Chapter 38 - Run For Your Life

FIONA'S POINT OF VIEW:

You know that sick feeling you get when you know you're about to walk into a bad situation? This feeling begins as a subtle evocation and morphs into a haunting reality. The uneasiness in your stomach that causes you to tremble and break into a cold sweat. A feeling of profound dread conjured by the fear of the unknown, the kind of feeling that makes you wonder if somehow there's a way out. But as you continue to think, you eventually come to realize that you are altogether trapped, and it leaves you paralyzed. You fight it, you struggle to not let it consume you, but in the end, you just have to admit it to yourself. Anxiety is at its peak, and there's no getting it under control. The feeling has won, and you're scared. Really. Freaking. Scared.

Being terrified of Klaus Mikaelson was not a new concept, usually it didn't even faze me, but I'd royally screwed up this time. Who did I think I was, threatening him like I did… I was asking for trouble. I never imagined that circumstances would ever amount to this, but, nevertheless, here we were. I was triggered nearly beyond reason, I'd let my emotions take over, made a couple rash decisions and careless mistakes. Uncle Elijah had to come bail me out, I'd gotten overzealous again, ultimately making matters inconceivably worse. One would think I'd have learned my lesson by now, but nope. Stubborn pride and rebelliousness refused to be silenced, just like my big mouth.

I jumped in my seat as the carriageway gate closed behind us with a clang, which coincidentally happened to be the sound of my fate being sealed. Elijah cut the engine, stepped out of the car, and walked around to my side. I focused on my breathing as he opened my door; I needed to calm down before facing my father. Elijah saw that I was putting in every effort to keep it together, but time was of the essence, and he knew I wouldn't move without a little push. He placed his right forearm on top of the car, leaning into the frame as he stood over me, waiting patiently yet expectantly for me to get out of the vehicle. He was giving me a silent command, but I didn't budge.

"Fiona," Elijah said, pulling me out of my distracting thoughts. "You are pale as a ghost."

I exhaled a worried breath and looked up at my uncle. "I don't think I can do this. Are you sure we can't just leave Klaus out of it? He's going to be so mad at me."

"Niklaus will be angry with me, too," Elijah said with certainty. "He will place just as much, if not more blame upon me for this mess. We both defied his wishes, and the Strix are my burden to bear, I created them. I am the one who brought the Charter into play, you merely took advantage of the game. While your disobedience is to be addressed as a problem of its own, you are not responsible for the evil that is Tristan de Martel. Do you understand me?"

I sighed. "It's days like today where I would give anything to be normal. Humans don't know how lucky they are to believe that vampires and witches and things that go bump in the night are just works of fiction. I've read so many stories about creatures like us. Most of them are fairy tales, beautiful fantasies about friendship and love, peace between species. If only they knew the truth…"

"And yet many of them wish to be immortal," Elijah remarked. "Their imagination suggests that they think supernatural virtue is the answer to all their prayers. They desire power, money, and general superiority. Their existence is dedicated to obtaining every possible advantage in life, to furthering their individual success, all the while desperately seeking a partner, for they live in fear of prevailing alone. That's why they fabricate lore with creatures unbound by human limitations, the characters achieve what they themselves believe they cannot. They lose themselves in the stories to be distracted from the misery of their personal inadequacy."

"Humans are stupid," I scathingly criticized.

"Ignorance is bliss," Elijah said, hissily extending the 's' to accentuate his speech as he often did.

"Ignorance," I mused. "Mind if I give it a try?"

My uncle grimaced. "I am afraid you must confront this directly."

I closed my eyes and huffed. "I figured you'd say that."

"Take my hand," Uncle Elijah invited with a soft, compassionate smile. "We shall face him together."

I accepted Elijah's hand and allowed him to pull me from the car. I couldn't hide anymore, it was time to face the music. My uncle caringly wrapped an arm around my waist and whisked me into the house. Why was he in such a hurry to cast me into the lion's den? You'd think he'd stall at least a little on my behalf. I attempted to bury myself beneath his protection, but I knew Klaus was going to let me have it no matter what I tried. I sensed my father sitting in the living room, avidly awaiting our arrival, his wrath a brewing storm. He seemed to already know something was up, and I briefly wondered how. The answer came to me immediately following my question. This was his city, of course Klaus already knew what happened. I bet he had a few choice words picked out, too.

We entered the living room, and the smell of alcohol so poignant that it burned my nose; although, I did love the scent of bourbon. Klaus sat complacently on the couch, drinking straight from the bottle as per usual. I kept my eyes on the floor, hesitant to look at him, for he'd ripped people's hearts out for speaking like I had. The alcohol would at least chill him out a little bit, but I knew he would become furious as soon as we made eye contact. I waited for Elijah to begin conversation, but he didn't. He really was going to make me face this head-on.

I reluctantly risked a glance at Klaus. He stared back with narrowed eyes and a hardened expression, but it wasn't the violent rage that I usually witnessed from him. He was obviously angry, but his wrath stemmed from hurt and frustration. Klaus was enraged, but he didn't appear to have the desire to take it out on me like before. That said, he was still scary, and I quaked in my boots as he began to speak.

"Well, well, well, look who it is," he snarled lowly, his lips curled. "Come to make good on your promise to vanquish me? Have at it."

I swallowed hard and looked back down at the floor. I could tell he was holding in his rage, waiting until the perfect moment to unleash it. He was eerily self-controlled, and I grew more anxious with every passing second. From Elijah's stiff posture, I knew he was ascertaining my father's reaction too. Klaus was going to drag me around a bit with this one, and then he would snap.

"Why are you here, Fiona? Hm?" the Hybrid inquired intimidatingly. "To - what was it you said? Oh yes, to eclipse everything that I am. If not that, then what is it, my dear?"

As if he didn't already know. That question was a trap, and I refused to fall for it. I knew that as soon as I spoke, he would use my words as an opportunity to lay down whatever acrimonious speech he had prepared for me. I simply stood there, silent, wringing my hands nervously.

"Fine, don't answer me," he responded bitterly. "I already know why anyway, and given the regretful, pitiful, and petrified look on your face, you're aware of that. However, what I don't know is what you want me to do? Just so we're clear, are you asking for my help?"

I nodded. "I made a mistake."

"Be quiet!" he snapped, rising from his seat and striding forward a few steps.

Here we go.

"I bet they were all so impressed!" Klaus derided in a reprehending tone. "Weren't they, your new mates? Positively taken by your boldness, your cunning wit, and your steely resolve. You run around in triumph, bumptiously playing Princess of New Orleans, but when the novelty wears off and you finally realize that your immature belligerence has gotten you in trouble, that's when you decide I'm worthy of a visit! You return home, all meek and innocent-looking, and you just assumed that I would be willing - eager, even, to take time away from my demanding quest to restore the city which you stirred into an uproar, in the aftermath! Don't you dare insult my intelligence by claiming any of that a mistake!"

I kept my mouth shut, not knowing what to say. Klaus had never yelled at me like this. I mean, he'd yelled at me, and then some, but never in a parental-lecturing kind of way. This was new, this was uncharted territory, and I did not know the appropriate response. Was response even appropriate?

"This city has never been more screwed up!" Klaus continued angrily. "We cannot tell friend, from foe, from biscuit, and what are you doing? You're pledging a gang run by those conspiring against us!"

His berating was starting to piss me off, I couldn't keep quiet anymore. "My interest in the Strix was because of you!"

My father's eyes darkened. "What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You and Elijah don't let make my own decisions," I stated. "I don't get to make any choices for myself. If one of you isn't bossing me around, the other is. You're both using me for your own objectives, and I'm over it! I'm not some doll for you to control! I wanted to be a family, but you just want me so you can take advantage of my power, and Elijah only bothers with me because he thinks I'm the key to your blasted redemption! I'm not a savior, and I'm sick of being your guys' little bitch! Yes, I'm responsible for the trouble I've gotten into by joining the Strix, I know that, but I didn't ask for any of this. This is not my doing. The two of you were supposed to make this house a home, not a dungeon where you keep your misfit tribrid whom you tend to use for schemes that inadvertently wind up causing me pain, but you justify it by claiming that it's for the best, that there was no other choice. Elijah, you weren't supposed to push me away and ruin our bond. Klaus, you were supposed to be my dad. You were supposed to hold me when I'm scared and teach me how to be a vampire and a werewolf at the same time - which is something I still haven't quite got figured out, by the way - but instead you abhorred me, abused me, and abandoned me. I know you know the pain of that because it is exactly what your father did to you. You weren't supposed to do any of that; you were supposed to be different and end the cycle. You were supposed to make up for the five hundred and sixty-one years of my life that you weren't there for. This, this was never my dream."

I wanted to say more, but I could feel my emotions threatening to overpower me again. Tears of pain and rage ran down my cheeks, but I wouldn't let myself fall apart completely. Elijah was teary-eyed, and Klaus' guilt was streaming from his eyes in liquid form. My words had made him cry. Elijah and Klaus shared a look, and Klaus' demeanor softened around the edges. His anger began to dissipate, and I expected him to leave the room like he always did when the emotional atmosphere grew heavy, but, surprisingly, he stayed.

Not able to bear seeing me upset, Elijah came forward and wiped away my tears with his thumb before engulfing me in his embrace. He rubbed the back of my neck and kissed the top of my head, doing the gentle things he always did to comfort me. I breathed into the fabric of his suit, the silky material a soothing texture on my face. I felt secure in his arms, they reminded me of the safety and happiness I once had when he was my loving uncle and guardian, before he'd sacrificed our relationship.

"I love you so much, Fiona," Elijah spoke wholeheartedly. "You are not a doll to me, I never saw you that way, but I am sorry I made you feel like I did. I believe I speak for both Niklaus and myself when I say the only scheme now is to protect you, and we do want to be your family. I will admit to being too hard on you for some things when I should have been making an effort to listen to you and understand your perspective, it's just whoever is against us may also come through you. Though they are sired to me, the Strix have not been our friends in a very long time."

"As mad as I am at you guys, I would never send an enemy your way," I said. "Why would I when I'm already all it takes to make your lives a living hell?"

Elijah smiled. "I believe you, Sweetheart, but Tristan and his sister I mentioned to you earlier, Aurora, have confiscated Rebekah and are holding her for ransom."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"Aurora daggered Rebekah and compelled someone to drop her body in the ocean. Neither Aurora nor Tristan knows the coordinates of her exact location, but one of them has the latitude and the other has the longitude. Niklaus and I are working on obtaining that information, and we are close, but Tristan was keeping Rebekah as something of an insurance policy until he was certain of your allegiance to the Strix," Elijah explained.

I looked down shamefully. "I didn't know that."

"I could not tell you because we did not want you to murder Tristan, thus losing half of the coordinates," my uncle said. "We have a plan to get you out, Fiona, I promise, but I need for you to play along with the Strix for now. We will have to make a few adjustments since you challenged Tristan, but I am confident we can free you. If this plan is going to work, Niklaus and I require your full cooperation."

I nodded. "I want to fix this."

"In the meantime, I will stay close by to keep you safe and get the information out of Tristan simultaneously. Once I have it, I will kill him along with the rest of the Strix, and you will be free to return home."

"Or leave, if that is what you still want," Klaus said, finally coming out of his silence. "I know you haven't gotten a chance to get away yet."

I stepped away from my uncle and raised a brow. "You'd really let me go?"

"A minute ago it would have been a firm no, but you're not a doll for me to control, remember?" Klaus said, giving me a small smile. "We had a rocky start, you and I, and I am sorry for all of the ways that I hurt you. I do hear you, Fiona, and I mean it when I say that I want to be family. I want to be your father, I want your respect. I want to be the person you come to for guidance and permission, but I know that can't happen until I've earned your trust. I'm trying, Fiona, I really am. I am so, so sorry, and I'll prove it all to you in time."

I believed him. It would be a cautious faith, but I knew he genuinely wanted to repair what he had broken. I was nowhere near ready to forgive him for all the hurt he'd caused. My body had long since healed from the abuse, but my heart had not. I would never forget the bruises, the broken bones, or the betrayal. He'd been merciless in the beginning, spitting cold, heartless words at me like I was rubbish. Telling me I was worthless, unwanted, and unloved. I knew those were just cruel lies, but they'd cut like a knife straight to the heart.

Elijah's words, however, I knew I would eventually come to forgive. He hadn't meant any of them, and he had thought he was doing what was best. At the very least, his intentions were always good. Uncle Elijah was my home, he had accepted me into the Mikaelson family before Klaus did. Elijah had chosen to take me in and care for me when Klaus despised even the very thought of me. My uncle was far from perfect, but every single action of his had come from a place of love. Klaus was working on it, but he'd done horrible, evil things and inflicted unimaginable torment upon me that no measure of time would ever erase.

"There's something you need to know," I admitted.

Klaus tilted his head, looking warily at me. "I'm listening."

I felt like crying again. "Tristan wanted to overthrow you, and I sort of helped him come up with a plan to take the city from you."

Klaus glared. "Fiona!"

"Relax, he'd have an awfully hard time putting it into action without me, but it should be noted that they do have a secret coven of particularly strong witches," I said.

His eyes flicked to Elijah. "Did you know about this?"

"Not until recently," my uncle denied. "The Sisters are courtesy of Aya."

"Very well," Klaus said. "I have devoured every enemy who stood against me in the past, these witches will be no different. We'll have to get creative, but we'll take them down just the same - in a blaze of blood and glory."

"We should return you to Tristan," Elijah said to me.

"No," I said. "I'm home now, I don't want to go back. I might be Tristan's most treasured possession, but I was still a hostage. He won't exactly be a bundle of joy about my stealing of the charter, either."

"You have my word that I will have you home safe and sound by tomorrow night, but we mustn't give him reason to suspect that we are up to something. When all of this is done, we, this family, will reconcile our differences. We shall get through this together."

I was still bitter towards my uncle, but I wanted to work with him at least until I was free from the Strix. "One more day," I breathed, nodding. "I can do it." Elijah put his hand on my back and started to guide me toward the door.

"Wait," Klaus insisted.

He strode over to us with purpose, stopping right in front of me and reaching for me with both hands. I reflexively flinched away before he could touch me and pressed myself against Elijah, cowering from the Hybrid who'd caused just a little too much pain to be trusted. Klaus' sudden approach made me fearful, which didn't go unnoticed as his face softened into an expression of regret, and he let his arms fall back to his sides. His eyes held a rare trace of empathy.

"Hey, you needn't be startled, Love. I promise I'm not going to hurt you," he said gently before extending his arms again. "May I come closer?"

I paused, neither objecting nor giving permission. Klaus took my silence as an affirmative answer and immediately wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tight to his body, his hand grasping the back of my head to tuck it beside his neck. I stiffened, my first instinct was to recoil from the gentle touch by the same man who had previously handled me with an abusive touch. I was frozen, and my heart was racing, waiting for him to hurt me again, but nothing happened. Klaus just hugged me to him and caressed my hair. I'd thought he was going to be mean, I hadn't expected to be taken into his arms, but the fear quickly faded once I realized it was just a hug. I let go of my anger, at least for a moment, and clung to him.

I figured he would let go of me after a couple of seconds, but he didn't. Klaus kept a firm, protective hold on me, behaving as if I was someone he cared about. I leaned into his warm embrace, cherishing the comfort of it. All of our previous hugs - which were few in number - were different from this one. They'd all been cut short, or slightly awkward, or happened after something really sad and hurtful, but this one, this one was perfect. It was kind, it was genuine, and it was the first time I'd ever felt loved by him. For once, he was keeping me from harm instead inflicting pain upon me. Here, enveloped in his arms, I finally knew in the depth of my soul that my father loved me. I was loved. Truly, sincerely loved.

"I'm glad you're safe," he spoke softly into my ear. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"I deserved it," I replied, my voice muffled by his shirt.

"Yes, Sweetheart, you did. You've been very reckless lately, and your harebrained, self-aggrandizing quest to take control of my city with the Strix is the cherry that topped it all off. When I heard what Tristan had planned for you, I was beside myself. You made me feel frightened for you and that makes me angry, but Elijah has been telling me for years that I need to learn patience and understanding. I want you to know that you can always come to me for help," Klaus said, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear. "Don't you ever hesitate."

I swallowed. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"It's okay, Little Wolf," he said. "Just promise me you'll never do it again."

"Promise that I'll never do anything to worry you?" I questioned. "Fat chance."

He pulled away to look me in the eyes. "At least make it something a bit less stupid next time, hm?"

I shrugged. "I'll try."

My father smirked and rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Well, off you pop to your band of monkeys. Elijah, being the ape king, will keep an eye on you just fine until we get this all sorted."

"Shall I make an appointment for you at the local veterinary whilst I am away? I hear dogs are her specialty." Elijah shot back.

I snickered and shook my head at their antics, smiling. It had been a long time since I'd seen Klaus and Uncle Elijah engage in playful banter, I hadn't realized until now how much I missed those normal family interactions. Despite our problems, there was something incredibly and beautifully powerful about the three of us being under one roof. Not only did I feel safe, but there was a magnetizing feeling of belonging. Maybe it was the spirit of our vow, always and forever, or maybe I was just tired and homesick, but I knew I wasn't going to leave this place tonight. I couldn't return to the Strix, I just couldn't.

"I'm not going back there," I blurted. "I won't. I can't."

"Fiona, I will be right there with you…" Elijah started to say.

"No!" I objected, beginning to panic. "No! No way! I nabbed the Charter out of impulse, I never actually wanted to become leader! I don't even know why I decided to take it anymore! Why…"

"Fiona, you must listen to me," Elijah demanded, stopping me before I could get really worked up. "At midnight you became the leader of the Strix by your own volition. You made the choice to not hand over the Charter, and you must assume the responsibility for what you took upon yourself. If you abandon the position now, Tristan shall return to leadership and award you with revenge. You will face malevolent retribution by not only him, but also by Aya, Shen Min, and the rest of the angry Strix. The organization lives by a code, it is not something you can simply forfeit. Believe me when I say that turning your back on that organization is not the solution, I myself have contended with the devastating consequences of committing that very disgrace. I will not allow you to make the same mistake, you are far too precious."

"What if I give you the Charter now? Can't you invoke some sort of founder's privilege and take back the throne?" I tried.

"I would if I could," Elijah told me genuinely. "Tristan and Aya would never accept that. We would end up igniting a war, which would not bode well for Rebekah."

I began to cry. "Please, Elijah, I'm so scared to go back. The past couple days, I've had this bad feeling that Tristan is hiding something big, a weapon of sorts. I know I'm a tribrid and all, but my gut is telling me that I won't survive the night in that house. I know I screwed up big doing what I did, but, please, there has to be another way."

"So we'll get you out tonight," Klaus decided.

"What?" Elijah asked, turning to his brother. "Niklaus, we cannot execute our plan that quickly. We still do not have Rebekah's location and we are grossly outnumbered, even as Originals."

"Let's come up with Plan B, then, unless you would prefer to choose from the plots of which I have already schemed, all of which include feeding Tristan his own spleen," Klaus said.

"No, Niklaus, we need to approach this with strategy," Elijah firmly insisted. "Tristan and Aurora cannot be killed prematurely, and we do not know what aces the Strix have up their greedy sleeves. For all we know, they have acquired white oak. If we march into their makeshift headquarters and begin a riot, they are likely to exact some kind of unforeseen advantage, perhaps the very one that has Fiona frightened to the core."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "We have nothing to fear from your lot of sires."

"You are probably correct, but we need to face this with the regard that they perhaps have a weapon to wield against us. For example, the Sisters could use a troublesome burst of dark magic that would incapacitate even you, Niklaus," Elijah said. "Now, if you will allow me to continue what I was saying before you rudely interrupted. We would be met with immediate offense; however, Fiona would be welcomed in with open arms. She could return to the mansion in hysteria, run right to Tristan, and tell him that you are plotting to come for Aurora and that you have your hybrid army waiting on standby down at the docks. Every Strix vampire will flock to the warehouse except Aya, who will hastily get her priceless assembly of witches as far from the mess as possible, leaving Tristan and Aurora alone at the estate. I will take on Tristan while you handle Aurora, we will obtain the coordinates and officially destroy the Trinity in its entirety, as you have already eliminated Lucien. When the Strix get to the warehouse, Fiona will be waiting with a boundary spell already in place, ready to trap them, incapacitate them, and begin to slaughter them, which I bet she can do by unleashing the wrath of her magic. You and I will meet her at the warehouse as soon as we end Tristan and Aurora to finish off whomever may still possess a beating heart."

"You're a bit of a mad genius, Elijah," Klaus complimented, impressed. "Count me in."

I looked between the two of them to gauge how serious they were and found them to be resolute. "Am I the only one thinking? That warehouse sits on New Orleans ground. If I kill those vampires, all of the power generated from that sacrifice will flow into the earth, fueling the remaining New Orleans Witches as well as every ancestor who was consecrated here. The ancestors, by the way, don't like any of us very much. We'd be handing colossal power to our enemies that they could potentially use against us. Sorry, as much as I'd love to murder every single member of the Strix, I refuse to give the ancestors and Sophie Deveraux and her worshipers access to more magic."

"Given our current circumstances, I hardly see that we have a choice, Fiona," Elijah said.

I clenched my jaw and shook my head in disbelief. "I don't know why I bother, you two will just do what you want anyway."

"Perks of being the adults, Love," Klaus said, smirking. "You can stay here and go to bed early. It'll take a bit longer, but Elijah and I are capable of killing the Strix all on our lonesome. I'm sure Marcel would happily keep them occupied until we are through with Tristan and Aurora. If there are no more Strix, no one is left to give a damn about the bloody Charter, besides Elijah."

"No. If we are to successfully defeat the Strix and return Rebekah home safely, the three of us need to work together," Elijah said. "Our decision must be unanimous."

"This is not a democracy!" Klaus shouted frustratedly.

"Niklaus, you're quite right," Elijah said. "This is family."

"Wonderful," Klaus retorted sarcastically. "So now we just waste time leaving it at an impasse?"

Elijah looked to me. "It's your call, Fiona."

I mulled it over for a moment and decided that there really wasn't any other option. As much as I hated to say it, for once they were right. "Kill a few demons today, face the devil tomorrow. Count me in."

"Fantastic!" Klaus said excitedly, jumping up from his seat. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go murder my ex."

"TRISTAN!" I screeched at the top of my lungs as I plowed through the front door of the Davilla Estate. "TRISTAN!"

The former leader came rushing down the stairs, looking rather pissed off. "When I said that you were the most treasured member, I did not mean that as an invitation for you to steal away my leadership!"

"Forget about the pecking order for a second," I said. "We have bigger problems."

"Do tell."

"Klaus is coming for you," I said, sounding as urgent as possible. "He's coming for Aurora."

Tristan's shoulders grew stiff. "I never told you about my sister."

"I heard Klaus and Elijah talking," I informed him. "Klaus thinks Aurora is here to avenge Lucien's death and carry out the prophecy. He knows that you've been hiding her right under his nose, and he forced me to tell him where. I lied and said she's camped out in a warehouse, but he and his hybrids are on their way there as we speak. It won't take him long to figure out that I fibbed. And he's not just after your sister; Tristan, he's coming for us, the Strix. He'll kill us all."

"How do I know you aren't just lying to me? Is this another trick you and Elijah are pulling?"

"Takes one to know one," I said. "You never told me you took my aunt."

"Rebekah was Aurora's doing," Tristan clarified. "I'll happily release her to you once you forfeit your position. I want you to be the best, Fiona, I do, but this is still my organization, my Strix."

"Not for much longer if you continue to stand here and flap your gums," I said pointedly. "Either tell me how you want to proceed, or we're all as good as dead."

I'd made my voice very convincing, and I could tell Tristan was buying my words. His face changed as he formulated a plan of attack, and Elijah - having precise knowledge of Tristan's mind - had predicted his moves exactly. Tristan ordered Aya to flee with the Sisters while the rest of us made for the docks. He plotted to escape with Aurora, having no idea that the Mikaelson brothers were both waiting right outside. I took charge of the army of Strix and led them to the warehouse which Klaus and his hybrids were supposedly en route. I waited until every last one of them had crossed the threshold before chanting a boundary spell, binding it to the moon so that it would remain active even if something happened to me.

"What is this?" Shen Min demanded.

I gazed menacingly at the vampire who'd kidnapped and tortured me. "The beginning of the end."

I placed my arms in a low 'v', turning my palms outward. I felt my magic come to life within me, rumbling beneath my skin like jolt of electricity. First my body began to shake, then the ground of the warehouse, followed by tremors that shook the whole of New Orleans. I was summoning power that I'd yet to tap into, power that had always been there, but I hadn't known how to wield. I was a firstborn Mikaelson witch, daughter of Rowena Deveraux, and I'd been alive for more than half a millennium. The group of vampires before me didn't stand a chance. The Strix were strong, but I was stronger. I was an army all on my own.

"Initium finem quod mala Strix!" I shouted, thrusting my hands forward. "Matos enspiritat viens au charme, viens en attendant l'obscurité! Stulti sunt daemonum expurget vitae! Mendacia dolus securitatis!"

The magic radiated from my fingertips, hitting the Strix like a blast of fire. Blood started pouring from the eyes of every single member, and they all fell to the ground in pain. Their screams of agony were music to my ears, and knowing that the de Martel's would too be dead soon made it a symphony. I curled my hands into tight fists, snapping their necks all at once by quickly turning my wrists back toward my body. The vampires laid motionless on the floor, and the room was absolutely silent.

Wanting to take my time and savor every death, I began working my way through the tangle of bodies and tearing their hearts out one by one. My hands cut through their chests like warm butter, grasping the organ that tethered them to this life and picking it from its place like an apple from a tree. In minutes I was splattered head to toe with their blood, it dripped off of me like raindrops from a roof after a thunderstorm. The energy from the slaughter flowed into the earth, but I absorbed part of the sacrifice as well. Dark magic wasn't a preferred practice of mine, but I couldn't deny that it was an immense kind of power. My grandmother, Esther, basically invented it, so really it was just a strange birthright. Most witches had to learn how to dip into the darker side of the craft, but to me it came naturally. It was a part of me.

The hairs on the back of my neck pricked as I realized I wasn't here alone. I sensed someone else in the warehouse, but it wasn't Klaus or Elijah. I was beginning to worry about them, they shouldn't be taking this long. I heard faint, graceful footsteps approaching, but no one had come into view yet. I was a bit unnerved; whomever it was, they'd been strong enough to survive the deadly magic I'd unleashed on the Strix. That meant that this visitor was powerful, old, and, to a degree, dangerous.

"I don't know who you are, but you better show yourself before I decide to kill you too!" I called out threateningly. "You witnessed how easily I murdered all those vampires, imagine that same power directed at one! You won't survive me!"

My words proved effective. Moments later, a figure appeared from behind a shipping container. There were bright fluorescent lights on behind the person, so they were just a silhouette, but the long hair and curvy hips told me they were a woman. She was still a good distance away, but she'd moved out of the light enough for me to see her better. Her hair was a beautiful red, her frame was petite, and her face resembled Tristan's. I sucked in a breath as it dawned on me that I was face-to-face with Aurora de Martel, Klaus' crazy ex-lover. She stopped a mere ten feet away, a gorgeous, but thoroughly wicked smile on her pink lips.

"You must be my love's long-lost child, you sound just like him," Aurora said, her voice an accent I'd never forget. "I always wondered what his babies might look like."

"And you must be my father's insane ex-girlfriend," I replied levelly.

"Awe, he told you about me?" she asked. "I'm flattered."

"You're supposed to be dead."

"Right, Klaus and Elijah sent you here to occupy the Strix while they disposed of Tristan and me," Aurora said with boredom, walking towards me. "They should have weighed their options a bit differently."

"What happened?" I demanded.

"It's no fun being left in the dark, is it?" she taunted. Her lips parted into another malicious smile, revealing her pristine white teeth. "Shame I got away."

"No one "gets away" from Klaus," I countered.

"That's true," she mused. "Then I suppose he let me go."

"Why would he do that?" I queried. "Last I heard, he was excited to kill you."

"You know, Nik and I would have made beautiful babies," Aurora said wistfully, her eyes sparkling wildly. "If Elijah hadn't compelled me to stay away from Niklaus and make me believe that I was Rebekah, we would have had ten children together. Tristan would have eventually became King of France, and we would have been a royal family."

"Wow, you really are crazy," I commented. "A female vampire is barren forever, our wombs cannot support new life because we depend on killing the living to survive."

"Silly girl, I was human when we met," the she-devil told me. "Had he been able to break the hybrid curse sooner, it would be my daughter standing here. Isn't it odd that you and I share nearly the same shade of red hair? Perhaps your mother was only a surrogate."

I snorted. "You don't actually believe that, do you?"

"Fiona, I'm bipolar, but I'm not delusional," Aurora said.

"Could've fooled me."

She shot me a dirty look. "I was merely suggesting a twist of fate."

"Where are Klaus and Elijah?" I asked.

She giggled and winked. "It's a secret."

"What happened?" I asked again, more sharply this time.

"Oh, all right. I suppose I'll tell you," Aurora gave in. "Things didn't go quite as you planned them. While you were away, Tristan made some preparations. He figured that since you had gone back with your family, the three of you would plot against us. He came to me and together we devised our own plan. You thought that you were luring Tristan and I into a trap, but really it was the opposite. My brother knew that Nik and Elijah were waiting outside, so we never exited the house. They got impatient and barged into our home, where I was waiting." She moved her arm out from behind her back. "With this."

In her hand was the indestructible white oak stake. My eyes widened, and I became violently sick to my stomach at the thought of both Klaus and Elijah's deaths. Aurora would never kill Klaus, she was too obsessed with his affection, but she would have no qualms about killing Elijah. I started to lose my mind, but then reason came through and the panic quickly dissipated as the realization set in. If Elijah died, so would Tristan, and Aurora was irrevocably devoted to her brother, she would never let him die. I breathed a sigh of relief and gave a humorless laugh.

"You had me for a second, you really did," I said. "I know my family isn't dead. Are you trying to stall me for some reason? Do you think you can convince me that Klaus loves you so I'll spare your life? Or is he simply taking his time with your death, letting you go so he can enjoy the hunt? Tell you what, I'll give you one last chance to tell the real story before I rip your head off."

Aurora giggled. "You won't kill me. You'd never find your precious Rebekah."

I didn't even blink. "Necte dans la vie nos liga simul ne vita et ne morte. Necte dans la vie nos liga simul ne vita et ne morte."

"You sneaky little bitch," Aurora sneered. "What did you do?"

"I tethered myself to you. I can now get inside your head, which means I have accessed the information on Rebekah's whereabouts. The coordinates are no longer your leverage, Aurora. There is nothing stopping me from ending your life now."

She brandished the white oak stake like a sword. "Not even this?"

The answer to that question was unknown. I was an Original, but not an original… Original. My mother had tried to figure out what it would take to end my existence, but nothing had been determined for certain. It wasn't exactly the kind of thing you could test out. She had her theories, as did Klaus, Elijah, and many others, including myself, but nobody actually knew. I was the first and only of my kind.

"Truthfully, I don't know," I told her. "What I do know is that I linked your life to mine. If you kill me, you'll die too. Actually, I put my own little twist on the binding creation. If I am injured in such a way that would kill you, like a plain old wooden stake to the heart, you would die even though I would remain alive. My life source is not a two-way street, I've blocked you from receiving the benefits of my strength. No matter what, you lose."

Just then, Tristan, Klaus, and Elijah zoomed into the warehouse. Aurora whipped around and pointed the stake at the brothers, daring them to come closer. Tristan looked afraid for his life, Klaus appeared to be pissed off, and Elijah was, well, Elijah. Aurora must have used the stake to catch Klaus and Elijah off guard when they arrived at the estate, protecting herself and allowing Tristan a window of escape. Clearly, they'd all caught up with each other, resulting in the present showdown.

"Klaus, Elijah, what the hell is going on?" I asked.

"Tristan is being a tad uncooperative," Klaus said. "He refuses to reveal the coordinates no matter what I do. Please, Fiona, make him fess up before I lose patience and kill him anyway."

I smiled. "Want me to turn his brain into mashed potatoes?"

"Don't you dare!" Aurora screeched.

"Oh, minor detail: I've linked myself to Aurora so I could access her thoughts. I have the latitude, so you're free to do what you want with her," I told Klaus. He gave me a big, devilishly pleased smile. I could tell that he was impressed by my success, and it felt really, really good to know that I'd done something that made him proud.

"Tristan, you heard her," Klaus said. "Give up the longitude, or I'll kill Aurora right in front of you."

"Come at me and I will plunge this stake right into your chest," Aurora said to Klaus. "I'm nearly as old as you are, you know that makes me strong enough to beat you."

Klaus chucked. "You really think you can beat me? With my brother and daughter standing right here?"

"I will not give you Rebekah's location until you promise to let my sister live and Fiona vows allegiance to me," Tristan said. "If not, end my life now."

Klaus sighed in fake disappointment. "Very well."

He rushed at Tristan and shoved his hand through his chest, grasping onto his heart. Aurora responded by backing Elijah into the wall, the tip of the white oak stake hovering just above his heart. I dashed over to them but halted immediately before I got too close. Aurora would be able to push the stake into Elijah's heart faster than I could stop her. It had become a battle of wills between the oldest vampires in the world.

"If you kill Tristan, there will be nothing to keep me from staking Elijah," Aurora spat, glaring at Klaus. "Neither you nor your daughter can get to me in time, no matter what you do."

"Klaus, let him go!" I said, panicking. "She'll do it!"

No one moved.

"Klaus!" I shrieked. "It's Elijah! You can't let him die!"

"I don't take orders from anyone, especially her!" Klaus shouted.

"Damn it, Klaus! Your pride is not worth more than his life! Snap out of it!"

I couldn't handle this standoff, I'd had enough. I began chanting and used my powers to force Klaus' hand from Tristan's chest. My father resisted, making it painful, and his screams echoed throughout the wide-open space. I flung my hand out to the side, sending Klaus flying across the room. The spectacle served as a sufficient distraction for Aurora, giving me the opportunity to sneak up on her from behind and snatch the stake in a blitz. To avoid the breakout of complete and utter chaos, I pointed the stake at my own heart to shock everyone, therefore gaining control of the situation.

"Fiona, what are you doing?" Elijah asked carefully. I was using magic to keep him at bay, too.

"Put that down," Klaus growled.

"Miss Mikaelson, let us not be hasty," Tristan said nervously. "This helps no one."

"Spit out the coordinates, or I swear to God I will drive this stake into my heart," I said, meaning every word. "I'll be dead, along with Aurora."

"We don't know for certain if white oak alone will kill you," Tristan said.

"Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but are you willing to find out? I've linked Aurora's life to mine. If I die, so does she. Then you'll lose me, the weapon crucial in your plan for Strix supremacy, and your beloved sister. Surrender now, or I repeat, I'll drive this stake through my chest."

"NO!" Klaus bellowed, uselessly fighting against the magic that kept him pinned to the wall.

Tristan briefly glanced at Klaus and Elijah who were both sporting horrified looks. "I'm calling your bluff," he said evenly.

Without hesitation, I looked at Klaus and Elijah one last time, and drove the stake through my heart.

A/N: Yes, I'm leaving you with a cliffhanger. I know how much you love those ;) . Hi guys, sorry you had to wait so long for this one. I got busy for a while there, and then I was having a hard time deciding how to wrap up this Strix business, but the next updates should come a bit quicker. Actually, I have already written more than half of the next chapter, so definitely be on the lookout for it in the next week or so. Anyway, I hope it's okay that this chapter was a long one, I didn't want to drag out the ending of the Strix as they have taken up the better part of 8 chapters, and it's important to keep up the pace of the storyline. Coming up are lots of family moments, we will see the Mikaelsons work to repair their relationships, but there will also be new troubles arising. More characters from the show will be coming into the story in the near future as well, can you guess who? And did you like the Klaus/Fiona interaction? As always, please leave a review letting me know your thoughts, I love hearing from you, and make sure to follow/favorite so you don't miss out on new chapters! I'll do my best to respond to your reviews, so please ask questions if you have them. Thanks for reading, and be ready for lots of Flijah next chapter! I say it's time we get back to the relationship they used to have!