Chapter 80: The Originals
The air around them was filled with the sound of jazz, and the smell of good southern cooking. The heat and humidity greeted their skin, as they walked through the French Quarter. It was almost nostalgic for the original brothers to be back in the city they once called home.
Hayley heard a knock on her hotel door. She was relieved to see Klaus and Elijah on the other side of it.
"What happened?" Elijah asked, as she let them inside.
"I don't know. One minute we're walking back to the hotel after dinner, the next we're both blacking out on the street."
"But why would witches drug you? They have plenty of other, more magical ways to put you both under," Elijah argued.
Hayley shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."
"How did you escape without Phoebe?" Klaus asked.
"They're keeping her somewhere different from where they were keeping me – we weren't in the same place," said Hayley. Then, as though reading their minds, she added, "I don't know where they have her."
"Is there anything you can think of to help narrow it down?" said Elijah.
Hayley shook her head. "Just the name Jane-Anne. I overheard the witches saying something about her plan for the Anomaly, or something like that."
"I'll start asking the witches in the quarter," said Klaus. "I saw their tables set up for the tourists on the way here."
"She and her sister own this place called Rousseau's. Phoebe and I ate there sometimes. We can go there and ask if anyone knows where to find her," Hayley suggested.
Elijah nodded in agreement.
"Then let's get started," said Klaus.
Sophie-Anne sighed to herself as she lead Hayley and Elijah to the cemetery. She wasn't all that eager to invite an original onto their sacred ground, much less team up with two of them. But her sister had already died for this so, for Sophie, there was no turning back now.
She lead them to an older-looking crypt, and gestured for them to enter. Phoebe's body lay unconscious on a bench inside, with several other witches standing guard.
Hayley ran to her friend's side, but Elijah stared at Sophie-Anne in anger.
"We had to sedate her to keep her from escaping," said Sophie.
"And what exactly is it you need her for?" Elijah asked.
"As leverage," she admitted. "We knew taking her would get your attention, and bring you and your brother to town. That's why we let Hayley escape to call you."
"What precisely to you want, and what does it have to do with us?" Elijah asked.
"We wanna run Marcel and his vampires out of town. You've seen what he's done to this city, how he runs things. That's why we held Hayley somewhere separate, so you would take longer to find your progeny and really see what Marcel has done here," Sophie answered. "Klaus is the key. Everything Marcel knows about being a vampire, he learned from Klaus. Marcel trusts him, looks up to him. He won't see the betrayal coming."
"Yes, well, as I'm sure you're aware, my brother Niklaus doesn't like being told what to do," said Elijah.
Sophie pointed to Phoebe. "That's why we brought her here."
"I hate to break it to you, but Phoebe hates witches more than Klaus. What makes you think she's going to want to help you, much less convince Klaus to?" said Hayley.
Sophie gestured for the other witches to leave the crypt, and then tossed an herb pouch to Elijah. "Blow this in her face, and she'll wake up."
"You didn't answer her question."
"It's better if you hear it from her," said Sophie on her way out.
Elijah walked over to Hayley and Phoebe, his expression puzzled.
"You think we can trust that?" Hayley nodded to the pouch in his hands.
"There's only one way to find out."
Elijah sprinkled some of the herb powder into his palm, and blew it into Phoebe's face.
Phoebe shot up almost immediately. She looked around her, somewhat frightened.
"It's okay, it's just us!" Hayley grabbed her gently to keep her from attacking instinctively.
"Hayley? Elijah?"
Elijah gave her a comforting smile. "Well, I guess that explains why you never escaped."
"Yeah, but that still doesn't explain why they think she'd convince Klaus to help them," said Hayley.
"They didn't tell you?" Phoebe asked.
Hayley shook her head.
"They said it would be better to hear it from you," said Elijah.
Phoebe's eyes fell, as she stood up and walked away from them both. This didn't help ease their concerns. Had they cursed her again? Was she going to die, if she didn't help them?
"I ran away, once. They were still trying to find the right dose to keep me down," Phoebe began. She wouldn't even look at either of them. "I didn't get far, before they caught up to me. Before they put me back to sleep, they told me why I was here."
"We know they want you to help them convince Klaus to help them, but with what?"
"And how could they stop you from running, if they're not allowed to do magic here?" Elijah added.
"Before Jane-Anne was taken by the vampires, she used magic to bind me to her sister. If she dies, I die," said Phoebe.
"So what, you're a vampire. If you die, you'll just come back." Hayley looked up at Elijah. "Right?"
"I will," Phoebe confirmed. Now she looked at them. "...But my baby won't."
Elijah was speechless, and it was a good minute before Hayley could find her voice again.
"But you're a vampire. Vampires can't have children," Hayley argued.
"I'm the Anomaly," she shrugged. "And when I transitioned, all of my old scars healed."
"Maybe so, but becoming a vampire doesn't regrow organs."
"Actually, they can, so long as removing the organ in question isn't fatal to them," said Elijah. "For example, you could tear out my heart right now, and my body would grow another one. Limbs can be reattached in a matter of hours, due to our healing abilities. Vampires can be quite durable."
Hayley needed a moment to process. Vampires healing so quickly that limbs could be reattached in a few hours was one thing; but regrowing organs...?
Elijah, however, didn't miss a beat. He knew he would likely regret asking, or hate knowing the answer, but he still needed to ask.
"Who is the father?"
Phoebe looked at him, but said nothing.
Hayley looked between the two.
"You're not the type of person to sleep with someone you didn't care about, so it would have to be someone you know. Problem is, aside from your brother, all the men in your life are vampires...except my brother."
Phoebe's heart began to race. It was like when you're starting to crash from nighttime cold medicine, and suddenly someone jumpscares you.
Hayley's head was starting to spin. She could see where he was going with this, even before he began to explain.
"When he broke his curse, it awakened his werewolf side. Enough to no longer need a daylight ring, so why not enough to father a child?"
Phoebe swallowed the lump in her throat. "It's not what you think."
"Times up," said Sophie, re-entering the crypt. "Help us get Klaus on board, and no one has to know about the newest member of the original family."
Elijah tore his eyes away from Phoebe to look at Sophie. "That sounds remarkably like blackmail."
"What can I say, we're desperate."
"Well, then. I have my work cut out for me, don't I?"
"Elijah," Phoebe began.
"Hayley, you and Phoebe stay here. I'll be back shortly."
Phoebe had been quiet since Elijah left. She'd rather be doing almost anything besides sitting there, but her sirebond had commanded it, so she had to stay. And she couldn't even be mad at him for doing it, because what she had done to him was much worse.
"So," Hayley finally spoke. "You slept with Klaus...again."
"It's not what you...it wasn't for the same reasons as before," said Phoebe.
"Then why did you do it?"
Phoebe thought carefully about what she wanted to say, before she spoke. She didn't want to tell Hayley about confiding in him about never shutting off her humanity; and she didn't want to share the things they talked about, because it was personal information about Klaus that she didn't think he'd want her sharing.
"I was able to talk to him about some things that I couldn't talk about with you, or Stefan, or Elijah. It felt good, comforting, to be understood in a way I didn't feel anyone else would. He made me feel less broken than I thought I was, and in that moment, that's all that mattered."
"You've always been able to tell me anything," said Hayley. She looked sad.
"I know, but this..."
"What could have been so awful that you couldn't even talk to Stefan or Elijah?"
Phoebe was saved from having to answer by the sounds of Klaus and Elijah's voices just outside the crypt. Sophie-Anne was explaining to Klaus why she had lured them to New Orleans. It was only a matter of minutes, seconds even, before they trotted Phoebe out to convince him what they were going to tell him was true.
"This is why you brought me here?"
"Hear her out," said Elijah.
"I don't need to hear her out. I assure you, love, there is not a thing on this earth that would matter enough to me to waste even thirty more seconds of my time."
Klaus turned back to his brother. "Elijah, what madness is this?"
"Klaus," said Hayley, coming out of the crypt with Phoebe. "You need to hear her out."
Klaus was glad that Phoebe was alive and unharmed, but also disappointed. Disappointed that these witches thought Phoebe Gilbert would be enough motivation for him to do whatever they wanted him to do. Sure he loved her, but she was powerful enough on her own, powerful enough to escape and no longer be leverage.
Then he remembered Phoebe had already been held by these witches, even without them being allowed to do magic. How had they managed that? What didn't he know?
"Marcel may be able to keep us from practicing real magic, but as keepers of the balance we still know when nature has cooked up something new," said Sophie. "For example, I have a special gift...of sensing when a girl is pregnant."
The sarcasm drained from Klaus' face. "...What are you saying?"
"Niklaus, Phoebe is carrying your child."
"No. It's impossible," said Klaus. "We may be two of the most unique creatures to ever exist, but in the end we are still vampires, and vampires cannot procreate."
"But werewolves can," said Sophie, reclaiming his attention. "Magic made you a vampire, but you were born a werewolf. Just like Phoebe was born the Anomaly, which allowed her to keep her powers after she transitioned. Normal rules of nature don't apply to either of you; so this pregnancy is...one of nature's loopholes."
"You're lying," Klaus insisted.
"My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy, and to bind her life to mine. Because of Jane-Anne's sacrifice, the life of this child is now controlled by us. If you don't help us take down Marcel, so help me, Phoebe won't be pregnant long enough to see her first maternity dress."
"Enough of this, if you want Marcel dead, he's dead. I'll do it myself," said Elijah.
"No. We can't. Not yet," said Sophie. "We have a clear plan that we need to follow, and there are rules."
Phoebe found her words suspicious, but more than that she knew Sophie's words had pushed Klaus over the edge. He hated being controlled, and laying down rules for him to follow on top of that...
"How dare you command me," said Klaus. "Threaten me, with what you wrongfully perceive to be my weaknesses! I won't hear anymore lies!"
"Niklaus," Elijah called after him, as his brother took off.
"No," said Phoebe. "Let me."
Phoebe wanted to make sure she and Klaus were far enough away from the cemetery, so they could truly talk in private. She ended up following him back to town, before calling out for him to stop.
"It's a trick, Phoebe. You of all people should see that," said Klaus.
"It's not a trick, Klaus, and I can prove it to you."
"How?"
Phoebe walked closer to him, saying nothing. She put her hands on either side of his head and closed her eyes. Klaus closed his too.
"You told me to look into my future to see what was worth fighting to live for," said Phoebe. "This was the first vision I saw."
Klaus was just as taken aback as Phoebe had been the first time she'd seen the vision.
The little girl was undeniably theirs, now that Phoebe was seeing it in more contexts. Before, she had been trying to process everything she'd seen, not focusing on one particular vision. Now she could see the resemblance between the girl and them. Klaus could see it too.
Phoebe thought about showing him part of the connecting vision of her having just given birth for further proof, but decided against it. She wasn't sure she'd be able to stop him from seeing the rest of the vision, where she died; and even if she could, he would still have questions of why he wasn't there for the birth.
The vision played on repeat in Klaus' head, long after Phoebe had stopped showing it to him. He could see it all in his mind, clear as day. Yet, he still refused to believe it was genuine.
"I will not be manipulated," he whispered. He tried to walk away, but Phoebe stopped him.
"You think I'm making this up? Why would I do that? Why would I create all this drama, why would I hurt Elijah like this?"
"Perhaps you're in it together," he suggested.
"Why? Why would I fake a pregnancy to get you to help witches? You know I hate them every bit as much as you do!"
"I don't know! Maybe…Maybe they know where to find Hayley's family, but they'll only tell her if you convince me to help them with their vampire problem," he theorized. "It's certainly within your capabilities to lie or keep secrets to get what you want."
"You're right, I have lied and kept secrets to get what I want; but I haven't tried to manipulate you since homecoming, when I helped you kill Mikael. I've been honest about anything I needed or wanted from you."
Phoebe walked closer to him to emphasize her next point. "Your mother took the option of children away from me long before I even knew vampires existed. And she did it to you too, when she forced you to become a vampire, and bound your werewolf half. Do you really think I would use something like this to make you do what I want?"
Klaus considered her words for a moment. She was right on all accounts. Since homecoming, she'd been honest with him, even when he didn't like what he was hearing. When she had lied to him, she'd never crossed a line like this. So why would she now?
He shook his head, as though trying to shake the thoughts from his mind. "I will not let these witches use me as their puppet."
Phoebe opened her mouth to speak, but he flitted away before she could.
Returning to the cemetery with news of Klaus' continued denial of the situation had gone over even worse than Phoebe had expected. Instead of agreeing to give Klaus more time to come around, the witches set an even shorter deadline. If Klaus wasn't on board by midnight, Sophie was going to kill herself to end Phoebe's pregnancy.
Elijah left immediately to find his brother, determined to do whatever it took to change Klaus' mind. Phoebe, however, knew Klaus was going to take longer than the witches were willing to give. But she had an idea of a way she could possibly pacify the witches, and get them to agree to more time...
Phoebe watched from across the street, as local vampires ushered humans out of the compound. It looked like there had been quite the party going on just minutes ago, but was being ended abruptly.
With so many vampires focused on getting the humans out, it wasn't too difficult for her to enter the building unnoticed. She hopped up onto one of the balconies, and snuck inside. Phoebe was honestly surprised there weren't vampires guarding this entrance, too; but the closer she got, the more sense it made.
The vampires still inside were all gathered around a man laying in a bed. He looked like Rose after she'd been bitten by Jules. Klaus was definitely here recently.
"Excuse me," said Phoebe. "Which one of you is Marcel?"
About a dozen vampires swarmed Phoebe. One man stood up from the bedside of the sick man. "Who's asking?"
"My name's Phoebe Gilbert. I'm a...friend of the Mikaelsons."
"What do you want?"
Phoebe guessed from his demeanor, and the way that the other vampires seemed defensive of him, that he was Marcel.
"I wanna make a trade," said Phoebe. "Jane-Anne's body in exchange for healing your friend."
Marcel gave her a sarcastic smile. "Nice try, but there's no cure for werewolf bites."
"Actually, there is. When Klaus broke his hybrid curse, his blood became the cure."
Marcel looked like he wanted to believe her, but couldn't. He didn't know her; she could be lying to him to get what she wanted.
"What do you want with Jane-Anne's body," he asked.
Phoebe shrugged. "Why do you care so much about one man's life, when you have so many other vampires surrounding you?"
"I care about all of my guys. And Thierry is a close friend," said Marcel.
He wasn't surprised that a friend of the Mikaelsons wouldn't understand something like that. Phoebe could see it in his eyes. She wanted to defend herself, to prove that she wasn't what he thought; but there wasn't time for that.
"I need Jane-Anne's body to save someone I care about," said Phoebe.
"And how exactly is Jane-Anne's body gonna help you do that?"
The witches wouldn't like her doing, but she needed to tell him the truth, if she ever wanted to build some form of trust between herself and him. But she also didn't have to tell him the full truth.
"When you picked up Jane-Anne for doing magic, she was linking my friend's life to her sister Sophie. They're using her to make me help them get Klaus to help them with something. With what, I don't know; but getting on their good side is the only way I'm gonna find out," said Phoebe.
Marcel folded his arms over his chest. "Why would they think you could convince Klaus to do anything?"
"I told you I was a friend of the family."
Marcel glanced back at Thierry. "How do I know you're not lying about the cure?"
"You don't. And I don't know what I could say or do to make you believe me," she answered honestly. "But what other choice do you have? Be paranoid like Klaus, and let your friend die? Or take a chance that I might be telling the truth?"
Marcel thought it over in his head for a couple of minutes, before ultimately deciding to trust her. "Okay. But I want Klaus' blood first. As soon as Thierry is healed-"
"I need Jane-Anne's body first," Phoebe interrupted.
"Why?"
"The witches have set a deadline. If Elijah and I can't get Klaus to agree to do what they want by midnight, then they're gonna kill my friend. And you know as well as I do that Klaus hates to be told what to do, and it takes him a lot longer than a few hours to change his mind," said Phoebe.
Marcel made a face that said he agreed.
"I know it's hard to trust a complete stranger, especially one that's openly admitted to being friends with the original family. It's even harder to trust that I'll be able to convince Klaus to freely give your friend his blood," Phoebe began. "But you, having been raised by him, should know as well as I do that he's acting this way, because it's been an emotional day for him. First, he finds out that someone he cares about has been kidnapped by a bunch of witches. Then he learns that his adoptive son, who he thought died a hundred years ago, is actually alive. And now the tipping point of witches wanting to control him...He's emotional right now. But we both know he will calm down soon, and he'll be looking to make amends."
Marcel considered her words carefully. How long had she been friends with the Mikaelsons to know Klaus so well? It couldn't have been more than a hundred years, because he had never heard of Phoebe Gilbert before now.
Still, he couldn't argue with what she'd said about Klaus. He was emotional right now, and when Klaus was emotional, he lashed out in anger. Sooner or later, he always calmed down and looked to make amends.
"I have no reason to trust you, other than I have no other choice," said Marcel.
"Well, when your friend is better, you'll know you can trust me," said Phoebe.
"Yeah, well, since this is such a leap of faith, I want something else. When you find out what the witches want from Klaus, I wanna know what it is, too."
Phoebe took a slow deep breath. "In the words of Elijah: You have my word."
It was midnight, and their time was up; but Sophie-Anne was hesitating to kill herself. It was understandable, as was her grief that her sister had died for nothing. All she needed was a moment to collect herself, but one of the other witches, Agnes, wouldn't give it to her.
Phoebe could hear their bickering long before she even reached the crypt. But they all fell silent, as they watched her lay Jane-Anne's body on the ground in front of them.
"How did you...?"
"I have my ways," said Phoebe. "And I can do the same with Klaus, if you just give me more time."
"You had your time. It's passed," said Agnes.
It took everything in Phoebe not to slap her.
"Shut up, Agnes," Sabine snapped.
"Look, I'm not even sure how I feel about this baby," Phoebe admitted. They all seemed surprised to hear her say that.
"You witches think your problems are the only ones that matter, but that's not true. I just became a vampire six months ago, because your precious ancestors were trying to kill me. I was still learning how to be a vampire, when my best friend died. And those are just the highlights."
Agnes looked like she couldn't care less, but Sabine and Sophie-Anne looked at least somewhat sympathetic.
"But even without all of that...Esther Mikaelson took the possibility of children away from both me and Klaus, before we could even understand what it was we'd be missing out on. I know I never allowed myself to think about it, and I doubt Klaus ever has either. So you can't expect everyone to react the same to this kind of news and assume we're gonna care enough about it to do whatever you want us to."
"If you didn't care, you wouldn't be trying to buy more time with my sister's body," said Sophie.
"I never said I didn't care, only that I don't know how I feel," said Phoebe. "I might decide that I do care at some point, or might decide that I don't. But if I let you kill this baby right now, there will be no changing my mind later. That's why I'm trying to buy more time."
The three witches said nothing. They were desperate, and they'd been banking that Phoebe and Klaus would instantly love this baby enough to do whatever it took to keep it safe. But their plan hadn't worked out quite that way. And if they didn't give her more time now, then all they'd sacrificed and risked would be for nothing.
"Take the deal." Hayley's eyes began to glow their golden wolf color. "Or you're gonna more than two original brothers and the Anomaly to worry about."
Agnes geared up to make a threat of her own, but Sophie cut her off.
"How much time do you need?"
By sunrise, Elijah had managed to convince Klaus that Phoebe wouldn't lie about the pregnancy; and that if he didn't care about the child, it was likely Phoebe would. So, for Phoebe's sake, Klaus went to Marcel with an apology for his actions, and offered his blood to heal Thierry.
Meanwhile, Elijah took Phoebe and Hayley to an old plantation house, where they would be staying. At least, where he and Klaus would be staying.
Elijah was distant with Phoebe, as the three walked around taking covers off of the antique furniture. Phoebe knew he was hurt – this was the second time she'd broken his heart. She knew he likely just needed time, like Klaus and herself, but she couldn't help herself.
Phoebe gave Hayley a look to signal that she needed a moment alone with Elijah. Once they were alone though, Phoebe grew more anxious.
"Elijah, we need to talk," said Phoebe. "A-About what happened."
"What happened is between you and Niklaus." He wouldn't even look at her.
Phoebe reached out and grabbed his arm to make him look at her. She released him almost immediately. The pain she saw in his eyes – the pain she could feel from him – it was strong.
"It didn't mean what you think it did," said Phoebe.
Elijah forced a civil smile. "You don't have to explain yourself to me."
"Elijah, please…"
"You should go back to Mystic Falls," said Elijah. "You have graduation coming up, and you should go. Besides, I imagine you'll want to tell your loved ones about your baby."
Phoebe shook her head. "I don't want to go back. Not right now."
"I want you to. I want you to go back and do those things," said Elijah.
"But the witches…they're not going to let me leave, I'm their leverage," Phoebe argued.
"You served your purpose to them. You brought Niklaus and myself to them. And you're still linked to Sophie-Anne, so you don't need to be close by to be their leverage."
Phoebe began losing the battle to fight back her tears.
"You realize that saying this means I'll have no choice but to obey?"
Elijah nodded. "I know. And if there was a way for me to tell you what I want, without it being a command, I would. But I think some distance would benefit us both right now."
"I understand." Phoebe wiped away a few tears, and forced a smile. "Your wish is my command."
Elijah hated upsetting her, no matter how he felt. He hated more that he could never give his opinion or tell her what he wanted without it being a command that she had to obey. But seeing her every day, watching her belly grow over the coming months…it was too hard to do right now.
At the same time, forcing her to stick around and see how hurt he was by the situation wasn't going to be good for her, either. They both needed time to adjust to this big change in their lives, her more than him. Besides, he meant it when he said he wanted for her to experience her graduation and take the time to break the news of her baby to her loved ones back home. She couldn't exactly hide a baby from everyone, or disappear to New Orleans forever.
Phoebe's only comfort in this was that Hayley would be going back to Mystic Falls with her. She'd be there to help support Phoebe and help her through everything; as would Rebekah.
I apologize if this chapter felt a bit rushed and thrown together. I'm on vacation right now, and since I didn't have anything posted for you guys last weekend, I wanted to hurry up and put something up for you this weekend.
So for anyone who might want to argue that vampires can't regrow organs, I'd like to point out two instances within the series where they actually stated that they could. 1) When Rebekah was suffering a curse in TO S3, she asked Elijah if he ever wanted to tear out Klaus' heart and see how long it would take to grow back. 2) TVD S5 When Damon and Enzo were experimented on in the 50s, Dr. Augustine would remove organs and such to time how long it took to grow back.
I understand that was after they were already vampires and not while they were transitioning, but it still works in my opinion.
Primarily, Phoebe will be in New Orleans, but she'll still appear in Mystic Falls from time to time. I'll also still have changes for the TVD storyline, so I won't just be ignoring the gang in TVD to focus solely on TO.
Let me know how you guys think the Originals storyline will change with Phoebe Hope's mother - with her just being there. How will the Vampire Diaries gang get on without Phoebe?