1:15 I'll Tell You A Story

I'll Tell You A Story

Part 2

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RECAP

Hope scoffed, annoyed. "How would you know?" She questioned.

You stared at her. "Because I am you, remember?" You replied.

Hope sighed. "Fine. Then you tell me what it is that I want to say, and I'll say it." Hope argued back.

You looked down. "That's not how this works, Hope. You have to listen." You explained, being vague.

Hope looked confused. "Listen to what?" She questioned but then there was whooshing and you disappeared. "Even fake you in infuriating. God!" Hope groaned out, annoyed.

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"How can something that's basically a mud robot be my father?" Landon asked, you were about to fall asleep at this point.

Clark sighed. "Because it didn't stay a golem." He stated. "With each monster's DNA it absorbed...it evolved. Eventually, it became sentient...aware. He was truly alive. And when the region was cleared of all the monsters, the Triad wanted to return him back to mud. Since they were the ones who created him, only they could destroy him. All they needed to do was wipe away the symbol on his forehead." Clark continued to explain.

Clark paused, catching a breathe. "But he betrayed his creators. He made a deal with all the humans he'd saved. They could not let their new god be taken from them. The humans set him free to wander the earth and continue consuming, erasing all memory that the monsters ever existed. But over time... like Adam in the Garden of Eden, he realized he was alone. So he did what all creations eventually do. Create. He fashioned beings like him." You glared at Clark, looking obviously uncomfortable with where you were. "His children. A lineage that could-"

Landon cut him off. "Man... you were doing so good up until that part." Landon stated. "I was almost into it, as far as origin stories go, but you're asking me to believe that I'm a magical mud man with implanted memories." Landon summarised.

Clark did that annoying smirk. "Quite the opposite. You see...all the children he fashioned were imperfect. Flawed. None of them had his powers. All of them had weaknesses and all were sterile, unable to reproduce and continue his legacy." He started. "He was created to be the only one of his kind. He was never intended to be a species or have a bloodline of his own. But... he found a way to reproduce biologically. To have a son who was part human. A son who was perfect. A son who could live forever and continue the species." Clark looked between Landons eyes. "You are what he's been trying to create his entire life." Clark and Landon just stared at each other.

"You know, I've told my fair share of lies, and the best lie is one that someone already wants to believe. And you're asking me to believe that the father that I've been looking for for years has actually been searching for me?" Clark didn't say anything and instead just stayed quiet. "Why should I believe you?" Landon questioned.

You groaned, annoyed with the two of them bickering. "Because I was there. Over the years, his attempts at children became more refined, indistinguishable from humans." Clark walked forward, closer to Landon. You moved up in your seat, watching Clarks every move. "Our father is a very gifted artist."

Landon looked confused. "Our father?" Landon asked.

Clark slightly nodded. "Yes... little brother. Like I said, I was there." Clark finished his story.

You moved your wrists again only to feel the ropes burning against your skin, stopping as you felt Clark looking at you.

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Hope walked into Lizzies as she heard crashing coming from there. "Hey, are you okay?" Hope asked, worried.

Lizzie turned around. "Stay back." She breathed heavily. "It's fine. It'll pass. Just..." Lizzie trailed off.

The lights continued flickering. "What do we do? Do we need to do the yelling- in-the-woods thing?" Hope questioned.

Lizzie groaned. "No, I just, I need to find out what this Merge thing is, okay? I feel like it's a spell that she's gonna use to just leave or break us up or something!" Lizzie exclaimed.

The lights finally popped and everything was dark but with it being day, there was light. Hope grabbed onto Lizzies arms and placed her on the bed. "All right, deep breaths. Deep breaths. I'll call my Aunt Freya, she'll know something about the Merge. Okay?" Hope tried her best at calming Lizzie down.

"Okay." Lizzie replied, breathing heavily.

"Okay." Hope repeated, leaving the room.

Hope walked into the library and saw Josie reading a book. "Hey." She said as she walked into the room.

Josie looked up. "Shouldn't you be hanging out with your new best friend?" Josie sarcastically said to Hope.

Hope stared, crossing her arms. "Oh, that's actually why I'm here." She paused, lowering her voice. "I-I think some sort of crash is brewing."

Josie looked down at her book before looking up. "Then you should stay away." Josie replied.

Hope stayed quiet, moving to sit down. "Um, look, I know that you're mad at her, but... she's still your sister, and she really needs your help." Hope looked between Josies eyes.

Josie lowered her book, looking at Hope. "Why? She did this to herself." The brunette replied.

Hope straightened her posture. "What? She can't control her brain chemistry." Hope replied to Josies comment.

"She can choose to take her medication." Hope didn't reply. "She hasn't taken it since we saw her mom, because she doesn't like the way that it makes her feel. So she tried magical bracelets and releasing her inner bitch and then distracting herself with Miss Mystic Falls, but all of that is just delaying the inevitable." Hope looked away from Josies eye sight. "Letting her crash is the only way anything will ever change." Josie pulled her book back up and looked away from hope, reading the book.

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"Hey, Hope." You said, acting happy. "What's going on?" You asked.

Hope stared at you. "Don't pretend like you don't remember our last conversation." Hope argued.

Your smile dropped. "I just figured you'd want a fresh start." You responded.

Hope tilted her head. "Mm. Guess even my subconscious can get stuff wrong."

You breathed out. "Touché." You paused. "So, did you figure out what you wanted to say yet?" You inquired, putting your arms behind your back.

Hope nodded, annoyed. "Uh, yeah, actually, I did. And what I wanted to say is this: I possibly could have made you upset without realising it. But it doesn't make sense why you'd suddenly disappear if I didn't do anything wrong." Hope paused, thinking. "Does this have something to do with the fact that Landon got mad at you for keeping a secret about his mom? Hmm?" Hope questioned.

"Because you and I both know what it's like to be an orphan, you were just protecting him from that." Hope continued, pointing a finger at you. "Okay? You were saving him from that." You scoffed at Hopes comment, thats when she decided to move back to the fact you are missing. "You can't be mad at me for causing you to run off." Hope finished, accusing you.

You stared, amazed at how much she had to say. "I never said I was mad at you. Stop accusing me of something I never said." Even subconscious you was getting fired up. "The fear of being abandoned is too big. Like how your mom left and your dad left. It's why you run. You know deep down that I wouldn't run." You accused Hope now.

Hope looked at you, shocked as if she was having a real argument with you. "This has nothing to do with my parents." Hope responded through gritted teeth.

You raised your arms up before dropping them. "Then why did you start crying when you wore a dress your dad picked out?" You inquired, knowing you pushed some buttons.

Hope scoffed, amazed and annoyed at how low you went with her parents. "Whoa. We're done." Hope walked past you to grab the crystal.

"Hope, you're not listening." You watched her and as she grabbed it, you then vanished.

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You held your head backwards, getting tired of being tied up. "My father saw himself in me. I was clay pretending to be something it wasn't. He despised me for it." Clark started. "He threw me away like all the other failures who came before." Landon looked up from holding something.

"I know what that's like." Landon responded.

You lifted yourself up from that comment. "Then you'll understand why I betrayed him." Clark didn't take his eyes off of Landon. "Our father consumed every creature he could. And when his supply ran out, he grew weak... vulnerable. And that's when the humans came back." He paused. "The descendants of his original worshippers, a secret society. I told them of his attempts to create a lineage, how he was violating nature, trying to birth a new species. I led them to him. And they did what humans do. They rebelled against their god. They paid witches who used black magic to trap him... and dissolve him, returning him to his natural state." Clark moved to lean on a pillar, looking down at the goo. "The black pit." He bent down, getting closer. "The endless darkness where the monsters are." Landon walked to be besides Clark. "It's not just a place. It's what remains of our father. The Eater of the Dark. His name is-"

Clark didn't get to finish as Landon cut him off. "Malivore." Landon replied.

Landon moved back towards you. "You don't believe me." Clark stated, looking at Landon.

Landon scoffed. "Would you believe you?" He questioned.

Clark thought about it. "Probably not." He responded. "Then again, I've never stolen an artifact without even knowing why I did it." Clark fired. Landon looked at you before back to Clark. "The knife and the urn were both part of the spell that dissolved him. But since he was immortal-" Clark didn't get to finish.

"Nothing's immortal." Landon cut in. "There's always a loophole. Nature creates a balance." Landon said, sounding smart. "That's Intro to Magical History. I've been taking it for, like, a week." Landon stated, slightly smiling.

Clark did that annoying smirk of his. "Very good. But until that loophole could be found," He glance at you. Were you the loophole? And if you were, how? "they bound him with three locks. Created three decoys. It can only be unlocked by Malivore's blood, so they hid them far away. I've been able to track down where the last four artifacts are." Clark pointed down at the photographs, Landon looking down at them. "Now I need you to tell me which is the real lock so we can set him free." Clark put his hands behind his back.

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Hope was lowering the phone just as Alaric walked into the room, shutting the door. "I need to talk to you about Raf." Alaric stated.

Hope put the phone down. "I have to say something first. Freya just explained the Merge." Alarics face went still. "Josie's pretty much figured it out, and, uh, Lizzie is spiraling. So, either you do it or I will, but it's time to tell them the truth." Hope stated, Alaric saying nothing in return.

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"If you're the one who betrayed him, why are you trying to set him free now?" Landon questioned Clark.

You were about to loose it, being locked up is very annoying. "Because I chose the wrong side." Clark started, once again ready to tell another story. "The pit had the same properties as Malivore. Throw a monster in, its memory was erased from existence. Within a few years, the secret society grew into a business. Triad Industries. Keeping the world safe from all the things that go bump in the night. It's monster cleaning." He paused.

"Eventually, the power corrupted them. Monsters became whoever they didn't like. Whoever they wanted to be forgotten. I thought revenge on my father would feel sweeter, but it didn't. So I returned myself to him. Inside Malivore, there was only darkness. I yelled, I screamed, but he would not answer me. He let me sit in silence, punishing me until... decades later, when suddenly he spit me out. I didn't know why till I found that picture of you." Clark pointed at the picture of Landon and Seylah, but Landon in her stomach. "And I saw a video of a knife that could only be unlocked by Malivore's blood. And I heard story of a woman who had emerged from the pit pregnant. As more humans were thrown in, he absorbed enough of their genetic material to be able to reproduce. When Triad betrayed your mother, our father had mercy on her and sent her back... carrying you. He sent me back to find you because only you are blood of his blood." Clark stopped, catching his breathe.

"And only you can set him free." Clark stated. Landon and you made eye contact as he said that.

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A.N: Hope you enjoyed 🤍