𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍
i should be better, but i'm not

HOPE JUMPED FROM her spot on the kitchen counter when Scott walked in with a worried expression in his face. She frowned and lowered a spoon from her mouth which was covered in peanut butter. "What happened?"

"She's just like me," Lizzie commented with a smile, remembering all the nights when she was younger where she would sneak into the kitchen and eat a tub of peanut butter.

Josie turned to her sister slowly, "is that why all the peanut butter would disappear?"

Lizzie looked sheepish as she smiled and shrugged.

Caroline smiled as she watched them, "I used to do that as well. That or a tub of ice cream would be missing from the fridge the next day."

Elena and Bonnie smiled at their blonde best friend, remembering all their sleepovers where all they would eat was junk food before regretting it the next day.

Scott swallowed thickly. "Stiles just called me as I pulled in. He said something about being paralyzed and seeing someone get killed. We need to head over to the mechanics."

"What?!" Most people exclaimed in shock and surprise at what Scott had said.

"Poor Stiles," Elena frowned, knowing how hard it is to watch someone die and not be able to do anything about it, images of her parents drowning

Hope nodded quickly and caught up to Scott who was already half-way out of the door. When they reached Melissa's car, Scott got in the driver's seat as Hope jumped into the back, knowing that Stiles will feel more comfortable in the front with Scott.

"She's so thoughtful," Hayley said with a small smile.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived in time to see many cops walking around, and Stiles coming around the corner with his hands in his jacket pockets.

Scott and Hope glanced to each other when Stiles silently got in the passenger seat, licking his bottom lip. "You okay?" Scott asked hesitantly, worried for his best friend.

"Yeah." Stiles glanced at Hope from the rear view mirror before focusing on Scott. "You were right. It's not like you. I mean, its eyes were almost like, reptilian. But there was something about them."

Hope pursed her lips as she leaned forward, her blue eyes narrowed, and brows scrunched. "What do you mean?"

Stiles tilted his head side to side, trying to find the right words. "You know when you see, like, a friend in a Halloween mask, but all you can actually see are their eyes and you feel like you know 'em, but you just can't figure out who it is?"

"He is... smart," Lizzie stated with a raised brow.

"Yeah, it's kind of hot, to be honest," Bonnie stated with a nod of her head.

"He's a nerd, like me," MG said quietly before chuckling. "I would have never thought that someone like him would be her type."

"I mean, look at Frodo over here," Lizzie said, gesturing to Landon with her thumb. "He doesn't look like her type either." She shrugged when Landon looked offended. "I'm just stating facts. At least this one—" she pointed to the screen with her head, "— actually tries to understand Hope and listens to her. He has put more effort in with her in just a few days, than I have ever seen you do in weeks."

Klaus pursed his lips as he stared at the young curly haired boy.

Landon frowned at Lizzie. "The first time I had seen her in over a year, she's blowing doors off their hinges. And I lie about one thing, and she goes all Black Widow on me. I'm not at fault here." He sat up in his seat, a little frustrated now. "And while you and Hope might be on good terms now, you weren't before. So why are you suddenly acting all innocent now?"

Lizzie huffed, "because I never tried to hide or act like I never said or did some mean things. I own up to them. And while it may be hard for your pea sized brain to understand, I never hated Hope. I acted mean and bitchy to protect myself." Because, instead of being the one being pushed away and abandoned, I did the pushing and abandoning. She didn't say the last sentence out loud, but she knew by Josie and Caroline's looks, they knew what she was thinking.

Lizzie is the embodiment of; I feel like I'm the worst, so I always act like I'm the best.

And Josie knows that, so that's why it stung so deep when she found out that her own twin sister was the one that spread the rumour that she's witch bipolar. All because of Josie's jealousy, Lizzie's mental health got worse, and her and Hope fought and hated each other over nothing.

In Lizzie's book, that is the biggest and deepest betrayal she has ever been through.

And that's saying a lot considering that she once had a girlfriend who ended up having feelings for Josie instead. And of course, because she's dumb, mean Lizzie Saltzman, said girlfriend broke her heart by trying to date Josie before even having the audacity to break up with her. Josie — even though Lizzie came to learn a few months later, had feelings for her — denied her, which resulted in Lizzie's ex-girlfriend going on a rampage and started even more rumours about how unstable she is.

Lizzie got back at her by burning her favorite dress.

To say Lizzie has been through a lot would be an understatement.

And yeah, while she may be bitchy and insensitive at times, she can still hold herself accountable when she's in the wrong.

Stiles shook his head. "No, but I think it knew me."

Hope bit her lip. "If it's no trouble, we should try to get a sample of it's blood or saliva or whatever we can get our hands on. Maybe we can do some experiments on it, and hopefully figure out who it is."

Stiles looked back at her with wide eyes. "That's not a bad idea, but I saw what it could do, and I don't want to go anywhere near that thing again."

Hope nodded and then leaned back into her seat. "Alright. I'll do it."

Freya grinned, "she really is your daughter," she stated as she turned to Hayley who was smiling at her daughter.

IT WAS THE next day, and the school day was half-way to being over, and the two boys and Hope was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for the next bell to ring.

Hope was trying to not smile as Stiles spoke to Scott, "I'm so sorry about the other day. I'm trying. We'll get through this. Uh, I know, because I love you. I love you more than — oh, my God. I can't — You and Allison just have to find a better way to communicate!" He exclaimed and that's when Hope broke into giggles. He narrowed his eyes over at the auburn haired girl who quickly shoved an Oreo into her mouth, trying to hide her amusement.

"She's so much more careless in this universe," Josie stated with a small smile. "It's nice to see."

"And a little weird," Kaleb said, shrugging when they gave him a look. "What? I'm not wrong. I have only ever seen her smiley around Landon, and even then, she was never like this." He turned to Landon, eyes wide, "no offense, bro."

Elena glanced to Landon who seems to keep getting comments thrown at him, frowning. He seems like a sweet and nice boy. What did he do to deserve this?

Caroline was still staring at the screen before a quiet giggle escaped her mouth, "did anyone else think he was confessing his love to Scott?"

Freya, Rebekah, Elena, Bonnie, and Lizzie, and surprisingly Damon rose their hands at the question.

The blonde vampire nodded, "so glad I wasn't the only one." She then eyed Damon, "you too?"

"There is no way that boy is straight," Damon simply said with a shrug. "Plus, I would totally—" He wiggled his brows, "if I wasn't already taken." He turned to his girlfriend who smiled up at him.

"Wow..." Caroline trialed off, "is anyone in this place straight?"

Alaric and Stefan were the only ones to raise their hands.

Damon cried out, placing a hand on his chest, "I'm wounded, Ric, I thought we had something special."

Alaric rolled his eyes, "in your dreams, buddy."

"In your dreams, actually," Damon smirked and wiggled his brows which resulted in Caroline swatting him upside the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

She rolled her blue eyes at him, "you have a beautiful girl on your side, pay attention to her."

Damon turned to look down at his girlfriend who gazed up at him with big brown eyes, batting her lashes.

Kol fake gagged, "can we get back to watch my favorite niece?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes, "she's your own niece, dipshit."

Kol gasped loudly and fell back dramatically, almost as if he had been shot. "You wound me, sister!"

Scott huffed. "Come on, you're the only one that we can trust without it being suspicious ls she coming to the game tonight?"

"Rude," Kol pouted as he moved to get back in his seat, glaring at his siblings who laughed at him.

"Yes!" Stiles exclaimed, throwing his hands out widely and Hope snorted loudly, and that one move made her choke on her Oreo. "Haha! Karma!" He exclaimed as he pointed at her which made her shake her head at him. "Okay, message complete. Now, tell me about your boss?"

Scott smiled at them and softly chuckled before saying, "He thinks that Allison's family keeps some kind of, uh, records of all the things that they've hunted. Like a book."

"He ships them, too!" Caroline exclaimed as she bounced in her seat.

"Ship?" Klaus mumbled, turning to stare at the blonde in confusion.

"Ship means when you want two people together. Come on, old man. You're not that dumb," Lizzie commented and then snickered at his offended face.

"You are ruthless," Klaus said, staring at the blonde who reminded him so much of Caroline. "I like it."

Lizzie perked up, looking proud that someone likes something about her. "Thanks."

Kol grinned over at her, "I think we're going to be best friends, princess."

Lizzie grinned right back at him, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she turned to face the screen again.

"He probably means a bestiary."

Hope rose her brows, she had never heard that word before. "A what?"

Stiles looked between Scott and Hope. "A bestiary."

Scott chuckled cutely. "I think you mean bestiality."

Stiles shook his head. "Nope, pretty sure I don't. It's like an encyclopedia of mythical creatures."

Scott looked to Hope with raised brows. "How come you didn't know that?"

She shrugged as she took a drink from her water bottle. "I've never heard anything like that in my world. We mostly have diary's that Stefan Salvatore left behind before he died or grimoires for witches. Other than that, there is books throughout history talking about different species that could or could not exist."

Some people froze as they heard "Stefan Salvatore left behind before he died".

"What?!" Damon exclaimed, frowning as he looked over at his brother, heart aching.

Stefan swallowed thickly, not able to look anyone in the eyes right now. "Don't act like you care, Damon. You'd probably be happy that I am dead."

"Never! You're my little brother!" Damon stared at his baby brother in hurt and shock. He spent most of his child years protecting his baby brother, even going to the lengths of lying to cover up Stefan's mistakes which resulted in him being punished with the belt or worse.

Stefan rolled his eyes at that. "Like you were ever a brother to me, Damon."

"Stefan!" Elena and Caroline exclaimed in shock at his retort.

Everyone else watched with wide eyes as this all happened.

Lizzie couldn't help but see herself in Damon; the misunderstood and brown siblings. Stefan was definitely the sibling that took things for granted and is always let off the hook no matter what. She watched as Damon's eyes filled up with hurt.

"Who knew this place could be so entertaining," Kol said in delight as he sipped his coke, and began to throw some popcorn in his mouth.

"Seriously, where the bloody hell is the food coming from?!" Rebekah shouted, standing out of her seat, zooming around the room they were in, looking under everything. "Tell me your secrets, brother!"

Kol laughed and snorted, that he ended up choking on his popcorn.

"Why would you say something like that, Stefan?" Alaric asked, defending his best friend as he stared at the younger Salvatore brother with wide eyes.

"He's showing his true colors," Bonnie stated, raising a brow when Stefan turned to glare at her. "While I may not like Damon that much, he has never tried to hide behind a facade like Stefan has."

"Stefan," Elena shook her head disappointedly at him. "What happened to you?"

"My brother took my girlfriend from me," he said, maintaining eye contact. "And you let him."

Lizzie and Caroline gasped loudly, the vampire saying, "did he just—"

"Yeah... he did," Lizzie said, tsking and shaking her head.

Elena froze, heart clenching. "I'm not an object, Stefan."

"You guys were broken up!" Caroline exclaimed, staring at Stefan with wide eyes, not believing how she ever liked him. "And it's not her fault that Damon has always been by her side, supporting her, even after she turned, unlike you."

"Never did I see the day she would defend Damon like this," Bonnie said, but she agreed. Yeah, they all have some history with Damon and his bad decisions, but he never tried to act like someone he's not. And he, no matter what, took Elena's side and did anything in his power to make sure she was safe. And Bonnie is so glad for that, because Elena is one of the most important people in her life, and she wouldn't know what she would do if she didn't have Elena with her. 

"You treated me like some broken toy you needed to fix, that's why I'm not with you, Stefan," Elena spoke calmly, although her throat felt sore as she tried to hold back from possibly crying.

Stefan stared between them all before clenching his mouth shut, moving his seat further away from them.

"Pathetic," Lizzie hissed in Stefan's direction. Aunt Elena has always been her favorite, and that probably has to do with all the presents she would bring whenever they saw her. And plus, Elena always has the best advice, and is there to soothe Lizzie if she's in the middle of a manic episode.

Scott nodded at her answer before looking back to his best friend. "And how do you know this."

Stiles chuckled as if he was proud of himself for knowing something that neither of them did. "You're my best friend that's a creature of the night. and we have a girl from another universe. It's kind of like a priority of mine."

Hope watched him silently, getting reminded of Landon who always wanted to help her with the monsters that came out of Malivore. She sighed and looked across the hall, holding back tears. She was beginning to love Landon more than she could ever think to do, but she had to sacrifice herself to save everyone.

Landon perked up at that. "She was falling in love with me?" He smiled to himself at that.

"Was beginning to," is the key words, you overactive puddle of mud," Lizzie said, looking at her nails, absently sucking on a cherry sucker.

"Please, overactive puddle of mud!" Kol laughed, clutching his stomach. "I have never laughed so hard with anyone in my life! Thank you, blondie." He wiped away a tear that fell from laughing so hard.

Klaus glared at Landon, clenching his hands. "I said no boys!"

Rebekah rolled her eyes at her brother, before turning to Lizzie, pouting, "I want one."

Lizzie grinned and held out another cherry sucker towards Rebekah who took it with a big smile.

Scott's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Okay. If we can find it, and it can tell us what this thing is—"

"And who," Stiles added.

The boys glanced up one another and spoke at the same time, "We need that book!"

Hope grinned, amused with them, her previous thoughts gone from her mind. "You guys are weird, you know that?"

They looked to her and nodded, similar grins on their faces.

"I think the boys are good for our girl," Hayley stated as she moved closer to Klaus, giving him a grin.

He frowned, but internally agreed. His daughter looks happier than she has ever looked, and it's all because of these two boys.

HOPE SAT BESIDE Stiles at the Lacrosse game, waiting for the plan to unfold.

She took in a sharp breath when a player from the opposite team ran straight into number nine, sending him flying through the air only to land on the hard ground with a thump.

Gasps were heard all around the bleachers and Coach threw his hands up in the air. "Come on!" He all but screamed. "Is that thing even a teenager? I wanna see a birth certificate?" He pointed towards the guy from the opposite team, who in all fairness, did look like he was in his late twenties. His build was so much bigger than the other players- nobody else even stood a chance up against him.

Coach sat back down next to Hope and Stiles with a huff. ""Who or what is that genetic experiment gone wrong?" Coach Finstock muttered in disbelief.

Lizzie chuckled at that, knowing that she is going to love Coach and his weird statements and questions.

"Eddie Obomowitz, Coach," Stiles replied, rubbing his arms through his Adidas tracksuit as they sat in the cold. "They call him 'The Abomination'."

Hope flinched at that title, eyes down casting.

Hayley and Klaus frowned at that, hating that their daughter has been called many things along the lines of 'abomination' and 'cosmic mistake'.

Coach rolled his eyes. "Oh, that's cute," he muttered, turning away from them.

Hope looked over at Stiles, taking in his form. He was cute, she noted. Not in the obvious way, though. He had a buzzcut — he told her he did it to himself one day because he was bored — and had brown eyes. But, she noticed they looked more like honey when the light hit them just right. Her blue eyes followed the little moles that littered his face like constellations. She realized that she has never met anyone that looked like him before.

"Oh my god!" Caroline exclaimed loudly, awing at Hope's innocent thoughts about Stiles.

"Oh, they're definitely getting together," Bonnie commented, trusting her gut.

Elena nodded in agreement, holding Damon's hand in assurance that she is there for him, that he is loved. She hopes that he isn't taking his brothers words to heart.

Damon appreciated Elena and her compassion, and her wanting to comfort him, but he couldn't help but feel hurt by Stefan's words aimed at him. Yeah, he went through a phase where he hated Stefan, but who can blame him? Stefan forced him into being a vampire, and then kept bothering him for years. And then, according to Stefan, he stole Elena from him. Which in other context, would be true. But he couldn't help falling for the compassionate person that Elena is, and it's not her fault for somehow calling for him too.

He hoped that she would, but never in his wildest dreams did he think it was actually possible for him and her to be together.

Stiles turned to her, catching her gaze, and against his will, he blushed brightly. "What?" His voice was much higher than he though possible.

"He's just so..." Lizzie trialed off.

"Awkward and cute," Josie offered for her sister with a small smile aimed at the screen.

Hope smiled softly. "Thank you so much for believing me about my story. And I really appreciate you trying to help me find my way back home."

Stiles nodded at her, a smile appearing on his face. "It's no problem, really. But, I still got some questions to ask about your kind." He noticed her blue eyes turn to sadness, and he began stuttering, "If — if you want to, you know, tell me. I — I won't make—"

Caroline sighs dreamily, "to have a man so thoughtful and scared to hurt your feelings." She turned her head and glared at Stefan who ignored the look.

Ever since Stefan went through his whole 'emo' phase and decided to hurt Elena by trying to drive her off the same bridge her parents died on just to get back at Klaus, Caroline and Bonnie haven't liked him.

She shook her head at him. "It's fine. You can ask anything you want." Her eyebrows shot up when she noticed Allison waving at them. "The plan is in progress." They quickly got up and walked towards where Allison was sat at the end of the bleachers.

As they walked past, Hope reached up and casually took the keys that Allison was holding out for her.

They began to run to through the car park and towards Gerard's office.

But, right when they passed Lydia Martin's car, something in Hope told her to comfort the strawberry blonde. She clenched her jaw, and sighed before turning to Stiles. "Here." She handed him the keys, their fingers grazing. "Lydia needs a friend. You go on, I'll be right behind you. I promise."

"She takes after her mother a lot," MG states with a small smile as he glanced over his shoulder at Hayley who smiled wide. "She has so much compassion in her tiny body."

"And rage," Lizzie added with a snort.

Stiles hesitated before swallowing thickly and running off into the school, giving her a last look over his shoulder as he disappeared around a corner.

Hope took in a deep breath, feeling herself hesitate. She used to not do this, not before Lizzie, that is. She had accidentally walked into the blonde having a breakdown because Josie was being terrible to her.

Releasing the breath, she walked towards the girls car, and knocked on the window.

Lydia glanced through the corner of her hazel-green eyes, and spoke through her sobs, "Go away, Hope." When Hope just stayed there, she grew irritated. "I said go away. I don't need anybody seeing me cry." Tears ran down Lydia's face as she tried to hide herself from the auburn haired tribrid.

Caroline frowned, once again, being reminded of her human self. Someone who acts like she has it all, when in reality, she's so insecure and has a lot going on.

Hope took in a breath and watched the girl with soft eyes. "Lydia, it's okay to cry. You can't keep it in, trust me. It'll keep growing until you have no choice but to let it out." She recalled her breakdown the day of Miss Mystic Falls. "Trust me, Lydia. I know we don't know each other much, but I am here for you."

"What happened at Miss Mystic Falls?" Caroline asked, raising one brow in curiosity.

Josie and Lizzie shared a look, wincing. A lot went down that day.

Landon froze upon remembering that day, began slouching in his seat, hands clammy.

"Okay, hold onto your seat buckaroo's," Lizzie said, moving around so she can face everyone. "It all started when this bitch Dana's mother decided to be a bitch just like her dead daugh—"

"Lizzie!" Josie scolded with wide eyes.

"Whatevs," Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I had to drop out because I knew if she was voting, I wasn't going to win. So, instead I chose Hope to take my spot. This is the day we actually started to become friends." She smiled at that, reminiscing. "I gave her this beautiful dress of my mom's, and I fixed it to fit her body." She faced Klaus and Hayley specifically, "she was absolutely gorgeous, by the way." She watched as the mother and father of Hope smiled and shared a fond look with each other. "Well, shortly after mophead over here abandoned her because of something she kept from him to protect him, she found out that... that the dress I gave her was from you," she pointed to Klaus who rose a brow.

Caroline blushed upon realizing what dress Hope must've been wearing.

Klaus glanced at Caroline, smirking. "You kept the dress."

She was defensive as she crossed her arms, "well, I wasn't about to throw away a perfectly good dress, now was I?"

Hayley looked between them, a sinking feeling in her gut for some reason.

Elijah glanced to Hayley, frowning deeply as he fiddled with his sleeves cuffs.

"Well, Hope had a breakdown because of the dress; all the emotions she tried to hold in from your deaths came to the surface. I was there to hold the pieces together... even though I was going through my own thing because of my dear sister Josette," Lizzie stated, giving her twin a heated look who winced.

"You're gonna think I'm crazy," Lydia whimpered out, sobbing even more.

"Trust me," Hope gave her a smile, "There is not anything you could say that I would think was crazy."

Lydia looked up at the new girl who went out of her way to help her without even knowing her that well. She then realized that she needed to open up to someone, even if it's someone she barely hangs out with. She let out a loud sigh and said, "Alright."

Hope had stayed with Lydia for a few more minutes, understanding perfectly well what the strawberry blonde was going through. So, when she was walking away from the car, she had muttered a peace of mind spell, and smiled lightly when the crying girl had smiled to herself.

As Hope walked into the school, she ran a hand through her hair as she felt a rush of sadness hit her once again. It seems like everyone here in this universe reminds her of her old friends in one way or another. It hurt so much. But, at the moment, there was nothing she could possibly do about that.

"She's been through so much," Hayley whispered, sad but also happy that she is in another universe with Stiles and Scott because it seems like they're really good for her.

"She's a strong girl, I can tell," Elena told the older girl. "She's lucky she had you." She glanced at Klaus over Hayley's shoulder, giving him a nod. "Both of you."

The Mikaelson's were shocked by Elena's kind words, because after all, they did terrorize her and her friends, and family. Like sure, she and her friends did some things to them as well, but even if they're chaotic and 'evil' they know that they have done a lot of bad things, as well.

But then again, Elena has always been a very nice girl who only tried to save her friends and family, no matter the cost. So, they can give her the benefit of the doubt, because like her, they would do anything for family.

Klaus nodded, "thanks."

Once she had reached Gerard's office, she found the door wide open, the keys in the lock, but no Stiles in sight.

Hope frowned deeply before using sniffing the air, getting Stiles' scent. Her eyes glowed and she followed the scent to the indoor pools. She frowned as she stepped inside, and her heart pounded against her chest when she saw Erica on the floor, passed out. She quickly turned her head to see Stiles and Derek in the water, the lanky boy holding Derek up.

"She leaves them for five seconds and look what happens!" Lizzie exclaims, shaking her head.

"What the hell?!" She exclaimed, more confused than worried. "I leave you alone for literally ten minutes and you—"

Josie chuckled as Lizzie and Hope has basically said the same thing.

Lizzie blushed as she slouched down in her chair.

"Hope, watch out!"

And that's when she felt a presence behind her. She could feel whatever it was, breathing down her neck, quick. She tilted her head and turned around, her eyed widening at the sight of the human-lizard in front of her, just like Stiles had described.

Before she could throw out her hand to yell out a spell, the lizard creature lurched forward, swinging it's tail at her.

"Don't touch my daughter!" Klaus roared, standing up out of his seat, wanting to launch into the universe his daughter is in, and tear up anyone who touches her.

"That thing is so ugly!" Caroline exclaimed, scrunching her nose up in disgust.

"The fugliest thing I have ever seen," Lizzie agreed, hand over her mouth as she mock gagged.

She did a backflip, landing on one knee, and one of her hands. She flipped her hair back, her eyes glowing golden. She tilted her head and launched herself forward at the creature, being careful of it's tail and claws, knowing what would happen if it scratched her.

"Just like her father," Freya shook her head fondly at the screen, seeing the many similarities between Klaus and Hope.

"Are you really trying to fight it?!" Stiles screamed as he struggled to hold Derek up so he wouldn't drown. "It's going to hurt you, Hope!"

She grunted as she bent backwards, narrowly missing the tail that swiped at her viciously. She jumped up and kicked it harshly in the chest, knocking it back a few steps. "I'll be fine!" She shouted back, not caring about herself. All she wanted to do was make sure that she either killed the monster or knocked it out long enough to make sure Stiles and Derek was safe.

Hope rolled her hands and shouted, "Ventura!" A harsh current of wind was pushed forward, knocking the lizard person off it's feet, making it land harshly on it's back.

"Damn!" Damon exclaimed, blue eyes wide.

"That's amazing," Bonnie stared, fascinated by Hope's magic.

"She is so badass," Elena mumbled, brown eyes big and sparkling.

Without warning, the creature was up quickly, and wrapped it's tail around Hope's ankle and flung her into a mirror attached to the wall, the glass broke and shards clattered against the ground.

Suddenly, all of the Mikaelson's were up out of their seats, growling at the lizard creature. Well, except Freya who rolled her eyes at her siblings.

Hayley was sat, as well, hand over her mouth as she gasped. She knew her daughter can handle her own, but that doesn't stop her from worrying.

When the creature began to advance, Hope picked up a large shard of the broken glass, getting ready to stab it in the neck. But, her eyes widened as she watched as the creature seemed repulsed by it's own reflection, climbing up the wall before flinging itself out the skylight.

Hope let out a breath and then turned to Stiles and Derek who had reached the latter, but was sinking down into the water. Quickly, she jumped forward, and grabbed ahold of their shirts, and pulled them up and onto the floor.

She watched as they flipped onto their sides, and began to cough manically, heaving up the water in their lungs.

Seconds later, Scott came running into the room, skidding to a stop when he saw Hope mutter a spell under her breath, her hands over Stiles and Derek. A warm red color appeared on her palms, and Stiles instantly gained color to his skin, and the goosebumps that he was covered in, disappeared.

"She is amazing," Bonnie commented, not blinking as she continued watching Hope use magic.

"She's been using magic since before she was even born," Klaus commented, smug, and proud of his daughter.

"She's the first born Mikaelson witch, so of course she's going to be strong," Freya said, proud of her niece and how far she has come with not only magic, but combat as well.

"What did that do?" Stiles gasped out as he stared into Hope's eyes.

Hope smiled and glanced to Derek who was beginning to get feeling in his body. "It was a warming spell. Nothing too difficult."

Stiles smiled at her. "Thank you."

Scott gained their attention when he walked over to them, frowning. "What happened here?"

Hope sighed as she helped Stiles stand up. "The creature was here. It had paralyzed Derek, and he must've fell in the water, so Stiles went in to keep him up right. I fought it, and then it ran off."

Derek grunted and they turned to him as he stood up. "It's called a kanima."

Stiles pointed at him angrily, "You knew the whole time?!"

Derek huffed. "No. Only when it was confused by its own reflection."

Scott tilted his head. "It doesn't know what it is."

"Or who," Hope murmured and she glanced to where the Kanima had ran off to.

Stiles sighed as he ran a hand over his buzzcut. "What else do you know?"

"Just stories, rumors."

Scott furrowed his brows. "But, it's like us?"

Derek nodded. "A shape - shifter, yes, but it's - it's not right. It's like a—"

Stiles frowned as he spoke up, "An abomination."

Hope swallowed thickly, trying not to react to that one word, especially since she knows it's not aimed at her.

"I will hunt down anyone who has called her that," Klaus growled out, clenching his hands, drawing blood but he didn't care.

Lizzie glanced over at the hybrid, gulping.

Josie looked over to her sister, "I'm sorry, Liz."

The blonde slowly turned to stare at her twin, eyes sad. "An apology doesn't take away what you have done. You not only hurt me, your twin, but Hope. We could've been friends for so long, and you threw that all away because of some crush." She has had a crush on Hope since the moment she laid eyes on her, yet she never decided to make up rumours to keep Josie from finding out. She's done a lot of messed up things, that's for sure, but she knows the limits. "And I went around for years, doing things to her, saying things about her, and it was all over nothing. I can't take back what I said or done, I know that, but it sucks."

Josie frowned, chewing on her bottom lip, crossing her arms. "I know," she whispered.

Lizzie sighed and sat back down in her seat fully, sad that she wasted years on being a bitch to Hope, when they could've easily been friends.

"Derek?" Scott said when the older man began to walk away. "We need to work together on this. Maybe even tell the Argents."

Derek scowled. "You trust them?"

"Nobody trusts anyone!" Scott shouted and Hope was surprised by his tone of voice. "That's the problem. While we're here, arguing about who's on what side, there's something scarier, stronger and faster than any of us, and it's killing people and we still don't even know anything about it."

"Definitely not stronger or faster than our miracle," Klaus stated, turning to state at Hayley who smiled and nodded in agreement.

"I know one thing," Derek spoke up snugly, "when I find it? I'm gonna kill it!" He then walked away from them, grabbing Erica before leaving.

Hope rolled her eyes at him. "I've met younger kids that are more mature than him. Pedro would know how to handle this better than him." She smiled fondly as she thought about the little eight year old.

"Aw, Pedro," Lizzie whined, "I just remembered I promised I would make him a peanut butter jelly sand which later tonight. But now I can't because we're stuck in here."

"Time has stopped in the real world, so you can still get back to that promise," the author stated.

Lizzie smiled, "good, because I so do not want that eight year old getting back at me for not coming through with the promise."

"Who is Pedro?" Stiles asked before shaking his head. "Never mind. I need to get home to change."

Hope looked to him quickly. "Can I come over?" Her eyes widened when he turned to her with his mouth agape. "Just — just so that we can find out more about this Kanima thing. Plus, you promised that you would help me find a way home."

Stiles nodded with a small smile. "Oh, yeah. Sure. Come on, I'll drive you."

Hope nodded and turned to Scott with a small wave. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Scott smiled as he watched Hope run after Stiles.

"Is he the captain of this ship or what?" Caroline squealed.

Elena chuckled, "I think that title goes to you, Care."

"Hell yeah, it does!" The blonde exclaimed with a giggle.

He had a feeling that her plan to go home wasn't going to go quite well, but he hoped that it would because she deserves to be home where her family and everyone she cares for are.

"He cares about her like a brother, already," Elena cooed, smiling at the screen. She then frowned, "why wasn't Jeremy brought here?" Yes, she has realized her brother wasn't here not long after she arrived, but she didn't think much of it until now. Because for so long, she thought it might've been a trap of some sort and was glad he wasn't here, but now that it's clearly not a trap, why wasn't her brother brought her?

"He is no one of importance," the author stated, sounding like they had shrugged. "Plus, I saw no reasoning why he would even need to be here."

Elena frowned but slowly nodded. "He is important to me," she mumbled. "Is he at least safe?" She would kill herself if something happened to her baby brother.

"Yes," the author stated. "Now, let's continue!"