Hey guys. Sorry it's been so long since I updated. I didn't want to force the story and wanted to wait until I had something at least kinda quality to post. But I got a few really cool things planned out for this fic, so hopefully I should be posting more soon.
I wanted to say thank you so much for all the positive reviews, follows, and favorites. It is just truly amazing!
Anyways, some of our favorite The Originals' characters are going to start making an appearance in this and the upcoming chapters.
This isn't going to follow TO season one completely, but it is going to takes some of the elements and a twist on some of the story lines. So just keep that in mind as the fic goes on.
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Sophie Deveraux's boots made a soft clunk on the ground as she made her way down the street. Darkness had fallen, and all of the quarter was lit up. Tourists and locals alike crowded the streets, their buzzes already going strong. As much as she wanted to be one of them, not a care in the world but how bad tomorrow's hangover was going to be, she had another mission in her mind. Sabine had stressed the importance of the meeting of the remaining New Orleans witches. Tensions had never been more of a high. The death of her sister weighed heavily on all of them, their coven growing smaller as casualties of the vampire wars built up. There was a time when the problems of vampires were far away from the witches. But times change, and now it seemed like they had no choice but to be drug into it.
Jane-Anne. The name echoed in Sophie's mind. Her older sister was always the strong one of the two, the one who had the plan. Meanwhile Sophie was the rebellious one, the wild child who didn't want anything to do with their family, or their coven. But after The Harvest, that all changed. Jane Anne died to pave of the way to right things, and now Sophie was going to make sure her only sister didn't die in vain.
The shop was dark, a closed sign posted out front. The fall was a heavy tourist time for New Orleans, and she knew Katie was losing some hefty business closing for tonight. The blinds were shut, and anyone else walking by would assume that the inside was empty. Sophie raised her hand and rapped her knuckles on the door three times, pausing before the third knock. A little secret code. There used to be a time where code and hidden meetings weren't needed. But the witches were suppressed, and everything had to be done in secret.
The blinds folded as a finger drew them down just enough to glimpse at the witch. The lock clicked as Sophie came face to face with Sabine. After Sophie left the fold to travel, or more importantly, get an inside look at the dive bars across the country through alcohol induced glasses, she lost most of the connections she had in the community. When she came back to work at the bar she was still exiled by most that she grew up in. Sabine however welcomed her old friend with open arms. A warm smile met Sophie's somber face. "Late, as always." Though her words were scolding her voice was as warm as the caramel color of her skin.
A semblance of a smile quirked on Sophie's lips. "Let's just get this over with." A week. It had been one week since her sister's body was found in the quarter. A week was not nearly enough time to grieve. Mourning had to be put to the side so that Jane-Anne's death could not be in vein. There weren't many witches there, after all not many of them were behind the radical plan to finish the Harvest and restore their power. Katie sat perched on the counter. Bastiana and Agnes, the only remaining elders stood regally against one of the walls.
Katie touched Sophie's shoulder as she walked by, a move of comfort. Sophie shrugged it off, she had a mission to keep to and no time for grieving. Not yet at least. Agnes spoke from the darkened corner of the shop, her voice cracking with age. "We are not here to remember Jane-Anne, or to mourn her. Our coven sister will be put to rest with the ancestors soon, but for now—"
Anger rose in Sophie like bile from her throat. Her silence and somber being broke as the red hot fury expelled from her. "Bullshit. My sister gave her life for this coven, to save it. Don't play her down like some no name war casualty!" Sophie's dark eyes blazed in fury, but Agnes lifted a finger. Even as an adult, Sophie still had fear and some respect for Agnes.
"We acknowledge she sacrificed herself for the good of this coven. But we have to set aside our difference to make sure that what she died for won't go to waste." Agnes was one of those that disapproved of Sophie leaving the coven, and even more of her coming back. "Jane-Anne's last spell, the one that cost her own life con-"
Again, white hot anger caused Sophie to bust again. "Cost her own life? The spell didn't kill her, the magick didn't kill her. A vampire did! A henchman for Marcel snapped her neck for doing magick in the quarter!" A hot tear fell from her face, her anger mixing the grief she had been trying to push away.
Agnes once again shot Sophie a look, momentarily silencing her. "Like I was saying, her last spell that caused her death, confirmed what we had hoped. The Slayer has come to New Orleans." Agnes glanced at Bastianna, who had a mix of fear and anticipation on her face. Katie and Sophie, the younger members of the coven, still didn't understand what was so important about the Slayer that Jane-Anne had to give her life for the cause.
Bastianna finally spoke out, her voice even more aged then Agnes'. "A Slayer is the vampire's natural enemy. She is not some hunter with a crossbow and vengeance in her heart. She is not one of The Five, cursed to hunt them. She is something much more and powerful than them." Sophie still didn't understand the big deal about this Slayer chick. She may be a bad ass and whatever, but they were living in a city not only overrun with vampires, but hosting two of the Original creatures. "The Slayer's power is routed in darkness, the kind of unnatural darkness that our ancestors fought against. But she may be our only hope to take our city back. She alone might be able to break Marcel's reign, maybe even snuff out his line."
Sophie saw Sabine's eyes widen. Taking out his line would mean killing Klaus, the unkillable hybrid. "This is why my sister is six feet under right now! For this fairy tale notion. Klaus can't be killed, we know that now. The White Oak Stake, the Dagger, none of them can do anything. He is the definition of immortal. Why are we wasting our time?" Her voice was seething, the anger spilling out in a never ending river of outbursts.
"Hush, Sophie!" Bastiana's voice was harsh, commanding. She locked eyes with Sophie, threat behind those pupils. "The Slayer is more than just a girl. Her ancestry is the line in dozens of dozens of prophecies. This one in particular has made a name for herself. She could be the one."
Bastiana glanced over to Agnes, silently handing the attention to the other elder. "She may be the one to end the race of vampires for good."
"Niklaus, you brought a Slayer into our home. Do you ever learn, Brother?" Buffy's head snapped up, he eyes landing on a man resting half way down the staircase nearby. No, not a man. A vampire. He was well dressed, even at a party like this he looked at home in a neatly pressed suit. His whole stance screamed power and control. Brother. Surely this wasn't the brother that she had caught snippets of in Giles research. Klaus was the Original with the most information on him, mostly documenting his killings and writing about him with the kind of reverence that only comes with fear. But there was another brother she read about. Her stomach made a squicky noise as she thought of it. Klaus was a monster, this became apparent more and more as she spent time with him. But all the blood he shed was for something, power or personal gain. But this brother she read about, he liked violence for the sake of it.
"Elijah! Good of you to join the party, dear Brother." While Klaus' tone was gleeful as a large smile formed on his face, there was something not entirely pleasant behind it. Almost threatening if she knew any better. Okay, yeah she knew better and she could spot a threat a mile away. While they greeted each other as brothers, there was hostility there. Part of Buffy was eager to know more, store it away for another night sleeping on top of books while she attempting to form the most cut and paste kind of plan she could. But her instincts were screaming at her to run. She pulled away from Klaus quickly, opening the gap between their bodies. As she pulled away, his hand around her waist stayed for a few moments. It seemed as he was reluctant to let it fall to his side once again. But as his hand dropped from her waist, the warmed skin exposed itself to the slightly cooler New Orleans Autumn.
The well-dressed man made his way down the rest of the stairs with a grace that not many others could have pulled off. Buffy, what the hell have you gotten yourself into this time? How about we don't do the whole sibling reunion thing and just get the hell outta here. Her thoughts waged war in her head. She was so close to getting information out of Klaus before his brother arrived. She craved to know more of those that came before her, but it was more than that she was craving. No, no you are just eager to move forward. The whole stationary thing, never your gig. Kicking a little vampire ass, that's your thing.
"You fail to address that the woman is a slayer and standing in our home. She is our enemy, Klaus. Yet you bring her into our home as a guest. Have you no sense of mind?" His words were even and precise, but held power underneath them. Klaus' smile faltered as the suited vampire descended down the stairs, landing in front of the Slayer.
"You are being rude, Elijah." Tension had entered Klaus' voice. Buffy took a step back from the vampires and grabbed for the stake hidden in her dress. If he was Klaus' brother and an Original, the stake wouldn't kill him. But she was banking on it hurting him like hell. "The Slayer is a guest in our estate tonight, and should be treated as such."
With that, Buffy's silence broke. It's been too much for one day, too much information and too much crazy wiggyness that she had yet to sort through in her mind. He voice raised as she spoke. "Let's not do the awkward silence thing. Okay, first of all, I have a name. Buffy. B-uff-y. Sound it out, write it down. Okay, got it. Slayer, more like a job title. You wouldn't call a plumber The Plumber. Or maybe you would, but -," Her voice cut out for a second as she tried to gather her thoughts. This wasn't going anywhere near planned. But then again, nothing since she had gotten to the old city had been. "Second of all, whatever freaky brother thing you got going on here, leave me out of it. I'm all for a little vamp violence, but you two have issues. And, and I am not your guest!" Her voice rang out between the brothers with the last statement. "I am here to find out what happened to the last slayers and get the hell outta dodge. Or New Orleans. Is there even a place called dodge?" She mused, her voice lowering slightly.
There was a moment of silence where the brothers looked between each other and Buffy. She wasn't quite sure she liked the silence, since it tended to be followed by violence in her experience. Then a slow clapping noise broke the silence. Buffy's eyes followed the brother as he moved closer to her, his hands clapping together in a mock way. She moved her feet apart, already assuming fighting stance. The other members of the party seemed far away, lost in their own little worlds. She wondered if they had been compelled to ignore anything of the sort.
"Buffy was it? You are right, you are not a guest in our home, you are prey. My brother was foolish to invite you here tonight. I have no idea Niklaus' plan but I can assure you it is not in your best -." Buffy watched as the brother circled her. He was like a hawk moving closer and closer on its hunt. If there was one thing Buffy wasn't, it was prey. Her eyes never left him as she waited for her move. If it was kill or be killed, well she certainly wasn't going to be the latter.
Before he could finish her statement, she saw her opening. Her leg swung out, hitting him in the side of the ribs. She knew from her fight with Klaus himself that it wouldn't put him out for long, or possibly at all. But a satisfied smile crossed her face as she heard the crack of his ribs. "Listen here, I don't know what you got going on here, and personally the whole Donald Trump suit thing gives me the wiggins. But I am not your prey."
The Original recovered quickly, his hand wrapped around Buffy's ankle and twisted. She let out a small cry, her face contorted with pain. It wasn't a break, but the twist hurt like hell. She was no stranger to pain. The vampire lunged forward at Buffy, and she prepared herself for his attack. She waiting to feel the equally bracing feeling of his lunge and her body hitting the ground. Instead she felt an arm around her waist. When she looked up, Klaus had caught her fall. It was only a split second that his arm was around her waist once again. Her eyes looked up into his as a million thoughts ran into her head. Why had he saved her from his brother? If his plan had been to bring her to a sharp and teethy death tonight, then why didn't he just let his brother finish it for him? It was fairly freaksome.
Her thoughts were as she saw Klaus' face change. The veins under his eyes started grow and darken, as his eyes turned a golden shade of yellow. "She is mine." His voice came out as growl. It was that growl more than anything that broke Buffy out of her vivid thoughts. Without a moments more hesitation, she took the stake that had now been gripped in her hand and drove it into his stomach.
A guttural scream issued into the air. Again, the guests remained oblivious. They must have been compelled as she was sure anyone in a three block radius must have heard that. She knew her blow wouldn't kill him, but it would due to drive her point home. She wrenched the bloody stake from his stomach with a wicked squicky noise.
Klaus was doubled over as his pressed his hand over his wound. His mouth slightly open as his shocked eyes found the blonde Slayers. Her own green orbs found his, sparking with ferocity and passion of some kind. "I am not yours. I will never be yours. You are a monster." She spit out. Her tone could freeze water. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but I'm not one for a quick round of monopoly. This, this whole ball thing with the compelled humans, what are they, just happy meals on legs? This is sick, you're sick."
She looked down on the hybrid with disgust but was shocked to see a small smile on his face through the grimace of pain. "You knew I was a monster, love. But still you came. Because part of you wanted to see what it was like, your curiosity drove you. We're made of the same darkness, two sides of the same coin, sweetheart."
Buffy didn't want to hear anymore. With all over her strength, she ran from the estate as fast as she could, leaving the two brothers, her unanswered questions, and one night in extreme hellsville behind her.
Only in a place like New Orleans could Buffy not attract stares walking down the quarter in a white dress that should have a high voltage sign on it and blood splattered on the stomach. The dress was a reminded of everything this evening had been. A gift from Klaus, an invitation to a sadistic all you can eat buffet party, and you know, the blood. Staking Klaus had been an impulsive mood and one she knew he wasn't going to forgive so easily. So what, why would you want his forgiveness? He's a vampire, he's like the king of vampires. The whole mortal enemy thing pretty much underlines it. She mentally scolded herself. Although having a pissed off unkillable Original on her hand wasn't exactly the high light of her day. It would be so much easier if she could just kill him and get it over with. You know, before he started with the Buffy shaped bite fest. But there was something else there too. She staked him, and he didn't go after her. For the first four blocks, she expected to look over her shoulder and see him standing there with the typical big bad look of vengeance. But he didn't. What he said, two sides of the same coin? What did that mean?
There it was again, the reminder of why she was here, why she couldn't kill him even if she had the means to. He had something she needed. A weapon, even a hostage, that she could devise a plan full of back entrances and maybe a new stealth worthy outfit. But information, well this was trickier to get. He wasn't Willy the Snitch, she couldn't beat it out him. It seemed like all she could do was keep putting herself in situations where vulnerable was an understatement and see if she could get any closer to her goal. But it wasn't just that, he didn't seem to want to kill her. Which made her even the more nervous. We are made of the same darkness. What did that mean? Was whatever behind those words the reason she felt so wiggy around him. It was like someone put the wicca worthy love whammy on her. When they were dancing, there was something. No, nothing. You were just all freaked out by the Cinderella ball from hell. But his words were of the cryptic and that was something Buffy wasn't a fan of. She likes things she could touch, things she could hit, but cryptic-ness, that lead to the land of no good.
As she was lost in her own thoughts, she felt her phone vibrate. The whole thing about going to a party in a dress, not much places for storage. Her phone was wedged in her bra, and the vibrations almost made her jump a few feet in the air as it startled her. She pulled the white IPhone out. She really wasn't in the talky mood. But as she glanced down at the screen she saw the bold letters spelling out MOM. She hadn't really had time to talk to her mother since she had been in New Orleans. She knew her mother would be of the worrysome. It was hard for her to grasp that her only daughter had dropped out of college to chase around a thousand year old vampire while searching for her origins. It's not really something they write about in those 'be a better parent' books. But Joyce had let Buffy go, and that was something. Over the past few years she had slowly come a little more accustom to the slayer thing. Buffy knew it wasn't easy on her though. So Buffy's finger slid across the glass as she held the phone up to her ear.
"Hey Mom. How's things going in the Dale of Sunny?" She forced her voice to sound more cheerful, and not like she just had a confrontation with evil with an extra side of evil. She perched her body on the ledge of a nearby shop, dirtying up the already blood stained dress. This is the last time she wears white when slayage is involved.
"Oh you know, same old same old. Willow stopped by yesterday to drop off some cookies. She says hi. Oh and we got a new exhibit at the museum. Asian pottery from the Ming dynasty. Should bring in some more business." While she sounded excited, Buffy could hear something in her mom's voice. She sounded tired and well, a different kind of tired.
"Oh good, more Claymation from our friends the dead emperors. I'm sure Giles will be thrilled, as long as no hellmouthy possession goes on. Not sure if he's forgiven you for the zombie mask from hell. This is why we don't hang ancient and ugly artifacts in the house Mom."
Buffy heard her mother's laugh on phone. A smile crept on her face. Hearing the familiarity of her mother was something she didn't know she needed until now. "So is this a 'check up on your rogue daughter' kinda call, or is there something of the wiggy going on?" Buffy had been nervous about leaving the hell mouth slayerless. Giles and the scoobies assured her they had it handled and if anything apocalypse-y came up they'd be sure to ring the Buffy bat line right away. But that didn't entirely ease her worries.
"No wiggy. Seems like the monsters took a vacation." Her mother stated, but something in her voice made Buffy weary. If it wasn't big bads and the like, that what made her mother sound so worried?
"Mom, what's wrong?" Concern leaked out of Buffy's voice. Giles, Xander, all of them thought this rogue mission of Buffy's was reckless. But it wasn't herself that she was worried about. What if her little 'find myself' mission left her friends and mother unprotected. She would never forgive herself if they died because of her.
"Oh I'm just tired, honey. You know, a lotta work at the Gallery lately." Buffy wasn't completely reassured, but the conversation turned towards other things. But at the end of the phone call Buffy was left with an unsettling feeling that was not of the good. There was something wrong, she could feel it in her bones, and her spidey sense was tingling.