Freya examined the blue pendant Elijah's soul was stored in, the worry creasing her forehead while her fingers brushed over the small cracks on the stone. Around her stood the rest of the family, minus Kol, waiting to her the inevitable bad news. "Despite the spell I cast, the very integrity of the pendant is growing unstable. It won't be able to hold Elijah's soul much longer. We need to find a way to resurrect him tonight, or we could lose him forever. To do that, we'll need more power."
"Let me guess, a grand sacrifice," Klaus mused on the irony that always fell over them.
"Aunt Freya and I can do the sacrifice but it's just the matter on what we sacrifice that matters," Nicolas said while his aunt continued to examine the pendant. He knew Freya was exhausted from all this fight and, to be honest, so was he.
"So if we use the Hollow's death, can we use it to bring Elijah and Cami back?" Maleny inquired as soon as silence had fallen.
Once again, Hayley recognized Freya's secretive face. The blonde witch had turned away from them with the excuse of putting down her pendant on the table. "Freya?" Hayley called, not about to let this continue on. "What's the matter? You guys can bring back Cami, right?"
Nicolas' eyebrows raised upwards, apparently he was in the loop as well. Marlenie eyed her brother with squinted eyes, fairly curious of what was being kept from them all.
"What's the matter, brother?"
Freya turned around and leaned against the table for some support. "The Hollow would suffice as a sacrifice to bring back Elijah…"
Maleny's nod was a motion for Freya to also add in her cousin's name, but the witch never did. Maleny straightened up, rolling her finger in the air, "And…?"
With a sigh, Freya shook her head. "Elijah is an Original and he's lived for…"
"Eons, yeah, I was there," Maleny quickly cut the witch off, "And?"
"The Hollow's sacrifice would deplenish after I put it towards Elijah's soul."
Hayley moved to join Maleny on that defensive, offended stance. And they were pretty good at intimidation.
Klaus cleared his throat and settled a sharp look on his sister. "Freya, this is the part where you tell them you have another plan for Camille."
"I...don't," Freya admitted.
"It's not that we don't want to bring back Cami it's just...it's a bit more complicated than that," Nicolas quickly stepped in to defend his aunt. Although now he was earning his mother's glare and that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.
"Elijah is a frikin Original - that's complicated!" Maleny practically shouted at the two.
"Bringing back Cami is a more different challenge in that we would have to strive to bring back a previously sired vampire as a non-sired vampire now," Nicolas explained. "The magic is a far stronger one that aunt Freya and I are capable of."
"Fine, then we call in backup," Hayley quickly suggested. "Vincent? Hell, even Amarrah would get her coven to help us."
"This is a different type of resurrection," Freya spoke quietly. "Remember Kol's resurrection? Something along those lines except for an unsired heart being a requirement."
"So that's it, then? We just put a pause on Cami's return?" Maleny demanded to know, though a good part of her warned her she was being unfair. There was no doubt in her mind that the family would do anything to bring Cami back, but it was frustrating that it was so complicated.
"I tried calling Kol but he's not answering," Rebekah strolled in with her cellphone still in hand. "So how are we doing on our plan to murder this Hollow?" she took one look at the tension filled room and groaned. "What now?"
Maleny shook her head and stormed out of the room.
"Did I say something?" Rebekah was left to cluelessly wonder.
"Freya, do something please," Klaus unnaturally pleaded with their sister. This wasn't the time to be divided - in fact it seemed like the perfect tactic the Hollow would employ on them if given the chance.
"We can transfer Elijah back into his body with the Hollow - that I am sure," the woman began again. "Labonair blood is her Achilles' heel. Now, Hayley, your blood weakened her, but you've technically been dead for years. So it won't be strong enough to kill her. If we forge a blade using the blood of the last living Labonair…"
"We don't want Hope involved," Hayley quickly said, shaking her head.
"She's already involved, Hayley," Nicolas was said to say. "We didn't get it before but Hope has been obsessed with the symbol that follows the Hollow: the serpent consuming itself. She's drawn it over and over, remember?"
"The Hollow's one end of the Labonair bloodline. Hope is the other. And we need to close that loop," Freya's urgency was evident in her tone. "The best way to do that is for Hayley to wield a weapon forged with Hope's blood. When she stabs her, it's only then the Hollow can be obliterated completely. Then we make it work." She looked between Hayley and Klaus, hoping to hear the words they needed to get started…
"I'll talk to Hope," Hayley sighed and moved to do so.
~ 0 ~
It felt like it'd been forever since Maleny was at the towns square watching the local musicians. She wished she could do it a lot more, and in more serene parts of her life...but her life rarely seemed to have such serene moments. Now standing there, she felt the strands of uncertainty pulling at her.
"We should come by later tonight when there's a more...romantic feel to things," Klaus' comment only made Maleny sigh.
"And do what? Have a date while our family burns?"
"To be fair, they're in distress every night."
Maleny rolled her eyes and looked at him. "It's not funny."
"Mal, despite the challenges, we will bring Cami back. To be quite honest, I don't think Elijah would let us rest until we did."
"I know. I know we wouldn't leave her but I'm looking at it from a realistic perspective. What Freya and Nicolas said is true: bringing Cami back is a very difficult thing to do."
"And we've done that how many times?" Klaus' smirk was infectious to the point of making her laugh. "She'll come back, Mal. I swear."
Maleny nodded her head, truly believing it. There was no way in hell she would ever let Cami stay locked away in that pendant. "She's my maid of honor," she meekly smiled. "Can't have her not attend…" her light humor was her own attempt to make the situation less awful.
"Of course not," Klaus followed her game. "Freya says we can bring Elijah back with some of Hope's blood plunged right into that evil spirit's body. Once we bring him back, we'll set to work on Cami. I promise."
Find me. Maleny looked back at the musicians. She'd been ignoring it for too long now, even when she'd figured out what she needed to do.
"Mal..."
"I'll go help with the search. The Hollow's not getting away from us," she smiled a big, happy smile.
"Actually, Freya has Rebekah and Kol hunting down the totem the Hollow is using to protect herself," Klaus stopped her from walking off.
"Then I'll catch up with them," she smiled innocently. She leaned on her toes to kiss him then disappeared before Klaus could say a word.
~ 0 ~
For a moment before entering the the church, Maleny thought she was crazy for even considering this was the voice's origin.
Then she saw Kol.
And he saw her.
"Maleny, what the hell are you doing here?" the young Original panicked with her presence and quickly started to sense if there was anyone else with her.
Maleny noticed the action and looked over her shoulder - had Klaus followed her anyways?
"Mal, what are you doing here?" Kol demanded again after confirming she was alone. Before Maleny opened her mouth, someone else answered the question.
"She came to find me," Inadu herself walked in from the attic's backdoor. Maleny froze and stared at the evil spirit now incarnate fresh. Kol's mouth fell open as his head turned from Inadu to Maleny. Inadu came to stand across the aisle from Maleny, her hands put together in front of her, smiling like this was a simple visit. "I have to say I'm a little perplexed it took you this long to figure out who was calling you."
Maleny rid herself - at least on the surface - of the fear she felt for this spirit. "I had a lot on my plate," she spat. "You killed - in my body I should add - a man who was like my older brother and then you took away my cousin."
"Oh please, I heard from this Mikaelson-" Inadu's finger languidly pointed at Kol, "-that you were able to save Elijah and the other vampire."
"Really?" Maleny laid a sharp glare on Kol. "Kol, seriously? What the hell?"
Kol knew how this looked but swallowed down his snap because this was worth it. It was so worth it.
"Kol, leave us," Inadu ordered, startling the Original from his thoughts. His eyes flickered to the attic door with concern. Inadu rolled her eyes. "I could care much less about Davina CLaire-"
Now it was Maleny's turn to gape. "Davina-"
"-and you know it," Inadu continued on, "So long as you protect the totem no harm shall come your young witch." Maleny sighed, her previous glare on Kol softening. Of course the Hollow would pull this sort of thing. "But I would be very careful in informing your family I have Maleny with me. I don't want interruptions."
Kol seemed at a loss. He wasn't on the best terms with his family but he didn't trust the Hollow not to try anything with Davina nor Maleny for that matter.
Maleny sighed and gave the Original an encouraging nod. "I'll be fine, Kol. You go and do whatever you need to do to keep Davina safe. I know that's why you're doing whatever she wants you to."
Kol gave a small, gracious smile. "I always did think you were Nik's best girl."
Maleny playfully rolled her eyes and pointed him to leave. Once he was gone, her playfulness died as she walked towards Inadu. "So what the hell did you keep calling me for? Because...you hid the last thorn stake for me to find, right?"
Inadu nodded her head. "I needed to make sure you found it and not one of your mongrel family members."
"But that whole thing in my head - I saw my eyes glow blue!" it had given Maleny quite the scare in the morning when she caught her eyes flashing that bright blue in the mirror.
"That was courtesy of the echo of our host linkage we shared," Inadu's calm smile was the most irritating thing Maleny ever saw.
"I didn't agree to share anything with you!" Maleny shouted right in front of Inadu's face, her rage seemingly amusing the evil witch instead of frightening. "You took over my body and you killed people with it!"
"And yet you show no gratitude," Inadu retorted, making Maleny loudly scoff and laugh. "I could have left a nasty little infection in your veins after I left your body. It's the least I could have done after your daughter and Marcel Gerard killed me."
"So why didn't you?"
"Because I found out you were more than just a simple vampire."
Maleny's eyebrows knitted together in dark confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"
As Inadu made her pitch to get Maleny to accompany her to the cemetery, the evil witch failed to notice they were being watched by the very witch Inadu resurrected the previous night. When Maleny agreed - against her better judgement - she gave a soft smile at Davina through the cracked open attic door before following Inadu out of the church.
~ 0 ~
"Rebekah's not answering. Neither is Kol," Klaus, frustrated, dropped his phone onto the table Freya and Nicolas were working at. "The sooner we end this the better."
"No. We have to assume that Inadu's totem is still intact," Freya stopped him before he went further. "We cannot attack her until we destroy it. Go after Rebekah, find the totem."
"I'm not leaving Hayley alone in this quest to kill the Hollow," Klaus was sure that was what the Hollow wanted anyways.
"Dad, I don't think we have time to argue," Nicolas raised Freya's pendant that was cracking further. "Uncle Elijah doesn't have much time."
"I'll go with Hayley," Freya volunteered. "Nicolas and Marlenie can stay here with Hope. Find that totem, alright? You're the best advantage we got. Be fast, be brutal, destroy the totem, or we're dead."
"Well, when you put it like that, it's a bit hard to refuse," Klaus sourly retorted. Freya gave a meek shrug of her shoulders. "Fine," the hybrid spat.
~ 0 ~
"It's a beautiful necklace," Inadu raised Maleny's necklace's pendant and turned it over, seeing 'Abigail' engraved on the back.
Maleny yanked her pendant from Inadu's hand. "Thanks. My mother gave it to me."
Inadu walked up to the small altar she had in the crypt, reminding Maleny of Dahlia's old tactics. "My mother killed me," she said matter-of-factly as she bent down to move around some candles.
"I heard the story," Maleny spoke briefly and was overly cautious. She had no idea what the hell this spirit wanted from her and she didn't plan on being a victim by accident...not again.
"You should know I killed the remaining Dawsons," Inadu smirked over her shoulder while Maleny froze in place. "No longer will they put you to sleep."
"You killed the very witches that made your rebirth possible?" Maleny now knew the word 'betrayal' belonged solely to the Hollow.
"They tried to be smart with me," Inadu's voice turned dark. She rose from the ground and turned to Maleny. "I granted them their memories that were stolen by Klaus Mikaelson and in return they had to provide the right type of Host for my spirit."
"So thoughtful of them to think about me," Maleny bitterly remarked.
"Well they were on the right track," Inadu gave the witches points for that. "You were the right Host body. A vampire-" she waved a hand at Maleny, "-with the agile skills, speed and enhanced senses I would require to collect my bones. But they failed to mention your past of dying and living for a thousand years. They tried to pass you off as someone unimportant."
"And what's that mean to you? I hardly think it made you feel sympathy…"
Inadu's smirk confirmed Maleny's suspicion. "See, every time a witch is sacrificed her power is maximized for the coven she's sacrificed for, but that witch is also given enhanced powers. As the Dawsons were given more power with your sacrifice, so were you. And normally, it doesn't matter because the sacrificed witch remains dead. But that wasn't your case, was it?"
Maleny gulped. No, no it wasn't.
Inadu circled Maleny with the keenest, dark eyes ever. "You've come back to life for over a thousand years. Imagine that sort of power? Not even I was able to do that, what with me being trapped by the Ancestors."
"But it doesn't matter now," Maleny began in a rather shaky voice. The spirit wanted something from her and it wouldn't be anything good. "I'm a vampire now. Vampires can't be witches."
Inadu stopped in front of Maleny and wagged a finger. "You're not just any type of witch. You're of your own kind. And there is only one other who is almost like you: your son."
Maleny snatched Inadu's wrist, her vamp-eyes blaring out at the mention of Nicolas. "You leave my son out of this."
Inadu seemed to collect the reaction she was hoping for. She laughed and forced Maleny to let go with an aneurysm. "My interest in your son pales in comparison to my interest for you. But if you fail to give me what I want then I'll have no choice but to take him as well."
"What...do you want...?" Maleny grunted on the ground, her eyes partially shut from the horrible pain in her head.
Inadu bent down in front of her, eerie smile gracing her face. "I have a list, and at the top of that list is you. Ruin it and I'll go straight for number's 2 and 3: Nicolas and Hope Mikaelson."
~ 0 ~
"You should destroy that thing," Davina almost shouted at Kol who was carefully holding onto the blue totem the Hollow left him in charge of. "Hayley could die."
"And why is her life more important than yours?" Kol frowned.
"I can't take a little girl's mother away from her, Kol," Davina sighed. "And I'm pretty sure the Hollow's going to hurt Maleny too."
"Where'd the little blonde one go, actually?" Kol curiously asked. After returning from locking Rebekah and Marcel inside a barrier, he found the church was empty again with no sign of the Hollow nor Maleny.
"Inadu took her," Davina crossed her arms. "She wants something from Maleny and it can't be good. We can't let Inadu live, Kol."
"Yeah, well, if she dies so do you," Kol reminded her, not that Davina was so in tune with it. She was willing to sacrifice herself if it meant taking the Hollow with her. "We just need to figure out another way to get you out of this. Because there is no way I'm letting you go."
"I've been thinking, Elijah once gave me one of your mother's spells. It used to break a magical link," Davina recalled. "I'm too weak right now, but if we could find a coven to counter Inadu's spell, then…"
"Or," Kol deviously thought, "We could just get some local Mikaelson witches to do the job."
"Kol, there is no way in hell Freya would help," Davina gave him a 'are you serious' face and shook her head.
"Thankfully, it's not just Freya we have," Kol's lips stretched into a smirk.
~ 0 ~
"Hey Nick," Marlenie came into the lounge room where Nicolas was nose-deep inside Abigail Rowan's grimoire. "I was thinking about what you said about Cami's return and...I think I may have a solution."
Nicolas raised his gaze from the grimoire. "Yeah? Like what?"
Marlenie smirked. "The Harvest Girls you've got hidden somewhere around here."
"You want us to sacrifice a bunch of teenagers?" Nicolas blinked.
Marlenie snorted. "Please, they lost their right when they willingly joined a cult to kill our mother."
"Marls…" Nicolas slowly closed the grimoire and set it on the coffee table. "I don't know…"
"Oh c'mon, you're the one who stashed them away after putting them in some Sleeping Beauty curse," Marlenie whacked him on the arm. "And plus the Hollow's already killed most of the Dawsons. It is possible, right?"
Nicolas sighed. "Honestly, I'm not sure. These girls' powers are connected to the Ancestors and as such…"
"The Ancestors aren't so keen on helping us, got it," Marlenie leaned her back on the couch cushions. "Especially Dawson ancestors."
"Sorry Marls," Nicolas gave a rub on the arm.
"Yeah, well…" Marlenie trailed off, her head tilting to the side as she started to hear talking from upstairs.
Nicolas stared at her in confusion, wondering what was happening. "Marlenie? What is it?"
Marlenie's eyes briefly flickered to her twin before she sped off. She stopped inside Hope's bedroom where Kol was just introducing the enchanted rope knot to the little girl. "Uncle Kol...what are you doing?"
~ 0 ~
Maleny pounded on the invisible barrier Inadu had put her in without any real effort. "You don't touch my son nor Hope! Do you hear me!?" the vampire endlessly pounded on the invisible walls.
"Nicolas Mikaelson, the first born of the third Mikaelson generation," Inadu calmly stirred a blood-tainted liquid inside a bowl. "Not sacrificed but his power remains large due to his lineage. He is a hybrid, though permanently un-triggered. I have seen him, I have sensed him. His power is one I would take pleasure in having."
"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Maleny fiercely screamed. This was a mistake, she now knew it. She should have never come willingly to meet with this crazy spirit! But as soon as the Hollow mentioned Nicolas, Maleny saw red. She didn't want the spirit anywhere near her children nor Hope.
"And then there's the littlest Mikaelson, one born of my blood too," Inadu paused her stirring for a second to smirk at Maleny. "She'll grow up to be just like her brother. The two could even rival each other if they wanted to. But, I don't intend on hurting them," her voice was a slow, teasing drawl. "It all depends on you."
"I already told you I don't have this stupid magic you're talking about!" Maleny raised her palms for the girl to see. "I'm a vampire! Took me a while to become one but I am one now."
"Magic doesn't go away, it merely becomes dormant inside your veins," Inadu smirked. "Like your daughter's…" her smirk stretched wider when Maleny desperately slammed a fist against the barrier around her.
"Don't touch my daughter!"
"She may be dead but if worked on, she could become the same thing you are," Inadu kept going, even more confident she would get the results she wanted. "I have to say, you produced powerful offsprings, each in their own way. While your daughter would be much harder to work on due to her vampirism, I would be able to easily take your son. Let's not even begin with Hope Mikaelson." She came to stand face to face with Maleny, smiling as if she'd already won. "So why don't you listen to what I have to offer."
"Your offers are full of betrayal," Maleny spat.
"Not this time, I'm afraid. See your magic, a different magic, prevents me from just siphoning it away from you," and it truly showed how it frustrated Inadu, so much that it made Maleny settle down for a moment. "It's a dormant type of magic that once activated cannot leave the owner's body or else it shuts down again."
"You'll forgive me if none of this makes sense," Maleny sighed in frustration.
Inadu turned away and went to grab a blade from a nearby table. "I just learned of it myself so I guess we're on the same level of knowledge right now. Still, I managed to procure the information from the last Dawson before I ended them. Your magic-" she pointed at Maleny with the knife, "-still runs through your veins as we speak. A complex, supernatural phenmomen is needed to re-activate it."
"And even then, how would you take it?" Maleny was afraid to ask, honestly. She eyed the blade with weariness while Inadu waved it from side to side.
"I don't plan on taking it," the evil witch said casually. "I told you I can't siphon it. And if I can't siphon it, then I'll just have to take you again."
Maleny laughed for a couple of seconds. "You are not taking control of my body again."
"Shall I take Nicolas' body? Or Hope's?" Inadu became smug as Maleny finally started to realize the situation she was in. "See, it all comes down to you."
Maleny shook her head. "None of this is going to matter because despite Kol protecting that totem, the family's going to destroy and then they'll destroy you."
And yet, Inadu didn't seem scared. "I welcome it," she pointed the knife's tip at her heart. "Because when they do, I'll jump right into Hope's body." She walked back to the altar and motioned to the bowl on the table. "Before coming here, I procured blood from the mother and laced it into my spell and once I drink the liquid it'll be done."
"She's just a child," Maleny croaked. "She doesn't deserve that, please."
"No, she doesn't, but I must do what I have to, to survive," Inadu turned around, once again smirking victoriously. It was all coming to an end. "I can start with Hope and the finish with Nicolas. Or, vice versa if I'm feeling it. Either way, I will take it all and kill them and anyone else who stands in my way."
Maleny's eyes teared up as she began to come to a realization: she was going to be trapped. Any way she looked at it, the Hollow would win and they would all die. It left her with one choice and one choice only.
And it would break her heart.
~ 0 ~
"You are unbelievable," Nicolas spat at Kol after he and Marlenie followed the Original into the study. "You were going to use our little sister to do your dirty work?"
"It's not dirty, I just need someone to unlink Davina from the Hollow!"
"Davina's alive?" Marlenie blinked.
Nicolas was just as surprised but he closed the study doors to have a real chat about this move. "No doubt the Hollow sought out your biggest weakness."
"Oh, don't start sounding like Nik, please," Kol shook his head.
"Who, by the way, will kill you for this," Marlenie didn't hesitate to point out in hopes of making him rehabilitate. It did not do such thing.
"This family murdered Davina in cold blood!" Kol shouted at the twins, throwing the magical knot at the couch. "Has everyone just forgotten that!?"
"Of course we haven't," Nicolas responded calmly. "And I'm sorry what happened to her."
"I don't need your apologies, I just need someone to undo the knot," Kol pointed to the enchanted knot. "I thought Hope would do it since I know Freya would never. And frankly, I'm a little iffy about you."
Nicolas playfully rolled his eyes. "Uncle Kol, you could have just asked."
Kol froze and studied his nephew's demeanor. Was he joking? He couldn't tell.
Nicolas sighed and walked over to the couch to pick up the enchanted knot. "You're right. Davina deserved a lot better than what this family did to her. But a link like this, done by the Hollow, will take some time."
"We don't have much time," Kol spoke slowly as he was still trying to figure out if Nicolas was being honest in helping him. "Any moment, I'm sure, I'm going to have Klaus coming for my neck-"
"Heart," Marlenie corrected with a little smile. "He's going to come for your heart."
"I'm going to have Hope help me," Nicolas said, thinking it would pull their chances of getting the link undone.
"Thank you," Kol honestly said, never more grateful in this moment to have nephews and nieces.
~ 0 ~
"Now if you allow me to take your body as a host again, I can find a supernatural phenomenon that will allow me to access that magic stored inside your body," Inadu explained. Her fervor for the magic scared Maleny. It was clear Inadu had been thinking about this for a while. She cut her own palm with her knife and let the blood spill inside another circle she had drawn on the ground. Maleny recognized it as another means for a terrible spell.
"And what happens to me?" Maleny nervously asked, no real hope of survival coming down to her. The quicker she made herself to the idea, the better for her.
"If I feel gracious I could drop your soul into another body," Inadu smirk's said the complete opposite. She didn't plan on letting Maleny live.
"And then you take over the world, basically," Maleny closed her eyes. "How the hell am I supposed to agree to that?"
And yet Inadu knew it was only a short time until Maleny did. "Time's clicking away. Any moment, Hayley and Freya will break free from my spell and come find me here. If they kill me I will take Hope. But if you join me now, here-" she gestured to the spell ring she'd drawn, "-I will use you as my Host instead."
Maleny lowered her head and thought about it, truly thought about it because...there had to be another way.
~ 0 ~
"Now Hope, you don't have to do this," Nicolas warned his sister just as they got ready to begin the unlinking spell. "Uncle Kol had no right to ask you this, and neither did I."
Hope gave a little smile in return. "My Mom said sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to because we're the only ones who can."
"Your mom is very smart," Nicolas chuckled. "Now just follow my lead, okay? This spell is beyond your lessons so it can get a little tough and...maybe a little woozy."
"I can do it," Hope said determinedly.
"Okay," Nicolas let the enchanted knot rise in the air between them and started to chant the right words he thought would prove strong enough to break the link. Thank you grandma Abigail, he thought. Her grimoire was becoming really helpful.
Outside, Kol waited to face his incoming brother who looked ready to pluck out hearts. "I imagine right now you're rather cross with me. You should know I have my reasons."
Klaus gave a wry smile and wagged a finger at him. "Rebekah suggested I hear them. I'd rather rip out your vocal chords."
Kol made a motion to just be heard, but Klaus kept coming towards him. "Now stop and listen. I did what I did for Davina. The Hollow brought her back, and now they're linked!" he ducked to avoid being punched and then retaliated by throwing Klaus against the dried out fountain. "I just need a bloody second to set her free!"
"The Hollow preys upon your weakness," Klaus sped up to Kol and grabbed him by the lapels. "She raised Davina to get you to betray your family, and you, pathetic as you are, leaped at the chance!" he returned the favor by throwing Kol across the courtyard. He then broke a nearby chair and started throwing daggers Kol's way.
"Our family owes Davina that much!" Kol shouted and fought Klaus straight on.
"I owe nothing to her!"
"She broke Maleny's curse don't you forget!" Kol managed to make Klaus pause for a second. "Now give me the chance to set her free!"
"We don't have time," Klaus spat. He caught Kol by the wrist and turned it over, forcing the younger Original to his knees. He snatched the blue totem from Kol's pocket and gripped it tight.
"No, Nik. I need a little time. I just need to know she's alive!" Kol begged but Klaus let him drop to the ground with another blow. "Please, grant me this small mercy!"
"Mercy is a privilege reserved for family. Your status has been revoked!"
But just before Klaus was about to crush the totem, someone swiped it clean off his hand. It stunned both brothers to see Marlenie protectively holding the totem across them.
"Are we...are we seriously going to do this, Marlenie Mikaelson?" Klaus' voice had mixed in with fatherly rage that Marlenie, up to date, had never really heard.
It kind of scared her.
Klaus forgot about Kol and stepped over his brother's body to go to Marlenie. The woman shook her head and sped to a different part of the courtyard. "I'm sorry Dad, but Nicolas says he needs one more minute!"
"MARLENIE!" Klaus practically roared, making her heavily flinch.
Kol was still absolutely stunned. She was backing him up!?
"Look, Dad, if you just give them the minute we can all get what we want. Now I hate Davina - and I really do hate her-" she made it clear for Kol, "-but we should help him."
"And why the hell would we do that?" Klaus surprised her by speeding up to her.
"Because, after much thinking...if it was you, Mum or Nick the Hollow took I would do the same thing," Marlenie briefly crossed gazes with Kol. "Would you not do everything you could to save me? Or Nick? Or Mum?"
"That's…" Klaus hated her logic. It sounded far too much like Maleny at the moment and it went against their plans.
"It's the unbearable truth," Marlenie finished for him. "We are bound to make any deals to save each other."
~0~
Maleny met Inadu's evil gaze with a resigned, crestfallen one. "You tied my hands."
"I'm good at that," Inadu smirked.
"If it's between me, Nicolas and Hope then take me," Maleny closed her eyes, releasing a deep sigh. "Jump into me and leave them out of this."
Inadu smirked from ear to ear. "I knew you would see it my way."
"But if I'm giving you access to my body, my magic, then you need to do something for me."
"Why would I do that? My offer was letting your son and Hope live."
"Believe me, you'll do it," Maleny assured and garnered the interest of the evil witch. "You said you needed a complex supernatural phenomenon to access my magic right?" Inadu gave a cautious nod. "It just so happens that my cousin Cami died because her sire perished. We have her soul inside a pendant and her original body preserved. Bring her back to life."
Inadu went into an almost automatic reaction, laughing in condescension. "Why would I ever do that?"
"To bring Cami back you would have to make her an unsired vampire," Maleny smirked now that she knew she had Inadu's complete attention. "It's exactly the type of supernatural phenomenon you need. Cami's return would be the best, and quickest way, to access my magic. That's my request."
Inadu raised her head, eyeing Maleny with an impressed gleam in her eyes. "The Dawsons underestimated your intelligence. In another world, we could even be a team. I accept the request." She waved her hand towards Maleny and balled it into a fist.
Maleny felt a force arch her body forwards, making her scream as a pain took her over. "What are you doing!?" she cried out.
"I require blood for our special spell," Inadu responded and watched for the droplets of blood that would soon fall from Maleny's mouth.
~0~
When Hayley and Freya broke free from the spell the Hollow had cast on an abandoned house - where she was meant to be - the two women quickly discovered that during their time in hallucinations, the Hollow had switched places. Now with the help of Rebekah, who still held onto the map tracking the Hollow, they were able to relocate the evil spirit.
"Why would she come back to the cemetery?" Freya couldn't help but wonder as she and Hayley strode down the place.
Hayley opened all her senses to find the evil spirit. "Who cares. Let's just kill her." She eventually felt the Hollow's presence inside a crypt and quickly sped in. It was to her surprise that she found Maleny stored inside a protective barrier. "Mal?" Hayley rushed to go help her but came crashing face-first into the barrier.
Maleny was on the ground, palms pressed against the ground, shoulders slumped and head down, practically shaking.
"Oh, you found me," Inadu's voice drew all three women's attention.
Hayley growled and sped towards but Inadu cast a forcing wind that blew Hayley against the barrier keeping Maleny inside. Freya shook her head and drew upon her magic. Inadu was thrown back against the altar. The force of her landing made her crush right through the table to the ground.
"Now Hayley!" Freya gave the order.
Hayley charged on with the enchanted blade
Inadu seemed almost smug if they had really taken notice. "Do it!" the evil spirit taunted.
Hayley didn't need to be told twice. She plunged the blade into Inadu's chest...over...and over...and over...
Freya rushed over to pull Hayley back. "That's enough! She's gone!" she then glanced at Maleny to see how she was doing. The barrier around Maleny had disappeared, but Maleny herself remained on the ground. "Maleny? What did she do to you? What happened?"
Maleny slowly raised her left palm from the ground and turned it over, revealing on it to be a faded symbol of a snake eating its own tail. "I saved them," she looked up to Freya's and Hayley's stunned faces.
~0~
When Nicolas made sure Hope was completely fine after their tough unlinking spell, he left her bedroom and found the courtyard to be a mess of furniture. "Marls, you were supposed to stop any fighting from happening," he scolded his sister once he caught sight of her.
Klaus looked between the two and, if possible, grew even more angry. "So both of you were in on this? The term 'grounded' is going to have to be redefined once I'm through with you."
Marlenie smiled widely, amused this was still such a problem. After Klaus had somewhat cooled off, he became less scary. "You won't ground us, because you know we were right. Uncle Kol, for once, was just doing something to protect another. I know, it takes a lot to accept it."
"Even when that person is someone you despise?"
"Unfortunately."
"But the totem was destroyed, right?" Nicolas called the two up.
"Yes," Klaus was satisfied since he was the one who crushed the blasted thing. "I imagine by now the Hollow must be reacquainted with the Ancestors."
"Which means we can get uncle Elijah back," Nicolas beamed, lightly patting his hand against the balcony rail. "I'll go get that spell started for when aunt Freya returns."
Not a moment after he disappeared into another room did Marlenie and Klaus sense the others begin to return.
"Tell me how we succeeded," Klaus immediately instructed, but he faltered when he saw Maleny coming in with Freya and Hayley. "You never went to Rebekah," he accused, rather irritated after many failed attempts of getting in contact with her.
"No, she went to do something else," Hayley, rather sourly, retorted then motioned Maleny to show him.
The blonde woman, silently, raised her left palm to show Klaus and Marlenie the snake eating its tail symbol on her skin.
"Mum…" Marlenie felt her heart hammer so quick under her rib-cage.
Klaus' eyes widened a bit, but his shock subsided to be replaced with terrible fear. "What did you do?" he stormed up to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her body to him in the process.
"I made a deal with the Hollow," Maleny answered without much guilt. She was resigned to get their shouts, their scolds, anything they would throw at her.
"I need to go do the spell on Elijah," Freya quietly told Klaus, knowing he probably wasn't registering much of anything at the moment. "The Hollow's body is dead and I can still use that for the sacrifice."
"Go," Hayley was the one to tell her.
Klaus was busy examining the snake on Maleny's palm. It was the same cursed symbol they kept seeing everywhere, and now it was just sitting there on Maleny's skin. "Why?" he demanded.
Maleny couldn't look him in the eyes just yet. She took her hand out of his and stared long and hard at the ground. "Because it was the only thing I could do. She would have taken Nicolas or Hope, and I was not gonna let that happen. Never."
The determination in her tone was proof enough that the Hollow had weeded out the weaknesses of the family with precision. But unlike Kol and Davina, this deal was unlikely to end well.
Author's Note:
Ladies and gentlemen, we are coming to the end of this story! Just 3 more chapters and we move onto the last season! Yikes!
For the reviews:
Since the reviews basically said the same thing I'll just respond to them in one: I UPDATED :DD. Hope you all liked the new chapter...even if it was just angst .
