Abandon All Hope

Synopsis: Klaus' hallucinations begin the morning after he kills the hunters.

It starts with a single word.

The night is already turning into day as they make it to the woods. It's early in the morning, so early that the sun is still a glow in the East and none but the most hardworking farmers are awake. They will have to make haste, but at this hour there is little chance that they will run into someone as they dispose of the four hunters.

They take turns digging the graves.

When they switch, Elijah takes the shovel his brother wordlessly hands over before stepping back. Niklaus still has blood on his shirt. The red smears are visible at his chest, only half-hidden by the tunic he had put on over his nightshirt. His face is grim, but he's not as angry as he'd had been before, when Elijah had woken to the sound of Niklaus' shouting.

Elijah ends up taking the last turn. As he finishes covering up the bodies, he plants the shovel into the ground one last time with grim satisfaction.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Niklaus goes rigid next to him. He stares past Elijah with a look of horror, and even fear in his eyes. Elijah tenses even before he hears his brother's whisper.

"Father."

He turns around abruptly, scanning the woods for any sign of Mikael in the weak light of dawn. His hand reaches out to Niklaus on instinct, preparing to run. His mind races, trying to think of a way out of this. He thought they would have more time until Mikael found them, but then that serves him right for underestimating their father.

Kol would be back at the house, pestering Finn's red-haired girl. If Mikael is here he may have found his way to their accommodations as well. More importantly, Rebekah isn't with them.

Their sister had taken Alexander's body with her, mumbling about going to bury him. Niklaus had disapproved, but released her arm and let her go on her way after she'd sworn she would return to them. Rebekah had brushed past Elijah without ever meeting his eyes, and he doesn't know where she might have gone. Panic wells up in his chest at the idea of being separated and unable to find his sister when they will have to run again.

Beside him Niklaus is still tense, muscles coiled and ready to run but his feet seem rooted to the floor, as they always were when faced with their father's temper.

No matter where Elijah looks he can't see Mikael. Their father isn't coming out between the trees like a spectre of death, come to kill his children. He's not standing on the hill, looking down at them from above. He is, as far as Elijah can tell, nowhere in sight.

He frowns, glancing back at Niklaus to find his brother still staring at the end of the clearing. Turning to where Niklaus is looking, Elijah still finds nothing out of the ordinary.

"Niklaus," he asks urgently. "Where is he? Where is Father?"

Niklaus barely seems to hear him. "How did you find us?" he tries to demand, his voice breaking on the last word.

Elijah strains his ears, but hears no reply. The shadows between the trees are still as dark and empty as before.

His brother, it seems, did hear something. "That's impossible," he says. "Elijah would never."

A sudden chill goes down Elijah's spine that has nothing to do with the possible presence of his father.

"Niklaus," he says carefully. "What do you see?"

"Father," his brother replies, turning scared eyes towards him. There's a certain faraway look in his gaze that Elijah wishes he could ignore. "Can't you see him, Elijah? He's right there, we have to run now."

Before Elijah can respond, his brother turns back to the edge of the forest.

Elijah reaches out, clasping Niklaus' wrist. "Niklaus," he says again, his heart sinking. "There is no one there."

Niklaus doesn't even seem to hear him.

Elijah squeezes his wrist, trying to pull his attention back to him.

When Niklaus finally turns, there is something about his eyes that scares Elijah. Niklaus looks at him, but it's all wrong. There is no sign of recognition in his eyes, nothing to suggest that he know who Elijah is or why he's there. There is only rage.

Elijah almost flinches.

"You again," his brother growls. "I could have sworn I killed you before. Did Rebekah find a way to bring you back?"

Elijah opens his mouth to protest, to tell him that he must be wrong, that Elijah is his brother, but before he can say a single word Niklaus has him pinned against a tree.

"It matters not," Niklaus says, his rage barely controlled. "I'll simply have the pleasure of being able to kill you again."

He shoves a hand into Elijah's chest, wrapping around his heart.

For a brief, painful moment Elijah sees the distant look in his brother's eyes and knows with certainty that he is going to find out what it will feel like to have his heart ripped out and not die. Somehow he doubts it will hurt more than to have Niklaus look at him and not know him.

Unable to speak, he puts a hand to the side of his brother's neck.

Niklaus' wide eyes become almost impossibly wider as he seems to focus on the face before him.

"Elijah?" he whispers, horror in his voice. "Oh God, Elijah, what was I—"

Elijah tries to speak, but ends up coughing, blood seeping from his mouth. Niklaus quickly pulls back his hand, and Elijah groans as his ribs crack again before they start to heal.

His brother still looks to be in shock. His face is pale, and presses a bloody hand to Elijah's cheek. "Brother," he murmurs. "Say something, please."

"What happened?" Elijah croaks out, when his ribs have healed enough that he can draw a breath again.

Niklaus tenses, pulls back. "I thought you were—" He shakes his head. "I could have sworn you were Alexander. I could hear him, taunting me. And then I saw that it was really you." His brother looks sick at the memory.

Elijah suppresses another shiver threatening to overtake him.

Niklaus looks at him again, guilt written all over his face. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Elijah tells him.

It's not a lie. His body has healed quickly, as it always did. His tunic is ruined, but it will be easily replaced and then there won't be any evidence this moment even happened. All the same, he can't forget the look on Niklaus' face. The hatred in his eyes and the way he didn't seem to know Elijah at all.

Niklaus' hallucinations seem to have faded, but still Elijah can't shake off the feeling that everything is far from alright.