AN: So… it's been a while. But I'm back! This is the final chapter in the Odyssey part of this story. Italics are still memories of the past. We get some Caroline/Alice musings, some Marik/Caroline interaction, and find out exactly how the Morgan/Caroline thing went down in those. So please enjoy:
Ten. Morgan
Amelia Morgan knew what the girl was the moment the Hybrid brought her into her home. Amelia knew the story. It was her duty as a Morgan witch to know the story. How her ancestor, after whom the family line took their name, had locked away the Keeper of War.
And now, here she is again. In the hands of a Morgan witch once more.
Amelia knows exactly what she must do.
"Put her there and then you'll have to leave," Amelia says brusquely, motioning at a couch. Klaus carries the delicate blonde over and places her there with something close to gentleness.
"We both know I don't take well to being ordered around, witch," Klaus says, turning towards Amelia. "And we both know that you owe me a boon, so you can't refuse me."
"The girl is lost in her own mind, Klaus. Bringing her back will require great magic, magic that requires my absolute concentration. Either you leave, or the spell won't be done. I can't achieve the required levels of concentration with you in the room."
Klaus glares at Amelia, and she knows that he wants to deny her. That he wants to rip out her throat and leave her to die for telling him what to do, but then he looks at the unconscious blonde. In all the years of her acquaintance with Klaus, Amelia has never seen him look at anyone like that. He looks at her as if she matters, and Amelia realizes it's of even more importance that she end the girl immediately.
War and the Hybrid can never be allowed to bond. The results would be disastrous, and Amelia's family has known enough of War's disasters to last it a lifetime. She knows she won't survive the girl's death, that either Klaus or the Shadow that her ancestors spoke of will kill her for what she is about to do… but Amelia can accept the end of the Morgan line as long as War goes out with it.
"Make your choice, Klaus," Amelia orders, and then she fights back the urge to hold her breath. She needs Klaus to leave. She needs him to walk out the door so she can put up a barrier and kill the girl. It is the only way to keep War at bay.
"Fix her, Amelia. Or it will end badly for you."
Klaus stalks out and Amelia breathes a sigh of relief. Then she mentally steels herself for the spell she is about to perform and the bad end that awaits her.
(CWM)
There were good times, amongst all the dark. Caroline recalls days spent playing with Alice, back when they were still children, before they all became filled with so much hate.
She had loved Alice back then, and Alice had loved her. Even then, she had been closest to Marik, he had been her best friend, but no matter what else happened Caroline had been able to count on Alice's love. If Marik had taken a prank too far, Alice would still be there. Alice had been Caroline's rock, her constant.
Perhaps that's why it had hurt so much, when Alice had turned on her.
Or had Caroline turned on Alice?
Perhaps it depended on which sister you spoke to.
(CWM)
The magicks in the witch's house are strong, and Marik wonders at first if she is expecting him. If, perhaps, she plans on trying to seal him away as her ancestor did Caroline.
If she does, she will be disappointed.
Death floats to the Morgan woman's doorstep, and he has to pause as he feels the magic wash over him. He recognizes this magic; it is indeed a sealing spell. But it is not meant for him, for beneath that ancient wash of magic, Marik can feel a power even more ancient. One that had been dormant until recently.
Caroline is inside that house.
(CWM)
"Why do you never humour him?"
Marik appears amused at the question, but Marik always appears amused.
"Why humour those weaker than me? Victor has dreams of grandeur, and someone must bring him back to Earth when those visions take him too high."
Caroline rolls her eyes at the reply. She and Marik are sitting under a tree. Marik and Victor have once again fought, and the two sisters caught in the middle have gone their separate ways to calm their respective partner down.
"We all know that you're the alpha, Marik. Even Victor. Perhaps if you stopped rubbing it in so much, life would be more peaceful."
Marik chuckles at that.
"War wishing for peace? Don't disappoint me and say you've reformed from your wicked, hell-raising ways my dear."
"I enjoy mongering war amongst the mortals. When it's amongst ourselves it's exhausting," Caroline pulled up her knees and rested her chin on them. "And you know I can't use the discontent you or the others feel to enhance my powers. So your petty little squabbles are useless to me. And exhausting."
"You already said exhausting."
"It deserves to be said again."
"Caroline, stop being so uptight," Marik says with a sigh, sprawling on his back. "Victor is a nuisance who needs to be kept in his place. I do so. Humouring him would just give him ideas. What's the worst he can do anyways? We can't harm each other, not truly, remember?"
Caroline sighs. Marik is always like this – he always has to be right, and no one else's opinion matters. As much as she loves him, Marik sometimes drives her to the brink of insanity. She fears that he underestimates Victor, and hopes that Marik does not come to regret that action someday.
(CWM)
When Marik enters the house, he comes face to face with a blonde that is all too familiar to him.
"Niklaus Mikaelson," Marik says, some of his surprise leaking into his voice. He has not checked in on his creations in centuries. They were made to irritate Victor and increase the world's body count, and then mostly forgotten.
"Who are you?" Niklaus demands, shooting to his feet. He had been sitting on a couch fiddling with his phone and eyeing a door to the side impatiently. Now is attention is all for Marik.
"Who I am is no matter. I seek a girl… a creature of great power. You would know her as War." Marik looks at the door Niklaus had been watching. Caroline is behind it, as is the witch. Marik can feel them. He takes a step towards the door and halts as Niklaus appears in front of him.
"I don't know what you want with Caroline, but you can't have her," Niklaus hisses, his eyes turning black and yellow. Marik is both pleased to see that Niklaus has successfully become a Hybrid and angered at his interference. He is also happy that his War has kept her name. No name other than Caroline would suit her, no matter what form she took.
"And who are you to stop me?" Marik sneers at the Hybrid. "I made you. I will not hesitate to end you."
The words surprise Niklaus and he takes a wary step back, though hatred burns in his eyes. Hatred and… is that jealousy?
"Marik, I presume," Niklaus says stiffly, his features transitioning from beastly back to human. "Caroline is currently indisposed. My witch is fixing her."
"Your witch is killing her," Marik corrects, shoving past Niklaus and wrenching the door off its hinges. In the room, the witch is chanting over Caroline's immobile body. She is so caught up in the spell, that she does not notice her audience. Marik takes a step forward, only to be repelled by a barrier. Niklaus joins him, and is repelled by the same. Marik had expected this to be simple, but now he fears for Caroline's life. And it is Caroline; the blonde hair is new, but her face is the same and Marik feels a thrill of fear for the first time in centuries. He has finally found Caroline, he will not lose her again so soon.
He pounds against the barrier with his magic, determined to break through it in time.
(CWM)
"You killed them!"
"I killed many people," Caroline tells the angry Morgan witch. "You'll have to be more specific."
The words are blasé, but Caroline is truly afraid that this may be the end for her. The witch's cousins hold her immobile while Morgan herself prepares for the sealing spell.
"All the witch lines… all the blood spilled at Salem. It is your fault. You brought hatred here, and it consumed us. But no more. No more witch blood will be spilled in your name."
Caroline isn't sure how to respond. She has only just arrived in Salem. She had heard of the violence here, and had come to feed on it, to gain power from it, but she had not caused it.
She sort of wishes she had, but she can't claim this to be her doing. But she knows better than to argue with someone with a vendetta.
"The spell will kill you," she says instead, hoping to appeal to the witch's sense of self-preservation. All humans had it; it was in their nature. "There is no world in which this ends with you still living."
"I will join my family knowing that I take you with me."
Knowing that hers is a lost cause, Caroline begins to fight her magical bonds with her own power at the same time Morgan begins to chant. Caroline can break them, she knows she can, and then she'll kill the witch for daring to try and harm her.
The Morgan line is strong, and their hold is powerful, but Caroline does indeed manage to break it, sending the witches flying back.
At the same time, Morgan finishes her spell.
Caroline manages to reach her hand through the witch's chest and pull out her heart, but Morgan is already dead, her life given to the spell.
And Caroline is trapped in darkness, sealed away once more.
(CWM)
At first, Caroline thinks she is still in the dream. She can feel the power of the witch around her, and she recognizes it as Morgan's strength.
But the hair fanning around her is blonde, not red, and Caroline realizes that this is no dream. No, this is history repeating itself.
"Stop Amelia!" the voice is Klaus', and Caroline sees him at the doorway, held back by an invisible force that he is beating against. Next to him stands a blonde man. He is pale and tall with strong bone structure. His eyes are closed, but Caroline knows that, if they were open, they would be dark, dark brown. She knows this man.
It is Marik.
She knows him from her visions, and she knows him because she can feel his power, trying to reach her, trying to stop the Morgan witch.
It is different this time, though. Amelia is alone, there are no cousins to hold Caroline down while the witch seals her away. It surprises Caroline, how easy it is for her to move. How quickly she is off the surface she had been lying on and in front of the witch.
There has been an internal battle going on in Caroline ever since her revelation. A battle between Caroline Forbes and War, but the battle is done and the dust is settled and the girl that stands before Amelia Morgan has the fire and passion of Caroline; she is the girl who will forever fight for the ones she loves.
But she is also ruthless; she has the skewed moral compass of War, who is not evil but rather a harbinger of balance.
It is War who shoves her hand into Amelia's chest and wraps her hand around the organ beating there.
It is Caroline who makes the decision to pull it out.
Amelia's eyes widen in shock as she stares at the blonde, into the glowing silver eyes. As the life fades from the witch's eyes, Caroline can see the exact moment when she realizes that she has failed, that War once again will walk the Earth.
Then, there is nothing but death.
War smiles.
Caroline closes her eyes.
And in the back of her mind, the voice gives one final murmur before it disappears. It has done its job; the girl is no longer two separate entities, but one being. She is both the Horseman of War and the Cheerleader; the Angel of Destruction and the neurotic control freak.
Caroline turns away from Amelia and faces Klaus and Marik.
For the first time since she "died," Caroline Forbes feels whole.
End Part II
AN: And that's it. The Odyssey is over. Now, we'll move onto Revelations. Caroline is now whole, she is reunited with Marik, there will be much jealousy and we'll get some more Klaroline action. Also, we'll get to officially meet Victor who is kind of a douchebag (but so is Marik, so…). Thank-you to everyone who has continued to read and review. I'm already half-done chapter 1 of Revelations, so you hopefully will not have to wait as long for that to come out.
Cheers!
