"A blood fountain? Gross." Hope blurted out as Monica screwed up her face. "It's even grosser in person. Trust me. I was looking for a way to shut it off, but I couldn't figure out how." MG admitted to the group. "All right, I'll go find the secret tunnel, I guess." Hope decided. "Thanks, We get our magic back, we'll have the upper hand."

Lizzie piped up, "And then I can siphon the sludge out of Josie, not that she'll appreciate it." To which Josie groaned, "Great, then I'll just be shot."

"See? the new you is so snarky."

Hope sighed before she looked to MG, "Okay, I'm gonna be back as soon as I can. " before looking to her girlfriend, "Please keep these two from trying to kill or die for each other." She said, referring to the Saltzman girls.

"You need to go help Landon." MG declared, "We don't need you to be here."

Hope frowned, "But I can't leave you guys here." Lizzie then huffed at the tribid, "For the love of Frodo, go rescue the Hobbit. We'll muddle through." She insisted. "She's right again. He needs you." Josie said, as she looked to Hope.

"And you won't be alone." Ruby decclared, before she linked her arm through the tribrids as Monica stood proudly on the other side of Hope. "We've been watching you save the day this entire school year, Hope. We got it. Now go save Landon, the three of you." MG ordered the trio. "Go. If you go soft on us now, I'm just gonna hurl Maligoo." Josie insisted, causing Ruby to awkwardly laugh.

Jordan walked over to the trio, "Do you want me to come?" He asked them as Monica shook her head. "Keep an eye on Josie, kay?" She ordered as the boy nodded, before he looked back to the Saltzman, clearly worried about her. He glanced back at the trio, "Be careful." He pleaded.

Lizzie then approached Monica quickly, and cupped her cheek as the pair shared a kiss. "Get back to me in one piece." The siphoner ordered a moment later as Monica nodded, "I'll try." She grinned, leaning her forehead against Lizzie's momentarily.

Further down into the school, Hope, Ruby and Monica stopped as they saw the blood fountain. Ruby felt her stomach flip at the sight of it. "I don't suppose you come with an instruction manual." Hope trailed off, as she examined it.

"I told you to wait for me."

The trio turned around to see Alaric. Monica just grinned before saying, "In a shocking turn of events, we ignored you." She stated the obvious as Alaric sighed, "Yeah, about that..."

"Save the speech. Okay? I've paid the price." Hope huffed at her headmaster. "I see that. What happened to your arm?" He asked as Ruby looked worried by this question and went to examine the her girlfriends sleeve. "That Triad guy shot at us with Malivore mud. He must have gotten me, too. I-I didn't even feel it. Because it doesn't affect me." She admitted in realisation. "Wait, who else got shot?"

"Dr. Saltzman, you have to trust me. Josie's gonna be just..." Ruby began as Alaric's face fell. "Josie got shot?" He blurted with worry. Hope answered, "Yes, but MG and Lizzie are on it, and I think that they can fix everything. If I can just figure out a way to turn this stupid thing off, then they can get their magic back." As they talked, Alaric tapped a few parts of the fountain, which switched it off. "Which is super easy, apparently." Monica muttered, as she gave Alaric a skeptical look.

"How did you know how to do that?" Hope demanded as Alaric turned back to the trio. "This is a dark object, created by a group of extinct witch-like people called the Travelers. Anti-magic was kind of their king." He explained to them. "How did Triad even get in here? How did they know that there were tunnels?" Ruby asked, full of questions.

"Listen, I will explain everything to you later, okay? But right now, I have to get to Josie." Alaric insisted, seeming very worried. "Wait. Give her a vial of my blood. From the werewolf bite cures." Hope suggested to the headmaster.

"Why?"

"I'll explain later, too."

❤︎

With luck being on their side, Ruby, Hope and Monica made it to Triad industries just in time to stop a Headless Horseman from throwing the last artefact into Malivore.

Landon looked relieved upon their arrival, "I knew you guys would find me." He admitted brightly as Monica just smirked, "I just followed the clues you left in that voice mail." She responded. "You're great at riddles. We should probably add fight training to your coursework, though." Hope said as Landon chuckled awkwardly, "Yeah." Ruby flashed her foster brother a smile, "Feel free to take notes." She teased him.

After a few minutes of the trio fighting the monster, and getting thrown around plenty, Hope sighed as she decided to use her magic. She turned around to see Monica and Ruby, who had both been shoved aside by the monster. "Stay back." She warned them, before she went back to fighting the monster.

"Incendia."

Hope's magic unfortunately did nothing to stall him. "He won't die!" The tribrid complained as Ruby turned to Landon. "Lan, you know sci-fi stuff." She suggested as Monica added hastily, "Help the girl out."

"Uh.. Headless horse is more fantasy." Landon said as Monica zoomed back into the fight to help stall the monster, but not before she complained, "Get to the helpful part."

"In the Tim Burton movie, they defeated him by giving him a bride!" Landon suggested before he looked to Ruby. "Feel like getting all dressed up?" He asked as Ruby shook her head, and shuddered at the idea of being a bride to such a monster.

"You are not giving my girlfriend to this thing!" Hope huffed quickly. "I am not being it's bride either— so definitely not out first choice!" Monica grumbled, before she shoved the monster back.

Ruby rejoined the fight now, hoping Landon could come up with a conclusion soon. "How can three totally badass girls, be incapable of killing this bastard!?" Monica growled, as she was growing impatient and frustrated.

"In... in the OG cartoon he had a pumpkin head!" Landon blurted out, as he'd had a sudden realisation. "That.. he might keep it with his horse... Correction— he's got it under his cape! Kill the head the body dies— that's science faction!"

Ruby shot the Kirby a proud smile. "Great. One head coming up." Hope groaned out.

When the Horseman tried to snap his whip (which was made out of skeletons), Hope grabbed hold of the end of it and yanked him toward her. She grabbed onto the pouch holding his head, but it slipped from her grasp.

Monica sped over to it and went to grab it, but dropped it as a look of disgust spread across her face. "Ew! Why did that feel moist!?" She called out, as she looked completely grossed out.

Landon rolled his eyes thinking the Montgomery was being over dramatic, but when he went to pick it up he completely understood what she meant. "Ew!" He blurted out, with disgust.

"Give me, give me!" Hope called out, as she held a pipe out as the head then sailed through the air. The metal pipe stabbed into the head, as the Horseman skull slide half-way down. "Fuck!" Ruby blurted out, as everyone turned to her, "That was so disgusting!!" She insisted, as Monica snorted out in amusement.

Hope giggled before she approached Ruby, cupping her cheeks gently before she kissed her softly. Ruby kissed back before they broke apart, as Hope kept looking into the werewolf's eyes lovingly. "I love you, Ruby." She confessed, as Ruby's eyes widened before her expression turned into a bright smile.

They'd only dated for a few weeks at this point... but regardless it felt so right. Ruby had been struggling to pinpoint her feelings for Hope... but it became so obvious in this moment that it was love. "I love you too, Hope." Ruby responded, as she kept a bright smile.

Suddenly Landon rushed over to the pair, as Monica followed behind. "I know it looks like I was losing when you guys got here, but that's just how Phoenix combat works so..." He trailed off as the three girls laughed.

"Nothing like young love, is there?" The four turned around to see none other than Clarke, as he paced over towards them. "Shame it has to be so short lived."

Clarke suddenly held up the artefact in his hand, as he wore a wicked smile on his face. "You'll find baby brother one of our family's worst traits is... well we're terribly clumsy." Monica scrunched up her face with confusion before she looked to Landon, "Baby brother? What the fuck am I missing here?" She asked as Ruby looked just as confused.

With that, the artefact was tossed into the pit, as the four students stared helplessly. "We're fucked." Monica blurted out nervously.

"Okay." Landon exhaled, as he was visibly panicked. "We've got to think... we've got to figure out how to keep him from rising." He rambled. "Hold up.. him? What do you mean him?" Ruby asked as Landon turned to her, "Ooh I have a lot to catch you up on."

❤︎

"Wow." Hope marvelled, as Landon had just explained everything to them about Malivore and Clarke. "So... Malivore's your dad." Ruby realised as she had processed everything that had just been said. "Weird, huh?"

"And he can't be killed, which is why Triad turned him into goo?" Monica asked as Landon nodded. "You're a quick study." He said to the trio. "But nothing's ever immortal." Hope reminded them. "I mean not really. Nature won't allow it. There's always a loop hole." She admitted.

An alarm began to blare loudly, "Any brilliant ideas?" Hope asked the trio. "Because I think we're running out of time."

A look passed over Monica's face as she stared at Hope. "Just one." She said, before she did something that surprised the hell out of everyone... she snapped Landon's neck.

"Monica!?" Ruby blurted out, as the werewolf and the tribrid gave the vampire each surprised looks. "Malivore can't be killed! But maybe I can find a way to kill him— oh come on, i'm practically Satan... at least everyone at the Salvatore school is telling me so. Malivore will have met his match." Monica decided confidently as Ruby and Hope frowned at her.

"How does that make any sense?!" Ruby asked her best friend as the blonde shrugged, "It doesn't— but I don't know what else to do!" She declared. "No." Hope spoke up, as the best friends turned to the tribrid. "The only way we can stop him is if I go in. I'm a tribrid, I have all three. I'm the loophole!" She explained.

Ruby shook her head, "Babe, no. I... can't let you do that." She insisted, as Hope took Ruby's hands in her own. "I have to. We have no other options and time really is running out." The tribrid replied softly, as Ruby shook her head, "Then I'm coming with you." She decided, without hesitation.

Hope smiled, before quickly leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on Ruby's lips, though when they broke apart, Ruby fell unconscious as she had been put to sleep by a spell. Hope laid her down gently before she turned back to Clarke.

Monica sighed, before she took Ruby's hand gently. "It's sucks that I'm only telling this to your unconscious body... but I love you. Thank you for believing in me and being my best friend." She spoke gently, as tears filled her eyes momentarily. "Now your girlfriend and I have to save the world so uh, till we meet again little wolf." The vampire squeezed Ruby's hand gently, before she let go.

Monica quickly wiped away her tears, before she looked to Hope and Clarke as the tribrid had just used a mimic spell on Clarke, so he had to follow Hope's actions. "Take care of Ruby for me." Hope pleaded to the IT girl as Monica frowned at her, "Bitch, I'm coming with you." She blurted out in response as Hope looked confused. "It's time to stop being the selfish one." Monica decided as Hope half smiled at the blonde, "You're so stubborn, you know that?" She admitted.

When Ruby eventually woke up, she felt very disoriented and confused, not having any recollection on why she was at Triad. The werewolf sat up to see her foster brother, Landon, who had also just regained consciousness.

The duo were alone in Triad industries. Monica and Hope were nowhere to be found.. but also, neither Ruby or Landon had any recollection of who they were. As Ruby and Landon got to their feet the Waithe asked, "Where the hell are we??"