No One's POV

"They've lured you here for a reason, Niklaus." Elijah tells his brother, a contemplative and brooding expression on his face; he had been that way since Niklaus had gotten the message, the letter, vague clues that had lured him to return to the Crescent City.

"Yes, clearly, Elijah." Niklaus snarks, rolling his eyes at his elder brother at such an obvious statement as he and his siblings gather together in an old colonial-style manor they had claimed upon returning to New Orleans; unsure of their long term stay in New Orleans, it was more of a- borrowing situation.

"Whatever is going on between Marcel and the witches… It's clearly dire enough that they'd risk bringing an Original back to town…" Elijah continues, ignoring his brother's irritation, shifting his weight as he attempts to mull over the information he had gathered earlier from the rather secretive meeting with one of the witches, Sophie. "I'd like to know why."

"Yes, well while you play detective… I'm off to visit an old friend." Niklaus replies a bit flippantly, moving towards the door to leave and meet up with Marcel; Niklaus had already had one run in with his previous protégé, learning only briefly that Marcel had claimed the Quarter in the absence of the Original family.

"If this has anything to do with witches and magic…" Kol sighs as if put out. "Count me in… Unfortunately. Why do you always have to drag us into things, brother?" He complains.

"Speak for yourself, Kol." Niklaus fires back with a look before walking out of the house.

"This is sacred ground, which means vampires have to be invited in. But, since I'm desperate... Come on in." Sophie invites both Elijah and Kol in. "However, I wasn't expecting… Two."

"Our family founded New Orleans and the Quarter, witch." Kol fires back with some contempt. "And, I help found the French Quarter Coven… Check your history books and show a little respect." He sneers a little.

"We can talk freely here." Sophie simply answers, her posture stiff as she leads them through the cemetery, obviously uncomfortably in the presence of two vampires, Original vampires, at that.

"Then I suggest you start talking. What did your sister want with our brother?"

"Isn't it obvious? We have a vampire problem, and we need help. Marcel has an army backing him. The witches have been trying to fight back. We haven't had much luck, until my sister Jane-Anne met a girl, a werewolf passing through the Quarter from a small town in Virginia. She had a special connection to your brother."

"What kind of connection?"

"Apparently, they spent some time together. One thing led to another and now this special werewolf girl- she's pregnant. And the father of the child, is you brother Klaus." Sophie answers.

"That's impossible." Elijah denies.

"Nothing is impossible, especially not when it comes to your brother. Think about it, they call him the Hybrid, right? Bring her out!" Sophie calls out louder.

"Who the hell are you?" Hayley snipes, glaring a little as she is brought out by three other witches.

"Give us a moment, please." Elijah requests.

"So, have they been holding you here against your will?" Elijah asks after the French Quarter witches have left the crypt.

"They lured me out to the Bayou and grabbed me. And they did all these... Weird witchy tests. Not that I understand how this could happen. I mean, vampires are dead. They can't have children!" Hayley appears stressed and clearly upset.

"I'm Hayley, by the way. You should probably know my name if you're gonna tell me your whole life story. I mean, I know yours. Your family is legendary. Your brother is a notorious psycho... Who I slept with. Classic me." Hayley says, her tone a bit flippant at the end.

"I cannot excuse his behavior, but you must understand, when our father hunted him- hunted us- for centuries, every time we found a moment of happiness, we were forced to flee… Even here, in New Orleans, where we were happiest of all. Niklaus eventually broke the spell that prevented him from becoming a Hybrid and he killed our father. I thought that would make him happy. I believed he would find peace…" Elijah explains to Hayley, Kol remaining quiet the entire time, and Elijah somewhat reflective about the whole thing; Genesis had changed much for the Mikaelson family, but in a way, Genesis was something even Elijah felt this girl, no woman, had no right to know about, Genesis was a secret, a treasure, just for them. "I wonder if perhaps this baby might be a way for my brother to find happiness. A way to give him something that he's missing."

"I'm glad you feel that way, because we need your help." Sophie re-enters the crypt.

"What, precisely, is it that you want and what does it have to do with this young woman?" Elijah questions; that was the crux of the entire issue, wasn't it?

"We want to run Marcel and his vampires out of town. Klaus is the key. Everything Marcel knows about being a vampire, he learned from Klaus. Marcel trusts him, looks up to him, and he won't see the betrayal coming."

"Yes, well, as I'm sure you're aware, my brother, Niklaus, doesn't like to be told what to do." Elijah replies primly, Kol snorting at that; it was an understatement of the century.

"That's why I brought you here. Marcel drove the werewolves out of town decades ago. Do you really think he's going to welcome a hybrid baby to the neighborhood? Convince Klaus to help us, and no one has to know about the newest member of the Original family."

"That sounds remarkably like blackmail." Kol offers, narrowing his eyes.

"Like I said, I'm desperate." Sophie turns her gaze towards Kol.

"Well, then, it looks like we have our work cut out for us, don't we?" Elijah settles his gaze on the witches.

"So…" Niklaus asks his older brother, now having returned to the mansion they had acquired. "Any news?"

"I believe I just found out who has been conspiring against you." Elijah joins his brother on the porch.

"No. It's impossible." Niklaus shakes his head, now back at the cemetery with Elijah to see for himself the truth or lie.

"I said the same thing myself."

"This is a lie. You are all lying. Vampires cannot procreate."

"But werewolves can. Magic made you a vampire, but you were born a werewolf. You're the Original Hybrid, the first of your kind. And this pregnancy is one of nature's loopholes." Sophie answers.

"You've been with someone else, admit it!" Niklaus screams a bit hysterically at Hayley.

"Hey, I've spent days held captive in a freaking alligator bayou because they think that I'm carrying some magical miracle baby. Don't you think I would've fessed up if it wasn't yours?"

"My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy. Because of Jane-Anne's sacrifice, the lives of this girl and her baby are now controlled by us. We can keep them safe. Or, we can kill them. If you don't help us take down Marcel, so help me, Hayley won't live long enough to see her first maternity dress." Sophie interjects, a clear threat in her expression and stance.

"Wait, what?" Hayley says, this clear news to her.

"Enough of this. If you want Marcel dead, he's dead. I'll do it myself." Elijah says firmly, his hand coming out in a firm pause motion.

"No. We can't, not yet. We have a clear plan that we need to follow, and there are rules." Sophie once more tries to control the situation.

"How dare you command me, threaten me, with what you wrongfully perceive to be my weaknesses. This is a pathetic deception. I won't hear any more lies." Niklaus snarls, eyes tinting slightly.

"Niklaus! Listen." Elijah tells his brother.

"Kill her and the baby. What do I care?" Niklaus snarls before turning to leave.

"Screw this. I'm out of here!" Hayley glares, fire lighting up in her expression at the dismissal in Niklaus' eyes and the situation.

"No one touches the girl. I'll fix this."

"Niklaus." Elijah flashes towards his younger brother.

"It's a trick, Elijah."

"No, brother. It's gift. It's your chance- it's our chance." Elijah pleads slightly.

"To what?"

"To start over. Take back everything we lost, everything that was taken from us. Niklaus, our own parents came to despise us. Our family was ruined- we were ruined. And since then, all that you have ever wanted- all that we have ever wanted was a family."

"I will not be manipulated." Niklaus answers firmly.

"So they're manipulating you. So what? With them, this girl and her child, your child, you can live." Elijah answers, flashing once more in front of his brother.

"I'm gonna kill every last one of them." Niklaus snarls, shoving his brother away.

"And then what? Then, you return to Mystic Falls to resume your life as the hated one, as the evil Hybrid? Is it so important to you that people quake with fear at the sound of your name?"

"People quake with fear because I have the power to make them afraid. What will this child offer me? Will it guarantee me power?" Niklaus questions; in truth, Niklaus did want family, he prized it more than anything, but his father had left too many scars and memories.

"Family is power, Niklaus. Love, loyalty- that's power. This is what we swore to one another a thousand years ago, before life tore away what little humanity you had left, before ego, before anger, before paranoia created in this person before me someone I can barely even recognize as my own brother. This is us, the Original family, and we remain together, always and forever. I am asking you to stay here. I will help you and I will stand by you. I will be your brother. We will build a home here together. So save this girl. Save your child."

"No." Niklaus answers, meeting his brother's gaze before walking away.

"Marcel and his vampires are out of control. Something had to be done."

"And the solution is to bring in more vampires?" Agnes questions, clearly also questioning this plan.

"These aren't just any vampires, Agnes. They're the Originals."

"What makes you think you can control the Hybrid?"

"She can't. I'm not entirely certain that I can, either. But now that your coven has drawn his ire, I have a question: What prevents my brother from murdering you instead of cooperating?" Elijah appears, leaning casually against the wall of the crypt.

"Ow!" Hayley yelps, a drop of blood appearing where Sophie had hurt herself. "What the hell!?"

"The spell my sister performed, the one that got her killed? It didn't just confirm the pregnancy. It linked me to Hayley. So anything that happens to me, happens to her, which means her life is in my hands. Klaus may not care about his own child, but it's very clear what it already means to you. If I have to hurt Hayley, or worse, to ensure that I have your attention, I will." Sophie threatens Elijah.

"You would dare threaten an Original?" Elijah looks amused, yet inside he is less than amused; he may be the more moral and tolerant of the Original family, but he was still an Original and demanded respect.

"I have nothing to lose." Sophie answers. "You have until midnight to get Klaus to change his mind."

In that case, Elijah thought, perhaps drastic measures were to be take on their side.

The skies rumbled with thunder, lightning flashing in the skies as the clouds darkened, and rain pelted the ground in sheets.

"Hello Genesis." Elijah greeted the youngest Archangel as she appears without preamble in the middle of the living room.

"You called?" Genesis tilts her head.

Guess who's back! (:

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Polkadottedgiraffe11