CHAPTER NINETEEN

The Boy Who Still Has a Lot of Good to Do

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THEY CARRIED Emma over to one of the beds and left her unconscious form under the duvet. Rafael moved over to sit on the other, ready to ingest the elixir to help his friend and foster brother.

"Here." Hope held out the vial for him. "Just drink it."

Rafael exhaled, before he uncorked the magical liquid and knocked it back. He cringed at the taste, but he swallowed it nonetheless. "Here." He handed the half-empty container back to Hope.

Ryan leaned forward from where he sat on the window seat, resting his elbows onto his knees as he watched Rafael. Ready to intervene if something went wrong. Not that he thought it would. Just a precaution.

Rafael took deep breaths as the elixir began to work its magic.

Hope set the vial aside and kneeled in front of him. "You said you saw a monster."

Rafael's brows creased together. "I did?"

Hope blinked, thrown a bit by his question. "Yeah."

"I don't – I don't – I don't remember that," Rafael said, shaking his head.

"Okay. Tell us what you do remember."

Rafael dove back into what he remembered about his trip with Landon and MG. They discovered that MG's father began to run for the position of mayor in the boy's hometown. That the man used his son's "death" as an emotional push in his mayoral campaign. Landon encouraged MG to confront his father, and to learn why his parents never wanted him to come home since his enrollment at the Salvatore School.

As it turned out, MG's father thought something entirely different.

"Wait, wait, wait," Ryan stood to his feet and moved over to Hope and Rafael. "You're staying MG's dad didn't know his son was a vampire."

"I'm saying that MG's dad thought that he was dead," Rafael stated.

Ryan blinked and exchanged a look with his sister. "Unexpected."

Hope huffed. "You're telling me."

"We didn't want to leave MG behind, but it was getting late," Rafael continued to explain. "And we knew that I had to get back before I turned, and..." He paused.

"What?" Hope questioned.

Rafael exhaled. "We didn't make it back on time, Hope."

The two boys were almost to the school when the moon started to pull on the wolf inside Rafael. They pulled over and retreated deep into the closest forest to restrain Rafael through the full moon. Landon used some chains found in the back of the school's truck they stole to secure Rafael to a tree.

Not the best way to confine a werewolf. In fact, it was one of the worst.

And Landon being Landon, he decided to stay at Rafael's side through it all. He did not care about the fact that his best friend was about to turn into a murderous creature. A rotted cherry on top of an already ruined cake.

"I said, run!" Rafael screamed when his mind shifted between states.

Hope rushed forward and grabbed the boy's arms. "Hey. Hey." She eased him back to sit on the bed, grabbing the rest of the elixir. "Here. Here. Here, here, here. Drink this. Drink this."

Rafael swiped the vial from her hand and downed the liquid in one gulp. He groaned, swallowing hard.

Ryan moved closer to the Waithe boy, setting a hand on his shoulder when he began to wince. "Hey, calm down. Deep breaths."

Rafael nodded, but he still appeared to be in pain.

"Hey, what did you see?" Hope asked, even when the boy's breathing did not slow. "What did you see? What were you running from?"

"I don't know. I don't know!" Rafael exclaimed, but Hope persisted.

"Raf, whatever you saw is what made you like this. Did the monster hurt Landon?"

Rafael muttered, "I don't know."

"Is Landon okay, Raf?" Hope shouted in desperation.

Tears brimmed Rafael's eyes. "I don't know, Hope. I don't know. I don't know."

Ryan let go of Rafael and grabbed Hope by the shoulders. "Okay, that's enough." He pushed her back a bit, forcing her to stand. "Give him a minute."

Hope snapped to her brother with wide eyes. "We need to find out what happened, Ryan."

Ryan sighed. "I know. Just – give him a second to breathe. Bombarding him right after taking the elixir isn't going to him anyone."

Hope took a deep breath, exhaling through her mouth. "Okay. Okay." She ran a hand through her hair and set her attention back on Rafael. "Do you remember where the woods were?"

Rafael calmed. Not yet relaxed, but enough that he could gather his thoughts. "I think so." He paused and then nodded. "Yeah, I remember."

Ryan nodded in return. "Alright, that's a start." He turned to his sister and said, "go get one of the twins to siphon the containment spell. Preferably Lizzie. I'll call Dr. Saltzman and tell him where to look."

Hope rushed toward the door. "Right. Okay." She ran out in search of the Saltzman girls.

Ryan reached into the pocket of his Stallions sweats he changed into while Rafael slept and pulled out his phone.

"Why Lizzie?" Rafael asked.

Ryan looked up from where he clicked on his phone app. "What?"

"You said, 'preferably Lizzie.' Why? What happened with you and Josie?" Rafael's brows were furrowed.

Ryan sighed. "I'll tell you after we find Landon and MG." He pressed Alaric's name in his recent calls and held the speaker to his ear. "It's a story better suited for when you're in your right mind."

Rafael scoffed in halfhearted manner. "Whatever, Mikaelson."

_______

Ryan, Hope, and Rafael hurried away from the Salvatore School to where Landon had been seen last. They were forced to go on foot, considering Rafael was not reliable at the moment and neither of the Mikaelson siblings had their driver's licenses. Luckily, the patch of forest was not that far from the campus.

The three of them ran through the trees until they came upon the bright headlights of Alaric's truck. Ryan shoved through the low-hanging branches. His eyes landed on two figures crouched near the ground and one laid in front of them.

"Hey, Dr. Saltzman?" Hope called out as they got closer.

Alaric stood and whirled toward them. "Oh, Hope, Ryan, thank God you made it."

Ryan's brows furrowed, glancing from him to where Kaleb remained and to a sickly MG. "What's going on? What happened?"

"MG has a werewolf bite," Alaric said, approaching the siblings. "He doesn't have much time."

MG whimpered where he remained on the ground, struggling through the effects of the werewolf venom coursing through his veins.

"Oh, my God," Hope breathed.

Ryan's stomach dropped, but at least he and Hope were now there. They could heal him in an instant.

"Alright, I know. Okay." Kaleb tried to soothe MG and calm him down.

"I bit you."

Ryan snapped to Rafael at his side. The Waithe boy's stare was set on the injured vampire. More memoires of the night before seemed to flood his mind as he remembered what he did to MG.

Hope looked to the werewolf. "What?"

"This is all my fault," MG cried. "Raf, I'm so sorry."

Ryan blinked. MG was sorry for getting bit by Rafael?

Kaleb seemed to hold the same confusion. "What, sorry? What are you sorry for?" He stood to his feet and glared toward Rafael. "He's the one that should be sorry. He's the fool that bit you."

Kaleb made a move for Rafael, but Alaric intercepted him and held him back. Ryan stepped to the side, positioning himself in front of Rafael. He would not allow a fight to break out. They were still missing one person, and they did not know about everything that went down. They needed more answers.

"Don't move," Alaric shouted, shoving Kaleb back and away from Rafael.

     "Hey. Hey, hey. What's going on?" Hope exclaimed, rushing over to her brother and friend. Rafael's eyes widened and raised his arms above his head as something clicked. "What's going on? What?"

"Raf, what's wrong?" Ryan questioned when he noticed the distorted expression on the boy's face.

Rafael shifted his gaze between the siblings. "I remember now."

"Remember what?" Ryan asked.

Rafael swallowed and said, "the elixir. His face." He stepped forward, chest heaving. "Being back here. I remember who the monster was."

Ryan's heart skipped in his chest when Rafael told them about everything else that happened. MG joined the other boys, upset with what went down with his father, and set his sights on Landon. His anger flared, and he wanted to get back at Landon for dragging him back to be hurt.

Everything went wrong from that point on. MG punched Landon, drawing blood, and MG's already compromised vampire instincts went into overdrive. He attacked Landon, feeding on him until the boy no longer held an ounce of life in his eyes.

Hope moved away from them, falling to the ground as sobs ripped through her throat.

Ryan raced over to her side and dropped onto his knees to face her head on. "Hope. Hope, listen to me. We'll fix this, okay."

Tears streamed down Hope's cheeks. "He's dead, Ry. He's dead. Landon's dead," she cried, clutching at her chest as her breaths came out more ragged.

Ryan inched forward, wrapping his arms around his sister. Hope clung to him, fisting her hands into the fabric of his hoodie as she continued to sob. Ryan held Hope, forcing his own sadness aside to kept her together. He needed her more than he needed to grieve a friend.

"I did it. It was me." MG could be heard over Hope's cries. "I'm the monster."

"When you finished your turn, y-you got loose and bit MG," Alaric voiced what they all figured out. "Watching Landon die was too traumatic, too human, so you reverted back and scrambled your memory."

"I don't want to remember any of this," Rafael hissed through gritted teeth, before he started to walk off.

"Raf, where are you going?" Alaric called after him.

"Away from MG, before I finish the job."

Ryan ignored them the best he could and rubbed soothing circles into Hope's back as he proceeded to hold her.

"Hey," Kaleb shouted after the werewolf.

Rafael looked back and said, "Landon's body is out there. I'm gonna go find it." He then turned on his heel, heading off into the forest to search for his fallen friend.

"I was so mad," MG grunted. "I wanted to h-hurt Landon. I didn't want his blood. I needed it. I needed all of it. 'Cause I'm not a monster. I'm a demon." He began to mutter incoherently to himself.

Ryan felt Hope tighten her hold on him as they both heard MG. "Shh, it's okay. Don't listen to him," he told her. "Just let it out."

Hope continued to sob against her brother, shoving her face into his shoulder to shut out the confession behind them. After a long moment, she fell quiet. Her breaths slowed, while tears proceeded to slip through her lashes. She lessened her grip on Ryan and pulled back to face him.

Ryan shook his head, knowing what Hope was about to say. "I'll do it," he said. "Go find Raf."

Hope looked as though she wanted to object, but she decided against it and staggered to her feet.

Ryan rose after her and nodded. He breathed deeply when Hope began to disappear through the trees. He shifted his attention to where Alaric and Kaleb returned to MG's side. "Dr. Saltzman, I need your knife."

Alaric looked to the Mikaelson boy and stood, reaching into his pocket to produce a closed switchblade. Ryan stepped toward him and took it from his hand. He flipped the weapon open, before he ran the sharp edge across his palm. The sting of the gash did not register in Ryan's mind as he moved over to MG. He knelt next to the vampire and held his bleeding cut to the boy's mouth.

When MG had enough blood to heal, Ryan pulled away and handed Alaric back his knife. "I'm going after Hope and Rafael. It's probably best if MG recuperates in the car."

He did not wait for an answer.

Ryan made his way to where Hope and Rafael went to find Landon's body. He forced himself to remain composed, especially when he heard his sister's sobs filter through the air. Hope and Rafael needed someone to be on their side. To calm them, and to tell them everything would be alright.

Alaric would try his best, but he had an obligation to all of his students. MG included.

Ryan would not do that. He would not split himself between right and wrong. Not now. MG had other people. Hope did not. And when it came to his sister, Ryan would always choose her.

Ryan stopped when he found Hope and Rafael. They were knelt on the ground, right next to the body of Landon Kirby. He could tell from there that the boy was long gone. His skin was ghostly pale and a dried blood covered bite stood out on his neck. Skin ripped and torn by MG's fangs.

Alaric came up beside Ryan a moment later. "Oh, damn it," he exclaimed at the sight.

Ryan sighed and walked over to Hope. He set a hand on her shoulder and said, "Hope, come on. We need to get him back to the school."

Before Hope could retort, the sound of footsteps forced them all to fall silent. Ryan looked to where Kaleb and MG trudged through the forest in their direction. Upon seeing them, Rafael climbed to his feet and started away from where he held Landon's body. He began to head toward the two vampires, but Hope raced to intercept his path and Ryan did not stop her.

"Raf. Raf." Hope pushed herself up and ran to grab Rafael's arm to stop him. "Please, Raf. Raf. Landon wouldn't want this," she said as the boy faced her. She sniffled. "He wants us to be better. Give him that respect."

Tears gathered in Rafael's eyes, but he nodded and reached out to embrace Hope. The two of them held onto each other, crying for the boy the lost.

Ryan could not help the salty tear that feel from his eye. He sniffed, lifting a hand to wipe it from his wind chapped cheek.

At the sound of sizzling, Ryan turned back to where Landon's body laid on the ground. His eyes widened as smoke emitted from under and around the boy's pale corpse. "What the hell?" he questioned aloud, drawing everyone's attention.

"Uh, am I still delusional, or do y'all see this?" MG spoke, witnessing the same thing.

Hope and Rafael released one another to watch the strange scene unfold.

More and more smoke encased Landon. It seemed as though he was smoldering.

"Ryan, Hope, put him out," Rafael said.

Hope lifted her hand toward the Kirby boy's body and chanted, "adiuuatur." The smoke continued to bellow under Landon. "It's not working. I – wh-what's going on?"

Ryan looked to their headmaster. "Yeah. That's not supposed to happen."

Alaric shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know. I've never seen anything like this."

A second later, Landon's body burst into flames. Ryan stumbled back, pulling Hope with him, as the fire grew larger and hotter. They engulfed Landon, before they faded to leave behind a hard crust over his entire body. Every exposed inch of skin and fabric covered in a grey material, much like ashes.

"Damn," Kaleb voiced.

Hope's tears returned and started toward Landon.

"No," Alaric said, reaching out to stop the girl. "Not yet, not yet. I don't think it's over."

"What's not over?" Hope exclaimed.

"We've been wondering if he's supernatural." Alaric gestured to where Landon's body laid. "We have our answer."

Ryan blinked and turned to the man. "What? How does this prove Landon's supernatural?" he questioned, pointing to the Kirby boy's body.

Alaric did not get the chance to reply.

Cracking resounded through the forest. Ryan looked back to see the crust over Landon break and shift in place. More fissures appeared, rising and pulsing as if something moved underneath. Or, someone.

Landon's hand broke through the material and met with the cold air. Ryan gaped, while Hope gasped. The others were too stunned to breathe. Landon ripped through the rest of the burned shell and climbed to his feet as if nothing happened. As if he were not just deader than dead.

Landon glanced between them all and asked, "what's going on?"

No one moved. No one said a word, except for Alaric.

"You ever heard the legend of the Phoenix?"

<March 27, 2019>

I really hate this chapter, but I love my Mikaelson babies!

I'm also not ready for the Season Finale. Like, I'm gonna lose it.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

-Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.