Elijah Mikaelson had found himself stood in the bathroom of a bar he had not seen since the year 1969, a bar in which he met up with centuries-old witch Kayne Black, not knowing how he got there but knowing this was not quite the real world, nor was it the prison world he was in just moments ago, and so he decided to leave the bathroom to try and get some idea of where he had been placed now only to be left shocked to walk into the bar to find it completely empty except for Kayne who was stood behind the bar knocking back a bottle of whisky.
"It's not quite hitting like it should which means I'm neither in a prison world or in some astral plane," Kayne complained to the original vampire, as Elijah walked over to him. "Which means I'm either inside your mind, you're inside mine, or where in somebody's mind who somehow has a recollection of the time, we spent together back in 69."
"Perhaps you were reminiscing of times gone by?" Elijah suggested with a hopeful tone in his voice as he sat down at the bar.
"Unless it is a time loop, of course, it would be a time loop, that's her bloody party trick. We are stuck within a certain day of a certain year that Annabella would know for a fact that neither Magnus nor Primrose could enter because they were otherwise sidelined during that time…normally a time loop is nature meets mystic event caused by something truly evil, tragic, or otherwise completely off the world's plan, as history rewrites itself to correct it, the people within the time loop are forced to relive the same day repeatedly until they optionally choose to do something big enough of a difference to break it and therefore releasing from the time loop and seeing tomorrow or in our case back to the current year."
"If a time loop is a case of nature meets mystic energy, then how can Bella make one at will? And as I am saying this, I recall that the rules of magic on this earth were probably written by you and your siblings." Elijah wondered clearly confused by Kayne's admission.
"A time loop is ultimately a curse, forcing those to relive within its spell to relive the same day in which the curse took place, and when it comes to curses Annabella has always been something of an expert," Kayne revealed to the noble original. "In fact, I am pretty sure her obsession with Rebekah starting from her wanting to learn the details of a curse she had the misfortune of not casting."
"Okay…trying to understand the logic and if I have it right then my sister Rebekah cannot be in this time because she too, like your other siblings, was somewhat sidelined after the 20s when Klaus daggered her over some spat about a boy that I'm not sure which sibling fancied more," Elijah stated with humor, realizing Rebekah must be elsewhere.
"These magical daggers put originals to sleep until someone pulls it out of them am I right?" Kayne asked, waiting for Elijah's nod to confirm his theory. "Magnus was dead in 1969, Primrose was imprisoned by a powerful coven so if Magnus was to jump into this time loop he'd wind up dead and Rose would end up stuck in that prison which is exactly why they would not come here…however, your sister Bex is basically just taking a nap so if we find Klaus he can take us to Rebekah to whom we just have to pull the dagger out of and then work out why we're in the witch witness protection program."
"Clearly your sister Annabella is protecting you and us from well, the rest of your family. She must care for you just as much as I do…and Niklaus." Elijah confessed to both his own feelings towards Kayne and his brother's, knowing he could not act on those feelings again because of his loyalty towards his brother and knowing Kayne probably blamed him just as much as he blamed Klaus for his very recent yet brief death.
Klaus Mikaelson had figured that he had been transported from one prison world to the other and upon discovering a newspaper while walking through the empty streets of San Francisco he quickly discovered that he was in the year 1969 and although he did not quite understand the rules of the place he presumed to be a prison world he could not help but wonder if his siblings had followed them there, and if they did, if they wound up wherever they were during this year just like he did, and although he had no clue of where Elijah was, he just so happened to have Rebekah daggered in a coffin nearby his current location.
"Firstly, who the bloody hell gave you another dagger?" Rebekah moaned as she awoke after Klaus pulled a dagger out of her chest before going on to help her get out of the coffin she was lying in, helping her get to her feet as she noticed she was in an abandoned warehouse. "Secondly, why the bloody hell did you dagger me again? I really thought we were over this Nik."
"I did not dagger you this time Rebekah, time did, believe it or not, but the latest prison world we've been dumped in is set in the swinging sixties," Klaus informed his sister, quick to point out he was not to blame for her current situation.
"Oh good! I never got to see the sixties, or the seventies, eighties, nineties…because of you then there's the thirties, 40s, shall I go on?" Rebekah responded with a level of sarcasm, teasing her brother before noticing she was in the same dress she wore before Klaus daggered her in Chicago not long after their first meeting with a certain Stefan Salvatore.
"Well, now we have to find Elijah and pending who cast this particular spell, Kayne too," Klaus stated, unsure who was responsible for his and his sister's latest visit to another prison world.
"I did!" Bella Black revealed after appearing out of nowhere, in astral projection form, her real body still in the real world. "I had to hide you all quickly before Rose or Magnus destroyed the prison world you were in and therefore destroying you all."
"You always were the smartest sister in that family!" Rebekah replied with a sincere smile, relieved to know Bella was the witch behind this current spell. "I am so glad to see you and not your less sane siblings."
"So, if you have moved us here instead of just putting us back in our bodies then I am guessing neither you nor Kayne has any idea where our actual bodies are?" Klaus asked the eldest member of the Black family.
"Correct, I had no idea that Kayne would wind up here too I'll be fixing that shortly before Rose and Magnus find his location, then Kayne and I will handle our siblings without any Mikaelson interference, so we can find some bloody peace among us all whether things have to get bloody or not depends on them," Bella admitted to the original vampires making it clear that they were staying put until she said otherwise.
"Your bitch sister killed Freya!" Klaus shouted at her furiously, having no intentions of letting Rose away with his sister's murders.
"And you killed Kayne!" Bella snapped back. "I could have acted in revenge but instead I knew better now it is your turn to be smart and stay put until I handle my family!"
"I'm all for not letting my idiot brother handle matters because of his tendency to only make things worse but Annabella when it comes to your siblings you also have a tendency to make things worse," Rebekah told the woman she once loved, wondering if whatever she had planned would work.
"Things are different now Rebekah," Bella replied as she held her baby bump, as Rebekah realized Bella was due to give birth any day now. "I will do whatever is needed of me in the end, whatever is needed to protect my child."
Rose Black had hated her eldest brother Magnus for as long as she could remember but as she awoke in that hotel room with her brother Kayne nowhere to be found she quickly learned that Magnus was the only one there for her right now which could not help but make her wonder the horrible notion that maybe just maybe she hated Magnus so much because he reminded her of herself.
Rose was a narcissist, psychotic, and often irrational, but despite these qualities she always believed that she loved herself, that everybody else was wrong and she was right but as she now found herself on the outside along with Magnus, she could not help but think maybe her way of thinking is the same method Magnus used, was her least favorite sibling the one who was most like her?
But she could not let her questions and uncertainness get the best of her, not with both her sister Bella and brother Kayne out to sabotage her plans of revenge, and although she still loved Kayne, she knew it was her and Magnus against her other siblings so she could rid the world of the Mikaelsons once and for all, hoping that Kayne would later forgive her like he had forgiven her so many times before.
"I'm only going to ask you once Marcel, where is my sister?" Rose demanded as she burst into Marcel's apartment to see him sitting down on his couch drinking a glass of whisky, unphased by her entrance, that was until Rose raised her right hand and the glass to which Marcel was holding exploded instantly, the shards of glass going everywhere as well as the remainder of his drink.
"She is more than likely out there cleaning up your messes." Marcel declared as he quickly rose to his feet, ready to fight the centuries-old witch if he needed to. "Have you ever stopped to think that you're as bad as the family you are hunting? How many messes has Bella cleaned up for you without even the littlest gratitude? How many times has Kayne done the exact same thing? Sure, you claim all this anger is because Kayne was briefly dead, but he is back and the last thing he wants is for you to make yet another mess. So, please tell me what is your reasoning now? Why are you always so bloody pissed?"
"I'm mad because the man who he loved killed him without a second thought! I am mad because Bella did not even attempt to protect him! I'm mad that he just keeps forgiving everybody all the bloody time!" Rose shouted at Marcel as she began charging towards him. "I'm mad that Bella's happy and having a child, that Kayne will always be loved because of the light inside of him, and that I have never truly loved or been loved and never will."
"Well, I was not expecting that level of honesty…" Marcel replied. "Sounds like you're mad at yourself for being such a witch all the time but just remember in spite of that Bella and Kayne still loved you…hell, Kol still loved you and he never cares about anyone except himself and Davina."
"I do not know why I said all that," Rose said with a saddened sigh, knowing that even if she regrets using Marcel as the one to vent to, she needed to let those words out anyway.
"I do because I've been where you've been, where you're as mad as hell for everything in your life and it's easier to be mad at the Mikaelsons than yourself but that anger only ever gets more and more people you care about killed and deep down that's the last thing you want," Marcel advised Rose, noticing a vulnerability in her that very few had seen before. "Do not let the rage be all that you have left."
"I've heard those words before mostly by Annabella and Kayne but somehow they sound different coming from an outsider…I mean you barely even know me and yet you summarised my entire life in just one conversation." Rose reluctantly admitted to the upgraded original, knowing Marcel was right, that only she could break the vicious cycle that had become her life.
Maybe it was madness within her mind or maybe it was the notion of being seen for the first time in forever but before she even knew it Rose leaned in towards Marcel and gently kissed his lips, shocking Marcel for a moment before he returned her kiss and before long the pair were kissing passionately as Rose pushed Marcel down onto the couch and quickly threw herself on top of him as the pair began ripping each other's clothes off.
Bella Black was determined to not only get her sister Rose back on her side but Magnus too, wanting to right all of her wrongs before her baby was born but to do that she had very little time to sway them both to her side and stop their mission to kill the original family of vampires, not only because Marcel was the father of her baby, but because despite the recent growth in her friendship with her baby father there was still only one person Bella truly loved, Rebekah, and although she knew they were little to no hope of the two ever working out that did not mean she wanted any harm to come to her.
In fact, it was not just Rebekah that Bella had grown fond of over the centuries, she admired Elijah's loyalty towards his family something she could relate to, she cherished Kol's friendship with her sister Rose knowing the two were a perfect match for each other, and at times she even tolerated Klaus because he loved her brother Kayne and Kayne loved him. Somewhere along the line her family's history had become interwoven with the Mikaelson's and she did not want that to end with war.
"Annabella, I am surprised you reached out to me. I do hope this is not some trap because hopefully, you would know better than to think I'd fall for another one of your little schemes." Magnus greeted Bella as he walked up towards her, as she stood outside the gates of the Lafayette Cemetery.
"I want a truce Magnus, I want us all to be a family again, and I want no harm to come to the Mikaelsons," Bella replied clearly stating her wants before she suddenly felt a huge shooting pain coming directly from her stomach, knowing instantly it was the baby.
"What is it, sister?" Magnus asked, looking somewhat worried for Bella but trying to mask it from her at the same time.
"I'm not sure…" Bella answered him before letting out a piercing scream which was followed by her waters breaking. "Oh god, I think the baby's coming."
Magnus quickly rushed to put his arms over his sister, shocked to learn she was going into labor, determined to get her to a hospital as soon as possible, at the moment relinquishing all his anger and hatred towards her, as he realized all he wanted was to make sure she gave birth to this child without any harm coming to either of them, as Bella would soon learn that day that not only would it end with her becoming a mother, but she'd have her brother Magnus back…
Klaus Mikaelson and his siblings Rebekah and Elijah awoke within their rooms at the Mikaelson compound instantly at the same time as each other, before they used their vampire speed to climb out of bed, and rush to find each other, the three original vampires finding each other within Klaus' home office, as they each gave each other a gleeful grin knowing that they were finally home.
"I guess Bella really did it," Rebekah said, with a smile on her face, as she realized that even after all this time she could still rely on Bella Black.
"Well not quite!" Kayne declared as he walked into the room. "She had every intention of bailing you all out but then she went into labor and long story short there's a new member of the Black family."
"That's great news!" Elijah responded sincerely. "Is the new mother, okay?"
"Of course, she is," Kayne stated. "I'm merely here to pass on a message of peace…"
"Rose imprisoned us after killing our sister Freya I do not care what she or that fool Magnus has promised you and Bella, but we are far from over avenging our sister's death." Klaus declared, making it clear he had no interest in peace. "Rose will wish she killed me too by the time I'm over with that wretched witch."
"How very typical of you Niklaus." Kayne scoffed. "How quickly you forget how this all started by you betraying me yet again and leaving me for dead? I should have chosen your brother Elijah all those years ago, I cannot believe I wasted so much time on you!"
Klaus turned to face his brother Elijah looking stunned, saddened, and furious, to learn of his older brother's history with a man he once loved, and perhaps still did, leaving him broken by the betrayal, something which only served to delight a vengeful Kayne.
"I for one want peace between our families but you're bloody awful at playing peacemaker Kayne," Rebekah stated, choosing to ignore the look of guilt on Elijah's face as Klaus continued to stare at him with rage in his eyes.
"Well, I could not have you trying to kill Primrose had she come here to make peace, nor could I have you killing Magnus, believe it or not, we're taking a page out of your book and trying this whole family thing," Kayne announced, confusing the Mikaelsons by this sudden turnaround. "For obvious reasons, Marcel will know where we are all going but make no mistake when I say you will never see any of us again minus the little one once Marcel and Bella work out that whole custody thing."
"So, after all this, you're just uprooting from our lives? Leaving us all to play happy families with two siblings who will no doubt wind up killing you both." Elijah replied to Kayne, making it clear he was far from ready to say goodbye.
"We have to be better than what we were and when we are around you all we are at our worst!" Kayne confessed with a saddened sigh. "I'm actually going to miss New Orleans…"
"Then go!" Klaus shouted, attempting to hide his pain with fury. "Disappear from all of our lives but mark my word you better hide those siblings very well because if I ever find them, they'll die a death more permanent than your recent death."
Instead of replying to Klaus' words of anger, or Elijah pleads to stay, Kayne Black disappeared within a blink of an eye, putting the Mikaelsons behind him for good, as he fully set out to never see any of them again…but things are never that simple!
Elsewhere, far outside of the city limits of New Orleans, Bella and Rose were on a quiet road in the middle of nowhere, Rose driving, while Bella remained in the passenger seat, with her new-born baby boy asleep in the back in his baby seat, cozied up with cute blue blankets, as Rose and Bella continued to bicker about returning to the castle in the woods, only for Rose to make the car come to a crashing stop when a tall, thin, raven-haired woman suddenly appeared on the road in front of them.
"Vampire or witch?" Bella asked her sister, as she tried to work out who the stranger was.
"I say we go find out," Rose replied, before undoing her seatbelt, opening her car door, getting out of the car, and proceeding to walk towards this mysterious woman.
"It took a while for me to get you girls alone and away from that family you two ladies seem far too obsessed with." The woman told Rose, unnerved by the look of rage on Rose's face as the centuries-old witch stopped right in front of the stranger.
"I do not care who you are nor why you're here but if you think for one second, you're going to take me out then think again lady!" Rose warned the mysterious woman.
"Now is that really a way to talk to your mother?" She asked Rose, surprising the witch with her words. "It's long overdue my darling Primrose but it is time you, Annabella, Magnus, and Kayne finally got to meet your real mother...my name is Lilith."