Landon got in the vehicle with Seylah, still wanting answers. He was a little nervous still being alone with her, but she didn't seem like she wanted to hurt him anymore. Hope was in the car they had used to get here to follow after the other car. Her werewolf senses were focused on Landon and the woman who gave birth to him, wanting to make sure everything was going alright. Seylah didn't stop until she reached a distanced motel. Hope parked near her. Seylah got a room for them to stop at, and the three of them went inside.
"Okay, we're gonna need some answers" Hope said, not taking a moment to ease into it. "Considering you brought us here instead of killing us outright, I assume you are finally starting to believe us?"
"I do believe he is my son." she said, her gaze on Landon.
"What's your story?" Hope questioned. "Landon has told you his. It's time for you to tell yours"
"Hope" Landon spoke up, wanting to not just be really blunt about the questions. He didn't want to mess things up here more than they had already gotten. Especially if she was now believing him.
"I know you just want to be around her and not mess anything up, but we both came here for answers" she reminded him as she took a seat beside him on the bed.
"It's alright, Landon. When I finished my service in the army, I was recruited by an intelligence organization. The States sounded like a better life. I didn't know what I was signing up for, but soon I learned that things like you exist in this world" Seylah said, looking at Hope. "Whenever a monster went bump in the night and risked exposing the truth, I tracked it down and brought it back to headquarters."
"We're not monsters" Hope said with a small frown on her face.
"You are to me"
The words made Hope fall quiet, and her gaze lowered for a moment before looking at Seylah, waiting for her to continue. She just wanted things to work out here. For Landon's sake. "This headquarters, where is it?" she asked finally.
"Sorry. You just seem morally inclined enough to do something stupid, and there's too much blood on my hands as it is." Seylah said. "A few years in, I saw something I shouldn't. I became the hunted instead of the hunter. I wanted to know what was happening to the monsters. Because even though I spent all that time studying their every move, I couldn't remember them at all. So I started taking notes. I realized my memory was being erased. The question was: How?"
"Malivore." Hope said. "Landon took a knife that was an artifact we came across. Now monsters that shouldn't exist have been coming after it ever since. The last monster that came for the knife was a Necromancer who screwed us over and returned it back to Malivore"
Landon reached over and took Hope's hand in his, knowing how much whatever happened had affected her. She gave him a small grateful smile, appreciating it before looking back at Seylah. "It's a long story, but he said that the knife is one of three keys that kept Malivore contained so why are monsters still coming?"
"Go home and forget you heard the name, just like we forget anyone who's ever been there." Seylah stood up to leave.
Landon dropped Hope's hand and stood up. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. You-you have to tell us more. I mean..."
"I don't know who your father is. My job was stressful, so I had flings to blow off steam. Got pregnant, and I'm not equipped to be a mother. Sorry. I thought I was giving you a better life." Seylah headed out of the room, leaving Landon devastated at how this was turning out.
Hope sighed softly and looked at Landon. She didn't say a word but instead used her senses to follow the sound of Seylah as she headed down to the pool. "She's just getting some air. I think she's down near the pool" she guessed. "I'll give her some time to cool off and deal with whatever emotions she is keeping buried before I talk to her."
Landon nodded and didn't say anything, continuing to think about everything.
"I think I'm finally ready to talk about what happened with the Necromancer" Hope said, which caught Landon's attention. "If you want me to"
Landon turned on the bed to face her and took her hand. "Of course. I'm always here for you to talk to"
Hope gave him a grateful smile and was silent for a moment, unsure of where to start. It wasn't some simple thing to explain. She supposed she could throw it all together in one sentence, but she wanted him to understand. If she was going to tell him, she was going to tell him all of it.
Landon didn't speak, but instead he waited for her to say something. He didn't want to rush or push her. So he merely held her hand as he offered his support. Whatever happened, he was there for her. He knew what happened was still bothering her. And it hurt him to know that she was hurting like this.
"While you were helping deal with Rafael and his temporarily resurrected girlfriend, I went inside the Necromancer's mind to try to find answers" Hope explained. "We figured maybe there was something in there that could help us learn more about Malivore. Something buried inside."
"But there wasn't?" Landon questioned. "Or was that how you found out about the keys?"
Hope shook her head. "That was later" she explained. "When I first got inside his mind, we were both suddenly in a bar in New Orleans called Rousseau's. That was where he told me that he knew my dad. That my dad was good for his business because he was always killing people."
Landon squeezed Hope's hand comfortingly. He knew the topic of her dad was always difficult for her. She talked to him about him sometimes because she wanted to be honest with him and for him to know about her family and not just her. But he still knew it was hard for her to talk about.
"And then he briefly showed me my father. Made me think he was there before having him disappear right in front of my eyes" Hope swallowed hard. "And he knew I... he knew I wanted to know if my father was at peace or if he was suffering."
"Hope...." Landon trailed off.
"I know. I know. But he died for me. If there was a chance that I could know for sure that he was at peace... I had to know" Hope said, a tear slipping down her cheek. She wiped it away and took a deep breath, collecting herself. "Then he ditched me, and my father appeared. And I was so happy that he was right there. It hurt knowing it was temporary, but I had thought I would never see him again"
"I understand. I mean, I don't have family like that. But I imagine if I did, I would be happy to see them again. Even if it also hurt. And I know that if anything happened to you, I'd feel the same way" Landon tucked her hair behind her ear with his free hand.
Hope gave him a small smile, also feeling the same if something had happened to him. She had fallen hard for him, and she didn't want anything to happen to him.
"After talking to him for a couple of minutes, we found a door to what I thought was the Necromancer's subconscious. It was just this completely black room with a staircase going down deeper into it. We started going down, but my dad disappeared" She took a deep breath. "I kept going down and eventually fell till I hit the floor. There was nothingness. It was just blackness. Empty. It was like... It was like how, according to Dr Saltzman, the Dryad had described Malivore. And it wasn't pleasant. That's for sure"
"And then what happened?" He asked.
She looked down at their hands. "And then.... After I finally broke down a bit and admitted that I did want to know about my dad, only then did the Necromancer let me leave his mind. Then he told me about the keys and all of that. And he also ... He also said that my dad wouldn't find peace until I do. And he wouldn't answer my question on whether or not my dad that I saw was real or just him screwing with me. I have no idea. And that- There are no words for how that feels"
Landon tugged her closer before wrapping his arms around her. She clung to him, feeling comforted by his presence. The tribrid closed her eyes and stayed in the same position, not wanting to let go of him. Though finally, she pulled away, knowing Landon would stay in that position as long as she needed.
"Thank you. For being here for me. For listening to me. And for not pushing me to talk sooner. Not really. It means a lot"
"You're welcome" he replied. "I just want to be here for you. No matter what has happened or what comes next. If you want to tell me things, I'll be here to listen. And if you aren't ready to tell me, that's okay too."
Hope leaned forward and pressed her lips to his for a long moment before pulling away. "And that is one of the several reasons that I love you"
Landon smiled back at her before kissing her again. Hope drew him closer to her, placing one of her arms around his waist and the other on his neck. Finally, she pulled away.
"I really need to get up and go talk to Seylah. There are still questions I need to ask"
"Alright. Do you want me to come with you?"
Hope shook her head. "Only if you want to. It's fine if you stay here"
"Okay. I'll see you later" Landon said. He wanted to go. But he also wasn't sure about another conversation with his mom just yet.
She gave him a small smile before heading out of the motel room and going down to the pool, where Seylah was drinking. "You were lying when you said that Landon was the product of some one night stand to blow off steam. What aren't you telling us?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you" Seylah replied. "I'm still not sure that I believe it, and I lived it."
Hope took a seat beside Seylah. "I am a vampire, werewolf, witch tribrid. I'm the only one of my kind. And shouldn't exist. Yet I do. Try me"
"The organization I used to work for guards the portal to Malivore. When I realized I was having memory lapses, I started writing everything down. Drawing maps. I wrote about the creatures I captured and where I took them. Each entry ended there."
"So where did you take them?" Hope asked, looking over at her.
Seylah chuckled a bit. "Nah, that's not important"
"It seems pretty important to me"
"Even more of a reason for me not to tell you" Seylah said.
"Seriously? Monsters came after artifacts that your son activated. Artifacts that are keys to unlocking Malivore, and you don't think it's important for us to know where you brought the monsters that got put there?"
"I'm not telling you, Hope. For your own good"
Hope scoffed but didn't argue further, no matter how much she wanted to. She couldn't risk not learning more.
"One day, I snuck in by myself. And what I found was a... a black pit locked away."
"Is that supposed to be a metaphor?" Hope questioned.
"Oh, no. It's an actual pit, filled with... tar or something."
Hope looked at her in surprise. She wasn't expecting Malivore to be a literal black pit of tar. She was picturing more of a magical portal or something. More glowy perhaps, less tar. How long was this pit of tar there? How long has Triad been shove supernatural and possibly even humans in there? "The story has it that if Malivore consumes you, you experience endless darkness."
"Yeah. It's not just a story, though. And I should know. I've been there" Seylah said.
"You what? You've been inside Malivore? How are you even here?" Hope asked.
"I don't know. When my former employers discovered that I was trying to remember the things they made me forget, they tossed me into the pit.
I don't even know how long I was in Malivore, but one day I found myself back here. I woke up in the middle of nowhere, covered in mud, absolutely no idea how I got there. Turns out two years had gone by, but there was a bright side. No one I worked for remembered me."
"Okay" Hope said, thinking. "And where does Landon come into this?" He had to, considering she had gone over to Seylah, asking about Landon.
"When I woke up outside of Malivore... I was pregnant", Seylah said finally, looking ahead at the pool.
"You got pregnant with Landon while you were in Malivore?" Hope questioned before shaking her head a little. "Sure, why not? I've heard of stranger things, I guess."
"You believe me?" Seylah questioned, surprised.
"Like I said, I shouldn't exist. Of course my boyfriend has a unique story of his existence as well." Hope commented. "So you have no idea how. It's just-"
Seylah shook her head. "No, I don't. I don't know what he is, if he is a supernatural beings or not, though I assume so. Considering how he was conceived"
The ex Triad worker stood up and headed over towards her car. Hope frowned at that and followed after her.
"Your keys are upstairs" she said.
"One doesn't always need keys to get where they are going" Seylah said as she started hotwiring her own car.
"Or you're just too afraid to go upstairs and get them. Then you would have to tell Landon you are abandoning him. Again."
"He likes you a lot, Hope. Be good to him."
"You first" Hope shot back cooly. "Now, are you coming with, or do I need to drag your ass upstairs?"
"I never thought I'd see him again. And I was okay with that. Being a mother was never on my list of things to do before I died" Seylah replied. "Every now and then, over the years, I... I wondered how he was. What kind of person he turned out to be. If he had a nice life."
"Well, he's an amazing person with a terrible life" Hope said. "Help make it better"
"He doesn't need me for that. From what he told me, you've helped make his life a lot better"
"That doesn't mean he doesn't deserve more. He's been wondering about you his whole life" Hope said, looking at her. "He needs family who care about him. Even if you're not a perfect mother. He needs someone. Everyone does. Even if they don't admit it to themselves"
"He has you. And I'm doing what is best for him" Seylah said as she shut the car door once it started.
"What you think you're doing for him doesn't matter. All that he's gonna remember of you is that you abandoned him when he needed you the most." Hope said. "Believe me, I know"
"No. He won't remember me, period. and neither will you." Seylah shot at Hope with a dart, and suddenly the tribrid lost consciousness.
When she finally started to wake up, the first thing she heard was Landon calling out her name and rushing over to her. "Hope! Oh my god. Hope!"
His familiar hand was on her side, and when she opened her eyes, she saw him hovering over her fallen form, his eyes wide with concern. "Landon?" she questioned.
"What happened?" He asked as he helped her up, his hand on her back in case she needed any support while she regained her focus. Physically, she seemed okay. There was no sign anything had happened beyond the fact she had become unconscious.
Hope looked over at Landon and looked around as the memory of what had happened rose in her mind. "Seylah, she's going to Malivore. We need to go. Now"
"Yes we do before a merman catches up to us."
"A what?"
"I'll explain on the way. Holy smokes" Landon said as he saw the merman burst through the motel door before rushing over to the car Hope had driven.
Hope got in the car and started driving. "I need to get far enough away from it to have time to do a locator spell to track Seylah. What's going on? The monsters are after keys. Why is it chasing us?"
"That's what I needed to tell you. You know how I stole the knife without really understanding why? Well apparently I did that with an urn that was at Seylah's place. I didn't steal it. Not on purpose. It just happened."
"We'll deal with it. But first we need to deal with Seylah" Hope looked over at him before seeing the blood on his side, mostly concealed by his jacket. "Landon- You're hurt-" She frowned in concern
"It's fine, Hope. I'll be okay" Landon said. "Just focus on Seylah"
She took a deep breath and nodded, speeding down an empty road. She reached behind her without looking and grabbed one of her bags before moving it onto Landon's lap. "Pull out the United States map. The second I have a chance, I'm going to pull over and will need to do the spell quickly."
Landon unzipped the bag and fumbled through it before pulling out the map. "So I take it this is your magic bag"
"I wasn't sure what would happen on the trip and wanted to be prepared in case I needed anything" Hope explained.
"Smart" Landon said with a smile before noticing the weapons she also stuffed in here. "This would have come in handy back at Seylah's place"
"And at the motel with the merman. Speaking of which, if he catches up to us, I'm going to need that" She held her hand out, and Landon placed the small but sharp axe in her hand. Hope set it to the side, where she could easily get to it if needed.
Finally, she managed to create enough distance that she pulled over and took the map from him. "I need some of your blood from your wound" she said, grimacing a little as she got out of the car.
"I guess it's a good thing I got injured, huh?" Landon commented as he got out as well.
"No," Hope said firmly, not thinking it was a good thing at all, even if she needed his blood. Landon walked over to her as she spread out the map across the front of the car. She reached out and touched near his wound, causing him to wince. "I'm sorry" she said softly before dropping the blood on the map before doing the spell. Just after she finished, the merman had reached their vehicle.
Hope magically threw it back and grabbed her axe before attacking the merman on the empty road. She kicked the merman, but he got up and moved fast, faster than Hope was able to. He threw her against the SUV before grabbing her and throwing her away from it. Hope, managing to keep a strong hold on her axe, pushed herself up.
She threw it at the Merman, and it landed in his chest, which slowed it down but didn't kill it. It grabbed the urn from the car and left.
Hope moved quickly to the map and picked it up before getting in the car. Landon got in as well, and Hope passed the map over to him. "You're gonna need to tell me where to go" she said as she started driving again. The blood was moving on the map in the direction of Seylah's movements.
Landon started directing Hope on where to go, and she continued driving after the merman and Seylah. "I can't believe she's trying to erase herself out of being a parent" Landon said as Hope drove.
"She thinks she's doing what's best for you."
"Well, she's not" he said with a sigh as he looked ahead at the long road they were on.
"I know. I told her as much, but she didn't listen. I'm gonna do what I can to get us there in time."
"I know." Landon said, looking over at her before looking back at the map. She was still moving, which meant she wasn't in Malivore yet.
Eventually, they reached the facility and got out of the car. "Landon, stay back" Hope said.
"I can't. I need to get in there" Landon said, wanting to stop his mother from erasing herself. Ignoring his wound, he hurried towards the building.
"Landon!" she called out, heading after him but choosing not to stop him magically.
Up ahead, the Merman, with the urn in hand, suddenly blew up. The force sent Hope and Landon flying back and knocking them unconscious. When they finally woke up, Hope pushed herself up and looked around. It was daylight now. How long had they been unconscious outside of the facility.
Landon got up as well and looked around in confusion. "Where the hell are we? What happened?"
Hope looked over at Landon in shock. He didn't remember coming here. But she did. How did he not remember it? She turned her head back to the facility. There was no way Seylah hadn't succeeded. But how could Hope remember her and Landon didn't? And what was she supposed to do with this information?
She walked forward towards the building and picked up the indestructible urn. "Alright, we should get out of here. Get to a hotel for the night and drive home tomorrow."
Landon nodded and headed back to the car, wincing as he held his side. "I'm injured. How did I get injured?"
"I'll take care of it once we get out of here. I promise. But the last thing we need is anyone showing up and asking questions, So just take it easy till we get to the hotel"
"Okay. What was that thing? The urn?"
"I found it closer to the facility. I figured I should bring it back with us" Hope started driving. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"Um, I remember we went searching for my mother. But that's about it. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in that field, unsure of how we got there" Landon replied. "Do you remember more than that?"
Hope said nothing but shook her head just slightly, trying to figure things out. She wasn't sure what exactly it was that caused her to remember. But she needed to figure things out. If she told Landon that they had met his mom and lost her within the same day, something he didn't have any memories of.... she wasn't sure that was the right choice.
She got to the hotel and parked her car. "I'm gonna check us in. Just stay here and rest. I'll be back very soon. Okay?"
Landon nodded. "Okay" he agreed, still thinking about the memory gap and wondering what all happened.
She headed inside and got them a hotel room before heading out to the car. She helped Landon get out, knowing his wound was worse from being thrown back. "I can walk. And I can carry my bag"
"No, I've got the bags. You just walk with me." Hope said firmly as she went over to the backseat and grabbed the bags.
"Fine" Landon said with a small sigh as they headed inside. He wasn't a fan of not being able to help, but he was injured. And he understood her concern, so he wasn't upset. He just wanted to help.
They arrived at their room, and Landon took a seat in the desk chair, grimacing a bit in pain. Hope unzipped her bag of supplies and pulled out gel and a bandage. She went over to him as he shrugged off his jacket, wincing as he did so. "The gel should help you heal pretty quickly. But we should keep it bandaged till you're better"
She lifted up the side of his shirt and tried to hold it up as she took care of him. Except she soon realized, she couldn't do that and deal with the gel and bandage. Landon realized that as well and tried to help hold it, but it clearly bothered him to position himself like that.
"This isn't working" Hope said with an irritated sigh.
"Sorry-"
She shook her head. "It's not you" she promised.
"You could take it off" Landon said. "It's okay"
"Are you sure?" She looked at him, not wanting to do something he wasn't comfortable with.
"You're asking me if I'm comfortable with you, the girl I love, taking my shirt off?" Landon questioned, heat rising in his cheeks. "I'm sure, Hope."
"Alright" Hope said and lifted his shirt off of him, looking at his beautiful eyes and getting momentarily lost in them. Finally, she tore her gaze away and grabbed the jar of gel. She spread some on the wound carefully before bandaging it up. She slowly looked up at him, taking in his body a little before reaching his eyes. "Just get some rest, and you'll be good as new soon enough"
"Thank you, Hope"
"You're welcome" The tribrid pressed her lips to his for a moment before pulling away. "Let's go to bed" She helped him get up, and he went with her go the bed.
"Do you want another shirt to wear?"
"No, I'm... I'm okay" Landon said. "I just want to lay with you"
"Okay" Hope said.
She grabbed her clothes and went to change into something comfortable she hadn't been fighting in. She came out of the bathroom wearing a tank top and comfortable pants. She got on the bed, on her side of the bed. Landon had already gotten on his. She put her arm on his chest, careful not to have her arm close to his wound. He wrapped his arm around her body and took her hand.
"I'm kind of surprised you're not making us have separate rooms, considering how things have been recently" He said, looking down at her.
"I considered it, but I think this time will be different. And I want to be here with you."
"I want to be with you too. I was thinking, maybe we don't have to go back later today? I dont have work. We could just spend some time together if you want?"
Hope looked down at their hands. "I want to spend time with you. But that urn.... it's one of the keys for Malivore. Which means monsters will be coming. Now we can rest a little before leaving, but I need to make sure this urn is safe."
"Alright. Well, maybe we can have another trip weekend sometime, if you want"
"I'd like that" Hope said before pressing her lips to his.
Landon drew her even closer and continued to kiss her. His palms moved down her back. He could feel her breathing against him; a gasp in between kisses. As she kissed him, the guilt from the secrets she was keeping were momentarily pushed away. She was enjoying the moment, every second of it. It was like that sometimes How kisses from someone you loved made all of the problems fade into the background, even if it was only temporarily. With Landon, she felt more at peace than with anyone else. But with the secret weighing between them, only when he kissed her like this was she able to start to forget the problem.
She slid her arm around him before pulling away at the sound of his pain.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry"
"It's okay. It's feeling better. And soon enough, things will be back to normal" Landon said. "It's worth it." Landon pressed his lips to hers, drawing her closer, despite any pain it caused him.
Eventually, Hope pulled away. "Get some rest. I'll talk to you more when you wake up"
Landon nodded and closed his eyes before eventually drifting to sleep. She sighed and watched him sleep for a moment before closing her own eyes. But her mind was full of thoughts of what had recently happened involving Seylah. There were so many questions she had. So much she needed to tell Landon. But something was holding her back. The mere thought of keeping anything from him again, especially this important, hurt her.
But if she told him and he found out she remembers his mom but he can't, that his mom is in Malivore and that he could never meet her again... It'd hurt him, but if she didn't and he somehow found out, it would hurt him. Either way, Landon would get hurt. And just that thought was enough to cause the tribrid's heart to ache painfully, and the feeling didn't ease even as she started to fall asleep