12 | hope andrea mikaelson

Hope

The truth will set you free as many like to say. Telling the truth feels like something heavy is suddenly lifted off your chest, no longer making you feel uneasy and suffocated. It gives you the satisfaction of being relieved. It allows you to be true.

But with a lie as twisted as mine, being relieved is something that I don't expect to feel once I finally tell Tony the truth about me. That I came from another year. That I'm the daughter of the ruthless vampire caged in one of the rooms in the house. That I lied to him over and over again about it.

Just thinking about it already makes me feel terrible. He has been with me ever since I met him. Sure, he was stubborn and annoying. But he saved and helped me. I owe him. And this is how I repay him?

He looked straight into my blue, teary eyes. His jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists. Unable to accept how huge the secret I was keeping from him. And at that moment, I knew that I lost him.

"What?"

17 hours earlier

"Are you absolutely sure that British Dracula there would have no way of getting out?" Tony asked as he geared up for what he and I planned for the day.

After Tony had successfully created a new weapon that he wished to use against Triad, we decided that same night that we would go after Triad. Which is today.

"Are you doubting my magic?" I said, not bothering to look up and return Tony's gaze.

"Just making sure. Wouldn't want this house to be trashed right before the construction of my new one in Malibu is finished." Tony said as he carefully placed the repulsor gloves in a briefcase.

I was nervous about today. I mean, I can handle myself. But something is whispering at the back of my head, something that's telling me to just ditch the grimoires and go straight for Malivore. Just jump. And everything will go back to normal.

It was tempting. I want to be selfish and just jump. But if I do that, what of Tony? What of Klaus that's still in his house?

I can't do that. I won't do that...

But do I really trust myself?

Tony probably noticed how I just went silent because I felt his long gaze on me as I geared up. I don't even need to gear up that much. I'm a tribrid.

"Did I do something wrong?" Tony asked.

I gave Tony a nonchalant quick glance before looking away again.

"No. Why would you ask that?" I said. I didn't mean for my tone to be dismissive, but I did want to get all this over with.

I felt slightly distant from Tony ever since my mind was corrupted with those selfish whispers. I just felt guilty that I was entertaining Tony all the while having an idea inside of my head that would hurt him. I'm actually already hurting him now with all the lies I told him. He just doesn't know it yet.

"Because, Ice Queen, you've been so cold to me. It's like you're not even trying to make conversation anymore." Tony said as he approached me with both concern and skepticism.

"I just need to get this over with now." I simply replied.

"Well can't you do that with your normal self?"

"What is my normal self?"

"Your fun and spunky self. This...tough act you've got going on, it's not you."

I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms against my chest. We've known each other for a little over 2 weeks. And half of the things I told him about me were lies.

"What makes you think this isn't the real me? You barely know me."

"I know enough. Let's be real here for a second, Andrea. Believe it or not, I've grown fond of the idea of us being a dynamic duo. It's cool. I hope we can still be friends after we blow Triad to pieces." Tony said, no jokes, no nicknames. All truth, whichI had failed to do.

"I do, too." I replied. At least that one was real.

We stared right into each other's eyes. I've grown to love his deep brown eyes. In fact, it's my most favorite thing about Tony. His eyes are the definition of beautiful honesty. If he's happy, his eyes would be too. There'd be no sign of anything otherwise. If he's sad, the gloom of his brown orbs would show that. If he's guilty, it will flash across his eyes.

I love his eyes. But I can no longer look at them for long. Because I know mine are the opposite of his. Mine are Mikaelson eyes. My eyes can be good liars if I want them to be or in some cases, if I try to be.

"We should go." I said, walking past Tony and towards the front door.

I haven't even considered doing what the whispers were telling me, but I can already feel the guilt washing over me. It doesn't feel good.

-

With anxiety and adrenaline rushing through my veins, I stood in front of the electric fence gate of the Triad Industries beside Tony. The people inside have probably found out of our presence considering the security cameras that are installed outside, allowing them to see two people in the mood for chaos.

"You ready?" I asked, not sparing him a glance.

"I just hope I'll live to tell this awesome story." Tony simply answered before slipping on his glasses

With that being said, I muttered a chant under my breath and blew the gates open, rendering the high electrical voltage that I could feel vibrating through the metal bars irrelevant. I saw Tony flex his fingers under the chromium and titanium-steel. The two of us walk past the gates of the property and towards the building currently on high alert.

"Jarvis, scan the building for Ryan Clarke." Tony said.

Jarvis is built in the shades he's wearing, allowing him to access him without being in the mansion. I could hear the faint electronic sounds the shades was making as it scanned the whole building for Clarke's location.

"Fourth floor. Control panel room." Jarvis answered.

"He's on the fourth floor in the control room. Are we going straight to him?" Tony said.

It took me a moment to answer because my head was in an aggressive debate about whether or not I should do what the whispers were telling me to do. To do the one solution that would guarantee my return to my own home, to my own family, to my own friends.

After a while, I finally came to an answer.

"Let's go where the pit is first." I said.

Tony looks at me with a confused expression before responding. "Why?"

"I need to try something." I just said.

I need to try something and if it works, I won't be coming back.

Tony didn't bother to question my vagueness and went along instead.

"Jarvis, where's the nearest entry point to the pit?"

"Southwest of the building."

Both of us made our way towards the southwest part of the building and found a secured door. I was going to use my magic to open the door but Tony took it upon himself to open it himself. With just one blast from his repulsors, the door swung open and it revealed a bunch of armed men, their guns pointing at us.

"Ad somnum." I chanted, causing the previously wide awake guards to fall unconscious to the ground.

I have no interest in killing anyone just yet.

Tony turns to me with an unamused facial expression. "A sleeping spell? Really?" He said.

"Just warming up." I simply said before I marched inside the building, Tony not far behind.

A new group of armed guards came blocking our way once again, carrying their overwhelming sense of stupidity and death wishes. I simply glared at them while Tony held both hands up, aiming it at them for precaution.

"Motus." I said with my hands flickering.

The spell caused the guns to fly away from their grip, their reactions priceless at how panicked they had gotten. I don't know if it's the Mikaelson blood in me or it's just really me, but whenever I see people like them panicked because of me, it feels amazing. Like the power in my veins just became even more powerful at the sight of them trembling under my gaze.

"Should we test if the training taught you well?" I asked Tony with a mere tilt of my head.

Tony lowered his hands and gives me a side glance. "I thought you'd never ask."

"For this one, no magic, no toy-blasting." I said.

Tony scoffed. "Not a problem... I can still punch while wearing it, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure."

The guards charged after the two of us, probably with their minds set on capturing instead of killing us because I'm sure Clarke still has a lot of questions he wants answered. But that mindset alone is the reason why they've already lost.

If they want to capture a tribrid, they need to go through extreme measures to do so.

I saw the guard in front of me with an open left hand and a fisted right one, even if you aren't Sherlock, you'd know he's right handed. He's basically waving that information in my face. The guard raised his hand with a scowl on his face and attempted to punch me, only for me to dodge swiftly, his head almost spinning at how fast I was.

With the split second that the man was caught off guard by my speed-and take note that that's not even my vampire speed yet, dumb asshole-I took it upon myself to kick the man in the midsection, making him stagger backward and taking down the men behind with him as they groaned in pain. Dumb assholes.

For a brief moment that I glanced at Tony, I saw him catch the fist of one guard which immediately made the man grimace in pain at the harsh contact of his knuckles against the chromium and titanium steel plating of Tony's repulsors. He used his other hand to punch him on the nose, resulting in it bleeding and Tony's repulsors being stained with it as well.

As the crimson red liquid was stuck on the brighter shade of red of the repulsors, the veins under my eyes bulge. The strong scent of blood tickled my nostrils, tempting me. My eyes followed the blood on Tony's metal knuckles as he punched another one in the stomach, the liquid transferring to his vest before he pushed him against all the others.

I only snapped back to reality when I felt the hairs at the back of my neck stand up, alerting me of someone's presence behind me. The man wrapped his arm around my throat, placing me on a headlock while he's other hand was placed at the top of my head, probably attempting to snap my neck.

I inhaled deeply before kicking the wall in front of me hard, causing us to move back fast towards the glass windows of another room and go straight through them.

As tiny pieces of glass rained down my figure and the man's while we're on the ground, I quickly got up to my feet and kicked the man in the face who was still laying on the ground, making him lose consciousness.

Some of the shattered pieces of glass were stuck on my cheeks, collarbone, and arms causing me to bleed. I took out the shards of glass from my skin, witnessing the wounds close up as I did.

Feeling my spirit tougher than ever, I came after the other guards and jumped, hooking my legs on the man's neck and pulling him to the ground, suffocating him as I grabbed one gun from the floor and started firing at the men who tried to come after me, aiming at their kneecaps.

The sound of loud gunshots pierced into my ears, making me wince a bit before dropping the gun to the ground when I'm already finished with it and releasing the man I was strangling when I felt him lose consciousness.

"I didn't know we were allowed to use those." Tony said, making me whip my head towards him.

"You don't need them anyway." I responded.

When I saw the last three men from the group stood not far away from Tony, I let him deal with them. One man came at him with a right-handed punch which Tony caught with ease. I could hear the way the man's knuckles broke at the harsh contact against the metal hand followed by a strained scream, it was music to my ears. Tony used another hand to grab the man's arm and pulls him towards the others, making them stagger backward before he kicks on the other and punches another.

Tony looks at the men on the floor while panting, sweat dripping from his forehead. The sight was...weirdly pleasuring. He glanced over to me who stood with my cheeks stained red because of the blood from the wounds that already closed up.

Tony was about to point out the blood on my cheek but before he could, I already wiped it off with the sleeve of shirt, letting him see that I'm all healed.

"Come on." I said.

Remembering where the pit was according to Jarvis, I led the way. I could hear my heart beating crazily against my rib cage. Every step I took brings me closer to home. But with every step I took, I could also feel the burden of guilt sitting on my chest.

Once we've already reached the room, another group of armed men appeared. However, they have committed the same mistake as the previous group had done, deciding to capture us instead of killing us.

Just when I was about to mutter a chant, Tony aimed his repulsors at the group of men, causing a domino effect on the people as they tumbled backwards simultaneously. He then pointed at the door near us before we rushed inside. I muttered a chant for the door to stay closed before we pushed away from it.

Audible pants echoed in my ears, his and mine, as we slowly backed away from the door, hearing the men from the other side struggle to get it open. If they had just decided to kill us on the spot, maybe they had a slight chance.

Tony and I shared glances before turning around to see the Malivore pit just on the ground. I leaned forward against the railing to take a look at the pit. It was as disgusting as ever, of course.

"Okay, whatever you need to try, do it quickly. It's only a matter of time before they figure out another way in." Tony said, his right hand still aiming at the door.

I have my eyes fixated on the pit, feeling my palms start to sweat and my throat begin to tighten. This was it. There's the Malivore pit. I can go back home. Relief and guilt clashed inside me. And for a brief moment, I was hoping the guilt would win.

But like I said, you're not a Mikaelson if you haven't betrayed anyone, especially those close to you.

Tony averts his eyes from the door and towards me who has my back facing him.

"Andrea?" Tony called, his tone filled with confusion and worry.

I felt a pang in my chest. A shaky sigh left my lips before I turned to Tony with a guilt-ridden expression.

"I'm sorry." I said rather faintly, but enough for Tony to hear and be puzzled by the situation.

I turned back around and quickly climbed up the railing before jumping.

I felt everything go in slow motion. At that moment, I thought I was simply floating. My hair was dancing around me. My clothes were rippling at the brush of the wind. Even the beat of my heart slowed down and the deep sigh that left my lips echoed in my ears like a voice would in an empty auditorium.

I closed my eyes, I was prepared to be swallowed by the pit again. I was ready.

But Tony wasn't.

"No!" Tony growled.

The next thing I knew, I felt myself getting blasted, causing me t fall towards another direction. My back hit the wall harshly and I felt my neck snap because of it before I lost consciousness.

-

When I woke up during the ride home, I wish I didn't. Tony was silent. And I could see the way he gripped the steering wheel, he was practically squeezing it. He knew I was already awake, he just didn't care. He just fixed his gaze on the road as he drove us back to his house.

The front door opened and Tony walked inside first, me following behind. Tony headed straight to the kitchen and got a glass of water.

Nightfall already came. The eight-hour ride with Tony in silence was enough for me to finally muster up the courage to tell him why I did that.

"Tony-"

I nearly jumped when Tony slammed the glass on the counter then leaned on it as he looked at me. There it was again. His eyes that are ever-so-honest. It was now filled with betrayal.

"What the hell were you thinking? Hm? Jumping into the pit like that when you know what it does?" Tony said. He wasn't shouting. But he weight if his words were weighing on my chest.

"I had to." I responded.

"What do you mean you had to? See, this is why I don't like secrets. You told me we were going there to take down Triad. But then I found out you have a hidden agenda. Why did you do that, Andrea?!"

I swallowed hard. I didn't notice that I was nervously fiddling with my fingers until I did.

"I told you that I was spat out by Malivore. That was only part of the story." I said. I took in his angered expression, registering that in my brain, tattooing it even. Because I want to remember his reaction when my brain once again tells me to betray him. I want to remember how much I've hurt him. So I wouldn't do it again.

"I'm from Mystic Falls. There was this sociopath named Kai Parker who pushed me into the pit as punishment for going against him. But being in the Malivore pit wasn't the punishment, it was coming out of it in a completely different timeline." I saw how his betrayed expression quickly turned into that of bewilderment.

"I was sent back in 1994. I'm not from this timeline, Tony. I'm from 2033." I finally said.

Standing in front of him with my throat holding back my whimpers and my eyes blinking away the tears, I saw Tony's whole body tensed. His jaw was clenched, his hands were balled into fists, and his eyes were looking straight into my glistening ones.

"What?" Was the only thing that he was able to spit out.

"I jumped towards the pit because I wanted to go home so bad. Even though I didn't know how I'm supposed to come out in the right year, I was willing to take that risk."

"Yeah, and risk my life as well! You were going to leave me behind to fight for myself, in a building filled with armed men." I finally realize how much I've fucked up. "You didn't think about what will happen to me after you get swallowed up by that pit! You apologized right before jumping, but did you think I would remember that? No. Because you would be erased from my fucking brain and I can't be mad at you if I don't know you exist. I would be standing there, with no idea why I was in that building in the first place. No idea." Tony snapped.

His chest rose and fell due to the level of anger and disappointment probably swallowing him whole right now.

"Tony, I'm-" so sorry. But I didn't get the chance to when I felt something weird. Like something was wrong. Something was missing...or someone.

My blood ran cold before I sped towards the room where Klaus is trapped in, or was trapped in. He was gone. It didn't take long for Tony to follow me.

"How did he escape?" He asked.

My hand went towards my neck. "The spell must've worn off when my heart stopped temporarily." I explained.

"Well then, maybe he has finally reunited with the other British Draculas. Good riddance." He said.

"No." I said, not sparing him a glance as my widened eyes looked out the window. "He's Klaus Mikaelson. He never leaves someone who wronged him alive!"

When I turned around to face Tony, I was suddenly propelled towards the wall, my back hitting it roughly before a strong hand wrapped itself around my throat, pushing me against the wall.

Klaus is standing in front of me, his lip and chin stained with blood, which means he just fed. But that wasn't the one that scared me. It was the murderous smirk smeared over it.

"A promise is a promise." He muttered.

I then felt his hand pierce through my chest. The sound of my ribs breaking as his hand went through was muffled by the ear-piercing scream I let out.

"Andrea!" I heard Tony shout.

"No, stay back!" I shrieked, the walls of my throat scraping against each other as I did. I looked back at Klaus. There was not a hint of the dad I knew. I couldn't see it. But that doesn't mean it's not there.

"You...wanted to know who I am, right?" I said.

He didn't answer, instead he just clenched on my heart harder, making me scream out in pain again before I spoke up.

"I'm your daughter!" I screamed out.

In my head, I had this fantasy that when I tell him that I'm his daughter, he would treat me like how he treated me back then. With care and unconditional love. That he'd be glad to finally have an heir. That he'd stand beside me, and we'd do what we used to do back when I was a kid. Go for a walk in the forest, mix paint...call me princess.

But that's just what it was. A fantasy.

"Are you really that desperate to stay alive?" Klaus said, his tone hinting that of mockery.

I wouldn't be killed if he ripped my heart out. But it wouldn't sit well with my fragile emotions knowing that my own dad ripped my heart out from my chest.

"My name is Hope Andrea Mikaelson." I said. It's the first in a long time I've said my full name out loud. So long that it suddenly sounded so foreign.

"Even if I say I believe you, which I absolutely don't, vampires can't procreate." Klaus said.

"Hybrids can." I answered.

There was a hint of shock that flashed across his eye, but it disappeared as soon as it came. "I don't believe you." He twisted my heart inside my chest and it only earned another strained scream to erupt from my throat.

"Dad, please!" I cried out.

I couldn't handle it anymore.

I grabbed Klaus's head and muttered a chant under my breath, my voice even cracking as I did. "In sertia."

"That's lovely." Klaus said, planting a soft, warm smile on his lips.

My little self glances at him. I still looked pure and innocent. If only I could've stayed this pure and innocent for a little while longer. But both were taken away from me too early too fast.

"Mom said you like to paint, too." I said.

"I do. Very much." He replied.

The two of us became silent and Klaus looked like he had no idea how to proceed, until I placed another paper in front of him, silently urging him to paint with me.

He smiled at my gesture and sat down, grabbing a brush and painting alongside me.

I can see the vulnerability in his eyes as I showed him a memory. I know I can make him believe. I just need to find the right memory.

"I wanna go with you." I said.

We came to a stop before the gate of the Mikaelson manor then we faced each other.

"I don't think you should." Klaus responded.

I looked down, suppressing the tears that were eager to escape my eyes. I looked up at my dad before I spoke up again.

"I'm gonna make you proud." My faint voice said.

That sentence alone was enough to make other Klaus's eyes water, unable to believe what he was hearing. I found the right memory.

"I can't promise that I won't go through a period where I get irresponsible tattoos and date older men." I said, the sobs already eager to escape from my throat. "But I'm gonna go back to school, and I'm gonna be okay." I said, sighing before I proceeded. "Because I'm a Mikaelson." I said quite faintly with a smile.

"And I promise you, I'm gonna do right by our name." I said, tears finally trickling down my cheeks.

"I know you will." Klaus said.

He placed a hand on my shoulder and sighed, gathering up the courage to say everything he wanted without completely shattering.

"I love you...more than all the days and nights. Deeper than the oceans and the skies." He said.

My chest tightened, my heart breaking. At the age of 15, I was already damaged.

"I love you, too." I replied.

I shed a few tears, unable to contain my emotions knowing that this would be the last time I'll ever see or talk to him.

"How do we do this?" I asked.

Klaus closed his eyes and leaned in, our foreheads touching as I cherished the last moment I was given with my father.

"I wish I knew." He whispered.

A gasp left his lips before withdrawing his hand from inside my chest. I collapsed to the floor, catching my breath. I looked up at him and saw...pain.

That's the only thing I saw before he suddenly sped away.

A number of tears trickled down my cheeks, staining my face. Then I looked at Tony who was standing in the middle of the room, his repulsors powered up but his hands remained pinned to his side. He looked lost. It was the only word I could use to describe the way he looks right now.

Just when I thought the situation between Tony and I was bad enough after telling him I'm from another timeline, it got even worse when I revealed that I'm Klaus Mikaelson's daughter and once again lied to him about it.

But he didn't say anything. He simply clenched his jaw before removing the gloves from his hands and approached me. I watched with teary eyes as he crouched down in front of me, placing his arm under my knees and on my back before standing up, carrying me with him.

He didn't look at me as he brought me to my room, placing me on top of the bed. He went to the other room and brought me some fresh clothes to change with.

Tony left the room. And as I changed into the clean clothes, I could hear the blood bag being ripped open and poured into a glass. The veins under my eyes slightly pulsed at the scent. I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath before sitting back down on the bed.

He came back to the room with a glass of blood in his hand. Unlike before, he wasn't at all disgusted by the blood. He would normally walk out of the room when he saw me pulling out a blood bag. But now, he's the one who got it for me.

"Thanks." I muttered before taking the glass and drinking from it.

I felt the wound on my chest that was slowly healing speed up its process until the wound is no longer to be found.

"All healed?" Tony asked.

I looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah."

He sighed. "Good. Now get out."

I widened my eyes as he stood up to leave the room.

"What? Tony!" I said, climbing out of the bed before speeding in front of him. "Tony, wait."

"Just go, Andrea. Or is it Hope? Which one do you prefer to be called?" He snapped at me before walking around me.

"Tony, please. Just let me explain."

He turned around to face me, catching me off guard as causing me to abruptly halt my steps.

"Was it fun?" He asked, his voice dripping with anger and his eyes watering. My lips parted at how pained he looked. "Was it fun playing me? Watching me fall in love with you only for me to realize that I actually fell in love with a fake?"

A tear escaped my eye. He...fell for me?

I felt my heart sink just looking in his eyes. I guess my own eyes were deceiving me because it was always shown in his that he has loved me. I just denied it over and over again.

"You didn't know that?" He asked. I simply clenched my jaw. "You didn't realize I'm already falling for you when I kept teasing you? When I made you breakfast every morning? When I always looked forward to us training together? When I kept a folder with your name? When I kissed you?"

I couldn't hold back the tears that left my eyes anymore as his rolled down his cheeks. He pushed his lips into a thin line and nodded.

"Well then, I guess you're just as stupid as I am." He said before turning around and making his way towards the front door.

He opened the door wide and stood beside it as he looked at me.

"Get out. I don't wanna be around you anymore. I can't trust you." He said, his gaze now lowered to the ground, refusing to look at me.

"Yes, you can. I'm your friend, Tony." I said as I approached him but I was quickly shut down.

"No, you're not. You're a stranger." He said, once again looking me in the eyes. "It took me a while to finally realize that. Now get out."

You're not a Mikaelson if you haven't betrayed anyone, especially those who are close to you. And I didn't realize how close I was to Tony until he pushed me away.

-

I'll be having my second dose of vaccine tomorrow and ai have my final exams next week so I don't know if I'll be able to update. But I'll try because I'm so motivated to write for this book so much so that I honestly want to just take my exams without reviewing kskskskks.

Anyway, the truth is out. Hehi.