I do not own tvd or to

Sorry for the delay. I had a busy week at work. This chapter got really long and I was nowhere near done with what I wanted to cover for it so I split it in two pieces.

Three intersecting triangles stared down at her from the white sign. It rested towards the top of a twelve foot fence that put her in mind of a prison. From the cover of the trees she saw men and women in black walking over the grounds; semi-automatic weapons were slung over their shoulders, adding to the image of a jail. She half expected to see inmates piling out onto the lawn in beige jumpsuits, but the black was too sleek for prison guards.

"What's with the paramilitary?" Elena's eyes narrowed. The group beyond the fence put her on edge.

"Do you want a drawn out magical history or do you want to get rid of the Hollow?" Lexa patted the box at her side.

"Can I have the history lesson later?" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'd like an explanation now," Kol leaned against the trunk of an oak tree. "I did delay my trip for this, after all, because of your insistence that I be present."

"More for the aftermath," Lexa shrugged, wiggling her fingers in a dismissive gesture. "There's an entrance to another realm inside that building, but once the Hollow is inside its existence, or at least this quarter of its existence, will be forgotten. You could have taken off for Europe to hunt down Klaus but if you did you would have forgotten why you were there. You probably would have forgotten meeting up with us in San Francisco."

"That would be bad," Kol frowned.

"Mm," she nodded. "You'll still forget, you all will, but at least here I can put the memories back."

"How are you going to do that?" Elena frowned.

"It's in her somewhere…" Lexa muttered, rummaging in her bag for a moment. She was by no means a messy person, but organization had never been her strong suit so it took a little searching before she found what she was looking for.

Elena caught a small peach coloured moonstone; two more were tossed to Kol and Elijah.

"Think about the memories from San Francisco, and anything else that might be associated with this particular quarter of the Hollow," Lexa unfolded a slip of paper, "this spell will store the memories in the stones and then I'll put them back in your heads after."

"You're going to remember it?" Elijah cocked an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

"That would be a part of the history lesson," she grinned, "and since I'm not a fan of repetition it will have to wait until after." Her eyes flickered from Elijah to Kol. "It's a good thing I'll remember."

"Why is that, darling?" He straightened up.

"That should be obvious," she smirked. "I'd hate for you to forget having your ass handed to you."

"You didn't best me," he scoffed.

"I sent you to your knees twice in twelve hours," she cocked an eyebrow. "I'm betting there aren't many witches who can say the same."

"None," Kol smirked, "and any that tried usually lost a few vital organs."

"Gonna take your revenge?" She teased, holding out her hands in a challenging gesture. The smirk on her lips whispered 'come and get them'.

"You know, I would…" he smirked, letting his eyes roam over her from head to toe, lingering on her exposed clavicle before meeting her laughing eyes, "…but apparently I'm gonna forget all about it."

"Temporarily," she pointed out. She tore her gaze away, breaking their staring contest, when she heard a gentle throat clearing to find Elena struggling not to snicker.

She nodded to the stones and murmured the spell causing the gems to warm in their palms. When they cooled she tucked the paper away.

"Put those in your pockets," she pulled her hair into a messy ponytail. "I'd hate to put the wrong memory in the wrong head."

"How are we getting in here?" Elena did as she was told. "That's too many to compel and I take it you don't have an all access pass to…" her eyes found the sign, "… Triad?"

"We're going in through that wall over there," Lexa pointed to the southern side of the building. "The pit is on the other side."

"Pit…?" Kol cocked an eyebrow. His comment went unanswered.

"You want to go through a solid wall?" Elena frowned.

"It won't be solid when we get there," she smirked.

"What's your plan for getting there?" Elena nodded to the patrol team.

"Two options," Lexa held up her fingers. "One: I make us invisible and we can walk, or two: one of you can pick me up and r

Before any of them could come to a decision Elena's phone began to vibrate. She pulled it from her pocket and saw it was the Boarding School.

"Or option three," Kol eyed the phone. "You two deal with whatever crisis has come up at the school, and we'll take care of the Hollow." He didn't wait for an answer before picking Lexa up. "Hold tight, darling."

He could practically hear Elena rolling her eyes when they came to a stop, but his brother's lover didn't hold his attention for long.

"Ouch," he rubbed the spot on his chest where her fist had made contact. Mock indignation shone from his eyes. "You wound me, darling."

"You'll heal," she shook her head.

"What, pray tell, have I done to earn your ire?" He tilted his head, blinking innocently.

"You left a few internal organs behind the fence," Lexa sighed. Her insides shook from the fast move.

Kol placed his hands on her hips and ran them over her back and stomach. She was soft and warm beneath his fingers, and despite the clinical fashion of the exam he felt her abdomen clench.

"Everything seems to be in place," he cleared his throat.

"You didn't check my heart." She blushed when she realized what the statement had implied.

"I can hear that," his eyes flickered to her chest and back to her face. A pretty flush stained her cheeks. "Strong, steady…"

He bit back his smirk when the organ skipped a beat.

Lexa exhaled, breaking the lingering stare to face the wall and willing her blush to go away. She pressed her palms to the stone, closing her eyes. A murmured spell changed the molecular structure of the building.

She reached behind her, took Kol's hand and did her best to ignore the tingles that raced up her arm.

"Invisque," she breathed.

Together they stepped forward and came to a stop in front of a bubbling black pit. It looked thick enough to walk on, but at the same time bottomless.

"Hey, Care," Elena tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What's up?"

"I thought you might like to know about the latest news."

"Is Landon okay?" She straightened up and ran the fastest route to Virginia in her head.

"You don't think I'd call about Hope?"

"I'd assume you'd call Klaus or Elijah about Hope," Elena worried her bottom lip. She could see the worry in Elijah's eyes. "Is something wrong with Hope?"

"Hope is fine. She's a little confused about the situation with her mother and she's not the only one…"

Caroline trailed off, knowing full well that Elijah was within earshot and would hear the incredulous tone of her voice. She was not happy sealing off the school from a parent.

"It's not a situation we could put before a judge Ms. Forbes."

She cocked an eyebrow. Her silence spoke volumes because Elena took it upon herself to fill in a few blanks that Elijah had left empty.

"Trust me, Care, if the situation could be put before a higher authority sole custody would definitely be awarded to Klaus."

"Considering the fact that you hate Klaus…"

"I don't hate Klaus…" Caroline smirked when she trailed off. In her mind she could see the sceptical look Elijah was most assuredly giving her. "I don't hate Klaus…" She insisted. "… okay… fine… I don't like him, but considering the face that he killed me and used me as a human blood bag for months I think I have earned the right for a little dislike."

"Yes, 'Lena, you have that right," Caroline snickered. "Custody is actually the reason I called you. I'm getting some grief from social services and since you've taken such an interest in Landon's education I thought I'd let you know."

"What kind of grief?"

"Technically you brought him across state lines without going through the proper channels and now they are insisting on a home study to ensure he's in a safe environment; which is ridiculous when you think about the horror that is the foster system."

"How bad would a study be for the school?"

"Considering the fact that we have seventy-five students who are learning how to control their abilities… it would be bad."

"I'll take care of it."

"How?"

"Not sure yet… I'll figure something out."

"What the…?"

Lexa shushed him and squeezed his hand so he wouldn't break away and step out from her spell into view of the security cameras pointed at the pit. She twisted her bag around so she could open it and pulled out the box. For a moment she debated telling him not to let go and warning him again what would happen when the box hit the tar, but there was really no point because he would forget the second the container sank, so she threw it.

It soared through the air. A sensor light went off overhead but it was too late for anyone to stop it.

She knew the second it happened. Kol took a small step back and looked around in surprise; his eyes landed on her a moment later.

She saw the fog in his gaze and pulled him backwards before it could clear; out through the door she had created into the field. A murmured incantation fixed the wall just in time for her back to collide with it.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" He frowned.

Lexa sighed. He hadn't used enough force to cause her physical pain, so she assumed on some level he remembered; on some level everyone always remembered.

"In your pocket," she tilted her head.

His eyes narrowed.

She reached out when he didn't move and slipped her fingers into the pocket, curling them around the stone. She used her other hand to take his wrist so she could place the gem in his palm and close his fingers around it. She held his hand, closed her eyes and whispered the spell that replaced the memories in his head.

He shook his head as the memories settled and fixed her with a curious expression.

"I think I'll take that history lesson now, love."

"How long do you think this is going to take?" Elena dropped her phone in her pocket.

"I've no idea," he shook his head. His eyes found the spot where Kol supported Lexa beside the wall. They disappeared a few minutes later. "What are…?"

He trailed off.

Elena's vision shifted. The greenery faded before coming back in stark focus. She looked around, turning on her heel.

"Elijah," she frowned, meeting his dazed eyes, "what are we doing here?"

"I…" he tilted his head, searching for a memory that wasn't there, "… I'm not sure…" The last thing he remembered was the phone call from Caroline, but nothing before or after. "That certainly doesn't look like social services."

She nodded, biting her lip.

"Did we drive?" She was already pulling out her cell phone to figure out where they were. From the corner of her eye she saw him lifting a set of keys from his pocket.

"Can the history lesson wait until we get out of here?" Her eyes darted to the trees. "The last thing I want is to be shot by one of those guards."

"You really think I'd let one of them shoot you?" His eyes narrowed in an incredulous look as he rubbed small circles over her upper arms.

"I think you'd get shot in the process," she pressed her lips together.

"Considering the fact that I'd jump in front of a bullet for you that's a safe bet," he smirked.

"Don't," she snapped with fear flashing in her eyes.

"A bullet won't hurt me love," he frowned at the sharp tone.

"These one will," her eyes met his; the plea that he trust her shone in the flash of green. She held up her hand when he opened his mouth. "It's part of the history lesson, okay?" She bit her lip.

Kol hesitated before nodding.

"Okay."

Lexa's shoulders sagged in relief.

"Can we get out of here, please?" She licked her lips. "They're gonna be on the alert now."

"Would you prefer to walk or…?" The sound of an alarm cut off his voice. He hooked her legs over his arm and picked her up, waiting just long enough for Lexa to wrap her arms around his neck and bury her face against his throat before running; her soft breath sent a shiver down his spine.

Lexa squeezed her eyes shut to block out the blurring green and held her breath, exhaling in a rush when the wind stopped. Her feet were placed on an emerald carpet and she took a moment before opening her eyes to focus on him.

She recognized the clearing as one nearly three miles from Triad.

"Where are they?" She glanced around.

"I'm assuming they took off when they heard the alarms," Kol shrugged. "Are you alright?"

She bit her bottom lip and inhaled through her nose, willing her stomach to settle as she weighed the possibilities. The odds were that Elena and Elijah had left before the alarm since they would have had no idea why they were standing in the woods outside of Triad.

"I'm okay," she cleared her throat and gave him a small smile. "That takes some getting used to, doesn't it?"

"Personally," he chuckled, "it took a few days."

"Well," she hummed, "if it's all the same to you I'd rather not do that again anytime soon. I lack the required physiology for quick adjustments."

"As you wish, darling," he smiled, "but just so you know Elena and Elijah appear to have taken the car."

She sighed, raking her hands through her hair. She had a general idea of where she was in relation to the lodgings they had taken up and knew the hike would take at least three hours.

"Sure you don't want a lift?" He smirked.

She glanced down at her heeled boots and then out at the woods, chewing her cheek.

"Ask me again in an hour."

"Okay," he nodded, smiling as she walked through the field. His eyes traced the line of her spine down over her legs with the attention Klaus would have given one of his paintings.

He gave her twenty minutes before she caved.

She stepped out of the brick building in a daze, staring at the setting sun. The beauty of it helped snap her out of her mind space, but she was still reeling when he joined her.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she found her voice.

"Did I really just do that?" She pointed over her shoulder.

Elijah opened the manila folder in his hand and held out the sturdy paper. Sunlight glinted off the gold filigree turning it orange.

"You did," he tried to temper his smile, "and you used compulsion to do it."

Elena read the cursive script and felt her head clear with each word. She tilted her head and took the certificate from him.

"I'm not sure why you look so surprised," Elijah met her stride as they started down the street, "all you did was make it official."

She lifted her head to meet his laughing eyes with a confused smile.

He pressed his hand to the small of her back and brushed his lips over the line between her eyebrows.

"You did this," he tapped the certificate, smirking, "months ago. The moment you walked into that little bedroom in your brother's house, actually."

"I did not," she denied. "I was just doing the right thing."

"You did," he met her eyes. "The right thing would have been to place him in the school. The right thing does not involve calling once a day to check on his progress and talk to him."

"I…" her mouth popped open, "… you… you know about that?"

"You're on the phone with either him or Caroline every day," he smirked. "Now I know Caroline Forbes is one of your best friends Elena, but you've never called her this often. I would know. I was with you for months before we first came to Atlanta."

She glanced at the certificate again and sighed, wondering if he also knew how she'd rethought the layout of her house in Mystic Falls. The school was great but students didn't stay during the holidays and everyone needed a sense of place.

"I was a little distracted," she peeked up through her lashes.

"A little," he smiled in agreement.

"There you two are," Lexa held her hips. Her voice drew their attention to where she was standing by the car. "I'd be mad that you took off without me, but you don't remember it so I'll let it go."

"Lexa?" Elena frowned. "Where have you been?"

"Looking for you," she rolled her eyes.

"We could have gotten here faster, but you've proven to be a singularly stubborn woman."

Elijah's eyes widened, darting from Lexa to the man beside her.

"Kol," he turned slightly, keeping his hand on Elena's back, "what are you doing here?"

Kol shook his head and sighed.

"In your pockets."

They checked and extracted the small gemstones. Elena smoothed her thumb over the moonstone as Elijah looked at Lexa and his brother.

Lexa breathed the spell and watched and watched their eyes clear.

Lexa emerged from her the bathroom towel drying her hair and made it to her hotel bed before sensing the eyes on her.

She gave up on her hair and wrapped it in the towel, twisting the material into a knot before meeting the expectant stares of her companions.

"I believe we were promised a history lesson darling," Kol smiled.

"Wouldn't we rather discuss Elena's impulsiveness from this afternoon?" She gave them a wry smile.

"We've come to the conclusion that it was only a matter of time before she made things official," Elijah smirked.

"Because apparently I'm transparent," Elena rolled her eyes.

"Compassionate, Elena," he threaded his fingers through hers, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.

"You two are sickening," Kol shook his head. He turned his attention back to Lexa. "How about that history lesson?"

She nodded and stepped out of the bedroom into the suite's living room, adjusting her camisole and taking a seat. She owed them an explanation after what had happened that morning.

"About a millennium ago…" she began and was promptly cut off.

"This sounds familiar," Kol dropped into an armchair near Lexa and flashed his brother a smirk.

"Don't interrupt me," she glared, using a throw pillow to wack Kol's arm. She couldn't stop her smile when she met his eyes though.

"He never could get through a lecture without interjecting," Elijah cocked an eyebrow, "usually with a smart remark."

"Terrible student, then?" She crossed her legs and jiggled her foot.

"I resent that," his mock glare shifted from Elijah to Lexa, "I'm an excellent student."

Lexa lifted her voice before the brothers went off on a tangent.

"As I was saying," she shook her head, "it all started a millennium ago. Certain parts of the world held… monsters." She cringed at the word; many people would have lumped her into that category. "There was nothing more terrifying than dragons."

"I'm sorry," Kol held up his hand. "Are you telling us that dragons are real, and that they were around a thousand years ago? Wouldn't we remember that?"

"Are you forgetting what happened this morning?" Lexa countered.

"I thought dragons were just a myth," Elena twisted her daylight ring with her thumb.

"A lot of people would say that about vampires," Lexa shrugged, "and witches and werewolves. Speaking of…" she focused on her audience, "… that's a big part of the story. There was no supernatural faction that was a match for dragons; at least, not on their own, so an unholy," she made air quotes around the word, "alliance was formed."

Elena wanted to ask, but she sensed that Lexa would just glare at her for interrupting.

"A witch, a werewolf, and a vampire came together." She tilted her head, remembering the story she had heard at her mother's knee. "The Triad combined their blood and used black magic to create a golem that could consume supernatural beings with the exception of the ones that had made it, and I do mean the ones that had made it – that particular witch, vampire and wolf."

She knew she was getting ahead of herself and took a deep breath to refocus.

"The golem took and consumed the dragons when they returned to collect treasure from the villages they attacked. It swallowed them whole into an endless space, an alternate realm that wiped the memory of the monsters from existence." She saw the recognition in their eyes. "With each supernatural it swallowed, it evolved and became sentient. Once the region was free of dragons the Triad wanted to destroy him, they were the only ones that could, but it betrayed them and made a deal with the humans it had saved."

"How does a golem turn into a bubbling pit of tar?" Kol tilted his head, having gone silent during the tale.

"It wandered," Lexa shrugged, motioning with her hands, "the earth, consuming supernaturals and erasing the memory that they ever existed, but eventually it realized it was alone. What does anyone do when they think they're alone in the world; when they're the only one of their kind?"

"They make more," Elena murmured, "by any means necessary." Her fingers twitched, but she managed to keep from reaching for her throat and the spot where Klaus had chosen to sink his teeth into her carotid artery.

"Precisely," she nodded. "The golem began to fashion beings like it, but they lacked its power. They were flawed and imperfect, and it had a tendency to disregard the imperfect. It was never intended to have a bloodline of its own."

"What happened?" Elena tilted her head.

"One of its… children…" she managed a small laugh, "betrayed it. He told the descendants of the original worshippers of the attempts to create more like it, and how it was violating the laws of Nature by attempting to birth a new species. This guy led them to the golem and they had some witches use more black magic to trap it. It dissolved into a black pit, but maintained its power. They locked it somehow, and the secret society grew into a business."

"Triad," Kol finished.

"Triad Industries," Lexa sang, "keeping the world safe from all the things that go bump in the night."

"What happened to the son?" Elijah frowned.

"Not sure," she hummed, "he disappeared a while back." Her eyes took on a haunted look.

"How did you remember?" Elena pulled her back from her mind.

"People forget," she folded her legs under her, "but those who share blood with the golem always remember. The vampire died during the betrayal, and I think the wolf's bloodline eventually ended, but the witch one endured. The stories were passed down along with immunity to the golem's power."

"Could this thing absorb a witch, or a vampire, or a wolf?" Elijah watched Lexa's face.

"It could," she nodded, "it has, and that's allowed Triad to create weapons that can hurt a supernatural."

"Is that why you were in such a rush?" Kol twisted in his seat. "You were afraid a mystical weapon would kill you."

"Not me," she shook her head. "I told you… I'm immune. I was protecting you."

"We can't be…"

"Do you really want to test out a weapon you've never come in contact with?" She cocked an eyebrow. "I've seen their weapon work. It burns supernatural creatures from the inside out, and when they're dead they're swiftly forgotten. It's not like being absorbed, but its close. It's like they fade away, becoming a grainy face in an old photograph."

"The industry weaponized a golem?" Elena shifted back, curling her legs onto the sofa and leaning into Elijah when he lifted his arm over her shoulders. "Is that why you don't like them?"

"I don't like them because they've taken it upon themselves to eliminate everything they deem monstrous. I'm certain they'd try to get rid of witches, vampires and wolves if they weren't so plentiful and hard to track."

"Not everything that's been absorbed deserved it?" Kol tapped the arm of his chair.

"Would you call dryads and nymphs, or djinn and unicorns evil?"

"Unicorns are real?" Elena squinted.

"Not anymore," Lexa shook her head, pursing her lips.

"I thought djinn were supposed to be evil spirits," Kol frowned, remembering the old myths he had read.

"Nah," Lexa waved, "they were mischievous, and self-serving, but not necessarily bad. We're getting off topic though. The thing to remember is that the only people in the world who know you held a piece of the Hollow are in this room."

The next chapter picks up a few hours after this one with Kol and Elena in the parking lot followed by an Elejah scene and then off to the boarding school.