For You by Rae Morris [Andrea]
Dust Bowl III by Other Lives [Elijah/Hayley]
Majesty/Magic by Low [Correas]
Landslide by Kid Sam [Battle]
Gyroscope by Boards of Canada [Hayley/Witches]
Elijah narrowed his eyes as Jackson walked in first to the compound. Him and Klaus had beaten them back to the compound. He knew that Hayley went out of her way to take a longer way home. Now he wondered her reasoning for it. Andrea immediately jumped from her seat on the couch as she watched a bruised and cut Jackson limp into the room. Elijah's first thing upon arriving back was reassuring her that Jackson was fine. But clearly she wouldn't relax until she saw him herself.
Andrea gently pulled him into a hug. She looked over his shoulder, meeting Elijah's gaze. She nodded and muttered her thanks. Elijah opened his mouth to correct her. But Jackson beat him to it.
"It was Hayley." He felt the need to say. Elijah couldn't decide if it was because Jackson didn't trust him or if he was trying to get Hayley points with Andrea. Either way, the comment made Elijah's jaw tighten.
As if hearing her cue, Hayley casually walked past the room. Andrea looked her up and down, noting how her and Jackson's clothes were much more damaged than Elijah and Klaus'. All of Hayley's cuts and bruises were healed, unlike Jackson who was still recovering with his slower werewolf genes.
Hayley paused. It appeared she had no intention to step into the room, only walking by the entryway to get to her own bedroom. But everyone was looking at her now and it made her stop. She looked uncomfortable, a rarity for her.
"Thank you?" Andrea practically mumbled. Elijah imagined that it wasn't meant to come out like a question. But she seemed rather confused.
Hayley's gaze flickered between Jackson and Elijah, almost with accusation. Apparently she had expected both of them to give all the credit to Elijah, or even Klaus. "It wasn't a big deal." Hayley finally muttered when she'd had enough of their staring. Then she watched Andrea look at Jackson, who returned her stare with a look that proved it was actually a really big deal.
Hayley didn't wait for anyone to say any more. She quickly walked away to what Elijah assumed was her bedroom. He intended on having a talk with her very shortly.
Andrea interrupted his thoughts. "What about the stones?"
"Gone." Klaus answered loudly. He poured himself a drink. Elijah immediately noted that his brother was far too calm and casual about it. "Marcel made a move to prove that werewolves would not be coming to the quarter any time soon. He also made quite a statement that he intends to bring his wrath due to his good friend Thierry being dead." He winked at Elijah.
"This is my fault, I'm gonna fix it." Jackson intervened. He tried to get up, but his body protested and Andrea firmly held his shoulder to prove she wasn't letting him go anywhere.
"You're hurt, Jackson." She urged him gently. "And no one's blaming you."
"I'm blaming you." Klaus smirked darkly. "Furthermore, Hayley almost died trying to save you." He added, losing the smirk. Elijah was surprised how openly Klaus showed his protectiveness over Hayley. He remembered that there was once a time where her life meant nothing to the hybrid. "Those stones…will be hard to replace." He let his statement sink in the room for a moment. Elijah looked at him with even more suspicion. "Fortunately, I always have a back up plan." Without explaining further, Klaus sent a text message quickly on his phone.
Elijah didn't feel like taking the bait. He would wait for whatever Plan B his brother had assured. By Klaus' pacing, he could tell there was some time before whatever it was got there. So Elijah politely excused himself and started for Hayley's bedroom. She was already out of the shower when she responded to his knock. Her hair was wet and a towel was tightly wrapped around her body.
"You just couldn't wait to get up here and deliver that lecture you've been practicing in your head." She murmured in obvious annoyance as she sat at the edge of her bed, patiently waiting for him to start. Her arms hugged her, securing the towel.
Elijah gave her a small glare, closing the door behind him.
"Should I try to guess your exact wording first?" She mocked him. He didn't answer. "'Hayley, what were you possibly thinking? That bomb could have easily killed you. Do not ever risk your life like that again.'" Hayley impersonated his eloquent accent and tone almost perfectly. Maybe Elijah would have at least smiled at it if he were not so upset with her.
Hayley smiled. She hadn't acted so immature in front of him for a while. He suspected it was because she knew that she had done something wrong and didn't want to own up to it.
Elijah stood his ground firmly and crossed his arms. He gave her a look that showed he wasn't going to speak until she got all of it out of her system.
"No matter what you say, I'm not going to feel guilty." Hayley finally stated, losing her playful smile. "I'm not going to apologize."
He remained stoic.
"You are acting like a child." He finally broke the silence. Then it managed to come out more as an insult than an accusation.
Hayley blinked at him before looking at the ground. "Well…maybe it's because you're treating me like one."
Elijah sighed, "Hayley…"
"You always think you know what's best for me!" Hayley snapped, cutting him off before he could start another lecture. "I get it…you've got a millennium of wisdom and experience over me. You worry about me… I get that too. But you don't get to act like you know what's best for me every moment of every day. It's been a thing since we've met. For Christ's sake, you even almost compelled me to forget you the day we met."
Elijah waited a moment, making sure she was completely finished. "So you decided to prove me wrong by involving yourself in my brother's affairs?"
Hayley pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. It was hard to explain her decision making process to him. It wasn't until now that she realized how differently their minds worked. Elijah was calculated, cunning, experience. Therefore, every decision he made reflected that. But Hayley could be more impulsive, making her judgments so. Except they ran on pure instinct and her instincts were some of the best.
"I did that to show you that I get to decide what I want to do, whether you like it or not?" She pushed. "And maybe that's childish to you, but sometimes I don't know any other way to tell you."
Elijah nodded, seeing that she had a point. It was all rather repetitive, him being over protective of her. Perhaps it had gotten worse since she had come back. After losing her once, he knew another time would truly destroy him. But after all, it wasn't something that he could have protected her from. It had been disturbingly inevitable. Kol's death had dragged her along with him. Hayley had always managed to defend herself. She'd managed to save the Original family on multiple occasions too.
"But what of Jackson?" He questioned.
Hayley shrugged. "What about him?"
"Why did you risk your life trying to save him?"
The question seemed to make her uncomfortable for some reason. "Because I wasn't sure if you were." She didn't mention the odds of Klaus trying to; they both knew Jackson's life meant nothing to him. "I know he means a lot to Andrea."
Elijah slowly moved to sit next to her on the bed.
"I killed a lot of people when my humanity was gone, Elijah." She whispered painfully. "If I can save absolutely anyone, I'm going to try. I guess I thought it would start erasing all the horrible things I did." When she slowly turned to look up at him, her eyes were glazed over in tears. Instantly, Elijah wrapped his arm around her barely covered body. She welcomed the comfort of him, pressing her face into him.
"I don't want to be part of this mess." Hayley muttered into his chest. "But I realized I can't just stand by when people are getting killed left and right." She pulled away from Elijah to see that he was staring down at her with expression she couldn't quite read. "What?" She asked.
He smiled shyly. "You haven't sounded more like your old self until now." He reminisced on Hayley when she was still human and even a new vampire. She didn't hurt anyone, knowing the guilt would be too much. Slowly, living with his family, she adapted to the idea of needing to hurt people in order to protect the ones she loved. When she lost her humanity, she stopped caring at all. Now, gradually she was starting to remember what it really meant to murder.
Elijah had always feared what him and his family would do to her. Even his brother Niklaus asked him to assure she'd never be like them. When it seemed like Hayley would never salvage her humanity, Elijah feared that maybe it had been inevitable. Maybe Hayley had come into their lives not to bring back his family's kindness and empathy, but to destroy hers.
"I'm sorry for worrying you." Hayley interrupted his thoughts. Before he could answer, they both heard a large group enter the compound with their vampire hearing. They looked at each other, realizing that this must be Klaus' Plan B. Elijah immediately started for the door and Hayley rushed to find clothes to put on.
"You can't seriously mean her, she's a gangster." Elijah heard Andrea complain.
"I see her more as a means to procure rare items on short notice."
Elijah caught up to his brother, looking down to see the Correa's being led into the compound by Francesca. He went down the stairs but remained behind his brother as he watched the transaction. Andrea stood closer, defying Klaus' decision to include the human faction.
Suddenly, Hayley appeared at Elijah's flank. Her hair was still wet, but now she wore a ratty t-shirt and boyfriend jeans. No one else seemed to notice her at his side. He watched her expression as she too listened to the business deal.
"What is it?" He asked her.
She shook her head. "I don't trust them." Her voice was such a low whisper that Elijah doubted even Klaus could hear her from a few feet away. Her eyes looked up at his with worry. "When I had been looking into Andrea's history…" She whispered, meaning that this was when she had turned off her humanity. "I was looking through other family histories of New Orleans. The Correa's…they came out of nowhere. Their family grew so quickly and their business sprouted from almost nothing." Just as she finished, Francesca opened a briefcase filled with the stones that Klaus needed. Hayley hugged even closer to Elijah. "Isn't it a little odd they found a supposedly rare stone in barely an hour?"
Elijah nodded, showing that he was taking her information seriously. He took his chance to step forward. "Strange, brother, I wasn't aware that she knew of our plan."
"My price for doing business is full disclosure, your brother complied." Francesco sniped back.
"How could the human faction get anything out of this?" Hayley no longer lingered in the shadows, but made her presence known. Elijah gave her a warning look, which she ignored. Francesca looked her up and down. She wore a tailored business suit, while Hayley looked like some rebellious artist. Yet even with Francesca's heels, Hayley still towered over the human.
"I only want to solidify our allegiance to the ruling class." Francesca glared at Hayley and used the thickest patronizing tone. "It's good for business."
"If only everyone shared your capacity for reason." Klaus added. He seemed to be ignoring both Elijah and Hayley's suspicions.
She continued to explain her concerns toward Marcel, basically explaining why she needed shelter at the compound. She acted as if it were to protect both her and her family. But Hayley didn't buy it. Klaus led her brothers upstairs, Andrea went to tend to Jackson, and Elijah began to leave as well. Somehow it ended with Hayley staring down Francesca.
"You don't seem to like me very much…what was your name again?" Francesca asked haughtily. Elijah stopped his departure, now watching the exchange from the bottom of the stairs.
Hayley smirked at the insult. Her arms were crossed and her posture confident. "It's hard for me to like people that think they can buy trust and protection."
"Hayley…" Elijah called her. She looked over her shoulder at him to assure that he didn't need to watch over her.
"So it's Hayley?" Francesca regained Hayley's attention.
She now stepped closer until her height forced her to look down at Francesca. "Keep in mind that you bought protection from Marcel…and not anyone else." With that she quickly moved away and went to Elijah's side.
"Was that completely necessary?" He muttered as they moved up the stairs together.
"No." Hayley smiled darkly. "But it felt nice to hear her heart speed up from fear. Plus, I don't want her making herself too comfortable here."
"I don't think I ever fully appreciated how good it feels to no longer be on your bad side." Elijah smirked at her.
Genevieve chanted as she poured Klaus' blood over the stones. Just before cutting Klaus' wrist, Elijah had to silently catch Hayley's wrist. He could tell just from seeing the tension in his peripheral that she was about to protest on Klaus' behalf about using his blood. Elijah agreed that it felt wrong, but it was his brother's decision and not theirs. Hayley glared for keeping her from intervening. But he just subtly shook his head. She looked frustrated, but remained quietly at his side.
"My people say that Marcel is on the move." Francesca barged in. It instantly got everyone's attention. Genevieve clearly needed a lot of time and strength to complete the spell and Marcel bringing an army to the compound wouldn't help.
The Original's remained calm, as always. But Klaus looked at Elijah. "Get Andrea to safety." He demanded before leaving the room. Hayley didn't even blink as Elijah was at the she-wolf's side.
But Andrea ignored him. "No." She said so plainly, as if it were the most obvious decision in the world. "Someone needs to watch her."
Elijah looked torn, understanding that the witch could not be trusted. But his priority was to keep her safe. He looked at Hayley for some help, recognizing Andrea's behavior as being similar to hers.
"Help Klaus. My security team isn't going to hold up against an army of vampires." Francesca intervened. She was the only one that seemed panicked. "I'll stay with Andrea." The mobster added as she saw that Elijah was still unsure and having a silent conversation with Hayley.
"Well…then I'm definitely staying." Hayley added with an obvious attitude. She had made it clear that she didn't trust either Francesca or Genevieve. Furthermore, she promised Klaus that she'd look over Andrea. Elijah and Klaus would never let her fight against the army that was on their way. While Hayley could start a fight about her ability to protect herself, she knew her presence would only distract them both. They needed to protect themselves. In order to do that, they required complete concentration and having Hayley present wouldn't allow that.
Elijah looked at Hayley very seriously. "A word?" He asked politely, nodding to the hallway. She quickly followed him. They didn't have much time.
Hayley was taken aback by is instant contact when they were alone. His hands gripped her shoulders as he dipped his head to look closely into her gaze. "If anything should happen, anything at all…you take Andrea and you get out."
She tried to laugh at his seriousness but he shook his head before it was even able to escape her throat. "Hayley, I'm serious. If you hear Niklaus or me call out a warning of any kind, you get Andrea out of here. Even if you have to drag her out, do you understand me?"
Hayley's first instinct was to argue. But the way his hands gripped her shoulders, and the way his eyes were filled with desperation…she couldn't bring herself to do it. So she nodded her head slowly. "I promise I'll get her out of her if anything happens." She whispered. The words seemed to surprise her more than Elijah. Then a shy smile appeared. "But nothing's going to happen Elijah, we're going to be fine."
He couldn't help but mirror her soft smile and her attempt at remaining positive. It was easier for her to view the situation as such; she hadn't lived months with his death. She didn't understand loss the way he did. He was more immortal than she could ever be.
Before she could say any more, his lips crashed on hers. There was less desperation on her end and more confusion. But she didn't fight it in the least bit. It lasted a few seconds; Elijah extended it as long as he could. But he heard footsteps just outside the compound and he knew it was time to leave her side. He kissed her forehead and tore himself away from her.
But she grabbed his hand. "Please… be careful." She whispered. The strong, independent, and brave woman he fell in love with disappeared in that sentence. Instead, she looked like an innocent version of herself that he had never seen. He wondered if this was a child that she once existed as, a little girl who had never shown herself until now.
Elijah only nodded, too taken aback by this new side of her to say anything.
Hayley heard them fighting through the closed doors. Hayley paced back and forth in front of the door, waiting for the footsteps to approach. She could tell her unease was annoying Andrea, but she didn't say anything.
Only minutes had gone by since the fighting had begun, but being in the sidelines while Elijah was in danger made it seem like an hour. Hayley's worrying was interrupted when Genevieve picked up the stones declaring that they were ready.
"I'll get them to the Bayou." Andrea answered. Hayley immediately brought her attention to the room. She would need to sneak Andrea out of here unnoticed and unharmed. Her mind immediately started planning a route for their escape.
"Actually, those are mine." Francesca stepped forward, her brothers closely behind. Even more surprising, Genevieve happily handed the stones over to her.
"What the hell is this?" Andrea accused. Hayley completely ignored the battle going on downstairs and stepped to her side.
"Call it a side deal." Francesca explained while making eye contact with the witch. "The point is… I'm taking the stones."
"Are you out of your mind? Do you honestly think humans can go up against Klaus?" Andrea followed.
Hayley instantly intervened, blocking their pathway to the door. "Give her the stones." Her eyes darkened in their vampire form and her voice lowered to a growl.
Francesca remarkably smiled. "Or what? You'll kill me?"
Hayley leered back, showing her fangs. Then she ripped one of the Correa brother's from her side at vampire speed. "Oh no. That's not how we do things here. First I threaten the ones closest to you." Her hands were latched around the man's throat. "Give Andrea the stones, or I will rip out his heart and then I'll suffocate your other brother by shoving it down his throat."
Francesca's smile vanished at the threat and then turned to Genevieve. "A little help?"
Before Hayley could follow through with her intimidation, she was thrown to her knees from pain. Her brain felt as if it were melting and being electrocuted at the same time. She cried in agony as her hands cradled her head.
All hell broke loose.
"You're right." Francesca said to Andrea, now that Hayley was no longer a problem. "Humans don't stand a chance. But I'm not human." There was a knife in her hand that Andrea had missed. Then in one swift movement, she slit the throat of one of her security guards. Francesca groaned and bent over. When she stood straight again, her eyes were glowing yellow as they tore into Andrea. "I'm like you. And now I'm gonna take back my town."
"Like hell you are!" Andrea growled, taking a step toward her.
But once again, Genevieve interrupted. With a wave of her hand, Andrea gasped and reached for the bump that carried her child. Then her eyes rolled back and she fainted to the floor.
Hayley could barely concentrate with her pain, but she was able to register the danger of the situation. While Genevieve focused on Andrea, the pain subsided slightly on Hayley. She tried to put a plan together. The witch wanted Andrea; otherwise she would've let Francesca kill her.
Ignoring the depleted threat, Francesca grabbed the rest of the stones and went to the hallway with her brother.
Hayley was alone with the witch and Andrea's unconscious body now. She needed to think quickly. Hurriedly, she pretended to blackout from the extent of the pain. She knew better than to try and go up against a witch, a New Orleans one at that. With her eyes closed, she listened to Genevieve lift Andrea's body off the ground with a spell. She'd let the witch get a head start, but would not allow them to get too far ahead for her to be unable to follow.
Hayley counted to a minute in her head, knowing her impatience would betray her and ruin the plan. Then she heard the groans of death in the hallway. They're killing all of their security detail to change, Hayley realized. She had to warn Elijah. A werewolf bite wouldn't kill him, but it wouldn't help either her or Andrea. Klaus had already left to get after Marcel. Hayley had heard that from the very beginning of the battle.
She couldn't do this alone, she suddenly realized. She was no match for a witch as strong as Genevieve. Hayley's eyes snapped open in action.
Racing into the hallway that overlooked the compound. Her eyes searched for Elijah. There were dead vampires scattered everywhere. Some groaned as they healed too slowly. But it seemed none of them remained unharmed.
"Are we done?" Elijah asked them.
Hayley looked for the Correa's. They were downstairs, sneaking up on Elijah. He was too busy eyeing the vampire army to notice their approach.
"Elijah!" Hayley yelled before they could reach him. His eyes snapped at the sound of her voice. He looked up at her. "The Correa's are werewolves! The deal was a trick! The witches have Hayley!" Her words flew out of her mouth a mile a minute, but he understood all of it. Just as she finished, Elijah was surrounded by the werewolf pack.
"You saved me the trouble of killing all of these vampires myself." Francesca said to Elijah as he now eyed his new opponent.
"Hayley, run!" He yelled without taking his eyes off of them.
She wanted to disobey him, to help him before he went after Andrea. But while he could survive a werewolf bite, she could not. Plus, Andrea needed her help more than him. Hayley could help Elijah and risk her own life, or save two lives by going after Andrea. Just as she realized the importance of her decision, two of the Correa wolves locked eyes with her.
Hayley sprinted to the closest exit. They were new wolves, unaware of their strength and weaknesses. Plus, they didn't know how fast she was. She managed to escape and lose them in a moment. Now she had to track Andrea down.
Thank god for the mouth on the girl, otherwise it would've been more difficult. Hayley could hear her screaming at the top of her lungs. She closed her eyes and listened, trying to track the direction and distance of her cries. When she locked the location, she sprinted into action.
However, when she reached them, she remained in the shadows unseen. She couldn't just attack; Genevieve had reinforcements now. Hayley had to devise a plan otherwise she would be worthless in helping Andrea. They were dragging her into the church that once hid Davina. It was then that Hayley realized the reason Andrea had woken up was because she was going into labor. Genevieve didn't want Andrea; she wanted the baby that was on its way.
Hayley's breath started to catch when she realized she was in over her head. Her hands shook as she grabbed her cell from her pocket. She dialed Klaus' number, hoping that whatever happened with Marcel was over now. But she was only answered with continuous ringing. She muttered a curse word. She was on her own against an army of witches, listening to Andrea scream in both pain and panic.
Hayley leaned against a cold and rough brick wall. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down enough to formulate a strategy. This would be easier if she had no emotion. She wouldn't feel empathy from hearing Andrea crying out. She wouldn't be worried about losing her own life. But that wasn't her anymore.
Hayley opened her eyes. She had made a promise to Klaus. She would keep it even if it meant to die trying to do so. She walked past an iron fence. Without stopping, her arm broke off an entire section. She continued to break it into pieces as she walked toward the church, creating a handful of makeshift arrows and spears.
"The baby is coming and we'll have to adapt." Genevieve argued with Monique as Hayley snuck into the back of the church. "You need to be calm, Andrea." She said to the frantic girl as she continued to try and fight the witches.
Hayley took this moment of chaos to her advantage. The two goons that had helped carry in Andrea were standing further back in the church where the pews started. In one motion, Hayley threw two of her improvised weapons. They both flew right into their backs, parallel to their hearts. They fell with a loud thud, giving away her entrance. The witches thankfully hadn't heard with the commotion of Andrea.
There was an older witch that Hayley didn't recognize that was the furthest outside the circle that surrounded Andrea. Hayley chucked another piece at her, and it landed right in the witch's gut. The gasp and thump of her dead body falling guaranteed the witches attention now.
Hayley stood in the middle of the aisle, staring at them with her eyes glowering. They didn't deserve another verbal warning from her. A war had started and there wasn't any time for such things anymore. Without allowing anyone to speak, she threw two more of the arrows. But it was too late. The element of surprise was lost and they stopped them with a simple rising of their hands.
"You think you're a match for harvest witches?" Monique stood up and yelled.
Hayley shrugged. "Of course not." With that, she threw another piece of the iron fence, but in the complete opposite direction of the witches. Instead, she broke the glass of the fire alarm, sounding off the blaring buzzers and activating the sprinklers above. Now the entire city would arrive on the location. Elijah and Klaus wouldn't waste time trying to find Andrea. Perhaps the arrival of a fire department could slow down the witches. This was all insurance for when Hayley inevitably failed.
The witches all instinctively looked up at the dropping water, momentarily dazed. This was Hayley's intention. She flew forward to attack once again. But Genevieve saw it too soon. She held up her hand, freezing Hayley in her place.
"I admire your efforts…really, I do. But I refuse to let you stop this. I should kill you. But your rebirth has started too many questions that I want answers to." The witch cooed at her. But Hayley was unable to speak. "I guess we'll put you to sleep until you can no longer be a nuisance to us." Monique glared at Genevieve's mercy. But she was too preoccupied with Andrea to truly argue with the decision.
Genevieve began chanting and flexing the fingers of her raised had further and further apart. Hayley winced in pain as it felt like the blood in her body was slowly being frozen. It moved down her limbs like a shiver, but had a pain she had never experienced before. Her body slowly felt like it was being filled sandbags. Her knees gave out, bringing her to the floor. The last thing she heard before her body gave up to the magic was Andrea's screams.
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