Chapter Six: Faded

"You were the shadow to my light

Did you feel us?

Where are you now?

Another dream

The monster's running wild inside of me

I'm faded…"

-Alan Walker

Ooo0ooO

Ever since Sophie Devereux first laid eyes on Annabelle Davis, she knew that she had looked into the eyes of the person who would either bring her death or her salvation. Or at least, that was what was foretold.

Weeks before Hayley and Anna were lured down into New Orleans, weeks before any plans had been set into motion, Sophie had had a dream.

She dreamt of a woman with both silver and gold eyes, a woman who was of old blood, a woman turned Hybrid by the monster whose name was most feared in the world. She saw the fire and the death long before it occurred, she saw the war happening before sides were drawn, and she saw a choice, a choice that she would have to make that would either lead to her death or would change her life forever.

So when the witches lost in initial battle against Annabelle and the werewolves in New Orleans, she thought that making the choice to sell her soul was the choice that had been foretold.

She had been wrong. This choice had only been one of the many made between then and now. It had been too late for her to change her mind, too late for her to get her soul back and for the demon she had summoned to return to whatever part of hell it had risen from.

Now it walked alongside with her, taking over the body of a young warlock that Sophie had used as a sacrifice so the demon could inhabit a body. The warlock had been named Ezra and now their body was home to a very old and very powerful being that manipulated the magicks the warlock had the power to conjure into something dark, darker than anything Sophie had encountered. It seemed like the earth around the demon withered and died.

It had promised Sophie revenge for her sister's death. It promised Sophie powers that she couldn't even imagine. It promised her a throne, where she could rule as one of the most powerful witches known, so powerful even Klaus would run and hide when her name was spoken.

At first, that all had seemed so appealing. Sophie could all but taste that power, but now that taste had turned bitter and metallic in her mouth as the weeks passed.

Now the witches were gathering in the east, worshippers of darker magicks that were drawn to the demon Abaddon and more promises of great power. Their numbers swelled and the news of the inevitable war spread across the country, even across the globe.

And Sophie found herself alone, doubting herself and afraid of the situation she had found herself in. She found it both cruel and ironic that she could feel doubt and fear even without her soul. She had thought she would have been like Annabelle had been when under Celeste's control, mindless and bloodthirsty, but instead she was more frightened than ever.

The control the demon had over Sophie and the others was different than how Celeste controlled others. The demon was seductive by nature, using its words and magic to fill its followers with cruel intentions and the feeling of importance, like this was their destiny to carry out the demon's wishes, to kill the vampire and werewolf races.

Sophie dreaded what this would mean if they were to be successful. When she had been younger, the older witches had stressed out the use of magic came with a price, for the world depended on balance and without balance, chaos would ensue. Even with the simplest of spells, young witches and warlocks learned how to keep the scales balanced. Sophie knew that more powerful spells, like those used by the Original Witch to create the vampires and the Hybrid Klaus, had created devastating after effects, for the balance in the world had tilted from a kind of darkness that had been created. That was why hunters and warriors had been born, wired to hunt down and kill these monsters. That was why white oak trees had been planted, because only stakes made from their branches could actually kill an Original.

But if two races were to be completely slaughtered, and if the witches were too rule on the grounds soaked by that blood, Sophie feared that even worse things would be created from that imbalance. She feared that Abaddon would crack the earth to allow for their fellow demons to once again walk the earth. She feared that things only told in stories would come true and that the world would fall into despair and chaos, and no one would survive once it had destroyed itself.

Even now, she watched as the demon walked in front of the witches, its black eyes gleaming like two pools of oil, its lips curved into a wicked smile.

Sophie knew that the choice she would have to face was because of the decisions she had made. It was her that had started this imbalance of power and evil and something told her it would be her that would have the power to either fix it or destroy it all together.

She closed her eyes briefly.

She could only hope that when the time came to make that choice, she would choose wisely.

Ooo0ooO

Hundreds of miles away, Niklaus Mikaelson woke with a start, covered in sweat. His heart pounded, a feeling that still startled him sometimes, and he looked wildly around as he tried to get his bearings.

A gentle hand rested on his chest, right above his heart. "Klaus?"

Klaus looked at his mate, who was looking at him with worried gray eyes. He could feel her concern underneath his confusion and fear.

"Klaus?" Annabelle said again softly. She moved a little to sit up straighter. "Are you all right?"

Klaus managed to shake his head.

"Nightmare?"

He nodded.

Anna nudged him so he was leaning back against the headboard of their bed. She folded her legs underneath her and looked into his eyes, which were dark and troubled, like the stormy sea. "Tell me what you saw."

Klaus swallowed, trying to remember. "It was… I was back in the Quarter, in New Orleans. There was this…man… except they weren't a man. Something wasn't right. Their eyes… they were black, only black… and the way it spoke… it wasn't human nor vampire. I don't know what it was."

"What did it say?"

"It said that it was looking forward to meeting us. All of us. It said… it was looking forward to killing us, slowly." Klaus looked at his mate. "I saw Sophie Devereux, standing behind whatever that was. She looked afraid."

Anna's eyes gleamed in the moonlight, bright with fear. "Sophie? She's working with this thing?"

Klaus shook his head again, more slowly this time. "It was like… she was afraid of it. Like she wanted to run away."

Anna's brows furrowed. "Do you think she performed a spell to summon this…thing?"

"Perhaps. Whatever it is, I don't think she has control over it. I think it's controlling her almost."

"Like what Celeste did to me?"

"No, not through magic. Through fear."

Annabelle ran a hand through her hair. "We have to tell Bennett and Bonnie. We should tell Marcel to bring Davina here. She's not safe anywhere near New Orleans right now."

Klaus nodded.

Anna placed a hand over his. "Whatever it is, maybe Bennett or Antonio will know what it is and how we can beat it. We'll figure it out."

But they both heard the doubt and fear in her voice, and as they looked at each others, their thoughts were one.

If the witches had summoned something like what Klaus had seen, what did that mean for them? Would they be able to defeat whatever that was? What if this was the thing that would try to take the twins to make the prophecy come true?

Annabelle shuddered, and that tremor seemed to echo in Klaus. He pulled her in close, pressing her to his side, both of them gripping each other tightly, feeling like two kids who suddenly remembered why people were afraid of the dark.

Ooo0ooO

Elijah was sitting outside, watching the sun rise, when his brother came outside to join him. Both of them had been up for hours, unable to sleep much after Klaus had shared his dream with everyone.

Klaus looked haggard, like it had been months since he had had a proper night's sleep. Perhaps it had been.

"How is Anna?" Elijah asked, looking at his brother.

Klaus shook his head. "Not well. She's worried about me. I guess she had believed she was the only one having those kind of nightmares, since she had been under Celeste's spell. But now…"

"It started happening for you as well," Elijah finished.

Klaus looked grim. "It's not a thing I wish we had in common."

"No, I don't think so," Elijah said calmly. "Can Bennett help with the nightmares?"

"He can try performing the spell he had casted on Anna when Silas was invading her dreams, but this one will have to be much stronger. I believe he's going to ask Bonnie for assistance."

Elijah folded in hands in his lap. "And the twins?"

Klaus's expression fell. "We have no idea if they're being affected in any way. It's not like they can tell us. They're just too young, Elijah, and I… I can't bear the thought of whatever I saw in my dream harming them in any way."

Elijah exhaled deeply. "We will not allow that to happen."

"I know. I will kill anything that tries," Klaus said on a snarl, his eyes flashing.

The look that Klaus now wore reminded Elijah of how his brother used to look long before he found Anna. He looked like the afterimage of the killer he was known to be, the Hybrid that was feared so deeply by everyone and everything.

But it was also different, because Klaus was not vowing to kill just for the pleasure of killing. This was a new and different matter, the matter which had the fate of his children hanging in the balance, and Elijah knew that Klaus would keep that promise, even if it killed him too.

So was the selfishness of parents, to love their child so much, perhaps even more than they could ever love anything else, Elijah thought, reciting an old poem he had read many years ago.

It was fitting for this situation.

The quiet was broken by the sound of wolves howling, then appearing in the clearing in front of the mansion. They were led by a large white wolf, which was trailed by another large wolf whose coat gleamed a deep brown black color.

Annabelle emerged from the house, having heard the call of the pack. She looked at Klaus and Elijah, before refocusing her gaze on William, who had shifted back and was approaching her. His beta, Catherine, changed from her wolf form as well, looking tense.

Then two more wolves emerged from the woods, another white wolf, and a timber colored wolf. Antonio and Bennett fell in line with William and Catherine.

Annabelle looked worried and much older than she actually was when she read the expressions on each of their faces. "Grandfather," she said, lowering her head slightly in acknowledgement.

William looked equally as tired as his granddaughter. "We have some news."

Annabelle nodded, and Elijah could see her bracing herself for what could only be bad news. She lead them all inside the mansion.

Hayley sat in the parlor with Rebekah, feeding the twins. She tensed when she saw the group and looked at Elijah, her eyes asking a silent question.

Elijah shook his head and looked at William, indicating he was the bearer of bad news.

William sat down, and when the twins spotted him, they immediately crawled out of Hayley and Rebekah's laps to crawl into his. His faded eyes softened briefly before he began speaking.

"My sources have brought back news about the witches gathering in the east. They say that they are gathering because they are being drawn in by something evil, something that is making every other witch flee."

As he continued, they began piecing everything together.

Annabelle had interrupted her grandfather when he told them what it was that was drawing the dark witches to the east. "A demon," she repeated, as though that word was foreign to her. "Is that possible?" She looked to Bennett and Antonio.

Antonio sighed gravely. "I have only heard whispers about witches summoning demons to do their bidding. Demons are not of this world and it takes a great deal of magic to bring them here. Sacrifices have to be made."

"But a demon," Anna said again. "I've accepted that this world is full of things that are the things of nightmares, but demons…" Her voice trailed off and she trembled.

"How can we stop it?" Klaus asked.

Antonio and William exchanged a look before the latter responded. "I cannot say. From what I understand, only the person who summoned it can send it back to wherever it came from."

"Sophie Devereux," Klaus snarled.

"But how can we convince her to send it back?" Anna asked, rubbing a hand over her tired eyes. "She's the one who is leading this war on the witch side."

"I do not know," William admitted, his frame sagging.

Hope, who had been listening intently like her brother, surprised them by breaking the tense silence. "Hy-bids."

When everyone just stared, Mason bounced, his head bobbing. "Hy-bids!"

Annabelle's eyes grew huge as she met Klaus's equally startled gaze.

Hope gave them all a gummy smile. "Hy-bids," she said confidently once more before picking up William's hand to gnaw on his knuckles.

"Well," Hayley said, clearing her throat. "That's a start, right?"

Annabelle and Klaus kept looking at each other, silently communicating in their own way. Then Anna blew out a breath. "Yeah. That's a start."

Ooo0ooO

Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or the Originals.

Author's Note: Please review!