CHAPTER FOURTEEN

There's A World Where Your Dreams Come True

_________________

     "YOU SURE it glowed again?" Hope questioned from her seat in front of Alaric's desk.

     The man himself stood behind it and prepped a crossbow. "I sleep with the damn thing under my pillow. It's hard to miss." He aimed the weapon to correct its balance.

     Ryan sat on the couch, sharpening the few daggers his mother gifted him years ago. "I still think you should put the thing somewhere a little more secure."

     Alaric sighed. "Yeah, well, until we figure out what that is, it stays where it is."

     "What do you think it's gonna be this time?" Hope asked, looking up from where she polished one of Alaric's other weapons. "Hmm? Cyclops? Slender Man? Santa?"

     Alaric chuckled. "Well, given our luck, I think it's safe to rule out Ol' Saint Nick."

     "I don't know. I mean, Santa Claus is kind of terrifying when you think about it," Hope stated and placed the weapon on the desk. "Breaks into your home. He sees you when you're sleeping. Not to mention, judgey."

     Ryan nodded and pointed to his sister. "She's got a point. So glad Mom and Dad never tried to make us believe in him. Like, I'd be afraid to sleep at night."

     "Hope, Ryan, I need you two to focus," Alaric chastised, setting down his crossbow to move around the desk.

     "Look, I'm trying," Hope said with a sigh. "I just wish that Satan's nightlight would give us some rest."

     "Yeah. And I wish that knife was never in out school to begin with, but it's not like we can change that now. All we can do is make sure we're not blindsided by another monster waltzing through our doors."

     Just then, the double doors of his office swung open. Josie and Lizzie were at the threshold with their luggage at their sides.

     "Too late," Hope muttered.

     Ryan pursed his lips. "Not exactly monsters, but close."

     "Oh, God," Alaric exclaimed at the sight of daughters. "Uh, girls. What are you doing here? You're not supposed to get in until tonight."

     "Mom was able to get us direct into Dulles. Then faxed, texted, and emailed you our revised itinerary," Lizzie grumbled in pure irritation.

     "I am so sorry," Alaric apologized. "It's – it's chaos around here."

     "It's okay, Dad," Josie jumped in her altercation stopping ways with a smile. "We know that you're overwhelmed. But, Europe was amazing. And seeing Mom was really good..."

     "Jo's covered the bright side," Lizzie cut off her sister. Her frown appeared to deepen by the second. "Far less sunny was waiting for you in the chilly dark of morning at the terminal and you not showing up." She ripped the bag from her shoulder and tossed it to the floor.

     Ryan raised a brow. Bright and sunny as always.

     "In his defense, um, we've been in crisis mode around here," Hope stated, standing to her feet with her arms crossed over her chest.

     "Oh, we've heard all about it. Hope and Ryan got bamboozled by one of the monsters and now only two keys separate the entire supernatural community from being consumed by a hell portal." Lizzie pointed to the urn on the desk. "I'm guessing that weird little vase is one of them?"

     Hope blinked. "It's an urn, actually."

     "I don't care what it is," Lizzie countered in a mocking voice. "I care that instead of being welcomed at the airport, we were forced to take a three-hour shuttle ride that smelled like an open sewer. And feet," she cried. "Thanks a lot, Hope. Way to ruin life for the rest of us."

     Ryan huffed, drawing the blonde's attention away from his sister. "Could have been worse."

     Lizzie snapped to the Mikealson boy. "Oh, yeah. How is that, golden boy?"

     Ryan smiled and set his daggered down onto seat beside him. "It could've been stuffed to the ceiling with corpses."

     Lizzie scowled and spun on her heel to leave the room.

     Alaric sighed.

     Ryan stood to his feet, moving across the room to where Josie remained in the doorway. "Why don't I help you take your sister's bags up to your room? My head is about to explode with monster hunting prep."

     Hope scoffed and muttered under her breath, "yeah, that's the reason."

     Ryan rolled his eyes, having hear her, and grabbed Lizzie forgotten bag from the floor, along with the raised handle of her suitcase. He dragged them out of the room with Josie beside him. She sent her father a wave, before she followed the boy.

     "I'm sorry about Lizzie," Josie said as they moved further away from Alaric's office.

     "It's fine," Ryan replied, dragging Lizzie's suitcase behind him. "I can handle her jabs. It's her persistent negativity that grinds on my last nerve."

     Josie nodded. "I get it. Really, I do. She just wanted to spend more time with Mom. And learning that we're one step closer to a hellish apocalypse doesn't help." She gave him to a significant look. "What were you thinking?"

     Ryan's expression into one of offense. "Apparently, I wasn't." Josie's stare never faltered, even as they climbed the stairs to the highest floor of the school. "It wasn't on purpose. The Necromancer tricked us."

     "I know you wouldn't do something like that on purpose," Josie stated in a sincere tone. "But, approaching an unknown monster who can resurrect the dead wasn't the safest option."

     Ryan sighed. "Trust me, I know that now." They moved down the hall and stopped in front of the twins' closed bedroom door. "And about Lizzie," he said and turned to face the brunette, "I have a feeling somethings going to happen."

     Josie looked to him in alarm. "What do you mean? Is it bad? Is she okay?"

     Ryan shrugged. "I don't know. Something's just –off." He then shook his head. "I'm sure it's nothing. Besides, Lizzie seems like her usually happy and perky self." He grinned, covering up the true unease her felt build in his stomach.

     Josie appeared to believe him. Her expression softened into a smile. "Right. Perky, yes. Happy, not so much." she voiced and raised a hand to grab her door handle.

     _______

"I WISH HOPE HAD NEVER COME TO THIS SCHOOL."

     Few people could be seen on the streets of the French Quarter. Most knew not to be caught out in the open, especially when the sun was so low in the sky. Tourists, the small amount who still braved the reputation the city now held, were the most susceptible to attacks. They were clueless to what prowled the darkened alleyways and buildings around them.

     Ryan Mikaelson knew better.

     His eyes racked across the almost deserted Dauphine Street. He had one destination in mind. Where his locator spell ended, and where his target would be.

     Ryan readied himself for what awaited him inside the abandoned restaurant formally known as Rousseau's. It had been several years since he found himself anywhere near the building, let alone the city of New Orleans. His mother, Raylynn Montgomery-Mikaelson, forbade him from ever entering the place they once called home. But when he realized they would be just a hundred miles away at the home of his aunts, Ryan knew that he had to visit. He had to see what happened to his sister, once and for all.

     Years ago, Ryan used to be incredibly close with his half-sister, Hope Mikaelson. They were inseparable. That is, until the Hollow destroyed everything. Their family was forced to the ends of the Earth. Unable to see each other for the rest of their immortal lives. All to save Hope's life.

     The weight of what happened weighed on her shoulders. Hope hated herself for being the reason her family could no longer see one another. Her mother, Hayley Marshall, could only handle her chaotic magic and tribrid nature for so long. Without the needed guidance, Hope grew stronger and more rebellious the older she became. And when she inevitably killed her first human, every ounce of control Hope had left faded away.

     Hope triggered her werewolf curse and went on a rampage through New Orleans. Soon, she found herself in trouble and was killed by a rivaling vampire. She rose from the dead a day later and ripped his head from his shoulders.

     Ryan could not let Hope terrorize his former home anymore. He had to do something. So with all the training his mother gave him over the course of his life, he decided to stop his sister and bring a bit of peace to his family for the first time in seven years, even if he lacked two vital sides of himself to truly face Hope head on.

     Ryan took a deep breath as he grabbed the door handle of Rousseau's front entrance. The sharp, metallic scent of blood hit his nose the moment he crossed the threshold. His eyes widened at the multitude of bodies scattered around the room. They were sat at tables, laid on the floor, and propped up against walls. Blood coated them all. Many of them were headless, while others had deep bites on their throats.

     The sight made Ryan's stomach turn.

     Ryan inched further into the restaurant and listened for any sign of movement. Slow jazz filtered through the air from a man on stage. He held a trumpet, playing a toon despite the carnage around him. A loud slurping came from the far side of the room. Ryan looked to find his intended target hunched over, drinking the last bit of blood from their body. He reached to where a dagger rested inside his jacket. His hand just wrapped around the hilt when she spoke.

     "You shouldn't do that."

     Ryan froze, looking up to where Hope turned to face him, dropping the body she held to the floor. Blood dripped down her chin from her lips as dark veins pulsed under her amber eyes. He knew that Hope enacted all three of her supernatural sides, but he never imaged it looked quite so menacing.

     Would he look like that one day? So enthralled by power and hatred that he lost himself completely?

     Ryan swallowed. "Hope, what have you done?"

     "Nothing you didn't see coming, brother. Did you really think you could just come in here and kill me? Your sister? You don't have it in you," Hope taunted.

     "I didn't come here to kill you," Ryan told her. "I came here to stop you. There's a difference."

     Hope rolled her still glowing eyes. "Like you could even land a scratch on me. You're still just a witch with diluted qualities of a vampire. I'm a complete tribrid."

     Ryan groaned. "Hope. Listen to me. You have to stop this." He gestured to the various bodies around them. "You don't have to be like this. Come home with me. Please."

     Before Hope could answer, the door of the restaurant opened. Ryan turned to watch three people enter. A man with a grey beard, holding a crossbow, and two girls dressed in identical uniforms. Both embroidered with a jagged S. The emblem of the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted.

     What the hell were they doing there?

     The jazz cut off abruptly when the trumpeters head lolled to the side, falling from his shoulders and to the floor with a thud. Ryan sighed and looked to his sister, who simply shrugged in response.

     "Gross," the blonde girl muttered and cringed as the head stopped at her feet. When her eyes landed on the Mikaelson siblings, her lips parted in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me."

     Hope wiped the line of blood from her chin and shifted her eyes from amber to their normal blue. "Who the hell are you?"

     "Uh uh. Time out, Genie," the blonde called out to no one.

     Ryan's brows furrowed, while Hope stated, "my name is Hope. And you need to leave unless you want to be dessert."

     Ryan sighed and looked to his sister. "Do you have to threaten them? I thought we were getting somewhere."

     "We were, but they interrupted our little family reunion." Hope gestured in the intruders' direction.

     The man stepped forward with his crossbow hung at his side. "Hope Mikaelson?" His gaze shifted to the boy. "Ryan Mikaelson? I knew your parents. I know where all this darkness you're feeling comes from. If you just talk to me, I –really think I could help."

     Ryan pressed his lips together, shifting his stare to Hope. She had a contemplative expression on her face. "What do you say, sister?" he asked her. "Let us help you."

     Hope met his eyes, ones that mirrored her own, before she nodded.

     _______

"I WISH THERE WAS NEVER A SALVATORE SCHOOL TO BEGIN WITH."

     Ryan Mikaelson stared at the phone in his hands, watching the blue dot on a map move along with the real world position of their car. A larger, golden dot appeared on the street ahead of them. Not what he expected.

     "There's a magical disturbance at Mystic High," Ryan voiced, looking up from his phone to where his sister sat behind the wheel. "Must be one of Saltzman's kids."

     Hope Mikaelson pressed further on the gas, making the car lurch faster down the road. "Figures. Just when we're about to pick up their father, they out themselves to the rest of the school."

     "At least we're already on our way," Ryan said and then glanced back to where Kaleb and Jed occupied the back seat. "You guys remember the drill?"

     Both boys nodded.

     The tires squealed as Hope drove right up to the front entrance of Mystic Falls High School. Dozens of cars littered the parking lot, while students and chaperones made their way to the building. There for one of their many dances held throughout the year.

     Hope slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a stop. "Here we go," she exclaimed, grabbing the handle to raise the door above her head.

     Ryan did the same, pocketing his phone in his leather jacket. Kaleb and Jed followed them as they strode up to open double doors of the school. To their convenience, Alaric Saltzman and his twin girls stood at the threshold.

     "Looks like you guys could use some help," Hope stated as they approached them.

     "Nuh uh. No, we're all good," the blonde, Lizzie, shook her head.

     "That M," Alaric breathed, staring at the silver M they all wore on various places on their clothing. "Mikaelson. Like the boarding school?"

     Ryan nodded. "Correct." He spoke to the boy next to him, "Kaleb, compel everyone here to forget what they've seen."

     "On it," Kaleb replied and moved forward to fulfill the task.

     "Jed," Hope addressed the other boy, "establish a perimeter. Lock the place down."

     Jed backed away to scope out the school. "Copy."

     "Ryan," Hope started, but he cut her off.

     "Already called for the chopper. Maverick's on his way."

     "Uh, I – I said that we're good. Okay?" Lizzie said and reached out to wrap her arms around her twin. "Josie and I do not want to be superheroes."

     Josie shoved the girl away from here. Her stare right on Ryan, eyeing him up and down. "Yeah. Speak for yourself."

     "Yeah, you're just lucky we showed up when we did," Ryan told the blonde. "We're not here for you." He set his attention on Alaric. "We're here for him."

     Both girls looked back to where their father stood behind them.

     Josie shifted her gaze away from him and back to where Ryan remained. A smile formed on her lips as she started toward him.

     Ryan quirked a brow, but he stepped to the side and walked alongside her to where the helicopter would land across the street. Hope followed behind with Alaric on her heels.

     _______

     "Make yourselves at home," Hope voiced when they walked through the front entrance of the school.

     Ryan walked behind her, leading Josie in with her arm wrapped around his. The girl did not hide her clear attraction toward him, and he decided not to reject her.

     "This place," Alaric gawked at the interior, following them into the largest common room. "It's like a – dream come true."

     "I suspect you've heard about our father's questionable past?" Ryan questioned the Saltzman man, releasing his hold on Josie to stand at his sister's side.

     When he nodded, Hope begin. "But when he had us, things changed. There wasn't a school he could send someone like us to, so – he built this one. And as you can see, it's been quite the success. So much so that he's currently overseas establishing our European branch, which is why we're in need of new headmaster."

     "I think I'm gonna be sick," Lizzie exclaimed. Her face scrunched.

     Ryan turned to her and said, "sorry about that. Not everyone likes the chopper ride, but it's the fastest way to get here through the mountains. Bathroom's down the hall."

     Lizzie scowled as she headed out of the room. "I know where it is."

     Ryan stared after with narrowed eyes, before he turned back to where Josie moved to stand in front of him. "No offense, but your sister is a strange one," he said.

     Josie smiled, twirling her long hair around her finger. "Tell me about it."

     _______

"I WISH THAT YOU HAD NEVER MET THE MONSTER THAT SENT YOU TO MALIVORE."

     Josie pushed open her bedroom door to find Lizzie inside. Ryan stopped next to Josie and waited for the blonde to address them, but she remained still and unmoving in front of her floor-length mirror.

     "Lizzie?" Josie called out to gain her sister's attention, only to get no response. "Lizzie. Lizzie?"

     Lizzie finally turned around to face them, her eyes wide in what seemed to be shock.

     Ryan's gaze narrowed. "Lizzie, you okay?"

     "Please, don't be mad at Dad," Josie exclaimed, before her sister could speak.

     Lizzie did not say a word as she rushed across her room and wrapped her arms around Josie.

     Ryan blinked at the sight, while Josie paused at the sudden show of affection. "Oh. What's happening? Why are you suffocating me?"

     "I have no idea," Lizzie cried, holding onto the brunette with everything she had.

     A strange sensation bubbled in the pit of Ryan's stomach. Not out of annoyance or irritation with the blonde, but one that only flared at the sign of magical trouble. Ryan did not see any reason as to why. Lizzie seemed fine, Josie came back in a better mood than when she left, and there were no monsters.

     Something was off, and Ryan intended to find out what.

<February 10, 2019>

I had way too much fun writing this chapter! Like, I honestly wish it was the Mikaelson School instead of Salvatore.

My Ryan and Josie scenes were a bit lacking, and I'm sorry for that.

Also, Lizzie's third wish does not exist in this story. Because if Hope were never born, Raylynn would have never gotten together with Klaus and Ryan would have never been born, either. 

Don't forget to vote and comment.

-Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.