Lizzie and Ruby approached Hope and Monica, and the tribrid and vampire could tell by the looks of their faces, that Ruby had made a decision. "I'm sorry." Ruby managed to begin, as a tear rolled down the Waithe's cheek. Hope's breath hitched in her throat before she asked, "You're leaving?"

Ruby nodded but Monica shook her head, "No.. no we just got you back, Ruby." The vampire stammered, as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I.. I know and I'm so sorry.. but Rafael is my twin." The Waithe managed to say. "Rafael is the most important person in my life and.. I... I don't think I can live without him." The Waithe tried to explain. Hope felt her heart sink, as she looked at the hybrid. Her epic love. I can't live without you, she thought.

"So this is it.. this is goodbye?" Monica asked, in almost a whisper. Ruby nodded reluctantly, "I have until Rafael is placed inside the ascendant." She explained to them. "Well... Hope and I have a lot of work to do... go around and say your goodbyes, and we'll see you soon." Lizzie spoke up.

Ruby looked to Hope, but the tribrid couldn't meet her eyes. If she made eye contact with her girlfriend, she was going to burst into tears. "Okay. I'll see you soon." Ruby said to Lizzie and Hope, before they left the best friends alone.

Monica looked to Ruby now, with tears rolling down her cheeks. The Waithe also had tears rolling down her cheeks. "There's nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?" The Montgomery asked. Ruby shook her head, "No. This is already so hard please don't make this—"

"Come on." Monica began as she linked her arm through Ruby's. "You have some goodbyes to make, little wolf."

❤︎

"You're leaving?" Jordan asked again, as Ruby reluctantly nodded, as her tear stained face looked to his. Jordan shook his head in shock, before he reached forward and embraced the shorter girl.

Ruby let a couple of tears fall, before she hugged Jordan back. "I'm gonna miss you.. so much." The Montgomery confessed. "I'm gonna miss you too.. thank you for being my friend." Ruby said as Jordan chuckled lightly, "No. Thank you."

"What's going on?" MG asked, as himself, Kaleb and Jed approached the trio. "Ruby is going to the prison world with Rafael." Monica managed to say. "What?" Jed blurted out. Ruby looked to the trio and they noticed how upset she looked. It was clear to them, that this wasn't an easy decision to make.

MG was the first to move as he stepped forward and hug Ruby. The hybrid hugged him back, before Jed took the next hug. "You and Raf take care of eachother, okay?" Jed insisted as Ruby nodded, "We will." She replied in almost a whisper, as she tried to keep her tears at bay. "The pack will miss you so much." Once Jed and Ruby separated, Kaleb and Ruby hugged.

Monica placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder, "You have to call Josie." She said as Ruby sighed, realising that she wouldn't get to properly say goodbye to the Saltzman, as she was in Europe with Caroline. "Yeah.. I do.." Ruby admitted.

"I'm gonna go check on Hope and Lizzie, okay? I'll see you soon." Monica said, before she disappeared.

Moments later, Ruby was on the phone to Josie. "What?!" Josie's voice boomed through the phone, as Ruby just explained everything that was happening. "You're leaving?!"

"Yeah." Ruby answered, as Josie could tell there was hurt in her voice. "I wish I was home to say goodbye.. to thank you for everything— you've been a really awesome friend, Ruby." Ruby smiled, "You've been an awesome friend too, Josie." She said in response.

The girls talked for a few more minutes, but suddenly, Ruby began to feel herself fade. "What the hell?" The Waithe blurted, before she disappeared.

❤︎

"Ruby?"

The Waithe opened her eyes, to see Wade. "Hey.. where are we?" She asked, as the fairy offered her a hand. "Hope put you, Rafael and your parents in a prison world. We're all astral projecting to say goodbye." Wade explained.

Ruby looked around, as she saw smiling students, who were bidding farewell to Rafael. The Waithe searched through the crowd for Landon, and found him quickly. She just about tackled the boy into a hug.

"I'm gonna miss you so much, Lan." Ruby said, as Landon hugged her back. "I'm gonna miss you too. Both of you." Landon replied, before pulling away from his foster sister. He was about to lose the only family he had left. "Take care of eachother, okay?" Landon said as Ruby nodded, "We will, you take care too okay?"

As Ruby reluctantly stepped away from Landon to make more goodbyes, a hand wrapped around Ruby's wrist and turned her around. Ruby faced Lizzie who pulled her in for a hug. "I'm gonna miss you, Lizzie." Ruby said, sinking into the Saltzman's arms for a moment before they broke apart. "I'm gonna miss you too, so much." Lizzie said back in response, as her eyes were filled with tears. "Take care of Monica for me, okay?"

"Bitch, I can take care of myself!" A voice piped up, belonging to Monica as she approached the duo. Ruby let go of Lizzie and rushed over to Monica, embracing her tightly. The Montgomery returned the hug, and basically sunk into Ruby's arms as tear rolls down her cheeks.

"I'm gonna miss you so fucking much, you annoyingly selfless bloodsucking mutt." Monica managed to say, causing the pair to giggle, despite also crying. "I'm gonna miss you more." Ruby stammered before they reluctantly broke apart. "I love you. Thank you for being my best friend.. practically my sister." The vampire said, causing more tears for the both of them.

"I'll never forget you, little wolf." Monica assured her. Ruby giggled again, this time trying to hide a sob. "I love you too, Monica. And I'll never forget you either." The Waithe spoke softly. The pair hugged again tightly as Lizzie watched them sadly.

Once the Montgomery and the Waithe broke apart, Lizzie cleared her throat, catching their attention. "Ruby, before you ask... Hope is outside. Go say goodbye." The Saltzman smiled sadly as Ruby nodded. She felt a sting in her heart, at the thought of saying goodbye to the love of her life.

"Yeah.. I.." Ruby stammered, as she took a couple steps away from the girls. "She's that way." Lizzie pointed in a direction as Ruby nodded, before heading that way.

A wave of dizziness washed over her, at the thought of saying goodbye to Hope... at the thought of breaking her heart.

Suddenly, another hand gripped hers and dragged her through the crowd. Before she could say or do anything, she was in a private room, facing her twin brother.

"Ruby, what the hell?" Rafael asked outright. Ruby blinked in surprise, "What do you mean, what the hell?" The hybrid retorted, confusedly. "You don't need to leave your life behind and come with me." Rafael complained.

Ruby shook her head, and took a step back. "You're my family Rafi. My twin— I'm not leaving you." She demanded as Rafael sighed, "But they're your family too. Hope, Monica, Lizzie, Jordan, Jo..." Rafael trailed off as Ruby put her hands up, "Rafael, please don't make this harder than it already is."

"I know in your heart that you'd rather be with them, not your parents. They may be your family by blood, but these guys at the Salvatore school, they're your found family." Rafael explained as tears filled Ruby's eyes again, "I know it in my heart that I want to be with you." She said. "It's how it's always been. Us against the world, Rafi." Ruby reminded him.

There was a silence as Rafael tried to word what he wanted to say next, carefully. "Ruby, I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that this is what you want." The werewolf declared. Ruby looked up, her eyes meeting Rafael's. Her lip trembled, but she said the words, "This is what I want."

"Say it again.. but this time more convincingly." Rafael demanded. "This is what I want, Rafael!" Ruby said, but this time she couldn't help but to break out into a sob, as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Rafael stepped forward and embraced his twin, who had burst into tears again. "This isn't what you want, and we both know it." The taller twin said, as Ruby shook her head. "I don't want to leave you." She stammered, in almost a whisper.

"I don't want to leave you either, but I can't let you stay here. You'll be miserable, without them." Rafael said softly, before Ruby pulled away. She didn't even know what to say, because she knew that her brother was right about this.

Ruby burst into tears again, as Rafael hugged her tightly. "Goodbyes sure do suck.." Rafael chuckled sadly, trying to lighten the mood. "They sure fucking do." Ruby said, her voice sounding heartbroken.

The twins finally separated, as Rafael looked to Ruby. "Look after Landon for me, okay? And make Hope happy— though you already do. Also make sure to put Jed back in his place every now and then." Rafael rambled on. "Ugh. Shut up." Ruby quickly said, before she laughed awkwardly.

"I love you Rafi, so much. We're gonna find a way to bring you back, for good. I promise you." Ruby insisted. "I know you will.. you guys always come through." Rafael smiled, before he stepped forward and placed a kiss on Ruby's forehead. "And I love you too, Ruby. More than you ever know."

After tearing herself away from her twin, Ruby stumbled outside, where she found Hope. The tribrid looked up as her tear filled eyes faced the hybrid.

"Ruby." Hope managed to say, as it was clear that she was trying not to burst into tears. Ruby rushed forward, and cradled Hope's face in her hands, before she softly kissed the Mikealson. Hope kissed back. When they broke apart, they kept their foreheads pressed together.

"I'm staying... at the school, with you. You guys are my family." Ruby managed to say, before she lifted a hand to wipe tears away from Hope's eyes. "Are you sure?" Hope asked, knowing that this decision was a tough one. Ruby nodded, "I'm sure."

Hope leant forward and kissed Ruby once more, but this time she threw her arms around the Waithe's neck. Ruby kissed back, before Hope pulled away. "I love you. And I promise we'll find a way to save Raf, for good." Hope reminded her, as she looked into Ruby's eyes with determination. Ruby smiled, "I love you too. And I know. You always find a way, Hope Mikealson."