[season 1, episode 16: there's always a loophole]
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        Alana furrowed her brows, "So Landon's dead?" she asked casually. "And the Triad killed him?"

Josie scoffed, looking up at the blonde. "Kidnapped," she corrected Alana.

Alana nodded her head slowly, "Right, kidnapped," she said. "Because he can't die, he's a phoenix."

"Phoenix?" Josie asked, raising her brow at Alana, who sighed.

"Ohh Josette, how little you know," she said with a small smile.

Josie furrowed her brows, "Stop making fun of me, or I swear I will stop hanging out with you," she threatened.

Alana rolled her eyes, "Finally," she said sarcastically. "I can get my room to myself again."

Josie scoffed, "I'm only here because I don't want to live with Lizzie right now and you have an open spot in your room."

Alana raised her eyebrow at the girl, "Really?" she asked.

Josie huffed, "Yes, really! Now let's go save Landon!" she said in an annoyed tone.

Alana shrugged as Josie stood up from her spot on the ground. "Whatever you say, Josette," she taunted, following the girl out of the room.

About fifteen minutes later, Alana walked down the hallway of the school next to a strange set of people: Kaleb, Jed, and Josie Saltzman. Hope had assembled most of her so-called super squad to come and save Landon. All of them willingly accepted Hope's call, even Alana, who never really opted in to help. Actually, she mainly did everything out of spite. But since Hope asked for her help, Alana accepted, no strings attached,

"She's coming?" Lizzie and Josie asked as soon as they laid eyes on each other.

Hope sighed, "I need all the help I can get," she explained. "So please put your twin war on pause."

"Why is Brooks' coming then?" Lizzie continued.

Alana scoffed, "Excuse you, I'm a fucking founding member of this so-called super squad!" she retorted.

Hope nodded, "Lana's right, she's been here from the beginning," she said, confirming Alana's statement.

"Ha!" Alana said happily, a smug smile spreading across her face.

"What about him?" Raf asked, nodding his head toward Jed. "He hates Landon."

Jed sighed, "Look, you're the Alpha. If Landon's in your pack, that makes him ours." Rafael still didn't look convinced of Jed's motivations, but he didn't push the issue any further.

"Where's MG at?" Kaleb asked quickly.

"He's on his way," Hope said. "Let's load up while we wait for him. Come on." She motioned for the group of five to follow her outside to the van where they were going to pack up. But when they got out in the fresh air, they were met with a group of suited men.

The man in the front of the crowd smiled at them, "Oh, sorry. We were about to knock," he said insincerely.

Lizzie furrowed her brows, "Who the hell are you?" she asked.

"Name's Burr," the man responded. "Triad Industries."

Hope eyes widened, "Propellere," she said quickly, trying to cast a spell, but nothing happened.

Hope looked back at the other witches, a confused look on her face. "I got this," Kaleb said, using his vamp speed to run toward the man. But once the sunlight hit his skin, the vampire groaned, rushing back into the safety of the shade.

Burr chuckled, "What you don't got is magic," he said in an assumed tone. "Which is why your daylight ring won't work," he said, nodding at Kalen. "And what we have are stakes, wolfsbane... and other things. So, I think you should invite us in."

"No magic?" Alana asked under her breath. "This fucking sucks!"

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"We're looking for an artifact known as the Chalice of Arimathea," Burr said, addressing the entire student body. "We have reason to believe it's part of your school's collection. Now, you know this place a lot better than we do. So the sooner you help us find it, the sooner we'll be gone. The triad thanks you for your time."

Immediately following the Triad's announcement, Hope dragged Alana and the Saltzman twins into Dr. Saltzman's office to try and find a phone, or something that they could use to contact the outside world. Hope ran up to the phone on Alaric's desk and sighed. "It's dead. We have to find the school cell."

"Check MG's tighty-whities," Lizzie said sarcastically.

Josie groaned, "Really? This is serious," she snapped at her sister.

Lizzie pursed her lips. "Oh, I'm sorry. We can't all be born with resting concerned pouty face!" she retorted.

Josie gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. Alana rolled her eyes. "She's right you know," she added, looking directly at Josie.

The witch scowled, "I don't need both of you ganging up on me!" she exclaimed.

Before Alana or Lizzie could respond, Hope turned their attention toward a shelf on the opposite side of the office. "Didn't this shelf used to have books on it?" she asked.

Alana scoffed, "I don't know," she responded quickly. "I try to avoid this office as much as possible, and when I'm here it's usually thanks to you three!"

Josie furrowed her brows, "Yeah. That's weird," she said, totally ignoring Alana's comment.

"Whatever they're doing to block out our magic must have knocked out a cloaking spell your dad had," Hope said, picking up the small red box that was in the middle of the shelf. She carried it over to the desk as the four girls crowded around it.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Big shocker! Dad's hiding something from us," she said with a slight scoff. She picked the box up and began to shake it.

Hope looked at her, "Unless it has the school phone in it, it doesn't matter," she stated, walking away from the desk to check the other hiding spots in the office.

Josie pursed her lips, looking at Lizzie. "Sorry, I don't feel like laughing while my world's falling apart," she stated.

"Your world?" Lizzie responded as Alana began to check the drawers on Alaric's desk. "What about my world? I'm the one who's eventually going to be absorbed by my own twin."

"If you lose the Merge," Josie corrected.

"Which I'm obviously going to," Lizzie said with a small shrug. "I'm the weak, broken one."

Josie scoffed loudly, "And like clockwork... victim," she snapped.

"Hey, guys!" Hope called before their sibling squabble could go any further. "I found it!" she said, holding the phone up in the air.

'Whoever this is gets extra credit,' Alana heard Alaric say through the speakerphone.

Hope sighed, "It's Hope. Triad's here," she said shortly.

'Is everyone okay?' Alaric asked.

"Yeah, but our powers are gone," Hope informed him.

Alana heard Alaric sigh on the other side of the phone. 'What do they want?'

"They said that the third artifact is in the school somewhere," Hope said quickly. "The Chalice of Arithmetic, or something? I don't know. Any idea?"

Alaric didn't answer her for a few seconds, and when he did, his answer was entirely unhelpful. 'Uh, listen, I uhh.. I've got to find my way into the school. But just promise me you're not gonna do anything crazy.'

"We're not the only ones in danger!" Hope insisted. "Landon is, too. I can't just stand here and do nothing!"

'Hope, for once in your life, will you please just listen to me?' Alaric said in an exasperated voice. 'If Triad wants the chalice, help them get the chalice. You don't have your powers. You are vulnerable, and if you try to resist, someone could get hurt. Do you understand me?'

Alana saw Hope's nostrils flare. "Yeah," she said in a short tone before hanging up the phone.

"So want to we do now?" Lizzie asked, looking at Hope expectantly.

"Now.. we figure out a way to get our powers back, and we kick some paramilitary ass," Hope stated.

Josie crossed her arms over her chest. "Wait, Dad said not to do anything crazy."

"And when have we ever listened to your dad?" Alana retorted.

Hope nodded vigorously. "Me defying your dad isn't crazy. It's consistent."

The door to the office opened quickly and Burr looked at the four of them, a wide smile on his face. "Well, at least we know where you stand."

"You're damn right we do," Hope said, instinctively standing in front of the three witches.

"You're not very scared of me, are you?" Burr asked. Hope shook her head. The man flashed them a wicked smile, reaching into his coat pocket. "How about now?" he asked, pointing a small handgun at the group of four.

"Wow," Alana said, shaking her head slightly. "The big, bad scientist pulled out his scary gun? Whatever will we do?" she asked, her voice lined with sarcasm. "If you're just gonna shoot us, do it already. Or are you too scared to shoot a child?"

"This gun would never harm a human child," Burr informed them as he opened up the chamber. "You four, however...," he started, pulling out four bullets from his pocket. "These bullets were formed from the mud of the Malvore pit and weaponized by Triad scientists," he continued as Alana felt her heart race. "They can break the skin of any supernatural like a hot knife through butter. Fester. Infect them. Disintegrate them from the inside out."

Alana could hear Josie's fear in her voice. "We don't know where the chalice is," Josie said slowly.

Burr tilted his head at her. "I believe you," he said, pointing the back at them, making sure to turn off the safety. "This is just for fun, really. Let's see," he said, holding the gun up toward Alana. "Eeny..." he moved the weapon toward Hope. "Meeny," he continued, pointing the weapon at Lizzie. "Miney.." he said, turning to Josie.

"Moe!" Lizzie snapped, rushing forward.

Alana jumped backward as she heard the sound of two bullets firing in the air. She instantly looked around, trying to see if anyone was hit. Her eye's widened as Josie fell to the ground, a bullet lodged right above her collarbone. Alana fell to her feet, joining both Lizzie and Hope on the ground.

"It's okay," Lizzie whispered, brushing the brunette's hair out of her face. "It's okay. It's okay."

Burr looked back at the two guards standing behind him. "Lock them up."

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"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lizzie asked Josie, as Alana banged the back of her head against the wall of the jail cell.

Josie looked up at her, "With me?" she asked. "You practically begged him to shoot you!" she argued.

"Because, if I'm destined to die in my prime, it may as well be in a blaze of hero glory," Lizzie said, brushing her hair out of her face.

Alana groaned, "Leave it to you to make a joke while your sister is literally dying!" she snapped.

Lizzie looked back at Alana, "I'm sorry, since when did you care?" she asked the blonde.

"I don't care," Alana retorted, locking eyes with the other witch. "I just don't want to have to clean up a dead body at the end of this!" she asserted, even though she wasn't entirely telling the truth. She didn't even want to think about that right now. The one thing she did know is that she definitely didn't want Josie to die, for some reason...

"Hey!" The guard yelled from outside of the cell. "Keep it quiet in there!"

Lizzie scoffed. "We're not in the prison yard, asshat!" she snapped.

The guard shrugged and resumed his pacing in front of the cell. Hope sighed, turning around to face the three witches. "You guys, I'm so sorry," she expressed. "I mean, I dragged you all into this, and I have absolutely no idea how to get us out of it."

Lizzie pursed her lips. "Well, that is just not good enough Hope," she told the tribrid. "My sister is clearly dying, and we did not wait ten years to become friends with you... and Brooks I guess, for you to not come through with your annoyingly perfect Hope Mikaelson heroics when we need you the most!"

Josie tilted her head at Hope, "She's right, for a change."

"If there's anyone who can get us out of this hell hole of a situation, is gonna be you, Hope," Alana added, giving the redhead a small smile.

"It's hero time, Hope," Lizzie said.

The guard banged on the edge of the cell once more. "I said keep it down in there!" he barked.

Alana scowled, about to shout something particularly nasty when she heard a dart whizzing through the air, hitting the guard in the side of the neck. He grunted as he fell to the ground, revealing a certain vampire standing at the entrance to the cellar. "Did someone say 'hero time?'" he asked.

Alana shot up from the ground. "MG!" she exclaimed. "I literally love you right now!"

"Love is a strong word, Lana," MG responded as he snatched the keys off of the guard's body.

"But it's true," Alana said meeting him at the entrance. "I could kiss you right now," she stated. "I'm not going to, but I could," she added as he slipped through the door and into the cell.

"Thanks, I guess?" MG responded.

The boy then proceeded to tell the four of them about the blood fountain that his mother, who was apparently working with the Triad, had built under the school. Then they, in turn, told him about Josie getting shot with Malivore mud and the search for the third artifact.

Hope furrowed her brows, "A blood fountain? Gross," she stated.

"It's even grossed in person, trust me," MG responded. "I was looking for a way to shut it off, but I couldn't figure out how."

Hope sighed, "All right, I'll go find the secret tunnel, I guess," she decided.

Lizzie nodded, "Thanks. We get our magic back, and we'll have the upper hand," she said quickly. "And then I can siphon the sludge out of Josie, not that she'll appreciate it."

Josie rolled her eyes, "Great, then I'll just be shot," she commented.

"See," Lizzie said, grabbing her sister's hand gingerly. "The new you is so snarky. It must be a side-effect from hanging out with Brooks."

"Hey!" Alana snapped. "You make me sound a lot worse than I am!" she protested. "I'm not that bad."

Josie tilted her head, "It's true," she admitted. "She's not trouble."

Lizzie wrinkled up her nose in disgust. "Gross," she commented.

Hope bit her lip, looking at the exit. "Okay," she said quickly. "I'm gonna be back as soon as I can," she told the four of them. "Please keep these two from trying to kill or die for each other, and make sure Lana doesn't kill either of them, just in general."

MG shook his head. "You need to go help Landon. we don't need you to be here," he promised.

"But, I can't leave you guys here!" Hope argued.

Lizzie groaned, "For the love of Frodo, go rescue your Hobbit. We'll muddle through," she insisted.

"She's right ahead," Josie added from her spot behind Lizzie. "He needs you."

MG nodded, "We've been watching you save the day this entire school year, Hope," he told the girl. "We got it. Now go save Landon."

Hope still looked a little hesitant. "Go!" Alana added. "Save your lameo-human or phoenix? I guess."

"If you go soft on us now, I'm just gonna hurl Maligoo," Josie said slowly.

Hope gave the four of them a small nod before racing up the stairs. MG sighed, kneeling down next to the twins. "Y'all need to stay out of sight until we get the magic back and you can throw down with the rest of us."

Alana looked up at him, "Even me?" she asked.

MG nodded, "If they see you out there, they are just going to throw you back in this cell Lana," he insisted. "It's easier for you to stay down here with the twins. I can go rally the troops." He turned away from Alana and to the injured witch. "It's going to be okay, Jo," he told her in a soft voice.

"MG, wait!" Josie called, ripping her necklace off and passing it to him. "Take this. You know what to do with it."

MG gave her a short nod before leaving the three of them alone in the jail cell.

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Alana wasn't sure how long they were supposed to wait until they had got their magic back, and when they did, Lizzie's spell wasn't working. Josie looked absolutely terrible, her face was pale and sickly as Lizzie elevated her hand above Josie's heart. "It's not working," Lizzie sniffled. "Why isn't it working?"

Josie looked up at her twin, "Maybe it can't be siphoned?"

"But then you'll die," Lizzie said, tears falling from her eyes.

"That's one way for you to avoid the Merge," Josie said sadly. "Cheater."

"No," Alana stated sharply.

Josie raised her brow at the blonde. "What do you mean no?" she asked.

"I mean, you're not fucking dying in here, Josette," Alana responded, a determined look on her face.

"Brooks-" Lizzie started. "If I can't do anything, neither can you." She wiped a few tears away from her eyes.

Alana huffed, "Well, I don't accept that! Okay! We have to do something. Fucking-" she took a deep breath. "I don't know, but, something. Something has to work. It- it has to!"

"Alana," Josie said in a weak voice. "It's okay. Let's go find MG."

Alana shook her head. "It's not okay!" she insisted. "I didn't agree to help Hope, just so I could attend your fucking funeral, Saltzman!" She huffed again, trying to ignore that salt water that she felt building up in the corner of her eyes. "You guys go and have your twin bonding moment, I'm gonna go see if I can actually fucking do something," she snapped, jumping up from the corner of her jail cell and storming out of the basement.

Alana knew immediately where this battle was taking place. She heard it immediately: the ballroom. She sprinted in the direction of the noise, and what she saw was complete chaos. Everything was a mess. Spells were flying through the air.

"Hey!" A guard shouted from behind her. "Aren't you supposed to be in a cell?" he asked her.

"Shut up!" Alana snarled.

"I said, go back to your cell!" the guard yelled.

Alana whipped around, "Phasmatos amar illiimun!" she snapped raising her hand slightly, and the man in front of her fell to the ground. "Haven't you heard, we have our powers back now, bitch!"

The man gasped in pain as Alana began to twist her wrist carefully. "And you're defensiveness. Must be sad, knowing that a teenage witch is gonna be the person to kill you. A big, bad triad agent." She laughed slightly as she took another step forward. "Well, you really should've thought of that before you less your boss shoot and practically kill my friend," she continued. "Guess you'll have to pay for his sins," she said with a small shrug, her face focused on the man in front of her.

"Stop- stop," the man managed to choke out. But Alana shook her head, furrowing her brows as she felt her spell getting stronger.

"No can do," she responded, taking another step forward. "Sorry, it has to end this way." Alana tilted her head, letting out a small giggle. "Actually, I'm not," she said honestly.

"Lana!" MG yelled, snapping the girl out of her trance. "Stop! It's no use now. Burr got away."

Alana turned back to face him. "Why! This fucking company developed bullets that can kill us. The same bullets that are killing Josie right now! So why shouldn't I kill one of these fuckers?" she asked, her eyes practically ignited with the fire that was burning within her. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Because you're not a killer," MG insisted. "I've known you for a while, Lana, and you're not a killer. That's not who you are."

Alana looked back at the guard, who was still writhing in pain in front of her girl. She huffed, placing her hand back at her side, and the guard stopped moving. "Go!" she barked, and the man scrambled to his feet.

"Lana, where are Lizzie and Jo?" MG asked.

"How should I know? Last I checked they were still in the basement," she grumbled.

MG's eyes widened, "You left them?" he asked her harshly.

Alana scoffed, "I didn't want to watch Josie die," she said quickly. "And I'm not going to. See you around, MG."

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It was hours later and Hope still hadn't returned from saving Landon, Raf was still in his wolf form, and Burr was safely locked up via MG's new girlfriend, Alana didn't really know what she was. She had also heard from MG that Alaric had found a cure for the Malivore bullet that infected Josie, so she was safe now. Alana wasn't entirely sure what she should say to the witch, so she had been avoiding her and Lizzie as she sat down to attend Alaric's mandatory meeting.

Alaric took a deep breath as he stepped up to the podium. "I failed you," he admitted. "You see, my purpose in founding this school was to create a safe space for my daughters and for supernatural like them," his eyes flickered over to Lizzie and Josie, who were sitting a few rows behind the blonde. Alana refused to look back at them and kept her eyes focused on the headmaster.

"But today, I feel short of that goal," Alaric continued. "While all of you exceeded every expectation I had ever set for you. Because today, you were confronted by the worst monster you've faced yet: ignorant human beings. Sadly, I am one of them. The plans and methods that Triad used to infiltrate our school and endanger your lives were mine. A contingency plan that I had developed and shared with concerned parents over the years, including Veronica Greasley."

Alana's eyes flickered back to MG for a split second before turning back to the front. "But- her betrayal would not have been possible without mine," Alaric sighed. "You see, the dark object that she used to disarm your unique abilities was put in place by me. In a secret tunnel that only I had known about, because I thought that, perhaps one day, it was the world that would need to be protected from your gifts, rather than the other way around."

Alaric's eyes scanned the crowd, "The only way I can atone for this branch of trust is to leave it up to you to decide whether I should remain as your headmaster. The honor council will convene, they will vote, and I will respect whatever decision they make. Whichever way this goes, I want to thank you, all of you, for making me understand that the world my daughters inherit will be in better hands. Thank you," he stepped away from the podium for a split second before stepping back. "Also, Alana," he said, his eyes landing on the blonde. "May I have a word with you? The rest of you are excused," he informed the rest of the students.

The girl bit her lip as she stood up from her seat, trying to ignore the looks she was getting as she strolled up to the headmaster.

"Alana," he started, but the girl cut him off quickly.

Alana sighed, "Look if this is about me almost killing that guard. You're gonna have to try and see it from my perspective. Josie was dying and-"

Alaric looked confused, "What- Alana, what are you talking about?" he asked.

Alana's eyes widened, "Um, nothing," she said quickly. "What- what were you saying?"

"I am required to tell you this since I am technically still the headmaster of this school right now. I have to tell you this." Alaric gulped. "Since Penelope is no longer attending this school, I can't authorize you to stay with her this summer."

"What?" Alana said loudly. "What- what the hell am I supposed to do?" she asked quickly. "I always went home with pen, I don't- I don't have anywhere else to go."

"That's the thing since you don't have another residence you can go to, you're going to have to stay here for the summer," Alaric told her.

Alana blinked, "Here? Here as in the school?"

Alaric nodded. "Yes. You have to stay here."

Alana furrowed her brows, "Great, I'll be stuck in hell all summer long. Thank you, Dr. Saltzman, for crushing my hopes and dreams. It's gonna be a great summer!" she finished sarcastically.

I don't wanna make you feel bad,
But I've been trying hard not to act a fool
Sunflower ✽

Grace talks ig: YEAHHHHH ACT ONE FINALE TIME! Bruh, the actual battle sequence in the show was so fucking short, it was kinda jarring so I tried to ease out of it a little bit, just to make it flow a little better. Also act 2 is where Jalana really gets going, like there's been hints in these past few chapters but act 2 is painful (in a fun way I promise). I'm actually so excited about this, and I can't wait for you guys to see what I have planned, yay! It's gonna be great! Anyways, this book turned one year old on v-day (like two days ago) so happy late one-year anniversary of sunflowers. It's kinda weird to think that it's been one year of writing this lmaoooo. But I hope you all enjoyed this so far (vote/comment if you feel like it), and I'll see you in the next chapter! BYEEE <3

also, somehow this story reached 7k + reads, which is so weird to me bc the last time I remembered it was at like 5k ahahha THANK YOU <3 MWAH MWAH!!