goodbyes sure do suck

The two knights fight against one another. One light, one dark. King Arthur, wearing silver and gold, fought against the dark knight, until his sword was discarded out of his palm. It was only a moment until he too fell to the ground. He struggled to reach for excalibur, when the dark night pointed his sword.

Grunting, King Arthur removed his helmet, ready to accept his own fate. As the dark night raised his sword, the sound of something flying through the air catches Arthur's attention. A red axe flies through the air, completely chopping off the dark knights arm. Arthur watches as the axe flies back to the hands of a crimson knight. He struggles to stand as he watches her remove her hood.

The sound of a horse causes him to turn his head. The black horse let out a neigh, and Arthur looks at the lady dressed in a mans black trousers and boots, along with a white shirt and some sort of blue cape. Her long blond hair whisked in the wind as she held a magical staff in hand.

"Woah, woah, woah," Rafael begins, he and I giggling. "Hold up." Landon looks up from his book. "You're out of control, bro."

"What? We know you two are descendants of King Arthur and Merlins bloodline. Everything I'm saying could have happened." Landon rambles to us.

I nod, taking a bite of my sandwich. "Yeah, key word here being could have." I retort. "And what is my sister doing there, exactly?" I ask, raising a brow.

Landon shrugs, "I-I for carried away." He confessed. "Look, I don't understand how you're not into this. If I knew I was descended from kings-"

"Thats always been the difference between you and me, Lan." Laughs Raf. "You've always wanted to be special. I've just wanted to be normal." I look at Raf, giving him a small smile. "Have a, a home, friends, and a family. And look, now that we have that, I don't need some fantasy role-playing to tell me where I come from"

"This is history." Says Landon, looking down at the book.

Raf laughs, closing the book. "And after all we've been through, look, I'm done looking back." He says, looking back at me.

"Okay, fine, can you just give me my book back, please?"

"This book?" Raf asks.

I watch, amused, as the two begin to wrestle for the book. It doesn't take long until Raf puts Landon in a headlock. Raf and I laugh when Landon begins to struggle.

"Stop!" Landon suddenly says, pulling away.

I stand up, seeing smeared black liquid on Landon's face. I frown in confusion, looking back at Rafael. Confused, Raf touches under his nose, the same black bloody liquid trailing out. The boy grunts, before suddenly retching as he falls to his knees. Landon and I go to his side, shocked to see the boy completely vomiting the black substance.

"We need to get him to Dr. Saltzman." I say. Landon nods, helping me pull Raf to his feet while we carry him through the school.

♚

I sat with my mom in Dr. Saltzman's office. "There's not much I can think of to save your friend." Mom says to Jed, MG, Kaleb, Lizzie, and I. "If Alaric and the witches don't find anything-"

"You've been alive for a thousand years and you're telling us that you have no idea how to stop a werewolf from dying?" Lizzie asks.

Mom shakes her head. "He's already dead, I'm afraid. Any options we might have had before that are gone." She explains as she looks around the room. She wore a red pencil skirt and black blouse, walking towards one of Alaric's many bookshelves. "If Rafael were still completely alive, I would say Annie or Hope could turn him into a Hybrid. However, I'm afraid he's not alive to begin with, and that option is off the table."

I sigh, running my hand through my hair. The door opens, and in walks Dr. Saltzman. "Did you find anything?" I ask as he walks to his desk.

Dr. Saltzman looks at me with a disappointed look. "I wish I had better news." I purse my lips into a thin line as my mom puts a hand on my back. "We don't have much time."

"Super Squad always saves the day." Says MG, attempting to be optimistic. "What do you need us to do?"

"Anything we can."

Kaleb speaks up. "We should also make a plan for if things don't go our way." We all turn to look at Kaleb. "What? We got to be realistic about our odds here. Right?"

Alaric walks around his desk. "You leave the worst case scenario up to Ms. King and I." He says as he looks over to my mom. "In the meantime, just keep looking for loopholes. Jed, the pack should be with him right now."

"Pack can't help with this, Dr. S." Jed replies.

"Why not?"

"A dying wolf separates himself from the pack. We have to respect his privacy, keep our distance unless he chooses to reach out to us." The werewolf boy explains. I look down at my feet, studying my shoes.

Alaric stands up straight. "Is that how you'd want to be treated?" He asks the werewolf.

Jed shakes his head. "Sorry. It's just our nature." He tells the headmaster.

My mom speaks up, "Lizzie, the witches, have them keep trying any and all healing spells."

"Already on it." Lizzie explains. "Plus, we gave Raf an elixir that links him to the lunar cycle. It's a Band-Aid, but it will hold off his symptoms until the morning."

"When he drops dead." Kaleb mutters. We all once again turn to look at the vampire. "I said that out loud. I am so-"

Lizzie cuts him off. "My point is, if anyone can find a way to save him, it's us."

The door opens, my sister walking into the room. "There's only one problem with that." I frown at her, not sure what she means. "Rafael took off. He's gone."

♚

Hope and I are in the library as vampires speed through every book while the others attempt to either find Landon and Raf or find a way to save Raf. "I'm beginning to think me being an immortal being is really inconvenient when I can't just turn someone already dead into an immortal being." I explain shortly.

"Curse your tribrid abilities only working on the living." Hope jokes, causing me to roll my eyes playfully. Hope purses her lips into a thin line. "Do you ever think about what's going to happen to you? Like, everyone else is going to age, grow old, and you're still gonna be 16."

I purse my lips into a thin line, thinking about Josie. She was practically human, and the longer we stay together, the older she gets, the bigger the rift could become. "I try not to." I say softly, looking up at Hope.

"So, about those healing spells." I turn my head to see Lizzie looking between us. Her face was covered in soot, and I covered my mouth in attempt to hide my laugh.

"None of them worked?" Hope asked,

Lizzie purses her lips. "Not as intended."

"Well, the day is not over yet." My sister says optimistically, walking past us whilst still holding a book.

"Hope, we've tried everything. You know what we need to do."

Hope shakes her head. "We're not doing a linking spell."

Lizzie shrugs. "Why not? It's the exact thing that you did to save me from the Merge." The blond explains.

"But that was different. If I link Landon to Raf, Landon would have to die and resurrect every single day. We don't know how many lives Landon has left. We could kill them both."

Lizzie looks over at me, then at my sister. "Well, have you thought about what Landon would want?" I look down at the book, when Hope suddenly looks back at us.

"I might have another idea."

♚

"So Hope wants to use Clarke's Freaky Friday tuning fork to put Raf's consciousness in someone else's body?"

Landon looks at Lizzie and I with a worried, confused look. Lizzie takes a piece of the Trident from him. "Look, I know it's not ideal, okay? But if we modify and reforge the Trident, then a siphon like me can use it to transfer energy instead of consciousness." Explains the blond.

"Well, wait, wait. What kind of energy? And into who?" He asks.

I look between the werewolf and Lizzie "Well, my first choice was Jed." Lizzie begins. Everyone slowly turns to look at me.

Sighing, I put my hands in my back pockets. "But, unfortunately, it has to be phoenix energy." I say, looking at Landon.

"Phoenix? So what does that mean for Landon?"

Landon looks down at his shoes. "I'm guessing it means I become human." Landon looks back at me. "Mortal?" I give a sad nod, feeling guilty. "Which is probably why Hope isn't here to tell me herself."

I eventually go to my moms room, where she sat in front of an easel, painting away. "When I was first turned, before I could go outside, I used to paint pictures of my sister." She says softly.

"You had a sister?" I ask, confused.

My mom purses her lips into a thin line, putting down the brush. "I did." She whispers as she turns in her chair. "She was a lot like you. Carefree, strong, independent." My mom laughs as she looks back on her human days. "She used to sneak out late at night to go party with the older people in the village. Mother would get so mad at her."

I sit down on my moms bed, intrigued. "What happened so her? Did she stay human?" I ask, confused. Mom had never spoken of this sister of hers before. Not after all these years.

"She was human, yes." Mom says shortly, clasping her hands together. "But I'm afraid that's as eventually her downfall." Mom stands up, walking to her closet. "You see, my sister was a curious one. Often getting herself into trouble. However, one day she saw too much. Knew too much. She had seen your father and your uncle Elijah." I frown, not expecting that. "And, well, she watched Elijah kill someone very important to all of us."

"Tatia. Elijah and Klaus loved her."

Mom nods, "But she didn't love them, not really." I watch my mom pull out a small painting. "Tatia and my sister were going to run away together, like Romeo and Juliet." She explains. "But when Elijah killed Tatia, my sister ran. He later found my sister, and killed her too." I glance down at the painting, it was two women, holding hands in a field of flowers. One was wearing a deep emerald green, her dark hair long and dark. The other, wore red, her skin was more fair and her hair was more waved, but even in something as simple as that painting, I could feel the love between the two.

"What's up with Uncle Elijah killing people we love?" I say sarcastically, causing my mom to laugh. She takes the portrait, looking back at me.

"It was a long time ago, Anna. We were very different back then."

I watch my mom approach her new painting again. It was the sky, painted in shades of blues and pinks. "What was her name?" I ask, staring at my mom. Her glossed eyes stared at the painting for a moment, like her next few words were more life changing than anything before.

"Eleanor."

♚

"Let's get started." I stand next to Hope, watching as Lizzie directs the two boys. "Moppet, you are here. Raf, there. And, Mikaelsons you're moral support, so don't screw it up."

I give an awkward smile, looking at the two brothers. They share a quick hug, and Raf turns to my sister. "Thanks." He says. We both nod, and Lizzie grabs onto Landon's shoulders.

I stare at the Saltzman for a long time, waiting for any sign shes siphoning. "You can start now." I say awkwardly.

Lizzie opens her eyes. "I did start, but nothing's happening."

Hope, who has her arms crossed, frowns. "What do you mean?" She questions.

"There isn't any magic in the moppet to siphon."

Landon walks away, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. "I don't understand." says Hope.

"She means I'm not a phoenix anymore." Says Landon. I look at him with confusion. Hope stares at him.

I shake my head. "This is a joke, right?" I ask.

The curly haired boy raises a brow. "Do I look like I'm laughing?" I look down, not answering.

"I don't get it." Raf whispers.

"It makes sense. The golden arrow felled the phoenix, just like the prophecy said." Landon follows. I cross my arms in thought, unsure what to do or say.

"Wait. But you were brought back."

Landon nods at Rafael. "As a human, but the phoenix part of me died, leaving me one final, mortal life." He sighs as he paces the floor. "I should have known. I can feel it. I feel different."

Hope walks towards her boyfriend. "I can't believe that this is happening." She mutters.

"We'll run more tests. Maybe there's something we missed." Lizzie says optimistically.

"I can go outside and try to fly." Landon shrugs.

Hope looks at him. "How? By jumping off a roof and hoping you sprout wings before you break your neck?" She snaps.

I turn to my sister. "Hey, so not helping!"

"No!" We all turn to look at Rafael. "I don't want to waste another second fighting a losing battle. I want to make the most of whatever little time that I have left." He says, giving us a weak smile. "Just want to be with my friends. I want to go out on my own terms." I look over at him, giving a sad smile.

♚

I walk over to Landon, who is inside his room while everyone outside begins to set up for the bonfire. "Hey," I say awkwardly, walking in.

"Hey, Annie." He mutters, looking at the window.

I bite my lip as I sit next to him on the bed. "I know you don't care, but I want you to know that you were still my best friend when you were human, and to were my best friend when you were immortal, and you're still my best friend now." I explain sadly. Landon looks up at me. "And I know how much that being a Phoenix meant to you, and I'm sorry that things happened the way they did."

Landon sighs. "I feel like I just lost everything that made me fit in with this school." He explains. "Like, all I've ever wanted was to be like you guys, and now, I'm just me." I raise my brow at him, a smile on my face.

"Are you kidding me?" I joke, a smile on my face. "You are Landon Freaking Kirby, the son of Malivore. You have died so many times. You have helped us kill so many monsters. You fit in here just as much as the rest of us." I tell him. Landon doesn't look at me, but I grab his hand in comfort. "Everything's going to be okay, Landon. I promise."

The boy slowly looks up at me, his green eyes studying me for a long moment. His eyes gloss over as he wraps his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. I hug back, rubbing his back as I hear him quietly cry. It was this moment I realize that he needed someone. He needed to be told everything would be okay. He needed to feel like he wasn't alone.

And he wasn't.

"I love you, Annie." He whispers. I pat his back soothingly as I let him release the emotions he had been hiding this entire time.

♚

I sit next to Raf at the bonfire, awkwardly drinking a glass of whatever they decided to bring. "Loving the mood, very party-like." I mutter quietly. Rafael looks at everyone's faces, standing up.

"What's with the long faces?" Raf chuckles. I look at MG, who just stands there, completely still. "Come on, I wanted this to be a party, like the one the first night when I came here. Not a funeral."

MG shrugs sheepishly. "We're trying our best, Raf, but it's, it's a lot." He admits. Classmates of ours nod slowly in agreement.

"Look, just think of something funny. Or something stupid or embarrassing that I did that you'll always remember." Rafael says. "Like the, what was it? Expectation was a cancer. Oh, you can't, sir? Then who will?" Raf nudges my side, causing me to burst out in laughter with the other students. "Come on. That awful beat poetry thing I did?"

"Then there was that one time you turned with your uniform on." MG recalls, causing me to giggle furiously at the memory.

I nod, "Yeah, it was definitely pretty wild, seeing a full-blown werewolf with a tie around its neck." I joke, looking at Raf.

The Waithe looks at us all. "That's the spirit. Keep it going." Kaleb begins to talk, and I look up at the Old Mill to see Landon, standing over us all. Rafael looks over at him.

"You should go talk to him." I say, looking at my werewolf friend. "I think he really needs you right now." Rafael nods at me, walking away to go talk to his best friend. I sigh, looking around the party. It was strange, knowing this may be our last moments with Rafael. Things were so much different now, compared to the first time we all met. It was like immediately, from that moment, I knew Raf, Landon, and I were going to be best friends. And now I could hardly imagine a life without them.

I let out an exasperated sigh, turning to see the two boys walking down to me. "Annie, wanna bounce and come eat some burgers?" Raf asks me, smiling wide. I look at Landon, and I could tell this entire thing was bittersweet for him. I give a small smile.

"Of course, Rafi."

♚

Landon, Raf, and I are all back in their room, chowing down on fast food. Landon hums, "Bro, you were right. This is so much better."

"And we didn't even have to scam strangers for these bad boys this time." The three of us laugh, and I take a fry from my own bag of food as I looked between the two.

The Kirby boy looks up. "I'm sorry, Rafael. I really thought Hope would find a way. You know, that's just what she does. Finds ways." I purse my lips, looking down.

"Yeah, we were talking earlier. I think I scared her off."

I give a confused smile at Raf. "Hope doesn't scare easily. What'd you say to her?"

Raf looks over at Landon, "I was gonna ask her to look out for you after I was gone." I feel my heart sting a bit at Rafael's words. Trying to accept the fact he was dying was hard, I couldn't handle it. But I was going to try to, for Raf.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that anymore, will you?" Landon inquired. "Now that she knows I'm not a phoenix, she won't let me step foot outside. Right?"

The two of them chuckle again, and I smile as I watch the two of them talk. "She definitely won't." Raf leans back in the bed, sighing.

Landon looks over. "For two foster kids, our lives got pretty weird, huh?"

Rafael scoffs, turning to look at me as he replies to Landon. "So weird." He says. I smile at him. "Weird life, weird death."

Before Landon or I could say anything, a knock on the door causes us to look over, seeing Jed walking in. "You didn't ask the pack for this. But we thought just in case." I frown in confusion, but all makes sense when I see Rafael's father walk in.

"Dad? We came looking for you."

"I heard. But I'm here now." I stand next to Landon, my eyes involuntarily watering. I clasp my hand over my mouth, so happy that Rafael's dad came to him. "And I'm not going anywhere." Rafael wrapped his arms around his dad.

I glance at Jed. "Thank you." I mouth, wiping my watery eyes. Jed shakes his head, as if saying 'No need to thank me'.

"What can I do, son?" Rafaels dad whispers.

"Exactly what you're doing now."

I lean on Landon's shoulder, feeling grateful for these moments. Watching Raf get to spend his last few hours with his dad and Landon, it's all he ever would have wanted. I excuse myself, needing to calm my nerves when Lizzie and Hope walk up to me.

"I already talked to Ophelia, we don't have much time." Hope says to me, holding a strange object.

"Is that an ascendant?" I ask, confused.

Lizzie nods. "Like she said, not much time." She snaps before grabbing my wrist, dragging me along.

♚

The next morning, Hope and I patiently waited as Landon came out of his room, "He's gone. I mean, Rafael's literally gone. I didn't know werewolves disappear when they die."

Hope gives a closed mouth smile, "They don't." She whispers. Landon gives a confused lookS "Come with us. I have some explaining to do." The three of us walk down the hall, and I remembered what Hope explained to me, just a few hours before.

"Last night Rafael told me what his version of heaven looked like. And it gave me an idea." Hope explained to me. "Even though we couldn't heal him, we could still save him, so Lizzie and I used the coven ascendant and supernova to give Raf peace as he defined it."

Most of the Salvatore School temporarily astral projected / traveled to the prison world. And as Raf came down the stairs, he looked at everyone in confusion. "Hey. Um, what's-what's going on?" Jed gave his former alpha a gracious hug. Rafael continued to walk through, seeing Kaleb.

"What's up?" Kaleb grinned, the two sharing a hug. "I know you got a lot of questions that need answers. I just want you to know that I never doubted that you were gonna survive this for a second. I knew the whole," Kaleb stuttered as MG gave an expectant oook. "Okay, I doubted it hard. But you know who didn't? My man." Kaleb says, looking at MG.

MG gives a sad smile. "We're gonna miss you, man." Rafael looks up as people move out of the way, revealing Dr. Saltzman. Rafael

"Because a prison world is only a prison if you're alone."

When Alaric pulled away, Rafael's eyes landed on Hope, Landon, and I.

"We can't stay, but he can."

Rafael looks at Hope. My sister wraps him tightly in a hug.

"With everything he needs to keep him safe and happy. With his family."

"Goodbyes really do suck." My sister whispers as she pulls away. Rafael looks at me, and I give a big smile as I hug him.

I rest my head on his shoulder. "Promise me you'll remember me?" I say, my voice trembling as I try not to cry.

"I don't think I could ever forget Anastasia Mikaelson."

"Always and forever. Maybe that's what heaven is."

AUTHORS NOTE

i wanted to have the landon and annie scene in the beginning cause of the fight later in the episode where landon says "because not once today did you say that it would be okay" to hope. i just wanted that contrast/parallel, cause i think that's one big difference between annie and hope.

anyways, i hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, sorry it's shorter. love you all so so much.