Chapter 27

(Hope)

It all happened in slow motion—Hope watched in horror as Malivore struck Clarke's token with the sword, causing it to shatter into tiny pieces and scatter across the floor.

"Ryan!" she screamed desperately as she watched him crumble to the ground. She felt a searing pain explode in her chest—it was as if the sword had somehow been driven through her own chest rather than the figurine's.

Hope felt her legs give out beneath her, causing her to fall to her knees.

"What have you done?" she gasped through the pain.

"What I should have done a long time ago," Malivore answered impassively, idly examining the tip of the sword.

She grit her teeth against the pain as she crawled to Clarke's side, reaching out to take his hand, hopelessly feeling for his pulse.

"It's time to fulfill your promise," she heard Akane say from behind her. "Release me from this prison," she demanded.

"Be careful how you speak to me, little fox, or you will meet the same fate as the dragon," Malivore answered, his expression darkening.

Suddenly, Hope felt a strange tingling sensation beneath her palm, accompanied by a familiar feeling of warmth.

Ryan?

She couldn't bear to take on false hope…

Akane snarled, tearing her attention away—in one swift motion, Akane bridged the distance between herself and Malivore and within the blink of an eye, six identical kitsune appeared where Akane had once stood alone.

Malivore leveled his sword at the central figure, eyes narrowing.

"Think about what you're doing," he warned. "Every one of these creatures would be eager to take your place in my good graces."

The plethora of monsters seated in the stands surrounding them grew restless at his words, chattering amongst themselves.

"Malivore has proclaimed himself king of this prison world!" Akane shouted, each version of herself speaking in unison, causing her words to echo strangely in the large space.

"He makes bargains and uses us for our abilities—but he does not keep his word! Look at what he has done to Huan!" she shouted.

Hope watched as the crowd's uncertainty seemed to increase— some creatures had begun to huddle in small groups, while others remained still and silent, watching the scene unfold.

Just then, Hope felt a faint flutter beneath her fingertips—It felt like a heartbeat…

Hope tentatively squeezed Clarke's hand—-please, please, please…

Akane began to circle Malivore, her illusions moving in perfect synchrony, making it impossible to tell which was the original.

"Enough!" Malivore sneered. "Gogmagog, seize Akane and take her to the dungeon!" he shouted.

The giant who had chained them earlier came lumbering into view—careful consideration in his eyes.

"How long have you had the sword?" the giant asked, his booming voice causing the giant stone pillars to shake.

"The sword is no longer your concern," Malivore answered sharply, a note of finality in his voice.

"The Sword of Light belongs to the giants," Gogmagog answered, his voice rising in anger.

"And yet, the Irish Hag claims it belongs to her," Malivore answered.

An Irish hag? He must mean Gwyllion…

Hope felt her hand being squeezed once more—she looked down to see Clarke looking up at her, a sparkle in his eye as he brought a finger to his lips.

Unbelievable relief coursed through her, thawing the icy dread that had hardened around her heart.

"Return the sword, and I will seize the prisoner," Gogmagog answered.

Akane had stopped her circling, but the illusions remained—each watching the exchange with identical curiosity.

Malivore merely tightened his grip on the sword, raising it up in challenge.

"You are in no position to make demands here," Malivore said. "And now, you will suffer the consequences—you will be drained of your powers just like the rest."

It was the wrong thing to say—At the mention of draining the giant's powers, Akane's illusions sprung into action, each aiming to wrestle the sword from Malivore's hand.

The rapidness of the attack seemed to catch Malivore off guard, causing him to lose balance and fall backwards into the giant's chest, dropping the sword in the process. The momentary falter was all it took for Akane to grab the fallen weapon.

Gogmagog reached his mighty arms around to secure Malivore, but with the help of Landon's smaller frame, Malivore easily dodged the giant, moving deftly out of reach.

In a blur of movement, Malivore swept a leg under Akane's feet, causing her to drop the sword, taking possession of it once more.

In another swift motion, Malivore spun around and plunged the sword directly into the giant's chest, causing Gogmagog to bellow out in pain before collapsing to the ground with a mighty thud.

Malivore turned to Akane, using the sword to force the now lone kitsune to her knees.

Clarke sat up slowly, accepting Hope's help to stand—Malivore had yet to notice Clarke's revival; his attention was centered squarely on Akane and the fallen giant.

"Hello, Father," Clarke said.

"I was wondering if you were going to be joining us again," Malivore said, turning to face them, not bothering to mask the anger on his face.

"I'm afraid it's not a very happy homecoming" Clarke answered.

Malivore ignored the comment, focusing his attention on her instead.

"I wonder… Do you regret it, Tribrid?" Malivore asked, regarding her carefully.

"Regret what?" she asked warily, moving to take Clarke's hand, finding comfort in his touch.

"Sharing your soul," Malivore answered, eyeing their clasped hands with open disdain.

"What?" Hope and Clarke asked in unison, a feeling of shock moving between them.

Malivore laughed—the cruelty of the sound coming from what looked like Landon still deeply unsettled her.

"Did you not know?" Malivore asked. "That is an interesting twist," he added.

"What do you mean, sharing my soul?" Hope asked apprehensively.

Malivore remained silent for a moment, his eyes darting between them.

"At first I wasn't sure what had happened," he began. "When I sensed your magic on my creation, I initially assumed you had merely placed him under a spell—but it wasn't until recently that I began to realize this was something different…" Malivore said.

"You knew about our connection?" Hope asked, voice small.

"I suspected," Malivore acknowledged. "However, it wasn't until I saw his revival that I realized how deeply it ran…"

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying her best to ignore the many hostile eyes watching the exchange from the stands.

"Golems are fashioned as empty vessels to serve their creator. Our existence, our very life force, is bound to the material from which we were created—we do not possess internal souls," Malivore answered.

"It's an external life force…housed in the token," she reasoned. "But you destroyed Clarke's token," Hope added, her confusion mounting.

She turned to look at Clarke, but he seemed just as perplexed as she was.

"The token was destroyed, which should have meant the end of his existence. However, it seems that, through your unorthodox entry into this dimension and the sharing of blood, you have given my son a new source of life—" Malivore explained.

Hope noticed Clarke begin to fidget beside her, clearly unsettled by Malivore's words.

"You have shared your soul, your very essence with him, allowing him to survive the destruction of his token," Malivore finished.

"Hope," Clarke murmured, looking down to meet her gaze. "I didn't know—I never meant to take anything from you, certainly not willingly," he said softly.

His sincerity flowed through their connection—a connection that suddenly made so much more sense. This was the reason they could share thoughts and emotions, this is why they were able to share one another's abilities—they were sharing a life force, a soul.

"I know," she whispered, feeling a shared sense of understanding pass between them.

"How touching," Malivore said as he pulled the sword from Gogmagog's chest, wiping the giant's dark, oily blood on his pant leg.

Beneath its bloody sheen, she noticed that the sword seemed to flicker oddly in Malivore's hand— a moment later, she noticed that an identical sword now rested in Akane's lap, just as bloody as the first.

Oblivious to Akane, Malivore stomped his foot, causing the rock to shake and crack beneath him—a display of the giant's strength he now possessed; he smiled with self-satisfaction.

A moment later, everything changed…

(Ryan)

Ryan cursed inwardly—his father now possessed the powers of a dragon, a giant, and an unknown number of other supernaturals' abilities.

If the monsters in the chamber remained loyal to him, there was no way that they would make it out of here alive.

He looked over to Hope, his heart overflowing—he now shared a life force with the most courageous, intelligent, and beautiful woman he had ever met. He owed her everything and he wanted more than anything to have the opportunity to give it to her…

As Malivore flagrantly showed off new abilities, he noticed Hope's attention waver—she was watching Akane.

The kitsune was now approaching Malivore from behind with a sword identical to the one in his father's grip…

"Hope!" he shouted— If Akane killed Malivore in this form, Landon's body would die too. A look of understanding dawned on her face as she shouted for Akane to stop.

Malivore spun around, meeting his sword's twin in midair—the resounding clang echoed through the chamber, sending the crowd of creatures into an uproar.

"What do we do?" Hope asked him desperately, watching the pair exchange blows.

Before he had a chance to answer, Akane slipped in the growing puddle of the giant's blood, causing her to fall to her knees.

Malivore wasted no time in bringing his sword down upon the helpless Akane, cutting straight through her neck—but as the sword made contact, Akane vanished along with the sword in Malivore's hand.

She had been an illusion—and so were the swords!

Malivore screamed in frustration, his anger radiating in waves.

"Turn around," a voice said behind him—he and Hope turned to find Akane standing there, sword in hand. With expert precision, she slashed the sword through the chains binding himself and Hope.

Before he could thank her, Akane dropped the sword and ran, disappearing out the chamber's mighty doors.

Ryan grabbed the sword, the real sword, from where it had fallen and spun to meet his father's furious gaze.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Malivore threatened, looking completely unhinged.

"You know destroying this body will kill the boy, and your little soulmate, wouldn't like that," he snarled.

Although he used the term as an insult, Ryan couldn't help the thrill he felt at hearing Hope referred to as his soulmate…there was something about it that felt so right.

But his father had a point—he wouldn't kill Landon in front of her; they would have to find another way out.

"Vados!" Hope shouted, sending a blast of spell energy towards Malivore.

His father merely smiled as the energy wave bounced harmlessly off of him, not even moving him an inch.

In a flash, Malivore reached out and grabbed Hope by the throat, lifting her off of the ground as if she weighed no more than a rag doll.

"Hope!" he screamed with such ferocity that his throat burned; he could feel her pain and desperation, the feeling threatened to consume him completely.

"Token," her voice rang through his mind, a secret message passed between them.

Of course—the only way to destroy his father without killing Landon was to destroy his father's token…

He watched helplessly as Hope's body began to grow limp, her eyes fluttering shut under his father's merciless grip.

There was only one way to stop this—his decision was made.

He broke into a run, sword in hand, making his way to the throne at the center of the room. He had known his father for centuries; the only place he would have felt safe keeping his token was on his person—he must have absorbed it, just as he had done to all of the monsters he jailed.

Malivore must have realized his intention, because he heard the sound of furious footsteps behind him.

But it didn't matter—he would be too late. Ryan had already arrived at his father's original body, the sword poised above the golem's empty body.

"STOP—I created you!" Malivore screamed. "You owe me everything!" he shouted.

Ryan looked behind Malivore at Hope's limp body laying on the chamber floor, feeling a terrible sense of calm flow through him.

"No," Ryan answered, tears now flowing. "You may have created me, but I don't owe you anything. I will never serve you again," he said.

"You were always worthless," Malivore hissed.

"You're wrong," Ryan answered. "But now you'll never live long enough to see everything I can do," he answered, plunging the sword deep into the golem's body.

For a terrible moment, he feared he may have been wrong about the token's location, but as soon as he pulled the sword from the golem's body he watched as Landon's body collapsed.

Ryan approached his brother cautiously, keeping the sword in hand in case something had gone wrong…

"Clarke?" Landon asked, blinking up at him. "Where the hell are we?" he asked.

Ryan let out the breath he had been holding, helping him to his feet.

"We have to help Hope!" he shouted as he rushed to her side, unwilling to spare a moment more than necessary from her side.

The monsters surrounding them were causing a terrible commotion, clearly surprised by the sudden turn of events.

"Hope!" he shouted, falling to his knees by her side. She was terribly pale and still, the sight alone felt like enough to kill him.

"What happened?" Landon asked, kneeling down next to him. "What can we do?" he asked helplessly.

"She's not gone," a voice said from behind them.

Ryan turned over his shoulder, brandishing the sword in defense—it was Gwyllion.

"Gwyllion," he greeted her, not bothering to hide the tears flowing down his cheeks.

"It seems the prophecy has come to pass," she observed passively. "A soul once split is now shared willingly… And a Sword of Light has cut through the darkness," she added, pointing a bony finger to the weapon in his hand.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"To retrieve what is mine," Gwyllion answered.

The sword…

"Here," Ryan said, tossing the sword to the ground at her feet. "I don't need it anymore," he choked out.

"Call her home," Gwyllion advised.

(Hope)

Was this death?

Hope stood outside of a large, wooden door fit into the side of a mighty cliffside. The door was at least three times her height and intricately carved with mighty warriors, animals, and intricate runes.

She was so taken with the carvings that she didn't hear the sound of footsteps approaching from behind.

"Hello, Hope Mikaelson," a female voice greeted her.

Hope turned without fear—somehow she knew that whoever stood there would mean her no harm.

A beautiful woman stood there with pale skin, piercing blue eyes, and radiant golden hair; she was clothed in beautiful armor with an elegant cape of raven feathers drawn around her shoulders. She was crowned with a helmet of shining silver that gave off an ethereal light.

"Who are you?" Hope asked, awed by the woman's obvious beauty and power.

"I am one of the Valkyrie," she answered, drawing closer. "And this is the entrance to Valhalla," she explained.

Valhalla— the hall of slain Viking warriors…

"Your warrior blood has drawn me to your soul, child," she said softly.

"So I'm dead?" Hope asked, feeling the first pang of distress since she arrived.

"Not yet," the Valkyrie answered. "You still seem to be connected to the land of the living," she added, pointing to her hand.

Hope looked down, noticing a red ribbon tied around her wrist… a very familiar red ribbon— Clarke!

Hope felt a sudden tug at the ribbon as if someone was pulling on the other end.

"Yes, it seems a part of your soul still calls you back," the Valkyrie said with a smile. "You may choose to enter the hall of warriors, or you may return to the mortal world for now," she added.

"I—" Hope began.

"Before you decide, I have a message for you," the Valkyrie said.

Hope nodded, uncertain of what it could possibly be…

"One of the warriors in Odin's hall has asked me to tell you that he wishes his littlest wolf a long and joyous life and that he will be watching over you," the Valkyrie said with a soft smile.

Littlest Wolf… it was her father.

Hope let out a surprised laugh, feeling her eyes begin to grow misty. He was here— her father made it into the hall of warriors!

"He's here?" she asked. "My father, he's on the other side of that door?" she asked, feeling her heart pound.

The Valkyrie merely nodded.

Just then, she felt another tug at the ribbon around her wrist.

"What is your choice?" the warrior woman asked.

Hope looked down at the ribbon and gave it a tentative tug of her own—immediately she felt an answering pull on the other end.

"I think…I need to go back, for now," she answered.

The Valkyrie nodded, a knowing look in her eye.

A heartbeat later, Hope opened her eyes to a completely different scene— she was laying on the floor of Malivore's chamber with Clarke's tearstained face hovering above her.

"Ryan," she whispered, reaching up to touch his face.

"Hope," he breathed. "You came back to me…" he smiled down at her.

"What happened?" she asked, sitting up as she surveyed the many monsters and creatures now wandering the chamber floor.

"Malivore has been defeated," a familiar voice answered.

"Landon!" she exclaimed. "Is it really you?" she asked, accepting Clarke's assistance to stand.

"In the flesh," he joked, giving her a wink.

"But how?" she asked, turning to Clarke.

"It turns out my big brother isn't such a douche after all," Landon answered, giving Clarke a small smile.

"Gee, thanks," Clarke answered.

Hope laughed— "So it worked, you got my message about the token?" she asked.

"Yes," Clarke answered. "It seems we have a lot of abilities to work out, soulmate," he answered with a smile.

Landon shot her a confused look, but Hope simply laughed. "It seems we all have a lot to catch up on…" she said.

"It's good to see you again, little one," a croaking voice said from behind her—it was Gwyllion.

"Gwyllion—you got your sword back," Hope said, noticing the weapon in the fae's hand.

"Indeed, and I think it's time to return home, don't you think?" the ancient woman asked, smiling to reveal her many crooked teeth.

Hope looked to Clarke and Landon standing next to her, both alive, both safe.

"Yes, I think it's time," she agreed.

Gwyllion smiled as she took the sword in hand and murmured something over the blade— within moments, the blade began to glow with a powerful white light that was nearly blinding.

With a flourish, Gwyllion swept the sword through the air cutting what appeared to be a portal in the center of the chamber.

"This will provide safe passage back to your dimension," Gwyllion answered. "But I'm afraid I must allow my fellow creatures to leave as well," she added.

As she spoke the words, the many monsters and creatures present began to make their way to the glowing portal, drawn like moths to a flame.

"I understand," Hope answered as she watched the many creatures of myth and lore make their way into their dimension.

"Until next time," Gwyllion answered, stepping through the portal herself.

"I better get going," Landon said, "I need to let Dr. Saltzman know what's happened and warn him about the...uh, influx," he said nodding to the parade of monsters exiting Malivore's dimension.

"Go see Josie," Hope said with a smile.

She watched a blush creep across Landon's cheeks as he nodded his thanks and stepped through the portal.

"Ryan," she turned to him, taking his hands in her own. "I felt you calling me home," she said.

He smiled down at her gently. "You chose to come home," he said, bringing her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

She felt her heart flutter at the gesture, a blush of her own rising up her neck. She couldn't deny this feeling anymore…

"Ryan, I will always choose you," she said softly. "I don't know how it happened, but you have me, heart and soul," she said with a laugh at the irony.

She took a deep breath before looking up into his eyes.

"Ryan Clarke, I'm in love with you too," she said, finding herself grinning as she said the words.

She felt as much as witnessed his pure surprise and joy as he wrapped his arms around her pulling her as close as possible.

She returned the gesture, relishing in the feeling of his heartbeat so close and comforting. A moment later, he pulled back slightly looking deep into her eyes.

"I don't know how I ended up on this journey with you," he began. "But I want you to know that you have healed me, Hope Mikaelson. You have made me a better man and I will spend the rest of my life giving you everything I am."

She smiled up at him—he was hers and she was his, a partner in the truest sense.

He leaned down, pressing his lips softly to hers— she could feel his love rushing through their connection, warming her inside and out. She smiled into the kiss, deepening it as he rested his hands on the small of her back, pulling her closer.

As they broke the kiss, she looked over to the portal beckoning them home.

"What do you say, Agent Clarke? Follow the leader?" she asked with a smirk.

"I'd follow you anywhere," he said with a smile, taking her hand as they stepped through the portal together.

THE END.

"Valkyrie, also spelled Walkyrie, Old Norse Valkyrja ("Chooser of the Slain"), in Norse mythology, any of a group of maidens who served the god Odin and were sent by him to the battlefields to choose the slain who were worthy of a place in Valhalla. These foreboders of war rode to the battlefield on horses, wearing helmets and shields; in some accounts, they flew through the air and sea. Some Valkyries had the power to cause the death of the warriors they did not favor; others, especially heroine Valkyries, guarded the lives and ships of those dear to them. Old Norse literature made references to purely supernatural Valkyries and also to human Valkyries with certain supernatural powers. Both types of beings were associated with fairness, brightness, and gold, as well as bloodshed."

A/N:

Hello beloved readers,

We have come to the end of the story. This is such a bittersweet thing to post! This is the first fanfiction I have ever written and I have had the most phenomenal time.

I am so deeply thankful for every single one of you and I don't know if I could ever properly express how much your comments and support have meant to me! I hope to write many more stories, so I hope you will join me in the future!

Please leave me your thoughts, whether you are reading this as soon as it was published or many years from now... This story will always hold a special place in my heart and I hope that many people will continue to enjoy it!

Love you guys, always!