"How is she?" I asked Dr. Saltzman as we walked down the hallway. After my sister expressed interest in speaking with the tribrid, I left her with Hope.
"If you two spoke words to each other, you would know," he answered then sighed. "She's doing what she does best, keeping people out."
"You can't blame her. I'm surprised I was in for as long as I was."
"What happened, Alexius?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "That's a question for her."
"Dr. Saltzman," Landon's voice interrupted our conversation. We turned around to see the human running down the hallway, coming to a stop in front of us.
"Dr. Saltzman, I have changed my mind," the headmaster spoke, anticipating Landon's next words, but I'm sure that was not what he was going to say. "I've decided to take you up on your offer and get the hell out with every other sane person here."
"No, actually, I took your advice and I stayed busy, and I think I found something."
I love being right.
We followed Landon to the library, picking up Hope and my sister along the way. Something must have happened because neither of them, especially my sister, would look at me.
"What did you do, Artemis?" I questioned her but didn't receive an answer.
"Let's pretend for a second that the research isn't wrong," Landon started talking as we all walked into the library and stood around a table covered in books and papers. "Maybe the Night Hag can't hurt us in real life. Maybe the Night Hag can't leave the astral plane and get ahold of the urn, so maybe we are not dealing - with a Night Hag."
"Well, if it walks like a Night Hag, and talks like a Night Hag, what else could it be?" Dr. Saltzman wondered.
"That's exactly what I was wondering, so then I started going through all these books, and boom," Landon replied, opening a book and flipping to a page.
Hope glanced over the page then asked, "What's an Oneiroi?"
"A pain in the ass."
"It's a black-winged shapeshifting dream demon from Greek mythology."
Were the answers to the tribrid's question.
"Why would one monster disguise itself as another monster?" Hope asked another question. "The Oneiroi sounds freaky enough."
"Because if we knew what it actually was --"
Dr. Saltzman finished Landon's answer and exited the library, saying, "We'd know how to stop it."
࿊࿊࿊
"A black-winged what?" Kaleb asked out of confusion after Hope explained everything to the Super Squad.
We all assembled in the main room, which was oddly empty and quiet. Kaleb leaned on the arm of the couch, where MG and Rafael sat. I stood behind the couch, Artemis by my side, but she still hasn't looked at me or told me what she and Hope were talking about. Landon sat on the arm of a chair a few feet away from the tribrid, who stood in front of the room.
"Shapeshifting dream demon," Hope and I replied in unison. She continued talking, "I know it sounds bad, but now that we know what the creature is, we can fight it."
"How the hell are we supposed to kill a dream demon?"
"It's not very hard, just aim for the eyes," Artemis answered Rafael's question.
"Since I can't fall asleep without compromising the location of the urn, I need someone else to pull it out of the dream plane and into our waking reality."
"So, Freddy Krueger. Like I said," MG spoke causing me and Kaleb to shake our heads.
"Wait, how the hell are we supposed to do that?" the werewolf questioned.
"If it's anything like the movies, we just grab and pull." MG did the action while he talked.
"Yeah, okay. Is it too late to get on the, uh, evacuation bus?"
The tribrid shook her head. "No. I mean, I'm not gonna ask all of you to stay for this, it has to be your choice."
"I'm not leaving unless Hope does," Landon said, standing up.
"We already know the answer to that, so," she mumbled and I chuckled.
"I'm not leaving Landon behind," Rafael sighed, following Landon's action.
"I'm a founding member of the Super Squad, so I can't bail." MG stood up with a smile then looked at Kaleb.
"Y'all gonna get yourselves killed," he paused and sighed. "But if MG stays, I stay. No child left behind."
"Alexius," Hope called my name.
"Let's kill the ugly bastard."
"In that case, it's naptime."
࿊࿊࿊
We set up a nap circle in the middle of the gym. Glancing over at the tribrid, she had a stress look on her face. Sighing, I walked towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched as she turned around but sighed in relief seeing my face.
"You okay?" I murmured.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She cleared her throat but I could hear the hesitation in her voice.
"You can't lie to me, Andrea."
She chuckled and shook her head. "I know."
"Hey." I brought her head up, connecting our eyes. "You are Hope Andrea Mikaelson, a fucking badass tribrid which is sexy. When I pull it out, aim for the eyes."
"Thank you, Alexius. Can you do something for me?"
"I think you know the answer to that."
I was a few inches taller than her so she had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach my ear. She whispered the location of the urn.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked the tribrid.
"I know I hurt you but I hope that you still trust me."
"What did you and my sister discuss?"
"Things," she smirked and I shook my head. "Sweet dreams."
࿊࿊࿊
The walls of mine and Hope's room at the Salvatore School were the first thing I saw as I opened my eyes. I turned my head to see the tribrid herself with her arm around my waist after hearing a whimper and shuffling next to me.
"Andrea," I murmured, not wanting to scare her anymore. "Wake up, Andrea." After shaking her shoulder, she gasped then screamed my name. "I'm right here. It's me; it's Alexius."
Feeling a presence behind me, I spun around and the monster appeared.
"What are you doing to her?" I asked the monster.
"You won't be able to save her. She's in pain and you can't help her."
"That's a fucking lie. I will always save her plus none of this is real. It's just a dream. Let's see that ugly face of yours."
The monster lifted the veil, showing its crooked teeth and decayed face but I shook my head.
"We both know that's not your real one."
It ripped the false face in half, the red, demon-like face coming through and I smiled.
"Long time no see."
"Bring me the urn," It demanded. "You know where it is."
"Alright, let's go get it." I teleported in front of the monster and wrapped my arms around it, pulling it into the real world.
Jumping awake, the boys seemed to be waking up from their dreams. Shaking my head, I stood up and looked around the gym but didn't see the tribrid, the monster, or my sister.
"Hope? Hope," Landon called for the Mikaelson.
"Are we alive, dude? Did we win?" MG questioned with a shaky voice and I nodded my head, helping him stand up.
"Hey, is everybody okay?"
"You see any dead dream demons laying around?" Kaleb responded to Rafael's question.
"I grabbed the monster so where the fuck is it," I wondered, running my hand through my hair. "Where's my sister?"
"And Hope," Landon added. "Where's Hope?"
"She was in my dream, and then, I don't know, she was gone," Rafael's answer caused me to give him a questioning look but he ignored me.
A rumbling sound intensified making the overhead lights sway and dust fall to the ground.
"What's that?"
"Wait. Wh-What was Hope doing in your dream?" Landon questioned his best friend, stepping closer to the werewolf.
Rafael's eyes flickered around the gym and he hesitated before answering, "The usual, just being a badass."
Once he said that the gym doors busted open, Hope and the monster crashed onto the floor. We moved out of the way as they continued to roll.
"Pretty much like that."
The monster stood up to its full height with a growl. I stepped forward, ready to fight it but Hope stopped me.
"Stay back, guys. I got this."
She jumped on top of the monster, slamming its back on the ground but the monster started choking her. Dr. Saltzman and Artemis ran into the gym with an arrow in her hand.
"Hope! The eyes!" my sister shouted, throwing the arrow. The tribrid caught it, breaking it in half, and pierced the monster's eyes which evaporated in a cloud of black smoke.
"Alexius was right. Sexy as hell."
࿊࿊࿊
"Fighting dream demons is exhausting, why aren't you in bed?" I asked the tribrid, sitting next to her on the floor in front of the fire place.
"Thoughts are too loud," Hope answered, turning her head towards me.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Decisions I've made. Regrets." Her eyes connected with mine when she finished speaking. "I killed you in your dream," she stated more than asked.
I nodded my head in confirmation. "Prophecies always come true, Hope. Kissing another person isn't going to change that."
Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth but I stopped her.
"Artemis can't keep conversations private."
"Alexius, killing you kills me," she whispered.
"Seeing you kiss Landon, killed me," I mumbled. "That image is stuck in my mind and I can't get it out, Andrea. That hurt more than what any sword can do."
"I didn't know what else to do."
"So you kissed someone hoping that would break the prophecy. It only broke my heart."
"I'm sorry, Alexius." Tears ran down her cheeks and I shook my head.
"I don't believe you, Andrea."