since when did you speak japanese?
"Ad somnum." Hope waves her hand, making Rafael fall back asleep.
Landon, Alaric, and I approach the tribrid. "What were you two even doing here?" Hope asks my brother.
"Looking for answers." He says, "And, I guess you." Hopes eyes soften at the statement, she looks over at me, and I shrug awkwardly.
"Dad?" We all turn to see Josie. She looks at each of us. "What the hell's going on?" I look at a japanese man with a sword and a very old fashioned, but bad ass, clothing. He begins to speak in a foreign language, which I can only assume is japanese. "He said, We came to protect the bonsai-headed boy and sister. I think."
Landon looks at me, smiling wide. "Doesn't make you cool." I say to my brother.
Josie looks at Hope for a moment. She whispers the Samurai before speaking Japanese. She glances back. "That's Japanese for, What the hell is is she doing here?"
I glare at Josie. "Okay, back off Princess Bubblegum before I tear those pretty brown eyes out." I take a step towards Josie, but Hope grabs my wrist. My head snaps back at her.
"It's not worth it, Lena." She whispers. Pursing my lips, I stand next to my brother. "Listen, I'm a witch, okay?"
"Badass werewitch, actually." I remark.
Josie sends me an annoyed look. "Just because she's supernatural doesn't mean we can trust her." She shrugs. "I mean, she shouldn't be here."
Alaric sighs. "Look, I will take all the help I can get." He says, "Even from him. So ask him to tell us everything we should know." He gestures to the Samurai.
Josie looks past us. "Kurutta-san." She waves him over. The two begin to speak in japanese. "Dropped on his head as a baby. Samurai school to learn discipline."
The Saltzman witch goes on to talk about Kurutta and the Oni. How it moves from person to person by touch. He was just about to kill it when it found its way into the body of a child and escaped him yet again. But he couldn't bring himself to harm an innocent child. So, instead, he made an impossible choice and he took the Oni into himself. But he was still partly in control of his faculties. The Oni found it harder to possess his broken mind. He tried to stab himself with his sword, and the Oni wouldn't let him. So he decided to never touch a person again. And then Malivore.
"He came through an ana." Josie frowns, confused. "I think he's talking about a portal."
"Portal? Uh, where?" Hope asks.
"Uh, sorry, the ancient samurai isn't an expert on Mystic Falls geography." Josie says sarcastically.
Landon speaks up next. "How do we kill the demon?"
"Uh, with his sword. It's spelled with a special kind of magic, so if we can just find the Oni-"
Josie is cut off by Rafael waking up within the van. I look up. "Found it!" I grin.
The Samurai wips out his sword, just as Raf kicks open the door. The two go head to head, Hope yelling a spell to take away the sword. Raf pushes the man away, before looking at us in confusion.
Rafael runs off as Josie heads towards the mans side. He mumbles before falling down. She looks back at us. "He said that could've gone better."
"No kidding." I retort shortly after.
♞
The gymnasium roared as students cheered. Hope and I stand next to one another as Dr. Saltzman comes up behind us. "For all we know, Raf could have already touched someone." I mutter.
"Yeah, just look for anyone acting strange or erratic." Says Dr. S.
The three of us watch as the team shouts Timberwolves! Over and over again. "You mean besides the football team?" Hope adds. Dr. Saltzman shrugs awkwardly
Sheriff Mac walks over. "There's a student that needs your help." She says instantly. Dr. S looks at Hope and I, and the three of us follow her into the boys locker room.
Rafael sits in the back, cradling his face in his hands. I rush to his side. "Rafi?" I ask him.
"Lean, don't touch him." Hope says, but I don't listen. When I place my hand on his knee, he looks up at me.
I smile up at him. "Hey." I whisper. "How are you feeling?" I grab his hand, holding it tightly.
Rafael stammers was he glances up at Hope and Dr. S then back at me. "Um I wasn't in control back there."
"I know." I tell him. "It's okay. We can help you. We just need to know if there's anyone that you've touched or who might've touched you."
"Um," Rafael goes through what he can in his mind. "I don't remember any of it." He confesses.
I look back at Hope and Alaric, then back at Raf. "Okay. That's okay." I whisper, wrapping my arms around him tightly.
I go to drop Rafael off at the school.
He wasn't fond of it, but we made him go back anyway. So, when I walk into the school and see Landon, I'm quite surprised. "Landon, hey." I say awkwardly.
"Hi." He replies. He keeps walking. I frown, turning around to follow him.
"Where are you going?" I ask him.
Landon sends me a side glance. "To the portal." He explains.
I raise my brows. "Then I'm coming with you." I retort.
"No, you're not."
I scoff, moving to stand in front of him. "Landon, there's a demon running around ready to drag you back there." I look down at his spears. The sword the Samurai had. "Why do you have that?"
"Because the demon will be there, and that's where I'll kill it." He says to me. I nod slowly, confused.
"I'm still coming with." I cross my arms, staring at him. Landon rolls his eyes, going to step around me. I step in front of him. He glares at me. "I'm. Coming."
Landon shakes his head. "Sorry, sister, can't let you." Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain in my abdomen. I look down slowly, blood slowly pouring out of my body. I look up at Landon, and his green eyes flash red.
"Son of a bitch." I hiss before falling to the ground.
♞
Hope and Josie walk out of the school to go find Landon, seeing a dead Lena in the parking lot. "Oh my god!" Josie screams.
Hope rushes to Lenas side. "She'll be fine," She whispers.
"Will she?" Josie asks. "Does the sword kill Gryphons?"
The tribrid stares down at Lena Kirby. The girls clothing stained with blood. The color drained from her face. The sight of her ex dead more traumatizing than most things she had seen. Her heart aches as she cups Lena's face. "She'll be fine." She repeats. She looks at Lenas stomach, seeing the wound slowly starting to heal.
"Is she going to combust into flames?" Josie asks.
Hope shakes her head. "I don't think so." Lena's wound slowly heals itself, the color slowly coming back to her skin. The dark haired girl slowly opens her eyes, looking up at Hope and Josie.
"My brother killed me." Is the first thing she says before passing out. But Hope and Josie noticed something before the girl fell asleep again. Her eyes were the golden-orange yellow like the first time she died. And when they looked at her hands, sparks of flames came out before nothing.
♞
I open my eyes, seeing my brother staring down at me. "Lena, oh my god," He scoots closer to me, grabbing my hand. "Are you okay?"
I sit up weakly, looking over at him. "You stabbed me." I retort.
He stammers. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't me, I was possessed and-" I smack him on the side of the head. "Ow!" He huffs.
"That's my revenge." I smile up at him. He chuckles, pulling me into a hug. My eyes widen in surprise. "Okay...?"
He pulls away, his hands on my shoulders. "I have to tell you something." I stare at him, unsure what is about to come out of his mouth. "Every time I die, I see you and somebody else. I've been trying to figure out who this somebody else is, and I did." His green eyes look through my brown ones. "It's Hope."
I lean back slightly, surprised. "What?"
"You and Hope decided to hop into my death dream land." He says shortly. "I'm trying to figure out why." I look down, trying to think what it could mean.
"Maybe it's a Malivore effect?" I ask. Landon nods, sinking into the bed.
"Maybe."
I smile softly, moving to sit up next to him. I sigh, leaning on his shoulder. We sit in comfortable silence. Though he couldn't remember me, it brought me comfort he trusted me so easily. Even if he got possessed, and then stabbed me.
♞
Hope and Alaric Saltzman stand in the woods, burying their former Samurai friend. "I don't know what would have happened to Lizzie or Josie if you hadn't have been there." Says Alaric, admitting fault for not being there for his daughters.
"They're stronger than you think." Hope says to him. "They didn't need my help."
"Maybe." The two sit in silence for a moment. "And what about Lena?"
Hope sighs. "For the last time, I'm not going back." She says.
Alaric looks at her. "Hope, you told me that you and Lena shared an epic love. So what's really holding you back?" Hope stands there, shuffling through all the memories she threw away. And for what? Fear that Lena would abandon her?
"I mean, what if I tell her I'm sorry, and everything else, and she still hates me?" She asks her former headmaster.
Dr. Saltzman looks over at her. "I don't know. But are you really gonna live the rest of your life without finding out?" He asks.
Hope thinks about the girl she had fallen for. The girl with dark hair and a gorgeous smile. The girl who could knock a werewolf out with a simple punch nowadays. "What I found was the portal to Malivore. And what I'm gonna do is finish what I started at the pit." The girl has an unreadable look on her face. "But this time, I'm gonna get it right."
♞ AUTHORS NOTE ♞
I have a semi sad announcement;
Alive only has a few chapters left.
It took me some time to figure it out, but I have decided to story is ending earlier than I planned. I got it already all written up so within the next week-2 weeks the final parts will be released.
I hope you enjoy them, and uh, that's all I have left to say HAHAHA.
Thank you all for helping me bring this story to life, I love you all dearly. See you in the next one.
TOODLES