04. Since When Do You Speak Japanese?

"Asher Connor to the principal's office".

"Using the P.A. system to summon me now?" Asher teased, as he entered Alaric's office, "Isn't it a little dramatic?".

 "Not as dramatic as the message Hope left me, saying she had something urgent to discuss" Alaric retorted, as he sat down on his principal's chair and Asher sat opposite him, "Anything you want to share?".

"I might have a theory" Asher admitted, "I think this time the monsters aren't after anything specific, they might be after me and my siblings and the people connected to us, like Hope, Jayden and Nova".

"You mean you think the monsters are after you three and the people you love?" a slightly shocked Alaric asked.

Asher looked at Alaric slightly wide eyed, "Okay yes Mia loves Jayden, and Alec has feelings for Nova but I don't love Hope".

"Oh please Asher, tell that lie to someone else, not me" Alaric said, "Whenever you look at Hope, you get the same look on your face that Damon used to get when he used to look at Aria, and you also deny your love the way same way Damon initially denied it, if I had any doubt of you being Damon's son, trust me, all of it's gone now".

"Can we get back to the main topic?" an annoyed Asher asked.

"Fine, you need to go back to the Salvatore school" Alaric stated.

Asher let out an annoyed groan, "That was the one thing I was hoping you wouldn't say".

"Not for your sake" Alaric said, "For theirs, Mia and Alec are strong together, but despite that they need their big brother, even if they don't remember him".

"Mia doesn't remember me, but she knows about me" Asher reminded.

"Then maybe it's time Alec knows about you as well" Alaric suggested.

Asher immediately shook his head, "No can do".

"Okay, what am I missing here, Asher?" a confused Alaric asked, "Why are you so hell bent on not tell Alec the truth, you told me and Mia the truth, and everything worked out fine".

"I didn't tell you and Mia the whole truth" a slightly guilty Asher admitted, "Nova and I were in a relationship, we both thought we were in love with each other but honestly that was far from the truth, but because of mine and Nova's relationship Alec, who had always loved Nova, he decided to suppress his feelings, he pretended to hate Nova because he didn't want things to get awkward between us brothers, and now that my brother finally has the girl he has always loved, I'm afraid that if I tell him the truth, he's gonna hate me for coming back, or she's gonna hate me for breaking her heart, or I'm gonna hate myself for making all of this so much more complicated then it needs to be, so I can't tell Alec anything, not yet anyways".

Before Alaric could say anything, the knock on the door caught their attention, "Sorry to interrupt" Sheriff Mac said, walking into Alaric's office.

"No, you're all good, I was just leaving anyways" Asher said, as he and Alaric stood up from their chairs, Asher looked at Alaric, "See you at the pep rally".

"See you there" Alaric said, "I hope you consider the transfer, I can put in a good word for you at the Salvatore school".

"Not likely!" Asher said, as he walked out of Alaric's office, leaving Alaric and the sheriff alone.

***

"Jayden!" MG yelled, running over to the Mikaelson boy.

"Not now, MG" Jayden warned, his mood very foul because since the game Mia has been giving him the silent treatment, "Have you seen Mia?".

"This is about Mia" a panicked MG said.

Jayden looked at MG in confusion, "What about Mia?".

"I think Mia is starting to see things" MG informed.

"Excuse me?" a confused Jayden asked MG, having no idea what he was on about.

"Remember the game between us and Mystic Falls High?" MG asked.

Jayden nodded his head, "That's a game, no one is forgetting anytime soon".

"Well during the game, I saw you and Mia argue and then Mia storm off, so I followed her to make sure she was okay" MG informed, "And she ended up going to old mill, where she was talking to herself".

"That's not abnormal" Jayden said, "Mia always has conversations with herself".

"I know that, but only thing is, this time I don't think she realised she was talking to herself" MG admitted.

"MG get to the point, now" Jayden demanded.

"Mia was having a proper conversation, but it was like she genuinely believed there was someone else there with her, but Jayden, there was no one" MG clarified.

Jayden looked at MG in shock, "What exactly are you implying here MG?".

"I think Mia needs your help Jayden" MG stated, "Like serious help".

***

"You sure this is a good idea?" a slightly unsure Nova asked Hope, as the duo walked towards the Mystic Falls High School together.

"Absolutely" Hope stated, "If Ric thinks he can just avoid my calls and pretend that we don't live in the same town, he's got a rude wake up call coming towards him from us and hopefully not the malivore monster, who seem to be after us now and that's probably because I screwed something up the night I thought I destroyed malivore and since I can't remember any of it, I need his help to figure out what I did so I can fix this otherwise all of us in danger".

"So we can fix this" Nova corrected, "You're not in this alone Hope, we're all with you", Hope gave Nova a grateful smile, "Oh, by the way, Alec wanted to talk to you".

"About what?" Hope asked.

"About Asher, the mystery guy who saved Raf and you" Nova replied, "Alec has some suspicions about him and he needs to talk to you about it".

"What kind of suspicions?" a curious Hope asked.

"He didn't tell me that, all he said is that there is something familiar about Asher but he doesn't know what that is" Nova informed.

"Huh, that's weird, I felt the same thing" Hope admitted.

Nova looked at Hope, "So did I" she informed.

"I guess we have another mystery to solve" Hope realised.

"The mystery of Asher" Nova whispered.

***

Alec walked over to the gates of the Salvatore school, where he saw Dorian and on the other side of the gate was a man with a sword, speaking something in Japanese to Dorian, who had no idea what he was saying.

"Dude, I'm gonna find someone who can understand you, but I need to know, you're not gonna go stabbing me" Dorian told the mystery dude.

Alec rolled his eyes and walked over to the two, "Konichiwa" he said.

Immediately Dorian looked at Alec in both shock and confusion, "Since when do you speak Japanese?".

"Uncle Elijah taught it to me" Alec informed, he turned to the guy and started having a conversation in Japanese with him.

"Kurutta" the mystery man told Alec.

"What's he saying?" a confused Dorian asked.

"I think he might be admitting to me that he's crazy" a confused Alec replied, "Kurutta, oh wait, maybe that's his name, but it's also another name for crazy, honestly at this point just take your pick", Alec turned back to the guy when he started talking again, "He's a demon hunting" Alec translated, "Looking for an oni, which is like a demon ghost monster kind of a thing".

"Sounds like that's our next malivore monster" Dorian realised.

Suddenly Alec's eyes went wide, "Nova and Hope have gone out to talk to Ric, something tells me the oni is where they are, it's easier to target them right now then me, Mia or Jayden", Alec turned to the man again once he started talking again, "So according to him he followed his sword here, a sword that glows around Jintsu-riki, which basically means supernatural creatures".

"Okay" Dorian said, "Makes sense why he wound up here, but I've never seen one of those", Dorian pointed at the mask the demon hunter was holding, immediately causing the demon hunter to grab the mask and start speaking Japanese again but this time clearly in anger.

"According to him we wouldn't know if an oni was here or not" Alec translated, "It's power is to possess people, right now it could in anyone, it could be anywhere".

Immediately Dorian and Alec looked at each other, a worried look on both their faces, how are they supposed to find a monster that could be currently possessing anyone.

***

Hope and Nova were walking the corridors of Mystic Falls High School when suddenly the bell rang and the students started crowding the hallways, while dodging people Nova and Hope quickly walked around the corner when Hope bumped into a football player, immediately causing her to go still.

"Watch yourself".

"Get lost" Nova snapped, glaring at the football player, once he walked away, Nova turned to her best friend, "Hey, you good?", Hope slowly turned and faced Nova, the furious look on her face confusing the St. John girl, "Hope?", Hope didn't say anything, just let out an angry growl, she went to charge at a shocked Nova, when suddenly Asher grabbed Nova's elbow, he pulled her back towards him and using his magic, closed the grilled gate, creating a barrier between them and Hope.

"Mystery guy" a relieved Nova said, breathing a sigh of relief seeing Asher.

"What's wrong with her?" a concerned Asher asked, knowing Hope would never attack her friends unless something was seriously wrong.

"I have no idea" an equally concerned Nova said, as both her and Asher watched Hope's eyes turn red, "But clearly something is wrong".

***

Alec barged into the girls dorm room and immediately let out a sigh of relief seeing his sister standing infront of the mirror, looking like she was getting ready to go somewhere, "Oh thank god".

An annoyed Mia turned around and glared at her brother, "Do you not have any tact what so ever?" she asked, "You're supposed to knock before you enter a girls room Alec, come on that's basic manners".

"Save your lecture for later Mia, right now I need your help" Alec said.

"With what?" a curious Mia asked, wondering why did her brother look so worried.

"With him" Alec said, before walking out the room and coming back in with the demon hunter.

"And who the hell is that?" a confused Mia asked her brother.

"He is a samurai slash demon hunter" Alec informed.

"And why is a samurai slash demon hunter at our school?" Mia asked.

"He's looking for an oni, the next malivore monster here to hurt us, and the only way we can kill that oni is with his demon banishing sword, so I need your help" Alec said.

"No can do" Mia said.

"What do you mean no can do?" an annoyed Alec asked.

"You heard me" Mia said, "I'm hanging out with Sebastian, you're going to have to find another partner".

"Sebastian?" a confused Alec asked, "Who the hell is Sebastian?".

"He's a new friend I made" a smiling Mia informed.

"And hanging out with him is more important then killing an oni?" Alec snapped.

"Alec, an oni causes people to act crazy and honestly right now my mental health is already in the bins, I don't want an oni to make it worse" Mia said, "Why don't you ask Asher to help you? I'm sure he'd love to kill an oni".

"And why the hell would I ask Asher for help?" a confused Alec asked.

Mia shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, something tells me you guys will make a good team".

Mia patted her brother's shoulder and then walked out the room, really hoping Alec goes to Asher for help, she wanted both her brothers to spend time together, hoping it would either cause Alec to realise who Asher is or make Asher reveal his truth to Alec.

***

Asher carried an unconscious Hope towards Alaric's car and very carefully placed her in the backseat, once he closed the door he turned to Nova.

"So what the hell were you two doing here anyways?" Asher asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Nova asked, "We were looking for answers".

"About?" a confused Asher asked.

"You" Nova replied, "Who else?".

"Ric?" the group of three head someone call, turning towards the voice they heard Alec walking towards them with the demon hunter.

"Alec" a confused Alaric said, "What the hell's going on?".

"What the hell is that?" a confused Nova asked her boyfriend, while pointing towards the demon hunter.

"He's a demon hunter" Alec informed, "He's gonna help me protect us, hopefully", Alec looked at Asher and frowned seeing him standing so close to his girlfriend, "You just always show up when there's trouble, don't you Asher?".

"What can I say?" Asher said, "I think troubles attracted to me".

"Clearly" Alec said, looking at Asher in suspicion.

***

"This is not what I signed up for" an annoyed MG told Wade as he looked at the camera in his hand.

"Sorry, brotato" Wade apologised, "AV club members get equipment priority".

"You're the only one in the AV club, Wes" MG snapped.

"It's Wade" Wade corrected.

"Whatever" MG said, "Look, I need to help a friend with a project, an important one, this might be the only way I could get her to see the truth".

"Cinema verite" Wade said, "I can dig it".

An annoyed MG shook his head at Wade before turning the camera on and immediately seeing an unknown man on the screen.

"Wow, this camera has gone through a lot hasn't it, little sister" he heard the man say, "Oh look it's finally on, hey Aria, remember your big brother?".

"This tape is used" MG told Wade as he paused the video.

"Who cares?" Wade asked, "Just record over it".

Once Wade walked away from MG, he also went to walk out the room but before he could, Jayden appeared behind him and grabbed the back of his shirt, "What the hell are you doing?".

"You don't believe me and if you don't believe then Mia isn't going to believe me either so I'm going to give both of you proof" MG said.

Jayden looked at the camera in MG's hand, "You're gonna record Mia?".

"She's hanging out with the so called Sebastian today" MG informed, "I'm gonna show up and record the fact that she isn't really meeting up with anyone today, then maybe you will believe me and will help her".

Jayden glared at MG, "I swear to god MG, if you're wrong about this".

"I'm not wrong about this" MG stated, "And you're gonna realise that soon enough".

***

"So just cause he's supernatural, I'm supposed to believe I can trust this guy now?" Alec asked Alaric and Nova once they explained everything to him, Alec looked at Asher, "Why don't you tell us the real reason as to why you're here?".

 "It doesn't matter Alec" Alaric said, "I will take all the help I can get", Alaric looked at the demon hunter, who was now sitting on the sidewalk, "Even from him, so ask him to tell us everything we should know".

Alec looked at the demon hunter, "Kurutta-san", the demon hunter stood up and walked over to the group and started talking in Japanese.

"He was dropped on his head as a baby" Alec translated, "He went to samurai school to learn discipline, where he learned how to slay an oni, which is what we are currently chasing, he was known as a hero".

"How is all the women wanting to be with you relevant?" an annoyed Asher asked the demon hunter.

Alec looked at Asher, "You know Japanese?".

"You're not the only one in this world with an uncle who can teach you different languages" Asher said, his words making Alec frown, how did Asher know that his uncle was the one who taught him Japanese.

"Alec, please tell him to get to the point" Nova pleaded to her boyfriend before he could question Asher.

Alec nodded his head and in Japanese asked the demon hunter to get to the point, "Kurutta spent months tracking down an oni that was possessing people, it kept moving from one person to another" he started translating once the demon hunter started getting to the point, "He was about to kill it but the oni made it's way into a child's body and escaped him, even though he chased after the oni, he couldn't get himself to kill a child, so instead he decided to take the oni into himself, and that's when he realised that unlike everyone who had been possessed, he was still partly in control of himself, he thinks the oni found it hard to possess his broken mind, he tried to stab himself with the sword but the oni wouldn't let him, in the end he decided to never touch a person again so that it could never possess anyone else, and then he was sucked into malivore, where he experienced an eternity of nothingness and deep psychological torment, according to him he came to our world through a portal".

"Portal?" Asher asked, "And where exactly is this portal?".

"I don't think the ancient samurai can tell you the geography of Mystic Falls" Alec retorted.

Nova rolled her eyes at the two boys, "Ask him how do we kill this monster?".

"That will be with his sword" Alec informed, already knowing the answer to that, "It's a sword that has been spelled specially to find the oni".

Suddenly the group heard loud banging coming from Alaric's car.

"I think we found the oni" Asher said, just as the door to Alaric's back seat flew open and Hope jumped out.

Immediately the demon hunter tried to stab Hope but she jumped over his sword.

"Wait, no, no, no, no!" Alaric yelled, seeing the demon hunter trying to stab Hope.

"Motus!" Asher used his magic to take the sword out of the demon hunter's hand, this gave Hope an advantage, who grabbed the hunter and threw him on to the bus before running away.

"Well, that could have gone a lot better" Alec commented, making everyone give him an no kidding look.

***

Alec and Asher entered the Mystic Falls gym that was filled with people for the cheerleading competition.

"What the hell do we do if Hope's already touched someone?" Alec asked.

"Don't be so negative" Asher said, "Just keep your eyes open for Hope or someone acting crazy".

Alec looked at the football team who were yelling Timberwolves and were in a huddle together, acting extremely rowdy and erratic, "More crazy then that?".

Asher looked the football team and shook his head, "Yeah, much more crazier then that, come on, let's check the locker room".

"Lead the way" Alec said.

Asher walked towards the locker room and Alec followed after him, the moment the two brothers entered the locker room, they saw a panicked Hope sitting on one of the benches.

"Hope?" a concerned Asher called out, rushing towards the panicked Mikaelson girl.

However, before Asher could touch Hope, Alec quickly grabbed his wrist, "Don't touch her" he warned.

"Right" Asher remembered, once Alec let go of his wrist, he kneeled infront of Hope, "Hope" he called out, gaining the attention of the Mikaelson girl, "Hey", the moment Hope looked into Asher's eyes, Asher knew it was her and not the oni, "It's you, isn't it, Hope?".

Hope nodded her head, "It's me" she confirmed, "I'm so sorry for what I did back there, I wasn't in control of myself".

"You have nothing to apologise for Hope" Asher quickly assured, placing his hand on Hope's knee, "We know that wasn't you, we're here to help you, there's just one thing I need to know from you, is there anyone you touched while coming here, or did someone touch you?".

"I don't know" Hope whispered, "I don't remember anything".

Asher looked back at Alec and the two brothers exchanged worried looks between them.

***

Nova met up with Asher and Alec in the school hallway, "Please tell me Hope is okay".

"She's fine" Alec informed, "When we found her the oni was no longer in here, so we sent her back to campus".

"If the oni was no longer in Hope, it means it could be anywhere right now" Nova realised.

"We'll find it, relax" Asher assured.

"I sure hope so" a worried Nova whispered.

***

Mia and Sebastian sat on top of a blanket, staring at the lake ahead of them

Sebastian turned and looked at Mia, "I have so enjoyed our time together".

Mia looked at Sebastian and gave him a smile, "So have I, you've really given me an escape from all the problems in my life".

"Though I feel that we are not as close as we could be" Sebastian admitted, "And I wish for us to be skin to skin".

Mia looked at Sebastian wide eyed, "Sebastian, I have a boyfriend".

"Right" Sebastian whispered, "About that boyfriend of yours, I do have one question to ask".

"Which is?" Mia asked.

"Does this boyfriend of yours make you happy?" Sebastian asked, "Or recently, is he the reason you've been so troubled?".

Mia looked at Sebastian however before she could say anything, she heard footsteps behind her, turning around, her eyes went wide seeing her boyfriend, "Jayden? What are you doing here?".

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" Jayden retorted.

"I'm here with a friend" Mia answered, pointing towards where Sebastian was sitting, Jayden looked in the direction Mia was pointing and saw no one there.

"Oh Mia" Jayden whispered, he then looked towards a tree, "There's no one there".

Mia looked at Jayden in shock, before turning to where Sebastian was sitting and her eyes went wide seeing Sebastian no longer there, "You scared him off Jayden".

"No, he didn't" MG said, as he walked out from behind the tree, a camera in his hand.

"MG?" a confused Mia asked, "What the hell is going on here? Wait, why do you have that camera in your hand, were you recording me?".

Jayden took the camera from MG's hand, "Mia, I need you to keep your question to the side for now and just watch this".

"Watch what?" an extremely confused Mia asked.

"Mia, just watch, please" Jayden said, handing the camera over to Mia.

Mia looked at her boyfriend in confusion but nonetheless pressed played on the video MG recorded and realised it was a video of her and Sebastian, but what shocked her was in the video, it was only her, with no Sebastian to be seen anywhere.

"Sebastian, I have a boyfriend".

A shocked Mia looked at Jayden, "Is this a joke?" she asked, "I swear to god, Sebastian was sitting right next to me".

"I'm really sorry" MG apologised, "But this was the only way I could think of to get you to see what everyone else is gonna see".

"Mia, this new friend of yours, he isn't real" Jayden informed.

"No" Mia cried, "No!", Jayden stepped forward to hug Mia but Mia shoved him away from her, "Don't touch me! Don't come near me!", a sobbing Mia looked at Jayden, "I'm not crazy, I can't--I'm not".

A crying Mia rushed past Jayden, "Are you not gonna go after her?" MG asked Jayden, who was watching Mia walk away from him.

Jayden shook his head, "Right now, the last thing she needs is me" he whispered, the words he said, hurting him more then he could ever explain.

***

Asher and Nova entered the principal's office where Kurutta was, he was sitting on the principal's chair with with back towards the duo.

"Okay, so Alec's checking all the classrooms, while he does that we should get you somewhere safe" Asher told Nova.

"Me?" a confused Nova asked, "Why me?".

"Oh I don't know, maybe cause there's a demon loose inside the school somewhere, maybe that's why" Asher said, "Now come on, let's get you somewhere safe".

"Come on, we both know nowhere is safe, for any of us" Nova said.

"Anywhere else will be much safe then here" Asher retorted, he grabbed Kurutta's sword from the table, "If this sword is the only thing that can kill an oni, what if it's also the only thing that can kill a hybrid".

"I'm not a hybrid yet" Nova retorted, "I'm only a witch, I have to die to activate my vampire side and I haven't died yet".

"So let's not take the risk" Asher said, "Come on Nova, let's get out of here".

"I can't do that" Nova stated.

"Why the hell not?" an annoyed Asher asked.

"Many reasons" Nova snapped, "Reason number one, the man I love is out there, I'm not leaving him alone here, reason number two, my best friend got possessed by an oni, right infront of my eyes and I couldn't do anything about it, do you have any idea how it feels to be useless?".

Asher let out a sigh, "You're not useless, Nova".

"Of course I'm useless" Nova snapped, "Name one good thing I've done, except be a pain in everyone's ass, you know what, at this point, I wouldn't even be surprised if the monsters returning was somehow my fault, I'm the one who always screws up, so I probably screwed something up which allowed the monsters to return".

"Okay Nova, trust me when I say this, the monsters returning is no way your fault" Asher assured.

"How can you be so sure?" Nova asked.

Asher let out a sigh, "Nova please, just trust me on this".

"Fine" Nova said, "It isn't my fault, but it is someone's fault right? Someone is the reason why these monster's are back".

Asher hesitated for a moment, "That someone is me".

Nova looked at Asher in shock, "What?".

"I'm the one who jumped into malivore's pit" Asher revealed, "I thought it was the only way I could save the people I care about".

"Who were the people you wanted to save?" a confused Nov asked.

"Hope, Jayden, Alec, Mia" Asher listed, he then looked at Nova, "You".

"Me?" a shocked Nova asked, "Why would you want to save me?".

"Because you are or were my friend, Nova" Asher said.

Nova shook her head, "No, that can't be the only reason".

"If I tell you the other reason, you're gonna hate me" Asher whispered.

"Don't decide that for me" Nova snapped.

Asher sighed, "There was a point in my life that I loved you, yeah as we grew up that love might of faded but for a moment, it was there, I know you don't remember, and I know nothing of what I'm saying makes any sense to you".

"No" Nova whispered, taking a step towards Asher, once she was infront of him, she placed her hand on Asher's cheek, "It all makes sense now".

Asher looked at Nova in confusion, "It does?".

"It does" Nova said, her eyes suddenly starting to glow red, Asher's eyes went wide in shock when he realised Nova was currently being possessed by the oni, however before he could react, Nova had smashed his head on to the metal cabinet by them, knocking the oldest Salvatore unconscious.

***

A panicked Alec ran into the principal's office where he saw Asher sitting on the couch, tending to his bruise head, while Alaric sat infront of him.

"Where is she?" Alec asked, "Where the hell is Nova?!".

"Alec, just give him a second" Alaric said.

"Don't tell me to give him a second!" Alec snapped, "You just called me and told me that my girlfriend is currently being possessed by the oni!", Alec looked at Asher, "How did the oni get in her? Was it through you?".

Alaric stood up, "We thought Hope was gonna pass the oni on to somebody at the pep rally" he said, as he walked over to the chair Kurutta was sitting on, he turned him around and showed Alec, Kurutta's sliced throat, "Kurutta must've been possessed after Hope attacked him, and when Nova came here to check on him before she found you two, the oni took control of him and sayonara, samurai".

"Where could she be right now?" a worried Alec asked.

"If I were to guess, then probably the portal" Asher said.

"We don't know where the portal is though" a panicked Alec reminded.

"Do you have something of Nova's?" Alaric asked Alec, "Cause you both could do a locator spell right now".

"I have a photo of her in my wallet" Alec informed, taking his wallet out and pulling out Nova's photo, Alec then sat next to Asher, he put the photo of Nova between them, the two brothers then linked their hands and started chanting the locator spell.

***

A sobbing Mia sat on the towns square, her head on her knees, "I'm not crazy" she cried, "I'm not crazy!", she looked up at the sky, "Mom! I'm not crazy, I'm your daughter, I can't be crazy", as Mia was crying her eyes suddenly landed on her best friend Nova, walking across the town square with the samurai's sword in her hand, a confused Mia, wiped her tears and stood up from the bench, "Nova!" she called, but Nova ignored her and kept walking, Mia immediately stood up from the bench and ran after her best friend, "Nova!".

Just as Nova reached the portal, Mia used her magic to summon the sword in her hand towards her.

"I'm gonna go on a wild guess here and say you're currently being possessed by the oni Alec was warning me about in the morning" Mia said, as Nova turned around to face her, a furious expression on her face, "So forgive me for this", Mia used her magic to slam Nova on to a tree, immediately rendering her unconscious.

***

"Nova!" a worried Alec yelled, as he and Asher ran to Nova's unconscious body, who Mia had tied to a tree.

"Wait!" Mia yelled, stopping both her brothers before they can reach Nova, who was slowly starting to gain conscious, "The oni is in her, none of you can touch her".

"Where's the sword?" Asher asked.

"We can't use the sword on her" Alec protested.

"He's right" Mia said, "That sword is full of black magic, I felt it when I touched it, if we use that on Nova, it might actually kill her".

"Then how do we get the demon out of Nova?" a worried Alec asked.

"I have no idea" an equally worried Asher admitted, while Mia went into thinking mode.

***

Asher, Alec and Mia still stood in the towns square, trying to figure out a way to help Nova when they heard a groan, they looked in the direction and realised Nova was slowly starting to wake up.

"Nova?" an unsure Alec called out, wondering which Nova he was currently talking to.

Nova looked at Alec and immediately gave him a small, "Hey baby, the demon is gone, you can untie me now", Alec looked at Asher and Mia who had the exact same confused expression on their faces, the triplets attention went back to Nova when she started talking again, but this time in a much panicked tone, "No! Alec, don't listen to anything I say, the thing is still inside, it's trying to confuse you guys", the triplets watched as Nova's panicked expression turned to calm, "Come on guys, it's getting really late, we should really get out of here before someone sees us", once again a panicked expression formed on Nova's face, "No! I swear to god, don't be idiots! Do not untie me!".

"Nova's somehow fighting the demon" Asher realised.

"Yeah but how long can she do this?" Alec wondered.

"Probably not long" Mia said.

A teary eyed Nova looked at Alec, "Alec" she whispered, "Will you tell my dad that I love him? Will you tell my mom that I'm sorry that I couldn't fix the distance between us".

"Just shut up Nova" Alec snapped, he had an idea as to why Nova was saying this but what she was suggesting was not an option for him.

"I love you" Nova whispered to Alec, making Asher look at her, an unreadable expression on his face, "But I can't live the rest of my life with a demon inside of me, end this, please".

"What?" a shocked Mia asked.

"One of you grab that damn sword and end this!" Nova demanded.

"Absolutely not!" Asher snapped, "Neither one of us is going to stab you with a sword that is full of black magic, god knows what it will do to you".

Nova's demeanor suddenly changed as the oni took over, "You have no choice, this will not stop until the three of you are dead".

Immediately Alec and Mia looked at each other in confusion, both wondering why would the monster want them dead, Alec also wondered why was Asher included with them, while Asher let out an annoyed sigh, he already had a feeling this was the case, but now his suspicion has been confirmed.

"Nova" Alec called out, "Come on baby, you've got to fight this".

"Fighting is useless" the possessed Nova said, "Malivore still lives, and his control over us is stronger than ever, soon the likes of me will be the least of your concerns", suddenly the real Nova managed to gain control of her body, "Alec please!" she pleaded, "You have to do this, please Alec, for me", Nova started yelling in pain, "Alec it's trying to come back, please!".

"No!" Alec yelled, as tears welled in his eyes.

"Dammit Alec!" Nova yelled, she then looked at Asher and Mia, "If Alec won't do it then one of you have to".

Mia bent down and grabbed the sword in her hand, "What the hell are you doing?" an angry Alec asked his sister.

"Just shut up" Mia told Alec, as she took a minute to investigate the sword, after a moment she looked at her brothers, "I think I have an idea".

"Which is?" Asher asked.

"This" Mia said, as she started siphoning the black magic out of the sword, as Mia started siphoning black veins started appearing all over her body, once the siphoning was finished, Mia put her hand out infront of her and let out a loud banshee scream, immediately causing both Alec and Asher to kneel down on the ground while covering their eyes, while the oni slowly started coming out of Nova, after an intense struggle, Mia had finally managed to pull the oni out of Nova, once the oni was out both Nova and Mia watched it float into malivore's portal.

Nova took deep breaths before looking at her best friend, "And that's why you're the strongest of us all".

An emotional Mia let out a small chuckle before turning to her brothers, "You two okay?".

"Peachy" Asher said, as he and Alec stood up.

"I hate your screams" Alec complained as he rubbed his ears.

Mia let out a laugh when suddenly she fell unconscious and fell to the floor along with Asher and Alec.

***

Alaric had ended up finding the the triplets and Nova and he brought them back to the Salvatore school with the help of Dorian, currently Mia laid on the couch of the empty common room, she didn't want to go to her dorm room because she the minute she entered both Nova and Hope will know that she wasn't well by just looking at her face and the last thing she wanted to do right now was disturb her friends, both of them were extremely tired after being possessed by the oni and Mia wanted them to relax instead of worrying about her.

Mia let out a groan and put her hands on her stomach as pain shot through her whole body, "Ms. Salvatore", Mia lifted her head up slightly and saw their new headmaster standing at the entrance of the common room, looking at her in concern, "What's wrong?".

"This is the result of me doing black magic" Mia informed.

"Knowing the type of person you are, I can only assume it was absolutely necessary" Vardemus said.

Mia nodded her head, "It was" she whispered, "But now I feel really sick".

"Well, I might have something that could help" Vardemus said.

"What is it?" an eager Mia asked, at this point she'll do anything to get rid of this sickly feeling.

"Stay right here, I'll be right back" Vardemus said, he walked out the common room and few minutes later, walked back to Mia, but this time with something in his hand, "This is a mora miserium, a tool used by certain sects of witches to withhold the ill effects of using such magic".

"For how long?" a curious Mia asked.

"Indefinitely" Vardemus informed, "So long as it doesn't shatter", Vardemus placed the hour glass looking thing infront of Mia, "Simply place your hands on the glass, and all will be as it should be".

Mia looked at the hour glass infront of her in uncertainty, after a little bit of thinking, Mia decided to give this mora miserium a go, so she slowly placed both her hands on the glass and watched as black smoke filled the empty hour glass.

Mia took a deep breath, "Oh my god, I feel so much better, I think it's working".

Vardemus looked at Mia, a small smirk forming on his face, "Yes, it is".

***

Jayden was walking down the empty hallways of the Salvatore school when suddenly someone came infront of him, "Watch it dude" Jayden snapped, his mood foul due to Mia refusing to talk to him.

"What did you say to Mia? I am now no longer able to reach her".

Jayden looked at the person infront of him, a confused expression on his face, "Please don't tell me you're Sebastian".

Before Sebastian could say anything, MG walked over to Jayden, "Dude, who are you talking to?" he asked, "Please don't tell me you've got the same problem as Mia".

"You can't see him?" a shocked Jayden asked MG, suddenly feeling what Mia was feeling when MG and Jayden told her that Sebastian wasn't real.

 "Oh yes, he can't see me" Sebastian informed.

"How the hell can I see you?" a confused Jayden asked, "You're not supposed to be real".

"No, I'm very real" Sebastian said, "And I need your help".

"Jayden, what the hell is going on?" an extremely confused MG asked.

A shocked Jayden looked at MG, "Mia wasn't seeing things, she's not crazy".

***

Nova was peacefully sleeping in her bed, when suddenly she started having flashes of her and Asher, thanks to the black magic Mia did on her, Nova suddenly started remembering all the moment her and Asher shared together, from their childhood to their present.

A shocked Nova sat up in her bed, "Asher Rivers Salvatore".

***

Presenting 2x04 of Broken Hearted!

How was the chapter?

Thoughts on MG revealing to Jayden that Mia is seeing things?

Thoughts on Alec and Asher working together to defeat the oni?

Thoughts on Mia using black magic to save Nova?

Thoughts on Nova remembering Asher?