I do not own TVD or TO
I also don't know much about the hollow yet, only the things on the wikia page for the Originals so some liberties might be taken with that. Then again I haven't seen season 5 so for all I know I'm right on track with how the hollow actually affects them. I don't think something that powerful would have no affect whatsoever on an Original even when divided in four pieces so I believe that it was affecting them all; not as badly as it would when made whole but it is still there and in the case of vampires it is fueling the bloodlust... not a good thing for someone who can't remember how to control it.
She sighed upon finding the snoop in her office, having already known who it would be, and sure enough she was right. The child sat cross legged on the antique couch staring at the block letters in her hands, the scrawled printing of a man with the weight of the world on his mind; a man who had made a lofty donation to a cause simply for his belief in the woman behind it. He was many things, but to Hope he was the father she had barely gotten to know; the man who had left her, who had ignored her desperate cries.
Leaning in the door she crossed her arms and tilted her head.
"I thought I smelt a little wolf," Caroline smiled softly. Her breath caught when Hope's head snapped up and she saw the look in her eyes; the child's blue eyes were flooded with an intense vulnerability that Caroline had witnessed only a handful of times.
Her features favoured her mother, but in that one moment she was the image of Klaus.
Caroline moved to kneel in front of the couch because no child should ever have that look in their eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Hope's rosebud mouth puckered in a pout. The expression tugged at the vampire's heartstrings, and again she was reminded of the child's father.
"I did something," Hope whispered.
Caroline nodded encouragingly.
"I used a spell," Hope twisted the sleeves of her sweater, "I wanted to see him, so I astral projected…"
Caroline's stomach twisted in a knot; she was almost reluctant to ask what Hope had seen.
"I saw…" Hope's heart drummed in her chest; Caroline could smell fear beneath her skin, "… it was a scary monster who looked like… like my… my dad."
Caroline bit her lip. Knowing the way Klaus and the rest of the Original family had tried to shelter Hope it could have been any number of things that had frightened the sweet little girl; she crossed her fingers and prayed it hadn't been too bad.
She took a deep breath and set her hands on either side of Hope's knees.
"I want you to look at me Hope," she met the child's wide eyes, "I'm going to show you something, okay."
Her nod was full of trepidation and Caroline saw her clench her small hands into fists.
Taking a second deep breath she concentrated on the fear rising from Hope's blood. She was not proud of her choice target, but it had been so long since she had allowed herself to appear as she was that she needed a focal point.
With her eyes closed Caroline felt her fangs descend, that was the easy part. Next she felt the veins beneath her eyes begin to pulsate and knew they had turned black.
Hope gasped and backed into the stiff material of the couch when she saw Caroline's red rimmed eyes.
Caroline exhaled slowly and felt her features return to normal; Hope visibly relaxed when the familiar face of her headmistress was before her again.
"Was it something like that?" She saw in the child's eyes that there had been more.
Caroline sighed and took a seat beside Hope. She didn't know the full extent of what had happened, but she knew it had been bad, and she highly doubted Hayley had burdened her child with the knowledge before depositing Hope at the Boarding School.
Hope blinked back a wave of tears and didn't fight Caroline when she pulled her into her arms.
"It's okay to cry, sweetie," she ran her hand through the straight auburn hair.
"Is my dad a monster, Caroline?" She clung to the vampire's silk blouse.
"Do you think he's one?" Caroline took the letter and set it aside. She didn't even realize she was doing it until she saw a myriad of images flying through the girl's mind, each one conflicting with the last memory she had from the astral plain.
She didn't know if her words would truly impact the psyche of the nine year-old or not but she knew she couldn't leave Hope like that.
"Your dad is not a monster Hope," she tipped the child's chin up and met her red-rimmed eyes.
"He left," she sniffled.
"He left to keep you safe." Caroline gently wiped away a tear. "He loves you very much, and I've no doubt he'd be here to tell you that himself if he could."
He had done terrible things in the past, and was likely doing terrible things in the present. She could already imagine the bender he was likely on after knowing what his child had seen, but he loved the little girl more than anything in the world, and anyone capable of love was capable of being saved.
Elena held a white-knuckled grip on the handle of her coffee cup that was actually filled with coffee at the moment, and waited for Bonnie to say something, anything that would indicate she had processed the brief explanation they had given.
"Bon?" She finally broke the silence.
Bonnie's eyes darted between the vampires on either side of the round table. Elena's message hadn't said anything specific and when she had first stepped into the New York apartment she had assumed a vastly different situation. The brunette answering the door in hastily thrown on clothes with a slightly dazed expression and the casually dressed Original behind her had solidified the image.
"Nothing?" Her eyes found Elijah again. It was jarring seeing him in jeans, like she had been dropped into a foreign country with no idea of the language or customs. "You don't remember anything?"
"All I know is what Elena has told me," his eyes darted to the woman in question, lingering for a moment longer than necessary.
Bonnie wondered if Elena was aware of the affection in his gaze, or the way her body was angled slightly towards him. They hadn't seen each other in nearly a decade, but in less than twenty-four hours they had slipped into their old patterns; the unspoken thing hung between them.
Had she told him about it? Had he sensed it on his own?
Elijah had never given the impression of being a person to trust another easily, but Bonnie saw trust in his eyes.
"Sure she's not lying?" Bonnie flashed her friend a cheeky grin.
"You're hilarious," Elena deadpanned.
"It was just a joke," Bonnie held up her hands defensively. "I know you'd never lie. You could hardly keep a surprise party a secret; seriously, I love you 'Lena, but you've got a bad poker face."
"Can you help?" Elena tipped her mug up to finish the last drags of the coffee; the caffeine left behind a pleasant buzz beneath her skin.
"It would be easier if I knew what happened," Bonnie mused. "I brought candles, because I had a feeling you needed some sort of spell, so I can try to bring up whatever memories you do have."
When Elijah nodded Bonnie began placing the candles evenly around the room. A clear bowl of water was placed on the table beside him. Bonnie dipped her fingers into the liquid and placed them on either side of Elijah's temples.
A murmured incantation lit the candles; Bonnie saw surprise flicker in his gaze. She closed her eyes and concentrated. His willingness made slipping into his mind easier and within seconds she saw things playing out in reverse.
She saw the kiss that had transpired moments before she arrived, being found by Elena on the street, days of wandering and a half dozen dead, a bus stop, a set of cufflinks, a man whose skin was perhaps a shade darker than hers, and a door the colour of blood. Try as she might she couldn't make the wood budge.
She didn't realize how much magic she was expelling until a bead of blood dripped from her nose.
Elena pulled her friend back breaking the contact and the spell before she could cause herself any lasting harm. She wanted to help Elijah but she didn't want anyone getting hurt in the process if she could prevent it.
She pressed a tissue to Bonnie's nose to stem the flow of blood. She was surprised when Elijah didn't inquire after Bonnie's health, but when she turned around she saw why.
The veins beneath his eyes writhed. His jaw was clenched tightly, and his hands held a white-knuckled grip on the edge of her kitchen table. She could see the struggle in his limbs.
"Bonnie," Elena kept her voice calm as she picked up her friend's purse and placed it in her hand, "walk to the door, and do not run."
Bonnie looked up from the tissue in her hand, completely confused by the shift because she hadn't even told them what she had found yet, but then she saw Elijah's eyes: completely black, the whites flooded with blood.
At full power she could have taken an Original but the spell had drained more of her energy than she had thought it would.
"I'll text you," she clutched her bag and turned towards the door.
Bonnie moved a little too fast, she realized it when she heard a whoosh of air and the unmistakable sound of a body being pushed back into a chair.
He saw nothing but red when the blood had started to flow and the only thing that kept him in the chair was the reminder that this woman was her friend. He didn't want to attack her friend, he didn't want her friend to be the seventh victim that fell to his unquenchable thirst, but then she moved and his muscles reacted on instinct to send him hurtling towards the fear soaked blood.
He didn't make it a foot before his body was slammed back into his momentarily vacated chair. The haze in his mind began to clear when he looked up into her dark eyes and felt her hands on his shoulders grounding him in place, but the darkness twisted in the back of his mind; a faceless entity he couldn't identify that shrank away from the light of the woman before him.
"Breathe!"
Her commanding voice penetrated the fog in his mind; it turned gentle when she knew she had his attention.
"Just breathe," her hands moved to cup his cheeks.
Maybe it was the knowledge that he had no true memory of her and their complicated history, or maybe it was the sudden vulnerability in his gaze.
Whatever the reason was did not matter because he was Elijah and she was Elena, and there was that unspoken thing between them that seemed to be shifting and pushing them closer and closer to the lines they had never dared cross.
In a motion she never would have dreamed of making before, she allowed her fingers to ghost over the pulsating veins until his features returned to normal.
She knew something was off with him. He had always been a pillar of self-control, and even without his memories his body still should have reacted as it always had; it shouldn't have taken him the long moment it did to return his features to human.
It was nearly an hour later when Elena found her phone on her bedside table which had nearly blown up with text messages from Bonnie.
BON – everything's locked up tight behind a door.
BON – wouldn't budge
BON – something's wrong with him
BON – it's dark
BON – you should leave it alone
BON – call me
BON – ELENA!
BON – ELENA!
BON – ELENA!
BON – ELENA!
BON – ELENA!
BON – ELENA!
BON – ELENA!
Elena pressed her phone to her ear; it had barely reached the second ring before the call was picked up.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Bon," Elena raked a hand through her hair.
"You should…"
"I'm not going to leave him," she cut off her friend.
"There is something dark in him 'Lena. It's infecting him from the inside out. It got worse when I tried to help; like it was feeding on me, draining my energy."
"Does that mean you won't help?" Elena perched on the edge of her bed. She searched her mind for another witch that might lend her services.
"It means I won't help again until I've got a clear plan."
She could hear Bonnie's sigh over the line. Her friend wanted to stay far away from the oldest living vampire in the world, but she would help because Elena had asked.
"I'll do some research and get back to you; see if I can't figure out what's happening. Elena?"
"Yeah."
"Be careful. I don't think he has control over his bloodlust right now."
Bonnie secured the bandage around her wrist and examined the bowl of her blood on the floor of her bedroom. Her magic had returned by the time she reached Mystic Falls; there was enough for her to create the spell in front of her.
She dipped the totem into the bowl before replacing it in the center of the symbols drawn on her floor in black sand. Closing her eyes she began to chant.
"Locus sua mortenduis la chambre, locus sua mortenduis la chambre."
When she opened her eyes she found herself in the old witch house. The candles flickered to life in every corner of the room just as they had the last time she had turned the cottage into a safe house.
It was a moment before she felt the air shift and heard the unmistakable sound of splintering wood beneath a heavy body.
Crossing her arms she faced off with the half-naked man who hopped to his feet. Her eyes momentarily flickered to his sculpted chest before meeting his burning gaze.
"I would have called, but it seems I don't have your number."
"So you pulled me into a Chambre de Chasse?"
"I would have astral projected, but I just found a new spell." She cocked an eyebrow and looked him over again; this time questioningly. "Was I interrupting something?"
Bonnie tilted her head and stepped closer to him. She had very little to fear from him in the witch house; it was a mindscape that she controlled.
"Let's just say a warning would have been appreciated," his dark eyes flickered over her. "Last time I saw you, you were busy trapping me behind the veil."
"You wanted to unleash hell on earth," she scoffed.
"Yes, well," he smirked, "the idea was rather appealing after being trapped on the Other Side once; it was a walk in the park compared to the Ancestral plain."
Bonnie's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she snapped her jaw shut and shook her head. Her curiosity was one thing that didn't need to be satisfied in that moment, especially since she could sense another witch attempting to break into the chamber.
"I had a reason for this," she gestured to the flickering candles casting shadows along the peeling paint, "I had a run in with Elijah today, and he didn't know who I was, or who he was..."
Bonnie saw something flicker in his eyes.
"He needs help, and I didn't know how else to contact one of you."
He shook his head; the motion was sharp and decisive.
"I can't help you, little witch, and I can't help him."
"You won't help your own brother?" Her eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Can't, Bonnie, there is a difference between won't and can't," he sighed. From the corner of his eye he saw one of the walls starting to melt away and knew there wasn't much time. "None of us can go anywhere near each other."
"What about his memory?" She took a shallow breath and crossed the last step to tip her head back. "I tried unlocking it, opening that door where everything was hidden, but there was something in him; it was like it was… was feeding on me, draining me."
He took her by surprise when he grasped her shoulders and peered down into her eyes.
"You can't help him," he resisted the tug from reality, "he was compelled," he pressed his hand to her mouth to keep her from interrupting, "yes it is possible; I only learned of it after the fact. The compulsion of a vampire and even that of an Original can be undone with magic, but not this one; there is no spell for it, and if you try again to enter his mind the dark magic inside of him will kill you… again."
"How do you know about the magic?" She latched on to the last bit of information. "What is it?"
"Something very old and very powerful…"
Bonnie frowned when his voice became distorted and she was only able to make out a few of the words.
"…no way… Hollow… we… divide… four… run… opposite… if… made whole… destroy… quest… darkness… soul… twist..."
He sat up with a gasp and grunted. His head had collided with something solid.
"Ow…"
"Sorry, love," he caught her before she could tumble off the bed.
"I would have thought after a thousand years you'd have a little more grace than that." She pushed her hair back from her face and fixed him with an annoyed glare.
"I assure you, darling, I am extremely graceful." He blinked the last of the fog from his eyes and smirked. "I've half a mind to show you just how graceful I can be."
She couldn't stop her sudden squeal when he flipped them over and pinned her to the mattress. Using her hands to put a margin of space between them she cocked an eyebrow.
"Where were you?"
"A little witch needed a word," he took her wrists in one of his hands and pinned them over her head. "Nothing to worry about," I hope.
"I know you're not laughing at me," he glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
"Of course not," Elena chewed her bottom lip. She reached out and trailed her fingers over the smooth stone curve of the walking bridge. Urns full of brilliant flowers were placed on top of each pillar sending the sweet smell of hydrangeas to her sensitive nose; beneath their feat the gentle sound of trickling water rose to her ears.
She paused alongside one of the urns and ran her fingertips over the glossy enamel.
"It's just…" she inhaled and turned to meet his eyes. "It's a little surreal," she shrugged, "but yes I can try. I can try, I don't know if I'll be a good teacher, but I'll try."
Elena shifted when he stepped closer and placed either hand on the wide rail of the bridge. Planting her palms on the stone she lifted her body and perched on the bridge so she was an inch taller than him.
"Are you sure?" He searched her warm gaze. "You wouldn't rather run far in the opposite direction: far from the dark?"
She placed her hand over her heart in mock indignation.
"Elijah Mikaelson," she poked his chest with her forefinger, "were you eavesdropping?"
"Forgive me, Elena," he smirked, "it's difficult to ignore your voice."
"That means you definitely heard me say I will not be leaving," she leveled him with a look. "You need my help."
"Not afraid of the dark?" He cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head. "Your friend was right… there is something in me. I heard it whispering when she was in my head; something dark."
"I'm not afraid of the dark, 'Lijah," she drummed her fingers along the bridge and brushed his hand; tiny jolts raced up her arm. "Jeremy was the one terrified of the dark, but I didn't need a night light."
His gaze flickered from her twinkling eyes to her bright smile, even when it was tight lipped she radiated warmth and light; it was a light he wanted to bask in for the rest of his days.
"You didn't need one," he leaned closer as she did, "because you are one; you chase away the demons hiding in the dark."
Within her chest she felt her heart skitter. Had it always done that in his proximity? She wasn't sure, but she did know that the mere sight of him had always been enough to steal the air from her lungs; had to remind herself to breathe on many occasions when she was still human. Even that day in the gazebo the air had stilled in her body.
"I'm beginning to think you have no sense of self-preservation," he covered her left hand with his right, "and that you are far to kind for your own good."
"Should I start practicing cruelty," she searched his eyes, "and spend my life running from the things that go bump in the night?"
"Never," he gave a slight shake of his head, "it would be a shame if the world lost a soul as compassionate as yours."
Her mouth popped open to release a soft laugh. He almost missed the words that floated from between her parted lips.
"'Your compassion is a gift, Elena'." Her voice lacked the malice it had held a decade before, but there was still a hint of sadness for the words that had burned along with her childhood home and her brother's first body. Jeremy had been returned to her, but the house, her journal, and his letter never would.
"I read that in a letter once." She glanced up through her lashes to see his confused look.
"The writer sounds positively inspired," he smiled.
There was no hint of cockiness in the angle of his mouth or the shade of his eyes; he truly believed the words he had written her in apology.
Elena's tongue darted out to whet her lips. She tilted her head slightly and examined the sincerity of his gaze.
"Are you sure you don't remember anything?"
"Positive," he nodded. "In fact I think I might be forgetting a few things."
Elena felt her heart flutter again when he flashed a wolfish smirk that was so out of character with the man she had known. He had always been so serious, weighed down by his familial ties and the burden of the eldest brother; it couldn't have been easy tempering his younger siblings and remaining the level-headed one.
She liked the carefree version of him, the vampire burdened only by his conscious and the human lives he had taken. He seemed lighter after spending the day in her company. There was still worry in him but he wasn't tainted by a thousand years of life, or haunted by the ghosts of women he had loved and lost in the pursuit of protecting his family.
She knew when he looked at her that he was only seeing her.
"And what are you forgetting?" Her eyes twinkled; his playful attitude was contagious.
He lifted his free hand to her face slowly, trailing his strong fingers up her arm and over her neck in a near touch that set her skin on fire.
"I cannot seem to recall the taste of your lips," his thumb swiped over her bottom lip lightly.
"I would hate for you to forget anything else," she grinned.
Maybe it was selfish of her to long for his touch, but she had always liked him. She had always craved him, his company, and since the return of her emotions his kiss. His mouth had molded to hers that day in a way nobody had done before or managed to do since.
She liked him. She could admit that in her mind.
She didn't know how he would react to this when his memory returned, because she knew it was a matter of when not if, but as long as he wanted her, as long as he was going to acknowledge that which had always been unspoken, she was going to let him.
Before they could close the few inches of space between them Elena's attention was diverted by a crinkling sound by her ear and the sudden smell of putrid vegetation.
"What the hell?" She turned to the hydrangeas now drained of life before finding Elijah's eyes, but his own attention had been stolen by a figure on the other side of the bridge. "Elijah?"
"That's him."
She didn't need to ask who the 'him' was; there was only one 'him' who held any type of significance to Elijah, so when he squeezed her hand and gave her a pleading look that begged her to stay put and out of harm's way she nodded.
She hopped down onto the stones of the bridge when he flashed off in search of the one man who could give him answers. She had every intention of waiting right there on the bridge, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would come back, when there was a rush of wind.
When her body stilled she was standing in the shadows just outside the light from the lamppost, her back pressed to the rough bark of a maple tree.
Elena felt her eyes grow wide when she focused on her assailant; she knew the moment their eyes locked that she had no chance of fighting her way out.
"Rebekah."
"The Hollow's too powerful. It's gonna tempt him to try to get back with his siblings. If we don't do this the Hollow's gonna come back."
Vincent's words echoed in the back of his mind.
Had it really only been a week since he had sent him from New Orleans? Had it really only been a week since the request had been made?
He slowed his pace when he was far enough away from the bridge and turned to face the Original who had followed him. He had thought he would have to physically remove Elijah from the scene but it appeared the quest for answers was at the forefront of his mind.
"Who are you?"
He ignored the question and straightened his spine; even knowing that he was stronger than the vampire before him made standing tall difficult. In the accusatory stare of Elijah he felt like a child again who had gotten in trouble for some random prank at the plantation.
"You need to leave the city, Elijah."
"Why?" His eyes narrowed at the use of his given name.
Why? He internally scoffed. Because staying is certain death to millions… because you should get as far from your siblings as possible; preferably another continent.
"Because I am telling you to," he took what he hoped was a menacing step forward. "Leave and don't look back. I'll give you twenty-four hours and if you're still here I'll kill you and your friend."
He heard the derisive snort.
"I'm given to understand nothing can kill an Original."
He just kept his face neutral at the title. Whoever the woman was on the bridge clearly had known him before and filled in a few blanks; chances were if she knew him then she probably knew what had happened to him.
"There are a few things," he tilted his head, "a white oak stake, a powerful witch, and my bite." He heard the chime of an incoming text message. "Why don't you ask her? If she knew you before I'm certain she could tell you how you died once already."
Elijah's eyes grew round when the man flashed away.
"My brother's disease has always been blind devotion to my Klaus. A thousand years and whenever he has needed Elijah, he has been there, and no matter what he did… He was at the complete mercy of that devotion."
Elena's eyes were round as the Original finished explaining what had happened; if it was all true then Rebekah had taken a great risk getting so close to him.
"Why are you telling me this?"
Rebekah took a step back towards the path and looked towards the bridge.
"I considered killing you, I've wanted to for years, but I…" she sighed. "There is something between the two of you Elena. I've always known it, but it seems to have grown stronger now. He's stopped fighting it. I think… I think you might be good for him."
She could see the strength it had taken the Original to utter those words.
"He was in love with you," Rebekah crossed her arms over her chest. It was true; it didn't matter who her noble brother had been with because there had always been feelings for the latest doppelganger underneath. He would eagerly take any news of her that reached him. "He might not have even realized it, but anyone who was paying attention could see that he cared for you, and somehow, in spite of willingly giving up his memories, I think he still is."
In the back of her mind Rebekah wondered how he would have reacted to Hayley had she been the first to find him.
"If anyone can convince him to stop digging into his past it's you," she sighed, "and I know you'll do it because if he remembers, if he keeps doing it she could get hurt."
"You can't just tell him all of this yourself?" Elena cocked an eyebrow.
"Do you see the flowers?" Rebekah pointed to the urns on the bridge. "That was when I was still a quarter mile away. The closer we come to each other the stronger the pull of the dark magic and the greater the chance it will rejoin."
"You ever heard of a phone?"
"From me all of this will mean nothing, Elena, don't you get that?" Rebekah sighed. "I'm not his sister anymore. I'm not a trusted ally. I am a complete stranger to him; a woman he cares nothing for. But you…" she waved to Elena, "… you're…" the love of his life, "… a friend. You are someone he trusts."
Elena pushed her hands back through her hair and held the back of her neck before meeting the sorrow filled blue eyes.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Convince him to trust his own decisions," Rebekah stepped back into the shadows, "to make a life somewhere else."
Elena nodded, it pained her to think him spending an eternity apart from his family but with a child's life on the line she would comply. She didn't think it would be Elijah's devotion to his family that brought him back in the end though, his blind loyalty to Klaus was gone, 'always and forever' was gone.
Rebekah breathed a sigh of relief and moved to leave. She paused when Elena called out to her from the trail.
"How did you know where to find him?"
Elena tilted her head when she saw the small smile playing at the blonde's lips.
"Kol received a rather alarming message from a little witch," she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "who mentioned running into Elijah in New York. Except this witch doesn't live anywhere near the city, but…"
"Her vampire friend does," Elena sighed.
"Yeah," Rebekah nodded. She was getting ready to leave again, the whispers were starting in the back of her mind signifying the eminent arrival of her brother, but she paused to look back to the brunette who had moved to stand in the beam of from the lamp; the light illuminated her olive skin.
"Elena?"
She turned her attention to the blonde and nodded once to show she was listening.
"Take care of my brother."
Elena was still staring into the night when Elijah found her a few moments later. She sensed his frown when he smelt a competing perfume on her skin.
"Are you alright?" He reached instinctively for her elbow. Something about the lingering smell around her set him on edge, which he found strange as it was an otherwise pleasant floral mixture.
"I'm fine," she nodded, "I just had a little chat with an old acquaintance." She lifted her eyes to his searching gaze and filled in the rest of the information: "your sister. There are some things we need to talk about."
What do you think?
Remember when I said this wouldn't be overly long? Buckle up kids it might turn into something bigger.
For anyone curious about what the full explanation was:
"There is no way to stop the Hollow. The only thing we could do was divide it between the four of us and run to opposite ends of the earth. If the Hollow is ever made whole again she will destroy everything in her quest for more power. She will take whatever darkness resides in a person's soul and twist it to her bidding."
