Promise

"He's Not Dead!!" II

Rheema you're an absolute legend. Thank you for brainstorming this fic with me ily.❤️ Also a big thanks to Rissy and my best friend Kayla for helping out with this chapter even if Kayla made me go get my stress plushie. 🥰 ok go read.

***

Ryan was gone.

Again.

The spell she cast would hold as long as she could hold it, a week at most. Hope casted the spell in such a way that not even Malivore could detect it in his prison. His consciousness would be in Malivore since Malivore was the one who made it. Since his body was human, it would remain here while she kept him in a- not dead- but sort of a comatose state. Yet at the same time, the magic keeping Ryan protected would soon weaken Malivore just as her's did when she'd used it the previous time she was trapped in the darkness...with Ryan...

She sighed.

An intense feeling of immense guilt surged through her at the memory. She should have taken him with her. She should have at least tried to save him.

Looking back, she could have easily stood her ground against Malivore and refused to be spit out unless Ryan went with her too. Hope knew he lied to her, he kept her in Malivore for months when she could have been with Landon, Dr. Saltzman and the twins, her family.. but she understood why now. Ryan had opened up to her just hours before how he'd spent decades in the darkness, tormented and alone. Of course he'd do anything to make her stay; especially since he was aware he couldn't go with her. It was the first time in years he hadn't been alone.

If only she'd saved him when he begged her too, and he did beg, everything would be different now. Perhaps he and Landon could have been friends, maybe even brothers by now.

A new realization struck her.

...

Landon...

Landon did this...

Landon tried to kill Ryan...

Why?? Why would he do this? Jealousy? Did he attack first? What could have happened that could possibly resort to murder?

She didn't care anymore what kind of rough patch they were going through right now, she was angry, and she was going to find Landon, and fast. Hope rose to her height and began charging towards the door. She raised her hands in a defensive position.
"Icaeus" The door was ripped outward, straight off its hinges. Landon better be ready.

***

Reaching the bottom step she recognized a familiar sound. Arrows? She looked to her left and went running toward the sound only to find Dr. Saltzman looming over Landon with his crossbow raised. "Dr. Saltzman!" She called. "What are you doing to him?" He turned to her in his startled state. "That is NOT Landon, Hope!" He answered back.

Not Landon... then that means...

Cleo. Where was Cleo? Hope alarmingly scanned the lot, finding no one. "Where's Cleo?" She asked, alarmed. Alaric shifted his gaze toward her with a confused appearance. "Who's Cleo?" A certain expression of fear and realization struck her eyes. This man who lay unconsious on the ground in front of her was not Landon Kirby, this was...

"Malivore." She breathed aloud.

Ryan was right. Malivore got what he's always wanted. He had his meat puppet, and he tried to kill Ryan just like he said he would, and he almost succeeded.

"We'll put him in the trunk." Dr. Saltzman stated, breaking Hope from her thoughts. She focused her attention on the task at hand.

"Got it." She replied back, "Oh-"

she forgot. Ryan's body.

"Shit" she thought.

"Um... Dr. Saltzman?" damn this is gonna be hard to explain.

"Hope, yes, what is it?" He struggled to say as he was currently dragging an unconscious Malivore to the trunk of his car. "Well we have to get Ryan...or- Clarke. We have to get Clarke." she pointed in the direction of the motel, implying his location.

Alaric scoffed. "Right. Josie told me you've decided to partner up with the guy who got us into this whole mess. Lovely." Out of breath, he looked at her with a disapproving expression with a mirroring tone. She rolled her eyes. "It's not that simple Dr. Saltzman, he was only—-"

"Trying to activate Malivore. Yes. I know what he was doing and look where we are now."

She sighed and rolled her eyes again. He wasn't wrong. He just didn't understand. "Right. Well i'm not leaving him here so we either take him with us or i'm not going." Hope said in defiance. She narrowed her eyes at the man in a sort of determined expression to get her point across. It was a total bluff. Hope needed to get back to the school in order to find a solution to Ryan's current state, and they needed Hope to help deal with Malivore, so either way she was going to win this one.

He closed the trunk of his car in an exhausted manor. It didn't take Alaric more than a minute to consider. He sighed yet again. "Alright Hope. Go and get him and meet me back here." Hope's eyes widened. "Well-... actually i kind of- can't." Alaric's expression shifted from impatient to curious. "And why is that?" He asked. Hope paused, unsure how to word her nexts words.

"Well he's- he's sort of—"

*****

"DEAD!? Hope, he's DEAD!?"

"He's not dead Dr. Saltzman! His consciousness is being protected in Malivore while his human form stayed behind. Think of it as a comatose state."

Dr. Saltzman stared at her, mouth open, eyebrows raised in question, clearly still shocked and confused. It would almost be amusing if it weren't for the time crunch they were on. "Look can we leave now and gawk later!? We have somewhere to be!"

With that, they made their way back to the car carrying a very large 6'1 man on each side.

Huffing, Hope muttered. "Ryan I swear to god I am never doing this for you again." Alaric stopped. "What did you say?" Hope looked as if she was about ready to strangle him. "NOTHING! Keep moving!"

*****

Pulling into the school, Hope spotted Lizzie and Josie waiting at the doorway wearing a not so happy expression on their faces. Hope sighed. This was about to be a long night.

Hope was making her way out of the car just as the twins strolled along next to her. Lizzie took the lead on this one.

"Hope. Andrea. Mikaelson." Lizzie fumed.

Hope said nothing and continued walking to the trunk of the car.

"Not only did you steal my car, but you DITCHED US AT THE GAS STATION TO HANG AROUND WITH RYAN FREAKING CLARKE!"

Hope smirked, but stayed silent as she began unlocking the trunk.

"Is there anything you have to say for yourself ma'am?"

Hope smugly turned to the two of the twins and opened the trunk. Any sign of sass or anger on their faces quickly turned to a slight sense of horror at the sight. Josie's mouth hung wide open and Lizzie's eyes widened immensely.

"Oh my god, Hope you killed him!"

With that, Hope burst out laughing. "He's not dead, he's just in a coma." However, the twins looked thoroughly unconvinced. "I'll explain it to you when we get inside. Meanwhile, someone needs to help your dad get Malivore out of the trunk of his car."

Both Josie and Lizzie spoke at the same time. "Malivore!?"

"We thought he was locked in the prison world." said Josie. Hope was exhausted. "Yeah well he's not anymore, so can we all get inside and bombard me with the questions later?"

Hope was about 10 feet in front of the twins when she heard it.

"Ewwwww! Oh my god, Hope! You got blood on my car!!"

sorry if this chapter is kind of boring. next chapter is coming very soon ! and we'll have our next holarke interaction. :)