No One's POV

Dawn broke on the Mikaelson mansion, but the sun's light cast an uneasy quiet and stillness on the mansion despite the bright light and blue skies.

For Brooklyn, it was far too quiet, Earth and Nature far too stagnant, far too subdued, as if all of it also felt the loss and was grieving with her for the death of her mate; even more so, an undercurrent of something more, magic shifting as Earth and Nature tingled with anticipation of something to come.

They would be leaving today, all of them, her pack, Finn, Elijah, and herself, returning to New York and her hometown to lick wounds and regroup; while Alaric, the Original Hunter, was no longer a threat, it seemed yet again the Scooby gang had still managed to get the upper hand as they still possessed the last remaining indestructible White Oak and Niklaus' body.

It grieved Brooklyn deeply that she would not even be able to bury her mate. And, for a brief moment she considered razing the entire town of Mystic Falls to the ground out of sheer spite (and the fact that fuck you, she could do it without batting an eyelash), leaving the Scooby gang to burn, quite literally, forever trapped in the Other Side or perhaps trap them between worlds, a fate worse than the Other Side.

Yet, despite her cold rage, Brooklyn knew she'd never have the heart to do so. It wasn't the right thing to do. She wouldn't condemn an entire town because of the actions of a few, no matter how much she despised them.

In a way, she almost regretted biting Caroline and Stefan having sentenced them to an agonizing, slow death; revenge never solved anything, and more bloodshed most often just led to more bloodshed. Of course, she didn't regret it enough to cure them (despite her vast amount of mercy and understanding she had her limits) and by the ancient laws of the Alpha Wolves and Emrys Descendants, she actually was justified in her actions (even if they were technically outdated).

Now, all Brooklyn wanted to do was forget. But deep in her heart she knew that forgetting Niklaus was going to be near impossible. He was seared into her heart, into her mind, and her soul. The bond that was there, even broken as it was, would always be there as a reminder of what could have been, of what should have been.

Downstairs in the living room, Rebekah looked at a picture Niklaus had drawn in a sketch pad, angrily clearing his desk of the remaining ones as tears threaten to choke her up.

"You should know better than to sneak up on a lady." Rebekah says quietly, Damon suddenly appearing in the mansion behind her, White Oak stake in hand.

"Good advice. Have you seen one?" Damon snarks arrogantly.

"Tragic about Elena. Not to make a grey cloud greyer, but does Matt even have automobile insurance? And how's your brother? Has he started hallucinating yet? You know, when Finn was bitten we had to lock him in the basement, went a little crazy." Rebekah fakes sweetness, a bitter edge to her voice as she turns from Damon.

In a split second, Damon rushes at Rebekah, anger and impulsiveness pulsing through him, Rebekah immediately flipping him back over her shoulder, the oldest Salvatore sliding back across the floor.

"Oh, bad idea… I mean, I always knew you were a bit dumb… But I guess I figured you had at least some ounce of self-preservation." Rebekah rolls her eyes. "Ever tangle with one of these guys before?" Rebekah tilts her head towards one of the Alpha Wolves that had slowly approached from the other room; all of Brooklyn's pack was at the mansion now, either outside doing patrols or within its walls to protect their Alpha.

The sandy colored wolf, Kaylee, bares her teeth, a vicious sort of look dancing in her eyes as she crouches low as if preparing to leap at Damon when the windows of the Mikaelson mansion shatter, wooden bullets soaked in vervain fly in; Kaylee leaps at Rebekah instead, shielding her from the flying bullets.

With sheer luck Damon manages to evade the rain of bullets, fleeing the moment he sees an opening, several of Pastor Young's followers bursting in only to be met with a fiery red-head standing in the middle of the destroyed living room, arms outstretched and green eyes swirling with magic, shielding the Original.

"Epically bad idea." Kaylee states with a tilt of her head.

Meanwhile, across town at the Salvatore manor, a weakened Stefan is surrounded by several police officers and the new resident Pastor Young.

"Stefan?" Elena questions, coming from the kitchen and hearing the commotion.

"Elena, don't move." Stefan replies weakly, attempting to look brave.

It would be no use, however, the vigilante Pastor Young and his band of followers would take no excuses and justify their actions in the name of protection of humanity and purity.