Rafael put her hands on the barrier. Nick, now it was Josie because of the drama circulating on the bus. Josie's hands, upon contact with the barrier, started to absorb the magical energy. When she finished, the purple energy field crumpled, and she also clipped on a bracelet. Nick guessed it was a way to store the energy more effectively or convert it into a usable form. Nick started running, as soon as the barrier fell hoping he wasn't too late.

Dr. Rahorn Pov 2:55 Salvatore Medical Wing

Dr. Rahorn was excited, he never considered himself as a scientist. But the possibilities of two, maybe three new species showing up made him excited. Right now with the only thing that was relatively sure on was that Landon was a phoenix. Nick was most likely a demon, since in multiple stories it tells of them having multiple hearts, and his correlation to the demon mask.

The possibility alone made him excited about what they could do. The only thing they confirmed was some form of resurrection powers, and pyrokinesis. If Wendy was still around he would want to compare their differences. Was there such a thing as phoenix fire? What were their key differences between that and normal fire?

He also didn't want to imagine the ceremonies or rituals possible now that would need phoenix blood. But that opened a whole can of unethical questions, could his blood revive the dead if their body was intact? How long until they could no longer do it, but he had no desire to find anything of the like out. Could Phoenix blood be identical to vampire blood minus the potential conversation. He also wanted to know if their tears had special properties, but he didn't want to push his luck.

It's possible that Landon's sudden increase in potential fighting capabilities was because of his phoenix power kicking into overdrive or his other side, which they had no real theory on. But it also probably meant his physical abilities were enhanced, how different was it to werewolf physicality? Did his phoenix powers also change his habits slightly like werewolves? And did phoenixes have some kind of unique increase in mental aspects?

That's something that always bugged him, that despite witches, vampires, and werewolves being physically enhanced, they had the same mental capabilities as their unevolved cousins. And so many more of these thoughts were running around Karlex's head. He probably should have written a number of his theories, but that didn't matter.

He was just excited to get things started. Ideally, with both, but he knew Nick was in trouble, which seemed really unfair, but he couldn't do much about it. Dr. Rahorn was kind of disappointed in himself for not thinking ahead. The paper system the staff used was simple, someone would enchanted a stack of paper, and leave it in the staff room, someone writes what was needed, and the room number, and boom it flies off.

Karlex knew most classes were already finished by now, so it was of no use to send one, and he didn't even know which room Landon would be in. Thankfully, when he was walking, trying to find him, he ran into his brother Rafael. The newest werewolf said he could find him, but he would stick around. Karlex didn't mind, it wouldn’t affect anything, and it would hopefully prevent a panic attack or something that could disrupt the tests.

But upon footsteps outside his workspace, he quickly switched to work mode. Work would always be more important than someone's interest in the unknown. He saw both of the brothers walk in, and soon both took seats at the desk in front of him.

“Okay, Landon, I will just need to draw some blood to do some tests, and then we can go outside and do physical tests, to catalog under your phoenix side, if that's okay?” Dr. Rahorn explained what he wanted, and Landon just nodded.

Dr. Rahorn got out from behind his desk, and grabbed a syringe, and started preparing. “If it hurts, tell me to stop,” he said. Dr. Rahorn was careful not to do anything that might scare Landon. When he was done, and took the syringe out, he saw Landon's skin instantly heal. The doctor chalked that up to Phoenix's having a healing factor, implying some sort of limit to Landon's resurrection powers.

Dr. Rahorn put the contents of the syringe into a container for future study. He also noticed that Landon's blood had two key physical differences, it wasn't as fluid as normal blood, it appeared to be acting like a gas, and it was a brownish red. He didn't know how many of these changes were because of Landon's phoenix side. He would try to dilute the blood into his different sides to see for sure. He just had to manipulate the supernatural genes, to go with each other.

He pulled out a bunch of mental tests from his desk drawer, and gave them to Landon. “The supernatural gene does not affect the mental capabilities of the people with it. This is just a test to see if that remains true with phoenixes,” Dr. Rahorn explained. He walked to the back area and started to organize various medical supplies, giving Landon time to finish them.

By the time Karlex finished organizing different herbs, and magical compounds Rafael walked up to him, “Landon finished his tests,” He said, slightly annoyed, probably from boredom.

He grabbed them and gave a look through, not seeing anything unusual, he was just smarter than average. Nothing that raised any form of a red or, in this instance, a green flag. But he would go through them again more carefully once he was done with everything else. He threw them in a locked section of his desk.

Dr. Rahorn would have normally left work like this to one of his student aids. But he didn't want them to tamper with it, although he extremely doubted it. But he wanted to be cautious, and this was only aided by his boss's own actions. He hasn't said much. The only thing he has let the students know is that both are supernaturals with unique mutations on the Wendy's pyromancer gene.

Wendy, he missed her. Even to this day, he seriously doubted that any of those kids could do those actions. Maybe it was because of his bias. He was originally here just to help one kid, but their medical complications got worse, and the student died. Dr. Saltzman allowed him to stay for a while to find a new job. But Wendy showed, she could only use fire magic, and nothing else. Karlex was kept around to document, and try and figure out what happened.

Even to this day, he didn't know for sure. All he could guess was that it was a mutation of a certain witch gene that he didn't notice, or the trauma blocked off her other magic. She was found after some kids tried to assault her, and her witch powers activated, burning them. And since she was an orphan with no knowledge of her parentage, there wasn't a whole lot they could do to find out.

And when she was punished, Dr. Saltzman allowed him to stay because he was having a positive impact on the students. The only itself was easy to believe, they only knew probably a fourth about that mutation. It would be easy enough to believe that genes could mutate into another element. It wouldn't do him any good to sit around here and be sad.

He could study both the blood and the tests later, and grabbed a clipboard, “Follow me, will just be doing physical tests, sprints, weight lifting, that kind of stuff,” he explained. Landon and his brother followed after the doctor.

They went outside first, and walked to the lake, and stopped on the dock. “Do you know how to swim?” the doctor asked Landon who just shook his head. “Okay, run around the lake three times,” he said.

They were out there for half an hour doing all of the physical tests they could outside. Dr. Rahorn was impressed with the results. Landon was currently as strong as an upper percentile recently triggered werewolf, same with Rafael. He made sure to make a note to retest Landon for asthma because it appeared to no longer be there.

“Okay, we are done out here, we just have grip strength and dialed in weight lifting,” Dr. Rahorn said. They had a general idea, but firm numbers would always be better. Once they got inside, something appeared to be wrong, there weren't any students when it was just packed half an hour ago.

They kept on walking, trying to hear or see something. They ran into one of Rafael’s tour guides, Landon believed it was Lizzie, and she was with a small kid. They appeared to be relieved. “What's happening?” The adult asked the oldest Saltzman twin.

“This gargoyle statue came to life, and started chasing us. Most of the kids managed to run away, it appears to be just after us,” Lizzie quickly explained between pants. While absorbing magic from the school, now that she could.

This was also reaffirmed when they had a loud screech, and heavy footsteps. Dr. Rahorn knew for sure none of the students here either had the strength to animate a statue or knew how, and he was pretty sure they had no gargoyle statue before.

They stepped back into the main student lounge area. The gargoyle turned the corner and leapt forward, and started attacking. It slashed into Lizzie's chest, and elongated its claws, and stabbed through Landon's stomach. Lizzie managed to cast a barrier spell, Dr. Rahorn hoped it was to keep it in school grounds.

Either way Dr. Rahorn had to keep the other two students safe, he quickly casted a spell to hide them. He was also forced into increasing his strength three times to stop Rafael from charging it, after it attacked his brother. Thankfully Pedro didn't need to be held back. And after waiting a few minutes the gargoyle walked away.

“What the hell, why did you hold me back!” Rafael started yelling, not caring about the consequences.

“There was nothing you could have done that would have changed the outcome,” Dr. Rahorn said simply. He reached into his coat, and grabbed his phone, and quickly called his boss.

“There is a gargoyle on the loose, he has already attacked two students, we are in the student lounge,” the doctor explained to Alaric as soon as he answered.

“Okay, I will be there in a minute,” he said simply, while hanging up.

Dr. Rahorn moved Lizzie and Landon onto a table to see how serious the wounds were. Landon's chest already healed, but the puncture wounds were gray, Lizzie's scratch wound was similar, it was gray. He started to get to work on Lizzie, hoping Landon's phoenix would keep him alive long enough to be treated. Landon showed no signs of the venom that Lizzie had been hit with. But he had a pulse going at a normal rate, for a coma-like state. But it was steadily decreasing, he just hoped that Landpn’s phoenix power would keep him safe.

He didn't notice the other students appearing, he was only drawing out of his focus on Lizzie when Alaric showed up. “What is her condition?” Alaric asked with obvious concern for his daughter.

“I don't know for sure, some kind of grayscale poison? And paralysis functions as well,” Dr. Rahorn had no idea what that meant or how to tackle it, best guess kill the gargoyle. It didn't appear Lizzie got the full strength because her eyes were moving, while Landon's remained stiff.

“Ms. Tigs grab the lower years, and hide out in the great hall. Dr. Rahorn go with her just in case, 6th years and above go to your dorm under full lockdown conditions,” Dr. Saltzman gave out orders. Dr. Saltzman left once he saw Ms. Tigs nodded, and Dr. Rahorn modified two of the couches to be used as stretchers, Rafael had Landon. And Dr. Rahorn had the oldest siphon witches.

Alaric went to his office to see if the knife was still there, and it was still inside the hydrochloric acid. He grabbed one of the training sticks in his office and knocked it out of the acid. If that thing wanted to hurt his daughter to get the knife, he would get the knife. The knife would be shoved through his chest and pierce its metaphorical heart.

Alaric was trying to find something that was dead set on killing his students, and he wouldn't let that fly. He had a pretty solid guess that he was safe, because of the myths surrounding the gargoyle. He kept looking around the main floor, hoping to see the bastard. He was right, it currently stood in an alcove between three classrooms.

Upon seeing it, Alaric instantly went to thrust his knife into the monster's chest. But the gargoyle moved faster, catching his wrist. The gargoyle twisted his wrist, forcing Dr. Saltzman to be wide open to attack. The gargoyle launched forward is its other free to knock out the principal.

The gargoyle grabbed the knife and started to walk away, after putting the principal out of danger from the monsters that have influenced him. He wanted to kill all of the scum inside of the school, as a form of revenge. These abominations that pretend to be humans were the reason his village, and creator were destroyed. But the thing that was in control of him demanded he stab the boy with his worst poison and get his creator's knife.

He didn't know what this thing was, and how it had power over him. Or why it wanted, scratch that, needed the knife if the desperation displayed was any indication. He was about to walk outside the school, but a purple barrier rose to life, blocking him. Despite this change the Gargoyle was happy. He had a reason to stay behind for a little bit to kill the witch who put up the barrier, and hopefully get a high amount of collateral damage. These things had no right to live, he was their cure, their ultimate saving grace.

Landon Pov afterlife 3:25

Landon didn't know if he should start to expect this to become a normal thing. Him dying because he was too weak to help anyone. Despite not being stabbed in a major vital region, it should have only pierced his stomach. This death was probably more painful than having his entire chest shot open. This death was more painful because it felt like millions of tiny needles stitching his skin off nanometer by nanometer, while it felt like every ounce of his being was pierced off and destroyed.

Landon quickly changed his thoughts, not wanting to rank all of the ways he had been killed so far, based on how painful. He didn't want to talk to the ferryman, not expecting anything to have changed, so he started to wander around. He soon found his way to the town square, and saw millions of people milling around. Landon saw multiple signs that read ‘Help in the journey to peace’. Landon was starting to doubt he would revive, because the first time it was a few minutes max, and now it felt probably double the original time.

The only two theories he could come up with were, either that his revival time was based on the amount of danger there was going on around his corpse, okay that was a weird thought, or the amount of damage his body had to repair. Landon, not having anything better to do right now, decided to walk up to one of the stands and start a conversation with the person.

“Hello, I just died. What's this about?” Landon asked carefully, not knowing how to approach the situation.

“Well kid, first thing you do check your pockets for a coin, the ferryman gives some people a free pass to peace, but more likely you have to admit a mistake or let go of something, to get a coin to pass, and some people need multiple coins so they help others receiving one as well for someone they help, and you can only use the coins you got yourself or the coins you got through contracts,” The stand operator said in a transatlantic east accent. Landon nodded, finding it interesting to a degree. They had to pay off their sins more or less, appreciating the breakdown, he still doubted he would stick around for long.

Landon shuffled through his pockets to see if he had one of the coins mentioned. He felt a click of gold against his hands. He had a coin, but he wasn't going to peace any time soon, despite the ferryman's insistence. “Thanks,” Landon said, before walking off, he wanted to find a spot away from all of the noise off the town square. He was trying to see if he could find his mom and dad but couldn't find them.

The currently dead phoenix found someone sitting on a fallen over tree log staring into the town. There was something familiar about him, he swore he just saw them today. “Hi,” Landon greeted cautiously, not sure if he could die again and what would happen.

“Hello, do I know you?” the figure responded to Landon. Not understanding why someone would want to talk to them. Given their infamous status.

“I don't believe so,” Landon responded truthfully. He wasn't the best with remembering people who walked by him.

The figure just nodded, continuing to stare off into space in front of them. “Listen, I just died, but do I have to go to peace? Can I just become a spirit instead?” Landon asked. The phoenix probably should have asked the vendor before, but he only just thought of it right now.

“Unfortunately, no, you can only become a spirit that watches over the living if you are linked with a spell or ancestral magic,” The figure responded.

Landon just nodded, he was trying to figure out how he remembered this person, but the only thing that stood out was his suit. It reminded him of a lawyer suit, well, an extremely high quality one. But that didn't help him much.

“What are you thinking about?” Landon asked the familiar person, just wanting to burn time until he was lit, aflame, and back to life.

“How much of a fool I have been,” he said simply.

“What makes you say that?” Landon asked.

“I ruined my brother's and his daughter's life,” The figure responded, not really caring, no one wanted to help him.

“What happened?” Landon asked, he wanted to try and help this person.

“I should have died instead of him, and taken the hollow's power with me, now his daughter is without both her parents and an uncle because I didn't know what to do,” The man explained.

Landon easily should have no known by now, he felt like the name was in his brain and screaming, but he just couldn't listen to it. “Was there even a way to do so?” Landon asked. He didn't know much for sure, but he doubted there was a way.

“No idea we were on a time limit,” The man responded.

“Then it sounds like you are not entirely at fault, but how did you die?” Landon regretted that question almost immediately.

“I killed myself, I took some venom and put it inside of a beer bottle and drank out of it,” The figure said, clearly regretting his action.

That's when something clicked in Landon's mind. Apparently, there was a venom that could kill original vampires, and two just died from it about two years ago. And only one had a kid, and he said Uncle. “Are you Elijah Mikaelson?” Landon was still relatively sure of his guess, but still wanted to make sure.

“Yes, I'm indeed Elijah Mikaelson,” The noblest Mikaelson said, expecting the new person to walk away.

“I don't think you ruined your niece's life, or your brothers,” Landon said simply. He didn't know much about Niklaus, but he wanted to think he knew Hope decently.

“Your niece misses you despite whatever your actions, and my brother he shares a lot of traits with Klaus, and I can tell you with absolute certainty, if he died for his family, he would be happy and change nothing, I think the same would be true with Klaus” Landon said, before Elijah could do anything.

“Both are probably not happy with how things turned out, but I think you are just regretting your actions,” Landon said. He started to feel hotter, just a noticeable bit.

“I don't know you well enough but, throughout history, you have sought your brother's redemption, and since in your mind he was redeemed when he killed himself, because his action was so uniqugenly selfless instead of his normal actions, you sought to redeem yourself through the same way,” Landon said.

“You were afraid of your inner personality, and Klaus was so openly your inner side, and you thought doing the same thing would bring you peace, but you needed something different,” Landon fully explained what he meant.

“And you were scared, you didn't know what to do without your brothers, and found it easier to leave with him than be without him,” Landon added. He was the same way, every single time he was away from his brothers, he would always get nervous. The heat was getting extremely hot.

Landon found the coin in his pocket, “Here you go,” he said while putting the coin on the log. When Landon got up, he soon burnt to ash, confusing Elijah, not knowing what happened.

Nick Pov Salvatore school 4:00 PM

Nick walked into the building that housed all of the classrooms. The first thing that came to their mind was silence. There were no students running around, and the lobby area was dead, and there were two missing couches, and Nick noticed some blood on the carpet.

“What happened here?” Josie asked, not expecting answers.

“I'm splitting up, gonna see if I can find something,” Nick said while walking away from the group. Hope and Josie also broke off from each other, heading in opposite directions.

Nick was currently inside the hallway that housed all of the normal classes mandated by whatever thing was in charge of schools. He couldn’t see inside any of the classrooms, and all were locked. He thought that was odd, but wasn't used to this school's normal.

Nick was debating if he should try to run to grab his knife. After all, he didn't have it on him, because he knew he was going to do community service. How could someone logically explain caring around a knife that was a hybrid of a military and hunting knife. See here, this knife belongs to my dad and makes me feel safe. Safe from what? But that didn't matter, Nick didn't have the time necessary.

The most chaotic of Landon's siblings quickly grabbed what he guessed was a medieval long sword based on the design. It was slightly heavier than was to be expected, probably indicating a rookie made it. But he couldn't complain, it would serve his purpose.

He heard struggling inside of a locked room, someone kind of storage closet, he guessed. “Step away from the door,” Nick ordered. He didn't want to seriously injure someone accidentally because they didn't know he was there. If they chose to stay, that was their problem. They had their warning.

Nick could have picked the lock, but chose the more fun options, and didn't have anything on him to pick said lock. And he started slashing, and kicking. Eventually, he managed to snap the door off its hinges.
He was expecting a lot, but he wasn't expecting his current principal to be gagged with duct tape. And had his arms behind him attached with chains. Nick probably would have laughed if it wasn't for implication.

“Nick, what are you doing here?” Dr. Saltzman asked, once Nick had removed the gag.

“If that's your way to say thanks, you need to improve,” Nick responded.

“What the hell happened while we were gone?” Nick asked, “Hold still,” Nick said when he went to slash the chains off the handcuffs.

“Could you remove the cuffs, and not the chains?” Dr. Saltzman asked, annoyed.

“I don't have anything to safely do it on me,” Nick deadpanned. He knew how to get out of handcuffs himself, but didn't know any way to remove them from someone else, safely. The principal probably wouldn’t approve if Nick slashed Dr. Saltzman's hands off to remove the cuffs.

Both walked out of the storage closet to find Hope and Josie approaching them. “What's going on and where's Lizzie?” Josie asked her dad.

“A gargoyle got inside of the school, attacked two students to get my attention, and it's now in possession of the knife, it hasn't left so it needs something else, most likely,” Dr. Saltzman explained.

“Bad news about that, it's just dwindling its thumbs, we broke the barrier spell to get inside,” Hope explained. Alaric muttered Smart girl, but Josie interpreted whatever he was going to say.

“What knife, and what's so special about it?” Josie asked.

“We have no idea. I accidentally activated it when I touched it,” Nick responded with the same lie he told the principal.

“So, where is the student that set up the barrier spell?” Nick asked.

“Lizzie was attacked, and is being treated in the private section of the great hall,” Dr. Saltzman explained, worried about his daughter's safety and health.

“Okay, that plan is out, guess we just find it before it leaves,” Nick spoke. He was originally gonna suggest using them as bait, but if they were injured and couldn't fight, then it was out of the question. “Any special way to kill it?” Nick asked, he didn't want to try to kill it, and learned mid way through that the only way to kill it was to drop it in acid.

“Since his caster is most likely dead, just smash his body,” Dr. Saltzman explained. He finished translating gargoyle stories this morning, seeing depictions of it with the knife. Apparently, the gargoyle was like most spells, they powered it for how long or they fully charged it to last indefinitely. But he didn't want to risk his daughter's safety, so he failed to mention that siphoning it of its magic also worked.

And with that, they headed off to find it. They only stopped once, and that was a decorative crest piece that held two axes. One each for the Saltzmans. Nick just wanted to hurry so he could find his brothers and make sure they were safe. He didn't know they bothered to stop at the great hall, it was sealed he could feel it.

But they did, Nick guessed for the confirmation that Lizzie was all right, and she was. But he was more concerned about seeing Rafael watching over Landon's body there as well. Nick pulled Rafael out of the way, “What the hell happened to Landon? he looks dead,” he was worried, he knew Landon could most likely walk it off but that didn't make it any easier.

“He just died, His body just started to heat up, so the doc says anything from 5 minutes to an hour before he revives,” Rafael explained. The werewolf was still tempted to strangle the doctor for not letting him help his brother.

Both came to face the door, on the upper level, upon hearing heavy footsteps. The counselor immediately shut the door, sealing off the young students. The gargoyle launched itself forward, and grabbed a montante from one of the Armour stands, and stabbed it into one Nick's hearts. This heart was in its normal spot.

Nick was screaming, because blood fucking murder that was painful. He also dropped his sword. The gargoyle didn't appear to be done, he used the spiked circular guard to pierce his chest as well and rotate it to make the pain worse, also preventing an easy drag out. And because he was pushed into a wall before being stabbed he was trapped.

Nick couldn't do anything because he has yet to hollow out his glasses' support beams to hide anything. And couldn't do anything pinned to the wall. Thankfully, Rafael and Alaric were keeping that thing busy. It was the exact opposite of yesterday, he was trying to keep the knife out of the dragon's hand, and they were playing this exact game. The only thing different was that it's a gargoyle, and Rafael, and he was surprisingly competent with the sword he dropped, and he was just using instinct.

Josie, at some point, threw her axe, managing to destroy both of the gargoyle's wings. That meant it could no longer move as fast, or fly. The axe was unfortunately gonna be lodged in the walls, out of reach without a ladder or a complicated spell. But that left her vulnerable, because Rafael and her dad were fighting in such close quarters that the spell she casted would just as easily affect them. And it appeared that their weapons were now very limited, it wasn't taking as much damage as before from Rafael's sword.

Nick knew this was gonna be painful as all fucking hell. He grabbed the grip of the sword, and started to rotate it. Nick knew the spikes on the sword would get in the way if he tried to dislodge the sword right away. Once he was sure they would be out of the way, he started to push it out of his chest. Nick noticed an immediate decrease in strength, he guessed it was tied to his hearts or the pain.

Either way, when he got it halfway out of his chest, he felt the support of the wall to start to loosen. And he noticed just above the spikes of the sword, the metal appeared to be super flimsy, meaning he could easily get the sword stuck in his chest, or break it easily if he were to use it with any force.

Nick finally managed to get the sword shoved out of his chest right when Dr. Saltzman was actually slapped, unconscious away from the fight. Nick touched the wound, and felt it close up, and charged, determined to help Rafael. He dropped the sword by one of the tables just in case, hoping his fists would be good enough, since he didn’t trust the durability of the montante. Neither witch could do much since they still needed to grab the knife. Or in Hope's case, they didn't have anything they could use to be effective.

Nick also noticed that at some point, Rafael dropped the sword. Mostly likely when he wasn't paying attention, trying to dislodge the montante from his chest. Both brothers were fighting the gargoyle highly in sync with one another. It still didn't make it easier. Neither had the physical conditioning to punch rocks on end, but their healing factors were keeping them in it. Both were dodging his clawed attacks, but Rafael wasn't expecting a kick. It sent him flying into one of the walls. Nick kept the pressure going with the sword Rafael dropped, a while back. Nick grabbed the sword when Rafael was kicked, and when the gargoyle had turned away from it.

He can confidently say he never expected this in a million years, but his brother used the montante as a pole volt. He managed to get over the gargoyle before the sword snapped. But it didn't matter. Rafael kicked the gargoyle's shoulder, dislocating it, allowing Nick to cut the hand off. He guessed it affected the magic, making it easier to destroy, because the sword went through like a hot knife cutting butter. Nick grabbed the supernatural knife out of the severed hand, before rushing over to his brother, pulling him away.

Both witches took this as their cue to start chatting a magic spell. Right when it was about to attack them, the gargoyle blew up into a million bits. Neither brother got hit with any piece of debris, bigger than a pebble, so they were fine.

“That was fucking crazy,” Nick said before laughing out loud, like a lunatic. He didn't know why he was laughing, but he needed it.

“For once, you are correct, that was insane,” Rafael agreed with his brother.

The only sign of injury that either sported was blood from their knuckles, from punching the gargoyle. And in Nick's case, his shirt was also torn up. “Did neither of you know a spell that could have disarmed that thing?” Nick asked the witches, once he got his head on straight.

Both shook their heads, “I have a weird feeling we are gonna play that game again,” Nick responded to them, confirming his suspension.

“How are you not dead? That should have pierced your heart,” Josie asked Nick, not understanding how he was still alive.

“All of my organs are on the wrong side,” Nick said. Nick was almost shocked at how fast and easy he came up with that lie. But he still thought that if one heart was destroyed or failed, he would die, so he learned something.

It appeared as if Josie didn't believe but accepted that answer for right now. But that didn't explain how his wounds had healed already. Nick had already started to prepare multiple lies and was sorting them on how convincing.

The doctor walked out of the private section, where they sealed them off during the fight. “All four of you are going with me, and someone help get Dr. Saltzman, Landon, and Lizzie,” Dr. Rahorn took charge. All of them just nodded. The witches grabbed Lizzie, who was still on a stretcher. Rafael threw Dr. Saltzman over his shoulder with ease. Nick shoved the supernatural knife in his left pocket for right now.

Nick went inside of the closed off, section once he put the sword that both he and Rafael used to fight the gargoyle. It had wide windows which allowed you to see into the yard. Nick probably would have admired the view if he wasn't worried about his brother. When he tried to touch him to pick him up, his hand was burned instantly. A smell of smoke quickly filled the room.

“What's happening? Something is burning,” a scared child's voice said.

“Step back, just in case,” Nick said. He didn't see Landon's first resurrection and was scared himself.

Landon's body spontaneously combusted, destroying the rug he was on top of, but nothing else. Nick had to grab the counselor’s arm to prevent her from trying something. Nick didn't want to take any chances. It took a whole minute before the fire died down, leaving behind a cocoon of ash. The ash crumbled away, allowing Landon to move freely.

“Landon, can you walk?” Nick asked with worry.

Landon just nodded, Nick helped him get up. Nick was close to Landon just in case he collapsed, when they walked. Nick grabbed the two sections of the montante as a souvenir for Rafael. And grabbed the long sword so he could put it away, it just needed to be sharpened after today. Considering it was used as a bat.

Alaric pov his office 8 PM

He was dismissed from the medical wing about two and a half hours ago. He already talked to Dorain when he got back about two hours ago.

Alaric didn't care that Hope, Josie, and Nick ran off, he was sure they would be in a worse situation if they didn't. Despite it not being directly implied, they learned something useful about Landon's other half. Nick knew when Landon was in danger, indicating some kind of relationship between their supernatural DNA.

Alaric wrapped up the supernatural knife, and gave it to Dorain. “You do know the risks, right?” he was worried for his best friend.

“Yes, and I still want better dental, and that raise,” Dorian responded. He grabbed the wrapped up knife. They both discussed and agreed that the knife needed to be away from the school.

Dorain would be on the run with the aid of a few scouts. His main goal was to keep it away from the school, and the monsters. And ideally, his second goal was to figure out why they wanted the knife.

“Keep safe,” Alaric said when Dorian walked out of his office.

“Keep everyone safe,” Was the response Alaric received.

Dr. Saltzman locked his office and headed to the great hall. He knew the students deserved an explanation for the danger they faced today. He saw that most of the students were already there and got ready with his impromptu speech. “If you asked me just a few days ago, I would have said, I knew the difference between myth and fact,” He started.

“ I would have said that all supernaturals were limited to the species under this roof, I would have said that folklore, and fairy tales were just stories with no importance,” He continued on.

“But I can no longer say that any of that’s true. Cause in these short days, we have been confronted with the dangerous unknowns, by the existence of multiple creatures, Dragon, Dryad, Nymph, and Phoenix,” He said. He heard the students murmuring, most likely because of the rumor of Landon being killed and bursting back to life.

“And then today, our campus was terrorized by a gargoyle, some of us, were forced to fight. We won, today.” Alaric started the grim parts of the speech, while trying to make it sound not as horrific.

“They were drawn here by a Knife, that was somehow activated earlier this week. And these creatures consider us to be their enemy.” He explained, he wanted answers more than anyone else in the room.

“They consider us their enemy, because we won’t give them what they want. We have no know idea why they want it, but we are going to find out.” Aaric continued on with the speech.

“I can’t say for sure what their true intentions are. I’m not going to stand up here, and say there won’t be more attacks. And that is why I’m telling you this, for your own safety.” He wants to make sure all of his students come out of this alive.

“I’m asking each and every one of you, to look around, and to look out for each other. To do what’s best for another. Because this place isn’t just a school, it’s a family, who stands side by side with everyone. And we will stand together. Fight together. And we will win or lose this battle together, no matter what comes knocking on our door next.” Alaric begged of his students, he wanted them to feel safe. And to quote the wolves, and his own experience, safety in numbers was always the best bet.

Malivore Pov Triad Industries.

He was entirely upset with how things went today. Mildly annoyed was probably the best word to describe his mood. Wrangling the gargoyle under his control was getting tiring. He should have made it kill the principal. That thing wanted to free the natural, and bring him with the knife. At Least the thing was magically vowed to protect naturals, so he could have made it kill the principal of the Salvatore school.

At least it did its job well enough. Its original warlock was very proficient with poisons. When he made the gargoyle to protect the town they lived in, He made sure it had as many poisons as possible. And over the years, it learned to combine, amplify, and so much more with them. Sadly, Malivore hasn’t consumed anyone with anything beyond basic knowledge of poisons or acids so most of it went over his head.

That's how he had poisons that were impossible to replicate. The two most obvious were the ones that destroyed someone's genetics. It only confirmed Malivore's suspicions that his son's phoenix powers were either entirely or partially soul-based. But it also confirmed that he could stuff living things inside his body. He knew Clark could reform entirely when he was killed, if his body was destroyed, he would usually form inside of a mud pit somewhere, so Malivore was expected something similar with his new golden child. But that could wait.

Malivore made a decision. He was giving up on plans A, and B. He was going to use Landon as his vessel. But with the knife out of the school, it and only be guarded by one person who was probably competent. The knife was easy to grab. These two monsters would be his last for a while, he would need to stockpile for a while.

He reached into his body, and grabbed a semi-intelligent wraith. His orders would be simply to locate the knife, and, if possible, grab it without being noticed. Easy enough since he was made out of mist and could take over someone's body if necessary. The wraith soon left his mud puddle, which was somewhere in Wisconsin. That was something else, he needed a puddle somewhere directly in Virginia. Having one in, or around Mystic Falls posed too much of a risk. He would find a location later.

He soon grabbed another creature that would be at its best with reconnaissance work. An arachne, a spider woman. She could control all spiders within a few miles, good enough to keep an eye on things while the wraith did its job.

Chapter Text

Nick Pov Medical wing 4:30 PM

Nick walked in with Landon leaning on his shoulder. Landon didn't have as much strength as he thought, and had to use Nick to keep steady. They didn't talk on their walk over there. They didn't have any pressing need to do so.

When they arrived, they saw that the principal was already awake, having probably been forcibly awakened from his unconscious state, with Dr. Rahorn working on him. Apparently, Josie's sister, whom Nick had doubts about, was still asleep or in a coma, Nick didn’t know, and didn’t care. They didn't see Hope, which meant she had already left.

Nick brought Landon over to Rafael, and Rafael got out of his spot on the couch, giving it to his brother. Nick pulled out the supernatural knife from his pocket and put it on a nearby table, and left the sword to be on the table as well. “How are the two holding up?” Rafael asked, worried, especially seeing Landon so weak.

They weren't by any of the medical beds, there was just a miniature lounge area in the left-hand corner by the two brothers who had just entered. The lounge or waiting area was made by two couches that formed an L shape.

“I'm sorry,” Landon apologized to his brothers. He didn't want to see them worried about him. It was his fault that he was hurt. He grabbed the knife, and the gargoyle wanted it. It didn’t matter if he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Don't apologize, you aren't guilty of anything, if anything, I should, I failed you,” Rafael said. He should have helped Landon, he was strong enough to hold his own against the gargoyle, and their recent brawl with it proved it.

“How are you both of you holding up?” Landon asked, trying to shift the attention off of him.

“I feel normal despite the injuries I sustained,” Nick said to his brother. He didn't want to worry about his brother, he was walking it off. Besides, it was true, he didn’t feel any lingering pain. Both he and Rafael would need to wash their hands thoroughly to get their blood off.

“Same, but I didn't get hit with anything as serious as what Nick got hit with,” Rafael responded. Besides, he was used to having a sore body after sports events and practice, so his hands on fire were easy to ignore, and the stinging sensation was getting fainter.

“So what exactly happened today?” Nick asked, it was more aimed at Rafael, who probably knew more than Landon, considering he died halfway through.

“It was normal-ish until you left for your community service. We were with the doc, and he was running tests on Landon, and on our way in, we got attacked by it, we hid out in there until you showed up,” Rafael explained. Rafael chose to leave out the conversation with Jed for later once he knew both of his brothers would be okay.

“Nick, can you fill in your side,” Landon requested. He wanted to know what happened so he could potentially be useful for once.

“I knew you were in danger like all of those instances, and came running, Hope and Josie tagged along because Josie knew Lizzie was in pain, we found Dr. Saltzman inside of a closet gagged, we got caught up to speed of their was a gargolye in the school, and we end up in the great hall,” Nick responded to Landon's question. Rafael looked ready to burst out laughing at the image of the principal gagged in a storage closet.

“Nick, do you think my unknown side is attached to your supernatural nature?” Landon asked.

“That’s what it's looking like,” Nick said. He should have lied seeing Landon's immediate reaction. But his brothers knew his tick just like he knew theirs. None of them could lie to one another they all knew when one was lying or holding out a section or something.

“Just cause Nick's a demon, doesn't make you one, and even if you do turn out to be one, you still have a choice, to be yourself, who will help anyone,” Rafael said, seeing the worry brewing over his brother's eyes. Nick wanted to add that, but he couldn't think of a way to. Rafael was almost always better at comforting Landon than himself.

“How does a gargoyle get inside of a school? Better question didn't nobody notice a new statue? There aren't even stone statues on the grounds, so it should have sticked out,” Nick asked, wanting to keep Landon distracted. Nick doubted he would get an answer in any capacity. But it was just meant to distract Landon.

“I don't know, bro, maybe it just flew in a few minutes before it started attacking,” Rafael took a shot in the dark.

“What did you think of today?” Landon asked his brothers who hadn't had the chance to talk today yet, about this weird new normal. Witches, werewolves, and vampires are normal, but apparently a gargyoly isn’t, along with other supernatural creatures.

“Good, but I was bored in that make-up class, and the other classes were normal,” Rafael responded.

“I'm more concerned with the blatant lie in the textbook. How could Niklaus be responsible for the ripping of a hundred packs if he was in Europe running for Mikael, but were the Salem witch trials actually about witches?” Nick, typical of himself, asked both a historical question and a semi morbid one. Thankfully, he didn't ask anything that bad while they ate anymore.

But both of his brothers agreed with him. It appears as if for the past hundred years or so, supernaturals have been getting rarer and rarer. And events with huge sections dying off, they glossed over. But they agreed to a certain extent, it didn't make sense, how could Klaus make multiple vampire factions in the United States kill off a hundred packs while he was across the sea? They doubted Vamp speed as it was famously dubbed was that fast.

“I guess, but it seemed like the content was factual, it just had that one section,” Rafael responded. Not caring as much as his brother.

“Please tell me I wasn't the only one bored out of my mind,” Rafael asked, but he was pretty sure of the answer.

“Ditto,” Both of the remaining brothers responded. They were bored, which wasn’t saying a lot for Nick since he normally wouldn’t pay attention ever. But for Landon, it was the first time he wanted to fall asleep in class.

“Do you think we could test out early somehow?” Landon asked, he wanted to know more about this world. And being stuck in that class wouldn’t help them.

“Hopefully man,” Rafael said while shrugging his shoulders.

Nick saw the doctor approaching them, and they soon stopped talking. “Nick, you are going first,” Dr. Rahorn said. He was more concerned with the student who didn’t have any confirmed type of immorality, or extreme healing factor.

“Tell me everything you noticed during your fight with the gargoyle,” The doctor requested while doing his thing. He wanted to know so he could file it away for later, while making a way to identify Nick’s species in the future.

“I didn't get stabbed with his claws so no idea about poison resistance, but my normal heart was pierced, which led to a decrease in strength, but it's possible pain was also affecting me, and by the time we killed it my normal heart was repaired,” Nick listed off his observation, or things that he noticed, but he was more concerned with not getting killed for good.

“Okay, so multiple or all hearts need to be destroyed to kill you, potentially the amount of hearts he has functionally affects his abilities, and based on the time from you dislodging the sword to the end of the fight, it takes around 5 minutes for an important organ to reform entirely or repair from serious damage, and displayed physicality on par with a recently upper percentile werewolf, in a more human form,” The doctor was muttered to himself while writing stuff down. He added the last bit, remembering the detail about how the mask allowed Nick to use a higher level of his power.

“Again, keep an eye or ear on your body and let me know if you notice a change, but you should be fine,” Dr. Rahorn said directly to Nick.

“Why can't you just sedate me, and cut me open to make sure?” Nick bluntly asked. He would have to apologize to Landon seeing him cringe with that thought. While Rafael looked ready to smack and yell at him telling him about his value.

“Two things, I don't have the means to do it, and second we don't know for sure how your body will react if we tried something like that, so we just got to hope your body knows what it is doing,” The doctor said, while also a bit concerned with how Nick said it. He made it sound like they were discussing how to process a cow or animal.

“Rafael, you're next,” he said, quickly changing the topic. The doctor got to work with Rafael. It was a lot easier for the doctor because Rafael was one of the known species. The doctor didn’t bother to ask questions since they knew what to expect from a werewolf.

Dr. Saltzman came over midway through Rafael's checkup. “Nick, to be clear, you are not in trouble this time, and I just want to say thanks,” he said to Nick, who just nodded. Landon noticed the supposed handcuffs that he still had on when fighting the gargoyle were gone.

“Thanks for all of the help today,” He said to the brothers while grabbing the knife off the table. And he quickly left after grabbing the knife and heading off to do his own thing. Dr. Rahorn was muttering angrily to himself about how that man had a death wish.

“Didn't you say he had handcuffs stuck on his wrists?” Landon asked his brothers since he was dead at the time of the fight. Was it even normal to remember your death experience?

“Beats me, maybe they got chopped off during the fight with the gargoyle somehow,” Nick responded. He lost track of the fight when trying to safely dislodge a sword from his chest. He didn’t want to have a piece of metal permanently stuck in his chest.

“There was a spare key in my desk. Sometimes with more difficult students, especially in the past we had to chain them up for a while for one reason or another,” the doctor said with an unmatched casual tone, like he was talking about the weather, or a new show.

“Rafael you should be good to go,” he said, glancing over the shocked looks.

He started to get to work on Landon, “Again like Nick, please tell me everything that I might not have known or noticed,” Dr. Rahorn said.

“I died, so I guess poison has no permanent effect blocking my resurrection, some physical exhaustion a few minutes after my rebirth, and this time it was easier to break out of the ash cocoon once I was reborn,” Landon said unsurly. They didn't learn anything of use.

“Yes, but I learned something that you will find interesting,” The doctor said. While filing away the physical exhaustion comment for later, he already had a theory going.

“Your phoenix powers are linked to your soul, instead of genetics,” Dr. Rahorn said.

“How would you know that?” Rafael asked.

“When I tried to heal him, I did a spell to help, to identify where to start, it didn't work, which means there wasn't any genetic material,” he said. But it even if he died it should have activated, which meant no internal systems. The gargoyle must have an extreme knowledge of poisons or have known someone to make a poison like that. To simultaneously destroy all genetic information and all of your internal systems completely, they weren’t even liquified.

“The poison destroyed all of his genetic information, and if the phoenix power was tied to Landon's genetics, he would be permanently dead,” the doctor explained, seeing that all of the brothers were lost on what that meant. Once he fully explained what he meant, both Nick and Rafael were beyond relieved at knowing their brother would be able to live without fear of foul play by someone or nature.

“And Landon's skin prevented the poison from escaping outside,” He added in after thinking about it for a minute. He remembered casting a large variety of spells to see Landon's condition, and fully expecting him to stay dead.

“The poison also had the capability of destroying his insides, it destroyed everything, it destroyed your genetics and behaved like acid,” the doctor elaborated, to the brothers' confused looks.

“Because Landon's skin can absorb living things my best guess is that, when your body unconsciously tried to absorb the gargoyle, you copied the magic or mimicked it instead, allowing your body to prevent it from spreading outwards, keeping you body intact for resurrection,” Dr. Rahorn but his best theory forward.

“So let me get this straight, Landon can basically never die?” Nick asked the doctor. Nick just wanted to make sure, feeling relieved at what he thought.

“In theory yes, but if the gargoyle was to just knick him like Lizzie he would most likely be dead for good,” Dr. Rahorn said, but he also wondered if just one piece of Landon was needed to resurrect. He just hoped that they never needed to test that theory.

Dr. Rahorn finished checking on Landon. “Landon you are completely fine, all of you are free to go,” He dismissed the brothers.

“One last thing just take it easy Landon, and any signs of the poison remerging, let me know, but I doubt it given your resurrection should have burned it completely out,” He also added to Landon, he wasn't prepared to deal with normal or supernatural poisons, so he probably missed something.

“Before you leave, I have no idea what Dr. Saltzman will say or do, so if you want to avoid people, there is a back door to the kitchens, you can make your own stuff, ” Dr. Rahorn explained. If he was in their position he wouldn't want to be near people, especially since he knew the school would be talking about what happened. Landon was dead when he left, so he guessed someone for sure saw Landon’s revival.

Dr. Rahorn saw no reason for them to stay any longer than needed if they were all physically fine. If they were mentally fine was a different story, but that was for Ms. Tigs to determine. Although he wouldn't admit he was glad that Landon's resurrection appeared to cure all physical damage otherwise he felt like he would be spending an infinite amount of supplies to repair him.

All of the brothers looked happy at being able to avoid people. Especially Landon who looked extremely nervous at causing all of these issues, and just wanting to avoid all the trouble. How does someone manage to explain to someone that they can’t easily die, when there have only been 3 normal species of supernaturals. “Thanks, but won’t we get in the way of the staff?” Landon asked when he realized they most likely just get in someone else's way.

“No, almost everything inside the school is made or maintained using magic, so you won’t have to worry about getting in someone’s way,” Dr. Rahorn explained, before giving the brother directions on how to reach the kitchen. The three just nodded, and left.

Nick couldn’t speak for his brothers but he was pretty sure they were hungry, and he didn’t blame them one bit. And besides, as soon as they made something, they could hide out in their room for the rest of the day. The brothers soon left, leaving Dr. Rahorn to check on the twins, while also muttering about life sustained barriers or something. Because Lizzie just started to move around.

They soon found the back door to the kitchens, and despite knowing everything was made with magic, it was different to see it in person. Kitchen tools were floating around, cutting, and performing various other tasks, as they started to make dinner.

There was enough stuff for the brothers to make about anything, and no one would be the wiser. The only thing that was off, was an industrial blood freezer. It made sense, vampires needed blood to survive, and it also explained why the door was unlocked. The vampires knew where to get blood easily.

Knowing that vampires were alive and real, and accepting it, were two different things. It still felt weird and wrong to Nick. Just a few days ago he and his brothers were none the wiser to any of this. He still didn't know if it was the best idea on coming here, but he didn't want to fight Landon on that.

It didn't matter right now, based on the grumbling from both of his brothers' stomachs, they were hungry. “Sandwiches?” Rafael asked, and both just nodded their heads. Rafael grabbed some bread and tossed it to them while going through the pantry for toppings

None of them probably had the energy to make actual food. All of them know how to cook, multiple foster parents made them cook food for them, or said you have to make your own food. Neither Rafael nor Nick enjoyed cooking, but Landon enjoyed cooking when he got the chance, and wasn’t forced to do it.

Nick wouldn't be surprised if from now on, Landon would just cook his own food because he simply could and wasn't required to make it. The brothers just ate their meals in peace before going to hide out in their room for the rest of the day. He could deal with the backlash Landon would get tomorrow, but he would be willing to doom himself to keep both of his brothers happy. His didn’t mean anything.

Josie Pov Medical wing 4:45 pm

Josie didn't know how her sister would react to everything that happened. She just wanted to apologize to her, she hoped that her sister would hear her out. Josie was also glad that both Hope and her dad had already left. Hope would be telling her that she was stupid for caring about her sister, and her dad just didn't know about the fight going on between his two daughters. And she was even more pissed at her dad and Hope for keeping them in the dark, she wished that she knew more. Why did the entire school have to be in danger for her dad to no longer just trust Hope?

Josie was pretty sure that her sister would be fine, but it still didn't make it any better. She saw Lizzie's fingers twitch a few times, and she Lizzie moved her eyes around. Josie could have sworn she saw Lizzie stare at her with guilt in her eyes when she wasn't fully looking. Which was unusual, her sister never felt guilt.

To also put it bluntly she was a nervous wreck, her left leg kept jumping out of nervousness. This was one of the main reasons why she was trying to learn everything she could, so she could be useful in most situations, but the school didn't teach any healing spells, and she hasn't started learning any.

The more useful knowledge and spells she had, the more she could help people. Besides if she was actually capable of doing something, then none of this would be happening. Her dad wouldn't need to rely on Hope. He could have someone he could trust, and wouldn't need to bargain with.

Besides, it would mean she could help more people. “Jo?” Lizzie asked Horsley, regain some kind of control.

“I'm sorry Liz, I shouldn't have stopped, I'm sorry for arguing with you,” Josie apologized not giving her sister a chance to say anything. Despite not feeling bad for it, Josie still apologized so she wouldn’t have to worry about her sister.

Lizzie nodded her nodded finding her throat dry, and still having a hard time to move. She considered it a minor miracle that she could even talk that one time. She still didn't have much muscle control. But was glad that Josie apologized for her actions. Lizzie still believed that she did nothing wrong.

The youngest twin wasn't surprised that her older sister didn't say anything back. She wouldn't be shocked if Lizzie still blamed Josie for everything that went wrong and still thought she was in the right. But she didn't want to lose her sister and would gladly take the blame. This time.

It didn't matter all that much, because Dr. Rahorn walked over and started to work on her sister. Josie quickly dismissed herself outside the room to be out of the way, saying she had stuff to do. She didn’t want to be a burden and knew she would only get in the way. Besides she could do something to be productive, getting her sister dinner seemed easy enough. Dr. Rahorn already checked on her, with Hope, neither had any injuries, it was more of a precaution than anything else. Then it was her dad since he was the most important.

Josie soon ran into MG, and everything just seemed to snap over. She didn't know when the community service was over or when they got back, but it wasn't recently. MG had time to run off to the kitchens, and grab Lizzie some brownies, knowing something had happened.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?!” Josie spat out. She didn’t know why, but his face just made her so angry.

“I want to make sure Lizzie is okay, and I brought her a get well gift,” MG explained, while moving his hand to make it clear he was talking about the plate of brownies he had.

“I didn't think you would care at all, given you were making out with her enemy,” Josie said, harshly. She didn’t want her sister to be hurt anymore especially because of this toddler's impulse control. And ghosting her because of her because she did what was asked.

“Listen, I'm sorry –” MG started, but was cut off.

“Sorry isn't good enough anymore! I'm done giving you second chances,” She said harshly. He made out with her ex, got her sister on this dumb idea of winning that stupid football game, and would break her sister's heart because of his immaturity.

“You make one more mistake, you so much as hurt my sister, even indirectly, you're gonna wish that you never existed,” Josie threatened, not wanting to give him any more chances. Josie stormed past the vampire, not caring for his pathetic explanations. Besides, he would never get what he wanted. Her sister was just as selfish as Hope, and just like Hope, would use anyone she could.

And if MG was too stupid, and insisted on going on that doomed road, she would just sit back and watch. She gave him enough chances, and broke every single one. She doubted that MG would be as stupid as he has been of late, and would rat her out to her sister. MG would probably assume even right now, Lizzie would believe her. Even if he did say something, she knew she could easily take whatever chances were thrown her way.

Josie left straight for her room, not bothering to get Lizzie food like she intended. She could just say she was bringing her food, and let it be. But right now she wanted answers, and wasn't going to wait for them. She was ready to make a deal with the devil if she needed to.

Landon Pov Salvatore room 5:15 pm

Landon was still grateful, for one simple fact, his resurrection didn't destroy his clothes. Landon believes that across all of them, he has the smallest amount of clothes. Once they got inside, Nick threw on a new plain black t-shirt, since the one he had on had a minor hole, and just threw it on top of his dad's jacket that needed to be fixed either way. Rafael was training to wash the blood off his hands with some success, but Landon didn't think the stains would be permanent.

He felt upset once again seeing all of the damage he had caused. He was just thankful that it was nothing too serious. But it almost didn't matter to him, he didn't know how, but he knew for sure, that every single bad thing that had ever happened to them was because of him somehow. Nick almost dying, because he was immune to compulsion, and them running, and now this stupid thing, that everything wanted. He wouldn't be surprised to learn if he was somehow responsible for his and Rafael's parent's deaths, or why Nick's family possessions were stolen.

Times like these he just wanted to run. Run as far as possible, and as far away as possible so no one gets hurt because of him. He shouldn't have stayed here, he was just a selfish jackass. He wanted answers hoping for answers, and as soon as he learned he wasn't going to get any he should have left. Hell, he shouldn't be trying to get answers, this was why his parents probably abandoned him because of his selfishness.

Landon was dragged out of this downward spiral when Rafael shook his shoulder. “Hey man, do you want to play?” His werewolf brother asked him. Worried. He hated that he caused both of his brothers so much pain.

“Yes,” Landon said. Grateful for the distraction, but he just wanted to go to sleep, but didn't have it in him to tell his brothers that. He was glad that his brothers seemed to notice that he was getting tired after an hour or so, and let him get an early night of sleep.

Josie Pov Hope's Salvatore room 4:55 PM

Josie at last bothered to knock, unlike Hope. But just because she bothered to knock didn't mean she was going to take no for an answer. She needed answers now, and Hope would be her best bet. Hope grumbled out, “Get lost,” not caring who was there right now, and just wanted to calm down.

Josie steeled her nerves and managed to sound somewhat commanding, “Let me in or I'm kicking the door down,” Josie yelled through the door. She knew the spell to unlock the door, which she probably would use instead.

Josie was thankful that Hope was dumb enough to leave her notebook open multiple times. She knew there was no way that the school would be allowed to teach that. Josie knew that she would need every advantage she got over any Mikaelson, especially if one lived within twenty feet.

And Hope should have been more careful if she didn't want people to go through stuff. She was mad at her past self for not taking more spells out of the notebook. “I swear this better be important or, I'm gonna kill you,” Hope said, when she opened the door.

Josie knew she shouldn't poke the metaphorically sleeping bear, but didn't care right now. “I doubt even being dad's favorite child you could get away with permanent murder,” Josie said with disdain towards her dad's favoritism.

“Listen, say what you want, and get lost,” Hope said, not caring. She just wanted to paint to calm herself right now.

Josie walked into Hope's room ignoring how pissed the Mikaelson was getting. “Don't like it when people barge into your room?” Josie taunted, giving Hope a taste of her own medicine.

“What do you want?” Hope almost growled, shutting the door after Josie barged in, to give them some form of privacy.

“I want to know what is going on, so you are going to tell me everything,” Josie said, not concerned with Hope looking ready to kill her.

“No, if your dad wants you to know, he will tell you,” Hope said. Hope could understand why her dad wanted to keep everything secret. But had to admit there was going to be consequences.

“Again favoring his nonbiological daughter,” Josie said, not aware of the disdain tripping from her voice. Josie wasn't surprised at the favoritism shown.

“He's just an immature man child, trying to keep himself and his daughters safe,” Hope said. She knew why he kept avoiding his daughters, his fear of the merge but that only made Hope want to laugh. What was he gonna do after the merge? act like a father to the twin that survived, despite keeping it a secret. Hope was planning to tell Josie about the merge later, once Josie trusted her more, or she got a solution to stop it. After all two siphon witches were better than the one. She had a backup to use if the other died.

Josie wanted to burst out laughing, “That's a load of crap,” she said. “It's because he favors you, that you know everything,” Josie stated. Not caring why her dad spent more time or effort with a Mikaelson, when he taught her they should never be trusted.

“No, I just got involved inside of the situation,” Hope stated. Alaric kept a lot of secrets. And he only told people directly involved. She knew if she wasn't involved she wouldn't know anything.

“I don't care, just tell me what's going on!” Josie said getting frustrated with Hope dodging the question.

“Fine, but you get lost afterwards, deal?” Hope said, not wanting to deal with this anymore.

“Deal,” Josie agreed. The brunette wouldn't normally make a deal with Hope, but emotions were running high. And there were no real strings or anything concerning attached to the deal.

“Something happened causing that knife to be triggered, we have no idea what it means or what it can do. And now, every single mythological creature has started to come after it, and both Landon and Nick are unknown supernaturals. Are you happy now?” Hope asked. There wasn't much more to what she wanted.

“That's it?” Josie asked, expecting her dad to have told Hope more, or for there to be more going on.

“Yes, now get lost,” Hope said. Josie was only asking what was going on, nothing else.

Josie left, while keeping in mind the comment about her dad being an immature asshole. She was confused about the part of keeping his daughter's safe. He was already doing that by making this school, and that knife was only now an issue, but Hope made it sound like that was happening every second.

She ultimately just chalked it up to a mind game Hope was playing with her. And it would explain why Hope would just give out what she wanted so easily.

Josie was caught off guard when she saw Penelope standing at her door. “Hi Josie, how are you doing?” Penelope asked uncharacteristically nervous.

Whatever crazy energy, anger, or frustration Josie was rolling on snapped at that moment, and Josie felt tired, and hated it. “What are you doing here?” Josie asked, but she shouldn't be. Despite Penelope breaking up with her, she was still constantly in her life, to an annoying degree.

“I wanted to make sure you are okay,” She responded. Penelope was terrified for Josie's safety when she heard that she was fighting the gargoyle.

“I don't see why you would care,” Josie responded, trying to see if there was a way to sneak past her. But Penelope was right in front of her door.

“I'm sorry, that decision was made out of frustration, and I didn't mean it,” Penelope said, knowing why Josie was acting this way.

“Then why did you do it, or make out with MG if you didn't mean it? Are you gonna say that was a mistake or your impulses?” Josie was pleading for answers more than anything else.

“I was frustrated,” Penelope said, while slowly walking to Josie. “I was upset with how your sister treats you –,”.

Josie cut off her ex, “You don't know anything about me or my sister,” Josie said, upset with everyone telling her sister was holding her back. Thankfully Penelope moved away from her door when she approached her. And with Penelope trying to get closer to her, Josie managed to run past her, and get inside of her room.

Josie just locked the door, when she entered the room. She was expecting to hear Penelope trying to continue the conversation or something, but she didn't hear anything. Just a sigh and her footsteps walking away. ‘Finally you are leaving me alone,’ Josie thought to herself. Once she no longer heard the footsteps she unlocked the door so Lizzie could enter, but otherwise just fell on top of her covers letting herself fall asleep.

Hope Pov Salvatore, room 5:30 PM

Hope wanted to spend the rest of today relaxing after fighting a gargoyle. She just helped move Lizzie to Dr. Rahorn’s care, and dipped. She was already entirely physically healed, which wasn’t much since she wasn’t knuckle brawling with it like Landon’s brothers. Hope just wanted to sleep, she was used to going on missions with Dr. Saltzman but she never felt more tired from them. Most of the of time it was simple, with nothing exhausting, just one or two spells with just a tiny amount of physical labor.

But now, in the past days she, fought a dryad, a nymph, and finally a gargoyle. It made sense why she was more tired than normal. Hope was probably fully healed by the afternoon. But thankfully she didn’t have to deal with magical exhaustion this time. Hope was more surprised that she and Josie did a chain spell successfully. Josie trusted her, but still had some form of skepticism.

Hope was questioning if Josie was in the right, and she could understand Dr. Saltzman's reasons why for keeping everything on a need-to-know basis, but she agreed with Josie on this. Right now, everyone needed to know what was going on. How all of these folktales, legends, and stories were all now potentially true to some degree.

The tribrid decided to have a conversation with Dr. Saltzman. Hope knew he was probably still hiding out in his office, and checked their first. She was shocked that neither Ms. Tigs nor Dorain were around, she was expecting one or both.

“You in there?” Hope asked after knocking on the door. The only reason why she bothered to knock was because she didn’t want to walk into anything, she knew he was in there, his lamp was on.

“Yes,” Dr. Saltzman answered to Hope.

“What do you want now?” Dr. Saltzman asked Hope when she entered his office. Dr. Saltzman fully expected for her to start rambling off demands or try to do something.

Hope wasn’t shocked to see that his desk was a mess, with books and papers all over it. “Your daughter just barged into my room, demanding what's probably on everyone else's mind, so what are you going to do?” Hope asked, showing that she was annoyed, which was a relief to both parties. Neither had to deal with either games. If both were tired, they were going to be blunt with each other.

“Tell them everything is under control,” Dr. Saltzman said, not putting much thought into the conversation. But if he did, he would be questioning why Hope would care.

“Okay, great fairy tale idea, what's the actual plan?” Hope remarked, not seeing any world in which the principals actually worked. The tribird knew, with the first incident, they could get away with lying, because nobody was around to question it. Not this time, most of the young years, and some werewolves, Jed asked to guard the kids, saw the entire fight play out.

Dr. Saltzman gave her an incredulous look, like he expected that plan to work. “Everything is under control and we are taking steps to ensure it,” the headmaster responded, but it sounded like he was trying to convince or reassure himself more than anything else.

“Listen, that's not gonna work because on my short walk over, I have already heard at least ten different rumors about Landon, and many more about what's going on,” Hope explained to the adult. And Hope would have been laughing at how ridiculous some of those rumors were getting if she wasn’t worried about the backlash it would have on her old friend. Just an old friend she told herself that multiple times already but it was getting difficult to believe it.

“None of that matters, the adults have everything covered,” Alaric lied, he was still concerned, and worried about what was going on. He knew they were missing more, he knew the gargoyle shouldn’t have been able to attack him, but it was. Something altered it.

“Okay, so once again we're gonna be playing by the adult rules, will you play by those when your daughters come knocking asking about the merge?” Hope asked. Hope was very tempted to spill that secret to Josie when she came barging in, but she could save it for later.

“How do you know about that!” Dr. Saltzman snapped. If it wasn't for the desk in the way, he would have lounged at her. He didn’t want a reminder about that day was approaching ever closer. It didn’t help that Caroline just called and said this lead was a complete bust. They still had no idea how to stop it.

Hope grabbed out two books from the bookshelf across his desk, ‘Famous covens’, and ‘History of the Gemini’, and tossed both of them on his desk. “Those two books, I’m related to a witch who has been alive for a thousand years, and multiple books from the library have pages ripped out, those pages have information about the Gemini coven, and your daughters are siphoners, an ability exclusively linked to that coven, and they are twins” Hope explained how she knew about it. She wouldn’t admit to Dr. Saltzman that the only reason why she was digging was because she had heard Freya talk about the merge after she had asked about classmates, and she told her aunt about the twins.

“You will not tell my daughters about it,” Dr. Saltzman commanded. Hope didn’t even bat an eye at the tone, which would have made many people run away afraid.

“Josie just barged into my room trying to get answers about what is going on. And specifically asked what you were hiding from her, I can easily tell either twin okay,” Hope threatened, but she would ideally sit on it for later use.

“Hope, I swear if you tell them whatever freedom of not being known as a Mikaelson goes down the drain. Because I say to hell with the deal I made with your dad and mom, and every single person here,” Dr. Saltzman threatened, and it wasn't an idle threat this time to try and keep Hope in line. He didn’t remember why he was so dumb or drunk in the first place to allow a Mikaelson anywhere near this school. And he knew multiple students had easy reasons to try and kill any of them.

“Can you stop being a hypocrite for a minute? You're always talking about how this school is a community, and how I need to get along with everyone else, for this school to be safe. You need to have some faith in your students. Right now, these secrets will get many people killed, and that blood will haunt you forever, with or without vampirism,” Hope said, before leaving the principal alone to stew things over in his head.

MG pov 9:40 PM Salvatore room

MG didn't know what to think right now, there was simply too much on his plate, or going on around him. But one thing he did know for certainty which was that, he was hungry. And one of Dr. Saltzman's student aids, would rightfully claim so. He didn't know why he tried to strangle Landon's throat. All of his parents would be so disappointed to know that he tried something like that. He felt bad for Landon, for his actions in the pain he caused. And well, the entire situation Landon and his friends got stuck in. If he was a better vampire none of this would have happened.

MG shuddered at the linked thought to Nick, he felt like he deserved the fear of Nick. He tried to strangle his friend in front of him. MG was grappling with his own thoughts, he was afraid that this could be the first sign of him turning into a ripper. Him trying to choke someone. MG didn’t know how to feel about his best friend also being a ripper. He didn't know what to feel or do when he discovered that his best was a ripper.

He remembered asking Kaleb to do the forced manual labor together, he hoped it would make it go by faster. But Kaleb said, “I'm not here to pick flowers, and to make ridiculous flower crowns,” he said with an incredulous look, questioning MG's sanity.

The younger of the two vampires knew his friend had a little bit of toxic masculinity. But he wasn't expecting him to be that mean about it. But he was more conflicted about what to do about his friend feeding off Dana. He should tell Dr. Saltzman about Kaleb feeding off the locals when they had human blood, here, no one was in danger of dying.

Now MG didn’t know for sure, he only knew for sure he had a human one time, but every other time he had the blood bags here. He just thought it was a different blood type. Dr. Saltzman said he was teaching vampires to control themselves, and he wouldn't use animal blood to do that right? They would react differently once they touched the real world it would be dangerous.

He knew he has shity impulse control, but he didn't know why he made out with Dana. He had more reasons to punch or avoid her outright than most people, at least indirectly. He just kept screwing up everything he did or touched.

Right now he was more confused about the twins and Penelope. He was probably most ashamed of his behavior with Josie. She was the first person to become friends with him after showing up about three years ago. The only other person he could say he was friends with was Kaleb.

He only knew Lizzie and Penelope, and talked to either one because of Josie. So he easily considered her, his most important friend. And for the last two years, it was clear. They helped each other with school, and talked to each other about their interest, just needing someone to talk to.

MG was told the twins' secret, he knew the reason why Niklaus killed himself. Everyone just had theories, but the twins knew the truth, they helped cause his death. Or the probably more scary piece, his daughter was still alive, and it was Hope. A person who was at this school.

And yet he was just a fuzz away from destroying their relationship completely. MG was contemplating just giving up on Lizzie right now, Penelope was only causing more issues. She was living up to her reputation as a hellspawn. But she wasn't fully to blame unfortunately, he has been agreeing to everything.

MG didn't even know where to start fixing issues with Josie. She was right to be done with him, and throw him the trash just like his parents. MG just hoped he could find some way to apologize to her.

Lizzie, he didn't know where to begin with his thoughts for her. He knew she only used him, but it felt good to see her smile. When he gave her the brownies he had made she just smiled, nodded, and immediately asked about her sister. She knew he probably lied when he said he didn't pass her, he was a terrible liar. He just hoped it would be a good first step to make up for everything.

It just remained that the young vampire he would always be second to Josie. Even when those two got into a fight, if this was any indication of the future. But yet when she was truly happy, he swore she could light up the way to a better future. But right now, he was afraid that he would never see a bright future, just a dull, endless suffering.

MG wanted to make a silent promise to himself to never trust or do anything for Penelope, but he knew that he wouldn't keep it. But that didn't change that he was going to get answers. It didn't matter how, but he wasn't going to keep staying blind in this forced deal. MG didn’t even know how he ended up in this deal anymore. It was probably from when Rafael showed up, while they were making out in the kitchen, again this was proof of his shity impulse control. He could stop himself from drinking. He felt even worse when he saw Josie walking in on them.

MG knew he shouldn't have made out with Penelope, no matter what. And even afterward, they talked for a bit. He should have immediately run to comfort Josie or do something, or anything. All of this thinking and stress was making MG hungry for blood. He should just drink one of the blood bags in his room. He had a mini fridge in the corner of the room. But he and his roommate wanted to save them for when he really needed blood, since neither felt like breaking curfew, especially on full moon nights. Most of the time, when he needed to feed, it was right after a nightmare.

The young vampire knew for certain that he shouldn't read scary comics before bed, but he couldn't stop himself. Once again showcasing his shitty impulse control. And MG lacked any form of critical thinking skills.

MG didn't feel it was necessary to let his roommate know that he was getting blood, especially when he was already asleep. MG felt a pang of guilt for not even knowing his roommate's name. If he got the chance, he would change that, and hopefully make more friends.

The currently hungry vampire knew he had about seventeen minutes or so before curfew. But it didn't matter, perks of vamp speed. They didn't need to worry about curfew, they could easily speed in and out. But fortunately, he had enough time to walk, which would hopefully help clear his head.

Unfortunately, the walk over to the kitchens didn't help. MG was hoping that he could tire himself out before going to bed, knowing planning wasn't his strong suit, so he would have more time and energy to do so.

MG soon arrived at the kitchen, and entered the walk in freezer. Normally, he might have bothered to check the blood type on the Salvatore blood bags, but he just grabbed one from the first shelf. He didn't have a preference for his blood either way, especially so late.

“Boo,” said a familiar voice, that MG recognized as Kaleb. But it didn't stop him from jumping slightly.

“Come on man!” MG yelled, spooked. He knew there was a possibility of running into another hungry student but it didn't make it any better.

“Sorry bruh, too easy,” Kaleb responded, with a slap on MG's back. The previous football player went back to his blood bag. MG guessed Kaleb decided to play a prank on him because he wasn't paying attention or hadn't heard him with his vamp hearing.

“Why are you here?” MG asked his vampire friend. He now knew his friend preferred from the source, he didn't know why he promised to stay silent, but to late to back out.

“I got a little peckish, just like you” Kaleb defended himself, while finishing off his own blood bag, and wiping his mouth with one of the nearby rags.

“But I thought you would be feeding directly?” MG asked, but not before making sure it was just them. No pulses around them for a hundred feet, and they were walking away.

“Don't have the time to, and well, I need some of this disgusting bunny blood, to weaken myself,” Kaleb explained his reasoning.

“This isn't bunny blood, and why would you want to be weak?” MG defended the accusation made. He knew his friend well enough to know he didn't like being weak.

“You know animal blood makes our abilities shoty. Explain to why there are no rabbits around or why so many classmates struggle with their abilities. And I have no intentions of being caught, so got to stay weak,” Kaleb responded to his friend's question. Although some days he really wished he was stronger.

MG had no response seeing his friend's point. “We good?” Kaleb asked, seeing as the conversation was over, and both finished their Salvatore blood bags. “Yeah,” was the response MG gave.

MG just nodded his head, and allowed his friend to lead the way. Both stayed quiet not having anything to discuss. “Goodnight,” Kaleb said, when he turned left to go to his room.

MG gave the same response, continuing forward. When he entered his room, he saw hthat is roommate was already asleep. He brushed his teeth before going to bed, deciding to have a serious conversation with Penelope in the morning.

Chapter Text

Nick pov Salvatore room February 29th 3:07 AM

Both of the Landon's brothers knew something was wrong with their brother. They had guesses, but that didn't really matter. Nick felt guilty for letting anything happen to his brothers, especially Landon, Rafael could at least look after himself.

Nick didn't even try to make himself go to sleep yesterday, he just knew the nightmares would be there. Taunting him. Nick could just get an hour or two tomorrow or sometime later, when it wasn't an active thought anymore. If push comes to shove, he could just go a week without sleep again. That probably should have been an early warning sign that something was up.

Besides, it's not like he didn't have night terrors before. It was just when he was younger, mostly. They picked up from time to time so he was truly never free from them. His brothers saw them when he was younger, he just got better at hiding them. And when he had a more normal sleeping pattern, and he slept in a bed instead of standing up.

The most frequent of the nightmares were of his family dying in order, with more horrific ways of dying. First, it was how they died, then more and more gruesome until the next person. Nick hated his photographic memory, for making things worse, he was just grateful he didn't have any form of higher memory recall abilities.

Nick looked up from the textbook he was reading to keep himself distracted to see if Rafael was up. The werewolf had two modes, more or less, it couldn't sleep or could sleep through a war zone. And this morning was a war zone sleep mode.

Nick was honestly surprised that Rafael was sleeping, given what happened yesterday. But Rafael didn't see his brother burst back to life, this time. Rafael knew but seeing it made it completely different. If he saw it the first time, he would have completely freaked out. This time Nick knew it would happen, and it wouldn’t be as nerve wracking as it should have been.

The middle child of their awkward family noticed it was still early even by his standards. Three am. Nick decided to just start moving and get his day started. It would probably just spend the morning running around. If he managed to pay enough attention, maybe he could make his brother's breakfast as an apology.

Rafael would probably tease him later about it, but he didn't care. If he hadn't made Landon stick around so he could get the last of his family's possessions, none of this would have happened. And he should have been happy with his brothers to make sure they were safe.

Nick, despite not having a jacket, enjoyed the cold, almost frigid air of the early morning. He could see the mist after he breathed which reminded him of home. Growing up he lived in areas with lots of snow, and extremely cold temperatures. And he started running around.

He was enjoying running around without a care in the world. It was definitely more fun with his brother, but it still felt amazing, to feel a breeze of air in the morning. And it was just great to lose track of time, and to lose his thoughts. The exercise made him lose track of all of his thoughts which was freeing in a way. But it was concerning to Nick, that he could so easily forget about everything happening.

It didn't matter much because Nick lost track of time, and finally stopped to catch his breath. He didn't notice that stopped at the old metal silo building that both brothers had noticed yesterday. Nick decided to poke his head after a while of running around aimlessly, and looked around instead of using it as a place to corner Rafael to tag him yesterday.

Now that he had the time to look around, Nick noticed it looked, a DIY club room. Wood platforms on different levels using a spiral design for the supports and stairs, with one major platform at the top having a ladder all to itself. It looked like an ideal spot to hang out for high schoolers. It reminded him of the place Rafael and Josie brought them on their first night here.

Nick could see that the place wasn't taken care of after a while. There were spiderwebs in multiple spots, and when stepping around, the floorboards creaked, and were clearly rotting. He could definitely see why the people here preferred the other place.

“What are you doing here?” a new voice said, catching Nick off guard.

Nick spun around to face the person while he tried to reach for his knife, but he forgot he didn't bring it with him. “Who are you ?” Nick asked, not recognizing his voice. And it was still dark enough where he couldn’t make out any major features, allowing Nick to recognize the newcomer.

“Jed, so what are you doing here?” the person responded to Nick's question while asking his question again.

“Jed as in the asshole werewolf alpha?” Nick asked rhetorically. He was pretty sure he matched Rafael's description.

“Yes, I'm the alpha for the pack here, and talked to Rafael about that yesterday,” Jed claimed.

“Bullshit,” Nick said, dismissing the claim. Rafael didn't mention anything about a conversation between those two yesterday.

Jed shrugged his shoulders, not blaming him for not believing. “Doesn't matter, ask Rafael about it,” Jed stated. He didn't want to give a repeat of yesterday's conversation, he has already had enough battery acid to last a lifetime.

“So what are you doing out here? It's barely even the morning for the wolves?” Jed asked, not used to other people running around in the morning. The wolves were generally the first people up in the morning, and very few tried to match their early riser bodies.

Nick didn't feel the need to tell the truth to Jed, he didn't trust him or like him. He threatened his brothers. And just gave the most sarcastic response he could think of, “I decided to go find a spot on school grounds to make a cult, and commit sacrifices”.

“Then this spot will be perfect, someone died here,” Jed responded to the obvious sarcasm. He couldn't blame Nick for not trusting him. He didn’t know how he felt about Nick, he knew he could fight back, but didn’t, it just mattered that he was Rafael’s family, then he was also part of the pack and another person he needed to watch out for.

“Yay spooky,” Nick deadpanned. It explained why it looked abandoned, people don't want to mess with cursed places. And death was probably a guaranteed way for a place to become cursed.

“It's not haunted or cursed, it's just no one wants to hang out here,” Jed explained, since he didn't know how much Nick didn't know about this world. Jed didn't even know of a place haunted because of ghosts. Spells and witches were a different matter.

“Okay, so I'm guessing someone took a jump off the top platform,” Nick took a guess at how a student died here.

“Nope, it was the old power hungry asshole of an alpha, me and someone else took the fight too far,” Jed said, while making it clear he wanted to change the subject.

“Wait, what are you doing out here?” Nick asked, giving Jed the same crap he gave him.

“Burning off stress, working out, running laps,” Jed rambled off. He wasn’t able to do much to help the school yesterday or his pack, and wanted to get stronger to help them next time.

“At what 4 in the morning?” Nick asked, not seeing why any normal or sane person would be up and working out right now.

“It's 6,” Jed deadpanned. And he didn't know when Nick was up if he thought it was 4, but it was definitely not during curfew. The only days the curfew rule was treated seriously were full moon nights, but other than that the staff didn’t bother to try and enforce, especially for the wolf students.

“Okay, now you have gone from mildly creepy to just a tad insane,” Nick responded, while making plans to head back once Jed moves out of the way. He didn't want to cost Landon this chance that he wanted.

“If anyone is the creepy one, it's you. I have valid reasons,” Jed remarked, while starting to lean against the entrance.

“And what are those reasons?” Nick said while rolling his eyes, not caring, just wanting him to get lost. He was seriously debating on whether or not he could get away with causing an issue.

“You haven't got that far with the crash course stuff, well to be fair, it's a bit lackluster but still,” Jed said while ignoring the increase in violence chemicals one of the new students was producing.

“I have only been here for officially a day now, piss off mutt,” Nick stated. He also didn't miss a chance to at least get a verbal jab in.

Jed rolled his eyes, at the jab, it wasn't even that original. “The werewolf gene, when triggered, slightly modifies behavior, but in this context, the most important is constant restlessness and slight sleep pattern modifications,” Jed explained.

“Okay, so you were restless and ran around okay, get lost,” Nick said, not wanting to be near this person. The moonlight at this point shone on the werewolf, allowing him to recognize the face, as one of the many kids he had beaten up.

Jed remained blocking the entrance, and Nick didn't care enough anymore. When the middle child walked to the exit, he quickly shoved the werewolf into the wall. “Listen here, I didn't care what kind of hatred you have for me, because you didn't fight back when I beat you up. But I will make one thing clear. You target my brothers, you suffer, feel free to come at me any other way, you fucking piece of shit,” Nick threatened. He shoved the werewolf into the wall, before walking away. He fully expected a fight but he was wrong. Jed didn't do anything to stop him from leaving, and Nick knew he didn't shove him hard enough to do damage. Nick soon ran back to his room, and by the time he finished cleaning up, both his brothers were up.

Josie pov Salvatore room 7 34 AM

Josie didn't try to keep her normal schedule today. The siphon witch was awakened by her sister's alarm constantly ringing from constantly hitting the snooze button. She felt that she more than deserved a slight rest day, after yesterday. She didn’t remember turning off her alarm yesterday or this morning, but she was glad that she did.

Besides, what was she going to do in the morning? When she was no longer on friendly terms with MG. The only reason she bothered to show up yesterday was on the off chance he understood and didn't hate her. But she was ashamed of herself for giving him a second chance, he would always do what her sister wanted, like she wasn’t spoiled enough.

The brunette expected to be in much worse shape, considering she fell asleep on top of her bed. But she felt well rested, and she didn't remember Lizzie waking her up yesterday. If Lizzie kept on slamming the snooze button, that meant she got the bathroom first.

Josie was grateful that her dad gave her and her sister a room with a bathroom attached, she didn't want to deal with the community bathrooms at all. And by the time she was done with the bathroom, her blonde sister stopped slamming the snooze button, it only took 17 plus tries.

“Good morning, Jo. What are you doing here?” Lizzie asked, still rubbing the grogginess out of her eyes. She wasn't used to Josie still being in the room in the mornings.

“Good morning, I decided to sleep in today,” Josie explained to her sister.

“Okay, give me a minute, and we can get breakfast together,” Lizzie stated, while entering the bathroom.

Josie was tempted to just go right now, Lizzie could find her easily. But she knew if she went with her sister she could dump MG on her and go easily. It only took Lizzie ten minutes, which was faster than what Josie was expecting.

“Come on, I'm hungry,” Josie said, not giving her sister a moment of rest.

“Wait up,” Lizzie said, wanting to walk with her sister.

“What happened yesterday after you left me at the hospital?” Lizzie asked when she caught up to her sister, who looked like their mother.

“I guess I was more tired than expected, and thanks for letting me sleep,” Josie responded. It was true she was a lot more tired than she expected.

“Okay, and no problem, and say thanks to MG, he said you looked tired when he passed you,” Lizzie said, not noticing her sister's tiny flinch. But having a good idea of something going on because of MG's horrible lying skills.

“Will do, how are you feeling?” Josie said to her sister, but wasn't planning on saying thanks. That’s the least she deserved after helping him so much with all of his schoolwork. She was just glad that he decided to be nice, but it didn't make up for all of his bad decisions.

“Good, I'm just gonna be stiff for the next few days, and Dr. Rahorn gave me some stuff to help,” Lizzie explained to Josie what she missed. She just chose to leave out the verbal thrashing she received for the spell she used.

In Lizzie's defense, she didn't expect the gargoyle to have a paralyzing poison. And it's not like she had a better option. She could siphon so much safely from a kid. Dr. Rahorn said there was a 50-50 chance she wouldn't have regained any form of muscle function no matter what he did. And in general, how dangerous it was to use soul magic, especially in a protective manner like she had used it in. He even threatened to have her room searched for any more dangerous spells, and the one in specific compelled out of her mind. She wanted to doubt it given her relation to his boss, but didn’t want to count on it and promised to never use the spell again.

Dr. Rahorn said, if her spell had activated after the poison entered her system, she would have been fully paralyzed for the rest of her life. He also mentioned that she was lucky that her barrier spell broke soon, otherwise there could have been a load of potential damage that would have been difficult or impossible to heal even with magic.

“Okay,” Josie said to her sister, while making sure to remember to make sure Lizzie actually takes the medicine. Both remained silent after that. Josie already apologized so Lizzie wouldn't have to force one out. While Josie had nothing to add or say.

Josie was more surprised that a small handful of people were walking up to her and saying thanks. She recognized most, but truthfully, she didn't talk to any of them. And it wasn't just witches, she knew some of them of were vampires or werewolves.

She was honestly surprised that anyone was thanking her. She didn’t do anything. Josie knew she only made the situation more dangerous for everyone. If the gargoyle was outside when she brought the barrier down, it could have fled easily. Josie didn’t know what would have happened if that had been the case.

Even if she did do anything, it was minimal compared to what everyone else did, especially Hope. She was indebted enough to Hope, and the thought made her afraid and angry. Josie hated the thought that the only reason she was useful and being thanked was because of Hope telling her to do that spell. And the only other reason she was being thanked was because of genetics. She didn’t deserve any of this. Rafael, Nick, and her father deserved it, they were actually doing something productive.

But it didn’t matter that the constant thanks, were easily agitating Lizzie. Her sister’s eyebrows were constantly twitching with annoyance. Lizzie probably thought she deserved some thanks or something for her part. Josie felt happy? She was somehow more useful than Lizzie. The only thing her sister did was drag Pedro away, because the other first years ran because she was ignoring their warnings, and put up a barrier.

Josie could confidently say she did more than her sister, and it felt amazing, even if the help she provided wasn’t entirely her own. But truthfully, Josie was worried about how easily everyone at this school flipped their opinion of her. Yesterday, most people were avoiding her, and some people were outright making fun of her, or just being mean in general, and now they were treating it like nothing ever happened. Is this what would happen if Hope did something good after she was revealed as a Mikealson?

Rafael Pov Salvatore Room 6:45 AM

Rafael knew better than to expect to see Nick here when he got up following yesterday, but that still didn’t make it any better not seeing him. The young werewolf knew Nick would have had nightmares if he went to sleep, and doubted he would subject himself to that. It didn’t matter that much because he heard the shower going, he looked to see Landon’s bed empty and already made, and he knew it was Landon in the shower. Because there was absolutely no sign of Nick anywhere, or him even stopping by to change or shower.

Rafael sighed. He wanted to wake up before Landon, and surprise him with breakfast as an apology for not helping him against the gargoyle when it first showed up to them in the student lounge area. Ninety nine percent of the time, he was up before Landon, which was why the task wouldn’t have been too difficult.

But Rafael guessed this was one of those days Landon would be up before him. He would just have to find something to do. Normally, he would just do both of their chores, or the ones Landon disliked, but they weren’t forced to do anything to stay here. Rafael just sighed and decided to do Landon’s English stuff for him, and something else later.

The youngest brother noticed a spider on his nightstand. He liked spiders and would have liked to have one as a pet, but that wouldn’t have worked out. He kept changing locations frequently, and probably would have lost it sooner or later, and then there was a matter of cost. He couldn’t afford to spend money on something that wasn’t essential, so it wasn’t meant to be for a long while, if ever. Rafael got out of his bed and carefully grabbed guided it into his hand before opening up the balcony’s door and putting it down on the railing.

“Hey Furry, good morning,” Nick said with his usual energy, when he entered their shared room, right when Rafael walked back in to their room. Despite looking tired from what Rafael would guessed to be no sleep, and at the max thirty minutes, plus him exercising to distract himself.

Rafael, despite knowing that it was just Nick being Nick, still felt offended at the furry comment like the first time. “Hey, I have no choice about changing into a wolf and breaking every bone in my body once a month. And good morning to you, too, crazy pants,” The youngest brother responded to the middle sibling.

“Sheesh, who pissed in your wolf flakes?” Nick asked rhetorically. Enjoying teasing his brother way too much.

“You,” Rafael deadpanned to his brothers, used to have a similar exchange with him. “And when are you going to stop beating that joke into the ground?” Rafael asked, already getting tired after maybe the third joke.

“Once it’s cold in hell,” Nick responded, but he made a note to tone it down for Rafael, at least for a bit, he had no intentions of stopping forever any time soon. In fifty years, they could rediscuss this conversation.

“Ugh, either way, how was your night?” Rafael asked, very aware of his brother's sleeping patterns and history.

“Good, so when were you going to tell us about the conversation you had with the mutt?” Nick asked his brother, slightly annoyed that Rafael didn't tell him. But that didn't mean Nick would have trusted Jed any more than before.

Rafael knew he was referring to Jed, with the mutt comment. Nick started calling the Salvatore school's alpha that, after Rafael told them about what happened after they justified their escape from the school's prison cells. “I wasn't going to bother you, especially Landon, about it, I just thought he had extreme split personalities. And I wanted to see if he meant it,” Rafael said. Rafael had a lot of justified and reasonable doubt about the school's alpha, and wanted to see how he truly was.

“What? How did you know about that?” Rafael asked his brother, when most of his early morning grogginess vanished.

“I ran into the mutt this morning, and he mentioned something about it. At least he isn't an impulsive liar, he just has multiple personality disorder,” Nick muttered the last part, but Rafael easily caught it with his now enhanced hearing.

“And you don't care what the conversation was about?” Rafael asked rhetorically.

“Nope, I don't give a fuck, if it was important, you would have spilled your currently human guts the second after we got back here,” Nick said. He knew if it was truly important, or if Rafael thought it was relevant enough, he would told them.

“I'm surprised that you can even cuss straight, I thought Mom and Dad scared you off of it,” Rafael asked. Rafael knew their foster parents were largely successful in getting rid of Nick’s habit. And now, instead of cussing every other sentence now it was just very weird insults.

“Nah, I just stopped during it in front of them or you guys,” Nick responded, but did agree mentally that he turned it down a lot since he was seven.

“Is that why you didn't give a wise ass remark about the dragon, calling it a flying fucking rat with a thing for reptiles?” Rafael responded, messing with his brother.

Nick bursted out laughing, knowing he would have easily said something like that. “Brightside, you just cussed, puppy. What's your excuse?” Nick asked joyfully, giving his brother some crap.

“I just never cussed in front of our parents, and didn't start at seven!” Rafael responded to his brother.

“Speaking of your comment about the dragon, would it be possible for them to actually fuck while flying?” Nick asked specifically just to annoy his brother.

“Nick, for hell's sake, it's not even seven yet, please just be normal until noon at the latest, or at the very least give me as much as coffee as I weigh,” Rafael responded. Making Nick smile at his brother's reaction. Nick knew all of them enjoyed their coffee a bit too much.

“Okay, fine, I will hold off until noon, then everything is allowed,” Nick responded, making the youngest brother groan.

“Can you be normal for one day in your life?” Rafael asked rhetorically, expecting a lot of answers he would regret hearing.

“A, being normal is boring, B, it's kind of hard when nothing in our life is normal, just in case you forget, we have dragon and dryad blood in our fridge, and none of us are vampires,” Nick responded more seriously than Rafael was expecting.

Rafael had to agree with Nick. It was hard to be normal when all of this supernatural stuff was real and around them. The werewolf honestly forgot about the four plastic bottles of blood sitting in the mini fridge. None of them had any reason to open it, so it was easy for Rafael to forget about it.

“Valid point,” Rafael conceded to Nick, at least with his second point.

“About how being normal is boring?” Nick joked, knowing his brother meant the last thing he mentioned.

Rafael groaned. He loved his brother, but he was seriously starting to consider not talking to Nick until half of his blood was caffeine to give enough energy to deal with him. It didn't matter because Rafael was saved from this ever more annoying conversation when they heard the bathroom door open, to see Landon ready for this new round of crazy normal.

“Sorry if I woke either one of you up,” Landon apologized upon seeing both of his brothers were up. More or less, Rafael, since Nick was gone this morning, that was the main reason he was showering first, so Rafael couldn’t hear him cry because of fears of scaring away Nick. Landon felt extremely relieved seeing Nick.

“Don't worry about it, both of us were already awake before,” Nick responded, with Rafael nodding his head. Landon didn't do anything to wake up Rafael, it was just his internal clock going off. And Nick is just not sleeping.

Both of his brothers were easily getting worried about their oldest brother. Normally, it would be the older brothers worrying about the youngest, but this was just proof to both that they couldn't have a normal life.
Rafael was afraid that at this rate, Landon would be worse than when he met him at this rate. When the brothers first met, Landon would over apologize to an excessive degree, he got better over the years, but he still over apologized if they were being honest. The younger two siblings at this rate were seriously considering, to hell with it, grab him and run, since being here wasn't helping their brother.

“Nick, you can go,” Rafael said. He could wait for his turn. That's what he gets, he woke up last, and didn't work out.

“Thanks, and besides we don't want a wet wolf to stink up the room,” Nick said before quickly shutting the door. But he still heard Rafael easily scream “Screw you!”. Rafael saw Landon trying his best not to burst up laughing. The werewolf just smiled, glad to see his brother happy and enjoying himself.

“Nick,” was all that Rafael said before both of them bursted out laughing without a care.

“So what did I miss, minus Nick annoying you?” Landon asked, before internally cringing at overstepping his boundaries with his brother.

“Nothing important, Nick just being Nick. How did you sleep?” Rafael asked his brother.

“I slept fine, and I feel normal,” Landon responded. The phoenix was starting to get more confused about his death experience. He knew most people when they had near death experiences, it was a bright white light with all of their memories zooming by, and yet he was able to recall both of his deaths in as perfect detail as any other relevant memories.

“Okay, please just try to be safe,” Rafael requested of his brother, hoping for a normal day in this world.

Landon felt bad for making his brothers worry so much about him, just giving him more reasons for wanting to run, to protect his family. “I will try my best,” the oldest brother said optimistically.

“Thank you,” Rafael said, feeling an unknown weight just drop off his body. But he knew better than to expect Landon to do anything dangerous. That would always be Nick's forever job to give them a heart attack, from worry.

“What are we going to do for breakfast, once you shower?” Landon asked just willing to agree to anything idea right now. Rafael knew right now that Landon was about to agree with any idea he put forward. The youngest sibling was just glad to have had previous experience reading the oldest brother's mind.

“I was just planning on going into the kitchen and making my breakfast,” Rafael said, knowing Landon would probably like to cook his own food. Landon just nodded, liking the idea. To remind him that he always had some form of control.

“Rafael, your turn,” Nick spoke, when he got out of the bathroom. Rafael just poofed in there with a puff of smoke, so he wouldn't have to deal with more Nick.

Both of the remaining two brothers laughed at this. “So other than Rafael pulling a scooby doo, what I'm I agreeing to for breakfast?” Nick asked Landon, knowing that he and Rafael sorted it already.

“Rafael wants to make breakfast using the kitchen. Feel free to argue it out.” Landon said, agreeing with Rafael’s idea. But Nick and Rafael could sort it out.

“No, it works for me,” Nick said. He could cook without burning the kitchen down to the ground. Or the house.

“What were you up to last night?” Landon asked, breaking the idle silence in the room, while waiting for Rafael to finish up.

“I read through most of the textbook, out of boredom,” Nick replied. He would have just stolen a book out of Rafael's suitcase like he normally would. But after the last time, and his brother knowing a small thirty plus feet drop, probably wouldn't kill. Nick didn't want to take his chances this time. He didn't even damage the book, or do anything, he just read the dang thing.

“Finish it?” Landon asked curiously, knowing Nick would be bored, and he would eventually try something. He just hoped it was nothing too bad, whatever Nick wanted to try out.

“Ninety or so pages left, I didn't read the biology sections about the subtle differences between the species, and humans. I'm more concerned about how they generally fight, and the magic sections,” Nick responded. He knew he wouldn't have been able to make heads or tails of the more complex stuff, science gibberish. Despite most of the changes being made from magic, there was usually a scientific explanation behind them.

Landon wasn't even shocked about Nick's actions, because it fit him to a T. Nick was worried for his brother's safety, and if it didn't have a good chance of being useful in a fight, he wouldn't bother with it right away. Rafael soon got out of the bathroom, allowing for the brothers to go to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Penelope pov Salvatore room 7:30 A.M.

Penelope honestly didn't want to get out of bed this morning. She knew she was being extremely optimistic with Josie yesterday. She wanted to fix her mess that she had caused. Penelope regretted that day too much to even think about it in any positive way.

She knew that Josie wouldn't have changed or even given her a second chance. It hurts to have hope. Penelope was just relieved in the thought that Josie was okay, after the gargoyle attack, she didn't know what was happening when the witch supervisor sealed her inside of her room along with her roommate.

Katie, her roommate, was already up, messing with makeup at her vanity. She was the same height as Lizzie, with a very dull shade of brown, but had vibrant green eyes. Penelope didn't mind Katie as a roommate, she was nice, but they weren't close by any stretch of the word. At most, she would have to help set up one of her parties. And she helped her with a few odd bits.

Penelope just likes her privacy. She would have loved having a single, it would have made her midnight adventures with Josie easier. She was just glad that she and Katie had an agreement, making it easier. But she wasn't lucky enough to get a single, so their agreement would have to work.

She was just glad that Josie was okay, she had initially planned to leave Josie alone, following the football game for a day or so at max. She didn't want to lose Josie forever. She knew that she could, at the very least, become a recurring person again. Penelope still planned on helping the burning ship of MG and his idiotic plan about Lizzie. It would provide great entertainment for her, at least for a while. Along with its own use to her.

The witch also decided to check her monitor notebook, after getting ready, before meeting with some of her friends this morning. Penelope never saw Josie's pen number on any of the pages. She spelled it so the binder would write down anything that the pen wrote down, and the page at the top would have the pen number. With it being a binder, she could easily add as many pages as needed. It took almost 2 years of on and off work to make the spell from scratch.

Penelope had a list of which pen belonged to whom, she finished the entire setup before the end of the last school year. She gave out the pens to the new students, and swapped them out with the normal Salvatore school pens floating around. Besides, most people just accept them when she showed them never ran out of ink. Hell some of the staff even used her pens.

The witch very rarely gained anything from the pens. Most people just used it for notes, since they couldn’t run out of ink. A small amount of them were used for anything else. And most of the werewolves or vampires only took them to be nice since she rarely saw one of the corresponding pens pop up in her binder pages.

Penelope knew that Josie never wrote with a pen, even when they were dating, just saying she would have it as a keepsake. She never had any intentions of using the binder against Josie in any way. Penelope just wanted to see if she could use it to aid her girlfriend.

It didn't matter, though, they were new pages, but like always, most were just notes that she would have to burn later. Penelope removed the pages that were filled out and put in a new set of paper since there were very sheets left. Penelope said goodbye to her roommate, before going to find her friends. She wanted to have at least one healthy and safe relationship, which would make her life easier as well.

She didn't make it too far after heading out of her room, she soon ran into an annoying face. “MG, Josie's an early bird she already left for breakfast easily an hour ago,” Penelope stated. She knew as well as MG that Josie was an early bird, in hindsight, she felt kind of bad for not being present at least once a week. It was probably worse because someone was almost guaranteed to be with them for either lunch or dinner if it wasn't a date, mainly Lizzie. Penelope was going to enjoy crushing and burning that annoying stake into her.

“I know, I just need to have a chat with you,” MG stated with more confidence than normal, but it didn't work. MG was fidgeting with his daylight ring, a nervous habit he had.

“I don't believe we have anything to discuss right now,” Penelope responded, not wanting to deal with this right away. She knew she had a deal with him, but there was nothing MG could have done right now.

“Listen, I'm not going to hold off on this conversation, with either have it, or I let Josie know you're plotting something,” MG said with his normal child-like impatience.

“Josie knows I'm always plotting something, if anything, I remember she loved my surprises,” Penelope responded, not at all worried about MG's threat. Considering Josie’s relationship with MG was damaged, Penelope would wager that Josie would think MG is lying.

“I'm done being your dumb little dog that you can drag around. You owe me some explanations!” MG said while showing the frustrations he was having.

Penelope just started to walk away to avoid this conversation with MG. He didn't need to know anything and was an easily replaceable pawn in the grand scheme of things. She could think of ten different vampires who were as dumb as the MG, when it came to having feelings for Lizzie. And she was sure that she could convince a few people, if necessary, to give the provided help that was needed.

She couldn't complain that much, it just made it so there would be fewer complications for the superior twin. MG, like the ever annoying puppy, followed her away from the crowded space. “MG, what makes you think that you deserve to know anything?” Penelope asked.

“Well, this is a deal,” MG started with, but was cut off.

“You're right. It's a deal. Not a partnership.” Penelope said while taking out a chair from underneath the staircase, they were conversing. Penelope knew that MG right now, despite trying his best to act dangerous, wouldn’t stand a chance against her. She could afford to be lax around him compared to others who might have needed more convincing.

“That doesn't matter, I don't care if it's a deal or a partnership. I just want some straight answers,” MG said, not bothering to grab a seat.

“So if I give you a straight answer, what do I gain from this?” Penelope asked. MG was the most convenient chest piece she could use, so if she had to give nothing away, it would be worth it. If not, she could use person number 2.

“I just want an explanation as to why you are making me do this stuff, since none of it makes any sense,” MG stated. He tried figuring it out on his own, but with no luck.

“Fine, but I expect full cooperation with this deal moving forward,” Penelope insisted. But she knew better than to expect that, and was fully plotting to move MG out of the way if needed.

“Fine,” MG said begrudgingly, not wanting to lose his chance that he might never get again. “Why did you demand that I stay away from Josie after the football game?” MG asked the most important question on his mind. He had more, but he could drop depending on how this q and a went.

Penelope was contemplating what to say, she very much wanted to lie, or just not do anything. But she could probably get away with a partial truth. “Lizzie was going to avoid Josie, so it would show her that you support her, not Josie,” Penpole said. It was close enough to the truth, but there were many more details left out.

MG just nodded, accepting that answer as it made some kind of sense. And he took that as a good sign that Penelope would cooperate with him. “Why did you make me try to win the football game?” MG asked.

“Let’s be clear before we go any further. I didn't make you do anything, MG. You asked for this deal, you have been doing what you were told,” Penelope stated, not wanting to give MG his excuse. “As for why, Lizzie wanted to win, and you gave her an excuse for her to do what she wants,” Penelope cut off MG before he could get started with whatever he was gonna say.

“I do believe I answered enough of your questions,” Penelope stated while starting to walk off.

“How do I even know if you are telling the truth?” MG demanded, contemplating compelling her to tell the truth. But he had doubts about his ability to do so.

“You don't know, but you striked the deal with nothing on the table, even now,” Penelope responded to MG, reminding him that he wanted this, and quite literally got on his hands and knees and begged. She was going to agree, but just wanted to see how far he would go.

“Why are you like this? Why help me and tell me to do all of this crap?” MG asked her, but he didn't remember her being like this when they were less close. But that’s probably how she lured people into her web of traps and manipulations.

“Some people like to watch the world burn, and this is the most fun fire to watch,” Penelope responded. It was an honest but not the whole truth once again. MG and Lizzie were just pawns that needed to be put off the board, or at the very least, moved away from the direction of the action. Both were going to be annoyances to the true plan if not dealt with, and this way they could be happy in a lie.

Penelope left after their exchange. She knew to expect MG getting cold feet sooner or later, and she expected to give a fuzz more, but she kept a lot hidden. But she was starting to think of a way to replace MG if he became too unbending.

She was a tad upset that she knew that she couldn't bend Kaleb. It was a hassle in itself to get him on human blood. And she seriously doubted that she could get him to do what she wanted. That's why she tried to get MG on human blood a few nights ago, so he could be more useful in a few niche situations that could pop up.

Penelope genuinely believed that was only the second time she was ever upset with Josie. MG was desperate trying to prove to everyone and himself that he could do compulsion. And would have taken the necessary drink, and it was aided by his lackluster control, and the beer she was constantly giving him.

She was hoping that MG would have tried compulsion when he started their little Q&A session. Penelope knew she was one of the few students who were constantly on vervain or had a vervain accessory on them, nearly 24/7. She knew she could have easily pushed him over the edge if he attempted it, but she wasn't that lucky.

It was more annoying than anything else, it only made her start plotting to get person B in place. Penelope was deciding on which person exactly she could use if MG went rogue from her guidance. She was contemplating on whether or not to try and figure out if she could work with the werewolf Lizzie had an eye on. But right now, that would have been too big of a risk, and had she attempted that, she would rather go about it completely differently, with a lot more foul play. But didn’t want to stir up a war inside the school.

Penelope soon made her way to have breakfast with her friends. And she soon realized upon arrival and a few minutes of idle chatter, that her plans with Josie weren't going to work anymore because of the gargoyle attack yesterday. She ideally wanted her to be isolated at least for a bit, not long, a few days max, but she knew that wouldn't work anymore.

When she left for her classes today, the only important thoughts were how to salvage whatever was left of her plan, and how much reworking everything was needed. Penelope hoped that she wouldn't have to put up with MG or anyone else, but life wasn't gonna allow her to make it easy.

Rafael pov Salvatore Hallways 3:00 PM

Rafael was enjoying today more than yesterday, but nothing too crazy had happened today yet. He wasn't going to put it past his luck for the day to suddenly go to shit like yesterday. The makeup class was better than yesterday, he only had the urge to strangle the teacher once, better than the over twenty times yesterday. But that was just because he wasn't talking, and just gave them a worksheet.

The youngest of the siblings was grateful that the teacher soon passed out on his desk and only woke up after the bell inside the class rang. It just made it easier for them to cooperate and work on that worksheet together. It was just a simple assignment, simpler than the one yesterday. Yesterday it was just a basic timeline thing, and vocab. Today, it was to describe the main known species of the supernatural, how to identify them, and strengths and weaknesses, along with the different branches and categories of magic.

He hasn't seen either of his brothers since then. Because he was fully sorted for all of this school stuff out because he was the most normal out of their strange family. Rafael hoped that once they had more information to go off of, they could share, at the very least, some normal classes like English or math together.

It would also allow the young werewolf to know his brothers were fine more regularly. Rafael knew his brothers were fine, but he still kept worrying about them nevertheless. But he still doubted that most of the normal classes weren't separated by species, it was just or 2 to 4 classes per year, and he doubted that would change once they figured out his brother's capabilities.

Rafael knew Nick mentioned wanting to do some tests on this weekend while they cooked breakfast. Rafael was expecting someone to barge in, but most people just ate the food that was magically made and handed out. He didn't know if it was just him being a teenager or not, but he seriously doubted it was normal to always be this hungry. If he ever got full, he was hungry within the next few minutes top.

That was one of the main reasons why Rafael wanted to watch Jed to see if he was being honest. He wanted someone whom he could relate to more directly, or someone who knew and could understand what he was going through. He loved his brothers more than anything, and he was hoping he could make a werewolf friend at the very least. It would also make all of his werewolf classes go by a thousand times faster.

Rafael was still exploring the school after being done with all of the classes he had going on. Just because he had an official tour didn't mean he saw all of the school or knew where everything was, the kitchen was an example of that. He also discovered there was a library inside the school which had more accurate information on supernaturals.

The werewolf was wondering if Lizzie was trying to set him up for failure by only showing him the fun places, while Josie managed to show him a few of the necessary ones, when she could. Rafael wouldn't have put it past the blonde with her constantly hitting on him, couldn't she take a hint? He wasn't interested in anything right, especially when he killed his previous girlfriend.

And yet Rafael felt bad, because he was feeling happy about it. Happy wasn't even the right word, he didn't even know what the right word was in this situation. The youngest sibling had already accepted that he and his brothers, to a lesser extent. Would just be doomed to suffer, once they aged out of foster care, they were done for.

Him triggering his werewolf curse, was their chance for better in this screwed up world, and a twisted series of unfortunate events. They all had a chance for better instead of being doomed to the streets. Now they had a better chance to go somewhere, or just be happy. But just because they had this chance didn't mean it would be worth it for Landon.

Rafael clearly remembered the first two years he knew Landon, and how he was this shy person who would even think for himself half of the time. He was just grateful that eventually, Landon was able to break out of the shell somewhat. The younger brother was just worried about the damage this place, and this world would do to him, especially with him already sliding.

Rafael was soon dragged out of his thinking when he heard the squeaky, annoying voice that the blonde witch had. “Hello, Raf,” Lizzie greeted.

“Hi, and can you please not call me that,” the werewolf responded to the witch's greeting. Rafael didn't like it when anyone minus his brothers, called him that.

“Okay, Rafael,” Lizzie responded, a bit annoyed that he didn't like it when she called him his brother's nickname. “Anyway, since I saw you, and just wanted to see how you were doing, before you become fully corrupted by your hairy brethren,” the blonde siphon informed him.

“Fine, once you get passed I haven't had a normal day and I'm still tired,” Rafael complained. He was happy that werewolves had accelerated healing in human form. Rafael knew that if he was normal, he would still be sore or have broken hands from punching stone. He didn't care how she responded, he just hoped that she would leave him be. And was annoyed at that remark she made by the werewolves, he didn’t feel loyal to them. It was just frustrating that she just assumed everything.

“I promise you this isn't normal, most of the time it's just a normal school,” Lizzie said, trying to make Rafael feel better.

Rafael wanted to snort at the normal comment. There was almost nothing normal about this school, there were supernatural species everywhere, and he could think of maybe five normal humans here. But Rafael could understand where the comment came from, he wasn't raised in this world, while she was. He was just more surprised that this school's reputation for rich kids wasn't true for the most part.

“No offense, but I will believe it when I see it,” Rafael responded, expecting something to happen within the next few hours at the best or worst case.

“Well, I guess and see,” Lizzie responded before adding. “Hey, while I'm not busy, do you need any help? There is a nice spot overlooking the main pond,” the older of the Saltzmans’ twins offered. She wanted to get Rafael alone to spend time with him, and not just wander around with him aimlessly in the school's hallways.

“Sorry, but I'm done with everything. But thanks for the offer,” Rafael didn’t mean the last bit whatsoever, but he didn’t want to cause any more issues for his family, so he was being nice. And it was true, he was done with everything that he had.

“Hey, there is no shame in being overwhelmed, especially with being new to this, and besides, a witch might be able to help better than a wolf,” Lizzie wrongly assumed that Rafael was lying to avoid her, or was already corrupted by his furry brethren, as she put it a few minutes ago. But she wasn’t wrong with Rafael trying to avoid her.

Rafael was rightfully upset with Lizzie indirectly saying that he was either stupid or lying, and he felt upset with her, also implying that she was better than the werewolves. They left him alone when he made it clear that he wanted space, while this annoying witch didn’t leave him. At this point he was just gonna state it and say to hell with it, despite knowing she could probably pull something with her dad being a staff member. “I’m done with all of my stuff. And if I needed help have two brothers who are smarter than me,” Rafael informed her. Nick just knew too much random useful knowledge and could work his brain harder than anyone else, while the same was with Landon, he just didn’t show it as much, and had issues getting in the way.

“Okay, I’m sorry, but I'm sure you are smarter than you give yourself credit,” Lizzie feigned an apology, hoping to score brownie points, along with a bit of flattery as extra insurance.

Rafael just nodded, seeing through the bullcrap. “Thanks for the apology, but I’m going to go find my brothers,” He said, wanting to be over with this conversation.

“Can I tag along?” Lizzie asked hopefully. If she was able to form a connection with one of the other brothers, she would get the chance to talk to Rafael more, but that wouldn’t work since she didn’t know much about his other brothers. Landon wouldn’t be a problem, it would be putting up with Nick.

“No,” Rafael said while not trying to think of a reason why not, other than just not wanting to put up with her, although her trying to deal with Nick made him rethink that, especially since it was past noon.

“Can we hang out later?” Lizzie asked so she could have an excuse to talk to him more, instead of just staging running into one another.

“Listen, no offense, but no, I have more important stuff on my plate to deal with,” Rafael responded. It was technically true, the best kind of lie. He agreed to help his brothers this morning to figure out what they were for sure, and to help run tests with each other.

“I can help, I’m a witch,” Lizzie offered, thinking Rafael had forgotten about that detail. She didn’t know what Rafael had on his plate, but she thought she could be of some use. Lizzie also hoped that she would be able to use it somehow against Hope, and to a lesser extent, her dad, as a way to make him pay attention to her. But she forgot Josie mentioned that Hope had an interest in the older brother. And if they need a witch, they would probably go to Hope.

“No, I don’t need help or company,” Rafael firmly stated. He knew if they needed help for the test, Nick and Landon would rather go to a competent adult instead of a student. Especially if said student was insane enough to fake mental attacks to spend time with whoever her dad is.

“Okay, just talk to me if you need anything big or small,” the blonde witch said with a smile, not thinking it showed any of her frustrations, but it did.

Raffael just nodded, before walking off to his room to see if either Nick or Landon were there so they could hang out or start going through the library to see what they could find. He didn’t see them when he walked passed the library initially, but walked past it to see if they were there on his way to their room.

Landon Pov Salvatore classroom 1:37 PM

Neither Landon or Nick had as many classes as their brother or most people at the Salvatore school since they had very few things confirmed about what they could do for sure. The only things they got official confirmation of were Landon’s resurrection, pyrokinesis, enhanced physicality, some form of absorption, and replication. While Nick’s list was a bit shorter, Umbrakinesis, a healing factor, enhanced physicality, and something to do with his family's demon mask, or maybe it just made his powers easier to use.

Landon suspected that they would probably be in a mixture of werewolf and witch classes, since neither of their abilities had any potential overlap with the vampire classes as of right now. The oldest brother enjoyed himself more than yesterday, but that wasn’t much since nothing weird had happened yet. The phoenix enjoyed the crash course more today since the teacher didn’t talk as much, and just found what they were talking about more interesting than yesterday.

Right now, the older two brothers were stuck in the last class of the day, English. The normal classes were the only classes that had all supernatural species, which would have caused some issues. But thankfully, the teacher was able to make sure most of the students were behaving themselves. Landon didn’t recognize anyone in the class minus his brother. When he had learned that the normal subjects were mixed with different species, he was hoping that he would initially share an extra class with Rafael, but that wasn’t the case.

It also didn’t help that the entire day, when he was in a normal class, people were giving him weird looks. He could just imagine what they were thinking easily, ‘He’s a freak,’ ‘What kind of freak can dodge death,’, ‘Look, it's the weirdo,’. Landon knew he would have had more than a few breakdowns if it wasn’t for Nick keeping him steady. After he was done today, he just wanted to go hide in his room, he didn’t want to feel like an exotic animal.

The Phoenix was dragged out of his thoughts when he saw a piece of paper float in and land on the teacher's desk, like yesterday when Nick left for his punishment, making Landon feel nervous. He knew. Okay, he didn’t for sure, but he extremely hoped Nick wasn’t in trouble again. But he was unfortunately correct to assume it was about his brother again, but he didn’t expect for it to be about him as well.

“Okay, what did you get excused of?” Nick asked, half laughing, once they were in the hallway. Nick knew Landon didn’t do anything since he was with him for almost the entire day, minus one class, and doubt in general he would cause an issue. To Nick’s knowledge, Landon has only been in a principal's office maybe twice. Nick had a guess that he was in trouble because of his actions to Jed this morning.

“No idea you?” Landon asked. Just as shocked as his brother, he generally had no idea other than potentially something yesterday, but had no idea which was nerve wracking. He was already expecting worst case scenarios. He already liked it here, despite the very rocky start.

“For me, a few things potentially," Nick said, not knowing for sure, but his guess was that Jed said something, or maybe it was because he technically broke their curfew rules, but he knew for sure no one saw him when he wasn’t supposed to be around.

Landon just shook his head, at the cryptic response, which he should have expected. Nick wouldn’t admit anything in the open where it could be used against him, or intentionally incriminate himself. “Nick,” the phoenix spoke softly to the middle child of their dysfunctional family. Nick just stared at him and nodded, allowing him to speak. “Please try not to get into any more trouble,” Landon almost immediately cringed at himself for asking anything from his brother. Both Nick and Rafael constantly sacrificed themselves for him, he shouldn’t ask anything from them.

“I will try. I promise,” Nick responded, when he put his hand on his brother’s shoulder and looked at him dead in the eye. His normally soulless eye that could easily be swapped onto an apex predator, had a warmth that he very rarely showed to even his brothers.

“Thank you,” Landon said, feeling better that Nick would try to stay with him and Rafael at this school. He was upset with himself, he should never have asked Nick to do anything because of him. Nick should be free to choose his own path away from his selfish desires.

Landon shook his head, shaking off any extra thoughts he had. When he realized that he was in front of the Principal’s office. Both stopped in front of the door. Landon had to take a deep breath, already on the verge of a panic attack. Landon didn’t notice that Nick waited until he was ready before he knocked on the door.

“Come in,” the principal's voice said through the door. Nick just shoved open the door. Landon was expecting to see a very angry or frustrated principal, but he just looked tired. And he wasn’t expecting an audience, he saw the school’s doctor sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

Nick spoke first, making Landon feel relieved that he didn’t have to be an annoyance, ignoring that he was asked to be here. “Why are we here?” The middle child asked, not directing it to either adult, so either could answer.

Dr. Saltzman let out a tired sigh, confirming to both of the brothers that he was tired.“We want to see if we can find out anything that could help us be pointed in the right direction, so we are going to ask a few questions," The oldest adult responded.

“Okay, but heads up if it wasn’t in either of our files, then we most likely don’t know the answer,” Nick responded. He seriously hoped they at least had their files before asking questions that were going to be in it. They most likely had from stalking Rafael or from them officially signing up here.

“We know, but we are trying to be optimistic here, and will allow us to make your adjustment here as smooth as possible,” The Doctor responded. Dr. Rahorn was here so he could run a similar set of tests on Nick once they were done here. He still hasn’t made any progress in figuring out Landon’s blood, but he didn’t have much time to work on it. The only thing Dr. Rahorn managed to do after the gargoyle situation was to finish Landon's mental tests, and he was just above average intelligence no signs of his species enhancing his mental capabilities in any way.

“Okay, wh—,” Dr. Saltzman started before being interrupted by the door opening, revealing Hope.

“Doc, why do you need me, and why did you ask me to meet you here?” Hope asked, ignoring Dr. Saltzman with his eyebrows twitching with frustration. Landon didn’t know if it was because of her showing up or Dr. Rahorn requesting her help, or a mixture of both.

“Hi, Landon,” Hope said when she noticed him in the office, which seemed to be approaching its capacity limit, with it feeling cramped, she purposely chose not to acknowledge Dr. Saltzman just to annoy him. “Hi, Hope,” Landon greeted back.

“Hope, can you grab Landon and ask the normal twenty questions?” Dr. Rahorn asked, knowing that Dr. Saltzman had made her do this on multiple occasions before. And it wasn’t twenty questions, there were closer to a hundred standard ones, but they only usually asked twenty or so, maybe less, depending on how much the student knew. Landon felt relieved that he wouldn’t have to spend any longer in the principal's office.

Hope was happy that she could spend more time with Landon. Normally, when she was forced to do this, it was annoying to be blunt. Besides, she knew that she had promised Landon a conversation about being the tribrid. She knew that she had the chance yesterday once they got to the medical room, but it didn’t feel right. Hope knew it was also because she was afraid of how he would react despite knowing better.

“Okay, can I have a truth orb and my phone?” Hope asked Dr. Saltzman, knowing he had multiple in his desk, along with her phone in his desk. He always took it once she showed up to school to try and remove the evil influences of her family. But most of the time found a way to keep it as a school punishment, killing a murderous student, picking too many fights, and a bunch of other miscellaneous issues.

“Why do you need your phone?” Dr. Saltzman asked, knowing that she pulled something and would probably be successful in doing so, since he didn’t have any way to stop it.

“I remember you saying my handwriting is illegible,” Hope responded. She purposely made her handwriting as hard to read as possible to annoy Dr. Saltzman for wasting her time, making her play twenty questions when the other staff members were too lazy to do it themselves. Hope recalled that once it took him three days once because he refused to ask for help, and when Ms. Tigs asked for her to translate, she refused to help.

“Fine, but you have to give it back once you're done, and just for this, I don’t want to deal with your family,” Dr. Saltzman said, still not liking the idea, but just wanted to save himself from a future headache. The principal grabbed one of the truth orbs out of the filing cabinets, along with Hope’s phone. Normally, he wouldn’t have any confiscated phones, but he didn’t want to risk his staff if Hope got any bright ideas.

Hope grabbed both items when they were put on the desk, while entering a mini staring competition with Dr. Saltzman expected her to do something right away. Landon looked at Nick to make sure he was okay dealing with the two adults, before he followed after Hope. Nick didn’t give any visible sign to any outsider, let anyone who wasn’t him or Rafael. But Landon knew from the look in his brother's eyes what his response would be ‘I got free entertainment over here, I’m dragging this out,’.

Landon nodded but internally sighed, at Nick's response. Landon knew Nick wouldn’t be phased at being stuck inside of a principal's office, given his stellar track record at getting in trouble. Meanwhile, the oldest brother has only been in a principal’s office three times max before showing up here. Landon soon left Nick alone, while mentally hoping he wouldn’t do anything too bad.

Landon saw Hope was waiting for him outside of Dr. Saltzman’s office. “Sorry,” Landon instinctively apologized, used to being blamed for something.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hope smiled, used to Landon over apologizing. She wanted to try to make him feel comfortable. “Come on, follow me, I want to show you a spot,” Hope said, thinking about the dock on the lake. She would have ideally had this conversation on their cliffside spot, but she knew that Dr. Saltzman already had a barrier set up to see if she left school grounds.

Landon just nodded, not having any kind of preference for where he was going to be questioned. He didn’t feel comfortable making idle talk while Hope was leading the way to wherever. Besides, he didn't have anything to talk about.

Thankfully, the walk wasn’t that long to the spot Hope wanted to show him, it was just a few minutes out back to a pond hidden away in the woods, compared to the one off of one of the main buildings. It was maybe just a fuzz bigger in diameter than the one up front, he didn’t know about the depth, since none of the brothers knew how to swim.

“I hope you like it, I don’t want to get in trouble for bringing you to our cliffside spot,” Hope said, while walking to the edge of the dock to sit overlooking the lake. Hope knew that Landon would blame himself if she said it was her getting in trouble, not him. Normally, Dr. Saltzman didn’t mind when students wandered off grounds as long as they didn’t go into town, just in case anything happened, but she was still in trouble.

“Thanks,” Landon said, following Hope’s lead and took a spot to her right. He missed their old spot, since both of their parents lived on the very outskirts of town, they had easy access to the surrounding forest, which had a spot that overlooked the entire town.

“Okay, let’s get this started,” Hope said, while putting the truth orb in between them and opening her phone to take notes, and to send Dr. Saltzman answers later. “That is a truth orb, it glows green with true and red for a lie, it was originally made in norway because blue calamus couldn’t grow their and it’s more convenient because it has multiple uses compared to the one time use of the herb,” Hope explained what it was, but she didn’t expect Landon to lie at all otherwise.

Landon felt immediately more nervous with the lie detector in front of him. “Landon, I know you wouldn't lie, this is just here because of standard procedure,” Hope explained, seeing his nervous look. The phoenix just gave a nervous nod still.

“What’s your name?” Hope asked to try to get Landon as comfortable as possible before the rougher questions.

“Landon Kirby,” He responded without thinking.

“Do you have any idea what you are?” Hope asked, not hoping for much but, still wanted to ask just in case.

“A phoenix, and something else,” Landon responded. He didn’t know of any other creatures that could die and burst back to life. He was just struggling with the other part that could absorb living creatures.

“Do you know where you were born?” Hope asked, knowing that all of the other questions remaining were going to be a sore spot, and she wanted to be as gentle as possible with the questions.

“No idea, somewhere in Kansas maybe?” Landon guessed he was found in Kansas, it was their best bet for a starting point if the school wanted to dig.

“If you don't feel comfortable, say so,” Hope tried to brace her friend. “Who are your parents?” She never brought up his family when they knew each other originally, because she knew it would be a sore subject.

“My mom’s name is Seylah. That’s all I know about ancestry," Landon said. That was all he knew for sure. He just wanted to speed through this so Hope wouldn’t get in trouble because of him.

Hope just skipped the dad part, knowing that Landon would have mentioned him if he knew anything. While taking notes, she got a message from Dr. Saltzman, telling her what questions to ask, and other ideas, most of which she wouldn't get any answer and just put down he doesn't know. Alaric had her phone because he didn’t want to use walkie-talkies on missions on numerous occasions, mainly, and as a backup way following the one time hers was blown up because of a witch hunter.

“Any idea on your compulsion immunity?” Hope asked. Why couldn’t the school and the adults just accept that MG was just incompetent or the multiple other ways that people have beat compulsion.

“The mind control thing that vampires do, right?” Landon asked to make sure. No, it was just a force of habit to stay safe. He wasn’t beaten as hard when people thought he was dumber than he was, or that he needed them.

Hope nodded at the question. “I don’t know, can it even be done without vervain?” Landon asked. The textbooks made it sound like the only way to not be compelled was to be on vervain 24/7, or at the very least, once every three days.

“Yes, there have been a few examples of someone overcoming compulsion. Bill Forbes managed to train himself to not be affected, but any attempts to recreate that effect have been…very mixed at best. Enchanted or vervain items are another, and then there is manual error on the vampire's part, so yes, it’s just that none of those conditions were applicable when they tried it on you or your brother,” Hope explained to Landon, hoping to help him. She was leaning toward Landon’s species not being affected by any form of magical mind control, or his own will power somehow. Landon just nodded to show that he understood.

“Do you have anything that belongs to your parents?” Hope asked, she was hoping that Dr. Saltzman wouldn’t ask about this with one of the truth orbs out. She just, at the very least, gives Landon a chance to meet one of them if wanted to.

“An Image, I guess,” Landon said, thinking of the only link he had to his parents. It was of what appeared to be a happy woman holding a young baby, which he guessed was him, and that was the only reason he knew his mom’s name, because it was the back side. Hope knew the image wouldn’t work for a locator spell because that photo wasn’t technically a possession of the mother.

He saw the truth orb glow green, allowing him to let go of a mental sigh. Landon was glad that the orb couldn’t distinguish between a full truth and a half truth. He also had his mom’s necklace, he knew it was hers because she wore it during the photo. The phoenix was ashamed of himself for not thinking about it while trapped normally, he had the necklaces on him, something not even his brothers knew. He tied it to his arm most of the time. That day that changed his life, he didn’t have it on him.

The older brother also hoped it wasn’t just a witch trick being used, he didn’t want to explain to his brothers why he was so selfish to keep a secret from them. Landon didn’t see Hope make any form of hand gestures or do verbal magic, giving him comfort to some degree.

“Well, I’m done asking you questions, and I remember promising you a conversation,” Hope said while grabbing the truth orb and putting it in Landon’s hands. “To make sure you know I’m telling you the truth,” She explained why she was giving him the truth orb. She also turned off her phone and shoved it in her pocket, after sending her useless results to Alaric.

“Don’t worry about it, I shouldn’t have asked in the first place,” Landon said while trying to give her back the truth orb, and while standing up to let her lead the way back.

“No, I lied to you millions of times, and now that you know about this world, I’m telling you the truth,” Hope said, while grabbing his hand, gently pushing him to sit back down.

“You don’t have to, I already know about your family,” Landon stated, being careful not to say anything too revealing if someone overheard him, he has already caused enough problems for everyone inside of the school. The gargoyle attacked the school and risked the safety of every student because he touched a knife that was mentally screaming in his head, causing him to black out and steal it.

Hope quickly casted a privacy barrier around the dock and the nearby area. It wouldn’t stop anyone from entering the area, but no one could overhear them unless they walked in, but the barrier would alert her. “I just made sure no one will overhear us, you're not trapped, you can walk away if you want to,” Hope explained what she did, seeing Landon’s panic at potentially being stuck. She also put her hand on the underside of Landon’s right which was holding the truth orb, to remind him she couldn’t lie to him.

“Hope thanks, but I’m sorry about bugging you in the first place, I don’t need answers, and I don’t want to put you in a rough spot, especially with these precautions,” The phoenix said to his oldest and probably only friend in a rough spot or make them uncomfortable. As much as he wanted answers, it wasn’t worth it.

“Well, tough luck, I want to tell you,” Hope said. The only people she could be open with were her siblings and family. She seriously didn’t want to have a heart-to-heart with Lizzie, just because she was aware of her secret. The people she had were family at that was it, and some stuff she didn’t want her aunts and uncles to find out about, or her siblings to a lesser degree.

Landon wanted to protest even more, knowing he didn’t even deserve to know whatever Hope was going to tell him. But Hope cut him off before he could even get started. “I’m not just a witch, I’m a cosmic mistake, a tribrid of the normal species,”. The orb glowed green, and it made him feel a bit better about being such a freak who could avoid death with no cost.

“A unicorn," Landon said impulsively, with a small smile. He would have been so excited to learn if he was just one of the normal species, let alone all three at once. He couldn’t see why she would even call herself a cosmic mistake when it was clear she was the universe's favorite child. Related to the original family, and the hybrid, as her father.

Hope let out a small laugh at that. “A unicorn,” she said with agreement. “The Mikalson’s who descended from Esther, have a gift. The firstborn of that generation will be a witch with extraordinary strength, getting stronger with each generation. It was a curse because my crazy aunt Dahlia would take the child, but she was killed, so it’s no longer a curse," Hope explained, taking a minute to pause. Just because it wasn’t outworld as much of a curse anymore didn’t mean it was easy to control all of that magic. She still had a bracelet that limited her magic to a normal person's level, and still had to use it often.

“A super unicorn,” Landon corrected his earlier statement, not seeing how this was important to her being a tribrid. But he knew that it would be important, he just hoped that she wouldn’t tell even more than was necessary because he couldn’t keep his stupid mouth shut. Landon didn’t understand how her aunt could still be alive a thousand years later, and just assumed some kind of runoff of the family blood turned her into a partial hybrid. He didn’t want to ask since he knew the textbooks made no mention of her, just the original witch.

Hope had a bright smile from Landon’s support, she just hoped it wouldn’t change his opinion of her too much. “Since my dad was a hybrid, he was half alive allowing him to reproduce unlike all vampires before, allowing his vampire side to be passed down, while both parents gave their werewolf sides as well,” Hope finished how she was a tribrid the universe biggest mistake no matter how much a of positive spin Landon put on it. There was more to her ancestry, in relation to her werewolf side, but she didn’t want to bore Landon with the specifics, right now. If he wanted to know more, she would tell him, but didn’t think it would be necessary.

“Okay, so if you are a werewolf, why didn’t you transform when you came to grab Rafael?” Landon asked, knowing she was perfectly human. Not seeing how that added up.

“Well, that wasn’t a full moon that transformed Rafael, it was a ritual, so it would have only affected him. And I don’t need to transform on the full moon, or need it to transform in general because of my nature as a tribrid, minus the first time," Hope explained to her friend. She guessed the reason why his clothes weren’t destroyed was because of a magic item he had on him unknowingly, or because of the ritual.

“Wait, so you could transform into a wolf whenever you please?” Landon asked Hope, hoping he got that piece right, it would explain why he had heard howling a lot when he lived in Mystic Falls previously.

“Yes, and no. Yes, I can transform whenever I want, but Dr. Saltzman has prohibited me from transforming on school grounds, and normally when one transforms, they destroy all of their clothes, and lose control of their minds. I’m immune to the losing control part because of my tribrid nature,” Hope elaborated. Just because she had a magic ring which stored her clothes when she transformed, and would also work as a daylight ring when she turned into a vampire, didn’t mean she wore it every day. She didn’t have to yet.

“Okay, so let me get this straight, you are tribrid because of a because of bloodline gift, making you into a witch, a werewolf from both of your parents, and a vampire from your dad?” Landon asked to make sure he understood. Also, to distract himself from the mental image that hope gave him after she transformed back. But that also made him wonder why Rafael’s clothes weren’t destroyed since he doubted the ritual would affect that aspect.

“Yes, but I’m not a fully realized tribrid yet. I haven’t died yet to trigger my vampire side,” Hope responded. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t excited to fully become a tribrid, she felt like a scam to even call herself that, despite all of her sides giving her some form of benefits even when her werewolf and vampire sides were dormant. And was nervous at the same time, but it was barely noticeable.

“Okay, so you're not just a super unicorn. You're the Super Unicorn,” Landon said. He hated himself for feeling better at the news that she wasn’t a vampire yet, with the green glow of the orb. The phoenix wouldn’t have to worry about her compelling him. He just hoped that he would be able to, at least, figure out how he was immune to compulsion, or if it was just a fluke. It felt wrong for him to be worried that she would compel him, he knew her, and knew she wouldn’t compel him, and she didn’t mean him any harm. But everyone he has ever gotten close to, minus his brother have all stabbed him in the back sooner or later.

It was even worse for him when he realized that he had just blindly glanced over the fact that she had killed someone. He didn’t even know how she triggered, he just prayed that it wasn't some kind of killing in cold blood. Landon knew her, and despite that, still had doubts, and he shouldn’t have any, he is being worse with Nick and his paranoia.

“Landon, I’m sorry, for lying to you, when we were younger. I was going to tell you about this world sooner or later,” Hope said. She felt bad for all of the times she lied to him about this school, or a bunch of other things. And true to her family's luck, a situation forced her hand to tell the truth, but she was fine with it. She was just glad that she didn’t have to forcibly give him vampire blood because of whatever happened, and put him through a similar situation with Ashley.

“You don’t need to apologize, Hope. You had no reason to tell me, even now. Thank you for trusting me,” Landon said, still feeling bad for making her answer his questions. He should have just accepted that Hope was just special and gone on with life.

“Do you want to stay out here longer?” Hope asked, not wanting to move, especially after putting her head on Landon’s neck. It gave both of them a great sense of deja vu, but the only difference this time was the closeness in which they leaned against each other, and instead of a town, it was a lake.

“Won’t you get in trouble?” Landon asked, not wanting to cause any more issues. He already started enough to last over a hundred different lifetimes and didn’t want to add to it.

Hope let a non-committal grunt. “Dr. Saltzman is probably expecting me to drag this out to spend time with, plus how long it normally takes, I would say we would have a few more minutes before he might start questioning things,” She said. It normally didn’t take long because she sped through it when previously forced, but she just wanted to spend more time with her friend.

“Okay,” Landon said. He didn’t voice his opinions about how this was a bad idea, because he didn’t want to upset his friend. Hope smiled, she missed these moments with her friend. And she hated how she was going to use this moment.

Freya and Davina helped her make a spell to teleport items to her if they were in a special area, and she had a few set up. She had one set up in all of her places of residence and just a few hidden around. Right now, the one she wanted to focus on was the one hidden in her floorboards. No offense to her dad’s burner phone, but she was going to make it take her phone’s place, she was sure that she would be able to swap her phone’s case on the walk back without Landon noticing. It would work if Dr. Saltzman wasn’t a creep and broke into her phone and the burner she was going to swap with it, to see if there were any differences. And if he did, she knew how to hurt him in the most brutal ways, and wouldn’t hesitate. She was going to make it look tame compared to what her dad did to him and his friends.

Hope started to talk to Landon after a few minutes when she was done swapping her phone cases, “Landon, once I’m done with dropping off the truth orb, and my phone, would you like me to help you with something, or do you just want to hang out?” She asked, while taking the truth orb back from Landon and putting a stasis spell on it so it could save energy.

Landon smiled, before shaking it off. He was happy with the idea, but he didn’t want to make his brothers upset if they had something planned. He already forced her to answer his questions, and didn’t want to be more of a selfish jackass by asking more questions. “I don’t know if my brothers are going to drag me off to do something, but sure,” Landon responded as neutrally as possible, not wanting to upset his only friend.

The now known super unicorn responded, “That’s fine with me,”. She truthfully wasn’t, but thankfully, Landon didn’t know her well enough to know the truth. Hope wanted to spend more time with Landon, wanting to catch up more or do anything since she hasn’t seen him for six years. And he saw his brothers every day while she was stuck here alone. Landon didn’t know why, but he felt a pang of something, it wasn’t pain, it wasn’t any emotion to his knowledge, it felt closest to guilt. Maybe she felt guilty for something because he was being a selfish jackass.

Hope removed her head from Landon’s neck, and immediately missed the closeness it gave her. “Well we should start heading back just in case they already finished Nick’s questions,” The tribrid said. Landon started to follow after Hope, who started walking after he got up from sitting on the deck, allowing her to lead the way, despite knowing the general way back.

Nick pov Dr. Saltzman Office 1:49 PM

Sadly, Nick was wrong, he was hoping that both adults would forget about his presence and start going at it. In his defense, most of the time he got his entertainment by watching people doing something stupid or fighting, but since this was easily the smallest school he had been to, there was less entertainment. But either way, that wasn’t the case, they just gave each other a toxic stare before the Principal started, “We are going to ask you questions, and this device will let us know if you're lying, questions?” he motioned to the orb already out on his desk.

“None,” Nick replied, not seeing why he was required unless the principal was too lazy to read his fires and was going to resort to crappy integration.

“What's your name?” The Doctor started off the questioning.

“Nick, does that thing need to be calibrated? Or you just want to waste your own time?” Nick asked, not having anything better to do. While also seeing the orb glowed green.

“Yes to the calibration, and it’s to confirm who we asked and not someone under an illusion,” Dr. Rahorn explained.

“Where does your family come from?” Dr. Saltzman asked, wanting to make sure the files they got from foster care were accurate, or if he knew in the first place.

“My dad’s family came from Japan, while my mom’s came from Europe, more specifically Germany as of recently,” Nick responded, annoyed, knowing that was in his foster care files.

“Tell us more about your family,” The principal asked, hoping that could lead them in the right direction to get answers faster.

“All of them are dead, that’s why I’m in foster care,” Nick said, annoyed at this point. Did it take too much time or effort to read, maybe a few hundred words at max. Besides, he didn't remember his mom, and she died giving birth to him.

“What about your parents' friends?” Dr. Rahorn asked. They had a starting point to go off, they just needed to narrow it down a bit, ideally to either parent's side.

“Don’t know, but with my family's luck, they are all dead,” The middle child responded to the two adults.

“Can you elaborate on that?” Dr. Saltzman instructed.

“On my dad’s side it’s a pattern, single kid, who is orphaned at a young age, usually five, raised by the family of the spouse until they die off, and then stuck in whatever system, and in their mid twenties start a family, their spouse dies after the kid is born, and dies a few years later repeat. I’m just one of the few who got stuck in whatever system sooner than the age of 12 or 13,” Nick explained.

“Has this been told out loud or was it written down?” Dr. Rahorn asked. If it was written down, then hopefully they got their answers right away.

“Both, but my ancestor’s journals were destroyed when a forest fire broke out and destroyed my dad’s house.” Nick saw the orb glow green after responding. Letting him know that the orb can’t tell the difference between the full and partial truth. He had his dad’s journal, but there was nothing in it that he could find, and he didn’t trust either of the adults to touch it.

“Where is your dad’s place?” Dr. Saltzman asked, hoping that if they searched the place, they could find answers since everything else was coming up dead.

“500 miles north of the pine trees,” Nick responded, not trusting either adult to let them know. And give the same response his dad did when people he didn’t like or trust asked.

“Where.” Dr Saltzman asked in a threatening tone, but Nick wasn’t bothered by the minor increase in tone.

“Why? Do you want to raid another burnt house, for some weird ass hippie kicks? It’s not gonna have anything in it,” Nick stated, still annoyed that the school raided his non-biological aunt and uncle's house, causing him to lose his family's possessions. It was one of the most frustrating nights ever sneaking in while an investigation was still going on to find his family stuff for all of it to still be gone.

“We just want to see if there is anything magically hidden there,” Dr. Rahorn informed the student, not surprised at the tone given everything that had happened.

“Still no, I don’t know what happened to the debris of the house, I left with my mom’s oldest brother before my neighbors did anything,” Nick said, he wanted to so badly lie and say the remains of the houses were moved and filled in with trees, but that stupid orb, beside it was partially truth, that was all he was going to be able to slip by.

“Okay, fine," Dr. Rahorn said, knowing that Nick’s response wouldn’t be changing, and decided to shift the conversation. “Do anything about your dad’s knife, the demon mask, or the monster knife?” The doctor decided that it would be the best way to change the conversation to something more useful.

“I thought the mask was the only thing I had that was also supernatural, and what do you mean by the monster knife, the one I smashed and grabbed?” Nick asked.

“We don’t believe anything is up with your dad’s knife, minus the design, but we just wanted to make sure, and yes, for the monster knife, we are referring to it as that because monsters are coming for it,” Dr. Saltzman responded.

“Nope, it wasn't even technically my dad’s knife to begin with, it belonged to one of his squad mates, and he used it to keep his memory alive, after being KIA’d, but he reforged the blade later once he moved to Minnesota. And for the monster knife, it was the first sharp object that seemed to be made competently," Nick responded. He wasn’t going to put Landon in more danger and doubled down on the same lie he has been using. But I was surprised when the orb glowed the same green. Thankfully, none of the adults seemed to notice the tiny slip up in his face.

“When you say your dad’s knife was reforged, what do you mean exactly? Was the blade just melted down and formed something new, or was something else added to it?" Dr. Rahorn asked, knowing the metal could have been enchanted, or the handle and its being reforged could have a unique effect on the blade.

“After my dad was done with the armed services, he reforged the blade because of wear and tear, and to suit his new life. And because of the damage, there was less metal, and he decided to use the broken blade of some family member over a few hundred years ago, for metal and to remake the handle as well,” Nick said, remembering what his dad told him. His family very rarely destroyed or threw away heirlooms, most of the time, they were repurposed like this. But sadly almost everything was destroyed when his home was burned down.

“Okay, what do you know about the demon mask?” Dr. Saltzman asked. He didn’t bother to ask to see the knife or have it examined by someone who could tell if it was enchanted or was made of a supernatural alloy, seriously doubting that Nick would allow it, and didn’t think it would be worthwhile.

“I don't know much about it, I just know it’s been in the family since the warring clan periods,” Nick responded, not knowing much, he guessed it was damaged at some point, but he doubted it because of how clean the break point was, and guessed the jaw piece belonged to a sibling or something and was it was lost.

“So, nothing like a murderous freakout has happened before?” Dr. Rahorn asked. Even after examining the mask for enchantments and for other signs of what happened, they had no idea why that student went fully murderous, and had enough strength to go blow to blow with all of the originals at once, or how to fix the student.

“Well, no one minus my family, has ever touched it to my knowledge, so I guess that’s what happens,” Nick responded. He clearly remembered putting it on a few times when he was younger. Besides, he felt fine for the most part when he put it on during the fight with the dragon. Well, minus how it ended, but before then, it was fine, but he guessed it wasn’t so much for the mask in itself. It was most likely the changes that happened because of the mask, which caused the issues.

“Your last name is Veick, correct?” Dr. Saltzman asked, remembering asking for their names after Rafael transformed back into a human from his first jaunt as a wolf.

“Yes,” Nick responded. Surprised that the adult remembered, because he seriously doubted that either adult read his files, otherwise the first few questions would have been useless.

“That doesn’t sound like a Japanese name,” Dr. Saltzman said, hoping for some kind of explanation that would lead to an answer since everything was coming up dead or blocked.

“You're right, it was my mom’s last name,” Nick said. He felt happy that he had some tangible connection to his mom. His dad told him a few days before he died that his mom had completely chose his name. His middle name is from her best friend, who died in a car crash. And when she realized that his dad didn’t want to have a say in naming him, she chose his dead squadmate's name. Wanting him to object so he had some say, but he liked it, and agreed with it.

“Why do you have your mom’s last name? What’s your dad’s last name?” Dr. Rahorn asked, seeing that this was going to turn up another dead end.

“I don’t know what my dad’s last name is, and that’s always how it’s been, we never keep our last name, we always change it to the spouse's last name, or the kids take it,” Nick said. He didn’t realize how weird it was until he talked about it with his brothers when he was 12.

Both of the adults wanted to slam their heads into the desk, until there was a perfect imprint because Nick’s family seriously had some issues. It was like they were running from something, or someone. At this point, both adults both unknowingly reached a mental agreement that his supernatural was from his dad's side. Given how his dad’s side fell into a near perfect and well predictable pattern, and given that it seemed to hide each twenty years, creating a gap between from their legacy.

“Do you know what your family's original name is? Or your dad’s last name before marriage,” Dr. Saltzman asked, not even holding on to a smidgen of hope for a positive answer. He was hoping he wouldn’t have to manually go back through each marriage license or record to find a positive answer, but he knew eventually they would run out fast, especially if his family wasn’t high profile. And that wouldn’t be the case given how they were running from a name.

“Nope,” Nick decided to fully commit to the lie, hoping the orb couldn’t tell the difference between the answers. He didn’t know his dad’s last name before he married his mom, but he knew the original name. It was because of the other part of the curse of his family. A very small number of his family members would have a normal life, but a high amount just snapped and went on killing sprees. This was the longest his family went without a serial killer, three generations. Maybe two if counted wartime kills. Kuruoshī, 狂しい.

That was the most common reason, the kids were orphaned at a young age, because the remaining parent just snapped and was put down like a rabid animal. The second most common occurrence was happy accidents like fires, medical stuff, and violence. Nick knew this, because the day he turned 5, he was told all of this by his dad.

That's how it was for the kids whose parents never went psycho. They tell their kid the family legacy, the curse of insanity, and they die in the next months. And for the kids whose parents fell to the curse, their parents' journals told them, or sometimes the spouse's family had the honors of doing it.

The orb glowed the same bright green as before with all of his answers. Nick was just glad that the school either didn't notice the flaws in the truth orb or decided it was better for some odd reason. He knew that if he were under the effects of blue calamus, he would have spilled his guts about his family.

Nick knew almost immediately after his fight with the dragon, or more specifically, when he was burying its body, where he got his supernatural side. He just didn't know how to approach his brothers about it, he didn't want to worry Landon out because of his family's less than stellar track record. How could he explain it to them, “Hello, so I only now realized the promise I made to my dad, which I also lied about said details of the promise,” Like that would have gone over amazingly.

The night he learned about his family's history and curse, his dad made him promise that he wouldn't fall to the curse of insanity. Nick's dad so badly wanted to keep the good streak going of no one being affected by it. He probably would have been able to keep his promise if it wasn't for the school doing something to his family's mask.

This school whether they realized it or not, was the reason the curse started growing in him so soon, and he would be bound to lose his mind one way or another. And instead of it just being an insane adult, now it was going to be a teen supercharged on supernatural energy.

“Is it just your dad’s side being weird, or is mom's side just as weird?" Dr. Rahorn questioned, hoping for the best, and praying to whatever god was out there, and this was some sick joke, and how the mom's side had the answer.

“No, my mom’s side isn't weird, as normal as a family could be, the only thing of significance is the last name,” Nick responded, seeing that both adults were fully ready to slam their heads into the desk, which made him want to laugh so badly. It also appeared that both were itching to grab one of the bottles of bourbon to try and calm down or not think as much.

“Of fucking course,” Dr. Saltzman responded, not caring that he was swearing especially in front of his student. And said student had on an annoying grin, who thought the entire thing was the funniest shit ever.

“What's so special about it?” Dr. Rahorn took over the questioning while Dr. Saltzman was mentally trying to talk himself out of drinking in front of a student.

“Other than the fact it didn't belong to them originally, not much,” Nick said, finding the annoyed faces so funny, just wanting to burst open and laugh.

“Elaborate, please,” Dr. Rahorn begged, just wanting the worst round of 20 questions to be over.

“So my great great grandfather on my mom's side was a part of WW1. He and his brother wanted to go down famous like other war heroes, but when the brother died, he changed his last name to honor his brother,” Nick explained.

“Okay, but you said the name didn't belong to your family?” Dr. Saltzman asked, not seeing how that name wasn’t connected to them.

“He was adapted, and that was the nickname given to him by one of his friends, ” Nick elaborated. He didn’t know what his great great uncle’s actual name was.

“Do you know what mom's family's last name was before that change?” Dr. Saltzman asked, knowing tracing it back before then would be easy enough unless there was another roadblock.

“No,” Nick responded. His dad's were weird when it came to preserving their history despite running from it. It made sense that both of his families wouldn't be nut jobs about their respective histories.

“And to double check, all of your immediate family is dead, along with any friends who might know something?” Dr. Saltzman asked just to be sure.

“Yep,” Nick responded. He knew his mom's siblings were dead. He had the unfortunate honor of watching all of them die. And his dad wouldn't have told any of his marine friends or neighbors.

Neither of the two adults wanted to carry on this conversation, when knowing that they wouldn't be able to get a straight answer. But Dr. Saltzman wanted to make sure they got enough, and looked to the school's doctor, “Anything else?”.

Dr. Rahorn shook his head, not having anything to add. Nick decided to ask his own question because why the hell not. “If we test out early of the make-up course, what will me and Landon be stuck doing?”.

“I know the course is boring but it's necessary if you want to live in any meaningful way, especially on the supernatural side of your life,” Dr. Saltzman said they put it as a way to get out early just in case of special exemptions, but they still didn't like it having the option if they had a choice.

“Why have the option to begin with?” Nick asked,

“It's a self study based on the length of material you have to cover because of your age, and some people need more or less, and the test is given based on time spent inside the course,” Dr. Saltzman explained, why the option existed.

“Okay,” Nick said, not caring, and still gonna go through with getting out as early as possible. “Since me and Landon are not normal, were are gonna be shoved inside of the school once we are done with the supernatural crash course,” Nick asked, not seeing how they would fit in since they were anomalies.

“That's the main reason Dr. Rahorn is aiding me with your question. Once we are done here, he will run some tests to see the most compatible class, to help with your supernatural journey,” Dr. Saltzman explained why the doctor was here. He grabbed his brother yesterday for his tests and safely assumed he would soon follow.

Dr. Saltzman would also be taking notes, in case they ever had one of either species pop up on their doorsteps again. He doubts that would be the case, it most likely would be their kids if they were supernatural.

“If that's it, Nick, please step outside so we can discuss something,” Dr. Saltzman said, still frustrated with his employee. He was originally gonna handle Landon, and the doc had Nick.

The two adults immediately started going at each other as soon as he left the office. Nick wanted to know if he could find some popcorn in the nearby area, so he could enjoy listening to the most entertaining thing that has happened today so far. “Why did you ask Hope to help Karlex?” Dr. Saltzman asked the school doctor.

“So it’s okay when you use her, but when it’s the other staff, it’s a no go?” The doctor asked rhetorically. Dr. Rahorn, Dorain, and Emma were all tired of the special treatment Hope was receiving. None of them were fans of the Mikaelson for one reason or another, but they didn’t see a point in stopping the inevitable, despite Alaric’s efforts.

Dorain had one of the more valid reasons from the staff to hate Hope, her dad made Stefan go on a ripper binge, which ended up with all of his family dying. Rebecca had a fit of jealousy and killed Emma’s fiancé, before she hooked up with a new species of vampires meant to kill the originals. While the doctor’s own brother was killed by Kol when he managed to get his hand on some Hallow thorns, and was killed after Kol found out.

“No, she is still in trouble, so it’s fine, I just don’t understand why she is needed for this,” The principal tried to explain his frustration. He knew she was going to be soft with Landon, and would lie for him. He didn’t need that, he needed answers to make sure he wasn’t a danger to the other students.

“Divide and conquer, Alaric,” Karlex said to his boss, not understanding his frustration, as this was especially something that he would have easily suggested or done.

“That’s why you are here, it’s to deal with the other one,” Nick was offended by the comment made by the principal. But also thought it was funny at the same time, he was just the other one. And was perfectly okay with that description.

“Both are important, because we don't know if there are more of their species or what they can do. This is just the start of something big, I’m calling it,” The doctor said with full confidence.

“Then you should understand that Hope will be willing to lie in some misguided attempt to help Landon, and that could damage our chances of coming out of this storm alive,” Dr. Saltzman said, trying to convince his coworker.

“Okay, you don’t trust her to do this job right, then why do you allow her to do more important stuff, like recruitments?” Karlex asked his boss.

“Two things, most of the time, it’s not a choice she invites herself, and would you prefer it if she were completely unsupervised most of the time?” Alaric rhetorically asked the last bit, already knowing the answer. He regretted being forced to bring her along on a mission because the scout who was originally handling it got killed by a werewolf hunter, chasing the newly turned werewolf.

“Okay, but that doesn’t matter, you're an adult, just don’t let her come with,” The doctor said it knowing it was the obvious thing to do.

The principal laughed at this. “You are forgetting I’m no longer a supernatural, so I wouldn’t be able to stop her unless she was normal,” He reminded the doctor. Nick chose to file away the wording for later.

“Then don’t bother to go on a mission, we have scouts for a reason,” He tried to remind his boss that his presence and actions were not necessary anymore because the school has expanded to handle itself more effectively.

“We both know I'm not good at the whole sitting back while other people are doing something I know I could do,” Dr. Saltzman reminded his employee.

“So normal supernaturals are fine for you to handle, but special ones you're not gonna try to manage? It’s a bloody miracle that you came out alive after the knife and gargoyle situation. And are just gonna let Landon and Nick join in, Hope in giving every single staff member as many gray hairs as possible?” Dr. Rahorn responded. Nick couldn’t help but to agree with the statement about the dragon and gargoyle.

“That does matter. I have her under control. And I'm capable of fighting off above-average supernaturals. I just need the right moments,” Dr. Saltzman explained why he did what he did. He would ideally keep her away from her family during the summer if he could get away with it.

“The hand that feeds the caged animals always gets eaten, just let her follow her blood,” Dr. Rahorn said. Not caring how cruel it was when it was the truth, it was a pointless uphill battle.

“I was expecting this mentality from a lot of people, she's at least decent to you,” Dr. Saltzman responded. She drove most of the staff up a wall. The most recent case of this was with Ms. Tigs.

“Ya, just in case she needs me, because we both know she is the only tribrid, so we are in completely unavigated water, along with two other students, do I need to remind you of that? I hate her more than most of the staff, I can just hide it,” Dr. Rahorn responded. He didn't know how, but he knew Hope was the reason why his brother was dead. How else did Kol find out? She used him somehow.

“That doesn't matter. We are going to have to question Landon again,” Dr. Saltzman said, annoyed, hoping this round of 20 questions with Landon would go better than Nick's. If it went worse, he would genuinely think about investing in a target board for stress shooting his crossbow. Since he probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with excessive drinking.

“Why does it matter that much? He's a phoenix with no knowledge of anything,” Dr. Rahorn said, not understanding why his boss was overblowing this issue. At least with Nick, he could partially understand, he knew something about his bloodline.

“I'm concerned with the fact that when he dies, there is no cost!” Dr. Saltzman said concerned. Every single time someone died close to them and they were brought back, there was some kind of huge cost.

“That's what a phoenix is,” Dr. Rahorn said with frustration. And said it in the same tone someone would use when talking to a toddler.

"Every single time someone comes back from death, there has been a cost, my sanity, people dying on mass, or with Rayna Cruz, she had a finite amount of lives he could be the same, or when he dies someone else dies to take his place," Dr. Saltzman explained, while ignoring the patronizing tone. Alaric tried to explain his paranoia, if his deaths were costing someone else’s lives, he would find a way to safely kill Landon.

“Two people die every fucking second, so we can't prove that, and with Rayna that was a spell, potentially those witches knew about the phoenixes.” Dr. Rahorn responded. He wished that the shamans who made the vampire huntress had some kind of records that could be of use, or descendants, but all of them were dead. “And vampires can die as many times as they want as long as it isn't a permanent method,” The doctor retorted the claim that every time someone dodged death, there wasn’t any form of cost to them.

“We will just continue this conversation later, okay?” Dr. Saltzman asked rhetorically, already moving on to more important topics than their bickering.

“Agreed. So all I got of Nick was that his family is most likely cursed, and his supernatural species is aligned with his dad’s side,” Dr. Rahorn said the important bits that he got, and to make sure he didn’t miss anything important.

“I’m speculating about this, but whatever happened was during the war clan’s period. Given that’s when the demon mask entered his family,” The principal guessed, but that still didn’t help them in any meaningful way.

“You're right, that doesn’t help much, we can just cut off anything that was created or interpreted or anything supernatural sounding after that period in the search,” Karlex said. He didn’t know much about Japanese lore, mythology, folktales, but he knew there were easily still thousands of different options, and even factoring in what they knew for sure, there were still hundreds. None of the adults wanted to assume he was a Japanese demon right away, but that’s what their best bet was.

“Okay, so I’m gonna send the record of the conversation to the scouts and Dorian to see if they can uncover something if they get the chance to look,” Dr. Saltzman informed the person who helped with questioning of one of the new students. Alaric also took the chance to see Hope’s message containing Landon’s Q&A, and was less than impressed with the results.

“Well, I’m gonna go and run some tests on Nick, and see where his abilities are at,” Dr. Rahorn informed when getting off his seat. He wanted to ideally test to see how the demon mask factored into Nick’s abilities. Did he need it to use his abilities, or did it function as a booster to his powers? If it was the last part, how exactly did his supernatural blood activate?

Nick stopped pushing his ear against the wall to hear the conversation, when he heard the Doctor saying he was gonna pick him with needles. Thankfully for him, Landon showed back up so he could talk with his brother. Hope just asked Landon to wait before walking into the principal’s office when the Doctor left. “How are you doing, Landon?” Nick asked his brother, wanting to make sure he was okay.

Dr. Rahorn moved off to the side of the hallway to give the brothers space. He would let them talk for a bit before he interrupted them. The doctor wasn’t in any rush, and doubted the opposite was true with either brother. He also chooses to stick around just in case of Hope decides to cause issues. “Fine,” Landon said, not wanting to ask anything of his brother right now. Nick knew his brother was lying to him, he wasn’t fine. And yet he didn’t feel comfortable asking his brother what was wrong in front of such an open area, and an adult watching them.

“Landon, we are gonna talk later. The doctor is going to run the same tests he did for you yesterday. Please be safe,” Nick informed his oldest brother. Landon just nodded, not trusting himself to do anything right now, but would try for his brothers.

Nick followed after the doctor, who started walking when he said his temporary goodbye to his brother. Landon stood outside of the door to the principal's office, waiting for Hope. He was going to take the offer from Hope to hang out if it was still on the table, but he doubted it because he was selfish for wanting to see what his brothers were up to.

He didn’t catch anything that happened inside the office, given he wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, and he didn’t hear a sound that would catch his attention. Hope walked out looking slightly annoyed with the principal for whatever had happened. “What happened to Nick?” She asked. Just cause she didn’t care about him, didn’t mean she wasn’t interested in what he could.

“The doctor is going to run the same tests on him, the same ones they did yesterday,” Landon responded.

“Do you want to join him?” Hope felt like she had to offer, but she didn’t want to. She just wanted to spend time with Landon.

“No,” Landon said and felt immediately guilty. Here he was being a selfish jackass again. Not wanting to be there for his brother like he was for him.

Hope felt happy at the news and didn’t care if that made her a bad person or not, everyone expected that she would just be another Mikaelson, no matter what she did, and that’s what she would give them. “My offer is still on the table,” Hope said optimistically.

“I would like that,” Landon said.

“Great, follow me, I’m guessing you haven’t received an official or unofficial tour yet?” Hope asked, doubting but wanting to make sure her friend knew where everything was. If dumbest and Josie could do it, she could manage just fine.

Chapter Text

Rafael pov Salvatore room March 4th 5 30 am

Rafael slowly awakened from his sleep, and he let out a tiny groan. Just one of these days, he would appreciate it if his body allowed him to sleep in, especially on the weekends. But he seriously doubts that would be close to possible anymore with his werewolf side now activated. He swore at this point, he slept less and less each day, and Rafael just didn’t want his sleep schedule to end up worse than Nick’s somehow.

Rafael was more than shocked following the first extremely hectic days. In the supernatural world, he and his brothers were able to catch some form of a breather. Nick had unfortunately prevented them from fully relaxing since the gargoyle attack. The middle child easily managed to convince Landon to join him in cramming to get out of the crash course, and Rafael soon joined in that effort.

The Werewolf didn’t know how Nick managed to convince whoever, to let them take the test early. There were two options Nick would have gone with, either annoying or threatening, and he could confidently say he didn’t want to know how Nick did it.

He was surprised that his brain was able to cram basically an entire textbook in just a week. Nick got off the easiest with his enhanced memory, while he and Landon were flopping around like dying fish. The most insane person of their family, “Jokely,” told them he would get so bored if he was all alone in the normal classes. They were all able to get out of the crash course, but all of them were mentally exhausted afterwards.

At the very least, all of the brothers now were going to be in the normal classes. Rafael didn’t have as many options just being a werewolf, not an unknown species, but he was glad that he could finally start on getting his new anger issues under control. Since Rafael was only previously allowed to be in the werewolf PE class. The werewolf didn’t know what kind of torture Nick and Landon signed on with classes, or if they had chose anything yet.

And the best part of the week was that the school finally figured out an excuse for them to use, if/when they went to town, since they previously lived here. It took them so long because of the amount of paperwork they had to forge. That was the excuse Dr. Saltzman used, when they asked what was taking them so long. But the fact that the school knew how to and taught it to the vampires was a matter that made Nick burst out laughing. It didn’t matter because the excuse they made for them made sense. Here it was, Mr. Heckle, one of the witch teachers, was enrolled in the foster system as a foster parent, and they were enrolled here, and lived in the dorms, because Mr. Heckle’s house was under reconstruction.

Rafael looked over to Nick’s sleeping wall, and saw he was gone. The two youngest siblings quickly fell into a pattern. If both were up, they would usually mess around with each other under the pretense of working out. It usually devolved into sparring with the boxing gear, or aggressive tag in the woods, but Nick forced them to get back before Landon woke up. They would usually wait half an hour, so, if the other didn’t wake up in that time, they would usually work out individually.

He saw a note on Landon’s nightstand in between his and Landon’s bed. Rafael referred to it as Landon’s since he had one to his right, another downside of being left-handed. One of these days, he just needed to learn how to use his right hand for a typical task.

‘I’m sneaking off to the library to see if there is anything else I can find on a phoenix and more guesses on Landon’s other half. I will try to be back at sixish, PS, Raf, I stole your watch as a clock, strangle me later.
-Nick’. Rafael wouldn’t have needed a rocket scientist to figure out it was Nick. He didn’t know what happened between the two of them, but following Tuesday, Nick always told Landon where he was going, and was more attached to his side than usual.

He should have been upset with Nick stealing his watch, but it was broken. The only feature that worked decently was the timer, and even then, it was gimmicky. Rafael was able to take apart almost any kind of engine, and yet being able to fix a watch was somehow more confusing. He just needed to stop putting it off as a, I will do it tomorrow task.

Rafael quickly got up, and started moving, getting ready for the day. He wasn’t going to bother with a shower right now, he had taken one last night, and he had just changed into a normal set of clothes and brushed his teeth. This was his first chance to officially apologize to Landon, since he allowed him to be killed in the gargoyle attack. He was debating on kidnapping Nick and making him help, while adding on his section to Nick’s note for Landon’s sake, despite thinking of it as a just in case he woke up while he was gone. Rafael decided on not kidnapping his brother like a good Samaritan. Knowing that by the time he was done cooking breakfast, Nick would be back in their room.

Nick asked last night if Landon would be okay if they performed tests on him, or if they wanted to try and get one of the adults to help them. Landon asked if the doctor could be present just in case of something went horrifically wrong. Despite Landon knowing he was a phoenix, he didn’t feel comfortable on banking on the fact that he was a phoenix.

The werewolf knew the doctor might be able to give them some kind of explanations on what was happening, or would be able to give them more concrete theories on Landon’s powers based on the results. Rafael still didn't know if it was the best idea to jump into Landon’s unknown side when they could get better results with his phoenix side.

Rafael wasn’t expecting to see anyone up already since they learned about the kitchen. The brothers have been hiding out here during meals, and no one has shown up, so they assumed most students didn’t know, minus that there was a massive blood closet that screamed hungry vampire. Rafael would have expected it would be a vampire getting a snack since food wasn’t needed, just blood, but no, it was the school’s alpha who looked dead.

Jed looked like he had just been run over by a train that went around the globe three times. In the matter of moments, he had thick bags under his eyes, and just seemed dead, like he had seen every unspeakable act since recorded history. The werewolf’s pack alpha looked away from the coffee machine and just said “Morning,” with somehow an even more dead voice.

The youngest brother was reminded of the times when Nick was younger and they just met, and how he looked and acted after a brutal night of night terrors. Either Landon or Rafael frequently found him in a state similar to or worse than this. “Nightmares?” Rafael asked, pretty sure of the answer, he knew it wasn’t just a werewolf gene because he never looked this dead when he woke up early.

“No shit, Henry,” Jed replied automatically without thinking, not wanting to make whatever he just saw in sleep more prevalent.

“You got the wrong person,” The newest wolf responded technically to his alpha. Rafael didn't know who Henry was, but the name sounded familiar. Despite not technically being a part of the pack, he knew all of the wolf students' names, the closest one was Hartford.

They have been doing this weird circle dance on where they stood for the past week. Jed was being friendly and trying to show him what the pack was normally like, and trying to apologize for the shitty “test” he put him through. Rafael liked most of the fellow wolf students, he just had a rocky start with Jed.

“Sorry,” Jed responded honestly. He would have offered to help Rafael with whatever he was cooking, given that Rafael was grabbing pans, and ingredients. But given how exhausted he was, he probably would have burned the food or something, and he hasn’t bothered to try to cook anything after getting here.

“Who is this Henry person?” Rafael asked curiously. He didn’t remember anyone important with the name Henry.

“He should have been the alpha instead of me,” Jed responded cryptically. But it gave Rafael the necessary kick in the brain for him to remember.

“What, wasn’t he the person who joined you in killing the previous alpha here?” Rafael asked, remembering why that name sounded familiar.

“Yep, the same,” The Salvatore alpha said.

“What was your nightmares about?” Rafael asked before hastily adding, “If you don’t mind,”. He had some general ideas on how to help, since he helped both Landon and Nick with theirs. Perks of being the only one without major issues, you had to help take care of his brothers. Besides, he still could focus enough not to burn pancakes.

“Henry died for good, my dad came back to life, and Andrew winning and him continuing to abuse the pack,” Jed rambled off some of the things his mind decided to torture him with.

“I know this is really generic but, just remember that none of that happened. And if you really need to, you should call Henry. You need to remember that your dad is dead, and can’t change that. As for the previous alpha, you stopped him before it got fully out of hand,” Rafael said. He didn’t know what his deal was with his dad, but he doubted it was good based on the look, and he appeared in a nightmare.

Jed snorted, “Seven students were so badly traumatized from him bullying them that they left, and none have come back. I would try to call Henry, but he has refused to answer any of my calls in the past six months,”. The more experienced werewolf responded. He didn’t stop Andrew soon enough. Jed didn’t feel like talking about the abuse he went through from his dad.

“As far as I see it, you did good enough. You stopped him before he took over the school, giving how many more people a safe spot,” Rafael said. He was grateful that Jed got rid of Andrew, allowing this school to exist and be a safe spot for supernaturals. It allowed this place to be here for him and his brothers, even just for a short bit.

“Good enough doesn’t matter, I should have stepped up sooner, before any of these events went on in the first place,” Jed said with the same strength someone would give in a bold declaration. Seven students left, one was forced to leave, and the number of times a single vampire was temporarily killed to trigger almost all of the werewolves.

Before that asshole who made his father look like a complete religious saint in almost every single religion. Most students were untrigged because most were of a knowing legacy, and their parents sent them here to learn about it just in case. Maybe the last 5% of the students that were triggered were of unknowing legacy. After Andrew, it was now the complete opposite, triggered wolves were now dominant to untriggered.

Jed remembered the day that sent him and Henry over the edge, and convinced them to remove him by any means required. Andrew was trying to force a 3rd year into killing her vampire friend to become a superior version of themselves as he said. And when she refused, he killed her pet bunny. She was one of the seven students who never came back. They killed him that same night.

“And you're sounding like Nick,” Rafael muttered to Jed’s response. Nick and Rafael did this whole dance right after Connor’s crew tried to kill Landon, and more times. The middle child was screaming that he should have been there before they even pinned him down, or backed Landon in a corner.

“Yes, you could have stepped up sooner, but that game will lead you nowhere, and just keep you stuck in that infinite loop, it drives you crazy. You just need to remember that you helped and stopped many incidents and helped many more people,” Rafael said. He often played that game when younger, and every single time it changed nothing, he just had to find any positives and move on. It didn’t help in the moment but it made it easier after a while.

Jed still didn’t like it, but he knew it was true. His pack was safe from the asshole, and a small handful of the pack still hated him, they would kill if he ever failed them. OR he started to ever turn out like his sperm donor. He just wanted to know if whatever good he did here outdid the bad he did in his original pack. He killed the alpha, his own dad. And just ran for it, leaving Trey to face the pack alone.

“Enough about my shitty morning, what’s got you up this early on the weekend. And making pancakes?” Jed asked, just wanting to change the conversation.

“Celebration and apologies,” Rafael responded. All of the brothers liked pancakes, minus Landon whose favorite food are pancakes.

“So you actually tested out of the crash course early?” Jed asked, he didn’t put much weight in the rumor since getting permission from the staff was extremely difficult. Up until this, Jed only knew of two people who were allowed to be able to test out early, and both had already graduated technically. One was a scout in training, and the other was fully graduated, but for the second, it was for his safety. He believed the second one was also a scout but didn’t know for sure.

“Yeah. PS never cram a textbook in a week,” Rafael said when he flipped one of the pancakes.

Jed just laughed at the obvious. “Why would you want to do that?” he asked, not seeing a reason to do so. Easy work until the final weeks of the school, and most of the staff wouldn’t make them take the final being that late.

“Never stuck around long for us to wait,” Rafael said. The absolute longest they stuck around for was 5 months, minus their initial stay here in Mystic Falls. He doubted that they would be able to stay long enough to learn everything they needed.

“And what are you apologizing for? Late nights?” Jed joked, not seeing the last bit of Rafael’s initial statement.

“Allowing Landon to be killed by the gargoyle,” Rafael said when the final pancake was done. “Hey, does the magic clean the dishes?” The youngest sibling asked, since he didn’t want the food to get cold.

“Yes, the magic cleans any dirty dishes, just leave them in the sink,” and now that Rafael said it. Jed was confused about the entire thing about phoenixes getting killed. Was it like when someone broke a bone and you sent them a get-well card or something? No one felt bad when a vampire got his neck snapped, and temporary deaths in general.

“Hey, I’m sorry for the rough start we had. I owe you one,” Jed said when Rafael opened the door to head back to his room after grabbing some plates and silverware.

“Thanks for the apology,” Rafael said while keeping the IOY in mind for later if necessary.

Nick pov Salvatore Library 5:40 AM

Nick easily sneaked into the Salvatore library. He wasn’t expecting world class security, but he was expecting something. The only part that might have been considered difficult was that the door was locked, but he had lock picks, and had used them before. They weren’t even cameras. Okay maybe his last school was a bit excessive with cameras, they had twenty in a straight line in a random corner of the school.

The middle brother was expecting some kind of witchy woo doo as well, but given that he had been in here for over an hour, he doubted that. So right after a dragon, a dryad, a nymph, and a gargoyle having shown up looking for the knife, the school seemed okay with it, he saw no added extra measures. Nick wouldn’t put it past creatures like dragons or others to use hostages.

He was honestly shocked with himself that he was even complaining at all. It just made his life easier. Nick was glad that he finally had a chance to see what he could dig up on phoenixes and potential leads on Landon’s other half. The middle brother knew he should have at least looked at something he could potentially be, but he didn’t bother.

There was enough information in the library that he could speculate on Landon’s phoenix powers. At this point, he had a list of maybe fifty bullet points of ideas. The most plausible ideas that he has gotten so far are, shapeshifting, healing tears, maybe blood as well, whatever was beyond basic fire manipulation, fire absorption, not that he was going to test that, he wasn’t going to harm Landon, and there were teleportation, flight, and that was all of the stuff that sound some credible. Nick wouldn’t be surprised if there was more that they had no clue about.

Nick also used one of the computers to see what he could find out about the bird's origins, since they had no books that might have an answer based on the dials results, but he hoped to use it as a future lead. He got the origin of the phoenix, which was Egyptian and Greek, and was now going through what books they had of Egyptian magic, which wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. The book search spin dials were extremely useful, they showed the book, and when grabbed, the books immediately opened to that section.

Besides, he owed Landon an apology for scaring him. Nick should have known or expected something to happen. He just wanted his brother to be happy, and was seriously contemplating going after every single person who hurt him. Landon foolishly thought that the day after the gargoyle attacked him, Nick would leave him. That was why Landon was freaking out, and being so nervous. Nick was just grateful that he managed to clean up any issues before Landon did anything stupid.

Nick just got back to his room, after the doctor was done running tests on him. He was slightly upset with being outperformed by his brothers, but found it funny at the same time. The doctor assumed the difference in strength when fighting the gargoyle and dragon came down to either the mask, adrenaline, or his heart beating in sync because something was causing something making a positive reaction.

It didn’t matter because he was still allowed to stay, since having three hearts wasn’t exactly normal. The doctor made him try a few different things to see if he was able to recreate anything he did during the fight with the dragon. But he wasn’t able to recreate anything, and he wasn’t willing to grab the demon mask in his room that he hasn’t hidden yet.

He was slowly mentally checking off the place, so that he could potentially hide it. He wanted it close by, but since apparently it made a student go hirewire, and try to kill people, he didn’t feel it was safe to just leave it in his room or on school grounds just in case of a senior prank or something. He also wouldn’t put it past the adults to steal it back if so, which crossed out the ruins of his aunt and uncle if nothing happened to it. Nick didn’t feel like it would be a great idea for him to bury it in a grave. Which left him to try and hide it in the many abandoned buildings in the surrounding woods.

Off the top of his head, there were the ten different abandoned cabins that were in rough shape. There was the one burned to a char. Then there was this place that looked like a lakeside house, but was in the middle of the woods, and had what appeared to be holding cells. The multiple different cellars from when the town was made, along with a tunnel system that ran under the town. The ruins of the church, which was just a giant ass hole. And then the multiple buildings he wasn’t aware of.

At this point he firmly strapped his dad’s knife onto his cargo pants as a precaution. It would be easier to explain it away, than the top half of a Japanese demon mask. It would be easier to hide the knife once he fixed his dad’s jacket, but that would be a future issue since he didn’t have anything to fix it with him.

Nick didn’t see either Rafael or Landon. He saw both Landon's and Rafael’s bags on top of their respective bed, but no other sign of them. He was truthfully just content with sitting in his room, taking a breather before shit hit the fan again. The brothers were already at 100% record of something going weird since the werewolf church incident, and Nick didn’t see that stopping at this point.

He was just following one of the basic rules of foster care. IF you were beaten or abused on the first day, you were going to be every single following day. But this time, he wouldn’t be able to shield his brothers from the abuse. There was no way he would be able to guarantee their safety, and he despised it. He started to act out most of the time because he was usually able to take the abuse the best.

Nick didn’t have anything he could do to keep himself preoccupied, unless he wanted to steal one of Rafael’s books again. He seriously needed to get a one person hobby. Landon had his music, while Rafael had reading. He probably would have sharpened his dad’s knife, but despite the rough use it went through, it appeared to be fine, and once again, he didn’t have the tools to sharpen it. That was also another issue, he seriously needed to find a job again.

The middle brother, thankfully, wasn’t left alone in his thoughts for long because he heard the door open. His head snapped up from the far bed he was sitting on to see his oldest brother. “Hi,” Nick greeted, happy to see him alive. He was hoping he hadn't missed anything.

“Hello,” Landon responded to his brother. He was glad to see Nick was still here. The older brother moved his bag off his bed before taking a seat on it. He guessed that magic had brought his bag into their room.

“Landon, can you please tell me what’s going on?” Nick asked, not knowing if he had done anything to annoy his brother. Or if it was someone else.

“Nothing, please don’t worry about me,” Landon responded. He didn’t want to be a burden on his brothers, and yet he didn’t want to be without them, he didn’t know what he would be without them.

“Landon, I’m not going to leave you alone, until you tell me what happened,” Nick responded. He didn’t want to push his luck, especially with Landon, but he will do anything to protect him.

“I’m fine, can you please accept that?” Landon said, pleading for his brother to drop this.

“Landon, I’m not going to accept that when I know better,” Nick stated. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving his brother alone, right now. Not even with his immortality.

“If I tell you, you will drop this, right?” Landon asked, not wanting to make Nick uncomfortable. And he didn’t want this to be brought up again.

“If it’s the truth, yes,” Nick responded to his brother. He wanted to help him.

“Okay, I’m afraid that you and Rafael are going to leave me,” Landon said.

Nick immediately went pale, he had no clue what he had done. And not even when Landon was having doubts did he ever doubt that he and Rafael would be by his side. “What did I do?” That’s all he could say, he responded as fast as he could, not wanting to increase his brother’s worry.

“Nothing. It’s just, me, and my dumb life.” Landon said, on the verge of tears.

Nick got up and hugged his brother, not knowing what else to do about this. He wished Rafael was here, knowing that he would be able to provide better help. “Landon, you have done nothing to me, and our lives are equally screwed up,” The middle brother said, trying to comfort him.

“Nick, you don’t understand,” Landon said.

“Then please help me,” Nick responded. He wanted to know, so he could help his brother.

“Your life would have been normal if it wasn’t for me,” The older brother said, blaming himself for everything that happened to Nick’s family, and every bit of pain he caused him.

“Landon, you didn’t do anything. I didn’t know you until we met here nine years ago. You can’t blame yourself for the stuff that happened before we met,” Nick said with an uncharacteristically caring tone, that if someone saw him, they wouldn't assume he was capable of.

“What about everything since then, all of the abuse you took for me and Rafael, or family’s possessions being stolen, or you getting injured from the dragon or the gargoyle, you would have had a normal life if it wasn’t for me,” Landon started to hyperventilate at this point, and was full blown panicking.

Nick hugged his brother as tightly as possible. He was going to bang his head against the wall later for causing this meltdown. “Landon, no matter what happens, I need you to know this. You can stab me, torture me, kill me, call me your biggest mistake, and I would never be able to hate you. And I wouldn’t change anything, I will always be at your side,” Nick said.

Never moved, for what seemed like a long time. Nick was slowly letting go as Landon was calming down. “I’m so sorry,” Landon muttered, not knowing what else to do. “I just saw you gone this morning, and I have been freaking out,” He tried to explain his actions.

“I’m sorry that I ever made you think that. You're not getting rid of me,” Nick said. He made a mental note to try and do something so he could try to prevent another freakout.

“And I know Rafael isn’t going to abandon you, you’re stuck with us,” Nick tried to reassure his brother as much as possible.

Nick didn’t know what to do afterwards, and he spent a lot more time with his brother after his panic attack. And if he wasn’t with Landon, he always knew where to find him. He also didn’t know if it was worth bringing it up with Rafael. Landon seemed fine now, and he didn’t want to stress Rafael out over nothing.

The insane brother had begun experimenting with his own powers when he could. Mainly when he was bored in class, or had a chance in the morning. All that he managed to do so far was make a shadow bend for a moment, but it quickly fixed itself. He was questioning if he actually saw it, or if the shadow was altered by an X factor, given the window inside the room. And when he tried to manipulate darkness he saw more consented but similar results of movement before it fixed itself.

Nick wanted to wonder if his powers weren’t actually his, but he walked off, getting impaled in the heart. He assumed that the mask just altered his biology, following him through his organs. Maybe just his umbrakinesis, as Landon called it, was linked to his demon mask. He wanted to try that sometime soon, but he knew that wasn’t possible. He already hid the mask, it wasn’t hard to get to, he just didn’t want it to be caught if he got sloppy. He felt a bit bad for sneaking out in the middle of the night, but he thought it was worth it.

Rafael later on confirmed that when he was fighting the dragon, his skin was mutating into a black color. When Rafael last saw him, his skin was a light or a pale gray, and he said it looked like his veins were starting to glow, along with some of his blood gathering near the top of his hair. Nick just let it be that he was only capable of using his abilities was if he was in a similar state, which would most likely require the mask.

He just wanted to know if he would always be this reliant on the mask. Nick needed it to transform into a more complete state of his species, which would also allow him to use his powers. He guessed that wasn’t going to be the case forever. The mask broke the seal or whatever was blocking it off, so he was probably around the strength of a newborn.

That theory was also reaffirmed based on the doc's observations, he was apparently only slightly stronger than a normal human. They also learned another interesting piece of news, apparently his hearts stopped beating in sync at some point after the gargoyle fight. Nick was trying to see if he could get his hearts to beat in sync to see if that would change anything, but the most he could do was any combination of two out of three. And that was only for as long as he was focusing.

“What are you doing?” Nick was dragged out of the book in his hands, from the now recognizable voice of his new principal.

“Reading,” Nick said with a deadpan amount of energy.

“Just go back to your room,” Dr. Saltzman said, not wanting to deal with anything too crazy this morning. The school was finally able to catch a break, and didn’t want to start another hot streak of trouble. Especially with Dorain gone, and he was still dealing with a wraith chasing him and Jeremy across the coast.

“Fine, and I found those books,” he pointed to a stack of multiple books, “had pages ripped out,” Nick let the principal know so he wouldn't get in any more trouble, just for breaking and entering. He just read the sections that the dial opened the books to.

When Nick used the search dials to try and find anything with either the keywords of copy or replicate, and absorptions. He searched both copy and replication since he honestly didn't know what Landon's powers were exactly. But either way, those books came up, and mentioned the Gemini coven, which explained how Josie got rid of the barrier when the gargoyle showed up. She absorbed the magic, but those books made no mention of something that could absorb living creatures and use their abilities. And they also made no mention of them gaining information from the things they absorbed.

“I’m aware,” was all that the Principal said. Nick shrugged his shoulders, not really caring about the tone he took, and just started to make his way back to his brothers.

Alaric went to put the books away. With Dorain gone for an indefinite amount of time, he was the one in charge of the library. He still needed to learn what he could about a phoenix, and he grabbed some of the books Nick had out.

Landon Pov Salvatore room 9 AM

Landon wasn’t expecting for Rafael to make them breakfast, and he felt like he didn’t deserve it. He has only been causing issues. He freaked out over nothing, and has given Nick a panic attack or given him more stuff to worry about. The older brother enjoyed it nevertheless, and it felt amazing to just relax and spend more time with his brothers. They just spend most of the time reminiscing about all of the fun times they had when younger.

Nick unsurprisingly somehow managed to get his hands on a deck of cards. Landon guessed it was from the werewolf cell they were trapped in for a better part of a day. He successfully taught them blackjack, and like any family game night, it got out of hand. Despite Nick not knowing how to do specific shuffles that favored him, Rafael still accused him of cheating, because of his bad luck. They spent almost a full hour wrestling each other on their dorm roof floors.

It made him laugh at how silly his brothers could be sometimes. Landon was just glad that he was able to live in the illusion of the school being normal, even just a few more minutes, before he was crushed back down to reality, which was, he was a hybrid of an unknown supernatural. Rafael left to put the dishes in the kitchen while he and Nick went to get the doctor, but Nick stopped and grabbed a notebook from his bag and at the mini fridge, which none of them used, to grab the blood bottles that Landon forgot about.

Landon cringed at the thought of drinking blood, but if he was the first of his kind, he believed his discomfort came second. They soon made their way to the doctor’s office, hoping to catch him, to have an adult supervise the test, just in case something went wrong. The oldest brother was fully expecting to be forced on some kind of fetch quest to find him, but was shocked when they found him just chilling in his office.

“Hello,” Landon started nervously, not knowing how to go about asking him to help figure out what his other half’s abilities were, instead of just random ideas.

“Hi, what do you need?” Dr. Rahorn said being bluntly, he has a lot of weird requests as the school doctor and doubted that this conversation would be nearly as bad as half of them.

“We—, I was wondering if you could help us, by supervising some tests that we are going to do to figure out what I’m capable of,” Landon nervously stuttered out, when starting before calming down. He wasn’t used to having any conversations let alone friendly ones, with any adults, since he was ten.

Dr. Rahorn wasn’t expecting that, he was expecting something close to them, wanting to know if he could fix or modify their body. He doubted that would work in Landon’s case because predatory bird species usually are far sighted, and guessed the same remained true with a phoenix. And that would mean he wouldn’t be able to fix it, most likely.

He already liked this new group of students, most new students of unknowing legacy immediately thought that because of vampire blood and magic, they could do whatever and get away scot-free. Both methods had limits on what they could heal and fix, not to mention recovery. He didn’t want to reattach an arm again because of a dumbass kid, fifty was more than enough times.

“Yes, I can help with that. Do you need me to do anything specific or just stand by? Do you need any equipment?” He asked, wanting to help them. It would also help them if they had a better grasp on what Landon could do, since he was a phoenix and an unknown.

Nick stepped in since he had a list of ideas of theories. “Stand by mostly, and maybe potential explanations,” Nick explained before adding, “And while I’m thinking about it, do you have any supernatural blood that we could use?” Nick asked.

“Okay, and why do you need any more supernatural blood?” Dr. Rahorn asked, wanting to know what they were going to do exactly. He didn’t want to lose his job because they did a linking spell, and Landon killed himself, and the person linked stayed dead. He also didn’t know why they needed any more blood. Based on the 4 plastic bottles, he hoped it was from the supernatural creatures in the dragon incident.

“Ideally, testing blood types, and to see if there might be capability issues,” Nick responded. He just knew that the first time Landon’s abilities activated, he directly absorbed the creature, and didn’t consume any of its flesh or raw genetic material. And just because Landon could absorb and use a water nymph's abilities didn’t mean that would be true for all supernatural species.

“Okay, I will grab some, along with a measuring device,” Dr. Rahorn said. He got up from his desk to grab the items he was thinking of, he was just going to bring a small amount of each. He had a lot of vampire blood in storage because it was usually a quick fix, and most vampire students didn’t mind when asked. He only had a few things of werewolf blood, because he could find the venom raw in their blood. It was there as an anti-vampire defense. He had the blood because he had been trying to recreate a werewolf poison cure. The doctor wanted the school to be prepared for when they ran out of both Klaus’s and Hope’s blood. He took Hope’s blood when she showed up most of the time.

While Klaus was alive, and was capable of it, he secretly donated multiple gallons of his blood a year. Most students just figured the blood came from when Marcel had him pinned inside of the basement, and was just bleeding him dry for his own use. Despite Marcel being an evolved original vampire, his blood didn’t cure normal werewolf venom, just his own venom. And normal hybrids like Henry and Tyler, their blood didn’t cure werewolf venom.

The doctor had a very strong suspicion that as soon as Hope was done here at this school, she wouldn’t donate any of her blood. So they are running on borrowed time, despite the one hundred gallons just sitting in storage. Every year, they had two or three incidents of a vampire being bitten, and given they need around five milliliters, and that means each gallon had around 756 uses. The doctor knew it wasn’t a pressing issue, but he wanted to fix it before it became one.

Landon was surprised at how easy it was to convince an adult to just give them even a tiny amount of blood, or for him to agree to supervise them. He didn’t like feeling like a child again, but he knew it made sense to have a responsible adult nearby. He knew it made both Nick and Rafael feel better on the off chance of just in case.

The Doctor came back with a small cooler, he put it on his desk while he grabbed a syringe, a timer, and a few other knick knacks that neither bother recognized. “Okay, so where do you want to try out these tests?” Dr. Rahorn asked. As long as it was on school grounds that he didn’t care where, since he imagined they could get destructive.

“There is a clearing in the woods we can use,” Nick offered up. He found it during one of his many games of tag with Rafael. He didn’t imagine them trying out anything too dangerous, and there was an adult with magic just in case. He mentioned it to Rafael this morning, and besides, it wouldn’t take him long to scour the forest just in case they went somewhere else.

Hope pov Salvatore room 9 AM

Hope was busy painting, one of the very few things she had that connected her with her dad. She wanted to spend more time with Landon, but he was doing something with his brothers. She wanted to be frustrated with him, but couldn't bring herself to be. Besides, it sounded like she wasn't needed, and she didn't want to force herself into their plans.

Landon had his brothers, and she knew it was unfair to him that she had no one here besides him. Hope knew it was unfair because if something happened to her family, she would be willing to drop about anything to help them. Even though she knew it was unlikely that anyone would be dumb enough to attempt anything.

No one in their right mind would want to mess with a harvest witch who was the current regent of New Orleans, a firstborn Mikaelson, two originals, and an evolved original. One at a time, let alone all of them at once. The only person that she might have to worry about were her younger cousin. Nik, Aunt Keelin, and maybe her siblings. Hope was still surprised that Freya and Keelin named their kid after her dad.

Hope knew that despite Keelin having scientifically removed all of her werewolf traits, minus the transformation, but she and Aunt Freya made her a moonlight ring. Keelin and her baby would be okay. She lived with two of the most powerful witches. A Mikaelson, firstborn, and the current regent of New Orleans. Despite Vincent's agreement with Freya and Keelin, of not being required to do anything with the kid, he was active in his life. Her siblings would be fine with Henry having the bayou packs in case, while Ashley was Rebecca's unofficial daughter, not to mention both were hybrids.

Hope was just happy to have her phone back. But she was sweating bullets when she saw the number of messages she missed from Rebecca. She was about ready to storm the school if she didn't answer her. In retrospect, she probably should have called her at some point with the burner phone and said she got in trouble. She was still in trouble, but that wasn't worth bringing up.

Rebecca chewed her out for well over an hour before Marcel stepped in so Rebecca could calm down. Hope now had to text the pair daily, because she knew they would probably storm the school to see if she was okay. It could have been worse, since after parents and Elijah died, they wanted to just remove her entirely and teach her themselves. She didn’t know what changed their minds, but didn't care since it worked out for her.

Hope wasn't expecting anyone or wanted to deal with anyone. She was just gonna choose to ignore the knocking. At the very least, until she heard the voice of someone becoming her least favorite person. And the list of people she had a strong dislike towards was long.

“Hope, are you in there?” Dr. Saltzman asked, hoping to get on with this conversation.

“Unfortunately,” Hope responded, not trying to hide her disdain at this conversation.

“Can you step out for a moment?” He asked.

“What am I being accused of this time?" Hope asked. She didn’t step out and get jumped by the entire staff or anti tribrid drugs. It was just the standard, wolfsbane, lobelia, and brunwithe flowers, topped with vervain.

Lobelia flowers just made it harder to concentrate and form spells. But ask any witch with ADHD, and they will tell you concentrating is overrated. Their normal method of spell casting remained effective while affected by Lobelia flowers. During one of Hope's summers, Aunt Freya made her learn the method as a just in case kind of thing.

She took all of them, minus brunwithe, on a daily basis to build up a pain tolerance to them. Brunwithe, as opposed to lobelia, harmed the person when they used magic, and just continually ate their magic until they died. Brunwithe flowers weren't used as frequently because if the witch was willing, they could turn it into a suicide pill.

And it wasn't discovered until recently, so they were still figuring out how to grow it in its non natural environment. It was also discovered right next to hibiscus flowers. Hope grabbed one of the tablets of hibiscus flowers to flush out any of the harmful effects from the herbs.

“Nothing, I need your help,” Dr. Saltzman said. Hope was so shocked that she wanted to burst out laughing, not knowing what else to do. He clearly hated asking her, and would probably find it preferable to kissing a toilet or admitting he was a worse dad than her dad than saying it again.

Hope thought it would be worthwhile to step out to see his face while he dug his own grave. She quickly put away all of her painting stuff away, deciding to come back to it later today.

Dr. Saltzman was getting frustrated with Hope for dragging this out. “What do you need?" Hope asked, stepping out of her room. She was still being cautious with him.

“I want to get back in shape for what's coming,” Dr. Saltzman explained. He hasn't been in the best shape despite constantly going on missions. Compared to everything he has dealt with baby supernatural beings, he didn't need to be in the best of physical shape. Dr. Saltzman was still fit; he just didn’t exercise or work out.

“So you want me to punch on repeat, because I remember you canceling our fighting lessons because you couldn't keep up?” Hope asked rhetorically, still upset with him about it. All of the staff knew she was the tribrid, so he could have made a vampire or a werewolf take over.

“And there is nothing coming,” Hope added, not seeing what he was talking about.

“If you want to phrase it like that, go ahead. And I want to make sure my students get out of this situation alive,” Dr. Saltzman said. He wished that Jeremy had stayed at the school so he wouldn’t need Hope for this.

“Fine, but I want to be able to wander off school grounds,” Hope insisted.

And this is why he didn't like asking Hope for help, did he use the need or want? Seriously, why couldn’t they have Jeremy stay here? Matt was still on his hate vampire binge, and Dorain was gone, but he wasn't the most skilled at hand to hand. He tried to convince both of his daughters to pick up the hobby/skill just in case there wasn't any magic, but both said no initially. Then he became busy when they showed interest, and when he could juggle it, they lost interest.

Hell, at this point, he would generally consider Damon, but he was off traveling the world with Bonnie. Which reminded him he needed to call her sometime soon. “Fine, but you cause any issues, you lose this privilege for the rest of your time here, And I will find someone,” Dr. Saltzman said, knowing that she would screw up sooner or later.

Dr. Saltzman didn't want to try to bother with finding a middle ground. He knew it was that bad compared to the multiple other things she could have asked for. The werewolf transformation detection barrier on school grounds no longer tracking her, more access to her family, and were probably some of the worst things she could have convinced him of.

And with access to town, she would be at the mercy of Matt. Dr. Saltzman didn't know where he stood with Hope's aunt. But he doubted it was in a good spot, since he easily turned on both Stefan, and especially Caroline, someone he knew before they were one.

Best case scenario, Hope screwed up, Matt staked so hopefully she couldn't turn into the tribrid or a vampire. And the school would be fine because it was Matt who did it. Worst case scenario, they changed the school to a different country.

“Accepted, now get lost, I will deal with you tomorrow,” Hope said, walking back into her room. At least now she wouldn't be beating up students, just, her least effective teacher.

Landon pov Salvatore woods 9:15 AM

Landon didn't know if he should be shocked or just accept that Rafael managed to find them. Probably the ladder given what their lives have turned out. “Hey, where are we starting?” Rafael asked no one in particular.

Landon noticed that the trees made a circular shape around them, but there was a big tree in the middle. With two small trees, one on each side, and just a bit further back. Dr. Rahorn put the cooler, behind a set of tree roots on the edge of the empty circle, just in case of any backfire. Rafael walked over to join Landon. Nick put the blood bottles over by the cooler, and joined back with his brothers.

“Would there be any difference if the blood is injected or consumed?” Nick asked the doctor. He didn't know if he should hope for one way or the other. Landon didn't like needles, and Nick didn't think he would like chugging down some blood.

“I don't believe that there would be any difference in outcome based on that,” the doctor responded. He didn’t believe the outcome would be any different, based on the same logic with vampire blood, and both of Klaus's and Hope's blood.

The syringe was made by a natural who wanted to use vampire blood without the potential cost. He thought that if it was injected, then the risk would be gone and the blood could be used as a quick fix. It didn't work out, because multiple patients died and turned. OR with both hybrid and tribrid blood curing werewolf venom, whether it was injected or drank.

Nick went to slap himself, but before he stopped himself, he would just bang his head into a wall later. “Landon, do you know what your blood type is?” he asked his brother despite knowing it would be a negative response.

Landon just shook his head, which both brothers expected. “Doc, do you have a spell that checks for blood types?” Nick asked. He didn’t know what would happen if Landon wasn't compatible with the blood. And didn't want to test it.

“Yes, but it would only affect Landon if he was injected or transfused, in large amounts,” Dr. Rahorn said, but still ran the spell on Landon.

Landon saw a bunch of different colored numbers and words pop up in front of him. He hoped to receive an explanation of half of the things that popped up. “It's a basic vital spell, and Landon is AB+, so he can safely have all of the blood types,” Dr. Rahorn explained, seeing the confusion in the brother's faces.

The spell wasn't the best at identifying issues at hand, but it was the starting point, and it gave a good amount of necessary information. The doctor had other spells he could use once he was done with the current spell, which he turned off. “Okay, what now?” Rafael asked. Feeling better now that he knew Landon should be mostly fine.

Nick quickly thought about it, blood capability wasn't an issue. “Doc, when Landon first copied, he absorbed it through his skin. Would him drinking the blood allow him to copy it all?” The middle brother asked.

“I don't think it would not allow him to copy the abilities, it might affect the quality of the copying based on other x factors,” the Doctor responded. If Landon absorbed the creature directly, it might allow him to use his abilities longer or at a higher capacity. But with blood, it's more convenient, as long as the blood remains intact.

“Is there a set amount of blood Landon needs to take for his powers to activate?” Rafael asked.

“If there is an activation amount, it should be the same as what's needed for vampire conversation. So it would be 5 milliliters,” Dr. Rahorn explained. And it was also the same amount needed for vampire blood to have any effect. He walked over to the cooler and quickly grabbed one of the pre-portioned vials of vampire blood. In order for vampire blood to function and heal the person, they need to take at least a full portion.

The doctor gave the vampire portion to Landon, who looked uneasy. “I can put it in the syringe if that would help,” The doctor offered, before handing the vials over.

“It's fine,” Landon said, taking the pill-shaped vial. He didn't want to make the doctor regret helping them.

“Rafael, can you please walk until we are no longer visible, and once you’re far enough, yell start. Landon, when we hear Rafael, drink the blood. Landon focus on the direction Rafael walked off to. Rafael, I want you to make as small of a sound as possible, but keep it up until any of us scream. Landon, if you can hear him, let us know when it stops,” Dr. Rahorn gave instructions to the tests he wanted to run.

The doctor thought that out of all of the blood he had, and how to test if it worked. Vampire would probably be the easiest. Landon was on par with a werewolf's physicality, so the only thing they could have tested was senses and transformation. But with the transformation he didn't know if they needed the full moon like the crescent wolf pack, or what happened if he timeouted if he could time out. Would he revert to human or stay wolf, and could he ever change back to human?

Witches, they still didn't know if Landon could only use fire manipulation or could use magic normally. Wendy was the only comparable person, and she was limited to fire magic. He wondered if Wendy kept anything to document her mutation, and if the school didn't destroy where it would be kept. Dragon blood had the same issue, but maybe with harder skin, and maybe some kind of treasure sensing based on popular media. Or maybe strength based on correlating treasure, and then if he could shape shift into a dragon, or if that was an item on the dragon, no one noticed. He was completely speculating on what abilities the dragon might have.

They could have used dryad blood as well, but the doctor wanted to save as much of it as possible for Landon if he wanted to use it later. Vampire blood would be their safest bet for testing because of no potential overlap. And their hearing would be the easiest thing to test, because some of the most skilled vampires could barely hold vampire speed for over five minutes, while hearing had no such caveat.

“Got it,” Rafael responded while choosing a random direction and running off into it.

Alaric pov Salvatore office 11 AM

Alaric called his daughter's surrogate mother, hoping for the best. It was so hard to keep having hope at this rate. It appeared that if nature was dead set on this always happening. “Hey, Caroline, any news?” he asked with little optimism.

“All bad news, I'm afraid. This witch was a total fraud, well, not a total fraud anymore,” The blonde vampire hastily added the last bit.

“Caroline,” the principal tried to get started, but was unfortunately cut off.

“Oh no, you don't get to sass me. My patience is running thin. If one more witch says that she can talk to the dead, and doesn't, she is gonna be stuck with the dead, forever,” Caroline said, showing that her patience is becoming thinner than ever.

“Fine,” he knew better than to get an angry/upset vampire even more. “Do you have any leads in Egypt?” he asked, not wanting to push any more buttons, he just wanted to get this done.

“No, I'm in France, why would you think that? If I had one in Egypt, I would be in Egypt,” Caroline said, frustrated that he wasn't paying attention to her.

“I meant as your next lead, we only have 6 years left,” Alaric tried to calm down his very angry partner.

He could tell from across the phone that Caroline was scattering to check the day, despite her knowing what day it was. “Seven years, they haven't turned 16 yet,” she paused for a second. “What do I need to do in Egypt, and how long will it take?” Caroline asked, since she was closer than most people, the only ones that had her beat were Bonnie and Damon.

“I have no idea on how long it will take. I need you to find out as much as you can about phoenixes,” Dr. Saltzman explained what he wanted to happen.

“What?” Caroline asked, completely confused. Sure, she has seen and fought weirder stuff, but the only thing that comes close was a pair of sirens.

“Long story short, one of the new students is a phoenix hybrid,” Alaric said. It wasn't worth bringing up all of the details when that one point was all that was needed.

“A hybrid of what? Werewolf? Witch?” Caroline asked, hanging onto the word hybrid since she was just phoenix and nothing else.

“We have no idea, some unknown species. Dr. Rahorn is gonna try and find out before we give some of the students blood to a vampire for a genetic expert to examine,” Dr. Saltzman explained. Hopefully, both were alive and could give answers.

A vampire would be handling it because of potentially weird anomalies in the DNA. And trying to figure something out by cross reference the supernatural gene to the known supernatural species. And compelling the doctor to forget about everything once they were done.

“Listen, this lead wasn't a total bust. Before she died, she mentioned something that I'm gonna follow up on. It will only be two days max, and I will fly out for the girl's birthday. Ask Bonnie and Damon to do it, they just finished their tour of Greece,” Caroline told him what to do.

“Are you sure it's not too late for us to switch positions?” Alaric asked. He missed being able to move around. And he was pretty sure he would be of better use to his daughters finding the cure instead of their mother.

“You are the one who started the school, so you're gonna run it, and secondly, our kids still need you, so you're not allowed to die yet,” Caroline said in her signature bossy tone. Alaric heard the phone hang up.

Alaric just checked the time of day it would be in Bonnie and Damon's current time zone. He honestly sat at his desk for well over ten minutes trying to figure out how to go about it, before he ripped off the band aid and went for it. Their dumber plans have worked, and it wasn't do or die and the fate of the world.

“Hi Bonnie, I need a favor,” Dr. Saltzman said when one of his students picked up their phone.

“Nope, we are restarting this conversation from scratch,” Bonnie stated before doing what she said. “Hello, Mr. Saltzman, thanks for calling me,” the Bennett witch said, pretending nothing happened.

“Hi Bonnie, I need a favor,” Alaric reiterated his point, but stressed it was important. He didn’t even try to correct her on him, no longer being her teacher to save time.

“Nope, I'm not doing any favors for you. You haven't talked to me since the siren and hell situation, so you don't get to ask for anything from me,” Bonnie replied with frustration clear in her voice.

“I talk to you yearly, Christmas, the girl's birthday,” Alaric started, but was once again cut off.

“All you say is thanks for coming, merry Christmas, and that's it,” Bonnie said. She would probably put their last conversation with the hell and sirens situations, or around that time.

“It's still something, and besides, you have Damon to keep you company,” Alaric insisted, not seeing why she was this upset with him.

“You do know that for the first four years of this trip, we were constantly at each other's throats, hashing out issues? The only time it felt normal was when Caroline called us. By the way, did you know Caroline calls us at least once a day for half an hour?” Bonnie asked rhetorically, knowing the answer.

The first four years of their trip around the world were extremely tense. Bonnie remembered all of their issues that they needed to work out. She was just glad that her psychic abilities were able to mute their room from the outside. It wouldn't have been all that far fetched if they woke up everyone around them without that. The only time that she and Damon would be able to act normally around each other was when Caroline called them and talked to them. It was probably the highlight of most days early on in their adventure.

“Good for her, I'm just asking for a quick and easy favor,” Dr. Saltzman said. All things considered, it was an easy favor.

“Damon, your drinking buddy is on!” Bonnie exclaimed, getting his attention from wherever.

Alaric was debating on whether or not to hang up and try again later. The two were nowhere near as close as what they used to be. The only thing that stopped him from hanging up instantly was that he helped his daughters from being raised into little minions for Cade. But he was turned into one instead.

“Hey buddy, glad you finally called, it's the first since the start of this grand happy see the world adventure,” Damon said in his same happy-go-lucky kind of way.

“You're still liking yourself bourbon, right? I saw this bottle the other day, and I was debating on buying it for a special occasion, though?” Damon asked.

“Damon,” Alaric tried to get started with this whole spiel.

“Well, I wouldn't know since you keep brushing me off every time I try to make amends with you,” Damon said, frustrated but nearly as bad as Bonnie.

“I'm sorry that I have been trying to deal with not just a tribrid, but a super one that makes Klaus look weak,” Alaric said, not trying to apologize, but tried to explain.

“I have heard that exact excuse multiple times. Just live a little. Dump her on someone else and take a break for a week or a month. We are off to a new location after the twins’ birthday,” Damon responded.

“Listen, this is getting off topic. I need a favor. I want both of you to go to Egypt, and see if you can find anything about a genuinely supernatural phoenix. I will pay for the flights,” Alaric said.

“One moment, please,” Damon said, setting down Bonnie's phone, but Alaric could still hear the conversation.

“Egypt is still on the list of places you want to see, right?” Damon asked to make sure.

“Yes, but Josie and Lizzie's birthday is right around the corner, so I thought we were going to visit them before going off somewhere new,” Bonnie stated what she thought the plan was.

“Hear me out,” Damon said. Alaric didn't need to be there to know that she was staring daggers at those words. “Apparently, the school has a new resident. A real phoenix,” Damon said.

Bonnie was expecting worse, she was expecting to be asked to whip up a miracle item to kill a reincarnated Klaus or something equally out there as sirens. “Okay, and this is our problem, how? Last time I checked, phoenixes were a good thing, not like sirens,” Bonnie asked, confused, not seeing where this was going.

“This is the part where you peel out my eyeballs,” Damon said. “Alaric wants us to go to Egypt and see if we can find anything about the real deal,” he explained why she would potentially want to do it.

“Why?” Bonnie asked. Damon picked up the phone, and turned on the speaker so he didn't need to reiterate Alaric’s point. “Why do you want us to find out stuff from Egypt?” he asked Bonnie’s question.

“I believe the species originated there, and it was likely created by a witch, like vampires and werewolves,” the Salvatore principal explained, thinking it was their best chance at getting good information.

“And why do you want us to find out about this student's abilities for you? And secondly, how do you know this species wasn't just made?” Damon asked, knowing Bonnie would agree with the questions. It was reaffirmed with her nodding.

“I want to help the student just like any other struggling werewolf or vampire, and I don't know if it was made recently or not. I doubted it because the student knows nothing about his family, or any kind of indication,” Alaric said, thinking the phoenixes had their hidey hole somewhere. He also wondered if the ring he used to have had some link to the species.

Damon looked at his best friend, and saw her nod, which he took as she had heard enough. The vampire turned off the speaker option before and put it back on the overnight stand for them to discuss. Alaric could still hear the conversation.

“He also mentioned paying for the flights,” Damon mentioned while thinking about it. The vampire thought it might be worthwhile, but still wanted to ask his friend who he had invited himself on her trip.

“So we get first class, is what I'm hearing,” Bonnie stated. She wanted to help the kid, remembering how lost she and her friends were with all of this supernatural nonsense.

The psychic grabbed her phone, “You said you're paying, right?” she asked rhetorically.

“Yes,” Dr. Saltzman responded, already regretting the wording but too late to change it.

“Okay, but you have to break the news to Josie and Lizzie that I'm not going to be at their birthday as long but I will make up for it over spring and summer break,” Bonnie stated before hanging up. She didn't want to disappoint them, and she saw it as a way to annoy him for bugging her.

Alaric sighed at the beeping indicating Bonnie hanged up. He slumped into the chair, feeling more stressed than ever. None of his jobs has even been this close to straining. Well, he had to go find his daughters and break the news to them.

Landon pov Salvatore woods 9:27 AM

Landon didn't know what to expect when the doctor said to drink the blood and focus his hearing in that direction. But he was grateful that he did it near immediately. Just from the few seconds, he felt like his head was about to go bang. Landon tried covering his ears to see if it would make it better since he didn’t want to screw up by turning off the super hearing.

The noise didn't seem to ever stop. He could hear both Nick's and Dr. Rahorn's heartbeats, and it was annoying. The constant bumping. He wondered if every vampire had this going 24/7, because he wanted to apologize for existing. He could have even heard some stuff going on in the school.

One group of students was hanging out and playing games. There was a class going on with thirty students. Landon was able to hear Rafael for the entire time so far. And it wasn't just limited to the sound he was making, he could also hear his heartbeat.

Landon wanted to laugh at some of the things his brothers said, but he didn't know if that would actually make his head blow up from sensory overload. The werewolf originally started with just a little chanting that Nick is smelly, and a crazy person. He started to throw random words together after a while. Right now, he was just lighting, clapping his hands.

Rafael probably could have gone farther away because he still sounded louder than normal. Landon noticed that once he focused on his brother, the other sounds were no longer there as much. It felt like walking past people who were whispering, but more clearly, and like he could switch to eavesdrop on them.

The only sounds that were remaining constant were Rafael having fun in the distant area, and the two supervisors of Nick and Dr. Rahorn. When the doctor started the timer, he had expected a more annoying clicking than their hearts. But it was thankfully silent.

Landon didn't know what happened when everything came crashing down. All of a sudden, he couldn't hear, it was just this annoying buzzing before he could no longer hear. Landon was afraid that he would become deaf, and that he would be an even bigger burden to people.

Just as quickly as his vision went completely numb. All of the colors were fading in and out, before settling on black and white. He wasn't expecting it to get worse, but it did, just like his life. His vision started to twist and turn out creating the most nauseating experience that he has ever had. Everything just completely went black. He couldn't feel his body he felt like he was disconnected from reality.

To Landon, it felt like he was stuck in this never-ending blackness, where he couldn't do anything for a millennium. The phoenix didn't know when or how long it had been before everything was slowly returning to him. When his sense of hearing returned, it was more sensitive than it was during vampire hearing before settling to normal.

Upon regaining his sense of hearing, he could hear his own screams. He didn’t know when he started screaming, but he was, and it was loud. Landon wanted to stop screaming, but his body wouldn't listen and kept at it. He couldn't make out any words being said around him.

When he regained his eyesight, he was shocked to see him crying, and that both brothers were holding him up while he was puking. To Landon, it felt worse than being stuck in that black void of consciousness. He was fully aware now and had nothing he could do, minus focus on what his body was doing.

Landon couldn't see where the doctor was, but seriously hoped he was nearby. When Landon finished emptying his stomach, one of the first things he noticed was that his throat was no different than sandpaper. It felt so incredibly painful, but all he could think and say was “I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,” on repeat like a broken record.

Landon didn't want to make things worse, he didn't want to worry his brothers, and yet he was. “You're fine, Landon, take it easy,” Rafael said while hugging him with Nick, seeing that he was better.

“Okay, I'm not pushing your luck, Landon. We aren't going to be doing more tests today or for a while,” Dr. Rahorn said to Landon. Who just nodded, not wanting to go through that experience again.

Right after Landon collapsed, Nick didn't yell for Rafael, he just showed up. The middle brother was holding the oldest brother up when Rafael arrived and helped holding him up, and Landon started to puke as well.

Dr. Rahorn was trying to figure out what was going on in Landon’s body, because all of his vitals were normal. His only guess was sudden sensory deprivation, because of his enhanced senses were gone. But that should have made him start puking, that was a rare side effect. And it should have only been hearing gone so it shouldn't have caused such an extreme reaction.

He ultimately decided right now that it was because of the amount or quality of the blood. Since Landon's previous use of this ability didn't show any post-use issues. The doctor also knew that it was a possibility that it was the blood being consumed instead of a creature being directly absorbed into his skin.

“Help him back to the medical area. I will grab everything here,” Dr. Rahorn asked, knowing they would. He was going to be right behind them, since he needed to grab the cooler and see if the puke was normal or not.

Rafael nodded, and took on most of Landon’s weight, since he didn't want to hurt Landon anymore. Nick was on Landon’s other side, ready to catch Landon or help Rafael if he needed it. Landon wanted to cry, he was always the issue, and his brothers had to clean up his mess once again.

He was just grateful that on their walk back, no one was talking. He could still easily imagine that ringing sound that drove him up a wall. When they got back to the medical area, Rafael placed him up on one of the beds. Landon didn't want to be a burden, he wanted to get up, leave, and deal with it, but he didn't want to upset his brothers.

It didn't take too long for the doctor to show up again. Dr. Rahorn quickly moved over to where they were. “Landon, I want to know what happened,” he requested.

“I could hear Rafael the entire time, until something, I lost my hearing first, then vision, and everything else at once, and then I was fine,” Landon rambled out, no longer feeling any form of nausea.

Dr. Rahorn thought for a few minutes before saying, “Okay, you should be fine. But if you need some kind of medicine, ask me,”.

Dr. Rahorn thought the bad reaction was just total sensory deprivation, not having anything to do with the blood, but he didn't want to kill a student if he was wrong, immortal or not. He didn't know how the total sensory deprivation happened from just a decrease in hearing, but he didn't think much about it.

Right before Rafael and Nick dragged Landon off, hopefully for him to rest, the doctor added, “Landon, please don't try anything with your supernatural sides. And I believe with the normal blood dosage, you have ten minutes of that species' ability,” he added just in case something happened. As soon as the timer hit ten minutes on the dot, Landon started to collapse.

“And Nick, I'll keep the dryad and dragon blood if you need them,” Dr. Rahorn said, wanting to examine the blood and compare it with the normal supernatural blood. Nick just nodded, not concerned with it right now, and left to catch up to his brothers. The doctor started to write some of his theories on what happened and what was wrong.

The only things he came up with so far was, the blood wasn't fresh enough, but it was properly stored, so he didn't know. His next thought went to the amount, maybe it was too little or too much. Another thought it had something to do with the first time use, with blood or difficulty keeping the blood down. Maybe something with species, because maybe water nymphs were at some point natural, while vampires were created by witches. Dr. Rahorn just started to mess with Landon’s blood and the other species he had access to. To see if he could find out anything with the samples he had access to.

Jed pov Salvatore lower gym 1 pm

Jed managed to wake himself after the fifth cup of coffee, and managed to shove aside his worries for him to deal with later. The alpha didn’t have anything planned to do today with the pack, they didn’t have weekly meetings or the like. Most of the time, the pack just hanged out in the lower gym doing a variety of things. To the point that no other faction entered it, given that there were usually ten to twenty in there at any moment.

One of the most often things that went on was a few wolves helping the ones struggling. The alpha of the pack often had participated in the makeshift study groups, but that was a different matter. Jed was expecting the pack’s usual pattern to change slightly after the gargoyle attack. But the only change was that they traveled with more people, and one of the older students was close to a group of younger ones.

Jed knew the reason there was no radical change was that because no wolves were harmed in the gargoyle attack. The only people who got hurt were the ones directly involved in confronting it, minus both Landon and Lizzie. Jed counted that as a small win, because none of his pack mates were seriously injured. No one in the pack had an issue with the news of Landon’s nature as a phoenix.

Most just didn’t care or think much of it, given he was just slightly different from a vampire as a phoenix, minus their bloody history. Some of the newer wolves were making fun of it, but they weren’t doing anything so Jed didn’t need to figure out a way to wrangle them in. The Witches saw him as an abomination to nature, like vampires and, to a lesser extent, werewolves. While vampires hated him, seeing him as a cheap knock off. Jed was currently off to the side talking with a few of the older wolves while most people were playing basketball. For once, the younger kids were beating the older ones.

Kevin was, right now, definitively the strongest person in the pack. That might change once slash if Rafael joins, and if they spared, for the pack to see. Keven looked similar to Rafael, but the slight difference was that Kevin had a black mullet with blue eyes. And he tended to wear loose baggy clothing. He was the oldest person in the group as a senior who was older at 19 years old, he just started school later because of a weird birthday situation. Kevin had a friendly ongoing competition with both Owen and Max, to see which one could beat him first.

Owen was tied for second strongest with Max, but at a quick glance, most people wouldn’t assume so. He looked like a stick bug. You could easily make out multiple bones if you looked close enough, but he could pack a punch that would catch almost everyone off guard. He was probably the tallest person at school at 6’8. Owen had a blonde man bun, which matched his skin tone to an alarming degree, and had brown eyes. He also tended to just wear various basketball clothing. Most people, himself included, found it funny that despite the extreme height differences that Max and Owen were best friends.

Which brought them to Max could almost pass off as someone maybe 3 or 4 years younger despite being the same age and grade as Jed. That was mainly due to his softer features and him just being short. Surprisingly, he made more short jokes about himself than anyone else in the pack. Jed was pretty sure he himself started the betting ring on how tall he will become, the current favorite was his current height of 4 '10. He had short, untidy black hair, with green eyes. Max was one of the very werewolves who tended not to wear either athletic, baggy, gym wear, instead, he tended to wear nice blue jeans and polos.

Sophie, despite her appearance she was a complete tomboy, and at her current rate, she was going to pass Max and Owen in brute strength in a year. She already had them beat in agility, speed, and stamina. She had black, it ended just below the shoulders, but it was tied up in a single braid. She had blue eyes. Unlike either Max or Owen, she was completely average in terms of height. And despite that rough start, at the school, she helped with the study group the most, along with Abby. Sophie joined at the start of the last school year, she was of unknowing legacy. She, like most of the wolves, was in athletic clothing.

Sophie’s roommate was Emily, who also joined the school last year, but it was because of her parents moving from Germany for better opportunities, and this made her one of the very few students who weren’t triggered. Both of her parents carried the gene, but neither were triggered as well. Her parents were a part of the German pack, almost hunted to extinction by Greta’s hoard of vampires. She had brown hair that ended just above her shoulders, with brown eyes. Emily was just a touch taller than her roommate but a bit shorter than Hope. And like Max, she wore nicer clothes similar to the semi-professional clothing of Ms. Tigs.

Abby was the only one in the group, minus him, that wasn’t a werewolf brute. She also had enhanced senses, but hers were her sight and hearing compared to Jed’s sense of smell. And the last part of Jed’s confidants. Abbey was the same height as Josie, and like the brunette siphoner she had more narrow features, unlike the last two. She had green eyes, which seemed ready to challenge the entire world. And had curly brown hair which ended just below her ears.

“We need to figure something out,” Abby said, breaking the silence, after explaining why she pulled them off to the side while everyone else was having fun. She had suggested that the wolf pack come up with its own safety measures, like a place to bunker down if something got in the school, or a way to get out.

“It could just be a one and done,” Owen said in his normal, nonchalant deep voice. He didn’t think it was a bad idea, he just didn’t want to waste time if what he said was true.

“I believe so, and the knife is nowhere near here, it's long gone,” Max responded to his best friend, knowing his friend was just playing devil's advocate, while he actually believed it.

“Okay, congratulations, you're gonna be the first to die,” Sophie teased the shortest of the group.

“Calm down, please,” Kevin said, still not used to Sophie nonchalantly threatening either Max or Owen. “And why can’t we use the werewolf cellars?” He asked, not seeing why they glanced over them.

“The term brute doesn’t fit you, maybe barbarian would be better. If we do that, we would be locked in there with a slim chance of getting out,” Emily responded, not afraid of Kevin, she knew he wouldn’t do anything.

“Please be nicer next time, but what other options do we have?” Jed asked, not knowing of any other place the pack would be able to bunker down in, they just didn’t lock the doors or enter the cells. They could hole up if needed.

Owen caught a wayward basketball that was heading in their direction, before throwing it back in. Max shouted, “Kick the older kid’s butts!!”. He cheered on the team he always joined, despite not technically being in that group.

“Where, even, is Finch?” Emily asked. She knew that most of the time Finch hanged out at the Salvatore school on the weekends, but didn’t see her in the crowd of people. “Where’s a red card when you need it?” She added when she saw a 3rd year punch Kevin’s roommate, who just laughed it off.

“Tiny power can’t be punished,” Max responded, fully believing what he just said. “As for Finch, no idea, a date or something?” He completely guessed, not knowing her that well.

“Okay, back on the train tracks,” Abbey said, wanting to have accomplished something today. “What about one of the old cellars hidden on school grounds?” She asked while thinking of it.

“What?” Jed asked, not knowing of any place that could match what she was potentially talking about. And based on the reactions from everyone else, minus Sophie, no one else knew what she was talking about.

“How would that work? It’s on the very edge of the woods and the fence,” Sophie asked, thinking that something closer would be more ideal.

“That’s not where it is, it’s by the major creek hidden by roots,” Abby responded, thinking Sophie must be confused or mixing up details on the location.

“So there are two different cellars we could potentially use. Who wants to look through them?” Jed asked, not wanting to force anyone.

“Sure,” Kevin responded, not having anything more important to do.

“No thanks,” Owen said.

“You should be honored to feel like an ankle biter,” Max responded to his friend, giving him a hard time. Everyone also took this as him signing up.

“I don’t feel like turning into the hunchback of Notre Dame, unless it’s an emergency,” Owen explained that it was needed, Jed assumed his height was one of the reasons he didn’t want to explore a cramped space.

“I’m going since I know the exact location of one,” Sophie said.

“No thanks,” Emily said, not having anything to bring to the table.

“Same as Sophie,” Abbey spoke, sharing the same reasoning as Sophie.

“Okay, have fun with that, just take a look, if something feels wrong, dip, and get help,” Jed reminded them, not wanting them to do anything stupid. Jed didn’t want to drag them down, given he still felt exhausted. He could sniff around later.

“We will be fine,” Kevin said.

“Yep, catch me suckers” Sophie said running out the gym. The other wolves just sighed at her shenanigans, with Abby, kevin, and Max chasing off after her.

“What are we gonna do now, sit and wait or can I play?” Owen asked when he looked at the score, and saw that for once the younger wolves were winning since he last looked.

“Go ahead,” Jed responded, not seeing a reason to stop him. “Emily, I'm going to take a nap. If possible, keep them from doing something,” He requested, wanting to get some sleep given his awful experience last night. He saw Emily nod before she moved to the bleacher to get a better view.

Jed’s second goal, was that if he couldn’t catch any sleep, was to figure out a way to convince Dr. Saltzman that this was necessary, which he didn’t expect to be difficult. Most of the time, the school didn’t need to worry all too much about threats. What could a man-made gun or bomb do against magic or compulsion? Jed hated to admit it, but it was humbling, and it reminded him of when he was at the bottom of the pack when Andrew was in charge.

The Salvatore school alpha wasn’t expecting to walk by Hope. Jed knew that he would regret this later, but didn’t care. “Hope, can you tell Henry to pick up his damn phone?” Jed asked, knowing Henry would be sired to Hope. The werewolf wanted to believe that Hope would have allowed Henry to break it, but he didn’t want to take chances.

“Listen, if he wants to answer your calls, he will. He has his own free will,” Hope responded, not appreciating the insinuation. She knew that Henry still talked to Jed on occasion, but didn’t know if something had happened.

“Does he?” Jed asked rhetorically. He didn't know if the sire bond would form because of Henry being a part of the crescent wolf pack or not.

“Shut up, that was the first thing he did,” Hope responded. She remembered watching Henry going through the werewolf transformation over a thousand times until he broke it. At the very end, she confirmed that Jed knew she was a Mikealson just in case.

“Fine, just stay away from the pack,” Jed said, thinking that she brought trouble to the wolf pack. He was stuck dealing with the position that he despised because Hope made Henry take her blood.

“I would have done something if Henry told me what was going on, and I didn’t want to he threatened to jump out my window,” Hope responded. She only learned after the fact that he transitioned, and the one time she used her sire bond on him.

“Fine,” Jed said, he didn’t trust, but given he caught the tail end of the conversation, it could have happened, and Henry was tight lipped. The Salvatore Alpha walked off, honestly expecting to be attacked, but thankfully, that didn’t happen, and he just crashed on top of his bed, when he got to his room.

Ethan Pov Ethan’s home March 5th 6 30 PM

Ethan just got home from football practice. It went fine. He was glad Connor skipped or something because he was annoying him constantly, it felt great to have a break from him. He was the worst out of the team, the rest of his teammates were mean to him because he was nice to the Salvatore players, and the coach was… just a dick in general. “Maya, I’m home!” he shouted, knowing she was home right now. He didn’t see his mom’s police cruiser in the driveway and thought she was still at work.

Maya came down the stairs along with Finch. “Mom just called, she will be home soon. Clean up, her boss is having dinner with us. Mom wants us to start making dinner, everything is in the fridge,” His sister explained, while grabbing stuff out for dinner, and started.

“Got it. Finch are eating with us?” Ethan asked while running up stairs to dump his practice bag in his room. The football rummaged through his dresser for a nice set of clothes.

“Mom said it was okay when I asked,” Maya responded to her brother's questions. She asked yesterday if it was okay, and didn’t hear anything different when she asked.

Ethan quickly got into the shower, didn’t use the locker room shower since it was clear that the team didn’t like him, and him just not wanting to put up with the crap. He felt like his head would blow up if he heard one more comment about their school's rivalry. The Salvatore school has only been around for ten years at this point, and people have acted like it was this way since the Civil War. He regretted going to that Founder's Day parade. Cult was probably a better word.

He just got out of the bathroom when he heard the garage door close, and went downstairs to help his sister with dinner. “Hi, Mom, Hello Sherif,” Ethan greeted when he walked by the opening garage door.

“Can you take over the chicken?” Maya asked her brother when he entered the kitchen. Ethan nodded, leaving her sister to handle the rice and salad.

Their mom walked into the kitchen after storing away her equipment in her room, and said, “Sorry I’m late, there was a last-minute call on my shift,” before asking her kids, “Do you need any help?”.

“Nope,” both of her kids responded almost instantly.

“Okay,” Their mom said before taking a seat at the kitchen table.

“Feel free to take a seat at the table,” Taylor said to both Finch and Sherif before quickly offering, “Do you want anything to drink?”.

“No, thank you, I still have to drive myself home,” The sheriff responded, while getting off the couch to take. Normally, he didn’t care that much about it, but he felt like he had to set a good example for both of the two new kids. Ethan didn’t see any equipment on him and guessed he had left it in his car.

Finch took a spot at the table before saying, “No, but thanks for the offer”.

Things stayed quiet after that, until he and Maya were done cooking dinner. “Dinner is ready, dish yourself up,” his sister said.

Dinner started off quietly before the Sheriff started to make some small talk, “You just moved here a few months ago, correct? How are you liking it so far?” he asked.

“Yes, we moved here later in June, and it's a good town,” Taylor said, sharing the same sentiment with her daughter, who stayed quiet.

“It’s nice, but it could be better, Sheriff,” Ethan said as nicely as possible. He didn’t hate it here, he was just having more of a rougher time adapting than everyone else.

“I’m off duty, so call me Matt, and I’m sorry to hear that,” Matt responded. He truthfully debated leaving this town too many times to count, and each time, he hasn’t. Depending on how well Taylor adapted to the normal hidden side of Mystic Fall’s, he would use that as his excuse to leave town.

“Ethan, be nice, and it would help if you tried to get along with your team or get out more,” His mom said, not wanting him to be rude to her boss.

“It’s fine, what sport do you play?” Matt asked.

“Football,” Ethan responded.

“Is the couch still Cinger?” Matt asked. Ethan just nodded, not knowing where this was going.

“Yikes, sorry you have to deal with him,” Matt said honestly as he and Tyler debated dropping football just because of him. Tyler made it easier when he was a Hybrid.

Ethan didn't know what to say to do that and just nodded. The coach was a massive prick, but compared to his teammates, he didn’t look like an angel, but something less than a nuisance.

Maya thankfully saved him. “How were your days at work?” She asked, hoping to avoid an awkward silence.

For Taylor, it was oddly refreshing since before she moved here, she constantly had something major going and since then, it’s been tiny stuff, the most major thing was a drunk brawl in the 9 months. While Matt saw it as a bad sign, since the Donovan bell rang ten years ago, the town has been mostly normal, with minor crimes, and now, since whatever happened in the Salvatore school, things have started getting weird. The other cases were just marked as runaways, like his sisters, but this was the first sign of a struggle.

Matt finally decided to say "Interesting,". Which sharply contrasted with Taylor’s response of “good”.

He felt bad for his response since he wasn’t paying attention to his newest officer, he didn’t have any right to govern how people parented, especially if they were better than his mom and dad. The sheriff was fully expecting his deputy to be upset with him, but didn’t see much of a facial reaction.

“Did something happen, Mom?” Maya asked, seeing the difference in their replies. She didn’t know if they were on different cases or not.

The sheriff remained silent, allowing Taylor to make up her mind on what to say. “There was a home invasion, which led to the disappearance of the family. Connor Lockwood, one of your classmates, was taken,” The deputy sheriff responded. She thought her family would be fine, but it didn't hurt to warn them. Ethan felt bad for him despite not having a nice interaction with him, while Maya and Finch were unaffected.

Taylor looked incredulously at her boss when he snorted at the word lockword. Matt didn’t mean to snort, but it felt insulting to lump the people most of the town called fraudwoods with Tyler’s family. “Sorry, I have complicated feelings about the frauds,” Matt said.

Ethan knew this was probably a bad time to ask this, but he wanted confirmation, “Did Connor actually try to burn someone alive?” He asked. He expected his mom to yell his name, given she was still eating and probably didn’t want to think about it while eating.

Matt was surprised that Ethan knew about that incident, the frauds had taken great effort to bury it, and were largely successful. “Yes, he attempted it,” Matt responded. He guessed Ethan learned it probably from rumors.

“But that's not why they are called the Fraudwoods. Richard and Mason, were the only official children of Charles. He had an affair, and that’s how Noah was born, and his own actions didn’t help him, and he was kicked out of town. He came back seven years ago when he heard my best friend was killed, and now he was the last of the line, and the town only puts up with him and his children because of their family's founder status," Matt explained. Most of the town also hoped that Connor and his half brother’s kids turned out better. Connor was the one born under a similar situation to Noah, while Jackson was actually born to Noah's wife.

Truthfully, Matt only bothered trying to clean up the case was because of a few reasons. Jackson appeared to be mostly innocent from Noah. He owed a lot to Tyler and felt like he would have tried to help despite their situation, and finally, because it was a part of his job. Dinner quickly turned out from that conversation and shifted into a more lighter tone before he left and wished the family goodnight. He ended up giving a ride to the young werewolf.

Chapter Text

Alaric Pov Salvatore Lower gyms March 6th 6:48 AM

Once again Alaric was being punched around by his most dangerous student. He didn’t like it one bit, but it made for a great motivation. It had been about 3 years or so since the last time they had a ‘’‘friendly’’’ match. Friendly was used with a lot of air quotes because it seemed like Hope was determined to prove how weak a human body was. For once the gym lacked any werewolf in sight, but that was mainly because of doors being locked and the warning sign. And the older werewolves knew better than to stumble in right now with the fight going on.

Alaric wouldn’t be surprised if his ribs were bruised after this, Alaric didn’t know if he should be thankful or afraid that they were just sticking with hand to hand, with no weapons nearby. Maybe teaching Hope how to use a variety of weapons wasn’t the best idea, in any reality. It was more humiliating to Alaric when it became clear for the most part Hope was rusty. At least with strictly hand to hand combat, it made sense since during recruitment missions she mainly stuck to magic. Despite how rusty she was he was still getting slapped around by her. It was more frustrating because of the constant happy grin stuck on her face like she was the time of her life. “Enjoying yourself?” Alaric asked rhetorically knowing the answer, dodging the knife hand to his temple.

“Yes, I’m getting paid to beat you up,” Hope said happily. Still keeping up her barge of attacks having not been forced to be play on the defensive yet.

“That’s not how I would put it, but suit yourself,” Dr. Saltzman said. He was unfortunately caught off guard, and was quickly pinned to the wood.

“Zero for you and twenty for me,” Hope taunted when she let go of her pin.

Dr. Saltzman probably should have expected that as soon as he stood up Hope would start with her attacks again. At least she was somewhat better than Klaus. Klaus would keep beating down, at least she allowed him to stand up before fighting. “Just remember if you want to keep this up don’t start any fights,” Alaric reminded her of their strained deal.

“That isn’t going to be an issue until you cancel these beat up sessions again,” Hope said with a bit of frustration already expecting that, sending a low kick to his knee caps which he blocked. Or if he did something stupid.

“Then behave,” Alaric said, knowing he had a filing cabinet of incidents that she was directly behind. He blocked a punch aimed at his side.

“It would be easier if I had a better outlet like wolfing out,” Hope shot back, managing to land a snap kick to Alaric’s stomach.

“And pose a greater risk to vampires? no thanks,” Alaric said when he caught his breath and managed to successfully dodge her follow up attack.

“I was doing it responsible, no vampire was harmed, or suffered major consequences,” Hope stated a truthful fact. “As for the other vampires, sorry most of them have an ego frailer than hormonal werewolf,” Hope responded she only stated maybe 15 of the fights. Most of the vampires were acting out from frustration after Andrew was killed because none of them helped kill him for his actions. And they were trying to prove something for the remainder of the year, and they decided to go after her because of her relation with Henry. Since Henry had left, and Jed being busy doing his own stuff.

“Have you ever thought about getting a punching bag than?” Alaric asked half seriously, not concerned why she didn’t. Since he was busy avoiding her kicks specifically aimed for his head.

“What is a punching bag going to do against destructive magic and sharp claws?” Hope asked, catching the first punch Alaric has thrown so far. “I’m going to have to fix it every other day,” Hope said, knowing there was only such magic that could fix. Hope twisting his caught arm behind his back and shoving his head in the wood floor.

“Zero for you and twenty one me,” Hope said, her tone being a bit less upbeat. She didn’t expect for the results to be any different for a long while. She let go of her pin, to allow Alaric another attempt.

When Alaric got up he had to immediately block a kick with his forearm making him wince from the sudden increase in strength from her werewolf side to prove her point. It was obvious with her eyes glowing an eerie golden which radiated as much strength. “Really?” was all that Dr. Saltzman asked annoyed.

“Yes,” Hope said, not bothered by her actions, she held back. He should be grateful for that much. She could have easily snapped his forearm clean off with how much strength she could have used.

“Are you trying to be more like your dad?” Alaric asked rhetorically.

“Shut up!” Hope barked at him, throwing a punch directly to his face. Which he managed to dodge, knowing blocking wouldn’t have been close to a smart idea.

“At the very least I know my dad loved me, unlike your daughters, who question that simple fact,” Hope said. She knew it was a low blow but didn’t care. Hope knew that her dad loved her too much, and that’s why he was dead. While Alaric seemed to avoid his kids whenever possible.

“He isn’t a good person!” Alaric snapped remembering everything he did to his adoptive daughter and their group of friends. And he despised Hope’s comment. He loved his daughters. He had to start evading the angry attacks of Hope.

“All he did to you and friends was him staring at you and said, obey, which you didn’t,” Hope said, believing they brought it on themselves. But compared to some people they got off light and had no room to complain.

“Were we supposed to allow him to kill who he pleased?!” Alaric demanded remembering how terrified everyone was of him, and seeing flashes of everyone who he killed. The most prominent were Jenna, and Elena technically.

“You got off light, there’re still vampires hiding because of their fear of him. Multiple have commit suicide to run away from him,” The tribrid stated. Kol accidently stumbled upon one of the hiding vampires in San Francisco. Hope didn’t need to be told to know they probably killed themselves to avoid in their mind a painful death from her dad.

“That’s just more proof that he isn’t a good person, and why you shouldn’t be like him!” Dr. Saltzman snapped, while managing to land a punch against Hope.

“If he wasn’t a good person he would have allowed me to be killed when it became too difficult to keep me alive! And you're ignoring multiple things because he was the ‘greatest evil’,” Hope spat, while giving him a more brutal punch than the one she got. She hated that damn book.

“He deserves that title, and he was just going to use you!” Alaric countered. Knowing Tyler’s guess of what was happening was probably true, and he was just plotting like always. Alaric was just focusing on staying intact at this point.

“He wouldn’t have, he loved me,” Hope said. She hated everything she made him go through because of her. She remembered feeling so broken after he stopped contacting when she astral projecting into a bloodbath of his. Hope knew it even then when she was 12, probably even younger, maybe closer to 5 or 6 because this stupid school beat it into everyone’s head. How he was a monster incapable of love or mercy. That her dad killed a lot of people, but she didn’t hate him. She was just shocked since she never saw anything close to this. He was so careful, restrained, and joyful around her.

The Tribrid remembered trying to astral project to him on multiple occasions but it was pointless, he just pretended not to see her. Her dad was so afraid that he broke her, ruined her, he ran. Hope made the fucking legendary Klaus Mikaelson run away, something only his non-biological dad was capable of before. It stung her soul just thinking about it. And it was worse when he gave her the only hybrid dagger for birthday with a note that was forever ingrained in her memory. “If I ever hurt you or ruin you any more, in any way, I won’t hold it against you if you use it against me for a century or two,”.

That was the last contact she had with her dad for 2 years. It pained Hope that she didn’t get a chance to try and talk it out with her dad. It was why she was so desperate to get a chance to fix things with her dad, that she used a modified sleeping spell on her mom. The same one used by Dahlia on herself with Freya. And despite being the reason why her own mother died, he didn’t hate her. She often wondered if he did blame her for his death and uncle Elijah’s death, despite his final words.

Alaric was surprised that he managed to last this long against Hope when she was this angry and it just appeared that she was out for blood. Like a Hunter of the brotherhood of Five or Rayna Cruz, who smelled vampire blood nearby, or from a fight. Unfortunately he got sloppy and was soon shoved into the wood flooring, which probably would leave an imprint. “You deserved that,” Hope said not caring for the consequence especially when said adult knew it was a touchy subject.

“Just go,” Alaric said, seriously regretting his words that led to that beat down. It only became more imperative in his mind that he needed to stop Hope from becoming like anyone in her family. He didn’t know if the world had a chance against her. Especially if she turned out like Klaus, if she turned out like Elijah they could probably survive until they had a method. Hope didn’t need to be told twice especially when she just wanted to beat him up, and quickly left.

Alaric let out a slight grunt removing his head from the freshly made imprint on the floor. He slowly got up, carefully not to aggravate his impressive amount of injuries, impressive in the fact he got so few major injuries. Dr. Saltzman downed a thing of vampire blood he brought with himself. He knew the risks but he just had to be careful for the next 24 hours, which was a simple task.

The headmaster stumbled out of the gym while the vampire blood was working its magic. It quickly got to work, and he was perfectly fine by the time he reached his office's doors. Of all of the people he expected to see waiting for one reason or another, Matt Donovan wasn’t close to the top of the list. He was at the very bottom considering the reluctant contact they had in his case.

“Good to see you Matt, what can I do for you?” Alaric asked his former student, who was now the sheriff of the town. At this point they were just business partners, the school occasionally did favors for him, and the department did favors for them.

“Rember when you called about Nick and Landon showing back up?” The sheriff asked.

“Yes,” was the simple response Alaric gave. Which reminded him he forgot to give him a follow up call maybe that’s what’s about?

“Is Nick here in the school?” Matt asked.

“Yes, why?” Alaric said, not knowing what he did.

“I need to talk to him about something he might be related to,” Matt stated his reason for visiting. He knew it was a stretch given what Nick had done but it was something.

“What is happening?” Dr. Saltzman asked.

“The Fraudwoods have been kidnapped, and there have been other disappearances that look like the handy work of a vampire just last night,” The Town sheriff stated.

“So you're accusing one of my students of kidnapping an entire family, and or an entire group of them to be kidnappers?” Alaric asked, not liking the insinuation.

Matt just stared at his old teacher before simply replying. “I’m not accusing him, I’m just saying evidence isn’t in his favor and it’s not that far of a stretch. And I remember you promising if a vampire student acted up they were fair game,” Matt reminded him. He would kill them in front of the entire school to make an example if necessary.

Alaric sighed knowing it was true, he grabbed the barrier’s monitor notebook from out of his desk and tossed it to the sheriff. “That has the barrier’s record for cross reference," The headmaster explained. He waited a few moments for the Sheriff to dig through it.

“This track’s every single person who goes through your school’s barrier, correct?” Matt asked while double checking the names and dates that aligned with disappearances. He didn’t see any overlap based on exit and return times.

“Yes,” Alaric replied, forgetting that the barrier didn’t work on tracking the movements of naturals and species with no connections to any of the known species at the time.

“Tell whoever made the spell to fix it. It’s recording both Hope and Rafael multiple times,” Matt said looking a bit further back to see if any student fell through the cracks. He didn’t see when Landon or Nick entered or left the school, and had to hope it wasn’t necessary.

Alaric knew it would record Hope three times because of the dormant Vampire blood, and Active Witch and Werewolf genes. But he was shocked to see the same thing with Rafael. He knew Landon and Nick wouldn’t show because they weren't one of the normal species.

Entry: Rafael February 27th 1:48 PM
Entry: Rafael February 27th 1:48 PM

“I will have one of the staff members take a look at it later,” Alaric said. It made some sense, maybe it needs a repair job since it has been up for 10 years.

“Okay, let’s go talk to Nick,” Matt stated, placing the notebook back on the desk, while motioning to the door. Hoping Alaric would get the hint, and lead the way since he had no idea where he was going.

Fortunately Alaric understood and led the way to where Nick would most likely be. When they arrived at the brother’s room, they were lucky enough to catch Nick, but they also had to deal with the others. It was Rafael who greeted them kind of. “Nick Guests! Welcome,”.

“I’m not blind yet, and I have ears!” The middle brother said to his brother and referring to the knocking them asking if he was there. “Hello,” Nick responds from his corner of the room, before switching to a more serious tone when addressing the adults.

“Hello, can you two please step out for a minute? We need to talk to Nick for a minute,” The Sheriff spoke, referring to Landon and Rafael. Landon shot a look to his brother who responded with his own, and the other brothers stepped out of their room.

“Nick this Matt Donovan the sheriff,” Alaric quickly introduced.

“I’m aware,” Nick responded simply. He had already met the Sheriff before during his original stay.

“Nick, I have a few questions for you,” Matt stated.

“Is this an official questioning or off the books," Nick asked, while still remaining in that completely neutral tone. while the adult waited for some kind of sign of agreement.

“Off the books,” Matt responded after thinking it through for a minute. “Have you met with Connor post re arrival,” Matt asked.

“Yes, at a community service thing as punishment for taking school property,” Nick stated.

“Did anything happen?” Matt asked.

“He just called me a criminal, and an adult broke it off while it was still verbal,” Nick said honestly.

“Have you left the school since returning to school grounds?” Matt asked not remembering seeing anything in the barrier logs.

“No,” Nick said without missing a beat.

“What happened to the asshole?” Nick said not caring about him, just what he was accused of.

“His entire family was kidnapped in the middle of the day,” Matt explained the basic point.

“Okay, so you are excusing me of kidnaping an entire family, well enough to the point you are asking me, not containing me because of evidence. When the previous worst thing I have been convicted of was assault and battery with lethal force justified by self defense?" Nick asked to make sure he didn’t miss a point. He didn’t know if he should feel honoured that people were accusing him of basically flawless kidnapping people on the first go.

“Yes, it’s just that most people thought that you would be willing to abduct an entire family as a form of revenge against him. And it’s because there was too much evidence to find a spot to trace it back to someone,” Matt stated, also thinking it was a load of bull crap. But it was his job, and he needed to do it, especially since very few officers were aware of the supernatural, maybe 10 including him.

“Just because most villains make use of hostages, doesn’t mean I would. The only one who has done anything to me or my brothers was Connor,” Nick said. He didn’t hate his family, he just hated the person who attempted the actions. Scratch that he was also annoyed with the mom and dad for covering it up but that was a different matter.

“So you are claiming that you had no prior knowledge of this crime? Or any direct form of involvement in this event?” Matt asked clearly.

“Yes I had No prior knowledge or involvement in this event of the Connor’s family disappearing,” Nick clearly stated.

“Thank you,” was the simple reply Matt said, getting off the middle bed, and left the room. Dr. Saltzman quickly followed after him.

“Listen, I need a favor from your students. Have a group go into Mystic Falls High to investigate the disappearances," Matt stated. So far everyone minus the Lockwoods excluding Connor was a student there. “And keep an eye out on the vampires, or any other problem students,” Matt added, while walking the opposite direction back to his squad car.

Alaric sighed, he genuinely thought that the monsters would just settle for all of the supernatural students huddled together and wouldn’t waste their time with normal people. But he hoped that wasn’t the case with the wraith chasing Dorian, and it was just a vampire. He didn’t know how a new vampire or an older vampire managed to slip into Mystic Falls almost completely undetected. And as much as he wanted to trust Finch to figure it out, he knew it would take a while.

Dr. Saltzman quickly texted the staff group chat to let them gather students up for an assembly. He just needed to get a cell ready, and shove a criminal inside of it. He had a drug that would knock out the known supernaturals for a few hours, he just hoped it would work on whatever Nick was.

Landon pov Salvatore Room 7:02 AM

Landon was extremely nervous when a cop showed up to their room to question their brother. Both Landon and Rafael knew their brother didn’t have a stellar record. Landon took most of that blame on himself, knowing Nick did half of that stuff for him. Landon felt so much relief hit him when he saw the sheriff walk out without his brother, and saw an identical face on Rafael.

Landon didn’t wait for a go ahead and rushed up the stairs to make sure his middle brother was okay. Landon was shocked to see Nick feeling relieved and his body shaking from nervousness, like he had just ran a marathon.

“Nick, are you okay?” Landon asked nervously not knowing if this was a good idea but his worry took over.

“Yeah. you would think after dealing with cops multiple times I would be used to it,” Nick stated while it looked like he was trying to calm down. It felt like he was tempting the curse to snap open every single time.

“What did they want?” Rafael asked aware that Nick was with them almost constantly since coming back.

“Landon, good news, Connor disappeared," Nick said. Landon didn’t know how to feel about it, he felt relieved at the news, since he still had nightmares about it. But they stopped when he was 12, and if they didn’t, Landon knew he would be fine with the revelation he was a phoenix.

“Nick, what happened?” Rafael asked, not sure what to do with the information.

“He was kidnapped, and it was an off the books visit because of lack of evidence. I’m fine” Nick said.

Landon felt happy at the news his brother wasn’t in any form of trouble. None of them had anything to add following this allowing Nick to fall back on his bed trying to let the stress leave his body. Landon didn’t know how much time had passed when they saw one of the paper slips float in.

“There is a mandatory assembly,” Landon said when he caught the paper, both of the brothers just nodded their heads and left their room.

Landon was becoming more and more nervous and all of the guilt was starting to build up again, he was calmed down when Rafael placed his hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze which he needed. “Thanks,” Landon whispered softly knowing his brother's werewolf sense would have picked it up.

When they turned at the end of the staircase that led up to their room. Landon heard his heart more clearly than anything else while he had vampire hearing. He saw their principal holding a tranq gun. Landon couldn’t think straight. What the hell were they supposed to do when their principal had a gun pointed at them! Landon did the first instinct that filled his mind, getting out of sight. When he flung himself behind an object, he stupidly turned around to see if there was something behind them. Landon couldn’t think straight and just continued to panic. Like always, always the burden.

There was nothing, instead it only gave him a better view of Nick having multiple bullets inside of his chest. Rafael turned around the corner to see his brother fall backwards on the ground, and quickly turned around and didn’t question anything and just tried to attack Dr. Saltzman.

“Calm down both of you!” Dr. Saltzman demanded, pointing the tranqgun directly at the werewolf.

“You just shot our brother!” Rafael screamed filled with hatred.

“He needs to be contained for a while,” Dr. Saltzman said.

“He did nothing!” Rafael screamed. Trying to figure out a safe way to either disarm the adult or get his brothers out of here.

Dr. Saltzman slowly walked forward. “He is possessed and it will be better for everyone if is contained,” he said simply while trying to reach the unconscious body.

Both Landon and Rafael knew that was a load of bullshit, they would have known if something was up. Nick was fine. “HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Rafael screamed, fully considering ripping the bastard's throat out.

“Prove it,” Alaric demanded, he didn’t want to think people were capable of this kind of stuff but, there was Klaus. The principal knew full well that supernaturals could often do horrific actions easily, especially when adapting. Look at Stefan for something even a normal vampire could do.

“Find who or whatever kidnapped Connor and his family,” Dr. Saltzman stated his terms. When he got close enough to Nick's body, he grabbed him by the feet to drag his unconscious form off. While keeping the tranquilezer aimed at Rafael’s heart.

Rafael knew he couldn’t do anything, and he hated it. He knew the bullets would be increased to handle supernaturals like him. And that would get them nowhere, more important Landon would have a breakdown. Rafael just had to trust his brother would be okay, and could escape soon enough. Afterwards they seriously need to discuss if they should stay.

The werewolf brother walked over to Landon to see the damage. Landon was shaking from fear, Rafael couldn’t blame Landon. Nick was an annoying constant in their life, but he was their brother. Both were afraid for him, they just needed to have hope that he could survive. “Are doing okay?” Rafael asked knowing a negative would be given.

“What do you think?!” Landon accidentally snapped on the verge of full on breakdown. Hating his existence for being nothing but trouble and completely useless.

“I’m sorry It’s just,” Landon tried to start but soon started to hyperventile blaming their entire situation on his existence, it was the easiest thing to do.

Rafael sat next to Landon, and shoved on a calm facing knowing all of his anger would make things worse. He just rubbed his older brothers back, while speaking softly “Nick didn’t do it,” Rafael reminded them believing that. “He will be fine, we just need to prove it,” Rafael said.

Landon knew it was true, but his mind wouldn’t calm down. His only thoughts he could hear were the ones hating himself, blaming himself. His mind was becoming frantic, unable to latch on to anything concrete, he felt so many thoughts but couldn’t make them out. He should have taken the bullets, it didn’t matter if he died. He would just walk it off in the next few hours, it’s the only thing he could be potentially used for as a meat shield that never died.

The Phoenix hybrid just wanted to spite the adult, for creating hell for no reason. Adults were supposed to be reasonable and yet that never seemed to be true.”WE will prove it,” Landon said, he didn’t care about being selfish right now, Nick was in trouble because of him, he needed to make it right.

Josie pov Salvatore Room 7:23 AM

Josie was frustrated once again, She just wanted to have a meal in peace again. If it wasn’t MG annoying her by trying to apologize when she made it clear before that bridge was destroyed, then it was Penelope, but unfortunately it was both almost all of the time. The siphoner was frustrated with Penelop’s actions, previously when they were dating she had to fight for some time alone, and now it was too easy. Penelope always seemed to be around her. Penelope broke up with her, why couldn’t she leave her alone.

Then Lizzie was constantly complaining about how Rafael was turning down all of her advances and was just generally ranting. One of the more funny things she said was “Everyone has a crush on that she-devil,” It made Josie cringe because it made her remember when she fell into the category. Josie chose not to mention how close she was to Landon instead, to save herself more of a headache.

It was thankfully cut short when they got a magic paper slip saying assembly immediately in the main hall. Normally she would hope it was bad news about Hope, along the lines of her dying, expelled, or her being outed as a Mikaelson. But this time she just wanted this situation they were stuck in with the monsters and the knife to just be done with.

They were a part of the last group of students to arrive, which made her feel bad. Of course Lizzie immediately spotted Rafael and went to sit next time. Josie contemplated sitting anywhere else, but soon saw the only open spots were right next to Hope, MG, and Penelope. Upon seeing these Josie sat next to her twin.

“Good Morning Rafael,” Lizzie happily greeted her crush, trying to make small talk. But it was brutally cut off.

“Shut up,” Rafael said in a harsh tone that could have snapped iron. His hands were violently twitching, and his leg was bouncing in place. Josie could hear a vampire complaining but she didn’t comment.

Josie was slightly afraid when she saw the blood hungry look often depicted on the Mikealson on both of the brothers when they saw her dad take the spot on the podium. It looked very out of place on both, especially Landon who always looked to be happy go lucky.

“Last night six people have disappeared, three of them from the neighbouring high school. Connor Lockwood, Dana Lilien, and Sasha Storeraux. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal but given the evidence surrounding them, we have decided to assume the worst. A new supernatural in town or a monster,” Alaric started informing the people who didn’t know why they were gathered up.

“Now, I’ll need a few of you to volunteer to go to Mystic Falls High under the guise of an exchange program,” Alaric requested from his students. “Meant to improve relations between our schools, which is even more necessary given recent events,” upon mentioning the last bit, multiple students glared at the Flag football team but thankfully no one stared at her. Most stared at Lizzie hearing that she started the fight.

“Now during this mission, I give you full permission to compel them to gather material, and magic with locator spells to truth spells if used discreetly, Because any information will make a huge difference, and the authorities will handle the rest following your return here,” Alaric set up the ground rules. He stopped for the people to volunteer themselves.

Landon and Rafael didn’t need to be told twice and quickly stood up still shooting a hostile glare at the adult. Confusing Josie, even more so with the disappearance of Nick, maybe he was sick? But it was very rare for supernaturals to get sick or for it to become serious. Witches were the most common to be sick but sick cases were far few and in between, a normal year they had maybe 3 students skip because they felt ill.

Lizzie soon followed, Josie guessed because it would allow her to spend time near Rafael. She rolled her eyes when her twin started a speech thinking it was unnecessary. “I started this mess, and I want to help clean it up, so I volunteer as Tribute," Lizzie stated in a dramatic fashion, whilst trying to act sincere, probably not fooling anyone. Most people thought she just wanted attention again.

Alaric wanted to object more so when Josie stood up. She honestly wanted to help these people, and she knew they would probably become two people down from Lizzie trying something with Rafael. Their group quickly gained two more with “I’m in,” from MG, and “I’m in too,” from Kaleb. Josie wanted to groan and hope this wasn’t a dumb attempt to apologize, and even more so when Penelope invited herself with a simple “Sign me up,”. A second werewolf volunteered, Josie knew it was Emily because Lizzie mentioned her being a nuisance when she was helping younger years on Friday.

Josie was surprised that she found herself thankful at the sound of Hope’s, “I’d like to help,” Josie knew it wasn’t sincere but it was shockingly convincing before she had to remind herself of her parents and family. At the very least she wouldn’t be stuck dealing as a third wheel between Lizzie and Rafael, or stuck alone with either Penelope or MG. Josie knew right she could tolerate Hope’s presence. And that thought shocked herself greatly.

Alaric waited a few moments to see if they would have any last minute volunteers before dismissing everyone, and told the volunteers to wait outside of the school building for the Salvatore bus to pick them up.

MG pov Salvatore Halls 7: 40 AM

MG soon followed after his best friend to ask him what the hell he did. He knew Kaleb had been feeding on the locals. He trusted his friend to behave or to do it responsibly. He soon caught up to his older friend, “What were you thinking?” MG asked. He didn’t know what his friend was doing. Kaleb volunteering or him killing, accidentally converting, and kidnapping, some kind of that combination.

The younger vampire knew the unspoken amongst vampires. They wouldn't use their advance hearing to eavesdrop if it was private. Or on other vampires and he knew no werewolves or witches would be on the designated vampire floor.

“Can you tell me why you were shooting me that dirty look?” Kaleb asked, his friend pissed at that look.

“I know you were feeding on Dana,” MG Harshly whispered, still not wanting to get his friend in trouble.

“Yes feeding,” Kaleb said, not feeling required to elaborate on the difference between feeding and draining dry.

“Listen, vampire to vampire, the reason why I agreed to this boy scout adventure was to get this vampire back on track, before anyone else,” Kaleb said, but truthfully he was pained at the look MG shot him. That one of his closest friends thought he was capable of killing or kidnapping a random innocent girl like him before he got fangs.

“Okay, but I will be seeing this mission through,” MG said, not seeing the reason to stated the obvious.

“Vamps before tramps,” Kaleb said at this point his motto, and it showed the line they drew. Kaleb soon left for his room to get ready for their mission.

MG just wanted to rip the band aid off and head off to Mystic Falls High, and vamped to his room. He quickly shoved his vampire textbooks and blood snack out of his bag, and vamped to entrance. The vampire probably should have expected to having to deal with Penelope.

She looked annoyed, scratch that, her eyes showed her hatred for his existence which wasn’t new at this point. That look became a common sight to him. They would often run into each other in the mornings recently trying to make up to Josie. And each time Penelope told him to knock it off and he should go to Lizzie, and other pieces of advice or orders depending on her mood.

He wanted to be friends with Josie just like before, while having a relationship with Lizzie. Why couldn’t Penelope understand that? “What's the look for this time?” MG asked almost completely unaffected by it given the constant exposure to it.

“What do you think you're doing? This isn't part of our plan for you,” Penelope said in a harsh tone upset with MG and his constant uselessness.

“Not everything is about your plan, and our deal,” MG said in a shy tone, he hated that he sounded weak.

“Okay so you volunteering after the twins has nothing to do with our deal?” Penelope asked rhetorically. To her this was a golden chance and MG here would screw it up with his recent disobedience.

Extreme best case scenario Lizzie dies, and Josie would need comfort from her giving proximity and previous closeness. While an acceptable scenario was driving the wedge between the twins bigger. Penelope believed that MG would somehow fix that rift, and undermine her work.

“Not everything I have to do is about Lizzie,” MG said, upset that she would think so low of him. “I just want to help people okay?” he asked, not caring what her answer was.

“If by helping people, you mean, lending aid to Lizzie, you are indeed correct,” Penelope replied not believing this was out of the goodness of his heart.

This situation could easily change the future and she needs to be in control as much as possible. Which would be difficult given MG's less than delicate hands and experience. “Listen, let's just say on the spot improvising if it helps you sleep,” MG said not understanding why she was dragging this out.

Penelope wanted to slap MG for being so stupid. And yet that was the reason why she chose him. He could easily be controlled or manipulated. “Well your improv skills leave a lot to be desired in that case,” The brunette witch said simply.

“I don't see anything I did wrong,” MG said incredulously, not understanding what she was saying.

Penelope didn't even try to hide her sign of disappointment. “Okay Lizzie is in here to prove she is capable of doing something right by herself, more importantly unfocused attention on herself because of her heroic efforts. You being here means she has to share the spotlight,” Penelope explained what was going through the inferior siphoner's head.

“Then I don't take any of the credit problems solved,” MG said it was like a simple solution to their problems. MG chose to leave out almost all of the school and will view it as a group effort. It didn't matter because they were soon joined by Kaleb with the twins.

Hope pov Salvatore halls 7:30 AM

Hope soon caught up to Landon and his singular brother with him. Most of the time it was Nick not Rafael attached to his side. She got nervous when she saw Landon's faces, how hated filled he looked, it was especially shocking seeing a look that seemed completely foreign to his face. The tribrid got confused and didn't know what to do.

She knew she probably choose the wrong option available. Hope just thought Nick was running late and decided to give them space, but then Nick didn’t show up and the spots around them filled up when she debated switching seats.

“Landon, where's your other brother,” Hope asked, slightly nervous not wanting to ruin her one friendship at this school.

Rafael responded before Landon could, who looked conflicted and pissed at that thought. “That bastard shot him, dragged him to the basement, and made us be his errand boys,” Rafael said seething. Hope somehow knew it was Alaric who was being referred to as a bastard.

“What did Alaric think he did?” Hope asked, knowing the man often ran head first, and acted impulsively. There was multiple examples the better known ones were the prison world formed in 2018 for three potential criminals not given a chance to defend themselves, and the multiple dumb attempts on the Mikaelsons.

“Nick and Connor, have bad history, and with his dissappear,” Landon left the last part unsaid. Landon looked ashamed at the part he mentioned of them having bad history, which she knew the phoenix blamed himself for, despite not knowing anything about it.

Hope felt bad for Landon, knowing what he was going through. She remembered how afraid that she was when Henry was kidnapped by Greta. And truthfully she hated how he looked. She had seen him sad, but never something that looked depressed or ashamed of himself, and most prevalently a fire consuming his eyes. It just felt wrong to see a fire that seemed like it didn’t care about anything other than his single current focus, saving his brother.

Hope hugged him hoping that would help him somewhat. “I will help anyway I can, just let me know how,” the tribrid request of her friend.

“We can't do anything until he becomes conscious,” Landon said. The brothers were worried about the middle sibling, but they knew he would be fine once he woke up. They just need to prove his innocence and then haul ass and get away.

“Do I need to sneak him a key?” Hope asked, while thinking of how to steal one from Jake since he and Alaric were the only ones with a key to the werewolf cellulars most of the time.

Both Landon and Rafael shook their heads, which confused Hope. “He will not need a key,” Rafael said simply like it was fact.

“Listen if you want to help us. Help us find who is responsible,” Landon said to his friend. They proved Nick's innocence, they could haul ass without being chased, but once he got out they were moving.

“Okay,” Hope said, wanting to do more for her friend. Landon and Rafael soon ran off to their room to deal with their situation.

Hope felt ashamed of herself, originally she just wanted to join this mission to stretch her legs. Yes she could help people, but another huge factor was Alaric got her all worked up and left her frustrated she couldn't just blow off her magic up in the woods. The tribrid needed her restraint bracelet on right now to prevent any major accidental burst.

While the one person who didn’t die on her, yet. Was doing this because the dumbass in charge decided to be a dumbass, and put one of their most important people in danger. Hope wondered if she disappeared or got captured if Landon would care? She felt ashamed that she was thinking of this especially right now.

It didn't matter, she needed to lock in, and try to treat this like any other mission. Hope when she got to her room soon empty out her backpack of anything obviously magical, including books. The tribrid didn't have mundane items that she couldn't put in her backpack, much less potential weapons.

She didn’t have enough time to try and put a cloaking spell on a weapon. Hope would have to rely on her innate abilities this time. The tribrid when she left her single room wasn't expecting to see the said dumbass from earlier.

“What do you want?” Hope asked rudely while making it clear she locked her door with both the key and magic. If Alaric didn't recognize the spells he would have a wonderful time if he somehow managed to get in. Thank you Davina and Freya, okay it was Kol’s idea, they just made it.

“I want to know what you are doing or thinking?” Dr. Saltzman asked. He was truthfully afraid somehow Hope got taken and something took her place. So far as he could tell this potential imposter was physically identical and had access to magic.

Hope didn’t mean to but her frustration for Landon got the better of her, and eyes quickly turned into the signature golden color of an angry werewolf. “I can think of a few reasons,” Hope said with her malice visible in her voice.

At the very least it confirmed to Alaric this was Hope. He would be wondering if someone slipped her happy pills if it wasn’t for the angry drenching her words. The principal was used to her being angry and continued to press forward. “Can you please give me some then?” Alaric asked, wanting to make sure she wasn’t up to one of her Mikaelson games.

Hope’s head visibly flinched from frustration from this, maybe he should have brought an anti tribrid grenade with him. “Here is a short list for you idiot,” The tribrid said, not trying to play nice right now, and knowing she has done worse without getting in trouble.

“One, I always wanted to be normal for a day and this is my best chance to live in that illusion for day, two you may think a Mikaelson is incapable of being good but I want to help, and Three as a fuck you for this morning and your brainless action,” Hope stated her reasoning for joining the mission.

“ And before you say anything it was offered to the student base so I'm allowed to join to stretch my legs,” The second youngest Mikaelson said, cutting off Dr. Saltzman before he said or attempted anything to dumb.

“Fine,” Alaric said begrudgingly, admitting she had a point. Maybe next time she would call down a set group of students down for a mission and just have an announcement assembly.

“So what quote on quote brainless actions are you upset with me about?” Alaric asked, knowing she normally didn’t care about much unless it directly affected her.

“Was it really necessary to fucking kidnap and shove one of your students inside one of the werewolf cells because they are suspect? Better fucking question did you just do or did you use blue calmaus or a truth or attempted MG”s or another vampire’s pathetic compulsion?” Hope asked with her frustration clear in voice remembering every single pathetic run in and attempted to be the good guy.

“Are you really upset with me containing a suspect?” Alaric asked half seriously, thinking this was ludicrous.

“You never have said anything about this before, is it because it has to do with that poor boy that you have an idiotic obsession with?” Alaric asked, not surprised that she was complaining when her way didn’t happen, or when something didn’t benefit her.

“You need to get the hell out of my personal life,” Hope said not leaving room for this to be challenged, it was a simple order, not even close to a demand with the damage she could inflict, on all of the people around mentally or physically. The merge on the twins, who know much over Caroline with what her dad left her. And physically hunting the people she couldn’t damage mentally.

“And he is incapable of dying on me unlike you with your daughters,” Hope said before adding on to it. “Landon deserves better than you torturing him through his brother and I'm going to help him make it right,” The tribrid said, very tempted to punch the bastard into the wall across from her.

She quickly stormed past the adult to see that she was the last one to show up for the bus to Mystic Fall High. Hope wasn’t late if the bus hadn't shown up yet. The tribrid soon walked over to Landon and Rafael, neither spoke to her. She was expecting that much from Rafael, but it pained her that Landond didn’t even say hi. To be fair they just saw each other and talked to each other maybe ten minutes ago, but still.

Unfortunately for her, Landon, and Rafael, Dr. Saltzman showed up again. As far as she was concerned if those two wanted to kill him, she would help. But they just glared at him while he was going on some more specific stuff about the mission.

The principal gave the two vampires a blood bag and told them to drink, his reasoning was to make sure they didn’t get hungry, but Hope knew it probably contained a slight amount of human blood for easier use of compulsion. And reminded that everything was allowed minus killing, nothing about torturing for information.

“Okay, and remember you're there to heal the damage done at the football game, and you will be taking on someone else's schedule which will be given to you by the school counselor once you arrive. Any questions?” Dr. Saltzman asked mainly to everyone minus hope so no one else had experience.

“What happens if we don’t find anything?” Emily asked, on the off chance nothing was wrong. Landon flinched at the fact they could come up empty handed. Hope grabbed his hand and gave it a recurring squeeze knowing they would find something. Her friend just gave an appreciated nod of head.

“If you don’t find anything then it’s probably a natural, we are just making sure it’s not a monster or rogue vampire with their humanity off,” Alaric answered, but he was positive they would uncover something at the school, scouts were checking out the Lockwood mansion. Emily just nodded her head at the answer.

No one asked anything else, and soon the bus showed up, Dr. Saltzman left but not before wishing the group good luck, and reminding them to work together. But it was very clearly forced, especially when he thought he had the person responsible, and there was a Mikaelson along who would screw it up.

Chapter Text

Penelope pov Mystic Falls High school 7:55 AM

Penelope, while waiting for the bus to get there, and waiting for everyone to show up was trying to figure out a plan that would a) complete what was asked of them, and b) benefit her plans with Josie. Her only tangible thought so far that was to split up to cover more ground, which would separate the toxic influence in Josie’s life away from her.

The brunette witch wasn’t going to try and make Hope cooperate, She knew better than to force a mikealsons hand. Getting Alaric and Caroline to use her magic pens was one of her biggest benefits. And she didn’t know enough about the two new students, who signed up to try and capitalize off them. As long as they stuck the nose in other direction she didn’t care.

The bus soon stopped, and since she was the four closest to the door she held up the alley way. All three people she couldn’t predict or knew how to manage left the bus not waiting for last minute stuff. “Satan, get out of the way will you,” Lizzie asks, wanting to get on with her day.

“Maybe once you tell me if anyone here has a plan,” Penelope countered. She knew most likely she had everyone beat their. They couldn’t do it willy nilly. MG was probably incapable of making a plan, Kaleb wouldn’t care or know where to start with something like this, She didn’t know much about Emily but she didn’t think that the werewolf would think ahead, Lizzie was Lizzie so her plans were invalid, and Penelope unfortunately knew that Josie wouldn’t say anything.

“It doesn’t matter, we just need to compel the right people,” Kaleb said, definitely thinking it was unnecessary. They just run around to compel everyone and get on with their day.

“And doing that means we give the rogue vampire a bright flare saying we are here,” Penelope countered. If someone saw them compel someone, it could unravel them. Or if someone had vervain because they knew or had some by accident somewhere.

“Here’s the plan, you stay out of this while I save the day,” Lizzie said as if their solution was that simple.

The blonde siphoner tried to push past her, but Penelope quickly pushed her on to one of the seats. “Okay since I’m the only one here with a brain, I'm taking charge,” Penelope stated. “Kaleb, you deal with the jocks, Lizzie the cheerleaders, MG you can go find your nerds, Emily look around the average people, Josie you get the popular, and I deal with the rich,” Penelope laid out her plan. MG, despite being a part of the flag football team, could fit better with the nerds, especially after you have a conversation with him.

“Who made you in charge?!” Lizzie angrily demanded, when she stood up from being pushed into one of the bus seats. The older siphoner twin couldn’t budge past Penelope despite trying. Lizzie was upset that Satan had the guts to boss her around.

“Ya, and try to get everyone on board, because I don't see Hope or the new guys,” Kaleb said, upset, but nearly as much as Lizzie.

“Do you want to try and manage Hope or make her listen? It would be impossible,” Penelope rhetorically said like it didn’t need to be spelled out, before adding “The other two have enough real experience to handle themselves,” Knowing that she, the twin siphoners, and the untriggered werewolf have only been to supernatural schools. While MG had been to a private christian school, and Kaleb was at an almost purely sports school.

Everyone unfortunately knew what Penelope was saying was true when she said it would be extremely difficult to near impossible to control or manage Hope. Almost everyone on the bus knew of her origins minus Kaleb, and Emily. Penelope honestly thought they had a better chance of reviving Klaus as a normal human than controlling her.

“Wouldn’t two groups be more effective because we only have two vampires?” Lizzie asked, trying to gain control of the situation and dethrone Penelope from her appointment throne.

Penelope never felt so happy, when Josie came to her defense. It was in a backhanded way but she was desperate enough to count it. “It unfortunately makes sense, and increases our chances of succeeding, if we divide up. And vampires aren’t necessary, it’s only if we majorly screw up,” The brunette siphoner said but in a tone that made it sound like she was washing her mouth out with soap.

Penelope decided to build on to this because it seemed like Lizzie and Kaleb were at least begrudgingly accepting it more easily. “And we need to play our cards right, we are going to be using the Mystic Falls students' excuse of a bunch of rich kids, for why we are asking around, to test the waters and build into those groups,” Penelope explained.

“What wouldn’t me and MG go against that point?” Emily asked after staying quiet until this point, she knew they at least had a solid plan or decent focal point for this to turn out well. And she didn’t want to get involved in a witch pissing match. She would much rather have Hope who had experience with real world situations especially if it was a new vampire, but beggars can’t be choosers.

“Yeah, I could join with Lizzie,” MG quickly joined in with Emily’s complaint or question. He wasn’t opposed to being around people like him, he was just trying to improvise.

“No you two will be the controlled outliers,” Penelope quickly said before diving into elaborate. “Every place forms a social structure so we are going to have you be at the bottom and middle,” She quickly explained her reasoning.

“Now that we got everything sorted out, can we please get going,” Kaleb asked, tired of standing still. Penelope didn’t give any form of verbal affirmation, she moved off the bus, and went on with their goal here. Step one for her is to swap as many pens as possible with her new batch of pens that she just made. These were easier to make since they only needed to make a copy of what was written down for a day compared to the 5 years she set for the other ones.

Landon pov Mystic Falls High 8 AM

Landon hated himself, he caused all of this pain and suffering. He insisted that they gave this school a chance. This was just proof to him whenever he tried to be selfish, the world hated it, and made his brother suffer, because of his own actions. The Phoenix just hoped that he could fix his actions before his brother suffered even more because of him.

As soon as the bus stopped he immediately started moving. It was no different than every other he was a new kid. He and Rafael shoved their heads down, and kept attention to themselves down to a bare minimum. The only reason that didn’t happen with the Salvatore school was because of factors outside of his control.

The eldest brother knew he should have paid attention to what the depressed middle aged man was saying, but he couldn’t care less. He just grabbed the paper and just marched on wanting to be done as soon as possible. Landon hated this building, because of the size of Mystic Falls, they didn’t try to make a second building they just shoved all of the education inside of it.

Landon was expecting to have already collapsed or have a breakdown because of what Connor attempted, but his focus was entirely on helping Nick. He guessed it made it easier to ignore the fact he was about to be killed here. Rafael just nodded his head and started moving in the opposite direction.

The newly aware supernatural knew that if he shoved his head down, he would be deemed irrelevant. And when people thought they were alone they talked. Making himself appear smaller and unimportant was a necessary skill at this point, with foster homes and school. It was how he prevented being beaten as much as possible.

“Landon what are you doing?” Hope asked, struggling to keep up with him. He was moving with near perfect precision, and he was weaving in and out, it was hard to follow him, she lost track of him twice already.

“Sorry,” was all that Landon could say right now. He didn’t mean to hurt his friend but right now, Nick was his top priority. He knew if the positions were swapped Nick wouldn’t even think about slowing down. On the gas 24/7 no matter the cost to himself.

“Landon, please calm down,” Hope insisted. “You need to breathe, you can’t run in half cocked, what’s your plan,” Hope asked, so she knew how to help him. The tribrid knew the damage that could happen if they didn’t think things through, it was how her mom, dad, and uncle Elijah were killed. Because she came up with an idea half thought out.

“This is, senior circuit,” Landon said, after taking a breath. He still continued to walk around soon after but no longer as fast, and it was clear that he was referring to the hallways that they were walking around in, while switching directions everyone once a while.

“Dana is a senior, and most of her friend group is a gossip and would spill secrets and rumors without thinking twice,” Landon said. He didn’t have many interactions with her, but none were nice. At the very least she just stuck to basic and verbal insults. They didn’t even care if there was an eavesdropper more drama for them to leach off of, because of the chaos it caused.

He knew his facial features hadn't changed enough not to be recognized sooner or later. And Nick’s reappearance meant everyone would be looking out for him and Rafael. The werewolf changed the most since their six years away from this town, and he had the best chance of pulling off a lie and getting closer to Connor’s group. But he knew neither of them could probably handle being near those people for long.

“How does that help?” Hope asked, not understanding what he was doing. The tribrid didn’t think any of the rumors would be correct, or they would know anything. She craved to be a fully realized tribrid right now, and just start compelling.

“I need names, and once I have a few, I can watch them to see if they would know something,” Landon responded, he just needed to use them as a starting point. It was ironic in a way this group of girls was known for using people like tools, and he was going to use them, without their knowledge.

The phoenix also knew it would be unlikely that it was a rogue vampire. He knew specifically that Dana was an immediate cousin to a founding family so she could potentially know something. And then the other members were always on vervain at this point, so he couldn’t compel them into believing he was always a part of the school.

The only thing he could think of was it was either a normal criminal who just wanted to kill someone, and who they could easily pin the blame on, or a new supernatural creature like what they had already dealt with. Landon didn’t know enough about magical body possession to pass witches but his life would never be easy, it was his punishment for every selfish act he committed.

“I think I could spell the school to track conversations,” Hope said, stressing the word think. Now that she has the plan, she could help. The tribrid knew a spell but she didn't know if she could pull it off. The Mikealson witch found it when digging through Esther’s grimmories. She loved invading privacy through body swapping but that wasn’t her only method.

“That would be great,” Landon said, it would save them time, they just needed to wait, and watch around the school for anything weird.

“Do you have a binder or a big notebook?” Hope asked knowing they need a way to record the conversations.

“Follow me,” The phoenix said, and led her to a storage closet. He discovered they didn’t lock them when he had a melt down, one day. He quickly scoured through the items to find the biggest binder he could, and shoved as many pages as he could into it.

When Landon handed it to Hope, she quickly got to work and started going through with the spell. The tribrid wanted to ask Landon if it was okay to channel him for the spell, to speed up the process. But she decided against it because she didn’t know if it would hurt him or change his phoenix nature. Hope eventually managed to cast after what seemed like ten minutes of quietly chanting. She just had to be careful since she needed full access to her magic to something like this.

“Did it work?” Landon asked impatiently, while slightly nervous at the results.

Hope flipped the binder to the start, and soon saw a bunch of names and conversations going on, “Yes, now we just need to wait,” Hope responded, hoping there was enough paper to record everything. If necessary they could just put in more paper.

“Landon you can hold onto it,” Hope said, knowing that he would be careful and knew what to look for.

“Thank you for everything, Hope,” Landon said. He didn't know what he would be doing without her. The phoenix was grateful to have known her, and it made his short life a bit more bearable. And now he felt guilty about lying to her about the knife. He made Nick suffer because of selfish actions. Why was he always selfish?

Landon didn’t know if should feel thankful or not when the bell ringed, saving him from his own impulses. He would have just made everything worse, if he told her. And both ways he was being selfish, keeping up this lie to his only friend, or staying silent because he was possessed allowing Nick to keep taking the blame. The oldest brother just grabbed the binder and threw it in his backpack.

The two were soon stopped after leaving the storage closet, by what Hope guessed to be what Landon referred to as Dana’s crew. She only really watched cutthroat kitchen but was aware of the popular girl trend in media, and these people would have easily fallen into it.

“You look traumatized. Is this loser bothering you?” one of the girls asked, she was in what Hope guessed to be the standard cheerleading outfit.

“Look, the loser ran off,” Her friend said. Hope didn’t even notice he left, that was when she realized something, she never heard his footsteps or movement. Everything was silent, nothing drew attention to himself. Hope wanted to hurt everyone who caused him pain, but quickly changed her thought process. She only knew a tiny amount he went through and knew it wouldn’t have been easier after he left.

“Hey, do you want to join us?” The first girl asked.

Hope felt like she decline to be closer to Landon just in case something happened, but he left as soon as they showed up. She felt slightly annoyed with her friend, but she knew after everything he has gone through he deserved a break. Besides it wouldn’t hurt to indulge in her fantasy for a while, she could easily meet back up with him at lunch.

Alaric pov Salvatore school 10:33 AM

Alaric was called once again by Matt today, telling him to meet him out in the woods, near an old trail head. The only reason he knew where it was, because of a drunk Damon. The vampire admitted that trail was his favorite for feeding on, because of the amount of unsuspecting joggers. While Stefan liked it because animals often wandered around it.

The principal soon left, not suspecting to be gone long enough to inform anyone of his momentary absences. When he got there he already saw a few police cruisers around their area, and it was surrounded by police tape.

Matt waved him in, and the one officer aggressively staring at him begrudging let him. Dr. Saltzman soon joined the side of his ex-student. “Can you tell me why you called me out here?” Alaric asked despite having a good guess, the flipped upside down car was only maybe a 10 minute walk away from the school.

“Sherif Donovan, who is this person?” Alaric looked over to see a new officer. He would be lying to himself if didn’t admit she was attractive, but personal feelings could be shoved on the back burner. Besides it’s not like he was married to Caroline they were just co parenting, and the twins were older enough to handle he was dating.

“Deputy Machado,This Alaric Saltzman, and he has prior experience with weirder cases,” Matt explained to his co-worker. And it was closer enough to the truth, just substituted the word weird for supernatural and bingo.

The Deputy looked like she didn’t believe it, but she kept her mouth shut in front of her boss. “Hello, It’s nice to meet you,” she said in a professional tone, but it was clear that she did not believe he would be useful.

“It’s nice to meet such a wonderful person,” Alaric responded to her, making her feel uncomfortable. Thinking he was unaware of the fact she thought he would be useless.

Matt coughed to get their attention back on the crime scene in front of them. “Alaric, a jogger called this in maybe twenty minutes ago. We checked the plates on it, it’s Dana’s car, and there is her blood along with Sasha’s staining the inside,” The sheriff quickly explained.

Alaric quickly took a closer look at the car, he saw the dents on the roof from the inside. They could have been possible made by a werewolf, but the full moon was still a while away, and there was no vampire capable of replicating the strength. But the blood stains matched how a ripper would tear about their victims while eating. The headmaster wasn’t aware of any spells that could have replicated the tears being made by feeding.

“What are your thoughts?” Matt asked knowing he was more up to date with supernatural news then he was.

“Have you talked to Jeremy?" Alaric asked knowing he would have a better guess than him, because he didn’t have anything solid.

“No he’s been in an out of service for a few days he just said busy when I texted him,” Matt responded. He at least tried to keep in contact with him. “What do you think?” The sheriff asked again.

“I’m positive a type three was involved, and they were assisted by either a type one or type two C,” Alaric said, not aware if he could say the species names or not. The species were ranked by the order created. One for the witches, two for werewolves, and three for vampires. Type two C referenced the crescent wolf pack or moonlight rings.

“What about a type three O?” Matt asked, maybe an original vampire was capable of creating something this brutal and violent and had the strength.

“No, all of them are too far away to just pop over for a night. And I don’t believe minus M or N, they would have the necessary strength,” Alaric said. “And we would know since they tend not to be this discrete, or do these unless they just got unfrozen,” The headmaster added. They were ruthless but they tended to leave naturals alive for later use, mainly as food, and food repopulation.

“Isn’t there another Type two and three?” The Sheriff asked not remembering for sure. He remembered hearing something about another hybrid.

“Yes, but N couldn’t speed his way from Lousian to Virginia in a night, he would still be here if he managed to make it,” Dr. Saltzman explained. As far as he was concerned if Klaus couldn’t do it Henry stood no chance.

“Could there be a new type like type four?” Matt asked, referring to the sirens. At this point he would be willing to accept a new supernatural species.

“No,” Dr. Saltzman responded plainly, forgetting what he had just dealt with in the past few weeks now.

“Are you aware of a new type three? Or one who has been feeding directly,” Matt asked, not knowing any way to beat around the bush.

“Are you excusing me of withholding information from you,” Dr. Saltzman asked incredulously. And not appreciating the insinuation that one of his students was behind this, because it wasn’t just one, it was two.

The only singular student who might be capable of doing something like this was Hope, but right now she had no outright reasons since her vampire side was inactive. Maybe for a blood sacrifice but he knew that her family would have made it so she could do it without screwing up this much.

“Considering your system of tracking the types is broken, yes,” The Sheriff responded, not afraid to hurt his old teacher’s feelings.

“We checked it after you left this morning. It works fine,” Alaric said in a serious tone.

“When was the last time it was checked?” Matt asked. He didn’t get a response, just silence.

“Listen I can assure you, It was none of them,” Alaric said, dodging the check while having faith in students.

“Sheriff,” an officer Alaric didn’t know the name of, ran towards the three of them. “One of the dogs found Dana’s body, she’s a few minutes away,” He told his boss. Matt motioned for him to lead the way. They stayed mostly quiet on the journey over there, they already discussed everything they needed to.

Alaric and Matt were no strangers to dead bodies. To be fair they ended up dying frequently when their town’s vampire issue was at large. And they had to bury a lot of people, or saw a temporarily killed vampire from a broken neck. They didn’t need to be told that she was dead, they knew it.

Dana’s body was soulless, and completely limp. The only part that stood out on the corpse was the blood on the neck. It was more controlled than a vampire’s first feed, they tended to bite erratically and left the corpse messy. It was just a singular dried spot. With a spot where the fangs penetrated her neck.

“You were saying,” Matt said. “Listen the second I find out if it was one of them I’m hanging their body in front of the station for the next year, got me?” He asked rhetorically.

“It wasn’t any of them, end of the story” Alaric tried to remain firm in his stance but it was clear he was faulting in this belief. “I will let you handle this,” Alaric said before leaving to call his daughter to make sure everything was going flawless on their end.

Taylor felt offended that she wasn’t allowed to know what they were talking about it, and decided to press her luck. “Was all of the secrecy needed?” The deputy asked not trying to hide her annoyance.

Matt couldn’t blame her, “There is a valid reason why the town is celebrating tens of normal, before that there was nine years of complete chaos, people died left, right, and centered. And once you know it never gets easier, and unfortunately that chaos is returning," The sheriff responded. It was clear that whatever he was talking about carried on his shoulders heavily.

“You need to tell people then to stop it,” She tried to convince her boss, she wanted to know. And truthfully she was kind of afraid of the answer just based on the way he spoke about it. Taylor was afraid for the safety of her kids even more.

“You sound like my ex fiancee," Matt said, he remembered when she told him to take a stand against vampires, and how they brought all of this trouble. “She died to the same chaos, and once you know, you die gruesome deaths or never be able to escape it,” He added, he had no intentions of sugar coating anything for her.

“Help me get the body bag ready,” The sheriff said, while the deputy followed after him leaving the body unattended.

Lizzie pov Mystic Falls High 10: 50 AM

Lizzie remained furious after the bus. She was upset that no one else had the nerve to stand with her against Satan. Not even her own twin, the person who was harmed the most by her wicked hand. That bitch had no right to issue orders, at the very least Hope wasn’t around or doing the same thing.

The blonde siphoner wanted to do a million other things than listen to Penelope, and would have gladly do a whole lot of other stuff instead. But Satan’s current incarnation kept swarming her like a hawk, making sure she was doing as told. Lizzie seriously wished that she could compel someone to attack her but wasn’t able to do it for obvious reasons.

The older twin was now stuck in this random person’s second period, which was gym. She hadn’t any luck in making these stupid girls talk. They keep blowing her off every single chance, she was so much better than Dana. They should have welcomed her, and yet everyone kept giving her the cold shoulder.

There was a tiny silver lining, keyword tiny. She was stuck in gym with MG. At the very least he also expressed his annoyance at having to follow Penelope’s lead. They were probably worse fates but right now it felt like torture. Everyone was keeping them separated, just to spite them. They did nothing. They didn’t deserve these.

Right now they were stuck doing a physical limit check or whatever these idiots call it. The blonde witch was stuck with a fatass who looked like they couldn’t even walk, they had to waddle around. MG wasn’t stuck with a disgusted human.

MG right now wasn’t having a bad time, it was just fine. He could hear Lizzie’s heartbeat seething in rage and tried to find a way to calm but he was stuck following instructions. At the very least he was stuck counting crunches for someone he saw hanging out with Dana during community service.

But he soon sadly came to a realization after trying to talk to her. “Where’s Dana,” MG tried to ask innocently.

“You think you're hot stuff because you put your tongue down her throat? News flash she gets around even while in relationships,” The girl said with annoyance. And now MG felt even more dirty for making out with her.

“Well what’s your name?” MG asked, trying to get to know her better.

“Jill, and don’t even think about it,” Jill responded. She was in a healthy relationship and her parents were finally off her back because they approved of the wet sponge.

MG decided to try compulsion on her. “Where are Dana and Sasha?” He ordered. MG thought it was successfully it felt successfully.

“Okay, are all private school kids this creepy, get out of their business if they want to go run away let them,” Jill said frustrated. She despised being their shadows because they were from founding families.

MG tried to contain his surprise as best as he could, at another failed compulsion. He hoped one of the witches knew a permanent memory modifying spell. He should just call Dr. Saltzman at this point and tell him he was a broken vampire. Forgetting she could be on vervain.

“Okay report numbers and hit the showers,” The couch yelled through a megaphone after he blew his whistle. Jill soon booked it away from MG.

MG waited to be one of the last ones to report the numbers like Lizzie so they could exchange notes. He wasn’t expecting for her to have seen his failed compulsion jobs. “Compulsion failed,” Lizzie said in an aggressive tone, making him worse.

“What is wrong with you, performance anxiety? You failed now twice,” The blonde siphoner reminded him, like he wasn’t already the butt end of every vampire joke now.

“You couldn’t have any worse luck, what did you get,” MG said.

“Nothing, I was stuck near one of the most disgusting humans in this school,” Lizzie said, hating every minute inside of this school so far.

“At least you look Hot,” MG tried to flirt.

“I’m wearing polyester!” Lizzie snapped upset with that comment MG made.

“You're pulling it off,” MG responded unfazed by her tone.

Lizzie snaps once again at MG “Get your dumb head in the game MG! we have a time limit, Hope probably already has half the school alienated by now,” ignoring the fact she started the rift.

MG’s gym shorts pocket started vibrating. “Who is it?” Lizzie said, annoyed, hoping for good news. She knew he had a school phone on him, which had all of the staff and the prominent scouts.

“It’s your dad,” MG said when he grabbed the phone, and accepted the call while putting on speaker phone for Lizzie.

“Hello?” MG said not knowing what to expect.

“I need to talk to everyone,” Dr. Saltzman said with urgency in his voice, that was unfamiliar to the two supernaturals.

“We split up,” MG said in a nervous tone.

“Who are you with?” Alaric asked, hoping they were at least in groups, not everyone off by themselves.

“Lizzie,” The young vampire responded immediately.

“Lizzie.” Alaric started off in a serious voice, which they could also tell carried shame. But it wasn’t to lizzie. “I told everyone to stick together, how did you not understand that?” He asked, upset.

“In order to conquer victoriously, we had to divide daddy. And blame Hope with Penelope it was their idea,” Lizzie said not missing a chance to throw either under the bus. No more Hope or Penelope problems are solved and she can have the life she rightfully deserves.

MG kept quiet at that time. Now it wouldn’t be the time to mention they worked alone and they just happened to be together or hope wasn’t actually involved. “So have trust in your gene pool for once. Sorry to disappoint, miracle Hope isn’t working,” Lizzie said in a condescending tone.

“Listen, I’m about to tell you three things. All equally horrifying so I need you to keep your cool. Can you both do that?” Alaric said in a serious tone, but Lizzie was just smiling happily at the news. MG didn’t think now was the time to be smiling but kept that to himself.

“Of course, No problem,” MG said, worried at the serious tone of his headmaster.

“One, Dana is dead,” Alaric said, not beating around the bush. MG could have sworn he saw Lizzie’s eyes light up for a moment. Before they turned a tad dark from the news.

“Two, a vampire killed her, and Three I just told the sheriff that we have nothing to do with this so I need to know right now that I am right. Have either of you heard anything about the vampires at our school feeding because it’s only a slight walk away from the school?” Alaric asked, needing to make sure his students were obeying his rules, for their own safety.

Lizzie saw MG tense up at the news that his species was responsible for her death. It shouldn’t have been that big of a shock considering everything vampires have done. “No,” She said with absolute certainty.

MG’s voice betrayed him with his response. “Nah, We’re not supposed to, everyone knows that,” It was several tones higher than before. MG was a horrible liar, a kid could lie better than him.

“Okay. Keep an eye out for me please. I’ll call back when I know more. And I expect you to be with everyone else when I do Including Hope,” Alaric said before hanging up the phone. He didn’t question MG’s tone of voice, he was almost always nervous when around the teacher himself included.

“That bitch! even when she is not around ruins everything! Why can’t she let her dirty little fangs off my dad!” Lizzie snapped tired of always being second to Hope. Her dad’s golden child.

The blonde siphoner quickly turned on MG when he was about to say something. “You are a horrible liar,” She said with full confidence. “Spill,” Lizzie demanded in a falsely innocent tone of voice, knowing MG would do anything for her.

Ethan pov Mystic Falls High 10:50 AM

Ethan didn’t know what to expect when he heard the news that they were going to have Salvatore students for the day. He didn’t put much thought into it, he believed it was just a rumor given they didn't interact with anyone. And yet during his first period he had one of the students, he didn’t know them.

But they didn’t fall into the normal group, at least from what he saw. Where you could tell they had an entire forest surgically implanted in their ass. He stood out in a more unique way, he didn’t belong, he looked like he could fit in more at a normal high school, and yet some people were shooting him a dirty look.

Ethan didn’t know who he was but he did try his best to be friendly with him. But it was clear that the Salvatore student was just having a bad day. He wasn’t mean, he just had other things going, he looked like he was stressed. The current football player as much as he hated to admit was kind of glad Connor was gone, otherwise he would be stuck with him for 4 out of his 6 classes.

He wanted to know if Nick was here. Ethan found it strange that the person he got along with the best so far since moving here was a dangerous person. Well to be fair he didn’t blame Nick he just did what any decent person should do, come to the rescue like a hero from comics. He could have toned it down, but it didn’t matter.

Ethan knew that the odds of seeing him here was slim to none since Connor just vanished this morning to most people. And hopefully the school was planning on minimizing potential accidents. He wondered when slash if the wolves would be allowed directly inside of the Salvatore school, he wanted to take a look around. Maybe he could join the news video club for the school.

So far he has just seen two of the students, the one in first period who he later learned was Rafael, from roll call. And the other person he saw was Kaleb if he remembered correctly from the flag football event. They seemed normal, why did these people hate them so much, just because of a school, or was it because they were from out of state technically.

Ethan left the school grounds for lunch, he didn’t want to be bullied by the football team again during lunch for a week straight now, besides he didn’t like sitting down for any long period of time, and was just using that excuse to stretch his legs a little.

The Mystic Falls High student wasn’t expecting to see Connor when he walked by one of the wooden trails some students used. He had to do a double take because he knew his mom said kidnapped, and yet he appeared perfectly fine physically. Some was definitely wrong but it wasn’t physical. He was holding himself in the wrong way, it wasn’t his normal athletic way or he thought himself better than you. It was total calm, and something else.

Ethan knew it was probably a dumb idea to approach Connor like this but what was the worst thing that could happen to him. “Are you okay Connor? It’s Ethan” He asked from what he hoped was a safe distance. When he got outside near the tree line across from the student parking lot.

Connor just continued to stare at him like he was some foreign species or speaking a dead man’s language. “Where were you taken?” Ethan asked not to know what else to do. He probably should have gotten an adult to deal with him.

No response once again. Ethan has seen people in shock before, but Connor wasn’t in shock. The captain was just not answering his question. He seemed perfectly indifferent to the world around. The missing person just continued to stare at him. He wasn’t on edge, he was aware but seemed like he was in thought.

“We are in front of the school’s parking lot right now, you're safe now,” Ethan tried his best to convince the other teenager that he was fine, and safe.

“Answer me!” Ethan snapped, not caring since Connor seemed perfectly fine. At this point it seemed like Connor was just mentally brain dead.

If Ethan was having second thoughts, what he was about to do would be considered complete stupidity. He got within arms reach of Connor and snapped his fingers in front of his eyes. No flinches. The slightly older student just continued to stare at him.

Ethan deliberately blinked to make sure he wasn’t schizophrenic or in some kind of crazy ass dream. And yet Connor remained motionless once again. Ethan reached for his phone to call his mom, and let her know what was going on with the soulless mannequin in front of him.

Right when he reached for his phone to pull it out of his pocket. Connor finally did something, and it had him worried out first. He thought Connor was just puking on him, but when it touched his skin it hardened instantly, and he could break it. His arms were glued in place. The arm that was reaching for his phone was glued into place from the shoulder and the joint was attached to his shirt, and the arm that was doing nothing was locked to his side, neither hand were blocking his pockets. But he was effectively frozen into a straight upward position.

When Ethan went to scream for Help or something. Connor did the same thing, but it was aimed at his mouth. Ethan thought he would die. He would be forced to suffocate to death, because of his stupid gag reflexes. He knew he could breath and his nose remained unclogged but he couldn’t think straight. His mouth was glued shut.

His gag reflexes were on fire, it felt like he was trying to consume his own skin. When he was gagging it felt like his mouth was trying to eat his skin and mouth to get rid of whatever was blocking his mouth. Ethan had no idea what was causing his arm and mouth to be welded shut. No matter what he tried they wouldn’t come off.

Ethan didn’t know when he ended up on the ground flopping around like a dead fish, and there was like there was no chance of tomorrow. He managed to empty out his pocket that wasn’t glued shut, it was the only thing he could think of. He so badly wanted someone, anyone to come to his aid, and yet he knew it was hopeless, he was doomed to die. Connor didn’t move after spitting whatever of his body. Only when he was about to pass out did he start to move towards him. The Football captain just pinned his movement with an inhumane amount of strength and bite him in the neck. And then blackness.

Chapter Text

Josie pov Mystic Falls High 10:50 AM

Josie didn’t know what to expect with a normal high school. As far as she could remember, she was Home schooled before the Salvatore school was created. And while the buildings were being set up for the school. The brunette siphoner knew her dad made the school so she wouldn’t have to suffer from hiding who she was at a normal school, and could be free to learn about her magic.

Despite knowing her dad was probably right for creating the school. Josie wanted to see how a normal school was. She never bothered to mention it to Lizzie because she knew her older twin would make fun of her, and make her feel bad about it. It’s just that mom made her highschool days sound so much fun despite everything that happened during them and she wanted to see what it was all about.

She knew it was unrealistic to set her expectations for high school around the craziness her mom and her friends had to go through, let alone fictional stories. Despite knowing that she still remained disappointed with her truthfully very low expectations. And that somehow only made her feel more disappointed in her dad. He went through all of the trouble of making a school for her and Lizzie, and yet he refused to pay attention to them.

Josie was trying to avoid the other Salvatore students, mainly Penelope, at least more than usually. The siphoner witch chickened out of her task. She didn’t even know how to begin, or let alone how to find out which groups were popular, and which groups weren’t. And pathetically she didn’t even know how to make friends, she was always with Lizzie, who absorbed almost all of her time. She didn’t even know she and MG became friends and that remained true with Penelope it just happened.

She didn’t want to fail her dad. If she failed him right now, then she could say goodbye to any chance at his attention or affection. The one time he trusted her and Lizzie, she didn’t want to screw it up. And yet all that Josie has done so far was have cold feet. Yes she has approached people, and helped some but most people were just giving her a cold shoulder.

Josie knew that it was most likely because of her blood relation to her dad, the Salvatore principal. Some days it felt like that statement was false, given how little attention her dad showed her and Lizzie, and gave time to Hope. And the other part was that her sister started the massive fight at the charity football event. Needless to say, Josie felt doomed to be an outcast.

She had joined Emily with the normal people. Besides it worked, she was just normal, well as normal as can be. It didn’t matter that she was a witch, everyone inside the salvatore school was a supernatural so she was nothing special in that regards. She might as well not be related to Dr. Saltzman the principal. And despite being a siphon witch she wasn’t being made fun of.

Josie was just a dime a dozen at this point. She wasn’t popular and had no idea how to interact with that group of people. Most of the time she was stuck with Lizzie at her side, making her apologize or help clean up a mess she had digged herself into. And that was another reason she had decided to bail out on the job given to her by Penelope plus just to spite her.

The brunette witch knew that Lizzie had most likely done something despite her claiming that she didn't do anything when Emily showed up to Ms.Tigs with the 2nd years. She had a bit of trouble finding the untriggered werewolf. But the witch eventually managed to find her, she was currently walking the hallways alone.

“Hello, how are you?” Josie asked with caution, which was always a good thing when dealing with the people Lizzie had pissed off.

“I’m fine, but I didn't learn much about Connor and Dana if that’s what you're asking about,” Emily responded respectfully. She heard the odd end, but she heard more about a few random people who also disappeared, Karen, Jason, and Steven.

“That’s fine, I haven’t gotten much either,” Josie responded, she didn’t try because she didn’t want to cause another set of issues that the Salvatore school had to deal with.

“I was wondering if Lizzie said or did anything last Friday?” The witch asked the werewolf. The sooner she figured it out she could fix this mess.

“Lizzie didn’t do anything minus violently stare at me,” Emily responded, well aware of Lizzie’s reputation.

“Please be honest with me,” Josie requested of the werewolf.

“Okay, if you want me to be honest Josie, then let Lizzie deal with any actions for once instead of trying to save her constantly,” Emily gave the younger twin an honest response.

“What did she do?” Josie asked, dismissing the other parts, and just assuming that her blonde twin did something.

“She did nothing, it’s just pathetic that you are always saving her from herself,” The untriggered werewolf said.

“I thought all of the werewolves are loyal to each other?” The witch asked the werewolf not understanding the hypocrisy.

“We are,” Emily said, offended by the comment. “But sometimes people need to suffer the consequences to learn, and Lizzie will never learn if you don’t let her,”. Yes the werewolves would help each other, but if they got into trouble they wouldn’t save each other every single time, unless it was from something serious.

“Can you please just tell me what I can do to make it okay?” Josie asked seeing as this was getting them nowhere.

“Josie there is nothing you can do, because for once Lizzie actually behaved herself," Emily said feeling like a broken record having to repeat the same thing three times now.

“Are you sure?” Josie asked again to be as close to positive as she could be.

“Yes I'm sure.” The untriggered werewolf responded clearly annoyed. “And before you say anything you don’t get treated like his daughters so I'm not afraid to hide anything from you,” Emily added, knowing Josie might mention something like that.

The siphon witch had no response to it. It was true, she was only related to her Dad by blood, not by connections or in any meaningful way, she wished that Mom was around. “Okay, I’m going to find everyone else, I will text you if I find them,” Josie said and quickly switched directions, saving herself.

Josie went to try and find her sister, and everyone else. She didn’t do anything to help them with finding stuff out but maybe she could help them put everything together. And she was afraid of how Lizzie would react, would her sister blame her if their dad just gave up on them? But that seemed to become closer to reality every day so it would just rip off the band aid before it became blistering.

The youngest twin soon started looking around the secluded spots inside and around the school. She didn’t find them in the empty spots under the staircases, that had seats set up, nothing around the sports fields or the gym. Josie started walking to the other side of the school hoping they were there, because despite the terrible cell service she hasn't got anything on her phone from either Lizzie, Penelope, or Hope.

The brunette siphon witch was so lost in thought about how she failed her dad and how she wouldn’t even be loved by a father figure that she didn’t notice Penelope chasing after her. “Jo-Jo,” The normal witch said for maybe the fifth time.

“Sorry,” Josie couldn’t help herself to apologize despite that Penelope broke her heart.

“Are you okay?” Penelope asked genuinely concerned for the most important person in her life.

Josie didn’t even know why she was entertaining this idea, or why she wanted to talk to her about it, but she did. “No I’m not. I screwed up. I couldn’t even talk to them,” the siphoner said. She hated that she started spilling her guts just because of the old pet names Penelope made for her.

“Hey that’s fine, there was a lot of overlap between our two groups, it’s okay,” The normal witch said. She was planning on the potential overlap but that didn’t matter right now, she just wanted Josie to be okay.

Penelope gave Josie a tight yet reassuring hug. Penelope told Josie everything she got from the two groups she ended up with. The normal witch didn’t gain anything too notable, it was just normal small town drama and politics.

“Thank you, and I'm sorry for not being able to help,” Josie apologized, used to having to apologize for Lizzie because she was so stubborn that she refused to apologize for her own actions.

“Don’t worry about it,” Penelope said. She so badly wanted to take it further and tease her, like she used to when they were dating but she had to stop herself. Besides, Penelope made more than enough progress for herself.

“Do you want to go find everyone else? Or sit here for a while longer,” Penelope asked.

“Let’s go find everyone else,” Josie said, feeling betrayed that she was taking comfort in the person who broke her heart, and destroyed her trust in her only friend. The siphoner wanted to be near Lizzie because everything was much simpler. She cleaned up her sister’s messes, and that was it.

“Okay,” Penelope said, expecting the answer. “Did a normal high school stand up to your idea’s?” The normal witch asked, remembering Josie mentioning it a few times.

“No,” Josie said softly, still disappointed in herself for her perceived betrayal at her dad’s intentions/gift to her and Lizzie. Despite it not feeling like that half the time.

“Hey, it’s okay, at least you crossed off your bucket list,” Penelope couldn’t stop herself from teasing Josie about it, but Penelope was perfectly happy for Josie.

Josie let out an annoyed groan, “That makes it sound so pathetic,” Josie complained upset at how it was phrased.

“Hey we all have dumb things on our bucket lists,” Penelope defended Josie from her own teasing.

“What is that bad on your bucket list?” Josie rhetorically asked not expecting anything that bad.

Penelope almost stopped in her tracks, she didn’t have an honest response to that. “I don’t know. I never really thought about my bucket list, I guess I just want to be with that special person and that’s good enough,” Penelope answered as truthfully as she could.

“So you don’t want to go anywhere specific or go to an event?” Josie asked, finding that hard to believe.

“A concert doesn’t sound that bad,” Penelope said idly after walking for a bit. “Maybe going to Belgium," She hesitantly added only getting the news last night. It was painful but she knew that she could work something out with her mom and the Salvatore school if necessary.

“I could help you learn Russian," Josie offered without thinking, but it didn’t sound like the worst thing. She already knew a second language, a third one couldn’t be that much worse.

“It's a date,” Penelope said happily. She loved seeing Josie looking so flustered. They soon found everyone else outside. By what Penelope heard as the stoner pits. Neither of the witches were expected to see anything close to what was going on around them. Kaleb was dead, MG, and Lizzie were in pain. Emily had already arrived and was talking with Finch catching her up to what they missed, but the triggered werewolf didn’t miss a chance to shoot a deadly glare at both Lizzie and MG that screamed she want to kill them, something Penelope hoped she did successfully, Landon, Rafael, and Nick were off to the side watching the unfolding chaos, while looking through a stack of papers while Hope was nearby but she was watching over the failing couple.

“What the Fuck?” Penelope asked dumbfounded, genuinely confused at what was going on, never expecting anything like this when planning.

Nick pov Werewolf cellar 10:00 AM

It was a groggy start for Nick. He saw his vision fading in and out constantly, some after effect Nick would wager from the tranq darts. He remembered turning around the corner, and being pelted with darts and crashing out almost immediately. God he suddenly had a very strong desire to strangle or torture that adult. When he tried to move his arms he heard the familiar clanking of chains, it would also explain why his wrist felt being squeezed.

It took the unknown supernatural’s eye over a few minutes for them to readjust from being drugged but that time was too long. He hated going down memory lane. After his dad died from a forest fire burning their home, he was quickly shipped off to his mom’s older sister. He enjoyed his time in Sioux Falls but it was a massive readjustment since he previously lived in a town with just two hundred people. Those seven months were rough since he was still processing his dad’s death. But Aunt Mirdina, Uncle Jay, and their kid Johnson helped as best as they could.

He remembered all of the times he had fun with them, and what life was like, but he soon started realizing nothing good ever lasts long. They got in a car crash, the same day they started school, he was the only one who lived in that crash. His mom’s fraternal twin, Uncle Felix and his family came to pick him up, and brought him to Fargo after he was discharged from the hospital. There was Aunt Rosaline, and their kids, Andrea, Lucas, and Liam. Most of his knowledge about his mom came from his Aunt Mirdina, and Uncle Felix. And with Nick’s bad luck streak continuing he didn’t learn much about her, he still felt like that piece of his life was missing.

It was harder for him to open up to them, but they had expected that, and made a constant effort to try. They were successful but it felt like it was too late. He just started making friends at school, and went to hang out with them at a park in the neighborhood. Nick never learned the specifics of what happened, just explosive gases, when exposed to fire. He was once again shipped off, but this time it was the last sibling of his mom, her little sister.

Aunt Annalise, Nick didn’t stay with her long at her, maybe 3 weeks max. She had just graduated College, and was living in an apartment alone. He blamed himself for what happened. If he had never existed then everyone else could have lived happily ever after. She killed herself. He just walked back to her apartment after school, and saw it. She purposefully swallowed all of her various medicines. She didn’t even try to hide why she killed herself. She used her last moments to beat him, and made it explicitly clear that it was all his fault.

He tried to call the cops, but by the time she passed out it was too late. And to stab in the metaphorical knife even more one the cops thought he actually did it was detained. It took one of her neighbors showing her security camera audio for him to let it go. He never got a chance to meet his Mom’s parents, they died when he was just a few months old. It meant that they had at least had a normal death. Unlike everyone else he was stuck with so far.

After all of his family dropped like flies, he set up in foster care. It was a year before he met his two brothers, and the first time since he joined the legal torture program he could say he was happy. The first three foster parents were personally made by the devil.

The first one, they seemed normal at first but that was always the case as he later learned. They never physically tortured him, it was all mental. He went to church with Uncle Felix’s and his family but they took things to the next level. They went to every Mass at their church, and they expected him to follow in their cult like obsessed footsteps. And when he didn’t turn out like that, they locked him up in his room, to fix him and gave protein bars to live off of. He had next to nothing in that room, just a bed, clothes. If he didn’t have to be there he wasn’t allowed to leave his room, he was constantly locked in that room,

Nick remembered one of the things those scumbags always ended up talking about was their hatred for non religious people and various other groups. Just because they were fine sucking off a dead man cock didn’t mean the entire world had to be. He still didn’t understand their cult like hatred. He just found their death funny, he didn’t even try to open up to them after the first week of their bullshit. They were killed when they got up in gang violence, but given the start of the bodies they didn’t have a quick death, at least it would have been fun if not for their mindsets.

When he heard the news he almost burst out laughing at the sheer irony, instead he just let out tears of joy. They had him previously locked in his room for 5 days, the day they let him out and got themselves removed from the gene pool. He was soon shipped off to the second family, they caused eyesight damage, scars. The foster dad didn’t even try to act normal within the first day, he made him immediately start doing manual labour, but he would take that over being in a room that a kid could touch both sides of the walls.

He soon realized instead of attempted brain washing it would be physical torture methods used to try and break him. Nick didn’t break until the third foster family, but they did their damage. Whenever he screwed up he was hit in the head, and one day after a rough night when he kept on screwing up the Foster Mom stabbed him. That was probably not even the worst thing that happened to himself why stuck with that set of trash.

The Knife just left a scar, after the Foster Mom treated it, it didn’t hurt him, it was just there. The Foster dads punishment was more extreme, he still had to deal with the repercussions of it. Nick just closed the door on the bio kid because the brat was hitting him and he didn’t want to fight back. The dad lost it, and dragged him outside and beat him until sun down. It was only maybe ten minutes, but to him it would always feel longer, and the dad made sure he was staring up into the sun the entire time.

Nick was finally dragged away from them when the mom killed herself, and the dad didn’t want anything more to do with. And to quote him the paycheck and tax cut wasn’t worth raising a useless bug that should kill himself. He remembered trying to escape a few times before because of how bad it got. The third family wasn't as bad in terms of the physical or mental damage still rough but he dealt with worse already. They didn’t call him a shit stain, monster, impossible to be loved, freak, and they didn’t tell him to kill himself almost hourly.

They also didn’t stab, or physically beat him as severally as the second foster family, and they never attempted to do any mental kind of torture like the first foster family. The only thing that was mentioning was when he ate too much, and they chose to strangle the food out of him. That was the furthest they ever attempted for a while. But, they got worse, there wasn’t any other way to say it.

He remembered the shackles, they used to keep him locked up. He didn’t know what they were going to do to him, and he didn’t want to know. Nick knew it was probably close to a week before he was free, the person they were renting from found him, and brought him to the hospital. He remembered that night when he just said screw it and attempted it. He was at rock bottom with no hope for anything better because Miracles don’t exist. He failed, and he hated that for a long time. He was stuck at the hospital for close to two months plus the mental hospital.

It felt weird, he had longer ago dismissed the idea of miracles or anything of the like, and yet he was inside of a creepy basement that housed a thousand supernatural beings. And even weirder right after he had hit rock bottom was when a “miracle” happened. He questioned it, why did it happen then, why couldn’t any of his other family members minus Aunt Annalise stay alive. And once again he was questioning the miracle that happened.

Landon was a phoenix, Nick was happy with that news, and yet at the same it felt like this was just a dream, despite never having pleasant dreams anymore. Rafael was a werewolf, making the dream-like sensation even more prevalent. He hated the notion of miracles the more he thought about it, and yet he has two happen to him, he meet both of his brothers, and both were alive, and they were able to stay together, it didn’t matter that he was so weak he got could pass as human minus the extra inside parts. The multiple hearts, being able to repair them, and who knew what else, maybe extra lungs or the likes.

They decided a change of states would be ideal for him, and that would always be the best decision that ever happened to him. Nick was hesitant especially with how things in his life were turning out. He thought he would just go to a worse place. He was wrong and he was so grateful for that. This was the first family to have other foster kids, and he was expecting a million things other than them to become his brothers. Nick had no idea where he would have ended up without Landon and Rafael watching his back.

He immediately kicked it off with Rafael, they would always end up getting physical with one another, and their parents never did anything minus lightly scolding them for being aggressive. He and Rafael, despite not having any shared interests soon started being inseparable. And there was Landon, despite having a worse go around with foster care, he never attempted what he did. Landon would always be his best friend/ brother/confidant, and many more things.

His brothers were amazing, and made everything he went through worth it. Nick now lacked a reason to try and kill himself again, he hated one thing, and he was desperately clinging on to them. They all need each other to stay sane after everything. And then who Landon and Rafael dubbed as mom and dad, they were amazing to him. He didn’t call them mom, and dad like his brothers, just Aunt and Uncle and that seemed to be good enough for them.

Those three years were so amazing despite him and Landon being closed off at the start, but they got better. He enjoyed almost every single day here. But there were only two days that were bad, which was when Connor tried to kill Landon, and when their home burned down. The burns on his arms are the only scars that have ever given him phantom pains.

He hated that day, almost everyone died in that house. Landon would have been most likely fine in retrospect but that didn’t make it any easier. Nick didn’t know how the fire started, and honestly at this point he would put it past anyone in this town. All of the brothers slept in the same room, but it wasn’t because they didn’t have space, it just felt right. To be honest now it felt weird not being within arms reach of them.

Nick only woke up because he started sweating because of the intense heat from the approaching fire. He managed to wake up both of his brothers, but by the time they got moving the entire house was on fire. When they tried to get their parents, the house started collapsing around them. Nick, afraid for his brother’s safety shoved them outside before collapsing because of the carbon dioxide.

He knew should have died, and yet he still hasn’t rolled 6 feet over despite his and the world's efforts to make it happen. Nick blamed himself for getting their family killed because. If he just had woken up sooner then they could have gotten out. Instead only his brother got out, he was grateful for that but their parents blood was stained on to his hands.

After that, they lived with Uncle Zack for a week before foster care swooped them up, and dumped them with the next load of asssholes. The brothers didn’t get the chance to say goodbye at their funeral. Nick soon couldn’t even go to sleep without a nightmare, so all he could do was stay up throughout the night. And that’s what he did, stayed up every night, maybe only getting a max of an hour rest, while standing upwards ready to go, to make sure Landon and Rafael would be fine. He forced himself to never be able to go to bed in peace, he made sure he could register everything around him.

The brothers have never ended up with a decent family again where they weren’t abused, mentally or physically. The next six years were constantly hell, and Nick made sure to endure it. He got their parents killed, and made them end up with shitty people constantly. By the time Nick was forced to relive his entire life his eye sight was good to go. Since chained up to a bed, he learned locking picking, more specifically actually remembered how to do it. Looking back, that was a weird skill for a dad to teach his son but that didn’t matter right now.

Nick was able to move his hands well enough despite them being shackled into the wall. He slid his feet out of his shoe, which was where he was storing his lock pick for right now given he has just been putting off hollowing out his glasses. He used his feet to pick up his shoe and bring it close enough for his right hand to grab the pick. It took a few tries but he eventually got it. Once he had the lock pick he started with picking the lock on his left hand before switching to the right once he got it. Then it was the shackles around his feet.

It maybe took ten minutes to escape the werewolf chains but it gave him enough time to think through everything. After escaping he had put the lockpick in his pocket for later use. He had no animals on hand to trick the heartbeat monitor and he had no idea if there were security measures but he didn’t see a reason for them to add any. There was no window for him to grab bugs, and stuff them in the cells. Nick saw his dad’s knife outside of the cell, taunting him. It was directly across from the cell, and because of how the door was placed he couldn't see into the hallway or anything a foot beyond the door.

And the insane middle child wasn’t going to be backing down from this taunt made by another shitty human, that he was contemplating torturing, or shoving bullets through his skull, either way the problem would be solved. He kept trying to budge either shadows or darkness to get his knife back, he wasn’t seeing anything for a while. He started seeing results when he focused more on either element, and Nick put his entire focus on shadows.

It took forever, but he wasn't able to shadow grab the knife through the shadows. Nick didn’t even notice how much he was sweating until he stopped his desperate attempts. At this point he was almost positive of the theory that he needed his family's demon mask to do anything worth a damn. Despite not doing anything physically active it took him a while to regain his breath. He felt mentally drained from his attempts to get his dad’s knife in a supernatural way.

He wanted to see if he could do anything like what he did to avoid the fiery breath of the dragon to make a quick escape from the cell. Nick guessed it was some kind of interpretation or variation of a shadow walk ability. He walked over to the darkest corner of the cell to increase his chance of success, and started to try and dissolve his body into shadows.

His plan was to try to get absorbed into the shadows down to top to prevent accidentally decapitating himself, if this didn’t work he would just run and haul ass to at least so he could get a head start. He knew he would have to set off the alarm to leave but it wouldn’t matter if he was a shadow. It was taking forever, and he was seriously considering saying screw it and just bust through the cell.

Nick remembered the rough details and sensation of it when he managed to use it to avoid the dragon’s fiery breath, and could confidently say he didn’t like it. But he has dealt with worse. It felt like he was being compressed into a thin sheet of paper, which always wanted to expand outwards making the compressing feeling constant. He couldn’t smell or touch, but everything else remained intact to some degree. He had no idea about taste but that could wait a while.

After an extra twenty plus wasted minutes he gave up on trying to shadow walk or warp out of this cell. He just had to run faster enough and fight off anyone that tried to get a piece of flesh off of him. Nick took off his glass and tried to use their reflection to see if could notice something, ideally if someone was watching or another escape option.

The previous werewolf transition cell had a window in a sense. It wasn't glass or one of those with reinforced metal barbs, it was just metal cylinders preventing anything bigger than a bug or hand from getting through. Nick looked around the cell which was significantly smaller than the previous one, to see if anything might catch a reflection.

The chains were locked into the wall and couldn't stretch out to the door, and they weren't bright enough to actively reflect anything. There was no bed or some kind of wardrobe where something might be stored. His lock pick wouldn't be big enough to catch any accurate details.

Nick contained looking around the cell despite everything being visible just in case. His fingers gently glided against the frigid rough bricks, he wanted to see if there might be a hollow section, there were no rough spots that might indicate something. The only thing he could hope to use was the light bulb.

And unlike the previous cell there was a light cover of dirt on top of the concrete which discovered when he kicked the dirt around. Okay he had to give these people a bit more credit than he gave them, not much but still more. They couldn’t have taken his glass and left him “blind”, or searched for objects on his person or clothes.

But that didn't mean they were close to smart enough for him to be afraid. He guessed if they were going to question him someone would have already shown up given how much time he has wasted. Nick crossed off someone coming to visit at this point and given the magic inside of the cells he didn’t think they would waste manpower from staff, or use students.

Nick was just barely tall enough to grab the light bulb when on his tippy toes. He started to unscrew it from its socket. Once he had it, he checked to see if it would fit beyond the cell doors. It didn't so he smashed it and used one of the large smashed glass planes and carefully placed it in his hands and extended it out into the hallway.

It took him a while before he managed to see anything. The hallway was empty and he flipped to the other side of the cell to see if anyone was there, and again no one. It didn’t give him any form of a clear picture, it was still blurry, it would just allow him to see anything that stood out easily. Nick grabbed some of the dirt in the cell and chucked in the hallway with his left hoping to startle a hiding witch, and again on the other side of the hallway. Nothing both times.

Nick finally said screw it mentally and considered it good enough. He grabbed out of the lock pick from his pocket and quickly started picking away at the lock of the door. It didn't take nearly as long as the locks on his arms or legs. They gave him enough of a warm up despite not seeing the lock this time. It wasn’t close to difficult for him to pick the lock, it just took him maybe three minutes at the very max.

Once he heard the very recognizable final click he paused for a minute. Nick put the lock pick back into the pocket expecting to use it again. He was expecting as soon as he opened the cell people would because of an alarm or the magic watching the cell, let alone him grabbing his knife. Nick breathed in and out getting ready to bolt, he had to think on the fly without hesitation.

Nick started to remember the layout of the school building. It was the student dorms, and up the stairs two left and right he got to the main rest area and the doors would be just there. He wouldn't go out the main door, too many people he would have to deal with. But yet he couldn't remember a secluded way out of the torture basement. He didn’t look back when he and Landon felt the school and yet he thought he saw moonlight inside of the hallway from the night.

He was just going to run and grab his knife. And like that he dashed into the hallway, he grabbed it, and bam. In the left eye he saw a perfectly normal window with a table next to it. He was slim enough to squeeze through. Nick unsheathed the knife and full spinned threw it through the window, shattering it.

Nick quickly climbed on to the table and threw himself out of Kevin's fun house. He quickly picked himself up, and grabbed his knife and sheathed it while running. Once it was sheathed Nick quickly locked it in on his cargo pants. Nick started running at speeds that Rafael was struggling to keep up with in the woods. He knew as soon as he got into the woods around the school he would be at advantage.

Nick would need to give Rafael a round of applause and thanks after this. He was the reason why he knew the woods so well all ready because of their game of tag. He didn’t see anyone in the woods minus Jed any other time, we'll minus the party but that was besides the point and would be an outlier.

He was paying full attention to everything, inside of the woods trying to spot a form of an early attack to recapture him, for ‘killing’ Connor. He had no intentions of killing it would have made everything too easy for him. A long dragged out fate where he wanted to die and kill himself would be more deserving for the bastard. And whoever fixed the bastard's arms or legs deserved a similar fate.

It was hard to spot any moderate or minor details at his current break neck pace, He wanted to consider slowing down. But life has never given him a chance to take his feet off the gas, and wouldn’t be stopping any time soon. He just kept running in a straight line only moving out of it to avoid obstacles, it didn’t take him long to find a spot to better orient himself to where he could better the direction he needed to go. It was the same clearing he was in this weekend.

Either way it served his purpose, he quickly adjusted his path slightly. To hit one of the two remaining run away bags he had left behind here. It was in the opposite direction of both the Mill and Turret. He just made three run away bags here considering his aunt and uncles were good humans and didn’t abuse kids. It was just a habit that quickly picked up for his own safety.

The middle brother couldn’t remember what exactly would be inside of the small hiking bag, he just hoped there might be something he could use to his advantage. SNAP. Full fight mode now. Nick knew it wasn’t him since he saw no sticks in his path. He had his hand tightly gripping the handle of the knife, ready to draw it out and go for the kill on a vampire or the pommel on the other species.

He was hoping it was a vampire so he wouldn’t need to waste as much time with a fight, it could just be a clean temporary kill. But if they were going to actively try to kill him, then any bets were off the table for anyone. Two more quick snaps. Nick wasn’t going crazy. He kept more attention to the ground just in case.

Nick quickly turned around one of the trees hoping he could id his current purser and end this game of cat and mouse fast. He quickly drew the knife out of the sheath with his right hand in reverse grip so the pommel would instantly collide with the attacker's neck unless there were some kind of discrepancies in his aim, and height.

They were faster than his wild swipe, and quickly ducked left, dodging the knife and the follow up strike of Nick flipping it into forward grip. Nick knew it wouldn’t have work but it was meant to create distance so he could gather thoughts. He wouldn’t have been able to attack with any other part of his body given how fast he turned around the tree and how they dodge, he would have ended up on the ground, and be at a bigger disadvantage.

It was Jed. He didn’t know if Jed knew what was going on, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He just needed to knock him out, which would give him some more time to find his brothers and come up with something. They were deep enough in the woods to the point someone stumbling upon Jed’s soon to be unconscious form slim to none.

Nick soon started with his assault again, it was a barge of swipes with his knife. And whenever the chance was given he would throw in the odd kick or punch. He hated to admit this but Jed was surprisingly competent, he had grazing blows at this point. Jed jumped back after Nick almost landed a kick into his face which would have knocked him out or it would have left him right open to a million different options.

“Wow,” Jed said clearly excited, and unbothered by the dangerous game of stabby stabby and don't die. Which made Nick mentally question the werewolf alpha’s sanity.

“I know you're not intelligent by any stretch of the word but that’s it?” Nick rhetorically asked, offended.

Jed couldn’t help himself but shrugged his shoulders in a dismissive way, “You attacks are slower than a werewolf enhanced by magically steroids,” Jed responded. Nick was by no means slow, it was just that compared to both Andrew, and Henry pre-transition were both faster than the new supernatural.

“So who put you on this suicide mission to attempted to capture me?” Nick asked, while keeping the knife in front of his face to hopefully block most things sent his way.

Jed just looked confused at this “I just wanted to see who was running around in this forest at such annoying speeds?” Jed answered honestly. The werewolf wasn’t aware what Nick was talking about, he just thought he spooked him or pissed him off some more. He just thought that Rafael’s brother was just sick. It was rare for supernaturals to become sick but it still happened occasionally.

“So what’s going on?” Jed asked, he wasn’t aware of what was going on with Nick, he was there for the assembly and knew that Connor had gone missing but that didn’t seem good enough to shove some inside of a cell especially given methods that had to know if he was truthful.

“Dumbass human one locked me in a cell because he thought that I killed Connor,” Nick responded with a shrug. “Do you know where Landon and Rafael are?” The middle brother asked cautiously.

“Yes, they are at the normal high school investigating the disappearances of the naturals, along with a few other volunteers,” Jed said before he continued “Did Dr. Saltzman even attempt to try and prove your guilt?” Jed asked, knowing the adults' toxic habit of just jumping into action with little thoughts.

“Wait so this has happened before? Him just throwing people in cells without testing them with truth spells, the truth orb, blue calmus?” Nick asked, concerned.

“Yes, the best known example of this is with the prison world trio, John he is a vampire accused of consuming human blood and he is still desiccating in the basement and a few others examples,” Jed responded unfazed already used to this trait.

Jed tried to convince the principal to let the prison world trio out for a ‘trial’ after he had become alpha, and the heat had died down. It was just gonna be giving them blue calamus and making them talk. But Dr. Saltzman said no, along with saying it was necessary when it was obvious what happened to the Mystic Falls High students. Jed only did it because he felt response to the trapped werewolf as his alpha, and wanted to try help especially on the off chance he was innocent.

“Okay. I have a question, why are you helping me? After beating you up when we were 7, and threatening to beat you up again just recently, and now attacking you with a knife,” Nick asked, he thought he would have had to use force for multiple of these answers.

“Well as for when we were seven, I had my own demons and I was asking for something like that. As for recently you were watching out for your brothers, or your own pack as Alpha of a pack i can respect that. And for just right now, you thought I was going to kill you and I was actively pursuing you,” Jed responded. Nick’s actions for the most part were logically and predictable which decreased the risk.

“You are aware of the fact I beat the shit out of Connor when I was ten,” Nick asked, thinking this would change his mind on helping. He would still just knock out Jed and leave his unconscious form in the woods alone.

“Keyword you just beat him up, as you have claimed as a warning. And I have fought enough armed opponents to know you were just aiming to knock me out, instead of kill me,” Jed responded to one of Rafael’s older brothers.

“You do know that I'm going to kill whoever is causing this mess right?” Nick questioned. He was going to kill whoever was framing him purposely or not. And then he was getting out of here with his brothers because he didn’t trust the school to keep him safe.

“At this point they have killed six people or more, so they deserved it, and they are a threat to the school,” Jed responded. It made the most sense to kill whoever especially if they were an experienced vampire like he was believing it to be at this point.

“Well thanks I guess for having faith in me not to kill you, but I still need to cover my direct trail,” Nick said he wasted enough time as is with him. He didn’t know why he apologized to Jed but it didn’t affect anything.

And Nick quickly jabbed his knife’s pommel into Jed’s neck, knocking him out. The middle brother was surprised that Jed just let it happen. That he allowed himself to be knocked, he directly warned him, and thought he would have seconds thoughts, but nope Jed stayed still and let it happen.

That didn’t matter for right, he had already wasted enough time that he should have used to get closer to his brothers. Nick just left Jed’s body where it was on school grounds, doubting anything would happen. If he had more time he would have attempted to get his family's demon mask allowing him to access some of his abilities. But he had wasted enough time, and it would decrease the time he had to figure out what was going on, and help Rafael and Landon.

Landon pov Mystic Falls high 10:50 AM

The oldest foster brother was dodging in and around the crowd of people that seemed determined to hold up the entire hallway. He was trying to find either Hope or Rafael, the bell just rang allowing lunch to start. The phoenix wanted to know if they found anything of use, he hadn't checked the spelled binder just made sure it still had paper.

The only thing of note that he ‘discovered’ was that one girl had a scarf in Virginia heat which seemed odd. His only guess was that a vampire didn’t heal them and just compelled them to hide the bite mark on the neck. Landon didn’t know where to find Hope since he had no idea where she ended up, but that was his own fault. He just saw Dana’s backup and remembered everything disgusting they threw at him and said.

It didn’t matter because he soon bumped into the mystical unicorn herself. “Hi,” Landon greeted before he noticed the new accessory. “Enjoyed yourself?” he asked, he decided not to bring up the cat ears.

Hope lightly hummed for a moment before speaking, “Yeah, it was nice to pretend to be normal for at least a bit,” The tribrid responded. But it still didn’t make her feel any better about being a mistake.

“Why do you want to be normal?” Landon blurted out without thinking about it. As far as he could remember he wanted to be special, maybe some families would have paid more attention to him or could have found a home. Now he was but not for a good reason, he was just a freak again.

Hope didn’t have an answer to that question, “It’s just, sometimes it feels too much to handle on my shoulders,” she tried to answer as best as she could.

“I think it’s okay to feel pressure at uncertainties, just remember you can lean on someone,” Landon responded. He didn’t understand exactly what she was going through because he didn’t know who his parents were, he just had to live up to his own story. Besides he knew one day he would need to lean on either Rafael or Nick.

“Thanks,” Hope said. She guessed it made her feel slightly better but it still felt like her being crushed under a mountain with the hand she was dealt. Hope was the one and only tribrid, a firstborn Mikealson witch, daughter of Klaus, related to all original vampires, related to 3 out of the seven noble packs through Keelin, Jackson, and her dad, and the only living member of the original werewolves the labonairs, and she had to house all of the power of the witch who created an entire species for four years.

“Have you gone through the binder,” Hope asked, changing the conversation.

“No, I just made sure to have it filled up with paper,” Landon responded before adding “I was going to go through it with either you or Rafael,”.

“What’s up with the cat ears?” Landon asked knowing it would be easier than his last intrusive thought.

“Cheryl gave them to me spite Dana, more drama there, but it’s locator spell material we could use,” Hope explained why she kept them.

“Do you think this crime could be what are they called?” Hope asked while thinking, “Crime of passion?” she guessed thinking that was the right term.

Landon blinked slowly before responding with his knowledge about Dana and this town. “I don’t believe that is the case given her reputation to cheat in every aspect of life,” he responded, not understanding why Hope suggested that. Dana would do it with anyone also as they weren’t ugly to her standards.

“That’s what I mean, Connor is her current boyfriend,” to which Landon nodded seeing where this could go. “And because of that fact, he could have killed her out of jeously,” Hope explained what she was thinking.

“I could work, Connor has shown he is mentally capable of killing, but that is to ignore that Connor is also gone, and has also cheated on her, probably a bit more than Dana does with Connor,” Landon hated defending connor but he had to point out the obvious.

“Okay it’s not perfect, but I'm not seeing signs of supernaturally dirty work. And maybe they killed each out of mutually jealousy and Connor's family was just crossfire,” Hope tried to explain. Landon just nodded thinking some form it was possible.

“I wouldn’t say there was no sign of supernatural interference," Landon said, pointing to the girl he saw from before, the one with a scarf tightly wrapped around her neck.

Hope just shrugged her shoulders slightly annoyed more than anything that she missed something this obvious. “A scarf in Virginia heat. Sounds like a hot lead,” The tribrid tried to joke to lighten the mood.

Either way both the Phoenix and Tribrid decided to tail her, Hope was planning to use her magic to integrate the student, while Landon was following along to provide support if needed. Since he had no idea how to help, or if he could help since all he could do was not die.

Rafael pov Mystic Falls High 10: 50 AM

Rafael could confidently say that he didn’t miss the common people of Mystic Falls. He stood out like a sore thumb, especially when the town worshipped their stance they took during the civil war. Needless to say he never felt safe around founding events or family. Thankfully Mom and Dad knew that, and allowed him to stay home if they were going to attend one, but that was almost never the case.

He wasn’t even here for more than 3 hours, barely and lost track of the disgusted faces he received. Rafael at least had to give the teacher credit because they at least tried to hide it, unlike their students. But it didn’t matter right now, he was currently outside of uncle Zack's classroom. Rafael wasn’t Uncle Zack's favorite but he never did anything to exclude him, it was just that he preferred to spend time with his favorite nephew.

It was a running joke between him and Nick. Whoever could make something blow up using the most amount of chemicals would be his second favorite, neither of them attempted to do anything, at least to Rafael’s knowledge. He wouldn’t have put it past Nick. Rafael decided to bite off the bullet, and walked in.

The werewolf had never seen inside of uncle’s classroom, it wasn’t expecting anything special given it was classroom. And he was correct it looked like a basic chemistry class room in terms of set up, the tall sturdy tables, various lab equipment that he didn’t know the name of, generic poster for elements, forlumas, and the like.

Rafael knew it was uncle Zack’s despite not seeing him because of the photograph on the desk. It was the three brothers, and their parents. It was from when they were nine years olds, and the second year they were here. Landon was in front of uncle Zack, both grinning like knuckle heads. Rafael was in front of dad, they shared the same hair color, but Dad had bright emerald eyes, and he was still in his mechanic clothes. Nick was in front of mom, she had her brown hair tied up in a high ponytail, and her blue eyes shined with amusement. They were outside their house but the photo was pointed towards the nearby woods, with their gravel roadway visible.

This memory lane felt amazing to go down. Rafael remembered that summer when he was eight and Dad taught him a lot of mechanical skills fixing up his grandpa’s old truck. It felt so amazing when dad said that he would be a better worker than half of his employees. Rafael knew he was probably lying but it still felt amazing to be praised.

He wasn’t expecting there to be anything that topped that next summer and he was mostly right. But Rafael and Dad would always find a barely functional car at the start of the summer and fix it by the end of the summer, and when he sold he would get a small amount, usually a max of hundred fifty dollars but it didn’t matter to the werewolf. He enjoyed fixing the broken cars with dad.

One of the funniest Rafael ever saw was probably when Landon and uncle Zack modified dad’s car to make the exhaust spit out bright neon pink bubbles. But they also jerry rigged his car with his help to add hydrogen to it. Rafael had no idea how they did the first part of it but it was funny. That was one of the various miscellaneous dumb things they did during the summer. He believed when Landon was ten, they tried to make a rocket reach a cell phone tower using elephant tooth paste. They almost succeeded which was the scary part.

And Landon accidentally turning the basic potato battery into a bomb on accident. At least they didn’t try anything with piranha solution. But Rafael lost track of a lot of their miscellaneous experiments they did over the summer. But he knew a lot of them were safe, they mainly just tried to figure out if something was possible from the movie and recreate it, especially older ones.

Between Rafael spending time with dad, and Landon with uncle zack. That meant Nick was usually with mom. They never did anything close to as crazy as what Landon and Uncle Zack did, but they had fun. Nick often helped mom if she was stitching something. He would just generally help her with anything going on, as well as he could. Nick knew how to stitch already but he said that enjoyed learning the more complicated stuff his dad didn’t know. The middle brother couldn’t make anything from scratch like mom, but he considered himself adequate.

All of the brothers enjoyed the colder seasons, so when fall rolled around they would all get excited for one reason or another. Rafael guessed because of his werewolf nature, even unactivated, Landon always being on fire, and Nick because he was used to 70+ inches a year. Nick would join dad if he went hunting because he missed doing it with his own dad. While to Landon and Rafael it meant one day closer to snowfall. And truthfully it was the time the brothers looked forward to Christmas or that time of year. It was usually a painful reminder that they weren’t loved.

Rafael remembered just a few days before the picture was taken. Mom had offered to try and stitch a fabric jacket that looked like his dad that he could use instead because he didn’t want to modify his dad’s. And that was also why he didn’t remove his dad’s navy patch embroidered on the left shoulder. Which was hard to spot given it seemed to blend into the jacket perfectly minus the tiny white spot on it. Nick said no, saying he would grow into it. He did eventually, he no longer tripped over when he was around 14 and half. Nick wore that jacket everyday since, minus for this tiny stretch.

“Hey, buddy,” uncle Zack's pleasant voice dragged Rafael out of his wonderful jog of memory lane, from his home memories.

“Hi uncle Zack,” Rafael greeted back filled with nostalgia just from the voice of his uncle, it was still the same after all of this time. It was perfectly silky smooth, it put most music teacher’s resting voice to shame.

Zack hadn’t changed much in the past, he still had his dull brown hair cut short, but Rafael couldn’t help himself upon seeing it “nice gray hair,” it was just a few strands but Rafael wanted to mess with him. The chemistry teacher still wore his same typical work clothes, blue jeans and button up.

Zack let out left at out that “Haha, of course you would notice,”. It appeared as if his gentle smile was chiseled into him since it has waivered since Rafael looked at him.

Rafael gave his uncle a firm hug, keeping in mind his increased werewolf strength so as not to hurt him, which was returned with the same strength. “It’s good to see you again,” Zack said pleasantly surprised.

“How are you holding up, what have Landon and Nick been up to,” Zack asked, wanting to catch up with one of his nephews. He was aware the brothers could have been separated from one another, but he hoped they stayed in contact.

“I have been doing good, same with Landon and Nick,” Rafael responded. “We just got moved to foster parents here, but we already got word that we will be switching soon again, and this time out of state,” Rafael decided to tell him the bad news.

“Oh,” the disappointment was clearly etched into the adult's voice and face. “And you just decided to visit me after learning these?” Zack feigned being hurt but, he was just glad to see one of nephews again, he knew the chances were slim to none after his brother and wife died.

The chemistry teacher had talked to all of the social workers that were there for the brothers, in order to become their new guardian like was intended but they just took them. He was glad the brothers didn’t know they were actually adapted, Kevin, and Stacey signed the paper work just a week before they died. It would have made the pain worse especially because they refused to listen, and he tried everything in the past three years. It was going to be their Christmas surprise since they were adopted in October just a bit after Rafael’s birthday.

“We haven’t been given the chance yet,” Rafael apologized. He felt guilty about not coming sooner, but he couldn’t help it.

“So where are Landon and Nick?” Zack asked, he wanted to see them again before they left.

“Landon is lurking around here, I came here because I thought he would be trying to talk you into an experiment, and Nick is stuck at the Salvatore school,” Rafael explained as best as could without going into the specifics.

“The Salvatore school?” Zack asked in a disbelieving tone. Never in a million did he ever expect to hear about local stepping foot inside of there.

“Ya, our current foster parent works there, so we get free admission,” Rafael shrugged his shoulders.

“Congrats on the upgrade, but I expect you to contact me if you need help with anything,” Zack said.

“Will do, and um quick question, where are mom and dad’s graves? I know Nick, and Landon would like to visit them,” Rafael asked his uncle.

“Do you remember where grandma and grandpa were buried?” Zack asked. Rafael just nodded to the question he never met them but he went with mom once to give gravestone flowers. “They are in the row behind them,” Zack explained.

“Thank you,” Rafael said honestly, he hoped that he would be able to stop by and say something to the graves.

“And Rafael when you see your brothers tell them that I say Hi. And my place is always open to you guys, and if you ever want feel free to build something on Kevin and Stacey's plot,” Zack said. He owned the land but he wasn’t going to touch so if they wanted it would be free game.

Rafael couldn’t contain his smile at that thought, being able to live in Mystic Falls for the rest of his life, with his brothers and uncle nearby. And yet it was just a reminder that it would always be a dream, they found a home once and it was stolen from them just as fast. If they did live here they would need to beat some grounds into the Salvatore people.

“Okay will do, and one day one of us will take you up on that offer,” Rafael responded.

Their conversation was unfortunately cut short, and before they got to have more fun conversation reminiscing about all of the fun times and catching up with one another, one of Zack’s students came in and asked to take a test that he missed. Rafael said goodbye and left to give the student some silence besides he needed to find Landon.

He unfortunately didn’t run into Landon right away, because he was stopped by a new face. Beside him and his brothers they were never any new faces in mystic falls, just extended family moving in and out but that was it, it was rare for people to move here. Before them, it was maybe 7 years before they got a new face. But they had moved by the time the brothers showed up because they weren’t connected to any of the original families and basically locked off from anything in the town.

“Hey, do you know where Ethan is?,” the girl asked the Salvatore student thinking that he would be with one of them because he doesn’t have a usually lunch spot.

“Ethan Machado?” Rafael asked to be sure, there were ten Ethans in this school, and he guessed that because it was the only new face, plus hers. But he doubted that these two were even close to being willing or able to kill. But he couldn’t speak much, accidents did happen.

“Yea, he isn’t answering my calls or texts, and our car is still in the parking lot,” She responded. They may have shared the car, but she rarely used it since everything was in convenient walking distance including work, and he used it for football practice since he was often too tired to walk back home.

“Listen he’s probably fine, just hanging out with someone,” The newly activated werewolf responded. Yes he saw that he appeared to be lonely, but maybe he made a new friend at some point. And he didn’t fall into any similarities of Connor and Dana so he was probably safe from whatever was lurking around.

“If you see him please let him know I'm looking for him,” His sister said, still unsure.

“Will do,” Rafael responded before he left, and actually started to make his way to where he could hopefully find his brother. He was just following his gut hoping it was right.