I own nothing but my own words.

Prologue: It Is Finished

December 23, 2031.

"Ready?" Hope asked.

"Ready!" Lizzie and Josie said at the same time, grinning their excitement.

The three girls hugged one last time before Hope went to join the circle, leaving the twins to stand together in the center, facing each other.

It was almost time.

Hope stood amongst friends and family, all witches who were all powerful, and who had all joined together for one purpose.

To free Lizzie and Josie from the curse of the Gemini Coven—a curse that forced each generation of twins to merge at the age of twenty-two into one being and become the leader of the coven.

Being the only two surviving members of the coven, one would think merging wasn't necessary any longer.

But the origin of the curse was deeply rooted in the protection of Earth itself.

The Gemini were originally from another dimension, one overrun by creatures created by black magic making it difficult to survive. They escaped to Earth through a long hidden portal, finding a safe haven in this dimension.

Unfortunately, something went wrong and the creatures began to follow. The portal's entrance was no longer hidden.

To protect their new world, the Gemini created a seal to keep out the old one. The seal wasn't powerful enough on its own though, and it needed to last forever.

So the Gemini linked the seal to the most powerful among them, the twins. They linked the seal to the twin bond itself, ensuring that the seal would endure.

The Gemini made a grievous error though.

They used black magic to create the link.

As the twins aged, the black magic infected their bond causing insanity in some while making others more susceptible to the darkness. The link proved too much for the twins to handle separately. They could only maintain the link—and for some, their sanity—by merging as one by the first celestial event after their twenty-second birthday.

Long had the tradition in the Gemini Coven carried on. The truth behind the merge kept hidden by all but a few of the elders.

Over time, the merge became the way of life for the coven to determine the next leader. The twins began to see it as a challenge, never knowing that the merge protected the entire world. Never knowing that their turn as leader was their reward for their sacrifice.

That would all end tonight.

Hope looked over at Ryan, standing on the outskirts watching the witches, and had to smile.

Ryan. Ryan Clarke.

His father was Malivore—a golem created in black magic nearly a thousand years ago by three: the head of the Gemini Coven at the time, a vampire who was an ancestor of MG, and a werewolf who was an ancestor of Ethan. Created to rid the world of one of the worst creatures to follow the Gemini into this dimension—the dragon—Malivore proved more effective than his creators had known he would be, absorbing all supernatural creatures that weren't one of the protected species.

He rose up against his creators and paved his own way, intent on absorbing as many creatures as he could to grow stronger. When he grew lonely, he attempted to create his own lineage. One of those creations turned out to be Ryan.

Malivore had finally met his end about a month ago. To say she, Ryan, and the students of the Salvatore school were relieved would be an understatement.

In his father's death, Ryan had made the discovery that he actually did have a mother. She was Earth itself, and they could reach one another in his dreams now that the link between Ryan and Malivore was severed. Ryan wasn't shrouded in darkness any longer.

Ryan also now ruled the hell dimension his father once resided in before it became a separate entity from Malivore's consciousness.

Discovering his mother, gaining his father's legacy, and even his very continued existence were all thanks to Lizzie.

Lizzie's insistence that only earth magic be used to destroy Malivore saved Ryan's life.

Ryan was going to return the favor.

Hope admitted to herself that the idea was a bit farfetched, but she had shared it anyway. It was her idea for Ryan to open a permanent portal to Malivore big enough to cover the dimensional gateway between Earth and the other world. That way any creature trying to come through would find itself trapped in Malivore instead of wreaking havoc on Earth.

With the portals lined up, there would no longer be any need for the seal.

It had taken nearly a month, but they had done it!

With the help of her aunts Freya and Davina, they had pieced together a spell that would sever the link between the seal and the twin bond. Following that, the seal would simply cease to exist.

Lizzie and Josie would finally be free, cursed no more.

Hope gripped the hands of the witches on either side of her. Both were New Orleans witches, as were all the others in the circle. They were waiting for the meteor shower to begin so they could use the power of the celestial event to undo what the Gemini ancestors had done—the final step.

Last week, the Saltzmans and Caroline had traveled with Hope and Ryan to Oregon, about an hour outside of Portland. Ryan's mother had revealed to him the location of the portal. The girls, and their parents, wanted to be present to see him complete the first step.

The portal to the other dimension was hidden behind a waterfall in Oneonta Gorge. Fortunately it was rainy season so they didn't have to deal with any tourists as they hiked their way to it. Given the rain, the water along the path raised higher than their heads. Luckily, they were witches and could hold the water back as their party came through.

New to his power, Ryan was still figuring out how to make the surface of the portal solid enough so no one could enter without his permission. In the meantime, Hope and the twins created a barrier so that no one could accidentally tumble through from Earth's side. They weren't as concerned about the other side of the portal; why not help the other world by absorbing some of the creatures?

She was still amazed that Doctor Saltzman had finally agreed to her plan. He made no secret of the fact that he didn't trust Ryan. While he very much wanted to find a way to save his daughters, he also didn't want to put something as vital as the protection of the world in the hands of someone he didn't trust.

Desperate to save the girls, she finally convinced Ryan to tell Doctor Saltzman about his mother. She trusted him completely and knew Ryan's secret would be safe with him.

Ryan preferred to keep the information about his mother to just him and her. But, he had said he wanted to save Lizzie. He couldn't do that if her father wouldn't let him.

Once Doctor Saltzman understood that Ryan protecting the dimensional gateway also meant Ryan was protecting his mother, he finally agreed. He still didn't trust Ryan, but at least he now believed that Ryan wouldn't allow the world to be destroyed.

The past month since they destroyed Malivore had been a bit of a whirlwind with lots of changes, but Hope couldn't be happier.

She was in New Orleans—her favorite place on Earth—surrounded by her favorite people on the planet, spending her first real Christmas with Ryan, about to make sure her best friends were safe.

Life was good.

Clarke would never admit it, but he actually felt good knowing he was helping someone and it wasn't for his own benefit.

Just another new thing in the plethora of new he had learned about being human since he first found his conscious linked to Hope's subconscious months ago.

He would also never admit that the blonde twin had grown on him.

She was a giant pain-in-the-ass most of the time with a constant attitude, but they had made a begrudging truce. She was Hope's best friend so he was pretty much stuck with her.

She was also the reason he was alive, so, yeah, she wasn't that bad. He might even call her a friend…

Maybe. Like, twenty years from now.

In the meantime, he was going to make sure she wasn't absorbed by her twin so she would be around to be friends twenty years from now.

While he wasn't helping Lizzie for his own benefit, it didn't hurt that Hope loved showing him her appreciation for his helping though.

He caught her smile from afar and returned it with a knowing smirk of his own, looking forward to later so he could enjoy some of that appreciation. He needed it.

It had been a rough month for him.

He was so used to spending every hour of every day with her that it took a lot to get used to that ending.

With the death of his father, life had to go on.

For Hope, it meant going back to school and trying to catch up on everything she had missed while on the run.

For Clarke, it meant taking over Triad and restructuring the entire organization the way he saw fit.

He felt a bit like a nomad while traveling to all the different bases, checking on each facility, and meeting with the government liaison all to make the necessary changes to move Triad into the private sector while maintaining a contract with the government. The government didn't have a choice in the matter, no other agency had the power to dispose of the creatures and make sure the public forgot they ever existed in the first place.

Things were coming along smoothly and, with any luck, he could start his next phase soon which would involve him going on missions himself to see some of the action he was used to and to evaluate field agents.

His new personal assistant would get to handle a lot of the boring monotonous details. He had given Veronica Greasley the job. She wasn't pleased to be at his every beck and call, but she wanted to keep her job. He didn't trust her though, so he kept a close eye on her.

But then, he didn't trust anyone except for Hope.

As far as Hope was concerned, he made sure to return to Mystic Falls as much as possible. He tried for the weekends since he knew she wouldn't have class then. He knew things might change again once he started working missions.

He loved being in control of Triad. He was powerful, feared, and could basically do whatever the hell he wanted. But being away from her was hard.

Christmas being that week, he had Veronica clear his schedule so he could spend Hope's entire winter break with her. Christmas was their holiday, and he wasn't going to let another one pass without celebrating it with her. He also had a surprise for her.

Since she was going to be in Mystic Falls until graduation, he needed something more permanent than staying in a hotel room every time he wanted to visit her, so he found an apartment that let him sign a six month lease. It would be his home base, but it would also be theirs, when they could both get away, at least until the end of term.

After graduation, she wanted to go to college. What he really wanted was for her to be with him, to travel with him. She had once told him she wanted to spend her life helping supernaturals and traveling the world. Just skip all the school stuff and she could be doing that already right by his side.

But if college was what she wanted, she would get it.

"It's time," Freya called out to everyone.

And so it began.

The twins held hands and the rest of the witches did too, standing in a circle around the girls as they began chanting.

"Invocavit vinculum! Invocavit vinculum! Invocavit vinculum! Invocavit vinculum!"

The magic filled the air around the twins and the bond between them was suddenly visible. It appeared to be white but was warped and twisted with red laced through. Where the red touched, the darkest black was seeping into the white.

The black was the darkness that had seeped into the bond over time, poisoning the twins slowly as they aged.

He wasn't surprised that the darkest part of the bond was closest to Josie's side.

"Solve vinculum! Solve vinculum! Solve vinculum! Solve vinculum!"

With each chant, the red began to move, slithering its way up and unwinding from the bond. The red rose into the air, a single strand that represented the magical link between the bond and the seal. When the link was finally clear of the bond, the bond straightened. It was no longer warped.

"End animum dulcedine! End animum dulcedine! End animum dulcedine! End animum dulcedine!"

The red began to dissipate in midair until it dissolved and disappeared, the link between the twin bond and the seal severed forever.

"Praesidio vinculum! Praesidio vinculum! Praesidio vinculum! Praesidio vinculum!"

The twin bond, still as strong and as firm as ever before, returned to its usual state, no longer visible or tangible, protected as it had always been within the twins.

"It is finished," Freya declared.

All the witches let go of each other, grinning and exclaiming in relief.

The twins dropped their hands and hugged each other fiercely; grateful that they would always have each other and neither of them would have to kill the other.

But possibly the most relieved of all were their parents. Alaric and Caroline rushed to the girls, hugging them tightly. Caroline was more emotional than them all as happy tears poured down her cheeks, so glad her girls were safe. The girls giggled as Caroline kept going back and forth, kissing their heads, filled with so much emotion.

Hope practically sprinted over to him, happy as she was too, and threw herself into his arms.

"Thank you," she mumbled into his chest.

"Does this mean you owe me one?" he asked, grinning down at her.

"Ha," she said, pulling back with a smile. "You know you didn't do this for me."

"I know," he shrugged, "but might as well reap the benefits."

She grinned, seeing what he couldn't see since he was no longer facing the Saltzmans.

"Benefits, incoming!" she warned, giggling.

He raised an eyebrow right before an excited emotional ball of energy latched itself onto him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Caroline exclaimed, hugging him and crying happy tears all over him.

"Uh… you're welcome?" he looked to Hope for help. He didn't do hugs, not with anyone except Hope.

Caroline pulled back and brushed at her eyes, shaking her head at herself, "Sorry, sorry, I just…"

"It's okay, Caroline," Hope said, going to her side and putting an arm around her in case she still had a case of the 'hugs'. She was laughing inside at the look on Ryan's face when Caroline hugged him, but she would rescue him from more of the awkwardness. "He's pretty incredible, I know."

"Just this once," Lizzie said, joining them, "will I agree."

"I'm shocked," Clarke said, putting a hand to his chest in mock disbelief.

"Oh, shut up," Lizzie gave him a look, shifting back and forth, undecided, then finally sighed and begrudgingly stepped forward and hugged him too.

She pulled back just as quickly and said, "Thanks. Also something that will only happen once. Ever."

Hope shook her head. "You two, I swear. Saving each other's lives like it's not a big deal, then acting like you hate each other," she said.

"Because we do," Lizzie said with a nod.

"I only put up with her because of you," he said.

"Same," Lizzie agreed.

"Yeah, right," Hope laughed.

"I think it sounds like the beginning of a beautiful friendship," Caroline interjected with a tearful laugh and firm nod.

They all snickered at that.

Josie finally let go of her father who held her so tightly once he got a hold of her that she couldn't help but let him keep hugging her. The past seventeen years had been hard on him, knowing about the curse of the Gemini twins and not knowing how to save them from it. It must have been a constant source of worry for him.

Most fathers would do anything to protect their daughters, but how could he protect them from that?

She knew the relief he felt was enormous. She knew he needed to hold her just a little while longer than usual. And she let him because she was just as relieved.

When she finally pulled away, she looked for the rest of her family just in time to see Lizzie hug Clarke.

Josie looked down.

She struggled to act like his presence in their lives didn't bother her any longer. She succeeded for the most part.

It shouldn't bother her, right? He had just saved their lives. She should be a little more grateful, shouldn't she? Well, she was…but only on the outside. On the inside, she tried, she really tried to feel grateful, but she couldn't.

He hadn't done any of this for her. It was only for Lizzie. Why would he do anything for Josie? He had blatantly ignored her since she was forced to allow him back into her life. When he was Vardemus, he acted like her friend and her closest confidant. He had wheedled his way into making her reveal things about her darkest thoughts and insecurities to him, but it had all turned out to be a lie. He was using her. Once he got what he wanted, he didn't have any use for her any longer.

She tried not to, but she really hated him.

He never spoke directly to her and he never acknowledged her presence. He treated her like she was nothing.

At the same time, he respected Lizzie. They bickered constantly, but she knew there wasn't much attitude behind it.

Honestly, she would be happy if she could live her life never having to hear his name again. But that wasn't going to happen.

Not when Hope and Clarke were so ridiculously in love that their entire lives revolved around each other. Not when Hope and Lizzie had grown so close that Josie often felt left out.

Josie had resolved to do anything and everything she could to be a part of that friendship. She wanted to be just as close to the both of them again. Somehow she had drifted away from Lizzie when she decided to attend Mystic Falls High. She knew she drifted from Hope because of her anger at being used to help bring Clarke back. They grew further apart when Hope was on the run for the next month. Ever since they were reunited, she had pushed away all that anger just as she pushed away all her thoughts and feelings about Clarke for the sake of their friendship.

Showing blatant hatred for Hope's boyfriend wasn't going to endear her to anyone.

So, she swallowed the hate. She swallowed the need to scream and rage at them all. She wouldn't ask Lizzie how she could befriend and hug someone who had helped her off the deep end into darkness—someone who was responsible for MG's turn to a vampire. She wouldn't ask Hope how she could love and sleep with someone who had manipulated one of her best friends into creating a dark object he meant to use on her. And she definitely wouldn't tell Clarke exactly what she thought of him or find a way to hurt him to get her revenge.

If she did, she might find herself the odd man out.

She had been putting her best foot forward, and she would continue to do so. She would go over and join the rest of her family. She would smile and pretend to be happy and grateful.

But she wouldn't mean it.

And she definitely wouldn't hug him.

One Month Later…

Darkness lies in the wolf, the vampire, the witch.

Some may try to escape it, but it will always find them.

The key is learning to control the darkness instead of hiding from it, scared of the moment it made its presence known.

To embrace the darkness was to allow it to destroy you.

Though, perhaps, love was the greatest destroyer of all.

Well, darkness can take a break this weekend.

My boyfriend's in town and he'll be here any minute.

My name is Hope Mikaelson, and I'm in love with a mud man.

To be continued…